A beautiful Zen story

“My husband does not care for me.  He is lost in making money,” the wife complained.  The husband said, “The money I make is all that I have got. My wife is no longer interested in me.” It appears each one is lost in their subjective world, missing the joy of connecting to each other. Relationship is beautiful only when you connect, is it not? Why do we fail to connect? 

I told the couple a beautiful Zen story.  A Zen master was always happy.  Even in difficult times, he was happy. When asked for the secret of his happiness, he said, “When I get up in the morning, I ask myself, do I want to be in heaven or hell? Then I choose heaven and, therefore, I create heaven each moment. 

How does one create a heaven?

A person was on his death bed. In his dream, an angel took him on a tour of hell and heaven.  First, he visited hell.  There, each one’s hands were tied with a spoon in one hand and a fork in the other.  Most delicious food was ready in front of them. They were struggling to eat because the spoon and fork were tied to each person’s hand with a one foot long stick. They were starving.

Then he was taken to heaven. The scene was the same as hell, but people here were enjoying and laughing, for each one was serving and feeding the other. The moment you serve, you connect, and nature always helps those who serve. By serving others you create heaven and by getting lost in self, you create hell.

Wherever one goes, the cause for suffering is one’s personality. When you are enlightened, you will suddenly realize that your personality just died.  Personality is your ego.  Ego covers truth and what you have to see is your essence. This essentially means realization has to happen.  Personality protects some of our patterns, conflicts and hurts as a matter of survival.  Essence must impact and transform personality, and then you will be truly joyous.

In a corporate context for achievement, one should have personality -- the ego, is it not? That’s not true. For achievement, one needs commitment and clarity, and not ego. Ego is a block. It creates a wall around you and you are in conflict with your friends. It is the team which wins and with the ego, you are in conflict with the team. In life, one needs an innocent and wise self, and not an arrogant ego-self for it creates visible and invisible suffering.

Watch yourself when you suffer. You think suffering is coming from the experience or object of the experience. The point is not what you get or don’t get. The suffering comes from the content of your experience and not from the object of your perception. It comes from the operator in you, the one who sees, who acts, and who experiences. It comes from the ego, the doer. It is the “i”, the egoistic “me”, which creates inner chaos. So be sensitive; let the work space provide a ground for you to observe yourself, whether you are coming from ego or essence. Then you will have opportunity for new understanding.  Essence is our inner being, our inner stillness.  When you act from stillness, the action carries with itself the content of stillness.  External objects or people will not disturb this stillness. It is a powerful inner awakening. 

Remembering Dad-Father's Day Special

Some good Quotes....

1. It is a wise father that knows his own child. - William Shakespeare 
2. You don't have to deserve your mother's love. You have to deserve your father's. - Robert Frost
3. A father is the one who carries pictures where his money used to be. – Anonymous
4. Any man can be a father, but it takes someone special to be a dad. - Photographer Anne Geddes
5. Father's Day: It's just like Mother's Day only you don't spend so much. -  Unknown
6. You fathers will understand. You have a little girl. She looks up to you. You're her oracle. You're her hero. - Stanley T. Banks, Father of the Bride
7. It is impossible to please all the world and one's father. - Jean de La Fontaine
8. I'm a father; that's what matters most. Nothing matters more. - Gordon Brown
9. One father is more than a hundred schoolmasters.- George Herbert

My eyes get wet when I remember my dear dad, whom i lost 10 years ago. We were young and ready to absorb the world, we had a tragedy stuck home. Till date, I miss my dad who was my strong friend,guide,philosopher,possibly every act he can be.

A very soft spoken handsome gentleman, who got never recognised by family members and people for the good deeds he did. He was an introvert, kept major things to himself , never to let down anybody and sorrows affect his wife or children.

Daddy's little girl who has grown up misses him terribly in this big bad world for that affectionate hug,console and encouraging words when you'r morale goes down when something doesn't work up to your expectations.

To all FATHER'S there, little girls can become mothers for their father when they grow old.Please treasure them as your son or if possible more than that.

Ready to Fly

The baby birds today learnt how to fly in our basement while the mother pushed and prodded the little ones to fly. What a visual treat today morning!

Many moods of the little ones!

Bird's nest in our home garden!

So cute these baby birds are ! There are 4 in number waiting their mother their to feed the food!

My friend beloved 'Lord Ganesha' from an artist point of view!

A-Z OF WONDER WOMAN

A-Z OF WONDER WOMAN

Appreciate the little things in life

Befriend but be cautious

Consult others but decide for self,

Don’t say ‘yes’ when you mean ‘no’!

Expect less or nothing from others

Forgive and forget. It saves you pain.

Give as good as you get.

Humor is essential. Learn to laugh.

Inject fun into your life.

Juggle your way through multitasking.

Knights in shining armor appear only in fairy tales,

Learn to say ‘no’.

Manage your thoughts and your actions will be taken care of.

Never forget the blessings that come with each day.

Observe, learn, filter and take in only what is necessary.

Put yesterday at the back of your mind.

Question more but intelligently,

Remember to forget the things that made you sad.

Stand your ground when you know you are right.

Think positive thoughts all the time.

Undaunted, Undeterred, Undismayed, Unfazed are the 4Us to possess

Venture out and take the risk.

Winter is here but spring comes soon after ( Be optimistic!)

Xerox your inner self onto your face.

Yearn not for happiness from outside.

Zero out your negative thoughts.

-Karma Choden

Know your PAN card better

Know your PAN card better

 The importance of Permanent Account Number (PAN) card has grown over the years, and it is today an essential part of our lives. The most important purpose of allotting PAN to an entity is for the purpose of identification and to track all the related monetary information of that entity. Initially, the significance of PAN was for filing income tax returns. Over time, PAN was used in dealings with the stock markets, banks and purchase of real estate and vehicles. 

Today, PAN has started finding use in unconventional areas as well, as follows:

•    Bank Fixed Deposits: If you open a fixed deposit with your bank for an amount exceeding Rs. 50,000, a copy of PAN card needs to be given. In absence of PAN, the bank will deduct TDS of 20% or at the prevailing rate, whichever is higher (instead of the normal 10%). Further, the bank will not issue TDS certificate. Form 15G/15H and other exemption certificates will be invalid in this case.
•    Payment in Hotels and Restaurants: You may asked to submit a copy of your PAN if you pay cash in hotels or restaurants against bills for an amount exceeding Rs. 25,000

•    Payment to Travel Agents: Cash payment more than Rs. 25,000 for travel to any foreign country (fare or purchase of foreign currency) in a single payment requires you to produce your PAN copy
•    Rental Agreements: Nowadays, landlords demand a copy of the PAN card of tenants, as the primary ID proof, while letting out their property.

•    Jewellery shops: High-value purchase of jewellery in cash should be accompanied by a copy of the PAN card of the buyer, mainly as a means to curb black money usage.

Other usages of PAN include:

•    Payment in Second Hand Car Dealings

•    Installation of Telephone

•    Visa Facilitation Centres

It is seen that quoting or producing a copy of your PAN card is compulsory in practically every money transaction, and not restricted to Income Tax dealings. The significance of PAN cannot be questioned as this has become the primary document sought in all important legitimate dealings.

Do NRIs require PAN Card?As PAN is required for any financial transaction in India, an NRI will need to have a PAN card if he has an income in India and has to file returns, if he wishes to invest in India, when he carries out banking transactions, if he purchases real estate or for any transaction mentioned above.

Beware of PAN Frauds:The increasing importance of PAN has increased the likeliness of PAN Card identity theft. The safeguarding of the physical copy of the PAN card no longer assures that your card is not being misused. As a majority of transactions demand a photocopy of your PAN card, or simply quoting the Permanent Account Number, it is very easy for your information to be misused for high ticket purchases or benami property transactions. A copy of your PAN card or simply its number can be quoted in transactions, which you are not even a part of.

Example of how your information can be misused: Recently, a consumer activist group revealed that the PAN card copy used in Railway ticket Tatkal bookings were misused by several jewellers. When an individual produces his PAN to book the Tatkal tickets, this information is fed in the Indian Railways system and also displayed on the ticket, reservation chart and train coaches. Unscrupulous jewellers steal this information from such public displays and use it to furnish tax collected details while they sell jewellery of very high value to high-net worth individuals who do not wish to produce their PAN.
If this happens to you? 

When your PAN card is illegally used, you may not even be aware of this for atleast 6 months after the wrong transaction. You can check for such benami transactions by going through your Form 26AS, which is a consolidated statement of tax deducted, along with other details. If you are a non-tax paying PAN card holder, you may not even be able to check this form. The Income Tax department will require the PAN card holder to prove that the transaction was not carried out by him, and also give details on his source of funds. This becomes very difficult and time-consuming. As a PAN card holder, you should take care while disclosing your PAN details to anyone. You must hand over only signed photocopies and try to reduce using PAN in all casual transactions as ID proof.

Phonetic PAN (PPAN): The phonetic PAN (PPAN) is a new concept introduced to prevent a single PAN being allotted to more than one assessee with same or similar names. When PAN is allotted, the PPAN of the assessee is compared with the PPANs of all the assessees to whom PAN has been allotted in the country. A warning is sounded off if a matching PPAN is detected. A duplicate PPAN report is then generated. A new PAN can be allotted only if the Assessing Officer overrides this duplicate PPAN detection.

Thus the PAN is a key document today and even takes predominance over your name as far as the tax authorities are concerned.