21 Suggestions for Success

1. Marry the right person. This one decision will determine 90% of your happiness or misery.
2. Work at something you enjoy and that's worthy of your time and talent.
3. Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.
4. Become the most positive and enthusiastic person you know.
5. Be forgiving of yourself and others.
6. Be generous.
7. Have a grateful heart.
8. Persistence, persistence, persistence.
9. Discipline yourself to save money on even the most modest salary.
10. Treat everyone you meet like you want to be treated.
11. Commit yourself to constant improvement.
12. Commit yourself to quality.
13. Understand that happiness is not based on possessions, power or prestige, but on relationships with people you love and respect.
14. Be loyal.
15. Be honest.
16. Be a self-starter.
17. Be decisive even if it means you'll sometimes be wrong.
18. Stop blaming others. Take responsibility for every area of your life.
19. Be bold and courageous. When you look back on your life, you'll regret the things you didn't do more than the ones you did.
20. Take good care of those you love.
21. Don't do anything that wouldn't make your Mom proud.

God - The Almighty

A conversation between a student and professor, I bet you certainly would not like to miss.......

:Narinder Sharma.

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An atheist professor of philosophy speaks to his class on the problem science has with God - The Almighty.

He asks one of his new students to stand and.....

Prof: So you believe in God?
Student: Absolutely, sir.
Prof : Is God good?
Student: Sure.
Prof: Is God all-powerful?
Student : Yes.

Prof: My brother died of cancer even though he prayed to God to heal him.

Most of us would attempt to help others who are ill. But God didn't. How is this God good then? Hmm?

(Student is silent..)

Prof: You can't answer, can you? Let's start again, young fella. Is God good?

Student: Yes.
Prof: Is Satan good?
Student : No.
Prof: Where does Satan come from?
Student: From...God...

Prof: That's right. Tell me son, is there evil in this world?

Student: Yes.
Prof: Evil is everywhere, isn't it? And God did make everything. Correct?
Student: Yes.
Prof: So who created evil?

(Student does not answer.)

Prof: Is there sickness? Immorality? Hatred? Ugliness? All these terrible things exist in the world, don't they?
Student: Yes, sir.
Prof:So, who created them? (Student has no answer.)
Prof: Science says you have 5 senses you use to identify and observe the world around you.
Tell me, son...Have you ever seen God?
Student: No, sir.
Prof: Tell us if you have ever heard your God?
Student: No, sir.

Prof: Have you ever felt your God, tasted your God, smelt your God?
Prof: Have you ever had any sensory perception of God for that matter?

Student: No, sir. I'm afraid I haven't.
Prof: Yet you still believe in Him?
Student: Yes.
Prof: According to empirical, testable, demonstrable protocol, science says your GOD doesn't exist.

Prof: What do you say to that, son?
Student: Nothing. I only have my faith.
Prof: Yes. Faith. And that is the problem science has.

Student: Professor, is there such a thing as heat?
Prof: Yes.
Student: And is there such a thing as cold?
Prof: Yes.
Student: No sir. There isn't.

(The lecture theatre becomes very quiet with this turn of events.)

Student : Sir, you can have lots of heat, even more heat, superheat, mega heat, white heat, a little heat or no heat.

But we don't have anything called cold. We can hit 458 degrees below zero which is no heat, but we can't go any further after that. There is no such thing as cold . Cold is only a word we use to describe the absence of heat . We cannot measure cold. Heat is energy . Cold is not the opposite of heat, sir, just the absence of it.

(There is pin-drop silence in the lecture theatre.)

Student: What about darkness, Professor? Is there such a thing as darkness?
Prof: Yes. What is night if there isn't darkness?
Student : You're wrong again, sir. Darkness is the absence of something. You can have low light, normal light, bright light, flashing light....But if you have no light constantly, you have nothing and it's called darkness, isn't it? In reality, darkness isn't. If it were you would be able to make darkness darker, wouldn't you?

Prof: So what is the point you are making, young man?
Student: Sir, my point is your philosophical premise is flawed.
Prof: Flawed? Can you explain how?

Student: Sir, you are working on the premise of duality. You argue there is life and then there is death, a good God and a bad God. You are viewing the concept of God as something finite, something we can measure. Sir, science can't even explain a thought. It uses electricity and magnetism, but has never seen, much less fully understood either one.To view death as the opposite of life is to be ignorant of the fact that death cannot exist as a substantive thing.

Death is not the opposite of life: just the absence of it.

Now tell me, Professor. Do you teach your students that they evolved from a monkey?

Prof: If you are referring to the natural evolutionary process, yes, of course, I do.

Student: Have you ever observed evolution with your own eyes, sir?

(The Professor shakes his head with a smile, beginning to realize where the argument is going..)

Student: Since no one has ever observed the process of evolution at work and cannot even prove that this process is an on-going endeavor, are you not teaching your opinion, sir? Are you not a scientist but a preacher?

(The class is in uproar.)

Student: Is there anyone in the class who has ever seen the Professor's brain?

(The class breaks out into laughter.)

Student : Is there anyone here who has ever heard the Professor's brain, felt it, touched or smelt it? No one appears to have done so. So, according to the established rules of empirical, stable, demonstrable protocol, science says that you have no brain,sir.

With all due respect, sir, how do we then trust your lectures, sir?

(The room is silent. The professor stares at the student, his face unfathomable.)

Prof: I guess you'll have to take them on faith, son.

Student: That is it sir... The link between man & god is FAITH . That is all that keeps things moving & alive.

My wife forwarded this email to me (which was of-course sent to her by some of her friend..); But it does not loose any value because I picked up from an forwarded email. Life is much more than we understand and we think have understood........I found this article mind grinding.. a food for our brain... to break the illusion and rise to epiphany. Email claimed that this is a true conversation that happened; and the student was none other than..........APJ Abdul Kalam, the former president of India.

Looking for the Gold

As a young Scots boy, Andrew Carnegie came to America and started doing odd jobs.
He ended up as one of the largest steel manufacturers in the United States.At one time he had 43 millionaires working for him.

Several decades ago, a million dollars used to be a lot of money; even today it is a lot of money.
Someone asked Mr. Carnegie how he dealt with people? Andrew Carnegie replied, "Dealing with people is like digging gold: When you go digging for an ounce of gold, you have to move tons of dirt to get an ounce of gold. But when you go digging, you don't go looking for the dirt, you go looking
for the gold."

Newton's Greatness

The great scientist Sir Isaac Newton worked several hours every day for twenty years and wrote down the results of his brilliant research. One day he went out for a walk leaving the papers on the table. His pet dog ‘diamond’ was lying in the room. A few minutes later, it jumped on to the table playfully. Due to this, the burning candle fell on the bundle of manuscript and it caught fire. Twenty years of hard research was reduced to ashes within minutes. When Newton came back he was shocked. His precious papers were now a handful of ashes. Any one else would have beaten the dog to death. But Newton simply stroked the dog’s head and said looking at it with pity ‘Diamond, you know not what you have done.’

He started writing again. It took him several years to complete the task. How great was his compassion for the dumb animal. Newton’s heart was as great as his head.

It is difficult to forgive a wrong done to you – yet, with a stronger will it is possible. To forget the whole episode requires super human effort and nobility of heart. If you develop the habit of forgiving and forgetting, you will not have any enemy in this wide world. You will be friendly with all.

Swami Vivekananda uttered : "Know that talking ill of others in private is a sin. You must wholly avoid it. Many things may occur to the mind, but it gradually makes a mountain of a molehill if you try to express them. Everything is ended if you forgive and forget."

Mahatma Gandhi: Seven Deadly Sins

Mahatma Gandhi said that seven things will destroy us. Notice that all of them have to do with social and political conditions. Note also that the antidote of each of these "deadly sins" is an explicit external standard or something that is based on natural principles and laws, not on social values.

1. Wealth without work
2. Pleasure without conscience
3. Knowledge without character
4. Commerce (business) without morality (ethics)
5. Science without humanity
6. Religion without sacrifice
7. Politics without principle

Wealth without work
This refers to the practice of getting something for nothing - manipulating markets and assets so you don't have to work or produce added value, just manipulate people and things. Today there are professions built around making wealth without working, making much money without paying taxes, benefiting from free government programs without carrying a fair share of the financial burdens, and enjoying all the perks of citizenship of country and membership of corporation without assuming any of the risk or responsibility.

Pleasure without conscience
The chief query of the immature, greedy, selfish, and sensuous has always been, "What's in it for me? Will this please me? Will it ease me?" Lately many people seem to want these pleasures without conscience or sense of responsibility, even abandoning or utterly neglecting spouses and children in the name of doing their thing. But independence is not the most mature state of being - it's only a middle position on the way to interdependence, the most advanced and mature state. To learn to give and take, to live selflessly, to be sensitive, to be considerate, is our challenge.

Many of advertisements, perhaps two-thirds of them, invite executives to indulge themselves without conscience because they "deserve it" or have "earned it" or "want it," and why not "give in" and "let it all hang out"? The seductive message is, "You've arrived. You don't need a conscience to govern you anymore." And in some ads you see sixty-year-old men with attractive thirty-year old women, the "significant others" who accompany some executives to conventions. Whatever happened to spouses? What happened to the social mores that make cheating on spouses illegitimate behaviour?

Knowledge without character
As dangerous as a little knowledge is, even more dangerous is much knowledge without a strong, principled character. Purely intellectual development without commensurate internal character development makes as much sense as putting a high-powered sports car in the hands of a teenager who is high on drugs. Yet all too often in the academic world, that's exactly what we do by not focusing on the character development of young people.

Commerce (business) without morality (ethics)
If we ignore the moral foundation and allow economic systems to operate without moral foundation and without continued education, we will soon create an amoral, if not immoral, society and business. Every business transaction is a moral challenge to see that both parties come out fairly. The spirit of the Golden Rule or of win-win is a spirit of morality, of mutual benefit, of fairness for all concerned.

People get in trouble when they say that most of their economic transactions are moral. That means there is something going on that is covert, hidden, secret. People keep a hidden agenda, a secret life, and they justify and rationalize their activities. They tell themselves rational lies so they don't have to adhere to natural laws.

Science without humanity
If science becomes all technique and technology, it quickly degenerates into man against humanity. Technologies come from the paradigms of science. And if there's very little understanding of the higher human purposes that the technology is striving to serve, we becomes victims of our own technocracy. We see otherwise highly educated people climbing the scientific ladder of success, even though it's often missing the rung called humanity and leaning against the wrong wall.

The majority of the scientists who ever lived or living today, and they have brought about a scientific and technological explosion in the world. We may see an evolution, an occasional "revolution" in science, but without humanity we see precious little real human advancement. All the old inequities and injustices are still with us.

Religion without sacrifice
Without sacrifice we may become active in a church but remain inactive in its gospel. There is no real walking with people or going the second mile or trying to deal with our social problems. It takes sacrifice to serve the needs of other people - the sacrifice of our own pride and prejudice, among other things.

For example, I once observed a marriage where there were frequent arguments. One thought came to me : "These two people must have a broken heart and a contrite spirit toward each other or this union will never last." You can't have a oneness, a unity, without humility. Pride and selfishness will destroy the union between man and god, between man and woman, between man and man, between self and self.

Politics without principle
If there is no principle, there is no true north, nothing you can depend upon. The focus on the personality ethic is the instant creation of an image that sells well in the social and economic marketplace.

You see politicians spending millions of dollars to create an image, even though it's superficial, lacking substance, in order to get votes and gain office. And when it works, it leads to a political system operating independently of the natural laws that should govern - that are built into the Declaration of Independence : "We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness . . . . "

In the movie The Ten Commandments, Moses says to the pharaoh, "We are to be governed by God's law, not by you." In effect he's saying, "We will not be governed by a person unless that person embodies the law." In the best societies and organizations, natural laws and principles govern - that's the Constitution - and even the top people must bow to the principle. No one is above it.


Credit: This article is excerpts from - "Principle Centered Leadership" by "Stephen R. Covey" from Chapter 7 - Seven Deadly Sins

Learning to live and living to learn

One must learn to manage oneself well before one can manage others well, says R Gopalakrishnan*, executive director, Tata Sons

Experience is a comb nature gives a man after he is bald! But all bald men are not old men. Nani Palkhivala once circulated a quotation about how youth is not a time of life, it is a state of mind. Nobody grows old by merely living a number of years. People grow old by deserting their ideals. Years wrinkle the skin, but giving up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul. There is much research all over the world about leaders who are learning for a lifetime. Such people are focused on the future, not on the past. They are addicted to life, as energised by it as they ever were. They seem to be forever young.

Actress Zohra Sehgal is 92. She says the secrets of her success are "a one-hour physical workout and those explicit scenes in novels." Actor Dev Anand is 80 and confesses that he does not smoke or drink, and believes that the way to be perennially young is to look ahead with excitement, and be alive all the time. Ustad Bismillah Khan is 87 and feels that "music is an ocean and I have barely reached the shore after so many decades. My search is incomplete and that's what keeps me going." Kathak dancer Sitara Devi is 79 and asserts, "I do riyaaz every single day. I am still learning to dance, now Bharata Natyam style."

I wish to share some lessons that I have learnt about staying young and zestful. I do so not merely from the perspective of my experiences so far, but also knowing that several "inexperiences" await me in the future. Sharing may help, it may even be interesting.

Manage yourself
You are defined in others' perception by your body, your mind and your time. All three require managing. It is a huge disadvantage not to be able to do so.
It pays to have a practical attitude about the role of your body. It is not the most essential thing about you, but it is the vehicle which carries what is essential. If you were given a car and told that it would be the only one for the rest of your life, you would take care of it in a certain way. Your body is the only one you'll ever have and you have to work hard to make it run longer and better.

The mind is a bit like a garden. If it isn't fed and cultivated, weeds will take it over. Just like your body would not be in good shape if it was fed only ice-cream, potato chips and hamburgers, you cannot feed your mind only with television, soap operas and Bollywood movies. Indulge your mind in the adventures it has been trained to undertake, do not waste it — read, think, write, do what turns you on in mental calisthenics.

The day has 24 hours for you, and so also for those you work with. Be respectful of your own time, and even more so, of other people's time. Diary and time management is a serious weakness of many top people and the higher the executive, the more deleterious are the effects of poor time management.

So, lesson number one is to manage yourself since nobody else can manage your body, your mind or your time.

Manage your conscience
Life is this great theater where we are all small actors. Ours is a role, cast by a scriptwriter. Our role in the play will for sure get over. That is when we peel off the grease paint, shed our costumes, and go "home to our maker". All the glory, if any, achieved during the drama of life will probably seem much less relevant at that time compared to the magical moment in the play. At that time, we will listen to the voice of silence and our own conscience. Will that be a pleasant voice?

We can make it so. By remembering throughout life what Gandhiji once said to beware of : politics without principles, wealth without work, pleasure without conscience, education without character, commerce without morality, science without humanity and worship without sacrifice.
It is essential to live a life with conscience. That is my second lesson.

Play to win, but with fairness
Life is competitive and, of course, you play to win. But will you do anything to win? Perhaps not. Winning without values provides dubious fulfilment. The leaders who have contributed the most are the ones with universal values — Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King.

Manage your happiness
When I was offered a terrific professional opportunity as chairman of Unilever Arabia in 1990, my wife and I faced a dilemma: how would we cope with the restrictive lifestyle in Jeddah? My mother's advice was insightful and has stayed with me ever since, "If you both have decided to be happy, nobody can stop you. If you have decided to be unhappy, then nobody can help you." We spend our lives as though happiness is a destination and as though we are on a journey towards that destination. In reality, happiness is a companion on the journey. We can work for happiness or with happiness. The choice is ours.

Sir Thomas Lipton said, "There is no greater fun than hard work." You excel in fields that you truly enjoy, you feel happy when you feel stretched to your full potential. Success is only a by-product, not the aim of the act of working.

Life is hard… and not always fair
Scott Peck wrote, "Life is a series of problems. Do you want to moan about them or solve them?" We all meet people who crib about one thing or the other as though it was their birthright not to have those problems. I say, thank God for problems, if there were none, we would not be required, there would be no job for us to do!

As a matter of fact, life is also fun. We can feel the fun only if we see it as fun. I recall a fine movie called Zorba the Greek. It is a story about the relationship between two men, Zorba and the Boss. Boss has looks, intelligence, health, money and education. He is also a good person who is all locked up inside: he doesn't seem to enjoy life. He reads and he thinks, but he doesn't have fun. Then Zorba tells him, "You've got everything, Boss, except one thing — madness. A man needs a little madness or he never does cut the rope and be free." At the end, Zorba teaches Boss to dance, to laugh, and to let go.

My wife has been my Zorba!

Direction is more important than distance
Every golfer tries to drive the ball to a very long distance. In the process, all sorts of mistakes occur because the game involves the masterly co-ordination of several movements simultaneously. The golf coach always advises that direction is more important than distance. So it is with life.

Despite one's best attempts, there will be ups and downs. It is relationships and friendships that enable a person to navigate the choppy waters that the ship of life will encounter. When I was young, there was a memorable film by Frank Capra, starring James Stewart and Dona Reed, and named It's a Wonderful Life. It is about a man who is about to commit suicide because he thinks he is a failure. An angel is sent to rescue him. The bottom line of the film is that 'No man is a failure who has friends'.

Successful people think and radiate success
Attitude is the most important choice we can make. Research from Harvard and several top universities, all bear this out. These studies reveal that up to 85 per cent of our success in life is due to attitude, while only 15 per cent is due to ability! Whether 85:15 is correct or not, one thing is for sure, i.e. attitude is far more important than intelligence, education, special talent or luck. Tim Hansel writes in his book You Gotta Keep Dancin' that pain is inevitable, but misery is optional.

The world will not devote itself to making us happy. We have to form an attitude which enables us to adapt to the world, to think with an open mind and constructively. I learnt that success means doing the best we can with what we have. Success is in the doing, not the getting. Success is in the trying, not the triumph!

Seek out grassroots-level experience
Ardous Huxley wrote, "Experience is not what happens to a man, it is what a man does with what happens to him." So it is essential to seek out experiences at the grassroots-level, particularly early in one's career.

After studying physics and engineering, at an HLL interview for computer traineeship, I was asked whether I would consider marketing instead of computers. I responded negatively. After a couple of comfortable weeks in the swanky head office, I was given a train ticket to Nasik. Would I please meet Mr. Kelkar to whom I would be attached for the next two months? He would teach me to work as a salesman in his territory, which included staying in Kopargaon, Pimpalgaon and other small towns.

I was most upset. In a town called Ozhar, I was moving around from shop to shop with a bullock cart full of soaps and a salesman's folder in my hand. Imagine my embarrassment when an IIT friend appeared in front of me. I could have died a thousand deaths. After this leveling experience, I was less embarrassed to work as a despatch clerk in the company depot and an invoice clerk in the accounts department. Several years later, I realised the value of such grassroots-level experience. It is fantastic. I would advise young people to seek out nail-dirtying, collar-soiling, shoe-wearing tasks. That is how you learn about organisations, about the true nature of work, and the dignity of the many tasks that go into building great enterprises. The lesson is seek out grassroots experiences early in your career.

Learn to listen
We are all trained to speak — at school, at college debates, in tutorial colleges. Nobody teaches us to listen. Come to think about it, how does one train a person to listen? And then, there are two kinds of listening: to the words spoken and to the song behind the words. Most of us have not even learnt the former, let alone the latter.
Doug Ivester lasted only 28 months as CEO of Coke after having developed a successful career for several decades in the same company. Why? His critics thought he did not listen, that he was not sensitive to some important issues like minorities, the adulteration case in Belgium and so on. Eckard Pfeiffer of Compaq was fired by his board. Why? For surrounding himself with yes-men and ignoring those who would speak truths to him.

As a trainee at Hindustan Lever, we would be invited by chairman Prakash Tandon for lunch occasionally. It was a terrifying occasion. One of my trainee colleagues was bright, exuberant and garrulous. The chairman once gently admonished him, "Young man, as you progress in your career, will you promise me that you will listen more than you talk?"

The lesson is to avoid the congenital disability of not listening. Let us all learn to listen.

Deserve before you desire
The Chettiars of Tamil Nadu practiced a successful management development system for centuries. At 10, the youngster joined the business as podiyan (trainee), at 21, he became aduttavan (assistant), at 31, he became pangali (partner) and at 41, he became mudalali (proprietor). They had a system of rigour before reward.

At one stage of my career, I was appointed as the brand manager for Lifebuoy and Pears soap, the company's most popular-priced and most premium soaps. And what was a brand manager? It is a mini-businessman responsible for the production, sales and profits of the brand, accountable for its long-term growth, etc. I had read those statements, I believed them and here I was, at 27, "in charge of everything". But very soon, I found I could not move a pin without checking with my seniors. I expressed my frustration to the marketing director and gently asked whether I could not be given total charge. He smiled benignly and said, "The perception and reality are both right. You will get total charge when you know more about the brand than anyone else in this company — about its formulation, the raw materials, the production costs, the consumer's perception, the distribution and so on. How long do you think that it will take?"
"Maybe, 10years," I replied, "and I don't expect to be the Lifebuoy and Pears Brand Manager for so long!" And then suddenly, the lesson was clear. I was desiring total control, long before I deserved it. This happens to us all the time — in terms of responsibilities, in terms of postings and promotions, it happens all the time that there is a gap between our perception of what we deserve and the reality of what we get. It helps to deserve before we desire.

When you are older, you can and should be different from my generation. Ours is a great and wonderful country, and realizing her true potential in the global arena depends ever so much on the quality and persistence of our young people. Good luck in your journey, my young friends, and God be with you and our beloved Nation.

*Speech by R. Gopalakrishnan, executive director, Tata Sons, at the HR Summit — Lal Bahadur Shastri Institute of Management, New Delhi, on October 11, 2003.

Choices and Dilemma: Yudhishtira and The Dog

After some time, Dhritharashtra and Vidura, Gandhari and Kunthi all retired to the forest for prayer and meditation.

Yudhishtira grew tired of ruling the kingdom and lost interest in worldly affairs. By this time, Krishna, Dhritharashtra and Vidura had all passed away. Yudhishtira gave Duryodhana's share of the kingdom to Yuyuthsu, son of Vidura, and his own share to Parikshith, son of Abhimanyu, and installed them on their thrones. Afterwards, he proceeded on the Great Journey, or 'Mahaprasthana' ' along with his brothers, to obtain spiritual peace. The Pandavas gave up all the worldly possessions, dressed themselves in fiber-cloth and bade farewell to the citizens. Though all the citizens returned, a dog followed them throughout their journey.

The Pandavas finally reached Mount Meru. As they climbed it, the dog faithfully followed them. On the way, all except Yudhishtira fell down and gave up their mortal bodies.

Though sorrowful and - alone, Yudhishtira went on with determination. The dog still followed him.

Devendra came in a heavenly chariot. He invited Yudhishtira to enter the chariot and go with him to Paradise.

Yudhishtira: My brothers lie dead here. I do not want Paradise without them.

Indira: Dharmaputhra, your brothers and Draupadi are not dead. They have given up their mortal bodies here. They have assumed divine bodies and are already there in Heaven. All the Kauravas and other heroes have reached Heaven. Do not be unhappy. Because you have earned very much more merit than all others, you have the privilege of entering Heaven just as you are, in your human body. Come now get into the chariot.

Yudhishtira: I cannot come. This dog you see has been following me from Hasthinavathi. And he has been so faithful to me. I do not want to leave him behind and come alone.

Indra: What are you saying? A dog's place in Hell, not Heaven.

Yudhishtira: Lord Devendra, I can never desert those who have trusted me and those who follow me. I do not want that Heaven which has no place for the dog that has trusted and followed me.

The dog was not other than Yamadharma himself, Yudhishtira's father. He appeared before Yudhishtira and said, "You are indeed a great man, a righteous man; your compassion for all living beings is exemplary. A dog has been as dear to you as your own brothers. Your conduct will remain a shining example to all men for all times. Now, you can mount the chariot without any hesitation."

Yudhishtira was now satisfied; he bowed down to Yamadharma and Indra, and mounted the chariot. He reached Heaven with Indra. He was glad to find his kith and kin in Heaven. He felt happy to join them in divine life.

Our Hindu Vedic Literature are complete guide to practical life. It provides "all that is needed to raise the consciousness of man to the highest possible level." Lets not forget them, let learn

Glass of Milk - Story of Human Kindness

One day, a poor boy who was selling goods from door to door to pay his way through school, found he had only one thin dime left, and he was hungry. He decided he would ask for a meal at the next house. However, he lost his nerve when a lovely young woman opened the door.

Instead of a meal he asked for a drink of water. She thought he looked hungry so brought him a large glass of milk. He drank it so slowly, and then asked, How much do I owe you?"

You don't owe me anything," she replied. "Mother has taught us never to accept pay for a kindness."

He said ... "Then I thank you from my heart."

As Howard Kelly left that house, he not only felt stronger physically, but his faith in God and man was strong also. He had been ready to give up and quit.

Many year's later that same young woman became critically ill. The local doctors were baffled. They finally sent her to the big city, where they called in specialists to study her rare disease.

Dr. Howard Kelly was called in for the consultation. When he heard the name of the town she came from, a strange light filled his eyes.

Immediately he rose and went down the hall of the hospital to her room.

Dressed in his doctor's gown he went in to see her. He recognized her at once.

He went back to the consultation room determined to do his best to save her life. From that day he gave special attention to her case.

After a long struggle, the battle was won.

Dr. Kelly requested the business office to pass the final bill to him for approval. He looked at it, then wrote something on the edge and the bill was sent to her room. She feared to open it, for she was sure it would take the rest of her life to pay for it all. Finally she looked, and something caught her attention on the side of the bill. She read these words ...

"Paid in full with one glass of milk"

(Signed) Dr. Howard Kelly.

Tears of joy flooded her eyes as her happy heart prayed: "Thank You, God, that Your love has spread broad through human hearts and hands."

This is a true story of Dr. Howard Kelly (1858-1943) was a distinguished physician who was one of the four founding doctors of Johns Hopkins, the first medical research university in the U.S. and arguably one of the finest hospitals anywhere.

It is not his skills as a healer or accomplishments as a medical pioneer that concern us in this tale, though, but rather the account of a years-previous kindness repaid.

The Mother of All Riddles - Part 3

As I mentioned earlier, these answers have guided the lives of Hindus for a thousand and more years. Let us study some of them. Let each of us become a Yudhishthira and face the questions exercising the best in us. Let these questions and the answers to these questions be the torchlights that lead us from darkness, give us peace and comfort at times of stress. Let these questions and answers be talked about, meditated and debated until each of us has had our fill, has satisfied our thirst for this ancient, eternal philosophy of the Hindus. May these questions and answers inspire our children to stand firm and stand tall as they begin to shape their lives in a new land.

Excerpts from The Mahabharata, Vana Parva, Section CCCXI

Continued from Part 2....

So the dialogue between Yaksha and Yudhishthira continued and he asked about hundred question. Yudhishthira answered all of the correctly and wisely, so at the end Yaksha asked:

"What is the greatest suprise?"

"People die everyday making us aware that men are mortal, yet we live, work, play, plan etc as if assuming we are immortal. Kimashcharyam Atahh Parahh? What is more surprising than that?"

To this Yaksha said: You have, O repressor of foes, truly answered all my questions. Tell us now who is truly a man, and what man truly possesses every kind of wealth?

Yudhishthira answered: The report of one’s good action reaches heaven and spreads over the earth. As long as that report lasts, so long is a person to whom the agreeable and the disagreeable, weal and woe, the past and the future, are the same, is said to possess every kind of wealth.

The Yaksha said: You have, O king, answered who is a man and what man possesses every kind of wealth. Therefore, let one only amongst your brothers, whom you may wish, get up with life!

Yuthishthira answered: Let this one that is of darkish hue, whose eyes are red, who is tall like a Sala tree, whose chest is broad and arms long, let this Nakula, O Yaksha, get up with life!

The Yaksha rejoined: This Bhimsena is dear unto you, and this Arjuna also is one upon whom all of you depend! Why, then, O king do you, wish a stepbrother to get up with his life! How can you, forsaking Bhima whose strength is equal to that of ten thousand elephants, wish Nkula to live? People said that this Bhima was dear to you. From what motive then do you wish a stepbrother to revive? Forsaking Arjuna, the might of whose arm is worshipped by all the sons of Pandu, why do you wish Nakula to revive?

Yudhishthira said: If virtue is sacrificed, he that sacrifices it is himself lost. So virtue also cherishes the cherisher. Therefore, taking care that virtue by being sacrificed may not sacrifice us, I never forsake virtue. Abstention from injury is the highest virtue, and is, I think, even higher than the highest object of attainment. I endeavour to practice that virtue. Therefore, let Nakula, O Yaksha, revive! Let men know that the king is always virtuous! I will never depart from my duty. Let Nakula, therefore, revive! My father had two wives, Kunti and Madri. Let both of them have children. This is what I wish. As Kunti is to me, so also is Madri. There is no difference between them in my eye. I desire to act equally towards my mothers. Therefore, let Nakula live.

The Yaksha said: Since abstention from injury is regarded by you as higher than both profit and pleasure, therefore, let all your brothers live!

The Mother of All Riddles - Part 2

Excerpts from The Mahabharata, Vana Parva, Section CCCXI

Continued from Part 1....

1. What is weightier than earth? Mother
2. What is taller than the sky? Father
3. What is faster than the wind? Mind
4. What is more numerous than grass? Thoughts

Explanation:

1. We call this earth Mother Earth - Bhumi Mata We worship her as a mother. What can be more important? The mother who gave birth to us is more important. Our mother is verily our God.
2. For us humans our parents who gave us life in this world are like gods, the highest, the most important beings. This is consistent with the Upanishadic pronouncement "Matr devo bhava, pitr devo bhava" (Mother and Father are like God).
3. In an instant the mind can travel anywhere, everywhere and back again.
4. What grows faster than grass? Thoughts grow faster. Waves and waves of thoughts arise in our minds constantly and move away. There is no end to it. They grow and grow and continue to grow with newer and newer layers of thoughts - faster than grass.

Summary:

• We should respect our parents.
• We should keep our mind under control.
• We should trim our thoughts, weeding out unnecessary worries.

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1. Who is the friend of a traveler? Companion
2. Who is the friend of a householder? Spouse
3. Who is the friend of the sick? Doctor
4. Who is the friend of the dying person? His charity

Explanation:

1. A traveler's best friend is the companion traveler.
2. A householder's true friend is his wife. A Hindu man takes a woman by the hand at the wedding ceremony and walks seven steps (sapta padi) with her around the fire as both pledge their eternal friendship to each other. He says: "With these seven steps you have become my life's companion. We are both friends. I shall never fail to be your friend. May you also never fail to be my friend . . . ." " This is the understanding, the promise, the commitment that binds a Hindu couple.
3. For a sick person the most desirable friend is a doctor.
4. For the dying person the charity done during a lifetime serves as a friend by providing a sense of fulfillment and preparation for the life to come.

Summary:

This group of questions stresses the need for and the role of friends and the need to be involved with others in a mutual, healthy, giving and receiving of support. The first three friendships referred to in this stanza are with other persons but the last category, the friend at the end of one's life, is one's own lifetime of giving.

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1. By renouncing what does one become loved? Pride
2. By renouncing what is one free of sorrow? Anger
3. By renouncing what does one become wealthy? Desire
4. By renouncing what does one become happy? Greed
   

Explanation:

1. The question focuses on the need to be loved, to be free of sorrow, and on happiness and wealth.
2. The answers revolve around controlling the mind in such a way that we gradually rid ourselves of our enemies within: pride, anger, desire and greed.
3. and 4. When one succeeds in giving up desire, there is little need for material possessions and one's sense of well-being (original meaning of wealth) increases. Wealth is viewed here in the context of what one may have in relation to one's desire.

Summary:

• Every action/inaction is controlled by the mind. Therefore we should practice control of our minds.
• Renunciation is not mindless self-denial but a method of exerting control over ourselves.

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1. What treasure is the best? Skill
2. What wealth is the best? Education
3. What is the greatest gain? Health
4. And the greatest happiness? Contentment

Explanation:

1. To be skillful is to be fortunate and worthy of recognition.
2. To be an educated person is to be a wealthy person.
3. To be healthy is to possess the greatest gift.
4. To be contented is to be happy

Summary:

• We should develop skills in areas which interest us most and continue to maintain those skills in order to excel.
• The emphasis in our studies should be acquisition of knowledge, especially the higher knowledge.
• A person who is not contented and is a slave to greed is a slave to everyone. A person who makes desire a slave rules the world.
• These questions and answers provide a practical guide to mental, social and physical well-being.

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1. What is a man's self? His progeny
2. Who is his God-given friend? His wife
3. What supports his life? Rain
4. What is his principal duty? Charity

Explanation:

1. A man's progeny represents the reflection and extension of his own self.
2. His wife is his best friend, as discussed in an earlier.
   
3. Man's most basic need for food can be met only by adequate rainfall for crops.
4. Giving and sharing serve as the foundation upon which a person should base his or her life.

Summary:

• These questions and answers focus attention on those areas immediate to the individual self: children, spouse, the element essential to sustain life and the concept of sharing.
• Is there a person who enjoys all pleasures of the senses, who is intelligent, is respected by all creatures and worshiped by the world, who breathes and yet is not alive?
• The person who fails to satisfy Gods, guests, servants, pitrs and his Atman, may breathe but is not alive.

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1. What makes the sun rise? Brahma
2. Who moves around him? Gods
3. What causes the sun to set? Dharma
4. How is he held firm? Truth

Explanation:

1. One sees the sun (aditya) as the natural wonder, the life-giving center of this world system and a principal creation of Brahma.
2. Gods keep the Atman company, just as the planets, named after the Gods, circle the sun. When the self is realized through knowledge, that inner illumination leads to the man-God relationship which is the quest of Hinduism.
3. The sun and the atma j yoti are firmly fixed in truth. The sun is held in space by physical laws of gravitation, energy and motion - by evident truths. The atma jyoti is sustained by eternal Truth, which exists beyond time.
4. The end result of this knowledge is dharma or right conduct. Dharmic action performed under the guidelines of one's own faith is interpreted as the cause for the brilliance of the atma jyoti.
   

Summary:

The sun in all its phases, rising, setting or fixed in space, recalls the rising within us of the atma jyoti. The natural laws governing time and the heavenly bodies and the moral law, dharma, are equated here.


to be continued...

The Mother of All Riddles - Part 1

I have never read anything so beautiful, so subtle, so deep with layers of significance as these questions and answers. Through Yudhishthira, Bhagawan Vyasa has distilled the entire philosophy of the Hindus into an enquiry comprising some one hundred questions. The questions cover a lot of ground and a wide range, jumping from one topic to another. This question and answer session lays a firm framework for the gems of wisdom that are to come later in the teachings of the Srimadbhagavadgita. These questions and their answers are as important, as relevant and as significant today as they were when Yudhishthira stood with palms folded, by the side of his dead brothers, and attempted to do his best in meeting the Yaksha's challenge.

Excerpts from The Mahabharata, Vana Parva, Section CCCXI

The sons of Pandu along with their wife Draupadi are nearing the end of their twelve-year exile in forests. They are due to begin the thirteenth and final year, which they are required to spend undiscovered.

One day wandering in forests, pandavs were very hungry, thirsty, tired, angry and frustrated. Yudhishthira instructed Nakula to climb a tree nearby to locate any sources of water in the vicinity so that they could quench their thirst. Nakula did so and informed Yudhishthira that there was indeed a cluster of trees not too far off and that he could hear the cries of water cranes. Yudhishthira suggested that Nakula go to the pond and fetch some water in a quiver.

Nakula, after walking a short distance, located a beautiful spot, a crystal clear lake, surrounded by trees, flowers and birds. Nakula was overjoyed. His first instinct was to enjoy a cool drink himself, as long as he was already there. So he descended to the waters edge and prepared to scoop up some refreshing water. As he was about to do so he heard a strong and clear voice of warning:

"Do not dare to touch that water, my dear child. You must first answer my questions. . ."

Nakula thought that he must be hearing things due to sheer fatigue and so he ignored the warning, drank the water and immediately fell dead.

When Nakula did not return within a reasonable time, Yudhishthira suggested that Sahadeva go and take a look at what was delaying him. Sahadeva arrived on the scene and was shocked to see Nakula lying as though asleep. Before doing anything, he thought he could quench his thirst. He heard the same warning, ignored it and, upon attempting to drink, also fell dead.

Now it was Arjuna's turn to determine what had happened. He proceeded with his Gandiva (bow) in his hand, suspecting some trouble. Upon arriving at the lake he was stunned to see his brothers lying as though dead. Again, he tried to quench his thirst and heard the same warning. But Arjuna did not ignore the warning. Instead he challenged the being to show himself and shot several arrows in the direction from which the voice came. He only received further and more stern warning. Arjuna challenged the voice by saying, "Stop me if you can," proceeded to drink the water and fell down dead. Some short time later, Bhima arrived and had the same fate.

Now Yudhishthira was clearly worried. Wondering about the possibilities of harm befalling his dear and powerful brothers, he decided to go in search of them. When he arrived at the lake, he could not believe the dreadful sight before him. All four brothers dead on the ground! He grieved for a while and then began to look around to determine the reason for these deaths. He said to himself:

There are no signs of violence on their bodies, no foot-prints anywhere. The killer must be a supernatural being.

He wondered if Duryodhana had had the pool poisoned. He ruled it out because the faces of the dead brothers looked calm and serene. Convincing himself that it must have been some supernatural being, he approached the water's edge to fetch some water to begin the last rites for his brothers. Then he heard a sudden voice: "I am the cause of your brothers' death. . . . You shall be the fifth victim if you do not answer my questions. . . ."

Yudhishthira asked, "Who are you? You must be strong to be able to put to death these powerful brothers of mine. Your feat is remarkable because neither gods, antigods, gandharvas nor rakshasas could stand up to my brothers. But What do you want? Noble one! Why are you here? Who are you?"

The voice replied: "I am a Yaksha, Yudhishthira. May you prosper." As he heard these words, Yudhishthira saw before his eyes a form developing. A massive tall body with grotesque eyes, burning like the fire of the sun, and a voice like thunder: "I warned your brothers. But they would not listen to me. So now they are dead. This pool belongs to me and unless you answer my questions you shall not even touch this water."

Yudhishthira replied, "Ask me and I will answer as best as I can..."

Thus begins Dharmaraja's attempt to answer the Yaksha's questions.


to be continued....

Story of a Genius

Some time ago I received a call from a colleague who asked if I would be the referee on the grading of an examination question. He was about to give a student a zero for his answer to a physics question, while the student claimed he should receive a perfect score and would if the system were not set up against the student: The instructor and the student agreed to submit this to an impartial arbiter, and I was selected.

I went to my colleague's office and read the examination question: "Show how it is possible to determine the height of a tall building with the aid of a barometer." The student had answered: "Take a barometer to the top of the building, attach a long rope to it, lower the barometer to the street and then bring it up, measuring the length of the rope. The length of the rope is the height of the building."

I pointed out that the student really had a strong case for full credit since he had answered the question completely and correctly. On the other hand, if full credit was given, it could well contribute to a high grade for the student in his physics course. A high grade is supposed to certify competence in physics, but the answer did not confirm this. I suggested that the student have another try at answering the question I was not surprised that my colleague agreed, but I was surprised that the student did.

I gave the student six minutes to answer the question with the warning that the answer should show some knowledge of physics. At the end of five minutes, he had not written anything. I asked if he wished to give up, but he said no. He had many answers to this problem; he was just thinking of the best one. I excused myself for interrupting him and asked him to please go on. In the next minute he dashed off his answer which read: "Take the barometer to the top of the building and lean over the edge of the roof. Drop that barometer, timing its fall with a stopwatch. Then using the formula S = ½at², calculate the height of the building.

At this point I asked my colleague if he would give up. He conceded, and I gave the student almost full credit.

In leaving my colleague's office, I recalled that the student had said he had many other answers to the problem, so I asked him what they were. "Oh yes," said the student. "There are a great many ways of getting the height of a tall building with a barometer. For example, you could take the barometer out on a sunny day and measure the height of the barometer and the length of its shadow, and the length of the shadow of the building and by the use of a simple proportion, determine the height of the building."

"Fine," I asked. "And the others?"

"Yes," said the student. "There is a very basic measurement method that you will like. In this method you take the barometer and begin to walk up the stairs. As you climb the stairs, you mark off the length of the barometer along the wall. You then count the number of marks, and this will give you the height of the building in barometer units. A very direct method."

"Of course, if you want a more sophisticated method, you can tie the barometer to the end of a string, swing it as a pendulum, and determine the value of 'g' at the street level and at the top of the building. From the difference of the two values of `g' the height of the building can be calculated."

Finally, he concluded, there are many other ways of solving the problem. "Probably the best," he said, "is to take the barometer to the basement and knock on the superintendent's door. When the superintendent answers, you speak to him as follows: "Mr. Superintendent, here I have a fine barometer. If you tell me the height of this building, I will give you this barometer."

At this point I asked the student if he really did know the conventional answer to this question. He admitted that he did, said that he was fed up with high school and college instructors trying to teach him how to think, using the "scientific method," and to explore the deep inner logic of the subject in a pedantic way