STORY OF THE DAY

[Ramesh Ramnani]

Why Few Are Interested In The Art of Dying

There are hundreds of popular institutions that teach us how to make our lives better. To make them more healthy, more organised, more productive, more stress-free and, hopefully, more happy. Interestingly, though death is such an important happening in our lives, we do not pay much attention to it and there is no institution that really teaches about death, what it means and how it affects us. There seems to be no takers for a course in the Art of Dying!
   
All of us fear death because death brings to an end our life on earth and also because we are apprehensive of what will happen to us after we die. To not get intimidated by fear of death we must know the art of dying.
   
What is death? Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita that He is death (kala) in the form of Time (also kala). Time consumes everything, from the tiniest atom to all those mighty universes in the material world. The Vedic concept of death is that it is an integral part and a recurrent happening in the continuous life of every living entity on earth. Krishna tells Arjuna in chapter two that there is no death for the jiva or soul, “Never was there a time when I did not exist, nor you, nor these rulers of men. Nor shall all of us cease to be hereafter”. Death pertains only to the physical body and “...the soul merely changes bodies just as the body changes clothes”.
   
The Katha Upanishad explains the Vedic concept of death and Garuda Purana deals comprehensively with rituals pertaining to death, graphically describing the soul’s journey after death to its next birth.
   
Most believe death is the ultimate happening in one’s life. But there is more, depending on your karma. Each new birth affords us an opportunity to better our circumstances through performing good karma, which means following the injunctions laid down in the shastras. We, however, choose to fritter away our lives in mundane activities mainly to satisfy our sensual cravings.
   
Adi Shankaracharya says that one is very fortunate to have got human birth for it is the only vehicle by which one can attain the ultimate goal of life, moksha or liberation, and hence it must not be wasted in living a frivolous life. More fortunate is he who has a burning desire for liberation. And still more fortunate is the one to get a bona fide spiritual master to take him to this goal.
   
Krishna says: “Whatever object a person thinks of at the time of death, he attains to that object alone... Whoever thinks of only Me even at the time of death, attains to My state on abandoning his body. There is no doubt about this”. He once again reinforces: “He who, at the time of his death, engages himself in remembering the Supreme Lord with full devotion, will certainly attain to Him”. This is possible only if one has Him constantly in one’s thoughts for which one needs to do spiritual practice or sadhana.
   
Some even crave a painful death so that they are forced to cry out to God, thereby remembering Him during the last moments. However, if your desire to be with Him is consistent and strong, it will manifest at the final hour so that you are united with Him.

[Ramesh Ramnani]

A beautiful love story


A long time ago, before the world was created and humans set foot on it, God had put all the human "qualities" in a separate room. Since all the qualities were bored they decided to play hide & seek.

"Madness" was one of the qualities and he shouted: "I want to count, I want to count!" And since nobody was crazy enough to want to seek "Madness", all the other qualities agreed. So "Madness" leaned against a tree and started to  count:

"One, two, three..." As "Madness" counted, the qualities went hiding.  "Treason" hid in a pile of garbage.. "Lie " said that it would hide under a stone, but hid  at the bottom of  the lake.  And Madness continued to count "... seventy nine, eighty, eighty one..." By this time, all the qualities were already hidden-except "Love ".

For stupid as "Love " is, he could not decide where to hide.  And this should not surprise us, because we all know how difficult it is to hide "Love".

"Madness": "...ninety five, ninety six, ninety seven..." Just when "Madness" got to one hundred..... ...."Love" jumped into a rose bush where he hid.

And Madness turned around and shouted: "I'm coming, I'm coming!" As Madness turned around, "Laziness" was the first to be found, because "Laziness" was too lazy to hide. "Madness" searched madly and found "Lie" at the bottom of the lake. One by one, Madness found them all - except Love. Madness was getting desperate, unable to find Love.

Envious of Love, "Envy" whispered to "Madness ": "You only need to find Love, and Love is hiding in the rose bush."

"Madness" Jumped on the rose bush and he heard loud cry. The thorns in the bush had pierced "Loves" eyes.

Hearing the commotion God came into the room and saw what had happened. He got very angry and cursed "Madness" and said since "Love" has become blind because of u... ..u shall always be with him"

And so it came about that from that day on, Love is blind and is always accompanied by Madness.!

[Ramesh Ramnani]

Story Of A Sanyasi Who Ate Fish

A recent meeting with a monk of a high order — who admitted his ‘weakness’ for fish — proved to be an unusual and enlightening experience. Seeing my shocked expression he explained that being born in Bengal he was brought up on fish and so it was part of his normal diet.
   
The monk’s explanation confused me. Wasn’t a spiritual seeker or monk supposed to protect all living beings? Could not a person who had courage to leave the world in search of God have the willpower to give up desires of the palate?
   
The sanyasi who ate fish had put me in a dilemma. Thinking it was better to read up rather than argue, led me to Krishna’s words in the Gita, chapter 17, verse 8: “All things in this universe can be categorised by three qualities — sattvic, rajasic and tamasic. Foods that promote longevity, intelligence, strength, health, happiness and delight, which are sweet, bland, nourishing and are agreeable, are dear to the sattvic person”. Food that can produce such an effect on the mind is sattvic.
   
Swami Ranganathananda points out that food never produces similar results for all people. The same food can be good for one person and can be poison for another.
   
Ramana Maharshi was once confronted with a similar query in his ashram at Tiruvannamalai, the town at the foot of the holy hill Arunachala. A European lady spiritual seeker, Pigott, wanted to know whether vegetarian food was necessary for achieving Self-realisation as many like her were accustomed to a non-vegetarian diet. Would not switching to sattvic (nonstimulating) diet adversely affect her health and weaken the mind? Maharshi pointed out to a European, a Evans-Wentz sitting beside him, who had happily taken to a vegetarian diet.
   
The Maharshi was not one to be critical of anyone’s food or other habits. To him, a strong mind was one which was ungovernable while for the devotee, a strong mind was a powerful mind, a mind which had the power to eliminate worldly attachment.
   
The Maharshi explained that quality of food had an influence on the mind because the mind feeds on the food it consumes. Custom and culture that one is used to tend to get altered to adapt to changes in one’s (new) environment. And food tastes can always be acquired with practice. When there is a clash, it is not the food that causes misery but the ego and thoughts arising from it.
   
The Maharshi said food restrictions apply to spiritual seekers but not to realised souls as they are already stabilised and cannot be influenced by intake of one kind of food or other. A genuine seeker will persist, anyway, to overpower his mind, regardless.
   
The thought behind a sattvic diet is that digestive organs should be free of irritation. Such food is most conducive to the development of pure qualities of mind. Foods inducing constipation, drowsiness, or excitement are to be preferably avoided. Some people also observe fasts in the hope of advancing better on the spiritual path.
   
Maharshi said that fasting was a means, not an end. Through fasting there must be spiritual development as well. But absolute fasting weakens the mind and one must have adequate strength for spiritual quest. So it is preferable that one eats sattvic food but in moderation, to continue the spiritual journey. To the realised, however, it does not matter, either way.

[Ramesh Ramnani]

Don’t Be Jealous Of What Others Achieve

I am jealous of successful people. I am not able to enjoy my life. Am i miserable because I come from an unhappy home?
   
There are certain aspects in life over which you have full control and there are others on which you have none. But you have to live wisely. What does this involve? Wise living would include accommodating both the controllable and uncontrollable variables of life.
   
You come from an unhappy home. You have no choice in this matter. But you have a choice not to be a victim of an unhappy home.
   
I’ll tell you a story: A father and his two sons lived in a single room. The father used to come home drunk every day and watch TV, disturbing his children at study time. The elder son concentrated on his studies while the younger son followed in father’s footsteps. As adults, the older boy got an award for excellence as a citizen of the town while the younger son was imprisoned for a petty crime.
   
When they were interviewed, the younger son said, “I became like this because of my father, who created a bad atmosphere at home”. The elder son said, “I attribute my success to my drunken father and the unhappy home atmosphere; i was determined to be different”.
   
The situation was the same, and the response, different. It is our response that determines quality of life.
   
Jealousy exists when one has not learnt to rejoice in the success of others. Jealousy also exists when there is unwise comparison.
   
A man prays: “Lord, please fulfil my prayers. I will forever be grateful to you”.
   
The Lord advises, “Son, the more I fulfil your desires, the more you will be unhappy. Your being is in unhappiness. Focus on changing the state of your being and not on the fulfilling of your desires”.
   
But the man insists and the Lord says: “I will fulfil your desires but with one condition. Whatever you get, the whole city will get double of it”.
   
The man happily agreed. He prayed for a palatial house and next moment, he had one. But his happiness vanished when he noticed two palatial houses in his neighbourhood. This led to anger and jealousy. He felt it was his effort that pleased the Lord but others had reaped the rewards. He decided to teach them a lesson.
   
He prayed again, “Oh! Lord, please remove one of my eyes”. Suddenly he found others had lost both their eyes. He felt very happy. The very next day he found all the people in his town had taken their lives. He was now lonely. The ‘joy’ of making the whole town blind was short-lived.
   
Tagore tells an interesting tale. A young seeker set out in search of the Lord. He met thousands of people. Many years passed. He reached the Himalayan valley. The atmosphere was inviting. He felt that could be the abode of the Lord.
   
He entered a beautiful cottage and found a board “God resides here”. His joy knew no bounds as his search had come to an end. When he was about to knock on the door, an interesting soliloquy overpowered his mind. His mind said, “I have enjoyed my search all these years. The enjoyment derived from the search will come to an end, the moment i meet the Lord...”
   
If one can enjoy one’s search and derive satisfaction from that itself, there is fulfilment. We have to teach ourselves to enjoy our search, our journey.

[Ramesh Ramnani]

Once upon a time....Always

Once upon a time there was an island where all the feelings lived. One day there was a storm in the sea and island was about to get drown.

Every feeling was scared but luv made a boat to escape. Every feeling boarded the boat.
 
One feeling was left on the island.

Luv got down to see who it was. It was ego....

Luv tried and tried but ego was not moving, luv tried again but ego didn't wanna go with them.

Luv tried hard and also the water was rising.
 
Everyone asked luv to leave him and come back on the boat. But luv was made to luv.
 
At last luv died with ego on that island.

moral of the story:         
 
Luv dies because of ego.

[Ramesh Ramnani]

Live In The Present

Tantra talks about four seals, four mudras. To attain to the ultimate, a person passes through four doors; he has to open four locks. Those four locks are called four mudras.
   
The first mudra is karma mudra. It is the outermost door, the periphery of your being. Karma means action, is the outermost core of your being. What you do is your periphery. You hate or kill somebody, you love or protect somebody. Action is the outermost part of your being.
   
The first seal is opened through becoming total in your action. Whatsoever you do, do totally, and there will arise great joy, not by repeating some mantra, but by doing it totally. If you are angry, be totally angry; and be fully aware of your anger, anger will disappear one day. You have understood it. It can be dropped now. Anything that is understood can be dropped easily. Only non-understood things go on hanging around you.
   
Remember, Tantra is scientific. It does not say: Repeat a mantra. It says: Become aware in your action.
   
The second seal is called gyana mudra — a little deeper and more inner than the first — that is somewhat like knowledge. Action is the outermost thing, knowledge is a little deeper. You can watch what i am doing, you cannot watch what i am knowing. Knowing is inner.
   
Now, start knowing what you really know, and stop believing things which you really don’t know. Somebody asks you “Is there a God?” and you say “Yes, God is”. Do you really know? If you don’t know, please don’t say that you do. Say “I don’t know”. If you are honest and you only say what you know, and you only believe what you know, the second lock will be broken. False knowledge is the enemy of true knowledge. And all beliefs are false knowledge; you simply believe them.
   
Out of a hundred things you will be unburdened of almost 98. Only a few things will remain that you really know. You will feel great freedom. Your head will not be so heavy. And with that freedom and weightlessness you enter the second mudra.
   
The third mudra is called samaya mudra. Samaya means time. Knowledge has disappeared, you are only in the now; only the purest of time has remained. Watch, meditate over it. In the now-moment, there is no knowledge. Knowledge is always about past. Just this moment, what do you know? Nothing is known.
   
So samaya mudra is to be in this moment. Ordinarily you think that past, present and future are three divisions of time; that is not the Tantra understanding. Tantra says: Only present is time. Past is not, it has already gone. Future is not, it has not come yet. Only the present is. To be in the present is to be really in time. Otherwise you are either in memory or you are in dreams, both of which are delusions. So the third seal is broken by being in the now.
   
The fourth seal is called mahamudra, the great gesture, the innermost, like space. Now, purest space has remained. Action, knowing, time, space — these are the four seals. Space is your innermost core, the hub of the wheel, or the centre of the cyclone. In your innermost emptiness is space, sky. These are the three layers: of time, of knowing, of action. These are the four seals to be broken.

[tana]

Om Sai Ram~~~

The Cross
 

 
The young man was at the end of his rope.

Seeing no way out, he dropped to his knees in prayer.

"Lord, I can't go on ," he said. "I have too heavy a cross to bear."

The Lord replied, "My son, if you can't bear its weight, just place your cross inside this room. Then, open that other door and pick out any cross you wish.

"The man was filled with relief.

Thank you, Lord," he sighed, and he did as he was told.

Upon entering the other door, he saw many crosses, some so large the tops were not visible.

Then, he spotted a tiny cross leaning against a far wall.

"I'd like that one, Lord," he whispered.

And the Lord replied, "My son, that is the cross you just brought in."

When life's problems seem overwhelming, it helps to look around and see what other people are coping with. You may consider yourself far more fortunate than you imagined.

Jai Sai Ram~~~

[tana]

Om Sai Ram~~~

Two Angels ~~~
 
Two traveling angels stopped to spend the night in the home of a wealthy family.


The family was rude and refused to let the angels stay in the mansion's guest room. Instead the angels were given a space in the cold basement.


As they made their bed on the hard floor, the older angel saw a hole in the wall and repaired it. When the younger angel asked why, the older angel replied... " Things aren't always what they seem".


The next night the pair came to rest at the house of a very poor, but very hospitable farmer and his wife.


After sharing what little food they had the couple let the angels sleep in their bed where they could have a good night's rest. When the sun came up the next morning the angels found the farmer and his wife in tears. Their only cow, whose milk had been their sole income, lay dead in the field.


The younger angel was infuriated and asked the older angel "how could you have let this happen!? The first man had everything, yet you helped him," she accused. "The second family had little but was willing to share everything, and you let their cow die."


"Things aren't always what they seem," the older angel replied. "When we stayed in the basement of the mansion, I noticed there was gold stored in that hole in the wall.


Since the owner was so obsessed with greed and unwilling to share his good fortune, I sealed the wall so he wouldn't find it. Then last night as we slept in the farmers bed, the angel of death came for his wife. I gave her the cow instead. Things aren't always what they seem."




Sometimes this is exactly what happens when things don't turn out the way they should. If you have faith, you just need to trust that every outcome is always to your advantage. You might not know it until some time later.

Jai Sai Ram~~~

[mainhoonsaibeti]

A Letter To You From Satan

I saw you yesterday as you began your daily chores. You awoke without  kneeling to pray. As a matter of fact, you didn't even bless your  meals, or pray before going to bed last night. You are so unthankful, I like that about you. I cannot tell you how glad I am that you have not changed your way of living, fool, you are mine.

Remember you and I have been going steady for years, and I still don't  love you yet. As a matter of fact, I hate you, because I hate God. I am only  using you to get even with God. He kicked me out of heaven, and I'm going  to use you as long as possible to pay him back.

You see, FOOL, GOD LOVES YOU and HE has great plans in store for you. But you have yield your life to me, and I'm going to make your life a  living hell. That way, we'll be together twice. This will really hurt God.  Thanks to you, I'm really showing Him who's boss in your life with all of the good times we had. We have been watching dirty movies, cursing people out, stealing, lying, being hypocritical, fornicating, overeating, telling dirty jokes, gossiping, being judgmental, back stabbing people, disrespecting adults, and those in leadership positions, no respect for the Church, bad attitudes. Surely you don't want to give all this up. Come on, Fool, let's burn together forever. I've got some hot plans for us.

This is just a letter of appreciation from me to you. I'd like to say "THANKS" for letting me use you for most of your foolish life. You are so  gullible, I laugh at you. When you are tempted to sin, you give in HA HA  HA, you make me sick. sin is beginning to take it's toll on your life. You  look 20 years older, and now, I need new blood. So go ahead and teach some children how to sin. All you have to do is smoke, get drunk or drink while under-aged, cheat, gamble, gossip, fornicate, and live being as selfish as possible. Do all of this in the presence of children and they will do it too. Kids are like that.

Well Fool, I have to let you go for now. I'll be back in a couple of seconds to tempt you again. If you were smart, you would run somewhere, confess your sins, and live for God with what little bit of life that you have left. It's not my nature to warn anyone, but to be your age and still sinning, it's becoming a bit ridiculous. Don't get me wrong, I still hate you. IT'S JUST THAT YOU'D MAKE A BETTER FOOL FOR CHRIST.

P.S.: If you really love me, you won't share this letter with anyone.

[tana]

Om Sai Ram~~~

No God or Know God?

An atheist professor of philosophy speaks to his class on the problem Science has with God, The Almighty.


He asks one of his new students to stand and.....

Prof: So you believe in God?

Student: Absolutely, sir.


Prof: Is God good?

Student: Sure.




Prof: Is God all-powerful?

Student: Yes.


Prof: My brother died of cancer even though he prayed to God to heal him.


Most of us would attempt to help others who are ill. But God didn't. How is this God good then? Hmm? (Student is silent.)


Prof: You can't answer, can you? Let's start again, young fellow. Is God good?

Student: Yes.


Prof: Is Satan good ?

Student: No.


Prof: Where does Satan come from?

Student: From...God.. .


Prof: That's right. Tell me son, is there evil in this world?

Student: Yes.


Prof: Evil is everywhere, isn't it? And God did make everything. Correct?

Student: Yes.


Prof: So who created evil?

(Student does not answer. )



Prof: Is there sickness? Immorality? Hatred? Ugliness? All these terrible things exist in the world, don't they?

Student: Yes, sir.



Prof: So, who created them?

( Student has no answer.)



Prof: Science says you have 5 senses you use to identify and observe the world around you. Tell me, son...Have you ever seen God?

Student: No, sir.



Prof: Tell us if you have ever heard your God?

Student: No, sir.


Prof: Have you ever felt your God, tasted your God, smelt your God? Have you ever had any sensory perception of God for that matter?

Student: No, sir. I'm afraid I haven't.



Prof: Yet you still believe in Him ?

Student: Yes.



Prof: According to empirical, testable, demonstrable protocol, science says your GOD doesn't exist. What do you say to that, son?

Student: Nothing. I only have my faith.



Prof: Yes. Faith. And that is the problem science has.



Student: Professor, is there such a thing as heat?

Prof: Yes.



Student: And is there such a thing as cold?

Prof: Yes.



Student: No sir. There isn't.


(The lecture theatre becomes very quiet with this turn of events .)



Student: Sir, you can have lots of heat, even more heat, superheat, mega heat, white heat, a little heat or no heat. But we don't have anything called cold. We can hit 458 degrees below zero which is no heat,


But we can't go any further after that. There is no such thing as cold. Cold is only a word we use to describe the absence of heat. We cannot measure cold.


Heat is energy. Cold is not the opposite of heat, sir, just the absence of it.



(There is pin-drop silence in the lecture theatre .)


Student: What about darkness, Professor? Is there such a thing as darkness?

Prof: Yes. What is night if there isn't darkness?



Student: You're wrong again, sir. Darkness is the absence of something. You can have low light, normal light, bright light, flashing light....But if you have no light constantly, you have nothing and its called darkness, isn't it? In reality, darkness isn't.


If it were you would be able to make darkness darker, wouldn't you?



Prof: So what is the point you are making, young man?

Student: Sir, my point is your philosophical premise is flawed.

Prof: Flawed? Can you explain how?



Student: Sir, you are working on the premise of duality. You argue there is life and then there is death, a good God and a bad God. You are viewing the concept of God as something finite, something we can measure.


Sir, science can't even explain a thought. It uses electricity and magnetism, but has never seen, much less fully understood either one.


To view death as the opposite of life is to be ignorant of the fact that death cannot exist as a substantive thing. Death is not the opposite of life: just the absence of it. Now tell me, Professor. Do you teach your students that they evolved from a monkey?


Prof: If you are referring to the natural evolutionary process, yes, of course, I do.

Student: Have you ever observed evolution with your own eyes, sir?


(The Professor shakes his head with a smile, beginning to realize where the argument is going.)



Student: Since no one has ever observed the process of evolution at work and cannot even prove that this process is an on-going endeavour, are you not teaching your opinion, sir? Are you not a scientist but a preacher?


(The class is in uproar .)


Student: Is there anyone in the class who has ever seen the Professor's brain?


(The class breaks out into laughter.)


Student: Is there anyone here who has ever heard the Professor's brain, felt it, touched or smelt it? No one appears to have done so. So, according to the established rules of empirical, stable, demonstrable protocol, science says that you have no brain, sir.


With all due respect, sir, how do we then trust your lectures, sir?



(The room is silent . The professor stares at the student, his face unfathomable. )



Prof: I guess you'll have to take them on faith, son.


Student: That is it sir... The link between man & god is FAITH .

That is all that keeps things moving & alive....... ......... ..


Jai Sai Ram~~~

[tana]

Om Sai Ram~~~

Love by Swami Vivekananda~~~

I once had a friend who grew to be very close to me. Once when we were sitting at the edge of a swimming pool, she filled the palm of her hand with some water and held it before me, and said this: "You see this water carefully contained on my hand? It symbolizes Love.



" This was how I saw it: As long as you keep your hand caringly open and allow  it to remain there, it will always be there. However, if you attempt to  close your fingers round it and try to posses it, it will spill through the  first cracks it finds.




This is the greatest mistake that people do when they meet love ... They try  to posses it, they  demand, they expect ... And just like the water spilling out of your hand, love will retrieve from you. For love is meant to be free,


You can not change its nature.





If there are people you love, allow them to be free beings.




Give and don't expect.

Advise, but don't order.

Ask, but never demand.




It might sound simple,   but it is a lesson that may take a lifetime to truly practice.




It is the secret to true love.To truly practice it, you must  sincerely feel no expectations from those who you love, and yet an  unconditional caring."




Passing thought ... Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take;  but by the moments that take our breath away.

Jai Sai Ram~~~

[tana]

Om Sai Ram~~~

WHEN ONE DOOR CLOSES, ANOTHER DOOR OPENS~~~

Becky Ellis was a loving, beautiful little girl; a third grader. She also suffered of Cerebral Palsy, which is a disease that effects a person physically. Becky had three sisters; Sara 14, Melissa 18, who suffered from mental retardation, and Laura who was 19. They were a loving family who lived with Christ in their hearts.

In the winter of '97 around Christmas time, they had gone up to the mountain, where they had a cabin, and rode snowmobiles in the snow. Becky, along with another woman, unfortunately lost control of their snowmobile and crashed right into a tree killing little Becky almost instantly.

Many people loved Becky; she was a very friendly, a bright little girl, and was missed by many. However that's only the beginning of the story.

The family asked one of their close family friends to attend Becky's funeral, a pastor. The pastor and his wife had been trying to have a baby for quite some years, and it just never happened. Two days before the funeral, the pastor's wife discovered that she was pregnant. Not only had she finally become pregnant, but the baby was born later that year in October, on the same day of little Becky's birthday.

That just shows you two things,
The Lord does answer prayers,
And that when one door closes, another door opens~~~

 
Jai Sai Ram~~~

[tana]

Om Sai Ram~~~

Life and A Cup Of Coffee~~~


When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise  jar......and the coffee.

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly he picked  up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was  full. They agreed that it was.

So the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them intothe jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled  into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He  asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous "Yes."

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively  filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

"Now," said the professor, as the laughter subsided, "I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life.

The golf ball are the important things--your family, your children, your health, your friends, your favorite passions--things  that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house, your car.

The sand is everything else--the small stuff."

"If you put the sand into the jar first," he continued, "there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life.

If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are  important to you.

Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness.
Play with your children.
Take time to get  medical checkups.
Take your spouse out to dinner.
Play another 18 holes.
There will always be time to clean the house and fix  the disposal.

"Take care of the golf balls first, the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand."

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented.

The professor smiled. "I'm glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem,
there's  always room for a cup of coffee with ur friend."

 
Jai Sai Ram~~~

[tana]

Om Sai Ram~~~

A wonderful story~~~
 
 
A woman came out of her house and saw 3 old men with long white beards sitting in her front yard. She did not recognize them. She said "I don't think I know you, but you must be hungry. Please come in and have something to eat."
 

" Is the man of the house home?", they asked.


"No", she replied. "He's out." 


"Then we cannot come in", they replied.


In the evening when her husband came home, she told him what had happened.


"Go tell them I am home and invite them in!"


The woman went out and invited the men in"
 

" We do not go into a House together," they replied.

 
"Why is that?" she asked.
 

One of the old men explained: "His name is Wealth," he said pointing to one of his friends, and said pointing to another one, "He is Success, and I am Love." Then he added, "Now go in and discuss with your husband which one of us you want in your home."
 

The woman went in and told her husband what was said. Her husband was overjoyed. "How n ice!!", he said. "Since that is the case, let us invite Wealth. Let him come and fill our home with wealth!"
 

His wife disagreed. "My dear, why don't we invite Success?"
 

Their daughter was listening from the other corner of the house. She jumped in with her own suggestion: "Would it not be better to invite Love? Our home will then be filled with love!"
 

"Let us heed our daughter's advice," said the husband to his wife.


"Go out and invite Love to be our guest ."


The woman went out and asked the 3 old men, "Which one of you is Love? Please come in and be our guest."
 

Love got up and started walking toward the house. The other 2 also got up and followed him. Surprised, t he lady asked Wealth and Success: "I only invited Love, Why are you coming in?"
 

The old men replied together: "If you had invited Wealth or Success, the other two of us would've stayed out, but since you invited Love, wherever He goes, we go with him. Wherever there is Love, there is also Wealth and Success ~~~

Jai Sai Ram~~~

[Ramesh Ramnani]

The Carpenter's House

An elderly carpenter was ready to retire. He told his employer-contractor of his plans to leave the house building business and live a more leisurely life with his wife enjoying his extended family.

He would miss the paycheck, but he needed to retire. They could get by. The contractor was sorry to see his good worker go and asked if he could build just one more house as a personal favor. The carpenter said yes, but in time it was easy to see that his heart was not in his work. He resorted to shoddy workmanship and used inferior materials. It was an unfortunate way to end his career.

When the carpenter finished his work and the builder came to inspect the house, the contractor handed the front-door key to the carpenter. "This is your house," he said, "my gift to you."

What a shock! What a shame! If he had only known he was building his own house, he would have done it all so differently. Now he had to live i n the home he had built none too well.

So it is with us. We build our lives in a distracted way, reacting rather than acting, willing to put up less than the best. At important points we do not give the job our best effort. Then with a shock we look at the situation we have created and find that we are now living in the house we have built. If we had realized that we would have done it differently.

Think of yourself as the carpenter. Think about your house. Each day you hammer a nail, place a board, or erect a wall. Build wisely. It is the only life you will ever build. Even if you live it for only one day more, that day deserves to be lived graciously and with dignity. The plaque on the wall says, "Life is a do-it-yourself project." Your life tomorrow will be the result of your attitudes and the choices you make today.