Biggest IndiBlogger Meet 2015

I attended the biggest Indi blogger Meet at Kingdom of Dreams, Gurgaon. This is the group photo of all the Indibloggers present in this function. Can you recognize me? ;)

Cooked by my mother

"What do you like to eat?" I asked a kid.
"Paranthas." The kid replied.
"Which parantha? Aloo, gobhi, cheese, onion, peas??"
"Paranthas cooked by my mother." 

Kundalini Awakening

"What is Kundalini awakening?" One of my yoga student asked me.
"Kundalini is dormant spiritual energy that lies in every human being. It is described as a coiled serpent within us waiting to be awakened. It is awakened for union with God. Kundalini awakening results in deep meditation, bliss and enlightenment." I replied.
"I have heard that one's Kundalini awakens just before experiencing God and when one reaches the highest level? Is it true?"
"Kundalini awakening is the first step of spiritual journey which later on results in Samadhi."
"How does one come to know that one's Kundalini is awakened? I mean to say what are the symptoms of Kundalini awakening?"
"After Kundalini is awakened, one can feel the throbbing at the base of spine, involuntary body movements and choking in throat while meditating."
"Have you ever experienced any of these?"
"One of my student had a very unique experience just after practicing concentration exercises, pranayams and meditation for only three months - tears started flowing out of his eyes while meditating. What to say about seeing inner lights and hearing inner sounds!" I smiled like a child.

Magical warm water

From the past six months I was suffering from gastric problems. The pain was shifting sometimes around the navel, sometimes in lower left abdomen and sometimes above the navel on left side. The pain was not subsiding even after my regular control over my diet. I was taking light food like khichadi and porridge, fruits, buttermilk and curd. I took homeopathy medicines thrice a day. They too gave me temporary relief but as soon as I stopped taking those medicines the pain reappeared.

I decided to do some home remedies. I searched the net and found that drinking warm water can cure gastric problems. I drank warm water five six times in a day and found amazing relief. Pain and heaviness disappear. I had never thought of that my stomach ache would disappear with just a glass of warm water!

Sweater - Dil ki Deal

On a dark winter night it is so easy to get into the bed and it is too difficult to get out of the cozy bed on a foggy morning. Like everybody, I too consider it a tedious job. To be out of bed, going towards main door of my flat to open it, is like to climb Mount Everest without an oxygen mask! Invincible!!

“Ding Dong!”

My maid, Samoli was a live alarm clock. She daily rang the bell sharp at 5:30 a.m. without a minute delay. Her accuracy always surprised me, as she was illiterate and never wore a watch. I wrapped my self in several layers of woolens covering all my body parts except sleepy eyes.

“Ding Dong!”

“Coming!” I screamed with a bit of irritation in my voice.

She had become impatient and couldn’t wait till I protected myself to wrestle with the harsh weather. In a short period of time, she had belled twice; I would definitely scold her. I opened the door and was about to utter some bad words out of my mouth but controlled myself as she was standing in front of me without shawl, sweater, socks and shoes, wearing a plain sari and blouse! Seeing her gave the impression that weather outside the flat is of summer and inside is of winter. My anger evaporated.

“What happened? Why are you wearing such thin clothes as if it is summer season?” I inquired.

She explained, “Last night, when I was going back home it started raining which completely drenched me. I couldn’t dry my clothes as there was no electricity last night. My loving husband gave this to me.” She showed proudly her right hand with a woolen green glove on it.

Phew! A dil in vibrant crimson is patched on it to hide the raveled part. I asked, “He could have given you a shawl as well.”

“All his clothes were also drenched while returning home. Only a pair of gloves was left which was in his inner pocket. I can’t stand and talk as I am getting late for my work in next house.”

She hurriedly went into the kitchen and I in my room. I shuffled my wardrobe to search a suitable sweater for her. I couldn’t find an appropriate one which could give her proper warmth. In one corner of the shelf, I found the sweater knitted by my granny. It is white color with rose flowers patterned on it in a vertical row. My granny had given it to me with her blessings that whenever I would receive my degree of doctorate on that occasion I would wear it. I had kept it for years and yesterday was that day, special very special! But now, my maid needed this sweater more. I made up my mind to order a designer cardigan on Snapdeal at economical price. Its quick delivery would surely make me centre of attraction in the function! I gave my priceless treasure to my maid and asked her to wear it right now. She couldn’t utter a word but her moist eyes were saying more than that. After all it was ‘Dil ki Deal’!

Dear readers, I am participating in the #DilKiDealOnSnapdeal activity at BlogAdda in association with SnapDeal. Hope for the best that I win a prize for this post! J

Spinach recipes

"Most of the recipes you try out have the main ingredient - spinach; like spinach barfi, spinach makki roti, spinach dokla, spinach mor kali, spinach salad, spinach idli, spinach tikki, spinach guliyapas, spinach stuffed chilas, spinach bhujiya. Is spinach your favorite vegetable?" Mrs. 'L' asked.
"No, No, Not at all! Actually I always wish to be like Popeye - The Sailor who eat spinach to gain strength. I try out different recipes in a hope that one day I can also relish spinach like him." ;)

Old advertisement

Yesterday, on a sns I posted Rekha's photo and asked she is going advertisement of which product?
A guy answered - Earrings! :)
Can anyone guess which product is she advertising?

God gave us the BEST!

I am following Swami Tejomayananda on Facebook. He wrote these words which I felt so true. Therefore, sharing with you.
When I prayed and did not get what I wanted, I felt sad. But God gave me the best – better than I ever dreamt of. - Swami Tejomayananda

Most of the time we prayed for materialistic things and did not get them like the way we desired. Then we feel disappointed. Time flew and after some years we realized that what God did was the best for us. He could see the future more clearly then what we could and gave the better things and options than what we have ever imagined for us. How big is God's heart! 

Colors of sky

Whenever I have time I love to watch changing colors of sky. The sky with clouds is always more interesting to observe as it changes with just a blink of my eyes. It amazed me with the variation in patterns, designs, shapes and colors. Whenever I am feeling down, the sky's changing colors give free advice that however may be the worst circumstances they will change just like the sky. Nothing is permanent! Neither happiness nor sadness!!

My videos on Youtube

Now you can watch videos shot by me on Youtube. Right now I have uploaded two videos there.
One is about the bird and its babies and other is about my childhood sewing machine toy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-a6uqrQ1ttY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8vZ76wUvWo
More are coming soon. :) You can now follow me on Youtube. :)

Need a dentist

Mrs. 'P' who has just moved from Mumbai to Gurgaon said, "I posted on a networking site that 'I am having sever pain in my teeth. Please tell me about a good dentist in Gurgaon.' That site was about to seek information about maid, driver, doctor, helper, carpenter, gardner, good eating places in Gurgaon. I got overwhelming response. And surprisingly, Gurgaonites told me about 32 different dentists."
"You should give each one a chance by getting checked your each tooth with a different dentist." I chuckled. 

True colors

As soon as one gets the chance to sit on a chair, one starts showing its true colours. ;)

Teesu Flowers

I clicked this pic of beautiful red flowers while my regular evening walk. These are teesu flowers which are used to prepare natural Holi colours. The tree grab one's attention as there are only flowers and no or very few leaves during these days. Eye catching flowers and birds feeding on them are very common site during the month of March. 

Jnana Yoga

Jnana Yoga means liberation through knowledge. Knowledge is truth. And Truth is that God is everywhere and in everything. He is in all beings and all beings are in him. There is no difference between the Self and God. One can practice this with the technique of self inquiry and by asking question ‘Who am I?’ The thoughts arise as soon as ‘I’ thought arise in mind. All the thoughts are based on ‘I’ which is the root of all thoughts. If the root is pulled out then the tree dies similarly if the root thought ‘I’ is uprooted all the thoughts vanishes. Hence, seek the root ‘I’ by questioning ‘Who am I?’. Find it and remove it. The question ‘Who am I?’ is like a stick to gather the scattered wood in the bon fire and in the last the stick will itself burn. It destroys all the other thoughts and finally kills itself also.

(Excerpt from 'Japa Meditation - The Easiest Way to Calm the Mind' by Chandrika Shubham. This book is available online at amazon.in)

Obstacles in meditation

Obstacles appear in meditation somewhat like the obstacles appear while performing any other work. Whatever obstacle comes one must try one’s best to overcome it. One should never stop practice. One should not lose heart. Irregularity in practice, diet, laziness and drowsiness, useless conversation, negative emotions, ego, not finding Guru, lack of faith are some of the problems which a beginner experiences. One should keep moving further without getting distracted because of the obstacles. One should not be discouraged as the journey is very long and can’t be completed overnight.

(Excerpt from 'Japa Meditation - The Easiest Way to Calm the Mind' by Chandrika Shubham. This book is available online at amazon.in)

Karam Yoga

Every action is spiritual, if it is done without any selfishness. If there is selfishness in doing a task then it is only ‘action’ and not ‘karam yoga’. Karam yoga can be practiced by detaching oneself with the fruits of actions. If the result is not upto one’s expectation then one should not get angry, irritated or unhappy. One has to forget oneself in doing the task assigned. One has to erase the factor ‘I’ from it and has to wipe out ‘I did that work’. This is what meditation means to be completely absorbed in work without thinking about the factor ‘I’. 

(Excerpt from 'Japa Meditation - The Easiest Way to Calm the Mind' by Chandrika Shubham. This book is available online at amazon.in)

Shinni with a twist!

My friend told me the traditional recipe of shinni as mix raw flour, unboil milk, ripe bananas, grind sugar and chop fruits. I decided to give it a twist. I poured desi ghee in hot pan and roasted wheat flour in till aroma came and changed its colour to light brown. I mixed the ripe bananas and bura (grind sugar) in a separate bowl. Then added the cool wheat flour in it. Mixed them thoroughly. Added chopped apple, orange and grapes for taste and colour. The result was very delicious.
You must try it if you have a sweet tooth. 

Trick photography

These days it is very common that people click the photos with trick photography. Some try to touch the top tip of a tall building, some try to grab the sun like a ball and some try to push a tall building and some try to hold another person on the palm. The list is endless as our imagination! Here is one pic clicked by me with trick photography. Hope you all like it.

Red-whiskered bulbul

Bulbul is a very common bird in India. They are so friendly that a bird lover can feed them on his palms. Many years back, in our courtyard a bulbul used to come and sing. My mother named her 'Nayantara' and fed Marigold biscuits, its favorite on her palm to it. She sometimes gave it some bits of fruits while peeling them for the family. In fruits, it like pomegranate the most, may be that is the reason of her sweet voice.
The most common variety of bulbul seen in Northern India is red-vented bulbul. One can see them anywhere and everywhere. Many a times I have seen pic of red-whiskered bulbul in books and on net. For the first time I spotted it on top branch of a tree while walking on the path in Mughal Gardens, New Delhi. 

Bhakti Yoga

Bhakti Yoga is the easiest form of God realisation. It is a beautiful way to show love towards God. Bhakti means ‘to worship’ or ‘to be attached to God’. One cannot attain God through logic and reason but from pure faith and devotion. One yearns for God and God alone. In this form of love where there is no expectation. It purifies one’s heart. In sakam bhakti, one desires for materialistic gains and in nishkam bhakti, one desires of God and nothing in return from Him.

(Excerpt from Japa Meditation - The Easiest Way to Calm the Mind by Chandrika Shubham. This book is available online on at amazon.in) 

Acknowledgements of 'Japa Meditation - The Easiest Way to Calm the Mind'

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

To my utmost surprise, I completed this book from idea to print in only seven months. This book was my dream. There are many who helped me generously in converting this dream into reality. A big thank you to all those who supported me!

I wish to thank my Ma, Sarita Saini who taught me how to hold the pencil and to write the first alphabet ‘A’. She was always with me and guided me to overcome the obstacles whenever I stop in my path. My father, Madan Lal Saini gave me a break from business so that I can devote full time to it.

Kaushal Saini, my nanaji for telling me about the power of chanting mantra. Sumitra Saini, my naniji for telling me spiritual stories in my childhood days. That interest later developed into reading spiritual books.

Specially, Neelam Prabha who motivated me from the very first day to write, gave her genuine suggestions and constant feedback. Geeta Davar, who read and critically reviewed the manuscript making it more readable and insightful. I would thank Kiran Bhatia, for adding a tinge of bhakti by improving script in Devanagari. I extend my wishful thanks to my good friends Shrimi and Paulami. Their suggestions about incorporating anecdotes here and there colored my dream with rainbow hues. 

I extend my sincere appreciations to Sanjeev Saini for drawing illustrations and Rajeev Jain for publishing this manuscript.

Foreword to 'Japa Meditation - The Easiest Way to Calm the Mind'

FOREWORD

There are several ways one can attain God. Japa is one of the simplest of them. Japa is the repetition of the mantra, mystic formula. Japa is an important anga (limb) of yoga. Lord Sri Krishna says in Srimad Bhagavad Gita “Yajnanam japa yajnosmi - among yajnas (religious practices) I am japa yajna.”

According to Swami Sivananda, “In kali yuga (dark age) the practice of japa alone can give eternal peace, bliss and immortality. Repetition of the mantra removes the dirt of the mind things such as lust, anger and greed. The mind, from which the impurities have been removed, acquires the capacity to reflect the highest spiritual truth. There is no yoga greater than japa yoga.” Japa yoga can give all siddhis (powers), bhakti (devotion) and mukti (freedom from the cycle of birth and death). Japa ultimately results in Samadhi, communion with the Lord. Japa must become a habit and must be performed with satvik (divine) bhava (feeling), purity, love and faith.

I understand Ms. Chandrika Shubham has practiced japa meditation for more than fifteen years. Consistent practice by the author herself makes this book important to read. I am sure readers will find this useful and interesting.

My best wishes on the occasion of release of the book ‘Japa Meditation – The Easiest Way to Calm Mind’. I wish all the success in this effort.

Mahendra Joshi

(Practicing Siddha Yoga from 30 years)

U.S.A.

Website - http://www.thekundaliniyoga.org

About the Author of 'Japa Meditation - The Easiest Way to Calm the Mind'

Chandrika Shubham is practicing Japa meditation from more than 15 years. She has learnt the art of meditation herself by Grace of God. She has felt the presence of God in the form of books, website, strangers, relatives and nature who has shown her the right path in the time of confusion and crisis. She considers Japa meditation to be the easiest and safest way to God realisation which any one can practice very easily and at any time. She is teaching Japa meditation from the past seven years. She explains the age old deep philosophical teachings in simple, crisp and humorous way. She tries to find out the simple solutions to complicated modern day life problems. She is the author of two books ‘Simple Vastu’ and ‘Saral Vastu’. She is an accomplished Vastushastra consultant and astrologer. Despite being a full time businesswoman, she makes time to teach Yoga in morning and evening. She loves to read, write and blog.

Cover page of 'Japa Meditation - The Easiest Way to Calm the Mind'

The cover page of 'Japa Meditation - The Easiest Way to Calm the Mind' looks like this. I want to thank Cdr Abhilash Tomy, Vivek S Patwardhan, Ajay Agarwal, Nitin Kumar, Devashish Saini and B K Chowla for praising my book so beautifully.
(This book is available at amazon.in)

The Mistress of Spices

After reading the novel 'The Mistress of Spices' by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni I decided to watch movie as well. In most of the cases where movies are based on novels the novels are far better than the movie. Same is in this case. The main attraction of movie is Aishwarya Rai who looks very pretty in sarees. The rest is just fine in the movie.
The author has explained Indian spices and their power amazingly. The description, use and power of spices are well researched. The creative and poetic style of writer keeps me absorbed in novel throughout its length. I must read for those who are interested to know about Indian spices.