Story of a Tea Cup

Story of a Tea Cup

"There was a time when I was just a dumb lump of red clay. Then one day my master came. He took me, brought me home, rolled and pounded me on a wooden table. Again and again, he poked his fingers into me until finally I yelled out: 'Don't do that! Leave me alone!' But he only smiled and gently said: "Not yet!"

Then, whoommmm! I was placed on a spinning wheel and suddenly spun around and around and around until I lost all my sense of direction: 'Stop it; don't you see that I'm getting sick? Quickly, take me from the spinning wheel!' But the master only nodded in understanding and quietly said: "Not yet!"

Then he placed me carefully into an oven. I never felt such heat. I yelled and knocked and pounded at the door: 'It is hotter than hell - I'm burning to ashes. Please get me out of here before it is too late.' I could only read his lips as he shook his head from side to side and silently pronounced, "Not yet!"

After I had cooled down he carefully picked me up, looked at me and brushed some dust away. Then he brought the colors! The fumes were horrible! 'Please... you have no mercy! Please, Stop it!' But he only shook his head and said: "Not yet!"

An hour or later he came back and placed a mirror before me and said: "Look at yourself!" And I did.What I saw amazed me. 'That's not me!' I said. 'It is too beautiful...' With a very compassionate voice he spoke: "This is what you are meant to be," and then he explained: "I know it hurt you when I rolled and kneaded you on the table. But if I had not gotten the air out of you, you would have broken. I knew you must have lost all your sense of orientation when I was spinning you. But without this you would never have come into this form. I know the fumes of the colors were intolerable when I painted you all over. But if I had not done that, you would not have had any color in your life."

God is the potter and we are the clay. He will mold us and will expose us to just enough pressures of just the right kinds that we will become a perfect piece of His liking.

--Anil

Beautiful Message..

Regards,
Friends of Lord Krishna (FOLK)
ISKCON, Bangalore

Visit us at
www.folknet.in
www.iskconbangalore.org

Best Regards,
Anil [http://anilreddy12001.blogspot.com]

Don't Interrupt Others or Finish Their Sentences

Another nice message from ISKCON Bangalore:

Don't Interrupt Others or Finish Their Sentences

When you interrupt someone, or finish his or her sentence, you have to keep
track not only of your own thoughts but of those of the person you are
interrupting as well.

This tendency (which, by the way, is extremely common in busy people),
encourages both parties to speed up their speech and their thinking. This,
in turn, makes both people nervous, irritable, and annoyed. It is also the
cause of many arguments, because if there's one thing almost everyone
resents, it's someone who doesn't listen to what they are saying.

Once you begin noticing yourself interrupting other, you'll see that this
tendency is nothing more than an innocent habit that has become invisible to
you. This is good news because it means that all you really have to do is to
begin catching yourself when you forget. Remind yourself (before a
conversation begins, if possible) to be patient and wait. Tell yourself to
allow the other person to finish speaking before you take your turn.

You'll notice, right away, how much the interactions with the people in your
life will improve as a direct result of this simple act. The people you
communicate with will feel much more relaxed around you when they feel heard
and listened to. You'll also notice how much more relaxed you'll feel when
you stop interrupting others. Your heart and pulse rates will slow down, and
you'll begin to enjoy your conversations rather than rush through them.

This is an easy way to become a more relaxed and loving person.

--
Regards,
Friends of Lord Krishna (FOLK)
ISKCON, Bangalore

Visit us at
www.folknet.in
www.iskconbangalore.org

Develop Your Compassion

Today, I received this beautifull mail from ISKCON Bangalore..

"Compassion is a sympathetic feeling. It involves the willingness to put yourself in someone else's shoes, to take the focus off yourself and to imagine what it's like to be in someone else's predicament, and simultaneously, to feel love for that person. 

Compassion is the recognition that other people's problems, their pain and frustrations, are every bit as real as our own---often far worse. In recognizing this fact and trying to offer some assistance, we open our own hearts and greatly enhance our sense of gratitude.

Compassion is something you can develop with practice. It involves two things: intention and action. Intention simply means you remember to open your heart to others; you expand what and who matters, from yourself to other people. Action is simply the "what you do about it."

Compassion develops your sense of gratitude by taking your attention off all the little things that most of us have learned to take too seriously."

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Best Regards,
Anil [http://anilreddy12001.blogspot.com]