Great Speech from Chetan Bhagat

Speech by Chetan Bhagat at Symbiosis… Don’t just have career or academic goals. Set goals to give you a balanced, successful life. I use the word balanced before successful. Balanced means ensuring your health, relationships, mental peace are all in good order. There is no point of getting a promotion on the day of your breakup. There is no fun in driving a car if your back hurts. Shopping is not enjoyable if your mind is full of tensions. "Life is one of those races in nursery school where you have to run with a marble in a spoon kept in your mouth. If the marble falls, there is no point coming first. Same is with life where health and relationships are the marble. Your striving is only worth it if there is harmony in your life. Else, you may achieve the success, but this spark, this feeling of being excited and alive, will start to die… One thing about nurturing the spark - don't take life seriously. Life is not meant to be taken seriously, as we are really temporary here. We are like a pre-paid card with limited validity. If we are lucky, we may last another 50 years. And 50 years is just 2,500 weekends. Do we really need to get so worked up? … It's ok, bunk a few classes, scoring low in couple of papers, goof up a few interviews, take leave from work, fall in love, little fights with your spouse. We are people, not programmed devices...” Don't be Serious, be Sincere guys !!!

Mahabharatha

മറ്റുള്ളവരില്‍ അസൂയ ജനിപ്പിക്കുന്നിടത്താണ് യുദ്ധം ആരംഭിക്കുന്നത്. മഹാഭാരതത്തിലൂടെ വ്യാസന്‍ നല്‍കുന്ന ഈ സന്ദേശം എക്കാലവും പ്രസക്തമാണ്. ഇന്ദ്രിയങ്ങള്‍ക്ക് ഹരം പകരുന്ന വിധത്തിലാണ് പാണ്ഡവര്‍ ഇന്ദ്രപ്രസ്ഥം നിര്‍മിച്ചത്. അസുരശില്പിയായ മയനെ ഖാണ്ഡവവനം ദഹിപ്പിച്ചപ്പോള്‍ രക്ഷിച്ചതിനുള്ള കൈക്കൂലിയാണ് ഈ മഹാസൗധമെന്നു പറയ‍ാം. വാസസ്ഥലം എന്നലക്ഷ്യം മറന്ന് വിസ്മയിപ്പിക്കാനും അസൂയപ്പെടുത്താനുമാണിത് നിര്‍മിച്ചത്. ഇവിടെ ക്ഷണം സ്വീകരിച്ച് അതിഥിയായാണ് സുയോധനനെത്തിയത്. സ്ഥലജല വിഭ്രാന്തിയില്‍പെട്ട് അദ്ദേഹം നിലംപതിക്കുമ്പോള്‍ പിടിച്ചെഴുന്നേല്പിച്ച് ക്ഷമാപണം നടത്തുകയായിരുന്നു വീട്ടുകാരിയായ പാഞ്ചാലി ചെയ്യേണ്ടിയിരുന്നത്. എന്നാല്‍ , വസ്ത്രങ്ങള്‍ സ്ഥാനംതെറ്റിയ സുയോധനന്റെ നഗ്നത കണ്ട് ചിരിക്കുകയാണ് ചെയ്തത്. ഈ നിമിഷത്തില്‍ മഹാഭാരതയുദ്ധത്തിന് വിത്തുപാകപ്പെട്ടു. ഇതുപോലെ പാഞ്ചാലിയേയും പൊതുമധ്യത്തില്‍ വിവസ്ത്രയാക്കി പരിഹാസ്യപാത്രമാക്കുമെന്ന് ദുര്യോധനന്‍ മനസ്സിലുറപ്പിച്ചു. ഈ തീരുമാനമാണ് മഹാഭാരതയുദ്ധമായി പരിണമിച്ചത്. നമ്മുടെ ഗൃഹനിര്‍മാണവും ആഘോഷങ്ങളും വസ്ത്രധാരണവുമെല്ല‍ാം പലപ്പോഴും മറ്റുള്ളവരെ വിസ്മയിപ്പിക്കാനും അസൂയപ്പെടുത്താനുമാണ് ലക്ഷ്യംവെയ്ക്കുന്നത്. പാണ്ഡവര്‍ രാജസൂയം നടത്തിയതുപോലുള്ള വിവാഹ മാമാങ്കങ്ങളും ബര്‍ത്ത്ഡേ പാര്‍ട്ടികളും ആത്യന്തികമായി അസൂയയും കലഹവുമാണ് ജനിപ്പിക്കുന്നത്. ഏതു പ്രവര്‍ത്തിക്കുമുമ്പും ധ്യാനം അനിവാര്യമാണ്. അപ്പോള്‍ ധര്‍മ്മമേത് അധര്‍മ്മമേത് എന്ന് വിവേചിച്ച് പ്രവര്‍ത്തിക്കാന്‍ കഴിയും. അങ്ങനെ ചെയ്താല്‍ പിന്നീട് പശ്ചാത്തപിക്കേണ്ടിവരില്ല. നരനാരായണ സംവാദമായിവേണം ഭഗവത്ഗീതയെ കാണാന്‍.

John Hopkins Gives Advice on Preventing and Fighting Cancer

John Hopkins Gives Advice on Preventing and Fighting Cancer Through Proper Nutrition After years of telling people chemotheropy is the only way to try ('try', being the key word) to eliminate cancer. Johns Hopkins now knows there are alternative ways. 1. Every person has cancer cells in the body. These cancer cells do not show up in the standard tests until they have multiplied to a few billion. When doctors tell cancer patients that there are no more cancer cells in their bodies after treatment, it just means the tests are unable to detect the cancer cells because they have not reached the detectable size. 2. Cancer cells occur between 6 to more than 10 times in a person's lifetime. 3. When the person's immune system is strong the cancer cells will be destroyed and prevented from multiplying and forming tumors. 4. When a person has cancer it indicates the person has nutritional deficiencies. These could be due to genetic, but also to environmental, food and lifestyle factors. 5. To overcome the multiple nutritional deficiencies, changing diet to eat more adequately and healthy, 4-5 times/day and by including supplements will strengthen the immune system. 6. Chemotherapy involves poisoning the rapidly-growing cancer cells and also destroys rapidly-growing healthy cells in the bone marrow, gastrointestinal tract etc, and can cause organ damage, like liver, kidneys, heart, lungs etc. 7. Radiation while destroying cancer cells also burns, scars and damages healthy cells, tissues and organs. 8. Initial treatment with chemotherapy and radiation will often reduce tumor size. However prolonged use of chemotherapy and radiation do not result in more tumor destruction. 9. When the body has too much toxic burden from chemotherapy and radiation the immune system is either compromised or destroyed, hence the person can succumb to various kinds of infections and complications. 10. Chemotherapy and radiation can cause cancer cells to mutate and become resistant and difficult to destroy. Surgery can also cause cancer cells to spread to other sites. 11. An effective way to battle cancer is to starve the cancer cells by not feeding it with the foods it needs to multiply. *CANCER CELLS FEED ON: a. Sugar substitutes like NutraSweet, Equal, Spoonful, etc are made with Aspartame and it is harmful. A better natural substitute would be Manuka honey or molasses, but only in very small amounts. Table salt has a chemical added to make it white in color. Better alternative is Bragg's aminos or sea salt. B. Milk causes the body to produce mucus, especially in the gastro-intestinal tract. Cancer feeds on mucus. By cutting off milk and substituting with unsweetened soy milk cancer cells are being starved. c. Cancer cells thrive in an acid environment. A meat-based diet is acidic and it is best to eat fish, and a little other meat, like chicken. Meat also contains livestock antibiotics, growth hormones and parasites, which are all harmful, especially to people with cancer. d. A diet made of 80% fresh vegetables and juice, whole grains, seeds, nuts and a little fruits help put the body into an alkaline environment. About 20% can be from cooked food including beans. Fresh vegetable juices provide live enzymes that are easily absorbed and reach down to cellular levels within 15 minutes to nourish and enhance growth of healthy cells. To obtain live enzymes for building healthy cells try and drink fresh vegetable juice (most vegetables including bean sprouts) and eat some raw vegetables 2 or 3 times a day. Enzymes are destroyed at temperatures of 104 degrees F (40 degrees C).. e. Avoid coffee, tea, and chocolate, which have high caffeine Green tea is a better alternative e and has cancer fighting properties. Water-best to drink purified water, or filtered, to avoid known toxins and heavy metals in tap water. Distilled water is acidic, it needs to be alkalined if you drink it The natural way to alkaline it is to squeese fresh lemons in it. Lemons are alkalining fruit. 12. Meat protein is difficult to digest and requires a lot of digestive enzymes. Undigested meat remaining in the intestines becomes putrefied and leads to more toxic buildup. 13. Cancer cell walls have a tough protein covering. By refraining from or eating less meat it frees more enzymes to attack the protein walls of cancer cells and allows the body's killer cells to destroy the cancer cells. 14. Some supplements build up the immune system (IP6, Flor-ssence, Essiac, anti-oxidants, vitamins, minerals, EFAs etc.) to enable the bodies own killer cells to destroy cancer cells.. Other supplements like vitamin E are known to cause apoptosis, or programmed cell death, the body's normal method of disposing of damaged, unwanted, or unneeded cells. 15. Cancer is a disease of the mind, body, and spirit. A proactive and positive spirit will help the cancer warrior be a survivor. Anger, un-forgiveness and bitterness put the body into a stressful and acidic environment. Learn to have a loving and forgiving spirit. Learn to relax and enjoy life. 16. Cancer cells cannot thrive in an oxygenated environment. Exercising daily, and deep breathing help to get more oxygen down to the cellular level. Oxygen therapy is another means employed to destroy cancer cells. 1. No plastic containers in micro. 2. No water bottles in freezer. 3. No plastic wrap in microwave.. Johns Hopkins has recently sent this out in its newsletters. This information is being circulated at Walter Reed Army Medical Center as well. Dioxin chemicals cause cancer, especially breast cancer. Dioxins are highly poisonous to the cells of our bodies. Don't freeze your plastic bottles with water in them as this releases dioxins from the plastic. Recently, Dr Edward Fujimoto, Wellness Program Manager at Castle Hospital , was on a TV program to explain this health hazard. He talked about dioxins and how bad they are for us. He said that we should not be heating our food in the microwave using plastic containers. This especially applies to foods that contain fat. He said that the combination of fat, high heat, and plastics releases dioxin into the food and ultimately into the cells of the body. Instead, he recommends using glass, such as Corning Ware, Pyrex or ceramic containers for heating food. You get the same results, only without the dioxin. So such things as TV dinners, instant ramen and soups, etc., should be removed from the container and heated in something else. Paper isn't bad but you don't know what is in the paper. It's just safer to use tempered glass, Corning Ware, etc. He reminded us that a while ago some of the fast food restaurants moved away from the foam containers to paper The dioxin problem is one of the reasons. Also, he pointed out that plastic wrap, such as Saran, is just as dangerous when placed over foods to be cooked in the microwave. As the food is nuked, the high heat causes poisonous toxins to actually melt out of the plastic wrap and drip into the food. Cover food with a paper towel instead.

THE INSIDE STORY OF JAMMU & KASHMIR STATE

Kashmir 1947– what really happened?Sandhya Jain Jun 5th, 2012 Kashmir interlocutors: perpetuating Nehru’s blunder By suddenly inviting debate on the interlocutors report on Jammu and Kashmir, especially its startling suggestion to restore the State’s pre-1953 status, the Congress Party has virtually disowned the actions of its longest serving Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, thus diminishing the legitimacy and stature of the political dynasty descended from him. Some experts have added fuel to the fire by urging implementation of the report even though Parliament, political parties, and the nation have not yet studied it in depth. Restoration of the pre-1953 status means a return to the stressful relationship between New Delhi and Srinagar that culminated in the arrest of Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah on charges of conspiracy against the Indian State in August 1953. Since the J&K constitution came into effect only on 26 January 1957, pre-’53 status would return the State to a lawless limbo in which its ‘prime minister’ can choose freedom from Article 1 of the Indian Constitution which names the States and territories that shall be part of the First Schedule. Sheikh Abdullah’s slipperiness in committing to the Indian Union after endorsing the Accession by Maharaja Hari Singh and persistent flirtation with the idea of an independent nation, forced the Centre to replace him with Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad. But Mr. Nehru failed to take the logical step of fully integrating the State with the Indian Union; his many grave blunders remain his lasting national legacy. [Sic: His surrender of Tibet to China being the greatest.] Mr. Nehru’s successors and protégés have long scuttled attempts at public scrutiny of these mistakes. But time has eroded their power and many facts are entering the public domain. Dr. S.P. Bakshi, Chief Education Officer of the State armed forces and a member of the Maharaja’s Durbar, published his reminiscences of the 1947-48 war before he passed away some weeks ago, just short of his 99th birthday. Kashmir: heroes sacrificed in vain Though brief, 'The Inside Story of Jammu & Kashmir State' (Knowledge World, Delhi, 2012) is a fascinating narrative of that troubled time. Dr Bakshi for the first time brings on record the fact that a Rasputin-like sadhu known as ‘Mahantji’ played a crucial role in delaying the accession to India by giving the Maharaja delusions of grandeur, telling him of his visions of the State flag flying from Lahore fort and beyond, thus causing immense suffering to the people. Dr Bakshi’s most sensational disclosure concerns New Delhi’s cavalier disregard of Major Onkar Singh Kalkat’s direct warning about the impending attack, an episode that deserves detailed exposure, with the guilty named. As part of its plans, Pakistan suddenly imposed an economic blockade upon J&K, causing grave hardship to the people. This should have rung alarm bells in Delhi as all supplies of arms and ammunitions to the State were also cut off as all ordnance depots were in Pakistan. The overall action seems to have been supervised by Gen. Frank Messervy, the British chief of the Pakistan Army, though the main planning was by Maj.-Gen. Akbar Khan who recruited 60,000 soldiers demobilized from Punch area after WWII, ex-INA soldiers, and tribals lured with the promise of loot and plunder. Orders were issued through DO Letters marked Personal/Top Secret and signed by the British C-in-C of the Pakistan Army within days of the creation of Pakistan. In other words, it was a Raj conspiracy! At that time, Major Onkar Singh Kalkat was serving as Brigade Major at Bannu Frontier Brigade Group under Brig C.P. Murray, who was away at Mural outpost on 20 August 1947. On his behalf, Major Kalkat received and opened an envelope marked Personal/Top Secret and found within a detailed plan of Operation Gulmarg. He hastily called Brig Murray, who told him not to breathe a word to anyone or he (Kalkat) would not be allowed to leave Pakistan alive. Perhaps the Brigadier alerted the Pakistani authorities anyway, for Kalkat was placed under house arrest. He made a daring escape and reached Ambala on 18 October 1947 and took a goods train to Delhi. The next day, he met senior officers of the Indian Army and told them of the Pakistan plan to launch Operation Gulmarg. But they dismissed his claims, for reasons that deserve to be made public, as also the identities of the officers concerned. It is inconceivable that this news would not have been made known to Governor General Louis Mountbatten, Prime Minister Nehru, and the then Defence and Home Ministers. Nothing is known of their reactions then, or later. Yet, in this context, we must question the unwarranted delay in sending troops to relieve the besieged Sate once the invasion began, on the pretext of first getting the Instrument of Accession signed by the Maharaja and Governor General. Why did Lord Mountbatten insist on the loss of a valuable day? Why were Jawaharlal Nehru and even Vallabhbhai Patel so much in thrall of Mountbatten that they couldn’t challenge his evil advice that cost the nation so dearly? At least Patel realised that going to the UN Security Council would be ruinous to India. [Sic: Gandhi was insistent on not sending troops to Kashmir, Nehru was dithering, but it was Patel who expedited the troop shipment to Srinagar. General Manekshaw has given an eyewitness account.] The UN helped to deprive India of the northern territory of Gilgit, necessary for the British to oversee Russia. Britain had leased Gilgit from the Maharaja and built an all-weather airfield and roads between Gilgit Agency and the North West Frontier Province. Indeed, Gilgit was integrated with NWFP and run from Peshawar. When Gilgit was returned in August 1947, Rao Bahadur Brig. Gansara Singh, General Staff Officer of J&K State Forces, was appointed Governor. On midnight, 31 October 1947, Major Brown of the Gilgit Scouts surrounded the Governor house and arrested Gansara Singh; the Gilgit Government was handed over to Pakistan a few days later. [Sic: This means Major Brown staged a military coup against the Gilgit Governor Gansara Singh. Otherwise it would have joined India along with the rest of Maharaja Hari Singh's dominions.] Dr Bakshi speaks eloquently of the personal valour of Brig. Rajinder Singh, Chief of Staff of the J&K State Forces, who gave up his life to save Srinagar valley by blowing up the vital Uri bridge and delaying the raiders by a crucial 48 hours. His posthumous award of a Mahavir Chakra is still perceived by many as niggardly. Through vivid snapshots, Bakshi unveils the enormous sacrifices made by the officers and men of the J&K State Forces, which made them the only force from a Princely State to be absorbed en bloc into the Indian Army as a separate unit, the Regiment of the Jammu and Kashmir Rifles. A major triumph of this war was Maj.-Gen. Timmy Thimaya’s audacious feat of scaling the inhospitable Zojila Pass with Stuart tanks, the highest recorded use of tanks in battle anywhere in the world –11000 ft.

Divine

Reliving with the Divine - What Swami said on Chitravathi River Bed, Puttaparthi on 23-2-1958 - SSS.Vol.I.Ch.5 JAPASAHITHA DHYANA (Meditation on the Lord's Form and Fame) The devotee who spoke first here now was, let me tell you, denying God for 25 years and it is only since five years, after seeing Me, that he has changed. Of course, many people have had no experience, which could change them, and so they are not to be blamed for their want of faith. So too, this Seshagiri Rao here was finding fault with his son and daughters for coming to Puttaparthi, and himself for long refusing to come! One day at Bangalore, there was a function in the house opposite his, for I had gone there. During Bhajan (group singing of devotional songs), this man hesitantly crossed the road and peeped into the hall and I went forward and called him and made him sit near Me. I asked him to come to Puttaparthi and invited him to 'examine' and 'experience'. He has been with Me ever since; it is now 18 years since he first came here. This is just the reason why I came to sow the seeds of faith, in religion and in God. You might have heard some people say that I became Sai Baba when a scorpion stung me! Well, I challenge any one of you to get stung by scorpions and transform yourself into Sai Baba. No, the scorpion had nothing to do with it! In fact, there was no scorpion at all! I came in response to the prayers of sages, saints and spiritual aspirants for the restoration of Dharma (Righteousness). The root cause of all this restlessness When there is a sign of a little unrest, the police constable appears on the scene; if the mob gets unruly, the Inspector rushes in; and if it becomes violent, the Superintendent of Police has to be personally present on the scene to quell it. If, however, the situation waxes hot, the Inspector-General has to make himself available, is it not? This is a situation in which the I-G. is taking over-all charge of the situation. The Mahaapurushas, the Mahatmas, the Jnanis, the Yogis and the Dhevaamsa-sambhuuthas (sages, savants, saints, yogis & divine personalities) have had their try, and they will all be co-operating in the task of re-establishing righteousness and clearing the path for the world attaining Shanthi (absolute peace). The greatest defect today is the absence of Atma Vicharana (the inquiry into the nature of the Self). That is the root cause of all this Ashanti (restlessness). If you are eager to know the truth about yourself, then even if you do not believe in God, you will not go astray. The pots are all of mud, the ornaments are all of gold, the clothes are all of yarn. There is unity where one saw only diversity; the basic substance is one and indivisible. That is Brahman (Supreme Reality) that is the Atma, which is your own basic substance too. This Atma Vicharana is best found in the Upanishads. Just as a river's flow is regulated by bunds and the flood waters are directed to the sea, so too the Upanishads regulate and restrict the senses, the mind and the intellect and help one to reach the sea and merge individuality in the Absolute. Study the Upanishads with a view to act accordingly, to put the advice into practice. Scanning a map or turning over a guidebook will not give you the thrill of the actual visit, nor will it give you a fraction of the joy and knowledge of a journey through that land. The Upanishads and the Gita are only maps and guidebooks, remember. Call upon the Lord in your own heart There is the story of a rustic who sat among a gathering of devotees and listened to the exposition of the Gita by a great Pundit. All were wonder-struck by the scholarly commentary which the Pundit gave and his learned disquisition on each word and phrase and the rustic, though the exposition was very much over his head, seemed to attend very closely for he was all the time in tears! When at last the Pundit asked him why he was weeping, he surprised everybody by the sincerity of his Bhakti. For he said that he wept at the predicament of the Lord, who had to sit at the head of the chariot and half turning his neck hold forth so long to convince the dull-witted Arjuna. "How much pain must He be suffering in His neck?" he asked and wept. That was real devotion, a sure passport to spiritual victory. He had identified himself with the participants in the episode and the whole setting had become alive for him. You need not even read the Gita or the Upanishads. You will hear a Gita specially designed for you if you call upon the Lord in your own heart. He is there, installed as your own charioteer. Ask Him and He will answer. Have the Form of the Lord before you when you sit quietly in a place for meditation and have His Name, that is, any Name when you do Japam (repetition of holy Name). If you do Japam, without that Picture or Form before you, who is to give the answer? You cannot be talking all the time to yourself. The Rupa (Form) will hear and the Rupa will respond. All agitations must cease one day, is it not? The Dhyana of the Form and the Japam of the Name---that is the only means for this task. Stick to the Name and Form you like the most The secret is: you should 'be', but not be as in sleep, when you are aware deep down within you, that you are. Only, sleep is enveloped in Maya (Delusion). Awake from that delusion, but immerse yourself in this sleep that is real Samadhi (Super conscious state of Bliss). Japam and Dhyana are means by which you can compel even the concretization of the Divine Grace, in the Form and with the Name you yearn for. The Lord has to assume the Form you choose, the Name you fancy; in fact, you shape Him so. Therefore, do not change these two, but stick to the ones that please you most, whatever the delay or the difficulty. Do not get discouraged that you are not able to concentrate for long from the very beginning. When you learn to ride a bicycle, you do not get the skill of keeping the balance immediately. You push the cycle along to an open maidan and hop and skip, leaning now to one side and now to the other and even fall with the cycle upon you on many an attempt before you are able to ride with skill and never again to worry about the balance. Automatically, you are able to make the necessary adjustments to correct the balance, is it not? After getting this skill, you can ride through the narrow streets and lanes and you do not need an open maidan; you can negotiate your vehicle through the most crowded thoroughfares. So too practice will equip you with a concentration that will sustain you in the densest of surroundings and the most difficult situations. The best Sadhana for the beginners Do not be under the impression that I will be angry with you if you do not accept Me as the Dhyana Rupa (Form for meditation)! I am not concerned at all; you have perfect freedom to select the Name and Form that give you necessary encouragement. When you meditate, the mind often runs after something else, it takes another road. You have then to plug that outlet by means of the Name and the Form and see that the even flow of your thoughts towards the Lord is not interrupted; if it happens again, use the Name and the Form again, quickly. Do not allow the mind to go beyond the twin bunds, this side Nama and that side Rupa! Then it will not stray into a third place. First, when you sit for meditation, recite a few Slokas on the glow of God, so that the thoughts that are scattered could be collected. Then gradually, while doing Japam, draw before the mind's eye the Form which that Name represents. When your mind wanders away from the recital of the Name, take it on to the picture of the Form. When it wanders away from the picture, lead it on to the Name. Let it dwell either on that sweetness or this. Treated thus it can be easily tamed. The imaginary picture you have drawn will get transmuted into the Bhaava chithram (emotional picture), dear to the heart and fixed in the memory; gradually it will become the Saakshaathkaara chitram---when the Lord assumes that Form in order to fulfill your desire. Use the body as an instrument for spiritual practice This Sadhana (spiritual practice) is called Japa sahitha Dhyana (meditation on the Lord's Name and Form) and I advise you all to take it up, for it is the best for beginners. Within a few days, you will fall in line and you will taste the joy of concentration. After about ten or fifteen minutes in the initial stages and longer after some time of this Dhyana, have some manana (inward contemplation) on the Shanthi and the sowkhya (peace and contentment) you had during the Dhyana; that is to say, bring back into your memory the joy you experienced. This will help your faith and earnestness. Then, do not get up suddenly and start moving about, resuming your avocations. Loosen the limbs slowly, deliberately and gradually, and then enter upon your usual duties. Taste the fruits of Dhyana and learn to relish them; that is what I mean by this process of manana (repeated reflection). Be careful about your physical health also. Satisfy the demands of nature; the car must be given the petrol, which it needs. Otherwise, your head might reel and your eyes might get blurred through sheer exhaustion; how can thoughts of the Lord be stabilized in a weak frame? Only, do not forget the purpose of this body when you are tending it. A road-roller is fed with oil and coal and other types of fuel. But why is it kept in good trim? In order to mend the road, is it not? Similarly, remember that you have come embodied, so that you might realise the end of this cycle of birth and death. For that sake, use the body as an instrument. Flying hither and thither, higher and higher, the bird has at last to perch on a tree for rest. So too, even the richest and the most powerful man seeks rest, Shanthi. Peace can be got only in one shop, in inner reality. The senses will drag you along into a mire, which submerges you deeper and deeper in alternate joy and grief, that is to say, prolonged discontent. Only the contemplation of unity can remove fear, rivalry, envy, greed, and desire---all the feelings that prompt discontent. Every other avenue can give only pseudo contentment; a day will come when you will throw away all these playthings and toys and cry, "Lord! Grant Me unruffled peace." The dacoit Valmiki prayed so; the confirmed atheist too has one day to pray for peace and rest. Engage yourself in good thoughts and deeds People hug brass pots and take them to be gold, but they have to polish them so that they may appear bright. One day, they will get disgusted with this constant polishing and scrubbing; they will pray, "Release me from this scrubbing, this birth, this suffering and this agony." Life is short; time is fleeting: your Sadhana is creeping at tortoise speed. When will you decide to proceed a little faster? Your Sadhana is like the answers you write at the examination. If you get only 5 or 6 marks, then the examiner will strike out even that, saying, "What is the use of these few marks: it will take him neither here nor there." If you get somewhere near the passing marks, then Grace will give you just a little more so that you may pass, provided you have been a diligent well behaved student. Engage yourselves in good deeds, good company and good thoughts. Fix your attention on the goal. You have not realised yet the secret of this Advent. You are indeed lucky, more fortunate than many others. It is only when Yasoda found every length of rope a little short to go round His belly that she discovered He was the Lord. So to, you will realise every description of My Mahima (Divine Glory) a little too short of the actuality; and then you will get convinced. Meanwhile if you study the Sasthras and know the characteristics of the Avatar of the Lord, you might get a glimpse of the Truth regarding Me. You will know the truth when you experience There is no use arguing and quarrelling among yourselves; examine, experience; then you will know the truth. Do not proclaim before you are convinced; be silent while you are still undecided or engaged in evaluating. Of course, you must discard all evil in you before you can attempt to evaluate the mystery. And, when faith dawns, fence it around with discipline and self-control, so that the tender shoot might be guarded against the goats and cattle, the motley crowd of cynics and unbelievers. When your faith grows into a big tree, those very cattle can lie down in the shade that it will spread. Chitravathi River Bed, Puttaparthi, 23-2-1958