Art of Living Eats : SPINACH AND POTATO CURRY

Art of Living Recipes.

SPINACH AND POTATO CURRY
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:
4 medium potatoes
1 large bunch fresh spinach (1 1/2 pounds)
1 ½ tablespoons sunflower oil
½ teaspoon mustard seeds
1/8 teaspoon hing
½ teaspoon turmeric
2 cups water
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon rock salt
2 teaspoons coriander powder
¼ green pepper, chopped
2 cloves fresh garlic, minced

Method:
Wash spinach and potatoes. Cut potatoes into ½ inch cubes; chop spinach. Heat oil in a heavy saucepan and add mustard seeds and hing. When seeds pop, add turmeric, potatoes and water. Stir. Cover and cook on medium heat for 5 to 7 minutes. Then add spinach and all the other ingredients. Mix well. Cook covered for another 15 minutes. Serve hot.

Find here more Art of Living Vegetarian Delights

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Art of Living : Navratri For Who’s and Who’s

Art of Living Review, Art of Living Wisdom.

For the uninitiated, it is a time to dance, party and socialize in a grand way! For the Master it is a time to set an example of honoring the practice of silence! For the seeker it is a time to go within and let go of identifications with the modulations of the mind! For the ashramites it is a time to brace themselves up to handle the chaos of the crowds with their wit and patience!

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

That which brings rest at three levels is ratri.  Someone caught up in blaming,  regretting the past, hankering  for pleasure or anxiety of their future well-being is unable to really rest despite having material comforts. For such people Navaratri could be translated as Nava( no)-ratri(rest)- that the lifestyle and attitudes they are pursuing is not bringing them any deep rest.

However, for a seeker who has tasted something deeper than the transient sensory charms of the world, it is a time to honor that which moves the senses. A scenery is charming because it captures the mind, stops it from running around. The same scenery which for the bhogi is a habitual channel to run away from oneself, for the seeker-the yogi is a channel to return within.

What is the energy, what is the power by which the eye is able to see? The power by which we are able to connect to the world outside? The ancient Rishis called this the Shakti-the divine energy which is a part of the Brahman, the absolute. Manifesting as the play of the three qualities- the satvic, rajasic and tamasic tendencies,  this energy brings about the cognition, activity and ignorance or forgetfulness respectively.

Of course when we first hear about the tamasic energy manifesting as ignorance the reaction would be that of aversion–wanting to move away from that. However, Navaratri is the time to honor even  that. Slumber, procrastination, delusion, inertia, ignorance — if one consciously decides to honor them it is not hard to see the value they bring to life! Honoring these aspects directs them toward what is life supporting. For example procrastination is a blessing when it comes to reacting to an insult! Not knowing all that is going on in people’s minds is a blessing, else imagine the amount of noise one would experience sensing the thoughts of everyone around!

Without this tamasic energy one would not be able to sleep-as anyone who has been excessively worried and anxious sometime has experienced. Without the rajasic energy, it would be impossible to be active at all, there would be no movement! Lord Buddha as he got enlightened, just stayed silent in ecstasy as the rajas, tamas had completely subsided. The angels had to request him, nudge him, cajole him into speaking, traveling and sharing the light for the benefit of the seekers.

All these three energies are divine – and yet if one does not honor the divinity of them, the truth, the infinity which moves them, it is impossible to fathom them. In other words, on a day one feels dull and lethargic, taking a few moments to acknowledge that this is not really something that is their own but just the tamasic energy manifesting can free one! Just taking a little time to honor it — which is not same as indulging or encouraging it — and knowing that this is just a play of the divinity, of the timeless, of something much much larger! The moment this shift happens one is able to be light and playful again and not caught up in identifying oneself with the effects of these qualities!

Navaratri is the time to consciously honor these three aspects of the Shakti, which sustain life, just remembering their divine origin, their true source which is the pure untainted consciousness  brings deep rest. All the meditations, ceremonies, rituals are aimed at this. May this Navaratri move you from the limited to unlimited, from bondage to freedom!

Watch the live webcast of Navratri Celebrations 2012 in presence of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar from Art of Living International Center, Bangalore: http://www.artofliving.org/navratri-webcast

Posted by Dr Birjoo Vaishnav

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All are Mother’s forms

Art of Living Stories, Art of Living Wisdom.

Many years ago, I read this wonderful story in a Chinmaya Mission book.

Once, when Vinayaka was very young, he went out to play. Finding no one around, except a cat, he tried to play with her. But the cat seemed in no mood to play. Vinayaka tried to coax her by caressing her and offering her food, but she would only run away from him. After many futile attempts in getting her to play with him, Vinayaka lost patience. In a fit of rage, he hit her so hard that she fell a few yards away and  was bruised badly. Finally, Vinayaka thought that it was a waste of time and ran inside to his mother.

When he went inside his mother’s chamber, he was aghast at what he saw! Ma Parvati had bruises all over her body. Vinayaka was so sad at seeing his beloved mother in this condition that he started weeping. Ma Parvati drew him close and calmed him down. Vinayaka, crying desperately, asked: “Ma! What happened? Who did this to you?? Just tell me the name!!” Ma replied compassionately: “Darling, who can dare to hurt me? I can burn anyone to ashes by just one look. It was you who did this to me and hence, I didn’t oppose. I love you very much, my son!”

Vinayaka was baffled! How can this be? Still sobbing, he said: “What are you saying, Ma? How can I even think of hurting you? So much so that I did not even come near you all morning!” To this, Ma Parvati, with the shine back on her beautiful face, replied: “I know dear that you love me so much and wouldn’t think of hurting me. But in the morning, didn’t you hit the poor cat who didn’t want to play with you?

From now on, know that, everything and everyone that you see is my own manifestation. Whatever you say and do finally comes to me!!”

Source: http://hariharji.blogspot.com/

Vinayaka was stunned. Although young, he was very sharp. Ma Parvati didn’t have to say anything more. Vinayaka apologized to her. He had realized that ‘All are Mother’s forms’. :)

The non-dual Brahman expresses itself as ‘Purusha’ and ‘Prakruti’. Prakruti is the manifested creation and that is what we call ‘Divine Mother’. The entire creation is One being! Everything and everyone is a part of the Divine Mother.

Durga, Kali, Saraswati, Lakshmi are all different aspects of the Divine Mother. She loves variety and intends that we enjoy the diversity rather than be fanatics! The knowledge of the divine mother puts to rest the inferior tendencies of the mind like greed and jealousy. We stop abusing food, wealth, power, natural resources, even our own bodies, because everything is a form of the Divine Mother.

Navratri, for me, is the time to adore and pamper the Divine Mother. And in turn, get pampered! :) It is the time to relax and enjoy the beauty around and inside us.

As our beloved Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar is in silence at our Art of Living Banglore Ashram, let us take time off to remember this gift of knowledge and abundance that we have received by His grace.

Jai Guru Deva!

PS: This time of the year, it is Fall season here in Utah and the Divine Mother is busy flaunting her sense of fashion. :)

Fall colors in the mountains of Utah, USA.

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