Ayurveda - Winter Well-being

Here's a short article to help you to stay balanced during the season of Vata..
Stay warm during the Winter spell:-)
With Goddess love, energy and warmth,
Anil xox

5 Ayurvedic Tips to Staying Balanced in Winter

What to Eat and Drink
Thousands of years ago, the Vedic sages understood that the great rhythms and forces of nature- the alternation of day and night, the rhythmic cycle of seasons- all affect us, as do the seasons and cycles of human life. Being in tune with nature, they knew, also means being in tune with your individual constitution, or prakruti, which is comprised of three subtle energies: vata, the energy of movement; pitta, the energy of digestion or metabolism; and kapha, the energy of lubrication and structure.

 

How to Adapt
While you can’t control the weather, you can control certain factors (the food you eat, the type and amount of exercise you do, the herbs you ingest, and so on), which either build your health, vitality, and resistance to disease, or wear you down. Here is ayurveda’s view on winter- and what you can do to stay balanced this season.

In winter, the sky is often cloudy and gray, the weather is cold, damp, and heavy, and life, even in the cities, moves more slowly. Welcome to the season of kapha. When balanced, kapha supplies strength, vigor, and stability to both body and mind. This subtle energy is responsible for lubricating the joints, moisturizing the skin, and maintaining immunity. But in excess, it can lead to sluggishness, mucus-related illnesses, excess weight, and negative emotions such as attachment, envy, and greed.

In general, we should follow a kapha-pacifying regimen in the winter. But dry, cold, windy weather can provoke vata, too, and can lead to arthritis, indigestion, and other problems. To calm both vata and kapha when temperatures plummet, read on.

Morning Routine
Ayurveda suggests waking up a bit later in the winter (around 7 a.m.) than you would in other seasons. Upon rising, scrape your tongue to remove the dead bacteria and yeast that have accumulated overnight, and to improve circulation to the visceral organs. Then brush your teeth with toothpaste made from heating herbs such as cinnamon, clove, bilva, and haritaki. Next, drink a cup of warm water to stimulate a bowel movement. Then treat yourself to a quick massage. Rub warmed sesame oil all over your entire body (it’s heating and good for all prakrutis in the winter). Let the oil soak in for 5 to 10 minutes, then take a hot shower and exfoliate your skin.

Conclude your morning regimen with yoga, pranayama, and meditation. Surya Namaskara (sun salutation) and poses that open the chest, throat, and sinuses remove congestion in the respiratory organs. Try the fish, boat, bow, locust, lion, and camel poses, along with the shoulderstand and the headstand, if you can do it. Follow this with a systematic relaxation and a few rounds of bhastrika, the breath of fire. This breathing practice builds heat and eliminates mucus from the respiratory tract.

After meditating, it’s important to eat a nutrious breakfast. If you don’t feed your digestive fire in the morning, it will dry up bodily tissues and provoke vata. Enjoy a bowl of oatmeal, barley, cornmeal, tapioca, or poha (basmati rice flakes) mildly spiced with cinnamon. An hour after breakfast, boil 1/2 teaspoon of fresh or powdered ginger, 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon, and a pinch of ground clove in a cup of hot water for 5 minutes. Drink this tea to increase your digestive fire, improve circulation, and reduce excess mucus. (Skip the tea if you have an ulcer or another inflammation-oriented problem).

Indoor Activities
Join a gym, do a workout video, or hit the treadmill to increase circulation and quell kapha. Soak up sunlight, too. Sit by a window to bathe in early morning or evening light. Sun rays relax the muscles, produce vitamin D, soothe Seasonal Affective Disorder, and help the body maintain healthy sleep rhythms.

What to Eat and Drink
Incorporate whole wheat unyeasted bread, buttermilk, cottage cheese, steamed vegetables, warm soup cooked with ghee (clarified butter), and spicy food into your meals. Because your appetite is heartier in the winter, eat more protein- beans, tofu, eggs- and if you’re not a strict vegetarian, chicken, turkey, and fish. Add warming spices such as cinnamon, cloves, and black pepper to promote digestion. Drinking a few ounces of sweet or dry wine with your meals will stoke your agni (digestive fire), improve your appetite, and increase circulation. Avoid cold drinks (they aggravate kapha and vata) and opt for hot water, hot tea, and occasionally, hot cocoa or chai.

Staying Warm
Avoid cold drafts, wear warm clothes, and don’t forget to wear a hat outside. (Grandma was right: more than half of the body’s heat is lost through the head.) Also, cover your ears and neck to keep vata and kapha in check.

 

Curing a Cold
Ayurvedically speaking, colds are a kapha-vata disorder. The body builds up an excess of cool and moist kapha qualities, resulting in congestion and a runny nose, and at the same time it may suffer from excess vata, which reduces agni, leading to chills, loss of appetite, and poor digestion.

Here’s help.

Try ginger. It’s the best remedy for colds. Drink ginger tea, take a bath infused with ginger and baking soda (put 1/3 cup of baking soda and 1/3 cup of powdered ginger into a hot tub and then soak the body from the neck down), or try a ginger steam treatment. Boil one teaspoon powdered ginger in a pint of water. Turn off the stove, put a towel over your head, and inhale the steam through your nostrils for about 5 minutes. This will relieve congestion and help you feel much better.

 

Take vitamin C. Try 500 mg daily for up to three months.

Use natural nose drops. Lubricate the nasal passages and relieve the irritation and sneezing of a cold with nasya. Lie on your back, face up, with a pillow under your shoulders and your head tilted back, so your nostrils are facing the ceiling. Put 3 to 5 drops liquefied ghee in each nostril and gently sniff the oil upward into the nose. You can do nasya in the morning and night (on an empty stomach and at least one hour before or after showering).

Drink hot water. Drinking hot water several times a day removes toxins from the system and speeds up your recovery time.

 

Avoid dairy products. Strictly avoid dairy products, including yogurt, cheese, milk, and ice cream, until your congestion clears up.

 

Why Is Your Appetite Stronger in the Winter?
In response to cold weather, the body constricts the skin pores and superficial connective tissue to prevent heat loss, which directs the heat away from the peripheral tissues and into the body’s core, including the stomach. Agni (and, therefore, your appetite) becomes stronger in winter. However, if kapha or vata are provoked, agni plummets, leaving you more susceptible to colds, poor circulation, joint pains, and negative emotions.

 

Winter no-no’s
Avoid cold drinks, fasting, late nights, naps, exposure to cold drafts and wind, and stay physically active.

Navaratri: The 9 Divine Nights - 28th Sept-5th Oct 2011

Starting Wednesday 28th September, we begin 9 divine nights celebration and worship of the 3 Goddesses, Durga (the Goddess of strength and power), Lakshmi (the  Goddess of wealth) and Saraswati (the Goddess of knowledge and learning). The festival leads to spiritual growth of a person.

Enjoy the Dance, Enjoy the Flow...Happy Navaratri...
With Goddess love and eternal blessings,
Anil xox

"Nava-ratri" literally means "nine nights." This festival is observed twice a year, once in the beginning of summer and again at the onset of winter. 

What's the Significance of Navratri?

During Navaratri, we invoke the energy aspect of God in the form of the universal mother, commonly referred to as "Durga," which literally means the remover of miseries of life. She is also referred to as "Devi" (goddess) or "Shakti" (energy or power). It is this energy, which helps God to proceed with the work of creation, preservation and destruction. In other words, you can say that God is motionless, absolutely changeless, and the Divine Mother Durga, does everything. Truly speaking, our worship of Shakti re-confirms the scientific theory that energy is imperishable. It cannot be created or destroyed. It is always there.

Why Worship the Mother Goddess?

We think this energy is only a form of the Divine Mother, who is the mother of all, and all of us are her children. "Why mother; why not father?", you may ask. Let me just say that we believe that God's glory, his cosmic energy, his greatness and supremacy can best be depicted as the motherhood aspect of God. Just as a child finds all these qualities in his or her mother, similarly, all of us look upon God as mother. In fact, Hinduism is the only religion in the world, which gives so much importance to the mother aspect of God because we believe that mother is the creative aspect of the absolute. 

Fasting is one of the highlights of Navratri. People observe fast for either seven or eight days, to honor Goddess Shakti. While many people break their fast on the eighth day (Ashtami) of Navratri by worshipping young girls, others do the same thing on the ninth day (Navami) of the festival, to culminate the celebrations. All through the seven or eight days of fasting, the people would survive on a diet especially formulated for the fast. It typically consists of fruits, milk and its products, sago recipes, potato recipes (both cooked without spices). Sendha namak (rock salt) is used for the recipes of Navratri fast. On the day when they break fast, they would worship young girls, seek their blessings in return of which, the devotees would offer money and prasad as the dakshina.

The celebrations of Navratri are characterized by the worship of Goddess Shakti. Although people in different regions celebrate the festival in different ways, according to their indigenous customs, the thought among everyone is the same - to invoke Goddess Shakti and seek her blessings. In Maharashtra, the nine nights of Navratri are dedicated to worship of the deity and dance performances, typically dandiya (a folk dance performed by men and women). In Gujarat, Garba dance is performed during the festival, while in South India, worship of the deity is given importance. It is interesting to see the Hindu people, belonging to different regions of India, to celebrate Navratri with equal enthusiasm, every year. 

Why Twice a Year? 

Every year the beginning of summer and the beginning of winter are two very important junctures of climatic change and solar influence. These two junctions have been chosen as the sacred opportunities for the worship of the divine power because:

(1) We believe that it is the divine power that provides energy for the earth to move around the sun, causing the changes in the outer nature and that this divine power must be thanked for maintaining the correct balance of the universe.

(2) Due to the changes in the nature, the bodies and minds of people undergo a considerable change, and hence, we worship the divine power to bestow upon all of us enough potent powers to maintain our physical and mental balance.

Why Nine Nights & Days? 

Navaratri is divided into sets of three days to adore different aspects of the supreme goddess. On the first three days, the Mother is invoked as powerful force called Durga in order to destroy all our impurities, vices and defects. The next three days, the Mother is adored as a giver of spiritual wealth, Lakshmi, who is considered to have the power of bestowing on her devotees the inexhaustible wealth. The final set of three days is spent in worshipping the mother as the goddess of wisdom, Saraswati. In order have all-round success in life, we need the blessings of all three aspects of the divine mother; hence, the worship for nine nights.

Shakti

Unique Attributes : Divine mother, strength, compassion, energy, power

Shakti Peeths : 51 Shakti peeths in India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Tibet, Nepal, Pakistan. E.g. Katyani Devi, Mansa Devi, Naina Devi, Vaishno Devi etc.

Forms of Shakti : Parvati, Sati, Durga, Kali, Uma, Kamakshi, Lakshmi

Consort : Shiva / Vishnu / Brahma

Shakti in Hindu belief is the all encompassing divine mother who is the supreme feminine being and it is from her that other forms of goddesses take birth. Shakti literally means energy and power and it is she who is the original force behind the creation and sustenance of the Universe. She is the Shakti behind the trinity of Gods and their avatars as their consorts. There are varied forms she acquires in keeping with the situation. At one point she becomes Durga or Kali acquiring a deadly and ferocious form to end the reign of demons from earth. In a friction of second she turns into Gauri or Kamakshi the ever enduring figure of motherly love and compassion.

Shakti as the underlying force of the entire Universe is generally referred to as Devi which is derived from the Sanskrit root 'div' meaning to shine. The Mahadevi or Shakti is the supreme cosmic being who despite the destruction of everything is the one which is going to remain. She is the Universal creator, destroyer, sustainer and mother all in one. Without her consent nothing in this world can function. As mentioned above every god in Hindu belief has his Shakti and without her he has no power.

Shakti is known to have taken birth in her nine forms which all have different attributes. In some Hindu mythological accounts there is variation and it is believed that the Devi Shakti was married only to Lord Shiva with their birth over successive years. The nine forms of Devi Shakti are as follows - Sati, Parvati, Gayatri, Rudrani, Narayani, Chamunda, Ganga, Laxmi and Kali. There are fifty one Shakti peeths across India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Burma, Sri Lanka where Shakti is worshipped in different forms. These Shakti peeths are believed to be the places where Devi Sati's parts fell after she gave up herself in the holy fire. Shakti is the primeval source of energy and is the ultimate personification of the feminine divine aspect.

 SOFT MOON SHINING

  My beloved Divine Mother

  Dance with me

  under the soft moon shining

  in the wide open fields

  far beyond the toil and trouble

      of my busy mind

  Dance with me

    before the night grows old

      while the winds of love

      still bow the grasses

        and the coyotes howl for you

        to step their way

  Dance with me my beloved

    while the Mystery's Edge

      still flirts in the shadow

        of your radiant light

MORNING HUMMINGBIRD

Beloved Mother

I am your morning hummingbird

  hovering in dreamlike winds

  around the fragrant rose

    of your radiant heart light

Sipping the sweet white nectar of your divine love

  I am nourished and sustained

  I am ablaze with whirling galaxies

    of undivided joy

I am drunk and swooning

  as I press my long slender beak

  deep into the luminous petals

    of your Great Heart

    to sip the rapturous flowing currents

      of your shining being

I LOVE YOU

Mother of endless grace
Have I told you today
    that I love you?

Did I forget to tell you yesterday?

Because there is no joy
    outside of our love

Every heart is a river
    that flows into your shoreless ocean

Every ray of light
    is a golden tipped arrow
        filling space with the love
            of your timeless being

Every soul is a mirror
    destined to reflect love's immortal victory

My sweet Mother of the Universe
    I dissolve like sugar
        in your warm embrace

And the only thing left to say
    is "I love you"

The Devi Mantra
देवी मंत्र

The following mantra describes the various qualities of Devi Ma.

---

The Devi Mantra

Ya Devi Sarva Bhutesu Maa rupena samsthita

Ya Devi Sarva Bhutesu Shakti rupena samsthita

Ya Devi Sarva Bhutesu Buddhi rupena samsthita

Ya Devi Sarva Bhutesu Laxmi rupena samsthita

Namestasyai II Namestasyai II Namestasyai

Namo Namah

---

Meaning of  Devi Mantra

To the Divine Goddess who resides in all existence in the form of universal mother

To the Divine Goddess who resides in all existence in the form of energy

To the Divine Goddess who resides in all existence in the form of intellegence

To the Divine Goddess who resides in all existence in the form of true wealth

We bow to her, we bow to her, continually we bow to her

  

Mirabai - Princess Goddess devotee to Sri Krishna

Mirabai (1498-1550)

Mirabai was a great saint/seer/Goddess/Rajput Rani and devotee of Sri Krishna.
She wrote the most beautiful, deep, powerful poems of her Beloved Krishna.
I feel so inspired by her beautiful writings and powerful heart opening poems.
May the following article and poems awaken the inner Goddess in you as it does me each time I read Mirabai's heartfelt ecstatic poems..

With Goddess love, light, radiance and flow,
Anil xox

In All My Lives

In all my lives you have been with me;
      whether day or night I remember.
When you fall out of my sight, I am restless
      day and night, burning.
I climb hilltops; I watch for signs of your return;
      my eyes are swollen with tears.
The ocean of life— that's not genuine the ties
      of family, the obligations to the world—
      they're not genuine.
It is your beauty that makes me drunk.
Mira's Lord is the Great Dark Snake. That love
      comes up from the ground of the heart.

Mira the Bee

O my friends
What can you tell me of Love,
Whose pathways are filled with strangeness?
When you offer the Great One your love,
At the first step you body is crushed.
Next be ready to offer your head as his seat.
Be ready to orbit his lamp like a moth
      giving in to the light,
To live in the deer as she runs toward
      the hunter's call,
In the partridge that swallows hot coals
      for love of the moon,
In the fish that, kept from the sea, happily dies.
Like a bee trapped for life in the closing
      of the sweet flower.
Mira has offered herself to her Lord.
She says, the single Lotus will swallow you whole.

Polish into Gold

I give my heart without fear to the Beloved:
As the polish goes into the gold, I have gone into him.
Through many lives, I heard only the outer music.
Now the teacher has whispered into my ears,
And familiar ties have gone the way of weak thread.
Mira has met the Energy That Lifts Mountains—
That good luck now is her home.

The Necklace

O friend, I sit alone while the world sleeps.
In the palace that held love's pleasure
      the abandoned one sits.
She who once threaded a necklace of pearls
      is now stringing tears.
He has left me. The night passes while I count stars.
When will the Hour arrive?
This sorrow must end. Mira says:
      Lifter of Mountains, return.

Mira the Lotus

My Lord, the love that binds us cannot be broken.
It is hard as the diamond that shatters
      the hammer that strikes it.
As polish goes into the gold, my heart
      has gone into you.
As a lotus lives in its water, I am rooted in you.
Like the bird that gazes all night at the passing moon,
I have blinded myself in giving my eyes to your beauty.
She who offers herself completely asks only this:
That her Lord love Mira as fully as he is loved.

— Mirabai (1498-1550)

Versions by Robert Bly & Jane Hirshfield Mirabai: Ecstatic Poems (2004)

A Great Yogi

In my  travels I spent time with a great Yogi.
Once he said to me
"Become so still you hear the blood flowing
through your veins".

One night as I sat in quiet
I seemed on the verge of entering a world inside so vast
I know it is the source of all of us.

Mirabai Biography

Mirabai was a great saint and devotee of Sri Krishna. Despite facing criticism and hostility from her own family, she lived an exemplary saintly life and composed many devotional bhajans. Historical information about the life of Mirabai is a matter of some scholarly debate. The oldest biographical account was Priyadas’s commentary in Nabhadas’ Sri Bhaktammal in 1712. Nevertheless there are many aural histories, which give an insight into this unique poet and Saint of India.

Early Life Mirabai 

 

Mira was born around the start of the 16th Century in the Chaukari village in Merta, Rajasthan. Her father was Ratan Singh a descendent of Rao Rathor, the founder of Jodhpur. When Mirabai was only 3 years old, a wandering Sadhu came to her family’s home and gave a doll of Sri Krishna to her father. Her father took this is as a special blessing, but was initially unwilling to give it to her daughter, because she felt she would not appreciate it. However Mira had, at first sight, become deeply enamoured with this doll. She refused to eat until the doll of Sri Krishna was given to her. To Mira, this figure of Sri Krishna, embodied his living presence. She resolved to make Krishna her lifelong friend, lover, and husband. Throughout her turbulent life she never wavered from her youthful commitment.

On one occasion when Mira was still young she saw a wedding procession going down the street. Turning to her mother she asked in innocence, “Who will be my husband?” Her mother replied, half in jest, half in seriousness. “You already have your husband, Sri Krishna.” Mira’s mother was supportive of her daughter’s blossoming religious tendencies, but she passed away when she was only young. 

At an early age Mira’s father arranged for her to be married to Prince Bhoj Raj, who  was the eldest son of Rana Sanga of Chittor. They were an influential Hindu family and the marriage significantly elevated Mira’s social position. However Mira was not enamoured of the luxuries of the palace. She served her husband dutifully, but in the evening she would spend her time in devotion and singing to her beloved Sri Krishna. Whilst singing devotional bhajans, she would frequently lose awareness of the world, entering into states of ecstasy and trance. 

Go to that impenetrable realm
That death himself trembles to look upon.
There plays the fountain of love
With swans sporting on its waters.

Conflict with Family

However her new family did not approve of her piety and devotion to Krishna. To make things worse Mira refused to worship their family deity Durga. She said she had already committed herself to Sri Krishna. Her family became increasingly disproving of her actions, but the fame and saintly reputation of Mirabai spread throughout the region. Often she would spend time discussing spiritual issues with Sadhus and people would join in the singing of her bhajans. However this just made her family even more jealous. Mira’s sister-in-law Udabai started to spread false gossip and defamatory remarks about Mirabai. She said Mira was entertaining men in her room. Her husband, believing these stories to be true, tore into her room with sword in hand. However he saw Mira only playing with a doll. No man was there at all. Yet throughout these hysterical slanders Mirabai remained unmoved by both the criticism and praise of the world.

This infamy, O my Prince
is delicious!
Some revile me,
others applaud,
I simply follow my incomprehensible road
A razor thin path
but you meet some good people,
A terrible path but you hear a true word
Turn back?
Because the wretched stare and see nothing?
O Mira's Lord is noble and dark,
and slanderers
rake only themselves
over the coals 

Mirabai and Akbar

Mira’s fame spread far and wide her devotional bhajans were sung across northern India. It is said that the fame and spirituality of Mirabai reached the ears of the Moghul Emperor Akbar. Akbar was tremendously powerful, but he was also very interested in different religious paths. The problem was that he and Mirabai’s family were the worst enemies; to visit Mirabai would cause problems for both him and Mirabai. But Akbar was determined to see Mirabai, the Princess – Saint. Disguised in the clothes of beggars he travelled with Tansen to visit Mirabai. Akbar was so enamoured of her soulful music and devotional singing, that he placed at her feet a priceless necklace before leaving. However in the course of time Akbar’s visit came to the ears of her husband Bhoj Raj. He was furious that a Muslim and his own arch enemy and set eyes upon his wife. He ordered Mirabai to commit suicide by drowning in a river. Mirabai intended to honour her husbands command, but as she was entering the river Sri Krishna appeared to her and commanded her to leave for Brindaban where she could worship him in peace. So with a few followers, Mirabai left for Brindaban, where she spent her time in devotion to Sri Krishna. After a while her husband became repentant, feeling that her wife was actually a real saint. Thus he travelled to Brindaban and requested her to return. Mirabai agreed, much to the displeasure of the rest of her family.

However soon after Mira’s husband died;( fighting in battles with the Moghul emperors). This made the situation even worse for Mirabai. Her father in law, Rana Sanga, saw her husband’s death as a way to be rid of Mirabai. He commanded her to commit Sati. However Mirabai, with the inner direct assurance of her beloved Sri Krishna, said that she would not do this. Her real husband, Sri Krishna had not died. She would later say in her poetry.

"sati na hosyan girdhar gansyan mhara man moho ghananami", 

"I will not commit sati. I will sing the songs of Girdhar Krishna, and will not become sati because my heart is enamoured of Hari."

After this experience her family continued to torture her. They restricted her movements and sought to make her life as uncomfortable as possible. Yet in the face of all these trials and tribulation she remained detached from her physical suffering. There was nothing that could disturb her inner connection to Giridhara (epithet of Sri Krishna as young cowherd boy). It is said that twice her family tried to kill her, once through a venomous snake and once through poisonous drink. On both occasions it is said Mirabai, protected by the Grace of Sri Krishna, came to no ill harm.

Mirabai in Brindaban

However the relentless torments and hostility interfered with her life of devotion and contemplation on Krishna. She sought the advice of learned men and Saints. They advised her to leave the palace and return to Brindaban. Secretly with some followers she slipped out of the palace and escaped to the holy city of Brindaban. In Brindaban Mirabai was free to worship Giridhara to her heart’s content. She would spend her time in singing bhajans and in ecstatic communion with Krishna. Like a true Bhakti she worshipped God wholeheartedly. The riches of the world offered no attraction to Mirabai; her only satisfaction came from her single minded devotion  to Sri Krishna. Her soul was ever yearning for Krishna. She considered herself to be a Gopi of Vrindaban, mad only with pure love for Krishna.

I am mad with love
And no one understands my plight.
Only the wounded
Understand the agonies of the wounded,
When the fire rages in the heart.
Only the jeweller knows the value of the jewel,
Not the one who lets it go.
In pain I wander from door to door,
But could not find a doctor.
Says Mira: Harken, my Master,
Mira's pain will subside
When Shyam comes as the doctor.

Her devotion and spiritual magnetism were infectious. She inspired many to follow the path of Vaishnavism. As Swami Sivananda stated:

“Mira wafted the fragrance of devotion far and wide. Those who came in contact with her were affected by her strong current of Prem. Mira was like Lord Gauranga. She was an embodiment of love and innocence. Her heart was the temple of devotion. Her face was the lotus-flower of Prem. There was kindness in her look, love in her talk, joy in her discourses, power in her speech and fervour in her songs.”

Even learned Sadhus would come to her for inspiration. There is a story of one respected Spiritual Master, who refused to speak to Mirabai because she was a woman. Mirabai replied there was only 1 real man in Brindaban, Sri Krishna; everyone else was a Gopi of Krishna. On hearing this the Spiritual teacher accepted the wisdom of Mirabai and agreed to talk to her. Later Mirabai would become his student.

Poems of Mirabai

Much of what we know about Mirabai comes from her poetry. Her poetry express the longing and seeking of her soul for union with Sri Krishna. At time she expresses the pain of separation and at other times the ecstasy of divine union. Her devotional poems were designed to be sung as bhajans and many are still sung today.

“Mira’s songs infuse faith, courage, devotion and love of God in the minds of the readers. They inspire the aspirants to take to the path of devotion and they produce in them a marvelous thrill and a melting of the heart.”

Mirabai was a devotee of the highest order. She was immune to the criticism and suffering of the world. She was born a princess but forsook the pleasures of a palace for begging on the streets of Brindaban. She lived during a time of war and spiritual decline, but her life offered a shining example of the purest devotion.  Many were inspired by her infectious devotion and spontaneous love for Sri Krishna. Mirabai showed how a seeker could attain union with God, only through love. Her only message was that Krishna was her all.

My Beloved dwells in my heart,
I have actually seen that Abode of Joy.
Mira's Lord is Hari, the Indestructible.
My Lord, I have taken refuge with Thee,
Thy slave.

It is said in her death she melted into the heart of Krishna. Tradition relates how one day she was singing in a temple, when Sri Krishna appeared in his subtle form. Sri Krishna was so pleased with his dearest devotee. He opened up his heart centre and Mirabai entered leaving her body whilst in the highest state of Krishna consciousness. 

Sri Chinmoy says of Mirabai:

“Mirabai was a devotee of the high, higher, highest order. Among the saints of India, she is absolutely unparalleled. She composed many, many bhajans, which are prayerful songs to God. Each song Mirabai wrote expressed her inspiration, aspiration and sleepless self-giving"

By: Tejvan Pettinger 

Web Links to Mirabai


• Wikipedia: Mirabai
    (Biography, Origins, Philosophies, Poetry, Religious, References)

• Women's Voices: Mirabai
    (Online Sites, In print translations, Secondary sources)

• Old Poetry: Mirabai
    (Brief Bio, 34 poems of Mirabai)

• Poet Seers: Mirabai
    (35 poems of Mirabai in three volumes of translation)

• For Love of the Dark One: Songs of Mirabai
    (Andrew Schelling's translations of 86 Mirabai poems)

• Touched by the Divine
    Review of John Stratton Hawley's
    Three Bhakti Voices: Mirabai, Surdas, Kabir
    (By Sayantan Dasgupta, The Telegraph, Calcutta, Oct. 7, 2005)

• VIRAHA in Bhakta Meera's Songs
    (Discourse by Vasanti Mataji, Feb. 1, 2002, Westchester, CA)

• Mirabai: The Rebellious Rajput Rani
    (Essay by Bill Garlington, Arts Dialogue, March, June, Sept. 1997)

• Bibliography on Mirabai
    (17 book & journal references compiled by Lance Nelson)

• Painting of Mirabai
    (Mirabai playing music to a peacock)

Other Sources:

• Mirabai - Women Saints East and West Article by Mrs Lajwanti Madan ISBN 0874810361
• Women Writing in India: 600 B.C. to the Present. vol.I, Susie Tharu and K. Lalita, editors, The Feminist Press, 1991.  ISBN 0 – 04 440873-0
• Mirabai: The Rebellious Rajput Rani by Bill Garlington, U.S.A.
• Mirabai at Other Women's Voices
• Poems by Mirabai at Poetry Chaikhana

An Ayurvedic Summer

Shirodhara Treatment

 What is Ayurveda?

Ayurveda is the ancient Indian philosophy of health and wellbeing. It means the ‘art of living wisely.’ In simple terms, Ayurveda is a holistic system which guides us so that we can live a healthier and more balanced lifestyle. It recognises that we are all unique and focuses on food, lifestyle, massage, yoga and herbal remedies to suit our individual make-up.

Ayurveda is timeless - it has existed for over 4000 years but yet it still applies to modern day life. The key to its longevity is because Ayurveda is logical. An early description given in the Charaka Samhita (the earliest Ayurvedic literature) written circa 150BCE-100CE says:

“It is called ayurveda because it tells us which substances, qualities and actions are life enhancing, and which are not.”

The wisdom of Ayurveda encourages us to take responsibility for our own health according to the different stages of our lives, the seasons, and the environment we live, work and play in. These factors all have a big impact on our health and it makes sense to adapt our lifestyle accordingly so we can continue to live in harmony with our body and stay at optimum health.

The doshas:

In Ayurveda we are said to have body-mind types, these are known as dosha and consist of vata, pitta and kapha. Each dosha has certain attributes and describes our individual characteristics, inherited traits, our likes and dislikes and our tendencies.

Generally we are a combination of dosha but one will usually dominate. If a dosha becomes out of balance, which can happen for a number of reasons, it can effect how we behave and even our health.

Typcial characteristics of each dosha type:

Vata types tend to be visionary, imaginative and full of creative energy but when they are out of balance they can be forgetful, spaced out, anxious and uptight. Typical vata problems are erratic digestion, bloating, anxiety or joint disorders.

Pitta types are confident, passionate leaders, organised and perfectionists but excess pitta can make them fiery, snappy and irritable. Pitta people have a tendency to suffer from skin irritations, overheating, heartburn and ulcers.

Kapha types tend to be loyal, kind-hearted, calm and full of love, but a kapha overload can make them lethargic, lacking in energy and a little overindulgent. Kapha types are prone to congestion, excess weight and sluggish digestion.

It's important to try and keep our doshas in balance in order to stay on top form. It's not always easy with the hectic lives we lead, but if we can learn what our body needs and adjust our lifestyle accordingly, it's a big step closer to staying healthy and happy!

An Ayurvedic Summer

Summer is usually a time of improved health; the sun is out, we have more daylight hours, we can spend more time outside. In our climate it is a healthy time of year for most of us. In fact each season carries with it certain positive attributes and certain challenges to our system. As with all Ayurvedic principles you just have to observe nature and start to notice the change in the qualities of the atmosphere, the weather, the light and the temperature so that you can ‘know’ what is right for you to do. Just watching nature can be a practice of awareness as you move from dharana (concentration) to dhyanam (pure meditation).

The Qualities of Summer
Summer is a time when the element of Fire is increased; there is more warmth, dryness and lightness. These are qualities that increase pitta and can also increase vata. We often associate summer with such problems as hayfever, prickly heat and other skin inflammations . These all have some itchy, hot pitta symptoms that come to the surface with the rising heat. Hence summer is naturally a time of calming and reducing pitta.

Summer qualities: Light, warm, dry, penetrating, sharp, transformative, subtle, ascending, expansive

Fire anatomy: Pitta can build up in the digestive system, liver, eyes, skin, heart at this time of year

Fire physiology: Sight, digestion, appetite, metabolism, assimilation, warmth, thermal conduction are all affected by the increased warmth of summer.

Psychic fire: Manipura chakra: situated behind the navel at the solar plexus. Related to ambition, gain, wealth, achievement, goals, drive, direction, power, thought and counter-thought this can be stimulated by the natural increase in the solar energy and fire element.

Fire flavour: Pitta is increased by pungent, sour, salty and so too much of these flavours in the summer may aggravate people prone to pitta inflammations.

A Yogic Summer
It is a perfect time to increase your viveka and vairagya. These refer to your discrimination and non-attachment respectively. By discriminating we are choosing what is best for us and not just following the perpetual attractions and revulsions of our mind. By following the path of non-attachment we can grow to be free from the pleasures and pain of our experiences and move towards living in the present moment.

Ayurveda also prescribes that one of the main causes of illness is inappropriate attachment of our senses to their sense objects..

Summer routine:
Start your day by brushing your teeth with some cooling tooth powder- a dash of neem and peppermint on your brush will help clear pitta from the mouth.

A light massage with room temperature coconut oil will nourish the skin and clear any heat. Wash this off with luke warm water.

Try and walk with bare feet on a cool dewy lawn for a calming and peaceful start to your day.

Start your yoga practice with some cooling and calming Sheetali pranayama- this is an especially calming and soothing practice where you roll your tongue into a tube and then draw the air in through this tube and out through your nostrils. You can just feel the cool air chilling you out!

As we have seen pitta can accumulate in the digestive system and especially the liver and small intestine. Do some abdominal stretch, twist and massage exercises for helping to clear pitta from your belly. Try Trikonasna (triangle), Bhujangasana (cobra), Matsyanasna (fish), Matsyendrasana (twist), Ustrasana (camel) to massage pitta out of the intestines. As pitta can also accumulate in the eyes, via the liver, try doing a range of eye exercises to relax the eyes and increase circulation that can carry away any excess heat.

It is important to not do too many inverted poses as these bring heat up to your head if you are already a bit of a pitta prone person.

After yoga anoint yourself with some fragrant sandalwood or rose oil. Place a drop on your third eye, throat and navel to keep these centres of awareness cool, calm and collected.

Your diet in the summer should consist of sweet, bitter, astringent flavours and be light and easy to digest.

Breakfast: Eat liquid nourishing breakfasts such as almond milk. Grind some soaked and peeled almonds, mix into some warm milk (cow or rice), add saffron and some sweetener if you like (not honey).

Lunch: Eating at around noon when the sun is at its zenith is best. Try kicharee as a cooling nutritive meal; Kicharee recipe:
1/3 cup organic mung dal, 2/3 organic basmati rice (or other grain) simmered in 3-4 cups of water
Add 1/4 tsp each of organic turmeric, fresh ginger, roasted cumin and coriander. Add peppermint leaves and fresh coriander as cooling digestive herbs.
Add seasonal organic vegetables: Asparagus, green leafy vegetables, and summer squash for an all round healing, healthy and digestive fire kindling meal. The rules are to cook it on a very low heat in a covered saucepan and DO NOT stir it after all the ingredients are added (or you end up with a mush!). Add a teaspoon of ghee or hemp seed oil at the end with some grated fresh coconut. Eat it with cucumber raita as a delicious condiment. Some green salad is nice at lunchtime as well.

For supper: have a light meal of basmati rice, sprouted mung beans and green leafy vegetables. Do not eat salad at night as it will aggravate vata.

In the summer it is best to avoid all dark meats such as beef, lamb and pork as well as citrus fruits, tomato, garlic, onion, salt and sour dairy products as these all increase pitta.

It may be useful to take Organic Aloe vera juice (50ml/day) throughout the summer to clear pitta from the digestive system. Take it first thing in the morning.

A good way of flushing pitta out of the body is via the bowel; Ayurveda recommends Amla or Amla formula as a mild laxative. Triphala can be a little heating and so it is best to move over to Amla in pitta constitutions.

When you are thirst try drinking cool herbal eas of peppermint, licorice, fennel and roses. Another delicious delicacy is to collect a glass of fresh rose petals and cover them in sugar overnight (in the moonlight). In the morning you will have a delicious rose syrup elixir to mix in your almond milk or just dilute with water, simply divine!

It is very important to watch out for pitta emotions arising such as criticism, being judgmental, irritation and anger. If you feel a bit ‘hot under your collar’ a good trick is to hold a glass of water in your mouth as the water cools your pitta and keeps you quiet!

Before you go to bed, especially if it has been a hot day, rub the soles of your feet with coconut or castor oil to bring all the heat down to your feet.

Wash your face in organic rose water and spray it in your bedroom. It is important to fill your house and bedroom with fragrant roses and jasmine in the summer.

It is important to get to bed before 11pm as pitta peaks at around 12 midnight and if you sleep on your right side then ida nadi in the left nostril is activated and guarantees you a blissful nights rest.

As with all your yogic practice, the only rule is that there are no rules! Adjust your daily lifestyle and practice to the changes in the weather and to how you are feeling. You are the best judge of the balance of your doshas. Learn to appreciate how the changes in how you are feeling relate to how the dosha change in you.

Enjoy basking in the radiant surya and soaking up the sun rays!
Goddess radiance and flow,
Anil xox

Solstice Meditation to Align - June 2011

Enjoy this beautiful meditation to align your energy with the vibration of love and peace as we pass through the recent Lunar Eclipse and Solstice of June 2011..

MEDITATION TO ALIGN WITH THE FREQUENCY OF LOVE AND PEACE
with Archangel Michael

We have just passed though the important Energy Portal of the Total Lunar Eclipse, and now we are moving towards the Solstice of June 2011. We invite you to join with us in Meditation to create a Global Wave of Love and to align with the incoming Frequency of Love and Peace.

It will be good to gather as Groups, to create Ceremonies and Gatherings, or simply to light a candle and to do the Meditation as a Personal Ceremony to the Divine Light.

So…to begin…simply close your eyes and breathe deeply. Focus your energy into your Heart and feel the Light and Power in the Heart Center. You are connecting with the Divine Light within.

Now…allow that Light to travel down your Body, through the Solar Plexus and the Sacral Chakra and the Base Chakra…to connect with the Soul Star Chakra beneath your feet. Feel yourself grounding here, and connecting with the Love and Support of the Earth Mother. You are held in her Love always. Breathe deeply and enjoy this Blissful feeling.

Now, let the energy move further down to connect with the Crystal at the Center of the Earth. Here you connect with the Heart of the Earth…the Heart of the Earth Mother…and you feel a very deep and loving energy moving through yourt body and into your Heart as you connect with Love of the Earth Mother.

So…allow yourself to feel the Love and the Bliss.

Now…you allow the energy to Travel up the Body, through the Throat, the Brow and the Crown Chakras to the Soul Star Chakra. Here you connect with the Soul, and with the Light of the Higher Self. You feel immersed in a Brilliant Wave of Clear White Light, and you know that you are never alone and that you are always Loved and Supported.

Just breathe deeply and feel the Love and the Bliss.

Now, allow the energy to move upwards…on the Cosmic Flow to the Heart of the Cosmos and there you connect with Divine Heart. You feel a Love that is Infinite and Unconditional just flooding into your Heart and filling you with Divine Light and Bliss.

As you feel this Light…you know that you are an Infinite Cosmic Being and that you are connected to the Divine Cosmic Heart as well as the Earth. You are a Human Angel…an Earth Angel…an Infinite Being of Light!~

At this moment…you connect with the Frequency of Love and Peace……you feel as Light as a Feather on the Wind….drifting with the Divine Breath……moving with the currents of God….flowing with the Light of Creation and Divine Intelligence…..

Filled with Bliss and Radiance…..and anchoring that Frequency on Planet Earth…

Beloved Child of God…know that the New Earth welcomes this Frequency of Love and Peace and your desire to anchor this Frequency in your Heart and to become a living transmitter for the Frequency of Love and Peace……

Just hold the Frequency in your Heart and feel that is is being transmitted outwards into the Earth and being received into the Heart of every Living Being……

So…just sit in Peace and Love and allow this energy to Flow through your Heart…..

Now, when you are ready…just focus the energy back into your Heart and breathe deeply…three times and then open your eyes when you feel ready!

As you complete the Meditation…hold the intention that you will continue to be an Anchor and a Transmitter for the Frequency of Love and Peace on the Planet.

Namaste…

Remember to link your heart to the heart of the Sun on a daily basis to keep energetically current, strong, empowered and energised...

Goddess light and radiance,
Anil xox

Goddesses - Luna / Shiva & Shakti

In celebration of the Lunar Eclipse tonight..
Enjoy the grand spectacle in the mystical night sky..
Lunar Goddess love & flow,
Anil xox

Luna

 

Luna is the Latin name of the Moon-Goddess. In Gnostic symbolism and magic texts she is coupled with Sol, the male sun. Together they represent fire and water, the combination produced the Blood of Life.

Chaucer wrote of Luna:

Luna the Serene
Chief goddess of the ocean and its queen,
Though Neptune have therein his deity,
Is over him and empress of the sea.

Many myths present the Moon-Goddess as the Creatress who first drifted alone on the primal ocean of chaos until she decided to bring orderly forms out of elemental formlessness. She has been known in pagan cultures as “Moon Shining Over the Ocean” and called Luonnatar, Daughter of Nature. But she was not the daughter of anything; she existed all alone in primordial time, until she tired of loneliness and decided to create a world.

Christians claimed the worshippers of Luna were crazy, hence the word “lunatic”, a person moon-touched or moon-struck. To this day, many people believe lunacy is affected by the moon, being characterized by increased psychic disturbances when the moon is full.

Shiva and Shakti

Dancing in this circle, Shiva is said to have performed in the place called the “Center of the Universe”, shown in bronze by  the circle of flames which represents the cosmos,  and that the location of this place is within the human heart.  The heartbeat, the basic rhythm of soul pleasing human music, is never forgotten but what is more is that this center of the universe is regarded in each of us, where god is located, within our core, within our own self.  A connection to Shiva brings on a state of actualization and union with our own higher self.

Shiva’s ultimate universal energy could only be expressed, of course, with his female counterpart, Shakti.

Shakti, herself, the Great Goddess (Kali Ma), is realized as both the sexual partner and the innermost animating soul of man or god.  Jung has called her My Lady Soul: “Every mother and every beloved is forced to become the carrier and embodiment of this omnipresent and ageless image, which corresponds to the deepest reality in man.”

Shakti means “Cosmic Energy.”  She implies “power, ability, capacity, faculty, strength, prowess; regal power, the power of composition, poetic power, genius; the power or signification of a word or term; the power inherent in cause to produce it necessary effect…”

Shakti was also a spirit-wife, or female guardian angel, who could incarnate in human female form or remain wholly supernatural at will.  She is the epitome of the thought that “behind every successful man is a great woman”. “An important division of the ‘mythology of woman’ is devoted to showing that it is always a feminine being who helps the hero to conquer immortality or to emerge victorious from his initiatory ordeals…”

So with Shiva we have Shakti.  It is said that all things rose from the union of the two, and that to “become” the powers of both, the body and soul absorb together, bringing one into “possession of her, the cosmic Shakti, the living embodiment of the principle beauty and youth eternal, the ultimate quest”, and with Shiva, lord of yoga, or union, bringing one into contact with his own universal energy, actualization of body, and eternal bliss.