the elixer

Teach me, my God and King,
In all things Thee to see,
And what I do in any thing
To do it as for Thee.

Not rudely, as a beast,
To runne into an action
But still to make Thee prepossest,
And give it his perfection.

A man that looks on glasse,
On it may stay his eye;
Or if he pleaseth, through it passe,
And then the heav'n espie.

All may of Thee partake:
Nothing can be so mean
Which with this tincture, 'for Thy sake,'
Will not grow bright and clean.

A servant with this clause
Makes drudgerie divine;
Who sweeps a room as for Thy law
Makes that and th' action fine.

This is the famous stone
That turneth all to gold;
For that which God doth touch and own
Cannot for lesse be told.
--George Herbert

Crunchy Besan Noodles

These noodles, aka "Chudy Noodles" were found in the old Hare Krishna cookbook, now available on Prabhupada's folio CD.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 c besan (chickpea flour)
• 1 t cayenne pepper (or as desired)
• 1 t turmeric
• 1 t salt 
• ghee for deep frying
• a few tablespoons of hot water

PREPARATION:

1. Mix together in a bowl the besan and spices and salt.
2. Add the hot water to make a semi firm dough, moist enough to squeeze through a ricer. *
3.  Fill the ricer with the mixture and squeeze into a pot or wok of hot ghee. Make noodles as long or short as you wish.
4.  Deep fry until lightly browned and crispy.
5. Offer to Krishna when slightly cooled.

*Amazon. com sells these to use for this purpose. There are cheaper products than this, but this ricer really does the job, is easy to clean and stainless steel.

Finding Joy in Every Day Life

With Krishna consciousness, everything- housekeeping, relationships, cooking, nature study...becomes intensely interesting because the soul is naturally joyful in connection with Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead and the source of everything. There's no need to travel far.

I have found such joy in simple things;
A plain, clean room, a nut-brown loaf of bread,
A cup of milk, a kettle as it sings,
The shelter of a roof above my head,
And in a leaf-laced square along the floor,
Where yellow sunlight glimmers through a door.

I have found such joy in things that fill
My quiet days; a curtain's blowing grace,
A potted plant upon my windowsill,
A rose, fresh-cut and placed within a vase;
A table cleared, a lamp beside a chair,
And books I long have loved beside me there.

Oh, I have found such joys I wish I might
Tell every woman who goes seeking far
For some elusive, feverish delight,
That very close to home the great joys are:
The elemental things--old as the race,
Yet never, through the ages, commonplace.
~ Grace Noll Crowell

More Homey Touches

This is late posting, some photos that were taken a couple months back:

This years wreathe was made from dried vines from the back yard and leaves. The leaves were painted with gold, copper, and silver paint (at Dick Blick) and then glued to the vines which had been twisted into a wreathe shape and held together with wire.  Some saved ribbon and a splash of white paint for faux snow gave a final touch. 

From India came this collection of skeleton keys that wound up as a tinkling wind chime on the front porch. Same paint as was added to the leaves above. A top coat of varnish can help keep the paint on. The contraption they are hanging from is a busted computer part. That got painted, too. Both these projects kept the grandchildren busy.

Here, nature came indoors as cut spring branches in a vase, supported with pretty stones inside.

OK, this has got to be a best discovery yet. Not wanting to throw anything out without considering how it may be reused, these amazing rags were born. They come from cotton thermal leggings that were too worn to pass on. The fabric is absorbent and has a texture that makes any cleaning easier.

 

They are cut into useable pieces and kept handy.

beet raita

Found this recipe online.  I steamed my beets the first time and got lots of positive feedback. Steamed or raw the recipe is a good one.  I also used more salt than the original recipe called for.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 c raw beets, peeled, grated
• 2 T ghee
• 1/2 t bl mustard seeds
• 1/2 t cumin
•  1/2 small green chili, chopped
•  5 curry leaves
• 1 pinch hing
• 1 c yogurt
•  1 T cilantro
• salt, as desired

PREPARATION:

1. In hot ghee,  fry the mustard seeds and cumin, chili and curry leaves. 
2. When the mustard seeds stop popping, add the hing. Pour this into the yogurt. 
3. Add the beets and cilantro and then salt. 
4. Stir to mix nicely before offering to Krishna.

braised brussel sprouts

On busy days at home (which day isn't?) the subjis are often simple. Here's a prime example and a family favorite:

INGREDIENTS:

• brussels sprouts, sliced in halves
• 3-4 T ghee
• 1 t fresh ginger root, minced
• 1/4 hing
• 1 t ground coriander
• 1/4 t black pepper
• 1 t turmeric
• water
• salt, as desired
• a squeeze of lemon juice 

PREPRATION:

1. In a frying pan on high heat, chaunce in the hot ghee the ginger until browned. Add hing and then the coriander and pepper and turmeric.
2. Add the brussels and stir fry a few minutes until they begin browning.
3. Add water and cover. Cook on high heat until the water evaporates and brussels are tender and beginning to brown on the bottom.
4. Add salt and a little lemon juice as desired and offer to Krishna.

Weaving with T-Shirt Yarn

The idea came from here to use some old T-shirts instead of throwing them away:  T-Shirt Weaving .  Something to do with the grandchildren during break. 

A good way to link the strips together without sewing is found here: Making Fabric Into Yarn.

In this case the T-shirts were cut straight across:

The loom was made from a large piece of cardboard, and the warp threads from collected string and yarn. A ruler and yarn needle made the weaving faster.
 

The result was a small mat or rug.

fried chickpeas

These are good especially at breakfast time. 

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 c chickpeas, soaked overnight
• 2 T ghee
• 2-3 t fresh ginger, minced 
• 1 t cumin seeds
• 1/2 t mustard seeds (opt)
• 1/2 t ground coriander
• 1/4 t black pepper, ground 
• 1/8 t hing
• 1/2 t turmeric
• 1/2 t fenugreek seeds
• 1/2 celery stick, chopped (optional)
• 1/4 small bell pepper, chopped (optional)
• salt. as desired
• fresh coriander leaves
• a slice of lemon

PREPARATION:

1. Bring the chickpeas to a boil with fenugreek seeds and then simmer until done. Drain.
2. Chaunce in hot ghee the ginger, cumin and mustard seeds. Fry until the ginger is crispy brown and the mustard seeds stop popping. 
3. Add the hing, black pepper, coriander powder, turmeric, celery and chickpeas with fenugreek in quick succession and stir until everything is well incorporated. Turn off the heat. Stir in fresh coriander.
4. Offer to Krishna with a wedge of lemon.

moong bean soup

I often make this soup very simple but occasionally throw in some vegies.

 INGREDIENTS:
1 c whole moong beans, sorted, washed and soaked 6-8 hrs 
water
1 t salt
1 T ghee
1 T fresh ginger, minced
1 t cumin seeds
1 t coriander powder
1/4 t black pepper, ground
1 t turmeric

Lemon slices

PREPARATION:

1. Bring about 5-6 c water to a boil and add the moong. Bring to a boil again, cover and lower the heat to a simmer. Cook about 45 minutes. The dahl splits and softens. Add more water if needed.
2. Make a chaunk in hot ghee: Add the ginger and cumin until the ginger is brown and crisp. Then add remaining spices. 
3. Immediately pour into the soup. 

Offer to Krishna piping hot with squeeze of lemon. Serve with rice or favorite bread. Good for breakfast offering with biscuits or parathas or banana parathas.

VARIATION:

Add chopped tomatoes, with skins  and seeds removed, after the dahl is soft.

Time for a Revolution

Got this email worth sharing:

(Based on a talk given by Sripada Bhakti Vikasa Swami, available at http://www.bvks.com/2011/11/time-for-a-revolution/)

If you really want to see iskcon a lot stronger than it is at present, and if you are ready to take part in a grassroots revolution, here is a program for you. It is non-political and non-controversial, easy to implement, and with negligible cost, yet it will benefit the whole society of devotees worldwide. The program is that all members of the Krsna consciousness movement should read all of Srila Prabhupada’s books.

Of course, many devotees are already reading Prabhupada’s books, but still, far too many are not. Numerous devotees who have been initiated for ten years or more, and are even brahmana-initiated, have not read all of Srila Prabhupada’s books, and apparently have never thought of doing so. They are depriving themselves of the nectar of Srila Prabhupada’s association and guidance—maybe due to lack of time, a sudra-like mentality (being preoccupied with working hard and earning money), having little interest in philosophy, wasting their life watching TV or on the internet, or reading other books apart from Srila Prabhupada’s. Not that going to websites or reading other books apart from Srila Prabhupada’s is necessarily wrong, but the focus should be on Srila Prabhupada’s books.

It is Srila Prabhupada’s books that will change the world, and it is Srila Prabhupada’s books that give solid understanding of Krsna consciousness. It is particularly through Srila Prabhupada’s books that we can make positive advancement and gain the strength to overcome maya. Srila Prabhupada’s books tell us how mayaworks, and give practical advice for overcoming maya. For instance, it seems that nowadays many devotees do not even know that they should not eat food cooked by nondevotees. But by reading Srila Prabhupada’s books, they will come to know.

Dear devotees, by reading Srila Prabhupada’s books you will get spiritual strength and a clear understanding of the mission and philosophy of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Srila Prabhupada. If you are not feeling inspired in spiritual life, you will definitely gain inspiration by reading the books of Srila Prabhupada. You will also get inspiration to distribute those books and to preach Krsna consciousness.

Devotees enjoy hearing stories about Srila Prabhupada from his disciples, about how those disciples personally interacted with him. By reading Srila Prabhupada’s books you will feel intimacy with him, like that which comes from a mother reading to her child. Srila Prabhupada said, “If you want to know me, read my books.” By doing so, you will feel closeness to Srila Prabhupada, how he is personally speaking to you through his books.

Make Srila Prabhupada happy! He becomes pleased if you read his books. Here are just a few of the many quotes from his letters that confirm this:
I am glad to see how nicely you are reading my books. Please continue to do this. We need so many preachers who are soundly versed in the scriptures to convince the world to take to Krsna consciousness. (9 November 1970)

I request you to thoroughly study all of our literatures very thoughtfully and try to understand the sublime import of this Krsna consciousness philosophy. (4 January 1971)

I am very pleased that you are inclined to read and study our books with seriousness. Thank you very much. So continue it wholeheartedly. We want good preachers also. Preaching shouldn’t depend on me only. My disciples should become all good preachers, and that depends on studying the books nicely so that you can arrive at the right conclusion. (5 July 1971)

A commitment to reading Srila Prabhupada’s books will not only impart strength to the individual members of iskcon but will also give the whole movement the knowledge and potency to withstand maya and to take on the demonic atheistic civilization. (And if you didn’t know that this civilization is demonic and atheistic and that we are supposed to be taking it on, then you should read Srila Prabhupada’s books.)

Reading Srila Prabhupada’s books will also give devotees the insight to recognize deviations when they (inevitably) arise within iskcon and to not become bewildered by them. Or better still, if all devotees were fixed in the knowledge in Srila Prabhupada’s books, then deviations could not arise.

A campaign for getting all devotees to read Srila Prabhupada’s books is the best way to keep Srila Prabhupada in the center of iskcon. We could put Srila Prabhupada’s vyasasana in the middle of the temple room and dance around it—which would be very good—but to put his instructions (as given in his books) as central to all that we do is the very best way to keep Srila Prabhupada in the center of his movement.

Encouraging all devotees to read all of Srila Prabhupada’s books is a very simple program. Individuals can take it up, and leaders can encourage their followers to do so.

Gurus, those who are awarding initiation, can instruct those who (having endured the horrors of mundane education) have learned how to read that they should read Srila Prabhupada’s books. Gurus could stipulate that before approving any candidate for initiation, the prospective disciple should have read a certain number of Srila Prabhupada’s books.

Parents can teach their children how to read by reading with them from Srila Prabhupada’s books. Other obvious leaders, such as temple presidents and congregational preachers, can best benefit their wards by urging, coaxing, cajoling, or doing whatever is necessary to get them to read Srila Prabhupada’s books. Indeed, anyone who speaks about Krsna and Krsna consciousness to others can encourage everyone else to read Srila Prabhupada’s books.

As more and more devotees read Srila Prabhupada’s books, it will have a snowball effect. It is just a matter of resolving to do so and then making a habit of it. Reading should be done prayerfully, in a submissive mood of wanting to learn and to be purified. It should be done daily, and preferably a devotee should fix a time period within which to have read all of Srila Prabhupada’s books. Maya always provides something seemingly more important to do, but actually there is nothing as important as reading Srila Prabhupada’s books. And when you begin reading them, you will understand that all topics in the universe other than Krsna-katha, as delineated in Srila Prabhupada’s books, is simply superficial.

Once you start, you won’t want to stop. Careful regular reading of Srila Prabhupada’s books elevates us to an entirely different dimension in spiritual life. On the other hand, if we do not read—if we do not know why we are doing what we are doing—then our devotional practice is probably on the basis of sentiment, which is insubstantial and means that we cannot advance properly. Srila Prabhupada wrote:

All the devotees connected with the Krsna consciousness movement must read all the books that have been translated (the Caitanya-caritamrta, Srimad-Bhagavatam, Bhagavad-gita and others); otherwise, after some time, they will simply eat, sleep and fall down from their position. Thus they will miss the opportunity to attain an eternal, blissful life of transcendental pleasure. (Cc Madhya 25.278, purport)

Most of Srila Prabhupada’s disciples will not be in this world much longer, which means that soon the whole responsibility to transmit the teachings of the parampara will be with the next generation. If you have not gone very deeply into those teachings as received through Srila Prabhupada, then what will you give to others? If you have not immersed yourself in Srila Prabhupada’s teachings, if you do not have profound faith in them, then you will not be a strong link in the parampara; and many weak links makes for a weak movement.

As previously stated, the cost of this program would be negligible. All one has to do is purchase Srila Prabhupada’s books. Every initiated devotee who lives in a home should have at least one full set of Srila Prabhupada books. If you do not, then get them.

This program can only be auspicious. Nothing bad can come from it.

Listening to Srila Prabhupada’s lectures is also a must for those who claim to be his followers. You can get all of Srila Prabhupada’s recorded lectures, conversations, and also kirtanas, in a set of DVDs. Absorb the pure sound of Srila Prabhupada’s Vaikuntha voice, from far beyond the realm of mundane illusion. Allow him to cut through all your anxiety, attachments, and misconceptions and to deliver to you what he came to give: Krsna. Hear how Srila Prabhupada preached—his clear delineation of the truth, piercing straightforwardness, transcendental humor, and sense of urgency to communicate Krsna consciousness.

Hare Krsna!

Devotional Service

Loving the Lord
Nine Ways to Stay Connected

An Example Given by the Acaryas 
or what we can learn from an unchaste woman

Horror Story or What I Learned from House Dust
You'll never see house dust the same way again

The Eternal Nature of Devotional Service
Never ending, ever increasing, ever fresh

Perfectly Imperfect
The nature of a jiva

banana puri

INGREDIENTS:
2 ripe bananas, pureed
1 1/2 t cumin seeds
1 1/2 t salt
1 T sugar
pinches of cayenne pepper (as desired)
1 T ghee
atta flour
ghee for deep frying.

Pictured above is a banana puri made from atta and a little besan. Today, I only had atta flour, so various flours may be used.

PREPARATION

1. Mix into the mashed bananas all the ingredients except the flour. Then slowly add and then knead the flour into the mixture a little at a time to make a nice dough.
2. Knead well and let sit for at least 20 minutes.
3. Deep fry in ghee in a wok or suitable container.

Offer to Krishna.These are great with a full thali or for take out.

Stuffed Dates

A simple treat worth making a note of.

INGREDIENTS:
whole medjool dates
almonds, blanched

PREPARATION:

1. Deep fry the almonds or saute in a little ghee first. Cool
2. Slice each date halfway open and remove the pit. Check to make sure they are fresh inside.
3. Insert one almond per date and close shut inside. 
4. Offer on Krishna's plate with His next meal.

VARIATIONS:
There are many, but a favorite is to stuff dates with cream cheese. Also cream cheese with carob sprinkles. Other nuts can also be used and combined with the cheese. Sprinkle on chopped pistachio or stuff with toasted walnuts. Almonds can also be soaked overnight, then ground into a paste with a little water to use as stuffing. Also try peanut butter and melted carob. Or pecans!