Felicitation from President Obama

Shri Mataji's birthday falls on 21st. of March. She was born on 1923, to a Christian family in Chindawara, India. Over the years, many world leaders have been sending to Her, birthday greetings and felicitations in recognition for the immense work She has done in Sahaja Yoga and for the emancipation of humanity.

We would like to share with you such a facilitation from a world leader and this one came from the President of the United States of America, Mr. Obama himself.

Preventive Remedies Against A(H1N1)

With the A(H1N1) threat looming nowadays, we have been receiving numerous advise on the many preventive measures that one can take against this virus. We would like to share with you the emails that we have received on the matter and may be some of these remedies may work for you. Please note that this is not an official medical response against the virus and that it is merely placed here for your reading pleasure only.

By Stephen, author on behalf of emails received

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Friends,

Thanks to media hype about H1N1, I’ve received calls from several who trust me, to advise. The hype in media about the utility of face masks and N95 as a tool for general protection against H1N1 can’t be deplored enough. Today, a friend who listened wanted me to write down briefly what I advised so that he could tell others in similar words. Hence this short email to friends whom I have advised recently.. Please realize that this is not an official advice, especially the one about face masks or N95.

Most N95 respirators are designed to filter 95% particulates of 0.3µ, while the size of H1N1 virus is about 0.1µ. Hence, dependence on N95 to protect against H1N1 is like protecting against rain with an umbrella made of mosquito net.

Tamiflu does not kill but prevents H1N1 from further proliferation. H1N1, like other Influenza A viruses, only infects the upper respiratory tracts and proliferates (only) there.. The only portals of entry are the nostrils and mouth/ throat. In a global epidemic of this nature, it’s almost impossible not coming into contact with H1N1 in spite of all precautions. Contact with H1N1 is not the problem but proliferation is.

While you are still healthy and not showing any symptoms of H1N1 infection, in order to prevent proliferation, aggravation of symptoms and development of secondary infections, some very simple steps — not fully highlighted in most official communications — can be practised (instead of focusing on how to stock N95 or Tamiflu):

1. Hand-washing (well highlighted in all official communications)

2. “Hands-off-the-face” approach. Resist all temptations to touch any part of face (unless you want to eat, bathe or slap).

3. Gargle twice a day with warm salt water (use Listerine if you don’t trust salt). H1N1 takes 2-3 days after initial infection in the throat to proliferate and show characteristic symptoms.

Simple gargling prevents proliferation. In a way, gargling with salt water has the same effect on a healthy individual that Tamiflu has on an infected one. Don’t underestimate this simple, inexpensive and powerful preventative method.

4. Similar to 3 above, clean your nostrils at least once every day with warm salt water. Not everybody may be good at Sutra Neti (a very good Yoga asana to clean the nasal cavities), but blowing the nose hard once a day and swabbing both nostrils with cotton buds dipped in warm salt water is very effective in bringing down viral population.

Happy breathing!

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TO ALL FREINDS

JUST A SMALL BUT MEANINGFUL INFO FM ME TO YOU AND YR FRIENDS...MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE OF H1N1 SINCE IT PRACTICALLY HIT US LIKE A TIME BOMB.....

My staff was crying herself sick on Tuesday morning...was told that her son was confirmed of H1N1 in his Uni at Kangar, Perlis...worse was that when he was bedridden 2 days the warden didnt even bother to sent to hospital till his dad came fm KL and with his friends assistance brought him to GH Kangar.... No one bothered in the hospital and he was put in the normal ward for another 2 days!!! (imagine the amount of people he has infected!!) .....after 2 days and his eyes were turning yellow and saliva greenish...he was put in quarantined room... His mom practically fainted just telling me the story.. cant do much cos she does not have enough money to go to the north with the father.

First thing we did was made her call the hospital and insist that they sent him to Sg.Buloh Hospital or any other hospital in KL since they seemed to be more alert and more equipt...they refused of course...so I sent her off to Kangar the same day to so lv e the problem. Whilst this was happening, I had a call from one Ustaz who was in town to "help cure" another H1N1 child in Shah Alam....and was told this simple prescription by him..... EAT MINIMUM 6 GREEN APPLES A DAY AND FRESH ORANGE JUICE for those with sore throat please blend the apples and keep on taking till your fever disappear and yr symtoms are gone.

I cannot explain it but the child in Shah Alam was ok too after taking this tip.... my staff's son was given the apple juice for the whole day on Monday/Tuesday and he was out of the fever yesterday Wednesday... .she called me and was crying on the phone to say that her son was out of ICU and was able to eat normally...all these happened within just 4 days today (thursday 6 august)... This is just to share with my fellow sisters and brothers and hope this small info could assist others as well, No harm in trying and anything can happen!!!!

Makan makan Escapade

Hello Hello Hello... (Note: Malaysians - especially the Chinese enjoy saying a lot of words 3 times. I have no idea why - must be auspicious.)

Welcome to another foodie session by the Puchong Yogis. Last Sunday, we spent the day pretty much eating our way through and I will introduce the 3 places that we've tried. The yogis in our little collective 'makan' session are : Uncle Stephen, Aunty Mei, Uncle Richard, Mummy Florence, Daddy Winston, Uncle Adrian, Uncle Robin, Aunty Diana, Dianne, Megan, Nicole and moi.

The first stop we went is Chawan in Bangsar. It is located at Jalan Telawi 3, opposite of Bangsar Village I. The setup is a typical 'kopitiam' alfresco style which is the current trend for Malaysians to 'yam cha' in. For those who don't know, kopitiam is a Chinese word meaning coffee shop. Back in the olden days where our daddies's daddies use to hang out with other daddies's daddies, they would sit together in a shop to drink coffee and talk (men's version of gossip). This hanging out leads on to the modern version of what us youth would call 'yam cha'. Yam cha can take place anywhere as long as you can have a drink and sit down. But, I digress. Us yogis met up at the designated place for brunch to sample local delicacies with a twist.

We all arrived at different timings - very typical Malaysians but we are proud of it. And like typical Malaysian foodies, after we've gotten comfortable, we started ordering food. Chawan is popular for its Nasi Lemak with Chicken/Beef Rendang, Lontong with Chicken/Beef/Sotong (squid) Sambal (chilli paste), Roti Bakar (toasted bread with stuff inside) and so on. We all focused on its specialties and weren't disappointed. From here on, it's all from my own personal experience and should not be taken as the final word in reviewing the places we went. I took Nasi Lemak with Ayam Goreng Berempah (marinated fried chicken) and it was a pretty big portion. A full bowl of coconut rice served with whole fried chicken thigh, kang kung vegetable (the "pro" name is Ipomoea aquatica and I don't know the normal layman term for it), anchovies, peanuts, cucumber, half a boiled egg and sambal. I enjoyed it and the sambal was spicy enough to give a 'kick' and the chicken was crispy outside and tender inside. For drinks, Chawan caters to a wide range of coffee from different areas in Malaysia. I took a Chawan Frappe - thinking that this was the Malaysian version of Starbucks - and chose Ipoh coffee to go along with it. It turned out pretty interesting. I thought it would be ice blended with the coffee and the milk with whipped cream (obviously I've been hanging out too much at Starbucks to know how a Frappe is)

After munching through brunch, we all went and walked off the food in Bangsar Village. See, despite having all those food in us, Aunty Mei was plotting for tea after checking out the supermarket. About an hour or so later, we met up again after going our various ways. Uncle Robin and Aunty Diana had to go, leaving the rest of us to decide on the next food outlet.

After much debate, we finally decided on Marmalade in Bangsar Village II. It is located on the 1st floor next to Sole Lovely. Marmalade is a healthy Western restaurant which serves delicious food. The food ranges from breakfast all the way to dinner and many go there to sample its

flavourful cakes and healthy drinks. Not losing out, we also tried on its famous Carrot Cake which was moist, not too sweet and gives off an almost melt-in-the mouth effect. Marmalade's servings are fairly big and the cake slice was enough to go round for us who was still feeling full from our Chawan galore. The drinks served were big too and we tried their healthy fruit juices. I took one called Day Starter and I'll admit, it certainly 'started' my day in a very wide awake manner. A combination of banana, strawberries and oranges, it was refreshing although sour which means there was barely any artificial sugar added - hence healthy. But despite its sourness, it had this addictive effect which made you want to keep on sipping it - although probably with one eye squinting slightly.

We sat there for a couple of hours of collective talking and laughing. Stories were swapped and jokes were cracked. I think we were a pretty attractive bunch to the other patrons in Marmalade as the 'hahas' were non-stop. Soon, dinner was brought up as our food have been pretty much digested. A restaurant located also in Bangsar was mentioned and the agreement was made. Uncle Robin and Aunty Diana was recalled back for another eating round.

We adjourned to Restaurant Chef Low located at No. 4, Lorong Ara Kiri 3, Lucky Garden, Bangsar (thank you name card for the address =P). This a Chinese restaurant that serves very good and unique Chinese food that you usually don't find in other Chinese restaurants. We ordered 6 dishes as follows:

Special Claypot Beehoon with Seafood - this dish is brimming with seafood and somehow with minced pork meat as well. Served in a claypot (hence the name), the dish portion was for 3 persons but it was enough for everyone to have a full bowl and more to spare for those who wanted 2nd helping. The taste was excellent and everyone drained their bowls.

Fish Paste with Hong Kong Noodles - As it name suggest, the plate was loaded with pieces of fish paste. It was crunchy with a good bite to it and the taste was not overpowering or fishy. The noodles were different from the ones we normally eat. It is whitish in colour and isn't soggy.

Crispy Pork in Sweet Sauce - The Chinese version of American bacon! But in sweet sauce. =P Absolutely delicious and once you start, you can't stop. Which was obviously what happened as the quantity dwindled to bits and pieces very quickly. Small

pieces of pork, deep fried until crunchy then quickly tossed in the sweet sauce along with a dash of cili padi (bird's eye chilli) to give it that mild spicy taste.

Kai-lan in 2 Styles - Kai-lan or Chinese broccoli/kale is cooked in 2 ways. The leaves were cut off and chopped into fine shreds then deep fried until crispy and eaten together with deep fried shredded dried scallops. The other style is that the stems are sauteed with garlic and served.

Roasted Chicken with Crackers - Half a chicken along with it's bishop nose was served and the flavour was well infused into the chicken meat. The skin wasn't too fatty and had a slight crunch to it.

Stir Fry Clams with Ginger and Spring Onions - It was a flavourful dish as well and the ginger taste was well infused into the dish.

The food was in abundance and our tummies were well satisfied. Certainly a restaurant to recommend and go over and over again.

After dinner, we parted ways with a big grin on our faces and extra pounds on our bodies. I wonder if our next collective gathering would ever be an exercise one? Who knows... but do stay tuned for more food adventures! (and maybe a random attempt to work off the delicious added pounds!)

By Wenesia, Author

International Sahaja Public School

Someone just asked me where is my son, Shaun? Well, he is studying abroad at a Sahaja Yoga boarding school which is at the foothills of the Himalayas. Did I say the Himalayas, yep you heard right; it’s that huge big mountain range bordering India and China.

Sometime in March this year, four Malaysian children including my son left for India to study at the International Sahaj Public School. The youngest among them is 6 years old (I must tell you, he really very brave for a kid that age) making the total number of Malaysian students studying there to 10 children. Some have even completed taking their “O” levels there.

The school is really awesome, somewhat looking like the Hogwarts school in the Harry Potter’s film with its many rooms, corridors, stairways and the air of nostalgic feeling.

My son is really happy there (ok, it took him a month or so to really settle down) and we get to speak with him by hand phone every weekend for a couple of hours; something both of us really look forward to every weekend thus adding the excitement and spice even a little anxiety to jazz up our mundane daily lives. It’s really an experience for us as parents to have our only son away from us and a great lesson in detachment for a loved one.

We had a yogi by the name of Arul who is also a parent to one of these children and he volunteered his services as a temporary teacher for a few weeks to teach there. His experience was so wonderful and fulfilling that he desires soon for another opportunity to teach there again. We are hopeful that he can post his experience about his brief stint at the school.

We hope you had enjoyed these photos and this story.

By Stephen, Author

About Sahaja Yoga Meditation

A knowledge of the roots, Sahaja Yoga is a method of meditation which brings a breakthrough in the evolution of human awareness. It was created by Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi in 1970 and has since spread all around the world. In Shri Mataji's own words: "Global unity of mankind can be achieved through this awakening that can occur within each human being, so that transformation takes place within us.

By this process a person becomes moral, united, integrated and balanced. One actually gets the experience of the feeling of the all-pervading divine power as cool breeze. "Know thyself" is the main theme of all the scriptures - it becomes evident and one reaches the absolute understanding of oneself.

Thus one becomes peaceful and joyous in life. One becomes collective as a drop falling into the ocean of compassion. This method works for the multitudes and not individually. Of course one cannot pay for the experience of Divine Love. Moreover, it is the last breakthrough of our evolution. This is the actualization of such transformation, which is taking place now, worldwide, and has been proved and experienced by hundreds of thousands in over 85 countries."

The next step in our collective evolutionThis inner awakening is called by many names: Self Realization, Second Birth, Enlightenment, Liberation, Moksha, Satori and it is the goal of all religions and spiritual traditions of the world. This knowledge is ancient, but for a long time it was available only to a few souls, being kept secret and transmitted from guru to disciple, since Self Realization was extremely difficult to achieve. In these modern times, through Sahaja ("spontaneous") Yoga ("union with one's Self"), this experience has become effortless and available to everyone, for the first time in the history of human spirituality.

The advent of Sahaja Yoga was prophesized a long time ago in many of the world's spiritual traditions and religions. At the same time, in these modern times many seekers of Truth have been deluded into following various false, self-proclaimed "gurus" who are either money or power oriented, but not Spirit oriented. Through the practice of Sahaja Yoga, our awareness gains a new dimension where absolute truth can be felt tangibly - on our central nervous system. As a result of this happening, our spiritual ascent takes place effortlessly and physical, mental and emotional balance is achieved as a byproduct of this growth of our awareness.

We then realize that we are not this body, mind, ego, conditionings, emotions or intellect, but something of an eternal nature which is always residing in our heart in a pure, undisturbed state - the Self or Spirit. The Spirit is the source of true knowledge, peace and joy. Self Realization is the actualization of this connection with our Spirit, which as Shri Mataji advocates, is the birthright of every human being.

"It is important for everyone to have that knowledge of the roots within ourselves. Sahaja Yoga allows the individual to become his own Spiritual Guide." - Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi

Flower Drum Fine Chinese Cuisine

Hi there,

Well this is our first eating posting about fine meals. We hope you like it and remember that this posting is the personal experience of the author and not intended as a column for food critics or the like.

We recently had the opportunity to dine at this restaurant which was much talked about and had a newspaper article written about it recently with rave reviews. The restaurant is located at No. 239, Jalan Bukit Bintang, 55100 Kuala Lumpur. It is besides the Esso petrol station as you enter the traffic lights into Jalan Bukit Bintang after the Indonesian embassy. It’s a white colored building with lots of car park space. A jockey service is available but you don't have to use it if you prefer parking the car yourself. They can be contacted at telephone 603-21422625.


We did not have any starters and jump straight into the main meal. The first dish was chicken chop cooked in pamelo sauce. It’s an interesting dish, something we have not tried before. The pork shop was tenderly done and the sauce was sweet yet with a tinge of tangy after taste.

We then had Peking duck dish which was prepared typically in two variations. The first style was to eat the crispy duck skin which was sliced off by the waitress delicately and wrapped in something like a small “popiah” skin with sweet sauce in it. The remaining duck meat was diced and stir fried with some vegetables except for the drum stick.

The two legs were served to us on plates (ok, not everyone on the table go to try it) and surprisingly the meat turned out to be tasty and tender. Normally, the meat tastes blend for this type of dish. Nevertheless, we savored it quickly (I used my hands; fine dining or not, it was just too troublesome for me to shave of the meat from the bone with a fork and knife without it flying everywhere).

Next, we had prawns cooked in red wine and hawthorns. If you are wondering what are hawthorns, do you remember in your school days when you used to buy those circular red colored disk about 20 cents in size that taste sweet and a bit sour in a red and white paper packing made from China, well hawthorns is the fruit the sweets are made off. So, it’s no surprise that this dish taste sweet and a little sour

We had another recommended dish which was crab meat cooked with egg white. This dish is also interesting and sure a hit for those who are just too lazy to eat crabs with the shell. The egg white enhances the taste of the crab meat.

For vegetables, we had broccoli in thick sauce with mushrooms.

As with any fine dining restaurant, the ambience was comfortable and since we had our dinner on a week day so the place was roomy and not crowded.

That’s it. Another eating place documented and many more to come.
Bon Appétit.
By Stephen, Author

The Core Families

Hello, hello everyone!

Welcome to Sahaja Yoga Puchong Community blog site where everyone can share their ideas and events! Before we start off anything, let’s have an introduction to what this community is all about. It revolves around the lives of the sahajis living in this area and our activities in helping the residents of Puchong to understand and practise Sahaja Yoga meditation which was founded by Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi.

As practitioners who have benefited from this meditation, it is only rightful that we help whatever we can to up lift a soceity that is "troubled" today as volunteers to provide social services to the residents by conducting free Sahaja Yoga classes at MPSJ Jawatan Kuasa Penduduk (JKP) Zon 20 cabin located at Taman Wawasan, Pusat Bandar Puchong every Tuesday.

We are dedicated yogis trying to help pass on some of this joy and love we expereince a midst better health in body, soul and mind that we have enjoyed for many years practising Sahaja Yoga to as many people as possible and at the same time sharing loads of fun doing what we know best which are ... "Makan-Makan Di Sana Sini" and "Jalan-Jalan Di Merata Tempat" i.e. "Eat Eat Everywhere" and "Walk Walk All Over"

It's no surprise our favourite theme is "We live to eat anywhere; anytime and not eat to live". Therefore you will find postings in this blog on our "makan-makan" and travelling exploits at the places where we have visited.
There are a handful of people who are involved in this collective. Most of them are from the Puchong area except for the random few. Here are the gang that makes the clock tick!

By alphabetical order

Adrian – He is a soft spoken gentleman who had been helping Robin with facilitating classes. He is so slim, one wonders what he eats to maintain that slimness. Besides meditation, his other love is fishing.

Baskaran – Our mystery man who works with airplanes, he is in tune with Sahaj and occasionally assists with the classes and collectives. A silent lover of food especially when we found out his wife is an excellent Indian food cook. He is also a class facilitator with Adrian and Robin.

Diana – She is the wonderful half of Robin who is truly enjoying herself the Sahaj way. A chief cook in Korean cuisine; Puchong Yogis just drool and heed her beck and call when it's dinner time. She is also intermittent Mei Jie jogging partner.

Florence – She is the queen of wits and of Winston and Wenesia. She never fails to make people laugh even when its Sahaj related. Do not get caught off-guard when she glares at you and lectures you about Sahaj, in her mind, she's probably thinking of something to slip in somewhere in her speech to make you crack up! Equally good in cooking, she just hates heat and therefore ends up doing a pot dish instead. She loves making people wait (maybe drool a bit) for her “promised” food. Dream but not touch.

Karviraj & Parvein - The children of Baskaran and Shanta, they are the playmates of Shaun and Nicole and make up the group of children in the collective. By the way, the children are the musician of the collective when they are in the mood that is.

Mei Jie - The other half of Stephen; she is a superb Yogini who assist her husband in most things. With a heart of gold and a mind a bit slow sometimes when it comes to jokes, she cares openly for everyone she knows. A foodie in the making, she now caters to big people with HUGE appetites and thus, she struggles to make her portions of food bigger and more interesting. She jogs so that what goes in does not go side ways.

Nicole - The youngest in Robin’s family, she is pretty much a child genius and leads a very confusing "love-hate" relationship with Shaun. Oh brother! A member of the children musician group, she plays the “dolat”.

Robin – He is a fish connoisseur with a scientist brain in disguise. He is just like Spiderman but the difference is that he is dedicated in Sahaj and helps out with classes and his family includes his dogs, Gold, Silver, Bronze and Patch. Ever wondered why the last dog is call Patch and not Aluminium or Zinc; something metal sounding, ask him? He brings plenty of joy with his thunderous laughter and plenty of GOOD food into our lives.

Shanta – The better half of Baskaran. She is the lady who makes Puchong Yogis drool for her fruitcakes (we want more!) and wait patiently for her banana leaf rice. She is quiet but fun-loving and pitches in with the classes as well.

Shaun – He is Stephen & Mei Jie’s son. He is a Sahaj kid who has been brought up in a Sahaj manner. A child with a bright mind and sharp wits, he has a kind soul as well. Plus, he knows good food when he sniffs one. A self taught tabla player by ear and is today studying at the SY International Public School at the foothills of Himalayas. Cool….

Stephen - The pioneer in this collective and who is the back bone behind the classes, activities and collective. A foodie by birth, his life long mission is to encourage people to meditate, excel in cooking food and travel the world. Indirectly, these are some of the ways towards collective activity. A wise man once said; "When the stomach is happy so is the soul". Happiness is when we are one with the stomach and the Whole, so they say.

Sue – The wife of Adrian and guess what; she is another slim person just like him saperti “Buah Pinang Dibelah Dua”. She is very good at making finger food. You should try her tuna mayo dip. One goes gaga at such a thought. Yummy!

Tia & Megan - Precious-ness of Adrian and Sue, they are both very sweet and smart. They know good food when they see it. Tia is the anchor "dolat" player that keeps us in rhythm when we sing.

Wenesia – She is the mini among the Winston & Florence clan. She has her feet half in Sahaj and the other in the unknown realm of what many would call, youth adolescence (yea, I am still going through that XD). A true foodie and stickler for all things technology; she is a total nooblet in Sahaj but whatever she knows, she understands it.

Winston – One of our non Puchong resident member and a newbie to our community. He is always hard at work with people, lights and buildings but surely and slowly beginning to flow with the motions of what Sahaj is all about. An excellent cook in Western cuisine, he makes the Yogis wanting for more each time he cooks. Yep you guest right; 2 helpings is the norm. In addition to this, he is great walking and talking food guide always exploring for the next best place to eat.

And there you have it; an introduction to a part of our blog community. In short, we are energetic, out-going, God fearing people with the zest for life and all things edible.

Jai Shri Mataji.

By Wenesia, Site Blogger