Beware When You Make A Wish, It Can Come True July 3, 2008

A man serendipitously standing under a Kalpataru wished for water. He found it. He desired food, dreamt of riches; wife, children, servants and all his dreams were fulfilled. One day he feared: what if a tiger came? A tiger appeared and devoured everyone. Everything happened as he had willed. Was it his karma (destiny) or his thoughts that made his wishes come true?

We all live under the kalpataru of Divine Cosmos. The Creator is aware of the remotest thought crossing our minds.

Swami Vivekananda asserted that each thought has a life and whatever one thinks even sitting in a Himalayan cave is bound to happen. Even if a person fails to realise his thoughts in one lifetime, his prayers will take shape in some birth. Swami Rama Tirtha said that no energy is lost in this world, no force is lost, no matter is lost. One reads about law of persistence of force, law of conservation of energy, law of indestructibility of matter; so too mental activity, willing and wishing, cannot be destroyed.

Wishes form samskaras in the mind. These wishes may take several births to come true and some may not bring happiness. Psychologists advise people to think positive and visualise their dreams coming true because positive thoughts help us in realising our dreams. In Yoga Vasishta, Sage Vasishta explains to disciple Prince Rama that human action can overcome destiny. He instructs that by vichara and viveka — right thinking and discrimination cultivated by self-efforts — one can achieve anything, even salvation.
 
Each human is given a chance to exercise free will to get liberation. Our behaviour, thoughts, habits are a result of our karma of previous births. In each birth whatever action one does becomes karma. But with satsanga, (company of sages and scriptures) one can move towards realisation of God. One can overcome the cycle of births and deaths by will power. Vedanta asks us to repeat Aham Brahmasmi, I am That because once the thought is firmly established in mind, it will materialise one day.

The mind’s function is to dream endlessly. People undertake pilgrimages, shave off their heads, follow austerities etc. Should they rely on destiny or exert free will? Have faith in the Cosmic Plan and accept His will, says Swami Rama Tirtha. He explains that selfish prayers are never heard. Only those prayers are heard when the mind thinks of the larger self rather than the petty self, when one rises above me and mine, when one rises to self-denial, renunciation.

In renunciation one is unmindful of one’s own wishes. The mind is in a state of superconsciousness. When we sincerely say Thy Will Be Done, then all prayers are fulfilled. Do not approach the Almighty like a beggar, says Swami Rama Tirtha, because beggars are ignored. We love those who have no expectations from us. To be loved by God who is the greatest of great, above all needs, we must have no expectations.

When you give up a wish, you rise above it, and then it seeks you. Law of science says that higher attracts the lighter, a magnet draws the iron; sun draws the earth to itself. The cycle goes on till we learn to shed desires and be calm.

Riddles March 10, 2008

Question: You throw away the outside and cook the inside. Then you eat the outside and throw away the inside. What did you eat?

Answer: Corn on the cob: You throw away the skin or sheaf, then cook it, eat the corn, then throw away the cob.
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Question: What do you get if you divide the circumference of a pumpkin by its diameter?

Answer: Pumpkin pi.
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Question: What did the grape say when he was sat on?
Answer: Nothing, he just let out a little whine.
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Question: What do you call a stolen yam?
Answer: A hot potato.
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Question: What was green and a great trick shooter?

Answer: Annie Okra
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Question: What did the carrot say to the wheat?

Answer: Lettuce rest, I’m feeling beet.
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Question: What what can you make from baked beans and onions?

Answer: Tear gas.
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Question: What is a Honeymoon Salad?

Answer: Lettuce alone, with no dressing.
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Question: What lives in winter, dies in summer, and grows with its root upward?

Answer: An icicle.
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Question: An old Arab riddle goes like this:
Our servant is green.
Her children are born white and then grow black.
Who is she?

Answer: An olive tree.
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Question: What is green and goes to a summer camp?

Answer: A Brussels’ scout.

Points to Ponder… February 27, 2008

WORDS OF WISDOM

1. Do not walk behind me, for I may not lead. Do not walk ahead of me, for I may not follow. Do not walk beside me, either. Just leave me the hell alone.

2. The journey of a thousand miles begins with a broken fan belt and a leaky tire.

3. It’s always darkest before dawn, so if you’re going to steal your neighbor’s newspaper, that’s the time to do it.

4. Don’t be irreplaceable. If you can’t be replaced, you can’t be promoted.

5. No one is listening until you fart.

6. Always remember you’re unique. Just like everyone else.

7. Never test the depth of the water with both feet.

8. It may be that your sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a bad example.

9. It is far more impressive when others discover your good qualities without your help.

10. If you think nobody cares if you’re alive, try missing a couple of car payments.

11. Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way, when you criticize them, you’re a mile away and you have their shoes.

12. If at first you don’t succeed, skydiving is not for you.

13. Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach him how to fish and he will sit in a boat & drink beer all day.

14. If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was probably worth it.

15. Don’t squat with your spurs on.

16. If you tell the truth, you don’t have to remember anything.

17. Some days you are the bug, some days you are the windshield.

18. Don’t worry, it only seems kinky the first time.

19. Good judgment comes from bad experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment.

20. The quickest way to double your money is to fold it in half and put it in your pocket.

21. Timing has an awful lot to do with the outcome of a rain dance.

22. A closed mouth gathers no foot.

23. Duct tape is like the Force. It has a light side & a dark side, and it holds the universe together.

24. There are two theories to arguing with women. Neither one works.

25. Generally speaking, you aren’t learning much when your mouth is moving.

26. Experience is something you don’t get until just after you need it.

27. Never miss a good chance to shut up.

28. We are born naked, wet, and hungry. Then things get worse.