101 things to do in India

http://www.thrillophilia.com/blog/things-to-do-in-india-101-best-one/

Something cool I found on the web..

http://www.hereistoday.com/

The Keepsake's finishes a year!

Thank you all for visiting The Keepsake.

Often I get facebook emails from people reading this blog to tell me just how much they enjoy coming here, so thank you for all the encouragement

Be Aware

There was one great master, a Buddhist master, Nagarjuna.  A thief came to him.  The

thief had fallen in love with the master because he had never seen such a beautiful person, such infinite grace.  He asked Nagarjuna, "Is there some possibility of my growth also?  But one thing I must make clear to you: I am a thief.  And another thing: I cannot leave it, so please don't make it a condition.  I will do whatsoever you say, but I cannot stop being a thief.  That I have tried many times--it never works, so I have left the whole sport.  I have accepted my destiny, that I am going to be a thief and remain a thief, so don't talk about it.  From the very beginning let it be clear."

   Nagarjuna said, "Why are you afraid?  Who is going to talk about your being a thief?

     The thief said,  "But whenever I go to a monk, to a religious priest, or to a religious saint, they always say, 'First stop stealing.'"

     Nagarjuna laughed and said, "Then you must have gone to thieves; otherwise, why? Why should they be concerned? I am not concerned!"

      The thief was very happy.  He said, "Then it is okay.  It seems that now I can become a disciple.  You are the right master."

       Nagarjuna accepted him and said, "Now you can go and do whatsoever you like.  Only one condition has to be followed: be aware!  Go, break into houses, enter, take things, steal; do whatsoever you like, that is of no concern to me, I am not a thief--but do it with full awareness."

        The thief couldn't understand that he was falling into the trap.  He said, "Then everything is okay. I will try."

         After three weeks he came back and said, "You are tricky--because if I become aware, I cannot steal.  If I steal, awareness disappears. I am in a fix."

          Nagarjuna said, "No more talk about your being a thief and stealing. I am not concerned;  I am not a thief. Now, you decide! If you want awareness, then you decide. If you don't want it, then too you decide."

          The man said, "But now it is difficult.  I have tasted it a little, and it is so beautiful--I will leave anything, whatsoever you say.  Just the other night for the first time I was able to enter the palace of the king.  I opened the treasure.  I could have become the richest man in the world--but you were following me and I had to be aware.  When I became aware, diamonds looked just like stones, ordinary stones.  When I lost awareness, the treasure was there.  And I waited and did this many times.  I would become aware and I became like a buddha, and I could not even touch it because the whole thing looked foolish, stupid--just stones, what am I doing?  Losing myself over stones?  But then I would lose awareness; they would become again beautiful, the whole illusion.  But finally I decided that they were not worth it."

Source: http://peacefulrivers.homestead.com/teachingstories.html#anchor_13713

A sufi story..

A man just got married and was
returning home with his wife. THEY WERE CROSSING A LAKE IN A BOAT when
suddenly a great storm arose.

The man was a warrior, but the woman
became very much afraid because it seemed almost hopeless: THE BOAT WAS
SMALL AND THE STORM WAS REALLY HUGE, and any moment they were going to
be drowned. But the man sat silently, calm and quiet, as if nothing was
happening.

The woman was trembling and she said, “ARE YOU NOT
AFRAID? This may be our last moment of life! It doesn’t seem that we
will be able to reach the other shore. Only some miracle can save us;
otherwise death is certain.

Are you not afraid? Are you mad or
something? Are you a stone or something?

” THE MAN LAUGHED AND TOOK THE SWORD OUT OF ITS SHEATH. The woman was even
more puzzled:

What he was doing? Then he brought the naked sword close to the woman’s neck
– so close that just a small gap was there, it was almost touching her
neck. He said,

“ARE YOU AFRAID?” She started to laugh and said,

“WHY ISHOULD BE AFRAID?

If the sword is in your hands, why I should be
afraid?

I know you love me.

” He put the sword back and said,
“This is my answer.

I KNOW GOD LOVES ME, and the sword is in his hands,
and the storm is in his hands –

SO WHATSOEVER IS GOING TO HAPPEN IS
GOING TO BE GOOD. If we survive, good; if we don’t survive, good –
because everything is in his hands and he cannot do anything wrong.”

THIS IS THE TRUST ONE NEEDS TO IMBIBE. Such tremendous trust is capable
of transforming your whole life. And ONLY such tremendous trust is
capable of transforming your life — less than that won’t do.


Source ://hiteshsjoshi.wordpress.com/2010/12/07/famous-sufi-story-on-faith/

Body Scars

I've always been very attracted to body scars, for some reason they look beautiful to me.
Today I read something wonderful that Paulo Coelho wrote, it truly explains how I have always felt about them.
So to everyone who is reading this, be proud of your body scars, I know I am :)

"Take pride in your scars.
Scars are medals branded on the flesh, and your enemies will be frightened by them because they are proof of your long experience of battle. "

And I'll walk on water, Thou will catch me if I fall.

My thoughts..

I don't usually write often on the blog but today when I went on this site(which took pictures of 100+ years old people still living) I noticed staring at the pictures what time really does to us all.
My father once told me. Time is King.
As much as it hurts to know we're all going to grow old and die. Looks are so so deceptive.
Today there, tomorrow gone.
My heart fills up knowing what lies ahead.
The truth is - I don't want to grow old.
I dont want to die and mostly I dont want to be alone.
But nothing in this world can stop this process.
Often I think to myself is it even worth remembering God who seems to have forgotten about me?
Somewhere this question was beautifully answered. When we look up and ask HIM the same, he replies silently, through the chirping of the birds, the trembling of the leaves and the beautiful butterflies- 'Where is your faith?'
So I believe in the better afterlife.
The place where no one grows old or dies.
The place with golden streets,
The place where blind men can see.

For more pictures log on to:
http://designtaxi.com/news/356907/Raw-Honest-Close-Up-Portraits-Of-100-Year-Olds/

My Foolish Heart
When will you learn?
There is no where else to turn..
Bhaj Govindam

The Fool

A fool is one who goes on trusting; a fool is one who goes on trusting against all his experience. You deceive him, and he trusts you; and you deceive him again, and he trusts you; and you deceive him again, and he trusts you. Then you will say that he is a fool, he does not learn. His trust is tremendous; his trust is so pure that nobody can corrupt it.

Be a fool in the Taoist sense, in the Zen sense. Don´t try to create a wall of knowledge around you. Whatsoever experience comes to you, let it happen, and then go on dropping it. Go on cleaning your mind continuously; go on dying to the past so you remain in the present, herenow, as if just born, just a babe.

In the beginning it is going to be very difficult. The world will start taking advantage of you...let them. They are poor fellows. Even if you are cheated and deceived and robbed, let it happen, because that which is really yours cannot be robbed from you, that which is really yours nobody can steal from you.

And each time you don´t allow situations to corrupt you, that opportunity will become an integration inside. Your soul will become more crystallized.

Source: http://www.osho.com/magazine/tarot/TarotCardNew.cfm

Quote Of the Week

Worrying is like praying for things you don't want
When things are going bad, we worry because things are bad. When things are good, we worry because things might get bad. One of the laws of Karma is "law of attraction". What you think about you will most definitely attract. Let go of the worry and let the Universe mete out the justice that is deserved. All will be well. Be Balanced. Be Natural. Be YOU

This one is specially dedicated to Siddharth Kanakia

The Cockroach

At a restaurant, a cockroach suddenly flew from somewhere and sat on

a lady. She started screaming out of fear. With a panic stricken

face and trembling voice, she started jumping, with both her hands

desperately trying to get rid of the cockroach.

Her reaction was contagious, as everyone in her group also got

panicky.

The lady finally managed to push the cockroach away but ...it landed

on another lady in the group.

Now, it was the turn of the other lady in the group to continue the

drama.

The waiter rushed forward to their rescue.

In the relay of throwing, the cockroach next fell upon the waiter.

The waiter stood firm, composed himself and observed the behavior of

the cockroach on his shirt.

When he was confident enough, he grabbed it with his fingers and

threw it out of the restaurant.

Sipping my coffee and watching the amusement, the antenna of my mind

picked up a few thoughts and started wondering, was the cockroach

responsible for their histrionic behavior?

If so, then why was the waiter not disturbed?

He handled it near to perfection, without any chaos.

It is not the cockroach, but the inability of the ladies to handle

the disturbance caused by the cockroach that disturbed the ladies.

I realized that, it is not the shouting of my father or my boss or

my wife that disturbs me, but it's my inability to handle the

disturbances caused by their shouting that disturbs me.

It's not the traffic jams on the road that disturbs me, but my

inability to handle the disturbance caused by the traffic jam that

disturbs me.

More than the problem, it's my reaction to the problem that creates

chaos in my life.

Lessons learnt from the story:

I understood, I should not react in life.

I should always respond.

The women reacted, whereas the waiter responded.

Reactions are always instinctive whereas responses are always well

thought of, just and right to save a situation from going out of

hands, to avoid cracks in relationship, to avoid taking decisions in

anger, anxiety, stress or hurry.

But with God all things are possible.

Matthew 19:26

HOW TO SURVIVE A HEART ATTACK WHEN YOU ARE ALONE??

Since many people are alone when they suffer a heart attack, without help,the person whose heart is beating improperly and who begins to feel faint, has only about 10 seconds left before losing consciousness.

However,these victims can help themselves by coughing repeatedly and very vigorously. A deep breath should be taken before each cough, and the cough must be deep and prolonged, as when producing sputum from deep inside the chest.

A breath and a cough must be repeated about every two seconds without let-up until help arrives, or until the heart is felt to be beating normally again.

Deep breaths get oxygen into the lungs and coughing movements squeeze the heart and keep the blood circulating. The squeezing pressure on the heart also helps it regain normal rhythm. In this way, heart attack victims can get to a hospital.