Banyan Tree
Teaching story
The black dot
A professor once asked his students to prepare for a surprise test. To everyone’s surprise, there were no questions on the exam sheet—just a black dot in the center of the paper. The professor then asked them to write about what they see on the exam sheet.
At the end of the class, the professor took all the exam sheets, and started reading each one of them out aloud. All the students, with no exception, had defined the black dot, explaining its position in the center of the sheet. After reading all the answers, the professor started to explain. “I’m not going to grade you on this; I just wanted to give you something to think about. No one wrote about the white part of the paper. Everyone focused on the black dot, and the same thing happens in our lives. However, we insist on focusing only on the black dot—the health issues that bother us, the lack of money, the complicated relationship with a family member, the disappointment with a friend.
The dark spots are very small when compared to everything we have in our lives, but they are the ones that pollute our minds. Take your eyes away from the black dots in your lives. Enjoy each one of your blessings, each moment that life gives you. Be happy and live a life filled with love!”
Sadhguru
This, I know
• When your wanting to know something is so intense that you are willing to die for it, then knowing is not far away.
• If you are rooted in reality, there will be no fear. The fear is simply because you are living in your mind.
• Religions of the world are not about one man’s belief against another, but an opportunity for all humans to reach their common ultimate source.
• Whatever is your highest, you just contemplate upon that. Your inner and outer purity will happen naturally.
• People realise that body means pain. And yet, with just the right food, practices, and a little change in attitude, it becomes a miracle.
• Once stillness comes into your life, then the mind also becomes absolutely still. When your mind becomes still, your intelligence explodes.
• You can be deeply involved with everything but still not be identified with it any more.
Just for laughs
Mulla Nasruddin snuck into someone’s garden and began putting vegetables in his sack. The owner saw him and shouted, “What are you doing in my garden?” “The wind blew me here,” Nasruddin confidently responded. “Well then,” said the other, “can you explain how those vegetables were pulled out from my garden?” Nasruddin explained. “I had to grab them to stop myself from being thrown away further by the wind.” “Well,” the man continued, “then how did the vegetables get in your sack?” “I was wondering that same thing myself!” Nasruddin said.
inspiration
When I stop and pray
When the storm clouds boil around me,
And the lightning splits the sky
When the howling wind assails me,
And life's sea is rolling high
When my heart is filled with terror,
And my fears, I can't allay
Then I find sweet peace and comfort,
When I simply stop and pray.
When the things of life confound me, And my faith is ebbing low
When my trusted friends betray me,
And my heart is aching so
When the night seems black and endless,
And I long for the light of day
Then I find a silver dawning,
When I simply stop and pray.
There are things beyond the heavens I can't begin to understand,
But I know that God is living,
And I know He holds my hand.
Yes, I know He watches o'er me
All the night and all the day
And He's always there to hear me
When I simply stop and pray.
- William Robinson
One-minute wisdom
No need to win
“When the archer shoots for nothing, he has all his skill. When he shoots for brass buckle he is already nervous. When he shoots for a prize, he goes blind. He sees two targets. His skill has not changed. But the prize divides him. He cares. He thinks more of winning than of shooting. And the need to win drains him of power. Isn’t that sublime? If we don’t need to win, we have so much more energy.”
- Anthony de Mello
QUOTE– Even the most seemingly unpleasant situations—if you become aligned with it, something good will emerge from that. - Eckhart Tolle