Have an Attitude of Gratitude

 (Author unknown. Received in WhatsApp)

Nearby, a building construction work was going on.

Lots of poor labourers were working there and their small children used to hold on to one another's shirt and play "train-train".

Someone would become the engine and others would become bogies.

Every day, these children used to take turns becoming the engine and bogies.

But, there was one small boy wearing only a half pant who used to hold one small green cloth in his hand and become the guard daily.

So, once I went to him and asked him, "son, don't you also wish to become an engine or a bogie some time?"

He softly replied, "Sir, I don't have a shirt to wear so how will the other children catch me to make the train?"

I could see the slight wetness in his eyes.

But, it taught me a lesson. He could have cried and sat at home and sulked that his parents could not afford to buy him a shirt.

But instead, he chose another way to play and enjoy himself.

In life, we don't get all things we desire and we keep complaining.

I don't have a bike, I don't have car, I don't have a big house, etc, etc.

Life is like that. It is upto us to make it beautiful and be grateful for what we have ..🙏🏼

My two cents:
When things do not work for us or when things go wrong in our lives, we tend to go in a depression making it increasingly difficult to be grateful for what we have. It requires an effort to have an attitude of gratitude at such times. But studies show that thankfulness increases levels of happiness and decreases levels of depression. Making thankfulness a daily routine makes it easy to have an attitude of gratitude at troubled times.

Teacher, the Hero

(Received in WhatsApp. If you happen to be the author, please comment below. Due credits will be given)

A young man saw his primary school teacher on a wedding.

He went to greet him with all the respect and admiration.

He said to him:

"Do you remember me, Teacher?"

The teacher said: "No, please introduce yourself."

The student said: "I was your student in the 3rd Grade, I am the one who stole the watch of a child in the classroom. I will remind you but I am sure you remember the story."

“One of the boys in my class had a beautiful watch, so I decided to steal it. He came to you crying that someone had stolen his watch. You asked us to stand so as to search our pockets. I realized that my action would be exposed in front of the Students and Teachers.

 I will be called a thief, a liar and my character will be shattered forever.

You asked us to stand and face the wall and close our eyes completely. You went searching from pocket to pocket, and when you reached my pocket you pulled the watch out of my pocket, and you continued until you searched the last student.

After you finished you asked us to open our eyes and to sit on our chairs.

I was afraid you will expose me in front of the students.

You showed the watch to the class, and gave it back to the boy, and you never mentioned the name of the one who stole the watch.

You never said a word to me, and you never mentioned the story to anyone.

Throughout my school life, none of the teachers nor the students talked about me stealing the watch.

I thought to myself you saved my dignity that day."

The teacher said: "I can't remember who stole the watch that day, because I searched the pockets of all of you while my eyes were also closed."

Education needs wisdom. We should be able to be such Teachers, such Parents, such Leaders and be able to be for people in such circumstances.

We should always calculate the consequences of our actions. 

Protecting and reforming is tougher than exposing and expelling!

Keep your Eyes and Ears open

(Received in WhatsApp. Author unknown. If you are the author, please get in touch)

ANYONE CAN TEACH US SOMETHING NEW!

Why the name AUTO for the most popular vehicle in Chennai?

(For the uninitiated, AUTO, in Indian cities refers to mechanically operated rickshaws, otherwise known as auto-rickshaw) 

One early morning some time in 2016, on reaching Central Station from Coimbatore, I engaged an Auto to go home.

The Auto driver appeared to be a well informed person. I struck up a conversation with him enquiring about competition that he faced from call taxis. He admitted that it was tough but was confident that autos would survive. While he pointed out the short life of call taxi companies like Bharathi, NTL, Friends etc. he was confident that Autos would survive.

Suddenly he asked me whether I knew the meaning of "Auto".

I said "No".

He surprised me with his explanation.

"During the British Rule, medicines were transported to hospitals from the Central medical Depots initially by hand pulled rickshaws, then by pedalled tricycle rickshaws.

At that time an enterprising Sardar from Jallandar fixed a motor to the cycle rickshaw which was used to draw water. After making innovative alterations to the vehicle, it was faster & could carry heavier loads.

So, the British Government Invested in more such motorised vehicles to transport urgent life saving medicines to hospitals.

These were called "An Urgent Transport Option".

The AUTO became very popular and slowly they were used for various other purposes including transporting passengers.

Over the period, this was modified technically and in appearance."

I realized that to gain knowledge, one has to keep one's Eyes and Ears open always because we never know from where it comes to us!

Hope sees the Invisible

(WhatsApp Forward)

Dr. Frank Mayfield (1908-1991, a renowned Neurosurgeon in the US) was touring Tewksbury Institute when, on his way out, he accidentally collided with an elderly floor maid. To cover the awkward moment Dr. Mayfield started asking questions.

"How long have you worked here?"

"I've worked here almost since the place opened," the maid replied.

"What can you tell me about the history of this place?" he asked.

"I don't think I can tell you anything, but I could show you something."

With that, she took his hand and led him down to the basement under the oldest section of the building. She pointed to one of what looked like small prison cells, their iron bars rusted with age, and said, "That's the cage where they used to keep Annie Sullivan."

"Who's Annie?" the doctor asked.

Annie was a young girl who was brought in here because she was incorrigible—nobody could do anything with her. She'd bite and scream and throw her food at people. The doctors and nurses couldn't even examine her or anything. I'd see them trying with her spitting and scratching at them.

"I was only a few years younger than her myself and I used to think, 'I sure would hate to be locked up in a cage like that.' I wanted to help her, but I didn't have any idea what I could do. I mean, if the doctors and nurses couldn't help her, what could someone like me do?

"I didn't know what else to do, so I just baked her some brownies one night after work. The next day I brought them in. I walked carefully to her cage and said, 'Annie, I baked these brownies just for you. I'll put them right here on the floor and you can come and get them if you want.'

"Then I got out of there just as fast as I could because I was afraid she might throw them at me. But she didn't. She actually took the brownies and ate them. After that, she was just a little bit nicer to me when I was around. And sometimes I'd talk to her. Once, I even got her laughing.

One of the nurses noticed this and she told the doctor. They asked me if I'd help them with Annie. I said I would if I could. So that's how it came about that. Every time they wanted to see Annie or examine her, I went into the cage first and explained and calmed her down and held her hand.

This is how they discovered that Annie was almost blind."

After they'd been working with her for about a year—and it was tough sledding with Annie—the Perkins institute for the Blind opened its doors. They were able to help her and she went on to study and she became a teacher herself.

Annie came back to the Tewksbury Institute to visit, and to see what she could do to help out. At first, the Director didn't say anything and then he thought about a letter he'd just received. A man had written to him about his daughter. She was absolutely unruly—almost like an animal. She was blind and deaf as well as 'deranged.'

He was at his wit's end, but he didn't want to put her in an asylum. So he wrote the Institute to ask if they knew of anyone who would come to his house and work with his daughter.

And that is how Annie Sullivan became the lifelong companion of Helen Keller.

When Helen Keller received the Nobel Prize, she was asked who had the greatest impact on her life and she said, "Annie Sullivan."

But Annie said, "No Helen. The woman who had the greatest influence on both our lives was a floor maid at the Tewksbury Institute."

 Choose your battles wisely

Source: WhatsApp sharing

An elephant took a bath in a river and was walking on the road. As it neared a bridge, it saw a pig fully soaked in mud coming from the opposite direction. The elephant quietly moved to one side, allowed the dirty pig to pass and then continued its onward journey.

The unclean pig later spoke to its friends in arrogance, “See how great I am; even the elephant was afraid of me and moved to one side to let me pass”.

On hearing this, some elephants questioned their friend, the reason for its action. Was it out of fear?

The elephant smiled and replied, “I could have easily crushed the pig under my leg, but I was clean and the pig was very dirty. By crushing it, my leg will become dirty and I wanted to avoid it. Hence, I moved aside.”

Realized souls will avoid contact with negativity not out of fear, but out of desire to keep away from impurity though they are strong enough to destroy the impurity. We need not react to every opinion, every comment, or every situation. We must choose our battles wisely… Not everything deserves our time and attention. Reacting or behaving in a same way will take away our peace of mind.

 

Be the one to win the race

A Zen master was given a beautifully crafted crystal cup. It was a gift from a former student.

He was very grateful. Every day, he enjoyed drinking out of his glass. He would show it to visitors and tell them about the kindness of his student. 

But every morning, he held the cup in his hand for a few seconds and reminded himself: “This glass is already broken.”

One day, a clumsy visitor toppled the glass on its shelf. The cup fell down. When it hit the floor, it was smashed into thousands of tiny pieces.

The other visitors gasped in shock, but the Zen master remained calm. Looking at the mess in front of his feet, he said: “Ah. Yes. Let’s begin.”

He picked up a broom and started sweeping.

My thoughts: Happiness quotient of our life takes the shape of our emotions. When we accept the fact that we may not have certain things in our lives for some reasons beyond our control, we gain fifty percent of happiness. And when we accept the fact that one day or the other we may lose what we have as well, the balance fifty percent of happiness is achieved. 

When you are grateful for your possessions, you are second in the race for happiness. But when you accept that you may lose whatever you possess too any day, you are ahead of everyone in the race.

Be the one to win the race.

Rise above storm

Author unknown. Received in social media. If you are author of this, please contact.

I just had to share this because I really liked this analogy:

If you put a buzzard in a pen six or eight feet square and entirely open at the top, the bird, in spite of his ability to fly, will be an absolute prisoner.

The reason is that a buzzard always begins a flight from the ground with a run of ten or twelve feet.

Without space to run, as is his habit, he will not even attempt to fly, but will remain a prisoner for life in a small space with no top.

The ordinary bat that flies around at night, a remarkable nimble creature in the air, cannot take off from a level place.

If it is placed on the floor or flat ground, all it can do is shuffle about helplessly and, no doubt, painfully, until it reaches some slight elevation from which it can throw itself into the air. Then, at once, it takes off like a flash.

A Bumblebee if dropped into an open tumbler will be there until it dies, unless it is taken out. It never sees the means of escape at the top, but persists in trying to find some way out through the sides near the bottom.

It will seek a way where none exists, until it completely destroys itself.

In many ways, we are a lot like the buzzard, the bat and the bee.

We are struggling about with all our problems and frustrations, not realizing that the answer is right there above us.

Rise above the problem for the solution.

This too shall pass.

Rise above the storm, find the sunshine and stay blessed forever.

My thoughts:At a time when the whole world is going through this crisis of Corona virus, let's find a silver lining in the dark clouds and discover the sun that shines brightly over there.

Dandelions in life

Traditional Sufi Story

A young man named Nasruddin planted a flower garden, but when the flowers came up so did a great crop of dandelions among them. Wishing to eliminate the unwanted guests, Nasruddin consulted with gardeners near and far, but none of their solutions worked.

Finally, Nasruddin traveled to the palace of the sheikh to seek the wisdom of the royal gardener himself. 

But alas, Nasruddin had already tried all the methods the kind old man recommended to him for eradicating such troublesome weeds.

Silently they sat together for a good long time. 

At last, the royal gardener looked at Nasruddin and said, "Well, then, the only thing I can suggest is that you learn to love them."

We live in a society with the presence of both desirable and undesirable elements. These undesirable elements are like those Dandelions, a stubborn weed that never seems to leave your lawn or garden. Wisdom lies in embracing the fact that we need to coexist with them. The least we can do is to love them and accept them.

Where does God reside?

Author Unknown

Once upon a time, when God had finished making the world, he wanted to leave behind a piece of His own divinity, a spark of His essence, a promise to man of what he could become, with effort. He looked for a place to hide this precious gift because, He explained, what man could find too easily would never be valued by him.

"Then you must hide this gift on the highest mountain peak on earth," said one of his counselors.

God shook His head, "No, for man is an adventuresome creature and he will soon enough learn to climb the highest mountain peaks."

"Hide it then, O Great One, in the depths of the earth."

"I think not," said God. "for man will one day discover that he can dig into the deepest parts of the earth."

"In the middle of the ocean then, Master?"

God shook His head. "I've given man a brain, you see, and one day he'll learn to build ships and cross the mightiest oceans."

"Where then, Master?" cried His counselors.

God smiled, "I'll hide it where every man and woman will be able to find it if they look sincerely and deeply enough. I'll hide it in their heart."

This explains why our Heart is always equated to compassion. The Almighty, embodiment of compassion, resides there. He is Love incarnate and so Heart is a symbol for love. Heart represents the feeling-based wisdom while head represents reason-based wisdom. That’s why it is always said, whenever in doubt, listen to the heart. After all it is God who guides us from there.

Happiness comes from within

We often see inequalities in societal life. Some do mean tasks and the others do white collared jobs. Although this inequality exists everywhere, there are many questions about it that makes us wonder.

Where did inequality come from?
Why does it continue?
Do we justify inequality?
Can we eliminate inequality?
Can we make a society in which people are equal?

Here is a short story; which gives a clear message of why we need this differentiation, not only from the spiritual point of view but also for the functioning of society at the secular level.

There once was a king ruling his kingdom peacefully and happily. But he was extremely sensitive to the inequalities that existed in his kingdom. He said, “I want to pray to God to make everybody like me. Why should all of them not be like kings?”

So, he went to the forest and meditated for a long time. Finally, God appeared and asked him what he wants.

The king said, “God, why are there so many troubles and difficulties? Why are some rich and the rest poor? Why can’t all be the same?”

God asked, “Are you sure you want this?”

The king said, “Yes, God. This is the type of kingdom I want.”
God said, “Ok, if this is really what you want I grant you your wish.”

The king was really happy and as he moved back to his city after crossing the forest, he suddenly found that the whole picture had changed.

The roads were dirty; all clothes were lying on the roadsides, unwashed; the drains were overflowing; and the king wondered what had happened in the few days that he was away.

He entered the palace and there too, he noticed that everything was tattered.

Then it dawned on him that all the people in his kingdom had become wealthy and had risen up the ladder like him. All his subjects were now potential kings. So, nobody wanted to wash clothes or clean the roads.

It then struck him about the mistake he had made by asking for a wrong wish because this sort of equality does not allow the society to function in a balanced manner.

Of course, the king went back to the forest and apologised to God. God appeared again in all His mercy and said, “Ok, now that you have understood the truth, things will come back to their normal shape.”

My thoughts: There are plenty of people who have all the luxuries in life but are unhappy, and plenty of people who have very little but are happy. The difference lies solely in the quality of their perception. Happiness comes from within, not from the outside. To live a harmonious community, it is important that inequality remains but not marginalized to the extent that one side is above the other.

The world is like a mirror

Three different stories pointing fingers in the same direction--The world we see is a reflection of our own inner selves.

Story 1

One day a class teacher asked her students to write on a piece of paper the name of the person whom they disliked most.
The students got busy. One student asked the teacher, “Ma’am when I don’t dislike anybody, whose name would I write?”
By that time other students finished writing and the teacher started checking the names.
She checked all the names and to her surprise could not find the name of this student in any of the chits she checked!

Story 2

One day, Lord Krishna told Yudhishtra to take a census of all evil people in the kingdom and told Duryodhana to take census of all good people in the kingdom.
Duryodhana came back and reported that there is no single good person in the kingdom. According to him, there was so much evil in the so called sages, hermits and other good Samaritans.
Yudhishtra came back and reported that there is not a single evil person in the kingdom. According to him all were good including the murderers and robbers.

Story 3:

A wise woman who was traveling in the mountains found a precious stone in a stream. One look at it and she realised the monetary worth of the stone
The next day she met another traveler who was hungry, and the wise woman opened her bag to share her food. The hungry traveler saw the precious stone & asked the woman to give it to him. She did so without hesitation.
The traveler left, rejoicing his good fortune. He knew the stone was worth enough to give him security for a lifetime. But a few days later he came back to return the stone to the wise woman.
“I’ve been thinking,” He said, “I know how valuable the stone is, but I give it back in the hope that you can give me something even more precious: Give me what you have within you that enabled you to give me the stone.”

If we are good to others, they would respond in the same manner. 

 

Nothing is yours

Taken from Facebook post of a friend............

There is an ancient story....

A man who has gone out of his town comes back and finds that his house is on fire. It was one of the most beautiful houses in the town, and the man loved the house. Many people were ready to give double price for the house, but he had never agreed for any price, and now it is just burning before his eyes. And thousands of people have gathered, but nothing can be done.

The fire has spread so far that even if you try to put it out, nothing will be saved. So he becomes very sad.

His son comes running, and whispers something in his ear: "Don't be worried. I sold it yesterday, and at a very good price ― three times.... The offer was so good I could not wait for you. Forgive me."

But the father says, "Good, if you have sold it for three times more than the original price of the house." 

Then the father is also a watcher, with other watchers.

Just a moment before he was not a watcher, he was identified. 

It is the same house, the same fire, everything is the same. but now he is not concerned. He is enjoying it just as everybody else is enjoying.

Then the second son comes running, and he says to the father, "What are you doing? You are smiling ― and the house is on fire?"

The father says, "Don't you know, your brother has sold it."

He says, "He had talked about selling it, but nothing has been settled yet, and the man is not going to purchase it now."

Again, everything changes. Tears which had disappeared, comes back to the father's eyes, his smile is no more there, his heart is beating fast. But the watcher is gone.

He is again identified.

And then the third son comes, and he says, "That man is a man of his word. I have just come from him. He said, 'It doesn't matter whether the house is burned or not, it is mine. And I am going to pay the price that I have settled for. Neither you knew, nor I knew that the house would catch on fire.'"

The next moment the father feels, "Somebody else has purchased it, I have nothing to do with it; let the house burn."

Again the father is a watcher. The identity is no more there.

Essentially nothing is changing; just the idea that "I am the owner, I am identified somehow with the house," makes the whole difference.

This simple methodology of watching the mind, that you have nothing to do with it....

Most of your thoughts are not yours but from your parents, your teachers, your friends, the books, the movies, the television, the newspapers......

Just count how many thoughts are your own, and you will be surprised that not a single thought is your own. All are from other sources, all are borrowed ― either dumped by others on you, or foolishly dumped by yourself upon yourself, but nothing is yours.

NOTHING IS EVER YOURS....
Except God
Who is always yours!!!

When to speak your mind and mind your speech

A sage presented a prince with a set of three small dolls. The prince was amused.

“Am I a girl that you give me dolls?”, he asked.

“This is a gift for a future king,” Said the sage. “If you look carefully, you’ll see a hole in the ear of each doll.”

The sage handed him a piece of string. “Pass it through each doll.” – He said.

Intrigued, the prince picked up the first doll and put the string into the ear. It came out from the other ear. 

“This is one type of person,” said the sage, “whatever you tell him, comes out from the other ear. He doesn’t retain anything.”

The prince put the string into the second doll. It came out from the mouth. “This is the second type of person,” said the sage, “whatever you tell him, he tells everybody else.”

The prince picked up the third doll and repeated the process. The string did not come out. “This is the third type of person,” said the sage, “whatever you tell him is locked up within him. It never comes out.”

“What is the best type of person?”, asked the prince.

The sage handed him a fourth doll, in answer. When the prince put the string into the doll, it came out from the other ear.

“Do it again,” said the sage.

The prince repeated the process. This time the string came out from the mouth. When he put the string in a third time, it did not come out at all.

“This is the best type of person,” said the sage. “To be trustworthy, a man must know when not to listen, when to remain silent and when to speak out.”

Four important things to remember:

1. When to speak

2. What to speak

3. Whom to speak &

4. When NOT to speak

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.

Myriad people in our life

There was once a potter in a village. He was very well known for the exquisite pottery that he created. These pots had asymmetrical golden lines in them that added splendour to the pots. Each creation that way was exclusive one. Never similar! How did the potter create those exclusive golden lines? Apparently the potter broke the pots into pieces once they were done and then put it back together with gold filigree. And they turned out to be exclusive and exquisite creations!

In our daily life we come across myriad personalities. Hassled ones, angry ones, egoistic ones, always-with-sad-face ones, never smiling ones, confused ones, etc.....on the one side. Cool dudes, humble ones, cheerful ones, very clear and focussed ones, ever smiling ones, embodiments of serenity, loving ones, pious ones, etc..........on the other side.

Both lists go on.

Our life too is akin to the potter and his creations. The potter is the Creator and we are the pottery work created.

But there is one significant difference.

Here the potter himself breaks his creations. But in our life creator sends some people to break us. They are the former variety. They discourage and make us cynical at times. The latter ones are those that put us back again. But how? With golden filigree of their positivity that adds exquisiteness to our personalities. They turn our lives into unique creation. Yes, each of us is unique, exclusive and exquisite.

But the point here is that the Creator does not send the former range too for no reason. They are meant to teach us great lessons.

Hassled ones teach us to be patient,

Angry ones—to be cool and loving,

Egoistic ones—to be humble,

Never smiling ones—to be cheerful,

Confused ones—to be focussed.

So it turns out that all those myriad people in our life, both positive and negative ones, are meant to make us into masterpieces. We, the exclusive masterpieces, created by others in our life! How wonderful!

Let's be generous and give credit to all those who break us too. There are others who can put us back and give us a gorgeous face-lift! Ultimately we are the winners.

Isn’t that a splendid way of looking at life?

Words can hurt or heal

Sathya Sai Baba, My Dear Students, Vol 5, Ch 2, Mar 9, 1993.

You eat food daily, take in thousands of grains! Have you ever calculated how many rice grains you have consumed? However the moment one minute stone comes in the rice you eat, you are very unhappy that day and complain that your food has stones.

Similarly your life is three fourths happiness and one fourth sorrow. But you become a victim to sorrow. You choose to give more importance to sorrow than happiness. This is an animal quality (Pashu Lakshanam).

Teach your tongue not to lose its reputation by following the wrong path.

Your tongue is capable of raising you to Divine or droop to that of an animal.

If someone is good to you, the tongue praises them as God Himself. If someone harms you, the tongue then equates them to an animal. Teach your tongue to ever chant the Name of the Lord and never to criticize anybody!

Naxalites (terrorists) are not merely the people who hold guns and pistols. Anyone who hurts others in thoughts, words and deeds is a naxalite.

Three important things that all of you must pay attention to are your thoughts, words and deeds. When there is a thought, the word follows and then the body acts. In the arena of thoughts, never think evil of others.

Next is word. Never use harsh words, do not humiliate others and never try to deceive others with your words. If one is killed with a knife or a pistol, they die immediately. But if you hurt a person with words, he or she will be pained till their death.

Medicines exist for all external injuries, however no medicine or doctor can heal the wound or injury inflicted through words.

Therefore the harm done by words is more dangerous and takes a long time to heal. Spiritual ways alone can alter the harm done by thoughts, words and deeds

A rare conversation between Ramkrishna Paramahansa Swami Vivekanand

Author Unknown. Received in mailbox.

Swami Vivekanand:- I can’t find free time. Life has become hectic.

Ramkrishna Paramahansa:- Activity gets you busy. But productivity gets you free.

______________________________________________________________________

Swami Vivekanand:- Why has life become complicated now?

Ramkrishna Paramahansa:- Stop analyzing life.. It makes it complicated. Just live it.

______________________________________________________________________

Swami Vivekanand:- Why are we then constantly unhappy?

Ramkrishna Paramahansa:- Worrying has become your habit. That’s why you are not happy.

______________________________________________________________________

Swami Vivekanand:- Why do good people always suffer?

Ramkrishna Paramahansa:- Diamond cannot be polished without friction. Gold cannot be purified without fire. Good people go through trials, but don’t suffer.

With that experience their life becomes better, not bitter.

Swami Vivekanand:- You mean to say such experience is useful?

Ramkrishna Paramahansa:- Yes. In every term, Experience is a hard teacher. She gives the test first and the lessons afterwards.

______________________________________________________________________

Swami Vivekanand:- In tough times, how do you stay motivated?

Ramkrishna Paramahansa:- Always look at how far you have come rather than how far you have to go. Always count your blessing, not what you are missing.

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­______________________________________________________________________

Swami Vivekanand:- What surprises you about people?

Ramkrishna Paramahansa:- When they suffer they ask, “why me?” When they prosper, they never ask “Why me?”

______________________________________________________________________

Swami Vivekanand:- How can I get the best out of life?

Ramkrishna Paramahansa:- Face your past without regret. Handle your present with confidence. Prepare for the future without fear.

______________________________________________________________________

Swami Vivekanand:- One last question. Sometimes I feel my prayers are not answered.

Ramkrishna Paramahansa:- There are no unanswered prayers. Keep the faith and drop the fear. Life is a mystery to solve, not a problem to resolve. Trust me. Life is wonderful if you know how to live.

______________________________________________________________________

Open the gates of Wisdom

There was a cowherd boy who took his cows to the meadows every morning and brought them back to the cowshed at the end of the day.

One evening, as he was tying the cows up for the night, the boy found that one of them was missing her rope. He feared that she might run away, but it was too late to go and buy a new rope. The boy didn't know what to do, so he went to a wise man who lived nearby and sought his advice.

The wise man told the boy to pretend to tie the cow, and make sure that the cow saw him doing it. The boy did as the wise man suggested and pretended to tie the cow.

The next morning the boy discovered that the cow had remained still throughout the night. He untied all the cows as usual, and they all went outside.

He was about to go to the meadows when he noticed that the cow with the missing rope was still in the cowshed. She was standing on the same spot where she had been all night. He tried to coax her to join the herd, but she wouldn't budge.

The boy was perplexed.

He went back to the wise man who said, "The cow still thinks she is tied up. Go back and pretend to untie her."

The boy did as he was told, and the cow happily left the cowshed.

Like the cow, due to our ignorance, we believe that we are bound by the ego when, in fact, we are completely free. We need to be convinced of this, however.

Power of Prayer

There was no timetable nor a room designated for PRAYERS in the School. The School was ‘secular,’ hence prayers were not supposed to be allowed.

After being interviewed and accepted by the school administration, the eager teaching prospect said in protest:

“Let me see if I’ve got this right. You want me to go into that room with all those kids and fill their every waking moment with a love for learning.

And I’m supposed to instill a sense of pride in their ethnicity, modify their disruptive behavior, observe them for signs of abuse and even censor their T-shirt messages and dress habits.

You want me to wage a war on drugs and sexually transmitted diseases, check their backpacks for weapons of mass destruction, and raise their self-esteem.

You want me to teach them patriotism, good citizenship, sportsmanship, and fair play, how and where to register to vote, how to balance a checkbook, & how to apply for a job.

I am to check their heads for lice, maintain a safe environment, recognize signs of antisocial behavior, offer advice, write letters of recommendation for student employment and scholarships, and encourage respect for their elders and future employers.

And I am to communicate regularly with the parents by letter, telephone, newsletter, & report card.

All of this I am to do with just a piece of chalk, a blackboard, a few books, a bulletin board, and a big smile AND on a starting salary that qualifies my family for food stamps!

You want me to do all of this, and you expect me NOT TO PRAY?

You want me to do all of this and you expect me not to pray when SUCCESS of every one depends on Prayers?

Dear sir, since I am sure that I will not be able to fulfill your expectations, nor I will be successful in my career WITHOUT prayers, and so I resign willingly from the post.”

The Administrator looked down for a while then suddenly declared: “Young man, go ahead with your job. You have taught me a very important lesson today: Without prayers and help from God, no work is a success. We shall make special arrangements for prayers from today.”

Things that feed the Soul

There was a man who lived alone. He thought a pet bird might fill some of his lonely hours and went to a pet store to buy a parrot.

The very next day, however, he came back to complain, "That bird doesn't talk."

The store owner asked if he had a mirror in its cage, and the man said he didn't. "Oh, parrots love mirrors," he explained. "When he sees his reflection in the mirror, he'll just start talking away." So he sold him a birdcage mirror.

The bird owner was back the next day to gripe that his parrot still hadn't said a word. "That's very peculiar," allowed the pet expert. "How about a swing? Birds really love these little swings, and a happy parrot is a talkative parrot." So the man bought a swing, took it home, and installed it in the cage.

But he was back the next day with the same story. "Does he have a ladder to climb?" the salesman asked. "That just has to be the problem. Once he has a ladder, he'll probably talk your ear off!" So the fellow bought a ladder.

The man was back at the pet store when it opened the next day. From the look on his face, the owner knew something was wrong.

"Didn't your parrot like the ladder?" he asked.

His repeat customer looked up and said, "The parrot died."

"I'm so sorry," the stunned businessman said. "Did he ever say anything?"

"Well, yes. He finally talked just before he died. In a weak little voice, he asked me, "Don't they sell any bird seed at that pet store?'"

By seeing one's own image reflected back in vanity mirrors, playing with our grown-up toys, or climbing the corporate ladder, etc do not satisfy the spiritual hunger in the human heart. Some of us have mistakenly thought that happiness consists of lining our cages with toys, gadgets, and other stuff. But is it so?

Our hearts need real nourishment. The love of family and friends, personal integrity, a secure connection to God --these are the things that feed the soul.