Butterfly's Lesson: Promise Yourself You will be strong

Butterfly's Lesson:

“One day, a small opening appeared in a cocoon; a man sat and watched for the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole. Then, it seems to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could and it could not go any further. So the man decided to help the butterfly: he took a pair of scissors and opened the cocoon. The butterfly then emerged easily. But it had a withered body, it was tiny and shriveled wings. The man continued to watch because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would open, enlarge and expand, to be able to support the butterfly’s body, and become firm. Neither happened! In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a withered body and shriveled wings. It never was able to fly.” What the man, in his kindness and his goodwill did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to get through the tiny opening, were God’s way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings, so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon.Sometimes, struggles are exactly what we need in our life. If God allowed us to go through our life without any obstacles, it would cripple us. We would not be as strong as we could have been. Never been able to fly. I asked for Strength... and God gave me difficulties to make me strong I asked for Wisdom... and God gave me problems to solve. I asked for prosperity... and God gave me a brain and brawn to work. I asked for Courage….. and God gave me obstacles to overcome. I asked for Love... and God gave me troubled people to help. I asked for Favors... And God gave me Opportunities. “I received nothing I wanted... But I received everything I needed.” Live life without fear, confront all obstacles and know that you can overcome them. Send this message to your friends and show them how much you care. Send it to anybody that you consider a FRIEND, even if this means to send it to the same person that conveyed it to you. If this message returns to you, you can be sure that your circle of friendship is made out of true friends.

Promise Yourself

You will be strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind  - to talk health, happiness and prosperity to every person you meet. - to make all your friends feel that there is something special in them. - to look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true. - to think only of the best, to work only for the best and to expect the best. - to be just as enthusiastic about the success of others, as you are about your own. - to forget the mistakes of the past and to press on the greater achievements of the future. - to wear a cheerful countenance at all times and to give every living creature you meet a smile. - to give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticise others. - to be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.

I pray every Time I Enter the Operation Theatre

A lot of illnesses are not due to organic diseases. Hypertension, for instance, is a reflection of the person's emotional status. When a 35-year-old man does not get sleep for a few days, he feels lousy. He goes to the doctor who, on checking his blood pressure, finds it is 170. He takes medicines and the blood pressure comes down. All that the man needed was advice to calm him down. He needed good sleep for a few days, not medicine. It is the same thingwith all young hypertensives. The question is how to calm them down. People need to hang on to something. There is no assured success in anything. There are lots of stresses. There is a lot of uncertainty. And the most stabilising factor is spiritualism: a belief in something higher up that Gives them constant guidance in the right direction; something that protects them. It is best to believe in this; this has healing power.                 I see about 24 heart surgeries every day. And, heart surgeries are very Complex procedures. Those [patients] who are spiritual--mind you, I am not referring to religiosity--those who believe in a superhuman force, almost always come out successfully.         A wound on your hand starts healing. It is not an automatic process. What controls this healing? It is the mind. If you remove the chip, the computer can't work. A mind that is spiritual supports and prompts healing. I have no evidence to show you. But I have seen 30,000 heart patients over a period of 25 years. I remember thousands of patients for whom prayer has worked. After their surgery, patients go through a lot of trouble. They are in the ICU with breathing difficulties and a lot of pain. Many are on the brink of death.  We sit and talk to them. I have seen that those who have a spiritual background take it philosophically.  They see it as a passing phase; something that is momentary.         These are the people who come out of it. Emotional stability is very important, especially for heart patients. I believe in living a spiritual life. Whatever I do, I do it in God's name. No credit goes to me. There are instances when I go to the operation theatre and come across a hopeless case. They survive and walk out of the hospital in a week. Similarly, I have seen people with good chances of survival being unlucky. How do I answer this? Someone else is in control. Every time I enter the operation theatre I pray to God; it is in His name that I operate. And every time I come out of the theatre, too, I pray and thank God. It gives me a broad frame of mind when I do that and it gives me immense strength. Dr Devi Shetty is the founder of Narayana Hrudayalaya in Bangalore. As told to N. Bhanutej.   { Annecdote doing rounds on the net.}         -Received from Swami Satyalokanandaji, Sarada Kindergarten, Ramakrishna Mission, Singapore.