As the first blog entry got exhausted. My second book |
Evolution of Love Part 2 |
Reason for Different Religions: Questioner: "When there is only ONE, why are there so many different religions in this world"? Ma: "Because He is infinite, there are infinite varieties of conceptions of Him and of paths leading to him". Place of Destruction and Ruin Questioner: "How is the idea of a benevolent God compatible with ruin and destruction in the history of peoples and lives of families and individuals"? Ma: "Do you believe that God is the creator of this world and therefore its Lord"? Questioner agrees. Ma: "Very well, If God is the Lord of the world, He can do with it as he pleases. Suppose you have grown beautiful flowers in your garden, but decide to plant fruit trees in their place, won't you have to remove the flowers? If you have a fine house, but wish to build a larger and better one on the same plot, you demolish the old one. The freedom that is yours in small things, God exercises in great ones. In both is He, in destruction as well as in construction. The history of nations, families and individuals is the great Lila (divine sport) that He stages with Himself." On Meditation and Union with the Eternal: The spiritual aspirant should practice dhyana (steady meditation) in the proper posture (with the back straight) and deeply meditate on his Ishta (beloved deity). He should purge himself of all outside thoughts and consider himself pure. Once he is absorbed in genuine dhyana, worldly attractions lose all their appeal and then worldly enjoyments cannot possibly touch him. Meditation opens one's true being to the Light, to that which is Eternal. In true meditation, Reality is contacted. When the movement of your true nature sets in, then, because it is directed solely towards God, the knots of the heart will be unraveled. Then you should know that the current of your life is turned towards the Eternal. Give yourself up to the wave, and you will be absorbed by the current - having dived into the sea, you do not return any more. The Eternal Himself is the wave that floods the shore, so that you may be carried away. Those who can surrender themselves to this aim will be accepted by Him. But if your attention remains directed towards the shore, you cannot proceed - after bathing you will return to the shore. If your aim is the Supreme, the Ultimate, you will be led on by the movement of your own true nature. There are waves that carry away and waves that pull back. Those who can give themselves up will be taken by Him. In the guise of the wave He holds out His hand and calls you. On Silence: Even when speech is supressed, the activity of the mind still continues. All the same silence helps control the mind. As the mind dives deeper, its activity slackens off, and then one comes to feel that He Who provides for everything will arrange matters. When the mind is agitated by thoughts of worldly things, the benefit that should be gained by abstaining from speech is lost. When the mind is centered on God, it keeps advancing steadily, and along with this emerges purity of body and mind. To let thoughts dwell on objects of the senses is waste of energy. By constantly dwelling on the thought of God all the granthis (knots) that make up ego are unraveled, and that which has to be realized will be realized. To say 'through silence He is realized' is not correct, because Supreme Knowledge does not come 'through' anything. Supreme Knowledge reveals itself. For destroying the 'veil', there are suitable spiritual disciplines and practices. |
1. " God Moves Mountains, Maybe Sometimes Only ONE PEBBLE AT A TIME............." 2. " You were Born and with ENDLESS POSSIBILITIES, Very Few Ever To Be Realized. ITS OK. Life was Never about What You COULD do, But What YOU WOULD DO........." 3. " A SINCERE Promise, Coupled with A HELPING HAND, can Bring HOPE where Before There Had Been Only Despair......" 4. " There are NO Hopeless Situations, ONLY People Who Have Grown Hopeless About Them. You STILL Have Choices YOU CAN MAKE........." 5. " Do NOT Spoil WHAT YOU HAVE by Desiring what you have not; REMEMBER that What YOU NOW HAVE Was Once Among The Things YOU ONLY HOPED FOR..........." AND DO REMEMBER..... 6. " There is a CRACK IN EVERYTHING.. THAT IS HOW THE LIGHT GETS IN........" AMEN TO THAT......... |
A person started to walk on a rope tied between two tall towers at several hundred feet above the ground. He is slowly walking balancing a long stick in his hands. He has his son sitting on his shoulders. Everyone down were watching him in bated breath and were tensed. He slowly reached the second tower. Everyone clapped, whistled and welcomed him. They shook hands and took selfies. He asked the crowd "do you all think I can walk back on the same rope now from this side to that side?". Crowd shouted "Yes, Yes, you can". Do you trust me he asked. They said yes, yes we are ready to bet on you. He said okay, can any one of you sit on my shoulder; I will take you to the other side safely. Everyone became quite. There was stunned silence. Belief is different. Trust is different. For Trust you need total surrender. This is what we are lacking towards God in today's world. The problem today is most of us believe in God but don't trust Him. đđđđđđđđđ |
*Maria lived with her mother in a small apartment in NYC.* *She wasn't too young or too old..* *Not too short or too tall..* *Not particularly beautiful nor ugly..* *She was just an average woman..* *She worked as a secretary at a large company and her life was pretty much boring and mundane.* *No one at work paid any attention to her...* *Those that did considered her to be as boring as her life was.* *One morning, on her way to work, Maria saw a new hat shop that opened down the street.* *In a spur of curiosity she walked in!* *In the shop was a little girl and her mother, who came to pick the girl a hat, and another customer who was trying on hats...* *Maria also tried on a few hats, until she found one she liked..* *She put it on and* *It looked nice..!* *First to notice was the little girl : "Mommy, look how pretty that woman looks with the hat on!"* *The mother said: "Ma'am, I must say, this hat just looks wonderful on you!"* *The second buyer also came to look : "Ma'am, you look lovely with that hat on!"* *Maria went to the mirror..* *She looked at herself..* *And for the first time in her adult life..* *She liked what she saw..* *Smiling, she went to the counter and bought the hat..* *As she walked outside a new world revealed itself to her..* *She never before noticed the colors of the flowers..* *or the scent of the fresh air..* *The sound of the cars and the people..* *sounded like an harmonious melody..* *She walked as if drifting on a cloud..* *with a song in her heart..* *When she passed by the coffee shop she walked by every morning, one of the young handsome man called out to her: "Hey darling..looking good...!!* *Are you new here?* *Can I buy you a cup of coffee..?"* *She smiled shyly and kept walking..* *Floating on her cloud...* *When she got to the office building, the doorman opened the door and wished her Good Morning..* *Never before had he even noticed her..!* *The people in the elevator asked her the floor she needed and pressed the button for her..* *The people at the office, as if seeing her for the first time, flattered her on how lovely she looked today..* *The manager asked her out to lunch to talk about how she felt at work..!* *When this magical workday was over she decided to take a cab home instead of the bus.* *As soon as she put her hand up 2 taxis stopped..!* *She took the first one and sat in the back seat..* *Thinking about the miraculous day she had and how her life changed..!! Thanks to the new hat..!!* *When she got home, her mom opened the door..* *The sight of Maria took her breath away..!* *"Maria" she said "How beautiful you look..!! Your eyes are all lit up like when you were a little girl...!!"* *"Yes, mother" Said Maria* *"It's all thanks to my new hat, I had the most marvelous day..!"* *"Maria" said her mother* *"What hat??"* *Maria panicked.* *She touched her head and saw that the hat that changed her life was not there...* *She didn't remember taking it off in the cab..* *Or at lunch..* *Or at the office..* *She thought back to the store where she had bought it..* *How she noticed it for the first time..* *She put it on..* *Paying for it at the cashier's...* *And she remembered painfully now..* *How she put it on the counter..* *To get her purse out to pay..* *And how she forgot the hat right there..* *On the counter...!!* *Then she walked out to the street..* *Hat-less yet glowing..!!* *It wasn't the hat that freed Maria,* *It was the quality of her thoughts..!!* *_Our thoughts can enslave us into a horrible bondage or liberate us towards sweet freedom: to be, do, or have anything we wish for!!!_* *This is called a Placebo effect..* *Your mind is so powerful that it can create Poison as well as Nectar..* *You just need to know how to create it..* đżđżđżđżđżđżđżđż |
LIVE WHILE YOU DO - ELSE THESE MAY BE OUR DEATHBED REGRETS....... - By Shannon Alder.... 1. I wish I'd had the COURAGE to Live a Life TRUE to MYSELF, NOT the life other people EXPECTED of me. 2. I wish I TOOK TIME TO BE with my children more when they were Growing Up. 3. I wish I had the COURAGE to EXPRESS MY FEELINGS, Without The Fear of being rejected or unpopular. 4. I wish I Would Have STAYED IN TOUCH with Friends and Family. 5. I wish I Would HAVE FORGIVEN someone when I Had THE CHANCE...... 6. I wish I Would HAVE TOLD the people I lOVED THE MOST HOW IMPORTANT THEY ARE TO ME........ 7. I wish I Would HAD MORE CONFIDENCE and TRIED MORE THINGS, instead of being afraid of looking like a fool. 8. I wish I Would HAVE DONE MORE to make an Impact in this world. 9. I wish I WOULD HAVE EXPERIENCED MORE, instead of settling for a boring life filled with routine, mediocrity and apathy. 10. I wish I WOULD HAVE PURSUED MY TALENTS AND GIFT.... It Is NEVER OVER - Till It's Over - LIVE COMPLETELY..... |
A car ahead was moving like a turtle and not giving me way inspite of my continuous honking! I was on brink of losing my cool when I noticed the small sticker on the carâs rear! âPhysically challenged; Please be patient.â And that changed everything!! I immediately went calm & slowed down!! In fact, I got a little protective of the car & the driver!!! I reached home a few minutes late, but it was ok! And then it struck me. Would I have been patient if there was no sticker? Why do we need stickers to be patient with people!? Will we be more patient & kind with others if people had labels pasted on their foreheads? Labels like ââ â Lost my jobâ , âFighting cancerâ, âGoing through a bad divorceâ, âSuffering Emotional abuse â, "Lost a loved oneâ, âFeeling worthlessâ, âFinancially brokenâ ....and more like these!! Everyone is fighting a battle we know nothing about. The least we can do is to be patient ,kind & compassionate *Let us respect the Invisible Labels !!* |
Dear Son, Today I am writing to you about a strange topic. Eggs. After all, what kind of a Parsi caterer would I be if I didnât try to squeeze in our favourite âEeduâ into just about any conversation possible. Right now the only kind of eggs you have tried is in a tomato omelette but I am hoping that your Parsi genes will awaken and soon you will want to try every kind of eggs possible. So here is a list of 10 different kinds of eggs you must try and also life lessons you can learn from them. Sunny Side Up â When cooked perfectly, this egg is crispy and firm at the edges but the yolk is soft and runny. Similarly learn to be firm and stick to your decisions once you make them but also still stay fluid to change and filled with warmth at your center. Parsi Akoori â Nothing beats a good morsel of creamy Akoori served on top of Brun pav. However, take the same ingredients and overcook it and you will not get Akoori but Bhurji which tastes rubbery and dry. Similarly, if you overthink a decision for too long you are going to ruin it. Instead, remember to combine what knowledge you have, think over it a bit and then just take action! Poached Eggs â While a lot of people like eating poached eggs, many are scared of cooking them because you have to be so gentle with it. Donât be scared to be gentle and tread lightly when the situation demands it son because the rewards are always proportionate to the risk taken. Salli per Eedu â I make Sali per Eedu the same way for you as my mummy did and she uses the same recipe her mummy did. There is value in experience and doing things the traditional way. In a world that is fast changing it is easy to discount tradition for ancient ideas but remember to question yourself on the reason why someone is still doing it the way they were 50 years ago before you go ahead and change for the sake of it. Cheesy Omelette â Did you know the first word you spoke was not Maa or Daa, but âCheeshâ (I was so proud). A good cheese omelette needs only two things â cheese and eggs. Most days if you use a salted cheese you wonât even need seasoning! Remember, that the good things in life donât need to be overly complicated. On most occasions if you have love and honesty by your side, you are sorted. Tarkari per Eedu â We Parsis have an innate ability to take any leftover vegetable, add an egg on top and turn it into an entire new dish. Be versatile like this dish because there are many different versions of the âperfect youâ and if you can keep tweaking and adjusting to whats needed, you will always be in fashion. Baked Eggs with Truffle Oil â Sometimes all you need is a small quantity of something special to make a common dish spectacular. Try to be this âTruffle Oilâ in life which adds a sparkle to the everyday hustle. All you need to do for this is think a little out of the box (and ofcourse then go ahead and implement it). Egg Curry â I am not a big fan of egg curry but your Mamaiji has spoken to me of many days as a child when her parents couldnât afford meat and so dinner would be egg curry. Above I spoke of taking adding small amounts of âsomething specialâ but sometimes even that is not needed and just a humble egg can also make an ordinary meal special. So, while fancy is great you donât always have to wait for inspiration to strike, simple can also be good enough. Mayonnaise â There are two secret ingredients in a good mayo fresh eggs and lots of patience while the eggs emulsify with the oil and work their magic to create a creamy sauce. I know you may think me hypocritical by telling you not to overthink yet preaching patience. Itâs important to not mix the two. Good things take time and if you have a dream you deserve to give your dream the benefit of time to come true. Chutney Eeda Pattice â When youâre old and in a job with kids of your own you may feel on occasion that life has become boring and mundane. At those times remember that you donât need to make big changes but just add small elements of suprise. Just like finding a yummy piece of boiled egg inside a chutney pattice can spark a smile, spending some quality time with your kids outside the house or saying a few kind words to your wife may make a big difference. So before you go all out, just try a small surprise first. Thatâs all the gyaan I have for you today. I hope when you grow up you appreciate how difficult it is to write an entire letter on life lessons based on eggs and love your mom more for it. Until then, I part for today with the wise words of BawaTips, âWhen in doubt, break an Eeduđ„ on itâ. đ |
"In June 1907, I saw Bhagavan for the first time since we were at school together. I asked, âDo you recognize me?â Bhagavan uttered âRanganâ with difficulty. In those days he spoke little and found it difficult to use his voice. My mother had already told me about her first visit in the late 1890s when Bhagavan was residing in a temple on a mound near the main Arunachaleswara Temple, Tiruvannamalai. Many years later, talking to me about my motherâs visit, Bhagavan said, âWhen your mother came to see me, she was frightened by my ascetic appearance and attire. My hair was all matted and my body was completely covered with dust.â He added that at that time he was never aware of the passage of time. Sometimes, when he tried to stand up, his head would reel and he would lose his balance. When this happened he concluded that he must have spent many days in a state in which he had not been conscious of the world. Apart from these periodic bouts of weakness he had no other way of detecting the passage of time. When asked whether he had any food in those days, he replied, â When there is no consciousness of the body, the bodily functions are also suspended.â At the time of my departure after the first visit, I told Bhagavan, âYou have reached great heights.â His reply was, âThe far off mountains look even and smooth.â I felt that he was telling me that one could become a jnani even while living an ordinary householderâs life. He seemed to be telling me that there was nothing special or great in physical renunciation. The next time I met Bhagavan, I was on my way to Madras in search of a job. My financial circumstances were in a bad state at the time. Bhagavan seemed to know this even though I never mentioned the subject. My attempts for a job being unsuccessful, I returned home via Tiruvannamalai. As soon as I saw Bhagavan, he brought up the subject of my financial problems. That night when I was lying, Bhagavan came and sat next to me. I got up and sat by his side. âRanganâ, he asked, âAre you worried about the financial difficulties? Will ten thousand rupees be enough for you?â Eventually, I got a job in an automobile company, selling buses. Since I got a commission on each bus sold, I was able to raise the Rs.10,000 that Bhagavan had spoken about. This money was enough to pay off my debts and to perform marriages of two of my daughters. Living with Bhagavan induced a spirit of renunciation in many, including myself, but Bhagavan always discouraged his devotees from taking the final steps of physical renunciation. My urge to take sannyasa subsided and eventually disappeared. There were many occasions when I needed help and I soon got into the habit of telling Bhagavan all about my family troubles on my visits to the Skandasram. On one occasion he turned to me and said, âYou think that your own troubles are very great. What do you know of my troubles? Let me tell you about one incident. Once, while climbing a steep part of the mountain, I was holding on to a rock to keep my balance. The rock was loose and would not take my weight. I fell back and was partly buried by a small avalanche of stones. I managed to remove them but found my left thumb dislocated. It was hanging loosely near the finger. I pushed back the thumb into its socket.â Bhagavanâs mother told me that she could not bear to recall that accident. He came home bleeding all over. I got on very well with Bhagavanâs mother because we had known each other when she lived in Madurai. On one occasion she told me, âOne day when I was looking steadily at Bhagavan, his body gradually disappeared and in its place, I saw the lingam. The lingam was very bright. I could not believe my eyes. I rubbed my eyes but I still saw the same, bright lingam. I was frightened because I thought my son was leaving us forever. Fortunately, the lingam gradually transformed itself into Bhagavanâs body.â After hearing her account I looked at Bhagavan for confirmation or comment, but he just smiled and said nothing. When my son was writing a book called Bhagavan Parinayam (The marriage of Bhagavan) in which Bhagavan marries jnana kanya (the bride jnana), I had told him about the incident and he incorporated it in his manuscript. A few months later, when my son read out his book before Bhagavan, he was asked how he knew about the incident. âMy father told meâ, replied my son. âOh!â Said Bhagavan, âDid he really tell you all about that?â The other devotees were curious to know more about the incident because none of them had heard about it, but Bhagavan said, âIt was nothing,â and diverted their attention to something else. Once, I went out of the Skandasram for a short period of time, leaving Bhagavan sleeping inside. When I returned, I saw him sitting outside on a bed. I thought nothing of it until I went inside the ashram and saw Bhagavan was sleeping inside, in the position I had seen him when I left the ashram. When I told Bhagavan about this later, he smiled and said, âWhy did you not tell me then itself? I could have caught the thief!â This was typical of Bhagavanâs response to the supernatural. If such events were reported to him, he would either ignore them or pass them off as a joke. This was because he didnât want any of his devotees to be sidetracked from their main goal of realizing the Self into an unproductive interest in miraculous phenomena. Although Bhagavan preferred to keep his exalted state a secret from the public, he would occasionally show us glimpses of his power and knowledge. Once, for example, a devotee, who was sitting at a distance from Bhagavan, copying some Sanskrit verses, had a doubt about what he should write. Bhagavan, without even being asked, called over to him and cleared his doubt; but he rarely showed his omniscience so openly. I witnessed another manifestation of Bhagavanâs power on one of my visits to the Skandasram. Two men came from a village and asked Bhagavan to give them vibhuti with his own hand. They refused to collect the vibhuti from the place where it was kept, even when told by Bhagavan to do so, and eventually left disappointed. I followed them and asked, âWhy did you want the vibhuti from Bhagavanâs own hands? Why were you so insistent?âOne of them told me, âI used to have leprosy. I once came to see Bhagavan and he gave me some vibhuti with his own hand. I applied it to my body and soon there were no signs of the disease. This is my friend. He also has leprosy. That is why I ask for vibhuti from Bhagavanâs hands.â Bhagavan must have known that he had inadvertently cured the leper of his disease. He probably refused to repeat it because he didnât want to acquire reputation as a âmiracle manâ. Because my brothers and I had received so much benefit from being in Bhagavanâs presence, we made it a point to encourage other people to go to Tiruvannamalai and have Bhagavanâs darshan. A friend of ours, who went to see Bhagavan at our behest, on his return told us, âWhat a useless swami you sent me to! On an ekadasi day he was cutting onions.â Once Bhagavan told me, âYou and your brothers have broadcast the news that there is a Maharshi here. Some people believe you until they come here and see me sitting in a corner. Then they think, oh, is this the man? They get disappointed and go away cursing you.â Although Bhagavan managed to maintain a façade of ordinariness, he was able to see the spiritual worth of everyone who came to see him, and would not let himself be understood by the undeserving. Bhagavan could recognize spiritual maturity in the people around him. He could also discern it in the animals that came to him. One day, Bhagavanâs mother asked, âWhy does that dog always like to stay in your lap?â Bhagavan turned to me and said, âThis dog is always in unwavering samadhi. A great soul has come in the form of a dog. Mother does not know this.â That Bhagavan had ceased to identify with his body was clear to me when he and I were walking on the forest path around the mountain. Having stepped on a thorn, I was lagging behind. Bhagavan stopped, came back to me and removed the thorn. Later, Bhagavan stepped on a big thorn. Lifting his foot, I was astonished to find many thorns sticking out of it; some were old and some were new. I lifted the other foot and found the same. âWhich thorns will you remove?â asked Bhagavan with a laugh. Then he crushed the protruding thorn with the foot in which it was embedded and happily continued to walk. I felt that I was not making much spiritual progress, so I once asked Bhagavan, âHow many times will I have to be born to get jnana?â Bhagavan answered, âThere are no factors like time and distance. In one hour we dream that many days and years have passed by. Donât you see in a cinema film mere shadows being transformed into great seas, mountains and buildings. The world is not outside you. The small world that is in the mind appears as a big world outside. The annihilation of the mind is jnana.â |
Boris Johnson: The revenge of the Turks? Consider the following... At this time a century ago, the Interior Minister of Turkey was Ali Kemal Bey, who had established the Anglophile Society, advocating that Turkey become a British protectorate (like Kuwait, Qatar and Johor were at that time). He was hopelessly on the wrong side of history! When AtatĂŒrk completed the reconquest of Turkey from British, French, Italian, Greek and Armenian control in November 1922, AtatĂŒrkâs colleague, General Nureddin, had Ali Kemal captured; he was then lynched and hanged from a tree. In a few days from now, Ali Kemal Beyâs great grandson, Boris Johnson, will become Prime Minister of the UK! Ali Kemalâs son, Osman Wilfred Kemal, changed his name to Wilfred Johnson, taking his maternal grandmotherâs maiden name. Ali Kemal was a journalist and politician, just as his grandson Stanley Johnson was. Stanleyâs sons, Boris and Jo, are both former journalists and ministers, and their sister, Rachel Sabiha Johnson, carries Ali Kemalâs second wifeâs name as her middle name! Finally the Ottoman Turks have conquered Great Britain. Ertugrul Gaza the great Bey of the Kayi and the Turkish Orghuz tribes and his son Osman, the founder and first Sultan of the Ottoman Empire must be smiling from eternity and the grave right now. One of their descendents is about to preside over the affairs of the seat and heart of the old British Empire and he is about to take Britain out of Europe! Shakespeareâs Othello must be a very happy man too. This is indeed the revenge of the Turks |
1. Someday, Someone â Will Walk into your Life and will make you Understand WHY it NEVER Worked Out with Anyone ElseâŠ. 2. And Then â My Soul saw YOU and it kind of wentâŠ..â OH THERE YOU ARE â Iâve been Looking for YouâŠ..â 3. There comes a time when you meet Someone and You Just Want to Make Them SMILE for the Rest of Your LifeâŠâŠ 4. Love Is â When you Look Into Someoneâs Eyes and See EVERYTHING you NEEDâŠâŠ 5. It Wasnât Love at First Sight, it Was FAMILIARITY. It Was Like â â Oh Hello, Itâs You â Itâs GOING TO BE YOUâŠâŠâ As Beautifully Expressed by the IMMORTAL William Shakespeare. .... 6. "When I saw You, I fell in Love And You Smiled â Because You KNEWâŠâŠ" Perhaps The CLOSEST DEFINITION OF LOVE... 7. â The Best kind of Relationships Begin UNEXPECTEDLY. When you get the Astonished Feeling that Everything Happened So SUDDENLY. That is why you Donât Look for LOVE. It Comes to you at Just The RIGHT TIME. The Time You Never Thought IT WOULD HAVEâŠâŠâ THAT IS - WHAT LOVE ISâŠâŠâŠđ |