Sculptor

A sculptor in a temple uses all types of stones. Certain stones he uses for the foundations. These never appear outside. From certain stones which are good to carve, the sculptor makes the walls and pillars of the Temple. From other stones he makes the steps. Certain stones become the tower of the Temple. Only those stones which are extremely suitable for carving will become the Deity and be installed in the Temple. When the stone become a part of the Temple, it no longer remains a stone, it becomes a sculpture, a piece of art, it becomes the Living Deity.
In the same way many people come to the Master. According to the degree of their surrender they are installed by the Master. All are essential.If there were no steps, how could a person reach the Temple? If there were no foundation, how could the Temple be there at all? What can a tower do without pillars? For a sculptor, each stone is precious and valuable

When a sadhak is doing some sadhana, the tradition of the masters guides him (or her). When the sadhak then passes on to the next birth, he eventually finds a guru from the tradition - or rather, the guru finds the disciple. And the sadhana starts from where it was left off from the previous lifetime. The sadhak thus does not waste his time repeating the learnings from the previous life.

Sculptor Story

Excellence
A German once visited a temple under construction where he saw a sculptor making an idol of God. Suddenly he noticed a similar idol lying nearby. Surprised, he asked the sculptor, "Do you need 2 statues of the same idol?" "No," said the sculptor without looking up, "We need only 1, but the 1st one got damaged at the last stage." The German examined the idol & found no apparent damage. "Where is the damage?" he asked. "There is a scratch on the nose of the idol" said the sculptor, still busy with his work. "Where are you going to install the idol?" The sculptor replied that it would be installed on a pillar 20 ft high. "If the idol is that far, who's going to know about the scratch. the German asked. The sculptor stopped his work, looked up at the German, smiled & said, "I will know it"

The desire to excel is exclusive of the fact whether someone else appreciates it or not. "Excellence" is a drive from inside, not outside. Excellence is not for someone else to notice but for your own satisfaction and efficiency.

God has gifted all of us with some special power or the other, we just need to find out the key and use it for the betterment. One need to have a big heart and love for everyone to do that. Life is full of fun - one has to learn the secret how to enjoy life.

Tu kuch chahta hai, Main kuch chata hu, Hota wohi hai, Jo mai chata hu, To wo kar jo mai chahta hu, Phir wo hoga jo tu chahta hai

Guruji and SIMI
This happened in Kerela…
Sri Sri gave an audience to the SIMI (Student Islamic Movement of India) leaders. Four leaders from SIMI came to meet Sri Sri at the residence of one of the organizers. Following their entry, an air of tension enveloped the hall where hundreds were waiting to meet with Sri Sri. Naseeb, one of the devotees, guided them to the room where Sri Sri was sitting with a few of us. They (the SIMI leaders), were dashing youths in their mid 20’s. One of them was carrying the holy Koran. They were little stern and stiff. Their eyes were fixed and seemed to reflect an inner fire. They looked prepared to repulse anything that Sri Sri would tell them and most unlikely to listen to reason.
Sri Sri was His usual smiling self.
The stage was set. It had all the signs of a classic confrontation. On one side were the brash youth – intemperate, impatient, driven by ideology and out to prove their superiority. On the other was a youthful, realized sage, unperturbed, offering sane explanations that echoed an uncommon depth and breadth of understanding. Those of us in the room, were eager to see how Sri Sri would deal with these firebrands. Sri Sri embraced them and offered them chairs to sit. There was not an iota of difference in His attitude. Any casual onlooker could be forgiven for thinking that Sri Sri considered these gentlemen as amongst His most ardent devotees. Perhaps the only difference that we could see was that they were seated on chairs while the rest of us were on the floor! For us, it was yet another opportunity to witness the unconditional love that Sri Sri exemplifies.
The leader of the group spoke first. He asked
SIMI: You had wanted to meet with us.
SRI SRI: Yes. I wanted to understand why your organization was opposed to the Anandotsavam.
SIMI: We thought that holding an Anandotsavam (celebration) on December 6th was a deliberate move to insult our religious sentiments. Do you know about our religion?. Do you believe in the Koran at all?
SRI SRI: Yes of course.
SIMI: (Not expecting this answer, pointing to the Koran, they shot the next question) We believe that Koran is the only knowledge. What about you?
SRI SRI: This is one amongst the various knowledge revealed to man from time to time.
SIMI: But God has said this is the only knowledge. The way of the Koran is the only way. There is no other way.
SRI SRI: This message can be found in scriptures of all religions. In the Vedas it is said “Naanyah Panthaah Ayanaaya Vidyate” meaning “There is no other way but the way of Truth!” The same is said in the Bible, Jesus says, “To go to my father, you have to go through me. I am the only way”.
SIMI: But our scripture says worshipping any form or idol is evil, it is blasphemy.
SRI SRI: What is Good and Evil after all? It is relative. Relative existence is not the complete picture For example: Milk is good, but too much milk can kill you. Poison is harmful, but a drop of poison can save your life. Most lifesaving medicines have poison written on them! These are neither absolutely good nor bad they are just there. Truth transcends duality, and God is the Absolute and only Truth. So, where is the place for evil?
SIMI: Yet you Hindus worship many Gods, whereas our ideal is there is only one God and His message is what is required to go to heaven.
SRI SRI: There is only one god in many forms…
SIMI: (Restless and unwilling to listen to any explanation, they interrupted Sri Sri.) But the Koran says you should only worship Allah who is formless whereas the Hindus worship idols which are only stones.
SRI SRI: At this, Sri Sri suddenly asked them: Do you honour the Koran?
SIMI: (They seemed a little taken aback at this question from Sri Sri and with a righteous air answered). Yes, it is God’s word!
SRI SRI: Do you honor the Mecca?
SIMI: Yes, of course! That is our sacred place.
SRI SRI: So also, Hindu’s honour God’s creation as God. Just like sound (Koran), the crescent moon, Kaaba and the month of Ramadan are sacred for you, Hindus consider the River Ganges, the Himalayas, Saints as sacred. See, a picture of your daughter is not your daughter, but you still adore the daughter’s picture. When you see the picture aren’t you reminded of your daughter?
(They nodded a yes)
SRI SRI: So also, a symbol is not God but is honoured as God. This sense of honouring and sacredness makes you awake and alive. That is why the ancient Rishis said to feel the entire creation and your whole life as sacred. They considered God as omnipresent, as inseparable from His creation; like the dance and the dancer.
Sri Sri elaborated further – Spirit loves diversity. Is there only one type of vegetable or fruit? God created many type of fruits and vegetables. There is not just one type of tree, not just one type of snake, cloud, mosquito….Even you change your dress for different occasions. So how could this consciousness that manifested this whole creation be monotonous? There is only one God in many forms. Only one God is advocated. When you accept the variety of Divinity, you cease to be a fanatic and fundamentalist. A pregnant silence filled the room as they looked at each other expecting the other to speak. Then as a face saving measure, the SIMI leader replied, “I will need to go and consult my higher scholars.” With a compassionate expression on His face, Sri Sri said: Never mind, (with a wave of His hand) forget about religion. We are all human beings. Let us have a peaceful society. Let us focus on development.
SIMI: No No No! What are you saying? You are talking about this world. What we do here is immaterial. The Koran tells us that what matters is what you get in eternal life and not to worry about material life. By doing service to the society you will simply remain here. You have to obey Allah. Allah is the only God and Mohammed is the last prophet.
SRI SRI: At this Sri Sri stopped them and after a pause asked them: Do you think the Sikh Gurus are not prophets. Isn’t Mirabai a prophet? What about Chaitanya Mahaprabhu?
Once again, there was silence. Their expressions had changed. The rigidity had weakened and in its place was some confusion/uncertainty. Sri Sri seemed totally at ease unmindful of the challenges posed at Him.
SIMI: No! You can go to heaven only if you believe in Allah and the Koran.
SRI SRI: No my dear – there was Buddha, Mahavira, Nanak, Jesus, Shankara… Do you think they are not in heaven? If not, then I would rather be with them!
SIMI: You are such a nice person, but we pity you because you cannot get the truth. You can’t go to Allah. You can’t be rewarded by Allah. God will never show mercy on you.
SRI SRI: Never mind. (with a mischievous smile ) I will be with these people (Shankara, Jesus, etc.)
(Even as we were admiring Sri Sri’s patience and objectivity, we were concerned at the wrong indoctrination that these youths had been subjected to. We also observed a few others who were in the room were getting a little restive, possibly wondering why Sri Sri was spending so much time with these people who were obviously not at all receptive and that too when hundreds were waiting outside just for a glimpse of Sri Sri.)
SIMI: Do you know, that over 1400 years ago, in the middle of the desert, God revealed the secrets of creation. Even when there was no science, God said that the Atom is the smallest particle!
SRI SRI smiled and said: Yes, the same is there in the shaastras too which were known more than 10,000 years ago. In the shaastras it is said that the Earth is over 19 billion years old! Truth is beyond time and space. It is not confined to one time or one place One needs to have a scientific spirituality.
As if to conclude the conversation Sri Sri gave them Ladoo as prasad. By now there were traces of a smile on their faces. When they were about to leave He gave them a hug. They definitely seemed to be less stern than earlier. Could their attitude have changed? We wondered whether this (‘changed attitude’) would persist or would they go back to their old fanatic ways. But one thing was for sure, Sri Sri had made an impression that they would not forget!
Later, while Sri Sri was having His lunch, someone asked Him, “Why is that Islam is producing so many terrorists all over the world? No other religion has given rise to so many terrorists in the world. What is the reason?”
SRI SRI: Look at the commitment and the fire in them. Take the good from them and learn what you should not be doing. Don’t label them as bad people. They have not been imparted the knowledge of Vedanta. (Then as He was adding ghee to the chilli powder) He smiled and said “In this creation, there is a place for everything.”
Excerpted from an article written by Swami Sadhyojata and Harish RamachandranJai Gurudeva! Bawa

A boy and a girl were playing together. The boy had a collection of marbles. The girl had some sweets with her. The boy told the girl that he will give her all his marbles in exchange for her sweets. The girl agreed.

The boy kept the biggest and the most beautiful marble aside and gave the rest to the girl. The girl gave him all her sweets as she had promised.

That night, the girl slept peacefully. But the boy couldn't sleep as he kept wondering if the girl had hidden some sweets from him the way he had hidden his best marble.

Moral of the story: If you don't give your hundred percent in a relationship, you'll always keep doubting if the other person has given his/her hundred percent.. This is applicable for any relationship like love, employer-employee relationship etc.

Give your hundred percent to everything you do and sleep peacefully.

Interesting facts
“Breathing is the first act of life. Within breathing is the secret of life,”

Interesting facts about the Art of Living course:

• AOL has been part of the training for NASA scientists and employees.

• It is part of the training for Miss India contestants.. Teachers in a school in Basel, Switzerland get paid vacation to do AOL course.

• Sudarshan Kriya has been acknowledged by All India Institute of Medical Sciences based on its medical research

8 ways to peace in mind
1. Smile - Only 4 muscles are used to smile. To have a serious face 72muscles are used. Intelligent people work less by keeping a smile.Doesn't matter if it is not natural. Fake it till you make it.

2. Sadhana – Why we should do sadhana every day? Our body has billionsof cells and these cells function in rotation. The cells that are onduty today will get their slot to work only after some days. That iswhy we cannot afford to miss even a day's sadhana. Do at least 20minutes of meditation daily.

3. Sing for a few minutes every day. Just for yourself. During thistime you need not have to bother about your voice (just like duringsatsang) and what others will think of it(we have done enough thinkingfor others lets now take a break from it).

4. Take a walk for yourself. Sort of Nature work. Feeling thesurroundings and feeling our own Self.

5. Have a bigger goal in life – 'I want to know the TRUTH'. 'I want torealize myself' etc., would be worthy goals.

6. Seva –Gurudev says – If you do not do seva, you are a burden on theplanet. No where He speaks harsh like this. To that extent seva isimportant.In one of the AMCs Some one asked Guruji how to attain Equanimity ofmind.Gurudev answered if you feel sad then Meditate; If you are happydo seva

7. Once in a while reflect your life in the context of time and space– Who am I? What i am doing to this world?It makes our worries
insignificant and makes us realize how tiny our problems are.

8. Have faith, shraddha in ourselves, in the Divine or/& in the Master.All these eight ways are equally important and should be followed daily.

Jai Gurudev

A saint asked his disciples, 'Why do we shout in anger? Why do people shout at each other when they are upset?'

Disciples thought for a while, one of them said, 'Because we lose our calm, we shout for that.' 'But, why to shout when the other person is just next to you?' asked the saint. 'Isn't it possible to speak to him or her with a soft voice? Why do you shout at a person when you're angry?' Disciples gave some other answers but none satisfied the saint. Finally he explained, 'When two people are angry at each other, their hearts distance a lot. To cover that distance they must shout to be able to hear each other. The angrier they are, the stronger they will have to shout to hear each other through that great distance.' Then the saint asked, 'What happens when two people fall in love? They don't shout at each other but talk softly, why? Because their
hearts are very close. The distance between them is very small...' The saint continued, 'When they love each other even more, what happens? They do not speak, only whisper and they get even closer to each other in their love. Finally they even need not whisper, they only look at each other and that's all. That is how close two people are when they love each other.'MORAL: When you argue do not let your hearts get distant, do not say words that distance each other more, else there will come a day when the distance is so great that you will not find the path to return.

Yama (5 rules important for peaceful living in society.)

1. Ahimsa – Non Violence . It unites you with the whole creation. Everything is part of yourself, and since you do not harm yourself, how can you harm anything?
2. Satya – Truth. You don’t lie to yourself, do you? If you are wearing beads, you don’t say, “I am not wearing the beads.”
3. Achaurya - No regrets. Not missing what you don’t have at this moment. “I wish I had a voice like that person so I could sing like him, I wish I could run like him, I wish I could be intelligent” comparing yourself with others.
4. Brahmacharaya Not interested in small things, such as bodily shapes and forms. Brahma means “BIG” and acharaya means “Moving in the bigger things”. I am this, I am that, I am a man, I am a woman, I am good, I am bad, these are small identifications. Keep our mind on bigger things and see beyond the physical. Seeing the infinite is Brahmacharaya.
5. Aparigraha – Not taking what people give you. You often take insults willingly than compliments. You know people sometimes not giving insults but simply taking the insults out of their pockets. You just go and grab them and keep them safe with yourself. That is what most people do.

Niyama (5 rules for inner development.)
1. Shaucha – Cleanliness. Showering everyday. Keep yourself clean, wear clean clothes and see don’t have bad breath.
2. Santosha – Contentment. Be happy. If you don’t take a step to be happy, nothing in this world can make you happy. You will complaining about this and that. How do you want to live the rest of your life – the next 30,40,50 years? With a smile or with a grumbling face, the choice is yours.
3. Tapas – Forbearance or penance. Something is uncomfortable, but you still put up with it and happily. Tapas we have to take it, to forebear.
4. Svadhyaya – Self study. Observe your mind and see what your mind says. Observe how you behave and how you react. Whether you are feeling good or bad, just observe will change. Knowing this will bring peace.
5. Ishvarapranidhana – Love of the Divine and surrender to the Divine. Whe you feel that you are totally helpless, you say “Oh God and surrender your situation to the Divine. This connection with the Divine is Ishvarapranidhana

These ten rules make you very strong, whole and complete. To feel clean inside, we have two things “SO HUM” and “SO WHAT”.

“SO WHAT” will definitely work and if it dosen’t then “SO HUM” will certainly work.

Do not be afraid to shine.
The world needs what you have to give.
Open up the areas of your being;
Expose them to yourself - to others.
You are valuable. You are unique.
You have much to give.
Do not be afraid to give it.

As we risk ourselves, we grow.
Each new experience is a risk.
We can try, and maybe fail,
And, as a result, grow or hold back and stagnate.

You have the potential to be anything you want.
You are free to choose.
You are limited only by your fears.
Let your dreams take over.
Fly with the eagles. Soar into life.The world is waiting for you.