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The precious Stone

The precious Stone

The precious StoneA wise woman who was traveling in the mountains found a precious stone in a stream. The next day she met another traveler who was hungry, and the wise woman opened her bag to share her food. The hungry traveler saw the precious stone & asked the woman to give it to him. She did so without hesitation.

The traveler left, rejoicing his good fortune. He knew the stone was worth enough to give him security for a lifetime. But a few days later he came back to return the stone to the wise woman. “I’ve been thinking,” He said, “I know how valuable the stone is, but I give it back in the hope that you can give me something even more precious: Give me what you have within you that enabled you to give me the stone.”

Wisdom is in giving selflessly what pleases the other because in that lies true happiness and deep sense of contentment. For any relationship to succeed, this is the key. Radhanath Swami goes a step further to conclude that it is worth going through tears to give pleasure to others. Because, to the degree our actions are selfish, it cannot satisfy the heart. A selfless act is that in which we are truly giving ourselves for the object of our love.

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Love

Mango Loving Husband

Mango Loving Husband

Mango Loving HusbandOnce there was a man who liked to eat mangoes. One day he decided to get the sweetest mango available, from the very top of the tree. Mangoes which are most exposed to the sun are the sweetest. So he climbed up to the top, where the branches were thin. He managed to pick up a few sweet reddish fruits, but in attempting to go back down, he slipped and started falling towards the ground.

Fortunately, he caught a branch as he was falling and remained helplessly hanging on the tree. Then he started to call nearby villagers for help. They immediately came with a ladder and sticks, but could do little to help him.

Then after some time his wife arrived. People were very curious as to what she would do. The wife was silent for a minute and then picked up a stone, and threw it, hitting the hanging husband.

Everybody was surprised. Hanging mango lover started to shout, “What are you doing?! Are you crazy? Do you want me to break my neck?”

His wife was silent. Then again, she took a stone and threw it so that it hit her husband in the tree. The man (the husband) was furious, “If I could just come down, I would show you…!” That’s what everybody wanted, that he comes down, but how?

Now everybody was tense, what would happen next! Some wanted to chastise the wife, but they didn’t. The wife picked up another stone and threw it again at the man, even more forcefully. Now the man in the tree completely flipped out and developed a great determination to come down and get revenge. He then used all of his skill and strength and somehow managed to reach the branches which were safe enough for him to climb down, and he made it!
Everybody was amazed.

“Where is my wife?” – exclaimed the rescued man.
“Oh, she is wise, so she didn’t wait for you to beat him,” said the villagers.”I will really smash her completely when I get hold of her,” said the man.
“Hey, wait a minute, she is the only one who helped you, she is the one who provoked you, who induced you to help yourself,” said one of the villagers.

Mango freak stopped for a second, thought a little and admitted, “Yes, all your good intentions and compassion didn’t help me, but my beloved wife expertly induced me to do my best and save myself, I should be thankful rather than angry.”

So this is an instructive story. A real spouse helps you, sometimes in strange ways, to take initiatives in your life.

 

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Love

A Box full of Kisses

A Box full of Kisses

A Box full of KissesThe best portion of a good man’s life are his little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and love. ~William Wordsworth

The story goes back to some time ago. A man punished his 3-year-old daughter for wasting a roll of gold wrapping paper. Money was tight and he became infuriated when the child tried to decorate a box to put under the Christmas tree. Nevertheless, the little girl brought
the gift to her father the next morning and said, “This is for you, Daddy.” The man was embarrassed by his earlier over reaction, but his anger flared again when he found out the box was empty. He yelled at her, stating, “Don’t you know, when you give someone a present, there is supposed to be something inside?” The little girl looked up at him with tears in her eyes and cried, “Oh, Daddy, it’s not empty at all. I blew kisses into the box. They’re all for you, Daddy.” The father was crushed. He put his arms around his little girl, and he begged for her forgiveness.

Only a short time later, an accident took the life of the child. It is also told that her father kept that gold box by his bed for many years and, whenever he was discouraged, he would take out an imaginary kiss and remember the love of the child who had put it there. In a very real sense, each one of us, as humans beings, have been given a gold container filled with unconditional love and kisses… in form of our loving family, well wishers, and God. There is simply no other possession, anyone could hold more precious than this, yet many times we don’t realize the value of this love and take it for granted.

Radhanath Swami captures the essence. He says, ‘Love means reciprocation. Therefore, you can’t love buildings or cars or money because there is no reciprocation.’ People around us may love us in manners that are unknown to us but when we open ourselves to be recipients of that love and reciprocate equally, we feel positively charged with that love.

 

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Love

The Yoga of Marriage

The Yoga of Marriage

The Yoga of Marriage If one cares for the whole picture, the little details can be adjusted to blend with the whole, but if one loses sight of the whole picture, little things assume all-importance and cause strife. – Radhanath Swami

Yoga means to bring together, to harmonize, to unite. It’s highest expression is the union of the individual soul with the Supreme Soul God. Union is

Continue reading “The Yoga of Marriage”
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Love

Our greatest enemy

Our greatest enemy

Our greatest enemyIn the heart that harbors the weed of selfish greed, the flower of love cannot survive. However, to conquer one’s envy, lust and greed, now that is truly monumental – Radhanath Swami

In a certain place, the fishermen were catching fish. A kite swooped down and snatched a fish. At the sight of the fish, about twenty crows chased the kite and made a great noise with their cawing. Whichever way the kite flew with the fish, the crows followed it. The kite flew to the south and the crows followed it there. The kite flew to the north and still the crows followed after
it. The kite went east and west, but the crows chased it nevertheless. As the kite began to fly about in confusion, it got tired and let go of the fish from its mouth. The crows at once let the kite alone and flew after the fish. Thus relieved of its worries, the kite sat on the branch of a tree and thought, “That wretched fish was the root of all my troubles. I have now gotten rid of it and therefore I am at peace.” As long as a man has the fish, that is, lusty desires, he must perform actions and consequently suffer from worry, anxiety and restlessness. No sooner does he renounce these lusty desires than his troubles fade away and he enjoys peace of the soul. The kite cannot live without the fish, for it needs the fish to survive. But luckily for us, there is no such compulsion, as we can survive without lust. However, when we learn that lusty desires and suffering come bundled together in a take-it-or-leave-it package, we are exposed to a choice. What we choose thereafter leads us to the path of suffering or onto the path of liberation and eternal bliss. The choice is ours!

Lord Krishna tells us in the Bhagavad-gita that, “It is lust only, Arjuna, which is born of contact with the material mode of passion and later transformed into wrath, and which is the all-devouring sinful enemy of this world.”

An enemy to whom you show kindness becomes your friend,excepting lust, the indulgence of which increases its enmity – Saadi

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Love

God Loves You

God Loves You

God Loves YouIf we have love of God in our life, it really does not matter whether we don’t have anything or whether we have everything; we will be satisfied because of that love.- Radhanath Swami

A well-known speaker started off his public speech in a strange manner – by holding up a Rupee 1000 Note! Holding up the Note high in the air in one of his hands, he addressed the curious audience, “Who would like this Rupee 1000 Note?”

With great cheer almost all of them raised their hands & shouted, “I want it,” “I want it”!! He said, “Oh! That’s nice. Well, I am going to give this note to one of you… But, first let me do this.” Then, he crumpled the Note in his hands vigorously & now he showed the awkwardly wrinkled 1000 Rupee Note by holding up high in his hand and asked everyone, “Who still wants it?” The same hands went up in the air this time too. “Well”, he replied, “What if I do this?” and he dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe like a mad man. It seemed he was deriving great pleasure in his unusual act. He picked up the note, by now all crumpled and dirty. It was so smudgy that no one could recognize it now as a 1000 Rupee Note. He said “Now, who still wants it?” Strangely, despite the condition of the note, all the hands were up in the air with equal cheer & spirit.

Now, he addressed his audience with great feeling. “My friends,” he said, “You have all learned a very valuable lesson today. No matter what I did to this valuable Note, all of you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth the same – Rs.1000/-.”

Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt of shame & insult by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come in our way in our dealings with people, especially loved ones. We feel as though we are worthless. But no matter what has happened or what will happen, you will never lose your inherent value for God loves you just the way you are!

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Hijacked

Hijacked

HijackedReal protection is an expression of real affection and respect – Radhanath Swami.

In the middle of nowhere, guns staring at my face, masked men sneering me, with no escape route, helpless. I was held hostage, because the flight I boarded got, yes, hijacked! Thank God, the alarm clock rescued me. Getting married is like boarding a plane to spiritual perfection. If we sincerely practice spiritual principles like chanting the names of God, and if we surround ourselves with the association of advanced devotees of God, then it’s certain that we would be able to continue our journey to spiritual perfection. The association of devotees, their prayers for us, and the chanting of the Holy Names of God provide us super-tight security for our married journey through life.

If we truly love each other, we must protect one another. Real protection is an expression of real affection and respect, Radhanath Swami remarks. Real protection is protection not only of the body and mind, but of the soul as well. No doubt that a certain amount of enjoyment and comforts are natural to married life. But the relationship must be seen as a facilitator for serving God. With such a purposeful existence, married couples can bring about astonishingly significant positive changes not only in their own lives, but also in the lives of those they interact with.

But such a life is possible only if we have the association of devotees. The illusory temporary pleasures of this world are always trying to hijack our propensity for devotion. If we are not strict in following the spiritual principles and regulations, hijackers will surely board our plane. They will board through our uncontrolled mind and senses. And they will force this airship of human life to go to forbidden places – where all we do is try to enjoy material life and become attached to such illusory enjoyment. As long as we are thus held captive by our material attachments, we are helpless hostages.

Radhanath Swami spurs us on: Make your homes and lives beautiful temples where together you can serve the Lord. Come together in the spirit of cooperation. Try to serve each other and help others come in touch with devotees. Thus, have a very safe and comfortable spiritual flight to perfection.

The holy sound of the chanting of the Holy Names every day, along with regular hearing from the Holy Scriptures in the association of pure souls, is the only way to awaken from the nightmare of being hijacked by gross materialism.