Your Love Is Your Destiny

Bauls say,

HONEY IS HIDDEN WITHIN THE LOTUS BLOOM - BUT THE BEE KNOWS IT.

DUNG-BEETLES NESTLE IN DUNG, DISCOUNTING HONEY.

Become a bee; become a lover. Because the bee LOVES honey, it finds the way.

Why cannot the dung-beetle find the way? It finds a certain way; it finds the way to the dung.Because love is the way.

"Whatsoever you love you become, and whatsoever is your love you will find."

So be alert about your love: don't love a car, don't love a house, don't love a bank
balance - because you will become like that. You will become a dung-beetle. Don't love
dung.

If you are to love, then love something of the divine, something...something that
transcends things, something that transcends forms, something for which you will have to
raise your eyes to the sky. Love a GOURISHANKAR; love the Himalayan peaks. If you
love something like dung, you will move into dung because we always find the way.
Wherever our love moves, we move behind it. The bee loves the lotus; it finds it. The
very love is the path. Howsoever the lotus is hiding, the bee will find it.

There is a story about Solomon:

A woman came; the woman was the queen of Ethiopia. She wanted to love Solomon, she

wanted to become his beloved. She was very beautiful, but she wanted to love the wisest

man in the world. So she tried a few tests on Solomon, about whether he was really as

wise as he was said to be. She did many experiments; one of the experiments was this:

she brought one false flower made of paper, but made so beautifully that it was almost

impossible to detect that it was false.

She went into the court of Solomon, she stood far away from Solomon, and she said,

"I have a flower in my hand. Can you say from that far away whether it is real or unreal?"

Solomon said, "Light is not enough, and I'm an old man, and I cannot see rightly. Please

open the windows." The windows were opened. He waited for two minutes and said,

"No, it is false."

Then the woman brought another flower from her bag and she said, "What about this?" It

was exactly like the first, but it was real. Solomon pretended to look at it and then he said,

"Yes, this is a real flower."

The woman was astounded. The whole court was astounded: "What has happened?" They

asked him, "How could you find it?"

He said, "Easy - I opened the windows for the bees to come in. They decided.

For the first flower, no bee came in; for the second they immediately rushed in.

"When you love something, you have a supra-sense about where it is. Your love monitors
you, it leads you, it becomes your guide."

A bee can smell from miles far away where the flowers are. Much experiment and
research has been done with bees about how they find their way. Miles away the flowers
have bloomed, and bees will come rushing. Almost a supra-sense exists in them; that
supra-sense is-nothing but love.

You will find your way to the object you love, so be very cautious about your object of
love because that is going to decide your destiny. Your love is your destiny. Love
something superb; love something of the supra-existence; love something of the divine,
and you will find your way.

Bauls say,

"When there is no fear, just the love is enough; it will monitor you and it will
guide you."

HONEY IS HIDDEN WITHIN THE LOTUS BLOOM - BUT THE BEE KNOWS IT.

DUNG-BEETLES NESTLE IN DUNG, DISCOUNTING HONEY.

Source: The Beloved

Life is like Fire

The senses are like Fire. Your life is like Fire. Whatever you put into the fire of the senses burns. If you burn a tire, it creates pollution and a foul smell. But if you burn sandalwood, it creates fragrance. Some fires pollute and others purify.

Celebration happens around the bonfire. Grief happens around the cremation fire. The same fire that supports life in winter also destroys.

You are like Fire. Are you the fire that produces smoke and pollution, or the flame of camphor that creates light and fragrance? A saint is a camphor flame that creates light and the fragrance of love. He is the friend of life.

The highest quality fire creates light and warmth. A medium quality fire creates light but also a little smoke. The lowest quality fire produces only smoke and darkness. Learn to distinguish the different fires. If your senses are engaged in goodness, you will create light and fragrance. If engaged in impurity, you produce smoke and darkness. It is samyama (control, control of the mind) that transforms the quality of fire in you.

source: Celebrating Silence - Sri Sri Ravishankar

If GOD exist , why there so much of pain?

I went to a barbershop to have his hair cut .


As the barber began to work, I began to have a good conversation. We talked about so many things and various subjects. When we eventually touched on the subject of God, the barber said:
“I don’t believe that God exists.”


“Why do you say that?” I asked .


Barber :
“Well, you just have to go out in the street to realize that God doesn’t exist. Tell me, if God  exists, would there be so many sick people? 
would there be abandoned children?
If God existed, there would be neither suffering nor pain.
I can’t imagine a loving God who would allow all of these things.”


I thought for a moment, but didn’t respond because I didn’t want to start an argument.


The barber finished his job and I left the shop.


Just after I left the barbershop, I saw a man in the street with long, stringy, dirty hair and an untrimmed beard. He looked dirty and unkempt.


I turned back and entered the barber shop again and said to the barber: “You know what? Barbers do not exist.”


“How can you say that?” asked the surprised barber.
“I am here, and I am a barber. And I just worked on you!”


“No!” I exclaimed. “Barbers don’t exist because if they did, there would be no people with dirty long hair and untrimmed beards, like that man outside.”


“Ah, but barbers DO exist! That’s what happens when people do not come to me.”


“Exactly!” I affirmed . “That’s the point! God, too, DOES exist! That’s what happens when people do not go to Him and don’t look to Him for help. That’s! why there’s so much pain and suffering in the world.”


:)

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.

:)

Love & Responsibility

Responsibility -- go to the root meaning of the word: it means to be responsive. Love is a response! When the other calls, you are ready. When the other invites, you enter the other. When the other is not inviting, you don't interfere, you don't trespass. When the other sings, you sing in response. When the other gives you her or his hand, you take it with deep response.

Responsibility means openness, readiness, to respond. Somebody is calling and you don't respond, you remain closed. Somebody wants to love you but you don't help, you don't co-operate; rather, you create barriers. If this is the thing you are doing -- and the majority of lovers go on doing this -- when the other calls you don't respond, then when you call the other does not respond. Because when the other calls you see that this would be a good ego enhancing thing -- not to respond. Then you feel your own master: nobody can push you, and nobody can pull you into something which you were not going into already; you don't follow anybody.

When the other's being calls ready! -- be ready; respond with your totality. Don't be a miser -- that is the meaning of responsibility.

But in your sense love has no responsibility. The word has been corrupted, destroyed, poisoned.
A mother says to the child, I am your mother, you have to be responsible for me. A husband says, I am your husband, and I work hard for you. You have to be responsible for me. A father says to the son, Don't be irresponsible! Whenever you do something always think of me. This is not responsibility, you have corrupted a beautiful word. It has become ugly. Responsibility has become almost synonymous with duty. And duty is an ugly word.

Love is beautiful; if you love your mother -- you love, but it cannot be a duty. If it is duty it is better not to love, because duty is not going to satisfy her. And if you are doing your duty because she is your mother and she has given birth to you, what can you do? -- you have to take care. When she is ill you have to sit by her side -- then all the time, if it is a duty, your mind is against her, you are feeling suffocated, you are feeling burdened, in a bondage, you would like to rebel and revolt. And if this mother dies, you may not say so to anybody, but you will feel relief.

What type of responsibility is this -- when the mother dies and the son feels a deep relief? Of course he cries and weeps -- of course; and it is not that he is showing others that he is crying and weeping -- in fact, if you had loved your mother there may have been no tears, but you have not loved your mother, now the opportunity is lost. You never loved your mother and now she is gone! Hence the tears, the so much weeping and crying -- it is pathological, it is not healthy. If you had really loved your mother then what is there to weep and cry about? She is gone!

A deep silence surrounds you. In that deep silence you start understanding death, you become aware of your own death. When your mother dies -- or your father dies -- it is an indication that you will have to die. Then you become involved with death. You try to understand it.
While she was alive she helped you to understand life. Now she is gone, she has opened another door -- the door of death, to look into: because she has gone and you will have to follow.

If you have loved a person, when the person is gone you don't feel relief -- and you don't cry, and you don't weep. In deep silence you accept the fact, the helplessness of it -- and the love continues, because love does not end with the body, love does not end with the mind, love goes on flowing.


When there is no love, the question of responsibility comes in. When there is no love, you start talking about duty. When there is love, love itself is responsibility.


Source~ Tao: The Three Treasures

The Real Love!

When you are aware, you are not in need of love. When you are not in need of love, you become capable of love. This is the paradox. When you are in need you are not capable. And in this sleepy state, full of needs and desires, you go on stumbling.

It is on the same lines as banks function. If you go to a bank and you need money, they will not give you any. If you don't need money, you have enough, they will come to you and they will always be ready to give you. When you don't need, they are ready to give you; when you need, they are not ready to give you.

Let me tell you one anecdote:


Two very proper English gentlemen were drunk in the pubs looking for women. They finally got lucky and were about to bed with their respective finds. As they were lurching their way through the crowded London streets, one turned to the other and said, "Look here, old man, do you mind switching bitches?"
"No, I don't mind old thing, but can you tell a fellow why?" "Well," slobbered the first, "don't you know, between the grog and the fog and the smog, I seem to have picked up my old auntie!"

In the darkness of desire, in the madness of passion, between the grog and the fog and the smog, don't be too worried whether the other's love is real or not. Right now, as you are, the real cannot happen to you. The real happens only to real persons. Gurdjieff used to say: "Don't seek reality -- become real!"

"The Real happens to Real Persons only. To Unreal Persons only the Unreal happens."




Source: A Sudden Clash of Thunder: Osho

Do you love yourself?

Do you love yourself? You have not even asked the question. People hate themselves.

People condemn themselves -- they go on condemning; they go on thinking that they are

rotten. How can the other love you? such a rotten person. No, nobody can love you really.

The other must be befooling, cheating; there must be some other reason. She must be

after something else; he must be after something else.

I have heard:

A dirty, smelly, filthy-looking old Jewish bum, sat down on a park bench next to a sweet

young girl. The girl took one look at the bum and looked away in revulsion. Pretty soon

she heard a noise and turned her head to see what was happening. She watched in horror

as the Jewish bum took a sandwich from a brown bag and took a big bite of it. The meat

was rancid, the lettuce was brown, and the bread mouldy.

Sensing the girl's eyes on him, the Jewish bum turned towards her and said, "Pardon me,

miss, would you like a bite of my sandwich? I suppose to make love would be out of the question."

This is what goes on happening. You know about yourself -- love seems to be out of the

question. You know your rottenness, worthlessness -- love seems to be out of the

question. And when some woman comes and says she adores you, you cannot trust.

When you go to a woman and you say you adore her, and she hates herself, how can she

believe you? It is self-hatred that is creating the anxiety.

There is no way to be certain about the other -- first be certain about yourself. And a

person who is certain about himself is certain about the whole world. A certainty

achieved at your innermost core becomes a certainty about everything that you do and

everything that happens to you. Settled, centered, grounded, in yourself, you never worry

about such things. You accept.! 

If somebody loves you, you accept it because you love yourself. You are happy with

yourself; somebody else is happy -- good! It does not get in your head; it does not make

you madly egoistic. You simply enjoy yourself; somebody else also finds you enjoyable -

- good!

Source:  A Sudden Clash of Thunder: Osho

Seeking?

Seeking truth?

Wisdom dwells in the cave of your heart

Seeking God?
The Self dances in each atom of existence

Seeking peace?
Be like a rock in the realization of truth

Realize Brahman in the utter stillness of mind
Realize Brahman in the utter stillness of mind


Seeking reality?
Don’t be the seer or the seen, be the seeing

Seeking bliss?
Transcend duality, thoughts and beliefs

Seeking release?
The very notion of bondage is illusion

Realize Brahman in the utter stillness of mind
Realize Brahman in the utter stillness of mind

source: songs of vasishta

Another Day!

Another day, another life, another song

It’s your dream world, there’s no right no wrong

There is no start, there is no end

There’s just the chance to be a friend

Time’s in your mind, there’s no short, no long

Space is like time, there’s no here, no gone

There’s just the chance to Be!

There’s just the chance to Be!

source: songs of vasishta

Give Me NOT!

Give me not thirst if you cannot give me water.

Give me not hunger if you cannot give me food.

Give me not joy if I cannot share.

Give me not the skills if I cannot put them to good use.

Give me not intelligence if I cannot perceive beyond it.

Give me not knowledge if I cannot digest it.

Give me not love if I cannot serve.

Give me not desire that doesn't lead me to you.

Give me not a path that doesn't take me home.

Give me not a prayer if you don't want to hear it. 

-love, unni. :)

Follow your dreams!

    There were once 2 brothers who lived on the 80th level. On coming home one day, they realized to their dismay that the lifts were not working and that they have to climb the stairs home.

After struggling to the 20th level, panting and tired, they decided to abandon their bags and come back for them the next day. They left their bags then and climbed on. When they have struggled to the 40th level, the younger brother started to grumble and both of them began to quarrel. They continued to climb the flights of steps, quarreling all the way to the 60th floor.

They then realized that they have only 20 levels more to climb and decided to stop quarreling and continue climbing in peace. They silently climbed on and reached their home at long last. Each stood calmly before the door and waited for the other to open the door. And they realized that the key was in their bags which was left on the 20th floor.

This story is reflecting on our life…many of us live under the expectations of our parents, teachers and friends when young. We seldom get to do the things that we really like and love and are under so much pressure and stress so that by the age of 20, we get tired and decided to dump this load.

Being free of the stress and pressure, we work enthusiastically and dream ambitious wishes. But by the time we reach 40 years old, we start to lose our vision and dreams. We began to feel unsatisfied and start to complain and criticize. We live life as a misery as we are never satisfied. Reaching 60, we realize that we have little left for complaining anymore, and we began to walk the final episode in peace and calmness.

We think that there is nothing left to disappoint us, only to realize that we could not rest in peace because we have an unfulfilled dream …… a dream we abandoned 60 years ago.

So, what is your dream? Follow your dreams, so that you will not live with regrets.

-:)

It happened with Buddha!

Buddha was passing near a village; a few people came and they abused him very badly, said nasty things, used vulgar words -- and he just stood there. They got a little puzzled, because he was not reacting. Then somebody from the crowd asked, "Why are you silent? Answer what we are saying!"

Buddha said, "You came a little late. You should have come ten years ago, because then I would have reacted. But now I am not there where you are doing these things to me; a distance has arisen. Now I have moved to the center where you cannot touch me. You came a little late. I am sorry for you, but I enjoy it. Now I am in a hurry, because in the other village where I am going, people will be waiting for me. If you are not yet finished, then I will pass back by the same route. You can come again. It sounds fascinating."

They were puzzled. What to do with such a man? Another from the crowd asked, "Really, are you not going to say anything?"

Buddha said, "In the village I have come from just now, people came with many sweets to present to me, but I take things only when I am hungry, and I was not hungry, so I gave them back their sweets. I ask you, what will they do?"
So the man said, "Of course, they will go in the village and give those sweets as prasad to people."

So Buddha started laughing and he said, "You are really in trouble, you are in a mess -- what will you do? You brought these vulgar words to me, and I say I am not hungry -- so now take them back! And I feel very sorry for your village, because people will get such vulgar things, vulgar words in their prasad."

When you are at the center, it sounds fascinating -- you can enjoy it. When you are cool you can enjoy the whole world. When you are hot you cannot enjoy it, because you get so much into it; you are lost, you get identified. You become so messed up in it, how can you enjoy it?

This may sound paradoxical, but: only a Buddha enjoys this world. Then everything sounds fascinating.

:)

Life is an Echo!

A son and his father were walking in the mountains.
Suddenly, his son falls, hurts himself and screams: "AAAhhhhhhhhhhh! !!"

To his surprise, hears the voice repeating, somewhere in the mountain:
"AAAhhhhhhhhhhh! !!"

Curious, he yells: "Who are you?"

He receives the answer: "Who are you?"

Angered at the response, he screams: "Coward!"

He receives the answer: "Coward!"

He looks to his father and asks: "What's going on?"

The father smiles and says: "My son, pay attention."

And then he screams to the mountain: "I admire you!"

The voice answers: "I admire you!"

Again the man screams: "You are a champion!"

The voice answers: "You are a champion!"

The boy is surprised, but does not understand. Then the father explains:

"People call this echo, but really this is life. It gives you back everything you say or do. Our life is simply a reflection of our actions. If you want more love in the world, create more love in your heart. If you want more competence in your team, improve your competence. This relationship applies to everything, in all aspect of life; life will give you back everything you have given to it."

Remember: "LIFE IS AN ECHO"

:)

Shabdon Ke Jungle~

Whenever someone says something hurtful, insensitive or something you don’t want to hear, Listen to the song in the video below and Relax!




Here is the translation:-

Shabdon ke jungle mein tu kyon phansa hai re
Why are you entangled in the jungle of words?

Parbrahm ke ras se tera nas nas rama hai re...
The nectar of Brahman flows through each vein of yours...

Anand tu hi, Parmanand tu hi
You are happiness; you are bliss

Om mein kho kar, Om mein ram kar, Om mein milna hai!
We are to get lost in Om, to blend in Om, to be one with Om!

Shabdon ke jungle mein tu kyon phansa hai re?
Why are you entangled in the jungle of words?

Parbrahm ke ras se tera nas nas rama hai re...
The nectar of Brahman flows through each vein of yours...

Maan apmaan hota kahan re? Ye to hai shabdon ki pakad
What is respect and insult after all? This is just play with words

Bhale bure shabd tujhe hila de, Itna tu nahin hai kamzor
For good and bad words to shake you, You are not that weak

Om mein kho kar, Om mein ram kar, Om mein milna hai!
We are to get lost in Om, to blend in Om, to be one with Om!



--

PS: Your head will be in the mud in a few years; Don't put mud in your head while you are still alive.!

:-)

Sound of One Hand Clapping

      If you have heard about Zen masters... they go on telling their disciples to go and meditate, meditate on the sound of one hand clapping. We can create a sound by clapping two hands. Zen masters say to their disciples, ”Go and find out that sound which comes out of only one hand: the clapping of one hand, not with anything else.”

We know this is absurd. A sound can come only with conflict, with two things clashing. Two hands can create sound, not one hand. Zen masters also know that, but still they have been giving this meditation for centuries. From Buddha up to now, Zen masters go on giving it. They know, their disciples know, that this is absurd. Then what is the significance? One has to watch, meditate, and move towards a sound which is already there, which is not created. That is the meaning of the sound of one hand.

I have heard a story. A small boy, just ten or twelve years of age, lived in a Zen monastery. Every day he would see many seekers coming to the master to ask for help, methods, techniques, guidance. He also became attracted, so one day he also came in the morning in the same way a seeker comes to a Zen master. With deep reverence he bowed down seven times. The master started laughing:

”What has happened to this boy?”

And then he sat in the way seekers should sit before a Zen master. Then he waited, as seekers should wait, for the master to ask, ”Why have you come?”

The master asked, ”Toyo” – Toyo was the name of the boy – ”why have you come?”

So Toyo bowed down and said, ”Master, I have come in search of truth. What shall I do? How should I practice?”

The master knew that this boy was simply imitating, because everybody he heard came and asked the same questions, so just jokingly the master said, ”Toyo, you go and meditate. Two hands clapping can create a sound. What is the sound of one hand clapping?” Toyo bowed down seven times again, went back to his room, started meditating. He heard a geisha girl singing, so he said, ”Right, this is the thing.”

He came immediately, bowed down. The master was laughing. He said, ”Did you meditate, Toyo?”

He said, ”Yes sir, and I have found it: it is like a geisha girl singing.”

The master said, ”No, this is wrong. Go again, meditate.”

So he went again, meditated for three days. Then he heard the sound of water dripping, so he said, ”Right now, this is the thing – I have got it.” He came again, the master asked... he said, ”The sound of the water dripping.”

The master said, ”Toyo, that too is not it. You go and meditate.”

So he meditated for three months. Then he heard locusts in the trees, so he said, ”Yes, I have got it.” He came again.

The master said, ”No, this too is not right.”

And so on and on. One year passed. Then for one year continuously he was not seen. The master became anxious: ”What happened to the boy? He has not come.” So he went to find him. He was sitting under a tree, silent, his body vibrating to some unknown sound; his body dancing, a very gentle dance, as if just moving with the breeze.

The master didn’t like to disturb the boy, so he sat there waiting. Hours and hours passed. When the sun was setting and it was evening, the master said, ”Toyo?” The boy opened his eyes and he said, ”This is it.”

The master said, ”Yes, you have got it!”

This aum is that sound. When all sounds disappear from the mind, then you hear a sound. The Upanishads have made that sound the symbol of the whole, because whenever the whole happens to the part, it happens in that music of aum, in that harmony of aum.

:-)

Mind of a Sage!

       One Zen monk, Bokuju, was passing through a street in a village. Somebody came and struck him with a stick. He fell down, and with him, the stick also. He got up and picked up the stick. The man who had hit him was running away. Bokuju ran after him, calling, ”Wait, take your stick with you!”

He followed after him and gave him the stick. A crowd had gathered to see what was happening, and somebody asked Bokuju, ”That man struck you hard, and you have not said anything!”

Bokuju is reported to have said, ”A fact is a fact. He has hit, that’s all. It happened that he was the hitter and I was the hit. It is just as if I am passing under a tree, or sitting under a tree, and a branch falls down. What will I do? What can I do?”

But the crowd said, ”But a branch is a branch, this is a man. We cannot say anything to the branch, we cannot punish it. We cannot say to the tree that it is bad, because a tree is a tree, it has no mind.”

Bokuju said, ”This man to me is also just a branch. And if I cannot say anything to the tree, why should I bother to say anything to this man? It happened. I am not going to interpret what has happened. And it has already happened. Why get worried about it? It is finished, over.”

* This is the mind of a sage – not choosing, not asking, not saying this should be and this should not be. Whatsoever happens, he accepts it in its totality. This acceptance gives him freedom, this acceptance gives him the capacity to see. These are eye diseases: shoulds, should nots, divisions, judgments, condemnations, appreciations.

:-)

I've Learned

I've learned-
that you cannot make someone love you. All you can do is be someone who can be loved. The rest is up to them.

I've learned-
that it takes years to build up trust, and only seconds to destroy it.

I've learned-
that no matter how good a friend is, they're going to hurt you every once in a while and you must forgive them for that.

I've learned-
that you can do something in an instant that will give you heartache for life.

I've learned-
that people will forget what you said, and people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.

I've learned-
that you should always leave loved ones with loving words. It may be the last time you see them.

I've learned-
that we are responsible for what we do, no matter how we feel.

I've learned-
that heroes are the people who do what has to be done when it needs to be done, regardless of the consequences.

I've learned-
that my best friend and I can do anything or nothing and have the best time.

I've learned-
that sometimes when I'm angry I have the right to be angry, but that doesn't give me the right to be cruel.

I've learned-
that true friendship continues to grow, even over the longest distance. Same goes for true love.

I've learned-
that just because someone doesn't love you the way you want them to doesn't mean they don't love you with all they have.

I've learned-
that your family won't always be there for you. It may seem funny, but people you aren't related to can take care of you and love you and teach you to trust people again. Families aren't biological.

I've learned-
that our background and circumstances may have influenced who we are, but we are responsible for who we become.

I've learned-
that a rich person is not the one who has the most, but is one who needs the least.

I've learned-
that we don't have to change friends if we understand that friends change.

:)

Master is Always Here!

A man went in search of truth. The first religious man he met was sitting under a tree, just outside his own village. He asked, ”I am searching for a true master. Please tell me the characteristics of a true master.” The fakir told him the characteristics. His description was very simple. He said, ”You’ll find him sitting under such and such a tree, sitting in such and such posture, his hands making such and such gestures – that is enough to know he is the true master.”

The seeker started searching. It is said that thirty years passed while he wandered the whole earth. He visited many places, but never met the master. He met many masters, but none were true masters. He returned to his own village completely exhausted. As he was returning he was surprised, he couldn’t believe it: that old man was seated under the same tree, and now he could see that this was the very tree that the old man had spoken of ”... he will be sitting under such and such a tree.....” And his posture was exactly as he had described. ”It was the same posture he was sitting in thirty years ago – was I blind? The exact expression on his face, the exact gestures....!”

He fell at his feet saying, ”Why didn’t you tell me in the first place? Why did you misdirect me for these thirty years? Why didn’t you tell me that you are the true master?”

The old man said, ”I told you, but you were not ready to listen. You were not able to come home without wandering away. You had to knock on the doors of a thousand houses to come to your own home, only then could you return. I said it, I said everything – beneath such and such a tree. I was describing this very tree, the posture I was sitting in, but you were too fast, you couldn’t hear correctly, you were in a hurry. You were going somewhere to search. Searching was very important for you, the truth was not so important.

”But you have come! I was feeling tired, sitting continuously in this posture for you. You were wandering for thirty years, but think of me sitting under this tree! I knew some day you would come, but what if I had already passed away? I waited for you – you have come! You had to wander for thirty years, but that’s your own fault. The master was always here.”

* It happens many times in our life that we cannot see what is near, and what is far attracts us. The distant drum sounds sweeter, we are pulled by distant dreams.

A Serious Joke!

Mulla Nasruddin is a Sufi figure, one of the oldest figures of Sufi anecdotes. He is a very serious joker, and if we can penetrate him and understand him, then many mysteries will be revealed to you.

Below is one anecdote from Nasruddin:-

Once it happened that Nasruddin and his friend Sheikh Abdullah lost their way in a forest. They tried and tried to find their way but then evening came, the night was descending, so they had to wait for the whole night under a tree. It was dangerous ground, there were many wild animals, and they had to keep awake because any moment they could be killed.


They tried every way to keep awake, but Mulla was tired, yawning, feeling sleepy, so he said to Sheikh Abdullah, "Invent something, because I am feeling sleepy and it seems impossible now to stay awake. The whole day we were traveling, and I am tired."


Sheikh Abdullah asked, "What should I do?"
Nasruddin said, "We should play a game, a game of guessing. You describe a film actress -- just become the film actress and describe -- and I will guess who this film actress is. Then I will do the same and you guess."


Even Abdullah became interested, it seemed to be a good game. So Abdullah said, "Okay." He contemplated and then he said, "My eyes are like Noor Jahan, my nose is like Cleopatra, my lips like Marilyn Monroe," and so on and so forth.


Mulla Nasruddin became very excited, his blood pressure rose high. Even in the dark you could have seen his eyes, they became so fiery. And then when Sheikh Abdullah said, "Now the measurements of my body -- thirty-six, twenty-four, thirty-six." Nasruddin jumped over to Sheikh Abdullah. Sheikh Abdullah said, "Wait, guess!"

Nasruddin said, "Who is bothered about guessing? I don't care who you are. Quick! Kiss me!"

* The human mind is such -- imagination, desire, passion, projection. You project, you imagine, and then you become the victim. 

And this is not a joke, this is reality -- and this is about you and me.!

Life is a Dream~

You do not exist even in dream. You must sometimes have dreamed a dream within a dream. You dream that you are going to bed, you have fallen asleep and you are dreaming a dream.

There is an old Chinese story: A woodcutter was cutting wood in a jungle. He was tired, so he came down from the tree and fell asleep. He dreamed that nearby lay buried a great treasure of diamonds and gold in huge pots that were lightly covered with dirt. In his dream he thought that he would come at night and remove the treasure quietly.

If he removed it in the daytime he might be caught. Hewas a poor man and the treasure was worth millions. When he awoke, he buried a stick to mark the place and returned home. When it became dark, he went back to the spot. He found the stick in place but the pots had been removed. He went back and told his wife, ”I don’t understand whether I dreamed about the treasure or actually saw it. The stick is there all right, and there are holes where the pots were, so it is certainly not just a dream. But someone has removed the pots.”

His wife replied, ”It must be a dream. You must also have dreamed that you went out at night and saw the stick in the ground, and that there was an empty place where the pots were supposed to be. So go back to sleep and sleep in peace.” But it happened that another man also dreamed that he saw these very pots buried in the same place, and that a woodcutter had buried a stick to mark the place. When he got up from his sleep he ran to the place. He found the stick in the ground and also the vessels underneath!

He removed the pots and brought them home. He told his wife, ”I cannot understand whether I dreamed a dream or I actually saw a vision. Whatever it is, I have brought the pots home. They are proof that it is not just a dream. I must actually have seen the woodcutter burying the stick and therefore I knew where the treasure was.” His wife said, ”The pots are here. That much is clear. But if you actually saw the woodcutter marking the spot, it isn’t right that we should keep this treasure.

Take the pots to the king and let him decide.” He was an honest man, so he took the pots to the king’s court where the woodcutter had already lodged a complaint. The king was perplexed. Finally he told them, ”It is very difficult to decide whether you were asleep or awake, so I shall divide the treasure equally between you both, for the pots are very much there.” So he divided the treasure between them. That night the king told his wife, ”A very strange thing happened today: Two men dreamed the same dream.

Now it is difficult to decide whether they dreamed or whether they really saw the treasure. But the pots of treasure were actually there, so I divided them equally between them.” The queen said, ”Go to sleep, you must be dreaming.” For thousands of years this was discussed in China – did they dream it or not? Who actually dreamed? But this is what happens by the time we reach the end of life. All of life seems like a dream. It is difficult to decide whether the stick was really there and whether the pots were really buried;

whether the wife and children ever existed, or friends and foes; whether there was poverty or riches; whether there was conflict and competition; whether we really lost or won, were successful or unsuccessful. At the time of death all events pass before a man like a dream. Did we really live, or was it only a dream? Those who have known say, ”This is a dream dreamed with open eyes.” It is a dream because it has no relation to that which is. This is an intermediary state of imagination; it is merely a thought.

It makes no difference whether you saw it when asleep or when awake. The characteristic of a dream is that it is here one moment and gone the next. At the time of death all is lost. Within this dream you see another dream that is called the ego. You consider yourself the doer, the author of the dreams. You are filled with conceit, which all the world can see; only you do not see it. Everyone else is in the same state, never seeing their own, but seeing everyone else’s ego.

Don't Judge!

There was one Mohammedan Sufi mystic. He used to sell small things in the village, and the people of that village became aware that he had no judgment. So they would take the things and give him false coins. He would accept them, because he would never say, ”This is wrong and this is right.” Sometimes they would take things from him and they would say, ”We have paid,” and he would not say, ”You have not paid.” He would say, ”Okay.” He would thank them.

Then from other villages also people started coming. This man was very good; you could take anything from his shop, you need not pay, or you could pay in false coins, and he accepted everything!

Then death came near to this old man. These were his last words: he looked at the sky and said, ”Allah, God, I have been accepting all kinds of coins, false ones also. I am also a false coin – don’t judge me. I have not judged your people, please don’t judge me.” And it is said that how can God judge such a person?

Jesus says, ”Judge ye not, so ye may not be judged.” (Do not judge others, and you will not be judged.)

* If judgment disappears, you have become innocent. If you don’t divide things into good and bad, ugly and beautiful, acceptable and nonacceptable; if you don’t divide things, if you look at reality without any division, your eyes will come into existence for the first time.

If you divide you will remain blind, if you judge you will remain blind, if you say this is bad and this is good, you will persist in your blindness... because existence knows nothing. There is nothing good and nothing bad – existence accepts everything. And when you also accept everything you have become existence-like.

:)

The Way Out!

Bees seem to have something like human minds, exactly the same kind of stupidity. The doors may be open, but if a bee is inside the room, caught inside the room... and she may have come from the open door but she will try to get out from the closed window. Not only bees but other birds also behave in the same way. Any bird can enter in your room; the doors are open, he has come from the door, but he cannot go back from the same door.

He starts trying to get through the wall, through the ceiling... and the more he tries, the more desperate he becomes, because there is no way to get through the ceiling or through the wall or through the closed window. And in that desperation, frustration he becomes more and more blind, afraid, scared. He loses all intelligence. And the same is the case with human beings.

One day Buddha came into his assembly of the monks. His sannyasins were sitting and waiting for him. They were puzzled because this was for the first time that Buddha had come with something in his hand – a handkerchief. They all looked at the handkerchief What was the matter? There must be something special in it. And Buddha sat on the platform and rather than starting speaking to the assembly he looked at the handkerchief, started tying a few knots in it, five knots in all.

The whole assembly watched – what is going on? And then he asked the assembly, ”Can anybody tell me: is this handkerchief the same as it was before the knots were tied?”

Sariputta said, ”This is a tricky question. In a way the handkerchief is the same because nothing has changed, in a way it is not the same because these five knots have appeared which were not there before. But as far as the inner nature of the handkerchief is concerned – its nature is concerned – it is the same; but as far as its form is concerned it is no more the same. The form has changed: the substance is the same.”

Buddha said, ”Right. Now I want to open these knots.” And he started stretching both ends of the handkerchief farther away from each other. He asked Sariputta. ”What do you think? By stretching farther will I be able to open the knots?”

He said, ”You will be making knots even more difficult to open because they will become smaller, more tighter. ’

Buddha said, ”Right. Then I want to ask the last question: what should I do so that I can open the knots, the tied knots? How I can untie them again?”

Sariputta said, ”Bhagwan, I would like first to come close and see how in the first place the knots have been tied. Unless I know how they have been tied it is difficult for me to suggest any solution.”

Buddha said, ”Right, Sariputta. You are blessed, because that is the most fundamental question to ask. If you are in a certain fix, the first thing is how you got into it rather than trying to get out of it. Without asking the most fundamental and the primary question, you will make things worse.”

* This is exactly what we are doing. We ask, ”How we can get out of our sexuality, greed, anger, attachment, jealousy, possessiveness, this and that?” without asking, ”How in the first place we get into them?”

Buddha’s whole approach is, first see how you get into anger. If you can see the entrance, the same door is the exit; no other door is needed. But without knowing the entrance if you try to find out the exit you are not going to find; you will get more and more desperate. And that’s what people go on doing. In the scriptures, what are you looking for? – solutions. You create the problems – and the solutions are in the scriptures! Why don’t you look at the problems yourself. How you create them?

Why don’t you watch when you are creating a certain problem? And you create every day, so it is not a question that you have to go back. Today you are going to be angry again, today you will feel again the sexual urge: see how it arises, see how you enter into it, how you get hooked into it, how it becomes so big like a cloud that surrounds you and you are lost in it. And then you go to ask others! You are functioning almost like a stupid bee. 

Bees can be forgiven, but you cannot be forgiven.!!!

:)

Knowledge is Trouble

     I have heard about a great warrior in Japan, a samurai, a very famous swordsman: One night when he came tired after the whole day’s fight in the fields and he was just going to fall into bed, he saw a rat. And the rat was looking at him ferociously! The samurai tried to kill the rat with his sword. He was one of the best swordsmen known, but somehow he missed. He hit many times, he broke his sword, and he could not kill the rat. He became really afraid: ”The rat seems to be very mysterious. This is no ordinary rat!”

He started, perspiring – he had never perspired. He had been a fighter his whole life and now a rat had defeated him. He ran out, asked his wife what to do. The wife said, ”You are a fool! You need not kill a rat. Have you ever heard of anybody killing a rat by a sword? You just take our cat inside.” And the cat was brought inside. It was no ordinary cat, it was the great warrior’s cat. She was also trained in many things; she was one of the most famous rat-catchers.She came with all her art, with all her skill.

She tried, but the rat was really extraordinary. He jumped exactly into her eyes! And the cat escaped out. She had never seen such a rat – attacking the cat?! And she was also trembling like the warrior. The warrior said, ”This is too much!” Then the king’s cat was called. She was a master cat, very well-known all over the country; ofcourse, she was the king’s cat. The king’s cat came and she was also defeated by the rat. She went in, tried hard, used all her skill, but the rat was just too much.

Then the king’s cat suggested a cat she knew who was not famous at all. ”You have tried with famous cats, now you try with an ordinary one... just ordinary, plain ordinary.”

The warrior said, ”But what can a plain, ordinary cat do?”

The king’s cat said, ”You just try. I know this cat. She is so ordinary, she does not know a thing. The whole day she sleeps. But there is one thing about her: cats know, the whole country’s cats know that she is very mysterious. The mysterious thing is that she knows nothing about rats, rat-catching, the art, the technique, the methodology, the philosophy – she knows nothing; she has never been to any school or college or university. She is a plain, ordinary cat, but rats are so afraid of her!

Wherever she sleeps... no rat ever enters that house! Just her presence is enough. And she goes on sleeping, and nobody knows when she kills and how she kills.

”Once I went to that cat and I asked, ’What is your art?’ She simply looked at me, and she had no words to say, and she closed her eyes and went to sleep. And I woke her again and asked, ’What is your art?’

”She said, ’I don’t know. I am a cat, that’s enough. A cat is a cat and IS MEANT to catch a rat. What art? What nonsense are you talking about?”’

The cat was brought, and the samurai was not very hopeful because she was really very ordinary, just like any vagabond cat.

She came in, and without any skill she simply went in, caught hold of the rat and brought it out. All the cats gathered together and asked her, ”What is your art?” And she said, ”I don’t know any art. I am a cat! Is not that enough?”

* You have been spoiled. Rats have been around you too much, and you have become afraid of the rats – not only afraid, you have started learning how to catch these rats. You have become very skillful, artificial; you know the know-how and that is your trouble. 

Your knowledge is your trouble.

:)

Paid In Full

A young man was getting ready to graduate college. For many months he had admired a beautiful sports car in a dealer's showroom, and knowing his father could well afford it, he told him that was all he wanted.

As Graduation Day approached, the young man awaited signs that his father had purchased the car. Finally, on the morning of his graduation his father called him into his private study. His father told him how proud he was to have such a fine

son, and told him how much he loved him. He handed his son a beautiful wrapped gift box.

Curious, but somewhat disappointed the young man opened the box and found a lovely, Bhagavad-gita. Angrily, he raised his voice at his father and said, "With all your money you give me a Bhagavad-gita?" and stormed out of the house, leaving the holy book.

Many years passed and the young man was very successful in business. He had a beautiful home and wonderful family, but realized his father was very old, and thought perhaps he should go to him. He had not seen him since that graduation day. Before he could make arrangements, he received a telegram telling him his father had passed away, and willed all of his possessions to his son. He

needed to come home immediately and take care things. When he arrived at his father's house, sudden sadness and regret filled his heart.

He began to search his father's important papers and saw the still new  Bhagavad-gita, just as he had left it years ago. With tears, he opened the Bhagavad-gita and began to turn the pages. As he read those words, a car key dropped from an envelope taped behind the Bhagavad-gita. It had a tag with the dealer's name, the same dealer who had the sports car he had desired. On the tag was the date of his graduation, and the words...PAID IN FULL.

How many times do we miss God's blessings because they are not packaged as we expected?

:)

Different Plates

Once upon a time, there lived a crippled man. This man was married, but he was attracted to the prostitute that lived in the house opposite to his. One day his wife saw him looking very morose. "What's wrong, my dear husband?" she inquired. "Even though I am married to you," he replied, "I am attracted to the prostitute. I am asking you to make an arrangement for me."

So being a very chaste and obedient wife, she wished to fulfill her husband's desire, and she began going to the prostitute's house when no-one was home, and clean there. After a while this prostitute noticed, "Someone is cleaning my house. I am not asking anyone to do this, so I wonder who it could be." So one day the prostitute stayed back, and after some time the crippled man's wife came and began cleaning.

The prostitute approached her and said, "Why are you doing this?" She replied, "My husband is very attracted to you, and he wants to meet with you, but we are very poor, and cannot afford to pay. So instead I am offering some service. The prostitute said, "Very well, send him over tonight."

That night the prostitute prepared a very nice dinner and she served a portion of each of these preparations onto two plates, one of gold and one of silver. When the man arrived, she requested him to partake of the food she had prepared for him. "Please take from the silver plate." she told him. After he had finished all the food on the silver plate, the prostitute told him to take from the gold plate. When he had finished, the prostitute inquired from the man, "Now, was there any difference in taste?"
Surprised, the man replied, "What difference? These are exactly the same preparations, only served on different plates. You must be crazy!" "No, you are the one, who is mad!!" the prostitute replied. What’s the difference between me and your wife? Only the covering is different!!

The man came back to his senses. He begged forgiveness for lascivious behavior from his wife and thanked the prostitute for opening his eyes. Human tendency is to enjoy, but uncontrolled enjoyment will be a real havoc for the society. The jewels of wisdom given by sages show us the right path; guide us to have controlled enjoyment. 

Be content with what is being provided by the providence. Desires are endless. Until and unless we put a voluntary control over these, we will be running after them like animals and will have no peace. Fulfillment of desires doesn’t bring peace but endless chase for fulfilling more desires. Unconrolled desires are the root of anxiety and unhappiness in life. ( Asha hi param dukham nairashayam param sukham– Srimad Bhagavat).

:) 

Hope

The Four Candles:

The four candles burn slowly. The ambiance was so soft you could hear them talking.

The first one said:

“I am peace ! However, nobody can keep me lit. I believe I will go out.”

It’s flame rapidly diminishes and goes out completely.

The second one says:

“I am faith ! Most of all, I am no longer indispensable, so it doesn’t make any sense that I stay lit any longer .”

When it finished talking, a breeze softly blew on it putting it out.

Sadly, the third candle spoke in its turn:

“I am love ! I haven’t got the strength to stay lit. People put me aside and don’t understand my importance. They even forget to love those who are nearest to them .”

And waiting no longer it goes out.

Suddenly...

A child enters the room and sees three candles not burning.

“Why are you not burning ? You are supposed to stay lit till the end.”

Saying this, the child begins to cry.

Then the fourth candle said:

“Don’t be afraid, while I am still burning we can re-light the other candles, I am hope !”

With shining eyes, the child took the candle of hope and lit the other candles.

The flame of hope should never go out from your life…and that each of us can maintain hope, faith, peace and love !!!! 

 :)

A TurtLe StOry

A turtle family decided to go on a picnic. Turtles, being naturally slow about things, took seven years to prepare for their outing. Finally the turtle family left home looking for a suitable place. During the second year of their journey they found a place ideal for them at last!

For about six months they cleaned the area, unpacked the picnic basket, and completed the arrangements. Then they discovered they had forgotten the salt. A picnic without salt would be a disaster, they all agreed. After a lengthy discussion, the youngest turtle was chosen to retrieve the salt from home. Although he was the fastest of the slow moving turtles, the little turtle whined, cried, and wobbled in his shell. He agreed to go on one condition: that no one would eat until he returned. The family consented and the little turtle left.

Three years passed and the little turtle had not returned. Five years...six years... then on the seventh year of his absence, the oldest turtle could no longer contain his hunger. He announced that he was going to eat and begun to unwrap a sandwich. At that point the little turtle suddenly popped out from behind a tree shouting, "See! I knew you wouldn"t wait. Now I am not going to go get the salt."

Moral of the Story:

Some of us waste our time waiting for people to live up to our expectations of them. We are so concerned about what others are doing that we don"t do anything ourselves. Often we wait for people to make , what we think are, mistakes so that we can "get back" at them. Its a mindless and fruitless exercise doing so. You do the right thing without waiting for people to do what you think is their bit... 

:)

Dream!

One night I had a dream

I dreamed I was walking along the beach with God and across the sky flashed the scenes from my life. For each scene I noticed two sets of footprints in the sand, one belonged to me, the other to the God.

When the last scene of my life flashed before us, I looked back at the footprints in the sand, I noticed that many times along the path of life, there was only one set of footprints. I also noticed that it happened at the very lowest and saddest times in my life.

This really bothered me and I questioned God about it “God you said that once I decided to follow you, you would walk with me all the way, but I noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life there is only one set of footprints, I don’t understand why in times when I needed you most you would leave me.” 

God replied “My precious child, I love you and I would never never leave you during your times of trials and suffering. When you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you.”

~!