Smooth roads never make good drivers
Smooth Sea never makes good sailors
Clear Skies never makes good Pilots.
Problem and hassle free Life never makes a person strong
Be Strong enough to accept the challenges of Life
Don't ask Life, "Why Me?
Instead say "Try Me!"

Read this story to Understand

A Butterfly Lesson

One day a small opening appeared on the cocoon; a man sat and watched for the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole.

Then, it seems to stop making any progress.

It appeared as if it has gotten as far as it could and it could not go any further.

So the man decided to help the butterfly; he took a pair of scissors and opened the cocoon,

The butterfly then emerged easily.

But, it had a withered body; it was tiny and shriveled wings.

The Man continued to watch because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would open, enlarge and expand, to be able to support the butterfly’s body, and become firm.

Neither happened! In fact the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a withered body and shriveled wings. It never was able to fly.

What the man, in his kindness and his goodwill did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to get through the tiny opening, were God’s way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings, so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon.

Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our life.

If God allowed us to go through our life without any obstacles, it would cripple us. We would not be as strong as we could have been. Never been able to fly.

I asked for Strength….and God gave me difficulties to make me strong.

I asked for wisdom…and God gave me Problems to solve.

I asked for prosperity… and God gave me a brain and brawn to work.

I asked for Courage… and God gave me obstacles to overcome.

I asked for love….and God gave me troubled people to help.

I asked for Favors… and God gave me Opportunities.

“I received nothing I wanted…but I received everything I needed,”

Live life without fear, confront all obstacles and evince that you can overcome them.

Tell / Send this message to your friends and show them how much you care. Tell / Send it to everybody that you consider a FRIEND, even if this means to send it to the same person that conveyed to you. If this message returned to you, you can be sure that your circle of friendship is made out of true friends.

Parable of Pencil

The Pencil maker took the pencil aside, just before putting it into the Box.

There are 5 things you need to know, he told to pencil, before I send you out into the world. Always remember them and never forget, and you will become the best pencil you can be.

(In same way replacing the place of the pencil with you; always remember them, and never forget, and you will become the best person you can be.)


1. You will be able to do many great things, but only you allow yourself to be held in someone’s hand.

(1. You will be able to do many great things, but only if you allow yourself to be held in God’s hand, and allow other human beings to access you for the many gifts you possess.)

2. You will experience a painful sharpening from time to time, but you will need it to become a better pencil.

(2. You will experience painful sharpening from time to time by going through various problems, but you will need it to become a stronger person.)

3. You will be able to correct any mistakes you might make.

(3. You will be able to correct any mistakes you might make.)

4. The most important part of you will always be what’s inside.

(4. The most Important part of you will always be what’s on the inside.)

AND

5. On every surface you are used on, you must leave your mark. No matter what the condition, you must continue to write.

(5. On every surface you walk through, you must leave your mark. No matter what the situation, you must continue to do your duties.)

The Pencil understood and promised to remember, and went into the box with purpose in its heart.

By Understanding and remembering, let us proceed with our life on this earth having a meaningful purpose in our heart.

Emotions are A part of Life

Life is like an unsolved puzzle। No one can define what life is because it is a very complex thing। Life is something that makes you happy and proud at times and makes you feel so low at times that you say to yourself, "Why was I born?" But whatever it is, it is real fun. In Life, in every moment, something new happens; something that
you never expected, something that you were waiting from a long while
to happen and something you were expecting to happen.
It is a combination of happiness, sorrow, joy, love, anger,
enjoyment, loneliness, fear, excitement and many other emotions. The definition of the word life can't be completed
without using the word emotions. Some people work in emotions whereas others work with emotions.
So it's very important to understand how people are using their emotions. If they are letting emotions get control over them, then they'll be dragged
by others and situations all the time. But, if he is controlling his emotions
in a proper way, then no one will ever have control over him. The way a person uses his emotions is what we call attitude. Someone has correctly said, "Your attitude determines your altitude in life".
Attitude, as I already defined, is the way an individual uses his emotions
and directly related to the psyche of a person. Some people use their emotions in a positive way
and some people do it in a negative sense. When people use emotions in a positive way we call it positive attitude
and when they use it in a negative way we call it negative attitude. It's up to an individual to decide how he uses his emotions.
Which way will you decide ?
LIVE ON PURPOSE WITH A PURPOSE AND FOR A PURPOSE

Control your attention, and you control your mind



A disciple and his teacher were walking through the forest. The disciple was disturbed by the fact that his mind was in constant unrest.

He asked his teacher: "Why most people's minds are restless, and only a few possess a calm mind? What can one do to still the mind?"

The teacher looked at the disciple, smiled and said:

"I will tell you a story. An elephant was standing and picking leaves from a tree. A small fly came, flying and buzzing near his ear. The elephant waved it away with his long ears. Then the fly came again, and the elephant waved it away once more".

This was repeated several times. Then the elephant asked the fly:
"Why are you so restless and noisy? Why can't you stay for a while in one place?"

The fly answered: "I am attracted to whatever I see, hear or smell. My five senses pull me constantly in all directions and I cannot resist them. What is your secret? How can you stay so calm and still?"

The elephant stopped eating and said:
"My five senses do not rule my attention. Whatever I do, I get immersed in it. Now that I am eating, I am completely immersed in eating. In this way I can enjoy my food and chew it better. I rule and control my attention, and not the other way around."

Upon hearing these words, the disciple's eyes opened wide and a smile appeared on his face. He looked at his teacher and said:

"I understand! If my five senses are in control of my mind and attention, then my mind is in constant unrest. If I am in charge of my five senses and attention, then my mind becomes calm".

"Yes, that's right", answered the teacher, "The mind is restless and goes wherever the attention is. Control your attention, and you control your mind".

The significance of saying NAMASKAR (नमस्कार ) :-

One of the single contributions of Hinduism to the world to solve problems which trouble various nations is the weapon termed “Namaskar” a method to express the view that God resides in the heart of every person. Folding the palms and bowing the head can help us to ford across linguistic and other barriers. Namaskar diminishes our selfishness and induces in us the desire to help others and cooperate with them to fetch peace.

In religious parlance this step of displaying our utter humility is also termed “Anjali.” The significance behind this demonstration of one’s modesty is the acceptance of the theory that the obeisance shown is to the Almighty who has taken a birth in every heart. There is the presence of the Divine in all souls. This noble concept has been given to the world of culture by the Hindu religion.

Saying “Namaste” or doing the “Pranam”. Removes from us, the feeling of enmity, jealously and selfishness, it makes us forget the differences between the higher and the low. In the present day, people tend to give up their faith in God by monstrously constricting their hearts. Resorting to the offering of salutations to even those who may hate us can change the situation.

The classic example of invoking divine help in times of peril is that of Draupadi mentioned in our Scripture. When even her husbands could not help, she gave an open acknowledgement of her surrender through this gesture and God’s help was instantaneous. So did the innocent maiden of the village where the Lord resided during His incarnation as Shri Krishna in His youngest days. The scriptures beckon us to accept that God who has created us has also taken a place in our hearts.

The scriptures create an awakening in us that all are but the children of God. Behind this concept lies the tradition of doing the Pranam and prostrating by even aged men before sages, saints, Godly men and divine personalities though they may be young because they are messengers of God.

PHILOSOPHY OF NAMASTE:- The main point of all Indian Spiritual practices is to raise the Kundalini Shakti (The agent of soul expansion) from the Muldhara Chakra in the perineum to the Sahasara Chakra in the head, thereby enlarging knowledge and insight and opening up the world of higher consciousness. All the exercise found in our various systems of Yoga, namely, Bhakti, (Devotion,) Karma (action), and Jnana, (Knowledge), are based on Dharma (Righteousness) and are complementary in the process which is evolutionary in nature. This is the concept of Ardhanaareesware (Shiva and Shakti in one cosmic form).

Shiva is the Lord of Yoga in our tradition and the Shakti is Bio-Energy that is Creative power in us to realize the highest goal in life. Ardhanaareeswara is the one cosmic Form in which both the matter and spirit are perfectly united and integrated. We are reminded of this highest philosophy of life as and when we do NAMASTE in our day to day life because the wise people who introduced this Namaste in our culture knew that in this practice alone lies our real happiness.

The literary meaning of Namaste is (ue~% $ Lrs) I bow my head in front of you. The simple act on the part of a person of bringing the left hand and right hand together. Just over the breast is accepted as a humble greeting and reciprocated accordingly knowing or unknowingly, however helped themselves to make any progress in their lives and in the lives of the others did it in tune with the spirit of Namaste. Where ever the humility is absent and not expressed in any human forms of matter and spirit, whether it is in the relationship between employer and the employed, Student and teacher, rich and poor, man and woman etc. there remain tension and frustration in the life of man and woman and nation.

We do many things, which includes criticizing and fault finding without knowing why and for what we are doing them. These actions produce no meaningful result compared to those of a man who acts with proper understanding. The gesture of Namaste embodies the efforts to know and act properly. The spirit of this simple practice does produce better understanding and genuine interest in human welfare, not only in our country but also in the whole world.

Namaste is part and partial of the system of self-culture of this land, which has been revived recently by Saints like Ramana Maharshi, Swami Vivekananda, Sri Aurobind, and others. Therefore in addition to cultivating a life according to its great philosophy, Namaste helps us to work out life in harmony with the progress of our evolutionary process.

We can find in India millions of religious minded people doing Namaste to various deities in our temples, but many people now a days, do it quite mechanically without knowing its significance. That they are not sincere to the philosophy of Namaste may be due to their not knowing about it.

The purity that develops in us is based on the right understanding of two aspects of life symbolized by the folded hands in Namaste. The folded hands are always drawn towards the breast and placed right in front of the heart. What is the reason for this?

The body is a combination of chemical elements. Indian Rishis knew this fact thousands of years ago and it was clarified and taught by Kapila Maharishi through Sankhya Yoga. This was long before the discoveries of modern science in this line. He explained that all the forms are a combination of Earth (Solid), Water (Liquid), Fire (Gas), Air (Oxygen), and Ether (Subatomic Matter). Tantric School of Yoga without it no form can ever exist also recognized the source of Bio-Energy on which all these elements depend as Kundalini Shakti.

In the Kundalini Yoga system and tantric practice, stage of understanding have been linked with the knowledge of the chemical combination of this world and the spirit that keeps it going. The location of these centers of consciousness had been made on the Torso. A man can still live when both the legs and hands are amputated. But none can survive when the torso is cut apart. This proves the correct location of Bio-energy of Kundalini Shakti in connection with the special cord in living beings.

The energy of spirit is that which is important in man and it is to be maintained in harmony with the form. In this alone lies hope for progress in human evolution. This harmony is the basic theme of Namaste in our culture. This is also the cream of the teachings of various yoga systems. The sum total of this energy or spirit is called self or GOD and is one and the same to every one in this world. It is so because the principles of functioning of the form and spirit are common to all mankinds.

The spiritual heart in man is recognized in Yoga systems as Anahata Chakra or air element. Consider the working of a turbo-generator. It though the co-operation of the solid form of the engine with the suitable steam form boiling water that results are achieved and work is done, Similar is the case with the body. It works because we take solid and liquid food and convert it to energy by digesting it with the aid of digestive fire, This stirs the heart to life and the relationship between cause, and abstaining from food for a few days can test effect here.

The spiritual heat, which is made of the air-element, is the seat of feeling in us. To start with, it is this little feeling that helps us to expand emotionally and intellectually in thought, word, and deed. Therefore the simple silent Namaste remind us to recognize the important center of our life principle and communicate the feeling of welcome and friendship to the person when we wish it.

Now we can well imagine how significant is Namaste in our culture and how it can help us to attain cordial relations with one and all in this world. This Namaste creates a feeling of belonging, friendliness, and brotherhood among people and establishes a true welfare society where there is no dearth of basic necessities of life for common man. At the same time it makes us ponder our matter and spirit, life and death in humanity with feeling that keeps on expanding in every one of us in tune with nature.

Namaste is the cultivation of a new trend in our personality and integrated approach to life. It is like the negative and positive terminals that help to generate light. It cannot be cultivated by indulging in any one thing without any inhibitions.

Purity is the backbone of four spiritual progresses. Purity of body and mind are essential to make any progress in the field of higher consciousness or even to transcend our subconscious. Consciousness is ever pure and limitless and purity in life identifies us with it. We are neither sure of the existence of this nor do we have any knowledge of it as a thing in itself because our bodies and minds are not pure. But Namaste can helps us here, objective study can guide us to subjective understanding but it is practice and discipline which leads to reduction of impurity. This cannot be achieved through any kind of indulgence.

In Namaste we are integrated with purity of thought into oneness and with the proper understanding of matter and spirit embodied in the joined hands and humanity expressed by the bowed head, we attune ourselves to the unknown power consciousness with us.

Namaste is distinct from all other forms of greeting, such as the handshake, in that it helps us to transcend the self-imposed physical and mental limitations. Two people must be involved in the handshake for each to be satisfied. This imposes limitations and it become physically impossible to deal with large number of people, as in an assembly, but in Namaste one man can greet thousand of people. And simultaneously thousands in the audience respond with Namaste.

We also find our artists doing it as and when they come on the stage. This, no doubt, brings individual satisfaction to all. Namaste mentally takes shape in the heart and transcends beyond it, until it enables us to achieve unity in diversity is expended consciousness. Therefore Namaste helps to establish report with people without any inhibition or limitations. What so ever.

Repetition of our action establishes strong tendencies and from character and conduct. This process operates both for good and for evil. Therefore, if a custom like greeting with Namaste is done by us in our daily lives sincerely and humbly. After us in our daily lives sincerely and humbly, after knowing its philosophy and significance, it is bound to help us to mould our lives in tune with the true spirit of Namaste.

It is customary to do Namaste to one’s deity, parents, teachers, guests, friends, and holymen. This helps a man to extend it to all human beings who comes in contact with him. Gradually this practice even helps him to do Namaste to all living beings as all the living beings are considered to be within the family of one God, who is the real creator. Soon after the Aarti (vkjrh ) or showing of the light made of wicks of chamfer to the deity is over, it is customary for all the participants to do Namaste to the presiding deity. This is done to remind the devotees who take part in such congregations to surrender themselves to the source of life without any reservation. It is also a reminder to the people of the Namaste Philosophy. Many sculptures and paintings in our temples and museums indicate that this practice was prevalent in ancient India.

Self-surrender is the essence of devotion and faith and this faith develops out of the repeated performance of Namaste before any form of deity. In the matter of self-surrender, most people do it half-heartedly.

The self-surrender demanded by the practice of Namaste should not be mistaken for the surrender of the ego of a person to the ego of another person. It is surrender to the self or Bio-energy in both. It is the feeling of the unity in diversity that is achieved by the element of humility and surrender in Namaste.

When persons inimical to each other do Namaste in proper attitude, it is bound to reduce tension in mind and animate and help them to achieve cordially and friendship.

Though simple and easy Namaste is the higher form of Sadhana (lk/kuk) or spiritual practice containing the cream of selfless service, devotion, dedication and self-surrender for attaining the wisdom of unity in diversity. It helps a man to cultivate spirit of selfless service, devotion to God, dedication to noble causes self –surrender to divinity and a feeling or oneness and brotherhood of humanity in his relation to fellow beings in tune with Reality.

A man is transformed into this attitude by doing Namste in its to spirit. But Namaste, if practiced sincerely, will definitely lead a person day by day nearer to the final goal while helping to maintain a harmonious relation with his surroundings and contact. Sincerely and humility in our daily practice of Namaste build-up honest in life.

Whenever any one succeeded in any undertaking material or spiritual, we find that he was always sincere, humble, and honest to his establishment or ideas. In the same manner, when ever we see the downfall of a powerful person who was pretending to be trying that he was lacking in these qualities.

Let us now discuss how this simple Namaste is practiced. The Mantra in this Sadhana is, of course, Namaste. The Mudra or pose is the joining of the palms and drawing them towards the breast while bowing the head in humility. In this we are to generate the feeling in our hearts that we are encountering God in the other person. We should be sincere in our thought. “I see God in you” while doing Namaste. This produces prosperity and progress in our material and spiritual life. Once we are introduced to its philosophy our life becomes smooth and happy.

In fact our ego melts in Namaste when we make up our mind to feel that there are many more universes yet to be discovered by us. The spirit of integrating elements in Namaste helps a millionaire to understand the plight of a poor man to appreciate the position of a rich man. Namaste, in fact, practically, helps us to integrate these two aspects in all walks of life. No methods however cleverly, logically and scientifically planned and designed for propaganda can ultimately produce better results if the Namaste spirit of integrating matter and spirit based on the minimum of qualifications needed for its practice is absent in our day to day life.

(To be continued in next Blog)