A lady had a precious necklace round her neck. Once in her excitement she forgot it and thought that the necklace was lost. She became anxious and looked for it in her home but could not find it. She asked her friends and neighbors if they knew anything about the necklace. They did not. At last a kind friend of hers told her to feel the necklace round her neck. She found that it had all along been round her neck and she was happy. When others asked her later if she had found the necklace which was lost, she said, `Yes, I have found it.' She still felt that she had recovered a lost jewel.
Now did she lose it at all ? It was all along round her neck. But judge her feelings. She was as happy as if she had recovered a lost jewel. Similarly with us, we imagine that we will realize that Self some time, whereas we are never anything but the Self.
http://selfdefinition.org/ramana/Ramana%20Maharshi%20-%20Be%20As%20You%20Are--The%20Teachings%20of%20Sri%20Ramana%20Maharshi--Godman.pdf
In a forest, a pregnant deer is about to give birth to a baby. It finds a remote grass field nearby a river and slowly goes there thinking it would be safe. As she moves slowly, she gets labor pain.At the same moment, dark clouds gather around that area and lightning starts a forest fire. Turning left, she sees a hunter who is aiming an arrow from a distance. As she tries to move towards right, she spots a hungry lion approaching towards her.
Friends, Now imagine what can the pregnant deer do, as she is already under labor pain?
What do you think will happen?
Will the deer survive?
Will it give birth to a fawn?
Will the fawn survive? OR Will everything be burnt by the forest fire?
Can the deer go left? No, the hunter’s arrow is pointing at her.
Can she go right? No, the hungry male lion is approaching her.
Can she move up? No, there the forest is on fire.
Can she move down? No, that is where the fierce river is.
THINK
Answer: She does nothing. She just focuses on giving birth to a new LIFE The sequence of events that happens at that fraction of a second (moment) are as follows:
In a spur of MOMENT, a lightning strikes, and blinds the eyes of the hunter. At that MOMENT, he releases the arrow missing and zipping past the deer.
At that MOMENT the arrow hits and injures the lion badly. At that MOMENT, it starts to rain heavily and puts out the forest fire. At that next MOMENT, the deer gives birth to a healthy fawn. In our life too there are MOMENTS of CHOICE when we all have to deal with negative thoughts from all sides. Some thoughts are so powerful they overpower us, and make us clueless. Anything can happen in a MOMENT in this life. If you are religious, superstitious, atheist, agnostic, or whatever, you can attribute this MOMENT to divine intervention, faith, sudden luck, serendipity, coincidence, karma, or a simple ‘I just don’t know’. The priority of the deer, in that given moment, was simply giving birth to a baby, because LIFE IS PRECIOUS.
In future, may you always be inspired to have a focused positive insight, oblivious of all imaginary, negative probabilities.
LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL, BELIEF IS POWERFUL AND WHEN YOU MARRY THE TWO TRANSFORMATION IS BORN
http://transformationplus.com/blog/?cat=2&paged=13
A martial artist knelt before his master sensei in a ceremony to receive the hard-earned Black Belt. After years of relentless training, the student has finally reached a pinnacle of achievement in the discipline.
"Before granting you the belt, you must pass one more test," the sensei solemnly tells the young man.
"I'm ready," responds the student, expecting perhaps one more round of sparring.
"You must answer the essential question, 'What is the true meaning of the Black Belt?'"
"Why, the end of my journey," says the student. "A well-deserved reward for all of my hard work."
The master waits for more. Clearly, he is not satisfied. The sensei finally speaks: "You are not ready for the Black Belt. Return in one year."
As the student kneels before his master a year later, he is again asked the question, "What is the true
meaning of the Black Belt?"
"A symbol of distinction and the highest achievement in our art," the young man responds.
Again the master waits for more. Still unsatisfied, he says once more: "You are not ready for the Black Belt. Return in one year."
A year later the student kneels before his sensei and hears the question, "What is the true meaning of the Black Belt?"
This time he answers, "The Black Belt represents not the end, but the beginning, the start of a never ending journey of discipline, work and the pursuit of an ever-higher standard."
"Yes," says the master. "You are now ready to receive the Black Belt and begin your work."
http://read.goodweb.cn/PDF/p33/101%20Zen%20stories.pdf
When he realized it, he saw God coming closer with a suitcase in his hand.
Dialog between God and Dead Man:
God: Alright son, it’s time to go
Man: So soon? I had a lot of plans...
God: I am sorry but, it’s time to go
Man: What do you have in that suitcase?
God: Your belongings
Man: My belongings? You mean my things... Clothes... money...
God: Those things were never yours, they belong to the Eartha
Man: Is it my memories?
God: No. They belong to Time
Man: Is it my talent?
God: No. They belong to Circumstance
Man: Is it my friends and family?
God: No son. They belong to the Path you travelled
Man: Is it my wife and children?
God: No. they belong to your Heart
Man: Then it must be my body
God: No No... It belongs to Dust
Man: Then surely it must be my Soul!
God: You are sadly mistaken son. Your Soul belongs to me.
Man with tears in his eyes and full of fear took the suitcase from the God's hand and opened it...
EMPTY!!
With heartbroken and tears down his cheek he asks God...
Man: I never owned anything?
God: That’s Right. You never owned anything.
Man: Then? What was mine?
God: your MOMENTS. Every moment you lived was yours.
Life is just a Moment. Live it
https://www.facebook.com/onlyUsefulinfo/posts/647433478675996
Once King Janaka was sitting on the bank of a river, repeating so'ham at the top of his voice. A sage named Ashtavarka happened to be passing by. He was a great knower of Truth, an enlightened being. When he saw Janaka, he was surprised. He knew that Janaka was a being with great understanding, so he wondered why he was repeating so'ham, so'ham in this manner.
Great beings do not teach only through philosophical discourses. They use many subtle means to make their point. Ashtavakra watched Janaka for a while, wondering how he should instruct him. Then he had an idea. He sat down. In one hand he had a water bowl, and in the other hand he had the T-shaped stick which yogis use for support in meditation. He began to say very loudly, "This is my water bowl; this is my yoga stick! This is my water bowl; this is my yoga stick!"
King Janaka began repeating his mantra louder. The sage also began to repeat his mantra louder. After a whileKing Janaka became annoyed. He opened his eyes and asked, "O brother what are you doing?" "What are you doing?" asked Ashtavakra.
"I am repeating the mantra so'ham," Janaka said. Ashtavakra said, "I am also repeating a mantra. I am repeating, "This is my water bowl; this is my yoga stick." The king said, "Have you lost your brains? Who told you that the water bowl and the stick don't belong to you? Why do you have to keep shouting about it?" The sage replied, "It seems to me that you are the one who lacks understanding. Who told you that you are not That? Why do you have to go on repeating that you are That?" When Janka heard this, he suddenly realized that he was That and that he did not need to go on repeating so'ham.
Socrates believed that the wise person would instinctively lead a frugal life. He himself would not even wear shoes; yet he constantly fell under the spell of the marketplace and would go there often to look at all the wares on display.
When one of his friends asked why, Socrates said, "I love to go there and discover how many things I am perfectly happy without."
http://read.goodweb.cn/PDF/p33/101%20Zen%20stories.pdf
