Love For The Family

The Duke of Edinburgh’s diamond studded snuff box vanished, after he had handed it around after the traditional annual dinner he served to his officers. At that time there were no servants in the room and so all agreed to turn their pockets inside out.  But one officer not only refused but walked out in protest. Naturally everyone suspected him.

One year later, putting on the same coat that he had worn on that fateful day, the Duke found the snuff box in its pocket. So the Duke went hunting for the suspected officer and found him in the garret in a very miserable condition and apologized to him. 

“But why did you not show your pocket and clear yourself of all suspicion that day?” asked the Duke. “My pockets were full of broken meat craps from the table that I had saved from the table for my wife and children who were dying of hunger at that time,” answered the officer.

To be ready and willing to jeopardize even one’s own good name for the sake of the dear ones! How sublime! “Where there is love, there is no burden. If there is burden, the burden itself is loved.”

Indian Thoughts - Archives

Religions

The Baba further continued: ‘There cannot be any exclusivity about God. The Jewish people had certain exclusive claims about Yweh, the God they worshipped. Jesus demolished these excusive claims and proclaimed that the Almighty God, the creator of heaven and earth, is the loving Father of all…

‘This was ‘blasphemy’ as far as the Jews were concerned. They accused him and crucified him basically for this ‘blasphemy’. There were no other crimes charged against him that deserved death on the cross…… 

‘Many Muslims have the same problem. The ‘Allah’ whom they worship is the only God as far as they are concerned, but they themselves do not have much knowledge about this sectarian God of theirs…. For them, Prophet Mohammad is also the last Prophet of God… 

‘Mahatma Gandhi asked a very valid question to those who claim such exclusiveness to God and His revelations in human history, especially to Christians and Muslims – ‘What happens if God wants to send another Prophet or wants to beget another Son?’.... Can the Muslims and Christians stop God from doing so?

‘Exclusive claims about God and Truth leads to fanaticism, and fanaticism leads to violence and bloodshed. The Semitic religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam make this kind of exclusive claims. That is why they have difficulty in accepting other religions and people with love and respect….

‘That is also the reason for their aggressive proselytization and eagerness to convert others to their religions, a strong tendency present in Christianity and Islam….

‘They sincerely believe that ‘salvation’ of human souls is possible only through their religions. They seem to believe that God made a mistake by allowing people to be born in religions other than their own. They sincerely want to correct this mistake of God by converting those ‘pagans’ and ‘kafirs’ into their religions!.... It was these false claims that Jesus the Christ demolished through his life and teachings….

‘Though Sadguru Jesus Christ had taught his disciples to love their enemies, most Christians can love others only if they are baptized and converted to their own religion first. This is contrary to the teachings of Jesus Christ. Even if one considers the followers of other religions as enemies, one is called to love them if one is a true ‘Christian’…..

‘Many of Jesus’ own claims about himself were misunderstood by his own disciples because they were standing at a different level of consciousness. For example, Jesus said ‘I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’ This is one of the most misunderstood claims of Jesus Christ by many Christian missionaries.’

The Baba stopped and looked at Atma Prakash.

Excerpts from Integral Revolution

RELIGIOUS ORDERS IN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

Catholic Christian Church is one of the most influential and powerful and best organized organizations in the world, that has a membership of about 1.3 billion (130 crores) in a world of about 7.4 billions (740 crores). The religious orders or congregations with the evangelical counsels or vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience are the vanguard of the Church, that traditionally prepares for others, generally diocesan priests, to come, take over, and establish parishes. The other day I happened to come across an old friend, a Jesuit priest and theologian, who was visiting his relatives in Kerala. He eventually spent a day in the ashram. Among other topics we briefly talked about vocations to the Jesuit order. In the golden years of Jesuits when I was with them (1957-1982) there were about 30,000 Jesuits. Now there are about 15,000. What happened? There was the historic Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) that, focusing on aggiornamento or the modernization of the Church, brought a sea change in Catholic theology and spirituality. While many priests and religious left or got older and passed away, there were fewer vocations to replace them. 

I certainly do not want religious orders in the Catholic Church to become extinct. I am not unduly concerned because I believe everything happens for a reason, and the Holy Spirit will take care of the Church. What I am concerned about, though, is whether persons in positions of power see clearly the signs of the times, interpret them correctly, and have the courage to do what is required. Christ talked about the signs of the times in the Gospels. St. Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits and the heavenly patron of retreats, for instance,has clearly spoken about discernment in his Spiritual Exercises, that would help one make right decisions in one’s life.

Seeing the signs of the times that, even shockingly include in recent times the murder of a priest and kidnapping of a bishop by fellow priests motivated by worldly power and material wealth, religious life as we know it can come to an end in the future whether we like it or not. Again embracing the signs of the times in deep faith, we need to look at new and viable options to run numerous institutions that serve God through humanity. Some suggestions are in order:

1. Forging meaningful and democratic, neither autocratic nor hierarchical, collaboration with lay persons who are like-minded and committed to the cause or mission will be of paramount importance. This collaboration in all sincerity can take place only when a cognitive as well as an affective realization that a religious state is not higher than the lay state. Humanity in its long march has grown to embrace democracy with all its limitations as the best mode of governance. And I strongly believe that democracy alone safeguards human dignity.

2. Fostering religious communities that include celibate and married persons. There will always be celibates who are time-bound or perpetual in their commitment. While this proposal is practically and organizationally difficult, it can be put into practice with good will and commitment coming from God’s call and grace. For this kind of shift to happen, also a complete and holistic realization that a celibate state is not superior to a married state is needed.

There are other suggestions like, for instance, collaborating with persons of other religions or persuasions with similar visions or goals. I do not want to elaborate on this now as it relates to situations far away in the future when there is a sense of greater unity of humanity and greater realization that our one God is the Father and Mother of all. Finally, every endeavor, whether engaged individually or collectively in a community, has one goal: doing God’s will and establishing the Kingdom of God.

Swami Snehananda Jyoti

A Lesser Known Indian Polymath

Okay! Most of you would like to know the meaning of “Polymath‟ first. It simply means a person who expertises in significant number of different subjects. One of the greatest polymath in history is well known to all of us. He is none other than Leonardo da Vinci, the great Italian painter, sculptor, engineer, scientist, architect and an anatomist. In India, people like Mahatma Gandhi, Ravindra Nath Tagore, Bhagat Singh were also polymaths. In our times some known names like Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, Navjot Singh Siddhu, Farhan Akhtar can be taken. I know you might object to taking some names and not taking some other names, but my point you must have well understood by now. 

Here I am putting forth a story of a lesser known Indian Polymath, Late Lala Har Dayal. He was an Indian freedom fighter and reformer who was a Disciple of Lala Lajpat Rai and was a founder of Ghadar Party in America. Other than being a political activist, freedom fighter not living on Indian soil for most of his lifetime, he also authored some great books on doctrines of religion and life. One of his book “Hints for Self Culture”, I have in my possession since child hood. Four personality aspects like Intellectual aspect, Physical aspect, Aesthetic aspect and Ethical aspect have been discussed for balancing rationalism versus religion. An extremely wide coverage from science, history, psychology, economic, philosophy, religion and from arts to politics has been done along with self development guidance in all aspects. I wrote this post for young generation “Z‟ everywhere around to know that such a brilliant author walked this planet about a century ago. His writings are worth reading as a variation from out day-to-day face book and WhatsApp chats. If curious, try reading this book on Google books itself. 

Dr. Sunil Ji Garg

The Lottery Ticket

John, who was in financial difficulty, walked into a church and started to pray. ''Listen God,'' John said. ''I know I haven't been perfect, but I really need to win the lottery. I don't have any money. Please help me out.''

He left the church, a week went by, and he hadn't won the lottery, so he walked into a synagogue. ''Come on, God,'' he said. ''I really need this money. My mom needs surgery and I have bills to pay. Please let me win the lottery.''

He left the synagogue, a week went by, and he didn't win the lottery. So, he went to a mosque and started to pray again. ''You're starting to disappoint me, God,'' he said. ''Give me a break! I've prayed and prayed. If you just let me win the lottery just this time, I'll be a better person. I don't have to win the jackpot, but just enough to get me out of debt. I'll even give some to charity. Just let me win the lottery.''

John thought this did it, so he got up and walked outside. Just then the clouds opened up and a booming voice said, ''John, you give me a break; first buy a lottery ticket.''

Not even God can help those who do not help themselves. The first step is yours to take.

God

Atma Prakash was eagerly waiting for the next ‘Guruvar Satsangh’.

As they settled down he asked:

‘Guruji, last time you had mentioned about the living Spirit of Christ. Can you please elaborate on this?’ 

The Baba smiled lovingly, looking into the eyes of his disciple, and said: 

‘The Ultimate Truth, as we have seen, my son, is the omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent Supreme Spirit without names, forms and attributes, and about which one can only be reverentially silent. It is the ‘Cosmic Void’ from which Pure Consciousness comes forth, the ‘Cosmic Void’ from which God wills Himself into ‘Being’….

‘Please understand, my son, that I use the masculine gender for God not because God is male, but because it has been a term commonly used and easily understood by most people…

‘But remember, God has no gender. He is an indivisible and integral ‘Being’ without beginning or end. He is the ‘One in All and All in One’. Both male and female exist in Him….. He is both static and dynamic at the same time….

‘The Pure Consciousness is the ‘Primordial Word of God’, the ‘divine light’ that shines on all humankind and enlightens every human soul. It is also the meeting ground of the Supreme Spirit, God, and the spirit of Man…

‘The ‘Primordial Word of God’ was known to the Greek as ‘Logos’. It was known to us Indians as ‘Sabdabrahman’ or ‘Aadisabda’. The Supreme Spirit is known to us Indians as ‘Paramatman’, and the individual human spirit, as ‘Jeevatman’... 

‘The ‘living Spirit of Christ’ implies God revealing Himself to humankind as light and love. It is ‘God with us’, accessible and available to humankind, so that we can develop a personal relationship with Him. In other words, the living Spirit of Christ is the omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent Supreme Spirit limiting Himself and revealing Himself to humankind out of love. It is the light and love of God ever active in human history and in our individual human lives…

‘God works in human history through the living Spirit of Christ, the ever-active divine light and love….

‘The living Spirit of Christ is also the indwelling divine light and love who leads us from falsehood to truth, from darkness to light, and from death to immortality… We can also refer to this living Spirit of Christ as the ‘Sadguru’ who revealed himself in, with and through Jesus of Nazareth the Christ….

‘I have accepted Jesus Christ as my ‘Sadguru’ through whom I have established a living and loving relationship with the living Spirit of Christ, though I am not a baptized Christian, neither do I ever want to be one …..

“Also, please remember that the English word ‘Christ’ comes from the Greek word ‘Christos’ meaning the ‘anointed one’ of God. It also implies the One in, with and through whom the grace and truth of God, as well as the power and wisdom of God, reveal themselves…… All of us are called to be such ‘anointed ones’ of God with unitive divine consciousness. We need to evolve and unfold this divine potential inherent in all of us……

‘The living Spirit of Christ is God Himself, existing before creation, and through whom all things are created. He is the ‘Word’ that is God. You will find this idea beautifully outlined in the Holy Bible, in the Gospel according to St. John in the first Chapter itself…. 

‘This living Spirit of Christ incarnated in human history, as a human person in, with and through Jesus of Nazareth who was also called ‘Emmanuel’, meaning ‘God with us’. 

The Baba stopped for a while reflectively.

Excerpts from Integral Revolution

Theological Harmony

By theological harmony I mean a theology based on the belief that we are all sons and daughters of the one and only God. It is a harmonious theology developed from the point of view and belief system revealed by a prophet or evolved from nature holds that the one God for the one humanity has many religions. Each religion with its own unique belief system and distinctive doctrines and dogmas, rituals and practices charts out a pathway to God. While pathways may be different, the destination is the same: the one God who is the author of creation and everything that there is, and who is the Father and Mother of us all, however that Being is described and understood by diverse religions. This theology - the human speculations of God – has a minimum common program whereby all cooperate, respect one another, and live in understanding and tolerance in full freedom. The four essential components of theological harmony are utter sincerity, truth as one perceives it to be, and one’s duly formed conscience, and freedom to exercise one’s choices in harmony with one’s on being grounded in one’s convictions.

Keeping this theological harmony as a background and take off point, Shantisadan Siddashram (Peace haven Center for Realization) in 20 Acres, Pottenkad, in the outskirts of Munnar, India where I reside, has developed a harmonious medley of statues by the junction of the main road  and the entrance to the ashram. This is one attempt to live the theological harmony in practice through creative artistic conception born from spiritual dialogue and depiction within certain limitations of historical persons. No idolatry is intended or practiced. The statues so far finished are:

• Panchabhutheshwaran or Kartav (The Lord of the Universe) around the age of 27 at the center in deep meditation. Typically it stands for Chrestos the Greek word meaning the Anointed of God or Abhishikta. He is depicted in Kerala style. He presents himself as completely surrendering to God, his Father and our Father. Through his total surrendering he does God’s will and channels grace to humanity.

• Mahatma Gandhi in his 50’s: He modeled life for humanity through Ahimsa (non-violence) conceived as perfect love.

• Sri Narayana Guru in his 60’s: A very subdued smile is evinced. He is a world teacher (Loka Guru) who in modern times proclaimed one God, one religion, and one race for humans.

• Mother Theresa in her 70’s: Full of compassion in utter surrender to Christ, serves humanity in unconditional love.

• The Samaritan Woman at Jacob’s well at the age of 27 in Kerala attire of her time. In the Kerala style of 200 hundred years ago, she is a voluptuous bare-breasted beauty trying to seduce Christ gets seduced in turn by Christ with his powerful message for the Kingdom, and covers her breasts in a hurry in great awe and reverence. She gets a glance of the Vishwa Roopam (the Divine Face) of Christ foretold in the Hebrew scripture.  An outcaste of the time, she has resemblance to the Chandala Bhikshuki (the low-caste beggar woman) of Kumaran Asan, a great poet of Kerala.

• Buddhan in his 30’s, just after enlightenment. Full of mercy and compassion, he begins to preach Ahimsa (non-violence) to humanity.

• Swami Vivekanandan (under construction): He wants to get rid of evil and insane practices and to awake to embrace a new humanity of harmony and service in knowledge and wisdom.

The other statues planned are Shankaracharya, Thommacharyar (St. Thomas), and Ayyan Kali, and possibly Nelson Mandela depending on space and funds. These persons also have greatly contributed to humanity. All these statues representing persons from diverse paths can give us a glimpse of theological harmony. A legitimate criticism that can come up is why I put Christ  (the Anointed) in the center of the statues. The answer is simple: I come from a Christian background, and I believe in his claim. I must also say currently I am beyond religions and focus primarily on spirituality.  I pray that we all live in love, peace, and harmony. 

Snehananda

Medico Vs. Medico

Recently two Indian doctors wrote a book about their own community regarding widespread mal practices in the medical eco system. Be it the hospitals, pathology labs and pharma companies. All seems to be involved in minting money by fooling the common man who is taken for granted. Many things about which we just had perceptions, when it comes like a naked proven truth, it definitely comes like a shock to even moderately sensitive people. Sometimes it becomes difficult to decide whether we need to weed out the black sheeps between the white ones or the vice versa. It is difficult to pass a judgment whether such efforts would create a significant impact on diseased working systems. But one thing is definite, that such efforts must be continuously done if any society needs to move forward. History is full of examples where individuals did some revolutionary things which may not have been noted in their life times, but which proved trend setters much later. I meet a lot of young people who are afraid to do any thing which is different from a set path most people around them are taking. Independent, lateral thinkers are a rare breed, but it is definitely a required breed. I will surely say that most interesting games are played when there are some game changing players. Are you ready to find those lateral thoughts in your minds. Come on! Give it a try. May be theme of another best seller is already getting cooked there. 

Dr. Sunil Ji Garg

One True God

The Baba continued: ‘My son, please remember, humanity’s spiritual growth is always associated with a new and deeper glimpse into the limitless ‘mystery’ of the one true God, the Ultimate Truth….

‘As human beings our ability to comprehend the totality of God is very very limited. We can only have a glimpse of the Ultimate Truth, the one true God; that too only by divine grace. But we can have the wrong glimpse also, unless we are guided by divine grace…. 

‘The human consciousness is an ever evolving and ever expanding reality. It has to grow and expand from the individual and family to the religious or political community. From this level of sectarian and communitarian consciousness, we have to grow to the inclusive global and universal consciousness. The universal consciousness has to finally blossom into the unitive divine consciousness, which is the final destination of this ongoing evolutionary growth of human consciousness…. 

‘Further, we need to realize and keep in mind always the truth that God, the Ultimate Truth, is an omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent Supreme Spirit beyond all names, forms and attributes….

‘We need to be very very humble in matters related to the Ultimate Reality, one true God… Pride is the biggest block in the path of truth,….in the path of spiritual growth… 

‘Mere intellectualism, scholarship and imagination can lead us astray. This has been happening very many times in human history. That is why we have superstitions, crusades, jihads, fanaticism, religious conversions and inter-religious rivalry….. 

‘But humanity’s eternal spiritual quest has been to have a correct understanding of and a deep and abiding relationship with the one true God….

‘Humankind has ever been striving to make God a living reality through knowledge and experience.’

The Baba once again looked at Atma Prakash.

‘But how can we make God a living reality, oh revered one?’ Atma Prakash asked.

‘In, with and through the living Spirit of Christ that incarnated in the person of Sadguru Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ, we can have a clear knowledge of and personal relationship with the one true God, whom he called as ‘Our Father in Heaven’…This is where one can find the uniqueness of Sadguru Jesus Christ, my son…..’ The Baba stopped.. and thoughtfully looked at Atma Prakash…He then got up and walked towards his cottage….

Excerpts from Integral Revolution

A Focused Young Boy

I could immediately spot that this boy was different amongst the three other children who were watching the cartoon film on TV while lying on the bed. This boy was different as he was never lying near these children. He was either sitting on the floor or sitting near the edge of the bed. He had a story book in his hand. I asked name of every child. All others replied unwillingly. This boy replied only after I encouraged him to reply. He was too shy. 

Next day, I had another opportunity to meet this boy as he was travelling with her mother. Her mother was telling about this boy that he always asks her to get back to home at night and this boy feels that home is the best place for him. Her mother was actually a house support staff at the place we went. I could now understand that why this boy was different on the first day I met him. He had an element of self pride, while reading the book, while other children were just watching TV. He also knew the distance he needs to keep with other children. I wish this boy to reach heights. Children born to parents with limited resources often face a conflicting situation of being carried away with the money power or stick to their goals. If we can just inculcate this one habit of not getting carried with the glitter of the world at young age, we are definitely going to get a much brighter tomorrow and a better world to live. 

Dr. Sunil Ji Garg

Fasting

Two bird hunters went up a mountain to spread their nets to catch birds. Very carefully they set their trap. On returning the following day, the hunters were very ecstatic at finding their nets filled with all the doves that were frantically trying to escape. But on close examination, they were greatly disappointed and one of them said, “what a waste, we will never find any buyers for these skinny birds.

The second one scratched the back of his head and said, “wait, a small investment in rice is all that is needed and shortly we will have them nice and plump.”  And that is what they did. Every morning one or the other hunter would go up and feed the doves with their choice food, the rice and water.

The birds, except one, fed themselves happily and slowly grew in size and weight. In spite of all the coxing and cajoling, the lone dove refused to eat, but once in a way he would sip a few drops of water.

On the day the hunters came to take the birds to the market, there was one bird less. One that had steadfastly refused to eat had become so thin, that with one last supreme effort he managed to squeeze himself through the net and flew of into liberty. 

Indian Thoughts Archives

The Supreme Spirit

‘What will be the ‘core message’ of a great and powerful sovereign spiritual person of the third millennium to humanity, guruji?’ Atma Prakash wanted to know.

The Baba was silent for a while. Then began…

‘The ‘core message’ of any great and powerful sovereign spiritual person will always be about the Supreme Spirit, the source and ground of existence, the one true God…..

‘The eternal quest of humanity from the beginning of history has been to gain knowledge about the Ultimate Truth, the one true God. It is in relation to this Ultimate Truth that we humans can understand the meaning and purpose of our life in this world, and the direction that we need to follow and the steps we need to take in order to realize that meaning and to achieve that purpose….. 

‘The God we worship determines our character, worldview and relationships. We also develop the attributes of the God we worship. Hence, the most important thing in life is to have a glimpse into and a correct understanding of the nature of the one true God. The meaning and purpose of life can altogether be lost to us if we worship the wrong gods. It will be like the disaster and death of one of the great men in history, Dag Hammarskjold.’ The Baba looked at his disciple. 

After a sort pause the Baba continued: 

‘Dag Hammarskjold, the great Secretary General of United Nations Organization, met his tragic death in an air crash at Ndola in Zambia…… 

‘An open map of Ndolo, a city in Congo, instead of the map of the city of Ndola, Zambia, the destination of the plane, was found in thewreckage of the UN plane. The map of the Ndoloshowed that the pilot had more than three  thousand feet than he actually did have in landing at Ndola,because Ndolais at ahigher altitudethan Ndolo So he crashed in an open field in the night, thinking that hehad three  thousand plus feet more than he actually had. He had the wrong map!..... 

‘The difference of an ‘a’ and an ‘o’ was the difference between life and death. The disaster was the result of using a wrong map. Many of us carry wrong mental maps of life. If an individual has the wrong mental map of his own life and its purpose, he will also come to a wrong ‘landing’. Life will end up in disaster and disappointment, instead of realizing its destined glory and purpose in this world. That is why we need to have a correct understanding of the one true God, and worship Him, and Him alone….

‘But human understanding of God and Truth is an ever evolving, and ever growing and changing reality. It changes, and needs to change, as we grow in wisdom and consciousness. Growth means change. Refusal to change means refusal to grow. …

‘Please remember, my son, the direction of true spiritual growth is always forward, upward and Godward. It remains fixed towards the Ultimate Truth, the one true God. Only its contextual understanding and time-space expressions change from era to era, from place to place, from culture to culture, and from levels to levels of consciousness…...

‘Old images and understanding of God have to change as humanity grows in wisdom and consciousness. If we fail to grow and change, we begin to decay and die. This is what is happening to many of our religions today. The concepts and attributes of the God that many of these religions promote and the images of the gods whom they worship today need to change radically ….

‘Also, the concepts of ‘salvation and eternal damnation’, ‘heaven and hell’, ‘original sin and final judgment’, ‘fall and redemption’, ‘rebirth and reincarnation’ etc. that the religions have been preaching need to be reinterpreted in the light of the evolved human consciousness and deeper insights into the nature of the Ultimate Reality. These concepts also have their roots in our understanding of the God we worship. Hence, there is an urgent need to re-understand God, the Ultimate Reality in a new light… 

‘Truth needs to be reinterpreted and reunderstood afresh. This is the spiritual mission of the era….’

The Baba stopped for a while and asked: ‘Are you with me, my son?’.

‘I am, guruji’ Atma Prakash affirmed. 

Excerpts from Integral Revolution

Inner Silence

 A friend who is a Yoga buff was explaining to me a new definition of Time as he learnt from his Guru. He says, “Time is defined as the inner silence gap between two thoughts”. The argument went further to explain that during this gap our body doesn‟t age. We know that one such limb of yoga, which is called „Dhyana‟ or Meditation in common language, talks about techniques of silencing your mind to reach your sub-conscious level. As per Albert Einstein, in physical world we can probably stop ageing if we can travel at the speed of light. As per some theories that talk about inner silence period, in the metaphysical world ageing can be stopped if this silence period can be increased. We have heard of ancient sages remaining in Samadhi beneath the ground for very long periods and then they come out fresh after that. Yes! All this is theoretical and beyond official scientific evidence. But what is a matter of experience for everybody to watch that if one can find time to talk to himself, he does feel periods of inner silence where a feeling comes as if nothing was thought. It is said that the period of inner silence, even if it may not be able to increase our age, may still be able to leave us with a chatter free mind, ready to solve problems in a better way. I am definitely going to give this harmless experiment a try without trying to challenge whether it is a scientifically proven fact. I hope many of you must have had experienced similar inner silence periods. Share your experiences if you can. 

Dr. Sunil Ji Garg

War of Words

A king sent a message to the ruler of a neighboring country. The message read:

"Send me a blue diamond as large as a pigeon's egg or else..."

 The king on getting the message wrote back: "We don't have such a diamond and if we had..."

The first king got very angry and declared war on his neighbor. The fighting went on for several months till a third king arranged a meeting between the two warring rulers. So they met and the first king said to the other: "What did you mean when you said, 'Send me a blue diamond as large as a pigeon's egg or else...'?"

"Why," he replied, "I meant a blue diamond as large as a pigeon's egg or else... some other diamond. I love diamonds. But what did you mean when you said, 'We don't have such a diamond and if we had-'?"

"It is easy to guess my meaning," said the other man. "What I wanted to say was, if we had such a diamond we would have gladly sent it to you." The Kings pledged to write more clearly in future communications and embraced each other and made peace.

Many a time, our understanding of what is left unsaid, including even the most obvious, is what causes problems. We would avoid a lot of trouble for ourselves and others if we are clear in what we say or write.

Indian Thoughts Archives

The Hair of a President

On the walls of the White house Oval Office, photographs of memorable events are hung. They are always updated with new ones every two weeks. But since three years there remains the picture of a five year old boy touching the head of the first black President of USA – Barack Obama. This picture, as his wife Michelle explains it, was shot from White house itself. In the picture, the President is bend by 900 from his waist and a small boy is touching his head as if a great Guru is blessing his dearest disciple. According to the story behind this picture, a Whitehouse staff with his wife and two children one day came to meet President Obama. When the President approached the family, the youngest of the boys, raised his hand as if trying to touch somewhere on the face of the President. A little confused, Obama wanted to know what he meant. The boy said that he wants to know if his hair also is the same as that of him. Obama instantly bent his head well low saying, 

“Why don’t you touch and know it for yourself?” The boy touched his head and shouted in joy, 

“Yes it is the same.”

The White house sees this picture as a signature photo of the times, which shows the change that USA has gone through during the past 150 years. One and a half centuries back, the White House was full of slaves; now it has only Masters. 

I see this picture from a different perspective. According to me, it is the picture of a small enthusiastic boy, who anxiously yearned to know the differences between an average human being and a real hero. This boy got convinced that he also is built by the same elements. I wish, if this picture would be reminding everyone the fact that we don’t generally use many of the available machineries within.

Joseph Mattappally