Four lovers

*Once upon a time there was a Queen who had four lovers.

She loved the 4th lover the most and adorned him with rich robes and treated
him to the finest of delicacies. She gave him nothing but the Best.

She also loved the 3rd lover very much and was always showing him off to
neighboring kingdoms. However, she feared that one day he would leave her for
another.

She also loved her 2nd lover. He was her confidant and was always kind,
considerate and patient with her. Whenever the Queen faced a problem, she
could confide in him, and he would help her get through the difficult
times.

The Queen's 1st lover was a very loyal partner and had made great
contributions in maintaining her wealth and kingdom. However, she did not
love the first lover.. Although he loved her deeply, she hardly took
notice of him..

One day, the Queen fell ill and she knew her time was short. She thought of her luxurious life and wondered, I now have four lovers with me, but when
I die, I'll be all alone.

Thus, she asked the 4th lover, "I loved you the
most! , endowed you with the finest clothing and showered great care
over you. Now that I'm dying, will you follow me and keep me company?"

'No way!' replied the 4th lover, and he walked away without another word.

His answer cut like a sharp knife right into her heart.

The sad Queen then asked the 3rd lover, "I loved you all my life. Now that*
*I'm dying, will you follow me and keep me company?"

'No!' replied the 3rd lover. 'Life is too good! When you die, I'm going to
love someone else!'

Her heart sank and turned cold.

She then asked the 2nd lover, "I have always turned to you for help and
you've always been there for me. When I die, will you follow me and keep me
company?"

'I'm sorry, I can't help you out this time!' replied the 2nd lover. 'At the
very most, I can only walk with you to your grave.'

His answer struck her like a bolt of lightning, and the Queen was
devastated.

Then a voice called out: 'I'll go with you. I'll follow you no matter where
you go.'

The Queen looked up, and there was her first lover. He was very skinny as he
suffered from malnutrition and neglect.

Greatly grieved, the Queen said, "I should have taken much better care of
you when I had the chance!" 

In truth, you have 4 lovers in your life:**

Your 4th lover is your body. No matter how much time and effort you lavish
in making it look good, it will leave you when you die?

Your 3rd lover is your possessions, status and wealth. When you die, it will
all go to others.

Your 2nd lover is your family and friends. No matter how much they have been
there for you, the furthest they can stay by you is up to the Grave.

And your 1st lover is your Soul, often neglected in pursuit of wealth, power
and pleasures of the world.

However, your Soul is the only thing that will follow you where ever you go.
Cultivate, strengthen and cherish it now, for it** **is the only part of you
that will follow you to the throne of God and ! continue with you throughout
Eternity.

Thought for the day:
Remember, when the world pushes you to your knees, You're in the perfect
position to pray.

Being happy doesn't mean everything's perfect.
It means you've decided to see beyond the imperfections. 

I hope this touched you!

A profound answer

Dedicated to all teachers of past, present & future.

The dinner guests were sitting around the table discussing life.

One man, a CEO, decided to explain the problem with education. He argued, "What's a kid going to learn from someone who decided his best option in life was to become a teacher?"

To stress his point he said to another guest; "You're a teacher, Barbara. Be honest. What do you make?"

Barbara, who had a reputation for honesty and frankness replied, "You want to know what I make? (She paused for a second, and then began...)

"Well, I make kids work harder than they ever thought they could.

I make a C+ feel like the Congressional Medal of Honor winner.

I make kids sit through 40 minutes of class time when their parents CAN'T make them sit for 5 without an I Pod, Game Cube or movie rental.

You want to know what I make? (She paused again and looked at each and every person at the table)

I make kids wonder.

I make them question.

I make them apologize and mean it. 

I make them have respect and take responsibility for their actions.

I teach them to write and then I make them write. Keyboarding ISN'T EVERYTHING.

I make them read, read, read.

I make them show all their work in maths. They use their God given
brain, not the man-made calculator.

I make my students from other countries learn everything they need to
know about English while preserving their unique cultural identity.

I make my classroom a place where all my students feel safe.

Finally, I make them understand that if they use the gifts they were given, work hard, and follow their hearts, they can succeed in life (Barbara paused one last time and then continued.) 

Then, when people try to judge me by what I make, with me knowing money isn't everything, I can hold my head up high and pay no attention because they are ignorant.

You want to know what I make?

I MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

What do you make Mr. CEO?

His jaw dropped, he went silent.

Gratitude

Heavy rains remind us of challenges in life. 

Never ask for a lighter rain, just pray to God for a better umbrella. - That is the attitude! 

Life is not about finding the right person, but creating the right relationship. It's not how we care in the beginning, but how much we care till the very end.

Some people always throw stones in your path. It depends on what you make with them; a Wall or a Bridge? - Remember you are the architect of your life.

Search for a good heart, but don't search for a beautiful face, coz beautiful things are not always good, but good things are always beautiful.

It’s not important to hold all the good cards in life, but it’s important how well you play with the cards you hold.

Often when we lose all hope & think this is the end, remember God and pray, it’s just a bend, not the end.' - 

Have faith and have a successful life.

One of the basic differences between God and humans is, God gives, gives and forgives. But the human gets, gets, gets and forgets.

Be thankful in life...

If u think it is your alarm clock that woke you up this morning, try putting it beside a dead body and you will realise that it is the Grace of God that woke you up. 

If you are grateful to God, forward this to all your friends to inform them that it is JUST BY THE GRACE OF GOD that we are and what we have today!

Three types of Gurus

The peace, internal happiness and bliss we desire are not dependent upon any situation, thing or person. 

In fact, happiness dependent on others is not true happiness. Peace and bliss are you, yourself. You are the form of happiness.                                     

This is why religion advises you that it is sufficient to know yourself. 

So, how do we know ourselves? This knowledge is only attainable via a Guru (teacher). However, it is not necessary that this Guru be a human. 

1. Govind/ God - God is everyone's Guru.

Krishnam vande jagatgurum

God is Guru and Guru is God. In our religion, we do not consider a Guru as ordinary, but we take Guru as God. Shri Krishna and Lord Shiv are the spirits of a Guru. Let us follow what Shri Ram has said, Shri Krishna has taught and Lord Shiv has advised. Let us take them as our Guru. So, Govind is the first Guru.

2. Initiation Guru - Let us see the difference between Govind as Guru and an initiation Guru. When we do darshan of God in the temple and ask God a question, we do not receive an answer from the idol in the temple. We should have someone in our life to whom we can open our heart, raise our dilemmas without hesitation and gain answers to our quest for knowledge.

Have someone life who lights the light of hope within us, we bond to and who initiates us. Initiation involves a procedure but this procedure should be internal and not external. What is the point of an external procedure if one is not devoted internally to a Guru, or paid their respects and sat in front of a Guru? Of what use is a Guru if one has no quest for knowledge?

The questioning human mind argues that in the present day no Guru can be trusted. Guru is like us and has similar faults. If your mind disagrees, do not consider someone as a Guru. However, if your heart is thirsty to build a relationship with someone who will show you the way and be your support, then listen to your heart. It is not just a matter of an external ritual of gaining a mantra. The speech of a Guru is a mantra.

When our heart accepts the need of a Guru and we faithfully surrender to a Guru, then, even if our Guru is not present in front of us and we have his photo/ idol, this will still guide us in our life.

3. Scripture as our Guru - This could be Ramayan, Bhagavat or Gita. We are indebted to Maharshi Ved Vyas, Jagadguru Shankracharya Maharaj, Swami Ramkrishna Paramhans, Swami Vivekanand, Shri Arvind and many other great people. These great people have made the effort to raise good and true humanity within us. They have given us the power to think righteously. Guru Purnima is the day to present our faith, affection and gratitude towards these great people.

"Gurudev! We present our affection and faith at your feet. It is not possible to pay you back for what you have given us." Guru Purnima is the opportunity to express these feelings.

We have discussed about three types of Guru today: one is Govind, second Govind-like Guru and third, our scriptures.

On this day, let us present our affection from Lord Narayan, Jagadguru Shankracharyaji to the current great people in this world. 

Let us pay our respects to all the Gurus and pray that we attain the light of knowledge and gain the right understanding so that the good human is born within us and the demon- and animal-like nature within us are destroyed.

Its all about the mind

When mind is weak,

a situation becomes problem,

When mind is balanced the situation becomes

a challenge,

When mind is strong that situation becomes opportunity.

- Its all a mind game.

Sure that you heard the phrases "mind over matter" or " mind your own business" or "never mind"...and so on.

Mind is what really differentiates one from rest.

Keep that in mind.

Just a MUM...

Potatoes Spoil, People Don’t Spoil

I knew a woman who worked with children all her life. She was especially good with children we would call “at risk” -- children who acted out, children from rough backgrounds, children who built impenetrable walls to keep others out. In time, she always found a way into their hearts. Children acted differently around her than around others, even their parents. I often remarked on it and she would sometimes say, “Children need a lot of love. You can’t spoil a child with too much love. Potatoes spoil, children don’t spoil.”

Don’t get me wrong. She had boundaries, and when children misbehaved, there were consequences. But the consequences were fair. And the kids she worked with eventually learned that they could depend on her constant love and concern for them through it all. At the end of the day, no matter what kind of day it was, she would be there with arms open.

Can you love someone too much? Perhaps you can show the wrong kind of love, but I’m sure you can’t show too much.

One of my favorite stories tells of a woman who finally decided to ask her boss for a raise in salary. All day she felt nervous and apprehensive. Late in the afternoon she summoned the courage to approach her employer. To her delight, the boss agreed to a raise.

The woman arrived home that evening to a beautiful table set with their best dishes. Candles were softly glowing. Her husband had come home early and prepared a festive meal. She wondered if someone from the office had tipped him off. Or did he just somehow know that she would not get turned down?

She found him in the kitchen and told him the good news. They embraced and kissed, then sat down to the wonderful meal. Next to her plate the woman found a beautifully lettered note. It read: "Congratulations, darling! I knew you'd get the raise! These things will tell you how much I love you."

The supper was perfect. Afterward, her husband went into the kitchen to clean up, and as he left the room she noticed a second card that had fallen from his pocket. Picking it off the floor, she read: "Don't worry about not getting the raise. You deserve it anyway! These things will tell you how much I love you."

Someone has said that the measure of love is when you love without measure. What this man tried to convey to his spouse was total acceptance and love. Whether she succeeded or failed, whether she won or lost, he loved her regardless. Love without measure. Sometimes his love might celebrate her victories and other times it was there to soothe and comfort.

Upon receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, Mother Teresa said: "What can you do to promote world peace? Go home and love your family." 

Yes, love your family, and also love your friends. For some friends are truly family. Love the people in your life. Love them without measure. And don’t worry about spoilage. Potatoes spoil, people don’t spoil.

– Steve Goodier  
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