Thought for the Day

In this world, to receive one thing, you need to give up another. When you want a simple handkerchief, you need to pay rupees ten, only then will the shopkeeper sell it to you. God is a very kind merchant. If you offer even a small amount of devotion, the Merciful Lord will, in return, shower infinite amount of Grace on you. The poor devotee, Kuchela offered a handful of beaten rice to Lord Krishna and received His blessings in abundance. Queen Draupadi, during a distressful moment, prayed with a pure heart. Because of the little sacrifice she made earlier, Lord Krishna rushed to respond to her call and showered His infinite Grace to protect her. The fruits of action are inevitable and no one can escape them. However you can nullify or modify the consequences to a certain extent, if you become worthy and deserve His Grace.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Time is available equally to all

On a stage, there are a number of lights. One is turned towards an actor in the role of a king. Another is focussed on a beggar. Yet another light is on a man reading the Ramayana. The fourth one lights up a fighting scene. Here, although the lights illumine a variety of scenes, they remain unaffected by the behaviour of the actors; they simply bear witness to the actions but no blame attaches to them for what the actors do. The characters alone are affected by what they do. Similarly Time is a witness to what everyone is doing. This Time is available equally to all. Your primary duty is to make right use of this Time. For this purpose, there is no need for you to wait for the beginning of a new year. Every moment is a manifestation of Time. The second is the basis for the year. Hence every second should be filled with purposeful action.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

The difference between Rama and Ravana can be understood in three key aspects. Rama embodied the following characteristics: He rejoiced in the wellbeing of the whole Universe (Sarva Loka Hithe Ratah). He was the embodiment of wisdom (Sarva Jnana Sampannah). He was filled with all the virtues (Sarve Samuditha Gunaihi). You must learn and practice this important lesson for the welfare of this world. Lord Rama promoted the well-being of all by adhering to Truth and setting an example of righteous conduct. From His life, we must also understand the supreme importance of upholding Truth in our daily life. All of you tend to speak a great deal. We must keep up the promises we make and live up to what we say or preach. Introspect within yourselves as to how truthful is ur speech. Without truth, speech has no value.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

One Sankaranti day, Rukmini, Sathyabhama, Jambavati, Gopikas, and Draupadi among others were with Lord Krishna, joyously munching sugarcane. Krishna, in order to test them, pretended as if His finger was cut. God always tests His devotees. Test is nothing but a taste of God. If the devotee is successful in the test, he/she receives God’s bounteous Grace. God does not conduct tests as a sign of hatred or enmity; He always does it out of intense love and compassion. As soon as Krishna’s finger was cut, it started bleeding. Sathyabhama asked a servant to quickly get a piece of cloth. Rukmini ran herself. Draupadi saw this and immediately tore a piece of her own sari and tied it to Lord Krishna’s thumb to stop the bleeding. Witnessing this, Rukmini and Sathyabama were ashamed that their love and actions did not match Draupadi’s love. Later Lord Krishna showered infinite grace when Draupadi needed it the most.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

When in a helpless state people cry to God lamenting “Oh God, why do you put me to such suffering, anxiety and worry, and test me like this?” God does not give us any pleasure or pain. Whatever you go through is your own making. God is just the postman; He hands over all the covers that are addressed to you. He will deliver anything – card, money order or the covers that are meant for you. Whatever results or effects the contents have on you have nothing to do with the postman. In the same manner, all that you experience is the result of your own actions. They are not given by God. There is something fundamental about pleasure and pain. It is we who have deserved that experience based on our actions done either in this life or in the previous one. In difficult times, pray to God selflessly with a sacred and pure heart for His ‘Special Grac e’ to protect and help you.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

There is immeasurable strength and great power within us. Today, we have many satellites which go into space. Who created them? It is our scientists. How did they achieve this? This is because of the power that is already manifest in them. They worked hard and further developed that capability in them, and then the power to achieve the goal manifested. So too, if you develop that power through hard work, you too can accomplish great things. In every being, there is complete Divine Power. How can we use that power to attain God? Assume there is a small drop of water. When under hot Sun, it evaporates within a moment. However if you pour these few drops of water into the sea, they merge and become one with the ocean. So too, with adequate effort, if you lose your individual identity to the Supreme, then you too merge in Him and become One with Him.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

Human beings are the most precious objects in the Creation of the Lord. They are way more valuable than all the wealth in the world. In fact it is man who imparts value to all objects. But we fail to recognise this because people are attracted to all the visible objects of the world experienced by the senses, and are unaware of the Spirit within them. For accomplishing anything in this world, three things are essential – First, mastery over the senses; second, control over the mind; and third, maintaining perfect bodily health. When all the three requisites are present, you can most certainly achieve your aim. Put appropriate effort and attain a lot of goodness with the power you already possess! Do not lose your power by indulging in sensual pleasures without self-control. You can accomplish anything with these three things.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

As long as you are in this world, you must follow your duties sincerely. You must respect your parents and teachers, take care of your spouse and children. These are our worldly duties that must be performed sincerely. At times, you may have to disobey others for the sake of God. There is nothing wrong in doing so, provided you have truly established your relationship with the Divine. Meera, Prahlada, Bharatha, have all tread this path and have disobeyed worldly commands out of genuine love for God, for the sake of God. When you have God by your side, who gives you everything, why do you bother about other worldly aspects? When you have a wish fulfilling tree, why do you go elsewhere? Never give up God. You must be ready to do anything for Him. Your focus and whole hearted effort must be to attain God.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

No object can be enjoyed without undergoing the process of transformation and refinement (Samskara). Take the example of paddy. The paddy that is grown and harvested in the field cannot be consumed as such. It has to be converted into rice through the process of winnowing and thrashing. Once the process is complete, the value of the original paddy increases significantly. The process of transformation makes the object more useful and valuable. The utility value of cotton when spun and transformed into cloth is significantly higher, thanks to the transformation process. Take the example of gold. Again, there is a significant increase in its value when it is transformed to the shiny yellow metal, from its original form in the gold mine. Such being the case, how much more necessary it is for the human being to be transformed?

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

nquire into the activities of your daily life and understand and experience the Truth. Become the Master, then you can merge in everything and experience Divinity.

We think that we are weak. Thinking in this manner is a big mistake. We are not weak. There is no one who is as powerful as a human being. Despite being powerful, people are afraid of many things. They are even afraid or worried about small ailments. Why this fear? Why is a person afraid? This is due to an inherent mistake. If there is no error or mistake, there will be no fear. That mistake is to think and act such that ‘we are the body’. We are not this body. Body, mind, senses and intelligence are instruments and you are the Master. Master your mind and become a mastermind. Enquire into the activities of your daily life and understand and experience the Truth. Become the Master, then you can merge in everything and experience Divinity.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

At birth, people are akin to animals. Then, parents teach the child how to develop its human faculties. If parents do not undertake this task adequately, the child will remain an animal.

The entire visible universe is a cosmic university. At birth, people are akin to animals. Then, parents teach the child how to develop its human faculties. If parents do not undertake this task adequately, the child will remain an animal. The great sages and saints felt that it was not enough to develop the human qualities alone, and therefore envisaged a system of Cultural Training (Samskaras) for the spiritual development of the child. What is Samskara? It is systems of practice by which the bad tendencies in a human being are got rid of and good tendencies are inculcated. They are intended to transform the outward looking tendency (Pravritti) into inward looking tendency (Nivritti). Samskarasalso assist in developing human qualities and eliminating all remnants of animal nature in human beings

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

At times, your mind becomes a monkey, a mad monkey, jumping and bumping all over. It might be difficult to control your mind. In those moments, tell yourself, “I am not a monkey; I am part of ‘mankind’.” You must have and exhibit kindness from within you. Cultivate love and develop kindness. All of you must start the day with love, fill the day will love and end the day with love. This is the way to God. Always be happy. There should not be anyone with castor-oil faces. You must lead a happy life and be cheerful always. Not just on your birthday should you be happy, you must lead your life in happiness all the time. When you have love for God, you will not do things that God does not approve of. So, your life will always be happy. Follow God, live in Love and Truth. Then you will attain true happiness and enjoy bliss.

Bagavn Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

The Gopikas lived their lives, doing everything as God’s work. They would get up early in the morning, and chant the name of Krishna even as they put curd in the pot. Then as they began churning curds, they would continuously utter the many names of Lord Krishna. Chanting Krishna’s name was like the Shruthi (musical scale), their jingling bangles became the rhythm, the sound of churning was the pitch and what they uttered became a mellifluous song. Where did the butter they churned come from? It came from the curds, though it was not visible in the beginning. Just like one can get butter out of milk, with effort you too who have come from God must merge in Him. Understand this principle well and you can experience Him anywhere and everywhere, all the time.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

Look at a beautiful building. How is it strong? It has walls, which gives it support. But how do the walls get the support? There is a foundation beneath it. The walls are able to stand strong because the foundation is solid. What is the use of the walls and foundation without a roof? You can live in a place, only when there is a roof. So too, to lead a happy life and accomplish Self-Realization, you must have Self-confidence as the foundation, Self-satisfaction as the walls and Self-sacrifice as your roof. So first and foremost, develop Self-confidence. Where there is faith, there is love. Where there is love, there is peace. Where there is peace, there is truth. Where there is truth, there is bliss. Where there is bliss, there is God. And where there is God, there is everything. Never forget this principle and develop Self-confidence.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

Some people ask, “If we spend all the time praying to God, then who will do our jobs? How can we run our family?” I will show you a very easy way - do your job, thinking that the job also belongs to God. Do not keep your mind on it thinking it is ‘my job’. Think that all the actions that you do, you are doing it for God. Offer everything at His Feet. Believe and tell yourself, “Whatever I am doing, I am doing it out of love for God”. Then, you need not give up anything. Face the examinations and do your work in a spirit of total devotion and dedication. When you do all your work as God’s work, then you will get the right reward. Never think, “This is my work and that is God’s work”; such mindset will deprive you of the right rewards. Realize that everything is God’s work.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Never forget the good done to you by others – Be a grateful person.

God does not exist in any foreign land; do not search for Him anywhere – He lives within your own body. Similarly sin too does not exist in any external place. Both, sin and merit exist in your own actions. Hence perform good actions and speak good words. If your kerchief falls down and someone picks it up for you, you tell him ‘Thank you’, is it not? So too, you must use your tongue to express your gratitude to God. God has gifted us many wonderful things. For example, when it rains, there is plenty of water flowing through canals, rivers, tanks, etc. All the forms of Nature – Earth, Sound, Water, Air and Fire are Forms of God. You must express your utmost gratitude to them. Never forget the good done to you by others – Be a grateful person.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

Gayathri is the Mother of all scriptures (Vedas). She exists, wherever Her name is chanted. She is very powerful. The One who nourishes the individual being is Gayathri. She bestows pure thoughts on anyone who worships Her. She is the embodiment of all Goddesses. Our very breath is Gayathri, our faith in existence is Gayathri. Gayathri has five faces, they are the five life principles. She has nine descriptions, they are ‘Om, Bhur, Bhuvah, Swah, Tat, Savitur, Varenyam, Bhargo, Devasya’. Mother Gayathri nourishes and protects every being and She channelizes our senses in the proper direction. ‘Dheemahi’ means meditation. We pray to her to inspire us with good intelligence. ‘Dheeyo Yonah Prachodayat’ - We beseech her to bestow on us everything we need. Thus Gayathri is the complete prayer for protection, no urishment and finally, liberation.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

Not by work or wealth or progeny, but only by sacrifice can one attain immortality. All the scriptures explain the value of sacrifice. Understand its inner significance and practice it. Devotion should not be confined to visiting temples and saluting God therein. Devotion exists everywhere. Wherever you sit, you can utter the Name of the Lord. There is no place without Love, Love exists everywhere. Some love their mother or father, others their wife or children. There are yet others who love God. Loving God alone is true devotion. The love for any worldly person can at best be selfish – there is no one who loves another person without a selfish reason. God alone loves you without selfishness, expecting nothing in return. Therefore develop faith and devotion to God.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

You often desire that you must have peace. In fact, every being wants peace, but not many have it. They only see pieces everywhere. From where will you get peace? It is present right there, within you. Fill your heart completely with love – then you will merge in the peace present within your heart. There will be no agitation. An agitation-free mind will confer peace on you. What is truth? All that comes out of a loving heart is truth. What is Righteousness (Dharma)? All actions that emerge from the core of your heart, all actions done out of selfless love isDharma. Hrud+Daya = Hrudaya. Love and Compassion must pervade your heart. Have faith that your heart is your temple and there is no bigger temple than that. In fact it is a permanent and pure place for the Lord, only you have to keep it that way.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

What is the objective of ‘studying’?

What is the objective of ‘studying’? You must study to become steady. When you have a steady mind, you can prosper. Your mind should not move like the pendulum of a clock. See to it that the Divine Love in your heart is steady. The goal of education should not be to just acquire theoretical knowledge but to practically apply it in your life. Your education should be for life and not for a mere living. Birds and animals lead life without ‘studying’, but your education must result in you developing a strong and good character. In this life, the only high aspiration you must have is for God. Many people collect a lot of information from newspapers and other sources, trying to find out what happened in Germany, USA, etc. These are good to know, but not very important. The aim of education should be to concentrate your mind onto a higher ideal and not merely to become like a library which is a conglomeration of all kinds of facts.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

Take a glass of water, at the bottom of which is sugar. Even though there is sugar in the water, as long as it remains below, the water would not taste sweet. However if you take a spoon and mix the sugar with water, now sweetness pervades the entire tumbler. It is the same with our hearts too. Our heart is like the cup. The Atmic principle is sugar and the worldly desires are the tasteless water in the cup. You drink this tasteless water of the world and say that there is no sweetness. But how can you get the taste? Only when you take the spoon of intelligence, place it inside the cup of the heart and mix with discrimination between the temporary and permanent, then sweetness pervades.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

In the Bhagavad Gita, the Lord declares, “Whenever righteousness (Dharma) declines, I make My advent in the world.Dharma will never perish.” It is the practice of Dharma which is becoming weaker day by day, and not Dharma as such. Many times clouds cover the Sun. In such a scenario, the people on earth may not be able to see the Sun. Just because people cannot see, does it mean that the Sun doesn’t exist? No, Sun exists! Temporarily the Sun is hidden by the clouds; therefore people are unable to see it. Nobody can say that the Sun has perished, can they? Similarly, Sathya and Dharma have the effulgence of the Sun. Truth is the Sun, Dharma is the effulgence of the Sun. They are interdependent like matter and energy. Matter and energy cannot exist without each other. Similarly Sun and its radiance are ref lection of each other. Sathya, the Sun andDharma, its effulgence redeem the world.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

All materials in this world will disappear after some time. The principle of Atma alone is imperishable. What is the Atmic Principle? That which pervades the entire body is Atma. You should try to broaden your mind by which you can merge in Divine Consciousness. For example, take a balloon and blow it. It grows bigger and bigger. As it gradually increases size, it also becomes thinner. After a point it becomes so thin than it bursts. Where does the air in that balloon go? It merges with the air outside, which is present everywhere. Thus conscience merges with the consciousness which is present everywhere. This is referred to as liberation, the final goal or emancipation. You can give it many names; they are not important. The goal is important. You must try to achieve this unity with Consciousness, and you can attain this by practising spirituality at all times with all your determination.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

Some students aim to just pass the examination or get perhaps 60%. Low aim is a crime. Who will tolerate or accept any work that is done 40% or 50%? Low marks tend to speak poorly of yourself – so never aim low, you must aim high. You should target a high 98%, then you will definitely cross at least 75%. ‘Success begets Success’, so in any examination, begin answering easy questions first, properly numbering and tracking them. Then, you will feel encouragement from within to continue to write, and slowly be able to handle even the difficult questions as well. On the other hand, if you begin with tough questions, then you may get depressed quickly in the limited time. Depression leads to confusion, which in turn leads to loss of memory. Then, even if you know the answer, you will not be able to answer correctly. So to have the right kind of enthu siasm you must answer easy questions first.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Who is our true friend

We call many our friends. But who is our true friend? As long as you have money in your pocket, or if your parents are in a good position, everyone will greet you, “Hello, Hello” and treat you nicely. If things change and you do not have money, nobody will even tell you, “Goodbye!” When the tank is full, all frogs go there. If it is empty, you will not find even a single frog! However, God is not like that. He has a tank that is ever full of selfless love. In any situation, His tank is full of nectarous sweet love. Changes in your position, place or time or status will not matter to Him. Why do you give up such a true friend and struggle to attain worldly, temporary and untrue friends, whose friendship is ephemeral and lasts for only a short time? Pray that you win an eternal friendship with the Lord.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

At times, you may feel dissatisfied with the answers you wrote, even though you have spent a lot of time reading. Why? Because when you are preparing for examinations, mere reading is not sufficient. You may read at home and feel confident of writing well in the exam hall, but that doesn’t work. You must necessarily practice at home what you do in the examination hall. That is why you should often practice writing the answers. Many things which you do not understand clearly while reading, becomes easier to comprehend when you write. The more you write and practice at home, the better you will do in the examination hall. I will also share another secret for your success: In the examination hall, before receiving the question paper, you should first pray. Receive the question paper after your prayer. Then slowly read the question paper and start answering the easy questions first and the difficult ones towards the end.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

In a story, Birbal tells Akbar, “Sweet talk is the sweetest thing in the world; nothing else, not milk, honey or jaggery comes close to it. A sweet word is the most valuable thing; through it one we can win a person over, give great joy and even attain a higher status. When crows caw at us, we throw stones at them. Whereas, when cuckoos sing, we respect them. Neither is the cuckoo going to give us a crown, nor will the crow punish us. When one’s speech is good, one earns a good name. Hence, a sweet word is indeed the sweetest thing in the world.” You must always talk to others in a manner which would give them contentment and joy. This is the essence of all scriptures. It is not enough to listen to, learn or chant Vedas, scriptures and Puranas (ancient spiritual texts), you must give joy and satisfaction to others.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

Prayer is for the mind, just as food is for the body. Wholesome food gives health and strength to the body. Prayer purifies your mind and strengthens your spirit. If bhajans are done in an ostentatious manner, ego gets bloated. Young people must proceed from tamas, the darkness of ignorance, to tapas, spiritual austerities. Be steadfast in pursuing whatever you choose. There is no point in doing meditation for two days and giving up on the third day. If you start practicing meditation, it must become an integral part of your life. You cannot assume you are meditating by merely closing your eyes. You must progress until you feel united with the God present within your heart. Along with meditation, you must acquire the knowledge and skills to lead your professional life. You must always maintain the same discipline and strength of character , wherever you are.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

We often say, “I am performing all actions in this world for the sake of God”. Is it real? Are you doing all the tasks to please God, or is it for your own self? Contemplate on this. Every devotee (Sadhaka) does many different activities, for their own sake and not for the sake of God. Listening, singing the glory of the Lord, chanting His name, serving the divine feet, salutation, worship, servitude, friendship and Self-surrender – all these nine forms of devotion, are for your own good, and not for God’s benefit. Consider this example. You are eating an apple. Is it for the benefit of the apple, that you are eating it? No, it is for your own health! Similarly your actions, worship or meditation is only for your own happiness and satisfaction. The only thing God cares for is purity and steadfastness. Purity in thought, word and a ctions is all that matters to God.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

Meditation is not merging the form in your mind. It is merging your mind with the Form, so that the mind doesn’t exist. There are three stages in this process – The Ooha (imagining the Form), Bhava(experiencing the Divine) and finally Sakshatkara (Realization). In the initial stages, the devotee imagines one’s favourite Divine Form, as they have seen before. Over time, the image vanishes in the mind and they begin experiencing the Form. This process takes longer and slowly, the devotee starts experiencing the Lord from the toe to the head. The impressions last longer and grow deeper and gradually, the image of the Lord that is firmly implanted becomes an inner reality. While the imagining stage gives only momentary joy, the experiencing stage results in complete identification of the seeker with the Lord. Thus, over time, awareness of the Divine results in oneness with the Divine (Brahmavid Brahmaiva Bhavathi).

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

If you throw a pebble in a pond, a small ripple originates and spreads until the end of the river. You may or may not be able to see, but the ripple starts right at the point where the stone meets the water. Similarly, in the lake of your mind, when you throw a stone of thought, ripples of thought waves start spreading throughout your body. The same ripple reflects in your eyes, brain, ears, heart and also in your hands and legs. Hence you must be very careful with the kind of thoughts that you permit to pervade your personality. When you get pure thoughts, all your senses will be purified by it. However, if you get bad thoughts, your senses will be perverted and this will quickly spread to your eyes, heart, hand and brain. Always have pure thoughts. If you do so, your body, senses and actions will be purified.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba