The Dew Drop

As the sun rose, a dew drop became aware of its surroundings. There it sat on a leaf, catching the sunlight and throwing it back out. Proud of its simple beauty, it was very content. Around it were other dew drops, some on the same leaf and some on other leaves round about. The dew drop was sure that it was the best, the most special dew drop of them all.

Ah, it was good to be a dew drop.

The wind rose and the plant began to shake, tipping the leaf. Terror gripped the dew drop as gravity pulled it towards the edge of the leaf, towards the unknown. Why? Why was this happening? Things were comfortable. Things were safe. Why did they have to change? Why? Why?

The dew drop reached the edge of the leaf. It was terrified, certain that it would be smashed into a thousand pieces below, sure that this was the end. The day had only just begun and the end had come so quickly. It seemed so unfair. It seemed so meaningless. It tried desperately to do whatever it could to cling to the leaf, but it was no use.

Finally, it let go, surrendering to the pull of gravity. Down, down it fell. Below there seemed to be a mirror. A reflection of itself seemed to be coming up to meet the dew drop. Closer and closer they came together until finally...

And then the fear transformed into deep joy as the tiny dew drop merged with the vastness that was the pond. Now the dew drop was no more, but it was not destroyed.

It had become one with the whole.

Peter Hughes

If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be.
Now put foundations under them.

Henry David Thoreau

Sufi Teaching -
Past the seeker as he prayed came the crippled,the beggar and the beaten. And seeing them he cried,

"Great God, how is it that a loving creator can see such things and yet do nothing about them?"

...God said, "I did do something. I made you."

The season of failure is the best time for sowing the seeds of success.

Searching for God

I have been seeking and searching God for as long as I can remember, for many many lives, from the very beginning of existence. Once in a while, I have seen him by the side of a faraway star, and I have rejoiced and danced that the distance, although great, is not impossible to reach. And I have traveled and reached to the star; but by the time I reached the star, God has moved to another star. And it has been going on for centuries.
The challenge is so great that I go on hoping against hope... I have to find him, I am so absorbed in the search. The very search is so intriguing, so mysterious, so enchanting, that God has become almost an excuse—the search has become itself the goal.

And to my surprise, one day I reached a house in a faraway star with a small sign in front of it, saying, " This is the house of God. " My joy knew no bounds—so finally I have arrived! I rushed up the steps, many steps, that led to the door of the house. But as I was coming closer and closer to the door, a fear suddenly appeared in my heart. As I was going to knock, I became paralyzed with a fear that I had never known, never thought of, never dreamt of. The fear was:

If this house is certainly the house of God, then what will I do after I have found him? "

Now searching for God has become my very life; to have found him will be equivalent to committing suicide. And what am I going to do with him? I had never thought of all these things before. I should have thought before I started the search: what am I going to do with God?

I took my shoes in my hands, and ilently and very slowly stepped back, afraid that God may hear the noise and may open the door and say, " Where are you going? I am here, come in! " And as I reached the steps, I ran away as I have never run before; and since then I have been again searching for God, looking for him in every direction—and avoiding the house where he really lives. Now I know that house has to be avoided. And I continue the search, enjoy the very journey, the pilgrimage.

A Glass Of Milk

One day, a poor boy who was selling goods from door to door to pay his way through school, found he had only one thin dime left, and he was hungry. He decided he would ask for a meal at the next house. However, he lost his nerve when a lovely young woman opened the door. Instead of a meal he asked for a drink of water. She thought he looked hungry so brought him a large glass of milk. He drank it slowly, and then asked,
"How much do I owe you?"
"You don't owe me anything," she replied.
"Mother has taught us never to accept pay for a kindness." He said.....
"Then I thank you from my heart."

As Howard Kelly left that house, he not only felt stronger physically, but his faith in God and man was strong also. He had been ready to give up and quit. Year's later that young woman became critically ill. The local doctors were baffled. They finally sent her to the big city, where they called in specialists to study her rare disease. Dr. Howard Kelly was called in for the consultation. When he heard the name of the town she came from, a strange light filled his eyes. Immediately he rose and went down the hall of the hospital to her room. Dressed in his doctor's gown he went in to see her. He recognized her at once. He went back to the consultation room determined to do his best to save her life. From that day he gave special attention to the case. After a long struggle, the battle was won. Dr. Kelly requested the business office to pass the final bill to him for approval. He looked at it, then wrote something on the edge and the bill was sent to her room. She feared to open it, for she was sure it would take the rest of her life to pay for it all. Finally she looked, and something caught her attention on the side of the bill. She read these words.....


"Paid in full with one glass of milk"

One Good Turn Deserves Another

In one of India’s little kingdoms of long ago there lived a King who (like most of them) was fond of hunting in wild places. His Chief Advisor was a very intelligent man, and also a very optimistic one. He was famous for seeing the rosy side of things. In fact, so strong was his habit of finding good in everything that at times this annoyed his ruler.

One day when the King and his Advisor were on a hunting trip through a dense jungle which went on for miles, the King decided to have a fresh coconut for his breakfast, and, finding a coconut tree near at hand, with his sword cut down a coconut. But as luck would have it, his sword slipped in his hand and came crashing down on one of his toes, cutting it off! Limping over to his Advisor with loud shouts of pain, he was terribly shocked to hear the latter say, “Ah, that’s wonderful!” “What?!” yelled the King; “I cut off my toe and you say it is wonderful?” “This is a real blessing,” replied the Advisor. By now the King was furious, thinking the man was making fun of him. “Take it from me,” said his Advisor, “behind this apparent bad accident there is some good which we cannot now see.” That was it! The King had noticed a dry well nearby, and being a strong man, he picked up his companion and just threw him into that well. Then he set out to limp back to his fortified town and castle.

This meant, however, walking through dense jungle, frequented by the wild tribes of those days, some of whom were headhunters. On his way the King met a band of those headhunters, who decided that, being royalty, he would make an excellent sacrifice for this month’s festival. As you may imagine, the King did not feel at all honored by this decision. The warriors carried him to the tribal priest. It was the duty of this priest to approve all of the offerings that were to be presented. The priest was most particular to see that the item to be offered to the gods was perfect in all respects. While anointing the King’s body the priest noticed that he was lacking one toe. “I am sorry,” he told the King, “but we cannot use you after all for this holy sacrifice. The gods will not accept anyone who is not whole-bodied You will have to go.” Naturally the King was delighted and began hobbling away toward his palace. Aha! he thought, so his Advisor had been right — there was indeed a hidden blessing behind that accident. As fast as his wounded leg would allow, he turned around and went back to the well where he had left his counsellor. There he was, standing down in the well and whistling happily to himself.

Now the king managed to reach down far enough to grasp the hand of the Advisor and with great effort to pull him up. Then he apologized for having doubted him and having thought him a fool.
“Oh how sorry I am that I threw you in there,” said the King as he dusted off his courtier. “I was taken prisoner by some wild native headhunters who were about to make me a sacrifice victim. Then they saw that my toe was missing, and let me go. And you foretold all this, in a way. Can you ever forgive me?”
“You need not apologize at all; it was a blessing that you threw me down the well and left me there.” “Now, how are you going to make something positive out of that?” queried the King. “Well,” said the other, “if I had been with you they would surely have taken me for their sacrifice.

The Buddhas Tooth

A woman who was deeply devoted to Buddha was very poor. Living in a small village. She managed herself n her son by working for her neighbors. Each day she will save something so that one day she can send her son for the pilgrimage where Buddha obtained his enlightenment.

Days went on and she finally collected sum enough to manage it. She gave that sum to her son and instructed that how to spend money n a gold piece which she had kept was to get "Buddhas tooth" .

Son set off to journey to city. Since this was his first ever visit in this world, he was greatly attracted to everything. He couldn't resist and spend the money on everything he could get pleasure of. When no more money was left, he was remorseful. He slept hungry n kept thinking how to get that tooth.

Then he saw a a dead dog and when he went near to it. Looking at its teeth , he pulled it. It came out easily.

Wrapped that into a cloth and managed his way home. He presented that tooth to his mom and his mom was overjoyed. For years that piece was greatly revered . People from far and near would visit to see it.

One day he cannot take it and decides to reveal the truth. He says "This is not Buddhas tooth. It is a tooth of a dead dog that i found it on my way"

A man with long hair was standing outside hearing this conversation. He broke the silence and said "It was my tooth"
He was Gautam Buddha.

One night a man had a dream. He dreamed he was walking along the beach with the LORD.
 Across the sky flashed scenes from his life. For each scene he noticed two sets of footprints in the sand: one belonging to him, and the other to the LORD.

When the last scene of his life flashed before him, he looked back at the footprints in the sand.
 He noticed that many times along the path of his life there was only one set of footprints.


He also noticed that it happened at the very lowest and saddest times in his life.
This really bothered him and he questioned the LORD about it:
 "LORD, you said that once I decided to follow you, you'd walk with me all the way. But I have noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life, there is only one set of footprints. I don't understand why when I needed you most you would leave me."

The LORD replied: "My son, my precious child, I love you and I would never leave you. During your times of trial and suffering, when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you

Freedom Parrot

A man, a great man, a fighter for freedom was traveling in the mountains. He stayed in a caravanserai for the night. He was amazed that in the caravanserai there was a beautiful parrot in a golden cage, continually repeating "Freedom! Freedom!" And it was such a place that when the parrot repeated the word "Freedom!" it would go on echoing in the valleys, in the mountains.

The man thought: "I have seen many parrots, and I have thought they must want to be free from those cages... but I have never seen such a parrot whose whole day, from the morning to the evening when he goes to sleep, is spent in calling out for freedom." He had an idea. In the middle of the night, when the owner was fast asleep, he got up and opened the door of the cage. He whispered to the parrot, "Now get out."

But he was very surprised that the parrot was clinging to the bars of the cage. He said to him again and again, "Have you forgotten about freedom? Just get out! The door is open and the owner is fast asleep; nobody will ever know. You just fly into the sky; the whole sky is yours."

But the parrot was clinging so deeply, so hard, that the man said, "What is the matter? Are you mad?" He tried to take the parrot out with his own hands, but the parrot started pecking at him, and at the same time he was shouting "Freedom! Freedom!" The valleys in the night echoed and re-echoed, but the man was also stubborn; he was a freedom fighter.

He pulled the parrot out and threw him into the sky; and he was very satisfied, although his hand was hurt. The parrot had attacked him as forcefully as he could, but the man was immensely satisfied that he had made a soul free. He went to sleep.

In the morning, as the man was waking up, he heard the parrot shouting, "Freedom! Freedom!" He thought perhaps the parrot must be sitting on a tree or on a rock. But when he came out, the parrot was sitting in the cage. The door was open.


 Discussion on FB

Once a man dropped a few kind words about his confederates. A woman asked
how he could speak kindly of his enemies when he should rather destroy
them.

He Replied
..."What, madam, do i not destroy them when I make them my friends?"

Life is Like a Cup Of Coffee

The worst thing that can happen to a man is that he has a hot head and a cold heart.

We cannot help our children learn to stand on their own two feet by letting them stand on ours!

It is not what you give that counts, it is the spirit with which you give it.

A costly gift, if devoid of love is of no value to Him. But a gift of no material value is precious if it carries within it the love of a pure heart.

Believe in Yourself

Every adversity, every failure and every heartache carries with it the seed of an equivalent or a greater benefit.

There is no failure; there is just feedback.

Of what use are the mansions and palaces,
You built with such great éclat?
For you have made no attempt,
To climb onto the height of devotion and love!

He who turn from the road to rescue other turns towards his goal.

He who lifts the burden of weary lightens his own load.

He who speaks the word of hope to those in sorrow, heals his own hurt.

Of what use is the book knowledge,
That yo have taught yourself,
For you have forgotten,

The One Word.

If you Have Never Failed, You have never Lived!

Arrow goes forward only after it is pulled backwards.
Bullet goes forward only after pressing the Trigger backwards.

Every human being will be happy only after facing the difficulties in their life path..
So don't be afraid to face your difficulties.
...
They will push you forward.

The world is the great gymnasium where we come to make ourselves strong.

Whenever in trouble, remind yourself
"God will never give me more than I can handle"

I've come to believe that all my past failure and frustrations were actually laying the foundation for the understandings that have created the new level of living I now enjoy.

Look at the clock when ur sitting simply,But never look at the clock when ur working!

The sun never says to the earth,
'You owe me.'
Look what happens with a love like that. It lights up the whole sky.

The person who seeks to understand others more than he desires to be understood, is the one who is always at peace with himself, and with others.

Lord, make me an instrument of Your
peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love
where there is despair, hope
where
... there is darkness, light
O, Divine Master, grant that
I may not so much seek to be consoled as to
console
to be understood as to understand
to be loved as to love
For
it is in giving that we receive
it is in pardoning that we are
pardoned
it is in dying that we are born again to eternal life

The Real Voyage of Discovery Consists Not in Seeking New Landscapes but in Having New Eyes

Love the world, and you become worldly. Love the Lord, and you will grow Godlike!

Friendship is the only cement that will ever hold the world together.

What sunshine is to flowers, smiles are to humanity.
These are but trifles, to be sure; but scattered along life's pathway,
the good they do is inconceivable

Look at a man the way he is, and he only becomes worse. But look at him as if he were what he could be, and then he becomes what he should be!