Ananandamayi Ma Quotes

He alone knows to whom He will reveal Himself under which form. By what path and in what manner He attracts any particular man to Himself with great force is incomprehensible to the human intellect. The Path differs indeed for different pilgrims.

It is the craze for wealth that binds people. To be in bondage means to destroy yourself.

My consciousness has never associated itself with this temporary body. Before I came on this earth ‘I was the same’. As a little girl ‘I was the same’. ………. Ever afterward, though the dance of creation change around me, in the hall of eternity ‘I shall be the same’.

Enquire: ‘Who am I?’ and you will find the answer. Look at a tree: from one seed arises a huge tree; from it comes numerous seeds, each one of which in its turn grows into a tree. No two fruits are alike. Yet it is one life that throbs in every particle of the tree. So, it is the same Atman (soul) everywhere.

Grace is all the time showering like the rain; one should do a little bit of spiritual practice just in order that one is able to grasp it. The little bit of power you have – employ that! Read the sacred texts, take his name, do chanting – as much as you have power to do, go on doing. After that, He is there to do all that is to be done. The stomach does not get filled if the morsel of food is only put into the mouth.

If you just place yourself under the protection of a Guru, then the path which is most suitable for you will by itself open up to you.

Joys and sorrows are time-born and cannot last. Therefore, do not be perturbed by these. The greater the difficulties and obstructions, the more intense will be your endeavour to cling to His feet and the more will your prayer increase from within. And when the time is ripe, you will gain mastery over this power.

Always bear this in mind: Everything is in God’s hands, and you are His tool to be used by Him as He pleases. Try to grasp the significance of ‘all is His’. and you will immediately feel free from all burdens. What will be the result of your surrender to Him? None will seem alien, all will be your very own Self.

Verily, this body is also an utensil for puja (worship); do remember that this is an utensil for puja, and do try to utilize it only for the purpose of puja, and only then will you see that even the inside is becoming clean.

The individual suffers because he perceives duality. Find the One everywhere and in everything and there will be an end to pain and suffering.

The Dalai Lama’s 18 Rules For Living

At the start of the new millennium the Dalai Lama apparently issued eighteen rules for living. Since word travels slowly in the digital age these have only just reached me. Here they are.

1. Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk.
2. When you lose, don’t lose the lesson.
3. Follow the three Rs:
   1. Respect for self
   2. Respect for others
   3. Responsibility for all your actions.
4. Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.
5. Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly.
6. Don’t let a little dispute injure a great friendship.
7. When you realize you’ve made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.
8. Spend some time alone every day.
9. Open your arms to change, but don’t let go of your values.
10. Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.
11. Live a good, honourable life. Then when you get older and think back, you’ll be able to enjoy it a second time.
12. A loving atmosphere in your home is the foundation for your life.
13. In disagreements with loved ones, deal only with the current situation. Don’t bring up the past.
14. Share your knowledge. It’s a way to achieve immortality.
15. Be gentle with the earth.
16. Once a year, go someplace you’ve never been before.
17. Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other.
18. Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.

Always persist

Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.

Nothing in the world can take the place of Persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan "Press On" has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.

One of the keys to being successful in anything you do is persistence. Once you have determined exactly what it is you want to accomplish, you must take massive action on a consistent, persistent basis in order to succeed. Think of it like building a muscle. If you have never weight trained before, the first time you walk into a gym, chances are you will not be able to bench press 250 lbs. However, if you are persistent, and you consistently go back to the gym, you will find yourself getting stronger and closer to your goal with each and every visit.

One of the things you'll notice on your journey towards your goal, are roadblocks. That is, you will encounter obstacles that seem to jump out of nowhere in an attempt to halt your progress. Count on these obstacles. They are a part of life. Everyone would have every success they ever wanted if there were no obstacles. Your job is to be persistent and work through those obstacles. If you find little or no obstacles along the way, chances are you are not really challenging yourself. And when you do reach your goal, you won't experience the feeling of 'sweet success'. Make your goal a challenging one!

If you take the time to study any successful person, you will learn that the vast majority of them have had more 'failures' than they have had 'successes'. This is because successful people are persistent; the more they stumble and fall, the more they get right back up and get going again. On the other hand, people that don't get back up and try again, never reach success. For example, Walt Disney was turned down 302 times before he got financing for his dream of creating the "Happiest Place on Earth". Today, due to his persistence, millions of people have shared 'the joy of Disney'. Colonel Sanders spent two years driving across the United States looking for restaurants to buy his chicken recipe. He was turned down 1,009 times! How successful is Kentucky Fried Chicken today? Having said this, keep in mind that you must constantly reevaluate your circumstances and the approach you are using to reach your goal. There is no sense in being persistent at something that you are doing incorrectly! Sometimes you have to modify your approach along the way. Every time you do something you learn from it, and therefore find a better way to do it the next time.

Conversation with GOD – Never give up and never quit

Today I decided to quit... I quit my job, my relationship, my spirituality, I wanted to quit my life...

I went to the woods to have one last talk with GOD.

"GOD", I said.

"Can you give me one good reason not to quit?"

His answer surprised me...

"Look around", GOD said.

"Do you see the fern and the bamboo?"

"Yes", I replied.

"When I planted the fern and the bamboo seeds, I took very good care of them. I gave them light. I gave them water. The fern quickly grew from the earth. Its brilliant green covered the floor. Yet nothing came from the bamboo seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo. In the second year the Fern grew more vibrant and plentiful. And again, nothing came from the bamboo seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo." GOD said.

"In year three there was still nothing from the bamboo seed. But I would not quit."

"In year four, again, there was nothing from the bamboo see. I would not quit." GOD said.

"Then in the fifth year a tiny sprout emerged from the earth. Compared to the fern it was seemingly small and insignificant."

"But just 6months later the bamboo rose to over 100 feet tall. It had spent the five years growing roots. Those roots made it strong and gave it what it needed to survive. I would not give any of my creations a challenge it could not handle." GOD said to me.

"Did you know, that all this time you have been struggling, you have actually been growing roots?"

"I would not quit on the bamboo. I will never quit on you. Don't compare yourself to others." GOD said.

"The bamboo had a different purpose than the fern. Yet they both make the forest beautiful." GOD said.

"Your time will come", GOD said to me.

"You will rise high"

"How high should I rise?" I asked.

"How high will the bamboo rise?" GOD asked in return.

"As high as it can?" I questioned

"Yes." GOD said,

"Give me glory by rising as high as you can."

I left the forest and bring back this story. I hope these words can help you see that GOD will never give up on you.

GOD will never give up on you

"Life is not a problem to be solved, but a gift to be enjoyed"

The Optimist Creed

 Promise Yourself-

• To be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind.
• To talk health, happiness and prosperity to every person you meet.
• To make all your friends feel that there is something in them.
• To look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true.
• To think only of the best, to work only for the best, and to expect only the best.
• To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own .
• To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future.
• To wear a cheerful countenance at all times and give every living creature you meet a smile.
• To give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticize others.
• To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear, and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.

Obstacles

In ancient times, a King had a boulder placed on a roadway. Then he hid himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock.

Some of the king's wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around it. Many loudly blamed the king for not keeping the roads clear, but none did anything about getting the stone out of the way. Then a peasant came along carrying a load of vegetables. Upon approaching the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the stone to the side of the road. After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded.

After the peasant picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed a purse laying in the road where the boulder had been. The purse contained many gold coins and a note from the king indicating that the gold was for the person who removed the boulder from the roadway.

The peasant learned what many of us never understand.

Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve our condition.

True Value of our Parents

At 4 Years

My daddy is great .

At 6 Years

My daddy knows everybody.

At 10 Years

My daddy is good but is short tempered

At 12 Years

My daddy was very nice to me when I was young .

At 14 Years

My daddy is getting fastidious.

At 16 Years

My daddy is not in line with the current times.

At 18 Years

My daddy is becoming increasingly cranky.

At 20 Years

O h! Its becoming difficult to tolerate daddy. Wonder how Mother puts

up with him.

At 25 Years

Daddy is objecting to everything.

At 30 Years

I t's becoming difficult to manage my son. I was so scared of my

father when I was young.

At 40 Years

Daddy brought me up with so much discipline. Even I should do the

same.

At 45 Years

I am baffled as to how my daddy brought us up.

At 50 Years

My daddy faced so many hardships to bring us up. I am unable to manage a single son.

At 55 Years

My daddy was so far sighted and planned so many things for us.

He is one of his kind and unique.

At 60 Years My daddy is great.

Thus, it took 56 years to complete the cycle and come back to the

1st.stage.

Realize the true value of your parents before its too late.

The Ten Beliefs That Could Hold You Back In Life

I have spoken a lot about beliefs and how to change them to make your life better. There are certain beliefs that a lot of people believe and I think it's time to address these.

We are initially given beliefs from our parents, teachers, peers, TV and media. When we are young we think adults know more than us so we generally trust in what they say. However as we get older we form our own beliefs about the world. However some of the residual beliefs from our childhood can remain. Sometimes they have remained without us knowing about them.

Here are some beliefs that may be residual, see if you recognise any of them and change them.

· If You Fail At Something You Are A Failure: This is perpetuated at school and throughout our days of turning into an adult. We are encouraged to win at all costs. If I fail at something, and I have many times, I try again, and again, and again until I get it right. If you believe that "if you fail at something you are a failure" then that means everyone in the world is a failure. Don't hold yourself back by believing this. Install a new belief.

· Why Change It If It's Not Broken: I don't mean changing for the sake of changing. I am talking about improving upon existing appliances, processes etc. We need change to move on with life and you will always come up against people who don't like change, avoid them if you can. If you see something that could be improved try and implement it.

· You Are Not Skilled Enough To Go For It: Nobody in life is skilled enough until they start doing it. If you want to do something just start doing it, don't stress about not getting into university to do a degree in computing, just do it until you get in. The internet has more information than you will get at university, college or school it's just a matter of finding it. If you are good and you sell yourself well, you will get noticed.

· You Are Too Old To Start Something New: The average life expectancy in the UK is about 75 for men and 79 for women and it is similar in the US and Europe. This will change and soon we'll be seeing the average life expectancy at 100. This means we are never too old to start something new. Starting a new venture is a great way to keep the brain active and to keep motivation up for living. I believe we are a nation of people who expect to die at around 75 or so, so what happens? We do. If we expect to live to 100 we would do more changing, feel less inhibited by time. Just do it.

· Believing God Is An Entity Outside Your Control: You control God, not the other way about. When I say God, I mean a spiritual force, I don't mean the bible and all that as that is obviously not to be believed literally. God is a force within you, when you pray, you are praying to yourself, when you ask forgiveness you are asking yourself for forgiveness. Nobody in this universe controls you, you control the force within you, never let go of that belief. You do not need anybody or anything to allow you to live your own life, live it for yourself and help others to live theirs.

· You Won't Amount To Anything: The very fact that you are alive says that you are special. If you want to be extraordinary you have to put in the effort. Every single one of us has a talent we don't know about or have not yet been recognised for. Try everything to find something that you love. I am a great believer in change; you don't have to do one thing all your life. Change your lifestyle many times until you find a path you love and are willing to work on.

· The World Does Not Revolve Around You: The whole universe is all about you. Every single person on this planet has a different world going on inside their heads. You see the world differently from me and I see it differently from someone else. Therefore the world is about you. Tell me now: what are you going to do to change your world?

· Nobody Believes In You: I believe in you, but my opinion is worth nothing, everybody's opinion is worth nothing. Work on believing in yourself and work on letting go of needing others to believe in you. As soon as you start believing in yourself other people will start believing in you, but let go of needing their belief.

· You Will Never Make That Amount Of Money: I have heard this so many times. You will make exactly what you expect to make. If I say to myself `There is no way I could make a million pounds' my brain will not look for ways of making that million. If I am determined enough to make a million my brain will help me look for ways of making it, no matter how outrageous the idea, at least you will be creating ideas.

· There Is Nothing You Can Do About It: Rubbish! You can change any aspect of your life you just can't see it yet. Some people never get past this and it's such a shame. Life can be hard and it takes guts to make the decision to change your life, but you can change it. Know what you want, know the steps you have to take and then change it.



(Written by: Steven Aitchison)