DAY DREAM IS DANGEROUS

DAY DREAM IS DANGEROUS

 

 

"That greed for money drags the greedy man to the lowest level and ultimately brings destruction on him and others." Sri Sai Satcharitra, Ch. 48.

 

The Day dreamer worked as a freelance servant, looking for odd jobs around the village. One day, a wealthy sheth offered to pay him two annas to carry ten kilogrammes of ghee to his home. It was only one mile away. Day Dreamer eagerly agreed. No sooner had he put the pot of ghee on his head and begun his journey, then his thoughts ran free.

He fantasized step by step, "This job will fetch me two annas, from which I'll purchase a goat. The goat will give me good milk which will bring more money. Then I'll get myself a fine wife and have children. By that time, I shall have enough money to open a small business. When seated in my shop, my son will come to call me for lunch, but of course, there will be so many customers, and I'll be so busy that I'll have to refuse and say, 'No, not now.' '' And Day Dreamer shook his head. As he did so, the pot of ghee dropped to the ground and shattered to pieces.

The sheth, walking alongside him was furious, ''Oh you careless fool, you've broken my pot!''

''For you, only your pot has been broken. For me, my home and all my hopes have been shattered,'' Day Dreamer replied with gloom.

We too revel in grand fantasies of earning huge wealth, building factories, great successes. But all materialistic thoughts are mere daydreams; everything of this world is false and perishable. Our fantasies are bound to shatter one day.

Do not multiply your wants and then feel like a beggar. Reduce your wants and feel like a king.
Peace of mind and material greed are incompatibles. They do not go together. Make your choice.

Most of us suffer, not for want of right knowledge or wisdom, but for want of exercise of that wisdom in our daily life.

SEARCH FOR REAL WEALTH

SEARCH FOR REAL WEALTH

 

Baba said, "If there be even a little trace of greed in mind, all the Sadhanas (spiritual endeavors) are of no avail." Sri Sai Satcharitra, Ch. 16, 17.

 

In India there lived a very intelligent and well-respected man, who was the prime minister of a king. One day he thought himself, "Why am I doing this job? I am doing it only for money. I should give it up and simply worship Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth. Then wealth will come to me."

 

The next day he resigned his position and went to live by a river. Every day he repeated the mantras to Lakshmi and worshipped her according to the Vedic tradition. The Vedic rituals are very scientific. In ancient times, the sages used to worship the god of rain, and the result was that there were no droughts. In the same way, it was believed that if someone worshipped the goddess of wealth, he would be rewarded with wealth.

 

Twelve years went by, and not only did the prime minister not receive anything, but he used up all his money and became beggar. Finally he thought, this is useless. No wealth is going to come to me. I will take sanyasa initiation and become a monk.

 

So he went off and took initiation into monkhood. A few days later, he was sitting on top of a mountain, meditating. At the end of his meditation, he opened his eyes and saw a beautiful woman standing before him. She was shining as if it was made of gold. He was astounded by her beauty.

 

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

 

"I am here to see you," the woman said, "You invited me, and I have come."

 

"What are you talking about?" asked the monk. "I never invited you. I'm a monk."

 

"Did you recite the hymns to Lakshmi for twelve years?"

 

"Yes"

 

"I am Lakshmi."

 

The monk prostrated before her and said, "I worshipped you for so long, but you never come. Why have you come now?"

 

"You had accumulated so many sins and so many karmas that your worship could not bear fruit. Finally, when you took sanyasa, all your sins were burnt up and you became completely pure. That is why I have come to you now."

 

"But I no longer have any use for you," said the monk.

 

"Still, I cannot leave you," Lakshmi said, "You performed the worship, and now you have to experience the fruits."

 

"In that case," said the monk, "give me the wealth of knowledge."

 

Lakshmi agreed to do this. The monk became a storehouse of knowledge and received the name Vidyaranya, which means 'the forest of knowledge.'

 

He wrote a great book called the Panchadashi, which is still studied by everyone who learns Sanskrit. This book is available in English at the following link: http://www.scribd.com/doc/9580164/Panchadashi

A CHILD’S LETTER TO GOD

A CHILD'S LETTER TO GOD

"Both are One, and one cannot live without the other." – Sri Sai Satcharitra, Ch.  27.

 

Andrew was reversing his car out of the garage when he saw his daughter Avanti walking down the pathway that led to the main gate. She was dressed up and was holding an envelope in her hand.

"Where are you going?"

"I ... I ...am going....." Avanti hesitated and then said, "Papa I am going to the post office."

"Why?"

"I have to drop this letter."

"Give it me, I'll drop it."

Avanti hesitated for a moment and then handed over the envelope. Andrew placed it on the seat beside him, reversed the car out of the main gate and waving to Avanti drove off. He was getting late for the office and decided not to stop on the way. From the office he would send his messenger Jeetram to post the letter.

After reaching his office he rang the bell. As he waited for Jeetram to appear he casually glanced at the envelope. In a childish scrawl was written the following address:
Mister God
Heaven
High in the Sky.

Andrew tore open the envelope and started reading:

Dear Mister God,
This is my first letter to you. My Mama used to say that you love children very much. That you always answer their prayers. My Mama died three days after my seventh birthday. Till then I was very happy. But now I am very, very sad. My Papa used to laugh and play with me when my Mama was there. But now he hardly talks to me. He is always very sad. He doesn't laugh and play anymore. In the morning he leaves early and comes home only after I have gone to bed. Daisy Aunty says he has started drinking.

Please Mister God, I don't want to stay in this house without Mama. Please, can you send her back. If you can't send her back because she has already become an angel, then please take me away with you just as you took Mama away.

I am good girl. You can ask Mama. I always do my homework, make my own bed and drink my milk. I will not bother you. Please Mister God, I will be waiting.

Love,
Avanti.

Andrew read the letter not once but three times. After a few minutes he got up and walked to his Boss's room. He told him he wanted leave for the day. After taking permission he walked out of the office, got into his car and drove straight to his favorite spot on the outskirts of the city. It overlooked a huge lake and  at that time of the day was quite lonely. There, under the shade of the huge banyan tree, he and his wife Janet had nicknamed Grandpa Moses, he read the letter again and again....

He closed his eyes and thought about the events of the last nine months....

Janet had died in a road accident nine months ago. With her death his life had been completely shattered.

Luckily Mrs. Daisy, the governess, had been there to take care of Avanti or things would have got more complicated. After Janet's death Andrew just didn't feel like going home. Every little thing in the house reminded him of his Janet and the moments they had spent together. He started leaving home early in the morning and working late in the office. From there, instead of heading straight home, he would go to the nearby bar and start drinking. He would reach home long after Alice had slept. He never spared a thought for Avanti convinced that Mrs. Daisy was taking good care of her. She had been with them for the last three years and Janet had trained her well.

Absorbed in his own sorrow, Andrew had failed to notice his daughter's loneliness. He had not realized that she was missing her mother as much, if not more, than he was missing his wife. Avanti needed his love and affection. Mrs. Daisy could hardly be a substitute for either Janet or even Andrew. He looked at his watch. It was one. He had spent close to three hours under the shade of Grandpa Moses. He got up, carefully put the letter in his pocket and walked towards his car....

Six months later Avanti was still in bed. Andrew was about to wake her up when he saw the all too familiar brown envelope on the table beside the bed. Once again it was addressed to Mister God. He picked up the envelope and walked into the living room. He tore open the envelope, removed the letter inside it, and settling into a chair started reading:

Dear Mister God,
This is my second letter to you. I know you got the first one. I want to thank you. Even though you didn't send Mama or take me to her, you did something which is almost as good. You changed my Papa completely.

You know Mister God, I now sleep with him in his room, with his big and strong arms around me. My Papa tells me stories - funny ones, scary ones and sometimes lovely ones which are a little sad. In the morning we go together for swimming. He has taught me how to swim. In the evening we go for Yoga. At night after dinner he takes me out for a ride. He has even stopped drinking - you can check with Daisy Aunty.

Dear Mister God, thank you so much. You could not give me back my Mama but you have given me a brand new Papa.

Lots of love and kisses,
Avanti.

Andrew stopped reading. A few minutes later when Mrs. Daisy entered the living room with the breakfast tray she found Andrew sitting in the armchair his eyes closed, a crumpled envelope in his hand and tears streaming down his face!!

LOVE EVER HATE NEVER

LOVE EVER HATE NEVER

 

Baba said, "It is on account of Rinaubandh (former relationship) that we have come together, let us love and serve each other and be happy" –Sri Sai Satcharitra, Ch.18, 19.

 

A long time ago in China, a girl named Li-Li got married and went to live with her husband and mother-in-law. In a very short time, Li-Li found that she couldn't get along with her mother-in-law at all.

Their personalities were very different, and Li-Li was angered by many of her mother-in-law's habits. In addition, she criticized Li-Li constantly.  Days passed days, and weeks passed weeks. Li-Li and her mother-in-law never stopped arguing and fighting. But what made the situation even worse was that, according to ancient Chinese tradition, Li-Li had to bow to her mother-in-law and obey her every wish. All the anger and unhappiness in the house was causing Li-Li's poor husband great distress.

Finally, Li-Li could not stand her mother-in-law's bad temper and dictatorship any longer, and she decided to do something about it.

Li-Li went to see her father's good friend, Mr. Huang, who sold herbs.

She told him the situation and asked if he would give her some poison so that she could solve the problem once and for all. Mr. Huang thought for a while, and finally said, Li-Li, I will help you solve your problem, but you must listen to me and obey what I tell you. Li-Li said, "Yes, Mr. Huang, I will do whatever you tell me to do."

Mr. Huang went into the back room, and returned in a few minutes with a package of herbs.

He told Li-Li, "You can't use a quick-acting poison to get rid of your mother-in-law, because that would cause people to become suspicious. Therefore, I have given you a number of herbs that will slowly build up poison in her body. Every other day prepare some delicious meal and put a little of these herbs in her serving. Now, in order to make sure that nobody suspects you when she dies, you must be very careful to act very friendly towards her. Don't argue with her, obey her every wish, and treat her like a queen."

Li-Li was so happy. She thanked Mr. Huang and hurried home to start her plot of murdering her mother-in-law.

Weeks went by, and months went by, and every other day, Li-Li served the specially treated food to her mother-in-law. She remembered what Mr. Huang had said about avoiding suspicion, so she controlled her temper, obeyed her mother-in-law, and treated her like her own mother. After six months had passed, the whole household had changed. Li-Li had practiced controlling her temper so much that she found that she almost never got mad or upset. She hadn't had an argument with her mother-in-law in six months because she now seemed much kinder and easier to get along with.

The mother-in-law's attitude toward Li-Li changed, and she began to love Li-Li like her own daughter. She kept telling friends and relatives that Li-Li was the best daughter-in-law one could ever find. Li-Li and her mother-in-law were now treating each other like a real mother and daughter. Li-Li's husband was very happy to see what was happening.

One day, Li-Li came to see Mr. Huang and asked for his help again. She said, "Dear Mr. Huang, please help me to keep the poison from killing my mother-in-law. She's changed into such a nice woman, and I love her like my own mother. I do not want her to die because of the poison I gave her."

Mr. Huang smiled and nodded his head. "Li-Li, there's nothing to worry about. I never gave you any poison. The herbs I gave you were vitamins to improve her health. The only poison was in your mind and your attitude toward her, but that has been all washed away by the love which you gave to her."

 

So if we want to be loved and cared by others, we have to truly love and care for others first as the saying goes - "as you sow, so you reap".

BEND BUT DON’T BREAK

BEND BUT DON'T BREAK

 

 

"Why do you grieve for nothing?" – Sri Sai Satcharitra, Ch. 42.

 

One of my fondest memories as a child is going by the river and sitting idly on the bank. There I would enjoy the peace and quiet, watch the water rush downstream, and listen to the chirps of birds and the rustling of leaves in the trees.

I would also watch the bamboo trees bend under pressure from the wind and watch them return gracefully to their upright or original position after the wind had died down.

When I think about the bamboo tree's ability to bounce back or return to it's original position, the word resilience comes to mind.

When used in reference to a person this word means the ability to readily recover from shock, depression or any other situation that stretches the limits of a person's emotions.

What a profound lesson the bamboo tree has to teach us.

No wonder it's said Nature is the Best Teacher of All Times.

The next time you are experiencing one of those bad times or unhappy moments that take you close to your breaking point, bend but don't break.