To love is to share and serve

A farmer used to win the contest for producing best corn year after year. A reporter once asked him if he could reveal the secret of this feat. The farmer confessed that it was because he shared his seed with his neighbours.

The puzzled reporter asked, "Why do you share your best corn seed with your neighbors, since they also enter the same contest year after year?”

"You see, Sir," said the farmer, "The wind carries the pollen of the ripe maize, from one crop to the other. If my neighbors cultivate an inferior quality corn, the crossed pollination would constantly degrade the quality of mine. If I am going to sow good corn I should help my neighbor to do it so too."


We live in a diverse community where the welfare of one is coupled with the welfare of the other. The law of attraction operates here in an overwhelming magnitude. When we give love, the world around will give that love back to us in multitudes.

"Love expects no reward. Love knows no fear. Love Divine gives - does not demand. Love thinks no evil; imputes no motive. To Love is to share and serve.” ~ Swami Sivananda

Education and Experience

Unknown Author

There is a difference between education and experience.

Education is what you get from reading the small print.

Experience is what you get from not reading it! 

But isn't it true that great learning comes from both education and experience? 

Let me tell you a parable:

A young school teacher had a dream that an angel appeared to him and said, "You will be given a child who will grow up to become a world leader. How will you prepare her so that she will realize her intelligence, grow in confidence, develop both her assertiveness and sensitivity, be open—minded, yet strong in character? In short, what kind of education will you provide that she can become one of the world's truly GREAT leaders?"

The young teacher awoke in a cold sweat. It had never occurred to him before —any ONE of his present or future students could be the person described in his dream. Was he preparing them to rise to ANY POSITION to which they may aspire? He thought, 'How might my teaching change if I KNEW that one of my students were this person?'  

He gradually began to formulate a plan in his mind:

·         This student would need experience as well as instruction.

·         She / he would need to know how to solve problems of various kinds.

·         She / he would need to grow in character as well as knowledge.

·         She / he would need self assurance as well as the ability to listen well and work with others.

·         She / he would need to understand and appreciate the past, yet feel optimistic about the future.

·         She / he would need to know the value of lifelong learning in order to keep a curious and active mind.

·         She / he would need to grow in understanding of others and become a student of the spirit.

·         She/ he would need to set high standards for herself and learn self discipline, yet  would also need love and encouragement, that they might be filled with love and goodness.

His teaching changed. Every young person who walked through his classroom became, for him, a future world leader. He saw each one, not as they were, but as they could be. He expected the best from his students, yet tempered it with compassion. He taught each one as if the future of the world depended on his instruction.

After many years, a woman he knew rose to a position of world prominence.  He realized that she must surely have been the girl described in his dream. 

It turned out she was not one of his students, but rather his daughter. For all the various teachers in her life, her father was the best. 

I've heard it said that "Children are living messages we send to a time and place we will never see." But this isn't simply a parable about an unnamed school teacher. It is a parable about you and me —whether or not we are parents or even teachers.

And the story, OUR story, actually begins like this:

"You will be given a child who will grow up to become...."  You finish the sentence.

If not a world leader, then a superb father?

An excellent teacher?

A gifted healer?

An innovative problem solver?

An inspiring artist?

A generous philanthropist?

Where and how you will encounter this child is a mystery. But believe that one child's future may depend upon influence only you can provide, and something remarkable will happen. For no young person will ever be ordinary to you again. And you will never be the same.

Dualistic level of Reality

A Spanish tale

Once there was a Meeting of tools—Hammer, Screw, Sand paper, The Tape and The Saw—to fix their differences.

Head of the meeting was Hammer. But it was decided by all other members that he had to resign. Reason? He was too noisy and pounding all the time. Everyone wanted the Screw to be the Head.

Hammer accepted the verdict about himself but he wanted Screw also to resign. Reason? They had to make him do many turns to perform one single act. So he recommended Sand paper to be the Head.

Screw accepted the verdict about himself but he wanted Sand paper also to resign. Why? Because he was very rough in the treatment. According to him, The tape was the best choice for Heading the meeting.

Sand paper accepted the verdict about himself but he wanted The Tape also to resign. Why? Because he always spent time measuring others according to his level, as if he were the only one perfect.

At that moment came in the carpenter, put on the apron and started his work. He created an an attractive furniture out of the country wood using The Hammer, The Sand Paper, The Tape, The Saw and The Screw. 

When the carpenter finished the work, the assembly restarted its deliberation. It was then The Saw took the floor and said, “Gentlemen, all of you spoke about our defects, but the carpenter made use of our best qualities.  That makes us valuable.  So let's stop contemplating on our bad points and let's concentrate in the usefulness of our good points.” 

The assembly then realised that:

The Hammer was strong.

The Screw joined and gave reinforcement.

The Sand Paper polished and filed down roughness.

The Tape helped to be precise and exact.

We live in a dualistic level of reality. The fact that there exists ‘yin and yang’, ‘day and night’ in life, confirms that everything in this world exists at dualistic level. These dualities exist in ourselves too in the form of joy and sorrow, success and failure, inspiration and depression, likes and dislikes, etc.

Wisdom lies in exploring this duality and allowing life to flow moment to moment, exactly as it is intended, embracing both positive and negative with open arms.

Ego or Pride?

Is there any distinction between ego & pride at all? Are they synonymous?

Pride as such is a positive and healthy feeling if practiced in the right sense. One can be proud of his country, his nation, his parents, his off-springs, his family…………

Ego creeps in when these feelings turn to the extreme to say that all the rest is nothing in front of these.

This is the thin wall that separates both.

Look at these 2 stories that illustrate this perception.

While at sail a Captain of a steamship heard a distress call.

“Captain, Captain you must alter your course by 10 degrees, you are in danger of collision.” 

The Captain replied, “I am captain of a mighty steamship sound and sturdy, I say to you, if my path endangers you, you should alter your course, I will not.” 

The voice once again cried out, “Captain! Captain! You must take heed and change your course by twenty degrees; you are in danger of collision.” 

The captain replied, “I am at sail and will not change. I steer a mighty and fierce steam ship.”

The voice replied, “Yes you may steer a steamship, but I am a lighthouse.”

This is the EGO of the captain. The Ego which might’ve led to his fall.

Now look at another story

A turtle who was very talkative once overheard the plan of two hunters who schemed to catch turtles the very next day. The turtle turned to two cranes for help to elude the conspiracy of the hunters. It weaved a plan where in the cranes were to hold a long stick at their ends between their beaks.

The turtle was to close its mouth tightly in the middle of the stick so that it would be carried away to a safe distance when the birds make their flight.

The cranes agreed to the idea and asked the turtle to hold the stick firmly. The cranes took off with their flight with the turtle dangling in the middle of the stick. When the birds were up high in the air with the turtle, people from below were awe struck about the strange sight.

They exclaimed "What clever birds! A brilliant idea to carry a turtle!"

The proud turtle who could not contain himself shouted out "The idea is mine!", only to tumble from above to land on the earth.

It was the PRIDE of the turtle which caused its fall.

The more one feeds the ego, the more it grows.

Pride is more steadfast.

But……. it is evident that both need to be controlled. And the antidote is humility. When the ego and pride are dropped and the outlook embraces humility, a new light is thrown on the perception. Humility paves the way to move forward with confidence and self respect.

Life is telling us here to stop for a moment and look at it in a new perspective with humility, not to allow ego and pride to control us so that we become more successful in leading a peaceful and happy life.