Thought for the Day

1.It is important that you should not become a victim of the six inner enemies, which are Kama (desire), Krodha(anger), Lobha (greed), Moha (attachment), Mada (pride) and Matsarya (jealousy). Then, you can experience peace and love. Everyone should perform their duties meticulously and adhere to Dharma (the right code of conduct). Even an ant follows its Dharma. Wherever it finds food, it carries it to its place and consumes it. It does not harm anybody, nor does it steal anything from anyone. All the birds and animals follow their naturalDharma and conduct themselves accordingly. The path ofDharma is fundamental for all, right from a cheema (ant) to Brahma (the Creator). The sa me principle of Truth is present in both.

2.Paramatma (Supreme Divinity) has six chief characteristics: Supreme wisdom, complete renunciation, divine beauty, the fullest splendour of power, undiminished fame, and inexhaustible fortune. Its nature isSat (existence), Chit (knowledge) and Ananda (bliss). These qualities are related to everyone through the Atma. So all of you have the right to realize and enjoy these characteristics and this exalted nature. It is your ordained duty. The travails of the world today are due to humanity not performing this prescribed task.

3.God's happiness lies in the happiness of all. God does not need anything special for Himself. If you are truly happy, God will be happy. Whatever you do, let it be for the peace, welfare and happiness of all beings. God will surely bestow happiness upon you by correcting and forgiving your faults. You must live in unity and love. You have learnt that there are Panchapranas (Five Vital Airs) within every living being, i.e., Prana, Apana, Vyana,Udana and Samana. In reality, the Panchapranas are nothing but Truth, Righteousness, Peace, Love and Non-Violence. Where there is truth, there will be righteousness. Where there is righteousness, there will be peace. Where there is peace, there will be love. Where truth and love coexist, everything else will be added unto that person.

4.The Jagat or Cosmos was created by God out of Himself. Therefore, He is the originator as well as the material of the Cosmos. He is Paripoorna (full and complete). And as a result, the Creation is also full and the Individual Atma is also full. However, the innate and genuine truth and wisdom of an individual may sometimes be hidden by evil thoughts and deeds. Those acts and practices that can disclose the native splendour and glory of theAtma are termed as good deeds and practices.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai baba

Thought for the Day

1.Good and bad co-exist. It is not possible for anyone to separate them. When you cultivate virtues, the bad in you will become absolutely insignificant. There is no need to use any force to drive away negative qualities. When you forget bad, goodness will develop in you in full measure. Do not think that the New Year will give you some new results. Whatever good or bad you experience is the effect of your thoughts, words, and actions. When any bad thought comes into your mind, give it up immediately. If you conduct yourself in this manner, you will become a true devotee of God and achieve liberation. This is the message I would like to give you on this sacred day.

2.You must control your mind. Proper enquiry into the mind and purity of heart are very essential. Offer your mind to God. God will do everything for you. Discharge your duty earnestly with devotion to God. Cultivate the firm faith that God is everywhere. Do not doubt that God is here but not there. God is present wherever you search for Him. He permeates the entire universe. Most people are not able to recognize this truth. God is present in all beings, be it a small insect like an ant or a big animal like an elephant. He is present alike in a grain of sand and in a particle of sugar.

3.Very often, people act quite contrary to the dictates of their Dharma. People do not follow the path laid down by the scriptures. Truth is the holiest of all virtues. But many do not have an iota of truthfulness in them. People lose courage at the slightest upset and give up the adventure of life. They develop a kind of pseudo-renunciation. If only they would lead their life with the attitude of performing their duty, there would be no need for them to run away to caves and forests for escape. You can realize the Lord in the assignment of your duty, in your own Dharmic life, no matter what you do.

4.What is the significance of the statement: God is the Upadanakarana (the proximate cause of the Cosmos)? ‘Proximate cause’ means the cause that produced the effect. The ‘effect’ is the ‘cause’ in another form. It cannot be separate from the cause. Every effect that we notice is but the cause that has assumed a new form. The Cosmos is the effect, God is the cause — these statements only stress the fact that the Cosmos is but God in another form. It may be doubted whether all this multiplicity of things and beings is really God? Yes! That is the truth. All that the senses cognize, all that we are aware of, are God. There is nothing else but He. Our bodies, minds, intellects, consciousness—all are God's.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

1.Mere words are not enough when you pray; you should offer your heart to God. Great souls completely offer their hearts to God in prayer. In the Mahabharatha, Draupadi, the wife of the Pandavas, always prayed thus: "Dear Lord, I worship You day and night. Please be compassionate and protect me. If You are compassionate towards me I will not be bothered about any challenges or ordeals that I may have to face". True to her prayer, she always received God's protection and overcame the innumerable troubles that she had to face in her life. Her devotion to Lord Krishna remained unaffected despite facing many trials and tests. Some may pray to Lord Rama, others may pray to Lord Krishna. Names and forms are many, but Divinity is one.Atma is the nameless formless Divinity.

2.A good character is essential for the realization of theAtma. In other words, all evil propensities have to be uprooted. Just as the army becomes dispirited and surrenders when its commander falls, so too, the army of evil qualities will surrender its arms as soon asahamkara (egotism) is destroyed. The evil qualities are all natives of the realm of anger, so if that region is destroyed, the soldiers can never again raise their heads. It is enough to accomplish this alone, for what can ‘commander-in-chief’ egotism achieve without a single soldier to march under his orders? So, all efforts must be directed to destroy the realm of anger so that no general can venture to let loose the hounds of war. Let each spiritual aspirant preserve the region of his mind in peace, by putting a stop to the rise of this commander and his soldiers. Let each spiritual aspirant bask forever under the smile of the ruler, the Atma.

3.The contemplation of God must proceed in conjunction with leading a Dharmic life. This type of life has no need for status, scholarship, or vanity; for they only lead people astray. It is only when the mind and the intellect are controlled, that the knowledge of the Self (Atma Vidya) will dawn on you, and your soul will experience Divinity.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

1.Atma is like the control room. Once you gain access to the ‘control room’, all your senses and the mind will be under your control. When the main switch of the house is turned on, the bulbs in all the rooms automatically glow. The Atma is like the main switch and the senses are like the bulbs in different rooms. These rooms are of your own making. Each room is separated from the other by a wall. Once the walls are demolished, only one big hall remains. Body attachment is like the wall that separates one from the other and which comes in the way of realizing the Self. Once this wall is broken down, you will realize the infinite and immortal Self.

2.The Vedas have infinite depth of meaning. All may not be able to comprehend the inner meaning of the Vedic teachings. The earth's gravitational force existed even before it was discovered by Newton after rigorous experimentation. Similarly, the eternal truths hidden in the Vedas were perceived by the rishis (seers) after intense penance and sadhana (spiritual austerities). Unless one practises their teachings, one can never find happiness or peace. In order to realize the Divine, you have to practise the precepts prescribed in the Vedas. No doubt, even listening to the recitation of the Vedas is itself capable of purifying your mind and elevating you to a higher level. For, it is Shabdha Brahman (God embodied as sound). If you ruminate over them and practise their teachings in your life, you can imagine the magnitude of the bliss you will attain.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

1.Love should not be rationed on the basis of caste, creed or economic status, or the intellectual attainment of the recipient. It should flow full and free, regardless of consequence, for, it is one's nature of love, to seek out the dry dreary wastes, which love can water and make fertile.

2.Like food to a starving man, like showers on a parched field, the Vedic science of spiritual self-discovery is life-giving succour for a society that is sliding down to destruction having lost its hold on truth, morality, peace and love. You are the instruments in the spread of Vedic truth among the farthest corners of this vast land; you are the chosen ones! You have to show by precept and by example that the path of self-realization is the path to perfect joy. On you lies a great responsibility; the responsibility of demonstrating by your calmness, composure, humility, purity, virtue, courage and conviction under all circumstances, that the Sadhana (spiritual practices) you follow has made you a better, happier and more useful person. Practise and demonstrate, do not simply assert in words and deny in deeds.

3.Saturate every breath of yours with love. Love knows no fear. Fear drags man into falsehood, injustice and evil. Love does not crave for praise. Only those who have no Love in them itch for reward and reputation. Love is its own reward. If you are eager to place offerings before the Lord, let it be Love instead of mere material objects. Love is not merchandise; do not bargain about its cost. Let it flow clear from the heart, as a stream of Truth, and a river of wisdom. Let it not emanate from the head, nor from the tongue. Let it emerge, full and free, from the heart.

4.When God assumes human form and is behind you, before you and beside you, speaking to you and moving with you, and allowing you to cultivate attachment of various kinds with Him, you do not recognise Him. We should not be misled into the belief that He is just human and nothing more. We generally forget the Truth. The Divine proclaims, "I am not a mass of flesh and blood; I am not a bundle of desires which the mind is; I am not the heap of delusion which the imagination is; I am the Paramaathma (Supreme Soul), the Origin and the End. I am the urge within you, the knowledge that you seek as a result of the urge, of your own self.”

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba