When one is strong, one's attempt is also potent.

1.Life is either pleasant or unpleasant depending upon your basic attitude towards it; just as how the same object could give you pleasure on one occasion and not on another. What is welcomed with great fondness at one time becomes distasteful at another time without even the desire to see it. The condition of the mind at those times is the cause of this state. Therefore, it is necessary to train the mind to be always serene.

2.To help you give up fear and doubt, keep the Name of the Lord always on your tongue and in your mind. Dwell on the endless forms of the Lord and His limitless glory while you repeat the Name. Attach yourself to Him; then your attachment for these temporary objects will decrease, or at least you will start seeing their proper value as having only relative reality. When the tiny little ego assumes enormous importance, it causes many problems! That is the root of all your travails and miseries.

3.Everyone believes that there is undoubtedly One Transcendent Eternal Power, and that all this has originated from It, and that all this has to merge in It again. This belief is the hallmark of a true devotee. The question regarding the nature and characteristics of God that we believe in is irrelevant; it is not so important. Let us not dispute about the various points of view that divide people. It is enough for us if God is accepted and emphasised. This is the reason why God confers His grace on all those who preach any Name and any Form that can attract and inspire man, as sacred and true. May this faith grow more, for it brings greater spiritual progress if it is acted upon increasingly. All our aspiration must be related to God.

4.There are two types of people: one set on accusing themselves as sinners and the other flattering themselves as great. Both types are afflicted by their own mental aberrations! What they both need is mental satisfaction, and this can be obtained by meditation. Wisdom grows once we improve our understanding and this happens through meditation. Therefore, you should develop an interest in meditation — that is to say, you must acquire a yearning for this practice that is one-pointed and does not tolerate any obstacle. Yearning must have the strength to inspire endeavour. In fact, yearning is but dormant endeavour; endeavour is yearning in action. When yearning is weak, endeavour declines; when one is strong, one’s attempt is also potent.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

கார்லிக் ரைஸ்

தேவையானவை:

பொன்னி பச்சரிசி- கால் கிலோ

உரித்த பூண்டு --- ஐம்பது கிராம்

சின்ன வெங்காயம் ----“

உளூந்து ----- ஒரு டீஸ்பூன்

கடலைப்பருப்பு----ஒரு டீஸ்பூன்

நல்லெண்ணெய் -----நூறு மில்லி

கறிவேப்பிலை-----சிறிதளவு

இஞ்சி ----- சிறிதளவு

மிளகாய் வற்றல் ----- ஆறு

புளி ----- சிறிதளவு

உப்பு ------- தேவையான அளவு

செய்முறை:

அரிசியை கழுவி, அரை மணி நேரம் ஊறவைத்து பின் சாதம் வடிக்கவும். வாணலியில் எண்ணெய் ஊற்றி காய்ந்ததும் உளுந்தை, கடலைப்பருப்பையும் வறுக்க வேண்டும். புளி, பெருங்காயம், பூண்டு சேர்த்து வதக்கவேண்டும். புளி, பெருங்காயப்பவுடர் சேர்த்து வதக்கி ஆற வைக்கவும். இதனுடன் தேவையான அளவு உப்புச்சேர்த்து மிக்ஸியில் அரைக்க வேண்டும். இந்த பூண்டு கலவையை, வடித்த சாதத்தில் பிசைந்தால் பூண்டு சாதம் தயார்.

Thought for the Day

1.A person bound by objective desires will try in various ways to fulfill them. He will be a slave to his senses and their pursuits. But if one withdraws the senses from the world and gains control over their master, the mind, and engages that mind in thapas (penance), then one can establish Swaarajya or Self-mastery - independence over oneself. Bondage means to allow the senses to attach themselves to objects. When the mind that flows through the senses towards the outer world is turned inwards and is made to contemplate on the Atma, it attains Liberation or Moksha.

2.To describe anything in words is difficult; it might even cause boredom. But to demonstrate it by deed is easier and more pleasant! Through meditation, spiritual aspirants are able to cast off their ignorance, layer by layer. They withdraw their sense perceptions from contact with worldly experiences. Only the process that aims at this holy consummation deserves to be called meditation. For this task you must be equipped with good habits, discipline, and high ideals. You must be full of renunciation towards worldly things and their attractions. Whatever be the situation, you should conduct yourself with enthusiasm and joy. Whatever is done must be dedicated not to eke out a livelihood, but for earning Atmic bliss (Atma-ananda). You should train yourself to adopt a good sitting pose (asana< /em>) to avoid bodily tension and to go beyond body consciousness. If you truly meditate thus, you will achieve oneness with the Divine and experience the joy of realizing the Atma within yourself.

3.There is no need to seek the Truth anywhere outside yourself. Seek it within you: you are the miracle of miracles. Whatever is not within you cannot be found anywhere outside you. What is visible outside you is but a rough reflection of what really is within you! The ancient belief was that Easwara (God) ruled over the World, and was outside it. This, the Indian seekers put to the test through Sadhana (spiritual exercises) and revealed that God was and is in the world and of it. This is the first contribution of Indians to spirituality - that God is not external to man, but is his very inner core. They declared that it is impossible to remove Him from the heart where He has installed Himself. He is the very Atma of our Atma, the Soul of our soul. He is the inner Reality of e ach one of us!

4.You can overcome the troubles and tribulations that come in the wake of an attempt to destroy the undesirable activities of the mind by adopting a strict course of discipline. The spiritual aspirant just has to put this disciplined approach into practice. Even the most powerful drug cannot affect a cure when it is just brought to the bedside of the patient. The patient has to take it in, little by little, as per prescription, with all attendant care, and try to assimilate it into his/her system. The healing effects of the drug must pervade the entire body; the body must be suffused with the drug. If you desire success from your spiritual practices, you must give up all false and low feelings and act according to the highest teachings. If you do this sincerely, you will certainly attain results. The secret of achievement is proportionate to the importance you, the spiritual aspirant, give to right conduct (Sanmarga).

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

1.Wherever you may be, in whatever country, do not give scope for religious differences. Do not give up your religion; adhere to your faith and tradition. When differences between religions are given up, love will develop in you. When love grows, you can have a direct vision of God. Without love, mere verbal prayers are of no avail. Realise that the Love that is present in everyone is the same. It is that common bond of Love of God that binds everyone.

2.There is a close and mutual relationship between the body, and the attitudes and feelings of the mind. That is why inner feelings become evident in our physical gestures. The posture and the appearance of the body help us to discover others feelings. For example, with the sleeves of the shirt rolled up, and the palms rounded into fists, is it possible to exhibit love or devotion? Or while seated cross-legged on the ground with eyes half-closed, and hands held up over the head with palms joined together, is it possible to show one’s anger or hatred or cruelty? That is why the ancient rishis (sages) advised spiritual aspirants to adopt an appropriate bodily pose during prayer and meditation. They saw that through gentle body postures it is possible to control the waywardness of the mind.

3.Everyone should firmly believe that they are the Atma, the Embodiment of Divine Self. They must be aware that the Atma cannot be cut in twain by the sword, that fire cannot burn It, that water cannot wet It, and that the wind cannot dry It. The Atma has no bounds. Its centre is in the body, but its circumference is unbounded. Death means the Atma has shifted from one body to another. This is the belief that you must firmly have in mind. The Atma is not subject to material or worldly limitations or laws. By its very nature, it is free. It is unbounded. It is purity. It is holiness. It is fullness.

4.Once you have learnt to ride a motorcycle, you can ride on any road and under all conditions. But when you are just learning to ride, for your own safety as well as for the safety of those around you, you have to select an open ground and must follow certain principles of balance; this is essential. So too, those who engage in the practice of meditation and sadhana (spiritual exercises) have to follow a certain course of training. No change should be made in this routine. Until the goal of meditation or your spiritual practice is achieved, the well-established discipline of sitting postures (asanas) or the practices you follow must be adhered to. After attainment of the goal, that is, after the mind (manas) and the intellect (buddhi) have been conquered and brought under control you can be immersed in meditation wherever you find yourself - in a chair, on a rock, or in a car!

Bagavan Sri Sri sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

1.The very intention of repeating the Divine name and undertaking meditation is to purify the mind and the intellect. In order to achieve this, pure and serene (sathwic) meditation is best. Over time, when the mind and the intellect become pure, they will shine with the splendour of the realization of the Atma(Divine Self). One in whom this understanding shines fully is called a rishi(sage). It is said, Brahmavid Brahmaiva Bhavathi - The knower of Atma becomes the Atma itself. The goal of life, that which makes life worthwhile, is the understanding of the Atma and attaining oneness with it.

2.Creation involves the putting together of substances. What is put together must come apart in course of time and get liberated. The individual is created and so one day he has to perish. Now, some are born happy; they enjoy healthy, happy lives, while some others are born miserable. A few others are born with physical or mental deformities. Who hurt them or injured them? God is not the cause for these differences. When a particular task is done again and again, it becomes a habit, a skill; is it not? Therefore, the skill or habit that a new-born exhibits must be due to constant repetition indulged long ago. The suffering, misery, handicap or health and happiness are the consequence of the acts indulged in by the individual in previous lives. Hence, eschew violence. All must live together in peace and harmony, without causing or suffering injury.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

1.If you crave for the fruit of your acts at every step, you are overpowered by passion. If the fruit is not available, then, gradually, laxity and disgust overpower the spiritual aspirant and the repetition of the Name and meditation slowly dry up. This is the restless, passionate, rajasic path. For some, the Lord comes to memory only in times of danger or acute suffering or when one is the victim of loss or pain. At such times, such a person prays and vows to arrange ritualistic worship (puja), offer some particular food, or build a temple to the Lord, etc. One calculates the quantity of food placed before the Lord, the tribute offered at His feet, the number of prostrations performed, and the number of times he/she went around the shrine and then asks for proportionate rewards! For those who adopt this attitude in meditation, and follow the dull, tamasic path, the mind and intellect can never be pure.

2.Today, people mistakenly think that spirituality has no relation to worldly life and vice versa. True divinity is a combination of spirituality and social obligations. National unity and social harmony are founded upon spirituality. It is the Divine that links spirituality and social existence. The Creator and the Prakriti(Creation) are inextricably associated with each other. Hence, God should not be regarded as separate from Creation. You must see God in the cosmos. For instance, take a tumbler made of silver. The one who notices the silver in the tumbler, thinks only of the material base and not the form of the container. On the other hand, the one who sees it as a tumbler, may not note that it is made of silver metal. Only the person who can recognise both silver and tumbler can discern that it is a silver tumbler. Likewise , without God, there is no creation. However, most people see only the creation; very few recognise that the creation is a projection of the Creator. It is essential that every human being should realize that without God, there can be no cosmos.

3.As each individual is a unique entity, so too each nation has a distinctive individuality. Each person is different from the other in certain matters and is endowed with some special characteristics which are his/her own. So too, each nation has certain special features, not found in others. Every individual has to play a role as part of the system. Each one's own previous karmaor deeds has determined a special line or path for him/her. The history of nations too is the same. Each has to play a role already laid down by its destiny. Each nation has to deliver a special message of its own to the world community.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba