Meditation

Image result for crow and treeIt was monsoon period and there was incessant rain and tumultuous winds. A crow was asleep at the top of a big tree beside a large river. During the night the wind was so strong that the tree was uprooted. It fell into the fast flowing river and was swept away. The crow, however, remained fast asleep and had no idea that the tree was being swept out to sea. The wind subsided and the sun shone brightly. The crow awoke and was startled to find that he was surrounded by water. In all directions all he could see was water. He wanted to find land but didn’t know in which direction to fly. Finally the crow decided to fly east. He didn’t find any land in this direction so he decided to fly west for an hour or so. Not finding any land to the west, he decided to fly south. He flew south, then north, but still couldn’t find any signs of land. He felt very tired and then he realized that there was no place where he could rest. All he could see was water. The crow immediately thought of the tree. But where was it? Instead of looking for land the crow now desperately sought the tree from which he had started his search. After some time and effort he found the tree and rested. The crow was an intelligent bird, it learned from previous mistakes and experiences. Continue reading

The essential thing is to begin with oneself

Image result for The essential thing is to begin with oneselfThis perspective, in which a man sees himself only as an individual contrasted with other individuals, and not as a genuine person whose transformation helps towards the transformation of the world, contains a fundamental error. Continue reading

Concentration

One day a girl was going to meet her boyfriend. She was deeply engrossed in remembering him. In the lane through which she was passing a Muslim had spread his mat and was repeating his prayers. Muslims pray five times a day, anywhere and everywhere, even in the middle of the road. They are very strict about their prayer time. So he had spread his mat and was saying his prayers. The girl was so much engrossed in thoughts of her lover that she walked right over the mat and kept going. Continue reading

The more comfortable we become with being stupid, the deeper we will wade into the unknown

2photo.ru“Productive stupidity means being ignorant by choice. Focusing on important questions puts us in the awkward position of being ignorant. One of the beautiful things about science is that it allows us to bumble along, getting it wrong time after time, and feel perfectly fine as long as we learn something each time. Continue reading

Jonathan Haidt: Religion, evolution, and the ecstasy of self-transcendence

Thoughts on Parenting

 

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You will be gone soon but the children will be here. And nobody can manage anybody else’s life. Though they are with you, yet they belong not to you. You may give them your love but not your thoughts for they have their own thoughts. You may house their bodies but not their souls, for their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit even in your dreams. God will take care. It is none of your business to be too concerned. Whatsoever we can do, we do, but one should not hanker about things going the way you want. That is very egoistic.   You have given birth to a child, but once he is out of the womb he is free of you. First he depended for his breath on you when he was in the womb. Then he will take his own breath. Continue reading