The Old Tree

Once upon a time there was a leafy tree in a field. Leaves grew densely on the tall branches. The roots were deeply into the ground. The tree was the most remarkable among the rest.
The tree then became the home for some birds. They built their nests and they lived on his branches. The birds made holes on him, and they hatched their eggs within the greatness of the tree. The tree felt so delighted because he was accompanied as he walked through his long lasting days.

People were grateful for the presence of the tree. They often came over and sheltered under him. Under his branches, they sat down and opened their picnic baskets. "This tree is very useful," that's what the people said every time they went home from shelter. The tree was very proud hearing those compliments.

However, time went on. The tree was beginning to be sick. His leaves and twigs were falling, then his body became thin and pale. The greatness he used to have was fading away. Birds felt reluctant to build their nests there. No one would come to sit under the tree to shelter anymore.
The tree wept, "Oh God, why is it so hard for me? I need friends. Now no one would come close to me. Why do you take all the glory I used to have?" The tree cried loudly, so it echoed throughout the forest. "Why wouldn't you cut me down, so I don't have to bear this suffering?" The tree kept on crying, and his tears were running down his dry body.

Seasons came and went, but his condition had not changed. The tree was still feeling lonely. His branches became drier and drier. Every night the tree wept and cried, until the morning broke.
"Cheep...chirp....cheep" Ah, what was that noise? Oh, it's a little baby bird who has just pipped from the egg. The old tree woke up from his daydream.

"Cheep...chirp...cheep", the noise became louder and louder. There was another baby bird. Not long after that, the tree became noisy because of the birth of new baby birds. One...two...three...and four baby birds have been born to this world. "Ah, He has answered my prayers," exclaimed the old tree.

The day after, there were many birds flying to the old tree. They were going to build new nests. The dry branches have turned out to attract their attention to nest there. The birds felt warmer to stay inside the dry branches instead of their place before. The number of birds was increasing and there were more kinds of them. "Wow, now my days are brighter with their presence here", murmured the old tree gladly.

The old tree was back to cheer again. And when he looked down, his heart was flowing with joy. There was a new little tree growing near his roots. The new tree seemed to smile at him. The tears of the old tree has grown a little tree who would continue his devotion to nature.
Dear friends, that's the way it is. Is there any lesson that we could take from the story? God always has secret plans for us. The Almighty God will always gives answers to our questions. Even though it is not always easy to guess what the resolution is, be certain that the Omniscient God knows what's best for us.

When there are times He sends temptation for us, in other times He gives us His overflowing blessings. The test He gives us isn't something that can't be overcome. When God gave the temptation to the old tree, actually He DELAYED in giving His glory. God didn't choose to cut the old tree down since He kept some secrets. God was testing his patience.
So, dear friends, be sure, whatever temptation we are facing is a part of the chain of glory He is preparing for us. Don't give up, and don't be discouraged. God is always there beside patient people.

Three Bricklayers

The story of the three bricklayers has been around for many years. The reason it continues to be told is the messages that the story tells. The following is the story of The Three Bricklayers:


"Once there were 3 bricklayers. Each one of them was asked what they were doing.
The first man answered gruffly, 'I'm laying bricks.'
The second man replied, 'I'm putting up a wall.'
But the third man said enthusiastically and with pride, 'I'm building a cathedral.'" --Author Unknown


This story clearly reveals two secrets of success:
1. Attitude - Your attitude towards whatever you are doing determines your ultimate level of success. Having enthusiasm and pride in what you are doing will show in your work. Your attitude is one of the most important things that you control. You choose your attitude each and every day.And the choice you make will determine your success.


2. Ability to See the Bigger Picture - Being able to see the end result, rather than just the task, eliminates obstacles, focuses your energy, and provides motivation to excel. At times our focus is only on the immediate task. When we change our focus on the bigger picture or the end result it provides motivation to continue, it inspires solutions to challenges.


To summarize, when you face challenges, when you feel discouraged, when you feel like you will never reach success, remember the story of The Three Bricklayers and look at your attitude and visualize your end result!

The 99 Club- Are you Part of it?

Some time ago, there lived a King.This king should have been contented with his life, given all the riches and luxuries he had. However, this was not the case! The King always found himself wondering why he just never seemed content with his life.

Sure, he had the attention of everyone wherever he went, attended fancy dinners and parties, but somehow, he still felt something was lacking and he couldn't put his finger on it.

One day, the King had woken up earlier than usual to stroll around his palace. He entered his huge living room and came to a stop when he heard someone happily singing away... following this singing... he saw that one of the servants was singing and had a very contented look on his face.
This fascinated the King and he summoned this man to his chambers.

The man entered the King's chambers as ordered. The King asked why he was so happy?

To this the man replied: "Your Majesty, I am nothing but a servant, but I make enough of a living to keep my wife and children happy. We don't need too much, a roof over our heads and warm food to fill our tummy. My wife and children are my inspiration, they are content with whatever little I bring home. I am happy because my family is happy."

Hearing this, the King dismissed the servant and summoned his Personal Assistant to his chambers.

The King related his personal anguish about his feelings and then related the story of the servant to his Personal Assistant, hoping that somehow, he will be able to come up with some reasoning that here was a King who could have anything he wished for at a snap of his fingers and yet was not contented, whereas, his servant, having so little was extremely contented.

The Personal Assistant listened attentively and came to a conclusion. He said, "Your Majesty, I believe that the servant has not been made part of The 99 Club."
"The 99 Club? And what exactly is that?" the King inquired.

To which the Assistant replied, "Your Majesty, to truly know what The 99 Club is, you will have to do the following... place 99 Gold coins in a bag and leave it at this servant's doorstep, you will then understand what The 99 Club is."
That very same evening, the King arranged for 99 Gold coins to be placed in a bag at the servant's doorstep. Although he was slightly hesitant and he thought he should have put 100 Gold coins into the bag, but since his assistant had advised him to put 99 that is what he did.

The servant was just stepping out of his house when he saw a bag at his doorstep. Wondering about its contents, he took it into his house and opened the bag. When he opened the bag, he let out a great big shout of joy...Gold Coins... so many of them. He could hardly believe it. He called his wife to show her the coins.

He then took the bag to a table and emptied it out and began to count the coins. Doing so, he realized that there were 99 coins and he thought it was an odd number so he counted again, and again and again only to come to the same conclusion... 99 Gold Coins.

He began to wonder, what could have happened to that last 1 coin? For no one would leave 99 coins. He began to search his entire house, looked around his backyard for hours, not wanting to lose out on that one coin. Finally, exhausted, he decided that he was going to have to work harder than ever to make up for that 1 Gold coin to make his entire collection an even 100 Gold Coins.

He got up the next morning, in an extremely horrible mood, shouting at the children and his wife for his delay, not realizing that he had spent most of the night conjuring ways of working hard so that he had enough money to buy himself that gold coin. He went to work as usual - but not in his usual best mood, singing happily - as he grumpily did his daily errands.
Seeing the man's attitude change so drastically, the King was puzzled. He promptly summoned his assistant to his chambers. The King related his thoughts about the servant and once again, his assistant listened. The King could not believe that the servant who until yesterday had been singing away and was happy and content with his life had taken a sudden change of attitude, even though he should have been happier after receiving the gold coins.
To this the assistant replied "Ah! But your Majesty, the servant has now officially joined The 99 Club." He explained: "The 99 Club is just a name given to those people who have everything but yet are never contented, therefore they are always working hard and striving for that extra 1 to round it out to 100!
We have so much to be thankful for and we can live with very little in our lives, but the minute we are given something bigger and better, we want even more!

Lesson to learn from this Story:

We are not the same happy contented person we used to be, we want more and more and by wanting more and more we don't realize the price we pay for it.

We lose our sleep, our happiness; we hurt the people around us just as a price to pay for our growing needs and desires.

That is what joining The 99 Club is all about."

Hearing this the King decided that from that day onwards, he was going to start appreciating all the little things in life.

Striving for more is always good, but let's not strive so hard and for so much that we loses all those near and dear to our hearts, we shouldn't compromise our happiness for moments of luxuries!

You are Wonderful

The following true story captured our heart.. It happened several years ago in the Paris opera house. A famous singer had been contracted to sing, and ticket sales were booming. In fact, the night of the concert found the house packed and every ticket sold.
The feeling of anticipation and excitement was in the air as the house manager took the stage and said, "Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your enthusiastic support. I am afraid that due to illness, the man whom you've all come to hear will not be performing tonight. However, we have found a suitable substitute we hope will provide you with comparable entertainment."
The crowd groaned in disappointment and failed to hear the announcer mention the stand-in's name. The environment turned from excitement to frustration.
The stand-in performer gave the performance everything he had. When he had finished, there was nothing but an uncomfortable silence. No one applauded.
Suddenly, from the balcony, a little boy stood up and shouted, "Daddy, I think you are wonderful!" The crowd broke into thunderous applause.
We all need people in our Lives who are willing to stand up once in a while and say, "I think you are wonderful. "

EIGHT LIES OF A MOTHER - Inspiring one

~EIGHT LIES OF A MOTHER~ 1.The story began when I was a child; I was born as a son of a poor family. Even for eating, we often got lack of food. Whenever the time for eating, mother often gave me her portion of rice. While she was removing her rice into my bowl, she would say "Eat this rice, son. I'm not hungry". That was Mother's First Lie 2.When I was getting to grow up, the persevering mother gave her spare time for fishing in a river near our house, she hoped that from the fishes she got, she could gave me a little bit nutritious food for my growth. After fishing, she would cook the fishes to be a fresh fish soup, which raised my appetite. While I was eating the soup, mother would sit beside me and eat the rest meat of fish, which was still on the bone of the fish I ate. My heart was touched when I saw it. I then used my chopstick and gave the other fish to her. But she immediately refused it and said "Eat this fish, son. I don't really like fish." That was Mother's Second Lie. 3.Then, when I was in Junior High School, to fund my study, mother went to an economic enterprise to bring some used-matches boxes that would be stuck in. It gave her some money for covering our needs. As the winter came, I woke up from my sleep and looked at my mother who was still awoke, supported by a little candlelight and within her perseverance she continued the work of sticking some used-matches box. I said, "Mother, go to sleep, it's late, tomorrow morning you still have to go for work. " Mother smiled and said "Go to sleep, dear. I'm not tired." That was Mother's Third Lie. 4.At the time of final term, mother asked for a leave from her work in order to accompany me. While the daytime was coming and the heat of the sun was starting to shine, the strong and persevering mother waited for me under the heat of the sun's shine for several hours. As the bell rang, which indicated that the final exam had finished, mother immediately welcomed me and poured me a glass of tea that she had prepared before in a cold bottle. The very thick tea was not as thick as my mother's love, which was much thicker. Seeing my mother covering with perspiration, I at once gave her my glass and asked her to drink too. Mother said "Drink, son. I'm not thirsty!". That was Mother's Fourth Lie. 5.After the death of my father because of illness, my poor mother had to play her role as a single parent. By held on her former job, she had to fund our needs alone. Our family's life was more complicated. No days without sufferance. Seeing our family's condition that was getting worse, there was a nice uncle who lived near my house came to help us, either in a big problem and a small problem. Our other neighbors who lived next to us saw that our family's life was so unfortunate, they often advised my mother to marry again. But mother, who was stubborn, didn't care to their advice, she said "I don't need love." That was Mother's Fifth Lie. 6.After I had finished my study and then got a job, it was the time for my old mother to retire. But she didn't want to; she was sincere to go to the marketplace every morning, just to sell some vegetable for fulfilling her needs. I, who worked in the other city, often sent her some money to help her in fulfilling her needs, but she was stubborn for not accepting the money. She even sent the money back to me. She said "I have enough money." That was Mother's Sixth Lie. 7.After graduated from Bachelor Degree, I then continued my study to Master Degree. I took the degree, which was funded by a company through a scholarship program, from a famous University in America . I finally worked in the company. Within a quite high salary, I intended to take my mother to enjoy her life in America . But my lovely mother didn't want to bother her son, she said to me "I'm not used to." That was Mother's Seventh Lie. 8.After entering her old age, mother got a flank cancer and had to be hospitalized. I, who lived in miles away and across the ocean, directly went home to visit my dearest mother. She lied down in weakness on her bed after having an operation. Mother, who looked so old, was staring at me in deep yearn. She tried to spread her smile on her face; even it looked so stiff because of the disease she held out. It was clear enough to see how the disease broke my mother's body, thus she looked so weak and thin. I stared at my mother within tears flowing on my face. My heart was hurt, so hurt, seeing my mother on that condition. But mother, with her strength, said "Don't cry, my dear. I'm not in pain." That was Mother's Eight Lie. After saying her eighth lie, She closed her eyes forever!

The Plan

A pretty woman was serving a life sentence in prison. Angry and resentful about her situation, she had decided that she would rather die than to live another year in prison.

Over the years she had become good friends with one of the prison caretakers. His job, among others, was to bury those prisoners who died in a graveyard just outside the prison walls. When a prisoner died, the caretaker rang a bell, which was heard by everyone. The caretaker then got the body and put it in a casket. Next, he entered his office to fill out the death certificate before returning to the casket to nail the lid shut. Finally, he put the casket on a wagon to take it to the graveyard and bury it.


Knowing this routine, the woman devised an escape plan and shared it with the caretaker.. The next time the bell rang, the woman would leave her cell and sneak into the dark room where the coffins were kept. She would slip into the coffin with the dead body while the caretaker was filling out the death certificate. When the care-taker returned, he would nail the lid shut and take the coffin outside the prison with the woman in the coffin along with the dead body. He would then bury the coffin. The woman knew there would be enough air for her to breathe until later in the evening when the caretaker would return to the graveyard under the cover of darkness, dig up the coffin, open it, and set her free.

The caretaker was reluctant to go along with this plan, but since he and the woman had become good friends over the years, he agreed to do it.The woman waited several weeks before someone in the prison died. She was asleep in her cell when she heard the death bell ring.

She got up and slowly walked down the hallway. She was nearly caught a couple of times. Her heart was beating fast. She opened the door to the darkened room where the coffins were kept. Quietly in the dark, she found the coffin that contained the dead body, carefully climbed into the coffin and pulled the lid shut to wait for the caretaker to come and nail the lid shut.

Soon she heard footsteps and the pounding of the hammer and nails. Even though she was very uncomfortable in the coffin with the dead body, she knew that with each nail she was one step closer to freedom. The coffin was lifted onto the wagon and taken outside to the graveyard. She could feel the coffin being lowered into the ground. She didn't make a sound as the coffin hit the bottom of the grave with a thud.

Finally she heard the dirt dropping onto the top of the wooden coffin, and she knew that it was only a matter of time until she would be free at last. After several minutes of absolute silence, she began to laugh. She was free! She was free! Feeling curious, she decided to light a match to find out the identity of the dead prisoner beside her.

To her horror, she discovered that she was lying next to the dead caretaker.

Many people believe they have life all figured out..... But sometimes it just doesn't turn out the way they planned it.

God's Wife-Inspirational Story

 An eye witness account from New York City , on a cold day in December, some years ago: A little boy, about 10-years-old, was standing before a shoe store on the roadway, barefooted, peering through the window, and shivering with cold। A lady approached the young boy and said, 'My, but you're in such deep thought staring in that window!''I was asking God to give me a pair of shoes,'was the boy's replyThe lady took him by the hand, went into the store, and asked the clerk to get half a dozen pairs of socks for the boy. She then asked if he could give her a basin of water and a towel. He quickly brought them to her. She took the little fellow to the back part of the store and, removing her gloves, knelt down, washed his little feet, and dried them with the towel.By this time, the clerk had returned with the socks. Placing a pair upon the boy's feet, she purchased him a pair of shoes. She tied up the remaining pairs of socks and gave them to him. She patted him on the head and said, 'No doubt, you will be more comfortable now.' As she turned to go, the astonished kid caught her by the hand, and looking up into her face, with tears in his eyes, asked her . 'Are you God's wife?'

Presence of mind!

hope you wont mind it
In a shop a man asked for 1/2 kg of butter. The salesperson, a young boy, said that only 1 kg packs were available in the shop, but the man insisted on buying only 1/2 kg. So the boy went inside to the manager's room and said 'An idiot outside wants to buy only 1/2 kg of butter'. To his surprise, the customer was standing behind him. So the boy added immediately, 'And this gentleman wants to buy the other half!' After the customer left, the manager said 'You have saved your position by being clever enough at the right time. Where do you come from?' To this the boy said, 'I come from place named x consists of only prostitutes and football players!'

The manager replied coldly, 'My wife is also from that place only'.
To this the boy asked excitedly, 'Oh yeah? Which team does she play for?' Presence of mind helps, never panic!

5 Great Lessons

First Important Lesson - Cleaning Lady.During my second month of college, our professor gave us a pop quiz. I was a conscientious student and had breezed through the questions until I read the last one: "What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?"Surely this was some kind of joke. I had seen the cleaning woman several times. She was tall, dark-haired and in her 50s, but how would I know her name? I handed in my paper, leaving the last question blank.Just before class ended, one student asked if the last question would count toward our quiz grade."Absolutely, " said the professor. "In your careers, you will meet many people. All are significant. They deserve your attention and care, even if all you do is smile and say "hello." I've never forgotten that lesson. I also learned her name was Dorothy.

 2. - Second Important Lesson - Pickup in the Rain One night, at 11:30 p.m., an older African American woman was standing on the side of an Alabama highway trying to endure a lashing rainstorm. Her car had broken down andshe desperately needed a ride. Soaking wet, she decided to flag down the next car. A young white man stopped to help her, generally unheard of in those conflict-filled 1960s.The man took her to safety, helped her get assistance and put her into a taxicab. She seemed to be in a big hurry, but wrote down his address and thanked him. Seven days went by and a knock came on the man's door.To his surprise, a giant console colour TV was delivered to his home. A special note was attached. It read: "Thank you so much for assisting me on the highway the other night. The rain drenched not only my clothes, but also my spirits. Then you came along. Because of you, I was able to make it to my dying husband's bedside just before he passed away... God bless you for helping me and unselfishly serving others." Sincerely, Mrs. Nat King Cole. 

3 - Third Important Lesson - Always remember those who serve. In the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less, a 10-year-old boy entered a hotel coffee shop and sat at a table. A waitress put a glass of water in front of him. "How much is an ice cream sundae?" he asked."Fifty cents," replied the waitress.The little boy pulled is hand out of his pocket and studied the coins in it."Well, how much is a plain dish of ice cream?" he inquired. By now more people were waiting for a table and the waitress was growing impatient."Thirty-five cents," she brusquely replied. The little boy again counted his coins. "I'll have the plain ice cream," he said. The waitress brought the ice cream, put the bill on the table and walked away. The boy finished the ice cream, paid the cashier and left.When the waitress came back, she began to cry as she wiped down the table. There, placed neatly beside the empty dish, were two nickels and five pennies (15 cents).You see, he couldn't have the sundae, because he had to have enough left to leave her a tip. 

4 - Fourth Important Lesson. - The obstacle in Our Path. 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 lying 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.

 5 - Fifth Important Lesson - Giving When it Counts... Many years ago, when I worked as a volunteer at a hospital, I got to know a little girl named Liz who was suffering from a rare and serious disease. Her only chance of recovery appeared to be a blood transfusion from her 5-year old brother, who had miraculously survived the same disease and had developed the antibodies needed to combat the illness. The doctor explained the situation to her little brother, and asked the little boy if he would be willing to give his blood to his sister. I saw him hesitate for only a moment before taking a deep breath and saying, "Yes I'll do it, if it will save her." As the transfusion progressed, he lay in bed next to his sister and smiled, as we all did, seeing the colour returning to her cheeks. Then his face grew pale and his smile faded.He looked up at the doctor and asked with a trembling voice, "Will I start to die right away?" Being young, the little boy had misunderstood the doctor; he thought he was going to have to give his sister all of his blood in order to save her. Now you have 2 choices.1. Delete this email, or2. Forward it to people you care about. I hope that you will choose No. 2 and remember.... .. "Work like you don't need the money,love like you've never been hurt, and dance like you do when nobody's watching."

The Real Meaning Of Peace

"There once was a king who offered a prize to the artist who would paint the best picture of peace। Many artist tried. The king looked at all the pictures. But there were only two he really liked, and he had to choose? between them. One picture was of a calm lake. The lake was a perfect mirror for peaceful tower in mountains all around it. Overhead was a blue sky with fluffy white clouds.?All who saw this picture thought that it was a perfect? picture of peace.The other picture had mountains, too. But these were rugged? and bare. Above was an angry sky, from which rain fell and in which lightning played. Down the side of the mountain tumbled a foaming waterfall.This did not look peaceful at all.But when the king looked closely, he saw behind the waterfall a tiny bush growing in a crack in the rock. In the bush a mother bird had built her nest. There, in the midst of the rush of angry water, sat the mother bird on her nest - in perfect peace.Which picture do you think won the prize? The king chose the second picture. Do you know why?"Because," explained the king, "peace does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble, or hard work. Peace means to be in the midst of all those things and still be calm in your heart. That is the real meaning of peace."

A Story with Moral – Worth Reading

I remember the night in Chandigarh when our son, Ananya, was just five years old. We were staying with relatives and it was his bedtime. When I looked at the living room floor, I knew we had a problem. Toys were all over the place. "Ananya," I said, "you need to pick up all those toys before you go to bed."

"Daddy," he said, "I'm too tired to pick up my toys."

My immediate inclination was to force him to clean up the room. Instead, I went into the bedroom, laid down, and said, "Ananya, come here. Let’s play Humpty Dumpty."

He climbed up on my knees and I said, "Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall. Humpty Dumpty had a great fall." And he fell. Ananya laughed and said, "Let's do it again." Well, after the third "fall," I said, "Okay, but first go pick up those toys."

Without thinking, he ran into the living room and in ninety seconds he finished a job that could have taken half an hour. Then he jumped back on my knees and repeated, "Daddy, let’s do it again."

"Ananya, I thought you were too tired to pick up those toys." He answered, "I was, daddy, but I just wanted to do this!"

We can finish any job when we have the "Want to!"

Under The Guidance Of The Master,The Soul Discovers Its True Identity

A lioness who had just given birth to a cub had to leave it for a while to go out for hunting..Shepherd found the cub and took it home and grew the cub among the sheep..one day a lion saw the cub and told the cub that it was not sheep abut a lion..no i am a sheep said the cub and was not ready to accept it..so the lion took the cub near a river and asked the cub to see her face in the water..The lion asked if she was looking like him..The cub said YES..so the lion asked the cub to roar with him like a lion..it did so and when the shepherd heard the roar they all fled..

our senses are the sheep and our mind is the shepherd..The mind has confused the soul through the senses ..just as the lion comes in contact with the cub,the master meets the soul and tells her--you are a particle of supreme lord..go within and realize yourself.Under the guidance of the master,the soul discovers its true identity and becomes free of the mind and the senses...

LESSONS ON LIFE

There was a man who had four sons.
He wanted his sons to learn not to judge things too quickly.
So he sent them each on a quest, in turn, to go and look at a pear tree that was a great distance away.

The first son went in the winter, the second in the spring, the third in summer, and the youngest son in the fall.

When they had all gone and come back, he called them together to describe what they had seen.

The first son said that the tree was ugly, bent, and twisted.
The second son said no it was covered with green buds and full of promise.

The third son disagreed; he said it was laden with blossoms that smelled so sweet and looked so beautiful, it was the most graceful thing he had ever seen.

The last son disagreed with all of them; he said it was ripe and drooping with fruit, full of life and fulfillment.

The man then explained to his sons that they were all right, because they had each seen but only one season in the tree's life.

He told them that you cannot judge a tree, or a person, by only one season, and that the essence of who they are and the pleasure, joy, and love that come from that life can only be measured at the end, when all the seasons are up.

If you give up when it's winter, you will miss the promise of your spring, the beauty of your summer, fulfillment of your fall.

Moral: Don't let the pain of one season destroy the joy of all the rest.
Don't judge life by one difficult season.
Persevere through the difficult patches and better times are sure to come some time or later.

11 Writers and Artists Who Failed At First Attempt

1. Vincent Van Gogh: During his lifetime, Van Gogh sold only one painting, and this was to a friend and only for a very small amount of money. While Van Gogh was never a success during his life, he plugged on with painting, sometimes starving to complete his over 800 known works. Today, they bring in hundreds of millions.

2. Emily Dickinson: Recluse and poet Emily Dickinson is a commonly read and loved writer. Yet in her lifetime she was all but ignored, having fewer than a dozen poems published out of her almost 1,800 completed works.

3. Theodor Seuss Giesel: Today nearly every child has read The Cat in the Hat or Green Eggs and Ham, yet 27 different publishers rejected Dr. Seuss’s first book To Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street.

4. Charles Schultz: Schultz’s Peanuts comic strip has had enduring fame, yet this cartoonist had every cartoon he submitted rejected by his high school yearbook staff. Even after high school, Schultz didn’t have it easy, applying and being rejected for a position working with Walt Disney.

5. Steven Spielberg: While today Spielberg’s name is synonymous with big budget, he was rejected from the University of Southern California School of Theater, Film and Television three times. He eventually attended school at another location, only to drop out to become a director before finishing. Thirty-five years after starting his degree, Spielberg returned to school in 2002 to finally complete his work and earn his BA.

6. Stephen King: The first book by this author, the iconic thriller Carrie, received 30 rejections, finally causing King to give up and throw it in the trash. His wife fished it out and encouraged him to resubmit it, and the rest is history, with King now having hundreds of books published the distinction of being one of the best-selling authors of all time.

7. Zane Grey: Incredibly popular in the early 20th century, this adventure book writer began his career as a dentist, something he quickly began to hate. So, he began to write, only to see rejection after rejection for his works, being told eventually that he had no business being a writer and should given up. It took him years, but at 40, Zane finally got his first work published, leaving him with almost 90 books to his name and selling over 50 million copies worldwide.

8. J. K. Rowling: Rowling may be rolling in a lot of Harry Potter dough today, but before she published the series of novels she was nearly penniless, severely depressed, divorced, trying to raise a child on her own while attending school and writing a novel. Rowling went from depending on welfare to survive to being one of the richest women in the world in a span of only five years through her hard work and determination.

9. Monet: Today Monet’s work sells for millions of dollars and hangs in some of the most prestigious institutions in the world. Yet during his own time, it was mocked and rejected by the artistic elite, the Paris Salon. Monet kept at his impressionist style, which caught on and in many ways was a starting point for some major changes to art that ushered in the modern era.

10. Jack London: This well-known American author wasn’t always such a success. While he would go on to publish popular novels like White Fang and The Call of the Wild, his first story received six hundred rejection slips before finally being accepted.

11. Louisa May Alcott: Most people are familiar with Alcott’s most famous work, Little Women. Yet Alcott faced a bit of a battle to get her work out there and was encouraged to find work as a servant by her family to make ends meet. It was her letters back home during her experience as a nurse in the Civil War that gave her the first big break she needed.

21 Famous People Who Failed At First And Later Got Sucess

Scientists and Thinkers

These people are often regarded as some of the greatest minds of our century, but they often had to face great obstacles, the ridicule of their peers and the animosity of society.

1. Albert Einstein: Most of us take Einstein’s name as synonymous with genius, but he didn’t always show such promise. Einstein did not speak until he was four and did not read until he was seven, causing his teachers and parents to think he was mentally handicapped, slow and anti-social. Eventually, he was expelled from school and was refused admittance to the Zurich Polytechnic School. It might have taken him a bit longer, but most people would agree that he caught on pretty well in the end, winning the Nobel Prize and changing the face of modern physics.

2. Charles Darwin: In his early years, Darwin gave up on having a medical career and was often chastised by his father for being lazy and too dreamy. Darwin himself wrote, “I was considered by all my masters and my father, a very ordinary boy, rather below the common standard of intellect.” Perhaps they judged too soon, as Darwin today is well-known for his scientific studies.

3. Robert Goddard: Goddard today is hailed for his research and experimentation with liquid-fueled rockets, but during his lifetime his ideas were often rejected and mocked by his scientific peers who thought they were outrageous and impossible. Today rockets and space travel don’t seem far-fetched at all, due largely in part to the work of this scientist who worked against the feelings of the time.
4. Isaac Newton: Newton was undoubtedly a genius when it came to math, but he had some failings early on. He never did particularly well in school and when put in charge of running the family farm, he failed miserably, so poorly in fact that an uncle took charge and sent him off to Cambridge where he finally blossomed into the scholar we know today.

5. Socrates: Despite leaving no written records behind, Socrates is regarded as one of the greatest philosophers of the Classical era. Because of his new ideas, in his own time he was called “an immoral corrupter of youth” and was sentenced to death. Socrates didn’t let this stop him and kept right on, teaching up until he was forced to poison himself.

6. Robert Sternberg: This big name in psychology received a C in his first college introductory psychology class with his teacher telling him that, “there was already a famous Sternberg in psychology and it was obvious there would not be another.” Sternberg showed him, however, graduating from Stanford with exceptional distinction in psychology, summa cum laude, and Phi Beta Kappa and eventually becoming the President of the American Psychological Association.

Inventors

These inventors changed the face of the modern world, but not without a few failed prototypes along the way.

7. Orville and Wilbur Wright: These brothers battled depression and family illness before starting the bicycle shop that would lead them to experimenting with flight. After numerous attempts at creating flying machines, several years of hard work, and tons of failed prototypes, the brothers finally created a plane that could get airborne and stay there.

Public Figures

From politicians to talk show hosts, these figures had a few failures before they came out on top.

8. Winston Churchill: This Nobel Prize-winning, twice-elected Prime Minster of the United Kingdom wasn’t always as well regarded as he is today. Churchill struggled in school and failed the sixth grade. After school he faced many years of political failures, as he was defeated in every election for public office until he finally became the Prime Minister at the ripe old age of 62.

9. Abraham Lincoln: While today he is remembered as one of the greatest leaders of our nation, Lincoln’s life wasn’t so easy. In his youth he went to war a captain and returned a private (if you’re not familiar with military ranks, just know that private is as low as it goes.) Lincoln didn’t stop failing there, however. He started numerous failed business and was defeated in numerous runs he made for public office.

10. Oprah Winfrey: Most people know Oprah as one of the most iconic faces on TV as well as one of the richest and most successful women in the world. Oprah faced a hard road to get to that position, however, enduring a rough and often abusive childhood as well as numerous career setbacks including being fired from her job as a television reporter because she was “unfit for tv.”

11. Harry S. Truman: This WWI vet, Senator, Vice President and eventual President eventually found success in his life, but not without a few missteps along the way. Truman started a store that sold silk shirts and other clothing–seemingly a success at first–only go bankrupt a few years later.

12. Dick Cheney: This recent Vice President and businessman made his way to the White House but managed to flunk out of Yale University, not once, but twice. Former President George W. Bush joked with Cheney about this fact, stating, “So now we know –if you graduate from Yale, you become president. If you drop out, you get to be vice president.”

Hollywood Types

These faces ought to be familiar from the big screen, but these actors, actresses and directors saw their fair share of rejection and failure before they made it big.

13. Jerry Seinfeld: Just about everybody knows who Seinfeld is, but the first time the young comedian walked on stage at a comedy club, he looked out at the audience, froze and was eventually jeered and booed off of the stage. Seinfeld knew he could do it, so he went back the next night, completed his set to laughter and applause, and the rest is history.

14. Fred Astaire: In his first screen test, the testing director of MGM noted that Astaire, “Can’t act. Can’t sing. Slightly bald. Can dance a little.” Astaire went on to become an incredibly successful actor, singer and dancer and kept that note in his Beverly Hills home to remind him of where he came from.

15. Sidney Poitier: After his first audition, Poitier was told by the casting director, “Why don’t you stop wasting people’s time and go out and become a dishwasher or something?” Poitier vowed to show him that he could make it, going on to win an Oscar and become one of the most well-regarded actors in the business.

16. Jeanne Moreau: As a young actress just starting out, this French actress was told by a casting director that she was simply not pretty enough to make it in films. He couldn’t have been more wrong as Moreau when on to star in nearly 100 films and win numerous awards for her performances.

17. Charlie Chaplin: It’s hard to imagine film without the iconic Charlie Chaplin, but his act was initially rejected by Hollywood studio chiefs because they felt it was a little too nonsensical to ever sell.

18. Lucille Ball: During her career, Ball had thirteen Emmy nominations and four wins, also earning the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Kennedy Center Honors. Before starring in I Love Lucy, Ball was widely regarded as a failed actress and a B movie star. Even her drama instructors didn’t feel she could make it, telling her to try another profession. She, of course, proved them all wrong.

19. Harrison Ford: In his first film, Ford was told by the movie execs that he simply didn’t have what it takes to be a star. Today, with numerous hits under his belt, iconic portrayals of characters like Han Solo and Indiana Jones, and a career that stretches decades, Ford can proudly show that he does, in fact, have what it takes.

20. Marilyn Monroe: While Monroe’s star burned out early, she did have a period of great success in her life. Despite a rough upbringing and being told by modeling agents that she should instead consider being a secretary, Monroe became a pin-up, model and actress that still strikes a chord with people today.

21. Oliver Stone: This Oscar-winning filmmaker began his first novel while at Yale, a project that eventually caused him to fail out of school. This would turn out to be a poor decision as the the text was rejected by publishers and was not published until 1998, at which time it was not well-received. After dropping out of school, Stone moved to Vietnam to teach English, later enlisting in the army and fighting in the war, a battle that earning two Purple Hearts and helped him find the inspiration for his later work that often center around war.

Judge Gently

Pray, don't find fault with the man that limps
Or stumbles along the road.
Unless you have worn the shoes he wears
Or struggled beneath his load.

There may be tacks in his shoes that hurt
Though hidden away from view.
Or the burden he bears placed on your back
Might cause you to stumble too.

Don't sneer at the man who's down today
Unless you have felt the blow
That caused his fall or felt the shame
That only the fallen know.

You may be strong but still the blow
That was his if dealt to you
In the selfsame way, at the selfsame time
Might cause you to stagger too.

Don't be too harsh with the man that sins
Or pelt him with word or stone
Unless you are sure - yea, doubly sure -
That you have no sins of your own.

For you know, perhaps,
If the tempter's voice should whisper as soft to you
As it did to him when he went astray
It might cause you to falter too.

Let's all try to be a little bit more sympathetic to others.
Let's try to live life with a clear conscience.
Let's not judge others.
Let's treat everyone like we want to be treated.
Let's act as Jesus would want us to act.
Let's not just talk about it.
Let's really do it!
Starting right now!!

Read This!!! Laugh till death...

Read This!!! Laugh till death...


You will laugh your heads out after you finish reading this!!! (Nice One From Reader Digest)One day I met a sweet gentleman and fell in love. When it became apparent that we would marry, I made the supreme sacrifice and gave up eating beans.

Some months later, on my birthday, my car broke down on the way home from work. Since I lived in the countryside I called my husband and told him that I would be late because I had to walk home. On my way, I passed by a small diner and the odour of baked beans was more than I could stand. With miles to walk, I figured that I would walk off any ill effects by the time I reached home, so I stopped at the dinner and before I knew it, I had consumed three large orders of baked beans.

All the way home, I made sure that I released all the gas. Upon my arrival, my husband seemed excited to see me and exclaimed delightedly: "Darling I have a surprise for dinner tonight." He then blindfolded me and led me to my chair at the dinner table. I took a seat and just as he was about to remove my blindfold, the telephone rang. He made me promise not to touch the blindfold until he returned and went to answer the call. The baked beans I had consumed were still affecting me and the pressure was becoming most unbearable, so while my husband was out of the room I seized the opportunity, shifted my weight to one leg and let one go. It was not only loud, but it smelled like a fertilizer truck running over a skunk in front of a pulpwood mill.

I took my napkin from my lap and fanned the air around me vigorously. Then, shifting to the other cheek, I ripped off three more. The stink was worse than stinking cabbage. Keeping my ears carefully tuned to the conversation in the other room, I went on like this for another few minutes.

The pleasure was indescribable. When eventually the telephone farewells signaled the end of my freedom, I quickly fanned the air a few more times with my napkin, placed it on my lap and folded my hands back on it feeling very relieved and pleased with myself. My face must have been the picture of innocence when my husband returned, apologizing for taking so long.

He asked me if I had peeked through the blindfold, and I assured him I had not. At this point, he removed the blindfold, and twelve dinner guests seated around the table chorused: "Happy Birthday!"!! I nearly died!!!

TALES OF KING VIKRAM AND BETAAL THE VAMPIRE

Matter of Succession
Successor is not only by relationship established

Vaitaal said - "Now the time is very short, let me tell you one another story, may be the last one." Vikram said - "So you will complete 25 stories." "Yes, And these stories will be famous as "Vaitaal Pachcheesee". How much good I have done by telling you these stories, only the Time will tell. So listen to it attentively.

There were two young men, Madan and Ratan, in Baatee island. Both were very fast friends. Once both went to do business together. They made a lot of profit. While returning, they sat down under a tree and started counting their remaining things and profit. They were busy in their work, that a beautiful woman came there.

Both looked at her surprisingly and asked her - "O Beautiful, Who are you?" She told the she was going with her husband that some robbers robbed them and killed her husband. After saying this she broke into tears and started crying loudly. She said - "Since now there is nobody for me to go - there was no use to go to my parents and other relations, I will commit suicide."

Madan and Ratan consoled her and assured her to provide every kind of help she needed. Woman got consoled. Their work was over so they took her along and started their journey. Both were thinking about her, as what to do of her.

Madan suggested that she should be remarried. Ratan said - "Maybe one of us can marry her." "But how?" Ratan said - "If you are interested, you may marry her." Madan said - "Yes, I can marry, but if you want, you can marry her." Madan again said - "Look, We both are interested to marry her. So, let us play the dice game and decide who will marry her. Then we will not have any complaint with each other." Ratan agreed.

Then both sat again under a tree, and played dice game for a long time. In the end, the match was drawn. They again started playing, but again the match was drawn. They did this several times, but nobody won the game, nobody lost the game. So they were unable to decide what to do. Then they asked her - "To whom you want to marry." She shyly told that she could marry both of them, because she liked both of them.

Now they were in real trouble. That woman was still with them. In the end they thought to pick the paper. They wrote their names on two papers and picked one. It was Madan's name, so Madan married her.

Vikram, see the Time, after a child was born to them, Madan died in an accident. The woman asked Madan's share of wealth from Ratan. Although Madan had no partnership with Ratan, still she asked his share from Ratan. Now tell Vikram, how far her demand was lawful?

Vikram said - "The matter must have gone to the royal court." Vaitaal said - "Yes, And I know the judgment also. The king refused her claim, but what is you judgment?" Vikram smiled - "My judgment? My judgment is that she should get it." "Why?" Vikram said - "It was true that Madan had won her by toss, but still she was the property of both of them. She had the right of succession."

Vaitaal said - "You are right, Vikram." He again laughed loudly. As Vaitaal lughed loudly Vikram became careful and he held him tightly, because now his destination was very near. Vaitaal said - "Don't worry, I will not run away now. I am with you." But Vikram didn't trust him so he held him tightly.


How Vaitaal saved Vikram

When the pyre of the cremation ground was in sight, Vaitaal said to Vikram - "Vikram, This Yogee is very cunning. He is planning to kill you. I know his plan. He will ask you to prostrate, and when you will prostrate before him, he will cut your neck with sword. So be careful."

Vikram got surprised to hear this. Although he had this doubt in his mind, but now he was more careful. Vikram came to the Yogee with Vaitaal on his shoulder. Yogee became very happy to see Vaitaal, he said - "Bravo king Vikram, You are really courageous. Now you will rule the whole Prithvi without any obstacles."

The Yogee cut the body of Vaitaal into pieces and sacrificed it in the fire, performed some Taantrik rites, and in the last offered Poorn Aahuti (last Aahuti). Vikram was noticing all this very carefully. He was standing just straight. After finishing everything, the Yogee said - "King Vikram, Now you earn Punya by prostrating in front of me.

Vikram was waiting for this moment only. He remembered Vaitaal's instruction, that "as you will prostrate in front of him, he will cut your neck." so he said - "I am a king, I do not prostrate in front of anybody. The Yogee got surprised to hear this. He said - "OK, Then I prostrate before you." As he bent down to prostrate before the king, the king cut his neck with his sword. The Yogee was dead.

The then a loud laughter echoed in that lonely forest. That laughter was of that Vaitaal. Vikram got stunned to see Vaitaal, he exclaimed - "Vaitaal you? You were dead?" Vaitaal said - "Yes, It is me. By sacrificing this Yogee, you have given me life. If you had not killed him, I could not have been born again."

The king saw that the form of Vaitaal has changed. Now he was a very handsome young man. Vikram asked him - "Now what will you do?" "Whatever you order." Vikram said - "Then you come and stay with me. I will appoint you my minister." Vaitaal became happy to hear this, he said - "I will serve you with my full honesty." He expressed his gratefulness to Vikram as he gave him a new life.

He said - "Hey Raajan, This Yogee was my elder brother. he had changed me into Vaitaal with the power of his Tantra. He abducted my wife too, and now he wanted to take your kingdom, that is why he wanted to kill you, but since you have killed him, you have saved your kingdom, as well as you have given me a new life. Your fame will remain in this world forever."

The day was about to break, Vikram had returned to his palace along with Vaitaal.


The Meanest Man
Even the meanest person has some conscious

Vikram pulled Vaitaal from the tree with full force, put him on his shoulder and started walking fast. Vaitaal again started telling a story to Vikram, he said - "Vikram, Now I tell you a true story of Swarn Desh.

There lived a rich man who helped poor people, that is why all people praised him. Even the king also praised him. He had only one son. Because of being the only child, he was brought up with great care and love. As the time passed, he grew up as a fine young handsome boy.

Now, there lived a newly married woman in his neighborhood. Her husband was not very good, so she got attracted to him. Since both houses were adjacent to each other, they could go to each other's house easily. Once that woman's husband went to foreign lands, so she was alone. She thought to go to that boy's room.

In the night she came to the house of the rich man and then entered that boy's room. She knew the room of that boy. He was awake at that time. He got stunned to see a woman's figure at his room's door. He asked her - "Who are you?" That woman didn't reply anything, just came near his bed and said - "I am your beloved." and she lay down beside him. The boy got scared. The woman requested to love her, but that boy took her as a witch and got unconscious. The woman also got scared seeing him unconscious.

By chance some thieves entered the rich man's house. That woman's husband was also among those thieves. He used to say at home, that he was going to foreign lands, but he used to steal during those days. He told the stolen things as his business profit and impressed his neighbors.

That woman hid seeing the thieves. And she was extremely surprised when she saw her husband among those thieves. She saw everything, her husband and other thieves stole the things from that rich man's house and went away. The woman came back to her house quietly.

A lot of noise rose from the rich man's house when the boy told everything to his parents. He told about the woman also. Everybody was stunned at this. The boy saw his neighbor's wife and he recognized her and told his father everything.

The rich man told this incident to the king. The king's soldiers came and took the woman to the king. The woman bluntly refused that she had committed any crime. She said - "It is only because of jealousy, that the boy is blaming me."

She was saying this to the king that the king's soldiers brought her husband also for stealing in rich man's house, along with the stolen things. Her husband was caught in a ruins. when she saw her husband, she got scared. After hearing everybody, the king ordered for the husband to be hanged, and for the woman to be expelled.

After telling all this, Vaitaal said - "This was the king's judgment, what is your judgment, Vikram?" Vikram didn't speak anything, Vaitaal asked him again.

Vikram said - "I think the king's judgment was wrong." "Why?" "It was all right to hang the man, but it was wrong to expel the woman." "Why?" "The woman hid everything in spite of knowing everything, and thus tried to save herself only; it was her Dharm." Vitaal laughed - "Does such a woman have any kind of Dharm, this is only womanish character." Vikram said seriously - "Even the meanest man has some kind of Dharm. Although she lost her mind because of her bad husband, still she loved her husband, that is why she did not want her husband to be punished. That is why it was not right to punish her. It is not right to consider a man mean all the time."

Vaitaal said - "You are right, Vikram." He again laughed loudly, that Vikram held him tightly. Vaitaal said - "Don't worry, I will not run away now." But Vikram didn't trust him so he held him tightly.

Who is at Fault?
A faulty man is he whose behavior encourages the crime

Vikram was walking fast. Vaitaal said - "Vikram, Walk slowly. There is still time, till then I tell you another story, just to pass time.

In ancient times, there lived a Braahman in Chedi Desh. He was very healthy but he was very ugly. His complexion was dark and that is why he was not getting married. He was growing older and older day by day but nobody was ready to marry him, so he was very sad. He did not like to do his Karm. His name was Dharmdatt. Although he was not able to perform his work properly, still being a Braahman, he could get some work.

Once he got a job of performing a marriage. He performed many ceremonies of the marriage, but when the girl came carrying Varmaalaa in her hands, he just continued to look at her. Dharmdatt got attracted to her. When the marriage was over then he told the boy that the girl had Mangal Dosh, that is why he should not take her to his house immediately. The boy's parents agreed to this.

He performed some special fake ceremonies to remove Mangal Dosh of the girl and said to her parents that the girl will stay with him alone at Yagya Vedee for the whole night. He will perform some other ceremonies which will last for the whole night and in the morning she will be free from Mangal Dosh. So Vikram, trusting the Braahman, that girl was handed over to that Braahman. Braahman pretending that it was a ceremony, misbehaved with her. Thinking that it was a part of the ceremony, the girl did not speak anything. Next day that girl went to her in-law's house.

After some time that girl gave birth to a son. He was the son of Dharmdatt - bearing the same complexion and ugliness. Her husband got very surprised to see this. His wife told him everything. At this her husband expelled her. She went to the king with her complaint.

Vaitaal said - "Now tell me, Vikram, What justice that king should have done? why did that girl make noise? Why did she tell everything on asking by her husband? Who should be punished? Her husband? Dharmdatt? or the parents of the girl?"

When Vikram didn't speak anything, Vaitaal said - "Speak Vikram, You know that if you did not speak in spite of knowing, your head will split up and will be scattered around." Vikram said - "Listen, First that girl didn't speak, nor she opposed, nor she cried, but she told everything to her husband after the birth of the child; that is why the girl is not at fault at all. She must have been very innocent girl. The sinful Braahman did whatever with her, she considered it a part of the ceremonies." Vaitaal asked - "Then who was the culprit?" "Dharmdatt Braahman is also not at fault for this."

Vaitaal asked - "What about the parents of the girl?" "Yes, Parents of the girl, because first believing that the girl had Mangal Dosh, then to hand over her to that Braahman for the whole night, all are the wrongs of the girl's parents. They must be punished."

Vaitaal again laughed loudly and escaped Vikram's strong hold. He ran and hung on the same tree. Vikram ran after him, lifted from the tree, put him on his shoulder and again started walking. After a while Vaitaal said - "You were right Vikram, but the king punished that Braahman and he was hanged. The girl was considered innocent. The king asked her husband to accept her, but he refused to accept her, so he employed her as his queen's maid. But tell me, O Vikram, why that Braahman did so with her?" "Because he wanted to marry and no girl was marrying him." Vikram was walking fast, he was really in hurry.


Conclusion

TALES OF KING VIKRAM AND BETAAL THE VAMPIRE-

From Bhavishya Puran

Vikram era started in 57 BC by Vikramaditya the Great as a commemoration of his victory upon the Shaks. There is plentiful literature on Vikramaditya, and in the Bhavishya Puran itself there are descriptions of Vikramaditya in more than 40 chapters between Pratisarg Parv I and IV. Pratisarg Parv IV, chapter 1 of Bhavishya Puran says that after the elapse of a full 3,000 years in kaliyug (3102 - 3000 = 102 BC), a dynamic Divine personality was born who was named Vikramaditya. Bhavishya Puran further says that the great King Vikramaditya ruled for one hundred years. When he was only five years old he went into the jungles to worship God. After twelve years, when he came out, God Shiv sent for him a celestial golden throne which was decorated with thirty-two statues. According to the above descriptions Vikramaditya lived for (5 years + 12 years + 100 years) 117 years (102 BC - 15 AD).

Kalidas, the greatest poet, writer and the literary figure of his time, living a pious life and sincerely devoted to his scholarly work, was one of the nine gems of King Vikram's court. The "Jyotirvidabharnam" by Kalidas tells in its first chapter



that Vikram era started at the elapse of (agni 3, ambar 0, yug 4 and ved 4 = 3,0,4,4) 3,044 years of kaliyug. Thus, the 3,045th year of kaliyug was the beginning of Vikram era which is 57 BC. At the end of Jyotirvidabharnam, Mahakavi Kalidas mentions the exact date of his writing and says that



in the Kali era 3067 he had started to write this book. It means, he wrote that book when 3,067 years of kaliyug had passed. That comes to 35 BC (3102 - 3067 = 35), which is after the beginning of Vikram era.
Thus, Vikramaditya was born in 102 BC (3102-3000), established his 'era' in 57 BC and left this earth planet in 15 AD.




Captain sir Richard R Burton has translated 11 stories under the caption

TALES OF KING VIKRAM AND BETAAL THE VAMPIRE and concluded – In other

words, to the present day, whenever a Hindu novelist, romancer, or tale writer

seeks a peg upon which to suspend the texture of his story, he invariably

pitches upon the glorious, pious, and immortal memory of that Eastern Kin Arthur,

vikramadita, shortly called vikram.



The eleventh story given by him was:

TALES OF KING VIKRAM AND BETAAL THE VAMPIRE


Once upon a time there was a king named Vikramaaditya who ruled Pratisthana on the river Godavari. He was a mighty and glorious king. Everyday when he used to hold public court,a beggar used to come along and present a fruit to the king and this went on for a couple of years when curiosity got the better of the king. The king used to pass on the fruit to his treasurer who used to throw them all in the storage. On hearing of the king's curiosity, the treasurer was surprised to see the storage full of emeralds and pearls and the fruit had disintegrated. He reported this to the king. The king questioned the beggar the next day about this. On hearing this, the beggar requested the help from the king for a magic spell he was going to perform. The king was asked to meet him at nightfall of the fourteenth night of the dark moon near the cremation ground. The king did as told and found the beggar there. The beggar was drawing a magic circle and all around were the howling noises of vampires, ghosts and other nightly creatures. The beggar asked the king to go further deep into the woods and bring the corpse, which was haging upside down on a tree.

The king found the corpse for sure, but as he started lifting it and taking it down he realised that it was possessed by a vampire. Everytime the king talked the vampire jumped back the tree. In the end, the king jumped up sliently and brought the corpse down. The vampire then started telling him a story. In the end of the story, he asked a puzzle to the king related to story. As soon as the king finished his answer, he fled back to the top of the tree. This happened 24 times. But for the 25th time, the question was so tough that the king could not answer. These 25 stories are very famous in Indian literature, known as Vikram-Betaal tales. On the end of the 25th tale, the vampire cautioned the king that the beggar would ask him to rest on a piece of wood when he would be sacrificed. In that situation the vampire asked the king to let the beggar show the way and asked the king to get rid of the evil beggar. So did the king. And the vampire granted the king for a boon. The king requested that the stories whichever were told to him, be told time and again in history and wherever these stories are told vampires would not dare. Hence the famous Vikram-Betaal stories.

As a sample, here we present the last of the stories, which the king could not answer. Betaal said,


"Once there was a king in the South who had lot of relatives. The relatives were always hungry after the throne. So once they usurped the throne, and the king had to flee the kingdom with his wife and daughter. They travelled through dense forests. In one area which was occupied by barbarians, he adivsed his wife and daughter to hide behind a bush while he fought the robbers but died a tragic death. The queen and the daughter wept for their king.


In the meantime, a peasent and his son came to the forest on horses. They saw the foorprints of the ladies, and were impressed. The son decided to marry the lady with the smaller feet while the father decided to marry the lady with the bigger feet. Upon a distance they saw the queen and the daughter. The peasent talked smoothly with the ladies and consoled them and heard their story after convincing them that they were not robbers. The peasant and the son then brought the two ladies home and told them of the plan of marriage. They consented. But alas, the bigger feet belonged to the daugher and the smaller feet belonged to the mother. So the son married the mother and the father married the daughter.


Betaal then asks this question: How are the children born on both the sides related to one another?


Vikram was speechless as he could not get any satisfactory answer. So the Betaal could not escape this time.

I thank you all for given me a patient hearing as that of king vikaram

THE ARABIAN NIGHTS STORIES

THE ARABIAN NIGHTS STORIES

It is said that the tale of the Arabian Night stories were first found in "Hazaar Afasaaney" Some of the well known stories are "Allaadeen", "Alee Baabaa and Forty Thieves" and "Sindbaad the Sailor".



These stories have sometime been told and heard as folk stories and include all kinds of stories - love stories, tragedies, comedies, poems, Muslim religious legends, fairy tales, parables etc. Many stories include Jinn, magicians and legendary places. most of its stories are interwoven with other stories.

There was a Sultaan (king) Shahariyaar became very disappointed with his wife's behavior while he was away, so he declared all the women unfaithful and ordered to behead his wife. He decided to marry a new virgin girl each evening and execute her next morning. Whoever did not obey his order was killed. This created ahavoc in the society and so much shortage of unmarried girls.

Sultaan's Vazeer also had two daughters - Shaharzaad and Deenaarzaad. Shaharzaad was elder, very clever and beautiful. Seeing this havoc in the society, one day Shaharzaad requested her father to take the responsibility of supplying these girls to the Sultaan and then one day to supply herself to him. Vazeer was shocked to hear this. The daughter said - "Don't be afraid, I am sure that I will be able to save thousands of girls." But the father wouldn't agree for this. But at last the daughter had made him agreed upon this.

Vazeer went to the Sultaan and told him that he would bring his own daughter to him the following evening. Sultaan said in astonishment - "Are you out of mind? How could you think of this? Doesn't she know my condition?" "She knows." "Then?" "Still she insists." "Remember you will have to take her life yourself, if you refuse... I will take yours." "Sure."

In the meantime Shaharzaad asked her sister to do her a favor, she said - "Today I will be married to Sulataan. Tomorrow morning he will execute me. Before this execution, I want you help. After the marriage I will request him to take you with me, which I think he should grant. Your job is only to wake me up one hour before sunrise, and say "Sister, If you are not asleep, tell me one of your interesting stories." Then I will start telling stories. Hopefully I will save my people thus." Her sister readily agreed for this.

So her father married her to the Sultaan crying a lot. After the marriage ceremony Shaharzaad started crying. On asking why was she crying, she told the Sultaan that she was crying for her sister Deenaarzaad and she would be happy if she would be brought to her to spend the last night of her life. Her sister was immediately called and she requested her to tell a story to pass the night as she was to be executed the next morning.

According to their plan, Deenaarzaad asked her sister to tell one of her wonderful stories a little before sunrise. As it was the last night of her life. Shahazaad did not reply to her sister, rather she addressed Sultaan - "Will you please allow me to tell one story to her?" Sultaan said - "Willingly." So she started telling the story ... THEN

One story led to another and Sultaan had to leave her in the morning to listen to the remaining part of the story the next night. This continued for 1,001 night, at the end of which Shaharzaad presented him with three sons - one walking, one crawling, and one in her lap. At the end of the period the decree of the death was removed and both lived in harmony.

When it was 930th night, Shaharzaad said - "I have story about women's trickery in my mind, but I fear that it may lower my esteem in his sight, but I hope that it will not because it is a rare tale. Women are indeed mischief makers, but that should not be told or disclosed." At this Deenaarzaad said - "O sister of mine, Tell me what is in your mind, and have no fear from the King, because women are like gems, because when they fall in a jeweler's hand he keeps them for himself and leaves all beside them. He might some of them prefer over others, in this way he is like a potter, who has to put all his vessels in an oven and when he takes them out, he has to break some of them. Some of them are used by others while others are returned to be as they were." Then Sharazaad said - "Then tell us, O King, the tale of ..."






Alee Baabaa and the Forty Thieves:
Alee Baabaa Discovers the Treasure

There lived two brothers, Kaasim and Alee Baabaa, in a town of Persia. Their father had died and they were very poor. Although their father had divided his wealth between them but it was not much. Kaasim married a widow who, soon after their marriage, became heiress of a large estate, a good shop, and a warehouse full of rich merchandise. Thus they started living like a rich man soon. Alee Baabaa, on the other hand, married a poor woman and lived in very bad conditions. He used to cut wood to maintain his family. He had three asses to carry the wood.

One day when he had cut the wood in the forest and was loading it on his asses, he saw dust flying around at a distance but coming towards him. A few moments later he saw that some horses were coming to his side only. Although people did not fear robbers there, still Alee Baabaa thought to save himself from those people. He climbed up on a large dense tree and hid himself behind its branches. He placed himself at such a point that he could see everything from there. This tree was standing at the bottom of a rock which was so high that nobody could climb it.

All those people came to the same rock near which Alee Baabaa was hiding behind the branches. He saw that all people were riding horses and were very well armed. They all dismounted there. Alee Baabaa counted them, they were 40 in number. They were the robbers and kept their things there. Everybody tied his horse, gave them some corn to eat, took his bag which looked heavy with some metal by its weight. One of them who looked like their leader, came nearer to the rock and said - "Open Sesame", and a door opened and all the robbers went in, the leader went after all had entered. The door got shut behind them. They stayed inside for some time and Alee Baabaa waited outside for them to come out. At last the door opened and those 40 robbers came out of the cave. The leader came out first and when all had come out he closed the door by saying "Shut Sesame". They all went away the way they came.

Alee Baabaa did not get down immediately lest they have forgotten anything. He waited for them for some time and when he had made sure that they would not come back now, he got down from the tree and thought to try those words himself whether they had the same effect or not. He stood before the gate and said - "Open Sesame", and the gate opened. He entered the cave. It was well alighted large space. The light was coming from the slit open at the top of the rock. There were many kinds of things there - merchandise, silk, brocade, carpets and gold and silver in great heaps. It seemed that the cave was occupied by the robbers a long time ago and its possession had been continuing for generations.

As he entered the cave, the door of the cave got closed. He took as much gold coins his three asses could carry, shut the door of the cave, arranged the gold coins on his asses, covered them with wood so that they are not seen by anybody and came back home. He shut the door of his home, offloaded the wood from the asses and took the bags inside the house carefully.

When his wife saw so much gold, she thought that her husband had stolen them from somewhere. She looked at her husband with a questioning look. Alee Baabaa said - "Be quiet, Don't be frightened, I have not robbed anybody." Then he told her everything in detail and asked her to keep it secret. His wife got very happy to hear all this and she wanted to count all the money, piece by piece; Alee Baabaa laughed at her and said - "You don't know what you are saying. They are so many that you will forget the count while counting them. You have never done so much counting. I will dig a hole and bury them there without wasting time." The wife said - "You are right, but we should know at least that how much we have. While you dig the hole, let me bring a small measure from the neighborhood to measure them." Alee Baabaa said - "Although there is no purpose of what you are doing, be sure to keep it secret and do what you want to do."

Alee Baabaa's wife immediately ran to Kaasim's house and asked his wife to lend her her measure. Kaasim's wife became curious to know what she would measure with the measure since they were very poor and they had never even enough to eat; so she put some glue at the bottom of the measure. Alee Baabaa's wife brought it home, put it on the heap of the gold coins, measured it and emptied it, measure it and emptied it, till she measured them all. Alee Baabaa had finished his digging, so he carried the gold to bury and his wife took the measure back to Kaasim's house to show her punctuality. She was unaware of the fact that a piece of gold had hot stuck at the bottom of the measure. She thanked Kaasim's wife and came back to her house.

As she left, Kaasim's wife looked at the bottom of the measure and surprisingly found a piece of gold stuck to it. She filled with envy - "What? Alee Baabaa has got so much gold that he had to measure it? And where from he has got it?" She was just impatient to tell all this to Kaasim. As Kaasim came back from the shop in the evening, she said to him - "You think yourself rich, but you are mistaken. Alee Baabaa is much richer than you. He does not count the money but measures it." At first Kaasim could not follow it, then his wife told him the whole story and showed him the gold coin as its proof. The coin was so old that he could not make out under which king's rule it was minted.

Kaasim was also very jealous with his brother that he could not sleep the whole night. He never treated Alee Baabaa as his brother after his marriage. As the morning broke, he went to his house and said - "You are hiding from me that you are very poor yet you measure the gold?" Alee Baabaa said - "What brother? What are you saying, say it clearly." Kaasim showed him the coin and asked him - "How many of them you have? My wife found this stuck to the measure you borrowed yesterday."

Alee Baabaa had understood that because of his wife's foolishness Kaasim and his wife had known that he had many gold coins, so he told him everything without hiding anything. He also told him that he found this cave only by chance and gave some money to keep it secret. Kaasim said to him - "Still I want to know that place and the sign to open and shut it, so that I can go there myself whenever I wish; otherwise I will tell this to police and you will not get more of it." Alee Baabaa told him everything. Now Kaasim did not need Alee Baabaa, so he went away and thought to bring treasure to his home before Alee Baabaa could bring it to his home.

Next day he rose early morning, set out to the forest with 10 mules laden with big chests. Soon he came to the place Alee Baabaa told him. He found the door of the cave also. He said "Open Sesame" and the door opened. He went in and the door got shut after him. What he saw inside the cave, he could not believe his eyes; there was so much in it. He collected as much gold as much he could carry on his 10 mules, and came to open the door; but instead of saying "Open Sesame" he said "Open Barley" and to his surprise the door did not open. He took the names of several other grains but was failed to open it.

Kaasim had never expected such accident, so as much he tried to remember the word "Sesame" he continued to forget it. He was so desperate to come out of the cave that he walked hastily up and down the cave.

Nothing is Impossible

During Thanksgiving dinner I was relaying a story about how I was planning to become a member of a local government board. Without skipping a beat, my 21-year-old niece looked at me and said, “Yes, Aunt Joanie, you can be on the board.” I replied, “I know, I am going to be.” She then said, “Of course you can if you believe it.” To which I stated, “No, really, I am going to be on the board.” She came back with a resounding, “Yes, I believe you can!”

At this point I was laughing hysterically because I realized that she was reinforcing what she believed to be wishful thinking on my part. She was cheering me on guided by the advice that I (and her mother) always offer her: that anything is possible with a positive attitude and belief in oneself.

Even though I was actually appointed to the position and wasn’t referring to making a wish come true, I was so proud of her (and shocked that she actually listened) for getting the message.

And what a powerful message it is: anything is possible when you believe in yourself!

Think about that for a moment … anything is possible!

When was the last time that you truly believed anything was possible, that you could achieve a goal or make a dream come true?

It isn’t always easy have the confidence to believe that you can make anything happen. The routine of daily life beats you down and often you’re left jaded and depressed. Fear has a way of sneaking in and governing the way you live. Naysayers remind you of your shortcomings until their beliefs become yours too.

Climbing out of the rut we call life can be a challenge. But, guess what? You have the power to change every aspect of your existence. But, in order to do so, you have to do two things: you must decide what you want and you must believe you can do it. Everything else will follow; you will find a way.

As another year comes to an end and a new one begins, with endless possibilities, it’s the perfect time to examine where you are in your life and where you want to go. Once you know the direction, create an action plan, educate yourself, and get moving!

Remember … nothing is impossible when you believe Im Possible!

What do you think? Is anything possible?

Today I will face life

Today I will delete from my diary
two days: yesterday and tomorrow
Yesterday was to learn
and tomorrow will be the consequence
of what I can do today.

Today I will face life
with the conviction that this day
will not ever return.

Today is the last opportunity
I have to live intensely,
as no one can assure me
that I will see tomorrow's sunrise.

Today I will be brave enough
not to let any opportunity pass me by,
my only alternative is to succeed.

Today I will invest
my most valuable resource:my time ,
in the most transcendental work:
my life ;

I will spend each minute
passionately to make
of today a different
and unique day in my life.

Today I will defy every obstacle
that appears on my way trusting
I will succeed.


Today I will resist
pessimism and will conquer
the world with a smile,
with the positive attitude
of expecting always the best.

Today I will make of every ordinary task
a sublime expression,

Today I will have my feet on the ground
understanding reality
and the stars' gaze
to invent my future.


Today I will take the time to be happy
and will leave my footprints and my presence
in the hearts of others.



Today, I invite you to begin a new season
where we can dream
that everything we undertake is possible
and we fulfill it,
with joy and dignity.

RELATIONSHIPS AND SPIRITUAL GROWTH

QUESTION: Do you have any tips or advice etc on the best way to stay focused, positive and keep moving forward when the person you love and have a child with isn't there and can sometimes be negative and angry? I understand we are at all different stages of our growth but can 2 people be together happily if one is desperate to accelerate and the other is scared and maybe not ready? I have been trying to just keep going with my journey and send him lots of love and light.

ANSWER: Yes, it is very possible for you to stay together IF the relationship is based on LOVE and TRUST and not attachment and control. This is a very common dilemma for many people. One person will begin the spiritual path and the other may not be ready or may be full of fear and distorted beliefs. Remember the spiritual path is the healing path so in order to advance spiritually we have to face the inner distortions ~ mainly the unprocessed emotions and feelings, negative beliefs, egoic behavioral patterns and karma (unbalanced energy) ~ within our energy fields. Although your soul may be ready to bring your self into balance, for many people, the comforts of denial will keep them from healing.

The thought of actually having to take responsibility for their inner workings may be to much for them to handle and they will refuse to participate in any kind of spiritual practice because when we finally decide to FACE GOD we have to face OUR SELVES. The important thing is for you to stay committed to your healing journey no matter what ~ and you will be tested in your commitment. Oftentimes, when we begin to heal and transcend the negative behavioral patterns within us one of two things will occur ~ you will become an example for them...a beacon of light where they decide they too want to create more love, joy and happiness for themselves OR they may get scared that you are changing to rapidly and they may be fearful of loosing you (the old you) so they will try to stop your growth and keep you exactly the way you are.....because if they keep you the same, then they don’t have to change either. Having said that....I think it is important to look at your relationship in the past tense....has it been a loving relationship? Is this person possessive and controlling or will they be able to allow you to follow your heart?

Your past will show you a lot about the future of your relationship. In addition, you will need to be very careful yourself about not pushing the other person onto the spiritual path. The best way for us to teach is by example. Honor and respect their right to choose. By you simply aligning yourself with Spirit, you will shift your vibration and you will effect everyone you come in contact with....especially the family members in your household. When you raise your frequency, you raise the vibration of the house and it is impossible for them to not be affected by your positive energy. Oftentimes, simply through vibrational resonance, they will begin to shift...especially if you are sleeping next to the person at night. You can also ask your guides and angels to please work with your partners spiritual team in raising their vibration for THEIR highest and best good....remember you DO NOT know what is for their highest and best good, but their spiritual teams and Spirit do ~ ask for their help.

Also don’t be attached to the relationship and their spiritual growth....stay focused on yours. Also, be aware that as you climb the mountain of self, raising your vibrations you will be put in situations to prove that you can hold your light and that you are willing to release the old behaviors that no longer serve you. Usually, these interactions will occur within our families....especially through our kids and partners. We are learning how to master ourselves. You are with your partner for a reason. As long as the relationship is loving (not perfect), and the other person honors your free will right to choose ~ and you honor their free will right to choose ~ then it is very possible this relationship can be a catalyst for tremendous soul growth and advancement for both of you.

It may be a little rocky in the beginning as you begin to re-birth your self, but it is totally doable. If the relationship begins to exhaust your energy, becomes abusive, domineering or begins to halt your growth then you may need to make some adjustments. You may even need to learn how to stand up for your self in a balanced loving manner, learn how to speak your truth with words of love, learn how to express your feelings and also learn how to make sure your needs are met. Only you can choose to do what is best for you and your family. Just make sure you keep your self on the upward spiral of soul ascension....face your problems, fears, distortions, attachments and distorted beliefs. If the relationship is meant to be then it will remain...if it needs to be released ~ you will know