Thought for the Day

1.Unfortunately, no transformation is taking place in the human beings in spite of repeating the Divine Name several times. You should chant the Name of God wholeheartedly with full faith. Faith develops love towards God and that love towards God confers Grace. No doubt, people today are repeating the holy name, but not with love and steady faith. They are more concerned with how others are singing and whether their shruthi (pitch) and raaga (melody) are in order, etc. They are doing Naamasankirtana with a wavering mind. There can be no transformation in them by such fickle minded sadhana in spite of doing it for hours together. Naamasankirtan has to be done with absolute concentration and steady faith like a yogi. It is said “Sathatham Yoginah”. One can achieve great transformation if the mind is steadily fixed on the Divine Name.

2.Bhajan is very necessary to melt the heart of God. When you do Nagar Sankirtan early in the morning, everybody will get up and listen to the Divine Name. Hearing the name of God as soon as they wake up will fill them with great bliss and enthusiasm. Constantly remember the name of God; never forget Him. This is the noblest path; the true spiritual practice. When you do this, you will be immensely blessed.

3.Surrender does not mean offering your body to God. Real surrender is the chanting of the Divine Name and making it the basis of your life. It is for the same reason that Guru Nanak, the first Guru of the Sikhs, started community singing. He told his followers that they should seek fulfillment in life by chanting the Divine Name. Consider the chanting of the Name of God as the most important spiritual practice. You may spend any amount of money in charity and in doing acts of service, but these practices will give you only temporary mental satisfaction at the most if they are not complemented with the chanting of the Divine Name.

4. Today the country is facing a lot of problems because people are not doing enough Naamasmarana (remembering the divine name). Let each and every street reverberate with the singing of divine glory. Let each and every cell of your body be filled with divine name. Nothing else can give you the bliss, courage and strength that you derive from Naamasmarana. Even if some people make fun of you, do not bother about it. Do Naamasmarana with total concentration and dedication. Do not be afraid of anyone. Sing the glory of God wholeheartedly without any inhibition. Only then can you experience divine bliss.

5.There are many snakes of wicked qualities in the anthill of your heart. When you do Naamasmarana (remembering the divine name) all the ‘snakes’ of bad qualities will come out. Naamasmarana is like the musical wind instrument (Nadaswaram) which attracts snakes and brings them out of anthills. This Nadaswaram is your Jeevana swaram (music of your life) and Prana swaram (breath of your life). One has to repeat God’s name in order to get rid of evil qualities. Today there are many who do not attach any importance to Naamasmarana. It is a great mistake. In this Age of Kali only chanting of the divine name can redeem your lives. There is no other refuge. Singing the glory of the Lord is highly sacred!

6.Fill the reservoir when it rains, so that in times of drought, you can feed the fields. Do intense Sadhana (spiritual exercises) now, when you are young and strong so that you can be in peace and joy for the rest of your life. Make the most profitable use of this present period of your lives. Do not waste the hours in irrelevance and irreverence. Do not indulge in the condemnation of others or in self-disapprobation. Let your hearts rejoice, clothed in fresh ideals, feelings and resolutions. Mould your lives into sweet songs of Love.

7.The farmer, intent on cultivation, ignores even food and sleep, for he is too busy ploughing, levelling, scattering seeds, watering, weeding, guarding and fostering the crop. He knows that his family will have to subsist on the harvest that he brings home and that if he fritters away the precious season in idle pursuits, his family will be confronted with hunger and ill-health. So, he sets aside or postpones other pursuits and focuses all his attention on farming alone. He puts up with difficulties and deprivations, toils day and night, watches over the growing crops and garners the grain. As a consequence, he is able to spend the months ahead, in peace and joy, with his happy family. Students and spiritual seekers have to learn important lessons from the farmer. The stage of youth is the season for mental and intellectual culture. These years should be intensively and intelligently cult ivated irrespective of difficulties and obstacles. The clamour of the senses has to be silenced; hunger and thirst have to be controlled; the urge to sleep and relax has to be curbed.

8.Deepavali has to be observed as a day for getting rid of all the bad qualities in us, symbolised by the demon Narakasura. The inner meaning underlying the festival should be rightly understood. A whole array of lamps is lit by the light from one lamp. That one lamp symbolises the Supreme Effulgent Lord. The others represent the light in individual selves. The truth of the Vedic saying, "The One willed to become the many" is exemplified by the lighting of many lamps by the flame of one. Deepavali festival thus bears out the profoundest spiritual truth. The lamp also points to another significant fact. Wherever it may be placed, the flame rises only upwards and never moves down. Likewise, the flame of Jnana (Spiritual Wisdom) leads one to a sublime level through the path of Righteousness.

9.When the person who is bound relies on the one who is not bound, he can get rid of his bonds and move about freely. The person who is deep in grief must seek refuge in the one who is floating on spiritual bliss (ananda) filled with joy. Bondage plunges one into sorrow; the Lord is Total Bliss Personified. Therefore, one can be completely cured of grief only by resorting to the inexhaustible spring of delight, the Lord. And what exactly is liberation (moksha)? It is release from grief, the absence of sorrow, and attainment of spiritual bliss (ananda-praapti). The supreme Self, the sovereign Lord, is the embodiment of indivisible sweetness (rasa), the treasure house of bliss (ananda nilaya). Hence, those who seek and secure His grace gain eternity itself

10.Teachers who teach with the salary paid to them in their minds, and students who learn with the jobs they may procure as their focus are both pursuing wrong paths. In fact, the task of the teacher is to discharge his duty of instructing and inspiring the students so that they develop their latent talents and advance in the perfection of their skills. The task of the student is to unfold the Divine in him and equip himself for serving society with his skill and knowledge.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai baba