Every Man wants to take control of his life.....but the truth is you are not in control.
Someone else is in control - a higher being ..... a Supreme Power whom we call God.
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Excessive Enjoyment
We attach too much importance to the well-being of the body - hence the misery.
This world has no permanent happiness for us.
We eat, we drink - in the end the food eats us.
Excessive enjoyment through the senses will result in the senses enjoying us!
We will become incapable of enjoying -- satiated. It is easily apparent that those who over eat get bad livers, stomachs, etc.
The ancient Rishis related that the food angel went to Lord Vishnu with the complaint that people were eating him mercilessly.
Lord Vishnu solved his problem by advising, "Those who eat you unnecessarily -- you eat them!"
So, indulging in excess, loses its power of enjoyment.
This world has no permanent happiness for us.
We eat, we drink - in the end the food eats us.
Excessive enjoyment through the senses will result in the senses enjoying us!
We will become incapable of enjoying -- satiated. It is easily apparent that those who over eat get bad livers, stomachs, etc.
The ancient Rishis related that the food angel went to Lord Vishnu with the complaint that people were eating him mercilessly.
Lord Vishnu solved his problem by advising, "Those who eat you unnecessarily -- you eat them!"
So, indulging in excess, loses its power of enjoyment.
An Illusion ?
We never stop to realize that the body will not last forever.
A man went to a fakir and informed him that a certain man was dying.
The fakir asked the dying man's age and was told that he was seventy two years old.
The fakir promptly said, "He has been dying for 72 years now--this is merely his last breath."
A mother considers that her child is growing, but is he?
If he is destined to live for fifty years, then when he is ten, only forty are left.
When he reaches twenty years of age, only thirty years are left.
We can never escape this paradoxical illusion without rising above the body by self-analysis.
In summay, we are dying everyday.
A man went to a fakir and informed him that a certain man was dying.
The fakir asked the dying man's age and was told that he was seventy two years old.
The fakir promptly said, "He has been dying for 72 years now--this is merely his last breath."
A mother considers that her child is growing, but is he?
If he is destined to live for fifty years, then when he is ten, only forty are left.
When he reaches twenty years of age, only thirty years are left.
We can never escape this paradoxical illusion without rising above the body by self-analysis.
In summay, we are dying everyday.
Monday, July 13, 2009
Daddy's Empty Chair
A man's daughter had asked the local minister to come and pray with her father.
When the minister arrived, he found the man lying in bed with his head propped up on two pillows. An empty chair sat beside his bed.
The minister assumed that the old fellow had been informed of his visit.
'I guess you were expecting me', he said.
'No, who are you?' said the father.
The minister told him his name and then remarked, 'I saw the empty chair and I figured you knew I was going to show up.'
'Oh yeah, the chair,' said the bedridden man. 'Would you mind closing the door?'
Puzzled, the minister shut the door.
'I have never told anyone this, not even my daughter,' said the man. 'But all of my life I have never known how to pray. At church I used to hear the pastor talk about prayer, but it went right over my head.'
I abandoned any attempt at prayer,' the old man continued, 'until one day four years ago, my best friend said to me:
"Johnny, prayer is just a simple matter of having a conversation with Jesus. Here is what I suggest : Sit down in a chair; place an empty chair in front of you, and in faith see Jesus on the chair. It's not spooky because HE promised,
'I will be with you always'. Then just speak to him in the same way you're doing with me right now...'
'So, I tried it and I've liked it so much that I do it a couple of hours every day. I'm careful though. If my daughter saw me talking to an empty chair, she'd either have a nervous breakdown or send me off to the funny farm.'
The minister was deeply moved by the story and encouraged the old man to continue on the journey. Then he prayed with him, anointed him with oil,
and returned to the church.
Two nights later the daughter called to tell the minister that her father had
passed away that afternoon.
Did he die in peace?' he asked.
'Yes, when I left the house about two o'clock, he called me over to his bedside, told me he loved me and kissed me on the cheek. When I got back from the store an hour later, I found him. But there was something strange about his death. Apparently, just before Daddy died, he leaned over and rested his head on the chair beside the bed. What do you make of that?'
The minister wiped a tear from his eye and said, 'I wish we could all go like that.'
When the minister arrived, he found the man lying in bed with his head propped up on two pillows. An empty chair sat beside his bed.
The minister assumed that the old fellow had been informed of his visit.
'I guess you were expecting me', he said.
'No, who are you?' said the father.
The minister told him his name and then remarked, 'I saw the empty chair and I figured you knew I was going to show up.'
'Oh yeah, the chair,' said the bedridden man. 'Would you mind closing the door?'
Puzzled, the minister shut the door.
'I have never told anyone this, not even my daughter,' said the man. 'But all of my life I have never known how to pray. At church I used to hear the pastor talk about prayer, but it went right over my head.'
I abandoned any attempt at prayer,' the old man continued, 'until one day four years ago, my best friend said to me:
"Johnny, prayer is just a simple matter of having a conversation with Jesus. Here is what I suggest : Sit down in a chair; place an empty chair in front of you, and in faith see Jesus on the chair. It's not spooky because HE promised,
'I will be with you always'. Then just speak to him in the same way you're doing with me right now...'
'So, I tried it and I've liked it so much that I do it a couple of hours every day. I'm careful though. If my daughter saw me talking to an empty chair, she'd either have a nervous breakdown or send me off to the funny farm.'
The minister was deeply moved by the story and encouraged the old man to continue on the journey. Then he prayed with him, anointed him with oil,
and returned to the church.
Two nights later the daughter called to tell the minister that her father had
passed away that afternoon.
Did he die in peace?' he asked.
'Yes, when I left the house about two o'clock, he called me over to his bedside, told me he loved me and kissed me on the cheek. When I got back from the store an hour later, I found him. But there was something strange about his death. Apparently, just before Daddy died, he leaned over and rested his head on the chair beside the bed. What do you make of that?'
The minister wiped a tear from his eye and said, 'I wish we could all go like that.'
Friday, April 24, 2009
The 99 Club
Once upon a time, there lived a King who, despite his luxurious lifestyle,was neither happy nor content.
One day, the King came upon a servant who was singing happily while he worked. This fascinated the King; why was he, the Supreme Ruler of the Land, unhappy and gloomy, while a lowly servant had so much joy.
The King asked the servant, "Why are you so happy?"
The man replied, "Your Majesty, I am nothing but a servant, but my family and I don't need too much - just a roof over our heads and warm food to fill our tummies."
The king was not satisfied with that reply.
Later in the day, he sought the advice of his most trusted advisor.
Afterhearing the King's woes and the servant's story, the advisor said, "Your Majesty, I believe that the servant has not been made part of The 99 Club."
"The 99 Club? And what exactly is that?" the King inquired.
The advisor replied, "Your Majesty, to truly know what The 99 Club is, place 99 Gold coins in a bag and leave it at this servant's doorstep ."
According to the advise this was done.
When the servant saw the bag, he took it into his house. When he opened the bag, he let out a great shout of joy... So many gold coins!
He began to count them. After several counts, he was at last convinced that there were only 99 coins.
He wondered, "What could've happened to that last gold coin ? Surely, no one would leave 99 coins! "
He looked everywhere he could, but that final coin was elusive.
Finally exhausted, he decided that he was going to have to work harder than ever to earn that gold coin and complete his collection.
From that day, the servant's life was changed.
He was overworked, horribly grumpy, and castigated his family for not helping him make that 100th gold coin.
He stopped singing while he worked. Witnessing this drastic transformation, the King was puzzled.
When he sought his advisor's help, the advisor said, "Your Majesty, the servant has now officially joined The 99 Club." He continued,
" The 99 Club is a name given to those people who have enough to be happy but are never contented, because they're always yearning and striving for that extra one telling to themselves:
Let me get that one final thing and then I will be happy for life ."
We can be happy, even with very little in our lives, but the minute we're given something bigger and better, we want even more!
We lose our sleep, our happiness, we hurt the people around us; all these as a price for our growing needs and desires.
That's what joining The 99 Club is all about.
a
One day, the King came upon a servant who was singing happily while he worked. This fascinated the King; why was he, the Supreme Ruler of the Land, unhappy and gloomy, while a lowly servant had so much joy.
The King asked the servant, "Why are you so happy?"
The man replied, "Your Majesty, I am nothing but a servant, but my family and I don't need too much - just a roof over our heads and warm food to fill our tummies."
The king was not satisfied with that reply.
Later in the day, he sought the advice of his most trusted advisor.
Afterhearing the King's woes and the servant's story, the advisor said, "Your Majesty, I believe that the servant has not been made part of The 99 Club."
"The 99 Club? And what exactly is that?" the King inquired.
The advisor replied, "Your Majesty, to truly know what The 99 Club is, place 99 Gold coins in a bag and leave it at this servant's doorstep ."
According to the advise this was done.
When the servant saw the bag, he took it into his house. When he opened the bag, he let out a great shout of joy... So many gold coins!
He began to count them. After several counts, he was at last convinced that there were only 99 coins.
He wondered, "What could've happened to that last gold coin ? Surely, no one would leave 99 coins! "
He looked everywhere he could, but that final coin was elusive.
Finally exhausted, he decided that he was going to have to work harder than ever to earn that gold coin and complete his collection.
From that day, the servant's life was changed.
He was overworked, horribly grumpy, and castigated his family for not helping him make that 100th gold coin.
He stopped singing while he worked. Witnessing this drastic transformation, the King was puzzled.
When he sought his advisor's help, the advisor said, "Your Majesty, the servant has now officially joined The 99 Club." He continued,
" The 99 Club is a name given to those people who have enough to be happy but are never contented, because they're always yearning and striving for that extra one telling to themselves:
Let me get that one final thing and then I will be happy for life ."
We can be happy, even with very little in our lives, but the minute we're given something bigger and better, we want even more!
We lose our sleep, our happiness, we hurt the people around us; all these as a price for our growing needs and desires.
That's what joining The 99 Club is all about.
a
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Pay Your Rent
This body is like a house given to us on rent.
The owner of this body is the Almighty God.
HE has provided for us everything & everyone that we may need to lead a happy & contented life.
We can live in this body as long as HE wills.
All this time we need to keep thanking HIM & paying HIM the rent in the form of FAITH, DEVOTION and constant LOVING REMEMBRANCE of HIM.
In case we don’t pay HIM the rent, HE sends down ‘gentle’ reminders first in the form of some problems or difficulties in life.
If we still don’t pay up, then the intensity or the height of the hurdle is raised!
As the default continues, then the trouble becomes severe in the form of physical ailments.
It’s also said that our mistakes & follies in life affects the ‘progeny’…..
.
.
He Knows Best
Don’t ask GOD for anything at all.
HE knows best & let him give us what he wants & what he thinks is best for us.
a
It is said that once Sage Vyasa explained that Draupadi had in a previous lifetime prayed to Lord Shiva to grant her a husband with 5 desired qualities.
.
Lord Shiva, pleased with her devotion, tells her that it is very difficult to get a husband with all 5 qualities that she desired.
.
However she sticks to her ground and asks for the same.
.
Lord Shiva had no other choice but to grant her wish. Hence she gets married in yet another birth to 5 brothers each who represent a given quality !!!
.
(In the epic Mahabharata, Draupadi, is the daughter of King Drupada, who becomes the wife of the five Pandavas.)
.
condensed from a discourse by Sai Baba
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
