Stories
Some things are basics in life. Stories provide the moral values in life. They show us the right path of life. Its a struggle for perfection, lets help each other for a better tomorrow. We all feel the immense happiness when we see a child smiling, and earning for an hug, when we hug them with a open heart, the joy is immense and magical. We can see that happiness and joy when we love both consciously and subconsciously. True to Heart.
*The-Monkey’s-Justice-for-two-cats. *The-Blind-Men-And-The-Elephant. *Two-rich-merchants-and-a-thief. *Healing-is-contagious. *Two-saints-in-a-market-place. *A-Terrible-Fight-Between-Two-Wolves. *Hen-that-laid-golden-eggs. *Healing-forgiveness-and-affection. *Elephants-held-by-small-ropes. *Story-of-Punyakoti-the-strength-of-truth. *What-is-the-reason? *Reply-Depends-on-the-Question. *Critical-mass-Experiment. *The-Brahman's-Wife-and-the-Mongoose. *The-Boy-Who-Cried-Wolf. *Difference-between-Heaven-and-Hell! *Freedom-and-Prison! *It's-in-Your-Eyes!
Friday, December 07, 2007
The Monkey’s Justice for two cats
Once two cats who were very good friends went on a walk. While they were walking on the street, one of the cats saw a box of butter lying besides the road and told the other. The other cat at once jumped and grabbed it.
The first cat said, "Give me the butter. It is I who saw it first."
The other cat said, "Keep away from it. It is I who picked it up."
A fight started between them and they were unable to find a solution. A cleaver wicked monkey was passing by who saw them fighting over the butter.
He thought “How foolish the cats must be. Let me take the advantage of their quarrel”. He came to the cats and said in a loud voice. "Don't fight. I will do justice. Let me share the butter among you both". Thus the cats gave the butter to the monkey thinking that he will do justice by distributing it equally between them.
The monkey split the butter into two parts. He shook his head and said, "Oh! One is bigger and the other is smaller". He ate a little bit of the bigger share to make it smaller. But the bigger share now had become smaller than the other. Thus he again ate from the other. He repeatedly ate part by part from both the shares to make them equal. At the end there was nothing left to share. Thus the poor cats were disappointed and realized their mistake of fighting over the butter.
Moral: When two quarrel, the third takes the advantage. Quarreling and fighting over any issue is destructive. One must not loose temper without a clear thought. One must be calm, gentle and humble to analyze and resolve the conflict. One must confess, seek and pray for justice. Quarrel leads to anger and anger leads to frustration, thus a situation is created where in the wisdom of justice for reasoning is obsolete and lost.
We have to resolve the issues peacefully. We have to put our best efforts with calmness, gentleness, love and compassion. We have to avoid hatred, enmity and criticism. Free and fare constructive communication is one of the basic rights of human beings. It’s one of the means to achieve freedom and liberty. Freedom and liberty are contagious where communication is the means to spread it across. In other words it’s impossible to achieve freedom and liberty without communication. A strong belief in freedom and liberty is a must. We have to communicate without any fear, to spread it effectively, thus to create an effective team work. We can avoid fear with strong faith in optimism. We have to dream of a secured peaceful future, thus put effective efforts to achieve the objective. We have to put our efforts without any frustration. We must never loose hope. Things will definitely change as the history proves that change it self is not constant. In other words history keeps repeating. Good things will definitely happen. The more effective the efforts, thus are the results. Lets make a humble request to all our loved ones so that we can achieve our objective. Good things are possible only with the blessings and wishes of the loved ones. It’s a collective effort.
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Monday, October 15, 2007
The Blind Men And The Elephant.
The people who lived in a small village were always arguing and fighting among each other about God and different religions. They could never agree to a common answer. So they came to the Buddha to find out what exactly God looks like. The Buddha asked his disciples to get a large magnificent elephant and six blind men. He then brought the blind to the elephant and asked them to describe what an elephant looks like.
The first blind man touched the elephant leg and reported that it "looked" like a tree trunk.
The second blind man touched the elephant’s stomach and said that the elephant was a wall.
The third blind man touched the elephant ear and said that it was a fan.
The fourth blind man touched the elephant’s tail and described the elephant as a piece of rope.
The fifth blind man felt the elephant's tusks and described it as a spear.
And the sixth blind man rubbed the elephant’s snout and got very scared because he thought it was a snake.
All of them got into a big argument about the "appearance" of an elephant.
The Buddha asked the citizens: "Each blind man had touched the elephant but each of them gives a different description of the animal. Which answer is right?" "All of them are right," was the reply.
"Why? Because everyone can only see one part of the elephant. They are not able to see the whole animal. The same applies to God and to religions. No one will see Him completely."
- Based on a story from the Buddhist Sutra.
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Monday, October 01, 2007
Two rich merchants and a thief.
Once upon a time in a city of vikramaditya, Ujjayini there lived two friends who were very rich merchants. No doubt they were friends but they had different attitudes and business strategies. One of them was a miser, he used to hide his treasures in a safe place without showing it to anyone. The other was a generous man who used to invest in building the society and thus made good reputation with blessings and well-wishers.
People of that city used to respect both but in a different manner. They knew that the miser merchant was rich and greedy so they respected him in fear, as they were afraid of his hidden secret witchcrafts. Where as they also respected the generous merchant who was good at heart and in turn did justice to the citizens.
There was a famous thief in the same city who was well known for his wicked robbing tricks. Obviously he was constantly in search of valuable treasures. He saw both the merchants and thought of how to rob their rich treasures. After thinking for a long time he came to a conclusion that it would not be possible to rob the generous merchant who had no secret treasures but had invested everything in the open world without hiding anything. He thought it would be possible to rob the miser greedy merchant who had hidden his treasures. Thus he made a plan and was looking for an opportunity to fulfill his bad desire.
Once when there were celebrations in the city, when everybody were completely lost in the pleasure of joy and celebration, he mysteriously robbed the treasures of the greedy miser merchant.
Moral of the story: Hidden richness will be robed easily. Money is like Manure, Spread it and it does good. Pile it up in one place and it Stinks.
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Sunday, September 23, 2007
Healing is contagious:
Once a customer went to a hotel to rent a room and told the frond desk person, “give me a discounted price on a smoking room. I need some liquor, do you have a bar here?” The customer seemed to be in his mid forties. The FD (front desk person) asked him “are you married sir?” The customer said “No! I’m still a bachelor” The FD asked him why he was not married. The customer told him that all his friends were like him, they are all free birds like him and said that some of them are married but divorced. The FD asked him “don’t you know any one who is married for a lifetime and is happy?” The customer said “The only person I know are my parents, they were married for their life time.” The discussion started. The FD told him not to worry and everything will be fine soon. FD told that they don’t have a license for the liquor bar and thus they hope to get it soon. He asked the FD weather he was married. FD said “no sir not yet”. He asked the FD what was his age. FD told him his age. Then he asked the FD did he have a girl friend. The FD said “no sir not yet”. He started laughing and asked him why didn’t he had one? The FD told him “I’m trying to find one and hope to find one soon”. The FD told him that he had lost all his property. His dad had a heart attack few years back due to a heavy loss in his business. The FD told him that his dad was a business man and was a self made man. He took his own decisions and never discussed any of his business matters with his family members. The FD told him that his dad had close friends who were his childhood classmates. He believed in them. They were all in high, top notch positions, like ministers, bank chairmans, police inspectors, etc. He took loans from them and as the market was in recession he couldn’t pay them back and under pressure he underwent a heart attack. He told him that people tend to follow their leaders as there is no way out. It’s the corrupt system, the miss management which makes them helpless and stuck. When the leaders are corrupt then the followers have no option but to become corrupt. The FD told him that “you should be the role model, just like your parents.” Others should look at you and learn the good things from you. They should be proud of you. Our personalities are carved depending upon the friends and environment we are in. Thus he told him to visit places where in he could find good quality people. Quantity is appreciated when it has quality in it. For an example, let’s imagine how a small kid learns in his initial stages of growth. He looks at his parents, his friends, his teachers, his relatives, etc and tends to learn what he thinks is good for him. How can the kids learn when they are unable to see good personalities around them? He told him to visit places where he can experience peace and calmness, from where he can learn good things. He told him that “for every action there is a equal and opposite reaction”. When we are frustrated and tired we tend to achieve quick relief by giving our self’s to bad addictions and habits. Instead of taking the support of bad ones we should tend to release our frustration by going to calm and quite place, where in the mental pressure can be released. Where in we can find solutions to problems. We tend to think better when our mind is in a relaxed state. He told him why not go to a spiritual place instead of going to a liquor bar. The customer realized it and told the FD that he would be going to a spiritual place where in he could find peace. Thus a FD was able to spread the peace and happiness to one of their customers. The customer thanked the FD for his peaceful stay in the hotel. The hotel was appreciated with customer loyalty.
What happens when “red hot iron” is immersed in “cold water”? It neutralizes, becomes normal, its nature, things always tend to return to the nature. What happens when a calm, gentle, humble and stable person interacts with an arrogant, harsh, rude, and short tempered person? It’s transformation, conversion from one form to another, bad to good. There will be some reaction. It will take some time to neutralize and to retain the normal form. It’s always better and constructive when anger is converted to forgiveness. Arrogance is converted to calmness. Unstable is converted to stable. Fear is converted to hope and joy. Never loose hope in order to achieve a good purpose.
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Sunday, September 16, 2007
Two saints in a market place:
On an auspicious day two saints decided to go to a city market to do some purchasing. One of the saints wanted to purchase a parrot and a cow. He wanted to teach the parrot to speak and he wanted the cow to milk. They went to a merchant and asked him if he could show them a few of them before they could decide which one they wanted to purchase. The humble wealthy merchant took them around his store and showed them all he had and told them that all the parrots they could see there were booked and were sold to other customers, thus they could purchase the cow but not the parrot. He told them that the cow would cost them $100 and the parrot would be only $10 and he would inform them in a couple of days later when he would get some more parrots for sale. The saint who wanted to purchase them was very happy to hear this. Where as the other saint who accompanied him was not happy as they were asked to come again later. He felt that it was an utter waste of time and money. After purchasing the cow and placing an order for the parrot while they were returning back on their way home the accompanying saint wanted to know why the saint who had not purchased the parrot was happy while he was feeling the frustration and uneasiness. He asked him for an explanation.
The saint said “Some things at sometimes are not in our hands. We have to except the situation as and how they appear”.
He was not happy with the answer and thus asked for an explanation. The saint said “Its destiny which plays a major part in the life cycle. Destiny, for example lets say there are two things kept in front of me which are for sale. Parrot costs me only $10 while the cow is $100. Now I want to buy both of them and I have $1000 in my bank account. I'm able to purchase and posses only the cow that is $100. I'm unable to purchase the one that costs lesser i.e. the parrot for $10. No doubt I have $1000 in my bank account but still I could not purchase it, as it was no more in stock left for sale. Someone else purchased it before I did. Everything happens for good. It belonged to someone else's destiny. May be it was lucky for him. May be I would have a loss of $10,000 if I would have possessed it or may be the parrot would never learn to speak. Let’s look at this in detail. Should I feel sorry or feel happy for not purchasing this parrot. If I realize the truth and respect the decision of destiny, then I will feel happy that I was saved by a loss of $10,000. If I listen to my egoistic desire of possessive nature, with a false ego of superiority then I will feel the pain of not purchasing the parrot for $10. It’s up to me to be happy or sad. It depends on the way we analyze the things around us. These decisions are taken by our subconscious minds. To heal the subconscious mind it is necessary to have good ideas, good purpose, faith in good God, faith in the acceptance of destiny, faith in forgiveness, faith in love and compassion, faith in being constructive and optimism, faith in brotherhood, faith in learning from our mistakes.”
“It’s something like who came first? It’s the hen or the egg? They are both correlated, it would have not happened if the other would have happened. Lets say you are not going to marry until and unless you mature mentally and you are not going to mature until and unless you marry. Things happen at the right time, right place and under the right favorable conditions. We can put our good sincere efforts to achieve these conditions, at the same time we should not feel frustrated if they do not happen as expected. If we start feeling frustration and humiliation then we will loose the balance of mind, thus creating confusions and miss understandings. Our face is the reflection of our mind. Once we lose our mind it give rise to anxiety, which will give way to anger, which will lead to high blood pressure, which will tend to high sugar, if this is not stopped, then it will lead to a heart attack and loss of good relationships with valuable friends and personalities.” After listening to the explanation the other saint was relieved of his confusion and started to feel the happiness. Thus he told him “We cannot attain the salvation and haven until and unless we learn from the right preacher. No doubt doth haven and hells are within us, here on earth. It’s up to us to decide what we want”. He thanked him for giving a satisfying explanation, which opened his eyes. This changed the way he looked at the things around him.
What happens when “red hot iron” is immersed in “cold water”? It neutralizes, becomes normal, its nature, things always tend to return to the nature. What happens when a calm, gentle, humble and stable person interacts with an arrogant, harsh, rude, and short tempered person? It’s transformation, conversion from one form to another, bad to good. There will be some reaction. It will take some time to neutralize and to retain the normal form. It’s always better and constructive when anger is converted to forgiveness. Arrogance is converted to calmness. Unstable is converted to stable. Fear is converted to hope and joy. Never loose hope in order to achieve a good purpose.
Morale: When we have prayers, wishes, faith and blessings then the luck and destiny will follow us.
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Saturday, March 03, 2007
A Terrible Fight Between Two Wolves:
An old grandpa was teaching his grandchildren about life.
He said to them, "A battle is raging inside me, it is a terrible fight between two wolves.
One wolf represents fear, anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority and ego.
The other stands for joy, peace, love, hope, sharing, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, friendship, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith."
The old man fixed the children with a firm stare. "This same fight is going on inside you, and inside every other person, too."
They thought about it for a minute and then one child asked his grandfather, "Which wolf will win?".
The old Grandpa replied: "The one you feed."
Moral: Think before feeding. Feed the good ones to achieve good purpose in life. Face is the reflection of mind. What we sow is what we reap. Ego of superiority is the destruction of individuality.
There are two kinds of kings, one is the destructive lion king and the other is constructive humble king. Now this destructive king want to rule, ultimately leading everyone to destruction. Where as there is another humble king who ultimately leading us to paradise. If every Indian realizes this secret to success, then our country will be number one, with constructive optimism. May the concept of optimism, called as "God" bless my mother-land I N D I A.
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Sunday, February 04, 2007
Hen that laid golden eggs:
Once in a village there lived a cottager with his lavish wife. They had a hen in their farm which used to lay golden eggs. It used to lay one egg at a time. Due to the greed with a bad ambition and an dirty desire of becoming more richer. To be wealthy and to make easy money they supposed that the hen must contain a great lump of gold within it. In order to accomplish their evil desire they killed it. Having done so, they found to their surprise that the Hen differed in no respect from their other hens. They did not find any eggs. The foolish pair, thus hoping to become rich all at once, deprived themselves of the gain of which they were assured day by day. They realized that it doesn’t pay to be greedy.
Moral: Never be greedy with bad ambitions and dirt desires. Confess, seek and pray. Be calm, gentle, humble and stable. Live and Let live. Have good purpose and have patience in life.
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Wednesday, November 08, 2006
Healing, forgiveness and affection:
Here is a short story. A person in a village was hungry, thus he planted a mango tree. He nourished it with water and manure. He fertile and cleaned the soil and took good care of the tree with love and affection.
One day when he was asleep a thief robbed the mangoes from the tree. When he awoke and was hungry, he went to eat the mangoes. But he was unable to find any mangoes there. It was quite obvious that he was sad. But he realized that the tree which he planted still stood there. It will give fruits again, as he knew how to grow trees.
He learned that he should be alert and provide protection to his trees. He learned that if at all the robber knew how to grow trees, he would have not robbed the mangoes.
Thus he thought the thief how to grow mango trees. This way a thief was converted to a good farmer. Healing, forgiveness and affection gave a new meaning to his life.
Morale: When your hand starts paining do not cut it, Cure it. Prevention is better than cure.
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Elephants held by small ropes:
A saint was passing by a forest on his way to a pilgrim. As he was passing by the elephants, he suddenly stopped, confused by the fact that these huge creatures were being held by only a small rope tied to their front leg. No chains, no cages. It was obvious that the elephants could, at anytime, break away from their bonds but for some reason, they did not.
He saw a trainer near by and asked why these beautiful, magnificent animals just stood there and made no attempt to get away. "Well," the trainer said, "when they are very young and much smaller we use the same size rope to tie them and, at that age, it's enough to hold them. As they grow up, they are conditioned to believe they cannot break away. They believe the rope can still hold them, so they never try to break free." he was amazed. These animals could at any time break free from their bonds but because they believed they couldn't, they were stuck right where they were.
Like the elephants, how many of us go through life hanging onto a belief that we cannot do something, simply because we failed at it once before? Think for an instance what would have happened in case of a forest fire? Wouldn’t they break free to save their lives? They are going to stay there as far as they are safe, happy and secured, as far as there is no threat for their survival. Its advisable not to stay in a place where someone is not happy and satisfied. We have to make constructive efforts without any frustrations to protect freedom and justice. We have to realize the good purpose of life and thus put forth our best efforts to accomplish them. Its a mistake not to make constructive efforts to achieve the good objective. Mistakes become blunders when they are repeated knowingly with consciousness. One has to be wise enough to take the required bold step to achieve the good objective of peace and brotherhood. One must resolve the issues peacefully.
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Story of Punyakoti - the strength of truth.
This is the story of punyakoti who believed in truth as God. This story is quite primitive, I remember my granny narrating this to me while I was a five year kid. She used to tell "one must never lie under any situations". The reader is recommended to grasp the humor from this story, rather than confusing oneself with real tigers and cows. The example of cow and tiger are considered in order to justify a casting of a cow with a innocent gentle person and that of a tiger with a cruel arrogant person. This story signifies to the listener by encouraging to speak the truth while facing situations in real life. Also provides strength and hope to the innocent victims, who are sometimes caught in unavoidable situations in real life. To encourage them to be with truth. At the same time the story also signifies that a cruel person also has a soft corner too. Thus when this story is reveled to a cruel person, it conveys a message of forgiveness to the innocent ones. Not to hurt the innocent, by doing justice to good ones. Usually when the truth is realized and spoken, it so happens that, we start feeling to experience a great relief within our psychological behavior and analysis. It is quite obvious that a mentally relaxed person with no fear to hide anything would provide better solutions to life's problems. Here are a few snaps of friendly tigers which could have been otherwise wild. To demonstrate the fact that the growing up environment definitely matters a lot in carving the personality of not only humans but also the wildest animals. (1) Friendly Tigers. (2) Tiger Temple. (3) Google Search.
In the heart of place named Dharani Mandala in Karnataka state lived a Shepard by name Kalinga.
He had bath in river and sat below the mango tree in the wee morning hours and played his flute to call all the cows.
He cried loudly to call the cows Gange, Gauri, Tungabadre and Punyakoti.
All the cows gathered hearing his voice and the tumbler was soon filled with their milk.
There lived a tiger by name Arbhuda in the near by surrounding forest hill who was hungry for food.
All the cows were scattered when he sprang with a roar of thunder and anger.
Cow Punyakoti on remembering the hungry cry of its calf was in a hurry to return in order to feed her baby.
The cruel tiger quickly sprang to stop the cow thinking that he got his food for the day.
The cruel tiger roared in anger and said “I’m hungry; I will split you apart right now”.
The cow said “Oh humble tiger, my hungry baby is waiting for me back at home. Give me a minute; I will be back once I feed my baby.”
The tiger said “You are lying to me; you will escape if I leave you. I’m not a fool to loose my delicious pray.”
The cow said “Please believe in me. Truth is everything to me, I swear upon my parents and relatives. God will not forgive if we lie”.
It returned back to baby after convincing its promise to the tiger who wanted to kill it and told the baby about the incident.
The baby cried “With whom will I stay if you leave? Whose milk will I drink? With whom will I sleep? With whom will I live? Who will take care of me?”
The cow requested its group people and said “Oh my mothers and sisters please take care of my orphan baby as your own child. Please don’t pierce your horns at him if he comes in front of you and don’t kick him if he comes behind you.” Then the cow embraced its baby and cried in pain thinking that it’s going to be orphan.
Without making any further delay the cow left the calf and was soon standing in front of tigers den.
The cow said to the tiger “Oh tiger, I have returned back as I promised, I offer this body to you, my flesh, bones and hot blood are all yours, have them all and be happy”.
The tiger repent and tears rolled down on listening to what the cow said. It realized the sacrifice the cow had made for the sake of truth. It realized that God would never forgive him if he killed such a truthful cow and would never be happy by hurting such a innocent soul.
The ashamed tiger said “you are like a sister to me, what will I achieve by killing you”, saying thus the tiger sprang and committed suicide.
Happy with this, punyakoti returned to feed its baby calf. Called the Shepard and said “All my cow siblings and in your Shepard siblings may worship lord Krisna in sankranti”.
He is the only gracious one who protects.
- the strength of truth.
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In the above story the victory belonged to the good person, but sometimes the bad person wins too. Here is another Similar Story:
The Frog and the Nightingale. A story on how the jealous Frog kills the Nightingale.
Once upon a time a frog croaked in Bingle Bog all the night beginning from dusk (period of time at the end of the day, just before it becomes dark) to dawn (morning at which daylight first begins). All the creatures hated his loud and unpleasant voice but still they did not have any other option. The voice came out from the sumac (red flowering tree) tree where every night the frog sang till morning. He was so determined and also shameless that neither stones, prayers or sticks, nor the insults or complaints could divert him from singing.
One night, a nightingale started casting her melody in the moonlight to which both the frog and the other creatures were left dumbstruck. The whole bog remained, rapt (completely interested, involved, happy and pleased) and admired her voice and applauded her when she ended. The frog was obviously jealous of his rival and had finally decided to eliminate her. So, the next night when the nightingale was again preparing to sing, the frog’s croak disturbed her. On being asked about himself by the nightingale he answered that he owned the sumac tree and he had been known for his splendid voice. Also he said that he had written a number of songs for the Bog Trumpet.
The nightingale asked him whether he liked her song or not. The frog said that the song wasn’t bad, but too long, and it lacked some force. The nightingale was greatly impressed that such a critic had discussed her song. She said that she was happy that the song was her own creation. To this the frog said that she needed a proper training, to obtain a strong voice, otherwise she would remain a beginner only. He also said that he would train her but would charge some fee.
Now, the nightingale was flushed with confidence and was a huge sensation, attracting animals from miles away and the frog with a great accuracy charged all of them admission fee. The frog began her vocal training despite of the bad and rainy weather, where even the nightingale had first refused to sing. But the frog forced her to sing for six hours continuously till she was shivering and her voice had become rough and unclear. But, somehow her neck got clear the next day and she was able to sing again collecting a breathless crowd including rich ladies kings queens etc. To all this, the frog had both sweet and bitter feelings. Sweet because he was earning lots of money and bitter because of jealously as his rival was earning name and fame.
Everyday, the frog scolded her to practice even longer finding out her little mistakes like nervousness, not laying more trills (quick high tones) and frills (unnecessary additions) etc. He reminded her that she still owed him sixty shillings and that's why the crowd should increase.
But the condition of nightingale was getting worsened. Her tired and uninspired song could no longer attract the crowd. She could not resist this as she had become used to applause and thus had become miserable too. The heartless frog scolded her even then calling her a brainless bird. She trembled, puffed up, burst a vein and died. The frog said that he had tried to teach her but she was foolish, nervous and tensed and moreover much prone to influence. Then, once again the frog’s fog horn (deep, loud voice,warning signal in foggy weather) started blaring (making unpleasantly loud noise) unrivaled (emphasizing that something is much better or greater than other) in the bog (area of ground that is always very wet, soft, spongy and damp).
The moral of the story is that being inspired and influenced by someone much unknown and strange is indeed a foolish work. The nightingale could have very well judged that how could the frog with such a harsh voice be music maestro and she had to suffer for her misjudgment. Many people in the human society also try to take advantage of the innocence or ignorance of the people.
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What is the reason?
Mata Goddess Mahalaxmi is always seen to be with Sriman Lord Narayana. After all she is his wife, Ardhangi, the half-body.
Mata was questioned and asked for the very reason, why she insists to stay with lord Vishnu?
Mata gives an explanation, she says:
I’m the goddess of wealth and richness; I prefer staying with peace and prosperity. I’m with the very purpose to protect the good and destruction of evil. I’m with justice, happiness and pride. I’m there where there is devotion, blessings and hope. Lord Venkateshwara is the significance of love compassion, good health, stability and strength. He is the time – Past, Present and future. The power of infinity, forever and eternal. He is the ultimate truth of nature and creation. He is the reason behind tradition, culture and belief. He is the symbol of forgiveness and protection. He is the seed of knowledge and wisdom. I’m very much protected, secure and proud to be his strength.
Democracy misinterpreted.
BY the people. OF the people. FOR the people.
The above is sometimes misunderstood as:
BUY the people. OFF the people. FORGET the people.
It is the small spark which lights a lamp for guidance and it’s the same small spark which destroys the creation. May Lord bless his creation with his wisdom.
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Reply Depends on the Question:
Jack and Max are walking from religious service. Jack wonders whether it would be all right to smoke while praying.
Max replies, "Why don't you ask the Priest?" So Jack goes up to the Priest and asks, "Priest, may I smoke while I pray?" But the Priest says,
"No, my son, you may not. That's utter disrespect to our religion."
Jack goes back to his friend and tells him what the good Priest told him. Max says, "I'm not surprised. You asked the wrong question. Let me try." And so Max goes up to the Priest and asks, "Priest, may I pray while I smoke?"
To which the Priest eagerly replies, "By all means, my son. By all Means"
Moral: The reply you get depends on the way the question is put forth!
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Critical mass, Experiment:
A scientist who studied monkeys on an island in Indonesia was able to teach a certain one to wash bananas' before eating them.
Cleansed of sand and dirt, the food was more flavorful. The scientist - who did this only because he was studying the learning capacity of monkeys - did not imagine what would eventually happen. So he was surprised to see that the other monkeys on the island began to imitate the first one.
And then, one day, when a certain number of monkeys had learned to wash their bananas, the monkeys on all of the other islands in the archipelago began to do the same thing. What was most surprising, though, was that the other monkeys learned to do so without having had any contact with the island where the experiment had been conducted.
There are several similar scientific studies. The most common explanation is that when a certain number of people evolve, the entire human race begins to evolve. We don't know how many people are needed - but we know that's how it works.
In your chemistry class, this number is called a "critical mass." You know what that is. It is the minimum amount of the materials you must have in order for a chemical change to take place. As long as you have less than the critical mass of material, nothing happens. As soon as you have the critical mass or more of the material, all of it changes. It works in the chemistry lab. We all know that.
What is the critical mass of humanity that it will take for all of the human race to evolve to its next level? No one yet knows the answer to that question, its probably 51%. We all know there is a new age coming. We all know that we will need new leaders to help us get there, and to teach us how to live once we do. Those of us who are your parents' age or older also know that when these new leaders emerge, they will be younger than we are. Our spirits are hungry for them now. One person can, and does, and will make a difference. Perhaps, it's you.
Its the minimum amount of material required for the reaction to happen. We need to add the goodness until and unless the bad gets converted to good, or the percentage of goodness is more than that of bad. We have to respect and appreciate the good till the reaction takes place. Good quality people with good moral values and character are to be embraced for this reaction to happen. We need to add goodness to the societies, so much of goodness that the bad is converted to good. This can be only done with love, care, forgiveness, compassion and gratitude. Being constructive and not destructive is the key to this issue.
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The Brahman's Wife and the Mongoose.
In a certain city there lived a man by the name of Devasarman. His wife gave birth to a son, and then to a mongoose. Full of love for her children, she cared for the mongoose like a son. However, she did not trust him, thinking that in keeping with the evil nature of his species he might harm her son.
One day, after nicely tucking the boy into his bed, she took the water pitcher and said to her husband, "Listen, master, I am going to the pond to fetch water. You must protect our son from the mongoose."
After she departed, the man went off somewhere to collect alms, leaving the house empty. In the meantime a snake crept out of its hole and -- as fate would have it -- approached the boy's bed. However, the mongoose confronted this, his natural enemy, and fearing that it might kill his brother, the mongoose attacked the wicked snake, tore it to bits, and threw the pieces far and wide.
Proud of his valor and his face covered with blood, the mongoose approached the mother to tell her what had happened.
However, the mother, seeing his blood-spattered face and sensing his excitement, feared, "without doubt this evildoer has devoured our son." Driven by anger and without further investigation she threw the water-filled pitcher at the mongoose, killing him instantly.
Paying no further attention to the mongoose, she rushed into the house where she found the boy still asleep. Near the bed she saw a large black snake, torn to bits. Then her heart was overcome with sorrow because of the thoughtless murder of her praiseworthy son, the mongoose, and she wept.
While this was happening the Brahman returned home with alms from wherever he had been begging.
"See there!" she cried, overcome with grief for her son, the mongoose. "Oh, you greedy one! Because you let greed rule you instead of doing what I told you to, you now must taste the fruit of your own tree of sin, the pain of your son's death."
Moral: Think before you act. Sometimes what you think is not truth. Don't take decisions in haste.
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The Boy Who Cried Wolf.
Once there was a shepherd boy who took care of the village sheep. He was constantly in fear as he was afraid that the wolf would eat the sheep. As he had already lost his sheep which was caught by the wolf before. He was afraid that the incident may repeat again. Out of fear, thinking that prevention is better than cure, and to be optimistic of the possibility of the wolf's attack. He thought of testing the rescue skills and the helping ability of his fellow villagers in case if the wolf would attack the sheep. He took a deep breath and shouted loudly, "Wolf! Wolf! The Wolf is chasing the sheep!".
The villagers came running up the hill to help the boy drive the wolf away. But when they arrived at the top of the hill, they found no wolf. The boy ridiculed them and told them that he was testing their rescue abilities. When the villagers saw no wolf they sternly said, "Save your frightened song for when there is really something wrong! Don't cry 'wolf' when there is NO wolf!". They went grumbling back down the hill.
But the boy just grinned and watched them go grumbling down the hill. The boy did this again and again, as it would relive his tension of fear. Whenever he was afraid he did this to sympathize himself by seeing the poor villagers coming to his rescue. Later once, he saw a REAL wolf prowling about his flock. Alarmed, he leaped to his feet and sang out as loudly as he could, "Wolf! Wolf!". But the villagers thought he was trying to fool them again, and so they didn't come. They thought that the boy is used to cry out of fear without a real threat. But on that day at sunset, everyone wondered why the shepherd boy hadn't returned to the village with their sheep. They went up the hill to find the boy. They found him weeping. The boy said: "There really was a wolf here! The flock has scattered! I cried out, "Wolf!" Why didn't you come?"
An old man tried to comfort the boy as they walked back to the village. "We'll help you look for the lost sheep in the morning," he said, putting his arm around the sad boy, "Nobody believes a liar, even when he is telling the truth!". The boy realized that he must not cry to test the ability of his fellow villagers. He realized that he must not be afraid of the wolf. He started neglecting the threat and started to live a carefree life. Once while he was relaxing without any fear the wolf came again and took another sheep.
This time he realized that he had to be alert but at the same time he must not be afraid with fear and tell a lie. He realized that he must not give a false cry out of fear. He realized that he must have faith and belief in the rescue abilities of his worthy villagers. He realized that he should be brave, wise and courageous to capture and scare the wolf in order to protect his innocent helpless sheep.
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Difference between Heaven and Hell!
Once upon a time, a man was traveling with his horse and his dog. When they passed by a huge tree, lightning struck and all three were killed.
Not realizing that they were dead, their souls continued the journey. They walked up a hill and they were tired and thirsty. Soon, they reached a beautiful place which had a marble gateway and fountain sprouting crystal clear water.
"Good morning" the traveler greeted the guard at the gateway.
"Good morning," he replied.
"What place is this?"
"This is Heaven."
"It's beautiful. I am glad to come here. Can I have a drink?"
"Sure, help yourself."
But when the traveler moved forward with his horse and dog, the guard stopped him, saying, "Sorry, animals are not allowed in here."
The traveler was very much disappointed. For although he was very thirsty, he did not want to drink without his companions. They decided to move on.
Confusion
Some distance further uphill, they came upon another gateway, plain looking compared to the marble one. It led to a rocky path lined with trees. A man there was resting beneath a tree, apparently a sleep.
"Good morning," the traveler greeted him.
He nodded, not saying a word.
"Is there a place we can get a drink?" the traveler asked. "My horse, my dog and I are very thirsty."
"There is a stream behind those rocks over there," the man pointed.
They went ahead and refreshed themselves. They returned and thanked the man. The traveler asked, "By the way, what place is this?"
"This is Heaven," the man replied.
The traveler was surprised. "But the guard at the marble gateway said that was Heaven."
"Don't let him fool you," the man said. "That place is Hell."
"Well, I was nearly fooled," the traveler said. "You should not allow the people there to abuse your name. You know, wrong information can lead to a lot of confusion."
"Actually, they are doing us a great favor," the man at Heaven's gate said. "Because the people who stay on in Hell have proved that they are willing to abandon their friends."
JaiSiyaRam: Afraid of Dying? - Convert to Hinduism!
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Freedom and Prison !
Once upon a time there was a bird. He was adorned with two perfect wings and with glossy, colorful marvelous feathers. In short, he was a creature made to fly about freely in the sky, bringing joy to everyone who saw him.
One day, a woman saw this bird and fell in love with him. She watched his flight, her mouth wide in amazement, and her heart pounding, her eyes shining with excitement. She invited the bird to fly with her, and the two traveled across the sky in perfect harmony. She admired and venerated and celebrated that bird.
But then she thought: He might want to visit far-off mountains! And she was afraid, afraid that she would never feel the same way about any other bird. And she felt envy, envy for the bird's ability to fly.
And she felt alone.
And she thought: 'I'm going to set a trap. The next time the bird appears, he will never leave again.' The bird, who was in love, returned the following day, fell into the trap and was put in a cage.
She looked at the bird every day. There he was, the object of her passion, and she showed him to her friends, who said: 'Now you have everything you could possibly want.' However, a strange transformation began to take place: now that she had the bird and longer needed to woo him, she began to lose interest.
The bird, unable to fly and express the true meaning of his life, began to waste away and his feathers to lose their gloss; he grew ugly; and the woman no longer paid any attention, except by feeding him and cleaning his cage.
One day, the bird died. The woman felt terribly sad and spent all her time thinking about him. But she did not remember the cage, she thought only of the day when she had seen him for the first time, flying contentedly amongst the clouds.
If she had looked more deeply into herself, she would have realized that what had thrilled her about the bird was his freedom, the energy of his wings in motion, not his physical body.
Without the bird, her life too was lost all meaning, and Death came knocking at her door. 'Why have you come?' she asked Death. 'So that you can fly once more with him across the sky,' Death replied. 'If you had allowed him to come and go, you would have loved and admired him even more; alas, you now need me in order to find him again.’
Moral: God gave her something which was suppose to belong to her, but due to her possessiveness, cruelty, greed, wickedness and bad desire she not only lost the thing but also lost herself. Never miss utilize the power bestowed by the almighty. One should respect the things with calmness, gentleness and humbleness. One should confess, seek and pray for good things in life without any ego of superiority.
Ego of superiority is the destruction of individuality - Swami Vivekananda.
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It's in Your Eyes !
A traveler came upon an old farmer hoeing in his field beside the road. Eager to rest his feet, the wanderer hailed the countryman, who seemed happy enough to straighten his back and talk for a moment.
"What sort of people live in the next town?" asked the stranger.
"What were the people like where you've come from?" replied the farmer, answering the question with another question.
"They were a bad lot. Troublemakers all, and lazy too. The most selfish people in the world, and not a one of them to be trusted. I'm happy to be leaving the scoundrels."
"Is that so?" replied the old farmer. "Well, I'm afraid that you'll find the same sort in the next town.
Disappointed, the traveler trudged on his way, and the farmer returned to his work.
Some time later another stranger, coming from the same direction, hailed the farmer, and they stopped to talk. "What sort of people live in the next town?" he asked.
"What were the people like where you've come from?" replied the farmer once again.
"They were the best people in the world. Hard working, honest, and friendly. I'm sorry to be leaving them."
"Fear not," said the farmer. "You'll find the same sort in the next town."
Some things are basics in life. Stories provide the moral values in life. They show us the right path of life. Its a struggle for perfection, lets help each other for a better tomorrow. We all feel the immense happiness when we see a child smiling, and earning for an hug, when we hug them with a open heart, the joy is immense and magical. We can see that happiness and joy when we love both consciously and subconsciously. True to Heart.
*The-Monkey’s-Justice-for-two-cats. *The-Blind-Men-And-The-Elephant. *Two-rich-merchants-and-a-thief. *Healing-is-contagious. *Two-saints-in-a-market-place. *A-Terrible-Fight-Between-Two-Wolves. *Hen-that-laid-golden-eggs. *Healing-forgiveness-and-affection. *Elephants-held-by-small-ropes. *Story-of-Punyakoti-the-strength-of-truth. *What-is-the-reason? *Reply-Depends-on-the-Question. *Critical-mass-Experiment. *The-Brahman's-Wife-and-the-Mongoose. *The-Boy-Who-Cried-Wolf. *Difference-between-Heaven-and-Hell! *Freedom-and-Prison! *It's-in-Your-Eyes!
Friday, December 07, 2007
The Monkey’s Justice for two cats
Once two cats who were very good friends went on a walk. While they were walking on the street, one of the cats saw a box of butter lying besides the road and told the other. The other cat at once jumped and grabbed it.
The first cat said, "Give me the butter. It is I who saw it first."
The other cat said, "Keep away from it. It is I who picked it up."
A fight started between them and they were unable to find a solution. A cleaver wicked monkey was passing by who saw them fighting over the butter.
He thought “How foolish the cats must be. Let me take the advantage of their quarrel”. He came to the cats and said in a loud voice. "Don't fight. I will do justice. Let me share the butter among you both". Thus the cats gave the butter to the monkey thinking that he will do justice by distributing it equally between them.
The monkey split the butter into two parts. He shook his head and said, "Oh! One is bigger and the other is smaller". He ate a little bit of the bigger share to make it smaller. But the bigger share now had become smaller than the other. Thus he again ate from the other. He repeatedly ate part by part from both the shares to make them equal. At the end there was nothing left to share. Thus the poor cats were disappointed and realized their mistake of fighting over the butter.
Moral: When two quarrel, the third takes the advantage. Quarreling and fighting over any issue is destructive. One must not loose temper without a clear thought. One must be calm, gentle and humble to analyze and resolve the conflict. One must confess, seek and pray for justice. Quarrel leads to anger and anger leads to frustration, thus a situation is created where in the wisdom of justice for reasoning is obsolete and lost.
We have to resolve the issues peacefully. We have to put our best efforts with calmness, gentleness, love and compassion. We have to avoid hatred, enmity and criticism. Free and fare constructive communication is one of the basic rights of human beings. It’s one of the means to achieve freedom and liberty. Freedom and liberty are contagious where communication is the means to spread it across. In other words it’s impossible to achieve freedom and liberty without communication. A strong belief in freedom and liberty is a must. We have to communicate without any fear, to spread it effectively, thus to create an effective team work. We can avoid fear with strong faith in optimism. We have to dream of a secured peaceful future, thus put effective efforts to achieve the objective. We have to put our efforts without any frustration. We must never loose hope. Things will definitely change as the history proves that change it self is not constant. In other words history keeps repeating. Good things will definitely happen. The more effective the efforts, thus are the results. Lets make a humble request to all our loved ones so that we can achieve our objective. Good things are possible only with the blessings and wishes of the loved ones. It’s a collective effort.
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Monday, October 15, 2007
The Blind Men And The Elephant.
The people who lived in a small village were always arguing and fighting among each other about God and different religions. They could never agree to a common answer. So they came to the Buddha to find out what exactly God looks like. The Buddha asked his disciples to get a large magnificent elephant and six blind men. He then brought the blind to the elephant and asked them to describe what an elephant looks like.
The first blind man touched the elephant leg and reported that it "looked" like a tree trunk.
The second blind man touched the elephant’s stomach and said that the elephant was a wall.
The third blind man touched the elephant ear and said that it was a fan.
The fourth blind man touched the elephant’s tail and described the elephant as a piece of rope.
The fifth blind man felt the elephant's tusks and described it as a spear.
And the sixth blind man rubbed the elephant’s snout and got very scared because he thought it was a snake.
All of them got into a big argument about the "appearance" of an elephant.
The Buddha asked the citizens: "Each blind man had touched the elephant but each of them gives a different description of the animal. Which answer is right?" "All of them are right," was the reply.
"Why? Because everyone can only see one part of the elephant. They are not able to see the whole animal. The same applies to God and to religions. No one will see Him completely."
- Based on a story from the Buddhist Sutra.
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Monday, October 01, 2007
Two rich merchants and a thief.
Once upon a time in a city of vikramaditya, Ujjayini there lived two friends who were very rich merchants. No doubt they were friends but they had different attitudes and business strategies. One of them was a miser, he used to hide his treasures in a safe place without showing it to anyone. The other was a generous man who used to invest in building the society and thus made good reputation with blessings and well-wishers.
People of that city used to respect both but in a different manner. They knew that the miser merchant was rich and greedy so they respected him in fear, as they were afraid of his hidden secret witchcrafts. Where as they also respected the generous merchant who was good at heart and in turn did justice to the citizens.
There was a famous thief in the same city who was well known for his wicked robbing tricks. Obviously he was constantly in search of valuable treasures. He saw both the merchants and thought of how to rob their rich treasures. After thinking for a long time he came to a conclusion that it would not be possible to rob the generous merchant who had no secret treasures but had invested everything in the open world without hiding anything. He thought it would be possible to rob the miser greedy merchant who had hidden his treasures. Thus he made a plan and was looking for an opportunity to fulfill his bad desire.
Once when there were celebrations in the city, when everybody were completely lost in the pleasure of joy and celebration, he mysteriously robbed the treasures of the greedy miser merchant.
Moral of the story: Hidden richness will be robed easily. Money is like Manure, Spread it and it does good. Pile it up in one place and it Stinks.
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Sunday, September 23, 2007
Healing is contagious:
Once a customer went to a hotel to rent a room and told the frond desk person, “give me a discounted price on a smoking room. I need some liquor, do you have a bar here?” The customer seemed to be in his mid forties. The FD (front desk person) asked him “are you married sir?” The customer said “No! I’m still a bachelor” The FD asked him why he was not married. The customer told him that all his friends were like him, they are all free birds like him and said that some of them are married but divorced. The FD asked him “don’t you know any one who is married for a lifetime and is happy?” The customer said “The only person I know are my parents, they were married for their life time.” The discussion started. The FD told him not to worry and everything will be fine soon. FD told that they don’t have a license for the liquor bar and thus they hope to get it soon. He asked the FD weather he was married. FD said “no sir not yet”. He asked the FD what was his age. FD told him his age. Then he asked the FD did he have a girl friend. The FD said “no sir not yet”. He started laughing and asked him why didn’t he had one? The FD told him “I’m trying to find one and hope to find one soon”. The FD told him that he had lost all his property. His dad had a heart attack few years back due to a heavy loss in his business. The FD told him that his dad was a business man and was a self made man. He took his own decisions and never discussed any of his business matters with his family members. The FD told him that his dad had close friends who were his childhood classmates. He believed in them. They were all in high, top notch positions, like ministers, bank chairmans, police inspectors, etc. He took loans from them and as the market was in recession he couldn’t pay them back and under pressure he underwent a heart attack. He told him that people tend to follow their leaders as there is no way out. It’s the corrupt system, the miss management which makes them helpless and stuck. When the leaders are corrupt then the followers have no option but to become corrupt. The FD told him that “you should be the role model, just like your parents.” Others should look at you and learn the good things from you. They should be proud of you. Our personalities are carved depending upon the friends and environment we are in. Thus he told him to visit places where in he could find good quality people. Quantity is appreciated when it has quality in it. For an example, let’s imagine how a small kid learns in his initial stages of growth. He looks at his parents, his friends, his teachers, his relatives, etc and tends to learn what he thinks is good for him. How can the kids learn when they are unable to see good personalities around them? He told him to visit places where he can experience peace and calmness, from where he can learn good things. He told him that “for every action there is a equal and opposite reaction”. When we are frustrated and tired we tend to achieve quick relief by giving our self’s to bad addictions and habits. Instead of taking the support of bad ones we should tend to release our frustration by going to calm and quite place, where in the mental pressure can be released. Where in we can find solutions to problems. We tend to think better when our mind is in a relaxed state. He told him why not go to a spiritual place instead of going to a liquor bar. The customer realized it and told the FD that he would be going to a spiritual place where in he could find peace. Thus a FD was able to spread the peace and happiness to one of their customers. The customer thanked the FD for his peaceful stay in the hotel. The hotel was appreciated with customer loyalty.
What happens when “red hot iron” is immersed in “cold water”? It neutralizes, becomes normal, its nature, things always tend to return to the nature. What happens when a calm, gentle, humble and stable person interacts with an arrogant, harsh, rude, and short tempered person? It’s transformation, conversion from one form to another, bad to good. There will be some reaction. It will take some time to neutralize and to retain the normal form. It’s always better and constructive when anger is converted to forgiveness. Arrogance is converted to calmness. Unstable is converted to stable. Fear is converted to hope and joy. Never loose hope in order to achieve a good purpose.
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Sunday, September 16, 2007
Two saints in a market place:
On an auspicious day two saints decided to go to a city market to do some purchasing. One of the saints wanted to purchase a parrot and a cow. He wanted to teach the parrot to speak and he wanted the cow to milk. They went to a merchant and asked him if he could show them a few of them before they could decide which one they wanted to purchase. The humble wealthy merchant took them around his store and showed them all he had and told them that all the parrots they could see there were booked and were sold to other customers, thus they could purchase the cow but not the parrot. He told them that the cow would cost them $100 and the parrot would be only $10 and he would inform them in a couple of days later when he would get some more parrots for sale. The saint who wanted to purchase them was very happy to hear this. Where as the other saint who accompanied him was not happy as they were asked to come again later. He felt that it was an utter waste of time and money. After purchasing the cow and placing an order for the parrot while they were returning back on their way home the accompanying saint wanted to know why the saint who had not purchased the parrot was happy while he was feeling the frustration and uneasiness. He asked him for an explanation.
The saint said “Some things at sometimes are not in our hands. We have to except the situation as and how they appear”.
He was not happy with the answer and thus asked for an explanation. The saint said “Its destiny which plays a major part in the life cycle. Destiny, for example lets say there are two things kept in front of me which are for sale. Parrot costs me only $10 while the cow is $100. Now I want to buy both of them and I have $1000 in my bank account. I'm able to purchase and posses only the cow that is $100. I'm unable to purchase the one that costs lesser i.e. the parrot for $10. No doubt I have $1000 in my bank account but still I could not purchase it, as it was no more in stock left for sale. Someone else purchased it before I did. Everything happens for good. It belonged to someone else's destiny. May be it was lucky for him. May be I would have a loss of $10,000 if I would have possessed it or may be the parrot would never learn to speak. Let’s look at this in detail. Should I feel sorry or feel happy for not purchasing this parrot. If I realize the truth and respect the decision of destiny, then I will feel happy that I was saved by a loss of $10,000. If I listen to my egoistic desire of possessive nature, with a false ego of superiority then I will feel the pain of not purchasing the parrot for $10. It’s up to me to be happy or sad. It depends on the way we analyze the things around us. These decisions are taken by our subconscious minds. To heal the subconscious mind it is necessary to have good ideas, good purpose, faith in good God, faith in the acceptance of destiny, faith in forgiveness, faith in love and compassion, faith in being constructive and optimism, faith in brotherhood, faith in learning from our mistakes.”
“It’s something like who came first? It’s the hen or the egg? They are both correlated, it would have not happened if the other would have happened. Lets say you are not going to marry until and unless you mature mentally and you are not going to mature until and unless you marry. Things happen at the right time, right place and under the right favorable conditions. We can put our good sincere efforts to achieve these conditions, at the same time we should not feel frustrated if they do not happen as expected. If we start feeling frustration and humiliation then we will loose the balance of mind, thus creating confusions and miss understandings. Our face is the reflection of our mind. Once we lose our mind it give rise to anxiety, which will give way to anger, which will lead to high blood pressure, which will tend to high sugar, if this is not stopped, then it will lead to a heart attack and loss of good relationships with valuable friends and personalities.” After listening to the explanation the other saint was relieved of his confusion and started to feel the happiness. Thus he told him “We cannot attain the salvation and haven until and unless we learn from the right preacher. No doubt doth haven and hells are within us, here on earth. It’s up to us to decide what we want”. He thanked him for giving a satisfying explanation, which opened his eyes. This changed the way he looked at the things around him.
What happens when “red hot iron” is immersed in “cold water”? It neutralizes, becomes normal, its nature, things always tend to return to the nature. What happens when a calm, gentle, humble and stable person interacts with an arrogant, harsh, rude, and short tempered person? It’s transformation, conversion from one form to another, bad to good. There will be some reaction. It will take some time to neutralize and to retain the normal form. It’s always better and constructive when anger is converted to forgiveness. Arrogance is converted to calmness. Unstable is converted to stable. Fear is converted to hope and joy. Never loose hope in order to achieve a good purpose.
Morale: When we have prayers, wishes, faith and blessings then the luck and destiny will follow us.
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Saturday, March 03, 2007
A Terrible Fight Between Two Wolves:
An old grandpa was teaching his grandchildren about life.
He said to them, "A battle is raging inside me, it is a terrible fight between two wolves.
One wolf represents fear, anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority and ego.
The other stands for joy, peace, love, hope, sharing, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, friendship, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith."
The old man fixed the children with a firm stare. "This same fight is going on inside you, and inside every other person, too."
They thought about it for a minute and then one child asked his grandfather, "Which wolf will win?".
The old Grandpa replied: "The one you feed."
Moral: Think before feeding. Feed the good ones to achieve good purpose in life. Face is the reflection of mind. What we sow is what we reap. Ego of superiority is the destruction of individuality.
There are two kinds of kings, one is the destructive lion king and the other is constructive humble king. Now this destructive king want to rule, ultimately leading everyone to destruction. Where as there is another humble king who ultimately leading us to paradise. If every Indian realizes this secret to success, then our country will be number one, with constructive optimism. May the concept of optimism, called as "God" bless my mother-land I N D I A.
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Sunday, February 04, 2007
Hen that laid golden eggs:
Once in a village there lived a cottager with his lavish wife. They had a hen in their farm which used to lay golden eggs. It used to lay one egg at a time. Due to the greed with a bad ambition and an dirty desire of becoming more richer. To be wealthy and to make easy money they supposed that the hen must contain a great lump of gold within it. In order to accomplish their evil desire they killed it. Having done so, they found to their surprise that the Hen differed in no respect from their other hens. They did not find any eggs. The foolish pair, thus hoping to become rich all at once, deprived themselves of the gain of which they were assured day by day. They realized that it doesn’t pay to be greedy.
Moral: Never be greedy with bad ambitions and dirt desires. Confess, seek and pray. Be calm, gentle, humble and stable. Live and Let live. Have good purpose and have patience in life.
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Wednesday, November 08, 2006
Healing, forgiveness and affection:
Here is a short story. A person in a village was hungry, thus he planted a mango tree. He nourished it with water and manure. He fertile and cleaned the soil and took good care of the tree with love and affection.
One day when he was asleep a thief robbed the mangoes from the tree. When he awoke and was hungry, he went to eat the mangoes. But he was unable to find any mangoes there. It was quite obvious that he was sad. But he realized that the tree which he planted still stood there. It will give fruits again, as he knew how to grow trees.
He learned that he should be alert and provide protection to his trees. He learned that if at all the robber knew how to grow trees, he would have not robbed the mangoes.
Thus he thought the thief how to grow mango trees. This way a thief was converted to a good farmer. Healing, forgiveness and affection gave a new meaning to his life.
Morale: When your hand starts paining do not cut it, Cure it. Prevention is better than cure.
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Elephants held by small ropes:
A saint was passing by a forest on his way to a pilgrim. As he was passing by the elephants, he suddenly stopped, confused by the fact that these huge creatures were being held by only a small rope tied to their front leg. No chains, no cages. It was obvious that the elephants could, at anytime, break away from their bonds but for some reason, they did not.
He saw a trainer near by and asked why these beautiful, magnificent animals just stood there and made no attempt to get away. "Well," the trainer said, "when they are very young and much smaller we use the same size rope to tie them and, at that age, it's enough to hold them. As they grow up, they are conditioned to believe they cannot break away. They believe the rope can still hold them, so they never try to break free." he was amazed. These animals could at any time break free from their bonds but because they believed they couldn't, they were stuck right where they were.
Like the elephants, how many of us go through life hanging onto a belief that we cannot do something, simply because we failed at it once before? Think for an instance what would have happened in case of a forest fire? Wouldn’t they break free to save their lives? They are going to stay there as far as they are safe, happy and secured, as far as there is no threat for their survival. Its advisable not to stay in a place where someone is not happy and satisfied. We have to make constructive efforts without any frustrations to protect freedom and justice. We have to realize the good purpose of life and thus put forth our best efforts to accomplish them. Its a mistake not to make constructive efforts to achieve the good objective. Mistakes become blunders when they are repeated knowingly with consciousness. One has to be wise enough to take the required bold step to achieve the good objective of peace and brotherhood. One must resolve the issues peacefully.
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Story of Punyakoti - the strength of truth.
This is the story of punyakoti who believed in truth as God. This story is quite primitive, I remember my granny narrating this to me while I was a five year kid. She used to tell "one must never lie under any situations". The reader is recommended to grasp the humor from this story, rather than confusing oneself with real tigers and cows. The example of cow and tiger are considered in order to justify a casting of a cow with a innocent gentle person and that of a tiger with a cruel arrogant person. This story signifies to the listener by encouraging to speak the truth while facing situations in real life. Also provides strength and hope to the innocent victims, who are sometimes caught in unavoidable situations in real life. To encourage them to be with truth. At the same time the story also signifies that a cruel person also has a soft corner too. Thus when this story is reveled to a cruel person, it conveys a message of forgiveness to the innocent ones. Not to hurt the innocent, by doing justice to good ones. Usually when the truth is realized and spoken, it so happens that, we start feeling to experience a great relief within our psychological behavior and analysis. It is quite obvious that a mentally relaxed person with no fear to hide anything would provide better solutions to life's problems. Here are a few snaps of friendly tigers which could have been otherwise wild. To demonstrate the fact that the growing up environment definitely matters a lot in carving the personality of not only humans but also the wildest animals. (1) Friendly Tigers. (2) Tiger Temple. (3) Google Search.
In the heart of place named Dharani Mandala in Karnataka state lived a Shepard by name Kalinga.
He had bath in river and sat below the mango tree in the wee morning hours and played his flute to call all the cows.
He cried loudly to call the cows Gange, Gauri, Tungabadre and Punyakoti.
All the cows gathered hearing his voice and the tumbler was soon filled with their milk.
There lived a tiger by name Arbhuda in the near by surrounding forest hill who was hungry for food.
All the cows were scattered when he sprang with a roar of thunder and anger.
Cow Punyakoti on remembering the hungry cry of its calf was in a hurry to return in order to feed her baby.
The cruel tiger quickly sprang to stop the cow thinking that he got his food for the day.
The cruel tiger roared in anger and said “I’m hungry; I will split you apart right now”.
The cow said “Oh humble tiger, my hungry baby is waiting for me back at home. Give me a minute; I will be back once I feed my baby.”
The tiger said “You are lying to me; you will escape if I leave you. I’m not a fool to loose my delicious pray.”
The cow said “Please believe in me. Truth is everything to me, I swear upon my parents and relatives. God will not forgive if we lie”.
It returned back to baby after convincing its promise to the tiger who wanted to kill it and told the baby about the incident.
The baby cried “With whom will I stay if you leave? Whose milk will I drink? With whom will I sleep? With whom will I live? Who will take care of me?”
The cow requested its group people and said “Oh my mothers and sisters please take care of my orphan baby as your own child. Please don’t pierce your horns at him if he comes in front of you and don’t kick him if he comes behind you.” Then the cow embraced its baby and cried in pain thinking that it’s going to be orphan.
Without making any further delay the cow left the calf and was soon standing in front of tigers den.
The cow said to the tiger “Oh tiger, I have returned back as I promised, I offer this body to you, my flesh, bones and hot blood are all yours, have them all and be happy”.
The tiger repent and tears rolled down on listening to what the cow said. It realized the sacrifice the cow had made for the sake of truth. It realized that God would never forgive him if he killed such a truthful cow and would never be happy by hurting such a innocent soul.
The ashamed tiger said “you are like a sister to me, what will I achieve by killing you”, saying thus the tiger sprang and committed suicide.
Happy with this, punyakoti returned to feed its baby calf. Called the Shepard and said “All my cow siblings and in your Shepard siblings may worship lord Krisna in sankranti”.
He is the only gracious one who protects.
- the strength of truth.
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In the above story the victory belonged to the good person, but sometimes the bad person wins too. Here is another Similar Story:
The Frog and the Nightingale. A story on how the jealous Frog kills the Nightingale.
Once upon a time a frog croaked in Bingle Bog all the night beginning from dusk (period of time at the end of the day, just before it becomes dark) to dawn (morning at which daylight first begins). All the creatures hated his loud and unpleasant voice but still they did not have any other option. The voice came out from the sumac (red flowering tree) tree where every night the frog sang till morning. He was so determined and also shameless that neither stones, prayers or sticks, nor the insults or complaints could divert him from singing.
One night, a nightingale started casting her melody in the moonlight to which both the frog and the other creatures were left dumbstruck. The whole bog remained, rapt (completely interested, involved, happy and pleased) and admired her voice and applauded her when she ended. The frog was obviously jealous of his rival and had finally decided to eliminate her. So, the next night when the nightingale was again preparing to sing, the frog’s croak disturbed her. On being asked about himself by the nightingale he answered that he owned the sumac tree and he had been known for his splendid voice. Also he said that he had written a number of songs for the Bog Trumpet.
The nightingale asked him whether he liked her song or not. The frog said that the song wasn’t bad, but too long, and it lacked some force. The nightingale was greatly impressed that such a critic had discussed her song. She said that she was happy that the song was her own creation. To this the frog said that she needed a proper training, to obtain a strong voice, otherwise she would remain a beginner only. He also said that he would train her but would charge some fee.
Now, the nightingale was flushed with confidence and was a huge sensation, attracting animals from miles away and the frog with a great accuracy charged all of them admission fee. The frog began her vocal training despite of the bad and rainy weather, where even the nightingale had first refused to sing. But the frog forced her to sing for six hours continuously till she was shivering and her voice had become rough and unclear. But, somehow her neck got clear the next day and she was able to sing again collecting a breathless crowd including rich ladies kings queens etc. To all this, the frog had both sweet and bitter feelings. Sweet because he was earning lots of money and bitter because of jealously as his rival was earning name and fame.
Everyday, the frog scolded her to practice even longer finding out her little mistakes like nervousness, not laying more trills (quick high tones) and frills (unnecessary additions) etc. He reminded her that she still owed him sixty shillings and that's why the crowd should increase.
But the condition of nightingale was getting worsened. Her tired and uninspired song could no longer attract the crowd. She could not resist this as she had become used to applause and thus had become miserable too. The heartless frog scolded her even then calling her a brainless bird. She trembled, puffed up, burst a vein and died. The frog said that he had tried to teach her but she was foolish, nervous and tensed and moreover much prone to influence. Then, once again the frog’s fog horn (deep, loud voice,warning signal in foggy weather) started blaring (making unpleasantly loud noise) unrivaled (emphasizing that something is much better or greater than other) in the bog (area of ground that is always very wet, soft, spongy and damp).
The moral of the story is that being inspired and influenced by someone much unknown and strange is indeed a foolish work. The nightingale could have very well judged that how could the frog with such a harsh voice be music maestro and she had to suffer for her misjudgment. Many people in the human society also try to take advantage of the innocence or ignorance of the people.
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What is the reason?
Mata Goddess Mahalaxmi is always seen to be with Sriman Lord Narayana. After all she is his wife, Ardhangi, the half-body.
Mata was questioned and asked for the very reason, why she insists to stay with lord Vishnu?
Mata gives an explanation, she says:
I’m the goddess of wealth and richness; I prefer staying with peace and prosperity. I’m with the very purpose to protect the good and destruction of evil. I’m with justice, happiness and pride. I’m there where there is devotion, blessings and hope. Lord Venkateshwara is the significance of love compassion, good health, stability and strength. He is the time – Past, Present and future. The power of infinity, forever and eternal. He is the ultimate truth of nature and creation. He is the reason behind tradition, culture and belief. He is the symbol of forgiveness and protection. He is the seed of knowledge and wisdom. I’m very much protected, secure and proud to be his strength.
Democracy misinterpreted.
BY the people. OF the people. FOR the people.
The above is sometimes misunderstood as:
BUY the people. OFF the people. FORGET the people.
It is the small spark which lights a lamp for guidance and it’s the same small spark which destroys the creation. May Lord bless his creation with his wisdom.
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Reply Depends on the Question:
Jack and Max are walking from religious service. Jack wonders whether it would be all right to smoke while praying.
Max replies, "Why don't you ask the Priest?" So Jack goes up to the Priest and asks, "Priest, may I smoke while I pray?" But the Priest says,
"No, my son, you may not. That's utter disrespect to our religion."
Jack goes back to his friend and tells him what the good Priest told him. Max says, "I'm not surprised. You asked the wrong question. Let me try." And so Max goes up to the Priest and asks, "Priest, may I pray while I smoke?"
To which the Priest eagerly replies, "By all means, my son. By all Means"
Moral: The reply you get depends on the way the question is put forth!
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Critical mass, Experiment:
A scientist who studied monkeys on an island in Indonesia was able to teach a certain one to wash bananas' before eating them.
Cleansed of sand and dirt, the food was more flavorful. The scientist - who did this only because he was studying the learning capacity of monkeys - did not imagine what would eventually happen. So he was surprised to see that the other monkeys on the island began to imitate the first one.
And then, one day, when a certain number of monkeys had learned to wash their bananas, the monkeys on all of the other islands in the archipelago began to do the same thing. What was most surprising, though, was that the other monkeys learned to do so without having had any contact with the island where the experiment had been conducted.
There are several similar scientific studies. The most common explanation is that when a certain number of people evolve, the entire human race begins to evolve. We don't know how many people are needed - but we know that's how it works.
In your chemistry class, this number is called a "critical mass." You know what that is. It is the minimum amount of the materials you must have in order for a chemical change to take place. As long as you have less than the critical mass of material, nothing happens. As soon as you have the critical mass or more of the material, all of it changes. It works in the chemistry lab. We all know that.
What is the critical mass of humanity that it will take for all of the human race to evolve to its next level? No one yet knows the answer to that question, its probably 51%. We all know there is a new age coming. We all know that we will need new leaders to help us get there, and to teach us how to live once we do. Those of us who are your parents' age or older also know that when these new leaders emerge, they will be younger than we are. Our spirits are hungry for them now. One person can, and does, and will make a difference. Perhaps, it's you.
Its the minimum amount of material required for the reaction to happen. We need to add the goodness until and unless the bad gets converted to good, or the percentage of goodness is more than that of bad. We have to respect and appreciate the good till the reaction takes place. Good quality people with good moral values and character are to be embraced for this reaction to happen. We need to add goodness to the societies, so much of goodness that the bad is converted to good. This can be only done with love, care, forgiveness, compassion and gratitude. Being constructive and not destructive is the key to this issue.
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The Brahman's Wife and the Mongoose.
In a certain city there lived a man by the name of Devasarman. His wife gave birth to a son, and then to a mongoose. Full of love for her children, she cared for the mongoose like a son. However, she did not trust him, thinking that in keeping with the evil nature of his species he might harm her son.
One day, after nicely tucking the boy into his bed, she took the water pitcher and said to her husband, "Listen, master, I am going to the pond to fetch water. You must protect our son from the mongoose."
After she departed, the man went off somewhere to collect alms, leaving the house empty. In the meantime a snake crept out of its hole and -- as fate would have it -- approached the boy's bed. However, the mongoose confronted this, his natural enemy, and fearing that it might kill his brother, the mongoose attacked the wicked snake, tore it to bits, and threw the pieces far and wide.
Proud of his valor and his face covered with blood, the mongoose approached the mother to tell her what had happened.
However, the mother, seeing his blood-spattered face and sensing his excitement, feared, "without doubt this evildoer has devoured our son." Driven by anger and without further investigation she threw the water-filled pitcher at the mongoose, killing him instantly.
Paying no further attention to the mongoose, she rushed into the house where she found the boy still asleep. Near the bed she saw a large black snake, torn to bits. Then her heart was overcome with sorrow because of the thoughtless murder of her praiseworthy son, the mongoose, and she wept.
While this was happening the Brahman returned home with alms from wherever he had been begging.
"See there!" she cried, overcome with grief for her son, the mongoose. "Oh, you greedy one! Because you let greed rule you instead of doing what I told you to, you now must taste the fruit of your own tree of sin, the pain of your son's death."
Moral: Think before you act. Sometimes what you think is not truth. Don't take decisions in haste.
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The Boy Who Cried Wolf.
Once there was a shepherd boy who took care of the village sheep. He was constantly in fear as he was afraid that the wolf would eat the sheep. As he had already lost his sheep which was caught by the wolf before. He was afraid that the incident may repeat again. Out of fear, thinking that prevention is better than cure, and to be optimistic of the possibility of the wolf's attack. He thought of testing the rescue skills and the helping ability of his fellow villagers in case if the wolf would attack the sheep. He took a deep breath and shouted loudly, "Wolf! Wolf! The Wolf is chasing the sheep!".
The villagers came running up the hill to help the boy drive the wolf away. But when they arrived at the top of the hill, they found no wolf. The boy ridiculed them and told them that he was testing their rescue abilities. When the villagers saw no wolf they sternly said, "Save your frightened song for when there is really something wrong! Don't cry 'wolf' when there is NO wolf!". They went grumbling back down the hill.
But the boy just grinned and watched them go grumbling down the hill. The boy did this again and again, as it would relive his tension of fear. Whenever he was afraid he did this to sympathize himself by seeing the poor villagers coming to his rescue. Later once, he saw a REAL wolf prowling about his flock. Alarmed, he leaped to his feet and sang out as loudly as he could, "Wolf! Wolf!". But the villagers thought he was trying to fool them again, and so they didn't come. They thought that the boy is used to cry out of fear without a real threat. But on that day at sunset, everyone wondered why the shepherd boy hadn't returned to the village with their sheep. They went up the hill to find the boy. They found him weeping. The boy said: "There really was a wolf here! The flock has scattered! I cried out, "Wolf!" Why didn't you come?"
An old man tried to comfort the boy as they walked back to the village. "We'll help you look for the lost sheep in the morning," he said, putting his arm around the sad boy, "Nobody believes a liar, even when he is telling the truth!". The boy realized that he must not cry to test the ability of his fellow villagers. He realized that he must not be afraid of the wolf. He started neglecting the threat and started to live a carefree life. Once while he was relaxing without any fear the wolf came again and took another sheep.
This time he realized that he had to be alert but at the same time he must not be afraid with fear and tell a lie. He realized that he must not give a false cry out of fear. He realized that he must have faith and belief in the rescue abilities of his worthy villagers. He realized that he should be brave, wise and courageous to capture and scare the wolf in order to protect his innocent helpless sheep.
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Difference between Heaven and Hell!
Once upon a time, a man was traveling with his horse and his dog. When they passed by a huge tree, lightning struck and all three were killed.
Not realizing that they were dead, their souls continued the journey. They walked up a hill and they were tired and thirsty. Soon, they reached a beautiful place which had a marble gateway and fountain sprouting crystal clear water.
"Good morning" the traveler greeted the guard at the gateway.
"Good morning," he replied.
"What place is this?"
"This is Heaven."
"It's beautiful. I am glad to come here. Can I have a drink?"
"Sure, help yourself."
But when the traveler moved forward with his horse and dog, the guard stopped him, saying, "Sorry, animals are not allowed in here."
The traveler was very much disappointed. For although he was very thirsty, he did not want to drink without his companions. They decided to move on.
Confusion
Some distance further uphill, they came upon another gateway, plain looking compared to the marble one. It led to a rocky path lined with trees. A man there was resting beneath a tree, apparently a sleep.
"Good morning," the traveler greeted him.
He nodded, not saying a word.
"Is there a place we can get a drink?" the traveler asked. "My horse, my dog and I are very thirsty."
"There is a stream behind those rocks over there," the man pointed.
They went ahead and refreshed themselves. They returned and thanked the man. The traveler asked, "By the way, what place is this?"
"This is Heaven," the man replied.
The traveler was surprised. "But the guard at the marble gateway said that was Heaven."
"Don't let him fool you," the man said. "That place is Hell."
"Well, I was nearly fooled," the traveler said. "You should not allow the people there to abuse your name. You know, wrong information can lead to a lot of confusion."
"Actually, they are doing us a great favor," the man at Heaven's gate said. "Because the people who stay on in Hell have proved that they are willing to abandon their friends."
JaiSiyaRam: Afraid of Dying? - Convert to Hinduism!
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Freedom and Prison !
Once upon a time there was a bird. He was adorned with two perfect wings and with glossy, colorful marvelous feathers. In short, he was a creature made to fly about freely in the sky, bringing joy to everyone who saw him.
One day, a woman saw this bird and fell in love with him. She watched his flight, her mouth wide in amazement, and her heart pounding, her eyes shining with excitement. She invited the bird to fly with her, and the two traveled across the sky in perfect harmony. She admired and venerated and celebrated that bird.
But then she thought: He might want to visit far-off mountains! And she was afraid, afraid that she would never feel the same way about any other bird. And she felt envy, envy for the bird's ability to fly.
And she felt alone.
And she thought: 'I'm going to set a trap. The next time the bird appears, he will never leave again.' The bird, who was in love, returned the following day, fell into the trap and was put in a cage.
She looked at the bird every day. There he was, the object of her passion, and she showed him to her friends, who said: 'Now you have everything you could possibly want.' However, a strange transformation began to take place: now that she had the bird and longer needed to woo him, she began to lose interest.
The bird, unable to fly and express the true meaning of his life, began to waste away and his feathers to lose their gloss; he grew ugly; and the woman no longer paid any attention, except by feeding him and cleaning his cage.
One day, the bird died. The woman felt terribly sad and spent all her time thinking about him. But she did not remember the cage, she thought only of the day when she had seen him for the first time, flying contentedly amongst the clouds.
If she had looked more deeply into herself, she would have realized that what had thrilled her about the bird was his freedom, the energy of his wings in motion, not his physical body.
Without the bird, her life too was lost all meaning, and Death came knocking at her door. 'Why have you come?' she asked Death. 'So that you can fly once more with him across the sky,' Death replied. 'If you had allowed him to come and go, you would have loved and admired him even more; alas, you now need me in order to find him again.’
Moral: God gave her something which was suppose to belong to her, but due to her possessiveness, cruelty, greed, wickedness and bad desire she not only lost the thing but also lost herself. Never miss utilize the power bestowed by the almighty. One should respect the things with calmness, gentleness and humbleness. One should confess, seek and pray for good things in life without any ego of superiority.
Ego of superiority is the destruction of individuality - Swami Vivekananda.
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It's in Your Eyes !
A traveler came upon an old farmer hoeing in his field beside the road. Eager to rest his feet, the wanderer hailed the countryman, who seemed happy enough to straighten his back and talk for a moment.
"What sort of people live in the next town?" asked the stranger.
"What were the people like where you've come from?" replied the farmer, answering the question with another question.
"They were a bad lot. Troublemakers all, and lazy too. The most selfish people in the world, and not a one of them to be trusted. I'm happy to be leaving the scoundrels."
"Is that so?" replied the old farmer. "Well, I'm afraid that you'll find the same sort in the next town.
Disappointed, the traveler trudged on his way, and the farmer returned to his work.
Some time later another stranger, coming from the same direction, hailed the farmer, and they stopped to talk. "What sort of people live in the next town?" he asked.
"What were the people like where you've come from?" replied the farmer once again.
"They were the best people in the world. Hard working, honest, and friendly. I'm sorry to be leaving them."
"Fear not," said the farmer. "You'll find the same sort in the next town."
