Photos from Guru Poornima 2008

Dinesh and i have been traveling like crazy for the past few days and are going to be traveling again in a few days... also at vishu's home in bombay, there is no internet (hint hint to bombay volunteers to get that up and running)

So i have not been able to write as much as i want to, and wont be able to in the coming few days as well... things should be back to normal after 15th August... meanwhile take a chance and come and see if there is anything new... but what i would really recommend is go over all the things we have written so far... there is some really nice stuff here worth reading and worth reading again :)

Do cook some fo the recipes and post comments on how they taste... i have some really nice recipes coming up in a few days, experimenting is on :)

Finally, the make over for this blog is getting ready, its looking really cool, cant wait to show it off to everyone :), but it is still at least 15 days away i think...

Here are a few irristible photos of Guruji on the night of this years Guru Poornima... enjoy them :)








Jai Gurudeva!
love
bawa  

An Alternate Reality - Who nose?!

Ivan for all of you once again!!

Well it has long been said that the Divine has a highly developed sense of humour, and is more than a little mischievous as well, but things are starting to get more crazy than normal!

I recently read a message from Guruji saying that for a while we all need to drive with particular care and attention. As one does, I immediately assumed the message was specifically for me - after all, I had recently had the privilege of driving Guruji around Sydney one day during His visit here, so He had experienced my driving first hand – this message was definitely for me! Well, it can't hurt to slow down & drive more mindfully for a while, I thought, a bit of good car-karma would be welcome.

But then came the rub. 'First check', the message went on to say, 'which is your active nostril, and enter the car with the corresponding foot first.'

I read the message again. It didn't change. So the next time I needed to drive I saw my "Check Nostrils" reminder note under my car keys and repeated it to myself like a mantra as I walked to the car.

Unlocking the door and glancing fugitively left and right to make sure no one was looking, I snorted onto the back of my hand to try and sense which nostril delivered the strongest air current. But it was a blustery day and the wind factor was a consideration. I opened my jacket, put my hand inside to escape the wind and repeated the exercise. No question, the flow of air from my right nostril was definitely stronger.

Well, we drive on the left in Australia and the driver's side is on the right. I opened the car door and stood for a moment trying to picture how it would work putting my right foot in first. The next thing I knew I was kneeling on the drivers' seat facing the back of the car. This was clearly going to require practice.

(It reminded me of the first time I used an Indian 'hole in the ground' style toilet. Then too I ended up facing the wrong way but I won't elaborate on where the objective of my squatting ended up!)

I climbed out of the car and tried again. I discovered that by ducking my head inside the car first, closely followed by my right leg and with a kind of quick hop and skip, whilst simultaneously sliding my left leg under my right, I could comply with the instructions while simultaneously experiencing a new Yoga asana – I decided to call it 'sideways dog.'

So driving has taken on a whole new meaning. Too often, of course, I forget the nostril check until I'm half a mile down the road. I do a quick check, hoping the left nostril is active which means I got in, albeit unknowingly, with the correct foot first, and can thus continue my journey in safety. The trouble starts when it isn't the left one. I normally check again a few times of course to get a second, third and even fourth opinion, but sadly there's usually just no doubt.

Like the other morning. I was half way across Sydney Harbour Bridge and suddenly remembered I hadn't checked. After several checks I had to concede the right was unmistakably active. It was then, and quite inexplicably, that I became gripped with a strong sense of impending doom. There was not a moment to lose. Act now or face certain catastrophe!

Fortunately, due to the large volume of traffic, it was moving quite slowly. I braked to a gentle stop and nonchalantly got out of the car. I now have a small but simple routine for such circumstances. The rules of which allow me to leave the engine running as long as I entirely vacate the car and close the door, before opening it and getting back in.

To satisfy the curiosity of the divers stuck behind me, when I get out I usually walk to the back of the car as if I'm checking something, (lights at night, boot door closed during the day.)

On this occasion, not only was there a line of curious drivers held up behind me, but I had also attracted the attention of the occupants of a police car held up in the traffic on the other side of the road. I noticed they were looking at me inquisitively.

I gave them my best 'everything's normal here officers' nod and opened the drivers door. Aware of their scrutiny, I performed my much practiced right-foot entry technique but, as life has it, my foot caught on the door sill and I dived pretty much head first into the driver's foot well.

It was one of those ego-busting moments but with potential for something more unfortunate. There was nothing else to do but clamber into a half reasonable driving position, smile engagingly, pull away and wait for the sound of the sirens. I glanced across at them as I drove off and was relieved to see they were just looking at each other and shaking their heads slowly.

Such events are becoming the norm now around Sydney and I can't help but wonder what I'll say when a policeman does finally challenge me on suspicion of being under the influence – which of course I am. Completely intoxicated by Divine madness, a delicious state brought on by association with our beloved Guruji.

I'm having visions of someone we all adore giggling in His kutir as He pictures devotees all over the world contorting themselves into various vehicles. Meanwhile,

I'm just grateful I don't have to get on a horse!

Sydney 2005

PS PLEASE write to him and tell him to write more... i would love it if this became at least a fortnightly column on this blog... what do you say?! :) You can read his other posts here and here. His email id is: ivan@artofliving.org.au

 

QnA -14

Q: I would like to if it is possible to know the ultimate truth of our creation and creator...Does someone know this or do we all tend to ignore the basic question of life just because we aren't able to find one..?

A: Many know, because they make it a priority of their time on earth to find it out. It’s a very fundamental question and it requires intense dedication, one pointed focus and a lot of patience to get to the answer... I wish you all the best for your journey to the ultimate answer... (There is a school of thought that says that the answer is 42! :))

Q: Dear Bawa,

2 days back I asked you a Q on the fear of Christian faith that I discontinued. I got your reply on it and want to share one experience.

When I used to go to church, I had a very close interaction with my sir there, he was my mentor. However, after I discontinued I never talked to him b'coz of the fear in the mind that he'll criticize me. Today afternoon, after work I went to sleep in my hostel and I met him in my dreams. I shared all that has happened (the success of my PhD, my present work, my marriage etc.) and he was listening to me. I could feel the longing in both of our hearts to hear each other. He asked me where I was all these days? We talked a lot and then I opened my eyes. I was feeling
very light and there was a joy in my heart. What an amazing experience!!!

Are dreams real Bawa? What does this dream mean?

A: There are five types of dreams... Guruji has talked all about it in one of the Knowledge sheet books... Read it up!
As far as the meaning of the dream goes, wise people do not breathe too much meaning into any dream... You have made a choice, now stick to it and get on with your life!

Q: I am 23 years old. I have been organizing and assisting AOL courses since last year and the organizers and teachers here want me to go for TTC1 going to be held in august. but bhaiya, I don't know why but my parents are always dissatisfied with me...my father hasn't done course since yet besides my efforts since now. Mother has done basic course and does not do kriya. I put all my efforts to do what they say. Even then i don't know what they want. I mean, bhaiya I want to serve the society and I am not at all like my lazy cousins who sit free in their holidays or think about themselves... can you please give any direction?

A: We need many more like you. It has always been a mystery to me how parents cannot feel proud of their children, when their children are doing the noble work of serving society... It does help a bit if you spend some little time at home as well :)
Don’t worry too much about parents not doing the course or not practicing Kriya, that happens by and by... Even if it doesn’t, the merit of your Seva gets passed on to them, so really don’t worry about them :)


Q: Dear Bawa,

I was to do the Yes+ TTC 2 years back with you but didn't:( (wish I had). I was at Utsav on Sunday and loved the way you handled Q & A. You are really awesome with answers. I must tell you that I have been reading your blog everyday these past few days and I must say you are such a multi faceted personality. I share some of the same taste in books and have left my comments.

I attended the volunteer meeting you had later, after Utsav. I have one question regarding what you said there. You were talking about the Guru Shishya Parampara and you were telling us how you would drop everything if Rajashri Patel came to India because you love her as she was your teacher... and you are like this because you love her ...and similarly the Yes+ kids love you.. Now, my AOL teacher is not close to inspiring, in fact I am defensive when I am asked who my basic course teacher is. But I am inspired by many other teachers in AOL ( to give you few names, Rajesh and Kavi, Harish are my good friends).

So, what happens in my case? I mean, if we do the course with a teacher, will we mirror them in some way? I always thought it didn't matter who the basic course teacher was as Guruji will take care. But this sentence of yours has actually brought put me off balance:-) Please tell me, should I ask people to do courses with only certain teachers? If yes, then how to I answer the Question as who am I to judge good and bad teachers when Guruji has made them teachers?

A: The only teacher is Guruji and you mirror Him :)... And yes, if you feel a certain person will gel better or enjoy a course more with a particular teacher and you have that choice available, do send that person to that teacher.

For sure, some people will love to learn from certain teachers and others will get turned off. But everyone loves the Sudarshan Kriya and Guruji and that’s enough :)

Q: Hi bawa. how are you? I attended art of living course recently Act 1 at Chennai. It made things better in life. Before the course started there was huge problem at my house. My mom and dad where fighting each other. My mom is suspecting my dads actions always. She is connecting with some people and she is scolding him. One fine day it all came to a break and they started fighting so that the whole road would see..I tried to convince them and got things settled right before I came to course.

But today once again the problem started. My mom is using rubbish words which no girl would say and my dad is saying things as if he is going to break the relationship today. Now my mom is crying and me too. She just wants to die and she keeps on imagining things like people are trying to pull her leg..I spoke to her but I am getting easily angered due to her talks. She doesn't want to understand people. I told her not to find intentions behind others work..but all the five principles is not working before her..I cant share this with my sister who is doing her final semester in m.b.b.s in Russia. It may affect her exams..say something that I could say to my mom to prevent her from doing anything wrong..to calm her..please help me with this..

A: You pray... And get on with your life and let your parents sort out their stuff. Your Sadhana, Seva and Satsang and your prayers will help them much more than your words... Your peace may help solve their problems better than even you can imagine, so trust yourself, trust Guruji, and move on...

Q: jai gurudev ,
hello bawa...
I smoke a lot ....I just wanna quit it...................tried all stuff.................and I am to afraid to tell it to my YES!+ teacher .......Please Help!

A: You want to quit. Then stop! Finish it now. With smoking, who you are hanging around with also aggravates the habit. So stay with people who don't smoke... Do your Kriya regularly, do some physical work (goto the gym), have cold water baths, lose yourself in Seva... You will be fine...

Also remember that every time you smoke, you are choosing NOT to have Guruji in your life... Not a very smart move. Its wise to choose life!

Q: Jgd Bawa/Dinesh,

What do I do, even if educating again n again AND again, does NOT help a person understand his responsibilities?!

What if he has suffered a lot in life because of his bad habits, and dishonesty, and infact has even made his family suffer coz of it? And despite every set-back that the family has suffered because of him, they have embraced him and given him a chance to change?
Guruji says, you should educate and ignore.. how can you ignore the only bread-winner of the family?
How much humiliation can you suffer in front of the world, just cause he is your husband?

How much forgiveness is good?

A: There is always the end of the leash. Sometimes if someone simply doesn’t learn, and they are hurting you and themselves and you are just not happy with them, even though for a very long time you have given your best shot, then a drastic step like separation might be the only option left... You may have to choose

Q: Dear Bawa,

What does a dutiful wife do when her husband has divorced her mentally [physical divorce is out of the question]? Irony is both are into Seva, Satsang and Sadhana. The wife is suicidal.

A: Suicide is out of the question. If husband is not interested, then focus your love on Guruji... Get completely involved in Sadhana, Seva and Satsang... You could almost consider yourself lucky that you have all the “respectability” of being married without having the burdens of that life and that you are free to really go deep into yourself and being completely spiritual!  

Try again!!

A twenty-one-year-old girl tells her Mom that she has missed her period for two months. Very worried, the mother goes to the chemist and buys a test kit. The test result shows that the girl is pregnant.

Shouting, cursing, crying, the mother says, 'Who was the pig that did this to you? I want to know!' The girl picks up the phone and makes a call.

Half an hour later a Ferrari stops in front of their house; a mature and distinguished man with grey hair, impeccably dressed in a very expensive suit, steps out of the car and enters the house. He sits in the living room with the father, the mother and the girl, and tells them,

'Good morning, your daughter has informed me of the problem. I can't marry her because of my personal family situation, but I'll provide support.'


'If a girl is born, I will bequeath her two supermarket stores, a townhouse, a beach villa and a $1,000,000 bank account. If a boy is born, my legacy will be a couple of factories and a $2,000,000 bank account. If it is twins, a factory and $1,000,000 each. However, if there is a miscarriage, what do you suggest I do?'

At this point, the father, who had remained silent, places a hand firmly on the man's shoulder and tells him, 'Then you try again.'  

A Riddle

This one is supposed to be really tough... I got it in about 15ish minutes

1. There are 5 houses in 5 different colours. In each house lives a person with a different nationality.

2. The 5 owners drink a certain type of beverage, smoke a certain brand of cigar, and keep a certain pet.

3. No owners have the same pet, smoke the same brand of cigar or drink the same beverage.

THE QUESTION IS “WHO OWNS THE FISH?”

Facts:

The Brit lives in the red house.
The Swede keeps dogs as pets.
The Dane drinks tea.
The green house in on the left of the white house.
The green house’s owner drinks coffee.
The person who smokes Pall Mall rears birds.
The owner of the yellow house smokes Dunhill.
The man living in the centre house drinks milk.
The Norwegian lives in the first house.
The man who smokes Blends lives next to the one who keeps cats.
The man who keeps the horse lives next to the man who smokes Dunhill.
The man owner who smokes Bluemasters drinks beer.
The German smokes Prince.
The Norwegian lives next to the blue house.
The man who smokes Blends has a neighbour who drinks water.

To re iterate:

WHO OWNS THE FISH??

First person with the right answer and the explanation of how they got to the answer gets 50 Entrecard Credits!  

Dance of the Chappals

Another fantastic little piece from Ivan!



One of the endearing things I love about visiting the Ashram is the 'Dance of the Chappals' - especially at an event like Navaratri, when many thousands of partners get together several times a day in various locations around the Ashram.

Losing one's chappals goes with the territory. In fact, I never really feel I've arrived until I've lost my first pair. As with seeing a snake, losing one's chappals is supposed to bring good luck. Well its certainly brings good luck to the Divine Shop, that's for sure!

Anyway, the first day of Navaratri this year I was blessed with the disappearance of my new, high tech go-faster chappals from Sydney, Australia. I had left them up on the path leading down to the Puja area, and returned a few hours later to see that they had transformed into hollow and empty space. I knew then I had arrived.

I tiptoed off to the Divine Shop and bought less extravagant replacements. Low and behold a couple of days later, luck struck again. Returning to my favourite shop I noticed they were already running low, particularly in my size - a worry, as there were still 6 days to go.

Meanwhile, a new chappal minding service had been inaugurated near the Puja area, staffed by teams of chappal warriors who all but grabbed them from your feet in return for a numbered token with which, allowing for a small miracle, you could later retrieve the same pair. I became a big fan of this service until one day a long queue tempted me to once again let them range free in one of their old spots.

On my return, the present moment was inevitable. More hollow and empty. I shuffled off along that by now well-trodden path that leads to Javier’s Emporium, giving him a shifty glance as I entered. Could he be sending out teams of chappal snatchers whilst we were all busy with Satsang? I casually inquired if they sold second-hand, or second-foot chappals, which would confirm my suspicions, but No. I decided not to see intention in any of this and rummaged around for another pair. However all that was now left in my size were two right footed chappals. I handed over my rupees, negotiating a generous discount for the discomfort and embarrassment factor and hobbled off determined not to be a football of others opinions.

With no more chappals in stock I decided to take no chances. I got the chain and padlock used to secure my luggage whilst travelling, and that evening I chained them to a tree near the new meditation hall. I also wrote a note which I stuck in the grass saying, 'CAUTION - unauthorised removal of these chappals may result in premature reincarnation.'

Now this may seem a little extreme but by now I was a desperate man. Divine Shop out of chappals and still 4 days to go. I sauntered off to Satsang with the quiet reassurance of a man in control of his chappals.

Two hours later I my expectations killed the joy. The chappals were still there OK, but the chain and padlock had gone! Dinesh who was passing and had seen my earlier security measures pointed out, when he managed to stop laughing, that my note hadn't made any reference to the chain or padlock, so they were both fair game.


I decided to accept the situation as it was, at least I still had my two right chappals. In fact, they lasted the rest of my stay, I'm looking at them now remembering those far off blissful Ashram days. So if anyone out there has two size 10 left foot chappals, we can do business!

Read Ivan's earlier post

For business and/or showing some love, write to ivan: ivan@artofliving.org.au  

Guru Poornima 2008

Here is the transcript of Guruji's talk in the Satsang on Guru Poornima, 18th July 2008 (slightly edited for better readability):

How many of you are thinking "Guruji say something?"…Huh?

What is there to talk?

What is there to talk? Hmm..?

We all are happy & celebrating

Meditation, singing, celebrating on Guru Poornima day is considered very auspicious thing. Certain days in a year when you participate in satsang and meditate it compensates for the other days which you have not done….hahahaha :)

That doesn't mean…that u can take this as an excuse for not meditating everyday.

One of those days is Guru Poornima. In satsang you participate and get the merit of not doing for many days (during the year)….hmmmm

(someone asked Guruji why are you so sweet)

I am made like this…..

Apple is sweet, that is how it is made, apple is sweet by nature... isn't it?

Hmmmmmmmmm

What else?

Yes, today you all can have one wish…whatever wish you want to have…just before going to bed make a wish in your mind, our intentions are powerful and they manifest in the right congenial time, at right place with right attitude, they just click.

All blessings are there for everybody... lots of blessings

Universe is showering blessing. You only have to catch it. Open to it

You know in Sanskrit Guru means 'heavy' which is weighty, Guruji is light but words of Guru is weighty and Gravitational force is called Gurutva in Sanskrit.

So many meanings… :)

Hmmmmmm

You know our 5 fingers , all the 5 planets are there. Thumb indicates – victory (u win) right!! Who wins? One who fights... who fights? Commander in chief military (this is Mars)

2^nd Finger (index finger) is Jupiter is Guru…..its the indicator…when you want to show the way its like this... Throughout the world this is how the way is shown... This is Jupiter…..what do u do with this? Pointer indicates. What does Guru do? He indicates/ points out. So that is Jupiter.

Saturn, one of the farthest planet is Saturn, the biggest, tall, Saturn is servant. You know servant has to good and well built, if the servant is weaker then master then how can he carry the luggage. Servant have to carry the luggage of the Master, king or anybody for which he has to be strong. Tall servant.

Then the king…where do u put your ring? jewels, that is ring finger (this is sun) nobody puts ring here to the thumb, but where do they put the ring? In the ring finger…in fact we call it ring finger. King cannot stay alone but he needs servant along with him. So this is sun cannot stand alone.

The little one is the business one, its mercury. on one side of the Sun stands Mercury- business man and on the other side is Saturn- servant.

And Jupiter. So all the planets are in the hand, its indicated when Jupiter and Mars are together meaning the power is together with wisdom in the commander in chief that is called chin mudra.

And when all the king, servant, business man all together its chinmay mudra its higher consciousness in society, cause when wisdom dominates its higher consciousness. And there is beauty, love and abundance.

So whole story is in the fingers.

And children when they are born they put on this mudra, all the babies sleeps in chin mudra , they are so wise. Chinmay mudra. Carefree mind. Joyful mind is chinmay mudra, baby sleeps on that and when they start walking. They suck the thumb u know…is means …now no more in 4 legs….its now 2 legs and 2 arms….so the nature teaches us the whole yoga. Its very good…very good…

See the guru principal is prevalent in all the culture of the society of the world. Even here in America you can't play soccer without a coach or mentor. You need a guide, even when you need to write P.hd, no body will give you doctorate when you don't have u guide. Am I correct...? You have to work under some guide.

And word guide comes from the original Sanskrit word Guru. Sanskrit its Guru and in English it becomes guide, so in every field you need a mentor and in a field which is so abstract and subtle like spirituality, consciousness then definitely needs a mentor and that is a Satguru!

Mother is a first guru for everybody and each one of you should play the role of Guru for at least some people in your life. When you want nothing from them other then their own happiness their own progress. Can you be guru like that for some people? Like you become father or mother to somebody you should also be Guru to someone. Don't have to tell them "I am your Guru". Now you have to play the role of the Guru. Never, assert that u are a Guru. Be light like a flower that is Art of Living. Do u see what I am saying?

Play the role of the guru in the sense you are caring for them unconditionally. You care for them without expecting what they are going to do for you and what the result is going to be. Unconditional care for someone. Start with few and it can spread to many…that you all can do…isn't it?

Can everybody be?

In fact Guru Tatva it is principal light within us, the light in our heart, the light in our life. Hmmm... Viveka….wisdom that tatva also dawns …ok….

So….when you come here in this path, in this Knowledge you will never go empty handed. Just ask, there is proverb its "Ask and it shall be given!"….that is what Guru Poornima all about...

Definitely!....ask it shall be given...

Lets us sing few bhajans!

 

QnA - 13

Here is an article i did for some magazine... They edited a lot of stuff... here it is in the original :)

Q: Why should a person who has been living his life happily need to do an art of living course?
Answer. The Art of Living series of courses are not only for people who have problems in life, they are also designed for extremely happy, successful people who simply want to know more and experience more in life. AOL courses will open up dimensions within you that you don’t even know exist.
The courses also provide you with breathtaking tools (pun intended) that will allow you to flush out daily stresses and allow you to consistently give peak performance.
Besides, the YES!+ course is just pure, unadulterated, challenging fun! So unless you are utterly allergic to having fun and learning something really worthwhile you should find the next course that's happening and go and do it.


Q: What are the most important qualities I should possess to make a positive transformation in society?
Answer. A deep yearning for that transformation to take place. The ability to quickly move from just making plans to putting them into action! The ability to inspire other people to join up with you. Finally to be able to relax and smile and move through obstacles.

Q: How do I attract people to me?
Answer. Meditation. Makes you to people like what an open pot of honey is to bees. When you regularly meditate, you will make heads turn when you walk into a room. The best part is that not only do you attract people, you attract the right type of people. People who will enhance your life by being with you (as you enhance their life by being with them).
Meditation cannot be learned off the internet or from a book, please make sure you learn from someone who is qualified to teach you. We would of course recommend the YES!+ course:).

Q: There is a guy in my life. How do I know that he is the right one for me?
Answer. When the question you are asking doesn’t remain, then you will know!

Q: Is it possible to get anything you want in life?
Answer. Yes. It is possible to get anything you want in life provided you make sure you help a significant number of other people get what they want in their life. Sooner than you think, what you want will plop into your lap!

Q: Should I believe in miracles?
Answer. Only if you want them to happen to you!!

Q: Can you tell me about a miracle?
Answer: Black cow, eating green grass, giving white milk!! :)

Q: How do I get out of depression?
Answer. The recipe for depression is asking the question: “What about me?”. Continuously thinking only about what’s in it for me? Very quickly you will get depressed. So the way out is to start thinking and doing things for others. Do some Seva, think about others for a change and you will see that depression just fades away...

Q: How do you from Art of Living see India 25 years from now?
Answer. Wise people don’t predict the future. Wise people MAKE the future! We invite you to join us and make the India and the planet of our dreams!!


Jai Gurudeva!
love
bawa  

Do you really cook?

I had this question in one of the comments to the stir fry veggies post...

Here is my (indignant) answer:

Every single recipe thats on this blog is cooked at least 3-5 times in my Ashram kitchen... not just by me, but by other people too...

Every single photo has been taken of the food just before we ate it... This part is the tough part, coz everyone wants to eat as soon as its cooked :)

So, yes, i cook all these recipes, most of them are my own, others maybe heavy modifications from people i have learned (they are usually credited in the recipe) and very very few maybe something i got from a book or online but again heavily modified to suit my style of cooking :)

Jai Gurudeva!
love
bawa

PS if you are still in any doubt, please ask anyone who has eaten the food i have cooked! :)  

Stir fry Veggies

A very yummy continental flavoured stir fry, quite quick to make...

1/3 a broccoli (or a full small one) chopped into medium sized florets
1 medium (green) zucchini thinly sliced
2 carrots peeled and cut into thin strips
a generous handful of french beans cut thinly
300 gms frozen peas soaked in water (or fresh ones that have been boiled and ready to eat)
A handful of snow peas roughly cut
Button and/or oyster mushrooms (you could use portabello as well) washed and cut into chunky pieces
a small bunch of spinach finely chopped
2 pods of garlic finely chopped or squashed
10-15 leaves of fresh basil chopped coarsely

Heat 3-5 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pan. Add garlic (you may optionally add 2-3 dried red chillies as well) and cook till it turns golden brown. Add salt to taste. Add the basil leaves and stir a bit.



Next the french beans go in and cook them for about 5 minutes or so. Then the carrots snow peas and broccoli get cooked for another 5ish minutes. Next add the mushrooms, zucchini and spinach and cook for 3-4 minutes more. Last add the spinach. Let the whole thing sizzle for 2 minutes.

You may stir in some butter, or tomato puree or pesto...

Feel free to add any other veggies you fancy... bell peppers, squash, cauliflower, potatoes... whatever, don't add too much of any veggie coz otherwise that veggie overpowers the delicate basil garlic taste.

Serve piping hot with toasted wholewheat or multigrain bread. You may garnish with some shredded cheddar cheese! :)  

Navaratri according to an Ozzie

Ivan is an Art of Living teacher from London now staying in Sydney, Australia. He has an absolutely whacko sense of humour as you will see in the post below... i dug it up from my computer, i think he had written this about 2 years ago... He is an absolutely lovely person and a pleasure to know!



You can drop him some mail and tell him how you liked it... his email id is ivan@artofliving.org.au

I called the travel agent in Sydney, Australia from the Bangalore Ashram to put back my return flight for a week or so. The conversation went something like this...

Agent. "So you want to stay on, must be having a good time - where have you been?"

Me. "Eh, well... have you heard of Navaratri?"

Agent. "No, is it near Delhi?"

Me. "It's not a place, its a festival actually."

Agent. "OK, like a beer festival?"

Me. "Not really, in fact there was no alcohol."

Agent. "No alcohol! Well what kind of festival do you call that?"

Me. "Well it's a nine day celebration, expressing gratitude for Life and all its gifts."

Agent. "9 days without a drink and you call that a celebration - how did you celebrate then?"

Me, now wishing I'd never mentioned Navaratri, "Well.....most days you get up around 5.00 am, have a cold shower, make your way to a covered area where you sit on the ground for
five or six hours listening to chanting in a funny language, then go and queue for some food, no cutlery mind, help wash a few thousand dishes, pick up rubbish, lose your shoes, walk barefoot back to covered area, get soaked in a monsoon storm on the way, sit and watch people throwing
sticks and fruit and herbs and flowers and milk and honey into a big fire, and then on the last day we go pretty wild and the master of ceremonies drenches every one with water.

You should try it sometime. Oh, and by the way, God comes."

Very long pause.

Agent. "Well it sounds a bit different from the average package holiday we sell, I'll give you that. But these extreme holidays are getting more popular now, maybe this Travanatrina will catch on. Anyway, the next available flights back to Sydney are on 25th, is that OK?"

Me. "Thanks, I'll take them - that will give me time to recover."

I wished him peace, prosperity and happiness - he seemed pretty happy with that!

ps watch out for another of Ivan's gems next week!  

Some fun

I have been reading some really funny stuff lately, thought i would share some one liners with you guys:

Don't worry, Rome wasn't burned in a day - Douglas Adams

Winston Chruchill when asked to give a short talk on sex: Ladies and gentlemen, it gives me great pleasure! (and then he sat down)

If that had gone in, it would have been a goal! - David Coleman

We didn't lose the game, we just ran out of time... - Vince Lombardi

If at first you don't succeed, reload and try again. - Scott Adams

I felt like a man trapped in a woman's body. Then i was born! - Chris Bliss



The longest sentence you can form with two words is "I do" - H.L. Mencken

When the white missionaries came to Africa they had the bible and we had the land. They said "Let us pray." We closed our eyes. When we opened them, we had the bible, and they had the land! - Archbishop Desmond Tutu

He has a face that would convince you that God is a cartoonist - Jack Kroll

Don't pay any attention to the critics, don't even ignore them. - Sam Goldwyn

I told my mom, i am going to run away from home. She said, "On your marks..." - Rodney Dangerfield

My mother hated me. She once took me to an orphanage and asked me to mingle. - Joan Rivers

In olden time sacrifices were made at the Altar. It's a practice that still continues. - Helen Rowland

My wife and i were happy for 20 years. then we met. - Rodney Dangerfield

When i hear people sigh, "Life is hard", I am always tempted to ask compared to what?! - Sydney Harris

Here's a tip to stop smoking: Douse yourself with petrol everyday. - Bill bailey

Today is the tomorrow that you worried about yesterday. - Mark Twain

Rembrandt painted 700 pictures. Of these 3000 are still in existence. - Wilhelm Bode

Until further notice, celebrate everything - Bawa (really!)

Jai Gurudeva!
love
bawa

ps did you like them? do you want more of this? Maybe once a week or every 15 days? Tell me by leaving some comments

pps Very few people reading and commenting on blog sutras? Do i continue?  

Beacons of Light

In school (Don Bosco, Matunga), we had something called a calendar, which was basically a smallish blue coloured book, with the portions for every year, a (duh!) calendar, so we could enter into it like a diary stuff that we wanted to, our marks in various tests and exams AND the Remarks page. Here sadistic teachers would put remarks about us when we didn't do something they wanted us to do or did something they didn't want us to do :)... like homework, or chatter in the class, etc.

You then had to get it signed by equally sadistic parents who would come up with very creative ways of making life miserable in exchange for their signature... I was too bhola to even think of forging signatures, besides parents had supernatural powers when it came to finding out stuff you really wanted to keep hidden!

Thats where grandparents came in... my grand dad would look at the remark, raise his eye brows, and silently sign it, almost as if it was an autograph book :)

Life revolved around the remarks page... You couldn't get more than 12 remarks in a year, or your parents would be summoned by the principal, and that would be REALLY embarrassing! And, you cannot get more than 3 behaviour remarks (talking in class, hit someone, etc) in a year coz, then the class teacher called up the parents ... stuff like that...

Now, there were teachers who were slightly english challenged... our hindi teacher Mrs Sampat for example, would only write "homework not done" in the remarks page, regardless of the offense... When i look back now, i see that the weak teachers- the ones who couldn't hold a class's attention or simply didn't know how to teach the subject and were doing just a "job" relished this power that they wielded over us hapless students who had to suffer them.

The really good teachers, the ones who bring a smile to our face and dampness in our eyes even when we think of them 20 years later, never ever gave a remark... They didn't need to discipline us at all. They commanded our respect and love, never demanded it... They were the ones who we looked at and thought, i would love to become like this... I guess the others just served as examples of how not to be!



And i know that we all are, at some point or the other, teachers to others... And as people who know how to meditate, we become teachers to the world at large. We become teachers of Life, of how to Be. Of how to tread gently on our beloved planet... When people see how we lead our lives, they need to get inspired and feel: Man!! I would love to be like this! What a wonderful life!

Sadhana, Seva and Satsang make us the best that we can be... Beacons of Hope and pure Light, radiating peace, joy and love to all, opening possibilities in others to live their Highest, teaching all to Be...

Jai Gurudeva!
love
bawa  

Happy Birthday!!!

Today is the day... my 2 little waves remember the ocean that they were born in...

It's the birthday of my nephews Aarman and Ahun

Aarman means "a wish"



Ahun means "of God"


Together they are a Wish of God! :)



They definitely make you remember God many many times when you are around them... "oh God!!! stop that... be quiet, sit down, go to sleep, eat your food..." etc

Happy Birthday!!!

Jai Gurudeva!
love
khurshed mamu and ping mamu (don't laugh that's what they call us!)  

Flavoured Olive Oil

In a large bowl, empty the contents of maybe half a bottle of Olive Oil. Use extra virgin, cold pressed oil. Just add to that in any combination you want: 3-5 dried red chillies, few sprigs of fresh rosemary, few leaves of fresh basil leaves, a bunch of fresh oregano leaves, finely diced garlic, a sprig of fresh thyme, etc.



Leave to stand for 15 days to a month. The oil becomes delicately flavoured with whatever herbs you have put in it. Transfer to a bottle along with the herbs that are floating in it. You can use it as a garnish with superb effect on almost any pasta, baked potatoes etc.

Put it in the fridge and it will turn into a kind of a paste. This can be used instead of butter on toast and a host of other things.

You could even melt butter and do the same thing and allow the butter to solidify again and voila you have flavoured butter. You don't need to allow the butter to stand for too long just a day or 2, somehow it catches the flavour much faster than the olive oil.  

Sliced Tomatoes

People have been asking for some really easy recipes. It can't get much easier than this one :)

Take 4-5 medium sized tomatoes and slice em or dice em, depending on your mood. Heat about 2-3 tablespoons of Olive oil and add some jeera, rai (1/2 tsp each is enough) and basil leaves and let all of it crackle, don't burn it. Let it cool.

Put the tomatoes higgledy-piggledy in a salad plate or any plate. Pour the olive oil mixture over the tomatoes and add a tablespoon of fresh lemon juice. Toss the whole thing lightly. Set aside (i like to put it in a fridge) for 20 minutes to an hour. This intensifies the flavour.



Sprinkle with salt and pepper, garnish with finely chopped basil leaves. Serve with hot toasted and buttered bread or as a salad to a main course.

You can have many variations to this of course: instead of the basil leaves, add some dried red chilly to the oil and garnish with corriander leaves for a totally Indian flavour. Completely leave out the rai and jeera for a completely continental flavour. Just add olive oil and lemon juice mixed well together along with salt and pepper... This one is usually the first dish on the table to get over! You get a lot of compliments and it's really so simple to put together!!!  

Cheeni Kum

Ok, so i had the time to watch this one just a few days ago... and ok, i know most of you would have seen it already... but still, here is the review:

In a word: Fantastic!

Amitabh Bachchan sparkles as an absolutely acidic chef serving up sumptous Indian food in a classy London restaurant... He is (for a change) playing his age of 64 :) and falls in love with a girl who is 34, whose father is actually younger than him :)

father: a cricket mad paresh rawal

the movie is all about the 2 of them getting the father to agree to their marriage... set in a very green London and an astonishingly picturesque Delhi (I loved the Qutub Minar scene), its a superb way to spend a rainy evening...



There is amitabh's mother (!) too, who has a body building fixation, and there is sexy a 6 year old lil girl suffering from blood cancer who is amitabh's neighbour... The interaction between the kid and the veteran actor are to watch out for!

Tabu who plays the (34 year old) woman falling for amitabh also does a superb job and its an extremely believable jaunt thru London and Delhi... the only hint i got for cooking in the movie is put the hing in first, then the onions for a better flavour in a Biryani, not the other way round :)... they could have added some more :)

The Cheeni Kum song which kept popping up through out the movie was also perfect for the setting...

Do yourself a favour and watch this movie with some people you love ...

Jai Gurudeva!
love
bawa  

For those of you still searching...

Yesterday we were late... today a whole hour early!!! :)

The title of my new blog about blogging is Blog Sutras and the URL is www.blogsutras.blogspot.com

The easiest way to find it, would have been to simply go into my profile... it shows all the blogs that i am currently contributing to... (Almost all of them are test sites :))... Or you could have searched with google

Now, if you read my original post about the competition it says: "... You have to figure out the name... if you get to the blog and leave some comments on it before Monday morning 10:30 AM India time..."

Note the plural on the comments! I know it's cheeky :), but i myself left 2 comments there as a hint :)...

Though I have 50+ comments there, only the few who left more than 1 comment qualify for the surprise prize :)

Here are the 6 people who qualify: Richa, Kola, Now What???, Ajay, Jyuthika and Monica

Here is the way i am going to choose the winner:

Give numbers to the people who qualify:

1. Richa, 2. Kola, 3. Now What???, 4. Ajay, 5. Jyuthika and 6. Monica

Goto Research Randomiser and ask it to randomize numbers between 1 and 6... finally the winner is the person whose number turns up first in the list generated by the randomizer:

and the winner is:

Ajay!!!!!!!!!

Congratulations Ajay, you win:

1. A Tester pack of completely organic and natural SLES free soaps from Prakriti Network
2. A copy of Sahil's brand new rocking Bhajan CD: I Belong to You (it will be the first copy!) that he has recorded exclusively for Prakriti Network. I don't have the photo of it yet, just got the master yesterday night :)



3. A very small, very cute and very elegant Bhagavad Geeta




Ajay, please contact me: khurshed@gmail.com and we will figure out how to get your prizes to you! :)

and thanks a lot everyone else for participating and making it such fun to launch a new blog!!

Jai Gurudeva!
love
bawa

ps some links on the Prakriti Network site still don't work... but not to worry, Sumeru Software is on to it! So, they should start working sometime real soon... right? everyone at Sumeru?! :)  

QnA - 12

Today's post is delayed and i am really sorry for that... Here is a lovely photo from the Adv course that just got over to make up for the delay :)


Scroll all the way down for 2 more really cool photos! :)

Q: Bawa help me!!! These are my problems: My parents (especially my mom) are very attached to me and this creates problems .. sometimes as I have to accompany them on long trips against my will ... My dad is extremely anti-AOL and discourages my involvement in AOL seva (though he grudgingly allows it) - we've had a fight in the house because of this... I want to do seva but at the same time I don't want to hurt my dad's feelings ... how do I get out of the conflict ???
A: You will need to take some sort of action to help your mom get out of this... OR reach some compromise. Like ok I will come with you for this trip but then you have to allow me to do Seva whenever I want to or I come with you here, you have to come with me to Bangalore for Adv course! :)

Certain times to do what is right, you may need to hurt feelings. Even your dad’s or mom’s or close family and friends... Do you believe that doing Seva is right? If you do, then hurt their feelings and do it. Sooner or later they will start to feel proud about you, esp. When other people come to them and praise you! :)

Q: Somewhere I read that forgive and let go as it will liberate enormous amount of energy and creativity. But sometime forgiving someone makes the person feel that I am weak and he/she never changes for which the person is forgiven. So what should be done in situation like where your own so called friend betrays you, is he/she be forgiven?
A: Be nice not naive... Acche raho, kacche nahi!

Forgiving a person for what they have done doesn’t mean that you don’t tell them exactly what you think about them, esp. If they are thick skinned and may take you for granted. Being strong as well as sensitive is a skill that's worth developing!

Q:Hi Bawa, Maybe you will be disappointed in me when I say this, but of late I have been questioning my principles of living a totally "clean" life. I see people doing fine in school, some even better than me, or a lot better than me, when drinking alcohol, partying in the club, engaging in promiscuous activity, etc. in various degrees. Perhaps God blessed them with more innate intelligence than me. But then I think it is easier for them to get along in this world, with whatever superficial friendships that they form than someone who deviates from society and receives criticism for that.

A: Not disappointed, just surprised! Any intelligent person (and I thought you were one!:)) knows that getting Better grades, or having sex does not ever translate into being a better human being which the world desperately needs today! It is exactly these sort of people who are responsible for not only (slowly) degrading their lives, but also the environment around them...

Also, whether you drink or not, party or not, if you sincerely study you get good grades... Do remember that. You may do your Kriya everyday, but if you don’t study, you will flunk

Meditation and Spirituality make it easier for you to achieve your dreams. But if you just meditate and don’t work... For sure you are going to be left behind! :)

Finally, I would rather have 5 meaningful deep relationships than a 1000 superficial ones! Of course it's way better to have 1000's of meaningful realtionships, and those happen when you meditate and are surrounded by Sattva and Satsang!

So Breathe, Relax and then get out there and MOVE!

Q: I would like to know why is prostitution considered a wrong doing even now? When almost every act of human is untrue( like black money, corruption etc etc)

A: So you are saying that since there is black money, prostitution is alright? Have you ever thought that BOTH are wrong?! And that by participating in it, you are contributing to the wrongness?

There are many problems on the planet. And there are solutions too. Are you part of the problem or part of the solution? Choose well! :)

Q: Jai Gurudev Bawa I love the Grilled Sandwich in the Ashram canteen. I make them at home using Amul sliced cheese. So have around 2 slices of cheese and 4 slices of Brown bread daily. Is this alright for health. Also what makes mozzarella cheese different from sliced and spread cheese?

A: I hope you are exercising. 2 slices of cheese can add up to a lot of cheese. Mozzarella cheese melts beautifully and spreads out when heated and turns a lovely golden brown when baked... It’s what gives Pizzas that rich golden brown look... It also has quite a different taste from Cheddar Cheese (your normal cheese)

If you are going to have this quantity of cheese, please exercise at least an hour everyday!! or you will go from fit to pleasingly plump and the unapologetically fat very soon! :)

Q: Dear Bawa, I hope you will answer my question. I have been noticing that the moment things go wrong in my life, I start struggling a lot with the knowledge. As long as things go fine, I am ok...... knowledge seems crystal clear....... Guruji is beautiful etc. And then I lose a job or have financial problems or have some family problems etc, I become angry with nature, God, Guruji. I am fully aware that I am angry and fully aware that this is not the way I should be reacting but my ego refuses to bow down to Guruji at that time.

It goes "Guruji I have struggled so much already in life and you are giving me some more? I have had enough of this spiritual path and want nothing more of this life. Let me just die, dissolve, disappear.... there is no point in continuing life this way." Everytime, Bawa, my experience of pain is very very intense when I am through tough situations and I end up screaming and yelling (of course it is poor Guruji who takes it all coz no one else can take me!!!).

I just went through one such episode and I am wondering what is wrong with me. I am back to normal now as after a very tough situation that bothered me to the extreme for couple of months now seems to be getting over. But I am so tired of myself. Same behaviour over and over again. When will I change? All affirmations that next time I will not react like this gets thrown out of the window and for the last few years I see the same lack of confidence in the path when I am faced with a challenging situation. I am regular with sadhana, seva and satsang.... Guruji showers me with so much of love yet that goal of the Inner World remaining unaffected by the Outer World has been unattainable so far. I am fed up of myself.... really. What should I do Bau?

A: First off, dont be “fed up” with yourself. Spirituality is that which brings you closer and closer to who you are, to yourself... Can you be close to something you are fed up with? Impossible!

So for spirituality to work for you, the first thing to do is really love yourself :)

Being angry with Guruji is absolutely ok. Pointless but ok :) He is the one who can take your anger... Better you get angry at Him rather than people around you :)

Finally, this path is not about taking away your problems... It’s about giving you the tools and techniques to handle the problems more effectively... Each problem conquered brings about a new dimension in you, opens up a new skill in you... Look at problems as adventures!

Here is a tip: Instead of asking that the problems go away, ask for quick solutions! Coz the more you say problem go away, the more the problem will stay... What will do the trick is praying for solutions! :)

...And here are 2 photos of Guruji playing with Maheshwara our Ashram elephant!...



Jai Gurudeva!
Love
Bawa  

Heaven on my Mind

Guruji, a legend says that Sant Tukaram went to heaven in his physical body... I too want to do that, is it possible?

Why do you want to goto heaven in your physical body? When you fly from Bangalore to Bombay, do you insist that you take the seat you sat on along with you in Bombay?! I paid for that seat, now you give it to me... wouldn't that sound completely ridiculous?! :)That seat is there for you to be comfortable while you are on the plane... you don't take the seat with you once you reach the destination, that would be just plain silly... even thinking about is sounds so stupid doesn't it!

Same way, wanting to "goto heaven" in your physical body is so silly!

When the legend says that Sant Tukaram went to heaven in his physical body, it means that he got enlightened while he was still in his physical body, right here on earth... not that he went to heaven with his body :)

and this is something you can aspire to... Enlightenment right here and in your present body!

Jai Gurudeva!
Love
bawa  

About Blogging...

Many, many people have requested that i start a blogging tips series of articles...
ok, so i am going to become a football of all your opinions, and start... BUT i am going to do it in style! (of course!:))

So, i have created a new blog to do just that... there are already 2 articles published on it... You have to figure out the name... if you get to the blog and leave some comments on it before Monday morning 10:30 AM India time... I will send you a surprise prize (it's definitely going to be a surprise, coz even i don't know what its going to be! :))

Happy Guessing!!

Jai Gurudeva!
love
bawa

ps some people have already found it... so will randomize all the people who qualify and send the surprise to them! :)  

A Blogger Wishlist

Blogger Wishlist

Blogger is a very nice platform to begin blogging. But it can get quite frustrating once you have got the hang of it and you wish to change the look and feel of your blog... I have been using major amounts of stuff from blogger buster to customise the look and feel of my blog... Ty v much for that amanda... Really looking forward for the ebook of yours :) AND of course winning the prize! :)

Here are things I would love to see real soon on the blogger platform:

1. Templates choices: More templates to use of course and the Ability to make colours change on everything individually. Add in a header and footer through the layout screen. Specifying width and length for both if applicable. Have the ability to create 1,2,3,4 or more column blogs right from the layout, where you can simply drag and drop a new column which you can then customize either by specifying its width (and length if applicable) in pixels or percentages. So that the Layout screen truly becomes a complete drag and drop experience. Maybe they should give it out to Apple to make this :)
2. Tips on SEO: Some basic tips to optimize your blog for SEO. Maybe some software could crawl the blog and let you know what to do for better google presence.
3. Ability to add bookmarks (of various social networking sites) to the main site as well as to your posts, by just selecting them and adding a variety of different buttons that could be made available for them through some post customization or basic customization screens.
4. Some fun widgets could be added... And designing them should be made easy, so a person with basic HTML can quickly whip up a widget that they can use and that they can offer as downloads for others... Either paid or free.
5. The Inline comment forms can be made prettier, by adding the editor that we already have on the create a post page. Also the ability to comment to a comment or nested comments would be a superb feature to have.
6. Ability to easily add a podcast audio or video.
7. Some tune up software that could tell you what’s taking how long to load so you could do some optimizing on load times even if you are a complete newbie.
8. Ability to see visually how people who are visiting your blog are clicking. Something that could keep a track of how many clicks on which links and then generating a heat map of the page, so you can see where people are going on your blog
9. Tabbed Browsing built in... So if there is something I want to make a sticky I can put it in a tab and it doesn’t eat up space on the main page.
10. Cool transitional effects a la Keynote from Apple, so when someone clicks to go to some page, the page turns or explodes into confetti or blurs or some stuff like that :)
11. Ability to show selected excerpts from my posts with a read more button.
12. Ability to give labels to the photos I upload to the blog. As well as choose the placement of the label (on the photo, under the photo, etc) and the font, font size and colour I want for the label.
13. Ability to load a folder of images all at once
14. Blogger.com should work when we really need it :) :) :)

PS to all people reading this, its a post for a competition from amanda of blogger buster ... if you have a blog, it would be fun to enter :)
PPS You can add your own demands (well wishes really) to the good people at blogger by clicking here  

Small Update

Been working with my graphics friends to give the blog a new look... once i am done with that, will add the blog roll which will contain the URLs of all the blogs we love to read...
It's just taking a lot longer than i thought it would take... and i really dont have any ETA... only know that it will happen sooner or later :)
Jai Gurudeva!
love
bawa  

Dhan Dar Patio

This is a traditional Parsi Dish cooked on special occasions like Birthdays and Sunday afternoons :)

On the Ashram everyday is a special occasion, so while i was typing this out in the night for the blog, my mouth was watering and so we had it for lunch today... photos attached! :)

Dhan=Rice



That's very simple: Take as many handfuls of rice as there are people to eat. Bung them in a cooker, add water so it covers the rice by about half an inch. Add a tablespoon of ghee (you can add less if you want), add salt to taste, add 2 bay leaves, 2-3 cloves and 1-2 cardamon(crushed)... cook for 3-4 whistles and then simmer for a few minutes. Wait until the cooker has cooled down before opening it.

Dar:


5 Handfuls of Tuvar Dal (the usual yellow dal we use to make... well, dal) will be enough for about 6 people. Wash the dal 3-4 times. Preferably soak it overnight or at least for 3-4 hours. Put in a cooker, add water so it covers the dal by about half an inch (more if you want the dal thin), add salt to taste and some ghee (the more of ghee, the more richer the dal). Cook for 3-4 whistles and simmer for 10ish minutes. Wait until the cooker cools down before opening it.

In a tadka vessel, add some ghee and heat it. Add 2 cloves of crushed garlic and a pinch of hing... let it crackle for a few seconds and add to the dal. Whirrrrrr the dal with a hand mixie to get a nice silky smooth consistency.

Patio:

Pronounced PA (of PAttern) T (for tea) EO

Chop up 12 medium sized tomatoes. Par boil (meaning almost cooked) some green peas and diced carrots (2-3 should be enough). If you are using frozen peas, use a small packet and simply put them in water for a little while. Also chop 2 small brinjals into cubes. Chop a small bunch of spinach and methi (fenugreek if i am not mistaken) leaves as well. Desiccate some coconut, about a big generous handful.

Heat up some ghee or oil in a big saucepan. Add 2 slit green chillies, 12-15 curry leaves, 4 cloves of garlic which are either chopped finely or crushed and cook till garlic has turned golden brown. Add the desiccated coconut to this and cook until golden brown. Next add a tablespoon of garam masala, 2 tablespoons of dhania jeera, a pinch of red chilly powder (more if you want it spicier), a pinch of haldi (turmeric) powder. Cook the masalas properly. Add the carrots and the brinjals and cook well. Add the tomatoes and cook away until completely done. Next add the spinach and methi and cook till the mixture has thickened a bit. Finally add the green peas.



Chop up some fresh corriander leaves and garnish the patio before serving. BTW, in my patio, there is no green chillies or chilly powder and it tastes fantastic!

For eating: in a plate, put the cooked white rice and spread it a bit. Next add the yellow dal onto the rice. Parsis will add so much dal that the rice cannot be seen at all :). Then add the red patio onto the dal. The quantity depends on how spicy you have made the patio and how spicy you like your food... Add a dollop of butter in the middle of the whole thing.

Usually something fried (like a cutlet) along with this goes down really well... In the photo there is soya fillet fried to perfection, the lime is for the fillets, and looks nice in the photo :)