Thought for the Day

When you desire to transform a silver statue into a Krishna idol, you cannot succeed by simply covering the silver idol with a cloth and uncovering it after a few seconds! You have to break the statue into pieces, melt the bits and pour the silver into the Krishna mould! So too when you yearn to transform yourself into Divine, you must break the pieces with the help of the attitude of detachment, melt them in the fire of wisdom (jnana), and pour your mind into the mould of devotion. Then the entire consciousness takes on the Divine Name, Form and Substance. Then, whatever is spoken or done or thought assumes the splendour and purity of the Divine. Remember, nothing will please God more than rigorous adherence to righteousness (Dharma). You can stick to the path ofDharma only if you are conscious of the Divine in everything that you see or hear, touch or taste.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai  Baba

Thought for the Day

The effulgence of your soul (Atma) is obscured by ego. Therefore, when ego is destroyed, all troubles end, all discontents vanish, and bliss is attained. Just as the sun is obscured by mist, so also, the feeling of ego hides eternal bliss. Even if the eyes are open, a piece of cloth or cardboard can prevent vision from functioning effectively and usefully. So too, the screen of selfishness prevents one from seeing God, who is in fact nearer than anything else. Develop the characteristics of truth, kindness, love, patience, forbearance and gratefulness. Ego (ahamkara) cannot subsist wherever these qualities reside, just as darkness disappears with sunrise. Many a spiritual aspirant (sadhaka), recluse, and renunciant (sanyasin) has allowed all excellences won by long years of struggle and sacrifice to slip away through this attachment to the self. Power without the bliss of God-realisation is a wall without a basement. 

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

Creation or manifestation started, as the Upanishads say, when the One willed, Ekoham bahusyam - "I am One; let Me become Many. It is the integer (I) that fills the zeros after it with value and validity! The realisation of the function of the ‘I’ and the act of ignoring all zeros that come after it, is the end and goal of all human endeavour. When the mind is unruffled and the intelligence is sharpened, this realisation will take place naturally. Through the discipline of selfless service, you can easily recognise the One who appears as many. To attain that experience, service must be rendered either from a supreme sense of duty or as a humble dedicatory offering to the Highest, or in a spirit of total surrender to the will of God leaving all thought of the consequence to His grace. Any act of service done with these pure motives, will develop detachment and confer highest rewards.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

People develop in themselves an abounding variety of selfish habits and attitudes, causing themselves great discontent. The impulse for this comes from the power complex, the greed for accumulating authority, domination and power! The greed for things can never be eternal and full, and in fact, it is impossible for anyone to satiate their desires fully. A person might feel elated to become the master of all arts, owner of all wealth, possessor of all knowledge, or repository of all the scriptures, but from whom did the person acquire all these? You may think you earned all this through your own efforts and toil. The source from which all authority, talent, energy and power originate is the Lord of all. Ignoring Lord’s omnipotence, deluding oneself that the little greatness acquired is supreme, is indeed selfishness, conceit and pride (ahamkara). A genuine aspirant can be recognized by the characteristics of truth, kindness, love, patience, forbearance and gratefulness. Wherever these reside, ego cannot subsist; it has no place. Therefore seek to develop these.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

Putlibai, Mahatma Gandhi’s mother, spent her life in the contemplation of God. She observed a vow wherein she wouldn’t partake food until she heard a cuckoo sing. One day it so happened that the cuckoo was not heard. Gandhi, a small boy then, couldn’t bear to see his mother fasting for a long time. He went behind the house and mimicked the cuckoo’s song. Putlibai felt extremely sad when she realised that her son was uttering a lie. She cried, “O God! What sin have I committed to have given birth to a son who speaks untruth?” Realising the immense grief he had caused to his mother by uttering a lie, Gandhi took a vow that he would never indulge in falsehood ever again. It is imperative that mothers train their children in moral values right from their childhood. Never overlook children’s mistakes – correct them immediately when they stray away from the righteous path and reward them for their good deeds.  

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

Without the control of senses, spiritual practices (Sadhana) are ineffective; it is like keeping water in a leaky pot. Pathanjali (the celebrated sage and author of the Yoga Sutras) has said that when tongue is conquered, victory is yours. While the eye, the ear and the nose serve as instruments of knowledge about one particular characteristic of Nature, the tongue makes itself available for two purposes: to judge taste and to utter words - symbols of communication. You must control the tongue with double care, since it can harm you in two ways. When the tongue craves for some delicacy, assert that you will not cater to its whims. If you persist in giving yourself simple food that is not savoury or hot, but amply sustaining, the tongue may squirm for a few days, but it will soon welcome it. That is the way to subdue it and overcome the evil consequences of it being your master.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

Be pure, alert and humble. I am in you; you are in Me. You hoist the Prasanthi flag in Prasanthi Nilayam. Remember, the flag is a sign that is significant for each and every one of you. It is a reminder of your duty to yourself, and so when you hoist it you must unfurl it in your own hearts. It reminds you to overcome the urge of low desires, of anger and hate when your desires are thwarted; it exhorts you to expand your heart so that you embrace all humanity, all life and all creation in its compass; it directs you to quieten your impulses and calmly meditate on your own inner reality. It assures you that, when you do so, the lotus of your heart will bloom, and from its center will arise the flame of divine vision, which guarantees Prasanthi (infinite peace) to every one of you.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

It serves no purpose if you merely acknowledge that the Lord has come but do not yearn to benefit by the Advent. Offer your entire self, your entire life, to Him; then your adoration will transform and transmute you so fast and so completely that you will merge into Him. He thinks, He feels and acts as you do; you think, feel and act as He does. You will be transformed as a rock is transformed by the sculptor into an idol, deserving the worship of generations of sincere men and women. In the process you will have to bear many a hammer stroke and chisel-wound, for He is the sculptor. He is but releasing you from petrification! So today, offer your heart to the Lord, and gladly let Him transform you. Practice the three disciplines of silence, cleanliness and forbearance. In silence you can hear the voice of God. Through cleanliness you earn purity. By forbearance, you cultivate love.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Every good student is an offering that every good teacher makes to the nation.

My dear students, the culture of Bharat is sublime, splendorous, sacred, and divine. It can fulfill all your high desires and quench your deepest thirst. First translate this awareness into actual practice and enshrine the experience in your hearts. Then share the joy of that experience with others. Never allow your minds to get agitated with limitless desires. You must render your homes bright by pleasing your parents. If you cause grief to them your entire life will be soaked in grief and your children, in turn, are sure to sink you in sorrow. Never be arrogant towards your parents just because you earned a degree. "Consider the Mother as God; consider the Father as God; consider the Teacher as God; consider the Guest as God." Follow this fourfold exhortation with full faith in its validity, derive bliss (Ananda) therefrom and inspire others by your example, so that the Motherland may progress and prosper. Fulfil this desire of Mine, with My blessings.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

In today’s novel civilization, emergence of discordant notes has silenced the call of the Divine from within. People are eager to make their lives a merry-go-round but it is turning into a painful tangle of troubles. They are not discovering the cause of the contradiction and are wasting their years in empty ephemeral pomp and pretense. Real progress means raising the level of moral life and brightening daily lives with goodness and godliness. Life must be an incessant process of repair and reconstruction, of discarding evil and developing goodness. Paddy grains must discard the husk to become consumable rice. Cotton must be reformed as yarn to become wearable cloth. Even gold nuggets have to undergo the crucible and get rid of alloys. So too, all of you must purify your instincts, impulses, passions, emotions and desires. Only then you can progress in good thoughts, deeds and words. Your intrinsic value is directly proportional to the level of transformation you achieve.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Every woman's mission is to bring home the practice of righteousness and morality

Past, present, or future, women are the backbone of progress and the heart of the nation. In fact they are its very breath. Charged with holiness, they play the chief role in the dharma of life. No nation can be built without investing in the culture of its women. The world can be lifted to its pristine greatness only through women mastering the science of realisation of Reality (Atma-vidya). If a nation is to have lasting prosperity and peace, women must be trained through an educational system that emphasises moral conduct and moral qualities. Every woman must be able to understand the problems of the family, society and the countries. She must render such service and help as she can, within the limits of her resources and capacity, to the family, community and the country. The present downfall in moral standards and absence of social peace is due to the neglect of this aspect of women's education. 

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

The welfare of women is an index of the welfare of the Nation

Adi Shankara, Vivekananda and Ramakrishna Paramahamsa attained exalted positions only due to the sacred feelings of their mothers. Gandhiji’s pure and loving mother had a maidservant named Rambha, who looked after children with love and care. One day, Gandhi came running to her and told that he was haunted by fear. Rambha said, “My dear child, where is the need to fear when all-protecting Ramachandra is with us always. Recite the Name of Rama whenever you are fear-stricken.” Since then, Gandhi chanted the name of Rama and did so till his last breath. The reason for My telling you all these examples is to emphasise that women and mothers have noble and sacred feelings. Since time immemorial, women are the repositories of truth and culture. Children take to the path of righteousness because of noble women. November 19 is celebrated as the Ladies’ Day so that you delve deep into the sacred qualities of women and treat them with respect.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Love and adore your mother as God. Respect her and uphold the spirit she signifies.

There is nothing greater than mother’s love. Mother’s words are always sweet. At times she may use harsh words, but understand that those words are meant only to correct you, not to hurt you. There may be a wicked son or daughter, but there can never be a wicked mother in this world. All of you must understand the value of mother’s love and her concern for you. Among the mother, father, teacher and God, mother is given the highest rank and priority. In the present times, modern youth do not care for their mother or parents. Many think they are highly educated and that the mother does not know anything. It is a great mistake to think poorly about anyone. Never look down upon your mother. Always remember the love she has for you, and at all circumstances strive and make her happy. God will be pleased with you only when you truly make your mother happy.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the day

Every aspirant who seeks the Eternal through the path of devotion should strive to keep away from the turmoils, cruelties, and falsehoods of this world and practice truth, righteousness, love, and peace. This is indeed the path of devotion. Those who seek union with God and those who seek the welfare of the world should discard as worthless both praise and blame, appreciation and derision, prosperity and adversity. They should courageously keep steady faith in their own innate reality and dedicate themselves to spiritual uplift. No one, not even a great spiritual personality (maha-purusha) or Avatar, can ever escape criticism and blame. Learn from their lives. Great souls hold on to truth and live by them. Those who indulge in criticism or blame will realise their greatness in time. As aspirants, stay away from ignorant people and desist in discussing your beliefs and convictions with them. Become immersed in holy books and be in the company of the Lord’s devotees.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sthya Sai Baba

The proper fulfilment of duties is part of the spiritual discipline necessar y to get enlightenment

You can light more than thousand candles from a single lamp. Remember only a burning lamp or candle can be used to light other candles. An unlit candle cannot light the other unlit candles. So too only the one who earned wisdom can enlighten others who are in ignorance. One who is not illumined cannot illumine others who are dwelling in the darkness of maya: So you must strive to light your own lamp from the Universal Light of Love and from there transmit illumination to all who seek and strive. All lamps shine alike, since they are all sparks of thatParam-jyothi, the Universal Luminosity, which is God. Lamps are many but light is one. Every patch of water on earth has the reflection of the sun in it but the original sun is one. Just as the one sun is seen in a million pots, lakes or wells the one same Divine (Paramjyothi) shines as wisdom in a million hearts.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

It is not easy for the human mind, immersed in worldly concerns to turn to God. It is only when the mind is transformed and brought under the control of the Soul (Atma) that the body experiences Divine Bliss(Ananda). The means by which the mind is transformed is devotion (Bhakthi - intense love for God). Progressively, turn your mind towards God until it merges in God. Meditation, repetition of the names of the Lord, group singing of devotional songs (bhajans), reading of scriptures and other such activities are designed only to purify the mind so that it can concentrate on God. As a field has to be properly ploughed and prepared for sowing so as to reap a good harvest, the field of our heart has to be rendered pure and sacred through good and holy actions and spiritual discipline (sadhana) if it is to yield the fruit of Divine Wisdom.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

The grace of the Divine cannot be got by sweet talk or singing songs. When your hearts are pure the Divine will dwell in them.

Born in 1469 A.D., Guru Nanak, the first Sikh guru, started the practice of community singing (bhajans). This gathered momentum over the years and the great Saint-composer Tyagaraja (in 1700s) invested Bhajans withraga and tala (musical form and rhythm). Since thenbhajans have acquired national vogue in all parts of India. All major religions also emphasize the importance of community prayers for the wellbeing of the individual and the world. Bhajans are intended to harmonise the feelings, the singing, and the rhythmic beats of the participants so that they experience in unison the oneness of the Divine. Devotion (Bhakti) should be given the first and foremost place in Bhajans. Such bhajans are spiritually efficacious. Hence, let your songs be surcharged with love and let the intense love for the Lord and pure devotion flow through every song that is sung.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

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Indulgence in petty pleasure, flimsy gossip, feast and festivity, and idleness and sleep, makes you unfit to receive or retain spiritual wisdom

The farmer ignores food and sleep, and focusses on ploughing, levelling, scattering seeds, watering, weeding, guarding and fostering crops. He knows that the harvest he brings home is critical for his family’s subsistence and if he fritters away the precious season in idle pursuits, his family will be confronted with hunger and ill-health. So he prioritises all his attention on farming alone and defers all other pursuits. He bears all difficulties and deprivations, and toils day and night, watches over the crops and garners the grain. As a result, he happily spends the months ahead, in peace and joy with his family. All students and spiritual seekers must learn this lesson from the farmer. Youth is the prime season for mental culture. Use these years intensively and intelligently for your progress irrespective of difficulties and overcome every obstacle. Silence the clamour of your senses, and control hunger and thirst; the urge to sleep and relax also be curbed until spiritual harvest is obtained.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

Utilize your authority over this body to foster the welfare of the world. This body is but an instrument, an implement given by God. Let it serve its intended purpose. Until the realisation of the purpose for which the implement is given, it is your duty to watch over it vigilantly and protect it from injury and disablement. During winter, woollen clothes are worn to withstand the rigour of the cold gales, but when the cold subsides, they are discarded. So too when the cold gales of material life don't affect us in the least, the material body will no longer become essential. "Thou-art-That" - this is the highest and holiest spiritual maxim! You are the indestructible Atmic principle (Divine Soul). It is to realise and experience this Atmic principle, you have this body! In the process to realise the Supreme Lord here and now, you must take good care of yourself. 

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

Naraka Chaturdasi (or Deepavali) is the festival that teaches you to remember how character decides destiny, designs achievements and demarcates one as divine or demonic! Laziness is a demon that possesses and debilitates an individual. Its brother is conceit. Add anger to it and it will totally debilitate anyone! Anger weakens your nerves and heats up your blood, changing its composition. A simple burst of fury consumes the strength gained in three months! The Lord chose to invade Narakasura's kingdom repeatedly, forcing him to explode into furious anger again and again! His resistance was thus annihilated. Learn from the Lord's strategy. On this Deepavali day, people insist on wearing new clothes. Let your hearts too rejoice, clothed in fresh ideals, feelings and resolutions. Relish the sweets of virtues from today, and mould your lives into sweet songs of Love. 

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the day

From this day onwards, you must win over everyone through love and compassion. Nara (man) falls intoNaraka (hell), through over-indulgence. Senses generally run wild and like raging floods, spell destruction. The festival of Deepavali is to express gratitude at the defeat of the demonic (Naraka)tendencies in humans, which drag them down from Divinity. Naraka is the name for hell, and the demon whose death at the hands of Krishna is celebrated today is called Narakasura, the personification of all the traits of character that obstruct the upward impulses of every person. The home (griha) where the Name of the Lord is not heard is a cave (guha), and nothing more. As you enter it or leave it, and while you are in it, perfume it, illumine it, and purify it with the Lord's name. Light it as a lamp at dusk and welcome it at dawn as you welcome the Sun. That is the genuine Deepavali, the Festival of Lights.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

The human being is a composite of man, beast and God, and in the inevitable struggle among the three for ascendency, you must ensure that God wins, suppressing the merely human and the lowly beast. Man must know the Universe as basically Brahman or Divine. You and the Universe are one; all are subsumed in the same unique entity. The cosmic vision can be acquired either by watching the Universe or one's own inner Cosmos. One has only to discover oneself. In the citadel of the body, there is the lotus temple of the heart, with subtle akasha (space) within. In it are contained heaven and earth, fire and air, sun and moon, stars and planets - all that is in the visible world and all that sustains it, and all into which it submerges. Instead of rotating round the earth in the higher realms of space and planning to land on the moon or Mars, if only one plans and prepares to travel into one’s own inner realm, what sublime joy and peace can be attained!

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

To a superficial observer, life appears to revolve around eating and drinking, working, and sleeping. But verily life has a much deeper significance. Life is a sacrifice (yajna). Every little act is an offering to the Lord. If your days are spent in deeds performed in this spirit of surrender, your sleep would be a total immersion in the Divine Consciousness (Samadhi)! Most people commit the great fault of identifying themselves with the body and accumulate a variety of things for its upkeep and comfort. When the body becomes weak and decrepit with age, they still attempt to bolster it by one means or the other. How long can death be postponed? When Yama’s (Lord of Death’s) warrant comes, everyone must depart. Position, pride, and power - all vanish before death. Remember, you are not this body! It is your vehicle to serve all. Realising this, strive day and night, with purity in body, mind and spirit, to realise the Higher Self.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

Some profess that since this is Kali yuga, falsehood alone can succeed. No! In spite of all appearances, honesty is still the best policy. One lie must be couched by a hundred others; whereas uttering truth is the easiest, simplest and safest. Be what you profess to be; speak what you intend to do; utter what you have experienced; no more, no less. It is a hard job to maintain a false stand, while it is always safe to be straight and honest. Do not take the first false step and then be led, on and on, to perdition. Truth is one's real nature and when you are yourself, there comes a great flood of joy welling up within you. When you deny and deceive yourself, shame darkens your mind and breeds fear. You take the path of falsehood because of the Rajasikpassions of lust, greed, hate and pride. Contentment, humility and detachment - these keep you on the path of Truth.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

The unceasing toil of each succeeding day has as its aim and justification this consummation: to make one’s last days sweet and pleasant. But each day also has its evening. If the day is spent in good deeds, then the evening blesses us with deep, invigorating and refreshing sleep, the sleep about which it is said that it is akin tosamadhi. One has only a short span of life on earth. But even in this short life one can attain divine bliss by using the time wisely and carefully. Two people may be same in appearance, and might have ostensibly been of the same mould and also grown under the same conditions, but one could turn out to be an angel while the other stays on with their animal nature. What’s the reason for this differential development? It is habits, the behaviour formed out of these habits, and the character into which that behaviour has solidified. People are creatures of character. Hence the very first spiritual practice(sadhana) is to search for the faults and weaknesses within yourself and to strive to correct them to become perfect.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Quality is more important than quantity

Today, we are confronted everywhere by statistics parading quantities and reports in glowing terms. Do not bother about adding to the number or achieving a target. I value quality, not quantity. Genuine and intensive devoted service offered in a few spots or villages is more fruitful than superficial service offered to a large number. Convince yourselves that life cannot continue long without others serving you and you serving others. Every relationship - be it master-servant, ruler-ruled, guru-disciple, employer-employee, or parents-children and so on - is bound by mutual service. Everyone is a sevak (servitor). The farmer and labourer whom you serve, produce by their toil your food and clothing as their service to you. Remember that the body, with its senses-mind-brain complex has been awarded to you to be used for helping the helpless. Seva is the highest of paths of Devotion which wins the Grace of God. Service promotes mental purity, diminishes egoism and enables one to experience, through empathetic understanding, the unity of mankind.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the day

Among the qualities that make up a flawless character, love, patience, forbearance, steadfastness, and charity are the highest and noblest. The hundred little deeds that we indulge in every day harden into habits; these habits shape the intelligence and mould our outlook and life. One’s present is but the result of one’s past and the habits formed during that long period. But whatever be the nature of the character that one has inherited, it can certainly be modified. Nobody’s wickedness is incorrigible. Wasn’t robber Angulimala, turned into a kindhearted person by Lord Buddha? Didn’t thief Rathnakara become Sage Valmiki? By conscious effort, habits can be changed and character refined. People always have within them, the capacity to challenge their evil propensities and to change their habits. By selfless service, renunciation, devotion and prayer, old habits that bind people to earth can be discarded and new habits that will take them along the divine path be instilled.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

Today people are wasting a big portion of their precious lives by indulging in flimsy gossip and watching scenes of violence and cruelty. Many are unaware that time sanctified by service offers high rewards to themselves as well as to those they serve. All acts of service are not equally sanctifying or uniform in the benefits they confer. When service is undertaken by power-hungry people, or under compulsion or by imitative urges, it results in more harm than good. A sincere aspirant undertaking service must avoid egotism (ahamkara), exhibitionism(adambara) and favouritism (abhimana). Before embarking on a service project, introspect and examine whether your heart is full of selfless love, humility and compassion, whether your head is full of intelligent understanding and knowledge of the problem and its solution, whether your hands are eager to offer the healing touch, and whether you can gladly spare and share time, energy and skill to help those in dire need.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

Unbridled freedom is destructive of dharma, and it also harms the woman herself. Mixing in society without any discrimination produces ruinous results. Of course there were educated women in the past, but they never gave up their dharma, they never forgot the goal of Atmic dharma. Education must be built on the basis of discrimination. Sulabha, Savitri, Anasuya, Gargi, Nalayani, and other such models of chastity, and devotees of the Lord like Meera or yoginis like Chudala, were born in this country of God (Bharatha-desa); they strengthened dharma by their adherence to it. It is through the examples of such great and holy women, with their character and conduct inspired by devotion and spiritual wisdom, that even today simplicity, humility, and devotion shine in the hearts of most Indian women. Today, women should draw inspiration from them and efforts must be made to live as they did in the past.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the day

Engage yourselves in pure activities with pure hearts and earn a good name. What you have to offer to Me is the good name earned by you. This is the highest expression of your gratitude. In no circumstances should you bring a bad name. Even if you fail to be helpful to others, do not cause harm to others. Students and all spiritual aspirants should cherish in their hearts with gratitude the good done to them by others and always remember the help rendered to them, in whatever form it may be. Only those who lead such grateful lives will be able to find peace and happiness in their lives. I desire that all of you should constantly think of God, continue to render social service, lead ideal family lives and enjoy peace and happiness. This is My benediction for all of you.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba