Posts filed under 'Inspirational stories'
There once was a little boy who wanted to meet God. He knew it was a long trip to where God lived, so he packed his suitcase with cupcakes and several cans of soft drink and started on his journey.
When he had gone about three blocks, he saw an elderly woman. She was sitting on a park bench watching the pigeons. The boy sat down next to her and opened his suitcase. He was about to take a drink from his soft drink when he noticed the lady looked hungry so he offered her a cupcake. She gratefully accepted and smiled at him. Her smile was so wonderful that he wanted to see it again, so he offered a soft drink as well. Once again she smiled at him. The boy was delighted!
They sat there all afternoon eating and smiling without saying a word. As it began to grow dark, the boy realized how tired he was and wanted to go home. He got up to leave but before he had gone no more than a few steps, he turned around and ran back to the old woman, giving her a big hug. She gave him her biggest smile ever.
When the boy arrived home his mother was surprised by the look of joy on his face. She asked, “What has made you so happy today?” He replied, “I had lunch with God.” Before his mother could respond, he added, “You know what? She’s got the most beautiful smile in the whole world!”
Meanwhile, the old woman, also radiant with joy, returned to her home. Her son was stunned by the look of peace on her face. He asked, “Mother, what has made you so happy today?” She replied, “I ate cupcakes in the park with God.” And before her son could reply, she added, “You know, he is much younger than I expected”.
Too often we under-estimate the power of a touch, smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring – all of which have the potential to turn life around. People come into our lives for a reason, a season, or a lifetime.
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January 14th, 2007
A poet named Soordaas lived in India a few centuries ago. He was blind. Soordaas worshipped Lord Krishna. Even though he was blind, it was always his wish and faith that one day he would see Lord Krishna.
One day while walking in the village where he lived, he became disoriented and as a result he fell into a well. Being a wise man, he recognised his predicament and that he was likely to drown in the well. As he floated in the water he started to pray to his beloved Lord Krishna, saying, “O Lord, I am not worried about dying, but my desire to have Your Darshan will not be fulfilled in this life.”
A voice called from above the well, “Hold my hand and I will pull you out of the well.” Soordaas held on to the offered hand and was pulled out of the well.
Soordaas’s benefactor said, “Now that you are out of the well and you are safe, please let go of my hand”. Soordaas replied, “No, Lord Krishna, this is not an ordinary human who can reach into the well to save me. This can only be My Lord Whom I have been seeking all my life. I will not let go till I have your Darshan.” Thus the devotion and complete surrender of Soordaas was rewarded with Lord Krishna’s Darshan (Divine presence).
Avtar Sodhi
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December 8th, 2006
Once as a child I had read a story about some birds. A net was cast and so many doves, they were caught in the net and they discovered that, “We are misled, misguided.” They saw some grains and they were misguided. So how to get out of the net was impossible for them. It was an impossibility. One could not get out. One tried to get out, others got more entangled and he gets even worse.
So what to do? They all said, “Why not we all fly out with the net itself and then with our beaks we’ll cut out this net and we’ll be freed, but first get out from here. Put our energy together, all of us, and let’s fly out.” And that’s what they did. They spread their wings, all of them put together, and took off and off they went and they were freed.
Today’s Sahaja Yoga is that kind of a trick. One person cannot work it out. It is impossible. If one person has to do it, it’s an impossibility…. One has to become a whole group to lift up the society higher, so that you can really get rid of the shackles of this bondage.
Shri Mataji, 1982
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November 25th, 2006
When Abraham Lincoln was campaigning to become the President of the United States, one of his arch-enemies was a man named Stanton. For some reason Stanton hated Lincoln. He used every ounce of his energy to degrade him in the eyes of the public. So deep-rooted was Stanton’s hate for Lincoln that he uttered unkind words about his physical appearance, and sought to embarrass him at every point with the bitterest of diatribes.
In spite of this, Lincoln was elected President of the United States. Then came the period when he had to select his cabinet which would consist of the persons who would be his most intimate associates in implementing his program. He selected Stanton to fill the all-important post of Secretary of War.
There was an immediate uproar in the inner circle when the news began to spread. An adviser was heard saying to him, “Mr. President, you are making a mistake. Do you know this man, Stanton? Are you familiar with all of the ugly things he said about you? He is your enemy. He will seek to sabotage your program. Have you thought this through, Mr. President?”
Mr. Lincoln’s answer was terse and to the point, “Yes, I know Mr. Stanton. I am aware of all the terrible things he has said about the best man for the job”. So Stanton became Abraham Lincoln’s Secretary of War and rendered an invaluable service to his nation and his President.
Not many years later Lincoln was assassinated. Many laudable things were said about him as the greatest of all Americans. Even today, millions of people still adore him as the greatest of all Americans. HG.Wells selected him as one of the six great men of history. But of all the great statements made about Abraham Lincoln, the words of Stanton remain among the greatest. Standing near the dead body of the man he once hated, Stanton referred to him as one of the greatest men that ever lived and said, “He now belongs to the ages”.
If Lincoln had hated Stanton both men would have gone to their graves as bitter enemies. But through the power of love Lincoln transformed an enemy into a friend.
It was this same attitude that made it possible for Lincoln to speak a kind word about the South during the Civil War when feeling was most bitter. Asked by a shocked bystander how he could do this, Lincoln said, “Madam, do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends?” This is the power of redemptive love.
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November 21st, 2006
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