Yeshivah Student

It seems this young (but not too bright) boy comes home from his first day at the Yeshivah (Hebrew School), and his father asks him what he learned. “We learned to say Kaddish, papa.”

Well, the father is none too happy to hear this, so he runs down to the synagogue and confronts the Rabbi. “Rabbi,” he says. “What is this about you teaching my son to say Kaddish? After all, he shouldn’t know about this at so young an age, and besides, I’m a young man myself, in excellent health, and I expect to live a long time yet!”

The Rabbi answered, “First of all, it’s not Kaddish, it’s KIDDUSH! and secondly, you should only live so long ’till he learns it!”

By: Jagadeesh, for http://www.19.5degs.com

The Story of Rose

The first day of school our professor introduced himself and challenged us to get to know someone we didn’t already know.

I stood up to look around when a gentle hand touched my shoulder. I turned around to find a wrinkled, little old lady beaming up at me with a smile that lit up her entire being.

She said, “Hi handsome. My name is Rose. I’m 87 years old. Can I give you a hug?”

I laughed and enthusiastically responded, “Of course you may!” and she gave me a giant squeeze.

“Why are you in college at such a young, innocent age?” I asked.

She jokingly replied, “I’m here to meet a rich husband, get married, have a couple of children, and then retire and travel.”

“No seriously,” I asked. I was curious what may have motivated her to be taking on this challenge at her age.

“I always dreamed of having a college education and now I’m getting one!” she told me.

After class we walked to the student union building and shared a chocolate milkshake. We became instant friends.

Every day for the next three months we would leave class together and talk non-stop. I was always mesmerized listening to this “time machine” as she shared her wisdom and experience with me.

Over the course of the year, Rose became a campus icon and she easily made friends wherever she went. She loved to dress up and she revelled in the attention bestowed upon her from the other students. She was living it up.

At the end of the semester we invited Rose to speak at our football banquet. I’ll never forget what she taught us. She was introduced and stepped up to the podium.

As she began to deliver her prepared speech, she dropped her three by five cards on the floor. Frustrated and a little embarrassed she leaned into the microphone and simply said, “I’m sorry I’m so jittery. I gave up beer for Lent and this whiskey is killing me! I’ll never get my speech back in order so let me just tell you what I know.”

As we laughed she cleared her throat and began: “We do not stop playing because we are old; we grow old because we stop playing. There are only four secrets to staying young, being happy and achieving success.”

(1) You have to laugh and find humour every day.
(2) You’ve got to have a dream. When you lose your dreams, you die. We have so many people walking around who are dead and don’t even know it!
(3) There is a huge difference between growing older and growing up. If you are nineteen years old and lie in bed for one full year and don’t do one productive thing, you will turn twenty years old. If I am eighty-seven years old and stay in bed for a year and never do anything I will turn eighty-eight. Anybody can grow older. That doesn’t take any talent or ability. The idea is to grow up by always finding the opportunity in change.
(4) Have no regrets. The elderly usually don’t have regrets for what we did, but rather for things we did not do. The only people who fear death are those with regrets.

She concluded her speech by courageously singing “The Rose.” She challenged each of us to study the lyrics and live them out in our daily lives.

At the years end Rose finished the college degree she had begun all those years ago. One week after graduation Rose died peacefully in her sleep. Over two thousand college students attended her funeral in tribute to the wonderful woman who taught by example that it’s never too late to be all you can possibly be…..YOU!!

Moral:
Growing older is mandatory, growing up is optional.
We make a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give.
God promises a safe landing, not a calm passage.
If God brings you to it … he will bring you through it. It’s better to try and fail, than fail to try.

Source: http://hinduism.co.za
Visit www.etirth.com for more religious information.

The Four Oxen and the Lion

A Lion used to prowl about a field in which Four Oxen used to dwell.

Many a time he tried to attack them; but whenever he came near they turned their tails to one another, so that whichever way he approached them he was met by the horns of one of them.

At last, however, they fell a-quarrelling among themselves, and each
went off to pasture alone in a separate corner of the field.

Then the Lion attacked them one by one and soon made an end of all four.

Moral:
United we stand, divided we fall.

The Fisherman and the Little Fish

A Fisherman who lived on the produce of his nets, one day caught a single small Fish as the result of his day’s labor.

The Fish, panting convulsively, thus entreated for his life: “O Sir, what good can I be to you, and how little am I worth? I am not yet come to my full size. Pray spare my life, and put me back into the sea. I shall soon become a large fish fit for the tables of the rich, and then you can catch me again, and make a handsome profit of me.”

The Fisherman replied, “I should indeed be a very simple fellow if, for the chance of a greater uncertain profit, I were to forego my present certain gain.”

Moral:
Do not under judge your success, by size.

Live for Others

Ask nothing, want nothing in return. Give what you have to give, it will come back to you – but do not think of that now. It will come back multiplied – a thousandfold – but the attention must not be on that. You have the power to give. Give, and there it ends.

There is no higher virtue than charity. The lowest man is he whose hand draws in receiving, and he is the highest man whose hand goes out in giving. The hand was made to give always. Give the last bit of bread you have, even if you are starving. You will be perfect, you will become God.

This life is short, the vanities of the world are transient, but they alone live who live for others, the rest are more dead than alive.

Do not stand on a high pedestal and take five cents in your hand and say, ” Here, my poor man,” but be grateful that the poor man is there so that by making a gift to him, you are able to help yourself. It is not the receiver that is blessed, but it is the giver.

We have to bear in mind that we are all debtors to the world and the world does not owe us anything. It is a great privilege for all of us to be allowed to do anything for the world. In helping the world we really help ourselves.

In the world take always the position of the giver. Give everything and look for no return. Give love, give help, give service, give any little thing you can, but keep out barter. Make no conditions and none will be imposed. Let us give out of our own bounty, just as God gives to us.

Posted by Vikas Goyal for topmoralstories.blogspot.com

Problems in Spiritual Evolution

Many people around the Universe worship many kinds of deities; saints and angels in Christianity; devas and Trimurti -Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva- in India; great Muslim leaders in Islam; Bodhisattvas and a great array of deities in Tibetan Budism.

This is a great problem in most religions. We begin praying to the Supreme and then we find ourselves praying to lower spiritual entities, that in some cases, we find more accessible towards our demands, giving us material gains and other things that we want, but that might perilously obstruct our spiritual evolution.

By worshipping these deities, we create a spiritual connection with them, so we merge into their energy, and the stains that their souls have, because of past wrongful actions, contaminate our souls creating in us tremendous problems that will be present in this life, or in future incarnations, such as sicknesses, sorrows, sufferings, calamities, physical deformities, mental retardation, etc.

Another problem is that material gains and fortunes are prayed for and accrued by the devotees, then the deities, take away in turn, from the devotees, punya -merit or light within the soul- and baghyam -good luck stored within the soul acquired by performing good deeds- causing further lowering of their soul.

The deities, saints, angels, etc. have not attained spiritual liberation. Patanjali Maharshi, compiler of “Patanjali Yoga Sutra,” famous book on yoga, had gone on record saying that “the yogi -person who practices yoga in order to evolve spiritually- must be very careful about deities -devas. They are more jealous of the human beings than a fellow human being can ever be.” They always prevent the spiritual progress of a yogi. Hence a yogi should be very much cautious of them lest they deceive him/her, so that he/she cannot elevate himself/herself spiritually and become a rival to them. It is understandable that the worshippers of these devious deities can never attain spiritual perfection, because a deity can only give to his/her worshipper what he/she has attained for himself/herself in the spiritual path.

India’s Puranas, epics and Vedas -India’s sacred books of knowledge- prescribe a laborious method of long term practice for the attainment of spiritual realization.

The present age, which we live in, is Kali Yuga -era of great spiritual upliftment where we can evolve at a much faster rate than in previous eras. Hence it is the age of Gurumargam or the path of Guru. Though Gurumargam has been in vogue in all ages, it is only in Kali Yuga -actual era-, Guru illuminates in fullness and the Supreme is worshipped and attained through Guru. Through a fully realized Guru, people will be able to attain spiritual liberation. This Great Soul is the only one capable of dispelling ignorance in people, helping them to live and act righteously and thus enhancing their growth materially, emotionally, mentally and spiritually.

Source: www.santhigiri.com.
Visit www.eTirth.com for Gurus information.