PA-A-A-R-R-A-M-M-M-M-PI-I-TA-A BA-A-BA-A -A-KI-I-I-I-I-!!!!
“When one comes near the Supreme Father, he or she has to address the Father, ‘O Father, give me shelter on Your blissful lap, on Your graceful lap.’ To say this, one has to establish a relationship of implicit faith and sincerest love with the Father. This implicit faith blended with spiritual zeal is called devotion. So knowledge and action are to help you in developing devotion, but your unification with the Supreme Self will be established with the help of devotion only.”
Shrii Shrii Anandamurtiji
News from Albany
Mortal human beings can attain liberation only if they channel all their psychic tendencies, all their thought-waves, towards the Supreme One, and then the dynamic flow of their minds, concentrated at a single point, becomes one with the Supreme Cognition. With eight regular Dharmacakras (collective meditation) held in Albany with 5 – 7 people attending in September and 4 – 9 attending in October, the Albany Unit as the finite microcosm merges in the macrocosm; the small “I” dissolves in the infinite vastness. Yoga and meditation classes were started for the Fall semester at the State University of New York, Albany. Two yoga classes were held with approximately 25-40 people attending each. Twenty people attended the meditation class held in September and October. One person was initiated in September and three in October.
Viveka attended RDS in New York. After RDS, Dada Nabhaniilananda visited Albany for Dharmacakra and worked with Viveka to organized spiritual life-style training sessions for the spring of 2010. Viveka and Josh attended the Boston Regional retreat. Viveka was a coorganizer and facilitated an evening workshop. (Thank you Dada Viveka.)
News from New York City
It is the duty of humankind to utilize properly and collectively all the things that Parama Purus'a has provided for human beings. The Sectorial Office and the Women’s Department Office were the main venues for activities in New York City, with programs such as RDS and Baba’s Mahaprayan celebration as activities properly using all things that Parama Purus’a has given to us. RDS was busting with activity, with 32 Dadas, Didis, Family Acaryas, and LFTs attending. After RDS ended on Saturday and Sunday we had a nice Dharmacakra with about 45 people. What a blessing to have so many dedicated workers in New York.
The following weekend, quite a few margiis from New York went to the Boston Region Fall Retreat at Earthdance, creating a warm and close feeling amongst all. Dada Pranakrsnananda and Didi Ananda Kaostubha both gave stimulating classes Saturday morning and afternoon. The evening brought a lovely program, including katha and poetry reading, music and a Baba movie, and avartha kiirtan at the end. Akhanda kiirtan came mid-morning Sunday, and the program ended around 3 p.m.
On Saturday, October 24 th, a twenty-four hour Akhanda Kiirtan was held at Didi’s Jagrti, attended by 34 margiis, to remember the Great Departure of Baba’s physical body, Mahaprayan, from this planet earth, so we may know that “The physical form is not the Guru, but the entity behind the physical form is the Guru. Therefore, Brahma alone is the Guru.” The event was full of Baba’s blessings and positive vibration, in addition to the usual movement of jagrti and sectorial life.
Our condolences to brother Naveen Joshi and family, on the passing of his dear father Oct. 20. Both funeral viewing and shraddh ceremony were held.
Halloween was quiet, except for many cute neighborhood children coming to the door in the evening, with big smiles and all dressed up. Quite a bit of repair work was finished, both fundamentals and helpful upgrades. The jagrti and gardens are truly an oasis in the middle of NYC. With the weather changing, the gardens are browning down now. Whatever crops were there were harvested, except for the mesclun lettuce and parsley, and three cool weather crops were put in, more mesclun, swiss chard, and bok choy. The bok choy is thriving!! Planting this summer was a big experiment, with more than 20 veggies and herbs – 5 kinds of tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, 2 types of basil, Brusells sprouts, broccoli, corn, and more – and even more flowers, some from seed, and some from rooted plants, from a blue-rose bush to lavender, carnations to sunflowers and African daisies, phlox, liatris, sweet peas, and much more. We witnessed different levels of success of growth, from flourishing, to no growth at all. What a learning experience! And now it's forward into the grey skies and falling leaves of November, one more of Baba's exquisite expressions of His divine love for us. (Thank you Sister Sunita.)
News from White Plains
The Sister to Sister International Inc, realizing that God is the Lord of the evolved objects; He is the controller of every one of them. This very Lord moves in the womb as the embryo and when it is born, the event, in fact, should be called the birth of God because all creations are but the manifestations of God himself were pleased to invite Sister Nirainjana to open up their annual Sister to Sister International Conference on September 12th at the Tarrytown Marriot with a bhajan, kiirtana and a short meditation. She also offered a kaoshikii workshop in the afternoon at the conference. She received requests to offer the kaoshikii workshop at a future date as well. (Thank you Sister Nirainjana.)
News from New Haven
When human beings make their minds as expansive as the cosmic mind, they can receive instructions or directions from Him due to His proximity. During September and October the regular Friday Dharmacakra received the visit of three acaryas. The visit of Dada Gunamaya and Dada Dayashiilananda was inspiring and included a collective meditation with 7 people present. In addition to the regular weekly collective meditation, Dada Pranakrsnananda visits New Haven every third weekend of the month to give a workshop on meditation. In October seven people attended. The workshop briefly explained what meditation is and linked it to breathing and relaxation. (Thank you Brother Dharmavira and Sister Krpadevi.)
News from Northampton
The supreme Consciousness is all pervading and He is omniscient. When one's nucleus coincides with the nucleus of the Supreme One, one becomes one with the Supreme. And in order to do this, What must one do? One must increase the periphery of one's mind. Increasing the periphery of one’s mind got a good start with the regular Dharmacakra. In September, Northampton held a Dharmacakra with two margiis from Connecticut and two acaryas visiting the unit, dancing in the rhythm and flow of African kiirtan led by Dada Dayashiilananda. A visit to Hampshire College for a talk organized by brother Punyatman led 30 people to sign up for a meditation and yoga class to be held in the spiritual center room of the college each Monday at 5 PM. Dharma Cakra is held on Sundays.
Drama is used by Kekeli Health Educators to teach about AIDS.
Kekeli Health Educators graduate from their training program.Didi Devanistha is planning to go to Ghana in January and teach three infant massage trainings sponsored by AMURT and the Ananda Marga Ghana Center for Homeopathic and Natural Health. Trainings in the north and south of Ghana will include workers for Kekeli, who provide health care education in their local villages, and AMURT-sponsored lay midwives, who practice in urban and rural settings. An Accra training will be open to the public. If you would like to sponsor a student in one of these trainings, you can make a $40 donation which will cover a locally-made doll for teaching and learning on, local infant massage oil, educational materials and other costs. You will receive a personal photograph of the student you sponsor and a report on the training. Donations are tax-deductible. Send donations with your email and mailing address to Didi Devanistha, PO Box 733, Northampton MA 01061. Thank you! (Thank you Didi Devanistha.)
News from Vermont
The entire humanity must be looked upon as one integrated existence and move collectively towards the all-round perfection of human life. While the landscape blazed with fall color, October also featured successful fundraising in our unit. Jayavanii organized a long-distance bike ride to benefit the maternal care and training program in Burkina Faso, which raised about $1400. Another fundraiser was held for agricultural work in Haiti and $4000 was raised.
Six local margiis attended the regional retreat. Two initiations were conducted during the month of October. Dharma Cakra is back in its "winter" home at the Dome in Warren. With Thanksgiving only a few weeks away, we invite our sisters and brothers from all areas to join us for Akhanda Kiirtan, sweet satsang and legendary sattvic feasting on November 26. (Thank you Sister Pus'pa.)
Boston Regional Retreat
Every mantra is sonic and vibrating simultaneously in the Cosmic system as well in the unit body, and the individual rhythms have to be made parallel to the Cosmic rhythms. The sentiment of spiritual inheritance and Cosmic ideology will definitely unite the entire planetary world. The regional retreat was a wonderful experience for 64 devotees, including Acaryas and children, who came from different parts of the region to enjoy, sing and dance in the rhythm of Baba Nam Kevalam, with the additional blessing this year of the annual Diipavali festival. On this occasion we had a very entertaining cultural program, with music, poems, stories and dances well organized by Dada Viveka and brother Prakash. The last day of the retreat included a three hour Akhanda Kiirtan. Photos are in our Photo album.
“Where there is action and where there is knowledge but where there is lack of devotion, nothing can be done. So in the life of a spiritual aspirant, in the life of a yogi, nothing can be done if there is want of devotion. So you daughters, you sons, you must remember that you will have to develop devotion, implicit devotion blended with spiritual zeal. And that devotion will help you. Devotion is the only faculty to help you, to establish you in the supreme beatitude.“You will certainly attain that Supreme stance and enjoy that divine blessedness. You are sure to enjoy it, my sons and my daughters.”
Shrii Shrii Anandamurtiji
Brotherly,
Dada Gunamaya
R.S. Boston
A'sana means 'a position in which one feels comfortable' - 'Sthirasukhama'sanam.' A'sanas are a kind of exercise by regular practice of which the body stays healthy and hardy and many diseases are cured. But A'sanas are not prescribed for the general cure of decease; only those diseases which create trouble in the path of meditation may be cured by the help of specific A'sanas, so that Sa'dhana' (meditation) may more easily be done.
(Caryacarya part 3)Below you find two of three basic A'sana for women, they do not have restrictions of nostrils or diet (like all the other A'sanas have).
Yoga'sana or Yogamudra:
(Caryacarya 3, Asanas # 26)
Sit in Bhojana'sana ("food" a'sana: with legs crossed). Pass both hands backward and grip the left wrist with the right hand. Then bring the forehead and the nose into contact with the floor, breathing out during the process. Maintain this state for eight seconds and then rise up, breathing in. Practice eight times.
YogamudraBhu'jaunga'sana (Cobra)
(Caryacarya 3, Asanas # 20)
Lie down on your chest. Supporting the weight on the palms, raise the chest, directing your head backward. Look at the ceiling. Breathe in while rising, and after having risen, hold your breath for eight seconds. Come down to original position while breating out. Practise eight times.
Bhu'jaunga'sana (Cobra)
About a Sentient or Sa'ttvika Diet:
In every object of the universe, one of three attributes - Sattva (sentient), Rajah (mutative), and Tamah (static) - will always be predominant. So food is also divided into three categories according to the dominance of the attributes.
1) Sa'ttvika A'ha'ra (food): All foods that are beneficial to both body and mind are considered Sa'ttvika.
This group of foods includes fruits, most vegetables, beans and nuts, grains, milk and milk products, and moderate amounts of most herbs and spices. The sentient diet provides a wide variety of nutrients supplying proteins, carbohydrates, fats, and all the essential vitamins and minerals. A Sa'ttvika diet is required for those who practice A'sanas.
2) Ra'jasika A'ha'ra: Any food that is beneficial to the body but is neutral to the mind, or vice versa, is called Ra'jasika. In certain countries where there is heavy snowfall, Ra'jasika food can be treated as Sa'ttvika and Ta'masika food as Ra'jasika.
Included in this category are: caffeinated beverages such as coffee and tea, chocolate, hot spices such as red peppers, fermented foods, and some medicinal drugs. 3) Ta'masika A'ha'ra: All kinds of foods which are harmful to either the body or mind and may or may not be harmful to the other are called Ta'masika.The static foods include meat, fish, onion, garlic, eggs, mushrooms, alcohol, cigarettes, drugs, food that is fermented, stale or spoiled and the milk of the newly calved cow . These foods should be avoided by those who seek to attain health of body and elevation of mind.
Vegetable Chop Suey
Serves 6 1/2 C Carrots, diced small
1/2 C Celery, diced finely
2 - 3 shredded Chinese Cabbage or Bok Choy
1/2 C Sugar Snap Peas or other fresh or frozen Beans
1/2 C Green or Red Peppers, shopped
1 small can Bamboo Shoots
1 C Bean Sprouts
1/4 C Cashew or chopped Brazil Nuts
1 Can Baby Corn Spears
About 1/2 C Oil (for stir-frying)Any soft or firm vegetables (but not starchy) can be used in chop suey, e.g. string beans, peas, etc. (Be careful with leafy vegetables, as they burn easily.) The recipe below is only one example. Leftover cooked beans can also be added. The mixture should be very colorful. Marinate vegetables for at least an hour before cooking. Stir-fry vegetables quickly in hot oil, preferably using a wok (Chinese round-bottomed frying pan). Use an oil that can heat to high temperatures without chemical change (peanut or sesame oil). Use plenty of oil to prevent burning (allow oil to be at least 1 inch deep in the deepest part of the wok). Fry hard vegetables for 5 to 6 minutes, then add softer vegetables like fresh beans, bell peppers, and Chinese cabbage or bok choy, and fry 3 minutes more, adding the bean sprouts and the nuts only 1/2 minute before the end. Sprinkle with soy sauce and serve with rice or noodles, and tofu dishes. Save the marinade to use as a dip.
(From Vegetarian Food For All by Annabel Perkins)
Try more Delicious Recipes in:
Vijay's Sentient Kitchen
