Breath Day Greetings!

Light up candles on birthday my dear,
to kindle many lights in every heart
don’t blow them off in a single breath!
and invite just sheer darkness!
Cut that delicious cake with care
for others with whom you lovingly share
Joyfully release colorful balloons away
they are surely your thoughts that sway
not letting go, you’re controlled and caught
release, liberate and be light-hearted
Receive your gifts as gesture of love
letting others to be part of your life
in receiving be ever thankful and simple
in giving be ever grateful and humble

Every breath is a birthday of life
what goes out never comes back
what comes in never stays back
count not the years of your life
count life you put in every stride
it is He who brought you on earth,
remember Him in every breath, every breath…

====================Quote
Strange is our situation here on Earth. Each of us comes for a short visit, not knowing why, yet sometimes seeming to divine a purpose…There is one thing we do know: that man is here for the sake of other men. – Albert Einstein
=================Humor
Death came to a guy and said “my friend, today is your day” and the guy said, “but I am not ready”
“Well, you are next on my list.”
“Ok, why don't you take a seat and I will get you something to eat before we go!”
“Alright”
The guy gave death some food with sleeping pills in it. Death finished eating and fell asleep and the guy removed his name from top of the list to the bottom of the list.

When death woke up he said,
“I will start from the bottom of the list cause you have been so nice to me!!!!!”
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What's in a Name?

When you wake up from sleep
you call  yourself with name?
can you ever be away from yourself?
then why do you need a name?
Name is reference to a form –
to differentiate one from another,
it also distances away from each other…
It is for the world and ego, my dear
that lives on in differences and distances…

Animals don’t have names
nor the birds and trees…
Violent religious wars are
for the holy names and forms…
Oh, the dull-witted ones
never looked at themselves
well enough to know
when they were born,
they had forms without names!

The Real One within you is same, 
dwelling within as infinite bliss
call Him by any name…
When you call Him ‘Rama’
He lived up to His name…
for He has proved it true
for us to know, for us to grow!
Awake and Arise…live up to your name
for, then it is worth to have a name

===========================Quote
What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet. - William Shakespeare
===========================Humor
A concerned husband went to a doctor to talk about his wife. "Doctor, I think my wife is deaf because she never hears me the first time and always asks me to repeat things."
"Well," the doctor replied, "go home and tonight stand about 15 feet from her and say something to her. If she doesn't reply move about 5 feet closer and say it again. Keep doing this so that we'll get an idea about the severity of her deafness."
Sure enough, the husband goes home and does exactly as instructed. He starts off about 15 feet from his wife in the kitchen as she is chopping some vegetables and says, "Honey, what's for dinner?" He hears no response. He moves about 5 feet closer and asks again. No reply. He moves 5 feet closer. Still no reply. He gets fed up and moves right behind her, about an inch away, and asks again, "Honey, what's for dinner?"
She replies, "For the fourth time, vegetable stew!"
================================================

Destiny or Destination?

My destiny is not
my destination
nor can my destination be
just a destiny!

My body is not alive
without me
my nose does not breath
without me...
nor the mind can think
not mouth can utter
next syllable...
they are my destiny
not destination!

I AM the destination
I can reach That
when I use my destiny for it...
this is true self-effort - purushartha!
Only the awakened purusha
knows its real artha!
=================================Quote
Everyone is aware of the experiences; no one sees the Experiencer - Brihadaranyaka Upanishad
=================================Humor
At the end of the day, a policeman parked his van in front of the station. As he was gathering his equipment, his dog started barking. The policeman looked up to see a puzzled looking little boy. "Is that a dog you have back there?"
"Yes, it is," said the policeman.
"What did he do?"
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Mind Mirror

Mind is a glass mirror
standing in front you see
yourself and the world around
while seeing a flower you only see
surface of the mirror in which
flower is reflected...
so is in the mirror of mind
lie all that you perceive
through the senses...
mirror reflects because
it is coated with silver - rasa!
Should there be no rasa,
mirror will become a glass...
then you see no more yourself or the world...
you see what is beyond through it
So is with the mind...
when rasa, the lingering taste of
worldliness is no more..
end all perceptions and
the transparent mind becomes
the window to see what lies behind and beyond...

Meditation is when
the mind mirror becomes
glass window of the Self!
================================Quote
The beginning of love is to let those we love be perfectly themselves, and not to twist them to fit our own image. Otherwise we love only the reflection of ourselves we find in them - Thomas Merton
================================Humor
This little girl comes home from her first day at Kindergarten school. And she goes to daddy and says "I am never going to school again."
"Why??"
"Because my teacher said, 5+5=10; 6+4=10;7+3=10;8+2=10; and that 9+1=10!"
"And your point is???"
"SO SHE NEEDS TO MAKE UP HER MIND!!!"
================================================

Matter of Awareness

I see the sun's brilliant rays
entering through a tiny little hole,
falling over the soft and smooth
petals of a beautiful flower...
of brilliant colors and vivid shades...
of healthy leaves - lavish green and pretty...
am I seeing the flower or reflected light?
are the colors real or shades of light?
can my eyes see objects ever?
or capture merely the reflected lights?

Is it not same with Awareness?
Is IT ever conditioned by matter
that I ever experience IT through?
or is IT just conditioned AS matter
that It subtly expresses through?
and when there is nothing really matters
to that Awareness, is it conditioned ever?
who can cover IT, when you are ITS lover?
Think about it over and over...
if you do, IT is dear and near...
here, there, everywhere!!

==================Quote
There is no TIME when there is no I and ME!

==================Humor
Early morning a travel agent gets a call: 'How much time it takes to fly from Detroit to LA?'
Wishing to give exact details by checking the web, she replied: 'Just a minute'
The caller responded: 'Thanks' and hung up!
===============================================

Karma

Karma is impotent without the presence of relevant guna, mood of the mind. A violent past will have not effect unless there is the presence of egoistically active mood (Rajas), so also a virtuous past without intelligently calm mood (Sattva) and passionate urge without secretly sensuous mood (Tamas).

Another factor that can activate karma is the influence of vishaya, contact with matter. While one would like to let go of a passionate past by maintaining sattva mood, he can be smothered by sight of a sensuous object or watching a passionate movie which may influence both guna and karma

No one can rectify the past karma nor can deny contact with matter. The options we have are: slow and steady cultivation of right values and cautious contact with matter.

Values such as humility, non-violence, forgiveness, compassion are the conscious choices we can make to weaken the effects of karma!
=======================================Quote
There are the waves and there is the wind, seen and unseen forces. Everyone has these same elements in their lives, the seen and unseen, karma and freewill - Kuan Yin
=======================================Humor
At the Saturday night tent revival, the preacher announced: "Anyone with 'needs' to be prayed over, come forward to the front at the altar."
Leroy got in line, and when it was his turn, the preacher asked: "Leroy, what do you want me to pray about for you?"
'Preacher, I need you to pray for help with my hearing."
The preacher placed one finger in Leroy's ear and placed the other hand on top of Leroy's head and prayed and prayed and prayed. He prayed a blue streak for Leroy.

After a few minutes, the preacher removed his hands, stood back and asked: "Leroy, how is your hearing now?"
Leroy said: 'I don't know, Reverend, it's on next Wednesday!"
===================================================

Ocean Waves

Ocean as waters gathering momentum by
wild winds rising up to reign
as waves of diverse forms
origin is just some indistinct stir
within or without, emerging as destructive forces
shattering all that come on their way
only to subside on the dry, vast shores...
so is Awareness as thoughts gathering momentum by
impressions galore, rising up as diverse moods...
Waves big and small never lay beyond
wide shores of the Sea
so are thoughts by the boundaries of the Self

Are you the Ocean or the waves?
Waves if you are, wild momentum won't stop
until you reach the calms shores on death...
Ocean if you are, allow the waves to
dance on and about you, unperturbed by them
peace will prevail forever in your subtle depth...
==================================Quote
The Ocean is made up of tiny drops of water. Even so, life is but endless series of little details, actions, speeches, and thoughts. And the consequences whether good or bad of even the least of them are far reaching - Swami Sivananda
==================================Humor
The bidding was proceeding furiously and strong when the Chief Auctioneer suddenly announced:
"A gentleman in this room has lost a wallet containing ten thousand dollars. If returned, he will pay a reward of two thousand dollars."
There was a moment's silence in the auction house and from the back of the room came a cry:
"Two thousand five hundred!"
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