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 Journey Is Too Short

A young lady sat in a public transport. An old grumpy lady came and sat by her side as she bumped into her with her numerous bags. The person sitting on the other side of her got upset, asking the young lady why she did not speak up and say something.

The young lady responded with a smile: "It is not necessary to be rude or argue over something so insignificant, the journey together is so short. I get off at the next stop."

The response deserves to be written in golden letters in our daily behaviour and everywhere:

It is not necessary to argue over something so insignificant, our journey together is so short

If each one of us could realize that our passage down here has such a short duration; to darken it with quarrels, futile arguments, not forgiving others, ingratitude and bad attitudes would be a waste of time and energy.

Did someone break your heart? Be calm, the journey is so short..

Did someone betray, bully, cheat or humiliate you? Be calm, forgive, the journey is so short..

Whatever penalty anyone serves us, let's remember that our journey together is so short..

Let us therefore be filled with gratitude and sweetness. Sweetness is a virtue never likened to bad character nor cowardice, but better likened to greatness.

Our journey together down here is really short and cannot be reversed...
No one knows the duration of his journey.

No one knows if he will have to alight at the next stop..

Let us therefore cherish and hold on to friends and family! Let us be calm, respectful, kind, thankful and forgiving to each other. If I've hurt you, I ask your forgiveness. But please remember: The journey down here is so short...

Service to Lord

The wicked demon king Ravana had carried away Sita, the wife of Rama, the great prince who was in exile. Along with his brother Lakshmana, Rama went in search of his wife, and enlisted the help of the Vanara king, Sugreeva. Learning that Sita was kept at Lanka, the kingdom of Ravana, which lay across the ocean, Rama, along with the Vanara army, arrived at the seashore.

To reach Lanka, they had to cross the vast ocean, and after much discussion, it was decided that a bridge would be built across the ocean. The multitudes of monkeys and bears which formed the Vanara army were asked to bring stones and boulders to the seashore, so that a bridge could be built.

Shouting with excitement, and happy at the prospect of helping Rama, who was a form of Lord Vishnu, the monkeys and bears ran around, looking for the biggest stones they could find. The Vanaras were a strong race, and they carried huge boulders, and even hills, on their shoulders easily, and dropped them in the ocean to help build the bridge.

The other animals at the seashore too wished to help Rama, and each of them helped him in his own way – the fishes and the other sea creatures did their bit by helping the boulders rest at the right place, while the birds flying overhead brought small stones to fill the gaps.

A small squirrel was seeing this huge effort, and he too wished to help. He thought for a moment, and then started collecting small pebbles lying on the shore, and dropped them in the ocean. After a while, he was too tired to even carry those pebbles, but still wanted to participate. He ran to the edge of the water, and, after rolling in the sand, ran to the water and washed himself. He ran back to the shore and rolled again, and more sand got stuck to him, since he was now wet. Again he ran to the water to wash himself. The small grains of sand which stuck to his body were all he could contribute to the massive task of building a bridge across the ocean!!

However, the small squirrel rushing to and fro on the shore was now getting in the way of the monkeys who were carrying huge boulders, and they started shouting at him, asking him to get out of the way.

“Brothers, I too want to help you. These small grains of sand are all I can throw into the ocean as my contribution to the bridge. Please do not shout at me”, said the little squirrel.

The monkeys laughed out aloud, and shouted, “Of what use are these tiny grains of sand, which can scarcely be seen among the huge boulders and hills we are bringing. Get out of the way and let us do our work!”

  

The squirrel was unperturbed, and continued its work calmly. Finally one of the monkeys, in his anger, picked up the squirrel and flung him far away from the shore.

Rama, who was watching this, caught the squirrel before it fell, and set it down carefully. He then addressed the Vanara army, “O Vanaras, you are brave and strong, and are doing a wonderful job bringing all these huge boulders and stones from far and dropping them in the ocean. But did you notice that it is the tiny pebbles and stones brought by this small squirrel and some of the other smaller creatures which are filling the small gaps left between the huge stones? Further, do you not realize that the tiny grains of sand brought by this squirrel are the ones which bind the whole structure and make it strong? Yet you scold this small creature and fling him away in anger!”

Hearing this, the Vanaras were ashamed, and bowed down their heads. Rama continued, “Always remember, however small, every task is equally important. A project can never be completed by the main people alone. They need the support of all, and however small, an effort should always be appreciated!”

Rama then turned to the squirrel and said softly, “My dear squirrel, I am sorry for the hurt caused to you by my army, and thank you for the help you have rendered to me. Please go and continue your work happily.” Saying this, he gently stroked the back of the squirrel with his fingers, and three lines appeared where the Lord’s fingers had touched it.

Thus did the squirrels get the 3 stripes on their backs, as a blessing from Lord Rama, to remind us that no task, however small, is unimportant! Every task should be looked upon as service to the lord, and his blessings will always be with us.

Happy Ramnavmi to all...

Anger Inside You

A monk decides to meditate alone, away from his monastery. He takes his boat out to the middle of the lake, moors it there, closes his eyes and begins his meditation.

After a few hours of undisturbed silence, he suddenly feels the bump of another boat colliding with his own. With his eyes still closed, he senses his anger rising, and by the time he opens his eyes, he is ready to scream at the boatman who dared disturb his meditation.

But when he opens his eyes, he sees it’s an empty boat that had probably got untethered and floated to the middle of the lake.
At that moment, the monk achieves self-realization, and understands that the anger is within him; it merely needs the bump of an external object to provoke it out of him.

From then on, whenever he comes across someone who irritates him or provokes him to anger, he reminds himself, “The other person is merely an empty boat. The anger is within me.”

Some useful timeless tips

1. Throw out nonessential numbers. This includes age, weight and height. Let the doctors worry about them. That is why you pay 'them'

2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down.

3. Keep learning. Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever.. Never let the brain idle. 'An idle mind is the devil's workshop.' And the devil's name is Alzheimer's.

4. Enjoy the simple things.

5.. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath.

6. The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person, who is with us our entire life, is ourselves. Be ALIVE while you are alive.

7. Surround yourself with what you love , whether it's family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever. Your home is your refuge.

8. Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.

9. Don't take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, even to the next county; to a foreign country but NOT to where the guilt is.

10. Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity.
AND ALWAYS REMEMBER :Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

We all need to live life to its fullest each day, Worry about nothing, pray about everything!!!