Savings Pass Book......

Saving Passbook
Riya married Santosh this day ( 1st Jan XXXX ) . At the end of the wedding party, Riya’s mother gave her a newly opened bank saving passbook. With Rs.1000 deposit amount.
Mother: ‘Riya , take this passbook. Keep it as a record of your marriage (married) life. Whenever something happy and memorable happens in your new life, put some money in. Write down what it’s about next to the line.
The more memorable the event is, the more money you can put in. I’ve done the first one for you today. Do the others with Santosh. When you look back after years, you can know how much happiness you’ve had.’
Riya shared this with Santosh when getting home. They both thought it was a great idea and were anxious to know when the second deposit can be made.
This was what they did after certain time:
- 7 Feb: Rs.100, first birthday celebration for Santosh after marriage
- 1 Mar: Rs.300, salary raise for Riya
- 20 Mar: Rs.200, vacation trip to Bali
- 15 Apr: Rs.2000, Riya got pregnant
- 1 Jun: Rs.1000, Santosh got promoted
…… and so on…
However, after some years, like most couples they also started fighting and arguing for trivial things. They didn’t talk much. They regretted that they had got married at all.……..no more love….…Kind of typical nowadays, huh?
One day Riya talked to her Mother: ‘Mom, we can’t stand it anymore. We agree to divorce. I can’t imagine how I decided to marry this guy!!!’
Mother: ‘Sure, dear, that’s no big deal. Just do whatever you want if you really can’t stand it. But before that, do one thing first. Remember the saving passbook I gave you on your wedding day? Take out all money and spend it first. You shouldn’t keep any record of such a poor marriage.’
Riya thought it was true. So she went to the bank , planning to use up and cancel the account. While she was waiting, she took a look at the passbook record. She looked, and looked, and looked. Then the memory of all the previous joys and happiness came flooding to her mind. Her eyes were then filled with tears. She left and went home. On reaching home, she handed the passbook to Santosh in the evening after he came from Office, asked him to spend the money before getting divorce.
The next day, Santosh gave the passbook back to Riya. She found a new deposit of Rs.5000. And a line next to the record: ‘This is the day I notice how much I’ve loved you thru out all these years. How much happiness you’ve brought me.’ They hugged and cried, putting the passbook back to the safe.
Do you know how much money they had saved when they retired? I did not ask.I believe the money did not matter any more after they had gone thru all the good years in their life.
“When you fall, in any way, Don’t see the place where you fell, Instead see the place from where you slipped……….. Life is about correcting mistakes.”

AMRIT VELA / NECTAR TIME

Amrit Vela / Nectar Time is the name given to the early morning hours, when the whole world’s asleep….
Those who have experienced the truth of that time know the importance of nectar time very well.
Spiritual aspirants like sages of yore and even our brethren from all religions have always known the value of Amrit Vela in their spiritual progress only too well, having in most cases experienced it firsthand. Why is Amrit Vela so important / significant??
1. The atmosphere at that time is free of pollution – mental…………physical……… noise…………. In all the senses…..
2. More importantly,THE POWERHOUSE……..BESTOWER of all powers and virtues is waiting to welcome us, his children with open arms and bestow his choicest blessings and treasures on those of us who are awake, aware and conscious at that time.


I have been fortunate to have some wonderfully empowering and fulfilling experiences during Amrit Vela.


However the Nectar time is the time of nectar only if we fill ourselves with nectar. The easiest and best way to do it is to look inwards. Playing with the imperishable jewels of knowledge is one way of filling ourselves to the brim during this auspicious time……….

Gratitude Register

The concept of maintaining a gratitude register was suggested to me by a good friend of mine, Suresh Padmanabhan, who conceptualised “The Money Workshop” (www.moneyworkshop.com)
The concept deeply appealed to me because of its simplicity and also its significance which it has to our lives.
During our entire lifetime, we are indebted to a lot of people who in their own inimitable manner have contributed in our lives. It could be our school teacher, the friendly gardener, our first “best” friend, our parent(s), sibling(s), mentor, spouse, subordinate or………………. ……………………………. Now a days our online friend(s)…..
Gratitude register is essentially a record of the people and things whom we are grateful for and the manner in which they or it have contribution in our lives. All those who have contributed to what and where we are today. It could also include those who kicked us when we were down, because that acted as the catalyst for us to bounce back faster.
Gratitude register helps us to record and acknowledge the contribution of various people in our life. The human memory with all its frailities …………….. and strong points is fickle to say the least. While most people bear grudges which last a lifetime, normally the “good things” tend to be taken for granted. Especially from those close to us and our loved ones. Their presence and contribution in our life is taken for granted. It is only a prolonged absence which makes us realize the difference they make to our lives. If you want to know this first hand, typically ask a husband when his wife goes visiting her parents for ten days…….. J
In fact, on a lighter note the one person whom most of my cousins missed the most after shifting to the US of A, post marriage , was the friendly “kaamwali bai” . It just goes to show to what extent we tend to take most things in life for granted. In the US of A, you do not get a domestic help even if you are willing to pay a handsome salary/remuneration. We normally realize the value of normalcy in our lives only when something abnormal happens, for ex having an accident in the kitchen while cooking and cutting our finger and then struggling to do even the routine chores makes us realize the extent to which we had been taking our ‘normalcy’ for granted…………………and so on………..

Be For, Not Against……………………..

Everything you are against, weakens you, Everything you are for, empowers you……… - Wayne Dyer
Shift your focus on what you desire, rather than what is missing/or what you do not want.
This is truly an empowering thought ………………..
The best example of this can be brought out by the story of Mother Teresa. During the Vietnam War, a group of people approached Mother Teresa and asked her whether she would join them in a march to protest against the war. Mother Teresa’s reply was I will not join you in a march to protest against the war, however I will gladly join you in case you would like to march for peace…….. This thought reveals the the type of personality that Mother Teresa was. The quality of that soul. No wonder then that she is practically venerated........

Acknowledgements......

Any project or accomplishment requires the input / efforts of many …. And this blog is no different…..
I thank the Supreme whom we variously refer to as GOD, Ishwar, Allah, Jehovah, Bhagwan, Shiva …. along with the very many well wishers who have inspired me and also in some manner contributed to the matter in this blog.
Many examples,stories,anecdotes,quotes are the result of collection from various sources such as newpapers,books,speakers/writers in seminars/conferences over the past several years. Unfortunately the sources were not always noted or available for noting, hence it became impracticable to provide an accurate acknowledgement. Regardless of the source, I wish to express my gratitude to those who may have contributed to inputs in this blog, even though anonymously.
Every effort has also been made to give credit where it is due for the inputs at various stages.