Watch "Sita Sings the Blues" Online

A woman named Nina Paley created a wonderful animated Ramayana, that is delightfully Sita-centric. Apparently, she found great solace in this tale, (the greatest breakup story ever told) after her husband went to India for 6 months for work, and ended up breaking up with her over email. It features many different styles of animation, and is quite a visual feast. It also has a stunning soundtrack, one that was in the center of a bit of controversy. The movie is set to the olde timey 1920 jazz tunes of Annette Hanshaw. There was some question around copyright issues, and intellectual property rights, and there was the possibility that the film would never be seen. You can follow the entire struggle here on Nina's Blog. Much of this has been worked out, mostly due to the generosity of sponsors. It will be shown on PBS in NCY on March 7th, and it is also available to be seen on the internet in its entirety here! I am writing this as I watch, and I am thoroughly enjoying.

via boing boing

The Mystic Perfume of the Goddess Savitri

the Mountain Temple of the Goddess Savitri

When I buy 'things', I like them to be really great, quality 'things'. I like to know that some care went into its creation, and that the people involved in the production of the 'thing' are quality people. I like when the 'thing' has a story behind, perhaps even a legend. I am a sucker for a legend.
I got an email today from the folks over at Floracopia. It was an email with a story. They liked their story so much that they told it twice. Once in audio form, and once written in David's blog. (David is the Floracopia guy).
The story is about their perfume, Savitri. To make a long story short -

According to the perfumers of Kannauj, India's ancient perfumery center, the combination of rose and vetiver is one of the finest of all fragrance blends. "Savitri" rose perfume is blended using two unique oils: the rosa bourbonica, also known as the "Edward rose," and ruh khus, a thick hydro-distilled extract of dried wild vetiver roots.

I really enjoyed the audio version, and the process of creating this perfume sounded so cool and magical. Also, I need a present for Valentine's Day, and this just happens to be on sale until February 2nd. I am a sucker for a good story.

I am buying it here

Picture of Indian Pigments

This is pretty

The Passing of Dr. Girish

December 3, 1954 – January 19, 2009


I don't know if any of you ever met Dr. Girish from Gongol Tree, India. I did once, over at the Groff's house. He talked about palmistry, and the stars, and God, and led a few very spirited chants. I showed him the wart that had been on my left hand for six years. He explained it in two sentences, and it was gone by the end of the month. A very dear man. I am saddened that I will never have his darshan again.

I'll close with a quote...

If you understand, things are just as they are.

If you don’t understand, things are just as they are.

Dr. Girish C. Jagirdar

The Ganja of Love

Ganja has been considered a sacred herb by mystics cross-culturally since time immemorial.
Even mystics who don't smoke (myself included) recognize its many virtues. And mystics with an eye towards our national politics, law enforcement, and economy are often greatly saddened by its status of illegal narcotic. There were 872,000 arrests made for marijuana in 2007, 90% of them for simple possesion. Most of the people arrested are under 30. It is estimated that our government spends between 7.7 and 10.5 billion per year.
Through the legalization of the holy ganja of love, we could not only save that money, we could also save a good portion of our young people the pain and stigma of having to go through our legal and prison system. Revenues from taxing the production and sale of jah herb could range anywhere from 6.1 to 31 billion dollars.
On top of all this, there is the wonderful fact that weed can be grown in an enviornmentally sustainable fashion.
President Obama made a promise to "eliminate spending for programs that don’t work." We think that this is a big one.

I got most of this information from "culture11.com" via "The Atlantic"

Dates in Ghee

Not everyone likes dates soaked in ghee, but the people who do, REALLY LIKE dates soaked in ghee. I happen to think they are fantastic. It is so simple and wonderful, it could only come from the wisdom of ayurveda. Joseph at Joyful Belly Ayurveda sent them to us last week. You can order them from him, (he also make some fantastic agni-stoking, pippali cookies) and they are also simple to make at home. Simply pour warm ghee over dates, and voila!
There are many benefits to eating these delicious treats. They have a sweet flavor, which is great for cravings, and excellent for vata. They are also full of ojas, making them a fantastic aphrodisiac, and tonic rejuvenative (rasayana). Big Yum!

A big Pile of Books from the Ramakrishna Mission

I suppose I've been a little extra book crazy lately, perhaps its a winter thing. However, I can't help but be reminded of my old friend, Nat. He's probably in Belize right now, or perhaps he's finally made it to Antarctica. Nat was a small fellow, much smaller than average. I think it made clothes shopping difficult. When Nat would have a particularly good day at the thrift shops, he would say, "Somebody died in my size!", and smile real big. It was a bit morbid, and was probably true on at least one occasion. He thought it was hilarious. And it must have stuck with me, because when I walked into the "Last Word Bookstore" (40th and Walnut) today and looked at the 'Hinduism' section, my first thought was, "My God, a Ramakrishna devotee died." There were so many books from the Ramakrishna Mission, that they wouldn't even all fit on the shelves. They overflowed onto the floor. Not the best book Karma, I know, but I wasn't going to get in a fight with the bookstore guy about it. Enough Ramakrishna and Vivekenanda to keep you busy for a long, long time. Of course, there was some other good stuff, some Ramana Maharshi thrown in for good measure, and a few hardbacks from india written by obscure swamis. You could tell it all came from the same guy. I wonder what happened to him. Did he die? Did he become a Christian? Did he move to India? I hope he moved to India.
I was proud of myself, I didn't buy even one. I spent this week's book allowance on those that bag of tantra from craig's list, and it is keeping me plenty busy.
I just thought I should put it out there, in case anyone else in in the market for "The Complete Works of Swami Vivekenanda"($35), or in case anyone feels like making me a present. Hah!
Keep your lamps trimmed and burning...