Let us be like Nature!

Nature does not judge U, this earth does not judge U.

Creation does not reject U. Breath makes no distinction-
It moves into a saint as well as into a wicked person.
Unconditionally creation loves U , supports U, Holds U in its arms.

Let us be like Nature….Let us love Unconditionally!

The one you feed

A profound thought:-

One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people.

He said: ‘My son, the battle is between ‘two wolves’ inside us all.

>One is Evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret,
greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority,
lies,false pride, superiority, and ego.

>The other is Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith.’

The grandson thought about it for a minute, and then asked his grandfather: ‘Which wolf wins?’

The old Cherokee simply replied: ‘The one you feed.’

Freedom and Discipline

Freedom and discipline are opposites and they are also complementary.
The purpose of defense is to protect freedom. But is there freedom in defense? Do soldiers have freedom? No, they are bound, not allowed to put the right foot down when told the left foot. Their steps are measured; they are unable even to walk with a natural rhythm. There is no freedom in defense, yet this is what protects the freedom of the country!

Freedom without discipline is like a country without a defense. Discipline protects freedom. They both go hand in hand. Understand this and move ahead in life. You have certain restrictions that allow you your freedom. You can focus either on freedom or discipline, and be happy or unhappy.

Fences have a definite place and purpose. If you build a fence all over the entire property, then where will you put your home? Yet a well placed fence protects the property.

Love puts you on track. Fear also puts you back on track, as is the case with religions that have put fear as the main motivating force.

Nature itself induces fear in a child at a certain age. A child has no fear when very young; he gets 100% love and attention from the mother. But as he grows more independent, nature brings in an iota of fear; he learns to become cautious. With increasing freedom, the child learns to walk more carefully.

“There must be freedom in the mind, love in the heart, and discipline in action!.”

A Haiku

Basho wrote:

LET MY NAME
BE TRAVELER;
FIRST RAINS.

The first rains have come. Forget my name because all our names are nothing but writings on the sand. The first rains have come and the names will disappear.

Basho says, “Let my name just be traveler.” More than that is getting identified with the vehicle on which you are traveling. You may be in a car, you may be in a bullock cart, you may be in a bus, a train or an aeroplane. It does not matter what the vehicle is — you are the traveler. A thousand times you have changed at many junctions. In many forms you have appeared in the world — sometimes as a tree and sometimes as a rose bush and sometimes as an eagle.

Give Value To Relationships

A man stopped at a flower shop for ordering some flowers to be sent as a gift to his mother who lived two hundred miles away.

As he got out of his car he noticed a young girl sitting on the curb sobbing. He asked her what was wrong and she replied, “I wanted to buy a red rose for my mother. But I only have seventy-five cents, and a rose costs two dollars.”

The man smiled and said, “Come on in with me. I’ll buy you a rose.” He bought the little girl her rose and ordered his own mother’s flowers.

As they were leaving he offered the girl a ride home. She said, “Yes, please! You can take me to my mother.”

She directed him to a cemetery, where she placed the rose on a freshly dug grave. The man returned to the flower shop, canceled the gifting order, picked up a bouquet and drove the two hundred miles to his mother’s house.

At times we take many such relationships with our family and friends for granted. Learn to value them.

You Never Know!

You Never know
how And When
The Existence Will Start
Using You For Its Purpose

You Never Know
How And When
You Will Be Filled With
Abundance
And You Will Start Raining
Quenching The Thirst of Many

You Never Know
How And When
You Will Be Full Of
Fruits And Shade
And Travelers Will Take
Shelter And Food From You

You Never Know
How And When
You Will Be Full With
Love And Light
And You Will Start Spreading
The Fragrance of Beauty To Everyone

You Never Know
How And When
The Death Will Come
And Make You Deathless
And Life Will Start
Flowing Out Of You
You Never Know
How & When….Really !

What A Dog Teaches

Dog teaches us a lot of things, but we never seem to take notice. These are some of the lessons you might learn…

· When loved ones come home, always run to greet them.
· Never pass up the opportunity to go for a joyride.
· Allow the experience of fresh air and the wind in your face to be pure ecstasy.
· When it’s in your best interest, practice obedience.
· Let others know when they’ve invaded your territory.
· Take naps and stretch before rising.
· Run romp and play daily.
· Thrive on attention and let people touch you.
· Avoid biting, when a simple growl will do.
· On warm days stop to lie on your back on the grass. On hot days drink lots of water and lay under a shady tree.
· When you’re happy dance around and wag your entire body.
· No matter how often you’re scolded don’t buy into the guilt thing and pout. Run
right back and make friends.
· Delight in the simple joy of a long walk.
· Eat with gusto and enthusiasm, stop when you have had enough.
· Be loyal.
· Never pretend to be something you’re not.
· If what you want lies buried dig until you find it.
· When someone is having a bad day be silent, sit close by… and nuzzle them gently.

Are you Blessed?

If you woke up this morning with more health than illness……….you are more blessed than the million who will not survive this week.

If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation…….you are ahead of 500 million people in the world.

If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead and a place to sleep…you are richer than 75% of this world.

If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish someplace……. you are among the top 8% of the world’s wealthy.

If your parents are still alive and still married……..you are very rare, even in the United States.

If you hold up your head with a smile on your face and are truly thankful…..you are blessed because the majority can, but most do not.

If you prayed yesterday and today……..you are in the minority because you believe God does hear and answer prayers.

If you can read now, you are more blessed than over two billion people in the world that cannot read at all.

If you are still regretting over anything today, make yourself understand that you are blessed more than many people around you.

Someone Who Understands!

A store owner was tacking a sign above his door that read: “Puppies For Sale”. Signs like that have a way of attracting small children and sure enough, a little boy appeared under the store owner’s sign.

“How much are you going to sell the puppies for?” he asked.

The store owner replied, “Anywhere from $30 to $50.”

The little boy reached in his pocket and pulled out some change.

“I have $2.37,” he said. “Can I please look at them?”

The store owner smiled and whistled and out of the kennel came Lady, who ran out in the aisle of his store followed by five teeny, tiny balls of fur. One puppy was lagging considerably behind.

Immediately the little boy singled out the lagging, limping puppy and said, “What’s wrong with that little dog?”

The store owner explained that the veterinarian had examined the little puppy and had discovered it didn’t have a hip socket. It would always be lame.

The little boy became excited. “That is the puppy that I want to buy.”

The store owner said, “No, you don’t want to buy that little dog. If you really want him, I’ll just give him to you.”

The little boy got quite upset. He looked straight into the store owner’s eyes, pointing his finger, and said, “I don’t want you to give him to me. That little dog is worth every bit as much as all the other dogs and I’ll pay full price. In fact, I’ll give you $2.37 now, and 50 cents a month until I have him paid for.”

The store owner countered, “You really don’t want to buy this little dog. He is never going to be able to run and jump and play with you like the other puppies.”

To his surprise, the little boy reached down and rolled up his pant leg to reveal a badly twisted, crippled left leg supported by a big metal brace. He looked up at the store owner and softly replied, “Well, I don’t run so well myself, and the little puppy will need someone who understands.”

Don’t we all need someone who understands?

Relationship!

Relationship means something complete, finished, closed. Love is never a relationship; love is relating. It is always a river, flowing, unending. Love knows no full stop; the honeymoon begins but never ends. It is not like a novel that starts at a certain point and ends at a certain point. It is an ongoing phenomenon. Lovers end, love continues. It is a continuum. It is a verb, not a noun. And why do we reduce the beauty of relating to relationship? Why are we in such a hurry? — because to relate is insecure, and relationship is a security, relationship has a certainty.
Who knows what is going to happen tomorrow? And we are so afraid that we want to make it certain, we want to make it predictable. We would like tomorrow to be according to our ideas; we don’t allow it freedom to have its own say. So we immediately reduce every verb to a noun.

The Secret Of Happiness

There once was a very wealthy and successful man. He had more money than he could ever spend and he was admired and looked up to by his community. Still, he knew that something was missing in his life. He wasn’t happy. All his life he had pursued happiness and strived for happiness but had never been able to find it.

Then one day he heard about a hidden temple in Nepal that had a special room that contained the secret to happiness. He immediately sold all that he owned and set out to find this hidden temple. After many years of searching and countless hardships he arrived there. He was weary and pennyless, but he knew that none of that mattered now that he had found the temple.

He asked a wise, smiling monk if he could enter the special room. The monk agreed and showed him the stairs leading to the room. He climbed them with legs shaking with anticipation and slowly opened the door. He stared into the room with sunlight streaming through the window and saw what he had come so far to find. There hanging on the wall was the secret of happiness. The man gazed at his reflection in the mirror and laughed.

It is time that we all realized that we are the secret to our own happiness. Happiness is a choice that we make within. God loves us and gives each one of us the ability to fill our lives with love, joy, peace, happiness, and oneness with Him. We need only choose to do so moment by moment and day by day.

It doesn’t matter what our outer circumstances are either, because the Kingdom of Heaven is within us. Don’t spend the rest of your life searching the world for happiness then.

Just look in the mirror and laugh. Just let the happiness flow from your heart, mind, and soul until it fills your life and the lives of all those around you.

Honesty Is Still The Best Policy

Once a general manager wanted to test his people, who had come from all over India, about their values of life. He announced that in their seminar folder, there was a PVC pouch and in it a seed. When they return, they must put the seed in a pot with good soil and look after it very well. He would hold a competition at the next year’s seminar and that the best plants would be awarded suitably.

Everyone did what was told to him. A year passed quickly. And next year in a big hall, a great scene! There were hundreds of pots and a great variety of plants – all except one. In this one pot was soil, but no plant! The owner of the pot was standing quietly and seemingly ashamed of himself.

The general manager called him on the stage. He asked him what happened and he told him the truth. He planted the seed, which he was given, and did what was to be done – but nothing happened.

The general manager declared him the winner!

Everyone was shocked.

It was announced, “Gentlemen! The seeds I gave you were boiled seeds. You planted them and nothing happened! You acted smartly and used some other seeds. This man was honest to his work and therefore, he did not cheat me or himself!”

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During our lifespan, we come across many such events when we have option to choose paths. There will be alternate options always…. One will be the way with honesty and you know that you may fail on that way being honest. The other would be simple…. being not honest and winning the race. Its upto you which one you opt.

Dont FOOL yourself. Dont cheat yourself and you will celebrate your life all the time!!!!!!!

MahaShivaratri: The night of the rebel God

He loves ghosts for company and lets his hair down at crematoriums. His favourite drink is desi ‘bhang’ and He dances the deathly ‘tandav’. He prefers being almost naked- damn the culture police. No He is not a head-banging metal lover but our own almighty Lord Shiva, the rebel God.

Is it any wonder then that while almost all Indian festivals are celebrated under a bright sun, Shivaratri is observed in the dead of night, without even the luminescence of moon. It has a deep meaning- in the dark all things seem to assume the same shade, shape & size as we all are in the eyes of God. It signifies divine protection in turbulent times.

There are many legends behind Shivaratri. While stories of Shiva’s marriage with Parvati and that of a hunter’s inadvertent worship of Shiv-lingum are repeatedly recited by grannies throughout the country, it is the appearance of Shiva in the form of an elliptical sphere – the lingum – that makes Him the rebel God in true sense. The lingum is supposed to be the symbol of creation & generation in the universe. In short it depicts the life-creating organ in man. However, some scholars contradict this interpretation by stating that the lingum is representing the timeless, formless, eternal aspect of God and is meant for meditation purposes.

In any case, Shiva goes beyond the Hindu faith as we know it. The Vedas do not mention Him directly and He is supposed to have made a back-door entry from the Indus valley civilisation culture. The early tribals worshipped Him as the Lord of wildlife (Pashupati) and as the life-generating organ for fertility, creativity and peace.

Taking a look at the trinity of which He is a part, Shiva does not come across as an everyday God. He does not sport a gold crown but likes matted hair (Jatadhari) that takes care of the roaring Ganges. The glittering necklaces are replaced by venomous snakes and the attire is only elementary. It is a message to His devotees to lead a simple life. His very form teaches simple living and high thinking.

The company of Shiva – ghosts, spirits etc. – represents the downtrodden, neglected people of world (Bhootnath). To embrace them all is to live the Shiva principle. The Shiva principle is the principle of welfare & sacrifice. The word Shiva means ‘welfare, bliss, happiness’. That is why the yogis chant ‘Shivoham, Shivoham’ to remind themselves of their true nature.

Even though He is the lord of ascetics, Shiva lives with His family & is worshipped along with them. This is a great coming together of the material and non-material aspects of life. With His consort Parvati and sons Ganesh & Karthik, Shiva’s is the ideal family. Those trying to juggle between work & home should look up to Shiva for inspiration!

Shiva is the lord of supreme ecstasy, which he creates while in meditation. To immerse Himself in meditation and leave aside worldly worries, Shiva takes to bhang – not the leisurely ‘soma ras’ for Him. Here again, intoxication is supposed to be mild and purely for concentrating on God rather then on the world. So no extra bhang ladoos on this Shivaratri please.

To worship Shiva is to not emulate His form, rather His style. That does not translate into keeping long locks or fancying venomous snakes – rather keeping far-reaching vision and being simple even amidst luxury. To worship Shiva is to be ‘Shiva’ i.e being ‘pure, happy, innocent and simple’ in disposition.

To break away from outdated customs, traditions, thoughts is the message that Shiva bestows upon the devout. The centrality of that message is- be yourself and you will be a rebel against all things redundant.

 

 

 

Arise Awake! is Shivaratri’s message

Shivaratri is the day of Lord Shiva. Shiva is the lord of meditation and therefore the lord of awakening. Shiva Tatva means to be awakened. Shivaratri is thus an occasion to awaken one’s self from all sorts of slumber.

Shivaratri is not a night to be slept over. One should try and be up through the night. It signifies being aware of everything you have and being grateful about it. Be grateful for the happiness which leads to growth, and also for sadness which gives a depth to life. This is the right way of observing Shivaratri.

For the pious, the following method of Shiva worship is advisable – sit down in lotus posture, do some Pranayam to stabilize your breath, then indulge in Dhyana, followed by chanting of “Om Namah Shivay”. It is the greatest mantra and the devout should drown himself in its Kirtan.

Shivaratri worship leads to fulfillment of a devotee’s wishes. There are certain days and time frames in a year that enhance one’s mental and spiritual faculties. In such times, whatever one wishes, materializes. Shivaratri is one such day. All this is very scientific.

Going to temples on this day is OK but you should remember that Shiva is everywhere. The meaning of Kailasa (legendary abode of Shiva in Himalayas) is celebration. So where there is happiness and celebration, Shiva is present.

Whether in Sanyasa or Sansara, you can’t escape Shiva. Feeling his presence all the time is the essence of Shivaratri. That is the real Sanyasa.

No worship is complete without offering something to the deity. Shiva is a very simple lord, he is innocent – bholanath. One just needs to offer bel-patra to him. But in this simplicity is a deep message. Bel-patra offerings signify the surrender of all three aspects of one’s nature – Tamas, Rajas and Sattva. You have to surrender the positives and negatives of your life to Shiva and become carefree! The greatest offering is your self.

To offer one’s self is the key to happiness in life. Afterall, why do you get sad? It is mainly because you are not able to achieve something in life. At such times you should surrender everything to the all knowing God. The greatest power is in surrender to the divine. It’s like a drop owning the ocean. If a drop remains separate, it will perish. But when it becomes the ocean, it is eternal!

The above is an excerpt from an exclusive conversation that Sri Sri Ravishankar had with Zee News

 

Do You Test GOD, or Does GOD Test You?

Testing is part of ignorance. You only test that of which you are not sure.

If God is testing you, that means God doesn’t´ know you well enough.
How could people ever think that God is testing them?

God does not test you because he knows you in and out and your past, present and future. He knows your strengths and weaknesses and he alone gives you strength. He doesn’t test you.

Only you can test yourself. Only when you do not have confidence, then you test. If you are confident, why would you test? If you are testing yourself, you do not know yourself.

Are you testing God?

God will never pass your test because He will never show up for your test. If He shows up for your test, then He is not God .

Whether you get this or not – just laugh! 🙂

What is Truth? What is Love?

?.What is Truth? What is Love?

SriSri: Truth is that which does not change. So to know what is truth, you have to go through the process: What is not truth! … And what is not truth? All that which changes. When do you ask someone, “Why do you lie?” When they change what is or they say something, then they change that… So all that changes, is not truth not that they are lies; it is simply not truth. So life is a quest to find: `What is truth?’ Don’t be in a hurry! It can’t be read in newspapers, libraries or books. Truth is what IS … and that you can only realize when you go deep into meditation. Once you know what is truth, love is the other side of the truth… the other face of truth. Truth and Love are just two sides of the same coin! Love is something, which cannot be described. If you can describe love, it ceases to be love! So in short, you can say, truth is that which never changes and love is that which is indescribable.

?.Are mind and the Self, one and the same? If yes, where is the mind?

SriSri:This is like asking: “Are the ocean and the waves, one and the same? If so, where are the waves?!” Hmm…. The Self is the ocean. The mind is the wave. Without the Self, there can’t be mind, but there can be an ocean without waves… Without the big waves… There could be some ripples in the ocean… The ocean can never be still always…. The ocean can never be without waves.

?.Mahavira and Buddha said that `life is misery’… but you say that `life is a celebration’… Aren’t the two contradictory?

SriSri:Yes they are… That is why they are complementary! Buddha definitely said `life is misery’. Yes it is! You acknowledge misery… and then when you meditate, you overcome misery. When you overcome misery, there is joy. If life is misery and everything stops at that, what is the need of any meditation? What is the need of going any further? What is the need of nirvana? Why do you want nirvana? Buddha didn’t stop at that. Buddha began at that point: Life is a misery… and that is an experience. Here I don’t need to say that! Everybody is already experiencing! In those days, Buddha had to say `life is a misery’ because people were all so comfortable in their lives and they thought that was the end of life… They didn’t even wake up to see that there is misery in life… So today I feel that people are already aware of enough misery. Now we have to tell them the next step: “Come on! Life is not just misery. There is a way to get over the misery… and then life is celebration!”
Make that your goal.

Sublimating LUST

Lust is one of the main botherations that many face. Lust grips the mind and tires the body, and dulls the intellect.

Lust when indulged brings inertia, and when suppressed brings anger.
Lust is nothing but primordial un-harnessed energy. The same when harnessed manifests as enthusiasm, sparkle, sharpness of intellect and love.

What are the factors which can sublimate or transform lust into love?

1.Playfulness : People who are in the grip of lust cannot be genuinely playful. When you are genuinely playful, then there is not lust there.
2.Generosity : When you realize that you are here only to give and give, and you feel that you are very generous, lust is sublimated. Lust makes one possessive and not generous.
3.Moderate to less intake of food
4.Remembrance of death
5.Divine Romance
6.Cold water baths
7.Undertaking creative challenges

Lets Change Our Vision

There was a millionaire who was bothered by severe eye pain.

He consulted so many physicians and was getting his treatment done. He did not stop consulting galaxy of medical experts; he consumed heavy loads of drugs and underwent hundreds of injections.

But the ache persisted with great vigour than before. At last a monk who has supposed to be an expert in treating such patients was called for by the millionaire.

The monk understood his problem and said that for sometime he should concentrate only on green colours and not to fall his eyes on any other colours.

The millionaire got together a group of painters and purchased barrels of green color and directed that every object his eye was likely to fall to be painted in green colour just as the monk had directed.

When the monk came to visit him after few days, the millionaire’s servants ran with buckets of green paints and poured on him since he was in red dress, lest their master not see any other colour and his eye ache would come back.

Hearing this monk laughed said “If only you had purchased a pair of green spectacles, worth just a few rupees, you could have saved these walls and trees and pots and all other articles and also could have saved a large share of his fortune.

You cannot paint the world green.” Let us change our vision and the world will appear accordingly. It is foolish to shape the world, let us shape ourselves first.

Lets change our vision..!!

Impression And Expression

Do not make an effort to impress others, or to express yourself. Your
effort to express yourself becomes an impediment. Your effort to impress
someone also becomes futile. If you do not try to impress, expression
comes naturally. When you come from the self, your expression is perfect
and your impression lasts for ages.

Often you don’t seem to have a control over your impressions and
expressions. Wisdom is selecting your impressions and expressions.
Enlightenment is when you do not take any impressions at all, whether
good or bad. Then you “master” the art of expression. Many impressions
in the mind cause:

– Confusion

– Distraction

– Chaos

– Lack of focus

– and finally, derangement of the mind.

Nature has inbuilt in us a system through which it releases some of the
impressions – through dreams, and through meditation.

Excessive expression loses the depth and luster, the serenity of
yourself. Meditation erases the impressions and improves the expression.

A Mouse Story

A mouse looked through the crack in the wall to see the farmer and his
wife open a package.

“What food might this contain?” The mouse wondered –
he was devastated to discover it was a mousetrap.

Retreating to the farmyard, the mouse proclaimed the warning.

“There is a mousetrap in the house!
There is a mousetrap in the house!”

The chicken clucked and scratched,
raised her head and said,
“Mr. Mouse, I can tell this is a grave concern to you
but it is of no consequence to me. I cannot be bothered by it.”

The mouse turned to the pig and told him,
“There is a mousetrap in the house!
There is a mousetrap in the house!”

The pig sympathized, but said,
“I am so very sorry, Mr. Mouse, but there is nothing I can do about it
but pray. Be assured you are in my prayers.”

The mouse turned to the cow and said,
“There is a mousetrap in the house!
There is a mousetrap in the house!”

The cow said, “Wow, Mr. Mouse. I’m sorry for you,
but it’s no skin off my nose.”

So, the mouse returned to the house, head down and dejected,
to face the farmer’s mousetrap– alone.

That very night a sound was heard throughout the house —
like the sound of a mousetrap catching its prey.

The farmer’s wife rushed to see what was caught.
In the darkness, she did not see
it was a venomous snake whose tail the trap had caught.

The snake bit the farmer’s wife.
The farmer rushed her to the hospital
and she returned home with a fever.
Everyone knows you treat a fever with fresh chicken soup,
so the farmer took his hatchet to the farmyard for the soup’s main
ingredient.

But his wife’s sickness continued,
so friends and neighbors came to sit with her around the clock.
To feed them, the farmer butchered the pig.

The farmer’s wife did not get well; she died.
So many people came for her funeral,
the farmer had the cow slaughtered to provide enough meat for all of them.

The mouse looked upon it all from his crack in the wall with great
sadness.

So, the next time you hear someone is facing a problem and think it
doesn’t concern you,
remember — when one of us is threatened,we are all at risk.

We are all involved in this journey called life.
We must keep an eye out for one another and make an extra effort to
encourage one another.