This too shall pass

Once a king called upon all his wise men and asked them, " Is there a mantra or suggestion which works in every situation, in every circumstances, in every place and in every time. In every joy, every sorrow, every defeat and every victory? One answer for all questions? Something which can help me when none of you is available to advise me? "Tell me is there any such mantra?” All the wise men were puzzled by the King’s question. They thought and thought. After a lengthy discussion, an old man suggested something which appealed to all of them. They went to the king and gave him something written on a paper, on condition that the king was not to see it out of curiosity. Only in extreme danger, when the King finds himself alone and there seems to be no other way, he shall read it. The King then put the paper under his diamond ring. Some time later, the neighbors attacked the Kingdom. The King and his army fought bravely but lost the battle. The King had to flee. But the enemies followed him, getting closer and closer. Suddenly the King found himself standing at the end of the road- that road was not going anywhere. Underneath there was a rocky valley, a thousand feet deep. If he jumped into it, he would be finished.. the sound of the enemy’s horses was fast approaching. The King became restless. There seemed to be no way of survival. Then suddenly he saw the diamond in his ring shining in the sun, and he remembered the message hidden in the ring. He opened the diamond and read the message. The message was : " THIS TOO SHALL PASS " The King read it . Read it again. Suddenly something struck him- Yes! This too will pass. Only a few days ago, he was enjoying his kingdom. He was the mightiest of all the Kings. But today, the Kingdom and all his pleasures have gone. He was there trying to escape from his enemies. Like those days of luxuries have gone, this day of danger too will pass. Tranquility came on his face. He kept standing there. The place where he was standing was full of natural beauty. He had never known that such a beautiful place was also part of his Kingdom. The revelation of the message had a great effect on him. He relaxed and forgot about those following him. After a few minutes he realized that the noise of the horses and the enemy was receding. They had moved into some other part of the mountains. The King was very brave. He reorganized his army and fought again. He defeated the enemy and regained his empire. When he returned to his empire after victory, he was received with much fanfare. The whole capital was rejoicing in victory. Everyone was in a festive mood. Flowers were being showered on the King from every house, from every corner. People were dancing and singing. For a moment the King said to himself, ' I am one of the bravest and greatest Kings. It is not easy task to defeat me." With all the reception and celebration he felt the 'I' emerging in him. Suddenly the diamond of his ring flashed in the sunlight and reminded him of the message. He opened it and read it again: “THIS TOO SHALL PASS”. He became silent. His face went through a total change - from the egoist he moved to a state of utter humility. If this too is going to pass, it is not yours. The defeat was not yours, the victory is not yours. You are just an onlooker. Everything passes by. We are only witnesses of all this. We are the percievers. Life comes and goes. Happiness comes and goes. Sorrow comes and goes. So it's time to evaluate your own life silently. This too will pass. Think of the moments of joy and victory in your life. Think of the moment of sorrow and defeat. Are those permanent ? They all come and pass away. Life just passes away. There is nothing permanent in this world. Everything changes except the law of change. Think over it from your own perspective. You have seen all the changes. You have survived all setbacks- all defeats and all sorrows. All have passed away. The problems in the present- they too will pass away. Because nothing remains forever. Joy and sorrow are the two faces of the same coin. They both will pass away. You are just a witness of change. Experience it, understand it, and enjoy the present moment- this too shall pass. Take care and enjoy the rest of your week. Love, Prof. Dr. Alex Abraham Odikandathil

Annual Audit
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Folks,
I've been sending you innumerable emails, my own creations as well as forwards, during the past year.
I do get only positive feed back, from a few asking to keep on sending as those are marvelous etc..
Since I don't get any negative feed back, I keep you in my mailing list and force my readings on you..
But if any of the emails I send is distasteful to anyone of you, let me know about it so that I can take you off my list or try to subject myself for improvement.
At any rate, believe it was unintentional, sent in a haste without proper judicious review due to time constraints, generated or digested in a spirit and with an outlook on life alien to yours or was educational and informative, though unpleasant.

And oftentimes, the face of truth is deformed.

I for one believe that human body as well as sex are subjects that need to be discussed without shame or self- humiliation, though. If sculpture and painting can thrive on naked human body, thought process, by all means, could and should.

Man is the only animal that has an aversion to his own body.
Hypocrisy! See thyself in the mirror once in a while...

A few messages were marked for targets with a view to bring out the
best in them.

If for any reason, you feel uneasy but are reluctant to tell me to take you off my list, the other option is to change your email address and please be aware that you can make any number of ids in the G Mail for free.

And let me reiterate that you have every right to disagree with me.

So let us agree to disagree and learn to live with the notion that each has a right to his convictions, ideologies and faith. Belief system vary from place to place, from person to person and from age to age.
Co-existence is the in-thing.
To have faith in something is far better than having faith in nothing...

Looking forward to hearing from you,
regards,
prof. dr. alex abraham odikandathil

odikandathil@gmail.com

Interview with God ------------------------------------------ From: Alex Abraham Odikandathil This is an all time favourite n' divine video... No matter what or who you believe in, this is beautiful... And beauty is truth... ...it's worth the time you invest in watching this + a lot... The interview Double click on "the Interview" above and then the link. I give you what I have... Enjoy the rest of your week-end... Love, Prof. Dr. Alex Abraham Odikandathil ******************************************************************************************************************************************************

If you fail to love your visible brother...
you'll never be able to love the invisible God...

Recently this author happened to read an article demonstrating how political parties generate and promote saints and god-men so that they can keep effective control of the religious and ecclesiastical spectrum to sustain their influence in politics and thereby the governance of the country. It was asserted therein that they don't want too many god-men to flourish as it will create difficulty in their efficient management, so they thwart any blooming God-men that may creep up in the vicinity without their knowledge- the reason why you hear about suicides and homicides in their tent every now and then.

And, you believe each political parties has its own cluster of god- men?
It's a disgrace, but...

Attainment of knowledge is realization.

With that realization, I entreat you, ladies and gentlemen,
to re-read Tagore, in particular, the poem below:

"Go not to the temple to put flowers upon the feet of God,
First fill your own house with the Fragrance of love...

Go not to the temple to light candles before the altar of God,
First remove the darkness of sin from your heart...

Go not to the temple to bow down your head in prayer,
First learn to bow in humility before your fellowmen...

Go not to temple to pray on bent knees,
First bend down to lift someone who is downtrodden...

Go not to temple to ask for the forgiveness for your sins,
First forgive from your heart those who have sinned against you..."

Its time to observe the world with a different passion...
the passion not for Gods who can take care of themselves
but for your brethren who need your support for their care.
Give it a thought in one of those god-sent tranquil hours.

Thank you and enjoy the rest of your week.

Love,

Prof. Dr. Alex Abraham Odikandathil

What goes around, comes around...

One day a poor boy who was selling goods from door to door in order to pay his way through school found he had only one thin dime left and he was hungry.
So he decided he would ask for a meal at the next house.

However, he lost his nerve when a lovely young woman opened the door. Instead of a meal he asked for a glass of water.
But she found him looking hungry and brought him a large glass of milk. He drank it slowly and then asked,
"How much do I owe you?"
"You don't owe me anything," she replied,
"Mother has taught us never to accept payment for kindness."

He said... " Then I thank you from the bottom of my heart."

As Howard Kelly left that house, he not only felt stronger physically, but also his faith in God and men grew stronger. He had been ready to give up and quit.

Years later that young woman became critically ill. The local doctors were baffled as they couldn't make a diagnosis.
They finally sent her to the big city where they called in specialists to study her rare disease.
Thus the renowned Dr. Howard Kelly was called in for a consultation.
When he heard the name of the town she came from, a strange light filled his eyes.
Immediately he rose and went down the hall of the hospital to her room.
Dressed in his doctor's gown he went in to see her.
He recognized her at once. That was her!
He went back to the consultation room determined to do his best to save her life. From that day he gave special attention to the case.
After a long struggle, the battle was won.
Dr. Kelly requested the business office to pass the final bill to him for approval.

He looked at it, then wrote something on the edge and the bill was sent to her room.
She feared to open it, for she was sure it would take the rest of her life to pay it.
Finally, she looked, and something caught her attention on the side as she read these words.....
"Paid in full with one glass of milk."
(Signed) Dr. Howard Kelly.

Tears of joy flooded her eyes as her happy heart prayed:
"Thank You, GOD, that Your love has spread through human hearts and hands."

AND this is how you spread your faith- the faith of love;
not through pride and challenge..
but by way of acts of kindness and compassion...

And Don't Mistake the Wise for Idiot.

A giant ship's engine failed. The ship's owners tried one expert after another, but none of them could figure out how to fix the engine.

Then they brought in an old man in his eighties who had been fixing ships since he was a young man. He carried a large bag of tools with him all the time. He arrived and immediately went to work. He inspected the engine very carefully from top to bottom.

Two of the ship's owners were watching the man, hoping he would figure out what to do. After looking things over and over, the old man reached into his bag and pulled out a small hammer. He gently tapped on something. Instantly, the engine lurched into life. He carefully put his hammer away.
To everybody's achievement, the engine was fixed!

A week later, the owners received a bill from the old man for (only) ten thousand dollars.

"What?!" the owners exclaimed. "He hardly did anything!"

So they wrote the old man a note saying, "Please send us an itemized bill."

The man sent a bill that read:

Tapping with a hammer...... .........
$ 2.00
Knowing where to tap.......... .........
$ 9,998.00

Effort is important, but knowing where and when to put in the effort makes all the difference!

And that's a vast sea of difference!!