PRANA - Power in You

29/01/2023

WHAT TASTE DO YOU LEAVE IN OTHERS' MOUTHS?

There was an old man who was admitted in a hospital.

A young man was visiting him every day, and sits with him for more than one hour.
He helps him eat his food, and to take his shower.

Then he takes him walking in the garden of the hospital.
After that he brings him back to his room and helps him to lie down.

He goes away after reassuring himself that the old man is doing well.

One day the nurse entered his room, to give him medicine and inspect his condition, and said to him:
"May the Lord be always gracious to your kind and caring son. Every day he visits you and shows great care."

The old man looked at her and closed his eyes and said to her:
"I wish it was one of my children. This is an orphan from the neighborhood where we live. I met him one day in the past, crying at the door of a Temple, after his father died. I comforted him and bought for him candy. I neither saw him nor talked to him for a very long time.

When he grew up and came to discover where my wife and I were living. He was visiting us every day to inspect our conditions. When I later fell sick, he took my old wife to his home. He then comes to the hospital to see my treatment everyday. One day I asked him: "My son why do you have to deal with us and care about us?"

He simply smiled and then said: "The taste of the candy is still in my mouth."

02/12/2022

Ten Japanese concepts that will improve the quality of your life :

1: Oubaitori.
Never compare yourself. Everyone blossoms in their own time in different ways.

2: Kaizen.
Continuously improve. Constantly strive to improve across all areas of your life. Small changes accumulate and make all the difference.

3: Wabi-sabi.
Embrace imperfection. Nothing lasts, nothing is complete. Accept your own flaws and those of others. Find beauty in imperfection.

4: Mottainai.
Don't be wasteful.
Everything deserves respect and gratitude.
Recognize the value in what's around you and don't waste it.

5: Gaman.
Have dignity during duress. Hard times need to be met with emotional maturity and self-control. We need patience, perseverance and tolerance.

6: Yuugen.
Appreciate mysterious beauty.
Often we FEEL the beauty in an object without it being stunning to look at.
Discover subtle beauty beyond aesthetics.
Experience something words cannot describe.

7: Ikigai.
Know your reason for being. Define the reason you get up in the morning. Make it something you are good at, passionate about, and that the world needs.

8:Shikata Ga Nai
Accept and let go.
Some things simply aren't within our control. Accept what you cannot change, and move on.

9: Kintsugi.
Repair cracks with gold. Imperfections are a thing of beauty. The journeys we all take are golden. Our flaws are embellishments that make us more beautiful.

10: Omoiyari.
Show consideration for others. Life is better when we care for others. Be thoughtful. Build compassion.👍

26/11/2022

20/11/2022

Morning muse ………..

*The Daffodil Principle*

_Several times my daughter had telephoned to say, "Mother, you must come to see the daffodils before they are over." I wanted to go, but it was a two-hour drive from Laguna to Lake Arrowhead "I will come next Tuesday", I promised a little reluctantly on her third call._

_Next Tuesday dawned cold and rainy. Still, I had promised, and reluctantly I drove there. When I finally walked into Carolyn's house I was welcomed by the joyful sounds of happy children. I delightedly hugged and greeted my grandchildren._

_"Forget the daffodils, Carolyn! The road is invisible in these clouds and fog, and there is nothing in the world except you and these children that I want to see badly enough to drive another inch!"_

_My daughter smiled calmly and said, "We drive in this all the time, Mother. First we're going to see the daffodils. It's just a few blocks," Carolyn said. "I'll drive. I'm used to this."_

_"Carolyn," I said sternly, "please turn around." "It's all right, Mother, I promise. You will never forgive yourself if you miss this experience."_

_After about twenty minutes, we turned onto a small gravel road and I saw a small church. On the far side of the church, I saw a hand lettered sign with an arrow that read, "Daffodil Garden." We got out of the car, each took a child's hand, and I followed Carolyn down the path. Then, as we turned a corner, I looked up and gasped. Before me lay the most glorious sight._

*_It looked as though someone had taken a great vat of gold and poured it over the mountain peak and its surrounding slopes. The flowers were planted in majestic, swirling patterns, great ribbons and swaths of deep orange, creamy white, lemon yellow, salmon pink, and saffron and butter yellow. Each different - colored - variety was planted in large groups so that it swirled and flowed like its own river with its own unique hue. There were five acres of flowers._*

*_"Who did this?" I asked Carolyn. "Just one woman," Carolyn answered. "She lives on the property. That's her home." Carolyn pointed to a well-kept A-frame house, small and modestly sitting in the midst of all that glory. We walked up to the house._*

_*On the patio, we saw a poster. "Answers to the Questions I Know You Are Asking", was the headline. The first answer was a simple one. "50,000 bulbs," it read. The second answer was, "One at a time, by one woman. Two hands, two feet, and one brain." The third answer was, "Began in 1958."*_

_*For me, that moment was a life-changing experience. I thought of this woman whom I had never met, who, more than forty years before, had begun, one bulb at a time, to bring her vision of beauty and joy to an obscure mountaintop. Planting one bulb at a time, year after year, this unknown woman had forever changed the world in which she lived. One day at a time, she had created something of extraordinary magnificence, beauty, and inspiration. The principle her daffodil garden taught is one of the greatest principles of celebration.*_

*_Daffodil garden is one of the greatest principles of celebration._*

_*That is, learning to move toward our goals and desires one step at a time--often just one baby-step at time--and learning to love the doing, learning to use the accumulation of time. When we multiply tiny pieces of time with small increments of daily effort, we too will find we can accomplish magnificent things. We can change the world ...*_

_"It makes me sad in a way," I admitted to Carolyn. "What might I have accomplished if I had thought of a wonderful goal thirty-five or forty years ago and had worked away at it 'one bulb at a time' through all those years? Just think what I might have been able to achieve!"_

_*My daughter summed up the message of the day in her usual direct way. "Start tomorrow," she said.*_

_*She was right. It's so pointless to think of the lost hours of yesterdays. The way to make learning a lesson of celebration instead of a cause for regret is to only ask, "How can I put this to use today?"*_

_Use the Daffodil Principle. Stop waiting..._

Until your car or home is paid off
Until you get a new car or home
Until your kids leave the house
Until you go back to school
Until you finish school
Until you clean the house
Until you organize the garage
Until you clean off your desk
Until you lose 10 lbs.
Until you gain 10 lbs.
Until you get married

Until you have kids
Until the kids go to school
Until you retire
Until summer
Until spring
Until winter
Until fall
Until you die..

There is no better time than RIGHT NOW to be happy.

Wishing you a beautiful day !!!

09/11/2022

*True Richness *

Someone asked Bill , Is there any person richer than you?

He said, yes, only one. Many years ago, I had been dismissed and I had gone to New York airport. I read titles of newspapers there. I liked one of them and I want to buy it. But I didn't have change (coin). So abandoned the idea, suddenly, a black boy called me and told me, “This newspaper for you.” I said, but I don’t have change. He said, “No problem, I give you free”.

After 3 months, I went there. Coincidentally, that story happened again and that same boy gave me another free newspaper again. I said, I can’t accept it. But he said, “I give you from my profit.”

After 19 years, I had been rich and I decided to find that boy. I found him after one and half month's search. I asked him, do you know me? He said, “Yes, you’re famous Bill .”

I said, you gave me free newspaper 2 times many years ago. Now, I want to compensate it. I am going to give you everything that you want. Black young man replied, “You can’t compensate it!”
I said, why? He said, "Because I gave you when I was poor. You want to give me when you are rich. So, how do you compensate?"

The Rich man said, I think that black young man is richer than me. You don't have to be rich or wait to be rich to give......

*Moral :*
*True richness is when you are able to give when someone needs rather then when you want to give - Give Dil Se and help all celebrate abundance of Joy & Happiness*

29/10/2022

*Take care of yourself*

There’s a reason why the friendly voice on the plane always tells you, in case of an emergency, put your own oxygen mask on first. If you save yourself, you have a chance of saving your family, your kids, the other people you’re travelling with. If you try to put the mask on them first, you’re going to pass out — possibly before you even get the mask on them.

Iam reminded of a parable I read,
A cobbler lived in a large village and he was the only cobbler in town, so he was responsible for repairing the shoes and footwear of everyone.

However, being awfully busy, he didn’t have time to repair his own shoes.

This wasn’t a problem at first, but over time, his boots began to deteriorate and fall apart.

While he worked feverishly on the boots of everyone else, his feet got blisters and he started to limp.

His customers started to worry about him, but he reassured them that everything was ok.

However, after a few years, the cobbler’s feet were so badly injured that he could no longer move about, or work and no-one’s footwear got repaired.

As a consequence, soon the entire town started to limp in pain, all because the cobbler never took the time to repair his own boots.

This simple principle is so often disregarded.

If you are in a responsible position and are one of the important links in the groups survival chain and if You do not look after yourself, after a while you’ll not be able to do good for anyone else either.

Your best intentions will mean nothing and you’ll be unable to do what you’re meant to do.

This goes for all, the leaders, social workers, teachers, even parents, breadwinners, homemakers, everyone.
If you don’t take the time to care for yourself, no-one else will.

*Are you taking care of yourself ??*

It’s tempting just to immerse yourself at the socially-accepted escape of work, especially if you’re good at it and you get fulfilment from it. But sometimes, we make these problems for ourselves. We chase promotions, start businesses, and juggle multiple side projects in order to avoid the problems we really should be dealing with (but don’t want to). The ones that we really fear. The ones that we’re embarrassed or ashamed of. The ones that are the most important.

The best way to take care of yourself is to do atleast one thing that makes you happy, every day.

Comedian Whitney Cummings writes “I understand on a soul level that I can’t give what I don’t have.”
It’s easier to spread joy, enthusiasm, and inspiration to your friends when you’re brimming with it.
So take the time to recharge yourself.

This weekend, Take Care of yourself first and stay blessed forever.

29/10/2022

*You and I are just Instruments.*

Once the River became very proud of the tremendous flow of its water.

The River felt that I am so powerful that I can wash away everything with me,
the mountains, houses, trees, animals, humans, etc.

One day the River proudly asked the Ocean, *"Tell me, what should I bring for you ? Houses, animals, humans, trees, whatever you want, I can uproot and bring with me."*

The Ocean understood that the River has become egoistic.
He said to the River, *"If you want to bring something for me, Uproot some Grass and bring it."*

The River said, *"Is That's all, I'll bring it right away."*

While passing through the field, the River exerted its full force on the grass, but the Grass did not get uprooted.The River tried several times, but failed.

Eventually the River gave up and reached the Ocean and said,
*"I can uproot trees,houses, mountains etc.But whenever I apply force to uproot the grass, it bends down and I have to pass from above empty-handed."*

The Ocean listened carefully to the River and said with a smile,
*"Those who are hard and rigid like mountains and trees,are easily uprooted. But the one who has learned the humility of Grass, cannot be disturbed even by the fiercest of winds or violent storms."*

Happiness in Life, does not mean fighting battles, but avoiding them.

To retreat skilfully is also a victory in itself, because the Journey of the Seed is up to the Tree, the Journey of the River, upto the Ocean, and the Journey of Man is up to the Divine.

*Whatever is happening in the world is the law of Nature you and I are just Instruments.*

29/10/2022

POINT TO PONDER

Disciple : "Master, what is the difference between Death and Moksha" ?

Buddha : "When Breath stops & Desire remains, that is Death....& when Desires stop and Breath remains....that is Moksha" !!

29/10/2022

*Very Heart Touching Message :*

*An old teacher was being interviewed by a young professional. The professional started interviewing the teacher as planned earlier.*

*Young professional - "Sir, in your last lecture, you told us about*
*"Contact" and "Connection."*
*It's really confusing. Can you explain?"* 🤔

*The old teacher smiled and apparently deviating from the question asked the young professional:*

*"Are you from this city?"*

*Professional : "Yeah..."*

*Teacher : "Who are there at home?"*

*The professional felt that the teacher was trying to avoid answering his question since this was a very personal and unwarranted question. Yet the young professional said: "Mother had expired. Father is there. Three brothers and one sister. All married..."*

*The old teacher, with a smile on his face, asked again: "Do you talk to your father?"*

*The young professional looked visibly annoyed...*

*The old teacher : "When did you talk to him last?"*

*The young professional, supressing his annoyance said: "May be a month ago."*

*The old teacher : "Do your brothers and sisters meet often? When did you meet last as a family gathering?"*

*At this point, sweat appeared on the forehead of the young professional.*

*It seemed that the old teacher was interviewing the young professional.*

*the professional said: "We met last at festival two years ago."*

*The old teacher : "How many days did you all stay together?"*

*The young professional (wiping the sweat on his brow) said: "Three days..."*

*Old teacher : "How much time did you spend with your Father, sitting right beside him?"*

*The young professional looking perplexed and embarassed and started scribbling something on a paper...*

*The old teacher : "Did you have breakfast, lunch or dinner together? Did you ask how he was? Did you ask how his days are passing after your mother's death?"*

*Drops of tears started to flow from the eyes of the young professional.*

*The old teacher held the hand of the young professional and said: "Don't be embrassed, upset or sad. I am sorry if I have hurt you unknowingly... But this is basically the answer to your question about "Contact and Connection ." You have 'Contact' with your father but you don't have 'Connection' with him. You are not connected to him. Connection is between heart and heart...*
*Sitting together, sharing meals and caring for each other, touching, shaking hands, having eye contact, spending some time together... All your brothers and sisters have 'Contact' but no 'Connection' with each other..."*🤗

*The Young Professional wiped his eyes and said : "Thanks Sir for teaching me a Fine & Unforgettable Lesson."*

*This is the reality today.*
*Whether at home or in the society everybody has lots of contacts but there is no connection. Everybody is busy in his or her own world...*

*Let us not maintain just,*
*"Contacts"*.
*But let us*
*Remain "Connected,"*
*"Caring,Sharing"*
*&*
*Spending Time*
*With all our Dear Ones.*

29/10/2022

If you are demotivated because you are not getting good opportunities... then this story will motivate you...

*It will rain only after 12 years*

Once, Lord Indra got upset with Farmers, he announced there will be No rain for 12 years & you won't be able to produce crops.

Farmers begged for clemency from Lord Indra, who then said, Rain will be possible only if Lord Shiva plays his Damru, but he secretly requested Lord Shiva not to agree to these Farmers & when Farmers reached Lord Shiva he repeated the same thing that he will play Damru after 12 years.

*Disappointed Farmers decided to wait till 12 years but one Farmer regularly was digging treating & putting manure in the soil & sowing the seeds even with no crop emerging.*

Other Farmers were making fun of that Farmer. After 3 years all Farmers asked that Farmer why are you wasting your time n energy when you know that rains will not come before 12 years

*He replied " I know that crop won't come out but I'm doing it as a matter of "practice". After 12 years I will forget the process of growing crops n working in the field so I must keep it doing so that I'm fit to produce the crop, the moment there is rain after 12 years. *

Hearing his argument Goddess Parvati praised his version before Lord Shiva & said You may also lose the practice of playing the Damru after 12 years.

*The innocent Lord Shiva in his anxiety just tried to play the Damru, if he could, and hearing the sound of Damru immediately there was rain n the farmer who was regularly working in the field got his crop emerged immediately and others were disappointed.*

Debriefing of this story

*The game is won during the practice, not during the performance. If you are waiting for the good opportunity before you start practicing, then you have lost the race.*

*"Practice is boring but that's what makes your performance interesting"*