Contact vs Connection - Swami Vivekananda

A Monk of the Ramakrishna Mission was being interviewed by a journalist from NY. The journalist started
interviewing the Monk as planned earlier.

Journalist - "Sir, in your last lecture, you told us about "Contact" and  "Connection." It's really confusing. Can you explain?"

The Monk smiled and apparently deviating from the question asked the journalist:

"Are you from New York?"

Journalist: "Yeah..."

Monk: "Who are there at home?"

The Journalist felt that the Monk was trying to avoid answering his question since this was a very personal and unwarranted question. Yet the  journalist said: "Mother had expired. Father is there. Three brothers and one sister. All married..."

The Monk, with a smile on his face, asked again: "Do you talk to your father?"

The  journalist looked visibly annoyed...

The Monk: "When did you talk to him last?"

The journalist, supressing his annoyance said: "May be a month ago."

The Monk: "Do you brothers and sisters meet often? When did you meet last as a family gathering?"

At this point, sweat appeared on the forehead of the journalist.

It seemed that the Monk was interviewing the Journalist.

With a sigh, the Journalist said: "We met last at Christmas two  years ago."

The Monk: "How many days did you all stay together?"

The Journalist (wiping the sweat on his brow) said: "Three days..."

Monk: "How much time did you spend with your Father, sitting right beside him?"

The journalist looking  perplexed and embarassed and started scribbling something on a paper...

The Monk: "Did you have breakfast, lunch or dinner together? Did you ask how he was? Did you ask how his days are passing after your mother's death?"

Drops of tears started to flow from the eyes of the journalist.

The Monk held the hand of the journalist and said: "Don't be embrassed, upset or sad. I am sorry if I have hurt you unknowingly... But this is basically the answer to your question about "Contact and Connection ." You have 'Contact' with your father but you don't have 'Connection' with him. You are not connected to him. Connection is between heart and heart...
Sitting together, sharing meals and caring for each other, touching, shaking hands, having eye contact, spending some time together... All your  brothers and sisters have 'Contact' but no  'Connection' with each other..."

The journalist wiped his eyes and said : "Thanks for teaching me a fine and unforgettable lesson."

This is the reality today.
Whether at home or in the society everybody has lots of contacts but there is no connection. Everybody is busy in his or her own world. ...

Let us not maintain just "Contacts" but let us remain "Connected."  Caring, Sharing and Spending time with all our dear ones.

                    ***

The Monk was none other than Swami Vivekananda
=============

Why do we have Brakes in a car ?

The Answer will blow your mind... 

Someone asked...
Why do we have Brakes in a car ?

Varied answers received, like,
"To stop", 
"To reduce speed",
"To avoid collision" etc., 

But the best answer was, 
To enable you to drive faster....

Give it a thought.
It's true but seldom such smart out of box thinking is done,  much less appreciated. 

For a moment assume you have No brakes in your car then how fast will you drive your car..?

It's because of brakes that we can dare to accelerate, dare to go fast and reach destinations we desire 

At various points in life, we find our Parents, Teachers, Mentors, Friends and Spouse etc. questioning our progress, direction or decision. 
Many a times We consider them as irritants or consider such inquiries as Brakes to our ongoing work. 

But, remember, it's because of such questions (read as  periodical brakes) that you have managed to reach where you are today. 
Without brakes, you could have skid, lost direction or gone a stray or even met with an unfortunate accident..!!!

Learn to appreciate the brakes in our life.
Use them wisely...
Have a great time.

Who hurts you!!

Who hurts you!!

When Abraham Lincoln became the president of America, his father was a shoemaker.  And, naturally, egoistic people were very much offended that a shoemaker’s son should become the president.   On the first day, as Abraham Lincoln entered to give his inaugural address, just in the middle, one man stood up.  He was a very rich aristocrat.  He said, “Mr. Lincoln, you should not forget that your father used to make shoes for my family.”  And the whole Senate laughed; they thought that they had made a fool of Abraham Lincoln.

But certain people are made of totally different mettle. Lincoln looked at the man directly in the eye and said, “Sir, I know that my father used to make shoes for your family, and there will be many others here because he made shoes the way nobody else can”. He was a creator. His shoes were not just shoes; he poured his whole soul into them. I want to ask you, have you any complaint? Because I know how to make shoes myself. If you have any complaint I can make you another pair of shoes. But as far as I know, nobody has ever complained about my father’s shoes. He was a genius, a great creator and I am proud of my father”.

The whole Senate was struck dumb. They could not understand what kind of man Abraham Lincoln was. He was proud because his father did his job so well, with so much enthusiasm, such a passion, and perfection.

It does not matter what you do.  What matters is how you do it – of your own accord, with your own vision, with your own love.  Then whatever you touch becomes gold.

Moral

No one can hurt you without your consent. It is not what happens to us that hurts us. It is our response that hurts us.

“Ships don’t sink because of the water around them; ships sink because of the water that gets in them. Don’t let what’s happening around you get inside you and weigh you down”

watermelon-eating contest

Worth a read: The story of watermelons by Manohar Parrikar:

"I am from the village of Parra in Goa, hence we are called Parrikars. My village is famous for its watermelons. When I was a child, the farmers would organise a watermelon-eating contest at the end of the harvest season in May.

All the kids would be invited to eat as many watermelons as they wanted. Years later, I went to IIT Mumbai to study engineering. I went back to my village after 6.5 years.

I went to the market looking for watermelons. They were all gone. The ones that were there were so small.

 I went to see the farmer who hosted the watermelon-eating contest. His son had taken over. He would host the contest but there was a difference.

When the older farmer gave us watermelons to eat he would ask us to spit out the seeds into a bowl. We were told not to bite into the seeds.

 He was collecting the seeds for his next crop. We were unpaid child labourers, actually. He kept his best watermelons for the contest and he got the best seeds which would yield even bigger watermelons the next year.

His son, when he took over, realised that the larger watermelons would fetch more money in the market so he sold the larger ones and kept the smaller ones for the contest.

The next year, the watermelons were smaller, the year later even small. In watermelons the generation is one year. In seven years, Parra's best watermelons were finished. In humans, generations change after 25 years. It will take us 200 years to figure what we were doing wrong while educating our children."

Unless we employ our best to train the next generation, this is what can happen to us. We must attract the best into teaching profession".

Great story indeed! Each one of us are responsible to offer our best culture to next generation!

The whole world is looking to India as a Spiritual Leader.

Unfortunately, hardly few are aware of the great heritage we have carried!
 
If we don't pass on right things to next generation, they will be misguided.

మీరు ఇతరులతో పంచుకోగల ఐదు నిధులను💰 కలిగివున్నారు

ఒకసారి చాలా పేదవాడు బుద్దుడి వద్దకి వచ్చాడు. అతను అడిగాడు..
'నేను ఎందుకు పేదవాడను?😟

బుద్ధుడు సమాధానం చెప్పాడు: మీరు ఎందుకు పేదవారు  అంటే మీరు  ఎటువంటి ఔదార్యము  కలిగి లేరు మరియు దాన ధర్మాలు చేయరు.😌

నేను ఇతరులకు దానం చేయడానికి నావద్ద ఏమున్నది? అని ఆ పేదవాడు అడిగాడు. 🤔


అప్పుడు బుద్ధుడు ఈ విధంగా చెప్పాడు

మీరు ఇతరులతో పంచుకోగల ఐదు నిధులను💰 కలిగివున్నారు.

 మొదట మీ ముఖం👩🏼 ఉంది. మీరు ఇతరులతో మీ  ఆనందాలను (నవ్వులను) పంచుకోవచ్చు .. ఇది ఉచితం ... ఇతరులపై అద్భుతమైన ప్రభావాన్ని చూపుతుంది ..

రెండవది మీ కళ్ళు👀 మీకు ఉన్నాయి. మీరు ప్రేమ మరియు శ్రద్ధతో  ఇతరులను చూడవచ్చు .. నిజం.. మీరు లక్షలాది మందిని ప్రభావితం చేయవచ్చు .. వాటిని మంచి అనుభూతిగా చేయండి ..

 మూడవది  మీ నోరు👄 మీకు ఉంది. ఈ నోరుతో మీరు ఇతరులకు మంచి విషయాలు చెప్పవచ్చు .. మంచి చర్చించండి .. వాటిని విలువైనదిగా భావించండి .. ఆనందం మరియు సానుకూలత వ్యాప్తి చెందుతాయి ..

 నాలుగవది మీకు గుండె ఉంది. మీ ప్రేమగల హృదయంతో❤ మీరు ఇతరుల ఆనందాన్ని కోరుకోవచ్చు .. ఇతరుల భావోద్వేగాలను అనుభూతి చెందవచ్చు.. వారి జీవితాలను తాకవచ్చు..

 మీరు కలిగి ఉన్న చివరి సంపద మీ శరీరం .. ఈ శరీరంతో మీరు ఇతరులకు అనేక మంచి పనులు చేయగలరు ..👍అవసరమైనవారికి సహాయం చేయగలరు ..

సహాయం  చెయ్యడానికి  డబ్బు అవసరం లేదు ..

ఒక చిన్న శ్రద్ధ ,సంజ్ఞలు జీవితాలను వెలిగించగలవు.
భగవంతుడు మనకిచ్చిన జీవితం..
కలకానిదీ ! విలువైనదీ ! సర్వోత్తమమైనదీ !

ప్రతిక్షణం ఆనందంగా ఉంటూ, పదిమందికి సహాయపడుతూ, జన్మను చరితార్థం చేసుకుందాం.
            లాడి కిషోర్


🌸🌸🌸🔥🔥🔥🌸🌸🌸

if you are at the right place

A mother and a baby camel were lying around, and suddenly the baby camel asked, “mother, may I ask you some questions? The mother said, “Sure! Why son, is there something bothering you? Baby said, “Why do camels have humps?” The mother said, “Well son, we are desert animals, we need the humps to store water and we are known to survive without water”.

Baby said, “Okay, then why are our legs long and our feet rounded?” The mother said, “Son, obviously they are meant for walking in the desert. You know with these legs I can move around the desert better than anyone does!” Baby said, “Okay, then why are our eyelashes long? Sometimes it bothers my sight”. Mother with pride said, “My son, those long thick eyelashes are your protective cover. They help to protect your eyes from the desert sand and wind”.

Baby after thinking said, “I see. So the hump is to store water when we are in the desert, the legs are for walking through the desert and these eyelashes protect my eyes from the desert than what in god’s name are we doing here in the Zoo!?”

Moral: Skills, knowledge, abilities and experiences are only useful if you are at the right place.

drop them while you have control over it

A wealthy man requested an old scholar to wean his son away from his bad habits.  The scholar took the youth for a stroll through a garden. Stopping suddenly he asked the boy to pull out a tiny plant growing there.

The youth held the plant between his thumb and forefinger and pulled it out. The old man then asked him to pull out a slightly bigger plant. The youth pulled hard and the plant came out, roots and all. “Now pull out that one,” said the old man pointing to a bush. The boy had to use all his strength to pull it out.

“Now take this one out,” said the old man, indicating a guava tree. The youth grasped the trunk and tried to pull it out. But it would not budge. “It’s impossible,” said the boy, panting with the effort.

“So it is with bad habits,” said the sage. “When they are young it is easy to pull them out but when they take hold they cannot be uprooted.”

The session with the old man changed the boy’s life.

Moral: Don’t wait for Bad Habits to grow in you, drop them while you have control over it else they will get control you.

Grandpa’s Table

​​🍂Grandpa’s Table

A frail old man went to live with his son, daughter-in- law, and four-year-old grandson. The old man’s hands trembled, his eyesight was blurred, and his step faltered. The family ate together at the table. But the elderly grandfather’ s shaky hands and failing sight made eating difficult. Peas rolled off his spoon onto the floor. When he grasped, the glass, milk spilled on the tablecloth.

The son and daughter-in- law became irritated with the mess. “We must do something about Grandfather, ” said the son. “I’ve had enough of his spilled milk, noisy eating, and food on the floor.” So the husband and wife set a small table in the corner. There, Grandfather ate alone while the rest of the family enjoyed dinner. Since Grandfather had broken a dish or two, his food was served in a wooden bowl. When the family glanced in Grandfather’ s direction, sometimes he had a tear in his eye as he sat alone. Still, the only words the couple had for him were sharp admonitions when he dropped a fork or spilled food. The four-year-old watched it all in silence.

One evening before supper, the father noticed his son playing with wood scraps on the floor. He asked the child sweetly, “What are you making?” Just as sweetly, the boy responded, “Oh, I am making a little bowl for you and Mama to eat your food in when I grow up.” The four-year-old smiled and went back to work. The words so struck the parents that they were speechless. Then tears started to stream down their cheeks. Though no word was spoken, both knew what must be done.

That evening the husband took Grandfather’ s hand and gently led him back to the family table. For the remainder of his days, he ate every meal with the family. And for some reason, neither husband nor wife seemed to care any longer when a fork was dropped, milk spilled, or the tablecloth soiled.

Moral: Children are remarkably perceptive. Their eyes ever observe, their ears ever listen, and their minds ever process the messages they absorb. If they see us patiently provide a happy home atmosphere for family members, they will imitate that attitude for the rest of their lives. The wise parent realizes that every day the building blocks are being laid for the child’s future. Let’s be wise builders and role models. Because Children are our future. Life is about people connecting with people, and making a positive difference. Take care of yourself and those you love, today and everyday!