Full of gratitude - Sacred Quotes

"Fill your hearts with love and gratitude. Life gives us what we need and not necessarily what we want. It follows its own wisdom, which is often incomprehensible to our gross minds. We should learn to accept situations in life. This attitude of acceptance is the secret to happiness." - Mata Amritanandamayi

"Your enlightenment is perfect only when silence has come to be a celebration. Hence my insistence that after you meditate you must celebrate. After you have been silent you must enjoy it, you must have a thanksgiving. A deep gratitude must be shown towards the whole just for the opportunity that you are, that you can meditate, that you can be silent, that you can laugh." - Osho

"If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, "Thank you", that would suffice." - Meister Eckhart

Being Courteous - Sacred Quotes

"Rama was kind and courteous and never ill.
To harsh words he returned no blame."

Ramayana,
Retold by William Buck

"Humility and courtesy are acts of piety."
Sayings of the Prophet


"Be pitiful, be courteous: not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing."
1 Peter 3:8-11


"He who sows courtesy reaps friendship, and he who plants kindness gathers love."
St Basil


"To speak kindly does not hurt the tongue."
Proverb


"Gratitude is the most exquisite form of courtesy."
Jacques Maritain

Who am I? - Sacred Quotes

"He who sees the Self, sees only the Self in the world also. To the jnani, it is immaterial whether the world appears or not. Whether it appears or not, his attention is always on the Self. It is like the letters and the paper on which the letters are printed. You are wholly engrossed with the letters and have no attention left for the paper. But the jnani thinks only of the paper as the real substratum, whether the letters appear on it or not." - Ramana Maharshi

"Let me think: was i the same when i got up this morning? I almost think i can remember feeling a little different. But if i'm not the same, the next question is, Who in the world am i? Ah, that's the great puzzle!" - Lewis Carroll

"And remember, no matter where you go, there you are." - Confucius

Breaking news - Sacred Quotes

"Harmony seldom makes a headline." - Silas Bent

"Journalism largely consists in saying "Lord Jones is dead" to people who never knew Lord Jones was alive." - G K Chesterton

"We can't quite decide if the world is growing worse, or if the reporters are just working harder." - The Houghton Line November 1965

"The duty of the press is to encourage debate, not to supply the public with information." - Christopher Lasch

"In the spiderweb of facts, many a truth is strangled." - Paul Eldridge

"No news is good news. No journalist is even better." - Nicolas Bentley

"I believe in equality for everyone, except reporters and photographers." - M K Gandhi

Profound Humour - Sacred Quotes

"Religion is like going out to dinner with friends. Everyone may order something different, but everyone can still sit at the same table." - The XIV Dalai Lama

"If there were no God, there would be no atheists." - G K Chesterton

"If i were not an atheist, i would believe in a God who would choose to save people on the basis of the totality of their lives and not the pattern of their words. I think he would prefer an honest and righteous atheist to a TV preacher whose every word is God, God, God, and whose every deed is foul, foul, foul." - Isaac Asimov

"What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the master calls a butterfly." - Richard Bach

"An apology for the Devil: It must be remembered that we have only heard one side of the case. God has written all the books." - Samuel Butler

Cause for celebration - Sacred Quotes

"Your life becomes a vital celebration, your relationship becomes a festive thing; whatsoever you do, every moment is a festival. You eat, and eating becomes a celebration; you take a bath, and bathing becomes a celebration; you talk, and talking becomes a celebration." - Osho

"Your work is to discover your world and then with all your heart give yourself to it." - Gautama Buddha

"When you see the Earth from space, you don't see any divisions of nation-states there. This may be the symbol of the new mythology to come; this is the country we will celebrate, and these are the people we are one with." - Joseph Campbell

"Let no one weep for me, or celebrate my funeral with mourning, for i still live, as i pass to and fro through the mouths of men." - Quintus Ennius

Journey of Life - Sacred Quotes

"It is better to travel well than to arrive...There are two mistakes one can make along the road to truth... not going all the way, and not starting." - Gautama Buddha

"Let your mind start a journey thru a strange new world. Leave all thoughts of the world you knew before. Let your soul take you where you long to be... Close your eyes, let your spirit start to soar, and you'll live as you've never lived before." - Erich Fromm

"Man improves himself as he follows his path; if he stands still, waiting to improve before he makes a decision, he'll never move." - Paulo Coelho

"Life, as the most ancient of all metaphors insists, is a journey; and the travel book, in its deceptive simulation of the journey's fits and starts, rehearses life's own fragmentation. More even than the novel, it embraces the contingency of things." - Jonathan Raban

Kukaddam - Motivational Story with Pictures

Once upon a time, there was a cunning jackal that lived in a jungle. The jackal used to pay frequent visits to a particular sweetmeat shop in the small town that was situated beside the jungle. Every night the jackal used to steal into the shop and gobble up sweet delicacies.

Every morning the shop owner or Sheth, after noticing the decrease in the number of sweets, wondered as to who was stealing the goodies. One day he came a little early and caught the jackal in the act. The shop owner gave the jackal a sound beating and threw him out.

The jackal played dead as a crowd gathered around him, expressing their sympathy for the beat-up jackal. Villagers talked about punishing the shopkeeper for his cruelty towards the jackal. Hearing this, the cunning jackal continued to play dead.

While the villagers talked about the incident, a man who was passing by requested the shopkeeper, "May I take the jackal's ears?" Since the jackal was playing dead, the Sheth said, "I don't have any problem with that. Please go ahead!" The jackal continued to lie motionless and bore the pain of his long ears being cut off by the stranger. This he did because he wanted the shopkeeper to be punished for beating him.

A little while later another man approached the Sheth and sought permission to take some of the jackal's teeth. Hearing this, the jackal got scared and though: "If my teeth are pulled out, I will not be able to hunt and probably die of hunger." Scared by this the jackal got up and ran away from the spot.

Running for his life, the jackal fell into a well that was full of coloured water. The well was used to dye clothes by washermen of the village. By the time the jackal managed to climb out of the well he had been dyed in a different colour, which was very different from his usual look.

When the jackal returned to the jungle, other animals were shocked and scared on seeing an animal with such a strange look and colour. Seizing this chance the cunning jackal identified itself as Kukaddam.

Kukaddam then did not waste much time and quickly proclaimed himself as the king of the forest. He surrounded himself with his kind - jackals and kept other animals lik tigers, lions and panthers at a distance.

But, how long can a jackal suppress his basic nature? Every night his jackal subjects would howl and call out at each other in the jungle. Kukaddam initially was successful in suppressing his desire to call out like his brethren. He feared that if he behaved like a jackal in any manner, his bluff would be caught.

The jackal's worst fears came true when one night he could not resist and joined the chorus of his brethren. Seeing Kukaddam in his true colors the lion growled and pounced upon the cunning jackal, and punished him.

Voyage of Discovery - Sacred Quotes

"No definition conceivable by logic can apply to the nature of the true Self. No organ available with us as a faculty of knowledge can apprehend it." - Swami Krishnananda

"Men go abroad to wonder at the heights of mountains, at the huge waves of the sea, at the long courses of the rivers, at the vast compass of the ocean, at the circular motions of the stars, and they pass by themselves without wondering." - St Augustine

"Your work is to discover your world and then with all your heart give yourself to it." - Gautama Buddha

"Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom." - Aristotle

"The searching out and thorough investigation of truth ought to be the primary study of man." - Cicero

Thus Ran Out the Dog's Luck - Motivational Story with Pictures

In the heart of a dence forest, a Rishi used to stay in a small, humble hut made of leaves. Being very helpful by nature he had earned the respect of all animals staying in the forest. But, of all the animals, a dog that used to stay near the ascetic's hut used to be his favorite. The dog, on its part, used to guard the Rishi and his hut zealously.

One evening a ferocious jackal that was passing by the neighborhood attacked the dog. The dog got frightened and rushed into the hut seeking the ascetic's protection. The Rishi took pity on the dog and chanted mantras into some water that he took out of his kamandal. The Rishi then sprinkled the water on the dog and behold, it transformed into a jackal.

However, that was not the end of the tale. The very next moment a huge tiger came towards the saint's hut. Soon as it roared to announce its presence, the jackal lost heart and once again rushed into the hut seeking the Rishi's help. The saint once again changed its form, this time into a large tiger.

The saint's blessing worked again and the tiger turned tail and disappeared into the woods. However, the dog's nature changed and he started preying upon and eating other smaller animals.

When the dog-turned-jackal-turned-tiger was sleeping at an open space deep inside the woods, An elephant stormed into the area and trumpeted loudly. The tiger woke with a shock and saw the rampaging elephant uprooting a small tree and once again lost its courage. The dog-turned-tiger once again ran to the saint's hut for cover.

Within moments the tiger changed into an elephant. After getting used to his massive size and weight the dog-turned elephant headed straight for the nearby lake. It had a lot of fun showering water on itself with its powerful trunk.

Soon the forest resounded with the ferocious and noisy roars of a strange creature called Sharabh. With four arms, a huge mouth lined with large and sharp teeth and a huge dinosaur-like tail the fearsome creature ran amok in the forest. Once again the dog-turned-elephant got scared and ran for cover - straight to the ascetic's hut. The patient and kind saint changed it into a mirror-image of Sharabh.

The real Sharabh was shocked in seeing a creature like him emerging from the ascetic's hut. It soon ran away. So proud it became that the Sharabh turned upon the saint and attacked him. That proved to be a grave error. The Rishi instantly changed it back to the dog it always was and drove it out of the house. Then the dog realized his mistake but, then it was too late.

Dharma Of A Journalist - Sacred Quotes

"Newspapers are meant for dharma. And for the purpose of protecting dharma we have to live our dharma." - Mata Amritanandamayi

"Media plays a very important role in upholding human rights." - Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

"If you are a Buddhist journalist, you would ask: Does my story help overcome individual and social sufferring? Can a new global journalism of healing be practised that embraces timely, truthful and helpful speech, and avoids the five destructive modes?" - The McGill Report

"The smarter journalists are, the better for society..." - Warren Buffett

"The media transforms the great silence of things into its opposite. Formerly constituting a secret, the real now talks constantly. News, information, statistics, and surveys are everywhere." - Michel De Certeau

Think before you act - Motivational Story with Pictures

Once upon a time in Ujjain, there lived a poor Brahmin called Laxmidas. Twice everyday, at morning and again in the evening, Laxmidas used to give religious discourses and perform puja to eke out a living.

After some time, by the grace of God, a bony baby boy was born to Laxmidas and his wife. The couple's happiness knew no bounds and despite their poverty they were very content. Just a look on their son's face would get Laxmidas and his wife smiling.

Laxmidas used to have a mongoose as pet, which he used to treat as well as his own son. The mongoose too was very devoted to his master. Such was the trust between them that when Laxmidas and his wife were away the mongoose used to look after the baby boy.

One day, Laxmidas was away for a religious discourse at a neighboring village. His wife too had to go out, to the nearby river for water. While going out, Laxmidas' wife asked the mongoose to look over the baby.

When she left the house the baby was fast asleep in his cradle. The mongoose climbed on top of the cradle to keep vigil and guard his master's son. He used his elevated position on the cradle to keep a watch out for any enemies which might be lurking around.

Suddenly, a long and green snake slithered into the room where the baby lay in his cradle. With its long, thin tongue springing in and out in a rather menacing manner the snake looked very sinister and dangerous. The mongoose wasted no more time and pounced upon the snake. A bloody battle ensued between the two.

The commotion and noise of the fight woke up the child, who watched the battle, craning his neck over the cradle. Finally, after quite a while, the brave mongoose emerged victories and the sinister snake bit the dust, defeated. The mongoose too was tired after the fight. At this juncture Laxmidas' wife returned with, carrying water in an earthen pot. The mongoose, as was its usual practice, scampered up to here and licked her toes to point towards his victory.

However, the mongoose's mouth and tongue were bloody after its fight with the snake. Seeing blood on her foot, Laxmidas' wife immediately feared the worst and thought that the mongoose had killed her son. She threw the pot full of water on the small mongoose, killing it instantly. She rushed into the house and then realized here mistake.

Her son was ok, and she realized that the devoted little mongoose had actually saved her son. She realized that she had committed a big folly by acting without thinking or having patience to cross check here suspicions. The woman cried pitiably, angry and disappointed with hereself for the cruel act.

Children's Day - Sacred Quotes

"Watch children and you will see: all children are creative. By and by, we destroy their creativity. By and by, we force wrong beliefs on them. By and by, we distract them. By and by, we make them more and more economical and political and ambitious." - Osho

"Kiss your children a lot. For each kiss you will get a divine heavenly rank which would otherwise take 500 years to achieve." - Ruzatal-Vaizin

"If we wish to create a lasting peace we must begin with the children." - M K Gandhi

"The soul is healed by being with children." - English proverb

"So long as little children are allowed to suffer, there is not true love in this world." - Isadora Duncan

"Children are our most valuable natural resource." - Herbert Hoover

True Friendship - Motivational Story with Pictures

A prince and the minister's son were out hunting in the forests. Both grew hungry and exhausted after a long day's wandering. They found the cool shade of a tree and sat down to rest. Soon, the prince fell asleep, while the minister's son stayed awake and kept guard.

A while later a snake slithered towards the prince. Furiously hissing, it prepared to bite him. However, the minister's son was quick, he raised his sword. But before he could kill it, the snake spoke up, "This prince was my enemy in my past life. I cannot rest until I drink blood from his neck." The minister's son wanted to save his frined's life and he was also intelligent. "Then, what if i give you some of his blood to drink. Will that quench your hate?" Saying this, he knew he was saving the life of the prince because if the snake bite him, to draw blood, it would at the same time spit poison that was sure to kill his friend.

The snake agreed. He was only after the prince's blood, not his life. The minister's son made a cup out of dry leaves. He climbed upon the chest of the prince who was still fast asleep. He pulled out his dagger and made a small slit around the side of his throat. The sharp cut suddenly shocked the prince awake. But on seeing that his friend, the minister's son was holding the dagger, he closed his eyes again.

The minister's son filled the cup with enough blood and offered it to the snake which satisfied itself and went its way.

Meanwhile, he collected some medicine herbs and bandaged the wound. A few hours later, the prince awoke and made preparations to proceed further. He said nothing and walked happily as if nothing had happened. Two whole days passed in the forests, yet the prince never reminded him of the event. it was the minister's son who began to grow impatient, as to why he was not questioned.

He finally said "Friend and master, you know that I climbed upon you and slit your throat, drew blood and then bandaged you. You even saw me do it. Still why haven't you yet questioned me or asked me for an explanation?"
"You are a friend of mine," the prince answered. "I believe that whatever you may have done must have been for my good. This is why I desire no explanation I have boundless trust in you - that my friend shall never ever do any harm to me."
This is the mark of true friendship. A friend is he who is harsh to you if it brings greater good. And in return, he who does not sulk or feel hurt by the actions of his friend is a true friend. One should cultivate such intimate friendship with the True Sadhu.

Grandpa's Sacrifice - Motivational Story with Pictures

There lived a large group of frogs inside this well. All except one were young and bubbly. The old frog was fondly called grandpa by the younger frogs. The old frog was very loving and caring by nature.

Dialogue: Hi! Grandpa, a very good morning...how are you?
Old frog: I'm fine dear. How are you doing?

One day, due to some unknown reason, the frogs started quarrelling among themselves. They began abusing each other. The quarrel took a serious turn and the frongs started beating each other. In this fight several frogs started bleeding profusely. The news reached grandpa. He rushed to the spot immediately. He began to pacify the noisy crowd. No one paid heed to his advice. On the contrary, they started shouting at him.

Grandpa: Stop fighting all of you. Don't hurt each other... it is not good. We should love and respect everyone.

Younger frogs: O not again! Another lecture... ooh! Please go away you oldies, don't poke your dirty nose in our affairs.

Grandpa: But ...listen to....

younger frogs: O just shut up and go!

One morning, as per his daily routine, a farmer dropped a thick rope into the well. The younger frogs got irritated once again with the same old action of bucket dropping.

An irritated young frog: Damn this farmer. Irritates me everyday with that same kichuk, kichuk of the pulley. Looks like my ears will pop-off one day.

Another young frog: You are right. He does not let me sleep peacefully.

Third frog: We should drive him away from this place.

All the young frogs: Yes,yes.

Grandpa: We should never indulge in those actions that cause pain to others.

All the young frogs: Not again!

Thereafter, the frogs started shouting in chorus, whenever the farmer came to the well to fetch water. One day when he was standing by the well and crying due to his inability to water his field, a fisherman offered to help him out.

Fisherman: Don't worry. I know how to bring these frogs on the right track. Just wait and watch. I will spread my net slowly in the well and you will see for yourself, how these nuisances get trapped in it.
Farmer: Lets hope it happens!
Fisherman: Now let us go home. We will come back after a few hours.

The fisherman returned after 4-5 hours. All the frogs had by now been trapped in the net.
Fisherman: Have a look for yourself. Didn't I tell you, my plan never fails me. See how they are shouting for help. Hold your patience for a few more minutes before you are all finally here.

As soon as the fisherman stretched out his hands to hold the net, the entire net came crashing. The reason... the joint that held the net to the rope tore off. All the frogs trapped inside the net fell back into the well. The fisherman took back his net with a sullen face. The farmer also became very disappoined at the turn of the events.

After the commotion settled into silence, the grandpa appeared in front of everyone. All the frogs realizing their mistake began apologizing to him.
Younger frogs: We are sorry grandpa. Please forgive us.

Grandpa finally spoke.
Grandpa: Listen! I started biting the rope when I noticed the net spread inside the well. While doing so, I lost my remaining teeth. Just have a look!
(Saying this grandpa opened his toothless mouth.) The net started moving upwards when only a little bit of rope was left to be bitten. I watched helplessly. However, your combined weight inside the weakened net helped you come back from the jaws of death.

Repentance took over the mischievous frogs. Grandpa had to undergo all the pain due to their misadventure.

All the younger frogs: we promise you Grandpa, from today onwards, we shall be obedient to our elders, respect them and take care. We shall never humiliate them.

Thereafter, all the frogs started living happily, in peace and harmony. The farmer also heaved a sigh of relief and never toubled them again.

A Friend in Need - Motivational Story with Pictures

Once upon a time there lived four friends in a forest. They were very different from each other; yet, they were best friends and always came to each other's help when required. The friends were: a mouse, a crow, a deer, and a tortoise. This is a story of how these friends, who normally would have been natural enemies helped each other against their biggest enemy - Man, who was a hunter.

One-day, the mouse, crow, and deer were gossiping under a ree. They suddenly heard a scream. It was their friend, the tortoise! He was trapped in a hunter's net. "Uh oh!" exclaimed the deer fearfully, "what do we do now?" "Don't be afraid" said the mouse, "I have a plan" and the three friends huddled together and decide on their plan of action.

The deer ran towards the hunter who was standing close to the tortoise caught in the net. He reached there without the knowledge of the hunter, and lay down in his path as though he was dead.

The crow flew towards the deer and acted as though he were pecking at the deer. The hunter picked up the net and started walking home, when he suddenly laid eyes on the wondrous sight of a dead deer. "Hey, here is a deer, he thought to himself all ready for me" he put down his net and walked towards the deer.

The crow continued circling the deer, and flapping his wings furiously whenever the hunter tried to push him away.

In the meantime, the mouse hopped to the tortoise and started chewing the threads of the net. As the crow kept the hunter at bay, the mouse freed the tortoise. As soon as the crow saw that the tortoise was free, he let out a loud caw and flew away.

The deer suddenly got up and ran! The hunter stood stunned and decided to go back to the tortoise, only to see that his net was torn and the tortoise had escaped. "If only I hadn't been so greedy" he thought to himself.

The four friends met again under the tree, and could not stop laughing at the trick that they had played on the hunter. Oh! What good friends they were, always there to help each other!

Your Thoughts - Sacred Quotes

"Those who are free of resentful thoughts surely find peace. Better than a thousand hollow words, is one word that brings peace..." - Gautama Buddha

"Man is a bundle of thoughts...More than heart attacks, we suffer from thought attacks." - Swami Sukhabodhananda


"The thoughts are the enemy. They amount to the creation of the universe. In their absence there is neither the world nor God the Creator." - Ramana Maharshi


"I like to think of thoughts as living blossoms borne by the human tree." - James Douglas


"No one can afford to assume that someone else will solve their problems. Every individual has a responsibility to help guide our global family in the right direction. Good wishes are not sufficient; we must become actively engaged." - The XIV Dalai Lama

The Lazy Fish - Motivational Story with Pictures

In a lake there were three fish.

The first fish, Udhyami was very brave. The second fish, Madhya was very smart. The last fish Arsue, on the other hand slept all day long.

One day Udhyami was swimming around the lake when she saw some fishermen on the lake. She immediately rushed back to Madhya and Arsue and said, "The fishermen are coming over to this side of the lake! Hurry, we should swim into another lake".

Madhya then calmly responded by saying, "When the fishermen put the net down then I'll leave." Arsue replied in a sluggish voice, "I'm going to stay right here. I'm tired, so let me sleep!" After hearing this, Udhyami tried really hard to make them understand why it was important to leave, but they just would not listen. So Udhyami left to get away from the fishermen.

Within a short time, the fishermen reached the spot where Madhya and Arsue were.

When the fishermen put their net in the water, Madhya swam away as quickly as he could. Lucky for him, he escaped just in time.

The fishermen began to lower the net into the water. It touched Arsue and with this, she woke up. She looked around and realised she was in the fishing net! She tried to escape but it was too late. She was trapped. As the fishermen pulled the net back up, she thought to herself, "If only I had listened to Udhyami, I would not be stuck in this net!"

Poor Arsue! If she had not been sleeping all day she would have been saved.