There is a wonderful story about Krishna. It happened when he was sitting down to dinner one evening. His wife Rukmini had kept his dinner warm for him. He sat down, Rukmini began to fan him, and no sooner was he preparing to taste the first morsel than he suddenly stood up. Rukmini asked, ”What is the matter?” Krishna said, ”One of my devotees is in difficulty,” and then ran towards the door. But then he suddenly stopped, came back and sat down to his food once again. Rukmin i said, ”I can understand your running off to help your devotee in his difficulty; I can understand that it was absolutely essential to postpone your dinner, but I cannot understand why you turned back at the door. Why did you not go to your devotee?” Krishna explained. ”A devotee of mine was walking down the road in a certain town. His love for me is ecstasy, and although people were throwing stones at him he was laughing. Blood was pouringfrom his head and still he was laughing. Nothing existed within him e...

Four monks decided to meditate silently without speaking for two weeks. They began with enthusiasm and no one said a word the whole day. By nightfall of the first day, the candle began to flicker and then went out. The first monk blurted out, "Oh, no! The candle is out." The second monk said, "Hey! We are not supposed to speak!" The third monk said in an irritated voice, "What is this? Why did you two break the silence?" The fourth monk smiled and said, "Wow! I'm the only one who hasn't spoken." ~ Reflections: Each monk broke the silence for a different reason, each of which is a common stumbling block in our inner journey. The first monk got distracted by one aspect of his experience (the candle) and forgot what was more important - the practice of witnessing without reacting. The second monk was more worried about others following the rules than in actually practicing himself. The third monk let his anger towards the f...

Buddha left his palace, his family – his beautiful wife, his child – and when someone asked him, ”Why?” he said, ”Where there is nothing permanent, what is the use? The child will die.” And the night Buddha left, the child was born. He was just a few hours old. Buddha went into his wife’s room to have a last look. The wife’s back was towards the door. She was holding the child in her arms in sleep. Buddha wanted to say goodbye, but then he resisted. He said, ”What is the use?” A moment came in his mind when a thought flashed that ”The child is just one day old, a few hours old, and I must have a look.” But then he said, ”What is the use? Everything is changing. This day the child is born, and the next day the child will die. And one day before he was not here. Now he is here, and one day again he will not be here. So what is the use? Everything is changing.” He left – turned back and left. When someone asked, ”Why have you left all that?” he said, ”I am in search of that which nev...

Once a teacher was traveling with a few of his followers. While they were passing a lake, teacher told one of his disciples, “I am thirsty. Do get me some water from the lake.” The disciple walked up to the lake. At that moment, a bullock cart started crossing through the lake. As a result, the water became very muddy and turbid. The disciple thought, “How can I give this muddy water to teacher to drink?” So he came back and told teacher, “The water in there is very muddy. I don’t think it is fit to drink.” After about half an hour, again teacher asked the same disciple to go back to the lake. The disciple went back, and found that the water was still muddy. He returned and informed teacher about the same. After sometime, again teacher asked the same disciple to go back. This time, the disciple found the mud had settled down, and the water was clean and clear. So he collected some water in a pot and brought it to teacher. Teacher looked at the water, and then he looke...

There was a Sufi fakir by the name of Hassan. One day as they were getting in a boat his disciple said, ”That there is joy I can understand, because God is our Father, and it is but natural that He should give joy to His children; but why sorrow, why unhappiness?” Hassan gave no reply but began to row the boat with only one oar. The boat began to turn in circles. ”What are you doing?” the disciple called out. ”If you row with one oar we shall never reach the other shore. We s hall keep going round and round in this one spot. Has the other oar broken or is your arm paining? Let me row the boat!” Hassan replied, ”You seem to be a much more intelligent fellow than I thought!” If there is joy alone, the boat will go only in circles and arrive nowhere. For it to work, the opposite is also needed. A boat moves with two oars, a man walks with two feet, and two hands are needed to work. In life you need night and day, joy and sorrow, birth and death; or else the boat keeps going roun...

Shvetketu, a young man, came back from the university full of knowledge. He was a brilliant student, he had topped the university with all the medals and all the degrees that were possible, available. He came back home with great pride. His old father, Uddalak, looked at him and asked him a single question. He said to him, "You have  come full of knowledge, but do you know the knower? You have accumulated much information, your consciousness is full of borrowed wisdom -- but what is this consciousness? Do you know who you are?" Shvetketu said, "But this question was never raised in the university. I have learned the Vedas, I have learned language, philosophy, poetry, literature, history, geography. I have learned all that was available in the university, but this was not a subject at all. You are asking a very strange question; nobody ever asked me in the university. It was not on the syllabus, it  was not in my course."  Uddalak said, "You do one thi...

In the Year 1861, Lahiri Mahasaya was working as an accountant in Govt. Railway Engineering Dept. He was 33 years old and married. He was transferred to Ranikhet in the Himalayas, It was a difficult journey of 30 days on horses and buggy (there were no rails or roads). There was no immediate duty to look after in the office, Lahiri Mahasaya being a spritual man set out to look for the saints he had heard rumours about. He climbed up the "Drongiri Mountain", it was already getting dark around when he heard a voice calling him. Lahiri Mahasaya walked around and found places with Caves, There was a young sadhu standing at the mouth of the cave, smiling at the visitor. The youth looked 25 year old, Lahiri Mahasaya was astonished by the resemblence the young sadhu bore with himself. Here is the account of Lahiri Mahasaya's meeting with Mahavatar babaji as told by him to his disciples. "Lahiri You have come." said the young Sadhu affectionately, "Come and res...