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