To Marry or Not to Marry

A few people in the world have this doubt, should they get married or not. After all it is a huge commitment as you are taking the responsibility of a person.
There was a great philosopher - Socrates, and a few people went and asked him. Hey Socrates, " Should I get married?" These were the people who were not sure whether it is worth an investment.

Socrates was the correct person for the question as he had suffered a lot from his wife. She was really terrible -- a witch. She used to beat Socrates, she had also poured a kettle of tea over his face and had burned him -- half his face remained burned throughout his life. Such a beautiful man, such a beautiful person like Socrates, and he had found the most terrible woman.

So these young men asked. Socrates said," Yes, if you listen to me get married. There are 2 possibilities. 1st - if the wife is like mine, you will became a great philosopher like me. 2nd - if you get a nice wife, of course you will enjoy your life. Both the possibilities are good." As if the wife is very bad she will nag you continuously and this is a great help to meditation. By and by one starts feeling unattached. One starts feeling," This is all illusion, maya." So don't avoid complexities in life, learn, pass through them, because that is the only way to grow.

So in short what we can conclude is in life, never escape from problems. They are very helpful, as they aid your growth. And if you are going to marry/date a girl, do not get a cow. So find a real woman, who will give you all sorts of troubles...-:). It is in that situation, one's mettle is put to test....

Happy Hunting...-:)
....Anu

Nice Poem.....

Recently I came across these beautiful lines. Here it goes.....

a> Watch your Thoughts, they become words.

Watch your Words, they become actions.

Watch your Actions, they become habits.

Watch your Habits, they become character.

Watch your Character, for it becomes your Destiny.

The minute you settle for less than you deserve, you get even less than you settle for.

Life is like melted butter.. once things cool down, it can be reshaped!

Bye

..Am

Gratefulness........

Long ago there was a master and disciple who used live in the forest, 10 miles from the city. Their dwellings was a small hut right in the middle of the forest. Every morning they used to come to the city, help people, do a lot of service and at dusk leave back for jungle. This went on for a long time. One fine day when they were in the city heavy rains lashed the area, there were strong gusts of wind and the it rained cats and dogs. By the time they reached home (in the jungle) it was dark. The rain was still pouring, and when they came near the hut, most of it was destroyed by the ferocious storm.

Seeing this the disciple was furious and very angry. He started shouting at the master "You say that God is there to protect us; this is what your God is. It could not even save a small hut which was the only place for us to stay".

The master looked at the disciple; paused for a moment and smiled. He said " I am so grateful to God, that he saved half of the hut even in this fierce storm. The weather was so bad that even the whole hut could have been destroyed, but thank God you took so much care and saved half of it. We still have a shelter, in this inclement weather".

Moral of the story is - we should be grateful to all the things life has offered us. Usually we take a lot things for granted. Find every little opportunity to be grateful and you will see a tremendous transformation in the quality of your life. Usually, instead of using every opportunity to be grateful, we do the opposite and we grab every opportunity to Grumble.....-:)

Chew on this for some time....

Should you find it hard to get to sleep tonight;

Just remember the homeless family who has no bed to lie in.

*****
Should you find yourself stuck in traffic; don't despair.

There are people in this world for whom driving is an unheard of privilege.

*****
Should you have a bad day at work;

Think of the man who has been out of work for the last three months.

*****
Should you despair over a relationship gone bad;

Think of the person who has never known what it's like to love and be loved in return.

*****

Should you grieve the passing of another weekend;

Think of the woman in dire straits, working twelve hours a day, seven days a week, to feed her family.

*****

Should your car break down, leaving you miles away from assistance;

Think of the paraplegic who would love the opportunity to take that walk.

*****

Should you notice a new gray hair in the mirror;

Think of the cancer patient in chemo who wishes she had hair to examine.

*****

Should you find yourself at a loss and pondering what is life all about, asking "what is my purpose";

Be thankful. There are those who didn't live long enough to get the opportunity.

*****

Should you find yourself the victim of other people's bitterness, ignorance, smallness or insecurities;

Remember, things could be worse. You could be them!!!

*****

Should you decide to tell the above to a friend;...---:))

You might brighten someone's day!

If we see life this way I don't think there is anything to complain about...,-:)

......Am

Thanksgiving 2009

Ready to eat - A thanksgiving meal

Every year the last Thursday of November is the Thanksgiving Day. Traditionally, it is a time to give thanks for the harvest and express gratitude in general. Family feast is an important tradition during Thanksgiving. The entire family sits at the table during dinner. It is also a time for relatives living in different places to come together and celebrate. This is done by offering prayers, gifting your near and dear ones. The traditional stuffed turkey adorns every dinner table during the feast. Pumpkin pie, Cranberry sauce, Corns are some of the dishes cooked everywhere to mark the day.

Shoppers lined outside an store (time - 4 am morning)

It is also a time for people to shop, shop and shop. I know people flying all over form Europe and other countries to come and shop in U.S. Most of the things are offered at a very discounted price. The day after Thanksgiving is called BLACK FRIDAY, it is not uncommon to see shoppers lined up for hours before stores with big sales open. Once inside the stores, shoppers often rush and grab, as many stores have only a few of the big-draw items. To put things in perspective, a full Calvin Klein suit that costs around $550, can be bought in $250 etc. So in short it is a shoppers delight. Electronics and popular toys are often the most sought-after items and are sharply discounted.

So let all be grateful on this day and thank all the people who make our life beautiful. Next post will be a story on gratefulness.....

....Happy Thanksgiving
..Am

Funny Road Signs....

Later...
...Am

Few Shots from my India Trip.....

One of the best part pf the trip was, it was very efficient I did what I wanted to do and left quickly. Enjoy the pics..

..am

Soccer Game -- Misconception about Art of Living

Last week my lab group went for a game for soccer. The temperature was was around 50 Deg F (10 feg C). Initially many of us were cold but after running here and there on the filed we started feeling warm and the game picked up the pace. As usual, after the 1st 20 min I was totally into the game with full vigor and intensity.We played for about 2 hours, and it felt great. The whole idea of an outdoor sports excites me so much, I feel like a small child whenever I am on the field.Shouting, yelling, running and going nuts. And so happened this time too, when one of my tememates (who was suppose to be the goalkeeper) came to the midfield and during that time the other team scored a goal. I was RED, and shouted "What the HELL man, why are you freaking coming out into the midfield" etc etc. Then whenever I scored a goal or the team scored one I use to shout and go gaga. Eventually we won the game.

But to my surprise, someone made a very strange comment. Here is what was said " That dude Anurag, looks so calm and peaceful, but he is so intense in the filed shouting and yelling, what is all this......is this is what Art of Living is all about !!!!!

My answer was YES. Yes this is exactly what Art of Living is!!! Art of Living simply means whatever I am doing, I am totally into it. If I am angry - I am angry, if sad - sad, if happy - happy. Living life in an unfragmented manner is Art of Living, living life as intensely as intensely possible is Art of Living. I do not know why people have this wrong notion that spiritual people should not get angry or excited. Whats wrong?? Only difference between a spiritual person is - negative or positive emotion are gone once the moment is finished. The anger is there only during that moment, once the event goes then anger too is gone.



If you really want to learn the Art of Living you have to remain young, alive, available to crying, laughter, available to all dimensions, flowing all over, streaming. But remember, people will all the time misjudge you and you won't get any sympathy. People may cast aspersions at you, but that is worth it. People may think that you are a hypocrite, they may condemn you, they may call names to you, but don’t be worried about it. It doesn’t matter. The only thing that matters is your happiness.

Whenever you hold back some emotion, you feel uneasiness, unhappiness, because the energy is not flowing. The energy is not river-like; it is stuck, dead, frozen. And you would like to flow. Life is flow; death is frozenness. Of course, discipline is needed, not as control but as awareness. A controlled discipline is a deadening phenomenon. When you are alert, aware, a discipline comes easily out of that awareness – not that you force it, not that you plan it. No, moment to moment your awareness decides how to respond.

Guy on the right (Changyao) was the subject of my wrath (Must admit he was the best player in our team)

That’s all Art of Living is all about: remain happy, and don’t create any situation for anybody to be unhappy. If you can help, make others happy. If you cannot, then at least make yourself happy.

I love u all....

...Anu