The fragrance of love floats in the air with flowers, candy and red hearts everywhere you go. I never really got into celebrating this day. May be it’s the commercial aspect of it that never attracted me or my husband into it, but recently we have started to celebrate this day in a more special and meaningful way.
Before I get into that, I would like to share the recipe of an awesome dessert. I wanted to talk to you on something I researched on love. And I was amazed to find that the Sanskrit language has more than 70 words describing different kinds of love!
I think the English language conveys the poverty of expression as the word ‘love’ is very loosely defined whereas Sanskrit, once upon a time the lingua franca of the royal kings, spirituality and trade in India, has recognized the subtle yet beautiful nuances that produce the intricate tapestry of love!
Here are a few words that I found in my research:
Sneha – Motherly love,
Anurañjana – attaching something to love,
Vallabhatva – loving someone to gain popularity,
Snehapravṛtti – loving friendship,
Sarāgatā – expressing love with burning passion,
Kama – sexual love,
Cittaja – love born from the heart chakra for higher realization,
Yusmota – love with a responsibility of protection.
Isn’t this beautiful?! In a way, our celebration of Valentine’s Day has evolved because it’s no longer devoted to celebrate only the physical attraction and sensual love between two lovers, but to celebrate all kinds of love we have experienced in our journey of life with family, friends and acquaintances.
Now, here is a rich dessert you can enjoy eating with your loved ones. I must tell you, it is a completely raw dessert made with nuts, rose petals and saffron – very decadent!
My husband loves to eat desserts that are gooey and chewy so I tried to make this dessert which I call “Karma Cookie Cup.” The cookie cup is not only rich and gooey with a chewy texture, but also has a layer of chocolate covering in it. And then this cookie cup is filled with cashew-saffron milkshake!
I have used a really small bowl (like a chutney bowl) to make the mould for the cookie cup. I would recommend using really small cups as this is a very rich dessert.
Ingredients and Method:
Serves: 2
Cookie Cup Recipe
- 1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts/pecans
- 1/2 cup coarsely chopped almonds
- 6-8 soaked and roughly chopped dates (adjust to taste)
- Roughly crushed organic dehydrated Rose Petals (make sure they are the edible kind)
- A pinch of Nutmeg powder
- A pinch of Himalayan Salt
- 1/2 cup melted Chocolate (dark or milk)
- Mix all this together to form a gooey dough (except the chocolate) and then mould it in the cup you like to use.
- Refrigerate the cup for about 2 hours. Once the shape is formed, add the chocolate and layer it evenly inside the cup
- Refrigerate again for 2 hours
Cashew-Saffron Milk Shake
- 1/2 cup soaked Cashews
- 1 cup Water
- 2-3 tblsp Whole Food Sweetener (dates, date sugar, turbinado sugar)
- few strands of Saffron
- few crushed organic dehydrated Rose Petals (edible kind)
- Blend this all together (except the rose petals) in a thick milk shake like consistency. Take the cookie cup out from the refrigerator and pour this milkshake in it.
- Refrigerate again for about 30-40 mins.
- When ready to serve, add the crushed rose petals on top.
According to Ayurveda, it’s not a coincidence that rose is associated with love and caring. It balances the sadhaka pitta which governs the emotions of the heart! It’s cooling in nature and is balancing for all three doshas.
Recently, we have started to celebrate this day dedicated to love in a more special and meaningful way for us. Being on the spiritual path for more than 20 years now has really made us think and ponder what life and love are really about.
My Guru Paramahansa Yogananda says, ‘When friendship and love between souls becomes corroded with poisonous chemicals of possessiveness, selfishness, mechanical family relationships, sex obsessions, physical attachment, emotional excitement, utilitarian barterings, sudden attachments followed by sudden hates — then human love dies.’
This is the reality we see everyday of our lives, because we are wired to expect perfection from the “other” person and hardly pay any attention to what we truly are! But, I also know from my Guru there is no greater tonic than pure love which beautifies the body and mind of a human being.
Spiritual Retreats: Essence Of Love
So, my goal is to arrive at that “pure love” and experience life in its truest form. The main goal of Ayurveda is not just healing the body from discomfort and disease, but in the highest and deepest sense to take human life towards the attainment of salvation through liberation.
For Valentine’s Day, both me and my husband (whenever our work permits), we take a spiritual retreat to know the “pure love” in silence and seclusion.
So, this Valentine’s Day, I humbly urge you to do something different – plan a spiritual retreat with your loved one and you’ll be surprised what inner silence can do to your relationship.
Wishing you all a wonderful Valentine’s Day!