Searching for spirituality. Photo by H. Koppdelaney

Spirituality: The Test

Would you be willing to give up your life, your family and your name?  Would you renounce love, marriage and parenthood forever? Could you live with the prospect of never seeing your father and mother again?

Bhavesh Choksi, 27, has done exactly that.

This high-achieving young Indian-American, forsaking all, has taken ‘diksha’, monastic vows, and is on his way to becoming a swami in BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha, a socio-spiritual Hindu organization.  For those of us still embroiled in the trappings of the material world, this decision can be wrenching. Breaking all ties with his past life and giving up even the smallest of luxuries, he is turning his back on what most people fight tooth and nail for. Bhavesh is following his dream, walking into a joyous light which most of us cannot even comprehend.  He is obtaining ‘moksha’ and guiding others to find it too.

Bhavesh’s Story…

In a sense, without knowing it, Bhavesh was probably walking toward this life-changing moment all his life. Born in a jeweler’s family in Kobe, Japan, he accompanied his father Bipin Choksi, mother Bhadra and sister, Radhika, to New York in 1989.  Bipin, who is a pearl dealer in New York, recalls that the family was not overly religious.

“From time to time, sadhus and spiritual speakers would visit Kobe, exposing us to religion and spirituality, but nobody made the impact that HH Pramukh Swami made when he stayed at our home along with ten sadhus in his entourage,” recalls Bipin. “At the time, we had no idea who he was or about BAPS.  All we knew is that he was a sadhu of the Swaminarayan faith. However, our family later became more religious.”

The spiritual connection probably began even before birth for Bhavesh: he was born in 1984, exactly three months after Swamiji’s visit. Recalls Bipin: “During Swamiji’s visit, there was an assembly in Kobe at the India Club hall, and my wife tells me that the unborn child was exceptionally active while Swamiji was speaking. On the formal level, his exposure to the Swaminarayan faith was when he enrolled in the children’s group Bal Mandal at the Swaminarayan temple in Edison when he was 9 years old.”

A Father Remembers…

All children are different in the way they react to the complex world around them. At a time when most kids are embroiled in sports and video games, Bhavesh was questioning the world around him. “I remember him telling me that when he was in seventh grade, he went out to play one evening, gazing up into the sky, and questioned this world and the purpose of life,” says Bipin.

“He felt that there must be a deeper meaning to this life and that all things in this world are temporary. It was Bhavesh’s wish since childhood to work towards his own moksha and also to serve society in the capacity of a sadhu.  Just like any society needs farmers, doctors, lawyers, engineers, so do we need sadhus for our spiritual needs.” Pramukh Swami, however, insisted Bhavesh attend college first and when he graduated from Boston University, he got permission to join Swamiji in India.

Such a decision can be traumatic for the parents. Here in Bipin’s words is the dilemma of losing a child but realizing that the child is gaining the ultimate joy in life. “Of course we knew if he became a Swaminarayan sadhu that we would have no contact on a personal level with him. We did not know how we would handle it emotionally,” admits Bipin.

“However, when Bhavesh and I met Pramukh Swami when he was entering the monastic life, he requested Swamiji to bless us as his parents that we can handle this separation well.  I still remember Swamiji placing his loving hand on my head and telling me, ‘Now Bhavesh is about to sit in God’s lap’ so to keep courage.

“We felt consoled knowing that our son is in the best hands ever, and that he has set out to do what he was born for, and that too, serving as a sadhu of a guru such as Pramukh Swami. As for my wife, she did find it difficult initially, but she felt that the decision would make him really happy and thus gave her willing consent. Naturally, we do miss him, his sense of humor, everything about him, but we are still happy knowing that he is on the right path, one that gives him, and us, immense joy and peace.”

Bhavesh is now known as Shantyogi Swami and lives in Sarangpur. New York devotees who have visited him have come back with a deeper understanding of a sadhu’s life and mission, and commend Bhavesh and other young men for undertaking this divine journey.

Heart-wrenching and emotional as this story is, it is not singular for there are several other accomplished Indian-Americans who have chosen this difficult path in spite of having degrees from Harvard, Georgetown, the London School of Economics, and being engineers, doctors, lawyers, journalists and other professionals.  And there are thousands more who while pursuing their careers and family obligations, are also embracing spirituality even while living in a very materialistic world.

The spiritual path. Photo by H. Koppdelaney

Young and Spiritual – Their Stories

The stories are quite intriguing. Balasaheb Darade, who was born in a small village in Maharashtra and propelled himself through education to becoming an innovator and entrepreneur, went on to get a Masters in Science from the University of Cincinnati. He interned with the NASA team at Lunar, and was offered a full time job and American citizenship. He did not take this as in the long run he wanted to work in the villages of India.

Though he did stay on in the US for further studies and creating some startups, he has now gone back to  his roots, following Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and Anna Hazare, looking to create model villages. Imagine, having the ability to reach the stars, yet realizing that heaven is in service to the humblest of God’s creations.

For some, spirituality has become both lodestar and career. A Harvard graduate who could have located herself in the world’s top cities is the Program Director for Nouvelle Vie Youth Corp, a social development project in Haiti that she has conceived through IAHV (AOLF’s sister organization).

Raj Modhvadia, 26, of Memphis, TN, had abused substances as a teenager and hung out with the wrong crowd. A few years ago he enrolled in the Isha program and his life turned around completely. He had a yearning to rediscover himself and two years ago he moved to the Isha Ashram in India and volunteers full-time at Isha Home School, working with children.

Spirituality has been the salvation for Jay, (not his real name) a young man who was in prison. Having taken the Art of Living course, his life is transformed and he is undergoing teacher’s training to teach other youths through the public school program YES for Schools.

Something is surely amiss in our chaotic, frenetic lives as we struggle to find happiness material achievements, bigger homes, and bigger job titles. Having achieved all this, the appetite for happiness is never satiated as each acquisition leaves one hungry for something more elusive.

What is that faceless, nameless thing that we all are searching for?

The search is never-ending. Photo - H. Koppdelaney

The Spiritual Masters

When Sri Sri Ravi Shankar of the Art of Living had a marathon meditation event in the cavernous Alice Tully Hall in Lincoln Center, over 2700 people flocked to it – and many were young people who could have chosen to be at a bar or a rock concert instead. Hundreds were totally committed volunteers who had given up all other activities to put the I-Meditate event into place and make it a major happening in New York.

Shefali Aggrawal is a young New York lawyer who decided to give up a year of her paid professional life and volunteer as a full time teacher for the Art of living foundation. Indeed, meditation seems to changes one’s very thinking. Shefali found her sacrifice was a new way to help people.

“I am inspired by the change which happens when people are at peace within themselves,” she says. “I used to work with poverty-stricken and mentally ill clients for years and I realized that while giving legal advice was very important, I could not help effect real change in their conditions.  By teaching people skills to manage their mind and emotions, they are able to push through big stressors in their life and reach their fuller potential.”

She adds, “Religion and nationality are concepts that we have created, love, compassion, kindness are values which are universal and belong to every citizen of the world.  Meditation allows us to relax and blossoms these human values which are actually our true nature.”

Indeed, spirituality helps both the giver and the receiver. Parneet Gosal, a digital strategist who has worked with start-ups and brands like American Express, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia and Saks Fifth Avenue, found a whole new path through meditation, and  now her own digital strategy consulting firm, Seedwalker.

“I’m like most New Yorkers, juggling multiple balls with a lifelong addiction to overachieving,” she said. “I also consider myself savvy and immune to transient fads. Late last year I attended a meditation class with my mother with the dual – albeit half-baked – goals of increasing my energy level and improving my mother’s long term health. I was by no means convinced that we would achieve either.”

She adds, “As it turns out, the class helped us with both goals…and then some. It was instrumental in my decision to launch Seedwalker and it helped my mom tremendously. I now work with I Meditate NY to help educate other New Yorkers just like me, who sometimes let misguided beliefs stop them from achieving their health goals.”

This seismic shift toward spirituality seems to be a major change in many second-generation Indian-Americans. Earlier for many youth, anything to do with religion or spirituality was anathema as they tried to merge into the mainstream and fit into school and college, and the larger community. They did not want to appear ‘different’ from their peers. So why this change now?

Part of the answer lies with the changing, evolving Indian community and part of it with America itself. As the Indian population has grown, so have the resources. Where previously there may have been a small basement in an apartment converted into a makeshift temple where Hindus would congregate in remote outposts of small towns, now there are hundreds and hundreds of world-class temples across the US, and spiritual leaders regularly visit from India to give discourses.

An example is the BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha which runs about 64 temples in the US, each of them having their respective forums for children as well as for the youths. The sadhus have designed well-structured programs which aim to lead participants in becoming more spiritual and in line with the Hindu faith, encouraging them to lead pious and moral lives and help society

America is changing too with temples, mosques and gurudwaras sprouting up besides the churches. The mainstream is also more open to different faiths and traditions, and yoga, meditation and vegetarianism are becoming common practices. Indeed, yoga and meditation have been embraced by most Indian-Americans after these become a common phenomenon in America, and at a time when health care professionals advocate them for stress control and overall health.

In such an atmosphere, it has become easier to explore spirituality. The practice of meditation may be thousands of years old but it is perfectly suited to our very stressful modern times, when in order to go fast, you have to learn to slow down. Spurring it on is the phenomenon of social media where everything is amplified through Twitter and Facebook, with the sharing of favored practices and ideas. Being spiritual is no longer regarded as weird or exotic.

The giving back tradition in America also appeals to many young Indians who have grown up here and are involved with volunteering in temples and spiritual organizations like BAPS, Art of Living Foundation, Isha, Swadhiya Pariwar (of late Padurang Shastri) and local temples. Some have re-oriented their lives totally to embrace spirituality, becoming teachers or bramacharis at spiritual organizations.

This is in interesting contrast to the traditional Indian mold where life was divided into periods marked by childhood, youth, middle-age, and old-age, and where spirituality was ascribed or recommended only in old age (after the grihasti period – householder period). With 50 being the new 30, it’s no surprise to see older people still enmeshed in worldly work and money-making, while it is the younger people who are more into searching for the meaning of life and death.

So what’s causing this? What are the influences that are driving youngsters—who might otherwise be into partying or career-climbing—into spirituality? Young people seem to get into spirituality for a number of reasons including family influence, a sense of belonging with spiritual organizations, or a need to find the meaning of life.

Looking for answers Photo by H. Koppdelaney

What are Young Indian-Americans Searching for?

Neil Pathak

We talked to several young people to find out about their personal journeys and encounters with spirituality. Neil Pathak, 17, was brought up by parents who are both physicians and committed Isha volunteers. He himself started the program at the age of 12, and he credits yoga with helping him overcome his health problems and also in acquiring focus and clarity. He became the valedictorian of his high school, received several international awards and recently got accepted to Yale University. Recently he single-handedly organized a fundraiser for rural children’s health for Isha Vidya.

“Spirituality is deeply rooted in my dedication to yoga, as it not only gives me a sense of calm, but also provides me a foundation of dedication and focus that helps me with my school work and actually enhances my relationships with friends, faily and other people,” says Neil.  I recommend this lifestyle to others. It does not involve balancing two worlds, it simply is an addition to one’s life to result in an overall calmer, more joyful, and more focused life.”

Leena Athparia

For some young people, the challenge is even greater. Into the mix of growing up Indian in America is the added complication of growing of in an inter-cultural home, a more and more common occurrence. Leena Athparia of Toronto, Canada grew up with a mother of British-Irish heritage and a Protestant Christian background and a father who is a Hindu from Assam, India.

Growing up with two religions and two cultures, Leena learned to keep an open mind: “Both parents were not very religious, but allowed me enough exposure to understand Hinduism and Christianity.  I never strongly identified with either religion, but considered myself spiritually inclined,” she says.

A dedicated violinst, Leena has always had the underpinnings of spirituality and after starting Isha Yoga, her experience of music has shifted to a deeper level and continues to evolve. Having graduated with a BA and BSc, she is studying to be a Naturopathic doctor and has graduated from the music conservatory in piano and violin.  Yet to her, the whole definition of success has changed, and to her the accomplished life is one of volunteering at Isha Ashram, working in its garden and teaching music to the children.

“As much as I know I could do well in my career, I feel the longing to grow spiritually,” she says. “ Whether its living in an ashram, or volunteering at the Rejuvenation Center, or contributing my musical skills, I would like to devote my time and energy to what I feel is the most worthwhile – which will always have a spiritual inclination.”

Asked about the rewards of getting off the ambition and  acquisition treadmill, she says, “The rewards can’t be quantified – they have been more than I could have ever imagined. I see so many friends and family around me struggling with stress and life situations, and I feel that I would have been in a similar situation, if it weren’t for the Isha yoga practices that I’ve incorporated into my lifestyle.”

Anand and Mili Gandhi

Anand and Mili Gandhi, both in their 30’s, live in Detroit and have also made spirituality a priority in their lives.  Anand works with Ford Motor Company and Mili is a physical therapist. Currently both are part-time volunteers at Isha, but plan to move to India to become full time volunteers at Isha Home School. “Religion was not a huge part of my background,” says Anand. “ My mother did pray every morning but I rarely saw my Dad pray.  We would go to the temple a few times a year.”

The search continues... Photo by h.Koppeldelancy

Growing Up Indian in America

Growing up Indian in America was stressful, recalls Anand, for balancing Indian values with American society was not easy. “I did my best to separate my family from my friends since there was a big disconnect,” he says. “ I felt most comfortable with my Indian American friends and with other relatives because we were all similar in terms of the experiences we were going through.”

His training at Isha helped him to see how both worlds could gel by doing many of the things he used to do earlier but with a different mindset or awareness. He feels he can now handle difficult situations with calm, is in great shape,  and is able to better balance his life. Anand says, “Spirituality is now a big part of my life from the smallest of things in terms of respecting the food I am eating to the biggest of things such as trying to be one with everything around me.”

Ravi Naidu

The spiritual path has also led some to  offbeat careers – such as stand up comedic Ravi Naidu of Atlanta worked for IBM and other corporates  before jumping into standup comedy. Becoming more spiritual almost seemed to grant him permission to try the less traveled road.

Growing up, religion or spirituality was not a big part of life although all Indian festivals were celebrated.  He recalls: “I never understood anything about them. We didn’t have a temple in Atlanta when I was growing up. If we did I’m sure my parents would have gone pretty regularly, but I wouldn’t have cared for it.”

He also underwent an identity stress, like so many Indian-Americans at that time. “I never felt like I fit in with anyone,” he says. “ I wasn’t like any of the American kids and I also wasn’t like any of the Indian kids. I tried to be as American as possible. I was even uncomfortable with my own “Indian-ness.” So, I became a coconut (only brown on the outside).”

He encountered spirituality in a roundabout way. “ I didn’t know I was looking to bring spirituality into my life,” he says. “I just knew that something seemed to be missing even though I had a great life, in many ways. I found out about a talk that Sadhguru was giving in Atlanta and I went. For the first time a “spiritual type of person” was talking about things in a very practical and realistic way, very applicable to my life. So, I took the 7 day Isha Yoga program and haven’t looked back since.”

Asked about the rewards of following a spiritual path, Ravi says, “ It’s beyond a reward to be given the tools to see life beyond the basics of human survival. To realize that life only happens within this current moment and that I am 100% responsible for everything that happens in my life has been the greatest gift and I wouldn’t trade it for anything. It permeates my everyday life, actions – my very being.  My perspective on life is filtered through the sieve of spirituality.”

Monica Gupta

For Monica Gupta of Atlanta, who is in her 30’s, religion had always been  a way of life.  A dentist and a new mother, she finds it has been her defining guidepost. Growing up, her parents made sure culture, language and traditions were very much a part of her life.  She says, “They made sure we sat for evening puja daily, took us to the temple, hosted pujas, taught us mantras and bhajans as well as their meanings.  They did everything to set an example for us.”

Yet it is spirituality gleaned from her training at Isha, that helps her to go to work, come back to her husband and baby, attend to family and friends and  do all that is needed, with less struggle, both internally and externally. “Spirituality is an internal compass that guides you in the external world,” she says. “ It does not require one to abandon their everyday duties in daily life.  In fact, it enhances the journey and experiences we call life.  It allows you to go through life untouched, effortlessly.  It helps you function more smoothly, like a well oiled machine.”

Service is an important part of spirituality as young people learn to give back to the communities and in doing so enrich their own life experiences. Anju Bhargava, a member of President Barack Obama’s Advisory Council on Faith Based and Neighborhood partnership, is the founder of Hindu American Seva Charities (HASC) which is a service partner with the Corporation for National & Community Service. She finds the younger generation is very open to giving back and making a difference.

“Service, especially yoga, is a bridge builder with the community at large; it increases acceptance of the New Americans, promotes peace of mind and harmony and reduces potential conflicts with the communities in which we reside,” she says. “More than ever, the service mindset, the sharing of resources is important now, at a time when anti-immigrant rhetoric is increasing.”

Spirituality helps one to know one’s self and then multiply the peace and joy by helping the many. It is an important pathfinder and a self-help tool in an increasingly chaotic and fractured world. More and more young people seem to be internalizing these lessons to make sense of the world they live in.

Sreeratna Kancheria

Sreeratna Kancheria, 33, of Atlanta, Georgia, left the high paying world of law to working in a university, in placement of students into village projects in India to help underdeveloped societies.  Last year she lost her father, and she feels spirituality and meditation helped her navigate through that desolate time of grief and find her bearings with this new meaningful work.

Raajiv Rai

Raajiv Ravi, 33, is a young phyisican in San Fracisco who met his wife, an Italian, while attending an Isha Yoga program. They got married recently and his wife has already become a full-time volunteer at the ashram, and Raajiv is giving up medicine to become a full-time volunteer too. Born in Mumbai, Raajiv grew up in a home where he was exposed to the Hindu way of life and a spiritual upbringing.

“Coming from a large family setting, my parents had a total of 12 siblings, the constant coming together of families meant staging dramas filled with Hindu mythology, singing bhajans and offering flowers and fruits to the Gods,” he says. “I grew up to realize that these experiences in my formative years made me the person who I am today.”

Yet none of this helped solve life’s deepest mystery – human existence. He says, “All the religious beliefs and practices couldn’t  provide me with the answers that I was looking for. Rather than losing hope and fretting away my life, I decided to pursue what was immediately ahead of me with a strong hope that I’ll find answers to this newly formed volcano of questions one day.”

At Isha he found some important answers. “This program has only made my belief stronger that as a seeker one has to be grounded in the physical world to experience higher growth in spirituality,” he says. “The simple yet powerful kriyas that I’ve learned and come to practice regularly have enhanced my way of living. Whether I’m rock climbing in Palm Springs or attending underground music events at the Elbo room in San Francisco, the daily practice helps preserve my inner balance and keeps me focused on the larger aspect of life.”

Raajiv has found that this tool helps him stay in the moment whether he’s trekking in the Muirwoods with friends or delivering a key presentation on healthcare taxonomy. His energy levels are great and fear and self-consciousness are more easily transcended.  He says, “This newly acquired way of life has helped bring wholeness and vitality into my life allowing me to enjoy the spiritual path while very much staying alive and kicking in the physical world. I’d absolutely recommend this to everyone – including the doubters  to give it a try and see themselves grow into wonderful human beings.”

And that brings us full-circle to Balasaheb Darade, who gave up a lucrative future in America for the struggles of village India. While he did have spirituality embedded in his DNA by his family upbringing, he felt it has been channelized and energized by the teachings of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and the Art of Living.   Even in the US Balasaheb had started teaching meditation classes and was also involved with Anna Hazare’s anti-corruption drive in Cincinnati.

He is now working in small towns and villages, places where Internet access is sometimes hard to come by and NASA and glittering America are a world away. Inspired by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and Dr. Abdul Kalam who are both involved in the resurgence of village India, Balasaheb is working toward making sustainable model villages and empowering youth in the villages.  As he points out, 70 percent of India’s population is under 35.  He eats the simple village meals, inspires the youth and listens to their ideas and solutions, sharing and giving them visions for the future.

He feels that spirituality has shown him the path for his life. “ Spirituality has made me so strong and there’s a sense of fulfillment. Nothing can faze me – there is a lot of inner strength.  I’m so grateful for everything in my life. There is that fullness and out of that fullness, I want to contribute. Service for me is an expression of joy and doing service is like a long meditation for me. You see so many smiles on people’s faces and it comes back manifold to you.”

(C) Lavina Melwani

(This article first appeared in Khabar magazine)

The Monk's Way Photo by h.Koppdelaney

The Monk’s Way

Swaminarayan sadhus have a very strict discipline to follow 5 principal vows: minimize desire, taste, greed, ego and attachments. Intitally they go to the Seminary which is in Sarangpur (near Ahmedabad, Gujrat).  The training is a minimum of  5 years, very structured and comprehensive.

In the initial period, as a novice sadhak (12 to  18 months), they serve in the mandir, study the Hindu scriptures, learn devotional songs and prepare for a life of seva and austerity. Then, once they obtain written consent of their parents, Pramukh Swami  initiates them into the parshad order (white robes). Thereafter, 12 to 18 months later, they receive bhagwati diksha and the saffron robes of a full renunciate. Their training then continues at Sarangpur.

The sadhus do all the work connected with the management of the temple, including cleaning and cooking. They wake up daily at 4 a.m, bathe, do personal puja, then attend temple services; they then do morning chores, breakfast, classes, lunch, personal study, meditation, more classes and, at 7:30 pm the evening arti is performed.  After dinner, there are further activities, with each spending an hour in personal study before bedtime at 11:30 pm.

Each sadhu undertakes a waterless fast five days out of the month. For meals, each sadhu mixes the prepared dishes together in his wooden bowl and partakes of the same as a discipline to curb the desire for food. When they travel out of the ashram, they do so only in pairs.  They do not touch money and observe complete, lifelong celibacy.

The Boy Who Renounced the World

For the time being he shall be Nameless. He has renounced his home, his family, his friends – so why not his name too? Very soon this 20-something, accomplished American born Indian will have a new name and a new life – that of a BSS swami. Here as he moves toward the light and nirvana, he answers the frenzied questions of those still embroiled in our world of attachment and wants…

How did spirituality come to you at a young age? Why did you decide to take diksha?

It was something that just seemed so natural. There are some things that people are just inclined towards, and spirituality was something that I had an attraction to. I loved connecting with God and feeling his divine presence.

I decided to take diksha because of the selfless and pure love of Pramukh Swami Maharaj. There was a sense of satisfaction that I received from helping people as I was growing up.  After college, I realized that this path was the ultimate sacrifice and ultimate contribution.  I was giving away what was dear to me for the greater good of an entire community, potentially, the entire world.

Was that decision easy and conclusive, or was there struggle involved in coming to terms with leaving behind the life of family and career, etc.?

On the surface it may seem like giving up everything is such a tough thing to do. But honestly, after being showered in Pramukh Swami’s love, it is so easy to do. Yes there is happiness in worldly things, but there is a different type, a higher divine happiness that comes in pleasing God and his choicest devotee.

How involved or enticed were you with so-called “normal” interests of growing American children?

I was very big in sports. I enjoyed all aspects of sports – watching games, going to games, playing different types of sports. I also enjoyed being with my friends – getting together at someone’s house and making food, relaxing, and just having a good time.

What does diksha entail? Please tell us the steps and process.

There are two dikshas that take place. The first is called “parshadi” diksha where you are initiated into white cloths and given a parshad name. This happens after being in the Sarangpur training school for 1-1.5 years. The second diksha comes after another 1-1.5 years, which is called “bhagwati” diksha, where you wear the saffron clothes and receive a sadhu name. Then, you stay in the training school for another 3-5 years where you complete your training scriptures, sangeet, spiritual discourses, penance, seva, and bhakti.

What is the hardest part of doing this? Please enumerate the do’s and don’ts of a monk’s life. Did you or do you ever second-guess your decision?

Sure, becoming a sadhu is tough, but the love of Pramukh Swami Maharaj and seeing his continuous sacrifice for everyone makes sadhu-life so much easier. There are 5 main vows for sadhus – non-lust, non-taste, non-ego, non-attachment, and non-greed. I haven’t second guessed my decision because this is something I truly enjoying being and love devoting my life to God. Offering devotion and doing seva and helping society are things I have a passion for and love doing.

Would you recommend this to others?

Definitely. Just as you would recommend your profession to someone, I would recommend this. I’m not saying being a sadhu is a profession. Instead, it is all about your devotion and service to Bhagwan, but you get my point.

What for you are the biggest rewards?
My biggest reward is I know I am pleasing my guru. I know this is not the only way to please my guru, but just as there are many ways to please your family or your boss or anyone else, this is the path I have chosen to truly please my guru.
How do you think it helps you to fulfill your role in the world and find the meaning of life?

Being a sadhu allows me to help connect society with God and feel God’s divine presence. Moreover, I am able to talk to others about being moral and ethical citizens of society. Regarding the meaning of life, I think the meaning of life is to please God and do good for society, both of which I am able to do as a sadhu.

For those who cannot follow this path, what would you suggest as the next best thing?

Live a moral, value-based, and devoted life as a householder.

What is the inspiration or mantra which keeps you going, through good times and bad?

The inspiration which keeps me going is looking at my guru – Pramukh Swami Maharaj’s life. Seeing how much he has gone through, all the sacrifice he has made, all the hardships he’s had to deal with, and yet that constant serene smile of absolute contentment is what keeps me going. He has done so much for society without ever looking at his own personal needs or wants. Seeing how dedicated he has been to God and society is an ever-motivating facet for me.

Sheela Rajdev: Journey to the Moon Within

“My mom still recollects that when she came one day to my first grade class wearing a sari I was shocked because I had never seen her wearing Indian clothes,” says Sheela Rajdev. “When I look back at it, I don’t think I realized I was Indian or what it meant. I wasn’t identified with Indians or having any particular background so I didn’t have any stress about my identity.”

It was complete assimilation for the family had never returned to India, the children did not speak any Indian languages and non-Indian food was served on the family table. Friends were from every background and Sheela could not relate to new Indian immigrants because she simply had no reference.

Like many Indian children who grew up in the American hinterland, she had few markers of  Hindu cultural or spiritual life. Her father was an engineer at BASF and mother was a medical director at Henry Ford in Farmington Hills, MI. “We were not oriented towards any particular religion, no lamps lit at home or God’s pictures,” she says. “I went to the temple and even a church a few times but only for the day camps or math classes.”

Later in life her parents rediscovered religion and things changed when Sadhguru  Jaggi Vasudev of the Isha Yoga Program came to Michigan.

“Summer before college, I was taken to an introductory talk and with my attention totally elsewhere, half way through I took the car keys and drove off to my best friend’s graduation party thinking I don’t need any advice on how to be happy!” says Sheela.

The next year, after freshman year at college, she and her brothers attended a 7 day Inner Engineering program with Sadhguru. “This time I looked up at the man behind the microphone, opened my ears, and put down a few of the barriers and resistances I had towards so-called spiritual teachers,” she remembers. “I listened to what he had to say and his logic hit me, his wisdom seemed unparalleled and his humor started to soften me up.  He was not talking about some god somewhere or asking me to believe in anything but just to look at myself a little deeper.”

How deep?

As deep as she was willing. The more willing she became, the more she discovered and suddenly the world inside of her, she found, was so much bigger than the one outside. “I realized the difference between religion and a true spiritual process,” she says. She visited India for the first time, spending a month in silence and volunteered at the Isha Yoga Center in Coimbatore, a life-transforming experience.  Ten years have passed, 7 of them as a full-time volunteer and 3 of them living in India.  – All of them extremely happy and peaceful.

“I didn’t realize it but all my life I was trying to fulfill some unquenchable thirst for happiness and a sense of completeness,” she says, running from goal to goal, imagining each would take her somewhere. She adds, “It became so painstakingly clear that nothing on the outside would satisfy me.”

One big question overwhelmed her: ‘What is this all about and what am I looking for?’ Sadhguru’s program called Inner Engineering gave her the tools to find this answer within.  She says, “That thirst is quenched and whether I do something or don’t do anything the experience is equally as beautiful.”

At the age of 29, Sheela has found the inner contentment that most people struggle all their lives to find. She quotes Sadhguru: “The world is trying to do so many things. We’re trying to go to the moon, to Mars, but, fundamentally, I feel the most important thing is human consciousness, the quality of life here. How happy we are here simply depends on how we are within ourselves.”

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A Journey back to India

India blog - Ringing in 2012 in Mumbai

A Mumbai Story – 2012

It was only 8 pm on Dec 31st in Mumbai but already the drums were beating wildly outside my window in an apartment close to the Gateway of India. People are packing the streets here and I’m struck by the sheer energy of the crowds. The vitality of Mumbaikars is catching, their passion to live, to succeed. I’ve been in the city just three days but already I’ve met so many ordinary people who take each day as it comes and pack a punch into it.

There’s the young cook who is a wanna be entrepreneur, cooking in six different apartments in the building. He rings our doorbell at 7 am and quickly whips up several daals, sabzis and rotis, using a pressure cooker and deft mechanized motions. Within 40 minutes he’s ready to cover the freshly cooked meal and move on to the next home. I’ve tasted the food – it’s delicious, home-made and cooked to the taste of each particular family. Yes, he cheerfully makes a living with his wits and his hands – talk about initiative and entrepreneurship.

Then there’s the Maharashtrian bai who goes to several homes in the vicinity – briskly sweeping, cleaning and making the beds as well as washing the clothes. She’s a whiz at fast moves and leaves the house sparkling, with clothes neatly drying on the clothesline, on to her next assignment.

She’s widowed since the last 18 years and her son too has passed on – now she looks after her three grandchildren, saving for her grand-daughter’s college. Her entire family survives on her earnings. She is a hero but no one knows about her.

Then there’s the woman who recently had the most horrendous freak accident in a flower shop in Bhuleshwar where the hefty shop attendant, while standing on a stool to retrieve some goods, lost his footing and went crashing – right on top of her. She went flying across the room, taking the full brunt of his fall. She broke her kneecap and was immobilized for several months, and now after two surgeries, several medical bills and days and days of physiotherapy, she is just about getting back to life, painfully learning to walk back into the world she knew.

Yet you see her tranquility, her lack of anger and her acceptance of what happened to her and the fact that it could have been much worse – but for the grace of God.  She can actually smile and be witty about this nightmare. She’s ready to move on.

I think if we can take some of these rare qualities with us into the New Year, we will all be well-armed against the vagaries of life.

Celebrating 2012

Ringing in 2012 near the Gateway of India

Near the Gateway of India which is a stone’s throw from the apartment where I’m staying, crowds are gathering, the police is out in full force, the TV vans have gathered and the momentum is building up. The Taj Mahal Hotel is lit up and looking beautiful – a far cry from the devastation of the terror attacks.  A cop tells us that since 26/11 there is not a huge celebration at the Gateway of India due to security concerns and the huge crowds are now to be found at Nariman Point and in Chowpatty.

I myself have not been able to wander Mumbai to see its wild celebrations as I’ve injured the tissue in my right leg. However, since I can’t explore the city, the city seems to have come outside my window, with its joyous, raucous drums and firecrackers. The streets of Colaba are full of merrymakers, and in the lane outside my apartment lots of young kids have gathered, drumming and dancing. Later there will be fireworks as effigy of the old year will be set ablaze.

I finally hobble out for a taxi ride to see the ongoing New Year’s Eve carnival of Mumbai, from the Gateway of India to Nariman’s Point to Marine Drive and Chowpatty and it is amazing to see the streets inundated with people. Couples on scooters, entire families on scooters, girls on scooters. Our taxi weaved its way through traffic jams and our driver told us that he was coming from Bandra where the streets were jam-packed with people celebrating and all restaurants and discos were crowded.

Whole families were out, babies in tow, enjoying coconuts, peanuts and kulfi on Chowpatty beach, waiting to view the fireworks. It was a very outdoor celebration and those who were indoors in apartments were leaning out from balconies, watching the grand show. A surreal half moon gleamed in the dark sky and cars flooded the areas around various clubs, restaurants and hotels, to a cacophony of beeping horns.  Mumbaikars sure know how to party!

It was almost midnight as we returned to the apartment. The gleeful street urchins were dancing with added frenzy and the dhols were reaching a crazy crescendo. As the New Year came in, fireworks – red, green, purple and gold – showered the night sky with manmade stars.

As I listen to the energized drums and remember what the city of Mumbai has gone through – and survived, I have a good feeling that we will all collectively face whatever the new year brings – because we can.

So beat the drums, bring on the fireworks – and let 2012 begin! A Happy New Year, everyone!

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Roberto Custodio's Infant Jesus - a celebration of Christmas

Infant Jesus of Prague

Infant Jesus of Prague is a famous statue located in the Church of Our Lady Victorious in Mal Strana, Prague. Thousands of pilgrims pay homage to the Infant of Prague each year. Claims of blessings, favors and miraculous healings have been made by many who petitioned before the Infant Jesus.

Statuettes of the Infant Jesus are placed inside many Catholics churches, sometimes with the quotation, The more you honor me, the more I will bless you. In Ireland some brides will place a Child of Prague statue outside their houses the night before their wedding. This is meant to ensure that there will be good weather for the wedding day.

Jesus of Nazareth by Roberto Custodio in 'A Matter of Faith'

Jesus of Nazareth

Jesus of Nazareth ( 7-2 BC/BCE 26-36 AD/CE), is the central figure of Christianity and is revered by most Christian churches as the Son of God and incarnation of God. Islam considers Jesus a prophet, and he is an important figure in several other religions. Christians predominantly believe that Jesus came to provide salvation and reconciliation with God by his death for their sins. Other Christian beliefs include Jesus’s virgin birth, performance of miracles, ascension into Heaven, and a future Second Coming.

Related Article:

Roberto Custodio – Finding God

Indian Christians Celebrate Christmas in Goa

Christmas in Pune and other Indian Tales

Indian Christmas feast

An Indian Christmas

A Repeat Visit to the D’souzas  in Goa, a Lassi with Lavina tradition!

What can be better than going home for Christmas, especially if home happens to be warm and sunny Goa? Chris and Beverly D’Souza with their young son Luke are in Goa, their hometown, far away from the cold of New York. Surrounded by extended family and friends, she describes the magic: “There is a lot of excitement in the air and smells of baking and sweet making are everywhere. Homes are decorated, carols fill the air and there is a feeling of freshness and happiness. It is also the wedding season for the Catholics in India and so, besides family reunions, everyone meets at family weddings.”

I first met the D’Souzas when I wrote about the Christmas celebrations of Indian-Christians in 2007. (See related story) I thought it would be great to catch up and see how the family is celebrating this year.

Chicken Shakuti

A Typical  Indian Christmas

Beverly, who has spent Christmas in Dubai, in New York as well as many in Goa, shares photos of their big Christmas feast in Goa last year, all served in clay matkas. She maps out a typical Indian Christmas for us, explaining that all Indian Christians celebrate Christmas in a very similar fashion, whether they are Goans, East Indians, Mangaloreans or Anglo-Indians.

She offers a primer of Christmas activities common to all these communities:

Floral decor at the Christmas table

• We go for Midnight Mass or for the 8 pm Mass as is more common nowadays.
• Visit family or friends for coffee, cake and wine and some snacks.  This is called a Coffee Party.  A lot of the traditional sweets are also brought out.
• Next day everyone either meets up again for lunch or for dinner – or lunch is in one person’s house and then, dinner is in another house.  This is a very traditional meal and most of the items are repeated every year.
• Everyone loves to go for the Christmas Dances that are organized by each community.
• Families shop for gifts and these are exchanged either after Mid-Night Mass or the next day when they meet.  The gift shopping is another experience that just puts you in the mood for the holidays.
• A lot of traditional sweets are made and these are exchanged when we go to visit family and friends.  If we cannot make the sweets then, we buy them mainly from someone who makes them with traditional recipes rather than from commercial stores.
• Carol Singing is not as popular in New York as it is in India. Most of the people love to travel back to India or any other part of the world where their main families are located in order to celebrate Christma together.
• Just as Macy’s has a Santa every year, a lot of hotels in India and in the Middle East organized a Christmas Party for the kids, where Santa comes in either a helicopter or a water scooter or on a sledge drawn by horses or in  a carriage.  And it is a very exciting time for the kids and they each get gifts from Santa again.
  

Beverly and Chris D'Souza with Luke

Beverly D’Souza On the Traditional Christmas Meal:

STARTERS / APPETIZERS:

Ground Meat and Potato Croquettes
Potato Chops – Ground Meat stuffed in Mashed Potato and fried.  (This tradition has changed to include the more healthy ground chicken or turkey or vegetables).
Salted Tongue – (This may seem quite strange to a lot of people but is a delicacy for some – However this tradition is changing with modern families and rarely eaten out of India).

Flora's Potatoes

MAIN COURSE:

Rice – Could be a colorful Pulao Rice or Wedding Rice (Wedding Rice is made with caramelized onions, raisins, nuts and sliced boiled eggs).

Jeera Rice

Curries:
Chicken Khudi or Duck Moile  (East Indian Special)
Chicken Shakuti (Goan Special)
Pork Innad (Magalorean Special)
Beef Stew (Anglo-Indian Special)

Since we did not celebrate Thanksgiving in India, many homes also had the Stuffed and Roasted Pig, Chicken, Turkey or Goose served on the table, ready to be carved.  Some of these traditions continued when we migrated.

Besides the curries, we also had a very traditional dish served on Christmas.  The Pork Sorpotal and the Pork Vindaloo.  Each of the Christian Communities, Goan, East Indian or Mangalorean had their own recipe to serve these dishes.

Pork Sorpotal

The Accompaniment / Bread with these traditional were the Fugias (East Indian) or the Sannas (Goan and Mangalorean).

The table would also have many other dishes in order to make sure that it was festively full.The meal was finished with a variety of the following traditional desserts:

Cakes – Mixed Fruit Cake, Plum Cake, Date Cake, Coconut Cake, etc.

Sweets:
Marzipan (Cashew or Almond Based)
Milk Cream (Cashew or Almond Based with a lot of Milk)
Cordial (Cashew or Almond or Coconut Based)
Boros / Bolings (Coconut Based)
Bibique (Eggs & Coconut Based)
Do Dol (Rice Flour, Jaggery, Cashew and Maida Dough)
Thalie Sweet (Sojee and Eggs Based – this sweet is also made by many other communities in India).
Nankhaties (Maida Based – this sweet is also used by many other communities in India).
Milk and Coco Fudge
Nevries (Coconut filling in a sort of layered chapati dough and fried)
Kul Kuls (This is a dough, shaped either on a fork or made into little shells and deep fried.)
Date Rolls
Rose-De-Coque

Related Article: Christmas is an Indian Festival too

Fogas

Baby Krishna by Roberto Custodio, a tribute to Hindu deities.

Roberto Custodio: God Is In the Details

Who has ever seen the face of the Almighty? Does He wear a peacock feather in His hair or perhaps a coiled snake around His neck? Is the Omnipresent a many-armed powerful Goddess with green eyes or a gentle, golden Madonna and Child?

East and west blend in the surreal works of Brazilian artist Roberto Custodio in which blue-eyed Gods and beauty queen goddesses preside, and the flora and fauna of many continents merge. He creates magic worlds from found materials and paper clippings, discarded consumer magazines which he recycles to create his own truths.

The artist, who had a showing in New York in 2006 of his interpretations of Hindu Gods and Goddesses, is back with fresh work for his new show ‘A Matter of Faith’ in which Gods of many faiths share gallery space. This exhibit can be seen in RL Fine Arts in Manhattan from  December 4, 2010 to January 30, 2011.  The perfect show to see in the holiday season.

“In the present time with our avarice for sampling pieces of music, images, videos, our culture is continually referencing and commenting on the works of others, both past and present,” observes Peter Louis, director of the gallery. “ Fully incorporating the art of the found or sampled image, we are constantly delighted by Roberto’s meticulous technique of cutting and repositioning the tiniest detail, forcing change between signifier and signified.

In these works one sees the powerful force of the world of advertising and media. One can imagine him scouring through countless magazines, taking in pages which we have not even bothered to glance at. ”

Ganesha by Roberto Custodio

Custodio, who is self-taught, is from Sao Paulo and was influenced by masters such as Jan Van Eyck and Boticelli, as well as the work of the noted artist and illustrator Erte. He had a career in fashion photography and was also an illustrator for magazines like Brazilian Vogue, and all these influences show in his work where beauty and a love of beauty in all its manifestations is paramount.

He uses the every day tools of collage, water color and ink to transform mundane magazine images and graphics into a celebration of the deities of many cultures, encrusting them with gold and jewels of his own creation.  Out of  materialistic odds and ends, he molds a beautiful spirituality.

As Louis points out: “In imagining this pantheon of Hindu deities, Roberto has brought a unique sense of respect for traditional iconography, along with a feel for modern beauty, inspired in part by his South American heritage that once again places these beautiful Gods and Goddesses on a pedestal to be adored and loved.”

Indeed, like a passionate miniaturist, Roberto Custodio revels in the smallest details, painstakingly embedding tiny paper emeralds on the forehead of the Gods, placing jeweled bangles on the wrists of Balaji, one miniscule gem at a time. After all, isn’t God in the details?

Kali by Roberto Custodio, a tribute to Hindu deities.

Roberto Custodio:  A Matter of Faith

“India Seduces Me in an Inexplicable Way”

An  Exclusive Interview

Q:  You have never been to India and yet India pervades your art? How is that possible?

A: Brazil is a country where all the cultures and races mix together. This can be seen not only in the physical beauty of the people but also in the indulgence and respect of all cultures. In the same family you can find Catholics, Jews, and Buddhists. I have in my blood a heritage from Brazilian Indians, Portuguese, Italians, Africans, Germans and Dutch. My eyes look to the world and India seduces me in an inexplicable way.

Q. What was your first exposure to India – was it a film, something you read or heard?

A: When I was a teenager I saw a postcard with an image of Krishna. His kindness and light fascinated me. Since then I started to read everything that I could about Hinduism. The Indian classical music is, for me, the most complete translation of the superior spheres.

Q: How much do you know about the Hindu Gods and Hinduism?

A. Everyday I learn something more about the Hindu gods. It’s a knowledge that never ends and that is what motivates me more – the beauty of the images, the histories, the rituals.

Vishnu by Roberto Custodio

India and Hinduism Touch My Soul

Q: Are you personally influenced by Hinduism? Which is your favorite God?

A: I don’t follow any particular religion but Hinduism and the people from India touch my soul as if I have really lived there in a past life. Shiva is my favorite god. Or is it Ganesha ? Krishna? Maybe Lakshmi?

I was raised by a very spiritual family, following the doctrine of Allan Kardec. The immortality of the soul, the reincarnation and the close contact with the other dimensions has always been current in my life. All religions have something to teach us and you have to keep what touches your heart, the way Hinduism happened in my life.

Q: In your paintings, you have made Vishnu female, given Parvati green eyes and Lakshmi and Saraswati looks so South American. What was your motive behind these transformations – Do they stem from a deeper belief that all reality is one and God is in every single thing?

A: The green eyes of Parvati are like emeralds, as beautiful as her love of mother and wife. Vishnu seems like a female image because woman brings the power of life and love. The beauty and love mix with each other in my work and the devotion and pleasure I create are current in every little piece of my art. You answered the question. God is in every single thing.

Q: Do you have any plans to actually visit India which you seem to have seen in your dreams?

A: India is not a country to spend a week or fifteen days. There are so many things to know. I would not like to go with my hands empty. The country has so much to offer that I would like to offer something back. I would like to take my art there so not only the most fortunate people could see my work, but mostly the people who work hard to live, living in poverty and being able to enjoy a moment with the art of a man coming from a distant land, who loves and cares so much about them.

The Goddess Parvati by Roberto Custodio

A Matter of Faith.

Peter Louis, Director of R L Fine Arts, on the works of  Roberto Custodio.

Simply put, in Roberto Custodio’s best works, he transports the viewer into a fantastical and magical world of imagination, where, child-like, we are astonished by his mastery of the art of make believe. Our delight in his re-telling of a story is constantly fueled by his ability to focus on the tiniest details but yet not lose sight of the larger vision.

Balaji by Roberto Custodio

With this group of works he has sought as inspiration the deities and icons of different religions.

In Roberto’s art several ideas and styles collide. The idea of the found image and the style of collage are two immediately apparent modes of expression. Duchamp’s ‘found’ image, renamed ‘art’ by the artist, has arguably been the most influential of all art ideas in the 20th century, through to the present time.

Collage, the art of placing together disparate images to create a unique work came to prominence in the early 20th century with artists such as Picasso, Braque, Juan Gris, etc. and has continued to appeal to many, witness the combines of Robert Rauschenberg and others.

Roberto has an individual way with the art of the found image and collage, which he expresses with a unique blend of styles and temperaments. In his work there is a combination of a colorful and baroque style, one might say, an ‘exotic’ Latin American viewpoint, with the artist’s appreciation and respect for technique, iconography and art history.

Throughout these images one is taken back to Renaissance painting (St. Sebastian), landscape painting, Academic art of the Nineteenth century (Joan of Arc), Orientalism, the art of Erte (a significant influence on the artist) but we are also completely in the world of modern advertising and print, the digital image, and this places Roberto’s art so completely in our cultural present.

Madonna and Child by Roberto Custodio

Having worked in the world of fashion with a modeling agency and also with fashion magazine editorial, Roberto has dealt with the industry’s focus on the beautiful image, the beautiful woman or man, or the beautiful item of clothing. He understands the relentless desire to capture this idea of beauty, even though it will only be for an instant, a month’s issue, a season, a second of time, before it is discarded and forgotten.

In the present time with our avarice for sampling pieces of music, images, videos, our culture is continually referencing and commenting on the works of others, both past and present. Fully incorporating the art of the found or sampled image, we are constantly delighted by Roberto’s meticulous technique of cutting and repositioning the tiniest detail, forcing change between signifier and signified.

In these works one sees the powerful force of the world of advertising and media. One can imagine him scouring through countless magazines, taking in pages which we have not even bothered to glance at.

Like a scientist he most carefully selects the smallest image, maybe years in advance of the actual work been made. Then, the image is retrieved and magically given a new lease of life, a more gentle, longer lasting life, where it embellishes and shines with a different light. He has cleverly filtered and used the ephemeral easily discarded magazine printed image, and with flourishes of India ink draughtsmanship, creates a bold, romantic vision that is respectful of the past and yet grounded in the present.

Above all, the idea of Beauty is the driving and dominant force in Roberto’s works. Beauty is a concept that has been examined, discussed, dismembered, re-grown throughout the history of art, not only in the painted or sculpted image but also in sound and film. There is no denying the power of an exquisite image.

Roberto’s ‘Beauty’ is a personal one that is fully knowing of our never-ending preoccupation with the perfect surface.

All Photos: (C) RL Fine Arts.

Tandoori chicken Thanksgiving

When Sunita Advaney, now married and settled in Forest Hills, was seven years old, she came home from first grade and asked her immigrant parents about Thanksgiving. Her father Lal Lakhati, who had migrated from India, didn’t just explain the holiday to her, he actually went out and bought a small rotisserie bird and all the trimmings and the family had a Thanksgiving dinner.

This became an annual tradition in their home in Astoria, until Sunita was 15 and learnt to cook. She recalls, “My father taught me how to sew and stitch the turkey and we invited family over. That first year we did two turkeys – one was traditional and one was tandoori turkey – a bright red because we coated it with tandoori spices and coloring and stuffed it with biryani and boiled eggs. We need our chillies and it was a good way to ease people into turkey because turkey is not part of our culture.”

The Pilgrim Fathers would have been perplexed with this glowing red bird, and perhaps even more so if they had accompanied Alvin Thomas of Floral Park to the Mar Thoma Church in Merrick for an elaborate Thanksgiving lunch. The menu did not have the big bird or the traditional Thanksgiving fixings but the delectable aromas which permeated the hall promised an unforgettable South Indian meal: Chili chicken curry with ground cashew nuts in the sauce, salad with a yogurt dressing, vegetable fried rice, pickle and pappadums, topped with Indian rice pudding.

Annie Cheriyan, one of the trustees of the church, explained that they decided to make a traditional Kerala-style meal since most of the members of the congregation would be cooking turkey at home for Thanksgiving, albeit with Indian spices. Indians love their chilies and spices and so almost every family personalizes the recipe with its own spice rub.

The Thanksgiving table

Kishan and Shirley Khemlani, who migrated to New York in 1979 with their eight-year-old daughter Sony, made their first home in Jackson Heights, Queens. Khemlani recalls cooking her first bird: “I’d never seen that kind of a bird and the size really intimidated me. But I asked neighbors for recipes and that’s how I made it.”

As New Americans, they embraced the traditions of Thanksgiving fully. She says, “All the local people go to their families and since we have made our friends our family, this becomes a way to bring everyone together and for the kids to be able to share their Thanksgiving experiences in school the next day.” Over the years they have fine-tuned the meal to perfection and Sony, who is now married, is hosting the celebration in her home.

Julie Sahni, the noted cooking expert and author of several books on Indian cuisine, has lived in New York for over 30 years and has seen many a Thanksgiving celebration. She points out that most Indians immigrants have rarely eaten turkey in their home country, as turkey is a rarity in India and is used only in the Chettinad cooking of South India.

Sunita and Umesh Advaney today with son Akshay

Sahni herself has cooked turkey in many ways over the years, including the tandoori style and as a spicy turkey biryani but favors the New Orleans style of turkey with oyster dressing. She says, “The friends with whom I spent my first six Thanksgivings introduced me to the Cajun style with red chillies and it’s become a part of my tradition.”

She adds, “Indians are adept at flavoring ingredients and making it in many different ways and traditions.” South Indians, for instance, might do turkey in a spicy version with black pepper and tamarind sauce that is famous in Madras in South India and could serve it with hoppers and a coconut stew.

For many Indians who are vegetarian, turkey’s starring role in the Thanksgiving meal can prove a stumbling block. Meena Patel, who lives in New Jersey, is from the Gujarati community, many of who are vegetarians. She is cooking up an Indian vegetarian meal right down to elaborate desserts for Thanksgiving. Since her children have been pleading for a turkey, she has asked her sister-in-law, who happens to be non-vegetarian, to bake it and bring it over.

Indian immigrants are particularly inventive when they have to find vegetarian alternatives to turkey. Sahni sometimes makes a whole baked pumpkin stuffed with a rich aromatic curry of kidney beans and pumpkin meat, a satisfying alternative to turkey. Other dishes on this Indian-style menu are biryani and cranberry relish which is more like an Indian chutney with cayenne pepper, walnuts and ginger added in..

Says Sahni, “I find myself adding more and more Indian touches, because this is going to be an Indian-style Thanksgiving for my family’s future generations. It really honestly doesn’t matter what you cook. The spirit of Thanksgiving is what’s important and it’s a time for rejoicing with those who are close to you.”

(C) Lavina Melwani

(This article first appeared in Newsday)

Related Article:The No Turkey Thanksgiving

Related Article: Here comes the Bride -er-Turkey

Thanksgiving - an all-American holiday

Did you ever hear of the arrival of the turkey on to the Thanksgiving table being heralded as the arrival of the ‘dulhan’ or Indian bride? For Sunita Advaney’s family fixing the 30 lb bird was like preparing for an elaborate Indian wedding. Trust desis to bring their own take on this American holiday, imprinting it with their own special flavor!

For immigrants, it has been a gradual acquaintance with this American festival, and many have grown to love it and make it a part of their own traditions. I had interviewed Sunita Advaney 7 years ago for Newsday when I did a feature about immigrants celebrating Thanksgiving. She had mentioned how when she was seven years old, she had come home from first grade and asked her immigrant parents about the story behind Thanksgiving. Her father Lal Lakhati didn’t just explain the holiday to her, he actually went out and bought a small rotisserie bird and all the trimmings for the family’s first ever Thanksgiving dinner.

Thanksgiving is sweet

She recalled, “My father taught me how to sew and stitch the turkey and we invited family over. That first year we did two turkeys – one was traditional and one was tandoori turkey – a bright red because we coated it with tandoori spices and coloring and stuffed it with biryani and boiled eggs. We need our chilies and it was a good way to ease people into turkey because turkey is not part of our culture.”

That was then – this is now!  Last year  you even had cooking guru Mark Bittman suggesting spicing up turkey leftovers by  transforming them into a coconut based curry in the NYT article The Turkey that went to India . Now he’s really talking our language!

I caught up with the Advaney family and their turkey adventures after seven years and found out that Thanksgiving has become a family tradition. It is still such a favorite holiday that even though Sunita was going to be away in Barbados on Thanksgiving Day , she pre-celebrated the holiday by gathering 30 of her closest family and friends at her home with a potluck dinner, a nice mix of traditional and Indian cuisine.

For the feast, she had a 30lb turkey with all the trimmings from stuffing to creamed spinach, coupled with her mother’s famous chicken biryani and raita, spicy yogurt.

“It was a bit challenging this year, in terms of serving the food. We had booked the party room in our new building and although there is a catering kitchen, there is no oven,” she says. “As you can imagine it’s not easy carrying a 30lb turkey from the 3rd floor,  even with an elevator. Luckily, we have a trolly in the building. We ended up putting the turkey on the trolly, lighting candles all around it and rolled it into the party room.”

Sunita with her father and friends

And that grand entrance allowed her father to make the quip about the turkey being like the ‘dulhan’ or Indian bride, whose pending arrival is anticipated by guests at the wedding. Says Sunita: “My father is the keynote speaker for every Thanksgiving since we began celebrating this tradition 20 years ago. It is his favorite American holiday because it brings all our loved ones together. I guess that’s why it’s my favorite as well. Like father like daughter!”

Sunita’s son Akshay, who was a baby when I first interviewed her 7 years ago, is now a big kid who relishes Thanksgiving, a holiday he has grown with and which is his own.

Ask Sunita about her menu, and you see how Thanksgiving is getting redefined by immigrants and their children. The appetizers included lamb chops, spinach dip, chilli shrimp, mushroom puff pastries while dinner consisted of creamed spinach, garlic mashed potatoes, garlic bread, spinach lasagna, lamb stuffing, baked macaroni and cheese, raita, chicken biryani and of course, spiced stuffed turkey. Truly,  this turkey has traveled to India!

Tandoori Thanksgiving

The Indian Thanksgiving Elves

The Immigrants’ Thanksgiving

I am Troy Davis (Photo: coalition Against the Death Penalty)

Troy Davis: Life and Death in Georgia

Troy Davis is now dead. In my layman’s language, the mighty, glorified American justice system refused to revoke his death penalty, and last night around 11, in an American prison, he was straddled on a chair and given a lethal injection. Troy died ten minutes later.

Just before his death, from his death bed, he gave a final statement proclaiming his innocence once again. He said he did not commit the crime. He implored us to “look deeper” into it.

Even though I did not know Troy, a black man in Georgia who was convicted of killing a police officer in 1989, only four years after I came to America as a foreign graduate student, over the years I’ve heard about him and the alleged flay of justice he went through for twenty years, and wondered about the mighty and glorified American justice system. I read about the civil rights movement and Dr. Martin Luther King when I was in India. I read about his assassination in Memphis when I was in elementary school. I heard about the assassination of John and Bobby Kennedy. I read about slavery in America, and how black men and women were subjected to racism, bigotry, exploitation and violent repression. I read about Abraham Lincoln and the Emancipation Proclamation.

I sort of always wanted to believe that America had changed for the better. I sort of wanted to believe the U.S. justice system was actually mighty and worth glorifying.

Life and Death - Photo: Jacob Anikulapo

Since yesterday, I put a status update on my Facebook page, and changed it three times. I did not know of any other way to show my fleeting emotions. First, when I came to know that he was likely to die in a matter of a few hours, I wrote:

“Abolish the Death Penalty Today! It’s barbaric and primitive. Want proof? U.S. India, China and Saudi Arabia still have it. The entire Europe, South America, Australia and Canada banned it.”

I posted a number of links to prove my point: (1) U.S. India, China and Saudi Arabia still have it. The entire Europe, South America, Australia and Canada banned it (why is it banned?); (2) how fanatics and fundamentalists across religions use similar logic to support the death penalty; (3) in a high number of cases, how DNA fingerprinting exonerated convicted, death-row inmates. I put link to a TV news story I did about ten years ago for ABC TV.

At 6 P.M., when it was all news that they were going to kill Troy at 7 P.M., I updated my status:

“At 7 P.M., America will execute Troy Davis. I’ll observe a moment of silence.”

I was feeling very tired just by imagining what Troy was going through at that time. I was internalizing the feeling of sadness, hopelessness, frustration about the mighty, glorified U.S. justice system, and a bone-chilling feeling of death — as if Lord Yama,  the God of Death was knocking at his doorstep, to fetch him. I could not take it anymore. I went to sleep.

At 8 P.M., I woke up and realized that he was still alive; I read that they delayed the execution because of an appeal to a superior court. But because I never believed in miracles…my life has been so mundanely lacking miracles…deep inside I knew the end of Troy Davis’ life was near. But I was hoping to believe in miracles, only for his sake and for the sake of his family.

But I was feeling very tired and exhausted again just to think about the roller-coaster emotions they were all going through. I was imagining the pounding hearts of the hundreds of thousands of supporters and activists who were rallying in Georgia, in Washington, D.C., and in other parts of America; in fact, people against the primitive and barbaric death penalty were rallying and protesting all across the world. In the name of Troy Davis, a black American man in Deep South, the world’s conscience was coming together.

It was too much for my emotional, impractical, old-fashioned heart to beat normally. I went to sleep.

I woke up at 6 A.M. this morning. I knew it was all over.

I did a final update on my Facebook status:

“A primitive, barbaric system put Troy Davis to death. I hang my head in shame. This is a dark day for America.”

Repeat statement: Troy Davis is now dead. In my layman’s language, an American court refused to revoke his death penalty, and last night around 11, in an American prison, he was straddled on a chair and given a lethal injection. Troy died ten minutes later.

I just gave you a synopsis of my fleeting emotions surrounding Troy’s death. My fleeting emotions will not let me remember for too long this alleged flay of justice by the mighty, glorified American justice system.

But right now, as of this moment, this is my life’s status update. This is my life’s raw, real emotion. My life spoke for a poor victim of a primitive, barbaric system — in real, raw terms.

For you, Brother Troy.

Sincerely Yours,

Partha

Brooklyn, New York

Partha Banerjee is a New York-based college professor, labor and immigrant rights activist

You can read Partha’s posts at One Final Blog

Janamashtmi celebrates the birth of Krishna

Janamashtami Story

To know Sri Krishna is to adore him. He is the blue-skinned God, the eighth incarnation of Vishnu, Preserver of the World. He is the Cosmic Cowherd, the mischievous deity that Hindus love the most for his pranks, for his butter-thievery, for his melodious flute, for his romantic interludes with Gopis, the milkmaids. He fought demons, danced on the mighty serpent’s head and lifted Govardhana Hill with his little finger, using it as an umbrella to protect the people from torrential rains.

Yet one anecdote encompasses it all: as a naughty child hankering after butter, he would stand on the shoulders of other children to reach the pots of butter that hung from the ceiling. His mother, sure the incriminating proof was in his mouth, ordered him to open his mouth. She was mesmerized to see entire universes in the child’s mouth, and knew then that all the incidents were merely part of the Lord’s Leela or celestial play.

This year Janmashtami – the birth of Sri Krishna – falls on August 22, 2011. It is little surprise then that devotees gather in the hundreds, in the thousands in temples across India, and the world. It is a very special day and they wait in anticipation, surrounding the symbolic baby crib, singing devotional songs.

The story behind the birth of Krishna is intriguing: the wicked King Kansa had been told that he would meet his death at the hands of his yet unborn nephew. To thwart that, he had his only sister Devaki and her husband Vashdev imprisoned, and murdered each of their seven sons as they were born.

Bal Krishna enjoys butter thievery

Just as the eighth child – Sri Krishna – was born – the prison locks magically opened and Vashdev managed to escape with the baby Krishna in a wicker basket on his head. The river was raging but touching the divine baby’s feet, it receded. Krishna was brought up by a simple cowherd Nand and his wife Yashoda, and the evil Kansa did meet his death at his hands, as it was foretold.

Krishna and the Bhagavad Gita

Sri Krishna is the vanquisher of all evil and the guide for right living. In the mighty Mahabharata war in which the Pandavas battled their kinsmen, the Kauravas, he drove the Pandava warrior Arjuna’s chariot and instructed him to perform his duty, to be on the side of dharma or righteousness.

When Arjuna hesitated to fight against his own brethren, Krishna enlightened him with wisdom that encompasses all aspects of living. These words are immortalized in the 700 slokas of the Bhagavad Gita or the Song of the Lord, which has sustained people across the world.

The teachings of Bhagavad Gita are applicable to the entire human race irrespective of race or faith. It has been said that when you are faced with difficulties, open any page in the Gita, you will find the answer.

Janamashtami celebrates Krishna's Leela or Celestial play

Krishna and Cosmic Love

Why do Hindus love Krishna so much? He is the all-pervading, omnipresent One without whom even a leaf cannot stir, but he assumes a very accessible human form, becoming babe, naughty child, son, friend and lover. There is an instant bonding and connection between this deity and his devotees because Krishna is all about love.

In fact, the Bhakti or devotional movement in many parts of India revolves around Krishna, for his love for his beloved Radha is about cosmic love, about the union of soul and the Supreme Being.

Krishna is very much a part of a Hindu’s life: Many children are named after him – the deity has hundreds of names so there’s plenty to choose from! Interestingly, Krishna is a name for both male and female children and the parents certainly hope they will take on his shining attributes. Other names include Gopala, Govinda and Sreenath. Everything associated with Krishna is auspicious – there’s even a Krishna Savings Bank in Delhi and a Lord Krishna Bank in Kerala!

His devotees are also found in the Krishna Consciousness Movement that was started in the U.S. by A.C. Bhaktivedanta in the 60’s and which now has centers all over the world. You may have seen the Hare Krishna devotees of ISKCON, the Society for Krishna Consciousness, dancing on the streets and at airports.

Walk into a Hare Krishna temple and you see the same blissful abandon before the images of Krishna, and vegetarian feasts are served, based on the many delicacies that Krishna loved – butter, ghee and milk.

Since the 60’s, many Indian immigrants have settled in America and there are now scores of temples across the nation where Krishna Janmashtami is celebrated with pomp and pageantry, with dance performances and plays of his life.

Many devotees also fast on this day, eating only after midnight, says Pundit Mahesh Shastri, a Hindu priest. He explains that the icon of  Sree Krishna is bathed in milk, yogurt, ghee, honey, sugar and water. A traditional prasad or benediction is given to all the devotees – the Panchajiri, made of five ingredients, in North Indian temples while South Indian temples favor puffed rice, a great favorite of Krishna.

Krishna, the celestial charioteer with Arjuna

Janmashtami Celebrations

In India, the day after Janmashtami is one of revelry, keeping with Krishna’s fun-loving spirit. Clay pots of curds and butter are suspended from poles in the streets in towns like Mathura and Vrindaban, where Krishna lived, and also in cosmopolitan cities like Mumbai.

Bands of boisterous youth form human towers to get to the pots, mimicking Krishna’s exploits. To shouts of ‘Govinda Ala Re!’ (Govinda is coming!) colored water is thrown on bystanders and participants – and yes, the pots contain money for those daring enough to reach them!

Indeed, what’s a birthday without fun and games? Yet Janmashtami has a much deeper meaning – it’s a reminder to do one’s duty in life, no matter how difficult, and to keep on the path of dharma, to surrender one’s life to Krishna because all else is maya or illusion.

As Sree Krishna explains in the Bhagavad Gita:  “Before creation I alone existed. There was nothing, neither existence nor non-existence. I am that which remains after dissolution.”

© Lavina Melwani

Lassi with Lavina | Facebook

(This article first appeared in Beliefnet.com)

(Photos courtesy: Iskcon Desire Tree)

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NRI? Indian-American? Desi? American?  Indian? Or All?

We all talk about “being” Indian in America, but what about “becoming” Indian?  As an NRI and an Indian-American, that’s an experience I had never thought I would have but that is precisely what is happening.  Becoming Indian feels a bit like a metamorphosis – a complete change of form, structure, or substance – but it’s not.  It’s more like a hidden and suppressed side of our persona and outlook finally refusing to be denied and seeping slowly into our life to change it forever.

Becoming Indian in America

Desi Fish out of Water: Picking Sides

I came to the US in college and having grown up in Dubai, Nepal and India, I was a bit of a fish out of water.  The diverse and multicultural nature of Manhattan and Columbia University suited me just fine but the pressure to assimilate into mainstream American culture was pretty strong too and it created a conflict for me.  I resolved this conflict in the short term as I suspect a lot of Indians do – by picking a side, the American side.  I was so adamant, in fact, NOT to be considered Indian that I even refused to join any South Asian associations or fraternize with other Indians…  This went on for more than a decade.
It was purely by accident that I got thrown into the circle of Indians in New York City at a later point in my life, mostly because I was trying to publicize my novel MERGER and needed help from “my people”.  I merrily got involved in Indian activities and groups to hawk my wares, never suspecting that what I would really find was not publicity for my book but a new awareness of who I really am, where I come from, and a sense of camaraderie that had eluded me for longer than I could remember.

Being Indian and Becoming Indian

Not that it came quickly or easily; in fact it took several years before I even realized what was happening and that I suddenly had a good group of Indian friends that I enjoyed spending time with.  Beneath it all, of course, was the common cultural bond we all have (whether we like admitting it or not) – which includes superficial stuff like spicy food, cricket and Bollywood movies to more serious things like common concerns about life, career, marriage, parents.  It’s simply easier to communicate with people who know where you’re coming from and what you’re actually talking about.
Cut to now, and a new factor has crept in; namely that of values.  As I get older, I find myself trying to rediscover some of the values of our Indian culture which shaped my childhood and still run as an uneasy undercurrent through my adult psyche, but for the most part have been suppressed in the desire to adapt to the New York lifestyle.  As with all value systems, of course, not everything is desirable and it’s necessary to pick and choose the best of both Indian and American values in order to be truly happy.

Indian colors at Holi - A blast from the past (Photo: Dan Brady)

More specifically, our emphasis on family, commitment and a sense of romanticism about life are good things that should never allowed to be impacted by the increasingly cynical and success-oriented American mindset.  Conversely, the archaic social restrictions of Indian culture have no place in our modern age.  If we can find the right balance, we can be both Indian and American without compromising either identity.
All right, that’s the good part; where’s the problem?  The problem is in the transformation process, the transition from a two-dimensional existence to a three-dimensional one.  Not only is it temporarily confusing and dramatic but can lead to period of estrangement from either or both communities and just plain weirdness.

The good news is that with a couple of Advils, a deep breath and some patience, this challenge can be overcome.  The important thing to remember is that this process is not only natural but also inevitable; one that we were all destined to go through the moment we came into this world in an Indian body.  I’m not advocating that we should all suddenly start chanting “Mera Bharaat Mahaan” spontaneously (which would be a little disturbing), but more accurately be able to say “Mera Bharaat Awesome” with pride and understanding of why we feel that way.

Personally, I love kathi rolls, chaat, the criminally catchy music of Bollywood and impossibly beautiful women dancing with jaw-dropping synchronicity and am not ashamed to admit it.  Not to mention having to convince the cashier at Dunkin Donuts that I don’t drive a cab for a living and of course calling everyone uncle and aunty indiscriminately…  Sure, it’s all a little cheesy and the emotional drama inherent in Indian culture is hilarious, but it’s also fantastic and special. Just because we’re as much at ease in the more ordered and pragmatic reality of the New World doesn’t mean we should give up the eccentricities that make us unique!

Since this is an interactive forum, please do tell us your experiences with rediscovering your Indian heritage and let me know what you think of my thoughts.

Sanjay Sanghoee

Sanjay Sanghoee, author of ‘Merger’, a corporate thriller available on Amazon, blogs on political, financial and social topics which are carried weekly by several radio stations. He has written spec episodes for TV shows like ‘Law & Order: SVU’ and a screenplay for ‘Merger’.  He has an MBA from Columbia Business School and worked on Wall Street for 15 years in investment banking and hedge funds. www.sanghoee.com

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