Irises.

1.

 Every time I turn the same corner

You take my breath away

2.

Greeted by blue and purple irises

Taking out the trash is fragrant joy.

3.

'We should walk on the plains,' you said.

Rusty gate creaked and clanged

Evening shadows fell on Flatirons.

We walked over rock, grass, sedge

Beckoned to muddy hollow

By fluttering shawls of blue

Bog mirroring sky.

Cicada choir buzzed, whirred, clicked

With soprano meadow lark solo

You inhaled perfume of iris

Kneeling as if in prayer.

Sun dropped behind foothills

And soaring above lark song

Coyotes chanted evening sacrifice.

Eternal blessed moment.

Image by wstera2 via Flickr

Whether or not the no-fly restrictions following the Eyjafjallajokul eruption were necessary is a matter for debate. My astrophysicist cousin, Dr Garry Hunt, a part of the original Voyager team, told me that these restrictions were needlessly imposed by politicians and that decisions would better have been left to pilots and airlines. What is more fascinating to me is the global economic impact, not of the volcano itself, but rather of a few days without flights to Europe. In particular, I noted that the economy of Bangladesh suffered multi-billions of dollars of losses with severe impacts upon the poor such as factory workers and truck drivers. Bangladesh's sweatshop economy is completely dependent upon sending daily planeloads of knitwear to Europe--clothing that nobody in Bangladesh itself could afford to wear--even if they wanted to. The cargo jets that set off multiple times a day from Bangladesh produce greenhouse gases, exacerbating the climate change that is devastating the economy and ecology of this poor and disaster-prone nation.

If a volcano in Iceland can create financial catastrophe in Bangladesh, we are living at a level of complexity that is disastrously unsustainable.  The situation only serves to point to the importance of the Gandhian principles of svaraj, svadesh and sarvodaya. A country practicing Mahatma Gandhi's teacing of svaraj-- which embraces the concepts of autonomy and  self-sufficiency --would not be dependent upon fragile global chains of supply and demand. Its populace would not stand in need of sweatshop labour as the only alternative to destitution. A world practicing svadesh or localization would assuredly engage in vigorous trade, but it would be trading at the margins. Items such as knitwear or food would no longer cross continents, burning jet fuel as they traveled. A few days ago I stood with some friends at Oakland Port, watching as container after container of dollar-shop Chinese goods were unloaded. Today we import our pot-holders and alarm clocks from China; a few generations ago, these products were the province of local craftsmen. Looking back at my own family history, I have seen the transformation of London's working folk from artisans to factory workers within a single generation. In our own generation, these factory jobs have themselves been outsourced to sweatshops overseas.

And this brings us to the consideration of the third Gandhian principle, sarvodaya, the welfare of all. In a world based on sarvodaya, we appreciate that none of us is safe if one of us is not safe, that none of us can prosper if some of us do not. Outsourcing of once-coveted manufacturing jobs to poorly paid workers overseas is but one illustration of the truth of this principle. As long as some of us must work for less than a living wage in appalling conditions, all of us will eventually have to do so.

Svaraj, svadesh and sarvodaya, self sufficiency, localization and welfare of all are vital and timely principles that provide a sustainable alternative to an economy based on endless growth, five-planet consumption and 'might is right.' Volcanoes are seen in many indigenous cultures as sacred messengers.  Eyjafjallajokul comes to us with a message regarding our unsustainable complexity.

Image via Wikipedia

God's Oud

Tune my heart with your ruthless love, O Friend,

Even if I groan at the turning

My tight-held places

 Letting go reluctantly.

Cradle me in your hands,

O knower of my spirit,

Plucking my tender yearning

With your infinite Grace

Until my faltering human soul

Sounds your wild song of ecstasy.

Image via Wikipedia

Image via Wikipedia

Image via Wikipedia

Alandi's carbon emissions. Today I checked our household emissions on the EPA site. Since so much happens in our small space, I counted Sadananda and myself each as one person, the temple as one person, the Gurukula as one person and the clinic as one person, since each of those entities uses rooms, utilities, water and laundry.

The good news: 50,173 lbs of CO₂ per year or 10,035 pounds of CO₂ per year per household member was approximately half of what an average American emits. Our simple lifestyle does make a difference.

The bad news: It doesn't make enough difference. That puts us at five tons per person per year, very far from an optimal goal of one ton per year. According to the EPA website, if we buy one hundred percent green energy, we get to less than one ton per person.

Other changes we plan for this year:

·        Dry more of our laundry on racks/washing lines

·        Replace those last, lingering incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescents

·        Look into retiring the landlady's old refrigerators and getting out own energy star refrigerators

Things we already do include turning the furnace all the way off at night, not using any form of air conditioning and having the sleep function enabled on the computer. And we use a carbon neutral server for our websites and email.

Best of all, walk, walk, walk! I do enjoy a pedestrian lifestyle.

Niyamgiri Hills

Bauxite Processing Factory on Dongria Lands

Petition text:

To: Indian Prime Minister and Indian National Congress Party Chief
Dr. Manmohan Singh
Hon. Prime Minister of India

&

Sonia Gandhi
Chairperson, United Progressive Alliance
and Indian National Congress Party Chief

We are writing to draw your urgent attention to a matter of grave concern for India and the world, and appealing to you to protect the lives, culture and place of worship of the Kondh Adivasis, and the rich biodiversity which has been conserved due to their beliefs.

Respected Sir and Madam,

The Supreme Court, after a case lasting over three years, is about to give clearance to Sterlite/Vedanta to mine bauxite on the summit of Niyamgiri in the state of Orissa based on the recommendation of the Ministry of Environment and Forests as well as Government of Orissa. If mining is permitted there, two of India's strongest Constitutional guarantees will be overturned: the right of a "primitive tribal group" to their territorial integrity and to decide on their own path of development (Schedule V of the Indian Constitution); and the right to religious practices and beliefs (Article 25 of the Constitution), since the summit of this mountain is sacred place of worship to the Dongria Kondh's supreme deity Niyam Raja.

Your intervention is required because the case has been marked by numerous legal irregularities, starting with the construction of Vedanta's refinery below the mountain without seeking forest clearance for mining it and against strong recommendations from the Central Empowered Committee (the Supreme Court's advisory body). The Court judgment dated 23rd November 2007 concedes that Vedanta is not a trustworthy company, due to its worldwide pattern of human rights and environmental abuses, outlined in a recent Norway Government report. It nevertheless invites Sterlite to form a 'Special Purpose Vehicle' to mine the mountain, despite Sterlite being Vedanta's 80\% owned subsidiary, mentioned for its malpractice throughout the Norway report.

No tribal development or afforestation package can address the loss.

For Dongria and other Konds, mining this mountain would be a sacrilege that no financial package can compensate. Just as it is unthinkable to shift Babri Masjid or Jagannath Temple of Puri, or to substitute the Temple Mount, Al-Aqsa Mosque or Church of Saint Sepulchar, so too the sacred sites of India's indigenous people cannot be moved or replaced. Niyamgiri is as integral to Kondh religion as any place of worship is to other religions. But this is a religion rooted in nature. The Konds understand better than any scientist that the mountain is the source of their life, and that if the sacred summit area they have protected is deforested and mined, their perennial streams will gradually dry up.

What makes this case very unusual, and unites conservationists and social activists in a determination to prevent mining, is that the forest which Dongria religion has conserved (covering 670-hectares known as Niyam Dongar) is one of Orissa's last core areas of unspoilt forest - and Sterlite has even described it as bare of forest! It is significant that a multi-dollar report commissioned from J P Morgan (dated November 2003 and instrumental in Vedanta's registration on the London Stock Exchange in December 2003), does not mention the mountain's importance for biodiversity and water, or the presence of the Dongria Konds in Niyamgiri.

Sums offered by the company for tribal development, wildlife management and compensatory afforestation cannot begin to make up for what would be lost. Dongria Kond culture is eminently sustainable, growing fruit, vegetables and millet on the hill slopes. Their name for themselves is Jarnia linking their identity with Niyamgiri's magnificent streams. Bauxite capping a mountain retains monsoon water, releasing it slowly throughout the year. When bauxite is mined, the mountain loses this capacity. When it is still covered in prime forest a unique source of fertility is lost (a fact distorted in company reports stating that mining would aid run-off!). Numerous economic arguments against the project involve the extremely low prices which India gets for bauxite compared to this permanent loss.

Large sums coming in to the area for 'development' would bring unprecedented corruption through contractor-based construction. This is not desired by the people themselves, who have already witnessed large scale corruption and pollution around Lanjigarh, the site of the Vedanta refinery. The kind of development they wish for is small-scale medical and educational services under their own control.

The climate change aspect is also significant. Even the local tribal people understand that if the mountain is mined and its forest cover removed, local rainfall will be greatly reduced, quite apart from the larger negative impact on climate.

We are convinced that a judgment in favour of mining in Niyamgiri would amount to:

1. Irreparable environmental harm and major violations of fundamental religious and cultural rights as guaranteed under Article 25 of the Constitution,

2. Serious violation of the new Forest Rights Act, which empowers tribal communities to conserve the forest they depend on,

3. Intentional manipulation of the Law to suit the interests of Sterlite and Vedanta at the cost of the environment and the lives of people,

4. Wiping out an indigenous tribe and its civilization.

Sir, you as the head of the Ministry of Environment and Forests can avert this situation by revoking the environmental and forest clearance granted to the project which is bad in law and seriously undermines good governance as well as the faith of the marginalized communities.

Thanking you.

Sincerely,

The Undersigned

It's been thirteen months since my father passed away and I feel that a certain period of the mourning process has been completed. I don't have flashbacks of his last moments on a daily basis any more.  After Shivaratri, we took down the altar commemorating him and created a simpler "ancestral guides and helpers" altar, which currently hosts Dad and Rajaram, our cat. Rajaram was in a very nice little frame which I got as a Christmas present from Kate (my sister) and Dad, meanwhile, just had a laminated photo. So we got a nice wooden frame and new photo for Dad and installed him properly on the new altar. He seemed to like that, as he appeared in a dream last night saying, "I'll always be your father and I'll always be there for you." Very comforting!

Image via Wikipedia

Spirit of Arodene, I call to you!

Attic whose walls I painted sunshine yellow,

Study where I sat at oak desk reading Cicero,

Cozy corner where I sipped early tea with Nanny

 Bay window splendid with tinselled Christmas tree

Parent’s room where we knelt round the bed for morning prayers—

Arodene, your gracious rooms, your comfortable spaces

Taught me ways of hospitality and ease.

May your walls ever ring with children’s laughter!

Spirit of the hearth, I call to you!

Fireplace Dad designed with Suffolk White brick,

Place where Yule log burned, where crumpets were toasted

And forty five New Years welcomed.

Hearth where we sat sharing memories of Dad

May your warmth remain in my heart!

Spirit of the garden, I call to you!

Fragrant arch covered in rambling rose,

Peace roses lifting dewy heads to greet the day

Lawn where I sunbathed, getting freckles instead of tan,

Terrace where sheltie Magnus barked at imaginary sheep,

Pampas grass where Marmaduke lurked,

 Orange body ready for tiger pounce,

You taught me to create beauty wherever I go.

Spirit of the horse chestnut tree, I call to you!

Your glorious candles lit our springtime

We gathered your tough brown conkers for childhood games.

May you be protected!

Spirit of Christchurch oaks, I call to you,

Home of woodpecker and tawny owl!

Your winter shapes stark against twilit sky

Your tender budbreak and your sheltering shade,

 My girlhood friends who never fell out with me,

Your gnarled forms taught me of strength and steadfastness.

Spirit of Orwell estuary, I call to you!

I rowed and sailed your channels,

Walked your shores.

When the train pulled in sight of you

Heart leapt, for I was home.

By your sunset dappled waters

I heard the call to heal.

May you ever flow within me!

Spirit of the saltmarsh, I call to you,

Where samphire and sea aster grow!

Mud glistening in sun at low tide

By the Orwell, the Stour, the Deben,

Skylark hovering as he sings

Cry of gulls and pipe of meadow pipit

Oystercatchers feeding along tideline.

Your tang lingers in my nose,

Your wide skies taught me the way of spacious heart.

Rooms we filled with laughter, tears and song,

Places I touched with feet, with hands, with oars,

Where I listened, dreamed and meditated,

Where I walked with those I love,

 Blooming in your care like the peace rose and the sea aster,

You have shaped me and I have shaped you.

Stay with me, spirits of place,

 Let us walk together still!

“Who binds unto himself a joy

Doth the winged life destroy…”

Where bumblebee makes love to purple bee balm

And blanketflowers toss their leonine manes,

 Nodding onion weeps and wild rose blooms

Where ponderosa pines cast fragrant shade,

Where Flatirons lick the sky like great rock flames

Where tallgrass waves head high to me,

 Shoulder high to you,

Where warbler chirps and pewee cries by stream,

Where smooth black chokecherries burst upon the palate

Tickling it in unexpected ways,

Where sticky geranium calls to us

To kiss the joy as it flies,

There I will walk with you, my love,

In eternity’s sunrise.

This is a right brained recipe—eyeball quantities yourself!

Chokecherries

Crab apples (about 1/3 the 3volume of the chokecherries)

Jaggery or raw sugar

Raisins or currants

Ginger

Jalapeno Pepper

Cumin

Coriander

Fennel

Star Anise

Cardamom

Cinnamon

Salt

1.Boil chokecherries with a little water.

2.Cut up crab apples, removing cores.

3.Separately stew crab apples.

4.Mash chokecherries with potato masher, stain through large sieve, add liquid to stewing crab apples.

5. Repeat step 4 for a total of four times until all good stuff is extracted from chokecherries.

6. Add raisins or currant and sugar or jaggery to fruit mix and gently let it cook, stirring well to prevent burning. It will become jam-like.

7. Chop ginger and chillies, grind spices.

8. Heat ghee in a pan and make a tarkar by frying the spices, ginger and chillies.

9. Add to jam mix.

10. Add a little salt to bring out the flavours.

11. Offer to God and Guru.

12. Taste….you may need to add more sweetener to offset the sourness!

13. Serve with rice& dal, kitcheri

             Pushtivardhanam is the increaser of nourishment .We can see in this line the fragrance of sacrifice which brings rain and thus food. We can also see Shiva, the inner Self, as sugandhim pushtivardhanam , the one who provides all our nourishment of body, mind and spirit. In the Lord’s Prayer in Christian tradition we first evoke the Heavenly Father and then sanctify his Name, that is the shekhina or immanent feminine aspect. In the same way, in this mantra we first call forth the transcendent Shiva and then evoke Shakti, the indwelling feminine aspect. And then, just as in the Lord’s Prayer we ask for our daily bread, we now call upon the divine gift of nourishment in the line pushtivardhanam. It is a moment of humility, recalling that all gifts, even life itself, come from the only giver. And humility, literally meaning nearness to earth, is the gift of the Earth element.

          The increaser of nourishment is Lord Shiva, bestower of food security. Shiva’s connexion with deer recalls the time when we implored him to give us the knowledge of the deer, our source of food. Yet just as in the Shiva Puranas, the hunter who worships Shiva eventually gives up his hunting life, we became agrarian beings. And so, seeing Shiva as the rider on the bull, his mount Nandi, we realize that we depend upon him for the fertility of field and herds. Today, with genetically engineered terminator seeds and over-bred cattle languishing on feedlots, we are on the verge of losing the precious food security gained over millennia. One person in six alive today is going to bed hungry. Because we have made food a commodity instead of a sacred gift, because we rely upon agribusiness and not upon the Divine, our arrogance and greed are causing us to throw away heedlessly what we gained through long centuries of devotion and humility.

        From a yogic standpoint, there is another meaning for sughandhim pushtivardhanam. Shiva, the three eyed Lord, our own true nature, nourishes us with bliss molecules, feeds our spirit with enlightenment. When we attain the state of tryambak, when our three channels are open and flowing, we receive the true nourishment, of which Jesus spoke when he said to his disciples, “I have food to eat of which you do not know.”

      And as we realize our true nature we also become sughandhim pushtivardhanam—we ourselves become increasers of nourishment. From the miracle of feeding the five thousand to stories of Neem Karoli Baba told in Miracle of Love, there are numerous accounts of how enlightened beings could feed innumerable people with just a little food. On one occasion at Alandi Ashram we cooked for fifteen and thirty five people arrived. “Cover the pot and serve without looking in it,” I told my fellow server. We served everyone and had plenty left over. Generosity is a divine quality and manifests in feeding the hungry. We can also express the state of sughandhim pushtivardhanam by giving knowledge to feed minds, giving love to feed hearts and giving spiritual teachings to feed souls. As long as we remain humble understanding that everything comes from the Divine, we ourselves can actualize the state of fragrant increaser of nourishment for all beings.