Welcome a NEW YEAR after this Last Evening

Thoughts for a New Year
May 2005 be filled with love and beauty, joy and freedom, peace and kindness. And, may these thoughts brighten your path. JW
"The aim of life is to live, and to live means to be aware, joyously, drunkenly, serenely divinely aware." --Henry Miller
"The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong." -- Mahatma Gandhi "We are the protagonists and authors of our own drama. It is up to us; there is no one left to blame. Neither the "system," not our leaders, nor our parents. We can't go out and hang the first amoeba." -- Rebecca McClen Novick "With love, even the rocks will open." --Hazrat Inayat Khan
"My soul can find no staircase to heaven unless it be through earth's loveliness." -- Michelangelo

New Year

After a long period of anxieties and sorrows we came to a New Year. The previous year’s aftereffects are differing from person to person and country to country. Many of the people are suffered losses in the modern world. The New Year gives a pleasure and they wait for beautiful and pleasant world. Unity has plays a greater role in the modern world. All persons contain different religions, black and white men are lives in a specified place and there was happy in anytime. They take decisions from a group debate. They also considered the God’s will for any action. So all the world is prosper and Paradise comes to earth. The people don’t wish to go heaven because the heaven came to earth. In that world someone’s sorrows are considered as everyone’s sorrows. That was the another credit of the newer world



Shinu Mon

Onam is the festival of all Malayalies

Onam or Thiruvonam, as it is popularly known, is the most popular festival of Kerala. This festival is celebrated for 10 days, starting from Atham or Hastham. The tenth day after atham is Onam. Onam celebration continues for a couple of days more after Thiruvonam. It is celebrated in the Malayalam month of Chingam(between August 15 and September 15).The legend is that long ago, an asura King by name Mahabali was ruling our country. Mahabali was the grandson of the great Prahlada. (Lord Vishnu had taken Narasimha avatara to prove to Prahalda's father that God is present everywhere and to slay the cruel king, who was torturing all those that worshipped the lord Mahavishnu). King Mahabali was a very kind and benevolent king who took care of his subjects very lovingly. During his rule, people were very happy and content. A popular Malayalam folk song says that during the rule of Mahabali, all people were alike(there was no discrimination on the basis of caste, creed or status), people did not have any fear of anything or anyone else, there was no cheating, no theft and not an iota of falsehood. The king became so popular that Gods in the heaven started fearing of their downfall. The Gods prayed to Lord Mahavishnu to arrest his rising popularity. Lord Mahavishnu took birth as the son of Aditi and Kasyapa, as Vamana(the dwarf). He visited Mahabali as a dwarf bramachari, when the king was performing a yagna. The charisma of the young boy was such that the king himself rose to welcome this unexpected guest and offered him a seat. The king asked Vamana what gift he wanted. Vamana humbly said, he wanted only three feet of land. The king urged him to ask for more expensive gifts, but Vamana did not want anything more than 3 feet of land. The king's guru, Sukracharya, with his divine sight at once knew the boy was no ordinary Brahmin and advised the king not to yield to the boys wish. The king did not want to go back on his promise and arranged for the ceremonial offering. Sukracharya hid himself in the nozzle of the king's water vessel, to block the water from the pot (During any ceremonial offering, as the offering is made to the receiver, water is poured on the hands of the receiver, as if to indicate the giver is washing off his right of the gift). Vamana poked a stick to remove the block and Sukracharya was blinded in one eye. As soon as the ceremonial offering was made by the King, Vamana's stature grew and with his one step he measured the whole earth and the sky, with the second one he measured the Patlaloka and he asked the king, where to measure his third step. The humbled king, who by now realised his guest was none other than the Lord, knelt before Vamana bowing his head and requested the Lord to put his third step on his head, for who can be more blessed to have the Lord's foot on his head. With his third step Vamana pushed Mahabali to Pathalaloka, but before going down to Pathalaloka, the benevolent king asked for a wish. His wish was that he should be permitted to visit his subjects once a year. The wish was granted and it is on Thiruvonam day, every year that the good king visits his subjects. That is why, the whole of Kerala make preparations well ahead of Thiruvonam to welcome their good old king, in all pomp and gaiety and make their homes as joyful as they were during Mahabali's rule. They decorate their houses and prepare grand feasts. There is a saying in Malayalam "Kaanam vittum Onam Unnanum"(One has to celebrate Onam, even if he has to sell his agricultural land).This festival is celebrated by all Malayalees across the board. People of all religions celebrate Onam. It is the harvest festival of Kerala. After the Kallakarkitakam(the worst month of monsoon furies) the whole of Kerala is full of blossoms of all kinds to welcome Ponnin Chingam(golden Chingam), The preparations for Onam begins much earlier to Atham. As Kerala's farmers harvest their first crop, they offer it to God, which is known as Illam Nira. Few sheaves of the harvested crops are taken to the temple by all. After the Pooja, the sheaves are broght back home as the "prasad" to the accompaniment of chorus of Nira, Nira, Nirayo Nira, Illam Nira, Vallam Nira, Nira Nira Poli Poli(Let there be bountiful everywhere, at home, in the granary, everywhere). One or two sheaves is pasted in all rooms and the remaining sheaves are hung as a bunch in the centre hall of the house.During this month there is a bountiful harvest of all vegetables and Kerala's own Nendran banana and the landscape is strewn with flowers of all colours and sizes.Starting from Atham day, girls and womenfolk decorate their front yard with fresh flowers, known as Pookalam. The sumptuous Onasadhya or Onam lunch is the most important feature of Onam. A grand lunch is prepared on Onam day, which includes rice as the main course, with varieties of vegetable curries. Some of the vegetable specialitiesprepared on Onam day are, Sambar, Kalan, Olan, Aviyal, Thoran (Nendrankai peel thoran), Erisssery, Pulissery, Kichadi, Pachadi, Kootukari, Puliinji and Narangacurry. Along with these vegetable preparations, Valiya pappadam(big papad), banana chips(salty as well as sweet), and Pazha Nurukku are also served. The dessert comprises two or more varieties of Payasams like Ada Pradhaman, Parippu Pradhaman or Chakka Pradhaman or Pal Payasam. (I shall try to give the recipes for the above later).After the Onam lunch, the womenfolk get together and sing and dance, which is known as Kaikottikali or Thirvathirakali. The menfolk used to engage in Villupattu an instrumental music played on the bows made of wood.In the southern parts of Kerala, which are lined with back waters and rivers, boat racing is conducted during Onam.It is a major festival in many of the temples and there are many legends for the various celebrations in the different temples

Love and Life is too Close

Beautiful Thoughts
When everything seems to go wrong, just push.
When the job gets you down, just push.
When people don't react the way you think they should, push!
When your money looks funny and the bills are due, just push.
When you want to tell them off for whatever the reason, just push.
When you ask the question, when is my ship coming in? Just push.
When people just don't understand you, just push.
Let me tell you what Push stands for ....
P-ray
U-ntil
S-omething
H-appens
I ran into a stranger as he passed by,"Oh, excuse me Please" was my reply.He said, "Please excuse me too;Wasn't even watching for you.
We were very polite, this stranger and I.We went on our way and we said good-bye.But at home a different story is told,How we treat our loved ones, young and old.
Later that day, cooking the evening meal,My daughter stood beside me very still.When I turned, I nearly knocked her down."Move out of the way," I said with a frown.
She walked away, her little heart was broken.I didn't realize how harshly I'd spoken.While I lay awake in bed,God's still small voice came to me and said,
"While dealing with a stranger, common courtesy you use,But the children you love, you seem to abuse.Look on the kitchen floor,You'll find some flowers there by the door.
Those are the flowers she brought for you.She picked them herself, pink, yellow and blue.She stood quietly not to spoil the surprise,And you never saw the tears in her eyes."
By this time, I felt very smallAnd now my tears began to fall.I quietly went and knelt by her bed;"Wake up, little girl, wake up," I said.
"Are these the flowers you picked for me?"She smiled, "I found 'em, out by the tree.I picked 'em because they're pretty like you.I knew you'd like 'em, especially the blue."
I said, "Daughter, I'm sorry for the way I acted today;I shouldn't have yelled at you that way."She said, "Oh, Mom, that's okay. I love you anyway."I said, "Daughter, I love you too,And I do like the flowers, especially the blue."
Are you aware that:
If we die tomorrow, the company that we are working for could easily replace us in a matter of days. But the family we left behind will feel the loss for the rest of their lives. And come to think of it, we pour ourselves more into work than to our family - an unwise investment indeed. So what is behind the story?
You know what is the full word of family?
FAMILY=(F)ATHER (A)ND (M)OTHER, (I) (L)OVE (Y)OU
It is worthwhile to share more time with them as they are getting older. Make balance among all things. Fill life with love and bravery and we shall live a life uncommon.

Christmas is the festival of heaven

How can it possibly be time for Christmas preparations ? It seems only yesterday that we were planning our summer holidays and now we are looking forward to Christmas. Or are we? How often, when you mention Christmas to people, do they just groan and moan about how much there is to do - shopping for presents, putting up decorations, preparing food, and so on? .
Christmas has become a chore because we put so much pressure on ourselves, and in the process we have lost the anticipation and wonder of waiting for the arrival of the Christ child. We rush around the shops trying to buy better presents than we did last year and undoubtedly many people put themselves deep into debt because they feel they must keep up with those around them. Have we lost the meaning at the heart of Christmas giving? Maybe, so let me tell you the story of the littlest shepherd
On the night the angels came to tell the shepherds about the birth of the baby king the littlest shepherd was there too. He went with the others to Bethlehem to see the baby, but as they walked he trailed behind them, not because he was tired although his little legs did ache with the effort of keeping up, but because he had no gift to give the baby. The three wise men had their gold, frankincense and myrrh. The other shepherds had gifts of woolen cloaks. But the littlest shepherd had nothing.
When they reached the stable he wanted to hide, but one of the angels gave him a gentle push into the stable. What was he going to do? He reached into the small leather pouch he carried and touched something. It was his little spinning top, but surely that wasn't good enough to give to the baby king? But then he remembered how he often set it spinning to make his little baby brother laugh, so he took it out, put it on the manger's edge and with a flick of his wrist set it spinning. There was a gasp from all round the stable. The three wise men shook their heads. "Not a proper gift," they said.
Joseph, the baby's father, tutted in disapproval. The shepherds agreed. "Take that dirty thing away!" But then the baby reached out his tiny hand and touched the top, which made it spin even faster. "A miracle," thought the littlest shepherd. Then in the silence that fell over the stable, Mary, the baby's mother, spoke. "You have each brought fine gifts fit for a king and we thank you. But see - only the child has brought a gift fit for a child".
As the present-buying stress increases as we get nearer Christmas, let us all remember the story of the littlest shepherd.
Another pressure many people put on themselves at Christmas is to have a perfect house - everything clean, sparkling and perhaps even freshly decorated. Listen to this salutary tale from Russia of Baboushka.
She was an old woman who lived alone and kept herself busy all day cleaning her house. One morning as she was sweeping her steps after a great fall of snow she saw three riders approaching. She knew they had to be kings because they wore crowns of gold and silver, although she did not know what the strange animals were that they rode - larger than horses with an odd hump on their backs.
To cut a long story short, the kings asked to stay with Baboushka and sleep during the day because at night they followed a star which was going to lead them to a newborn king. When it came time for the kings to leave they said to Baboushka "Come with us to see the baby king". But Baboushka shook her head. "I must sweep up first. I cannot leave my house in such a state".
The kings looked sad as they told her they must go without her because they followed a star and did not know how long the star might shine. So Baboushka shooed them out on their way like a mother hen with her chicks. Then she set to and cleaned her house from top to bottom. When she finished she was exhausted so she fell fast asleep. When she awoke snow had fallen and covered the tracks of the three kings. Baboushka thought it must have been a dream, but as the days passed she thought more and more about the baby king and the more she wondered about him the more she wanted to find him.
So, one day she cleaned her house for the last time, locked the door and set off to search for the baby king. Every baby she saw she peered into the cradle asking "Are you the One?" In every cradle and in every child's bed she dropped a little gift - just in case it was Him. She is still looking.
As we prepare for Christmas let us not be so busy with our preparations that we miss the one for whom we are preparing! Remember the words of the final verse of "In the Bleak Mid-winter":
"What can I give him, poor as I am? If I were a shepherd I could bring a lambIf I were a wise man, I would do my part; Yet what I can I give him, Give my heart"
May you be richly blest with love this Christmas.

|F|irst |R|escue |I|n |E|very |N|ew |D|ifficulties

True Friend is better than Eye

"In poverty and other misfortunes of life, true friends are a sure refuge. The young they keep out of mischief; to the old they are a comfort and aid in their weakness, and those in the prime of life they incite to noble deeds." ~ Aristotle.

"Better to be a nettle in the side of your friend than his echo." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson"As one's gifts increase, his friends decrease." ~ Kahlil Gibran

"Our friends show us what we can do; our enemies teach us what we must do."
~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

"Certain flaws are necessary for the whole. It would seem strange if old friends lacked certain quirks." ~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Words of Eleanor Roosevelt...
Many people will walk in and out of your life,But only true friends will leave footprints in your heart.
To handle yourself, use your head;To handle others, use your heart.
Anger is only one letter short of danger.If someone betrays once, it is his fault;If he betrays you twice, it is your fault.
Great minds discuss ideas;Average minds discuss events;Small minds discuss people.
He who loses money, loses much;He how loses a friend, loses much more;He who loses faith, loses all.
Beautiful young people are accidents of nature,But beautiful old people are works of art.
Learn from the mistakes of others;You can't live long enough to make them all yourself.
Friends, you and me... You brought another friend...and we started our group... our circle of friends...and like a circle... there is no beginning or end.
Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is mystery.Today is a gift.

Man's life will prosper through the GOD's will

This Blog is known as “The Good Book”. Why does this blog then inspire so much fear and apprehension? Misperception is the reason. Many, if not most of us, have bought into the idea that God is tough and a dispenser of harsh justice. We have also accepted the fact that the jig is about up for mankind. The end of the world is almost upon us, and that harsh justice is about to be unleashed. We are engulfed by a constant torrent of doom and gloom. Bad news seems to be everywhere. Many books depict how hard life is and will be at the time of the end. Our entertainment media puts out a steady stream of graphic TV programs and movies that portray the violent end we are about to endure. Even our religious leaders feed us a steady diet of dire warnings, apparently right out of “The Good Book”. There seems to be no escaping the inevitable drubbing this earth is about to receive. No wonder anxiety, fear, and depression are rampant.

The message that this web site has to all who will listen is that there is hope for mankind. “The Good Book” is truly good because it contains within its pages the BEAUTIFUL THOUGHTS OF GOD. The mind of God inspired the book, so we over the course of time will plumb those recorded thoughts and learn about the truly beautiful plans God has for mankind. In Isaiah 55:8-9 God says, “‘For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,’ says the Lord. ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts’”. The problem that so many of us have is that when you read this blog you are far too physical in your thinking. God’s thoughts convey spiritual realities that when taken physically are totally misunderstood. That’s why I say it is all a matter of perception, my dear friends, perception. We must look at things from God’s point of view. He says what He means and means what He says. Too often we say what He meant and that He meant what we said.

We challenge you to put aside all preconceived notions about God and what you think He said and meant. We are going to find out together what He really said and what He really meant, and we will use His own words to do it. This is going to take some time, so you will have to check this site often as we examine THE BEAUTIFUL THOUGHTS OF GOD.