From 305 b.c. to 30 b.c., the Ptolemies ruled Egypt as a monarchy. For the common Egyptians, little had changed since olden pharaohs except that the royal family was now Greek. The Ptolemaic kings and queens were unsympathetic and cared little for the suffering of the Egyptian people. Most common people had nothing to look forward to in life. They continued working in the fields, on building projects, or in the state owned mines. All of these bad conditions made the Ptolemies unpopular with the Egyptians, but it wasn't the only reason. The Ptolemies also refused to recognize or worship traditional Egyptian gods, and refused to learn the Egyptian language. These actions created a cultural barrier between the Egyptians and their rulers.
Cleopatra VII was born in 69 b.c. Her parents were Ptolemy XII (or Auletes) and Cleopatra Tryphainia, probably his sister. Cleopatra's childhood was very luxurious.
When her father died, he willed that Cleopatra rule jointly with her brother, Ptolemy XIII, who was 13. Ptolemy XIII was too young to rule so his advisor had the real power.
Cleopatra's joint rule was cut short due to the fact that Ptolemy XIII's advisor resented Cleopatra and took every opportunity to make her look bad. He accomplished this by blaming her for food shortages, people avoiding paying taxes, and other big problems. Cleopatra was finally forced to flee the country.
Cleopatra asked for Roman help to return her to the Egyptian throne. She asked Rome for help because it was so powerful. The help she received was from Julius Caesar.
When Julius Caesar first came into Egypt, the people thought he was attacking and rioted. Caesar then settled down in the royal palace to wait for the rioting to stop. Cleopatra came to him at the palace in a rolled up blanket. She seduced him, and Caesar decided to help Cleopatra with her royal problems.
Caesar helped Cleopatra by demanding that Cleopatra and Ptolemy XIII marry and rule jointly again. Ptolemy XIII's advisor agreed to Caesar's demands, but didn't keep his word. The advisor ordered the Egyptian army to surround the palace. Cleopatra and Caesar were trapped along with a small force of Roman soldiers. Ptolemy XIII and his advisor were trapped also. During this, Arsinoe, Cleopatra's sister, proclaimed herself ruler of Egypt. When Caesar heard that the advisor was involved in Arsinoe's proclamation, he had him executed. With Roman reinforcements, Caesar defeated the Egyptian army. Ptolemy XIII's body was later found in the Nile River.
In the course of these events, Caesar had helped Cleopatra regain the throne. Caesar had helped her because he knew she would be a good Roman ally. Because of this he reinstalled her on the throne with great ceremony. He then tried to please the Egyptians by following the custom of having Cleopatra marry 12-year-old Ptolemy XIV. This time, the New Pharaoh didn't have any advisors, so Cleopatra was really the only ruler. Then in 44 b.c. when Ptolemy XIV wanted to rule, Cleopatra had him poisoned. Now she was truly the only ruler. All this time, Caesar had stayed in Egypt with Cleopatra. When Caesar did finally go back to Rome, Cleopatra was pregnant.
After Caesar had a victory, he wanted Cleopatra to see the festivities. According to the Roman historian Suetonis, "he called her to Rome and did not let her leave until he had laden her with high honors and rich gifts, and allowed her to give his name to the child which she bore." Cleopatra named the baby boy Caesarion. Cleopatra and Caesarion probably saw Caesar's festivities which included a victory parade.
Cleopatra's sister, Arsinoe, was prominently featured in the victory parade. She was dragged in chains at the head of a line of Egyptian prisoners. This treatment of Arsinoe shocked the Romans, and many of them convinced Caesar not to execute her. Caesar then allowed Arsinoe to receive religious protection in the temple of Diana.
Caesar's death was brought on mostly by the belief that Caesar was trying to become the king of Rome. He was stabbed by a group of senators led by his friends Brutus and Cassius. He died on March 15, 44 b.c. After his death, Cleopatra and Caesarion went back to Egypt. She was left to rule alone, and she began to concentrate on domestic issues.

This coin shows Cleopatra and the Roman Mark Antony. Following the assassination of Julius Caesar, who had been Cleopatra's lover, Cleopatra and Mark Antony had an affair and then marriage with children. Since Mark Antony had been married to Octavian's sister, this caused problems. Eventually, when it was clear that Octavian had more power than Mark Antony, Antony and Cleopatra (separately) committed suicide.

Must read for bachelor gals and guys who r on verge of getting married..:-) njoy..
GRIHASTAASHRAMA
GRIHASTA means House-holder usually between 24 and 48 years of age. The next stage is of the householder. After the 'Gurukula Vasa' he graduates himself into the mundane world, taking a wife to assist him in his performance of Dharmic duties.
Marriage is not meant as a means to satisfy carnal craving. It is regarded as a means to spiritual glory, a sin qua non for the development of lineage - a necessary link between the dead past and an unborn future that must come alive to be undertaken as a part of spiritual duty with devotion (Shraddha) to perpetuate the family tradition.
According to Bhagavata Purana, a Griha (house) is not a person for one who has controlled his senses, delights in spirit and is eager for knowledge.f
Partners who enter in wedlock are not 'paragons of virtue' as they appear in the first flush of enthusiasm. None is perfect and to seek for perfection in the partner is like seeking a mirage in the desert.
Perfect relationship is created by conscious effort and not discovered all of a sudden. The incompatibilities have to be resolved by a continual mutual adjustment and reconciliation by a willing attitude of 'give and take'.
Marriage is marriage and is not a mere love affair which is but an infatuation. Love affair is a relationship just for the pleasure of the person involved and it has no consideration of the families of the persons. When the pleasure wears out, the affair is gone.
But, marriage is a life commitment.If you make a sacrifice, you are not sacrificing to that person. It is a sacrifice to a permanent relationship.Love bears all, endures all. If the relationship has pains, remember that life is a mixture of joys and sorrows.
The practice in India that a husband and wife could continue to remain as husband and wife till death and also celebrate the Golden jubilee of their wedding at the 60th age of the husband is still very common.
Those that end in divorce or separation are misfits for the marriage life who have no understanding of the marriage and its divinity. They fail in 'making it work' and deserve the real pain, indeed the devastating trauma attaching thereto.
The duties of the Grihasta include the performance of 'PANCHMAHAYAGNA' (five great sacrifices) laid down in MANU DHARMA SASTRA.
The wife always accompanies the husband in discharging his duties.
Marriage is no doubt, primarily for begetting children but it was also required for the proper performance of worship.
Marriage is not only a contract between individuals but a contract between families.
The difference in the family values as between those obtaining in India and in the West would reveal how different are the expectations about marriage in these two cultures.
The first three nights after marriage, the couple are expected to remain continent to impress that marriage is not a license for sexual pleasures but a holy and irrevocable contract not only between the man and wife but also casts the burden of ensuring it to be so, till the very last, on the community comprising of the families of both sides.
The husband is expected to first satisfy the wife's soul and the wife satisfies the husband with her body and gets his soul.

Human suffering is one of religion's most compelling mysteries: Why do the innocent suffer? Why does God permit evil? Is God helpless to act or does he choose not to? And if He chooses not to act, does that mean he is cruel? Or merely indifferent?
Vedanta takes the problem out of God's court and places it firmly in our own. We can blame neither God nor a devil. Nothing happens to us by the whim of some outside agency: we ourselves are responsible for what life brings us; all of us are reaping the results of our own previous actions in this life or in previous lives. To understand this better we first need to understand the law of karma.
In the physical world, the weight of a body creates an opposite force in the ground. At the emotional level, our attitude toward someone (or something) is, consciously or not, reflected back, the other person having the tendency to behave exactly according to our feeling towards him/her.
For instance, if you do a bad or good action toward someone, this triggers a reaction which will be equally bad or good, and which will be directed toward yourself. In this way, you experience the happiness or suffering that you have produced to other living beings.
If you understand the Law of KARMA, you will realize that there is no destiny besides the human will. Everybody gets exactly what he/she deserves.
Remember that KARMA is the main cause of our existence in this world. An individual is not only affected by his own KARMA, but also by that of the community or race to which he belongs (collective KARMA). A good or bad KARMA is equally undesirable for he who yearns to liberation, because it enchains the human being on the Wheel of Eternal Returning. In YOGA vision, KARMA is "good" when it permits the human being to realize the spiritual evolution, and it is "bad" when the opposite is the case. "Bad" KARMA means that a lot of lessons have to be learned; "good" KARMA means enough lessons were learned, so the human being can start the conscious work of inner growth. The advanced YOGIN yearns to eliminate any kind of KARMA. Only in this way will he be totally free of any links with the inferior levels of consciousness, being able to merge continuously into the Eternal Bliss of the Supreme Consciousness. From then on, all his Actions will be free of any KARMIC charge. These actions can trigger reactions, but only if the YOGIN desires so. An enlightened master has complete control over the fruition of his KARMAS (actions).

Meditation is a technique to break addiction to thought; in essence it is directed concentration.
Meditation is not sitting for thousands of years struggling to become mindless. Meditation is the action of becoming aware of all that is, within you and outside of you. You focus and direct your mind within you, deep, deep within you. So deep within that you end up back outside, never to be without. You become aware of all, within the one action of meditating.
Sit straight. Put your left palm flat against the center of your chest, with the fingers pointing towards the right, the left thumb extended up towards the chin. Your right palm is flat on top of the back of the left hand, thumb extended up towards your chin. Now calmly breathe in through both nostrils and breathe out through your rolled tongue. (Open the mouth slightly, extend the tongue out slightly, and curve the tongue in a 'u'.) You are exhaling out, through the rolled tongue. Breathe long and deep.
"This will give you the deepest silence of the self. You'll hear the silence. Silent meditation is only where you can hear yourself. Otherwise, it's not silent. When you can extend to the point where you can hear your own heartbeat, you are done!
Inhaling through a rolled tongue will stimulate certain meridians and cause our glandular system to secrete. This in turn will change the chemistry of our brain, and delete toxic programs.
When you are done with this meditation, you have learned the calm, quiet, silent, solitary meditation and remember inside of us all is a world within worlds, just waiting for us to experience.

Hindu way of life:-
Veda means knowledge. The original knowledge are the teachings of the Vedas. In the conditioned state our knowledge is subjected to many deficiencies. There are four defects that a conditioned soul has: committing mistakes, subject to illusion, cheating propensity and imperfect senses. These deficiencies make us unfit for having perfect knowledge.
The human are divided by vedas according to their orders of life namely brahmacarya, grhastha,vanaprastha and sannyasa and vedas teach us how a soul could be purified.
To simplify the process and make them more easily performable, Vyasadeva (the empowered incarnation of Krsna) divided the Vedas into four, Rg (prayers), Yajur (hymns for oblations), Sama (same prayers and hymns in meters for singing), Atharva (body/world maintenance and destruction) in order to expand them among men.
the Vedic civilization three orders of life lived in the forests. Only grhasthas inhabited the cities. The regulated knowledge for living in the city, is revealed in the books known as Brahmanas, whereas the regulated knowledge for living in the forest is revealed in the books known as Aranyakas.
A father protects his daughter in childhood, a husband protects his wife in youth, and the sons protect their mother in old age. The father who does not give away his daughter in marriage at the proper time is censurable; censurable is the husband who does not approach his wife in due season; and after the husband is dead, the son, verily is censurable, who does not protect his mother. Even against the slightest provocations should women be particularly guarded; for unguarded they would bring grief to both the families.
Motherhood is considered the greatest glory of Hindu women. The Taittiriya Upanishad teaches, "Matridevo bhava" - "Let your mother be the god to you."
Hindu tradition recognizes mother and motherhood as even superior to heaven. The epic Mahabharata says, "While a father is superior to ten learned priests well-versed in the Vedas, a mother is superior to ten such fathers, or the entire world.
Woman in the role of wife occupies a position of pre-eminence in ancient Hindu tradition. The Hindus from the Vedic times believed in dual worship Siva with Sakthi, Vishnu with Lakshmi, Rama with Sita, and so on.
Numerous case of Svayamvara, that is, of ladies selecting their own husbands, is mentioned in the Mahabharata and other works. There is sufficient evidence to show, that widow marriage was allowed, and that the Sati was unknown in the Vedic period.
It is, therefore, no wonder that the wife enjoyed with her husband full religious rights and regularly participated in religious ceremonies with him. In fact, the performance of such ceremonies would be invalid without the wife joining her husband as his full partner. Some grammatical passages show that women had other careers open to them apart from a mere literary career.
In Hindu dharma, marriage is viewed as a sacrament and not a contract. Hindu marriage is a life-long commitment of one wife and one husband, and is the strongest social bond that takes place between a man and a woman.Grahastha Ashram (the householder stage), the second of the four stages of life begins when a man and a woman marry and start a household.
On the wedding morning, various ablutionary rituals are performed on both the bride and the groom in their own homes. Their bodies are anointed with turmeric, sandalwood paste and oils, which cleanse the body, soften the skin, and make it aromatic. They are then bathed to the chanting of Vedic mantras,One important point to be noted is that in the Vedic Age the school going is both for the boy and the girl. And the Upanayana is to be performed for both of them. At the time of the marriage the women starts wearing the ornaments and the man is tied with the sacred thread.So when both complete the Education {comprehensive education for the development of the individual and the society} the parents used to find the match by comparing the Horoscopes of the probable matches .
KANYA DANAM- offering of the daughter for the marriage.
Kanya means virgin girl (namely the bride). 'Daan´ means giving away.
Kanya Daan is an important part of the marriage ceremony in which the bride´s parents give her away to the groom by entrusting her to the bridegroom. The officiating priest chants appropriate verses in Sanskrit. The people in the audience (the public) is now notified that the parents have willingly expressed their wish and consent by requesting the groom to accept their daughter as his bride. As soon as the groom indicates his acceptance the marriage ceremony begins. The parents now bestow their blessings on both the bride and the groom and pray to the Lord to shower His choicest blessings on them.

One legend contends that Valentine was a priest who served during the third century in Rome. When Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, he outlawed marriage for young men -- his crop of potential soldiers. Valentine, realizing the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. When Valentine's actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death.
During the days that Valentine was imprisoned,
he fell in love with the blind daughter of his jailer. His love for her, and his great faith, managed to miraculously heal her from her blindness before his death. Before he was taken to his death, he signed a farewell message to her, "From your Valentine." The phrase has been used on his day ever since.

Pursuit of happiness:

The Pursuit of Happyness is based on Chris Gardner's memoir of scraping by in San Francisco while raising a son and pursuing a nonpaying stockbroker-trainee job for Dean Witter. Gardner's son is played by Smith's own 8-year-old, Jaden Christopher Syre Smith.
The moral of the story is as trite as they come: don't let anyone convince you to give up on your dreams .
me and my hubby watched the movie and discussed it for many hours togather..
Movie which triggers discussion for several minutes is worth watching.{simple fundamental :-)}
Movie touches your heart in many ways..
1)Unending struggle of Chris against the circumstances which puts him from bad to worse situations..
2)responsibility (his son) which he has taken but donot have enough (any) resources to fulfill it..
but his love for his son became his strenght to fight against adamantine wall of adversities..
Movie got its peak...and brust audience into tears with Will Smith's acting when he came to know he was recruited....and when he says "This small period of my life is known as happiness"

Understanding of self...
When I was a child,I exactly know what I am..what I want,what I like and donot like,my habbits,hobbies,preferences...bla bla bla..
As I grown up defination for self fades away... and I come to know Everything is a game of a will....
1)Hobbies and interest can be developed
2)Habits can be changed
3)Good thoughts can be implemented and bad can be thrown away..
4)Customs can be adopted.

Everything is on a Will...if anyone has a strong will and desire...she/he can change ...

When I grown up further..I found out..

My liking and disliking are not the same..they are changed..
Man's nature is not a constant thing...it changes with time,
There are so many factors are working simultaneously like
company u have,people u met,society u r living in,crises u faced and expriences u had...Thousands of factors working on it...

nature is going to change ..nothing is constant in this world...

As I grown further and Read some really worthy books..
I came to know what was describing "leena" was pretty superficial..true defination of me (soul)
is immortal,strong and ever free..and I unnecessary binding myself it with a 5-3 inches mortal body :-)
When I listened to hindi songs..I liked them very much..but now i like rock too..

If something is constant..one can comprehend it...but it's not true.. universal law is everything is going change...
It's a lie when i say i understand u fully..because ur nature or what u r (as a personality is not a constant)..in course of time the person i know is going to change...so why i waste time in knowing you...Consider time as attribute .. it is limited... That time i can utilise for better purpose ...Life is short...
one more thing Love and understanding are mutually exclusive..My Mother loves me from Day 1 ,ever before that...at that time not only my personality but also my body in amorphous form...:-D
knowing each other doesn't stimulate love...
we even donot know ourself..the day we will know ourself ..on that day we will rest in eternal bliss..ultimate stage of illumination...
As I grown up further ..I found out everyone has amoeboid shape of personality with centrally located glittering nucleus(God inside them)...
So I have decided Donot waste time in understanding others ...accept them whatever they are...
serve them in a small possible way....

oh my Lord (god)..meek like me can never understand your vast universe and its law..
I m like a small particle of dust in your whole galaxy...
oh my lord..but i still dare to say..u r my father and I love you ...and I know u love me too...
in the same way I dun know what i m or others are..but i know ur essence is in everyone...

1) Where there is joy there is creation. Where there is no joy there is no creation: know the nature of joy.

2)Know the self to be sitting in the chariot, the body to be the chariot, the intellect the charioteer, and the mind the reins.

3)Whenever the wavering and unsteadfast heart wanders away, then so often let him subdue it and bring it back to the control of the soul; For supreme happiness comes to the Yogin whose heart is at rest, in whom passion is tranquilised, who is one with Brahma, and free from sin. The Yogin thus uniting his soul (to Brahma), who has ceased from sin, enjoys easily the boundless happiness of union (lit. contact) with Brahma.
Bhagavad Gita 6:26-29

4)He who hates no single being, is friendly and compassionate, free from self-regard and vanity, the same in good and evil, patient; Contented, ever devout, subdued in soul, firm in purpose, fixed on Me in heart and mind, and who worships Me, is dear to Me.
Bhagavad Gita 12:13-14

5) He that does everything for Me, whose supreme object I am, who worships Me, being free from attachment and without hatred to any creature, this man, Arjuna!, comes to Me.
Bhagavad Gita 11:55

6)Perseverance in (seeking to gain) the knowledge of the Supreme Spirit, and perception of the gain that comes from knowledge of the truth: This is called knowledge : all that is contrary to this is ignorance.

7)"The wise who knows the Self as bodiless within the bodies, as unchanging among changing things, as great and omnipresent, does never grieve". "That self cannot be gained by the Veda, nor by understanding, nor by much learning. He whom the Self chooses, by him the Self can be gained. The Self chooses him (his body) as his own". But he who has not first turned away from his wickedness, who is not tranquil, and subdued, or whose mind is not at rest, he can never obtain the Self (even) by knowledge.
Katha Upanishad 1.2.22-24

Good Thoughts from ancient hindu scriptures..
1) The spirit whispers to us in the silence. Let us be quiet and listen.

2) Agitated swinging from past to future prevents you from living now in fulfilment itself. In your natural state, there are neither reminders or anything forgotten.

3) The stormy duality which seemingly exists in the world is only a faithful mirror of himself.

4)When the pain is viewed with detachment, a new perspective is gained.

5)Look to this day, for it is Life. For Yesterday is already a Dream,and Tomorrow is only a Vision.But, Today,Well lived, makes every Yesterday a Dream of Happiness,and every Tomorrow,a Vision of Hope.[nice one :-)]

6)Often we are unable to hear the inner voice, not because it is non-existent, but because the clutter and noise of the mind (thoughts) is so much that it blocks the voice of reason and strength.

7) “Life without goodness, good thoughts, good actions and good words is like the sky in the night without the moon or stars. It is like a wheel without a hub or spokes! No one can push a boulder away while standing on it; you cannot be free from anxiety while all the entrances through which it sneaks in are open.”

8)When there is harmony between the mind, heart and resolution then nothing is impossible

9)"People who are soft spoken and truthful are loved by all. ”

10)“A person can achieve everything by being simple and humble.”

11)"Thought gives rise to desire"(be careful while thinking also..it is from rig-veda)

12)
“A person who performs good Karma (deeds) is always held in high esteem. ”
Rig Veda quote

13)
“In real worship,we just not do ritualistic worship but we try to imbibe the qualities of the one we are worshipping.”
Rig Veda quote

14)
“One should, perform karma with nonchalance without expecting the benefits because sooner of later one shall definitely gets the fruits. ”
Rig Veda quote

15)
“The person, who treads on the path of truth, refrains from deception, treachery, pretension, and remains untouched by falsehoods is never devoid of eternal joy. ”
Rig Veda quote

16)“The main factor behind success is - self control. ”

17)Those who do not perform their duties and lack a sense of responsibility can never succeed in their lives. ”
Rig Veda quote
18)“Life, death and rebirth are inevitable. ”
Rig Veda quote

19)“One has to be humble if he desires to acquire knowledge. ”

20) “One shall have to undergo suffering to reach truth. That is why it is said that truth is eternally victorious.”
Rig Veda quote

21)When a man dies, what does not leave him? The voice of a dead man goes into fire, his breath into wind, his eyes into the sun, his mind into the moon, his hearing into the quarters of heaven, his body into the land cheerfully. earth, his spirit into space.

GOD and INDIA
God was in the process of creating the universe. And he was explaininghis subordinates "Look everything should be in balance. For example, after every 10 deer there should be a lion.Look here my fellow angels, here is the country of the United States . Ihave blessed them with prosperity and money. But at the same time I havegiven them insecurity and tension....And here is Africa . I have given them beautiful nature. But at the same time, I have given them climatic extremes....And here is South America . I have given them lots of forests. But at the same time, I have given them lesser land so that they would have to cut off the forests...So you see fellows, everything should be in balance.One of the angels asked... "God, what is this extremely beautiful country here?"God said....... "Ahah...that is the crown piece of all." INDIA ",my most precious creation. It has understanding and friendly people.Sparkling streams, serene mountains. A culture which speaks of thegreat tradition that they live. Technologically brilliant and with a heartof gold.....The angel was quite surprised: "But god you said everything should be n balance."God replied -- "Look at the neighbours I gave them."

Good Jokes::




Once there were three men, Dave, John, and Sam, who were involved in a tragic car accident in which all three died. As they stood at the gates of heaven St. Peter came up to them and said, "You will all be given a method of transportation for your eternal use around heaven. You will be judged on your past deeds, and will have your transport chosen accordingly." St. Peter looked at Dave and said, "You, Dave, were a bad man. You cheated on your wife four times! For this, you will drive around Heaven in an old beat up Dodge." Next St. Peter looked at John and said, "You, were not so evil, but you still cheated on your wife two times. For this, you will forever travel around heaven in a Toyota stationwagon." St. Peter finally looked at Sam, and said, "You, Sam, have set a fine example. You did not have sex until after marriage, and you never cheated on your wife! For this, you will forever travel through heaven in a Ferrari." A short time later, Jon and Dave pulled up in their cars next to Sam's Ferrari and there he is, sitting on the hood, head in hands, crying. "What's wrong, Sam?" they asked. "You got the Ferrari! You are set forever! Why so down?" Sam looked up, ever so slowly opened his mouth and cried, "I just saw my wife go by on a skate board."


There was a guy who just got out of a really bad divorce with his wife. One day, he found a genie's lamp.
The genie came out and said, "Hello master. I will grant you three wishes but, what ever you wish for your wife gets double."
The guy didn't like that part but he made a wish anyway. For his first wish, he said,
"Genie, I want a house in Hawaii." POOF!!! He got one house, his wife got two. This didn't make him happy but, he made his second wish.
"Genie,I want 2 billion dollars." POOF! He got two billion, his wife four billion. By now, this guy isn't very happy. The genie says, "You have one wish left. I have to remind you, what ever you wish for your wife gets double." The guy says, "Yeah, yeah. I know." So the guy thinks real hard and says "
I got it! Genie, beat me half to death!!"




Through a scheduling mix up, a man and a woman who have never met before find themselves in the same sleeping carriage of a train. It's late, the train is full, and everyone else is already asleep. After the initial embarrassment, they both manage to get to sleep; the woman on the top bunk, the man on the lower.
In the middle of the night the woman leans over and says, "I'm sorry to bother you, but I'm awfully cold and I was wondering if you could possibly pass me another blanket."
The man leans out and, with a glint in his eye, says, "I've got a better idea ... let's pretend we're married."
"Why not," giggles the woman.
"Good," he replies. "Get your own blanket."

Getting married is very much like going to a restaurant with friends. You order what you want, then when you see what the other person has, you wish you had ordered that.

At the cocktail party, one woman said to another, "Aren't you wearing your wedding ring on the wrong finger?" The other replied, "Yes, I am, I married the wrong man."

After a quarrel, a husband said to his wife, "You know, I was a fool when I married you." She replied, "Yes, dear, but I was in love and didn't notice."

A lady inserted an 'ad' in the classifieds: "Husband wanted". Next day she received a hundred letters. They all said the same thing: "You can have mine."

The bride, upon her engagement, went to her mother and said, "I've found a man just like father!" Her mother replied, "So what do you want from me, sympathy?"

When a woman steals your husband, there is no better revenge than to let her keep him.

Eighty percent of married men cheat in America. The rest cheat in Europe.

Man is incomplete until he is married. Then he is finished.

A little boy asked his father, "Daddy, how much does it cost to get married?" And the father replied, "I don't know son, I'm still paying."

Q: Is it all right to bring a date to the wedding?
A: Not if you are the groom.
Q: What music is recommended for the wedding ceremony?
A: Anything except 'Tied to the Whipping Post'.
Q: How can you tell the married men at a wedding reception?
A: They're the ones dancing with everyone but their wives.
Q: What is a wedding tragedy?
A: To marry a man for love, and then find out he has no money.
Q: How do I make my wife stop buying all these gloves?
A: Buy her a diamond ring.
"My girlfriend told me I should be more affectionate. So I got two girlfriends."
Q: How do most men define marriage?
A: A very expensive way to getting their laundry done free.
Words to live by: Do not argue with a spouse who is packing your parachute.

First guy (proudly): "My wife's an angel!"
Second guy: "You're lucky, mine's still alive."

Women will never be equal to men until they can walk down the street with a bald head and a beer gut, and still think they are beautiful


A man was sick and tired of going to work every day while his wife stayed home. He wanted her to see what he went through so he prayed:"Dear Lord: I go to work every day and put in 8 hours while my wife merely stays at home. I want her to know what I go through, so please allow her body to switch with mine for a day. Amen."
God, in his infinite wisdom, granted the man's wish.
The next morning, sure enough, the man awoke as a woman. He arose, cooked breakfast for his mate, awakened the kids, set out their school clothes, fed them breakfast, packed their lunches, drove them to school, came home and picked up the dry cleaning, took it to the cleaners and stopped at the bank to make a deposit, went grocery shopping, then drove home to put away the groceries, paid the bills and balanced the checkbook. He cleaned the cat's litter box and bathed the dog.
Then it was already 1 P.M. and he hurried to make the beds, do the laundry, vacuum, dust, and sweep and mop the kitchen floor.
Then ran to the school to pick up the kids and got into an argument with them on the way home.
Set out milk and cookies and got the kids organized to do their homework, then set up the ironing board and watched TV while he did the ironing. At 4:30 he began peeling potatoes and washing vegetables for salad, breaded the pork chops and snapped fresh beans for supper.
After supper, he cleaned the kitchen, ran the dishwasher, folded laundry, bathed the kids, and put them to bed.
At 9 P.M. he was exhausted and, though his daily chores weren't finished, he went to bed where he was expected to make love, which he managed to get through without complaint.
The next morning, he awoke and immediately knelt by the bed and said: Lord, I don't know what I was thinking. I was so wrong to envy my wife's being able to stay home all day. Please, oh please, let us trade back."
The Lord, in his infinite wisdom, replied: "My son, I feel you have learned your lesson and I will be happy to change things back to the way they were."
You'll just have to wait nine months, though. You got pregnant last night."

2)
Once upon a time there lived three men: a doctor, a chemist, and an engineer. For some reason all three offended the king and were sentenced to die on the same day.
The day of the execution arrived, and the doctor was led up to the guillotine. As he strapped the doctor to the guillotine, the executioner asked,"Head up or head down?" "Head up," said the doctor. "Blindfold or no blindfold?" "No blindfold."
So the executioner raised the axe, and z-z-z-z-ing! Down came the blade--and stopped barely an inch above the doctor's neck. Well, the law stated that if an execution didn't succeed the first time the prisoner had to be released, so the doctor was set free.
Then the chemist was led up to the guillotine."Head up or head down?" said the executioner. "Head up." "Blindfold or no blindfold?" "No blindfold."
So the executioner raised his axe, and z-z-z-z-ing! Down came the blade--and stopped an inch above the chemist's neck.Well, the law stated that if the execution didn't succeed the first time the prisoner had to be released, so the chemist was set free.
Finally the engineer was led up to the guillotine. "Head up or head down?" "Head up." "Blindfold or no blindfold?" "No blindfold."
So the executioner raised his axe, but before he could cut the rope, the engineer yelled out: "WAIT! I see what the problem is!". :-D

Kalidasa wrote seven works. 'Kumarasambhava' and 'Raghuvamsha'are his two epic poems. 'Malavikagnimitra', 'Vikramorvashiya' and 'Abhijnana Shakuntala' are his celebrated plays. 'Meghaduta' and 'Ritusamhara' are also poetical works of great distinction.

Kumarasambhava'One of Kalidasa's greatest works is 'Kumarasambhava'. Critics maintain that Kalidasa wrote only the first eight chapters of the epic poem. The work describes the marriage of Lord Shiva and his consort Parvati.

Kalidasa's second epic is 'Raghuvamsha'. There are nineteen chapters ('sargas') in this poem. The epic describes the history of the kings Dileepa, Raghu, Aja, Dasharatha, Sri Rama, Lava and Kusha. It also deals briefly with the twenty kings from Nala up to Agnivarna.In thebeginning, the poet extols the fine qualities of the kings of Raghu dynasty.The dynasty is a noble one. Those belonging to it have their early education at the right time from distinguished teachers. They are married at the right age and rule justly adhering to 'Dharma' (law of righteousness). As they grew old, they renounced the kingdom in favor of the younger incumbents and led a life of saintly renunciation and ultimately renounced the mortal life by way of 'yoga'. They earned wealth so that they would offer it to the worthy who are in need. They liked to conquer a kingdom for the thrill of success. Culprits were punished. Those kings were ever vigilant, generally un daunted and strove their best to achieve their goal.

'Shakuntala' the Masterpiece'Malavikagnimitra' is Kalidasa's first play. The author shows his humility and is uncertain whether people would accepts play. He pleads 'Puranamityeva Na sadhu sarvam,Na chapikavyamnavamityavadyam' (Everything old is not good, nor is every thing knew badly). There may be some thing, which may not be of much use in the old, and the new may also be good. The theme of the play is the love-story of Agnimitra and Malavika.
Kalidasa's second play 'Vikramor -vashiya' is about the loves and tribulations of king Pururava and the heavenly damsel 'Urvashi'.'Abhijnana Shakuntala' is Kalidasa's greatest creation. This literary masterpiece has been translated into several languages around the world.

Kubera the God of Wealth in the Hindu mythology, has exiled one of his Yakshas to a far away place in Ramagiri, present day Ramtek near Nagpur in Central India. Separated from his Love, assumed to be his wife, the lovelorn Yaksha wants the cloud to help him send her a message. Thus a cloud becomes the main character in Kalidas’s Meghdoot.

Kalidasa's first surviving play, Malavikagnimitra or Malavika and Agnimitra tells the story of King Agnimitra, a ruler who falls in love with the picture of an exiled servant girl named Malavika. When the queen discovers her husbands passion for this girl, she becomes infuriated and has Malavika imprisoned, but as fate would have it, Malavika is in fact a true-born princess, thus legitimizing the affair.
In Kalidasa's creations, we enter the world of people pure in mind and body and who are graceful. We learn here the manner in which man's nature can reach high, moral levels. It pleases us deeply to come into contact withcharacters like Parvati, Dileepa, Raghu, Aja, Shakuntala, Dushyanta and Kanva. It is for this wonderful experience that we as well as people in other countries read Kalidasa.

First Amazing Technique
Self-Discipline:
When you say you’ll be there at eight a.m., be there at eight a.m.
When you say, "No, thank you, I don’t wish dessert," mean it and keep your word.
When you tell someone, "You can count on me, I’ll be there," then be there.
When you say the job will be ready at two o’clock, be sure and have it ready at two o’clock
When you say the project will cost fifty dollars, don’t expect to jack the price up to three hundred dollars while maintaining your sense of well being. Mean fifty dollars. If you don’t know how much a job is going to cost, or how much time it will take, say so. Don’t hurt other people through misinforming them. The world is suffering enough as it is from gross misinformation.
Until we can do what we decide to do, until we can be true to our own word, we’re a mess inside.

We’re stress victims and stress is the number one killer in the United States. It’s said to be the principal contributor to heart disease, cancer, and self-destructive behavior.
A good part of stress is due to lack of trust .

When you determine to go jogging or exercising, do it! When you make up your mind to improve your life in any area, get at it.
Self-discipline will enable you to achieve benefit and fulfillment which you cannot realize by any other means. When you start to practice self-discipline, you determine that you have yielded to willy-nilly circumstances long enough.
Your Speech of Self-Discipline
"No more! will random events dominate or tyrannize my life! To my utmost I’m going to have the discipline to carry through with all my commitments. I will keep the appointments I make. The ideas which I have chosen to incorporate will actually be incorporated. When I say I’m going to rest, I will rest.
I’ve decided to be a more loving person so I’m going to give of myself. I’m going to pay more attention to my loved ones. When I commit myself financially, my word is good. When I make an error or fall short, I will face what I’ve done and do my level best to make amends.
Furthermore, I will do something extra just to underscore the intensity with which I seek to be in control of my life. As of this moment, in every circumstance, I will be a person who can be counted on. I will not let others down. I will not let myself down."

"Similarly with this physical body. I’m going to train it to be helpful in my life. I’m not going to let its weakness or laziness dominate the important things in my life. My body is an important part of my overall being. I recognize its importance and will keep it well and fit. At the same time I require my body to be still when I want it to be still and vigorous when I choose to be active.

Please remember also to be good to yourself and not make unfair demands on yourself or your body. Have good will for yourself and all concerned. The clue is to be a constructive person and not a destructive one


Second Amazing Technique:
Introspection:
You can learn a great deal about life by studying it. There is a perfect subject for study — you.
The more you understand yourself, the more you will be able to understand other people. The more you deal with the variables within yourself, the more you can become a true friend to other people
That is, choose ten minutes in the evening before bed, or perhaps in the morning before you go to work. Choose an introspection time and keep it.
Strive to see your entire day from early morning to the present time within five to seven minutes!
Mental time is different from physical time. You’ll be amazed that you can, through practice, develop the capacity to see a continuous sequence of your day rolling easily from one event to another

Holding the excellent event before your mind, tell yourself something like this: "Yes, I like the way I behaved there. That is the way I wish to speak in the future. That is the way I would like to handle that situation each time it comes up. I like what was done there."

"I don’t like the way I behaved there. I’m not happy with the way I spoke. I certainly wouldn’t like to do that again."


Third Amazing Technique:
Devotion

This practice is probably the most beautiful, especially if you have a religious nature. But even if you don’t, there is something wondrous to be gained.

The first component of devotion is love. Love is primarily self-giving — giving yourself to your beloved through feelings, thoughts, and deeds. So, devotion involves giving of yourself, loyally and with deep affection.
The second principal component of devotion is humility — humbling yourself before your beloved. Devotion, in the sense of our special technique, is to love and consciously humble yourself before the beloved: Spirit.

A person practicing this form of devotion strives daily to let go of pride and arrogance — and give of the self. In pride and arrogance we are unable to give love. We are so engrossed in our own thoughts and attainments that we have no love to spare. Or, we can be so engrossed in our own frustrations and fears that we have no love to give. In either case, our attention is concentrated on our personal feelings
Indeed, most scientific discoveries have occurred when a dedicated human being put aside arrogance or the presumptions of archaic knowledge to behold more accurately than any man or woman before some basic truth of nature. Isaac Newton saw an apple falling and beheld the simple phenomenon with such "devotion" that he discovered the theory of gravity. It’s hard to believe he was the first man in thousands of years to see this common act of nature so penetratingly.
Yoga masters often say, "Why do we try to rape Mother Nature, wresting gold and other valuable things from her, when, if we would just love her, she would readily show us her secrets?"

To practice this technique fully, put aside yesterday’s thoughts and feelings. Go about your day striving to see, and perceive in other ways, the essence and spiritual nature of everyone you meet.
The project is to note, despite different levels of essence radiating from each person, nevertheless to note and appreciate — even in a criminal (while not condoning his actions) — that precious essence which all human beings find in common at the core of their beings.

In being humbly appreciative of each person’s life and essence, you become a friend of all. Even your enemies will respect you and take your word above that of their colleagues.
This practice tends to drive away loneliness and fear. You walk the earth in an enthusiastic manner, never feeling a stranger anywhere. You have found the key of life and the key to everyone’s heart.
Those who practice this technique also strive to value the life essence in animals and all the miraculous creations of nature. We human beings are but one part of nature’s great activities.

How to build Self-Confidence"What makes you weep,my friend?In you is all power.Summon up your all-powerful nature,O mighty one,and this whole universe will lie at your feet.It is the Self alone that predominates and not matter."------Swami Vivekananada.Though the potential strength is hidden within us.We are not able to utilise it.Right attitude,positive thinking,and firm faith alone can help us to manifest this hidden strength within.How do great people achieve success in life?They cultivate certain qualities in order to awaken the hidden confidence within themselves.Why not we also give a try if we wish to be great and successful in life?The qualities needed tobe cultivated to build self-confidence are1)Conviction2)Hard Work3)Will-Power4)Self-respect5)Long preparation6)Communication7)Commitment8)Discrimination9)Definite Goal10)Love11)Concentration12)Strength


1)CONVICTION:The very first step in climbing the ladder of self-confidence is firm conviction about one's own ability.People are afraid of accepting challenges and responsibilities because they doubt their capacity to perform well; they underestimate themselves and lose wonderful opportunities in life.Such doubting Thomases will never be able to say with confidence that they can do anything and everything.So, never doubt your inner strength.You may not be aware at present,but believe that infinite power is lodged within you and will come out with all its glory when you sincerely call upon it by way of positive attitude.Swami Vivekananda said,"Never mind failures,they are quite natural,they are the beauty of life,these failures.What would life be without them?I never heard a cow tell a lie,but it is only a cow-never a man.So never mind these failures,these little backslidings;hold on to th ideal a thousand times,and if you fail a thousand times make the attempt once more."How true it is!Thomas Alva Edison,one of the greatest scientists,who made a series of inventons,had great conviction in his capacity.He had made over 1000 experiments before he succeeded in inventing the electric bulb.Though he was born in a poor American family and was dull in his studies,nothing could obstruct his path or prevent him from great achievements because of his firm faith in his inner strength."Great convictions are the mothers of great deeds."------Swami Vivekananda.


"Fortune approaches him who is industrious.It is the weak-minded who says 'fate gives'.No acts are done by mere desires,they are done only by diligence.The deer doesnot enter the mouth of a sleeping lion.Men obtain the desired fruit by speak of destiny only.Neither the lazy nor those who depend solely on destiny fulfil their objective.Therefore,one should persist in self-effort by all means." These are the words of scriptures."Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration," says Thomas Alva Edison.There are many stories of success.Among them was a world renowned speaker,Demosthenes.How could he achieve that?He had a strong desire to become a powerful speaker.It was not an easy task for him.He had a stammer,added to that he was not able to speak long sentences at a stretch due to stage fear,a feeble voice and many such difficulties.But he could succeed only through hard work.As per the doctor's advice he placed beads of flint on his tongue and tried to utter words clearly and loudly.He would stand before the sea and deliver speeches in a loud voice.He spent almost 15 hours a day studying books of various interest and became a reservoir of knowledge.To perfect his manners and gestures,he would stand before a life-size mirror and deliver his speeches,bolting the room from inside.Hrd-work and sincere effort ultimately resulted in success,and he became a powerful and effective public speaker.Let us have a high dream and work hard to manifest that hidden power within.By constant efforts success is bound to come."To succeed,you must have tremendous perseverance,tremendous will. 'I will drink the ocean,'says the persevering soul,'at my will mountains will crumble up.'Have that sort of energy,that sort of will,work hard and you will reach the goal."-----Swami Vivekananda.

3)Will-Power:We are expertsin taking vows and breaking them within no time.It is easy to take vows but difficult to keep them up.We need the will of Bhisma,who took a vow of life-long celibacy and practised it diligently.Weak minds always search for excuses.The mind is fickle and restless by nature,always ready to compromise and vacillate.Those who possess a strong will and are determined to achieve great things never listen to their minds.They make their minds work for them to achieve higher things in life.King Vishvamitra was arrogant and created problems for sage Vashistha;but when he was humiliated by Vashistha,realising the strength of spiritual knowledge,he decided to become a brahmarshi.He was caught in the web of lust when Menaka tempted him into indulgence.He had to overcome all the impediments,such as anger,hatred,jealousy,pride,envy,delusion for the attainment of that state.He could succeed because of his tremendous will-power.He was never disheartened by failure.His determination and will power helped him to awaken confidence which in turn led him to success."You must not say that you are weak.How do you know what possibilities lie behind that degradation on the surface?You know but little of that which is within you.For behind you is the ocean of infinite power and blessedness."---------Swami Vivekananda.

4)Self-Respect:It is a well-known fact that men of hard work ,knowledge,wisdom and perfection are always honoured and respected everywhere, whereas the ignorant,inefficient,lazy and dull people always face humiliation and insult.There are people who, in spite of being humiliated,insulted,warned several times,issued memos,scolded for their blunders and even punished,never try to improve themselves.They are people with a thick skin.They suffer from all kinds of physical and mental tortures but don't want to change their attitude due to lack of self-confidence.But sensitive people consider humiliation worse than death and always try to improve in order to protect their honour and self-respect.Love for dignity and honour helps them to manifest hidden confidence within themselves and they rise to the occasion,and prove their mettle by accepting challenges in life.The great poet Kalidasa was an illiterate and a dullard.Some pundits who had been defeated in arguements by a highly intelligent princess Vidyottama,got her married to kalidasa in a deceitful manner out of jealuosy.When the truth cameout she felt greatly disturbed and admonished kalidasa for his ignorance.His honour was at at stake.He felt deeply hurt and humiliated.He took it as a challenge and decided to become a learned man.This feeling of self-respect ignited his confidence.He left home and reurned only after he had become a man of profound learning.
5)Long Preparation:It's not enough to manage things,but it is important to manage them well.Great things happen not out of magic or miracles but out of systematic preparation.Those who do not prepare well and try to manage things haphazardly always meet with embarrassment and utter failure.Mostof the people keep on thinking about goals but do not pay attention to the minute details which will help them to achieve it.We all know that on 11th September 1893 Vivekananda became a world famous figure when he addressed the parliament of religions in chicago.But we forget that success didnot cme even to the great swamiji overnight.Preparation started from the day he came into contact with his Master,Sri Ramakrishna,at the age of 17.Sri Ramakrishna knew that his disciple Narendranath was going to become a world teacher,and he moulded his life accordingly.Training of the guru,first-hand knowledge of the people during his wandering days,deep study of scriptures and different branches of knowledge,his love and compassion for the entire mankind,spiritual discipline and realisation of the ultimate reality were the factors behind hi success.Without proper preparation no person can be confident of success."Pay as much attention to means as to the end."--------Swami Vivekananda

6)Communication:Many have achieved success only through the power of perfect communication.There are people who can be compared with a huge reservior of knowledge and information,but not always effective and inspiring due to lack of the communicative ability.If you can speak even a few words with confidence that will impress people and if you can impress people by your effective communication,it will boost your confidence.Manypeople talk,some are able to express,but only a few can convey their ideas in an effective manner.Conqering people through arguements may give you confidence but will never lead to sucess.Convincing people through loving,affectionate,polite and pleasant language not only gives you confidence but leads to success.You may not be highly qualified or scholars,still you find a place in the hearts of many.The power of your magic words will keep the listeners spell-bound.Sardar Vallabhbhai patel,the first Home Minister of Independent India,had a herculean task before him.At that time india was divided into 554 states ruled by different kings and nawabs.'Divide and rule' was the policy of the British Government.Patel was against it and wanted to unite india.To convince 554 kings and to make them surrender was not an easy task.He was confident of his ability to convince them about the great cause.He could successfully accomplish that because of his effective communication.Except one or two,all were convinced about his views and surrendered their states to make India a great united power."It is only a few that understand the language of the brain,but everyone understands the language that comes from the heart."----------Swami Vivekananda.cont--------
7)Commitment:Commitment and confidence always go together.The moment we forget our commitment to a particular cause,we lose faith in ourselves and try to justify our wekanesses.How many people remember that they are the citizens of free India and are committed to serve the cause of the nation?Very few indeed.We can count them on the tips of our fingers.Mahatma Gandhi could have settled down in south africa,but his commitment to his country forced him to return.Though the people did not believe him in the beinning,he was confident that he could win freedom for India through the power of non-violence.Even when he was a student and wanted to go to London for higher studies,mother Putali Bai was not wholeheartedly willing to send him there fearing that Mohandas may not be able to resist temptation in a foreign land, and spoil his life.She wanted him to promise that he would never touch wine,meat and consequently associate with women during his stay there.Without a moment's hesitation,Mohandas agreed to her conditions.It was not an easy task for him.Many times temptations came,but his commitment to his mother saved him from all dangers and gave him tremendous confidence to overcome all difficulties in his path."Let the sages blame or let them praise;let the goddess of fortune come or let her go wherever she likes;let death come today,or let it come in hundreds of years;he indeed is the steady man who doesnot move one inch from the way of truth."----Bhartrihari.cont-------

8)Discrimination:Sometimes even the so-called learned scholars lose confidence when they fail to discriminate between the real and the unreal,the right and the wrong,vice and virtue due to lack of discrimination.Knowledge alone can make us free from all types of fears.Fear is the greatest enemy of man.People tell lies when they are afraid of punishment.Alitle sickness makes them depressed due to fear of death.They try to run away from the problems of life when are afraid of failure.Arjuna,a great warrior and hero of the Mahabharata war,went to thebattlefield with the intention to fight.But at the crucial moment has was overpowered by grief and fear and lost confidence,sat down,throwing away his bow,depressed and despondent and refused to totally confused.Sri Krishna restored that knowledge again and made it clear to him that the soul is immortal and eternal whereas the body is mortal and ephemeral.There is no birth or death for the soul.Therefore,there was no need for him to be despondent.Ignorance of his real nature was the cause of depression.When Sri Krishna dispelled it in a trice by granting himself-knowledge,he go back his lost confidence and became victorious."The earth is enjoyed by heroes-this is the unfailing truth.Be a hero.Always say,'I have no fear.'Tell this to everbody-'Have no fear'.Fear is death,fear is sin,fear is hell,fear is unrighteousness,fear is wrong life.All the negative thoughts and ideas that are in this world have proceeded from this evil spirit of fear."-----Swami Vivekananda.cont-------
9)Definite Goal:Many youngsters are not very clear about their goal in life.We can't begin our journey unless we are clear about our destination.We cannot proceed even a step unless we decide where we want to go.Aclear-cut goal and a one-pointed concentration alone help us to manifest tremendous confidence.We want to do many things simultaneously.Without singular devotion to th ideal,no great things can be achieved.Kalpana Chawla,born in a small town in Haryana,became the first Indian woman to travel in space only because she had fixed her goal when she was a mere child.Her biographer writes,"Kalpana would lie on her back and look at the glittering stars in the skies during summer nights.Presumably,this was what ignited her dream to journey into space."She set her goal and never deviated from it though her advisers,parents and even the college principal tried to dissuade her from her choice of aeronatical engineering and suggested to her that she go for more popular fields like mechanical or electrical engineering.But the young Kalpana refused to be convinced and finally achieved her goal overcoming all the obstacles in her way.Her one-pointed devotion to goal gave her the required confidence to succeed in life."Take up one idea,make that one idea your life;think of it,dream of it,live on that idea.Let the full of that idea,and just leave every other idea alone.This is the way to success."-------Swami Vivekananda.
10)Love:Love is that magic word which works like a tonic to manifest instant confidence even in a moment.Love makes impossible things possible.Abraham Lincoln,the greatest president of the United States got that confidence and courage to figh for the abolition of slavery through love.It was his unselfish love for mankind which promoted him to act.His loving heart could witness the sufferings of human beings who were treated worse than animals.A young Irish woman,Miss Margaret Noble,inspired by the speeches of Swami Vivekananda in London,decided to come to India and help Swamiji in his mission of upliftment of Indian women.What was that force which made her renounce everything and follow Vivekananda to India?It was her love for India.Swami Vivekananda could instil that love in her heart.This love in her heart for the masses and the women of India gave her great confidence to overcome all obstacles in her way.She served India by starting a school for girls in Kolkata and also took active part in India's freedom movements."Love opens the most impossible gates;love is the gate to all the secrets of the universe.Every step that has been really gained in the world has been gained by love."-------Swami Vivekananda.cont-------
11)Concentration:God has given a unique instrument called the 'mind' to all living beings including animals.But He bestowed his special grace only on human beings in the form of freedom.Animals are controlled by nature,human beings are capable of conqering nature.This conquest is possible only through the power of concentration.Swami Vivekananda said,"Herein is the difference between man and animals- man has the greater power of concentration.The difference in their power of concentration also constitutes the difference between man and man.Compare the lowest with the highest man.The difference is in the degree of concentration.This is the only difference."Concentration leads to perfection,perfection to confidence,confidence to success and succes finally leads to happiness.The concentrated mind is like a perfect instrument for achieving success in every walk of life.Creativity,talents,originality,scientific discoveries and inventions,fine arts and even spiritual truths discovered by the sages are the product of a concentrated mind.Especially for students and youth concentration is a must.It is impossible to acquire knowledge and working skills without adequate concentration.A restless mind leads to confusion,frustration,failures and various disasters.How could Swami Vivekananda climb the pinnacle of success? Through the power of concentration.In his own words,"Just two or three days before the entrance examination,I found that I hardly knew anything of geometry, so I began to study the subject,keeping awake the whole night and in twenty-four hours I mastered the four books on geometry."Because of this power of concentration Swami Vivekananda could master many subjects and become an encyclopedia of knowledge.Professor Wright of Harvard University was so deeply impressed by his erudite scholarship that he insisted that Swamiji should represent Hinduism at the Parliament of Religions,Chicago.cont----

On hearing from Swami that he was denied that opportunity since he could not produce the required credentials,the professor himself introduced Vivekananda to the organizing committee in glowing words."Here is a man who is more learned than all our learned professors put together.Asking him for credentials is asking the sun to state its right to shine!"Concentration gave Narendranath knowledge,knowledge gave him confidence finally leading to success and made him the world conueror Swami Vivekananada."Concentration is the essence of all knowledge;nothing can be done without it.Ninety percent of thought force is wasted by the ordinary human being,and therefore he is constantly committing blunders;the trained man or mind never makes a mistake."------Swami Vivekananada.
12)Strength:Life is not always smooth like a bed of roses.Happiness and misery are two sides of the same coin.One needs to develop mental strength to digest them.Many a time a weak mind that is unable to withstand suffering invites only untold miseries.What happened to Dronacharya,when he heard the news of his son Ashvatthama's death?He lost confidence on account of grief and finallylosthislife.Anger,grief,hatred,jealousy,ego,fear,inferiority complex are obstacles which make a person weak and bereft of confidence.But there are people who maintain equanimity even in the midst of crisis.When Sardar Patel was arguing his case in court he recieved a telegram carrying the news of his wife's death.He was not perturbed by this and continued to argue till the end of the day,won the case in favour of his client and then broke the news of his wife's death.That is the sign of a healthy mind.Such people never lose their self-confidence even in the midst of a crisis.Is anyone free from problems in this world?Without struggle,there is no meaning for life.We have come to this world only to conquer difficulties.Today,our youth are becoming so sensitive that for petty things they feel depressed and commit suicide.Success and failure are inevitable in life.Such a rare human birth is not meant for committing suicide.We have no right to destroy this body.It is a precious gift of god given to us to make the best use of it to achieve great things.Failures in examinations,a little scolding from parents,a petty quarrel with friends,a temporary finanacial problem,failure in love affairs,inferiority complex,unemployment,dowry harrassment,these are the common reasons which forces people to commit suicide.It is a great sin to commit suicide.It is not less terrible than committing murder.We are not the owner of this body,we are only the keeper.Therefore,we have no right to destroy it.cont--------
For every problem there is a solution :we need only a little patience and confidence.Let us develop mental strength and courage to face the problems of life and they will disappear in no time.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.Know that there is no darkness around us.Take the hands away and there is the light which was from the beginning.Darkness never existed,weakness never existed.We who are fools cry that we are weak;we who are fools cry that we are impure.Thus Vedanta only insists that the ideal is practical,but that it has been so all the time;and this ideal,this reality,is our own nature.Everything else that you see is false,untrue.As soon as you say,"I am a little mortal being," you are saying something which is not true,you are giving the lie to yourselves, you are hypnotising yourselves into something vile and weak and wretched.--------Swami Vivekananada.

Zikar hua jab Khuda ki rehmaton ka,
Hamne khud ko khushnaseeb paya,
Tamanna thi ek pyare se dost ki,
Khuda khud dost bankar chala aaya ( nice one :-) )

hothon pe ulfat ka naam hota hai,
aankhon mein chhalakta jaam hota hai,
talwarroon ki jarurat waha kise,
jahan najro se "Qatl-e-Aam" hota hai


hasrat thi sirf unhe paane ki,
aur koi khwahish nahi is deewane ki,
shikwa mujhe unse nahi khuda se hai,
kya jaroorat thi unhe itna pyara banane ki

hum apne per guroor nahi karte,
kisiko pyar karne ke liye majboor nahi karte,
magar jise dil mein ek baar basa le fir
marte dum tak use dil se door nahi karte

Likh sakte kisi ki taqdir agar hum,
Aapki taqdir mein har khushi likh dete,
Jo mod aapko kamyabi dilaye,
har lakeer ko ussi taraf mod dete


Jawani ko zindagi ka nikhar kehte hai...
Patjhad ko chaman ki bahaar kehte hai..
.Ajab chalan hai duniya ka yaroo....
Ek dhokha hai jise sab PYAAR kehte hai...


zindagi kisi ki amanat nahi hoti.......
amanat me kabhi khayanat nahi hoti
dil ko sanbhal kar rakhna mere dost
ishq ki qaid me kabhi zamanat nahi hoti

Log apno se nata tod dete hai
Rishtha gairo se jod lethe hai
Humse tho ek phool bhi nahi toda jata
Log najane kaise dil tod dethe hai. {nice one :D}

Anjane mein dil gawa baithe,
Is pyar mein kaise thokar kha baithe,
Unse kya gila kare bhul hamari thi,
Jo bina dil walo se dil laga baithe..


kyon hamen kisim ki talash hoti hai,
kyon dil ko kisi ki aas hoti hai,
are chand ko dekho wo bhi to tanha hai,
phir bhi roshani se uski roshan saari rat hoti hai

Dil ko aadat si ho gai hai chot khane ki,
bhigi palko ke sang muskurane ki,
kash anjam hum pehle se jaan jate,
to koshish bhi na karte dil lagane ki!!


Kabhi khamoshi bhi bahut kuchh keh jati hai,
tadpne kliye sirf yade reh jati hai,
kya farak padhta hai dil ho ya koyla,
jalne k baad sirf rakh hi reh jati hai......



Khuda se thora reham khareed lete,
app ke zakhmo ka marham khareed lete,
agar kahi bikti khushiyan meri,
tou unhe bech kar app ka gham khareed lete!


chupke se mere dil mein samate kyun ho
ek nayi aas mere dil mein jagate kyun ho
har baar tujhko dekh kar baadal ka guma hota hai
tootna tay hai, to khwab dikhate kyun ho


har dil ko ek aahat ki aas rehti hai
har nigaah ko ek chehre ki pyaas rehti hai
tere bin kis cheez ki kami to nahi
par tere bin zindagi udaas rehti hai

hum se muhbaton ki numaish na ho gi
pr itna jante hain k tumhan chahte hain hum


Zubaan se jab naam leta hoon,
Aankh se aansu chalak jaate hain,
Hazaaron baatein kiya karte the jinse,
Aaj ek baat kehne ke liye taras jaate hain..




sazaa dene wale razaa puchte hain,
jeene ki humse vajah puchte hain,
dete hain khud hi zehar humko aakar,
phir kitna hua hai asar puchte hain.


sooni zindagi mein hulchal si mehsoos hui,
bejaan dil ki aaj dhadkan mehsoos hui,
jaane kyon aaj aisa laga,
shayad aapki kami mehsoos hui.


hum aah bhi bhare to ho jate hai badnam,
voh katla bhi kare to charcha nahi hota.. (nice one)


tute hue pyaale mein jaam nahi aata
ishq ke maaro ko aaram nahi aata
dil todne wale yeh kyun nahi jante
tuta hua dil kisi ke kaam nahi aata!!!

mat intezaar karoo hume itnaki waqt ke faisle par afsoo ho jaye
kya pata kal tum laut kar aao.....aur.. hum khamosh ho jaye!!!

Woh bewafa nikle toh kya hua
kuch dino ka toh saath nibhya tha
tadapta hua chod gaye toh kya hua
tadapna bhi toh unhi ne sikhya tha..!!

some good shers::
baadlon ke dermiyan kuch aisi sajish hui,
mera ghar mitti ka tha mere hi ghar barish hui,
usko bhi zid hai bijliyan girane ki,
or hame bhi zid hai wahi aashiyan banane ki


Pal hi aesa tha ki hum inkar na kar paye…
Zamane ke dar se ikraar na kar paye…
Na thi jinke bina zindagi munasib…
Chod diya sath unhone aur hum sawal tak na kar paye

Sochte hai in sagar ki lahron ko dekhkar.....
Qu ye kinaron se takrakar laut jati hai...
Karti hai wo kinaron se bewawafi...
Ya phir sagar se wafa nibhati hai........


mar jaoon main agar,
to aansu mat bahana,
bas kafan ki jagah apna dupatta chada jana,
koi pooche ki rog kya tha,to sir jhuka ke mohabbat bata jana.

bikhri jo ye haseen zulfein hain,
unhe aur bikhar jane do,
iss waqt ko kuch aur sawer jane do,
bakki na reh jaye subha tak tamanna koi,
ek raat aisi bhi guzar jane do.


hokar zameen ka, aasman ki chah kyon karoon,main tujhko paane ki tamanna kyon karoon,mujhko khabar hai, judai tadpayegi tujhe har pal,isliye bata de main tujhse wafa kyon karoon.imaan ko mere chot lagegi,gr tu na mili mujhe,tujhe aapna banane ki dua phir kyon karoon,teri masoomiyat ko banayaa hai rab ne mohhabat ke liye,tujhe na chahne ki khata main kyon karoon.farishtey bhi tadap jate hain ,teri aankhon se jab ashk chalakte hain,ye dard tujhe dekar, main koi gunah kyon karoon.teri meri kismat ki rahein hain juda juda,main phir tera ban jane ki aarzo kyon karoon, mana ki mohhabat bhari nazar dil pe ghera asar karti hai,tujhe pyaar se dekh kar tujhpar koi jaadu kyon karoon.itna dukhaya hai dil ko tune mere,itna rulaya hai mujhe,sab kuch sahoon, phir bhitujhse be-intihah pyaar kyon karoon!


mohhabat ke bhi kuch khaas andaz hote hain,
jaagti aankhon mein bhi khwaab hote hain,
zaroori nahi gam mein hi aasoon niklen,
muskurati aakhon mein bhi sailaab hote hain....



Mohabbat mujhe thi unse itni,
Sanam yaadon mein dil tadapta raha,
Maut bhi meri chahat ko rok na saki,
Kabr mein bhi dil dhadakta raha


Bheeg jati hai palke tanhai mai…
Darte hai koi pehchan na le…
Pasand karte hai tez barsat mai chalna …
Kahi rote hue koi pehchan na le…


Ye din yu hi gujar jayenge,
shayad hum bichad jayenge,
Naaraz na ho aap hamari shararto se,
yehi to wo pal hai jo aksar yaad aayenge……..

The Woman psychology is one of the most complicated thing in the world is what all my male friends use to think :-)
we never understand a woman,what she likes and what will b her preferences...
how will we get a good life partner-wife or girlfriend?
yep these are questions I have been asked from a long time... today I have decided to write a blog instead..:-)
I cannot say i will be able to give satisfactory answers to all of your curious questions guys...but as I m a woman and spended most of life with this gender(from solving their problems to sharing their dreams) will try to give my point of view..
So as i m revealing most mystic thing in this world..letme have ur credit cards in advance (he he just kidding)...

Both genders use to think in different ways and it is natural ..accept and welcome that fact...
opposite poles attaract each other..:-)

1)It's a natural tendendacy in every object on this earth to settle down and gain equilibrium.
Don want to go in deep with physics laws of equilibrium :-) ,it's natural tendancy and in woman is pretty high..
I have seen in guys, "fun part" in relationship is important but for girls stability factor is important..she will think twice about you if u assured, the relationship is pretty serious and has some destination.
so u really like someone and want to have serious relationship...donot hesitate to tell her...
2) Funny thing is that many guys still think buying the expensive gifts and spending lotsa money will give him her favor..they definately njoy attention and gifts :-) ..sad but true girls never counts their chickens on what u brought rightnow,but on what comforts u can bring for her in future.If you have concrete future plan and will to achieve it then single rose with coffee will also do it...
3)What u r and what u will b ..is more important than what u was...
Girls always choose settled and matured guys having stable future as their life partner.
4) make habit to say that she beautiful ..man it works.....its pretty natural for girls to attract towards the guys who thinks that she is bful..(don over do it:D)
5)keep ur weapons with you..like little attitude,manliness etc etc.. :-)

6) The guys who give respect to their family are (internally ) highly valued...its very common the one who love his parents likely to love his spouse..

7)nature has rendered nurturing responsibilty on woman.it's very likely woman to prefer settled and responsible guys ,That makes them - going for the "Best in available options at that time"(Time when they decided to settle down ")

8)I think woman used to think more practically than men when it comes selecting a life-partner.


Summary::First build up your career,settled down and then start looking for the girls... then ur probability is high....U r not likely to get disappointed :-D...U will save much more precious time in understanding her ,Efforts in alluring her and lotsa money...lol...

Good Quotes::
“Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.”


“I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
Blueeyes502
Maya Angelou quotes

“Love comes when manipulation stops; when you think more about the other person than about his or her reactions to you. When you dare to reveal yourself fully. When you dare to be vulnerable.”



“Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.”
santiz
Dr. Seuss quotes (American Writer and Cartoonist best known )


“Anyone can give up, it's the easiest thing in the world to do. But to hold it together when everyone else would understand if you fell apart, that's true strength

“Yes I love him. I love him more than anything else in this world and there is nothing that I would like better than to hold on to him forever. But I know it's not for the best. So no matter how much my heart is going to break, I've got to let him go so he can know just how much I love him. Maybe if I'm lucky, he'll come back, but if not, I can make it through this.”

“You must love yourself before you love another. By accepting yourself and fully being what you are, your simple presence can make others happy.”

“Every saint has a past and every sinner has a future.”

Donot give anyone priority in your life,when you are not even option in their life


“We come to love not by finding a perfect person, but by learning to see an imperfect person perfectly”
Sam Keen quotes (American Philosopher, Spiritual mentor, motivational speaker and Writer)

Good Quotes:
What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the master calls a butterfly. ~Richard Bach
"Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake."
- Napoleon Bonaparte
"Some cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go."
- Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)
"God is a comedian playing to an audience too afraid to laugh."
- Voltaire (1694-1778)
When you do the common things in life in an uncommon way, you will command the attention of the world."
- George Washington Carver (1864-1943)
"Forgive your enemies, but never forget their names."
- John F. Kennedy (1917-1963)
"When ideas fail, words come in very handy."
- Goethe (1749-1832)
"In the end, everything is a gag."
- Charlie Chaplin (1889-1977)
"I love Mickey Mouse more than any woman I have ever known."
- Walt Disney (1901-1966)
"I don't know anything about music. In my line you don't have to."
- Elvis Presley (1935-1977)
If I were two-faced, would I be wearing this one?"
- Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)
"Friends may come and go, but enemies accumulate."
- Thomas Jones
"The gods too are fond of a joke."
- Aristotle (384-322 B.C.)
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
- Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)
"Whatever is begun in anger ends in shame."
- Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)
"Half this game is ninety percent mental."
- Yogi Berra
"The truth is more important than the facts."
- Frank Lloyd Wright (1868-1959)
"There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle."
- Albert Einstein (1879-1955)
"There are only two tragedies in life: one is not getting what one wants, and the other is getting it."
- Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)
"I criticize by creation - not by finding fault."
- Cicero (106-43 B.C.)
The man who goes alone can start today; but he who travels with another must wait till that other is ready."
- Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)
"The longer I live the more I see that I am never wrong about anything, and that all the pains that I have so humbly taken to verify my notions have only wasted my time."
- George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950)
"Life is pleasant. Death is peaceful. It's the transition that's troublesome."
- Isaac Asimov

Good story about duty...
The only way to rise is by doing the duty next to us, and thus gathering strength go on until we reach the highest state. A young Sannyâsin went to a forest; there he meditated, worshipped, and practiced Yoga for a long time. After years of hard work and practice, he was one day sitting under a tree, when some dry leaves fell upon his head. He looked up and saw a crow and a crane fighting on the top of the tree, which made him very angry. He said, "What! Dare you throw these dry leaves upon my head!" As with these words he angrily glanced at them, a flash of fire went out of his head — such was the Yogi's power — and burnt the birds to ashes. He was very glad, almost overjoyed at this development of power — he could burn the crow and the crane by a look. After a time he had to go to the town to beg his bread. He went, stood at a door, and said, "Mother, give me food." A voice came from inside the house, "Wait a little, my son." The young man thought, "You wretched woman, how dare you make me wait! You do not know my power yet." While he was thinking thus the voice came again: "Boy, don't be thinking too much of yourself. Here is neither crow nor crane." He was astonished; still he had to wait. At last the woman came, and he fell at her feet and said, "Mother, how did you know that?" She said, "My boy, I do not know your Yoga or your practices. I am a common everyday woman. I made you wait because my husband is ill, and I was nursing him. All my life I have struggled to do my duty. When I was unmarried, I did my duty to my parents; now that I am married, I do my duty to my husband; that is all the Yoga I practice. But by doing my duty I have become illumined; thus I could read your thoughts and know what you had done in the forest. If you want to know something higher than this, go to the market of such and such a town where you will find a Vyâdha (The lowest class of people in India who used to live as hunters and butchers.) who will tell you something that you will be very glad to learn." The Sannyasin thought, "Why should I go to that town and to a Vyadha?" But after what he had seen, his mind opened a little, so he went. When he came near the town, he found the market and there saw, at a distance, a big fat Vyadha cutting meat with big knives, talking and bargaining with different people. The young man said, "Lord help me! Is this the man from whom I am going to learn? He is the incarnation of a demon, if he is anything." In the meantime this man looked up and said, "O Swami, did that lady send you here? Take a seat until I have done my business." The Sannyasin thought, "What comes to me here?" He took his seat; the man went on with his work, and after he had finished he took his money and said to the Sannyasin, "Come sir, come to my home." On reaching home the Vyadha gave him a seat, saying, "Wait here," and went into the house. He then washed his old father and mother, fed them, and did all he could to please them, after which he came to the Sannyasin and said, "Now, sir, you have come here to see me; what can I do for you?" The Sannyasin asked him a few questions about soul and about God, and the Vyadha gave him a lecture which forms a part of the Mahâbhârata, called the Vyâdha-Gitâ. It contains one of the highest flights of the Vedanta. When the Vyadha finished his teaching, the Sannyasin felt astonished. He said, "Why are you in that body? With such knowledge as yours why are you in a Vyadha's body, and doing such filthy, ugly work?" "My son," replied the Vyadha, "no duty is ugly, no duty is impure. My birth placed me in these circumstances and environments. In my boyhood I learnt the trade; I am unattached, and I try to do my duty well. I try to do my duty as a householder, and I try to do all I can to make my father and mother happy. I neither know your Yoga, nor have I become a Sannyasin, nor did I go out of the world into a forest; nevertheless, all that you have heard and seen has come to me through the unattached doing of the duty which belongs to my position."
There is a sage in India, a great Yogi, one of the most wonderful men I have ever seen in my life. He is a peculiar man, he will not teach any one; if you ask him a question he will not answer. It is too much for him to take up the position of a teacher, he will not do it. If you ask a question, and wait for some days, in the course of conversation he will bring up the subject, and wonderful light will he throw on it. He told me once the secret of work, "Let the end and the means be joined into one." When you are doing any work, do not think of anything beyond. Do it as worship, as the highest worship, and devote your whole life to it for the time being. Thus, in the story, the Vyadha and the woman did their duty with cheerfulness and whole-heartedness; and the result was that they became illuminated, clearly showing that the right performance of the duties of any station in life, without attachment to results, leads us to the highest realisation of the perfection of the soul.
It is the worker who is attached to results that grumbles about the nature of the duty which has fallen to his lot; to the unattached worker all duties are equally good, and form efficient instruments with which selfishness and sensuality may be killed, and the freedom of the soul secured. We are all apt to think too highly of ourselves. Our duties are determined by our deserts to a much larger extent than we are willing to grant. Competition rouses envy, and it kills the kindliness of the heart. To the grumbler all duties are distasteful; nothing will ever satisfy him, and his whole life is doomed to prove a failure. Let us work on, doing as we go whatever happens to be our duty, and being ever ready to put our shoulders to the wheel. Then surely shall we see the Light!

Karma by swami vivekananda--too good and helpful

All this is determined by Karma, work. No one can get anything unless he earns it. This is an eternal law. We may sometimes think it is not so, but in the long run we become convinced of it. A man may struggle all his life for riches; he may cheat thousands, but he finds at last that he did not deserve to become rich, and his life becomes a trouble and a nuisance to him. We may go on accumulating things for our physical enjoyment, but only what we earn is really ours. A fool may buy all the books in the world, and they will be in his library; but he will be able to read only those that he deserves to; and this deserving is produced by Karma. Our Karma determines what we deserve and what we can assimilate. We are responsible for what we are; and whatever we wish ourselves to be, we have the power to make ourselves. If what we are now has been the result of our own past actions, it certainly follows that whatever we wish to be in future can be produced by our present actions; so we have to know how to act. You will say, “What is the use of learning how to work? Everyone works in some way or other in this world.” But there is such a thing as frittering away our energies. With regard to Karma-Yoga, the Gita says that it is doing work with cleverness and as a science; by knowing how to work, one can obtain the greatest results. You must remember that all work is simply to bring out the power of the mind which is already there, to wake up the soul. The power is inside every man, so is knowing; the different works are like blows to bring them out, to cause these giants to wake up.
Man works with various motives. There cannot be work without motive. Some people want to get fame, and they work for fame. Others want money, and they work for money. Others want to have power, and they work for power. Others want to get to heaven, and they work for the same. Others want to leave a name when they die, as they do in China, where no man gets a title until he is dead; and that is a better way, after all, than with us. When a man does something very good there, they give a title of nobility to his father, who is dead, or to his grandfather. Some people work for that. Some of the followers of certain Mohammedan sects work all their lives to have a big tomb built for them when they die. I know sects among whom, as soon as a child is born, a tomb is prepared for it; that is among them the most important work a man has to do, and the bigger and the finer the tomb, the better off the man is supposed to be. Others work as a penance; do all sorts of wicked things, then erect a temple, or give something to the priests to buy them off and obtain from them a passport to heaven. They think that this kind of beneficence will clear them and they will go scot-free in spite of their sinfulness. Such are some of the various motives for work.
Work for work's sake. There are some who are really the salt of the earth in every country and who work for work's sake, who do not care for name, or fame, or even to go to heaven. They work just because good will come of it. There are others who do good to the poor and help mankind from still higher motives, because they believe in doing good and love good. The motive for name and fame seldom brings immediate results, as a rule; they come to us when we are old and have almost done with life. If a man works without any selfish motive in view, does he not gain anything? Yes, he gains the highest. Unselfishness is more paying, only people have not the patience to practice it. It is more paying from the point of view of health also. Love, truth, and unselfishness are not merely moral figures of speech, but they form our highest ideal, because in them lies such a manifestation of power. In the first place, a man who can work for five days, or even for five minutes, without any selfish motive whatever, without thinking of future, of heaven, of punishment, or anything of the kind, has in him the capacity to become a powerful moral giant. It is hard to do it, but in the heart of our hearts we know its value, and the good it brings. It is the greatest manifestation of power — this tremendous restraint; self-restraint is a manifestation of greater power than all outgoing action.(here swamiji talking about control your senses,do not let your senses to control you) A carriage with four horses may rush down a hill unrestrained, or the coachman may curb the horses. Which is the greater manifestation of power, to let them go or to hold them? A cannonball flying through the air goes a long distance and falls. Another is cut short in its flight by striking against a wall, and the impact generates intense heat. All outgoing energy following a selfish motive is frittered away; it will not cause power to return to you; but if restrained, it will result in development of power. This self-control will tend to produce a mighty will, a character which makes a Christ or a Buddha. Foolish men do not know this secret; they nevertheless want to rule mankind. Even a fool may rule the whole world if he works and waits. Let him wait a few years, restrain that foolish idea of governing; and when that idea is wholly gone, he will be a power in the world. The majority of us cannot see beyond a few years, just as some animals cannot see beyond a few steps. Just a little narrow circle — that is our world. We have not the patience to look beyond, and thus become immoral and wicked. This is our weakness, our powerlessness.
Even the lowest forms of work are not to be despised. Let the man, who knows no better, work for selfish ends, for name and fame; but everyone should always try to get towards higher and higher motives and to understand them. "To work we have the right, but not to the fruits thereof:" Leave the fruits alone. Why care for results? If you wish to help a man, never think what that man's attitude should be towards you. If you want to do a great or a good work, do not trouble to think what the result will be.
There arises a difficult question in this ideal of work. Intense activity is necessary; we must always work. We cannot live a minute without work. What then becomes of rest? Here is one side of the life-struggle — work, in which we are whirled rapidly round. And here is the other — that of calm, retiring renunciation: everything is peaceful around, there is very little of noise and show, only nature with her animals and flowers and mountains. Neither of them is a perfect picture. A man used to solitude, if brought in contact with the surging whirlpool of the world, will be crushed by it; just as the fish that lives in the deep sea water, as soon as it is brought to the surface, breaks into pieces, deprived of the weight of water on it that had kept it together. Can a man who has been used to the turmoil and the rush of life live at ease if he comes to a quiet place? He suffers and perchance may lose his mind. The ideal man is he who, in the midst of the greatest silence and solitude, finds the intensest activity, and in the midst of the intensest activity finds the silence and solitude of the desert. He has learnt the secret of restraint, he has controlled himself. He goes through the streets of a big city with all its traffic, and his mind is as calm as if he were in a cave, where not a sound could reach him; and he is intensely working all the time. That is the ideal of Karma-Yoga, and if you have attained to that you have really learnt the secret of work.
But we have to begin from the beginning, to take up the works as they come to us and slowly make ourselves more unselfish every day. We must do the work and find out the motive power that prompts us; and, almost without exception, in the first years, we shall find that our motives are always selfish; but gradually this selfishness will melt by persistence, till at last will come the time when we shall be able to do really unselfish work. We may all hope that some day or other, as we struggle through the paths of life, there will come a time when we shall become perfectly unselfish; and the moment we attain to that, all our powers will be concentrated, and the knowledge which is ours will be manifest.