Vidhi

This is a story with narration by Bhagwan Ram to Laxman's wife, Urmila...

When Queen Kaikeyi asked King Dashrath to fulfill his old granted promise, the queen asked that his eldest son, Ram, be sent to spend 14 years in the jungle so that her son, Bharat, can become the king of Ayodhya. Laxman, the second elder son, along with Sita, Ram's wife, also accompanied Bhagwan Ram to jungle.

Laxman left her wife Urmila behind in the palace and went to fulfill his father's promise under the harshest conditions of the jungle. One day just after they left, Urmila became anxious and resentful of Bhagwan Ram thinking that he conspired against her and took his wife Sita with him while they left her behind alone in Ayodhya. She went to bhagwan Ram and told him how betrayed and resentful she felt over this treatment. Ram, looking at her obvious pain, told her what no one knew and what was planned by the destiny (Vidhi ka Vidhaan, in Hindi) for all of them.

He said, he took Sita with him because she was to become the ultimate reason for the demise of cruel devils of King Ravan from this earth. However, this was not possible until Meghnath, Ravan's son, was alive, as he was a brave worrior and blessed with godly boons. Then, Ram explained to her how great her character has been placed in this plot of destiny that nothing will be greater than the sacrifice of Urmila and Laxman in this world. It takes a great soul to make that kind of sacrifice and Ram told her that her sacrifice will bless Laxman with immense powers who has been destined to kill Meghnath. And, that's why Laxman and Sita were accompanying him, as has been designed by the destiny. It was only bhagwan Ram, not even Laxman or Sita, who knew of such future events. After he told this to Urmila, she was very consoled and apologetic and prayed to bhagwan Ram, saying she will never worry again when he is with all of them.

The story above is full of highest moral lessons and teaches that no one is exempt from the plot of destiny. Not even bhagwan Ram could shorten the destiny's plan, as explained in Rahim in a doha below:

राम न जाते हरिन संग, सीय न रावन साथ ।
जो 'रहीम' भावी कतहुँ, होत आपने हाथ ॥

Meaning: (If destiny was in our hands, Ram would not have gone after that golden deer and Ravan would not have kidnapped Sita.)

Goes into next slideshow...

• "The hardest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and hence be loved in return." - Gallows

• “We come to love not by finding a perfect person, but by learning to see an imperfect person perfectly” - Sam Keen

• "Life has taught us that love does not consist in gazing at each other, but in looking outward together in the same direction.” - Antoine de Saint-Exupery

• “Love me when I least deserve it, because that's when I really need it.” - Swedish Proverb

• "You know that when I hate you, it is because I love you to a point of passion that unhinges my soul.” - Julie de Lespinasse

• "Love is as much of an object as an obsession, everybody wants it everybody seeks it, but few ever achieve it, those who do, will cherish it, be lost in it, and among all, will never...never forget it.” - Curtis Judalet

• "Love is like seaweed; even if you have pushed it away, you will not prevent it from coming back.” - Nigerian Proverb

• “Falling in love with someone isn't always going to be easy... Anger... tears... laughter.. It's when you want to be together despite it all. That's when you truly love another. I'm sure of it.” - Unknown

• "Love seems the swiftest, but it is the slowest of all growths. No man or woman really knows what perfect love is until they have been married a quarter of a century." - Mark Twain

• "Hatred ever kills, love never dies. Such is the vast difference between the two. What is obtained by love is retained for all time. What is obtained by hatred proves a burden in reality for it increases hatred." - M. K. Gandhi

• "Absence is to love as wind is to fire; it extinguishes the small and kindles the great." - Roger de Bussy-Rabutin
  

Archery Contest

Once upon a time there was an archery contest, organized by a king at his palace. Santa Singh was also invited along with two others to demonstrate their mastery. King announces the start of the contest in the presence of audience.

The first archer, wearing a long cape covering his face, lines up in position...He takes a deep breath and fires an arrow, which hits right at the center of the target. Then he takes off his cape and screams: I AM...... ROBIN HOOD!!! The crowd cheers!

The second archer with a cape lines up in position. He fires his arrow, which hits the center and cuts Robin Hood's arrow into two!!! He also takes off his cape and screams: I AM...... WILLIAM TELL!!!!!! The crowd cheers!!

Finally our Santa in cape lines up in position...He fires his arrow but it goes all wrong! It flies past the crowd and kills the king!!! Then, Santa Singh takes off his cape and screams: I AM...... SORRY!!!

- contributed by santabanta.com

गीता सार (Bhagwadgeeta Summary)

Whatever happened, happened for good. Whatever is happening, is happening for good. Whatever will happen, will be for good.

"Change is the law of the universe"

What have you lost for which you cry? What did you bring with you, which you have lost? What did you produce, which has destroyed? You did not bring anything when you were born. Whatever you have, you have received from Him. Whatever you will give, you will give to Him. You came empty handed and you will go the same way. Whatever is yours today was somebody else’s yesterday and will be somebody else’s tomorrow.

A million dollar question

A quick note from an article in a recent column. It goes like this:

Always try your best to make peace. In fact, it should be your obligation. Think for a moment about the reason why you would not even try to make things right. You might look foolish, waste your time, be embarrassed, you've already given so much and so on. All of these expressions are tied into the ego. If someone offered you a million dollars, you'd do it. So, why not do it now.

When I read this column today, I really liked the point it made. What it says is that many times it's hard to identify when the ego is involved. Because ego itself is so strongly attached with our thoughts that it is very difficult to discern for most people on when they are not acting out of ego. Ego always acts to satisfy itself. That is why not having it is considered an invaluable virtue, possessed only by a few.

A north indian recipe called फरा

In my ancestral home in father's village in Rae Bareli, there is a recipe that brings water in our mouth. Interestingly, it is not a well-known recipe in that area. I sometimes wonder who brought it there. But, starting from my grandfather to my father and the generation after him still salivate to hear about it. It's called faraa in hindi. It's just like the sweet gujhiya in shape that you eat on Holi, but contains coursely grinded urad daal and some mixture. After being shaped, these faraas are boiled in hot water to cook the outside flour skin and daal filling inside.

Servings: 4
Fara Filling:
Urad and Chana daal - 1/2 cup each
Green chillies (Hari Mirch) - 2
Asafoetida (Heeng) - 1 pinch
Cumin (Jeera) - 1-2 teaspoonfuls
Chilli powder (Lal Mirch) - 1 teaspoonful
Garam Masala - 1 teaspoonful
Cooking Oil - 2 teaspoonfuls
Salt to taste

Outer Skin:
Wheat flour - 2 cups

Cooking Steps:
1. Soak Urad and Chana daals for 3-5 hours. Then, grind and mix the two daals making a paste.
2. Mix water and make dough with the wheat flour. Let it sit for half an hour.
3. Heat oil and add Jeera, Heeng, Hari and Lal Mirch, Garam Masala and fry the masala till it becomes light brown. Keep stirring and mix the daal paste and fry it till it dries a little.
4. Now, make (and roll) the flour dough into chapatis and fill the cooked daal paste. Fold this chapati and filling into half circles. Seal the edges of this half circle filled chapati roll with a little bit of water while rolling one edge over the other. This seals the contents and prevents ruptures. Now, the fara is ready to be cooked.
5. Boil the water in a pan and put it on low flame.
6. When these half-circle rolls are sealed, drop them into the boiling water and put the lid on.
7. After the fara cooks, it is taken out of the water and served hot. To eat, pour a little ghee or dip into a ghee bowl before taking a bite. You can also use a chutney, depending on the taste.

That completes the recipe. Now don't forget to serve it with love. Enjoy!!!