Moment with my Parents

Be with my parents is the most special moment I have. They are my strength. The strength that made me strong in facing my life. Happiness is what I always feel when ever I am with them. They are my beloved parents. My dear one!

Live Happily - Passage

Let us be happy and live within our means, even if we have to borrow money to do it. - Artemus ward, US Revolutionary Commander (1727-1800).

Maintaining Young and Happy

Laugh often, long and loud.

Laugh until you gasp for breath

And if yu have a friend who makes you laugh,

spend lots and lots of time with him or her!

Keeping Young and Happy

Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down. (Keep this in mind if you are one of those grouches!) LOL

Stress Less for Happiness

Think of new attitude that makes it easier for you not to be as hard on yourself or the people you work with. You used to have trouble delegating; you can be happy to hand off a piece of a project, and you will not feel compelled to redo other people's work. :)

Diwali Wishes to All

Wishing you all . . .

the joy

the peace

the happiness

... of Diwali

Photo courtesy: diwali

Happy Life - Passage

A HAPPY LIFE must be to a great extent a quiet life, for it is only in an atmosphere of quiet that true joy can live. - Bertrand Russell, british philosopher (1872-1970)

Enjoyment - Quote

Sometimes what makes a place beautiful and enjoyable is not its food, drinks nor decorations but the company of someone whom you like and enjyoy with.

Happiness

Happiness is a taste of mind and it depends on one's attitude toward life,not on what one has.

Happy Kid Dancing

Dhyaan is happily dancing with his yellow tail. His counsins put that tail in his back and Dhyaan is starting to dance. He loves to dance all the time.

Skirt Mania @ Kalanidhi

It's time for the final blow. Steal the party by your unique and sense style of your skirt. You dazzle! You sparkle! As everyone will looking at your stylish skirt. You will be flattered over by the adoring look of many. Kalanidhi fashion presents Traditional Chaniya Choli, Indo-western Chaniya Choli, Traditional Dress, Casual Dress, Kurtis, Stall Dupatta, Antique Purse, Batwas, Leggings, Fashionable Clothes, Traditional Clothes, Indian Traditional Clothes, Chaniya Choli, Unique Dress Style, Fashionable Dress, Kalanidhi Fashion, Traditional Dress Style, Casual Dress Style, Kalanidhi Designers Collection, Kachhi, Western Sytle Navratri Fashion. Enjoy and have fun choosing your favorite one!

Trade Fair @ Kalanidhi

Have your appointment to the Kalanidhi Exhibition. See something new with the fashion. You will love each items you will see there. Have a date with the Kalanidhi Fashion! See you there! Have some fun to choose your choice.

SMILE - Passage

Smile can make people glad. Love can make people trust. Hate can make people mad ... But friends? They make life worth living for!

Happy Thoughts – Passage

God is sending a pillow of happy thoughts to create wonderful dreams. A blanket of care to keep us warm all night and a prayer to protect us until the dawn breaks.

Prize of Life - Passage

The high prize of life, the crowning fortune of a man, is to be born with a bias to some pursuit which finds him in employment and happiness. Emerson

Smile - Passage

True Happiness - Passage

True happiness consists not in the multitude of friends but on their worth and value.

Happiness - Passage

They say a person needs just only three things to be truly HAPPY in this world. Somone to love, somthing to do and something to hope for ... but for many there's one more thing just to make their life complete ... to be loved.

Exposing Your Heart - Quote

When you love, you are exosing your heart.

and when your heart is exposed,

you are risking it to get hurt ... but then again,

the HAPPINESS it brings is all worth it.

Happy Man Dhirendra

I want to say to everyone that I am happy and thanking the Lord for giving me another year of my life to fulfill my dreams. Thank you Lord for the years that had passed and thanking you again for another year and years to come. :)

Be Thankful Even for Simple Things - Quote

If someone comes into your life and becomes a part of you but for some reasons he couldn't stay, don't cry too much ... just be GLAD that your paths crossed and somehow he made you HAPPY even for a while. :)

India to celebrate 64th Independence Day

Today, Sunday, August 15, 2010. India, the world's biggest democracy, celebrates its 64th Independence Day remining the masses of an end to British rule on August 15, 1947.

Happiness ~ Quote

HAPPINESS

depends on what you can give,

not what you can get.

Happy Friendship Day

Friends are two people from entirely different worlds, being joined in intimacy, mutual benevolence and warm affection. This wonderful gifts cuts through all boundaries - societal, biological, familial or cultural.

Joy of Giving Week

Good morning friends. Today, we have to be joyful as it is The Joy of Giving Week.

The Joy of Giving Week (JGW)', is a national movement aimed at engaging people in different acts of giving' whatever they have -- money, time, resources or skill -- will begin its second edition from September 26. There are group of volunteers from corner to corner of the country The social movement, was coordinated that will conclude on Gandhi Jayanti' on October 2. The first edition of JGW had more than 200 NGOs, 1,000 schools, 100 colleges, 200 corporate houses and 20 lakh individuals taking part.

There are well-known personalites who actively supported the initiative. Lakhs of people donated money and clothes, or volunteered to give their time. Not to mention but some of the personalities are like Azim Premji, Deepak Chopra, Rahul Dravid, Anu Aga, Kumarmangalam Birla, Adi Godrej and Nandita Das. Narendra Somani, founder & chairman, Bhagwati Banquets; Umang Hutheesingh, president, Hutheesingh Design Company; Amit Khatri, member, Traffic Committee; and radio jockey Dhwanit Thakar were present at the meet organised to share the information regarding the upcoming event.

So let’s give with joy and share the joy we have to everyone. – The Times of India

A Mantra that Cheers (2 of 2)

Good morning friends. Let me continue the second part of my article. Hope you are still following me.

You are the Supreme Bliss, Brahmn in person. It is yourself that dwells in all. The happiness that appears in the world is in fact just a glimpse of self-bliss. It is your inner bliss but because of your ignorance, you think it is obtained from external objects of sense pleasures. Just as the sun’s reflection in water is not the real sun but is merely an illusory appearance thereof, so also is the pleasure experienced through sense-enjoyments – it is not real bliss. It is illusion, not real. Supreme Brahmn alone is existence, consciousness and bliss absolute. It is the One absolute reality which appears as existence, consciousness and bliss in different beings. But one who has a pure heart beholds the Lord as the One, non-dual Reality. There is one person prayed to Swami Ramatirtha He asked Swami to bless him that he wanted to become the king of the world. The person said that he will be please and happy if that will happen.

Even you become a king, you will still come across many miseries in your life since the things through which you seek pleasure are themselves transient. They never remain with anybody forever, then how will they stay with you? Better than that, if you give up the desire for seeking pleasure from transient things you will reach supreme bliss right now. That would be greater than the happiness you can gain from your dream kingdom.”

The mind becomes peaceful when it overcomes desires; then you can experience imperishable bliss. True peace lies only in the leaving of desires. A contented person alone can remain happy. A contented person is the wealthiest of all. He alone attains peace. Appreciate the present. Overcome greed and be contented with what you have. Give thanks to God. Then you could help others achieve bliss. – The Times of India

A Mantra that Cheers (1 of 2)

Good morning friends. I was reading one of our newspaper here and I just came across with the article about happiness. When I see such article about happiness I didn’t let the day pass that I’m not reading it. Cause one of my goal is to be happy and make others happy. I want to share you the article I have read and I wish you can get some good things there.

Is there anyone among us who does not wish to be happy? All of us wanted to be happy all the time and wishing that we will have no big problems that we can’t solve That’s unlikely. Happiness and sorrow do not drop from the skies. Your thoughts are the cause of happiness and sorrow. Even if you are in a happy state, and a sad thought enters your mind, you suddenly feel unhappy, isn’t it?
If you want to be ever cheerful, remember the following mantra: “Even this shall pass.” Let this be decorated permanently in your heart. With the practice of this mantra you can remain alert in the event of both pleasure and pain and stop yourself from getting engrossed in them and you can establish yourself in the highest bliss of calmness.

Pairs of opposites such as pleasure and pain, honor and insult, joy and sorrow affect the body. They will come and go in greater or lesser degree so long as the body exists. Do not be overwhelmed by them. You are the absolute Self, imperishable Atman while pleasures and pains are fleeting. How can they ever affect you? They have no existence of their own. In fact, they appear on the ground of your existence. You are distinct from them. Hence witness them, withstand them, and let them pass away. Be ever blissful and peaceful.

There is no object that brings pleasure or pain. They are creations of your mind, your thoughts and feelings. With the help of these thoughts be absorbed in your own eternal Being, the Truth absolute and be always peaceful. – The Times of India

See you on the part two of my article ...

Happiness - Quote

Happiness depends on what you can give, not what you can get.

Kids Bathing

Kids are happy taking a bath together at night.

Two Happy Women

Two women, my friend and my bhabi were talking with each other happily. They got a nice day together.

Happy Couple

Me and Kajal in a special day of my parents. We are all enjoying the celebration. Each and everyone of us were happy. I wish you all have too! :)

Faith in Yourself

A person who has faith

Always wear a happy face;

His smile that comes from the soul

Is reflected in the eyes.

Smiling Child

Dhyaan gave a nice smile while he was given instruction to smile for a good shot.

Being Happy

There's no problem that cannot be solve,
Why should our life be in sorrow?

Our life was given to us by our God,
Use it everyday with lots of happiness.

Happily Eating

Look at the two kids. They were having fun eating flavored crushed ice at Matar. Different flavors different taste. That's why they love to eat as summer is very hot.

The Important MAN in my life

Watching my Dad with all the things he do, made me feel happy. He is not only my father, he is also my buddy, my best friend, my father. I love you very much Dad ... "Happy Father's Day"

Playground

Playground for kids at manavparivra-matar. A dedicated play area for kids of volunteers and doctors. Manav Parivar provided this space just for the kids, while they are waiting for their parents. Manav Parivar thought of the things which make kids happy so they don't have a dull moment.

Say PLEASE

Say “Please”
when you ask someone to lend a hand.
Say “Please”
when you ask people to understand.
Say “Please”
for every thing that you ask from someone.
Say “Please”
and someone will heed you.
Say “Please”
and you’ll be esteemed, too
Say “Please”
and others will listen to you.
Say “Please”
to everyone;
Say “Please”
to every man;
Say “Please”
to the old and young;
Say “Please”
And find life fun.

Shivam in a slide

Shivam is looking happy while he was playing in a slide. He had his turn to get in a slide after Dhyaan's turn. There are many kids playing in the funworld. They enjoyed a lot there.

Blissful Face

Own smile is the best way to keep someone smile

Simple tips to boost happiness

Good morning friends. There are simple tips to boost our happiness. I want to share it with you, as I know you will need it for our day to day life. First of all happiness can be self-controlled and boosted through certain practices, claim researchers. Some scientists had suggested happiness is primarily determined by genetics, health and other factors mostly outside of our control. Do you think its possible to become happier?

In spite of the finding that happiness is partially genetically firmed, and despite the finding that life situations have a smaller influence on our happiness than we think they do, we argue that still a large portion of happiness is in our power to change.

There are test attempts to increase happiness, Psychologist Sonja Lyubomirsky of the University of California, Riverside, has jotted down five things that can improve happiness:

1. Be grateful - Some study participants were asked to write letters of gratitude to people who had helped them in some way. The study found that these people reported a lasting increase in happiness - over weeks and even months - after implementing the habit.

2. Be optimistic - Study participants were asked to visualize an ideal future - for example, living with a loving and supportive partner, or finding a job that was fulfilling - and describe the image in a journal entry. After doing this for a few weeks, these people too reported increased feelings of well-being.

3. Count your blessings - People who practice writing down three good things that have happened to them every week show significant boosts in happiness, studies have found. It seems the act of focusing on the positive helps people remember reasons to be glad.

4. Use your strengths - Another study asked people to identify their greatest strengths, and then to try to use these strengths in new ways. For example, someone who says they have a good sense of humor could try telling jokes to lighten up business meetings or cheer up sad friends. This habit, too, seems to heighten happiness.

5. Commit acts of kindness - Helping others also helps ourselves. People who donate time or money to charity, or who altruistically assist people in need, report improvements in their own happiness.

Happy fatther for his sons

Happy Dhirendra for both of his sons specially Dhyaan for his 2nd birthday today. Happy birthday Dhyaan. Have a happy birthdays for the years to come.

River Fun

Whole family of Patel was having their happy moments while on the river. Everyone was enjoying a lot.

Happy Child

Dhyaan is very happy while he was in the box. He enjoyed playing with his cousins.

Kids in the Box

Patel kids are playing in a box. They enjoyed a lot with each other. Very playful kids.... :)

Less small talk makes for a happy life

Good morning friends Most people wanted to talk a lot specially when discussing things. But some people want to talk less. They said that less small talk makes for a happy life … Do you believe in that thing?

American research has found that people who engage in more deep conversations are likely to be happier than those indulging in small talk.

For the study, participants were asked to wear an unobtrusive recording device called the Electronically Activated Recorder (EAR) over four days. This device periodically records snippets of sounds as participants go about their lives. For this experiment, the EAR sampled 30 seconds of sounds every 12.5 minutes yielding a total of more than 20,000 recordings. The scientists then listened to the recordings and identified the conversations as trivial small talk or substantive discussions. Also, the volunteers completed personality and well-being assessments.

The analysis of the recordings told some very interesting findings. Greater well-being was associated with spending less time alone and more time talking to others: The happiest participants spent 25 per cent less time alone and 70 per cent more time talking than the unhappiest participants. Furthermore, the happiest participants had twice as many substantive conversations and one third as much small talk as the unhappiest participants.

The researchers conclude that deep conversations may have the potential to make people happier. They say: "Just as self-disclosure can instill a sense of intimacy in a relationship, deep conversations may instill a sense of meaning in the interaction partners."

Smile genuinely to live longer

Good morning friends. How often do you smile? If you’re are going to smile, do you think it has to be a good reason for you to smile? If you want to live longer, one way is to smile. Smile genuinely. That’s what they said. Many said that the secret to live a grand old age is to smile, and make sure you mean it.

There is one pro baseball players in the 1950s who genuinely beamed in their official photographs tended to live longer than more sullen-looking sportsmen and those who put on fake smiles. There are players from the US major league with honest grins lived an average of seven years longer than players who didn't smile for the camera and five years longer than players who smiled unconvincingly.

Happy people tend to be healthy too. Some researchers wondered if this relationship would be reflected in the smiles and longevity. Genuine smiles are known as Duchenne smiles after the 19th-century neurologist who defined them in detail. They engage muscles both near the corners of the mouth and around the eyes - the zygomatic major and the orbicularis oculi respectively. Fake, ‘non-Duchenne’ smiles exercise only mouth muscles.

With training, these muscles are easy to recognize in photographs. Thus, the researchers were trained to analyze smiles, looked at vintage photographs of 230 major leaguers who played in the 1952 season. The researchers classified them as non-smilers, Duchenne smilers or non-Duchenne smilers. Then they looked up the life spans of some players who had already died. They found that out of the dead players, Duchenne smilers had tended to live the longest, followed by non-Duchenne smilers.

The researchers also tend to predispose people to longevity, such as a university education and good health. They found an even firmer link between strength of smile and length of life. People who didn't smile had just a 50% chance of surviving to 80%, all other things being equal, whereas those with Duchenne smiles had about a 70% chance of surviving to this age.

Overall, 35% of the differences in lifespan correlated with smile intensity. Some conclude that people who smile genuinely in photographs "may be basically happier than those with less intense smiles", making them more likely to experience the health benefits of happiness, which has been linked with lower levels of stress hormones and a protein implicated in heart disease.

Jay Jay Garvi Gujarat- Golden Jubilee celeberation

Happy and Proud Gujarati. That's the words I can say about myself for being one.

Happy Family

Homeless family on their tricyle. They considered it as their house. They were one of the family who were given a free food. You can see the happy face of father and daughter.

Happy Patel Boys

Formal looks but pleasant smile with the Patel boys.

Balance your desires to avoid suffering (2 of 2)

Good morning friends. This is the second part of my article and I hope you will continue your reading.

In the Bhagavad Gita , Krishna calls them muddha – fools who are imbued with aasuric or demoniac nature. The Gita describes the mindset of such people: “I wanted this and today I got it. I want that; I shall acquire it tomorrow. All these riches are now mine; soon I shall have more. I have killed this enemy; I will kill all others as well and shall soon conquer the world. I am the ruler of men. I enjoy the things of this world. I am successful strong and happy. I am very wealthy and so nobly born. Who is my equal?”

This mindset gives rise to passion, anger and greed that in turn lead to constant strife within the individual and in his dealings with others.

After analyzing suffering is not due to chance and caprice. It is because of certain conditions. If these conditions are removed, then suffering, too, ceases to be. Desire is the root cause of suffering.

Ancient seers described that “desires never satiated by the enjoyment of desires; thereby they only flame forth ever more like fire with butter”. Desires and even their fulfillment, instead of being a source of happiness might spiral so out of control that they become the root cause of suffering.

Balance your desires to avoid suffering (1 of 2)

Good morning friends. There is a saying that … “Never be satisfied with what you have, always wish for more”. This is true. Don’t just be contented for what you have. You have to aim more and struggle a lot to be able to have your wishes come true. Materialism and consumerism assume that fulfilling desires and the enjoyment of pleasures are all that is required to make us happy and contented.

We should live happily because once the body is dead and is reduced to ashes; it can never come back to life.

One must enjoy life to the core. What is enjoyment? It is to eat delicious food, seeking the company of the beautiful and young, wearing good clothes and accessories, decorating oneself and experiencing instant gratification wherever possible. Indian tradition takes a holistic view of human nature. It argues that material aspects, may be for human existence, do not exhaust the whole of the personality of a human being. It recognizes that besides having physical needs and cravings, we have spiritual aspirations also. Why limit human aspiration to only the physical plane?

The spiritual goal alone differentiate the human being from other forms of life. A man does not aspire for just artha and kama or the economic and the emotional; he also wishes for dharma and moksha , the moral and the spiritual. So it’s not as though we only seek the ephemeral and fleeting, we are inclined also to look for what could be eternal and enduring.

A Smile on their Faces

It's a good feeling when people are trying to smile. After taken their dinner, they are resting in their respective places. They just accepted the free dinner given by the volunteers of Manav Parivar.

Kajal, Shivam and Dhyaan

Happy moment with Kajal, Shivam and Dhyaan.

Cheerful Child

Happy and contented child, Dhyaan Patel

Happy Dhyaan

Dhyaan is happy and he was talking to his cousin with a good smile.

Happiness is just around the corner

Good morning friends. I read one article about happiness. It’s a nice one. It tells that how Koena Mitra, a model thought about happiness. Happiness is just around the corner and I believe in her with this. Let me share you what she believed.

Here’s a peep into bombshell Koena Mitra’s spiritual side…

You find God in… “God is one big positive energy! The fact that God helps you get over the biggest of problems in your life proves that He is a big support system. From happiness to sadness – he is around you and within you.”

How do you connect to God? “I read a book called Conversations with God in which the writer states, ‘If you have a pure soul and faith in God, you can definitely connect to Him’. There are various ways to feel him; some connect by turning vegetarian or praying for hours. For me, a pure heart and faith is the answer.”

Karma & kismat to you are: “I read this quote somewhere and it actually describes life: ‘I can’t change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to reach my destination.’ Everyone is born with their own destiny. I am a firm believer of the fact that ‘What goes around comes around’. Things we do come back to us in some way or the other.”

True contentment lies in… “Everyone chases happiness, not noticing that happiness is right at their heels. Be honest with yourself. Happiness will come by itself!” The Times of India

Go on, explore happiness (2 of )

Good morning friends. This is the second part of my article. Hope you are still going on to explore your happiness.

Just try to find an expression of your creative self. It could be wearing your hair in a different way or trying a new color on your lips. Interestingly, Zorana Ivcevic, of Tufts University, inspired her students by indulging in creative acts from joke-telling to trying wacky recipes. Says sarod master Ustad Amjad Ali Khan,

“We all find unique ways of expressing our creativity. When I’m not playing the sarod, I hum and sing to myself. It’s a new expression. I belong to the world of sounds. I also hear the birds chatter in the morning. I experience the world of aromas through new cuisines.”

Everyone should approach their experiences with an open mind. Indulge in playful experimentation. Photographer Annu Palakunnathu Matthew, who is a professor of photography at University of Rhode Island, USA, believes, “As a photographer, I try to see each day distinctively. I would suggest looking at everyday objects or people that you interact with and trying to ‘frame’ them in your mind. I travel a lot, which I also find fascinating.”

So, if you are a busy individual, slow down and explore laziness. Try doing the opposite of what you’re comfortable with. Says Kuchipudi dancer Kaushalya Reddy, “We need to be stimulated. I do interior designing and also design jewelry.” Meanwhile, actor Uday Chopra sees creativity as, “It’s not what you do, but how you look at things.”

Ruth Richards of Harvard Medical School believes engaging in creative behaviour makes us more dynamic. Says theatreperson Amal Allana, “I indulge myself in poetry or just spend time in my garden. If you are creative every day, it enhances a sense of well-being and happiness too.” -The Times of India

Go on, explore happiness (1 of 2)

Good morning friends. The pursuit of creativity isn’t a once in a lifetime quest! Some seek it every moment of their lives. The great creative masters never limited their definition of creativity. Their pursuit was ongoing, to find newer and unusual ways to express themselves through their art and otherwise.

The secret inspiration behind MF Hussain’s masterful strokes was his love for ‘nature, good food and women’; Ustad Amjad Ali Khan spends his first few moments every morning listening to sounds of pigeons; theatreperson Amal Allana writes poetry that stirs her soul, when she’s not acting! And believe it or not, painter Paresh Maity seeks creativity travelling to “green forests” and living with bare necessities. “Even making a cup of tea in a forest is a creative process,” he says.

One of the secrets of creativity is to master your innovative abilities and practice “everyday creativity”. In fact, Psychology Today reports that everyday creativity is about finding new expressions of originality and meaningfulness. Each morning, in her home in Nizamuddin, Anjolie Ela Menon sits very still at the window of her studio. “As the early morning mist begins to lift, the basti around me comes to life.

Sigris are lit and the women bargain loudly with the reri-walas for the day’s vegetables. I stare at the blank white board before me with anticipation. Today, will inspiration surface from fragments of last night’s dream, or will it be the old man with his goat sitting on the charpoy in the lane outside? I pursue new roads to seek creativity. Just watching people can be great inspiration.”

The good news is, you can make everyday creativity a habit. It helps you recognize your skills. In fact, creative coaches believe mornings are the best time to trigger bouts of creativity. That’s something Goa-based writer Sudhir Kakkar agrees with, “Creative moments in writing are those when reason and imagination, the rational and non-rational are in exquisite balance.

My most creative time is the twilight stage between sleeping and waking in the morning, I do not spring out of bed but keep lying down for a few minutes while fleeting impressions flit across my mind. There are many other moments: stopping to watch the play of small children, contemplating sunsets, taking a road one has not taken before which, I believe, rejuvenate imagination.”

Fasting with a happy face (2of 2)

Good morning friends. This is the second part of my article. I wish you are still following me here. Let me continue now ….

Fasting takes us beyond the carnal level of existence to the realm of the divine within. A better articulation of this dimension of fasting can be found in the Sanskrit term for fasting, upavas. Upa meaning ‘near’ and ‘Vaas’ means ‘to dwell’. Thus, fasting means to live or remain closer to God. It is not a negative act of abstaining but a positive step of obtaining God’s love.

Fasting is fuel for the soul that ignites faith and greater intimacy with God and thereby makes our lives happier and more joyful. Fasting has a social significance. It cannot be a mere self-fulfilling spiritual activity. The Bible is emphatic that true fasting is not just to abstain from food, to bow one’s head like a reed and lie in sackcloth and ashes- “this rather is the fast I wish: releasing those bound unjustly, setting free the oppressed, sharing your bread with the hungry, sheltering the oppressed and the homeless” (Isaiah 58:6-7). M K Gandhi used fasting as a spiritual weapon to bring about social and political transformation. In India it is women, especially rural women, who fast more than men. They seem to gain tremendous inner strength and power to overcome suffering, alleviate the pain of others and thereby become life-givers. True fasting will remind us of the bounty we enjoy on a daily basis, and sensitize us to the reality of forced hunger thousands of people in our planet go through day after day. – The Times of India

Fasting with a happy face (1 of 2)

Good morning friends. On Ash Wednesday, Christians began the observance of Lent. The Teutonic word Lent denotes 40 days of fasting, prayer and almsgiving in preparation for the commemoration of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Among the many Lenten practices, fasting is the most significant. Fasting has been around a long time as a spiritual discipline in almost all cultures and religions. To fast is to abstain from something that gives us pleasure and enjoyment in order that it may enhance our spiritual experience; it is not dieting or ‘not eating’. It is a way to spiritual fitness.

Jesus fasted for 40 days before he began his public life. Yet, he does not make it an obligatory exercise. He does not say fasting is essential but says what kind of fasting is acceptable to God. Jesus discounts all such fasts done with a concealed intention to draw attention to one and to seek others’ acclamation: “When you fast do not look gloomy like the hypocrites. They neglect their appearance so that they may appear to others as fasting”. (Matthew 6:16). The one who fasts must avoid all sense of spiritual superiority and pride. This is why Jesus insists that the one who fasts must not “appear to be fasting” and must “oil your hair and wash your face.” These are ritualistic observances but acts of love for God and so must be done happily and with a happy face.

An important reason to fast is that it helps develop more self discipline to transcend sensual and physical gratification. We tend to overindulge rather than exercise restraint and in this context, fasting is a good way of striking a balance. Prophet Muhammad’s statement, “The worst thing man can fill is his stomach” comes as a deterrent to gluttony. The Buddhist Dhammapada goes a step further to compare a craving person to a “fat domestic pig” bound by the fetters of samsara.

Happiness is a good night's rest

Good morning friends. Happiness is a good night’s rest.. . Do you believe in that? Some maybe yes some maybe not. With the article I read, the person talking about it has proven her thought. It’s nice and I want to share it with you.

My spiritual quest began rather early in life and progressed into academic study when I decided to major in religion and philosophy in college.

The choice was made with the intention of finding a few answers to my many questions, to study the ‘different’ religions of the world. I oscillated from believing to not believing to questioning the faith I was born into.

May be there was a better alternative for me? One that I was to choose for myself and hence be more willing to accept. There was a moment in my life when I contemplated conversion — when I was drawn to a particular faith. It was introspection that made me realise that what I sought was not a path, what I sought was a union with the constant evolution that surrounds us.

The fact that our reality, our selves and our beliefs are in constant flux. That there is an impermanence that is ever present and our ability to cope with it, has more to do with our changing self than a path we choose. As it turned out I chose to stay in my faith, to understand it for myself and to be free in the understanding that the essence of all religions is the same. In times of peril, there are many verses I recount, I make annual pilgrimages, not all of these are to temples.

Do I practice my faith? Yes, I do. My practice is in the interactions I share with people. My spiritual quest continues. Do I view material possessions negatively? Not necessarily — I am however cautious of not letting what I possess define me, nor judge others by their possessions. It is one of my spiritual victories, to be able to do that very easily. There are other things that I struggle with; often I struggle with as much of the good in my life as I do the bad.

At times I feel grateful and then on some days undeserving — of the good and the bad. Today, there are enough and more things we encounter, a lot of times it isn’t so much about choice, it’s more about learning what to step around — with practice, I side step pretty easy now and sleep well. And isn’t happiness above all else a good night’s rest? - The Times of India

Spiritual love as a natural progression (1 of 2)

Good morning friends. Life is a thrilling drama. Typical of the spectacle—perhaps its greatest highlight—is that oldest of stories: Two young people, a man and a woman, meet. Both are in radiant health; they are beautiful, happy, and magnetic. They are instantly attracted to each other.

Certainly the attraction is deeper than physical. Each senses in the other a quality that satisfies a deep need. Yearning, they reach out as if to absorb a fulfillment long and ardently awaited.

Can their hopes ever be fulfilled? The attraction they feel is indefinable, elusive and evanescent. They long to draw from each other something very special. What is that something?

It is all a play of consciousness—ripples rising in expectation, cresting, then scattering in foam — thoughts and emotions that flicker in the sunlight on life’s sea; wavelets that long to merge their separate identities in a larger wave. Waves themselves, however, are ephemeral. Moods pass. The starlight and the dancing, that gentle, sweet touch, those brief glimpses of beautiful, far-off scenes filled with love and happiness: All these change, and soon disappear. Is it all a mirage?

Can God have so arranged human existence that it is based eternally on false hopes? The loving embrace, then its sequel: children, each with its own interests and self-created destiny…Has that ardent coming together had no other purpose than to perpetuate the species?

Sexual union brings fleeting pleasure at first, then exhilaration—followed by physical and emotional depletion, and, if over-indulged, by satiety and disgust. What is the purpose?

The expression: “falling in love,” is a curious one. The experience is indeed a fall from high expectations, a crash downward into brambles of disappointment, suffering, and maybe, compromise. Will it ever be possible to become fully absorbed in that sweet smile, that loving look, that radiance in the eyes? Never! Such is the tragedy of human love.

Love has, in fact, a reality far more spiritual than material. The physical body is only a container for its animating spirit, to which one’s feelings truly belong. The less spiritual the feelings, however, the less also they qualify as love at all.

Spiritual love as a natural progression (2 of 2)

Every human desire, ambition, and aspiration is destined for ultimate disappointment, unless it transcends its human limitations. Life is a drama, a dramatic dream, with innumerable plots and subplots, all leading toward a wonderful ending.

Consider the basic structure within which the universe was manifested: dvaita or duality. The one vast Consciousness moved Itself in opposite directions from its state of rest at the centre. Waves appeared on the surface of the great Ocean of Consciousness. With each wave there came a corresponding trough; the over-all ocean level could never change.

All this movement exists in thought only. Spirit alone is Absolute; movement is relative. There are degrees of height and depth, which, for simplicity, were divided in scriptures as the three qualities of satva, rajas and tamas.

We can never find fulfillment anywhere except in the inner Self, yet we do absorb qualities from one another through emulation. We need to shed every human trait, including the most satvic; for as long as we identify it as a quality possessed by the ego, even satvic qualities suggest that in delusion itself lays the key to enlightenment.

Yet without human friendships we might never get a hint of God’s infinitely greater friendship. Moreover, although human love is “the greatest delusion,” without it we might never feel inspired to seek its true fulfillment, that is, union with God. The Times of India

In pursuit of happiness (1 of 2)

Good morning friends. Many of us are not contented for the present happiness we experience. They still look for the best one. Yes it’s right. But sometimes when we seek of perfect happiness, then that’s the time happiness is hard to find. They said you don’t have to find happiness; it’s within us that happiness stays. In our hearts. That’s the best and perfect happiness we have. I want to share one reading stuff. You will like it.

Money, mean machines, sleek mobile phones, mall hopping or love?

What can make a youngster happy and content? Well, not really. It’s spirituality that can bring in a dash of sunshine. A recent survey by a music channel found out that youngsters who practice spirituality are much more happier than the ones who don’t.

“I am a great believer in spirituality. I meditate once in a day for twenty minutes,” says Gunjan Patel, 22 who has been doing it since she was seven. So what makes youngsters get attracted to soul matters?

“I think, being spiritual alters one’s belief system and changes your perspective towards various things. Practicing spirituality helps a lot during difficult times and makes one optimistic,” replies Patel. Forty four per cent of the youngsters consider themselves spiritual, and ten per cent say that spirituality is the most important thing in their lives.

“This is a positive trend that youngsters are inclined towards spirituality but they don’t know the right direction. Things should be presented to them in a way they understand. Being spiritual depends on how one takes it. It isn’t limited to what we see or feel but it is something we experience beyond our senses,” says Archarya Brahmachari Atharvana Chaitanya associated with a leading centre of yoga and spirituality.

In pursuit of happiness (2 of 2)

Good morning Friends. Hope you are still with me here in my second part of my article.

There are some youngsters who are open to learn about spirituality. “I believe in spirituality but not completely. I have just started to learn more about it. I think it really gives peace of mind and makes an individual calm.

With the kind of lifestyle we are leading these days, I think engaging in spiritual activities really helps,” says Maunil Shah, a 19-year-old youngster. And there are also other youngsters who have other options to make themselves happy and content. Dhaval Mehta, a young student says, “I am not spiritual and I don’t believe in it either. I prefer to play video games, watch a film or freak out with friends. These are the things that act as major stressbusters for me.”

Kamayani Mathur feels that today’s youngsters need everything that is quick — fast music, fast food or quick bucks. She says, “The survey findings are a welcome change. It shows that they have started understanding things in a better way. If they find peace in pravachan, satsangs and meditation, then it is definitely good. One turns toward spirituality with good and bad experiences in life.”

How important is it to follow spirituality to remain happy? “One needs to believe in something to be happy, and it can be anything. If one asks for something in life (realistic demand) and he or she is able to face the reality keeping the talent, attitude, capabilities and intelligence in right place then happiness can follow. Real happiness comes from within,” says Kamayani. – The times of India

Happy Heart Day

Happy Valentine's Day to Everyone!

Meditate your pain away

Zen meditation – a centuries-old practice that helps people gain mental, physical and emotional balance – can keep pain at bay, according to Universite de Montreal researchers.

According to a Psychosomatic Medicine study, Zen meditators have lower pain sensitivity both in and out of a meditative state compared to non-meditators. Along with Pierre Rainville, a professor and researcher at the Université de Montréal, Joshua A. Grant, a doctoral student in the Department of Physiology co-authored the paper.

The main aim of the study was to examine whether trained meditators perceived pain differently than non-meditators. "While previous studies have shown that teaching chronic pain patients to meditate is beneficial, very few studies have looked at pain processing in healthy, highly trained meditators. This study was a first step in determining how or why meditation might influence pain perception," says Grant.

To reach the conclusion, the scientists recruited 13 Zen meditators with a minimum of 1,000 hours of practice to undergo a pain test and contrasted their reaction with 13 non-meditators. Subjects included 10 women and 16 men between the ages of 22 to 56.

The administered pain test was simple: A thermal heat source, a computer controlled heating plate, was pressed against the calves of subjects intermittently at varying temperatures. Heat levels began at 43 degrees Celsius and went to a maximum of 53 degrees Celsius depending on each participant's sensitivity. While quite a few of the meditators tolerated the maximum temperature, all control subjects were well below 53 degrees Celsius.

Grant and Rainville noticed a marked difference in how their two test groups reacted to pain testing – Zen meditators had much lower pain sensitivity (even without meditating) compared to non-meditators. During the meditation-like conditions it appeared meditators further reduced their pain partly through slower breathing: 12 breaths per minute versus an average of 15 breaths for non-meditators.

"Slower breathing certainly coincided with reduced pain and may influence pain by keeping the body in a relaxed state. While previous studies have found that the emotional aspects of pain are influenced by meditation, we found that the sensation itself, as well as the emotional response, is different in meditators,” Grant said.- The times of India

Connect with a smile of contentment (2 of 2)

At the other extreme, the nodern world is all set on a great march to fulfill an ever-demanding cycle of needs. Rushing past our fellow travelers, there is forgetfulness in our behavior, little attempt to connect, fear of looking in the eye and displaying feelings. But the deep reservoir of emotions within us is waiting to connect. It is in anguish at not being able to express. And in anguish, there is little scope for contentment. Contentment becomes most elusive, and ironically becomes a never-ending search for all of us.

In this elusive search, several paths are explored in the hope to somersault into a life of deep contentment. Whether or not one makes it to that point of bliss becomes inconsequential if it means sidestepping connectedness with fellow beings. For even if the need to connect for the exalted soul becomes less important, there are many who crave for a connection with another being as a means to walking the path of contentment.

It is said that all beings are one, but that they manifest in different forms, and scientific studies have proven that life forms of all kinds respond to warmth and make an effort to connect. It must be this fundamental connectedness that beckons me to the warm smile of a total stranger in a remote tribal hamlet. The lighting up of a face with an exuberant smile, the brushing aside of the daily tirades of life and taking the circumstances as a given is nothing but the opening up of our souls to the many opportunities of exulting in this moment of existence.

Then why the search? Connecting with a smile is perhaps a way to finding ourselves in a state of contentment. – The Times of India

Connect with a smile of contentment (1 of 2)

Good morning friends. I read one article about a how to connect a smile of contentment. Every time we smile the people around us always smile. When all smile our life becomes easy whatever we do. I want to share you the article I read.

Her smile beckons me; it is captivating, friendly and full of warmth. She cuts the paddy stalks rhythmically with the other womenfolk laboring under the harsh afternoon sun.

They giggle as I wave out to them and ask if I can join them in their work. The woman with the warm smile shyly points out that such hard work is not for the likes of me. The rest start laughing. I too join in the laughter, in response to the simple truth of my inability to swiftly cut paddy stalks with the sun burning my back. There’s so much hard work, harsh circumstances, and little leisure in this remote tribal hamlet. Later she speaks to me about her life cheerfully with no trace of the grim circumstances that engulf her. She connects with a smile of contentment. Happy responses to life’s travails are confounding. Is this a mindset that has decided to quietly accept what life has to offer as one’s destiny or a smiling ‘dare you’ to challenging circumstances? Surely it is the latter. In each one of us is the innate desire to connect to our circumstances, share moments from our life with another and brave it out. That is the inner core from where each one of us draws energy to live life through hard times. A smile reflects what’s inside us and communicates our desire to experience connectedness with another. Smiling at another is a fleeting moment, but sublime nevertheless. Contentment is a natural outcome of engaging in such moments. Leading a meager existence is not very appealing. Despite that, with few resources to indulge in materialistic extravagances, there is a simple understanding among these people on the endless bounty of connecting to others and finding contentment.

61st Republican Day

Wishing All A

61st Republican Day

To My Countrymen

Wake up and keep moving (2 of 2)

Our ancients believed that ecology and enlightenment are inseparable. If we do not remember who we are and what our place is in the web of life, it is time to take stock. The crisis may be an evolutionary catalyst in the push towards a higher level – Self-realization.

That being so, we must reconsider the way we see ourselves vis-à-vis the rest of the world. But the ego and the pull of the outer world come in the way. This, the ‘ego encased in a sheath’ – conceals the real me. According to Vedanta, the universal self, not bound or restricted by the ‘skin’, is a Self whose essential quality is oneness with the rest of creation, rather seeing itself as separate from it. This is the essence of the nature of interconnectedness we see all around us but fail to recognize. The moment we understand that we are an intrinsic part of the web of life; everything begins to fall into place.

The Upanishads affirm that we are all ultimately one, that this oneness is knowable as the pure Self, the atman, at the very core of our being, and that this realization is accessible to all. Most of us do not live in such a state of consciousness because we have all been conditioned to see only the superficial side of our identity, the ego-self. Our predicament is the result of our ignorance of the true Self. The Times of India

Wake up and keep moving (1 of 2)

Good morning friends. In matters of global concern, we tend to think that our own personal contribution is futile. An example of feeling such helplessness is that of the way we perceive the global climate change issue. Consequently, we tend to ask: How can an individual make a difference when the issue at hand is so unwieldy?

We may first understand that there is no situation so bad, no predicament so unwieldy, and no crisis so formidable that it cannot be transformed in a way that yields common benefit, either in its physical actuality or in the way we approach it. However bleak the global outlook may be, it can be changed into a positive one. And we are better able to make positive and effective contributions to the situation through meditative self-awareness, with our own inner awakening.

The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad affirms that he who has found and awakened to the self, the atman is the maker of the universe. The world is his and the world is he. While on earth, if we do not do this, we would be unable to avert avoidable calamities. Those who know the truth become in a way immortal; the others only experience distress.

In Vedic tradition, life is compared to a chariot, a ratha , and human beings are described as passengers on the chariot – ratha matasthivamsa . The world or the universe is spoken of as samsara, which means “incessantly in motion” and the word atman, derived from the root ‘at’, is understood to be the basic – that is, not to move forward – is to deaden the inner cry of existence. So, an awakened person is enlightened enough to not resist the flow of life. He keeps it moving.

Happy Uttarayan from Gujarat

Happy Uttarayan to All

from Dhirendra from Gujarat.

May this 2010 1st feastival

bring Happiness to your life.

I wish you and your family a very

Happy Makar Sankranthi.

Choose your options with utmost care (2 of 2)

Some would argue that forgiveness does not always work, and that it is better to adopt the tit-for-tat policy. But tit-for-tat is not a real solution; it does not end the problem, it only leads to a chain reaction. A reactionary attitude aggravates the problem. Wouldn’t the policy of forgiveness only encourage others to take further negative steps against us? To assume so would be unfair, and also, it is against the law of nature.

Psychological studies show that every human being is born with two different faculties – the ego and the conscience. If you follow the path of vindication, it fans the ego of the other party, whereas if you follow the policy of forgiveness, it will activate the conscience of the other person. And it is a fact that conscience always plays a positive role in controversial matters.

The culture of forgiveness helps in the building of a better society, where positive values flourish, where the spirit of co-operation prevails, where disparate groups come together and form a peaceful society. Revenge, on the other hand, creates an environment of mistrust, in which everyone takes others to be rivals. The revenge culture rules out the growth of a healthy society.

To err is human; everyone is bound to do something wrong at one time or other. But, in such a situation, revenge means committing not just one mistake, but making mistake after mistake. On the contrary, forgiveness means undoing wrongs with rights. It is better to say that, if to err is human, to forgive is also human. Perhaps this concept is expressed in the saying: ‘To err is human, but to forgive is divine.’ For at the core, aren’t we all really divine beings? The Times of India

Choose your options with utmost care (1 of 2)

Good morning friends. Every day in our life, we perhaps have some kind of bad experience, big or small. There is no escape from experiences. One has two options: either to ignore them or try to react. The first option is a form of forgiveness, while the other amounts to engagement and in some cases, even revenge .

Which is the better option? We have to decide by looking at the result, for that is the determining factor. Forgiveness is a better option for it is based on a proven formula: ‘Save yourself’. Forgiveness saves you from distraction, it saves your time, and it saves you from creating more problems. Forgiveness could amount to an instant solution to the problem.

In contrast, reaction and emotional revenge means turning the bad into worse, for revenge tends to worsen the problem. If forgiveness is buying time, revenge is just wasting time without hope of any positive result.

In such a situation people generally tend to give in to negative thinking but such a reaction would be unwise. The better formula is following a self-oriented course of action. In other words, if you are having a sad experience, don’t think about the other party who you feel has wronged you. Think about your own self and adopt a course of action that is better for you.

At all times in our life we are torn between two choices – anti-other thinking and pro-self thinking. Anti-other thinking makes you descend to the lowest level, whereas pro-self thinking elevates you to a higher plane of consciousness.

If forgiveness is a full stop, revenge is full of commas. Forgiveness means ending an unwanted situation, while revenge means extending it to infinity. Forgiveness maintains your positive thinking uninterruptedly, while revenge creates negativity. And negativity creates all kinds of undesirable behavior, in terms of both thought and action.