Rulers of India

 

Abbakka the brave

“In brief, her aspect and habit represented rather a kitchen-woman or a laundress than a delicate and noble queen. This is how an Italian traveller had described Abbakka Rani, the queen of Ullal in Karnataka. However appearances can be deceptive… for this plain-looking lady was a thorn in the path of the Portuguese in the late 16^th century.

Abbakka was a strong-minded Jaina queen trained in the art of warefare. When she learnt that her husband, ruler of Bangadi was keen on allying with the Portuguese, she left him to manage her home turf, the prosperous town of Ullal, which exported spices.

At that time, the Portuguese were vying for control of the western coast, to monopolize the lucrative Indian spice trade. When Abbakka refused to pay them to carry on her trade with the Arabs in West Asia, the Portuguese raided her ship on the high seas. Not one to be cowed down, Abbakka daringly attacked their base in Mangalore.

Thereafter, the Portuguese launched several attacks against Ullal, but were repulsed each time. Her fame spread far and wide as the fearless ‘pepper queen’ who successfully kept the mighty European power on their toes.

Once, the Portuguese managed to seize the city of Ullal, but the intrepid queen escaped, gathered a band of 200 soldiers, and counter-attacked them, forcing the invaders to flee in disgrace.

Eventually the Portuguese did capture her with the help of her estranged husband, but even in prison she revolted, and died fighting like a soldier.

 

Abbakka was as benevolent as she was brave and worked for the welfare of her subjects. She maintained good relations with people of all communities and religions, employing them in her army and administration.

Words Worth Reading

 

Lessons from Abraham Lincoln

1. Take responsibility for your life.

“You have to do your own growing - no matter how tall your grandfather was.”

2. Remember that greatness is possible.

“That some achieve great success, is proof to all that others can achieve it as well.

3. Believe in and go after your own success.

“Always bear in mind that your own resolution to success is more important than any other one thing.”

4. Prepare yourself to succeed.

“Give me six hours to chop down a tree, and I will spend the first four hours sharpening the axe.”

5. Become worthy of a good reputation.

“Reputation is like fine china, once broken it’s very hard to repair.”

6. Always see the brighter side of things.

“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.”

7. Be committed to constant improvement.

“The way for a young man to rise is to improve himself in every way he can...”

8. Live your life fully.

“And in the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.”

THE WISDOM OF THE SWALLOW

 The Wisdom of the Swallow

An old swallow resting on a bean vine saw a farmer sowing hemp seeds in his field.

“Beware, friends!” he said to the pigeons around him. “That farmer is going to destroy us.”

“What makes you say so?” asked one little pigeon.

“Because he is sowing hemp seeds!” said the old swallow. “When the hemp grows, he will make them into cords and tie them into nets to trap us. My advice to you is to pick up the seeds as soon as he leaves!”

However, the birds did not pay heed to his advice. A few days later the old swallow died.

The hempseeds grew into plants.

Then one day, as the birds were about to fly out in a flock, the farmer caught them in his newly-made hemp net.

“Alas!” cried the pigeons as they fell into the net, “If only we had listened to the old swallow!”

Moral of the story: Destroy the seed of evil or it will grow up to be your ruin.

words Worth Reading

Smile Is Mightier Than a Grin

The most bankrupt person in the world is one who has lost joy.

Every great and commanding movement in the history of the world incorporated enthusiasm.

Nothing great was or will be achieved without it.

So decide to become the most positive and enthusiastic person you know.

A smile is the shortest distance between two people.

Greet the unseen with cheer, not fear.

Follow the advice of Norman Cousins, “Laughter is a form of internal jogging. It moves your internal organs around. It also enhances respiration.”

Happiness is always an inside job. Our first choice should be to rejoice. For every minute that you are angry, you lose sixty seconds of happiness.

Two things contribute to happiness: what we can do without and what we can do with.

People are about as happy as they have made up their minds to be. Happiness can never be found, because it was never lost!

One seldom meets a person who fails at doing what he or she likes to do.

Don’t worry about the job you don’t like. Someone will soon have it. There is only one way to improve one’s work - love it.

Be like the steam kettle, though up to its neck in hot water, it continues to sing.

- Excerpt from the writings of John Mason’s book‘ You are Born an Original Don’t Die a Copy’.

Sanskrit Story

 Satyanishtata

Motivational

 Focus on what you can control

Tom met with his older mentor Dwyer, for his weekly chat.

“You seem troubled,” observed Dwyer.

“You know that project that I’ve been working on? It just didn’t work and I couldn’t get the result that I was after. In fact, I worked so hard on it, that I certainly deserved a better outcome,” responded Tom with frustration.

The mentor took Tom outside and pointing to a plant, said, “See this dead tomato plant. I did everything right when I planted it. I watered it, fertilized it and made sure that there were no weeds around it, but it still died. No matter how much you want to control the final outcome, you can’t. All that you can do is control the controllable, take responsibility for doing all that you can and leave the ultimate outcome up to God.”

“So what do I do? If I can’t be guaranteed success, should I just give up?” asked Tom, preparing to leave.

Giving him a basket full of large, juicy, bright red tomatoes, Dwyer said, “Of course not every tomato plant died. If you consistently do the right thing, you will significantly increase your chances of delivering successful outcomes. But if you give up due to one or two negative results, you’ll never reap a reward.”

Motivational

 

            Attitude of gratitude

There was a bird that lived in a desert, very sick, no feathers, nothing to eat and drink, and no shelter to live in.

One day a dove was passing by, so the sick unhappy bird stopped the dove and inquired, "Where are you going?"

It replied “I am going to heaven".

So the sick bird said "Please find out for me, when my suffering will come to an end"

The dove said, "Sure, I will."

And bid a good bye to the sick bird.

The dove reached heaven and shared the message of the sick bird with the angel in charge at the entrance gate.

 The angel said, "For the next seven years of its life the bird has to suffer like this, no happiness till then."

The dove said, "When the sick bird hears this he will get disheartened. Could you suggest any solution for this?"

The Angel replied, "Tell him to recite this verse "Thank you God for everything."

The dove on meeting the sick bird again, delivered the message of the angel to it .

After seven days the dove was again passing by and saw that bird was very happy, feathers grew on his body, a small plant grew up in the desert area, a small pond of water was also there, the bird was singing and dancing cheerfully. The dove was astonished.

The Angel had said that there would be no happiness for the bird for the next seven years.

With this question in mind the dove went to visit the angel at heaven's gate.

The dove put forth his query to the Angel. The Angel replied, "Yes it is true there was no happiness for the bird for seven years but because the bird was reciting the verse "THANK YOU GOD FOR EVERYTHING"  in every situation, his life changed.

When the bird fell down on the hot sand it said "THANK YOU GOD FOR EVERYTHING"

When it could not fly it said, "THANK YOU GOD FOR EVERYTHING"

When it was thirsty and there was no water around, it said, "THANK YOU GOD FOR EVERYTHING"

Whatever the situation, the bird kept on repeating, "THANK YOU GOD FOR EVERYTHING" and therefore the seven years got dissolved in seven days.

 

When I heard this story, I felt a tremendous shift in my way of feeling, thinking, accepting and viewing life.

I adopted this verse in my life. WHATEVER the situation I faced I started reciting this verse "THANK YOU GOD FOR EVERYTHING".

It helped me to shift my view from what I did not have to what I have in my life.

For instance; if my head pains I THANK GOD that the rest of my body is completely fine and healthy and I notice that the headache does not bother me at all.

In the same manner I started using this verse in my relationships (whether family, friends, neighbours, colleagues) finances, social life, business and everything with which I can relate.

I shared this story with everyone I came in touch with and it brought a great shift in their behaviour too.

This simple verse really had a deep impact on my life, I started feeling how blessed I am, how happy I am, how good life is.

The purpose of sharing this message is to make all of us aware of how powerful the “ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE” is.

It can reshape our lives...!!!

Let’s recite this verse continuously to experience the shift in our life.

So be grateful, and see the change in your attitude.

 

Be humble, and you will never stumble.

- REMEMBER! "THANK YOU GOD FOR EVERYTHING..."