peace -how to achieve

10 Principles for Peace of Mind..

1. Do Not Interfere In Others' Business Unless Asked.

Most of us create our own problems by interfering too often in others' affairs. We do so because somehow we have convinced ourselves that our way is the best way, our logic is the perfect logic and those who do not conform to our thinking must be criticized and steered to the right direction, our direction. This thinking denies the existence of individuality and consequently the existence of God. God has created each one of us in a unique way. No two human beings can think or act in exactly the same way. All men or women act the way they do because God within them prompts them that way. Mind your own business and you will keep your peace.

2. Forgive And Forget:

This is the most powerful aid to peace of mind. We often develop ill feelings inside our heart for the person who insults us or harms us. We nurture grievances. This in turn results in loss of sleep, development of stomach ulcers, and high blood pressure. This insult or injury was done once, but nourishing of grievance goes on forever by constantly remembering it. Get over this bad habit. Life is too short to waste in such trifles. Forgive, Forget, and march on. Love flourishes in giving and forgiving.

3. Do Not Crave For Recognition:

This world is full of selfish people. They seldom praise anybody without selfish motives. They may praise you today because you are in power. But no sooner than you are powerless, they will forget your achievement and will start finding faults in you. Why do you wish to harm yourself if in striving for their recognition? Their recognition is not worth the aggravation. Do your duties ethically and sincerely.

4. Do Not Be Jealous:

We all have experienced how jealousy can disturb our peace of mind. You know that you work harder than your colleagues in the office, but sometimes they get promotions; you do not. You started a business several years ago, but you are not as successful as your neighbor whose business is only one year old. There are several examples like these in everyday life. Should you be jealous? No. Remember, everybody's life is shaped by his/her destiny, which has now become his/her reality. If you are destined to be rich, nothing in the world can stop you. If you are not so destined, no one can help you either. Nothing will be gained by blaming others for your misfortune. Jealousy will not get you anywhere; it will only take away your peace of mind.

5. Change Yourself According To The Environment:

If you try to change the environment single-handedly, the chances are you will fail. Instead, change yourself to suit your environment. As you do this, even the environment, which has been unfriendly to you, will mysteriously change and seem congenial and harmonious.

6. Endure What Cannot Be Cured:

This is the best way to turn a disadvantage into an advantage. Every day we face numerous inconveniences, ailments, irritations, and accidents that are beyond our control... If we cannot control them or change them, we must learn to put up with these things. We must learn to endure them cheerfully. Believe in yourself and you will gain in terms of patience, inner strength and will power.

7. Do Not Bite Off More Than You Can Chew:

This maxim needs to be remembered constantly. We often tend to take more responsibilities than we are capable of carrying out. This is done to satisfy our ego. Know your limitations. . Why take on additional loads that may create more worries? You cannot gain peace of mind by expanding your external activities. Reduce your material engagements and spend time in prayer, introspection and meditation. This will reduce those thoughts in your mind that make you restless. Uncluttered mind will produce greater peace of mind.

8. Meditate Regularly:

Meditation calms the mind and gets rid of disturbing thoughts. This is the highest state of peace of mind. Try and experience it yourself. If you meditate earnestly for half an hour everyday, your mind will tend to become peaceful during the remaining twenty-three and half-hours. Your mind will not be easily disturbed as it was before. You would benefit by gradually increasing the period of daily meditation. You may think that this will interfere with your daily work. On the contrary, this will increase your efficiency and you will be able to produce better results in less time.

9. Never Leave The Mind Vacant:

An empty mind is the devil's workshop. All evil actions start in the vacant mind. Keep your mind occupied in something positive, something worthwhile. Actively follow a hobby. Do something that holds your interest. You must decide what you value more: money or peace of mind. Your hobby, like social work or religious work, may not always earn you more money, but you will have a sense of fulfillment and achievement. Even when you are resting physically, occupy yourself in healthy reading or mental chanting of God's name.

10. Do Not Procrastinate And Never Regret:

Do not waste time in protracted wondering " Should I or shouldn't I?" Days, weeks, months, and years may be wasted in that futile mental debating. You can never plan enough because you can never anticipate all future happenings. Value your time and do the things that need to be done. It does not matter if you fail the first time. You can learn from your mistakes and succeed the next time. Sitting back and worrying will lead to nothing. Learn from your mistakes, but do not brood over the past. DO NOT REGRET. Whatever happened was destined to happen only that way. Why cry over spilt milk?

P.S.borrowed wisdom from email fwd\

pray before doing anything

Pray First Before You Do Anything

There once was a man who had nothing for his family to eat. He had an old rifle and three bullets. So, he decided that he would go out hunting and kill some wild game for dinner.As he went down the road, he saw a rabbit. He shot at the rabbit and missed it. The rabbit ran away. Then he saw a squirrel and fired a shot at the squirrel but missed it. The squirrel disappeared into a hole in a cottonwood tree.

As he went further, he saw a large wild "Tom" turkey in the tree, but he had only one bullet remaining. A voice spoke to him and said, "Pray first, aim high, and stay focused.

However, at the same time, he saw a deer which was a better kill. He brought the gun down and aimed at the deer. But, then he saw a rattlesnake between his legs about to bite him, so he naturally brought the gun down further to shoot the rattlesnake.

Still, the voice said again to him, "I said, 'Pray, Aim high, and Stay focused."So, the man decided to listen to God's voice.

He prayed, then aimed the gun high up in the tree, and shot the wild turkey.The bullet bounced off the turkey and killed the deer. The handle fell off the gun, hit the snake in the head, and killed it. And, when the gun had gone off, it knocked him into a pond.

When he stood up to look around, he had fish in all his pockets, a dead deer, and a turkey for his family to eat.

The snake (Satan) was dead simply because the man listened to God.

Moral of the story:Pray first before you do anything, aim and shoot high in your goals, and stay focused on God.Never let others discourage you concerning your past. The past is exactly that, "the past.

"Live every day one day at a time, and remember that only God knows our future.Do not look to man for your blessings, but look to the doors that only He has prepared in advance for you in your favor. Wait, be still, and patient: keep God first, and everything else will follow. Pass this on in order that someone else might be blessed.Don't worry about tomorrow, God is already there!

Life principles

Principles of Life

1:Life does not work through indecision. Indecision promotes blocks, confusion and stress. Make a decision and allow life to find movement through you. Trust yourself.

2: The 3 C's of life are Courage, Capacity and Commitment. It takes Courage and a Commitment to make many of life's decisions, and Capacity to follow them through.

3: Truth is never out of time....it always remains the truth. It is we who are usually unable...to recognise the truth.

4:The mind recoils from the unknown, so we seek to make everything known, and, thus safe. Imagination is the key to the unknown...the positive, uplifting imagination.

5: For as long as we search for Our God Self, we deny that we are it. Loving yourself reveals your truth.

6: Becoming free is not changing yourself into someone you think you should be. Becoming free is falling in love with who you are...right now!

7: Imagine a room of pitch dark and a room of bright light connected by a door. When you open the door what happens? Light floods into the dark room illuminating it. Live accordingly open the doors of your heart

9: Anything of the past that is unresolved is unresolved now. Living NOW resolves the past.

10: Life flows from the inside out, never the reverse. Once we understand this......we cease to be a victim.

11: Love responds...fear reacts. Love connects...fear separates. Love uplifts...fear deflates. Love creates...fear destroys.

12: There is no such thing as a mistake...only experience. There is no such thing as failure only people's condemnation. There is no such thing as success...only people's approval.

13: Do not get caught up in modifying your life.....allow life to change YOU. Modification is a superficial exterior veneer, change is an inner shift in consciousness. Let life live through you.

14: Pain is a measure of your resistance to change.

15: Decide whether you want to be an onlooker of life or a participant. This is the birthplace of choice.

16: You hear with your ears... but you listen with your mind. You look with your eyes.but you see from the heart.

17: Consciousness is not contained in your body... you are the consciousness that contains the body. Consciousness draws to itself the form through which to express.

18: Your mind cannot exist in the moment. You cannot think your way into the moment, you can only think your way out of it. This indicates that your mind/intellect cannot set you free. True freedom is a state of consciousness. Only your consciousness is aware of NOW.

19: We each live in our own universe, a universe of our making. It is designed to support our beliefs and our focus. Our thoughts are our focus, so observe your thoughts, focus on your blessings, and trust. This is how we each become a participant.

20: Practise seeing all life around you as an aspect of yourself. In this way you shatter the illusion of separation.

21: The 3 C's of a successful relationship are Caring, Consideration and Communication. Communication opens the door between us, Consideration allows us to pass through it and our ability to Care for each other unites us.

22: If you focus on what you do have, it increases. If you focus on what you don't have, you will have even less. If you focus on your capabilities, they grow, if you focus on your health, it improves.

23: Your mind does not know the difference between a powerfully imagined reality and a physical happening reality. Why....because there is no difference!

24: You only have a problem if you believe you have a problem.

25: Live these principles and you will be practising reality. Practise reality until you overcome the illusion. It is only an illusion that you are not free, now!
- Author Anonymous

THOUGHTS FOR LIFE
The greatest handicap:Fear
The best day: Today
The easiest thing to do: Find a fault
The most useless asset: Pride
The greatest mistake: Giving up
The biggest stumbling block: Egotism
The best feeling: Love
The most disagreeable person: The complainer
The worst bankruptcy: Loss of enthusiasm
The greatest need: Common sense
The meanest feeling: Regret at another's success
The best gift: Forgiveness
The greatest blessing PARENTS

Note:- These of borrowed wisdom from email forwards, nevertheless, moral boosters...

Nice artice on JRD

A GEM OF AN ARTICLE... DO READ IT!!!

Have Passion!

It was probably the April of 1974. Bangalore was getting warm and gulmoharswere blooming at the IISc campus. I was the only girl in my postgraduatedepartment and was staying at the ladies' hostel. Other girls were pursuingresearch in different departments of Science.I was looking forward to going abroad to complete a doctorate in computerscience. I had been offered scholarships from Universities in the US. I hadnot thought of taking up a job in India.One day, while on the way to my hostel from our lecture-hall complex, I sawan advertisement on the notice board. It was a standard job-requirementnotice from the famous automobile company Telco (now Tata Motors). It statedthat the company required young, bright engineers, hardworking and with anexcellent academic background, etc.At the bottom was a small line: "Lady candidates need not apply."I read it and was very upset. For the first time in my life I was up againstgender discrimination.Though I was not keen on taking up the job, I saw it as a challenge. I haddone extremely well in academics, better than most of my male peers. Littledid I know then that in real life academic excellence is not enough to besuccessful.After reading the notice I went fuming to my room. I decided to inform thetopmost person in Telco's management about the injustice the company wasperpetrating. I got a postcard and started to write, but there was aproblem: I did not know who headed Telco.I thought it must be one of the Tatas. I knew JRD Tata was the head of theTata Group; I had seen his pictures in newspapers (actually, SumantMoolgaokar was the company's chairman then). I took the card, addressed itto JRD and started writing. To this day I remember clearly what I wrote."The great Tatas have always been pioneers. They are the people who startedthe basic infrastructure industries in India, such as iron and steel,chemicals, textiles and locomotives. They have cared for higher education inIndia since 1900 and they were responsible for the establishment of theIndian Institute of Science. Fortunately, I study there. But I am surprisedhow a company such as Telco is discriminating on the basis of gender."I posted the letter and forgot about it. Less than 10 days later, I receiveda telegram stating that I had to appear for an interview at Telco's Punefacility at the company's expense. I was taken aback by the telegram. Myhostel mate told me I should use the opportunity to go to Pune free of costand buy them the famous Pune saris for cheap! I collected Rs 30 each from everyone who wanted a sari. When I look back, I feel like laughing at the reasons for my going, but back then they seemed good enough to make the trip.It was my first visit to Pune and I immediately fell in love with the city.To this day it remains dear to me. I feel as much at home in Pune as I do inHubli, my hometown. The place changed my life in so many ways. As directed,I went to Telco's Pimpri office for the interview.There were six people on the panel and I realised then that this was seriousbusiness."This is the girl who wrote to JRD," I heard somebody whisper as soon as Ientered the room. By then I knew for sure that I would not get the job. Therealisation abolished all fear from my mind, so I was rather cool while theinterview was being conducted.Even before the interview started, I reckoned the panel was biased, so Itold them, rather impolitely, "I hope this is only a technical interview."They were taken aback by my rudeness, and even today I am ashamed about myattitude. The panel asked me technical questions and I answered all of them.Then an elderly gentleman with an affectionate voice told me, "Do you knowwhy we said lady candidates need not apply? The reason is that we have neveremployed any ladies on the shop floor. This is not a co-ed college; this isa factory. When it comes to academics, you are a first ranker throughout. Weappreciate that, but people like you should work in research laboratories."I was a young girl from small-town Hubli. My world had been a limited place.I did not know the ways of large corporate houses and their difficulties, soI answered, "But you must start somewhere, otherwise no woman will ever beable to work in your factories."Finally, after a long interview, I was told I had been successful. So thiswas what the future had in store for me. Never had I thought I would take upa job in Pune. I met a shy young man from Karnataka there, we became goodfriends and we got married..It was only after joining Telco that I realized who JRD was: the uncrownedking of Indian industry. Now I was scared, but I did not get to meet himtill I was transferred to Bombay. One day I had to show some reports to Mr Moolgaokar, our chairman, who we all knew as SM. I was in his office on the first floor of Bombay House (the Tata headquarters) when, suddenly JRD walked in.That was the first time I saw "appro JRD". Appro means "our" inGujarati.This was the affectionate term by which people at Bombay Housecalled him.I was feeling very nervous, remembering my postcard episode. SM introducedme nicely, "Jeh (that's what his close associates called him), this youngwoman is an engineer and that too a postgraduate.She is the first woman to work on the Telco shop floor." JRD looked at me. Iwas praying he would not ask me any questions about my interview (or thepostcard that preceded it).Thankfully, he didn't. Instead, he remarked. "It is nice that girls aregetting into engineering in our country. By the way, what is your name?""When I joined Telco I was Sudha Kulkarni, Sir," I replied. "Now I am SudhaMurthy." He smiled and kindly smile and started a discussion with SM. As forme, I almost ran out of the room.After that I used to see JRD on and off. He was the Tata Group chairman andI was merely an engineer.. There was nothing that we had in common. I was inawe of him.One day I was waiting for Murthy, my husband, to pick me up after officehours. To my surprise I saw JRD standing next to me. I did not know how toreact. Yet again I started worrying about that postcard. Looking back, Irealise JRD had forgotten about it. It must have been a small incident forhim, but not so for me."Young lady, why are you here?" he asked. "Office time is over." I said,"Sir, I'm waiting for my husband to come and pick me up." JRD said, "It isgetting dark and there's no one in the corridor.I'll wait with you till your husband comes."I was quite used to waiting for Murthy, but having JRD waiting alongsidemade me extremely uncomfortable.I was nervous. Out of the corner of my eye I looked at him. He wore a simplewhite pant and shirt. He was old, yet his face was glowing. There wasn't anyair of superiority about him. I was thinking, "Look at this person. He is achairman, a well-respected man in our country and he is waiting for the sakeof an ordinary employee."Then I saw Murthy and I rushed out. JRD called and said, "Young lady, tellyour husband never to make his wife wait again." In 1982 I had to resignfrom my job at Telco. I was reluctant to go, but I really did not have achoice. I was coming down the steps of Bombay House after wrapping up myfinal settlement when I saw JRD coming up. He was absorbed in thought. Iwanted to say goodbye to him, so I stopped. He saw me and paused.Gently, he said, "So what are you doing, Mrs Kulkarni?" (That was the way healways addressed me.) "Sir, I am leaving Telco.""Where are you going?" he asked. "Pune, Sir. My husband is starting acompany called Infosys and I'm shifting to Pune.""Oh! And what will you do when you are successful.""Sir, I don't know whether we will be successful." "Never start withdiffidence," he advised me. "Always start with confidence. When you aresuccessful you must give back to society. Society gives us so much; we mustreciprocate. I wish you all the best."Then JRD continued walking up the stairs. I stood there for what seemed likea millennium. That was the last time I saw him alive. Many years later I metRatan Tata in the same Bombay House, occupying the chair JRD once did. Itold him of my many sweet memories of working with Telco. Later, he wrote tome, "It was nice hearing about Jeh from you. The sad part is that he's notalive to see you today."I consider JRD a great man because, despite being an extremely busy person,he valued one postcard written by a young girl seeking justice. He must havereceived thousands of letters everyday. He could have thrown mine away, buthe didn't do that. He respected the intentions of that unknown girl, who hadneither influence nor money, and gave her an opportunity in his company. Hedid not merely give her a job; he changed her life and mindset forever.Close to 50 per cent of the students in today's engineering colleges aregirls. And there are women on the shop floor in many industry segments. Isee these changes and I think of JRD. If at all time stops and asks me whatI want from life, I would say I wish JRD were alive today to see how thecompany we started has grown. He would have enjoyed it wholeheartedly.My love and respect for the House of Tata remains undiminished by thepassage of time. I always looked up to JRD. I saw him as a role model forhis simplicity, his generosity, his kindness and the care he took of hisemployees. Those blue eyes always reminded me of the sky; they had the samevastness and magnificence.(Sudha Murthy is a widely published writer and chairperson of the InfosysFoundation involved in a number of social development initiatives. Infosyschairman Narayana Murthy is her husband.)

Article sourced from: Lasting Legacies (Tata Review- Special CommemorativeIssue 2004), brought out by the house of Tatas to commemorate the 100thbirth anniversary of JRD Tata on July 29, 2004