A "Good Morning" prayer for you........

Inter-Personal Relations

Inter-Personal Relations

If one were to list the reasons for quarrels among couples, it is not money-mindedness that would top the list! The words! Words that dissolve into thin air the moment they are uttered are the main reason for causing bitterness in a relationship between a husband and wife. Just a few words have dragged some couples to courts! Mere words have made many couples to live like strangers within the same household.

Here is a brief tale!

A husband never bothered about the likes and dislikes of his wife. The wife’s reciprocal attitude perfectly suited her husband. One night, the husband had not returned home till midnight. The wife, not worried about him, had long since retired to bed. In the middle of the night, there was a knock on the door. The wife opened the door. It was her husband. He brought a monkey along with him. As soon as she saw the monkey, the wife was furious. However, she swallowed her anger and went to bed. He placed the monkey on the bed between him and his wife.

Now she could contain her anger no more!

‘How can you let a monkey sleep in my side? How can I bear the nuisance and nasty smell?’

‘Of course, haven’t I got used to your foul smell ever since I married you? So, soon this monkey too would get used to it!’ said the husband. These pricking words hurt the wife no end. On the same night, their marital life came to an end!

Here we have to recall the words of Dalai Lama.

‘If the reason for your being born on the earth should be fulfilled, please help others. In case you are not able to help others, at least try not to hurt anyone!’

But, what happens in some houses? Husband and wife tear each other apart with their words. It seems strange even to think of it! As the levels of knowledge, skills and abilities of human beings rise higher, the rates of divorce also increase!

What is the reason for this? The answer for this question lies in the meaning of the word ‘knowledge.’

Well then, what is knowledge? Knowledge does not reside in books. It is visible in the behavior of people.

In business management schools emphasis is laid on a subject – Interpersonal skills! This subject teaches us how to develop good and healthy relationships with co-workers, superiors, subordinates and clients.

Even if a person has made a mistake, do not tell him, ‘What you have done is wrong.’ On the contrary, help him see what is right rather than make him feel wrong. Even if you have to criticize someone apply the sandwich technique…..place your criticism between praises. There are many communication skills like disarming, preemptive strikes, multiple closes, emptying technique….for example we can instantly build a rapport with the other by applying warm up technique by asking questions which impress the other.

These are the primary lessons in interpersonal skills. These are suitable not only for the working environment, but also in intimate relationships.

Today, in many houses, the relationship between a husband and wife is like a stone. But the strange fact is, even stone carvings in places like Khajuraho are full of life and romantic splendor! This was the vision of our rishis….Sages of India.

Om Namah Shivay

Daily Practices to Counter Fear

Daily Practices to Counter Fear

Honor your Fear. Express it in healthy ways- pray, kiss your children, and be grateful for what you have. Ask the Universe/God to help you go beyond your fear and live a full life. Offer up a prayer of gratitude/thankfulness for what you do have and not what will be taken; turn to love and gratefulness. Ordinarily, the mind is so constructed it can only keep one thought in it at a time.
Scenarios of the world ending are just that. Remember, you can only control yourself and work to make your world/life better.

Lead a full Life. Participate in the world; try to make it a better place. Travel to the different parts of yourself and follow one of the great spiritual paths to completion.

Live in the moment. All you have is this moment; try to make it work and be joyous for you.

Happiness Calendar. Every day do something small that makes you happy. Laugh, tell a joke; make a telephone call to your friends. Research tells us that happy people have many small things they look forward to each day.

NEWS Vacation. Take a vacation from your computer, the television set and reportage of the bad things on the NEWS. Sit quietly or go for a walk; try to listen to that quiet part of yourself that knows where it is going.

Pray. Make each moment a celebration to life and offer up a song of gratitude for the opportunity to be here.

Think Happy Thoughts. And when you find yourself becoming sad, angry, confused, remember, that from confusion comes order. One moment we are happy and the next sad. We have the capacity to create our own reality, and a happy traveler thinks happy thoughts. Tell jokes, laugh, or watch a funny movie.

Avoid making comparisons between yourself and others; particularly what they have and you do not have.

Monitor your expectations about life and people. Often, expectations are a trap that robs us of our happiness and peace of mind (i.e., I expected by this point in my life . . . Or if I followed this spiritual path, I would be free of pain).

Life can be glorious, but remember it’s a full-contact sport. Chaos and order co-exist and are part of the Cosmic Plan.

Be With Positive People. Be selective with the people you hang around and what they speak/talk about. Positive/loving people are good medicine.

Avoid Alcohol/Recreational Drugs. Most are depressants and can affect your mood.

Balanced Living. All things in moderation and strive to lead a complete, multi-level balanced life.

Replaying Old Tapes. Avoid going over and over, troubling things that have happened. Some of this is necessary, but most often, we replay it too much.

Om Namah Shivay

A wise person is one who feels that he has received much more than what he deserves. When this realization dawns in a person, he is filled with love, gratitude and contentment, and spontaneously seeks refuge in the Divine.

A wise person is one who feels that he has received much more than what he deserves. When this realization dawns in a person, he is filled with love, gratitude and contentment, and spontaneously seeks refuge in the Divine.

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What is it that God does not have? He does not have problems, miseries and difficulties; and that is what he asks you to give him. Can you not give this to him? So surrender all your negative qualities to him.

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Celebration does not have to be outside work. Anything you do, do with an attitude of celebration. It’s much less tiring, less draining on your system and more elevating.

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Recently, across the world, there has been a failure of government and large corporations to solve economic problems and timely react to natural disasters; also, for the average person, these institutions appear to have been at the center of many of the ills that affect us. As a result, gradually, many are turning away from reliance upon authoritarian based models to individual based structures. Slowly, we are collectively realizing that governments/corporations/religion alone cannot save us; we must all work to make the world better and begin this effort with ourselves.

More people are solving problems locally and gradually realizing that the world is made better one person at a time; this is the person centered approach. Additionally, there is growing interest in spiritual paths that emphasize personal development. Better individuals make a better world.
Personal, Corporate, and Governmental Greed, along with Religious Fanaticism increasingly are threats to our way of life.

Om Namah Shivay

Is there life after death?

Q: Is there life after death? They say there are seven births. Are the seven births clubbed with the human birth or after human birth?

Guruji : There is life after death. We will have to come back. We shall keep coming back. There is nothing like seven, it can be any number.

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Q: Guruji, There is another thing there is violence at individual level also and at national, international level also but how do we tackle this?

Guruji : You know violence is a result of fermented stress. When stress gets fermented and it is not rooted out in its infancy, it either turns into societal violence or depression or suicidal tendencies. These are two things that happen. Stress comes up and then either one gets suicidal on one hand or they swing towards becoming violent and agitated. So yoga brings that balance to the personality; balance of body, mind and spirit. Yoga brings that equanimity and balance; decency in one’s personality. That’s why we say ‘Yogyatha’ for one who is qualified. The qualification to be called a decent human being comes to you through Yoga because then you can balance your emotions, you have a say over your behavior. It’s not like your behavior goes out of your control.

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Vijaydashmi

The nine days of Navratri are also an opportunity to rejoice in the three primordial qualities that make up the universe. Though our life is governed by the three gunas, we seldom recognize and reflect on them. The first three days of Navratri are attributed to tamo guna, the next three days to rajo guna and the last three days to sattva guna. Our consciousness sails through the tamo and rajo gunas and blossoms in the sattva guna of the last three days. Whenever sattva dominates in life, victory follows. The essence of this knowledge is honored by celebrating the tenth day as Vijaydashmi.

Om Namah Shivay

Prithu

BRAHMA PURANA – 4

Prithu

In Dhruva's line there was a king named Anga, Anga was religious and followed the righteous path. But unfortunately, Anga's son Vena inherited none of the good qualities of his father. Vena's mother was Sunitha and she happened to be the daughter of Mrityu. Mrityu was notorious for his evil ways and deeds. Vena spent a lot of time with his maternal grandfather and picked up these evil characteristics.

Vena gave up the religion that was laid down in the Vedas and stopped all yajnas. He instructed his subjects that he alone was to be worshiped.

The sages led by Marichi came to Vena to try and persuade him to mend his ways. But Vena was in no mood to listen. He insisted that there was no one equal to him in the whole universe.

The sages realized that Vena was a lost cause. They physically caught hold of Vena and began to knead his right thigh. From this kneading there emerged a horrible looking creature. It was a dwarf and its complexion, was extremely dark. The sage Atri was so aghast at the dwarf's appearance that he blurted out, "nishida", which means "sit". From this, the dwarf came to be known as nishada. The race of nishadas became hunters and fishermen, and lived in the Vindhya mountains. From them were also descended uncivilized races like Tusharas and Tunduras.

The evil that was in Vena's body and mind came out with the emergence of the nishada.

When the sages began to knead Vena's right arm, Prithu emerged. He shone like a flaming fire and his energy lit up the four directions. He held a bow in his hand and he was clad in beautiful armour. As soon as Prithu was born, Vena died.

All the rivers and the oceans arrived with their waters and their jewels to anoint Prithu as the king. The gods and the sages also came for the coronation. Brahma himself crowned Prithu the king of the earth. He also took the opportunity to apportion out the lordships of other parts of the universe. Soma was appointed lord over creepers, herbs, stars (nakshatras), planets (grahas), sacrifices, meditation (tapasya) and over the first of the four classes (brahmanas). Varuna became lord of the oceans, Kubera of all the kings, Vishnu of the adityas, Agni of vasus, Daksha of all, Prahlada of daityas and danavas, Yama of the pritris (ancestors), Shiva of yakshas, rakshasas and pishachas (ghosts), and Himalaya of the mountains.

The ocean (samudra) was made the lord of all rivers. Chitraratha of gandharvas, Vasuki of nagas, Takshaka of sarpas, Garuda of birds, the tiger of deer, Airavata of elephants, Ucchaihshrava of horses, the bull of cows and the ashvattha tree (a banyan) of all trees. Brahma also appointed four overlords (dikapalas) for the four directions. To the east there was Sudhanva, to the south Shankhapada, to the west Ketumana and to the north Hiranyaroma.

Prithu was a king who ruled the earth well. During his reign, the earth was laden with food grains. The cows were full of milk and the subjects were happy. To glorify King Prithu, the sages performed a sacrifice and from this sacrifice there emerged two races known as the sutas and the magadhas should sing praises in honor of Prithu.

"But what praise will we sing?" asked the sutas and the magadhas. "Prithu is still young. He has not done much that can be praised".

"That may be true," replied the sages. "But he will do wondrous deeds in the future. Sing praises of those wonderful deeds. We will tell you about them."

Having learnt of these future deeds from the sages, the sutas and the magadhas began to compose songs and chant praises in honor of Prithu. These stories were related throughout the earth. Some of Prithu's subjects heard these stories and came to see Prithu. "King," they said. "We have heard of your great deeds. But we find it difficult to make a living. Please indicate to us our habitations on earth. And tell us where we may be able to get the food we need for subsistence."

King Prithu picked up his bow and arrow. He decided to kill the earth, since the earth was not yielding food grains to his subjects. The earth adopted the form of a cow and began to flee. But wherever the earth went, Prithu followed with his bow and arrow. He followed the earth to the heaven and to the underworld.

Finally, in desperation, the earth started to pray to Prithu. "King," she said, "please control your anger. I am a woman. Killing me will only mean a sin for you. Besides, what purpose will killing me serve? Your subjects will then be without a place to live in. There must be some other way of ensuring that your subjects can make a living.

The earth then herself offered a solution and King Prithu did her bidding. With his bow, he leveled out the earth. The plains could now be used for villages and cities and for agriculture and animal husbandry. The plains could now be used for villages and cities and for agriculture and animal husbandry. The mountains were gathered together in select places, instead of being littered over whole earth. Earlier, Prithu's subjects had lived off fruits and roots. Now Prithu milked the earth (in her form of a cow) and obtained the seeds of foodgrains on which people could live. Because of Prithu's deeds, the earth came to be known as prithivi.

Om Namah Shivay

“You see and experience God within you, yet you deny it."

God: “You see and experience God within you, yet you deny it. You deny that I am within you—that I am you—and in this you deny Me My rightful and obvious place.”
Neale Donald Walsch: “I have not, and do not, deny You.”
God: “You admit that You are God?”
Neale Donald Walsch: “Well, I wouldn’t say that…”
God: “Exactly. And I tell you this: “Before the cock crows, you will deny Me three times.
By your very thoughts will you deny Me.
By your very words will you deny Me.
By your very actions will you deny Me.
You know in your heart that I am with you, in you; that We are One. Yet you deny Me.
Oh, some of you say I exist all right. But away from you. Way out there somewhere. And the further away you imagine Me to be, the further away you step from your own truth.”