Banana leaf plates
July 21, 2007
The tradition in Tamil Nadu is to eat your meals off a fresh banana leaf. Of course if you are really traditional you would be sitting on the floor, but I find that when I try to do that all I do is spill on my shirt. So we ate at a table.
The cups containing the white liquid have payasam; a sweet rice desert. And the orangish liquid is Rasam, a devilishly yummy pepper soup. Let me explain…
A typical lunch would start with just a little bit of a sweet to wake up your appetite. Then, with plain white rice, there would be some dal, a spicy vegetable (sometimes two) plus a potato or eggplant dish, and sambar, which is a thick kind of thick mixed vegetable stew. Then, you would have more rice with rasam poured over it, and then more rice with freshly made (every day) yogurt and hot hot pickles. Then… a sweet to finish with.
As it says in the Ishavasya Upanishad;
“purnamadah purnamidam purnaat purnamudachyate
purnasya purnaamadaya purnameva vashishyate.”
Purnamadah can be translated as “This inner reality is full”.
Purnamidam can be translated as “That outer reality is full”
Fullness…in both senses of the word, inner and outer. Sort of like lunch.
A more traditional translation would be:
This is complete. That is complete.
From that completeness comes this completeness.
If we take away this completeness from that completeness,
only completeness remains.
The most dangerous woman in India…
July 20, 2007
Yes, it is true. She is dangerous, and completely unstoppable I might add. For the 10 days that I was in India for the Vedic Recitation Yayas she cooked for me and the pundits. The problem was two fold; she was a fantastic cook and she insited that we eat to the point just shy of explosion.
We would start the day with Rudra Abishekam at 7:30, break for “Boost” (a warm malted milk drink) at 9:00, have breakfast at 10:30 and then lunch at 1:00. Then…no more food, no dinner, no nothing until breakfast. And I still gained weight! The joke among us was that the entire trip would have been worth it just for the food.
It is odd that in the west we have an unfortunate and innacurate image of India as being full of hungry malnourished poor people. Thankfully, nothing could be further from the truth. When people ask me about India I say it is all about the spirituality and the food. While I still think that India is hard work for a westerner, it is at its core a great, happy, and sincerely spiritual place to be….with unbelievable food.
I’m back…
July 15, 2007
I am back from 2 weeks in India and (finally) recovered from my jet lag. I have many many photos to post and lots of amusing stories to tell, so you can expect a new post and photo every day…or almost every day!
Ganesha festival
July 7, 2007
I took this a number of years ago in September when there is a Ganesha festival in Tamil Nadu. This amazingly elaborate Ganesha is made from clay and after several days of being on display, will be taken to the ocean and dumped in to dissolve!
Many people make or buy their own Ganeshas and the beaches get very crowded, not to mention the streets!
Traffic!
July 6, 2007
No matter how many times I visit India I am always amazed at the traffic. And yet, I see more accidents in a week of driving in LA than I have ever seen in all my trips to India combined. I always tell people that India is a spiritual place because it is only their faith in God that keep them safe on the roads!
He needs no asking…
July 5, 2007
“Uplift your prayer! He comes! He knows!
His wisdom is not implored.
In him are counsels, in him requests,
this Lord of power.
Men pray to him, yet he needs no asking;
his mind has grasped all things. He goes
as one who knows the first word and the last,
with mind composed.
To him ascend these hymns, these steed swift prayers.
He alone hears my words. All-mover, all-conquerer,
conveyer of sacrifice, the Child, ever aiding,
he assumes great power.
-Rig Veda
Gambling
July 5, 2007
“For the various ways we have sinned with our hands,
desiring to posess the reward of the dice,
forgive us this day our guilt and our debt,
you frightening and all conquering spirits.
Forgive the transgressions we committed while gambling,
you terrifying ones, who scrutinize men.
May we not be compelled to pay the debt,
in the world of Yama, tied with a rope!”
The Self within
July 4, 2007
“The Self pierced holes outward
Therefore one looks outward and not inside oneself.
Desiring immortality, a certain sage
turned his eyes inward and saw the Self within.”
-Katha Upanishad
Sacrifice
July 3, 2007
“There are five great sacrifices, namely the gret ritual services: the sacrifice to all beings, sacrifice to men, sacrifice to ancestors, sacrifice to the Gods, sacrifice to Brahman.
Day by day a man offers sustenance to creatures: that is the sacrifice to beings. Day by day a man offers hospitaility to guests, including a glass of water; that is sacrifice to men.
Day by day a man makes funerary offerings, including a glass of water; that is the sacrifice to the ancestors.
Day by day a man makes offerings to the Gods, including wood for burning; that is the sacrifice to the Gods.
And the sacrifice to Brahman? the sacrifice to Brahman consists of sacred study.”
-Satapatha Bhramana
Hope
July 3, 2007
“He who meditates on hope as Brahman, through hope all his desires are fulfilled, his prayers do not go in vain. As far as hope reaches, so far he has unlimited freedom, he who meditates on hope as Brahman.”
-Chandogya Upanishad