Breakfast today

So this is what I had for breakfast today morning

1 small helping of Upma- I have actually measured it with a small bowl as you can see.

4 pieces of watermelon

4 pieces of soaked and peeled almonds

Calories: Upma- 166

4 almonds- 28

watermelon- 16

Total: 210

The calories in 1 cup almonds are 1000 and calories in 10 almonds are 70. So, considering how many calories almonds contain, how can a food like this be good for you?

Almonds Nutrition Facts 

Even though nuts are known to provide a variety of protective benefits from a cardio health perspective, a lot of people avoid them when dieting, fearing almonds will keep them from losing weight. However, the health benefits of eating almonds (and the benefits of nuts in general) reveal they actually aid weight loss!

Almonds nutrition facts: Almonds contain high amounts of heart healthy monounsaturated fat and vitamin E and reduce LDL cholesterol levels, as well as the risk for heart disease. LDL cholesterol has commonly been linked to heart disease and atherosclerosis.

Additionally, a quarter cup of almonds also contains 99 mg of magnesium and 257 mg of potassium. Magnesium improves blood flow, as well as the circulation of nutrients and oxygen throughout the body. Potassium is essential in promoting normal blood pressure and heart function. Almonds also can protect against Diabetes and Cardiovascular disease by reducing dangerous spikes in blood sugar levels after meal consumption. To lower the risk of heart disease, a handful of almonds at least four times a week is recommended.

With all these health benefits, the calories in almonds - raw or roasted do not outweigh the health benefits of almonds.

Upma recipe

UPMA RECIPE

Ingredients:

1 cup Rava / Sooji (Semolina)
1 chopped Onion
3 Green Chillies slit sideways
1 Potato chopped
1 Capsicum chopped
1 Carrot chopped
1/4 cup Green Peas frozen or fresh 

1/4 cup beans
1 tsp Mustard Seeds
1 tsp Urad Daal
1 tsp Channa Daal
Salt to taste
Chili powder to taste (optional)
2 tblsp Oil
Few curry leaves
Finely chopped corianderleaves
1 tblsp Ghee
Lemon juice to taste

How to make rava uppma:

• Sift rava through a muslin / cheese cloth or very fine sieve.
• Heat 1tbsp. pure ghee / unsalted butter and fry rava ,on a moderate heat, stiring constantly to light brown color and set aside.
• Now heat 2 tbsp oil in a pan and add mustard seeds and allow them to splatter.
• Add the daals : channa & urad & curry leaves to it and fry till they turn red.
• Add onion, and green chilies. Sauté for 2-3 minutes.
• Add all the vegetables, & chili powder, and salt to taste.
• Now add 3 cups of water and cover the pan and allow it simmer on low heat until the vegetables are done.
• Add the fried rava to it stirring constantly till it becomes little thick.
• Take off from the heat and lemon juice if desired.
• Serve hot garnished with and coriander.

Watermelon has a high glycaemic index (GI)

If you're making a conscious effort to eat low GI foods, does this mean you shouldn't eat watermelon?

Watermelon has a high GI, but compared to other foods you might eat, it doesn’t have as much carbohydrate because it is mainly water.

The small amount of carbohydrate in watermelon is absorbed very quickly making it a high-GI food, but because there is so little it won’t have much effect on your blood glucose levels, so in terms of impact, it is very low. This is termed ‘glycaemic Load’.

Glycaemic load

Although a food may have a low GI it’s also important to consider how much carbohydrate it has. Glycaemic load considers the amount of carbohydrate in a food as well as its GI. Both of these together determine the blood glucose response.

To work out glycaemic load (GL), multiply the GI x the grams of carbohydrate, then divide by 100.

For example:

• 1 cup of watermelon: (GI of 72 x 9 grams carb) / 100 = 6.5.  
• 1 cup of sweetcorn (GI of 37 x 32 grams carb) / 100 = 11.8.  

The differing amount of carbohydrate affects the glycaemic load and therefore the blood glucose response in your body.

Portion size also affects glycaemic load. For example, one cup of sweetcorn has a GL of 11.8 but half a cup only has a GL of 5.9.

What this demonstrates is that using GI in isolation does not give you the full story. You need to consider the amount of carbohydrate in the food you are eating.  For this reason, GI is most useful when choosing between foods with a high percentage of carbohydrate and is fairly irrelevant when foods contain a low percentage of carbohydrate. 

It also highlights that when a food has a low GI it does not mean you can eat huge volumes of it.

In short

When considering a low- or high-GI food we need to consider how much carbohydrate a food contains.

Bread, rice, pasta and cereals are mainly carbohydrate so choosing low-GI varieties makes a difference. But with foods that have little or no carbohydrate such as pumpkin, nuts, meat, fish, chicken, avocado and eggs, the glycaemic index doesn’t really matter.

In fact, some of these foods do not even have a GI value because there’s not enough carbohydrate to be bothered with.

All fruit and vegetables are fantastic for health because they are packed full of antioxidants and nutrients.

Aromatherapy

Oils for Emotional Well-Being

For an introduction to using essential oils to aid the emotions.

Anger

Bergamot, Jasmine, Neroli, Orange, Patchouli, Petitgrain, Roman Chamomile, Rose, Vetiver, Ylang Ylang

Anxiety

Bergamot, Cedarwood, Clary Sage, Frankincense, Geranium, Lavender, Mandarin, Neroli, Patchouli, Roman Chamomile, Rose, Sandalwood, Vetiver

Confidence

Bay Laurel, Bergamot, Cypress, Grapefruit, Jasmine, Orange, Rosemary

Depression

Bergamot, Clary Sage, Frankincense, Geranium, Grapefruit, Helichrysum, Jasmine, Lavender, Lemon, Mandarin, Neroli, Orange, Roman Chamomile, Rose, Sandalwood, Ylang Ylang

Fatigue, Exhaustion and Burnout

Basil, Bergamot, Black Pepper, Clary Sage, Cypress, Frankincense, Ginger, Grapefruit, Helichrysum, Jasmine, Lemon, Patchouli, Peppermint, Rosemary, Sandalwood, Vetiver

Fear

Bergamot, Cedarwood, Clary Sage, Frankincense, Grapefruit, Jasmine, Lemon, Neroli, Orange, Roman Chamomile Sandalwood, Vetiver

Grief

Cypress, Frankincense, Helichrysum, Neroli, Rose, Sandalwood, Vetiver

Happiness and Peace

Bergamot, Frankincense, Geranium, Grapefruit, Lemon, Neroli, Orange, Rose, Sandalwood, Ylang Ylang

Insecurity

Bergamot, Cedarwood, Frankincense, Jasmine, Sandalwood, Vetiver

Irritability

Lavender, Mandarin, Neroli, Roman Chamomile, Sandalwood

Loneliness

Bergamot, Clary Sage, Frankincense, Helichrysum, Roman Chamomile, Rose

Memory and Concentration
Basil, Black Pepper, Cypress, Hyssop, Lemon, Peppermint, Rosemary

Panic and Panic Attacks

Frankincense, Helichrysum, Lavender, Neroli, Rose

Stress

Benzoin, Bergamot, Clary Sage, Frankincense, Geranium, Grapefruit, Jasmine, Lavender, Mandarin, Neroli, Patchouli, Roman Chamomile, Rose, Sandalwood, Vetiver, Ylang Ylang

Yoga, Pranayama and Meditation heals everything

Continued from the Last post..

Q: But how to have people to get out from their anger because sometimes it is so difficult to be with them because of their anger?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Yeah, how to help people come out of anger? Only through WISDOM! Knowledge, wisdom and meditation.

Q: What if one of our levels of existence has been affected by shock or something, like memory, is it necessary to transcend and reach the self or how does that impact?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: >Meditation! Just exactly what you are doing - yoga, pranayama, meditation, it heals everything. See, we have given so much shock to our body, used it and misused it that it needs this kind of attention.  Similarly, we have used and misused our breath, our mind and our intellect that our whole system has been in Topsy turvy, in turmoil and all this gets stored in the memory but remember they all can be easily handled through the practice of meditation. Once you go to the SELF, it heals the memory also. Once you are aware what you are worried about, a shock or an experience, you find you are so much bigger than any experience, and see, in the world how many millions of people are there and how many experiences they all have. Do you see what I am saying?

See what is happening now in Pakistan, flood, how people are traumatized. What happened in India in Leh Ladakh! Suddenly a cloud burst and everything is gone, people’s homes are gone, and see how the terrorists or the Taliban, and these other groups are terrorizing people. If you see the Time magazine’s cover page, it’s so horrifying. In Afghanistan, women, their noses are being cut by Taliban. With all these experiences in the world, people are still living alive. What are we worried about, we are worried about our little unpleasant experience. See, life has both pleasant and unpleasant experiences. Everybody gets a little unpleasant experience, but when you open your eyes, you see our unpleasant experience is nothing, it is minuscule when compared to the other things. So your problem is almost nothing when you look at the big problems in the world, yeah!
Q: Can I ask you something? I was also thinking about all that has happened in Pakistan and this was the region which was also most affected by terrorism. Is there any relation how the karma is of the people’s action and the nature’s response?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Yeah, at this time it is not wise to say, ‘it is because of your bad karma you are suffering’. It is not a wise thing to say, people are suffering from natural calamity. That is why they always categorize three types of calamities affecting people.

Three categories, one is Adi Bhautik means natural calamities, nature’s response brings you into misery. And then Adi Daivik - a calamity that is manmade. You can say through one’s own wrong doings. And then the third calamity that comes in life Adhyatmik, What is it called in Christianity? Something like the dark age of the soul… what is it called? (Audience - The dark night of the soul). Yeah,that is you have everything but then depression sets in. You have money, all that you could have achieved in society you have achieved but you find there is darkness and you don’t know how to go in, how to cut the darkness. Your spirit is longing, missing something but it does not know what. There is type of inner vacuum. That inner vacuum where there is no joy, everything appears completely dead and meaningless.

This is called Taap Athreya. Taap means anguish, three types of anguish. Human life is faced with three types of anguish and how it can be overcome? Through Tapas!

Tapas means endurance, knowledge, wisdom, meditation, yoga, pranayama, all this comes under Tapas, from Tapas the three Taaps can be overcome, okay! 
Q: Sometimes we feel disconnected with you how to overcome that?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Sometimes only na! So you got disconnected and then you feel the connection again, it will happen.
Q: Why do natural calamities occur only in specific areas?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Why natural calamities occur only in specific areas, I have no idea! You have to ask mother earth but one thing I tell you we are misusing this planet so much. Every day we are putting so many dynamites under this earth and blasting it. Why will it not shake? Mining has become such a business, five to six companies around the world are doing mining and mining and mining… depleting this earth more than it can recuperate itself. 

Angel in my life

Recently, this card was hand delivered to me. First have a look at it.

How very thoughtful. This is one card that I will cherish all my life. It is so special. It felt so special to receive it. 

I truly think that this girl is an angel- God sent. I actually visualize her with her wings and wand, showering her glittering stars. She is so special. And I TRULY mean it.

Ok another new thing in my life.

I took my first Tango lesson and attended the first Tango party and enjoyed it so much. Here are a couple of pics that were shot at the party.

Dress: Max Mara

Tango sandals: A guy in Mumbai makes them on order.

 Yes, I also took my first lesson of playing snooker. Liked it.

Guruji's Knowledge Sheet: Decision & Confusion

Sri Sri: Decision comes only when there is confusion. When there is no confusion then there is no decision. For example, if there is a piece of wood and a biscuit on your desk, you don't decide which one to eat, isn't that right? Decision is always about choice and choice is always confusing. So, all decision-makers are confused! (Laughter)

Action is spontaneous when there is no actor. In you, there is an actor and there is a witness. An actor is either confused or decisive, but the witness realizes that the action is spontaneous and smiles.

The more decisions you make, the more confused you are, and as a result you swing between pain and pleasure. The more the witness grows in you, the more playful and untouched you are. Trust, faith, love and joy all manifest in and around you.

Are you confused, decided or happy now?

Eberhard: Confusion is too strong of an expression. Is it not rather "choice"?

Urmila: We are decided that choice is confusion. (Everyone laughs)

Hans Peter: Is there any freedom without confusion?

Sri Sri: When you are confused, there is no freedom.

Hans Peter: What is freedom of choice?

Sri Sri: Confusion! (Laughter)

|| Jai Guru Dev ||

Anger should be used as a tool, and you should not be a tool of anger Continued from the last post...  Q: For a beginner like me, how do I understand what self is? Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Everything in the world changes. Our experiences change, our understanding changes, our intellect changes, we think differently at different times, thoughts are changing, and also our emotions keep changing. How do you know that everything is changing? There must be something that is not changing. Without the existence of something that is not changing you cannot even know things are changing. So you infer. E.g. when there is a smoke you say, ‘there must be fire’. You just see the smoke and you infer that there must be fire somewhere. Similarly, you cannot directly experience that which is not changing, then how do you do it? Through inference.  The ancient people said there are three ways of knowing - Pratyaksha, Anumana, Agama. There are three proofs, one is Pratyaksha - you see direct. Second is anumana - you infer, e.g. you see the smoke and you know there must be fire, right! So when you see that everything is changing, and you know that you can experience change only through something that is not changing, through some reference point, then you infer -‘There is something that is not changing in us and that is called ‘SELF’, your soul, your spirit,  whatever you call it’! So we went from body to finer - Body, Breath, Mind, Intellect, Memory and then ego. Finer than all this, is the ‘SELF’. What the ‘SELF’ is? Finding that out is called spirituality… is meditation! And what this ‘SELF’ is made up of? It is…! Q: Some schools of thought disapprove the existence of the Self or the cosmic consciousness. What do you say about this? Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: You cannot say self does not exist. Anybody who claims self doesn’t exist, how did he know that? Who knows it? Who is saying it? Huh?! If I say I don’t believe in anything, at least I must believe in these words of mine. I can only say, ‘I don’t believe in anything except these words that I am saying’. You know the most foolish statement on the planet could be someone saying, ‘I don’t believe in anything’. At least the person who is saying this should believe in himself! Do you see what am I saying? Are you getting it? If I say I don’t trust anything then I must also say that I don’t trust the words that I am saying to you right now. This sentence - ‘I don’t trust anything’ is false because you at least trust the sentence you are saying, otherwise why would you even say that sentence? So, nobody can authentically say that he/she doesn’t trust anything. If he says, either he is crazy or he is enlightened! (Bubbles of laughter) The words that we say, ‘everything is changing’ are very relative. All that you see, you touch or you feel comes under the purview of the five senses. That is why we say everything is changing, but there is something that doesn’t change. If, once, we have a foot in that something that doesn’t change, nothing can shake you! That is awakening! What is Awakening? something in me that doesn’t change, I don’t change. Just a glimpse of this spirit or the being within you, and there will be no fear at all in life. Everything is in abundance, mind becomes calm, stable, creative, intelligent, intuitive, and all these abilities just spring up from within, and that is what happens when you just sit, meditate and let go of everything. Let go.And even if for a few seconds the mind becomes still and it is in touch with that non-changing you; DONE! Then the purpose of life is done! So every human body-mind complex is like a wave in the ocean, then you realize that this whole universe is all life everywhere. Our bodies are like shells floating in the ocean. Ocean of life is holding so many bodies. So life is not just in the body but body is in the life. If it is too much and you don’t get it now, just put it somewhere in the back of the mind, someday you will understand, okay! It could be just a concept, that’s why what we do with anything that’s a concept? We put it in the back burner, in the back shelf; we just go with our experience. See, with our experience, we mature more and more and more… yeah! Good! Q: You told us about experiencing the self, when was your first real experience on experiencing the SELF? We would love to know. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: When was my first experience on that? I don’t know! It was there in the childhood, then I grew up and then it became clearer later on. I don’t know but may be when I was seventeen or eighteen. Q: How do we know that we are working on our life’s purpose and we are not doing somebody else’s job? Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Okay! How do we know we are doing our life’s job? What is that we have come here to do? See whether you are happy and making people happy around you. Are you doing whatever you can do for people around you? Are you sharing your love and gaining knowledge? Whatever knowledge you have, can you share that with people? You have to ask these questions and you know, sometimes we shouldn’t doubt ourselves too much; sometime self doubt arises – ‘Am I doing this right?’ Just be spontaneous. In every action, there is something good and there is something wrong. There is no action that is totally perfect. The field of action has some imperfection, maybe one percent or two percent. So there could be imperfection in every action. Similarly every word that is spoken could be imperfect. But what could be perfect is our intention, our feeling. Do you see what I am saying? You have no ill intention towards anybody, and that is done. You know, I have never uttered any insulting word from my mouth all these years. At the most the word that has come out of my tongue is ‘stupid’. When I get really angry, I raise my voice and say ‘You stupid!’, but I have never cursed anybody and that is how I am made. I can’t take credit for it because I didn’t make any effort. I didn’t go to any course or school and try to make myself not to curse people, or not to blame anybody. To yell, shout or get upset is not in my nature at all. And all these bad words  simply don’t come up. Q: Should one never get angry? Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Don’t think you should all be without anger all the time. You should use anger as a tool when it is necessary. I tried to do it but I was not too successful. Often sometimes I try to show anger but it doesn’t work because very soon I start laughing and everybody else will start laughing along, also people don’t believe me getting angry. But sometimes anger is good. You know, especially in a world when there is corruption, when there is injustice and when there are all sorts of people who do all sorts of wrong things, who take advantage of you in all situations, it is necessary that you raise your eyebrows or sometime show anger, it would be good.  But see that you show anger and it doesn’t affect you or get into your heart and make you upset.  Look, that doesn’t happen in a day and that is where all these practices can be of help. Yeah, I’m not saying be like a vegetable all the time or like a mentally retarded person, smiling or not getting upset at all, you should get angry when things don’t go well, right!  But don’t ever let that anger ferment in your mind and turn into hatred. It could be momentary. You know what is a healthy anger? When you draw a line on the surface of water, how long does it stay for? Only that much time anger should stay, then it is healthy anger. If your anger stays only for that much time and when you have a control over it then it is healthy and you are okay. You can get angry but anger should not get you. What happens usually, anger comes and gets you, and then we are in trouble. Knowledge and wisdom is the reverse of it. Got it! You can use the knife but the knife doesn’t use you.  SUTRA: "Anger should be used as a tool, and you should not be a tool of anger."- Sri Sri

Precious knowledge on one's levels of existence

What Sri Sri said today...

26 August 2010


Q: Basically I don’t really know how to say it, it’s a question I have been asking myself for a very long time and it might seem a bit awkward but as I look at the whole universe and see everything is interrelated, I really wonder how the human kind is really useful in the system and are we of any use while we are here?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Very good question! What is the purpose of life, why are we here? And you know you should give a pat on your back. If this question has come into your life that means your intellect is mature. There are millions of people who live their whole life without even asking this question, ‘what is the purpose of life? Why am I here?’ They simply eat, drink, watch television, make love or fight, and die. They have no idea; they don’t even stop for a minute and think what life is? Who am I? What do I want? What can I do and how can I be useful? None of these questions even cross anybody’s mind; if it has come into you that mean you have begun living. Your life has started the right journey and this journey is what you call spirituality - to find out exactly what is the purpose of life. What do I want? Who am I? Before you can ask what you want, first you should know who you are. What is life? There are two important aspects to this question, one is the science and another is spirituality. You know what THIS IS through science, and through spirituality you know ‘WHAT AM I?’
‘ME’ and ‘THIS’; ‘THIS’ you understand through science, ‘ME’ you understand through spirituality.
What is this ‘I’? To know the ‘I’ first you understand ‘THIS’. What is ‘THIS’?
Oh ‘This is world’, ‘This is body', and ‘how did this body come into existence?’
It came as a baby weighing only four or five kilos. Then the baby took all the material from this earth and becomes fifty kilos. So what is in this body, how this body has come up?
Q: You talked about the body. I want to know what the connection is between the body and the five elements.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Earth, water, fire, air, ether - the five elements. If any one of this element is missing, this body cannot stay or sustain. Isn’t it? Earth element - food, water element, then you need fire element or heat. Without heat, this body cannot survive. Then is air – impossible for body to exist without it, and space or ether. The five elements have been the cause or reason for the body’s existence and what happens to this body? It has come out of the five elements and will go back to the five elements, this is science.
There are five elements in the dead body also. So what is the difference between a living and a dead body? In a living body, there is life and what is this life?  
When the question begins then you see oh, ‘PRANA’ - there is life force, and then you go deeper into the study of ‘PRANA’ and you see there is something more than ‘PRANA’.
What is that, that is the mind! Oh, then what is the mind? How many types of mind are there? How many functions of the mind are there? This curiosity takes you to the 'Art of Living'.
Q: Can you please talk in a little detail about these levels of existence you have talked about?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:  Mind, intellect, memory and ego are four functions of the mind or mind has these four aspects.
So what is mind? Are you listening? If your eyes are open and your ears are of course open, sound anyways goes into your ears but if your mind is elsewhere, can you listen to me? No! Isn’t it? So this mind is that through which you perceive, you feel, correct! That, which goes out through the five senses and experiences, is mind.
Okay! so if you experience through mind then what is intellect? As you experience you say, ‘oh, this is good, this is not good, I want this, I don’t want that’. You know intellect is the judging or discriminating aspect. As I am speaking now, your mind is saying, ‘well, I don’t like it’ or ‘I believe it’ or ‘I don’t believe it’, you are going into a dialogue, this is intellect; and then memory, that which stores all this information. So sometimes you feel, when you experience something, ‘oh! I have experienced this before’. When you enjoy apple pie, not for the first time, you say ‘oh I have enjoyed this before, I had this pie before’. So memory is recognizing the experiences and storing it in the memory and then ego.
Ego is – ‘I am something, I am intelligent, I am stupid, I like this, I don’t like that, I am rich, I am very poor, I am ugly or I am beautiful, I am something, I am’, that is ego. When you understand all this then you feel is this the thing? No! After understanding ego also, there is something left, what is this? That is the self.
Catch more in the next post...
When you are in a harmonious environment your mind picks up any excuse to be in conflict. So often small things are enough to create big turmoil. If you have a conflicting environment you tend to seek harmony ... Have you noticed this?

Ask yourself this question: Do you seek harmony in every situation or do you seek to widen the differences and prove your righteousness?

When your survival is at stake, you don't complain that nobody loves you. When you are safe and secure you start demanding attention. Many people create conflict in order to get attention.


The seed of negativity and the tendency for conflict in you can only be annihilated by Sadhana.


- Sri Sri

SUTRA: Don't stuck on words. Your worries are words. Your ideas are words. Wisdom is beyond words. Its the very Being. Its the essence of all words." - Sri Sri...

Sugar facts

One thing I will continue to do is take care of my heath.

Does this make me selfish. Probably but I am
okay with it.

One of my keys to health is to stay away from sugar.

The product that so many have people addicted.

Here are some facts about Sugar that you deserve to know.

Sugar causes degeneration which contributes to fat and
plague building up in our bodies.

It depletes our body’s stores of Vitamins and Minerals
Ex. Transport of Vitamin C

It interferes with essential fatty acid
Ex.  Inhibits the release of Linolic acid

Lowers the function of the adrenal and immune systems
Ex. Supports food allergies and destroys tissues

Lacking in bulk and fiber
Ex. Slows down speed at which food passes through
the digestive tract.

There is hope for every soul, for every human being, to live unconditional love

Faith and Doubt Faith brings totality in you. It pulls together all the loose ends of your consciousness. It integrates your whole personality. Doubt scatters you. Doubt destroys you. Worries Washed Away You can do this as an experiment: when you are very worried or tense, just sit by a flowing river or gushing water and just keep looking at the water. You know, within few moments you feel as though like a magnetic pull, that your mind is being pulled in the direction of the flow of water...and in a short while all that anguish, delusion, whatever you had, [with] the flowing water it all flows away. You become fresh. Influencing All Levels When you meditate, you are not just bringing a harmony within yourself, but you are influencing the subtle layers of creation, the subtle bodies of all the different levels of existence in the creation. The Human Body There is hope for every soul, for every human being, to live unconditional love. That is why human body is so precious---because in this body you have the ability to erase all the unwanted negative impressions. Sri Sri: Unfortunate are those who cry for the world. Fortunate are those who cry for the Divine. Unwise are those who make you cry for the world. Wise are those who make you cry for the Divine. The source of conflict is the division of "mine" and "yours." Knowledge eases the sense of limited belongingness and resolves this conflict. It is amazing when knowledge dawns in you that there is no stranger in the whole world! At the same time, the nearest one remains unknown to you. Shirish Suchak: Why do our nearest ones often remain strangers? Sri Sri: Because no one can understand anyone totally. Life is a mystery! Marcy: But Guruji, you understand us totally! (laughter) Sri Sri: Wake up and see. All these distinctions Ö "me, mine, others" Ö simply dissolve. || Jai Guru Dev || SUTRA: "We want love, pure love without misery, which brings joy and peace. Pure love turns into bliss." - Sri Sri To increase intelligence, you need to observe some silence. Silence is the mother of all invention. Take few moments, hours, days of silence." - Sri Sri... His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankhar's New book "Life at 100%" released on 26th August-2010. The book is an artful presentation of ancient wisdom and practical knowledge by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. In Life @ 100%, global humanitarian and spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar conveys life's simplest and most profound truths on topics such as success, relationships and health with unique wit and wisdom.

My healthy breakfast

Vermicelli is a healthy, low calorie breakfast and you can make it anytime you want to make one pot meal. I use Bambino sevai made of hard wheat and semolina (sooji). You can add any number of vegetables to this to make it more nutritious. By using pre- roasted vermicelli, you can cut back on the quantity of oil used plus your labor.

Recipe of Vermicelli

½ cup sevai (vermicelli)
1 tsp chana dal (Bengal gram)
1 tsp dhuli urad dal (split black gram)
½ tsp mustard seeds
2 tsp peanuts
1 onion- chopped
2 green chillies- chopped
Vegetables like green peas and carrot (diced)
2 cup water
4 tsp oil
Salt to taste
½ tsp turmeric powder

1. Heat 2 tsp oil in a non- stick pan and roast sevai till golden. Take out sevia from the pan.

2. Heat 2 tsp oil in the same pan and add mustard seeds. When they splutter, add chana dal and after 2-3 seconds, add urad dal, peanuts and broken cashews. Roast till light brown. See to it that they don’t get burned.

3. Add onion and green chillies. Sauté for few seconds and add turmeric powder. Cook for 2 seconds.

4. Add vegetables, salt and water. Cook covered till vegetables are tender.

5. Add sevai or semiya (vermicelli), mix and cook covered on medium heat for 3-4 minutes. Make sure there is some water left in the pan after the vegetables are cooked otherwise add some because vermicelli needs water in which to be cooked.

6. Turn off the heat and let it stand covered for few more minutes. Let all water evaporate and get absorbed.

 100 grams of vermicelli (sevai, sevia, semiya) contains 361 k calories, 10.5gram Protein, 77.5grams Total Carbohydrates, 2gram fiber, 1gram Total Fat, 2mg Calcium and 2mg Iron.

The above portion size that I had for my breakfast has about 190 calories.

I know it is bad and yet I do it. Why do I do it? And how to get rid of this?

Q: I know it is bad and yet I do it. Why do I do it? And how to get rid of this?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: You know it is bad and you still do it. Why do you do it, are you asking me? That is ok. You should wish that circumstances would change and know that opposite values are complementary. That gives you the strength. And, know that things change.
There are only two reasons why you don’t follow knowledge or wisdom:

First: Bad habits. Old habits don’t leave you so fast.

Second: Your temptation of doing wrong gives some pleasure. For example, you know that eating too much of ice cream would increase your sugar level as your doctor has warned you, but your temptation says, 'No, I should eat that. Just one more day let me eat it.' You do it because it gives you pleasure.

It is ok, you can violate the laws as long as you are ready to take the consequences. Eating after 8 pm is not good, you know? But if you still do, then keep awake in the night, keep burping and keep suffering with indigestion! If it is ok with you, then do it.

So, only these two things stop you from following the knowledge.

Like, you know that smoking is bad for health but you still smoke. Smoking is not giving you any great pleasure but to drop it has become so difficult because it has got ingrained as a bad habit in you.
Now, habits can be overcome only through three things:
One is out of greed. Say, someone tells you that you will get one million dollars if you don’t smoke for one whole month then you will say, 'Why one month, I will not smoke for 35 days. Five extra days to make sure the counting is right.' Greed can stop you from habits that you don’t like.

The other is fear. If someone says you will get these different types of cancer if you smoke, then you won’t touch it.

Third is the promise to a loved one. If you made a promise to a loved one then also you won’t do it. The love for them will will stop you from smoking.

So, I prefer the last one to the other two.

Or, in the end you will realize by yourself, 'Oh! It is painful. It is misery that I am buying by continuing with this habit.' So, one day when you realize this, then it will drop the habit itself.
Only speak Knowledge. Don't repeat anything that someone tells you or opinions about anyone that someone states -- "That so-and-so said such-and-such about you." If someone comes to tell you such things, discourage them. Don't believe it.

If someone blames you directly, know that they are taking away your bad karma and let it go. Don't believe in it, and if you're one of the Guru's close ones, you will take all of the blame of the world with a smile.

Conflict is the nature of the world; comfort is the nature of the self. Amidst the conflict seek the comfort.

When you are bored with the comfort, get into the games of the world. When you are tired of the games of the world, get into the comforts of the Self. If you are one of the Guru's close ones, you do both simultaneously. Trying to end conflict prolongs it. Face the conflict by seeking the comfort of the Self.

God is alive in the world and has been putting up with all the ongoing conflicts throughout the ages. If God can put up with all the conflicts, you can too. The moment you agree to be with the conflict, the conflict disappears.

People who love peace do not want to fight, and those who fight do not love peace. Those who want peace want to run away. What is needed here is to be peaceful within and then fight. The whole message of the Gita is to be peaceful yourself and then fight. Krishna tells Arjuna to fight but be in peace at the same time. Does this ring a bell?

In the world, you resolve one conflict and another one comes up. For example, Russia is solved and then Bosnia arises. You make one better, and then another starts up. Your body gets a cold, then you get better; then your back hurts, then it gets better. Your body gets better, and then the mind goes. The world runs like this, isn't it?

Without any intention, misunderstandings happen. It's not up to you to try to resolve them. Ignore them and be alive.


- Sri Sri

Guruji's Knowledge Sheet: Compassion and Karma

There are two types of compassion. One is the compassion of the wise, one is that of the ignorant.

An ignorant person's compassion is on the fruit of an action whereas a wise person's compassion is towards the non-availability of knowledge. Compassion for suffering shows ignorance. Suffering comes because of karma, and if you believe in karma, where is compassion? One reaps the fruit of one's actions.

If a judge has compassion for all the offenders then the jails will be empty. At the same time, are the judges cruel to the offenders? No; the judges' compassion is for the non-availability of knowledge, not for the suffering of the criminals. It is their karma.

Often people think compassion is an act, an action. Know that compassion is your very nature. Then you will see that karma and compassion are not contradictory but complement each other.

Suppose two people come to a hospital. One is suffering from starvation, the other is ill from overeating. What type of compassion should the doctor have towards each of them? This is a riddle for you to solve!

- Sri Sri

|| Jai Guru Dev ||


SUTRA: "The most wonderful thing on the planet is to have tears of love, tears of gratitude. That makes our life rich and fulfilled." - Sri Sri... 


1. What to do if your commitment is boring?

Commitment has value when things are not so charming. When things are interesting you do not need commitment at all. You never say you are committed to doing something that is very interesting or charming.

2. Learning is inevitable. By doing things right you learn, and by doing things wrong you also learn. From every situation, from everybody, you learn either what to do or what not to do. Either by mistakes or by doing things correctly, you cannot but learn. Learning is inevitable.
It is only when you sleep that you do not learn. And if you are asleep in your life, there is neither pain nor pleasure nor learning. Most people are in such deep slumber. That is why many people do not even make an effort to get out of pain.

3. Question: How to improve patience?
Sri Sri: Can I tell you next year? (Laughter)

4. Question: How to improve memory?
Sri Sri: Ask me this question later. (Laughter)

*****
|| Jai Guru Dev ||
Sutra: To increase intelligence, you need to observe some silence. Silence is the mother of all invention. Take few moments, hours, days of silence."
- Sri Sri...

Woman and career

I just read Shuchita's blog post and totally went into introspective mood. I thought, I had to write this. Career vs family responsibility for a woman. Generally, it is the woman who gives up on their high flying careers for the sake of family and gets financially dependent on her man. Sometimes, they are forced to do so by their families/partner/circumstances and sometimes they do it out of choice. They are devoted housewives, mother etc. But as their kids grow older, they look back and regret. They are financially dependent and sometimes less respected. On the other hand, if they choose their corporate jobs, they live in a guilt of leaving their small kids and spending less time with them. So how to strike a right balance?

Well I can only talk about myself here. I had a similar dilemma. I am a very family person. My priority would always be my children, come what may. I could not have survived a corporate job when I would leave in the morning and see my child in the evening. I loved to pick and drop my children, be with them when they came back from school, eat with them, listen to their stories. I wanted to enjoy their childhood. I would have been shattered if I would have to sit in an office when my boys came back home. No career was worth it. Yet, I am very strong and independent person too. I want my own financial independence, my own credibility, my own decision involved in shaping my career, my own set of friends to interact with. Yes, I am out and out an extrovert. I NEED TO socialize, talk, go out on lunches etc with friends. I cannot sit and sulk indoors or be a doormat or just a contended housewife. That is not me.  (Please, do not get me wrong. I am not underestimating any housewife or her full time job here. Here I am only talking about me and my perspectives and the way I function).

So I had my mid path. I am a qualified fashion designer (thats why this interest in fashion in my blogs) and my husband is in garments. But working with him, would not have given me my independence. My name, my company.

So I set up something different 15 years back. We would not go into details of my certifications as a fitness trainer here. That you can read here.

I set up to work as a fitness trainer in my own fitness centre which is in the premises of my own house.
It gave me the flexibility to work and yet be around my family. I also made sure that my work was only when my boys were at school. And I offered good quality and result oriented regime to my clients and made sure that they achieved their goals. When I am in my studio, I am an absolute professional. That is why, I could carve a niche for myself in the field of fitness. Today, I can proudly say that I am the most professionally qualified, experienced and result oriented fitness trainer, with a very credible reputation. I meet happy people and spread health and happiness. I am truly Blessed. And there is certainly a Divine Grace that has helped me to do what I wanted in my own way and on my own terms.  I enjoy life. I  am my own Boss. And icing on the cake is that I have the Best possible clients, who are more of my friends,  whom I truly look forward to meeting. I have a loving family. I love my work. Could life be any better? Touchwood. It is all My Guru's Grace. I know, with HIM around, everything is taken care of.

Here are few more pics in the dress that I wore for my Birthday

Dress: Ranna Gill

Watch: Fossil

Sandals: Salvatore Ferragamo