Nuggets of wisdom

On Jan 8, 2008, I had the good fortune of attending a spiritual discourse by Swami Ishwarananda of the Chinmaya Mission, Los Angeles, USA. (Hard to believe he was a software engineer before he turned to this path and that was 23 years ago.)

He gave some wonderful tips on "Successful living". I put forward the same as understood by myself.

1. Change yourself - We cannot change anyone and attempting to do so only brings sorrow. However, we can change ourselves. Gandhiji once said "You have to be the change you want to see".

2. We should have the strength to change what we can; The courage to accept what we cannot; and the wisdom to know the difference between the two.

3. Success is relative to happiness - Do not rely on others for your happiness as that only paves the way for sorrow.

4. Smart people learn from other peoples' experiences.

5. (This I still have to learn to do) Know how to die cheerfully!