When I was in California a few years ago I met one of my old college friends who is now a well known Zen teacher. Recently I had some email correspondence with him and also saw his page on Wikipedia, and his bio on the website of the foundation which he started.

After seeing all that he did and compared my own work to his, I began thinking, next to him “I’m nobody” and I kept thinking “I’m nobody” and again “I’m nobody”. Finally I was reminded of an old story:

Once there was a Rabbi who wanted to impress everyone with his humility and spiritual attainment. So one day he threw himself on the floor next to the altar, in front of the congregation, and began to wail “Lord, I’m nobody”, “I’m nobody”. He kept on, and then the congregation’s Cantor was so impressed that he also threw himself on the floor and started to say “Lord, I’m nobody.” Out in the hallway there was a janitor who heard the commotion and he peeked in to see what was happening. He became so inspired that he too, entered and threw himself on the floor and began saying “Lord, I’m nobody.”

When the Rabbi saw the janitor on the floor he became irritated and said to the Cantor, “And look who thinks he’s nobody!”

by Dada Vedaprajinananda

Sometime back I read an anecdote concerning Bill and Hillary Clinton. It seems that one time, many years ago, Hillary dragged Bill to a yoga class. Bill remarked that he was the only man in the class. In many countries, that is the way it is, with women being the primary enthusiasts at yoga classes. One of the main reasons for this may be that yoga is seen as a way to lose weight and become more beautiful. Let’s take a look at this and see what role yoga has to play in making someone look beautiful. (more…)