Random Thoughts/quotes

- Talk little, talk sweet, talk only when there is pressing need to only those to whom you must. Do not shout or raise your voice in anger or in excitement.

- Anger makes your mouth works faster than your mind.

- Manage yourself first then you will be able to manage others.

- In desires, we live a life full of desires and not happiness.

- The whole game of life depends on how well we are able to control our minds.

- If it is not good, then don't think it or say it.

- Send thoughts of love towards other people. Speak words of encouragement to them.

- As you begin to think loving thoughts about people, you will find them behaving in a more loving manner. Thoughts and words are containers for carrying creative or destructive power.

- Develop a thankful mind.

- Be thankful at all times.

- Be a grateful person - one filled with gratitude, not only towards God, but also towards people. When someone does something nice for you, let him know that you appreciate it.

- A sure way to lose something is not to appreciate it.

- Meditate daily on all things you have to be thankful for.

- That person is wise who learns from others experiences,
   that person is ordinary who learns from his own experiences, and
   and that person is a fool who does not learn from either.

- In meeting resistance, you will build your strength. if you only do what is easy, you will always remain weak.

- To see a lit lamp, we don't need any other lamp because it is self luminous. Similarly,we use intellect to know other things, but not to know our true Self, True Self is self revealing.

A few quotes of Swami Vivekananda

(1863-1902)

Swami Vivekananda  was an Indian monk who introduced Indian philosophy of Vedanta and yoga to the western world. Inspire yourself from some of his quotes:-

- All the powers in the universe are already ours. It is we who have put our hands before our eyes  and  cry that it is dark.

- That man has reached immortality who is disturbed by nothing material.

- Arise! Awake! and stop not until the goal is reached.

- You cannot believe in God until you believe in yourself.

- Anything that makes you weak physically, intellectually and spiritually, reject as poison.

- Fill the brain with high thoughts, highest ideals. Place them day and night before you and out of that will come great work.

- The world is the great gymnasium where we come to make ourselves strong

-  Do not lower your goals to the level of your abilities. Instead, raise  your abilities to the height of your goals.

- Purity, patience and perseverance are the three essentials to success and above all love.

-  Strength is life, weakness is death. Expansion is life, contraction is death. Love is life, hate is death.

-  Never lose faith in yourself; you can do anything in the universe.

-  Society does not go down because of the activities of criminals, but because of the inactivity of the good people.

- Do not hate anybody, because that hatred which comes out from you must, in a long run, come back to you. If you love, that love will come back to you, completing the circle. 

- Each work has to pass through these stages - ridicule, opposition, and then acceptance. Those who think ahead of their times are sure to be misunderstood. 

- Great work requires great and persistent effort for a long time. Character has to be established through a thousand stumbles.

There are many more inspirational quotes on the web. Find time to read and inspire yourself. 

Thank you. Have a great inspired life. Namaste.

Kindness

Do you want to be healthy? Do you want to be happy? Do you want to live a stress free life? If the answer to any of these questions is yes, then I have a secret for you. The secret is just loosen yourself in the service of others. Believe me, our problems begin when we start living a selfish life. One should start doing random acts of kindness. The happiness which we receive in this manner,  cannot be described in words. Let me quote a couplet written by a greatest poet, saint, reformer and philosopher GoswamiTulsidas of India -

दया धर्म का मूल है, पाप मूल अभिमान ।
तुलसी दया न छांड़िए, जब तक घट में प्राण॥
(For Hindi speaking audience)

Transliteration of the above couplet :-

dayaa dharam kaa mool hai, paap mool abhimaan.
Tulsi daya na chandiye, jab tak ghat mein praan.

The meaning of these lines is:

Kindness (compassion, mercy) is the root of  dharm*, pride (arrogance) is the root of sin
Tulsi says as long as we have life in this body, we should not leave kindness.

Kindness has more power than violence. Let us all be kind to ourselves and to the people around us. This way, violence cannot exist in the society. Let us remind ourselves some quotes on kindness which can be  found on the web also -

- Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and 
  the blind can see  - Mark Twain

- Always be a little kinder than necessary.

- One kind word can change someone's entire day.
(I would like to change "entire day" to "entire life")

- Kindness is free. Sprinkle that stuff everywhere.

- Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile - Albert Einstein

- No act of kindness, no matter how small is ever wasted - Aesop

- Kindness is free, let us pass it on.

- If you can be one thing, be kind

Do you t know that there is a world kindness day? I only learnt it while writing this blog.

Let us all develop this divine quality of kindness. Let us touch lives of many people with our acts of kindness.

I would like to end this post with these lines which I received from a friend of mine -

Learn to:
Love without condition
Talk without bad intention
Give without any reason, and most of all
Care for people without any expectations.

Namaste  

* dharm - I did not find the exact English translation of the word 'dharm'. Dharm tells us how should we act towards living beings. Dharm teaches us what is the right thing for us to do and what is wrong. Dharm teaches us that we should follow truth and non-violence. 

Simplicity in life

From time to time, we should go through our possessions and get rid of unwanted items by giving them away to the needy or throwing them in the garbage. You must have heard "Less is more". Enjoy the treasure which you will receive by possessing less stuff. This treasure is in the form of more space, more clarity in the mind, less hassles, less wastage of time, less anxiety, less sorrow, less accidents, better health,  etc.  These "possessions" literally weigh us down. We should do this "cleaning-up" process at least once a month.  This "cleaning-up" process will expand your vision and take you to the higher-consciousness.

How to make yourself beautiful

Do hard work from body,
Mind should have self-discipline,
Intellect should have wisdom,
Heart should have compassion,
No ego,
With these things, you will be beautiful.

By the way, these lines apply to men also. Just replace beautiful with handsome.

p.s. I found this in my diary. I want to thank the author of these beautiful lines.

Beauty in Nature

Daily we have to make it a point to see beauty in nature. This beauty has the power to heal us. Daily we need to keep aside some time to go for a long walk in nature. It will really be a boon if we can go for a walk in the morning and in the evening. Walking in nature is very therapeutic. The more problems we have, the more time we should spend in nature. To savor the beauty of nature, we need to let go our preoccupation with our thoughts. If we are already full, how can we receive anything? So, consciously, during this walk, drop all worries of the mind. From time to time we should just empty ourselves. Don’t we all get tired of carrying burdens of life?

To have balance in life, one must spend time with nature. One will be a happier and a healthier person. I am sure there are many people in this world who have not seen a sunrise or a sunset. Have you seen a flock of birds flying? It just takes your breath away. These birds are so much full of energy, vitality, and enthusiasm. They don't even own any houses or have any bank accounts. I don’t see any signs of worries in them. Not only birds, you might see squirrels chasing each other, ducks, cranes, butterflies etc. Relax in sounds of nature like a chirping of birds, a murmur of leaves. Pay attention to a variety of flowers, majestic trees. During sunrise, the eastern sky gets filled with a golden hue. One can see beautiful scenes of a variety of colors in the sky. Morning sunlight is good for health. We get our quota of vitamin D. Wake up early in the morning and spend time in the fresh air.

I remember while growing up, my father used to tell me the benefits of looking at the sky. By looking at the sky, one feels more spacious inside. One feels less constricted. It is nice to see various shapes of clouds in the sky too. Sometimes one can see a pure blue sky with no clouds at all. Both offer their own beauty. With the advancement of technology, we don't have to distant ourselves from nature. Nowadays, we are spending more time indoors and online. Daily we should soak ourselves in the beauty of nature. One becomes a more contented, positive and peaceful person. By becoming a peaceful person, we are contributing to the peace of the world. A peaceful person will only transmit peaceful vibrations which are healthy for everybody.

I would like to share a personal note with you. I have a picnic bench in my backyard. I have put a mosquito net around it. This way mosquitoes don’t bother me. I am even writing this post from inside this setup. Mild wind is blowing. I can hear the chirping of birds. To me relaxing like this is worth more than a million dollars. 

I wish you peace in your life.

---

A few quotes of Lao Tzu

Lao Tzu (604 BC - 531 BC) was a Chinese philosopher and a writer. Below are some of his quotes which are among my favorites. Do not be in a hurry to go through these quotes. Read them slowly and let them assimilate in you. Each and every quote has a potential to transform your life for the better.

"Nature does not hurry,

 Yet everything is accomplished."

"There is no calamity greater than lavish desires.

 There is no guilt greater than discontentment.

 There is no disaster greater than greed."

"Silence is a source of great strength."

"If you are depressed, you are living in the past.

 If you are anxious, you are living in the future.

 If you are at peace, you are living in the present."

"Be content with what you have,

 Rejoice in the way things are.

 When you realize there is nothing lacking,

 The whole world belongs to you."

"The best fighter is never angry."

"He who knows others is wise

 He who knows himself is enlightened."

"Mastering others is strength. 
  Mastering yourself is true power."

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."

"When you are content to be simply yourself and don't compare, or compete, everybody will respect you."

"To a mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders."

"Care about what other people think, and you will always be their prisoner."

"If a person seems wicked, do not cast him away,

 Awaken him with your words, elevate him with your deeds, 

 Repay his injury with your kindness;

 Do not cast him away, cast away his wickedness."

"Water is fluid, soft and yielding.

 But water will wear away rock, which is rigid and cannot yield.

 As a rule, whatever is fluid, soft and yielding will overcome whatever is rigid and hard.

 This is another paradox: what is soft is strong."

"Stop thinking and end your problems".

"If one desires to receive, one must first give.

 This is called profound understanding."

"By letting go, all gets done."

"If you want to become full, let yourself be empty."

"If you correct your mind, the rest of your life will fall into place."

"Great acts are made up of small deeds."

"Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes.

 Don't resist them; that only creates sorrow.

 Let reality be a reality.

 Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like."

"New beginnings are often disguised as painful endings."

"Clay is shaped into a bowl,

 But it is the empty space that makes it useful."

"Be still like a mountain,

 And flow like a great river."

"Watch your thoughts, they become words.

 Watch your words, they become actions.

 Watch your actions, they become habits.

 Watch your habits, they become character.

 Watch your character, it becomes your destiny."