Why do we read Geetha, even if we can't understand a Sanskrit word????

Story:

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 Geetha. 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 Geetha 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 Geetha 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 Geetha. 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."

Lunch With God

A little boy wanted to meet God. He knew it was a long trip to where God lived, so he packed his suitcase with a bag of potato chips and a six-pack of root beer and started his journey.

When he had gone about three blocks, he met an old woman. She was sitting in the park, just staring at some pigeons. The boy sat down next to her and opened his suitcase. He was about to take a drink from his root beer when he noticed that the old lady looked hungry, so he offered her some chips. She gratefully accepted it and smiled at him.

Her smile was so pretty that the boy wanted to see it again, so he offered her a root beer. Again, she smiled at him. The boy was delighted! They sat there all afternoon eating and smiling, but they never said a word.

As twilight approached, the boy realized how tired he was and he got up to leave; but before he had gone more than a few steps, he turned around, ran back to the old woman, and gave her a hug. She gave him her biggest smile ever.

When the boy opened the door to his own house a short time later, his mother was surprised by the look of joy on his face. She asked him, "What did you do today that made you so happy?" He replied, " I had lunch with God." But before his mother could respond, he added, "You know what? She's got the most beautiful smile I've ever seen!"

Meanwhile, the old woman, also radiant with joy, returned to her home. Her son was stunned by the look of peace on her face and he asked, "Mother, what did you do today that made you so happy?" She replied! "I ate potato chips in the park with God." However, before her son responded, she added, " You know, he's much younger than I expected."

Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of. Which have the potential to turn a life around. People come into our lives for a reason, a season, or a lifetime! Embrace all equally!

Lessons on Life

There was a man who had four sons. He wanted his sons to learn not to judge things too quickly. So he sent them each on a quest, in turn, to go and look at a pear tree that was a great distance away.

The first son went in the winter, the second in the spring, the third in summer, and the youngest son in the fall.

When they had all gone and come back, he called them together to describe what they had seen.

The first son said that the tree was ugly, bent, and twisted. The second son said no it was covered with green buds and full of promise. The third son disagreed; he said it was laden with blossoms that smelled so sweet and looked so beautiful, it was the most graceful thing he had ever seen.

The last son disagreed with all of them; he said it was ripe and drooping with fruit, full of life and fulfillment.

The man then explained to his sons that they were all right, because they had each seen but only one season in the tree's life.

He told them that you cannot judge a tree, or a person, by only one season, and that the essence of who they are and the pleasure, joy, and love that come from that life can only be measured at the end, when all the seasons are up. If you give up when it's winter, you will miss the promise of your spring, the beauty of your summer, fulfillment of your fall.


Moral:

Don't let the pain of one season destroy the joy of all the rest. Don't judge life by one difficult season. Persevere through the difficult patches and better times are sure to come some time or later

I can sleep when the wind blows

Years ago , a farmer owned land along the Atlantic seacoast.

He constantly advertised for hired hands. Most people were reluctant to work on farms along the Atlantic . They dreaded the awful storms that raged across the Atlantic , wreaking havoc on the buildings and crops.

As the farmer interviewed applicants for the job, he received A steady stream of refusals.

Finally, a short, thin man, well past middle age, approached the farmer. " Are you a good farm hand?" the farmer asked him. "Well, I can sleep when the wind blows, " answered the little man.

Although puzzled by this answer, the farmer, desperate for help, Hired him. The little man worked well around the farm, busy from dawn to dusk, and the farmer felt satisfied with the man's work.

Then one night the wind howled loudly in from offshore. Jumping out of bed, the farmer grabbed a lantern and rushed next door to the hired hand's sleeping quarters. He shook the little man and yelled, "Get up! A storm is coming! Tie things down before they blow away!"

The little man rolled over in bed and said firmly, "No sir. I told you, I can sleep when the wind blows ."

Enraged by the response, the farmer was tempted to fire him on the spot. Instead, he hurried outside to prepare for the storm.

To his amazement, he discovered that all of the haystacks had been covered with tarpaulins. The cows were in the barn, the chickens were in the coops, and the doors were barred.

The shutters were tightly secured. Everything was tied down.

Nothing could blow away. The farmer then understood what his hired hand meant, so he returned to his bed to also sleep while the wind blew.

******

When you're prepared, spiritually, mentally, and physically, you have nothing to fear. Can you sleep when the wind blows through your life?

Story of a Young Boy

It was a normal day. The divine Ganges, as usual, was flowing past the little cottages in Uttarkashi. But for the first time, the disciple of the great master, Sri Tapovanji Maharaj, saw a little excitement in his ever serene and poised guru.

An old devotee, a judge from Lucknow who had known the master for about 30 years, was coming. Since he was an elderly man, the guru told his disciple to receive him and see that all arrangements for his comfort were made.

The old gentleman had a complaint for the master. "Swamiji, my grandson doesn't listen. He smokes, comes home late at night, and has developed a number of vices. Swamiji, I have persuaded him to come with me. I have a feeling that if Swamiji will meet him, he will change."

Swamiji agreed. The boy came. He wouldn't remove his shoes, nor did he prostrate himself. It was an interesting case. How would the master handle him?

Swamiji received him with warmth and asked him, "What movie is going on in town nowadays?" "Do they teach anything in college these days?" With such conversation, the master won the confidence of the boy. When his confidence was captured, Swamiji said, "Leave all pooja and worship for your grandmother. But there is something you can do which is good for your health." The boy was interested. "Keep an alarm clock, and every day set the alarm at 5:00am. Even if you go to sleep late at night, it will be good for you to get up and go for a walk. Find a park 20 minutes away from your house. Sit there for 10 minutes, come back; and then, if you wish, you may go back to sleep."

The boy asked, "What will happen?"

Swamiji said, "Do it for one month. I will tell you after a month."

After a month and a half, a letter came from the old devotee saying that the boy had changed.

The disciple who was none other than Sri Swami Chinmayananda, wondered how this change occurred. After four years when he got a chance to go to Lucknow, he met the totally changed boy and asked him, "What happened?"

The young boy said, "On the first day, I went thinking that the swami must be slightly . . . but he is a nice guy . . . I went to the park, heard the sweet chirping of the birds, saw the beautiful trees, felt the tender breeze - I stayed longer than 10 minutes.

“Next day, again I went because of the lovely memory. I exposed myself to the rising sun, heard the songs of the birds. After a week it was all the same. I was no longer interested. What else could come to my mind except a parade of my past? But when I saw what kind of man I was and what an ugly life I was living as compared to my innocent childhood, I decided to change!”

The boy became spiritual through solitude.

Man when left alone, will become spiritual. Materialism cannot survive when man starts thinking. The secular, the materialistic world, will not allow you to think. Therefore we have radio, television, dance, and so on - all to distract the mind.

Throw yourself into your own company. You are afraid of loneliness because you do not have the courage to meet yourself. When you are alone, you cannot but see the parade of your past - recognize how base your values are. You discover that you have a great image of yourself, but the real you is something else.

Thus, be in your own company! You need not search for God. Be with yourself, and you will turn to God!

Story of a Young Boy

It was a normal day. The divine Ganges, as usual, was flowing past the little cottages in Uttarkashi. But for the first time, the disciple of the great master, Sri Tapovanji Maharaj, saw a little excitement in his ever serene and poised guru.

An old devotee, a judge from Lucknow who had known the master for about 30 years, was coming. Since he was an elderly man, the guru told his disciple to receive him and see that all arrangements for his comfort were made.

The old gentleman had a complaint for the master. "Swamiji, my grandson doesn't listen. He smokes, comes home late at night, and has developed a number of vices. Swamiji, I have persuaded him to come with me. I have a feeling that if Swamiji will meet him, he will change."

Swamiji agreed. The boy came. He wouldn't remove his shoes, nor did he prostrate himself. It was an interesting case. How would the master handle him?

Swamiji received him with warmth and asked him, "What movie is going on in town nowadays?" "Do they teach anything in college these days?" With such conversation, the master won the confidence of the boy. When his confidence was captured, Swamiji said, "Leave all pooja and worship for your grandmother. But there is something you can do which is good for your health." The boy was interested. "Keep an alarm clock, and every day set the alarm at 5:00am. Even if you go to sleep late at night, it will be good for you to get up and go for a walk. Find a park 20 minutes away from your house. Sit there for 10 minutes, come back; and then, if you wish, you may go back to sleep."

The boy asked, "What will happen?"

Swamiji said, "Do it for one month. I will tell you after a month."

After a month and a half, a letter came from the old devotee saying that the boy had changed.

The disciple who was none other than Sri Swami Chinmayananda, wondered how this change occurred. After four years when he got a chance to go to Lucknow, he met the totally changed boy and asked him, "What happened?"

The young boy said, "On the first day, I went thinking that the swami must be slightly . . . but he is a nice guy . . . I went to the park, heard the sweet chirping of the birds, saw the beautiful trees, felt the tender breeze - I stayed longer than 10 minutes.

“Next day, again I went because of the lovely memory. I exposed myself to the rising sun, heard the songs of the birds. After a week it was all the same. I was no longer interested. What else could come to my mind except a parade of my past? But when I saw what kind of man I was and what an ugly life I was living as compared to my innocent childhood, I decided to change!”

The boy became spiritual through solitude.

Man when left alone, will become spiritual. Materialism cannot survive when man starts thinking. The secular, the materialistic world, will not allow you to think. Therefore we have radio, television, dance, and so on - all to distract the mind.

Throw yourself into your own company. You are afraid of loneliness because you do not have the courage to meet yourself. When you are alone, you cannot but see the parade of your past - recognize how base your values are. You discover that you have a great image of yourself, but the real you is something else.

Thus, be in your own company! You need not search for God. Be with yourself, and you will turn to God!

The Wooden Bowl

A frail old man went to live with his son, daughter-in-law, and a four-year old grandson. The old man's hands trembled, his eyesight was blurred, and his step faltered. The family ate together nightly at the dinner table. But the elderly grandfather's shaky hands and failing sight made eating rather difficult. Peas rolled off his spoon onto the floor. When he grasped the glass often milk spilled on the tablecloth. The son and daughter-in-law became irritated with the mess. "We must do something about grandfather," said the son. I've had enough of his spilled milk, noisy eating, and food on the floor. So the husband and wife set a small table in the corner. There, grandfather ate alone while the rest of the family enjoyed dinner at the dinner table. Since grandfather had broken a dish or two, his food was served in a wooden bowl. Sometimes when the family glanced in grandfather's direction, he had a tear in his eye as he ate alone. Still, the only words the couple had for him were sharp admonitions when he dropped a fork or spilled food. The four-year-old watched it all in silence.

One evening before supper, the father noticed his son playing with wood scraps on the floor. He asked the child sweetly, "What are you making?" Just as sweetly, the boy responded, "Oh, I am making a little bowl for you and mama to eat your food from when I grow up." The four-year-old smiled and went back to work. The words so struck the parents that they were speechless. Then tears started to stream down their cheeks. Though no word was spoken, both knew what must be done. That evening the husband took grandfather's hand and gently led him back to the family table.

For the remainder of his days he ate every meal with the family. And for some reason, neither husband nor wife seemed to care any longer when a fork was dropped, milk spilled, or the tablecloth soiled. Children are remarkably perceptive.

Their eyes ever observe, their ears ever listen, and their minds ever process the messages they absorb. If they see us patiently provide a happy home atmosphere for family members, they will imitate that attitude for the rest of their lives. The wise parent realizes that every day that building blocks are being laid for the child's future.
Let us all be wise builders and role models. Take care of yourself, ... and those you love, ... today, and everyday!