THE MOUSE TRAP

A mouse looked through the crack in the wall to see the farmer and his wife open a package. “What food might this contain?” the mouse wondered. He was devastated to discover it was a mousetrap.

Retreating to the farmyard, the mouse proclaimed the warning: “There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!”

The chicken clucked and scratched, raised her head and said “Mr. Mouse, I can tell this is a grave concern to you, but it is of no consequence to me. I cannot be bothered by it.”

The mouse turned to the pig and told him “There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!” The pig sympathized, but said “I am so very sorry, Mr. Mouse, but there is nothing I can do about it but pray. Be assured you are in my prayers.”

The mouse turned to the cow and said “There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!” The cow said “Wow, Mr. Mouse. I’m sorry for you, but it’s no skin off my nose.”

So, the mouse returned to the house, head down and dejected, to face the farmer’s mousetrap alone.

That very night a sound was heard throughout the house – like the sound of a mousetrap catching its prey. The farmer’s wife rushed to see what was caught. In the darkness, she did not see it was a venomous snake whose tail the trap had caught. The snake bit the farmer’s wife. The farmer rushed her to the hospital and she returned home with a fever.

Everyone knows you treat a fever with fresh chicken soup, so the farmer took his hatchet to the farmyard for the soup’s main ingredient. But his wife’s sickness continued, so friends and neighbors came to sit with her around the clock. To feed them, the farmer butchered the pig. The farmer’s wife did not get well; she died. So many! people came for her funeral, the farmer had the cow slaughtered to provide enough meat for all of them.

The mouse looked upon it all from his crack in the wall with great sadness. So, the next time you hear someone is facing a problem and think it doesn’t concern you, remember: when one of us is threatened, we are all at risk. We are all involved in this journey called life. We must keep an eye out for one another and make an extra effort to encourage one another. Each of us is a vital thread in another person’s tapestry.

BRING LOVE IN YOUR PRAYER

I will like to share a small story written by Leo Tolstoy: In a certain part of old Russia there was a lake, and it became famous because of three saints. The whole country became interested. Thousands of people were journeying to the lake to see those three saints.

The high priest of the country became afraid: what is happening? He had never heard of these “saints” and they had not been certified by the church; Who has made them saints?

But the people were going wild, and much news was coming that miracles were happening, so the priest had to go and evaluate the situation. He went in a boat to the island where those three poor people lived; they were simply poor, but very happy and rich in their own ways- because their is only one poverty, ‘A heart that cannot love.’

They were happy sitting under a tree, laughing, enjoying, de-lighting. Seeing the priest they bowed down, and the priest asked “What are you doing here? There are rumors that you are great saints. Do you know how to pray?”- Because seeing the three person the priest could immediately sense that they were completely uneducated, a little idiotic- happy but foolish.

So looking at each other they said,” sorry sir we don’t know right prayers authorized by the church because we are ignorant. But we have created one prayer of our own- it is home made. If you won’t feel offended we can show it to you.”

So the priest said, “Ok, show it to me. The three saints said, “We tried and thought and thought- but we are not great thinkers, we are foolish people, ignorant villagers. Then we decided upon a single prayer. In Christianity god is thought of as a trinity, three: God the father, the son, and the Holy Ghost. And we are also three. So we decided on a prayer: ‘you are three, we are three, have mercy on us.’ This is our prayer.”

The priest was extremely angry. He said,” What nonsense! We have never heard any prayer like this. Stop it! This way you cannot be saints. You are simply stupid. The three saints fell at his feet and said. “you teach us the real, the authentic prayer.”

So the priest told them the authorized version of the prayer of the Russian Orthodox Church. It was long, complicated, big words, bombastic. Those three saints looked at each other- it seemed impossible, the door of heaven was closed for them. They said, “you please tell us once more, because it is long, and we are uneducated.” The priest said it again. They said, “once more sir, because we will forget” so the priest told it again. They thanked him heartily, and the priest felt very good that he had done a good deed by bringing three foolish people back to church.

The priest sailed off in his boat. Just in the middle of the lake he could not believe his eyes-those 3 saints, those foolish people, were coming running on the water! They said, Wait… once more … we have forgotten!.”

Now this was impossible to believe! The priest fell at their feet and said, “Forgive me. You continue your prayer.”

Religions, organized churches, temples have destroyed it. They have given us ready made prayers. Prayer is a spontaneous feeling. Remember this story when you pray. Let our prayers be a spontaneous phenomenon. If with god we have to be ready made, then how will we be authentic and true and natural?

Let’s say things that we want to say. Talk to god as we would talk to a wise friend. But let’s not bring formalities in. A formal relationship is not a relationship at all. How can we be formal to god? We will miss all spontaneousness.

LETS BRING LOVE IN OUR PRAYER. Then we can talk! Then our prayer will be a beautiful thing, a dialogue with the universe.

Prayer is to be in love- to be in love with the whole. And some times we get angry with the whole and we don’t pray. Some times we drop praying completely, because we go on praying and god is not listening. It is a relationship with deep involvement in it, we get angry. Some times we feel good, feel thankful; some times we feel put off. But let it be a living relationship. Then prayer is true. If we just go on like a gramophone and repeat the same thing every day, it is not prayer.

Prayer should be a lived experience, a heart to heart dialogue. And soon if the prayer comes from our heart we will find the response. Our prayers will be answered. The whole existence is ready to respond once our heart is open.

Insights for a new way of living-OSHO

PAIN

Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding.
Even as the stone of the fruit must break, that its heart may stand in the sun, so must you know pain.
And could you keep your heart in wonder at the daily miracles of your life, your pain would not seem less wondrous than your joy;
And you would accept the seasons of your heart, even as you have always accepted the seasons that pass over your fields.
And you would watch with serenity through the winters of your grief.


Much of your pain is self-chosen.
It is the bitter potion by which the physician within you heals your sick self.
Therefore trust the physician, and drink his remedy in silence and tranquillity:
For his hand, though heavy and hard, is guided by the tender hand of the Unseen,
And the cup he brings, though it burn your lips, has been fashioned of the clay which the Potter has moistened with His own sacred tears.

--- KAHLIL GIBRAN

THE PATH FOR YOU

There are many paths in life,
but of all these paths
There is one that you must travel.
That path and that one alone is for you.
And whether you want to or not,
you must travel that path.
So the choice is not the path, because it chose you.
The choice is how you travel that path.
With unwillingness for the pitfalls and the stones,
With resistance because the sun is barely able to reach
a path that cuts through ravines.
Or with the will to be gentler and
wiser at the end of that path
than you were at the beginning.
The path chose you: will you chose it too?

CRAB MENTALITY

“Crab Mentality” is actually an official phrase that roughly means “if I can’t have it, neither can you.”

And it is talked about a lot.

So now I’m thinking about the Escaping Mediocrity journey with this lens.

There will always be people who will subtly or not so subtly try to keep us from escaping. Why?
Because our escape threatens their mediocre existence.

Pulling us down, sabotaging our efforts, picking apart our brilliant ideas – all of that keeps them feeling safe. And living undisturbed mediocre lives.

So what if we added a new piece to the crab mentality picture?

Imagine a crab, or a group of crabs on the other side of the bucket building a ladder to aid your escape. They managed to crawl out of the bucket in spite of all the energetic attempts to pull them backwards.

Because they’ve tasted freedom and they know your struggle, they are putting energy into aiding and abetting your escape.

I believe that for those of us determined to get out of the bucket, such a group exists. It may take some time to find them, but they are there, ready throw a safety rope over the edge and pull us out.

Start listening for them. Start looking for them. They are there. Reach just a little further and they’ll meet you at the edge of the bucket.

BUILD YOUR HOUSE WISELY

An elderly carpenter was ready to retire. He told his employer-contractor of his plans to leave the house-building business to live a more leisurely life with his wife and enjoy his extended family. He would miss the paycheck each week, but he wanted to retire. They could get by.

The contractor was sorry to see his good worker go & asked if he could build just one more house as a personal favor. The carpenter said yes, but over time it was easy to see that his heart was not in his work. He resorted to shoddy workmanship and used inferior materials. It was an unfortunate way to end a dedicated career.

When the carpenter finished his work, his employer came to inspect the house. Then he handed the front-door key to the carpenter and said, "This is your house... my gift to you."

The carpenter was shocked!

What a shame! If he had only known he was building his own house, he would have done it all so differently.

So it is with us. We build our lives, a day at a time, often putting less than our best into the building. Then, with a shock, we realize we have to live in the house we have built. If we could do it over, we would do it much differently.

But, you cannot go back. You are the carpenter, and every day you hammer a nail, place a board, or erect a wall. Someone once said, "Life is a do-it-yourself project." Your attitude, and the choices you make today, help build the "house" you will live in tomorrow. Therefore, Build wisely!

TOUCHED BY LOVE

We, unaccustomed to courage
exiles from delight
live coiled in shells of loneliness
until love leaves its high holy temple
and comes into our sight
to liberate us into life.
Love arrives
and in its train come ecstasies
old memories of pleasure
ancient histories of pain.
Yet if we are bold,
love strikes away the chains of fear
from our souls.
We are weaned from our timidity
In the flush of love’s light
we dare be brave
And suddenly we see
that love costs all we are
and will ever be.
Yet it is only love
which sets us free.


All men and women are connected by an energy which many people call love, but which is, in fact, the raw material from which the universe was built. The energy cannot be manipulated, it leads us gently forward, it contains all we have to learn in this life. If we try to make it go in the direction we want, we end up frustrated, disillusioned, because that energy is free and wild.
--Paulo Coelho

MY FRIEND JAGJIT

A few days back my best friend died, his name was Jagjit Singh. I have not known him in person but I have grown older listening to his melodious voice. I have learned many of my life lessons from his songs.

Every time when I was sad or lost in this material world his songs gave solace to my heart. He was a good friend and he has touched my heart in different ways. For me he is not dead. He is alive in his music. I can still feel his soul with me in his songs just like old times. He is still taking care of me guiding me through the path of life with his songs.

I like to share his few wonderful numbers. hope you all will cherish it

MAIN NASHE ME HOON

Thukaraao yaa ab ke pyaar karo main Nashe me hun
Jo chaaho mere yaar karo main nashe me hun
Ab bhii dilaa raha huu n yakiin-ne-vaffa magar
Meraa Na aitabaar karo main Nashe me n huun
Girane do tum mujhe meraa saagar sambhal lo
Itna to mere yaar karo main Nashe me n huun
Mujhako qadam qadam pe bahakane do vaa-izon
Tum apanaa kaarobaar karo main Nashe me huun
Phir be-khudii me n had se guzarane lagaa huun
Itna Na mujhase pyaar karo mai n Nashe me n huun
video of the song


YE JO ZINDAGI KI KITAB HAI

Ye jo zindagi ki kitaab hai ye kitaab bhi kya kitaab hai
Kahin ik haseen sa khwaab hai kahin jaan lewa ajaab hai
Kahin chaaon hai kahin dhoop hai, kahin aur hi koi roop hai
Kai chechre isme chupe huye, ik ajeeb si ye naqaab hai

Kahin kho diya kahin paa liya kahin ro liya kahin gaa liya
Kahin cheen leti hai har khushi kahin meharbaan behisaab hai

Kahin aansoon iki hai daastaan kahin muskurahaton ka bayaan
Kahin kbarkaton ki hai baarishen kahin tishnagi behisaab hai
video of the song

JEEVAN KYA HAI

Jeevan kyaa hai chalataa phirataa ek khilonaa hai
do aankhon men ek se hansanaa ek se ronaa hai
jo jii chaahe vo mil jaaye kab aisaa hotaa hai
har Jeevan Jeevan jiine kaa samajhautaa hai
ab tak jo hotaa aayaa hai vo hii honaa hai
raat andherii bhor suhaanii yahii zamaanaa hai
har chaadar men dukh kaa taanaa sukha kaa baanaa hai
aatii saans ko paanaa jaatii saans ko khonaa hai


SHAYAD MAIN ZINDAGI KI SAHAR LE KE AA GAYA

Shayad main zindagi ki sahar le ke aa gaya
Qaatil ko aaj apne hi ghar le ke aa gaya

Shayad main zindagi ki sahar leke aa gaya

Taa-Umr Dhundta raha manzil main ishq ki
Anjaam Ye ke garde safar le ke aa gaya

Nashtar hai mere haath mein kaandhon pe maikada
Lo main ilaaze dard-e-jigar le ke aa gaya

‘Fakir’ sanam kade mein na aata main lautkar
Ik zakhm bhar gaya tha idhar le ke aa gaya

Shayad main zindagi ki sahar le ke aa gaya
Kaatil ko aaj apne hi ghar le ke aa gaya
video of this song


KAL CHAUDVIN KI RAAT THI

Kal chaudvin ki raat thi
Shab bhar raha charcha tera
Kal chaudvin ki raat thi
Kuch ne kaha yeh chaand hai - 2
Kuch ne kaha chehra tera
Kal chaudvin ki raat thi
Hum bhi vahin maujood the - 2
Humse bhi sab poochha kiye
Hum bhi vahin maujood the
Humse bhi sab poochha kiye
Hum has diye, hum chup rahe - 2
Manzoor tha parda tera
Kal chaudvin ki raat thi - 2
Is shaher mein kisse mile - 2
Humse to chhooti mehfilein
Is shaher mein kisse mile
Humse to chhooti mehfilein
Har shaks tera naam le - 2
Har shaks deewana tera
Kal chaudvin ki raat thi - 2
Shab bhar raha charcha tera
Kal chaudvin ki raat thi
Koonche ko tere chhodkar - 2
Jogi hi ban jaaye magar
Koonche ko tere chhodkar - 2
Jogi hi ban jaaye magar
Jungle tere, parbat tere - 2
Basti teri, sahera tera
Kal chaudvin ki raat thi - 2
Bedard sunni ho to chal - 2
Kehta hai kya achchhi ghazal
Bedard sunni ho to chal
Kehta hai kya achchhi ghazal
Aashiq tera, ruswaan tera - 2
Shaayar tera, inshaa tera
Kal chaudvin ki raat thi - 2
Shab bhar raha charcha tera
Kal chaudvin ki raat thi
Kuch ne kaha yeh chaand hai - 2
Kuch ne kaha chehra tera
Kal chaudvin ki raat thi - 2
video of the song

The Power of Simplicity

In Modern Life there are a seemingly endless series of options and avenues. At each turn, life seems to present numerous complications. It becomes hard to resist the allure of doing more things and trying to solve a myriad of problems. However, we are often, consciously or unconsciously, yearning for a more simple approach to life. If we can make an effort to bring more simplicity into our lives, we will find many benefits arise.

1. Peace of Mind.

Simplicity doesn’t necessarily involve living in a Spartan hut. Real simplicity begins in the mind. If we have numerous anxieties and problems it is not possible to have peace of mind. Simplicity means we learn to clear the mind and not allow ourselves to be bombarded by an endless stream of needless thoughts.

2. Living in the present.

Complication in life often arises because we are worrying and planning about the future. We can become so concerned about what may happen tomorrow or next year that we forget to enjoy the present moment. To have one’s focus on the here and now, is to encompass life as it is supposed to be.

3. Less planning and Thinking

When we complicate life through our endless planning we bring tomorrow’s problems into today. Yet it is always worth remembering that our worries and fears about the future often prove to be groundless.

4. Avoiding Judgment.

It is part of human nature to criticize and judge other people. It is very easy to make a long list of complaints and suggestions about other people. But does it help us when we highlight the faults of others? We should feel that we are not responsible for other people’s thoughts and behavior. If we feel it is our bounden duty to change others, there can be no simplicity and peace in our life. Rather than try to change others, let us just try to focus on changing ourselves. Our own weaknesses are probably more than enough to deal with.

5. Focus and Achievement

Simplicity enables more to be achieved. Simplicity means that we are focused on one thing at a time. Simplicity means we can put all our concentration on just one thing. If we perform an action with no distractions then we can fulfill it quicker and more successfully. Often, when we simplify our life, we find we can actually achieve more than when we juggled several things at once.

“The simpler we can become, the sooner we shall reach our destination. A life of simplicity is a life of constant progress. It is in simplicity that we can make the fastest progress, progress which is everlasting.”
- Sri Chinmoy

6. Simplicity and Beauty.

Simplicity is often synonymous with beauty. For example, Zen gardens are uncluttered and simple, yet in that simplicity there is a beauty which appeals to our soul. It is the same with Mother Nature; the essence of nature is its un- spoilt beauty. Has man ever been able to improve on the beauty and simplicity of nature?

7. Happiness

Be happy with what we have. As George Bernard Shaw aptly said
“There are two tragedies in life. One is not to get your heart’s desire; the other is to get it.”
The nature of desire is that the more we get the more we want. When we get a new car, often after a while we are not satisfied and want to get something better. However real happiness comes when we are content with what we have and are free of desire.

The Power Of Light Touch

Why is it two people can say very similar things, but one comes across as much more appealing than another person? Instinctively we warm to the light touch, we struggle when things get ‘heavy’. This may sound quite vague, but some people and situations give a vibration of ‘heaviness’. A ‘heavy’ vibration comes when we are very serious, intense, judgmental, fearful, anxious and tense.

A ‘light’ vibrations comes when there is a feeling of friendliness, non-judgmental, calm and maintain a sense of humor and perspective. When we live in the moment, there is a natural spontaneity which gives a feeling of lightness and joy.

Non-Judgmental

When we are very judgmental, it creates a ‘heavy’ atmosphere. The other person feels guilty or defensive; there is a feeling of superiority or inferiority. If we avoid judgment, the mood is lighter. When there is a feeling of superiority or inferiority there is tension because people become defensive or seek to justify their position.

Do not judge,
But love and be loved,
If you want to be really happy.
- Sri Chinmoy

Smile vs Non Smile

To grimace as you say something makes the atmosphere ‘heavy’. If you smile, you can convey so much (you could say get away with so much more). It is almost an unspoken signal to say – “I’m on your side. I like you, whatever I’m actually saying” It is worth bearing in mind that an email conveys non of this human emotion and human signals. It is very difficult to make emails light; they can easily be misunderstood. If you need to get a delicate point across do it in person.

• The easiest way to lighten a heavy situation is just to smile and make people laugh.

Acceptance

“Water is fluid, soft, and yielding. But water will wear away rock, which is rigid and cannot yield. As a rule, whatever is fluid, soft, and yielding will overcome whatever is rigid and hard. This is another paradox: what is soft is strong.”
- Lao Tsu, Tao Te Ching

Similar to the concept of non-judgmental is the ability to accept people and situations as they are. Acceptance enables us to go with the flow, rather than fighting against the tide, we accept the situation as it is.

Humility

The easiest way to lighten up a situation is to not take ourselves too seriously. Don’t think we alone have all the right answers. Be willing to satirize ourselves and make light of what we say. Rather than being forceful and trying to change people, let them make their own choices and work out best course of action. If we have a feeling of indispensability then we will create a heavy atmosphere, if we are sincerely humble, it will be much more harmonious.

Avoiding Conflict

Sometimes, we can face a challenge in a confrontational way. Perhaps someone suggests an idea, which we don’t like. We could respond by very vigorously saying why they are wrong and why it won’t work. Needless to say this is a ‘heavy’ response. In most situations, this is not necessary. Rather than meet the situation head on we can say. ‘Very good, let’s see what you can make of it.’ – people often suggest impractical ideas. There’s no need to tell them, just let them work it out for themselves it doesn’t work.

If it really could create problems, you could suggest things like

• ‘it has some good ideas, but I wonder how Mr X would respond?’
• Perhaps you could consider this.

Silence before you speak.

We have to trust our inner wisdom. If we say the first thing that comes into our mind, we may soon regret it, and once said we can’t take it back. If we give chance to consider an appropriate response we will feel in our heart what sounds a good way to proceed. If we think, speak and act from this inner source of wisdom then we will be more in tune with a harmonious action.

Giving Rather than taking

Don’t look at every person and situation to see what you can get from it. Give what you would like to receive yourself.

Simplicity

Don’t complicate things, keep it simple. Don’t always be trying to justify things or create added complications. Simplicity has a great beauty and power.

WHY LOVE HURTS

LOVE IS PAINFUL

Love is painful because it creates the way for bliss. Love is painful because it transforms. Love is mutation. Each transformation is going to be painful because the old has to be left for the new. The old is familiar, secure, safe, the new is absolutely unknown. You will be moving in an uncharted ocean. You cannot use your mind with the new’ with the old, the mind is skillful. The mind can function only with the old’ with the new, the mind is utterly useless.

Hence, fear arises, and leaving the old, comfortable, safe world, the world of convenience, pain arises. It is the same pain that the child feels when he comes out of the womb of the mother. It is the same pain that the bird feels when he comes out of the egg. It is the same pain that the bird will feel when he will try for the first time to be on the wing.

The fear of the unknown, and the security of the known, the insecurity of the unknown, the unpredictability of the unknown, makes one very much frightened.

And because the transformation is going to be from the self towards a state of no-self, agony is very deep. But you Cannot have ecstasy without going through agony. If the gold wants to be purified, it has to pass through fire.

LOVE IS FIRE.

It is because of the pain of love, millions of people live a loveless life. They too suffer, and their suffering is futile. To suffer in love is not to suffer in vain. To suffer in love is creative’ it takes you to higher levels of consciousness. To suffer without love is utterly a waste’ it leads you nowhere, it keeps you moving in the same vicious circle.

The man who is without love is narcissistic, he is closed. He knows only himself. And how much can he know himself if he has not known the other, because only the other can function as a mirror? You will never know yourself without knowing the other. Love is very fundamental for self-knowledge too. The person who has not known the other in deep love, in intense passion, in utter ecstasy, will not be able to know who he is, because he will not have the mirror to see his own reflection.

Relationship is a mirror, and the purer the love is, the higher the love is, the better the mirror, the cleaner the mirror. But the higher love needs that you should be open. The higher love needs you to be vulnerable. You have to drop your armor’ that is painful. You have not to be constantly on guard. You have to drop the calculating mind. You have to risk. You have to live dangerously. The other can hurt you’ that is the fear in being vulnerable. The other can reject you’ that is the fear in being in love.

The reflection that you will find in the other of your own self may be ugly’ that is the anxiety. Avoid the mirror. But by avoiding the mirror you are not going to become beautiful. By avoiding the situation you are not going to grow either. The challenge has to be taken.

One has to go into love. That is the first step towards God, and it cannot be bypassed. Those who try to bypass the step of love will never reach God. That is absolutely necessary because you become aware of your totality only when you are provoked by the presence of the other, when your presence is enhanced by the presence of the other, when you are brought out of your narcissistic, closed world under the open sky.

LOVE IS OPEN SKY.

To be in love is to be on the wing. But certainly, the unbounded sky creates fear.

And to drop the ego is very painful because we have been taught to cultivate the ego. We think the ego is our only treasure. We have been protecting it, we have been decorating it, we have been continuously polishing it, and when love knocks on the door, all that is needed to fall in love is to put aside the ego’ certainly it is painful. It is your whole life’s work, it is all that you have created — this ugly ego, this idea that “I am separate from existence.”

This idea is ugly because it is untrue. This idea is illusory, but our society exists, is based on this idea that each person is a person, not a presence.

The truth is that there is no person at all in the world’ there is only presence. You are not — not as an ego, separate from the whole. You are part of the whole. The whole penetrates you, the whole breathes in you, pulsates in you, the whole is your life.

Love gives you the first experience of being in tune with something that is not your ego. Love gives you the first lesson that you can fall into harmony with someone who has never been part of your ego. If you can be in harmony with a woman, if you can be in harmony with a friend, with a man, if you can be in harmony with your child or with your mother, why can’t you be in harmony with all human beings? And if to be in harmony with a single person gives such joy, what will be the outcome if you are in harmony with all human beings? And if you can be in harmony with all human beings, why can’t you be in harmony with animals and birds and trees? Then one step leads to another.

LOVE IS A LADDER.

It starts with one person, it ends with the totality. Love is the beginning, God is the end. To be afraid of love, to be afraid of the growing pains of love, is to remain enclosed in a dark cell.

Modern man is living in a dark cell’ it is narcissistic. Narcissism is the greatest obsession of the modern mind.

And then there are problems, problems which are meaningless. There are problems which are creative because they lead you to higher awareness. There are problems which lead you nowhere’ they simply keep you tethered, they simply keep you in your old mess.

Love creates problems. You can avoid those problems by avoiding love. But those are very essential problems! They have to be faced, encountered’ they have to be lived and gone through and gone beyond. And to go beyond, the way is through. Love is the only real thing worth doing. All else is secondary. If it helps love, it is good. All else is just a means, love is the end. So whatsoever the pain, go into love.

If you don’t go into love, as many people have decided, then you are stuck with yourself. Then your life is not a pilgrimage, then your life is not a river going to the ocean’ your life is a stagnant pool, dirty, and soon there will be nothing but dirt and mud. To keep clean, one needs to keep flowing. A river remains clean because it goes on flowing. Flow is the process of remaining continuously virgin.

A lover remains a virgin. All lovers are virgin. The people who don’t love cannot remain virgin’ they become dormant, stagnant’ they start stinking sooner or later — and sooner than later — because they have nowhere to go. Their life is dead.

That’s where modern man finds himself, and because of this, all kinds of neuroses, all kinds of madness’s, have become rampant. Psychological illness has taken epidemic proportions. It is no more that a few individuals are psychologically ill’ the reality is the whole earth has become a madhouse. The whole of humanity is suffering from a kind of neurosis.

And that neurosis is coming from your narcissistic stagnancy. Everyone is stuck with one’s own illusion of having a separate self’ then people go mad. And this madness is meaningless, unproductive, uncreative. Or people start committing suicide. Those suicides are also unproductive, uncreative.

You may not commit suicide by taking poison or jumping from a cliff or by shooting yourself, but you can commit a suicide which is a very slow process, and that’s what happens. Very few people commit suicide suddenly. Others have decided for a slow suicide’ gradually, slowly, slowly they die. But almost, the tendency to be suicidal has become universal.

This is no way to live, and the reason, the fundamental reason, is we have forgotten the language of love. We are no more courageous enough to go into that adventure called love.

Hence people are interested in sex, because sex is not risky. It is momentary, you don’t get involved. Love is involvement’ it is commitment. It is not momentary. Once it takes roots, it can be forever. It can be a lifelong involvement. Love needs intimacy, and only when you are intimate does the other become a mirror. When you meet sexually with a woman or a man, you have not met at all’ in fact, you avoided the soul of the other person. You just used the body and escaped, and the other used your body and escaped. You never became intimate enough to reveal each other’s original faces.

It is painful, but don’t avoid it. If you avoid it you have avoided the greatest opportunity to grow. Go into it, suffer love, because through the suffering comes great ecstasy. Yes, there is agony, but out of the agony, ecstasy is born. Yes, you will have to die as an ego, but if you can die as an ego, you will be born as God, as a Buddha. And love will give you the first tongue-tip-taste of Tao, of Sufism, of Zen. Love will give you the first proof that God is, that life is not meaningless.

The people who say life is meaningless are the people who have not known love. All that they are saying is that their life has missed love.

Let there be pain, let there be suffering. Go through the dark night, and you will reach to a beautiful sunrise. It is only in the womb of the dark night that the sun evolves. It is only through the dark night that the morning comes.

Love is a method, to kill you as a separate individual and to help you become the infinite. Disappear as a dewdrop and become the ocean, but you will have to pass through the door of love. And certainly when one starts disappearing like a dewdrop, and one has lived long as a dewdrop, it hurts, because one has been thinking, “I am this, and now this is going. I am dying. ” You are not dying, but only an illusion is dying. You have become identified with the illusion, true, but the illusion is still an illusion. And only when the illusion is gone will you be able to see who you are. And that revelation brings you to the ultimate peak of joy, bliss, celebration.


OSHO- The Secret-2

TRUTH IS AN EXPERIENCE NOT A BELIEF

Truth never comes by studying about it; truth has to be encountered, truth has to be faced. The person who studies about love is like the person who studies about Himalayas by looking at the map of the mountains. The map is not the mountain! And if you start believing in the map, you will go on missing the mountain. If you become too much obsessed with the map, the mountain – maps of the mountain may be there just in front of you, but still you will not be able to see it.

And that’s how it is. The mountain is in front of you but your eyes are full of maps– maps of the mountain. Maps about the same mountain made by different explorers. Some body has climbed the mountain from the north side, somebody from the east. They have made different maps: Koran, Bible, Gita- different maps of the same truth. But you are too full of maps, too burdened by there weight; you cannot move even an inch. You cannot see the mountain just standing in front of you, its virgin snow peaks shinning like gold in the morning sun. You don’t have the eyes to see it.

The prejudiced eye is blind. The heart full of conclusions is dead. Too many priori assumptions and your intelligence starts loosing its sharpness, its beauty, its intensity. It becomes dull.
Dull intelligence is what is called intellect. Your so –called intelligentsia are not really intelligent, they are just intellectual. Intellect is a corps. You can decorate it with great pearls, diamonds, emeralds, but still is a corpse is a corpse.

TO BE ALIVE IS TOTALLY DIFFERENT MATTER
-OSHO

And the Earth Spoke: I Am Alive, who will hear me?

Everyone of you are made from me...

Your cells are generated from matter from my fish, my animals. my plants...

your DNA I created with a mix of chemicals which I concocted.

The animals all about the world listen to me when I speak, I warn them when a tsunami comes, lest they survive, I tell them where to migrate to to survive,

Yet humans, who claim to be the smartest of all, fail to hear me at all.

I provide Weed and Shrooms for you to become more aware and closer to me, and yet you still think that the most important thing to you is some God out there in the heavens?

What about me, having my blood sucked out to power your machines, tearing up my insides in pursuit of wealth, poisoning my waters and all the creatures that dwell on my lands and in my waters.

I created you from all that I am, and you have forsaken me.

I challenge each and everyone of you to see if you can survive without me.

You may have to think about it soon, cause the way things are going, I will die like my brother Mars....

So next time you imbibe the fungus or plants I make for you, please think of me...

the living, breathing Earth that gave you life,

what am I getting in return?

SLOW DOWN

When we are living in fast paced world, everything seems rushed, and it is easy to blame the environment and circumstances for its speed. However, the reality is that it is our choice as to how fast we want to go. We have the choice to stop and spend time for reflection and contemplation.

By slowing down, we are able to differentiate between reality and illusion, and have a better chance of getting a sense of perspective and direction in life. What good it is to go fast if we are traveling in the wrong direction? We only get to the wrong place faster. It is better to go slowly, but to head in the right direction. We get there, slowly but surely.

When we slow down and remain centered, there seems to be more time. In reality, time cannot increase, but our anticipation and presence are heightened to the point that we feel it is.

Going fast and being busy are not recipes for effectiveness and success. Success is knowing the reality, having a direction, and heading there. If we feel the trees on the bank are rushing by, what is changing is rather the “speed of our craft leaving this world.”

I HOPE IT CAN BE SAID

I hope it can be said
When after you’re dead
That you lived
While you were alive
And that you didn’t hide
Your music inside
But sang out-loud
When even in a crowd
And sang all the louder
When eating clam Chowder
What is that thing
That you thing you can do
What is that dream
That you hope will come true
You know it is there
Just make sure
You get caught being aware
That each day of your life
You never get back
So live moving forward
And leave new tracks
On the road less traveled
Just do
What your heart tells you
And when you do
Then all things become new
Oh one day you’ll die
You know that it’s true
And when that day comes
May it find you—
Living

SURVIVAL

Where do I begin?

Survival. What does this word mean? What is the meaning behind it?

When we hear this word, survival, we generally associate it with staying alive.

Everyone wants to stay alive. If you’re not on top of it, you are going to die. And who wants that?

Life is a struggle, a turbulent river. Everyone is trying to keep their heads above water. Why so wild? Why can it not be still and peaceful?

Well, because that river is the river of death. Death is the only true silent state. It is the extreme yin. Here you do not have to do anything. You can’t drown. You’ve already drowned. You are still.

Start moving around and you will create waves, distortion, turbulence. The moving water will actualize a struggle. If you stop swimming, the river swallows you. You drown once again. This is life. The extreme yang.

Survival means, try to be as yang as possible. The more yang, the greater the chances of staying alive.

--

Where does spirituality comes into play here? Right in the middle. Right above the water and below the surface. Meditation is a state of floating. It’s like laying on your back in the dead sea. The salt will keep your body afloat. You can keep your head above water, without effort.

Meditation is no effort. This is the key. Acknowledging the staggering simplicity of balancing your polar opposites. When this happens, you are not swimming and not drowning.

In other words, there is no water.

When the water disappears, the ego dissolves, because the ego must swim. It cannot not exist. The ego makes it a survival to exist. That is its nature.

Lose the ego.

And you will float.

I love you like a river

‘I love you,’ I tell her.

‘I love you because all the loves in the world are like different rivers flowing into the same lake, where they meet and are transformed into a single love that becomes rain and blesses the earth.

‘I love you like a river that gives water to the thirsty and takes people where they want to go.

‘I love you like a river which understands that it must learn to flow differently over waterfalls and to rest in the shallows.

‘I love you because we are all born in the same place, at the same source, which keeps us provided with a constant supply of water. And so, when we feel weak, all we have to do is wait a little. The spring returns, the winter snows melt and fill us with new energy.

‘I receive your love and I give you mine.
“Not the love of a man for a woman, not the love of a father for a child, not the love of God for his creatures.
“But a love with no name and no explanation
‘Like a river that cannot explain why it follows a particular course, but simply flows onwards.

‘A love that asks for nothing and gives nothing in return; it is simply there. I will never be yours and you will never be mine; nevertheless, I can honestly say: I love you.’

- PAULO COELHO

OCEAN TIDE

I walked along the sandy beach.
There was a piercing sound of quite birds from some where.
Waves hushed by the moon-created a beautiful rain.
Darkness everywhere I looked.
In the distant night I saw a strange reflection.
I went towards it.
As I neared it-more clearer picture was-
of a small toy doll baby forgotten in the sand
I stare at it.
Less than one meter I stood near it-wondering to whom it belongs.
Semi metal body intersected with strange wool accessories
that were shining on the moon light.
It was sitting motionless on the sand
Two glass eyes made its metal body shine with a crystal glow.
They reflected the dark sky.
So beautiful, yet it was sinking in the sand, alone.
I sat next to it.
Touching a small metal arm, asking: “Are you okay?”
It turned its head towards me,
repeating the same question.
I couldn’t hide my smile.
“Come, I’ll look after you”, I’ve said.
“Come, I’ll look after you”, he repeated.
Dawn was breaking when we went home…..

---EKO

DANCE TO LIFE

Run away from the towns and cities. Go out into the wide, open spaces in the lap of nature. When you take it all in – the unending horizon, the whispering wind, the swaying trees, the gliding clouds, the moving sun or moon – you find that it’s all a dance! If you just ‘let go’ for some time, you will feel that everything is constantly celebrating life, dancing around you.
Deep inside you, something stirs – a dance awakens. And you want to dance with the wind and the trees and the clouds and the sun. It all becomes sacred. Not to be happy is to be ungrateful to existence. So you just let go and dance in thankfulness to nature, to the Supreme Being that you are alive to experience this.

The same feeling comes to you in meditation. When you have exhausted your body with vigorous movement and can take it no more, you become still and let it all settle down. The mind stops for a time. Then peace descends upon you. You lose count of time and go on floating into the beyond. You do not want this to end – ever. But it does and then you want to celebrate and by itself the body breaks into a graceful dance.
In ancient India, this dance was represented as the Nataraj – when Lord Shiva became the Grandmaster of Dance. This nataraj pose is the defining portrayal of all dance down the centuries. Each mudra or gesture has a deep meaning and is well-worth understanding and following.

Throughout the centuries, mystics have been dancing in this ecstasy. The so-called normal people who live by their heads cannot understand this: “Why is Meera, the total devotee of Lord Krishna, suddenly dancing?”

Osho says,
”Meera danced all over the country. Nobody knows how many people understood the dance. She sang beautiful songs. They are not philosophical treatises, but they have beautiful gaps. If you can catch those gaps, you can enter into the unknown. Her dances are a language of a totally different calibre. If you can understand her dance, perhaps something will start dancing in you. All that is needed is an openness, a receptivity, so that her dance can trigger the dormant energy in your being. And if you can also dance, you will have communicated, you will have understood what meditation is.”

The Sufis dance. They get so drunk with their whirling that they can go on dancing for hours – as if in a trance. But they are totally alert and very focused as they whirl at a single point. All through the Middle East, North Africa and North India, the Sufis sing and dance when they cannot hold their elation anymore.

The Baul Mystics dance. They sing and dance in West India to express their bliss. They dance on their own, by themselves, as they are so full of the juice of meditation.

Then there was George Gurdjieff, the Russian Mystic Master, who lived around 50 years ago. From North Africa, the Middle East to Afghanistan he searched and, influenced by the Sufi dancers, he devised his special dances known as Gurdjieff Movements as the center piece of meditation.

Osho incorporated all these dancing techniques into the meditations he created. The most important of them is called – no wonder – Nataraj. Osho’s other major meditations revolve around dance to celebrate. This issue presents all these dances as meditation and celebration. With these techniques, Osho enables us to experience the joy, the bliss, the ecstasy of dance to reach the unreachable, know the unknowable.

Osho says,
“The painter, poet, sculptor, singer or dancer becomes instrumental in the hands of existence and no longer remains an artist but dissolves into existence and becomes one. The artist disappears and becomes one with art. The painter becomes the painting, the singer becomes the song, the poet becomes the poem and the dancer becomes the dance.”
Except man, the whole of existence is dancing. Come, become a pagan, a Meera, a Sufi, a Baul, a Gurdjieff and dance your way to God.

The three important aspects of life

The three most important aspects of life are BEING, DOING, HAVING.

BEING is the basic experience of being alive and conscious. It is the experience we have when we’re fully focused in the present moment, the experience of being totally complete and rest within ourselves.

DOING is movement and activity. It stems from the natural creative energy that flows through every living thing and is the source of our vitality.

HAVING is the state of being in relationship with other people and things in the universe. It is the ability to allow and accept things and people into our lives; to comfortably occupy the same space with them.

Being, doing and having are like triangle where each side supports the others. They are not in conflict with each other. They all exist simultaneously.

Often people attempt to live their lives backward: they try to have more things, or more money, in order to do more of what they want, so that they will be happier.

The way it actually works is the reverse. You must first be who you really are, then do what you need to do in order to have what you want.

MY HOPE

Like everything in life there will be a time when your passion and love just doesnt seem good enough. You slowly pass through the days with monotony. Train with agony, eat with apathy and sleep with your destiny. In my earliest days of medical practice this was my biggest fear. Fear of losing my passion and living with dwindling motivation. How on earth will I deal with that and what am i gonna do then. I dont even have a back up plan. But with years and numerous failures one thing was certain to me. A flash of brilliance can never beat a consistent and solid work ethic. Bad econimics and survival was just an icing. The worst part is your principles which just doesnt let you compromise or cheat your way through. I knew when it rains it rains on everyone. You can shelter yourself but for so long only. In all the chaos one thing was never lost ...MY HOPE.

I WANT TO THINK LIKE A KID AGAIN

When adults look at a patch of dandelions, they see a bunch of weeds that are going to take over their yard.

Kids see flowers for Mom and blowing white fluff you can wish on.


When adults look at an old drunk and he smiles at them, they see a smelly, dirty person who probably wants money, and they look away.

Kids see someone smiling at them, and they smile back.


When adults hear music they love, they know they can't carry a tune and don't have much rhythm, so they sit self consciously and listen.

Kids feel the beat and move to it. They sing out the words.
If they don't know them, they make up their own.


When adults feel wind on my face, they brace themselves against it.
They feel it messing up their hair and pulling them back when they walk.

Kids close their eyes, spread their arms and fly with it, until they fall to the ground laughing.


When adults pray, they say thee and thou and grant us this, give us that.

Kids say, "Hi God!!! Thanks for my toys and my friends.
Please keep the bad dreams away tonight. Sorry, I don't want to go to Heaven yet. I would miss my Mommy and my Daddy."


When adults see a mud puddle, they step around it.
They see muddy shoes and clothes and dirty carpets.

Kids sit in it. They see dams to build, rivers to cross and worms to play with.

Sometimes as adults, we may think we know everything. But do we? As we grow old our lives get more and more complicated. We start overanalyzing, criticizing and getting stressed. Then we start reminiscing on our youth and we wish we were young again.
Here are some simple ways to get us to start thinking like our younger years. These were the simple times, when life was much easier. We didn’t have to worry about much and the only thing we hated to do was take a bath. These tips will help us think like a child again.

1. Ask a lot of Questions

2. Create a sandcastle

3. Make a tree house

4. Get Dirty

5. Sing along to your favorite songs

6. Watch cartoons

7. Wear shirts your mom picked out

8. Use rock, paper, scissors to negotiate

9. Play video games

10. Have a sleepover

11. Listen to your parents

12. Do not accept “no” for an answer

13. Make friends wherever you go

14. Build a tent in your living room

15. Be fearless

16. If you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say nothing at all

17. JUST HAVE FUN

*What has helped you to think like a child? Would love some suggestions!

CAGED BIRD

The free bird leaps
on the back of the win
and floats downstream
till the current ends
and dips his wings
in the orange sun rays
and dares to claim the sky.

But a bird that stalks
down his narrow cage
can seldom see through
his bars of rage
his wings are clipped and
his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing.

The caged bird sings
with fearful trill
of the things unknown
but longed for still
and is tune is heard
on the distant hillfor the caged bird
sings of freedom

The free bird thinks of another breeze
an the trade winds soft through the sighing trees
and the fat worms waiting on a dawn-bright lawn
and he names the sky his own.

But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams
his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream
his wings are clipped and his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing

The caged bird sings
with a fearful trill
of things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill
for the caged bird
sings of freedom.


--Maya Angelou

WISDOM OF EATING AND DRINKING

Then an old man, a keeper of an inn, said, "Speak to us of Eating and Drinking."

And he said:

Would that you could live on the fragrance of the earth, and like an air plant be sustained by the light.

But since you must kill to eat, and rob the young of its mother's milk to quench your thirst, let it then be an act of worship,

And let your board stand an altar on which the pure and the innocent of forest and plain are sacrificed for that which is purer and still more innocent in many.

When you kill a beast say to him in your heart,

"By the same power that slays you, I to am slain; and I too shall be consumed. For the law that delivered you into my hand shall deliver me into a mightier hand.

Your blood and my blood is naught but the sap that feeds the tree of heaven."

And when you crush an apple with your teeth, say to it in your heart,

"Your seeds shall live in my body,

And the buds of your tomorrow shall blossom in my heart,

And your fragrance shall be my breath,

And together we shall rejoice through all the seasons."

And in the autumn, when you gather the grapes of your vineyard for the winepress, say in you heart,

"I too am a vineyard, and my fruit shall be gathered for the winepress,

And like new wine I shall be kept in eternal vessels."

And in winter, when you draw the wine, let there be in your heart a song for each cup;

And let there be in the song a remembrance for the autumn days, and for the vineyard, and for the winepress.


--Khalil Gibran

CHILDREN

And a woman who held a babe against her bosom said, 'Speak to us of Children.'

And he said:

Your children are not your children.

They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.

They come through you but not from you,

And though they are with you, yet they belong not to you.

You may give them your love but not your thoughts.

For they have their own thoughts.

You may house their bodies but not their souls,

For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.

You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you.

For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.

You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.

The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, and He bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far.

Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness;

For even as he loves the arrow that flies, so He loves also the bow that is stable.


--Khalil Gibran

THE GLASS OF WATER

Study this small story, Hope that makes a BIG change in YOU


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 student


"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'…. Was the answer.


"Then what caused the arm ache & the muscle stress?"

The students were puzzled.


"What should I do now to come out of pain?" asked professor
again.

"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 or problems in your life,

But EVEN MORE IMPORTANT is 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!

So, when you leave office today,

Remember friend to

'PUT THE GLASS DOWN TODAY! '

THO ZINDA HO TUM

Dilon mein tum apni betaabiyaan leke chal rahe ho
Tho zinda ho tum
Nazar mein khwaabon ki bijliyaan leke chal rahe ho
Tho zinda ho tum
Hawaa ke jhonkon ke jaise azad rehna seekho
Tum ek dariya ke jaise lehron mein behna seekho
Har ek lamhe se tum milo khole apni baahein
Har ek pal ik naya samaan dekhein yeh nigaahein
Jo apni aakhon mein hairaaniyaan leke chal rahe ho
Tho zinda ho tum

-----JAVED AKHTAR


Translation ENGLISH


THEN YOU ARE ALIVE

If you are walking carrying immense restlessness in that heart of yours
Then you are alive
If you are walking carrying lightening of your dreams in your sight
Then you are alive
Learn to be free like the wind
Learn to flow like the waves of the ocean
Meet every moment with wide spread arms
Every moment let your eyes see a new world
If you are walking with wonders in your eyes
Then you are alive
If you are walking carrying immense restlessness in that heart of yours
Then you are alive

The Appointment at 9.00

It was a busy OPD in the evening, about 8:30, when an elderly gentleman in his 80's arrived to have stitches removed from his thumb. He said he was in a hurry as he had an appointment at 9:00 p.m. I took his vital signs and had him take a seat, knowing it would be over an hour before someone would to able to see him. I saw him looking at his watch and decided, since I was not busy with another patient, I would evaluate his wound. On examination, it was well healed, so I talked to one of the nurse, got the needed supplies to remove his sutures and redress his wound.

While taking care of his wound, I asked him if he had another doctor's appointment this evening, as he was in such a hurry. The gentleman told me no, that he needed to go to the nursing home to eat dinner with his wife. I inquired as to her health. He told me that she had been there for a while and that she was a victim of Alzheimer's disease. As we talked, I asked if she would be upset if he was a bit late. He replied that she no longer knew who he was, that she had not
recognized him in five years now.

I was surprised, and asked him, 'And you still go every evening, even though she doesn't know who you are?' He smiled as he patted my hand and said,'She doesn't know me, but I still know who she is.'

I had to hold back tears as he left, I had goose bumps on my arm, and thought, 'That is the kind of love I want in my life.'
True love is neither physical, nor romantic.
True love is an acceptance of all that is, has been, will be, and will not be.

One thing I learned is
‘Life isn't about! How to survive the storm, But how to dance in the rain.'

'HAPPY DOCTOR DAY' to all my Men In White

On this special day I like to pay my respect to a special soul.

WOMEN IN WHITE, Dr. Karen Woo: a selfless Doctor who was gunned down in Afghanistan’s badlands in the month of August 2010 when she was on her way to deliver medical care to the poor people there. Karen Woo believed there was no greater duty than to deliver medical care to the poorest people.

Dr Karen Woo described her experiences in Afghanistan In a series of blog posts. In Her last post, just before her death she wrote.

"Ultimately, I believe that the provision of medical treatment is of fundamental importance and that the effort is worth it to assist those that need it most."

A letter from John Gurski to Woo on a Facebook page detailing the expedition:

"Dear Karen, the idea of you doing this just terrifies me. I know you want to do it, should do it, and will do it, but the idea of you venturing into such a hostile environment really worries me.
"That said, I think that what you are doing is the most selfless, courageous act of anyone I know. I am SO proud of you, and I am honored to know you. I understand that you are not doing it for the accolades or praise… you are taking this dangerous trek to actually make a difference in this world and, quite simply, to help fellow human beings. So many of us shake our heads at the state of the world, wring our hands, and send off a donation to the charity-du-jour. You, on the other hand, are setting an example for us all."

THE INDEPENDENT article

'Happy Doctors Day' to you Dr. Keren Woo

Pathway to Inner Peace

Forget Not

"Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the wind longs to play with your hair."
~Kahlil Gibran

Make My Wish Come True

Searching for answers
that evaded me for so long,
I got lost in a maze of treachery
hidden under a mask of innocence;

It’s been so long
words kept me awake
all night long, making
me restless and confused;

Drowning in the wishes
of a long lost past,
I let my life down,
I let myself down;

In the midst of the night
under the velvet skies
I surrendered to life
I whisper for forgiveness;

So with a smile on my lips
and a wish on my heart
I give faith (hope) one more reason
I give life another chance
to make my wish come true;

- – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – -

What a wonderful life I’ve had! I only wish I’d realized it sooner – Sidonie Gabrielle

To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe. – Anatole France

We are told never to cross a bridge until we come to it, but this world is owned by men who have ‘crossed bridges’ in their imagination far ahead of the crowd. – Unknown

Sometimes you just got to give yourself what you wish someone else would give you. – Dr Phil

Essence of Touch

Laughter, stress, guilt, fear are all emotions that produce chemical reactions in the body. The loving touch of a mother/guardian can produce comfort and joy. Some times I am filled with concern when I think of the young people of today; some may never receive touch in the way I did when I was growing up. Some may only experience the touch of an abuser, which will produce feelings of fear and anxiety. The touch of parents and their children are key to the nurturing and development of a child because the child comes into the world not being able to do anything for themselves and needs the security of a parent.

In today’s fearful society the importance of touch seems to have been lost. Teachers can no longer give a pupil a hug if they fall over in the playground. Professionals working in young people’s care home can no longer hug the children there, who very often only need a cuddle to lift them up and make them feel supported.

So what will happen to these young people? I’m not sure that they will understand the benefits of platonic touch, the reassurance of someone showing they care. Statistics show that 1 in 3 girls will get pregnant within their first year of leaving care. For me it seems like this may have a lot to do with a lack of touch, and a misguided truth around physical affection.

Early research from Maslow’s hierarchy shows the importance of security in the well being and development of humans. It can also be seen from the instances of neglected children, the terrible affects of not being touched and nurtured as a youngster. The same is also shown with doctor and patient; during sickness or illness, the doctor is like a surrogate parent. The belief and trust we have in the doctor is transmitted and received by touch. One knows this from the sugar pill and medicine experiments. Some people are healed by the sugar pill just like the medicine. It was the belief in the power of the pill that actually healed. Just by the doctor touching us and telling us we will be fine goes a long way in the healing process.

So before we are all lost in the land of no contact and the madness, as common sense slips out the door … give someone a hug today!

The Credit Belongs To The Man

“The Credit Belongs To The Man
who is actually in the arena,
whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood,
who knows the great enthusiasms,
the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause;
who at best, if he wins, knows the thrill of high achievement,
and if he fails, at least fails daring greatly,
so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls
who know neither victory nor defeat.”

LIFE'S JOURNEY

Life should not be a journey to the grave
with the intention of arriving safely
in an attractive and well-preserved body.
But rather to skid in sideways,
champagne in one hand,
strawberries in the other,
body thoroughly used up,
totally worn out and screaming -
”Woohoo - What a ride!”

The Window Of my Chamber

The window of my chamber- the chamber where I have spent most of my life for the last one decade opens into a small lane across which are old trees. These trees are special because they are the few trees left in the concrete jungle. One of these trees is very special to me because a monkey resides on it. I wonder what he is doing here alone in the concrete jungle. He doesn’t belong here.

Today is a very special day. God is pouring. It’s the second day of the rains in Mumbai. Today outdoor patients are less and the indoor patients are settled in my hospital. It’s the perfect time when I can spend a few moments with myself. The sky line is so attractive with the heavy rains. It seems like night-time because the clouds are dense and the lane besides my window is full of water thanks to the corporation for their delayed cleaning of the drainage system. I even see small children playing in it.

On the opposite side of the lane from my window I can see a small shop where an old man named Anna sells tea and coffee. I see he is very busy handling the crowd of customers. Most of them unprotected from the rain are doing their best not to get wet.

This window is a portal to another world. A world I keep myself aloof from due to my busy work schedule. A world I miss the most. But today I have some time for myself and I am going to relish my senses with this world. I really want to go out there. I really want to get wet in this rain. I want to feel the natures love on every drop of rain that falls on my body. I want to get completely drenched and soaked in the rain. That’s what my heart says. But my mind denies it. Soon there will be patients in the OPD, I need to be dry. Work comes first.

The rain has still not stopped. My eyes are looking out for my friend the monkey. There he is on his special branch. Today he is different; today he is quite, unlike other times when his only business is to make his presence felt by jumping all over the tree and shaking the branches. But I guess the tree loves it too. It makes the tree so alive. But today he is quite; he is wet in the rain. He is feeling all that I want to feel in that rain. Today he is calm. May be he is just enjoying the rain, he is one with the rain, he is the rain. I envy him. I feel sorry for myself for the price I have to pay to listen to my brain and mind- my mind that is corrupted by the society and has made me a machine. There he is a perfect example of living in the present. He is not worried of the past or the future. He is answerable to no one. He is happy, he is in bliss. I so much want to be that monkey.

Today the monkey has taught me some thing. All my achievements mean nothing to me. At this very moment what will give me happiness is just getting wet in the rains. It is important to enjoy this very moment and happiness can’t be postponed. What is the point in achieving for the future when you can’t be happy in the present? The future will never come. In the future we will be achieving for the future of the future and it never ends. We need to live in the present.

So I am not going to listen to my mind one more time- I will follow my heart. That gives me real happiness that gives me bliss. I am going to get wet cause the rain has not yet stopped and it won’t till it blesses me.

Enjoy the rains my friends

Do write your story and experience of the rain in the comment section.

Woh Kagaz Ki Kashti

ye daulat bhii le lo, ye shoharat bhii le lo
bhale chhiin lo mujhase merii javaanii
magar mujhako lautaa do bachapan kaa saavan
vo kaagaz kii kashtii, vo baarish kaa paanii

muhalle kii sabase nishaanii puraanii
vo budhiyaa jise bachche kahate the naanii
vo naanii kii baaton mein pariyon kaa deraa
vo chahare kii jhuriryon mein sadiyon kaa pheraa
bhulaae nahiin bhuul sakataa hai koi
vo chhotii sii raaten vo lambii kahaanii

kadii dhuup mein apane ghar se nikalanaa
vo chidiyaa vo bulabul vo titalii pakadanaa
vo gudiyaa kii shaadii mein ladanaa jhagadanaa
vo jhuulon se giranaa vo gir ke sambhalanaa
vo piital ke chhallon ke pyaare se tohafe
vo tuutii hui chuudiyon kii nishaanii

kabhii ret ke unche tiilon pe jaanaa
gharaunde banaanaa banaake mitaanaa
vo maasuum chahat kii tasviir apanii
vo kvaabon khilaunon kii jaagiir apanii
na duniyaa kaa gam thaa na rishton ke bandhan
badii khuubasuurat thii vo zindagaanii


- Jagjit Singh

It's All About Life