Neem leaves with jaggery 
Dr JV Hebbar
Today Yugadi festival is celebrated across the world by Hindu people, marking the beginning of Hindu calendar year.
King Vikramaditya established calendar system, 2078 years ago. 
In this festival, neem leaves and jaggery are combined and consumed. Let us understand a few meanings hidden in this ritual.

Neem is bitter, anti-microbial, de-nourishing, cleansing and it reduces weight. Neem also represents all the bad and difficult times of our lives. 
Read more about neem benefits
Jaggery is sweet, nutrition rich, satiating and enhances the mood of the person, helps to gain weight, if taken in high quantities. Jaggery represents all the happy moments of our lives. Read more about jaggery benefits

Taking neem alone is difficult, a very bitter experience, if taken daily it can cause the body to shrink and tissues to dry up. If our life is filled up with bad incidents, life becomes difficult, our health and mind shrinks and all the energy dries up. 
Taking jaggery alone can be a good experience in the beginning, but if taken daily, it can make you put on weight, it increases phlegm collection, decreases taste in food, weakens digestion strength and may also cause intestinal worms. 
Having only good experiences in our lives feels good in the beginning, but it makes us lazy, lethargic, complacent, bored in life, decreases taste in life, weakens our appetite to learn new things. 
But neem leaves when consumed in a combination is very wholesome. They cancel out each other's negativity. 
Neem balances Kapha Dosha and jaggery balances Pitta and Kapha, so this becomes tridosha balancing. 
Neem counters the over-nourishment of jaggery and jaggery counters the extra cleansing and detoxifying effects of the neem.
Similarly, tough times in our lives make us strong and increase the happiness of the good times in our lives. Troubles in our lives make happy moments more enjoyable. 
Whether we like it or not, we will get both good and bad times in our lives and taking neem with jaggery, this Yugadi, helps us to accept this sweet-bitter truth of life and energizes us for the task ahead :) 
I wish, hope and pray for a bit more of jaggeries and a little less of neem leaves in your lives :) 
In Hindu custom, each year has its own name. This year's name is Shubhakrut. 
Shubha = good, wholesome, auspicious 
Krut = causes. 
So, as per astrology, this year should bring lot of solace and happiness. 
We all ate a lot of neem in the last couple of years, time for some sweet jaggery is now! 
Happy yugadi! :) 
 

Wish you good health :) 
Dr JV Hebbar