Self Improvement

Message For The Day…Find Some time for Daily Prayers …

NatarajanLeave a comment

A person once told Dr. Johnson, the famous English thinker, that he could seldom get time to recite the Name of God, what with the hundreds of things he had to do from morning till nightfall and even far into the night. Dr. Johnson replied with another question. He asked how millions of people found space to live upon the face of the earth, which is two-thirds water and the rest is too full of mountains, deserts, forests, icy regions, river beds, marshes and similar impossible areas. The questioner said that man somehow struggled to find living space. So too, said Dr. Johnson, man must somehow find a few minutes a day for prayer to the Lord. Keep the Name and Form of your choice ever in your consciousness. The Name must be as constant as breathing. And for this, practice is essential.

source:::: Discourse message from Swami Satya Sai…

Natarajan

நான் ஒரு தமிழன் ஆக பிறக்க வேண்டும் ….சொன்னது மகாத்மா காந்தி !!!!!

NatarajanLeave a comment

“ நான் அடுத்த பிறவியில் தமிழனாகப் பிறக்க வேண்டும் ” இப்படி சொன்னவர் யார் தெரியுமா…? நம் தேச தந்தை காந்தியடிகள்…!

மகாத்மா காந்தியடிகள், உலகப் புகழ்பெற்ற எழுத்தாளர் லியோ டால்ஸ்டாய்க்கு ஒரு கடிதம் எழுதினார். அக்கடிதத்தில் ‘தம்மைத் துன்புறுத்து வோரையும் தண்டிக்காது மன்னிக்கும் குணம் பற்றித் தாங்கள் கூறியிருக்கும் செய்தி, என்னை மிகவும் கவர்ந்தது’ என்று குறிப்பிட்டார்.

கடிதத்தைப் படித்த லியோ டால்ஸ்டாய் மிகுந்த தன்னடக்கத்தோடு, ‘இந்தப் பெருமையும், புகழும் எனக்கு உகந்ததல்ல. உங்கள் தேசத்தில், தமிழ்நாட்டில் பிறந்து, திருக்குறள் எனும் அற்புத நூலைப் படைத்த திருவள்ளு வரையே சாரும். இதோ, அப்பொருள் உணர்த்தும் குறள்’ என்று ஆங்கிலத்தில் மொழி பெயர்க்கப்பட்ட திருக்குறளைக் குறிப்பிட்டிருந்தார். அந்தக் குறள்…

இன்னா செய்தாரை ஒறுத்தல் அவர்
நாண நன்னயம் செய்து விடல்.

இந்நிகழ்வுக்குப் பின், ஆங்கிலத்தில் மொழி பெயர்க்கப்பட்ட திருக்குறளை காந்தி படித்தார். பின், ‘நான் அடுத்த பிறவியில் தமிழனாகப் பிறக்க வேண்டும். ஏன் தெரியுமா? ஆங்கிலத்தில் படிக்கும்போதே… இத்தனை சுவையாக இருக்கிற திருக்குறளின் மூலநூலை தமிழ்மொழியில் படிக்க வேண்டும். அதற்காகவே, நான் ஒரு தமிழனாகப் பிறக்க வேண்டும்’ என்றார்.

தமிழனாய் பிறந்ததில் பெருமை கொள்வோம்…! தமிழன் என்று சொல்லடா !!!!!தலை நிமிர்ந்து நில்லடா !!!!

source:::::input from a friend of mine…
Natarajan

__._,_.___

Let us Be Like Sea of Galilee…and Not Like Dead Sea !!!

Natarajan3 Comments

Sitting in the Geography class in school, I remember how fascinated I was when we were being taught all about the Dead Sea. As you probably recall, the Dead Sea is really a Lake, not a sea (and as my Geography teacher pointed out, if you understood that, it would guarantee 4 marks in the term paper!)
Its so high in salt content that the human body can float easily. You can almost lie down and read a book! The salt in the Dead Sea is as high as 35% – almost 10 times the normal ocean water. And all that saltiness has meant that there is no life at all in the Dead Sea. No fish. No vegetation. No sea animals. Nothing lives in the Dead sea.

And hence the name: Dead Sea.

While the Dead Sea has remained etched in my memory, I don’t seem to recall learning about the Sea of Galilee in my school Geography lesson. So when I heard about the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea and the tale of the two seas – I was intrigued. Turns out that the Sea of Galilee is just north of the Dead Sea. Both the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea receive their water from river Jordan. And yet, they are very, very different.

Unlike the Dead Sea, the Sea of Galilee is pretty, resplendent with rich, colourful marine life. There are lots of plants. And lots of fish too. In fact, the sea of Galilee is home to over twenty different types of fishes.

Same region, same source of water, and yet while one sea is full of life, the other is dead. How come?

Here apparently is why. The River Jordan flows into the Sea of Galilee and then flows out. The water simply passes through the Sea of Galilee in and then out – and that keeps the Sea healthy and vibrant, teeming with marine life.

But the Dead Sea is so far below the mean sea level, that it has no outlet. The water flows in from the river Jordan, but does not flow out. There are no outlet streams. It is estimated that over a million tons of water evaporate from the Dead Sea every day. Leaving it salty. Too full of minerals. And unfit for any marine life.

The Dead Sea takes water from the River Jordan, and holds it. It does not give. Result? No life at all.

Think about it.

Life is not just about getting. Its about giving. We all need to be a bit like the Sea of Galilee.

We are fortunate to get wealth, knowledge, love and respect. But if we don’t learn to give, we could all end up like the Dead Sea. The love and the respect, the wealth and the knowledge could all evaporate. Like the water in the Dead Sea.

If we get the Dead Sea mentality of merely taking in more water, more money, more everything the results can be disastrous. Good idea to make sure that in the sea of your own life, you have outlets. Many outlets. For love and wealth – and everything else that you get in your life. Make sure you don’t just get, you give too. Open the taps. And you’ll open the floodgates to happiness.

Make that a habit. To share. To give.

And experience life. Experience the magic!

source::::input from a friend of mine…
Natarajan

Message For The Weekend….Make the Intellect Master of Your Mind….

NatarajanLeave a comment

A lame man and a blind man became friends and they moved from one place to another, with the lame man riding on the shoulder of the blind. One day, the lame man saw a field of yellow cucumber and suggested to the blind man that they pick a few and eat their fill. The blind man asked, “Brother, have they fenced the crop?” The lame man said, “No!” The blind man said, “Then let us move on, you know there are sweet and bitter varieties – if these vegetables are left unguarded – they must be bitter!” The blind man, by his intellect, was able to discover that they were bitter even without tasting them. He used the intelligence to perceive the truth faster and clearer. Make the intellect the Master of your mind and you will not fail; you will fail only when the senses establish mastery over the mind. Clarify your intelligence through spiritual discipline.

source::::: Excerpts from the discourse of Swami Satya Sai

Natarajan

Message For the Day…Try to Understand Others….

NatarajanLeave a comment

A renunciant couple were once proceeding through a thick jungle on a pilgrimage to an inaccessible shrine. The husband saw on the footpath a precious stone, shining brilliantly when the Sun’s rays fell upon it from between the leaves. He hastily threw some sand over it with the movement of his foot, so that his wife may not be tempted to pick it up and become a slave to the tinsel. The wife saw the gesture and chided the husband for still retaining in his mind, a distinction between sand and gold. For her, both were the same. This habit of judging and labelling others is a prevalent practice today. What can you know of the inner working of another’s mind?

 source::::: Swami Satya Sai”s Discourse… 

Natarajan

 

 

Divine Image For the Day….with a Story of Inspiration…..

NatarajanLeave a comment

 

This is a beautiful story – it might inspire you!
What Good Does The Bhagavad Gita Do?
An old farmer lived on a farm in the mountains with his young grandson. Each morning Grandpa was up early sitting at the kitchen table reading his Bhagavath Gita. His grandson wanted to be just like him and tried to imitate him in every way he could.
One day the grandson asked, “Grandpa! I try to read the Bhagavath Gita just like you but I don’t understand it, and what I do understand I forget as soon as I close the book. What good does reading the Bhagavath Gita do?”
The Grandfather quietly turned from putting coal in the stove and replied, “Take this coal basket down to the river and bring me back a basket of water.”
The boy did as he was told, but all the water leaked out before he got back to the house.
The grandfather laughed and said, “You’ll have to move a little faster next time,” and sent him back to the river with the basket to try again. This time the boy ran faster, but again the basket was empty before he returned home.
Out of breath, he told his grandfather that it was impossible to carry water in a basket, and he went to get a bucket instead.
The old man said, “I don’t want a bucket of water; I want a basket of water. You’re just not trying hard enough,” and he went out the door to watch the boy try again.
At this point, the boy knew it was impossible, but he wanted to show his grandfather that even if he ran as fast as he could, the water would leak out before he got back to the house. The boy again dipped the basket into river and ran hard, but when he reached his grandfather the basket was again empty.
Out of breath, he said, “See Grandpa, it’s useless!” “So you think it is useless?” The old man said, “Look at the basket.”
The boy looked at the basket and for the first time realized that the basket was different. It had been transformed from a dirty old coal basket and was now clean, inside and out.
“Son, that’s what happens when you read the Bhagavath Gita. You might not understand or remember everything, but when you read it, you will be changed, inside and out. That is the work of Krishna in our lives!”   
source:::::input from A Sai Devotee..,
Natarajan

Message For The Day….Nearness to God is Won By Devotion only….

NatarajanLeave a comment

You are as distant from the Lord, as you think you are; as near Him, as you feel you are. The distance from Me to you is the same as the distance from you to Me, is it not? You complain that I am far from you, though you are approaching nearer and nearer. How can that be? I am as near you, as you are near to Me! Nearness to the Lord is won by Devotion, which cannot be steady until you get rid of the feelings of ‘I’ and ‘Mine’. Look upon joy and grief as teachers of hard-work and balance. Grief is a friendly reminder, a good taskmaster, even a better teacher than joy. The Lord grants both protection and punishment – for, how can He be the Lord, if He does not insist on strict accounting and strict obedience?
– Divine Discourse of Swami Satya Sai…

Natarajan

” Promise Yourself “…..

Natarajan1 Comment

“Promise Yourself”

To be so strong that nothing
can disturb your peace of mind.
To talk health, happiness, and prosperity
to every person you meet.

To make all your friends feel
that there is something in them.
To look at the sunny side of everything
and make your optimism come true.

To think only the best, to work only for the best,
and to expect only the best.
To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others
as you are about your own.

To forget the mistakes of the past
and press on to the greater achievements of the future.
To wear a cheerful countenance at all times
and give every living creature you meet a smile.

To give so much time to the improvement of yourself
that you have no time to criticize others.
To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear,
and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.

To think well of yourself and to proclaim this fact to the world,
not in loud words but great deeds.
To live in faith that the whole world is on your side
so long as you are true to the best that is in you.”

source:::: Message from  a   SAI Devotee  …..

Natarajan

 

Message For The Day….Have A Hunger For GOD ….

NatarajanLeave a comment

A child told its mother as it went to bed at night, “Mother, wake me up when I am hungry.” The mother answered, “There is no need, your hunger will itself wake you up.” So too, when the hunger for God arises, it will itself activate you to seek the fulfilment. God has endowed you with hunger and illness, and He provides the food and medicine. Your duty is to see that you get the right hunger and the right illness and use the appropriate food or drug! Man must be yoked to the world and broken; that is the training which will teach that the world is unreal. When you touch fire and get the sensation of burning, you withdraw your hand instantly. Unless you touch it, you will be aware only of its light. It is light and heat both; just as this world is both true and false, that is to say, unreal.

SWAMI SATYA SAI…In One Of HIS Discourses…

Natarajan