One day, I hopped into a taxi and took off for the airport . We were driving in the right lane when suddenly, a black car, jumped out of a parking space right in front of us. My taxi driver slammed the brakes, skidded, and missed the other car by just inches! The driver of the other car whipped his head around and started yelling at us. My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. I mean, was really friendly. So I asked, "Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!" This is when my taxi driver taught me what I now call, 'The Law of the Garbage Truck'.

He explained, "Many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment. As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it and sometimes they'll dump it on you. NEVER take it personally. Just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on with the routine life." Don't take their garbage and spread it to other people at work, at home or on the streets.

Successful people do not let garbage trucks take over their day. Life's too short to wake up in the morning with regrets, so...... 'Love the people who treat you right.. Pray for the ones who don't.'

Moral: Life is 10% what you make and 90% how you take!!!!

Once Buddha was walking from one town to another town with a few of his followers. This was in the initial days. While they were traveling, they happened to pass a lake. They stopped there and Buddha told one of his disciples, "I am thirsty. Do get me some water from that lake there."

The disciple walked up to the lake. When he reached it, he noticed that right at that moment, a bullock cart started crossing through the lake. As a result, the water became very muddy, very turbid. The disciple thought, "How can I give this muddy water to Buddha to drink!"

So he came back and told Buddha, "The water in there is very muddy. I don’t think it is fit to drink." After about half an hour, again Buddha asked the same disciple to go back to the lake and get him some water to drink. The disciple obediently went back to the lake.

This time too he found that the lake was muddy. He returned and informed Buddha about the same. After sometime, again Buddha asked the same disciple to go back.

The disciple reached the lake to find the lake absolutely clean and clear with pure water in it. The mud had settled down and the water above it looked fit to be had. So he collected some water in a pot and brought it to Buddha.

Buddha looked at the water, and then he looked up at the disciple and said," See what you did to make the water clean. You let it be…. and the mud settled down on its own – and you got clear water.


Your mind is also like that! When it is disturbed, just let it be. Give it a little time. It will settle down on its own. You don’t have to put in any effort to calm it down. It will happen. It is effortless."

What did Buddha emphasize here? He said, "It is effortless." Having ‘Peace of Mind’ is not a strenuous job; it is an effortless process!

In life everything goes on................Keep Going. Have a peaceful Life!

Monica married Nick this day. At the end of the wedding party, Monica's mother gave her a newly opened bank saving passbook with Rs.1000 deposit amount.

Mother: 'Monica, take this passbook. Keep it as a record of your marriage life. When there's something happy and memorable happened in your new life, put some money in. Write down what it's about next to the line. The more memorable the event is, the more money you can put in. I've done the first one for you today. Do the others with Nick.

When you look back after years, you can know how much happiness you've had.'

Monica shared this with Nick when getting home. They both thought it was a great idea and were anxious to know when the second deposit can be made. This was what they did after certain time:

* 7 Feb: Rs.100, first birthday celebration for Nick after marriage
* 1 Mar: Rs.300, salary raise for Monica
* 20 Mar: Rs.200, vacation trip to Bali
* 15 Apr: Rs.2000, Monica got pregnant
* 1 Jun: Rs.1000, Nick got promoted
* ..... and so on...

However, after years, they started fighting and arguing for trivial things. They didn't talk much. They regretted that they had married the nastiest people in the world.... no more love...Kind of typical nowadays, huh?

One day Monica talked to her Mother: 'Mom, we can't stand it anymore. We agree to divorce. I can't imagine how I decided to marry this guy!!!"

Mother: 'Sure, girl, that's no big deal. Just do whatever you want if you really can't stand it. But before that, do one thing first.

Remember the saving passbook I gave you on your wedding day? Take out all money and spend it first. You shouldn't keep any record of such a poor marriage.'

Monica thought it was true. So she went to the bank, waiting at the queue and planning to cancel the account. While she was waiting, she took a look at the passbook record. She looked, and looked, and looked. Then the memory of all the previous joy and happiness just came up her mind. Her eyes were then filled with tears. She left and went home.

When she was home, she handed the passbook to Nick, asked him to spend the money before getting divorce.

The next day, Nick gave the passbook back to Monica. She found a new deposit of Rs.5000. And a line next to the record: 'This is the day I notice how much I've loved you thru out all these years. How much happiness you've brought me.'

They hugged and cried, putting the passbook back to the safe. Do you know how much money they had saved when they retired? I did not ask. I believe the money did not matter any more after they had gone thru all the good years in their life.

Moral: "When you fall in any way, don't see the place where you fell instead see the place from where you slipped. Life is about correcting mistakes."

Once a boy went to a shop with his mother. The shop keeper looked at the small cute child and showed him a bottle with sweets

and said 'Dear Child..u can take the sweets...

But the child didn't take. The shop keeper was surprised.. such a small child he is and why is he not taking the sweets from the bottle. Again he said take the sweets....

Now the mother also heard that and said.. take the sweets dear.. Yet he didn't take... The shopkeeper seeing the child not taking the sweets... he himself took the sweets and gave to the child. The child was happy to get two hands full of sweets.

While returning home the Mother asked the child... Why didn't you take the sweets, when the shop keeper told you to take?..

Can you guess the response: Child replies... Mom! my hands are very small and if i take the sweets i can only take few.. but now you see when uncle gave with his big hands.... how many more sweets i got!

Moral: When we take we may get little but when God gives... HE gives us more beyond our expectations... more than what we can hold..!!

My wife called, 'How long will you be with that newspaper? Will you come here and make your darling daughter eat her food?

I tossed the paper away and rushed to the scene. My only daughter, Sindu, looked frightened; tears were welling up in her eyes. In front of her was a bowl filled to its brim with curd rice. Sindu is a nice child, quite intelligent for her age.

I cleared my throat and picked up the bowl. 'Sindu, darling, why don't you take a few mouthful of this curd rice? Just for Dad's sake, dear'.

Sindu softened a bit and wiped her tears with the back of her hands. 'Ok, Dad. I will eat - not just a few mouthfuls, but the whole lot of this. But, you should...' Sindu hesitated. 'Dad, if I eat this entire curd Rice, will you give me whatever I ask for?'

'Promise'. I covered the pink soft hand extended by my daughter with mine, and clinched the deal. Now I became a bit anxious. 'Sindu, dear, you shouldn't insist on getting a computer or any such expensive items. Dad does not have that kind of money right now. Ok?'

'No, Dad. I do not want anything expensive'. Slowly and painfully, she finished eating the whole quantity. I was silently angry with my wife and my mother for forcing my child to eat something that she detested. After the ordeal was through, Sindu came to me with her eyes wide with expectation. All our attention was on her. 'Dad, I want to have my head shaved off, this Sunday!' was her demand.

'Atrocious!' shouted my wife, 'A girl child having her head shaved off? Impossible!'

'Never in our family!' My mother rasped. 'She has been watching too much of television. Our culture is getting totally spoiled with these TV programs!'

'Sindu, darling, why don't you ask for something else? We will be sad seeing you with a clean-shaven head.'

'Please, Sindu, why don't you try to understand our feelings?' I tried to plead with her.

'Dad, you saw how difficult it was for me to eat that Curd Rice'. Sindu was in tears. 'And you promised to grant me whatever I ask for. Now, you are going back on your words. Was it not you who told me the story of King Harishchandra, and its moral that we should honor our promises no matter what?'

It was time for me to call the shots. 'Our promise must be kept.'

'Are you out of your mind?' chorused my mother and wife.

'No. If we go back on ourpromises, she will never learn to honour her own. Sindu, your wish will be fulfilled.'

With her head clean-shaven, Sindu had a round-face, and her eyes looked big and beautiful.

On Monday morning, I dropped her at her school. It was a sight to watch my hairless Sindu walking towards her classroom. She turned around and waved. I waved back with a smile. Just then, a boy alighted from a car, and shouted, 'Sinduja, please wait for me!' What struck me was the hairless head of that boy. 'May be, that is the in-stuff', I thought.

'Sir, your daughter Sinduja is great indeed!' Without introducing herself, a lady got out of the car, and continued, 'that boy who is walking along with your daughter is my son Harish. He is suffering from... leukemia'. She paused to muffle her sobs. 'Harish could not attend the school for the whole of the last month. He lost all his hair due to the side effects of the chemotherapy. He refused to come back to school fearing the unintentional but cruel teasing of the schoolmates. Sinduja visited him last week, and promised him that she will take care of the teasing issue. But, I never imagined she would sacrifice her lovely hair for the sake of my son!

Sir, you and your wife are blessed to have such a noble soul as your daughter.'

I stood transfixed and then, I wept. 'My little Angel, you are teaching me how selfless real love is!'

The happiest people on this planet are not those who live on their own terms but are those who change their terms for the ones whom they love !!

Our lives are made up of a million moments, spent in a million different ways. Some are spent searching for love, peace, and harmony. Others are spent surviving day by day.

But there is no greater moment than when we find that life, with all it's joys and sorrows, is meant to be lived one day at a time. It's in this knowledge that we discover the most wonderful truth of all.

Whether we live in a forty-room mansion, surrounded by servants and wealth, or find it a struggle to manage the rent month to month, we have it within our power to be fully satisfied and live a life with true meaning.

One day at a time - we have the abilty, through cherishing each moment and rejoicing in each dream. We can experience each day a new and with this fresh start we have what it takes to make all our dreams come true.

Each day is new, and living one day at a time enables us to truly enjoy life and live it to the fullest.

A blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet. He held up a sign which said: 'I am blind, please help.' There were only a few coins in the hat.

A man was walking by. He took a few coins from his pocket and dropped them into the hat. He then took the sign, turned it around, and wrote some words.

He put the sign back so that everyone who walked by would see the new words.

Soon the hat began to fill up. A lot more people were giving money to the blind boy. That afternoon the man who had changed the sign came to see how things were. The boy recognized his footsteps and asked, 'Were you the one who changed my sign this morning? What did you write?'

The man said, 'I only wrote the truth. I said what you said but in a different way.'

What he had written was: 'Today is a beautiful day and I cannot see it.'

Do you think the first sign and the second sign were saying the same thing?

Of course both signs told people the boy was blind. But the first sign simply said the boy was blind. The second sign told people they were so lucky that they were not blind.

Should we be surprised that the second sign was more effective?

Moral of the Story: Be thankful for what you have.
Be creative. Be innovative. Think differently and positively.

Everything in this universe has its dharma. Starting from a tiny dust particle to Human Being, everything is governed by its dharma. Water has its dharma of flowing from the high ground to the low ground, from upward to downward and not vise-versa. Air has its dharma. It does not leave any vacuum unfilled. Immediately, air rushes to the vacuum and fills it up. Oxygen in the air has its dharma. Its dharma is to burn, and that is why we could light a fire; and get hot water in the winter. Oxygen not only burns outside, it also burns inside our body. In the process of metabolism it burns the food that we have consumed and then converts them into energy. Thus we are able to live, so also live all the animate beings. A tree has its dharma. It gives shade, fruits flowers. It gives fire wood, it gives food. Its dharma is only to give and not to take anything in return. So is the case with a flower. It gives its beauty and fragrance for us to enjoy and does not expect any reward. The Sun gives us light and warmth. It rises in the east and sets in the west. That is its dharma. Dharma of a dog or a horse is faithfulness and loyalty; and a fox’s dharma is cleverness. A cloud’s dharma is to rain. A bee’s dharma is to hoard. It collects honey and stores it in the honey-comb. The earth moves around the sun, so also all the planets and the moons. Our solar system moves according to its respective dharma. Similarly all the solar systems that exist in this universe move around according to their predetermined dharma. There are countless such Brahmands; in other wards countless universes that move around according to their respective dharma. That is how the entire creation, the entire Jagat is going on with its existence; with its being, because of dharma; because everything animate or inanimate is following its dharma.

Suppose water does not obey its dharma of flowing from a higher plane to a lower plane. On the contrary it starts flowing in reverse direction. Then what will happen? The entire world shall be deluged. It will get destroyed. Similarly, from tomorrow onwards trees decide not to give the food to us. We shall perish. In similar manner if the sun does not give us light and warmth; clouds stop raining, oxygen does not help metabolize our food, the celestial bodies like stars, planets and the moons stop moving around according to their dharma then the result is sheer catastrophe. It will bring total destruction of the universe.

There is another aspect to dharma. Dharma is not different between one dog and the other dog; between one tree and the other tree of same species. It is not different from one rose to another one; it is not different between the water in a tank and that in a river or sea. Dharma does not differ between two molecules of air or between two atoms of oxygen. So far so good. At the level of lower order of creation, dharma maintains harmony and a universal order. Everything is moving on according to this dharma, everything from sand particle to Mahatattwa, all are held by dharma.
But what about the homo-sapience, who are the highest form of creation? It appears there are completely different forms of dharma between one race and the other, between one cast and the other, and between two groups of individuals or even between two individuals. When it comes to humans, dharma takes seemingly different forms, and that is why we are seeing today a kaleidoscopic hue of dharma in form of different religions in our society. We have different religion for different communities. We have got the Hindu religion for the Hindus, Islam for the Muslims, Christianity for the Christians. Apart from these three principal communities, there are other innumerable religions such as Buddhisim, Jainisim, Zorostrianism, Bahai-ism and so on. According to their religion, humanity is divided into different communities such as The Hindus, The Christians, etc. Further, among these communities there are sub divisions according to certain peculiar aspect to their belief. So much about the lesser religions.

What about the Hindu religion? Before we further proceed in our discourse, let us first examine what do we mean by dharma? What is religion?

Religion does not mean dharma. Religion is only part of dharma. Religion means belief – belief in a super human entity in form of a personal god or gods entitled to obedience and worship. However, dharma is much wider than belief only. From the above mentioned discussion you can see that dharma for water, air, clouds etc mean their properties or characteristics. So, we can know about the dharma of an object from its property or characteristics. For example: transparency is the property or dharma of glass, hardness is the dharma of a rock, attracting the iron pieces is the dharma of a magnet. When we come to the lower order of the animate objects like birds, animals, insects, then dharma not only means their individual distinctive characteristics or traits peculiar to the species, but also the natural law that governs them. In lower order of creatures like animals and birds etc, you will notice seasonal variation of procreative activities unlike in humans. For their survival as well as for propagation of their species, they are entirely governed by the law of nature or prakriti, so that becomes their dharma.

Bur what happens in case of human beings, which is the finest of all creatures. Dharma for a particular religious community is belief in their personal god and its worship as mark of their obedience and allegiance. However, religion of one community may not be able to satisfy the needs of another community. Moreover, in case of humans merely preservation of self and propagation of their species does not satisfy the needs of a human being. So, dharma in case of humans should be something that satisfies all the needs.

Then what is dharma?? Dharma has been derived from the stem ‘Dhru’ which means to hold. “Dhriyate dharma ityahuh sa eva Paramah Prabhuh” – because it holds, it is called dharma. Whether virtue or vice, whether knowledge or ignorance, whether beautiful or ugly, in other words, whether good or bad – one that holds all is dharma. The entire three worlds of gross, subtle and causative – all these worlds are held and entrusted by the single entity called dharma. Conversely, the one that is held by all these three worlds is dharma. Why only the three worlds; even all the possibilities in these three worlds starting right from the Mahatattwa up to the tiny atom are held, protected and governed by this single entity called dharma. Dharma is the band-master in the orchestra of the creation. Its essential nature is Happiness, and that is why all the objects of the world are in constant movement with distressful longing.

There is a need of all the objects of the universe for dharma as well as for its sadhana; be it Gods, humans, worms and insects, plants or even the innert objects. Man has dharma as well as knowledge of dharma; where as the birds, animals, insects and plants etc do have dharma, but do not have the awareness of dharma. That is why they are guided by the laws of nature. Because man has the knowledge, he is the most excellent creation of all; he is far superior than all other creatures. Man is the ultimate development in the process of evolution and therefore the human body is the most suitable field for dharma sadhana, that is to say realization of dharma. Man by continuous practice through successive births, becomes highly elevated in the knowledge of dharma and advances in the path of spiritual achievement. Therefore, man, if he so desires and tries, can become successful very easily in realization of dharma. Other creatures do not have capacity to achieve this; however, they are definitely governed and preserved by dharma. In matter of realization and practice man has a free will, which the lower form of creatures lack. They are under the influence of Prakriti. It is the view of the western scientists that even a sand particle, through process of evolution, will be able to graduate to a man possessing brightness of wisdom. The dharma, that takes the sand particle along the path of evolution or the path of development through successive births till it reaches the stage of a man, is entirely the law of nature. However, man’s progress to the ultimate can be achieved by his own desire because he has the knowledge of dharma.

When man lacks the knowledge of dharma, he is as good as an animal and remains engaged in eating, sleep and co-habitation only. Hence, man without dharma-jnan is a pashu or animal. It is the sacrosanct duty of man to attain humanity discarding bestiality or animal instinct by spiritual discussion and discourse. Gaining
humanity is not the ultimate goal. From state of human we have to graduate to state of godhood and ultimately we have to strive to attain close proximity to supreme consciousness, what is called ’Brahm Sayujya’. Man has been endowed with this potency. Hence, dharma is that, by practice and study of which man attains ‘Brahm Sayujya’ discarding animal state. The very practice of it is ‘dharma sadhana’ or spiritual practice.

The dharma that is continuing since time immemorial and still present and shall remain ever again, which is eternal – called “Sanatan Dharma”. The Hindu seers and sages, by their yogic vision and transcendental meditation, have realized, perceived and discovered the ultimate truth and therefore this is also known as ‘Hindu Dharma’. This dharma is universal and satisfies the needs and aspirations of the entire mankind, the entire universe. It governs, protects and holds in its hands one and all - it is “Sanatan Dharma”. Therefore, the shruti proclaims:

“Shrunwatu Vishwe Amrutasya Putrah,
Vedahmetam Purusham Mahantam,
Aditya Varnam Tamasah Parastat.”

The Hindu seers say “Oh the people of this world, the descendants of ‘Amrit’, listen to me; I have perceived the brightly illuminating Purush (the ultimate being) who is situated beyond this darkness of ignorance. Have no fear, you will get Him; you will see Him. I shall tell you the means of getting Him.”

This is “Sanatan Dharma”.