Saturday, September 16, 2006

Some points to ponder about-

I thought I'd share with you some impressions I gathered from a book I read recently. It was a correspondence between a Rabbi Shmuel Boteach and a paranormalist Uri Geller. Most of these are in concurrence with my own perceptions of life. In fact it confirms my own faith in the goodness of the human race which transcends all possible religious affiliations. These are quotes picked up at random and may not be very organised. They cannot be specifically attributed to either of the authors because I felt they were two people saying the same thing in different words. I may be wrong but then that is how I see it. I post it in my blog as much for myself as for you.

1)One should not seek to understand suffering. Rather he should work to obliterate it.

2)A relationship is a two way process.we cannot just holler when things go wrong we must allow our hearts to swell up at all that is beautiful. Events of today are controlled by promises of tomorrow.

3)Invisible things are the most precious and powerful.

4)To be fully human is to have worked and struggled to be special.

5)A single ray of human love and warmth is enough to dispel all gloom and darkness of all the world’s confused adolescents.

6)Religious people can often be bad representatives of their faith.

7)Three things that humans want in their lives are meaning,joy and goodness.It is impossible to be joyous withot being good.

8)Truth is a human necessity. A lie cannot last and falsehood cannot flourish.

9)One should aim to be human because that is challenging and ultimately fetches rewards.

10)God does not love or bless man made divisions.Rather He loves man himself.

11)Alexander the Great willed that he should be buried with his hands protruding out of the coffin.He wanted to show his soldiers that although he had conquered the world he when he left it his hands were empty.

12)Your actions are worthy only if your inner self is in harmony with your external actions.

13)Goodness is not a ritual that comes with practice.It is a struggle that has to be overcome each time you try to be good.

14)God is not present in the wind, water or fire look for Him within you.He is in the soft voice of the conscience within you.

15)Belief in one’s SELF is the same as belief in one’s God

28 comments:

The Visitor said...

Great quotes g'ma.

Movie Mazaa said...

I loved the 9th one. The others are good too, but the 9th is the best. Maybe it has got soemthing to do with this funny day, but I wish I cud make a poster of it and stick it up somewhere for the rest of teh world to see!!

:)

passerby55 said...

Truth is a human necessity. A lie cannot last and falsehood cannot flourish ...

I agree,

but does this hold true in the world we live today?

Sree said...

***One should aim to be human because that is challenging and ultimately fetches rewards.

So true.. being HUMAN, one might say, what??? we are born human isnt it???... well, need to think again.

Ganesh Ranganathan said...

I just dropped by your blog and I liked it very much...

But I cannot completely agree with the first one....how can we obliterate suffering without understanding it first??

Hip Grandma said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Hip Grandma said...

the visitor:i'm glad you foundthem good.

velu:i agree cent per cent.if all of became 'humans' the world would be a better place.

passerby:i feel despite all falsehood that dominates the world truth ultimately prevails.

sush:being born a human is not in our own hands,but behaving like one certainly is.so let's train ourselves to 'be' human.

ganesh ranganathan:welcome here.There are several things like ilness and terrorism that defies all understanding.It is these that the author was referring to.We hold seminars to figure out the cause for AIDS but how much is being done to help AIDS victims?These big shots deliver impressive speeches and leave.Every one understands about it.But how many parents including me are willing to warn their children about it?we tend to think that misery is meant for someone else.

9:43 AM

Prasanna Parameswaran said...

Great Quotes thanks for sharing them!

Anonymous said...

For me the last quote sounds the best,Rest of them all make wonderful reading and great to understand and follow.wish we all can do so,atleast try understanding them:)
Blogger beta is not allowing me to comment in non beta blogs,so my long absense:( and now i have to make an anon comment:(
alapana
http://aalapana.blogspot.com

Hip Grandma said...

mahadevan:Today's teenagers need all the attention and love one can give.Let's all work towards it.

indian angel:i haven't been impressed so much by a book in a long, long time.

alapana:yes you're right.it kind of sums up everything doesn't it?what's the problem abt.this beta blogger?

Anonymous said...

I think all these quotes have a lot of meaning to each of them. I started readin one by one, but got lost instantly.. Pretty tough read that book must have been if the mind is not relaxed.. and here at the start of the day at office. it is not easy for me.
However truth shall prevail.. that I understand.. "Satyameva Jayate"
Yes and to be human, that is indeed something which is tough in today`s world but I am sure it will be rewarding to the soul.
To destroy suffering totally, is not practically possible, however, mainly because suffering comes in different forms, disease, death, poverty. They are all reality and may be checked but not totally removed. Otherwise when prince Sidhartha, saw a poor man, old man, death and diseased, why did he not set out to vanquish these things from earth, instead he changed, and became Budha. He loved the diseased, taught them how to face death and so on. What is important is to face reality.

With Best Regards,
Srijith Unni.

The Inquisitive Akka said...

I loved the one on Alexander the Great!

Lisa Johnson said...

Wonderful quotes! I saw Uri Geller when I was a kid and it was an amazing show.

Itchingtowrite said...

if laxander the "great" can be so down to earth & huble, we can too, can't we. I liked teh 1st one- quite similar to my belive of trying to be a part of the solution rather than the problem

Hip Grandma said...

srijith:It was a library book and had to be returned.i'm trying to get a personal copy.Each page has something that I could relate to.Your view about facing reality was also expressed.

IQA:yeah that was thought provoking.

anali:you're so lucky!why don't you tell us something of your first hand experience watching him?

ITW:I think it was this realization that made alexander GREAT.No one calls Hitler a 'great' man.

tanushree:if each one made an effort in this direction it would be good for all of mankind.

Lisa Johnson said...

If my recollection is correct, he told all of us in the audience to think of a shape. I remember thinking of something like a square or a triangle inside a circle. It was definitely one shape inside of another, which seemed really weird to me. Why think of two shapes? But that is what popped into my head. And he told us that was what HE was thinking. Most of us in the audience had actually picked up on what he had projected to us. Isn't that amazing??!! I was stunned!!

Artnavy said...

Are u coming to Chennai for Dassera?

Kalpana said...

'Your actions are worthy only if your inner self is in harmony with your external actions.'

This is very much true and very difficult at the same time when there are conflicts between both.

Most of the quotes are good and though we know, still we need to feed our mind.

Rebelzz said...

Alexander the Great willed that he should be buried with his hands protruding out of the coffin.He wanted to show his soldiers that although he had conquered the world he when he left it his hands were empty. -- That is a good one..

Hip Grandma said...

anali:That must have been a very good experience.Thanx for sharing.

artnavy:I have no such plans, I'm right now in USA and will return only after Diwali.

kalpana:Quotes such as these are my all time favorits.

r.e.b.e.l.:yes you're right.It conveys a known truth very well.

Anonymous said...

This one deserves to be preserved. What you have said about religion, truth and love is absolutely true. Goodness many times comes after adversity. As for meaning, joy and goodness, one should strive to Make your passion your profession

Anonymous said...

13th is interesting,though its first line is ok but 2nd is not. It looks more of a personal line, i mean it can be true for someone but not as a whole...

rest were all good..

Hip Grandma said...

hiren:I read your post with interest and you are right.Working without real interest shows up in your result be it handling a project or cooking for one's family.

scarecrow:welcome here.It is a matter of perception nothing more.It only means that a person who has been good once need not necessarily be so the next time around.I do understand that it applies to evil also.

hillgrandmom said...

the book sounds really interesting.

Hip Grandma said...

hillg'mom:yes it is.I read a very good book after a long time

Usha said...

Every one of them is a gem. Thanks for sharing.
Now to hunt for the book!

Hip Grandma said...

usha:do try and get hold of the book.you're bound to enjoy it.

Shankar said...

"A single ray of human love and warmth is enough to dispel all gloom and darkness of all the world’s confused adolescents."

How true? I wonder who wrote that.