STORY OF THE DAY

[OmSaiRamNowOn]

There is a beautiful story of a kasturi-mriga, or musk deer, that brings out the nature of all spiritual sadhana. Once, while roaming about and frolicking among hills and dales, the kasturi-mriga was suddenly aware of an exquisitely beautiful scent, the like of which it had never known. The scent stirred the inner depths of its soul so profoundly that it determined to find the source.

So keen was its longing that notwithstanding the severity of cold or the intensity of scorching heat, by day as well as by night, the deer carried on its desperate search for the source of the sweet scent. It knew no fear or hesitation but undaunted went on its elusive search, until at last, happening to lose its foothold on a cliff, it had a precipitous fall resulting in a fatal injury. While breathing its last, the deer found that the scent that had ravished its heart and inspired all these efforts came from its own navel. This last moment of the deer's life was its happiest, and there was on its face inexpressible peace.

All spiritual sadhanas of the aspirant are like the efforts of the kasturi-mriga. The final fructification of sadhana involves the termination of the ego-life of the aspirant. At that moment there is the realization that he himself has, in a sense, been the object of all his search and endeavor. All that he suffered and enjoyed — all his risks and adventures, all his sacrifices and desperate strivings — were intended for achieving true Self-knowledge, in which he loses his limited individuality only to discover that he is really identical with God, who is in everything.

[Ramesh Ramnani]

JAI SAI RAM!!!

Yehi Toh....Still we are roaming around unnecessarily and lost in the Dark Alleys when light is very much inside us.  Come lets join hands with BABA SAI HE will show us and lead the way towards light.

BABA SAI ASTO MA SADGAMAYA! TAMASO MAA JYOTIRGAMAYA! MRITYORMA AMRITAM GAMAYA!

BABA SAI Lead us from Asat (evil) towards Sat (Good).  Lead us from the darkness towards light.  Lead us from death towards immortality.

OM SAI RAM!!!

[Ramesh Ramnani]

Khali Haath Aye Hain.....Khali Haath Jayenge - "Empty handed we have come and empty handed we will go."

There is very instructive incident involving the life of Alexander, the great Greek king.
 
Alexander, after conquering many kingdoms, was returning home. On the way, he fell ill and it took him to his death bed. With death staring him in his face, Alexander realized how his conquests, his great army, his sharp sword and all his wealth were of no consequence.
 
He now longed to reach home to see his mother's face and bid her his last adieu. But, he had to accept the fact that his sinking health would not permit Him to reach his distant homeland. So,The mighty conqueror lay prostrate and pale, helplessly waiting to breathe his last. He called his generals and said, "I will depart from this world soon,
 
I have three wishes, please carry them out without fail." With tears flowing down Their cheeks, the generals agreed to abide by their king's last wishes.
 
"My first desire is that," said Alexander, " My physicians alone must carry my coffin." After a pause, he continued, " Secondly, I desire that when my coffin is being carried to the grave, the path leading to the graveyard be strewn with gold, silver and precious stones which I have collected in my treasury.
 
"The king felt exhausted after saying this. He took a minute's rest and continued. "My third and last wish is that both my hands be kept dangling out of my coffin."  
 
The people who had gathered there wondered at the king's strange wishes. But no one dare bring the question to their lips.

Alexander's favorite general kissed his hand and pressed them to his heart. " O king, we assure you that your wishes will all be fulfilled.
 
But tell us why do you make such strange wishes?"
 
At this Alexander took a deep breath and said: " I would like the world to know of the three lessons I have just learnt. I want my physicians to carry my coffin because people should realize that no doctor can really cure any body.
 
They are powerless and cannot save a person from the clutches of death. So let not people take life for granted.
 
The second wish of strewing gold, silver and other riches on the way to the graveyard is to tell People that not even a fraction of gold will come with me. I spent all my life earning riches but cannot take anything with me. Let people realize that it is a sheer waste of time to chase wealth.
 
And about my third wish of having my hands dangling out of the coffin, I wish people to know that I came empty handed into this world and empty handed I go out of this world."

With these words, the king closed his eyes. Soon he let death conquer him and breathed his last. . . . .
 

[Ramesh Ramnani]

The most important body part
 
My mother used to ask me: "What is the most important part of the body?"

Through the years I would take a guess at what I thought was the correct answer. When I was younger, I thought sound was very important to us as humans, so I said, "My ears, Mommy."

She said, "No Many people are deaf. But you keep thinking about it and I will ask you again soon."

Several years passed before she asked me again. Since making my first attempt, I had contemplated the correct answer. So this time I told her, "Mommy, sight is very important to everybody, so it must be our eyes."

She looked at me and told me, "You are learning fast, but the answer is not correct because there are many people who are blind."

Stumped again, I continued my quest for knowledge. Over the years, Mother asked me a couple more times and always her answer was, "No, but you are getting smarter every year, my child."

Then last year, my grandpa died. Everybody was hurt. Everybody was crying. Even my father cried. I remember that especially because it was only the second time I saw him cry. My Mom looked at me when it was our turn to say our final good-bye to Grandpa.

She asked me, "Do you know the most important body part yet, my dear?"

I was shocked when she asked me this now. I always thought this was a game between her and me. She saw the confusion on my face and told me, "This question is very important. It shows that you have really lived in your life. For every body part you gave me in the past, I have told you was wrong and I have given you an example why. But today is the day you need to learn this important lesson."

She looked down at me as only a mother can. I saw her eyes well up with tears. She said, "My dear, the most important body part is your shoulder."

I asked, "Is it because it holds up my head?"

She replied, "No, it is because it can hold the head of a friend or a loved one when they cry. Everybody needs a shoulder to cry on sometime in life, my dear. I only hope that you have enough love and friends that you will always have a shoulder to cry on when you need it."

Then and there I knew the most important body part is not a selfish one. It is sympathetic to the pain of others. People will forget what you said... People will forget what you did.... But people will NEVER forget how you made them feel.

True or not, the story makes you stop and think. Be blessed. Be a blessing. Get your shoulder ready...

[Ramesh Ramnani]

How the 'obvious' obviously escapes our eyes!

"God is riding on his pony across the skies, keeping an eye on every little action of yours, my little child," said the old man. What made him rather handsome was his utter lack of physical beauty. The rats had robbed all his teeth from under the pillow but his smile was divine—toothless and without any snarl. He had clouds in his eyes and a sense of nonchalance for everything around him.

The children of the village loved his antics and the little anecdotes he told them so effortlessly. His lack of pretense made the villagers adore him. He loved everybody and had a smile for everybody.

The biggest mysteries and the best hidden secrets in life are those that are omnipresent and glaring at you. The old man was remarkable in a way. He cried your tears and shared your laughter. Enthusiasm perpetuated around him. Yet he was unaffected by anything. He spoke of God but never prayed. Guilt was an emotion unknown to him. The old man appeared to be a cross between a gypsy and a saint. He gurgled with joy, his thoughts were lofty and yet there was a tranquility within him that was beyond the scope of mere mortals.

One of his favorite stories was how he had quietly woken up one night and hidden behind a tree to see God wander into the village, careful not to be identified. "He stepped into a puddle and wet his ankles and the pony laughed!" remarked the old man rather gleefully to the wonderstruck children around him. "Then God went into the village temple and sat down in deep despair. Tears trickled down his angelic face and the nearby jungles began to reverberate with the weeping of animals. I guess God too feels sad sometimes," the old man mused.

"Unable to see so beautiful a face cry, I patted God on his shoulder and squeezed his hand gently. The big round benevolent eyes beckoned me to soothe God. I was dumbfounded at the lack of godliness and glimpses of weakness in our creator. We are always praying to him for help. But he too has to fight his own battles! God made man and gave us the earth—a festival of gaiety and colors and springs and watermelons in the desert. And we pay our due by thanking him vociferously through temples and mosques," the old man went on rather thoughtfully. "Come to think of it, God would have been much happier if we appreciated his world more silently." He added a few moments later: "When I patted God's shoulder, pearls of truth fell from his mouth. 'Religion makes me cry,' uttered God sadly. He then sat on his pony and rode off into the distant horizon."

The children and the village folk stared at the old man, envying him for his encounter with God. They too stayed awake in the long nights hoping for a miracle encounter but nothing happened. The old man smiled mischievously. His identity was still a secret. He wondered how the 'obvious' obviously escapes our eyes!

Isn't???

[OmSaiRamNowOn]

Once there was an old alley cat walking down the street looking for his dinner. As he walked along he came upon a beautiful young cat who was running around in circles chasing her tail. Around and around she went trying as hard as she could to catch her tail.

The old alley cat stopped and asked her, "What are you doing?"

The young cat slowed down and replied that she had been taught that joy, happiness, success and luck were all in the tip of her tail.

"All that I have to do is catch the end of my tail, and I will have the happy life, she said.

The old alley cat replied, "I've been around for a long time, and I know that joy, happiness, success and luck are in the tip of my tail; but, you know if I don't chase it and work my very hardest and don't worry about it, the happy life follows me wherever I go. My tail follows me everywhere, so I don't need to chase it."

Happiness isn't a place, a time, or a possession. You have to make it happen. The ways to make it happen is to stop worrying about everything and just go about your business, and do your very best. Then, if you really work hard, your happiness will follow you just like the alley cat's tail.

[Ramesh Ramnani]

Nature, Nurture: Supreme Power of Prakriti...We are helpless puppets of the Prakriti.

The inner temperament determined by nature, and the quality of work developed by nurture, define a man. The physical and mental characteristics of an individual are supreme; they determine his interactions with the world, overriding all other considerations.
 
   Asks Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita: “Even a learned man behaves according to his nature, so what will repression accomplish?” A childless king decreed that upon his death, succession would be decided by the royal elephant. Upon his demise, the royal elephant picked up a cobbler and put him on the throne. Familiar with the trials and tribulations of a common man, he set about remedying them in a manner he understood best. His first royal order bewildered the court. “From now on”, the cobbler-king declared, “the currency of this kingdom shall no longer be made of flimsy paper — all currency notes henceforth shall be made of leather!” A cobbler remains a cobbler even when anointed as a king. It is easy to take a boy out of the village, but very difficult to take the village out of the boy. That’s the power of nature.
   A frog and a scorpion were returning home after completing a period of spiritual tutelage from their guru. En route they had to cross a river in flood. The scorpion requested his friend the frog to carry him across the river.

   “Never”, said the frog, “if you should sting me while crossing, I shall surely drown”. The scorpion retorted: “Even if you do not trust me, you must at least realise that if I bit you while crossing, both of us would drown. Out of self-interest alone, I would be constrained from stinging you”.

   Reluctantly, the frog took the scorpion on his back and began swimming across the river. Halfway across the river, the scorpion savagely stung the frog. As the paralysed frog sank beneath the waves, he wailed, “O friend, what made you decide to kill both of us?” The scorpion realising his own dire fate, cried out, “I could not help myself — after all it is my nature!”

   How do you respond to the world and people in it? We all respond according to our nature. A saint was bathing in the Ganges when he noticed a scorpion fall in the river from an overhanging branch. Seeing the struggling and drowning scorpion, the saint picked it out of the water and attempted to carry it to dry land.

   The scorpion immediately stung the rescuing hand. Shocked by the pain, the saint dropped the scorpion into the water. Recovering from the pain, the saint again rescued the scorpion. Once again he was rewarded by another sting resulting in his dropping it back into the water. An exasperated onlooker remarked, “Why does the stupid scorpion keep stinging the hand that rescues it? And why do you keep trying to help it?” The saint smiled and replied, “The scorpion cannot help stinging the hand that rescues it for that is its nature. I cannot help continuing to rescue the scorpion because that is my nature”.

   All of us are helpless puppets of the Prakriti that imprisons us. An awareness of the limited latitude we enjoy, allows us to surrender to our destiny. Recognising that those around us also are helplessly acting according to their natures, frees us from judgment and takes us towards acceptance and love.

[OmSaiRamNowOn]

The Big Fish

Two men went fishing. One was an experienced fisherman, the other wasn’t. Every time the experienced fisherman caught a big fish, he put it in his ice chest to keep it fresh. Whenever the inexperienced fisherman caught a big fish, he threw it back. The experienced
fisherman watched this go on all day and finally got tired of seeing the man waste good fish. “Why do you keep throwing back all the big fish you catch?” he asked. The inexperienced fisherman replied, “I only have a small frying pan.” Sometimes, like that fisherman, we throwback the big plans, big dreams, big jobs, big opportunities that God gives us. Our faith is too small. We laugh at that fisherman who didn’t figure out that all he needed was a bigger frying pan, yet how ready are we to increase the size of our faith?
Whether it’s a problem or a possibility, God will never give you anything bigger than you can handle. That means we can confidently walk into anything God brings our way. Nothing is too big for God.

REMEMBER
Stop telling God you’ve got big problems.
Tell your problems you’ve got a BIG GOD!

[Ramesh Ramnani]

The Real Love.....

Ramkrishna Paramhans was a great devotee of the mother goddess, Kali. And it was not a formality, it was not just like going every Sunday to the church. He was the priest of the temple of Kali, but his behavior was strange. Sometimes he would worship, sometimes he would not open the doors of the temple at all. Sometimes he would worship the whole day, from morning to evening, till he fell down unconscious from dancing.

Rani Rasmani had made the temple near the Ganges in Calcutta -- a beautiful temple and a very scenic place. But Rani Rasmani, although she was a queen of a small kingdom, belonged to the fourth caste of the Hindus, the untouchables. So no brahmin was ready to become a priest in the temple of an untouchable. For years there was no priest. Rasmani was very much in trouble. She looked all over Bengal; she was ready to give any salary the priest wanted, but no brahmin was ready to worship in a temple of a sudra, an untouchable.

But when Ramakrishna was approached, he said, "I will come." Even Rasmani was a little puzzled: the man seems to be a little mad, because no brahmin was ready to come. Ramakrishna said, "Whether the temple is made by an untouchable or by a brahmin, the highest caste, the mother Kali is the same; it doesn't matter. I am coming, and whatever salary you feel is right, must be right. I don't know much about money -- you are a queen, your decision will be far better."

When she heard that sometimes he dances, sings songs the whole day, and sometimes he does not even open the door, Rani Rasmani called him and said, "This is not right."

He said, "Nobody can say to me what is right and what is wrong: it is a love affair. Only I know and my mother Kali knows. Sometimes I get angry at her when she does not behave. I have been for three days dancing, and she has not even given a little vision to me? Now let her be punished! I am not going to open the doors, and I am not going to offer the food."

Rasmani said, "You are strange! You are supposed to be a priest -- you have to do the ritual."

He said, "I am not a priest, and I am not supposed to do any ritual. I love! I love the Kali in my village. I will continue; if you are worried you can stop my salary... because when I prepare food for Kali first I taste it, then I offer it to her. So that's enough, I don't need much -- I can just taste a little more!"
 
This was unimaginable. In India you cannot taste anything and then offer it to God, or to a goddess. Rasmani said, "This is too much!"

He said, "No. My mother used to do the same. She would taste everything before she gave it to me. Was it worth giving or not? Has the taste come out right or not? I cannot offer anything to my mother without tasting it."

This man, Ramakrishna, was really in love with that statue.
 
Nobody was there, but his love was real. The goddess was unreal, but his love was not unreal.

[Ramesh Ramnani]

Basket of Water.....

An old man lived on a farm in the mountains with his young grandson. Each morning Grandpa was up early sitting at the kitchen table reading his Gita.

His grandson wanted to be just like him and tried to imitate him in every way he could. One day the grandson asked, "Baba, I try to read the Gita just like you but I don't understand it, and what I do understand I forget as soon as I close the book. What good does reading the Gita do?"

The Grandfather quietly turned from putting coal in the stove and replied, "Take this coal basket down to the river and bring me back a basket of water." The boy did as he was told,

but all the water leaked out before he got back to the house. The grandfather laughed and said, "You'll have to move a little faster next time," and sent him back to the river with the basket to try again.

This time the boy ran faster, but again the basket was empty before he returned home. Out of breath, he told his grandfather that it was impossible to carry water in a basket, and he went to get a bucket instead.

The old man said, "I don't want a bucket of water; I want a basket of water. You're just not trying hard enough," and he went out of the door to watch the boy try again.

At this point, the boy knew it was impossible, but he wanted to show his grandfather that even if he ran as fast as he could, the water would leak out before he got back o the house.

The boy again dipped the basket into river and ran hard, but when he reached his grandfather the basket was again empty.

Out of breath, he said, "See Baba, it's  useless!"

"So you think it is useless?" The old man said, "Look at the basket."

The boy looked at the basket and for the first time realized that the basket was different. It had been transformed from a dirty old coal basket and was now clean, inside and out.

"Son, that's what happens when you read the Gita. You might not understand or remember everything, but when you read it, you will be changed, inside and out. That is the work of God in our lives."

[OmSaiRamNowOn]

Very nice message in the story. Thank you Bhai for posting such lessons.


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

-Anju

[Ramesh Ramnani]

Elephant & Frog

An elephant came to the edge of a stream of clear rushing water.   Being thirsty, the elephant leaned over, dropped its trunk into the cool water and... plunk.
 
"What? What happened?" the elephant cried. "I can't see! My eye...   it fell in the water! Oh nooooooh," the elephant wailed in a panic,   "I lost my eye!"
 
And, in fact, the elephant's right eye had popped out of its socket and fallen into the stream. The elephant searched frantically for the eye, groping with its trunk along the bottom of the stream.  The more he groped, the cloudier the water became. That made him panic even more, and he started churning up great piles of sand, until he couldn't see anything.
 
Then the elephant heard the sound of laughing.   Furious, he looked around to see who it was, and saw a little green frog sitting on a log, laughing and laughing.
 
"You think this is funny?" the elephant shouted. "I lose an eye and that makes you laugh?"  "What's funny is to see how upset you are. Calm down and everything will be fine," the frog replied.
 
The elephant felt a little ashamed and took the frog's advice.  He stopped moving his trunk around, and soon the water became clearer as the sand sank to the bottom. And there in the stream lay his eye.   He reached for it with his trunk and popped it back into its socket.   And then he thanked the frog.
 
There's nothing funny about losing an eye... the sudden panic, thrashing around in murky water, desperation... that's exactly what happens to us when we lose control  and panic. Our haste makes us blind.   Wait until the situation becomes clear and the black clouds disperse.

[Ramesh Ramnani]

Why Your Mother Always Walks Beside You

The young mother set her foot on the path of life. “Is this the long way?” she asked. The guide said: “Yes, but the way is hard, and you will be old before you reach the end of it. But the end will be better than the beginning”.

   But the young mother was happy, and she would not believe that anything could be better than these years. So she played with her children, and gathered flowers for them along the way, bathed them in the clear streams; and the sun shone on them. But the young mother cried, “Nothing will ever be lovelier than this.
 
   Then the night came, and the storm, the path was dark, and the children shook with fear and cold. The mother drew them close and covered them with her mantle. The children said, “Mother, we are not afraid, for you are near, and no harm can come”.
 
   The morning came, there was a hill ahead, and the children climbed and grew weary, and the mother was weary. But at all times she said to the children, “A little patience and we are there”. So the children climbed. When they reached the top they said, “Mother, we would not have done it without you”.

   The mother, when she lay down at night, looked up at the stars and said, “This is a better day than the last, for my children have learned fortitude in the face of hardness. Yesterday I gave them courage; today, I have given them strength”.
 
   The next day came strange clouds which darkened the earth, clouds of war and hate and evil. The children groped and stumbled. The mother said: “Look up. Lift your eyes to the light. The children looked up and saw the clouds above in an everlasting glory, which guided them beyond the darkness. That night the mother said, “This is the best day of all, for I have shown my children God”. The days went on, the weeks, the months and the years. The mother grew old and she was little and bent, but her children were tall and strong, and walked with courage. When the way was rough, they lifted her, for she was as light as a feather. At last they came to a hill and beyond they could see a shining road and golden gates flung wide open.

   The mother said, “I have reached the end of my journey. Now I know the end is better than the beginning, for my children can walk alone, and their children after them”. The children said, “You will always walk with us, Mother, even when you have gone through the gates”. As they stood and watched her as she went on alone, the gates closed after her. They said: “We cannot see her but she is with us still. A mother like ours is more than a memory, she is a living presence...”.

   Your mother is always with you... She’s the whisper of the leaves as you walk down the street. She’s the smell of soap in your freshly laundered socks. She’s the cool hand on your brow when you’re not well. Your mother lives inside your laughter. She’s crystallised in every tear drop. She’s the place you came from, your first home. She’s the map you follow with every step you take. She’s your first love and your first heartbreak, and nothing on earth can separate you. Not time, not space... not even death!

[Ramesh Ramnani]

“Sangham Sharanam Gachhami, Dhammam Sharanam Gachhami”.

The most attractive thing in Vaishali, the capital city of Lichhavis, was the beautiful dancer Amrapali. She was named after the mango grove she was first found in. Everybody was eager to win her love. She chose to be the Nagarvadhu, wife to the whole city.

   One day, Amrapali saw a young monk. Mesmerised by his calm and attractive presence, she followed him. The sanyasi settled down beneath a mango tree, unmindful of her presence. Unable to attract his attention, she spoke: “Sir, please introduce yourself. Why do you lead an ascetic life in your youth?” “In search of Truth”, replied the monk. Amrapali was first taken aback. She then teased him: “Of what use is the Truth that wastes your youth?” The monk smiled: “Lady, Absolute Happiness can only be attained thus for the happiness you seek is transitory pleasure”.

   Amrapali persisted. “Dear, leave this delusion and enjoy my hospitality which even royalty desires to experience”, offered Amrapali. The monk thought for a moment and said, “I will ask my master. If he allows me, I will come”. Then he took out a ripe Amra Phal (mango) from his bag and gave it to her with the instruction that the fruit be preserved without decay till his return.

   The monk returned to Buddha’s shelter and narrated the incident. Buddha gave him permission to stay with Amrapali, much to the puzzlement of other disciples. Buddha calmly said, “I have looked into his eyes — there was no desire. If I had said ‘no’, even then he would have obliged. I trust his meditation”.

   In the meantime, Amrapali tried all methods to keep the mango fresh, but failed. After one month, the young monk returned. Passionately infatuated, she approached him. The monk ordered, “Lady! Bring me the Amra Phal”. She did so; but the mango had decayed, emitting foul odour and was full of worms. She asked, “Dear, of what use is this rotten fruit to you?” The monk slowly removed the mango-stone from the fruit. Showing her the rotten skin, he spoke, “Where has the beauty, aroma and taste of the fruit gone? Whereas, the mango-stone is intact and free of decay”. “Of what use is this mango-stone”, argued the courtesan.

   The monk smilingly explained, “The mangostone is the most useful. As a seed, it has the potential to regenerate a new body. Likewise, a human being’s meditation is never wasted. This mango-stone signifies the eternal Soul. The protection of the Soul is the real shield; that is the absolute Happiness. Recognise this Truth, Amrapali. You, who could not save the decay of this Amra Phal, how long can you protect your own body from disintegration?”

   The Nagarvadhu was speechless; it was as if she had been awakened from a deep sleep. Moved, she asked forgiveness of the young monk. She felt cleansed and expressed her desire to see the monk’s master. Later, Buddha visited Vaishali and stayed at Amrapali’s abode. She touched Buddha’s feet and said, “I tried my best to attract your monk, but he convinced me by his awareness that real life is in your shelter”. She renunciated the life of a courtesan and donated her belongings to the Buddhist Sangha. Buddha accepted her in the monastery as a disciple, to the chant of “Sangham Sharanam Gachhami, Dhammam Sharanam Gachhami”.

[Ramesh Ramnani]

"RAINBOW"......Come Lets Join our Hands together

Once upon a time, The colors of the world Started to quarrel. All claimed they were the best, The most important, The most useful, The favorite.

"GREEN" said,

"Clearly I am the most important ... I am the sign of life and of hope; I was chosen for grass, trees and leaves, Without me, all animals would die;Look over the countryside And you will see that I am in the majority."

"BLUE" interrupted,

"You only think about the earth, But consider the sky and the sea ... It is the water that is the basis of life And it is drawn up by the clouds from the deep sea;  The sky gives space and peace and serenity, Without my peace, you would all be nothing."

"YELLOW"" chuckled,

"You are all so serious ...I bring laughter, gaiety, and warmth into the world, The sun, the moon and the stars are all yellow; Every time you look at a sunflower,  The whole world starts to smile, Without me there would be no fun."

"ORANGE"" started next to blow her trumpet ..
 
"I am the color of health and strength, I may be scarce, but I am precious For I serve the needs of human life, I carry the most important vitamins; Think of carrots, pumpkins, oranges, and mangoes,I don't hang around all the time, But when I do, I fill the sky at sunrise or sunset,  My beauty is so striking that no one gives Another thought to any of you."

"RED"" could stand it no longer so he shouted out ...
 
"I am the ruler of all of you! I am blood ... life's blood!I am the color of danger and of bravery, I am willing to fight for a cause,I bring fire into the blood; Without me, the earth would be as empty as the moon,I am the color of passion and of love, The red rose, the poinsettia and the poppy."

"PURPLE"" rose up to his full height,

He was very tall and spoke with great pomp ..."I am the color of royalty and power, Kings, chiefs, and bishops have always chosen me For I am the sign of authority and wisdom, People do not question me! They listen and obey."

Finally "INDIGO" spoke,

Much more quietly than all the others, But with just as much determination ...

"Think of me. I am the color of silence, You hardly notice me,But without me you all become superficial; I represent thought and reflection, twilight and deep water, You need me for balance and contrast, For prayer and inner peace."

And so the colors went on boasting, Each convinced of his or her own superiority. Their quarreling became louder and louder. Suddenly there was a startling flash of bright lightning! Thunder rolled and boomed! Rain started to pour down relentlessly.

The colors crouched down in fear, Drawing close to one another for comfort.

In the midst of the clamor, "RAIN" began to speak ..."You foolish colors, fighting amongst yourselves, Each trying to dominate the rest; Don't you know that you were each made For a special purpose, unique and different? Join hands with one another and come to me."

Doing as they were told, the colors united and joined hands.The rain continued, "From now on, when it rains, Each of you will stretch across the sky In a great bow of color as a reminder That you can all live in peace.The Rainbow is a sign of hope for tomorrow."

And so, whenever a good rain washes the world, and a Rainbow appears in the sky, let us remember to appreciate one another. There is something very SPECIAL in each and every one of us. We have all been gifted with the ability to make a DIFFERENCE.
 
If we can become AWARE of that GIFT, we gain through the STRENGTH of our VISION, the POWER to SHAPE THE FUTURE