Thought for the day

1.The One who has visualized the Atma principle that animates all can never condemn the religion of anyone. Such a person will never enter into any religious squabble or conflict, or talk in a light or demeaning manner about another’s faith, or disturb or despise the faith held by someone else. Only the ignorant with no spiritual experience, only those who do not know the depths of Truth, will embark upon the condemnation of the faith of others. It is very unbecoming of man to indulge in or encourage religious conflicts, to ridicule the rites and ceremonies through which others adore God, and to label the religious practices of other people as ‘superstitions’. For, each one has accepted the practice and holds on to it, since it confers ananda (joy) to them!

2.Be unaffected by illusion (maya). The intellect (buddhi) in us is the witness of everything that happens in this objective world. These worldly occurrences limit and colour the intellect; they affect it and mould it into consciousness (chaithanya). Illusion is nothing but the intellect as affected by everything, as warped and twisted by our worldly impressions. Therefore, the spiritual consciousness that is unaffected by illusion — i.e. upon which the world has failed to produce any impression - is the Lord (Iswara). Therefore, the person who is striving to reach the stage of the Lord must be unaffected by illusion, least enamoured by the world! How can one remain unaffected? Through analysis, rationalization, fearless inquiry, and pure reason. To acquire this analytical reason (viveka), it is esse ntial to contribute in the task of promoting the welfare of every being in Nature.

3.The fleeting show of the world (jagath) is based on illusions (maya). That is why it is branded as false. But do not conclude that mere recognition of the falsity of the world or awareness that one has certain shortcomings will lead one on the higher path and take one to the highest truth. Without a good character full of sterling qualities, one can never achieve progress in the spiritual field. Progress depends on the worth and quality of the individual, just as the harvest depends on the fertility of the field. Upon such a worthy piece of land, sow the seeds of sterling qualities and irrigate with the waters of reason and analysis; the plentiful harvest will be ready in due time! On lands where the seedlings of good qualities are not planted and tended, useless weeds multiply; and where orderly gardens could have been cultivated, thorny bushes create a jungle of impenetrable confusions.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

1.Anyone who is intent on following the spiritual path or meditation must take every care that these ten enemies do not even approach them (the tenfold sins: 3 physical, 4 verbal, and 3 mental. The physical sins are: injury to life, adulterous desire, and theft. The verbal sins are: false alarms, cruel speech, jealous talk, and lies. The mental sins are: greed, envy, and denial of God). These sins have to be eschewed completely. Instead, you need tendencies that will help you progress and not drag you back. You must speak and act only good (shubha), for good alone is auspicious (mangala) and the auspicious alone is Shiva. This is what the scriptures (shastras) teach. The good is the auspicious. The auspicious is the spiritually helpful. Thus being good is the true instrument that aids in merging with Lord Shiva.

2.So many nights have passed by since we were born, but not all those nights can be termed as Shivarathri. Since this night is spent in meditation and singing the Glory of the Divine Name of Lord Shiva, it is called Shivarathri. Not only this night, in fact, whenever you spend an entire night meditating upon the Divine Name, that night is also called Shivarathri. Always attach yourself to the Divine Name. Not merely contemplation, always meditate on the Divine Name with intense love for Him. Your love for God should be continuous through day and night, and never undergo a change.

3.Light bulbs have different wattages and last for a limited period of time. Avatars (incarnations of the Divine) are like these electric bulbs. Throughout history, God has incarnated as several Avatars. You must be attached, NOT to the physical form of a particular Avatar, but to DIVINITY as the Supreme Parabrahma beyond form and attributes, which has manifested several times, in many ages. Though you were born as a baby, grow up as a child, turn into a youth, and later become an elderly person; you are the same individual in all these various stages. Therefore, you must constantly meditate upon the Divine, who is True and Eternal.

4.All religious fanaticism and conflicts will vanish as soon as we grasp the Reality. Faith in God is based on genuine experience. Once we accept this, introspection begins and we are able to measure how far we have journeyed towards the goal, or away from it. We will then realize that we are groping in the dark and dragging others into darkness as well. Only then will we give up factional hatred in the name of religious conflict with those professing other faiths. Those who revel in religious confrontation should be asked, “Have you seen God? Have you become aware of the Divine Atma? If not, what authority do you have to decry or deny a particular name of God? You are lost in darkness and trying to drag me into that same darkness. Can a blind man lead another blind man along the road? That is an impossible task. Therefore, first understand your Truth before
you defame, or deny mine.”

5.Welfare is the fruit of knowledge; malevolence is the fruit of ignorance. Through welfare alone can peace, joy, and progress be attained. One’s very basic duty is to strive for the good of all beings. Promoting it and contributing to it is the right task. Living out one’s span of life in discharging this task is the ordained path.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

1.The person who undertakes meditation considers the realization of Atmic bliss as important, but the promotion of the welfare of the world is also an equally important aim. For carrying out that aim, we must bring certain physical, verbal, and mental proclivities under control. These are known as the tenfold sins: three physical, four verbal, and another three mental. The physical tendencies are: injury to life, adulterous desire, and theft. The verbal sins are: false alarms, cruel speech, jealous talk, and lies. The negative mental attitudes are: greed, envy, and the denial of God.

2.At the end of our life, we should bring to mind the great ideals we have attained, and the lofty thoughts and feelings we have entertained. This was the directive of the sages of Bharat (India). They did not demand that we should remember the faults and errors we may have committed; these are inevitable and universal. But the sages declared that we should always be aware of our Reality and be ever engaged in contemplating its grandeur and glory. That, they said, is the greatest step to progress.

3.Religion means ‘experience’ and nothing less. It is indeed pitiable that we often forget this important fact. This secret must be imprinted in everyone’s heart; only then can there be harmony in society. One must also understand that all things cannot be attained merely by self-effort; Divine Will is the basis of everything. Religious principles have to be practiced and their validity experienced. Listening to their exposition is of no use; learning a set of arguments and conclusions and repeating them parrot-like is not enough. If they appeal to your intellect and are approved by it as correct, that will not help you at all; it must transform you.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

1.Control the senses which run helter-skelter; then, the origins of your disease will be destroyed. Let the mind keep a watch over its gymnastics; dam up the mad flood of thoughts, plans and schemes; then there will be no room for worries and anxieties in the mind. To diminish the wandering of your thoughts, repeat the name of the Lord; that will subdue your sorrows and troubles. The dawn of spiritual wisdom (Jnana) is not possible without the effacement of the mind. A person attains wholeness only when he or she succeeds in this.

2.You should all strive for unity. First and foremost, young people should come forward to help each other. You must consider all as your brothers and sisters. All are children of God. Therefore, you must live in unity without giving room for any differences. The end of education is character. If your character is good, then you can achieve anything in life. You may think you have won gold medals, acquired high degrees and achieved name and fame. But if you lack character, these degrees are merely pieces of paper. Therefore, it is most essential to safeguard your character which alone will make you truly learned.

3.As a spiritual aspirant (sadhaka), you must first learn the secret of ‘inward vision’, and take your attention away from the exterior world. Divine life is nothing but this method of ‘inward living’. Just as the baby after learning to watch and understandtries to toddle hither and thither at home, so also the spiritual aspirant slowly learns to navigate and understand the inner world. A healthy baby in the cradle, watching the lamp on the wall, waves its arms and legs in glee, and lisps in joy. Likewise the spiritual aspirant, healt hy in body, mind and soul, lying in the cradle of life, watches the interior world and claps his/her hands ceaselessly in great delight on experiencing that inner joy.

4.Unless a belief is held unshaken throughout night and day, it cannot be used to achieve victory. When a person asserts that he/she is low in knowledge or talent, and knows but little, he/she becomes so; his knowledge eventually decreases. We become what we believe we are. We are the children of Almighty God, endowed with supreme power, glory and wisdom. We are children of immortality. We must understand this fundamental truth and hold fast to it always. When we dwell on this thought, how can we ever be low and ignorant? Bharathiya (Indian) culture teaches us to believe that the real nature of man is divine and that one should ever be conscious of this truth.

5.Every thought, word, and deed has to come from an enlightened consciousness. Do not let your mind wander; let it dwell constantly in the inner world. This is the inward quest, and meditation (dhyana) is the most important instrument needed for this. The spiritual aspirant must enter the inner quest through the gate of introspection. That gate will accord welcome into the highest and holiest awareness possible in life to every aspirant who is endowed with humility and devotion.

6.As early as possible teach your children this life-preserving, glorious and expansive truth: the sanctifying vision we must imbibe is that the Atma is full and free. It is a wonderful discovery, a thrilling thought! The Atma by its very nature is full; fullness need not be attained or accomplished and added to. If fullness is added to, it can also be subtracted from by the passage of time; what is built up must necessarily disintegrate. If we are impure by nature, even though we may succeed in achieving purity for a short while, later we will have to face our own impurity again, for the purity that comes in the middle will be easily swept away by circumstances. Therefore, all Bharathiya (ancient Indian) spiritual thinkers declared that purity is our very nature and that fullness is our genuine reality, and that we are never really ‘wanting’.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

1.Many people go on pilgrimage in search of God. They foolishly think that they can find Him at such places. God is not present somewhere else. In fact, you are yourself God; He is present in all. God is only one and He is present wherever you look for Him. He is in you, with you, above you, below you and around you. God is beyond birth and death and dwells in every being in the form of the Divine Self. He is present in all human beings, be it a child or an old man. The same God is present in insects, birds and beasts. He is also present in everyone you meet; remember that!

2.Do not develop opposition or differences amongst yourselves. Controversies give rise to many troubles. Even if somebody makes you angry, do not fight with him or her. Understand that by fighting with others, you actually harm yourself. Control your thoughts. Along with education, acquire educare; it will give you everything you need - health, happiness, peace and prosperity. Everything will become good, if you make your heart pure. From today onwards, yearn for and take to the right path. You must strive for unity in all matters.

3.The wavelike movement of coming forth and receding, of merging and emerging has been happening since time immemorial; it will happen till Time ends; it is eternal in its feature—this is the belief of Bharathiyas (Indians). A human being is not just this gross body; in it, there is a subtle component called mind; inside this as its prompter and spring, there is an even more subtle principle called the Jivatma (individual soul). This Jivatma has neither beginning nor end; it has no birth, it knows no death. This is the basis of Bharathiya faith.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the day

1.Diversities in attitudes and styles of life are natural and ought to be welcomed. There is no need for an ironclad hard faith. Rivalry among those following different paths cannot bring peace and prosperity to any country. Without freedom of faith, the world cannot progress. Bharath (India) taught that a small section of society can never command the inexhaustible resources of the world, and that for the effective functioning of the community it is necessary to divide different types of tasks to particular groups of people, and let each section of the community contribute its share to the common good. The key that the ancient sages visualized is the ONE that underlies the many. This is the most precious revelation: “Ekam sath, vipraah bahudha vadanthi” (The One alone exists; wise men describe that in manifold ways).

2.Every minute, from inside and outside, promptings and temptations arise and accumulate in peoples' minds. One cannot attend to all of them at the same time, so one fixes attention on only the most important one. This is called concentration (avadhana). Concentration is needed to grasp any subject well. Directing one’s attention to a subject and fixing it there is called one-pointedness (ekagratha). This is also a condition of the mind. Concentration and one-pointedness help to focus our effort on any selected task. In fact, concentration is essential for all; it is the foundation of all successful endeavours.

3.When we shelter factionalism and fanaticism in our hearts in relation to our own specific faith or the faith of others, we are bringing disgrace on ourselves. You should not insist that everyone has to be bound by one attitude, or that all must abide by one interpretation or opinion to the exclusion of other possible explanations or points of view, or that a person’s way of life with all its details has to be approved by some individual or group. Bharathiya (Indian) culture lays down that it is a heinous sin to exercise force upon anyone, especially in matters of the Spirit.

4.Whatever the task one is engaged in, doing it with concentration will develop both self-confidence and self-respect, for they are the result of the attitude of one’s mind. The mind may lean either to good or bad influences and concentrated attention must be employed to keep the mind attached only to good promptings. Success or failure in good work depends upon one-pointedness and this is what will increase your abilities and competence, but it cannot be won without conquering the worldly cravings that distract the mind. This one-pointedness, this conquest of the mind, is acquired through the exercise of meditation.
Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba