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JKYog
e-Magazine, Issue No. 70
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Editor's Message
Dear Readers,
Heartiest
Greetings on the first 'International Day of Yoga'. The global
celebrations of Yoga Day are a testimony to the priceless benefits of
this ancient Vedic science, which is a pride of Indian heritage.
On this occasion, 'Sumiran' brings to you two insightful articles on the
'Spiritual art of good health'. We first explore the spiritual
perspective on diseases and then delve deeper into the true meaning of
'Yog'. Yoga is a widely used word, yet its true meaning is not
known to many. Through the 'Panchkosh model' we will understand
the different sheaths of human body and their relation with
good health.
In Maharajji's article, we will explore the meaning
of grace which the Guru causelessly bestows on his devotees.
Further, in the spirit of healthy living, do practice our recommended
asanas and pranayama that will help relieve stress. Lastly, don't
miss any of the latest updates on 'International Day of Yoga'
celebrations, JKYog programs, and Bal-Mukund activities from different
cities in India & USA.
Best Wishes, Editor's Desk editor@jkyog.org
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संयोगो योग इत्युक्तो जीवात्मा परमात्मनोः||
(गरुड़ पुराण)
saṅyogo yog ityukto jīvātmā paramātmanoḥ
(Garuḍ Purāṇa)
"The Union of the soul with the Supreme is called Yog." |
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These articles are
excerpts from Swamiji's lecture at SCB Medical College,
Bhubaneshwar. Swamiji has systematically revealed the
spiritual art of healthy living as stated in the Vedas. Vedas are a
treasure house of sublime knowledge for enriching all aspects of human
life - mental, physical, and spiritual. Through a sincere practice
of these concepts anyone can experience good health and peace of mind.
You can also find details of Swamiji's 'Free Yoga, Mediation & Spiritual Talks' programs conducted in USA:
The spiritual perspective on diseases
Disease
causes us pain, suffering and misery which is against out nature so we
wish to remove this pain and suffering. This is where the noble
profession of medical science comes, which endeavors to remove
disease. However, in the intelligent scheme of things disease also
has a meaning, it has a place. The Supreme creator has created
disease for some reason. If he wished, he could have easily
upgraded this body so that it could be free of disease. Like a dog eats
from the street, that dog never has diarrhea and dysentery. Its body has
been designed such. And the pig eats from the sewage, pig does not fall
sick; it does not have to visit the medical college and
hospitals. Why? Its body has been designed such. So the
possibilities for this body, if desired, were immense. Look at an eagle,
it flies three miles up in the air but it's got such a powerful vision
that even though it is high up in the air, it is able to observe below
if a body has some movement. "This body is dead; I can go and eat
it." Look at the power that exists in the eye of an eagle. Similar
to that is the power in the nose of a dog. When there is a theft
somewhere, the police bring a dog, and they take the dog in front and
follow behind. If you were to ask the policeman, "You are a human,
why are you walking behind this dog?" The policeman says, "What this
dog can do, I cannot do". So, that same divine intellect that has
created the body of a dog and an eagle, has created disease in this
human form for some reason. That is the philosophy of disease.
Disease is a fact of life.
janma-mṛityu-jarā-vyādhi-duḥkha-doṣhānudarśhanam (Bhagavad Gita 13.9) Shree Krishna says, "Arjun, birth, diseases, old age, and
death are facts of life. You can never avoid them." Disease is a
part of that great design of the creator. What is He trying to say
through disease? Disease is only the symptom. The problem is
something else. For example if you put your hand into the fire;
your hand will burn and you will experience the pain; the burning is the
problem, the pain is not the problem. The pain is a signal that
something is wrong. Pull your hand out. If you did not experience
that sensation of pain, you would leave your hand in the fire and it
would continue burning without you knowing it. So, disease is an
indication that you are doing something wrong that you should not have
been doing. This is the signal from that Supreme intellect who has
designed this entire creation. These diseases are of two kinds according to the Vedas. First are doshaj, the second are karmaj. What are karmaj
diseases? These are coming from our actions in past lives; we
committed sins in the past life, they have to be accounted for. Not a
single action will go unnoticed. So the Supreme Creator keeps an
account, which is called sanchit karma. And at the time of our birth, He takes one part of that sanchit karma out and says, "This is result of your karmas you have to bear in this life." This is called prarabdh or destiny. So
some diseases come through destiny - children are born blind. A
child who is born blind says, "What did I do that I am born
blind?" The child has not done anything, but it is karmaj, coming from the child's past destiny. So those karmaj
diseases, no doctor can cure. That is why, the famous medical
statement, "I treat, He cures." The doctor says, "I can only
treat, the cure is in His hands." And the second kind of diseases is doshaj. What are doshaj
diseases? Those come because of our wrong behaviour in this
life. Wrong things we eat, wrong things we do, it's the cause of
disease. Somebody has spoiled his or her diet, eats too much of
sugar and gets diabetes. They come to doctors and say, "Please cure my
diabetes". Why did you eat wrong things? The doctor can do his duty to
cure the diabetes, but the problem was the wrong eating habit. Now the problem is, if somebody is sick, how do they know whether the sickness is karmaj or doshaj? Whether it was written in their destiny or it's because of their wrong aachar, vichar, ahar, vyvhar? We can never know, we can only guess. Only the Supreme Creator who keeps an account of the karmas
can know. Let us say that somebody has a sickness. He thinks, "Anything
sick must be in my destiny, why treat it?" He does not act. It is
possible that it was not in his destiny. If he had treated it, h e
would have got cured. That is why for us human beings, the
instruction is given that when you act, don't bring destiny to your mind
because you don't know what it is. Act as if it depends upon you, but
when you get the results, keep the idea of destiny. "May be it was
in my destiny." Don't bring anxiety in the mind. So in this
way, we will put our best effort and if it does not work, we will not
allow tension to overcome our minds. That is why the profession of
Medical Science endeavors to treat patients. That is, we must do
our duty, endeavor to the best of our ability.
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Understanding 'Yog' through the 'Panchkosh Model'
As I was saying, these doshaj diseases can come due to wrong aachran.
Not only that, now look at the beauty of it, they can come through
wrong thinking processes as well. If in our mind we have harboured
negative thoughts, thoughts of hatred, fear, anxiety, envy, tension, or
attachment, this negative thought process can also result in physical
disease. Now this is one of the frontiers of medical science,
where they are studying the mind body connection; what we think also has
an impact upon our body.
For example a person
is totally healthy. He reaches the age of 58 and he retires from
government service according to the rules. After retirement, his health
suddenly deteriorates. So the scientists conducted a research on why
health immediately deteriorated upon retirement. And they found
out that it has to do with the mind. Until he was working, that m an
thought that "I am productive to society, I am contributing to society"
and the moment the government retired him, his mental psychology
changed to "I am no longer a contributing member of the society.
There is nothing I can produce for society, my job is only to sit and
rot."
Medical
scientists are working in this direction today; in the late 20th
century and the earlier 21st century. The amazing thing is that this is
already mentioned in our Vedic Scriptures, which were written 5,000
years ago. There is a Scripture called the Yog Vashisht, in this,
Bhagwan Ram while touring Ayodhya found vyadhi or disease. Seeing vyadhi
in the Ayodhyawasis, He was moved to pity and He came back and asked
His Guru, Maharishi Vashisht, "Gurudev, what is the cause for vyadhi?"
Maharishi Vashisht gave an extremely illuminating answer. He said, "Ram, vyadhi
begins in the mind." First we harbour negative thoughts, debilitating
thoughts, deleterious thoughts. When our thinking process goes awry, the manomaya kosh gets disturbed. The Vedas talk of the panchkosh model, in other words, the 5 sheaths within the body. So there is one manomaya kosh
or the mental sheath. He says, "Ram disease begins with the mind. When
negative thoughts are harboured in the mind, it disturbs the manomaya kosh".
Such
a penetrating and illuminating answer was given thousands of years ago
when modern medical science did not exist. Then he said, "Then
that disturbance is passed from the manomaya kosh to the pranamaya kosh." The life air sheath gets disturbed and that disturbance in the pranamaya kosh manifests in the annamaya kosh or the gross body in a variety of forms as disease.
Now
imagine how deep the analysis has gone. We all in India have
observed the phenomenal success that Baba Ram Dev has achieved through
his Yogic System. Now what he has done is he has focused on the pranamaya kosh and he endeavored to develop these habits among people to exercise to purify, to energize the pranamaya kosh for achieving good health. However, the Vedic research does not stop, at the pranamaya kosh. It goes beyond that. This disturbance in the first place comes from the manomaya kosh or the mental thought processes.
The
question that is arises is, "What is fashioning our thinking process?
Why is somebody's thinking going in the positive direction, somebody's
thinking is going in the negative direction?"
Look at the beauty of the Vedas once again. They say even beyond the manomaya kosh is the vignanamaya kosh
- the intellect. It is your intellect which is guiding the mind.
It is the intellect which is harboring values. If someone values
money, then the mind goes in that direction. In our Indian
tradition, there was Charvak, what were the values of Charvak? He says
there is nothing after death, there was nothing before death.
There is no soul, no parlok. Nothing that you have to
worry about, this life is all that is. As long as you live, eat,
drink, and be merry.
So,
if that is his value, what do you expect his thoughts will be?
How to get gratification for the senses, because the value is such the
thoughts will be accordingly. And then there was Mahatma Gandhi
whose values were satyameva jayate - victory will come from satya.
So this was his value system, and his thoughts were in that direction
and they were so strong and intense that on the basis of non-violence,
he won freedom for our country. And then there are the great Saints
whose value systems are even more different. Like Kabirji says, "Kabira
sab jag nirdhana..." He says, "Oh Kabir, everyone in this world is
poor, if there is anyone rich, it is that person who has got love for
God."
Now
when this is the value of Kabirji's thoughts, then naturally his
thoughts are always in that direction, in the direction of love, in the
direction of God.
So
our values are deciding the flow of our thoughts, and these values are
ultimately the decision of our intellect. What the intellect has
decided, the mind goes in that direction.
So if we wish to purify the mind, the panchkosh model says that we will have to illumine the intellect with true knowledge. The Gayatri Mantra has a very simple and straight forward meaning, the word meaning of the Gayatri Mantra
is "That Lord who is illuminating the three worlds, let him illumine my
intellect with proper knowledge." Now in one prayer that person
has asked for everything because if the intellect gets properly
illumined, automatically one's life will go in the direction of welfare.
And if intellect has got harmful knowledge, incomplete knowledge,
naturally the mind cannot be controlled in the way it could be. So that
is why to further give proper full health to people, we must first give
them that enlightenment in the intellect.
The final stage of the panchkosh model says, "Ultimately, what is it that decides your values?" What is the last sheath? Anandamaya
sheath. All of us are looking for happiness. This is the basic
nature of all living beings. So, wherever the intellect decides
there is happiness, that becomes the goal. Somebody's intellect
decided that happiness is in God and the entire striving of his
personality is for God. Somebody's intellect has decided happiness
is in social prestige and his entire endeavor is how to become MLA, MP,
and Minister. So our search for happiness is the motivating force
for this intellect. Why does this desire for happiness exist? The Vedas
say, "That Supreme Creator, that Supreme Intellect, that Supreme
Designer who manifested this whole world is an ocean of bliss and you
are a tiny fragment of that ocean of bliss. Since you are His fragment,
because you are a part of the ocean of bliss, within you is this desire
for happiness. Understand this one point and everything will fall
into place.
The
hand is a part of the body. What is the function of this hand?
The function is to serve the body - washing the body, taking food and
putting it in the mouth, etc. In doing this, the hand's requirements are
automatically fulfilled. Whatever it needs, the body supplies to
the hand. The hand does not need to separately fulfil its
requirement. Hand only serves the whole, the source and its
requirement is automatically fulfilled.
Now
if the hand does not accept this relationship, if the hand says, "Why
should I serve this body all the time? Forty or sixty years have gone
by, and all I do is serve the body; cut me out." The moment you
cut the hand from the body, what is the value of this hand? It's
only a lump of flesh. The self-interest of the hand was in serving
the body. Similarly, if our intellect can understand that "I am a tiny
part of God and my self-interest is to serve God," if our intellect can
decide this, our self-interest will automatically be met. All that our
soul is hankering for, the divine bliss, the anand, that divine
knowledge, that divine love, we will get it all. In our relationship
with God, everything will fall into place. This is called Yog.
This
word Yog has spread around the world. I travel to many countries,
in Eastern Asia, America, Europe, West Indies, etc. In every city of
every country of the world, Yoga schools have started. The health craze
has made the westerners flock to Yoga. So everybody wants to learn
Yoga. And then they say this Yoga has come from India. They
should also understand these other aspects of Indian philosophy.
What has got spread, this word 'Yoga' does not exist in the Vedic
scriptures. The Vedas talk of Yog. Yoga is an aberration of
the Sanskrit word Yog. What is Yog? The word exists in every
Indian language. Yog means union, to join. So here the Yog
means union of the individual soul with the Supreme Goal.
Yogasanas increase the flexibility of your annamaya kosh
and through the twisting and turning, the expanding and contracting,
you increase the blood flow to every cell in the body, so naturally it
improves your health. But then Vedas say for pranamaya kosh you do pranayama. Through this pranayama, you will draw all the pranic
energy available in this atmosphere and absorb it within you. You will
remove blockages in the flow of vital energy in your body. But beyond
that you have to treat the mind also.
So
for the mind, you learn meditation. What will this meditation do?
It will purify the mind, you engage the mind in the divine, in that
Supreme Divinity, who is all pure. The mind will become pure, all the
negative thoughts will start falling away, and then you purify the
intellect through divine knowledge. This is the spiritual art of
good health.
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International Yoga Day at Samarpan - JKYoga & Naturopathy Hospital
International Yoga
day was celebrated at Samarpan- Jagadguru Kripalu Yoga and Naturopathy
Hospital and Research Center in Banara, Cuttack. Honorable Justice Bira
Kishore Mishra, Chairperson of Odisha Human Rights Commission graced the
event as Chief Guest. Delegates from Delhi- Mr. Shiv Kumar Sharma, Mr.
Atul Ray, Senior Educationist Dr. Geeta Kumar and Mr. Anil Kumar were
also present in the program. Similarly, Dr. PP Mohanty, Physiotherapist,
SV NIRTAR Hospital, Ulatpur (Cuttack) and Senior Journalist (The Samaj)
Mr. Satya Ray were Guests of Honour.
See pictures
International Yoga Day at Radha Krishna Temple of Dallas
Radha
Krishna Temple's first yoga festival was a huge success. Despite the
rain, starting from the first early 7 am session to the end the tent was
overfilled with eager participants who had an amazing morning
nourishing body, mind and soul. Young and old alike with varying levels
of experience came to experience the relaxing and restorative sessions
covering topics from healthy back care, tuning up neck and shoulders,
improving circulation, etc., as well as some guided meditations and
subtle body relaxation. The enthusiasm and positive energy of both the
numerous volunteers and participants combined with the high quality
instruction made it quite an uplifting and blissful event. See pictures.
Yoga, Meditation and Lecture Programs Swamiji
conducted yoga, meditation classes and also delivered enlightening
discourses at Getzville, Queens, Middletown, Morrisville cities. See pictures
Morning walk with Swamiji
Wherever Swamiji travels, there is one
thing that all the devotees look forward to - accompanying Swamiji for a
morning walk. So this time again, devotees from Connecticut joined
Swamiji for a morning walk amidst lush green trees. See pictures.
NDRF celebrates Yoga day with Samarpan National
Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and Samarpan- Jagadguru Kripalu Yoga and
Naturopathy Hospital and Research Center celebrated International Yoga
Day by conducting a Yoga camp at NDRF premises on 21 June, 2015. See pictures |
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JKYog brings to you 'Srimad Bhagavat Mahapuran' lecture series in English by Swami Mukundananda .
Visit youtube.com/JagadguruKripaluYog to watch the lecture series. Also, if you haven't subscribed to the channel yet, click on the SUBSCRIBE button to get an email alert every time a new video is uploaded on the channel. |
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June 27th to July 3rd |
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July 25th to July 31st |
Frisco, TX |
July 18th to July 24th |
Centennial, CO |
Aug 15th to Aug 21st |
Allen, TX |
Up-coming Retreats 2015
July 10th to 12th |
Mount Laurel, NJ |
Sept 5th to 7th |
Dallas, TX |
For details,
click here
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Causeless Grace
by Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj
The
word grace actually means "causeless grace and mercy" that is showered
or bestowed upon someone without expecting anything in return. |
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For
example, when a child is born the mother serves the child in every
possible way. She talks to the child, takes care of all the
child's need and expects nothing in return. In fact, the child is
unable to do anything on its own. Thus, whatever a mother does for
her child can be termed as grace. However, in reality this is not
true grace at all, nevertheless, this example does serve to some small
extent in explaining the meaning of the word 'grace'.
Actually,
the true meaning of grace is related to the soul, not the body. A
mother can only take care of the body of her child, not its soul.
Thus taking care of the body is no way related to grace. Grace
means "gracing the soul" with God's divine love.
The Bhagavatam says:
yasyāhamanugṛihṇāmi hariṣhye taddhanaṁ śhanaiḥ (Bhagavatam 10.88.8)
"The one upon whom I wish to shower my grace, I deprive him of all his wealth."
Thus,
granting material possessions is not grace; blessing a soul with God's
love is grace. Who can bless us with divine love? There are
two such personalities. One is God himself and the other is
God-realized soul. However, we cannot see or experience God with
our material senses.
A
God-realized soul (a Saint) is approachable and moreover, he possesses
the same powers as God, because God bestows everything he possesses upon
his devotee (Saint). In this way, God and Saint, being
equal or one and the same, are both kripalu (merciful) by nature and possess unlimited divine treasure; therefore they can grace fallen souls with their love.
There is no
personality that can even think of showering divine grace as long as
they remain under the bondage of Maya. Why? A soul under the
control of Maya
cannot grace anyone as he does not possess divine love; how will he
possibly give it to someone else? Secondly, unless someone is
graced by God, he cannot even dream of gracing others. All souls
under Maya cannot even understand the meaning of the word grace or grace
of God , what to speak of helping else.
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Yoga for Stress Relief
Stress, fear, anxiety - if we start
counting all these instances in life when we experienced these emotions,
we may just lose count! The problem starts when this fear becomes
persistent and so intimidating as to start interfering with our everyday
life. Then it becomes an anxiety disorder, a state of excessive
uneasiness, worry, or fear of the unknown, which needs to be treated,
and this is where yoga can help.
Practicing yoga is
not only an effective stress reliever, but also a way to ease symptoms
of anxiety and depression.. By transferring focus and attention to the
body and breath, yoga can help to temper anxiety while also releasing
physical tension. Regular yoga practice can help you stay calm and
relaxed in daily life and can also give you the strength to face events
as they come without getting restless.
Yoga practice ideally includes the complete package of asanas (body postures), pranayamas
(breathing techniques), meditation, all of which has helped several
recover anxiety from and face life with new positivity and
strength. The following yoga poses and pranayama can be practiced together to help alleviate stress and anxiety.
Marjari Asan (Cat Stretch Pose)
Procedure: Sit in Vajrasan. Inhale (Radhey);
lifting your buttocks off the floor, stand on the knees. Now with
an exhalation (Krishna), slowly lean forward. Then, place both
hands on the floor, in the line of shoulders, with the fingers facing
forward. Ensure your arms and thighs remain straight and the hands
aligned with the knees. Inhale (Radhey) while depressing (arching) the
back and raise the head to look up at the ceiling. As you exhale
(Krishna), raise the spine upward to make it concave; simultaneously
pull the stomach muscles in and also bring the chin downward to the
chest. This is one round; try it for up to 5-10 rounds.
Eventually, come to Shithil Dandasan and relax.
Shashankasan (The Moon Pose)
Procedure: Sit down with your legs outstretched
and joined together in front; keeping the back erect, place your palms
on the floor behind the buttocks, with the fingers pointing backward,
i.e. Dandasan. Slowly come into Vajrasan and rest your palms on
the thighs. Inhale (Radhey); raise your arms up above the head;
straighten the trunk, head, and arms; turn the palms forward. Now,
while exhaling (Krishna), gently lean forward from the hips until the
hands and forehead reach the floor. Slightly flex your elbows and
let them rest on the floor so that the whole body rests completely. Be
in this posture for as long as possible with slow and even
breathing. Ultimately, come back to the base position. Contraindication: People with high blood pressure and slipped-disc should not do this asan.
Kapalbhati Pranayam
Kapalbhati
pranayam is most effective in Vajrasan. However, if you cannot
conveniently adopt that posture, you may sit in any other meditative
posture. Procedure:
Sit in any meditative pose, with the spine and head erect. Relax your
shoulders. Bring your hands to Brahma Mudra, i.e. clench your
fists and place them side-by-side above the navel. The little finger
side of the hands should be toward the navel. The folded fingers of both
hands should be adjacent to each other. First inhale (Radhey)
slowly and then exhale (Krishna) forcefully by contracting your
abdomen. Allow the abdominal muscles to relax; thereby, the breath
will naturally flow into the lungs. In this pranayam, effort is not used for inhalation; it occurs naturally. Kapalbhati,
it is important to note that the breathing should be performed with the
use of the stomach; there should not be any use of the chest and the
shoulders. While practicing this, one should be aware of the
contraction and especially, the relaxing expansion of the abdominal
muscles to allow the air in. This completes one cycle; practice 60
cycles. This makes one chakra. In the beginning you may get tired after 10 to 15 cycles. Over a few weeks, you will be able to reach one chakra. With a regular practice, you can go up to five chakras, with short breaks in between. Timing:
The exhalation is done in 1/4th of a second. The inhalation is done in
3/4th of a second. So, one cycle of Kapalbhati Pranayam is
completed in one second. In this way, one chakra takes 60
seconds. Beginners may find this strenuous. In that case, they may
complete one cycle of Kapalbhati in two or three seconds. Contraindications:
People with high blood pressure, heart problems, spinal problems,
epilepsy, hernia, gastric ulcer, slipped-disc, and cervical spondylitis
should not do this pranayam. It is also prohibited during menstrual periods and advanced stages of pregnancy.
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JKYog Presents
Bal-Mukund
Personality Development Classes for Children |
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Swamiji's visit at Bal-Mukund CT center |
Swamiji
visited the Bal-Mukund center in Cromwell, CT on Sunday, June
14th. Bal-Mukund's of CT were excited to welcome Swamiji and
present their learning from Bal-Mukund session. The performance was a
great combination of sloka recitation, bhajan, dance, surya namaskar
demonstration and presentation on India. Swamiji enjoyed the complete
performance and was very happy to see the extent of knowledge gained in
these kids through the Bal-Mukund session. Kids were super excited
when Swamiji mentioned that they had put together a "top class
performance'.
Swamiji addressed the Bal-Mukunds and explained to them the difference between Shreyas and Preyas. He mentioned that Shreyas was the right thing to do and Preyas
was the pleasurable thing to do. He taught them the need for having a
strong foundation in order to lead a successful life. He also mentioned
that it is very important for them to focus and do hard work in order to
be prosperous in future.
Bal-Mukunds
thanked Swamiji for designing the Bal-Mukund program and for being a
spark in igniting the flame of ethics and moral values in their lives.
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Ingredients:
- 4 cups sliced peeled tart apples
- 2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
- 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/4 cup orange juice
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
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Topping:
- 1 cup old-fashioned oats
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1/2 cup packed brown sugar
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2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
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1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
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1/3 cup cold butter, cubed
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Vanilla ice cream
Directions:
- In a large bowl,
combine the first six ingredients. Transfer to a 9-in. square baking
dish coated with cooking spray. For topping, combine the oats, brown
sugar, flour and cinnamon. Cut in butter until mixture is crumbly;
sprinkle over fruit.
- Bake at 350° for 30-35 minutes or until topping is golden brown and fruit is tender. Serve warm with ice cream.
Yield: 8 servings.
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Contact us |
The Editor JKYog: XVII/3305, 1st Floor, Ranjit Nagar (Near PUSA), New Delhi - 110008, India |
7405 Stoney Point Dr, Plano TX 75025, USA |
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