Saturday, August 1, 2015

On Guru Purnima

A sunny day, a gentle sea
A day to be reminded of ...an ocean of knowledge... ancestors... memories... gratitude..which have helped weather many storms when put to practice. 

Before the worship making a payasam with rice, jaggery, coconut milk, aromatic spices...

Aromatic spices leaves. before roasting and  powdering
A Platycerium gives forth new fronds on Guru Purnima day.
A Platycerium in Thiruvananthapuram Kerala

When a Gloriosa superba blossoms on Guru Purnima day... leading one to conversations towards the Kathopanishad. 
*They perceive that indescribable highest bliss as ‘This is That’ How shall I know that? Does it shine by itself or does it shine by another light*.
Gloriosa superba blossoms in Thiruvananthapuram Kerala
Gloriosa superba is known as 'Agnishika' in Sanskrit, 'Kalihari' in Hindi and 'Menthoni' in Malayalam. All parts of the Gloriosa superba are poisonous. The underground stems which are tubers are extremely poisonous due to the presence of toxic alkaloids like colchicine.
Reference: *transalated from Sanskrit - Valli ii of the Kathopanishad

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