An Inspirational story from Mahabharata - Everybody has challenges in life !

In Mahabharat, Karna asks Lord Krishna - "My mother left me the moment I was born. Is it my fault I was born an illegitimate child?

I did not get the education from Dhronacharya because I was considered a non-Kshatriya.
Parshu-Raam taught me but then gave me the curse to forget everything since I was a Kshatriya.

A cow was accidentally hit by my arrow & its owner cursed me for no fault of mine. I was disgraced in Draupadi's swayamvar. Even, my mother, Kunti finally told me the truth only to save her other sons. Whatever I received was through Duryodhana's charity. So how am I wrong in taking his side?"

Lord Krishna replies, "Karna, I was born in a jail. Death was waiting for me even before my birth.
The night I was born I was separated from my birth parents. From childhood, you grew up hearing the noise of swords, chariots, horses, bow, and arrows. I got only cow herd's shed, dung, and multiple attempts on my life even before I could walk!

No army, no education. I could hear people saying I am the reason for all their problems. When all of you were being appreciated for your valour by your teachers I had not even received any education. I joined gurukula of Rishi Sandipani only at the age of 16!

You are married to a girl of your choice. I didn't get the girl I loved & rather ended up marrying those who wanted me or the ones I rescued from demons. I had to move my whole community from the banks of Yamuna to far off Sea shore to save them from Jarasandh. I was called a coward for running away!!

If Duryodhana wins the war you will get a lot of credit. What do I get if Dharmaraja wins the war? Only the blame for the war and all related problems....

Remember one thing, Karna. Everybody has challenges in life.

LIFE IS NOT FAIR ON ANYBODY!!!

Duryodhana also has a lot of unfairness in life and so has Yudhhishthir.

But what is Right (Dharma) is known to your mind (conscience). No matter how much unfairness we got, how many times we were disgraced, how many times we were denied what was due to us, what is important is how you REACTED at that time.

Stop whining Karna. Life's unfairness does not give you license to walk the wrong path...

Always remember, Life may be tough at a point, but DESTINY is not created by the SHOES we wear but by the STEPS we take.

Have faith in God

Everyday Krishna would visit the garden and say to all the plants, “I love you”. The plants were very happy and responded saying “Krishna, we love You too".

One day Krishna rushed quickly into the garden very alarmed. He went to the bamboo plant and the bamboo plant asked, “Krishna, what´s wrong?”

Krishna said “I have something to ask you, but it is very difficult”.

The bamboo said “Tell me: if I can, I will give it to you”. So Krishna said “I need your life. I need to cut you”. The bamboo thought for a while and then said “You don´t have any other choice. You don’t have any other way?”

Krishna said, “No, no other way. And it said “OK” and gave himself up. So Krishna cut the bamboo n made holes in it, and each time, he carved the holes, the bamboo was crying in pain ...

Krishna made a beautiful flute out of it n this flute was with him all the time. 24 hours a day, it was with Krishna. Even the Gopis were jealous of the flute.

They said, “Look, Krishna is our Lord, but yet we get to spend only some time with him.

He wakes up with you, He sleeps with you, all the time you are with him”.
Gopis asked the bamboo, “Tell us your secret. What secret do you have, that the Lord treasures you so much?”

And the bamboo said “The secret is that, i gave myself up, and he did whatever was right for me, in the process i had to undergo a lot of pain.

And the Lord does whatever he wants with me, whenever he wants with me and however he wants with me. I have just become His instrument”. So this is complete surrender: where God can do whatever He wants with you, whenever He wants, as He wants.

Trust Him completely and have faith in Him and Always Know.. that you are in His Hands... What can go wrong??

This is Sharanagathi.

Story in Hindi - ईश्वर हमें हमेशा दो रास्ते देता है

एक समय की बात है। गरीबी से परेशान एक युवक अपना जीवन समाप्त करने के लिए नदी पर गया, वहां युवक को एक साधु मिल गए उन्होंने उसे ऐसा करने के लिए मना कर दिया। साधु ने युवक की परेशानी का कारण पूछा। युवक ने सारी बात साधु को बता दी। सब कुछ सुनकर साधु ने कहा- मेरे पास एक विद्या है जिससे जादुई घड़ा बन जाता है। तुम जो भी इस घड़े से मांगोगे, वह तुम्हारे लिए उपस्थित हो जाएगा। परंतु जिस दिन घड़ा फूट गया, उसी समय जो कुछ भी इस घड़े ने दिया था, वह सब अदृश्य हो जाएगा।

साधु ने आगे कहा अगर तुम दो वर्ष तक मेरे आश्रम में रहो, तो यह घड़ा मैं तुम्हें दे सकता हूं। और अगर पांच वर्ष तक आश्रम में रहो, तो मैं यह घड़ा बनाने की विद्या तुम्हें सिखा दूंगा। तुम क्या चाहते हो?


युवक ने कहा- महाराज! मैं तो दो साल ही आपकी सेवा करना चाहूंगा। मुझे तो जल्द से जल्द यह घड़ा ही चाहिए। मैं इसे बहुत संभालकर रखूंगा। कभी फूटने ही नहीं दूंगा। इस तरह दो वर्ष आश्रम में सेवा करने के बाद युवक ने यह जादुई घड़ा प्राप्त कर लिया और उसे लेकर अपने घर आ गया।

उसने घड़े से हर इच्छा पूरी करनी चाही और वह पूरी होती गई। घर बनवाया, महल बनवाया, नौकर-चाकर मांगे। वह सभी को अपनी धाक व वैभव-संपदा दिखाने लगा। उसने शराब पीना शुरू कर दिया। एक दिन वह जादुई घड़ा सर पर रखकर नाचने लगा। अचानक उसे ठोकर लगी और घड़ा गिरकर फूट गया। घड़ा फूटते ही सभी कुछ छू-मंतर हो गया। अब युवक पश्चाताप करने लगा कि काश! मैंने जल्दबाजी न की होती और घड़ा बनाने की विद्या सीख ली होती तो आज मैं फिर से कंगाल न होता।

सीख - ईश्वर हमें हमेशा दो रास्ते देता है- एक आसान और दूसरा कठिन और लंबा लेकिन गहरे ज्ञान वाला। यह हमें चुनना होता है कि हम किस रास्ते पर चलें।

Inspiring Story in Hindi - क्रोध मनुष्य की वह अवस्था है जो जीत के नजदीक पहुँचकर हार का नया रास्ता खोल देता है।

बहुत समय पहले की बात है। आदि शंकराचार्य और मंडन मिश्र के बीच सोलह दिन तक लगातार शास्त्रार्थ चला। शास्त्रार्थ की निर्णायक थीं मंडन मिश्र की धर्म पत्नी देवी भारती। हार-जीत का निर्णय होना बाक़ी था, इसी बीच देवी भारती को किसी आवश्यक कार्य से कुछ समय के लिये बाहर जाना पड़ गया।

लेकिन जाने से पहले देवी भारती नें दोनों ही विद्वानों के गले में एक-एक फूल माला डालते हुए कहा, यें दोनो मालाएं मेरी अनुपस्थिति में आपके हार और जीत का फैसला करेंगी। यह कहकर देवी भारती वहाँ से चली गई। शास्त्रार्थ की प्रकिया आगे चलती रही।

कुछ देर बाद देवी भारती अपना कार्य पूरा करके लौट आई। उन्होंने अपनी निर्णायक नजरों से शंकराचार्य और मंडन मिश्र को बारी- बारी से देखा और अपना निर्णय सुना दिया। उनके फैसले के अनुसार आदि शंकराचार्य विजयी घोषित किये गये और उनके पति मंडन मिश्र की पराजय हुई थी।

सभी लोग ये देखकर हैरान हो गये कि बिना किसी आधार के इस विदुषी ने अपने पति को ही पराजित करार दे दिया। एक विद्वान नें देवी भारती से नम्रतापूर्वक जिज्ञासा की- हे ! देवी आप तो शास्त्रार्थ के मध्य ही चली गई थीं फिर वापस लौटते ही आपनें ऐसा फैसला कैसे दे दिया ?

देवी भारती ने मुस्कुराकर जवाब दिया- जब भी कोई विद्वान शास्त्रार्थ में पराजित होने लगता है, और उसे जब हार की झलक दिखने लगती है तो इस वजह से वह क्रोधित हो उठता है और मेरे पति के गले की माला उनके क्रोध की ताप से सूख चुकी है जबकि शंकराचार्य जी की माला के फूल अभी भी पहले की भांति ताजे हैं। इससे ज्ञात होता है कि शंकराचार्य की विजय हुई है।

विदुषी देवी भारती का फैसला सुनकर सभी दंग रह गये, सबने उनकी काफी प्रशंसा की।

#सीख - क्रोध मनुष्य की वह अवस्था है जो जीत के नजदीक पहुँचकर हार का नया रास्ता खोल देता है। क्रोध न सिर्फ हार का दरवाजा खोलता है बल्कि रिश्तों में दरार का कारण भी बनता है। इसलिये कभी भी क्रोध को खुद पर हावी ना होने दें क्योंकि कोध्र से भ्रम पैदा होता है, भ्रम से बुद्धि व्यग्र होती है, जब बुद्धि व्यग्र होती है तब तर्क नष्ट हो जाता है, जब तर्क नष्ट होता है, तब व्यक्ति का पतन हो जाता है।

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अपने अहंकार के घमंड में दूसरों के साथ ऐसा व्यवहार न करो, जो तुम्हें स्वयं के लिए पसंद न हो। [ Hindi Story ]

एक बार मगध के व्यापारी को व्यापार में बहुत लाभ हुआ, अपार धन-संपत्ति पाकर उसका मन अहंकार से भर गया। उसके बाद से वह अपने अधीनस्थों से अहंकारपूर्ण व्यवहार करने लगा।

व्यापारी का अहंकार इतना प्रबल था कि उसको देखते हुए उसके परिवार वाले भी अहंकार के वशीभूत हो गए। किंतु जब सभी के अहंकार आपस में टकराने लगे तो घर का वातावरण नरक की तरह हो गया।

वह व्यापारी दुःखी होकर एक दिन भगवान बुद्ध के पास पहुंचा और याचना करके बोला- भगवन्! मुझे इस नरक से मुक्ति दिलाइए। मैं भी भिक्षु बनना चाहता हूं।

भगवान बुद्ध ने गंभीर स्वर में कहा- अभी तुम्हारे भिक्षु बनने का समय नहीं आया है।

बुद्ध ने कहा- भिक्षु को पलायनवादी नहीं होना चाहिए। जैसे व्यवहार की अपेक्षा तुम दूसरों से करते हो, स्वयं भी दूसरों के प्रति वैसा ही व्यवहार करो। ऐसा करने से तुम्हारा घर मंदिर बन जाएगा।

घर जाकर उस व्यापारी ने भगवान बुद्ध की सीख को अपनाया और घर का वातावरण स्वतः बदल गया। अब सब अपने-अपने अहंकार को भूलकर एक-दूसरे के साथ प्रेम से रहने लगे। शीघ्र ही घर के दूषित वातावरण में नया उल्लास छा गया।

सीख : कभी भी अपने अहंकार के घमंड में दूसरों के साथ ऐसा व्यवहार न करो, जो तुम्हें स्वयं के लिए पसंद न हो।

ईश्वर के दर्शन कैसे होंगे? [ Hindi Story ]

एक नदी के किनारे एक महात्मा रहते थे। उनके पास दूर-दूर से लोग अपनी समस्याओं का समाधान पाने आते थे। एक बार एक व्यक्ति उनके पास आया और बोला- महाराज! मैं लंबे समय से ईश्वर की भक्ति कर रहा हूं, फिर भी मुझे ईश्वर के दर्शन नहीं होते। कृपया मुझे उनके दर्शन कराइए।

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महात्मा बोले- तुम्हें इस संसार में कौन सी चीजें सबसे अधिक प्रिय हैं?
व्यक्ति बोला- महाराज! मुझे इस संसार में सबसे अधिक प्रिय अपना परिवार है और उसके बाद धन-दौलत।


महात्मा ने पूछा- क्या इस समय भी तुम्हारे पास कोई प्रिय वस्तु है?
व्यक्ति बोला- मेरे पास एक सोने का सिक्का ही प्रिय वस्तु है।
महात्मा ने एक कागज पर कुछ लिखकर दिया और उससे पढ़ने को कहा। कागज देखकर व्यक्ति बोला- “महाराज! इस पर तो ईश्वर लिखा है।
महात्मा ने कहा- अब अपना सोने का सिक्का इस कागज के ऊपर लिखे ''ईश्वर'' शब्द पर रख दो।

व्यक्ति ने ऐसा ही किया। फिर महात्मा बोले- अब तुम्हें क्या दिखाई दे रहा है?”
वह बोला- इस समय तो मुझे इस कागज पर केवल सोने का सिक्का रखा दिखाई दे रहा है।

महात्मा ने कहा- ईश्वर का भी यही हाल है। वह हमारे अंदर ही है, लेकिन मोह-माया के कारण हम उसके दर्शन नहीं कर पाते। जब हम उसे देखने की कोशिश करते हैं तो मोह-माया आगे आ जाती है। धन-संपत्ति, घर-परिवार के सामने ईश्वर को देखने का समय ही नहीं होता। यदि समय होता भी है तो उस समय जब विपदा होती है। ऐसे में ईश्वर के दर्शन कैसे होंगे?

महात्मा की बातें सुनकर व्यक्ति समझ गया कि उसे मोह-माया से निकलना है।

One needs more than professional qualification to be a professional

ShivKhera, a renowned author and management trainer writes about his experience in Singapore :

"Six years ago in Singapore I gave a taxi driver a business card to take me to a particular address. At the last point he circled round the building. His meter read 11$, but he took only 10. I said Henry, your meter reads 11$ how come you are taking only 10.

He said Sir, I am a taxi driver, I am supposed to be bringing you straight to the destination. Since I did not know the last spot, I had to circle around the building. Had I brought you straight here, the meter would have read 10$.

Why should you be paying for my ignorance ?

He said Sir, legally, I can claim 11$ but Honestly and ethically I am entitled to only 10.

He further added that Singapore is a tourist destination and many people come here for three or four days. After clearing the immigrations and customs, the first experience is always with the taxi driver and if that is not good, the balance three to four days are not pleasant either.

He said Sir I am not a taxi driver, I am the Ambassador of Singapore without a diplomatic passport.
In my opinion he probably did not go to school beyond the 8th grade, but to me he was a professional. To me his behavior reflected pride in performance and character.

That day I learnt that one needs more than professional qualification to be a professional.

In one line be a "Professional with a human touch and Values " that makes all the more difference.
Knowledge, skill, money, education, all comes later. First comes Human Values, Honesty and Integrity

Professionalism: It’s NOT the job you DO, It’s HOW you DO the job.”

Hats off!

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There is not room for two ‘I’s in one house!

A Lion took a Wolf and a Fox with him for a hunting mission. They successfully hunted down an Ox, an Ibix and a rabbit.

The Lion asked Wolf how he would like to distribute the booty.

The Wolf suggested that based on sizes of the preys, it’s reasonable that Lion keeps the Ox, Wolf gets the Ibix and Fox being smallest should be sufficient with rabbit.


The Lion was enraged on such distribution. “How do you dare talk of I and You, and Mine and Yours in my presence.”, he thundered and hit a fatal blow to Wolf.

Then he returns to fox to do distribution.

“Your Highness, keep the Ox for dinner and Ibix for lunch and if you feel pekish in middle, the rabbit is there at your pleasure”, responded the Fox.

The Lion is pleased at Fox and asks where she learned such wisdom. The fox replied that that the aftermaths of wolf’s response taught him the lesson.

The Lion roared, “Behold! When there is no I or You, or Mine or Yours that remains anymore, you are no longer a feeble Fox. You are a Lion! Hence all 3 preys are granted to you!”.

Within above story, there is also threaded another story of person who knocks at beloved’s story and denied access.

Once a man came and knocked at the door of his beloved.

The beloved said, “Who are you, O’ faithful one?”

“I.” He responded.

The Beloved replied, “Go away as there is no room here for any ‘raw’ at my well-cooked dinner.
Nothing but fire of separation can cook the raw one and cleanse him from hypocrisy!

Since your ‘self’ has not yet left you yet,
You must burned self in the fiery flames of separation.”
The poor man went away, and for one whole year
Kept burning with sorrow due to his beloved’s absence.

His heart burned till it was cooked; then he went again
And approached the house of his beloved again.
He knocked at the door in fear and anxiety
Fearing that some careless word might leave his lips.

His beloved asked, “Who is that at the door?”
He answered, “‘It is ‘You’ who is at the door, O Beloved!”
The friend said, “Since it is Me, let ‘Me’ come in.
There is not room for two ‘I’s in one house!”

Too much Knowledge is not going to give you the enlightenment you were looking for #Rumi [story ]

One day Jalaluddin Rumi took all his students, disciples and devotees to a field. That was his way to teach them things of the beyond, through the examples of the world. He was not a theoretician, he was a very practical man. The disciples were thinking, “What could be the message, going to that faraway field... and why can’t he say it here?”

But when they reached the field, they understood that they were wrong and he was right. The farmer seemed to be almost an insane man. He was digging a well in the field – and he had already dug eight incomplete wells.

He would go a few feet and then he would find that there was no water. Then he would start digging another well... and the same story was continued. He had destroyed the whole field and he had not yet found water.

The master, Jalaluddin Rumi, told his disciples, “Can you understand something? If this man had been total and had put his whole energy into only one well, he would have reached to the deepest sources of water long ago.

But the way he is going he will destroy the whole field and he will never be able to make a single well. With so much effort he is simply destroying his own land, and getting more and more frustrated, disappointed: what kind of a desert has he purchased? It is not a desert, but one has to go deep to find the sources of water.”

He turned to his disciples and asked them, “Are you going to follow this insane farmer? Sometimes on one path, sometimes on another path, sometimes listening to one, sometimes listening to another... you will collect much knowledge, but all that knowledge is simply junk, because it is not going to give you the enlightenment you were looking for. It is not going to lead you to the waters of eternal life.”

We judge people by their outer appearance, which can be misleading [ Story]

A lady in a faded grey dress and her husband, dressed in a home-spun suit walked in timidly without an appointment into the Harvard University President's outer office. The secretary could tell in a moment that such backwoods, country hicks had no business at Harvard and probably didn't even deserve to be in Harvard.

"We want to see the President "the ma n said softly.

"He'll be busy all day "the secretary snapped.


"We'll wait" the lady replied.

For hours the secretary ignored them, hoping that the couple would finally become discouraged and go away. They didn't and the secretary grew frustrated and finally decided to disturb the president..

"Maybe if you see them for a few minutes, they'll leave" she said to him. The President, stern faced and with dignity, strutted toward the couple.

The lady told him "We had a son who attended Harvard for one year. He loved Harvard. He was happy here. But about a year ago, he was accidentally killed. My husband and I would like to erect a memorial to him, somewhere on campus."

The president wasn't touched....He was shocked. "Madam "he said, gruffly, " we can't put up a statue for every person who attended Harvard and died. If we did, this place would look like a cemetery."

"Oh, no," the lady explained quickly” We don't want to erect a statue. We thought we would like to give a building to Harvard."

The president rolled his eyes. He glanced at the gingham dress and homespun suit, and then exclaimed, "A building! Do you have any earthly idea how much a building costs? We have over seven and a half million dollars in the physical buildings here at Harvard."

For a moment the lady was silent. The president was pleased. Maybe he could get rid of them now. The lady turned to her husband and said quietly, "Is that all it costs to start a university ? Why don't we just start our own?"

Her husband nodded. The president's face wilted in confusion and bewilderment. Mr. and Mrs. Leland Stanford got up and walked away, traveling to Palo Alto, California where they established the University that bears their name: Stanford University, a memorial to a son that Harvard no longer cared about.

 Most of the time we judge people by their outer appearance, which can be misleading. And in this impression, we tend to treat people badly by thinking they can do nothing for us. Thus we tend to lose our potential good friends, Relatives , employees or customers.

In our Life, we seldom get people with whom we want to share & grow our thought process. But because of our inner #EGO we miss them forever.

A lesson for Overprotective Parents

In two independent houses,separated by a compound two people were living, in one a retired person and in the other a techie. They had planted identical saplings on either sides of the compound.

The techie used to give lot of water and manure to the plants.The retired,just small quantity of water and little manure.

The techies plant grew into lush green,leafy robust plant.

The retired person's plant was a near normal but much luxuriant than his neighbor's.

One night there was a heavy rain with gusty wind.
Next morning both came out to see the fate of the plants.

To techie's surprise his plant had got uprooted where as his neighbor's was unharmed.

Techie asks the retired as why his plant was uprooted despite such a good care where as the neighbor had hardly cared.

The retired person's answer should be a lesson for all of us.

Inspirational Stories

Look young man, you had supplied every thing a plant would need,in abundance and the plant did not have to go in search of it.Your roots did not have go down. I was supplying just enough to keep it alive. For the rest roots had to go down into the ground to fulfil it's needs.

Since your roots were superficial the rain and wind could easily fell it.

Since my roots were pretty deeply grounded they could withstand the onslaught of the nature.

The same applies to your children too.

भाई नन्द लाल जी और गुरु गोबिंद सिंह जी [ Hindi Story]

भाई नन्द लाल जी और गुरु गोबिंद सिंह जी साहिब जी में बहुत प्रेम था । भाई नन्द लाल जी जब तक गुरु गोबिंद सिंह जी साहिब जी के दर्शन नहीं कर लेते थे, तब तक अपना दिन नहीं शुरू करते थे । एक दिन भाई नन्द लाल जी ने जल्दी कहीं जाना था, लेकिन गुरु साहिब सुबह 4 वजे दरबार में आते थे । उन्होंने सोचा चलो गुरु साहिब जहाँ आराम करते हैं, वहीं चलता हूं... दरवाज़ा खटखटा करके मिल के ही चलता हूँ ।

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सुबह 2 वजे गुरु गोबिंद सिंह साहिब जी अपने ध्यान में बैठे थे, तब नन्द लाल जी ने

दरवाजा खटखटाया.....

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गुरु साहिब जी ने पूछा कौन है बाहर...?
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नन्द लाल जी - मैं हूँ !
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फिर पूछा - कौन है बाहर..?
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नन्द लाल जी ने कहा.... मैं हूँ ..!
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गुरु साहिब ने कहा जहाँ .....जहाँ ''मैं -मैं'' होती है वहाँ गुरु का दरवाज़ा नहीं खुलता ।
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भाई नन्द लाल जी को महसूस हुआ, कि..... मैंने ये क्या कह दिया.... और फिर दरवाजा खटखटाया ।
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तब गुरु साहिब जी ने फिर पूछा कौन है..?
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नन्द लाल जी ने कहा.... ''तूँ ही तूँ '' ।
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गुरु साहिब ने कहा इस में तो तेरी चतुराई दिख रही है... और जहाँ चतुराई होती है
वहाँ भी गुरु का दरवाज़ा नहीं खुलता ।
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ये सुन के नन्द लाल जी रोने लग गये कि इतना ज्ञानी होके भी तुझे इतनी अकल
नहीं आयी...... (नन्द लाल जी बहुत ज्ञानी थे, 6 भाषा आती थी , उच्च कोटि के शायर थे ,)
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उनका रोना सुन कर..... गुरु गोबिंद सिंह साहिब जी ने पूछा बाहर कौन
रो रहा है... ?
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अब नन्द लाल रोते हुए बोले..... क्या कहूं सच्चे पातशाह..... कौन हूँ ..?
‘मैं’.... कहु तो हौमे.....(अहंकार) आता है..... ‘तूँ’.... कहूं तो चालाकी.... आती है
अब तो आप ही बता दो के.... मैं कौन हूँ...?
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और दरवाज़ा खुल गया, आवाज़ आयी बस यही नम्रता होनी चाहिए......जहाँ ये
नम्रता है , भोलापन है.... वहाँ गुरु घर के दरवाज़े हमॆशा खुले हैं..... और गुरु गोबिंद सिंह साहिब जी ने भाई नन्द लाल को गले से लगा लिया .....
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शिक्षा - सतगुरु सेवक के प्रेम - प्यार और नम्रता को दखते हैं ।
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संत कहते हैं '' गुरु नहीं भूखा तेरे धन का, उन पर धन है भक्ति नाम का ''

I try to read the Bhagavat Gita just like you but I don't understand it [ story]

An old Farmer lived on a farm in the mountains with his young grandson.

Each morning Grandpa was up early sitting at the kitchen table reading his Bhagavat Gita. His grandson wanted to be just like him and tried to imitate him in every way he could.

One day the grandson asked, "Grandpa! I try to read the Bhagavat Gita just like you but I don't understand it, and what I do understand I forget as soon as I close the book. What good does reading the Bhagavat Gita do?"

The Grandfather quietly turned from putting coal in the stove and replied,"Take this coal basket down to the river and bring me back a basket of water."

The boy did as he was told, but all the water leaked out before he got back to the house. The grandfather laughed and said, "You'll have to move a little faster next time," and sent him back to the river with the basket to try again. This time the boy ran faster, but again the basket was empty before he returned home. Out of breath, he told his grandfather that it was impossible to carry water in a basket, and he went to get a bucket instead.

The old man said, "I don't want a bucket of water; I want a basket of water. You're just not trying hard enough," and he went out the door to watch the boy try again.

At this point, the boy knew it was impossible, but he wanted to show his grandfather that even if he ran as fast as he could, the water would leak out before he got back to the house.

The boy again dipped the basket into river and ran hard, but when he reached his grandfather the basket was again empty. Out of breath, he said, "See Grandpa, it's useless!"

"So you think it is useless ?" The old man said, "Look at the basket."

The boy looked at the basket and for the first time realized that the basket was different. It had been transformed from a dirty old coal basket and was now clean, inside and out.

"Son, that's what happens when you read the Bhagavat Gita. You might not understand or remember everything, but when you read it, you will be changed, inside and out. That is the work of Krishna in our lives."

How to stop Negative Thoughts [ Story ]

It happened that one man came to a monk named 'Tilopa'. The man wanted to attain buddhahood and he had heard that this Tilopa has attained. And Tilopa was staying in a temple somewhere in Tibet. The man came; Tilopa was sitting, and the man said, ”I would like to stop my thoughts.”

Tilopa said, ”It is very easy. I will give you a device, a technique. You follow this: just sit down and don’t think of monkeys. This will do.”

The man said, ”So easy? Just not thinking of monkeys? But I have never been thinking about them.”

Tilopa said, ”Now you do it, and tomorrow morning you report.”
 

You can understand what happened to that poor man... monkeys and monkeys all around. In the night he couldn’t get any sleep, not a wink. He would open his eyes and they were sitting there, or he would close his eyes and they were sitting there, and they were making faces.... He was simply surprised. ”Why has this man given this technique, because if monkeys are the problem, then I have never been bothered by them. This is happening for the first time!”

And he tried, in the morning again he tried. He took a bath, sat, but nothing doing: the monkeys wouldn’t leave him. He came back by the evening almost mad – because the monkeys were following him and he was talking to them. He came and he said, ”Save me somehow. I don’t want this, I was okay, I don’t want ANY meditation. And I don’t want your enlightenment – but save me from these monkeys!”

If you think of monkeys, it may be that they may not come to you. But if you want not... if you want them NOT to come to you, then they will follow you. They have their egos and they cannot leave you so easily. And what do you think of yourself: trying not to think of monkeys? The monkeys get irritated, this cannot be allowed.

This happens to people. Tilopa was joking, he was saying that if you try to stop a thought, you cannot. On the contrary, the very effort to stop it gives it energy, the very effort to avoid it becomes attention. So, whenever you want to avoid something you are paying too much attention to it. If you want not to think a thought, you are already thinking about it.

Remember this, otherwise you will be in the same plight. The poor man who was obsessed became obsessed with monkeys because he wanted to stop them. There is no need to stop the mind. Thoughts are rootless, homeless vagabonds, you need not be worried about them. You simply watch, watch without looking at them, simply look.

If they come, good, don’t feel bad – because even a slight feeling that it is not good and you have started fighting. It’s okay, it is natural: as leaves come in the trees, thoughts come to the mind. It’s okay, it is perfectly as it should be. If they don’t come, it is beautiful. You simply remain an impartial watcher, neither for nor against, neither appreciating nor condemning – without any valuation. You simply sit inside yourself and look, looking without looking at.

And this happens, that the more you look, the less you find; the deeper you look, the thoughts disappear, disperse. Once you know this then the key is in your hand.

Well, where are you going today? [ Inspiring Story ]

A Holy Man saw in a dream that while he was walking in the path of Truth an angel accosted him.

“Whither are you going?” asked the angel.

“I am on my way to the Royal Presence,” was the reply.

“You are engaged in so many wordly affairs,” said the angel. “You have taken such a lot of baggage with you, so much wealth and property. How can you hope to be admitted to the Royal Presence with all this paraphernalia?”

The saint thereupon threw away all the baggage he had and kept with him only a piece of blanket to protect him from inclement weather and serve as a garment. The next night he saw the angel again in a dream.

“Well, where are you going today?”

“To the seat of the Lord of Creation.”

“O man of wisdom,” said the angel, “how can you get there with this piece of blanket? It is a terrible obstacle in your way.”

Waking from his dream, the Holy Man put the blanket in the fire.

On the third night the saint saw the angel once more.

“O pure lover,” said the angel, “whither are you going?”

“I am going to the Creator of the Universe.”

“O illustrious man,” observed the angel, “now that you stripped yourself of all that you had, remain where you are. You have no need to go anywhere in search of the Creator. He will Himself come to you.”

#Book "The Conference of the Birds"

Quite often in life we over-evaluate the problems [Story]

One day, a bus driver went to the bus garage, started his bus, and drove off along the route.

No problems for the first few stops-a few people got on, a few got off, and things went generally well.

At the next stop, however, a big hulk of a guy got on.


Six feet height, built like a wrestler, arms hanging down to the ground.

He glared at the driver and said, "Big John doesn't need to pay!" and sat down at the back.

Did I mention that the driver was five feet six, thin, and basically meek? Well, he was.!

Naturally, he didn't argue with Big John, but he wasn't happy about it.

The next day the same thing happened-Big John got on again, made a show of refusing to pay, and sat down.

And the next day, and the one after that and so forth.!

This grated on the bus driver, who started losing sleep over the way Big John was taking advantage of him.

Finally he could stand it no longer.

He signed up for body building courses, karate, judo, and all that good stuff.

By the end of the summer, he had become quite strong; what's more, he felt really good about himself.

So on the next Monday, when Big John once Again got on the bus and said, "Big John doesn't pay!," The driver stood up, glared back at the passenger, and screamed, "And why not?"

With a surprised look on his face, Big John replied, *"Big John has a bus pass."

Be sure of what is a problem in the first place before working hard to solve one.

Quite often in life we over-evaluate the problems and start working on huge solutions spending time, money, efforts, energy and focus, whereas, in actual, problems eventually are not that big!

Most of Our life is actually as above story !

What are the best Rumi quotes?

Rumi's wise answers to questions put to him...

What is poison?

Anything which is more than our necessity is poison. It may be power, wealth, hunger, ego, greed, laziness, love, ambition, or anything.

What is fear?

Non-acceptance of uncertainty. If we accept the uncertainty, it becomes an adventure!

What is envy?

Non-acceptance of the goodness in others. If we accept the goodness, it becomes inspiration!

What is anger?

Non-acceptance of the things which are beyond our control. If we accept, it becomes tolerance!

What is hatred?

Non-acceptance of others as they are. If we accept them unconditionally, it becomes love!

I want to know what the difference is between me and you [ Inspiring Story]

A king was very much interested in a young man who always remained underneath a tree, sitting silently. Every night the king passed around the city in disguise to see whether everything was right or not. He always found that young man sitting like a statue, without any movement. 

Finally, he could not contain his curiosity. He stopped his horse and he said, “Young man, forgive me for disturbing your meditation.”

The young man opened his eyes and he said, “There is no need for any apology because I am not meditating, I am meditation — nobody can disturb it. But whatever your curiosity is, please fulfill it.”

The king said, “I would love you to come to my palace. I will take care of you. There is no need to sit under this tree. Seeing you so silently, like the ancient story of Buddha, I have fallen in love with your silence, your gestures, your utter undisturbance. I invite you to come with me to my palace. I am the king.”

This is how the barbarous mind functions. The king asks the young man to come to his palace — inviting him — but deep down his unconscious wants him not to accept his invitation because that will mean he is still desirous of luxuries and palaces.

But that young man simply stood up, and he said, “I am coming.”

Immediately the whole scene changed. The mind of the king was thinking, “What have I done? This man is still interested in the luxuries of a palace, being the guest of a king. This is not a great saint.” This is the old idea of the saint, that he should be as uncomfortable as possible. Discomfort is religion. Sick, hungry, torturing oneself in thousands of ways… and then you become a great saint. This fellow has suddenly fallen from his sainthood, in the mind of the king. But now it was too late. He could not take his word back; it would be to ungentlemanly.

But the young man was watching everything. He didn’t say anything. The king provided for him in the best part of the palace, servants, young girls to look after him — and he accepted everything. With each acceptance he was falling down in the scale of saintliness: what kind of saint was he? He accepted a beautiful king-size bed. He accepted all the delicacies of the palace.

The king said, “My God. What kind of a stupid person am I? This man has deceived me. It seems like he tricked me. Just sitting there every night, he knew I passed at that time, sitting silently like a buddha, he knew that I would be caught — and he caught me. And now it is very difficult either to swallow him or to spit him out. He is inside the palace.”

But how long can you carry such a state of mind?

After six months, one day early in the morning when they were taking a walk together in the gardens, the king said to him, “One question has been continuously harassing me and I want to get rid of it. Because of it, for six months I have not slept well.”

The young man said, “You can ask any question.”

The king said, “It hurts me to ask, but I want to know what the difference is between me and you. You live in the palace, you enjoy all the luxuries… what is the difference between me and you?”

The young man said, “I knew that this question was going to arise one day. In fact, it arose the same moment I stood up to follow you. You are not a very courageous man. You should have asked immediately. Why waste six months, and for six months unnecessarily disturbing your sleep. I can answer your question but not here. You have to come with me outside the boundary of your kingdom.”

It was not far away. Just a few miles away was the river, the boundary of his kingdom.

The king said, “What is the need to go there? You can answer me here.”

He said, “No. There is a need.”

Both went past the river. Standing on the other shore, the young man said, “My answer is that I am going ahead. Are you coming with me?”

He said, “How can I come with you? I have a palace, I have a kingdom, I have my wife, my children… I have thousands of worries and problems to solve. How can I come with you?”

The young man said, “Do you see the difference? I am going. I don’t have any palace, I don’t have any wife, I don’t have any problems. I was as happy under my tree as I have been happy in your palace — not a bit more or a bit less. My awareness is the same whether I am in a palace or in a forest.”

The king felt very sad at his ugly mind, that he thought such an ugly thing. He touched his feet and he said, “Forgive me even to think this. In my own eyes I have fallen.”

The young man said, “No. Don’t do it. Seeing your tears and you touching my feet I have no difficulty, I can come back, but you will still start thinking, `My God. Has he deceived me again?’ I have no difficulty but so as not to be uncompassionate towards you, I will not come. Just let me go. The whole world is there and I don’t need much, just a tree to sit underneath. It does not matter to me at all.”

Power is in the hands of the wrong people, and the people of intelligence are devoid of power. [Story]

But the misfortune is that power is in the hands of the wrong people, and the people of intelligence are devoid of power. I will tell you a small story to make it clear….

A great mystic heard that one of his friends, a childhood friend — they had played together, studied together — had become the prime minister of the country. Just to congratulate him, the mystic came down from the mountains. It was a long journey, tiring. By the time he reached the prime minister’s palace, the prime minister was getting ready to go somewhere.

He recognized the mystic, but he said, “I’m sorry, I have some appointments. I have to go to three places, and I would love it if you can come with me. On the way we can talk and remember the golden old days.”
The mystic said, “I would love to come with you, but you can see my rags are full of dust. It would not look right to sit by your side on a golden chariot.”

The prime minister said, “Don’t be worried. The king has presented me with a very costly overcoat. I have never used it; I have been keeping it for some special occasion. I will give you the coat. You just put it on; it will cover your clothes, the dust and everything.” The coat was given to him.
They reached the first house. They entered the house. The prime minister introduced his friend: “He is a great mystic. He lives in the mountains.
 

Everything that he has is his own, except the coat — that is mine.”
The mystic could not believe it: “What kind of stupidity is this?”
Even the family was shocked, to insult the mystic in such a way.
 

Outside the house the mystic said, “It is better I do not accompany you. You insulted me. What was the need to say that it is your coat? They were not asking.”

He said, “I am sorry, forgive me. And if you don’t come with me to the next appointment, I will think you have not forgiven me.”
 

The mystic was a simple-hearted man. He said, “Then it is okay, I am coming.”
 

Entering the second house, the prime minister introduced him: “He is a great mystic who lives in the mountains. Everything is his — even the coat is his!”
 

The mystic could not believe that this man had any intelligence at all. Outside he simply refused: “I cannot go to your third appointment. This is too much.”

But the politician said, “I have said that the coat is yours!” The mystic said, “It is unbelievable how unintelligent a man can be. Your assertion, emphasis, that the coat is mine, creates suspicion: there is something you are hiding. What is the need to mention the coat at all? I don’t see the point that in any introduction coats need to be introduced.”

And the politician said, “Forgive me, but if you don’t come to the third appointment I will never forget that I have hurt you. Please, there is only one more appointment, and I will not say that the coat is yours or the coat is mine. Don’t be worried about it.”

The simple mystic, innocent, agreed to go with him. At the third house he introduced the mystic in the same way, “He is a great mystic from the mountains. All the clothes are his, but as far as the coat is concerned, it is better not to say anything!”

The politician is not the most intelligent part of humanity. Otherwise there would not have been five thousand wars in three thousand years. The politician has destroyed, but has not created anything. It is the politician who is creating the atomic weapons, the nuclear missiles. With what face can he make the people of the world aware that the future is dark, dismal?

Osho, The Sword and the Lotus, Talk #3

What can you take away with you? [Story]

The story is that one man became a chakravartin — and it happens only once in thousands of years that a man becomes a chakravartin. Even Alexander the Great was not a world conqueror; there was yet much left unconquered. And he died very young, he was only thirty-three: there was not even time enough to conquer the world. What to say of conquering, the whole world was not even known. Half of the world was unknown, and the half that was known, even that was not conquered. This man, of whom I am going to tell you the story, became the chakravartin.

 

 

It is said that when a chakravartin dies — because a chakravartin happens only in thousands of years, he is a rare being — when he dies he is received in heaven with great rejoicings and he is taken to a special place.

In Jaina mythology, in heaven there is a parallel mountain to the Himalayas. The Himalayas are just made of rocks and earth and ice. The parallel Himalayas in heaven is called Sumeru. Sumeru means the ultimate mountain: nothing can be higher than that, nothing can be better than that. It is solid gold; instead of rocks there are diamonds and rubies and emeralds.

When a chakravartin dies he is led to Sumeru mountain to engrave his name on it. That is a rare opportunity; that happens only once in thousands of years. Of course this man was immensely excited that he was going to write his name on Sumeru. That is the ultimate catalogue of all the great ones that have been, and will also be the catalogue of all the great ones who are going to be. This emperor was becoming party to a lineage of supermen.
The gatekeeper gave him the instruments to engrave his name. He wanted a few of his men who had committed suicide just because their emperor was dying — they could not think of living without him. His wife, his prime minister, his commander-in-chief — all the great people who were around him, they all had committed suicide, so they had come with him.

The emperor wanted the gatekeeper to let them all come to see him engrave his name, because what is the joy if you go alone and engrave your name and nobody is there even to see? — because the real joy is that the whole world should see.

The gatekeeper said, “You listen to my advice, because this is my inherited profession. My father was a gatekeeper, his father was a gatekeeper; for centuries we have been gatekeepers to Sumeru mountain. Listen to my advice: Don’t take them with you; otherwise you will repent.”

The emperor could not understand, but he could not even go against his advice — because what interest could that man have in preventing him?

The gatekeeper said, “If you still want them to see, first go engrave your name; then come back and take them with you if you want. I have no objection even now if you want to take them, but just in case you decide not to, then there will be no place, no chance … they will be with you. You go alone.” This was perfectly sane advice.

The emperor said, “That’s good. I will go alone, engrave my name, come back, and call you all.”

The gatekeeper said, “I am perfectly agreeable to that.”
The emperor went and he saw the Sumeru shining under thousands of suns — because in heaven you cannot be so poor as to have just one sun — thousands of suns, and a golden mountain far bigger than the Himalayas — and the Himalayas are almost two thousands miles long! He could not open his eyes for a moment, it was so glaring there. And then he started looking for a space, the right space, but he was very much puzzled: there was no space; the whole mountain was engraved with names.

He could not believe his eyes. For the first time he became aware what he was. Up to now he was thinking he was a superman who happens once in thousands of years. But time has been from eternity; even thousands of years didn’t make any difference, so many chakravartins had happened already. There was no space on that biggest mountain in the whole universe where he could write his small name.

He came back, and now he understood that the gatekeeper was right not to take his wife and his commander-in-chief and his prime minister and other intimate friends. It was good that they had not seen the situation. They would still believe that their emperor was a rare being.

He took the gatekeeper inside and he said, “But there is no space!”

The gatekeeper said, “That’s what I was telling you. What you have to do is to erase a few names and write down your name. That’s what has been done; my whole life I have been seeing this done, my father used to say this has been done. My father’s father — none of my family have seen Sumeru empty, or any space ever.

“Whenever a chakravartin has come he had to erase a few names and write his own name. So this is not the whole history of the chakravartins. Many times it has been erased, many times it has been engraved. You just do your work, and then if you want to show your friends you can bring them in.”

The emperor said, “No, I don’t want to show them and I don’t want to even write my name. What is the point? — someday somebody will come and erase it.

“My whole life has become utterly meaningless. This was my only hope, that Sumeru, the golden mountain in heaven was going to have my name. For this I have lived, for this I have staked my life; for this I was ready to kill the whole world. And anybody else can erase my name and write his. What is the point of writing it? I will not write it.” The gatekeeper laughed.

The emperor said, “Why are you laughing?”
The gatekeeper said, “This is strange, because this too I have been hearing from my grandfathers — that chakravartins come, and seeing the whole story, just turn back; they don’t write their names. You are not new: anybody having a little intelligence would do the same.”


In this whole world what can you gain?
What can you take away with you?
Your name, your prestige, your respectability? Your money, your power — what? Your scholarship?
You cannot take anything.

Everything will have to be dropped here.