Krishna is always within us

Krishna is always within us, and consequently He knows everything about our purposes, and He gives us the opportunity to work as we decide. If we decide to enjoy this material world, Krishna gives us the intelligence to become a very shrewd businessman or a popular politician or a cunning man so that we can earn money and enjoy ourselves. According to the standards of material life, many people are becoming great. They begin as very poor men and soon, by good fortune, become millionaires. We should not think that they are attaining such success by their own puny endeavors. Without intelligence, no one can improve, and that intelligence is given by Krishna. One person can sharply remember past activities by the grace of the Lord while others cannot. One is highly intelligent by the grace of the Lord, and one is a fool by the same control. One cannot do anything unless he is enlightened and empowered by the Lord. In the Bhagavad-gita Krishna states that He is seated in everyone's heart as the Supersoul and that by His will a man can remember or forget. Krishna supplies forgetfulness and remembrance according to the living entity's desire. If we want to forget Krishna and enjoy the material world, He will give us the necessary intelligence so that we can forget Him for good. When one is very serious about getting out of this material entanglement, the Lord, from within, gives him the knowledge that he has to surrender unto Him. He is so kind to His devotees that He gives them instructions by which they may continue to progress. When they receive instructions from the all-perfect, there is no chance of their being misled. Then there is liberation.

Give yourself some appreciation

For most of us, there are times when we feel underappreciated, as if no one understands how hard we work and how much

we are sincerely trying.

At times, it’s important to stop what you are doing and give yourself sincere appreciation. Take a few moments to

reflect on what you’ve been doing and on the nature of your intentions and actions. Mentally review your

accomplishments.

Almost everyone loves to be patted on the back by others. It feels good. However, when it’s not happening, don’t let

it get you down or adversely affect your attitude. Praise from others is never a certainty, and making it a condition

of your happiness is a really bad idea.

What you can do is praise yourself and pat yourself on the back. Be honest and genuine regarding your compliments. If

you’re doing a good service, give yourself some credit. If you’re making life a little better for even one person, or

making any type of contribution to society, give yourself some credit.

You deserve to be recognized. Actually take the time to do so.

Recover quickly from your mistakes

There will be times when you make mistakes, sometimes big ones. There will be times when you overreact, offend someone, overlook the obvious, say something you shouldn’t have, and so forth. I’ve yet to meet a person who is exempt from these oh-so human facts of life. So, perhaps the most important question isn’t so much whether or not you will mess up, but rather how quickly you can recover when you do.

We can turn a relatively minor setback or mistake into a much bigger deal by overanalyzing our actions (or someone else’s), or being too hard on ourselves Or we say something wrong and can’t let go of it, or we become defensive of our actions and refuse to apologize.

When I’m able to see my mistakes, admit them, and move on – I recover quickly. The result seems to be that when someone I’m working with offers a suggestion, or some type of constructive criticism, rather than feeling defensive or struggling to point out how I’m right and they are wrong, I try to keep an open mind and remain receptive to growth.

In most cases, the person making the suggestion has at very least a grain of truth or some wisdom in their suggestion. The trick seems to be the willingness to forgive yourself – and others—for being human and for making mistakes.

Once you recognize the truth of the old adage, “To err is human, to forgive is divine,” you create the emotional climate to recover from practically any mistake and move on.

Srila Prabhupada Nectar

Universal brotherhood redefined

Universal brotherhood is possible when one is a pure devotee. A pure devotee doesn't see the outward dress of the body but sees the spirit soul. "Here is a spirit soul," he thinks "part and parcel of Krishna." He does not think, "Here is a man, here is an animal, here is a cat, here is a dog, here is a worm." He sees everyone as part and parcel of Krishna. He becomes a lover of everyone in the universe." That kind of vision is the basis of universal brotherhood. Brotherhood will not come by passing resolutions in the United Nations. That is not possible. It is possible when one knows that Krishna is the common father of everyone. Suppose father has got ten sons. Out of them one or two sons are useless. So those who are very capable sons, if they say to the father, "My dear father, these two sons of yours, they are useless. So let us cut their throat and eat." So father will say, "Yes, you do that"? No. The father will not tolerate. The father will say, "Let them be useless, but let them live at my cost. You have no right to infringe on their rights." This is common sense. But they think that animals are to be killed for the satisfaction of the tongue of the human being. Just like if you are affectionate to your father, then you naturally become affectionate to your brother. We should take into consideration that even the worms are our brothers, what to speak of other living entities. Therefore, we should be concerned about all living entities. They are preaching universal brotherhood, but "Where is the father, sir?" "Oh, Father is missing." "Then where is the question of brotherhood?" If you don't find your father, then how do you select your brother? These are the imperfectness.

Srila Prabhupada Nectar

Let go of battles that cannot be won

One of the major contributing factors to self-created stress is the tendency that most of us have to hold on to battles that we have virtually no chance of winning. For whatever reason, we keep alive unnecessary arguments and conflicts, we insist on being right, or we try to get someone to change when there is almost no possibility that we will succeed.

Many times, we bump up against stone walls, but instead of backing off and taking the path of least resistance, we keep on struggling.

Suppose you’re driving to work when some aggressive driver tries to overtake you. You get annoyed and bothered. You focus your attention in the mirror. If you get mad enough, you might even accelerate just to retaliate. You think to yourself how awful the world has become and how road rage is a sad fact of life.

Even though your assessment of this driver may be correct, this is clearly a battle that you cannot win. By participating in the battle, the best that can happen is that you’ll end up frustrated. At worst, you may even contribute to the cause of an accident. It’s not worth it because either way you lose. By recognizing that this is a battle not worth fighting, you can calmly move to a different lane and allow the driver to go.

Wise have said, “When you’re doing something wrong, doing it more intensely isn’t going to help. Learn to differentiate between a battle worth fighting and one that is better left alone.

The manual of life

Vedas means, just like this dictaphone machine is manufactured along with one literature is also compiled. So customers, they are given the delivery of the machine as well as the literature how to use it. That is the Vedas. Therefore Krishna says that vedanta-krit, "I am the compiler of the Vedas." Because if He does not give the literature, then how he will use the machine. The manufacturer of the machine, he knows how to use it, what for it is, how to manipulate it. Everything is there. The Vedic knowledge means that. We have come to this material world. So just like we have purchased this machine for some enjoyment, similarly, we are fallen down to this material world for some material pleasure. So Krishna has given, God has given a literature. If you'll be guided by the literature, that, your propensity to enjoy this material world, will be fulfilled, at the same time you'll again be able to go back home, back to Godhead. So now you discuss this point that why we have come to this material world, what is the purpose. These things are mentioned in the Vedas. Vedas gives you knowledge about your relationship with God. That is the first knowledge. And then, according to that relationship, if you act, then you are rightly directed, and ultimately the goal is to go back home, back to Godhead.

Beware of “thought attacks”

We think practically nonstop, all day long, every day of our lives.

For example, you might have a series of thoughts while driving to work “Oh God, today is going to be really horrible. I’ve got six meetings and must finish those two reports by noon. I dread seeing Anil because he will still be angry about the disagreement we have yesterday.”

At this point, essentially only one of two things can happen. You can either take the thoughts seriously, start feeling worried, think about them some more, analyze how difficult your life has become, feel sorry for yourself, and so forth. Or if you recognize what has just happened, if you are consciously aware that you’ve just had a mini “thought attack,” you can simply remind yourself that all that has occurred is yet another series of thoughts has traveled through your mind.

You’re not even at work yet you’re still driving in the car!

This doesn’t mean that your day is going to be trouble-free or that you’re pretending all is well and good. But think of how illogical it is to be having a bad day at work before your day officially begins.

It’s ludicrous – but that’s precisely what most of us do all day long. We have thought after thought after thought. Yet we forget that it’s thought. We treat it as real.

Handling criticism over email

Since words are only 7% of communication – the remaining 93% are voice-tonality and body language – it may be wise to not reply to criticism via email if possible.

It’s probably better to get the person who sent such an email on the phone or go see him/her in person. This can help you to avoid creating a whole mess of misunderstandings. Avoiding email is also useful to keep in mind when you are about to criticise someone.The problem is, it’s tempting, when you’re mad or upset; to fire off an e-mail that you might very well live to regret. In a reactive or upset state of mind, or when you’re lacking judgment or perspective, it’s easy to act impulsively rather than with composure and wisdom. In the blink of an eye, you can confuse someone, hurt their feelings, enrage them, or even destroy a relationship.Who knows how many relationships are ruined, or at least adversely affected, every day, by someone clicking “send” instead of simply walking away?Some practical advice is this: Whenever possible, when you’re upset, refrain from sending e-mails. It’s dangerous territory. Instead, wait until you cool off. In the long run, you’ll maintain good relationships, and avoid unnecessary conflict

Time is up, you must get out

Physical body is my outward dress. Just like your coat, if it becomes old enough, there is no more possibility to use it. You have to throw it away. You have to take another coat. Similarly, I am spirit soul. When my physical body is old enough, useless, then I will have to give it up and accept another new body. I do not die after the annihilation of this body. But why I am forced to accept another body, which will be annihilated? Modern technologists are thinking that possessing big building, few cars and nice bank balance is perfection of life. But suppose you get very nice amenities still there is every possibility that as soon as you prepare all these things, you have to go away immediately, death. There is no guarantee that "After finishing this job, I shall be able to enjoy these things." We may be crying, "Doctor, can you give me at least four years to live? I had a plan to finish." What the doctor can do? "Now your time is up. You must get out." So this labor for creating nice amenities is futile because I could not enjoy it. If there is no guarantee of enjoying what you are creating, then where is the perfection? That is the problem. The technology to solve this problem is unknown all over the world. Therefore God comes, to give you the information that "You are not this body. You are spirit soul. And because you are within this body, you are suffering so many distresses." Therefore right conclusion is that if somehow or other, I can live without this body, then my distresses are over.

Let go of personality clashes

Invariably, as people share with me their list of grievances about their work, the subject of “personality clashes” is invariably brought to my attention.

People say things like, “I simply can’t get along with certain types of people,” and “Some personalities just don’t match mine.” The assumption is often made that certain personality types just don’t mix – shy people can’t get along with outgoing people, or sensitive individuals can’t work well with more aggressive people, to name just a few.

This is unfortunate because rarely can we pick and choose the types of personalities we work with. Instead, we usually get what we get. If we can’t rise above the assumptions regarding who can and can’t work well together, we’re out of luck, doomed to a life of frustration.

Letting go of personality clashes has made an enormous difference in my work life. I’ve been able to see that often it is to my advantage to work with people who are very different from me, and that ultimately it makes my work more interesting.

I suggest you take a similar look at your own personality clashes. Letting them go will take a huge weight off your shoulders!

Perfect means ‘no change’

Knowledge means without any mistake. Anything without any mistake is perpetually right. And anything based on mistaken idea will change. You have to correct the mistake. One scientist is putting forward one theory—after a few years this theory is changed. Another person will say, "Now here is the perfect." After ten years, another will come," No, that is not perfect. This is perfect." This is going on. They take it as advancement in research, but actually the knowledge is imperfect. Otherwise, what is the necessity of research and advancement? They do not know what is the end of advancement. Therefore all their knowledge is imperfect. Imperfect knowledge is that as soon as he comes to the imperfect point, "yes, we are trying." Trying means still knowledge is imperfect. Now we have to accept knowledge from Vedas without change. We do not say, "Five thousand years ago Krishna said like this. Now we are advanced. We change this line." You cannot do that. If you change the word of the scripture, then where is the authority of the scripture? So as soon as you change, that means it is imperfect. Five thousand years ago Krishna said, "You give up all other religious principles. Simply surrender unto Me."[Bg. 18.66] We are preaching the same thing. One who is very experienced medical practitioner, he gives you a prescription; you visit him again and again, he gives you the same prescription unless you are cured. He doesn't change. He knows, "This is the disease, and ultimately this medicine will cure. So let him repeat that medicine." But a non-experienced physician, every time you go, he will change the prescription. We follow no change policy. Not that I think I have become advanced so, I change this to that.

It's good to gossip sometimes

Next time someone starts to spread gossip, think of this:

In ancient Greece (469 - 399 BC), Socrates was widely lauded for his wisdom.

One day the great philosopher came upon an acquaintance who ran up to him excitedly and said, "Socrates, do you know what I just heard about one of your students?"

Wait a moment," Socrates replied. "Before you tell me I'd like you to pass a little test. It's called the Triple Filter Test."

"Triple filter?"

"That's right," Socrates continued. "Before you talk to me about my student let's take a moment to filter what you're going to say. The first filter is Truth. Have you made absolutely sure that what you are about to tell me is true?"

"No," the man said, "actually I just heard about it and..."

"All right," said Socrates. "So you don't really know if it's true or not. Now let's try the second filter, the filter of Goodness. Is what you are about to tell me about my student something good?"

"No, on the contrary..."

"So," Socrates continued, "you want to tell me something bad about him, even though you're not certain it's true?"

The man shrugged, a little embarrassed.

Socrates continued. "You may still pass the test though,because there is a third filter - the filter of Usefulness. Is what you want to tell me about my student going to be useful to me?"

"No, not really..."

"Well," concluded Socrates, "if what you want to tell me is neither True nor Good nor even Useful, why tell it to me at all?"

The man was defeated and ashamed.

This is the reason Socrates was a great philosopher and held in such high esteem.

It also explains why he never found out that Plato (his student) was having an affair with his wife.

Moral: It's good to gossip sometimes !!!... :-)

Do not be aggressive during confrontation

It’s hard to imagine people working together without at least some degree of confrontation. After all, we live in a world of conflicting interests, desires, and preferences. We have different standards and expectations. There are so many issues and people to deal with, that an occasional confrontation seems inevitable. At times, you may have to confront someone in order to achieve a desired result, shake someone up or make things happen.

While confrontation may be inevitable, they don’t necessarily have to seem like a war or lead to hurt or angry feelings, stress, or disappointment. Instead, it’s possible to confront someone (or be confronted) in a gentle, effective way that leads not only to your desired result, but also in a way that brings the two of you closer together personally or professionally.

It seems to me that most people are too aggressive and defensive during confrontations. They lose their humanity and their humility. They approach the issue in hostile way, as if they are right and the other person is wrong. It’s “me against you,” or “I’m going to teach you.” The assumption seems to be that confrontations are by definition confrontational, and that being aggressive is the best approach.

If you’re too aggressive, however, you’re going to seem adversarial to others, thus encouraging them to become defensive. The people you confront will see you as difficult, as if you are the enemy. When people are defensive, they become poor listeners, incredibly stubborn, and seldom change their point of view or see their contribution to a problem. They don’t feel respected and they lose their respect for you. So, if you are confronting someone in an aggressive way, chances are you’re going to run into a brick wall.

Spilling Oil Spilling Life

An oil spill is a bulk release of petroleum products into the environment. Marine oil spills have been in the limelight recently owing to the accidental Oil spill from a British Petroleum refinery into the Gulf of Mexico.

This spill has caused deleterious effects on the Biodiversity of that region. Many aquatics have been killed till now due to the intake of contaminated waters. Trade of the region has been severely affected, especially the population that is dependent on the fishery industry. Tourist travel to beaches that were affected has nearly stalled.

A famous personality once said that nature has enough to supply to a man’s need but not to his greed. The creation with all its flora and fauna was so designed that everyone could live in harmony with one another. For e.g. trees are very valuable to the human existence. They give food, oxygen, shelter, raw material and many things more. They also act like carbon sinks for capturing green house gases like Co2 and thus reducing pollution. In the same way various other species of life also has its influence on the environment. This variety in life forms is called biodiversity. We can therefore deduce that any harm to the Biodiversity leads to negative impacts on the environment. Oil is extracted to be used as a fuel. It is the prime necessity of the human population. There are projections that the earth’s oil reserves can supply oil till the next 50 years only. Thus it’s necessary that we check the way we use oil.

This world is a creation of God or Krishna. He is the energetic source and everything we see is his energy. We fall into the classification of superior energy as we are living, while the dead matter is his inferior energy. The superior energy thus holds the power to manipulate inferior energy therefore we should be more responsible in our activities. Someone who uses others belonging is called a thief, in the same way we commit theft by injudicious use of Krishna’s energy without acknowledging his proprietorship over everything. Krishna made the world for us to purify ourselves from the material attachments we have. This implies that we are spirit soul, part and parcels of Lord Krishna and when we misidentify ourselves with the material non-living body we develop material contaminations. We lead our entire life misidentifying our real selves and are therefore subjected to miseries. Just as fish doesn’t live outside water in the same way we can’t live happily in the material world for long. What is required is a spiritual program that reinstates us in our real position of a servant of Krishna. On the contrary we are making it difficult for ourselves as well as other species to live in harmony with each other. Srila Prabhupada once said “The floating of the planets in the weightless air is due to the inner constitution of the globes, and the modernized drilling of the earth to exploit oil from within is a sort of disturbance by the modern demons and can result in a greatly harmful reaction to the floating condition of the earth”. What he said years back is clearly visible now. We are having tectonic disturbances as well as problems in the environment. The world wildlife federations, Marine Living Planet Index track populations of 274 marine species. The comparison was done with the 1970 data for the number of species. The results show a greater than 27 % plunge in the biodiversity index.

As referred above that the world is Krishna’s energy it can only be controlled by him. We may have created problems by our wanton living, but this doesn’t mean that we don’t have a solution to address these problems. Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita:

daivi hy esa guna-mayi mama maya duratyaya

mam eva ye prapadyante mayam etam taranti te

“This divine energy of Mine, consisting of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome. But those who have surrendered unto Me can easily cross beyond it.”

The process of surrendering culminates in developing love for Krishna. Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu appeared in this age to teach us this program of surrender. He is an incarnation of Krishna. He urged everyone to chant: Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare

By chanting these names the heart is cleansed of baser qualities such a lust, anger and greed. In the proportion one is purified in that very same proportion one realises his real spiritual identity and starts developing surrender. Eventually one reaches the stage where he feels spontaneous love for Krishna and his creation. In love he doesn’t exploit the energy of Krishna but uses the same for his service. In this relationship of loving service he feels blissful and happy. Oil spills would keep occurring but let’s not spill this valuable life. Let’s love Krishna and feel the Bliss that we all are hankering for. Many have tried and were benefitted by chanting Krishna’s name. Don’t be left behind!

Donate - while you are still living

A rich man who once asked his priest, "Why does everybody call me stingy when everyone knows that when I die I will leave everything I have to this temple?"

The priest said:

There once was a pig and a cow. The pig was unpopular and the cow was loved by all in the village. This puzzled the pig.

The pig said to the cow, "People speak warmly of your good nature and your helpful attitude”. They think, “You are very generous because each day you give them milk, butter and cheese”.

“But how about me?”

“I give them everything I have”.

“I give them the famous sausages, bacon and ham i.e. my entire body”.

“Yet no one likes me”.” Why is that?"

The priest continued:" Do you know what the cow answered?

The Cow said, "Perhaps it's because I give while I am still living."

Sun God to Fix India's power deficit

India is facing a power crunch. Electricity consumption has outreached its generation by many times. The power deficit was 13.5% for the financial year 2010-11. Major part of electricity produced in India comes from coal based thermal power stations (63% of the total installed capacity). Not only Coal is a potential pollutant but also a non-renewable source. Therefore its reserves are limited. India being a developing nation has taken prudent measure to reduce its power deficit. Therefore they have turned to solar energy to fill this gap.

Solar energy is non-polluting and is abundantly available. It’s said that the amount of solar energy radiant on the earth’s surface per day is enough to fulfill the world’s power requirement for a year. Such is the majesty of nature. It’s harmless and kind, that is why nature is often referred to as the “Mother Nature”. Just like a mother always takes care of her children in a selfless and loving manner, in the same way Mother Nature provides us with all necessities of life.Actually everything is being maintained by the sun’s energy. Photosynthesis of plants occurs in the presence of sunlight, sterilization of contaminated objects is done by it, and rainfall by evaporation of water also occurs due to sun’s heat. We can thus judge by logic that if the sun is so wonderful then how wonderful would its creator be. In the Bhagavad-Gita (15.12) Krishna says:yad aditya-gatam tejo jagad bhasayate ‘khilamyac candramasi yac cagnau tat tejo viddhi mamakam“The splendour of the sun, which dissipates the darkness of this whole world, comes from Me. And the splendour of the moon and the splendor of fire are also from Me.”Again, Krishna says, jyotisham ravir amsuman: “Of lights I am the radiant sun.” (Bg. 10.21) Also, in the Eleventh Chapter of the Bhagavad-gita (11.19), Arjuna tells Krishna, sasi-surya-netram: “The sun and moon are among Your great, unlimited eyes.”We get this simple knowledge from the Bhagavad-Gita. Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is the energetic source of whatever we see. Krishna has given us all facilities to live our life peacefully and in harmony with nature. We may utilize sun’s power to mitigate the power deficit but if we don’t purify our desires then no amount of renewable energy can help us fix any sort of deficit.Greedy desires lead to more & more hankering. Actually we are all facing a deficit of love and satisfaction and in order to fulfill our desires (that we correlate to satisfaction), we try numerous ways and means. But ironically even that doesn’t help much in satisfying us. Bhagavad-Gita tells us that we are not material bodies but spirit souls. Hard labor for the satisfaction of bodily demands doesn’t satisfy the soul. It’s just like polishing the cage in which a bird is kept, without feeding the bird. In the same way No matter how much hard we may try to polish our bodies it can never lead to the satisfaction of the soul.Satisfaction of the soul results from giving it what it needs. It needs permanent and ever increasing love that completely satisfies it. Chanting the names of Krishna or the Hare Krishna maha-mantra – Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare, devotionally, promises this result. These names are completely spiritual and non-different from Krishna Himself. Krishna is powerful and potent enough to fix any type of deficit. Its said that there are innumerable universes and each universe has one sun, and if this one sun has so much power then what to speak of the person who has created these billions of suns??

Never Give Up

Its madness -

To hate all roses, because you got scratched by one thorn.

To give up all your dreams, because one did not come true.

To lose faith in prayers, because one was not answered.

To give up on your efforts, because one of them failed.

To condemn all your friends, because one of them betrayed.

Not to believe anyone, because someone was unfaithful.

Remember that, another chance may come up.

Never give up!

God personally saves

One day Akbar said to Birbal, "I marvel at some of the fantastic beliefs that you Hindus hold. You believe that the Lord comes to this earth in the garb of a human being - what an absurd notion this is!"

"What is so absurd about it, sire?" asked Birbal. "The Creator of the cosmos is also the Father of us all. Is it so fantastic that the Father should come down to earth to save His children?"

"Of course it is fantastic and absurd," Akbar insisted. "Why should the Creator of the cosmos soil His Divine Form and plunge into the samsara sagara - the ocean of material existence?" Birbal made no reply.

A few days passed. Akbar and Birbal were taking a leisurely stroll along the banks of the Yamuna. A pleasure boat was sailing on the river; the Emperor's infant son sat on the knees of his nurse, and was enjoying this leisurely boat ride. When the nurse saw Akbar and Birbal on the bank of the river, she was so startled that she tried to stand up in the boat and the child on her knees fell into the river!

Emperor Akbar was astounded! Without a moment’s hesitation he plunged into the cold waters of the river to save his son. Swimming fast, he reached the child - only to realize that it was but a doll that had been thrown into the waters!

Birbal swam after the king to meet him mid-river. "Even as an earthly father, sire, you plunged into the waters and did not in the least bother about your royal robes getting soiled and wet." he said to Akbar."Does our Heavenly Father not love us a million times more than we love our children? Would He not plunge into the murky waters of the samsara-sagara to save His children?"

The Emperor made no attempt to answer his Minister.

Calm a disturbed mind by...

Once a sage was walking from one town to another town with a few of his followers. While they were traveling, they happened to pass a lake. They stopped there and sage told one of his disciples, "I am thirsty. Do get me some water from that lake there."

The disciple walked up to the lake. When he reached it, he noticed that right at that moment, a bullock cart started crossing through the lake. As a result, the water became very muddy, very turbid. The disciple thought, "How can I give this muddy water to my master to drink!" So he came back and told his master, "The water in there is very muddy. I don't think it is fit to drink." After about half an hour, again master asked the same disciple to go back to the lake and get him some water to drink. The disciple obediently went back to the lake. This time too he found that the lake was muddy. He returned and informed the master about the same. After sometime, again master asked the same disciple to go back. The disciple reached the lake to find the lake absolutely clean and clear with pure water in it. The mud had settled down and the water above it looked fit to be had. So he collected some water in a pot and brought it to his master. Master looked at the water, and then he looked up at the disciple and said," See what you did to make the water clean. You let it be.... and the mud settled down on its own - and you got clear water. Your mind is also like that! When it is disturbed, just let it be. Give it a little time. Chant Hare Krishna! Do not worry too much. It will settle down on its own.

Whose land is it?

When we forget this philosophy—that Krishna is the supreme father, Krishna is the supreme proprietor, Krishna is the supreme enjoyer, and Krishna is the supreme friend of everyone—when we forget this, then we come into this material world and struggle for existence, fight with one another. This is material life. Nor can we get any relief through our politicians, diplomats, philosophers. They have tried so much, but actually nothing they have tried has become fruitful. Mundane politics and diplomacy and philosophy—this is not the process. The process is Krishna consciousness. Everyone has to understand this point, that we are not proprietors. The actual proprietor is Krishna. Just like a man is dreaming and crying, "There is tiger, there is tiger. It is eating me," and the man who is awake, smiles, "Where is the tiger?" Similarly, when we are very much perplexed... Just like the politicians, they are sometimes perplexed in political situation and claiming, "This is my land, my country," and other party also claiming, "It is my land, my country," and they are fighting very gravely. Krishna smiles. "What these people are claiming 'my country, my land'? It is My land, and they are claiming 'my land' and fighting." We fight, "This is my land, this is your land," but fighting, we die, and the land is there. The land does not go with the fighters. They fight amongst themselves, and go away but the land remains. That is called illusion. But still we do not understand that the land does not belong to either you or to me. It belongs to Krishna. So, just to remind us, Krishna comes, "Any land does not belong to you, I am the enjoyer," sarva-loka-maheshvaram, "I am the proprietor of all the planets." That's a fact.

Law of the Garbage Truck

One day I hopped in a taxi and we took off for the airport. We were driving in the right lane when suddenly a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us.

My taxi driver slammed on his brakes, skidded, and missed the other car by just inches! The driver of the other car whipped his head around and started yelling at us. My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. He was really friendly and smiling.

So I asked, 'Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!'

He explained that many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment. As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it and sometimes they'll dump it on you. Don't take it personally.

Just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. Don't take their garbage and spread it to other people at work, at home, or on the streets. Successful people do not let garbage trucks take over their day.

Love the people who treat you right. Pray for the ones who don't. Life is ten percent what you make it and ninety percent how you take it!

Pray to Lord for garbage-free day!

Grumble, grumble, grumble

Grumble, grumble, grumble. Someone who takes himself, others, and everything else very seriously. The primary focus is on problems, always critical, frowning, angry, hurried, frustrated, and stressed. Someone who is waiting for life to get better, for things to be different. Is this you?

You had your chance to experience and explore life and its many facets – the beauty as well as the hassles. But in a way, you took it for granted. You spent your time grumbling, wishing life was different.

We all get too serious at times. Perhaps it’s human nature. Yet there is an enormous difference between someone who gets serious from time to time, and someone else who is constantly in the grumble mode. The good news is, it’s never too late to change. In fact, once you see how ridiculous it is, you can change quickly.

A grumbler will blame life for his sour attitude. He will validate his negativity by pointing to the problems and hassles that he must face. He will justify his position by pointing out the injustices of life and the flaws of others. He hasn’t a clue that his vision of life stems from his own thoughts and beliefs.

The world has become too serious. If you’re part of this sad trend, it’s time to change.

Vitamins come by God’s desire

There are so many scientists. They are discovering vitamin value from foodstuff. Now, what is the vitamin value in the dry grass? If there is no vitamin value in dry grass, how the cow is producing so much milk that is full of vitamins A and D? Nowadays the physician prescribes some artificial vitamins for maintaining your body. It is God's wish. Is there any brain of the human being who can produce fruits, grains, milk? They're very great scientist. Now let them produce. By scientific process, why don't you transform grass into milk? Can any machine produce milk from a little grass? The cow is eating grass and delivering the milk. So for everything, the law of Krishna, or law of God, is working. If you think, "Oh, then a dry grass and straw contain all vitamins. Let me eat," you will die. It is God's desire that the cow eats the dry grass and it gives so nutritious, full of vitamins milk. But the same dry grass, if a woman eats, she will die. Therefore it is the plan of the Supreme that the cow, by eating dry grass, she can deliver nicely. It is not on the dry grass she is producing milk; it is the will of God that is producing it. Dry grass is not the cause of vitamins; otherwise you could eat also the dry grass instead of purchasing vitamin pills.

Ease off your expectations a little

Life just isn’t neat and trouble-free. We all have bad days. Sometimes people are rude or insensitive. Phone lines and computers occasionally break down.

When I met Ravi, he worked for a software development company. He described it as his first “real job.” He was young and had exceptionally high expectations. The problem was, many of his expectations weren’t being met. He wasn’t being treated with the degree of respect he wanted (or expected), and his ideas weren’t being taken seriously. He felt under-appreciated and taken for granted. He was frustrated and burned-out.

I suggested he lower his expectations and consider thinking of his job in a new way. I asked him to see his job as a stepping stone to bigger and better things later on. He took the suggestion to heart, and his world began to change for the better.

Make room in your heart for bad moods, mistakes, errors, and glitches. Instead of spending so much time being annoyed about the way things unfold, take most of them in stride. This will conserve your energy and, ultimately, make you more productive.

No matter how hard you try, life still isn’t always going to go as planned. One of the best ways to deal with this inevitability is to stop expecting it to be otherwise. So ease off your expectations a little. Then you won’t be easily disappointed.

Responding to criticism without being defensive

In an actual war, to be attacked means to have our survival threatened. Thus, we might choose between surrender, withdrawal, or counterattack.

When we feel attacked (criticized or judged) by others in conversation, we often move into that same kind of survival mentality and automatically defend ourselves. But conversation is different than war. When we defend against criticism, we give more power to the criticism and the person dishing it out than is warranted.

I think we often ward off criticism far too soon, discarding anything that is valid, as well as what is invalid. The person's words may hurt, but they will hurt less, I think, if we ask questions, decide which pieces we agree with (if any) and which ones we don't agree with.

We can just think about it, we don't have to fight it as if we were being attacked with a lethal weapon.

I watch people's self-esteem increase simply from becoming less defensive in the face of criticism and judgment. Besides, we may find a priceless gem in with some junk.

Problem with always saying ‘YES’

Many times we commit to too many things and fail to say no. We say, “Sure, I’ll do it,” or “No problem, I’ll take care of it,” when deep down, we know we don’t really want to, or that we already have too much on our plates.

The problem with always saying yes is two-fold. First, the end result is almost always feeling overwhelmed, stressed and tired. There is simply a point when enough is enough; a point of diminishing return when our attitude, spirit and even our productivity begins to suffer. By saying yes too often, we begin to feel victimized and resentful that we have so much to do. Because we tend to feel guilty when we say no, it’s often difficult to see that we were the ones who got ourselves into this mess by failing to say no more often.

The second major problem with failing to say no when it’s appropriate to do so is that you end up with a slightly insincere attitude. In other words, you are doing things you really don’t want to be doing or shouldn’t be doing – but you are acting, on the surface, as if everything is just fine. For example, you’ll agree to perform a task by saying, “Oh, it’s all right,” when what you really need is a day off to yourself. Then because you don’t get your much-needed rest, you feel victimized or angry that so many people ask favors of you!

Again, you played a key role in the creation of your own stress, but you believe the stress is caused by outside forces, or that it’s inevitable.

Real problem is death

The Bhagavad-gita is a book of authority, is acknowledged in every part of the world. Not just Indians or Hindus are interested but many scholars, philosophers, religionists, scientists throughout the whole world are interested. Even Professor Einstein was reading it daily. So wise man means one who understands Krishna. So if one is not God conscious, in spite of all his education, he will create havoc in the world because he is hovering over the mental plane. His education will be utilized for his sense gratification, and he will not care for anything. Just like great scientists have discovered the atom bomb. What is the effect? Now by one drop you can kill many millions of people. Instead of inventing something beneficial to human society they invent something to accelerate death, which is already assured to every man. They cannot show their meritorious power by inventing something which can save man from death; instead they invent weapons which accelerate the process of death. You create some medicine that "Take this tablet and no death, at least, no disease." That is not possible. There is development of different kinds of disease, and they are discovering different kinds of medicine. There is one problem, and you are creating some antidote. This is struggle for existence. That is not scientific improvement. But how one can be stopped from repetition of birth and death? Birth and death is in relationship with this body so, If you don't have a material body, then there is no question of birth, death, old age and disease. So this is the process of Krishna consciousness. If you simply try to understand Krishna and if you perfectly understand, then immediately you can stop your birth and death process. You are eternal. That is intelligence.

No more changing apartment

We are not proprietor of this body. We are occupier. Just like a rented house: the proprietor and the tenant are different. So I am the spirit soul. I am not proprietor; I am simply occupier. The proprietor is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is giving me a particular apartment according to my capacity of paying rent. According to our karma or work, we get a body, either as a king's son, a cobbler's son, a dog's son, a cat's son, a tree's son or a plant's son. If you are in a rented apartment, you are given the license to occupy the room. So mistake is that we do not know the owner, and we are improperly using our occupation. The direction is there, the director is sitting there. He's always helping you. But the disease is that we are claiming to be owner and want to act according to our whims, and that is material condition. Krishna said "Don't think we did not exist in the past. We are existing at present, and we shall continue to exist in the future." Exactly like that "I existed in one apartment, now I am existing in one apartment, and I shall exist in another apartment." I am spirit soul. I am simply changing different apartments. Because I am eternal, there is a life, where I haven't got to change apartment. I get permanent residence. That is spiritual life. So long you are in material existence you have to change different types of body. But if you become fit for spiritual existence, you get rid or get out of this entanglement of changing bodies. This is Krishna consciousness movement. We are teaching our people that "you become Krishna conscious then you get permanent life."

Rushing to get things done?

For many people, there are essentially only two speeds—fast and faster. It seems that, most of the time, we are moving very quickly, doing three or four things at once. Often we are only paying partial attention or half listening to the people we are working with. Our minds are cluttered and overly busy.

Perhaps the reason so many of us spend so much time moving fast is that we fear falling behind or losing our edge. Our competitors, and everyone else around us, seem to be moving so fast that we feel we must do the same.

It’s important to note that, in this hyper, frenetic state of mind, our concentration suffers. We waste precious energy and have tendency to make mistakes. When we’re in a hurry, it’s difficult to determine what’s truly most relevant because we are so preoccupied with getting everything done. Because we are moving so quickly, it’s easy to get stressed out, nervous, and agitated. And because we are so “on edge,” things get on our nerves easily and often.

See if you can make a conscious effort to slow down- both your thinking and your actions. If you do, I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised to discover that, despite the slower speed, you’ll become more relaxed and far more effective. You’ll regain your composure and be able to see the bigger picture.

Your stress level will drop dramatically and it will even seem like you have more time. Your thinking and listening skills will become sharper. You’ll be able to anticipate problems rather than finding yourself in the middle of them so often.

The important part of the hen

God sometimes displays Himself as God and sometimes as a human being, but people dismiss His pastimes as legend or mythology. Either they do not believe in the scriptures or they interpret them in their own way, using ardha-kukkuti-nyaya, "the logic of half a hen." Once, a man kept a hen that delivered one golden egg every day. He thought, "It is very profitable, but it is expensive to feed this hen. Better I cut off her head and save the expense of feeding her. Then I will get the egg without any charge." People accept the scriptures in this way. They think, "Oh, this is not good; it is inconvenient. We shall cut this portion out." When Krishna says, "Give up everything and surrender to Me," they disagree. They accept what is convenient and reject what is not. But the acaryas do not distort the shastras in this way. Arjuna is the greatest example, how he became Krishna conscious. He said, "My dear Krishna, whatever you say, I accept in total, as it is, without any interpretation." [Bg. 10.14] Therefore we have to learn from Arjuna how to accept Bhagavad-gita. This is study of Bhagavad-gita. You have to take as it is and understand. If you take something to your choice, that is useless waste of time. People accept Bhagavad-gita on the principle of ardha-kukkuti-nyaya. "Cut this, take this, cut this, take this." If you cut the head, there will be no more egg, similarly, if you try to study Bhagavad-gita according to your whims, cut this and take this, that is not study of Bhagavad-gita. If you accept the whole, this side and that side, then business will go on.

Material solution means ‘another problem’

This human form of life should be utilized how to make a solution of the problem. That is Vedic civilization. They stress more on the solution of the problems, not to create problems. The solution of problem in human life is how to stop death. For example, we have made a horseless carriage motorcar, that is advancement but it is not the solution of the problem. I don't consider that although I have got car, still, I have to waste so much time. Now the problem is where to park and how to drive. They are increasing roads, one after another. Still, the problem is not solved, somewhere you'll find bottleneck. Formerly, horses were drawing carriages and there was no air pollution. And there is every possibility of accidents. If you did not discover these aero plane and motorcar, then death would not have been so easy. You could live at least for some days. It must run on petrol and they are crying, "Where is petrol? Where is petrol?" If God does not supply petrol, then all these horseless carriages will be pieces of tin. That's all. We are trying to solve the problem in one way, and the problem is becoming more dangerous and difficult by the laws of nature. This is because we do not know what is the ultimate goal of life. We are missing the real point. People are trying to control over the laws of material nature. That is impossible. Therefore Vedic literature says that "Do not waste your time in that way. Better you utilize your valuable time to understand Krishna. Then your life is successful." Our life is not meant for creating problems and solving problems. Our life is meant for understanding God. Then everything is all right. But that you havse given up.

Never write an email when you’re mad or upset

The Internet – specifically, e-mail—has done wonders to increase our capacity to communicate. With lightening speed, we can now write letters, share ideas and even close deals. The benefits are astonishing.

There’s a downside to e-mail, however, that’s important to be aware of. The problem is, it’s tempting, when you’re mad or upset; to fire off an e-mail that you might very well live to regret.

In a reactive or upset state of mind, or when you’re lacking judgment or perspective, it’s easy to act impulsively rather than with composure and wisdom. In the blink of an eye, you can confuse someone, hurt their feelings, enrage them, or even destroy a relationship.

The good news is, the flip side of this issue is also true. If you’re mad at someone and are tempted to share your feelings via e-mail – but you manage to resist – your restraint can pay enormous dividends.

Who knows how many relationships are ruined, or at least adversely affected, every day, by someone clicking “send” instead of simply walking away?

Some practical advice is this: Whenever possible, when you’re upset, refrain from sending e-mails. It’s dangerous territory. Instead, wait until you cool off. In the long run, you’ll maintain good relationships, and avoid unnecessary conflict.

Complete use of car

Now we are thinking that so-called material advancement is the solution to our problems, but this is not a fact. The real solution is to get out of the material condition entirely by becoming Krishna conscious. Because God is eternal, we are also eternal, but in the material condition we are thinking, "I am this body," and therefore we must repeatedly change from body to body. This is due to ignorance. Actually we are not our bodies but spiritual sparks, parts and parcels of God.

The body is just like a vehicle for the soul. It is just like a motorcar. Just as you go from one place to another in a car, so due to mental concoction in the material condition of life, we are going from one position to another, trying to become happy. But nothing will make us happy unless we come to our real position, which is that we are all parts and parcels of God and that our real business is to associate with God and help all living entities by cooperating with Him. Civilized human life is attained only after a long evolution through 8,400,000 species of life. So if we don't take advantage of this civilized human life to understand who God is, who we are, and what our relationship is, but instead simply waste our life like cats and dogs, going here and there looking for sense gratification, then we will have missed a great opportunity. The Krishna consciousness movement is meant to teach people how to take full advantage of the human form of life by trying to understand God and our relationship with Him.

Handling setbacks and failures

The question isn’t whether or not we will have setback, disappointments, and failures in life – we will. Rather, the question is, how will we deal with them? Will we become upset, immobilized, frustrated, and hopeless or will we take a more positive approach and depend on Lord in such situations?

In other words, setbacks and failures can seem significant, even insurmountable in the moment. Yet, once we get through them, we look back at them as a necessary, even important part of our success. A number of people have told me that some major failures were the best thing that ever happened to them. Sure, it was painful while it was happening, but it woke them up and taught them some important lessons in life.

Few people are successful immediately, never rejected, perfectly placed the first time around. It’s usually just the opposite --- trial & error, rejection, setbacks, failures, & so forth.

If you are defeated over and over again, you can focus on the fact that things aren’t working out, beat yourself up mentally, and feel hopeless – or you can learn from your mistakes, improve your skills, let go of the past, and move on.

All the frustration in the world isn’t going to change what has already happened – so why make a big issue out of it?

The trick, I believe, is being able to use not only our past setbacks, but the current ones as well, to help us grow and move on. In other words, when something doesn’t work out well, rather than dwelling on it and feeling badly, we let it go, see what we can learn, make any necessary adjustments, and move forward.

Learning to stop making a big issue of our setbacks is a powerful way to live a better life. Without the ongoing nagging and heaviness of self-directed criticism and worrisome thoughts, we free up energy to be creative, hardworking, and successful.

Express your gratitude toward others

The people we remember to thank, in person, with a thoughtful note or gesture, or a phone call, are infinitely more likely to help us again than those we take for granted or neglect to thank. It’s so obvious, yet so few people really understand how this works.

People love to be acknowledged, admired, and thanked. People love to be thanked, not out of any selfish need but simply because it feels good to be acknowledged. And when we are sincerely acknowledged, the acknowledgment acts as reinforcement that we have done the right thing. Thus, we want to do it again.

The next time you do something really nice or helpful for someone and they thank you, take note of how it makes you feel.

It’s true that there are many instances where you would help someone again without expecting any thanks. However, you’ll find yourself even more willing to help someone who expresses their gratitude and acknowledged your help.

By engaging in constant gratitude, you’ll be guaranteeing success, happiness and better relationships.

Universal Message

Where is the religion which does not recognize God? One may call God "Allah" or "Krishna" or something else, but where is that religion which does not recognize God? We are teaching that one should simply try to love God. We are attracted by so many things, but if our love is reposed in God, then we will be happy. We don't have to learn to love anything else; everything else is automatically included. Just try to love God. Don't try to love just trees or plants or insects. This will never satisfy. Learn to love God. That is Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's mission; that is our mission.

Being Immortal

Matter changes in six phases: birth, growth, maintenance, production of by-products, dwindling, and death. But the life within matter, the spirit soul, is eternal; it goes through no such changes. Life appears to be developing and decaying, but actually it is simply passing through each of these six phases until the material body can no longer be maintained. Then the old body dies, and the soul enters a new body. When our clothing is old and worn, we change it. Similarly, one day our bodies become old and useless, and we pass on to a new body.

As the embodied soul continually passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. This means that only the material body of the indestructible and eternal entity is subject to destruction. This material body is perishable, but the life within the body is nitya, eternal.

Avoid the phrase: I have to go to work

This article has to do with six of the most common words in the English language: “I have to go to work.”

In all probability, it’s absolutely true that you do “have to” got to work. Nevertheless, these particular words carry with them some really negative baggage that, I believe, is self-destructive.

Other than your thoughts, your words are your primary entry point into your experience. When you “have” to do something, it implies that it’s not a choice – that you would rather be somewhere else, doing something different. This, in turn, implies that your heart isn’t fully into what you are doing, which makes living up to your potential extremely difficult and enjoying your experience near impossible.

So, when you say, “I have to go to work,” you are in a subtle way setting yourself up for a bad day. This doesn’t mean you’ll always have a bad day – but it certainly increases the likelihood.

Beyond that, however, there is a more subtle negative message you send to yourself and to others. It seems that deep down, what you’re really saying is, “I don’t like my work. I’m not capable of choosing work that I enjoy.” What a horrible message to say to yourself (or to someone else) about something you spend most of your time doing! Think about it. If you really loved your work, why would you be saying, “I have to go to work? Do you ever say, “I have to start my weekend now”?

Never ever backstab

There are many good reasons why we should never backstab. First of all, it sounds terrible and makes us look really bad. When I hear someone slamming someone behind his back, it says nothing about the person they are referring to, but it does say a great deal about the person who is backstabbing. To me, someone who slams a person behind his back is hypocritical or two-faced.

A person in a habit of backstabbing will put on a smile and say nice things to people but, behind their backs, he would act in a completely different way. To me that’s not fair play.

But aside from being a mean-spirited and unfair thing to do, backstabbing creates other problems as well. It causes stress, anxiety, and other negative feelings.

How does it feel to say nasty, offensive, and negative things about someone else who isn’t even there to defend themselves? Obviously, answer is so obvious that it’s almost embarrassing to discuss. I know that when I have backstabbed in the past, my words have left me with an uncomfortable feeling. I remember asking myself the question, “How could you stoop so low?” You simply can’t win this way.

Finally, it’s absolutely predictable that if you backstab someone, you will lose the respect and trust of the people you are sharing with. Remember, most of the people you’re sharing with are your friends or colleagues. It’s important to realize that, even if they appear to enjoy what you are saying, and even if they too are participating in the gossip, there will always be a part of them that knows that you are capable of backstabbing. They’ve seen it firsthand. It’s inevitable that they will ask themselves the question, “If he will talk behind someone else’s back, wouldn’t he be capable of doing the same thing to me? What’s more, they know that the answer is ‘YES’.

Don’t worry if you do not have some facility

A jobless man applied for the position of 'office boy' at Microsoft. The HR manager interviewed him then watched him cleaning the floor as a test. 'You are employed' he said. Give me your e-mail address and I'll send you the application to fill in, as well as date when you may start.

The man replied 'But I don't have a computer, neither an email'. 'I'm sorry', said the HR manager. If you don't have an email that means you don’t exist. And who doesn't exist, can’t have the job.'

The man left with no hope at all. He didn't know what to do, with only $10 in his pocket. He then decided to go to the supermarket and buy a 10Kg tomato crate.

He then sold the tomatoes in a door to door round. In less than two hours, he succeeded to double his capital. He repeated the operation three times, and returned home with $60.

The man realized that he can survive by this way, and started to go every day earlier, and return late. Thus, his money doubled or tripled every day. Shortly, he bought a cart, then a truck, and then he had his own fleet of delivery vehicles.

5 years later, the man is one of the biggest food retailers in the US. He started to plan his family's future, and decided to have a life insurance.

He called an insurance broker, and chose a protection plan.

When the conversation was concluded the broker asked him his email. The man replied, ‘I don't have an email.'

The broker answered curiously, 'You don't have an email, and yet have succeeded to build an empire. Can you imagine what you could have been If you had an e mail?!!' The man thought for a while and replied, 'Yes, I'd be an office boy at Microsoft!'

Quest for Happiness

Suppose a man is thrown into the ocean. He may be an expert swimmer, but he cannot be happy in the ocean because he is out of his natural condition of life. The only way he will become happy is if someone picks him up from the ocean and places him on the land.

So if we are serious, if we actually want to be happy, we must take to the cultivation of spiritual understanding, an understanding of Krishna consciousness. Of course, in every country of the world there is some religious system, some system for understanding spiritual life. But unfortunately, almost nobody is interested in spiritual life because people have been induced to become addicted to material, or sensual, activities. They are going further and further away from spiritual life and becoming more and more confused. Disappointment is rising all over the world.

So to mitigate this disappointment and confusion, one has to take to Krishna consciousness. Try to understand the philosophy of Krishna consciousness, and act accordingly. Then you will be happy.

Be willing to apologize

Whenever you are in some service – or when you are taking risks, making things happen, interacting with others, or in the public eye – you are bound to make mistakes. At times you are going to use bad judgment, say something wrong, offend someone, criticize unnecessarily, be too demanding, or act selfishly. The question isn’t whether you will make these mistakes – we all do. The question is, can you admit to them? If so, the question becomes, can you apologize?

Many people never apologize. They are either too self-conscious, self-righteous, stubborn, or arrogant to do so. The unwillingness to apologize is not just sad; it is a serious mistake as well. Almost everyone expects others to make mistakes and with a humble and sincere apology, almost everyone is willing to forgive. However, if you are a person who is either unable or unwilling to apologize, you will be branded a difficult person to work with. And over time, people will avoid you, speak behind your back, and do nothing to help you.

The ability to apologize, to admit mistakes, is a beautiful human quality that brings people closer together and helps us succeed. By simply acknowledging our humanness and saying “I am sorry” when appropriate, we bond with others and increase their trust in us. Obviously, you must never apologize as a tool of manipulation, to try to get a response like this or to get something out of it.

When you apologize from your heart, you keep most of your existing doors open. Occasionally, you may even open doors that had previously been closed.

Do not panic unnecessarily

People panic about practically everything—missed deadlines, orders not received, comments by others, fear of mistakes, negative trends. You name it and someone has panicked about it. Yet I’ve never seen even a single instance where the panic actually helped to solve the problem. Instead, panic is neutral at best and greatly interferes at worst. Panic tends to bring out the worst in everyone. It makes others (and you) feel tense and fearful. It increases the likelihood of mistakes, missed opportunities and miscommunications.

Nothing interferes with the creation of success and abundance like panic. When you make the commitment to stop panicking, you’ll notice some incredible things happening. First, you’ll notice that a vast majority of what you are most worried about will never happen, or it won’t be as bad as you first thought. It was Benjamin Franklin who said, “Some terrible things happened in my lifetime – a few of which actually happened.”

By avoiding the panic, you won’t waste time, anxiety, and energy trying to solve what probably doesn’t need solving. Second, when you learn to keep your bearings, your wisdom will come forth. In the absence of worry, answers will emerge. Instead of a head full of concerns, you’ll create a head full of solutions. Finally, when you stay calm, you really do bring out the best in others. Many people react to the feelings of others. If you can maintain your bearings, chances are the people you work with will, too.

To bring forth your greatest potential, eliminate panic altogether from your thinking..

Let go of fearful thoughts

If you gathered up all the fearful thoughts that exist in the mind of the average person, looked at them objectively, and tried to decide just how much good they provided that person, you would see that not some but all fearful thoughts are useless. They do no good. Zero. They interfere with dreams, hopes, desires, and progress.

Fearful thoughts take many different forms. Sometimes they sound reasonable: “I’m just being careful, so I’m taking my time.” Other times they are tied to your past: “I’ve tried that before and it didn’t work.” Occasionally, fears are cleverly disguised as being realistic: “Most people fail, so I want to be absolutely sure before I get started.” I could fill page after page with other examples. Yet when you take a close, honest look at every fearful thought, there are threads of similarity. All of them are explanations or rationalizations for why something shouldn’t or can’t work. They are usually justifications for quitting, or for not getting started.

Fearful thoughts hold you back, not some but all of the time.

A critic, especially a fearful one, will look at this advice and say it’s unrealistic, simplistic, and/or foolish. The problem with overcoming these objections is that, on the surface, they sound reasonable. Let me assure you that I’m not suggesting you ignore the facts and take unnecessary and/or foolish risks.

What I’m talking about here are the fears that clearly and directly interfere with your dreams – the fear of rejection, the fear of failure; thoughts like “What will everyone think of me? I might look foolish,” or “I don’t think I can do it, I don’t have the time, or the experience, or the confidence.” These common, ongoing fearful thoughts are the dream snatchers of our own making.

Driving Ahead

Suppose I am driving a very nice car, but I am simply absorbed in the machine only. I have forgotten my destination, where I have to go, and I am busy studying the car. What is the use? You may be driving a good car, but you must know how to reach your destination. That is your main business. Knowing how the car works is secondary. Your main business is knowing how to utilize the car so you can reach your destination. That is intelligence.

So, we have fallen into this material condition, and we are occupying various forms. As long as we are in the bodily concept—thinking "I am this 'car'"—that is ignorance. What is wanted is to think, "I am not this body. I am spirit soul, and I have to utilize this body to go to my destination—the spiritual world—where I can meet the supreme spirit, God, and live in His association." Human life is meant for understanding what the Supreme Lord is, where He lives, what He does, and what our relationship with Him is. To seek to understand these things is called inquiry into the Absolute Truth. That is actual education.

Ask for what you want

It is astonishing what you can accomplish by simply asking for what you want – help, forgiveness, an idea, another chance, a break, or whatever. And not only can you get what you want by asking for it, but often the person you are asking will thank you for taking the initiative.

If it’s so obviously helpful and important to ask for what we want, why do so few of us do it? Once again, the answer is fear. We worry about the outcome. We’re afraid of rejection or a negative response. We might be worried about offending someone or being perceived of as weak, or of taking advantage of our relationship. We may feel we don’t deserve help.

For a multitude of reasons, we allow past negative experiences and/or our own made-up fears to taint our present opportunities.

It’s actually quite arrogant and self-righteous to assume that others aren’t as willing to help. I’m not the only nice guy around. The key in asking for something, large or small, is to be sincere in your beliefs that, deep down, others want to help you. You must approach your request by assuming that the person you are asking is just like you – he or she has an inner longing to be of help to someone.

Once you remove the fear of asking for help, your wisdom and common sense will instruct you when and how to ask.

Facing problems in life

You can be annoyed by problems in life; think about how unfair and awful they are, complaining about them with others. You can remind yourself, over and over again, how difficult life is and how this problem is yet another justification for why you “have a right” to be upset! You can tighten up. Unfortunately, this is the way many people approach their problems.

When you think of your problems as speed bumps on a road, however, they begin to look very different. You’ll begin to expect a number of speed bumps to present themselves during a typical day. Like riding a bike, bumps are simply a part of the experience. You can fight and resist, or you can relax and accept.

As a problem shows up during your day, you can begin to say to yourself, “Ah, here’s another one.” Then, like the bump on your bike ride, you begin to relax into it, thereby absorbing the shock, making it seem less significant. Then you can calmly decide what action or decision is likely to get you over this hurdle in the most effective, graceful manner. The calmer and more relaxed you remain, the easier it is to remember & depend on the Lord. Lord will then guide what best you can do in a given situation or circumstance.

Lord Krishna says in Bhagavad-gita 18.58

If you become conscious of Me, you will pass over all the obstacles of conditioned life by My grace. If, however, you do not work in such consciousness but act through false ego, not hearing Me, you will be lost.

Take your breaks regularly

There was a time when I felt that breaks were a waste of time. I assumed that by skipping my breaks unless it was absolutely necessary, I would be able to save a great deal of time and get more done – I would have an edge. I would work through lunch and rarely take breaks throughout the day.

In recent years, I’ve learned that a failure to take regular breaks is an enormous mistake that not only wears you down over time, but actually makes you less productive. While you may not even feel it at the time, slowly but surely your frustrations will sneak up on you. You’ll become less patient and attentive, and your concentration and listening skills will suffer.

I believe that the cumulative effects, over time, are also significant. You’ll burn out much more quickly, and your creativity and insights will slowly fade away.

Your breaks don’t have to be disruptive or last very long. Usually, all you need is a few minutes to clear your head, take some deep breaths, stretch your arms, or get some air. When you take this time – every couple of hours, or so – you’ll return to your work more enthusiastic, focused, and ready to go. It’s almost as though you push a “reset button” and you provide yourself with a fresh start.

I feel that by working a few less minutes each couple of hour and by taking regular mini breaks, I will work smarter, more efficiently and actually get more work accomplished.

Perfection of Life

When one goes to prison he has to put aside his usual dress and take the prison dress. Similarly, anyone who comes into this material world has to take a material body. This is the law. Unless you have this material body, how can you feel pleasure in material sense enjoyment? It is just like performing on stage: if you are going to play a certain part, you have to dress accordingly. Therefore, this material body is compared to a dress. For example, every lady and gentleman; every one of us; has a different dress.

But our dress is superficial. As human beings we are one. Similarly, each one of us has a different bodily dress, but spiritually we are one. And this is true of all living entities: they are in different bodily dresses only.

The dresses are calculated to total 8,400,000 different forms. In the water there are 900,000 different dresses, and there are 2,000,000 different types of trees and plants. There are 1,100,000 species of insects, 1,000,000 types of birds, 3,000,000 types of beasts, and 400,000 forms of human beings. In this way, the living entity is passing through different dresses.

And the best dress is this human form, because in this dress you can understand what God is, what you are, and what your relationship with God is. Then you can act in that relationship and go back home, back to Godhead. In this human form of dress you have developed consciousness.

But if you miss this opportunity to understand God, then again you will be put into the cycle of the evolutionary process. We should not, therefore, misuse this human form. We should utilize it properly to understand the unlimited God and our relationship with Him, and to act on this knowledge. That is the perfection of life.