One day God heard a great deal of commotion on Earth and sent the angel Gabriel to find the cause. Gabriel returned and reported that everyone was discontented with his lot, and was calling upon the Lord to grant them their prayers.
The Lord instructed Gabriel to return and grant them their wishes and fulfill all their prayers. After some months, God found that there was complete silence on the planet. So once again He sent Gabriel down to find the cause.
Gabriel returned with a sad story ;
"My Lord," he said, "most of the people are dead."
The Lord asked, " Do you know, why ? "
" Yes " answered Gabriel, " its because my Lord granted them all their wishes and they all wished for each other's death."
The deep meaning of this legend exposes the actual state of our present world affairs.
a
Friday, August 31, 2007
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Charity
Wealth is never reduced by giving in charity,
Nor river waters lessened by daily use;
Give what is in thy purse
Give what is in thy hand;
For on the other side, there is no giving or taking.
Source: Eastern Mystic
Nor river waters lessened by daily use;
Give what is in thy purse
Give what is in thy hand;
For on the other side, there is no giving or taking.
Source: Eastern Mystic
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Faith
Faith is like a Lamp
Wisdom makes the Flame burn Bright
Carry this Lamp always
In good time the Darkness will yield
And you will abide in the Light
a
Wisdom makes the Flame burn Bright
Carry this Lamp always
In good time the Darkness will yield
And you will abide in the Light
a
Our Journey
Remember always that you are just a visitor here.
A traveller passing through.
Your stay is but short.
The moment of your departure unknown.
a
A traveller passing through.
Your stay is but short.
The moment of your departure unknown.
a
Monday, August 27, 2007
Death - the Ugly Truth
Death is merely the turning of the page in the book of the soul’s journey from God, through the created universe, back to God again.
The time of death is written & nothing can change this. All is destined.
Death is the fact of life, and yet we all manage to conspire in pretending it won't happen to us. In fact, death can strike us down at any moment. We live as if this day were definetly not our last.
a
The time of death is written & nothing can change this. All is destined.
Death is the fact of life, and yet we all manage to conspire in pretending it won't happen to us. In fact, death can strike us down at any moment. We live as if this day were definetly not our last.
a
Sunday, August 26, 2007
The Gift and The Bible
A young man was getting ready to graduate from College. For many months he had admired a beautiful sports car in a dealer's showroom, and knowing his father could well afford it, he told him that was all he wanted.
As Graduation Day approached, the young man awaited signs that his father had purchased the car. Finally, on the morning of his graduation, his father called him into his private study. His father told him how proud he was to have such a fine son, and told him how much he loved him. He handed his son a beautifully wrapped gift box.
Curious, and somewhat disappointed, the young man opened the box, and found a lovely, leather bound Bible, with the young man's name embossed in gold. Angry, he rose his voice to his father and said : " With all your money you give me a Bible? " and stormed out of the house.
Many years passed and the young man was very successful in business. He had a beautiful home and a wonderful family, but realized his father was very old, and thought perhaps he should go to him. He had not seen his father since that Graduation Day.
Before he could make arrangements, he received a telegram telling him that his father had passed away, and willed all of his possessions to him. He needed to come home immediately and take care of things.
When he arrived at his father's house, sudden sadness and regret filled his heart. He began to search through his father's important papers and saw the still new Bible, just as he had left it years ago.
With tears, he opened the Bible and began to turn the pages. His father had carefully underlined a verse, Matt.7:11,
"And if ye, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your Heavenly Father which is in Heaven, give to those who ask Him ?"
As he read those words, a car key dropped from the back of the Bible. It had a tag with the dealer's name, the same dealer who had the sports car he had desired. On the tag was the date of his Graduation, and the words
PAID IN FULL.
How many times do we miss God's Blessings because they are not packaged as we expected.
As Graduation Day approached, the young man awaited signs that his father had purchased the car. Finally, on the morning of his graduation, his father called him into his private study. His father told him how proud he was to have such a fine son, and told him how much he loved him. He handed his son a beautifully wrapped gift box.
Curious, and somewhat disappointed, the young man opened the box, and found a lovely, leather bound Bible, with the young man's name embossed in gold. Angry, he rose his voice to his father and said : " With all your money you give me a Bible? " and stormed out of the house.
Many years passed and the young man was very successful in business. He had a beautiful home and a wonderful family, but realized his father was very old, and thought perhaps he should go to him. He had not seen his father since that Graduation Day.
Before he could make arrangements, he received a telegram telling him that his father had passed away, and willed all of his possessions to him. He needed to come home immediately and take care of things.
When he arrived at his father's house, sudden sadness and regret filled his heart. He began to search through his father's important papers and saw the still new Bible, just as he had left it years ago.
With tears, he opened the Bible and began to turn the pages. His father had carefully underlined a verse, Matt.7:11,
"And if ye, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your Heavenly Father which is in Heaven, give to those who ask Him ?"
As he read those words, a car key dropped from the back of the Bible. It had a tag with the dealer's name, the same dealer who had the sports car he had desired. On the tag was the date of his Graduation, and the words
PAID IN FULL.
How many times do we miss God's Blessings because they are not packaged as we expected.
Saturday, August 25, 2007
The Farmer and His Two Sons
During the time of Jesus, the temples in Jerusalem were treating birds and animals without pity. Jesus sought to put an end to these cruel practices.
Jesus entered the temple and objected to the selling of birds in a sacred temple. The priests jointly questioned Jesus about his authority to raise such an objection. Jesus then related the following parable:
A farmer had two sons. He ordered the elder son to go and keep watch over the crops in the field.
The elder son said that he would not go. The younger son was asked to go and he agreed to go and keep watch at the field.
The elder son, though he had at first declined to go, felt it was not right to disobey his father and went to the field. The second son, despite his promise did not go to the field.
Jesus asked the priest, "As between these two sons, who do you think obeyed the father’s command?"
They replied, "The elder son. He acted upto his father’s command. The second son promised to go but did not go."
"Priests and teachers are proclaiming that they are adhering to the injunctions of the scriptures, but in actual practice are not following them. All of you are acting in the same manner," declared Jesus.
Jesus entered the temple and objected to the selling of birds in a sacred temple. The priests jointly questioned Jesus about his authority to raise such an objection. Jesus then related the following parable:
A farmer had two sons. He ordered the elder son to go and keep watch over the crops in the field.
The elder son said that he would not go. The younger son was asked to go and he agreed to go and keep watch at the field.
The elder son, though he had at first declined to go, felt it was not right to disobey his father and went to the field. The second son, despite his promise did not go to the field.
Jesus asked the priest, "As between these two sons, who do you think obeyed the father’s command?"
They replied, "The elder son. He acted upto his father’s command. The second son promised to go but did not go."
"Priests and teachers are proclaiming that they are adhering to the injunctions of the scriptures, but in actual practice are not following them. All of you are acting in the same manner," declared Jesus.
Friday, August 24, 2007
Praying For a Horse
One fine Sunday, a farmer rode up to church in his horse. He tied the horse to the post and lovingly patted it before he went into church. After the service was finished, he stayed a bit longer and prayed to God that he give the farmer another horse just like the one he had.
While he was praying, a thief stole his horse.
When the farmer came out of the church he saw that his horse was gone. Quickly he went back into the church. Now, he had a new prayer. He fervently asked God,
"Please grant me only one wish. I do not want a second horse, just return to me the favorite and only one I had. He was the best horse in the world."
The moral: Guard what you have, and do not pray beyond your Needs.
While he was praying, a thief stole his horse.
When the farmer came out of the church he saw that his horse was gone. Quickly he went back into the church. Now, he had a new prayer. He fervently asked God,
"Please grant me only one wish. I do not want a second horse, just return to me the favorite and only one I had. He was the best horse in the world."
The moral: Guard what you have, and do not pray beyond your Needs.
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Two Lines to Ponder.....
An Emperor enjoys carnal pleasures in his palace.
The same is experienced by street dogs.
Is that happiness ?
Story of The Tiger, the Python, and the Mice
One day a King left his palace for a horseback ride and after riding for several hours became lost in a deep and almost impenetrable jungle.
Reining his horse, he looked about him and was terror stricken as he saw a tiger coming towards him. He leapt from his horse, quickly climbed a nearby tree and sat on one of its branches.
The tiger came to the same tree and sat on his haunches, waiting to devour the King whenever he came down. Seeing this, the King began to test the branch on which he was sitting to make certain it was strong enough to bear his weight.
However as he looked along its length he was filled with fear, for he saw that two mice, one white and the other black, were gnawing away the inner end of the branch where it joined the tree.
He looked down at the ground to see where he would fall when the branch gave way, and whether the earth below was hard or soft. But here another terrifying sight met his gaze.
Beside the tiger, there was a huge python with its jaws wide open, waiting for him to fall. The King trembled with fright because his situation was so desperate.
As he clung to the branch wondering what he might do to save himself, he suddenly saw that honey was dripping from a branch above his head. He began to lick it and as he did so the honey had an amazing effect.
The king, absorbed in it's sweetness, soon became completely oblivious of his danger. The tiger, the mice and the python, were all forgotten as he became more and more enchanted with the taste of the marvellous honey.
In a short time, of course, the mice gnawed through the branch. It fell to the ground, and the king, with a happy smile on his lips, was killed.
The tree up which the King climbed in his search for safety symbolizes this world, the dense and dark material universe.
The tiger represents death, which eats every living creature born into this world. The python is the grave.
The branch on which the King sat represents the span of our life, whether it be ten, twenty or fifty years or more. And the two mice are day and night, which inevitably shorten the span of life.
The honey symbolizes this world and it's ephemeral pleasures, in which we become so completely absorbed that we forget even death.
The result of becoming absorbed in the worldly pleasures is that, like the King, we die without discovering the true purpose of our life.
Source: Eastern Mystics
Reining his horse, he looked about him and was terror stricken as he saw a tiger coming towards him. He leapt from his horse, quickly climbed a nearby tree and sat on one of its branches.
The tiger came to the same tree and sat on his haunches, waiting to devour the King whenever he came down. Seeing this, the King began to test the branch on which he was sitting to make certain it was strong enough to bear his weight.
However as he looked along its length he was filled with fear, for he saw that two mice, one white and the other black, were gnawing away the inner end of the branch where it joined the tree.
He looked down at the ground to see where he would fall when the branch gave way, and whether the earth below was hard or soft. But here another terrifying sight met his gaze.
Beside the tiger, there was a huge python with its jaws wide open, waiting for him to fall. The King trembled with fright because his situation was so desperate.
As he clung to the branch wondering what he might do to save himself, he suddenly saw that honey was dripping from a branch above his head. He began to lick it and as he did so the honey had an amazing effect.
The king, absorbed in it's sweetness, soon became completely oblivious of his danger. The tiger, the mice and the python, were all forgotten as he became more and more enchanted with the taste of the marvellous honey.
In a short time, of course, the mice gnawed through the branch. It fell to the ground, and the king, with a happy smile on his lips, was killed.
The tree up which the King climbed in his search for safety symbolizes this world, the dense and dark material universe.
The tiger represents death, which eats every living creature born into this world. The python is the grave.
The branch on which the King sat represents the span of our life, whether it be ten, twenty or fifty years or more. And the two mice are day and night, which inevitably shorten the span of life.
The honey symbolizes this world and it's ephemeral pleasures, in which we become so completely absorbed that we forget even death.
The result of becoming absorbed in the worldly pleasures is that, like the King, we die without discovering the true purpose of our life.
Source: Eastern Mystics
Desires
DESIRES are the creation of the MIND,
DESIRES bind US to the very object of DESIRE.
DESIRES tend to make us RESTLESS until we possess them.
After that the VERY DESIRE which WE DESIRED is NO longer DESIRED.
The LUSTRE of that DESIRE wanes AWAY and Another DESIRE crops up.
The MIND then continues to create NEW DESIRES and MAN is caught in it's CHARM of FULFILLING it.
THE VICIOUS CYCLE OF DESIRES SEEM ENDLESS............................
DESIRES bind US to the very object of DESIRE.
DESIRES tend to make us RESTLESS until we possess them.
After that the VERY DESIRE which WE DESIRED is NO longer DESIRED.
The LUSTRE of that DESIRE wanes AWAY and Another DESIRE crops up.
The MIND then continues to create NEW DESIRES and MAN is caught in it's CHARM of FULFILLING it.
THE VICIOUS CYCLE OF DESIRES SEEM ENDLESS............................
Thoughts for the Day
The tragedy is that we do not run away from sensual pleasures, nor are we afraid of offending the Lord, even though we are told daily of HIS supreme presence within us.
We would not dare commit an evil act in the presence of a small child, yet what wicked sins do we not perpetrate in HIS omnipresence ?
Evidently, we do not fear God as much as we do even a child.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
For our whole life we go on hoarding money and wasting our time. Then comes death, and when the Lord of Death demands an account of our actions, there is not an ounce of merit to earn anything.
When we were born, our hands were held tightly in a fist. The Lord gave us the precious wealth of human breaths. When it is our time to go, we find that wealth has been dissipated.
And we return to the Lord empty handed. We stumble all the way when we forget to remember the Creator. If we want to extricate ourselves from the snares of Illusion, then we must engage in the worship of the Lord.
Sources: Eastern Mystics
We would not dare commit an evil act in the presence of a small child, yet what wicked sins do we not perpetrate in HIS omnipresence ?
Evidently, we do not fear God as much as we do even a child.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
For our whole life we go on hoarding money and wasting our time. Then comes death, and when the Lord of Death demands an account of our actions, there is not an ounce of merit to earn anything.
When we were born, our hands were held tightly in a fist. The Lord gave us the precious wealth of human breaths. When it is our time to go, we find that wealth has been dissipated.
And we return to the Lord empty handed. We stumble all the way when we forget to remember the Creator. If we want to extricate ourselves from the snares of Illusion, then we must engage in the worship of the Lord.
Sources: Eastern Mystics
All We Need Is.....
A Russian peasant named Pahom owned a small piece of land and was leading a contented life. He was, however, roused to higher ambitions because his brother in law was a bigger and more prosperous landlord. Accordingly, he economized and saved as much as possible in the hope of becoming a landlord.
After he had collected some money, Pahom went out in search of land, and came to the territory of the Bashkirs, who were a race of nomads. They did not till the soil and so the land was very cheap there. Their chief accepted some presents and agreed to give Pahom as much land as he could cover on foot, provided he returned to the starting point before sunset.
Pahom jumped at the offer. The next morning the whole village assembled to witness the race. The farmer started off at a fast pace, eager to cover as large
an area of land as possible.
He went on and on as the sun rose to its height and did not stop for water to quench his thirst or for food to satisfy his hunger. He chose to run around a very large circle and the crowd of Bashkirs who were watching him wondered whether he would be able to complete the circle before sunset.
Goaded by ambition and greed, he defied the heat of the day and the fatigue of his body. He ran on and on until, just when the sun was about to set, and amid thundering applause, he reached the starting point. Then he stopped and collapsed on the ground.
Before the crowd knew what had happened, he was dead. They prepared for the funeral and buried him, and found that all the land he needed was only six feet from head to toe.
Pahom's story is an allegory of the modern age of materialism.
Acquiring and hoarding is its creed. All our Time and Energy are spent in a Mad Race for the Treasures of the World, its Empty Honors and its Transient Glory.
With folded fists we came into this world bringing with us our Destiny. Upon death we leave this world alone and empty handed.
After he had collected some money, Pahom went out in search of land, and came to the territory of the Bashkirs, who were a race of nomads. They did not till the soil and so the land was very cheap there. Their chief accepted some presents and agreed to give Pahom as much land as he could cover on foot, provided he returned to the starting point before sunset.
Pahom jumped at the offer. The next morning the whole village assembled to witness the race. The farmer started off at a fast pace, eager to cover as large
an area of land as possible.
He went on and on as the sun rose to its height and did not stop for water to quench his thirst or for food to satisfy his hunger. He chose to run around a very large circle and the crowd of Bashkirs who were watching him wondered whether he would be able to complete the circle before sunset.
Goaded by ambition and greed, he defied the heat of the day and the fatigue of his body. He ran on and on until, just when the sun was about to set, and amid thundering applause, he reached the starting point. Then he stopped and collapsed on the ground.
Before the crowd knew what had happened, he was dead. They prepared for the funeral and buried him, and found that all the land he needed was only six feet from head to toe.
Pahom's story is an allegory of the modern age of materialism.
Acquiring and hoarding is its creed. All our Time and Energy are spent in a Mad Race for the Treasures of the World, its Empty Honors and its Transient Glory.
With folded fists we came into this world bringing with us our Destiny. Upon death we leave this world alone and empty handed.
The Present
Imagine there is a bank that credits your account each morning with $86,400. It carries over no balance from day to day.Every evening it deletes whatever part of the balance you failed to use during the day. What would you do ?
Draw out every cent, of course !Each of us has such a bank ; It's name is TIME.
Every morning, it credits you with 86,400 seconds. Every night it writes off, as loss whatever of this you have failed to invest to good purpose. It carries over no balance ; It allows no overdraft. Each day it opens a new account for you. Each night it burns the day's deposits ; the loss is YOURS.
There is no going back. There is no drawing against the "tomorrow".You must live in the present on today's deposits. Invest it in the loving remembrance of God for nothing in this materialistic world would accompany us after death.
The clock is running. Make the most of today.
Treasure every moment that you have.
And remember that time waits for no one.
Yesterday is History, Tomorrow is a Mystery.
Today is a Gift, That's why it's called The Present.
Draw out every cent, of course !Each of us has such a bank ; It's name is TIME.
Every morning, it credits you with 86,400 seconds. Every night it writes off, as loss whatever of this you have failed to invest to good purpose. It carries over no balance ; It allows no overdraft. Each day it opens a new account for you. Each night it burns the day's deposits ; the loss is YOURS.
There is no going back. There is no drawing against the "tomorrow".You must live in the present on today's deposits. Invest it in the loving remembrance of God for nothing in this materialistic world would accompany us after death.
The clock is running. Make the most of today.
Treasure every moment that you have.
And remember that time waits for no one.
Yesterday is History, Tomorrow is a Mystery.
Today is a Gift, That's why it's called The Present.
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Our Heritage
Whatever has happened, Happened for the Best.
Whatever is happening, is happening for the Best.
Whatever will happen, will also happen for the Best.
What was your loss that made you cry ?
What did you bring, that you have lost ?
What did you create, That has been destroyed ?
Whatever you took, you took it from here.
Whatever you gave, you gave it here only.
Whatever is yours Today, Belonged to someone else Yesterday.
Tomorrow it will belong to another. Constant change is the Law of this Land
Whatever is happening, is happening for the Best.
Whatever will happen, will also happen for the Best.
What was your loss that made you cry ?
What did you bring, that you have lost ?
What did you create, That has been destroyed ?
Whatever you took, you took it from here.
Whatever you gave, you gave it here only.
Whatever is yours Today, Belonged to someone else Yesterday.
Tomorrow it will belong to another. Constant change is the Law of this Land
Inspiring...
The whole creation is engaged in feverish and senseless pursuits.
We shed plenty of tears for money, wife and children and suffer agony and anguish through loss of them.
But if we were to weep earnestly for God for only One day, we would surely attain Him.
Source: Eastern Mystic
We shed plenty of tears for money, wife and children and suffer agony and anguish through loss of them.
But if we were to weep earnestly for God for only One day, we would surely attain Him.
Source: Eastern Mystic
Introduction to Spiritual Treasures
We invite you on a journey where SHORT STORIES and PARABLES will INSPIRE and UPLIFT, MYSTIFY and FASCINATE your mind with its rich SPIRITUAL TREASURES.
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