My Favourite Short Story-1 : 'Where Love is, God is' by Leo Tolstoi

This is an ennobling, elevating and inspiring short story. I have read it several times. I am always very much moved by it. It is an incomparable classic. Even after more than 100 years of its publication, it is avidly read by many. I would recommend it to all.

http://www.online-literature.com/tolstoy/2892/

My Favourite Poem-2: 'Religious Musings' by S.T.Coleridge

The Best Prayer

He prayeth well, who loveth well
Both man and bird and beast.

He prayeth best, who loveth best
All things both great and small.

For the dear God who loveth us,
He made and loveth all.

For the full poem, click:
http://www.usask.ca/english/barbauld/related_texts/religious_musings.html

My Photo Album-5: "Achchukkutti is our chellakkutti!"

Achchukkutti aka B.C.Surya is my younger brother, Chandru's son. He is less than a year old. He has a striking resemblance to my late father. Probably he has inherited some of his qualities also. He is another pet of mine. But the minute he sees me he starts crying. Hope he will accept me after some time.

Books-6: 'As a Man Thinketh' by James Allen

It is a world-renowned book and does not need any introduction. It is one of the all-time great books. Generation and generation, people are getting benefitted by this wonderful book. I have derived a lot of inspiration from this book. I am reproducing below some of the passages which appealed to me most. I am providing the link to this book for those who want to read this book in full.

As a being of Power, Intelligence, and Love, and the lord of his won thoughts, man holds the key to every situation, and contains within himself that transforming and regenerative agency by which he may make himself what he wills.

Only by much searching and mining, are gold and diamonds obtained and man can find every truth connected with his being, if he will dip deep into the mine of his soul;

... only by patience, practice, and ceaseless importunity can a man enter the Door of the Temple of Knowledge.

Just as a gardener cultivates his plot, keeping it free from weeds, and growing the flowers and fruits which he requires, so may a man tend the garden of his mind, weeding out all the wrong, useless, and impure thoughts, and cultivating towrd perfection the flowers and fruits of right, useful, and pure thoughts.

Law, not confusion, is the dominating principle in the universe; justice, not injustice, is the soul and substance of life; and righteousness, not corruption, is the moulding and moving force in the spiritual government of the world.

Let a man radically alter his thoughts (by systematic introspection and self-analysis) and he will be astonished at the rapid transformation it will effect in the material conditions of his life.

...impure thoughts of every kind crystallize into enervating and confusing habits, which solidify into distracting and adverse circumstances: thoughts of fear, doubt, and indecision crystallize into weak, unmanly, and irresolute habits, which solidify into circumstances of failure, indigence, and slavish dependence : lazy thoughts crystallize into habits of uncleanliness and dishonesty, which solidify into circumstances of foulness and beggary: hateful and condemnatory thoughts crystallilize into habits of accusation and violence, which solidify into circumstances of injury and persecution; selfish thoughts of all kinds crystallize into habits of self-seeking, which solidify into circumstances more or less distressing.

http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext03/mntkh10.txt

A Thought for Today-18: July 12, 2007

Each soul is potentially divine. The goal is to manifest this Divinity within by controlling nature, external and internal. Do this either by work, or worship, or psychic control, or philosophy — by one, or more, or all of these — and be free. This is the whole of religion. Doctrines, or dogmas, or rituals, or books, or temples, or forms, are but secondary details - Swami Vivekananda

Books-5: 'Life of Pi' by Yann Martel

Today I completed reading the above book. I had been to Chennai on a two-day trip. I utlized this opportunity to read this book. It is a fantastic book. I have to borrow words from experts to describe its many-sided splendour. Yann Martel blends fact and fiction with wily charm(The Guardian). An astonishing piece of fiction. It is unbelievable that a person can give such free rein to his imagination and put the whole pile of meandering thoughts into a brilliant, logical sequential order(Deccan Chronicle). He is a powerful writer and storyteller(Edmonton Journal). It is an amazing and astounding novel.

The hero is a castaway with only a Royal Bengal Tiger for companion, and of course, the Pacific ocean , the sky, the winds and his thoughts. There are many passages in the book that are worth recording. However, for want of space, I am reproducing below only a few:

“There were many skies. The sky was invaded by great white clouds, flat on the bottom but round and billowy on top. The sky was completely cloudless, of a blue quite shattering to the senses. The sky was a heavy, suffocating blanket of grey cloud, but without promise of rain. The sky was thinly overcast. The sky was dappled with small, white, fleecy clouds. The sky was streaked with high, thin clouds that looked like a cotton ball stretched apart. The sky was a featureless milky haze. The sky was a density of dark and blustery rain clouds that passed by without delivering rain. The sky was painted with a small number of flat clouds that looked like sandbars. The sky was a mere block to allow a visual effect on the horizon: sunlight flooding the ocean, the vertical edges between light and shadow perfectly distinct. The sky was a distant black curtain of falling rain. The sky was many clouds at many levels, some thick and opaque, others looking like smoke. The sky was black and spitting rain on my smiling face. The sky was nothing but falling water, a ceaseless deluge that wrinkled and bloated my skin and froze me stiff.

There were many seas. The sea roared like a tiger. The sea whispered in your ear like a friend telling you secrets. The sea clinked like small change in a pocket. The sea thundered like avalanches. The sea hissed like sandpaper working on wood. The sea sounded like someone vomiting. The sea was dead silent.

And in between the two, in between the sky and the sea, were all the winds.

And there were all the nights and all the moons.

To be a castaway is to be a point perpetually at the center of a circle. However much things may appear to change – the sea may shift from whisper to rage – the sky might go from fresh blue to blinding white to darkest black – the geometry never changes. Your gaze is always a radius. The circumference is ever great. In fact, the circles multiply. To be a castaway is to be caught in a harrowing ballet of circles. …. To be a castaway is to be caught up in grim and exhausting opposites. When it is light, the openness of the sea is blinding and frightening. When it is dark, the darkness is claustrophobic. When it is day, you are hot and wish to be cool and dream of ice cream and pour sea water on yourself. When it is night, you are cold and wish to be warm and dream of hot curries and wrap yourself in blankets. When it is hot, you are parched and wish to be wet. When it rains, you are nearly drowned and wish to be dry. When there is food, there is too much of it and you must feast. When there is none, there is truly none and you starve. When the sea is flat and motionless, you wish it would stir. When it rises up and the circle that imprisons you is broken by hills of water, you suffer that peculiarity of the high seas, suffocation in open spaces, and you wish the sea would be flat again. The opposites often take place at the same moment, so that when the sun is scorching you till you are stricken down, you are also aware that it is drying the strips of flesh and meat that are hanging from your lines and that it is a blessing for your solar stills. … When rough weather abates, and it becomes clear that you have survived the sky’s attack and the sea’s treachery, your jubilation is tempered by the rage that so much fresh water should fall directly into the sea and by the worry that it is the last rain you will ever see, that you will die of thirst before the next drops fall.

The worst pair of opposites is boredom and terror. Sometimes your life is a pendulum swing from one to the other. The sea is without a wrinkle. There is not a whisper of wind. The hours last forever. You are so bored you sink into a state of apathy close to a coma. Then the sea becomes rough and your emotions are whipped into a frenzy. Yet even these two opposites do not remain distinct. In your boredom, there are elements of terror: you break down into tears; you are filled with dread; you scream; you deliberately hurt yourself. And in the grip of terror – the worst storm – you yet feel boredom, a deep weariness with it all……

Life on a lifeboat is not much of a life. It is like an end game in chess, a game with few pieces. The elements could not be more simple, nor the stakes higher. Physically it is extraordinarily arduous, and morally it is killing. You must make adjustments if you want to survive. Much becomes expendable. You get your happiness where you can. You reach a point where you are at the bottom of hell, yet you have your arms crossed and a smile on your face, and you feel you are the luckiest person on earth. Why? Because at your feet you have a tiny dead fish…”

This is only a sample. If one wants to enjoy the whole story, there is no other way than to read the book, which is eminently readable and enjoyable.

A Thought for Today-17: July 11, 2007

Strength is Life, Weakness is Death. Expansion is Life, Contraction is Death. Love is Life, Hatred is Death- Swami Vivekananda

Know That by Knowing Which, Everything Becomes Known. Attain That by attaining Which, Everything is attained!

To me, this is a 'maha-mantra' or 'supreme formula' to fulfilment. I feel that if one meditates on this, one may find a solution to the puzzle of life. By turning inward and diving deeper and deeper into oneself, I feel, one's perception grows and many truths of life are revealed. I feel, continuous practice with a lot patience should yield very good results.

A Thought for Today-16: July 10, 2007

The world is in the hands of those who had the courage to dream – and to realize their dreams - Paulo Coelho

FASOHD: Forum for Advancement of Science of Human Development

The Forum for Advancement of Science of Human Development (FASOHD), is a non-profit, registered, service society, promoted by and functioning at the Central Electrochemical Research Institute, Karaikudi-630006, Tamilnadu, India, since 16 Oct. 1985. I have been associated with it during the past eight years as a Life Member, EC Member, Treasurer and Joint Secretary. It afforded an opportunity to execute many of my ideas and to manifest some of my hidden talents. I enjoyed myself thoroughly in the different roles I played in it. I would like to place on record my gratitude to Dr.M.Raghavan, Dr.Visalakshi Ravindran, Dr.V.Sundaram, Dr.R.Srinivasan, Mr.K.Nakkeeran, Dr.(Mrs) N.Kalaiselvi, Rtn Muthu.Palaniappan and Dr.S.Sathiyanarayanan, the key office-bearers for reposing their complete confidence in me and for the full freedom they gave me to do whatever I liked. I also picked up some good friendships through FASOHD and a few important contacts. I am graeful to you FASOHD!

(1) Its main aims and objectives are:

(a) To stress the importance of Values – Moral, Ethical, Spiritual etc. in life
(b) To promote the advancement of the Science of Human Development
(c) To evolve and evaluate various techniques for realizing the potential of of human mind and body
(d) To collect scientific data on the efficacy of different techniques in improving creativity, intelligence and originality in individuals
(e) To provide a common forum for fostering the advancement of the Science of Human Development
(f) To organize meetings, lectures, demonstration of yoga/meditation, training classes for the members
(g) To organize with the collaboration of like-minded bodies/institutions Seminars on topics relating to the Science of Human DevelopmentTo promote and to bring out
publications – magazines, books etc.

(2) Activities:
(a) National-level Seminars : FASOHD has so far organized 10 National Seminars in different cities of the country like Mysore, Bangalore, Bhavnagar, Kochi, Coimbatore, Kanyakumari, Madurai, Chennai etc.
(b) Tamil Seminars: FASOHD has so far organized 4 Tamil seminars at different places like Annamalai University, Bharathidasan University, Sri Sarada Niketan College for Women and Ramasamy Tamil College.
(c) Bilingual Seminars: FASOHD has so far organized two bilingual seminars at Tamilnadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore and KLN College of Engg, Madurai.
(d) Other Seminars
A Seminar was organized in collaboration with the Alagappa University at Karaikudi on TECHNIQUES FOR REALIZING THE POTENTIAL OF HUMAN MIND & BODY
during Sep 97.
A seminar on Alternative Medicine was organized jointly with the Radionics Association of India at CECRI, Karaikudi during 1997.
A National Youth Day Seminar was organized jointly with the English Dept of the Alagappa Govt Arts College, Karaikudi, on 24 January 2001
(e) Programs for Youth
A Training Program for Students for Effective and Efficient Learning was organized at the A.P.Govt Higher Secondary School for Boys, Tiruppathur, with the support of the Lions Club of Karaikudi Vennila. About 120 students of 12th Std participated in the program.
Personality Development Programs were organized for school students at:-
(i) Thanjavur Arunachalam Chettiar Govt High School, Kottaiyur on 6 Oct 01.
(ii) Kallal Murugappa Higher Secondary School, Kallal
(iii) Alagappa Matriculation Hr Sec School, Karaikudi on 1 Dec 2001.
(iv) Chidambaram Chettiar Girls Higher Secondary School, Kottaiyur \
(v) SMS Vidyasala Hr Sec School for Boys, Karaikudi
A Spoken English course and a Computer course for Students at school-level have been conducted.
(f) Program for Teachers
A VALUE EDUCATION TRAINING PROGRAM FOR TEACHERS was organized jointly with SMRTI, Chennai and Sishu Vidyalaya, CECRI, Karaikudi during Dec.2000 at CECRI, Karaikudi. More than 150 teachers from various schools in Sivagangai district participated in the program.
A program for B.Tech.teachers was organized on 28 Sep 01 at CECRI, Karaikudi, in collaboration with the Centre for Education, CECRI, Karaikudi.
(g) Books Released: FASOHD organized jointly with the World Tamil Language Trust a book-release function on 11 January 2002. The book was the Tamil translation of Stephen Hawking’s world-famous book, A BRIEF HISTORY OF TIME.
Several other books were released/introduced during the Book Fairs organized by FASOHD at Karaikudi.
(h) Simplified Kundalini Yoga classes (SKY): Yoga classes were organized jointly with the Vedatri Maharishi Manavalak Kalai Mandram, Karaikudi, at CECRI Community Centre for the benefit of members and their family from 26 August 2001.
(i) Lectures: Lectures are organized periodically on useful topics like Health, Alternative Systems of Medicine, Physiotherapy, Meditation, Literature etc.
(j) Publications: Besides the Proceedings, Abstracts and Souvenirs of the various Seminars, FASOHD has been publishing TWO QUARTERLY bulletins for the benefit of members.
An English Quarterly, FASOHD BULLETIN, and a Tamil Quarterly, ‘SIGARAM’ (Peak or Zenith), containing elevating and uplifting thoughts and ideas are published and distributed to members free of cost.
A booklet, VALUES IN LIFE, which is a compilation from various books, was published during Eighth National Seminar at Coimbatore.
(k) Study Cirlce/Readers Forum: The FASOHD Readers' Forum meets on 3rd Sundays and discusses about elevating and uplifting literature.
(l) Library: FASOHD runs a Library, containing more than 1000 rare, elevating and highly useful books for the benefit of members.
(m) FREE MEDICAL CAMPS
(n) BOOK EXHIBITIONS & BOOK FAIRS
(o) OTHER ACTIVITIES
(i) DONATION OF 2040 BOOKS TO RURAL SCHOOL LIBRARIES :
As a sequel to the Karaikudi Book Fair 2002 organized by FASOHD jointly with CECRI at Karaikudi during Feb.26-Mar.3, 2002, 2040 books were donated to 40 Rural School Libraries of the district at a function organized at CECRI, Karaikudi, on 3 April 2002.
(ii) DONATION OF 10,000 BOOKLETS TO STUDENTS
Also as a sequel to the Karaikudi Book Fair 2002, 10,000 booklets have been procured and distributed to students of schools and colleges in and around Karaikudi.
(p) ADOPTION OF SCHOOLS

Books-4: The Christ We Adore by Swami Ranganathananda

This booklet (pocketsize - 48 pages) is based on the lecture delivered by Srimat Swami Ranganathanandaji Maharaj in 1954. The Swamiji's fine perception of the inner subtleties of the teaching of Jesus will touch the chord of Universal Truth present in every heart. The Swamiji says in the opening para: " We, in India, have learnt through our religion to look upon great teachers with a heart open to the inspiration which they hold for all humanity. The approach of our people to the lives of all teachers has something refreshingly beautiful about it; it is hard for non-Hindus to understand how we, professing a different religion, can open our hearts, with equal fervour, to receive the inspiration of this great Son of Man, Jesus... It is spirituality that India seeks in its religious quest and not a creed or a dogma. "

A few pages later, he says: "Jesus came to offer... to give the bread of life to the spiritually hungry......Jesus proclaimed a religion of wide and deep horizons; he brought God near to man and bound both with the cord of love; he eliminated fear as the medium of their relationship. With love implanted in his heart in place of fear, man emerged as the lover of his fellow-men; he learnt to find fulfilment in a life of love for God and service to man, to God in man. This love for God, this intimate communion with Him, is the fulfilment of the righteous life; it is the only means of satisfying the soul's spiritual hunger. This is the essential religion. It holds that man has a higher dimension which transcends his physical and social personality; he is essentially spiritual; in that inmost being of his life his intimacy with and closeness to the divine, and his kindship to all creation.

This is the approach of Jesus to religion. And this is the approach which India has learnt from the Upanisads, the Bhagavad Gita, the Bhagavata and other scriptures...."

A few quotes from the book:

1. ... purity of heart is the one condition for spiritual realization (Bless are the pure in heart: for they shall see God - Bible)
2. ... acts of piety, morality and social are but the means to attain this purity.
3. He who is humble and pure realizes the glory of the Atman, and becomes free from grief (Katha Upanishad).
4. Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect (Bible)
5. ".... whoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it" (Bible)
6. These words of Jesus are akin to the exhortation of Sri Krsna. "Those devotees who practise, in a converging life endeavour, this teaching op mine which fulfills all righteousness and leads to immortality, endowed with faith and a godward passion, are extremely dear to me" (Bhagavad Gita).
7. Perfection is a complete transformation of character through the realization of the kingdom of heaven which is within. It is the fruit of lived religion.

A Thought for Today-15: July 9, 2007

Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life - Berthold Auerbach

A Thought for Today-14: July 8, 2007

The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be ignited - Plutarch

A Thought for Today-13: July 7, 2007

Imagination is more important than knowledge – Albert Einstein

My Photo Album-4: "Rajeev and Suri"

Rajeev is Suri's another pet. Suri learned one of the greatest truths of life from Rajeev. When he was just less than 4 years old, Rajeev was travelling from Chennai to Karaikudi by a bus. As they boarded the bus at Tambaram, Rajeev's family had to sit at different places in the bus. Rajeev's neighbour was a mustachioed and authoritative-looking person. Rajeev immediately asked him whether he was a policeman and when he got a affirmative reply, Rajeev plied him with more questions like whether he had a gun in his house etc. Rajeev's mother who was sitting two seats away, admonished Rajeev for botherering the fellow-passenger. When I learned about this incident, I asked Rajeev how he dared to talk like that to a policeman? His reply, which was a lesson to me, was: "Why should I be afraid when I have not done anything wrong?" Suri exclaimed, "Aha, not knowing this truth, I had wasted about 45 years of my life fearing everybody needlessly!"

I am uploading a few pictures, which Rajeev drew in MS-Paint. I liked them. Hope you will also like them. Now he is 14 years old and doing 9th Std. Alos uploading a photo of Rajeev taken a few years back. Thank you Rajeev, thank you very much!

Books-3: "Notes from a Friend" by Anthony Robbins

Anthony Robbins is a well-known writer and a much sought-after consultant by big corporations and government agencies. More than 25 millions people have benefitted by his works.

This concise and easy-to-understand guide contains some most powerful and life-changing tools and principles. If only one could read them carefully and apply them day-to-day life, it would definitely change one's greatly for the better.

Some of the beautiful ideas contained in it are:

* No matter how daunting or overwhelming your circumstances may seem, you truly can turn things around. You can turn the dreams you once had into reality. How? By tapping into a power that is inside you.... This power within you can change anything in your life literally in a matter of moments. All you must do is unleash it.
* Not only was the secret to living ginv, but to give, I had to become a better person.
* Search for role models.
* Once we understand what shapes our thoughts, feelings, and behaviour, all it takes is consistent, intelligent, massive action.
* ...the power to change anything lies sleeping within us. We can wake up this power and bring our dreams back to life, starting today.
* ... positive thinking alone is not enough to turn your life around. You must have some strategies, some step-by-step plans for changing how you think, how you feel, and what you feel, and what you do every single day you are alive.
* .... it is possible to change. The past does not matter. Whatever has not worked in the past has nothing to do with what you will do today. What you do right now is what will shape your destiny. Right now, you must be a friend to yourself. You can't "beat yourself up" about what has happened: instead, you must immediately focus on solutions instead of problems.
* The first step to turning your life around is getting rid of this negative belief that you can't do anything or that you are helpless.
* The key to success is to decide what is most important to you and then take massive action each day to make it better, even when it does not look as if it is working.
* The most successful people ... would not be denied. They would not accept no. They would not allow anything to stop them.
* Massive, consistent action with pure persistence and a sense of flexibility in pursuing your goals will untimately give you what you want, but you must abandon any sense that there is no solution.
* .... we can't always control the events of our lives, but we can control what we decide to think, believe, feel, and do about these events. ... every moment we are alive, whether we admit to ourselves or not, a new set of choices, a new set of actions, and a new set of results are merely a decision or two away. Most of us forget that we have this power to choose. Ultimately, it is our decisions, not the conditions of our lives, that determine our destiny.
* Steer your focus in the right direction.... Focus on where you want to go.
* The reason we set goals is to give our lives focus and to move us in the direction we would like to go. Ultimately, whether or not you achieve a goal is not half as important as the type of person you become in pursuit of it.
* Choosing a goal may cause only a slight change in life's direction at first. It is like one of those huge freighters at sea: If the captain shifts course by just a few degrees, it won't be noticeable immediately. But in several hours or days, this change in direction will bring the ship to a completely different destination.
* All people who succeed dedicate themselves to continuous improvement. They are never satisfied with just doing well: they consistently want to do better. If you dedicate yourself to this philosophy of constant and never-ending improvement, .... then you can virtually guarantee that you will not only continue your growth throughout your life - the real source of happiness - but you will also succeed.

The book contains a lot of useful tips/steps for growth and development. Given above are only a few samples. It cannot be a substitute for reading whole the book. Actually, this pocket-size consists of only easily- and eminently-readable 125 pages.

A Thought for Today-12: July 6, 2007

If you are seeking creative ideas, go out walking. Angels whisper to a man when he goes for a walk - Raymond Inmon

My Photo Album-3: "Srimat Swami Chidghananandaji Maharaj(Sri Ramamoorthy Maharaj)"

Through my friend, Dr.R.Janakiraman, I started taking interest in the Sri Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Movement from 1970 and he took me to Sri Ramakrishna Tapovanam several times, when Srimat Swami Chidbhavanandaji Maharaj was President. Then he took me to Sri Ramakrishna Math, Madurai, during its early days. After Dr Janakiraman's departure from Karaikudi, unexpectedly my spiritual fervour started growing slowly (due to the influence of books presented to me by Dr Janakirman) and I started frequenting the Madurai Math. By then, Srimat Swami Chidghananandaji Maharaj has become President of Madurai Math. He started showering kindness on me from the beginning. Charmed by his kindness, the frequency of my visit increased and it became a regular monthly visit. But I would leave the Math in the evening. One day evening, which was a Saturday, when I wanted to take his leave, Swamiji asked me to stay at the Math as the next day was Sunday and a holiday. So I stayed at the Math. The experience was pleasant and I started going once a month on a Saturday and stay the night at the Math. Sunday early morning, after 'arati' I would leave.

The swamiji was simplicity itself. More often he would wear only a saffron-dyed 4-yard dhothi, leaving the upper part of the body uncovered. He would avoid touching money. When I wanted to hand over donations collected, he would always say, "Hand over the money to the office".

When his health started declining, he went to Kasi (Varanasi) and spent his last days there. He attained mukti at Kasi on April 5, 2005 at the age of 75.

He was an embodiment of love and I would always cherish his memory and I consider myself blessed to have received love and affection.

Jai Shri Guru Maharaj Jai!

The Witch of Portobello, a Novel by Paulo Coelho

Last week, during my visit to Chennai, I bought this book. I am an ardent admirer of Paulo Coelho and have read almost all his books. I started reading the book on the train itself and completed in five days, in spite of pressing engagements. From the beginning, it completely captured me. It is a typical Coelho book with a mixture of mysticism, spiritual exercises, meditation and supernatural experiences and it is totally absorbing. As usual, I read this book also with a pen in hand to underline/highlight passages which appealed to me. A few of these, which read like Quotable Quotes, I am furnishing below:

* Pity those who seek for shepherds, instead of longing for freedom!
* An encounter with the superior energy is open to anyone, but remains far from those who shift responsibility onto others.
* Our time on this earth is sacred, and we should celebrate every moments.
* We cook and complain that it is a waste of time, when we should be pouring our love into making that food.
* We can see the Divine in each speck of dust, but that does not stop us wiping it away with a wet sponge.
* ..things are never absolute; they depend on each individual's perceptions.
* When fate is very generous with us, there is always a well into which all our dreams can tumble.
* We had it all, apart from the one thing we wanted most - a child. And so we had nothing.
* ....love is still the strongest force, one that can transform us forever.
* Christ surrounded himself with beggars, prostitutes, tax-collectors and fishermen, I think what he meant by this was that the divine spark is in every soul and is never extinguished.
* .... each of us contains our ancestors and all the generations to come. When we free ourselves, we are freeing all humanity.
* Each of us contains something within us which is unknown, when it surfaces, is capable of producing miracles.
* .... love does not bring and never has brought happiness. On the contrary, it is a constant state of anxiety, a battlefield; it is sleepless nights, asking ourselves all the time if we are doing the right thing. Real love is composed of ecstasy and agony.
* A kind of blanket lies between the physical and the spiritual world, a blanket that changes in colour, intensity and light, it is what mystics call 'aura'.
* ..... all the advances we have made have been in the field of science. Human beings are still asking the same questions as their ancestors. In short, they have not evolved at all.
* .... when we dare to see things differently, life opens up to our eyes.
* We have a duty to love and to allow love to manifest itself in the way it thinks best.............It is a sin to prevent love from showing itself.
* ...... trust in love and miracles will happen.

I have only highlighted a few passages which interested me most and have not said anything about the story. Only reading the full novel will give a real idea about the enjoyable story. So if you want to really enjoy the novel, you will have to read it in full.

Quest for Excellence

http://www.mudrashram.com/excellence1.html