Continuing from my last blog, I am sharing a tasty healthy vegan, out of the box recipe for all age groups, that can be enhanced by microgreens.
It is a complete LIVE FOOD, hence its nutritional value increases multifold. The recipe includes ingredients like sprouts, dry fruits and freshly grown microgreens, which are rich in proteins, vitamins, minerals, amino acids and antioxidants. You can have it in your breakfast or lunch every day and see the difference in your energy levels, mood, physical and mental make-up while decrease in symptoms of diseases.
It is easy to make, does’nt require any cooking and is fit for lazy people who want good health without cooking food.
Microgreens are vegetables ,herbs, pulses, lentils or grains greens harvested just after a pair of leaves have developed. They are more than sprouts but less than saplings typically ranging anywhere between 3 cm to 10 cm varying according to plant type.
Microgreens are quite in fashion these days. With the increase in deficiency of vitamins and minerals and increase in cancer in humans, they are in high demand.
Microgreens are packed with nutrients and are rich in antioxidants. Because they have to be eaten raw, there is no loss of nutrients (as they are not cooked). They come under vegan category.
I am posting a video with step by step method on how to grow soilless microgreens below:
I have traveled a lot since my childhood and never have I noticed such things until recent times. Today even small scale workers are so ‘”body conscious”. The most common topic of discussion wherever i travel, whether locally or abroad ,people are always talking about how to reduce their waist, trim their thighs and ‘look’ fit! Strangely, no one is ever satisfied with whatever they have.
“You’re fat, you’re plump, you are so skinny , you are disproportionate, you’re pear shaped, look at your thighs and to add on, you’re dark skinned, you’re wheatish, you have a broad nose!!” There is just no end to this body shaming. How unfortunate it is to see that everyone (both men and women) has silently fallen into this dark trap!
It’s good to be fit but it is sick to think and blab about it all the time. The whole world cannot get slim altogether, it is just impossible. Because weight loss will awaken different energies in that person.
The science of Ayurveda can educate people as to why we all do not look the same. So look at your own constitution before fitting into a pre-set mould. According to Ayurveda, there are three types of personalities. – vata, pitta and kapha. All these types have their own INHERENT CHARACTERISTICS which will not change.
Vata type – A vata person WILL be slim and always have a lean body. They tend to lose weight very quickly. Their skin is dry. Will be energetic and will do things hastily/quickly.
Pitta type – They have an athletic built, with medium frame , hot tempered. Their weight is generally steady. They can’t tolerate hot weather.
Kapha type – They are stout, strong, tend to gain weight easily, build excess weight, have fluid retention, like to have oily food.
Courtesy – vibrantandhealthyliving.com
These are the natural characteristics of the three personalities and if we all try to become slim, we all would be going against our inherent traits. The world would really collapse ! It would be really difficult for pitta and kapha types to reduce and even harder to maintain the lost weight because inherently they are prone to gaining weight. Whereas for vata types, it will be hard for them to gain weight as they are naturally slim. In a way, everyone is trying to become what they are not.
This results in unhappiness, frustration, distress, dissatisfaction and unpleasantness. This obsession about one’s own body weight is no less than a mental disease that has infected the whole human race!
Why can’t everyone be as is and just concentrate on internal health? One might be plump but disease free!!One might be slim but have enormous stamina!! It’s good to have a great body and great external looks but not to the point of being obsessed about it.
WHY CANT WE ALL TRY TO ACHIEVE OPTIMUM HEALTH INSTEAD OF OPTIMUM WEIGHT?
There are many ways to achieve good physical and mental health .Going for treks, doing Hatha Yoga, Pilates, swimming, participating in marathon races, obstacle races, cycling, going to health retreats etc instead of striving hard day and night, trying out crazy diets to attain unrealistic bodies that cannot sustain themselves.
I am sure that by changing our mindset and thought process, we can embrace our individuality, we all would be able to achieve great healthy bodies and not just healthy-looking bodies!
Daan means charity and in every religion, charity has been given a special place to accumulate spiritual as well as material merits/benefits. It is rightly said that whatever you give (good or bad) comes back to you ten times in return.
You may have seen people doing meritorious activities like giving food to poor , water to thirsty people, donating money to hospitals, educating the girl child, giving away books and stationary items, building temples , wells, parks, planting trees etc but one needs MONEY to do charity of this kind.
Even to educate someone, YOU need to be educated and for that also you need money or have some financial standing to educate yourself.
But there is one charity where even “A BEGGAR CAN GIVE TO A KING” and that is “ABHAY DAAN”.
Abhay means ‘fearless’.To make someone fearless by one’s own speech, by motivating the other person to face any tough situation fearlessly is called Abhay daan.
By your motivating speech you can make a person stand tall in the toughest situations.
You need not have a formal education or immense wealth to do this charity. This is the beauty of this daan! You seriously do not require anything- no money, no food, no water, no physical item, no soil, no temple, no education, nothing. Absolutely nothing!!
Just a motivating speech- to a person who is in fear due to a troubled situation s/he is going through; and by your calm speech and sweet words, their HEART and MIND feel a sense of relief.
According to our scriptures, this charity is of exceptional importance. It is easier to have people donate money, food and land but people who offer protection from fear are rare.
Abhay daan is considered to be more fruitful than feeding thousands of people or donating any amount of material things to the poor for their comfort. Why? because MENTAL comfort is far more important than PHYSICAL comfort.
Abhay daan is indestructible because it is not material / physical in nature. Any other charity can be destroyed with time…food can turn sour and spoiled, water can be contaminated, buildings can catch fire, trees can be uprooted by storms, money can be stolen because these items are physical in nature. But Abhay daan is beyond physical dimensions. Since it involves a direct transfer from one’s heart and mind to another person’s heart and mind by the mode of calming and motivating speech, it cannot be destroyed by any means hence its merit /punya stays for a long time.
One must strive to do this kind of charity whenever possible.
Words are powerful! If there is one thing that stays with us, it’s words! And so are blessings. They have the power to transform your entire life. Strong positive words have a profound effect on your MIND. They have the capability to change your mood, your day… your entire self. They are pleasant to hear, boosts your spirits, changes your thought process and transforms your life.
In olden times, the elders in the family subconsciously understood and utilized this power in the form of blessings. Blessings are phrases or boons in which every word is so positive that it leaves a deep impact on your conscious and sub-conscious mind. During festivals and get-togethers, the natural response to a greeting would be a blessing. A profound blessing!
Positive words can bloom a person just like flowers in a desert
Some of the common and most heard of blessings are (and also where can we use them in modern times)
Ayushmaan bhavah (आयुष्मान भवः) – May you have a long life.
Cheeranjeevi bhavah (चिरंजीवी भवः) – May you live eternally.
Yashasvi bhavah (यशस्वी भवः) – May you attain eternal success. This blessing can be given when someone is joining a school/college/job or starting a new venture for the first time.
Vijayi bhavah (विजयी भवः) – May you be victorious. This blessing was used when going for wars. We can give this blessing now for a sports-person or a student going for a tournament/match representing his school/college/district/state/country.
Aarogya bhavah (आरोग्य भवः) – May you have good health. Especially in today’s disease ridden world, this blessing is a must for all and definitely for people suffering from ill health.
Sukhi bhavah (सुखी भवः) – May you always be in a pleasant state. Universally applicable, with anger, arrogance and rage on the brim of conversations, we are all in desperate need of this blessing!
Chakravarti bhavah (चक्रवर्ती भव:) – May your kingdom spread in all the four directions. This blessing is perfect for businessmen, entrepreneurs, CEOs and for personal ventures.
Keertimaan bhavah (कीर्तिमान भवः) – May you be famous!
Akhand Saubhaagyavati bhavah (अखंड सौभाग्यवती भवः) – May auspicious fortune bestow upon you eternally. This blessing is given to women only.
Think about how many times we have actually received these blessings in our life. Why is this beautiful tradition of Aashirwaad getting lost?
It is lost because of the degradation of human nature. The darkness inside men and women restricted them to say good things as they couldn’t tolerate progress of others. As a result, everybody has stopped giving blessings to each other. To add more, criticism and fault-finding is a prominent feature in today’s interactions and feelings towards another. THAT is WHY we humans are suffering… because all we hear is negative things all day.
Criticisms in bounty, praises so rare. To live in such an environment continuously is devastating. Ultimately, one”s confidence decreases, self-esteem and morale goes down, living a life-like a battle until your soul is crushed.
But there is a way out! Start blessing!! YOURSELF FIRST!! Bless your family, your environment, your neighborhood. After all, it is you who have to live happily and blessings do have an effect on your mind and heart, eventually effecting your psychological and physical well-being.
Revive these lost blessings and its culture in your life. Bless your sons and daughters, brothers and sisters in every occasion you meet. Who knows, whose life gets transformed by the power of your blessings.
In today’s world of instant gratification, all we hear and read about is addiction! Addiction to alcohol, cigarettes, drugs, gambling, and of course the world of social media which is quickly capturing the minds of people as young as four.
But there is another kind of addiction that exists! And that is an addiction to mental peace, which results in ‘sukoonmaya jeevan’ (blissful life).
Photo Credit: Vandena
In the quest for mental peace, people end up going all over the world and indulge in what is popularly known as “spiritual shopping”. However, if you have experienced peaceful moments from within, be it for sometime or for an hour, you would crave for it more and more. You will start taking actions for yourself which eventually will provide you with exactly – that moment of mental peace. Those actions would specifically be goal-oriented, pleasure related… something that satisfies your soul.
They can be your hobbies, or your new interest in philosophy, science, history, travel , astronomy or any physical activity/ exercise that gives you results in the physical, mental and spiritual plane. As you gradually incline yourself in doing activities that you love doing the most, you will feel joyous and will experience peaceful moments all the time. THAT is when you are addicted to mental peace!
Your brain will naturally reject stressful situations, frightful news and negativity that surrounds people and events. You would constantly want to uplift yourself first even in not so nice situations, simply because you are addicted to having a peaceful mind which is serene, stable and joyous. Indeed the best thing YOU would have ever cultivated!!
Prolonged mental peace promotes good health- both physical and mental; it increases vital force energy. A mentally healthy person will be devoid of complaints, hypocrisy, jealousy, manipulation and not look down on others. S/he will always vibrate in higher frequencies, always thinking of innovative ideas to construct and help society at large. S/he will always think of solutions keeping ‘ peace’ in the long run. This does not mean one suppresses oneself from situations or people.
Peace comes from doing what you love, sticking to it, being passionate about it and its results feed your soul. You are full of joy and it turns into a joyous cycle – indeed an addiction for the mind!
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