Brick !

About ten years ago, a young and very successful executive named Josh was traveling down a Chicago neighborhood street. He was going a bit too fast in his sleek, black, 12 cylinder Jaguar XKE, which was only two months old.He was watching for kids darting out from between parked cars and slowed down when he thought he saw something. As his car passed, no child darted out, but a brick sailed out and - WHUMP! - it smashed Into the Jag's shiny black side door! SCREECH..!!!! Brakes slammed! Gears ground into reverse, and tires madly spun the Jaguar back to the spot from where the brick had been thrown. Josh jumped out of the car, grabbed the kid and pushed him up against a parked car. He shouted at the kid, "What was that all about and who are you? Just what the heck are you doing?!" Building up a head of steam, he went on. "That's my new Jag, that brick you threw is gonna cost you a lot of money. Why did you throw it?"

"Please, mister, please. . . I'm sorry! I didn't know what else to do!" Pleaded the youngster. "I threw the brick because no one else would stop!" Tears were dripping down the boy's chin as he pointed around the parked car. "It's my brother, mister," he said. "He rolled off the curb and fell out of his wheelchair and I can't lift him up." Sobbing, the boy asked the executive, "Would you please help me get him back into his wheelchair? He's hurt and he's too heavy for me."

Moved beyond words, the young executive tried desperately to swallow the rapidly swelling lump in his throat. Straining, he lifted the young man back into the wheelchair and took out his handkerchief and wiped the scrapes and cuts, checking to see that everything was going to be OK. He then watched the younger brother push him down the sidewalk toward their home.

It was a long walk back to the sleek, black, shining, 12 cylinder Jaguar XKE -a long and slow walk. Josh never did fix the side door of his Jaguar. He kept the dent to remind him not to go through life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at him to get his attention. . . Some bricks are softer than others. Feel for the bricks of life coming at to you. For all the negative things we have to say to ourselves, God has positive answers.

How To Speak The Truth

There was a benevolent king and as normal human he had weakness for astrologers and their sooth saying. In the kingdom there was a good Brahmin highly learned in astrology and had mastered the subject of different ancient masters in the subject. But he normally does not predict for others. Hearing of his depth of knowledge, the king called him to palace. He was offered a good place to stay in and extended all the facilities. The king gave a copy of his horoscope and asked him to review and tell him the findings.

On the review it was clear to the Brahmin that the king shall loose all his close relatives and friends and shall be lonely during his last days. As the Brahmin is determined to tell the truth always he bluntly told the truth. “Oh, My Respectful King you are destined to loose all your close relatives and friends and shall be lonely during your last days”. These words angered the king who immediately ordered him to go out of his kingdom. The Brahmin was very much upset.

Taking pity on him the minister asked him why he predicted so. He replied that I have followed the Dictum of Vedas- “Satayam Vadha” “TELL TRUTH”. He advised the Brahmin to follow the orders of the king and present himself after about a year growing beard and with some facial lift. He may then offer to predict again. But the Brahmin insisted to tell the truth only then too. To that the minister brought forth another dictum of Vedas- Jigwah madu mathhthama”- LET MY TONGUE BE HONEYED”.

The Brahmin reappeared after a long time and as advised by the minister with the facial lift and beard etc not easily recognizable. He offered king to give astrological counsel, to which the king readily agreed.The Brahmin exclaimed “Oh, My Respectful King, you have a very long life, and till your end you shall be a prosperous king. Your life time is so long you shall out live all you close relatives and friends.” This pleased the king greatly who awarded him generously and honored him. After all the predictions were same but put up so beautifully, and coated with honey.

Hence we pray “LET THE TONGUE BE HONEYED”

Avtar Bani Verse

EK TU HI NIRANKAR [10]
Bande upar vekh jara eh suraj chand sitare ne,
Chamak inha di mukni ek din, mit jaane eh saare ne,
Hethaan vekh jameen aag paani teenaa da vistaar bada,
Ek din ehne vi nahin rehna disday jo sansar khada,
Vaayu jeev aakash vichale suksham roop hai jinna da,
Sada layi eh mit jana aey jod jo judye tinna da,
Eh nau cheeza drishtman ne jisnoo kehnde maya ae,
Dasva brahm inha to nayara ehna vich samaya eh,
Eh sabho kujh mitt jana ae baki kujh nahin rehna yaar,
Kahe avatar hai eho sab kujh is noo hi kehande nirankar

EK TUHI NIRANKAR[10]

O' man, behold above, you see the sun, the moon and the stars;

Their luster will go one day, and they all shall vanish.

Down below, you have the earth, the fire and the water, with vast ramifications;

All the visible world shall too perish one day.

In between, you find the air, the life-spirit and the sky, all in their subtle form;

The close combination of the three shall also end once for all.

These nine elements, which constitute the 'matter' can be seen or visualized;

The Tenth is the Supreme Being (Brahm), distinct from the nine, yet present in them all.

O' my friends, all that is visible shall go and the Nothing shall remain at last;

Avtar says, what remains is, of course, the Everything and this is known as the Formless God (NIRANKAR).

Jaisi Drishti Waisi Srishti - Nirankari Baba

There was a king who was a great admirer of art.. He encouraged artists from all over his country and gave them valuable gifts.

One day an artist came and said to the king, "Oh King! Give me a blank wall in your palace and let me paint a picture on it. It will be more beautiful than anything you have ever seen before. I promise you shall not be disappointed. " Now, the king happened to be constructing a big hall at the rear end of the palace. So he said, "All right you may work on one of the walls in the new hall." So the artist was given the job and he was very pleased indeed.

Just then, another young man said, "Oh King! Please allow me to work on the opposite wall. I too am an artist." The king said, "What would you like to make?"The man said, "My Lord, I shall make exactly what that man will make on the opposite wall. Moreover, I shall do so, without looking at his work.. I would even request you to have a thick curtain put up between the two walls so that either of us can not see the other." Now, that was a tall statement. Everyone in the king's court, including the king and the first artist were intrigued. But the king loved surprises and he decided to give the young fellow a chance.

The following day a thick curtain was put into place and both the artists got to work.The first artist brought in a regular supply of paint, oil, water etc. The second one would come with a cloth and a bucket of water every day.

After a month the first artist told the king that his work was complete and he would like to show it to the king. The king sent for the second artist and asked him, "Young man, when would your work be ready? I am coming to see the first wall this evening." The man said, "My Lord, my wall is ready too!"

The king went to see the first artist's wall. He was very, very impressed with the painting and gave a hefty sum as a reward to the artist.

He then asked for the curtain to be opened up. Lo and behold! The same painting was to be seen on the opposite wall too! Amazing! But true! Each line, each minor detail was exactly as it was on the first wall. But this man had not been seeing what was going on, on the other side of the curtain. So how had he done it? The king wanted to know the secret. He gave a double reward to the fellow. Then he said, "Young man, I am indeed very happy with your work. But you must tell me; how did you do it?" The lad said simply, "It's very easy! I just polished the wall every day! It was a wall made of white marble! The fellow polished it till it shone like a mirror. The reflection of the painting across the room, showed up in it! "

That is what it means to polish yourself.For when we polish our hearts and souls, we see God's reflection within. It is said that the world is a reflection of you.Whatever you are, the world will seem to be that too.

If you are sad, jealous, dejected, angry, restless ... That is what the world will seem to be!

If you are happy, the world will seem to be paradise.

You decide how you want your world to look…

Why Do we shout in anger?

A saint asked his disciples, 'Why do we shout in anger? Why do people shout at each other when they are upset?'Disciples thought for a while, one of them said, 'Because we lose our calm, we shout for that.''But, why to shout when the other person is just next to you?' asked the saint. 'Isn't it possible to speak to him or her with a soft voice? Why do you shout at a person when you're angry?'Disciples gave some other answers but none satisfied the saint.Finally he explained, 'When two people are angry at each other, their hearts distance a lot. To cover that distance they must shout to be able to hear each other. The angrier they are, the stronger they will have to shout to hear each other through that great distance.'Then the saint asked, 'What happens when two people fall in love? They don't shout at each other but talk softly, why? Because their hearts are very close. The distance between them is very small...'The saint continued, 'When they love each other even more, what happens?They do not speak, only whisper and they get even closer to each other in their love. Finally they even need not whisper, they only look at each other and that's all. That is how close two people are when they love each other.'MORAL: When you argue do not let your hearts get distant, do not say words that distance each other more, else there will come a day when the distance is so great that you will not find the path to return.

"Things aren't always what they seem"

Two traveling angels stopped to spend the night in the home of a wealthy family.
The family was rude and refused to let the angels stay in the mansion's guest room. Instead the angels were given a space in the cold basement.
As they made their bed on the hard floor, the older angel saw a hole in the wall and repaired it. When the younger angel asked why, the older angel replied... "Things aren't always what they seem".
The next night the pair came to rest at the house of a very poor, but very hospitable farmer and his wife.
After sharing what little food they had the couple let the angels sleep in their bed where they could have a good night's rest. When the sun came up the next morning the angels found the farmer and his wife in tears. Their only cow, whose milk had been their sole income, lay dead in the field.
The younger angel was infuriated and asked the older angel "how could you have let this happen!? The first man had everything, yet you helped him," she accused. "The second family had little but was willing to share everything, and you let their cow die."
"Things aren't always what they seem," the older angel replied. "When we stayed in the basement of the mansion, I noticed there was gold stored in that hole in the wall.
Since the owner was so obsessed with greed and unwilling to share his good fortune, I sealed the wall so he wouldn't find it. Then last night as we slept in the farmers bed, the angel of death came for his wife. I gave her the cow instead. Things aren't always what they seem."

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Sometimes this is exactly what happens when things don't turn out the way they should. If you have faith, you just need to trust that every outcome is always to your advantage. You might not know it until some time later.

Lord Ganesh Symbolises

Lord Ganesh Symbolises

An elephant's trunk has the strength to uproot a tree as well as the finesse to pick up a needle.
Ganesha's trunk symbolises the fact that the wise person has both immense strength and fine discrimination. Ganesha has large ears. The wise person hears all. He has four hands. In one hand he holds a lotus, the symbol of enlightenment. In the other hand he holds a hatchet. That is, the old karma, all your sanskars, the accumulated good and bad of past deeds get cut when enlightenment comes.
The third hand holds laddus, the round sweet-meats. They are the rewards of a wise life. Ganesha is never shown eating the laddus. The wise man never partakes of the rewards of his deeds. He is not attached to them. The fourth hand is shown blessing the people. The wise man wishes the best for everyone.

Ganesha has only one tusk; the other is shown broken. There is an interesting story as to how Ganesh happened to get an elephant's head and how one tusk got broken. The symbolism of the broken tusk is that the wise person is beyond duality.
We tend to think that we end when our bodies end in the material world. We are the first person. All else is different. This duality is created by the mind which creates the ego to help us survive in this world. This 'me-other' duality is the screen keeping us from realising our real Self, which is beyond body and mind. Once we transcend this duality, we see the entire Universe as a single whole and we become aware of our true Selves. The single tusk of Ganesha symbolises this non-duality. Wisdom allows us to see all as one and ourselves an integral part of the whole.

Ganesha is shown sitting with one foot on the ground and the other resting on his knee, above the ground. The wise person is of this earth, yet not entirely of this earth.

Ganesha is shown seated on a rat. The reason for saying that Ganesha 'rides' on the rat is that the rat is among the greediest of all animals. It will keep nibbling at whatever is available, eating everything it can. Scientifically, too, the rat's teeth keep growing and it has to keep chewing on something to keep these within limits. The rat is a symbol of our senses, which are never satisfied. They crave new experiences, new tastes. Left uncontrolled, they keep growing forever. The wise person rides on his senses. He keeps them under control.

Ganesha is often shown seated in front of a tray of sweets. In these images the rat is shown sitting in front of Ganesha, perhaps a bit to one side, looking up at him. The senses of the wise person are under his control and the rat dare not eat the sweets without the permission of Ganesha.

When we say "Aum Ganeshaya Namah" before starting anything what we are saying is that "In what we are about to do, let wisdom be our guide".