More fruit of a little labour and nature's bounty @ Nagole

How do we know where a true mahatma resides? It is easy, say our elders. There where nature is at its most bountiful, that is where mahatmas reside.

Forget Apple, Think Banana :-)

Remembering the taste of Ammagaru's Boppai Pachhadi & Boppai Halwa. Wah!

Corn on the cob!

Pomegranate flowers and fruit

Mustard aplenty

Permaculture wither?

Despite the heavy hailstorm and gales hitting us last week, summer is back in full force. What is happening to our thirsty plants?  I am posting recent photos of green spaces created in and around the arid Sri Datta Sai Bharadwaja Divyajanani Nilayam, Hanuman Nagar, Jayapuri Colony, Nagole, Hyderabad. Kudos to the permaculture team! Jai Sai Master!

Straight backed lilies with a host of hibiscus 

Lemon family fruit

First floor corridor

Ground floor corridor

Eye -soothing green and delicious banana fruit, stem and flower dishes!

Our compost pits

The Counterfeit Coin - A devotee's attitude

Post lunch at Nilayam, we drifted into talking of life's little (and great) injustices. I was quite eagerly warming up to this discussion, recalling my store of incidents to regale (and I hate to admit this, but this sort of complaining seems to be a distinctly middle-aged phenomenon), when another guru bandhu saved the day. She showed me a little sufi story in an old newspaper, which had been pointed out by Pujya Ammagaru earlier that afternoon:

Once there lived a devotee. His prime concern of life was to remember his spiritual Master and be one with his love. For survival of body and providence for necessities of life, he sold vegetables.

With he love for his master in his heart and mind, and a basketful of vegetables, every day he visited the market. Knowing his guile nature, people used to cheat him. Everyday some people would give him counterfeit coins to buy vegetables. Some would even come the next day for exchange of the false coins they had, saying, "Yesterday you gave us this false coin, please exchange for the real one."

The devotee without a complain in heart would accept the counterfeit coins.

Time passed thus. His body became old and the end of physical life approached. The devotee sat for his final prayer, "Dear beloved, throughout my life I have accepted counterfeit and bogus coins from one and all, never once rejecting or refusing the same. Oh Beloved! Time has come that this counterfeit coin reaches your divine presence. You too, likewise do not reject the useless coin. Kindly accept the same and give it shelter at Your lotus feet."

Needless to say, the Lord accept him under the showering Love.

Some views of our green spaces in January this year

Plot in front of Sivapuri residence of Pujya Divyajanani Alivelu Manga Tayaru garu

Plot adjoining Sivapuri Residence

The freshest of organically grown greens interspersed with marigold

'Sitamma vari jada kuppelu'. Grown from collected seed

Tender bananas  shoots - Space adjoinng Sri Datta Bharadwaja Divyajanani Nilayam @ Hanuman Nagar, Nagole

No space is wasted - container farming!

Space facing Sri Datta Bharadwaja Divyajanani Nilayam - Baby Papaya and Banana trees

Happy New Year 2012

As the needles on the clock edged towards the big 12 o' clock on 31st Dec 2011, eager devotees (Sai bandhus) were all immersed in bhajan lead by our inimitable Yoga. Ammagaru graced us all with her darshan - a blessing for sore eyes & souls, and Babugaru performed the arathi to Shirdi Sai Baba, Sai Master and Ammagaru at Nilayam, followed by nivedana. A wonderful way to start the new year; new beginnings.

Ammagaru further graced us all with her message. It has been printed in this month's Sai Baba magazine (in Telugu). And then everyone's heart leapt with Babugaru's announcement that everyone could personally perform namaskaram to Ammagaru! Once we took this for granted and sadly only now that it is rarer, we learn to truly value it.

Afterwards, while everyone partook of prasadam and wished one other, Babugaru as usual took his plate and sat down with us to talk. He raised several questions, beginning with 'what is spirituality? Is is merely doing parayana and or going to the temple regularly?  At times elaborating, he said, 'to live properly/following dharma is spirituality. What is dharma?'. That is not easy for us common people to know or understand. There are huge gaps & misunderstandings in our understanding of the various phases of life and prevalent traditions. This lack of clarity at personal and familial level leads to larger issues of socio-economic resource mismanagement. For example, it makes sense to allow the much experience older work -force to retire and, instead of being put away in homes (as is already  prevalent in many countries), use their knowledge to train the young. This leaves the middle aged free to focus, work productively and earn livelihoods for all...

While mosquitoes feasted on everyone's exposed skin, Babugaru included them too in the cause of humour and it was almost 3 am on 1st Jan. 2012 that Nagolites broke up to go home. Babugaru had scarcely touched his plate.

2011 Snapshots - Sri Sai Leelamrutham and Sri Guru Charitra Saamuhika grantha puja

2011 Snapshots - Sri Krishnaashtami & Vinayaka Chavithi