An American lady unaccustomed to squatting on the floor somehow managed to sit in the hall by stretching her legs towards Bhagavan’s sofa.

One of the attendants suggested to her that she sit cross-legged. When Bhagavan saw that he said smiling, “When they find it difficult even to sit down on the floor, should you force them to sit cross-legged also?” “No, no! As they do not know that it is disrespectful to stretch their legs towards Bhagavan, I merely told them so, that is all,” said the devotee.

“Oh is that so! It is disrespectful, is it? Then it is disrespectful for me to stretch my legs towards them. What you say applies to me as well.” Saying this in a lighter vein, Bhagavan sat up cross-legged.

Even though the rheumatism in Bhagavan’s legs rendered them painful and stiff after ten minutes of being folded, he continued to sit cross-legged stretching them from time to time, saying that it might be deemed disrespectful.

Even after the visitors took leave he kept his legs folded saying, “I do not know if I can stretch them. They say it is not good manners.” The attendant stood by Bhagavan’s side crestfallen and repentant. Bhagavan, full of compassion, stretched out his legs as usual and began telling this story.

Seeing that Sundaramurthi was going away on a white elephant which had come from Kailas, the Rajah of Chera whispered in the ear of his horse the panchakshara mantra and got upon it to go to Kailas.

Avvaiyar, who was at the time doing puja to Lord Ganesa, saw them both going to Kailas and so tried to hurry up her puja as she too wanted to go to Kailas.By the time Sundaramurthi and Chera Raja reached the place, they found her already seated there. Surprised at that they asked her how she had got there and were overjoyed at her bhakti. After all, she was very old. So she sat facing Parameswara with her legs stretched out like me. Parvati could not bear that sight. She was worried because to sit with legs stretched out towards Swami, she felt, was a great insult.

She respectfully suggested to Parameswara that she should be permitted to tell the old lady about it. “Oh, don’t speak, don’t open your mouth. We should not say anything to her.”

How could Parvati put up with that insult? She, therefore, whispered into the ear of her maid to tell the old lady, who said, “Grandma, Grandma, don’t keep your legs outstretched towards Iswara”. “Is that so?” She replied, “Tell me on which side Iswara is not present. Shall I turn this side?” asked Avvaiyar. So saying, she turned her outstretched legs to another side and Iswara got turned to that side; and when again she turned in a different direction, He also got turned to the same side. Then Parvati requested the old lady to excuse her. It is similar to that when people are asked not to stretch their legs towards Swami. Where is He not present?

Seeing that, Ganesa said, “Old woman, don’t hurry. Let your puja be performed as usual. I shall take you to Kailas before they reach it.” Accordingly, the puja was performed in due course. Waving his hand around, he said, “Old lady, close your eyes.” That was all. When she opened her eyes, she found herself seated in Kailas in front of Parvati and Parameswara.

Thus Swami got turned to whichever side she turned her legs. Looking at Parvati, Iswara said, “Do you see now? You would not listen to me. See how she turns me this side and that. That is why I told you not to open your mouth.”

Umadevi, a Polish lady had traveled in Kashmir and brought some photos which were shown to all in the old hall. Bhagavan humorously remarked, “We have seen those places without the trouble of travelling.”

A devotee thereby said, “I wish to go to Kailas.” Sri Bhagavan said, “1 can see these places only if destined. Not otherwise. After seeing all, there will still remain more – if not in this hemisphere, may be in the other. Knowledge implies ignorance of what lies beyond what is known. Knowledge is always limited.”

After sometime Sri Bhagavan related the following story.

Appar was decrepit and old and yet began to a travel to Kailas. Another old man appeared on the way and tried to dissuade him from the attempt, saying that it was too difficult to reach there.

Appar was however obdurate and said that he would risk his life in the attempt. The stranger asked him to dip himself in a tank close by. Appar did so and found Kailas then and there. Where did all this happen?

In Tiruvayyar, 9 miles from Tanjore. Where is Kailas then? Is it within the mind or outside it? If Tiruvayyar be truly Kailas, it must appear to others as well. But Appar alone found it so.

Similarly it is said of other places of pilgrimage in the South, that they are the abodes of Siva and devotees found them so. This was true from their standpoint. Everything is within. There is nothing without.

At some other time another visitor started wailing before Bhagavan that he was being quite crushed under the enormity of his sins. Bhagavan asked: “When you sleep, are you a sinner?” “No, I am just asleep.” “If you are not a sinner, then you must be good.” “No, I am neither good nor bad when I am asleep. I know nothing about myself.” “And what do you know about yourself now? You say you are a sinner. You say so because you think you are. Were you pleased with yourself, you would call yourself a good man and stop telling me about your being a sinner. What do you know about good and evil except what is in your mind? When you see that the mind invents everything, all will vanish, and you will remain as you are” - The Bhagavan I Knew by Voruganti Krishnayya. As told to G. Vankatachalam. Translated from Telugu by Surya Prasad Ramana Smrti Souvenir.

“What will it be like when one achieves Self-realization?” somebody asked. “The question is all wrong, one does not realize anything new,” said Bhagavan. “I don't get you, Swami.” “It is very simple. Now you feel like you are in the world. There you feel like the world is in you,” explained Ramana Maharishi.

Ramana Maharshi mainly gave his grace through silence. On some rare Occasions Ramana Maharshi used to answer seeker's questions and some times narrated short stories to make the point clear to the seekers. While telling stories Ramana Maharshi used to get very much involved. On one occasion while describing Gautama’s joy at Goddess Parvati’s coming to his Ashram, Sri Bhagavan could not go on, for tears filled his eyes and emotion choked his voice. Trying to hide his plight from others, he remarked, “I don’t know how people who perform Harikatha explain such passages to audiences and manage to do it without breaking down. I suppose they must make their hearts hard like stone before starting their work".

The Tea Shop

A group of fifteen soldiers led by their Major Sahib were on their way to the post in Himalayas where they would be deployed for next three months. Another batch, which will be relieved, would be waiting anxiously for their arrival so that they could fall back to safer confines of their parent unit. Some would proceed on leave and meet their families. They were happy that they were to relieve a set of comrades who had done their job.

It was a treacherous climb and the journey was to last till the next evening.  Cold winter with intermittent snowfall added to the torture.

If only someone could offer a cup of tea, the Major thought, knowing completely well that it was a futile wish.

They continued for another hour before they came across a dilapidated structure which looked like a small shop. It was locked.

It was 2 o'clock in the night and there was no house close to the shop where the owner could be located. In any case it was not advisable to knock any doors in the night for security reasons.

It was a stalemate. "No tea boys, bad luck" said the Major.

The Major told the men to take some rest since they had been walking for more than three hours now.

"Sir, this is a tea shop indeed and we can make tea. We will have to break the lock though."

The officer was in doubt about the proposed action but a steaming cup of tea was not a bad idea. He thought for a while and permitted for the lock to be broken. The lock was broken.

They were in luck.

The place was a shop indeed and had everything required to preparing tea and also a few packets of biscuits.

The tea was prepared and it brought great relief to all in the cold night. They were now ready for the long and treacherous walk ahead of them and started to get ready to move.

The officer was in thought. They had broken open the lock and prepared tea and consumed biscuits without the permission of the owner. The payment was due but there was no one in sight. But, they are not a band of thieves. They are disciplined soldiers.

The Major didn't move out without doing what needed to be done. He took out a INR. 1000/- note from his wallet and kept it on the counter, pressed under the sugar container, so that the owner sees it first thing when he arrives in the morning.

He was now relieved of the guilt and ordered the move.

Days, weeks and months passed. They continued to do gallantly what they were required to do and were lucky not to lose any one from the group in the intense insurgency situation.

And then one day, it was time to be replaced by another brave lot. Soon they were on their way back and stopped at the same shop, which was today open with the owner in place. He was an old man with very meager resources and was happy to see fifteen of them with the prospect of selling at least fifteen cups of tea that day.

All of them had their tea and spoke to the old man about his life and experiences in general, selling tea at such remote a location. The poor, old man had many stories to tell all of them, replete with his faith in God.

"Kya Baba, yadi Allah hota to kyaa aap ke jaisa 'Allah kaa bandaa' is haal main hota?" said one of them, moved by his poverty and faith in God.

"Nahin Sahib, aise mat kaho, God actually exists. I got the proof a few months ago."

"I was going through very tough times because my only son had been severely beaten by the terrorists who wanted some information from him which he did not have. I had closed the shop early that day and had taken my son to the hospital. There were medicines to be purchased and I had no money. No one would give me a loan from fear of the terrorists. There was no hope, Sahib. And that day Sahib, I had prayed to Allah for help. And Sahib, Allah walked into my shop that day. When I returned to my shop that day and saw the lock broken, I thought someone had broken in and had taken away whatever little I had. But then I saw that 'Allah' had left INR. 1000/- under the sugar pot. Sahib, I can't tell you what that money was worth that day. Allah exists Sahib, He does. I know people are dying every day here but all of you will soon meet your near and dear ones, your children, and you must thank your God Sahib, he is watching all of us. He does exist. He walked in to my shop that day and broke open the lock to give me the money I desperately needed. I know He did it."

The faith in his eyes was unflinching. It was unnerving. Fifteen sets of eyes looked at their Major and read the order in his eyes clear and unambiguous, 'Keep quiet.'

The Major got up and paid the bill and hugged the old man.

"Yes Baba, I know, God does exist and yes the tea was wonderful."

Fifteen pairs of eyes did not miss the moisture building in the eyes of the Major, a rare sight.

And the real truth is that any one of us can be a God to somebody.

Spirituality is the essence of life. All of us are endowed with that untapped goldmine we call spirituality. It is our being that determines our thinking and personality even as very few among us are aware of that deep fountain of ambrosia within us that constantly guides us. Most of us however, rarely heed to it or respond to it. Tap that source and you are well on a growth trajectory - personal, financial, emotional, and spiritual.

Spirituality and your career are intricately intertwined. However, most of us might fail to go along the spiritually guided career. Some of us realize mid-way that we are ordained for a different career and make career change. Others are not as fortunate. There are some spiritually conscious among us who made the right career choice since their beginning.

There are few things that all of us might have noticed in personal life that go on to show the manner in which your guardian angel constantly prepares you for career and career change.

You might have noticed that you constantly aspired for a job that didn't come easily even as you and the others thought you were highly competent there. However, the offers came pouring in sectors you thought you were not competent enough. And in this very sector you excelled without much effort. You hated the job that you thought was forced upon you but came to love it ultimately. You loved the job that you always aspired for but came to hate it ultimately.

These are no accidents as there are no accidents in the universe. These were guiding steps designed by your guardian spirits for your learning and experience no actual university can give you. As your psychic ability develops you might know it rather easily.

There might have been difficult moments when you needed a job badly but didn't get any. You thought the world was a cruel place ruled by a cruel God. Much later, when you were in some profession you realized on reflecting back, how well everything fell into place. You might have considered even fortunate for not having landed with the job that you needed so badly when you were going through a tough phase.

The story of Swami Vivekananda, the great religious leader from India who made a deep impact at the Parliament of Religions, Chicago in 1893 can be quite illustrative here. Swami Vivekananda was known as Naren before taking to monk-hood. His father died when he was in Presidency College, Calcutta. He was the eldest son in the family that was suddenly burdened with grave responsibilities. His father hadn't left any money for the family. He wandered with his bio-data from one office to the next in the hope of finding a job, but he got none. This was despite the fact that he had graduated with excellent scores and even his professors were awed by his academic excellence.

His spiritual master Ramkrishna. Paramhamsa had foretold that Naren would be a great spiritual master who was not meant for any ordinary job.

Isn't it quite reasonable to assume that the job we look after in vain is not meant for us? On the contrary, we are meant for something else or a different job. Rather than stressing our nerves in a futile attempt at finding a job, it would be more reasonable to let it slip and go by as smoothly as we pass stations without stopping in our journey.

It would be more reasonable to delve deep into our inner consciousness to discover what might rightfully belong to us. It is then that we feel more at peace and more in command of our true being. Some of us are endowed with that psychic ability while most of us learn it gradually. You can use your inherent psychic ability to enhance your self spiritually. It might then be possible for you to know the right job for you or whether you need a job change.

There are, however, some signs that might tell you whether or not you are moving in the right direction in your search after a job or career.

Think and visualize a job. If you feel an inner joy and satisfaction that job is probably meant for you. Visualize the job in terms of activities involved. Do you see yourself cheerful? Do you see yourself energetic and vibrant? If yes, the job is meant for you.

Do you remember your friends, family and even strangers telling, "You will make an excellent..." (Social worker, nurse, teacher, counselor, etc.). Nature is sending you messages. Sit quietly in a room or somewhere no one can disturb. Close your eyes. Let the images of different jobs pass through your mind. Notice them closely. Which among the images was the most vivid and clear? That is probably the job you are meant for.

Do you keep your dream diary? If not, you would do well to keep one. For a month from today start writing your dreams as much as you can remember on waking up. After a month or so, read and analyze whatever you have written. You can maintain your dream diary for even a long period or for as long a time as you want. Reading the content at a periodic interval might give you some sign or some hint at what you have been aspiring for. Your guardian angel might have put those hints and signs for you to decipher.

Since your career is an extension of your personality, being and spirituality, career change will probably come easily with the spiritual exercises should you feel your present career is not for you. A little contemplation and imagination will add to your psychic abilities to reckon the desirable direction of career or career change.

As a man walked a desolate beach one cold, gray morning he began to see another figure, far in the distance. Slowly the two approached each other, and he could make out that it was a local native who kept leaning down, picking something up and throwing it out into the water. Time and again he hurled things into the ocean.

As the distance between them continued to narrow, the man could see that the native was picking up starfishes that had been washed upon the beach and one at a time, was throwing them back into the water.

Puzzled, the man approached the native and asked what he was doing. “I’m throwing these starfishes back into the ocean. You see, it’s low tide right now and all of these starfishes have been washed up onto the shore. If I don’t throw them back into the sea, they’ll die up here from lack of oxygen.”

“But there must be thousands of starfishes on this beach,” the man replied. “You can’t possibly get to all of them. There are just too many and this same thing is probably happening on hundreds of beaches all up and down this coast. Can’t you see that you can’t possibly make a difference?”

The local native smiled, bent down and picked up another starfish and as he threw it back into the sea he replied, “Made a difference to that one!”

Kabir, who seeing a woman grinding corn, said to his Guru, Nipatniranjan, "I am weeping, because I feel the agony of being crushed under this wheel of worldly existence, like the corn in the hand-mill." Nipatniranjan replied, "Do not be afraid, hold fast to the handle of knowledge of this mill, as I do and do not wander far away from the same, but turn inward to the center and you are sure to be saved."

Ikkyu, a famous Zen teacher of Ashikaga era, was the son of the emperor. When he was very young, his mother left the palace and went to study Zen in a temple. Prince Ikkyu also became a student. When his mother passed away, she left him a letter. It read:

"To ikkyu, I have finished my work in this life and am now returning to eternity. I wish you to become a good student and to realise your Buddha-nature. You will know if I am in hell and whether I am always with you or not. If you become a man who realises that the Buddha and his follower Bodhidharma are your own servants, you may leave studying and work for humanity. If you don't and yet wish to, avoid thinking fruitlessly. Your mother, not born, not dead. September 1st. P.s.: The teaching of Buddha was mainly for the purpose of enlightening others. If you are dependent on any of its methods, you are naught but an ignorant insect. There are 80,000 books on Buddhism and if you should read all of them and still not see your own nature, you will not understand even this letter. This is my will and testament."

Once upon a time, sages Vishwamitra and Vasishtha debated the relative merits of tapasya and satsang. Vasishtha asserted that satsang was a spiritually powerful path. Vishwamitra insisted that tapasya was supreme. Vishwamitra, burst into Vasishtha's satsang and demanded that they ask Ananta Sesh Naga to resolve this difference of opinion. After much persuasion, Vasishtha agreed to humor Vishwamitra.

Ananta Sesha said, "I am carrying the burden of the entire universe on my head all the time. This gives me a terrible headache. Lend me the powers that each of you has acquired through tapasya and satsang. I will try each in turn and decide which is more effective for my headache."

In the yoga Vasishtha , sadhu-sanga or satsang is affirmed as one of the four gatekeepers of moksha. The others are self-restraint, contentment and self-awareness. Befriending even one of these gatekeepers is sufficient to enter Godhood.

The Shrimad Bhagvata Purana describes how the orphan Narada grows up in the company of saints. Merely through association, he is blessed with a direct vision of God. As Narada Muni, he then travels the universe glorifying The Lord and sharing the benefits of his satsang.

In a satsang one remains rapt and absorbed in the presence of God. The enlightened ones see the lord everywhere, in every rock and in every heart. They dwell in eternal satsang. Just as a sandalwood tree spreads its fragrance to all other trees around it, enlightened saints spread their spiritual fragrance to all those who gather around them. Over time, more and more people gather around these venerated saints.

The satsangis in turn, lovingly pull into their charmed circle other spiritual seekers from among their near and dear ones. Thus does the love of the divine spread through the universe. For, one does not spray spirituality with water cannons upon the multitude, but one gently pours the love of God from one human heart to another and so, it permeates the universe.

To draw a seeker into the satsang circle, his false ego is used as the bait. Before you break a coconut on the ground, you need to lift it high into the air. Similarly, false ego is inflated by other satsang is as a preamble to its annihilation.

First, Vishwamitra gave Ananta Aesha all the spiritual powers he had acquired through a lifetime of tapasya. Ananta Sesha's headache remained unchanged. Then Vasishtha transferred the spiritual powers he had acquired to Ananta Aesha. Suddenly, the weight of the universe seemed to lift from Ananta's head. 

He smiled and said, "My headache is gone. The spiritual power of a satsang is more supreme. When people gather in a satsang, the collective weight of their mental burdens vanish. They transcend their minds and move onto a spiritual plane attaining yoga with the divine."

While visiting a Himalayan kingdom, the Master decided to visit the temple there. As he walked in with his local guide through the temple gates, he saw two large, ferocious dogs chained to the iron grills at the entrance. Their tongues were wagging, the saliva was dropping and they were barking non-stop. Just the kind of sight that could instill fear in a general mind!

"Don't worry, Master!" Said the helpful guide. "I know they look really scary. But the chains are very strong and there is no way the dogs can break free!" The Master continued to walk through the long courtyard, toward the main temple. Even as he tried to concentrate on the temple's history that the guide was narrating, he kept looking back at those dogs and his ears seemed to be echoing with the noise of their barking.

As he looked back one more time, he could not believe what he saw. The dogs had broken free from their chains and were running towards him. Instantly the Master started to run too. Directly towards the dogs! Yes, he began to run-not away from the dogs, but towards them! And guess what happened? The dogs were so surprised to see the master running towards them that they quietly turned and went back towards the gate!

Remember that you are always loved. you are always protected and you are never alone. You also are a being of light, of wisdom, of love. You can never be forgotten. You can never be overlooked or ignored. You are not your body; you are not your brain, not even your mind. You are Spirit. Spirit has no limits, not the limits of the physical body nor the reaches of the intellect or the mind.

There are no mistakes. The events we bring upon ourselves, no matter how unpleasant, are necessary in order to learn what we need to learn; whatever steps we take, they are necessary to reach the places we have chosen to go. - Richard Bach.

A disciple asked, "What is that one should know beyond which there is nothing else to be known?" His Master asked him to bring the seed of a pipal tree and then break it. When the disciple said that he found only small particles, he was asked to break the small particles also, till at last the disciple said that he could find nothing. Then the Master said, "Though you say you could see nothing, understand that it is from nothing that the great pipal tree is formed. Though you see yourself as a mere individual, you have great power within; of self-knowledge, similar to the power inherent in the seed, to become a great tree. Realize this and your potential to rise up to the level of Brahmin."

Problems can be traced to one single cause. It is one's eagerness to know everything about the world except for himself. Unless he knows about himself, he cannot know anything about others. Unless one knows the subject first, one cannot know the object. Rather than engaging oneself exclusively to gain knowledge of the world of science and technology, one needs to strive for complete self-knowledge that deals not only with one's material but also non-material aspects. Only that knowledge of the self is complete and self-sufficient by knowing that all the unknowable can be known.

You know that your desires are inseparably connected with everything else. Your very desire is not your own; it's an evolutionary impulse coming through you. A desire makes you evolve eventually, so why would you doubt it? The impulse is part of the greater pattern, which is to grow and evolve into greater abundance and creativity," - Deepak Chopra.

A doctor entered the hospital in hurry after being called in for an urgent surgery. He answered the call asap, changed his clothes and went directly to the surgery block. He found the boy's father pacing in the hall waiting for the doctor. On seeing him, the dad yelled: "Why did you take all this time to come? Don't you know that my son's life is in danger? Don't you have any sense of responsibility?"

The doctor smiled and said, "I am sorry, I wasn't in the hospital and I came as fast as I could after receiving the call. And now, I wish you'd calm down."

"Calm down?! What if your son was in this room right now, would you calm down? If your own son dies now what will you do?" said the father angrily.

The doctor smiled again and replied: "I will say what Job said in the Holy Book "From dust, we came and to dust we return, blessed be the name of God". Doctors cannot prolong lives. Go and intercede for your son, we will do our best by God's grace."

"Giving advice when we're not concerned is so easy" Murmured the father.

The surgery took some hours after which the doctor went out happy, "Thank god! your son is saved!" And without waiting for the father's reply he carried on his way running. "If you have any questions, please ask the nurse."

"Why is he so arrogant? He couldn't wait some minutes so that I could ask about my son's state", commented on the father when seeing the nurse minutes after the doctor left.

The nurse answered, with tears coming down her face, "His son died yesterday in a road accident, he was in the burial when we called him for your son's surgery. Now that he saved your son's life, he left running to finish his son's burial."

Please try and never judge anyone.

“Are you looking for me? I am in the next seat. My shoulder is against you. You will not find me in the stupas, not in Indian shrine rooms, nor in synagogues, nor in cathedrals, not in masses, nor kirtans, not in legs winding around your own neck, nor in eating nothing but vegetables. When you really look for me, you will see me instantly-you will find me in the tiniest house of time. Student, tell me, what is God? He is the breath inside the breath." - Kabir.

Once there was a thug named Sheikh Sajjan. He would appear to be a nobleman but would rob people deceitfully. He pretended to be kind, God-fearing and hospitable - he would offer food and shelter to the visitors and in the stealth of night would kill them, and take away their valuables.

Once Guru Nanak, along with a Muslim companion Mardana, stayed at Sajjan's rest house. It was almost midnight and despite waiting long for his guests to fall asleep, Sajjan continued to hear the soothing sounds of bani played on the Rabab. Guru Nanak recited a hymn: "Bronze is very bright to look at; but if you keep it, your hands get blackened with it. Similarly, some people appear to be good, but they are like a house whitened on the outside, but empty within. A man should be good from inside as well as outside." Sajjan was overwhelmed and falling at the Guru's feet, confessed his crimes.

Sajjan distributed all his possessions and converted his house into a Dharamshala which, according to puratan janamsakhi, was the first such centre in the history of early Sikhism.

Once a person riding on his physical prowess went to a Master and challenged him. The Master politely replied, "You might defeat me by putting a large amount of force in your push. But can you defeat me when I redirect your force and make you push the ground?"

The disciples were absorbed in a discussion of Lao Tzu's dictum: "Those who know, do not say; those who say, do not know." When the Master entered, they asked him what the words meant. The Master replied, "Which one of you knows the fragrance of a rose?" All of them indicated that they knew. Then he said, "Now, put it into words." All of them were silent.

Man of the millennium!

Mr.Kalayanasundaram worked as a Librarian for 30 years. Every month in his 30 years of experience (service), he donated his entire salary to help the needy. He worked as a server in a hotel to meet his needs. He donated even his pension amount of about ten lakh INR to the needy.

He is the first person in the world to spend the entire amount of earnings for a social cause. In recognition of his service, the American government honored him with the ‘Man of the Millennium’ award. He received a sum of INR 30 crores as part of this award, which he distributed entirely for the needy as usual.

Moved by his passion to help others, Super Star Rajinikanth adopted him as his father. He still lives as a bachelor and has dedicated his entire life to serving humanity.

Curse, not spring if saplings do not bloom. Curse, not the sun, if an owl cannot see in the daylight. Curse, not rain, if clouds cannot quench Chatak bird's thirst. Curse no one as everything is preordained. - Saint Savata Mali.

During a question and answer session, Angie Boissevain came before Kobun Chino Roshi with a question that had been burning within her all morning. But after she made the customary 3 bows and knelt before him, she found her mind utterly blank and the question is gone. She sat before him in silence for a long time before finally saying: "Where have all the words gone?" "Back where they came from!", replied the teacher.

One evening as Shichiri Kojun was reciting sutras, a thief with a sharp sword entered the room, demanding either money or his life. Shichiri told him: "Do not disturb me. You can find the money in that drawer." Then he resumed his recitation. A little while afterwards, he stopped and called: "Don't take it all. I need some to pay taxes tomorrow." The intruder gathered up most of the money and started to leave. "Thank a person when you receive a gift," Shichiri added. The man thanked him and made off. A few days afterwards, the fellow was caught and confessed, among others, the offence against Shichiri. When Shichiri was called as a witness, he said: "This man is no thief, at least as far as I am concerned. I gave him money and he thanked me for it." After he had finished his prison term, the man went to Shichiri and became his disciple.

"Whoever you are, Oh you, who wish to probe the secrets of nature, if you do not find within yourself that which you seek, neither shall you be able to find it outside. If you ignore the excellencies of your own house, how do you intend to find other excellencies? In you is hidden the treasure of treasures. Oh, man, know yourself and you shall know the Universe and the Gods!" - Inscribed in the ancient Temple of Delphi.

A lone survivor of a shipwreck prayed fervently for help, but none came. Eventually, he built himself a hut from driftwood to protect himself from the elements. A day later, he came home to find his hut on fire. He was stunned with anger. How could God do this to him, he thought. The very next day a ship came to rescue him. "We saw the smoke," said the rescuers. Please try not to lose heart even in the midst of suffering because God is always at work in our lives.

Allow your pain to become your message!

We all have a past and there is nothing you can do about it. You can't turn back the hands of time. What you can do is take the lessons that you've learned and pass them on to someone else. Your past does not dictate your future. Allow what happened to you in the past to make you a better person. Instead of looking back in your past with regrets, think of what you gained and be willing to use them to make your life better.

Remember that you will not receive a testimony without going through a test. In life, there will always be trials and tribulations but it should allow you to reach a higher level in your life. Everybody has a past or something terrible that has happened to them, but in every situation, you can allow it to break you or make you a better person. Sometimes, it may cause you to make a few detours in life, but your destiny is never tied to your past. You have to just go through it. It will not be an easy one, but I promise you, the journey will be well worth it.

I know some of you right now are wanting to start your own business, go back to school, or do something extraordinary with your life, but you don't do it because you fear that people will find out about your past. So, instead of you letting go of your pain or your past, you stay stuck at a dead-end job because you lack the courage to do what's really in your heart.

What you can do is look your pain or past dead in the face and let it know that you are not afraid of it and acknowledge it for what it is. You will allow yourself to be free to move forward. Holding onto the past will only paralyze you and keep you stuck in the past. You will not be able to write a new chapter in your life until you let go of the old one.

What I have learned that doesn't matter is that you can't be consumed with "they" say and worry about how others view you. At the end of the day, you have to be happy with you and the decisions you make, not the next person. So many people get stuck because they put most of their focus, time and energy on what others think about them instead of being true to themselves. 

What many fail to realize is that it is usually not about you, so don't take it personally. Allow your pain to become your message and share it with the world so that others can have hope and know that they too can live beyond their past and step into their greatness. - LaTersa Blakely.

6 principles of Reiki

• Just for today, I live with an attitude of gratitude
• Just for today, I will not worry
• Just for today, I will not get angry
• Just for today, I will do my work honestly
• Just for today, I will show love and respect for every living thing
• Just for today, I choose love.

"How shall I help the world?"

"By understanding it," said the Master.

"And How shall I understand it?"

"By turning away from it."

"How then shall I serve humanity?"

"By understanding yourself"

Always remember that you belong to no one, and no one belongs to you. Reflect that someday you will suddenly have to leave everything in this world - so make the acquaintanceship of God now. Prepare yourself for the astral journey of death by daily riding in the balloon of God-perception. Through delusion, you are perceiving yourself as a bundle of flesh and bones, which at best is a nest of troubles. Meditate unceasingly that you may quickly behold yourself as the Infinite Essence, free from misery. Cease being a prisoner of the body; using the secret key of Kriya, learn to escape into Spirit. - Lahiri Mahasaya.

That which cannot be thought by the mind, but by which, the mind can think. That which is not seen by the eye, but by which the eye can see. That which cannot be heard by the ear, but by which the ear can hear. Know that alone to be Brahmin, not this which people worship here. - Kena Upanishad | 5-7.

Take this jar full of water. Look into it. Water occupies all the space within the jar, therefore the space in the jar is contained in the water. Now, look at the surface of the water, the reflection of the moon and the stars. That outer space is also contained in the water. The water in the jar and space in the sky are both contained in the space limited by the jar. It is only a play of illusion. In the same way, oneself is in the body and in everything. This is a darshan, direct knowledge as oneself (atman). The space delimited by the jar is hidden by the water which it contains and by the sky which it reflects, in just the same way as the unchanging reality is hidden by vitality. Brahman alone is pure consciousness. In truth, there is no jar, and no jar-space, no embodied soul, nor nature.

The Great Invocation.

From the point of light within the mind of God, let light stream forth into the minds of men. Let light descend on earth.

From the point of love within the heart of God, let love stream forth into the hearts of men. May (God) consciousness return to earth.

From the centre where the will of God is known, let the purpose guide the little wills of men - The purpose which the Masters know and serve.

From the centre which we call the race of men, let the plan of love and light work out and may it seal the door where evil dwells.

Let light, love and peace restore the plan on earth.

A great King summoned his wise men. He ordered them, "Create for me a saying that will stabilise my inner state. When I am unhappy it will bring me joy, and when I am happy it will remind me of sadness. It cannot be too long, as I want to keep it with me always." The wise men consulted and contemplated deeply the King's command. Finally, they returned to the King bearing a small box. In it was a ring, and inside the ring was inscribed the following words: "this too shall pass" - Attar.

Soon after the passing away of Rabbi Mokshe, Rabbi Mendel of Kotyk asked one of his disciples, "What did your Master give the greatest importance to?" The disciple gave it a moment's reflection, then said, "To whatever he happened to be doing at the moment."

It intrigued the congregation to see their Rabbi disappear each week on the eve of the Sabbath. They suspected he was secretly meeting the almighty, so they deputed one of their number to follow him. This is what the man saw: the Rabbi disguised himself in peasant clothes and served a paralyzed gentile woman in her cottage, cleaning out the room and preparing a Sabbath meal for her. When the spy got back, the congregation asked, "Where did the Rabbi go? Did he ascend to heaven?" "No" the man replied, "He went even higher."

An efficiency expert was making his report to Henry Ford. "As you will see, Sir, the report is highly favourable, except for that man down the hall. Every time I pass by he's sitting with his feet on his desk. He's wasting your money." Said Ford, "That man once had an idea that earned us a fortune. At that time I believe his feet were exactly where they are now".

A Sufi saint set out on a pilgrimage to Mecca. On the outskirts of the city, he lay down by the road, exhausted from his journey. He had barely fallen asleep when he was brusquely awakened by an irate pilgrim. "This is the time when all believers bow their heads towards Mecca and you have your feet pointing towards the holy shrine. What sort of Muslim are you?" The Sufi did not move, he merely opened his eyes and said, "Brother, would you please do me the favor of placing my feet where they won't be pointing to the Lord?"

An old pilgrim was making his way to the Himalayan mountains in the bitter cold of winter when it began to rain. An innkeeper said to him, "How will you ever get there in this kind of weather, my good man?" The old man answered cheerfully, "My heart got there first, so it's easy for the rest of me to follow."

Disciple: "What's the difference between knowledge and enlightenment?"

Master: "When you have knowledge, you use a torch to show the way. When enlightened, you become a torch."

A very rich industrialist was horrified one day to find a fisherman lying lazily beside his boat, smoking a pipe. 'Why aren't you out fishing?' asked the industrialist. 'because I have caught enough fish for the day', said the fisherman. 'Why don't you catch some more?' ' What would I do with them?' 'You could earn more money', said the businessman. 'With that, you could have a motor attached to your boat and then go into deeper waters and catch more fish. Then you would make enough money to buy bigger and better nets. These would bring you more fish and more money. Soon you would be able to buy 1 or 2 more boats, even a fleet of them. Then you would be a rich man like me!' 'What would I do then?' 'Why then you could really enjoy life.' 'What do you think I am doing right now?'

A Sufi master was sitting quietly when a group of men came to punish him for wrongs he was accused of committing. The men rained blows on the Sufi master, hitting him a 1,000 times. Yet the Sufi master remained silent, and no sign of pain appeared on his face. After they had finished beating him, the men took the Sufi master to the court. The judge asked: "How did you suffer no pain when you were beaten?" The Sufi master replied: "When the men were raining blows on me, my beloved wife was looking on. Her love made the pain seem easier. Then I thought that, if the loving gaze of a human being can ease pain, the loving gaze of God can eliminate pain altogether." - Nasir al-din (1201-'74), Persia.

A Zen story tells of two monks, who were watching a flag blow in the wind. One monk said, "The flag is moving." The other monk said, "No, the wind is moving." A Zen master happened to be passing by and he told them, "Not the wind, nor the flag, the mind is moving".

At night, when you retire to sleep, feel that you are entering the green-room after the scene, but with the dress of your role on. For perhaps the role is not yet over and you have not yet been permitted to take the dress off. Perhaps, you have to make another entrance the next morning. Do not worry about that. Place yourself fully at His Disposal. He knows. He has written the play and He knows how it will end and how it will go on. Yours is but to act and retire."- Atharva Veda.

This being human is a guest house. Every morning is a new arrival. A joy, a depression, a meanness, some momentary awareness comes as an unexpected visitor. Welcome and entertain them all. Treat each guest honorably. The dark thought, the shame, the malice, meet them at the door laughing and invite them in. Be grateful for whoever comes, because each has been sent as a guide from beyond. - Rumi.

He, the infinite and the absolute, incarnates himself and descends to earth from time to time to vanquish evil (imbalance/ignorance), re-establish the divinity and uphold the cosmic principles. He has made himself perceptible as lord Krishna, Gautam Buddha, Jesus Christ, Hazrat Mohammad, Guru Nanak, and many more divine masters and eventually, various religions have also come into being. To merge all these religions into one, he has then manifested himself as sai and evinced the ultimate truth. We are one, God is one. - Lord Shirdi Sai Baba.

A sick man turned to his doctor who was preparing to leave the examination room and then said, "Doctor, I am afraid to die. Tell me what lies on the other side". Very quietly, the doctor said, "I don't know" "You don't know? You're a Hindu man, and you don't know what is on the other side?" replied the sick man. The doctor was holding the handle of the door; on the other side came a sound of scratching and whining and as he opened the door, a dog sprang into the room and leaped on him with an eager show of gladness. Turning to the patient, the doctor said, "Did you ever notice? My dog has never been in this room before. He did not know what was inside. He knew nothing except that his master was here and when the door opened, he sprang in without fear. I know little of what is on the other side of death, but I do know one thing. I know my master (the Creator/God) is there and that is enough" May there be peace within you all. May you all trust God - that you are exactly where you are meant to be.

A Zen master once recalled an incident from his life. 'When I first visited my master, I sat beside him for three years and he did not look even once in my direction. One day, he gave me a loving glance. That moment filled me with immense joy. Three years passed and then one day, he looked at me and smiled. His smile seemed like the most extraordinary blessing. After three more years the Guru stroked my head lovingly. How miraculous that moment felt. Another three years went by and then one day suddenly, he held me tight. That was it. I disappeared and so did he. All that remained was oneness'.

(How did this union occur? Over the twelve years, the Guru dissolved the disciple's ego completely, purified his mind and made him empty. Slowly, the disciple began to cast away his beliefs and attachments and develop feelings of love, faith, and ultimate surrender).

A group of highly educated students visited their old university Professor. Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life. Offering them coffee, Professor returned from the kitchen with a pot of coffee and an assortment of cups- porcelain, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite - telling them to help themselves to hot coffee. When all had a cup of coffee in hand, the Professor said: "If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain ones. While it's but normal for you to want only the best, that's also the source of your stress. What you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you still went for the best cups and were eyeing each other's cups! If life is coffee, then jobs, money, and status in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain life. Don't let the cups drive you. Enjoy the coffee!"

The devotee knelt to be initiated into discipleship. The Guru whispered the sacred mantra into his ear, warning him not to reveal it to anyone. "What will happen if I do?" asked the devotee. Said the Guru, "Anyone you reveal the mantra to will be liberated from the bondage of ignorance and suffering, but you will be excluded from discipleship and suffer damnation". No sooner had he heard those words, the devotee rushed to the market place, collected a large crowd around him and repeated the sacred mantra for all to hear. The disciples later reported this to the Guru and demanded that the man be expelled from the monastery for his disobedience. The Guru smiled and said, "He has no need of anything I can teach. His action has shown him to be a Guru in his own right."

Man is divine by nature. Either as created in the image of God, or as his spark or one with him, the essential nature of man can never lose this perfection. There is no such thing as sin, which can change the quality of the soul. The wicked action of a man may impose a veil upon the divine nature, but can never destroy it. God exists in us as potentiality and possibility. An action is called good or moral that helps us rediscover this hidden divinity. and action is immoral or bad which conjures up before us the appearance of manifoldness. The experience we gather at the physical, mental or aesthetic level does not belong to our real soul. They may be called at best a mixture of truth and falsehood. Through this inscrutable ignorance, we behave as if we were corporal beings. We have hypnotized ourselves into thinking that we are imperfect and limited and that we exist in time and space, subject to the law of causation. The aim of religion is to de-hypnotize ourselves and make us aware of our divine heritage.

Forgiveness is a word that is the real joker in the dictionary. "Thy will be done" is the basic concept of every religion. Nothing can happen unless it is His (God's) will. "Events happen, deeds are done, but there is no individual doer of any deed," says the Buddha. Who, then, is to forgive whom for what?

A little girl was dying of a disease from which her 8-year-old brother had recovered sometime before. The doctor said to the boy, "Only a transfusion of your blood will save the life of your sister. Are you ready to give her your blood?" The eyes of the boy widened in fear. He hesitated for a while, then finally said, "Okay I'll do it." An hour after the transfusion was completed the boy asked hesitantly, "Say, doctor, when do I die?" It was only then that the doctor understood the momentary fear that had seized the child -- he had thought that in giving his blood he was giving his life for his sister.

Once a monk Maulikyaputta asked the Buddha several metaphysical questions. The Buddha promised to answer all his questions after one year, provided the monk observed complete unbroken silence and simply watched his thoughts as they passed through his mind. Maulikyaputta spent one silent year just watching his thoughts. At first, his mind was a humming beehive assailed by a multitude of diverse thoughts. Gradually they began to subside and by the end of the year, he was totally free of the tyranny of horizontal thinking. A year later, the Buddha appeared before the monk. The monk bowed low before the master and confessed that he now had no questions, not a single one.

"The wise mourn neither for the dead nor for the living. I, you and the assembled kings have lived and will live at all times. Jivatman, the dweller in this body passes through childhood, youth and old age; then with the same ease into another body through the door of death, hence the wise are not deceived by the phenomenon of death."

"Arjuna! Bear heat, cold, pleasure and pain as they are ephemeral, being dependent on the senses. This serene existence will lead to immortality."

"The wise know that if truth is non-existent, it cannot be created; if it is existent, it can never cease to be. It is changeless and pervades the universe."

" Bodies die, but the truth, which possesses the body is eternal and indestructible. This is the Atman. It is without a beginning, an end; unchanging forever. How can it slay or be slain? Don't dream that you kill the Atman. It only sheds bodies like worn-out garments and dons new ones. It is not wounded by weapons, burned by fire, dried by wind, wetted by water. On the other hand, it is the being of being, changeless, eternal, as it is beyond the senses and the mind, it is not subject to modification."

"All that is born must die. Rebirth is certain for the dead. Hence, do not grieve."

In 2012 there will be higher awakenings; shifts in consciousness; new beginnings at all levels. Love is the light that dissolves all walls between souls, families, and nations. On this eternal journey of god/self-realization please be sure that the only thing that lies ahead is our own true greater happiness. Infinite peace, gratitude, and love.

"If you will not fight your battle of life because in selfishness you are afraid of the battle, your resolution is in vain: nature will compel you." - The Bhagavad Gita.