STORY OF THE DAY

[OmSaiRamNowOn]

How Rich Are We?

One day a father and his rich family took his son to a trip to the country with the firm purpose to show him how poor people can be. They spent a day and a night in the farm of a very poor family.

When they got back from their trip, the father asked his son, "How was the trip?"

"Very good Dad!"

"Did you see how poor people can be?" the father asked.

"Yeah!"

"And what did you learn?"

The son answered, "I saw that we have a dog at home, and they have four. We have a pool that reaches to the middle of the garden; they have a creek that has no end. We have imported lamps in the garden; they have the stars. Our patio reaches to the front yard; they have a whole horizon."

When the little boy was finishing, his father was speechless.

His son added, "Thanks, Dad, for showing me how poor we are!"

Isn't it true that it all depends on the way you look at things? If you have love, friends, family, health, good humor and a positive attitude towards life - you've got everything!

You can't buy any of these things, but still you can have all the material possessions you can imagine, provisions for the future, etc., but if you are poor of spirit, you have nothing!

[Ramesh Ramnani]

Life and Death: The River, a Cow and a Butterfly

"Tell me mighty river! Are you changing or are you constant?" asked the butterfly. The river chortled as it sped along, over rocky pebbles and around mossy little hills. "Why, can't you see?" it replied. "Do I look still to you?"  

"No, of course you are not still. You are always moving. But are you not the same river?" The butterfly asked a trifle hesitantly. "Yes, indeed I am the same river that has flowed down the mountains and through this forest for so many, many years!" said the river grandly. "But your waters are constantly flowing away... which part of you is the same?"  

"No part of me is the same, my flighty friend!" answered the river, with a hearty laugh. "I keep losing water every time the sun shines and I keep gaining water every time the rain falls! I merge into the sea, and I began from a humble spring, I keep changing; in change, I am constant... I have neither a beginning nor an end..."  

"What happens to the water that leaves you, river? Where does it go?" asked the butterfly, a trifle confused. "Oh, it goes up into the clouds, and then falls down as rain onto the ground, or into some other river or sea... every drop has gone on a long journey, you know, before it comes and joins me! And it will leave me sooner or later, to go on yet another journey."  

"Why, that means all the oceans and clouds are in you!" squealed the butterfly, excitedly. "Yes", replied the river, "I appear to be limited to this stream, but I contain many worlds hidden inside me." Then a disturbing thought struck the butterfly. "Can water ever disappear into nothing, river?" it asked, curiously. "No, my friend, nothing in this world can ever become nothing. All that is will always be. It may change form, like the water turning into a cloud, then into rain and then the sea... but what is can never cease to be."  

"I think I'm beginning to understand!" said the butterfly, excitedly. "Just as I changed form but remained the same insect, you, too, keep changing form but are still the same river!" "That's right,” said the river as it sped along, and so did the butterfly...

The swishy sound of grass being chewed woke up the butterfly from its gentle snooze. Who was this?

Dark gentle eyes looked down at the butterfly from a big white and brown face. "Moo! Moo-oo-ooo!" inquired the cow, loudly. "And what are you doing here?" "Oh, just resting in this soft grass. How are you this evening?" asked the butterfly, politely.

"Very well indeed. But it's been a few days since the cowherd gave me a bath, and I miss that... when the water flows over my back and falls down my sides, I feel like there is nothing for me to resist or push: I just let go completely, and enjoy the feel of the cool water splashing all over my body." The cow's eyes rolled over in delight, just at the mention of such a delightful experience...

"You have taught me the secret of living, dear cow!" said the butterfly, exultantly. "As you enjoy your bath, so must we all enjoy every moment of this precious existence! For there is a purpose behind every event, a direction in each change... all of which is dictated by a simple law that says energy can neither be created nor destroyed: only transformed. Energy is eternal."

As it sank back on the cool green grass, the butterfly knew that its time had come. It knew, too, that it would merely be transformed now, from one form of energy to another. What came next? It didn't matter.

[Ramesh Ramnani]

Don't Change the World . . .

Once upon a time, there was a king who ruled a prosperous country. One day, he went for a trip to some distant areas of his country. When he was back to his palace, he complained that his feet were very painful, because it was the first time that he went for such a long trip, and the road that he went through was very rough and stony. He then ordered his people to cover every road of the entire country with leather. Definitely, this would need thousands of cows' skin, and would cost a huge amount of money.
 
Then one of his wise servant dared himself to tell the king, "Why do you have to spend that unnecessary amount of money ? Why don't you just cut a little piece of leather to cover your feet ?"
 
The king was surprised, but he later agreed to his suggestion, to make a "shoe" for himself.
 
There is actually a valuable lesson of life in this story : to make this world a happy place to live, you better change yourself - your heart; and not the world . . .

Diamond was just another piece of coal that did well under pressure Either I will find a way or I will make one.....

[Ramesh Ramnani]

Many years ago in a small Indian village,

A farmer had the misfortune Of owing a large sum of money to a village moneylender. The Moneylender, who was old and ugly, fancied the farmer's beautiful Daughter. So he proposed a bargain.

He said he would forgo the farmer's debt if he could marry his Daughter. Both the farmer and his daughter were horrified by the Proposal.

So the cunning money-lender suggested that they let Providence decide the matter. He told them that he would put a black Pebble and a white pebble into an empty money bag. Then the girl would have to pick one pebble from the bag.

1) If she picked the black pebble, she would become his wife and her father's debt would be forgiven.

2) If she picked the white pebble she need not marry him and her father's debt would still be forgiven.

3) But if she refused to pick a pebble, her father would be thrown into Jail.

They were standing on a pebble strewn path in the farmer's field. As They talked, the moneylender bent over to pick up two pebbles. As he Picked them up, the sharp-eyed girl noticed that he had picked up two Black pebbles and put them into the bag.

He then asked the girl to pick A pebble from the bag.

Now, imagine that you were standing in the field. What would you have Done if you were the girl? If you had to advise her, what would you Have told her?

Careful analysis would produce three possibilities:

1. The girl should refuse to take a pebble.

2. The girl should show that there were two black pebbles in the bag And expose the money-lender as a cheat.

3. The girl should pick a black pebble and sacrifice herself in order to save her father from his debt and imprisonment.

Take a moment to ponder over the story. The above story is used with The hope that it will make us appreciate the difference between lateral and logical thinking.

The girl's dilemma cannot be solved with Traditional logical thinking. Think of the consequences if she chooses The above logical answers.

What would you recommend to the Girl to do?

Well, here is what she did ....

The girl put her hand into the moneybag and drew out a pebble. Without Looking at it, she fumbled and let it fall onto the pebble- trewn path Where it immediately became lost among all the other pebbles.

"Oh, how clumsy of me," she said. "But never mind, if you look into the Bag for the one that is left, you will be able to tell which pebble I Picked."

Since the remaining pebble is black, it must be assumed that she had Picked the white one. And since the money-lender dared not admit his Dishonesty, the girl changed what seemed an impossible situation into An extremely advantageous one.

MORAL OF THE STORY:

Most complex problems do have a solution. It is only that we don't attempt to think.

[Ramesh Ramnani]

"The Club 99"

Once upon a time, there lived a King who, despite his luxurious lifestyle, was neither happy nor content.

One day, the King came upon a servant who was singing happily while he worked. This fascinated the King; why was he, the Supreme Ruler of the Land, unhappy and gloomy, while

A lowly servant had so much joy. The King asked the servant, " Why are you so happy?"

The man replied, " Your Majesty, I am nothing but a servant, but my family and I don't need too much - just a roof over our heads and warm food to fill our tummies ."

The king was not satisfied with that reply. Later in the day, he sought the advice of his most trusted advisor. After hearing the King's woes and the servant's story, the advisor said, " Your Majesty, I believe that the servant has not been made part of The 99 Club."

" The 99 Club? And what exactly is that?" the King inquired.

The advisor replied, " Your Majesty, to truly know what The 99 Club is, place 99 Gold coins in a bag and leave it at this servant's doorstep."

When the servant saw the bag, he took it into his house. When he opened the bag, he let out a great shout of joy... So many gold coins!

He began to count them. After several counts, he was at last convinced that there were 99 coins. He wondered, " What could've happened to that last gold coin? Surely, no one would leave 99 coins! "

 He looked everywhere he could, but that final coin was elusive. Finally, exhausted, he decided that he was going to have to work harder than ever to earn that gold coin and complete his collection.

From that day, the servant's life was changed. He was overworked, horribly grumpy, and castigated his family for not helping him make that 100th gold coin. He stopped singing while he worked.

Witnessing this drastic transformation, the King was puzzled. When he sought his advisor's help, the advisor said, " Your Majesty, the servant has now officially joined The 99 Club. "

He continued, " The 99 Club is a name given to those people who have enough to be happy but are never contented, because they're always yearning and striving for that extra 1 telling to themselves: "Let me get that one final thing and then I will be happy for life ."

We can be happy, even with very little in our lives, but the minute we're given something bigger and better, we want even more! We lose our sleep, our happiness, we hurt the people around us; all these as a price for our growing needs and desires. That's what joining The 99 Club is all about."

[OmSaiRamNowOn]

An Indian farmer and his child were toiling in the fields. It was almost dark by the time they had finished their work and the farmer said to the child, "Wow! It's getting dark! Quickly pack up the tools and run. Let's run quickly!"

"Relax. We're not far from home and we know the way home. Why are you in such a panic?" asked the child.

"There's something you don't know. I'm generally fearless. I'm not afraid of tigers or lions. I'm only afraid of the night. When the night comes, I'm completely powerless. The night is most terrifying to me. I'm really frightened of it. I can't stand it," answered the farmer.

It so happened that a lion was hiding nearby and overheard their conversation. "What's this thing called 'the night'? How could it be more fearful than I am? I must find out about it," the lion mused as it moved closer to the farmer, hoping to learn more about this "night" that was even more frightening than itself.

Then darkness fell and the farsighted farmer couldn't see nearby objects clearly. He only saw the vague outline of an animal approaching, thought it was the donkey he had recently lost, and beat the lion several times, saying, "I've been looking for you all day. Where have you been? How dare you come back so late?"

"This is the end of me," the lion thought with regret. "How could I have been so stupid as to come so close to this thing called 'the night' that beat me just now? It's really horrifying. What should I do now?" As these thoughts flashed through the lion's mind, the farmer again slapped it several times, urging it to go home with him. The petrified lion then obediently followed the farmer back to his house.

It was even darker when they reached home. Since the farmer continued to mistake the lion for his donkey, he tied it in a corner outside his house before he went to bed. That night, the lion stayed out in the cold, starving, petrified and not knowing what to expect of "the night" when morning dawned. It believed that the farmer was "the night."

Early the next morning, before dawn broke, the farmer got up and took his "donkey" to the fields. On the way, another lion passed by and found it hilarious to see a lion obediently following a farmer. It then approached the captive lion and asked, "What are you doing? Why are you walking behind this man?"

"Shh! Keep your voice down and leave quickly. Don't you know that this being walking in front is something called 'the night.' He's very terrible. Last night, he beat me and shackled me, leaving me cold and starving the entire night. I have no idea where he's taking me now. Run along or your life will be in danger!"

After hearing this story, the other lion said, "You're incredible. You idiot! You're a lion, the king of animals! You've been deceived! Just roar at him now and you'll know who is more terrifying." The lion accepted his advice and roared loudly, so the farmer took a closer look. Now that the sky had become brighter, he saw that it was a lion. Wow! He bolted like lightning, and the lion was free again.

The moral of this story is that we humans have wisdom, immense power and status. However, if we're stupid, ignorantly follow the Prince of the Devils, and are thus controlled by karma, we can't possibly be liberated. However, if another soul who knows who he is and is not afraid comes to teach us what to do, we can be liberated. This is what a Guru does.


OM SAI RAM !
OM SAI SRI SAI JAYA JAYA SAI !!

-Anju

[Ramesh Ramnani]

JAI SAI RAM!!!

Anju dear just fantastic...wonderful meaning full story.  Amazing still when time comes to know.....we fail.  Fail in our ignorance.  This is what happening with all of us.....we have been forced to live with false notion right from our birth till death....life after life same old pattern goes on with us.  Only blessed few who in real sense surenders to Guru...gets to know it....the real meaning of liberation.

OM SAI RAM!!!

[Ramesh Ramnani]

This has meaning 4 all of us . . .

One day, when I was a freshman in high school, I saw a kid from my class was walking home from school. His name was Kyle. It looked like he was carrying all of his books. I thought to myself, "Why would anyone bring home all his books on a Friday? He must really be a nerd."

I had quite a weekend planned (parties and a football game with my friends tomorrow afternoon), so I shrugged my shoulders and went on.

As I was walking, I saw a bunch of kids running toward him. They ran at him, knocking all his books out of his arms and tripping him so he landed in the dirt. His glasses went flying, and I saw them land in the grass about ten feet from him. He looked up and I saw this terrible sadness in his eyes.

My heart went out to him. So, I jogged over to him and as he crawled around looking for his glasses, and I saw a tear in his eye. As I handed him his glasses, I said, "Those guys are jerks. They really should get lives." He looked at me and said, "Hey thanks!" There was a big smile on his face. It was one of those smiles that showed real gratitude.

I helped him pick up his books, and asked him where he lived. As it turned out, he lived near me, so I asked him why I had never seen him before. He said he had gone to private school before now.

I would have never hung out with a private school kid before. We walked all the way home, and I carried some of his books. He turned out to be a pretty cool kid. I asked him if he wanted to play a little football with my friends. He said yes. We hung out all weekend and the  more I got to know Kyle, the more I liked him, and my  friends thought the same of him.

Monday morning came, and there was Kyle with the huge stack of books again. I stopped him and said, "Boy, you are gonna really build some serious muscles with this pile of books everyday!" He just laughed and handed me half the books.

Over the next four years, Kyle and I became best  friends. When we were seniors, we began to think about college. Kyle decided on Georgetown, and I was going to Duke. I knew that we would always be
friends, that the miles would never be a problem. He was going to be a doctor, and I was going for business on a football scholarship.

Kyle was valedictorian of our class. I teased him all the time about being a nerd. He had to prepare a speech for graduation.

I was so glad it wasn't me having to get up there and speak. Graduation day, I saw Kyle. He looked great. He was one of those guys that really found himself during high school. He filled out and actually looked good in glasses.
 
He had more dates than I had and all the girls loved him. Boy, sometimes I was jealous.

Today was one of those days. I could see that he was nervous about his speech. So, I smacked him on the back and said, "Hey, big guy, you'll be great!" He looked at me with one of those looks (the really grateful one) and smiled. "Thanks," he said.

As he started his speech, he cleared his throat, and began. "Graduation is a time to thank those who helped you make it through those tough years. Your parents, your teachers, your siblings, maybe a coach...but mostly your friends. I am here to tell all of you that being a friend to someone is the best gift you can give them. I am going to tell you a story."

I just looked at my friend with disbelief as he told the story of the first day we met. He had planned to kill himself over the weekend. He talked of how he had cleaned out his locker so his Mom wouldn't have to do it later and was carrying his stuff home. He looked hard at me and gave me a little smile.

"Thankfully, I was saved. My friend saved me from doing the unspeakable."

I heard the gasp go through the crowd as this handsome, popular boy told us all about his weakest moment. I saw his Mom and dad looking at me and smiling that same grateful smile. Not until that moment did I realize it's depth.

Never underestimate the power of your actions. With one small gesture you can change a person's life. For better or for worse.

God puts us all in each other's lives to impact one another in some way. Look for God in others.

"Friends for me are like angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly."

There is no beginning or end..Yesterday is history. . . Tomorrow is mystery. . . Today is a gift. . .

[Ramesh Ramnani]

True Promise  

" How long will you be poring over that newspaper? Will you come Here right away and make your darling daughter eat her food ?"

I tossed the paper away and rushed to the scene. My only Daughter Sindu looked frightened. Tears were welling up in her Eyes. In front of her was a bowl filled to its brim with Curd Rice.
 
Sindu is a nice child, quite intelligent for her age. She has Just turned eight. She particularly detested Curd Rice. My mother and my wife are orthodox and believe firmly in the 'cooling effects' of Curd Rice. I cleared my throat and picked Up the bowl.
 
" Sindu, darling, why don't you take a few mouthful of this Curd Rice? Just for Dad's sake, dear. If you don't, your Mom will Shout at me ."
 
I could sense my wife's scowl behind my back. Sindu softened a Bit and wiped her tears with the back of her hands. "OK, Dad. I will eat not just a few mouthfuls, but the whole lot of this.
 
But, you should..." Sindu hesitated. "Dad, if I eat this entire Curd Rice, will you give me whatever I ask for?" "Oh sure, darling."
 
"Promise?"

"Promise."
 
I covered the pink soft hand extended by my daughter with mine and clinched the deal.

" Ask Mom also to give a similar promise," my daughter insisted. My wife slapped her hand on Sindu's muttering "Promise," Without any emotion .
 
Now I became a bit anxious. " Sindu, you shouldn't insist on Getting a computer or any such expensive items. Dad does not Have that kind of money right now. OK ?"
 
" No, Dad. I do not want anything expensive."
 
Slowly and painfully, she finished eating the whole quantity. I was silently angry with my wife and my mother for forcing my Child to eat something that she detested.
 
After the ordeal was through, Sindu came to me with her eyes Wide with expectation. All of our attention was on her.

" Dad, I want to have my head shaved off this Sunday," Was her demand!
 
" Atrocious!" shouted my wife, " a girl child having her head Shaved off? Impossible!"

" Never in our family!" my mother rasped. " She has been watching Too much of television. Our culture is getting totally spoiled With these TV programs!"
 
" Sindu, why don't you ask for something else? We will be sad Seeing you with a clean-shaven head."

" No, Dad. I do not want anything else," Sindu said with Finality.
 
" Please Sindu, why don't you try to understand our feelings?" I tried to plead with her.

" Dad, you saw how difficult it was for me to eat that Curd Rice," Sindu was in tears. " And you promised to grant me Whatever I ask for. Now, you are going back on your words.  Was it not you who told me the story of King Harishchandra and Its moral that we should honor our promises no matter what ?"

It was time for me to call the shots. " Our promise must be kept."
 
" Are you out your mind?" chorused my mother and wife.
 
" No. If we go back on our promises, she will never learn to Honour her own. Sindu, your wish will be fulfilled."
 
With her head clean-shaven, Sindu had a round-face, and her eyes Looked big and beautiful.
 
On Monday morning, I dropped her at her school. It was a sight To watch my hairless Sindu walking towards her classroom. She turned around and waved.

I waved back with a smile. Just then, a boy alighted from a Car, and shouted, " Sinduja, please wait for me!"
 
What struck me was the hairless head of that boy. " Maybe that is the `in' stuff," I thought.
 
" Sir, your daughter Sinduja is great indeed!" Without introducing herself, a lady got out of the car, and Continued, " That boy who is walking along with your daughter is My son Harish. He is suffering from leukemia."
 
She paused to muffle her sobs. " Harish could not attend the School for the whole of the last month. He lost all of his hair Due to the side effects of the chemotherapy. He refused to come Back to school fearing the unintentional but cruel teasing of The schoolmates.
 
" Sinduja visited him last week and promised him that she will Take care of the teasing issue. But I never imagined she would Sacrifice her lovely hair for the sake of my son! Sir, you and Your wife are blessed to have such a noble soul as your Daughter."
 
I stood transfixed. And then, I wept.

" My little Angel, you have taught me what love is?"
 

[Ramesh Ramnani]

Spot the Emperor in the Story of Fakir Mian Mir

Mian Mir was a Muslim saint of great renown. He lived a pure life. Being a man of God, no barriers of caste or creed marked his thought. He loved those who loved God. He was a pir to millions of Muslims and was a close friend of Arjun, the Guru of countless Hindus.

At the instance of Guru Arjun, Pir Mian Mir laid the foundation stone of Harmandir of Amritsar, the most sacred temple of Sikhs. The temple is held in equally great esteem and reverence by the Hindus. To maintain the dignity of this temple many Sikhs later paid heavily with their heads. Never before and, for that matter, never after has the foundation stone of the highest religious seat of a religion ever been laid by the head of another religion. This remains the unique privilege of the Sikh temple.

Mian Mir was a friend of God-loving people and he would shun worldly, selfish men, covetous amirs and ambitious nawabs who ran after fakirs to get their blessings for successful continuation of acts of aggression against others. To stop such people from coming to see him, Mian Mir posted his followers at the gate of his house.

Once Jahangir, the emperor of India, with all his retinue, came to pay homage to the great fakir. He came with the pomp and show of a great king. Mian Mir’s sentinels stopped the emperor at the gate and requested him to wait until their master had given him permission to enter. Jahangir felt slighted. No one had ever dared delay or question his entry to any place in his kingdom. Yet he controlled his temper and composed himself. He waited for permission.
   
After a little while emperor Jahangir was ushered into the presence of the fakir. Unable to hide his wounded vanity, Jahangir, as soon as he entered the holy presence of Mian Mir, asked him in Persian: “Ba dare-darvis darbane nalbayd?” — Why should there be a sentry at the gate of a fakir?
   
Pir Mian Mir, who was one with the great Allah, caring little for the emperor’s angst, replied in Persian: “Babayd keh sage dunia na ayad” — So that selfish men may not enter.
   
The emperor was ashamed and asked forgiveness. Then with folded hands Jahangir requested Mian Mir to pray for the success of the campaign which he intended to launch for the conquest of the Deccan. Meanwhile, a poor Muslim entered and, bowing his head to Mian Mir, made an offering of a rupee before him. Mian Mir asked the devotee to pick up the rupee and give it to the poorest, most needy person in the audience. The devotee went from one dervish (disciple) to another but none accepted the rupee. The devotee returned to Mian Mir with the rupee saying: “Lord, none of the dervishes will accept the rupee. None is in need, it seems”.
   
“Go and give this rupee to him”, said the fakir, pointing to Jahangir. “He is the poorest and most needy of the lot. Not content with a big kingdom, he covets the kingdom of the Deccan. For that he has come all the way from Delhi to beg. His hunger is like a fire that burns all the more furiously with more wood. It has made him needy, greedy and grim. Go and give the rupee to him”. Who was the emperor? Jahangir or Mian Mir?

[Ramesh Ramnani]

The House of 1000 Mirrors

Our life is actually a reflection of our thoughts and actions.

Long ago in a small, far away village, there was place known as the House of 1000 Mirrors.

A small, happy little dog learned of this place and decided to visit. When he arrived, he bounced happily up the stairs to the doorway of the house.

He looked through the doorway with his ears lifted high and his tail wagging as fast as it could.

To his great surprise, he found himself staring at 1000 other happy little dogs with their tails wagging just as fast as his.

He smiled a great smile, and was answered with 1000 great smiles just as warm and friendly.

As he left the House, he thought to himself, "This is a wonderful place. I will come back and visit it often."

In this same village, another little dog, who was not quite as happy as the first one, decided to visit the house.

He slowly climbed the stairs and hung his head low as he looked into the door. When he saw the 1000 unfriendly looking dogs staring back at him, he growled at them and was horrified to see 1000 little dogs growling back at him.

As he left, he thought to himself, "That is a horrible place, and I will never go back there again."

ALL THE FACES IN THE WORLD ARE MIRRORS.

JUST OBSERVE WHAT KIND OF REFLECTIONS DO YOU SEE IN THE FACES OF THE PEOPLE YOU MEET?

[Ramesh Ramnani]

Dream without Wisdom

Once upon a time, there was a man with a big family who desperately needed a big house. He didn't have enough money to buy a big house, though. So his family lived wherever they could. They were always cold, and crowded and uncomfortable, and they longed for a big house.
 
The man heard one day that gold had been discovered, high up on a mountain. So he set off up the mountain with his pick axe, hoping to find enough gold to buy a big, warm house for his family.

On the first day, right in the middle of the narrow mountain trail stood a tree -- not a huge tree, yet big enough to block the path. So the man used his pick axe to cut down the tree. It rolled down the side of the mountain into a meadow far below. The man continued along the path to the area where gold had been discovered. All day long he chipped into the side of the mountain with his pick axe, yet he found no gold.
 
The next day, he was surprised to see that the tree had grown back, and was again blocking his path. So again he cut it down, and it rolled down the side of the mountain to the meadow far below. Again the man searched all day for gold, only to come back empty handed.
 
For six months this went on. Day after day, the tree would grow back. Day after day, the man would cut it down. And day after day, the man would return to his family empty handed.
 
Then one day, the man happened to glance down, and was astonished to see a big, beautiful new house in the middle of the meadow below. Surely this must be the new home of someone who has found the gold, he thought. Perhaps they'll tell me where they found it. He ran excitedly down the mountain and knocked on the door of the house.
 
"What a beautiful house you have," he said to the woman who answered the door. "Did you pay for it with the gold you found on the mountain?" "Heavens no," said the woman. "I am just a poor widow. I have no gold. But each day for the last six months, a freshly cut log has rolled down the mountain. My children and I simply gathered the logs together to build this big, beautiful house."

[OmSaiRamNowOn]

Right Speech
-------------

One night, Emperor Akbar dreamt that he had lost all his teeth, except one. The next morning he invited all the astrologers of his kingdom to interpret this dream.

After a long discussion, the astrologers prophesized that all his relatives would die before him.

Akbar was very upset by this interpretation and so sent away all the astrologers without any reward.

Later that day, Birbal entered the court. Akbar related his dream and asked him to interpret it. After thinking for a while Birbal replied that the Emperor would live a longer and more fulfilled life than any of his relatives.

Akbar was pleased with Birbal's explanation and rewarded him handsomely.

[Ramesh Ramnani]

Give Thanks

God once sent two angels to earth to gather the prayers of humanity. The first angel was asked to collect all those prayers that were essentially requests from people asking God for something. The second angel was asked to collect all the prayers of thanksgiving.

   The two angels agreed to meet in a month with their collections. They began their task. The first angel collecting prayers that appealed to God for something became extremely busy. Several baskets were needed to hold those prayers — asking for more money, better health, bigger house, car, computer, jewellery and clothing. Some prayed for a spouse, for children, or for better relationships. There were so many such prayers that the angel had to obtain a van to cart them.

   Meanwhile, the second angel travelled far and wide looking for prayers of thankfulness. Several days went by with hardly a prayer of gratitude heard. All that this angel heard were prayers asking for things.

   A month later the two angels returned to God. The angel collecting prayers for requests was laden with many baskets. The angel collecting prayers of thankfulness had only a few, a small amount compared to the prayers requesting things.

   The story illustrates the human condition. Many of us request others to do things for us, but how many of us thank them? Similarly, we pray to God for so many things that we want, but do we thank God? A similar situation is faced by parents and teachers. However, when there is feedback of appreciation, it is heartwarming for the parent or teacher, to receive thanks from their children or students for what they do for them feels good. It is not that they ever cease to sacrifice and serve selflessly, but it’s nice to know that the gift of love they give is acknowledged and appreciated.

   We are fortunate to be born as humans. Only as humans do we have the faculty to know ourselves and to realise God. For this we should thank God every day of our lives. Once a man went to Heaven and God told him that he was lucky to have a human form. The man asked God, “Why are humans so special?” God first showed the man insects, birds, lizards and other creatures. “Notice that they all have their heads turned down towards earth”. Humans can look up. They are the only ones that can lift their sights from the world to see God in the spiritual realms above. Human beings are blessed with a special faculty to gain spiritual knowledge. That opportunity is offered to every human being, but few make use of it. One needs to meditate to make full use of the gift.

   By meditating daily we can achieve union with God and realise that we are part of God. By meditation on the inner Light and Sound of God, we can slowly and steadily achieve true happiness and fulfilment.

   Let us thank God for the many gifts we have received — for our birth, health, food, clothing, shelter and for our families. Let us also thank God for our education and for our jobs. However, let us not thank God merely with words but with deeds, by leading lives of nonviolence, truthfulness, purity, humility and selfless service. Meditate daily so that we can connect with the inner Light and Sound which is the means by which we can turn to our true nature.

[Ramesh Ramnani]

'PUT THE GLASS DOWN TODAY'

A professor began his class by holding up a glass with some water in it.

He held it up for all to see; asked the students,' How much do you think this glass weighs?'

'50gms!' .... '100gms!' ......'125gms' ......the students answered.
 
'I really don't know unless I weigh it,' said the professor,'but, my question is:

What would happen if I held it up like this for a few minutes?'

'Nothing' the students said.
 
'Ok what would happen if I held it up like this for an hour?' the professor asked.

'Your arm would begin to ache' said one of the students.
 
'You're right, now what would happen if I held it for a day?'
 
'Your arm could go numb, you might have severe muscle stress; paralysis; have to go to hospital for sure!'ventured another student; all the students laughed.
 
'Very good.  But during all this, did the weight of the glass change?' asked the professor. 'No' the students said.
 
Then what caused the arm ache & the muscle stress? 'The students were puzzled.

'Put the glass down!' said one of the students.
 
'Exactly!' said the professor.' Life's problems are something like this.

Hold it for a few minutes in your head; they seem OK.

Think of them for a long time & they begin to ache. Hold it even longer & they begin to paralyze you. You will not be able to do anything.

It's important to think of the challenges (problems) in your life, but EVEN MORE IMPORTANT to 'put them down' at the end of every day before you go to sleep.

That way, you are not stressed, you wake up every day fresh & strong & can handle any issue, any challenge that comes your way!'

Remember to 'PUT THE GLASS DOWN TODAY'