This is just the type of cookbook one might expect to find in the Mystic Trader’s collection. Many recipes collected over the course of 25 years by monks on pilgrimage, traveling the world, visiting families and temples. Whenever they were offered a particularly scrumptious dish, these monks would coax, cajole and even beg the cook for the coveted secret to take back to the brothers. Many of these recipes are closely guarded family heirlooms handed down through generations. Whetever the mystery behind it, each recipe represents the finest example of gourmet vegetarian cuisine. §
So how does one find such an nonconventional cookbook? During my latest sojourn to the South Pacific, I found myself, at one point, on the sumptuously lush island of Kauai, in the Hawaiian Island chain. Here, at the site of an ancient Hawaiian heiau or temple, is a traditional Hindu temple, where 21 monks from six countries, under the guidance of Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami’s successor, Bodhinatha Veylanswami, have made over 50 acres of paradise into 50 divine acres of spiritual unfoldment. These humble servants of Lord Siva are living a Vedic lifestyle of renunciation as practiced in India for thousands of years.§
After meditating in Kadavul Temple, where monks were chanting Vedic prayers in Sanskrit, I strolled peacefully through the manicured grounds and America’s only Rudraksha Forest. To my great pleasure I was invited to stay for lunch. This was not monk’s gruel, mind you. I can’t begin to adequately describe the wonderful flavors of the sumptuous feast set before me. I never expected such a tasteful arrangement. The monks had transformed ordinary home-grown vegetables into epicurean delights that were out of this world. Their culinary art has been handed down since time immemorial, perfected in temple kitchens throughout South India. Each dish is prepared as an offering to the Lord. Each step of every preparation is prepared with God in mind. By preparing food for God’s enjoyment and then offering it to the Lord, the meal becomes sanctified and one can come closer to the Lord, simply by eating such food. Now, I myself always want to get closer to God, and this seemed like a path I would have no trouble staying on. Of course, to stay on this path one would require a divine cookbook of recipes. I asked a few leading questions and soon the monks agreed to share their cornucopia with the Mystic Trader family. You hold the results in your hands.§
The Mystic Trader§