Thought for the Day

1.When people who are fanatical in their beliefs about God approach us, we must welcome them with a smile, and be eager to listen to them with a heart filled with devotion to God. When someone who is passionate about his/her work approaches us we must share with them our skill and strength and toil together. By this means it is possible to bring harmony between followers of various faiths and cultures. It will bring together various schools of thought and belief. How wonderful it would be if this kind of harmony and friendly co-operation becomes more prevalent! How happy the world would be if everyone comprehends that their viewpoint can at best be only the partial truth and that it requires the harmonious commingling of many other facets to arrive at the whole truth!

2.Humanity suffers from two kinds of ills, physical and mental. One peculiar fact about these two types of illness is that cultivation of virtue cures both. An attitude of generosity, of fortitude in the presence of sorrow and loss, a spirit of enthusiasm to do good and to be of service to the best of one's capacity - these build up the mind as well as the body. The joy derived from service reacts on the body and makes you free from disease. Thus, the body and the mind are closely interrelated.

3.Those who assert that the Universe is real, but declare at the same time that the existence of God is but a dream, are only proving themselves ignorant. For when the effect, namely, the Cosmos is real, it must have a cause, for how can there be an effect without a cause? God can be denied only when the Universe is denied. What now appears as the Cosmos is really God. This is the vision that the true aspirant will get when he/she succeeds in their endeavour. As a matter of fact, the Universe we experience is the dream. When we awake from the dream, the truth of it being God will shine in the consciousness. From the beginning of time, the God whom we posit outside ourselves has been the reality inside us also. This truth will become steady with growing faith.

4.When faults are found in anyone, you will have to conclude that there are deficiencies in their behaviour, but do not think that there is no Divine Atma in them. As a result of the company they keep or the inefficiency of the society in which they grew, faults have grown in them. They are not native to their nature, which is Atmic. You will have to provide them with good company and beneficial surroundings, and persuade them to enter the positive environment. You should on no account condemn them as born incorrigibles, and keep them aloof.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba