Golf Ball

When things in your life seem, almost too much to handle,
When 24 Hours in a day is not enough,
Remember the mayonnaise jar and 2 cups of coffee.

A professor stood before his philosophy class
and had some items in front of him.
When the class began, wordlessly,
He picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar
And proceeded to fill it with golf balls.

He then asked the students, if the jar was full.
They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured
them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly.
The pebbles rolled into the open Areas between the golf balls.

He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar.
Of course, the sand filled up everything else.
He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous 'yes.'

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively
filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

'Now,' said the professor, as the laughter subsided,
'I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life.
The golf balls are the important things - Family,
Children, Health, Friends, and The Lord �
Things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, Your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, house, and car.

The sand is everything else --The small stuff.

'If you put the sand into the jar first,' He continued,
there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls.
The same goes for life.

If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff,
You will never have room for the things that are important to you.

So...

Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness.
Play With your children.
Take time to get medical checkups.
Take your partner out to dinner.

There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal.

'Take care of the golf balls first --
The things that really matter.
Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.'

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented.

The professor smiled.
'I'm glad you asked'.

It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem,
there's always room for a couple of cups of coffee ot tea with a friend

Dip in the Ganges

As per the scriptures we are to take the scriptual bath before any ritual. But say we are in a flight where this may not be possible. Scripture provides for the ritual bath by invoking the manasa ganga and by mindfully bathing in it can proceed with the rituals. The ida and the pingala act as the carrier for the yamuna and the Ganga and the unseen saraswathi is in the sahasradhara. When you dip in this ganges, or you dip in the ganges of the guru or dip in the mother ganges physically.. it is upto each...But dip we must.. No use in floating on the surface.

Namasthe.



Krishnamachari Santhanam

Releasing the Cows.

One day the Buddha was sitting in the wood with thirty or forty monks. They had an excellent lunch and they were enjoying the company of each other. There was a farmer passing by and the farmer was very unhappy. He asked the Buddha and the monks whether they had seen his cows passing by. The Buddha said they had not seen any cows passing by.

The farmer said, "Monks, I'm so unhappy. I have twelve cows and I don't know why they all ran away. I have also a few acres of a sesame seed plantation and the insects have eaten up everything. I suffer so much I think I am going to kill myself.

The Buddha said, "My friend, we have not seen any cows passing by here. You might like to look for them in the other direction."

So the farmer thanked him and ran away, and the Buddha turned to his monks and said, "My dear friends, you are the happiest people in the world. You don't have any cows to lose. If you have too many cows to take care of, you will be very busy.

"That is why, in order to be happy, you have to learn the art of cow releasing. You release the cows one by one. In the beginning you thought that those cows were essential to your happiness, and you tried to get more and more cows.But now you realize that cows are not really conditions for your happiness; they constitute an obstacle for your happiness. That is why you are determined to release your cows."

Krishnamachari Santhanam

The Bodhi tree

There is so much to learn from the simple tree. That way all the trees are Bodhi trees. They give shade to one and all to the King as well to the beggar passing by. Never expects a word of gratitude. Does not discriminate as to the merit of the receiver. Is not judgmental at all. Children throw stones on the mango tree laden with fruits and in return it just sheds a few mangoes gladly in forgiveness. The woodcutter in his greed fells the sandal wood tree and it smilingly scents the axe which rings its death knell. Oh the Bodhi tree, I wish had a small pie of your forgiving nature. I wish I gave without discrimination. I wish I repay the mother earth which has given me in abundance the same way you do.



Please accept my prostrations.



Krishnamachari Santhanam.

Awareness.

Life may reveal itself to you at the foot of a living mountain, by the side of a holy river, at the piercing of the first ray of sunrise. It may choose to whisper its secret at the strangest of places and at the oddest of hours. It could happen on the potty at your most relieved moment or in the shrine of the most fabled temple sanctum.



It all depends on how aware you are at the moment. The opulent universe does not like mysteries. It reveals its core all the time in the cosmic movement of the universe and the constant hum of its hub. It is us who choose not to listen in our eternal quest of the quandary.



He speaks to us all the time in silent whispers and caresses our heart with his gentle fingers but we are so much lost in the glitter and gold we fail to feel.



He sends us his chosen so we may emulate, but we choose to emulate the tinsel town and its heroes. The Hero is one who has renounced everything, but even as kings we choose to be beggars.



The mother of the universe is eternally kind and packs milk in the bosom as we are born, the seeds are sprouting as we eat the first morsel, the fruits are ripe as we care to pluck, we in our greed pick more than what is needed and waste in our audacity of the pompous,"I".



If only we choose to listen more to the energy coursing through our veins, it will be verily the Ganges and its streams. If only we raise the energy to its summit it will be verily the Mount Kailash. If only we energize the chakras it would be microcosm of the movement of the universe. If only we manage to cognize the chith the humble idol in the temple does speak.



As we recognize the unity in diversity the disparity in a stone and a sugar candy does disappear. If only the awareness with which we gain atma vidya or the knowledge of the soul is managed to be retained constantly, nothing needs to be learnt, nothing to be practiced, nothing to be done and just BE.



Krishnamachari Santhanam.

Independant Thinking

There was a king who wanted to know if there was anybody in his kingdom who is independently acting,without the prompting of his wife. He himself was henpecked. He called the citizens and asked them to stand - who follow what wife says to the left and others to the right.

All men were in the left only one to the right. The King was very happy,When asked the man said my wife told not to stand in a place where there is crowd.

Donkey

A donkey carrying a load of holy books is a donkey nevertheless. We are all donkeys so long as we carry these holy books in our mind.