SIMPLE Physical Exercises to Promote a Healthy Life .
You can familiarize yourself with the exercise routine through daily practice over a four week period.
Musical Message Saying (MMS)
Simple Natural Foods Promote Health
Right Food Taken in the Right Quantity at the Right Time Promotes Good Health.
One Who Serves Parents, Elders, Guru and God with Complete Devotion ill be Blessed with Knowledge and Bliss
Instead of Fat Rich, Sugary Snacks, Eat Heart Healthy Fresh Fruits
Drink a glass of water on morning to activate your body. Eat fruits on an empty stomach.
During meals 1/2 fill the stomach with food, fill 1/4 stomach with water and 1/4 stomach should be filled with air for food to churn and digest properly.
Sound is very important and creates vibrations that affect our moods, motivates us and can create either positive or negative changes in individuals and groups.
There are SEED SOUNDS that were known to ancient Indian sages. They understood and used these seed sounds for Positive Development of students.
Here are some seed sounds which when chanted creates vibrations that enhances the intelligence of the person. The sounds can be chanted for 5 to 10 minutes prior to studies and after studies.
OM AIM HREEM SHREEM SARASWATYAI NAMAHA
Problems that arise from craving for food
SAGE DHOWYMA AND UPAMANYU (adapted from Bhakti Mala July 2001)
Once there lived a great sage named Dhowmya. A boy named Upamanyu came to the hermitage to study under sage Dhowmya.
Upanmanyu’s parents left after Dhowmya accepted their son as his student (disciple). Many years passed but Dhowmya did not teach even a single letter to Upamnayu.
Upamanyu finally gathered some courage and asked his teacher (Guru), “ Gurudev, will you please give me some assignment?”
“Do you want to do something? Alright, from tomorrow onwards, take the cows for grazing.”
Upamanyu was happy that at last there was something for him to do. Upamanyu was a chubby boy, in the previous years he did not have any work so he had become fatter. On the first day of the new assignment, when he returned to the hermitage, he was very happy. He went to the Guru and said, “Gurudev, I have done the work entrusted to me.”
The Guru grinned and said, “Upamanyu you look so chubby. What do you eat every day?”
Upamanyu replied, “I go to the neighbouring village every day and do Madhukara Vritti.”
(Madhukara: honey bee; vritti: occupation. Just as a bee collects nectar from various flowers students are required to beg in several houses for food).
Guru,”Is it so? Did I tell you to do that?”
Upamanyu said, “No Guruji, you did not tell me to do that. I am going with the other students to beg for food from the neighbouring village.”
Guru replied, “All the other students offer me whatever food they got by begging. Only if I give them a portion of it they will eat.”
“Forgive me Gurudev, I will also do like that from tomorrow.”
The following day Upamanyu placed whatever food he got by begging at the feet of the Guru. The Guru beamed happily and said, “You may go now.”
He did not give Upamanyu any food. This went on for a few days. Upamanyu was doing his duty well.
After a few days the Guru’s gaze fell on Upamanyu once again. “Upamanyu you are offering me whatever you get by begging. How is it that you still look plump and chubby? What are you eating?”
“Guruji, after I make the offering of food to you I am going a second time to the village for begging. Whatever I get then I am eating.”
“Upamanyu it is a small village. The villagers have to support so many students by giving food. If you go twice will it not cause hardship to the villagers? Did you ever think about it?”
“Forgive me Guruji, I had not thought about it. I will never do that again.”
A few more days passed and the Guru’s glance fell on Upamanyu once again. “Upamanyu you bring whatever food you get by begging, I am not giving you even a morsel of food. You have stopped going for a second time, still you look fleshy and healthy. How is it you have not lost any weight? Are you eating anything?”
Upamnayu replied, “I am not eating anything Gurudav! Whenever I am hungry, I milk the cows in the forest and drink the milk.”
“What did you say? Are those cows yours?”
“No Guruji the cows belong to you.”
Guruji asked, “Have I granted you permission to consume their milk? Does it not amount to stealing?”
Upamanyu replied, “Forgive me Gurudev! It never occurred to me. I will not make that mistake again.”
As the days passed, Upamanyu started losing weight. He became very lean and weak. He always looked fatigued. Those around him took pity on him. However, his Guru did not say a word. What was even more surprising was even Upamanyu never said a word. He performed his duties with utmost dedication. Never did he ask for food.
One day while the cows were grazing in the forest, Upamanyu became very, very hungry. He did not know what to do. He wandered here and there and saw an Arka plant. Most of the forest had become barren because the cattle had eaten the greenery. However the Arka plants were still there because no animal ate them.
Upamanyu, who was extremely hungry thought, “This plant is not useful to any animal. Even if I eat the leaves of this plant, it will not amount to depriving any animal of its food.” Thinking thus, he plucked the leaves and ate them. Within a few minutes, he felt nauseous and his head started reeling. He became very frightened and rubbed his eyes with his fingers. The fingers had become wet with the milk that exuded from the leaves of the Arka plant. He lost his sight immediately.
At sunset, the cows started walking back to the hermitage. Upamanyu was vomiting repeatedly and had become very weak. He was afraid that the cows would lose their way. Overcome by anguish he tried to control the cowherd even though he had become blind. He collided against trees and fell on thorny bushes but he continued. After a while he fell in a well. As it was summer time the well was dry and he sustained severe injuries. Unable to get up, he lay there motionless.
Sage Dhowmya who had never bothered about the cows all these days, suddenly became inquisitive. He wanted to ensure that all the cows had returned. All the cows had returned but the cowherd boy was nowhere to be seen.
The Guru was worried and called his students and asked them as to where Upamanyu was.
Students replied, “We saw him in the morning when he took the cows to the forest. The sun has just set, don’t worry Guruji he will be here any moment.”
Guruji replied, “I had ordered him not to eat the food got by begging. I had forbidden him from drinking milk. He was becoming weak day by day. Maybe he got disgusted and ran away to his home. What if he has collapsed out of fatigue?”
Students, “What do you want us to do now, Guruji?”
“Come on let us search in the forest.”
The Guru and his students went in search of Upamanyu in the forest. There were tears in the eyes of the Guru. His voice became choked, “Son! Upamanyu! Where are you my boy?” he shouted.
“I am here Guruji,” came a faint reply from a nearby well.
The Guru was relieved. The students turned their torches towards the well and peeped inside. When Dhowmya saw Upamanyu lying on the rocky well, he felt choked with tears.
Guru, ”What are you doing there?”
Upamanyu said, “Forgive me Guruji, I cannot see you! All this has happened because I disobeyed you once again. Even though I understood that you wanted me to fast, I ate the leaves of the Arka plant.”
Guruji asked, “Did the milk of the plant fall in your eyes?”
“Yes Guruji.”
The Guru said, “Oh what have you done! Alright do as I say now. Pray to Ashwiini Devatas, they are the celestial (heavenly) physicians. If they bless you, all your difficulties will vanish.”
That was the instruction that Dhowmya gave, nothing more. Hymns in praise of the Ashwini Devatas started flowing from Upamanyu’s mouth. His heart merged in the thought of the Ashwini Devatas. Slowly a light started burning inside him and became still like a brilliant gemstone.
Within seconds the Ashwini Devatas came and descended into the dilapidated well where Upamanyu had fallen. They said, “Son we are Ashwini Devatas. We have come because we are pleased with your prayers. Here take this dish. If you eat it you will regain your eyesight. You will become a scholar and have special powers.” They placed a sweet-smelling dish in Upamanyu’s hand.
Upamanyu looked at the dish and said, “O! Ashwini Gods! Please forgive me, I am grateful for your kind gesture, but I can’t eat anything unless my Guru permits me. I have already suffered because I did not follow my Guru’s instructions. I don’t want to commit the same mistake again. I don’t care if I become alright or not. I don’t care if I become a scholar or not. I don't care for powers. All I want to do is follow my Guru’s instructions.”
The Ashwini Gods were pleased at the firm resolve of Upamanyu. “Very well indeed. Your resolve is indeed praiseworthy. Your devotion is par excellence. You don’t need any dish. The mantra (prayer) suggested by your Guru itself is enough to remove all your hardships. They will open your eyes, physical as well as spiritual,” said the Ashwini Devatas and disappeared.
Upamanyu felt as though he woke from a sleep. He opened his eyes and the Ashwini Devatas were not there. The Guru, eyes full of tears, embraced Upamanyu. “What the Ashwini Gods told you just now is true. May you be blessed with inner knowledge. May you be blessed with all prosperity!” he said.
Upamanyu became a scholar in a short time. The knowledge of all the holy scriptures became known to him without any effort. That was his last day at the hermitage. He prostrated to his Guru and left.
Sage Dhowmya had full understanding of Upamanyu’s good qualities. At the same time, he was fully aware of the one big defect in him also. What was that defect? His craving for food! Upamnayu never told a lie. He never disobeyed his Guru (teacher). He did his work with dedication. He was a very receptive student. In spite of all this, the only defect that he had was that of over eating. It was a big hindrance in his spiritual practice. Unless this defect was corrected, Upamanyu would not become a Rishi (one who has “seen” the knowledge or a knower of the scriptures).
To remove the defect in Upamanyu, sage Dhowmya decided that he should “accept” the defect, namely craving for food that was inherent in Upamanyu.
The undesirable quality in Upamanyu had taken shelter in food articles. Sage Dhowyma had to “accept” food that Upamanyu got by begging. After that, he “accepted” milk. Consequently, the undesirable quality had to look for shelter elsewhere. If any other bad quality was present in Upamanyu, the earlier bad quality would have gained strength in its company and some other bad habit would have come. Since there was no other bad quality in him, it remained alone and finally made Upamanyu blind. When this happened, he started thinking, “Why did I get blind?” He realized that it was not because of the Arka plant, it was not because his Guru was cruel that he was blind. “It was because of my craving for food which led me to disobey my Guru that I became blind.
What about Sage Dhowmya? The firm resolve of the Guru to eradicate the evil quality rooted in the student itself was a blessing. It is because of this resolve Upamanyu was able to rid himself of the craving for food and to get knowledge and become a scholar.
MORAL :
Controlling the craving for food is very important for a student.
A student will benefit from eating less food.
A good teacher is able to understand the shortcomings of a student and help the student to overcome bad habits.
If a student gets in trouble he/she should find out what he has done wrong that has landed him in trouble. Once he knows what his fault is, he must try and correct it and must try not to repeat the mistake.
A student must develop good qualities to become successful in life.
LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE STORY
i. Upamanyu had one fault, his craving for food.
ii. Upamanyu had many good qualities such as, he never told a lie, he always obeyed his Guru (teacher), he never repeated his mistakes and he did his work with dedication.
iii. Although Upamanyu knew his teacher did not want him to eat, his craving for food caused him to eat the poisonous Arka plant.
iv. Upamanyu became sick because he ate the Arka plant and blind because the milk of the plant got in his eyes.
How do you feel if you overeat or eat too many snacks?
v. When Upamanyu stopped craving for food and he refused the sweet dish given by the Gods, he got the blessings of knowledge.
vi. It took a long time for Upamanyu to control his desire for food.
vii. Dhowmya was a great teacher, he could tell the good and bad qualities of his students. He helped Upamanyu to remove his negative quality, namely his craving for food.
I Must Try and Control My Desire for Food and Snacks.