Sunrays (Page 9)

If You Honour Your Mother, The Mother Of The Universe Will Guard You Against Harm!

Bhishma was a mighty warrior; he was famous for the grandeur and glory that he won, through both detachment and Divine Grace. In the vicinity of his Kingdom, Bhishma once had to encounter a person called Gadadhara. This man had undergone severe austerity and received from God as a reward

Draupadi’s Saree

The epic Mahabharata has myriad incidents in it that provide us with food for thought. The game of dice was being played between the Kauravas and the Pandavas. One by one, Yudhistara, the eldest Pandava, lost everything that he put at stake in the game of dice. He lost even

Weakness Or Strength?

This is the story of a 10-year-old boy who decided to study Judo despite the fact that he had lost his left arm in a devastating car accident. The boy began lessons with an old Japanese Judo master. The boy was doing well, so he couldn’t understand why, after

Kalpagiri’S Life Sentence-A True Story

Kalpagiri committed cold blooded murder but managed to escape the police of the area. Like a slimy snake he slithered silently to the Himalayas and donned the flame coloured robes of a monk. He hopped from one Dharamsala to another, trying to drown his guilt pangs in the din of

Good Business

There was a poor brother and sister who had lost their parents at a very young age. They used to live with their maternal uncle, who also was quite poor. Their aunt made them work more and eat less, they wore tattered clothes of their elder siblings. Now, the seaside

The Biggest Lesson

Chandragupta’s Chief Minister Chanakya was a very wise and well-read man. Once an envoy came from China to discuss the philosophy of politics with him. The Chinese envoy had a royal lifestyle and was also arrogant. He requested Chanakya for an appointment and was told to go to his

Concentration

Tarun was always unhappy, because he was fed up with his studies. His favourite pass time was day dreaming. He would sit on his study desk, with his books open in front of him, but his mind would wander from friends, to foes, to food, to films, to games, to

Your Legacy

There was a philosophy professor who was the quintessential eccentric philosopher. His disheveled appearance was highlighted by a well-worn tweed sports coat and ill-fitting glasses, which often rested on the tip of his nose. Every now and then, as most Philosophy Professor do, he would go off on one of

Devotion To One's Motherland Is As Important As Devotion To God

In the Tretha Yuga, after the destruction of Ravana; Rama, Lakshmana and Sitha were getting ready to leave Lanka for Ayodhya. At that time, Lakshmana spoke to Rama, “If we return to Ayodhya, I doubt, we will get back our kingdom. Kaikeyi might have installed Bharat on the throne. We

A Date With God!

The well-being of his people was all a king thought about and strove for. Work is worship and Duty is God; so it’s no mean conclusion that God was immensely pleased with him. When he was deeply engrossed in prayer, the Lord incarnated and blessed the King. The Lord

Proof Of God

Newton had a friend who was an atheist scientist, and one day he paid a visit when Newton had just finished making his solar system machine. The man saw the machine and started cranking the handle of the machine, and the planets went round. He asked, “Who made this?” Newton

Another Long Program

A merchant had a hundred and fifty camels to carry his things, and forty servants who did as he ordered. One evening, he invited a friend (Saadi) to join him. The whole night, he couldn’t get any rest and talked constantly about his problems, troubles, and the rat race

The Value Of A Pearl

In a garden a rooster saw an iridescent pearl hidden on the ground. He greedily pounced on it, dug it out and tried to force it down his gullet. When he noticed that the shiny object was not the queen of the grains of rice, he spit the pearl out.

Solomon And The Garlands

Once the Queen of Sheba, attracted by King Solomon’s fame, paid a visit to his court. She wished to see the splendours of his court. She had heard that the king’s speech was full of learning and wisdom and that he used to teach valuable lessons through proverbs.

Faith And Trust

It is reported about one great mystic, Milarepa. When he went to his master in Tibet he was so humble, so pure, so authentic, that other disciples became jealous of him. It was certain that he would be the successor. And of course there was politics, so they tried to

The Power Of Faith

A milk-maid used to supply milk to a brahmana priest living on the other side of a river. Owing to irregularities of the boat service, she could not supply him milk punctually every day. Once, being rebuked for her going late, the poor woman said, “What can I do? I

A Step At A Time

A pilgrim wanted to climb a mountain. He started his journey and it was night by the time he reached a village at the base of the mountain. An old wise man of the village lent him a lantern so that he could proceed onwards without delay. The pilgrim exclaimed,

Taste Of The Candy

There was an old man who was admitted in a hospital. A young man was visits him every day, and sits with him for more than one hour. He helps him eat his food, and to take his shower. Then he takes him walking in the garden of the hospital.

Smart Move!

Grandfather had just died a few days back. The grandchildren were to be given the family jewels. Each one’s share was ear marked to perfection. One of the grandsons was handed over a pouch of twenty green emeralds that was assigned to his name. The man took the emeralds

Shiva’s Presence

Raghu was an ardent devotee of Lord Shiva. He along with his family worshiped an idol of Lord Shiva. His dearest wish was to have darshan (divine vision) of the Lord. After many years of ritualistic prayer, one day Raghu was very annoyed and said, “Oh Shiva! For years, we

The Guru From India!

A famous guru lived in India. He managed to gather a good number of followers, and spread his wisdom generously. When he reached middle age, he contracted malaria, but religiously continued to fulfill his ritual: bathing in the morning, giving classes at mid-day, and praying in the temple during the

The Apple Tree

A long time ago, there was a huge apple tree. A little boy loved to come and play around it everyday. He climbed to the tree top, ate the apples, took a nap under the shadow… He loved the tree and the tree loved to play with him. Time went

A Father’s Blessing

This story was published in a newspaper in Hindi. It is a true story. A dying man said to his son Dhanpal, “I do not have any property or wealth to give you as inheritance. I have worked, all my life, with honesty, devotion and accountability. The only thing I

The Shirt Of A Happy Man

A caliph lay deathly ill on his silk cushions. The hakims, the physicians of his country, stood around him and agreed that only one thing could bring the caliph healing and salvation. That was to place under his head the shirt of a happy man. Messengers swarmed out looking in

Become A Lake

Once a young apprentice, not so happy about the things around, goes to his master to express his bitterness that was developed by discomfort & unpleasant experiences. The master instructed the unhappy young man to put a handful of salt in a glass of water and then to drink it.

God’S Phone Call

It was 9 p.m. when the priest of a temple decided to call up his wife to inform her that due to some temple accounts that he was trying to sort out, he would be coming home much later. He dialed home, but after many rings he had to

Keeper Of The Spring

This is the story of the “Keeper of the Spring,” a quiet forest dweller who lived high above an Austrian village along the eastern slope of the Alps. The old gentleman had been hired many years earlier by a young town councilman to clear away the debris from the pools

THE DART GAME

A group of students aged about 10 years was attending a class in moral education. The teacher was perturbed, because she had noticed that some of them were using offensive language and abusing each other. She explained to them that God resides in each one of us and if we

Value Of A Head

Ashoka was a great Emperor of India. He was an enlightened and noble king. One day he was walking in a garden outside the palace with his minister. They came across an ascetic who was sitting under a tree and reciting the name of God. The Emperor took off his

BLISTERING BARNACLES

Saloni had just bought her six year old son Sakal a comic book of the famous ‘Tintin’. The boy was an avid reader and enjoyed reading books. Later in the evening, Saloni and her son were walking along the harbour, where-in a number of ships were anchored. Sakal said, “Mama,

God's Signals!

A soul was waiting for its audience in the court of God. It had left its body a few hours ago. When it was presented before God, there was a dialogue between them. God: Did you ever remember me, while you were on the Earth! Did you ever think that

Happy Birthday!

Vaibhav had lost his mother when he was just five. It was his 10th birthday next week. Papa asked him, what he would like to have as a birthday gift. Vaibhav said, “Papa how much do you earn in a day?” Papa looked surprised and asked, “Why do you ask,

The Frog Race!

A group of frogs decided to have a race, up to the top of a steep and high mountain. They all set off enthusiastically, each trying to outdo the rest. The face of the mountain was steep and slippery. Soon the frogs became tired. Their pace became slower and slower.

Pure Food!

There was a Brahmana who was always glad to feed any Sadhu who knocked at his door. His wife always cooked extra food, lest any passing monk come by their way. One day the wife was indisposed and a Sadhu knocked and asked for food. The Brahamin did not want

Guru Mantra!

Ramanuja was the favourite disciple of his Guru. When he was to finish his training, the Guru said to him, “Ramanuja, you are my best student. Listen to me; I shall reveal to you a mantra. If you recite it everyday, religiously; you shall go to heaven. But if you

The Jungle!

A king once got separated from his kinsmen while chasing a deer. He wandered alone in the forest. As dusk fell, he knocked at the door of a tiny cottage in the jungle. It was opened by a poor woodcutter who gave the ‘stranger’ a warm welcome. He offered him

Precious Stones

A man had been working all day and was tired. To reach home he had to cross a small river. There was no ferry available so he sat down on the sand to wait for one. The sun had set and the moon was playing hide and seek with the

A Birth Day Party!

It was Devki’s eighth birthday. Her mother had informed the orphanage in the city that she and her daughter would be visiting at 5 p.m. in the evening to distribute goodies to all the forty children there. Devki and her mother walked into the children’s playroom with

The Visiting Angels!

This is the story of two angels who after having travelled all day needed a place to rest for the night. They knocked upon the door of a couple and asked for shelter for the night. The ill tempered lady said, “Let them sleep in the basement down below. I

Our Baby Has Gone !

A couple had been married for ten years, but they had no child. Then one day, the wife was overjoyed to know that soon she would be a mother. The couple shared the joy of the baby growing in her tummy all through the nine months. The beautiful baby boy

THE CARPENTER

There was a carpenter, who had spent his life in working diligently, for his master. He was very skilled and efficient at his work. His master always praised him, for being a good worker. One day he decided, that he had worked long enough, so he should take retirement; when

All This Will Come To An End

A king once decided to test the intelligence of his ministers. He announced in court that, he had heard of a very special bracelet, that made a happy man sad and a sad man happy, when he looked at it. The king declared a handsome prize to the person who

His Gaze

It was a long weekend, so Abhinav decided to take his wife and children to the hills for a holiday. His blind mother was to stay back alone in the house. She was quite used to looking after herself. So she did not mind being on her own. It was

GUIDANCE

Actually, this is not really a story. This is a beautiful interpretation of the word ‘guidance’, which I happened to come across. It is very aptly said that beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder. So too, reading between the lines or between the alphabets, as in this case

THE GREEDY NEIGHBOUR

A poor family had gone without food for several days. They were starving, but their devotion to God was unsurpassed. They prayed to God, to show mercy. It so happened that an Angel passed by just then and heard their prayer. He appeared before them and gave them a box.

The Greatest Daddy

Little Sonaal who was only five years old was praying before going to sleep. Mummy had taught him to say a prayer at bedtime, thanking the Lord for all he had given to him and also for begging forgiveness for all the wrongs committed during the day. As Daddy watched

The four wives

A king had four wives. He loved the fourth one the most. She was very beautiful and many a king would give anything to have her. He gifted her with the finest of robes and jewellery to wear. He fed her exotic fruits and delicacies prepared by the best chefs.

Become a Master Mind (The Monkey Mind)

Once a lady of the house in a village, wanted to go to the market place. She had a monkey and a donkey as pets. She tied them both in front of her house and went to the market. The monkey as usual became restless and managed to remove the

THE BATTLE WITHIN

One evening an old man was sitting with his little grandson who was having his dinner. The boy said, “Grandpa, you look disturbed today, what is the matter with you.” The old man said, “Son, there is a battle going on in me, so I am feeling uncomfortable.” The little

BATHING IN THE GANGA

It is an ancient practice amongst the Hindus to take a holy bath in the River Ganga after getting a daughter married off or after completing one’s worldly responsibilities. It is said to be a symbolic purification of the physical self in the holy water to wash off the

Hero Or Zero!

Many years ago there was a Gurukul in a forest in India. Bava was the favourite student of his teacher at the Gurukul Class. When he finished his education, he came to take leave of his teacher. The teacher blessed him and gave him a piece of paper on which

The Miracle In The Sky

Founder’s Day was being celebrated in the School. The place was bubbling with activity. Numerous competitions had been organized for the children. There were competitions for singing, dancing, painting, photography etc. Excitement was at its peak. Little Supriya was only seven years old. She was fond of photography. In

Love Song

Karan’s mother was expecting her second baby. She had told Karan about it and he used to lay his ear on his mother’s stomach to listen for ‘baby sounds’. When the baby started kicking, he loved to put his hands on Mama’s tummy and feel the baby

Arjun’s Bridge

Once, before the Mahabharta War, Lord Krishna was walking along the bank of the River Yamuna with Arjuna. Arjuna was thinking, “I am the greatest archer on this earth. I can even build a bridge of arrows across this huge river.” Then he thought, “Even Lord Rama couldn’t build

God Heard You

A Brahmin was delivering a discourse on the importance of reciting prayers in the praise of the Lord. A large number of people were listening. The Brahmin laid stress on the importance of praying, singing and reciting bhajans, talking politely etc. A young man, called Gopa, got up and said

Heaven Or Hell

A man requested God to allow him to have a glimpse of Heaven and that of Hell too. God said, “Alright, my Angel shall show you both through the windows, for no one is allowed to enter either, till he dies.” The man with the special permission stood outside a

Choice Of Words

There once lived a man who had five sons. The eldest son was very fond of having his palm ‘read’ by palmists and astrologers. He would invite astrologers of repute and ask them to predict his future. One day a palmist, ‘read’ the lines of his palm and said, “Oh

The Rose Bud

A young boy wanted to learn music. He had a good voice and he wanted to train to become an Indian classical singer. He visited a renowned music teacher and expressed his desire to him. The teacher conducted a preliminary test on him to gouge his talent and decided to

Looking After The Garden

There was a hermitage where an ascetic lived with some disciples. A nine year old boy was the youngest disciple there. One day the old ascetic told the little boy, “I am going out for a few days. I have given all the boys certain duties to do, while I

The Picture In My Wallet

A ticket collector in a train found an old worn out wallet in a compartment full of many people. He looked inside to find the name of its owner. There was no clue. All that there was in it, was some money and a picture of Krishna. He held it

The Greedy Horse

A king once offered a handsome reward to anyone who could take his greedy horse with him for a day and satisfy it, such that on its return to the palace in the evening, it would not have any desire to eat. One by one people came forward and took

Just Physical Love

Once there was a young couple. They had just got married; in fact it was a love match too. As they were walking down a path one day very soon after the wedding, the husband noticed a thorny bush on the path. With chivalry and love he swung his bride

Moong Sprouts!

Bhagwan Baba always stressed upon the relentless practice of sadhana to discipline the mind and to develop moral and mental strength. He often used to visit the school hostels in his Puttaparthi School. One day he visited the boys’ hostel at lunch time and asked to see what the boys

Celebrating 100 Episodes!!!

The journey is vital! The destination just happens! Well! The making of a hundred videos based on the Sunrays stories has proved the wisdom in this. It has afforded us an opportunity to explore a world that was unexplored and intimidating to say the least but each video has made

A Whisper Or A Brick?

A young and successful executive was driving down a residential area, he was going a bit too fast in his new Jaguar. He was watching for kids darting out from between parked cars and slowed down when he thought, he saw something. As his car passed, no children appeared. Instead,

A 100 Rupees

While going for a walk one evening, a man saw a slip of paper stuck on to a lamp post. For some reason he stopped by to read it. It said, “I have lost a Rs 100 currency note on this road. I am not able to find it. If

Cracked Pots

A water bearer in India had two large pots, one each hung on each end of a pole which he carried across his neck. One of the pots had a crack in it and while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water at the

You Have Come To The Wrong Address!

A Rabbi was delivering his lectures on the Torah, the sacred Hebrew scripture, to a few young Jewish students. One day in the course of their studies, they came across a line which said, “The truly evolved person is only he, who continues to smile in the midst of the

Did you know this about your Parents?

It was Rahul’s eighteenth birthday and a trip to Shimla was the gift he demanded from his parents. The Mother was working as a helper at a ladies salon and earning a small salary. The father was working as a watchman at night and as a tailor in the

The Best Tea

A group of elderly gentlemen were at a tea sampling meet. The choicest varieties of tea were being served in small portions. Most of the teas were of exotic flavours and very expensive. The distinguished looking gentlemen wore designer suits, tuxedos or kurtas. Most of them were platinum blondes. Their

The Sweat Of Your Brow

A young man of about twenty years had put on a lot of weight. He tried many ways to lose it but nothing seemed to work. One day a wise man visited his house. He said, “Son I will give you a powder. Mix it in the sweat of your

Koji-The Pup

Yogika, had a friend who had a female dog that was soon to give birth to puppies. She had persuaded with a lot of difficulty, her father, to let her get one of the pups home. A few days after the litter of puppies was born, an excited Yogika went

Importance Of Documentation

Here is an anecdote shared by someone in a group of friends. Don’t know if it is true, but very thought provoking indeed … Trains are one of the most commonly used means of transport by the public. Aaron was travelling by train to a nearby town. As he opened

Garbage Food!

“Food is God, so don’t waste food. If you have excess food, share it with others.” (BHAGWAN BABA) Taruni was a little girl who was the apple of her parents’ eyes. Over the years, she had become spoilt, because all her wishes and demands were fulfilled, even before she

The Yajna

A king once decided to organize a yajna for eleven days. For that he needed large amounts of milk, rice, sugar, curds, honey, cloth etc. The people of the kingdom were not well-off. They were barely able to make ends meet. But the king announced that everyone would have to

Just Kill All The Oldies!

“Even if the standard of life is poor, it does not matter if the way of life is pure, full of love, humility, fear of sin and reverence towards elders.”-Bhagwan Baba. A young king was facing shortage of food in his kingdom. At the advice of his young ministers,

Blood Pressure

Tanuj had just been told by his doctor that he was suffering from high blood pressure. He had always been very healthy and had no ailments whatsoever, so he was quite upset with the doctor’s verdict. He came to know of a holy man who was reputed to cure

Catch ’Em Young

A boy called Madan was sent to the Sacred Heart Convent, a boarding school at Amritsar, at the tender age of five. For sometime, he was the single boarder in the dormitory. A Christian nun looked after him. Later, four other children joined the boarding school. One day when Madan

The Chocolate

Uncle Shailesh was visiting his sister’s family in India, from Toronto. He had brought a lovely pair of shoes for his nephew, Rishabh. He also gave him a large sized bar of Toblerone chocolate. Rishabh’s mouth watered at the sight of his favourite chocolate and his eyes shone

From A Sapling To A Tree

It was a lovely evening. Raju and his uncle were taking a stroll in a garden near their home. Raju loved nature and was full of curiosity about the variety of plants in the garden. Uncle stopped near a small little plant, only a few inches high, and said, “Raju,

Sand And Stone

Two friends were walking on a beach by the sea. While discussing a point, they had an argument, and one friend slapped the other one in the face. The one who got slapped felt hurt, but without saying anything, he wrote in the sand: “Today my best friend slapped me

Footsteps In The Sand

One night a man had a dream. He dreamed that he was walking along the beach with the LORD. Across the sky flashed scenes from his life. For each scene, he noticed two sets of footprints in the sand : one belonging to him, and the other to the LORD. When

It Wasn’t Your Baby

There were two warring tribes in the Andes, one that lived in the lowlands and the other high in the mountains. The mountain people invaded the lowlanders one day, and as part of their plundering of the people, they kidnapped a baby of one of the lowlander families and took

A Sack Of Potatoes

A teacher once told each of her students to bring a clear plastic bag and a sack of potatoes to school. For every person they refused to forgive in their life’s experience, they chose a potato, wrote on it the name and date, and put it in the plastic

The Choice

A woman came out of her house and saw three old men with long white beards sitting in her front yard. She did not recognize them. She said, “I don’t think I know you, but you must be hungry. Please come in and have something to eat.” “Is the

Verbal Wounds

There once was a little boy who had a bad temper. His Father gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, he must hammer a nail into the back of the fence. The first day the boy had driven 37 nails into

I Love You Anyway

The fear of rejection may be one of the most basic fears in human nature. Here is a heart-warming story of a man who finally decided to ask his boss for a raise in salary. It was Friday. He told his wife that morning what he was about to do,

Are You Alone?

Guruji (term used for teacher in ancient India) had announced that the last exam was to be held today. Each boy was given a small pigeon, with instructions to kill the bird at a time and place where no one was watching. The students set off in different directions, some

Concentrate on what you do

Once, while in the US, Swami Vivekanand was watching some boys standing on a bridge and trying to shoot at eggshells floating on the river. The egg-shells bobbed up and down. The boys could not hit any of them. They fired the gun many times but they always missed the

The Great Navratri Detox

The weather was fast changing. Raina’s mother was taking out the winter clothes that she had put away during the summer season. The change of season in North India always brings a lot of work. The wardrobe and the bed-linen are different as the season changes. As Mother put

7 Stories for Children to read in the lockdown

Stuck at home in the lockdown – it’s hard! Want your children to read something meaningful this lockdown?

7 Must-read Stories for Young Parents before upbringing their children

Some stories to help young parents have a reality check on themselves

Reinventing ancient wisdom

The Corona virus has put the world in the tizzy. What comes to my mind is the wisdom in the ancient Indian way of life. Earlier people would wash their hands and feet before entering the house. Our elders always left their shoes outside the house and came in bare

What can you take along?

From birth onwards we spend a lot a time looking after grooming, preening our bodies. This ‘Kaaya’- the physical self is something that we feel is intrinsically ours. We own it. We take pride in it. We groom it. We nourish it … we feed it etc. If we count

Just Pour It Into The River

A man was having a stress filled day. In modern times, this is quite common place. Everyone has stress related to work, family, finances, relationships etc. Perhaps we expect too much from those around us as well as from ourselves. Perhaps we set our targets too high and they in

Donation

A stock broker was expecting huge losses in his business, because of the stock market conditions. The Market Index was falling by the minute. The man was sweating with tension. Instantaneously he said, “Oh God! If I can come out of this mess without making a loss, I shall donate

King For 5 Years

There was a precedent in a small province, that the king was elected for a period of five years. Thereafter he was sent to the jungle. Once the five years were over, he had to fend for himself. He could take nothing along. No money, food, shelter, clothing, servants; not

Doordarshan interviews the Tandon couple for their activities during COVID times

The day the lockdown was announced, my husband Sanjay Tandon organized 500 bags containing Atta, rice, spices, cooking oil along with onions and potatoes. He delivered them at the doorstep of labourers, daily wagers and others who had no food. The process continues even today, with many more bags being

Corona Se Karuna Tak - A Song about Mother Nature

Over the years there have been repeated reminders from parents, Spiritual Gurus, Governments, counsellors, courts, social workers etc. to save the Earth; to stop polluting the air and water, but no one bothered to listen. Now all that and more, has been achieved by God’s master stroke called Corona.

The Best Gift

A couple had grown old. They were failing health. As usually happens in old age, both had health issues; some serious, others trivial. They still had their share of arguments but they were both dependent on each other’s presence. With God’s grace, they were well off. They were

The Sage's Mouse

There once was a sage who had a pet mouse. It used to play around while the sage did his daily routine of prayers, meditation etc. The sage was very fond of the mouse and would feed it with grains etc. One day the sage noticed that the mouse was

Row, Row, Row Your Boat

Chaubeyji wanted to cross the river one dark and windy night. He had come to the other side of the river to meet someone this morning. The day had just passed loitering around the festive bazaars and chit-chatting with old friends. In the company of his friends he had a

The King's Shoe

A king was once roaming the streets of the city as part of an annual religious procession. He saw that some people looked happy while others looked tense and forlorn. The king walked on and an attendant walked behind him holding a large umbrella over his head to shield him

Dividing The Roti Again

There is an old folktale about two cats that found a roti and asked a monkey to help them divide it into two equal halves. (See Sunrays for Wednesday). In that story, while trying to equalise the two portions of the roti, the monkey kept taking little bites from each

Moksha

This story from the life of Sage Agastya was told by Bhagwan Baba, during a discourse. There was a farmer who was very pious and virtuous. He worked very hard all day to earn so that he could feed his family. Life was hard for him but he always discharged

Daanveer Karan

Krishna’s favourite disciple Arjuna was pestering Him to tell him why Karan was said to be most charitable of them all. Krishna pointed towards two mountains and they turned into gold. He said, “Arjuna, I give these to you. You in turn must donate them to the villagers in

Ground Allottment

There was a large open ground in the middle of a town. The land belonged to the government. Because of paucity of funds, it was not being looked after and had become a dumping ground for garbage and refuse. Wild grasses were growing there. It was infested with snakes, rats,

Travel Partners

Three friends were on a business trip. After days of travel they are tired. On the last night of their travel, they realised that they had only one chapatti left amongst the three of them. They could not make up their minds how to divide it or who should have

जिंदगी के अनुभव शेयर कर रहे हैं अपने ऑनलाइन कहानियों से

राइटर संजय टंडन और उनकी वाइफ प्रिया टंडन अपनी कहानियों को इंस्पिरेशन ल वीडियो से शेयर करते रहे हैं यह कहानियां सनरेज सीरीज पर लिखी उनकी सात

A Very Good Maid

Down memory lane I remember an auntie who would often walk into our home (my parental home), at odd hours of the day. Her husband was in the merchant navy, so she was usually by herself. Her twin boys, then of the age of eight or nine were a naughty

Making best of Lockdown ( Sanjay Tandon with his blogger wife Priya )

POLITICIAN Sanjay Tandon of Chandigarh developed his reach across party lines with video narrations of his series “Sunrays Story”.since March 22, Tandon along with his blogger wife Priya narrated stories based on the seven books they wrote.Tandon led BJP’s chapter in Chandigarh for 10 years, but his

A story a day, keeps stress away

Chandigarh BJP leader Sanjay Tandon and his wife Priya have been doing daily digital story telling sessions on tales of spirituality, morals and Indian culture , and much more. Every day they narrate one story from their co-authored story compilation series ‘Sunrays’. The idea is to keep people engaged and give

Stuck In The Muck!

Laxmit was verily a typical family man. His life revolved around his home and office. Like clockwork he would attend office from 9 am to 5 pm. He would come straight home and spend time with his parents, wife and children. Such was his routine for years and years. The

Punishment For Birbal

There are numerous tales where Birbal was consulted for helping the Emperor Akbar to decide difficult cases so that justice could be done. Birbal was considered to be the wisest man in the kingdom. Due to this he earned the respect of many and the jealousy of some too. Once,

Drunken Businessman

A very rich business tycoon had a whole lot of people working in his industry. He had a small township where all his employees used to live. The businessman was a very upright man with a high moral character. He was usually very respectful towards all, especially women. Once night

LIFE DURING LOCKDOWN : Tandons go digital,spread positiveity through storytelling Facebook

When everyone seems to be in the gripof fear, anxiety and pressimism, former city BJP chief Sanjay Tandon and his wife Priya Tandon have revived their popular Sunrays books to a digital avatar. Seven books with inspiring stories had been keeping the couple busy for the past last 15 years.

The Winning Toss

A group of children were representing the school in a festival of music. Group entries in various categories had been invited and many teams from four states were participating. One of the teams was being led by its music teacher called Zubini. She knew that the team was very talented

Over 300 units of blood collected

AS MANY as 341 units of blood were collected in the 17th blood donation camp organised by competent Foundation here today in association with DAV Collage at Sector 10. Punjab Governor cum UT Administrator VP Singh Badnore was the chief guest. He stressed on the importance of blood donation as

Dog-Poop

The Chief Minister was expected to arrive any minute for a large program where hundreds of people had gathered. There was an oil lamp in place at the corner of the stage, for the ceremony of ‘lighting of the lamp’. Some incense sticks had been lit to create a sweet

फेसबुक पर प्रेरणादायक कहानियां डालकर टंडन दंपति लोगों क?

चंडीगढ़:-लॉकडाउन के दौरान संजय टंडन दंपति द्वारा 26 मार्च 2020 से रोजाना एक कहानी का वीडियो बनाकर सोशल मीडिया पर प्रचलित किया जाता

टंडन दंपत्ति प्रेरणादाई कहानियां लोगों में जगा रहे हैं स

चंडीगढ़ (राकेश) : लॉकडाउन के इन इस समय के दौरान संजय टंडन दंपति द्वारा 26 मार्च से रोजाना एक कहानी का वीडियो बनाकर सोशल मीडिया पर प्

टंडन समिति द्वारा पोस्ट की जा रही कहानियों को मिल रही सरा?

चंडीगढ़, 4 अप्रैल (राय): पूर्व भाजपा अध्यक्ष संजय टंडन समिति द्वारा 26 मार्च 2020 से रोजाना एक कहानी का वीडियो बनाकर सोशल मीडिया पर

अपने आसपास जीवन में सकारात्मकता फैलाएं: टंडन

चंडीगढ़:-भाजपा नेता संजय टंडन और उनकी पत्नी प्रिया टंडन ने 7 किताबों का सह-लेखन किया है इनमें 52 प्रेरणादायक लघु कथाएं हैं इनके नाम है सनरेज फॉर

जन जागृति का काम कर रही प्रेरणादाई कहानियां : टंडन

चंडीगढ़:- भाजपा चंडीगढ़ के पूर्व अध्यक्ष संजय टंडन ने अपनी पत्नी प्रिया के साथ में निकल सरीज सीरीज में 7 किताबें लिखी हैं जिनमें 52 प्

टंडन दंपति की प्रेरणादायक कहानियां लोगों में जगा रहे हैं

चंडीगढ़: लॉकडाउन के इस समय के दौरान संजय टंडन दंपति द्वारा 26 मार्च से रोजाना एक कहानी का वीडियो बनाकर सोशल मीडिया पर प्रचलित किया

Free To Do As I Please

There is a fable about the Emperor of China sending his people, to invite a sage who lived in the Himalayas, to become the Prime Minister of China. When the messengers reached there after a long journey, the sage was taking a dip in the river that ran by his

टंडन दंपति वीडियो के माध्यम से पब्लिक के संपर्क में

चंडीगढ़- 28 मार्च (अमित): यूपीसीए के प्रधान संजय टंडन और उनकी पत्नी प्रिया ने 7 किताबों का शहर लेखन किया है जिनमें 52 प्रेरणादायक लघु

Be Like The Cow

A man had five children. They often asked him to give them a share of his huge property. But the old man said, “Nothing doing. I will write a Will. You will get everything after I die. Do you think I will take anything with me? Everyone knows that no

Stop This Hue And Cry

We have all heard about the Bhagvad Purana being told to King Parikshit in the seven days preceding his foretold time of death by snake bite. It is said that even after the sixth day of listening to Shukadeva’s discourse, Parikshit was still scared of death and attached to

A Divine Slumber

The operation was soon to begin. Sanjay had been given a mild sedative before being wheeled into the operation theatre. He was made to lie down on the operation table; his arms stretched on either side on a cross. Huge overhead discs of lights were focussed on him. The anaesthetist

Karma And Bhagya!

The bank manager was quite a gossip monger. He had tales to tell about everyone in the neighbourhood. One day as Bhagyashree was waiting for her turn to operate her bank locker, she started flicking through the pages of a newspaper on the table. An article called ‘Karmyogi’ caught her

The Best Kind Of Devotee!

Our scriptures have innumerable little stories and anecdotes in them that are interesting and they make very good reading too. This is one where the Lord tells us who a good devotee is. We found this to be beautiful, so thought of sharing! Reading such material surely inspires us to

प्रेरणादायक कहानियों से समाज को संदेश देने का प्रयास! सं?

चंडीगढ़ में शुक्रवार को संजय टंडन और प्रिया टंडन की पुस्तक का अन्य के साथ विमोचन करते कैप्टन अभिमन्यु राजनीति में व्यवस्था के बावजूद

Do You Know How To Swim?

A man was holidaying in a tourist beach resort, at the banks of the sea in a small township in India. One day he asked a local boatman if he would take him for a joy ride into the sea. The sea was calm and the little boat moved smoothly

Brats And Birds

An old man had five married sons. His wife had died. All of them lived together in the same house. Theirs was a large house. There were many grandchildren, of all ages in the house. All day long the house was abuzz with activity. The day would start with the

Sleeping On The Seashore!

Walking along the seaside on the sandy beach, a saint was enjoying the cool mist laden breeze, as it played with his open hair and flowing beard. He was waiting for the sun to rise, for watching the sun emerge like a fireball out of the shining sea was always

Ashoka'S Birthday

Indian history tells of many iconic kings. Emperor Ashoka, was one such king. Every year on his birthday his subordinate kings would assemble and give gifts at his court and he would give gifts to them in return. This time on his birthday, all the kings had assembled in the

न पीड़ा न लाभ

विनम्रता और आज्ञा पालन एक सच्चे भक्तों के गुण हैं ।ईश्वर के सेवक बनो, महसूस करो कि आप उसके हाथों में एक यनत्रक है ।उसे स्वयं को आकार देने दो और जैसा वह बे

Grapes Turned Sour

One evening a man was on his way home. He stopped by to buy fruit from a way side fruit seller. He picked up a bunch of grapes and asked the price. The boy said, “Eighty rupees a kg.” Next to the grape bunches, were lying a small heap of

The Old Vest!

An old man spent his life in doing good deeds, helping people, serving the needy, praying and performing all activities that would qualify for a God loving man. He lived simply and was quite unattached to worldly things. His only attachment was to God. He knew that he would soon

मम्मी, मैं तुम्हें बहुत प्यार करती हूं "यदि आप अपनी मां का ?

हमें अपने पाठकों के लिए इस साप्ताहिक कॉलम के तहत जिंदगी को जीने का एक अलग अंदाज सिखाने वाली प्रेरक कहानियों की श्रृंखला शुरू की है। इसके तहत हम

Because Of Sandalwood

A king and a rich merchant were very good friends. For a long time, the merchant who dealt in Sandalwood was not doing well. The wood being so costly had hardly any takers so business was slow. There was hardly any earning. One day he noticed that there was termite

Respect For Each Other

A king and a queen were having dinner when a male ant picked up a grain of food from the queens plate and put it into the king’s plate. The she-ant rebuked the he-ant saying that taking anything from a woman’s share to give to the man was

Intoxicating Water

The Mayor of the city had gone out for a trip. In his absence a wicked man mixed something in the water reservoir such that all the water that was being supplied to all the houses was laced with a drug that caused people to behave like lunatics. In a

Too Much Sugar In The Milk

There once was a miser who prayed to Lord Krishna and said that he wanted to perform worship and rituals for the Lord, but he didn’t want to spend any money doing this. Krishna told him that he didn’t want anything anyways! He could simply start doing mental

Bhoori And Meeni!

Our father Justice M.M. Punchhi, would often tell us stories about his childhood of which he had very vivid memories. He loved cows and always kept some, so we got cow’s milk all through our growing years. He once told us of a particular pair of cows, in

Paper Planes

College had just begun after the summer break. New admissions had taken place in the first year of the five year integrated law degree course. The fresher’s were in class for the first time. Some were serious kids, other naughty; while some were just tired or bored. A young

The Watermelons Of Parra

Manohar was a young boy who lived in the Parra village in Goa that is famous for its watermelons. Every year at the end of the harvest season in the last week of May, the farmers would contribute some water melons and organize a water melon eating contest for the

Prahlad'S Lineage

It is usually said that good souls are born into families with sacred thoughts. And evil souls are attracted to and hence born in homes where piety and love for God are missing. Paradoxically Prahlad was born to Hrinakshyapu. Ever wondered why? It is said that Hrinyakshyapu was so obsessed

A Pinch Of Ash

This story was narrated by Sh. M. L. Khattar, The Chief Minister of Haryana, who presided over the book launch ceremony of our sixth book, ‘Sunrays for Friday’. During his address he narrated this story and suggested that it be considered as a seed for the next book. Resultantly, here

सामूहिक नकल

शिक्षक को ज्ञान इंद्रियों पर नियंत्रण पाने के लिए साधना करनी चाहिए एवं मन वचन और कर्म में सामंजस्य स्थापित करना चाहिए।’हमें अपने पाठको

Provocation Falls On Deaf Ears

Once an ochre-robed person was going in a bazaar. School boys and college students followed him, talking flippantly about him. He took no notice of them. He was proceeding from one village to another. The students indulged in all kinds of abusive language with a view to provoking the mendicant.

सनरेज सैटरडे किताब का मकसद हर दिन एक अच्छे काम की प्रेरणा

शुक्रवार शाम को संजय टंडन और प्रिया टंडन के साथ हुई किताब सनरेज सैटरडे का विमोचन ला भवन सेक्टर -37 में हुआ। 7 किताब 364 कहानिया

भाजपा अध्यक्ष व उनकी पत्नी की पुस्तक के सातवें संस्करण क?

चंडीगढ़ 15 फरवरी (पाल ):भाजपा अध्यक्ष संजय टंडन व उनकी पत्नी प्रिया टंडन द्वारा लिखी गई पुस्तक सनरेज फार सैटरडे के 7 वें संस्करण का विमोचन

गुरु के चरणों में....

हरिद्वार स्थित गायत्री परिवार के मुख्य डॉ प्रणव पंड्या शुक्रवार को चंडीगढ़ प्रदेश भाजपा अध्यक्ष संजय टंडन और उनकी पत्नी प्रिया

A story a day

A series of anthologies of short stories , which Priya Tandon and her husband Sanjay Tandon started with Sunrays for Sunday, has reached its logical conclusion with the launch of their latest book , Sunrays for Saturday .

Tandon launches book on inspirational stories

Making the seventh edition of “Sunrays” series BJP President from chandigarh Sanjay Tandon launched his book “Sunrays for the Saturday’here on Friday .The book on inspirational short stories has been penned by Tandon and his wife Priya Tandon and his wife Priya Tandon . To mark the occasion, captain Abhimanyu,

Collection of inspirational stories by UT BJP chief , wife released

Priya Tandon , her husband and BJP chandigarh unit president Sanjay Tandon ; All World Gayatri Pariwar chairman Pranav Pandya , Haryana finance minister captain Abhimanyu and social activist Rk Saboo nduring the book launch at Law Auditorium in sector 37 , Chandigarh.

संजय टंडन की पुस्तक" सनरेज फार सैटरडे "का विमोचन

सेक्टर-37 स्थित ला भवन ऑडिटोरियम में किया गया कार्यक्रम ।पुस्तक का विमोचन डॉ प्रणव पांडेय व कैप्टन अभिमन्यु ने किया भाजपा प्रदेश अध्यक्

Competent Foundation Holds Blood Donation Camp

CHANDIGARH AS many as 341 units of blood were collected in the 17th blood donation camp organised by Competent Foundation here on Tuesday in association with the DAV Collage. The Governor of Punjab and Administratior of UT, chadigarh V.P. Singh Badnore , was the cheif guest. Speaking on the occassion

शहीदों की याद में रखा मौन

हमें एक चार्ट अकाउंटेंट एवं राजनेता और दूसरी एडवोकेट दोनों के संगम से बना एक ऐसा चार्ट जो फैल रहा है दुनिया में सकारात्मक ऊर्जा यहां बात हो

Gold Versus Goldsmith

A goldsmith was once melting gold. He used to do it almost every day, but today he was in a thoughtful mood and he started talking to the Gold. This is how the dialogue unfolded: Goldsmith: Ah! You think you are very valuable, so you have become very high headed.

The Value Of Divine Company

It is said that once Garuda the arch enemy of snakes went to Mount Kailas, the abode of Lord Shiva. He saw the snakes that Shiva wore round His neck, feet, arms and waist and even in His hair. The snakes hissed and puffed their hoods at the celestial bird.

Take Care Of Your Sense Organs

A teacher was discussing the sense organs of the human body with a class of ten year olds. She told them that man possesses five sense organs namely, the eyes, the ears, the nose, the tongue and the skin. These organs are also called the organs of perception. She told

Wisdom & Wealth

One day Wisdom and Wealth had a verbal duel about who was more important. Wealth professed that without it, there would be no food to eat, no clothes to wear, no books to read and learn by and thus wisdom wouldn’t come by anyways! Wisdom said that without it,

A Poor Woman's Offering

One day Jesus was sitting in the temple. The box where people offered money was nearby. Jesus was watching the people putting in their money. Many rich men put in a lot of money. Then a poor woman came in. She dropped two little coins into a box. Jesus called

The Poorest Man

A king once marched his armies across a snowy region to attack and conquer another kingdom. En route he saw a hermit who sat in meditation. He sat cross legged with his eyes closed and motionless. What intrigued the king most was that the hermit was naked. It was Thursday

A Grassy Talk

The rains were long long overdue. With each passing day, the heat was becoming more and more unbearable. The ground was beginning to crack as the crops dried up and the grasses turned a dying yellow. A little bird sat on the grass, hungry and thirsty. She pecked at the

Becoming A Good Boss

The Boss was retiring. Everyone had tears in their eyes on the day of his farewell. One of the employees said, “Sir, there is one thing we want to learn from you. You worked here for so many years. Leave aside about scolding your subordinates, we have never seen you

Pebbles And The "Ping!" Sound

A young man wanted to cross a river. It was not yet morning, it was pitch dark. So he thought he would sit and wait for sunrise. As he was walking he tripped over something. He picked it up and saw that it was a bag with some stones in

Go Out And Win Your Own Kingdom

King Philip of Macedonia was very fond of horses. Macedonia was a state in ancient Greece. King Philip had a son called Alexander who was then 14 years old. One day a horse trader from Turkey brought some very fine horses to sell to Philip. There was amongst them a

Anecdotes From The Life Leena Sarabhai

Leena Sarabhai is the sister of Vikram Sarabhai and no less an illustrious person herself, co-founder (along with Madame Maria Montessori herself) of the finest school for children of the age group 2.5 to 5.5 years. It was called Shreyas. Madame Maria Montessori stayed here for a year.

Necessity Becomes A Ritual

Swamiji had a pet cat, which licked food off all the plates and bowls at dinner-time. So the swami told one of his disciples to tie the cat to a tree nearby till dinner was over, so that the cat would not mess with them. A few years passed. The

How To Do It?

A man began to give large doses of cod-liver oil to his dog because he had been told that the stuff was good for dogs. Each day he would hold the head of the protesting dog between his knees, force its jaws open and pour the liquid down its throat.

यह तुम्हारा बच्चा नहीं है :"इस संसार में तुम कोई भी कर्ज चु?

हमने अपने पाठकों के लिए इस साप्ताहिक आलम के तहत जिंदगी को जीने का एक अलग अंदाज सिखाने वाली प्रेरक कहानियों की श्रृंखला शुरू की है इसके तहत में हर

Akbar The Beggar

The Muslim mystic, Farid, was prevailed upon by his neighbours to go to the court in Delhi and obtain a favour from Akbar for the village. Farid walked into the court and found Akbar at his prayers. When the Emperor finally emerged, Farid asked, “What sort of prayer did you

The Sense Of Music

This is a story from the life of Buddha. One afternoon, when he was in meditation, voices drifted across. One musician was in conversation with the other. He told him, “You want to be able to play the ektara don’t you? Then learn to tune your string properly, in

Akbar's Prayer

The Moghul Emperor, Akbar, was one day out hunting in the forest. When it was time for evening prayer he dismounted, spread his mat on the earth and knelt to pray in the manner of devout Muslims everywhere. Now it was precisely at this time that a peasant woman, perturbed

When You Want It As Desperately

There once was an eager student who wanted to gain wisdom and insight. He went to the wisest of the town, Socrates, to seek his counsel. Socrates was an old soul and had great knowledge of many things. The boy asked the town sage how he too could acquire such

Prayer From The Heart

Late one evening a poor farmer on his way back from the market found himself without his prayer book. The wheel of his cart had come off right in the middle of the woods and it distressed him that this day should pass without his having said his prayers. So

Ashoka's Reflection

After the famous Kalinga war, Ashoka’s soldiers were celebrating their victory with a lot of zing. They were beating drums and blowing trumpets. The atmosphere of festivity and joy was all pervading. Ashoka was also enjoying the great victory. He was roaming from place to place congratulating and thanking

The Truthful Thief

To an honourable wise man, there was once brought a young thief who had been caught stealing. But, because of his youth, they didn’t want to punish him as severely as the law required. The wise man was supposed to show the boy the dismal path and the wretched

The Right Price

When King Anoschirwan travelled through the land with his people, he came to a desolate area in the mountains where there weren’t even any pathetic little shepherd huts. The King’s cook lamented, “Noble Sultan! I am here to please your palate. But in our canteen we don’t

दो बहुमूल्य बक्से

”अपने अहंकार को समर्पित करना ही आत्म-अनुभूति का सही … उन दोनों बक्सों को जीवन भर, एक बहुमूल्य खजाने की तरह सँभालकर रखा।

The Subjugation Of A Ghost

A young wife fell sick and was about to die. “I love you so much,” she told her husband, “I do not want to leave you. Do not go from me to any other woman. If you do, I will return as a ghost and cause you endless trouble.” Soon

Right And Wrong

When Bankei held his seclusion weeks of meditation, pupils from many parts of Japan came to attend. During one of these gatherings a pupil was caught stealing. The matter was reported to Bankei with the request that the culprit be expelled. Bankei ignored the case. Later the pupil was caught

Three Commandments For A Sanyasi

Maharaja Gopichand was ruling his state in which he had all the comforts. Guru Gorakhnath came there and was preaching. The Maharaja heard his sermons, was deeply transformed, and decided to take sanyas. He said to his mother, “I want to take sanyas.” His mother being a wise lady, said,

We See Things Not The Way They Are But They Way We Are

There is a legend about a wise man who was sitting outside his village. A traveller came up and asked him, “What kind of people live in this village, because I am looking to move from my present one?” The wise man asked, “What kind of people live where you

What Is Education?

A young officer, who wanted to listen to Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar’s lecture, got down from the train with a suitcase to go to the lecture hall. Vidyasagar also got down from the same train with a suitcase. The young officer was shouting for a cooli. Vidyasagar went to him

Jisko Ram Chhore Usko Kaun Bachaaye

Ram with his brother Lakshman and the monkey-King Sugreeva was preparing for the attack on Lanka. The mighty ocean separated them from Lanka and they were building a bridge on it. Thousands of monkeys were, in an organized fashion, passing boulders and throwing into the ocean. The stones did not

Life Is Like An Echo

A little boy got angry with his mother and shouted at her, “I hate you, I hate you.” Because of fear of reprimand, he ran out of the house. He went up to the valley and shouted, “I hate you, I hate you.” The mother understood and she asked her

Donkey Bargain

Nasrudin had a donkey that he hated. One day he decided to sell the donkey and buy another one. So he went off to the market place with it and asked the auctioneer to sell the donkey. That evening Nasrudin burst into the house with a big smile on his

Let Go Of Your Burdens

Persian mysticism tells of a wanderer who trudged along on a seemingly endless long road. He was logged down with all sorts of burdens. A heavy sack of sand hung on his back, logged water tank was strapped, around his body. In his right hand, he carried an odd shaped

Unusual Marksman

A King was passing through a small town, and he saw indications of amazing marksmanship everywhere. Trees and barns and fences, had circles painted on them with a bullet hole in the exact Centre. He asked to see this unusual marksman. It turned out to be a ten-year old child.

Detachment

The great Buddhist saint Nagarjun moved around begging with a golden begging-bowl gifted to him by the King who was his disciple. One night he was about to lie down to sleep among the ruins of an ancient monastery when he noticed a thief lurking behind one of the columns.

You Always Find Something That Reflects You

The Sunday school teacher asked her class to learn an appropriate phrase from the Bible and recite it as they were putting their pennies in the collection box. On the following Sunday little Lucas came up with, “It is more blessed to give than to receive;” as he dropped his

Not To Be This Or That, Just Be

A woman in a coma was dying. She suddenly had a feeling that she was taken up to heaven and stood before the judgement seat. “Who are you?” a voice said to her. “I’m the wife of the mayor,” she replied. “I did not ask you whose wife you

What Made You Give Me The Stone

A wise man who was travelling in the mountains found a precious stone in a stream. The next day he met another traveller who was hungry and the wiseman opened his bag to share his food. The hungry traveller saw the precious stone and asked the man to give it

Be Soft Like The Tongue And Not Hard Like The Teeth

The Guru was becoming old. When his last days approached, he called his disciples and students and asked – “Please look into my mouth and tell me, how many teeth are remaining?” One by one everyone came and peeped into his mouth. Everyone said – “Your teeth have gone long time ago,

God Is Faithful!

In the country of Armenia, in 1988, Samuel and Danielle sent their young son, Armand, off to school. Samuel squatted before his son and looked him in the eye. “Have a good day at school, and remember, no matter what, I’ll always be there for you.” They hugged and

Can't Hide Bad Intentions

Once upon a time a poor old woman was walking from one village to another, carrying a bundle on her head. Unable to lift it easily, she rested every now and then. A horseman passed by. The old woman requested him to carry the bundle on the horseback till the

Vidya!

“True education means trying to manifest the inner divinity in man. How is this manifestation to be brought about? Students must receive education that illumines every aspect of life – the economic, the political, the moral, the spiritual and the physical, the mental and the social environment of man. It should

Why Today?

Aprangi was on her way to work. Despite it being early morning, she was terribly late for work. The streets were strewn with autumn leaves. There had been a slight drizzle in the night. Some of the drains were water logged and puddles of water were inconveniencing the pedestrians. But

Little Fire Brigade

“Be helpful to others; then your conscience itself will appreciate you and keep you happy and content, though others may not thank you.” (Bhagwan Baba) A fire was raging in a little hut near the bank of a river. Several people were running to and fro filling buckets from the

The Burning Cat

“Can the results justify the means? Fair ends through foul means can never be right.” Bhagwan Baba). An old man died leaving behind four sons. They divided all his property and valuables equally. After everything was accounted for, a pet cat that the old man loved dearly was left. The

The Only Cow

“Do not try to bring down the Almighty to your limited vision. Rise up, strengthen your detachment and establish yourself in discrimination, then your goal is brought nearer.” (Bhagwan Baba). In a village there were two farmers. One of them was rich and had hundreds of cows. He would sell

The Missing Shoes!

“Practice moderation in speech for most misunderstandings and factions arise out of carelessly spoken words. When the foot slips, the wound can be healed. But when the tongue slips, the wound it causes in the heart of another will fester for life.” (Bhagwan Baba). Tamang and Kapin were two brothers

The Richness Of The Poor And The Poorness Of The Rich!

“Many millionaires today are engaged in filling their own belly. They are not prepared to give even a morsel of food as alms to a beggar who stands at their doorstep. What is the use of having such rich men in our country? They are rich only for name’s

Did You See A Deer?

“You cannot always oblige, but you can speak always obligingly.” (Bhagwan Baba). A hermit was meditating in a jungle. He heard the sound of an animal running and opened his eyes to see a deer whizzing past. Moments later, a hunter followed with a bow and arrow in his hand.

King Vs God!

“Leaving everything to His will is truly the highest form of devotion and the easiest way to win His Grace.” (Bhagwan Baba) King Sundaravadanan ruled the Kingdom of Kannakpuri. There is an anecdote about how he got converted from an atheist to a firm believer of God. The king often

Lion Or The Lame Fox!

“If you choose to remain inactive, it is an indication of Thamoguna (quality of sloth and inaction leading to ignorance)! That is even worse than Rajoguna.” (Bhagwan Baba) An ascetic went into the forest to meditate. He was always worried about his food and sustenance. One day he saw a

The Dharmic Bear!

“Dharma destroys the one who violates it. Dharma also protects the one who protects it.” (Bhagwan Baba). This is a story that most adults may have read in their childhood. But the lesson learnt is so pertinent that we feel it still is prudent to add it to this compendium.

The Strength Of A Woman's Character!

“The mansion of human life should be built on charity, purity, unity and Divinity. Women play a crucial role in cultivating these four pillars.” (Bhagwan Baba) There is a legend about a Brahmin called Kaushik. He was a characterless man who contracted leprosy seemingly due to his habits and loose

Be Careful What You Eat!

“To dwell on God, one should be vigilant about the food and drink consumed by both – the body and the mind.” (Bhagwan Baba) On numerous occasions Bhagwan Baba has explained the need of Paaka Shudhi (purity of the food being cooked), Chitta Shudhi (Purity of the mind of the cook)

One Vice Or Hole!

“Young people should get rid of bad thoughts and habits. The spiritual quest cannot be put off to old age.” (BHAGWAN BABA) In an orthodox Hindu family, a father noticed his son of fifteen, smoking. The boy would try and slip away from his father’s attention when he smoked.

The Colloquium!

“When a cold bit of coal is placed in the midst of glowing cinders, and when the fire is fanned, the coal too starts glowing with the fire. The Jnaana Agni or the Fire of Wisdom operates similarly.” (Bhagwan Baba) Prakhar was a middle aged man who was a regular

Destiny!

“Charity is the true ornament of the hand (Hasthasya bhushanam daanam). Your hands are useless if they do not perform acts of charity. Do not worry about ups and downs, loss or gain, joy or grief. You are the creator of your own destiny.” (BHAGWAN BABA) There once were two

The Spider In A Hurry!

“Every human being has the capacity to seek and secure the Truth of the Universe of which they are a part of; they have the wherewithal to train themselves in virtue, justice, love and sympathy to escape from the particular to the Universal.” (Bhagwan Baba) During the Mahabharata war that

God's Routine!

“Though God is omnipresent, He has to be discovered and cognised in order to experience the bliss.” (Bhagwan Baba) Our scriptures hold some amazing stories. This one is very meaningful. There was a king who was intelligent and fun loving. He had a court full of intelligent ministers because he

A Splitting Headache!

“The truth is shining inside you, waiting to be discovered. God is your Indweller and so when you seek Him outside, He cannot be caught. Look for Him within you.” (Bhagwan Baba) The proprietor of a coffee shop had been busy all day. Being Saturday, it was very crowded and

How Will I Die?

“The God of Death, Yama is also called Kaala, which means time. Time is the true God of Death. Time knows no mercy; you have to leave when the time is over.” (Bhagwan Baba) A son was born to a renowned astrologer who was also a Minister in the King’

Come Rain Or Sun!

“To get the attitude of surrender and dedication, you must have Faith in God. God, whose play this world is. See Him in the beauty, the grandeur, the order and the majesty of Nature.” (Bhagwan Baba) It was monsoon time when a young lad in Kerala noticed an old woman

Tat Twam Asi!

“Meditate upon your reality and always remember this fact: “Wherever I am, I am always Divine”. Hold firmly to this belief. This is the truth contained in the scriptural proclamation Tat Twam Asi.” (Bhagwan Baba) It is said that King Janaka once held a congregation of Sages. He asked them

Little Sparrow!

“Fully rely on the grace of God, earn it and keep it. Then whatever be the magnitude of the calamity you face, you can survive it without any harm.” (Bhagwan Baba) This is a little anecdote that our Beloved Bhagwan Baba, once narrated to His students. There was a huge

A Drop Of Blood!

“From birth to death, from dawn till night, man pursues fleeting pleasures by the exploitation, the despoiling, and the desecration of Nature, ignoring the truth that it is the property of God, the Creator, and any injury caused to it is a sacrilege which merits dire punishment.” (Bhagwan Baba) A

Celestial Dancers!

“God alone is your anchor, who will save you from stress and storm.” (Bhagwan Baba) Indian Mythology is so rich and there is so much to learn from the little anecdotes therein. Every time I read a mythological text, I find a treasure. Here is one of them. Indra, the

A Thousand Years Or A Moment!

“The mind must become bhakthimaya (saturated with devotion to God). The intelligence must be transformed into Jnana (divine knowledge).” (Bhagwan Baba) The Epic Ramayana has innumerable little anecdotes in it that hold a lot of meaning. Here is one of them. It is said that once Sage Vashistha visited the

Nandu's Tea Stall!

“People are bereft of gratitude, which is not right. One should be grateful for the help they have received from others as long as one is alive.” (Bhagwan Baba) A beggar sat by the curb, holding out a shabby tin container, with a few coins in it. It was a

The Holy Shadow!

“The company of the holy will inspire him to travel in hope and faith. The assurance that God is within call, that He is ever near, will lend strength to his limbs and courage to his eye.” (Bhagwan Baba) There was a Saint who performed penance to have Divya darshan.

Justice By The Shepherd!

“Investigate and examine, then you have the right to pronounce judgement.” (Bhagwan Baba) King Bhoja was considered to be a just and fair king. One day a Brahmin came to him and said, “I have been away to Kashi on a pilgrimage. Before leaving I gave three precious stones to

A Few Bricks!

“Today we find many individuals who exploit others for their own happiness. We rarely come across an individual who sacrifices himself for the sake of others welfare.” (Bhagwan Baba) In the Epic of Mahabharata is cited an incident where Krishna was crossing through a forest along with some villagers. Bhima

The Passport Officer!

“You will be blissful the moment you give up ego and attachment.” (Bhagwan Baba) In a queue outside the passport office, a man and his friend reached the client window, and the passport officer said brusquely, “Time up. Come tomorrow.” The man’s friend, called out, “Hey! Hello! My friend.

Fable Of Kidas!

“If you want to experience the Divine, you must give up pomp and pride.” (Bhagwan Baba) There is a fable of a learned man who was recognised for his intelligence and appointed minister to the king. One hot summer day he was out in the forest and became very very

The Crow's Feathers

“You should teach students discipline, humility and respect, and instill in them the spirit of service and the sense of fellowship. Imbue your children with confidence and courage. Unify them through love and love alone; give no room for anger, jealousy or hatred within you and teach the children the

Give Up Anger!

“Train your mind to walk quietly along small stretches of road at first and then after you have become sure of its docility, you can take it along safely down the tortuous road of the six fold temptations of lust, anger, greed, delusion, pride and jealousy.” A preacher was also

Change Your Destiny!

“If one rises above the body to the level of the heart, then the divine qualities of prema (love), daya (compassion), sahana (patience), and sahanubhuti (empathy) all manifest in the person.” (BHAGWAN BABA) Krishna and Arjuna were taking a stroll when they came across a Brahmin who was begging. Arjuna

Kalpataru!

“You are the creator of your own destiny. Be self- confident; that is, have confidence in yourself. For, that self is Divine.” (BHAGWAN BABA) Ancient Indian mythology tells of Kalpatarus. These were wish fulfilling trees that could grant a person anything that he wished for the moment he wished for

Black Coal!

“The company of the good and the godly will slowly and surely chasten and cleanse persons prone to stray away from the straight path towards self-realization.” (BHAGWAN BABA) The ancients tell of a village headman called Dhanadeya. One day he received an invite from the King to attend a congregation

Uneasy Lies The Head That Wears The Crown!

“Be like a trustee, so far as family, riches, reputation, knowledge and skills are concerned. Leave them gladly aside, when the call comes.” (BHAGWAN BABA) Like all kings, this one’s head too lay uneasy. There were unending matters of state that needed to be administered, solved, nurtured etc. The

The Rajasthani Girls!

“All of you are Children of God. So be free from selfishness and manifest the qualities of the Divine Father from today.” (BHAGWAN BABA) I was pleasantly surprised to read an article in The Hindu Newspaper in April 2013 about a village in Rajasthan called Piplantri. Here is the gist

The Sound Of The Pulse!

The Sound of the Pulse “Have faith that Truth will save you in the long run; stick to it, regardless of what might befall.” (BHAGWAN BABA) An ancient Vaidya (natural healer) had acquired mastery over the science of healing by churning the sacred texts. The length and breadth of India

G. O. D.

“The Lord’s ways are mysterious. You do not know the real reasons behind the actions of the Lord.” (BHAGWAN BABA) It was a sunny morning on the beach. A man was sun bathing. He lazed on the warm sand as he watched people doing Para- sailing and jet-skiing a

110 ने अंगदान के लिए किया पंजीकरण

चंडीगढ़ 11 अप्रैल( राय): श्री हनुमान जयंती पर सामाजिक संस्था कॉन्पीडटेंट फाउंडेशन और डी.ए.वी. कॉलेज सेक्टर -10 के संयुक्त तत्

341 units of blood collected at donation camp

AS MANY as 341 units of blood were collected in the 17th blood donation camp organised by competent Foundation here today in association with DAV Collage. The Governor of Punjab anf UT Administration of UT, Chandigarh V.P.Singh Badone, was the chief Guest,who stressed on the importance of

Governor of Punjab, Shri. V.P. Singh Badnore releases Sunrays for Tuesday - Hindi

कॉन्पीडेंट फाउंडेशन के कैंप में 3 4 1 यूनिट एकत्रित

प्रशासक बी .पी सिंह बदनोर संदेशवा ट्यूसडे किताब का विमोचन करते हुए तथा रक्तदान शिविर के दौरान रक्तदान करते हुए एकदाता !चंडीगढ़ 11 अप्रै

341 लोगों ने किया रक्तदान

चंडीगढ़( ब्यूरो); भगवान हनुमान जन्मोत्सव के अवसर पर सामाजिक संस्था कॉन्पीडेंट फाउंडेशन और डीएवी कॉलेज सेक्टर-10 के संयुक्त तत्वा

CITY BJP, CHIEF SANJAY TANDON AND HIS WIFE PRIYA'S BOOK "SUNRAYS FOR TUESDAY" RELEASED IN HINDI; IT CONTAINS 52 INSPIRATIONAL STORIES

CHANDIGARH: as many as 341 units of blood were collected and 146 people pledge to donate their eyes and other organs during the 17th blood donation camp organised by competent foundation here on tuesfday in association with DAV collage , sector 10 , chandigarh.

3 4 1 यूनिटसे संपन्न हुआ कामपीटेंट फाउंडेशन का 17 वां रक्तदा?

चंडीगढ़ 11 अप्रैल भगवान हनुमान जन्मोत्सव के पावन अवसर पर सामाजिक संस्थान कामपीटेंट फाउंडेशन और डीएवी कॉलेज सेक्टर 10 के संयु

Kaliyuga!

“In this age of Kali, human beings move around like cruel beasts. Compassion is vanishing and ostentation is the order of the day.” (BHAGWAN BABA) We are all aware that we are living in the worst of times in the Kaal Chakra i.e. the wheel of time. This is

The Houseflies!

“It is only when man is filled with godly thoughts that he will be rid of sorrow. Hence, what should be given up is worldliness. Then alone Aatmaananda (the Bliss of the Spirit) can be got.” (BHAGWAN BABA) Two houseflies were hovering over a heap of human waste. They would

Together With Trinity!

Together with Trinity “Someday, one has to give up everything and leave, alone and empty handed. This is the inescapable destiny.” (BHAGWAN BABA) Unusual though it may seem, a man once asked his young son who was a devout follower of Lord Brahma to pray to Lord Brahma for granting

A Hundred Silver Coins!

“The happiness that one derives from virtues is far superior to the happiness that you get from the possession of wealth.” (BHAGWAN BABA) A man had a pouch of silver coins that he had saved over the years. He had finally completed the target figure of a hundred silver coins.

Justice By The King!

“When the Lord metes out a punishment, it may appear harsh. The penalty depends on the time, place and the circumstances in which the Lord acts.” (BHAGWAN BABA) Once upon a time, a matter of theft was brought to the court of a King. The thief was produced before the

Rudrabhishekham!

“You say that God knows and sees everywhere, but you also do something wrong with the belief that God is elsewhere at that time.” BHAGWAN BABA) On the occasion of Shiv Rathri, a huge vessel was placed at the door of the temple for collection of milk. A small notice

The Best Wife!

“The lentil dish must have just enough salt to make it tasty. Do not spoil the dish by adding too much salt. Similarly, life becomes difficult to bear when you put into it too much ‘desire’. Limit your desires to your capacity, and have only those that will grant lasting

Who Are You?

“The Guru is the Teacher who removes the fundamental ignorance, which hides the knowledge of this truth from us.” – Bhagwan Baba. A young man in quest for knowledge came to know of a learned guru. He went up to the cottage of the guru and knocked the door. A stern

The History Of Mankind!

“Start this spiritual discipline as early as possible in life, do not postpone it any further. For, no one knows when the span of life will be brought to a close.” In ancient times there was a king who wanted to know everything about the ‘History of mankind’. He appointed

Prarabdha!

There was a great saint, Bilvamangala by name. He would call on Lord Krishna and He would appear. Such was his devotion. One man who suffered from chronic stomach-ache pestered him to find out from Krishna whether it would end or not. When Krishna appeared next, he asked him. Krishna

Grace Of The Lord!

Once when sage Narada was proceeding to Vaikuntha, the abode of the Lord, he espied a yogi, who was engaged in severe ascetic practices. The yogi prayed to Narada to bring back from Vaikuntha information about the date of his becoming entitled to entry there- into. When he stood in

Spiritual Happiness!

Once there was a king who had presented his daughter, the princess, with a beautiful diamond necklace. The necklace was stolen and his people in the kingdom searched everywhere but could not find it. Some said a bird may have stolen it. The king then asked them all to search

Strength And Skill!

A devotee of Hanuman was once driving a cartload of grain to the market. On the way, the wheel got stuck and the card could not be drawn forward by the bullocks. The cart slanted too far to one side and the bags fell on the ground. The devotee sat

A King & A Thief

A wicked man once went to a preceptor for initiation into spiritual life. The Guru asked him to give up at least one of his bad habits; he gave up uttering falsehood. That night, when he went to the Royal palace to commit theft, he found on the terrace another

A Step Towards God!

Kuchela went to Lord Krishna to ask for many material gifts. But on seeing the Divine face of Krishna, he forgot all his desires. On his return to his native village he found that big mansions had sprung up at the spot of his old dwelling. His wife came out,

Nature And Life!

Learn a lesson from the stream. It rushes to the hollows, never to the heights. Bend before the lowly, the humble, the godly, the good; don’t bend before the proud, the promoters of hate and greed. Learn the lesson in selfless service, forbearance, tolerance from the tree. Determination is

The Desires!

Once a great Maharaja (ruler) held a big exhibition of paintings and art products. The finest works of Art were on display. The exhibition was open to one and all. The Maharaja announced that anyone could walk in and take away whatever one liked. Large numbers of men and women

Real peace

There once was a King who offered a prize to the artist who would paint the best picture of peace. Many artists tried. The King looked at all the pictures, but there were only two he really liked and he had to choose between them. One picture was of a

The Exile!

In the Ramayana, when Lord Rama agrees to go into exile and proceeds to the forest for stay of fourteen long years, Sita too gives up all the luxuries she was accustomed to; she braves the perils of jungle life, for the sake of being in the presence of Rama.

Spiritual Progress Is Directly Proportionate To The Reduction Of Desires:

To illustrate the disastrous consequences of excessive desire, I will narrate a story. Once a wayfarer, who was making a long journey by foot in the hot sun, was feeling tired and sought the shade of a tree to rest for a while. It so happened that the tree was

The Vision!

Vivekananda discovered the truth by observing the reactions of different persons to the same situation. Seeing a man who had fallen on the wayside after taking intoxicating drinks, two thieves, who were themselves drunk, remarked that the man must be a thief like themselves who had got drunk after a

Satwic Food & Desire

In the Ramayana, when Rama and Lakshmana were going in search of Sita, suddenly Lakshmana felt tired and told Rama that he was fed up with the search and would like to go back to Ayodhya to have a more comfortable time. Rama smiled and said: “Let us proceed. I

No Gains Without Pains!

There was a gardener who used to water the plants in the garden carrying a pot on his head from dawn to dusk. One day while carrying the pot he got a headache and wanted to lay down the pot and go home. At that moment, the pot taught him

Nature Is The Best Teacher!

On one occasion, in the course of his travels, Dakshinamurti (primal Divine teacher of eternal spiritual wisdom) reached the shore of the ocean. The ocean represents the Shabda Brahman (primal Divine sound, Omkara). It symbolises the grandeur and majesty of the Divine. He drew a lesson from the endless waves

Divine Is The Omnipresent!

How can the Omnipresent Divine be delineated and described? There is a Nepali story which says: A person was asked, “Who is your father”? He answered, “My father is so and so”, “But, how can you assert so? On whose authority do you declare him to be your father?” The

Essential Spiritual Qualities! Srishti & Drishti !

In the Maha Bharat the preceptor, Dronachrya, asked the eldest of the Pandavas (Dharmaja) and the Kauravas (Duryodhana), to go round the kingdom and find out how many good persons and bad persons were there. Dharmaja came back and reported that he could not find a single bad person. He

Spirituality Is Wholistic

Once a disciple went to a preceptor and requested him to impart to him the Brahma-Jnana (Supreme knoweldge of self). The Guru gave him a mantra and asked him to recite it continually without any selfish desire. The Guru told him that after he had done this whole heartedly for

Best Service!

There was once a king, who questioned many a scholar and sage who came to his court, “which is the best service and which is the best time to render it?” He could not get a satisfying answer from them. One day, he got separated from his troops, in a

संजय टंडन ने सोलंकी से की मुलाकात

चंडीगढ़ ,12 सितंबर( ब्यूरो): भाजपा चंडीगढ़ के प्रदेशाध्यक्ष संजय टंडन और उनकी पत्नी प्रिया टंडन ने हरियाणा के राज्यपाल कप्तान सिंह सो

Rays of divinity

Sanjay Tandon and his wife have culled out the best of Sari Sathya Sai Baba’s teachings in their book Sunrays for Friday, the sixth in the Sunrays collection. It all commenced with an urge to kindle the latent spark of human values in kindred spirits! State president of BJP

Book Launch of Sunrays for Friday

Union Health Minister JP Nadda and chief Minister of Haryana ML khattar release book Sunrays fro Friday by Chandigarh BJP chief Sanjay Tandon and his wife Priya Tandon , at Law Bhawan Saturday .

Divinity Is Experienced!

The divinity is the same in all. God is everywhere. Once, a disciple asked a sage about this. The sage asked him to get a cup of water and some sugar. He asked the disciple to mix the sugar with the water. Then he could not see the sugar, which

विज्ञान शब्द कर सकता है, लेकिन रक्त निर्माण नहीं

संजय टंडन,के जन्मदिन पर् रक्तदान एवं अंग दान शिविर का आयोजन भाजपा अध्यक्ष ने शिविर दान का भरा फॉर्म। आज के प्रतिशील विज्ञान ने

आध्यात्मक से मिल सकती असली खुशी :नड्डा केंद्रीय स्वास्थ्

चंडीगढ़, सेक्टर-37 में काम्पीटेंट फाउंडेशन की ओर से आयोजित कैंप में रक्त दाताओं का हौसला बढ़ाते केंद्रीय स्वास्थ्य मंत्री जेपी नड्

"सनरेज फार फ्राइडे" का विमोचन

सेक्टर-37,के लाँ भवन में काम्पीटेंट फाउंडेशन की ओर से आयोजित सोल्वे रक्तदान शिविर में पहुंचे स्वास्थ्य मंत्री ।पुस्तक का विमोचन करते

Nadda launches AMRIT pharmacy , advanced MRI machine at GMCH-32

Union Health Minister JP Nadda,Haryana CM ML khattar uneil “Sunray for Friday”written by Chandigarh BJP chief Sanjay Tandon and his wife Priya Tandon at Law Bhawan sector -37 in chandigarh on Saturday. Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare Jagat Prakash Nadda was in the city Beautiful to

Nada , khattar Released UT BJP Chief, wife's book

The unioun health minister:JP Nadda and haryana chief minister ML Khattar on Saturday released the book ” sunrays for Friday “authored by Bharatiya Janata Party ( BJP) UT chief, Sanjay Tandon and his wife Priya Tandon at Law Bhawan in sector 37 .

राजनीति में व्यस्तता के बावजूद लेखन कार्य जारी

भाजपा अध्यक्ष व पत्नी की लिखी सातवें पुस्तक का विमोचन ।यह ऐसी शुरू हुआ टंडन दंपति का लेखन संजय टंडन ने बताया कि सन 2000 में उन्होंने एक डेस्

अपने 53 वे जन्मदिन पर टंडन ने अपने आर्गन डोनेट करने की ली श?

चंडीगढ़ भाजपा प्रदेश अध्यक्ष संजय टंडन व टंडन का शनिवार को 53 वंi जन्मदिन भी था इस मौके पर संजय टंडन ने कहा कि हम लोग बहुत ज्यादा

अध्यात्म से मिल सकती असली खुशी :नड्डा !केंद्रीय स्वास्थ्?

सेक्टर-37 में काम पेटेंट फाउंडेशन की ओर से आयोजित कैंप में रक्त दाताओं का हौसला बढ़ाते केंद्रीय स्वास्थ्य मंत्री जे.पी. नड्डा, हरिया

विज्ञान सबका सकता है, लेकिन रक्त निर्माण नहीं' संजय टंडन ?

आज के प्रति शील विज्ञान ने लोगों के बीच की दूरियां घटाई है लेकिन रग जैसी पवित्र एवं बहुमूल्य चीज का निर्माण अभी भी उसके लिए सं

Kahani Sangreh 'Sunrays for Friday' da Lok Arpan

Bhajpa aagu Sanjay Tandon atey us di patni Priya ne likhi pustak. Kaimp vich 315 ne khoon atey 162 ne keete netar ate aang daan

असल खुशी अध्यात्म के जरिए ही हासिल की जा सकती है :नड्डा

जेपी नड्डा व खट्टर ने किया टंडन की पुस्तक “सनरेज फार फ्राइडे “के छठे अंक का विमोचन! केंद्रीय स्वास्थ्य मंत्री जेपी नड्डा और हरिया

इननर-नेट यानी अंतर्मन से जुड़िए इंटरनेट से नहीं : संजय टंड

केंद्रीय स्वास्थ्य मंत्री और हरियाणा सीएम ने किया “सनरेज फॉर फ्राईडे” का विमोचन ।चंडीगढ़ ,10 सितंबर( राजेंद्र केंद्रीय): स्वास्

Service Is Meaningful When It Manifests From Sacrifice!

Dharmaraja had uttered some white lies during the Mahabharat war in order to foil the plans of the enemies and for this, he had to spend a few minutes in Hell. When the emissaries of the other world were escorting him after death to Hell, for this nominal sojourn, the

Spiritual Practice!

A great sage once fell in with a gang of atheists. They crowded around him and piled him with impertinent queries and insisted that he must show them the God in whom he believed. The sage promised to do so, but, asked for some milk, before he could demonstrate God.

Spirit Of Sacrifice!

Once three persons reached the gates of Heaven. One of them declared that he was the master of all scriptures and therefore the gates should be opened to let him in. The guardians of the gate said, “You are familiar only with the texts. You have no practical experience. You

Gift Of Food To The Hungry!

A rich man who owned a rice mill once heard a scholar expound that the service that God appreciates most is the gift of food to the hungry. So, he decided to reserve food to the poor in his village. But he had no mind to use good varieties of

A Story From Folklore!

Once a traveller going on his journey approached a hermitage near which there was a cemetery. He sought shelter there from the heat of the day. The Guru (Preceptor) of the hermitage was giving a talk to his disciples. The traveller welcomed the opportunity to listen to a sacred discourse.

God Cares For Your Inner Most Feelings (Bhava), Not Your Outward Expressions (Bahya)!

Abdullah was sleeping in a corner of a mosque in Mecca, when he was awakened by the conversation of two angels above his head. They were preparing a list of the blessed and one angel was telling the other that a certain Mahbub of Sikandar city deserved to be ranked

Book Gita Govinda!

“Gita Govinda”, the book of songs of Govinda (Krishna) by the great mystic and poet Jayadeva of Orissa, is the immortal portrayal of Radha Bhakti in its manifold manifestations. Jayadeva could express it with such charm and clarity that even the man behind the plough sang those songs and filled

Jnana & Bhakti!

The path of devotion and dedication is the royal road, the smoothest path to spiritual success! There were two brothers, Jnanadeva (noted for his mastery of the path of wisdom) and Bhaktideva (noted for his mastery of the path of devotion through the constant recital of the Lord’s name)

Control Of Senses!

The ancient sages regarded sense-control as a form of penance. Disciplining of senses calls for an understanding of how the senses function. A Christian priest learnt a lesson in sense control from the driver of a horse carriage in which he was travelling. The priest noticed that the driver was

The Wood Cutter & Faith!

There was a woodcutter, once who collected and bundled a heavy load of fuel one day, since he needed extra money that day. On the jungle track, he waited long for someone who could help to lift the load on his head. Pining over his tragic poverty he cursed his

Prayer Must Emanate From Heart, Where God Resides And Not From The Head Where Doctrines And Doubts Clas!

Ramdas of Bhadhrachalam used to write on palm leaves hundreds of songs on his favorite Deity, Rama; the leaves accumulated into a gigantic pile. One day, Ramdas stood by its side and wondered, “Am I the fellow who wrote all this? Did I write them for my satisfaction or for

The Faith Of Adigal!

In South India, in Tamil Nadu, there was a certain Adigal or Dasa (servant of God), in a village named Thangalur. He heard of the spiritual grandeur of Saint Appar and developed great admiration for him. He built rest houses in his name; named his children after him so that

Faith In God Is The Bedrock That Can Save Man From Downfall!

During the Second World War, a steamer carrying Indian Sepoys (Soldiers) was bombed by the Japanese and it was sunk. Many lost their lives. Only five men managed to row their life-boat and hoped to have a chance to survive, in spite of the surging ocean. They were tossed about

Tests Of Devotion!

One evening Lord Krishna took Arjuna far out of Dwaraka City and while they were alone together, He pointed at a bird flying over their head and asked him “Arjuna, isn’t that a dove?” Arjuna agreed; he said it was a dove. Suddenly, Krishna turned towards him and said,

You Must Welcome Tests Because They Give You Confidence And Ensure Promotion!

Though endowed with power and authority, prosperity and wealth, Sibi was a genuine Sadhak (seeker of spiritual path) having attained a high stage in detachment and the spirit of renunciation. God decided to discover whether his achievements were deep-rooted and unshakeable. Agni (the God of Fire) and Indra (God of

Faith Is The First Step To The Grace Of God!

There was a lady from Pahalgaon, a simple illiterate devotee. She stored water in her kitchen in three clean, brightly polished brass pots from three separate wells and she had named the pots Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati (3 holy rivers in India). She always referred to them by those names.

Life Learning!

A bus full of passengers was traveling while, suddenly the weather changed and there was a huge downpour and lightening all around. They could see that the lightening would appear to come towards the bus and then go elsewhere. After 2 or 3 horrible instances of being saved from lightening,

Work On Developing His Ability!

A university football team was practising running. One player had the position of lineman. This large player was in a tackle position and considered the fastest lineman in the team. One day, he walked up to his coach and asked if he could run sprints with the fastest running backs.

Frozen To Death?

This story is about a person working in a freezer plant. It was almost the day end. Everyone had packed up to check out. A technical snag developed in the plant and he went to check. By the time he finished it was late. The doors were sealed and the

How A Password Changed My Life!

I was having a great morning until I sat down in front of my office computer. “Your password has expired”, a server message flashed on my screen, with instructions for changing it. In my company we have to change our password monthly. I was deeply depressed after my recent divorce.

Happiness Comes From Giving!

This story is about a beautiful, expensively dressed lady who complained to her psychiatrist that she felt that her whole life was empty, it had no meaning. So, the lady went to visit a counsellor to seek out happiness. The counsellor called over the old lady who cleaned the office

The Ant!

One morning I spent nearly an hour watching a tiny ant carry a huge feather cross my back terrace. Several times it was confronted by obstacles in its path and after a momentary pause it would make the necessary detour. At one point the ant had to negotiate a crack

Positives In Negatives!

A young woman was sitting at her dining table, worried about taxes to be paid, house-work to be done and to top it all, her extended family was coming over for festival lunch the next day. She was not feeling very thankful at that time. As she turned her gaze

How To Deal With Insult In Life!

One day Buddha was walking through a village. A very angry and rude young man came up and began insulting him. “You have no right teaching others.” He shouted, “You are as stupid as others. You are nothing but a fake.” Buddha was not upset by these insults. Instead he

The Heaven!

A Zen master was always happy. Even in difficult times, he was happy. When asked for the secret of his happiness, he said, “When I get up in the morning, I ask myself, do I want to be in heaven or hell? Then I choose heaven and, therefore, I create

How To Strengthen A Relationship!

A psychology professor was well-known for his expertise, in-depth knowledge, and practical wisdom. Once, there arose a mighty quarrel among some of his students. They all fought bitterly, and for a long time there was a lot of animosity and hatred in the air. The other students were quite concerned

Good Human Being!

A doctor, a lawyer, a little boy and a priest were out for a Sunday afternoon flight on a small private plane. Suddenly, the plane developed engine trouble. In spite of the best efforts of the pilot, the plane started to go down. Finally, the pilot grabbed a parachute and

How To Empty And Free Your Mind!

Adi Shankaracharya teaching his students how to empty and free their mind: “Adi Sankara was walking through the market place with his disciples. They saw a man dragging a cow by a rope. Sankara told the man to wait and asked his disciples to surround them. “I am going to

An Interesting Story- The Luck Factor!

Ten years ago, a psychologist set out to examine luck. He wanted to know why some people are always in the right place at the right time, while others consistently experience ill fortune. And placed advertisements in national newspapers asking for people who felt consistently lucky or unlucky to contact

Your Ethics!

One day, an old man was having a stroll in the forest when he suddenly saw a little cat stuck in a hole. The poor animal was struggling to get out. So, he gave him his hand to get him out. But the cat scratched his hand with fear. The

Food For Clothes!

There was Pundit in the village. He was well-versed in all Scriptures. He knew everything, but, he was poor. He did not have a house. He used to get his meals also with great difficulties. Even his clothes were very much worn out. So, the Pundit used to beg for

If A Lizard Can, Why Can't We?

In order to renovate the house, someone in Japan breaks open the wall. Japanese houses normally have a hollow space between the wooden walls. When tearing down the walls, he found that there was a lizard stuck there because a nail from outside hammered into one of its feet. He

Ubuntu!

An anthropologist proposed games to some African tribal children. He placed a basket of fruits near a tree and made the children stand 100 meters away. He now announced that whoever reached the fruits first would get all the fruits in the basket. When he said ‘Ready, steady, go’, do

Play The Right Role In Life!

A military commander’s three-year-old daughter was a bundle of joy and energy. The commander was noted for his strict sense of discipline. One day, annoyed with the child’s antics, the mother commented to the father: “What is the use of you being a disciplinarian? Look at your daughter,

What Can You Shut?

In the kingdom of Arabia, lived a queen called Layla. Her wisdom illuminated the land like the sun; her beauty blinded men, and her wealth was greater than any of her subjects. One morning, her chief advisor asked her, “Great queen Layla! You are the wisest, most beautiful and wealthiest

Develop Humility!

There was an old man in Kerala (India), noted for his serene temperament. Nothing could disturb his calm, not even the gravest provocation. He had in fact become a curiosity for everybody in the village. One day a few young pranksters decided that they would make him angry. They caught

Offer Unique Gift To Your Loved Ones!

When Jimmy Carter was President of USA, he once had some misunderstanding with his wife. Punctuality was almost an obsession with Carter, because of his naval training. Rosalyn, his wife, was punctual, though not up to his exacting standards. All too frequently, a deviation of five minutes or even less

Sacred Soil Of Jallianwala Bagh!

Bhagat Singh was a small boy, hardly twelve, when the Jallianwala Bagh incident took place. Nearly two thousand people died or were wounded very seriously. Next day, when Bhagat Singh heard the news he was very angry. Instead of going to his school, he secretly went to Amritsar. He visited

Discouragement!

A man had a very interesting dream. It was an exhibition held in hell. The man was fascinated by the tools used by the devils in their nefarious activities of tempting human beings to commit a variety of sins. The tools were labelled: Anger, Irritation, Malice, Hatred, Jealousy, Deceit, Sensuality,

The Twelve Gifts Of Birth!

Once upon a time, a long time ago, when princes and princesses lived in far away Kingdoms, Royal Children were given twelve special gifts, when they were born. You may have heard the stories. Twelve wise women of the Kingdom, or fairy Godmothers as they were often called, traveled swiftly

Sentence Of A Wise Judge!

A farmer in ancient China had a neighbor who was a hunter, and who owned ferocious and poorly trained hunting dogs. They jumped the fence frequently and chased the farmer’s lambs. The farmer asked his neighbor to keep his dogs in check, but this fell on deaf ears. One

Respect Yourself!

A man went to Guru Nanak Sahib and asked, “What’s the value of life?” Gurunanak ji gave him one stone and said, “Find out the value of this stone, but don’t sell it.” The man took the stone to an Orange Seller and asked him what its cost

Real Nature

A good way to change someone’s attitude is to change your own. Because, the same sun that melts butter, also hardens clay! Life is as we think, so think beautifully. In the spiritual Vedantha literatures, there is story of a lion’s cub. Once a pregnant lioness sprang upon

When God Made Moms!

By the time the Lord made mothers, he was into his sixth day of working overtime. An angel appeared and said, “Why are you spending so much time on this one?” The Lord answered and said, “Have you seen the specifications sheet on her? She has to be completely washable,

Attraction And Marriage!

A student asked a teacher, “What is attraction and what is marriage?” The teacher said, “To make you understand this question; you should go to the wheat field and choose the biggest wheat and come back. But the Rule is: You can go through them only once and cannot return

Two Apples!

A lovely little girl was holding two apples with both hands. Her mum came in and softly asked her little daughter with a smile; my sweetie, could you give your mum one of your two apples? The girl looked up at her mum for some seconds, then she suddenly took

The Story Of God's Forgiveness

Once there was a wealthy young man, God-fearing in nature who got married to a beautiful young lady. Both were very happy but the woman even though she was provided with everything the world could give was not happy. The man being a good person gave everything to make her

Proximity Of God!

Abou Ben Adhem of pershia became famous for his humanism. He used to render necessary service to the poor and sick people, to the best of his ability. But he was against reading Quran, prayer in masjid, Ramzaan fasting and such other religious rituals. He never thought of God. The

Accept Ups And Downs In Life!

A king ordered the smith: “Prepare for me a signet with a motto that would temper my happiness when I enjoy good fortune and lift me in spirit when I am despondent.” The workman had no difficulty making the signet, but the motto part was a tough one. So he

Hate Carries Weight!

Heart is a very good fertilizer; anything we plant – love, hate, fear, hope, revenge, jealousy – Surely grows and bears fruit. We have to decide what to harvest. Once, a Junior School teacher asked her students to bring some tomatoes in a plastic bag to school. Each tomato will be given

Message Of The Gita!

Once a king had announced in his open assembly that he would award a bounty to any person who would explain the proper meaning of a particular stanza of the Gita. “Who so ever worships me without thinking of any other person or thing, I shall look after all his

Lesson For Every Son!

“If I keep the weaknesses of others in my mind, they soon become a part of me.” A son took his old father to a restaurant for an evening dinner. Father being very old and weak, while eating, dropped food on his shirt and trousers. Others diners watched him in

The Teaching Profession

Who is a teacher?? From a school Principal’s speech at a graduation. He said “A Doctor wants his child to become a doctor. An Engineer wants his child to become an engineer. A Businessman wants his ward to become a CEO. BUT a teacher also wants his child to

Performance Appraisal And Feedback!

A little boy went into a drug store, reached for a soda carton and pulled it over to the telephone. He climbed onto the carton so that he could reach the buttons on the phone and proceeded to punch in seven digits. The store owner listened to the following conversation.

The Other Woman

After 21 years of marriage, I discovered a new way of keeping alive the spark of love. A little while ago I had started to go out with another woman. It was really my wife’s idea. “I know that you love her,” she said one day, taking me by

Padmapada!

Padmapada was one among Adi Sankara’s disciples. He was bent more on serving the Guru rather than learning. He used to arrange carefully all things needed by Sankara Acharya for his daily rituals. He was therefore lagging behind in studies. The other disciples used to make fun of him

My Father , In Heaven!

From being the lone boarder in a Convent at the tender age of five, to a refugee at a camp in post-partitioned India , From one amongst many in a large joint family nurtured solely by his erstwhile father, to chairing the highest seat in Judiciary in the country as the

Purity Of Mind!

It is the thought that counts- One day while Karna was taking on oil bath, he held the gold cup in his left hand, and with right fingers, he was applying oil on his body. A vedic scholar had approached him at that time, and urged for financial help. Karna

The Omnipresent God!

An old man was sleeping in a Shiva temple, keeping his feet towards the shiva Linga. The priest saw this and got enraged at this sacrilege; and he held the old man’s legs in order to pull them out. But he could not move them even an inch away.

Arjuna's Message!

One day Krishna and Arjuna were strolling in a garden, and were enjoying the cool breeze and beauty of nature. All of a sudden, Krishna pointed his finger at a bird that perched on a tree and asked Arjuna, “Arjuna! It appears to be a dove, am I right?” Arjuna

The Fragrance!

It is not a right thing to categorise something as good and something as bad, as all are created by Eshwar. Tastes of individuals vary according to the atmosphere they grow in. A thing that is liked by some one may be disliked by another person. One day Vivekananda was

Medicine Is According To The Disease

Every day any one of Rama Krishna’s disciples used to go to Calcutta from Dakshineswar on a boat and fetch items for the Asram. One day, it was Brahmananda’s turn. He was sitting in a corner of the boat and was immersed in meditation. One passenger from the

Practice Before Preaching!

One day an old woman brought a boy with her and prayed to Rama Krishna Parma Hamsa thus “Swami! He is my grand son. His mother died, and so I am his guardian. He craves for sweets. He eats them with no control whatever. Doctors advised him to desist from

The Broken Idol!

One day the leg of an idol of Sri Krishna of the Krishna temple at Dakshineswar was broken. Rani Rasmayi, who was a great devotee of Rama Krishna Parama Hamsa, came to know about it. She consulted scholars about the action to be taken. Those scholars said that a broken

The Missing Shoes!

Tamang and Kapin were two brothers who had a shoe shop. They had a couple of old and faithful craftsman, who specialized in hand made shoes. For many years these brothers had a monopoly in the local shoe market, for hand made Chinese shoes were comfortable and durable too. One

Evil Alcohol!

The is an ancient practice amongst the Hindus of offering a meal to God before partaking of it. Shankaran was not in the habit of offering every meal to God, but whenever a tasty sweetmeat was prepared, he would fold his hands and offer a silent prayer to God, to

Lame Advise!

An old man was walking along with his grandson and a donkey towards a neighboring village to do some shopping. A friend happened to see them on the way and suggested, “Sir, why should you make the boy walk? Why not you make him sit on the donkey’s back?

The Three Icons!

Once into a king’s court, the Raja guru brought three icons with an intention of testing the abilities of the courtiers. Those icons were identical human forms. He announced that those who could decide the best among the three would be rewarded generously. Many People came forward, but failed

A Pound Of Butter!

There was a farmer who sold a pound of butter to the baker. One day the baker decided to weigh the butter to see if he was getting a pound and he found that he was not. This angered him and he took the farmer to court. The judge asked

Human Ego!

A beggar came to an emperor and the beggar said, ‘If you are going to give me anything there is a condition.’ The emperor said, ‘What do you mean? What do you mean by your condition?’ The beggar said, ‘This is my condition: I accept only if you can fill

Peace Is Real Ornament

Those were the days when Gautama Budha was treading across the country spreading his sacred message. One day he was going round the village for seeking alms from house holders. But the head of the village with his arrogance and ill temper had compelled all villagers not to provide any

You Won't Manage!

After his father’s death, the Son decided to leave his mother at an old age home and visited her on and off. Once he received a call from the old age home. Your mom is very serious please come and visit her. So the son went and saw that

Value!

JRD Tata had a friend who used to say that he misplaces and loses his pen very often. He would use only very cheap pens so that he need not worry about losing them. He was worried about his habit of carelessness. JRD suggested to him to buy the costliest

Four Seasons Of A Tree!

There was a man who had four sons. He wanted his sons to learn to not 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

Principle Of The Avtar!

Lord Krishna bestowed the nectar of Gita to humanity through his great loving devotee Arjuna. Arjuna surrendered to Krishna saying, “Karishye vachanam thava- I shall act as per your word or command”. Even a great one like him developed, on one occasion, a bit of ego. Arjuna was in a

Dogmatism!

In a village, there was a Brahmana making a living out of the profession of Purohita (Priesthood). Whenever there was a Sathyanarayana Vratam in any house, he used to go there one day in advance and make all necessary arrangements. He used to caution especially about cats, asking the concerned

Give And Take!

Prem Chand was a very famous writer. Life taught him self reliance, discipline and humility. One day as he was proceeding to National tour along with his wife, their two sons accompanied them upto the Railway Station, for send off. Just before the train was to leave, his elder son

Secretive Charity!

In the city of Paris, there lives an old woman. Out of her little daily earning, she used to buy a few blankets and spread them over poor people sleeping in the open cold weather. Gradually, along with her joy out of it, she could earn God’s grace and

Lipstick In School

A certain private school was faced with a unique problem, where a number of 12-year-old girls were beginning to use lipstick. They would apply it in the bathroom, which was fine. But after that they would press their lips on the mirror leaving dozens of little lip prints. Every night

Learn The Technique Of Motivation!

A foreman, who was given the charge of a gang of extremely lazy labourers, asked them to dig ten feet holes near a large steel mill. The lazy workers were further agitated when they were told to dig the holes here and there. As time went by, they kept digging,

How Do You Avoid Criticism?

A famous musician was once very discouraged by the frequent criticism of his performance. Having been a veteran, this criticism affected him tremendously, and he seemed to be losing all his confidence. He went to his spiritual master for some advice. The Master said, “The critics play a very important

Don't Be Stupidly Frugal

A man was once brought before the judge for taking a bribe. The judge offered him a choice of punishments to choose from – eat 5 kilos of onions, be given 50 lashes, or pay a thousand rupees. The greedy convict did not want to part with his money, so he

Guru!

A new disciple joined a monastery. He was subjected to the following dialogue by his Guru. “Do you know the one person who will never abandon you in the whole of your lifetime?” “Who is it?” “You.” “And do you know the person who knows the answer to every question

New Life!

Over the years I have sponsored several children through the organization, Children International, and I have always been amazed at the difference between the first picture I get and the second. I got my second picture of the little girl that I sponsor overseas the other day. It made me

Building Bridges

It was my first day at school. I felt nervous and scared. I went to all my classes with no friends. It felt like no one cared. I listened anxiously to all the lessons and waited for the lunch break. Finally the bell rang. It was time to talk and

God Is Great!

A girl went to her Friends house and she ended up staying longer than planned, and had to walk home alone. She wasn’t afraid because it was a small community and she lived only a few blocks away. As she walked along under the bike trail, Amina asked God

Do Miracles In Your Life!

A man once went out for a picnic with his family. His car was parked in a slope. His four-year-old son was playing close to the car. All of a sudden, the car started moving and his son was practically about to be caught under the wheel. Seeing this, the

Pigeons

We are all human being first and then religion comes next. How many fanatics will understand this? In an ancient temple, a number of pigeons lived happily on roof top. When the renovation of the temple began for the annual temple feast the pigeons relocated themselves to a Church nearby.

No Work, No Food!

Hyakujo, the Chinese Zen master, used to labour with his pupils even at the age of eighty, trimming the gardens, cleaning the grounds and pruning the trees. The pupils felt sorry to see the old teacher working so hard, but they knew he would not listen to their requests to

Hi! & Bye!

Ram worked at a vegetable distribution factory. One day, when he finished with his work schedule, he went into the vegetable cold room to inspect something, but in a moment of bad luck, the door closed and he was locked inside with no help in sight. Although he screamed and

Nothing Is Written

My all-time favourite film is “Lawrence Of Arabia” and, if I have a favourite scene from the movie, then I guess it is the one of Lawrence’s triumphal return from the Nefud desert, having gone back to rescue the Arab Gasim. The crossing of the Nefud desert is considered

Fate Is In Your Own Hands!

Once upon a time, there was a General who was leading his Army into battle against an enemy ten times the size of his own. Along the way to the battle field, the troops stopped by a small temple to pray for victory. The General held up a coin and

The Mouse Trap!

A mouse looked through the crack in the wall to see the farmer and his wife open a package. “What food might this contain?” the mouse wondered. He was devastated to discover it was a mousetrap. Retreating to the farmyard, the mouse proclaimed the warning: “There is a mousetrap in

Attachment!

Kuniza was a bright-eyed, pretty five-year-old girl. One day when she and her mother were checking out at the grocery store, Kuniza saw a plastic pearl necklace priced at $2.50. How she wanted that necklace, and when she asked her mother if she would buy it for her, her

Few Minutes Of Silence!

There once was a farmer who discovered that he had lost his watch in the barn. It was no ordinary watch because it had sentimental value for him. After searching high and low among the hay for a long while; he gave up and enlisted the help of a group

A Leader Can Give Only What His People Produce!

A few years ago, the terrorist organization Hamas, sent a gift to the President of Israel in an elaborate box with a note. After having the box checked for safety reasons, the President of Israel, Shimon Peres, opened the box and saw that the content was faeces (shit). He opened

Ahoi Ashtami-A Folk Tale!

Once upon a time, there lived a woman in a village. She had seven sons. One day she went to the forest to bring soil for the renovation and painting of her home (this was in the month of Kartik just before the Hindu festival Deepawali). She started digging soil

Turn Of Events!

One stormy night many years ago, an elderly man and his wife entered the lobby of a small hotel in Philadelphia, USA. Trying to get out of the rain, the couple approached the front desk hoping to get some shelter for the night. “Could you possibly give us a room

Always Be Humble!

Three words, `I love you’, have changed lives miraculously while the three dreaded words `I hate you’ have often triggered off violence. `Sorry’, `Please’ and `Thank you’ have worked wonders. Some words can give you ulcers, heartburns, or bruised egos. Rahim the poet warned us against using rude words. He

Most People Go By Moral!

Once there was a farmer who owned a large garden with a number of fruit-trees. But one apple tree had gone barren. It no longer bore any fruit, though it provided shelter to many birds. Now, seeing the apple-tree useless, the farmer made up his mind to fell it. He

Each Person Shines His Own Way

A Samurai who was known for his nobility and honesty, went to visit a Zen Monk to ask him for his advice. When the monk had finished his prayers, the Samurai asked, “Why do I feel so inferior? I have faced death many times, have defended those who are weak.

Self Confidence

When Henry Ward Beecher was a young boy in school, he learned a lesson in self confidence which he never forgot. He was called upon to recite in front of the class. He had hardly begun when the teacher interrupted with an emphatic, “No!” He started over and again the

Law Of Life

As a young man, Norman Vincent Peale had a difficult time coping with tough problems in his life. He took his problems to a trusted friend, and asked, “Why can’t I cope with these problems?” The friend suggested, “Maybe it’s because you are not grateful enough.” Peale was

Impactful Mentor!

When a little girl was growing up, her father had three jobs to care for his family. She said her dad never complained, and though he worked very hard, he always had time for them. One day, her father was injured at his full-time job. For several months, he was

Krishna And Gopikas!

One of the Gopikas in Gokul thought of a novel idea to catch Bal-Krishna red-handed in the act of ‘Maakhan-Chori’. She hung the earthern pot containing butter, high up, and also attached a bell to the rope, but a little higher up. Krishna came with his ‘Gwal-Baals’ to do the

Determination Of The Ant!

Our lives are not determined by what happens to us but how we react to what happens, not by what life brings us but the attitude we bring to life. One Sunday morning, a wealthy man sat in his balcony enjoying sunshine and his coffee when a little ant caught

Akbar's Gold Coins!

The wisdom of Birbal was unparalleled during the reign of Emperor Akbar. But Akbar’s brother in law was extremely jealous of him. He asked the Emperor to dispense with Birbal’s services and appoint him in his place. He gave ample assurance that he would prove to be more

Law Of The Garbage Truck!

One day I hopped in a taxi and we took off for the airport. We were driving in the right lane when suddenly a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us. My taxi driver slammed on his brakes, skidded, and missed the other car

A Story On The Lighter Side!

A woman in a hot air balloon realized she was lost. She reduced altitude and spotted a man below. She descended a bit more and shouted, “Excuse me, can you help me? I promised a friend I would meet him an hour ago but I don’t know where I

Just Two Coins

A young student, was one day taking a walk with a professor, who was commonly called the students’ friend, for his kindness to those who waited on his instructions. As they went along, they saw lying in the path a pair of old shoes, which they supposed, belonged to a

The Mushrooms!

Catherine’s mother one day sent her to the woods to look for mushrooms, because her father liked them very much and her mother wanted to give him a surprise. “Mother,” cried the girl when she returned home, “Today I found some truly beautiful mushrooms! Look at them,” she said,

Mothers Affection

One young man went to apply for a managerial position in a big company. He passed the initial interview, and now would meet the director for the final interview. The director discovered from his CV that the youth’s academic achievements were excellent. He asked, “Did you obtain any scholarships

Ageing With A New Perspective!

The other day a young person asked me how I felt about being old. I was taken aback, for I do not think of myself as old. Upon seeing my reaction, she was immediately embarrassed, but I explained that it was an interesting question, and I would ponder over it,

Today I Decided To Quit!

Today I decided to quit, I quit my job, my relationship, my spirituality, I wanted to quit my life. I went to the woods to have one last talk with GOD. “GOD”, I said. “Can you give me one good reason not to quit?” His answer surprised me, – “Look around”

Why was Radha dear to the Lord?

Sri Krishna lay ill. His pure, tender body was inflamed with fever. No drugs or charms had any effect. The Mother, Yashoda, felt deeply worried. She asked Krishna, “Shyama, my darling, we have tried everything within our power but your fever keeps mounting. Won’t you tell me what will

He Passed Away!

One day all the employees reached the office and they saw a big advice on the door on which it was written: ‘Yesterday the person who has been hindering your growth in this company passed away. We invite you to join the funeral in the room that has been prepared

Solution Of Unhappiness!

Once upon a young man came to a revered teacher, who was seated under a tree near a beautiful lake, and asked for the solution of his unhappiness. After some minutes of conversation, the old master kindly instructed the visitor to put a handful of salt in a glass of

Dr. S. Radhakrishnan!

Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, the great philosopher and former President of India, made his first visit to the United States when John F. Kennedy was the President. The weather was dark and stormy in Washington and when Dr. Radhakrishnan alighted from the plane, it began to pour cats and dogs, as

The Winning Smile!

The Sultan of Arabia had grown very fond of Mulla Nasruddin and often took him along on his travels. Once, while on a journey, the royal caravan approached a small nondescript town in the desert. On a whim, the Sultan said to the Mulla, “I wonder if people would know

The Cycle Race!

I was cycling and noticed a person in front of me, about 1/4 of Km. I could tell he was cycling a little slower than me and decided to try to catch him. I had about a km to go on the road before turning off. So I started

Scars Of His Love!

Some years ago, on a hot summer day in south Florida, a little boy decided to go for a swim in the old swimming hole that was behind his house. In a hurry to dive into the cool water, he ran out the back door, leaving behind his shoes, socks,

Just Be There

A nurse took the tired, anxious serviceman to the bedside. “Your son is here,” she said to the old man. She had to repeat the words several times before the patient’s eyes opened. Heavily sedated because of the pain of his heart attack, he dimly saw the young uniformed

God Is At The Window

There was a little boy visiting his grandparents on their farm. He was given a slingshot to play with out in the woods. He practiced in the woods, but he could never hit the target. Getting a little discouraged, he headed back for dinner. As he was walking back he

Think Simple, Live Simple!

There was a millionaire who was bothered by severe eye pain. He consulted so many physicians and was getting his treatment done. He did not stop consulting galaxy of medical experts; he consumed heavy loads of drugs and underwent hundreds of injections. But the ache persisted severely than before. At

The Perfect Boss!

There were about 70 scientists working on a very hectic project. All of them were really frustrated due to the pressure of work and the demands of their boss but everyone was loyal to him and did not think of quitting the job. One day, one scientist came to his

The Power Of Positive Thinking!

The only survivor of a shipwreck was washed up on a small, uninhabited island. He prayed feverishly for God to rescue him, and every day he scanned the horizon for help, but none seemed forthcoming. Exhausted, he eventually managed to build a little hut out of driftwood to protect himself

Are You Proud Of Your Dad

On the first day, as President Abraham Lincoln entered to give his inaugural address, just in the middle, one man stood up. He was a rich aristocrat. He said, “Mr. Lincoln, you should not forget that your father used to make shoes for my family.” And the whole Senate laughed;

Is It God's Doing?

A bar opened opposite a Church! The Church prayed daily against the bar business. Days later the bar was struck by lightning and caught a fire which eventually destroyed it. The bar owner sued the Church Authorities for the cause of its destruction, as it was a result of their

Just Over Coffee

A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university lecturer. Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life. Offering his guests coffee, the lecturer went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of

This Is What Love Is All About!

It was a busy morning, approximately 8:30 am, when an elderly gentleman in his 80’s, arrived to have stitches removed from his thumb. He stated that he was in a hurry as he had an appointment at 9:00 am. I took his vital signs and had him

I Want To Repay You!

His name was Fleming, and he was a poor Scottish farmer. One day, while trying to make a living for his family, he heard a cry for help coming from nearby bog. He dropped his tools and ran to the bog. There, mired to his waist in black muck, was

The Coffin

A pretty woman was serving a life sentence in prison. Angry and resentful about her situation, she had decided that she would rather die than to live another year in prison. Over the years she had become good friends with one of the prison caretakers. His job, among others, was

A Very Good Lesson In Life

Jerry is the Manager of a Restaurant. He is always in a good mood and always has something positive to say. When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would always reply, “If I was any better, I would be twins!” Many of the waiters at his restaurant

Pick Up In The Rain!

One night, at 11.30 p.m., an older African American woman was standing on the side of an Alabama highway trying to endure a lashing rainstorm. Her car had broken down and she desperately needed a ride. Soaking wet, she decided to flag down the next car. A young

The Obstacle In Our Path!

In ancient times, a King had a boulder placed on a roadway. Then he hid himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock. Some of the king’s wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around it. Many loudly blamed the King for not

The Suitcase!

A man died, when he realized it, he saw God coming closer with a suitcase in his hand. – God said: Alright son its time to go. – Surprised the man responded: Now? So soon? I had a lot of plans. -I’m sorry but its time to go. -What do you

Second Chance

It was their anniversary, and Aisha was waiting for her husband Rajiv to show up. Things had changed since their marriage, the once cute couple that couldn’t-live-without-each-other had turned bitter. Fighting over every little thing, both didn’t like the way things had changed. Aisha was waiting to see

Good Luck, Bad Luck, Who Knows?

A father and his son owned a farm. They did not have many animals, but they did own a horse. The horse pulled the plow, guided by the farmer’s son. One day the horse ran away. “How terrible, what bad luck,” said the neighbours. “Good luck, bad luck, who

Oh My God!

Yes, tell me ? Who’s this? Your God. Goodness gracious! What the hell are you doing here? I am goodness and I am gracious. You called me, so I came. What? No, no . I didn’t call you. Yes, you did my child. You said, “Oh my God!’ Uh! That

The Eraser!

Pencil: I’m sorry. Eraser: For what? You didn’t do anything wrong. Pencil: I’m sorry, you get hurt because of me. Whenever I made a mistake, you’re always there to erase it. But as you make my mistakes vanish, you lose a part of yourself and get

Burnt Toast!

Nice one to share with everyone. Read On, It’s Beautiful. “When I was a kid, my Mom liked to cook food & then I remember she used to cook for us. One night in particular when she had made dinner after a long hard day’s work, Mom placed

The 90/10 Principle!

Millions of people suffer from undeserved stress, trials, problems, and heartache. They never seem to be a success in life. Bad days follow bad days. Terrible things seem to be constantly happening. There’s constant stress, lack of joy, broken relationships. Worry consumes time, anger breaks friendships and life seems

Friends As Saviours

This is a story about a group of friends who had a common passion – mountain climbing. On a beautiful summer day, they threw themselves a big challenge: A five hour-long ascension on an extremely steep rock wall. The group embarked on their adventure early in the morning. They were eight

Significance Of A Temple Bell

Ring the bell in a temple? Is it to wake up God? But God never sleeps. Is it to let Him know we have come? He does not need to be told; He is all-knowing. Is it a way of seeking permission to enter its precincts? But going to the

Worldly Desires

Some fishermen were catching fish. A kite swooped down and snatched a fish. At the sight of the fish, about a thousand crows chased the kite and made a great noise with their cawing. Whichever way the kite flew with the fish, the crows followed it. The kite flew to

Darkness Always Ends

A fine wax candle that has been stored in a box with many of its brethren complained that it was being condemned to an unproductive life of forced leisure. “What good is a candle if it doesn’t burn?” “Isn’t it what I was made for?” “Your turn will

Small, Yet So Big!

Along with his brother Lakshmana, Rama went in search of his wife, and enlisted the help of the Vanara king, Sugreeva. Learning that Sita was kept at Lanka, the kingdom of Ravana, which lay across the ocean, Rama, along with the Vanara army, arrived at the seashore. To reach Lanka,

Digging Through Life

Two brothers once decided to dig a deep hole behind their house. As they were working, a couple of other boys stopped by to watch. “What are you doing?” asked one of the visitors. “We’re going to dig a hole all the way through the earth!” one of the

Kabir – Weaver Of The Lord’S Name

Swami Ramanand had the habit to perform a daily Puja to Lord Ram. He did this not with his hands, but with his attention. Washing, decorating and making offerings, Ramanand’s worship was in his mind. One day in his house, Ramanand performed his Puja. Kabir, the disciple, sat outside,

Have You Conquered Anger?

One sage came from the Himalayas and declared that he had conquered anger. He met his friends and told them that he was totally at peace and that he had no anger in him at all. One of them asked him, “Sir, have you conquered anger?” “Yes, I have controlled

Two Seas In Palestine!

There are two seas in Palestine. they are both very different. One is called the Sea of Galilee. It is a large lake with clean fresh water which you can drink. Fish and people swim in it. It is surrounded by green fields and gardens. Many people have built their

Whose Problem?

A man feared his wife wasn’t hearing as well as she used to and he thought she might need a hearing aid. Not quite sure how to approach her, he called the family doctor to discuss the problem. The Doctor told him there is a simple informal test the

Secret Of A Happy Marriage!

A man and woman had been married for more than 60 years. They had shared everything. They had talked about everything. They had kept no secrets from each other except that the little old woman had a shoe-box in the top of her closet that she had cautioned her husband

My Hands And My God!

A poor woman was abandoned by her husband and left with no visible means of support. When the case came up in court, the judge asked her, “Madam, have you any means of support whatever?” “Well, your honour,” she answered, “I have three, to tell the truth.” “Three!”, “Yes, Sir.

The Cherry Tree

When George Washington was about six years old, he was made the wealthy master of an axe of which, like most little boys, he was extremely fond. He went about chopping everything that came his way. One day, as he wandered about the garden amusing himself by hacking his mother’

Refusing To Accept Failure!

Sir Edmund Hillary was the first man to climb Mount Everest. On May 29, 1953, he scaled the highest mountain then known to man 29,000 feet straight up. He was knighted for his efforts. He even made American Express Card commercials because of it! However, until we read his

Washing Away Our Sins!

The Mahabharata war was over and Raja Yudishthira came one day to Sri Krishna and said to him, “Lord, we fought this great war, and in this war we must have committed many sins. We want to go to different places of pilgrimage and rid ourselves of the burdens of

Buy A Diamond!

A rich Dutch merchant was seeking to buy a diamond of a certain kind to add to his collection. A famous dealer in New York found such a stone and called him to come and see it. The merchant flew immediately to New York, where the seller had assigned his

Holding A Desire Is Like Holding A

A kite caught hold of a rat and flew away. As soon as it had caught hold of the rat, the other kites started hovering around and attacking it. They went on pecking at it and the kite started to bleed badly. It was quite surprised at this attack, but

Thank you GOD!

A lonely prisoner of war was seated in his prison cell all alone one day. The others were out working in the courtyard. For some reason, the boy had stayed back quietly. His absence had luckily gone unnoticed… but not for long. A Jailer popped in and snarled, “What are

The Sinner

Ten Chinese farmers were working in a field when the sky suddenly darkened. There was thunder and lightning. Rain began to fall. The farmers, holding on tightly to their large straw hats, ran for shelter to the ruins of an old temple nearby. Lightning flashed again and again, each time

Compassion!

Once a buffalo fell into a slushy tank accidentally and it could not come out inspite of its best efforts. As it was trying to pull out one leg another leg was going deeper into the slush. The buffalo was struggling hard to come out. People who were passing by

Inside-Outside!

To answer a question, once Krishna and Bhishma designed a ‘test’. They called in Duryodhan one early morning and asked him to go around the kingdom for the whole day and return when he finds a ‘good person’ or by sunset, whichever is earlier. A few minutes later they called

The Palace Of God

When Guru Nanak was at Mecca, the famous Muslim Quazi Ruknuddin said to Him: “Tell me, O Nanak, can you describe to me the Palace of God? How many towers does it have? How many doors and how many turrets?” Guru Nanak smiled and told the Quazi: “Know that the

Share The Love

Buddha went from village to village propagating Dharma. In one village, people were going to perform a Yagna, in which they were going to sacrifice an animal. Buddha stopped it by saying: “This should not be done! God is in all creatures. God is in every living being. The individual

Inner Purity

One day, the Pandit came excitedly and told Rabidas, a cobbler, “My friend! Today the queen is coming to have the holy bath. I have been called to do the rituals; for today is a very special day, whoever has a dip in mother Ganga could emerge all pure. Do

Prize Vegetable!

Baba told this story to the students at Kodaikanal. Once all the vegetables on Mother Earth got together to know which of them was first in order of merit. All the vegetables prayed to the Creator to do the judging. So, Lord Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh descended on to earth

Sharpen Your Axe!

Once upon a time a very strong wood cutter got a job in a timber company. The pay was really good and so were the work conditions. For that reason, the woodcutter was determined to do his best. His boss gave him an axe and showed him the area where

Gift Me Your Ahamkaar!

A Sanyasi went to a King. After a few days of stay, while going, the Sanyasi asked the King to gift him something of his choice. The King thought for a while and said, “Take everything in the treasury.” “But that does not belong to you. It belongs to the

Not Everything At Once!

A preacher, entered a hall where he was to give a sermon. The hall was empty except for a young man seated in the front row. The Preacher, pondering whether to speak or not, finally said to man, “You are the only one here. Do you think I should speak

An Eagle Or A Chicken?

A man found an eagle’s egg and placed it under a brooding hen. The eaglet hatched with the chicken and grew to be like them. He clucked and cackled, scratched the earth for worms; flapped his wings and managed to fly a few feet in the air. Years passed.

Your Children Might Need To Use It!

A farmer got so old that he couldn’t work in the fields anymore. So, he would spend the day just sitting on the porch. His son, still working in the farm, would look up from time to time and see his father sitting there. “He’s of no use

You-Just You!

A new disciple joined a monastery. He was subjected to the following dialogue by his Guru. “Do you know the one person who will never abandon you in the whole of your lifetime?” “Who is it?” “You.” “And do you know the person who knows the answer to every question

Utilization Of Time!

Imagine there is a bank which credits your account each morning with Rs. 86,400. Carries over no balance from day to day, allows you to keep no cash balance, and every evening cancels whatever part of the amount you had failed to use during the day. What would you

Bad To Worse Therapy!

A Maharaja went out to sea when a great storm arose. One of the slaves on board began to cry out and wail in fear, for the man had never been on a ship before. His crying was so loud and so prolonged that everyone on board began to get

Five Bells!

Once upon a time there was an inn called the Silver Star. The innkeeper was unable to make both ends meet even though he did his very best to draw customers by making the inn comfortable, the service cordial and the prices reasonable. So in despair he consulted a wiseman.

The Wind And The Sun!

The wind and the sun once had an argument as to who was the stronger of the two. They agreed to settle the issue by holding a contest. Whoever could make a traveller take off his coat first would be recognized as the most powerful. The wind said he would

No Work, No Food!

Hyakujo, the Chinese Zen master, used to labour with his pupils even at the age of eighty, trimming the gardens, cleaning the grounds and pruning the trees. The pupils felt sorry to see the old teacher working so hard, but they knew he would not listen to their requests to

Change The World By Changing Yourself

An aging religious leader says this about himself – “I was a revolutionary when I was young and my prayer to God was: ‘Lord give me the energy to change the world.’ As I approached middle age and realised that half my life was gone without my changing a single soul,

The Ways Of The Divine

Once when Prahalad was eleven, he saw flames and smoke coming from a distant place. When he went closer he saw that a potter had put mud pots in the fire for baking. The potter was praying with folded hands: “Oh Lord! Now it is not in my hands and

Sharing Leads To Excellence!

A farmer, whose corn always took the first prize at the state fair, had the habit of sharing his best corn seed with all the farmers in the neighbourhood. When asked why, he said, “It is really a matter of self interest. The wind picks up the pollen and carries

A Night With Shiva

A hunter once wandered deep into the jungle in search of game. Night fell and he realized that there was no way that he could return home, so he climbed up a tree to rest his tired limbs. As darkness engulfed the jungle he felt frightened. A lion’s roar

Secret Of Swordsmanship!

Tajima no Kami was fencing master to the Shogun. One of the Shogun’s bodyguards came to him one day asking to be trained in swordsmanship. “I have watched you carefully,” said Tajima no Kami and you seem to be a Master in the art yourself. Before taking you on

The Easy Way Out!

Once there was a lark singing in the forest. A man came by with a box full of worms. The lark stopped him and asked, “What do you have in the box and where are you going?” The farmer replied that he had worms and that he was going to

Wise Division

One day a lion, an ass and a fox went hunting together. They agreed that whatever they caught would be shared between them. After killing a large stag, they decided to make a hearty meal of him. The lion asked the ass to divide the spoils. The ass made three

Cultivating The King!

The philosopher Diogenes was dining on bread and lentils. He was seen by the philosopher Aristippus who lived in considerable comfort by fawning on the King. Said Aristippus, “Learn subservience to the king and you will not have to live on lentils.” Said Diogenes, “Learn to live on lentils and

The Lion And The Dolphin

Roaming along the seashore, a lion saw a dolphin basking on the surface of the water. He suggested to him that they form an alliance. “Since I am king of the beasts,” said the lion, “And you are the undisputed ruler of all the residents of the ocean, we ought

See The Light In Yourself?

A Guru was in coma for weeks. One day he suddenly opened his eyes to find his favourite shishya there. “You never leave my bedside, do you?” he asked softly. “No, I cannot,” said the shishya in a sobbing voice. “Why?” “Because you are the light of my life.” The

Praying With Concentration!

Sant Kabir and his disciples held their prayers every evening under a tree. In the vicinity lived some jealous and disgruntled persons who wanted to harass Kabir. On one such evening when Kabir and his disciples closed their eyes and started to pray, the disgruntled group began to beat their

Happy Lohri

THE STORY BEHIND THE FESTIVAL: SUNDAR MUNDARIYE.HO! A story in the lighter vein! There is a large tract of semi-arid terrain lying between the rivers Chenab and Ravi called the Saandal Bar. (It now falls in the districts of Sheikhupura and Faislabad.) The people of this area were known

The narrow road

High up in the hills the terrain was treacherous. There was a stretch of road at the edge of a cliff that was particularly narrow and scary to drive through. In their love for adventure, people continued to frequent the route. At the beginning of that stretch, stood a young

The Finest Tea!

There was a group of elderly gentlemen in Darjeeling who would meet to exchange news over a cup of tea. One of their diversions was to search for costly varieties of tea and create new blends that would delight the palate. When it was the turn of the oldest member

I Am The Corporal, I Give Orders!

Many years ago, a rider came across some soldiers who were trying to move a heavy log without success. The corporal was standing by as the men struggled. The rider asked the corporal why he wasn’t helping. The corporal replied, “I am the corporal; I only give orders.” The

When The Scales Stood Still

It was the sacred Janamashtami day, the birthday of Lord Krishna. A poor woman, whose husband had been paralysed, had promised her three little starving children a Janamashtami feast. She was a devotee of the Lord. She felt sure the Lord would send her enough and more to provide her

We’Ll Manage Without Him!

A man very much wanted to renounce the world but he claimed that his family loved him too much to let him go. “Love?” said his Guru. “That isn’t love at all. Listen.” And he revealed a yogic secret to the disciple whereby he could simulate the state of

The Miser Needled!

Guru Nanak knew of a certain rich miser Dhuni Chand, who only lived to hoard. He once gave the latter a needle. “A needle, my Lord!” the rich man was puzzled. “What do I do with this?” “Oh, keep it safely and return it to me when you meet me

Beauty Lies In The Eye Of The Beholder!

A little girl, who had been told that Lincoln was not very good looking, was taken by her father to see the president at the White House. Lincoln took her on his knee and chatted with her for a while in his gentle, humorous way. Suddenly the little girl called

Language Smart!

Professor Kelvin, unable to meet his class one day, posted on the door of his lecture room a notice that read, “Professor Kelvin will not meet his classes today.” The disappointed class decided to play a joke on the professor. Erasing the “c” they left the message to read, “Professor

Akbar The Beggar

The Muslim mystic, Farid, was prevailed upon by his neighbours to go to the court in Delhi and obtain a favour from Akbar for the village. Farid walked into the court and found Akbar at his prayers. When the Emperor finally emerged, Farid asked, “What sort of prayer did you

Whom Do You Love The Most?

“I have a number of dolls,” said the little girl to a guest. “Would you like to see them?” “Sure I would!” The girl ran and brought a number of dolls. Some of them were very cute. One was a Barbie Doll. “Which one do you love the most?” asked

A Step At A Time

A pilgrim wanted to climb a mountain. He started his journey and it was night by the time he reached a village at the base of the mountain. An old wise man of the village lent him a lantern so that he could proceed onwards without delay. The pilgrim exclaimed,

Real Prosperity!

A rich man asked Sengai to write something for the continued prosperity of his family so that it might be treasured from generation to generation. Sengai obtained a large sheet of paper and wrote, “Father dies, son dies, grandson dies.” The rich man became angry, “I asked you to write

A Kilo Of Butter!

A vegetable vendor went to the village headman with a problem. “Sir, the woman who sells me butter has been cheating me,” he complained, “I’ve just discovered that every time I buy a kilo, it is at least a hundred grams less. Please punish her and make her pay

Love And Disorder

A man offered to pay a sum of money to his twelve year old daughter if she mowed the lawn. The girl went at the task with great zest and by evening the whole lawn had been beautifully mowed. Well, everything except a large uncut patch of grass in one

The Monk’S Courage!

A long time ago, in Tibet, an army was invading the country. People were leaving their villages long before the armies arrived because they had heard of their awful reputation for violence and killing, especially the General. The army arrived in a small village and just like in all the

Take A Little Nap!

This story belongs to one of Gandhi’s Tamilnad tours. Gandhi had said that next to Punjab it is in Tamilnad he draws the biggest crowds. The Tamilians just adored him. The train was steaming into Virudhnagar. This station was already visible in the distance, besieged by a huge multitude.

Message

Dear Friends Jai Sai Ram Recently India Today group has released a special edition by the name “Ishwarya Kripa” on Sri Sathya Sai Baba. With the grace of god, one of my articles also got a place in the said edition. A copy of the same is enclosed herewith for

Fill The Palace With Something!

There was a wise king. His empire was big and he took good care of it. He had three sons. He wanted to find his successor. He did not believe in the old system of appointing the eldest son as the king. He wanted the wisest and the ablest to

Caravan Serai!

A Sufi of forbidding appearance arrived at the doors of the palace. No one dared to stop him as he made his way right up to the throne on which the saintly Ibrahim Ben Adam sat. “What is it you want?” asked the king. “A place to sleep in this

Aim To Miss!

A king went on a hunt accompanied, amongst others, by his court jester. The whole day they rode through the forest but not a single animal was to be found. As they were about to return, they saw a beautiful baby deer basking in the evening sun. The king quickly

Make A Line Smaller!

A teacher drew a line on the black-board. He asked the students, “How can you make this line smaller?” Most of the students thought it was a very simple thing. They said, “We can erase a part of the line and make it smaller.” The teacher said, “Do it without

Real Value!

A poor man found a glittering stone on the road. He didn’t know it was a diamond. A merchant who was passing by saw the stone and decided to cheat the man out of it. He offered him a hundred rupees for the diamond. The man thought it would

Different Viewpoints!

Two women friends met after many years. “Tell me,” said one, “What happened to your son?” “My son? The poor, poor lad!? sighed the other. What an unfortunate marriage he made, to a girl who won’t do a bit of work in the house. She won’t cook, she

I Am Real!

The family settled down for dinner at the restaurant. The waitress first took the order of the adults, then, turned to the seven year old. “What will you have?” she asked. The boy looked around the table timidly and said, “I would like to have a hot dog.” Before the

It Means What It Means

The great Zen master once invited a court official to tea. After the customary greetings the official said, “I do not wish to squander this opportunity of spending some time in the presence of so great a Master. Tell me, what does it mean when they say that inspite of

Dry In The Rain!

A man invited Nasrudin to go hunting with him, but mounted him on a horse which was too slow. The Mulla said nothing. Soon the hunt outpaced him and was out of sight. It began to rain heavily, and there was no shelter. All the members of the hunt got

Its Written On Your Face!

Once upon a time a poor old woman was walking from one village to another carrying a bundle on her head. Unable to lift it easily, she rested every now and then. A horseman passed by. The old woman requested him to carry the bundle on the horseback till the

Digging For Gold!

As a young boy, Andrew Carnegie came to America and started doing odd jobs. Later on, he became one of the largest steel manufacturers of the United States. At one time, he had 43 millionaires working for him. One day, someone asked him how he dealt with people. Andrew Carnegie

The Pundit And The Thugs!

Once a Pundit received a calf in offering. His village was ten kilometres away from the place where he went to perform puja. The three thugs of this village saw the lovely calf and thought of a plot. As soon as the pundit left the village, the first thug met

Own Address

A rich man went to Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa and said: “I’ve heard that Goddess Mahakali herself comes to meet you.” Sri Ramakrishna: “Yes, that is true.” “When does she come?” “That is not fixed. Is there a particular time when the gods and the saints pay visit? They come

Where Has The Light Gone

The great Sufi Saint Hasan was breathing his last. People collected together and one of them asked him, “Please tell us something about your teacher.” The Saint replied, “If I had one teacher, I could have told you about him but I had the good fortune to have a large

Get Yourself Out Of The Way!

A woodcarver had just finished work on a statue of Saraswati. Everyone who saw it marvelled, for it seemed to be the work of the spirits. When the King saw it, he asked, “What sort of genius is yours that you could make such a thing?” The woodcarver replied, “Sir,

Fifty Years Of Politeness!

An elderly couple celebrated their golden anniversary after fifty years of marriage. While eating breakfast together, the woman thought, “For fifty years I’ve always been considerate to my husband and have always given him the crusty top of the breakfast roll. Today I want finally to enjoy this delicacy

Accept Unconditionaly

Once Lord Buddha sat through the complaints a man had against his wife. Finally he said, “Your marriage would be a happier one, if you were a better husband.” “And how could I be that?” the man asked. “By giving up your efforts to make her a better wife.” Adjustment

Princess Marrying A Slave!

A princess had set her heart on marrying one of her slaves. Nothing the king said or did succeeded in moving the girl from her resolve. And none of the king’s advisers could tell him what to do. Finally a wise old man appeared at court and on hearing

Practice Namasmarana

Here is a beautiful Chinna Katha our beloved Bhagwan often narrates to show how human effort is necessary for even divine grace. Bhagvan has often said that “Divine grace is like the sun, one should only open one’s heart to receive it.” But very often man is not ready

The Middle Path

This is a story from the life of Buddha. One afternoon, when he was in meditation, voices drifted across. One musician was in conversation with the other. He told him, “You want to be able to play the Ektara don’t you? Then learn to tune your string properly, in

Go Out And Win Your Own Kingdom

King Phillip of Macedonia was very fond of horses. Macedonia was a state in ancient Greece just like Gujarat in India. King Philip had a son called Alexander who was then 14 years old. One day a horse trader from Turkey brought some very fine horses to sell to King

The donkey in the well

A donkey once fell into an old dry well. The poor animal cried piteously all night. The villagers were quite helpless. There was no way they could think of, to get the poor creature out. Having got tired of hearing his continuous screams for help, the villagers decided to resort

The Dirty Nests!

A dove was constantly changing her nest. The strong smell that the nest had developed over time was unbearable for her. She complained about this bitterly as she spoke with a wise, old and experienced dove. The latter nodded his head several times and said, “By changing your nest all

Tetsugen’S Three Sutras!

Tetsugen, a devotee of Zen in Japan, decided to publish the sutras, which at that time were available only in Chinese. The books were to be printed with wood blocks in an edition of seven thousand copies, a tremendous undertaking. Tetsugen began by travelling and collecting donations for this purpose.

The Cane Of Conscience!

This story is from the life of Gandhiji, not the Gandhiji whom we see in pictures, but Gandhiji as a little boy. At that time, Mohan as he was called, was hardly a saint. He was as naughty as children generally are and as mischievous! Once he happened to do

Better I Learn To Live With It!

A man went to see a psychiatrist and said that every night he was visited by a twelve-feet dragon with three heads. He was a nervous wreck, could not sleep at all and was on the verge of total collapse. He had even thought of suicide. “I think I can

Meaning Of Prayer!

The Moghul Emperor Akbar was one day out hunting in the forest. When it was time for evening prayers he dismounted, spread his mat on the earth and knelt to pray in the manner of devout Muslims everywhere. Now it was precisely at this time that a peasant woman, perturbed

Commitment-Stalin & Churchill!

President Truman attended the Yalta Conference of the Allies during the Second World War. He found Winston Churchill very difficult, adamant and hard to convince of anything. On the other hand, he found Joseph Stalin of Russia very affable, friendly and easy to convince. Churchill literally fought before putting his

What Matters Is What I Do!

There once lived an Eastern king whose wisdom illuminated the land like a sun, whose cleverness was surpassed by no one and whose wealth far exceeded that of everyone else. One day a Wazir came to him with an unhappy face. “Great sultan, you are the wisest, greatest and mightiest

The Shirt Of A Happy Man!

A caliph lay deathly ill on his silk cushions. The hakims, the physicians of his country, stood around him and agreed that only one thing could bring the caliph healing and salvation: placing under his head the shirt of a happy man. Messengers swarmed out looking in every city, every

Too Big To Miss!

There was a giant who was bullying and harassing the children in the village. One day, a shepherd boy came to visit his brothers and asked, “Why don’t you stand up and fight the giant?” The brothers were terrified and they replied, “Don’t you see he is too

Appointment With Yama!

There once lived a very wealthy trader, Alladin, in a village two hours away from Istanbul. Alladin had many servants. He was kind-hearted, treated them nicely and was loved and respected by them. One morning, he sent one of his servants, Mustafa to the market to buy a few important

You Always Find Something That Reflects You!

The Sunday – school teacher asked her class to learn an appropriate phrase from the Bible and recite it as they were putting their pennies in the collection box. On the following Sunday little Lucas came up with, “It is more blessed to give than to receive,” as he dropped his

The Eco-Friendly Toothbrush!

One day in Yervada Jail, Gandhi noticed that one of his associates in the Ashram, Kaka Kalekar, was in the habit of breaking off whole branches of the neem tree even if he needed only four or five leaves. Gandhi said to him, “This is himsa. Others might not be

Perhaps There Is A Road Up There!

Some small boys planned to steal the Mulla’s slippers and run away with them. They called him and pointed to a tree, “Nobody could climb that tree.” “Any one of you could” said Nasrudin, “and I shall show you.” Removing his slippers he tucked them into his belt and

I Will Reply To You Tomorrow!

There is a story about the sufi fakir – Junaid. If someone cursed him or called his name, he would say, “Tomorrow I’ll come and reply.” The next day he would go and say, “Now no reply is needed.” If the person would ask, “Yesterday I called your name why

Effect Of Srimad Bhagavad Geeta!

Why we read the Bhagavad Geeta, even if we can’t understand it? 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 Bhagavad Geeta. His grandson wanted to be just like him

The Fortunes And Misfortunes Of A Villager!

A man had a beautiful horse that was so rare that even emperors had asked the man to sell it to them. They were willing to pay whatsoever the price, but he refused. One morning he found that the horse had been stolen. The whole village gathered around his house

The Biggest Lesson!

Chandragupta’s Chief Minister Chanakya was a very wise and well-read man. Once an envoy came from China to discuss the “Philosophy of politics” with him. The Chinese envoy had a royal lifestyle and was also arrogant. He requested Chanakya for an appointment and was told to go to his

Scratch On Nose!

A tourist 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 two statues of the same idol? ” No said the sculptor, without looking up, we need only

Learn And Earn

Jam and Jing joined a wholesale company together just after graduation. Both worked very hard. After several years, the boss promoted Jing to sales executive but Jam remained a sales representative. One day Jam could not take it anymore and tendered his resignation to the boss and complained to the

Love In Action

One night a man came to our house and told me, “There is a family with eight children. They have not eaten for days”. I took some food and I went. When I finally came to the family, I saw the faces of those little children disfigured by hunger. There

Helpless Love

Once upon a time all feelings and emotions went to a coastal island for a vacation. According to their nature, each was having a good time. Suddenly, a warning of an impending storm was announced and every one was advised to evacuate the island. The announcement caused sudden panic. All

Limits To Growth

Once the employees of a large company, returned from their lunch break and were greeted with a sign on the front door. The sign said: “Yesterday, the person who has been hindering your growth in this company passed away. We invite you to join the funeral that has been arranged

One Set Of Manners

A distinguished lady, noted for the fine family from which she came, was once presented at the court of the Queen of Holland. Later, the wife of a minor government official asked her how she happened to know the proper way to behave, before a queen. “I really didn’t

An Orphan Shows The Way

An 8-year-old orphan in an asylum, a nervous, unattractive child, was shunned by the supervisors as well as by his playmates. They all hoped for an opportunity to send him away. One day, the child’s room-mate reported that the little boy carried on a correspondence with someone on the

God’S Response

Once there was a man who asked God for a flower and a butterfly. But instead, God gave him a cactus and a caterpillar. The man was sad; he didn’t understand why his request was mistaken. Then he thought: “Oh well, God has too many people to care for”

Never Miss The First Opportunity

A young man wished to marry the farmer’s beautiful daughter. He went to the farmer to ask for her. The farmer looked at him and said, “Son, go stand out in that field. I’m going to release three bulls, one at a time. If you can catch the

Kindle My Light

Once a mother took her little child of ten years on a long journey. All through the journey the child was smiling at each and everyone, in the market place, at the bus stand, shopping complex, railway station, etc. When they reached home, the mother asked her child, “Why were

A Mouse-Trap

A mouse looked through the crack in the wall to see the farmer and his wife open a package. “What food might this contain?” The mouse wondered and he was devastated to discover it was a mouse-trap. Retreating to the farmyard, the mouse proclaimed the warning: “There is a mouse-trap

Change Yourself First

Once upon a time, there was a king who ruled a prosperous country. One day, he went for a trip to some distant areas of his country. When he was back to his palace, he complained that his feet were very painful, because it was the first time that he

Produce Quality Goods

A company, dealing in dog food, was holding its annual sales convention. The sales personnel were brimming with ideas. The advertising director introduced a point-of-sales scheme that would revolutionize the industry. The sale director extolled the virtues of the best sales force in the business. Finally it was time for

When God Gives

Once a boy went to a shop with his mother. The shop keeper looked at the small cute child and showed him a jar with sweets and said, “Dear child, you can take the sweets.” But the child didn’t take. The shopkeeper was surprised: He is such a small

Processional Caterpillars

A biologist once experimented with what he called “processional caterpillars”. He lined up caterpillars on the rim of a pot that held a plant so that the lead caterpillar was head to tail with the last caterpillar, with no break in the parade. The tiny creatures walked around the rim

A Child’S Kindness

Always remember those who serve. In the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less, a 10 year old boy entered a hotel coffee shop and sat at a table. A waitress put a glass of water in front of him. “How much is an ice cream sundae?” he

Would You Walk By?

It was a cold winter’s day that Sunday. The parking lot to the temple was filling up quickly. I noticed as I got out of my car that fellow temple members were whispering among themselves as they walked to the temple. As I got closer I saw a man

The Sinner

Ten Chinese farmers were working in a field when the sky suddenly darkened. There was thunder and lightning. Rain began to fall. The farmers, holding on tightly to their large straw hats, ran for shelter to the ruins of an old temple nearby. Lightning flashed again and again, each time

A Pin For Gandhiji

Mahatma Gandhi used to get not only fan mail but a lot of hate mail, too. One day he received a long abusive letter from a man he hardly knew. The letter ran into five pages and they had been put together with a pin. When Gandhiji had finished reading

Lincoln’S Integrity

Abraham Lincoln, a lawyer by profession, accepted a case which appeared to be a good one. Subsequently, he had a sitting with his client. He quietly heard him for about an hour or two, staring at the wall of his cabin. Then he looked at the client and said: “Listen!

Optimism

Many years ago there was an old man who had one son and a horse. One day his horse broke out of the corral and fled to the freedom of the hills. “Your horse got out? What bad luck!” said his neighbours. “Why do you say that?” asked the old

The Most Appropriate Vessel

The Master was searching for a vessel to use; on the shelf there were many – which one would He choose? “Take me”, cried the gold one, “I’m shiny and bright, I’m of great value and I do things just right. My beauty and luster will outshine the rest

Compassion Is The Root Of All Generosity

The great king of Punjab, Sardar Ranjit Singh was known for his compassionate heart. Once he was travelling along with his body guard in his horse-drawn carriage when without warning a stone-missile hit his forehead, causing intense pain and bleeding. The body guard stopped the vehicle and ran in search

The Best Tailor

Three tailors came to a city on the same day and went to live on the same street. The next morning one of them had a notice outside his door: “The best tailor in the city”. The morning after that the second tailor hung a bigger notice: “The best tailor

Sant Kabir’S Prayer

“Come, let’s start praying,” said Sant Kabir to his disciples. It was Kabir’s usual practice to pray in the evening. And it was also a usual practice of some antagonists to harass him. When Kabir and his disciples sat to pray, these rowdy people started shouting and making

Foolish Dog

A man once approached a Mahapurusha and asked of him, “Oh learned one! Who was your Guru?” The seer said, “A dog”. Astonished, the man asked, “A dog? How can that be possible?” The seer explained, “Once, I was resting under a tree, on the bank of a stream. I

Birbal Shortens A Road

The emperor Akbar was travelling to a distant place along with some of his courtiers. It was a hot day and the emperor was tired of the journey. “Can’t anybody shorten this road for me?” he asked, querulously. “I can,” said Birbal. The other courtiers looked at one another,

Happiness Comes From Giving

A rich lady went to visit a counsellor to seek out happiness. The counsellor instead of counselling her directly, called over the old lady who cleaned the office floors. The counsellor then said to the rich lady “I’m going to ask Mary here to tell you how she found

The Ant

A man was watching a tiny ant carry a huge feather cross his courtyard. Several times it was confronted by obstacles in its path and after contemplated calculations it would make the necessary detours. At one point the ant had to negotiate a crack in the concrete about 10mm wide.

Nobody Is Perfect

A young man Sreeman wanted to marry the most beautiful and accomplished girl in the world. His parents introduced him to many girls over the years, but he always found some fault in each. “She is too short!” “Her eyes are very narrow.” “She laughs too loud.” “She doesn’t

The Four Doctors

There was a Hakim who was very wise. All the people of his village came to him whenever they were ill. He seemed to know about every herb and its uses. He was always able to find simple home remedies for all kinds of illnesses. He was for all practical

The Time Machine

A professor of history and had just finished teaching about the Freedom Struggle of India. She said to the students, “Now that we have covered most of our History syllabus, you would be thinking about how things could have been different if certain people had behaved differently or if certain

Ananda

Ananda was the cousin of the great Buddha. When Buddha attained enlightenment, Ananda decided to spend all his time with Him. Before taking initiation, he wanted to make sure that Buddha would not treat him at par with the other disciples and that he would retain his special status as

The Mud Pots

A counselor was taking a class of students at the threshold of graduation. She was trying to impress upon them, the importance of availing of opportunity when it comes knocking. One of the students said, “Ma’am, in life all of us do not get the same opportunities. Some are

Wheat Grains

Dewan had stored a large number of wheat bags in his house. One day he found that ten bags were missing. He accused his neighbor Karanbir of theft. The matter was reported to the police and Karanbir was arrested and put in police lock up. A few days later the

The Opium Eater

This is an ancient story of a person who was addicted to eating opium. All day long he was drowsy and lazy because of this habit. A saint visited his village and saw him in that state of drowsiness and sloth. As the other people of the village came to

Nip the evil in the bud

Mohan was fascinated by the coloured chalks used by his kindergarten teacher to draw on the black board. Every afternoon he would slip 2 or 3 pieces into his pocket and take them home. One day he stole his friend’s new sharpener. The other day he pocketed a pencil

The Three Friends

In a small town, there lived three friends. Most of the time, they hung around together. There was a wise man that came to stay in the town. There were rumours that every morning the wise man would donate something to who so ever came his way. So the poor

Nine Or Ten?

Ten men were walking to their destination. They walked all night. When dusk fell, they decided to rest. One of them said, let us count and make sure that all of us are present, lest either of us get lost. So one of them counted all the heads and said,

Gifts For The Queens

This is an ancient tale that tells about a king who had four wives. The king went for some days to a foreign land. When it was time for him to return, he wrote a letter to each of his wives. It read as, “My dearest one, this is a

The Stone Cutter

A large number of stone cutters were working where a new temple was being built. A curious child asked one of them, “What are you doing?” The worker replied sourly, “I am cutting stones, to earn a livelihood. Can’t you see?” The child was a little intimidated by the

Pardon These People

The founder of the Arya Samaj was a great soul called Swami Dayananda Saraswati. He preached Hinduism and propagated against idol worship, caste-ism, child marriage and other social evils. This was not acceptable to many Hindus. Resultantly, he made many enemies within the Hindu fold as well as in other

Walking With The Hermit

A king used to visit a hermit regularly. He learnt many things from the hermit. The king wanted to repay the hermit for all that he had gained from him. He got a beautiful palace just like his own, made for the hermit. He gave him horses, elephants, chariots, servants,

Icecream Anyone?

A man of few means took his little nieces and nephews to a fete. The entry was free and the enthusiastic pack of children had fun, looking at the crowds going up and down on the giant wheel and the Columbus ride. Some of the rides were free and others

The frog race

A group of frogs decided to have a race, up to the top of a steep and high mountain. They all set off enthusiastically, each trying to outdo the rest. The face of the mountain was steep and slippery. Soon the frogs became tired. Their pace became slower and slower.

A 100 Abuses

It is said that the son born to Lord Krishna’s paternal aunt looked like a monster. He had four arms and three eyes. His voice was akin to an ass braying. A voice from the sky (Aakaashvani) proclaimed that the child’s third eye would vanish when he saw

Which Route Do You Take?

Rahul, Rehmat, Ryan and Ranjit were friends. They would play together in the evening. One evening they had a childish argument over the subject of God. Rahul said, “My mummy says that Krishna is the greatest God.” Rehmat said, “That’s foolish, Allah is supreme.” Ranjit countered them all saying,

The Flowers Of Lanka

The great saint Samartha Guru Ramadas (the Guru of Shivaji) was writing the Epic Ramayana. He was presently writing the portion where Hanuman reached Lanka in search of Sita. He wrote, “Hanuman, the brave messenger of Lord Rama, searched all over the city of Lanka to find Sita. Lanka was

Dress Mess

It was lunch time and all the girls lined up to go into the dining hall of the hostel. A delegation of senior nuns was visiting the school. They had been closely inspecting the activities of the girls in the class rooms as well as in the dormitories. Today they

The Begging Bowl

A beggar knocked at the court of a king for alms. The king saw the ragged clothes of the beggar and his skinny face and limbs. His eyes seemed to look nowhere. He ordered that precious jewels and gold be put into the begging bowl of the beggar. The beggar

The Devotee Contest

A king once announced that he wanted to reward the person most devoted to God, in his kingdom. So, he told his minister to make announcements and hold a session to find out such a devotee. A large number of applicants were gathered in the palace premises. It was decided

Hands That Help Are Greater Than Lips That Pray

Being a small place, most of the people of this little township were involved in some way or the other in the running of the famous Mansa Devi Temple of the Goddess. A tourist wanted to meet his old lady relative who was sick and ailing. She had told him,

The King’S Forest Resort

A king had a holiday resort in the forest. He used to visit there sometimes to relax. A new caretaker had taken over recently. He had just got the message that the king would be visiting tomorrow. The caretaker was excited and anxious too. He wanted to please the king

Michaelangelo

Michaelangelo was a great sculptor. He was also a great perfectionist. Once he was making a sculpture when a friend happened to visit him. The friend saw him doing the finishing touches and praised the beautiful work of art. Some days later, the friend came to see Michaelangelo again and

Take Them Both To Heaven

There was a very pious and rich man who spent a lot of time in praying and doing good deeds. He would donate money to charitable organizations and to orphanages. He led a simple and organized life that focused majorly on God. One day he was traveling to another town

The Science Of Prayer

Many years ago, a man was traveling by train. He was engrossed in prayer and moved the beads of his rosary meticulously as he silently chanted the name of God in his heart. A young university student seated beside him watched him intently. The over enthusiastic student said, “You do

Tukaram’S Forbearance

Tukaram was a great Saint. He spent his time in singing the praises of Lord Vithala Panduranga. Tukaram was a gentle and balanced person but his wife was just the opposite. Despite the difference in temperament, he managed to get along well with her. Tukaram had a small half acre

wheat grains

There is a story from Persian folklore. A man called Kooli thought himself to be the most unlucky man alive on the Earth. He thought that if he would even look up when it was raining, the Rain God would stop the rain! If he would extend a hand to

The Butcher’S Lesson

Here is a strange story from our scriptures. A young sanyasi did penance for many years. One day while he was sitting under a tree, some dry twigs and leaves fell on his head. He looked up and saw a crane and a crow fighting. He realized that the commotion

Akbar’S Gold Coins

The wisdom of Birbal was unparalleled during the reign of Emperor Akbar. But Akbar’s brother in law was extremely jealous of him. He asked the Emperor to dispense with Birbal’s services and appoint him in his place. He gave ample assurance that he would prove to be more

Krack-Track-Krack-Track

In a village there was a well, where the water was drawn by a bull that was tied to a huge iron wheel. As the bull would run on a circular path around the well, the wheel would move and water would be drawn up. Throughout the period when the

The Dirty Kamandelu

A rich man went to the hermitage of a great sage. He said to the sage, “Oh revered one! Give me the knowledge of the Para-Brahma, I have very limited time and I have snatched these few days out of my busy schedule with great difficulty. Please tell me about

The Fortune In The Well

A man inherited a fortune from his uncle. He brought home a large amount of money and gold. That evening he was sitting in his backyard when he thought he heard someone whispering. He strained his ears to catch the muffled words and heard, “…jewellery … at midnight … hide … quietly …” The

Still Carrying The Girl

Two young ascetics were going on a pilgrimage in the hills. They were just a short distance away from their destination when they saw a beautiful young girl lying on the roadside. She had fallen down and hurt herself so badly that she had several bruises all over her face,

Kumari’S Death

There was a young woman called Kumari who lived in a village. She lived a very normal life, like all householders. She spent her time in housekeeping, cooking, washing etc. She never had any time for other things. One night while she was asleep, she died. After her death, she

The four wives

A king had four wives. He loved the fourth one the most. She was very beautiful and many a king would give anything to have her. He gifted her with the finest of robes and jewellery to wear. He fed her exotic fruits and delicacies prepared by the best chefs.

Buddha’S Lesson On Wasting

A disciple of Buddha, said, “Oh Master! I have a request to make.” Buddha: “What is it; tell me?” Disciple: “My robe is worn out. It is no longer decent enough to wear. Please, may I have a new one?” Buddha looked at the disciple’s attire and found that

The Genie

A man had to do a lot of work every day. One day he was very, very tired. He was praying in his heart, “Oh God! Please give me a servant to do all my work, I feel so exhausted all day.” He was polishing an old brass lamp while

The Crown

Mandira was a pretty little girl with lovely doe like eyes and hair that framed her hair exquisitely with a thousand ringlets. Mandira belonged to a poor family where it was barely possible to get two square meals in a day. Mandira played with her rag dolls and old tins,

Honesty Still Counts

Bhagwan Baba once visited the India Institute of Science. He saw a young man standing under a tree, looking very upset. Swami asked him, what the matter was. The boy said, “Swami, I came here to give an interview for a job. Sir C. V. Raman scolded me and asked

A Shepherd’S Prayer

A young shepherd boy called Sabal grazed his flock of sheep atop the green mountains. Each day he would search for the patch where the grass was the greenest. Sabal would spend a lot of time grooming his sheep. He would comb their wooly hair and remove the lice from

Kite Flying

Aayaan and Ujwal were good friends. Today being Basant Panchmi, it was a holiday day so they went to the city park to fly kites. Aayaan had a lovely yellow kite with a deep pink tail and naughty eyes. Ujwal had a blue one with black moustaches and a sensible

The Red Shawl

A poor man was a great lover of God. He spent a lot of time in contemplation on the name and form of God. One day a rich merchant happened to pass by his cottage. It was hot and the rich merchant was thirsty. The poor man sensed that the

Throw The Money In The Well

A young boy was habitually lazy and fun loving. He had a wealthy father and took for granted, all the comforts that were available to him without batting an eyelid. His father tried time and again to get the lad to start working, but the fellow was just not willing

The Fastest Runner

A princess once declared that she would marry the person who defeated her in running a race. She was an accomplished runner and was adamant that her suitor should be a better runner than her. Many princes from near and far came to contest a race with her. One by

Shop Attachment

A shop keeper used to sell food grains. He was always engrossed in supervising the storage and display of his wares. He made sure that no customer was given even a little extra. If a kilogram of rice was to be weighed, he would personally supervise that the store-boy did

Tennis In Economics

Mrs Muralidhar was trying hard to make herself heard above the buzzing and hissing sounds in the class. This class of B.Com 1st year was especially bad. They seemed to have endless things to chat about. They seemed to want to do everything but listen to Mrs Muralidhar who

Rotten Bananas

Nariman was a good man. He would sit in prayer and connect with God to draw strength and inspiration. He spent a good portion of his time and money in the service of the poor. He would offer his services at the hospital whenever they put up free medical camps.

Experience The Divinity Of Sai

Here is something that has been told by Bhagwan Sri Sathya Sai Baba during one of His discourses. In the Treta Yuga, Rishi Bhardwaja read many texts to gain knowledge but after reading for a long period of time, he was yet not satisfied, so on the advice of Narada,

At The Break Of Dawn

An old washer-woman lived in a village. She had a rooster that would crow loudly at the break of dawn. As soon as the rooster would announce the beginning of a new day, the old woman would get up and begin her endless chores for the day. So mechanical and

My Two Rupees

As little children, our annual holiday was a visit to Nani’s house with our mother. It was a time to meet up with our maternal cousins and basically have fun! Nani was a composed and elegant figure, duty conscious to the core; a woman of few words. Little Madhu

Room For All

A monk happened to be crossing a village one night when it started to pour. He spotted a raised verandah outside a house that had just enough roof over it, to accommodate him. The monk did not think it proper to knock at any of the houses and ask for

I Lost My Shoes

The compound of the temple was a busy place today as it was every Tuesday. Food was served to poor people on this day. Rickshaw pullers and labourers sat in lines waiting for their turn to be served. Quietly and swiftly the food was served and one by one people

The Priceless Vessel

A king once distributed amongst his people, many priceless objects, like necklaces, bangles, gold and silver bowls, artifacts and clothes etc. A peasant was happy to receive a beautiful vessel studded with diamonds, emeralds, sapphires and rubies. He was very happy to bring it home. Eagerly he showed it to

The Prince Is Drowning!

Some of the greatest lessons have been taught by Birbal to the Emperor Akbar. So simple and subtle was his way of teaching that these little anecdotes have been preserved by the then scholars for posterity. Once Emperor Akbar, in the presence of his courtiers ridiculed the Hindu belief that

Grace At Gurudwara

A couple had been using an old two wheeler to transport themselves to the Gurudwara for many years. One cold winter day, they sold off their scooter and put in their meagre savings and were able to afford themselves a small and cheap car. But they were thrilled they would

Mind Your Language

A young man had a very bad temper. His speech was tempered with abuses and insults. He would argue with his parents over trivial issues and utter scathing words. His parents tried hard to put up with his temper and reform him too, but he was quite incorrigible. One day,

Begging Again

“Give us Alms! Oh Amma! We are hungry; please give us something to eat. The piteous voice of a female leper, as she begged for food for her blind leper husband and herself, was a familiar sound to the people of this locality. Souvena heard the voice and said, “Mother,

Cock-A-Doodle-Doo

A man was suffering from insomnia. He couldn’t sleep due to the crowing of the Rooster in his neighbour’s house. One day he complained to his neighbour, “All through the night I have been lying awake. The crowing of your rooster doesn’t let me sleep.” The neighbour

Einstein

The great scientist Einstein was a very wise man. His wife was quite a dull head. She was illiterate and ill-mannered. She was capable of speaking anything that she wanted to, without thinking how the other person would feel about it. Einstein was usually lost in his world of test

Back Biting

It is said that one day Shirdi Sai Baba was sitting with his devotees. They were discussing about some devotees. Shirdi Sai Baba was telling them to look for goodness in everyone. That was surely a way to make life pleasant. One of them said, “Baba we try not to

Where Does God Live?

There was a man who wanted to see God. He went on many pilgrimages and read many scriptures but nothing seemed to be able to satisfy his quest. He wandered from place to place in search of God. On a cold winter evening, he sat watching an old woman stirring

He Is My Son

A young boy had all the comforts of home. He had a caring family, but for some reason he had acquired many vices and had really gone astray. He was truly a spoilt brat. His father was very perturbed about his son’s ways. One day the father met his

King Kong

There was a very strong man called King Kong. He was proud of his body and used to exercise vigorously everyday to build and maintain his sturdy and well developed muscles. One morning King Kong was doing his daily workout. A little girl happened to see him and stared at

Happy Valentine’S Day

The market place was decorated with festivity. Heart shaped balloons in red colour hung all over the place. Gift shops were loaded with teddy bears, cards, candles, bracelets, rings, and belts etc, all of them embellished with red hearts. It was Valentine’s Day! A poor boy was selling the

Kisagotami’S Son

A woman called Kisagotami was crying miserably because her beloved son had died. She roamed the streets of the city carrying the dead child in her arms and wailing for help to bring him back to life. A kind old man took pity on her and led her to a

Business Acumen

A young man was very very poor. He had no money at all. One day he found a dead rat lying on the road side. He sold it to the owner of a pet cat. A storm was brewing and the young man took shelter in the corner of the

May We Never Take Mothers For Granted!!

For those lucky to still be blessed with your Mom this is beautiful. For those of you who aren’t, this is even more beautiful. For those who are moms, you’ll love this. The young Mother set her foot on the path of life. “Is this the long way?

The Gate To Heaven

A man and his dog were walking along a road. The man was enjoying the scenery, when it suddenly occurred to him that he was dead. He remembered dying, and that the dog had been dead for years. He wondered where the road was leading them. After a while, they

The Other Woman

After 21 years of marriage, I discovered a new way of keeping alive the spark of love. A little while ago I had started to go out with another woman. It was really my wife’s idea. “I know that you love her,” she said one day, taking me by

Why Do Women Cry?

“Why Are You Crying? Why are you crying?” he asked his mom. “Because I’m a woman,” she told him. “I don’t understand,” he said. His mom just hugged him and said, “And you never will” Later the little boy asked his father, “Why does mother seem to cry

Divine Chat

God : Hello. Did you call me? Me: Called you? No…..who is this? God : This is GOD. I heard your prayers. So I thought I will chat. Me: I do pray. Just makes me feel good. I am actually busy now. I am in the midst of something. God : What

When The Wind Blows

A farmer owned land along the Atlantic sea-coast. 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,

Lawn Mowing

A little boy, went into a drug store, reached for a soda carton and pulled it over to the telephone. He climbed onto the carton so that he could reach the buttons on the phone and proceeded to punch in seven digits. The store owner listened to the following conversation.

Time And Love

Once upon a time there was an island where all the feelings lived. Happiness, sadness, knowledge and all the others, including love. One day it was announced to all of the feelings that the island was going to sink to the bottom of the ocean. So all the feelings prepared

Mohini Avtar

Once upon a time, a demon called Bhasmasura, pleased Lord Shiva by performing severe penances on the snow capped Himalayas. Lord Shiva appeared before him and said, “I am pleased. Ask for a boon and I shall give.” Bhasmasura said, “Lord, give me such power that who so ever I

Thank God, It Fits

Women on the wrong side of thirty, usually find it difficult to come to terms with the fact that a woman’s body is like an hourglass … as time passes, all the weight shifts to the bottom! Well! When it’s time to say goodbye to the thirties, it’s

You Are Valuable

A lecturer was telling his students about self-esteem. Some pessimistic students refused to believe that they were loved or cared about. Suddenly he announced that he needed to take a break and asked the students to step out for a snack if they wished to. “By the way,” he asked

For A Special Occasion

A man opened his wife’s closet of clothes. It was lined with sarees that she had worn just once, may be twice. There were others that had been kept away unused, waiting for a special occasion. He opened her jewellery box. It was neatly packed with necklaces and earrings

The Turtle Picnic

A turtle family went on a picnic.. The turtles, being naturally slow about things, took seven years to prepare for their outings. Finally the turtle family left home looking for a suitable place. During the second year of their journey they found it. For about six months they cleaned up

Manage Your Burden

An expert in stress management was giving a lecture. To illustrate his subject he held up a glass of water in the class and asked, “How long do you think I can hold this glass up, like this?” There were many answers, like. “Five minutes”; “Eight minutes”; “Fifteen minutes”; “One

God’S Creation

Divya was God gifted; she had a good hand at painting. It was her passion and she enjoyed wielding the brush effortlessly over her canvas. One day, she started working on a canvas, having nothing particular in mind. Ideas started flowing and within minutes she had made a skeleton sketch

Stri-Dharma

It is said that the great epic ‘Ramayana’ shall be sung and rehearsed for all times to come. It is a story of ‘Dharma’ i.e. duty. If we think of the world as a stage, then in the Ramayana each character has performed his or her dharma as per

Self Esteem

Once upon a time willful kinsmen kidnapped a young prince. The kidnappers bound him and took him away to a tribal village in a remote area far, far away from his territory. In an effort to defile him physically, emotionally and morally, they performed inhuman atrocities on his body and

Rain Drops

The rains had failed to come. It was a hot summer. Men, animals, trees and grasses seemed parched by the scorching heat of the blazing sun. The streams and rivulets had long since dried up and the cows needed milking no more. Fetching water from the river was expensive and

Education

Two men were crossing the dried course of a river. It was a stream with pebbles, big and small. They could barely see where they were going as the moonlight was dim and mellow. As they wound their way to the other side, they spotted an old man sitting on

The Twigs

Madan had two daughters and two sons. He was a responsible and caring father who gave quality of time to his children whenever he could. Due to the pressure of work he could not find too much time for his family, but whenever he could, he would chat with them.

News Papers

As a matter of routine, Jagat read six newspapers every morning. He started his day by reading them. He would read them while he went through his morning ablutions. He would continue to read as he had his morning cup of tea and later as he had his breakfast. Once,

Row, Row, Row Your Boat

There was a rowing competition on Sunday. All the members of the rowing club were practicing hard. The break of dawn on Sunday saw all the contestants lined up in their boats. They were to row a distance of two kilometres. As luck would have it, the morning breeze was

I Love My Parents

Shashi and her husband were the proud parents of two young boys. They lived in Mumbai. In the normal course of growing up and pursuing their higher education, both the boys went abroad. The older one, one day told his parents, “Mom and Dad, I have something to share with

Positive Criticism

Rawatji was the eighty years old clerk in the office of Ahmed. Ahmed was the head of a reputed business organization. One day a client was sitting in a meeting with Ahmed. They were tabulating the terms of the new agreement for the purchase of steel for the new plant.

The Poor Man

A man, who was full of self-pity, went to a priest and said, “I am very poor. I am totally disillusioned because I have nothing. I want to die. Please help me to become rich, or I do not wish to live.” The priest thought for a moment and said,

The Home Coming

My grandmother once told me a story of four yogis. The first was a Bhakti yogi, one who felt that devotion and love for God in his physical form was the right way to please him. The Bhakta’s emotions ruled his heart and soul. The second was a gyana

The Night Light

An old couple was building a small house for themselves. All their lives they had spent on their children’s upbringing. Now they had discharged all their liabilities, so they decided to build a small cottage for themselves. One bright sunny day they set out to buy light fittings for

I Love You, Papa

Devyani was sitting beside her ailing father. He had contracted Pneumonia, after being out on a chilly winter evening in January. She read out short stories from a book to him. He listened with attention as she read the author’s description of a garden in a valley, abloom with

Birbal, Once More!

Emperor Akbar heard the charges of theft against a poor old man. He decided to punish him by making him stand in a pond for a whole night. It was a cold night and the water was icy cold. But the man had to undergo the punishment. Two watchmen stood

The Wise Fish

There were thousands of fish in the sea. One day some of the fish got talking to each other. One of them asked an aged fish. “Sister, how is it that every time the fisherman comes and spreads his net, hundreds of our kith and kin get caught and are

The Stone Cutter

A large number of stone cutters were working. A temple was being built. A curious child asked one of them, “What are you doing?” The worker replied sourly, “I am cutting stones, to earn a livelihood. Can’t you see?” The child was a little intimidated by the gruff reply

Good Health

There was a king called Sheelbhadra. He along with a number of ministers and courtiers was on a pilgrimage. En route they stopped at many temples. The king offered his prayers at each of the temples. Some days passed like this. One evening as dusk fell, the king’s party

My Water

There was a small hermitage in the mountains. The air was cool and clean. Some young sadhus lived there. They lived simply. They ate mostly wild fruits and berries. They slept on jute mats on the floor. They brought water from the nearby stream to cook, wash and clean the

I Love Mangoes

A religious congregation was going on. The preacher had delivered a long discourse yesterday. He had emphasized the need to give up attachment. He told the people assembled to live simple lives. He also told them of the importance of Maun i.e. observing silence. Today, the preacher sat in

Hare And Tortoise (Old Story Retold)

The moral of the old story of the hare and the tortoise is that slow and steady wins the race. That is the version of the story that we’ve all grown up with. But then recently, someone told me a more interesting version of this story. It continues: The

Performance Appraisal And Feedback

A little boy went into a drug store, reached for a soda carton and pulled it over to the telephone. He climbed onto the carton so that he could reach the buttons on the phone and proceeded to punch in seven digits. The store owner listened to the following conversation.

The Other Side

A Father was reading a magazine and his little daughter every now and then distracted him. To keep her busy, he tore one page on which was printed the map of the world. He tore it into pieces and asked her to go to her room and put them together

Attitude

The 92-year-old, petite, well-poised and proud lady, who is fully dressed each morning by eight o’clock, with her hair fashionably coifed and makeup perfectly applied, even though she is legally blind, moved to a nursing home today. Her husband of 70 years recently passed away, making the move necessary.

Love

Once upon a time there was an island where all the feelings lived. Happiness, sadness, knowledge and all the others, including love. One day it was announced to all of the feelings that the island was going to sink to the bottom of the ocean. So all the feelings prepared

Pickle Jar

The pickle jar as far back as I can remember sat on the floor beside the dresser in my parents’ bedroom. When he got ready for bed, Dad would empty his pockets and toss his coins into the jar. As a small boy I was always fascinated at the sounds

The Duck And The Devil

There was a little boy visiting his grandparents on their farm. He was given a slingshot to play with, out in the woods. He practiced in the woods, but he could never hit the target. Getting a little discouraged, he headed back for dinner. As he was walking back he

Power Of Positive Words

As a kid, I was always climbing trees, poles, and literally hanging around upside down from the rafters of our lake house. So, it came to no surprise for my dad to find me at the top of a 30-foot tree swinging back and forth. My little eight-year-old brain didn’

The Tea Cup

Love this story or not, you will not be able to have tea in a tea cup again without thinking of this. There was a couple who took a trip to England to shop in a beautiful antique store to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary. They both liked antiques and

No Time To Pray

Time and again, mother had been telling her son that he must get into the habit of saying a prayer in the morning. All the elders in the house were in the habit of spending a few minutes in the shrine room after bathing in the morning. Mother was trying

Give Up One Vice

The younger generation of today has by and large, a deficiency of values. A large number of youngsters are into drinking, smoking, drugs etc. The prevalent life style encourages youngsters to throw tantrums, get angry, go to nightclubs, tell lies to parents, have pre-marital sex, cheat and even kill for

The Life Like Painting

A portrait painter was well renowned for his work. It was a status symbol to have your portrait painted by him. The rich and elite of the city were always in queue to get their portraits done by this talented man. Mrs Gainworthy had ordered a portrait of herself. When

Meditation

There was a hermit who lived in the forest a little away from a village. He had a small hut made from mud with a thatched roof. The villagers would some times visit him and he would tell them about the purpose and value of human birth. “We should concentrate

The Ripples

A man was sitting by a lake. He was throwing small pebbles into it from time to time. A young boy happened to cross by. He was intrigued to see that after every few minutes or so, the man would toss a pebble into the lake. The boy went up

The Last Day Of My Life

At the age of thirty, Trivedi suffered a heart attack. He was sent home with a long list of do’s and don’ts, medicines, life style changes, diet restrictions etc. For a couple of months, Trivedi followed everything religiously. No drinking, no smoking, no non-vegetarian food, no tensions, regular

The Soap Boxes

A lady bought some bathing soaps from a shop. When she opened one of the packets, she found that it was empty. There was no soap in there; it was just an empty wrapper! She lodged a complaint against the manufacturer and got her claim. That being settled, there was

The Power Of Love

A mighty King was marching home after being victorious in a gruesome battle. He had captured the crown prince of the neighbouring kingdom and killed the King. The King was crossing through a jungle. He wanted to rest. The army halted there for the evening. Nearby was a hermitage. The

Kill The Enemy

Two countries were at war for the last so many days. Many soldiers had died in both the armies. The border areas were scenes of death and destruction. Each night the soldiers would return to their barracks, some wounded, some disillusioned and some vengeful. Others were dead and never did

Why Pray?

A youngster rang the doorbell to his Uncle’s house. He was asked to wait in the lobby because his Uncle was in the Prayer room. The young boy could get a glimpse of his Uncle’s back through the open door of the Prayer room. It was a rather

Temptation

Father was working on his laptop. It was a holiday, but he had lots of mails to clear so he had brought his laptop home. His little son Sirish was watching him. He was waiting eagerly for father to complete his work for he was hoping that he would be

The Favourite Child

The woman had three sons and six daughters. Her day was full of chores to fulfill the numerous demands of her growing troop. She was always busy with cooking, washing, cleaning, dusting ironing and also counselling! One day her youngest son fell sick. She called up the doctor and requested

The Painting On The Wall

There was a king who was a great admirer of art. He encouraged artists from all over his country and gave them valuable gifts. One day an artist came and said to the king, “Oh King! Give me a blank wall in your palace and let me paint a picture

The Beautiful Heart

Arushi was only seven years old. Her cousin Rajat who was twenty years old, was studying medicine. Arushi thought he was already a doctor, so she called him Doctor Bhayia (brother). One day she went to his room and found him studying a big book. She climbed onto his lap

The Music Competition

A talent search competition was being conducted by a music company for young budding singers. Twenty two entries had been selected from the hundreds of entries received. The contestants had sung in front of three eminent judges; men who had made a name for themselves in the world of music.

The Village Sarpanch

The villages in India have a head-man called Sarpanch. Inderpal was the Sarpanch of a village. He had become very old and was failing health. So, he told the village elders that he wanted to retire from the post of Sarpanch. A couple of names were suggested. They zeroed down

The Rat Bride

It is good to be ambitious, but being over ambitious can lead to disappointment. Sometimes it can be funny too! A pretty, young she-rat was eligible for marriage. Her mother was somewhat over ambitious and decided that she must find a very powerful husband for her darling daughter. She went

Home Of Peaceful Empathy

The ‘Home Of Peaceful Empathy’ or HOPE as it was popularly known was a home for the aged. It had about thirty residents. Some were sick, others were healthy. Some were active, others were confined to wheelchairs. Two things they all had in common: Their children didn’t want to

Would You Die For Me?

A young man called Ramaswami died an untimely death. His parents, wife and nine year old son were crying bitterly, sitting next to his dead body. They all happened to be disciples of a holy man whom they called ‘Maharaj Ji’. When Maharaj Ji learnt that Ramaswami had died, he

The Apple Truck

A man owned many trucks. He used to let them out for the transport of apples from Himachal Pradesh to the plains. In the wee hours of the morning he got the message that one of his trucks had skidded and overturned on the highway. At dawn the truck owner

Find Your Way Back Home

The father of a teenager usually tries to teach him life skills in an attempt to prepare him for the proverbial ‘Big-bad world’. One such father was on a business tour to a foreign country. He had taken his fourteen year old son with him. They were staying at a

‘Hisssss’

There was a huge tree in the clearing on the outskirts of the village. A snake lived in a hole under the tree. It had lived there for many years. Every evening the local children would come and play in the clearing. The snake would come out and raise its

What Is Your Dna?

A teacher of Biology was teaching a batch of Class-X students about DNA. He told them that DNA stands for Deoxyribonucleic Acid. It is a self-replicating material which carries the genetic information in chromosomes. It is found in the cell nuclei of nearly all organisms. He went on to tell

Space Research

A senior scientist was doing space research. He had a group of young scientists to assist him. For his research, he needed a big piece of land a little far away from the city. He along with one of his students called Abdul, approached the Municipal Officer concerned and put

The Twins

A young woman labourer assisted in building roads. She was lying behind a bush, in a pool of blood, numb with pain. She had just given birth to twin daughters. The only person attending to her was an old woman who was also part of the road building team. The

Peas Biryani

Steaming hot Peas Biryani! Mouth-watering! Delicious! Mother usually made Peas Biryani on Wednesday afternoons in winter. It was her favourite dish to prepare, for it was easy to make, yet a hot favourite amongst the kids. Moreover fresh peas were in season and tasted heavenly! She heated some oil in

Twin Pussycats

Maano and Raano were twin pussycats. One day they found a stale Roti on the road. Maano saw it, but before she could pick it up, Raano had already grabbed it. The twins fought over the Roti. Mano said, “I saw it first; it belongs to me.” Raano said, “But

Tansen The Singer

Here is an anecdote from the life of the famous Emperor Akbar who was very fond of music. Musicians and artisans were given a lot of encouragement at Akbar’s court. The great singer Tansen was his court singer. One day Akbar said, “Tansen, you sing so beautifully. I am

The Last Journey

A rich old man was very ill and was on his ‘death-bed’. His four sons stood around him. The eldest son said, “Father has only a few breaths left now. Soon he will die. Let us arrange for a beautiful open-jeep carriage to take the body to the funeral ground.

My Baby Girl

A beautiful baby girl was born to Radhika. The labour room attendants were extremely busy. Twenty one children were born in the hospital on that day. The doctors and nurses were heavily overworked. Radhika held the baby girl in her arms and caressed her soft hair. She whispered sweet nothings

The Rose Garden

Spring had brought new life to this beautiful rose garden. Each bush was abloom with roses of different hues, shapes and sizes. The roses on three of the bushes got talking. The roses on the first bush were blood red in colour. The second bush had roses in yellow with

The Son’S Portrait

Kripa had become old. His body had become infirm and weak. Sorrow and age had wrought havoc on his face and dulled his vision. He had lost his only son in a battle. The pain had been too much to bear and he had lost the will to live. One

Lord Thy Will Be Done

Marina’s husband had just passed away to a terminal illness. Their savings had been spent to the last penny in trying to save him. She had a fourteen year old daughter and an eleven year old son. Marina’s world had just crumbled to bits. She had no work

Bald Headed

There was tension in the air as mother stood behind her daughter’s chair in the dinning room. Today’s menu for lunch was jackfruit and curd with Roti. The little girl had her eyes and her plate full. She refused to eat the jackfruit. Mother was equally adamant. She

King Bhoja

King Bhoja was taking a leisurely evening stroll by a river. He was enjoying looking at the trees and the flowers. He spotted a man carrying a huge bundle of sticks on his head. The woodcutter was apparently carrying more than he could easily manage and was perspiring profusely. But

Trekking In The Mountains

Spring was in the air. The flowers in the valley and on the mountain were in full bloom. A man decided to go for a trek to the top of the mountain. The young man filled up his haversack and strapped it on to his back. He started his trek

Helping Hands

It was late in the night when a tired old man knocked at the door of a rich landlord. He asked for food and shelter for the night. As a principle, Vishnu never turned away a hungry man from his doorstep. So, the old man was offered a seat at

The Violin

Man by nature is a hoarder. Most of us tend to accumulate odds and ends over the years. Books, shoes, pullovers, furniture, crockery etc. Oddities being such as are never ever likely to be used. A rich couple while getting their house painted, had emptied out the store room that

Hi! I’M Susan

It was another one of those boring business dinners that Susan had to attend with her husband. Alan was a busy executive, working with a big business house. He had a job wherein he had to entertain and interact with the who’s-who of the city every other day. His

The Heart Of The Mother

A young man had recently got married to the girl of his choice. The boy’s mother had initially expressed her disapproval of the match, for she did not feel that the girl was the right one for her son, but seeing that her son was too much in love,

The Smoke Signal

A ship got wrecked. The lone survivor managed to stay afloat on a wooden plank. He clung on to his haversack wherein he had been able to stuff in a couple of his personal belongings. On the second day he floated onto a tiny island. It seemed to be totally

The Perfect Gown

Princess Alena was very fond of dressing up. She had lots of beautiful gowns. Some were silken. Others were linen. Most of them were trimmed with lace, beads and frills. She had colours ranging from the palest to the brightest. Each one was designed specially and tailored to her size.

Icu

The Intensive Care Unit of the Hospital was as busy as ever. There was a row of beds with life support systems. Each patient was critically ill. Each one was hanging between life and death. It was a play of one breath here or there. It was six in the

The Skeleton

A man was walking along the bank of the river near Varanasi. The sand was clean and soft. The sun shone brightly and the sand glistened like gold. All day the man walked. Towards evening he was tired and sat down to rest on the sand. He heard a voice,

The Embroidered Kurtas

Lucknow is famous for its Muslim artisans, who are skilled in making hand embroidered saris, salwar suits, kurtas etc. The embroidery is done on all kinds of cloth like voile, muslin, organdie, silk and even brocade. A large consignment of short kurtas was being packed to be sent to a

Island Survivors

One day it was announced to all of the feelings that the island was going to sink to the bottom of the ocean. So all the feelings prepared their boats to leave. Love was the only one that stayed. She wanted to preserve the Island paradise until the last possible

Waqt Nahi

Heaven Or Hell

A man was having a conversation with Lord Shiva one day and said. ‘Lord, I would like to know what Heaven and Hell are like. Lord Shiva led the man to two doors. He opened one of the doors and the man looked in. In the middle of the room

The Wise Fish

There were thousands of fish in the sea. One day some of the fish got talking to each other. One of them asked an aged fish. “Sister, how is it that every time the fisherman comes and spreads his net, hundreds of our sisters and brothers get caught and are

The Stone Cutter

A large number of stone cutters were working. A temple was being built. A curious child asked one of them, “What are you doing?” The worker replied sourly, “I am cutting stones, to earn a livelihood. Can’t you see?” The child was a little intimidated by the gruff reply

Good Health

There was a king called Sheelbhadra. He along with a number of ministers and courtiers was on a pilgrimage. En route they stopped at many temples. The king offered his prayers at each of the temples. Some days passed like this. One evening as dusk fell, the king’s party

My Water

There was a small hermitage in the mountains. The air was cool and clean. Some young sadhus lived there. They lived simply. They ate mostly wild fruits and berries. They slept on jute mats on the floor. They brought water from the nearby stream to cook, wash and clean the

I Love Mangoes

A religious congregation was going on. The preacher had delivered a long discourse yesterday. He had emphasized the need to give up attachment. He told the people assembled to live simple lives. He also told them of the importance of Maun i.e. observing silence. On this day, the preacher

Know How

In the middle of the night, Roshni got up to an eerie sound like a buzzer ringing in her kitchen. She was alone and cautiously made her way to the kitchen, wondering what she would do, if there was a burglar in there. But, she realized that there was no

Help! The Tree Won’T Leave Me

There was an old sage who was walking through the mountains with his young disciple. The disciple was always talking about the family he had left behind to become a recluse. The sage would often tell him that it was not proper for a recluse to remember his family ties.

The Poor Man

A man, who was full of self-pity, went to a priest and said, “I am very poor. I am totally disillusioned because I have nothing. I want to die. Please help me to become rich, or I do not wish to live.” The priest thought for a moment and said,

Jumbled Up

A teacher of Psychology was taking a class of post graduate students. The topic for the day was ‘Awareness of God’. The students were all in their late twenties. After a prolonged discussion, the teacher summed up his lecture saying that it is your attitude and mental make up that

The Best Medicine

A young boy was feeling sad and depressed. He was always unduly quiet and reserved. He never wanted to play or be with friends. All he wanted to do was, to sit alone and sulk. One day his mother took him to a physician. She explained the problem to him

Lucky Woman

Mr Vohra was the Chief Executive Officer of a big company. He worked long hours and was extremely dedicated to his work. On his table was a picture of his beautiful wife. He was obviously very much in love with her. His Secretary, Kavita was a pretty young girl who

Value Of A Kingdom

There once was a king who was very proud of his vast kingdom. He honestly thought that his kingdom was the greatest and biggest any one had ever had before. One day a wise man came to his palace. He asked the king, “Oh king! What is your kingdom worth?

Character Is Not A Richman’S Property

Sometimes, a series of occurrences brings out a fact or a hidden lesson. Strangely, some days are such. One day, a lady heard a fruit seller calling from the road “Golden Mangoes, fresh and ripe.” She went outside, leaving her house work, to see an old man pushing a cart

Mass Copying

While checking the test papers of his students a teacher noticed the co-incidence of correctness and mistakes in many of the papers. The missing answer to the last question in all the papers convinced him about the mass copying that had taken place. He confronted the students with his findings.

Useless Or Useful

Ratan and Nivesh, having completed their education at Gurukul ( a residential school run according to ancient Indian norms) were to leave for their homes and were to give Gurudakshina (offering made in appreciation of education received) to Guruji. His demand: ‘Get me something which is totally of no use to

The Tsunami

The Tsunami that hit the southern part of India, Sri Lanka, Andaman’s and Indonesia left an expanse of death, destruction, despair and tears. An unimaginable amount of grief befell innocent people who woke up to the cruel knocking of the Tsunami at their doors. But, life as they say

Dying To Do

Lily was a beautiful young girl. She was in love with Anmol. He was coming to see her next day. She said to her mother, “Mama, I’m dying to see Anmol. How will this day pass?” Mama smiled and said, “All the better for you to have time to

The Blind Lady

Bhagwati had always been full of life and laughter. She shared a wonderful relationship with her husband. Together they had produced three beautiful children. All of them were well settled and had kids of their own. Bhagwati and her husband went to attend a fireworks display at the city club.

The Golden Plate

This little anecdote was narrated by Bhagwan Baba during one of his discourses. A priest was offering the daily prayers to the deity at a temple. Each day he would perform the Abhishekham (ritual bath) and then adorn the idol with fresh clothes and ornaments. Then he would put garlands

The Dead Body

It was a sad day for the family. Grandfather had passed away. The house was full of relatives from near and far. Friends and acquaintances had also come to pay their last respects to grandfather, who was much revered by one and all. The family went for the funeral, accompanied

Great, Greater, Greatest

Once upon a time, there was a dialogue between Lord Vishnu and Narada. Lord Vishnu Do you know who is the greatest of all the five elements? Narada Thought for a moment and replied: The Earth, of course, my Lord. Who can be greater than the Earth? She bears the

The Best Teacher In The World

Mrs. Joel was the new class teacher for grade four. This class was unusually bright, except for Malika whose eyes looked sad and dull, as if she was far, far away. Her work like her appearance was sloppy and messy. She never seemed to have done her homework or have

The Handicapped Artist

Srinivas’s first love was painting. He was highly talented and was totally committed to his work. He was able to sell his works of Art at exorbitant prices and was a regular participant at all the leading art exhibitions in the city. One fateful night while he was driving

The Gardener’S Pot

Nikhil had just graduated from a reputed business school. His father was a wealthy man owning a flourishing export business. Nikhil joined his father with high hopes of multiplying the volume of business manifold. But father insisted that he work at the grass roots and understand the practical aspects of

The Little Angel

A charitable organization was constructing a temple. Rich people donated generously. The marble tiles to be put were being auctioned. You could donate Rs.1000/- for getting your name inscribed on at large tile. To get your name engraved on a smaller tile you had to pay Rs.500/

What’S In The Roti?

Guru Nanak and his companion Mardana, once visited the house of Bhai Lalo. They were given a warm welcome. Naturally Bhai Lalo was expected to offer some food to the travellers. He offered them a large roti (Indian bread) made of barley. It was stale and did not look inviting.

Toy-Grandpa

An old man was a regular customer at a toy shop. Every weekend he would buy a couple of toys from there. He had been doing it for years. The young salesgirl often remarked, “You must be a favourite with your grandchildren. They are lucky to have such a wonderful

Prince Mohajith

This is a story about Prince Mohajith (means once who has won over attachment). One day, the Prince went to the forest, to the hermitage of a sage. He pleaded for guidance on the path of spirituality. The sage asked him, “Have you conquered attachment as your name, Mohajith indicates?

Just Give Me A Minute

It was 7 a.m. when Tarun’s mother was trying hard to wake him up. “Get up Sonny! It’s getting late for school.” “Just give a minute Mom,” said Tarun sleepily. She struggled to get him out of bed. It took her 15 minutes. He was late for

The Tortoise

Allah had endowed Prophet Sulaeman special powers over nature. He could understand and communicate with birds and animals. One day the Prophet was admiring the beauty of God’s manifestation into nature while sitting on a riverbank. He noticed an ant moving slowly with a grain of wheat in its

Jai Shri Ram

Sanjay always went to the temple on Tuesday evening to offer sweets to the Lord. Thereafter he would distribute them to the poor children lined up outside the Temple. He would occasionally take chocolates, biscuits or sweets to give to these children. He felt good, giving them things that they

The Drunken Driver

Little Arpita tugged hard at her father’s sleeve to catch his attention, while he lazed in the hammock enjoying his afternoon siesta. “Papa, can you give me Rs.100?” “What for, do you need it at this time?” he asked sleepily. “I have to buy a watch,” she said

Mothering Ramu

Urmila worked as a household help in many rich peoples’ houses. She had a son called Ramu. Mrs. Thakur would sometimes give old clothes and food to Urmila for her family. Urmila had gone out to work at some body’s house, on a cold winter evening. She was expecting

The Artist

A budding artist was sitting in a park with his sketching pad and pencil. He noticed a chubby, cute looking boy playing with his Pokemons on the grass. His mother lay down on a sheet near him. The artist found the boy’s face very innocent and inspiring. He started

Mama, Where Are You?

Sixteen year old Arnav came home one day to find his home empty. They lived in a small hamlet by the river. There was a dense jungle just a few meters away. Arnav saw that food had been cooked, but it was still in the kitchen. Oddly, the door to

You Are Where Your Mind Is

Shivangi was a God loving young girl. Unlike most of her peers she would spend a lot of time in prayer and devotional singing. Her parents married her to a boy from a very good family. Much to her dismay, Shivangi learned soon after her wedding that her husband Abhay

Intelligent Questions, Intimate Answers

A Raja said to his Vazir, “I want you to find answers to three of my questions: One, what is that which you give here and for which you receive a reward here? Two, what is that which you give here but for which you receive a reward there? Three,

Puja Don’T

Puja was a naughty little tom-boy. She loved to play in the street with boys. She played cricket with them and also wielded the slingshot with alacrity. She spoke and walked like a boy. She wore only shorts and Tee’s because she hated frocks and skirts. Her hair was

Walking With Jesus

Jesus was looking at the horizon standing by the seashore. The sun was rising and the canvass of the sky was painted beautifully with the warm colours of the rising sun. The cool breeze from the restless waters played with the golden curls resting on the shoulders of the Son

The Donkey And The Idols

A village potter used to make pots and planters. He would go to a near by town to sell his wares. He had a donkey on whose back he would load the pots etc. Diwali was fast approaching, so the potter decided to make some statues of Lord Ganesha and

Ice Cube

Vidur was in love with Anamika. She had been complaining of stomach ache for a few days. She went through a series of investigations and was put on the proper medication. Some days later, while both of them were driving in Vidur’s Car, he asked her, “Anamika, will you

Silent Love

Vidur was in love with Anamika. She had been complaining of stomach ache for a few days. She went through a series of investigations and was put on the proper medication. Some days later, while both of them were driving in Vidur’s Car, he asked her, “Anamika, will you

Again And Again

A young man came home after a long day at work. He was tired and hungry. He eased himself on the couch and called out to his daughter, “Can you tell your mother, to give me some fruit, I’m hungry.” Just then, his old father called out from his

Installing Love

Customer Service: Would you like to install Love? Customer: I would like to do that, I’m not very technical, but I think I’m ready to install now. What do I do? Service: The first step is to open your Heart. Have you located your Heart? Customer: Yes, I

Akbar & Birbal

Who hasn’t heard of the wit and wisdom of Birbal, the minister and companion of the famous Emperor Akbar! Perhaps the name of Akbar is seldom taken without that of Birbal. On many an occasion had Akbar’s pride been humbled by ‘Birbal the Wise’. Well, the story goes

A Garland Of Love

It was Sweety’s birthday. Her mother had arranged a small Bhajan (prayer meeting) at their home. A few families of their friends were invited. Mother prepared Halwa and Channa as Prasadam (Offering) for the Lord. Sweety watched her mother preparing the Prasadam. Later she helped her mother to set

Like Father – Like Sun

Some of us are born to be extroverts and make friends with any Tom, Dick or Harry that comes our way. Such people can talk to any person and smile at strangers with ease. That’s the way Vineet’s father was. But Vineet seemed to be poles apart from

Giving Blood

Love, they say is unconditional. Love is pure. Love knows only about giving it asks for no favours in return. A little girl needed blood right away. Hers was a rare blood group and there was no blood ready in the blood bank that would be acceptable to her. The

The Value Of Krishna

Satyabhama wanted her husband Lord Krishna, to be completely under her control. One day she talked to Sage Narada about her desire and asked him to tell her a way to gain complete control over Krishna. Sage Narada, understood that this lady was very selfish, so he decided to teach

Looking For Me

It had been raining all day. The sky was overcast with dark clouds. The gurgling sounds of thunder rented through the sky and streaks of lightning speared through the dense blanket of clouds. School had just got over and the children were filing into the school bus. Harihar, an autistic

Greedy Pig

This is a story for children. Once upon a time all the organs of the body of a boy discussed that each of them did some work or the other to get food, but the stomach alone consumed it all. In that sense, the stomach was the lone beneficiary. The

The Pencil

Some days back we happened to attend a very interesting talk by a learned man. Besides the other things he talked about, he told us some things about a pencil; simple things that we never happen to think about. But, they were very meaningful. So, though they are not a

Narayana Seva

It is said that Nar seva (service to man), is Narayan seva (service to God). A rich landlord was organizing a ‘langar’ i.e. community feeding in a temple. Basically it was meant to be for poor people. They were served rice, dal, vegetables, rotis and last of all, a

Delhi To Los Angeles

It was Arjun’s 18th birthday after a week. He had asked his father to let him go to Los Angeles for a holiday as a birthday gift. Father told him that he would surely send him, but at this time he was financially a little tight, so he would

The Poor Cousins

A rich man once took his eight year old son for a visit to his distant cousins who lived on a farm. He said, “Son, I want you to see for yourself the difference in our lives and the lives of those who live in the villages. They stayed at

Family Vs Others

Rajiv was late for work. He snapped at his wife for not having his breakfast ready in time. “Don’t you know I have a meeting at 10 a.m.? Why isn’t my coffee ready?” He had to drop their daughter off to play-school on his way. She was

The Cobbler

In the city of Chandigarh, there lived a cobbler named Deenu. He was hardworking and efficient, but he had been born dumb. His clients would keep aside shoes and handbags that needed mending till Deenu came by. One day, Sanjay was cleaning out his cupboard and putting aside clothes and

The Art Examination

A teacher of Art was to take an examination of the students of his class. They had just completed an extensive study on ‘Still life.’ For the examination the teacher said, “You can work on this at home or at school. I am dividing all of you into two groups.

Kewat, The Boatman

This is the story of a boat man called Kewat, that figures in the great Epic Ramayana. When Lord Rama was exiled for fourteen years, he left the kingdom of Ayodhya, along with his wife Sita and brother Lakshmana. They had to cross the River Ganges at one place. They

A, B, C.

Kanika turned four today and was proudly going to school, carrying a huge bag of goodies to distribute amongst her friends at school. The teacher led the class, as all the children together sang, “Happy Birthday to you, Kanika.” Well, it was a long and fun filled day for Kanika

The Boxes

Raj had just received two boxes from Papa as a Christmas gift. One was pure white, engraved with gold and studded with precious stones. The other one was black. Full of excitement, he opened the white box first and was surprised to see that it was empty. Raj looked up

Smile All The Way

Most of us have travelled by car or bus on the inter-state roads. The milestones, besides being indicative of the distance to be covered, are also a subject of curiosity for children. Vicky was travelling with his parents to his grandma’s home. He was sitting in the back seat.

The Warden’S Lesson

A group of sixteen boys shared a dormitory in a boy’s hostel. They were all students of management. Being from affluent families, most of them had their own bank accounts and spent money carelessly. It so happened that one day, Sunil found that the Rs.7,000/- that

The Untouchable

A Brahmin spent all his time in performing ritualistic prayer. He lived on the banks of a holy river and spent the whole day meditating in peace and quiet. He was very touchy about any kind of dirt coming into contact with him. He even cooked his own food and

Man Vs Scorpion

A man was traveling in a desert area. He stopped to rest near an oasis. He sat on the hot sand near the water under a date palm tree. He was hot and tired and the tall date palms offered no shade at all. He noticed a scorpion scurrying along

The Greedy Neighbour

A poor family had gone without food for several days. They were starving, but their devotion to God was unsurpassed. They prayed to God, to show mercy. It so happened that an Angel passed by just then and heard their prayer. He appeared before them and gave them a box.

Guru Mantra

Ramanuja was the favourite disciple of his Guru. When he was to finish his training, the Guru said to him, “Ramanuja, you are my best student. Listen to me; I shall reveal to you a mantra. If you recite it everyday, religiously; you shall go to heaven. But if you

Beauty With Brains

An old man had a daughter who was in love with the son of a poor peasant. The girl was very beautiful and many rich and handsome suitors came to ask for her hand, but each time she would tell her father, that she loved the poor peasant and wanted

The Jungle

A king once got separated from his kinsmen while chasing a deer. He wandered alone in the forest. As dusk fell, he knocked at the door of a tiny cottage in the jungle. It was opened by a poor woodcutter who gave the ‘stranger’ a warm welcome. He offered him

Our Baby Has Gone

A couple had been married for ten years, but they had no child. Then one day, the wife was overjoyed to know that soon she would be a mother. The couple shared the joy of the baby growing in her tummy all through the nine months. The beautiful baby boy

His Gaze

It was a long weekend, so Abhinav decided to take his wife and children to the hills for a holiday. His blind mother was to stay back alone in the house. She was quite used to looking after herself. So she did not mind being on her own. It was

Comfort–A Rare Commodity

Being a mother of two very active boys, ages seven and one, I am sometimes worried abut their making shambles of my carefully decorated home. In their innocence and play, they occasionally knock over my favourite lamp or upset my well designed arrangements. In these moments when nothing feels sacred,

Unmindful

A man was traveling on horseback to his destination. As he passed through a village, he came upon some villagers operating an Iranian Wheel on a well. The man led his horse to the well for the drink but the animal, unused to the cracking sound of the wheel shied

Guru Nanak And The Needle

Once a wealthy man, Dhunichand, approached Guru Nanak for guidance on the Spiritual Path. Guru Nanak gave him a tiny needle saying, “Keep it safely, until I ask you for it, in heaven.” Without giving much thought to the Guru’s words the man took it home and gave it

The Magic Formula

A college professor had his Sociology class students to go into the Baltimore slums to get the case histories of 200 young boys. They were asked to write an evaluation of each boy’s future. In every case the students wrote, “He hasn’t got a chance.” Twenty-five years later

Most Important Part Of The Body

My mother used to ask me what is the most important part of the body. Through the years I would take a guess at what I thought was the correct answer. Then I was younger, I thought sound was very important to us as humans, so I said, “My ears,

Always Remember Those Who Serve

In the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less, a 10 years – old boy entered a hotel coffee shop and sat at a table. A waitress put a glass of water in front of him. “How much is an ice cream sundae?” he asked. “Fifty cents,” replied the

Change Your Strategy

One day, there was a blind man sitting on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet and a sign that read: “I am blind, please help”. A creative publicist was walking by him and stopped to observe he only had a few coins in his hat,

Burden Of Work?

A lecturer was giving a lecture to his student on stress Management. He raised a glass of water and asked the audience, Q : “How heavy do you think this glass of water is? A : The students’ answers ranged from 20g to 500gm. “It does not matter on the absolute weight.

It’S Not Your Fault

Once there was loving couple travelling in a bus in a mountainous area. They wanted to get down at some place. The couple disembarked the bus and it moved on. As the bus moved on a humongous rock fell on the bus from a mountain and crushed the bus to

Love & Marriage

One day, Plato asked his teacher, “What is love? How can I find it?” His teacher answered, “There is a vast wheat field in front. Walk forward without turning back, and pick only one stalk. If you find the most magnificent stalk, then you have found love.” Plato walked forward,

Learn Of Me!

A Merchant, an old man and his little daughter met by the side of a fountain of clear sparkling waters. On the fountain was an inscription which read, “Learn of Me!” The merchant said he learnt a great lesson from the fountain. It started as a trickle of water but

The Neighbour

A man was having his dinner when someone knocked at his door. A servant from his master, the Nawab, appeared and said: “Your master has sent for you to come immediately. He has just sat down for his dinner but refuses to eat until he sees you.” There was no

Just P. U. S. H.!

A man was sleeping at night in his cabin when suddenly his room filled with light, and the Lord told the man he had work for him to do, and showed him a large rock in front of his cabin. The Lord explained that the man was to push against

Saint And Sinner

Anastasius was abbot of a monastery in Egypt. The monastery had a large collection of books, one among them being a rare volume, worth a fortune. One day a visiting monk chanced upon the book and succumbing to temptation walked away with it. The theft was discovered the same day

The Slaves Prayer

Rabia was one of the great saints of Islam. The little girl Rabia was kidnapped and sold as a slave for a paltry sum of six dirhams. She was constantly ill-treated by her master who was cruel to her beyond words. She had to toil and labour the whole day

Kagawa – The Gandhi Of Japan

Kagawa, the great spiritual leader of Japan, lay in a hospital, threatened with total blindness. He spent months in a dark room with thick bandages covering his eyes. And when they said to him, “Your health is gone, your sight is gone. Are you not afraid of approaching death?” He

United We Win

A sparrow once laid her eggs on the seashore. Soon the babies hatched. But a very high tide carried the babies into the sea. The mother sparrow cried all day long. Then all the sparrows gathered together and decided, “Let’s fill in the sea with sand and rescue the

Manage Your Thoughts

The Master was sitting near a pond one day when a young man with a troubled look upon his face, approached him. “Join me if you like.” The Master walked to the edge of a still pond, framed by sycamore trees, their leaves golden orange and about to fall. “Please

The Eternal Protector

A dark street in a small town in India was notorious for being frequented by looters, muggers and rapists. Ruma was to cross this street at 9.00 pm tonight. Holding her heart in her mouth, she entered the first stretch, with cold feet, fearing the worst. Praying to her

The Fruits Of Effort

Once a Sadhu went to stay in a rich man’s house. During the course of conversation, the rich man boasted, “Sir, in the present life, I have accumulated so many punyas (good deeds), that in the next birth, I will be placed high in life.” Looking at the Sadhu’

Creation Of God

God created the mule, and told him, “You will be mule, working constantly from dusk to dawn, carrying heavy loads on your back. You will eat grass and lack intelligence. You will live for 50 years.” The mule answered, “To live like this for 50 years is too much. Please,

Who Is Ready To Go With You

Once upon a time there was a rich King who had four wives. He loved the 4th wife the most and adorned her with rich robes and treated her to the finest of delicacies. He gave her nothing but the best. He also loved the 3rd wife very much and

Things Aren't Always What They Seem

Two travelling angels stopped to spend the night in the home of a wealthy family. The family was rude and refused to let the angels stay in the mansion’s guest room. Instead, the angels were given a small space in the cold basement. As they made their bed on

The World Is A Reflection Of You

Baba told this story when we were at Kodaikanal. Once a man fainted on the side of the road and was unconscious for a long time. An alcoholic saw the man lying on the side of the road and thought, “Well, I am lucky, I know what amount of alcohol

The Value Of A Sigh

A cobbler came to Rabbi Issac of Ger and said, “Tell me what to do about my morning prayer. My customers are poor men who have only one pair of shoes. I pick up their shoes late in the evening and work on them most of the night; at dawn

The Truth About God

Once the great sage Uddalaka Aruni decided to teach the knowledge of the Brahman to his son, Sevtaketu. He asked Sevtaketu to bring a ripe red berry like fruit from a banyan tree and split it into two. Taking one of the innumerable tiny seeds in it, he again asked

The Story About The Tiny Frogs

There once was a bunch of tiny frogs, who arranged a running competition. The goal was to reach the top of a very high tower. A big crowd had gathered around the tower to see the race and cheer on the contestants. The race began. Honestly: No one in crowd

The King’S Highway

Once upon a time, a king had a great highway built for the people who lived in his kingdom. After it was completed, but before it was opened to the public, the king decided to have a contest. He invited as many of his subjects as desired to participate. The

The Devotee Ran Away

A clever villager rushed to enter the village temple in the early hours of the day and sit on, with eyes closed, in the hope that people will honour him as a great devotee. Since he did not get up and go about his business until about mid noon, the

The Blue Ribbon

A teacher in New York decided to honour each of her seniors in high school by telling them the difference they each made. She called each student to the front of the class, one at a time. First she told each of them how they had made a difference to

Shake Off Your Troubles

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

Mistaken Identity?

A lady in a faded gingham dress and her husband, dressed in a homespun threadbare suit, stepped off the train in Boston, and walked timidly without an appointment into the Harvard University President’s outer office. The secretary could tell in a moment that such backwoods, country hicks had no

Me, My, Mine

Once upon a time there was a youngman. He was studying Engineering. A girl doing her BA was living next door. When the young man was in final year this girl fell ill with typhoid. She became very critically ill and had to be admitted to intensive care. In fact

Help Ever

Many years ago two boys were working their way through Stanford University. Their funds got desperately low, and the idea came to them to engage Ignacy Paderewski for a piano recital. They would use the funds to help pay their board and tuition. The great pianist’s manager asked for

Good Deeds

One day, Fleming, a poor Scottish farmer, heard a cry for help coming from a nearby bog. He dropped his tools and ran to the bog. There, mired to his waist in black muck, was a terrified boy, screaming and struggling to free himself. Farmer Fleming saved the lad from

Cake For You?

A daughter is telling her Mother how everything is going wrong. She’s failing algebra, her boyfriend broke up with her and her best friend is moving away. Meanwhile, her Mother is baking a cake. She asks her daughter if she would like a snack, and the daughter says, “Absolutely

A Fable

There was an old man, a boy, and a donkey. They were going to town and it was decided that the boy should ride. As they went along they passed some people who thought that it was a shame for the boy to ride and the old man to walk.

Meaning Of Prayer

When Brother Bruno was at prayer one night he was disturbed by the croaking of a bullfrog. All his attempts to disregard the sound were unsuccessful so he shouted from his window, “Quiet! I’m at my prayers.” Now Brother Bruno was a saint so his command was instantly obeyed.

You Are Special

A well-known speaker started off his seminar by holding up a $20.00 bill. In the room of 200, he asked, “Who would like this $20 bill?” Hands started going up. He said, “I am going to give this $20 to one of you, but first let me do this.

Where There Is A Will, There Is A Way !!!

An old man lived alone in Minnesota. He wanted to spade his potato garden, but it was very hard work. His only son, who would have helped him, was in prison. The old man wrote a letter to his son and mentioned his situation: Dear Son, I am feeling pretty

A Box Of Kisses

The story goes that some time ago, a man punished his 3-year-old daughter for wasting a roll of gold wrapping paper. Money was tight and he became infuriated when the child tried to decorate a box to put under the Christmas tree. Nevertheless, the little girl brought the gift to

Grandma’s Saree

The summer vacations are always a time for holidaying, relaxing and meeting up with cousins. ‘Nani’ (maternal grandmother) as she was fondly called by one and all, was very happy today. Both her daughters and son were visiting along with their spouses and children. All together she had eight grandchildren

A Tree’s Message

This is the story of two lemon trees growing in the backyard of a house. One tree had a sturdy trunk at the base; it had a complex network of branches and was spread over almost ten feet in width. It was laden with lemons; big and large and its

God Is Present

Two young boys boarded a bus to Chamba, a quiet, picturesque township in the Himalayas. They were not familiar with the region; they were out on an adventure. As the bus wound its way through the steep and narrow road, the terrain became more and more beautiful. The Pine and

Feel God

A lady was preparing breakfast for her family one Sunday morning. She was making Channa, Puri and Halva. As she roasted the semolina for the Halva she thought, ‘I’ll put this first in the shrine room, as offering to the Lord, then serve it as Prasadam on the table.

Wimbledon Champion

Arthur Ashe, the legendary Wimbledon player contracted the AIDS virus from a blood transfusion following a heart surgery in 1983. He let the world know that he had this disease in 1992 and simultaneously formed the Arthur Ashe Foundation for the defeat of AIDS. When someone referred to him as

All In A Day

Sometimes, a series of occurrences brings out a fact or a hidden lesson. Strangely some days are such. One day a lady heard a fruit seller calling from the road ‘Mangoes, fresh and ripe, come and buy.” She went outside, leaving her house work, to see an old man pushing

The Prize Money

A girl called Nayana was always getting herself into trouble. She would quarrel with her siblings, the servants in the house, her friends at school and even the neighbours. She always said that everyone troubled her. Mother would say, “Nayana, God doesn’t love ill tempered people”. One day her

Chinese Whisper?

Sumir and Kanan were two brothers aged nine and ten. Their friend invited them to his birthday party. Sumir was feeling unwell and felt that he might throw up so he decided not to go and Kanan went alone. There were many other children there. Rohan asked Kanan, “Why didn’

The Elephant

A sculptor once carved a beautiful elephant out of a single piece of marble. It was pure white and intricately decorated with jewels, embedded into the stone. It was a fine piece of workmanship indeed. The sculptor decided to gift his creation to the king. The king was greatly pleased

Happy Birthday

Vaibhav had lost his mother when he was just five. It was his 10th birthday next week. Papa asked him, what he would like to have as a birthday gift. Vaibhav said, “Papa how much do you earn in a day?” Papa looked surprised and asked, “Why do you ask,

A Mother’S Debt

After having reached at the peak of his career a man felt an urge to repay back to his mother for all that she had done for him. So he asked her, “Mother, what can I give you? What can I do for you? I sincerely want to repay you

Become God

A six year old was sitting with his grandma. She was telling him about great men and their great deeds. She was telling him that when he grew up he should do good things. He should study hard and become an honest and hardworking man like his grandfather. As she

A Mother’S Heart

Floods took their toll in a remote village of Punjab in India. At one time, the fury of the angry river unable to contain itself, swept away some mud houses and their dwellers along with it. Three-year-old Bharat, who had gone to play at his cousin’s house was also

A Garland Of Love

It was Sweety’s birthday. Her mother had arranged a small Bhajan (prayer meeting) at their home. A few families of their friends were invited. Mother prepared Halwa and Channa as Prasadam (Offering) for the Lord. Sweety watched her mother preparing the Prasadam. Later she helped her mother to set

Strange Are The Ways Of God (The Visiting Angels)

This is the story of two angels who after having travelled all day needed a place to rest for the night. They knocked upon the door of a couple and asked for shelter for the night. The ill tempered lady said, “Let them sleep in the basement down below. I

Cheating

While checking the test papers of his students a teacher noticed the co-incidence of correctness and mistakes in many of the papers. The missing answer to the last question in all the papers convinced him about the mass copying that had taken place. He confronted the students with his findings.

Innocent Love

A little boy who was only eight, liked to do everything like a grown up kid. He loved to hug and kiss his mother many times a day. He had a naughty way of holding her hand, kissing it and saying to her, “Will you marry me?” She would laugh

Just Give Me A Minute

It was 7 a.m. when Tarun’s mother was trying hard to wake him up. “Get up Sonny! It’s getting late for school.” “Just give a minute Mom,” said Tarun sleepily. She struggled to get him out of bed. It took her 15 minutes. He was late for

The Last Wish

Mohan was fascinated by the coloured chalks used by his kindergarten teacher to draw on the black board. Every afternoon he would slip 2 or 3 pieces into his pocket and take them home. One day he stole his friends new sharpener. The other day he pocketed a pencil from

Last Words

Once there was a shopkeeper who had four sons. A wise man had said to him, “The only way to attain salvation is to utter the name of God, just at the time of death. But, do not think that you will remember to chant His name at that time,

The Best Field

A king who had no heir once called twenty of his ablest and most trusted ministers and said to them, “I have allotted to each one of you 500 square yards of land. Here is a bag of seeds for each of you. Till your land and sow the seeds.

A Chain Of Lies

Aman was a very honest boy. He was good and hardworking too. One day at school, the English teacher asked the class to learn a set of twenty words for a dictation test on the next day. Aman forgot to tell his mother about it, so she did not prepare

The Fruits Of Honesty

A washer-man would collect soiled clothes from the house of Mrs. Malik everyday for washing. One day he noticed a gold chain entangled with the one of embroidered dresses of Mrs. Malik. It was a beautiful chain and the washer-man thought, “Mrs. Malik has so much jewellery. Surely she won’

Hunger Pangs

In the great Mahabharata War the Pandavas killed all the 100 Kauravas. Their mother Gandhari was wailing over the dead bodies of her sons. She took the dead body of Duryodhana into her lap and cried bitterly. Lord Krishna said to her, “Oh Mother! Do not grieve, life will never

Panduranga

Janabai was a poor lady who lived in South India. She had kept a cow in her little courtyard and used to sell cow’s milk to earn a living for her. As a matter of habit, Janabai would chant the name of the Lord Panduranga all day, while conducting

Baba Bharati

There is a famous folktale of an ascetic called Baba Bharati. He was known for his goodness and honesty. He was always ready to help the poor and needy. He had a beautiful horse named Sultan. Baba Bharati loved Sultan like a father. A robber called Kharag Singh, envied Baba

No Problem

A man was driving home, when he was accosted by highway robbers. They took away all his money, his cell phone and his car. They beat him up and threw him on the roadside. After some time, another car passed that way and the man managed to stop the driver

Faith In God

A pilot was having difficulty in keeping the aeroplane stable in the troubled clouds. The wind was strong and the cloud cover was thick. He had made an announcement that all passengers should fasten their seat belts. Passengers on board the flight were scared. The airhostesses looked pale and worried.

Joy

Supreme Soul

A little boy once asked his Grandma, what happened to people after they were dead? She said, “You see son, the body is made up of five elements i.e. Air, Water, Fire, Earth and Space. When the Atma i.e. the soul leaves the body, each of these elements

The Dead Body

It was a sad day for the family. Grandfather had passed away. The house was full of relatives from near and far. Friends and acquaintances had also come to pay their last respects to grandfather, who was much revered by one and all. The family went for the funeral, accompanied

Useless Or Useful

Ratan and Nivesh, having completed their education at Gurukul, were to leave for their homes and were to give Gurudakshina to Guruji. His demand: ‘Get me something which is totally of no use to anyone’. They set off into the forest, and eyed the fruits, trees, animals, birds, stones etc.

Who Is The Master?

Entering into ‘Vanprastha Ashram’ at the age of 75, a King having no heir, said, that he would not coronate any of his nephews as ‘king’ yet. But he threw open his coffers of wealth for all, to take away whatever they desired. Jewellery, Royal finery, Gold and silverware were

Value Of A Head

Ashoka was a great Emperor of India. He was an enlightened and noble king. One day he was walking in a garden outside the palace with his minister. They came across an ascetic who was sitting under a tree and reciting the name of God. The Emperor took off his

The Mango Tree

A mango tree grew just next to the compound wall of the house of the Parthas. It was an old tree and grew in such a way that all its branches hung over the wall into the neighbour’s courtyard. The neighbours i.e. the Vermas and the Parthas were

Come Walk With Me

One night a man had a dream. He dreamed he was walking along the beach with the LORD. Across the sky flashed scenes from his life. For each scene, he noticed two sets of footprints in the sand: one belonging to him, and the other to the LORD. When the

Narcissus

Prologue: Greek Mythology tells of Narcissus, an exceedingly handsome boy born as the son of the River Cephissus and the nymph Liriope. He was scornful of both lads and lasses because he was greatly enamoured by his own beauty. It is said that Echo who was a mountain nymph loved

The Fence

An old man had willed his land to be inherited equally by his two sons, after his death. The sons did not get along well so when the father passed away, they erected a fence right in the middle of the land to divide it. Some years passed, each one

Try It .... It Works !

There is a true story of a couple that had five daughters. The man died leaving behind his wife to bring up the daughters. The eldest was 8 years old and the youngest was only 6 months old. In India, the joint family system is still prevalent in many communities.

The Dart Game

A group of students aged about 10 years was attending a class in moral education. The teacher was perturbed, because she had noticed that some of them were using offensive language and abusing each other. She explained to them that God resides in each one of us and if we

Living For God

In the great epic Ramayana, there is an incident whereby, during the war in Lanka, an arrow from the bow of Lakshmana hit a child being carried in his mother’s arms. The mother did not stay to care for her dead child but fled for her own safety. Lakshmana

He Sustains

Allah had endowed Prophet Sulaeman special powers over nature. He could understand and communicate with birds and animals. One day the Prophet was admiring the beauty of God’s manifestation into nature while sitting on a riverbank. He noticed an ant moving slowly with a grain of wheat in its

The Last Job (The Carpenter)

There was a carpenter, who had spent his life in working diligently, for his master. He was very skilled and efficient at his work. His master always praised him, for being a good worker. One day he decided, that he had worked long enough, so he should take retirement; when

Looking For Me

It had been raining all day. The sky was overcast with dark clouds. The gurgling sounds of thunder rented through the sky and streaks of lightning speared through the dense blanket of clouds. School had just got over and the children were filling into the school bus. Harihar used to

Value Of Love

Kripa had become old. His body had become infirm and weak. Sorrow and age had wrought havoc on his face and dulled his vision. He had lost his only son in a battle. The pain had been too much to bear and he had lost the will to live. One

The Homecoming

My grandmother once told me a story of four yogis. The first was a Bhakti yogi, one who felt that devotion and love for God in his physical form was the right way to please him. The Bhaktas emotions ruled his heart and soul. The second was a gyana yogi.

Ceiling On Desires

In the city of Chandigarh, there lived a cobbler named Deenu. He was hardworking and efficient. He knew his job well but he had been born dumb. His clients would keep aside, shoes and handbags that needed mending till Deenu came by. One day, Sanjay was cleaning out his cupboard,

All This Will Come To An End

A king once decided to test the intelligence of his ministers. He announced in court that, he had heard of a very special bracelet, that made a happy man sad and a sad man happy, when he looked at it. The king declared a handsome prize to the person who

What A Problem!

It had been twelve years since her mother had been pronounced as ‘diabetic’ and she had been taking drugs to control her blood sugar since then. But, mother exercised practically no control on her sugar intake. She loved to eat mangoes and leechi’s. Over the years the problem had

You’Re Precious

Today was grandfather’s 70th birthday. Reva was on her way to wish him. She was wearing a ‘sphaghetti’ top with a mini skirt. It was barely six months since she had started working and she had bought a lovely walking stick to gift to grandpa. Reva belonged to a

Life’S Boxes

Each one of us has been given two boxes by the Lord. One is pure white, engraved with gold and studded with precious stones. The other is black. As we go through the vagaries of life, the white box becomes heavier and heavier, but the black one feels just as

Precious Stones

A man had been working all day and was tired. To reach home he had to cross a small river. There was no ferry available so he sat down on the sand to wait for one. The sun had set and the moon was playing hide and seek with the

The Brightest Star

“Twinkle twinkle little star, How I wonder what you are, Up above the world so high, Like a diamond in the sky.” The stars in the night sky have always mesmerized me by their twinkling light. In my childhood, on clear summer nights, I would lie in the garden and

The Last Dip (Bathing In The Ganga)

It is an ancient practice amongst the Hindus to take a holy bath in the River Ganga after getting a daughter married off or after completing one’s worldly responsibilities. It is said to be a symbolic purification of the physical self in the holy water to wash off the

In An Hour Of Need

A boy named Kamath was a genius but he didn’t have enough money to eat two square meals a day, let alone pay his school fees. He was an orphan who had been brought up in an orphanage that paid for his education upto Class X, but now there

Pure Food

There was a Brahmana who was always glad to feed any Sadhu who knocked at his door. His wife always cooked extra food, lest any passing monk come by their way. One day the wife was indisposed and a Sadhu knocked and asked for food. The Brahamin did not want

Man Proposes – God Disposes

This is a story of three trees in a forest. They were young and had beautiful visions of a handsome future. The first tree prayed to be a treasure chest, so that it could be adorned with gold leaves and precious gems. It wanted to nestle in itself, jewels and

God’S Creation

Diva, was God gifted, she had a good hand at painting. It was her passion and she enjoyed wielding the brush effortlessly over her canvas. One day, she started working on a canvas, having nothing particular in mind. Ideas started flowing and within minutes she had made a skeleton sketch

Guidance

Actually, this is not really a story. This is a beautiful interpretation of the word ‘guidance’, which I happened to come across. It is very aptly said that beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder. So too, reading between the lines or between the alphabets, as in this case

Hero Or Zero!

Many years ago there was a Gurukul in a forest in India. Bava was the favourite student of his teacher at the Gurukul Class. When he finished his education, he came to take leave of his teacher. The teacher blessed him and gave him a piece of paper on which

Jai Shri Ram

Sanjay always went to the temple on Tuesday evening to offer sweets to the Lord. Thereafter he would distribute them to the poor people lined up outside the Temple. He would occasionally take chocolates, biscuits or sweets to give to these people. He felt good, giving them things that they

Blistering Barnacles

Saloni had just bought her six year old son Sakal a comic book of the famous ‘Tintin’. The boy was an avid reader and enjoyed reading books. Later in the evening, Saloni and her son were walking along the harbour, where-in a number of ships were anchored. Sakal said, “Mama,

Self Esteem

A young prince was kidnapped by willful kinsmen. The kidnappers bound him and took him away to a tribal village in a remote area, far far away from his own territory. In an effort to defile him physically, mentally and morally, they performed inhuman atrocities on his body and mind.

God Heard You

Sheba sat down to have dinner with her family. Her father, as was the custom, led the prayer of thanksgiving to the Lord, while her mother, brother and Sheba, closed their eyes and folded their hands in unison. They reiterated a SHALOKA in Sanskrit and they never forgot to do

Helping Hands

It was late in the night when a tired old man knocked at the door of a rich landlord. He asked for food and shelter for the night. As a principle Vishnu never turned away a hungry man from his doorstep. So, the old man was offered a seat at

The Greatest Daddy

Little Sonaal who was only five years old was praying before going to sleep. Mummy had taught him to say a prayer at bedtime, thanking the Lord for all he had given to him and also for begging forgiveness for all the wrongs committed during the day. As Daddy watched

The Hut Is Mine

A small hut was all that an old man owned. His wife had passed away long ago. One day, he overheard his three sons arguing over the hut. The eldest said, “I am the eldest son, so my right is superior, the hut shall be mine when father dies.” The

Perfect Fit

A farmer had two sons named Rehmat and Naman. They both served their parents dutifully. Each of them was eager to serve better than the other to please their parents. Some times this competition to outdo each other would become unhealthy and was becoming a cause of concern for the

I Am In You, You Are In Me.

Shivangi was a God loving young girl. Unlike most of her peers she would spend a lot of time doing prayers and Devotional Singing. Her parents married her to a boy from a very good family. Much to her dismay Shivangi learned soon after her wedding that her husband Abhay,

The Battle Within

One evening an old man was sitting with his little grandson who was having his dinner. The boy said, “Grandpa, you look disturbed today, what is the matter with you.” The old man said, “Son, there is a battle going on in me, so I am feeling uncomfortable.” The little

Creating Mothers (Special Order)

Undoubtedly God has created everything on this earth and beyond it. One day, when God was creating mothers, an angel came in and started talking: Angel: “Lord you are really working hard on this model. You have been working overtime since the last seven days. What are you creating?” God:

Rain Drops

The rains had failed to come. It was a hot summer. Men, animals, trees and grasses, were all parched by the scorching heat of the blazing sun. The streams and rivulets had dried up and the cows did not need milking any more, for they had nothing to give. Fetching

It Is My Duty

One of the Gopikas in Gokul thought of a novel idea to catch Bal-Krishna red-handed in the act of ‘Maakhan-Chori’. She hung the earthern pot containing butter, high up, and also attached a bell to the rope, but a little higher up. Krishna came with his ‘Gwal-Baals’ to do the

Gayatri Mantra

Om Bhur Bhuva Sveha, Tat Savitur Vareniyam Bhargo de vasya dhimahi, Dhi yo yo naa pracho dayaot. Endless times, we have recited the Gayatri, which is believed to be the ‘Sarva Shrestha Mantra. Besides its literal meaning, going word by word, it has also been the basis on which the

The 7 Wonders Of The World

A group of students was asked to list what they thought were the present ‘Seven Wonders of the World’. Though there was some disagreement, the following got the most votes: 1. Egypt’s Great Pyramids 2. Taj Mahal 3. Grand Canyon 4. Panama Canal 5. Empire State Building 6. St.

Right Decision-No Regrets

At the 1924 Olympic games in Paris, the sport of canoe racing was added to the list of international competitions. The favourite team in the four-man canoe race was the United States Team. One member of that team was a young man by the name of Bill Havens. As the

Puppies For Sale

A Store owner was tacking a sign above his door that read “Puppies for Sale”. The signs have a way of attracting children. Soon a little boy appeared at the sign and asked, “How much are you going to sell those puppies for?” The store owner replied, “Anywhere from $30-$

The Doubt Brought The End

There is a story of a cliffhanger, determined to reach the summit of a high mountain. After years of preparation, he began his adventure. Only he journeyed alone, because he wanted all the glory. He began his ascent, and as daylight faded he decided to continue climbing. The night fell

Lose Your Finger Or Your Life

Once upon a time there was a king who had a very great and wise minister. One day they were sitting and talking when the servants brought a bowl of fruits. The king took an apple and proceeded to cut it. As he was cutting it, the king inadvertently cut

Will You Accept?

The story is told about a soldier who was finally coming home after having fought in Vietnam. He called his parents from San Francisco. “Mom and Dad, I’m coming home, but I’ve a favour to ask. I have a friend I’d like to bring home with me.

Kind Of Society

What is the kind of society we are today? Dalai Lama describes it as follows: “We have bigger houses and smaller families; More conveniences, but less time We have more degrees, but less commonsense; More knowledge, but less judgement More experts, but more problems; More medicines, but less healthiness; We’

The Wooden Bowl

A frail old man went to live with his son, daughter-in-law, and four-year old grandson. The old man’s hands trembled, his eyesight was blurred, and his step faltered. The family ate together at the table. But the elderly grandfather’s shaky hands and failing sight made eating difficult. Peas

Start Early, Drive Slowly, Reach Safely

It was the month of March – the start of a new academic year in school. Two young boys, Vijay and Akshay studied in the same class and both wanted to become doctors! Vijay knew – that a lot of hard work would be needed to make his dream a reality. So,

Triple Filter

In ancient Greece, Socrates was reputed to hold knowledge in high esteem. One day an acquaintance met the great philosopher and said, “Do you know what I just heard about your friend?” “Hold on a minute,” Socrates replied. “Before telling me anything I’d like you to pass a little

Overpower Evil

A long time ago in China, a girl named Li-Li couldn’t get along with her mother-in-law at all. Li-Li and her mother-in-law were always arguing and fighting. Li-Li had to bow to her mother-in-law and obey her every wish. All the anger and unhappiness in the house was causing

The Satsang Effect

In my childhood I had learnt a song at school about raindrops which said, “… the Brook becomes a river and the river flows for ever till the rain drops come home again upon the salty seas ….” Man by nature is gregarious and in the game of life too, team effort

Thanks For Your Time

Arun got a call from his mother one day, saying, “Mr Khanna died last night, and the funeral is on Wednesday.” Old childhood memories flashed by his mind as he heard her. All the boyish pranks, he had learnt from his old neighbour, Mr Khanna; all the time he had

How Much For An Hour?

A man came home from work late again, tired and irritated, to find his 5-year old son waiting for him at the door. “Daddy, may I ask you a question?” “Yeah, sure, what is it?” replied the man. “Daddy, how much money do you make in an hour?” “That’s

Efficacy Of The Name Of Sri Rama

Once Narada approached Lord Narayana with a query, “Swami, I want to know the meaning of the word Rama”. Narayana said, “ Do you not know the meaning of the word “Rama”? Go and ask the parrot on that tree to explain”. In obedience to God he went and asked the

Count Your Blessings

It was a bright sunny morning and Priya set out to do her numerous household errands dashing from one shop to the other, marking time and cross checking her ‘to-do’ list time and again. Time rushed by, her legs and feet ached with all the running around, but all the

Your Life Is Perfect

Your life is perfect. It is a perfect plan; it is a spontaneous miracle; it is both. Every moment Creation is perfect. How do birds know to migrate? How do maple leaves know to turn crimson and fall to the ground? Winter comes and you think you will never feel

Every One Is Special

It was a dark night. The moon was playing hide and seek behind the clouds. The garden was full of flowers and the fragrance of evening glory filled the air intoxicatingly. The only sounds audible were those made by crickets, frogs etc. The fireflies flitted around like stars twinkling in

The Perfect Administrator

Once Sage Narada was going along with Lord Vishnu. As they looked down on earth from the heavens, they saw a rich man giving away some cows to poor Brahmins. Lord Vishnu was so happy with his act of charity that He Blessed the man with ten times more wealth.

Love Transforms

A Bishop, who worked in a slum area, narrated a story that a Sunday School Teacher brought together the poor children of that area, spoke to them of the love of God. He found that their clothes were dirty, tattered and torn. He said to them: “I shall get for

Positive Attitude Is Important

When Thomas Edison invented the light bulb, he tried over 2000 experiments before he got it to work. A young reporter asked him how it felt to fail so many times. He said, “I never failed once. I invented the light bulb. It just happened to be a 2000 step

What Is God?

Robert Louis Stevenson, the great English writer says, “No man can achieve success in life until he writes down in the journal of his life the word. ‘Enter God”. It was Swami Vivekananda who said, “With God you can sail over the high seas. Without God you cannot even cross

The Gift From God

It was a warm summer day when God placed it in her hands. She trembled with emotion as she saw how fragile it appeared. This was a very special gift that God was entrusting to her. A gift that would one day belong to the world. Until then, He instructed

How Much Land Do You Need?

There was once an Emperor who told his minister that the amount of Land he could cover while running from morning to night, would be his. The man started running early, he went on, ignoring hunger, thirst and fatigue. By afternoon, his body ached, his feet were swollen, sweat dripped

All Good Things

He was in the first third grade class I taught at Saint Mary’s School in Morris, Minn. All 34 of my students were dear to me, but Mark Eklund was one in a million. Very neat in appearance, but had that happy-to-be-alive attitude that made even his occasional mischievousness

I Wish You Enough

At an airport I overheard a father and daughter in their last moments together. They had announced her plane’s departure and standing near the door, he said to his daughter, “I love you, I wish you enough”. She said, “Daddy, our life together has been more than enough. Your

Happiness Is Making Others Happy

Two men, both seriously ill, occupied the same hospital room. One man was allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour each afternoon to help drain the fluid from his lungs. His bed was next to the room’s only window. The other man had to spend all

I Have Faith In You

A teenager whose heart was in football, lived alone with his mother. Even though the son was always on the bench, his mother was always in the stands cheering. She never missed a game. All through high school he never missed a practice nor a game, but remained a bench

What Goes Around – Comes Around

I had the meanest mother in the whole world. While other kids ate candy for breakfast, I had to have cereal, eggs and toast. When others had coke and candy for lunch, I had to eat a sandwich. As you can guess, my dinner was different too from other children.

Face Difficulties With Fortitude

There was once a gardener who nursed his master’s garden with great care, brining water for each sapling in a pot from a distant well. With such dedication, he earned the love and respect of his master. One day he was weighed down by family problems. Putting the pot

Be Like A Pencil

The Pencil Maker took the pencil aside, just before putting him into the box. “There are 5 things you need to know”, he told the pencil, “Before I send you out into the world. Always remember them and never forget, and you will become the best pencil you can be.

Christ Was Love

Each December, I vowed to make Christmas a calm and peaceful experience. I had cut back on non-essential obligations – extensive card writing, endless baking, decorating and even overspending. Yet still, I found myself exhausted, unable to appreciate the precious family moments, and of course, the true meaning of Christmas. My

The Compassionate Acharya

Ramanuja was the favourite disciple of his guru who sensed in the youth a great spiritual strength. When the time came for the young man to take leave of his guru, the teacher took him aside and said he will give him a mantra which if he recited with devotion

Nourishment For The Soul

A Churchgoer wrote a letter to the editor of a newspaper and complained that it made no sense to go to church every Sunday. “I’ve gone for 30 years now,” he wrote, “and in that time I have heard something like 3,000 sermons. But for the life of

Be Like The Coffee Bean

There was a little boy by the name “Ryan” who was always complaining to his teacher in class. He could never complete his homework because there were too many distractions at home… guests kept coming over, his sister wanted to see cartoons on the television, his parents wanted him to

Worth

Truly speaking possession of wealth is hardly a matter of pride. It’s worth is surprisingly negligible when judged in long-term basis! “Please, tell me Badshah, how much is the total value of all your wealth and possessions?” asked Abu Shakik to Harun Al Rashid of Iran, who was notorious

Mummy, I Love You

A man stopped at a flower shop to order some flowers to be wired to his mother who lived two hundred miles away. As he got out of his car he noticed a young girl sitting on the curb sobbing. He asked her what was wrong and she replied, “ I

Lessons From Nature

One evening, as I strolled on the lawns of one of my friends, the picturesque beauty of the creations around touched my heart deeply. The cool breeze from the sylvan trees, the melodious notes of the cuckoo, the colourful butterflies hovering over the attractive flowers – all of them seemed to

A Child’S Angel

Once upon a time, there was a child ready to be born. He asked God : “They tell me you are sending me to earth tomorrow but how am I going to live there being so small and helpless?” God : “Among the many angels, I chose one especially for you. She

Beautiful Pearls

Jenny was a bright-eyed, pretty five-year-old girl. One day at the grocery store, Jenny saw a plastic pearl necklace priced at $2.50. How she wanted that necklace, and when she asked her mother if she would buy it for her, her mother said, “Well, it is a pretty necklace,

An Unusual Training

At a self-service shop one of the salesmen keeps an eye on a six- year-old boy. He has been wandering round the aisles of the most attractive part of the shop several times, looking at the shelves packed with various items. But he neither touches nor buys anything except for

The Golden Coin

Freddy, a pious, old man who worked on the land, used to go around always repeating the same expression: “It is easy for one who loves God to do good and avoid evil.” But he had a servant who was very impulsive and often would be heard using bad and

The Lost Watch

A man was frantically searching for something in a dark room. He was weeping and shouting. He was making a mess of the things kept in the room. He broke some and tumbled on others. Yet, what he was searching for, he could not get. A friend came to the

My Name Is Rose

The first day of school our professor introduced himself and challenged us to get to know someone we didn’t already know. I stood up to look around when a gentle hand touched my shoulder. I turned around to find a wrinkled, little old lady beaming up at me with

Become A Master Mind (The Monkey Mind)

Once a lady of the house in a village, wanted to go to the market place. She had a monkey and a donkey as pets. She tied them both in front of her house and went to the market. The monkey as usual became restless and managed to remove the

A Lesson From Nature

Long ago there was a blind musician. He lived all alone in a hut at the end of the town. He lived only on fruits so that he did not have to cook. Those who came to listen to his music also brought fruits for him. He used to sing

Lord – You Are My Only Hope

The King of the land, was preparing for a ‘Maha-Yajna’ to appease the Goddess so as to bless the queen with a worthy son, for there was no ‘heir to the throne’. A human sacrifice of a young boy was to be made in offering to the Goddess. Who would

The Unknown Helper

The great German philanthropist, Oberlin, was one day caught in a blinding snowstorm. He could not see a thing in front of him. He cried out for help but his shrieks were lost in the angry wind. Exhausted he dropped down unconscious on the snow. A peasant happened to pass

Which Did God Believe?

The family sat around the dining table. The father offered a prayer, “Grateful are we to Thee, O Lord, of having sent us this delicious food. It comes to us as Thy Prasadam. So bless us that the energy we get out of it may be spent in Thy service,

Gold

Totapuri was a monk who was able to achieve oneness with God after forty years of rigorous penance. He took Gadadhar as his disciple and named him Ramakrishna Paramhans. He placed a piece of glass on his forehead and asked him to concentrate on it. Ramakrishna attained success in three

Having Lunch With God

There once was a little boy who wanted to meet God. He knew it was a long trip to where God lived, so he packed his suitcase with cupcakes, several cans of juice and started his journey. When he had gone about three blocks, he saw an elderly woman. She

God’S Little Peck

After arguing with his mother about religion, 16 year-old non-believer Josh Rempel ended the exchange with this challenge; “If there’s a God may He strike me down with lightning!” Less than 24 hours after his brash declaration a lightning bolt from the heavens tore into him, knocking him unconscious

The Teacher’S Influence

When I was studying medicine in Madras, India, I was President of the Medical Students’ Hostel. A series of thefts of money from students’ rooms broke out. We were sure that the thief must be a resident of the hostel. Suspicion soon focused on a student whom I shall call

God Exists

A man went to a barber shop to have his hair and his beard cut. He started to have a good conversation with the barber who was attending to him. They talked about many things on varied subjects. Suddenly, they touched the subject of God. The barber said: “Look man,

With God – A Hero And Without God – A Zero

A disciple once sought the permission of his guru to go on a pilgrimage alongwith some brother disciples. The guru gladly consented. He even wrote number one on a slip of paper and told him that he would get one rupee every day to meet his expenses. The disciple sought

No Pain No Gain

There was this museum laden with beautiful marble tiles, with a huge marble statue displayed in the middle of the lobby. Many people came from all over the world just to admire this beautiful marble statue. One night, one of the marble tiles started talking to the marble statute. Marble

Think Before You Act

A man came out of his home to admire his new truck. To his astonishment, his three-year-old son was happily hammering dents into the shiny paint. The man ran to his son and knocked him away. Blinded with rage, he hammered the little boy’s hands into a pulp as

The Struggles

The struggles are just natural……….leave it to God. A man found a cocoon of a butterfly. One day a small opening appeared. He sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole. Then, it seemed to stop making any

Prioritise Your Time

One day, an expert in time management was speaking to a group of business students and to drive home a point, he used an illustration those students will never forget. As he stood in front of the group of high-powered over-achievers, he said, “Okay, time for a quiz,” and he

A Birth Day Party

It was Devki’s eighth birthday. Her mother had informed the orphanage in the city that she and her daughter would be visiting at 5 p.m. in the evening to distribute goodies to all the forty children there. Devki and her mother walked into the children’s playroom with

This Will Make It Better

A few years ago at the Seattle Special Olympics, nine contestants, all physically or mentally disabled, assembled at the starting line for the100-yard dash. At the gun they all started out, not exactly in a dash, but with the relish to run the race to the finish and win. All,

The Most Caring Child

Author and lecturer Leo Buscaglia once talked about a contest he was asked to judge. The purpose of the contest was to find the most caring child. The winner was a four year old child whose next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife. Upon

Thank You Lord

A newly arrived soul in Heaven was met by St. Peter. The saint toured the soul around Heaven. Both of them walked side by side inside a large workroom filled with angels. St. Peter stopped in front of the first section and said, “This is the Receiving Section. Here, all

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