PUREST RAY SERENE--LOVE

Love is, in my opinion, the most beautiful of human experiences. It is one emotion that can be felt in whatever we go through, happy or otherwise.

The feeling of love is manifested in four basic ways.

The first one is that of universal love. If we can feel compassion for whoever we come across, we are expressing universal love. This is what Vaasudev Krishna means in the Bhagwad Geeta when He tells that the truly educated are ‘samadarshi’ and look upon a dog and a respectable person with equal compassion. It is this love which makes us merciful towards those who had hurt us.
It was universal love that made Jesus cry out to God even as he was crucified,
“Forgive them, Father; they know not what they do.”


The second type of love is what we feel for people who have made a positive difference to us. We are comfortable with them and life seems incomplete without their presence in some way or the other. These are the people from whom we receive love: usually, our friends and family. This sort of love encourages and empowers us. Such love leaves us with a warm feeling of acceptance. If a friend calls you “the purest ray serene”, can you ever forget it?

The third type of love is exclusive. It is meant for that one person who you love in a way you can love no one else. When this love happens, you understand that it is not mere infatuation or attraction. Deep in you soul, you recognize the person to be your one true love. Whether life gives you the chance to marry that person or not, does not affect your feelings. Just feeling that exclusive love for that special person makes life worth living.

The fourth manifestation of love is for the Almighty. If we can love God as our best friend and see His hand in all that happens in the world, we are endowed with a sense of peace and positive acceptance.
We can deal with pain and disappointments when we feel this love which helps us to be patient and to understand that things happen for a reason. This love teaches us that death is not a loss but a moving-on to the next phase of our eternal journey.

Love, thus, is all that matters.

COURTESY:AYESHA PARVEEN

NICE SAYINGS

MOST PRECIOUS REWARD

Praise is well, compliment is well, but affection-that is the last and final most
precious reward that any man can win, whether by character or achievement.
–MARK TWAIN


YOU WILL FIND YOUR FRIEND

When everything has gone the other way, when everyone has turned against you, just leave all matters to their own, kneel to the lord, and you will find your friend.


PEOPLE GREAT AND STRONG

Not Gold but only men can make a people great and strong.
Men who,for truth and honour sake stand fast and suffer long.


RIGHTEOUSNESS

Righteousness will ultimately triumph over evil, so never be downhearted, and never give way to the deadly emotions of anger, envy, fear, and grief.

BEST RULES

The best rules to form a young man are to talk little, to hear much,
to distrust one’s own opinions and value others that deserve it.


FRUITS OF EVIL DEEDS
Not in the skies nor in the ocean depths, not in the mountain caves, nor anywhere on earth is there a spot where a man can escape the fruit of his evil deeds.


SUREST WAY TO FIND HAPPINESS

One of the surest ways to find happiness for your self is to devote your energies towards making someone else happy, if you set out to search for happiness you will never find it. But if you try to bring happiness to someone else, then it comes to you.


The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience,but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.
Martin Luther King Jr.



--

DIFFICULTIES

Difficult challenges can come into your life when you least expect them,
and when you can ill afford them.

Yet there they are, bullying their way into your world.
If you try to ignore them or deny them, they just get bigger and more problematic.

The more you let them worry you and get you down, the more helpless they make you.

A life full of challenge is often stressful and uncomfortable, but it is vastly
better than the alternative, which is a life full of nothing.

Your own particular challenges may seem
extremely unfair, and they probably are.

But that doesn't make them any less real,
nor does it make you any less obligated to confront and endure them.

Accept the challenges when they appear, and you're well on the way to overcoming them.

Though they bring disruption and pain, they also bring growth and power.
Sometimes what is best for us, is not what we would choose.

Life is difficult and in it we find unimaginable joy.
Accept it all and live it for all it's worth.

MOTIVE MATTERS

Almost every religion & book on values prescribes people to do good acts and think positive. In order to convince people to do good, they talk about the benefits in the form of better relations with people, better environment, a place in heaven etc. This certainly is good as it encourages otherwise negative, lazy or disinterested people to do good work. We see people practicing charity and doing service etc. to others with high enthusiasm and fervour.

The Sanatana Dharma - also known commonly as Hindu religion - recommends that people do good acts without any motive. Lord Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita that one should practice Karma Yoga or do actions without any motive or desire. The reason for this recommendation is simple - while actions are in our control, results are not. Moreover, if actions are motivated mainly by results, one can see a reversal in enthusiasm if the desired results are not met.

Actions carried out with a selfish motive are also dangerous. Selfishness usually denotes an interest for gaining something for oneself at the cost of others. As long as one is selfish, one tends to become biased and unfair. One justifies this behaviour by various methods and arguments. The other problem with "selfish good acts" is that it stops as soon as the self interest is served.

Motives do matter even if one is doing a good thing.

COURTESY:-VISHESH

GROW IN TO THE CHALLENGES

When a new challenge arises, you might think that you need to first acquire some new skill or knowledge or resource in order to deal with that challenge. Yet in every case, you can begin with something you already have, and then steadily grow into the challenge.

Along the way you will most certainly acquire new skills, develop new knowledge, gain access to new resources. That is a big part of the value of challenge.

Yet the best starting point is where you are. The sooner you begin, the sooner you will grow strong enough to move successfully through whatever challenge you face.

There is a path that leads directly to the most positive outcome you can imagine. And the first step on that path is right in front of you.

No matter how imposing the challenge, no matter how ambitious the goal, you have what is necessary to take the first step. And once you're on your way, you'll find and develop what you need to continue.

Move confidently forward in the direction you know you must go. Start with what you have, and you'll grow into whatever you need.

-- Ralph Marston

ANECDOTES

SUCCESS

“I have found the road to success no easy matter” said the businessman.”
I started at the bottom. I worked twelve hours a day.
I sweated. I fought. I took abuse.
I did things I did not approve of. But I kept right on climbing the ladder.
“And now of course, you are a success? Prompted the interviewer.
No I wouldn’t say that” replied the businessman with a laugh.”
just quote me as saying that
I have become expert at climbing ladders.

*******
“My boy said the businessman executive,
there are two things that are vitally necessary
if you are to succeed in the business”.
What are they dad?
“Honesty and sagacity”.
“What is honesty?
“Always-no matter what happens nor how adversely it may effect you always
keep your word once you have given it.
And sagacity
Never give your word.

***************
Once Einstein was asked for the secret of his success. He said, if A is success in life,
I should say that the formula for success is A equals x plus y plus z, with x standing
for work and y for play but what is z?
That is keeping your mouth shut.

***************

HOW TO EARN RESPECT

I overheard two senior citizens talking about something animatedly. One said "I really felt insulted when he did what he did. After all I deserve some respect. I retired as Chief of XYZ organisation and I am no ordinary guy. I still feel hurt and upset over that incident....". He went on and on. How many of us have felt similarly at some stage in our lives? We all crave for recognition and respect. And if there are instances where we experience something else, we feel hurt and brood over it for a long long time.

I remember a favourite saying heard in my childhood days "Command Respect and don't Demand Respect". I always felt that it is important to know how to command respect and this blog attempts to address this question.

In order to command respect from other, we would need to do one or more things from the list given below. This list is only indicative and not exhaustive. Moreover, it is not listed in any particular order other than how it occurred to me. To earn and retain respect, we should:

1. Give respect to others and their feelings
2. Be humble
3. Work without expectations
4. Be selfless
5. Have courage
6. Have high integrity
7. Listen more
8. Speak well
9. Deliver on promises

It occurs to me that people tend to genuinely respect only those people who live a life of values. Others may be able to create a false respect out of fear or greed but these are short lived and certainly not heartfelt. Whatever your role in life may be - whether as a boss, a friend, a mother, a teacher, a parent or anything else, in my considered view, real respect is only reserved for value based living.

BY:V.SESHADIRI