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Real Ghee - "qualities and actions"

Ghee
With the growth of ayurveda, ghee is getting more and more popular these days. Lets look at ghee and milk and how it is made to see what "real" ghee is as well as learn bigger concepts of ayurveda.

In the "americanized" version of what is being called ayurveda, what they are calling ghee is only clarified butter. You take a stick of butter, throw it in a pan, cook out the water and the milk solids and wallah, you have what "they" are calling ghee. It is then found in the refrigerator in the dairy section at most whole foods and of lately there are three or so brands of it now available.

This is not ghee my friends. It is only clarified butter. It will not have the same properties of ghee and will not have the effects on the body as it is missing essential qualities that are created in the correct process of making it. Real ghee is made with cultured butter, lets look at what is the difference and why.



Milk and qualities (gunas)
We need to start from the beginning of the process to realize the depth of why inherent properties of substances are and then why those qualities change. This is what real ayurveda is truly about. 


Regular butter is usually made from cow milk. Cows milk is especially sweet (earth and water elements) so it is heavy and hard to digest. After digestion it creates a little moisture in the channels (srotas), the doshas, in the formation of tissues (dhatus) and also in the waste products of excretion (malas). Its energy (virya or over all potency of hot or cold) is cold. It mitigates diseases of vata and pitta. 


Cows milk is further broken down into it's traits dependent upon other factors. The color of the cow: Black cows milk is superior in qualities and mitigates vata. Yellow cows milk is mitigates pitta and vata. White cows milk is increasing to kapha and Red and varied colors cow's milk mitigates vata.

The land a cow is raised in effects the qualities of the milk as well. A marshy land creates a cow's milk that is harder to digest and is even more unctuous (oily and greasy). An arid and drier climate will produce a milk that is lighter and easier to digest in comparison and have less of those qualities of the marshy land raised cow's milk.

The food a cow intakes will have an effect of the milk as well, obviously. Now we are starting to see the depth of the whole picture.

Other animals milk such as water buffalo, goat, deer, mare, camel, elephant and woman's milk is all expounded upon in the ayurvedic texts, each with its own qualities then also the sub qualities like the examples used in the above paragraph and more delineation.

Other changes in qualities are the processes done to the milk ie. fresh from the utter that is warm or cold, raw milk vs cooking the milk and the varieties of cooking to the milk. Raw milk that is cold increases moisture inside the channels (srotas) and increases kapha (earth and water elements) as well as increases ama (undigested toxic morbid metabolic waste) in the system. Flash boiling the milk makes it easier to digest as well as mitigates kapha and vata whereas boiled and cooked milk mitigates pitta. When milk is over cooked or burned it is once again heavy for digestion.

Oh my, there is even more details. When the cow is milked has an effect on the milk as well. Milk drawn in the AM is heavier and harder for digestion whereas milk drawn in the PM is lighter and easier to digest.

The best milk is when it is warm straight from the utter of the cow and just incase you really wanted to know... woman's milk is not cooked. :)

Yogurt and action (karma)
Real ghee is made from yogurt. Yogurt is sour and the sour taste is the earth and fire elements. The taste of sour has an oily and hot quality and has a post digestive effect on the tissues that creates more excretion and facilitates processes of the system. You can see this in the fire component of the elements and how fire is a transformative element. Sour is good for digestion, the heart, increases appetite and increases moistures in the system after digestion. As per its effects on the doshas (the humours or buffers of the system that go out of balance and create disease), it reduces vata (air and ether elements), raises pitta (fire and water elements) and raises kapha (water and earth elements). (more description of the doshas in another blog.) Yogurt itself is extremely nourishing to the body but has a thick slimy quality that can easily clog the system. Remember every thing is poison and everything is medicine dependent upon the person who is consuming the substance and their unique individual balance of their system.


Yogurt that is bought in the stores is extremely sour and old. The older the yogurt the more sour it gets. Fresh yogurt has a sweet taste to it and very unctuous in comparison and doesn't taste anything like the store bought brands. Fresh yogurt has much different qualities and is the ideal yogurt to be using. The yogurt that sits in a refrigerator after being made becomes more sour everyday. This is the qualities changing with time. 




Buttermilk and action (karma)
Here is more the bigger picture concepts. By putting action into a substance you can change the traits of that substance but it will keep its base quality. We take yogurt and churn it with water. After churning for some time, the oil becomes thicker and finally clumps together in what we know as cultured butter. By the way, what we have done by churning the yogurt in water is create what is known as buttermilk or takra. (another topic for a future blog)


The action of the churning creates more lightness and heating qualities to the yogurt and adds the quality of astringent taste to the butter as well. Astringent taste has the elements of earth and air and adds a rough and dry quality. This is why takra has a constipating quality (grahi) or how it pulls the moisture out of the fecal matter and brings it together. 




Cultured butter
Cultured butter is made from yogurt and has the qualities of the fermentation (fire). This action lightens up the butter and this is the process that defines what "ghee" is. The fire element creates a digestive quality to the butter. Fire is transformative and light in quality and this remains in the butter. This butter has a light taste, is more sour in taste and is so much better for digestion and easier to digest than regular butter. You can see how the qualities of the yogurt have now been introduced into the butter. 




Making Ghee
Now that you have the understanding, here is the process:

Step 1: Making Yogurt from Cream:

This step is good to start the evening before you plan to make ghee. Start with fresh, organic cream.

Two or three pints of heavy whipping cream should make enough ghee for a family of three or four people for a week.

The first step is to heat the cream. Use a large pot, with high sides to prevent the cream from boiling over.

As soon as the cream boils, remove it from the heat to cool. 

When it is luke-warm, or wrist-temperature (body temperature), add yogurt to the cream.

Put all of them in the oven to sit overnight. You can also use a large glass or metal bowl instead of small glasses, if you prefer.

Don't turn the oven on, but turn the light on if it is an electric oven.

Step 2: Making Cultured Butter:

When you get up in the morning, remove the cream yogurt from the oven.

Put all the jars or your large bowl of yogurt cream in the refrigerator for one and a half to two hours. The temperature of the yogurt will make a difference when you are churning the butter.

If the temperature of the cream yogurt is too warm, the butter will be very soft and it can be difficult to separate the buttermilk from the butter.

If the temperature is too cold (if you leave it in the refrigerator for many hours) the fat molecules will be very solid and won't stick to each other very well when you churn.

When the yogurt is at the ideal temperature, the churning should be complete in 5 to 10 minutes.

First the cream will whip, as you keep whipping, it will start turning a more yellow color. This is the butter starting to emerge.

At the end, the butter will separate completely from the buttermilk and will start sloshing around in the bowl.

When the butter and the buttermilk (takra) have completely separated, stop the mixer, clean the paddle and use a heavy duty wooden or other spatula to push the butter into a large mass.

Step 3: Making Ghee:

Put the butter into a pot and heat on low heat until all the water has boiled off and the protein has fallen out of the oil to the bottom of the pan. 

Slow heat is better than fast heat because the protein (or milk solids) tend to stick to the bottom of the pan and can easily burn.
The bubbling will change speed and change in the song of the bubbling. This is one indicator that it is done. 

You will notice that the ghee is now clear (which is why it is called clarified butter). If you stick a spoon into the ghee, you can see the bottom of it clearly. The color should be a rich golden color.

Be careful at this stage because it is very easy to burn the ghee. Basically, all of the water has boiled off at this stage and the heat from the stove no longer is being used to evaporate the water (which takes a lot of energy) and maintains the temperature at 100° C or 212° F.

Once the water has all evaporated, the temperature begins to climb very rapidly because all of the heat from the burner goes to increase the temperature instead of evaporate the water.

Keep the stove on the lowest possible setting at this point and watch it like a hawk. Transfer the ghee to a non-toxic ceramic pot (you may need to let it cool a bit to avoid breaking the ceramic).

Use a clean cheesecloth (non-bleached, organic cotton is best) to filter the ghee from the milk solids. 

Fresh ghee made with this method described here and prescribed by the shastras should be golden in color and deliciously nutty in aroma. There should not be a burned smell either. There is a variety of ghee due to how long it has been cooked. The best for consumption in general is the first stage of the cooked process where the solids have cooked out but not cooked or browned on the bottom of the pot. 

A last note on qualities. Ghee is never refrigerated. It does not go bad unless the moisture is not completely cooked out of it. In fact, 100 year old ghee is extremely medicinal and touted in the texts for its usage. Ghee that is refrigerated takes on the qualities of the refrigerator. Cold, dry and heavy are the main qualities that are created by refrigeration. This remains in the substance refrigerated and does not cook out. For an example,  take some ghee that you have freshly made, pour some of it into two jars. Place one in the refrigerator and the other leave at room temperature. After a day or two take the ghee out of the refrigerator and place it next to the other jar of ghee. Give it a week, then inspect them, taste them. The ghee that has been refrigerated has different qualities. It will remain more solid at the same temperatures, it will be harder for digestion and it will taste very different. Try this for yourself. This is the best way to learn, experientially. 


Through this process of understanding what makes real ghee we have also seen a big part of real Ayurveda is....... qualities and actions. Ayurvedic dietetics is to be able to see what are the qualities and the actions of all substances and then the individual; who are they and what is their individual situation of health. This is why what is medicine to one is poison to another. This is also why ayurveda is much more detailed and beautiful than Vata, Pitta and Kapha diet plans. 


I hope you have enjoyed this journey, hope it has left you at a much deeper and higher state of confusion which only means you are learning and growing. The process of learning the details is such a beautiful journey of insight. May patients be your virtue, May your ghee be golden and your digestion be strong. 






References:
Bhavapraksha of Bhavamishra
Charaka Samhita

Sankhya Darshan: a foundation of yoga theory and in the basics of Ayurveda

Steady in the Self, being freed from all material contamination, the yogi achieves the highest perfectional stage of happiness in touch with the Supreme Consciousness.

In Sankhya (numbers) philosophy the origin of the cosmos is elaborated upon. It is the evolution of consciousness to matter. This philosophy is applied by Yogis in the understanding of consciousness. Samkhya philosophy brings us to the door of reality.

First there was the absolute unmanifest state, avyakta. Within this there is the pure changeless unmanifested consciousness and witness of creation (formless and passive awareness), Purusha (Shiva or spirit). It is the transcendental state of being and existence or pure energy before creation of the cosmos. Also, within this avyakta and also the creative energy of Prakriti (shakti or nature).  Purusha is passive, this is important. Prakriti is action. It holds all the knowledge of the universe within it. It holds the three qualities of excitement (rajas), obscuring (tamas) and illumination (sattva) (Traigunya or the three attributes). Prakriti is the creative force of Purusha and is also maya (illusion).

The story goes, when Shakti turns and sees Shiva that the actual realization of consciousness or duality is created and the cosmos begins. Purusha remains the unchanged witness in all of the creation and maya that is from its energy of action principle of Prakriti. It is only for the sake of enjoyment and liberation that consciousness continues to manifest. Mahat is pure potentiality, the great principle that comes from this union of Purusha and Prakriti. Buddhi (ascertainment, will or intellect) evolves in Mahat. Now remember that the Traigunya or the three atributes of excitement (rajas), obscuring (tamas) and illumination (sattva) are within Prakiti, these act upon the Buddhi (intellect).

Ahamkara or "i former" or egoness evolves out of Mahat. Ahamkar is the ignorance and individualism that is formed. It is the self assertiveness. Atman or the soul or self, consciousness of Purusha, is then created from this. It is an individual distinction in the maya, only seen as self or individual because of the maya. This is the "we all are one", non-dual idea but we can only see ourself, individual from everyone else because of ego, juxtapose. This is also where good and bad come into play as they are just all the same but seen only by the ego judged as good or bad. If you find a lucky penny while walking down the street, it was lost by another so would be an unlucky penny for them. This is only a way of creation and destruction, the ongoing process of creation as seen only from the ego.  It is just subjective. In reality there is no creation or destruction.


Okay, in review I am going to put this down quickly because i know it gets hairy, so hold on.

Avyakta, unmanifest state
Purusha, passive witness spirit
Prakriti, creative energy of Purusha or nature, action (oh, but still unmanifest)
Purusha and Prakriti unify
Purusha is changeless
Out of Prakriti, due to from the differentiations of the Traigunya (3 attribute or Sattva, Rajas and Tamas), evolves Mahat or the great potentiality which holds inside it the Buddhi (will and intellect)
From this evolves Ahamkara (the i-ness)

SIDEBAR: The internal instruments (trayasaya) or the Buddhi, Ahamkara and the Manas, their own characteristics are their functions. The modifications of the instruments is Prana or the five vital airs. Prana, Udana, Samana, Apana, and Vyana. (more to come on these in another blog)

Out of the Ahamkara comes 2 sets. Because of the vaikrta (goodness) part of Ahamkara abounding in Sattva (illumination) evolves the set of 11 sense organ. Because of bhutadi (dark) part of Ahamkara abounding in Tamas (obscuration) evolved the 5 Tanmatras or primary elements. Both these sets evolve because of Rajas (taijasa) or activity.

SIDEBAR: 

Buddhi and all reality has three aspects -vaikrtia, bhûtâdi and taijasa. 

It is interesting that the ancient text says that these two sets (vaikrtia, bhûtâdi) form of the taijasa part of Ahamkar, which means "the part of egoism in which foulness dominates over goodness and darkness." It is saying that the active principle is foulness. I will have to look up the etiology of taijasa to find deeper meaning but Tejas is fire or a principle of transformation and intensity. I would guess that this is where the root is from.

And on with our story....

The 5 Buddhendriya (organs of knowledge) are:
Eye, ear, nose, tongue and skin
Their functions are;
hearing of the ear, touch perception by the skin. sight of the eye, smelling of the nose and tasting of the tongue
They are organs or instruments but not what is doing the knowing.

The 5 Buddhendriya have gross (Bhutas) and subtle (Tanmatras) objects that they perceive.

The subtle perceptions (Tanmatra) of the ears perceive sound, skin perceives touch, eyes perceive form, tongue perceives taste, nose perceives smell

The gross perceptions of the Buddhendriyas are the bhutas (gross elements). they are Ether to the ears, Air to the skin, Fire to the eyes, Water to the tongue and Earth to the nose.

The 5 Karmendriya (organs of action) are:
the speech, the hand, the feet, the excretory organ and the organ of reproduction
Their functions are:
speech is of the voice, manipulation of the hands, locomotion of the feet, excretion of those organs and gratification (anandah) by the reproductive organs.

Awoken Conciousness - Active Self-Conscious   Element     Energy               Expression
Ears - Hearing ----------Mouth - Sound ------------Ether -----Nuclear energy -----Expansion
Skin - Touch ------------Hands - Grasp -------------Air -------Electrical energy ---Mobility
Eye - Form -------------Leg - Locomotion ---------Fire -------Radiant energy -----Friction
Tongue - Taste ---Excretory organ - Excretion -Water---Chemical energy --Condensation
Nose - Smell -------Genitals - Reproduction ----Earth --Mechanical energy -Crystallization

Manas (mind) possesses the nature of both these sets of organs of knowledge and action. It is the 11th sense organ. It is called a sense organ because it possesses properties common to the sense organs and is also under the modifications of the Traigunya. It possesses the characteristics of both the action and knowledge organs.

The knower knows things through the sense organs and attention is the outer expression of the soul.

With a strong understanding of who you are and how you move through the world the Ahamkara and dharma is strong and and the body is healthy.

And that my friends is the journey of consciousness to the material of the five great elements.


Reference: Snkhya Karika

Hatha Yoga Pradipika Verse One

The first verse of the Hatha Yoga Pradipika (one of the main texts of yoga) is, as you find in all the ancient texts, a showing of reverence to the god in which the knowledge has been handed down from. In this case, Adinatha or in another name Shiva. The Gheranda Samhita's first verse is almost the same. This shows that the writer's of each are from the same school and maybe even the same person.

Showing respect to your teachers is a good first lesson to take from this verse. Showing respect is a form of letting go of the ego, a letting go of the knowledge being yours. It gives energy to the knowledge and lets it grow and be set on fire inside the aspirant.

Ha and Tha (pronounced like taa, but with an aspirated th. It still has the t sound but then has a sound as if you were saying ha.)

Ha is the sun and Tha is the moon. This is the union that yoga is describing. The left main energy channel (nadi) of the body is Ida or the lunar channel. The right is Pingala or the solar channel. When these are both balanced at sun rise and sun set, sushumna nadi or the central channel is open. All yogic texts, expound about this very thing using different words for the sun and the moon detailing different meanings to the sentences that they are used in. It is kind of like the 12 names of the sun. Surya is the most well known. There are only ever 12 steps to a sun salutation because of each of the 12 names of the sun identify with each of the steps within the salutation. Each name is the name of the sun within a different sign of the zodiac. In each sign the sun has a different mood or personality. This shows the link between Jyotish (Vedic Astrology) and Yoga. They are both part of the same gorgeous wisdom that comes from the vedas.

The sunrise or sunset is also the only appropriate time to do a Hatha Yoga practice due to the nostrils being balanced equally and sushumna being open at this time. If practice was to be done at another time when only one nostril is open, that energy channel is dominant. You can imagine how the energy will flow at that time. it will create an imbalance in the energy by creating flow solely through that open nadi. There will be more written later about the nadis and this very subject.

There is so much wisdom hid within ever verse of ever shastra (ancient text). It is only thru a true teacher and ones own true practice that one will learn and grow from the teachings that are to be discovered.

So you see in the name Hatha Yoga that it is an energy science. The basis of a science of enlightenment.

Only when we take off the lenses of how we see can we truly learn and experience something new. 

The first blog.

Hi everyone.
To start this blog out right i wanted to share what the intent of this blog is. I am wanting to engage you the reader into an educational process. I want to give you the experience of what ayurveda and yoga can give you when practiced or lived with the true knowledge of each of these sacred wisdoms. True health and healing is a magical process that can be attained through right knowledge. Now I know that what i just said, "right knowledge" is a trigger for many people in this world of so many dogmatic schemes. This is not the intent. Ayurveda is almost magical when practiced in it precise manner. The same with yoga. These practices are all about living with nature, working with nature, and finding it within your "self". Given a template this journey is an exciting adventure into a discovery of health, feeling and inner discovery. Without the proper or "right" knowledge they can be destructive or at least not in a positive direction towards the within and deep healing.

I am promising to bring the real knowledge to the table. Studying from classical texts and doing my best to present this information to you without it being watered down or even worse, changed so that it is easy to chew. We cannot understand any paradigm from our own. We need to learn something from another paradigm by letting ours go and learn from the foundation to understand it fully and to allow it to transform our being. Everything else is just another hamster wheel.

I encourage you to engage me. Question me. Don't believe me. Only through consistent practice is true experienced and embodied.

So onward my friends. May this journey be magical for all of us.

Brad