In every situation you have ever been in, positive or negative, the one common thread is you. Continue reading
Spirituality
Hands in Society and Head in the Forest
‘Hands in society’ means I am in society. I am born in society and I am a part of it. I grow in society and end in the society. So, no one can say that I don’t have anything to do with society. If anyone says so, it only means there is a lack of understanding. We cannot exist without society. Society is a must for everybody. We are products of society. We are the beneficiaries of society. Therefore, my friends, ‘hands in society’ means or refers to our very base, our very existence, our sustenance, and our maintenance.
The other extreme is ‘head in the forest’. What does this mean? It doesn’t mean that your head is going to be suspended from a tree in the forest, certainly not! The head represents thought and contemplation. The head represents the goal or aim. The head stands for the objective of life. Therefore, while the hands represent action, the head symbolizes the aim, goal and objective of the life. So, ‘head in the forest’ means the aim or objective of life is not society. The purpose of life is not society.
In the statement ‘head in the forest’, the forest symbolises renunciation. The forest stands for detachment and represents penance. The forest means a life in solitude, aloneness. Therefore, ‘head in the forest’ means that your constant thought should be towards solitude. You have to repeatedly ruminate and travel towards detachment. The purpose is renunciation.
– Sathya Sai Baba
We must not create a wall between our worldly and spiritual lives.
People disorganized in their worldly life search for spiritual wisdom in seclusion; whereas, if organized properly, they can have all the means and resources that are of utmost importance for spiritual enlightenment. The purpose of human life is to make the best use of the resources that nature or God has given us.
But there’s more to it.
There are typically two kinds of people. Some are involved in the world and are busy in their self-centered activities. Others renounce their families and do not participate in worldly life at all. There are very few people who use discrimination, work hard for their self-fulfillment, and at the same time, contribute to the welfare of society. People belonging to these two categories have an incomplete world view, and therefore, strive for their limited goals.
In our modern age, where the standard of living has been facilitated by science and technology, we must learn to make the best use of our ample resources. A lifestyle that is suitable for both worldly fulfillment and spiritual enlightenment is the best.
Those who strive to attain personal enlightenment and help others light their lamps are the true leaders of the human race. ….
Today’s society is waiting for selfless, spiritually enlightened, well-balanced leaders to guide them in how to live happily here and hereafter. Such leaders or reformers will not come from outside our society. They have to be born, raised, and trained right in our own society. We are the ones to become our own guides, our own leaders, and we are the ones to enlighten our own lives…..
—Swami Rama from A Call to Humanity
Thought for the Week – 4th August 2014
the mind can create cancer and mind is capable of dissolving cancer
All the great bibles of the world say one and the same thing-be still, be still. For a few minutes in the morning and the evening, every human being should learn to be still. Why, because you will meet God? No, that’s not necessary. You will be healthy. For your mental health it’s important for you to understand quietness, stillness. During that time, those muscles which do not get rest even in sleep get rested.
COMMITTED to being successful and yet relinquish ATTACHMENT to the outcome
Success is a state of being.
Setting your perspective on COMMITMENT ensures that regardless of how the results of your endeavors manifest, you will persist and create the future based on all the wisdom gained in your previous efforts. To be a successful leader, it is not important that everything you do succeed, only that you do.
If you are COMMITTED to being successful and relinquish your ATTACHMENT to the outcome, you will achieve success regardless of how the world shows up.
Great leaders do not define success in terms of the external results of their efforts; they know that their COMMITMENT to the effort is what counts most. They let go of their ATTACHMENT to the outcomes even as they pursue them. In so doing, they learn valuable lessons no matter what actually happens, and they use these insights to create their future.
COMMITMENT allows you to define the success of any endeavor in terms of the experience you seek to create for yourself. It allows you to be the way you want to be. It gives you the freedom to take what comes and move on.
When you become ATTACHED to the outcome that others experience, you become vulnerable to their definitions of success and bogged down in their judgments.
The world does not always show up with the results we might want, and if you are ATTACHED to the outcome, you may see in your effort a failure when in fact it contains the seeds of success.
Commit yourself completely to whatever calling you choose to answer. Live full out to achieve it. Take what comes and move on. TRUST THE UNIVERSE and focus on your COMMITMENT in order to succeed every time.
Understanding the distinction between Commitment and Attachment will serve you as much personally as it will in your role as a leader; it makes success possible even when the world delivers what to the outside eye appears as failure.
– Chris McGoff from ‘The Primes’
Book Recommendation – Reconciliation: Healing the Inner Child by Thich Nhat Hanh
An exciting contribution to the growing trend of applying Buddhist practices to encourage wellness and balance mental health. Reconciliation focuses on mindful awareness of our emotions and offers concrete practices to restore damaged relationships through meditations and exercises to help acknowledge and transform the hurt that many of us may have experienced as children. Reconciliation shows how anger, sadness, and fear can become joy and tranquility by learning to breathe with, explore, meditate, and speak about our strong emotions. Written for a wide audience and accessible to people of all backgrounds and spiritual traditions.
A Long-Awaited Treasure,
Brian Kimmel
Stress is caused by being “here” but wanting to be “there”
Are you stressed? Are you so busy getting to the future that the present is reduced to a means of getting there? Continue reading
An instrument of peace
Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love.
– SAINT FRANCIS OF ASSISI Continue reading
What’s the line between Unconditional Love and Unconditional Acceptance?
Best sermons are lived; not preached
Ponder on these short stories that have changed lives
The following stories have wonderful shades of emotions. These are based on true incidents both wonderful and inspirational.
These stories will remove some wrong misconceptions that we have about the people and life in general.
1. Today, when I slipped on the wet tile floor a boy in a wheelchair caught me before I slammed my head on the ground. He said, “Believe it or not, that’s almost exactly how I injured my back 3 years ago.
2. Today, my father told me, “Just go for it and give it a try! You don’t have to be a professional to build a successful product. Amateurs started Google and Apple. Professionals built the Titanic.
3. Today, I asked my mentor – a very successful business man in his 70’s – what his top 3 tips are for success. He smiled and said, “Read something no one else is reading, think something no one else is thinking, and do something no one else is doing. Continue reading
ONE TUSK 