Nice Poem.....

Useless are your pilgrimages galore

If your thoughts remain as before

And useless is a whole month's fast

If your mind continues its merry repast

Of what use is your sacrificial fire

If it doesn't burn your base desire

And God will surely set your prayers aside

If you visit a temple and then show pride

Your pilgrimages, fasts, worship, sacrifice

All these will never suffice

If your conduct continues to remain the same

For then these are not holy.

They're just a game


(Taken From: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Opinion/Editorial/SACRED-SPACE--True-Intent/articleshow/4375769.cms)

Ant and a grasshopper....India is still a developing country.....

Really a class analogy..

An Old Story:

The Ant works hard in the withering heat all summer building its house and
laying up supplies for the winter.

The Grasshopper thinks the Ant is a fool and laughs & dances & plays the
summer away.

Come winter, the Ant is warm and well fed. The Grasshopper has no food or
shelter so he dies out in the cold.


Indian Version:


The Ant works hard in the withering heat all summer building its house and
laying up supplies for the winter.

The Grasshopper thinks the Ant's a fool and laughs & dances & plays the
summer away.

Come winter, the shivering Grasshopper calls a press conference and
demands to know why the Ant should be allowed to be warm and well fed
while others are cold and starving.
NDTV, BBC, CNN show up to provide pictures of the shivering Grasshopper
next to a video of the Ant in his comfortable home with a table filled
with food.

The World is stunned by the sharp contrast. How can this be that this poor
Grasshopper is allowed to suffer so?

Arundhati Roy stages a demonstration in front of the Ant's house.

Medha Patkar goes on a fast along with other Grasshoppers demanding that
Grasshoppers be relocated to warmer climates during winter .

Mayawati states this as `injustice' done on Minorities.

Amnesty International and Koffi Annan criticize the Indian Government for
not upholding the fundamental rights of the Grasshopper.

The Internet is flooded with online petitions seeking support to the
Grasshopper (many promising Heaven and Everlasting Peace for prompt
support as against the wrath of God for non-compliance).

Opposition MPs stage a walkout. Left parties call for ' Bengal Bandh' in
West Bengal and Kerala demanding a Judicial Enquiry.

CPM in Kerala immediately passes a law preventing Ants from working hard
in the heat so as to bring about equality of poverty among Ants and
Grasshoppers.

Lalu Prasad allocates one free coach to Grasshoppers on all Indian Railway
Trains, aptly named as the 'Grasshopper Rath'.

Finally, the Judicial Committee drafts the ' Prevention of Terrorism
Against Grasshoppers Act' [POTAGA], with effect from the beginning of the
winter.

Arjun Singh makes 'Special Reservation ' for Grasshoppers in Educational
Institutions & in Government Services.


The Ant is fined for failing to comply with POTAGA and having nothing left
to pay his retroactive taxes,it's home is confiscated by the Government
and handed over to the Grasshopper in a ceremony covered by NDTV.



Arundhati Roy calls it ' A Triumph of Justice'.

Lalu calls it 'Socialistic Justice '.

CPM calls it the ' Revolutionary Resurgence of the Downtrodden '

Koffi Annan invites the Grasshopper to address the UN General Assembly.




Many years later....

The Ant has since migrated to the US and set up a multi-billion dollar
company in Silicon Valley,


100s of Grasshoppers still die of starvation despite reservation somewhere
in India ,


.
......AND




As a result of loosing lot of hard working Ants and feeding the
grasshoppers,
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
India is still a developing country…!!!

Empty Your Cup...

""

Once a Zen master was conversing with a professor of philosophy.

Serving tea, the master filled his visitor's cup, and kept pouring. The professor watched the overflow until he could restrain himself no longer: "Stop!

The cup is over full, no more will go in." Master said: "Like this cup, you are full of your own opinions and speculations. How can I show you Zen unless you first empty your cup."
""

Empty the cup???? What cup?? Which cup??

Yes, Empty the cup! The cup of your heart. There are so many dirty things in our cup. We have space for everything.

We have hate..we have pride..we have prestige too.. and criticism and jealousy and every thing..

We can not take any thing lightly. We often hear people saying...How did that person did this to me? How could he say this to me? I will show him what I am and who I am? And then we start to hate..We think to take revenge..

The big "I" in us keeps us busy in this and makes itself more bigger. And then it becomes so bigger that we forget a beautiful side of us. But how can we feel it? How can we realize the beautiful inside when there is no space for it.

That is why empty the cup!!

Let the beautiful side of yours grow to the infinite!!!

India..Only name is sufficient

LORD MACAULAY'S ADDRESS TO THE BRITISH PARLIAMENT 2 FEBRUARY, 1835

"I have travelled across the length and breadth of india and i have not seen one person who is a beggar, who is thief, such wealth i have seen in this country, such high moral values, people of such caliber, that i do not think we would ever conquer this country, unless we break the very backbone of this nation, which is her spiritual and cultural heritage, and, therefore, i propose that we replace her old and ancient education system, her culture, for if the indians think that all that is foreign and English is good and greater their own selfesteem, their native culture and they will become what we want them, a truly dominated nation."

Hare Krsna....

DON'T BE A SPIRITUAL DONKEY

Once a sculptor in a village made a beautiful idol of a goddess and thought of selling it at a good price in the city. So he loaded the idol on his donkey and started towards the city. When he was going through the village, the villagers bowed in front of the idol as it looked like a real goddess. Whichever street he crossed, a crowd would bow in front of the idol.

But a strange thing happened. The donkey, which was carrying the idol, thought that he was special and that was the reason why people were bowing to him. He was thrilled with his newfound respect.

Soon the sculptor returned after selling the idol. While he was crossing the village, the donkey stopped in the middle of the road, expecting a warm welcome. But nobody paid attention to him. The donkey felt insulted and started braying, so much so, that the villagers drove him away.

The same mistake, what the donkey did, is what most of us do. When we are on the divine path of self-realisation, with God's grace, a glow enters our demeanor and we stand out in the crowd. People respect such persons and often bow in respect. But we should realise that people are bowing not to us but to that glimpse of God whom they realise resides within us. So the credit of this respect goes, solely to God, not to us. If we start taking the credit, we cross the thin line of demarcation and enter into an area of false ego, which God dislikes most.

The basic difference between material and devotional lifestyle is that, in material life the more we progress, the more ego we develop. In a devotional lifestyle, the more we progress, the more ego we shed.

Appreciate every single thing you have

Life is not about feeling Unhappy always, Its about Being Happy with what we have.................

One day, the father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country with the express purpose of showing him how poor people live.

They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family.

On their return from their trip, the father asked his son, 'How was the
trip?'

'It was great, Dad.'

'Did you see how poor people live?' the father asked.

'Oh yeah,' said the son.
'So, tell me, what did you learn from the trip?' asked the father

The son answered:
I saw that we have one dog and they had four.

We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden and they have a creek that has no end.

We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the stars at night.

Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the whole horizon.

We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields that go beyond our sight.

We have servants who serve us, but they serve others.

We buy our food, but they grow theirs.

We have walls around our property to protect us, they have friends to protect them.'

The boy's father was speechless.

Then his son added, 'Thanks Dad for showing me how poor we are.'

Isn't perspective a wonderful thing?

Makes you wonder what would happen if we all gave thanks for everything we have, instead of worrying about what we don't have.

Appreciate every single thing you have