Madhumita

29/08/2023

Story of celebrating ONAM

Onam is one of the most significant festivals for the people of Kerala. It is celebrated to welcome the asura King Mahabali. Onam is connected to the Vamana avatar of Lord Vishnu. Mahabali (Maveli) was the son of Virochana and grandson of Prahlada. Upon the advice of his Guru, Sukracharya, Mahabali performed a Yagya, a grand ritual, to win back his kingdom and all the powers seized by Indra during the churning of the cosmic ocean.

Mahabali gained great powers after performing the Yagya which helped him defeat Indra in a battle, consolidate his powers and rule the three worlds. In order to retain his position, Sukracharya suggested that he continue performing Yagyas and offer magnanimous alms to the poor and brahmins.

Meanwhile, distressed over Indra’s beleaguered state, his mother Aditi sought Lord Vishnu’s help by undertaking the Payovrata vow. Vishnu appeared before her and promised to be born as her son to kill Bali.

Aditi gave birth to a boy whom she named Vamana. Vamana transformed into a learned Brahmachari boy and visited the place where Mahabali was performing a Yagya. The king welcomed the young genius with great joy and devoutly offered him whatever he desired.

The young scholar asked for land equal to three times the length of his foot. It was a meek request on the face of it, but Sukracharya recognized Vamana’s true identity and tried to dissuade Bali from accepting the request. Mahabali refused to break his promise and said that he would be the most blessed person if it was Maha Vishnu indeed who sought the land.

When the king was about to fulfil Vamana’s wish by pouring holy water from his Kamandala, Sukracharya took the form of a bee and blocked the vessel’s spout. Vamana used a blade of grass to unblock the spout and ended up pricking Sukracharya’s eye. As a result, Sukracharya left the vessel. Mahabali poured the water in his hand and asked him to show the land of which he wanted three feet.

Vamana assumed ‘Viswaroopam’, a gigantic, resplendent form. With the first step, he covered the entire earth. His second step covered the entire Deva Loka (world of the gods) and then asked Mahabali as to where he could take the third step. Mahabali said he had only his head left to offer and bowed to him. Vamana placed his foot on the king’s head, sending the latter down to Paatala Loka (nether world) and thus granted Moksha (liberation). In appreciation of his devotion, Vishnu also granted a boon that he could visit his kingdom once a year. So, the people of Kerala believe that King Mahabali visits the kingdom in the Malayalam month of Chingam and celebrate Onam to welcome him.

07/10/2022

I want to remember your face so that when I meet you in heaven, I can recognize you and thank you once again."
When Indian billionaire Ratanji Tata was asked by the radio presenter in a telephone interview:
"Sir, what do you remember when you got the happiest in life"?

Ratanji Tata said:
"I have gone through four stages of happiness in life, and I finally understood the meaning of true happiness."
The first stage was to accumulate wealth and resources.
But at this stage I didn't get the happiness I wanted.
Then came the second stage of collecting valuables and items.
But I realized that the effect of this thing is also temporary and the luster of precious things does not last long.
Then came the third phase of getting a big project. That was when I had 95% of the diesel supply in India and Africa.
I was also the owner of the largest steel factory in India and Asia. But even here I did not get the happiness that I had imagined.
The fourth step was when a friend of mine asked me to buy a wheelchair for some disabled children.
About 200 children.
At the behest of a friend, I immediately bought a wheelchair.

But the friend insisted that I go with him and hand over the wheelchairs to the children. I got ready and went with him.
There I gave these children this wheel chair with my own hands. I saw a strange glow of happiness on the faces of these children. I saw them all sitting in wheelchairs, walking and having fun.
It was as if they had reached a picnic spot, where they were sharing a winning gift.
I felt real happiness inside me. When I decided to leave, one of the kids grabbed my leg.
I tried to slowly release my legs, but the child looked at my face and held my legs tight.I leaned over and asked the child: do you need anything else?
The answer this kid gave me not only shocked me but also completely changed my outlook towards life.
This child said:

"I want to remember your face so that when I meet you in heaven, I can recognize you and thank you once again."

27/09/2022

A mouse was placed at the top of a jar filled with grains. It was so happy to find so much food around him that no longer he felt the need to run around searching for food. Now he could happily live his life. After a few days of enjoying the grains, he reached the bottom of the jar.

Suddenly, he realize that he was trapped and he couldn't get out. He now has to fully on someone to put grains in the jar for him to .

He now has no choice but to eat what he's .

A few to learn from this:
1. Short term can lead to long-term .
2. If things come and you get comfortable, you are getting trapped into dependency.
3. When you are not using your skills, you will lose more than your . You lose your and .
4. Freedom does not come easy but can be lost .
5. NOTHING comes easily in life and if it comes easily, maybe it is not it.

Don't curse your . They are your in disguise.

22/09/2022

14/07/2022

THE PREGNANT DEER – such a beautiful story In a forest, a pregnant deer is about to give birth. She finds a remote grass field near a strong-flowing river. This seems a safe place. Suddenly labour pains begin.
At the same moment, dark clouds gather around above & lightning starts a forest fire. She looks to her left & sees a hunter with his bow extended pointing at her. To her right, she spots a hungry lion approaching her.
What can the pregnant deer do? She is in labour!
What will happen? Will the deer survive? Will she give birth to a fawn? Will the fawn survive? Or will everything be burnt by the forest fire? Will she perish to the hunters’ arrow? Will she die a horrible death at the hands of the hungry lion approaching her?
She is constrained by the fire on the one side & the flowing river on the other & boxed in by her natural predators.
What does she do? She focuses on giving birth to a new life.
The sequence of events that follows are:
– Lightning strikes & blinds the hunter. – He releases the arrow which zips past the deer & strikes the hungry lion. – It starts to rain heavily, & the forest fire is slowly doused by the rain. – The deer gives birth to a healthy fawn.
In our life too, there are moments of choice when we are confronted on all sides with negative thoughts and possibilities.
Some thoughts are so powerful that they overcome us & overwhelm us.
Maybe we can learn from the deer. At that given moment, the deer's priority was simply to give birth to a baby.
The rest was not in her hands & any action or reaction that changed her focus would have likely resulted in death or disaster.
Ask yourself, Where is your focus? Where is your faith and hope?
In the midst of any storm, do keep faith on the Creator always. He will never ever disappoint you. NEVER.

Do you trust the master plan?

27/03/2022

*Breathe*

She sat at the back and they said she was shy,

She led from the front and they hated her pride,

They asked her advice and then questioned her guidance,

They branded her loud, then were shocked by her silence,

When she shared no ambition they said it was sad,

So she told them her dreams and they said she was mad,

They told her they’d listen, then covered their ears,

And gave her a hug while they laughed at her fears,

And she listened to all of it thinking she should,

Be the girl they told her to be best as she could,

But one day she asked what was best for herself,

Instead of trying to please everyone else,

So she walked to the forest and stood with the trees,

She heard the wind whisper and dance with the leaves,

She spoke to the willow, the elm and the pine,

And she told them what she’d been told time after time,

She told them she felt she was never enough,

She was either too little or far far too much,

Too loud or too quiet, too fierce or too weak,

Too wise or too foolish, too bold or too meek,

Then she found a small clearing surrounded by firs,

And she stopped…and she heard what the trees said to her,

And she sat there for hours not wanting to leave,

For the forest said nothing, it just let her breathe.’

*(Author: Becky Helmsley)*

12/03/2022

You can make a difference

A man was walking down the beach at sunset. As, he walked along, he saw another man in the distance. He noticed this man kept leaning down, picking up something and throwing it out into the water, again and again. As, he approached even closer, he noticed that the man was picking up starfish that had been washed up on the beach. He was throwing them back into the water, one by one. Puzzled, he approached the man and said, "Good Evening. I was wondering what you are doing." "I'm throwing these starfish back into the ocean. You see, it's low tide and all these starfish have been washed up onto the shore. If, I don't throw them back into the ocean, they'll die up here from lack of oxygen."

"But, there must be thousands of starfish on this beach. You can't possible get to all of them. And, don't you realize this is probably happening on hundreds of beaches all up and down this coast. Can't you see that you can't possibly make a difference?" The man bent down and picked up yet another starfish, and threw it back into the ocean. With a smile he replied, "Made a difference to that one!!!"

Just remember, no matter how small the deed it really does makes a difference. Make a difference today. Do something nice for someone else, letting them know somebody cares about them.

-Have a Blessed Day!

19/02/2022

Keep Mum

There lived a turtle, who had two swans as her good friends. All three of them would meet on the banks of the lake every day, and exchange stories, before returning at sunset. They enjoyed each other’s company.

One year, there was no rain and lake started to dry. The swans got worried about the declining water level of the lake, and said to the turtle, “You will not be able to survive in this lake. All the water in the lake will soon dry up.” The turtle was aware of the problem, “It is indeed difficult to live here anymore. Dear friends, please look for an alternate lake which is full of water. Then, find a strong stick from somewhere.”

The turtle continued, “Once you find another lake, you can carry me to the lake with a stick. I can hold the stick tightly with my mouth, while both of you can hold the stick at either ends and fly.”
As planned, the swans flew to distant places and after some time found a lake which had plenty of water in it. They returned to carry the turtle.

They prepared to hold the stick from both the ends, and suggested the turtle, “Dear friend, everything seems fine. But make sure to keep your mouth tightly shut all the time. You must not speak, or you will fall off.” Finally, they started flying. After some time, they had flown some distance when the turtle saw a town below.

The people of the town were staring at the sight of two swans carrying a turtle in the sky. “Look at that! This is a rare sight that two birds are carrying a turtle with the help of a stick”, they shouted and then they started making fun of them. On hearing them, the turtle opened his mouth, “We are doing this so that I can go to the new lake.

Needless to say, he went down the moment he opened her mouth, and the swans could do nothing to stop him from falling down to the earth. As he fell down, the people of the town captured him to make a feast out of him.

*Debrief*

People will always laugh when you are doing something different. But if you try to justify your actions – you will end up wasting your time and energy. People will also kill your motivation. Therefore, focus on what you are doing without looking for others' approval.

19/02/2022

Never Give Up!

One day a farmer’s donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do. Finally, he decided the animal was old and the well needed to be covered up anyway it just wasn’t worth it to retrieve the donkey. He invited all his neighbors to come over and help him. They all grabbed a shovel and begin to shovel dirt into the well. At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly. Then, to everyone’s amazement, he quieted down.

A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well and was astonished at what he saw. With every shovel of dirt that fell on his back, the donkey was doing something amazing. He would shake it off and take a step up. As the farmer’s neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up.

Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and trotted off!

Moral: Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. The trick is to not to get bogged down by it. We can get out of the deepest wells by not stopping. And by never giving up! Shake it off and take a step up!

14/02/2022

DO YOU HAVE THE LETTER M IN THE PALM OF YOUR HAND?

Palmistry is an ancient method of predicting the future and interpreting a person's personality from the pattern of the lines of the hands. Sometimes these lines can form even numbers and letters.

One of these letters may be the letter M, the meaning of which has been investigated by many mystics.

As many believe, the lines on the palm reveal our character and destiny.

The letter M is assigned to truly special people.

They are endowed with extraordinary intuition and represent the ideal partners for any business.

If the people you love have the special letter M on the inside of the palm, you have to know that you cannot mock and you cannot lie or deceive that person in any way.

Being very intelligent and intuitive, people with the letter M in the palm of their hand easily realize that they are being lied to or deceived.

Women who have the letter M on their palm have a stronger intuition than men, even those who have this letter.

They are gifted with the power to manage and overcome any obstacle in life, and they know how to exploit the resources and opportunities that are offered to them.

The letter "M" on your palm can also mean:
• Leadership skills
• Can
• Joy
• Excellent opportunities

According to popular tradition, this sign is characteristic of the prophets ... So if you have this letter in your hand, you are really a special person! Some people hold it in one hand and others in both.

Martin Santos
Quantum Physics and Kabbalah

01/02/2022

Destiny

A great Japanese warrior 💂‍♂ named Nobunaga was going to war with a fierce enemy with only one-tenth the number of men the opposition commanded. He knew that he could win the fight 🏹 with a well planned strategy, but his soldiers were in doubt.

On the way the leader stopped at a Shinto shrine and told his men: “After my visit to the shrine I will toss a coin ⚫️. If head comes, we will win; if tails, we will lose. Destiny holds us in her hand.”

Nobunaga entered the shrine and offered his prayers. Then he came forth and tossed a coin ⚫️ in front of his men. Heads appeared. The soldiers were filled with confidence and were eager to win the battle.

“No one can change the hand of destiny,” one of his attendants told him after the battle was won.

“Indeed not,” said Nobunaga and showed the coin which was doubled with heads on the both side.

"The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be."

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

20/09/2021

A man, who regularly attended family & group meetings suddenly, without any notice, stopped participating.

After a few weeks, one very cold night the leader of that group decided to visit him.

He found the man at home, alone, sitting in front of a fireplace where a bright fire burned.

The man welcomed the leader.
There was great calm & silence.

The two men only watched the dancing flames around the logs that crackled in the fireplace.

After a few minutes the leader, without saying a word, examined the logs that formed the fire and selected one of them, glowing most brightly of all, and removed it to the side with a pair of tongs. Then he sat down again.

The host was paying attention to everything, fascinated. Before long, the lone log’s flame subsided,
until there was only a momentary glow and the fire soon went out.

In a short time what was previously bright light and heat had become nothing more than a black dead piece of wood.

Very few words had been spoken since the greeting.

Before preparing to leave,
the leader picked up the useless piece of wood with the tongs and placed it again in the middle of the fire. Immediately, the piece of wood was rekindled, fuelled by the light and heat of the burning logs around it.

When the leader was about to leave & had reached the door, the host said: ‘Thank you for your visit and for your beautiful lesson.
I'll return to the group soon.’

*Why is a group important in our lives?*

Very simple:
Because each member that withdraws takes fire and heat from the rest.

It's worth reminding group members that, *they are a part of the flame.*

It's also good to remind us that we are all responsible for keeping each other's flame burning.

And we must *promote the union among us* so that the fire is really strong, effective and lasting.
Keep the fire burning.

*THE* *GROUP* *IS* *ALSO* *A* *FAMILY*, *It doesn't matter if sometimes we are bothered by so many messages, quarrels and misunderstandings*.

What matters is to be connected.
*We are here to meet, message, learn, exchange ideas or simply to know that we are not alone*

let's keep the flame alive.

♥️

24/07/2021

Align yourself with people that you can learn from, people who want more out of life, people who are stretching and searching and seeking some higher ground in life.
People who are actually LIVING AND NOT JUST EXISTING!

18/05/2021

🙏*आज एक सुन्दर जानकारी मिली, अच्छी लगी, आपके साथ साझा कर रहा हूँ।*

यूरोप का एक देश है नार्वे ....
वहां कभी जाईयेगा तो
यह सीन आम तौर पर पाईयेगा....

एक रेस्तरां है ...
उसके कैश काउंटर पर एक महिला आती है
और कहती है -
"5 Coffee, 1 Suspension"..
फिर वह पांच कॉफी के पैसे देती है
और चार कप कॉफी ले जाती है ...

थोड़ी देर बाद ...
एक और आदमी आता है ,कहता है-
"4 Lnch, 2 Suspension" !!!
वह चार Lunch का भुगतान करता है
और दो Lunch packets ले जाता है...

फिर एक और आता है ...
आर्डरदेता है -
"10 Coffee, 6 Suspension" !!!
वह दस के लिए भुगतान करता है,
चार कॉफी ले जाता है...

थोड़ी देर बाद....
एक बूढ़ा आदमी जर्जर कपड़ों में
काउंटर पर आकर पूछता है-
"Any Suspended Coffee ??"
काउंटर-गर्ल मौजूद कहती है-
"Yes !!"
और एक कप गर्म कॉफी उसको दे देती है ...

कुछ देर बाद वैसे ही
एक और दाढ़ी वाला आदमी अंदर आता है,
पूछता है-
"Any Suspended Lunch ??"
तो काउंटर पर मौजूद व्यक्ति
गर्म खाने का एक पार्सल और
पानी की एक बोतल उसको दे देता है ...

और यह क्रम ...
एक ग्रुप द्वारा अधिक पेमेंट करने का
और
दूसरे ग्रुप द्वारा बिना पेमेंट खान-पान ले जाने का
दिन भर चलता रहता है ....

यानि ...
अपनी "पहचान" न कराते हुए
और
किसी के चेहरे को "जाने बिना" भी
अज्ञात गरीबों, जरुरतमन्दों की मदद करना...
यह है नार्वे नागरिकों की परंपरा !!!

और बताया गया कि
यह "कल्चर" अब यूरोप के अन्य कई देशों में
फैल रही है...

और हम ...???
अस्पतालों में एक केला,एक संतरा
मरीजों को बांटेंगे...
सारे मिलकर अपनी पार्टी, अपने संगठन का
ग्रुप फोटो खिंचाकर
अखबार में छापेंगे !!!
है ना ???

क्या भारत में भी ...
इस प्रकार की खान-पान की
"Suspension" जैसी प्रथा का
प्रारंभ हो सकता है ???

*अद्भुत! अनुकरणीय !!*

07/05/2021

Once upon a time, a cow went out to graze in the jungle. Suddenly, she noticed a tiger racing towards her. She turned and fled, fearing that at any moment the tiger would sink his claws into her. The cow desperately looked for someplace to escape and at last, saw a shallow pond. Barely evading the tiger’s reach, she jumped into the pond, and in the heat of the chase, the tiger blindly leaped after her.

To the surprise of them both, the pond was extremely shallow yet filled with deep recesses of mud. After toppling over each other, the cow and the tiger found themselves a short distance apart, stuck in the mud up to their necks. Both had their heads above water but were unable to free themselves no matter how much they writhed.

The tiger repeatedly snarled at the cow and roared, “I am going to enjoy the sound of crunching your bones between my teeth!”

He thrashed about in fury but soon became fretful as he found no prospect of escape.

The cow thoughtfully laughed as the tiger struggled to free himself and asked him, “Do you have a master?”

The tiger disdainfully replied, “I am the king of the jungle. Why do you ask me if I have a master? I myself am the master!”

The cow said, “You may be the king of the jungle, but here all your power has failed to save your life.”

“And what about you?” retorted the tiger. “You are going to die here in this mud too!”

The cow smiled mildly and said, “No, I am not.”

“If even I, the king of the jungle cannot free myself from this mud”, snapped the tiger, “then how can you, an ordinary cow?”

The cow gently replied, “I cannot free myself from this mud, but my master can. When the sun sets and he finds me absent at home, he will come looking for me. Once he finds me, he will raise me up and es**rt me home sweet home.”

The tiger fell silent and coldly glared at the cow.

Soon enough, the sun set and the cow’s master arrived. He immediately recognized the plight she was in and lifted her to safety. As they walked home, the cow and the master both felt renewed gratitude for one another and pitied the tiger they both would have been happy to save if only the tiger had allowed them.

The cow represents a surrendered heart, the tiger represents an egoistic mind, and the master represents the Guru or the Lord. The mud represents the world, and the chase represents the struggle for existence therein.

Let's hold on to our faith & know that He will come to take us home.