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.