Wit and Wisdom

  

                                             Wit and Wisdom

•           Man was made at the end of the week’s work, when he was tired.
•          One of the core goals of life is survival; the other is meaning.
•         Age is of no importance unless you’re a cheese.
•          Volunteering can be a springboard for professional growth.
•        Integrity and commerce are not mutually exclusive. Fortune is built on someone’s labor . The question is whether you honor that labor or exploit it. One should be raised not merely to count money but to understand what it represents- human effort  human risk and human trust.

Food for thought

  

                                               Food for thought

 

•        A good idea that is not shared with others will gradually fade away and bear no fruit, but when it is shared it lives for ever because it is passed on from one person to another and grows as it goes.
•        There is no such thing as time- management. There is only self-management.
•        To teach is to learn twice.
•       Knowledge and timber should not be used till they are seasoned.
•       An art ( skill ) can only be learned in the workshop of those who are winning their bread by it.
•        The shorter way to do many things is to do one thing at a time.
•        Every moment spent planning saves 3 or 4 moments in execution.

Nature- a marvel

 

                                   Nature-  a marvel

•         Every tree, star, and cloud is a compass if you know how to read them.
•        The earth laughs in flowers.
•       Autumn is a second spring where every leaf is a flower.
•       Those who contemplate the beauty of the Earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts,

                There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds, the ebb and flow of tides, the folded bud ready for Spring.

               There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature- the assurance that dawn comes after night and Spring after Winter.

•     I am particularly fond of little groves of Oak trees. I love to look at them because they endure the Wintry storm and Summer’s heat, and not unlike ourselves , seem to flourish by them.
•    Trees are poems that the earth writes upon the sky. We fell them down and turn them into paper that we may record our emptiness.
•   If one really loves nature, one can find beauty everywhere.

    

        

Gems of wisdom

   

                                                Gems of wisdom

 

•                We must cultivate a high level of self-reliance, believing that our resolve and persistence are more significant factors in determining our success than anything else. Nobody can give us guidance in accordance with our unique capabilities and situation.
•                  We should be prepared to learn what we can from everyone.
•               It is not doing the thing to do, but liking the thing we have to do, that makes life blessed.
•              Everything happens for a reason, even if we are not wise enough to see it.
•             The happiest people don’t have the best of everything, they make the best of everything.

Gems of inspiration

 

                                       Gems of inspiration 

 

•           Accept the challenges so you can feel the exhilaration of victory.
•           Don’t believe in age. Believe in energy. Don’t let age dictate what you can and can’t do.
•           The will to win, the desire to succeed,  the urge to reach your potential, these are the keys that will unlock the door to personal excellence.
•            Hard work beats the talent when talent doesn’t work.
•           Everyone is gifted,but most people never open the package.
•            Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that is creativity.
•            Quality is not an act, it is a habit.
•           Your life is your message to the world. Make sure it is inspiring.

Ideal worship

                                      Ideal worship

             Ideal worship is dedicating normal activities of life in spirit and truth in the form of various rituals  

           to complete absorption in God. Adi Shankara gives a picturesque description of that in his hymn ‘ Shiva Manasa Puja’.  In one of the verses addressed to Lord Shiva :

      “  Oh, Shambhu (  epithet of Lord Shiva meaning the auspicious Supreme, benevolent, the bestower of Bliss )!  You are my self, Goddess Parvati ( Lord Shiva’s consort) is the intelligence, the vital energies are your companions,

This body of mine is your house for worship, all the pleasures of my senses are objects to use for your worship, my sleep is the state of deep meditation ( complete absorption in you ).

My walking is the ceremony of circumambulating you, all my words are hymns of praise of you.

Whatever action I do, all that is adoration of you.”

A few words on the welfare of a state

 

                                   A few words on the welfare of a state

•             There is no instance of a nation benefiting from prolonged warfare.
•            To win one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the acme of skill. To subdue the enemy without fighting is the acme of the skill. Thus, what is of supreme importance in wars is to attack the enemy’s strategy 
•            When you concentrate on agriculture and industry and are frugal in expenditure, there is no fear of impoverishment of your state.
•     The foundation of every state is the education of its youth.

Precious thoughts to cherish

  

                                Precious thoughts to cherish

•             If you seek truth you will not seek victory by dishonorable means, and if you find the truth you will become invincible.
•            The world turns aside to let any man pass who knows where he is going.
•            Make the best use of what is in your power, and take the rest as it happens.
•           Misfortune seldom intrudes upon the wiseman, his greatest and highest interests are directed by reason throughout the course of his life.
•           Suffering becomes beautiful when anyone bears great calamities with cheerfulness, not with insensibility but through greatness of mind.
•          Be careful to leave your sons well instructed rather than rich, for the hopes of the instructed are better than the wealth of the ignorant.
•        The essence of philosophy is that a man should so live that his happiness shall depend as little as possible on external things.

Healthy wisdom quotes from Sanskrit

 

                           Healthy wisdom quotes from Sanskrit 

•         If not digested, food becomes poison.
•         A good sleep takes away half of the ailments.
•         Worry brings out diseases.
•         Exercise should be done slowly.
•        Hunger makes the meals tasty.
•       You should incorporate and enjoy all types of tastes like sweet, salty, sour etc in your daily intake of food. According to Ayurveda , there are 6 Rasas or tastes ; Madhura ( sweet), Amla ( sour ), lavana ( salty ),  Katu ( pungent ), Tikta ( bitter ), and Kashaya ( astringent). All these tastes are essential for balancing the three doshas or bodily or biological humors, promoting proper digestion, health, immunity and vitality of the body.
•     You should fill your stomach half with food, one fourth with water and one fourth to be left for circulation of air to aid digestion.
•   While taking food, you should munch like a goat. If you munch food you will live for 100 years , meaning a long healthy life. Absence of indigestion is the yardstick of long, healthy life. When you munch food slowly and mix it with saliva, then it is digested in the stomach. Indigestion is the main cause of diseases.
•   Water serves as medicine in indigestion.
• For healthy long life, one should walk 100 steps after taking meals.
• One shouldn’t take bath immediately after food.
•  A good bath makes the mind happy and destroys bad dreams.
•   For taking meals one should leave 100 works and for bath 1000 works.

Life is an opportunity to live fruitfully and enjoy !

  

                              Life is an opportunity to live fruitfully and enjoy!

 

•               Each day comes bearing its gifts. Untie the ribbon.
•              Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.
•              You are only as old as you feel.
•             In life you can control two things; your effort and your attitude.
•            Happiness has less to do with pleasure and more to do with purpose.
•           Life is harder when you expect too much from the world and too little from yourself.
•          Life gets easier when you expect a lot from yourself and little from the world.
•         Don’t let yourself be controlled by three things: people, money, or past experience.
•        In every challenge or even tragedy, there is an opportunity. You can take control of the situation and even turn into something positive or at least something good thing can come from it. There in lies the power of the human mind.

Just a moment !

 

                                  Just a moment !

            

•               Where the spirit does not work with the hand, there is no art.
•               Time stays long enough for those who use it.
•               Learning is the only thing the mind never exhausts, never fears, and never regrets.
•               Just as food eaten without appetite is a tedious nourishment, so does study without zeal damage the memory by not assimilating what it absorbs.
•               He is a poor student who does not go beyond his master.
•               If you are alone you belong entirely to yourself.

Wisdom carried across the cultures

 

                            Wisdom carried across the cultures

•       Science and Spirituality are two attempts to decide the same mystery. While a physicist speaks about a universe that may be a mathematical structure and a philosopher speaks about illusion, both are trying to explain the inexplicable reality. The conflict between science and spirituality arises only when each side assumes its language is superior. But if we look deeper, we see that both are describing a universe where consciousness plays a central role.
• Duty without compassion becomes tyranny. Compassion without wisdom is folly.
• It’s your road, and yours alone, others may walk it with you, but no one can talk it for you. As you start to walk on the way, the way appears.
• Wherever you go, go with all your heart.
• Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder. Help someone’s soul heal.
• Don’t grieve. Anything you lose comes round in another form.
• Classic books are not relics - they are living conversations across centuries. Each of these works offers more than a story; they provide insight into ourselves and the world we inhabit. The rewards compound over time, shaping how we think, feel and live. They become eternal companions offering joy and inspiration.

Captivating quotes

   

                                  Captivating quotes 

•              Life is really beautiful if only we understand how to live well.
•             Don’t go through life, grow through life.
•            It’s not your position that makes you happy or unhappy,  it is your disposition.
•           Health is wealth and there is no need to pay tax for that.
•          The best medicine for humans is care and love.
•           The hand will not reach out for which the heart doesn’t long for.
•          Love can turn the cottage into a golden palace.
•         Everyone is valuable and we’re not all meant to look the same. We should celebrate what makes us unique.
•          One thing to learn from nature, that is to give with a certain detachment and equanimity. See how it is quietly going about giving, perhaps that is the secret of eternity.

Gems of thoughts

   

                         Gems of thoughts

 

• Everything is precious when it means something personal.
• Not only love can unleash the creative potential, but it can also connect us with higher truth and ideals.
• Your body is the marble and your mind is its sculptor. Small daily shifts in how you perceive and respond to life’s events can gradually reshape your overall well-being.
• Happiness has less to do with pleasure and more to do with purpose.
• What man stores in language and in books the accumulated results of experiences , the animals seem to have stored in instincts.
• Music is the language of the soul. When we play it flows within us not from us. It is free flowing state expressed by the creation itself.
• Step into the enchanting world of literary treasure that unravels layers of universal truths and timeless wisdom that are applicable to every reader’s journey.

Some fascinating facts

 

                           Some fascinating facts

•       Our ears and nose never stop growing.
•       As compared to men, women blink nearly twice.
•      It is impossible to sneeze and also keep the eyes open.
•      From the age of thirty, humans gradually begin to shrink in size.
•     If finger prints are unique, so are our tongue prints.
•     The stay of food in our stomach stretches for 2 to 4 hours.

Health quotes

 

                                    Health quotes

•       Wherever the art of medicine is loved there is also love of humanity.
•         Health is the greatest of human blessings.
•        All diseases start in the gut.
•      Illnesses do not come upon us out of the blue. They’re developed from small daily sins against Nature. When enough sins have accumulated, illnesses will suddenly appear.
•    Neither hunger nor satiety nor anything that exceeds the natural bounds, can be good or healthy.
•   We ought not to be ignorant that the same remedies are not good for all.
•    Everyone has a doctor in him or her. We just have to help it in its work. The natural healing force within each one of us is the greatest force in getting well. Our food should be our medicine, our medicine should be our food.
•  There are no incurable diseases- only the lack of will. There are no worthless herbs- only lack of knowledge.
• Walking is a man’s best medicine.
• Sleep has been considered a powerful therapy for any type of illness since ancient times in all cultures.
• The best physician is also a philosopher.

A matter of a drop or a few drops of water

 

                        A matter of a drop or a few drops of water

       Interesting details as to what happens to a drop or few drops of water in association with something.

According to Sanskrit poet Bhartruhari, even the existence of a drop of water placed upon a piece of red hot iron, becomes unknown ( vanishes without any trace of it’s once existence), the same water drop when placed on a waxy surface of broad leaf of lotus flower shines like a pearl. On Swati constellation day, the same drop of rain water falling into an oyster transforms itself into a precious pearl. This verse is depicted as an example of the effect of association. Men acquire the lowest, average and the highest virtues in association with the nature of the associate.

A picturesque description of milk and water as a true self-sacrificing companionship. When milk is boiled on a stove, first a little water is put in the pan , then pure milk is poured over it  to prevent the milk from getting stuck at the bottom and getting charred. The water at the base prevents this spoilage and then merges with milk imbibing its sweetness . It is imagined as water prevents its friend from spoilage and takes the first onslaught of heat on itself, the milk in turn gives its sweetness to water by merging it within itself. You can separate water and milk. Then when the milk boils completely, it has a tendency to spill over the pan and falling itself into the flame of the stove. So to prevent this , a few drops of water poured over the boiling milk coming to the brim cool it and prevent from spillover.  It is as if milk is in distress and his friend water cools him down.

In the words of Bhartruhari, when heated, the water evaporates to save the milk from burning, and later when the milk boils over in distress, the water returns ( is added ) to calm it, showing a perfect friendly bond where each shares other’s pain and joy and become one.

Chataka bird ( Jacobi Cuckoo ) in Indian literature and folklore is depicted as the harbinger of monsoon and is believed to to wait for the rain, to drink its drops falling from the sky ( cloud ), not water from any other source.

Interesting timeless tales

  

                                              Interesting timeless tales

•     A nutmeg carried in the pocket is a cure for rheumatism.
•     Brides once carried a clove of garlic in her pocket for good luck.
•    Cabbage should be planted in the garden after a couple has been married, if they were to have good luck in their marriage and garden.
•    Gardners and farmers thought that Good Friday was the best day for planting because it was the only day of the year when the devil was thought to be powerless. Slow germination in soil, or slower growth or perish all attributed to the influence of devil.
•   Flowers which bloom out of season were considered evil.
•  Placing several banana peels in the planting hole was popular among the rose growers in the eighteenth century as they believed that the peels seemed to yield healthier roses.

Food for thought

                                  Food for thought

 

•     Science and Spirituality are not contradictory, viewed properly they are nothing but two attempts to decode the same mystery. When a physicist speaks about a universe that may be a mathematical structure and a sage speaks about illusion ( maya ) both are grappling with a reality that refuses to reveal itself fully. The conflict between the two seems to arise only when each side assumes its language is superior. But looking deeper, we can find that both are describing a universe where consciousness plays a pivotal role. The ancient stories depicting goddess shakti or Parvati and God Shiva , inseparable , as energy and matter, and as parents of the universe and another view that universe is created from nada ( sound ) or vibration- all these align beautifully with modern theories of energy and simulation.
• Be a lamp, or a life-boat, or as a ladder. Help someone’s soul heal.
• Don’t grieve. Anything you lose comes round in another form.
• When it is obvious that the goals cannot be reached, don’t adjust the goals, adjust the action steps.

Ancient wisdom - Time calculation

 

                              Ancient Wisdom-  Time calculation

                Natural and interesting !

   Lava - A minute division of time, the 60th of a twinkling ( half a second), a moment. To be specific,  the time taken to insert a minute needle into petals of a lotus. It’s called Lava.

Truti -  1000 Lavas are equal to one truti.

Tatpara-   100 Trutis make one Tatpara.

Nimesha-   30 Tatparas  equal to one Nimesha.

Kastha -  18 nimeshas form a Kastha.

Kalaa-  20 Kasthas form a Kalaa.

Kshana-  30 Kalaas make a Kshana.

Ghati - 6 Kshanas equal to one Ghati.

Muhurta- 2 Ghatis make a Muhurta

Prahara -  4 Muhurtas form a Prahara.

Naktam ( night ) - 4 praharas make aNaktam.

Diva ( day )-  4 Praharas make a day.

Aharnisham or Ahoratra ( day andnight )- 8 Praharas are collectively called Aharnisham or Ahoratra.

Paksha ( fortnight)- 15 such Ahoratras make a paksha( based on the light of the moon- shukla paksha bright fortnight, and krishna paksha dark fortnight).

Masa (month )-  2 pakshas make a Masa ( Shuklapaksha+ krishnapaksha )

Ayanam-  6 Masas make an Ayanam. Ayanam refers to the movement of the Sun towards north and south. 

Manushi varsham - 2 Ayanas one  Uttarayana , movement of sun towards north + one dakshinayana , movement of sun towards south constitute a humanly or earthly year.

Divya varsham - 300 cycles of 60 Manushi varshams make a divya varsham ( an year time in heaven).

Chaturyuga-  12 thousand divya varshams make a chathuryuga in earth ( collection of 4 yugas as Krta or satya, Treta, Dvapara, Kali).

Kalpa- 1000 chaturyugas make a kalpa, a period of Kalpa is a day to Brahma, the creator, and at the end of his day, a pralaya happens . It’s called dainandina pralaya  ( daily dissolution) or kalpa pralaya.

Maha pralaya -  After 72000 Kalpas, the Mahapralaya happens ( in the period in which everything and everyone are dissolved in absolute God before next cycle of creation starts ). One Mahapralaya is the lifetime of Brahma, the creator.