What a game of ping pong taught me....

So the story is: I am out with a buddy playing ping pong in my complex. I am down 2 games, been beaten my more than 10 points in a game with a toal of 21 points. For those who don't know ping pong/table tennis: I am being beaten....heavily. And then suddenly I get a message from within: "just watch the ball". So I do that. And I notice that my body, my hands are moving much better. The result: I start having better volleys, better smashes, and much, much better returns. This continued for the rest of 1.5 hours. The end score after 2 hrs of play: I won 10 out of 13 games. I lost just one game after that message.

The reason I am writing about this is we can apply the same principle in life. When we are with our loved ones, be with them. When at work be at work. When praying be there. The message is simple: Wherever you go, be there.

Or if you want a more catchy message then: Just watch the ball. :D

You won't believe this until you watch it...

Guys check these videos out...

Crocodile - man's best friend?

Dog adopts Lion #1

Bulldog kisses Orangutan

Dog Lives With a Leopard ... and a Piglet

Man in India lives with leopard

Stray Leopard Cub

Very cool videos of human beings, other animals interacting with deadly predators. Goes to show what love can do...and more.

Nothing dies...

Nothing dies...everything transforms,
Frustration into understanding,
Restlessness into calmness,
Anger into love,
Hatred into understanding then love,
Pain into compassion,
Weakness into strength,
War into peace,
Inspiration transforms into greatness,
Fall into Spring,
Spring into Summer,
Summer into Fall.

It is inevitable,
If it is inevitable,
Then why resist,
Why wait,
Why not start now,
And transform in this moment,
This moment is all we have.

Let's pick one thing that we would like to change,
Then transform it,
Be it ill-relation with a neighbor,
Be it our irreconcilable differences with our colleague,
Be it our relation with our parents, our spouse, our friends,
Be it our relationship with ourselves,
Lets transform, lets transform now...

Lets flow with the rhythm of the universe,
And the rhythm is transformation, change, love, purity, music, life, peace.
Lets transform,
Lets start now,
Lets make the changes in our life that are inevitable,
And gain in the process,
Become bigger, better human beings,
Lets show what honor and privilege it is to be part of the human race...

Lets transform, lets transform now...

You, me and love...

Why do we ever hold back?,
When love is all we got to give?,
Why do we ever need to protect ourselves?,
Can pure love ever be harmed?,
Does pure love ever need any protection?,

Lets give in to love,
Let's open our hearts and let the dam break,
Let our love flood the universe,
Let love encompass us all,
Lets give in to loving ourselves completely...as we are,
Lets love ourselves now, today,
Not tomorrow, when we will be this perfect being,

Lets learn to love,
Lets learn to accept,
Lets learn to embrace ourselves before we learn to embrace anyone else,
Because there is no separation...there is no else.

Let our cup of love overflow with abundance, love and peace for all,
Love for ourselves will teach everyone how to love,
And then lets love...
And then lets love some more...and more...

Lets give in to love,
Because love is there all is,
You, me and everyone else is love in human clothing :-)

Let's stop war...

Watching made me realize something. I have worded my raw heart below, with the hope that it will help change one individual's heart and inspire him to say No to war and Yes to peace.

I dedicate this poem to all parents who have lost their child in war, all lovers who have lost their loved ones in war, all siblings who have lost their brother/sister in war...

What is war...
War is lack of peace,
People may think it is lack of peace between two nations, two governments,
No, it is the lack of peace between two individuals,
Between you and me...

Why does humans create war,
Lack of understanding?, lack of love,
Lack of knowing that we each our just love...pure love,
Lack of knowing what a mother feels to recieve her son's ashes,
Lack of how a father feels to see his son die,
Lack of knowing to see someones lover die in war,
How can we kill any human being, anything for that matter,
How do we manag to create war,
How do we even manage to think war

Love is all encompassing,
That is all our soul needs to know, to love,
Then how do we stay away from our basic form,
How do we manage to stay away from what is our basic nature,
How do we stay away from the light, our light,

May be because we are in illusion,
May be because we choose to stay in illusion,
May be because we don't go within,
May be because we choose not to see the light within us,
May be because we don't value life,
May be because we don't respect others,
May be because we don't respect ourselves.

Stop war, stop war, please, please stop war,
No body wants it, but still we create it,
Why?, please stop it, please...

How do we stop war,
By establishing peace within us first,
By establishing peace with our neighbours,
By establishing with people we like, we dislike,
By taking a vow, to say no to war, at all cost,
By taking a vow to say yes to peace,

Let there be peace always,
I vow from now on,
To never let my selfishness create lack of peace,
To never let my ego create lack of understanding,
To never let my inner darkness to create darkness without,
I resolve to stand up now,
I resolve to stand up to say...
...No to war, no to anger,
...No to discrimination,
...No to the concept of separateness,
...No to lack of respect...
...No to lack of understanding...

From now on I resolve to,
Respect each human life, each life,
I will respect earth, the ocean, the birds, the flowers, the bees,
I will respect you,
I will respect me.

Love is the only way to stop war,
Love is the only way to happiness,
Love is the only way to ever lasting peace,
Love is the only way against greed,

Understanding is the way to love,
I vow to choose to understand,
However challenging it may be,
I will choose to understand,
However difficult it be,
I will choose silence over ill-spoken words, over angry thoughts,

Let us all vow:
From this moment on:
I will be a Hero,
The suffering will stop with me,
From me will start love,
From me will start peace,
From me will start respect,
From me will start a new era, a new dawn,
From me will start everything I want to see in the world...

Will Smith -- Alchemist

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWAw7gxfB7Q&feature=player_embedded

The message that I got:

1. You can make things happen. The universe is not what happens to you, you make the universe happens.

2. Never give up. Period.

Your beauty is breathtaking...

You are a poetry in human form,
So beautiful that one has to pinch onself, to ask if this is real,
The smile that makes sun light look like a shadow,
Your hair like the spring shining at it's highest,
Your eyes like the deep blue ocean,
The more I look into it, the deeper I feel,
The deeper I feel, the deeper I want to be,

My soul yearns to be with yours,
I wish I could kiss you one more time,
And death then I would accept with an open heart...

For someone special who I might never see again in this life...

I was searching in the dark,
And you were the light,
I didn't know what I wanted,
You showed me what I was looking for,
There's not enough on this planet,
Of which I would not give for one more minute with you,
Your essence, your presence,
I would always remember,
To the on lookers nothing extra-ordinary happened,
But her mere presence was extra ordinary,
I am willing to be born again,
Just for this one evening with you,

From my deepest heart,
I say Thank You!!!

Through the mirage of life...

In the mirage of life I walk,
Wondering what is real what is not,
Every moment I experience,
With every experience I grow,
I try to see it from my heart,
The more I do, the better I get,
A ray of hope shines,
Shedding light on all life,
With a flash I see all life,
the illusion and the reality of it,
All beautiful, all pure,
Leading us all to the ultimate light,
the ultimate enlightenment of our soul!

My head bows down to the magnificence of life,
Justice never could the words...

What will you...

This poem came from within me during my darkest times...the time when I was most struggling. I hope whoever reads it gets courage, and strength out of it. Without any further ado....the poem titled "What will you"

What will you…

In the darkness of the night,

When there seems to be no ray of hope,

When the wind current seem strong and against you,

When it feels like the autumn of your life,

When every fallen leaf hits you on the face,

When it feels like you are walking through a cold dessert,

When your heart feels the strong thirst for love,

When your feet seem like sinking in the cold sand,

When your life seems so breakable, so fragile,

What will you…


Will you still stand up and show the courage,

Ready to take the next blow,

Will you strengthen the resolve to fight back,


When you feel the anger and frustration inside you,

Will you still do the right thing,


Will you still hope for the next drop of water,

The next drop of love, the next drop of peace,

Will you still imagine what your hero would have done,


When human kind seems to be turning evil and cold,

Will you still believe in their positive side?,


In all of the hopelessness and mayhem of life,

Will you still have the wisdom to see it as your doing and the courage to change it,

When your past karma seems to be catching up with you,

Will you still have the kindness to be kind, forgive yourself and others,

And change your karma,


When everything around you makes you lose your hope,

Will you still have the strength and will to hope just one more time,

Will you stand up with faith, courage, wisdom, hope, resolve, love, compassion, strength, patience and fearlessness?,

The question is: what will you do if the entire human race depended on you and you were it’s hero?,

What will you,

What will you,

What will you...

Ravi H-

Nara na na na na na naaaaa....Nara na na na na na naaaa....

So what's this Nara....na, na, na about. Well, it's a tune that I started singing without noticing it. The tune came to me after this beautiful conversation with this awesomely beautiful person. So the story is: After today's Nichiren Buddhist meeting we were all hanging out and connecting with each other. And, this person, her name is Katrina, is leaving a well settled job, a great circle of friends, a beautiful small city to explore USA...and through that explore herself, her life, her heart, and her being. It is unbelievably beautiful. Why? Well, how many people do you know who have the guts to follow their passion, their dreams? She is setting an example for a lot of us to vigorously follow our dreams, our passion, our road less travelled, whatever it may be.

My conversation with her was beautiful, profound, and then some more! :-) We chatted about her feelings about her journey, Nichiren Buddhism and how it is helping her to really go for “it”, Eckhard Tolle, The New Earth, meditation and peace. We talked about the dialogue from Fight Club where Brad Pitt says: “The things you own end up owning you.” And her difficult feelings about selling everything and letting it go. Now don't get me wrong. This girl is not a monk with shaved head, who meditates 12 hrs a day. She is you, she is me, just like anyone else.

One of the key notes (of many :-)) from this conversation was: the place of chanting and meditation along side it. We both felt that we need to chant to break through the shackles of our mind, our ego. Chanting is like revving up your car, and going full speed towards your dreams, your goals, your life. It has also provided me tremendous inner breakthroughs. Not all easy to deal with, yet the truth of my life. And then there is meditation. I love chanting and I love meditating. I was kind of torn between the two. But now I have realized they both have their place and serve a purpose. I feel meditation grounds me. Makes me still. And then winds blowing a thousand miles per hour don't bother me. I am still, when everything around me is shaking, moving and is in utter chaos. That feeling is priceless.

I would really encourage anyone who has never experienced chanting Nam-yoho-renge-kyon or meditated to their breath to really try it. Don't expect enlightenment in your first 10 secs though ;-). It's just like exercising your muscles. You slowly get better at it. But every now and then you get a supreme glimpse of this state which is pure peace, understanding, and love. Life's problems do not go away, but they start affecting you less. It's like you have a shield and not everything gets through!

And back to the song, it's bliss, singing it, being present, becoming aware....what can I say, life is Nara na na na na na na....Nara na na na na na na na... :-)