Destiny vs Free will

PEOPLE spend more time arguing about whether they are driven by destiny or acting out of freewill than doing what they should do. They forget that they waste their time of their own accord, their own sweet free will!

There is no such thing as future. Future does not exist till you create it in your present moment, here and now. We all waste our time regretting or savouring what happened in the past and speculating about what would like in the future. Neither is of any productive value. There is nothing we can do about the past, it is gone; it is history. There is nothing that you can do thinking about the future; you have to act now to make your future. Your future is in your hands, and your hands only. Trying to fashion your future based on past experiences is like driving car looking at the rear view mirror. All you will meet is disaster!

We are comfortable being told that we are destined to do certain things. We are relieved when we learn that our sins and problems are because of our past karma, because then we can disown responsibility.

Be very clear, there is no such thing as karma, the way you understand it. Your unfulfilled desires shape your actions and this is karma. As of now your future is driven by your fantasies, your unfulfilled desires, and what you do not have. When the product arrives, you ask, who ordered this, not I!

Start being comfortable with what you have. Enjoy what you have acquired instead of hankering after what you do not have. Spirituality is not about renouncing in the sense of what you understand. There is nothing that you have now that you need to renounce. Nothing at all. Just renounce what you do not have, your fantasies. You will see your life change in front of your eyes.

When you focus on enjoying what you have now, you will have to focus on the present instead of wasting time speculating and regretting. Your entire mindset will be on action. Because this action is not tinged with regret and speculation, you will automatically fall into what Krishna refers to in the Bhagwad Gita as the action without expectation.
When you learn to stay in the present, your freewill destines you to be a true Yogi, one who is truly uniting material and spiritual life. You will be in eternal bliss.
• PARAMAHAMSA SRI NITHYANANDA

A true inspiration!!

It was a sports stadium.

Eight Children were standing on the track to participate in the

running event.

* Ready!

* Steady!

* Bang!!!

With the sound of Toy pistol, all eight girls started running.

Hardly have they covered ten to fifteen steps, one of the smaller
girls slipped and fell down, due to bruises and pain she started crying.
When other seven girls heard this sound, stopped running, stood for a
while and turned back, they all ran back to the place where the girl
fell down.One among them bent, picked and kissed the girl gently and enquired
'Now pain must have reduced'.
All seven girls lifted the fallen girl, pacified her, two of them
Held the girl firmly and they all seven joined hands together and
walked together and reached the winning post.

Officials were shocked.
Clapping of thousands of spectators filled the stadium.
Many eyes were filled with tears and perhaps it had reached the GOD
even!
YES. This happened in Hyderabad, recently !
The sport was conducted by National Institute of Mental Health. All
these special girls had come to participate in this event and they
are spastic children.
Yes, they were mentally retarded.What did they teach this world?
Teamwork?
Humanity?
Equality among all? . . . . . . . . ????

Successful people help others who are slow in learning so that they are not felt far behind

Well, these are normal people living in an abnormal world!!!!

Value

A well-known speaker started off his seminar by holding up a Rupee 500
note.

In the room of 200, he asked, "Who would like this Rupee 500 note?"

Hands started going up. He said, "I am going to give this note to one of
you

but first let me do this." He proceeded to crumple the note up.

He then asked, "Who still wants it?"

Still the hands were up in the air.

"Well," he replied, "What if I do this?" And he dropped it on the ground
and
started to grind it into the floor with his shoe. He picked it up, now all

crumpled and dirty. "Now who still wants it?"
Still the hands went into the air.

"My friends, you have all learned a very valuable lesson.
No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not
decrease in value. It was still worth Rupee 500/-.

Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the
dirt
by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way. We feel
as
though we are worthless.
But no matter what has happened or what will happen, you will never lose
your value.

You are special. Don't ever forget it! Never let yesterday's
disappointments overshadow tomorrow's dreams.

" VALUE HAS A VALUE ONLY IF ITS VALUE IS VALUED "



Every moment, every situation, every issue and every concern has a positive side……. Find it and bring it to life.

A must read story

My wife called, 'How long will you be with that newspaper? Will you come here and make your darling daughter eat her food?' I tossed the paper away and rushed to the scene. My only daughter Sindu looked frightened.

Tears were welling up in her eyes. In front of her was a bowl filled to its brim with Curd Rice. Sindu is a nice child, quite intelligent for her age. She has just turned eight. She particularly detested Curd Rice. My mother and my wife are orthodox, and believe firmly in the 'cooling effects' of Curd Rice! I cleared my throat, and picked up the bowl. 'Sindu, darling, why don't you take a few mouthful of this Curd Rice? Just for ! Dad's sake, dear.

Sindu softened a bit, and wiped her tears with the back of her hands. 'OK, Dad. I will eat - not just a few mouthfuls, but the whole lot of this. But, you should...' Sindu hesitated. 'Dad, if I eat this entire curd Rice, will you give me whatever I ask for?'...........Oh sure,darling'....'Promise?'................. 'Promise'. I covered the pink soft hand extended by my daughter with mine, and clinched the deal.

'Ask Mom also to give a similar promise', my daughter insisted. My wife put her hand on Sindu's, muttering 'Promise'. Now I became a bit anxious. 'Sindu dear, you shouldn't insist on getting
a computer or any such expensive items. Dad does not have that kind of money right now. OK?'

'No, Dad I do not want anything expensive'. Slowly and painfully, she finished eating the whole quantity.

I was silently angry with my wife and my mother for forcing my child eat something that she detested. After the ordeal was through, Sindu came to me with her eyes wide with expectation. All our attention was on her.............'Dad, I want to have my head shaved off, this Sunday!'
was her demand.

'Atrocious!' shouted my wife, 'A girl child having her head shaved off? Impossible!' 'Never in our family!' my mother rasped.' She has been watching too much of television. Our culture is getting totally spoiled with these TV programs!'

Sindu darling, why don't you ask for something else? We will be sad seeing you with a clean-shaven head.'

'No, Dad I do not want anything else', Sindu said with finality.

'Please, Sindu, why don't you try to understand our feelings?' I tried to plead with her.

'Dad, you saw how difficult it was for me to eat that Curd Rice'. Sindu was in tears. 'And you promised to grant me whatever I ask for. Now, you are going back on your words. Was it not you who told me the story of King Harishchandra and its moral that we should honor our promises no matter what?'

It was time for me to call the shots. 'Our promise must be kept.'

'Are you out of your mind?' chorused my mother and wife.

'No. If we go back on our promises, she will never learn to honor her own. Sindu, your wish will be fulfilled.' With her head clean-shaven, Sindu had a round-face, and her eyes looked big and beautiful.

On Monday morning, I dropped her at her school. It was a sight to watch my hairless Sindu walking towards her classroom. She turned around and waved.
I waved back with a smile. Just then, a boy alighted from a car, and shouted, 'Sinduja, please wait for me!'

What struck me was the hairless head of that boy. 'May be, that is the in-stuff', I thought.

'Sir, your daughter Sinduja is great indeed!' Without introducing herself, a lady got out of the car, and continued,' That boy who is walking along with your daughter is my son Harish. He is suffering from... ... leukemia.'
She paused to muffle her sobs. Harish could not attend the school for the whole of the last month. He lost all his hair due to the side effects of the chemotherapy. He refused to come back to school fearing the unintentional but cruel teasing of the schoolmates.' Sinduja visited him last week, and promised him that she will take care of the teasing issue.
But, I never imagined she would sacrifice her lovely hair for the sake of my son! Sir, you and your wife are blessed to have such a noble soul as your daughter.'

I stood transfixed. And then, I wept. 'My little Angel, you are teaching me how self-less real love is!'

*The happiest people on this planet are not those who live on their own terms but are those who change their terms for the ones! whom they love..*

Love Touch And Inspire others

"Life is short, the vanities of world are transient but they alone live who live for others; the rest are more dead than alive."

An Extraordinary Life

You can lead either of two kinds of lives: An ordinary life or an extraordinary life. When you lead an ordinary life, you move along with the current of your desires, preoccupied in fulfilling your own goals, aims and agendas. Ordinary beings are only conscious of their own life. Extraordinary beings are conscious of their life and are also constantly aware of Divinity. They are confident that God’s Grace will resolve all their problems. They know that whatever life brings is ultimately for the best.
Those who lead an extraordinary life enjoy every minute of it. To them, every moment is precious. Even ordinary circumstances elicit a different response from them. If you believe that you are extraordinary, then you start looking at the world differently. When you think that you are born special, you will lead a special life. Constant hope makes our life extraordinary. Without this, life is drab and ordinary. If we look at life as a problem, it becomes ordinary but if we look at it as an opportunity, it becomes extraordinary.
This bowl beside me is full of fragrant roses. If i pick up a single rose and look at it, it is really beautiful. There is no need for any comparison. Like all the other roses here, it is unique. If we have the habit of comparing ourselves with others, our self-confidence sometimes soars and sometimes crashes. A truly extraordinary life is never based on comparison. It is the result of constant blossoming within. Human life is a rare privilege. Why waste a single minute of this precious gift or lose a single opportunity to make it extraordinary?
If we cultivate the art of savouring every moment of life even when it brings unexpected challenges to us, our life becomes extraordinary. When there is interest, we feel exuberant and joyful. When there is no interest, life is mechanical and ordinary.
If we are travelling and our vehicle breaks down in the countryside, do we take the opportunity to revel in the natural beauty around us? Or do we fret, fume and grumble? When we perceive the best in everything, life becomes extraordinary and memorable. When we live life like this, a special feeling arises in us. Our life is full of zest and joy. We can never completely control what happens in the external world around us, but our internal world is in our hands. We can allow it to be ugly or choose to make it beautiful.
When we enjoy every moment and every circumstance that comes our way, one negative element that flavours each day of our present existence disappears. This element is TENSION. Stress, tension, boredom, depression, impatience and frustration become things of the past. These emotions which were slowly draining away the energy of the Soul disappear. When we enjoy every moment of life, it is always full of wonder and never grows stale.
Each and every situation that comes our way is not custom-made to fit our present frame of mind. If every circumstance were to our liking, internal growth and transformation would never take place; our life would become stagnant and sub-human. So it is our own perception that decides whether our life remains ordinary or becomes extraordinary. Life will always pose challenges; it is up to us to make it joyous. Flow like a river, revelling in every moment of life.
Discourse: Shri Nimishananda
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