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