Dress code to worship God?

On Gurupurnima(Teacher's Day) for my Spiritual Master who adopted me a few years ago!
On Tuesday,7th July was Gurupurnima, and I did not know that it was so close, until some of my friends happened to also drop in a temple near my home where I was invited to bring my Dolak(Indian drum) to make some sounds and sing a bajan(devotional song.) They reminded me about Guru's date! I was thankful that I had already bought some materials,etc. a few days earlier to figure out on how to make a new hat for my Spiritual Guru on my alter at home, and he is none other than the deceased SHIRDI BABA!
Come Tuesday, Baba(Father), I call him kept me so busy at home, just like how he keeps me busy, tied to his legs when I go and visit him at his Mystical temple in Sydney, Australia!
I forgot to mention that I decided to cook "Kuei Dieu/Teow" for prasadam to bring to temple.(You can watch how I cook such a dish on www.youtube.com/cookingwithnancy, if you click on this as you wish.)
When evening came, I dressed only in dark Navy-blue loose pants and a sky-blue jumper and a new multi-coloured fine striped slip-over woolie-blouse with "butter-fly" winged sleeves if I streched out both my hands! Looked and felt happy, as it is Winter over here and that's the main point! So I went to Shirdi Baba's temple for his evening Aarti service where singing was done in Merati dilect, which this Saint spoke during his life-time! The temple was packed with devotees as the temple had been opened from morning 5 a.m. if my memory was correct! As we queued to squeeze in, somehow or rather, I was ushered to go to the front but I could not see anyspace where I can sit! devotees were all packed like "sardines," males on one side of the hall and ladies on the other! Then a Senior -volunteer lady pointed to me to go up and sit on the same platform where the Lotus feet of Baba-ji sits. Another lady -in -charge came and beckoned the same thing for me to do. So I thankfully bowed to Baba-ji before I scrambled up there with my Dolak(Indian drum). The bajans were still going on, I gazed at Baba-ji and was full of admiration and noticed that he was dressed in blue, as I was too, I realised! Then I whispered to the lady that told me to sit on the platform that, that morning I also adorned a blue braclet for Baba in my home and she nodded her head! I actually put an identical one on a crystal that has an image of Goddess Raddha & Krishna & Buddha all in one on my alter at home as well! I had selected a lovely old blue "Seluar Kamis," (Indian dress)also in blue to iron to wear, but had not time to do so!

I thanked Baba-ji and felt the satisfaction that he was so pleased with the little new "hat" that I stitched it up in time for him at home for his "Gurupurnima", as I did not know how to form a hat for him from tiny strips of orange, white and green ribbons and and other glittering stones that I purchased from the shop, and that was why he gave me such an "honourable" spot to sit near to him that evening which I will never forget for the rest of my life!!!

Baba-ji also gave me an opportunity to drum and sing along some bajans that were rendered that evening so I was most happy! That day most of the other devotees worked day and night for Baba-ji to make his day momorable for all in different ways! Baba-ji bless them in different ways too!
To me, this is TrueHappiness as Blessings, and I understand that Baba-ji will welcome you to see him even if you come in ordinary clothes! So, please don't be shy to come and see him!

Jai Sai Ram!

I have created another dish full of vegetarian proteins!

Hello to everybody out there!

Day before yesterday, I decided to cook a simple stir-fry and upload it on YouTube!

The recipe was created when I was recalling the prominent faces of school-mates during my school days! We all love to eat good food that is for sure, but not many of us do and can express our appreciation for the food that we eat!

I do very vividly remember the expression of "great appreciation" of our Canteen lady, who cooked the very simple dish at our "Day-camp" at school!

This classmate of mine, Judy was overjoyed eating the dish! Her beautiful large eyes with long lashes shone with glee and appreciation and she said that she really enjoyed eating that particular dish that was cooked that lunch time! It was a very simple vegetarian dish of just Mung-bean sprouts, stir-fried with garlic and ginger and some soy sauce!!!

If only most of us know how to express our gratitude to the person that had cooked a meal for us, just the way my old school-mate Judy had expressed, all "cooks" would be happy to slave for more hours in the hot kitchen to make someone happy!!!

My version of the Mung bean sprouts has the Snake beans and fermented soy beans that gives it a "nutty" wholesome flavour! The sprouts are stir fried briefly to give it a crunchy yet juicy flavour, and the Snake beans are just tenderly cooked to bring out its natural sweetness and colour! Chillies??? Yes, indeed chillies! Oh! They are hot stuff! They can be well blended with the rest of the vegetables, and thinly sliced so you don't get a big "pungent"bite of it, so it is De-li-cious!!!

Try cooking it the next time you are in the Kitchen!

To watch, please click on: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6vrrGb0dK4

Happy cooking at: http:/www.youtube.com/cookingwithnancy

Peace and Blessings,
Nancy


Cooking is always a creative and fun-time for me!



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You can see Shirdi Baba-ji during "bajan-session!"

Yes, my dear friends and relatives. In my previous blog-letter, I have mentioned how one can see Baba-ji by singing bajans to him, that which is easy to do.

Well, this evening at "bajan-session" at Shirdi Sai and Maa Durga Mandir, Sydney, that was what exactly happened again and again.

His "moorti"(statue) was all adorn beautifully in purplish/maroon-red attire.
I happened only to be also dressed in my first ("old" but looks "fresh") Seluar Kamis of intricate flowers and design of similar colour but with white in-between. I was very happy for this coincidence that is all!

When our Mandir's(temple) little Spiritual young boy sang, "Choti Choti Gayian-Choti Choti Gwaal", I was immediately tuned into this bajan and sung whole-heartedly and shaking my tambourine and enjoying myself tremendously!
Next moment, in the midst of the "bajan"(song), I saw a vision of Shirdi Baba-ji sitting on his throne and he was dressed up all in BLUE! When I opened my eyes, he was still in his purplish/maroon-red clothes!!!
Close my eyes again, he was in BLUE and his throne was creamish white in colour!

Be it that my eyes were playing tricks before my shut eye-lids, it really was such a beautiful feeling!!!

"Oh! What a feeling, JAI BABA!"

Hope for the Hopeful!

Life is what one makes out of it! There is so many worries, global recession, climatic changes, wars, illnesses, old-age, the list goes so on and so forth!

So what!!! To make myself happy, I put on some of my favourite music! We all have our own type of Music that makes us happy, so play your own choice!

For me, the moment I put on "bajans," meaning devotional songs in Hindi, it immediately up-lifts one's soul! Try enjoying the songs on the whole and then do also try to differentiate the different basic instruments being played for the song! I notice that every classical instrument had been designed to create a certain mood, played of course by the Skillful and Creative player!

When the lyrics are beautifully composed and sung by a passionate Singer and backed by a well-teamed "Orchestra," Magic just happens for you! So, all you have to do is Sit back and Relax, Enjoy! Can't??? Alright, do it Standing then or Lend your Ears to it, in whatever you are doing at that Frame of Mind! You must give Permission for the Magic to Play on for You! This is what I think is, "TO LOVE YOURSELF!

Get one of your favourite C.D. or tape and slot it on "play," and let it flow and fill your Empty Heart with Joy! Then let the magic alter your state of mind! Beautiful Music and Songs are a remedy for so many ailments! It is like being in "Heaven" or ""Paradise!"

That is one of the reasons, lots of places of Worship have some Devotional singing sessions or "Choir," they call it in English!

You can experience that it does enrich your Life and drowns away all your sorrows and recharges your "batteries" unlike "alcohol" that Numbs your Skull and Makes one get into a Drunken state and can lead to do "silly" things sometimes!

Let's All Stay Hopeful and Sing in Praise of Divinity or God!

God lives in all our hearts! So let's all Sing in Praise and be Happy!

"Sing all our Blues away and be Blessed!"


Joy and Peace to all!
Nancy

Reach out for Shirdi Sai by singing bajans from your heart!

Many devotees are curious and ancious to know how one can "see Shirdi Sai!"

From my humble and simple experiences, it is by singing in praise of him through "Bajans" only.
It really is that simple! Baba-ji is so Compassionate and so Simple, you don't have to know all the mantras to get to know him!

Just trust him and look up to him with your heart and he touches you!

Try it, and don't give up! He comes to you in visions, and dreams too!

Baba-ji loves us all!

Jai Sai Ram!
Nancy Tan

A Tale of Two Feathers!

Just after Christmas, the little cockatiels, Krishna and Pandu went home to their real parents!
How sad for all of us! Birds have instincts! Before going home in the evening, 27/12/08, one of the birdies dropped a feather for me for keeps-sake!

Their "Mum" mentioned that she would be seeing me at our "Bajan-session" the next evening!
However, I did not see any of Krishna and Pandu's parents nor their two "singing-sisters!" My excuse for them was that they just got back from Overseas holiday and must be pretty busy, you know what jetlag is like!

Two weeks later I met up with the "birdies' " parents and I was told that little Krishna was missing us very much and was "hyper-active" at home and always sticking out his neck, like looking out for me!!! Yeh! we bet he would, because he had grown so attached to us, living with us for for just over 7 weeks! All animals, have feelings, but most of the time, human beings tend to ignore them when we get too busy with our daily lives! Let's thank God and be happy, some of us have Real Pets that Adore and Love us very much! It is a precious gift, money cannot buy to get it!

That fine evening we had a few visiting singers that came to join us to sing their choice of devotional songs in Shirdi Baba's temple, and as usual I tried to sing as earnestly as possible although I do not know the Hindi Language, but I could understand the meaning easily! After the completion of Lord Shiva's song, a little 5 -year old girl came and sat beside me, and we knew each other pretty well, like "old buddies" in our past lives!

This cute and intelligent little girl, smiled at me and offered me a little "feather!' I leaned over to her and said,"Oh My God! Where did this come from ?" She replied that she found them just outside the temple grounds! The feather reminded me of the lovely birdies that were holidaying with us and just gone home the night before! I said that I will wash it first to keep it, and she said to give it to Baba, and wash it with soap! Her Mum looked and smiled at us, from where she was seated with the harmonium near to us! She was then offered the other feather from her loving little daughter! She accepted it and we resumed our non-stop singing! Later, when they have left, I found the other feather lying on the floor and took that home as well!

At home, I found the other feather dropped by one of the birds as a "gift" to me, in the morning before they went home that night! They all match! So I left the feather of one of the bird's and one of my pet Corella's feather in front of Shirdi Baba's picture frame on my computer desk, to remind me to write this little story!

I had been very busy to-day, afer all the rush and prayers on the eve of Chinese New Year!
Now it is time to go and get the dinner ready!

"Happy Chinese New Year" to all of you!
The story line of Deepavali and Chinese New Year is very similair! One happened in India, and the other happened in China! If you want to know about it, just let me know!

Best wishes and Blessings,
Nancy

A Simple wish came true on New Year's Day!

A New Year's Day simple wish came true!

Forget about writing on "Seluar Kamis," for the time being, as I promised before, as this to me is more exciting!

This New Year's day, 1st January, 2009 had dawned and just left, without even a wink of my eye, as I am still up and going to bed after writing this, and it is already the 2nd day of the new year!

Hurridly I created a dish of Steamed Glutinous(Sticky) Rice, some Black-eyed beans, Yellow-split mung beans and some grated thawed "fresh" coconut to take along to the temple, with some sweet-smelling agarbatties and my Dolak! I presoaked all the raw ingredients in the fridge before steaming them and compressed them in a cake pan to set on cooling and dashed off to Shirdi Sai Temple for the candle-light Aarti ( singing meditation in Merathi Language, a dilect which Shirdi Baba conversed in when he was alive in the 18th Century) Hindi, too was spoken alongside, as it is a popular language in India.

At this point, are you wondering how this dish will taste? I might recreate what God had taught me to cook in: http://youtube.com/cookingwithnancy My humble request is for you to visit me there, thank you very much. This dish will compliment any sort of curries, that is for sure.

After saying a quick prayer at home, I dashed off with my red Dolak to beg Baba-ji's help to give me some opportunity and inspiration to practice drumming on it!
When I arrived, I could not get into the gates to park at my usual spot as the crowd was exceptionally huge!

The kind Lord spared me an empty spot for me to park on the side street!
As I got out of the car, a few ladies were walking towards me and we greeted each other! One of the ladies asked where originallyI came from, and how did I first come to his temple??? Then she also asked if I had any experinces of any sort with Baba-ji, and I said so many! When my reply was that, the lady asked me to relate one of them immediately, so Baba-ji can bless them for their curiousity, but I said that she could read one of them on blogspot, but she did not know what that meant! I humbly apologised that I was running late and I had brought my Dolak, Indian drum to practise drumming for Baba-ji , and promised to tell them if I happen to see them again at the temple!

While I was hurrying myself to get out of home, I prayed to Baba-ji to wait for me and have something going on first at his temple, so I can be on time before his "singing meditation" as I was running 5 minutes late! Strictly speaking, the Evening Aarti (service) starts at 7.30p.m. sharp!

I apologised again to the ladies and said that I really had to run and left, entering the temple grounds via the back gate. As I was nearing the shirne, I heard Mr. Rao-ji's voice on the mike announcing something in Hindi! Wow! All Praises to Shirdi Baba-ji for granting my little simple wish! I thought to myself, if only those ladies that had left for home were beside me, they could clearly see how happy I had been! As I stood waiting in the front of the grounds, I was praising dear Baba-ji, and I was beaming from end to end! I thank Baba-ji too for me to be so fortunate to be invited to his event on such an auspicious day with such lovely weather!
Baba-ji had always arranged with such great weather, even when weather was supposed to be poor, in past events! This is all so amazing, and we all have experienced it all these years in Sydney!


Yesterday, being New Year's Day, the temple had been open for "darshan" for everyone from 9 a.m. till late into the night!
The crowd that had come through the gates was a few thousand people!

Thank you very much Baba-ji for such a beautiful and blessed day and evening!

Jai Sai Ram, Jai Sai Ram! Jai Sai Ram! Jai Sai Ram! Jai Sai Ram! Jai Sai Ram! Jai Sai Ram!
Peace and Contendment to All!
Nancy