MYOB

MYOB

Difference between SVADHARMA and PARADHARMA.

As Krishna explains to Arjuna in Bhagvad Gita:

Svadharma: ‘Sva’ means ‘self’, ‘dharma’ means ‘to do our duty in whatever role with our spiritual nature and in service of God’.

When you focus on dharma in your context, it is called Svadharma.

Paradharma: ‘Para’ means ‘the other’. When you focus on dharma in another’s context, it is called Paradharma.

It’s better to do what YOU have been asked or destined to do imperfectly, rather than try to do what others have been asked or destined to do perfectly.

In short, MYOB!

Don’t worry about the inadequacy in your work; even fire is enveloped by smoke.

YOU and I do not have to judge each other

YOU AND I DO NOT HAVE TO JUDGE

When we judge, we cannot see the world for what it is, how people are just as they are.

Unknowingly, we create boundaries between us and the other. The world is divided: good and bad, innocent and guilty, friends and enemies, victim and oppressor and so on.

This separation is the root of fear and confusion. Judgement is like psychological blindness where we see only what we want to see.

Whereas, when our vision is expansive and inclusive, our focus changes into perspective, attention to awareness, and action changes to responsibility.

Our gaze/vision learns to reject the boundaries separating the self from the other. This is called DARSHAN (when we see ourselves in others). In darshan, there is no judgment, no separation, no good or bad, no mine and not mine.

Why we are unable to do darshan?

Because of past samskaras (grooves in mind due to past karmas), and smriti (memories which bring back hurt and prejudice).

Samskaras and Smriti, distort our current observation leading to judgment.

How can we do darshan?

When we refuse to let memories strip us of empathy and see things as they are.

How does this effect our life?

A life created based on judgment evokes rage. Life becomes a battlefield (rana bhoomi), where both sides feel like victims, where everyone wants to win at all costs, and where someone will still lose.

A life created by darshan evokes understanding which makes us see the underlying fear and hunger of all beings. Life becomes a performance on a stage (rang bhoomi). We learn how to nourish and comfort the other, while deriving nourishment and comfort from their happiness.

Your actions become leela, where you dance to the flow of life, seeing things and people as a part of you.

There’s no boundaries, no separation, no hero, villain or victim… just oneness and pure love

YOU and I matter to each other

YOU AND I MATTER TO EACH OTHER

When you and I matter to each other, the love is unconditional. Love does not guarantee happiness. Love also does not mean to control. The very act of loving is its own reward. This is atma rati. When you feel fulfilled in just loving without expecting love in return.

The more we observe the other person without judgment, the more we see ourselves mirrored in them.

Q. Why is it so difficult to have an unconditional and a non judgmental kind of love?

A. Because we are trapped in a world where there is conflict between my playing field and your playing field. I compare what I have with what you have, and this leads to conflict, and competition.

Q. How to overcome this?

A. Darshan (seeing myself in others), begins when I look at you (as you are)… when I see YOU with your fears and desires that make up your identity, and thereby discover myself (as I am), discover my fears and desires that make up MY identity. Only then do we discover the same essence/ soul (atma) that permeates all beings and things.

In my experience as a spiritual seeker while being a householder (a wife, mother, daughter, sister, friend..) the relationships matter to me, and I matter to the people around me.

I am not a monk who has withdrawn from the world.

A householder/spiritual seeker (depending upon their evolution), lives in the world without attachment or detachment, without running towards or running away from things, people or situations.

He lives IN the world , and yet OUT of the world. He experiences Atma-rati, the joy of the immortal within.

A monk shuts his eyes and contemplates (dhyana). A householder opens the eyes and sees God in the temple/church, and sees God in everyone (darshan).

For a monk the focus is on the inner journey. For a spiritual householder the inner journey is meant to help the outer journey.

A monk/hermit’s journey begins by withdrawing from the other. A spiritual householder’s journey begins by withdrawing, leads to the understanding of seeing yourself in others, then ends by RETURNING TO THE OTHERS WITH EVEN MORE LOVE. There is a deeper connection, but without any attachment to satisfy your own ego or needs.

In this kind of loving, you can be different, you can be apart, you can disagree with each other. All this makes no difference…cuz you and the other is always IN EACH OTHER. In this love, distances and differences collapse. That’s when in a complete sense, YOU AND I MATTER TO EACH OTHER.

RECIPES FOR GHEE, ALMOND MILK & VEGAN BLISS BALLS

HOW TO MAKE GHEE:

Ingredients: Unsalted Butter

1. Keep the butter at room temperature for an hour so that it gets softer.

2. Cut it into smaller pieces for even heating.

3. Transfer the butter to a clean dry heavy bottom pan.

4. Heat butter on medium flame stirring a little with the ladle until the contents have turned into liquid completely.

5. Reduce the flame to minimum. The water will start evaporating from the butter causing the liquid to foam and creating a spluttering sound.

6. The foam will separate out a little and you can see some yellow liquid in the middle. Watch carefully from now on.

7. The yellow liquid in the middle will turn to a golden brown. Soon, the bubbles will reduce greatly and the spluttering noise will begin to subside. Watch over. When you can hardly hear any spluttering noise and the liquid has turned into golden brown, switch off the flame.

8. Let it cool. The milk solids would have settled at the top and bottom of the pan.

9. Pass the contents through a filter and pour the liquid into the desired container. Your ghee is now ready. It will solidify with time, faster at cool temperatures and slower in the summer. Once it solidifies, it will turn yellow in color.

HOW TO MAKE ALMOND MILK

Ingredients: 1 cup almonds, 6 dates, 8 cardamoms

1. Soak the almonds overnight in water in a bowl.

2. Wash the almonds till clear water is left. I usually do not peel the almonds but if you want you may do that.

3. Take a blender (Vitamix works the best), put the soaked almonds and 4 cups water. The ratio is always 1:4. Blend the mixture for about 1 minute till its smooth and white .

4. Take a cheesecloth and put it over top of a bottle and strain the liquid mixture. You will have to squeeze the cheesecloth to take the remaining milk out of the pulp.

5. Keep the squeezed and semi dried pulp in a separate container.

6. Repeat till all liquid is strained and squeezed.

7. Put dates and cardamoms in the blender and put the almond milk back into the blender and blend them till smooth. Your sweet and flavorful almond milk is ready. Keep it in fridge right away.

8. Stir well before using the almond milk.

HOW TO MAKE VEGAN BLISS BALLS

Ingredients: Left over above almond pulp from the cheese cloth, few chopped dates, handful of chopped pistachios, half tsp cardamom and cinnamon powder mixture, 2 tbsp brown/cane/any sugar, 1 tsp ghee

1. Take a non stick pan and melt ghee in it

2. Put almond pulp in pan and stir it with non stick spatula till the mixture dries up (about 5 minutes).

3. Put sugar and mix it well. Heat the mixture for 1-2 minutes.

4. Put the remaining ingredients and mix well.

5. Let the entire mixture cool.

6. Make 1” balls and keep it in fridge.

7. If you like you can add cocoa powder to the mixture also.

   Enjoy them with tea or coffee! They make a great gift, which reflects thoughtfulness and your love for your friends’ health!

AYURVEDIC TIP FOR TODAY

WAKE UP (get out of bed) AT BRAHMA MUHURTA (between 3am-6am)!!!

A secret to perfect health of body and mind!

 Brahma (creator) Muhurta (period), is the time to create yourself! It is 1 hour and 30 minutes before sunrise or more precisely 1 hour and 36 minutes before sunrise. The time of sunrise varies each day, according to geographic location and time of year, thus the time of the Brahma muhurta also varies. 

As per Ayurveda, this period is considered an auspicious time for all practices of yoga and is most appropriate for meditation. The mind is inherently still at this time, enabling one to achieve a deeper meditative state.

But why get up this early in the morning? Because:

> Body utilizes more oxygen at this time because, during this period plants release maximum oxygen into the atmosphere, and photosynthesis (process where plants take up oxygen in presence of sunlight to make food) has not yet begun. Therefore, the atmosphere has maximum oxygen content in this period.

>In this period, oxygen easily mixes with haemoglobin to reach the remote tissues in our body.

>The mind is calm and sets easily into meditation or any task which requires thinking.

>Earth vibrations are less at this time and there is sattva (purity) in both the atmosphere and in the mind.

>It is the time when previous day's food has been fully digested. Therefore, the blood is not needed by the digestive organs and is available to the brain, thereby making the mind calm easily.

>The pineal gland in our brain, secrets maximum melatonin at this time. Melatonin is a natural mood stabilizer produced by our body.

>Waking up at this time keeps all the 3 doshas* in balance, thereby keeping the body and mind healthy.

So, set your alarm clock tomorrow morning and create yourself, the way you want yourself to be!!

*Ayurveda states that there are three doshas found in the human physical body, called Vata (Air and Ether), Pitta (Fire and Water) and Kapha (Earth and Water).