Know the Price.

Life is like a big department store, there's no point being in it, if you're not there to buy. 

Where  not here to window shop. 

Know the price - Karma. 

Know if you can afford it - Discrimination. 

Discern wether you really need it- intellect   

or you just want it - Desire.

Be It

Love - you don't have to get it to give it. You just have to be it!

The Power to Destroy.

On a cold, grey Winters day in New York, two complete strangers ended up at the top of a tall grey stone building, at the same time. 

    They both had come to end their lives and both stood on the edge of the building and prepared to jump. 

     Someone on the busy streets below spotted the jumpers and an ugly crowd gathered. 

     They shouted and jeered and screamed at the two jumpers on the roof to hurry up and jump. 

      One of the jumpers on hearing the taunts, lost what little will he had to live and leapt from the building. 

      The other man stepped back from the edge of the building and was grabbed by the fire and rescue guys. 

      One of the rescuers asked the man why he changed his mind, even though the crowd below were encouraging him to do it. The crying man read the rescuers lips and answered, "I wanted to jump but when I saw all the people below yelling and screaming, I'm deaf but I was moved that they were
moved, by my actions."

       The message behind this story is, that our words have the power to save lives but they also have the power to destroy them. Be careful which ones you choose. 

        Once the stone is thrown into the pond, the ripples can't be stopped. Catch the negative thought before you  act on it, before you cast the stone.  

        This parable is inspired by my Gurus teachings. Sai Saileshwara. 

The Two Sons.

   There was once a very wealthy and very honest merchant. He had two sons who were identical twins.

   As the father grew older, he worried about who, he would leave the family business to. 

   One son was overly ambitious and would use anybody, to make a deal and win the sale. 

   The father knew of the sons unscrupulous behavior but a part of him couldn't help being impressed by the boys ingenuity and results.

    The other boy couldn't even hurt a fly and was often mocked for his gullibility and naivety. 

    The father worried about the second boys business acumen and lack of a killer instinct but he also worried about the first boys ethics.  

    So the Father set them a test, he said to them both. "I have a new product that I want you to test in the marketplace. You have a week to trial it, whoever sells all of the product first, inherits the business. But you can't trap anybody by unscrupulous means, into buying. And you cant play with their emotions to boost your sales." 

     The first brother was at a loss as to what to do, for he only knew how to manipulate, bully and deceive people into buying. 

    The second boys face lit up. He took the new product to his local villages market and put up a sign. It read, If you purchase this product and after one week you aren't happy, I will buy it back, for twice the price!!!

      People were incredulous and challenged him. He simply replied, "I know nothing about the product but I know with full faith, that my father wouldn't sell anything, that is useless."

    He had followed his father's instructions to the letter. Firstly, he hadn't  trapped the customer, he had offered the customer a way out if they weren't happy. 

     Secondly, he hadn't played with their emotions or trapped, them by coercive or deceptive means. He simply told them the truth, which they already knew. And he  gave them the freedom to choose, not caring if they bought or not. His only sales pitch, was claiming his father's good name, which none could argue. 

     'You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink,' but you can make it thirsty. The buy back offer made them thirsty, because it showed integrity. 

    He sold all of the product on the first day, had no returns and eventually inherited the business from his father. 

    This is a parable I have written to interpret my Guru's teachings into story form. 

     "Don’t trap any body. Don’t play games with someone’s emotions, free them. You'll be free as well." Sai Saileshwara 

Outcomes.

When we have one eye 

on the outcome

and one eye on the task at hand. 

It will take twice as long,

to reach the goal.

For our concentration,

has been halved. 

Rotten Fruit.

In a box of fruit if there's a rotten one, it will usually be in the centre. Same way with us. Our bad habits are hidden deep within. We have to go deep within, with awareness and root them out, before they send the whole box rotten and unusable. 🍎🍏🍊🍋

Giving

If you need my love,

I'll never forsake you. 

If you want my love,

it's always there for the taking.

If you feel my love, 

there's no need to return it,

just share it, don't hoard it,

and never ignore it.

Love

     Love isn't an emotion

     it's a way of living. 

Free

When I think it's about me, 

no longer am I free. 

When I remember that I'm here,

to do His work,

then again I am free. 

Love is a Power!

Love is a power 

and it lives within you. 

It has the strength to pull tides

and it pulls God to you. 

With God by your side 

and your focus within. 

Nothing can harm you,

for you see all, as your kin. 

The Same Source.

What's the relationship

between an echo, 

a reflection 

and a shadow?

They're all reminders, 

that we're all vibrations, 

of the same energy, 

that's emanating,

from the same source. 

A Life We Care For.

The distance between,

our possibilities 

and our reality is covered,

when we are committed,

to creating a life we care for!!!!

Follow Through

My new mantra for this year 

and pretty much forever is,

'follow through.' 

Knowledge isn't worth a cent, 

if you don't give life 100%.

Cafe Paradiso-chapter 1 Gowri Residence

Cafe Paradiso - Chapter 1.

   The taxi pulled into the courtyard of the hotel and he smiled as he looked around at the beat up, old colonial residence. Gowri Residence (gowri is slang for white person) had been converted into a homestay, half a century ago. The gardens were a lush, mossy, green from the current monsoon season. Banyan trees and fig trees twisted this way and that, shading the bungalows, from the blazing heat. 

    His Dad came here almost 20 years ago and he'd grown up with the stories. He'd hoped to come here with him one day, the old man had promised, but now he was gone. All too suddenly he had gone. 

    About a year after Dane's father had passed away he decided to make the trip on his own. And after a lot of planning and saving, he was here. He'd flown in the day before to Cochin and got a taxi to Allepey. He arrived just as the sun was slipping slowly into the Arabian Sea. 

     He checked into Gowri Residence  unpacked his deeply creased clothes. The place was dank and dusty and as he lay half naked beneath the whirring fan and dusty mosquito net, he felt a little trepidation. But he pushed it aside and fell into a deep and restlful sleep. 

     When he woke in the morning, he was excited. He was totally alone, in a town he'd never been to, let alone country he'd only heard stories about, so many stories. When he woke this morning he felt so close to the old man. He hadn't felt this close to his father, since his sudden passing away early last year. 

     He jumped into a cold shower, did some yoga, then meditated. This has been a ritual since his teens. Something he'd shared with his Dad, like being a vegetarian. Which he'd been since he was 9. 

       He got changed and made his way down to the dining room who he'd wound its way around the reception desk. The dining room stepped down to the courtyard where he'd pulled up to last night. In the centre of the courtyard was a huge Banyan Tree that arched over the residence, and across the bustling main road, out front. 

      Under the Banyan Tree hung a swing which two children were taking it in turns to push each other on. Squealing and giggling, they urged each other to push harder and higher and fought over whose turn it was.  

      As he sat waiting for his breakfast and sipping on strong instant coffee, served in a chipped and tannin stained tea cup, he wrote in his diary. A smile spread across his face for no reason and became a grin. He sat there looking like a crazy person. The dusty bric a brac around him, couldn't vie for his attention. He was lost in a mish mash of memories and stories, that were now entwined with the reality of his surroundings. 

      He didn't quite know what to make of it all, but he was happy and swept up  in his imaginings.   He was lost to his day dreams of where destiny might take him. 

Time

Time wasted, 

is life wasted. 

Don't waste time!

Needs

Needs sustain 

and feed. 

Our greediness,

only grow weeds. 

In the garden,

of our good character. 

We need to grow,

what feeds. 

Who

When we focus on who 

and less on how, why, where, 

when and what. 

We'll be able to be,

more compassionate 

and less judgmental. 

Sai Saileshwara

You fly high above the mountains, 

on a mission from Ram himself.  

You are the dispeller of our darkness,
you herald our cries for help.

Your hair is long and curly,

your skin, a golden brown. 

Your dress is always splendid 

and your sweetness has no bounds. 

You're both valiant and you're brave

and you've helped us find our way. 

Your both valiant and your brave 

and it's our souls, 

you've come to save. 

Your heart is filled with Rama,

our Sita and Lakshmana. 

Your heart is devoid of Karma 

and your mind, 

isn't ruined by drama. 

In many years to come, 

many, will sing your glories. 

So how can this mere poet, 

put a shine, 

on your mesmerising stories. 

Your life is our very breath 

and our oxygen,

till our death. 

Your devotion 

is beyond birth 
and death. 

I pray I die, 
with your name, 

on my breath.