Last Christmas, 12 Filipino families opted to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ in the very place where He was born—Israel, the Holy Land. It was by no means an easy decision to make, since it meant added expense and being away from other relatives and friends.
Respect goes hand in hand with humility. It requires the insight to perceive that other living beings are among God’s children. Everyone deserves courtesy and fair treatment.
Once, there was a baby girl who was left in the care of her relatives after the death of her mother. Shortly after the mother passed away, the relatives felt her presence hovering over the child, who looked up and said, “Mama, Mama!”
Some people think that achieving self-realization is difficult. People connect it with renouncing family and friends, living in isolation, meditating for hours on end, going to India or the Himalayas to an ashram, sitting in lotus position and keeping the mind blank, wearing austere clothing, performing yoga asana for long periods, pursuing mystical powers, and discussing “heavy” philosophical ideas.
Some people have a habit of saying, “Go to hell!” But, who really goes to hell? The Vedas clearly states that hell awaits those who commit sinful acts. The Vedas describes the people destined to end up in hell.
My friend’s 4-year-old daughter has leukemia. Despite limited understanding of medical technicalities, she coped with her illness. She was initially terrified of nurses and doctors, but realized that they were trying to help her, and got braver!
I dreamt I was walking in a long white corridor. It seemed an endlessly long hallway with many rooms on either side with Roman numerals posted on their brown doors. I could faintly hear a song being played but I wasn’t sure what it was. As soon as I entered a room with a high ceiling, the words of the song reverberated within its confines. The words became unmistakable. I was hearing the chorus of ‘”I Will Be Here” by Gary Valenciano being played over and over again. As I looked around the room, I couldn’t find Gary V. Neither could I find the source from where it was coming. It was as if it was being played from above or somewhere unseen.
Victory and defeat, gain and loss, happiness and distress—these are dualities in this material world. He who knows this is surprised neither by tragedy nor success.
The father of our friend passed away recently, and his daughters were unhappy about what happened at the hospital. In the ICU, he was hooked to all sorts of machines. When his situation deteriorated in a matter of hours, his close relatives agreed not to artificially resuscitate him anymore.
A great sage once advised his students, “You must develop spiritual vision to see what matters most in your journey through life. After all, as your body ages, you cannot solely depend on your senses, which will ultimately fail you. In time, you will no longer be able to clearly see with your eyes nor hear with your ears. Thus, you must have a deeper sense of perception that allows you to see things as they are.”
WHERE is home? Some insights that can help us find our way to our real home: The material shelter we try to establish in this world is always changing—and imperfect. There’s no genuine security from danger and misery in this world, and that makes us vulnerable and uneasy.
SOME insights on fatherhood: Fathers go through sacrifices to raise their children well. Many of them may be under-appreciated, but they’re not hidden from the Supreme Father, who blesses them with happiness and good fortune.
