Being a mindful house-wife...

In this post, I will discuss briefly about some of the things I have already implemented and plan to implement in the near future to secure the health and well-being of my family. I am doing all this within my capacity of the resources I have access to currently...given that, that may change as I implement other ideas in future...

First and foremost, I have tried to get rid of most of the non-stick cookware in my kitchen and replaced them with Cast-iron and Clay pots for cooking. Yes, the upsides are many in terms of plentiful health benefits but the downside is that these do drain the cooking gas a lot. So need to balance them both. But I guess in today's world, anything eco-friendly and healthy doesn't come cheap! Still waiting for the day when organic will actually become cheaper than processed food - that is the day the world will be set right.

Also, I have started purchasing cold-pressed (can be read as cold-priceyed) oil - coconut, gingelly, mustard, olive. Hopefully, these oils are as beneficial to health as they say to be. But again, who knows? Each day, a new research says something different...isn't it?

Also, I try to reduce the usage of  'white poison' (Refined flour, White sugar, Milk, Salt, Rice) as much as possible. But still its not possible due to the influx of guests.

Next, I try to buy organic groceries as much as possible, I am still not there at 100% obviously due to the price of these organic items, but slowly changing.

Also, I try to be conscious of buying health and cosmetics which are more environmental friendly atleast to some degree.

Also, my future to-do list to do my bit for helping Mother Earth, is to implement Rain Water Harvesting, Harnessing solar power, Biogas and growing my own vegetables....long list...let me see how I get through each one...until then, please leave your comments on how you are a conscious householder...let's share each others knowledge...

#DoWeReallyNeedThis?

#DoWeReallyNeedThis???

So you may ask me what are we talking about? This post is sort of an extension of my previous post CPR. Here, I am talking about the zillion little and big plastic or other materials which we are using in the world today especially in the developed countries which has also trickled to the third world countries. Studies say that at least 3.5 million tons of plastic and other solid waste a day is being generated per day, 10 times the amount a century ago!!

For instance, see the below picture...it is just a one time use thingy which is used for God Knows what?? These are the kind of things which are getting stuck in the respiratory systems of our aquatic friends and causing them to choke to death.

So, I request anyone seeing this blog to create a new hashtag called #DoWeReallyNeedThis? Like the other day, I saw a WhatsApp video saying almost all of the toothpaste tube covers are just thrown away and hence it is something which is not needed 'at all'. It is not just toothpaste covers, there are so many other things like this around us which they usually call as 'one-time-use-plastics'. But this is not limited to just plastic items....in the sense of minimalism, this applies to a whole lot of other things which we use in our daily life....just once or we don't even know what the active purpose is for a product...let me give you few examples to share my lens - Cloth hangers in shops, Tags on clothes, Packing bubbles and so on. All these things really don't need to be there or can be easily replaced by some other item. Human being are ingenious by nature and it is not going to be difficult for us to crank our gray matter to come up with more eco-friendly alternatives.

I found many more examples in a WhatsApp post I came across... hopefully this will help us all get thinking in the right direction wrt this topic...

Mindful Consumption...

Overtime, I have realised that I am  taking far more from the Universe than I will ever be able to give back. Hence began the pursuit of how can I be mindful of how much I truly need and what impact it creates when I am taking anything for my momentary pleasure. Be warned, I am no saint. I have needs and desires. But the constant exercise of differentiating between needs and desires has been an eye opener. The point is not about living unfulfilling/incomplete life, endeavour is to live responsibly, to live with conscience.

For instance,
1. Do I really need the water that is being poured in my glass at the restaurant? Will that water not go down the drain (literally) when I leave my table? Am I being fair to those who are walking miles for drinking water and yet what they get is hardly safe enough to consume?
2. Do I really need to wrap that gift by buying ‘free’ gift wrapping paper? Because that shiny/ non-biodegradable paper is going to be trashed (literally) once the gift is opened?
3. Do I really need to buy gifts when I am not sure if they will be used and needed by the receiver because I want to look good? Isn’t it wiser to buy fruits or dry-fruits with the same amount of money and with almost certainty that they will be consumed?
4. What do I do when I am at buffet? Do I listen to my stomach or do I fill my plate with everything available (either because its free or because I have paid for it all)?
5. What do I do when the guy at Subway (the foodchain) offers me two forks and four tissue papers when I am going to be eating alone? Do I return one fork and three tissue papers (or all four, if I carry my own hanky) to him or I just walk away from the counter and throw away unused forks and tissue papers?
6. Just because something is ‘bio-degradable’, should I use it? Can I even avoid a paper bag or a cloth bag because a tree was chopped to make that paper and earth was subjected to atrocities to create the piece of cloth? Can I ‘reduce’ my consumption even before thinking of ‘reuse’ or ‘recycle’?
7. What happens when I go to eat Thaali and there are so many things I know I might not eat (for eg katori of Dahi or that Bengali mithai) .. Do I return it immediately so that it can be offered to someone else or do I let it sit on my plate and leave it untouched only to be thrown away later?
8. Do I really need that cotton Kurti because it looks cool? The fashion industry is far more evil than what meets our eye. From what it does to the environment while growing cotton and jute to how it treats humans to how it treats textiles and garment waste is mind-bogglingly dirty.
9. Do I really need that extra pair of shoes because I don’t have 'that' particular shade of orange? Do I take into account that once processed, footwear is almost impossible to degenerate on face of the earth (including leather)?
10. Do I need to cook elaborate meals when guests visit me? Can I cook just enough so that everybody including myself can have a great time and no food is wasted (or we don’t continue to eat same food for next three days well after it has lost all its nutrients)
11. Do I need to buy things just because they are in sale and they are cheaper? Do I need to buy them because there is ‘return policy’? I was reading a case study on how big retail conglomerates dump returned goods in the ocean and its unbelievable how our oceans are constantly being subjected to waste created because of our greed.
12. Am I respectful when I am visiting a tourist destination? Do I take rules such as ‘keep silence’ ‘do not litter’ seriously enough? Do I allow the place to consume me or my overbearing presence consumes the place?

Also what options do we have to reduce the use of plastic in all departmental stores, toy industry and so many more. Please provide your suggestions and let us see how we can make our life more simpler and plastic free atleast to some extent!

#DoWeReallyNeedThis? Ask yourself this question daily and see how we can better clean up Mother Earth and be more mindful!

Happy World Environment Day folks! Please just don't stop it with one day celebration and activism.

CPR

No, I am not referring to the Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation procedure in this post, as I am not a qualified doctor :-) I am talking about a new acronym which I coined up - 'Corporate Product Responsibility'. Yes, this post is about the environment again - same old blah, blah, blah..!!! Yes, I hope you agree we human beings are the most brilliant species on Earth. But we are brilliant in being the most selfish species on earth and we are worse than any virus because we think only about our own well being and not the planet Earth's even for a split second!

So, this is a different concept; which I guess no corporate would agree with. Most businesses believe in giving back to the society by way of CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility). But CPR is about the business taking ownership of the product created by it from the beginning of the lifecycle of the product to its end. This concept tells us that as human being for a change, let us think about the environment first and see how businesses can use some of their profits in giving back (or not giving back!) to the environment.

But in our struggle against environmental pollution, natural catastrophes, I think it is about time, corporates keep the big picture in mind and take responsibility of not only 'producing' the products but also 'recycling', 'reusing', and 'reducing' the waste that is generated after the products have been used and disposed. This will ensure that they become more aware and more responsible of all the raw materials, chemicals, etc which goes into their product while they produce it. They should have a complete blue print of how they source each and every piece, to how it is converted, to how it is returned back without leaving any negative footprint on the environment.

In many developed countries, they do have facilities to collect old and used electronic items separately, hazardous waste separately and so on. But still our landfills are piling up day by day with trillions of tonnes of waste which is polluting our air, water and soil. All this is coming back to bite us in the form of poison laden meat and veggies. The other easier option would be for all the people in the world to become 'vegan' and eat only 'organic' but that would be asking for too much at the moment. So for the time being, in our race against the clock with pollution, the governments of all countries should make it mandatory for every company, to take responsibility for the disposal of the products produced by them. They should be able to collect back whatever product they have produced and ensure that each and every part of the product is either recycled, reused or disposed away safely - but ensure that it is not ending up in a landfill!

Not only this, it should be made compulsory for every householder to take personal responsibility for all the waste generated from their household. They should not just bag the garbage in different colored 'plastic' bags and think that's the end of their responsibility. If it is biodegradable waste then they have to ensure that they are using it in some for - either converting it to natural fertilizer or using it as biogas. Also, there should be some form of check on the amount of resources which is spent by the average householder. There should be no form of wastage in spending of resources.

It is high time that companies look beyond their profit margins and take up this CPR course, as we desperately need to save our ailing Mother Earth - NOW!

Ph.D in bugging you...

It is really amazing to see today's mosquitoes so clever...! Really!!!

It seems all of them go to some 'on-the-fly' university to learn all their buzzing and stinging techniques...first it was Malaria and now it is Dengue, Zika, Chikungunya, etc...We try to control the spread of one disease and Lo there is a new virus / bact to deal with!

See..some of the things which mosquitoes are capable of doing nowadays when compared to mosquitoes of yore are...

- Location of bite is inversely proportional to your physical reach. That is, they will bite you in a place on your body which is tough to reach by your hands...like for instance the back of your elbow, or the back of your thighs - while you are seated. And you will definitely not be spared if you are wearing a transparent kind of outfit, as it is easier for them to get you from the outfit. 

- If you luckily have a mosquito swatter electric bat in your hand, then the clever ones keep flying very close to your body as they are somehow aware that you will not zat yourself with the bat; or they fly very low to the ground as it is difficult to zat them on the floor! Clever, isn't it? 

- Also the Gen X mosquitoes don't seem to be affected by any of the Good Knights, Mortein and All Outs...! Period! I guess they have their own research labs where vaccines against these are provided on a national scale similar to the Polio vaccine drive in the human world!

Also why I tell University is, all human behavior is somehow kept track of, researched and an antidote is made ready against each of our defenses.

100 more years left to escape Earth....

...says the English theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking. How unfortunate! How unfortunate for all the Earthlings....I came across this news when I was contemplating about the same....How will we survive in this world if we continue with our greedy way...?

Are human beings naturally always trying to bring their destruction upon themselves? Is this something which is in-built in our genes? Are we so bad that one BIG OL' EARTH is not sufficient for us and we have to find other planets to pillage?

When will human being come out of their illusory shells and see the disaster that he is creating. True, we have gained victory over many life threatening epidemics but can any planet bear the brunt of our growing population? True, we have advanced in science and technology, but can we reverse the effects that this so-called science and tech is having on our environment?

Is it right for man to just think about himself, his family, his family tree alone - keep storing away all the wealth and riches for his kith and kin? How much will Mother Earth have left to continue this 'me, mine, myself' behavior? How much has Mother Earth already lost due to this behavior. How long will we mindlessly go on punching holes into Mother Earth with our modern excavators trying to dig out all her riches? Is it ever going to be enough. Why is the human mind so competitive? When are we going to change this culture to one of sharing and caring instead of grabbing and storing?

Let us for a second think about the future of our children and see what are we going to leave behind at this rate? We may just have to leave behind boats - seeing the rate of global warming that is. Maybe science and technology will advance so rapidly that it would become possible for people to colonize the Moon or other planets. But let us just step back and think for a second; are we sacrificing Mother Earth and all that is good at the threshold of advancements in AI and Space Travel? The nature of man which is competitive is like a demon with a stomach that is bottomless. No matter how much you feed this demon, it will not be satisfied.

Today, there we have advanced, highly luxurious, high-speed cars, but the traffic doesn't move an inch on the road! Today, we have too many options for entertainment, but too little joy derived out of it. Today, we have a lot of privacy but too little to share. Today, we have too much sex and very little real love. Today we are spending all our wealth on hi-tech gadgets, hi-tech hospitals and hi-tech security systems. Who are we protecting ourselves from? Who are we running away from? Why are we drowning ourselves in alcohol and drugs? Is this the only way we know to spend our hard-earned money? Ego begets ego...and anything achieved with ego will end up a circle of it own destruction.

Too many questions, but very few answers. Man has to stop this race to kill himself and step back. Take a deep breath and question the rationale behind the decisions made. Are we going to create a world of zombies by transplanting the head of one person onto the body of another? Time is ticking and it is not sufficient if a handful of people become aware and start living a 'normal' life. It is time now for governments to wake up, for countries to wake up and strive to make efforts in the right direction. Just one Bhutan will not do in the world! All countries have to arise and awake and contribute. The change has to begin at all levels - economic, environmental, spiritual. Either this or all nations have to wait for the ticking bomb to explode to awaken their true brotherhood and respect for Mother Earth. Please, it is an honest please - let us not wait for that day but take steps today itself in the right direction to make a better tomorrow. Please!!!

Jagat Janani Jagadambike He Maa - Song Lyrics

One more of my favorite Sahaja Yoga bhajan... :-))

Jai Jai Maa......Jai Jai Maa......Jai Jai Maa.......Jai Jai Maa....
Jai Jai Maa...Jai Jai Maa...Jai Jai Maa...Jai Jai Maa...

Jagat Janani Jagadambike He Maa...Hey Maa....(2)

Mein aat prahar mahima gaauu
Tere sumiran se sukh paau
He param sukhdaayi, phaldaayi He Maa, Hey Maa

Jagat Janani Jagadambike He Maa...Hey Maa....(2)

Tu dhivyjyot, tu sukhkharakh
Tu bhaktjano ki uddharakh
Bhavsagar mein sab ki dhaarak
Tu swayam shakti, shaktidhaarak

Mein divas rein tujko dhyaayu
Tere sumiran se sukh paau
He param sukhdaayi, phaldaayi He Maa, Hey Maa

Jagat Janani Jagadambike He Maa...Hey Maa....(2)

Jai Jai Maa...Jai Jai Maa...Jai Jai Maa...Jai Jai Maa...(2)

Tu bhavpreeta, anandmayi
Tu ranachandi, tu kaalajayi
Har yug mein... tere roop kayi
Har puja mein tu lage nayi

Mann apna tuj tak lee jaau
Tere sumiran se sukh paau
He param sukhdaayi, phaldaayi He Maa, Hey Maa

Jagat Janani Jagadambike He Maa...Hey Maa...(2)

Tu Shiv dooti, tu Mahabala
Durjan pe teraa vaar chala
Sajjan ka tune kiya bhala
Har pal tera aashish bhala

Tujmein ramkar mein tar jaau
Tere sumiran se sukh paau
He param sukhdaayi, phaldaayi He Maa, Hey Maa

Jagat Janani Jagadambike He Maa...Hey Maa...

Mein aat prahar mahima gaauu
Tere sumiran se sukh paau
He param sukhdaayi, phaldaayi He Maa, Hey Maa

Jagat Janani Jagadambike He Maa...Hey Maa....(2)
Jai Jai Maa...Jai Jai Maa...Jai Jai Maa...Jai Jai Maa...(2)
Jai Jai Maa...Jai Maa...Jai Maa...Jai Jai Maa (2)
Jai Jai Maa...Jai Jai Maa...Jai Jai Maa...Jai Jai Maa...

Goodness multiplied by WhatsApp!

Recently, myself got into the WhatsApp bandwagon and I must say it has been a good ride so far!

There are different types of messages that float on WhatsApp but the ones preferred by me are the motivational stories. Also there are a few disturbing videos that are posted :-( which really terrify me, making me wonder how come people were patiently taking the video instead of helping the person / animal being tortured :-O (even though in some cases it is a CCTV footage).

Anyways, besides that, there are so many motivational little stories on WhatsApp which really make us introspect and also help cheer up our day...

There messages start with the usual Good Morning messages, which comes with a quote or proverb to help us keep chugging through the day with positive hope!

The first category of messages are the highly inspiring messages like the recent one on the Carbon negative country Bhutan and how they were able to achieve it! Also a lot of inspirational TED talks and other videos which we wouldn't have the time to go searching for on the net.

Also there are the motivational stories which try to find a positive moral on the old epics and mythology like stories from the Ramayana, Mahabharata and so on. People are getting to know of the treasure trove of knowledge hidden in our epics thanks to WhatsApp!

Then there are the pictures which tell us how to make our day better by eating right or by drinking that glass of warm lemon juice or by staying off that glass of wine! Also lot of reminders about how to exercise by sitting at your desk and how to avoid feeling sleepy in the afternoon :-)

Few other messages fall into the family and societal category where they tell us how and why we should respect our elders and how we should treat our children. Also the messages about how we should be environmental conscious and reduce wastage from our daily lives.

Also some messages are of the hit-hard-under-the-belt type of messages / videos which show how we are consuming food laced with chemicals or how our small careless actions like keeping a cell phone near our ears while we go to sleep can endanger us.

Then there are the calming and soothing messages which tell us the reason why meditation is good for us and why we should meditate to calm ourselves and for world peace!

Hopefully, these small WhatsApp capsules are bringing in small changes somewhere in the mindsets of people and hopefully make them better by helping them change their lifestyles in a positive way and value what is most important in their lives and have a sense of gratitude towards all that is LIFE!

Amen!

Lessons learnt from Chennai flood 2015

Chennai and surrounding parts plus Pondy and Cuddalore were lashed with floods over the past few weeks...as a Yogini it gave me lot of time to introspect as well as meditate...here are some sketches about the events which transpired at our home...

There was a collective of around 12-15 Yogis staying at our place during this difficult time. We all realized one thing which is the power of the divine plus the power of collective.Whenever we sat for meditation and requested our Mother, it would stop raining. But our prayers had to be really sincere and on behalf of all the innocent and suffering people of TN and Pondy.

One day we recited 12 names of Shri Surya devata mantras and the heavy rains stopped and the sun started shining even though it was for just 15 mins.

Also last whole week we were just meditating and meditating...as we didn't have much else to do also due to no power, net, phones it really was an intensive seminar which really improved our state. We also did morning and evening Aarti (evening compulsory) collectively. We were also doing 4 petal meditation to please our elder brother Shri Ganesha. In addition we were reciting Shri Devi Kavach and other needed mantras to clear.

At the same time we were all the time feeling eternally blessed and grateful to our Mother for giving us fresh and hot food, a great collective and a cozy place to stay even in such extreme conditions. Thank you a million times Mother! But at the same time we were aware of the gravity of the situation and were sincerely meditating and trying to be connected at all times. We didn't have any fear in our hearts but just a humble plea to our Mother to forgive all of us and all people of TN and Pondicherry for any transgressions committed against the great Goddess and against Mother Nature.

Also we felt a bit guilty that we are just sitting comfortably at home while thousands of people are going out and helping others. But then as Shiva bhaiyya said, we were a privileged bunch who had been given the highest responsibility of meditating and requesting the Divine to stop the onslaught of the rain; bread and biscuit packets can be given by anyone! This was really a great eye-opener for us!

Also Simiji and myself realised that as Gruhalaxmis we should do some things on a consistent basis like doing a small Ganesha Puja in the morning, Aarti in the evening, meditating whenever we get a chance and keep our state constantly up. This is very essential to improve the vibrations of the home as well as the whole collective. We also decided that we should regularly meet in each others homes collectively and do regular pujas. Also Yoginis should become more active and participate in lot of public programs even if Yogis are busy with office work. 

This flood was definitely a wake-up call to me and hopefully to all Yogis across TN and Pondy...these are just few points which I felt...please add the lessons learnt by you also over the past few weeks and we can also learn from it...