I AM THAT

The fruit in the Mango Garden !!

2014-10-27T10:04:00.000-07:00

There is lot you could read about God, religion,life and world but it boils down to one thing, this life of yours and it's purpose .

Long long ago there was a mango garden in a village. The children of the village always wanted to enter the garden and eat the fruit but could not because it was locked. One day the owner of the garden took out the lock and allowed free entry to all the children of the village to enter the garden and do whatever they want. All the children of the village were overjoyed , ran into the garden, some of the them started to count the number of the branches on the tree, some of them counted the number of leaves and some of them tried to find out who is the owner of the garden and what was the history of his fathers and grandfathers but there was one girl who climbed the tree plucked the fruit ,started eating it and enjoying it.

Life is like this garden too, it have so much knowledge around if you want to learn , so much details, so much amazing concepts but the purpose of life is to eat the fruit and enjoy it, who cares about all the other knowledge . But what is the fruit to be eaten . Some say that fruit is God realization , Nirvana, Samadhi etc..... Whatever it is it's important to search for it and strive for it. Blessed is the man who is on this path of striving for the fruit of life and striving for the truth !!

IAMTHAT !!

State of mind

2013-02-12T13:58:00.001-08:00

Our mind is the most important tool we have in the search of truth.a well trained,disciplined mind is a blessing on us and at the same time an untrained mind leads to destruction.
Every man in this world does have different states of consciousness.from the time you wake up in the morning to night when u sleep and even in sleep you pass through this phases of consciousness in your mind.one minute you are happy,next hungry ,next sleepy ,next sad.different things around you elicit different reaction in you.The sages,saints,yogis and the scriptures describe that during the process of search of truth ,you have to reach a state of mind which is undisturbed by your surroundings.it does not mean you become inert and non living but it means you are in a state of constant bliss.Is there bliss in meditation and prayer and singing hymns of praises to God.All those who experienced it know there is bliss.that bliss which overflows through the heart and makes you feel calm .which de stress you from the surrounding chaos and confusion that exists around you.the aim of truth seeking and god seeking is to first achieve that steadiness in mind ,get that state by anyway you want>>>>> prayer,meditation,scripture reading ,satsang,singing hymns,selfless work>> the aim is to reach that state,not just taste it but so consistently train our mind to b in that state all the time when we are awake,working,sleeping ,eating,praying,talking. This is real yoga. That is the natural state of mind,every other state was superimposed on our mind.we need to dehypnotise ourself and remove all other super impositions and steady our mind ,only then true religion has become .
Bless!!

The Greatest Gift is to be able to serve!!

2012-05-06T09:13:00.000-07:00

I have always seen people say how the world has been very unfair to them and how they have to always face tiring circumstances.The world with its misery and problems is very essential for us to grow inward.Many saints ,philanthropist and other great souls,that have done great good to the world did not see it as they are doing some help to the world but thought that the world with its problems presents us an opportunity to grow and become better people and human beings and restore peace inside us and in the world outside.There is aa famous story of Joh D Rockfeller the worlds richest man meeting with a eastern monk.

In the late 1800s, Swami Vivekananda went to Chicago to attend the Parliament of Religions. He became an ardent and outspoken advocate of human values. One of the people he met in Chicago was John D Rockefeller, who had made a great fortune in the booming oil business at the time. Rockefeller was introduced to the Swami by a friend. Madame Emma Calve, a French lady disciple narrated this episode to Madame Drinette Verdier, who has written about their meeting in her diary. That is my source.

Rockefeller probably came for a lark, meaning that he wasn’t really interested in meeting Swami Vivekananda; he had been told that a saffron-clad monk was electrifying the people of Chicago, and it is possible that he went out of curiosity. Swamiji didn’t even look up from his desk when Rockefeller entered. He continued to do his work. After a while, he looked up at Rockefeller, who was not really used to being treated like a commoner. Rockefeller took a seat and conversation ensued.

It became apparent to Swamiji that Rockefeller had lots of wealth and Swamiji posed him a question, “If you have that much more money than other people, do you think that much smarter than other people?” Rockefeller replied, “Of course.” If he wasn’t a hundred times smarter, he wouldn’t have a hundred times the money, would he?

Swamiji left him with the thought that he may not be one hundred times smarter, he maybe just three times smarter. If he had made a hundred times more money by being three times smarter, then perhaps he was merely an instrument through which this money has to go back to somebody else. “Why don’t you think about it? And why don’t you consider leaving some of your money for other people?”

This sounded absolutely ridiculous to Rockefeller, and he departed with the polite statement that he had worked really hard to make his money, and he had absolutely no intention of leaving it to other people. But curiously, three weeks later, he came back to see Swami Vivekananda, this time of his own accord. He threw on his table a piece of paper, by which he endowed a certain sum of money — I forget how much it was, but it was small by Rockefeller’s standards — for some noble purpose. "Well, there you are", he said. "You must be satisfied now, and you can thank me for it."

Swamiji didn't even lift his eyes, did not move. Then taking the paper, he quietly read it, saying: "It is for you to thank me". That was all. This was Rockefeller's first large donation to the public welfare.

It took another 15 years after this episode, that Rockefeller set up the Rockefeller Foundation in 1913, which has gone on to do an enormous amount of good work in society over the last several decades. The story illustrates the point of trusteeship. When you have earned a lot of money, whose money is it? Did that money come to you entirely because of yourself or is it possible that you are merely an instrument through which you should canalise it back to society? It is a very interesting question to ponder. I narrate this story, because the element of trusteeship comes out so clearly in the conversation between Swami Vivekananda and John D Rockefeller.

DESIRE

2012-02-05T18:52:00.000-08:00

Is desire bad or good .

Lord Buddha said Desire is the root of all suffering .It is important to conquer desires but how is the question of every truth seeker.

Not all desires that u get in your mind are meant to be fulfilled.Its important to choose which one of them are important to conquer and which ones are not.the greatest power that humans have so far is the power to discriminate .Using Discrimination that has its origin in the soul of a man every human being decides which desire is worthy to strive for and which is not.its important to identify a righteous desire.Whenever if you are faced with this dilemma in life.It helps questioning yourself if the desire you want to achieve is a righteous one or not.

“The desires of the righteous shall be granted” (Proverbs 10:24).

Death the Leveller

2011-11-19T21:02:00.001-08:00

By James Shirley

1596-1666

THE glories of our blood and state
         Are shadows, not substantial things;
There is no armour against Fate;
         Death lays his icy hand on kings:
         Sceptre and Crown
         Must tumble down,
         And in the dust be equal made
With the poor crooked scythe and spade.

Some men with swords may reap the field,
         And plant fresh laurels where they kill:
But their strong nerves at last must yield;
         They tame but one another still:
         Early or late
         They stoop to fate,
And must give up their murmuring breath
When they, pale captives, creep to death.

The garlands wither on your brow,
         Then boast no more your mighty deeds!
Upon Death's purple altar now
         See where the victor-victim bleeds.
         Your heads must come
         To the cold tomb:
Only the actions of the just
Smell sweet and blossom in their dust.

The Good and The Bad

2011-11-03T07:31:00.000-07:00

Life is full of judgments that we make between what which is acceptable to us ,people around us and the majority of people try to live based on that.
Good is not what majority people approve and Bad is not what only minority people follow.Most of the time actually the reverse is true.!!

There is no higher God than Truth

2011-10-22T16:35:00.000-07:00

A man who is truthful and sincere to his soul and to the world around him is the most powerful being in the world. There are people who have considered truth as a penance and lived their whole life around that principle .Mahatma Gandhi,the Indian freedom fighter is one of them .His autobiography "My experiments with truth' clearly shows that he has lived his whole life on this principle, no wonder he was able to influence so many people and all the masses of India followed him.

This is a story said by him in one of his interviews to a journalist.This particular journalist argued with him that it is impossible to speak truth in practical Life. Gandhi disagreed with him and said its not hard to speak truth even in difficult situations and said the following story to the journalist.

The story was about a monk who was meditating in the forest.It so happened that, One day a hunter was chasing a deer .The deer trying to run away from the hunter came and went into a bush in front of the monk to hide while the monk was seeing it do so .The hunter who was following the deer came up to the monk and asked him If he saw the deer coming that way ?. The journalist smiled and said,"This is what I am talking about,tell me sir what should the monk do if he sticks to being truthful and say that the deer is in the bush he will be responsible for its death.If he says he did not see it ,he will be lying .

Gandhi smiled and said ,The monk answered the hunter " My eyes saw the deer ,but my mouth refuses to tell you ."Saying thus Gandhi said it is not necessary that you should answer every question asked to you in life,when you do not want to say the truth and if you think that by saying the truth you will be doing harm to somebody,you need not lie rather you can just remain silent and not answer.

There is no higher God than Truth
The truth of who you are is much more beautiful and valuable than any deception you could construct. The more honest you are with yourself and with others, the more you’ll tap into the real and lasting value in your life.
~ Ralph Marston

The Two Little Birds: story of Truth

2011-10-21T14:19:00.000-07:00

Human beings from the beginning of his existence had to believe firmly that this human life is a transitory phase. Otherwise this life starting with birth and ending with death had no other meaning or purpose for him if he did not believe that there is a level of existence higher than his own existence.He believed that that state is permanent and eternal and this in different faiths have been stated as reaching heaven,attaining nirvana, moksha,liberation whatever it is.

There is a very beautiful illustration of two birds ,first told centuries ago and being told again and again after that ,explains the journey of an individual towards truth.

There were two birds on a tree on 2 different branches,one higher and one lower.The bird on the higher branch was very peaceful and calm and was in absolute bliss. The bird on the lower branch was very restless and always busy eating fruits from the branch, worrying for food ,survival, sometimes happy ,sometimes in sorrow .

Once in a while it would look upon the bird on the higher branch and would wonder how that bird was so blissful and makes an attempt to find out why it was so happy ,fly one branch higher ,to reach the bird on the highest branch , but when it reaches the higher branch it gets busy again eating the fruits of that branch until it eats a sour fruit , gets restless again and looks upon the higher bird again make another step towards the bird until finally the bird reaches the highest branch and to its surprise finds out that it has merged into the bird there and becomes blissful like the bird there.This story has a very deep inner meaning of human existence and its journey towards the truth(God)The lower bird is compared to our present level of existence at the human level ,we are always busy with this life that we don't tend to look for some higher meaning or truth for this life until we have a bad sour experience ,its then we want to look towards some higher truth or meaning.

Whatever the truth represented by the higher bird is, it helps and gives hope to human beings that there is something permanent beyond death.

Problems

2011-10-20T13:12:00.000-07:00

Don't worry if you have problems! Which is easy to say until you are
in the midst of a really big one, I know. But the only people I am
aware of who don't have troubles are gathered in little neighborhoods.
Most communities have at least one. We call them cemeteries.

If you're breathing, you have difficulties. It's the way of life. And
believe it or not, most of your problems may actually be good for you!
Let me explain.

Maybe you have seen the Great Barrier Reef, stretching some 1,800
miles from New Guinea to Australia. Tour guides regularly take
visitors to view the reef. On one tour, the guide was asked an
interesting question. "I notice that the lagoon side of the reef looks
pale and lifeless, while the ocean side is vibrant and colorful," a
traveler observed. "Why is this?"

The guide gave an interesting answer: "The coral around the lagoon
side is in still water, with no challenge for its survival. It dies
early. The coral on the ocean side is constantly being tested by wind,
waves, storms - surges of power. It has to fight for survival every
day of its life. As it is challenged and tested it changes and adapts.
It grows healthy. It grows strong. And it reproduces." Then he added
this telling note: "That's the way it is with every living organism."

That's how it is with people. Challenged and tested, we come alive!
Like coral pounded by the sea, we grow. Physical demands can cause us
to grow stronger. Mental and emotional stress can produce tough-
mindedness and resiliency. Spiritual testing can produce strength of
character and faithfulness.

So, you have problems - no problem! Just tell yourself, "There I grow
again!"

KILL YOUR EGO

2011-10-20T12:44:00.000-07:00

If you want to reach a state of bliss, then go beyond your ego and the internal dialogue. Make a decision to relinquish the need to control, the need to be approved, and the need to judge. Those are the three things the ego is doing all the time. It's very important to be aware of them every time they come up.
Deepak Chopra
There was once a scientist. After a lot of practice & efforts, he-developed a formula & learned the art of reproducing himself. He did-it so perfectly that it was impossible to tell the reproduction from the original.

One day while doing his research, he realized that the Angel of Death was searching for him. In order to remain alive he reproduced a dozen copies of himself. The reproduction was so similar that all of them looked exactly like him.

Now when this Angel of Death came down, he was at a loss to know which of the thirteen before him was the original scientist, & confused, he left them all alone & returned back to heaven.

But, not for long, for being an expert in human nature, the Angel came up with a clever idea. He said to the scientist addressing all thirteen of them, "Sir, you must be a genius to have succeeded in making such perfect reproduction formula of yourself. However, I have discovered a flaw in your work, just one tiny little flaw."

The scientist immediately jumped out & shouted,

"Impossible! where is the flaw?"

"Right here" said the Angel, as he picked up the scientist from among the reproductions & carried him off.

The whole purpose of the scientist & his formula of reproduction failed as he could not control his pride, so he lost his life.

So when man's Knowledge & Skills takes him to the top of the ladder &makes him successful, however the three letter word "EGO" can pull him down to earth immediately at its double speed.

So don't allow Ego to kill yourself,

Instead; KILL YOUR EGO..!!!

The elephant and 4 blind men: GAUTHAM BUDDHA’S CONCEPT OF TRUTH (GOD) –Part 2

2011-10-20T06:53:00.001-07:00

So Buddha explained to the 4 persons from different faiths that most of us are like those 4 people understanding God in our own ways and thinking that our version of faith is the right one.

He continued questioning the 1st person what is the nature of God according to his faith and what does his faith ask him to do? He replied that His God is all compassionate, infinite, all pervading, loving and so forth. Then he said his faith demands him to be truthful, nonviolent, loving towards your neighbors, charitable and so forth. The 2^nd,3^rd and the 4 person described more or less the same qualities for their Gods to and more or less the same things that they followed. Hearing to all of them Buddha smiled and said’ When all your faiths demands you to be ethical ,moral ,loving and nonviolent and if you are following it ,there is no conflict between your faiths .Hearing Buddha say this all the 4 people realize their mistake and bowed the great teacher and left satisfied.

The Great teacher Buddha has never commented upon God for him it was not important, what was important was an ethical moral nonviolent principled life through which he said one could get liberated from this cycle of life and death and attain Nirvana which according to him was the absolute truth.

The Blind men and the Elephant (Buddha Truth parable)-Part 1

2011-10-19T16:50:00.000-07:00

This is a story about what is Truth?
Long Long ago there was a great saint and enlightened person by name Buddha.this is the story which was famous as his parable and has been repeated plenty times throughout the eastern and European worlds to explain the nature of Truth.
There were 4 persons who belonged to 4 different faiths. They were always arguing and fighting among themselves.All of them heard that Buddha the learned one was passing by their village.So all of them went up to him and asked him which of their faith is true.The Great Buddha said before he tell them ,which version of faith is the truth he wanted them to hear this story :
There were once 4 blind men who were passing through a forest and stumbled upon an elephant.One of the Blind man hold the trunk of the elephant and then said" Elephant is like a pillar .The other hold on to the tusk of the elephant and said elephant is like a long sharp sword. The other blind man hold on to the legs of the elephant and said elephant is like a huge wall. The other one hold on to the tail of the elephant and said that elephant is like a rope.All of them started fighting among themselves that their version of elephant is truth,when finally a person who could actually see and was not blind passed through the forest and saw all of 4 blind men fighting among themselves and enquired why they were doing so ?
when he heard what they said he laughed and said all of them were true and elephant was all of that.All the blind men thought that because this man could see he was making fun of them .
Buddha saying the above story said most of us are like those blind people who only experience the truth(God) in our own way and describe it in our own way like those blind people and think only our version of truth is the right one but in truth all of us are just explaining only one aspect of the whole truth .The aim of all human life is to realize Truth (like that the man who could see the elephant ) and understand that different faiths are just describing only different aspects of the same truth (God) .He then said the most important truth which according to me forms the center of all Buddha's teaching and Life
(To be contd..)

Three Trees:God is thinking of something better

2011-10-17T04:32:00.000-07:00

Pray For Obstacle

2011-10-16T09:04:00.000-07:00

The Holy Shadow

2011-10-16T08:48:00.000-07:00

There once lived a saint so good that the angels came from heaven to see how a man could be so godly. This saint went about his daily life diffusing virtue as the stars diffuse light and the flowers scent, without being aware of it. His day could be summed up by two words -- he gave, he forgave -- yet these words never passed his lips. They were expressed in his ready smile, his kindness, forbearance, and charity.

The angels said to God, "Lord, grant him the gift of miracles."
God replied, "Ask what it is that he wishes."

They said to the saint, "Would you like the touch of your hands to heal the sick?"
"No," answered the saint. "I would rather God do that."

"Would you like to convert guilty souls and bring back wandering hearts to the right path?"
"No, that is the angels' mission. It is not for me to convert."

"Would you like to become a model of patience, attracting men by the luster of your virtues, and thus glorifying God?"

"No," replied the saint. "If men should be attracted to me, they would become estranged from God." "What is it that you desire, then?" asked the angels.

"What can I wish for?" asked the saint smiling. "That God gives me his grace; with that would I not have everything?"

The angels said, "You must ask for a miracle, or one will be forced upon you." "Very well," said the saint. "That I may do a great deal of good without ever knowing it."

The angels were perplexed. They took counsel and resolved upon the following plan: every time the saint's shadow fell behind him or to either side, so that he could not see it, it would have the power to cure disease, soothe pain, and comfort sorrow.

When the saint walked along, his shadow, thrown on the ground on either side or behind him, made arid paths green, caused withered plants to bloom, gave clear water to dried-up brooks, fresh color to pale children, and joy to unhappy men and women.

The saint simply went about his daily life diffusing virtue as the stars diffuse light and the flowers scent, without being aware of it. The people, respecting his humility, followed him silently, never speaking to him about his miracles. Soon they even forgot his name, and called him "The Holy Shadow."

This is the ultimate: one has to become the holy shadow, just a shadow of God. This is the greatest revolution that can happen to a human being: the transfer of the center. You are no longer your own center; God becomes your center. You live like his shadow.You are not powerful, because you don't have any center to be powerful.

You are not virtuous; you don't have any center to be virtuous. You are not even religious; you don't have any center to be religious. You are simply not, a tremendous emptiness, with no barriers and blocks, so the divine can flow through you unhindered, uninterpreted, untouched -- so the divine can flow through you as he is, not as you would like him to be. He does not pass through your center -- there is none.

Ratan Tata not even a billionaire!

2011-10-16T08:34:00.000-07:00

No Regrets

2011-10-16T07:58:00.000-07:00

Footprints on the sand

2011-10-14T20:03:00.000-07:00

Once a devotee was deeply grieved and was praying to God with tears in his
eyes. While he was weeping uncontrollably, he sort of fell into a trance,
and all his past memories came flooding into his mind. He saw that he was
walking along a sandy beach while his past life unfolded before his eyes.
The devotee saw that besides his own, there was another set of footprints
moving along with him.
He called out, "Who is walking along with me?God replied, "It is Me, My child."

The devotee was relieved and overjoyed that throughout his life God was
there with him. But as he moved on, he saw that during the most challenging
times of his life, the darkest parts of his life, there was only one set of
footprints.In agony he called out, "But Oh Lord, why did you leave me alone, during
the most difficult times of my life?"God replied, "Why my child, I have never left you, and I shall never leave
you. you are My very own."The devotee said, "Then why is there only one set of footprints?"*God replied, " THEY ARE MINE. AT THAT TIME YOU WERE IN MY LAP AND I WAS
CARRYING YOU..."

ALEXANDER - The Great's Last 3 Wishes

2011-10-14T18:42:00.000-07:00

A tale of Two Seas

2011-10-14T15:29:00.000-07:00

Bouncing Back Quickly to Win

2011-10-14T14:35:00.000-07:00

* IN THE FENCE ** *

2011-10-13T11:01:00.000-07:00

There once was a little boy who had a bad temper.His Father gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, he must hammer a nail into the back of the fence.The first day the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence. Over the next few weeks, as he learned to control his anger, the number of nails hammered daily gradually dwindled down. He discovered it was easier to hold his temper than to drive those nails into the fence.Finally the ! day came when the boy didn't lose his temper at all. He told his father about it and the father suggested that the boy now pull out one nail for each day that he was able to hold his temper.

The days passed and the young boy was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were gone. The father took his son by the hand and led him to the fence He said, "You have done well, my son, but look at the*holes in the fence. The fence will never be the same. When you say things in anger,**they leave a scar just like this one. You can put a knife in a man and draw it out.It won't matter how many times you say "I'm sorry, the wound is still there. A verbal wound is as bad as a physical one.

As Tall as You Want to Be by Denis Waitley

2011-10-12T18:47:00.000-07:00

Choices in Life!!! *Two Choices

2011-10-12T08:39:00.000-07:00

What goes around usually comes around :An Amazing true story.

2011-10-12T08:12:00.000-07:00