NOV 28th "GURUVAYUR EKADASI" AND GEETA JAYANTHI

"EKADASI" is a highly auspicious day dedicated to Lord Vishnu on the eleventh day of every lunar fortnight in traditional Hindu calendar. There are 24 Ekadasis in a year and the Vrishchika Ekadasi (Suklapaksha) has got special significance in Guruvayur. Ekadashi that falls in the waxing phase of moon in the Malayalam month Vrishchikam (November – December) is observed as" Guruvayur Ekadasi" in the world famous Guruvayoor Sri Krishna Temple in Kerala – the abode of Guruvayurappan.

Gita Jayanti, also referred as Bhagawad Geetha Jayanthi, is the day when the Bhagvad Gita was rendered by Lord Krishna to Arjuna in the Kurukshetra on the first day of the famous 18-day battle in the Mahabharata. Gita Jayanthi falls on the Ekadashi day of Shukla Paksha (the bright half) of the Margashirsha month (November-December) in traditional Hindi calendar. In 2009, the date of Gita Jayanti is on November 28.

Bhagvad Gita is the compilation of the teachings of Lord Krishna. This Bhagvad Geeta (Song of the Blessed Lord) contains profound ideas on many issues touching on the temporal and non-temporal aspects of life.

The greatness of Bhagavad Gita that no other scriptures in this universe can match is her teachings of acquiring the way towards the Supreme without abandoning the worldly affairs, through the methods of Karma Yoga, Jnana Yoga and Bhakti Yoga.

The greatest quality of Bhagavad Gita is that it prompts you to think, it prompts you to take decision, and it prompts you to look at life differently and refreshingly and all this without surrendering your individuality.

Lord Krishna lived his life by his own famous saying, which can be translated in English, as "Thy right is to work only, but never with its fruits;let not the fruits of action be thy motive, nor let thy attachment be to inaction.

" The Gita Mahatmya mentions manifold benefits for those who chant the sacred verses of the Bhagavad Gita. Lord Sri Krishna himself has give numerous assurances to his devotees in the Gita that his devotees will never perish or come to harm.

The ideal way to celebrate Gita Jayanti is by reading at least a stanza from the Bhagavad Gita.

So do Complete Surrender to God, as in this way you shall be free of all tensions of life & shall be at peace & be happy during all walks of life. Below verse of Bhagwat Gita teaches the same.

““sarva-dharman parityajyamam
ekam saranam vraja
aham tvam sarva-papebhyo
mokshayisyami ma suchah"(Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Eighteen verse 66).

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, Surrender unto Me alone. By surrendering all duties to Me, seek refuge in Me. I shall absolve you of all sins; grieve not."

Be pure. Be virtuous. Be sincere. Apply yourself with firm faith and strength of will. Yield not to beguilements and threats. Move on forward with confidence and determination. You shall succeed in achieving life's Supreme Goal. The Grace of the Almighty is ever with you.

Peace be to you all! May the mighty Grace of Lord Sri Krishna flow through your hearts and prepare you for the memorable regeneration in the Spiritual Consciousness!

SECRET TO TRUE LOVE, TRUE LOVE RELATIONSHIP ADVICE

I once had a friend who grew to be very close to me. Once when we were sitting at the edge of a swimming pool, she filled the palm of her hand with some water and held it before me, and said this: "You see this water carefully contained on my hand? It symbolizes Love.

"This was how I saw it: As long as you keep your hand caring-ly open and allow it to remain there, it will always be there. However, if you attempt to close your fingers round it and try to posses it, it will spill through the first cracks it finds.This is the greatest mistake that people do when they meet love... they try to posses it, they demand, they expect... and just like the water spilling out of your hand, love will retrieve from you. For love is meant to be free, you cannot change its nature. If there are people you love, allow them to be free beings.

Give and don't expect. Advise, but don't order. Ask, but never demand.It might sound simple, but it is a lesson that may take a lifetime to truly practice.It is the secret to true love. To truly practice it, you must sincerely feel no expectations from those who you love, and yet an unconditional caring.

A good companion is not like the rain, which comes and goes. It's like the air, sometimes very quite and always be with us.....

LOVE IN ACTION

One night a man came to our house and told me, “There is a family with eight children. They have not eaten for days,” I took some food and I went. When I finally came to the family, I saw the faces of those little children disfigured by hunger. There was no sorrow or sadness in their faces, just the deep pain of hunger. I gave the rice to the mother. She divided it in two, and went out, carrying half the rice with her.

When she came back, I asked her, “Where did you go?” She gave me this simple answer, “To my neighbors-they are hungry also.”I was not surprised that she gave–because poor people are generous. But I was surprised that she knew they were hungry. As a rule, when we are suffering, we are so focused on ourselves we have no time for others. –Mother Teresa.

Teach this triple truth to all: A generous heart, kind speech, and a life of service and compassion are the things which renew humanity.” - BUDDHA QUOTE

THE POWER OF PRAISE

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Years ago, a young man in London aspired to be a writer. But everything seemed to be against him. He had never been able to attend school for more than four years. His father had been flung in jail because he could not pay his debts and this young man often knew the pangs of hunger.

Finally, he got a job pasting labels on bottles of shoe polish in a rat-infested warehouse; and he slept at night in a dismal attic room with two other boys - gutter snipes from the slums of London. He had so little confidence in his ability to write that he sneaked out and mailed his first manuscript in the dead of night so nobody would laugh at him.

Story after story was refused. Finally, the great day came when one was accepted. True, he was not paid a shilling for it, but one editor had praised him. One editor had given him recognition. He was so thrilled that he wandered aimlessly around the streets with tears rolling down his cheeks.
The praise, the recognition that he received by getting one story in print, changed his whole career, for if it had not been for that encouragement, he might have spent his entire life working in rat-infested factories. His name was Charles Dickens. He rose to become one of history's greatest novelists.

Praise is powerful. Praise people and inspire them with a realization of their latent possibilities. Praise the slightest improvement and praise every improvement.

KEEP YOUR DREAM

I have a friend named Monty Roberts who owns a horse ranch in San Ysidro. He has let me use his house to put on fund-raising events to raise money for youth at risk programs.The last time I was there he introduced me by saying, “I want to tell you why I let Jack use my horse. It all goes back to a story about a young man who was the son of an itinerant horse trainer who would go from stable to stable, race track to race track, farm to farm and ranch to ranch, training horses.

As a result, the boy’s high school career was continually interrupted. When he was a senior, he was asked to write a paper about what he wanted to be and do when he grew up.“That night he wrote a seven-page paper describing his goal of someday owning a horse ranch. He wrote about his dream in great detail and he even drew a diagram of a 200-acre ranch, showing the location of all the buildings, the stables and the track.

Then he drew a detailed floor plan for a 4,000-square-foot house that would sit on a 200-acre dream ranch.“He put a great deal of his heart into the project and the next day he handed it in to his teacher. Two days later he received his paper back. On the front page was a large red F with a note that read, `See me after class.’

“The boy with the dream went to see the teacher after class and asked, `Why did I receive an F?’“The teacher said, `This is an unrealistic dream for a young boy like you. You have no money. You come from an itinerant family. You have no resources. Owning a horse ranch requires a lot of money. You have to buy the land. You have to pay for the original breeding stock and later you’ll have to pay large stud fees. There’s no way you could ever do it.’

Then the teacher added, `If you will rewrite this paper with a more realistic goal, I will reconsider your grade.’“The boy went home and thought about it long and hard. He asked his father what he should do. His father said, `Look, son, you have to make up your own mind on this. However, I think it is a very important decision for you.’

“Finally, after sitting with it for a week, the boy turned in the same paper, making no changes at all.He stated, “You can keep the F and I’ll keep my dream.”Monty then turned to the assembled group and said, “I tell you this story because you are sitting in my 4,000-square-foot house in the middle of my 200-acre horse ranch. I still have that school paper framed over the fireplace.”

He added, “The best part of the story is that two summers ago that same schoolteacher brought 30 kids to camp out on my ranch for a week.” When the teacher was leaving, he said, “Look, Monty, I can tell you this now. When I was your teacher, I was something of a dream stealer. During those years I stole a lot of kids’ dreams. Fortunately you had enough gumption not to give up on yours.

MORAL OF THE STORY:
”“Don’t let anyone steal your dreams. Follow your heart, no matter what.”

THE DESIRE TO EXCEL

ONE OF MY FAVOURITE STORY I LIKE THIS AS I ALSO FOLLOW THE SAME.

A gentleman once visited a temple under construction where he saw asculptor making an idol of God. Suddenly he noticed a similar idol lyingnearby.

Surprised, he asked the sculptor, "Do you need two statues of thesame idol?" "No," said the sculptor without looking up,"We need only one, but the first one got damaged at the laststage."

The gentleman examined the idol and found no apparent damage. "Whereis the damage?" he asked. "There is a scratch on the nose ofthe idol." said the sculptor, still busy with his work.
"Where are you going to install the idol?" The sculptor repliedthat it would be installed on a pillar twenty feet high. "If theidol is that far, who is going to know that there is a scratch on thenose?" the gentleman asked.

The sculptor stopped his work, looked up at the gentleman, smiled andsaid, "I know it and God knows it!" The desire to excel should be exclusive of the fact whether someone appreciates it or not.
"Excellence" is a drive from inside, not outside. Excel at a task today - not necessarily for someone else tonotice but for your own satisfaction!! Remember whenever we do something with consent of God and for consent of God , their is perfection in the task and satisfaction in heart . "I have felt this truth "

MORAL STORY NEVER GIVE UP

One day a farmer's donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do. Finally, he decided the animal was old, and the well needed to be covered up anyway; it just wasn't worth it to retrieve the donkey.

He invited all his neighbours to come over and help him. They all grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well. At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly.

Then, to everyone's amazement he quieted down. A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well. He was astonished at what he saw. With each shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing something amazing. He would shake it off and take a step up.

As the farmer's neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up. Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and happily trotted off!

MORAL :
Life is going to shovel all kinds of mud on you. The trick to getting out of the well is to shake it off and take a step up. Each of our troubles is a stepping stone. We can get out of the deepest wells just by not stopping, but by never giving up! Shake it off and take a step up.

Remember the five simple rules to be happy:
1. Free your heart from hatred - Forgive.
2. Free your mind from worries - Most never happens.
3. Live simply and appreciate what you have.
4. Give more.
5. Expect less from people but more from God.