Monday, February 27, 2012
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Two Wolves Within Us
One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people.
He said, "My son, the battle is between two wolves inside us all."
"One is Evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego."
"The other is Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith."
The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather - Which wolf wins?
The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."
Friday, February 24, 2012
Be Receptive
"Receptive" implies being open to ideas and suggestions.
It means you are inclined and willing to receive whatever it is that you need at that moment – data, creativity, a new idea, or whatever. It's the opposite of being closed minded and stubborn.
People who are receptive are willing to have a "beginner's mind," the willingness to learn, even if they are considered the expert. Because they are not defensive, these people have sharp learning curves and are almost always the ones who come up with the best ideas. They are fun to work with and are great team players because they think "outside the box" and consider differing points of view.
I know a person who is one of the most receptive individuals I've ever had the privilege of knowing. He was a business leader who was willing to listen to everyone – and who would frequently take the advice of his employees. Rather than stubbornly insisting that his answers were always the best, he would take his ego out of the picture. He would reflect on the suggestions given by his employees to determine the best possible course of action.
He told me, "It made my job so much easier. By being genuinely receptive to suggestions and ideas, rather than shutting them off, I had the advantage of hundreds of brilliant minds working together – rather than having to rely on my tiny little mind."
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Hoping against hope
Durashaya means which cannot be fulfilled. You can hope something but it will never be fulfilled. Persons who are trying to become happy by adjustment of this material energy, they do not know that happiness cannot be achieved without approaching God. Everyone is thinking, "I must first of all see my own interest." But first of all try to understand what is your interest. We do not know that and we are hoping against hope, "I shall be happy in this way." Sometimes the washerman sits on the back of an ass and takes a bunch of grass and puts in front of the ass, and the ass wants to take the grass. But as he is moving forward, the grass is also moving forward. And he thinks, "Just one step forward, I shall get the grass." It does not know, "The grass is situated in such a way that I may go on for millions of years; still, I will not get the happiness."
Everyone is trying, nationally, individually, collectively, "By adjustment of this material atmosphere I shall be happy." But it is not possible. It is repeatedly said in different shastras that there is no pleasure in this material world. Furthermore, even if we agree to live without pleasure, we are not allowed to do so. In Bhagavad-gita, Lord Krishna says that the material world is not only full of miseries but also temporary [Bg. 8.15]. Even if we want to live here amid miseries, material nature will not allow us to do so. Krishna personally, the Supreme Perfect Person, is giving you knowledge. And if we are so unfortunate that we do not take the perfect knowledge—we concoct, we speculate, we create our own idea—then it is to be understood durashaya.
Ref: Srimad-Bhagavatam lecture 3.25.22—Bombay, November 22, 1974
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Change your perspective
There was once an old lady who cried all the time. Her elder daughter was married to an umbrella merchant while the younger daughter was the wife of a potter. On sunny days, she worried, "Oh no! The weather is so nice and sunny. No one is going to buy any umbrellas. What will happen if the shop has to be closed?" These worries made her sad. She just could not help but cry.
When it rained, she would cry for the younger daughter. She thought, "Oh no! My younger daughter is married to a potter. Pots cannot be made without the sun. Now there will be no pots to sell. What should we do?" As a result, the old lady lived in sorrow every day.
Whether sunny or rainy, she grieved for one of her daughters. Her neighbors could not console her and jokingly called her "the crying lady."
One day, she met a monk. He was very curious as to why she was always crying. She explained the problem to him. The monk smiled kindly and said, "Madam! You need not worry. I will show you a way to happiness, and you will need to grieve no more."
The crying lady was very excited. She immediately asked the monk to show her what to do. The master replied, "It is very simple. You just need to change your perspective. On sunny days, do not think of your elder daughter not being able to sell umbrellas but the younger daughter being able to dry her pots. With such good strong sunlight, she must be able to make plenty of pots and her business must be very good.
When it rains, think about the umbrella store of the elder daughter. With the rain, everyone must be buying umbrellas. She will sell a lot of umbrellas and her store will prosper."
The old lady saw the light. She followed the monk's instruction. After a while, she did not cry anymore; instead, she was smiling every day. From that day on she was known as "the smiling lady."
Do not be unforgiving of yourself if you commit a mistake
Do not be unforgiving of yourself if you commit a mistake or make an error. Life didn't come with a fool-proof manual. Most of us are doing the best that we can. We're not perfect. We learn from our mistakes and from stumbling.
Like almost everyone else, I have a great number of responsibilities. In fact, it usually seems like I'm juggling ten or twenty balls in the air simultaneously. So, to assume, I'll never make mistakes is absurd.
Can you sense how framing mistakes in this more realistic way gets you off the hook? In other words, when you make a mistake – even a stupid one – this more philosophical outlook allows you to keep your perspective and sense of humor instead of beating yourself up.
Instead of saying to yourself, "What an idiot," you should be able to say, "More proof that I'm human."
Sunday, February 12, 2012
No achievement is better than this
One has to be intelligent to understand real happiness; one who cannot, seeks happiness in this material world. A man did not know what sugarcane was and was told that it was very sweet to chew. "Oh, what does it look like?" he asked. "It looks just like a bamboo rod," someone said. So the foolish man began to chew all kinds of bamboo rods. How can he experience the sweetness? Similarly, we are trying to get happiness and pleasure, but by chewing this material body; therefore there is no happiness and no pleasure. For the time being there may be some little feeling of pleasure, but that is not actual pleasure, for it is temporary. It is like a show of lightning which we may see flashing in the sky that may momentarily seem like lightning, but the real lightning is beyond that. Because a person does not really know what happiness is, he deviates from real happiness. Krishna consciousness is the process for establishing oneself in real happiness. We can gradually develop our real intelligence and naturally enjoy relishing spiritual happiness as we make spiritual progress. As we begin to relish spiritual happiness, we proportionately abandon material happiness. By progressing in understanding the Absolute Truth, we naturally become detached from false happiness. If somehow or other one is promoted to that stage of Krishna consciousness, what is the result? "Upon gaining this, he thinks there is no greater gain. Being situated in such a position, one is never shaken, even in the midst of greatest difficulty." (Bg. 6.22) We are trying to achieve so many things—riches, women, fame, beauty, knowledge, etc.—but as soon as we are situated in Krishna consciousness we think, "Oh, no achievement is better than this."
Ref: On the Way to Krishna authored by Srila Prabhupada (Founder - Acharya, ISKCON)
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Sri Dashavatara-stotra
Hare Krishna,
Today is the auspicious day of the advent of Lord Varaha! On this occasion, you should recite the 'Dashavatara-stotra', a composition by Srila Jayadeva Goswami, a great Vaishnava poet, which glorifies the ten incarnations of the Supreme Personality of Godhead Sri Krishna.
Click on the image below to listen to Srila Prabhupada's lecture and watch an exclusive video on 'Sri Dashavatara-stotra'.
Be a ‘yes man’
Anything that is going on in this world, is under the supreme supervision of the Lord. There is a philosopher's saying, "Not a blade of grass moves without the will of God." It is actually the fact. Now, we have to dovetail ourself with that plan of the Supreme Lord. That is called karma-yoga. So Arjuna understood it, and he dovetailed himself with the supreme will of the Lord. And when he was inquired, "Whether you are going to fight or not after hearing Bhagavad-gita?" he said, "Yes Krishna. My illusion is now removed by Your grace, and I have decided to fight." Now, that agreement of fighting and in the beginning of Bhagavad-gita, "not to fight," that is the difference. He made so many arguments with Krishna against fighting. And at the end, he agreed. "Yes." He became a yes man. So we have to become a yes man to the Supreme Lord. That is the perfection of our spiritual life. Now we are all "no men." God says this, I say "no." Stubborn. Now simply we have to say "yes". That's all. Present formation of our existence is to say "no." Anything godly, we say "no." We shudder even by the name of God. We have come to a certain stage of our civilized life, that we want to banish God altogether. Not only saying "no," but we now prepare to agree to the point that there is no existence of God. So how much foolish we are becoming day by day in the name of advancement of civilization. You see? So we should correct this. We shall try to understand our position, "Yes, there is God, and I am servant of God." That's all. You have to learn that thing only.
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
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