" जीवन का सच"

जन्म लेते ही प्राणी मोह -पाश मे बंध जाता है

माँ की मोहिनी मूरत देखकर मुस्कराता है

रंग -बिरंगे खिलोनो की दुनिया मे रम जाता है

भाई -बहन ,दोस्त -बंधुयो मे हँसता -खिलखिलाता है

... न फिक्र न फाका ,मस्त -मलंग -सा जीवन बिताता है

जब योवन की दहलीज पर खुद को खड़ा पता है

तब नए सपने लिये कल्पना के घोड़े दोडाता है

लक्ष्य प्राप्त कर सफलता की सीढ़ी तो चढ़ जाता है

लेकिन जिसने पैदा किया उसी को भूल जाता है

दुनिया मेरी मुट्ठी मे ,यह सोच कर इतराता है

प्रिय का संग पाकर गृहस्थी को अपनाता है

बच्चो संग खेलकर अपना बचपन दोहराता है

धीरे -धीरे जीवन की भाग -दौड़ मे पड़कर उलझता जाता है

फिर वृद्ध होकर स्वयं को असहाए पाता है

जीवन साथी से बिछुड़ कर अकेला रह जाता है

सोचता है कहा गए ,माता -पिता जिन्होंने जन्म दिया

कहा गए संगी -साथी जिनके साथ जीवन -व्यतीत किया

इंसान का वजूद क्या यही सोच पछताता है

आशा -निराशा के दौर से निकलकर

काल -चक्र मे फंस जाता है

किये गये कर्मो के अनुसार

फिर से नया जन्म पता है

इस तरह आवागमन का चक्र

निरंतर चलता जाता है

by Brajesh Soni

How long do you worry about your kids???

Is there an imaginary cutoff period when
offspring become accountable
for their own actions?

Is there some wonderful moment when
parents can become
detached spectators in
the lives of their children and shrug,
'It's Their life,' and feel nothing?


When I was in my twenties,
I stood in a hospital corridor
waiting for doctors to put a few stitches
in my daughter's head and I asked,
'When do you stop worrying?'
The nurse said,
'When they get out of the accident stage..'
My Parents just smiled faintly
and said nothing.


When I was in my thirties,
I sat on a little chair in a classroom
and heard how one of my children
talked incessantly, disrupted the class,
and was headed for a career making license plates.
As if to read my mind, a teacher said,
'Don't worry, they all go through this stage
and then you can sit back,
relax and enjoy them.'
My Parents just smiled
faintly
and said nothing.


When I was in my forties,
I spent a lifetime waiting
for the phone to ring,
the cars to come home,
the front door to open.
A friend said,
'They're trying to find themselves.
'Don't worry!
In a few years, they'll be adults.
'They'll be off on their own
they'll be out of
your hair'
My Parents just smiled faintly
And said nothing.



By the time I was 50,
I was sick & tired of being vulnerable.
I was still worrying over my children,
but there was a new wrinkle..
Even though they were on their own
I continued to anguish over their failures,
be tormented by their frustrations and
absorbed in their disappointments..
and there was nothing I could do about it.
My Parents just smiled faintly
and said nothing.



My friends said that
when my kids got married
I could stop worrying
and lead my own life.
I wanted to believe that,
but I was haunted by my parent's warm smiles
and their occasional,
'You look pale. Are you all right' ?
'Call me the minute you get home'.
Are you depressed about something?'


My friends said that
when I became a grandparent
that I would get to enjoy
the happy little voices yelling
Grandma! Papa!
But now I find that I worry
just as much about the little kids
as the big ones.
How can anyone cope
with all this
Worry?



Can it be that parents are sentenced
to a lifetime of worry?
Is concern for one another
handed down like a torch
to blaze the trail of human frailties
and the fears of the unknown?
Is concern a curse or is it
a virtue that elevates us
to the highest form of earthly creation?


Recently, one of my own children
became quite irritable,
saying to me,
'Where were you?
I've been calling for 3 days,
and no one answered
I was worried.'
I smiled a warm smile.
The torch has been passed.

Life

‎1. You will receive a body. You may like it or hate it, but it's yours to keep for the entire period.
2. You will learn lessons. You are enrolled in a full-time informal school called, "life."
3. There are no mistakes, only lessons. Growth is a process of trial, error, and experimentation. The "failed" experiments are as much a part of the process as the experiments that ultimately "work."
4. Lessons are repeated until they are learned. A lesson will be presented to you in various forms until you have learned it. When you have learned it, you can go on to the next lesson.
5. Learning lessons does not end. There's no part of life that doesn't contain its lessons. If you're alive, that means there are still lessons to be learned.
6. "There" is no better a place than "here." When your "there" has become a "here", you will simply obtain another "there" that will again look better than "here."
7. Other people are merely mirrors of you. You cannot love or hate something about another person unless it reflects to you something you love or hate about yourself.
8. What you make of your life is up to you. You have all the tools and resources you need. What you do with them is up to you. The choice is yours.
9. Your answers lie within you. The answers to life's questions lie within you. All you need to do is look, listen, and trust.
10. You will forget all this.

Author..Cherie Carter Scott
Shared by my friend on FB here

Sharks in your life

"This story was forwarded to me by one of my friends tagged as "Happy Father's Day" here it is for you too have hands on fruits of it."

The Japanese have always loved fresh fish. But the waters close to Japan have not held many fish for decades.

So to feed the Japanese population, fishing boats got bigger and went farther than ever. The farther the fishermen went, the longer it took to bring in the fish. If the return trip took more than a few days, the fish were not fresh. The Japanese did not like the taste.

To solve this problem, fishing companies installed freezers on their boats. They would catch the fish and freeze them at sea. Freezers allowed the boats to go farther and stay longer. However, the Japanese could taste the difference between fresh and frozen and they did not like frozen fish.

The frozen fish brought a lower price. So fishing companies installed fish tanks. They would catch the fish and stuff them in the tanks. After a little thrashing around, the fish stopped moving. They were tired and dull, but alive. Unfortunately, the Japanese could still taste the difference. Because the fish did not move for days, they
lost their fresh-fish taste.

The Japanese preferred the lively taste of fresh fish, not sluggish fish. So how did Japanese fishing companies solve this problem? How do they get fresh-tasting fish to Japan? If you were consulting the fish
industry, what would you recommend?

How Japanese Fish Stay Fresh:

To keep the fish tasting fresh, the Japanese fishing companies still put the fish in the tanks. But now they add a small shark to each tank. The shark eats a few fish, but most of the fish arrive in a very
lively state. The fish are challenged.

Have you realized that some of us are also living in a pond but most of the time tired & dull, so we need a Shark in our life to keep us awake and moving?

Basically in our lives Sharks are new challenges to keep us active and taste better..... The more intelligent, persistent and competent you are, the more you enjoy a challenge.

If your challenges are the correct size, and if you are steadily conquering those challenges, you are Conqueror.. You think of your challenges and get energized. You are excited to try new solutions.
You have fun. You are alive!

Recommendations for us:

1. Instead of avoiding challenges, jump into them. Beat the heck out of them. Enjoy the game. If your challenges are too large or too numerous, do not give up. Failing makes you tired. Instead, reorganize. Find more determination, more knowledge, more help.

2. God didn't promise days without pain, laughter without sorrow, sun without rain, but he did promise strength for the day, comfort for the tears and light for the way.

3. Disappointments are like road bumps, they slow you down a bit but you enjoy the smooth road after wards.  Don't stay on the bumps too long. Move on!

4. When you feel down because you didn't get what you want, just sit tight and be happy, because God has thought of something better to give you. When something happens to you, good or bad, consider what it
means. There's a purpose to life's events, to teach you how to laugh more or not to cry too hard.

5. No one can go back and make a brand new start. But anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending.

What are you thinking now? Just go ahead and post your comments right now...

My Commitment

I promise to TRUST you enough to tell you the Truth
and be true to you. I commit to always be sweetness
in your life, to nurture you daily and treat you
LOVlNGLY, Gently and with Respect
in my thoughts, words and actions,
whether in your presence or not.
In every interaction I commit to affection for you,
to look for and acknowledge the highest and best
in you and surrender to LOVE, our true nature.
My connection to my Source, my relationship
with you and our Serenity will always be
more important than any issue.
I open my heart to embrace you in my Love,
I open my heart to be embraced in your Love.
If anything unlike LOVE comes up, I will hold us
in my heart and listen as I learn to speak, experience
and be RESPONSE-ABLE for my own realities.
I am here for and with you. I promise to keep
communication open and keep LOVE conscious,
active and present AS WE HEAL,
CELEBRATE LIFE and GROW TOGETHER!

PLEASE LIVE, SHARE, TEACH AND SUPPORT THIS WORK FREELY. COPY ONLY IF THIS NOTICE IS INCLUDED ON ALL COPIES AND ADAPTATIONS Bookmarks, 5 x 7 Greeting Cards or 8 x 10 copies: 2.00 ea., or any combination 3 for 5.00, 7 for 10.00. To order, please send a POSTAL money order to: dr. michael ryce, HCR 3 Box 3280, Theodosia, MO 65761, 417 273 4838 ® 1986, 1994, 1998, 2004, 2008 Free download at www.whyagain.com

Love Lessons!

To feel love and compassion for all, observe nature with totality of mind without letting it get affected by any previously constructed image,

Love lessons from nature (Getty Images)

opinion or past knowledge.

Look around to observe things as if you are seeing them for the very first time. Become one with the object of observation.

The sun provides light and warmth irrespective of who benefits from it. It shines on all. The clouds, rivers, mountains and jungles follow the same example of universal love. Trees provide shade, fruits and flowers for healthy environment and food for hungry with the same unattached benevolence for all. They do not demand any favour in return. The earth matures the seeds into healthy plants irrespective of who planted the seeds or who will benefit from them. This truly is like mother's love which is equal and forgiving for all children even when some are the cause of hurt to her.

If one learns from nature, the world will be a much better place as the destructive tendencies like jealousy, envy, hatred and selfishness will be eliminated. A new era of mutual love and trust will dawn on earth. All differences of caste, colour, race, gender and age will melt away. Most of the modern age problems have arisen because we have stopped learning from nature and caring for it.

Imagine the blissful feeling one gets when listening to the chirping of birds at dawn, observing the river flowing its course, looking at the snow-clad peaks of mountains, taking a stroll in a forest with majestically standing tall trees and looking at the moon on a full-moon night or a star-studded sky on amavasya night. The divine feelings generated by such experiences compel one to ponder over the meaning of life, our place in the universe, and create an urge to become one with the Divine to experience eternal bliss. Live with nature, love nature, protect nature, learn from nature and you will soon rise above all parochial tendencies and become a votary of universal love.

Since long, we have been drawing spiritual inspiration from nature. According to Buddhist guru Daisaku Ikeda, who is also a keen photographer, response to nature's beauty is not merely aesthetic but reflects an ability to discern a deeper meaning and interconnectedness in things. With its universal language, the photographer of nature's beauty serves as a bridge connecting the hearts of people everywhere.

Osho in his discourse on 'Intuition' quotes the haiku of Basho the Zen mystic and master:

"When I look carefully I see nazunia blooming by the hedge!"

Osho says that the deep meaning of it cannot be understood intellectually but only intuitively. The idea Osho wants to convey is that one can draw deep spiritual inspiration even from simple things like looking at an ordinary flower and pondering over its beauty, its divine message, the mystery of creation.

The main cause of discontent of mind, heart and spirit is to spend too much time indoors and being away from the nurturing restorative powers of nature. So, try to get back to nature in some way. Give yourself some time in the woods, mountains, open meadows or walking barefoot on the beach. Drink in the beauty of nature as much as you can. Even if you live in the city, go and walk on the grass in a park. You will feel more complete, rejuvenated and blissful.

courtsey: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Lifestyle/Spirituality/Learn-love-lessons-from-nature/articleshow/4118781.cms

I agree with it. Do you subscribe to the views? Will appreciate your comments...

How to Manage Anger?

Anger is a poison. It may hurt the others, it may not - it depends on the other - but it is going to hurt you certainly. ~ Osho

• Count from 50 backwards to shift activity from emotional part to analytical part of brain.
• Laugh often, laughter is the best medicine.
• Watch movies, telly shows that tickles you.
• Forgive the person.
• Relax, think of an event, place, time, activity that you enjoy.
• Do not conclude, listen to others.

Anger

Image by scriptingnews via FlickrAnger is a completely normal, usually healthy, negative human emotion. Why do we have it? I think it is because we want to Control situations of the past which we can't and to Control people's behaviour, the way we want them to behave them.

While thinking over it I found that it is due to image in our mind set which triggers Anger when ever it differs from our set image of situation or person which we have created for the person/ situation and that may be totally different.

I think we can win over this emotion by removing our expectations from people / situation. It's really easier said then done. But, I believe, we can start experimenting by making a declaration of having a day of no expectations with hubby, co-workers, kids, traffic, pollution, fund managers, bankers or even systems.

Are you ready to play the game? An invitation to share your views and experiences along with your thoughts on Anger.

I can be a winner

I can be assertive

I can be honest with my feelings

I can be positive

I can be strong

I can change

I can control my temper

I can gain self-confidence

I can grow

I can handle my own problems

I can heal

I can laugh and have fun

I can let go of being compulsive

I can let go of fear

I can let go of guilt

I can lose weight

I can love my children

I can stop smoking

I can succeed

I can take risks

“I am” Affirmations

Image via Wikipedia

I am alive

I am healthy

I am happy

I am connected with God

I am protected and safe

I am a good person

I am beautiful

I am strong

I am competent

I am intelligent

I am loving

I am energetic

I am enthusiastic

I am generous

I am forgiving

I am free

I am relaxed

I am courageous

I am trusting

I am caring

I am smart

I am creative

I am productive

I am thankful

I do not fear...

Image via WikipediaI do not fear bad or good wishes.

I do not fear money loss.

I do not fear death.

I do not fear to walk on the virtues path.

I do not fear the perils.

May I never compromise in my virtues for fear anything.

Paryushan & Festival of Forgiveness

Paryushan is the most important Jain religious observance of the year.

Paryushan Parva lasts 10 days; (two popular titles of this festival, viz. (1) ‘Paryushan Parva’ and (2) ‘Dashlakshan Parva’ are in vogue). The festival ordains the Jain’s to observe the ten (10) universal supreme virtues in daily practical life. This is a time of intensive study, reflection and purification.

It takes place in the middle of the rainy season, in the auspicious month ‘Bhadrapad’ of the Jain calendar extends from the fifth day to fourteenth day of the bright fortnight, a time when Jain monks and nuns cease travelling and stay with a community and are available to them for instruction and guidance. It is also a time when the laity takes on various temporary vows of study and fasting, a spiritual intensity similar to temporary monasticism. Paryushan concludes with a time of confession and forgiveness for the transgressions of the previous year.

Even if there are no religious leaders in residence, the laity meets every day during Paryushan, shifting their focus of life to the soul for these days. The most important part of Paryushan is daily meditation and prayer, which provides an opportunity for looking within and looking toward the teachings of the Tirthankaras for guidance. Jain’s often take time off from work during this period and eat a much simpler diet.

Select Jain’s also fast during Paryushan, some for the entire period. At the end of Paryushan, those who have fasted for the 10/31 days; break their fast with a special meal during which they do not touch food, but are fed by friends and loved ones in honor of their achievement.

One cannot consume any fruits or even a grain in our upvaas (fast) except water. We live in a sea of energy. Our bodies gain energy indirectly from the food we eat, while we gain direct energy from the cosmic energy that flows into us through the medulla oblongata at the bottom of the brain. But this kind of acceptance of energy depends upon our mental set-up. The greater the will, the greater would be the flow of energy.

Penance is given high importance to purify one's soul. In the time cycle, Lord Rishabh started the penance for one year at a stretch. The same tradition is followed even today. During the process of penance, all the accumulated toxins in the cells of the body over a period of time start to melt away. Since the body's energies are concentrated in cleaning and detoxification during the fasting process, rest becomes a necessary adjunct. The body parts are recharged and relaxed. This minimizes physical ailments, increases strength and keeps body, mind and the hormonal balance in check.

Its origin is related to the staying of the monks in one place for the rainy season. ‘Paryushan’ is staying of the monks in one place. In popular terminology this stay is termed ‘chaturmas’ because the rainy season is regarded to be about four months.

Paryushan means, literally, "abiding" or "coming together". It is also a time when the laity takes on vows of study and fasting with a spiritual intensity similar to temporary monasticism. Paryushan concludes with a time of confession and forgiveness for the transgressions of the previous year.

Paryushan Parva -Definition / Translation:

The word "Parva" means auspicious day. The word "Paryushan" has several different meanings:

1. Pari + ushan = all kinds + to burn = to burn (shed) our all types of karmäs. To shed our karmäs, we do twelve different types of austerities including fasting.

2. Another meaning of "ushan" is to stay closer. To stay closer to our own soul from all directions and to stay absorbed in our own-self (soul), we do Svädhyäya (self-study), meditation, austerities, etc., and

3. Pari + upshamanä = upshamanä means to suppress, to suppress our passions (kashäyas - anger, ego, deceit and greed) from all directions.

According to Sanskrit grammar the underlying idea of the festival and its interpretation is given below:

“Parismantadushayante dhante karmani yasimannasau paryushanam”

· The celebration through which the karmic matter attached to the soul is totally burnt or vanquished (both internally and externally) is known Paryushan (self-purification).

Therefore:

· The real purpose of the Paryushan is to purify our soul by staying closer to our own soul, to look at our own misdeeds, to ask for forgiveness for the mistakes we have committed, and to take vows to minimize our faults and passions. We try to forget about the needs of our body (like food) and our business so that we can concentrate on our self.

· Paryushan is a festival of self-discipline through fasting and other ascetic practices.

· Men, women and children as well as monks and nuns undertake fasts with varying strictness.

They celebrate ten best characteristics of the soul:

1. Kshamä (forgiveness), Total lack of anger

2. Märdav (Humility), Lack of pride

3. Ärjav (straightforwardness), Lack of cunning

4. Shauch (content - absence of greed), Lack of cunning

5. Satya (truth), Lack of falsehood.

6. Samyam (restraint of all senses), Control over physical violence

7. Tapa (austerities), Austerity is repentance of one's sins

8. Tyäga (charity), Giving up possessions both internal and external

9. Äkinchan (non-possessiveness), Lack of attachment

10. Brahmachärya (celibacy), Abstaining from sexual relations

The festival ordains the Jain’s to observe the above mentioned ten universal supreme virtues in daily practical life. Besides assuring a blissful existence in this world and the other world for every living being, it aims at the attainment of salvation - the supreme ideal for mundane soul.

Jain community, as a whole, high and low, young and old, and males and females, participate with full vigor and zeal in the various religious rituals and cultural programs. They listen with rapt attention to the holy sermons of the Saints and learned Jain scholars arranged during the ten-day festival. In these celebrations lie dormant the seeds of the well being, peace and happiness of the common man. On the eve of this festival all activities, which add to social discord or bitterness are declared taboo from the temple pulpits.

These celebrations harbinger social harmony and amity and preach the lofty Jain motto:

‘Live and Let live’.

Forgiveness
At the conclusion of the festival, the followers request each other for forgiveness for all offenses committed during the last year.

This occurs on Pratipada (first) of Ashwin Krashna (Jain Calendar).

This ritual of forgiveness is sometimes called the rite of "universal friendship." Most Jain centers even in the U.S. now conduct at least part of the ritual of forgiveness in English for the benefit of the youth.

There are several great aphorisms (Sutras) to ask for forgiveness with the unity of the body, speech and mind, and one of them is as follows:

Khämemi Savve Jivä, Savve Jivä Khamantu Mi
Mitti Me Savva bhuesu, Veram majjham na Kenai.

I grant forgiveness to all living beings, May all living beings grant me forgiveness; my friendship is with all living beings, my enmity is totally non-existent. Let there be peace, harmony, and prosperity for all.

The process of shedding our karmäs really begins by asking for forgiveness with true feelings, and to take some vows not to repeat mistakes. The quality of the forgiveness requires humility (vinay - absence of ego) and suppression of anger.

Therefore, the real purpose of the Paryushan is to purify our soul by staying closer to our own soul, to look at our own faults, to ask for forgiveness for the mistakes we have committed, and take vows to minimize our faults.

Paryushan Parva gives expression to the perfectly purified trait of the soul, through which one gets rid of worldly discords and allurements and one gets fully absorbed in the eternal truth on experiencing and realizing the true nature of soul. In other words we can say that the natural realization of the trio ‘the True, the Good and the Beautiful’ is fully possible only through Paryushan. In fact the other name of the Jainism, which is universal religion, is Paryushan. This festival puts an end to all evils in man; gives him realization of the eternal bliss, and spiritualism becomes alive by the celebration of this festival.

Paryushan Parva is a grand Jain festival of self-introspection, self-enlightenment and, self-achievement, which, ultimately leads to the one and only one final goal, i.e., liberation or salvation.

Namokar Mahamantra

Image via Wikipedia

Namo Arihantanam

I bow to the Arihants (God) who are ever perfect spiritual beings.

Namo Siddhanam

I bow to the Siddhas (God) who are the liberated souls.

Namo Ayariyanam

I bow to the Achaaryas (Saadhu, Guru) who are the leaders of Order.

Namo Uvajzayanam

I bow to the Upaadhyaayes (Preachers) who are the learned preceptors.

Namo Loe Savva Sahoonam

I bow to all the Saadhus (Possessionless Monk) in the world.

Eso Pancha Namokaro

Savva Pava Ppanasano

Mangalanam cha Savvesim

Padhamam Havai Mangalam

This fivefold obeisance mantra, destroys all sins and obstacles, and of all auspicious repetitions, is the first and foremost.

Welcome to the world of Navkar, the world of immeasurable bliss, joy, and pure truth. Solutions offered through this Mahamantra are supposed to provide the reciter with great spiritual and material success, removes all evil and negative tendencies of the mind, destroy various aspects of misery and give divine peace of mind while removing any obstacles that may come in the way of individual's spiritual and material growth. Thus the mantra is attributed with powerful healing and curative properties. This Mahamantra can take man to the pinnacles of spirituality and holiness.