Who are you to meddle with the world? Look after yourself first. Do you know yourself? Do you know what you really want? How can you know what the world needs when you are blind to your own true needs? First set yourself right. - Sri Ramana Maharishi.

Don't depend on death to liberate you from your imperfections. You are exactly the same after death as your were before. Nothing changes; you only give up your body. If you are a thief or a liar or a cheater before death, you don't become an angel merely by dying. If such were possible, then let us all go and jump in the ocean now and become angels at once! Whatever you have made of yourself thus far, so will you be hereafter. And when you reincarnate, you will bring that same nature with you. To change, you have to make the effort. This world is the place to do it. - Paramahansa Yogananda.

It is actually the will which maintains our youth and vigor. The body should not dictate its needs to the soul. - Paramahansa Yogananda.

The proximity of happiness is as close as one's own Self; it isn't even a matter of attaining, but only of lifting the soul-shrouding veil of ignorance. - Paramahansa Yogananda.

Whatever I do, I do with the greatest love that I have in me. Try this and you will see that you do not become fatigued at all. Love is one of the greatest stimulants to the will. Under the influence of love, the will can do almost anything. - Paramahansa Yogananda.

The greatest sin is to call yourself a sinner. You are a child of God. Though gold could be covered with mud for centuries, it remains gold. - Paramahansa Yogananda.

As long as you are making the effort, God will never let you down! - Paramahansa Yogananda.

You must not let your life run in the ordinary way; do something that nobody else has done, something that will dazzle the world. Show that God's creative principle works in you. - Paramahansa Yogananda.

Don't yearn for human love; it will vanish. Behind human love is the spiritual love of God. Seek that. Don't pray for home or for money or for love or for friendship. Don't pray for anything in this world. Enjoy only what the Lord gives to you. All else leads to delusion. Man has come on earth solely to learn to know God; he is here for no other reason. - Paramahansa Yogananda.

Be afraid of nothing. Hating none, giving love to all, feeling the love of God, seeing His presence in everyone and having but one desire - for His constant presence in the temple of your consciousness - that is the way to live in this world. - Paramahansa Yogananda.

I came for a special dispensation - the interpretation of the scriptures and giving Kriya Yoga, the key to Heaven. - Paramahansa Yogananda.

Freedom means the power to act by soul guidance, obeying the soul brings liberation. - Paramahansa Yogananda.

Try to remember and concentrate on all the beautiful and positive qualities of your life and do not affirm your deficiencies. The greatest enemy of yourself is yourself. You are alone responsible if you cannot get out of the ruts you have made. You must make a firm determination to do so. No one keeps you tied to destiny but yourself. The example of great men should make you begin to disbelieve that your destiny is fixed. They became great by changing their attitude. You can do the same. Usually those who have achieved great things in life have also had great failures. But they refused to be downed by them. Those who have achieved, won many battles and lost others, but they did not give in to a negative "destiny". - Paramahansa Yogananda.

Karma is best worked out by meeting pleasantly every test that comes and accepting courageously any hardships your tests impose. Meditation is an important factor in overcoming karma. Every time you meditate, your karma decreases, for at that time your energy is focused in the brain and burns up the old brain cells. After very deep meditation, you will find yourself becoming freer inside. Meditate deeply and you will erase all fears and gain the unshakable consciousness of soul freedom. - Paramahansa Yogananda.

Seven Signs of Progress in Meditation (from an article by Paramahansa Yogananda)

• An increasing peacefulness during meditation.

• A conscious inner experience of calmness in meditation metamorphosing into increasing bliss.

• A deepening of one's understanding and finding answers to one's questions through the calm intuitive stare of inner perception.

• An increasing mental and physical efficiency in one's daily life.

• Love for meditation and desire to hold on to the peace and joy of meditative state in preference to attraction to anything in the world.

• An expanding consciousness of loving all with unconditional love that one feels towards his own dearest loved ones.

• Actual contact with God and worshiping Him as ever new bliss felt in meditation and in His omnipresent manifestations within and beyond all creation. 

Read a little. Meditate more. Think of God all the time. - Paramahansa Yogananda.

Divine love is without condition, without boundary, without change. Sri Sri Swami Sri Yukteswar Giri.

Out of the night that covers me,

Black as the pit from pole to pole,

I thank whatever gods may be

For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance

I have not winced or cried aloud.

Under the bludgeoning of chance

My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears

Looms but the horror of the shade,

And yet the menace of the years

Finds and shall find me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,

How charged with punishments the scroll,

I am the master of my fate,

I am the captain of my soul.

(Source: Invictus by W. E. Henley)

The greater a man has become, the fiercer ordeal he has had to pass through. - S. Vivekananda.

We want that education by which character is formed, strength of mind is increased, the intellect is expanded, and by which one can stand on one’s own feet. - S. Vivekananda.

We carry inside us the wonders we seek outside us. - Rumi.

By forgiveness the universe is held together. - The Mahabharata.

When the pain of ignorance is tearing you, a master arrives. - Anonymous.

When the lotus opens, the bees come of their own accord to seek the honey; so let the lotus of your character be full-blown and the results will follow. - S. Vivekananda.

A teacher and his student were walking from one village to another, when they suddenly heard a roar behind them. Turning their gaze in the direction of the roar, they saw a big tiger following them.

The first thing the student wanted to do was to run away, but since he has been studying and practicing self-discipline, he was able to halt himself from running, and wait to see what his teacher would do.

"What shall we do Master?" Asked the student.

The teacher looked at the student and answered in a calm voice:

"There are several options. We can fill our minds with paralyzing fear so that we cannot move, and let the tiger do with us whatever pleases it. We can faint. We can run away, but then it will run after us. We can fight with it, but physically it is stronger than us."

"We can pray to God to save us. We can choose to influence the tiger with the power of our mind, if our concentration is strong enough. We can send it love. We can also concentrate and meditate on our inner power, and on the fact that we are one with the entire universe, including the tiger, and in this way influence its soul."

"Which option do you choose?"

"You are the Master. You tell me what to do. We don't have much time." The student responded.

The master turned his gaze fearlessly towards the tiger, emptied his mind from all thoughts, and entered a deep state of meditation. In his consciousness, he embraced everything in the universe, including the tiger. In this state the consciousness of the teacher became one with consciousness of the tiger.

Meanwhile the student started to shiver with fear, as the tiger was already quite close, ready to make a leap at them. He was amazed at how his teacher could stay so calm and detached in the face of danger.

Meanwhile the teacher continued to meditate without fear. After a little while, the tiger gradually lowered its head and tail and went away.

The student asked his teacher in astonishment, "What did you do?"

"Nothing. I just cleared all thoughts from my mind and united myself in spirit with the tiger. We became united in peace on the spiritual level. The tiger sensed the inner calmness, peace, and unity and felt no threat or need to express violence, and so walked away."

"When the mind is silent and calm, its peace is automatically transmitted to everything and everyone around, influencing them deeply", concluded the teacher.

My heart holds every form with deep awe and acceptance,

My heart contains a pasture for my dear friends and foes,

My heart dances with God's love,

I follow the path of love and divine perception,

I have no stone in my hand or heart,

For I am sweet as nectar and a bed of roses.

Through love all that is bitter will be sweet,

Through love all that is copper will be gold,

Through love all dregs will become wine, 

Through love all pain will turn to medicine.

The truth is you are nobody. You are nothing. Yet you are everything. How can you be nobody and everything? Because, You're not one thing. Notice when I stop talking, how quiet it becomes, in your mind. This is the state I am referring to, the state in between thoughts, when there is nothing going on, in that second, in that moment, when the mind is totally quiet, the thoughts are not moving any longer. This is your true self, in that moment in between thoughts. Stay in that moment. Learn to put yourself in that state, whether you are in the market place or you are in a temple, wherever you are, learn to be still. It makes no difference what is going on around you. It makes no difference what other people are doing. You be still. When you are still, then there's peace. When you are still, there is happiness. Most of us have been taught that to be happy we have to receive something good. We have to have something nice happen to us to be happy, otherwise we are miserable. Yet the truth is, happiness is your very nature, unalloyed happiness, eternal happiness. You have to go way beyond thoughts, way beyond reasoning, way beyond anything and everything you have ever understood, to be consciousness, to understand consciousness. In order to do this, everything you believe must be dropped. Everything you have been led to understand must be transcended. Everything that you can think about has to go. Your ideas of right and wrong, good and bad, up and down, frontwards and sideways, all these things have to be totally transcended, totally removed from your thinking patterns.

"Will it be possible to see our image in a mirror completely covered with dust? Wipe away the dust particles and clean the mirror, then look and definitely you will see. Our true face is God. Clean away the impurities of the mind through spiritual practices and it will be revealed to you" - Amma.

Take the case of great yogis like Swami Vivekananda. They did not work for themselves but the amount of work which that man did until the age of 39 when he passed away, 100 people cannot do in 100 years. How did he do that? His inner energy that takes over; one becomes very resourceful in the selfless action one is doing. So one does not become foolish by doing yoga or meditation.

My mother said to me, “If you are a soldier, you will become a General. If you are a monk, you will become the Pope.” Instead, I was a painter, and became Picasso. - Pablo Picasso.

Questioner: I have so much to do. I just cannot afford to keep my mind quiet. 

Nisargadatta Maharaj: It is because of your illusion that you are the doer. In reality, things are done to you, not by you. - from 'I Am That', Chapter 93.

If the idea that everything is destined suffocates you, then it is better for you to take full responsibility for your actions. If the idea of free will and taking full responsibility suffocates you, then it is better for you to let go and surrender to the unfolding play and flow of this life. Tune into what feels right, for that is presently the right attitude and understanding for you. It may or may not match what the so-called wise ones have to say. It is best to honor your truth and let others honor theirs. - Nithya Shanti.

Do not dwell in the past or worry about the future. Do not have expectations. Indulging in thoughts of making vast money; receiving abundant love, getting recognition and honor for a lifetime of work... if you think you will be happy when some of these dreams come true, you are chasing a mirage. Be happy as you are now and enjoy peace.

Buddha was once threatened with death by a bandit called Angulimal. "Then be good enough to fulfill my dying wish," said Buddha. "Cut off the branch of that tree." One slash of the sword, and it was done! "What now?" asked the bandit. Put it back again," said Buddha. The bandit laughed. "You must be crazy to think anyone can do that." "On the contrary, it is you who are crazy to think that you are mighty because you can wound and destroy. That is the task of children. The mighty know how to create and heal".

"On the screen, you sometimes see a huge ocean with endless waves; that disappears. Another time, you see fire spreading all around; that too disappears. The screen is there on both occasions. Did the screen get wet with the water or did it get burned by the fire? Nothing affected the screen. In the same way, the things that happen during the wakeful, dream and sleep states do not affect you at all; you remain your own Self" - Ramana Maharishi.

An anthropologist proposed a game to the kids in an African tribe. He put a basket full of fruits near a tree and told the kids that whoever got there first wins the sweet fruits. When he told them to run, they all took each other’s hands and ran together, then all sat together enjoying their treats. When he asked them, why they had run like that as one could have had all the fruits for himself, they said: ''Ubuntu, how can one of us be happy if all the other ones are sad?'' 'Ubuntu' in the Xhosa culture means: "I am, because we are".

To mankind all over the world, Christmas Day is celebrated as the birthday of the great prophet, Jesus Christ. It is celebrated with the exchanging of gifts, big family gatherings, use of lights and candles, songs, and special Christmas Day church services where one can take Communion with Jesus, in the form of bread and wine (representing the body and blood of Jesus). As interesting, meaningful, and gratifying as these celebrations may be, they are nonetheless ritualistic practices that do not capture the true meaning of Christmas. In the same way, worldwide, spirituality is celebrated in the form of many rituals. Although these celebrations appear to be different on the surface, they are essentially all the same. If we can understand any one celebration, we can understand all celebrations.

So, what then, is the true meaning of Christmas Day? The answer to this question can be found by understanding the word Christmas, itself. The word Christmas is derived from the two words “Christ” and “mass”. “Christ” represents Christ Consciousness and the word “mass” has two meanings – 1) a congregation of people and 2) massiveness, i.e. high intensity (devotion) with enormous quantity (duration of 5 to 7 hours). The word “day” in “Christmas Day” indicates true wisdom. When we collect the true meaning of “Christ”, “mass” and “day”, then we realize that the celebration of Christmas Day is none other than the celebration of Christ Consciousness in congregation for a longer duration of time, with highest devotion till the attainment of true wisdom within and without. It is nothing but the practice Yoga / Meditation. By repeated practice of Yoga / Meditation, we will eventually experience a state of enlightenment—that is, the realization that the self is none other than Christ Consciousness. Therefore, when the Science of Yoga / Meditation spreads all over the world, only then will we celebrate Christmas Day in its real form. When we practice Yoga / Meditation all over the world, then the celebration of Christmas day will reach to perfection. To show the essential unity of all spiritual practices worldwide, let us take a closer look at what is Christ Consciousness. When we attain the state of Christ consciousness, we perceive seven churches (areas) glowing with seven candles (seven wisdom centers) within the head and spine. The seven wisdom centers are the way to the “Star in the East”. The moment of moments - the resurrection of Jesus within as Christ consciousness! Such is the beauty of the practice Yoga / Meditation, which gives the true concept behind all ritual practices celebrated by people all over the world. Yoga / Meditation gives realization of the presence of one Spirit in manifested and un-manifested form. - Yogi Satyam.

Any thought, idea, imagination, action or concept that increases fear, distance, tension, weakness or frustration is an illusion, false and not real. It is non-existent matter.

Any thought, idea, imagination, action or concept that increases strength, power, fearlessness, and peace is the truth-reality that does exist. - Yogi Satyam.

She is neither an Indian-American nor has she ever visited India . But on Wednesday, she became America ’s first-ever Hindu-American Congresswoman

Meet Tulsi Gabbard, a 31-year-old Democrat, just elected to the US House of Representativ...es from faraway Hawaii . Endorsed by Hawaii-born President Barack Obama, she defeated her Republican rival by a landslide (80.6% to 19.4%).

A practicing Hindu, Gabbard frequently recites from the Bhagavad Gita. So when she takes her oath in January as a newly-elected member, she will do so, placing her hand on a copy of the Hindu scripture. It will be the first of its kind in the history of the 223-year-old House of Representatives and the Hindu-Americans are excited about it.

Born in American Samoa to a Catholic father and a Hindu mother, Gabbard moved to Hawaii with her family when she was two years old. Her parents gave all their five children Hindu names — Bhakti, Jai, Aryan, Tulsi and Vrindavan. Keen to visit India at an early date, Gabbard has pledged to work for closer US-India relations.

“It is clear that there needs to be a closer working relationship between the United States and India ,” she said in recent remarks, quizzing: “How can we have a close relationship if decision-makers in Washington know very little, if anything, about the religious beliefs, values, and practices of India ’s 800 million Hindus?”

Defending her Hindu faith, which came under attack from her Republican rival David Kawika Crowley during the campaign phase, Gabbard believes her faith would be an asset in Congress.“Hopefully the presence in Congress of an American who happens to be Hindu will increase America’s understanding of India as well as India’s understanding of America,” commented Gabbard, who was feted by Indian-Americans at a recent fundraiser in Washington.

Gabbard’s victory was a foregone conclusion from the time she easily defeated her rival Mufi Hannemann in a party primary in August. Hawaii, being a predominantly Democrat territory, few doubted her chances against her Republican rival.

“Hindu-Americans have run America’s major companies and universities, won Nobel prizes and Olympic gold medals, directed blockbuster movies, and even flown into space. But one profession has so far been out of reach: Member of Congress,” wrote the Washington-based Religion News Service, ahead of Gabbard being declared the winner.

Although there have been two Indian-Americans in the US Congress to date, neither of them were Hindu. The first, Dalip Singh Saund, who was elected thrice from California back in the 1950s, was a Sikh. The second, Bobby Jindal, who was elected twice, beginning 2004, had converted to Christianity in his early years.

In 2002, at the age of 21, Gabbard became the youngest person to be elected to Hawaii State House. The very next year, she joined the Hawaii National Guard and was deployed to Iraq in 2004 as a medical operations specialist. Awarded the Meritorious Service Medal for her service, she currently serves as a Captain. Between her two deployments to the Middle East, Gabbard served as an aide to long-time US Senator Daniel Akaka.

Gabbard, who fully embraced the Hindu faith as a teenager and follows the Vaishnava path, has said that her faith helped her through her posting in Iraq, where there were daily reminders that she could be killed any time.

“First thing in the morning and the last thing at night, I meditated upon the fact that my essence was spirit, not matter, that I was not my physical body, and that I didn’t need to worry about death because I knew that I would continue to exist and I knew that I would be going to God,” she said.

Some ways of purifying the various bodies:

• Physical (Sthuldeha) – Performing Seva (selfless service to the Absolute Truth) with the physical body

• Mental (Manodeha) – Praying and chanting

• Intellectual (Karandeha) – Study of Holy texts and appropriate use of intellect in service to the absolute Truth unto the God Principle

• Ego (Mahakarandeha) – Constantly having an awareness that “I am not doing anything, God is getting everything done through me” and expressing gratitude unto Him.

You are not your body.

Your body is not you. 

You are not the doer. 

You are not the enjoy-er. 

You are pure awareness, 

The witness of all things. 

You are without expectation, 

Free. 

Wherever you go, 

Be happy!

Desire and aversion are of the mind.

For see!

The mind is never yours. 

You are free of its turmoil. 

You are awareness itself, 

Never changing. 

Wherever you go, 

Be happy.

The Self is in all beings, 

And all beings are in the Self. 

Know you are free, 

Free of "I" 

Free of "mine." 

Be happy.

- Ashtavakra Gita (15.4-6).

Essence of The Gita:

Why do you worry without any rhyme or reason? Who are you afraid of? Who can kill you? The soul neither takes birth nor dies.

Whatever happened happened for the best. Whatever is happening is also happening for the best. Whatever will happen, that too will be for the best. Don’t repent over the past. Don’t worry for the future. Present is going on.

What have you lost for which you cry? What did you bring with you which you have lost? What had you produced, which has perished? You didn't bring anything. Whatever you have, you had it from here. Whatever you have given, you have given it only here. Whatever you have taken, you have taken it from him the almighty. Whatever you have rendered, you have rendered to him. You came empty handed & will go the same way. Whatever is yours today was somebody else’s yesterday & will be somebody else’s the day after tomorrow. You are delighted in feeling it as your own. Alas; this happiness is the root cause of your agonies.

Change is the law of the universe. What you understand as death is in reality, the life. You become a millionaire in moments & the next moment you are a pauper. Let the thought about mine-yours, small-big, my own-someone else’s be wiped off your mind. Then everything is yours & you belong to everyone & vice-versa.

Neither the body is yours, nor do you belong to the body. The body is constituted of fire, water, air, earth & ether & it will disappear into these. However the soul is steady. That is what is real & that is what you really are.

You surrender yourself to god. That is the best anchor. One who knows about this anchor is liberated of fears, anxieties, pain, sorrow, etc. forever.

Whatever you are acted upon, continue to dedicate it to god. By doing so you will realize eternal happiness/love/truth of the liberated one.

A wise zen frog was explaining to the younger frogs the balance of nature, "do you see how that fly eats a gnat? Now (with a bite) I eat the fly. It is all part of the great scheme of things." " Isn't it bad to kill in order to live?" asked the thoughtful frog. "It depends..." answered the wise frog just as a snake swallowed the zen frog in one chomp before the frog finished his sentence. "Depends on what?" shouted the students. "Depends on whether you're looking at things from the inside or outside." came the muffled response from inside the snake.

People often ask: How can I make a difference in the world ? I am just one person among billions of others, what could I possibly do that would change anything?

Everyone else should have to change in order for me to make a difference.

Well, here is a story of a man who single-handed moved a mountain!

Please read and share. Inspiration is contagious!

About five decades ago, a landless farmer, Dashrath Manjhi from Gahlor Ghati of Gaya, Bihar decided to take into task the difficulties of his villagers who were almost cut off from the rest of the world by rocky hills, almost making the place impassable.

Around 1959, his wife passed away from illness and lack of immediate medical care when there was no way of taking her to the nearest medical center over the 300 feet high hills. Heartbroken after her death, Manji alone resolved to create a pass so that no one person would have to suffer the fate that his wife did. He sold his goats to purchase chisel, rope and a hammer. This sudden change in his demeanor made him a laughing stock with people who laughed at him, calling him eccentric and crazy.

Unfazed by their remarks, Manji hammered away with consistent determination for 22 years. At the end of his arduous labor, he finally came face to face with his dream: the other side of the hill! He shortened the distance from 70 kilometers to just one kilometer and 16 ft. wide!

Once this task was accomplished, Dashrath Manji became known as the Mountain Man. Sadly, this amazing man breathed his last on August 18, 2007 after fighting cancer at New Delhi’s All India Institute of Medical Sciences and received a proper state burial.

Dashrath Manji, a man who was mocked and ridiculed for his strong will and determination leaves behind a legacy of strong will and determination. We have to be the change we wish to see.

Those who believe in pure love, pause at Tokyo's busy Shibuya station to pay tribute to the statue of Hachiko, an Akita dog.

Hachiko was a pup when professor Eisaburo Ueno took him home in 1924. An inseparable bond developed between them. Each day Hachiko would accompany the professor to the station to see him off to work. In the evening when the professor would return, he would find Hachiko waiting expectantly for him!

This routine continued for a year, until one evening when Hachiko watched the train pass by and wondered why his friend did not return. The professor had suffered a stroke and died at work. But Hachiko refused to leave the station and continued to wait at the same spot for 10 long years. Tearful commuters would pat Hachiko and marvel at his devotion.

Finally, when Hachiko died in 1935 at the same station, he did so in love and not in fear and perhaps reincarnated into a higher species.

When perfect love casts out fear, a transfer to a new and more enlightened sphere of existence takes place. Evolution itself is dependent on the love and the endless longing for love is also an inherent desire for the soul to evolve.

Ramana's reply to his mother when she requested that he return home with her, "The ordainer (God) controls the fate of souls in accordance with their destinies. Whatever is destined not to happen will not happen, try as you may. Whatever is destined to happen will happen, do what you may to prevent it. This is certain. The best course, therefore is to remain silent".

Sometimes when we are feeling sad, its important just to feel the sadness. Like a snake shedding its skin, old feelings of remorse, regret, hurt and anger often have to come up in order to be released (disentangled, gently dismissed). On the other side we are a better person, capable of a happier life, who we are when we are no longer burdened by the buried feelings that weighed us down, or the self-defeating patterns that the pain produced.

During a conversation on non-attachment, Bhagavan said, “In this part of the country, one of our ancients wrote, ‘O Lord, thou hast given me a hand to use as a pillow under my head, a cloth to cover my loins, hands wherewith to eat food, what more do I want? This is my great good fortune’! That is the purport of the verse. Is it really possible to say how great a good fortune that is? Even the greatest kings wish for such happiness. There is nothing to equal it. Having experienced both these conditions, I know the difference between this and that. These beds, sofa, and articles around me – all this is bondage.”

“Is not the Buddha an example of this?” asked a devotee. Thereupon Sri Bhagavan began speaking about Buddha. “Yes.” Said Bhagavan, “When the Buddha was in the palace with all possible luxuries in the world, he was still sad. To remove his sadness, his father created more luxuries than ever. But none of them satisfied the Buddha. At midnight he left his wife and child and disappeared. He remained in great austerity for 6 years, realized the Self; and for the welfare of the world became a mendicant (bhikshu). It was only after he became a mendicant that he enjoyed great bliss. Really, what more did he require?”

“In the garb of a mendicant he came to his own city, did he not?” asked a devotee. “Yes, yes,” said Bhagavan. “Having heard that he was coming, his father, Suddhodana, decorated the royal elephant and went out with his whole army to receive him on the main road. But without touching the main road, the Buddha came by side roads and by-lanes; he sent his close associates to the various streets for alms while he himself in the guise of a mendicant went by another way to his father. How could the father know that his son was coming in that guise! Yasodhara (the Buddha’s wife), however, recognized him, made her son prostrate before his father and herself prostrated. After that, the father recognized the Buddha. Suddhodana however, had never expected to see his son in such a state and was very angry and shouted, ‘Shame on you! What is this garb? Does one who should have the greatest of riches come like this? I've had enough of it!’ and with that, he looked furiously at the Buddha. Knowing that his father had not yet got rid of his ignorance, the Buddha too, began to look at his father with even greater intensity. In this war of looks, the father was defeated. He fell at the feet of his son and himself became a mendicant. Only a man with non-attachment can know the power of non-attachment”, said Bhagavan, his voice quivering with emotion."

What are the three marks of a healthy personality? 

• The propensity to see what is good in every person and situation. Starting with your own self and all the good in your life. 
• The ability to quickly let go and forgive others when things do not happen to our liking, starting with yourself. 
• The ability to get along with a wide variety of different people, including all your sub-personalities, all your various faces, moods and mind states.

There was a group of elderly gentlemen in Japan who would meet to exchange news and drink tea. One of their diversions was to search for costly varieties of tea and create new blends. When it was the turn of the oldest member of the group to entertain the others, he served tea with the greatest ceremony, measuring out the leaves from a golden container. Everyone had the highest praise for the tea and demanded to know by what particular combination he had arrived at this exquisite blend. The old man smiled and said, "Gentlemen, the tea that you find so delightful is the one that is made and drunk by the peasants on the farm. The finest things in life are neither costly nor hard to find".

Kasan was asked to officiate at the funeral of a provincial land. He had never met the lords and nobles before, so he was nervous. When the ceremony started, Kasan started sweating. later, when he had returned, he gathered his pupils together. Kasan confessed that he was not yet qualified to be a teacher for he lacked the sameness of being in the world of fame that he possessed in the secluded temple. Then he resigned and became a pupil of another master. Eight years later, he returned to his former pupils, enlightened.

An earnest devotee asked Sri Bhagavan about the method to realize the Self. As usual, Sri Bhagavan told him to find out who is the ‘I’ in his question. After a few more questions in this strain the devotee asked, “Instead of inquiring ‘Who am I?’, can I put the question to myself ‘Who are you?’ since then, my mind may be fixed on you whom I consider to be God in the form of Guru.”

Sri Bhagavan replied, “Whatever form your inquiry may take, you must finally come to the one ‘I’, the Self. All these distinctions made between ‘I’ and ‘you’, Master and disciple, are merely a sign of one’s ignorance. That ‘I’ Supreme alone is. To think otherwise is to delude oneself.” Thereupon Sri Bhagavan told the following story.

A Puranic story of Sage Ribhu and his disciple Nidagha, is particularly instructive. 

Although Ribhu taught his disciple the Supreme Truth of the One Brahman without a second, Nidagha, in spite of his erudition and understanding, did not get sufficient conviction to adopt and follow the path of jnana, but settled down in his native town to lead a life devoted to the observance of ceremonial religion.

But the sage loved his disciple as deeply as the latter venerated his Master. In spite of his age, Ribhu would himself go to his disciple in the town, just to see how far the latter had outgrown his ritualism.

At times the sage went in disguise, so that he might observe how Nidagha would act when he did not know that he was being observed by his Master. On one such occasion Ribhu, who had put on the disguise of a rustic, found Nidagha intently watching a royal procession.

Unrecognised by the town-dweller Nidagha, the village rustic enquired what the bustle was all about and was told that the king was going in procession.

“Oh! It is the king. He goes in procession! But where is he?” asked the rustic. “There, on the elephant,” said Nidagha.

“You say the king is on the elephant. Yes, I see the two,” said the rustic, “But which is the king and which is the elephant?”

“What!” exclaimed Nidagha. “You see the two, but do not know that the man above is the king and the animal below is the elephant? What is the use of talking to a man like you?”

“Pray, be not impatient with an ignorant man like me,” begged the rustic. “But you said ‘above’ and ‘below’ – what do they mean?” Nidagha could stand it no more. “You see the king and the elephant, the one above and the other below. Yet you want to know what is meant by ‘above’ and ‘below’?” burst out Nidagha.

“If things seen and words spoken can convey so little to you, action alone can teach you. Bend forward and you will know it all too well”.

The rustic did as he was told. Nidagha got on his shoulders and said, “Know it now. I am above as the king, you are below as the elephant. Is that clear enough?”

“No, not yet,” was the rustic’s quiet reply. “You say you are above like the king and I am below like the elephant. The ‘king’, the ‘elephant’, ‘above’ and ‘below’ – so far it is clear. But pray, tell me what you mean by ‘I’ and ‘you’?”

When Nidagha was thus confronted all of a sudden with the mighty problem of defining the ‘you’ apart from the ‘I’, light dawned on his mind.

At once he jumped down and fell at his Master’s feet saying, “Who else but my venerable Master, Ribhu, could have thus drawn my mind from the superficiality of physical existence to the true Being of the Self? Oh! Benign Master, I crave thy blessings".

If you have a decision to make, close your eyes (with a calm mind) and ask the Spirit for guidance. What you hear may startle you, but that doesn't mean it's not the right answer. Its coming from a part of your consciousness that knows more about the future than you could possibly know. Place all decisions in God's hands.

Mullah's wife is dressing up for a party.

Mullah (lovingly): You look so slim In this dress, my dear!

Mullah's wife: Are you trying to say that I look fat in all my other dresses?

Mullah: No, I'm thinking it may be time to change my glasses.

A partially deaf boy came back home carrying a note from the officials at school. The note suggested that the parents take the boy out of school, claiming that he was ‘too stupid to learn’.

The boy’s mother read the note and said, “My son Tom isn't ‘too stupid to learn’. I’ll teach him instead.” and so she did.

When Tom died many years later, the people of the USA paid a tribute to him by turning off the nation’s lights for one full minute. You see, this Tom had invented the light bulb and not only that, but the motion pictures and the record player.

In all, Thomas A. Edison had more than 1,000 patents to his credit.

Lawrence Anthony, a legend in South Africa and author of three books including the bestseller, 'The Elephant Whisperer', bravely rescued wildlife and rehabilitated elephants all over the globe from human atrocities, including the courageous rescue of Baghdad Zoo animals during US invasion in 2003.

On March 7, 2012 Lawrence Anthony died.

He is remembered and missed by his wife, two sons, two grandsons and numerous elephants. Two days after his passing, the wild elephants showed up at his home led by two large matriarchs. Separate wild herds arrived in droves to say goodbye to their beloved man-friend.

A total of thirty one elephants had patiently walked over twelve miles to get to his South African house. Witnessing this spectacle, humans were obviously in awe not only because of the supreme intelligence and precise timing that these elephants sensed about Lawrence 's passing, but also because of the profound memory and emotion the beloved animals evoked in such an organized way.

Walking slowly for days, making their way in a solemn one-by-one queue from their habitat to his house. Lawrence's wife, Francoise, was especially touched, knowing that the elephants had not been to his house prior to that day for well over three years! But yet they knew where they were going.

The elephants obviously wanted to pay their deep respects, honoring their friend who had saved their lives. So much respect that they stayed for two days and two nights without eating anything.

Then one morning, they left, making their long journey back home.

Something in the universe is greater and deeper than human intelligence.

Love speaks all languages.

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.