Thought for the Day

Discarding the path and wasting one’s life is an insult to the very name of the species! Instead of getting enslaved to the evanescent and the false, and wasting precious time in their pursuit, dedicate every minute to discovering truth and contemplating on the everlasting, ever-true Lord. Such dedication is the real function of the soul. On the other hand, spending time in illusory appetites is the drag of the world. One shouldn’t fall victim to the poisonous attractions of worldly luxuries or the wiles of seductive beauty. One day, all these fascinating scenes will vanish as a story unfolded in dream! The characteristic of a spiritual aspirant is the attainment of truth, not the search of the unreal in this evanescent world. In this false world, there can be no true living (sathya-achara). There can be only false living (mithya-achara). True living consists in the realisation of the Lord. This must be borne in mind by everyone every moment of their life.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

Embodiments of love! Where the six qualities of zeal, determination, courage, intelligence, ability and heroism are present, there Divine help will manifest. In any field, at any time, success is assured to the person endowed with all these six precious qualities. They help you confront various difficulties from time to time and contribute to your all-round well-being. Just as a student must pass various tests and examinations, these qualities are also subject to trials. Such trials are your stepping stones to high achievements. These trials come in the form of losses, troubles, pains, sufferings and calumny. Unfortunately, many students and elderly alike, lack self-confidence and have become a prey to peacelessness because of their involvement in sensual pleasures. Youth, students and everyone must develop self-confidence. In fact, self-confidence should be the life-breath of every person. Develop self-confidence and embark on the journey of life with faith in God.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

External control helps internal control in many ways. To succeed in external controls is more difficult than to achieve success in controlling the internal! A turn of the steering wheel in one's hand in any direction makes the wheels of the car, which are not in one's hand, move in the same direction. The wheels won't turn in one direction when the steering is turned in another; this is the natural. But sometimes, when the steering is turned one way, the wheels may drag another way, but this is due to the giving up of the natural characteristic. The internal wheels, if they have no air, which is the true essence, may behave as if there is no relationship with the steering. But they can't go beyond the bounds of steering; the steering in the hand is related to the wheels below. If there is no such relation, the journey becomes impossible. Therefore for the one who has struggled with and conquered the external tendencies, the internal tendencies become easily controllable.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Quarreling at every tiny little thing, losing one’s temper, becoming sad at the slightest provocation, getting angry at the smallest insult, worried at thirst, hunger, and loss of sleep — these can never be the characteristics of an aspirant.

Aspirants are engaged in contemplation of the Lord (Sarveswara-chinthana) as ceaselessly as the waves of the sea; they accumulate the wealth of equality and equal love to all, and are content in the thought that all is the Lord’s and nothing is theirs. Unlike the regular person, the spiritual seeker won’t easily bend before grief or loss, anger or hatred or selfishness, hunger, thirst or fickleness. One should master all the above good things as much as possible and journey through life in fortitude, courage, joy, peace, charity, and humility. Realising that tending the body is not all-important, one has to bear even hunger and thirst patiently and be engaged uninterruptedly in contemplation of the Lord. Quarreling at every tiny little thing, losing one’s temper, becoming sad at the slightest provocation, getting angry at the smallest insult, worried at thirst, hunger, and loss of sleep — these can never be the characteristics of an aspirant.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the day

This human birth is the consequence of countless good deeds, and it should not be cast aside; the chance must be fully exploited. As the Kenopanishad says, “This present precious life should not be thrown away (Na Chath Iha Avedheen Mahathee Vinashtih)". When there are many chances of saving oneself, isn’t it a big loss if no thought is spent on ways of escape? The Kathopanishad exhorts, "Arise, awake! (Uttishthata! Jagratha!)." Those who are agitated by doubts about what to accept and what to reject, those who are blinded by illusion, and those who cannot distinguish between darkness and light, death and immortality —all these should approach great people who can show the path to understand the eternal truth, the self-illumined basis of all creation. Then both this world and heaven will be merged in the same effulgence! For the sake of this realisation, you should have deep yearning and hard, disciplined practice.

Bagavn Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

In our country, there is a peculiar method of trapping monkeys. This process consists of bringing a big pot with a small mouth and putting some material which is attractive to the monkey inside that pot. A monkey, out of curiosity would put its hand inside the pot and get a handful of that material. It will be trapped, unable to pull its hand out! The monkey imagines that someone inside the pot is holding its hand. Then it will attempt to run away along with the pot! No one is holding the monkey. The monkey trapped itself, due to its own attachment. The moment it lets the material go, it will be free. Similarly in this big pot of the world with narrow mouth of temporal pleasures, people are tempted! When they are lost with involvement in those pleasures, they think that someone or something is binding them down. No one is responsible for this bondage. The moment you give up the pleasures and detach yourself, you will be free! 
 Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

Those, who are trying to build the human community on a foundation of wealth (dhana), are building on sand; those who seek to build it on the rock of righteousness (dharma) are the wise. Every person consumes specific quantities of food and many even calculate the calories consumed and burnt. Just think for a moment: Have you ever calculated what you have given back to the society that helps you live and enjoy in the world? You must transform the food into service, either to serve your best interests or for the well-being of the society. Mere feeding and care of the body is profitless, for the body is just a container. When the spark of Divinity leaves the body, it becomes a corpse. No one will even keep the corpse for more than a few hours. People will avoid the sight and smell of a dead body; it is disgusting. Never be your own enemy nor be a burden on anyone.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

Look at the crane; it walks about pretty fast in water. But while walking, it cannot catch fish. When it wants to catch fish, the very same crane becomes quiet and stands motionless. So also, if you proceed with greed, anger, and similar negative qualities, you can never secure the fish of truth (sathya), righteousness (dharma), and peace (shanti). With any spiritual practice you observe, please add the practice of uninterrupted remembrance of the Lord's precious name (namasmarana). Only then can you master the natural attributes of greed, anger, etc. All the scriptures (sastras) teach but this one key lesson! Since the Lord is the universal goal and this journey of life has Him as the destination for each and every one of you, keep Him constantly in your view and subdue the mind, which makes you wander from the path.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

If a person is ill or if his mind is immersed in something else, the taste of food cannot be grasped. So also, if the heart is full of ignorance (tamas) or is wayward, no joy can be experienced even if one is engaged in remembrance of the Lord, devotional singing, recitation of the name, or meditation. The tongue will be sweet as long as there is sugar on it. Likewise, if the pillar of light called devotion continues to burn in the corridor of the heart, there will be no darkness. A bitter thing on the tongue makes the whole tongue bitter. Similarly when greed and anger enter the heart, the brightness disappears, darkness dominates the scene, and one becomes the target of countless griefs and losses. Therefore, those who aspire to attain the holy presence of the Lord must acquire certain habits, disciplines, and qualities. The usual ways of life won’t lead to God. They have to be somewhat modified by means of spiritual discipline.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

Deho Devalaya - The body is the temple of the Lord. You are going about your daily journey with a temple where God is present in your innermost shrine. The body is not a mass of flesh and bone. It is a medium for sacred vibrations (mantras) which save you when they are meditated upon. The body is a sacred instrument earned after long ages of struggle. It is equipped with reason and emotion, and is capable of being used for deliverance from grief and evil. Honour it as such; keep it in good condition so that it might serve that high purpose. Maintain it even more carefully than the brick and mortar houses you live in, and always preserve the conviction that it is a divine instrument and nothing more. Use it for that pure purpose for which it has been designed and gifted to you.

Bagavan Sri SriSri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

God is All-pervading (Sarvavyapi). He loves His devotees (Bhakta-Vatsala). Make your heart the Seat of the Lord. Soil which has veins of mica is valuable, but that which has veins of gold is even more precious. The soil is valued according to the preciousness of the metal in its fold. So too, hearts are evaluated by its contents. Keep God in your hearts; then they will become precious possessions. If God is implanted in the heart, you will see only God everywhere. For, Sarvam Brahmamayam (All is Divine) is a fact. Resolve this day to engage only in virtuous deeds, good thoughts and good company. Let your mind dwell on elevating thoughts. Do not waste a single moment of your waking time in vain boasting or idle gossip or demeaning recreations. While life persists, do good things, speak softly and sweetly, never injure or insult another, serve those in need and keep the image of God ever before the mind’s eye.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the day

In the young-of-the-monkey type of devotion, the child must rely on its own strength to protect itself —wherever the mother jumps, the child must attach itself to its mother's belly and hold on, even if pulled apart! So too, the devotee must stand the tests of the Lord and hold on to His name under all conditions, tirelessly, without the slightest trace of dislike or disgust, bearing the criticism and ridicule of the world and conquering the feelings of shame and defeat. An exemplary example of this type of devotion is Prahlada. In the second path, just as the kitten simply places all its burdens on the mother cat, so too, the devotee completely trusts the Lord and surrenders to Him. The mother cat holds the kitten in its mouth and transports it safely through even very narrow passages. Lakshmana is the example of this path. These two are sometimes referred to as devotion with effort (bhakthi) and self-surrender (prapatti). The former a hard path, while the latter a simple or safe path.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Can you become a high ranking official without the appropriate qualifications of scholarship, talent, experience and wisdom? So persevere and succeed!

Lord Krishna incarnated to destroy evil in a handful of individuals. But now, the evil qualities are not identifiable in a small group of people. They are widespread everywhere. The scorpion has poison only in its tail; the cobra only in its fangs; but people have poison all over them! They have it in their eyes, their tongues, their mind, their intelligence, their gait, their brain – just about everywhere. You may ask, “Oh! When will this poison be counteracted and destroyed?” When the Lord enters your heart, that is the very objective He will accomplish. Offer unto the Lord, the ‘flower of your heart’ (Hrudaya Pushpam),after cleansing it thoroughly of the dust and pests (desire, anger, envy, doubt, etc.) that infest it. Without effort, can there be victory in any field? Can you become a high ranking official without the appropriate qualifications of scholarship, talent, experience and wisdom? So persevere and succeed! 

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

No one can become a devotee of the Formless Supreme (Nirguna bhaktha) without having been a devotee of the form (Saguna bhakta).

Explaining the characteristics of a devotee, Rama said to Narada, “Whoever with discrimination and renunciation (viveka and vairagya), and humility and wisdom (vinaya and vijnana) is aware of the knowledge of Reality, whoever is always immersed in the contemplation of My play (leela), whoever dwells on My name at all times and under all conditions, and whoever sheds tears of love whenever the Lord’s name is heard from any lip — these are My genuine devotees.” When the infant grows up into an adult, the mother won’t pay so much attention to its safety. The Lord doesn’t pay much attention to the wise one (jnani). For the jnani, their own strength is enough. Therefore, until one can rely on one’s own strength, one must be an infant in the Lord’s hands, as a devotee of the form, right? No one can become a devotee of the Formless Supreme (Nirguna bhaktha) without having been a devotee of the form (Saguna bhakta). 

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

Egoism is the most dangerous illusion that has to be exploded and destroyed. Even Arjuna had it! One day, after the battle when Krishna brought the chariot back to camp, he wanted that like all charioteers, Krishna should get down first! The Master must get down later, after the charioteer opened the door for him, isn’t it? Krishna refused, and insisted that Arjuna should alight before He Himself did. At last, Krishna won. Arjuna got down and then as soon as Krishna left His seat and touched the ground, the chariot went up in flames! If only Krishna had got down first! The fact was that the various fiery arrows that had the power of burning the chariot had hit the target, but due to the presence of Krishna, their powers could not manifest themselves. Seeing this Arjuna was humbled; his egoism received a rude shock. He realised that every action of the Lord was full of significance.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

If you wear blue eyeglasses, you see only blue, even though Nature is resplendent with many colours. If the world appears to you as full of differences, that is due to the fault within you. If all appears as one love, that too is only your love. The feeling within is the root cause. When you have faults within, the world appears faulty. When there is no knowledge of fault in yourself, no fault can be found even by search, for you wouldn't know which are the faults. Now the question may arise whether the Lord Himself has faults as He also searches for faults. No, the Lord searches only for goodness. He won't examine the wealth, family, caste, status, or gender. He sees only the righteousness (sadbhava). He considers those endowed with such righteousness as deserving His grace, whoever they are, whatever they are. Therefore, develop goodness. Live and act in joy and love. These two are sufficient; with them, salvation can be attained without fail.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

Those devoted to the Lord are full of love; they always stand by righteousness (dharma); they speak the truth; their hearts melt with mercy; they are devoid of wrong; they avoid sin; their nature is well-founded; they will renounce everything gladly; they eat in moderation; they are engaged in doing good to others; they have no selfishness; they aren't worried by doubts. They won't lend their ears to flattery but are eager to listen to the praise of the good nature of others. They have beautiful, strong, and holy character. True spiritual aspirants will endeavor to acquire the above qualities and possess a good character. Anyone who is engaged in repetition of the name (japa), penance (tapas), and sacred vows (vrata), anyone who has self-control (samyama) and discipline (niyama), anyone who has faith, patience, comradeship, kindness, and joy as well as unalloyed love (prema) towards the Lord — such a person is very dear to Me.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

Humans are full of love. Their hearts are springs of mercy. They are endowed with true speech. Peace is the characteristic of the human mind; it is its innate quality. There is no need to go anywhere else in search of peace. Just as gold and silver lie hidden under the earth, and pearl and coral under the sea, peace and joy lie hidden in the activities of the mind. Desirous of acquiring these hidden treasures, if one dives and turns mental activities inward, one becomes full of love. Only one who has so filled oneself with love and who lives in the light of that love can be called human. Those devoid of love are demons, monsters and subhumans. That holy quality of love will not waver in its presence; it will be ever present, without change. It is one and indivisible. Those saturated with love are incapable of spite, selfishness, injustice, wrong, and misconduct.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

You must proceed ever towards strength (balam); you must not take to untruth, wickedness, crookedness - all of which denote a fundamental fatal trait of cowardice and weakness (Balaheenam). Weakness is born of accepting as true a lower image of yourself than you truly are. You believe you are the husk, but you really are the kernel. This is a key fact. All your spiritual practices must be directed to the removal of the husk and the revelation of the kernel. So long as you say, “I am”, there is bound to be fear, but once you say and feel, “Aham Brahmasmi” (I am Divine), you get infinite strength. The influence of the Divine is so subtle and strong that while you are contemplating on Him, all traces of envy and greed will disappear from your mind. The pure love the cowherds (Gopis) had for Lord Krishna is a great example. This is the characteristic of Divine Incarnations at all times.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

By carrying a bundle of sandalwood, can a donkey become an elephant? The donkey will sense the difference in weight but not the scent! On the other hand, the elephant disregards the weight and inhales the sweet scent. So too, the spiritual aspirant, or devotee will take in only the pure truth, the pure essence of good activities, of godliness and scriptures. On the other hand, one who goes on arguing for the sake of mere scholarship, learning, and disputation will know only the weight of logic, missing the scent of truth! Love (prema) is the most effective instrument for constantly remembering the Lord. Keeping that instrument safe and strong needs the power of discrimination (Viveka). Many in the world utilize their vast learning in disputation to prove their superiority; this is a great mistake. If they really were so learned, they would silently experience the core, the pure Divine.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

The Master comes to save not one good person from illusion, but the whole of mankind. He assumes a Form that people can love, appreciate and revere. He gives joy and courage by speaking your language. The only blemish that comes in between your mind and the Master is illusion. Illusion is like a fierce dog that will not allow anyone to approach the Master. You can manage to bypass it by calling out to the Master loudly so that He Himself comes down and accompanies you to His home. That is to say, you must win the Lord’s Grace to attain His proximity (Saameepyam). Illusion is the Lord’s pet, so it will not harm you if the Lord orders it to desist from harming you. So just as you give the goldsmith a broken or a dented ornament and receive a fine jewel back, entrust your mind to the Lord. It certainly needs repair, if not complete reconstruction.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

Inclinations (vasanas) won’t disappear as long as one’s heart is full of the illusion of egotism, even if one is immersed in many heart-purifying spiritual disciplines. Such people, if they want to get rid of the feeling of ‘I’ and ‘mine’, must worship the Lord. One whose heart is ruled by the group of six passions can have only ego as counselor! Those who have such a counselor are worse than foolish, however great they claim to be as pundits, aspirants, or renunciants. People experience joy and misery through the ear. Therefore avoiding the cruel arrows of hard words, one should use sweet, pleasant and soft ones — and with that softness, add the sweetness of truth. Making the word soft by adding falsehood only clears the way for more misery. A person who has become a spiritual aspirant should use very soft, sweet, true, and pleasant words. Such a person can be recognised by their good qualities.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

The minute hand of the clock is the individual soul. It goes round and round - the hour hand does move, silently and slowly, with dignity. The hour hand is the Supreme Soul. Once in an hour, these two meet, but the individual soul does not get that consummation fixed forever. It loses the precious chance, and so has to go round and round again. Liberation happens when the two merges and there is just one. Like the silkworm that spins from out of itself the cocoon that proves to be its tomb, people spin from out of their own mind, the cage in which they get trapped. Assign your mind the task of serving the Lord and it will grow tame. Give your mind to the Lord. Forget the past and don’t worry about errors in future. Bring to memory only those things that are worth remembering and assiduously follow your spiritual practices. You will achieve spiritual progress.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

What is the use in planning a well when the house is on fire? Where is the time to dig now? When will water become available? When is the fire to be extinguished? It is an impossible task! If, at the very start, a well was ready, how helpful it would be on such critical occasions! Beginning to contemplate on God during the last moments is like beginning to dig the well when the house is on fire. Therefore equip yourself right now, by contemplating on God off and on, so that it will stand you in good stead when the end approaches. Start today the spiritual discipline that has to be done tomorrow! Start now what has to be done today! One doesn’t know what is in store the next moment; therefore there should be no delay in engaging in spiritual practices. For this physical stamina is also necessary, so the body has to be tended to, though over-tending causes damage. To the degree that is essential, the body should be looked after with great care. Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

These days, people are content to visualise and experience evanescent worldly joys. People have no rest. Spending the nights in sleep and days in eating and drinking, they grow and grow, until, in old age, death pursues them. Then, they can’t decide where to go or what to do; all senses have weakened. No one and nothing can rescue them, so they end as obedient meat in the jaws of death! How sad it is that this human life, precious as an invaluable diamond that can’t be priced at all, has been cheapened to the standard of a worn-out worthless coin! There is no use repenting later without meditating on God or practising some spiritual discipline to realise Him now. It is the right of the aspirant (sadhaka) to have the vision of God and not the sight of death (Yama-darshan)!

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

They are, according to the Veda, four stages - the waking, dream, deep sleep, and the liberated stage (turiya). In the first stage, one is awake to the objective world and is oriented outward. Since one identifies with the gross body complex at this stage, the experiences are also gross. In the dream the self is in-faced. Reactions, responses, and experiences are all self-contained. They do not belong to the area outside of oneself. Next comes deep sleep (sushupti). This stage is free from even dreams. There is no feeling of either separation or identity, the particular or the universal, experiencer or experience. There is only the Atma, in which one has temporarily merged. In the fourth step (Turiya), the individual is no more so. It has attained the basic truth of life and of creation. Those who have reached this step no longer have concern with the individual self. These are four states one experiences, but they are also stages one has to go through in search of Self-Knowledge.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

Yama (Lord of Death) is as omnipresent as Siva! Yama is associated with the body (deha); He cannot affect the individual soul (jiva). The body is the essential vehicle for the individual soul to understand its real nature. Still, who knows when it may become the target for the attention of Yama, the master of the body? Who knows when this body will get entrapped in the coils of Yama’s ropes? The individual soul, burdened with this easily destructible body, must pay attention to this fact and be all-eager to merge in Siva! People usually procrastinate tasks - yesterday’s tasks are delayed to today and today’s tasks to tomorrow. But the tasks of spiritual discipline are not of such a nature. The minute that just elapsed is beyond your grasp; so too, the approaching minute is not yours! Only that individual soul which has this understanding engraved in its heart can merge in Siva.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

An unfortunate sign of the Kali age is that everyone goes to a temple or place of worship only to get trivial benefits. If you can win over the Lord Himself, what is beyond your reach? Sage Tyagaraja clearly declared, "Rama, if only I have Your grace (anugraha) no planets(navagrahas) can do any harm." The fortitude derived from love of the Lord, endows you with self-confidence. Self-confidence generates an immense internal power. Everyone must develop this power. Develop this self-confidence so that you can experience Atma-Ananda (bliss of the Self). The person filled with love of the Lord has great peace of mind, is pure at heart and is unruffled by any adverse circumstances, failures or losses. Love must be free from feelings of expectation. Love which arises out of a desire for something in return is not true love. Develop totally selfless and motiveless love.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

From the point of view of what one achieves at the end of the journey, there is no difference between a liberated soul(jivanmukta) and a devotee; both are beyond ego (ahamkara),nature (prakriti) with its three attributes or gunas, and the rules and regulations (Dharma) that govern the caste-stage of life(varna-ashrama). The hearts of such will be full of compassion and be filled with the urge to do good to the world. Their divine bliss born of oneness impels them to act in this way. They will have no desires, for desires are the products of feelings of ‘I’ and ‘mine’. Only after these desires are uprooted do people become true devotees, right? So there can be no room in them for desires. They are truly speaking devotees of the embodiments of immortality (amrita-swarupa). For those with that immortal nature, there can be no appetite except for the sweetness of spiritual bliss (ananda).

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

True education is that which is in consonance with the vedic statement, Tamasoma jyotirgamaya (Lead me from darkness to light). - Baba

Students of today are blind to the goal of life. Some students do not even feel the pain of not knowing the purpose of life. Only one in a million or a crore strives to realise the essence of life. This striving is the stepping stone for the realisation of the purpose of life. Many people feel that the acquisition of food, clothing, shelter, wealth, conveniences, and comforts constitute the very purpose of life. Life remains a tragedy as long as one labours under this kind of delusion. The day one realises the purpose of life, one undergoes a total transformation, from vedana (agony) to nirvedana (freedom from pain). When one becomes conscious of light, acquires wisdom and realises the meaning of existence, one is transported from agony to ecstasy. Every bit of learning should be based on the foundation of ethical, righteous and spiritual principles. Education that is not founded on these will flounder to the ground and become useless.-Baba