It was around four years back when I did my first part 2 Art of Living course. The memories of the course are still fresh in my memory. Before the course, I thought that the best time I could have would be a night of dandiya with friends. But that course blew me off. Competely. In many ways, it fundametally changed the course of my life.
It was also the first time I met Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. That guy amazed me the first time I met him, and still I cannot fathom or match his energy, enthu, and dedication. When I travel to India, it takes me a week to get over the jet-lag. But it seems this guy becomes more energetic every time he takes a flight. He hops out of the plane, goes for a course or a talk, meets people, plans out future activities, and sometimes cooks :); all the while smiling without showing any trace of tiredness. And whenever I meet him, thoughts vanish and mind becomes serene and calm; a calmness I dont experience anywhere else.
For good or for bad, I dont have the extent of devotion towards Sri Sri as many others in AoL community have, but he is certainly the person I respect the most in my life, apart from my parents. And on this auspicious day of Guru Poornima, I fondly remember the last four years of my life, and gratefully dedicate this blog to Guruji.
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Thursday, July 26, 2007
A Vegetarian, By Choice
I have been a vegetarian for practically my whole life, though I never really considered having non-veg food to be morally incorrect. In-fact, to a certain extent, I thought having non-veg food is probably better as it is more nutritious. If someone asks me, why I am a vegetarian, my reply typically is, “I am a vegetarian because I grew up that way. I find it hard to change myself now”. Around a month back, though, I went for dinner with VP of my company, Eric at a funky restaurant in Boston. I have always looked out for new delicacies, and that restaurant had options I never heard before. One of them was foie gras, and the description mentioned that it was filled with almonds, some vegetables, and pineapple. That surely excited me, and I almost ordered that dish. Until Eric warned me: foie gras is not only non-veg; it is probably the most extreme non-veg one could find.
Upon returning home, I did some google search, and I was horrified to read about it. Foie gras means fat liver, and is from a duck or goose. Now, that’s fine to me. But, wait, there’s more to it. To enhance the taste of liver, the goose or duck is force-fed for ~15 days to fatten the liver. And how are they force-fed? Well, by inserting a tube all the way down to the esophagus of the duck and inserting the food with a pump. Each duck or goose is fed around 2 kg of food three times a day, and each pumping takes 2-3 seconds. Many of the ducks and geese are hurt during the process; some die. The pipes cause serious damage to the throat and esophagus, sometimes leading to their death. Some of the birds cannot even drink water because their neck is so badly damaged during repeated pipe insertions that water sprinkles out from the neck to the outside air. The ones who are alive during the 15 days face a torturous life, as they cannot move because of over-feeding.
I found some scary pictures of duck who have been force-fed, but they are way too gross to be posted here. Go to http://www.goveg.com/photos_ducksgeese.asp and look at the photogallery. I am just adding this picture that compares the size of liver from a force-fed duck to that of a normal one.
That night, I guess, I was happy to be a vegetarian.
Upon returning home, I did some google search, and I was horrified to read about it. Foie gras means fat liver, and is from a duck or goose. Now, that’s fine to me. But, wait, there’s more to it. To enhance the taste of liver, the goose or duck is force-fed for ~15 days to fatten the liver. And how are they force-fed? Well, by inserting a tube all the way down to the esophagus of the duck and inserting the food with a pump. Each duck or goose is fed around 2 kg of food three times a day, and each pumping takes 2-3 seconds. Many of the ducks and geese are hurt during the process; some die. The pipes cause serious damage to the throat and esophagus, sometimes leading to their death. Some of the birds cannot even drink water because their neck is so badly damaged during repeated pipe insertions that water sprinkles out from the neck to the outside air. The ones who are alive during the 15 days face a torturous life, as they cannot move because of over-feeding.
I found some scary pictures of duck who have been force-fed, but they are way too gross to be posted here. Go to http://www.goveg.com/photos_ducksgeese.asp and look at the photogallery. I am just adding this picture that compares the size of liver from a force-fed duck to that of a normal one.
That night, I guess, I was happy to be a vegetarian.
Monday, July 23, 2007
Symbolism in Hinduism—1
When I was in my teens, everything concerning Hinduism seemed wrong: multiple Gods, illogical rituals, and mindless devotion to Gurus. During my teen years, I was fairly an atheist, and rejected Hinduism in all its forms. However, it took a trip to USA and Part 2 course with Art of Living Foundation that spurred my interest in Hinduism exactly four years back. I still don’t have as much knowledge about Hinduism as I would like to have; yet, whatever little knowledge I have puts me in awe about the insight and ingenuity of our Vedic rishis. They are rightly called “seers”, because they could “see” what is difficult for us ordinary mortals to see. And the rishis of yore encrypted their research results in our scriptures, particularly the Vedas, Puranas, and the Upanishads.
Of particular interest to me has been the hidden symbolism behind Hindu scriptures, Gods, and rituals. Each and every act of Hinduism (and probably other religions as well) is constructed such that it is beneficial to mind, body, and spirit. Idol-worshipping, pradakshina or circumambulation around temples, offering coconut during pujas, offering water to Sun; they all have a beautiful reason behind them. Performing them might look senseless, but never doubt their efficacy. For example, looking at sun (for 30 seconds or so) while offering water during sunrise is beneficial to the eyes because the harmful UV rays are completely blocked during the long travel of the sun-rays. My mother does this practice every single morning. Ofcourse now-a-days, some people do it at 8 am rather than at sunrise, thus damaging the eye-sight. Even the stories about Gods in Hinduism have deep spiritual underpinnings. In one of my later blogs, I will write on the spiritual significance of the story of beheading of Shri Ganesha (and subsequent replacement with elephant head by Shiva). Stay tuned…
Of particular interest to me has been the hidden symbolism behind Hindu scriptures, Gods, and rituals. Each and every act of Hinduism (and probably other religions as well) is constructed such that it is beneficial to mind, body, and spirit. Idol-worshipping, pradakshina or circumambulation around temples, offering coconut during pujas, offering water to Sun; they all have a beautiful reason behind them. Performing them might look senseless, but never doubt their efficacy. For example, looking at sun (for 30 seconds or so) while offering water during sunrise is beneficial to the eyes because the harmful UV rays are completely blocked during the long travel of the sun-rays. My mother does this practice every single morning. Ofcourse now-a-days, some people do it at 8 am rather than at sunrise, thus damaging the eye-sight. Even the stories about Gods in Hinduism have deep spiritual underpinnings. In one of my later blogs, I will write on the spiritual significance of the story of beheading of Shri Ganesha (and subsequent replacement with elephant head by Shiva). Stay tuned…
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
