Your moods can be extremely deceptive

Your own moods can be extremely deceptive. They can, and probably do, trick you into believing your life is far worse than it really is. When you’re in a good mood, life looks great. You have perspective, common sense, and wisdom. In good moods, thing don’t feel so hard, problems seem less formidable and easier to solve. When you’re in a good mood, relationships seem to flow and communication is...

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Learning from our glorious past

We are all more or less proud of our past Indian civilization, but we actually do not know the real nature of that civilization. We cannot be proud of our past material civilization, which is now a thousand times greater than in days gone by. It is said that we are passing through the age of darkness, the Kali-yuga. What is this darkness? The darkness cannot be due to backwardness in material knowledge,...

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Choose your battles wisely

“Choose your battles wisely” is important in living a happy and contented life. It suggests that life is filled with opportunities to choose between making a big deal out of something or simply letting it go, realizing it doesn’t really matter. If you choose your battles wisely, you’ll be far more effective in winning those that are truly important. Certainly there will be times when you will want...

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Handling mistakes we make in life…

In every mistake there is the potential for growth. Inherent in every problem there is a solution. When you take the process too seriously, however, you interfere with your ability to see answers. The next time you make a mistake, instead of dealing with it in your usual way, laugh at yourself instead. You will be surprised at how quickly and easily you are able to resolve the issue. A decision...

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Ignorance is no excuse

At present everyone is suffering due to ignorance, just as one contracts a disease out of ignorance. If one does not know hygienic principles, he will not know what will contaminate him. Therefore due to ignorance there is infection, and we suffer from disease. A criminal may say, "I did not know the law," but he will not be excused if he commits a crime. Ignorance is no excuse. Similarly, a child,...

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Many times we do not ask – why we do what we do

Eight monkeys are put in a room. In the middle of the room is a ladder, leading to a bunch of bananas hanging from a hook on the ceiling. Each time a monkey tries to climb the ladder; all the monkeys are sprayed with ice water, which makes them miserable. Sooner enough, whenever a monkey attempts to climb the ladder, all of the other monkeys, not wanting to be sprayed, set upon him and beat him up....

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How to get good sleep?

1. Try relaxation & deep breathing exercises Put things into perspective before you become upset or angry. Look into some relaxation techniques and deep breathing exercises. 2. Exercise regularly Exercise increases heart and lung fitness while reducing stress, anxiety and insomnia. It also raises your endorphin levels -- the natural "mood elevators" produced by the brain. Endorphins reduce...

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Relevant enquiry

As long as a man is in the full vigor of life, he forgets the naked truth of death, which he has to meet. Thus a foolish man makes no relevant inquiry about the real problems of life. Everyone thinks that he will never die, although he sees evidence of death before his eyes at every second. Here is the distinction between animalism and humanity. An animal like a goat has no sense of its impending...

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Expectations and Frustrations

We have to understand the link between our expectations and our frustration levels. Whenever we expect something to be a certain way and it isn’t we’re upset and we suffer. On the other had, when we let go of our expectations, when you accept life as it is, we’re free. To hold on is to be serious and uptight. To let go is to lighten up. A good exercise is to try to approach a single day without...

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Grateful when feeling good & graceful when feeling bad

The happier person on earth isn’t always happy. In fact, the happiest people all have their fair share of low moods, problems, and disappointments. Often the difference between a person who is happy and someone who is unhappy isn’t how often they get low, or even how low they drop, but instead, it’s what they do with their low moods. How do they relate to their feelings? Most people have it backward....

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Watering the Root

Actually our position is that we are always rendering service to someone, either to our family, country, or society. If we have no one to serve, sometimes we keep a pet cat or dog and render service to it. All these factors prove that we are constitutionally meant to render service, yet in spite of serving to the best of our ability, we are not satisfied. Nor is the person to whom we are rendering...

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Tips for a Better Sleep

The quality and quantity of your sleep can make a sizable difference on how productive you'll be the next day. Here are few tips to help you get the sleep you need and deserve: 1. Unwind early in the evening. Try to deal with worries and distractions several hours before bedtime. 2. Give yourself "permission" to go to bed. Recognize that some minimum amount of sleep is essential for body to rejuvenate....

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Dr. Frog Philosophy

There was once a frog who had lived all his life in a well. One day a friend visited him and informed him of the existence of the Atlantic Ocean. "Oh, what is this Atlantic Ocean?" asked the frog in the well. "It is a vast body of water," his friend replied. "How vast? Is it double the size of this well?" "Oh, no, much larger," his friend replied. "How much larger? Ten times the size?" In this...

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It is easier to criticize…

Once upon a time there was a painter who had just completed his course under disciple hood of a great painter. This young artist decided to assess his skills. He decided to give his best strokes on the canvass. He took 3 days and painted beautiful scenery. He wanted people's opinion about his caliber and painting skills. He put his creation at a busy street-crossing. And just down below a board...

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Practice humility – Do not try to prove yourself to others

Humility and inner peace go hand in hand. The less compelled you are to try to prove yourself to others, the easier it is to feel peaceful inside. Proving yourself is a dangerous trap. It takes an enormous amount of energy to be continually pointing out your accomplishments, bragging, or trying to convince others of your worth as a human being. Pride and arrogance actually dilutes the positive feelings...

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Search for the grain of truth in other opinions

Almost everyone feels that their own opinions are good ones; otherwise they wouldn’t be sharing them with you. One of the destructive things that many of us do, however, is compare someone else’s opinion to our own. And, when it doesn’t fall in line with our belief, we either dismiss it or find fault with it. We feel smug, the other person feels diminished, and we learn nothing. Almost every opinion...

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Try to put your problems on your back burner

Using you back burner means allowing your mind to solve a problem while you are busy doing something else. The back burner of your mind works in the same way as the back burner of a stove. While on low heat, the cooking process mixes, blends, and simmers the ingredients into a tasty meal. The way you prepare a meal is to put various ingredients into the pot, mix them up, and leave them alone. Often...

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Reason we are tempted to put others down

You have chances to point out to someone their mistakes, things they could or should have done differently, ways they can improve. You have chances to “correct” people, privately as well as in front of others. However, most of the time, the reason we are tempted to put others down, correct them, or show them how we’re right and they’re wrong is that our ego mistakenly believes that if we point out...

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The power of words

A group of frogs were traveling through the woods, and two of them fell into a deep pit. When the other frogs saw how deep the pit was, they told the two frogs that they were as good as dead. The two frogs ignored the comments and tried to jump up out of the pit with all their might. The other frogs kept telling them to stop, that they were as good as dead. Finally, one of the frogs took heed to what...

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What's New at Akshaya Patra...

‘Click a Smile’ Photography Exhibition ‘Click a Smile’ will showcase an array of smiles from across India. The exhibition will showcase 20 best photographs from over 350 entries chosen by Mr. Senthil, Winner of many prestigious photography awards including awards at Cannes International-2001 & 2003. Mr. Chitranga Chaitanya Dasa, Program Director, of Akshaya Patra will also be gracing the event....

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