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.”

~!