Act of Gratitude

A young man while roaming the desert came across a spring of delicious crystal-clear water. The water was so sweet he filled his leather canteen so he could bring some back to a tribal elder who had been his teacher.

After a four-day journey he presented the water to the old man who took a deep drink, smiled warmly and thanked his student lavishly for the sweet water. The young man returned to his village with a happy heart.

Later, the teacher let another student taste the water. He spat it out, saying it was awful. It apparently had become stale because of the old leather container.

The student challenged his teacher: "Master, the water was foul. Why did you pretend to like it?"

The teacher replied, "You only tasted the water. I tasted the gift. The water was simply the container for an act of loving-kindness and nothing could be sweeter."!!!

We may understand this lesson best when we receive innocent gifts of love from young children. Whether it's a crushed paper painting or a clay figure, the natural and proper response is appreciation and expressed thankfulness because we love the idea within the gift.

Gratitude doesn't always come naturally. Unfortunately, most children and many adults value only the thing given rather than the feeling embodied in it. We should remind ourselves and teach our children about the beauty and purity of feelings and expressions of gratitude. After all, gifts from the heart are really gifts of the heart!! Also, when we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest of appreciation is not to utter mere words, but to live by them.

The essence of all beautiful art, all great art is gratitude! Gratitude is the sign of noble souls and the memory of it is stored in the heart and not the mind!

The next time you receive any gifts from anyone, no matter however small it may be, remember the love behind and don’t judge the gift with its appearance! Have a deep sense of gratitude for whatever you receive in life...

Things which can not be recovered

A lady was waiting for her flight in the boarding room of a airport.

As she would need to wait many hours, she decided to buy a book to spend her time. She also bought a packet of cookies.

She sat down in an armchair, in the VIP room of the airport, to rest and read in peace.

Beside the armchair where the packet of cookies lay, a man sat down in the next seat, opened his magazine and started reading.

When she took out the first cookie, the man took one also.
She felt irritated but said nothing. She just thought:

“What a nerve! If I was in the mood I would punch him for daring!”

For each cookie she took, the man took one too.

This was infuriating her but she didn’t want to cause a scene.

When only one cookie remained, she thought: “ah... What this abusive man do now?”

Then, the man, taking the last cookie, divided it into half, giving her one half.

Ah! That was too much!

She was much too angry now!

In a huff, she took her book, her things and stormed to the boarding place.

When she sat down in her seat, inside the plane, she looked into her purse to take her eyeglasses, and, to her surprise, her packet of cookies was there, untouched, unopened!

She felt so ashamed!! She realized that she was wrong...

She had forgotten that her cookies were kept in her purse

The man had divided his cookies with her, without feeling angered or bitter.

...while she had been very angry, thinking that she was dividing her cookies with him.
And now there was no chance to explain herself...nor to apologize.”


There are 4 things that you cannot recover.


The stone...  ...after the throw!


The word......after it’s said!


The occasion..... after the loss!


The time......after it’s gone!

The Horse

A cosmic god had a horse. The horse was beautiful and also it had many qualities. But it wanted to be more perfect in every way. It especially wanted to become beauty unparalleled.

One day the horse said to the cosmic god, "Oh Lord, you have given me beauty. You have given me other good qualities. I am so grateful to you. But how I wish you could make me more beautiful. I would be extremely, extremely grateful if you could make me more beautiful."

The cosmic god said, "I am more than ready to make you more beautiful. Tell me in what way you want to be changed." The horse said, "It seems to me that I am not well proportioned. My neck is too short. If you can make my neck a little longer, my upper body will be infinitely more beautiful. And if you can make my legs much longer and thinner, then I will look infinitely more beautiful in my lower body."

The cosmic god said, "Ok" Then immediately he made a camel appear in place of the horse. The horse was so disheartened that it started to cry, "Oh Lord, I wanted to become more beautiful. In what way is this kind of outer form more beautiful?"

The cosmic god said, "This is exactly what you asked for. You have become a camel." The horse cried, "Oh no, I do not want to become a camell I wish to remain a horse. As a horse, everybody appreciated my good qualities. Nobody will appreciate me as a camel."

The cosmic god said, "Never try to achieve or receive more than I have given you. If you want to lead a desire-life, then at every moment you will want more and more. But you have no idea what the outcome will be. If you cry for a longer neck and legs, this is what will happen. Each thing in my creation has its own good qualities. The camel is not as beautiful as you are, but it carries heavy loads and has a tremendous sense of responsibility.

Smile Dose

Two little boys, ages 8 and 10, were excessively mischievous. They were always getting into trouble and their parents know if any mischief occurs in their town, the two boys were probably involved.


The boys' mother heard that a preacher in town had been successful in disciplining children, so she asked if he would speak with her boys. The preacher agreed, but he asked to see them individually.


The mother sent the 8 year old in the morning, with the older boy to see the preacher in the afternoon. The preacher, a huge man with a deep booming voice, sat the younger boy down and asked him sternly, "Do you know where God is, son?"


The boy's mouth dropped open, but he made no response, sitting there wide-eyed with his mouth hanging open.


So the preacher repeated the question in an even sterner tone, "Where is God?! Again, the boy made no attempt to answer. The preacher raised his voice even more and shook his finger in the boy's face and bellowed, "WHERE is GOD?!"


The boy screamed & bolted from the room, ran directly home & dove into his closet, slamming the door behind him. When his older brother found him in the closet, he asked,"What happened?"


The younger brother, gasping for breath, replied, "We are in BIG trouble this time!"

"GOD is missing, and they think WE did it!"

Krishna - Nitya Brahmachari

One day Lord Krishna was playing with his queen Rukmani in the banks of Yamuna. Suddenly the Lord told her, "Rukmani, on the other shore of Yamauna, sage Durwasa has come and he is very hungry. Please prepare good food and take it to the sage".

Rukmani immediately prepared a sumptuous food and packed it and came back to the shores of Yamuna. Then she told her lord, "Lord, The Yamuna is in floods and there is no boat or boatman in sight. How can poor me, cross this mighty river?"

Lord Krishna replied, "Dear Rukmani, that should not be any problem. Approach the river and tell the river that the Nitya Brahmachari (perennial bachelor) has asked her to give way to you. She will surely give you way".

Rukmani was surprised and asked her Lord, "Lord, who is this Nitya Brahmachari and why am I not able to see him?"

The Lord replied, "Of course, Rukmani, it is myself".

Rukmani was surprised. She could not understand how her husband who has seven other wives could call himself, Nitya Brahmachari. Anyway she decided to obey him. She went near Yamuna and told the river, "River Yamuna, my husband, the Nitya Brahmachari has asked you to give way to me, so that I can reach the other shore".

The river immediately obliged. Rukmani crossed the Yamuna, met sage Durwasa, saluted him and served him the sumptuous food that she has brought with her. The Sage liked the food and became very happy and blessed her.
Then Rukmani told him, "Sir, I am very gratified by the blessing of the sage like you. Now I have to cross back the river Yamuna and join my husband. Can you please help me do it?"

Sage Durwasa replied, "Of course Rukmani, that is my pleasure and duty. Go to the river Yamuna and tell her that the Nitya Upavasi (He who never takes food) has asked her to give way to you. She will help you".

Rukmani was taken aback. She thought how this sage who has just had a sumptuous feast can call himself Nitya Upavasi. She did not bother to ask him, because he was well known for his short temper. She went near the river and told her, "River Yamuna, now I have to cross you and reach the other shore. The Nitya Upavasi has asked you to give way to me".

The river obliged and Rukmani crossed the river and joined her husband. Her face showed that she was terribly confused. She approached her lord and told him, "Lord, as per your direction I served good food and crossed back the river. I told her to give way as per the wishes of Nitya Upavasi. Strangely she did it".

Lord Krishna laughingly replied, "I know Rukmani that you are terribly confused to see me calling myself as Nitya Brahmachari and the sage calling himself as Nitya Upavasi. We both were telling only the truth. This is because we both are realized souls and do not attach ourselves to this ethereal body of ours. We both know that we are really the souls within this body. That soul does not marry and does not take food and that is how I (my soul) am a Brahmachari and Sage Durwasa (his soul) is an Upavasi. Once you understand this simple truth, you can lead a very contended and happy life".

Delhi's suicide stopper

Not many people know him, but those who do remember him as the man who gave them a new lease of life when they wanted to end it.

Delhi boatman Abdul Sattar has spent the last 20 years saving people from committing suicide. Sattar is known in Wazirabad - Delhi’s suicide point - as death's nemesis. When not working as a boatman, he keeps a keen eye on Yamuna’s banks.

"It happens the most when the Class X and XII results come out. Even others do it. When I rescue them, they are usually angry. They say, why did you stop me," says Sattar.

Even if those he saves are not happy, their families are. Sometimes that even means huge rewards for Sattar who says nearly 100 unhappy people come to the river every month to end their lives.

When he drags them out, they get his advice for free. "I tell them God has given you one life – don’t give up, fight on," he says.

Abdul is now helped by a volunteer band of suicide stoppers. “It feels good saving people and giving them a new life,” says a volunteer Ganesh.

Rich people, poor people, children who are unhappy with their marks to men who cant pay off their debts, Sattar says he has saved more than 1,000 people in the past two decades. The reason? He has a very simple philosophy: to give life a second chance.

What difference we make....

Once there was a wise man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work. One day he was walking along the shore. As he looked down the beach, he saw a human figure moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself to think of someone who would dance to the day. So he began to walk faster to catch up.

As he got closer, he saw that it was a young man and the young man wasn't dancing, but instead he was reaching down to the shore, picking up something and very gently throwing it into the ocean.

As he got closer he called out, "Good morning! What are you doing?"
The young man paused, looked up and replied, "Throwing starfish in the ocean." "I guess I should have asked, why are you throwing starfish in the ocean?" "The sun is up, and the tide is going out, and if I don't throw them in they'll die." "But, young man, don't you realize that there are miles and miles of beach, and starfish all along it. You can't possibly make a difference!"
The young man listened politely. Then bent down, picked up another starfish and threw it into the sea, past the breaking waves and said, "It made a difference for that one."

There is something very special in each and every one of us. We have all been gifted with the ability to make a difference, and if we can become aware of that gift, we gain through the strength of our visions the power to shape the future.

We must each find our starfish. And if we throw our stars wisely and well, the world will be blessed.