"I have lots of things to teach you..

“I have lots of things to teach you now, in case we ever meet. It said that Nothing Ever Happened, so don't worry. It's all like a dream. Everything is ecstasy, inside. We just don't know it because of our thinking-minds. But in our true blissful essence of mind is known that everything is alright forever and forever and forever. Close your eyes, let your hands and nerve-ends drop, stop breathing for 3 seconds, listen to the silence inside the illusion of the world, and you will remember the lesson you forgot, which was taught in immense milky way soft cloud innumerable worlds long ago and not even at all. It is all one vast awakened thing. I call it the golden eternity. It is perfect. We were never really born, we will never really die. It has nothing to do with the imaginary idea of a personal self, other selves, many selves everywhere: Self is only an idea, a mortal idea. That which passes into everything is one thing. It's a dream already ended. There's nothing to be afraid of and nothing to be glad about. I know this from staring at mountains months on end. They never show any expression, they are like empty space. Do you think the emptiness of space will ever crumble away? Mountains will crumble, but the emptiness of space, which is the one universal essence of mind, the vast awakenerhood, empty and awake, will never crumble away because it was never born.”

- Anonymous 

The Cracked Jar

An Indian legend tells of a man who carried water to his village every day, in two large jars tied to the ends of a wooden pole, which he balanced on his back.

One of the jars was older than the other, and had some small cracks; every time the man covered the distance to his house, half of the water was lost.
The younger jar was always very proud of its performance, safe in the knowledge that it was up to the mission it had been made for, while the other jar was mortified with shame at only fulfilling half of its allotted task.
It was so ashamed that one day, while the man got ready to fetch water from the well, it decided to speak to him...
The older jar said, "I want to apologize to you, but because of the many years of service, you are only able to deliver half of my load, and quench half of the thirst which awaits you at your home."
The man smiled and said, "When we return, observe carefully the path..."
And so it did. And the jar noticed that, on its side many flowers and plants grew.
"See how nature is lovelier on your side?" commented the man. "I always knew you were cracked, and decided to make use of this fact. Hence I planted flowers and vegetables and invariably you have always watered them for me. I have picked many roses along the way to decorate my house, I have fed my children with lettuce, cabbage and onions that grew along your way. 

If you were not as you are, how could I have done that?", said the wise old man.

All of us at some point will grow old and start to acquire other qualities. We can always make the most of these new qualities and help our dear ones, all it requires is the ability to See Beyond the facts.

Short Inspirational Stories

Many years ago, there lived a man who was capable of loving and forgiving everyone he came across. Because of this, God sent an angel to talk to him. The angle said, "God asked me to come and visit you and tell you that he wishes to reward you for your goodness, You may have any gift you wish for. Would you like the gift of healing?"

"Certainly not," said the man. "I would prefer God to choose those who should be healed." 

"Then what about leading sinners back to the path of Truth?", said the angel. "That’s a job for angels like you. I don’t want to be venerated by anyone or to serve as a permanent example" replied the old man.

"Look, I can’t go back to Heaven without having given you a miracle. If you don’t choose, I’ll have to choose one for you."

The man thought for a moment and then said:
"All right, I would like good to be done through me, but without anyone noticing, not even me, in case I should commit the sin of vanity." So the angel arranged for the man’s shadow to have the power of healing, but only when the sun was shining on the man’s face. In this way, wherever he went, the sick were healed, the earth grew fertile again, and sad people rediscovered happiness.

The man traveled the Earth for many years, oblivious of the miracles he was working because when he was facing the sun, his shadow was always behind him. In this way, he was able to live and die unaware of his own holiness.

 ---

"Tree, O tree, with what should I bless you?
Should I bless you that your fruit be sweet? Your fruit is already sweet.
Should I bless you that your shade be plentiful? Your shade is plentiful. 

That a spring of water should run beneath you? A spring of water runs beneath you.
There is one thing with which I can bless you:
May it be God’s will that all the trees planted from your seed should be like you… "

---

You must try to be like a river that flows silent through the night,
not fearing the darkness and reflecting any stars high in the sky.
And if the sky is filled with clouds, the clouds are water like the river, so
without remorse reflect them too.

---

THE NATURAL ODER:

A very wealthy man asked a Zen master for a text which would always remind him how happy he was with his family.
The Zen master took some parchment and, in beautiful calligraphy, wrote:
  The father dies. The son dies. The grandson dies.

"What?!", said the furious rich man. "I asked you for something to inspire me, some teaching which might be respectfully contemplated by future generations, and you give me something as depressing and gloomy as these words?"

"You asked me for something which would remind you of the happiness of living together with your family. If your son dies first, everyone will be devastated by the pain. If your grandson dies, it would be an unbearable experience," replied the serene Zen. “However, if your family disappears in the order which I placed on the paper, this is the natural course of life. Thus, although we all endure moments of pain, the generations will continue, and your legacy will be long-lasting."

Interesting excerpts from 'Social Media Marketing - An Hour a Day' by Dave Evans

Below are points from the book that I found most remarkable, some what focus areas for traditional Marketeers and the young tech savy Agencies handling online marketing. .. 

Will keep updating the post as and when I get around to completing the book. 

• "Your customers are already talking about you. The fact that you aren’t participating is yourimplicit endorsement of whatever it is that they are saying."
• social media is driving interconnectedness to a whole new level!
• Trust is essential to any form of conversation on the Social Web.
• It is the democratization of information on the internet space; by the people, of the people and for the people
• So how do you influence a crowd? Well, given that you can’t tell “it” what tothink, going the direct control route is probably a loser. Instead, listen to it. Tap it.Learn from it. And then “do that.” One of the characteristics of social media is thatyou can listen to it, measure it, and track it over time. You can use what you learn tomodify and improve what you offer, and in so doing influence the online conversation.
• It is Participatory in nature
• Recent studieshave shown that of the estimated 3.5 billion word-of-mouth conversations that occuraround the world each day, about 2.3 billion of them — roughly two out of three —make a reference to a brand, product, or service. Word of mouth is increasingly manifestingitself through digital social media, where it spreads both farther and faster. Thisuse of the Social Web is increasingly important to marketers.
• Communities — whether formallybuilt around a specific interest or cause, or informally built through more casualconnections — sit at the center of the Social Web.
• Step back and look at most traditional forms of media: They are “push” and“tell” oriented. They place the marketer in control of the message and dictate for theconsumer a subservient role. Social media tips this balance: On the Social Web, boththe consumer and the marketer have an equal voice in terms of permission to speak.This not the same as implied trust, which is something else altogether, but it does serveto support the notion that as a marketer you need to participate in the communities ofwhich your audience is a part in order to gain trust.
• Your existing customers are — orshould be — among your strongest evangelists. After all, they are buying your productTip: The addition of consideration-phase marketing bridges a critical gap for marketers between awarenessand purchase while opening the channel for effective word-of-mouth.85■ C ons ideration and the Pur chase Funn elagain and again...they must like it! Your objective should be to get them to talk abouttheir positive experiences. This gives you the double benefit of making the currentsale — to them — and a future sale to the new customer that they create for you.
• These twodevelopments — the realization of a global network and the digitization of content —multiplied each other, driving the growth in the use of the Web as an information andfulfillment platform.

A very special Holi & Women's Day at Shepherd Old Age Home

The first time we ever visited a social home was during our college days back in 2007. That one time the same group of friends had gone to an orphanage home to celebrate Holi Festival with children from the age group of 2 yrs - 16 yrs. That year Holi was such a wonderful time, to be able to celebrate it with children who were so excited to have us over, little angels flaunting their toys and little possessions; seeking attention and love from the bunch of us who had visited them. That Holi truly made our day festive and memorable and we knew we had to do this again soon.

I admire and am proud of my group of friends; for we have have managed to tick off Some of the many items on our Friends Wish list. One of them being visiting an Old Age Home this year on Holi. Nikita & Me had planned this activity a week prior to the day; we managed to get donations from our dear friends Saroj, Gunjan, Prakshal, Sanket & Ronak and decided to visit Shepherd Old Age Home for Widows. We bought the ladies shawls, hand towels and snacks. On the day we realized the pleasant coincidence that 8th March was also Women's Day :)

Upon reaching the home, I must admit initially we were pretty lost on how to go about making the day fun and memorable for them. So we decided to play games and keep it short. During the game session it amazed us to see the elderly lot; some of whom couldn't even speak, managed to sing songs and recite prayers with such enthusiasm! They were very supportive and encouraging of our presence and eventually we were glad to know they liked the gifts we bought them. When we were leaving the administrator informed us that there was a shortage of basic medicines that they are unable to provide to the ladies with the current donations. We decided to pool together and inform our social circles  about this requirement. The plan is to either collect money or the mentioned medicines; buy the balance items and send it to the home by beginning of each month.

Your contribution either in the funds or in sending medicines will be appreciated :)
Cheers to another meaningful day and beautiful experience!

Reference :
Shepherd Windows Home
15/A, Shepherd Road, Off Clare Road, Nagpada, Near Byculla Station, Byculla (W) Mumbai- 400 008

What love has seen

You could see love but you could not see the pain with it,
You saw the smile but didn't see the efforts to put it on.
You saw the ocean but didn't know of the storms within.

The mind wanders far into the unknown,
A land-so beautiful
Shores so calm, relations so simple.
We lived in serenity, in the beauty of love's simplicity,
Where our eyes were blinded from reality and the mind is oblivious to practicality.

Then with distance, creeps in prudence
And the senses come back to life.
They ask, "Why was the love so blinding?
Why did everything come to a stand still?
How is it that we reached a fairy land and not able to differentiate reality from it?"

Much later as years passed by,
The lesser of the loves' does realize
Selfishness and materials bring a phony smile,
Prudence brings stability and security.

But there was and never will be a greater joy
than to see your beloved calm,
at ease and with a smile.
And no amount of wealth can earn the love for you,
That you once saw in His eyes.

Let it be - written by a dear friend

"A Life less lived, a prayer half said
Waiting at the end to let it begin.

They call Him God, the one they never see
They built Him palaces to be guilt free.

I spoke to Him, he is my imagination
He cried and said - let it be
People die of hunger - let it be
Children without a future - let it be

They are the one He said, they are the one
I am just a concept to keep them going.

I am just a reason to make you smile to make you cry, and for everything

I don't need palaces I don't need anything
All I ask is You .. so let it be
A place in your heart, cause I am a part of you
But they will not understand that
So let it be..."


(The writer of this poem does not wish his name to be disclosed)