Patience

Patience: It can be learnt from Butterflies. Though they have less sense than us, they live a life of Patience. 

Once a little boy was playing outdoors and found a fascinating caterpillar. He carefully picked it up and took it home to show his mother. He asked his mother if he could keep it, and she said he could if he would take good care of it. 

The little boy got a large jar from his mother and put plants to eat, and a stick to climb on, in the jar. Every day he watched the caterpillar and brought it new plants to eat. 

One day the caterpillar climbed up the stick and started acting strangely. The boy worriedly called his mother who came and understood that the caterpillar was creating a cocoon. The mother explained to the boy how the caterpillar was going to go through a metamorphosis and become a butterfly. 

The little boy was thrilled to hear about the changes his caterpillar would go through. He watched every day, waiting for the butterfly to emerge. One day it happened, a small hole appeared in the cocoon and the butterfly started to struggle to come out. 

At first the boy was excited, but soon he became concerned. The butterfly was struggling so hard to get out! It looked like it couldn’t break free! It looked desperate! It looked like it was making no progress!

The boy was so concerned he decided to help. He ran to get scissors, and then walked back (because he had learned not to run with scissors…). He snipped the cocoon to make the hole bigger and the butterfly quickly emerged! As the butterfly came out the boy was surprised. It had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings. He continued to watch the butterfly expecting that, at any moment, the wings would dry out, enlarge and expand to support the swollen body. He knew that in time the body would shrink and the butterfly’s wings would expand. But neither happened! The butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It never was able to fly…

As the boy tried to figure out what had gone wrong his mother took him to talk to a scientist from a local college. He learned that the butterfly was SUPPOSED TO BE PATIENT WHILE STRUGGLING. In fact, the butterfly’s struggle to push its way through the tiny opening of the cocoon pushes the fluid out of its body and into its wings. Without the struggle, the butterfly would never, ever fly. As you go through school, college or in any status of life, keep in mind that struggling is an important part of any growth experience. In fact, it is the struggle that causes you to develop your ability to fly. So be Patient, to receive the fruits of life.

An earthquake in Japan

This is a true story of a Mother’s sacrifice during the Japan Earthquake.

After the Earthquake had subsided, when the rescuers reached the ruins of a young woman’s house, they saw her dead body through the cracks. But her pose was somehow strange that she knelt on her knees like a person was worshiping; her body was leaning forward, and her two hands were supporting by an object. The collapsed house had crashed her back and her head. With so many difficulties, the leader of the rescuer team put his hand through a narrow gap on the wall to reach the woman’s body. He was hoping that this woman could be still alive. However, the cold and stiff body told him that she had passed away for sure. He and the rest of the team left this house and were going to search the next collapsed building. 

For some reasons, the team leader was driven by a compelling force to go back to the ruin house of the dead woman. Again, he knelt down and used his hand through the narrow cracks to search the little space under the dead body. Suddenly, he screamed with excitement, "A child! There is a child! ". The whole team worked together; carefully they removed the piles of ruined objects around the dead woman. There was a 3 months old little boy wrapped in a flowery blanket under his mother’s dead body.

 Obviously, the woman had made an ultimate sacrifice for saving her son. When her house was falling, she used her body to make a cover to protect her son. The little boy was still sleeping peacefully when the team leader picked him up. The medical doctor came quickly to exam the little boy. After he opened the blanket, he saw a cell phone inside the blanket. There was a text message on the screen. It said, " If you can survive, you must remember that I love you".  This cell phone was passing  around from one hand to another. Every body that read the message wept. "If you can survive, you must remember that I love you.” Such is the mother’s love for her child.

Yes friends, If you are alive this minute, please remember that it is because of your Mother's love for you. However you are in your life, however bad she is with you at times, however she looks or behaves, it is our duty to pay her the respect and love. Lets be grateful to our mother who is used by God, to bring us to this world.

Wrong Conclusions

An old man was traveling with his 25 yr old son in the train. Train is about to leave the station. All passengers are settling down in their seats. As train started young man was filled with lot of joy and curiosity. He was sitting on the window side feeling the passing air in his hands. He shouted, "Papa, see all trees are going behind". Old man smiled and admired his son's feelings.

Beside the young man a couple was sitting and listing all the conversion between the father and son. They felt little awkward with the attitude of 25 yr old man behaving like a small child. Suddenly the young man again shouted, "Papa, see the pond and animals. Clouds are moving with train". Now its start raining and some of water drops touches the young man's hand. He filled with joy and he closed the eyes. He shouted again, "Papa it's raining, water is touching me, see papa". Father was happy. 

The couple couldn't help themselves and ask the old man, "Why don't you visit the Doctor and get treatment for your son?'. Old man said, "Yes, we are coming from the hospital; my son was born blind and today only he got the eye sight for the first time".

Moral: Don't draw conclusions until you know all the facts. We cannot understand other's feelings unless we wear their shoes.

What can I give you?

After having reached at the peak of his career a man felt an urge to repay back to his mother for all that she had done for him. So he asked her, “Mother, what can I give you? What can I do for you? I sincerely want to repay you for all the sacrifices you have made for me and for all the love you have showered upon me.”

Mother looked surprised and said, “Why do you think about it. It was my duty so I did it, you don’t have to repay me. Even if you want to, there is no way a man can ever repay his mother.”

Despite her continuous refusal to ask for anything, he continued to Persist. To put an end to the discussion, she said, “All right. If you must, then tonight you sleep on my bed, with me, just as you used to when you were a baby. “He said, “That’s a strange thing to ask for, but if it pleases you, I will.”

As soon as he fell asleep, the mother got up and brought a bucket of water. She poured a mug full of water on his side. Feeling disturbed by the wetness under him, in his sleep he moved away to the other side of the bed. As he settled down, his mother poured another mug of water on the other side. In his slumber he tried to find space towards the foot post of the bed. Sometime later he woke up feeling that this part of the bed too was damp. He got up and saw his mother, with the mug in her hand. 

He asked angrily, “What are you doing mother? Why don’t you let me sleep? How do you expect me to sleep on a wet bed?”.

Mother said, “I slept with you, when you wet the bed in the night. I changed your nappy and moved you to the dry part of the bed, while I slept on the wet side. You wanted to repay me. Can you sleep here even for one night with me on a damp bed? If you can, I’ll take it that you have repaid me.”

Dear friends, How true it is that of all the debts in the world, the one that can never be repaid is the one you owe to your mother. You can never repay the love, care and time your mother gave to bring up. You are a part of her flesh and blood; don’t forget this, because she never ever forgets it.

Abortion - A Crime

A worried woman went to her gynecologist and said: 

'Doctor, I have a serious problem and desperately need your help! My baby is not even 1 year old and I'm pregnant again. I don't want kids so close together. 

So the doctor said: 'OK and what do you want me to do?' 

She said: 'I want you to end my pregnancy, and I'm counting on your help with this.' 

The doctor thought for a little, and after some silence he said to the lady: 'I think I have a better solution for your problem. It's less dangerous for you too.' 

She smiled, thinking that the doctor was going to accept her request. 

Then he continued: 'You see, in order for you not to have to take care 2 babies at the same time, let's kill the one in your arms. This way, you could rest some before the other one is born. If we're going to kill one of them, it doesn't matter which one it is. There would be no risk for your body if you chose the one in your arms. 

The lady was horrified and said: 'No doctor! How terrible! It's a crime to kill a child!

'I agree', the doctor replied. 'But you seemed to be OK with it, so I thought maybe that was the best solution.' The doctor smiled, realizing that he had made his point. He convinced the mom that there is no difference in killing a child that's already been born and one that's still in the womb. The crime is the same! 

"Love says I sacrifice myself for the good of the other person. Abortion says I sacrifice the other person for the good of myself..." 

Parents and Children

Pencil: I'm sorry

Eraser: For what? You didn't do anything wrong.

Pencil: I'm sorry cos you get hurt bcos of me. Whenever I made a mistake, you're always there to erase it. But as you make my mistakes vanish, you lose a part of yourself. You get smaller and smaller each time.

Eraser: That's true. But I don't really mind. You see, I was made to do this. I was made to help you whenever you do something wrong. Even though one day, I know I'll be gone and you'll replace me with a new one, I'm actually happy with my job. So please, stop worrying. I hate seeing you sad. :)

I found this conversation between the pencil and the eraser very inspirational. Parents are like the eraser whereas their children are the pencil. They're always there for their children, cleaning up their mistakes. Sometimes along the way... they get hurt, and become smaller (older, and eventually pass on).

Though their children will eventually find someone new (spouse), but parents are still happy with what they do for their children, and will always hate seeing their precious ones worrying, or sad.

"All my life, I've been the pencil.. And it pains me to see the eraser that is my parents getting smaller and smaller each day. For I know that one day, all that I'm left with would be eraser shavings and memories of what I used to have..."

To what extend Ego is necessary?

To what extend Ego is necessary?

1) Take a glass of water, and add a spoon of salt in it, and mix it well. The water will taste very salty.

2) Next, drop the glass of waster in a gallon of water. The salt is still there, and you can taste it, although very less.

3) Finally, take the gallon of water and drop it in a fresh water lake. The salt is still there, but now you cannot taste it at all.

The first case is the ego of a common man.

The second case is the ego of a serious spiritual student.

The third case is the ego of an self-realized person.

So..how much ego is necessary for a person? If you can taste the salt (ego), there is still work left to do. :-)

- Inspirations by Sudhir Krishnan

Tips to Control our Anger

Tips to Control our Anger, which harms our lives and relationships:

• Leave the place.
• Take in deep breaths.
• Drink some water.
• Listen to music that you like.
• Watch a movie that you wanted to.
• Do some physical exercise like walking, jogging...
• Repeat: ‘I am patient and loving person'
• Think of a good moments in your life.
• Visualize a relaxing experience.

Life within...

If an egg is broken by an outside force, the life of the chick ends there.But only if an egg breaks from within, the chick can come out safely and successfully, alive, to begin its life.

If a cocoon of a Butterfly is cut open by any outside force, the Butterfly cannot survive or else it will end up with swollen body and shriveled wings which leads to death. But only if the Cocoon opens with inside force with patient and hard working, it can take the publicity as a beautiful Butterfly.

So, never allow any outside force to disturb or destroy you and your inner peace. Great things always begins from within.

What is Fear?

The nature of God, is nothing but pure Love. All negative emotions - anger, jealousy, blame, worry, disappointment, insecurity, anxiety, guilt, unworthiness, grief, depression, despair etc can be summed up as one word - fear. The real source of all problems is fear, which is lack of love - in other words lack of God. When your thoughts are full of God, your thoughts are full of Love, and your life is full of Love. This great feeling place in your mind is called Heaven. On the other hand. when your thoughts are full of fear, your life lacks God. This place in your mind where God does not exist is called Hell. Heaven and Hell are thus both places that you create in your mind by choosing to think thoughts that are either full of Love (God) or the lack of Love (Fear).

All fear is self created, and it is unwise to blame God for it. Fear is created when we choose, consciously or unconsciously to create unlike God. - i.e when we choose to think and act from a place where love is absent. When we are thinking and acting with Love, we are co-creating with God. The course goes on to say that only Love is real, everything else is unreal - in other words, an illusion of the mind. All problems occur when we stray away from our source, our God. All solutions come to us when we choose to connect back with Him. Fear is a bad dream that the ego creates to disconnect with God - fear is clearly not of God’s creation.

-Inspirations by Sudhir Krishnan

Feeling like a Victim?

Do you feel like a victim of your circumstances? Here are some common characteristics of a victim:

• Victims believe they are helpless and that others in their life are villains.
• Victims are ignorant of their responsibility in the circumstances that resulted in an undesirable outcome.
• Victims do not acknowledge that if they handled things differently, the results would have been better.
• Victims believe that they are not responsible for how they feel.
• Victims do not see how they are misinterpreting a situation and making it worse.
• Victims do not learn from a negative experience, but instead go deeper into fear.
• Victims are stuck in the past and do not take action to create a better future.
• Victims feel resentment and blame towards others.
• Victims are not willing to trust and accept people they are resenting.
• Victims feel powerless to create positive change.

Do take 100% responsibility for your life. Blaming others, giving excuses, or coming up with victim stories only keep you from getting what you want. Successful people practice asking “How did I create that situation?“, “What did I do or not do to have this outcome?”. When you blame others for setbacks, you become a powerless victim. Whatever the life situation, you always have the power of choice. While you cannot always control outside situations, you do have the power to change yourself and respond differently.

When you believe that you are a victim, by law of attraction, the universe will bring you more undesirable situations that weaken you further and strengthen the belief that you are indeed a victim. Only when you bring the focus towards self and start taking complete responsibility for your life experiences do you start to become the powerful creator of your life. In other words, taking complete responsibility moves you from being a victim towards becoming a victor.

-Inspirations by Sudhir Krishnan

Don't be a football

A young man and his old father were traveling to the nearby town with their donkey. On their way, they met some laborers. One of the laborers remarked “What fools these two are. In spite of having a donkey, they are both walking”. Hearing them, the old man asked his son to ride on the donkey.

In another 10 minutes, they passed a tea shop. The owner of the shop blurted out “Such an uncaring son - look at him making his father walk while he himself is comfortably sitting on the donkey." The son upon hearing this comment, got down from the donkey and asked his father to ride on it.

As they carried on their journey, they met a couple of men on the road. One of them remarked to the other “Look at the selfish old man riding on the donkey, while making the poor boy walk”. The father became very uncomfortable with the comment, and asked his son to also sit on the donkey.

Further along, they met a group of women washing clothes. One of the women said “How cruel these men are. Look at the poor donkey bearing the weight of two men. It would be better if these two people carried the donkey for a change”. Eager to please, the men found a bamboo stick, tied the donkey’s legs on it and carried the donkey on their shoulders.

As they passed over a bridge, they met a few children playing. Upon seeing the sight of the men carrying the donkey, the children bursted in laughter, and said “Haha - Look at these fools! Carrying the donkey on their shoulders!”. At this time the donkey got restless being carried upside down. The poor donkey jumped and fell down the bridge and died!

The moral of the story is that other people will always have an opinion about what you should do and not do. It is impossible to satisfy everyone. In trying to constantly yield to other people’s opinions, we give up our own best interests and become losers.

Here are some ways we seek approval, that Dr Wayne Dyer mentions in his book “Your erroneous zones”:

• Changing a position, or altering what you believe because someone shows signs of disapproval.

• Sugar coating a statement to avoid the reaction of displeasure.

• Feeling depressed or anxious when someone disagrees with you.

• Feeling insulted or put-down when someone states a contrary sentiment to your own.

• Being excessively agreeable and head nodding, even when you don’t agree at all with what is being said.

• Performing chores for someone and feeling resentful about not being able to say no.

• Being intimated by a sharp salesperson and buying something you don’t want.

• Saying things you don’t mean just to avoid being disliked.

• Trying to impress others with your knowledge of something that you know nothing about by “faking it”

• Begging for compliments by setting yourself up for approval, and then feeling bad when they don’t come.

Many wise men have spoken on about this need in us to seek approval from others, in their own way. (E.g.)

Self-actualized people are independent of the good opinion of others.-Abraham Maslow

Do not be a football of other people’s opinions.-Sri Sri Ravishankar

I don’t know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody.-Bill Cosby

-Inspirations by Sudhir Krishnan

This or that?

You cannot fly by thinking of falling on the ground.

You cannot swim by thinking of drowning.

You cannot save money by thinking about your expenses.

You cannot lose weight by thinking of eating high calorie foods.

You cannot create good health by thinking of getting sick.

You cannot be a topper in school by thinking of getting fail.

In the same way, you can never create a happy life by consistently thinking of things that are making you feel bad.  If you want to create a happy life, your thoughts need to be shifted from things that make you feel bad to the things that make you consistently feel good. You cannot make your life positive, by thinking all negatives.

So it is in your hands to make your life either happy or sad.

Attachment and Commitment ?

What is the difference between attachment and commitment? If I do not get attached, how can i have commitment? On the other hand, If I am committed, will I not get attached?

Attachment implies love mixed with selfishness. It is doing an act out of a selfish need. It is like agreeing to take care of a mango tree only because it will produce sweet fruits. If one season the tree does not produce fruit, attachment will cause you to stop taking care of the tree. 

Commitment on the other hand is having dedication to the cause undertaken. It is making the health of the tree more important than the fruits it produces. Thus, even if the tree does not give as many fruits during a particular season, your commitment to it will not let you abandon the tree.

Nothing is lost until you say it is.

Two frogs accidentally fell into a huge, tall bowl of cream that was kept in the floor of a restaurant. For a long time, the frogs tried helplessly jumping out of the bowl, however it was impossible for them to jump that high while swimming in the viscous, slippery cream.

Finally, the first frog said "I have tried enough. I have thought about the situation - there is no way out. We are going to die. I am going to stop struggling as it of no use. I suggest you give up too.” It gave up the struggle, became fully submerged in the cream, and soon died.

The second frog said "I cannot see a way out of this this moment. I am however going to attempt getting out until I exhaust the last ounce of energy in my body". The second frog kept on paddling and trying to jump out of the bowl of cream.

After a couple of hours, the cream started to solidify, and it became easier and easier for the frog to swim in it. The frog's continuos paddling was starting to churn the cream into butter!! With little more effort, the frog was able to jump out, while sitting on the butter that had now completely solidified!

Moral:

1) Your future may not appear bright today. You may not be able to see the light in the end of your tunnel yet. Don't lose hope too soon. Things will change for the better.

2) Give up your anxiety, fear and worry, and stay positive. Put your 100% attention to the tasks that you have currently undertaken. Things will work itself out.

3) Do not listen to the people who ask you to give up on your dreams. Listen to your inner voice instead.

4) You may be very close to success and yet not know it. Don't give up.

5) Nothing is lost until you say it is.

-Inspirations by Sudhir Krishnan

Trust in your power

We see Birds sitting on the trees, very peacefully and happily. What might be the reason? Is it because it trusts the power of the tree, or the branches, or the root of the tree, or the wind, or the rain or anything else around it? No. It trusts its wings. It trusts that whatever happens, either rain or storm it can just fly away from there on the spot.

Where is our trust? In money, fame, family, friends or the world around...Anything and everything may leave us anytime. So trust in you and in your power. If we trust in our power, we can achieve anything in this world.

Neither judge nor condemn

Imagine pure water bottled up in three transparent glass containers- a short red container, a medium blue container, and a long yellow container, all with different shapes. People who have no idea as to what is inside the bottle may refer to the contents as “short liquid”, “medium liquid”, “long liquid”, “red liquid”, “blue liquid”, “yellow liquid” etc. Due to their ignorance of the contents inside, they identify with the external qualities and develop either attachment or aversion to different types of containers depending on whether they like or dislike short bottles, medium size bottles, long bottles, red bottles, blue bottles, yellow bottles and different shapes.

On the other hand, a person who knows that the contents of what is inside all the bottles is pure water develops neither an attachment nor an aversion to either of the three bottles. If he is thirsty, he will open up any container and drink, as it contains the same pure water inside. He is not fooled by the container, as he knows that the contents of all the three containers are the same pure water in different external physical forms.

Just like the colored water bottles, people also come in different shapes, color, sizes, and temperaments. Most of us, who are ignorant of the divinity within each one of us, identify and judge others in terms of their shapes, colors, sizes, temperaments, religious views, nationality, and various other attributes. We develop attachment to some, and aversion to others, based on our own personal preferences and experiences.

Just like the colored water bottles, we should not judge or condemn or identify anyone by seeing the container, but should appreciate the contents inside. This self knowledge helps us to develop neither clinging attachment to some, nor deep aversion to others. Identified with the divinity within each one of us, we should be able to love everyone, irrespective of external differences.

Difficulties - Your stepping stones

Difficulties in life makes us stronger and makes our life more beautiful.

Once there was a potter who took some clay and started squashing it. He kept squashing the clay for a long time and the whole time the clay kept yelling “Please stop it, stop it!” Maybe he was being mean to the clay! Then the potter took the clay and put it on a wheel. He started spinning the clay. The clay said “Please stop it, I'm getting dizzy, I beg you stop!” but the potter continued spinning and spinning the clay until it came in to the shape of a cup.

Now the potter very gently took the cup. He handled it with great care and put the cup in a kiln. The cup was having a hard time understanding how the potter was being so kind and caring this moment, and just a bit ago

he was hurting him and also making him dizzy. Inside the kiln huge flames rose up from everywhere. The cup started screaming “Please stop it, let me out of here, I'm burning, I beg you stop it!!!” The potter just looked at him and smiled and said “No, no, not yet.” After the flames went out, the potter very gently took the cup out of the kiln.

Now he lovingly put the cup on a table. Then he got out his paint set. He started stroking the cup with his brush. Now the cup started laughing “Hahahaha, stop it, that tickles! Stop it, stop it!” But the potter just said “No, no, no, not yet,” and continued painting for a while longer.

 Now the potter brought the cup to the fires of the kiln again. Again the cup yelled “Stop it, please stop it, I'm burning again, I beg you, stop it!” and again the potter said “No, no, no, not yet.” After a long while the flames stopped and the potter gently took the cup out of the kiln. He placed the cup on the table in front of a mirror. When the cup saw the mirror he said “Wow that’s beautiful!!”

  

The potter said “Yes it is beautiful, it’s you. I made you beautiful.” The potter explained to the cup that if he had listened to his cries of “Stop it, that hurts,” when he was kneading the clay, the clay wouldn't be able to go on the spinning wheel. People would just see a hard clump of clay and throw it in the trash. If he had stopped when the clay said, "Stop it, I'm dizzy!", the soft clay wouldn't have ever been shaped in to a cup. People would see some unshaped clay and throw it in the trash. If he had listened when the cup said, "Stop, I'm burning!" from the fire in the kiln the first time, no one would ever be able to use the cup. He would've just been an unfinished cup with a bunch of cracks. People would just pick up the cracked cup and throw him in the trash. When the cup said, "Stop, it tickles," if the potter stopped painting him, he would have an unfinished design on him. People would see the cup with only some art on it and they would throw it away. If he had stopped from putting him in the kiln the second time, the paint wouldn't have stuck. When people would wash the cup, all the paint would come off, then they’d throw the cup with no paint in the trash. But now the cup went through everything and was finished.

Now the only thing that anyone can say is “Wow, how beautiful it is!"

Yes, dear friends, all the problems that comes on our way, are to help us grow strong and beautifull. If we take up each of our difficulties as a challenge and face it, our life will sure become perfect and meaningful. Take all your failures, disappointments, pains, problems and emptiness as a stepping stone for your success.

Rise up!

Unless a baby falls down, it never learns how to get up. Today if we know how to get up when we fall down, it is only because of our parents who allowed us to try to get up, when we fell down as kids.

So as, when we fall in life, believe that it is for our goodness, to grow, to find the ways, and to learn how rise up, from such tough times in life. We will never learn to rise in life, unless we make mistake and fall down.

"Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising up every time we fail", said Ralph Waldo Emerson.

There is no day, if no night.....................There is no joy, if no sorrow.

There is no gain, if no pain.....................There is no success, if no failure.

So, RISE UP each time you fall down.

You are Worth!

A well known speaker started off his seminar by holding up a $20 bill. In the room of 200, he asked, "Who would like this $20 bill?".  Hands started going up.

He said, "I am going to give this $20 to one of you but first, let me do this." He proceeded to crumple the dollar bill up. He then asked, "Who still wants it?". Still the hands were up in the air.

"Well," he replied, "What if I do this?" And he dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe. He picked it up again which is crumpled and dirty. "Now who still wants it?", he asked.

Still the hands went into the air.

He said: "My friends, now you all have learned a very valuable lesson. No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It still worth $20".

In our lives, we too are dropped, crumpled, crushed and ground into the dirt by the decisions/choices we make and by the circumstances that come on our way. And we feel as though we are hopeless/worthless. But no matter what has happened or happening or will happen, you will never lose your value.

Never give up. You can, if you think you can. Even a small piece of grass can serve as a sword, for the people who believe 'I CAN'. Being a Looser or Winner is not important. But how you play the game of life, by rising up again and again, is important. Don't quit.

You are Worth, Special and Unique, however and wherever you are- Keep this in mind always!