Secret of success

I found the secret of success in my own room….

"Take pains," said the window.
“Push,” said the door
"Keep cool," said the ice.
"Drive hard," said the hammer.
“Learn to unwind,” said the screw driver
"Be up to date," said the calender.
"Never be led," said the pencil.
"Be sharp," said the knife.
"Make light around you," said the fire.
"Stick to your goals," said the glue.
"Be bright," said the lamp.
“Aim high,” said the roof.
“Reflect before you act,” said the shiny floor.
“Value the time,” said the clock.
“Be breezy,” said the fan
“Be open to ideas,” said the key.
“Keep looking for opportunities,” said the calling bell
“Keep your worries out,” said the shoes
“Be positive,” said the ringing phone

And finally…….
“The biggest secret to success,” said the mirror,
“Be as ‘YOU’ as possible”

Look for your own path

Sufi Story

When Saadi of Shiraz was a child, he used to pray with his father, his uncles and his cousins. Every night they would gather together to listen to a passage from the Koran.

On one such night, while his uncle was reading a passage out loud, he noticed that most of the people were asleep.

He said to his father: "Not one of these dozy people is listening to the words of the Prophet. They'll never reach God."

And his father replied: "My dear son, look for your own path with faith and let others take care of themselves. Who knows, perhaps they are talking to God in their dreams. Believe me, I would much prefer you to be sleeping alongside them than to hear your harsh words of judgement and condemnation."'

The future lies before you

A man had invited his friends to supper and the lady of the house was cooking for them. Suddenly, she realised that she had run out of salt.

So she called to her son and said, 'Go to the village and buy some salt, but pay a fair price for it: neither too much nor too little.'

The son was surprised.

'I can understand why I shouldn’t pay too much for it mother, but if I can bargain them down, why not save a bit of money?'

The lady said, ‘The only reason a man would sell salt more cheaply than usual would be because he was desperate for money. And anyone who took advantage of that situation would be showing a lack of respect for the sweat and struggle of the man who labored to produce it. And it could destroy a small village like ours.'

'But such a small thing couldn't possibly destroy a village?' The son looked at her for more explanation.

The mother explained, 'In the beginning, there was only a small amount of injustice in the world, but everyone who came afterwards added their portion, always thinking that it was only very small and unimportant, and look where we have ended up today.'

Little drops of water, little grains of sand
Make the mighty ocean and the pleasant land
Little injustices, small though they be,
Make the mighty world dark and gloomy

Power of Prayer

Divine Discourse by Sathya Sai Baba, May 16, 1964.

"A man who had four wives happened to go to Mumbai on some work. From there, he wrote to all of them that he was prepared to bring home whatever each of them wanted. 

The first wife asked for some nice tonics for her health, as well as rugs and woolen clothing to be of service whenever she fell ill.

The second wife wanted some saris of the latest style, jewelry of the Mumbai type and such other sundry decorative stuff.

The third asked him to select for her some religious books like the Jnaneshwari, abhangs, etc. available in Mumbai book-shops, as well as pictures of Pandharinath, Bhavani and Sai Baba.

The fourth wife had no list at all; she simply wrote, "If you return soon and safe, that is enough for me."

The others got big packets containing whatever they had asked for, but the last one got his love.

God gives you whatever you pray for; so think well and discriminate clearly before you pray and ask."

Concentrate on your goals

The yogi Raman was a true master of the art of archery. One morning, he invited his favorite disciple to watch a display of his skill. The disciple had seen this more than a hundred times before, but he nevertheless obeyed his teacher.

They went into the wood beside the ashram and when they reached a magnificent oak tree, Raman took a flower which he had tucked in his collar and placed it on one of the branches.

He then opened his bag and took out three objects: his splendid bow made of precious wood, an arrow and a white handkerchief embroidered with lilacs.

The yogi positioned himself one hundred paces from the spot where he had placed the flower. Facing his target, he asked his disciple to blindfold him with the embroidered handkerchief.

The disciple did as his teacher requested.

'How often have you seen me practice the noble and ancient sport of archery?' Raman asked him.

'Every day,' replied his disciple. 'And you have always managed to hit the rose from three hundred paces away.'

‘But without blindfolding,’ the disciple said to himself. He did not dare to say that to his Master.

With his eyes covered by the handkerchief, the yogi Raman placed his feet firmly on the ground, drew back the bowstring with all his might - aiming at the rose placed on one of the branches of the oak tree - and then released the arrow.

The arrow whistled through the air, but it did not even hit the tree, missing the target by an embarrassingly wide margin.

'Did I hit it?' said Raman, removing the handkerchief from his eyes.

'No, you missed completely,' replied the disciple. 'I thought you were going to demonstrate to me the power of thought and your ability to perform magic.'

'I have just taught you the most important lesson about the power of thought,' replied Raman. 'When you want something, concentrate only on that. No one will ever hit a target they cannot see.'

When one has clear and specific goals in front of one’s eyes, its easier to get motivated. When a goal is vague, the motivational value is limited. Commitment plays an important role in achieving goals. Setting and meeting goals leads to feelings of satisfaction and accomplishment. It also allows us to choose how we want to move through life.

   

Purifying hearts and minds

Divine Discourse by Sathya Sai Baba, Apr 2, 1984

"Once a friend asked the famous sculptor from Italy, Michelangelo, "Why are you working so hard, chiselling this large piece of rock? Why don't you go home and take some rest?"

Michelangelo replied: "I am trying to release the Divine that is in the rock. I wish to bring out of this lifeless stone the living Divinity that is embedded in it."

If a sculptor could create from an inanimate stone a living Image of God, cannot human beings vibrant with life manifest the living Divinity that resides within them?

What is the reason for this incapacity to realise the Divinity within?

It is because we do not realise the soiled cover in which it is wrapped up.

If our clothes get dirty, we change them because we are ashamed to appear in unclean garments.
If our house is shabby, we try to clean it.
But when our minds and hearts are polluted, we do not feel a shamed!

To purify our hearts and minds, the first thing we have to do is to lead a righteous life.

Our actions must be based on morality."

Farmer, the Caretaker

A boy crossed the desert and finally arrived at an ashram in a village. He was told that the guru was delivering a discourse in the evening and the boy was given permission to attend it.

That evening, the Guru spoke of the importance of farming and their work in the fields.

At the end of the talk, the boy said to one of the other inmates: 'I was really shocked. I expected to hear an enlightened speech on sin and virtue, but the Guru talked only about tomatoes and irrigation and things like that. Where I come from we all believe that God is mercy and that all we have to do is pray.'

The inmate smiled and said: ‘Here we believe that God has done His part and now it is up to us to continue the process.'

To forget how to dig the earth and to tend the soil is to forget our Source. Once in our life, we need a doctor, a lawyer, a policeman…….but everyday, three times a day, we need a farmer. It isn’t the Farm that makes the farmer. Its Love, Hard work and Character, which in the end contribute to real wealth, good morals and above all, Happiness.

The power of Hands

Unknown Author

Grandma, some ninety plus years, sat feebly on the patio bench. She didn't move, just sat with her head down staring at her hands.

When her grandson sat down beside her she didn't acknowledge his presence and the longer he sat he wondered if she was OK

Finally, not really wanting to disturb her but wanting to check on her at the same time, he asked her if she was OK. She raised her head and looked at him and smiled. "Yes, I'm fine, thank you for asking," she said in a clear voice strong.

"I didn't mean to disturb you, grandma, but you were just sitting here staring at your hands and I wanted to make sure you were OK," the grandson explained to her.

"Have you ever looked at your hands," she asked.. "I mean really looked at your hands?"

He slowly opened his hands and stared down at them. He turned them over, palms up and then palms down. “No, I guess I had never really looked at my hands," said he as he tried to figure out the point she was making.

Grandma smiled and related this story:

"Stop and think for a moment about the hands you have, how they have served you well throughout your years. These hands, though wrinkled shriveled and weak have been the tools I have used all my life to reach out and grab and embrace life.

"They braced and caught my fall when as a toddler I crashed upon the floor.

They put food in my mouth and clothes on my back. As a child, my mother taught me to fold them in prayer. They tied my shoes and pulled on my boots.

They were uneasy and clumsy when I tried to hold my newborn son. Decorated with my wedding band they showed the world that I was married and loved someone special. They held my husband and wiped my tears when he went off to war.

They wrote my letters to him and trembled and shook when I buried my parents and spouse.

They have held my children and grandchildren, consoled neighbors, and shook in fists of anger when I didn't understand.

They have covered my face, combed my hair, and washed and cleansed the rest of my body. They have been sticky and wet, bent and broken, dried and raw. They have been dirty, scraped and raw, swollen and bent. And to this day when not much of anything else of me works real well these hands hold me up, lay me down, and again continue to fold in prayer.

"These hands are the mark of where I've been and the ruggedness of life.

But more importantly it will be these hands that God will reach out and take when he leads me home. And with my hands He will lift me to His side and there I will use these hands to touch the face of God."

The grandson never looked at his hands the same again. But he remembers God reached out and took his grandma's hands and led her home. He too wanted to touch the face of God and feel His hands upon his face.

Grandmas hold our hearts forever. A grandmother is like an angel. She takes you under her wings, prays and watches over you and would give you anything..

Mountain moving Faith

Unknown Author

A small congregation built a new church on a piece of land willed to them by a church member.

Ten days before the new church was to open, the local building inspector informed the pastor that the parking lot was inadequate for the size of the building. Until the church doubled the size of the parking lot, they would not be able to use the new church.

Unfortunately, the church had used every inch of their land except for the mountain against which it had been built. In order to build more parking spaces, they would have to move the mountain out of the back yard.

Undaunted, the pastor announced the next Sunday morning that he would meet that evening with all members who had "mountain moving faith." They would hold a prayer session asking God to remove the mountain from the back yard and to somehow provide enough money to have it paved and painted before the scheduled opening dedication service the following week.

At the appointed time, 24 of the congregation's 300 members assembled for prayer. They prayed for nearly three hours. At ten o'clock the pastor said the final "Amen."

"We'll open next Sunday as scheduled," he assured everyone. "God has never let us down before, and I believe He will be faithful this time too."

The next morning as he was working in his study there came a loud knock at his door. When he called "come in," a rough looking construction foreman appeared, removing his hard hat as he entered.

"Excuse me, Reverend. I'm from a Construction Company in the next county. We're building a huge new shopping mall over there and we need some fill dirt. Would you be willing to sell us a chunk of that mountain behind the church? We'll pay you for the dirt we remove and pave all the exposed area free of charge, if we can have it right away. We can't do anything else until we get the dirt in and allow it to settle properly."

The little church was dedicated the next Sunday as originally planned and there were far more members with "mountain moving faith" on opening Sunday than there had been the previous week!

Faith is not believing that God can, its believing that He WILL.
Does ‘Faith comes from miracles’ or ‘Miracles come from faith’?

Love of a family

That night, Sue quarreled with her mother, then stormed out of the house. While en route, she remembered that she did not have any money in her pocket, not even enough coins to make a phone call home.

At the same time, she went through a noodle shop, picking up sweet fragrance, she suddenly felt very hungry. She wished for a bowl of noodles, but she had no money!

The seller saw her standing wheat faltered before the counter and asked:

“Hey little girl, you want to eat a bowl?”

“But … but I do not carry money,” she shyly replied.

“Okay, I’ll treat you,” the seller said, “come in, I will cook you a bowl.”

A few minutes later the owner brought her a steaming bowl of noodles. Sue ate some pieces and cried.

“What is it?,” he asked.

“Nothing. I am just touched by your kindness.” Sue said as she wiped her tears. “Even a stranger on the street gives me a bowl of noodles, and my mother, after a quarrel, chased me out of the house. She is cruel!!”

The man sighed. “Girl, why did you think so? Think again. I only gave you a bowl of noodles and you felt that way. Your mother had raised you since you were little, why were you not grateful and disobeyed your mom?”

Sue was really surprised after hearing that.

“Why did I not think of that? A bowl of noodles from a stranger made me feel indebted, and my mother has raised me since I was little and I have never felt so, even a little.”

On the way home, Sue thought in her head what she would say to her mother when she arrives home: “Mom, I’m sorry. I know it is my fault, please forgive me … ”

Once up the steps, Sue saw her mother worried and tired of looking for her everywhere. Upon seeing Sue, her mother gently said: “Sue, come inside honey. You are probably very hungry? I cooked rice and prepared the meal already, come eat while it is still hot …”

Couldn't control any longer, Sue cried in her mom’s hands.

Rules for children:
In life, we sometimes easily appreciate the small actions of some people around us, but when it comes to parents, we take their sacrifices for granted. Parents do not expect us to pay back for nurturing us …… but have we ever appreciated or treasured the unconditional sacrifice of our parents?

Rules for Parents:
A child must learn to think on his/her own so do not expect him/her to immediately and blindly be obedient. Try not to be reactive and pile on punishment, or your child may never have the chance to make responsible decisions because they are too busy 'being grounded'. Do not keep your child on a short leash, let them grow up naturally with some amount of space and freedom. The rules for parents are but three......Love, Limit and Let them be.