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Princess Gouri in her third talk with Zuzana speaks about female energy, power within us & empowerment of the women.
Ayurveda God Dhavantari was a male form, but in Kerala we had matriarchal system in which the woman had lot of power. So things like treatment, which is a household matter really, was in the hands of the woman. Woman decided which way the family would go. My mother was personally very very interested in ayurveda.
THE TRAVANCORE ROYAL FAMILY is the ruling house of the Indian princely state of Travancore. The family lost the ruling rights in 1949 when Travancore Kingdom merged with the Indian Union and their privileges were abolished by a constitutional amendment in 1971. The Travancore Royalty could be also considered descendants of the ancient Cheras, Ay-Venad, Pandya and Chola dynasties, due to consistent intermarriages with these lines over the centuries. The Travancore royals are among the rare breed of royals who follow the matrilineal system.The members of the family are based in Trivandrum, Kerala and are the ones who keep alive the traditions and rituals of their ancient dynasty including the upkeep of the famous Sree Padmanabhaswami Temple. Read more >>
Shakti – it is basically a power. A power, a knowledge, a capacity – all these together forms ‘Shakti’. According to me, Shakti does not mean physical strength alone.
There are a lot of talks about 'Woman Empowerment'. What exactly is this ‘Woman Empowerment’?
We are what we are! There is Shakti in us. I do not think we need any extra empowerment. We have to be aware of the Shakti that is within us. We should bring it out and use it in the sensible way.
Yes! In Germany you would say 'Fatherland' - the land of one's ancestors. In France you would say 'Patrie' - land of the fathers. But for us, this is 'The Mother' - The Earth Mother, The Birth Mother, and The Divine Mother. Bhumi is a divine and she is a Goddess. Bhumi is described as 'Sarvan Saha' – the one who bears everything, who takes on everything and she still protecting you, nurturing you and supporting you. So I think it is a beautiful thought.
But, Zuzana, female and male, they are complementary. There is no life without the male and the female. We have a tendency to see it as sort of competition. It is not a competition. They have to melt; they have to go together to be of use to the society.
We, humans, we are not much evolved. In our scriptures, we say, that the power of God is everywhere. There is a saying (in Malayalam language): "The God exists in the pillar, in the piece of rust, in the stones, in the thorns and in me and in you."
The God is everywhere, but this omnipresent concept is difficult for the average human being to absorb. The God is described through the symbols. Hindu religion is much misunderstood. They say we have so many Gods and Goddesses, but we do not. The God is only one and we were given the freedom to worship the power, which is God, in any form you like.
Imagine, you get up in the morning, you are rubbing your eyes, in your nightdress, sleepy… not at your best… in the morning – that is 'you'. You have a shower, you put on clean cloth, you are dressed for a day – it is still 'you'. Maybe you are mother and you are making breakfast to the family, packing up the children lunches – that is still 'you'. If you are going out to work, as part of the work force, again it is 'you'. You come back home, you are the homemaker, the teacher, you are the mother, you are the one, who nurture, but it still same 'you'! So there are many forms of 'you' – whether you are wearing a dress, whether you are wearing a sari, whether you are wearing pants and the T-shirt, whether you are wearing a dhoti, it is all still 'you'.
So that freedom to choose – and wonderful thing about the Hindu religion is, that the God has no gender. We never say just 'he'. God can be 'he', God can be 'she'. That is your women’s empowerment, when divinity can be female. That is the highest compliment you can pay to womanhood.
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Read next chapter of THE TALK WITH PRINCESS GOURI Nº4
The Travancore Kingdom Royalty are considered the descendants of the Gods and ancient Cheras, Venad, Pandya and Chola dynasties, who brought the philosophy of ayurveda to the world.
Founder & Director of Ayurveda Trails, healing collection of (extra)ordinary people and their stories, whose experiences are transferred into various trails shared by travelers.
He asks, why is all the rum gone. He is searching the stillness in the flow of the water and finding out, that there is no dark side of the moon really. Matter of fact it's all dark!
He calls himself The Lone-traveller. In section about him is written: Don’t have a clue yet. He silently stalks Kochi Muziris Biennale artists and transform their visions into photographs.
VISHU FESTIVAL
NEW YEAR IN KERALA
The Malayalam word kani literally means that which is seen first. The traditional belief is that one's future is a function of what one experiences, that the New Year will be better if one views auspicious joyful things as the first thing on Vishu.
10 REASONS WHY AYURVEDA TRAILS ARE DIFFERENT
Ayurveda trails is using the symbol of mudra as reminder, healing is in your hands. We are creating a small collection of highly specialised ayurveda resorts run by passionate ayurveda experts, who want to keep authentic healing knowledge for modern world.
What is ayurveda? How is this ancient medical system connected with yoga, meditation, healthy food, relaxation in nature and modern life style? Ayurveda Trails is dedicated to everyone, who would like to travel and search answers to these questions.
NAVARATRI
Festival of Nine Goddesses
Navaratri is a nine night festival that honors the Mother Goddess in all her manifestations. The worship, accompanied by fasting, takes place in the mornings. Evenings are for feasting and dancing. Each day has a different ritual associated with it.
ONAM
The Harvest Festival in Kerala
Onam is the most popular festival in Kerala. It can be traced to the primitive harvest festival and also to the myth regarding King Mahabali - the benevolent asura ruler who brought peace and prosperity to his country. It is celebrated in August and September.
The importance of the feast to the Kerala's Onam celebration culture is captured in the famous Malayalam proverb: Kaanam Vittum Onam Unnanam - which means: One must have the Onam lunch even by selling one's property, if need be.
MANALTHEERAM AYURVEDA BEACH VILLAGE
Manaltheeram Ayurveda Beach Village, gives you an opportunity to pamper yourself with a heavenly experience. Enter the world of holistic healing and let Ayurveda and meditation restore your physical, mental, spiritual and emotional equilibrium.
MANALTHEERAM
Dr. Hemalatha Manoj
In Manaltheeram, we believe, that Ayurveda is a divine science of life, our hands should be pure to treat a patient. Sometimes we are not able to cure every one but it is important not to make any mistakes from our hands. We pray to God.
Somatheeram, the world’s first Ayurveda hospital set in a resort ambiance to provide Ayurveda healing and treatments programmes. With its exotic tropical beauty and tranquil hospitality, this getaway is the perfect place for relaxation and rejuvenation.
The World’s First Ayurveda Tourist Resort: Baby Mathew, in 1985 together with his brother Dr.Pauly Mathew, has founded the world’s first ayurveda tourist resort Somatheeram in Kerala. How has this journey started?
Cliff View Ayurveda Retreat is built in the Bauhaus style, which aims to reunite fine art and functional design, creating practical objects with the soul of artworks. The resort embrace the philosophy of traditional Ayurveda in modern style.
HARIVIHAR HERITAGE
Dr. Sri Kumar
Harivihar, abode of the divine, is a 170 year old painstakingly restored royal heritage homestead located in Calicut. It offers unparalleled experience of staying in a heritage ambience and benefit from the goodness of Ayurveda and Yoga, two great contributions of India to mankind.
I hesitated for publishing this story quite late, but there’s a beauty in rewinding. Makes me appreciate how all those days have become of me. The clever fall of dominoes of life events that led me to still standing. A very happy new year to all!
SwaSwara means your inner voice, this is a place of natural harmony to release, refocus and recalibrate the self. Inspired by the first sound of creation, the resort in Gokarana on Aum Beach is a perfect setting to enable one to hear the voice of the inner self.
Green gram is a powerhouse of nutrition. It has high nutritive value and can be consumed by anyone for improving health. Hence, this superfood is one of the most vital detoxifying agent as well as an energiser that helps to enhance the immunity of the body.
KAIRALI - THE AYURVEDIC HEALING VILLAGE
There is no better place to get inside nature and rejuvenate with natural medicine than the sweet scented forests of Kerala's Pala trees. Time spent at this jungle paradise will allow you to experience the authentic healing practices of India.
