Self Oblivion

2400 years ago, there lived a being with an intellect of a thousand men , who believed failure is not even an option. The name of the 'legend' is Kautilya or Chanakya ' Arthashastra ' - As the name indicates, is the science of accumulating wealth. Kautilya strongly believed that wealth is the primary objective of statecraft. Accumulation of wealth without deviation from dharma is the crux of arthashastra . It is said that Kautilya refrained Chandragupta Maurya from conquering beyond India because he considered it as deviation from dharma. All the strategies are derived by listing down all possible combinations of scenarios - let it be war based or others. Despite being the owner of a very sharp mind, he himself stands on the shoulder of giants. He learns the works of 6-8 prominent teachers / schools in each field, assesses each of them in granular detail and derives his own conclusion after a series of debates with his fellow ministers. That makes him and his strategies...

There was this great sage called Nârada. He was a great Yogi even among the gods. He travelled everywhere.  One day he was passing through a forest and saw a man who had been meditating until the white ants had built a huge mound round his body — so long had he been sitting in that position . He asked Narada, " Where are you going? " Narada replied, " I am going to meet God ". The man continued " Then ask God when He will be merciful to me; when I shall attain freedom " Further on Narada saw another man. He was jumping about, singing, dancing, and asked Narada, " Oh, Narada, where are you going? " His voice and his gestures were wild. Narada said, " I am going to meet God ". He said, " Oh is it? Then, ask when I shall be free ." Narada went on. In the course of time Narada came again by the same road and there was this man who had been meditating with the ant-hill round him. He : " Narada, did you ask the Lord about me?  ...

There was a great sage in India called Vyâsa. He was a holy man. Himself, his father, grandfather, great-grandfather - all of them tried to lead a life of highest perfection. But all of them failed . Vyasa's son - Shuka, was born perfect . He taught his son all wisdom and knowledge and finally sent him to the court of King Janaka, who was considered as a perfected being. Shuka was sent to be taught by king Janaka. The king knew that Vyasa's son was coming to him to learn wisdom; so he made certain arrangements beforehand. When the boy presented himself at the gates of the palace, the guards simply ignored him. They just gave him a seat and he sat there for three days and nights . Nobody even spoke to him or even asked who he was. He was the son of a very great sage who was honoured by the whole country and Shuka himself was a highly respectable person. Despite all this, the guards of the palace didn't even notice him. After three days, suddenly the ministers of the king and...

Every thought projected from every brain goes on until it meets a fit object that will receive it . Any mind which is open to receive some of these will take them immediately. Suppose I am doing a good act, my mind is in a certain state of vibration and all minds which are in a similar state, have the possibility of being affected by the vibration of my mind. Same is the case with evil act. So we should be very careful with our thoughts . An action once done cannot be destroyed until it has borne its fruit. No power in nature can stop it from yielding its results . If I do an evil action, I must suffer for it; there is no power in this universe to stop or stay it. Similarly, if I do a good action, there is no power in the universe which can stop it from bearing good results Then there is this problem. We cannot breathe or live without injuring others. If you think deeper, you'll understand that every bit of the food we eat is taken away from someone's mouth . We may work throug...

If you can invariably take the position of a giver , in which everything given by you is a free offering to the world, without any thought of return, then your work will bring no attachment. Attachment comes only where we expect a return If working like slaves results in selfishness and attachment, working as master of our own mind gives rise to bliss . When work becomes worship, it becomes the greatest . Continuous denial of low desires results in our unlimited expansion The desire to do good is the highest motive power we have and know that, it is a privilege to help others . All good acts tend to make us pure and perfect No beggar whom we have helped, has ever owed a single cent to us ; we owe everything to him, because he has allowed us to exercise our charity on him . It is entirely wrong to be proud of what we have done to 'help' people. Such thoughts only bring misery The world does not owe us anything. It is a great privilege for all of us to be allowed to do anything ...

We are all composed of three natural forces in us - Equilibrium, Activity and Inertness. If inertness prevails, we are inactive, bound down by certain ideas or by mere dullness. Sometimes activity prevails making us active and still other times equilibrium prevails and we experience a calm state.  Dominance of any one of the above qualities determine our inherent nature. By learning what they are and how to employ them, we will be able to do our work better. The important thing is to know that duty of one state of life, in one set of circumstances, will not and cannot be that of another Our first duty is not to hate ourselves, because to advance we must have faith in ourselves first and then in God. He who has no faith in himself can never have faith in God Avoid inactivity by all means . Plunge into the world and work. After a time, when you have suffered and enjoyed all in it, calmness will come. There will come a time when you will know that they are all very little things...

" Who's a great man — he who gives up the world and becomes a saint or he who lives in this world as a house holder? ". A king had this big question on his mind. He inquired all the wise men who came to his country but none could convince the king. At last there came a young man and the king asked him the same question. Young man answered, " O King, each is equally great in his place ." King said : " Prove this to me " to which the man replied : " I will prove it to you, but you must first come and live as I do for a few days " The king consented and followed the man out of his own territory. They passed through many other countries until they came to a great kingdom. In the capital of that kingdom a great ceremony was going on. The princess of that country was about to perform 'swayamvara' (choose a husband from among those assembled before her). All the princes of the neighbourhood put on their bravest attire and presented themselve...