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Showing posts from March, 2018

Making Kombucha

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  But it is I who am the ritual, I the sacrifice, the offering to the ancestors, the healing herb, the transcendental chant. I am the butter and the fire and the offering. (Bhagavad Gita 9:16)

Kantara-Vasini

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In the grey light of cold dawn

Creating An Altar Garden

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Gaura Gaura How Does Your Garden Grow? I had been contemplating building a willow den for our deities for sometime, but was unsure how to incorporate it into our Altar. When my wife suggested building an Altar garden the lights went on. This section of the blog will follow the progress of Sri Sri Gaura Nitai’s new garden of Divine Love. Unfortunately, I did not photograph the construction progress, but built a simple box planter made from scrap wood we had in the garden. Here is Gaura Nitai  and Giriraj looking happy in their new home. Willow is a tree that is easy to propagate from cuttings. Generally it will take root directly in soil as long as the soil remains damp enough. Willow loves water! With care and plenty of regular pruning the willow will become established. This structure should grow into a living devotional Kunj. We planted marigold so as the summer progresses there will be a constant supply of fragrant flowers to offer at the

A Vedic Journey To Meet Natures Hidden Teachers - Tulsi

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Tulasi - Ocimum tenuiflorum/sanctum My favorite tree personality Srimati Tulasi devi! Of all the plant teachers and sacred trees in this series Vrinda Devi is the most important for those of us practising spiritual life. All of our nonsense and sinful activities can be removed by her association, or even by touching her… thankfully for us this is a gracefully simple act to achieve!!

A Vedic Journey To Meet Natures Hidden Teachers - Birch

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Ravīndra-svarūpa: The plants have more consciousness, manifest consciousness, than aquatics? Prabhupāda: Huh? Ravīndra-svarūpa: That plants and grass, they are more conscious than aquatics. Prabhupāda: Yes. That is also mentioned in the Bhāgavata, about different animals, how they are conscious, developed. Svarūpa Dāmodara: In the Bhāgavata, in the later chapters, Śrīla Prabhupāda? Not up to the present Fourth Canto that... Prabhupāda: Fourth Canto there is, how one animal is more conscious than the other. Ravīndra-svarūpa: Yes. Devotee: Prabhupāda, did you say that trees have the ability to see and hear in the Bhāgavatam ? Prabhupāda: Yes. Source; pexels.com Birch / Björk (Betula)   If the Oak is king of the forest then the Birch is certainly Queen, especially here in Sweden. With her beautiful silver bark and flowing branches, the Birch is obviously feminine in character. She is amongst the first of trees to colonize new ground and she can withstand ma

A Vedic Journey To Meet Natures Hidden Teachers - Oak

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The Personalities Of Trees    “One should chant the holy name of the Lord in a humble state of mind, thinking oneself lower than the straw in the street; one should be more tolerant than a tree , devoid of all sense of false prestige and should be ready to offer all respect to others. In such a state of mind one can chant the holy name of the Lord constantly”. (Sri Siksastakam; Text 3). Oak / Ek ( Quercus )      According to wikipedia there are over 600 species of Oak worldwide. Here we are focusing particularly on the white oak (Quercus Alba) of northern europe. This Oak is majestic and stands tall in the fields and forests. The oldest oaks in europe are estimated to be 2000 years old and can grow to massive girths, much like the tree pictured above. The Oak is old and wise. The very epitome of selfless love, the Oak tree can host a whole microcosm of beings. In Britain more than 250+ specie

A Vedic Journey To Meet Natures Hidden Teachers - Introduction

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The Personalities Of Trees.  Source: pexels.com      We all know the story. In this modern age, we are faced with increasing problems caused by our rapid consumption of the planet's resources and our disconnected and impersonal relationship to this place we call home.       You don’t need to go far to see the immediate effects of this; discarded plastics, city smogs, noise and light pollution and this is just our immediate environment. What to mention of the bigger problems that maybe don’t affect us directly; deforestation, fracking, war and poverty on an ever-increasing scale. But these things do affect us, sooner or later the emerging crisis on this Earth will touch each and every one of us.