During the civil war in Korea, a certain general and his troops were advancing implacably, taking province after province, destroying everything in their path. The people in one city, hearing that the general was approaching and knowing his cruel reputation, fled to a nearby mountain.
The troops found the houses empty. After much searching, though, they found one Zen monk who had stayed behind. The general ordered that he be brought before him, but the monk refused to go.
Furious, the general went to him instead.
‘You obviously don’t know who I am!’ he bawled. ‘I am capable of stabbing you in the chest with my sword without so much as blinking.’
The Zen master turned and replied calmly:
‘You obviously don’t know who I am either. I am capable of letting myself be stabbed in the chest by a sword without so much as blinking.’
This is what is courage in its exact sense. We all tend to get into adversities but how many of us really face them with full vigor and grit and still manage to do things in the correct way. Its what lies within us that usually decides how much fight lies within us.
Monday, September 19, 2011
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Taking Things For Granted
Sometimes, we do take people, things, situations around us for granted and when the time flies past, if we have the level headedness to check back, we begin to realise the importance of them.
When I was loved without my Knowledge,
When I was moved without my Movement,
When I was called without my Calling,
When I was happy without knowing the Reason
Alas, I took things for granted
When I was helped, without the Need,
When I was asked for, just to make me feel good,
When I was hated, To make me feel strong,
when I was sincerely sought after,
Alas, I took things for granted
Now that I learnt, Its easy to misunderstand,
Now that I heard, Its hard to Contemplate,
Now that I felt, The Life's tantalizing Reverie,
I hope I dont miss the Love,
The Honesty, The Modesty, The Faithfulness,
And I could view The Things As It Is
Or view the People As They Are
For Things Should Never Be Taken For Granted,
Trust me, Would give us more than ---- We Wanted !!!
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Onam Ashamsakal - The Story Behind Kerala's Biggest Festival
Come September 9, 2011. The day happens to be the most popular and big festival of my native state, Kerala. It is called Onam or Tiruvonam. Almost all the local channels, hoardings and shopping malls would be buzzling with the offers, discounts and debits - to happen from the shopping cards !!!
Well, to commemorate the advent of Onam, here's the real story behind the festivities in God's Own Country.
It marks the advent of a great demon King, called Mahabali(grandson of Bhakt Prahlad), who used to reside in Kerala long time ago. It is said that everyone in his kingdom were happy and prosperous and no one was touched with the sadness or unhappy quotient.
His rule and vigor became so famous that he was thought to be a replacement of Indra, the God of Gods. Maha Vishnu then took the Vamana (Dwarf) avataram and came with the intention of tricking him
When he came, he asked Mahabali to grant him some land. The majestic king humbly agreed and asked him to take as much land as he wants. The Vamana then started increasing in size in cosmic proportions and in first step, he measured the whole of earth. On the second step, he measured the whole of skies.
Third step was still to be kept and there was no place to keep or measure anything. The noble king asked Mahavishnu, in disguise, to keep the third step on him and he was pushed to Patala (the nether world).
It is said that Mahavishnu was so touched by his generousity that he asked him any wish he wanted. And the king, as he was attached to his kingdom, asked him to let him come and visit his kingdom atleast once a year.
The day happens to be now called "Onam". To wish any Keralite, here's the magic age-old mantra "Ellavarkum Hridayam Niranja Onam Ashamsakal" which means "Heartful wishes for Onam to everyone !!!"
Well, to commemorate the advent of Onam, here's the real story behind the festivities in God's Own Country.
It marks the advent of a great demon King, called Mahabali(grandson of Bhakt Prahlad), who used to reside in Kerala long time ago. It is said that everyone in his kingdom were happy and prosperous and no one was touched with the sadness or unhappy quotient.
His rule and vigor became so famous that he was thought to be a replacement of Indra, the God of Gods. Maha Vishnu then took the Vamana (Dwarf) avataram and came with the intention of tricking him
When he came, he asked Mahabali to grant him some land. The majestic king humbly agreed and asked him to take as much land as he wants. The Vamana then started increasing in size in cosmic proportions and in first step, he measured the whole of earth. On the second step, he measured the whole of skies.
Third step was still to be kept and there was no place to keep or measure anything. The noble king asked Mahavishnu, in disguise, to keep the third step on him and he was pushed to Patala (the nether world).
It is said that Mahavishnu was so touched by his generousity that he asked him any wish he wanted. And the king, as he was attached to his kingdom, asked him to let him come and visit his kingdom atleast once a year.
The day happens to be now called "Onam". To wish any Keralite, here's the magic age-old mantra "Ellavarkum Hridayam Niranja Onam Ashamsakal" which means "Heartful wishes for Onam to everyone !!!"
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
A Trapped Whale in 2005
If you read the front page story of the San Francisco Chronicle on Thursday, Dec 15, 2005, you would have read about a female humpback whale who had become entangled in a spider web of crab traps and lines.
The fifty-foot whale was weighed down by hundreds of pounds of traps that caused her to struggle to stay afloat. She also had hundreds of yards of line rope wrapped around her tail, her torso and a line tugging in her mouth.
A fisherman spotted her just east of the Farallone Islands (outside the Golden Gate), USA and radioed an environmental group for help. Within a few hours, the rescue team arrived and determined that she was so bad off, the only way to save her was to dive in and untangle her - a very dangerous proposition. One slap of the tail could kill a rescuer.
They worked for hours with curved knives and eventually freed her. When she was free, the divers say she swam in what seemed like joyous circles. She then came back to each and every diver, one at a time, and nudged them, pushed them gently around - she thanked them. Some said it was the most incredibly beautiful experience of their lives.
The guy who cut the rope out of her mouth says her eye was following him the whole time, and he will never be the same.
It doesn't matter whether we helped a large being or a small one. It does matter whether we helped or not, for it may have made a world of difference to someone, including you.
The fifty-foot whale was weighed down by hundreds of pounds of traps that caused her to struggle to stay afloat. She also had hundreds of yards of line rope wrapped around her tail, her torso and a line tugging in her mouth.
A fisherman spotted her just east of the Farallone Islands (outside the Golden Gate), USA and radioed an environmental group for help. Within a few hours, the rescue team arrived and determined that she was so bad off, the only way to save her was to dive in and untangle her - a very dangerous proposition. One slap of the tail could kill a rescuer.
They worked for hours with curved knives and eventually freed her. When she was free, the divers say she swam in what seemed like joyous circles. She then came back to each and every diver, one at a time, and nudged them, pushed them gently around - she thanked them. Some said it was the most incredibly beautiful experience of their lives.
The guy who cut the rope out of her mouth says her eye was following him the whole time, and he will never be the same.
It doesn't matter whether we helped a large being or a small one. It does matter whether we helped or not, for it may have made a world of difference to someone, including you.
Saturday, September 3, 2011
Barber and The God
A man went to trim his hair and beard. As always happens, he and the barber chatted about this and that, until – commenting on a newspaper article about street kids – the barber stated:
"As you can see, this tragedy shows that God doesn’t exist. Don’t you read the papers? So many people suffer, abandoned children, there’s so much crime. If God existed, there wouldn’t be so much suffering."
"You know something? Barbers don’t exist."
"What do you mean, don’t exist? I’m here, and I’m a barber."
"They don’t exist!" insisted the man. – "Because if they did, there wouldn’t be people with such longs beards and such tangled hair."
"I can guarantee that barbers do exist. But these people never come in here."
"Exactly! So, in answer to your question, God exists, too. It just so happens that people don’t go to Him. If they did, they would be more giving, and there wouldn’t be so much misery in the world.
"As you can see, this tragedy shows that God doesn’t exist. Don’t you read the papers? So many people suffer, abandoned children, there’s so much crime. If God existed, there wouldn’t be so much suffering."
"You know something? Barbers don’t exist."
"What do you mean, don’t exist? I’m here, and I’m a barber."
"They don’t exist!" insisted the man. – "Because if they did, there wouldn’t be people with such longs beards and such tangled hair."
"I can guarantee that barbers do exist. But these people never come in here."
"Exactly! So, in answer to your question, God exists, too. It just so happens that people don’t go to Him. If they did, they would be more giving, and there wouldn’t be so much misery in the world.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Divine Play of Lion, Cats and Mice
We all have our kitty of compaints and regrets against God sometime or many times in our life. Check the simple divine fact in the form of a beautiful story :
A lion came across a group of cats having a chat. “I’m going to devour them,” he thought.
But then an odd feeling of calm came over him. And he decided to sit down with them and pay attention to what they were saying.
"Good God!"said one of the cats, without noticing the lion’s presence. "We have prayed all afternoon! We asked for the skies to rain mice on us!"
"And so far nothing has happened!" said another. "I wonder if the Lord really exists."
The skies remained mute. And the cats lost their faith.
The lion rose and went on his way, thinking: “funny how things are. I was going to kill those animals, but God stopped me. And even so, they stopped believing in divine grace. They were so worried about what was missing that they did not even notice the protection they were given.”
A lion came across a group of cats having a chat. “I’m going to devour them,” he thought.
But then an odd feeling of calm came over him. And he decided to sit down with them and pay attention to what they were saying.
"Good God!"said one of the cats, without noticing the lion’s presence. "We have prayed all afternoon! We asked for the skies to rain mice on us!"
"And so far nothing has happened!" said another. "I wonder if the Lord really exists."
The skies remained mute. And the cats lost their faith.
The lion rose and went on his way, thinking: “funny how things are. I was going to kill those animals, but God stopped me. And even so, they stopped believing in divine grace. They were so worried about what was missing that they did not even notice the protection they were given.”
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Enlighten and Enliven Gratitude
Gratitude is one of the traits which sometimes takes a backseat in our day to day chores. Unfortunately, most of us value only the thing given rather than the feelings embodied in it.
A young man while roaming the desert came across a spring of delicious crystal-clear water. The water was so sweet he filled his leather canteen so he could bring some back to a tribal elder who had been his teacher.
After a four-day journey he presented the water to the old man who took a deep drink, smiled warmly and thanked his student lavishly for the sweet water. The young man returned to his village with a happy heart.
Later, the teacher let another student taste the water. He spat it out, saying it was awful. It apparently had become stale because of the old leather container. The student asked his teacher: "Master, the water was foul. Why did you pretend to like it?"
The teacher replied, "You only tasted the water. I tasted the gift. The water was simply the container for an act of loving-kindness and nothing could be sweeter."
Let the Gratitude inside us be always alighted and enlivened !!!
A young man while roaming the desert came across a spring of delicious crystal-clear water. The water was so sweet he filled his leather canteen so he could bring some back to a tribal elder who had been his teacher.
After a four-day journey he presented the water to the old man who took a deep drink, smiled warmly and thanked his student lavishly for the sweet water. The young man returned to his village with a happy heart.
Later, the teacher let another student taste the water. He spat it out, saying it was awful. It apparently had become stale because of the old leather container. The student asked his teacher: "Master, the water was foul. Why did you pretend to like it?"
The teacher replied, "You only tasted the water. I tasted the gift. The water was simply the container for an act of loving-kindness and nothing could be sweeter."
Let the Gratitude inside us be always alighted and enlivened !!!
Friday, August 12, 2011
!!! Happy Independence Day !!!
On the occasion of 64th version, here's wishing all my fellow brothers and their sisters a Very Happy Independence Day. Here's an attempt to pen down my thoughts on one of the most important day in the life of all of us, as Citizens of India!!!
When we were school going kids
When we stood in the assembly line,
When the National Anthem was sung,
When we raised our heads and minds,
When we thought about the martyrs,
When we learnt about the abundance,
Plethora of knowledge and divinity inherent
I loved my India
As we grew up,
As we started understanding the world,
As we learnt that We are Citizens,
As we learnt about Democracy,
As we saw the goods and the bads,
As we learnt the mysteriousness,
Wrong and the Righteousness,
I loved my country
Religions aplenty, dogmas a plenty,
Breakthroughs, happenings, bigshots,
Everything which is Dormant and Revealed,
Birthland of Zero and the Infinity,
Makes me wonder the vicinity
And for all that It has given me,
The mere existence of being Me,
In the Geographical demarche
On the Day of its Independence,
One thought in my mind,
I Love You My Country
I Love You My India !!!
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Let The Children Play
A priest, having started a family, no longer had any peace for his prayers. One night, when he knelt down, he was disturbed by the children in the living room.
"Children keep quiet!" he shouted.
Thereafter, whenever the priest came home, they all maintained silence during prayers. But he realized that God was no longer listening.
One night, during his prayers, he asked the Lord: "what is going on? I have the necessary peace, and I cannot pray!"
An angel replied: "He hears words, but no longer hears the laughter. He notices the devotion, but can no longer see the joy."
The priest stood and shouted once again to his wife: "Let the children play! They are a part of prayer!"
Story apart, thing is we can't attain inner peace unless and until we make sure that our external paradigms are well taken care of. We can feel abyss only when we make everyone around us feel the same, or atleast do the best we can to make things around us seem better
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Ramakrishna Teaches About Faith
Sri Ramakrisna tells the story of a man who was about to cross a river, when master Bibhishana came over, wrote a name on a leaf, tied it to the man’s back, and said:
Don’t be afraid. Your faith will help you walk on the waters. But the minute you lose faith, you will drown.
The man trusted Bibhishana, and began to walk on the waters, without any difficulty. At a certain point, he had an overwhelming desire to know what his master had written on the leaf tied to his back.
He took it and read what was written:
“Oh god Rama, help this man to cross the river.”
“Is that all?” thought the man. “And who is this god Rama, anyway?”
The moment this doubt became lodged in his mind, he was submerged and drowned in the strong current.
Which explains the fact that if we want to do the improbable, impossible, impertinent things to be done or happen in our life, we are supposed to condition our mind so that its got to believe and visualize things which have not materialized in the first place. We should have unflinching faith in whatever we do.
Don’t be afraid. Your faith will help you walk on the waters. But the minute you lose faith, you will drown.
The man trusted Bibhishana, and began to walk on the waters, without any difficulty. At a certain point, he had an overwhelming desire to know what his master had written on the leaf tied to his back.
He took it and read what was written:
“Oh god Rama, help this man to cross the river.”
“Is that all?” thought the man. “And who is this god Rama, anyway?”
The moment this doubt became lodged in his mind, he was submerged and drowned in the strong current.
Which explains the fact that if we want to do the improbable, impossible, impertinent things to be done or happen in our life, we are supposed to condition our mind so that its got to believe and visualize things which have not materialized in the first place. We should have unflinching faith in whatever we do.
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