Rati Ram is my street dog friend. We met last year and for many months saw each other every morning. I wrote about him and our meetings for many weeks. Then, suddenly, I lost contact with Rati and wondered if he was dead or still alive.
Many months passed. To my joy, the other day, I noticed him, went close, and said hello. Rati is not exuberant like my earlier dog friend Kalu. He wagged his tail indicating that he was glad to see me again. But he did not jump at me and ask where I had disappeared. Knowing him, I too did not ask where he had been. We were together and that was good. We accepted the break in our meetings as a thing that happens in life. We traverse different routes and our paths sometimes do not cross. Now we are together and feel good about it.
Rati Ram began to appear regularly to walk a small distance alongside my friend K.T. and I. But he would stop at an invisible line. On our return from the newspaper stall he would often be gone, but occasionally still waiting. K.T. has been keeping dogs for years and is more familiar with dog behavior than I. He told me Rati Ram seems now to move within a narrower territorial boundary. This perhaps relates to his getting older and weaker. He is wisely avoiding conflict with younger, stronger, and more assertive dogs.
K.T. felt that perhaps Rati Ram would like me to give him some food. So I began every morning to buy a bun from a bakery and feed it to him slowly by hand. He liked the gesture and began accepting the offering with grace and love. I noticed that he receiving the food from my hand with perfect dignity and great care.
Now he takes each morsel from my hand taking care that his teeth would not touch my finger and accidentally hurt me. He is also careful not to wet my hand with his lips or tongue. I also notice that he relishes homemade bread or Roti more than buns.
For some time out meetings were irregular because Rati was not in his usual place. Now I find him in one specific spot outside a little meditation center waiting for my arrival with healthy whole wheat bread.
I am often amazed to notice how intelligent Rati Ram is. He makes it clear that he likes and appreciates my gift of food every morning. But he does not think of it as something extraordinary. He seems to take the whole thing naturally. We are friends and visiting each other. He is hungry and has to wait till someone comes along to feed him. I have access to food and I give him some. This is the law. Food is for the hungry and the two aught to meet when they are near. And that is what is happening.
Rati Ram knows we are friends. He wags his tail to show happiness when he sees me. He accepts food from my hand. He walks short distance with me often. But he never indicates a desire for to be taken to my home and adopted.
Partap Aggarwal
May 8, 2010
Part of the whole
Here is a beautiful spiritual message from Einstein. Many people do not know him other than only a scientist.
He talks of humans living in a prison of personal desires and attachment to a narrow circle of relatives and friends.
Indeed our task must be to free ourselves from the prison. But it is difficult when we live in a man made environment.
It would be mush easier in a forest, ocean or some other natural place.
I give you Albert Eienstein.
A human being is part of the whole.
called by us as ‘universe.’
a part limited in time and space.
He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings
as something separated from the rest
-a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness.
This delusion is a kind of prison for us,
restricting us to our personal desires and
to affection for a few persons nearest to us.
Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison
By widening our circle of compassion
To embrace all living creatures
and the whole of nature in its beauty.
- Albert Einstein, 1950 -
Enjoy.
Partap Aggarwal
May 1, 2010
He talks of humans living in a prison of personal desires and attachment to a narrow circle of relatives and friends.
Indeed our task must be to free ourselves from the prison. But it is difficult when we live in a man made environment.
It would be mush easier in a forest, ocean or some other natural place.
I give you Albert Eienstein.
A human being is part of the whole.
called by us as ‘universe.’
a part limited in time and space.
He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings
as something separated from the rest
-a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness.
This delusion is a kind of prison for us,
restricting us to our personal desires and
to affection for a few persons nearest to us.
Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison
By widening our circle of compassion
To embrace all living creatures
and the whole of nature in its beauty.
- Albert Einstein, 1950 -
Enjoy.
Partap Aggarwal
May 1, 2010
Part of the whole
Here is a beautiful spiritual message from Einstein. Many people do not know him other than only a scientist.
He talks of humans living in a prison of personal desires and attachment to a narrow circle of relatives and friends.
Indeed our task must be to free ourselves from the prison. But it is difficult when we live in a man made environment.
It would be mush easier in a forest, ocean or some other natural place.
I give you Albert Eienstein.
A human being is part of the whole.
called by us as ‘universe.’
a part limited in time and space.
He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings
as something separated from the rest
-a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness.
This delusion is a kind of prison for us,
restricting us to our personal desires and
to affection for a few persons nearest to us.
Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison
By widening our circle of compassion
To embrace all living creatures
and the whole of nature in its beauty.
- Albert Einstein, 1950 -
Enjoy.
Partap Aggarwal
May 1, 2010
He talks of humans living in a prison of personal desires and attachment to a narrow circle of relatives and friends.
Indeed our task must be to free ourselves from the prison. But it is difficult when we live in a man made environment.
It would be mush easier in a forest, ocean or some other natural place.
I give you Albert Eienstein.
A human being is part of the whole.
called by us as ‘universe.’
a part limited in time and space.
He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings
as something separated from the rest
-a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness.
This delusion is a kind of prison for us,
restricting us to our personal desires and
to affection for a few persons nearest to us.
Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison
By widening our circle of compassion
To embrace all living creatures
and the whole of nature in its beauty.
- Albert Einstein, 1950 -
Enjoy.
Partap Aggarwal
May 1, 2010
God as Silversmith
"He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver." Malachi 3:3
This verse puzzled some women in a Bible study and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God.
One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible Study.
That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn't mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining silver.
As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities.
The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot; then she thought again about the verse that says: "He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver." She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined.
The man answered ‘yes,’ he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed.
The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, "How do you know when the silver is fully refined?"
He smiled at her and answered, "Oh, that's easy -- when I see my image in it."
If today you are feeling the heat of the fire, remember that God has his eye on you and will keep watching you until He sees His image in you.
This very moment, someone needs to know that God is watching over her.
And, whatever she’s going through, she'll be a better person in the end.
Partap Aggarwal
March 27, 2010
This verse puzzled some women in a Bible study and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God.
One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible Study.
That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn't mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining silver.
As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities.
The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot; then she thought again about the verse that says: "He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver." She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined.
The man answered ‘yes,’ he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed.
The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, "How do you know when the silver is fully refined?"
He smiled at her and answered, "Oh, that's easy -- when I see my image in it."
If today you are feeling the heat of the fire, remember that God has his eye on you and will keep watching you until He sees His image in you.
This very moment, someone needs to know that God is watching over her.
And, whatever she’s going through, she'll be a better person in the end.
Partap Aggarwal
March 27, 2010
Shake It Off and Take a Step Up
One day a farmer's donkey fell into an abandoned dry well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do. He finally decided the animal was old and the well too, needed to be
filled up. So it just wasn't worth it to try to retrieve the donkey.
He invited all his neighbors to come over and help him. They each brought a spade and began to pour dirt into the well. At first the donkey wailed horribly. Then, he quieted down.
The farmer peered down into the well and was astounded by what he saw. With every load of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing something amazing. He would shake it off and take a step up.
Pretty soon the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and walked off. All the men were astonished.
The moral of the story is obvious. Life is going to rain all kinds of dirt on you. The trick is not to let it bury you. Shake it off and take a step up. Treat each of your troubles as a stepping-stone.
We can get out of the deepest wells just by shaking off the dirt and taking a step up! The trick is just never to give up.
Partap Aggarwal
March 20, 2010
filled up. So it just wasn't worth it to try to retrieve the donkey.
He invited all his neighbors to come over and help him. They each brought a spade and began to pour dirt into the well. At first the donkey wailed horribly. Then, he quieted down.
The farmer peered down into the well and was astounded by what he saw. With every load of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing something amazing. He would shake it off and take a step up.
Pretty soon the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and walked off. All the men were astonished.
The moral of the story is obvious. Life is going to rain all kinds of dirt on you. The trick is not to let it bury you. Shake it off and take a step up. Treat each of your troubles as a stepping-stone.
We can get out of the deepest wells just by shaking off the dirt and taking a step up! The trick is just never to give up.
Partap Aggarwal
March 20, 2010
Healing a Chronic Boil By Fasting
Mukand Lal (name fictitious), a man about 50, came to Atheeth Ashram one afternoon in 1991. He lived in Delhi and ran a training institute for young men where he taught them stenography, typing, and accounting.
Mukandlal had a boil on the right side of his chest for more than two decades. He had tried many different treatments but none had worked. The boil was dormant most of the year but it tended to flare up every summer. Then it pained terribly and oozed pus and blood. At times it burst and made real mess.
Noticing that the head of the Ashram, Swami Sahajanand, offered treatment for various ailments by right food and fasting, Mukand told Swamji about his boil.
Since he spoke English with heavy Punjabi accent I was asked to interpret.
We learned that Mukand was a heavy eater from childhood partly because of his love for food and also because he was taught that it was desirable to eat a full stomach. The food he ate was cooked in ghee. Milk, buttermilk, and butter were part of his daily diet. In the mid-60’s he learned to eat meat. It soon became regular habit. Once, or sometimes twice a week, he ate mutton, chicken or fish with friends. Although he liked meat, his body was not easily digesting it and converting part of it into toxins. The boil in his chest was to expel the poisons. None of his physicians had seen the connection between the food he ate and the boil but to Swami Sahajanand it was obvious. He was asked if he would fast for three days. He agreed. The effect was immediate. His boil loosened up and drained in the evening of the second day. Third day his pain almost disappeared. He stayed in the Ashram for a week and ate very light South Indian style food.
Mukand agreed with Swamiji’s diagnosis and promised faithfully to observed his instructions; i.e. eat only light vegetarian food and fast when the boil reappeared. A year later he wrote to inform Swamiji that the boil did not come.
Partap Aggarwal
March 13, 2010
Mukandlal had a boil on the right side of his chest for more than two decades. He had tried many different treatments but none had worked. The boil was dormant most of the year but it tended to flare up every summer. Then it pained terribly and oozed pus and blood. At times it burst and made real mess.
Noticing that the head of the Ashram, Swami Sahajanand, offered treatment for various ailments by right food and fasting, Mukand told Swamji about his boil.
Since he spoke English with heavy Punjabi accent I was asked to interpret.
We learned that Mukand was a heavy eater from childhood partly because of his love for food and also because he was taught that it was desirable to eat a full stomach. The food he ate was cooked in ghee. Milk, buttermilk, and butter were part of his daily diet. In the mid-60’s he learned to eat meat. It soon became regular habit. Once, or sometimes twice a week, he ate mutton, chicken or fish with friends. Although he liked meat, his body was not easily digesting it and converting part of it into toxins. The boil in his chest was to expel the poisons. None of his physicians had seen the connection between the food he ate and the boil but to Swami Sahajanand it was obvious. He was asked if he would fast for three days. He agreed. The effect was immediate. His boil loosened up and drained in the evening of the second day. Third day his pain almost disappeared. He stayed in the Ashram for a week and ate very light South Indian style food.
Mukand agreed with Swamiji’s diagnosis and promised faithfully to observed his instructions; i.e. eat only light vegetarian food and fast when the boil reappeared. A year later he wrote to inform Swamiji that the boil did not come.
Partap Aggarwal
March 13, 2010
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