Inspiration Bytes: Value of Truth

Value of Truth

Truth means the identity of mind and speech .God has endowed man with the power of speech only to speak out what is in the mind. Bad thoughts arise in a man’s mind. He expresses them exactly through the speech. That will not be truth. Truth does not mean a mere identity of mind and speech. Good thoughts arising in a good mind, when expressed, become truth.

There was a great devotee of Goddess by name Abhirama Bhattar in Thirukkadavur in Tamil Nadu. Most of the time he was deeply engrossed in meditation on the Goddess Abhirami and was in state of ecstasy .Some people were jealous of him and told the king that Abhirama Bhattar was a drunkard and he pretended to be a devotee. The king Sarabhoji wanted to verify this allegation. One day when the king came there to have a darshan of Goddess at the temple he saw the devotee Bhattar there and asked him,’ what is the lunar day today?’ Bhattar was in a state of full joy .That day was a new moon day. The sky was pitch dark. But Bhattar was deeply meditating on the Goddess and was ecstatic. There was brightness inside him. He answered ‘Today is full moon day!’ The King thought what others told him about Bhattar was true. He told him derisively ‘Oh! Is that so? Has the moon appeared in the sky, let us see’, saying thus he looked at the sky.

At that time the full moon actually appeared in the sky. Since Abhirama Bhattar was firmly established in the truth when by mistake he spoke what was not true, The Goddess herself took off her ear ornament and threw it in the skies and made it shine like a full moon. The reason why the blessings or curses uttered by great holy men come true is that power of the truth. Whatever they say will happen. This is an incidental benefit of being truthful. But one should not practise truth with the expectation that whatever he says should happen. Only when truth is practised without such expectation the power will accrue on its own.

Inspiration Bytes: The Goat and the Rock

Goat and Rock

Once a milk vendor was busy selling his milk. In narrow lanes he wandered calling customers to buy his fresh milk. Whoever wanted would open his door and come out to buy his milk and the peddler would pick up the money and would go further to sell his milk.

It was noon. So the milk peddler wanted to rest for some time. The milk jug was heavy; half milk was left in that. So he kept it on a flat rock nearby and started eating his bread and cheese. Soon a goat keeper driving his bleating flock of goats came there. Seeing the milk peddler he happily greeted him with words ‘hello’. Hearing the loud voice of goat keeper, the goat which was going in front of him got startled and jumped over the rock where the milk jug was kept and dropped it down. The milk jug fell down breaking into pieces.

The milk peddler demanded money from the goat keeper for both milk and broken jar. But the goat keeper replied that it was not his fault but the fault was that of the goat. Both of them went to the

Judge and presented their case.

The judge hearing the case said that the milk vendor lost his milk and the container for no fault of his own. Without his jug it was not possible to carry out his business and feed the Family. Likewise there was no fault on the part of the goat keeper. There was no harm in his friendly greeting to the milk vendor. If he sold out his goat his family would suffer. So the fault was with the goat and rock. The judge ordered that both of them should be put into jail. Goat went peacefully and the stubborn rock had to be carried by twenty strong men.

The news of the strange event spread and all people wanted to attend the trial of the goat and the rock. All knew that the judge was an expert in sound judgement but the arrest of goat and the rock sounded madness.

Next day all people assembled inside the court curiously waiting for the judgement. The judge smiled and asked the guards to close the gates of the court room. Then the judge addressed all ‘you all have come to see what stupidity I do. I am disappointed that you are all thinking about me as mad and it is terrible. So I have decided to fine each of you one penny for such improper thoughts. You must pay the fine to leave the court yard.’

People laughed and paid the fine with a smile. The judge gave the entire collected money to the milk vendor with which he could buy a milk jug and sell fresh milk as he was doing earlier.

What a beautiful judgement!

Inspiration Bytes: The slowest may win the race

The slowest may win the race

The Garuda, the magical bird of Vishnu was hungry as, one day, he flew over a lake and saw a tortoise there. The tortoise diverted his interest suggesting that, before being eaten up, they should run a race to see who was the faster.

The magnificent bird agreed, and raised high into the air ready to fly. While he was doing that, the tortoise collected all his relatives and friends and placed them in such a manner that they covered every inch of the ground. When he was ready the tortoise called out “I am ready to start. Your highness may go through the air, while I shall move by water and we shall see who is the winner? The wages is that if I lose, you will be able to eat me up “.

Then the Garuda flew with all his might, and then stopped and called to the tortoise. And whichever direction he flew, a tortoise always answered him from somewhere ahead .He even flew as far as the great mountain, the Himalayas. At last he had to tell the tortoise that he had been outraced and he returned, baffled, to his home, a big tree, and to rest.

Inspiration Bytes: Conscience

Conscience

While going to a meeting with a friend the American President Abraham Lincoln saw a pig caught in a hole of slush. He immediately got down from his carriage and rescued the pig . As there was not much time for the meeting to begin, Lincoln walked in with his dirty clothes on. On enquiring the reason for the dirty attire , the friend narrated the incident. The onlookers were all in praise for the president’s great quality mercy .

The convenor of the meeting was introducing Lincoln, ‘our president is full of mercy .He did not bother about his clothes and saved the pig’, when he was interrupted by Lincoln who stood up and said,’ you have got me wrong. Seeing the pig struggle , my own conscience was struggling and hence I saved the pig not for its sake but to save myself ‘.

Inspiration Bytes: Devotion of Ekanath

Devotion of Ekanath

Ekanath was a saint from Maharashtra, India. His Bhavartha Ramayana is very famous. Ekanath was writing the Ramayana, and when he came to the portion in which he was graphically describing that Hanuman jumped across the ocean to Lanka, he so identified himself with his hero Hanuman that unconsciously he leaped into the air and landed on the roof of his neighbour’s house. The neighbour had always had a poor opinion of Ekanath, taking him for a humbug and religious hypocrite. He heard a thud on his roof and coming out to see what it was, discovered Ekanath lying down on the roof with a manuscript leaf in one hand and his steel pen. The palm leaf had verses describing how Hanuman leapt across the sea. The incident proved to the neighbour what a genuine bhakti Ekanath was and he became his disciple.

Once God appeared in a dream to Ekanath and asked him to go and repair the tomb of Jnaneshwar, a famous saint of Maharashtra. When Ekanath went there accordingly, he found a contractor ready to do all the work and take payment at the end. The contractor opened a big account note book in which all expenses were entered, with the names of all the workmen and wages to be paid to them. Everything went on systematically and when, the work of repairs having been completed, the accounts had to be looked into and the contractor and his big account book t totally disappeared. Then anyone Ekanath came to know that God was his contractor and did the work.

Inspiration Bytes: Origin of Logic

Origin of Logic

A deer came running into the hut of sage Utathya when he was performing a homa (havan). A hunter came there a little later and asked the sage whether he had seen his prey . While the sage was caught in a fix between saving the deer and telling the truth , the hunter requested him to reveal at least the direction the deer had taken .

Instantly the sage replied ,” O Great one ! Which direction should I show you ? The function of sight is performed by the eyes while it is the mouth that speaks . You question the organ of speech whether it has seen your prey . That which cannot see , how will it answer your question ? That which cannot speak how will it tell you the answer ? Hence I am unable to answer you “.

The hunter left the hut not knowing the whereabouts of the deer. And a new science , the science of Logic , was born from the words of the sage .

Inspiration Bytes: Acres of Diamonds

Acres of Diamonds

There is a famous Victorian lecture that was known as ‘Acres of Diamonds ‘ . Russell H. Conwell , a former newspaper correspondent and minister , delivered his speech more than 6000 times between 1877 and 1925 . When it was published it became an immediate best – seller and a classic in inspirational literature .

‘Your diamonds are not in far distant mountains or in yonder seas; they are in your backyard, if you but dig for them.’

Russell H . Conwell .

The story that Conwell told in his lecture had enormous appeal . It recounted the life of a Persian farmer named Ali Hafed who sold his farm and left his family to travel the world in search of wealth . He looked everywhere but he could not find the diamonds he wanted . Finally , alone and in despair as a homeless pauper , he ended his own life . His search for riches outside consumed him . In the meantime , the man who bought the land from Hafed was grateful for every blade of grass that was now his and lavished love and hard work on his farm . At night , surrounded by his family and eating the fruits of his labour , he was a contented man . Finally one day he made a remarkable discovery . In the back yard that Ali Hafed had abandoned was a diamond mine literally an acre of diamonds . The simple farmer became wealthy beyond his wildest dreams .

Conwell used this parable to illustrate an extraordinary and wonderful message . Within each of us lie a well spring of abundance and the seeds of opportunity .For each of us there is a deeply personal dream waiting to be discovered and fulfilled. When we cherish our dream and then invest love , creative energy , perseverance and passion in ourselves , we will achieve an authentic success .
We all have an acre of diamonds waiting to be discovered , cherished and mined . We all have a place from where to begin . Let you imagination soar , for it is your soul ‘s blue print for success . On the simple abundance path you will discover that your own opportunity for personal success , authentic happiness , and financial serenity is as close as your back yard .