Cool yourself with these drops of nectar

 

                             Cool yourself with these drops of nectar




Think ever of rising higher in a noble manner. Let it be your only thought. Even if your object be not attained, the thought itself will have raised you.

Real wealth is one's will to action. Without it all possessions are worthless.

Even if well - versed in the accepted theories of action, one should also understand the current ways of the world and act suitably.

To those who cannot laugh , this big world is all darkness even during the day.

To be born in a good family is a useful qualification. Consistency in thought, word and deed and a quick reaction against anything mean or improper are natural to persons well-born.

Men should be appointed to duties and responsibilities, who have the ability needed for their performance and the resourcefulness to meet the situation arising there in. Everything will go wrong if you nominate one out of mere friendship or admiration.

There is no dish so sweet as that earned by one's own labour, be it but the thinnest gruel.

When there is land to cultivate which will yield in the measure of your labour, it is foolish to bewail your destiny and remain idle and poor.

When wealth is neither enjoyed by oneself nor given to deserving persons, the possessor becomes a disease to society( disesase beccause such men block circulation and wealth thrives only on circulation).

If we eat only after making sure that what has been already eaten has been digested, no medicine will be required to keep the body in good health.

What good did the creatures of the earthdo to the clouds that pour the rain? So indeed should you serve society, seeking no return.

Two kinds of audiences

 

                               Two kinds of audiences


         Any new development or breakthrough in research in any field is never appreciated in the beginning as it is beyond the comprehension of ordinary man and also out of jealousy it is criticized to suppress the credit and fame. It is a time tested fact.
Albert Einstein expresses this fact in a beautiful , in his own characteristic manner.
After the announcement was made that Einstein had finished the mathematical formulation of his Unified Field Theory, he was asked what reaction it had received  from the American Academy of Advanced science.
" I always have two kinds of audiences," he said, " the blind and the deaf.  The blind ones never see, and the deaf ones are my colleagues who don't want to hear."

Violence always leads to one's own destruction

                         Violence always leads to one's own destruction

Shambara, a king of nether regions in ancient India was a powerful demon. He possessed extraordinary magic powers. He won over all the gods and expanded his kingdom. The gods went to Brahma, the creator and asked for a solution for freedom from the tyranny of the demon king. Brahma consoled them saying, " Have patience and faith. The weapon of the demons is violence. They kill the beings to demonstrate their strength and also to increase their power. And this same violence will lead them to their own destruction."
The same thing happened. Shambara had three army-chiefs who were created by his powers of magic- Dama, Vyala and Kashta. They propagated non- vegetarianism in the whole kingdom. One day a butcher, being exasperated by their cruel attitude said to the chiefs, " When you eat only meat, why don't you kill the animals with your own hands? The meat will be fresh and delicious." They all agreed to this. During the process of killing, seeing the sufferings of animals, a fear of death engulfed them. When there arose fear in their mind, they started feeling weak. The gods waited for some time and attacked the demons. The army of demons out of fear of death did not fight bravely and died in the battle.
Violence is the cause for defeat and self-destruction, because the sight of other's suffering depletes the strength and weakens the mind and the body. As is the food, so are the thoughts. The nature of the food partaken shapes the thoughts and mind of the eater. That is why simple plain fresh natural food is recommended in the scriptures for cultivation of good thoughts. Good thoughts generate love which cements the people irrespective of age, gender, color, caste or religion which are only man-made divisions.
All religions teach the ethical rules such as: " Do not kill; do not injure others; Love your neighbour," etc.  The Hindu religion emphasizes- ' There is one All-pervading Atman. It is the inner soul of all beings. It is hidden in all creatures. It the common , pure consciousness. If you injure your neighbour you actually injure yourself.' This is the basic metaphysical truth that underlies all ethical codes.
If you follow these simple sayings when you do any action - ' Do as you be done by. Do unto others, as you wish others do unto you' , you will be saved from all troubles. If you follow these wise maxims, you can never give any pain unto others. It has positive effect also. By following these sayings of wisdom, you can find yourself always at peace and joy. This is the real goal of life. And this is the real achievement in and of life.

Test of intelligence

                                     Test of intelligence

There was a king who was famous for his wisdom. One day, a man named Liza came to the court of the king . He prayed, "  Your majesty ! I have come to you to seek an employment. I am an educated man and will do any job here."
The king said, " We can't employ you without testing you. Come to the court tomorrow. But remember you are not to bring any gift for us. But don't come empty handed without any present."
Hearing this, the courtiers assembled there looked at the king puzzled.
Liza bowed his head and departed saying, " As you wish."
The next day, Liza came with a white pigeon in his hand, bowed before the king and spoke, " Your Highness ! Here is my gift for you,"and extended his hand with the bird towards the king. When the king extended his hand to hold the bird, it flew off.
The king said, " You have passed the first test." Then , the king gave him a small piece of thread and asked him to take it and get a cushion made out of it."
But in the evening, Liza sent a straw to the king through one of the servants with a request, " Please get me a hand loom made out of it by midnight. I will bring the cushion tomorrow."
Thus Liza passed the second test by outwitting the king.
Next day, the king sent to Liza some flower seeds and asked him to bring flowering plants grown out of the seeds the next day.
Liza sent two empty cardboard boxes through the same messenger with a request to the king, " Your Majesty! I am a poor person. Please supply me some Sunshine and rain in these boxes."
The king, ministers and courtiers were very pleased with the intelligence of Liza. They requested the king to give a suitable job to Liza.
But the king thought of putting Liza through one more intelligence test before giving him a good job.

He sent a message to Liza, " The king wants you to come to the court tomorrow. But don't come on foot or horse back. And you shouldn't be wearing any clothes. Neither should you be naked."

The courtiers were taken aback. Many thought that Liza would give up and go away. Some of them thought that the king wanted to deny job to Liza for some reason unknown.
But to the surprise of all, Liza came to the court next day. He came on the back of a turtle. And he had wrapped himself nicely with fisherman' s net.
Liza bowed before the king. The happy king admitted, " Liza ! You are very intelligent indeed.We are all happy with you. Well, I appoint you as my personal advisor  in the rank of a minister from this moment.
All the people hailed wise Liza and lauded the king for his wise decision.

Twofold duty of a physician

                            Twofold duty of a physician

In the nineteenth century the physician, James Simpson, introduced the use of chloroform, and saved succeeding generations from incalculable suffering. The operating table of those days were as terrible as medieval torture chambers. Determined to alleviate these pains Simpson worked ceaselessly in the laboratory. He would invite two or three doctor friends and continue the research in the evenings. The doctors would sit round a table inhaling from their glasses various compounds of liquid that Simpson prepared. Finally one night Simpson remembered a small bottle of chloroform. The three friends began the nightly ritual of inhalation. After a while all of them fell down and started snoring like drunkards. When they all recovered, one lady asked if she might repeat the experiment and she was handed the glass. In a few minutes, crying, " I 'am  an angel! I'am an angel, " she, too lapsed into unconsciousness. Immediately Simpson started using it for midwifery cases and he was happy that he had achieved the twofold duty of a physician, namely - to alleviate human suffering and to preserve human life.

True music

       
                                    True music

           Once Akbar asked Tansen what was the secret of the unique charm of his music and Tansen said, " Your Highness, what is my music when compared to the music of my my master, Swami Haridas !"
Akbar was very curious to meet the Swami after hearing this.
After much persuasion Akbar was taken to the hermitage of Haridas. Tansen had already warned the Emperor not to expect the Swami to sing except of his own accord. They waited till the mood came to him one day and the Swamy sang. It was not a mere song. In fact it was a revelation. Akbar forgot where he was and he was transported into the realms of sheer beauty, charm, peace and bliss.
After some time when he became normal, turning to Tansen he said, "I never knew that there could be such music. I thought yours was the limit of perfection. But by the side of this music, yours appears lifeless and empty.  How is that having learnt at his feet you have not caught the soul of his art ?"
Tansen smiled and replied, " I can never sing like my great master. It is true that I learnt the art from him. I might have mastered the technicalities of the art, but there is this difference- I sing to your bidding but my great master sings to no man's bidding. He sings when the urge comes from inside and that makes all the difference."

A work' s reward is in work itself

   

                       A work's reward is in work itself

 A young boy was curiously observing his grandfather at work. The grand old man was busy planting a mango sapling, oblivious of his grandson and everything else around him. Finally the grandson lost his patience and said, ' Grand dad, I heard that it takes at least 12 years for the mango sapling to grow into a fruit-bearing tree. So, you will have to live up to your hundredth year to enjoy the fruits of your labour. The grand father replied, ' Dear grandson, I have already started enjoying the reward of my work. Even now I can put my knowledge of gardening to use brings fresh vigour in me.. The peace and inner joy that I am experiencing now, doing the work that I love so much, is my pay. Further more that you , my grandson and others would be enjoying the real fruits of labour done by me now makes my life more meaningful. Any work becomes an act of worship, if the objective is three folded, namely education of the worker, service to the world and pleasure to the Divinity.

Jealousy

       
                                     Jealousy



There was a poor farmer in a village. He had a small field in which he grew vegetables and hardly made both ends meet. It was his only source of income.
He was of very jealous nature . So, he was not on good terms with any of his neighbours or relatives.
As he was growing old, he found working in the field also very difficult. He did not have bulls for ploughing the field. There was no well or river near by. So for irrigation, he had to depend on rains only.
One day, when the farmer was returning home tired, he met an old man with a white beard. The old man spoke him, " what is the matter ? You look very tired and sad."
The farmer said, " what to tell you, sir ? I am poor and getting old. I am not able to work in the field. Had I got one bull I could have ploughed, sowed and irrigated my field easily."
The old man asked, " If you get one bull, what exactly will you do?"
"  The first thing i will do is to be happy. My field work will become very easy. But where shall I get the bull from? I have no money to buy that", the farmer sighed.
" I will give a bull now. Here, take this bull home. When you reach home send your neighbour to me as well, " the old man said.
The farmer said, " I am very happy that you are giving me a bull. But, why do you want to meet my neighbour ?"
The old man spoke, " Tell your neighbour that he can come here and take two bulls from me."
The words of the old man angered the farmer and he was mad with the feelings of jealousy. He said dryly, " You don't know that my neighbour has everything. If you want to give him two bulls then I won't like any bull from you ."
The old man pulled the bull towards him and spoke to the farmer, " Do you know what your problem is ? It is not poverty but jealousy. Had you been content with what you had got instead of being jealous with your neighbours and relatives, you would have been a better and happy man." After saying this, the old man disappeared into the jungle.
A bull, the farmer had always been praying for was granted but his jealous mind lost it foolishly.

A mother's invaluable advice

   
                             A mother's invaluable advice

A boy, after finishing studies in school was going to university for higher studies in another city. His mother packed all things for his stay outside. At that time she gave him a small advice. She told him that the atmosphere there would be different from that of home and he would be meeting new people of different nature too. She added if he got angry or upset with the behaviour of any one, he should not react to that person for 24 hours. Instead he should divert his attention and concentrate on something else like going for a walk outside or playing on his violin or listening to his favourite songs. Though the boy found it very difficult to be like that, still he tried to put his mother's words into practice. Little by little he succeeded. His anger towards the trouble maker melted away in those 24 hours. He forgot the negative feelings of bitterness and felt friendly towards him. He also found a unique change within himself. His mind became very calm and could concentrate on studies very well and won many prizes and awards. There was a change in the behaviour of the trouble makers too. Seeing his cool attitude towards them, they themselves started feeling ashamed and sorry for their behaviour and became his friends.
The boy was a boy of mission. He became a big honest business man to earn huge wealth to serve the humanity. In business also, his rivals bowed down before his nobility. Thus following a simple but the invaluable advice of his mother, he found a new meaning in leading a fruitful and fulfilling life.

Ancient wisdom

                         Ancient wisdom



Man always goes in search of new findings. But he gets the results, mostly it is the age old traditional truths which turn out in a new garb. Many a times ancient wisdom remains ever green. One such thing is regarding a short walk after meals.
Modern medical science also recommends a short walk of ten minutes before going to bed to prevent acidity and to aid digestion.
Ayurveda dictates " One should walk at least one hundred steps after taking meals." A slight and gradual walking after meal is always advantageous. The ancient science further gives the rationale for this. It has been stated,
" The body becomes inactive if one remains seated after taking food. Several ailments grip the body if the man goes to bed immediately after taking the meal. Walking increases the span of life while the risk of death increases by running."
The root of all ailments is the infestation of waste products formed in our body in the course of metabolic functions. It is caused due to longer indigestion. If a man starts running after taking meals, it causes pain immediately as the food is not duly arranged in the alimentary canal. Hence walking with gradual steps is recommended to aid proper digestion of the food eaten.

Character- the real wealth

                                    Character- the real wealth

A wealthy business man had a son. Since he had suffered in his childhood due to poverty, he never wanted his son to suffer the same and gave him all the comforts of life. The boy was never interested in studies or any work , got into bad company and roamed aimlessly , squandering money with his companions. The father was upset and went to a saint to seek his guidance. He told the problem to the pious man. The saint asked him how he got such a huge wealth, whether his father left him a lot of property. The businessman replied that he rose to a high position by his effort and integrity. He had suffered a lot in his childhood as his father was a poor man but a honest hard worker. His father taught him just the good qualities of life and importance of honest hard work in achieving things, that is all. Then the saint asked him whether he did the same to his son. The merchant replied that he he never wanted his son to suffer like him , concentrated on amassing wealth for his boy's comforts and secure future and never had time to pay attention to small matters like character building of the child.
The saint pointed out that that was his mistake. Instead of giving him the wealth of character he spent time in accumulating perishable wealth leading the boy astray. It is aptly said,
" When weath is lost, nothing is lost.
When character is lost ,everything is lost."
Also,
" Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a life time."
The businessman realized his grave mistake and requested the saint to help him. The kind saint called the boy to his hut. He asked him to pull out small grass grown in front of his hermitage. The boy pulled it using just two fingers. Then the saint asked him pull out a small tender plant near by. The boy did it with his hand. Then the saint asked him to pull out a full grown tree there. The boy tried and tried. He could never do it. Then the saint gave him a big spade to dig it. The boy tried, little by little only the roots came out. He found it very hard to pull it.
The saint said that he had to keep on doing then one day he would be able uproot it. The presence and the kind words had a salutary effect on the boy. He realized the mistake and determined to free himself from the bad company and follow the advice of his father.

Scientists live in their own beautiful world

                               Scientists live in their own beautiful world


It was in the year 1933 that Albert Einstein fled his country and came to America. The first person he wanted to see was his old friend professor Beno Gutenberg, the German-American seismologist, then at the California Institute of Technology. They walked across the campus in Pasadena, with their hands folded behind their backs, discussing the phenomena of the earth.
Meanwhile, a gust of wind bent down the trees, the earth shook, and buildings trembled. They paid no heed to this, but continued their scientific talk and then entered the college and glanced at the seismograph. Only then did they realize there had been an earthquake, the famous 1933 Long Beach quake.

The power of prayer in practical life

                              The power of prayer in practical life

It is a well recognized and an experienced fact that prayer brings inner tranquility. Prayer often clarifies our vision of what needs to be done.
Abraham Lincoln had a rich prayer life.
One day, a stranger came by with a barrel full of odds and ends and old news papers and he offered to sell the lot to Lincoln for a dollar. Realizing the man was needy, Lincoln with his characteristic kindness, gave him a dollar, although he had no idea how the barrel's contents would be of any use to him. When he later cleared out the barrel, he found among the junk an almost complete edition of Blackstone's commentaries. These books helped Lincoln become a lawyer and eventually enter politics. The reverence and kindness Lincoln felt for others, which are often the fruits of prayer, created an opening for a life- changing event that otherwise might not have happened. It is not that during prayer he got a sudden revelation of his life's work. Humble ingredients- a barrel of junk, a stranger down on his luck, a dollar and Lincoln's innate compassion combined unspectacularly to help shape the destiny of man and the nation.

Friendship

                                       Friendship

There is only one happiness in life, to love and to be loved, because lovingness is our natural state. In love , you make yourself necessary to some one. Love is also much more- a desire and devotion that drives one to do only good and a tenderness that arouses delight and elicit deep affection in the heart.
Friendship is , in fact, an expression of love, a powerful emotional bond. The beauty, endurance and strength of love can be celebrated by honoring friendship. Friendship is a real treasure in which man can cherish love and get cherished by love.

As man by nature is gregarious, friendship is inevitable. Fate makes our relatives and choice makes our friends. Choosing the right friend is vitally important to our outlook on life. The laziest man is he who does not seek to acquire friends, still lazier is the one who loses friends because he makes no effort to keep them.

Parents must teach children to make friends and cherish them and to distinguish rewarding friendships from harmful ones. The effect of friendship has been beautifully illustrated thus -

"  A rain- drop if thrown upon a red hot iron is even deprived of its own existence, where as if it happens to fall upon the leaf of a lotus plant it soon assumes the appearance of a beautiful pearl and the same is again turned into a real pearl if it chances to drop into the mouth of a seashell (oyster) in the auspicious time of swati star. It is therefore to be inferred that the bad, mediocre and the good attributes of a thing are always to be traced to the company it keeps."

It is also said,

" Would you judge a man? Find out who his friends are."

Also,

" If I touch my hand to a board, there is only a blunt sound but if I touch it to the key of the instrument there is a musical sound. And the effect produced upon a person by that which he comes in contact depends upon what there is to be touched."

So children's friendship with good from pre-school through adulthood will stimulate their moral development and lend to their lives a richness, depth, beauty, vitality and variety that cannot be duplicated by any other means.

What is a true friendship?

The profound effect of love upon each other is beautifully delineated between water and milk..

" When water was mixed with milk, the latter gave all its qualities to it. Consequently when water saw the distress of milk it began to burn itself. The sight of its friend's calamity much agitated milk and it went out of the pot to destroy itself on the burning embers. At this stage water came to its help and the milk soon became calm and cool. The friendship of the good is just like it."

This is true friendship. The analogy here is the boiling of milk. When water is mixed with milk before boiling, the water becomes one with the milk and when the milk boils, water added to it also boils. Seeing the water boiling, the friend milk becomes agitated and tries to come out the pot and fall on the fire as if to destroy itself. At this stage, when few drops of water are poured over the milk it cools down and does not come out of the pot.

Distance also never severs true friendship.

As we grow older, we learn to treasure our  best friends, to value their loving concern and counsel.
Friendship can be found almost anywhere even within our families.
Of all the things, a good marriage is a bonded friendship.Wedding marks a treasured moment of commitment and love. It is the foundation of societal well- being and preservation of values. The most wonderful of all things in life is the discovery of another human being with whom one's relationship has a growing depth, beauty and joy as the years increase. This inner progressiveness of love between human beings is the most marvellous thing. It cannot be found by looking at it or by passionately wishing for it. It is a sort of divine accident and the most wonderful of all things in life.
Why do we seek our partners ?
Plato believed that we are all in search of our other half. In the beginning, he wrote, every one had 2 heads, 4 arms and both sexes. But the king of gods, fearing the power of humans cut them in two  into male and female. Since that time, we have searched for our other half until we found the one who completed us.
In India, girls worship goddess Parvati for a good husband for Shiva and Parvati are considered as ideal couple. So love is not a weakness. It is strong. Only the sacrament of marriage can contain it. So the union of husband and wife is sacred . This bond is not limited to this birth only. It is believed that the devoted wife follows her equally devoted husband in all births to come.Such is this unique friendship !