Lincoln's great spirit

There's a place in Washington where we can see a moving display of genuine presidential piety: the National Cathedral. If you visit the cathedral you will find a statue of Abraham Lincoln poised on his knees. Many Americans don't realize that Lincoln actually instituted many forms of public recognition of God that we take for granted today. During his presidency, he declared more days of prayer, fasting, and thanksgiving than any president before or since. And, few realize that our traditional Thanksgiving celebration became a national holiday only after Lincoln's proclamation in 1863. Yet, despite this pious pedigree, Lincoln was...

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The Devoted Son

Jamadagni was a Great Rishi. He lived a pious life with his wife Renuka. One day Renuka and the rishi were making a shivalinga from clay. Just as they were giving in the finishing touches, Renuka’s concentration was distracted by the sound of hooves. The shadow of the Kshatriya king who rode that way fell on the shivalinga. Rishi Jamadagni who noticed the loss of concentration of his wife was enraged. He called his eldest son. “Your mother must be killed now,” the rishi ordered. But Jamadagni’s son refused to kill her. The rishi then called his second son. The second son wanted to know why he should kill an innocent woman who was also his mother. Jamadagni then called his third son. “Cut off your mother’s head now,” he ordered. The third son was Parashurama. Without a word Parashurama...

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The foolish lion and the clever rabbit

Once upon a time there lived a ferocious lion in the forest. It was a greedy lion and started killing animals in the forest indiscriminately. Seeing this, the animals gathered and decided to approach the lion with the offer of one animal of each species volunteering itself to be eaten by the lion everyday....

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Story of The Brahmin and the crooks

Mitra Sarma was a Brahmin living in a small village. He used to daily worship Fire. It was the month of Magha (February). The sky was full of clouds and it had already started raining. Sarma left for a neighbouring village at that time to seek the gift of a sacrificial lamb from some rich man. He called on a well-to-do man in the village and requested him to make him a gift of a healthy lamb for sacrifice to Gods. The wealthy man gave him one of the well-fed lambs he had. Carrying the lamb on his shoulders, the Brahmin began his homeward journey. Three crooks, very hungry and emaciated, crossed his path and seeing the healthy lamb on the Brahmin’s shoulders thought, “Ah, God has sent us good food. Let us trick the Brahmin into parting with it and free us from hunger and cold.” At once,...

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Don't judge a book by its cover

Some people are just doomed to be failures. That's the way some adults look at troubled kids. Maybe you've heard the saying, "A bird with a broken wing will never fly as high." I'm sure that T. J. Ware was made to feel this way almost every day in schoo...

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Tips for enjoying every moment of your life

Forgive yourself and others Life is too short to hold on to regrets, grudges, miscommunications, or disappointments. Free yourself by forgiving and letting go of any negative energy you're holding on to about yourself or others. The process of forgiving yourself and others will result in your feeling light and fre...

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