SAGE NANDISEN
Sage Nandisen was a great ascetic and well-versed in the scriptures. He took a vow to serve monks with utmost devotion. His devotion of serving the monks was even popular in the heavens.
One day his services were openly applauded by Indra in an assembly of angels. One of the angel could not believe this and decided to test sage Nandisen.
The angel gods can assume any form they desire in a moment and can reach any where in the wink of an eye. This god arrived at the outskirts of the village where the sage Nandisen was to test his "Vow of Servitude" and assumed the forms of two monks. One became a very old and diseased monk, while the other became a young and healthy monk.
It was the day on which the sage Nandisen was to break his fast. After he came from collecting gochari (alms) and was about to break the fast, the young monk came to him and said, "Oh blessed one! There is a very old monk suffering from diarrhea, extreme thirst, and hunger. He is weak and needs your help."
Hearing these words, sage immediately got up and took pure water with him and went to the place where the old monk was. Seeing Nandisen, the old monk at once raged, "Oh you wretch, I am lying here suffering, and you did not even care to find if anyone needs help."
Sage Nandisen was not offended by these words. He had developed virtues of tolerance, forgiveness, and compassion. He calmly replied, "Oh the best of the monks, kindly excuse my oversight. I have brought pure water for you to drink."
He helped the old monk drink the water. He cleaned his clothes, his body, and helped him sit up. The old monk once again became irritated. He frowned saying, "Oh you fool, don't you see that I am too weak to sit. What are you doing to me?"
Sage Nandisen said, "I will support you." Having seated the old monk he said, "Oh reverend monk, if you desire I shall carry you to upashray (place where monks stay temporarily) where you will be more comfortable."
The monk replied, "Why are you asking me? You may do so as you wish."
Sage Nandisen seated the monk on his shoulders, and slowly proceeded further. He walked slowly, watching every step carefully. The old monk (angel god) was determined to test him, sohe increased his own weight gradually. With the increase in weight on his shoulder, sage Nandisen began to tremble, and he almost fell. The monk said, "Oh you wretch, what is wrong with you? Don't you know how to walk? You are shaking my entire body. Is this any way to serve the sick?"
His words were very bitter and harsh, but sage Nandisen was not disturbed at all. He said, "Pardon me. I shall be more careful."
Later the old monk passed stool and the odor was unbearable, but the sage was not disturbed at all. He ignored this and continued walking and took care not to offend the monk with any of his faults. On the way, he thought about how to cure the monk.
He arrived with the monk at the upashraya. During all this time the old monk was watching sage Nandisen and did not see any change in helping nature of sage Nandisen even after all of the aggravation. So the old monk turned back into an angel and paid homage at once to the sage Nandisen saying, "Blessed are you. Oh sage, you are the illustration of a real monk. You are as described by Lord Indra. I am very pleased with you and grant you whatever you choose."
"Oh god, this human life is very rarely achieved. Nothing is more valuable than human existence. I am content. I crave for nothing." The god bowed his head at the feet of the sage. The god returned to his abode, applauding the merits of the sage.
Jai jinendra
Nineth story
PUNYASAR
Once in the city of Gopalak there lived a pious couple, Purandar and his wife Punyasri. They had no children, so Purandar worshipped their goddess to have a child. The goddess was pleased with his worship and blessed them, "You will have a son, but you will have to wait for a while."
A few years later, a son was born to them. They were very happy and celebrated this occasion. They named the child Punyasar. He was a very handsome boy. At his school, he met a beautiful girl named Ratnasundari, the daughter of a merchant named Ratnasar. Punyasar and Ratnayasundari used to have a lot of arguments between them. One day, the argument got very hot. Punyasar said, "You will be nothing but a slave to your husband." Ratnasundari was offended and replied by saying, "My husband will be a civilized man, I would not marry a worthless person like you." Punyasar could not tolerate this comment. He got agitated and said, "I will show you by marrying you." Ratnasundari said, "No way! No one can win someone else's heart by force." They both left still angry at each other.
When Punyasar got home he told his father that he would like to marry Ratnasundari. His father, not knowing what was going on, assured him that it should not be a problem. Punyasar was happy in his mind. Next day Punyasar's father went to Ratnasundari's house and suggested to her father for a marriage between Punyasar and Ratnasundari. Ratnasar, Ratnasundari's father, was very delighted with this offer because Punyasar's father was a well respected merchant in the town. He felt honored. Ratnasundari overheard this conversation and saw the expression on her father's face. Just as her father was about to accept the proposal, Ratnasundari opposed saying, "I will not marry Punyasar." and ran away. Both of them were shocked by this. Ratnasundari's father told Punyasar's father, "Please do not take her word seriously. I will talk to her and let you know." Punyasar's father left with disappointment.
When Punyasar's father came home, he asked Punyasar, "What is so great about marrying that girl? She has a loud mouth, I do not think she will be a suitable girl for our family. You should forget about her." Punyasar did not say anything, because he was confused about what to do next.
Punyasar was determined to marry Ratnasundari, so he worshipped the family goddess. Pleased by his worship, the goddess appeared and told him, "Do not worry, in due time your wish will be fulfilled." Punyasar felt happy.
Punyasar grew up to be a fine, accomplished young man, but despite his many fine qualities he developed the habit of gambling. His father did not like this and warned him, but Punyasar did not listen. His gambling came to the stage where Punyasar started stealing things from home, and soon he stole the king's ornaments which were kept in his father's custody. His father realized this when the king asked for the ornaments, and he could not find them. He was furious at his son, and told him, "Until you get those ornaments back, you shall not come into the house."
Punyasar was stunned by this command. He felt sorry and helpless for what he had done. He left the house in sadness. Night came and he did not have any place to go. He came to a banyan tree which had a hollow trunk so he sat in there to rest. A few minutes later, to his surprise, he saw two angels come towards the tree and sit on it. One of them said, "It is a pretty night, let's go somewhere." The other angel said, "There is no use of just wandering around unless there is something exciting to see." The first one said, "I have heard that in the city named Ballbhipur, a merchant named Dhana has seven daughters and they all will marry one man. It may be interesting to see whom they will marry?"
So they lifted the whole tree and flew over there. Punyasar was listening to this, and when the tree started flying he did not know what to do. So he decided that he might as well see who the lucky man would be to marry the seven beautiful girls. After sometime the angels placed the tree on the ground. They went to the place where the marriage ceremony was going to be. Punyasar also got down and followed them.
The angels approached the marriage hall and so did Punyasar. Some people at the hall saw Punyasar and they approached him saying, "We have been waiting for you to marry seven pretty girls." Punyasar was very puzzled. They said, "Yes, you are the one who will marry these seven girls." They explained to him, "Merchant Dhana has seven beautiful girls. Their names are Dharmasundari, Dhanasundari, Kamasundari, Muktisundari, Bhagyasundari, Saubhagyasundari, and Gunasundari. He was worried about their marriage. So he worshipped God Lambodar (Ganesh), the god of success. Seven days ago, God Lambodara appeared and told him, "Go ahead and make preparations for marriage. Seven days from today you will find a young man following two angels coming towards the marriage hall. He is the suitable person for your daughters. We saw you following two angels, so you are the person who will marry these seven sisters."
Punyasae was amazed to see how things were happening. He could not believe this. The people took him to the ceremonial stage, and when he saw the seven pretty girls he consented to marry them. Everybody was happy to see this handsome young man, too.
When the marriage ceremony was over, the whole family along with Punyasar went to their house.
The girls were also amazed as to what had happened. They did not know whom they would be marrying, and what he might be doing? So once they were home, one of them asked him, "My Lord, how much have you studied?" Punyasar was puzzled as to what to answer. So he said, "Happiness does not come whether you are a great scholar or not. So keeping that in mind I took the middle path." The girls could not understand his answer. Punyasar was getting restless as he wanted to escape and go back home. He said that he wanted to get fresh air, and went outside. Gunasundari escorted him to the door, and stood there watching him. While leaving the house, he scribbled something on the wall. She ignored it, and sat down with her sisters, waiting for him to return.
As soon as Punyasar got outside of the house he ran towards the tree, still wearing his wedding clothes and precious ornaments. He was relieved when he saw that the tree was still there, and once again he rested in the hollow trunk. A few minutes later, the angels came back and started flying back with the tree.
Meanwhile in Gopalak, when Punyasar's mother did not see her son, she asked her husband if he knew where Punyasar might be? His father who was still mad at him, told her that he told Punyasar to leave the house because his behavior was not good for family's reputation. She understood this, but after all she was mother, and could not take this. She began crying and requested her husband, "Please for my sake, go, find him, and bring him home. I am worried about what might happen to him at night." Punyasar's father could not bear to see her weeping. He went to look for Punyasar.
Punyasar's father looked all over the town, but could not find him anywhere. He decided to go outside the town to see if Punyasar was around. Just before he got there, the two angels landed the tree outside of the town. On his way back home, Punyasar realized how bad his habits were. He decided that he would not gamble any more.
He got down from the tree and started walking home. Soon he ran into his father. When his father saw the ornaments and rich clothes he thought Punyasar must have stolen them. He was about to say something, but Punyasar said, "Dad, please do not think badly of me this time." He explained about what had happened after he left the house. He also promised his father that he had decided to change and would not gamble anymore. He also promised he would take part in the family business. His father was very happy to hear this. Both of them hugged each another and went home. His mother was happy that her son was all right.
Now in Ballbhipur, the girls began to worry when their husband did not come back. They did not even get a chance to ask his name, or where he was from. Gunasundari went outside to check if he was there, but she saw no one. She told her sisters, he has left us. We should trust the words of the goddess. Let us have faith in Namokar Mantra and religion. Then, everything will be all right. Just then Gunasundari remembered seeing him scribble something on the wall. She told her sisters, "Wait, I will be right back." She went to the wall and saw the couplet:
"From Gopalak did I come by divine grace
and after marrying seven girls here do I return."
Gunasundari told her sisters what was written there. A few days went by and Punyasar still did not return. Gunasundari told her sisters and parents, "I will go to Gopalak to find and bring him back. I will be back in six months. If I fail, then I will burn myself." She dressed herself as a man, named Gunasundar, and left for Gopalak.
As a good gesture to the king of Gopalak, Gunasundar went to the court house and offered him precious gifts. The king was happy to receive them and welcomed Gunasundar with honor. Gunasundar started a business, and it prospered greatly. He was the talk of the town. He met Punyasar on many occasions, and they became good friends. Many a time Gunasunder felt as if he knew Punyasar but did not say anything.
Meanwhile, the people of the town began praising Gunasundar. They said he was handsome, educated, intelligent, and well-mannered. Ratnasundari saw him at one of the town's functions, became attracted to him, and decided to marry him. She asked her father if he would give her marriage proposal to Gunasundar. Next day, Ratnasundari's father went to Gunasundar's house. Gunasundar welcomed Ratnasundari's father, offered him a place to sit. Then he asked the reason for the visit. Ratnasar told Gunasundar the purpose of his visit, and proposed the marriage of his daughter, Ratnasundari. Gunasundar was in a dilemma. He did not want to accept the proposal, but he was afraid that the people may spread all kinds of rumor about him. Ratnasar was desperate because Ratnasundari was growing up and would not agree to marry any other man. Gunasundar could not say no to the persistence of Ratnasar, so he agreed to marry Ratnasundari.
Gunasundar and Ratnasundari were married in a small private ceremony. After the marriage, when Ratnasundari came to her new house, Gunasundar told her, "I have taken a vow that when I get married I would not sleep or stay in the same room with my wife for first six months." Ratnasundari did not think much about this vow because she was happy to be married to him, and she thought six months would fly by quickly. So they decided to stay in separate rooms.
When Punyasar learned that Ratnasundari, for whom he had left the seven girls he married, married Gunasundar, he was furious. He became angry with the goddess who promised him that everything would work out right. How can this be right when Ratnasundari was married to another man. He went to his room, and asked the goddess to explain this. The goddess appeared and said, "Calm down, have some patience and things will work out properly. Gunasundar is your wife." Then she left. Punyasar did not understand any of this, and was more confused. He could not figure out that Gunasundar was no one else but Gunasundari that he married in Ballbhipur.
Meanwhile, Gunasundari's six month promise to her sisters and parents passed by, and she could not resolve the mystery of her life. So, she decided to burn herself. She told Ratnasundari about her decision. Ratnasundari was stunned. Ratnasundari asked Gunasundar, "What happened? Have I done anything wrong? Is there something we can work at?" But Gunasundar did not reply at all. Ratnasundari went to the king for help. Even the king was not only unsuccessful to find out the reason but could not convince Gunasundar to stop. The day was announced and the whole town was sad to see what was going to happen.
When the day arrived, the whole town even the king was there, where Gunasundar was going to end his life by jumping into the fire. As Gunasundar walked towards the fire, the king screamed, "Can anyone stop this?" Punyasar, because he cared for Gunasundar's friendship, walked towards Gunasundar. Gunasundar stopped walking because he thought maybe Punyasar had recognized his real identity, and finally the mystery would be over. Punyasar asked Gunasundar, "Why are you doing this? Is there anything I can do to help?" Gunasundar was waiting for this opportunity. He said, "Yes. You can." He took out the paper he had with him, and asked Punyasar if he had written this. Punyasar was amazed to see those two lines which he had written at the girls' house whom he married and left. Punyasar said, "Yes, I wrote them."
Gunasundari immediately took off her bonnet. Her hairs went flying due to the wind. The people were puzzled to see this, and before they understood the situation, Gunasundar bowed to Punyasar and said, "I am Gunasundari." Now it clicked in Punyasar's mind what the goddess said, "Gunasundar is your wife." Tears started flowing from his eyes, and he hugged Gunasundari in front of everyone. The people, the king, and Ratnasundari did not know what was going on. Punyasar told the crowd in broken words, "Gunasundar is no one but my wife Gunasundari of Ballbhipur, whom I married with her six sisters about six months ago. It was cruel on my part that I left them without telling anything about me." Everybody was relieved. Ratnasundari was puzzled about what to do. The king explained that since she was married to Gunasundar, she would be Punyasar's wife. Ratnasundari was amazed at the fate. She bowed to Punyasar. Punyasar hugged her, and asked for her forgiveness for the things he had said while they were students. Everybody dispersed and went home.
Since there was not any message from Gunasundari for the six month period, Gunasundari's sisters came to Gopalak in search of their husband too. They came to know the whole story when they arrived in town. They met Punyasar, Gunasundari, and Ratnasundari. They all lived happily thereafter.
Jai jinendra
Once in the city of Gopalak there lived a pious couple, Purandar and his wife Punyasri. They had no children, so Purandar worshipped their goddess to have a child. The goddess was pleased with his worship and blessed them, "You will have a son, but you will have to wait for a while."
A few years later, a son was born to them. They were very happy and celebrated this occasion. They named the child Punyasar. He was a very handsome boy. At his school, he met a beautiful girl named Ratnasundari, the daughter of a merchant named Ratnasar. Punyasar and Ratnayasundari used to have a lot of arguments between them. One day, the argument got very hot. Punyasar said, "You will be nothing but a slave to your husband." Ratnasundari was offended and replied by saying, "My husband will be a civilized man, I would not marry a worthless person like you." Punyasar could not tolerate this comment. He got agitated and said, "I will show you by marrying you." Ratnasundari said, "No way! No one can win someone else's heart by force." They both left still angry at each other.
When Punyasar got home he told his father that he would like to marry Ratnasundari. His father, not knowing what was going on, assured him that it should not be a problem. Punyasar was happy in his mind. Next day Punyasar's father went to Ratnasundari's house and suggested to her father for a marriage between Punyasar and Ratnasundari. Ratnasar, Ratnasundari's father, was very delighted with this offer because Punyasar's father was a well respected merchant in the town. He felt honored. Ratnasundari overheard this conversation and saw the expression on her father's face. Just as her father was about to accept the proposal, Ratnasundari opposed saying, "I will not marry Punyasar." and ran away. Both of them were shocked by this. Ratnasundari's father told Punyasar's father, "Please do not take her word seriously. I will talk to her and let you know." Punyasar's father left with disappointment.
When Punyasar's father came home, he asked Punyasar, "What is so great about marrying that girl? She has a loud mouth, I do not think she will be a suitable girl for our family. You should forget about her." Punyasar did not say anything, because he was confused about what to do next.
Punyasar was determined to marry Ratnasundari, so he worshipped the family goddess. Pleased by his worship, the goddess appeared and told him, "Do not worry, in due time your wish will be fulfilled." Punyasar felt happy.
Punyasar grew up to be a fine, accomplished young man, but despite his many fine qualities he developed the habit of gambling. His father did not like this and warned him, but Punyasar did not listen. His gambling came to the stage where Punyasar started stealing things from home, and soon he stole the king's ornaments which were kept in his father's custody. His father realized this when the king asked for the ornaments, and he could not find them. He was furious at his son, and told him, "Until you get those ornaments back, you shall not come into the house."
Punyasar was stunned by this command. He felt sorry and helpless for what he had done. He left the house in sadness. Night came and he did not have any place to go. He came to a banyan tree which had a hollow trunk so he sat in there to rest. A few minutes later, to his surprise, he saw two angels come towards the tree and sit on it. One of them said, "It is a pretty night, let's go somewhere." The other angel said, "There is no use of just wandering around unless there is something exciting to see." The first one said, "I have heard that in the city named Ballbhipur, a merchant named Dhana has seven daughters and they all will marry one man. It may be interesting to see whom they will marry?"
So they lifted the whole tree and flew over there. Punyasar was listening to this, and when the tree started flying he did not know what to do. So he decided that he might as well see who the lucky man would be to marry the seven beautiful girls. After sometime the angels placed the tree on the ground. They went to the place where the marriage ceremony was going to be. Punyasar also got down and followed them.
The angels approached the marriage hall and so did Punyasar. Some people at the hall saw Punyasar and they approached him saying, "We have been waiting for you to marry seven pretty girls." Punyasar was very puzzled. They said, "Yes, you are the one who will marry these seven girls." They explained to him, "Merchant Dhana has seven beautiful girls. Their names are Dharmasundari, Dhanasundari, Kamasundari, Muktisundari, Bhagyasundari, Saubhagyasundari, and Gunasundari. He was worried about their marriage. So he worshipped God Lambodar (Ganesh), the god of success. Seven days ago, God Lambodara appeared and told him, "Go ahead and make preparations for marriage. Seven days from today you will find a young man following two angels coming towards the marriage hall. He is the suitable person for your daughters. We saw you following two angels, so you are the person who will marry these seven sisters."
Punyasae was amazed to see how things were happening. He could not believe this. The people took him to the ceremonial stage, and when he saw the seven pretty girls he consented to marry them. Everybody was happy to see this handsome young man, too.
When the marriage ceremony was over, the whole family along with Punyasar went to their house.
The girls were also amazed as to what had happened. They did not know whom they would be marrying, and what he might be doing? So once they were home, one of them asked him, "My Lord, how much have you studied?" Punyasar was puzzled as to what to answer. So he said, "Happiness does not come whether you are a great scholar or not. So keeping that in mind I took the middle path." The girls could not understand his answer. Punyasar was getting restless as he wanted to escape and go back home. He said that he wanted to get fresh air, and went outside. Gunasundari escorted him to the door, and stood there watching him. While leaving the house, he scribbled something on the wall. She ignored it, and sat down with her sisters, waiting for him to return.
As soon as Punyasar got outside of the house he ran towards the tree, still wearing his wedding clothes and precious ornaments. He was relieved when he saw that the tree was still there, and once again he rested in the hollow trunk. A few minutes later, the angels came back and started flying back with the tree.
Meanwhile in Gopalak, when Punyasar's mother did not see her son, she asked her husband if he knew where Punyasar might be? His father who was still mad at him, told her that he told Punyasar to leave the house because his behavior was not good for family's reputation. She understood this, but after all she was mother, and could not take this. She began crying and requested her husband, "Please for my sake, go, find him, and bring him home. I am worried about what might happen to him at night." Punyasar's father could not bear to see her weeping. He went to look for Punyasar.
Punyasar's father looked all over the town, but could not find him anywhere. He decided to go outside the town to see if Punyasar was around. Just before he got there, the two angels landed the tree outside of the town. On his way back home, Punyasar realized how bad his habits were. He decided that he would not gamble any more.
He got down from the tree and started walking home. Soon he ran into his father. When his father saw the ornaments and rich clothes he thought Punyasar must have stolen them. He was about to say something, but Punyasar said, "Dad, please do not think badly of me this time." He explained about what had happened after he left the house. He also promised his father that he had decided to change and would not gamble anymore. He also promised he would take part in the family business. His father was very happy to hear this. Both of them hugged each another and went home. His mother was happy that her son was all right.
Now in Ballbhipur, the girls began to worry when their husband did not come back. They did not even get a chance to ask his name, or where he was from. Gunasundari went outside to check if he was there, but she saw no one. She told her sisters, he has left us. We should trust the words of the goddess. Let us have faith in Namokar Mantra and religion. Then, everything will be all right. Just then Gunasundari remembered seeing him scribble something on the wall. She told her sisters, "Wait, I will be right back." She went to the wall and saw the couplet:
"From Gopalak did I come by divine grace
and after marrying seven girls here do I return."
Gunasundari told her sisters what was written there. A few days went by and Punyasar still did not return. Gunasundari told her sisters and parents, "I will go to Gopalak to find and bring him back. I will be back in six months. If I fail, then I will burn myself." She dressed herself as a man, named Gunasundar, and left for Gopalak.
As a good gesture to the king of Gopalak, Gunasundar went to the court house and offered him precious gifts. The king was happy to receive them and welcomed Gunasundar with honor. Gunasundar started a business, and it prospered greatly. He was the talk of the town. He met Punyasar on many occasions, and they became good friends. Many a time Gunasunder felt as if he knew Punyasar but did not say anything.
Meanwhile, the people of the town began praising Gunasundar. They said he was handsome, educated, intelligent, and well-mannered. Ratnasundari saw him at one of the town's functions, became attracted to him, and decided to marry him. She asked her father if he would give her marriage proposal to Gunasundar. Next day, Ratnasundari's father went to Gunasundar's house. Gunasundar welcomed Ratnasundari's father, offered him a place to sit. Then he asked the reason for the visit. Ratnasar told Gunasundar the purpose of his visit, and proposed the marriage of his daughter, Ratnasundari. Gunasundar was in a dilemma. He did not want to accept the proposal, but he was afraid that the people may spread all kinds of rumor about him. Ratnasar was desperate because Ratnasundari was growing up and would not agree to marry any other man. Gunasundar could not say no to the persistence of Ratnasar, so he agreed to marry Ratnasundari.
Gunasundar and Ratnasundari were married in a small private ceremony. After the marriage, when Ratnasundari came to her new house, Gunasundar told her, "I have taken a vow that when I get married I would not sleep or stay in the same room with my wife for first six months." Ratnasundari did not think much about this vow because she was happy to be married to him, and she thought six months would fly by quickly. So they decided to stay in separate rooms.
When Punyasar learned that Ratnasundari, for whom he had left the seven girls he married, married Gunasundar, he was furious. He became angry with the goddess who promised him that everything would work out right. How can this be right when Ratnasundari was married to another man. He went to his room, and asked the goddess to explain this. The goddess appeared and said, "Calm down, have some patience and things will work out properly. Gunasundar is your wife." Then she left. Punyasar did not understand any of this, and was more confused. He could not figure out that Gunasundar was no one else but Gunasundari that he married in Ballbhipur.
Meanwhile, Gunasundari's six month promise to her sisters and parents passed by, and she could not resolve the mystery of her life. So, she decided to burn herself. She told Ratnasundari about her decision. Ratnasundari was stunned. Ratnasundari asked Gunasundar, "What happened? Have I done anything wrong? Is there something we can work at?" But Gunasundar did not reply at all. Ratnasundari went to the king for help. Even the king was not only unsuccessful to find out the reason but could not convince Gunasundar to stop. The day was announced and the whole town was sad to see what was going to happen.
When the day arrived, the whole town even the king was there, where Gunasundar was going to end his life by jumping into the fire. As Gunasundar walked towards the fire, the king screamed, "Can anyone stop this?" Punyasar, because he cared for Gunasundar's friendship, walked towards Gunasundar. Gunasundar stopped walking because he thought maybe Punyasar had recognized his real identity, and finally the mystery would be over. Punyasar asked Gunasundar, "Why are you doing this? Is there anything I can do to help?" Gunasundar was waiting for this opportunity. He said, "Yes. You can." He took out the paper he had with him, and asked Punyasar if he had written this. Punyasar was amazed to see those two lines which he had written at the girls' house whom he married and left. Punyasar said, "Yes, I wrote them."
Gunasundari immediately took off her bonnet. Her hairs went flying due to the wind. The people were puzzled to see this, and before they understood the situation, Gunasundar bowed to Punyasar and said, "I am Gunasundari." Now it clicked in Punyasar's mind what the goddess said, "Gunasundar is your wife." Tears started flowing from his eyes, and he hugged Gunasundari in front of everyone. The people, the king, and Ratnasundari did not know what was going on. Punyasar told the crowd in broken words, "Gunasundar is no one but my wife Gunasundari of Ballbhipur, whom I married with her six sisters about six months ago. It was cruel on my part that I left them without telling anything about me." Everybody was relieved. Ratnasundari was puzzled about what to do. The king explained that since she was married to Gunasundar, she would be Punyasar's wife. Ratnasundari was amazed at the fate. She bowed to Punyasar. Punyasar hugged her, and asked for her forgiveness for the things he had said while they were students. Everybody dispersed and went home.
Since there was not any message from Gunasundari for the six month period, Gunasundari's sisters came to Gopalak in search of their husband too. They came to know the whole story when they arrived in town. They met Punyasar, Gunasundari, and Ratnasundari. They all lived happily thereafter.
Jai jinendra
Eighth story
KULDHAR'S DAUGHTER
Long ago in the city of Champapuri, there lived a very rich merchant named Kuldharand his wife Kulnanda. The merchant had seven daughters. He named them Kamalashri, Kamlavati, Kamla, Lakshmi, Sarasvati, Jayamati, and Priyakarini. All his daughters were married to rich merchants and were very happy. Kuldhar and his wife Kulnanda gave birth to their eighth daughter, but somehow they were not happy, at her birth. They did not perform a naming ceremony. The eighth girl was less fortunate. As she grew up, her father did not care to find her a husband. If someone brought this matter to his attention, he would only say that she would be settled as soon as he found the right groom for her. He was not worried about her happiness at all.
One day while Kuldhar was at his work, a strange young man came up to him. The man was dressed poorly, his hair was a mess, and he was covered with lice. The merchant asked him, "Where are you from? What are you doing here?" The young man replied, "My father's name is Nandi and my mother's name is Soma. They are in Koshalpur. My name is Nandan. I went to Chandadesh to look for work. One merchant gave me a job to deliver this letter to a man named Vasantdev who lives in your city."
Kuldhar was not listening to him, All he was thinking about was giving his daughter to this man. He told the young man "I am going to send someone with you, and as soon as you deliver the letter, I want you to come back and talk to me." Meanwhile, Kuldhar arranged his servants to prepare a bath, some clothes, and some food for this young man. When Nandan returned, he took a bath, changed his clothes, and finished eating. After that Kuldhar offered him his daughter to marry. Nandan said, "I was to return to Chandadesh immediately." The merchant said, "Young man, it will not take long to arrange the wedding. I will give you money for both of you until you get to Chandadesh."
A few hours later they were married, and the time came for his daughter to say goodbye to her parents. The couple then headed to Chandadesh. It was getting dark and they were getting tired. They found a temple and decided to spend a night there. After his wife went to sleep, Nandan thought, "I will not reach Chandadesh in time because my wife can not walk as fast as I can. Also, it would take too much money for us both to live. So, what would happen later on? I would have to beg." He did not like the idea of begging, so he decided to leave his wife behind.
At sunrise when the daughter of Kuldhar woke up, she realized that her husband was gone, and he took all the money with him. She started thinking, "What will happen to me without my husband." At first she considered going back to her parent's house. But then she thought that she was not treated well there either, so what was the use of going back there? Thought of begging sent chills through her body. She decided that she would look for work and support herself. But she did not know where to go or which town she may reach next. She did not have any choice. She started on the same road they were going before.
After sometime, she reached the city named Avantidesh. She went to the market place to look for work. The first person she saw was a merchant named Manibhadra. She stood there and looked at him, and developed a good feeling about this man. So she asked him for work. At first Manibhadra felt sorry for her, but was afraid to employ a stranger. The merchant decided to find out who she was. So he asked her, "Who are you?" She told him, "I am the daughter of Kuldhar from Champapuri. I was on my way to Chandadesh with my husband, but we were separated on the way. So, now I am looking for work to support myself till I find him."
Manibhadra felt comfortable with her now. He invited her to stay in his house and appointed her in charge of his household affairs. He sent several men to search for her husband but they could not find him. He also checked on her parents, and found out that she was telling the truth.
As time passed, everyone in the family began to like her, and show her a lot of affection. Later on, Manibhadra built a big Jain temple with large gates and colorful flags. Kuldhar's daughter went to the temple every day to worship Jina, and there she met many nuns. As she became involved with the nuns, and learned the Jain doctrine and nava tattva (nine fundamentals), she accepted the vows of a shravika, and felt much better about her life.
One day Kuldhar's daughter noticed that Manibhadra seemed depressed. She asked him the reason. He said, "The king has trusted me to upkeep the garden, and supply him with flowers everyday. I don't know how but suddenly the garden has turned dry. I do not know how am I going to provide flowers for the king. I am afraid the king will become upset, and I do not know what he will do." Kuldhar's daughter made a resolution that until the garden was restored with flowers, she would not eat any food, or drink any liquids. So she returned to the temple.
After she bowed to Jina, she went into deep kayotsarg (penance). Two days went by, and on the third day, the goddess appeared and said, "My daughter, your vow is fulfilled and in the morning the garden will be restored."
The next morning, a miracle happened. The garden was more beautiful than ever. It had more fresh flowers than anyone could hope for. The merchant now accepted her as his daughter in his mind. He rushed to the temple to congratulate her for the beautiful garden. The whole town rushed to the temple after they heard the surprising news, and everybody praised her.
After realizing that the garden was revived, she broke her fast after offering food to the nuns. One night while lying in bed, Kuldhar's daughter thought, "By good fortune, I came into the contact of temple and nuns. I must make the best of this." So she changed her life. She would fast for two, three or four days. Sometimes she would fast for a month. She lived a very pious life. When her life came to an end, she went to heaven.
Jai jinendra
Long ago in the city of Champapuri, there lived a very rich merchant named Kuldharand his wife Kulnanda. The merchant had seven daughters. He named them Kamalashri, Kamlavati, Kamla, Lakshmi, Sarasvati, Jayamati, and Priyakarini. All his daughters were married to rich merchants and were very happy. Kuldhar and his wife Kulnanda gave birth to their eighth daughter, but somehow they were not happy, at her birth. They did not perform a naming ceremony. The eighth girl was less fortunate. As she grew up, her father did not care to find her a husband. If someone brought this matter to his attention, he would only say that she would be settled as soon as he found the right groom for her. He was not worried about her happiness at all.
One day while Kuldhar was at his work, a strange young man came up to him. The man was dressed poorly, his hair was a mess, and he was covered with lice. The merchant asked him, "Where are you from? What are you doing here?" The young man replied, "My father's name is Nandi and my mother's name is Soma. They are in Koshalpur. My name is Nandan. I went to Chandadesh to look for work. One merchant gave me a job to deliver this letter to a man named Vasantdev who lives in your city."
Kuldhar was not listening to him, All he was thinking about was giving his daughter to this man. He told the young man "I am going to send someone with you, and as soon as you deliver the letter, I want you to come back and talk to me." Meanwhile, Kuldhar arranged his servants to prepare a bath, some clothes, and some food for this young man. When Nandan returned, he took a bath, changed his clothes, and finished eating. After that Kuldhar offered him his daughter to marry. Nandan said, "I was to return to Chandadesh immediately." The merchant said, "Young man, it will not take long to arrange the wedding. I will give you money for both of you until you get to Chandadesh."
A few hours later they were married, and the time came for his daughter to say goodbye to her parents. The couple then headed to Chandadesh. It was getting dark and they were getting tired. They found a temple and decided to spend a night there. After his wife went to sleep, Nandan thought, "I will not reach Chandadesh in time because my wife can not walk as fast as I can. Also, it would take too much money for us both to live. So, what would happen later on? I would have to beg." He did not like the idea of begging, so he decided to leave his wife behind.
At sunrise when the daughter of Kuldhar woke up, she realized that her husband was gone, and he took all the money with him. She started thinking, "What will happen to me without my husband." At first she considered going back to her parent's house. But then she thought that she was not treated well there either, so what was the use of going back there? Thought of begging sent chills through her body. She decided that she would look for work and support herself. But she did not know where to go or which town she may reach next. She did not have any choice. She started on the same road they were going before.
After sometime, she reached the city named Avantidesh. She went to the market place to look for work. The first person she saw was a merchant named Manibhadra. She stood there and looked at him, and developed a good feeling about this man. So she asked him for work. At first Manibhadra felt sorry for her, but was afraid to employ a stranger. The merchant decided to find out who she was. So he asked her, "Who are you?" She told him, "I am the daughter of Kuldhar from Champapuri. I was on my way to Chandadesh with my husband, but we were separated on the way. So, now I am looking for work to support myself till I find him."
Manibhadra felt comfortable with her now. He invited her to stay in his house and appointed her in charge of his household affairs. He sent several men to search for her husband but they could not find him. He also checked on her parents, and found out that she was telling the truth.
As time passed, everyone in the family began to like her, and show her a lot of affection. Later on, Manibhadra built a big Jain temple with large gates and colorful flags. Kuldhar's daughter went to the temple every day to worship Jina, and there she met many nuns. As she became involved with the nuns, and learned the Jain doctrine and nava tattva (nine fundamentals), she accepted the vows of a shravika, and felt much better about her life.
One day Kuldhar's daughter noticed that Manibhadra seemed depressed. She asked him the reason. He said, "The king has trusted me to upkeep the garden, and supply him with flowers everyday. I don't know how but suddenly the garden has turned dry. I do not know how am I going to provide flowers for the king. I am afraid the king will become upset, and I do not know what he will do." Kuldhar's daughter made a resolution that until the garden was restored with flowers, she would not eat any food, or drink any liquids. So she returned to the temple.
After she bowed to Jina, she went into deep kayotsarg (penance). Two days went by, and on the third day, the goddess appeared and said, "My daughter, your vow is fulfilled and in the morning the garden will be restored."
The next morning, a miracle happened. The garden was more beautiful than ever. It had more fresh flowers than anyone could hope for. The merchant now accepted her as his daughter in his mind. He rushed to the temple to congratulate her for the beautiful garden. The whole town rushed to the temple after they heard the surprising news, and everybody praised her.
After realizing that the garden was revived, she broke her fast after offering food to the nuns. One night while lying in bed, Kuldhar's daughter thought, "By good fortune, I came into the contact of temple and nuns. I must make the best of this." So she changed her life. She would fast for two, three or four days. Sometimes she would fast for a month. She lived a very pious life. When her life came to an end, she went to heaven.
Jai jinendra
Seventh story
DHANASAR
In the city of Mathura lived a merchant named Dhanasar. He was very rich, but he would not offer a penny to anybody. He was well known for his wealth, as well as, his stinginess. Dhanasar used to hide his wealth underground. One day, he went to check on it, and he found that all of it was changed into charcoal with snakes crawling all over it. Within a short time before he could get over this loss, he received the news that all his cargo ships had sunk in the sea. As if that was not enough, he also learned that a convoy carrying all his possessions had been robbed. He felt so helpless and sad. He decided to challenge his fate, by going abroad for business himself with left over one hundred thousands gold coins at home. But with his bad luck and bad karmas, the ship was wrecked and all his gold was lost in the sea. He saved himself by floating on a log which took him to the shore.
He spent the next day on the seashore, then he moved to a park. This is when he saw a muni (monk) preaching under the shade of a mango tree. He joined the crowd. When the sermon was over, the merchant went to the monk and said, "Oh muni! Due to which karmas did I acquire so much wealth, and due to which karmas did I lose it all?"
The muni narrated Dhanasar's past life to him, "In the country of Dhatakikhand, there was a city called Ambica. In Ambica lived two brothers. The elder brother was always helpful and generous to the needy, while the younger brother did not like to give to charities. The younger brother had a very bad temper, and he often displayed it when his elder brother helped other people. After a while, when the younger brother could not tolerate this kindness any more, he left the house. The elder brother continued his life style of giving to the needy and, instead of his wealth decreasing, it increased. The younger brother could not stand this, so he made up a story, went to the king, and convinced the king to take over his brother's wealth. The elder brother was saddened by this and renounced the world. After his death because of his good deeds, he was reborn as an angel in heaven."
"The people did not approve of the younger brother's behavior, and he could not take their criticism. So he left the town and joined some hermits. After his death, he was reborn as Asurkumar (demon) in hell. You are that younger brother. Because in your previous life, you did not approve of gifts and charities, you are still a miser. Because you made your brother lose all his wealth, your wealth is lost now. While your elder brother, after spending his life in Saudharm heaven, was born as a merchant in Tamralipti. He gained a lot of wealth, but gave it all up to become a monk . You are talking to him now."
Dhanasar felt sorry and was troubled to hear this. He bowed down to the muni, and asked him for forgiveness. He took a vow, that he would not get involved in any sinful activities and would only keep one-fourth of his income. The rest he would donate to charity.
Soon a miracle happened. All his wealth was recovered. Dhanasar kept his promise. He became a devout shravak and spent his wealth on seven items: Jain abodes, temples, and literature, and well beings of Jain monks, nuns, shravaks, and shravikas (female householders). This was the turning point in his life, and he lived a noble life thereafter.
Jai jinendra
In the city of Mathura lived a merchant named Dhanasar. He was very rich, but he would not offer a penny to anybody. He was well known for his wealth, as well as, his stinginess. Dhanasar used to hide his wealth underground. One day, he went to check on it, and he found that all of it was changed into charcoal with snakes crawling all over it. Within a short time before he could get over this loss, he received the news that all his cargo ships had sunk in the sea. As if that was not enough, he also learned that a convoy carrying all his possessions had been robbed. He felt so helpless and sad. He decided to challenge his fate, by going abroad for business himself with left over one hundred thousands gold coins at home. But with his bad luck and bad karmas, the ship was wrecked and all his gold was lost in the sea. He saved himself by floating on a log which took him to the shore.
He spent the next day on the seashore, then he moved to a park. This is when he saw a muni (monk) preaching under the shade of a mango tree. He joined the crowd. When the sermon was over, the merchant went to the monk and said, "Oh muni! Due to which karmas did I acquire so much wealth, and due to which karmas did I lose it all?"
The muni narrated Dhanasar's past life to him, "In the country of Dhatakikhand, there was a city called Ambica. In Ambica lived two brothers. The elder brother was always helpful and generous to the needy, while the younger brother did not like to give to charities. The younger brother had a very bad temper, and he often displayed it when his elder brother helped other people. After a while, when the younger brother could not tolerate this kindness any more, he left the house. The elder brother continued his life style of giving to the needy and, instead of his wealth decreasing, it increased. The younger brother could not stand this, so he made up a story, went to the king, and convinced the king to take over his brother's wealth. The elder brother was saddened by this and renounced the world. After his death because of his good deeds, he was reborn as an angel in heaven."
"The people did not approve of the younger brother's behavior, and he could not take their criticism. So he left the town and joined some hermits. After his death, he was reborn as Asurkumar (demon) in hell. You are that younger brother. Because in your previous life, you did not approve of gifts and charities, you are still a miser. Because you made your brother lose all his wealth, your wealth is lost now. While your elder brother, after spending his life in Saudharm heaven, was born as a merchant in Tamralipti. He gained a lot of wealth, but gave it all up to become a monk . You are talking to him now."
Dhanasar felt sorry and was troubled to hear this. He bowed down to the muni, and asked him for forgiveness. He took a vow, that he would not get involved in any sinful activities and would only keep one-fourth of his income. The rest he would donate to charity.
Soon a miracle happened. All his wealth was recovered. Dhanasar kept his promise. He became a devout shravak and spent his wealth on seven items: Jain abodes, temples, and literature, and well beings of Jain monks, nuns, shravaks, and shravikas (female householders). This was the turning point in his life, and he lived a noble life thereafter.
Jai jinendra
Sixth story
MAHAVIR AND THE COW HERDER
One day as Lord Mahavir was going from one place to another, he stopped near a big tree, outside the village, to meditate. While he was meditating, a cow herder came there with his cows. He needed someone to look after the cows, so he could run some errands. He asked Mahavirswami if he would look after the cows for a few hours. Lord Mahavir was in deep meditation, and did not hear the cow herder. However, the cow herder went away thinking that Lord Mahavir had heard him and will look after the cows.
In the meantime, the cows started wandering away, looking for and grazing grass. A few hours later, the cow herder returned and found all his cows missing. He asked Mahavirswami, "Where are my cows? What did you do with them?" Lord Mahavir was still in meditation and did not reply. The cow herder started wondering. "Where could they be?" Since Lord Mahavir did not reply, the cow herder searched for them everywhere in the valley, but could not find them. While he was looking for the cows, they returned to the place where Mahavirswami was meditating.
When the cow herder came back, to his amazement, all his cows were standing near Lord Mahavir. Mahavirswami was still meditating. The cow herder became very angry at Lord Mahavir, because he thought that Lord Mahavir was hiding his cows. So, he took out his rope and was about to whip Mahavirswami with it. Just then, an angel from heaven came down and held the rope.
"Can't you see that Lord Mahavir is in deep meditation?" asked the angel.
"But he tricked me!" said the cow herder. The angel replied, "He is a God. He does not care for your cows or anything else in this world. He was in meditation and did not hear you. He did not do anything to your cows. You would have gotten bad karmas for hurting him."
The cow herder realized that he had made a mistake. He apologized to Lord Mahavir and went away silently. The angel went back to heaven feeling happy that he could stop Lord Mahavir's suffering.
Mahavir didn't have any bad feelings towards the cow herder, because he held no anger towards anyone.
We should not make hasty decisions, because we can be wrong. We should also not hurt anyone, and should observe forgiveness instead of anger. This way we can stop new karmas from coming to our soul.
Jai jinendra
One day as Lord Mahavir was going from one place to another, he stopped near a big tree, outside the village, to meditate. While he was meditating, a cow herder came there with his cows. He needed someone to look after the cows, so he could run some errands. He asked Mahavirswami if he would look after the cows for a few hours. Lord Mahavir was in deep meditation, and did not hear the cow herder. However, the cow herder went away thinking that Lord Mahavir had heard him and will look after the cows.
In the meantime, the cows started wandering away, looking for and grazing grass. A few hours later, the cow herder returned and found all his cows missing. He asked Mahavirswami, "Where are my cows? What did you do with them?" Lord Mahavir was still in meditation and did not reply. The cow herder started wondering. "Where could they be?" Since Lord Mahavir did not reply, the cow herder searched for them everywhere in the valley, but could not find them. While he was looking for the cows, they returned to the place where Mahavirswami was meditating.
When the cow herder came back, to his amazement, all his cows were standing near Lord Mahavir. Mahavirswami was still meditating. The cow herder became very angry at Lord Mahavir, because he thought that Lord Mahavir was hiding his cows. So, he took out his rope and was about to whip Mahavirswami with it. Just then, an angel from heaven came down and held the rope.
"Can't you see that Lord Mahavir is in deep meditation?" asked the angel.
"But he tricked me!" said the cow herder. The angel replied, "He is a God. He does not care for your cows or anything else in this world. He was in meditation and did not hear you. He did not do anything to your cows. You would have gotten bad karmas for hurting him."
The cow herder realized that he had made a mistake. He apologized to Lord Mahavir and went away silently. The angel went back to heaven feeling happy that he could stop Lord Mahavir's suffering.
Mahavir didn't have any bad feelings towards the cow herder, because he held no anger towards anyone.
We should not make hasty decisions, because we can be wrong. We should also not hurt anyone, and should observe forgiveness instead of anger. This way we can stop new karmas from coming to our soul.
Jai jinendra
Fifth story
Chandanbala
There once was a beautiful princess named Vasumati. She was the daughter of king Dadhivahan and queen Dharini of Champapuri.
One day war broke out between the King of Champapuri and the king of nearby Kaushambi. It was a sad war. Vasumati's father could not win the war, so he had to run away in despair. When Vasumati and her mother learned that they had lost the war, they also decided to escape. While they were running away in the woods, a soldier from the enemy's army spotted them and captured both of them. Vasumati and her mother were scared. They didn't know what the soldier would do to them. He told the older lady (mother) that he would marry her, and that he would sell Vasumati. Upon hearing this, the queen went into shock and died. The soldier immediately felt sorry for his remark, and decided not to make anymore comments. He took Vasumati to Kaushambi to sell her.
When Vasumati's turn came to be sold as a slave, a merchant named Dhanavah happened to be passing by. He saw Vasumati being sold and felt that she wasn't an ordinary girl. He thought she might have been separated from her parents, and if she was sold as a slave, what would her fate be? So out of compassion for her, Dhanavah bought Vasumati, freed her from slavery, and took her home. On the way home he asked her, "Who are you? What happened to your parents? Please don't be afraid of me. I will treat you as my daughter." Vasumati didn't reply.
When they got home, the merchant told his wife, Moola, about Vasumati. "My dear," he said, "I have brought this girl home. She has not said anything about her past. Please, treat her like our daughter." Vasumati was relieved. She thanked the merchant and his wife with respect. The merchant's family was very happy with her. They named her Chandanbala, since she wouldn't tell anyone her real name.
While staying at the merchant's house, Chandanbala's attitude was like that of a daughter. This made the merchant very happy. Moola, on the other hand, was wondering what her husband would do with Chandanbala. She thought that he would marry her because of her beauty. Therefore, Moola was never comfortable with Chandanbala around.
One sunny day, when the merchant came home from his shop, the servant who usually washed his feet was not there. Chandanbala noticed this, and felt delighted to get a chance to wash his feet for all the fatherly good things he had done for her. While she was busy washing the merchant's feet, her hair slipped out of the hair pin. The merchant saw this and felt that her hair might get dirty. So he lifted her hair and clipped it on the back of her head. Moola saw all this and was outraged. She felt that her doubts about Chandanbala were true. Moola decided to get rid of Chandanbala as soon as possible.
When Dhanavah went on a three day business trip, his wife took the chance to get rid of Chandanbala. Right away she called a barber to cut off all of Chandanbala's beautiful hair. Then she tied Chandanbala's legs with heavy chains and locked her into a distant room, away from the main area of the house. She told all the servants not to tell the merchant where Chandanbala was, or she would do the same to them. Then Moola left to go to her parent's house.
When Danavah returned back from his trip, he didn't see either Moola or Chandanbala. He asked the servants about them. The servants told him that Moola was at her parent's house, but they didn't tell him where Chandanbala was because of their fear of Moola.
He asked the servants in a worried tone, "Where is my daughter Chandanbala? You better speak up now, because if you are hiding the truth, then you will be fired." Still nobody replied. He was very upset and didn't know what to do. After a few minutes an older servant thought, "I am an old woman and will soon die anyway because of age. What is the worse Moola can do anyway." So out of compassion for Chandanbala and sympathy for the merchant she told him all about what Moola did to Chandanbala.
She took the merchant to the room where Chandanbala was locked up. Dhanavah unlocked the door and saw Chandanbala. He was shocked when he saw her. He told Chandanbala, "My dear daughter, I will get you out of here. You must be hungry, let me find some food for you." He went to the kitchen to find food for her. He found that there was no food left, but only some dry lentils in a pan. The merchant decided to feed her that for the time being. So he took them to Chandanbala. He told her that he was going to get a blacksmith to cut off the heavy chains and so he left.
Chandanbala was amazed at how things were going. She started wondering how fate can change the life from rich to almost helpless. Chandanbala then thought of offering lentils to someone else before eating. She got up and walked to the door, and stood there with one foot outside and one inside.
To her surprise, she saw a monk (Lord Mahavir) walking near her room. She said, "Oh respected monk, please accept this food which is suitable for you." But Lord Mahavir had taken vow to fast until a person who met a certain conditions and offered him food. His conditions were, 1) the person who would be offering should be a princess, 2) she should be bald headed, 3) she should be in chains, 4) she should offer uncooked lentils, with one foot inside the house and other outside, 5) and she should be in tears. Therefore, Lord Mahavir looked at her and noticed that one of his pre-decided conditions was still missing. She met all conditions except the tears in her eyes, and therefore Lord Mahavir went on. Chandanbala felt very sad and tears started running down her face. She was sad that even though she had the chance to offer food to the monk, he would not accept it. In her crying voice, she once again requested the monk to accept the food. Lord Mahavir saw the tears in her eyes, and came back to accept the food knowing that all his conditions were met. Chanada put the lentils in Lord Mahavir's hand and felt satisfied.
While Lord Mahavir was looking for his pre-conditioned person, he had fasted for five months and twenty-five days. Heavenly angels celebrated the end of Lord Mahavir's fasting. By the angels power, Chandanbala's chains were broken, her hair grew back, and she was dressed as a princess. The loud music and a celebration drew the attention of king Shatanikand. He came to this place with his family, ministers and other people. Sampul, an old servant, recognized Chandanbala. He walked towards her, bowed, and broke out in tears. King Shatanikand asked, "Why are you crying?" Sampul replied, "My king, this is Vasumati the princess of Champapuri, daughter of king Dadhivahan and queen Dharinee." The king and queen now recognized her, and invited her to live with them. So she went, but first thanked the merchant Dhanavah who was so kind to her.
Lateron, when Lord Mahavir attained the perfect knowledge, he reestablished the four-fold order of Jain Sangh (community). At that time, Chandanbala took diksha and became the first nun (sadhvi). The end of that life, Chandanbala achieved liberation.
Jai jinendra
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
There once was a beautiful princess named Vasumati. She was the daughter of king Dadhivahan and queen Dharini of Champapuri.
One day war broke out between the King of Champapuri and the king of nearby Kaushambi. It was a sad war. Vasumati's father could not win the war, so he had to run away in despair. When Vasumati and her mother learned that they had lost the war, they also decided to escape. While they were running away in the woods, a soldier from the enemy's army spotted them and captured both of them. Vasumati and her mother were scared. They didn't know what the soldier would do to them. He told the older lady (mother) that he would marry her, and that he would sell Vasumati. Upon hearing this, the queen went into shock and died. The soldier immediately felt sorry for his remark, and decided not to make anymore comments. He took Vasumati to Kaushambi to sell her.
When Vasumati's turn came to be sold as a slave, a merchant named Dhanavah happened to be passing by. He saw Vasumati being sold and felt that she wasn't an ordinary girl. He thought she might have been separated from her parents, and if she was sold as a slave, what would her fate be? So out of compassion for her, Dhanavah bought Vasumati, freed her from slavery, and took her home. On the way home he asked her, "Who are you? What happened to your parents? Please don't be afraid of me. I will treat you as my daughter." Vasumati didn't reply.
When they got home, the merchant told his wife, Moola, about Vasumati. "My dear," he said, "I have brought this girl home. She has not said anything about her past. Please, treat her like our daughter." Vasumati was relieved. She thanked the merchant and his wife with respect. The merchant's family was very happy with her. They named her Chandanbala, since she wouldn't tell anyone her real name.
While staying at the merchant's house, Chandanbala's attitude was like that of a daughter. This made the merchant very happy. Moola, on the other hand, was wondering what her husband would do with Chandanbala. She thought that he would marry her because of her beauty. Therefore, Moola was never comfortable with Chandanbala around.
One sunny day, when the merchant came home from his shop, the servant who usually washed his feet was not there. Chandanbala noticed this, and felt delighted to get a chance to wash his feet for all the fatherly good things he had done for her. While she was busy washing the merchant's feet, her hair slipped out of the hair pin. The merchant saw this and felt that her hair might get dirty. So he lifted her hair and clipped it on the back of her head. Moola saw all this and was outraged. She felt that her doubts about Chandanbala were true. Moola decided to get rid of Chandanbala as soon as possible.
When Dhanavah went on a three day business trip, his wife took the chance to get rid of Chandanbala. Right away she called a barber to cut off all of Chandanbala's beautiful hair. Then she tied Chandanbala's legs with heavy chains and locked her into a distant room, away from the main area of the house. She told all the servants not to tell the merchant where Chandanbala was, or she would do the same to them. Then Moola left to go to her parent's house.
When Danavah returned back from his trip, he didn't see either Moola or Chandanbala. He asked the servants about them. The servants told him that Moola was at her parent's house, but they didn't tell him where Chandanbala was because of their fear of Moola.
He asked the servants in a worried tone, "Where is my daughter Chandanbala? You better speak up now, because if you are hiding the truth, then you will be fired." Still nobody replied. He was very upset and didn't know what to do. After a few minutes an older servant thought, "I am an old woman and will soon die anyway because of age. What is the worse Moola can do anyway." So out of compassion for Chandanbala and sympathy for the merchant she told him all about what Moola did to Chandanbala.
She took the merchant to the room where Chandanbala was locked up. Dhanavah unlocked the door and saw Chandanbala. He was shocked when he saw her. He told Chandanbala, "My dear daughter, I will get you out of here. You must be hungry, let me find some food for you." He went to the kitchen to find food for her. He found that there was no food left, but only some dry lentils in a pan. The merchant decided to feed her that for the time being. So he took them to Chandanbala. He told her that he was going to get a blacksmith to cut off the heavy chains and so he left.
Chandanbala was amazed at how things were going. She started wondering how fate can change the life from rich to almost helpless. Chandanbala then thought of offering lentils to someone else before eating. She got up and walked to the door, and stood there with one foot outside and one inside.
To her surprise, she saw a monk (Lord Mahavir) walking near her room. She said, "Oh respected monk, please accept this food which is suitable for you." But Lord Mahavir had taken vow to fast until a person who met a certain conditions and offered him food. His conditions were, 1) the person who would be offering should be a princess, 2) she should be bald headed, 3) she should be in chains, 4) she should offer uncooked lentils, with one foot inside the house and other outside, 5) and she should be in tears. Therefore, Lord Mahavir looked at her and noticed that one of his pre-decided conditions was still missing. She met all conditions except the tears in her eyes, and therefore Lord Mahavir went on. Chandanbala felt very sad and tears started running down her face. She was sad that even though she had the chance to offer food to the monk, he would not accept it. In her crying voice, she once again requested the monk to accept the food. Lord Mahavir saw the tears in her eyes, and came back to accept the food knowing that all his conditions were met. Chanada put the lentils in Lord Mahavir's hand and felt satisfied.
While Lord Mahavir was looking for his pre-conditioned person, he had fasted for five months and twenty-five days. Heavenly angels celebrated the end of Lord Mahavir's fasting. By the angels power, Chandanbala's chains were broken, her hair grew back, and she was dressed as a princess. The loud music and a celebration drew the attention of king Shatanikand. He came to this place with his family, ministers and other people. Sampul, an old servant, recognized Chandanbala. He walked towards her, bowed, and broke out in tears. King Shatanikand asked, "Why are you crying?" Sampul replied, "My king, this is Vasumati the princess of Champapuri, daughter of king Dadhivahan and queen Dharinee." The king and queen now recognized her, and invited her to live with them. So she went, but first thanked the merchant Dhanavah who was so kind to her.
Lateron, when Lord Mahavir attained the perfect knowledge, he reestablished the four-fold order of Jain Sangh (community). At that time, Chandanbala took diksha and became the first nun (sadhvi). The end of that life, Chandanbala achieved liberation.
Jai jinendra
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Fourth story
Long ago in the land of Jambudvip, there was a city called Kamalapur. The king of that city was named Saharaksa. One day, in the king's court came an astrologer. The king asked the astrologer if he knew what was going to happen in the future. The astrologer did not say a word. The king asked him second time. He told the king, "A severe famine is going to break out and it will wipe out the entire city."
The king did not like what he heard. He called his ministers and asked them to work out a plan where they could save the people. The ministers suggested that they should buy as much grain as possible. The king emptied his treasury and bought as much grain as he could. He stored the grain for bad days to come.
Later, in the month of Ashadh (June-July), the sky was covered by dark clouds. The king looked up at the sky, and thought it would rain. These and subsequently other clouds brought enough rain for people to grow good crop. In a way king was happy for the people but at the same time he was puzzled why astrologer's forecast turned out wrong.
A few days later, the king's gardener came to the king with a message. The message was that a Jain Muni would like to stay in his royal park for the monsoon period. The muni was a Kevaljnai (omniscient), one who knows past, present and future, all at the same time.
The king rewarded the gardener for the message, and asked the people of the city to welcome the sage. The king went to visit the muni and listened to his holy words. The king then asked, "How could the words of the astrologer not be true?"
The muni told the king, "The famine was averted because of the birth of a pious soul in your city. The astrologer did not know that."
The king asked him to tell about the previous life of this pious soul.
The muni stated. "In the land of Bharat, there was a city called Purimatala. In the city, there was a rich man, who suddenly became sick. He tried his best to improve his health, but did not succeed. One day he met a monk and after listening to the sermon, he decided to give up his regular diet and only eat simple foods cooked without any spices or salt. He also decided to meditate regularly and observe celibacy. His health improved within a few days. His pledge grew stronger now, so he continued his diet, meditation, and celibacy.
Later, there was a famine in the city, and he used all his wealth to feed the people. This helped people to survive the famine. After he finished his life, he was reborn as a deva (heavenly angel) and from there, he was reborn in your city, as the son of a shravika named Subuddhi.
The king was very happy to hear this. He went to Subuddhi's house to pay respect to the pious soul. He saw the child and blessed him and gave him the name Dharmkumar (prince or son of religion).
When Dharmkumar grew up, he married a beautiful, religious, young woman. In his later years, he joined the holy order of monks and after performing austerities and meditation, he attained Kevaljnana and got liberated.
Jai jinendra
The king did not like what he heard. He called his ministers and asked them to work out a plan where they could save the people. The ministers suggested that they should buy as much grain as possible. The king emptied his treasury and bought as much grain as he could. He stored the grain for bad days to come.
Later, in the month of Ashadh (June-July), the sky was covered by dark clouds. The king looked up at the sky, and thought it would rain. These and subsequently other clouds brought enough rain for people to grow good crop. In a way king was happy for the people but at the same time he was puzzled why astrologer's forecast turned out wrong.
A few days later, the king's gardener came to the king with a message. The message was that a Jain Muni would like to stay in his royal park for the monsoon period. The muni was a Kevaljnai (omniscient), one who knows past, present and future, all at the same time.
The king rewarded the gardener for the message, and asked the people of the city to welcome the sage. The king went to visit the muni and listened to his holy words. The king then asked, "How could the words of the astrologer not be true?"
The muni told the king, "The famine was averted because of the birth of a pious soul in your city. The astrologer did not know that."
The king asked him to tell about the previous life of this pious soul.
The muni stated. "In the land of Bharat, there was a city called Purimatala. In the city, there was a rich man, who suddenly became sick. He tried his best to improve his health, but did not succeed. One day he met a monk and after listening to the sermon, he decided to give up his regular diet and only eat simple foods cooked without any spices or salt. He also decided to meditate regularly and observe celibacy. His health improved within a few days. His pledge grew stronger now, so he continued his diet, meditation, and celibacy.
Later, there was a famine in the city, and he used all his wealth to feed the people. This helped people to survive the famine. After he finished his life, he was reborn as a deva (heavenly angel) and from there, he was reborn in your city, as the son of a shravika named Subuddhi.
The king was very happy to hear this. He went to Subuddhi's house to pay respect to the pious soul. He saw the child and blessed him and gave him the name Dharmkumar (prince or son of religion).
When Dharmkumar grew up, he married a beautiful, religious, young woman. In his later years, he joined the holy order of monks and after performing austerities and meditation, he attained Kevaljnana and got liberated.
Jai jinendra
Third story
DAMANAK
Long ago in the city of Rajpur, lived a man named Kulaputra. He had a close friend Jaindas who followed Jain religion. One day Kulaputra went with his friend to listen to the sermon of his spiritual teacher. He was impressed by the principle of Ahimsa (non-violence) illustrated by the monk and he decided to take a vow not to eat fish no matter what.
Soon there was a severe drought in the city. Grain became scarce, so most people of the town lived on fish as a food. Before long, even the strictest vegetarians changed their diet. Fish became the main source of food. This situation challenged Kulaputra's commitment of his vow. Many days passed by when there was hardly any food in the house, but he did not break his vow. One day his wife got frustrated and said, "Can't you see that our children are starving? Don't you feel for them? Please buy some fish, so I can feed them."
Kulaputra told her, "My dear, I can not take away other living being's life to save ours. We are vegetarians. I love our children, but in same manner I love all living beings too."
At last, Kulaputra's brother-in-law took him to the riverbank to catch fish for the family. Kulaputra was very unhappy and with deep regret threw his net into water. To his surprise, he caught the most fish. But as he was pulling them out of water he saw that the fish were uneasy and restless. He could not bear their suffering, so he released them. He tried three times and did the same each time. He could not tolerate anymore. So he left and went on a fast until death. After his death, he was born as merchant Manihar's son, in the city of Rajagruhi, and was named Damanak.
Manihar was a rich man with great wealth and fortune. When Damanak was eight years old, an epidemic broke out in the city, and his whole family died except for Damanak. There was no one left to look after Damanak. Within a short period of time, his wealth vanished, and he became a poor orphan boy. One day, a merchant named Sagarpot gave him shelter in his house.
One day after some time, a monk came to Sagarpot's house for alms. The monk noticed Damanak, and said that his good karmas were going to mature shortly, and he soon would be the head of the household.
Sagarpot did not say anything since he disliked the idea of his fortune to be inherited by the poor boy, Damanak. He wanted his real son to be the next head of the household. Therefore, he decided to kill Damanak. One day he sent for the butcher, and ordered him to take Damanak into the forest and kill him. The butcher took the boy to the forest, and as he was about to kill him, the look of innocence on the face of the boy made him change his mind. He did not kill Damanak, but to show the Sagarpot that he had killed him, he cut Damanak's little finger off and turned him loose in the forest. He told the boy to leave, and never return to that area again.
Damanak started wandering in the forest, and soon he saw a cow herder. He told his story to the cow herder. The cow herder felt sympathy towards him and invited Damanak to live with him. This started a new chapter in Damanak's life.
Several years passed and Damanak became a young man. One day, when traveling on business, Sagarpot stopped at the place where Damanak was living. He saw the young man and liked him right away. When Sagarpot inquired more about him, he realized that this young man was the same boy whom he had wanted to kill. His anger grew again, and he immediately planed to kill Damanak. He asked the cow herder if he could spare the young man to take his message back to his home. Sagarpot gave Damanak a letter to be delivered to his son. Damanak left to carry out his work.
As Damanak reached the outskirts of the Rajagruhi city, he became tired. He saw a temple, and decided to rest. He left the letter by his side and fell sleep. It just so happened, that after he fell sleep, Bisa, Sagarpot's daughter came to the temple. She noticed the letter next to Damanak. She became curious, and looked at it. To her surprise it was addressed to his brother. Her curiosity grew even more, so she read the letter. She was puzzled to find that his father had written, "Yah ladaka jaise hi vahan aye, usko bis de dena" meaning, "As soon as this boy arrives there, give him poison (Bis)." She could not understand this. She looked at the young man, he was very handsome and looked innocent. She fell in love with him and wanted to marry him. So, she changed the message, "Yah ladaka jaise hi vahan aye, usko bisa de dena," meaning, "As soon as this boy arrives there, give him Bisa (his daughter)." She then put the letter back where it was and left.
The young man delivered the letter to Sagarpot's son. His son read the message and was puzzled why his father would ask him to get his sister married to Damanak. But since that was his father's wish, he obeyed it. Damanak was also confused, but he liked Bisa, so he went along. Bisa's brother arranged her marriage with great celebration.
When Sagarpot came back home and found out what happened, he was fuming in his mind. But he did not express this anger to anybody. He once again started a plot to kill Damanak, now his son-in-law.
Sagarpot hired someone to kill him. One day, everybody went to a party. After some time, Damanak felt tired, so he decided to go home early. When he reached home, he found the house locked. So he rested on the sofa on the porch. The hit man followed him, but he felt that Damanak was a strong man and it would not be easy to kill him without anything. So he went home to get a sword.
Meanwhile, Damanak got up and went for a walk. While Damanak was on his walk, his brother-in-law (Sagarpot's son) came to the house. He also found the house locked and he decided to rest on the sofa on the porch. He soon fell sleep. The hit man came back, and without thinking anything, hit his sword on the man's neck and cut off his head.
After some time when the rest of the family came home, they found the body in blood. They were shocked to learn that it was Bisa's brother who had been killed.
Sagarpot now realized that he was trying to change the destiny of the young man (fate of karmas), and that is why he did not succeed in killing Damanak. He soon mellowed down and decided to accept Damanak's fate. His wife and he decided to pass over all the home and business affairs to Damanak.
Damanak carried out his duty for many years and lived happily ever after.
Jai jinendra
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Long ago in the city of Rajpur, lived a man named Kulaputra. He had a close friend Jaindas who followed Jain religion. One day Kulaputra went with his friend to listen to the sermon of his spiritual teacher. He was impressed by the principle of Ahimsa (non-violence) illustrated by the monk and he decided to take a vow not to eat fish no matter what.
Soon there was a severe drought in the city. Grain became scarce, so most people of the town lived on fish as a food. Before long, even the strictest vegetarians changed their diet. Fish became the main source of food. This situation challenged Kulaputra's commitment of his vow. Many days passed by when there was hardly any food in the house, but he did not break his vow. One day his wife got frustrated and said, "Can't you see that our children are starving? Don't you feel for them? Please buy some fish, so I can feed them."
Kulaputra told her, "My dear, I can not take away other living being's life to save ours. We are vegetarians. I love our children, but in same manner I love all living beings too."
At last, Kulaputra's brother-in-law took him to the riverbank to catch fish for the family. Kulaputra was very unhappy and with deep regret threw his net into water. To his surprise, he caught the most fish. But as he was pulling them out of water he saw that the fish were uneasy and restless. He could not bear their suffering, so he released them. He tried three times and did the same each time. He could not tolerate anymore. So he left and went on a fast until death. After his death, he was born as merchant Manihar's son, in the city of Rajagruhi, and was named Damanak.
Manihar was a rich man with great wealth and fortune. When Damanak was eight years old, an epidemic broke out in the city, and his whole family died except for Damanak. There was no one left to look after Damanak. Within a short period of time, his wealth vanished, and he became a poor orphan boy. One day, a merchant named Sagarpot gave him shelter in his house.
One day after some time, a monk came to Sagarpot's house for alms. The monk noticed Damanak, and said that his good karmas were going to mature shortly, and he soon would be the head of the household.
Sagarpot did not say anything since he disliked the idea of his fortune to be inherited by the poor boy, Damanak. He wanted his real son to be the next head of the household. Therefore, he decided to kill Damanak. One day he sent for the butcher, and ordered him to take Damanak into the forest and kill him. The butcher took the boy to the forest, and as he was about to kill him, the look of innocence on the face of the boy made him change his mind. He did not kill Damanak, but to show the Sagarpot that he had killed him, he cut Damanak's little finger off and turned him loose in the forest. He told the boy to leave, and never return to that area again.
Damanak started wandering in the forest, and soon he saw a cow herder. He told his story to the cow herder. The cow herder felt sympathy towards him and invited Damanak to live with him. This started a new chapter in Damanak's life.
Several years passed and Damanak became a young man. One day, when traveling on business, Sagarpot stopped at the place where Damanak was living. He saw the young man and liked him right away. When Sagarpot inquired more about him, he realized that this young man was the same boy whom he had wanted to kill. His anger grew again, and he immediately planed to kill Damanak. He asked the cow herder if he could spare the young man to take his message back to his home. Sagarpot gave Damanak a letter to be delivered to his son. Damanak left to carry out his work.
As Damanak reached the outskirts of the Rajagruhi city, he became tired. He saw a temple, and decided to rest. He left the letter by his side and fell sleep. It just so happened, that after he fell sleep, Bisa, Sagarpot's daughter came to the temple. She noticed the letter next to Damanak. She became curious, and looked at it. To her surprise it was addressed to his brother. Her curiosity grew even more, so she read the letter. She was puzzled to find that his father had written, "Yah ladaka jaise hi vahan aye, usko bis de dena" meaning, "As soon as this boy arrives there, give him poison (Bis)." She could not understand this. She looked at the young man, he was very handsome and looked innocent. She fell in love with him and wanted to marry him. So, she changed the message, "Yah ladaka jaise hi vahan aye, usko bisa de dena," meaning, "As soon as this boy arrives there, give him Bisa (his daughter)." She then put the letter back where it was and left.
The young man delivered the letter to Sagarpot's son. His son read the message and was puzzled why his father would ask him to get his sister married to Damanak. But since that was his father's wish, he obeyed it. Damanak was also confused, but he liked Bisa, so he went along. Bisa's brother arranged her marriage with great celebration.
When Sagarpot came back home and found out what happened, he was fuming in his mind. But he did not express this anger to anybody. He once again started a plot to kill Damanak, now his son-in-law.
Sagarpot hired someone to kill him. One day, everybody went to a party. After some time, Damanak felt tired, so he decided to go home early. When he reached home, he found the house locked. So he rested on the sofa on the porch. The hit man followed him, but he felt that Damanak was a strong man and it would not be easy to kill him without anything. So he went home to get a sword.
Meanwhile, Damanak got up and went for a walk. While Damanak was on his walk, his brother-in-law (Sagarpot's son) came to the house. He also found the house locked and he decided to rest on the sofa on the porch. He soon fell sleep. The hit man came back, and without thinking anything, hit his sword on the man's neck and cut off his head.
After some time when the rest of the family came home, they found the body in blood. They were shocked to learn that it was Bisa's brother who had been killed.
Sagarpot now realized that he was trying to change the destiny of the young man (fate of karmas), and that is why he did not succeed in killing Damanak. He soon mellowed down and decided to accept Damanak's fate. His wife and he decided to pass over all the home and business affairs to Damanak.
Damanak carried out his duty for many years and lived happily ever after.
Jai jinendra
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Second story
ANAND SHRAVAK
There once lived a king named Jitshatru in the city of Vanijya. There also lived a rich householder named Anand in the same city. Anand was a billionaire. He was so rich that he had 4 million gold coins, an equal amount of cash, had invested an equal amount in trade, in ornaments, and other assets. He also owned 40,000 cows. He was highly respected by the king, as well as, the people of the town.
One day, Lord Mahavir visited this town and gave a sermon. After hearing the sermon of Lord Mahavir, Anand decided to accept the twelve vows of a householder. After following those vows for fourteen years Anand decided to renounce worldly affairs. So he called his children and transferred all his business and family responsibilities to them and told them not to stop him in his spiritual pursuit. He was going to spend the rest of his life in penance and meditation.
After some time, due to performance of austerities, pure mental condition and resulting of purity of his soul, he attained Avadhijnan (Limited Divine Knowledge). It just so happened that Lord Mahavir and his disciples were in town. One day, while Gautamswami went to collect alms (food), he overheard people talking about Anand's poor health, and that Anand had attained Avadhijnan. So Gautamswami decided to visit Anand. When Gautamswami arrived Anand offered his salutation lying in bed. He told Gautamswami about his Avadhijnan and that he could see up to the twelfth Devaloka (heaven or celestial abode). Gautamswami told Anand that although such knowledge was possible for a householder to attain, it would not be possible to see that far. He told Anand that he should do prayshchit (repentance) for telling a lie. Anand was puzzled because he was telling the truth. He did not want to disobey his spiritual teacher, but at the same time he thought it was not fair to repent for telling the truth. So he respectfully asked Gautamswami, "Guruji, is it necessary to repent even when someone is telling the truth?" Gautamswami said, "No." Gautamswami still did not believe Anand, so he went back to Lord Mahavir to get some clarification.
Gautamswami told Lord Mahavir about his conversation with Anand. Mahavirswami said, "Gautam, Anand is right. He has attained such Avadhijnan that he can see that far. How could a knowledgeable person like you make such a mistake? You are the one who should ask for his forgiveness." Gautamswami realized his mistake and immediately went to Anand to apologize and ask for forgiveness. Anand was very happy that Lord Mahavir took the side of truth, and not that of his first disciple, Gautamswami. He was also happy that even a great monk like Gautamswami, who had very high accomplishments, came back to ask for forgiveness. He felt very strongly about his religion and the monks who follow it. Anand fasted until death and was reborn as a heavenly angel in Saudharma Devaloka (a heavenly region). After the completion of that heavenly life, he would be reborn as a human in Mahavideh and would attain liberation from there.
The essence of human life is to practice one or more of the twelve vows in daily life. This story tells us how householders (shravaks ) should have faith in truth, religion correct the mistakes of their teachers humbly. It also shows how simple, humble, and a true follower of Lord Mahavir Gautamswami was. When Lord Mahavir pointed out his mistake, Gautamswami went to Anand without any arguments to ask for forgiveness, even though he was the first disciple of Mahavirswami. It also shows how impartial, Lord Mahavir was because, even though it was the mistake of his first disciple, he did not cover it up. On the contrary, he took the side of truth and explained to Gautamswami his mistake.
Jai jinendra
There once lived a king named Jitshatru in the city of Vanijya. There also lived a rich householder named Anand in the same city. Anand was a billionaire. He was so rich that he had 4 million gold coins, an equal amount of cash, had invested an equal amount in trade, in ornaments, and other assets. He also owned 40,000 cows. He was highly respected by the king, as well as, the people of the town.
One day, Lord Mahavir visited this town and gave a sermon. After hearing the sermon of Lord Mahavir, Anand decided to accept the twelve vows of a householder. After following those vows for fourteen years Anand decided to renounce worldly affairs. So he called his children and transferred all his business and family responsibilities to them and told them not to stop him in his spiritual pursuit. He was going to spend the rest of his life in penance and meditation.
After some time, due to performance of austerities, pure mental condition and resulting of purity of his soul, he attained Avadhijnan (Limited Divine Knowledge). It just so happened that Lord Mahavir and his disciples were in town. One day, while Gautamswami went to collect alms (food), he overheard people talking about Anand's poor health, and that Anand had attained Avadhijnan. So Gautamswami decided to visit Anand. When Gautamswami arrived Anand offered his salutation lying in bed. He told Gautamswami about his Avadhijnan and that he could see up to the twelfth Devaloka (heaven or celestial abode). Gautamswami told Anand that although such knowledge was possible for a householder to attain, it would not be possible to see that far. He told Anand that he should do prayshchit (repentance) for telling a lie. Anand was puzzled because he was telling the truth. He did not want to disobey his spiritual teacher, but at the same time he thought it was not fair to repent for telling the truth. So he respectfully asked Gautamswami, "Guruji, is it necessary to repent even when someone is telling the truth?" Gautamswami said, "No." Gautamswami still did not believe Anand, so he went back to Lord Mahavir to get some clarification.
Gautamswami told Lord Mahavir about his conversation with Anand. Mahavirswami said, "Gautam, Anand is right. He has attained such Avadhijnan that he can see that far. How could a knowledgeable person like you make such a mistake? You are the one who should ask for his forgiveness." Gautamswami realized his mistake and immediately went to Anand to apologize and ask for forgiveness. Anand was very happy that Lord Mahavir took the side of truth, and not that of his first disciple, Gautamswami. He was also happy that even a great monk like Gautamswami, who had very high accomplishments, came back to ask for forgiveness. He felt very strongly about his religion and the monks who follow it. Anand fasted until death and was reborn as a heavenly angel in Saudharma Devaloka (a heavenly region). After the completion of that heavenly life, he would be reborn as a human in Mahavideh and would attain liberation from there.
The essence of human life is to practice one or more of the twelve vows in daily life. This story tells us how householders (shravaks ) should have faith in truth, religion correct the mistakes of their teachers humbly. It also shows how simple, humble, and a true follower of Lord Mahavir Gautamswami was. When Lord Mahavir pointed out his mistake, Gautamswami went to Anand without any arguments to ask for forgiveness, even though he was the first disciple of Mahavirswami. It also shows how impartial, Lord Mahavir was because, even though it was the mistake of his first disciple, he did not cover it up. On the contrary, he took the side of truth and explained to Gautamswami his mistake.
Jai jinendra
Jainism
Hello,
History of Jainism has been divided into three parts — Jain history and its origin; its historic importance; and Jain religion during the interim periods — all covered in detail. Jainism during Mogul rule — its Social and Economic condition, has also been described.
History of Jainism has been presented here in three parts. The first part tries to prove through the archaeological and literary sources the historicity of Tirthamkara, Parsvanatha and Mahavira, explaining their life and education besides religious, political, social, artistic and literary conditions of their times. The second part surveys the history of the Jaina dharma, its expansion and significance. The effects of Jaina dharma increased when Mauryas were ruling Magadha and Kharawelas ruled Orissa. No doubt, the period from the 9th to 12th centuries ce was a golden time in the history of Jainism and even traders, labourers and craftsmen were highly influenced by it during Kusana period. Seen geographically, Cauhana, Paramara and Calukya were acting as watchmen for Jainism in the north and in the south it was being nourished by Calukya, Rastrakuta and Ganga (Kingdoms). Many Jaina temples were constructed, monuments erected in honour of their deities. This part illustrates the many ways in which Jainism was served by the Jaina monks, saints, scholars and the politicians and answers questions such as: What kind of religious and social unions were made after the division and what were their traditional characteristics? How were the different leagues and monastries of Jaina sages made? What was the lineage of various castes and how they originated? The third part, associated with the middle ages of Jainism, describes that even though there was Muslim rule, still many organizations were sponsored with the influence of Jainism. Truthfully, there was a decline in Jainism during the middle ages but it remained protected. Many pilgrimages and historical places were established with the great influence of Jainism. Dr A.H. Nizami has written here about the Muslim reign, conditions of Jainism and also about the admirable Jainas. Dr Surendra Gopal has described the social and financial conditions prevailing at this period. Dr Shyam Sunder Nigam has penned on the middle ages of India and Dr Prakash Chandra Jain has written about the Jaina religion in the Middle Ages in Malwa region. This monumental work will be a treat for the minds and eyes of people curious about Jainism.
Rest in next.
Bye
History of Jainism has been divided into three parts — Jain history and its origin; its historic importance; and Jain religion during the interim periods — all covered in detail. Jainism during Mogul rule — its Social and Economic condition, has also been described.
History of Jainism has been presented here in three parts. The first part tries to prove through the archaeological and literary sources the historicity of Tirthamkara, Parsvanatha and Mahavira, explaining their life and education besides religious, political, social, artistic and literary conditions of their times. The second part surveys the history of the Jaina dharma, its expansion and significance. The effects of Jaina dharma increased when Mauryas were ruling Magadha and Kharawelas ruled Orissa. No doubt, the period from the 9th to 12th centuries ce was a golden time in the history of Jainism and even traders, labourers and craftsmen were highly influenced by it during Kusana period. Seen geographically, Cauhana, Paramara and Calukya were acting as watchmen for Jainism in the north and in the south it was being nourished by Calukya, Rastrakuta and Ganga (Kingdoms). Many Jaina temples were constructed, monuments erected in honour of their deities. This part illustrates the many ways in which Jainism was served by the Jaina monks, saints, scholars and the politicians and answers questions such as: What kind of religious and social unions were made after the division and what were their traditional characteristics? How were the different leagues and monastries of Jaina sages made? What was the lineage of various castes and how they originated? The third part, associated with the middle ages of Jainism, describes that even though there was Muslim rule, still many organizations were sponsored with the influence of Jainism. Truthfully, there was a decline in Jainism during the middle ages but it remained protected. Many pilgrimages and historical places were established with the great influence of Jainism. Dr A.H. Nizami has written here about the Muslim reign, conditions of Jainism and also about the admirable Jainas. Dr Surendra Gopal has described the social and financial conditions prevailing at this period. Dr Shyam Sunder Nigam has penned on the middle ages of India and Dr Prakash Chandra Jain has written about the Jaina religion in the Middle Ages in Malwa region. This monumental work will be a treat for the minds and eyes of people curious about Jainism.
Rest in next.
Bye
TRUE JAIN STORIES
AIMUTTA MUNI
In the streets of Polaspur, a six year old child named Aimutta was playing with a few friends. He was the son of King Vijay and Queen Shrimati. While playing around, he saw a monk, Gautamswami, bare-foot and bald, who was out getting alms (food). Aimutta ran to him and invited him to come to his home to get food, which would make his mother and him happy. Gautamswami agreed and they left to go to the castle. Aimutta's mother, Queen Shrimati was standing in the balcony overlooking the garden. She saw Gautamswami and Aimutta coming to her place. She was very happy and came down to receive Gautamswami. She welcomed him with full devotion and uttered, "Mathaenam Vandami (my salutation to you)." She introduced Gautamswami as a staunch disciple of Lord Mahavir to Aimutta. She asked Aimutta to go and get his favorite food to offer to Gautamswami. Aimutta brought ladoos and started pouring them in a pot even though Gautamswami said he didn't need that many. Aimutta was so happy offering food to the monk.
As Gautamswami started leaving, Aimutta said, "Your bag is heavy, let me carry it for you."
Gautamswami said, "Aimutta, I can not give it to you, because it can only be carried by those who have taken diksha."
Aimutta asked, "What is diksha?"
Gautam Swami explained to him that when someone wants to take a spiritual path he must give up his house, family, and all other social and economical ties. Then he becomes a monk, and this process is called diksha. People take diksha to avoid the himsa (violence) that occurs in householder's life. In that kind of living, people are involved in various activities every minute which cause to accumulate karmas. On the other hand, a monk don't do those things. Thus monks and nuns can avoid most of the sinful activities of householders.
Aimutta became curious and asked, "Gurudev, you do not do sins! But don't you need to eat? Don't you need a place to live? All these cause sins."
Gautamswami was pleased with the child's interest to learn, so he explained, "We take food, but we do not accept food which is made especially for us. We stay in a place, but we do not own it, and we do not stay there for more than a few days. We do not keep money, and we do not take part in business or any organizations. This way as a monk, we do not have to do any activities which cause sins.
Aimutta said, "Gurudev, in that case, I want to take diksha."
In a short time, Aimutta and Gautamswami reached where Lord Mahavir was giving sermon. Aimutta joined others to listen to his teachings. In that sermon, Aimutta learned what the life is all about and what one can do if he or she wanted to be relieved of this worldly sufferings. Aimutta once again expressed his desire to accept diksha to Lord Mahavir. Lord Mahavir said, "We can not give you diksha without your parents' permission". Aimutta replied, "That is easy, I will go home and get their permission and come back."
So Aimutta went home. He told his mother, "Mom, I want to take diksha. Remember you used to say that our social life is full of violence, and causes sins? Gautamswami and Lord Mahavir also said the same. I want to be free of sins. Therefore, please give me permission to take diksha."
Aimutta's mother was surprised by his words. She was happy in her mind for his fear of sins and desire to take diksha because she was also a religious woman. But she wanted to be sure that Aimutta understood what "taking diksha" meant. So she said, "My son, to take diksha is not a game. It is a very hard and disciplined life. There is no mother or father to take care of you. How will you be able to handle such suffering?"
Aimutta said, "Mother, this social life also has a lot of suffering. At least we know that as a monk the sufferings will help destroy the karmas and lead to salvation."
His mother was very happy to hear this. But she wanted to test Aimutta more. She said, "Son, why are you in such a hurry? Wait for sometime. You need to take care of us when we get old, and have your own family too."
Aimutta said, "Mother, I learned from Lord Mahavir that no one is young and no one is old. I also learned that no one knows what is going to happen tomorrow. No one knows who will die first or last. So why wait and miss this opportunity which has come my way."
His mother felt very happy that her son had fully understood what diksha meant, and what his goal was.
She said, "Congratulations my son. I am very proud of you. You will be a good monk. Do not forget that your goal is to attain salvation, and be sure to observe ahimsa (nonviolence) throughout your life. We will give you permission to take diksha."
Aimutta said, "Thank you, Mom. I will remember your advice."
Aimutta's mother blessed him and wished him success in his new life. She also helped get the permission from his father, King Vijay.
After a few days, he was given diksha, and became a monk called "Balmuni (young monk) Aimutta."
Some time later, one day while coming back from the bathroom, Balmuni Aimutta saw some children playing in a water puddle with a paper boat. He became excited about playing, and forgot that as a monk he can not play with water. So he ran towards the kids, and asked if he could play with them. The kids also became excited for a monk to play with them, and said, "Yes." He took the lid off the utensil he had and started sailing it as a boat. He was saying, "Look, my boat is also sailing." Meanwhile other monks came there and saw him playing with water. They came to him and said, "Balmuni, what are you doing? Did you forget that as a monk you can not play with water? By playing with water, we caused harm to many water beings. We have taken a vow not to hurt any living beings. This is very bad. You have violated your vow and accumulated sins."
Balmuni Aimutta realized his mistake. He immediately started repenting, "Oh! What have I done? I promised my mother that I would not do any sinful activities. How sinful I am? How nice these monks are to remind me of my mistake! What would have happened if these monks had not come or seen me?" He was honestly regretful for what he did. He left with the other monks. Every monk has to recite the Iriyavahiyam Sutra after they come back to their place from outside. So Balmuni also recited this sutra. When he came to the part, "Panakkamne, Beeyakkamne, Panag-daga-matti....(if I have hurt any living beings of water, green grass, clay,...then I am asking for forgiveness," his repentance had no bound. He was very sorry for what he had done. He began thinking, "What did I do? I have destroyed so many living beings. How can I be free of these sins? How can I show my face to Lord Mahavir? Oh living beings, I have harmed you. Please forgive me of my sins. I will never commit these sins again." This sincere repentance did good for him. All of his destructive karmas were destroyed and he attained Kevaljnan (omniscience or perfect knowledge). He became Kevali.
After this, Kevali Aimutta Muni went to Lord Mahavir's assembly, and started walking towards the other Kevalis who were sitting there. Some senior munis noticed this, and they started telling him, "Oh, Aimuttaji!! Where are you going? That is the place for Kevalis to sit. Come over here where the other monks are sitting."
Lord Mahavir interrupted them and said, "Monks, you should not insult a Kevali. Aimutta Muni is no ordinary monk now. While reciting Iriyavahiyam Sutra, he destroyed all of his ghati (destructive) karmas, and became a Kevali."
The monks realized their mistake and thought, "There is no age barrier to be a kevali."
After finishing the rest of his life, Balmuni Aimutta attained salvation.
Jai jinendra.
In the streets of Polaspur, a six year old child named Aimutta was playing with a few friends. He was the son of King Vijay and Queen Shrimati. While playing around, he saw a monk, Gautamswami, bare-foot and bald, who was out getting alms (food). Aimutta ran to him and invited him to come to his home to get food, which would make his mother and him happy. Gautamswami agreed and they left to go to the castle. Aimutta's mother, Queen Shrimati was standing in the balcony overlooking the garden. She saw Gautamswami and Aimutta coming to her place. She was very happy and came down to receive Gautamswami. She welcomed him with full devotion and uttered, "Mathaenam Vandami (my salutation to you)." She introduced Gautamswami as a staunch disciple of Lord Mahavir to Aimutta. She asked Aimutta to go and get his favorite food to offer to Gautamswami. Aimutta brought ladoos and started pouring them in a pot even though Gautamswami said he didn't need that many. Aimutta was so happy offering food to the monk.
As Gautamswami started leaving, Aimutta said, "Your bag is heavy, let me carry it for you."
Gautamswami said, "Aimutta, I can not give it to you, because it can only be carried by those who have taken diksha."
Aimutta asked, "What is diksha?"
Gautam Swami explained to him that when someone wants to take a spiritual path he must give up his house, family, and all other social and economical ties. Then he becomes a monk, and this process is called diksha. People take diksha to avoid the himsa (violence) that occurs in householder's life. In that kind of living, people are involved in various activities every minute which cause to accumulate karmas. On the other hand, a monk don't do those things. Thus monks and nuns can avoid most of the sinful activities of householders.
Aimutta became curious and asked, "Gurudev, you do not do sins! But don't you need to eat? Don't you need a place to live? All these cause sins."
Gautamswami was pleased with the child's interest to learn, so he explained, "We take food, but we do not accept food which is made especially for us. We stay in a place, but we do not own it, and we do not stay there for more than a few days. We do not keep money, and we do not take part in business or any organizations. This way as a monk, we do not have to do any activities which cause sins.
Aimutta said, "Gurudev, in that case, I want to take diksha."
In a short time, Aimutta and Gautamswami reached where Lord Mahavir was giving sermon. Aimutta joined others to listen to his teachings. In that sermon, Aimutta learned what the life is all about and what one can do if he or she wanted to be relieved of this worldly sufferings. Aimutta once again expressed his desire to accept diksha to Lord Mahavir. Lord Mahavir said, "We can not give you diksha without your parents' permission". Aimutta replied, "That is easy, I will go home and get their permission and come back."
So Aimutta went home. He told his mother, "Mom, I want to take diksha. Remember you used to say that our social life is full of violence, and causes sins? Gautamswami and Lord Mahavir also said the same. I want to be free of sins. Therefore, please give me permission to take diksha."
Aimutta's mother was surprised by his words. She was happy in her mind for his fear of sins and desire to take diksha because she was also a religious woman. But she wanted to be sure that Aimutta understood what "taking diksha" meant. So she said, "My son, to take diksha is not a game. It is a very hard and disciplined life. There is no mother or father to take care of you. How will you be able to handle such suffering?"
Aimutta said, "Mother, this social life also has a lot of suffering. At least we know that as a monk the sufferings will help destroy the karmas and lead to salvation."
His mother was very happy to hear this. But she wanted to test Aimutta more. She said, "Son, why are you in such a hurry? Wait for sometime. You need to take care of us when we get old, and have your own family too."
Aimutta said, "Mother, I learned from Lord Mahavir that no one is young and no one is old. I also learned that no one knows what is going to happen tomorrow. No one knows who will die first or last. So why wait and miss this opportunity which has come my way."
His mother felt very happy that her son had fully understood what diksha meant, and what his goal was.
She said, "Congratulations my son. I am very proud of you. You will be a good monk. Do not forget that your goal is to attain salvation, and be sure to observe ahimsa (nonviolence) throughout your life. We will give you permission to take diksha."
Aimutta said, "Thank you, Mom. I will remember your advice."
Aimutta's mother blessed him and wished him success in his new life. She also helped get the permission from his father, King Vijay.
After a few days, he was given diksha, and became a monk called "Balmuni (young monk) Aimutta."
Some time later, one day while coming back from the bathroom, Balmuni Aimutta saw some children playing in a water puddle with a paper boat. He became excited about playing, and forgot that as a monk he can not play with water. So he ran towards the kids, and asked if he could play with them. The kids also became excited for a monk to play with them, and said, "Yes." He took the lid off the utensil he had and started sailing it as a boat. He was saying, "Look, my boat is also sailing." Meanwhile other monks came there and saw him playing with water. They came to him and said, "Balmuni, what are you doing? Did you forget that as a monk you can not play with water? By playing with water, we caused harm to many water beings. We have taken a vow not to hurt any living beings. This is very bad. You have violated your vow and accumulated sins."
Balmuni Aimutta realized his mistake. He immediately started repenting, "Oh! What have I done? I promised my mother that I would not do any sinful activities. How sinful I am? How nice these monks are to remind me of my mistake! What would have happened if these monks had not come or seen me?" He was honestly regretful for what he did. He left with the other monks. Every monk has to recite the Iriyavahiyam Sutra after they come back to their place from outside. So Balmuni also recited this sutra. When he came to the part, "Panakkamne, Beeyakkamne, Panag-daga-matti....(if I have hurt any living beings of water, green grass, clay,...then I am asking for forgiveness," his repentance had no bound. He was very sorry for what he had done. He began thinking, "What did I do? I have destroyed so many living beings. How can I be free of these sins? How can I show my face to Lord Mahavir? Oh living beings, I have harmed you. Please forgive me of my sins. I will never commit these sins again." This sincere repentance did good for him. All of his destructive karmas were destroyed and he attained Kevaljnan (omniscience or perfect knowledge). He became Kevali.
After this, Kevali Aimutta Muni went to Lord Mahavir's assembly, and started walking towards the other Kevalis who were sitting there. Some senior munis noticed this, and they started telling him, "Oh, Aimuttaji!! Where are you going? That is the place for Kevalis to sit. Come over here where the other monks are sitting."
Lord Mahavir interrupted them and said, "Monks, you should not insult a Kevali. Aimutta Muni is no ordinary monk now. While reciting Iriyavahiyam Sutra, he destroyed all of his ghati (destructive) karmas, and became a Kevali."
The monks realized their mistake and thought, "There is no age barrier to be a kevali."
After finishing the rest of his life, Balmuni Aimutta attained salvation.
Jai jinendra.
All about laugh
Hello,
We laugh because it's good for us; mirth is a kind of social glue.
WHEN MOVIE STAR Julia Roberts erupts with her ear-to-ear megawatt laughter, we really love it. We all express ourselves in many ways, but laughter is the most enjoyable, peculiar and mysterious phenomenon.
Sounds of laughter are all around us. They are so pervasive that we tend to dismiss them. It is hard to believe that laughter can be a subject of serious scientific research.
Why do we laugh?
It is commonly understood that we laugh in response to jokes. But that's not absolutely correct.
Based on an analysis of 1,200 laughter episodes, psychology professor Robert Provine, of the University of Maryland, concludes that 80 per cent of laughter has nothing to do with humour.
In fact, we laugh at all occasions: we laugh when we are nervous, excited, tense, happy, tricked by someone, or simply because someone else is laughing or crying.
Doris Bergen, professor of educational psychology at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, says that while laughter is an innate characteristic, our reasons for laughing vary at different ages. Children, for example, laugh unconditionally while adults laugh for some reason or purpose.
Babies start giggling as a result of physical interaction from games such as peekaboo. Even at that early age, a baby laughs if she anticipates her father approaching her, but watches him tumbling and falling down.
When children get to preschool age, they begin understanding riddling patterns. They laugh at riddle-telling, regardless of whether they understand the point of the riddle.
Young children are estimated to laugh over 300 times a day - a reason why they seem to have more obvious fun than adults who average 20 times daily.
Not so long ago, laughter was considered an unsocial, sinister behavior. In the eighteenth century, Lord Chesterfield, writing to his son, said, ". . . there is nothing so illiberal, and so ill-bred, as audible laughter."
According to Oliver Goldsmith, laughter was the expression of "the vacant mind" and John Ray likened it as "the hiccup of a fool."
Today we have come a long way. Laughter is accepted as a natural, social behaviour. In fact, having a good sense of humour is regarded as a thoroughly desirable attribute by almost all of us, including human resource managers.
Recent surveys indicate that laughter can enhance the quality of our conversations and productivity. It makes people feel closer to each other.
In his book, Laughter: A Scientific Investigation, Provine says that laughter is the oil in the social machine, helping human interactions run more smoothly.
Provine reveals laughter is 30 times less likely to occur when a person is alone than when a person is with others.
We tend to think of laughter as being tee-hee or ha-ha or ho-ho sorts of sounds, but studies conducted by Vanderbilt psychologist Jo-Anne Bachorowski and Cornell psychologist Michael Owren indicate otherwise: laughers produce many different kinds of sounds, including grunts and snorts.
Bachorowski and Owren studied the way 97 young adults laugh in different kind of social pairings as they watched humorous scenes from films such as When Harry Met Sally or Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
In their research, published in the September 2000 issue of the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, the investigators found interesting gender differences in laughter sounds, with males tending to grunt and snort more often than females.
Women produced more musical laughter than men. These song-like laughs are "voiced," meaning that they involve the vocal folds, the tissues in the larynx involved in producing vowels and related sounds.
On average, men and women produced the same number of laughs, but men tended to laugh a "bit longer" than women.
A person's laughter was found to be dependent on the sex of his or her companion. When paired with friends of either sex, men laughed significantly more than men who were tested alone or with a male or female stranger.
Women, one the other hand, produced more laughs in the company of a male friend than females tested alone, with a female friend, or with a male stranger.
Laughter is greatly influential. In a study presented at the 138th Acoustic Society of America meeting, Bachorowski and Owren studied the impact that laughter sounds have on emotional responses in listeners.
In a quite room, undergraduate students listened to a set of 70 laughs over headphones. Fifty of the laughs (25 produced by males and 25 by females) were voiced. The remaining 20 laughs (10 produced by males and 10 by females) were unvoiced, sounding more like pants or cackles.
The students were asked to rate the laugh samples in terms of their friendliness, sexiness, how interested they would be in meeting the laugher, whether they thought the laugh should be included in a laugh track, and the extent to which it elicited a positive emotional response.
Regardless of the rating scheme, the researchers found that listeners were more likely to rate comparatively stereotypical, song-like laughs more positively than the other types.
"These results support the notion that one important function of laugh acoustics is to influence the emotional responses of listeners," the researchers conclude.
The science of laughter is in its infancy, but one thing is clear: laughter is good you.
Laughter stimulates our endocrine system, including the pituitary gland. The pituitary gland, in turn, stimulates release of endorphins and enkephalins, natural painkillers that are chemical cousins to opiates such as morphine and heroin.
Dr. Lee S. Berk, at Loma Linda University School of Medicine and Public Health in California, and endocrinologist Stanley Tan studied groups of average adults and found that both arms of the immune system got a boost out of laughter.
Participants faced a solid hour of videos of comedians, while a control group sat quietly out of earshot. The researchers took blood samples at 10-minute intervals before, during and after the laughter workout.
The laughter group showed increases in the good hormones - such as endorphins and neurotransmitters, and decreased levels of the stress hormones - such as cortisol and adrenaline.
Laughter also creates an increase in the number and activity level of natural killer cells, which attack virus-infected cells and some types of cancer cells. Laughter can also keep allergies at bay. According to a report in the Journal of the American Medical Association, Dr. Hajime Kimata of Unitika Central Hospital, Japan, studied the effects of laughter on patients allergic to dust mites, cedar pollen and cat dander.
Skin prick tests using a commercial allergen were performed on 26 patients before and after they viewed the Charlie Chaplin comedy Modern Times. During the same procedure, a control group watched a video featuring weather information.
The results showed that allergic reactions of comedy watchers were reduced for four hours after the screening. In contrast, there was no effect on allergic responses of weather watchers.
Laughter, along with an active sense of humour, may also help protect against heart attacks, according to a study by cardiologists at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore.
The researchers found that people with heart disease were 40 per cent less likely to laugh in a variety of situations compared to people of the same age without heart disease.
An old saying puts laughter in its true perspective and spirit: "He who laughs, lasts."
Bye
We laugh because it's good for us; mirth is a kind of social glue.
WHEN MOVIE STAR Julia Roberts erupts with her ear-to-ear megawatt laughter, we really love it. We all express ourselves in many ways, but laughter is the most enjoyable, peculiar and mysterious phenomenon.
Sounds of laughter are all around us. They are so pervasive that we tend to dismiss them. It is hard to believe that laughter can be a subject of serious scientific research.
Why do we laugh?
It is commonly understood that we laugh in response to jokes. But that's not absolutely correct.
Based on an analysis of 1,200 laughter episodes, psychology professor Robert Provine, of the University of Maryland, concludes that 80 per cent of laughter has nothing to do with humour.
In fact, we laugh at all occasions: we laugh when we are nervous, excited, tense, happy, tricked by someone, or simply because someone else is laughing or crying.
Doris Bergen, professor of educational psychology at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, says that while laughter is an innate characteristic, our reasons for laughing vary at different ages. Children, for example, laugh unconditionally while adults laugh for some reason or purpose.
Babies start giggling as a result of physical interaction from games such as peekaboo. Even at that early age, a baby laughs if she anticipates her father approaching her, but watches him tumbling and falling down.
When children get to preschool age, they begin understanding riddling patterns. They laugh at riddle-telling, regardless of whether they understand the point of the riddle.
Young children are estimated to laugh over 300 times a day - a reason why they seem to have more obvious fun than adults who average 20 times daily.
Not so long ago, laughter was considered an unsocial, sinister behavior. In the eighteenth century, Lord Chesterfield, writing to his son, said, ". . . there is nothing so illiberal, and so ill-bred, as audible laughter."
According to Oliver Goldsmith, laughter was the expression of "the vacant mind" and John Ray likened it as "the hiccup of a fool."
Today we have come a long way. Laughter is accepted as a natural, social behaviour. In fact, having a good sense of humour is regarded as a thoroughly desirable attribute by almost all of us, including human resource managers.
Recent surveys indicate that laughter can enhance the quality of our conversations and productivity. It makes people feel closer to each other.
In his book, Laughter: A Scientific Investigation, Provine says that laughter is the oil in the social machine, helping human interactions run more smoothly.
Provine reveals laughter is 30 times less likely to occur when a person is alone than when a person is with others.
We tend to think of laughter as being tee-hee or ha-ha or ho-ho sorts of sounds, but studies conducted by Vanderbilt psychologist Jo-Anne Bachorowski and Cornell psychologist Michael Owren indicate otherwise: laughers produce many different kinds of sounds, including grunts and snorts.
Bachorowski and Owren studied the way 97 young adults laugh in different kind of social pairings as they watched humorous scenes from films such as When Harry Met Sally or Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
In their research, published in the September 2000 issue of the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, the investigators found interesting gender differences in laughter sounds, with males tending to grunt and snort more often than females.
Women produced more musical laughter than men. These song-like laughs are "voiced," meaning that they involve the vocal folds, the tissues in the larynx involved in producing vowels and related sounds.
On average, men and women produced the same number of laughs, but men tended to laugh a "bit longer" than women.
A person's laughter was found to be dependent on the sex of his or her companion. When paired with friends of either sex, men laughed significantly more than men who were tested alone or with a male or female stranger.
Women, one the other hand, produced more laughs in the company of a male friend than females tested alone, with a female friend, or with a male stranger.
Laughter is greatly influential. In a study presented at the 138th Acoustic Society of America meeting, Bachorowski and Owren studied the impact that laughter sounds have on emotional responses in listeners.
In a quite room, undergraduate students listened to a set of 70 laughs over headphones. Fifty of the laughs (25 produced by males and 25 by females) were voiced. The remaining 20 laughs (10 produced by males and 10 by females) were unvoiced, sounding more like pants or cackles.
The students were asked to rate the laugh samples in terms of their friendliness, sexiness, how interested they would be in meeting the laugher, whether they thought the laugh should be included in a laugh track, and the extent to which it elicited a positive emotional response.
Regardless of the rating scheme, the researchers found that listeners were more likely to rate comparatively stereotypical, song-like laughs more positively than the other types.
"These results support the notion that one important function of laugh acoustics is to influence the emotional responses of listeners," the researchers conclude.
The science of laughter is in its infancy, but one thing is clear: laughter is good you.
Laughter stimulates our endocrine system, including the pituitary gland. The pituitary gland, in turn, stimulates release of endorphins and enkephalins, natural painkillers that are chemical cousins to opiates such as morphine and heroin.
Dr. Lee S. Berk, at Loma Linda University School of Medicine and Public Health in California, and endocrinologist Stanley Tan studied groups of average adults and found that both arms of the immune system got a boost out of laughter.
Participants faced a solid hour of videos of comedians, while a control group sat quietly out of earshot. The researchers took blood samples at 10-minute intervals before, during and after the laughter workout.
The laughter group showed increases in the good hormones - such as endorphins and neurotransmitters, and decreased levels of the stress hormones - such as cortisol and adrenaline.
Laughter also creates an increase in the number and activity level of natural killer cells, which attack virus-infected cells and some types of cancer cells. Laughter can also keep allergies at bay. According to a report in the Journal of the American Medical Association, Dr. Hajime Kimata of Unitika Central Hospital, Japan, studied the effects of laughter on patients allergic to dust mites, cedar pollen and cat dander.
Skin prick tests using a commercial allergen were performed on 26 patients before and after they viewed the Charlie Chaplin comedy Modern Times. During the same procedure, a control group watched a video featuring weather information.
The results showed that allergic reactions of comedy watchers were reduced for four hours after the screening. In contrast, there was no effect on allergic responses of weather watchers.
Laughter, along with an active sense of humour, may also help protect against heart attacks, according to a study by cardiologists at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore.
The researchers found that people with heart disease were 40 per cent less likely to laugh in a variety of situations compared to people of the same age without heart disease.
An old saying puts laughter in its true perspective and spirit: "He who laughs, lasts."
Bye
Best way to invest money
Hello,
Opening an investing account may seem like an exciting way to build a solid financial future. But there are a few things to think about before getting started. It's not as easy as plunking down a thousand dollars on your favorite stock or mutual fund. Or at least, it shouldn't be. Here are five things to keep in mind:
1. Know your stuff. While most of us will always remain strangers to Wall Street and amateurs in the world of investments, you can take some steps to get acquainted with a few basic strategies. You don't want to throw money at an investment officer who will take advantage of your lack of knowledge to make a killing for himself while leaving you bankrupt. Sign up for a beginners' investment seminar or a community college non-credit class. You may be able to find one online. If nothing more, at least read a book or two or get some audiotapes from the library. Learn the terminology and introductory investment techniques, like rolling stocks or later, trading options. Hopefully you will be in a better position to protect your financial interests.
2. Find a reputable trader or investment company. Don't go with a fly-by-night enterprise, no matter how good their offers sound. Stick with a reputable dealer who cannot easily swindle you out of your life savings. You may want to ask someone you trust and whose investments seem to be doing well for a recommendation. You also can browse several firms online to find one that meets with your approval. Call to talk with someone on the phone or schedule an interview before making an investment commitment. Discuss low, medium, and high risks of sinking your money into various portfolio scenarios.
3. Don't put all your eggs in one basket. In other words, diversify. If you plan to invest $5,000 at first, don't put it all into one stock. If that company folds, you could lose the entire amount. Instead, talk with your investment representative about putting some of the money into a mutual fund, and another portion into bonds. That way, if one strategy doesn't work, the other might keep your investment afloat.
4. Make regular contributions. Even if you can afford just $25 a month, continue adding to your investment portfolio. Over time that money will add up and before you know it, you may have thousands of dollars in your investment account. If you have trouble getting the contribution to your investment company, arrange for a direct deduction or deposit. That way you'll never see or miss that money.
5. Invest only what you can afford to lose. Don't sell your house, car, and the kids' college education to put it all on a hot tip. Contribute an amount similar to what you might spend for a recreational pursuit, such as a club membership or a monthly hobby expense like golf. That way, if the worst possible scenario unfolds, you won't lose more than you can afford and the family's well being will not be threatened. You can rest easy knowing that disaster is not lurking around the corner.
These suggestions are just the tip of the iceberg. Find out more from a reliable source before putting your hard earned money into an investment account. If and when you do take the plunge, keep an eye on your assets to be sure they are working for you, not vice versa.
Bye
Jai jinendra.
Opening an investing account may seem like an exciting way to build a solid financial future. But there are a few things to think about before getting started. It's not as easy as plunking down a thousand dollars on your favorite stock or mutual fund. Or at least, it shouldn't be. Here are five things to keep in mind:
1. Know your stuff. While most of us will always remain strangers to Wall Street and amateurs in the world of investments, you can take some steps to get acquainted with a few basic strategies. You don't want to throw money at an investment officer who will take advantage of your lack of knowledge to make a killing for himself while leaving you bankrupt. Sign up for a beginners' investment seminar or a community college non-credit class. You may be able to find one online. If nothing more, at least read a book or two or get some audiotapes from the library. Learn the terminology and introductory investment techniques, like rolling stocks or later, trading options. Hopefully you will be in a better position to protect your financial interests.
2. Find a reputable trader or investment company. Don't go with a fly-by-night enterprise, no matter how good their offers sound. Stick with a reputable dealer who cannot easily swindle you out of your life savings. You may want to ask someone you trust and whose investments seem to be doing well for a recommendation. You also can browse several firms online to find one that meets with your approval. Call to talk with someone on the phone or schedule an interview before making an investment commitment. Discuss low, medium, and high risks of sinking your money into various portfolio scenarios.
3. Don't put all your eggs in one basket. In other words, diversify. If you plan to invest $5,000 at first, don't put it all into one stock. If that company folds, you could lose the entire amount. Instead, talk with your investment representative about putting some of the money into a mutual fund, and another portion into bonds. That way, if one strategy doesn't work, the other might keep your investment afloat.
4. Make regular contributions. Even if you can afford just $25 a month, continue adding to your investment portfolio. Over time that money will add up and before you know it, you may have thousands of dollars in your investment account. If you have trouble getting the contribution to your investment company, arrange for a direct deduction or deposit. That way you'll never see or miss that money.
5. Invest only what you can afford to lose. Don't sell your house, car, and the kids' college education to put it all on a hot tip. Contribute an amount similar to what you might spend for a recreational pursuit, such as a club membership or a monthly hobby expense like golf. That way, if the worst possible scenario unfolds, you won't lose more than you can afford and the family's well being will not be threatened. You can rest easy knowing that disaster is not lurking around the corner.
These suggestions are just the tip of the iceberg. Find out more from a reliable source before putting your hard earned money into an investment account. If and when you do take the plunge, keep an eye on your assets to be sure they are working for you, not vice versa.
Bye
Jai jinendra.
For Interview
Hello,
10 must to do things prior to an interview
A day or two before the interview most of us have butterflies in out stomach because we are probably too nervous to even say that we are nervous and feel anxious. The internet is filled with tips and tricks for interview and how to face them; often reading different articles could mean losing track on information about a specific top. The help that you need is 10 must to do things prior to an interview. If you are able to prepare well for an interview then that’s usually half the work done, you are looking to start the interview on the right note and using these 10 must to do things prior to an interview you have given yourself the best chance to beginning an interview in the right earnest.
1.Review your CV. In all likelihood we all remember every word of our curriculum vitae. That is a good thing but when you are faced with an interview when the most experienced people who have given many interviews might fumble. This can be embarrassing to say the least; you would not like your new employer to think you are taking things lightly in an interview. It’s always a good practice to sit down a day before the actual interview and review your curriculum vitae.
2.2. Imagine the interview – Here the objective is to prepare oneself for the atmosphere that you would face in the interview hall. You have prepare for an interview brilliantly but once you reach the interview venue and you see scores for people already present there it could be nerve racking. But if you imagine this situation a day prior to an interview then it is as if you were expecting this and that’s what is happening so there’s nothing out of the unusual. You walk in confidently and seeing such a confident person in you some other people might feel uncomfortable.
3.3. Dress appropriately – Who said looks do not matter, well they do and a lot. No one wants a shabbily dressed person working in the office it just brings bad taste and you could be the one who’s never asked for a cup of coffee. Do not wear a t-shirt even; you can wear a stripes office wear shirt and a neat trouser. Your appearance must be of a polished person, donning a professional & conservative look would be really cool.
4.4. Knowing the Company – One of the things that might really work in your favor is that if you can take some time to research about the company you are going to give an interview to then that’s one tool that will be much appreciated. All you need to do is visit the online website of the company and gather information regarding what business in company is involved, what products or services they sell, visit the about us page for quick review of the company’s history etc.
5.Presenting something unique – A unique presentation depends whether it applies to your prospective job or not. If you are applying for a job in an architectural company. In that case you can carry some of your best design work and sheets. That would be a great way to impress the interviewers or recruiters that you have the ability and skills, the work will speak for you.
6.Positive visualization of the interview – As said earlier if you walk into an interview with the world of confidence then people around you will feel threatened, though that’s not the aim it certainly gives you an advantage. By creating a positive visualization of the interview you are preparing yourself to face the interview and prepare your mind for it. See yourself as if you are inside the interview room and seated comfortable answering all questions the recruiter poses to you. When you face the actual interview you are doing something that you already knew you would be.
7.Create a questions list – An interview is not to be seen as if it’s a person interrogation. The interview is a “getting to know you” meeting, which means you can pose questions to the interviewers as well. Please do not start with questions like what are the work hours or how much salary will I draw. Instead ask questions that show you are ready to do the job and present you as a person who is quick to get start with the task presented to you.
8.Prepare yourself to impress – it’s all in the mind, usually a screening interview will not last more than 15 minutes, in those 15 minutes you will have will the opportunity to impress your would be would recruiters. Talk confidently and dress up in appropriate attrite, do not look as if you do not belong to that job, instead you should prepare yourself to appear as candidate that is willing to take on a challenging job.
9.Prepare interview material – Sometimes people aren’t preparing well a day ahead of the interview. They are so tensed they think watching movie will help and early morning they can’t even locate their interview file. Relax and create a small list of your interview material, gather it can place all papers, curriculum vitae, previous appointment letters all related documents and put them in your file. Review if every paper is in order and relax.
10.Sleep well – Once you are have done on of the 9 above must to thing prior to an interview its time that you get much needed rest a day before the interview. Once you are sure that you have prepared confidently and you have reviewed your curriculum vitae then a good night’s sleep can do a world of good for you. If you cannot get a good sleep next morning you will definitely feel lethargic and might have to take aspirin to feel good. A good night’s sleep will ensure you are feeling good about everything the next morning and you will have all the energy and confidence to face the interview.
Getting a job is not guaranteed every time but by preparing for it well you are giving yourself the best chance to get a job. With these 10 must to things prior to an interview we simple aim to help you prepare for an interview with tips. Preparation is important to success in any field so if you prepare for an interview well then you are going to get a job.
Bye
Jai jinendra
10 must to do things prior to an interview
A day or two before the interview most of us have butterflies in out stomach because we are probably too nervous to even say that we are nervous and feel anxious. The internet is filled with tips and tricks for interview and how to face them; often reading different articles could mean losing track on information about a specific top. The help that you need is 10 must to do things prior to an interview. If you are able to prepare well for an interview then that’s usually half the work done, you are looking to start the interview on the right note and using these 10 must to do things prior to an interview you have given yourself the best chance to beginning an interview in the right earnest.
1.Review your CV. In all likelihood we all remember every word of our curriculum vitae. That is a good thing but when you are faced with an interview when the most experienced people who have given many interviews might fumble. This can be embarrassing to say the least; you would not like your new employer to think you are taking things lightly in an interview. It’s always a good practice to sit down a day before the actual interview and review your curriculum vitae.
2.2. Imagine the interview – Here the objective is to prepare oneself for the atmosphere that you would face in the interview hall. You have prepare for an interview brilliantly but once you reach the interview venue and you see scores for people already present there it could be nerve racking. But if you imagine this situation a day prior to an interview then it is as if you were expecting this and that’s what is happening so there’s nothing out of the unusual. You walk in confidently and seeing such a confident person in you some other people might feel uncomfortable.
3.3. Dress appropriately – Who said looks do not matter, well they do and a lot. No one wants a shabbily dressed person working in the office it just brings bad taste and you could be the one who’s never asked for a cup of coffee. Do not wear a t-shirt even; you can wear a stripes office wear shirt and a neat trouser. Your appearance must be of a polished person, donning a professional & conservative look would be really cool.
4.4. Knowing the Company – One of the things that might really work in your favor is that if you can take some time to research about the company you are going to give an interview to then that’s one tool that will be much appreciated. All you need to do is visit the online website of the company and gather information regarding what business in company is involved, what products or services they sell, visit the about us page for quick review of the company’s history etc.
5.Presenting something unique – A unique presentation depends whether it applies to your prospective job or not. If you are applying for a job in an architectural company. In that case you can carry some of your best design work and sheets. That would be a great way to impress the interviewers or recruiters that you have the ability and skills, the work will speak for you.
6.Positive visualization of the interview – As said earlier if you walk into an interview with the world of confidence then people around you will feel threatened, though that’s not the aim it certainly gives you an advantage. By creating a positive visualization of the interview you are preparing yourself to face the interview and prepare your mind for it. See yourself as if you are inside the interview room and seated comfortable answering all questions the recruiter poses to you. When you face the actual interview you are doing something that you already knew you would be.
7.Create a questions list – An interview is not to be seen as if it’s a person interrogation. The interview is a “getting to know you” meeting, which means you can pose questions to the interviewers as well. Please do not start with questions like what are the work hours or how much salary will I draw. Instead ask questions that show you are ready to do the job and present you as a person who is quick to get start with the task presented to you.
8.Prepare yourself to impress – it’s all in the mind, usually a screening interview will not last more than 15 minutes, in those 15 minutes you will have will the opportunity to impress your would be would recruiters. Talk confidently and dress up in appropriate attrite, do not look as if you do not belong to that job, instead you should prepare yourself to appear as candidate that is willing to take on a challenging job.
9.Prepare interview material – Sometimes people aren’t preparing well a day ahead of the interview. They are so tensed they think watching movie will help and early morning they can’t even locate their interview file. Relax and create a small list of your interview material, gather it can place all papers, curriculum vitae, previous appointment letters all related documents and put them in your file. Review if every paper is in order and relax.
10.Sleep well – Once you are have done on of the 9 above must to thing prior to an interview its time that you get much needed rest a day before the interview. Once you are sure that you have prepared confidently and you have reviewed your curriculum vitae then a good night’s sleep can do a world of good for you. If you cannot get a good sleep next morning you will definitely feel lethargic and might have to take aspirin to feel good. A good night’s sleep will ensure you are feeling good about everything the next morning and you will have all the energy and confidence to face the interview.
Getting a job is not guaranteed every time but by preparing for it well you are giving yourself the best chance to get a job. With these 10 must to things prior to an interview we simple aim to help you prepare for an interview with tips. Preparation is important to success in any field so if you prepare for an interview well then you are going to get a job.
Bye
Jai jinendra
Khamosh pyaar
Hello,
From the very Begining, the girl's family objected strongly on her dating this guy. Saying that it has got to do with family background & that the girl will have to suffer for the rest of her life if she were to be with him.
Due to family's pressure, the couple quarrel very often. Though the girl love the guy deeply, but she always ask him: "How deep is your love for me?"
As the guy is not good with his words, this often cause the girl to be very upset. With that & the family's pressure, the girl often vent her anger on him. As for him, he only endure it in silence.
After a couple of years, the guy finally graduated & decided to further his studies in overseas. Before leaving, he proposed to the girl: "I'm not very good with words. But all I know is that I love you. If you allow me, I will take care of you for the rest of my life. As for your family, I'll try my best to talk them round. Will you marry me?"
The girl agreed, & with the guy's determination, the family finally gave in & agreed to let them get married. So before he leave, they got engaged.
The girl went out to the working society, whereas the guy was overseas, continuing his studies. They sent their love through emails & phone calls. Though it's hard, but both never thought of giving up.
One day, while the girl was on her way to work, she was knocked down by a car that lost control. When she woke up, she saw her parents beside her bed. She realised that she was badly injured. Seeing her mum crying, she wanted to comfort her. But she realized that all that could come out of her mouth was just a sigh. She has lost her voice......
The doctors says that the impact on her brain has caused her to lose her voice. Listening to her parents' comfort, but with nothing coming out from her, she broke down.
During the stay in hospital, besides silence cry,.....it's still just silence cry that companied her. Upon reaching home, everything seems to be the same. Except for the ringing tone of the phone. Which pierced into her heart everytime it rang. She does not wish to let the guy know. & not wanting to be a burden to him, she wrote a letter to him saying that she does not wish to wait any longer.
With that, she sent the ring back to him. In return, the guy sent millions & millions of reply, and countless of phonecalls,.. all the girl could do, besides crying, is still crying....
The parents decided to move away, hoping that she could eventually forget everything & be happy.
With a new environment, the girl learn sign language & started a new life. Telling herself everyday that she must forget the guy. One day, her friend came & told her that he's back. She asked her friend not to let him know what happened to her. Since then, there wasn't anymore news of him.
A year has passed & her friend came with an envelope, containing an invitation card for the guy's wedding. The girl was shattered. When she open the letter, she saw her name in it instead.
When she was about to ask her friend what's going on, she saw the guy standing in front of her. He used sign language telling her "I've spent a year's time to learn sign language. Just to let you know that I've not forgotten our promise. Let me have the chance to be your voice. I Love You. With that, he slipped the ring back into her finger. The girl finally smiled.
Bye
Jai jinendra
From the very Begining, the girl's family objected strongly on her dating this guy. Saying that it has got to do with family background & that the girl will have to suffer for the rest of her life if she were to be with him.
Due to family's pressure, the couple quarrel very often. Though the girl love the guy deeply, but she always ask him: "How deep is your love for me?"
As the guy is not good with his words, this often cause the girl to be very upset. With that & the family's pressure, the girl often vent her anger on him. As for him, he only endure it in silence.
After a couple of years, the guy finally graduated & decided to further his studies in overseas. Before leaving, he proposed to the girl: "I'm not very good with words. But all I know is that I love you. If you allow me, I will take care of you for the rest of my life. As for your family, I'll try my best to talk them round. Will you marry me?"
The girl agreed, & with the guy's determination, the family finally gave in & agreed to let them get married. So before he leave, they got engaged.
The girl went out to the working society, whereas the guy was overseas, continuing his studies. They sent their love through emails & phone calls. Though it's hard, but both never thought of giving up.
One day, while the girl was on her way to work, she was knocked down by a car that lost control. When she woke up, she saw her parents beside her bed. She realised that she was badly injured. Seeing her mum crying, she wanted to comfort her. But she realized that all that could come out of her mouth was just a sigh. She has lost her voice......
The doctors says that the impact on her brain has caused her to lose her voice. Listening to her parents' comfort, but with nothing coming out from her, she broke down.
During the stay in hospital, besides silence cry,.....it's still just silence cry that companied her. Upon reaching home, everything seems to be the same. Except for the ringing tone of the phone. Which pierced into her heart everytime it rang. She does not wish to let the guy know. & not wanting to be a burden to him, she wrote a letter to him saying that she does not wish to wait any longer.
With that, she sent the ring back to him. In return, the guy sent millions & millions of reply, and countless of phonecalls,.. all the girl could do, besides crying, is still crying....
The parents decided to move away, hoping that she could eventually forget everything & be happy.
With a new environment, the girl learn sign language & started a new life. Telling herself everyday that she must forget the guy. One day, her friend came & told her that he's back. She asked her friend not to let him know what happened to her. Since then, there wasn't anymore news of him.
A year has passed & her friend came with an envelope, containing an invitation card for the guy's wedding. The girl was shattered. When she open the letter, she saw her name in it instead.
When she was about to ask her friend what's going on, she saw the guy standing in front of her. He used sign language telling her "I've spent a year's time to learn sign language. Just to let you know that I've not forgotten our promise. Let me have the chance to be your voice. I Love You. With that, he slipped the ring back into her finger. The girl finally smiled.
Bye
Jai jinendra
SHE
Hello,
She gave the meaning
To this empty world of mine
That never did
Another love another time
She came into my life
And made a living fine
She fills my heart
She fills my heart
With very special things
With angel songs
With wild imaginings
She fills my soul
With soo much love
That anywhere i go
Im never lonely
With her along who could b lonely
I reach for her hand
Its always there
How long does it last
Can love be measured by the hours in a day
I have no answers no
But this much i can say
I know ill need her till this love song burn away
And she;ll b there...
How long does it last
Can love b measured by the hours in a day
I have no answers no
But this much i can say
I know ill need her till this love song burn away
And she'll be there...
Bye
Jai jinendra
She gave the meaning
To this empty world of mine
That never did
Another love another time
She came into my life
And made a living fine
She fills my heart
She fills my heart
With very special things
With angel songs
With wild imaginings
She fills my soul
With soo much love
That anywhere i go
Im never lonely
With her along who could b lonely
I reach for her hand
Its always there
How long does it last
Can love be measured by the hours in a day
I have no answers no
But this much i can say
I know ill need her till this love song burn away
And she;ll b there...
How long does it last
Can love b measured by the hours in a day
I have no answers no
But this much i can say
I know ill need her till this love song burn away
And she'll be there...
Bye
Jai jinendra
A writer
Hello, 1.
Be honest with yourself about the quality of your writing skills. Chances are excellent that a busy editor will not continue to read your submission if she sees lots of grammatical errors.
2.
Step 2
Take a writing course or workshop if you do not have an English, journalism or related degree. You need to hear writing instructors and other writers comment on the quality of your work, and you need the experience of having to write well on deadline.
3.
Step 3
Learn how to write an excellent query letter to an editor. In it you need to briefly propose your idea for an article, give your qualifications and make it all sound as though it is the most wonderful idea ever to cross the editor's desk.
4.
Step 4
Buy the current year's "Writer's Market," shown on this page as the featured book. In addition to listing numerous publishing houses and consumer magazines, it gives integral information that all writers must know - such as how to write a query letter - and an overview of the business end of a writing career.
5.
Step 5
Use Web sites for writers to further develop your writing skills and to peruse freelance job opportunities. A simple search for "writing" or "writers" at a major search engine like Google should get you off to a good start.
6.
Step 6
Contact your local newspaper or magazine and ask if you may submit a completed article "on spec." This means the editor is under no obligation to pay you for your work, but is willing to read it. Make certain you peruse back issues of the publication first to confirm that your idea has not already been covered.
Tips & Warnings
*
You need to develop a portfolio of "clips," photocopies of articles that prove you have experience as a professional writer. This is often a catch-22 situation: You need clips to show an assigning editor, but you cannot get a writing assignment unless you have clips to show. Fortunately, you can volunteer your writing services to community publications or organizations and use the resulting clips to build your portfolio.
*
Writing for online communities can be a good way to build a strong portfolio. which is an effort to build the world's largest free source of "how-to" information. Writing for communities on a volunteer basis can help you develop a tangible portfolio which you can show to editors. It can also give you valuable experience with the editing process itself, because your work will be edited by other community members.
*
Don't waste your time "chatting" with writer wannabes online. Spend your time studying the field, writing, sending query letters and marketing your work.
*
You must expect rejection and develop a thick skin when you experience it.
*
Bye
Jai jinendra
Be honest with yourself about the quality of your writing skills. Chances are excellent that a busy editor will not continue to read your submission if she sees lots of grammatical errors.
2.
Step 2
Take a writing course or workshop if you do not have an English, journalism or related degree. You need to hear writing instructors and other writers comment on the quality of your work, and you need the experience of having to write well on deadline.
3.
Step 3
Learn how to write an excellent query letter to an editor. In it you need to briefly propose your idea for an article, give your qualifications and make it all sound as though it is the most wonderful idea ever to cross the editor's desk.
4.
Step 4
Buy the current year's "Writer's Market," shown on this page as the featured book. In addition to listing numerous publishing houses and consumer magazines, it gives integral information that all writers must know - such as how to write a query letter - and an overview of the business end of a writing career.
5.
Step 5
Use Web sites for writers to further develop your writing skills and to peruse freelance job opportunities. A simple search for "writing" or "writers" at a major search engine like Google should get you off to a good start.
6.
Step 6
Contact your local newspaper or magazine and ask if you may submit a completed article "on spec." This means the editor is under no obligation to pay you for your work, but is willing to read it. Make certain you peruse back issues of the publication first to confirm that your idea has not already been covered.
Tips & Warnings
*
You need to develop a portfolio of "clips," photocopies of articles that prove you have experience as a professional writer. This is often a catch-22 situation: You need clips to show an assigning editor, but you cannot get a writing assignment unless you have clips to show. Fortunately, you can volunteer your writing services to community publications or organizations and use the resulting clips to build your portfolio.
*
Writing for online communities can be a good way to build a strong portfolio. which is an effort to build the world's largest free source of "how-to" information. Writing for communities on a volunteer basis can help you develop a tangible portfolio which you can show to editors. It can also give you valuable experience with the editing process itself, because your work will be edited by other community members.
*
Don't waste your time "chatting" with writer wannabes online. Spend your time studying the field, writing, sending query letters and marketing your work.
*
You must expect rejection and develop a thick skin when you experience it.
*
Bye
Jai jinendra
EARN MONEY
Hello,
1. Earn Income.
Clearly, the more money you make, the faster you can reach that milestone, but that doesn’t mean your average Joe with a average income can’t obtain millionaire status. The current median income in this country ranges between $35,000-$60,000, depending on where you live. Better yet, get married so you have dual incomes. The wonderful thing about having dual incomes is that even with two people in the household, your income may double, but your expenses typically don’t.
If you don’t earn even an average income, all is not lost. It is up to you to do something about it. A negative attitude about your job or your earning potential won’t change anything. Be proactive and make the decision to improve your situation. It is your life, so take control and realize that things don’t change overnight. It may take a few years of slow growth before you reach the point where you want to be, but you can do it if you try. Remember, short of inheriting money from a relative or winning the lottery, you will need income to become a millionaire.
2. Live Within Your Means.
Ok, so you have income but now what? It doesn’t matter how much money you make if you spend it all or spend even more than you make. It might be nice to eat out at nice restaurants every night, or to always be on the cutting edge of designer fashion but, this will only make you feel like a millionaire. This doesn’t mean you have to live a miserable and miserly lifestyle, but you simply need to live reasonably.
Start by purchasing a home that you can comfortably afford and drive vehicles that suit your lifestyle without straining your budget. You don’t have to be pulling down $75,000 a year and drive a 1992 Civic Hatchback or live in a dump, but throwing your money at a 4,000 square foot home in a gated community with luxury cars or SUVs that cost as much as one year of your salary won’t help you become a millionaire. Some may argue that an expensive home and real estate in general is a good way to become a millionaire, but I will touch on that later.
3. Save Money.
This isn’t rocket science but if you earn a reasonable income and you live within your means, guess what, you will probably have money left over to save. The problem most people have is they put savings last, as an afterthought. People pay bills, buy things and then whatever is leftover they try to save. That is the wrong way to save. I’m sure you’ve heard it before, but pay yourself first. Whether it is $100 a month or $1,000 a month, think of the savings as a bill that needs to be paid and do it regularly. If you are unable to save money you will find that your only wealth is in the form of material things. Start saving today with a high-yield online savings account.
4. Invest Wisely.
Now that you are saving money, you need to invest it wisely. Sticking it under the mattress isn’t going to help you reach your goals any faster. You don’t have to read the Wall Street Journal or watch CNBC everyday while actively managing your portfolio in order to be a good investor. Some of the best investment advice is to simply buy and hold and to buy low and sell high.
It is also important to remember that real estate is part of your investment picture, but it shouldn’t be all of it. Too many people stake almost everything they have into a primary residence and expect it to appreciate in value. Just like any investment, generally speaking, over time you will make money. There isn’t much debate about that, but relying heavily on real estate is no different than if you rely on one stock to fund your retirement.
You can become a millionaire by simply buying a single stock and holding onto it for 20 years if it goes up significantly just like you can buy a home $500,000 home and have it double in value in 20 years. Take a lot of the risk out of the picture by making sure all of your eggs aren’t in the same basket and develop an investment strategy that will provide steady growth.
5. Stick With Your Plan.
If you have done the previous four items the only thing left to do is to continue doing it and stick to the plan. As far as income is concerned, always be on the lookout for ways to increase your income, whether it is through climbing the ladder at your current job, finding work elsewhere, or maybe even starting a business on the side. Increased income will mean you can save even more, provided you aren’t foolishly spending the additional money. As that additional money gets tucked away into savings or investments it will continue to grow even more quickly.
It Isn’t Hard to Do if You Work at It
Unfortunately, most people are looking for a way to get rich quick or to capitalize on the next big thing. It is true that some people have made their wealth through playing the real estate market, while others have done so by investing in a few stocks that exploded, but this is the exception and not the norm. If the above list seems overly simplistic, that’s good.
Bye
Jai jinendra.
1. Earn Income.
Clearly, the more money you make, the faster you can reach that milestone, but that doesn’t mean your average Joe with a average income can’t obtain millionaire status. The current median income in this country ranges between $35,000-$60,000, depending on where you live. Better yet, get married so you have dual incomes. The wonderful thing about having dual incomes is that even with two people in the household, your income may double, but your expenses typically don’t.
If you don’t earn even an average income, all is not lost. It is up to you to do something about it. A negative attitude about your job or your earning potential won’t change anything. Be proactive and make the decision to improve your situation. It is your life, so take control and realize that things don’t change overnight. It may take a few years of slow growth before you reach the point where you want to be, but you can do it if you try. Remember, short of inheriting money from a relative or winning the lottery, you will need income to become a millionaire.
2. Live Within Your Means.
Ok, so you have income but now what? It doesn’t matter how much money you make if you spend it all or spend even more than you make. It might be nice to eat out at nice restaurants every night, or to always be on the cutting edge of designer fashion but, this will only make you feel like a millionaire. This doesn’t mean you have to live a miserable and miserly lifestyle, but you simply need to live reasonably.
Start by purchasing a home that you can comfortably afford and drive vehicles that suit your lifestyle without straining your budget. You don’t have to be pulling down $75,000 a year and drive a 1992 Civic Hatchback or live in a dump, but throwing your money at a 4,000 square foot home in a gated community with luxury cars or SUVs that cost as much as one year of your salary won’t help you become a millionaire. Some may argue that an expensive home and real estate in general is a good way to become a millionaire, but I will touch on that later.
3. Save Money.
This isn’t rocket science but if you earn a reasonable income and you live within your means, guess what, you will probably have money left over to save. The problem most people have is they put savings last, as an afterthought. People pay bills, buy things and then whatever is leftover they try to save. That is the wrong way to save. I’m sure you’ve heard it before, but pay yourself first. Whether it is $100 a month or $1,000 a month, think of the savings as a bill that needs to be paid and do it regularly. If you are unable to save money you will find that your only wealth is in the form of material things. Start saving today with a high-yield online savings account.
4. Invest Wisely.
Now that you are saving money, you need to invest it wisely. Sticking it under the mattress isn’t going to help you reach your goals any faster. You don’t have to read the Wall Street Journal or watch CNBC everyday while actively managing your portfolio in order to be a good investor. Some of the best investment advice is to simply buy and hold and to buy low and sell high.
It is also important to remember that real estate is part of your investment picture, but it shouldn’t be all of it. Too many people stake almost everything they have into a primary residence and expect it to appreciate in value. Just like any investment, generally speaking, over time you will make money. There isn’t much debate about that, but relying heavily on real estate is no different than if you rely on one stock to fund your retirement.
You can become a millionaire by simply buying a single stock and holding onto it for 20 years if it goes up significantly just like you can buy a home $500,000 home and have it double in value in 20 years. Take a lot of the risk out of the picture by making sure all of your eggs aren’t in the same basket and develop an investment strategy that will provide steady growth.
5. Stick With Your Plan.
If you have done the previous four items the only thing left to do is to continue doing it and stick to the plan. As far as income is concerned, always be on the lookout for ways to increase your income, whether it is through climbing the ladder at your current job, finding work elsewhere, or maybe even starting a business on the side. Increased income will mean you can save even more, provided you aren’t foolishly spending the additional money. As that additional money gets tucked away into savings or investments it will continue to grow even more quickly.
It Isn’t Hard to Do if You Work at It
Unfortunately, most people are looking for a way to get rich quick or to capitalize on the next big thing. It is true that some people have made their wealth through playing the real estate market, while others have done so by investing in a few stocks that exploded, but this is the exception and not the norm. If the above list seems overly simplistic, that’s good.
Bye
Jai jinendra.
Good parent
Hello,
1. Express love and affection.
* A gentle cuddle, a little encouragement, appreciation, approval or even a smile can go a long way to boost the confidence and well-being of your children. Sadly, many children seek this kind of acceptance from their peers (who are wholly unqualified).
* Tell them you love them every day.
* Give lots of hugs and some kisses
* Love them unconditionally; don't force them to be who you think they should be in order to earn your love. Let them know that you will always love them no matter what.
2.
2
Listen to them.
* Express interest in your children and involve yourself in his and her life.
* Create an atmosphere in which they can come to you with a problem however large or small.
3.
3
Help them feel safe
* Respect their privacy as you would want them to respect yours; for example, if you teach your child that your room is out of boundaries to them, respect the same with their room. Allow them to feel that once they enter their room they can know that no one will look through their drawers, or read their diary.
* Instill in them, a sense of belonging by displaying individual and family portraits on the walls of the house.
* Don't argue with your spouse in front of the children. If they are sleeping, argue quietly. Modern divorce rates have children feeling insecure and fearful when they hear parents bickering. In addition, children will learn to argue with each other the same way they hear their parents argue with each other. Show them that when people disagree, they can discuss their differences peacefully.
* Avoid favoritism. Surveys have shown that most parents have favorites, but most children believe they are the favorite. If your children are quarreling, don't choose sides.
* Give up your vices: gambling, alcohol and drugs can jeopardize your child's financial security. Smoking almost always introduces health hazards to your child's environment. Second-hand smoke has been linked to several respiratory ailments in children. It could also contribute to the early death of a parent. Alcohol and drugs might also introduce health hazards or violence to your child's environment.
4.
4
Provide order.
* Set boundaries such as bedtimes and curfews, so they learn that they have limitations. By doing so, they actually get a sense of being loved and cared about by their parents. They might rebel at those boundaries, but inwardly enjoy knowing that concerned parents love them.
* Encourage responsibility by giving them jobs or "chores" to do and as a reward for those jobs give them some kind of privilege (money, extended curfew, extra play time, etc). As "punishment" for not doing these jobs they have the corresponding privilege revoked. Even the youngest of children can learn this concept of reward/consequence. As your child grows, give them more responsibilities and more rewards/consequences for not completing those responsibilities.
* Teach them what is right and wrong. If you are religious, take them to the religious institute that you follow. If you are agnostic, teach them your moral stance things. In either case, don't be hypocritical or be prepared for your child to point out that you are not "practicing what you preach".
* Don't routinely do things for your children that they can learn to do for themselves. While getting them a glass of water before bed is a nice way to make them get to sleep faster, don't do it so often that they come to expect it.
* Model moderation and responsibility when it comes to drinking. Explain that they will have to wait until they are old enough to enjoy a drink with friends and talk about the importance of designated drivers. Failure to discuss these issues early sometimes contributes to sneaking and dangerous experimentation. Again, don't be hypocritical or your child will (more than likely) ignore your advice.
5.
5
Praise your children
* Avoid comparing your children to others, especially siblings. Each child is individual and unique. Celebrate their differences and instill in each child the desire to pursue their interests and dreams. Failure to do so may give your child an inferiority complex, an idea that they can never be good enough in your eyes.
* Teach your children that it is okay for them to be different and they do not have to follow the crowd. Teach them right from wrong when then are young, and they will (more often than not) be able to make their own decisions, instead of listening to others.
* Remember that your child is not an extension of yourself. Your child is an individual under your care, not a chance for you to relive your life through them.
6.
6
Avoid criticism by focusing on the behavior.
* When your child acts out in a harmful and spiteful manner, tell him or her that such behavior is unacceptable and suggest alternatives. Avoid statements such as: "You're bad." "Go away!" etc (as difficult as it may be).
* Be assertive yet kind when pointing out what they have done wrong. Be stern, but not cross, when you tell them what you expect.
* Avoid public humiliation. If they misbehave in public, take them aside, and scold them privately.
* Model the behavior and character you hope your children will adopt and live by the rules you set. Show them by example in addition to verbal explanations. Children have a tendency to become what they see and hear unless they make a conscious and concerted effort to break the mold.
7.
7
Be consistent.
* Enforce rules that apply to every person leading a happy and productive life. Not just the rules of your ideal person.
* Enforce the same rules all the time, and resist your child's attempts to manipulate you into making exceptions.
* Control your temper.
* Communicate clearly. Children should be very familiar with the consequences of their actions. If you give them a punishment, be sure they understand the reason and the fault, if you cannot articulate the reason and how they are at fault the punishment will not have the discouraging effects you desire.
* Life is a great teacher. Don't be too quick to rescue your child from the results of their own actions if the consequences are not overly severe. Example: Cutting themselves may hurt, but it's better than leaving them unaware of why sharp objects should be avoided.
8.
8
Spend time with each child individually, try to divide your time equally if you have more than one child.
* Set aside a day to go to a park, theme parks, museum or library depending on their interests.
* Attend school functions. Do homework with them. Visit their teacher at open house. Even if it means taking some time away from work. Remember that children grow fast, and soon will be on their own. Your boss may or may not remember that you missed that meeting, but your child will most certainly remember that you didn't attend the play they were in.
9.
9
Be a Role Model - Young kids are like sponges. As parents we are our children's first role model. Pay attention to what you say or do around them and think about what kind of example you are making.
* Want to teach kids about charity? Get involved and take your kids with you to a soup kitchen or homeless shelter and help serve up meals. Explain to them why you do acts of charity so they understand why they should.
* Teach kids about chores by setting a schedule and having them help you out. Don't tell your child to do something, but ask for their help. The earlier they learn to help you, the longer they will be willing to.
* Want your kids to listen to you? Show them you can listen to them.
* If you want your son or daughter to learn to share, set a good example and share your things with them.
10.
10
Allow them to experience life for themselves - But don't just lose total control. Don't make decisions for them all the time, they must learn how to live with the consequences from the choices they make. After all, they will have to learn to think for themselves sometime. It's best they start when you are there to help minimize the negative consequences and accentuate the positive ones. They need to learn that their own actions have consequences (good and bad). By doing so, it helps them to become good decision makers and problem solvers so that they are prepared for independence and adulthood. Do not miss this crucial step. You must explain their options, and the consequences of each one, then live with whatever option they select.
11.
11
Spend a lot of time with them and love them with all your heart, but don't smother them. There's a big difference between protecting someone and imprisoning them.
Tips
* If you're trying to quit a habit, look into groups that can help you overcome it. Always get support, and have someone you can talk to when you begin to get a craving for your habit. Remember that you're not only helping yourself, but you're helping your child as well.
* Reflect on your own childhood frequently. Identify the mistakes your parents made, and make an effort to avoid them. Every generation of parents gets to make a whole set of new mistakes.
* Encourage introspection by sharing with your children your own self-evaluation.
* Do not be afraid to be a parent. Do your best, be their friend, but never let them forget you are their parent.
* Parenting does not stop when a child grows up. Being a good parent remains a life-long role. But remember that once they become adults, the decisions they make in life are ultimately theirs.
* Do not strictly follow the parental behavioral stereotypes of your culture, race, ethnic group, family, or other defining factor. For example, it is a commonly seen stereotype that Asian parents will force their children to achieve impeccable grades and take math and music classes, etc. These stereotypes are WRONG! Each child is individual and each parent loves their child. Please do not believe that there is only one way to raise a child.
* Do not force them by beating or hurting them. It will only cause resentment and make them go against you. Also, you will get arrested and your child will be placed in foster care. If you have multiple children, they may be separate.
Bye
Jai jinendra
1. Express love and affection.
* A gentle cuddle, a little encouragement, appreciation, approval or even a smile can go a long way to boost the confidence and well-being of your children. Sadly, many children seek this kind of acceptance from their peers (who are wholly unqualified).
* Tell them you love them every day.
* Give lots of hugs and some kisses
* Love them unconditionally; don't force them to be who you think they should be in order to earn your love. Let them know that you will always love them no matter what.
2.
2
Listen to them.
* Express interest in your children and involve yourself in his and her life.
* Create an atmosphere in which they can come to you with a problem however large or small.
3.
3
Help them feel safe
* Respect their privacy as you would want them to respect yours; for example, if you teach your child that your room is out of boundaries to them, respect the same with their room. Allow them to feel that once they enter their room they can know that no one will look through their drawers, or read their diary.
* Instill in them, a sense of belonging by displaying individual and family portraits on the walls of the house.
* Don't argue with your spouse in front of the children. If they are sleeping, argue quietly. Modern divorce rates have children feeling insecure and fearful when they hear parents bickering. In addition, children will learn to argue with each other the same way they hear their parents argue with each other. Show them that when people disagree, they can discuss their differences peacefully.
* Avoid favoritism. Surveys have shown that most parents have favorites, but most children believe they are the favorite. If your children are quarreling, don't choose sides.
* Give up your vices: gambling, alcohol and drugs can jeopardize your child's financial security. Smoking almost always introduces health hazards to your child's environment. Second-hand smoke has been linked to several respiratory ailments in children. It could also contribute to the early death of a parent. Alcohol and drugs might also introduce health hazards or violence to your child's environment.
4.
4
Provide order.
* Set boundaries such as bedtimes and curfews, so they learn that they have limitations. By doing so, they actually get a sense of being loved and cared about by their parents. They might rebel at those boundaries, but inwardly enjoy knowing that concerned parents love them.
* Encourage responsibility by giving them jobs or "chores" to do and as a reward for those jobs give them some kind of privilege (money, extended curfew, extra play time, etc). As "punishment" for not doing these jobs they have the corresponding privilege revoked. Even the youngest of children can learn this concept of reward/consequence. As your child grows, give them more responsibilities and more rewards/consequences for not completing those responsibilities.
* Teach them what is right and wrong. If you are religious, take them to the religious institute that you follow. If you are agnostic, teach them your moral stance things. In either case, don't be hypocritical or be prepared for your child to point out that you are not "practicing what you preach".
* Don't routinely do things for your children that they can learn to do for themselves. While getting them a glass of water before bed is a nice way to make them get to sleep faster, don't do it so often that they come to expect it.
* Model moderation and responsibility when it comes to drinking. Explain that they will have to wait until they are old enough to enjoy a drink with friends and talk about the importance of designated drivers. Failure to discuss these issues early sometimes contributes to sneaking and dangerous experimentation. Again, don't be hypocritical or your child will (more than likely) ignore your advice.
5.
5
Praise your children
* Avoid comparing your children to others, especially siblings. Each child is individual and unique. Celebrate their differences and instill in each child the desire to pursue their interests and dreams. Failure to do so may give your child an inferiority complex, an idea that they can never be good enough in your eyes.
* Teach your children that it is okay for them to be different and they do not have to follow the crowd. Teach them right from wrong when then are young, and they will (more often than not) be able to make their own decisions, instead of listening to others.
* Remember that your child is not an extension of yourself. Your child is an individual under your care, not a chance for you to relive your life through them.
6.
6
Avoid criticism by focusing on the behavior.
* When your child acts out in a harmful and spiteful manner, tell him or her that such behavior is unacceptable and suggest alternatives. Avoid statements such as: "You're bad." "Go away!" etc (as difficult as it may be).
* Be assertive yet kind when pointing out what they have done wrong. Be stern, but not cross, when you tell them what you expect.
* Avoid public humiliation. If they misbehave in public, take them aside, and scold them privately.
* Model the behavior and character you hope your children will adopt and live by the rules you set. Show them by example in addition to verbal explanations. Children have a tendency to become what they see and hear unless they make a conscious and concerted effort to break the mold.
7.
7
Be consistent.
* Enforce rules that apply to every person leading a happy and productive life. Not just the rules of your ideal person.
* Enforce the same rules all the time, and resist your child's attempts to manipulate you into making exceptions.
* Control your temper.
* Communicate clearly. Children should be very familiar with the consequences of their actions. If you give them a punishment, be sure they understand the reason and the fault, if you cannot articulate the reason and how they are at fault the punishment will not have the discouraging effects you desire.
* Life is a great teacher. Don't be too quick to rescue your child from the results of their own actions if the consequences are not overly severe. Example: Cutting themselves may hurt, but it's better than leaving them unaware of why sharp objects should be avoided.
8.
8
Spend time with each child individually, try to divide your time equally if you have more than one child.
* Set aside a day to go to a park, theme parks, museum or library depending on their interests.
* Attend school functions. Do homework with them. Visit their teacher at open house. Even if it means taking some time away from work. Remember that children grow fast, and soon will be on their own. Your boss may or may not remember that you missed that meeting, but your child will most certainly remember that you didn't attend the play they were in.
9.
9
Be a Role Model - Young kids are like sponges. As parents we are our children's first role model. Pay attention to what you say or do around them and think about what kind of example you are making.
* Want to teach kids about charity? Get involved and take your kids with you to a soup kitchen or homeless shelter and help serve up meals. Explain to them why you do acts of charity so they understand why they should.
* Teach kids about chores by setting a schedule and having them help you out. Don't tell your child to do something, but ask for their help. The earlier they learn to help you, the longer they will be willing to.
* Want your kids to listen to you? Show them you can listen to them.
* If you want your son or daughter to learn to share, set a good example and share your things with them.
10.
10
Allow them to experience life for themselves - But don't just lose total control. Don't make decisions for them all the time, they must learn how to live with the consequences from the choices they make. After all, they will have to learn to think for themselves sometime. It's best they start when you are there to help minimize the negative consequences and accentuate the positive ones. They need to learn that their own actions have consequences (good and bad). By doing so, it helps them to become good decision makers and problem solvers so that they are prepared for independence and adulthood. Do not miss this crucial step. You must explain their options, and the consequences of each one, then live with whatever option they select.
11.
11
Spend a lot of time with them and love them with all your heart, but don't smother them. There's a big difference between protecting someone and imprisoning them.
Tips
* If you're trying to quit a habit, look into groups that can help you overcome it. Always get support, and have someone you can talk to when you begin to get a craving for your habit. Remember that you're not only helping yourself, but you're helping your child as well.
* Reflect on your own childhood frequently. Identify the mistakes your parents made, and make an effort to avoid them. Every generation of parents gets to make a whole set of new mistakes.
* Encourage introspection by sharing with your children your own self-evaluation.
* Do not be afraid to be a parent. Do your best, be their friend, but never let them forget you are their parent.
* Parenting does not stop when a child grows up. Being a good parent remains a life-long role. But remember that once they become adults, the decisions they make in life are ultimately theirs.
* Do not strictly follow the parental behavioral stereotypes of your culture, race, ethnic group, family, or other defining factor. For example, it is a commonly seen stereotype that Asian parents will force their children to achieve impeccable grades and take math and music classes, etc. These stereotypes are WRONG! Each child is individual and each parent loves their child. Please do not believe that there is only one way to raise a child.
* Do not force them by beating or hurting them. It will only cause resentment and make them go against you. Also, you will get arrested and your child will be placed in foster care. If you have multiple children, they may be separate.
Bye
Jai jinendra
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