4 misguided Quotes

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The Art of Misquoting Hindu Texts

Posted by HHR

We often see people casually repeating some verses from Veds and other Hindu texts. Often in Indian Cultural events abroad, it’s quite popular to repeat lines like ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ and ‘Ahinsha Parmo Dharma’, They are said as part of speech to show the inclusiveness of all culture and race, plurality and non-violent nature of India and Hinduism.

Most people just repeat these verses without understanding the meaning and the context in which they were said. These one line verses are so popular that people are not even aware that the verses they are repeating are incomplete.

Let’s try to examine misquotation and misinterpretations of these verses along with their real meaning and context.

1. Ekam Sat Vipraha Bahuda Vadanti

quote_ekam_sad_viprah_bahudha_vadantiThis verse will probably get the award for most misquoted verse in history of mankind, it is so overused and misquoted that you will find these misquotations repeated even by major gurus and Hindu websites. a simply web search will show hundreds of hits for the same.

What is being spread:

Rig Ved Book One, Hymn No. 164 Verse 46

एकं सत्य विप्रा: बहुधा वदन्ति।

“Truth is One (Same), wise describe it differently.”

Another popular translation – “God is One (Same), whom the sages call by various names.”

The full mantra reads as follows:

Indram mitram varuNam agnim ãhuh,

atho divyah sa suparNo garutmãn,

ekam sad viprãh bahudhã vadanti,

agnim yamam mãtari’švãnam ãhuh.

[Sanskrit]

इन्द्रं मित्रं वरुणमग्निमाहुरथो दिव्यः स सुपर्णो गरुत्मान्।

एकं सद्विप्राः बहुधा वदन्त्यग्निं यमं मातरिश्वानमाहुः।।

(ऋगवेद १।१६४।४६)

[English – Meaning]

They hail Him as Indra, as Mitra, as VaruNa, as Agni, also as that divine and noble-winged Garutmãn. It is of One Existence that the wise ones speak in diverse ways, whether as Agni, or as Yama, or as Mãtari’švãn. – Rigveda 1.164.46

[Hindi – Meaning]

एक ही सत्यरूप अर्थात् परमेश्वर का विद्वजन विभिन्न गुणों एवं स्वरूपोंके आधारपर विविध प्रकारसे वर्णन करते हैं । उसी को (ऐश्वर्य संपन्न होनेपर) इन्द्र, (हितकारी होनेसे) मित्र, (श्रेष्ठ होनेसे)वरुण तथा (प्रकाशक होनेसे) अग्नि कहा गया है । वही ( परमात्मा ) भली प्रकार पालन कर्ता होनेसे सुपर्ण तथा गरुतमान

How and Where this Verse is Misinterpreted

This verse is used in the following scenarios

1. To show that Hinduism is a monotheistic religion and Hindus also believes in One (numeric 1) God; And all the Hindu Gods and Goddesses are nothing but manifestation of that One God.

2. To validate other religions as simply another path to reach the divine. (all religions are same theory) Despite other religions being younger to Hinduism and not of Dharmic in nature.

3. To validate Gods of other religions as nothing but one and the same thing and manifestation of that One God (all gods are same theory)

Saying all gods (of other religions) are one and same thing, and I respect them sounds like a good idea but contradicts the very definition of monotheism as it asks for exclusivity of deity not inclusivity. What makes these ideas one sided and not mutual is that other religions may not be reciprocating in the same manner, as it goes against the basic tenets of monotheism, which is explained below.

The Correct Meaning

This verse describe that all the Hindu Gods like Indr, Agni, Varun are nothing but BrahmaN itself, showing the Oneness with BrahmaN. This verse shows the pluralist/polytheist nature of Hinduism, but ironically 1/4 part of it is used to show Hinduism as Monotheistic.

BrahmaN (not to be confused with lord Brahma or Brahmin) is the source from which the whole cosmos has originated, BrahmaN has no gender, it is both with-form (saguna brahman) and without-form (nirguna brahman), it is the building block of cosmos. Everything we see around us, every molecule is nothing but BrahmaN. Even the air you are breathing is nothing but brahmaN, even the electrons flowing in a electric wire is BrahmaN and even the computer you are reading this one. Since everything is BrahmaN, divinity exists in everything.

Some people are so stuck on what they have learned from other sources that even if you show a verse directly from Vedas, they dont believe it. They try to defend their arguments by giving reference of a guru, where the guru happens to be committing the same mistake.

It’s obvious the people are repeating only 1/4 of the verse skipping 3/4 of the verse, but why do they do it? The answers lies in multiple factors:

Firstly, there is complete ignorance of Hindu knowledge and any kinds of sprit of inquiry or knowledge seeking. People expect 2-Minute noodle wisdom and doesn’t want to read much.

Secondly, the modern day Hindus have a inferiority complex to proudly claim their Dharma as a polytheistic religion. Since there is lack of knowledge most Hindus aren’t able to clearly explain to others when faced with abuse and questions by Abrahmics, so they go into apologetic mode and choose the easy path of trying to convince the others that they are also Monotheistic religion and they also believe in One god.

Thirdly, Mistranslating BrahmaN as ‘God’. And Oneness with BrahmaN as ‘One (single entity) God’ leads to this confusion. The english language has no words to describe BrahmaN since there were no similar or equivalent concept in their culture, which lead to mistranslation of Brahman as ‘God’. So its always better to use Sanskrit names whenever possible, even when writing in english.

Fourthly, ignorance about the meaning of Monotheism. Most people would simple translate Monotheism as a belief in One-God, but it’s not true and only half part of the definition. Monotheism stands for belief in one (one as in numeric 1) god and rejection of all other gods as ‘false gods’, the rejection part is as important as the belief in one god, it asks for exclusivity of a particular deity depending upon the particular abrahmic religion.

The idea of Monotheism was coined in Iran by Zoroaster and later adopted by Abraham as a template for Judaism which started the three Monotheistic religions of the world.

The monotheistic God is a jealous insecure god, he demands complete submission from his followers, wishes that only he should be worshiped, rewards his followers a permanent place in Heaven if they worship him and condemn them to eternal Hell if his followers don’t worship him or believe in any other god.

The idea behind monotheism is that there is a all powerful sky daddy called god who created everything, so he (it ?) needs be outside of the cosmos to be able to create it. This over simplified idea sounds great for a ignorant mind 2000 year ago in the most backward part of the world, when we only take earth, sun and moon into consideration but as we explore the universe and move outside the solar system into galaxies and billions of stars, it tells us how large the whole cosmos is and how insignificant even our solar system is. So to have a God who created all this, he really needs to be all powerful, and yet he is so Powerless that he is unable to take a form and appear in front of his followers.

So, Monotheism has no place in Hinduism, when a Hindu believes in Lord Shiv, they don’t stop believing in Hanuman or Krishna or any other deity and call them false gods. For this reason only, You wont find Hanuman condemning the worship of Shiv or Kali as falsehood, asking his followers to attack Shiv or Kali temples. The Hindu pantheon and way of worship should be better called Henotheism and Monism not Monotheism.

Monotheism – Belief in one true god and rejection of others as false. ‘God’ doest have any manifestation (avatar) but sends out massagers which happens to be all males.

Henotheism – is the belief in and worship of a single god or goddess while accepting the existence of other deities.

Monism – Multiple point of view and ways of understanding as a single reality. Belief that a visible plurality masks a deeper oneness.

“This multiplicity of gods and goddesses (more correctly-Devas and Devis), is but the natural and spontaneous expression of an evolved consciousness that perceives reality through many different dimensions, whereas the creeds of the one god, one book, one path – are but imperialist ideas, or totalitarian systems, which aim to arrest freedom of thought and creative expression, by seeking to enslave the human mind in set beliefs and fixed templates, presenting thus, in evolutionary terms, a dead-end to mankind.” Source

Further Reading

The Hindu Psychology of Surrender

Brahman is not ‘God’

Hinduism, Not Simply a Monotheistic Religion

Is Hinduism a Monotheistic Religion?

2. Ahimsa Parmo Dharma

gandhi_quoteThe shlok “Ahimsa Paramo Dharma” is mentioned several times in the Mahabharata. This shlok was popularized by Gandhi, at the time of Indian independence movement.

Not many people know that Gandhi had a Jain guru and he was influenced by the teachings of Jainism. In Jainism there is absolute pacifism where even harming a insect is considered a sin. In Jainism,

Ahimsa is absolute pacifism whereas Hinduism, Ahimsa is relative non-violence, So the Hindu definition is quite balanced and practical. Hinduism doesn’t impose total non-violence unless someone is a Sadhu (Monk). With due respect to Jainism, Jain path is Sandhu Dharma, better suited for a Sandhus (monk) who have renounced the worldly life for spiritual life.

Like with other verses, people are repeating an incomplete shlok.

The full shlok reads as follows:

अहिंसा परमो धर्मः

धर्म हिंसा तथीव च

ahiṃsā paramo dharmaḥa,

dharma hiṃsā tathīva cha

Meaning:

Non-violence is the ultimate dharma.

So too is violence in service of Dharma.

– Mahabharata

It’s pretty clear what the shlok is trying to convey. In the first line, it says Ahimsa is the ultimate Dharma (here Dharma is not translated as Religion), in the second line it says so is violence done in the protection of Dharma and destruction of Adharm. So the message is clear that people or state should strive to maintain Ahimsa, but should also be open to violence for the protection or establishment of Dharma.

Ahimsa is loosely translated as non-violence or pacifism which is not an accurate translation. Ahimsa not just means violence or harm in physical sense, but also means harm through speech, writing or thoughts. Ahimsa can be translated as a path of least harm.

Now people will wonder how it can talk of non-violence and violence in the same Shlok.

Krishna_VishvarupMahabharat war can be used as a example here, the Pandavs had two options – one to fight the war or not fight the war and let Duryodhan rule.

If duryodhan’s adharmic rule is allowed to continue, it would result in sufferings of millions of people in his kingdom. But if duryodhan is defeated, it would save millions of people, so the least harmful solution here is to fight the war and end the duryodhan’s rule, saving millions of people from misery.

Same applies to the solider who kills a terrorist, who if left unchecked would end up killing more people. Preaching Ahimsa to a terrorist who is standing in front of you holding a gun would not only be suicidal but also be stupid.

So, Violence done in the protection of Dharma or to stop bigger violence from happening is also Ahimsa. Than being a mute spectator escapist who would justify their inaction by giving half baked one liners like ‘it doesn’t matter, everything is maya’.

This is why Hinduism always makes a distinction between Dharma-Adharma and Righteous violence – Non-Righteous violence. The classic mistake people do is put all forms of violence in one basket and condemn all of it as wrong, like there is a competition going on about who is morally high.

Due to over emphases on Ahimsa we have come to point where witness the pathetic state of our people who have turned cowards, always waiting for some Avatar or Political leader to rise and protect them, despite having such a large majority within India, they are always afraid to take on a fight allowing their innocent children and women to be butchered, like in case of J&K and West Bengal.

Further Reading

Importance of kshatriya-dharma

3. Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam – World is one Family

In many Indian cultural event you will see people repeating “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” quite often, sometimes it is the main theme of the event, Like we have nothing else to say, despite having the largest collection of Texts.

Simple saying ‘World is One Family’ doesn’t mean anything, it doesn’t tell if some person in the family is a good guy or a bad guy, it simply paints everyone with the same brush and says we are one family.

As per this logic even a terrorist is part of ‘one family’. Even Kauravs and Pandavs were one family, If simple saying we are one family we can avoid all conflicts then kurukshetra war could have not had happened.

Hindus often think it has been taken from the Vedas or from the Bhagavad Gītā, but it comes from a fable collection, the Hitopadeśa. And there, its meaning is not that positive.

The story goes like this –

jackal-deerLong ago, in the champakavati forest of magadh, there lived two friends – a Deer called chitrA~Nga and a Crow named subuddhi. It so happened that a Jackal named kshudra-buddhi (the proposer of vasudhaiva kuTumbakam), was passing by and his eyes caught hold of the healthy Deer as he was grazing nearby. The lust to devour him immediately arose in the Jackal’s mind, but knowing Deer to be too swift in a chase, he decided to fall back on his cunning – to win first the confidence of the Deer.

The Jackal approached the Deer and introduced himself as a lonely newcomer with friendly intentions, and proposed a friendship and brotherhood with the Deer. The naive Deer fell for the sweet words of the Jackal, and not knowing his true intentions, invited him to his own house.

crowOn their way they found Deer’s old and wise friend, Subuddhi the Crow. Seeing them passing by, the Crow asked the Deer, ‘O chitrA~Nga, who is this second fellow with you?’ ‘A Jackal, my new friend’, answered the Deer. To this, the Crow asked: ‘But, do you know him well enough? One should never extend friendship and shelter to anyone without knowing their real nature and intentions, learning the history of their ilk and giving them a test of time.’ The Deer lightly shrugged this aside, saying, ‘But this Jackal is very friendly’.

Seeing his friend in delusions, He warned the Deer against trusting the Jackal without learning more about him.

So far the Jackal had kept quiet, and it is at this juncture that he opened his argument with the famous shlok of vasudhaiva kuTumbakam, demanding the Deer to not be of a narrow mind by considering the Crow a friend and himself an alien.

The vasudhaiva-kuTumbakam discourse successfully put to rest all doubts that had arisen in the Deer’s mind, and dismissing the Crow’s wise council he went ahead in bringing the vasudhaiva-kuTumbakam preacher into his home.

As soon as the cunning Jackal found the opportunity, he pushed naive Deer into a deadly trap. However before he could kill the Deer, the Crow devised a clever trick by which not only the Deer was rescued but also the Jackal was slain.

Moral of the story: only a dishonest or unscrupulous person would assert, and a fool believe, that “the whole world is one family”.

Now, that is the context in which vasudhaiva-kuTumbakam is recorded in the hitopadesha by the great pandit of politics Narayana, and he is unambiguously clear about its application when he assigns this shlok to come from a brotherhood-preaching shrewd subversionist. It gives a clear warning against blindly welcoming any idea, individual or group without due diligence of studying their history, nature and intent. I wonder what it says about modern Hindus that they all run away with this saying and even advertise it as the essence of their worldview.

Indian politicians love to quote this line often in international speeches. This out of context quotation is so common that you will find Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam engraved on a wall at Indian parliament. Once the President of India Pranab Mukherjee said ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam is our Foreign Policy’ Such things tells a lot about how superficial the knowledge is of people who wish to complete with powers like China which has no identity crisis like India, no wonder India is perceived as a soft state. Following such out of context quotation in life or foreign policy only leads to disaster, where you think that world is one family and everyone around you is good.

4. Sarva-dharma-samabhãva

A common tenet of Hinduism is “Sarva Dharma Sambhava, which literally means that all Dharmas (truths) are equal to or harmonious with each other. In recent times this statement has been taken as meaning “all religions are the same” – that all religions are merely different paths to God or the same spiritual goal.

This section is continued at Sarva Dharma Sambhava : Unity or Confusion of Religions ?

-Rohit

References

Ahimsa Paramo Dharma

http://www.hindupedia.com/en/Ahimsa_Paramo_Dharma

https://bharatabharati.wordpress.com/2011/07/15/dharma-himsa-tathaiva-cha-swami-chinmayananda/

Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam

http://www.hinduhumanrights.info/pluralism-in-ilas-city/

Guru Purnima

GURU POURNAMI/VYASA POURNAMI.

 

India, the birth place of Hinduism is rich in spirituality, religious cultures, faiths, austerities, customs and traditions that we don’t find any where else in the world.

Matru devobhava, pitru devobhava,  Acharya Devobhava is what our Vedic texts say. Meaning that the after mother and father it’s the teacher who must be worshipped. A teacher must be respected and treated as an equivalent to God. People use the word Guru in various contexts, but actually the word “Guru” has the following meaning. In Guru Gita it is said that

“Gukaraschandhakarastu rukaarastannirodhakrut | 

Andhakaravinaasitwaat gururityabhideeyate ||”

 

“Gu” Kara means the darkness and “Ru” Kara means the remover of the darkness. On account of the power of removing darkness, the teacher is known by the significant name “Guru”. 

Ignorance is darkness, it’s the state where we do not know anything and the person who brings us out of this darkness and shows us light is the Guru. 

 

The importance of a teacher is all the more important when it comes to the spiritual path. Everyone , in the spiritual path has and needs a “Guru”. In   Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna emphasizes the importance of Guru .In the fourth chapter of Gita Lord Says

tad viddhi pranipatena

pariprasnena sevaya

upadeksyanti te jnanam

jnaninas tattva-darsinah 

meaning :

 

For knowledge we have got to go to the right person, one who has actually seen or experienced the Absolute Truth. Unless we find such a person who has actually seen the Absolute Truth or who has in his experience what is Absolute Truth, there is very little chance of our spiritual advancement. 

 

Lord Krishna himself stood as a Guru  to Arjuna and gave Bhagawad Gita to this world .Hence we say Krishnam vande Jagadgurum”. 

 

SIGNIFICANCE OF GURU/VYASA POURNAMI:-

 

Full Moon day in Aashaada masam/Karkataka Masam, known as Guru Pournima is celebrated across the country, symbolically honouring the Gurus and teachers who have taught us the Vidya.  This day is also popularly referred to as Vyaasa Poornima associated with Lord Veda Vyaasa, the Divine Literary incarnation of Lord Sri Maha Vishnu. It is believed that Sri Veda Vyasa was born on this day of Pournami in the Lunar month of Aashaada.  It is also said that it is the day on which Sri Veda Vyasa commenced his work on Brahma Sutras.  

 

 VEDA VYASA:-

 

The subtle unnoticed factor that binds the various facets of a nation is, it’s culture.It is adherence to this culture that makes life more refined and peaceful.Anyindividual working to preserve the culture of his land is indeed a hero.One such hero who made an eternal contribution to the betterment of humanity is Maharishi Veda Vyasa. Veda Vyasa was born to Rishi parashara and a fisher woman named satyavathi.

 

Vedas are divine revelations, which were offered to humanity through the Rishis of Bharat.They stand as indicators that lead mankind to their inherent divinity through the science of perfect life.Traditionally the vedas werenot written.They were passed on from generation to the nest generation by weord of mouth.As time passed on, the skills of memory declined, thus leading to distortions in the original meaning of the invaluable verses.

 

To avoid the Vedas reaching the next generation in an adulterated form it had to be complied.It was then that Veda Vyasa’s mission began.He then compiled the Vedas in the written form.He classified it as RigVeda, Yajurveda, SamaVeda, and Atharva Veda according to their message and the part of life they dealt with.

 

The divine poet casts a magic spell on us through his works that has an unparalleled imapct even today.His works include Mahabharata, Adyatma Ramayan, the 18 puranas, Brahmasutras etc., Vyasa reached all levels of people by employing different approaches.For example, Brahmasutras for deeply contemplative minds, Bhagavatam for the devotional minded and the puranas that conveyed the truths of vedanta in the form of stories. 

 

Vyasa and his works were instrumental in synchronizing the different approaches of worship, which remained scattered till then.

 

 

VEDA VYASA AND VISHNU SAHASRA NAMA STOTHRAM

Poorva Peetika of Sri Vishnu Sahasra Nama Sthothram which forms a part of the Epic Mahabharatha describes Vyasa in a befitting manner. Veda Vyasa is the presiding Rishi for Vishnu Sahasranama Sthothram. Following slokas from Sri Vishnu Sahasra Nama Sthothram tells us about Sri Veda Vyasa in a nutshell.

Vyaasam Vasishhta Naptaaram Shakteh Pautramakalmasham
Paraasharaatmajam Vande Shukataatam Taponidhim

Vyasaaya Vishnu Roopaaya Vyaasa Roopaaya Vishnave 
Namo Vai Brahma Nidhaye Vaasishtaaya Namo Namah

KrishnaDvaipayanam Vyasam sarvalokahite ratam
VedaabjaBhaskaram Vande Samadhinilayam Munim

Meaning: Salutations to that Vyasa who is free from all defects; who is a treasure of austerities, is the great-grandson of sage Vasishta, grand-son of Shakti, son of Parasara and father of Sukha. My repeated salutations are to Vyasa who is a form of Lord Vishnu and to Vishnu who is a form of Vyasa, who is a descendent of sage Vasishta, who is a treasure of Brahman. Let us worship sage (Muni) Vyasa who is Krishna Dvaipayana, who is devoted to the welfare of the world, who is like a Sun to the Vedas. 

 

VEDA VYASA AND BHAGAWADGITA.

Bhagavathgeetha the divine preaching of Lord Sri Krishna forms a part of Epic Mahabharatha composed by sage Veda Vyasa. In chapter ten of Bhagavath Geeta (Vibhuthi yoga), Lord Sri Krishna says "Of all sages, I am Vyasa” (Muneenamapyaham Vyasah).

NamosthuThe Vyasa Vishala Bhuddhe 
Pullaravindhayatha Pathra Nethra
Ena Thvayaa BharathaThailaPoornah
Prajvalitho Gnanamaya Pradeepah

This is a part of the Dhyana sloka for Bagavad Gita. This verse salutes Sri Veda Vyasa who has very wide knowledge (Vishala Buddhi) has eyes like the petals of a fully blossomed Lotus. Veda Vyasa is like a brightly glowing lamp (with Divine Wisdom) in the oil of Maha Bharatha which is called as Panchama Veda.

Vyasa is a great poet-philosopher and has become an institution representing the Hindu heritage. No scriptural study or Vedic chanting has ever begun without prostrations unto this greatest of seers. If we must attribute Hinduism to any Single individual there is none else to Whom we can most appropriately attribute its present existence aid past glories except to Veda Vyasa. 

 

Last but not least I wish to conlude this with my favourite doha of saint Kabir Das:”If my Guru and the Almighty come and stand before me , I would bow o the Guru first ,because it’s my Guru who showed me the Almighty”. On this auspicious day let us respect all our gurus who brings us out of this darkness and shows us light. 

 

-- 

Aano bhadra krtavo yantu vishwatah.(- RIG VEDA)
"Let noble thoughts come to me from all directions"

REGARDS
Miss.Shaija Vallikatri Bhaskaran

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Death the Suitcase

The Suitcase

A man died, when he realized it, he saw God coming closer with a suitcase in his hand.

- God said: Alright son its time to go.

- surprised the man responded: Now? So soon? I had a lot of plans...

- I'm sorry but its time to go.

- What do you have in that suitcase? the man asked.

- God answered: Your belongings.

- My belongings? you mean my things, my clothes, my money?

-God answered: Those things were not yours they belonged to the earth.

- Is it my memories? the man asked.

-God answered: those never belonged to you they belonged to Time

- Is it my talents?

-God answered: those were never yours they belonged to the circumstances.

- Is it my friends and family?

-God answered: I'm sorry they were never yours they belonged to the path.

- Is it my wife and son?

- God answered: They were never yours they belonged to your heart.

- Is it my body?

- God answered: that was never yours it belonged to the dust.

Is it my soul?

God answered: No that is mine.

Full of fear, the man took the suitcase from god and opened it just to find out the suitcase was empty.

- With a tear coming down his cheek the man said: I never had anything???

-God answered: that is correct, every moment you lived were only yours. Life is just a moment. a moment that belongs to you. For this reason enjoy this time while you have it. Don't let anything that you think you own stop you from doing so.

-Live Now

-Live your life

- Don't forget to be happy, that is the only thing that matters.

- Material things and everything else that you fought for stay here.

-YOU CAN'T TAKE ANYTHING

Karma or Yudhistir

*Arjuna once asked Krishna, " Lord, why do people consider Karna more generous than Yudhistara? Neither have ever refused whatever has been asked for nor whoever has asked. So why is Karna considered greater than Yudhistara?"*

*The Lord said with a smile, "Come, I'll show you why."*

*Disguised as brahmins, they first went to Yudhishtira's court and asked for sandalwood sticks to conduct 'yagna'. The king immediately sent his soldiers to all parts of his Kingdom in search of sandalwood sticks. It was monsoon, the trees were all drenched and the soldiers returned with wet sandalwood pieces. Yagna was not possible with the wet sticks.*

*Krishna and Arjuna* *proceeded to Karna's court next and asked for the same sticks. Karna thought for a while and said " as it's raining for several days now, it will be impossible to collect dry sandalwood sticks. But there is a way. Please wait for a while."*

*Saying this, Karna proceeded to chop and cut down the doors and windows of the court which were made of sandalwood and after making them into pieces, gifted the dry* *sandalwood sticks to the* *brahmins to conduct 'yagna'.*

*They accepted the offerings and went back. On their way back, Krishna asked Arjuna "do you realise the difference between the two, Arjuna? Had we asked* *Yudhishtira to give his doors and windows for us to conduct yagna, he would have given us without a second thought. But he did not think of it himself. We did not ask Karna either. Yudhishtira gave because that was his dharma. Karna gave because he loves to give. This is the difference between the two and that is why Karna is considered greater. Whatever work you do, it becomes nobler* *when you do it with love.*"

*We can work with different attitudes.* 

*1. Someone asked you to,* 

*2. or as a duty* 

*3. or as your dharma*

*4. or as Karna did, *out of love for doing the job*. 

*The last said is however, the best; whatever work you do, love it, enjoy the work.*

21 century

🔴  WELCOME TO THE 

📍 21ST CENTURY!!! 📍

*Our Phones ~   📲 Wireless

*Cooking ~           📛 Fireless

🚗 *Cars ~          🔑Keyless

🍔 Food ~           🍝 Fatless

🚇 Tyres ~          ⚪ Tubeless

*Dress ~           👗 Sleeveless

👬👬👫 Youth ~ 📝 Jobless

*Leaders ~       👎 Shameless

 Relationships 👥Meaningless

*Attitude ~       👤 Careless

💘 Feelings ~  💔 Heartless

📖 Education ~ ✖ Valueless

📲 Mobile comes

📷 Camera  gone 

📲 Mobile comes 

⏰ Wrist Watch gone 

📲 Mobile comes

🔦 Torch gone 

📲 Mobile comes 

📻 Radio gone 

📲 Mobile comes 

🔊 Mp3 player gone 

📲 Mobile comes 

📝 Letters gone 

📲 Mobile comes 

📟 Calculator gone 

📲Mobile comes 

💻 Computer gone 

📲 Mobile comes 

🙇 Peace of mind gone 

 

. ....🎩

 👂 👀  👂

  (  👃   )

   \ 👅 /      

✋   🎽 c 👍

       👖

      /  \

   👞👞

People getting mad 😔

&

Phones getting Smart 😀

Walking with the Hermit

WALKING WITH THE HERMIT

A king used to visit a hermit regularly. He learnt many things from the hermit. The king wanted to repay the hermit for all that he had gained from him. He got a beautiful palace just like his own, made for the hermit. He gave him horses, elephants, chariots, servants, maids, ornaments and jewels; all akin to his own.

One day the king and the hermit were taking a walk on the outskirts of the city. The king said, “Oh venerable one! Now what is the difference between you and me?” The hermit was quick to understand what the king was thinking. He replied, “Let’s walk a little further and I shall tell you the difference. So they walked together for some more time. The king seemed to be getting tired but the hermit was walking with vim and vigor.

The king said, “Oh revered one! It’s time to go back. Let’s turn around; it will take us at least an hour to get back to the palace.”

The hermit said, “What is the need to go back? Let’s keep walking further into the jungle, wherever night falls, we shall sleep. Wherever we are hungry, surely we’ll find something to eat. I am enjoying the walk in this beautiful jungle, aren’t you?”

The king widened his eyes and said, “Oh holy one, I have a wife and two small children. I have an empire to rule and govern. I have duties and responsibilities towards my subjects and my kinsmen. I have made no arrangements for the day’s work to be executed. You are a free man with not a care in the world. It may be inconsequential to you whether you walk ahead or turn back, but I certainly have to go back.”

The hermit smiled and said, “Oh King! That is the difference between you and me.” One may live in a jungle and his mind may still be in the palace. Or one may live in a palace and his mind may still be in the jungle.

Two people may appear to be equal on the outside. They may have similar homes, clothes, servants etc. But what is outside is not important, what counts most is what is in your mind!

(From : SUNRAYS FOR THURSDAY BY PRIYA & SANJAY TANDON)

The Fastest Runner

THE FASTEST RUNNER

A princess once declared that she would marry the person who defeated her in running a race. She was an accomplished runner and was adamant that her suitor should be a better runner than her. Many princes from near and far came to contest a race with her. One by one, she ran a race with each one of them; but each time she was the winner. She hurt the ego of many a vain and handsome prince.

As news of this peculiar condition for the hand of the princess spread, more and more princes and nobles came to try their luck. But destiny was always tilted in favour of the princess. She was getting more and more famous as the faster runner, here and yonder. But there was one drawback too and that was that she was getting older and her parents feared that she may die an old maid!

One day a handsome young boy asked for an audience with the king. He said, “Lord, I have a request to make. Please give me the finest jewels of your queen, just for a day. I shall return them to you tomorrow, in double. The king was intrigued. He asked his queen to give her best jewels to the boy. Somehow, he found a strange look of serenity on the face of the lad and his gut feeling said that the fellow was not a crook. The boy tied the jewels in a bandana and went out. A few minutes later he sought an audience with the princess. He challenged her to a race. She guffawed at the sight of his bare feet and his bandana bag. But she agreed to race with him.

As soon as they started, the lad took a giant leap forward and dropped the most beautiful pieces of jewellery from his bandana there. As he moved forward in leaps and bounds he kept dropping pieces of precious jewellery on the track. The princess saw the beautiful gold necklace; its diamonds and sapphires sparkling in the sun! She dashed forward to pick it up and ran again. A few steps ahead, she found a lovely jhumka for the ear, but it was only one, where was its pair? She ran further in search of the other one and found it further down the track. She continued to run, collecting the jewellery all along.

The young fellow meanwhile had long since reached his destination. By the time the princess reached, she was loaded with jewels, but she had lost the race!

So, as per the condition, the boy was to marry the princess! Imagine the surprise of the king, when he saw his daughter, wearing all the family jewels, standing beside the familiar face that had cast its spell on the king!

This happens in life too. If we stop at each juncture in life to gather, then our luggage increases and the race of life becomes hard to run. On the other hand if we travel light with an eye only on the goal, then we reach our destination faster. 

(From : Sunrays for Thursdays by Priya & Sanjay Tandon)