Monkeys and Lions

 A man and his wife traveled to the zoo. They found a monkey that played passionately with his female. 

His wife told him: "what a romance." 

Then they found a lion and his lioness separated from each other; the lion silent and alone in his corner as if the lioness did not exist. His wife told him: "what a sad scene without love." 

Her husband then told her: "throw that stone at the lioness and watch." When she threw it down, the lion leaped roaring to defend his lioness. 

They saw the monkeys again and she did the same by throwing a stone; the monkey then jumped and abandoned his female to save his hide.

 Her husband tells her later: "do not be fooled by what you see as romanticism in some, many times it is a deceptive appearance that hides an empty heart; there are others on the contrary who do not show anything, but their hearts are full of sincere love ".

 Unfortunately today we have so many monkeys, and so few lions.

All Fused Bulbs are the Same!

A senior executive retired and shifted from his palatial official quarters to the housing society, where he owned a flat. 

He considered himself big and never talked to anyone. 

Even while walking in the society park every evening, he ignored others, looking at them with contempt. 

     

One day, it somehow transpired that an elderly person sitting beside him started a conversation, and they continued to meet. 

Every conversation was mostly a monologue with the retired executive harping on his pet topic,

“Nobody can imagine the big post and high position I held before retirement; 

I came here due to compulsions”; and so on, and the other elderly person used to listen to him quietly.

     

After many days, when the retired executive was inquisitive about others, the elderly listener opened his mouth and said, 

“After retirement, we are all like fused bulbs. 

It does not matter what a bulb’s wattage was, how much light or glitter it gave, after it gets fused.”

     

He continued, “I have been living in this society for the last 5 years and have not told anyone that I was a Member of the Parliament for two terms. 

On your right, over there is Vermaji, who retired as General Manager in Indian Railways. 

Over there is Singh Saheb, who was a Major General in the Army. 

That person sitting on the bench in spotless white dress is Mehraji, who was the chief of ISRO before retirement. 

He hasn’t revealed it to anyone, not even to me, but I know."

“All fused bulbs are now the same – whatever its wattage was – 0, 10, 40, 60, 100 watts – it doesn’t matter now. 

Neither does it matter what type of bulb it was before it got fused – LED, CFL, Halogen, Incandescent, fluorescent, or decorative. 

And that, my friend, applies to you too. 

The day you understand this, you will find peace and tranquillity even in this housing society.”

     

"The rising sun as well as the setting sun are both beautiful and adorable. 

But, in reality, the rising sun gets more importance and adoration, and is even worshipped , whereas the setting sun is not given the same reverence. 

It is better to understand this sooner than later”. 

Our current designation, title and power are not permanent. 

Keeping lot of emotions with these things only complicate our life when we lose this one day.

Remember that when the game is over, the king and the pawn go back in the same box. 

_*Enjoy what you have today . Have a fabulous time ahead ...*_ 

How True 💕

THE MOVING STORY OF NESTS

T.N.Seshan and his wife learnt a valuable lesson

▪In a management seminar once T. N. Seshan shared t hat while travelling in Uttar Pradesh with his wife, when he was the Chief Election Commissioner, they saw a large mango plantation filled with sparrow nests.

Seshan's wife decided to carry two nests home.

The police escort called a young boy who was grazing cows and asked him to bring down two nests and offered to pay him Rs 10.

▪He refused as Seshan raised the offer to Rs 50.The boy told Seshan and his wife :

*Sahibji, I will not do it for whatever you will give.*

*Inside these nests are baby sparrows; if I give those nests to you, in the evening, when the mother sparrow returns with food for the babies and does not find them there, she will cry.*

*I do not have the heart to  see that.*

*▪* Seshan and his wife were taken aback and *felt small*.

Seshan later recounted :

*My position and the IAS label* melted away in front of that *little boy.*

*I stood in front of him feeling as small as a  mustard seed.*

After returning home,this incident continued to haunt me with guilt for days.

Education, position or social status are never a yardstick for the measure of humanity.

                   *Don't Forget*

      ```▪Knowledge is to```

            ```know nature.```

     ```▪We don't achieve```

            ```anything by```

         ```gathering a lot```

         ```of information.```

    ```▪Life becomes```

     ``` blissful when you```

        ```have knowledge,```

       ```sense and wisdom```

                _Reproduced from_

        ```The Speaking Tree`

LIFE IS NOT FAIR & EASY ON ANYBODY!!!

 In Mahabharat, Karna asks Lord Krishna - "My mother left me the moment I was born. Is it my fault I was born an illegitimate child?

I did not get the education from Dhronacharya.

Parsuraam taught me but then gave me the curse to forget everything when he came to know I was  Son of Kunthi  and belong to Kshatriya clan.

A cow was accidentally hit by my arrow & its owner cursed me for no fault of mine.

I was disgraced in Draupadi's Swayamvar.

Even Kunthi finally told me the truth only to save her other sons.

Whatever I received was through Duryodhana's charity.

So how am I wrong in taking his side ???"

**Lord Krishna replies, "Karna, I was born in a jail.

Death was waiting for me even before my birth.

The night I was born I was separated from my birth parents.

From childhood, you grew up hearing the noise of swords, chariots, horses, bow, and arrows. But multiple attempts on my life were made even before I could walk!

No Army, No Education. I could hear people saying I am the reason for all their problems.

When all of you were being appreciated for your valour by your teachers I had not even received any education. I joined Gurukula of Rishi Sandipani only at the age of 16!

You are married to a girl of your choice. I didn't get the girl I loved & rather ended up marrying those who wanted me or the ones I rescued from demons.

I had to move my whole community from the banks of Yamuna to far off Sea shore to save them from Jarasandh. I was called a coward for running away!!

If Duryodhana wins the war you will get a lot of credit. What do I get if Dharmaraja wins the war? Only the blame for the war and all related problems.

Remember one thing, Karna. Everybody has to face Challenges in life.

Remember this always!!!

LIFE IS NOT FAIR & EASY ON ANYBODY!!!

But what is Right (Dharma) is known to your Mind (conscience). No matter how much unfairness we got, how many times we were Disgraced, how many times we Fall, what is important is how you REACTED at that time.

Life's unfairness does not give us the license to walk on the wrong path.

Always remember, Life may be tough at few points, but DESTINY is not created by the SHOES we wear but by the STEPS we take!!!

He is the owner

 What a nice story to share....

An American man walked into a restaurant in

London. As soon as he entered, he noticed an

African man sitting in the corner.

So he walked over to the counter, removed his

wallet and shouted, "Waiter! I am buying food for

everyone in this restaurant, except that black

African guy over there!"

So the waiter collected the money from the man

and began serving free food to everyone in the

restaurant, except the African.

However,insteadof becoming upset, the African

simply looked up at the American and

shouted, "Thank you!" That infuriated the man.

So once again, the American took out his wallet

and shouted, "Waiter! This time I am buying

bottles of wine and additional food for everyone

in this bar, except for that African sitting in the

corner over there!" So the waiter collected the

money from the man and began serving free

food and wine to

everyone in the bar except the African.

When the waiter finished serving the food and

drinks, once again, instead of becoming angry,

the African simply smiled at the American man

and shouted, "Thank you!"

That made the American man furious. So he

leaned over on the counter and said to the

waiter, "What is wrong with that African man? I

have bought food and drinks for everyone in this

bar except him, but instead of becoming angry,

he just sits there and smiles at me and shouts

'Thank you.' Is he

mad???"

The waiter smiled at the American and said, "No,

he is not mad. He is the owner of this

restaurant.

May your enemies work unknowingly in your

favour.

💬 Stay away from Anger..It hurts ..Only You!

💬 If you are right then there is no need to get

angry,

💬 And if you are wrong then you don't have

any right to get angry.

💬 Patience with family is love,

💬 Patience with others is respect.

💬 Patience with self is confidence and

Patience with GOD is faith.

💬 Never Think Hard about thePAST, It brings

Tears...

💬 Don't think more about the FUTURE, It

brings Fear...

💬 Live this Moment with a Smile,It brings

Cheer.

💬Every test in our life makes us bitter or

better,

💬 Every problem comes to make us or break

us,

💬 The choice is ours whether we become

victims or victorious.

💬 Beautiful things are not always good but

good things are always beautiful

💬 Do you know why God created gaps

between fingers?

💬 So that someone who is special to you

comes and fills those gaps by holding your hand

forever.

💬 Happiness keeps You Sweet..But being

sweet brings happiness.

Keep safe... 

Blessings in abundant always...

The story of stanford university

 A lady in a faded grey dress and her husband dressed in a home made suit walked in timidly without an appointment into the Harvard University President's outer office.

The secretary could tell in a moment that such backwoods individuals had no business at Harvard and probably did not even deserve to be in Harvard.

"We want to see the President" the man said softly. "He will be busy all day" the lady secretary snapped. "We will wait" the lady replied.

For hours the secretary ignored them hoping that the couple would finally become discouraged and go away. They did not and the secretary grew frustrated and finally decided to disturb the president.

"Maybe if you see them for a few minutes, they will leave" she said to him. The president. stern faced and with dignity strutted towards the couple.

The lady told him "We had a son who attended Harvard for one year. He loved Harvard. He was happy here. But about a year ago he was accidentally killed. My husband & I would like to erect a memorial for him, somewhere on the campus".

The president was not touched, in fact he was shocked. "Madam" he said gruffly "We cannot put up a statue for every person who attended Harvard and died. If we did, this place would look like a cemetery".

"Oh No..No.." the lady explained quickly. "We do not want to erect a statue. We thought we would like to give a building to your Harvard in his fond memory".

The president rolled his eyes. He glanced at the lady's dress and man's suit and then exclaimed: "A Building?" 

Do you have any earthly idea how much a building costs? We have over seven and a half million dollars in the physical buildings here at Harvard. For a moment the lady was silent. The president was pleased. Maybe he could get rid of them now.

The lady turned to her husband and said quietly "Is that all it costs to start a University? Why don't we just start our own?" Her husband nodded. The president's face wilted in confusion and bewilderment.

Mr. & Mrs. Leland & Jane Stanford got up and walked away, travelling to Paolo Alto, California where they established the University that bears their name: Stanford University - a memorial to a son that Harvard no longer cared about.

Most of the time we judge people by their outer appearance which can be misleading. And in the impression, we tend to treat people badly by thinking they can do nothing for us. Thus we tend to lose out potential good friends, employees or customers.

Though, it may not be convenient for you, do your best to always be supportive. Especially to your friends even if you think they can't offer you anything. 

Arrogance is a killer of friendship .... a soft word turns away wrath!   Humility is a virtue, so, please continue with it. 

 83 Noble prize winners till now are from this University  !!!

DON'T BLAME WITHOUT KNOWING FACTS

Once there was a king who regularly distributed food to the brahmanas.

One day, as he was giving out food to the priests, an eagle flew above holding a dead snake in his claws. Out of the mouth of the dead snake fell a drop of poison inDON'T BLAME WITHOUT KNOWING FACTSto the food of one of the Brahmin.

No one knew or saw that this had happened, so the king continued distributing the food.

The Brahmin who accidentally got the poisoned food from king died, and the king was feeling very sad  about it.

One of the servants of Yamaraj (the god of death) who has the duty  to distribute karma to the living beings had a problem. When this incident with the king and the poisoned food happened, he didn't know whom to blame for the death of the Brahmin, and hence he did not know who to give the karma to.

After all, it was not the eagle’s fault that it carried the dead snake in its claws (since this was its food), nor was it the dead snake's fault, nor was it the king’s fault because he did not know that the poison fell into the food.

However, one day, a  few  brahmanas entered the kingdom in order to meet the king.

A lady was sitting next to the road and they asked her: “Do you know where the king’s palace is and how we can get there?”

She said: “Yes,” and pointed at the right direction. “But, be very careful,” she said, “the king is known to kill brahmanas!”

The moment she said that and criticized the king unrightfully, that moment the servant of Yamaraj had decided. He gave her the karma of causing the death brahmana!

Moral of the story: 

If  you criticize someone and you are not right about their deeds, then you get 100% of their karma.

This story can inspire us to be careful about what we think or say about other people without knowing the truth.

Know your value

 A father said to his daughter, “You have graduated with honors, here is a car I bought many years ago. It is pretty old now. But before I give it to you, take it to the used car lot downtown and tell them I want to sell it and see how much they offer you for it.”

The daughter went to the used car lot, returned to her father, and said, “They offered me $1,000 because they said it looks pretty worn out.”

The father said, now “Take it to the pawnshop.” The daughter went to the pawnshop, returned to her father, and said, ”The pawnshop offered only $100 because it is an old car.”

The father asked his daughter to go to a car club now and show them the car. The daughter then took the car to the club, returned, and told her father,” Some people in the club offered $100,000 for it because it’s a Nissan Skyline R34, it's an iconic car and sought by many collectors”

Now the father said this to his daughter, “The right place values you the right way. If you are not valued, do not be angry, it means you are in the wrong place. Those who know your value are those who appreciate you. Never stay in a place where no one sees your value." #knowyourworth #becomeunstoppable

When god orders even the devil obeys

 A very poor woman with a small family called-in to a radio station asking for help from God. 

A non-believer man who was also listening to this radio program decided to make fun of the woman. 

He got her address, called his secretary and ordered her to buy a large amount of foodstuffs and take to the woman. 

However, he sent it with the following instruction: "When the woman asks who sent the food, tell her that its from the devil.'' 

When the secretary arrived at the woman's house, the woman was so happy and grateful for the help that had been received. She started putting the food inside her small house. 

The Secretary then asked her, ''Don't you want to know who sent the food?'' 

The woman replied, ''No, Say thanks to whomever sent ths! I don't care who the person is because when GOD orders, even the devil obeys!

WORRIES END  Where FAITH BEGINS..

THE LABEL

During a prank, a student stuck a paper on his classmate's back that said *"I’m stupid";* he asked the rest of the class not to tell the boy.

Thus the students began laughing throughout the day. Shortly afterwards, mathematics class started and *their professor wrote a difficult question on the board.*

*No one was able to answer it except the boy with the sticker.* Amid the slight laughs, for he didn’t know why, he walked towards the board and he solved it, *the teacher asked the class to clap for him and removed the paper on his back.*

Teacher told him *“It seems that you don’t know about the paper on your back that one of your classmates put and the rest of them kept it a secret.”*

Then the teacher faced towards the rest of the class and said *“Before I give you a punishment, I will tell you 2 things:*

*First, throughout your life, people will put labels on your back with many bad things written on it to stop your progress.*

If he had known about the paper, he would not have gotten up to answer the question.

*All you have to do in life is ignore the labels people give you and use every chance you have to progress, learn and improve yourself.”*

*“The second is that, it is clear that he does not have any loyal friends among you all* to tell him about removing the paper. *It does not matter how many friends you have, it is the Loyalty between you and your friends that matter."*

If you don't have friends who can defend you behind your back, who can watch over you, protect you and who genuinely care about you, you are better off alone.

The tale of onion

THE TALE OF THE ONION.

 ONCE THERE WAS A GARDEN FULL OF VEGETABLES AND FRUIT TREES.  LIKE SITTING IN THE SHADOW OF THE TREES.  BUT ONE GOOD DAY, SOME SPECIAL ONIONS BEGAN TO BE BORN.  EACH ONE HAD A DIFFERENT COLOR;  RED, YELLOW, ORANGE, PURPLE ... THE COLORS WERE STUNNING, LIKE THE COLOR OF A LOOK OR A BEAUTIFUL MEMORY.

 AFTER SEVERAL INVESTIGATIONS, IT TURNED OUT THAT EVERY ONION HAD A PRECIOUS STONE INSIDE THE SAME HEART.  THIS HAD A TOPAZ, ANOTHER A RUBY, ANOTHER AN EMERALD ... BUT FOR SOME INCOMPRISIBLE REASON IT STARTED TO SAY THAT IT WAS DANGEROUS, INADEQUATE AND EVEN SHAME.  TOTAL THAT THE BEAUTIFUL ONIONS HAD TO BEGIN TO HIDE THEIR GEMSTONE WITH LAYERS, EACH TIME DARKER AND UGLY, TO HIDE HOW THEY WERE INSIDE.

 UNTIL BECOMING VULGAR ONIONS AND EVEN OTHERS, THEY OPTED TO HIDE IN THE EARTH AGAIN.  A WISE MAN WHO LIKED TO SIT IN THE SHADOW OF THE ORCHARD PASSED BY THERE AND WHO UNDERSTOOD THE LANGUAGE OF ONIONS, STARTED TALKING TO EACH ONE OF THEM AND ASKED THEM:

 SAGE: WHY DON'T YOU SHOW YOURSELF AS YOU ARE ON THE INSIDE?

 SOME ANSWERED: BECAUSE THEY FORCED ME TO BE LIKE THAT ...

 OTHERS ... I DON'T KNOW, BUT THEY TAUGHT ME TO LOOK LIKE OTHERS ...

 OTHERS ... BECAUSE THE REJECTION HURTS ME ...

 EVERYONE AGREED THAT THE LAYERS WERE PUTTING OTHER "NORMAL" LAYERS ON THEM AND EVEN THEY WERE DOING IT TO AVOID THEY LABELING THEM AS SOMETHING "RARE"

 THE WISE BEGIN TO CRY, THINKING ABOUT THE "ATROCITY" THAT WAS BEING EATEN WITH SUCH VALUABLE ONIONS AND WHEN PEOPLE SAW HIM CRYING, THEY THOUGHT THAT CRYING BEFORE THE ONIONS WAS WISE.  THAT'S WHY FROM THAT DAY, EVERYONE CRIES WHEN AN ONION OPENS ITS HEART TO US.

All is well In my World with HIS grace

I was at a store today and heard a loud crash and something shattering. Being nosy, I walked towards the sound and saw some people whispering and looking back to the end of the next aisle.

 When I walked down that aisle, I saw an older lady had hit a shelf and many things had fallen to the ground and broken..

 She was kneeling on the floor embarrassed, frantically trying to clean up.

 I felt so bad for her. Everyone was just standing there staring at her. So I went and knelt beside her and told her not to worry and started helping her pick up the broken pieces.😥 After about a minute, the store manager came and knelt beside us and said, “Leave it, we will clean this up.” 

The lady, totally embarrassed said, “I need to pay for all this.” The manager smiled, helped her to her feet and said, “No ma’am, we have insurance for this, you do not have to pay anything!” If you have read this far, give me another minute..🤗

Wherever you are, close your eyes, and imagine God doing the same for you! 

Imagine the broken pieces of your mistakes or the pieces of your broken heart from all the blows life has thrown at you all over the floor and you’re there trying to collect all of the pieces and fix them yourself. 🙋

Now imagine God comes and kneels right down beside you, smiles and says to you, “Leave it all there, I will clean this up for you.”

He loves you that much and wants to put all of those pieces back together if you will let Him! With Him we have this insurance and it’s called GRACE! It’s free! All you have to do is ask Him to help you, and to heal you. He’s faithful, I promise! ❤️

 *🌹ALL IS WELL IN MY WORLD 🌹*

The lesson for new year-HIS hands are Bigger

 *Whatever comes your way as you journey into the New Year, remember the lesson of this story...*👇

A little boy and his father visited the country store, and upon leaving the store, the owner of the store offered the little boy some free Sweets... “Get a hand full of Sweets", the merchant said to the boy.

The boy just stood there looking up at his father. The owner repeated himself:- “Son get a hand full of Sweets... it’s free.” Again the boy did not move, continuing to look up in the face of his father.

Finally the father reached into the candy jar and got a hand full of Sweets and gave it to his son.

As they walked back home, the father stopped and asked his son why he did not grab a hand full of the free candy. The boy with a big smile on his face looked into the face of his father and said:- *“Because I know that your HAND is BIGGER than mine.”*

So, whatever your needs are  for 2021, please place them in the FATHER'S HAND IN HEAVEN,* because HIS HAND is BIGGER THAN YOURS.

The Sun and The Cave

"One day the sun and a cave struck up a conversation. The sun had trouble understanding what “dark” meant and the cave didn’t quite get the hang of “light and clear” so they decided to change places.

The cave went up to the sun and said, “Ah, I see, this is beyond wonderful. Now come down and see where I have been living.” 

The sun went down to the cave and said, “Gee, I don’t see any difference

When the sun went down, it took its light along and even the darkest corners were illuminated. That's why the sun couldn't see any difference. 

I love one of the quotes from an old book that said "The enlightened ones can never be sent to hell or pushed into darkness. They carry their heaven on their shoulders all the time".

We thought that heaven is a place where were we are supposed to go, perhaps it was a state of mind we were supposed to achieve.

If you are full of darkness within, full of negativity, fear and doubt, you become a cave unknowingly. It's a hell within and no matter how much you accumulate, you still remain hollow. 

If you are illuminated like the sun, then the darkness of the cave wouldn't matter. You could be in the worse of circumstances, you'll still be able to find a blessing somewhere.

RUN THE DISHWASHER TWICE.

source-unknown

When I was at one of my lowest (mental) points in life, I couldn’t get out of bed some days. I had no energy or motivation and was barely getting by.

I had therapy once per week, and on this particular week I didn’t have much to ‘bring’ to the session. He asked how my week was and I really had nothing to say.

“What are you struggling with?” he asked.

I gestured around me and said “I dunno man. Life.”

Not satisfied with my answer, he said “No, what exactly are you worried about right now? What feels overwhelming? When you go home after this session, what issue will be staring at you?”

I knew the answer, but it was so ridiculous that I didn’t want to say it.

I wanted to have something more substantial.

Something more profound.

But I didn’t.

So I told him, “Honestly? The dishes. It’s stupid, I know, but the more I look at them the more I CAN’T do them because I’ll have to scrub them before I put them in the dishwasher, because the dishwasher sucks, and I just can’t stand and scrub the dishes.”

I felt like an idiot even saying it.

What kind of grown ass woman is undone by a stack of dishes? There are people out there with *actual* problems, and I’m whining to my therapist about dishes?

But my therapist nodded in understanding and then said:

“RUN THE DISHWASHER TWICE.”

I began to tell him that you’re not supposed to, but he stopped me.

“Why the hell aren’t you supposed to? If you don’t want to scrub the dishes and your dishwasher sucks, run it twice. Run it three times, who cares?! Rules do not exist, so stop giving yourself rules.”

It blew my mind in a way that I don’t think I can properly express.

That day, I went home and tossed my smelly dishes haphazardly into the dishwasher and ran it three times.

I felt like I had conquered a dragon.

The next day, I took a shower lying down.

A few days later. I folded my laundry and put them wherever the fuck they fit.

There were no longer arbitrary rules I had to follow, and it gave me the freedom to make accomplishments again.

Now that I’m in a healthier place, I rinse off my dishes and put them in the dishwasher properly. I shower standing up. I sort my laundry.

But at a time when living was a struggle instead of a blessing, I learned an incredibly important lesson:

THERE ARE NO RULES.

RUN THE DISHWASHER TWICE!!! STOP GIVING YOURSELF RULES!!!

The Real meaning of Kurukshetra war

 It is said in the texts that 80% of the fighting male population of the civilization was wiped out in the eighteen days #Mahabharata war.

Sanjay, at the end of the war went to the spot where the greatest war took place; Kurukshetra.

He looked around and wondered if the war really happened, if the ground beneath him had soaked all that blood, if the great Pandavas and Krishna stood where he stood.

“You will never know the truth about that!” said an aging soft voice.

Sanjay turned around to find an Old man in saffron robes appearing out of a column of dust. 

“I know you are here to find out about the Kurukshetra war, but you cannot know about that war till you know what the real war is about.” the Old man said enigmatically.

“What do you mean?” 

"The Mahabharata is an Epic, a ballad, perhaps a reality, but definitely a philosophy."

The Old man smiled luring Sanjay into more questions.

“Can you tell me what the philosophy is then?” Sanjay requested.

"Sure." began the Old man. 

"The Pandavas are nothing but your five senses, sight, smell, taste, touch and sound...and do you know what the Kauravas are?" he asked narrowing his eyes. 

 "The Kauravas are the hundred vices that attack your senses everyday but you can fight them... and do you know how?

Sanjay shook his head again.

“When Krishna rides your chariot!”

The Old man smiled brighter and Sanjay gasped at that gem of insight.

"Krishna is your inner voice, your soul, your guiding light and if you let your life in his hands you have nothing to worry."

Sanjay was stupefied but came around quickly with another question.

“Then why are Dronacharya and Bhishma fighting for the Kauravas, if they are vices?”

The Old man nodded, sadder for the question. 

"It just means that as you grow up, your perception of your elders change. The elders who you thought were perfect in your growing up years are not all that perfect. They have faults. And one day you will have to decide if they are for your good or your bad.  Then you may also realize that you may have to fight them for the good. It is the hardest part of growing up and that is why the Geeta is important."

Sanjay slumped down on the ground, not because he was tired but because he could understand and was struck by  the enormity of it all. 

 "What about Karna?" he whispered.

“Ah!” said the Old man. “You have saved the best for last. Karna is the brother to your senses, he is desire, he is a part of you but stands with the vices. He feels wronged and makes excuses for being with the vices as your desire does all the time. Does your desire not give you excuses to embrace vices?"

Sanjay nodded silently. He looked at the ground, consumed with a million thoughts, trying to put everything together and then when he looked up the Old man was gone.... He had disappeared in the column of dust..... leaving behind the great philosophy of Life!

Everything you love probably be lost..but!

 At 40, Franz Kafka (1883-1924), who never married and had no children, walked through the park in Berlin when he met a girl who was crying because she had lost her favourite doll. She and Kafka searched for the doll unsuccessfully.

Kafka told her to meet him there the next day and they would come back to look for her.

The next day, when they had not yet found the doll, Kafka gave the girl a letter "written" by the doll saying "please don't cry. I took a trip to see the world. I will write to you about my adventures."

Thus began a story which continued until the end of Kafka's life.

During their meetings, Kafka read the letters of the doll carefully written with adventures and conversations that the girl found adorable.

Finally, Kafka brought back the doll (he bought one) that had returned to Berlin.

"It doesn't look like my doll at all," said the girl.

Kafka handed her another letter in which the doll wrote: "my travels have changed me." the little girl hugged the new doll and brought her happy home.

A year later Kafka died.

Many years later, the now-adult girl found a letter inside the doll. In the tiny letter signed by Kafka it was written:

"Everything you love will probably be lost, but in the end, love will return in another way."

#kafka #thedoll

A pencil is not a pencil

Once upon a time........A boy was watching his grandmother write a letter. At one point he asked:

‘Are you writing a story about what we’ve done? Is it a story about me?’

His grandmother stopped writing her letter and said to her grandson:

I am writing about you,... actually, but more important than the words is the pencil I’m using. I hope you will be like this pencil when you grow up.’

Intrigued, the boy looked at the pencil. It didn’t seem very special.

‘But it’s just like any other pencil I’ve ever seen!’

‘That depends on how you look at things. It has seven qualities which, if you manage to hang on them, will make you a person who is always at peace with the world.’

‘First quality: you are capable of great things, but you must never forget that there is a hand guiding your steps. We call that hand God, and He always guides us according to His will.’

‘Second quality: now and then, I have to stop writing and use a sharpner. That makes the pencil suffer a little, but afterwards, he’s much sharper. So you, too, must learn to bear certain pains and sorrows, because they will make you a better person.’

‘Third quality: the pencil always allows us to use an eraser to rub out any mistakes. This means that correcting something we did is not necessarily a bad thing; it helps to keep us on the road to justice.’

‘Fourth quality: what really matters in a pencil is not its wooden exterior, but the graphite inside. So always pay attention to what is happening inside you.’

 'Fifth quality: it always leaves a mark. in just the same way, you should know that everything you do in life will leave a mark, so try to be conscious of that in your every action.'

'Sixth quality : It gets shorter and shorter while in use, so also life. Make the most while it lasts.'

'Finally the Seventh quality of pencil is : It writes till the very end. Be useful and productive till your dying day.'

The pencil may vanish but the marks it leaves stay on ...

The unseen hands

A young labourer came to a restaurant one evening to have a meal. The owner engaged him in a conversation and found out that he was saving to bring his family to the city so they could get a chance at a better life. He had an aged mother, a wife and two young sons who he hoped to give a good education so they could have a more decent life. He had just arrived the city and found some menial work at a scrap metal site down the road. It was going to be his only meal of the day and he could only spend a few cents.

The owner was impressed with his hardwork and diligence, and his family values. He encouraged the labourer and wrapped his meal for him. He took his order personally and told him that it would cost him 50 cents.

Several years went by and the labourer stopped at the restaurant every evening to get his one meal of the day and chat with the restaurant owner who always encouraged him and asked about his aged mother, his wife and young sons, and how his plans were going.

Finally, the labourer came by one evening with a happy smile on his face. He had bought a modest house in a good neighborhood with a good school for his boys and he had just sent for his family to join him. The restaurant owner was very happy for him and congratulated him. The labourer then told him that he was in a mood to celebrate and he would be spending an entire 5 dollars on his meal that evening. The restaurant owner told him it was well-deserved, wrapped up his meal and he went on his way home.

When the labourer got home and opened up his meal pack, he was shocked to see that it was the same type of food he had been having every day for the last 6 years. He was very disappointed because he had been looking forward to a feast to celebrate his  big achievement. He certainly deserved something better after scrimping on his meals all those years. He was mad at the restaurant owner and felt robbed of his money and his celebration. He felt he had been cheated by his very good friend.

He immediately went back to the restaurant to make his complaint. The restaurant owner had already left and he met one of the staff with whom he was quite familiar.

"Say, John, I think you guys gave me the wrong meal pack today. You see, I got this same type of meal every day for 50 cents but today I am celebrating and decided to spend 5 whole dollars at your restaurant. But I was cheated and got just the same meal as every other day!"

"Well, sir, this is our most expensive meal and it costs 5 dollars!"

It suddenly dawned on the labourer that he had not been cheated at all by his friend. In fact, the restaurant owner had been giving him their best meal which cost 5 dollar for 50 cents for 6 years! He felt very ashamed of himself for thinking that his good friend had cheated him.

"It's all a misunderstanding then," he said and turned to leave quickly to hide the tears in his eyes.

"One minute, sir," said the staff. "My boss said you were going to come back and that I was to give you this bag."

When the labourer opened the bag, he found all the 50 cents he had ever spent at this restaurant. Unable to hold back the tear now, he sat down on a bench and wept quite unashamedly.

√ He had judged too quickly

√ He'd felt entitled and a little prideful because of his sense of arrival

√ He had repaid kindness with suspicion and anger

√ He had failed to give proper thanks where it was due...

WHY?

 *Because he had been unable to see or recognise the hand that was behind the scene helping him all this time!* 

Friends, sometimes because we don't yet have the car and the house and the fine things, we fail to recognise the simple things that God gives us daily. And so we are ungrateful and unappreciative and even a little entitled when we go to Him to complain about the things we don't have. We are prideful of our little achievements when we have a few fine things or feel like we have arrived.

But does God condemn us? Is He mad at us? Does He take back everything because of our foolishness?

NO...

Like the restaurant owner, even though He gives us of His best and always looks out for us to encourage us, He is there to pick us up when we stumble or fall. Even when we don't see or appreciate His goodness and kindness to us, He never stops being gracious and kind to us or tires of hearing our complaining and griping. In fact, He opens His storehouse and gives us even more than we deserve when we are at our lowest. 

 *"GOD, I DON'T SEE YOUR HAND BEHIND THE SCENES BUT SINCE I'M STILL ALIVE I KNOW YOU ARE THERE HOLDING ME UP AND HELPING ME. AND I JUST WANT TO TELL YOU THANK YOU!"* 

Friend, if this message blessed you, don't keep it to yourself. Share it with someone else now so they know GOD CARES!