Richest Person

Someone asked Bill Gates, Is there any person richer than you?

He said, yes, only one. Many years ago, I had been dismissed and I had gone to New York airport. I read titles of newspapers there. I liked one of them and I want to buy it. But I didn't have change (coin). So abandoned the idea, suddenly, a black boy called me and told me, “This newspaper for you.” I said, but I don’t have change. He said, “No problem, I give you free”.

After 3 months, I went there. Coincidentally, that story happened again and that same boy gave me another free newspaper again. I said, I can’t accept it. But he said, “I give you from my profit.”

After 19 years, I had been rich and I decided to find that boy. I found him after one and half month's search. I asked him, do you know me? He said, “Yes, you’re famous Bill Gates.”

I said, you gave me free newspaper 2 times many years ago. Now, I want to compensate it. I am going to give you everything that you want. Black young man replied, “You can’t compensate it!”
I said, why? He said, "Because I gave you when I was poor. You want to give me when you are rich. So, how do you compensate?"

Bill Gates said, I think that black young man is richer than me.

You don't have to be rich or wait to be rich to give......

Real attitude of giving is when you lack

Keep the Spirit Alive

Think Positive Be Positive

A famous writer was in his study room. He picked up his pen and started writing :

**Last year, I had a surgery and my gall bladder was removed. I had to stay stuck to the bed due to this surgery for a long time.

**The same year I reached the age of 60 years and had to give up my favourite job. I had spent 30 years of my life in this publishing company.

**The same year I experienced the sorrow of the death of my father.

**And in the same year my son failed in his medical exam because he had a car accident. He had to stay in bed at hospital with the cast on for several days. The destruction of car was another loss.

At the end he wrote: Oh God! It was such bad year !!

When the writer's wife entered the room, she found her husband looking sad & lost in his thoughts. From behind his back she read what was written on the paper. She left the room silently and came back with another paper and placed it on side of her husband's writing.

When the writer saw this paper, he found his name written on it with following lines :

**Last year I finally got rid of my gall bladder due to which I had spent years in pain....

**I turned 60 with sound health and got retired from my job. Now I can utilize my time to write something better with more focus and peace.....

**The same year my father, at the age of 95, without depending on anyone or without any critical condition met his Creator.....

 **The same year, God blessed my son with a new life. My car was destroyed but my son stayed alive without getting any disability......

At the end she wrote:

This year was an immense blessing of God and it passed well !!!

 The writer was indeed happy and amazed at such beautiful and encouraging interpretation of the happenings in his life in that year !!!

Moral : In daily lives we must see that its not happiness that makes us grateful but grate-fulness that makes us happy.

Think positive.....
Be happy...
Stay Blessed.

Self Satisfaction

A German once visited a temple under
construction where he saw a sculptor making an idol of God...

Suddenly he noticed a similar idol lying nearby...
Surprised, he asked the sculptor, "Do you
need two statues of the same idol?"
"No," said the sculptor
without looking up, "We need only one, but the first one got damaged at the last stage..."

The gentleman
examined the idol and found no apparent damage...

"Where is the damage?" he asked.
"There is a scratch on the backside of ear of the idol." said the sculptor, still
busy with his work....

"Where are you going to install the idol?"

The sculptor replied that it would be
installed on a
pillar twenty feet high...

"If the idol is that far who is going to know that there is a scratch on the backside of ear?"
the gentleman asked.

The sculptor stopped work, looked up at the gentleman, smiled and said,

"I will know it..."

The desire to excel is exclusive of the fact whether someone else appreciates it or not....

"Excellence" is a
drive from inside, not outside....

Excellence is not for
someone else to notice but for your own satisfaction and efficiency.

Don't Climb a Mountain with an Intention that the World Should See You,
Climb the Mountain with the Intention to See the World

One Life Many Masters

One of the great Sufi Masters, Junnaid, was dying. His chief disciple came close to him and asked softly, ″Master, you are leaving us. One question has always been in our minds.  Who was your Master? This has been a great curiosity among all your disciples because we have never heard you talk about your Master. But we could never gather the courage to ask you."

Junnaid opened his eyes and said, ″It will be very difficult for me to answer because I have learned from almost everybody. The whole existence has been my Master. I have learned from every event that has happened in my life. And I am grateful to all that has happened, because out of all that learning I have arrived.″

Junnaid said, ″Just to satisfy your curiosity I will give you three instances...

One:

I was very thirsty and I was going towards the river carrying my begging bowl, the only possession I had. When I reached the river a dog rushed, jumped into the river, started drinking.

I watched the dog for a moment and threw away my begging bowl. Because I saw it is useless. A dog could do without it. I also jumped into the river, drank as much water as I wanted. My whole body was cool because I had jumped into the river. I sat in the river for a few moments, thanked the dog, touched his feet with deep reverence because he had taught me a lesson.

I had dropped everything, all possessions, but there was a certain clinging to my begging bowl. It was a beautiful bowl, very beautifully carved, and I was always aware that somebody might steal it. Even in the night I used to put it under my head as a pillow so nobody could snatch it away. That was my last clinging. The dog helped. It was so clear: if a dog can manage without a begging bowl... I am a man, why can′t I manage? That dog was one of my Masters.

Two:

I lost my way in a forest and by the time I reached the nearest village that I could find, it was midnight. Everybody was fast asleep. I wandered all over the town to see if I could find somebody awake to give me shelter for the night, until finally I found one man. I asked him, ′It seems only two persons are awake in the town, you and I. Can you give me shelter for the night?′

The man said, ′I can see from your gown that you are a Sufi monk....′″

(The word Sufi comes from suf; suf means wool, a woolen garment. The Sufis have used the woolen garment for centuries; hence they are called Sufis because of their garment.)

The man said, ″I can see you are a Sufi and I feel a little embarrassed to take you to my home. I am perfectly willing, but I must tell you who I am. I am a thief. Would you like to be a guest of a thief?″

For a moment Junnaid hesitated. The thief said, ″Look, it is better I told you. You seem hesitant. The thief is willing but the mystic seems to be hesitant to enter into the house of a thief, as if the mystic is weaker than the thief. In fact, I should be afraid of you--you may change me, you may transform my whole life! Inviting you means danger, but I am not afraid. You are welcome. Come to my home. Eat, drink, go to sleep, and stay as long as you want, because I live alone and my earning is enough. I can manage for two persons. And it will be really beautiful to chit-chat with you of great things. But you seem to be hesitant.″

Junnaid became aware that it was true. He asked to be forgiven. He touched the feet of the thief and he said, ″Yes, my rootedness in my own being is yet very weak. You are really a strong man and I would like to come to your home. And I would like to stay a little longer, not only for this night. I want to be stronger myself!″

The thief said, ″Come on!″ He fed the Sufi, gave him something to drink, helped him to prepare for sleep and he said, ″Now I will go. I have to do my own thing. I will come back early in the morning.″ Early in the morning the thief came back. Junnaid asked, ″Have you been successful?″

The thief said, ″No, not today, but I will see tomorrow.″

And this happened continuously, for thirty days: every night the thief went out, and every morning he came back empty-handed. But he was never sad, never frustrated--no sign of failure on his face, always happy --and he would say, ″It doesn′t matter. I tried my best. I could not find anything today again, but tomorrow I will try. And, God willing, it can happen tomorrow if it has not happened today.″

After one month Junnaid left, and for years he tried to realize the ultimate, and it was always a failure. But each time he decided to drop the whole project he remembered the thief, his smiling face and his saying ″God willing, what has not happened today may happen tomorrow.″

Junnaid said, ″I remembered the thief as one of my greatest Masters. Without him I would not be what I am.

Three:

I entered a small village. A little boy was carrying a lit candle, obviously going to the small temple of the town to put the candle there for the night.″

And Junnaid asked, ″Can you tell me from where the light comes? You have lighted the candle yourself so you must have seen. What is the source of light?″

The boy laughed and he said, ″Wait!″ And he blew out the candle in front of Junnaid. And he said, ″You have seen the light go. Can you tell me where it has gone? If you can tell me where it has gone I will tell you from where it has come, because it has gone to the same place. It has returned to the source.″

Junnaid said, ″I had met great philosophers but nobody had made such a beautiful statement: ′It has gone to its very source.′
Everything returns to its source finally. Moreover, the child made me aware of my own ignorance. I was trying to joke with the child, but the joke was on me. He showed me that asking foolish questions: 'From where has the light come?′--is not intelligent. It comes from nowhere, from nothingness--and it goes back to nowhere, to nothingness.″

Junnaid said, ″I touched the feet of the child. The child was puzzled. He said, ′Why you are touching my feet?′ And I told him, ′You are my Master--you have shown me something. You have given me a great lesson, a great insight.′

″Since that time,″ Junnaid said, ″I have been meditating on nothingness and slowly, slowly I have entered into nothingness. And now the final moment has come when the candle will go out, the light will go out. And I know where I am going--to the same source.

I remember that child with gratefulness. I can still see him standing before me now, blowing out the candle.

No situation is without a lesson, no situation at all. All situations are pregnant with meaning and intelligence. But we have to discover them. They may not always be on the surface.

When we see life itself as our master, these lessons become more accessible.



Happy Teachers Day....
Learn from everyone.... :)

Marathon of Life

Lata Bhagwan Kare, a 66 year old woman, is a resident of an small village in Buldhana district in Maharashtra.

She lived with her three daughters and husband. She and her husband worked very hard throughout their lives and got their daughter married. All their life's savings were spent on the marriage.

After daughter’s marriage, Lata tai and her husband started working as daily wage workers in the nearby farms, they used to make enough to survive.

One day her husband felt uneasy and was diagnosed with some serious infection.

With no money in hand, Lata tai couldn’t understand what to do. She took him to the nearby government hospital, doctors recommended her to take him to the hospital in Baramati as a few tests had to be conducted.

Lata tai was in tears, she cursed her own misery. She couldn't see her husband dying in her arms. She felt helpless and sorrowful.

As a last resort, she begged her neighbours, relatives and every possible person she could and gathered a small amount and left for Baramati for the further tests of her husband.

Doctor moved her husband to the check-up zone. She discreetly sat outside the room with the teary eyes, praying god to save the only relative in her life.

Fate had some other story written for them. Doctor advised further costly tests and medications, which were going to cost them a fortune. Lata tai's world collapsed as she has nowhere to go, and no money to treat her husband. Her world was shattered, her heart ached, overwhelmed by emotions, she cried with helplessness.

The wife and husband came out of the hospital heavy-heartedly, stopped by nearby samosawala, had two samosas.

The samosas were served on a piece of newspaper. Her eyes stopped on the bold Marathi headline in the newspaper; her eyes lit, heart skipped.

The headline was about the ‘Baramati Marathon and it's prize money'.

Next day, Baramati Marathon was about to commence, everyone geared up in their sports shoes, cozy shorts and tracks, sweat absorbing tees.

And here she comes, the 66 year old Lata Bhagwan Kare, wearing torn saree (lugda), bare footed, tears in her eyes. She argued with the organizers, as they weren't ready to let her participate in the marathon.

She pleaded, she begged, she convinced them to permit her to participate.

Marathon started, she hitched her saree just above her ankles, she ran like a wizard, like a 16 year old teen.

She didn't think of anything else, she could just see nothing but her husband's agony and the prize money.

She didn't care about the hard hitting road and pebbles hurting her feet. Her feet bled, but she ran and ran.

Crowd cheered her, streets of Baramati clapped for her. People were flabbergasted, they saluted her and applauded her.

Finally she won the Marathon and got the prize money. It meant a lot to her as she can now save her husband.

She collected the winning amount and made sure her husband received the proper medication.

This is love, this is devotion. She didn't blink in the most trying circumstances, she never thought about how she is going to win the marathon, or how is she going to run barefooted. Her only motive was to save her husband.

Salutes to Lata Bhagwan Kare, for her courage and fortitude. In the world full of excuses, she just proved to be an extreme exception.

Google her name to watch her clips on YouTube on how she won the marathon.

Finding a New Spring

Once upon a time a certain tradesman was leading a caravan to another country to sell his goods. Along the way they came to the edge of a severe hot-sand desert. They asked about, and found that during the day time the sun heats up the fine sand until it's as hot as charcoal, so no one can walk on it - not even bullocks or camels! So the caravan leader hired a desert guide, one who could follow the stars, so they could travel only at night when the sand cools down. They began the dangerous night time journey across the desert.
A couple of nights later, after eating their evening meal, and waiting for the sand to cool, they started out again. Later that night the desert guide, who was driving the first cart, saw from the stars that they were getting close to the other side of the desert. He had also overeaten, so that when he relaxed, he dozed off to sleep. Then the bullocks who, of course, couldn't tell directions by reading the stars, gradually turned to the side and went in a big wide circle until they ended up at the same place they had started from!

By then it was morning, and the people realized they were back at the same spot they'd camped at the day before. They lost heart and began to cry about their condition. Since the desert crossing was supposed to be over by now, they had no more water and were afraid they would die of thirst. They even began to blame the caravan leader and the desert guide - "We can do nothing without water!", they complained.

Then the tradesman thought to himself, "If I lose courage now, in the middle of this disastrous situation, my leadership has no meaning. If I fall to weeping and regretting this misfortune, and do nothing, all these goods and bullocks and even the lives of the people, including myself, may be lost. I must be energetic and face the situation!" So he began walking back and forth, trying to think out a plan to save them all.

Remaining alert, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a small clump of grass. He thought, "Without water, no plant could live in this desert." So he called over the most energetic of his fellow travelers and asked them to dig up the ground on that very spot. They dug and dug, and after a while they got down to a large stone. Seeing it they stopped, and began to blame the leader again, saying "This effort is useless. We're just wasting our time!" But the tradesman replied, "No no, my friends, if we give up the effort we will all be ruined and our poor animals will die - let us be encouraged!"

As he said this, he got down into the hole, put his ear to the stone, and heard the sound of flowing water. Immediately, he called over a boy who had been digging and said, "If you give up, we will all perish - so take this heavy hammer and strike the rock."

The boy lifted the hammer over his head and hit the rock as hard as he could - and he himself was the most surprised when the rock split in two and a mighty flow of water gushed out from under it! Suddenly, all the people were overjoyed. They drank and bathed and washed the animals and cooked their food and ate.

Before they left, they raised a high banner so that other travelers could see it from afar and come to the new spring in the middle of the hot-sand desert. Then they continued on safely to the end of their journey.

Moral: Don't give up too easily - keep on trying until you reach the goal.

Willingness To Listen

Viktor Frankl, one of the great psychiatrists of the twentieth century, survived the death camps of Nazi Germany. His little book, Man’s Search for Meaning, is one of those life-changing books that everyone should read.

Frankl once told the story of a woman who called him in the middle of the night to calmly inform him she was about to commit suicide. Frankl kept her on the phone and talked her through her depression, giving her reason after reason to carry on living. Finally she promised she would not take her life, and she kept her word.

When they later met, Frankl asked which reason had persuaded her to live?
"None of them", she told him.
What then influenced her to go on living, he pressed?

Her answer was simple, it was Frankl’s willingness to listen to her in the middle of the night.

A world in which there was someone ready to listen to another's pain seemed to her a world in which it was worthwhile to live.

Often, it is not the brilliant argument that makes the difference. Sometimes the small act of listening is the greatest gift we can give.

Listen to Everyone.

Power of Vision

This is a real life story of engineer John Roebling building the Brooklyn Bridge in New York, USA back in 1870. The bridge was completed in 1883, after 13 years.

In 1883, a creative engineer named John Roebling was inspired by an idea to build a spectacular bridge connecting New York with the Long Island. However bridge building experts throughout the world thought that this was an impossible feat and told Roebling to forget the idea. It just could not be done. It was not practical. It had never been done before.

Roebling could not ignore the vision he had in his mind of this bridge. He thought about it all the time and he knew deep in his heart that it could be done. He just had to share the dream with someone else. After much discussion and persuasion he managed to convince his son Washington, an up and coming engineer, that the bridge in fact could be built.

Working together for the first time, the father and son developed concepts of how it could be accomplished and how the obstacles could be overcome. With great excitement and inspiration, and the headiness of a wild challenge before them, they hired their crew and began to build their dream bridge.

The project started well, but when it was only a few months underway a tragic accident on the site took the life of John Roebling. Washington was also injured and left with a certain amount of brain damage, which resulted in him not being able to talk or walk.

“We told them so.” “Crazy men and their crazy dreams.” “It’s foolish to chase wild visions.”

Everyone had a negative comment to make and felt that the project should be scrapped since the Roeblings were the only ones who knew how the bridge could be built.

In spite of his handicap Washington was never discouraged and still had a burning desire to complete the bridge and his mind was still as sharp as ever. He tried to inspire and pass on his enthusiasm to some of his friends, but they were too daunted by the task.

As he lay on his bed in his hospital room, with the sunlight streaming through the windows, a gentle breeze blew the flimsy white curtains apart and he was able to see the sky and the tops of the trees outside for just a moment.

It seemed that there was a message for him not to give up. Suddenly an idea hit him. All he could do was move one finger and he decided to make the best use of it. By moving this, he slowly developed a code of communication with his wife.

He touched his wife’s arm with that finger, indicating to her that he wanted her to call the engineers again. Then he used the same method of tapping her arm to tell the engineers what to do. It seemed foolish but the project was under way again.

For 13 years Washington tapped out his instructions with his finger on his wife’s arm, until the bridge was finally completed. Today the spectacular Brooklyn Bridge stands in all its glory as a tribute to the triumph of one man’s indomitable spirit and his determination not to be defeated by circumstances. It is also a tribute to the engineers and their team work, and to their faith in a man who was considered mad by half the world. It stands too as a tangible monument to the love and devotion of his wife who for 13 long years patiently decoded the messages of her husband and told the engineers what to do.

Perhaps this is one of the best examples of a never-say-die attitude that overcomes a terrible physical handicap and achieves an impossible goal.

Often when we face obstacles in our day-to-day life, our hurdles seem very small in comparison to what many others have to face. The Brooklyn Bridge shows us that dreams that seem impossible can be realised with determination and persistence, no matter what the odds are.

Learn From Others

Shyam &  Tushar joined a company together, a few months after their Graduation from University.

After a few years of work, their Manager promoted Shyam to a position of Senior Sales Manager, but Tushar remained in his entry level Junior Sales Officer position. Tushar developed a sense of jealousy & disgruntlement, but continued working anyway!

One day, Tushar felt that he could not work with Shyam, anymore. He wrote his resignation letter, but before he submitted it to the Manager, he complained that  Management did not value hard working staff, but only promoted only the favored!

The Manager knew that Shyam worked with sincerity & was dedicated to his assignments for the years he had spent at the Company; even worked harder than Tushar & therefore he deserved the promotion. So in order to help Tushar realise this, the Manager gave Tushar a task.

“Go and find out if anyone is selling water melons in town?”

Tushar returned & said, "Yes there is someone!"

The Manager asked, "How much do they cost per kg?" Tushar drove back to town to ask & then returned to inform the Manager;  "they are Rs.13.50 per kg!"

The Manager told Tus,har "I will give Shyam the same assignment that I gave you. Pay close attention to his response!"

So the Manager said to Shyam in the presence of Tushar; “Go & find out if anyone is selling water melons in town?”

Shyam went to find out & on his return he said: "Manager ji, there is only one person selling water melons in the whole town. The cost is Rs. 49 per piece & Rs. 32,50 for a half melon. He sells them at Rs. 13.50 per kg when sliced. He has in his stock 93 melons, each one weighing about 7 kg. He has a farm & can supply us with melons for the next 4 months at 102 melons per day at Rs. 27.00 per melon; this includes delivery!

The melons appear fresh & red with good quality & they taste better than the ones we sold last year! He has his own slicing machine & is willing to slice for us free of charge! We need to strike a deal with him before 10 am tomorrow & we will be sure of improving on last year's profits in melons by Rs. 223 000! This will contribute positively to our overall performance as it will add a minimum of 3.78% to our current overall sales performance! I have put this information down in writing & is available on spread sheet. Pls let me know if you need any more info, as I can send it to you in fifteen minutes!"

Tushar was very impressed & realized the difference between himself & Shyam! He decided not to resign but to learn from Shyam!

As we begin this fresh year, let this story help us keep in mind the importance of going an extra mile in all our endeavors!

You won't be rewarded for doing what you're meant to do, you already get a salary for that! You will definitely be rewarded for going an extra mile; performing beyond expectations!

To be successful in real life situations you must be smart, observant, proactive & willing to do more, be positive, learn to live with back stabbers,  think more, a more holistic perspective & go beyond the call of duty!

Life To Live

Nearby, a building construction work was going on. Lots of poor  labourers were working there and their small  children used to hold onto one another's shirt and play "train-train". Someone would become the engine and others would become bogies. Every day these children used to take turns becoming the engine and bogies ... But there was  one small boy wearing only a half pant who used to hold one small green cloth in his hand and become the guard daily.  Once I went to him and asked him .."beta, don't u also wish to become an engine or a bogie some time ? He softly replied .." Sir , I don't have a shirt to wear so how will the other children catch me to make the train? I could see the slight wetness in his eyes. It gave me a lesson.... he could have cried and sat at home and abused his parents for not affording to buy  him a shirt. But instead he chose another way to play and enjoy.

In life, we don't get all things we desire and we keep complaining ..I don't have a bike,  I don't have car , I don't have this or that etc. Life is like that ....we need to make it beautiful and be satisfied with what we have ....
So let's be positive and thankful to God always......😊

I think there is no need to give more explanation.... Just live on the life,, enjoy each and every moment. Every moment is gift of God.

Have a great day...:)

Move On

A Very happy Uttarayan, Pongal and Lohri to all.

Today, story to move ahead, despite of all troubles and negativity in life.

read it..

An elephant took a bath in a river and was walking on the road.
When it neared a bridge, it saw a pig fully soaked in mud coming from the opposite direction.

The elephant quietly moved to one side, allowed the dirty pig to pass and then continued its onward journey.

The unclean pig later spoke to its friends in arrogance, “See how big I am; even the elephant was afraid of me and moved to one side to let me pass”.

On hearing this, some elephants questioned their friend, the reason for its action. Was it out of fear?

The elephant smiled and replied, “I could have easily crushed the pig under my leg, but I was clean and the pig was very unclean. By crushing it, my leg would have become dirty and I wanted to avoid it. Hence, I moved aside.”

Flash: Realized souls will avoid contact with negativity not out of fear, but out of desire to keep away from impurity though they are strong enough to destroy the impurity.You need not react to every opinion, every comment, or every situation.

Kick the drama and keep going ahead

Youth In You

Before leaving for abroad for the first time to preach Hinduism, Vivekanand's mother wanted to know whether he is all perfect for this mission or not, she invited him for dinner. Vivekanand enjoyed the food that had the additional flavor of his mother's special love and affection. After the delicious dinner, Vivekanand's mother offered Vivekanand a dish of fruits and a knife. Vivekanand cut the fruit, ate it and after that his mother said, "Son, can you please give me the knife, I need it." Vivekanand immediately responded by giving the knife.
Vivekanand's mother calmly said, "Son, you have passed my test and I heartily bless you for going abroad." Vivekanand surprisingly asked, "Mother, how did you test me? I did not understand."
Mother replied, "Son, when I asked for the knife, I saw how you handed it to me, you gave the knife by holding its sharp edge and kept the wooden handle of knife towards me. This way, I would not get hurt when I take it and this means you took care of me. And this was your test in which you passed.
The person who thinks of others welfare rather than thinking about self has got the right of preaching the world and you have got that right. You have all my blessings."

This was the most important mark he left in the hearts of many he met in his lifetime - to think of others before thinking for self.

Moral: There are some qualities which draw the difference between a common man & an uncommon man. To think about the welfare of everyone falls under an extraordinary quality. The true noble person is the one who thinks of others' happiness even if it is in little matters to our day to day life. The one who thinks of himself alone is considered selfish & will not be valued by the world in the long run. It is the law of nature that as the bigger hearted & noble you are, the more you will keep receiving & as the narrower minded you become, the less you will receive.

Swami Vivekananda ( Jan 12, 1863 - July 04, 1902)

National Youth Day.
Everyone is Youth, until he feels so to be old.

The Necklace Of Princess

Once there was a king who had presented his daughter, the princess, with a beautiful diamond necklace. The necklace was stolen and his people in the kingdom searched everywhere but could not find it. Some said a bird might have stolen it. The king then asked them all to search for it and put a reward for $50,000 for anyone who found it.


One day a clerk was walking home along a river next to an industrial area. This river was completely polluted, filthy and smelly. As he was walking, the clerk saw a shimmering in the river and when he looked, he saw the diamond necklace. He decided to try and catch it so that he could get the $50,000 reward. He put his hand in the filthy, dirty river and grabbed at the necklace, but some how missed it and didn't catch it. He took his hand out and looked again and the necklace was still there. He tried again, this time he walked in the river and dirtied his pants in the filthy river and put his whole arm in to catch the necklace. But strangely, he still missed the necklace! He came out and started walking away, feeling depressed.


Then again he saw the necklace, right there. This time he was determined to get it, no matter what. He decided to plunge into the river, although it was a disgusting thing to do as the river was polluted, and his whole body would become filthy. He plunged in, and searched everywhere for the necklace and yet he failed. This time he was really bewildered and came out feeling very depressed that he could not get the necklace that would get him $50,000.


Just then a saint who was walking by, saw him, and asked him what was the matter. The clerk didn't want to share the secret with the saint, thinking the saint might take the necklace for himself, so he refused to tell the saint anything. But the saint could see this man was troubled and being compassionate, again asked the clerk to tell him the problem and promised that he would not tell anyone about it. The clerk mustered some courage and decided to put some faith in the saint. He told the saint about the necklace and how he tried and tried to catch it, but kept failing. The saint then told him that perhaps he should try looking upward, toward the branches of the tree, instead of in the filthy river. The clerk looked up and true enough, the necklace was dangling on the branch of a tree. He had been trying to capture a mere reflection of the real necklace all this time.

Moral of the story:

Material happiness is just like the filthy, polluted river; because it is a mere reflection of the TRUE happiness in the spiritual world.


We can never achieve the happiness we are looking for no matter how hard we endeavor in material life. Instead we should look upwards, toward God, who is the source of real happiness, and stop chasing after the reflection of this happiness in the material world. This spiritual happiness is the only thing that can satisfy us completely.

The Abilene Paradox

On my birthday a couple of years back, I wanted to take my family out for dinner. I asked my wife where we can go. Knowing that I like Indian food, she immediately said: “Let’s go to Rajdhani - The Thali Restaurant.”

My son and daughter both nodded in agreement. On return my son said: “I wish Pappa had taken us to Mainland China – he loves Chinese food.” “Or at least to Copper Chimney for the wonderful Punjabi food” added my daughter. “Yes, I too would have loved to go Mainland China”, I said.

My wife looked surprised: “But didn’t we all unanimously agree to go to Rajdhani” she asked.

I said sheepishly “I didn’t want you to feel bad.” And both my children nodded in agreement. Here were four people who of their own volition would not have gone to ‘Rajdhani - The Thali Restaurant', but collectively agreed to go there.

This also happens in the corporate world. This is the Abilene Paradox. Prof. Jerry Harvey calls it “The Inability to Manage Agreement”.

Abilene Paradox occurs when a group of people collectively decide on a course of action that is contrary to the preferences of many of the individuals in the group.

Prof. Harvey states in his paper ‘The Abilene Paradox’: “Organizations frequently take actions in contradiction to what they really want to do and therefore defeat the very purpose they are trying to achieve”. This is the inability to manage agreement.

He adds: “The inability to manage agreement, not the inability to manage conflict, is the essential symptom that defines organizations caught in the web of the Abilene Paradox.”

In the corporate world, when the top boss throws an idea, the group immediately agrees. This is because everyone in the group thinks he would look stupid if he disagrees.  Standing out as a lone voice is very embarrassing. This leads the group to decide on ‘yes’ when ‘no’ would have been the personal (and the correct) response of the majority.

I love this from Ayn Rand: “If we have an endless number of individual minds who are weak, meek, submissive and impotent – who renounce their creative supremacy for the sake of the “whole” and accept humbly the ‘whole’s verdict’ – we don’t get a collective super-brain. We get only the weak, meek, submissive and impotent collective mind.”😊

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Real Teaching

Dr. Arun Gandhi, grandson of Mahatma Gandhi and founder of the M.K. Gandhi Institute for Non-violence, in his lecture at the University of Puerto Rico, shared the following story as an example of "non-violence in parenting":

"I was 16 years old and living with my parents at the institute my grandfather had founded 18 miles outside of Durban, South Africa, in the middle of the sugar plantations. We were deep in the country and had no neighbors, so my two sisters and I would always look forward to going to town to visit friends or go to the movies.

One day, my father asked me to drive him to town for an all-day conference, and I jumped at the chance. Since I was going to town, my mother gave me a list of groceries she needed and, since I had all day in town, my father ask me to take care of several pending chores, such as getting the car serviced. When I dropped my father off that morning, he said, 'I will meet you here at 5:00 p.m., and we will go home together.'

After hurriedly completing my chores, I went straight to the nearest movie theater. I got so engrossed in a John Wayne double-feature that I forgot the time. It was 5:30 before I remembered. By the time I ran to the garage and got the car and hurried to where my father was waiting for me, it was almost 6:00.

He anxiously asked me, 'Why were you late?' I was so ashamed of telling him I was watching a John Wayne western movie that I said, 'The car wasn't ready, so I had to wait,' not realizing that he had already called the garage. When he caught me in the lie, he said: 'There's something wrong in the way I brought you up that didn't give you the confidence to tell me the truth. In order to figure out where I went wrong with you, I'm going to walk home 18 miles and think about it.'

So, dressed in his suit and dress shoes, he began to walk home in the dark on mostly unpaved, unlit roads. I couldn't leave him, so for five-and-a-half hours I drove behind him, watching my father go through this agony for a stupid lie that I uttered. I decided then and there that I was never going to lie again.

I often think about that episode and wonder, if he had punished me the way we punish our children, whether I would have learned a lesson at all. I don't think so. I would have suffered the punishment and gone on doing the same thing. But this single non-violent action was so powerful that it is still as if it happened yesterday. That is the power of non-violence."

"Forgiveness is giving up my right to hate you for hurting me."

The message of Mahatma Gandhi still persists. Carry on friends... :)

Painting On The Wall

There was a king who was a great admirer of art.
 One day an artist came and said to the king, “Oh King! Give me a wall in your palace and let me paint a picture on it.”

The artist was given the job.
Just then, another young man said, “Oh King! Please allow me to work on the opposite wall. I too am an artist.”
The king said, “What would you like to make?”
 The man said, “My Lord, I shall make exactly what that man will make on the opposite wall. Moreover, I shall do so, without looking at his work. I would even request you to have a thick curtain put up between the two walls so that either of us cannot see the other.”

Everyone in the king’s court, including the king was intrigued.
He decided to give the young fellow a chance.
The following day a thick curtain was put into place and both the artists got to work.
 The first artist brought in a regular supply of paint, oil, water etc.
The second one worked with some cloth and a bucket of water.
After a month the first artist told the king that his work was complete.
The king sent for the second artist and asked him, “Young man, when would your work be ready? I am coming to see the first wall this evening.”
The man said, “My Lord, my wall is ready too!”

The king went to see the first artist’s wall.
He was very, very impressed with the painting and gave a hefty sum as a reward to the artist.
He then asked for the curtain to be opened up.
Lo and behold!

The same painting was to be seen on the opposite wall too! Amazing! But true!
 Each line, each minor detail was exactly as it was on the first wall.
But this man had not been seeing what was going on, on the other side of the curtain.
So how had he done it?

The king wanted to know the secret.
He gave a double reward to the fellow.

Then he said, “Young man, I am indeed very happy with your work. But you must tell me; how did you do it?”

The lad said simply, “It’s very easy!
I just polished the wall every day till it shone like a mirror!” It was a wall made of white marble!
The reflection of the painting across the room, showed up in it!

That is what it means to polish yourself.
 World is a reflection of you. Whatever you are, the world will seem to be that too.
 If you are happy, the world will look to be happy.
If you are sad; jealous; angry; restless... That is what the world will seem to be to you!

Have a day of reflection...😀🙏👍🏻🌺

The Boat Painter

A man was asked to paint a boat.

He brought with him paint and brushes and began to paint the boat a bright red, as the owner asked him.

While painting, he noticed that there was a small hole in the hull, and quietly repaired it.

When finished painting, he received his money and left.

The next day, the owner of the boat came to the painter and presented him with a nice cheque, much higher than the payment for painting.

The painter was surprised and said "You've already paid me for painting the boat Sir!"

"But this is not for the paint job. It's for having repaired the hole in the boat."

"Ah! But it was such a small service... certainly it's not worth paying me such a high amount for something so insignificant."

"My dear friend, you do not understand. Let me tell you what happened.

When I asked you to paint the boat, I forgot to mention about the hole.

When the boat dried, my kids took the boat and went on a fishing trip.

They did not know that there was a hole. I was not at home at that time.

When I returned and noticed they had taken the boat, I was desperate because I remembered that the boat had a hole.

Imagine my relief and joy when I saw them returning from fishing.

Then, I examined the boat and found that you had repaired the hole! You see, now, what you did? You saved the life of my children! I do not have enough money to pay your 'small' good deed."

So, no matter who, when or how. Just continue to help, sustain, wipe tears, listen attentively and carefully repair all the 'leaks' you find, because you never know when one is in need of us or when God holds a pleasant surprise for us to be helpful and important to someone.

You may have repaired numerous 'boat holes' along the way... of several people without realizing how many lives you've saved.

✨So Keep up Good  work ...✨💐

🙏 😊
I want to thank Everyone who Repaired my boat this year 2016 in every way like Good Wishes, thoughts, love, care & prayers...  🙏🏻 😊

Blast  & cheers 2017 👍😁 🎉