2 Things to do for 2007

Each one of us may have planned our year for job, family,
home, vacation etc. Let's spend a few minutes to improve
our own spiritual health. You may think about committing
to do the following:

1. Volunteer 1 hour a week, it will keep unhappiness away.
It is not a charity it is food for our happiness. Half of your time
must go to people other than your own group to really make sense.

2. Once a year or once a month, whatever dinner gathering you hold,
whatever party you go to - invite friends from other faiths to join
Once we know each other, a lot of things get repaired over a period
of time. If not for some one else, for our own joy.

** What does Freedom, Mukti, Nirvana, Salvation, Nijaat mean?

It simply means that we have freed ourselves from
Hate, Prejudice, Anger, Jealousy and ill-will.

Holding on to the above elements is binding, letting them go from
our hearts is freedom. Freedom is the ultimate achievement in
one's life, once you are free, you are home comfortable and
blessed with serene happiness. No more punar janama.

Being home is being with God, being with God is obedience to God
and obedience is absence of conflict. As Krishna says in Bhagvad
Gita surrender to me, Allah says submit to me and Jesus says
follow me and all other sages have said the very same beautiful thing.
Conflict is binding and takes joy out of us. When we are in tune with God
we create a balance within us and around us giving us the reward
for our effort in terms of peace, security and happiness.

Let's become the source of goodwill and cause peace.

Mike Ghouse

This is really good short story to read... do take time to read this.

A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor. Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life.

Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups - porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite - telling them to help themselves to hot coffee.

When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said: "If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for each of you to wantonly the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress.

What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the best cups and were eyeing each other's cups.

Now if life is coffee, then the jobs, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain Life, but the quality of Life doesn't change. Some times, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee in it."

So, don't let the cups drive your 2007... enjoy the coffee instead. Wishing you the best of 2007 New Year