The psychology of the buddhas does not work within the mind. It has no interest in analyzing or synthesizing. It simply helps you to get out of the mind so that you can have a look from the outside. And that very look is a transformation. The moment you can look at your mind as an object you become detached from it, you become dis-identified from it; a distance is created, and roots are cut. Why are roots cut in this way? -- because it is you who goes on feeding the mind. If you are identified you feed the mind; if you are not identified you stop feeding it. It drops dead on its own accord. There is a beautiful story. I love it very much.... One day Buddha is passing by a forest. It is a hot summer day and he is feeling very thirsty. He says to Ananda, his chief disciple, "Ananda, you go back. Just three, four miles back we passed a small stream of water. You bring a little water -- take my begging bowl. I am feeling very thirsty and tired." He had become old. Anand...

Q: Karma follows man beyond his grave. How can we prevent karma? Good and bad actions maintain duality of existence. Good actions are those that make us lighter, expand our hearts and earn us merits. Bad actions are those that come out of hatred, revenge, enmity, and anger which makes us heavier and binds us to the web of relationships by earning us demerits. Both good and bad actions keep us in the web of karma and keep bringing us back through many wombs. Dependency on the external world keeps us in the karmic web.  Ownership of actions and manipulations of mind maintains us here, birth after birth. Turning inward and steadily getting out of all dependencies of earth, and establishing oneself into oneself is the only way to break the karmic web. Reduced dependency on anything and anybody, as well as NO EXPECTATIONS over anything, will help us maintain detachment. Awareness that this body is decaying every moment and we are all walking towards our inevitable end is...

A man took his shoes in for repairs.  The shoemaker inspected the worn out shoes and said it will require 3 basting stitches, 10 Riyals each for a total of 30 Riyals. The man agreed, gave the money, and walked away hoping to soon wear his repaired shoes again. The shoemaker got busy; one stitch, second stitch, third stitch... In a closer inspection he realized that though his work was finished, should he perform yet another stitch, the life of the shoe will be greatly extended becoming sturdier and better built. On the one hand, he had agreed to the fee for services and could no longer  ask for a higher price, on the other hand he knew that a proper fix required an extra stitch. He was torn between performing or not performing the extra stitch.He was caught between the desire for personal gain and his own moral principles. This is a fork in the road where logic cannot find offense with either chosen trail.  Choosing  not to perform the fourth stitch, h...

In the country of Armenia, in 1988, Samuel and Danielle sent their young son, Armand, off to school. Samuel squatted before his son and looked him in the eye. "Have a good day at school, and remember, no matter what, I’ll always be there for you." They hugged and the boy ran off to school. Hours later, a powerful earthquake rocked the area. In the midst of the pandemonium, Samuel and Danielle tried to discover what happened to their son but they couldn’t get any information. The radio announced that there were thousands of casualties.  Samuel then grabbed his coat and headed for the schoolyard. When he reached the area, what he saw brought tears to his eyes. Armand’s school was a pile of debris. Other parents were standing around crying. Samuel found the place where Armand’s classroom used to be and began pulling a broken beam off the pile of rubble.  He then grabbed a rock and put it to the side, and then grabbed another one. One of the parents looking on asked...

"Once, Swami Vivekananda visited King of Alwar in present day Rajasthan. The king in an attempt to mock idol worship told Swami ji, "I've no faith in idol worship. How can one worship stone, wood and metal? I believe people are in illusion and just wasting time!” Swami ji smiled. He asked the king's assistant to take down the picture of the king that was hanging on the wall. Although confused, the assistant did so. Then Swami ji ordered him, "Spit on the picture!” The assistant was shocked and looked at both of them. Swami repeated again and again, becoming sterner each time. The king was growing angry and the assistant started trembling. Finally, he cried out, "How can I spit on this? This picture is of our beloved and respected king!” Swami ji then told him, "The king is sitting in front of you in person. This picture is merely a paper - it does not speak, hear, think or move. But still you did not spit because you see a shadow of your king in i...

To earn his living a Sufi fakir used to work as a ferryman on a river. One day a village pundit wanted to go across the river. The fakir offered to take him across free of charge. He used to charge one or two paisa for the journey. The pundit sat down in the boat and the fakir started rowing. They were the only people in the boat. The pundit asked him, "Can you read and write?" What else can a pundit ask? He wants to teach others whatever he knows himself. We can give to others only what we have. Pundits are obsessed with their so-called knowledge. He could not see the radiance of the fakir, he took him to be an ordinary boatman. But the fakir was an extraordinary man. The pundit did not know that the godliness about which he had been contemplating, hearing and discussing was present in this extraordinary man. It was peeping through him. If he had eyes to see he could have found in the fakir all that he had dreamed about and read about in the scriptures. Something ...

 There was a great saint, Ramdas. Thousands of years after Rama walked on the earth, Ramdas was reciting his story again -- after thousands of years. The way he used to tell the story of Rama was so enchanting, so magnetic, so charismatic, that it is said that Hanuman, the absolute devotee of Rama, who had seen everything with his own eyes, used to come to listen to Ramdas, of course, in disguise. He would sit in the crowd and listen, and he enjoyed it very much. Sometimes it happens that when you are involved in the action itself you can't see the whole thing, the perspective cannot be that big. You are involved in the thing, you are doing your thing, and there are a thousand and one things going on; you cannot be watchful of all. Now the story was finished, completed. Ramdas was telling his disciples the story of Rama, and Hanuman was very happy, utterly glad to come, to listen. Many things that he had only heard through rumors he was listening to again from an auth...

Why did Krishna not save the Pandavas when they played dice with Duryodhana & Shakuni? Wonderful explanation by Krishna himself: From his childhood, Uddhava had been with Krishna, charioting him and serving him in many ways. He never asked for any wish or boon from Sri Krishna. When Krishna was at the verge of completing His Avatar, he called Uddhava and said, "Dear Uddhava, in this avatar of mine, many people have asked and received boons from me; but you never asked me anything. Why don’t you ask something now? I will give you. Let me complete this avatar with the satisfaction of doing something good for you also". Even though Uddhava did not ask anything for himself, he had been observing Krishna from his childhood. He had always wondered about the apparent disconnect between Krishna’s teachings and actions, and wanted to understand the reasons for the same. He asked Krishna, "Lord, you taught us to live in one way, but you lived in a different...

After Kurukshetra war, Dhritrarashtra asked Krishna, “I had 100 sons. All of them were killed. Why? Krishna replied, “50 lifetimes ago, You were a hunter. While hunting, you tried to shoot a male bird. It flew away. In anger, You ruthlessly slaughtered the 100 baby birds in the nest. Father-bird had to watch in helpless agony. Because you caused that father-bird the pain of seeing the death of his 100 sons, you too had to bear the pain of your 100 sons dying." Dhritarastra said, "Ok, But why did I have to wait for fifty lifetimes?” Krishna answered, “You were accumulating ' Punya' or good deeds during the last fifty lifetimes to get 100 sons - Because having 100 sons requires a lot of Punya or good karma . Then you got the reaction for the 'Paap' (sin) that you have committed fifty lifetimes ago.” Krishna says in the Bhagavad-gita (4.17) "Gahana Karmano Gatih" The way in which action and reaction works is very complex. God knows ...

A Story – A trap of intellect on a spiritual path One man came to a master and said, “You know, guru, I have read all the books available about enlightenment, now I need only one drop and I’m enlightened. Someone told me you are a great master and you can add me that drop.“ The master said, “ I’m waiting for the same thing, that drop which will give me the same effect!“ So the person got disappointed thinking, “Stupid guru“ and he left. Then a disciple who was sitting next to the guru said,“Guru, you could actually help him. You are guiding all of us. Why are you not helping this man?“ Then guru said,“He is a confused person. He has to spend years to unlearn and empty his intellect. “ It’s like that. We eat a lot of food, at an amazing buffet we want to eat everything, then we think, my stomach is very, very heavy, what will I do now? So we have been eating emotionally. We have been acquiring knowledge emotionally. What is happening at the end of the day is you ha...

Interesting conversation between Karna & Krishna - From Mahabharat Karna: "My mother left me the moment I was born. Is it my fault I was born an illegitimate child? I did not get the education from Dhronacharya because I was considered a non-Kshatriya. Parshu-Raam taught me but then gave me the curse to forget everything since I was a Kshatriya. A cow was accidentally hit by my arrow & its owner cursed me for no fault of mine. I was disgraced in Draupadi's swayamvar. Even Kunti finally told me the truth only to save her other sons. Whatever I received was through Duryodhana's charity. So how am I wrong in taking his side?" Lord Krishna replies, "Karna, I was born in a jail. Death was waiting for me even before my birth. The night I was born I was separated from my birth parents. From childhood, you grew up hearing the noise of swords, chariots, horses, bow, and arrows. I got only cow herd's shed, dung, and multiple attem...

Once upon a time, there lived a King who, despite his luxurious lifestyle, was not happy at all. One day, the King came upon a servant who was singing happily while he worked. This fascinated the King; Why was he, the Supreme Ruler of the Land, unhappy and gloomy, while a lowly servant had so much joy? The King asked the servant, 'Why are you so happy?' The man replied, 'Your Majesty, I am nothing but a servant, but my family and I don't need too much - just a roof over our heads and warm food to fill our tummies.' The king sought the advice of his most trusted advisor. After hearing the story, the advisor said, 'Your Majesty, the servant has not yet joined "The 99 Club".' 'The 99 Club? And what is that?' the King inquired. The advisor replied, 'To truly know what The 99 Club is, just place 99 Gold coins in a bag and leave it at this servant's doorstep.' When the servant saw the bag, he let out a great shou...

I was waiting in line for a ride at the airport in Dubai. When a cab pulled up, the first thing I noticed was that the taxi was polished to a bright shine. Smartly dressed in a white shirt, black tie, and freshly pressed black slacks, the cab driver jumped out and rounded the car to open the back passenger door for me. He handed me a laminated card and said: 'I'm Abdul, your driver. While I'm loading your bags in the trunk I'd like you to read my mission statement.' Taken aback, I read the card. It said: Abdul's Mission Statement: To get my customers to their destination in the quickest, safest and cheapest way possible in a friendly environment. This blew me away. Especially when I noticed that the inside of the cab matched the outside. Spotlessly clean! As he slid behind the wheel, Abdul said, 'Would you like a cup of coffee? I have a thermos of regular and one of decaf.' I said jokingly, 'No, I'd prefer a soft drink.' Ab...

Chandano means sandalwood. It is a metaphor of tremendous significance. On the sandalwood tree live poisonous snakes attracted by its tremendously powerful perf ume. A forest of sandalwood trees is a dangerous place; on one tree you will find at least a dozen poisonous snakes. They cannot leave it, the perfume is such that they are almost hypnotised. Poisonous snakes live on the sandalwood tree, but the purity and the perfume of the sandalwood is not affected at all. Hence it became a beautiful metaphor for the man of awareness. The man of awareness becomes like a sandalwood tree. All kinds of snakes are there: anger is there. greed is there, jealousy is there and envy is there; they are all there hanging on the tree, but the man of awareness is not affected at all. His perfume remains pure, he is not poisoned by them. On the contrary, those snakes become so hypnotised by the sandalwood tree that they forget all about their poison. It is as if they are snakes no more, dangerous ...

There is a beautiful story. Gautam Buddha comes into a town. The whole town has gathered to listen to him but he goes on waiting, looking backwards at the road  — because a small girl, not more than thirteen years old, has met him on the road and told him, “Wait for me. I am going to give this food to my father at the farm, but I will be back in time. But don’t forget, wait for me. ”Finally, the elders of the town say to Gautam Buddha, “For whom are you waiting? Everybody important is present; you can start your discourse.” Buddha says, “But the person for whom I have come so far is not yet present and I have to wait.” Finally the girl arrives and she says, “I am a little late, but you kept your promise. I knew you would keep the promise, you had to keep the promise because I have been waiting for you since I became aware… maybe I was four years old when I heard your name. Just the name, and something started ringing a bell in my heart. And since then it has been ...

A beautiful story is told about a disciple of Gautam Buddha. He was a young monk, very healthy, very beautiful, very cultured. He had come – just like Gautam Buddha – from a royal family, renouncing the kingdom. In the West, just as Cleopatra is thought to be the most beautiful woman in the whole past of humanity, in the East a parallel woman to Cleopatra is Amrapali. She was a contemporary of Gautam Buddha. She was so beautiful that there were always golden chariots standing at the gate of her palace. Even great kings had to wait to meet her – and she was only a prostitute, but she could purchase kingdoms, she had become so rich. But deep down, she suffered. In that beautiful body there was also a beautiful soul which hankered for love. When a man comes to buy the body of a woman, she may pretend great love for him because he has paid for it, but deep down she hates him because he is using her as a thing, as an object –purchasable; he is not respecting her as a human being. A...

I was jogging this morning and I noticed a person about half a km ahead. I could guess he was running a little slower than me and I felt good, I said to myself I will try catch up with him. I had about a km before I needed to turn off. So I started running faster and faster. Every block, I was gaining on him just a little bit. After just a few minutes I was only about 100 feet behind him, so I really picked up the pace and pushed myself. I was determined to catch up with him. Finally, I did it! I caught up and passed him. Inwardly I felt very good. "I beat him". Of course, he didn't even know we were racing. After I passed him, I realized I had been so focused on competing against him that I had missed my turn to my house,. I had missed the focus on my inner peace, I missed to see the beauty of greenery around, and in the needless hurry stumbled and slipped twice or thrice and might have hit the footpath and broken a limb. It then dawned on me, isn't that w...

One journalist asked a warkari devotee of Vittal who goes to Pandarpur , what's your age? Warkari: 80 years Journalist: Since how long you are visiting this Pandarpur Warkari: Since 70 years. Journalist: Have you seen Vithoba once, At least once?. Warkari: no beta, not yet. Journalist: then why do you come every year, do you believe He is there? Warkari: Can I ask you a question, from where you have come Journalist: from Pune. Warkari: do people keep pet dogs in Pune, have you seen any? Journalist: ya, each house has a dog Warkari: in village also we keep dogs, that follows us to our farm to protect from thieves. At the dead of night one dog sees the thief it starts barking, by hearing this dog another starts barking, like ways all around surrounding 100s of dogs starts barking but among the hundred dogs 99 have not seen the thief but keeping the faith in this 1st dog they start barking. Likewise Tukaram ji, Sant Jnaneshwar, Namdev,they have seen the ...

There was a Jewish man named Yankel, who had a bakery, in a town, Crown Heights, Germany. He always said, "You know why I’m alive today?" He said "I was a kid, just a teenager at the time in Germany, when the Nazis were killing Jews with no mercy. We were on the train being taken to Auschwitz by Nazis. Night came and it was deathly cold in that compartment. The Germans left us on the side of the tracks overnight, sometimes for days, without any food. There were no blankets to keep us warm. Snow was falling everywhere. Cold winds were hitting our cheeks, every second. We were hundreds of people in that terribly cold night. No food. No water. No shelter. No blankets ". "The blood in our bodies started freezing. It was becoming ice. Beside me, there was a beloved elderly Jewish man from my hometown. He was shivering from head to toe, and looked terrible. So I wrapped my arms around him to warm him up. I hugged him tightly to give him some heat. I r...

One day Jalaluddin Rumi took all his students, disciples and devotees to a field. That was his way to teach them things of the beyond, through the examples of this world. He was not a theoretician, he was a very practical man. The disciples were thinking, "What could be the message, going to that faraway field... and why can't he say it here?" But when they reached the field, they understood that they were wrong and he was right. The farmer seemed to be almost an insane man. He was digging a well in the field - and he had already dug eight incomplete wells. He would go a few feet and then he would find that there was no water. Then he would start digging another well... and the same story was continued. He had destroyed the whole field and he had not yet found water. The master, Jalaluddin Rumi, told his disciples, "Can you understand something? If this man had been total and had put his whole energy into only one well he would have reached to the ...

There is an old sufi fable. In a very ancient family there was some musical organ, but people had completely forgotten how to play it. Generations came and people even forgot that it was a musical organ. It was gathering dust. It was a very big organ and it was taking up much space. One day the family decided to throw this nonsense. They said, ‘This is just a nuisance. Why should we keep it?’ They took it out; they threw it on the road. They had just reached home when a beggar started playing upon the organ. Time stopped. They simply turned. The whole traffic stopped, people came rushing from their houses; they forgot everything. For one hour the beggar was playing on it. It was so beautiful, so enchanting — they were just hypnotised. And when the music ended the family demanded their organ back. The beggar said, ‘It is not yours, because a musical instrument belongs to one who can play with it. There is no other ownership. It may have remained in your house f...

One Ekadasi day, Tukaram was performing kirtans and Shivaji was listening to it with love. In the meantime Muslim soldiers heard about the whereabouts of Shivaji and a big troop of 2000 soldiers came to arrest him. They surrounded the house in which bhajans were performed and didn't let anyone go in or come out of the house. Shivaji's informers came and whispered about the situation to him. Hearing this Shivaji was worried and one of his bodyguards asked Tukaram if they could leave now. Tukaram said tod him “no one should leave till the kirtan is over”. Hearing this Shivaji sat down and continued to listen to the abhangs. He thought to himself that none other than Vitthal can save him now and if he doesn’t, he would be fortunate to die on an ekadasi day listening to abhangs and in the company of sadhus and saints. One of the Muslim spies came into the house to check if Shivaji was there and couldn’t find him. He went back to his commander and told him that he couldn’t re...