Probably no other vegetable has been belittled as much as our humble podalangai. One dismisses off something trivial as ‘periya podalangai samachaaram.’
Chithappa listens to vegetable cure programs early morning in TV. Recently he listened to the benefits of snake gourd and ridge gourd. So you can imagine, how many times, this week we had podalangai. I even ended up having to taste podalangai chutney for idlis, for the first time in my life history.
Of course, I like it as a convenience vegetable, easy on hands to chop, cooks in 3 minutes and a podalangai kootu, podalangai poriyal, or podalangai paruppu usili should be ready in 5 mins. But any day, variety is the spice of life. And ya, spices to be added occasionally.
What was surprising was the medical benefits:
It is useful apart from treating jaundice, diabetes, helping intestinal movements, it also helps in obesity. The leaner the vegetable that we eat, the leaner we get. :-
Snakegourd is a good source of minerals like magnesium, calcium, and phosphorus.
It has a cooling effect on body, so most suited for pitta.
Philosophical Vegetable
Probably snake gourd is the only vegetable, that can join the league of typical snake-rope erroneous attribution of adhyāsa. A reverse one probably, since once the veil of ignorance is removed, the end state is not all that pleasant. Most of us would remember Rajini, his son-in-law, janakaraj’s movie comedy scenes with the snake around the neck mistaken to be podalangai.
I prefer podalangai poriyal crunchy and fresh light green with bright yellow channa dal with a liberal dose of shredded coconut.
Friday, September 30, 2011
Thursday, September 29, 2011
What is ātman?
From the second chapter “The eternal reality of soul’s immortality” - सांख्ये बुद्धिर्योग
य एनं वेत्ति हन्तारं यश्चैनं मन्यते हतम्
उभौ तौ न विजानीतो नायं हन्ति न हन्यते (2.19)
yaḥ enaṁ vetti hantāram yaś cainaṁ manyate hatam
ubhau tau na vijānīto nāyaṁ hanti na hanyate (2.19)
yaḥ - Anyone who; enaṁ - the soul; vetti – thinks; hantāram-is the slayer; yaś cainaṁ manyate - anyone who thinks the soul; hatam – slain;
tau ubhau – both of them; na vijānīto – are in ignorance; nāyaṁ - the soul never; hanti na hanyate – slays or is slain
He holds the Atman as slayer and he considers it as slain, both of them are ignorant. It slays not, nor is it slain.
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न जायते म्रियते वा कदाचित् नायं भूत्वा भविता वा न भूयः
अजो नित्य: शाश्वतोऽयं पुराणो न हन्यते हन्यमाने शरीरे (2.20)
na jāyate mriyate vā kadāchit nāyaṁ bhūtvā bhavitā vā na bhūyaḥ
ajo nityaḥ śāśvato ‘yaṁ purāṇo na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (2.20)
na jāyate – is never born; mriyate vā kadāchit – neither never dies; āyaṁ - soul; bhūtvā – nor does it come into being; bhavitā vā – when the body is created; na bhūyaḥ - again
ajo –birthless; nityaḥ-eternal; śāśvato‘yaṁ - imperishable; purāṇo- timeless; na hanyate – is never destroyed; hanyamāne śarīre – when the body is destroyed
The soul (atman) is neither born nor does it die. Nor does it come into being again when the body is created. The soul is birthless, eternal, imperishable and ancient. It is not killed when the body is slain.
---------------------------------------------------
वासांसि जीर्णानि यथा विहाय नवानि गृह्णाति नरोऽपराणि
तथा शरीराणि विहाय जीर्णानि अन्यानि संयाति नवानि देही (2.22)
vāsāṁsi jīrṇāni yathā vihāya navāni gṛhṇāti naro ‘ parāṇi
tathā śarīrāṇi vihāya jīrṇāni anyāni saṁyāti navāni dehī (2.22)
vāsāṁsi – garments; jīrṇāni – old worn out; yathā – just as; vihāya – giving up; navāni – new; gṛhṇāti – accepts; naro – man; ‘ parāṇi – other
tathā – similarly; śarīrāṇi – bodies; vihāya – giving up; jīrṇāni –old worn out; anyāni – other; saṁyāti – accepts; navāni – new; dehī – embodied soul
Just as man giving up old worn out clothes accepts other new garment; similarly the embodied soul giving up old worn out bodies very accepts new body
---------------------------------------------------
नैनं छिन्दन्ति शस्त्राणि नैनं दहति पावकः
न चैनं क्लेदयन्त्यापः न शोषयति मारुतः (2.23)
nainaṁ chindanti śastrāṇi nainaṁ dahati pāvakaḥ
na cainaṁ kledayantyāpaḥ na śoṣyati mārutaḥ (2.23)
na + enaṁ - the soul never; chindanti – harm; śastrāṇi – weapons; nainaṁ; dahati – burn; pāvakaḥ - fire;
na cainaṁ; kledayantyāpaḥ - wet by water; na; śoṣyati – dry; mārutaḥ - air
Weapons do not cleave the atma; fire burns it not, water wets it not, wind dries it not.
---------------------------------------------------
अच्छेद्योऽयमदाह्योयं अक्लेद्योऽशोष्य एव च |
नित्यः सर्वगतः स्थाणुः अचलोऽयं सनातनः|| (2.24)
acchedyo ‘yam adāhyo ‘yam akledyo ‘śoṣya eva ca
nityaḥ sarvagataḥ sthāṇur acalo ‘yam sanātanaḥ (2.24)
acchedyo ‘yam – soul is uncleavable; adāhyo ‘yam –soul can’t be burn; akledyo – insoluble; ‘śoṣya eva ca - unwitherable
nityaḥ - eternal; sarvagataḥ - all pervading; sthāṇur – stable; acalo - immovable ‘yam sanātanaḥ - everlasting
The soul is indestructible, the soul is incombustible, neither wetted, nor dried. The soul is eternal, all pervading, unmodified, immovable and everlasting.
---------------------------------------------------
अवक्तोयमचिन्त्योऽयं अविकार्योऽयमुच्यते (2.25)
avakto ‘yam acintyo‘yam avikāryo‘yam ucyate (2.25)
avakto - imperceptible; ‘yam; acintyo‘yam – soul is inconceivable; avikāryo ‘yam – soul is immutable; ucyate – it is declared that the soul;
The atman is said to be imperceptible, inconceivable, immutable.
---------------------------------------------------
TBD
What is the difference
1. Between jiva and atma?
2. Between jivatma and paramatma?
3. Between Atma and brahman?
4. Between Brahman and Paramatma?
5. Between God and Brahman?
य एनं वेत्ति हन्तारं यश्चैनं मन्यते हतम्
उभौ तौ न विजानीतो नायं हन्ति न हन्यते (2.19)
yaḥ enaṁ vetti hantāram yaś cainaṁ manyate hatam
ubhau tau na vijānīto nāyaṁ hanti na hanyate (2.19)
yaḥ - Anyone who; enaṁ - the soul; vetti – thinks; hantāram-is the slayer; yaś cainaṁ manyate - anyone who thinks the soul; hatam – slain;
tau ubhau – both of them; na vijānīto – are in ignorance; nāyaṁ - the soul never; hanti na hanyate – slays or is slain
He holds the Atman as slayer and he considers it as slain, both of them are ignorant. It slays not, nor is it slain.
---------------------------------------------------
न जायते म्रियते वा कदाचित् नायं भूत्वा भविता वा न भूयः
अजो नित्य: शाश्वतोऽयं पुराणो न हन्यते हन्यमाने शरीरे (2.20)
na jāyate mriyate vā kadāchit nāyaṁ bhūtvā bhavitā vā na bhūyaḥ
ajo nityaḥ śāśvato ‘yaṁ purāṇo na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (2.20)
na jāyate – is never born; mriyate vā kadāchit – neither never dies; āyaṁ - soul; bhūtvā – nor does it come into being; bhavitā vā – when the body is created; na bhūyaḥ - again
ajo –birthless; nityaḥ-eternal; śāśvato‘yaṁ - imperishable; purāṇo- timeless; na hanyate – is never destroyed; hanyamāne śarīre – when the body is destroyed
The soul (atman) is neither born nor does it die. Nor does it come into being again when the body is created. The soul is birthless, eternal, imperishable and ancient. It is not killed when the body is slain.
---------------------------------------------------
वासांसि जीर्णानि यथा विहाय नवानि गृह्णाति नरोऽपराणि
तथा शरीराणि विहाय जीर्णानि अन्यानि संयाति नवानि देही (2.22)
vāsāṁsi jīrṇāni yathā vihāya navāni gṛhṇāti naro ‘ parāṇi
tathā śarīrāṇi vihāya jīrṇāni anyāni saṁyāti navāni dehī (2.22)
vāsāṁsi – garments; jīrṇāni – old worn out; yathā – just as; vihāya – giving up; navāni – new; gṛhṇāti – accepts; naro – man; ‘ parāṇi – other
tathā – similarly; śarīrāṇi – bodies; vihāya – giving up; jīrṇāni –old worn out; anyāni – other; saṁyāti – accepts; navāni – new; dehī – embodied soul
Just as man giving up old worn out clothes accepts other new garment; similarly the embodied soul giving up old worn out bodies very accepts new body
---------------------------------------------------
नैनं छिन्दन्ति शस्त्राणि नैनं दहति पावकः
न चैनं क्लेदयन्त्यापः न शोषयति मारुतः (2.23)
nainaṁ chindanti śastrāṇi nainaṁ dahati pāvakaḥ
na cainaṁ kledayantyāpaḥ na śoṣyati mārutaḥ (2.23)
na + enaṁ - the soul never; chindanti – harm; śastrāṇi – weapons; nainaṁ; dahati – burn; pāvakaḥ - fire;
na cainaṁ; kledayantyāpaḥ - wet by water; na; śoṣyati – dry; mārutaḥ - air
Weapons do not cleave the atma; fire burns it not, water wets it not, wind dries it not.
---------------------------------------------------
अच्छेद्योऽयमदाह्योयं अक्लेद्योऽशोष्य एव च |
नित्यः सर्वगतः स्थाणुः अचलोऽयं सनातनः|| (2.24)
acchedyo ‘yam adāhyo ‘yam akledyo ‘śoṣya eva ca
nityaḥ sarvagataḥ sthāṇur acalo ‘yam sanātanaḥ (2.24)
acchedyo ‘yam – soul is uncleavable; adāhyo ‘yam –soul can’t be burn; akledyo – insoluble; ‘śoṣya eva ca - unwitherable
nityaḥ - eternal; sarvagataḥ - all pervading; sthāṇur – stable; acalo - immovable ‘yam sanātanaḥ - everlasting
The soul is indestructible, the soul is incombustible, neither wetted, nor dried. The soul is eternal, all pervading, unmodified, immovable and everlasting.
---------------------------------------------------
अवक्तोयमचिन्त्योऽयं अविकार्योऽयमुच्यते (2.25)
avakto ‘yam acintyo‘yam avikāryo‘yam ucyate (2.25)
avakto - imperceptible; ‘yam; acintyo‘yam – soul is inconceivable; avikāryo ‘yam – soul is immutable; ucyate – it is declared that the soul;
The atman is said to be imperceptible, inconceivable, immutable.
---------------------------------------------------
TBD
What is the difference
1. Between jiva and atma?
2. Between jivatma and paramatma?
3. Between Atma and brahman?
4. Between Brahman and Paramatma?
5. Between God and Brahman?
Monday, September 26, 2011
Couple of enthralling songs this moment
On few occasions, after wasting whole day on a non planned activity like now, kind of husky breezy songs soothe me. Like Saindhavi’s “vizhigalil oru vaanavil” I equally enjoyed the stylish spirit in her beau’s “yathe yathe” I have still not deleted the deiva thirumagal from my system, only because of this song, till I get the mp3. I just listen to the songs, seldom watching the videos.
Few of Bombay Jayashree’s number, I love to listen in loop are -"Naramughaiye Naramughaiye", "Vaseegara", "Unakkul Naane", “Malargale”, "Uyire En Uyire", "Paartha Mudhal", "Ninnai charan"
src
Different songs appeal to me at different times. There were days, when MS’ sriman narayana, jo acyutananda were on my loop for days, or lata’s vaishnav jan to. Most of the times, same old chithra’s ninukori varnam or Alka’s “Hai re mera dil”, Sadhana’s ‘Aao na’ allure me. Once upon a time Kavita Krishnamurthy’s ‘Pyar hua chupke se’, ‘Jaagte hain hai hum’ were my favs.
Of the previous janma songs "ajeeb daastaan hai yeh", Madhumati’s “Dil tadap tadap ke …”, “Bichua” are still my favourite that have not listened even once this year. Those were the DD days, when on any Sunday afternoon, other language movies would be shown. Decades ago, the whole extended family was, and only 3 of us knew hindi, yet, only due to this one song, all of us watched Madhumati.
Once in Bangalore, Shivaji nagar, I was hunting for a cotton sari for chithi. This shop was in first floor with steep narrow steps. I found no saree matching Chithi’s specifications of a bangalore cotton without border for daily office wear. Every saree there had a border. Still, could not step out from that shop – for “Adharam Madhuram” was being played, with the fragrance of freshly lit agarbathis to mesmerize me. That song still beckons me. Though till date, I could not find the same audio mp3 that zombied me in that shop in 2008.
Ya, I go by popular choice, I don’t run behind singers or collections. I merely savour few mp3s that come to me without any effort, few songs, I would never consider deleting from my system.
As a school kid, I grew on a staple dose of
Our school teacher used to teach us "nayi dagar naya safar kadam mila ke chal". There was this cute school senior, who had missed her music test and she sang it in our class. Lively tune it was.
These are just few songs on top of my mind right now. There are many other numbers that have haunted me, which i play so many times over loop, that my bro and sis start running away, hearing the same song even after few days.
There was this (Apr 30, 1979) Harini's 'Yaaridamamum thondravilai" from thottijaya, that i have not seen even once, but this song was the one that i played on loop in my ipod held by belt, for almost a week, while i practiced walking on terrace after my ilizarov. My brother deleted the song after a week, unable to bear it being played all the time for days together. Only now I learnt that Nila kaikirathu was hers.
My professor says, tell me the songs you like, and I will tell you, the kind of person you are, your innermost feelings. Few souls with moon in 12th have such impervious sharing boundaries, but I don’t have one.
In agathaivu we were told that you can't enjoy anything without spending your vital energy life force. One enjoys a painting, or a natural scenery, by spending the vital energy of the eyes. One supposedly ends up wearing a soda butti if they had abused eyes, excessively desiring everything they saw in the last janma. Gone are the days, when i was engrossed assailing my ears with ipod ear plugs. I listened to my favourite songs all night even during sleeping, 24 hours, all places. Now I take care to listen to songs, without earphones and spare my ears. Thanks to 16 hours laptop's burning effect on my eyes, rather than gazing without blinking my eyes at some exquisite visual treat, i capture it in my inner eye and close my eyes and enjoy it in my mind in sheer bliss.
Few of Bombay Jayashree’s number, I love to listen in loop are -"Naramughaiye Naramughaiye", "Vaseegara", "Unakkul Naane", “Malargale”, "Uyire En Uyire", "Paartha Mudhal", "Ninnai charan"
srcDifferent songs appeal to me at different times. There were days, when MS’ sriman narayana, jo acyutananda were on my loop for days, or lata’s vaishnav jan to. Most of the times, same old chithra’s ninukori varnam or Alka’s “Hai re mera dil”, Sadhana’s ‘Aao na’ allure me. Once upon a time Kavita Krishnamurthy’s ‘Pyar hua chupke se’, ‘Jaagte hain hai hum’ were my favs.
I first realized those were her songs, only the year she died.
Of the previous janma songs "ajeeb daastaan hai yeh", Madhumati’s “Dil tadap tadap ke …”, “Bichua” are still my favourite that have not listened even once this year. Those were the DD days, when on any Sunday afternoon, other language movies would be shown. Decades ago, the whole extended family was, and only 3 of us knew hindi, yet, only due to this one song, all of us watched Madhumati.
Once in Bangalore, Shivaji nagar, I was hunting for a cotton sari for chithi. This shop was in first floor with steep narrow steps. I found no saree matching Chithi’s specifications of a bangalore cotton without border for daily office wear. Every saree there had a border. Still, could not step out from that shop – for “Adharam Madhuram” was being played, with the fragrance of freshly lit agarbathis to mesmerize me. That song still beckons me. Though till date, I could not find the same audio mp3 that zombied me in that shop in 2008.
Ya, I go by popular choice, I don’t run behind singers or collections. I merely savour few mp3s that come to me without any effort, few songs, I would never consider deleting from my system.
As a school kid, I grew on a staple dose of
Our school teacher used to teach us "nayi dagar naya safar kadam mila ke chal". There was this cute school senior, who had missed her music test and she sang it in our class. Lively tune it was.
These are just few songs on top of my mind right now. There are many other numbers that have haunted me, which i play so many times over loop, that my bro and sis start running away, hearing the same song even after few days.
There was this (Apr 30, 1979) Harini's 'Yaaridamamum thondravilai" from thottijaya, that i have not seen even once, but this song was the one that i played on loop in my ipod held by belt, for almost a week, while i practiced walking on terrace after my ilizarov. My brother deleted the song after a week, unable to bear it being played all the time for days together. Only now I learnt that Nila kaikirathu was hers.
My professor says, tell me the songs you like, and I will tell you, the kind of person you are, your innermost feelings. Few souls with moon in 12th have such impervious sharing boundaries, but I don’t have one.
In agathaivu we were told that you can't enjoy anything without spending your vital energy life force. One enjoys a painting, or a natural scenery, by spending the vital energy of the eyes. One supposedly ends up wearing a soda butti if they had abused eyes, excessively desiring everything they saw in the last janma. Gone are the days, when i was engrossed assailing my ears with ipod ear plugs. I listened to my favourite songs all night even during sleeping, 24 hours, all places. Now I take care to listen to songs, without earphones and spare my ears. Thanks to 16 hours laptop's burning effect on my eyes, rather than gazing without blinking my eyes at some exquisite visual treat, i capture it in my inner eye and close my eyes and enjoy it in my mind in sheer bliss.
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