The Stone On the Road

One day a farmer, walking down the street in a small town came across a large stone in the middle of his path. The farmer complained: "Who could be so careless as to leave such a big stone on the road? Why does someone not remove it?" He went away complaining.

The next day, the same thing happened with a milkman. He too went away grumbling but left the stone as it was.

Then one day, a student came across the stone. Worried that someone may fall over it and hurt himself, he decided to push it aside. He pushed long and hard all by himself and eventually managed to remove the stone from the path. He came back and noticed a piece of paper where the stone was kept.

He picked the paper and opened it. Inside was written, "You are the true wealth of this nation."

There are two kinds of people

Talkers and doers.

Talkers merely talk, while doers do.

The moral of this story, is that if you don't want to get involved you have no right to criticize. Become the change you wish to see in this world.

Service to society is the rent we pay for the space we occupy on this earth

Advice From a 101 Year Old Doctor..!

Dr. Shigeaki Hinohara , Japan, turns 101 on 4th October 2012

As a 97 year old Doctor, he was interviewed, and gave his advice for a long and healthy life.

Shigeaki Hinohara is one of the world's longest-serving physicians and educators. Hinohara's magic touch is legendary: Since 1941 he has been healing patients at St. Luke's International Hospital in Tokyo and teaching at St. Luke's College of Nursing.

He has published around 15 books since his 75th birthday, including one "Living Long, Living Good" that has sold more than 1.2 million copies. As the founder of the New Elderly Movement, Hinohara encourages others to live a long and happy life, a quest in which no role model is better than the doctor himself.

Doctor Shigeaki Hinohara's main points for a long and happy life:

·         Energy comes from feeling good, not from eating well or sleeping a lot. We all remember how as children, when we were having fun, we often forgot to eat or sleep. I believe that we can keep that attitude as adults, too. It's best not to tire the body with too many rules such as lunchtime and bedtime.

·         All people who live long regardless of nationality, race or gender share one thing in common:  None are overweight. For breakfast I drink coffee, a glass of milk and some orange juice with a tablespoon of olive oil in it. Olive oil is great for the arteries and keeps my skin healthy. Lunch is milk and a few cookies, or nothing when I am too busy to eat. I never get hungry because I focus on my work. Dinner is veggies, a bit of fish and rice, and, twice a week, 100 grams of lean meat.

·         Always plan ahead.  My schedule book is already full until 2014, with lectures and my usual hospital work. In 2016 I'll have some fun, though: I plan to attend the Tokyo Olympics!

·         There is no need to ever retire, but if one must, it should be a lot later than 65.  The current retirement age was set at 65 half a century ago, when the average life-expectancy in Japan was 68 years and only 125 Japanese were over 100 years old. Today, Japanese women live to be around 86 and men 80, and we have 36,000 centenarians in our country. In 20 years we will have about 50,000 people over the age of 100...

·         Share what you know.  I give 150 lectures a year, some for 100 elementary-school children, others for 4,500 business people. I usually speak for 60 to 90 minutes, standing, to stay strong.

·         When a doctor recommends you take a test or have some surgery, ask whether the doctor would suggest that his or her spouse or children go through such a procedure.  Contrary to popular belief, doctors can't cure everyone. So why cause unnecessary pain with surgery I think music and animal therapy can help more than most doctors imagine.

·         To stay healthy, always take the stairs and carry your own stuff.  I take two stairs at a time, to get my muscles moving.

·         My inspiration is Robert Browning's poem "Abt Vogler." My father used to read it to me. It encourages us to make big art, not small scribbles. It says to try to draw a circle so huge that there is no way we can finish it while we are alive. All we see is an arch; the rest is beyond our vision but it is there in the distance.

·         Pain is mysterious, and having fun is the best way to forget it.  If a child has a toothache, and you start playing a game together, he or she immediately forgets the pain. Hospitals must cater to the basic need of patients: We all want to have fun. At St. Luke's we have music and animal therapies, and art classes.

·         Don't be crazy about amassing material things.  Remember: You don't know when your number is up, and you can't take it with you to the next place.

·         Hospitals must be designed and prepared for major disasters, and they must accept every patient who appears at their doors. We designed St. Luke's so we can operate anywhere: in the basement, in the corridors, in the chapel. Most people thought I was crazy to prepare for a catastrophe, but on March 20, 1995, I was unfortunately proven right when members of the Aum Shinrikyu religious cult launched a terrorist attack in the Tokyo subway. We accepted 740 victims and in two hours figured out that it was sarin gas that had hit them. Sadly we lost one person, but we saved 739 lives.

·         Science alone can't cure or help people.  Science lumps us all together, but illness is individual. Each person is unique, and diseases are connected to their hearts. To know the illness and help people, we need liberal and visual arts, not just medical ones.

·         Life is filled with incidents. On March 31, 1970, when I was 59 years old, I boarded the Yodogo, a flight from Tokyo to Fukuoka. It was a beautiful sunny morning, and as Mount Fuji came into sight, the plane was hijacked by the Japanese Communist League-Red Army Faction. I spent the next four days handcuffed to my seat in 40-degree heat. As a doctor, I looked at it all as an experiment and was amazed at how the body slowed down in a crisis.

·         Find a role model and aim to achieve even more than they could ever do.  My father went to the United States in 1900 to study at Duke University in North Carolina. He was a pioneer and one of my heroes. Later I found a few more life guides, and when I am stuck, I ask myself how they would deal with the problem.

·         It's wonderful to live long.  Until one is 60 years old, it is easy to work for one's family and to achieve one's goals. But in our later years, we should strive to contribute to society. Since the age of 65, I have worked as a volunteer. I still put in 18 hours seven days a week and love every minute of it.

The 7 C's of Happiness

What are the critical ingredients for experiencing genuine happiness? Here are seven elements of life that I believe are essential to the attainment of human happiness. I call them the "7 C's in the pursuit of happiness." One is not more important than any of the others.

1 -Compassion

In order to evolve into a state of happiness, you must develop your in-born ability to care about life, to value life in all its forms, to engage in loving, kind actions, to cultivate an attitude of what Nobel laureate, Dr. Albert Schweitzer called "reverence for life," (including your own).

2 -Contentment

Inner calm. Peace of mind and heart does not mean acceptance of everything that happens. It does mean letting go of fear. When you live life fearlessly, you experience a kind of peace that permeates every cell of your body, every thought of your mind, every emotion of your heart, every element of your spirit.

3 -Connection

Without effectively connecting to other humans, you become less than human yourself. Connection means involving yourself in relationship to everyone around you, connecting to your own inner life, and becoming aware of the environment in which you live. Learn to create high-quality relationships, and your happiness is almost guaranteed.

4 -Communication

Communication is our primary method for connection. It increases your knowledge, your understanding, and your awareness. Language is precious. Words are the building blocks of all happiness.

5 -Commitment

Oprah Winfrey says that what motivates her to get up in the morning is "my commitment to my life and fulfilling my life purpose." If one of your life's purposes is to enhance your happiness, committing your life to the service of others brings more happiness than you can imagine. Happiness requires you commit yourself to something larger than yourself.

6 -Consciousness

Most spiritual teachers believe we are living in a sleep-like or dream state. In order to be happy, one must increase one's awareness of life. And the single awareness that is most conducive to happiness is: the impermanence of everything. Life is in a constant state of flux, of change, of rhythm and of evolution.

7 -Creativity

Creating your life experience by consciously choosing your thoughts, your actions, your decisions and your attitudes will allow you to attain personal happiness regardless of external circumstances.

The pursuit of happiness is not something you search for or attain from outside your skin. Happiness develops from within. You were born to be happy. You were given life to experience happiness. Pursuing it is your right. Sail the 7 C's of happiness and the pursuit of it becomes obvious and being alive becomes the happiest of moments.

अगर आप अपने आप को नहीं जानते, तो दूसरों को कैसे जानेंगे ?.....

स्वामी विवेकानंद एक कथा सुनाते थे। एक तत्वज्ञानी अपनी पत्नी से कह रहे थे, संध्या आने वाली है, काम समेट लो।..... एक शेर कुटी के पीछे यह सुन रहा था। उसने समझा संध्या कोई बड़ी शक्ति है, जिससे डरकर यह निर्भय ज्ञानी भी अपना सामान समेटने को विवश हुआ है। शेर चिंता में डूब गया। उसे 'संध्या' का डर सताने लगा। पास के घाट का धोबी दिन छिपने पर अपने कपड़े समेट कर गधे पर लादने की तैयारी करने लगा। देखा तो उसका गधा गायब। उसे ढूंढने में देर हो गई, रात घिर आई और बारिश भी शुरू हो गई।

धोबी को एक झाड़ी में खड़खड़ाहट सुनाई दी, वह समझा गधा है। वह लाठी से उसे पीटने लगा- 'धूर्त यहां छुपा बैठा है...' शेर थर थर कांपने लगा। धोबी उसे घसीट लाया और उस पर कपड़े लादकर घर चल दिया। रास्ते में एक दूसरा शेर मिला। उसने साथी की बुरी हालत देखी तो पूछा- 'क्या हुआ? तुम इस तरह लदे क्यों फिर रहे हो।' सिंह ने कहा-'संध्या के चंगुल में फंस गया हूं। यह बुरी तरह पीटती है और इतना वजन लाद देती है।'

शेर को कष्ट देने वाली संध्या नहीं, उसकी भ्रांति थी। इसके कारण धोबी को बड़ा देव-दानव समझ लिया गया और उसका भार और प्रहार बिना सिर हिलाए स्वीकार लिया गया। हमारी भी यही स्थिति है। अपने वास्तविक स्वरूप को न समझने और संसार के साथ, जड़ पदार्थों के साथ अपने संबंधों का ठीक तरह तालमेल न मिला सकने की गड़बड़ी ने ही हमें दुखी परिस्थितियों में धकेल दिया है। इनमें अंधकार के अलावा और कुछ दिखता ही नहीं। इस भ्रांति को ही 'माया' कहा गया है। 'माया' को ही बंधन कहा गया है और दुखों का कारण बताया गया है। यह माया हमारा अज्ञान है।

संसार में जानने को बहुत कुछ है, पर सबसे महत्वपूर्ण जानकारी अपने आप के संबंध की है। उसे जान लेने पर बाकी जानकारियां प्राप्त करना सरल हो जाता है। ज्ञान का आरंभ आत्मज्ञान से होता है। जब हम अपने आप को नहीं जानते, तो दूसरों को कैसे जानेंगे।

बाहर की चीजें ढूंढने में मन इसलिए लगा रहता है कि अपने को ढूंढने के झंझट से बचा जा सके। क्योंकि जिस स्थिति में आज हम हैं, उसमें अंधेरा और अकेलापन दिखता है। मनुष्य ने स्वयं ही अपने को डरावना बना लिया है और भयभीत होकर स्वयं ही भागता है। अपने को देखने, खोजने और समझने की इच्छा इसीलिए नहीं होती। मन बहलाने के लिए हम बाहर की चीजें खोजते हैं।

 क्या सचमुच भीतर अंधेरा है? क्या हम वाकई अकेले और सूने हैं? नहीं.....! प्रकाश का ज्योतिपुंज अपने भीतर मौजूद है। एक पूरा संसार ही अपने भीतर है। उसे पाने और देखने के लिए आवश्यक है कि मुंह अपनी ओर हो। पीठ फेर लेने पर तो सूर्य भी दिखाई नहीं पड़ता।

बाहर केवल जड़ जगत है, पंच भूतों का बना हुआ, निर्जीव। बहिरंग दृष्टि लेकर तो हम जड़ता ही देख सकेंगे। अपना जो स्वरूप आंखों से दिखता, कानों से सुनाई पड़ता है, जड़ है। ईश्वर को भी यदि बाहर देखा जाएगा तो उसके रूप में जड़ता या माया ही दिखेगी। अंदर जो है, वही सत् है। इसे अंतर्मुखी होकर देखना पड़ता है। आत्मा और उसके साथ जुडे़ हुए परमात्मा को देखने के लिए अंतदृष्टि की आवश्यकता है। इस प्रयास में अंतर्मुखी हुए बिना काम नहीं चलता।

स्वर्ग, मुक्ति, सिद्धि, शांति आदि विभूतियों की खोज में कहीं और जाने की जरूरत नही है। हमारी श्रुतियां कहती हैं- अपने आप को जानो, अपने को प्राप्त करो और अमृतत्व में लीन हो जाओ। तत्वज्ञानियों ने उसे ही सारी उपलब्धियों को सार कहा है। क्योंकि जो बाहर दिख रहा है, वह भीतरी तत्व का विस्तार है। अपना आपा जिस स्तर का होता है, संसार का स्वरूप वैसा ही दिखता है