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In the Blog World: Asafoetida History in ISKCON by Malati dasi, Reposted from Vaisnava Blog Feeds Posted February 20, 2010
Srila Prabhupada never suggested that we not use asafoetida/hing. In fact he shared with us a number of very nice recipes that included it. Here is a little "Hing History:" Hing, asafoetida, first surfaced in the budding world of ISKCON, circa early 1967, introduced by Asha, wife of the Consul General of India in San Francisco and friend to the ragtag little group of ex-hippies who now considered ourselves devotees. She would invite the young women to her apartment for lunch, teaching us various dishes and cooking techniques as well. She showed us a little glump of resin, carefully chipping off a piece and pounding it with her stone mortar and pestle until it became a fine powder, which she added to the chaunk at the the last moment. We loved it. I personally asked Srila Prabhupada if it was all right for us to use hing, and he agreed that it was all right. As his sometime cook, I definitely used hing in many preparations for him. Asha also donated a harmonium to our little storefront mandir, another first for San Francisco at least. She kindly gave us real saris, setting us apart from the standard bedsheet look that was otherwise prevalent. She was kindhearted and an appreciated friend who appreciated our faulty attempts without criticism.
The ubiquitous asafoetida, sometimes spelked asafetida, finds itself in a great number of Kurma prabhu’s recipes. What on earth is it? Read on… The aromatic resin from the root of the giant fennel, Ferula asafoetida. Asafoetida, also known as hing, is extracted from the stems of these giant perennial plants that grow wild in Central Asia, especially Northern Iran and Afghanistan. In the spring, when the plant is about to bloom, the stems and roots are cut. Milky resin exudes from the cut surface and is scraped off. The gummy resin is sun-dried into a solid mass that is then sold in solid, wax-like pieces. Most raw asafoetida is sent to India for further processing and sale, mostly in the convenient powdered form. Asafoetida has been held in great esteem among indigenous medicines from the earliest times in India. It is highly reputed as a drug to expel wind from the stomach and to counteract spasmodic disorders. Asafoetida is also a digestive agent and is used, among other things, for alleviating toothache and as an antidote for opium. In the days of Moghul aristocracy in India, the court singers of Agra and Delhi would wake before dawn and eat a spoonful of asafoetida with butter to enhance their singing voice before practicing on the banks of the Yamuna river. Asafoetida is also excellent for settling flatulence and is prescribed by Indian herbalists for respiratory problems. Due to the presence of sulphur compounds, raw asafoetida has a distinctive pungent aroma. To cook with asafoetida, small quantities of the powdered form are sauteed in a little slightly hot oil or ghee, before adding to a variety of savoury dishes, adding a delicious flavour reminiscent of a mixture of shallots and garlic.
Kurma always uses the mild yellow asafoetida powder, not the grey variety. All Kurma’s recipes calling for asafoetida were tested using this yellow variety. If using other types, reduce the quantity to between a quarter and a half of the suggested amount. Asafoetida is available at Indian grocers and specialty stores.
On Dec. 25, a few hundred persons, mostly from Vrindavan’s religious community, including many foreigners from several maths and ashrams, gathered at Vrindavan’s Keshi Ghat to protest the building of a bridge. This bridge, which loops around the ancient redstone ghat, will permit car traffic to make the full tour of Vrindavan, turning the Parikrama Marg into a Ring Road. Even ten years ago, the Parikrama Marg was still mostly a sandy trail that circled the hallowed central portion of Vrindavan, the site of so many temples—Banke Bihari, Radha Vallabh, Radha Damodar, Govindaji. Hundreds of barefoot pilgrims from dawn to dusk quietly followed the 14 kilometer trail, reciting their japa or singing God’s names, or simply walking in meditative silence. Some even covered the length lying prostrate on the ground. But the success of many Vaishnava preachers, Bhagavata pathaks and bhajan singers has drawn a steadily increasing flow of the faithful from around the world and, more to the point, from Delhi, to the sacred home of Krishna’s play with Radha. And, to accommodate the ubiquitous automobile, more and more of the Parikrama Marg has been paved. Parking lots increasingly line the sides of the road and block the view to the green fields and the Yamuna, which stretch out on the southern side. No pilgrim can now make the sacred circumambulation without being repeatedly honked at by contemptuous chauffeurs. The one remaining ghat in Vrindavan, Keshi Ghat, where daily Yamuna arati is held, was the single part of the parikrama that was vehicle free. But now, Mathura-Vrindavan Development Authority, which sees the prosperity of Vrindavan as linked to the automobile, has decided to destroy what is left of this sacred tradition by building a flyover type bypass to link the two ends of the circumambulation path. The view of the holy river will now be obstructed by an ugly concrete structure, the peace broken once and for all by the sounds of racing cars and beeping buses. But there seems to be no bridge crossing the divide that separates the environmentalists and traditional religious community of Vrindavan from the government and development agents, who are clearly living in different worlds. In their high-minded arrogance, the latter did not even see fit to consult those who have guarded these traditions for the last half-millennium or those who have come there to make Vrindavan their spiritual home before they started work on the project. So PWD Chief Engineer C.D. Rai calls the Goswamis and saints “vested land owning interests” when they make objections, and Mathura-Vrindavan Development Authority Vice Chairman R.K. Singh scoffs that they “neither understand development nor the environment.” What is clear is that the issue of the sacred has been completely ignored by the development authorities. If Vrindavan has become attractive to tourists, it is only because of the promise it holds out of an encounter with the sacred, and such an encounter requires something quite different from a rapidity of access to goods and services. It needs space for contemplation. Recently in Delhi, I noticed a billboard in the Jahangirpuri metro station. The poster on display there had a quote from the famous American scholar of myth and religion, Joseph Campbell, which immediately attracted my attention: “Your sacred space,” it said, “is where you can find yourself again and again.” But, in the true spirit of desecration, these words had been turned into a sales pitch: “This space is where people can find your company and products again and again.” So this is what it has come to: the sacred places are now for sale to the highest bidder, a hook to pull in the patsies. But if you cut off the branch on which you are sitting, then where will you sit? Indians are still proud of their ancient heritage and the attraction it holds for foreigners. On Independence Day, 1947, Sri Aurobindo addressed the new nation on the radio: “The spiritual gift of India to the world has already begun,” he said. “India's spirituality is entering Europe and America in an ever increasing measure. That movement will grow; amid the disasters of the time more and more eyes are turning towards her with hope, and there is even an increasing resort not only to her teachings, but to her psychic and spiritual practice.” But this spirituality is fast becoming a joke. Amidst the noise, accumulations of dirt and plastic bags, the polluted holy rivers, and the haphazard and insensitive development, it is becoming harder and harder to find the fulfilment of that hope. It is time for all the sacred places in India, from Vrindavan and Varanasi to Rishikesh and Srirangam, to immediately be declared heritage sites by the state and central governments. Let them too be developed for tourism, but only one that takes into account the thirst for spirituality that brings pilgrims there.
They should not be treated as playgrounds for jejune city dwellers, with nothing on offer but more tired old theme parks, shopping centers and traffic jams.
(see jagadanandadas.blogspot.com/ for more information)
Could you please post the following links somewhere on your site?
Devotees may be interested in this discussion about the Temple of Vedic Planetarium.
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In the Blog World: New School in North London by The Vaishnava Voice Posted February 2, 2010
New school is centred on traditional spiritual culture A little more than ten minutes drive from Bhaktivedanta Manor you’ll find the new Krishna-Avanti school. I love the idea behind it, the architecture, and the boldness of its conception and execution in the heart of a north London suburb. Its been under wraps for several months now, but today it threw open its doors to the press. I’m happy to share the following story, released to the national press this morning, with my readers. The Krishna Avanti School opened its doors to the press for the first time on Friday 29th January. The School is the first Voluntary Aided Hindu faith school in Britain and is also the most eco-friendly. The School, in the London borough of Harrow also marks the country’s first vegetarian state school.
It is an I-Foundation project working since inception with the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) as the official Faith Partner.
Plenty of room to play and learn A white carved marble Temple is at the centre of the school building. Every morning the children chant Sanskrit prayers in front of the deities of Krishna-Balaram, afterwards there are lessons that include meditation and yoga. They study the national curriculum, but also tend the garden and learn concepts such as the equality of all living things. Multiculturalism forms an important part of the School’s philosophy, and they already have strong ties with near-by schools. The heart of the School’s ethos is harmony with the environment, which includes the building, landscape, curriculum and even school meals. The School has a state-of-the-art building design with the highest aspirations for sustainability and conservation. It seeks to be an inspirational example of an educational environment for the future. It has unique eco-systems including wildlife zones, vegetable, fruit and flower gardens and sedum roofs. The building structure has been built timber structure with timber cladding, rainwater harvesting and ground source heat pumps (which provide 70% of the school’s heating). Parents’ quotes ” Krishna-Avanti School offers to our child the rare opportunity to grow and develop at all levels: socially, emotionally, academically and specially spiritually .” Mrs Elena Beltran-Clarke (mother of Bodhini, aged 6) “Not only does the school provide an excellent education, but also a spiritual foundation. We like the teachers unique approach having a temple within the school itself is wonderful.” Mrs Negin Algani (mother of Lakshmi Narasimha, aged 5) “It is our first choice for our daughter to attend this school so she can be in association of other Hindu Vaisnavas and be learning our faith as well as keeping up with the national curriculum. Giving this foundation start from a young age, such as attending aarti, taking darshan, learning prayers, honouring prasadam, learning slokas and Krishna stories, is so important, this is the sort of nurturing I will be giving to my child at home”. Mrs. Bhavisha Mehta (mother of Heeya Mehta, aged 3) For copyright free photos, visit: www.flickr.com/photos/23683067@N02/ The Krishna Avanti School officially opened in September 2008 in temporary accommodation and moved into its new premises in September 2009. The UK central governments Department for Children, Families and Schools (DCSF) provided £11.1 million towards the £13.5 million total project cost. Plans are now being pipelined for a secondary school in either Barnet or Harrow, and a further school in Leicester. The project has achieved a UK BREEAM Schools ‘excellent’ rating with a score of 75.91%. This is currently the highest rating score of any school in the UK.
It is a one form entry, mixed primary school.
My kids learnt a simple Hindi song this weekend:
खाते राम कहो पीते भी राम कहो
पढ़ते भी राम कहो लिखते भी राम कहो
Say Ram while eating; Say Ram while drinking;
Say Ram while studying; Say Ram while writing; This is a very simple Hindi song with deep meaning. Basically, it means that we should keeping repeating "Ram" all the time irrespective of what we are doing. This basic concept of chanting the names of Krishna in this age of Kali-yuga is mostly known to almost all followers of Bhagavad Gita, Ramyana and Puranas like Srimad Bhagavatam. One does not need any special guru or special person to teach this. Just accept it and follow it. Apart from repeating the holy names of Krishna, we should see every as part of Krishna and love and serve all living entities. SB 12.2.41 - What can a person who injures other living beings for the sake of his body know about his own self-interest, since his activities are simply leading him to hell? SB 10.2.22 - A person who is very cruel is regarded as dead even while living, for while he is living or after his death, everyone condemns him. And after the death of a person in the bodily concept of life, he is undoubtedly transferred to the hell known as Andhatama. In Kali-yuga, we just need above 2 simple qualities. Love and see everyone as part of Krishna and keep repeating the names of Krishna while living in this world. Unfortunately, we make the process of bhakti very complicated. First, we start considering ourselves as special even though Krishna loves everyone. This develops false ego and we start considering ourselves as superior than others and consider ourselves as savior of the fallen people. Some people feel superiority by claiming their guru as better than others like kids fight that "my daddy is better than your daddy". Some people use this process to show that they are pure or advanced devotee and they use this to get worship, adoration and service. They claim that since they advanced devotees, others should serve them or others should hear from them. We divert ourselves from simple process of remembering Krishna all the time and start engaging in debates on useless topics. Anyways, the process of bhakti is for those who are simple hearted. Just remember Krishna while doing your activities and love and serve the living entities seeing them as part of Krishna. |
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