Beginner's Sanskrit starts again! Connect your heart and soul to one of the oldest sacred languages on earth. Others, who never thought they would learn basic Sanskrit, have done so. Why not you?

This stand-alone course will teach you to read, write and pronounce the Sanskrit alphabet—a huge advantage if you are into Yoga, Vastu, Vedanta, Ayurveda, Jyotisha, Vipassana, and similar topics.

Eight Wednesday evenings starting April 4th, from 7.00 p.m. to 9.00 p.m.
Teacher: Steven Highburger.

Cost and registration...

The Bay area's Asian Art Museum unveils India's remarkable arts in a display scheduled to run from Feb. 2nd to April 29th, 2007 in San Francisco, California. It might be a treat.

Visit www.asianart.org/mewar.htm to find out more.

Spring Break


Vedic Vidya Institute will close from March 12th to the 30th for spring break. Regular classes will resume on Monday April 2nd.

Ayurveda: The Science of Self-Healing
A Practical Guide
Dr. Vasant Lad
Lotus Press, 1984
175 pages
ISBN 0914955004
$15.00

For anyone interested in Ayurveda, or simply in improving their own health, this book is a classic. Introductory in style, Dr. Lad weaves simplicity with centuries of wisdom into a tapestry of accessible and practicable knowledge about health and healing.

A stand-alone, compact compendium, Lad's chapters form an excellent guide to the highlights of the oldest known healing system in the world. Brimming with diagnostic tips, multiple tables, self-examination routines, and lists for healthy foods, herbs, and lifestyle choices, the book lives up to its subtitle: A Practical Guide.

Dr. Lad, skilled teacher and Ayurvedic practitioner, first wrote this small volume as a simple outline of Ayurveda for students at his Ayurvedic Institute in New Mexico. But to this day a host of others judge the book an excellent source for diet, lifestyle, philosophy—even basic recipes for things like ghee and yogi tea. No wonder the slim volume continues to enjoy wide circulation.

All in all, Ayurveda: The Science of Life is an outstanding work for such an inexpensive introduction to Ayurveda. Novices will relish its simplicity; seasoned readers, its practical references and fresh insights. Highly recommended for your bookshelf!

Two monks were once traveling down a muddy road together in a rainstorm. Water, mixing with the road's dirt, built muddy puddles all over the road's hollows. Rounding a sharp bend that led to a slippery muddied crossroad, the monks saw the unlikely sight of a lovely young woman, looking like a Geisha in a silk kimono and dainty shoes, unable to cross the road. "Come my girl," said the first monk and, lifting her in his arms, carried her over the mud. On the other side, the young woman thanked him and went on her mysterious way.

The monks splashed on for several hours. Not a word passed between them. But that night, having reached their temple lodging, the second monk could no longer restrain himself. An inner pressure to break his silence became unbearable to him. Accusingly, he reminded the other monk in an edgy voice, "We monks don't go near women. It's dangerous. Why did you carry that woman in your arms?"

The first monk calmly replied in a heartbeat. "I left the girl there, but I ask you: Are you still carrying her?"