Yoke...!

A Monarch of long ago had twin sons. As they grew to young manhood, the king sought a fair way to designate one of them as crown prince. All who knew the young men thought them equal in intelligence, wit, personal charm, health, and physical strength. Being a keenly observant king, he thought he detected a trait in one which was not shared by the other.

Calling them to his council chamber one day, he said,

"My sons, the day will come when one of you must succeed me as king. The weight of sovereignty is very heavy. To find out which of you is better able to bear them cheerfully, I am sending you together to a far corner of the kingdom. One of my advisors there will place equal burdens on your shoulders. My crown will one day go to the one who first returns bearing his yoke like a king should."

 

In a spirit of friendly competition, the brothers set out together. Soon they overtook an aged woman struggling under a burden that seemed far too heavy for her frail body. One of the boys suggested that they stop to help her. The other protested:

 

"We have a saddle of our own to worry about. Let us be on our way."

 

The objector hurried on while the other stayed behind to give aid to the aged woman. Along the road, from day to day, he found others who also needed help. A blind man took him miles out of his way, and a lame man slowed him to a cripple's walk.

 

Eventually he did reach his father's advisor, where he secured his own yoke and started home with it safely on his shoulders. When he arrived at the palace, his brother met him at the gate, and greeted him with dismay.

 

 

He said, "I don't understand. I told our father the weight was too heavy to carry. However did you do it?"

 

The future king replied thoughtfully,

 

"I suppose when I helped others carry their yoke, I found the strength to carry my own."

 

Stay tuned and find your strength...!

Transcend...!

Today is Dussehra, the day of victory to rejoice about Durga's triumph over the demons led by Mahishasura. It is essentially a festival in honour of Durga. The Divine Mother fought with him for nine nights, and killed him on the evening of the tenth day, known as the Vijaya-Dashami. 

 

Vijayadashami is also celebrated as the day when Rama killed Ravana and won back his wife (Hence also called Vijayadashmi) who had managed to save her honour from the dirty hands of Ravana and was waiting anxiously to meet her husband.

 

Dussehra is also reminiscent of the end of the exile and banishment of the Pandava princes in the epic Mahabharata and their return with their weapons to reclaim their kingdom. Vijayadashami is also the day of the Saraswati or the deity of knowledge and learning.

 

 

Many people perform "Aditya Homa" as a "Shanti Yagna" and recite Sundara Kanda of Srimad Ramayana for nine days. These Yagna performances are thought to create powerful agents in the atmosphere surrounding the house that will keep the household environment clean and healthy. These rituals are intended to rid the household of the ten bad qualities, which are represented by ten heads of Ravana as follows:
Kama vasana (Lust)
Krodha (Anger)
Moha (delusion)
Lobha (Greed)
Mada (Over Pride)
Matsara (Jealousy)
Manas (Mind)
Buddhi (Intellect)
Chitta (will)
Ahankara (Ego)

 

The more important, profound and philosophical significance of Vijayadashami is SIMOLLANGHAN – transcending boundaries…! We make ourselves infinitesimal by no. of boundaries like –

· Me and myself

· Family and relatives

· Class and status

· Cast and creed

· Religion and philosophy so and so forth.
 

 

 

If we can, just for once, look beyond these boundaries and act to transcend them that will be the real celebration of Dussehra – Defeating the TEN! To understand it better let’s read a story…

 

Two men went fishing. One was an experienced fisherman, the other wasn’t. Every time the experienced fisherman caught a big fish, he put it in his ice chest to keep it fresh. Whenever the inexperienced fisherman caught a big fish, he threw it back.

 

The experienced fisherman watched this go on all day and finally got tired of seeing the man waste good fish. “Why do you keep throwing back all the big fish you catch?” he asked.

 

The inexperienced fisherman replied, “I only have a small frying pan...”

 

Sometimes, like that fisherman, we throw back the big plans, big dreams, big jobs, big opportunities that God gives us. Our faith is too small.

 

We laugh at that fisherman who didn’t figure out that all he needed was a bigger frying pan, yet how ready are we to increase the size of our mind and faith?

 

Whether it’s a problem or a possibility, 

...You will never be given anything bigger than you can handle... you need to transcend your boundaries however...!

 

Stay tuned and TRANSCEND to TRANSFORM...!

Mirror...!

Today let us read a story from 'The Merry Mischief of Gopal Bhand' which is quite long but has the equally deep moral that is timeless or if I can say more and more truer for newer times and modern life style. I will appreciate if you will read it through till the end and, believe me you will not regret what you did...!

 

Long ago Maharaja Krishna Chandra reigned in Bengal. He had several jesters in his court. The most popular one among them was Gopal. He was a barber by profession. Everyone called him Gopal Bhand. 'Bhand’ means a buffoon, someone who can make people laugh. Gopal’s jokes and actions, his unexpected comments and the way he made a fool of everybody, including the Maharaja himself, made him very popular.

No one could get the better of him. Or play tricks on him. Gopal always managed to see through them and turn the tables very cleverly. Most people in those days believed in several strange superstitions, simply because they did not know any better and it was not an age of scientific reasoning.

The Maharaja believed—like many others—that the person whose face he saw first on waking up affected his fate for the rest of the day. If his day passed smoothly, the person concerned was ‘auspicious’. So he would reward him the next morning. And if anything untoward happened, the person was definitely `inauspicious’ and a danger to the royalty! So the Maharaja would punish him the next day. The greater the calamity the more severe the punishment!

Everyone in the kingdom knew about the Maharaja’s belief and tried to keep out of his way, first thing every morning. It could be fun to get an unexpected reward—which could be a bag of gold coins or a piece of land or a cow of good breed. But it could very well lead to punishment too—from blows to banishment! So few people cared to risk it.

Gopal was not afraid of the Maharaja or his whims. He was not even afraid of being punished, as he knew that he was clever enough to deal with whatever came his way.

However, the people the Maharaja usually saw on waking up each day were his personal attendants, the royal bodyguards or the queen. There was little chance of strangers coming into the palace at that early hour. Unless, it was the Chief Minister coming to warn him about something important which needed his attention. In such situations, he forgot all about rewards or punishments, anyway.

There were times when the Maharaja woke up early and went for a walk by himself without waking up anyone. It could be within the royal orchard or garden. It could be by the riverside. Or it could even be in the market place. That was when there was a chance that he might bump into just anybody. The person he saw first waited with bated breath, wondering what the Maharaja’s day had been like, and whether it was going to bring him a reward or punishment.

One morning, the Maharaja went for a walk by the riverside. It was early and the shore was deserted.

Gopal, who usually slept till late, woke up quite early that morning because he felt unusually hungry. He felt a sudden craving for fresh fish and decided to go to the riverside and buy some from the fishermen. He knew that most of them went fishing very early and returned about that time with their haul. 

Strangely, Gopal did not find a single fisherman there. He saw Maharaja Krishna-Chandra walking by the river.

The Maharaja saw him too. “Hello, Gopal!” he said in surprise,

“I thought you always slept late and crawled out of bed with the mid-day sun.”

“Good morning, Your Majesty,” said Gopal. “Yes, I do get up late as a rule. I had a strange desire to test my fate this morning so I rushed to the riverside.”

“I don’t understand you,” said the Maharaja. “How can you test your fate here?”

“I knew I would meet you before anyone else,” said Gopal glibly. “How could you possibly know that?” asked the Maharaja, surprised.

“One does sometimes, like a flash,” said Gopal. “I cannot explain it. Anyway, I am sure I shall have a wonderful day, having seen your auspicious face before anyone else’s.”

“I am sure you will,” said the Maharaja, delighted.

They walked towards the palace together. It was not considered unusual for the king and a commoner to walk together in those days. No one thought it strange. The king had the right to behave as he chose and mix with anyone he thought fit and go wherever he wanted to. Nor did people think that a king must ride a. carriage at all times and be accompanied by a troop of bodyguards no matter where he went.

“By the way, Gopal, I hope you realize that you are the first person whose face I have seen today,” said the Maharaja. “Let me see how my day goes. Only then I shall know whether you are auspicious or not. Accordingly I shall reward or punish.you.”

“Of course, Your Majesty,” said Gopal politely. “It is just a question of who is more auspicious, you or I.”

“What on earth do you mean?” asked the Maharaja frowning. “It seems rather a cheeky thing to say.”

“I am only a jester, sir,” said Gopal with folded hands. “A jester’s words should not be taken too seriously.”

They reached the palace before long. The Maharaja invited Gopal to come in and sit in his chamber for a while. Gopal was so full of jokes—he always made people feel cheerful. Specially the Maharaja. As they sat down, the royal barber arrived.

“I must shave your face, Your Majesty,” said the barber, thankful that he was not the first person to confront the Maharaja that day.

“Very well,” said the Maharaja. “You may do it now. Gopal, why don’t you tell me what happened at the marriage party you went to attend last night?”

Gopal started his tale in his usual exaggerated style, making everything sound like a joke. Before long the Maharaja was in splits of laughter. The barber was laughing too. So was everyone else in the room including the royal guards and the attendants. As the Maharaja shook with laughter at Gopal’s jokes, the barber’s hand slipped. The razor got embedded in the Maharaja’s cheek making him bleed profusely. The barber shook with terror. He was quite sure that the Maharaja would order his execution. Or his lifetime banishment from the kingdom! Making the king bleed was no light matter!

The royal attendants rushed to treat to the wound which soon stopped bleeding. Everyone stood tense. All except Gopal. He continued to smile as before. “Don’t smile, Gopal,” said the Maharaja, livid with anger. “I hope you remember that you are the first person I saw this morning.”

“Yes. And you are the first person I saw in the morning, Your Majesty!” replied Gopal.

“How does that matter?” asked the Maharaja irritably. “It is my day that I am talking about. You are the most inauspicious man I ever saw. I see your face first thing this morning and I come home and start bleeding! I am wondering what punishment to give you.”

“Punishment, Your Majesty?” cried Gopal, pretending to look astonished.

“Of course,” said the Maharaja, “I have never bled like this before. I think I shall command your execution. A man who is inauspicious enough to make the king bleed deserves to die.” 

Gopal threw up his hands. “That is not fair, Your Majesty.” “Why not?” asked the Maharaja frowning.

“Because you are far more inauspicious than I am, Your Majesty,” said Gopal.

“How dare you say such a thing!” cried the Maharaja. “You deserve double execution for being so rude to royalty!”

“I dare to say it because it is true,” said Gopal stoutly.

“How?” shouted the Maharaja, curious in spite of his anger. “It is perfectly obvious, Your Majesty,” said Gopal. “I am inauspicious. You see my face first thing in the morning and get a simple wound. I see your face first thing in the morning and get a death sentence! Do I really need to spell out who is more inauspicious?”

The Maharaja was stunned into silence. Then he burst out laughing. “You are quite right, Gopal. Mere bleeding is nothing compared to execution. I suppose I must be more inauspicious! I see now that such considerations are stupid and I thank you for pointing that out to me.”

“In that case, why not send for some rasagullas, Your Majesty?” said Gopal. “I have eaten nothing since morning and I am starving.”

“Very well,” said Maharaja Krishna Chandra with a smile, “rasagullas it shall be—as many as you can eat!”

The morning ended with everyone feasting on sweets.

Stay tuned and always speak the truth even if your voice shakes...!

Chicken...!?!

Once upon a time, there was a large mountainside, where an eagle's nest rested. The eagle's nest contained four large eagle eggs. One day an earthquake rocked the mountain causing one of the eggs to roll down the mountain, to a chicken farm, located in the valley below.

 

The chickens knew that they must protect and care for the eagle's egg, so an old hen volunteered to nurture and raise the large egg.

 

One day, the egg hatched and a beautiful eagle was born. Sadly, however, the eagle was raised to be a chicken. Soon, the eagle believed he was nothing more than a chicken. The eagle loved his home and family, but his spirit cried out for more.

 

While playing a game on the farm one day, the eagle looked to the skies above and noticed a group of mighty eagles soaring in the skies.

 

"Oh," the eagle cried, "I wish I could soar like those birds."

 

The chickens roared with laughter, "You cannot soar with those birds. You are a chicken and chickens do not soar."

 

The eagle continued staring, at his real family up above, dreaming that he could be with them. Each time the eagle would let his dreams be known, he was told it couldn't be done. That is what the eagle learned to believe.

The eagle, after time, stopped dreaming and continued to live his life like a chicken.

 

Finally, after a long life as a chicken, the eagle passed away.

 

You become what you believe you are

So if you believe you're an eagle,

Follow your HEART...

Not the words of a chicken...!

 

Stay tuned and soar high...!

Secret...!

The beginning of spring and the beginning of autumn are two very important junctions of climatic and solar influence. These two periods are taken as sacred opportunities for the worship of the Divine Mother Durga in Hindu religion.

Today is ‘GHATSTHAPANA’, beginning of Navratri festival dedicated to the worship of a Hindu deity Shakti. The word Navaratri literally means nine nights in Sanskrit, NAVA meaning nine and RATRI meaning nights. During these nine nights and ten days, nine forms of Shakti/Devi are worshiped.

 

Navarathri represents celebration of Goddess Durga, the manifestation of Deity in form of Shakti [Energy or Power]. The Navarathri festival or ‘Nine Nights festival’ becomes ‘ten days festival’ with the addition of the last day, Vijayadashami which is its culmination.

 

 

The 10th day is commonly referred to as Vijayadashami – Day to Celebrate the Victory or Success!

To be able to celebrate Vijayadashami in its truest sense, on this auspicious occasion of GHATSTHAPANA, let us learn the ‘secret’ of success...!?!

 

A young man asked Socrates the secret to success. Socrates told the young man to meet him near the river the next morning.

 

They met. Socrates asked the young man to walk with him toward the river. When the water got up to their neck, Socrates took the young man by surprise and ducked him into the water.

 

The boy struggled to get out but Socrates was strong and kept him there until the boy started turning blue. Socrates pulled his head out of the water and the first thing the young man did was to gasp and take a deep breath of air.

 

 

Socrates asked, "What did you want the most when you were there?"

 

The boy replied, "Air."

 

Socrates said, "That is the secret to success. When you want success as badly as you wanted the air, then you will get it."

 

There is no other secret...!

 

A burning desire is the starting point of all accomplishment. Just like a small fire cannot give much heat, a weak desire cannot produce great results...

 

Stay tuned and keep the desire burning...!

Do-it-yourself...!?!

An elderly carpenter was ready to retire. He told his employer of his plans to leave the house building business and live a more leisurely life with his wife enjoying his extended family.

He would miss the pay check, but he wanted to retire. They could get by. The contractor was sorry to see his good worker go and asked if he could build just one more house as a personal favour. The carpenter said yes, but his heart was not in his work. He resorted to shoddy workmanship and used inferior materials. It was an unfortunate way to end his career.

When the carpenter finished his work and the builder came to inspect the house, the contractor handed the front-door key to the carpenter. "This is your house," he said, "my gift to you."

What a shock! What a shame! If he had only known he was building his own house, he would have done it all so differently. Now he had to live in the home he had built none too well.
 

 

So it is with us. If we build our lives in a distracted way, reacting rather than acting, willing to put up less than the best. At important points we do not give the job our best effort. Then with a shock we look at the situation we have created and find that we are now living in the house we have built. If we had realized that we would have done it differently.

 

Think of yourself as the carpenter. Think about your house. Each day you hammer a nail, place a board, or erect a wall. Build wisely. It is the only life you will ever build. Even if you live it for only one day more, that day deserves to be lived graciously and with dignity.

 

The plaque on the wall says, "Life is a do-it-yourself project."

 

Your attitudes and the choices you make today will be your life tomorrow, so...

 

Build it wisely...!

Work as if you don’t need the money...!

Learn as if you will live forever...!
Believe as if you’ve never been cheated...!

Dance as if nobody is watching...!

 

Stay tuned and... Selfless!

Homage...!

This is neither an inspirational story nor a motivational stuff but a real incident that is TOUCHING if not anything else. If you get some inspiration or find motivation, that would be purely your insight illuminated...!

Mr. Zavere Poonawala, a well-known Parsee industrialist in Pune had a chauffeur named Gangadatta with him for over 30 years on his limousine that was originally owned by OSHO Rajneesh.

 

When Gangadatta passed away Mr. Poonawala was in Mumbai for some important work. The moment he heard the sad news, he canceled all his meetings, requested Gangadatta's family to await him for the cremation and returned to Pune immediately by a helicopter.

 

On reaching Pune, he asked the limousine to be decorated with flowers as he wished Gangadatta should be taken in the same car which he himself had driven since the beginning. When Gangadatta's family agreed to his wishes, he himself drove Gangadatta from his home up to the cremation place on his last journey.

 

 

When asked about it, Mr. Poonawala replied that Gangadatta had served him day and night, and being eternally grateful to Gangadatta, he could at least do this. He further added that Gangadatta rose up from poverty and educated his children very well. His daughter is a Chartered accountant and that is so commendable.

 

His comment in the end is the essence of a successful life in all aspects:

 

“...Everybody earns money which is nothing unusual in that, but we should always be grateful to those people who contribute to our success. This is the belief, we have been brought up with, which made me do, what I did...”

 

Stay tuned and GRATEFUL...!

Management Guru...!

An old man lived alone in Minnesota. He wanted to spade his potato garden, but it was very hard work. His only son, who would have helped him, was in prison. The old man wrote a letter to his son and mentioned his situation:

 

Dear Son,

 

I am feeling pretty bad because it looks like I won’t be able to plant my potato garden this year. I hate to miss doing the garden because your mother always loved planting time. I’m just getting too old to be digging up a garden plot. If you were here, all my troubles would be over. I know you would dig the plot for me, if you weren’t in prison.

 

Love,
Dad

 

Shortly, the old man received this telegram:

 

‘For Heaven’s sake, Dad, don’t dig up the garden!! That’s where I buried the GUNS!!’

 

At 4 a.m. the next morning, a dozen FBI agents and local police officers showed up and dug up the entire garden without finding any guns.

 

Confused, the old man wrote another note to his son telling him what had happened, and asked him what to do next.

 

His son’s reply was:

 

‘Go ahead and plant your potatoes, Dad. It’s the best I could do for you, from here...’

 

...No matter where you are in the world, if you are determined enough to do something deep from your heart, you can do it. It’s the thought that matters, not where you are or where the person is..

 

Secondly... this is called M-A-N-A-G-E-M-E-N-T...!

 

Stay tuned and learn Management...!