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.

A Ten-Cent Idea

When young F. W. Woolworth was a store clerk, he tried to convince his boss to have a ten-cent sale to reduce inventory.

The boss agreed, and the idea was a resounding success. This inspired Woolworth to open his own store and price items at a nickel and a dime. He needed capital for such a venture, so he asked his boss to supply the capital for part interest in the store.

His boss turned him down flat. "The idea is too risky," he told Woolworth. "There are not enough items to sell for five and ten cents." Woolworth went ahead without his boss's backing, and he not only was successful in his first store, but eventually he owned a chain of F. W. Woolworth stores across the nation. Later, his former boss was heard to remark, "As far as I can figure out, every word I used to turn Woolworth down cost me about a million dollars."

The Present Moment

There was once a king who decided that if he knew who the most important people to be with were, and what the most important thing to do was, and when the best time to do each thing was, that he would certainly be the finest king ever to rule the land. Although he had asked his advisers, none had been able to give him a good answer to these questions.

At last he decided to ask the advice of a wise hermit. The king dressed in the clothes of a commoner and set out for the forest. When he neared the hermit's hut, he ordered his knights to stay back at a distance, and he rode the last section of trail alone.

The king found the hermit digging in his garden. The old man greeted him but continued digging. The king told the hermit that he had come to find answers to his three questions. The hermit listened but gave no answer and continued working. The king observed that the hermit was frail and elderly and that the work was very difficult for him. The king offered to take over the digging, and the hermit allowed it.

The king dug for one hour. Then he repeated the question, but the hermit did not answer. He worked again for another hour, and then repeated his questions with the same results. This continued for a few more hours until the sun began to sink low in the sky. Finally the king got discouraged. "I came to you for answers wise man. If you have none, tell me and I will return home."

Just them someone came running up the path. They turned to see a man with his hands pressed to his stomach and blood flowing from between them. He dropped to the ground at the king's feet.

The king and the hermit knelt down and began tending to the man. The king washed and bandaged the man's wounds. The blood continued to flow so he had to change the bandages. The king also helped the hermit to get fresh water, and to help the man to drink.

Finally the man slept and did not wake until the next morning. The king too slept upon the ground, waking often to watch over the man. In the morning the man woke up and looked at the king.

"Forgive me," he said to the king.

"You have nothing to forgive me for," the king answered.

"Oh, but I do," he said. "You were my enemy, and I had sworn to take revenge on you for killing my brother and taking my land. I knew that you were coming here today and I decided to kill you on the trail. But when you did not return for many hours I left my hideout to find you. Your guards recognized me and wounded me. I escaped them but I would have bled to death if you had not cared for me. I meant to kill you but now you have saved my life. If I live I shall gladly serve you for the rest of my days."

The king was so happy to have been reconciled with an old enemy that he immediately forgave him and promised to return his land. Then the king called for his knights to carry the man back to his castle to be cared for by his own doctor.

After the wounded man had gone, the king asked the hermit once more if he would not give him the answer to his question.

"Your questions have already been answered." the hermit replied.

"But how?" the king answered, perplexed.

"How?" repeated the hermit.

"If you had not taken pity on my weakness yesterday and helped me instead of returning home, that man would have ambushed and killed you on the trail. Therefore, the most important time was when you were digging my garden beds; and I was the most important person; and the most important thing to do was to do good for me. Later, when the man came running to us, the most important thing to do was to care for him. If you had not bound up his wounds he would have died without making peace with you. Therefore the most important person was that man, and what you did was the most important thing, and the right time was the time when you were doing it. "

"You see, the most important time is always the present moment. It is the only time that is important because it is the only time that we have control over. The past we can only look back on and wish that we had done differently. The future we can only imagine. The most important person is always the one you are with in the present moment, and the only important deed is the deed that does what is best for others."

A Wise Old Monkey

A young king used to maintain a group of monkeys for providing entertainment for his sons. The monkeys were very nicely fed with sumptuous delicacies everyday. The leader of the monkeys was well-versed in the scriptures of like wise personalities and he used to teach the other monkeys these scriptures.There was also a pack of sheep in the king's palace and the little princes used to ride them for fun. One of those sheep was very fond of eating anything from the palace kitchen. The cooks in the kitchen had to beat the sheep quite often to prevent it from causing mischief.

 The monkey leader thought that this kind of behaviour every now and then may result in something disastrous for the monkeys in the long run. "The sheep are extremely gluttonous and the cooks, on the other hand, are very adept in beating the sheep with whatever they find at hand. In case the cooks at any time start hitting the sheep with a burning stick from the fire, then the furry body of the sheep would surely start burning.When such a burning sheep starts running around in frenzy and by chance enters into the nearby horse stable, then the hay inside will catch on fire and the entire stable along with its horses will be ablaze in no time. One ancient animal husbandry book prescribes that burns on horse flesh can be healed by animal skin obtained from monkeys. Accordingly, the king will have the monkeys killed."

Apprehending thus, the wise old monkey leader called on all the monkeys confidentially and told them, "In a place like this where the sheep and the cooks are in constant confrontation, we, the monkeys, are sure to meet with our destruction. So, let us take refuge in a forest somewhere before we are destroyed en masse."

But the arrogant young monkeys did not have anyrespect for the wise old monkey's advice. They simply ridiculed the old monkey, saying, "You must be under some sort of delusion due to your advancing age, and so you are talking like a lunatic. We are not interested in leaving the palace for forest life only to live on distasteful fruits; here we are being fed with nectarean varieties of foodstuffs by the princes themselves."

Upon hearing the puffed-up monkeys retorting like this, the old monkey told them with tearful eyes, "O fools, you do not know the results of such pleasure. Don't you know this will be ultimately destructive for you! So let me leave for the forest alone - I don't want to see your deaths."

Saying thus, the monkey-leader started for the forest, leaving behind all the other monkeys.Following this, one day that greedy sheep entered into the kitchen.The cook struck the beast with burning firewood. Immediately the sheep started crying and ran straight into the nearby horse stable. As the sheep, with the fire all over its body, started rolling desperately over the hay-stack kept in the stable, the entire pavilion caught fire and many of the horses were burnt to death while the others just ran amok, resulting in a great consternation all over.

The king immediately summoned his veterinary surgeon for the treatment of the horses. The surgeon quoted Salihotra's prescription that monkey's tallow was essential for the quick healing of the burns suffered by the horses. So the king ordered that treatment should immediately be undertaken to save the horses, and accordingly he also issued his instructions to kill the monkeys to collect their tallow. The monkey leader got the news and was very much depressed.

 Those who contemplate that the ageing advisor might be under delusion and may not know more than a common person knows, and instead of following him follow evil companions, will certainly meet with a disastrous end.

Two Screws

Once upon a time there were two screws fastening a vital part of a gasoline engine. One of the screws was haughty and proud of it's shining head. The second screw was quiet, intent only on doing its job to the best of its ability.

  One day a speck of rust appeared on the head of the second screw. Filled with vain pride of its own beauty, the first screw began to laugh at the second. "Your head is tarnished," the first said to the second. "Look at you. Your perfect luster is gone."

 The second screw said nothing. Instead, it concentrated on what it was doing. "How ugly you have become," the first screw chortled, "and how beautiful I have remained." Then it began to laugh so hard at the second screw that it failed to notice that it was working itself loose. Finally it dropped off the engine and plunged into a small pool of dirty oil below.

With the first screw no longer holding up its end of the load, the second was faced with doing the work of two. Meanwhile the first screw, now covered with grimy oil, wailed and lamented. "Just look at me! I'm dirty and filthy and all my beauty is gone. By laughing at the blemish on my friend the second screw, I worked myself loose and fell into the muck. Now I'm doomed."

 Now, it just so happened that a short time later the owner of the engine started it up. He immediately noticed that something didn't sound right -- the engine was running rough. When he checked, he instantly saw that one of the two screws holding the vital part was missing. "Ah ha!" the owner said. "One of the screws must have worked itself loose and fell to the ground, but I don't see it. Maybe it fell into that puddle of old oil."

 The owner reached into the oil and found the missing screw. "Look at you," the owner said. "You're all covered with grime and oil. How ugly you are. But I will fix that right away." The owner reached for a nearby rag and wiped all the oil and grime off the first screw until it shone even brighter than before. Then he replaced it on the part. Before he turned away, he noticed a little speck of tarnish on the head of the second screw. With the second rag, he wiped the head clean and bright. Then the owner walked away.

 Finally the engine was started. The two screws, now equally beautiful, held the part tight. "Forgive me, my friend," the first screw said to the second. "In my vanity, I was so busy laughing at your blemish that I did not notice that I was working myself loose."

"And what have you learned?" the second screw quietly asked.
"I learned not to judge others because I have my own sins to deal with."
"Then," the second screw said, "I forgive you."

"Thank you, my friend. And rest assured, my vanity will remain forever at the bottom of that dirty puddle of oil."