The Elephant Rope

As a man was passing the elephants, he suddenly stopped, confused by the fact that these huge creatures were being held by only a small rope tied to their front leg. No chains, no cages. It was obvious that the elephants could, at anytime, break away from their bonds but for some reason, they did not.
He saw a trainer nearby and asked why these animals just stood there and made no attempt to get away. “Well,” trainer said, “when they are very young and much smaller we use the same size rope to tie them and, at that age, it’s enough to hold them. As they grow up, they are conditioned to believe they cannot break away. They believe the rope can still hold them, so they never try to break free.”

The man was amazed. These animals could at any time break free from their bonds but because they believed they couldn’t, they were stuck right where they were.

Like the elephants, how many of us go through life hanging onto a belief that we cannot do something, simply because we failed at it once before?
Failure is part of learning; we should never give up the struggle in life

I have formulated the idea and have given my life to it. If I do not achieve success, some better one will come after me to work it out, and I shall be content to struggle.
Swami Vivekananda

The stone is broken by the last stroke, that
doesn't mean that first stroke was useless.
"Success is the result of continuous efforts"

Steve Job's Secret was Karma Yoga

"I was worth over $1,000,000 when I was 23, and over $10,000,000 when I was 24, and over $100,000,000 when I was 25, and it wasn't that important because I never did it for the money."

 

"Apple's goal isn't to make money. Our goal is to design and develop and bring to market good products... We trust as a consequence of that, people will like them, and as another consequence, we'll make some money. But we're really clear about what our goals are."

 

"You know, my main reaction to this money thing is that it's humorous, all the attention to it, because it's hardly the most insightful or valuable thing that's happened to me."

 

Karma Yoga is the yoga of action, in which one should work for work's sake. Unselfish work leads to True Self. One must forget success and failure and this will lead to equanamity of mind.

If one can do it, I can do it. If no one can do it, then I must do it.

The moment you fear, you are nobody. It is fear that is the greatest cause of misery in the world. It is fear that is the greatest of all superstitions. It is fear that is the cause of our woes, and it is fearlessness that brings heaven in a moment.
- Swami Vivekananda

The only man who is really free is the one who can turn down an invitation to dinner without giving an excuse.

Jules Renard

Be the Change You want to See in this World.

During 1930′s, a young boy had become obsessed with eating sugar. His mother was very upset with this. But no matter how much she scolded him and tried to break his habit, he continued to satisfy his sweet tooth. Totally frustrated, she decided to take her son to see his idol – Mahatma Gandhi; perhaps her son would listen to him.

 

She walked miles, for hours under scorching sun to finally reach Gandhi's ashram. There, she shared with Gandhi her predicament. -

"Bapu, my son eats too much sugar. It is not good for his health. Would you please advise him to stop eating it?"

 

Gandhi listened to the woman carefully, thought for a while and replied,

"Please come back after two weeks. I will talk to your son."

The woman looked perplexed and wondered why had he not asked the boy to stop eating sugar right away. She took the boy by the hand and went home.

 

Two weeks later they revisited Gandhi. Gandhi looked directly at the boy and said,

"Boy, you should stop eating sugar. It is not good for your health."

 

The boy nodded and promised he would not continue this habit any longer. The boy's mother was puzzled. She turned to Gandhi and asked,

"Bapu, Why didn't you tell him that two weeks ago when I brought him here to see you?"

 

Gandhi smiled,

"Mother, two weeks ago I was eating a lot of sugar myself."

 

 

MK Gandhi- Be The Change You Want To See in this World

All the powers in the universe are already ours. It is we who have put our hands before our eyes and cry that it is dark. 
Swami Vivekananda 

What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.

-Ralph Waldo Emerson 

The secret to success is to start from scratch and keep on scratching

No Winter lasts Forever; 
No Spring Skips its turn.

‎"Everyone is a prisoner of his own experiences. No one can eliminate prejudices - just recognize them."

I felt despair. Though it seems to me now there's two kinds of it: the sort that causes a person to surrender and then the sort I had which made me take risks and make plans.

Erica Eisdorfer

Ex-IITian starts world-class school in Bihar village

PATNA: In a remote corner of the state, at Chamanpura village of Gopalganj district, a story is unfolding of unique enterprise and innovative methods in school education.

Situated about 30 km from Gopalganj, this school, known as Chaitanya Gurukul Public School, was founded in 2009 by an ex-IITian, Chandrakant Singh, now based in Bangalore.

Bereft of electricity till date, about 450 children, both boys and girls, are imparted lessons in physics, chemistry, mathematics and computer through Skype, video conferencing and Internet. Eight of Singh's associates, sitting in various corners of the world, have joined hands to teach children right from Class I to Class VII, through video-conferencing. Apart from distance learning, 16 teachers, who reside on the campus, are helping the students in their studies. Here, teachers mark their attendance using a biometric finger-printer and students too log their attendance in computers.

The computers run on gensets owned by the school. Once computers were in place, the teaching did not have to wait. Pankaj Kumar of NTPC, a technocrat, teaches physics from Singrauli. Working with HAL, Sanjay Rai, an alumnus from BITS, Pilani, teaches chemistry from Korwa in UP, while M Vats, a US-based technocrat teachers math.

"With a view to providing world-class, technology-enabled education to the children of this backward village, where I was born and where I had my primary schooling, I set up this institution," said Singh.

The push came when the Mahartashtra Navnirman Sena was attacking Bihari migrants in Mumbai. Singh then decided to do something immediately for his home town. "I was greatly disturbed, and wanted to arrest the migration of students from Bihar in my small way," he said.

He then sought the advice of Surya Narayan, dean of IIT, Bombay, who was his teacher also. Narayan suggested him to make a plan for revenue-generating, self-sustaining model instead of taking the charity route. Singh then prepared a blueprint and e-mailed it to 3,000 friends, eight of whom agreed to fund it.

After the state government approved the proposal, the friends, who formed a trust, met the villagers and convinced them about the school. Within three months, they had 13 acres of land -- from 100 villagers, who sold plots from 3 decimals to an acre in the area. Soon a big building started coming up, a part of which is still under construction.

With quality class rooms and campus, tuition fee starts from Rs 300 for Class I and is increased annually by Rs 100 as a child goes to a higher class. However, the school is run on self-sustaining basis, and not for profit. Chandrakant himself is doing his job, but takes classes through video-conferencing. Every year, one more class is sought to be opened at the school.

Can You sleep while the Wind Blows?

Years ago, a farmer owned land along the Atlantic seacoast. He constantly advertised for hired hands. Most people were reluctant to work on farms along the Atlantic. They dreaded the awful storms that raged across the sea, wreaking havoc on the buildings and crops. As the farmer interviewed applicants for the job, he received a steady stream of refusals.
Finally, a short, thin man, well past middle age, approached the farmer. "Are you a good farm hand?" the farmer asked him. "Well, I can sleep when the wind blows," answered the little man.
Although puzzled by this answer, the farmer, desperate for help, hired him. The little man worked well around the farm, busy from dawn to dusk, and the farmer felt satisfied with the man's work. Then one night the wind howled loudly in from offshore.
Jumping out of bed, the farmer grabbed a lantern and rushed next door to the hired hand's sleeping quarters. He shook the little man and yelled, "Get Up! A storm is coming! Tie things down before they blow away!"
The little man rolled over in bed and said firmly, "No sir, I told you, I can sleep when the wind blows."
Enraged by the response, the farmer was tempted to fire him on the spot. Instead, he hurried outside to prepare for the storm. To his amazement, he discovered that all of the haystacks had been covered with tarpaulins. The cows were in the barn, the chickens were in the coops, and the doors were barred. The shutters were tightly secured.
Everything was tied down.
Nothing could blow away. The farmer then understood what his hired hand meant,
so he returned to his bed to also sleep while the wind blew.


MORAL OF THIS STORY
When you're prepared, spiritually, mentally, and physically, you have nothing to fear. Can you sleep when the wind blows through your life?
The hired hand in the story was able to sleep because he had secured the farm against the storm.
We secure ourselves against the storms of life by grounding ourselves in the Word of God.

Put that Glass Down

Professor began his class by holding up a glass with some water in it.
He held it up for all to see & asked the students,' How much do you think this glass weighs?'
'50gms!' …. '100gms!' …..'125gms' …..the students answered.
'I really don't know unless I weigh it,' said the professor, 'but, my question is: What would happen if I held it up like this for a few minutes?'

'Nothing' the students said.
'Ok what would happen if I held it up like this for an hour?' the professor asked.
'Your arm would begin to ache' said one of the students.
'You're right, now what would happen if I held it for a day?'
'Your arm could go numb, you might have severe muscle stress & paralysis & have to go to hospital for sure!' ventured another student & all the students laughed.

'Very good. But during all this, did the weight of the glass change?' asked the professor.
'No'
'Then what caused the arm ache & the muscle stress?' The students were puzzled.
'Put the glass down!' said one of the students.

'Exactly!' said the professor.' Life's problems are something like this.

Hold it for a few minutes in your head & they seem OK. Think of them for a long time & they begin to ache. Hold it even longer & they begin to paralyze you. You will not be able to do anything. It's important to think of the challenges (problems) in your life, but EVEN MORE IMPORTANT to 'put them down' at the end of every day before you go to sleep. That way, you are not stressed, you wake up every day fresh & strong & can handle any issue, any challenge that comes your way!'

There's always free cheese in the mouse traps, but the mice there ain't happy.

Ranjit Singh

      King Ranjit Singh (1780 - 1839), better known as the Lion of the
      state of Punjab, India, was well known for his kingmanship,
      benevolence and military leadership.
 
      Once, while he was walking on the outskirts of the city, a rock
      hit him.  The King was injured and his body-guards came running
      to help him and look for the person who has thrown the stone.
       After a shortwhile, the body-guards presented an old woman
      before the king.

      She submitted, "O King!  My grandson was without food for the
      last three days.  As he had had no food, I threw a stone into
       this mango tree, so as to get a ripe fruit to satisfy my
      grandson's hunger.  However, due to my misfortune, the stone
      missed its aim and hit you, your honor!  It was not at at all my
      intention to hurt you."
 
      King Ranjitsingh heard the old woman and said to his followers,
      "Give a thousand Rupees to this woman, as well as food and
      arrange to send her home in all honor!"

      The soldiers and others were stunned and said, "O King, this
       woman had the audacity to hit you with a stone.  She should
      therefore be severely punished."

      The king said, "Well, brethren!  If a tree which has no brain,
      yields a fine fruit when hit with a stone, how can we, as
       intelligent persons, punish this woman?"

Until you've lost your reputation, you never realize what a burden it was.

Are you God's Wife?

It was a cold day in December. A little boy about 10-year-old was standing before a shoe store on Broadway in New York City. He was barefoot, peering through the window, and shivering with cold.

A lady approached the boy and said, “My little fellow, why are you looking so earnestly in that window?”

“I was asking God to give me a pair of shoes,” was the boy’s reply.

The lady took him by the hand and went into the store, and asked the clerk to get a half dozen pairs of socks for the boy. She then asked if he could give her a basin of water and a towel. He quickly brought them to her. She took the little fellow to the back part of the store and, removing her gloves, knelt down, washed his little feet, and dried them with a towel.

 

By this time the clerk had returned with the socks. Placing a pair upon the boy’s feet, she then purchased him a pair of shoes, and tying up the remaining pairs of socks, gave them to him. She patted him on the head and said, “No doubt, my little fellow, you feel more comfortable now?”

As she turned to go, the astonished lad caught her by the hand, and looking up in her face, with tears in his eyes, answered the question with these words: “Are you God’s wife?”