Thought for the Day

Company of the pious (Satsanga) leads you to gradually withdraw from entangling worldly activities. When a bit of cold coal is placed in the midst of glowing cinders and when the fire is fanned, the coal too glows with fire. Fire of Wisdom (Jnana agni) operates similarly. Individual effort and Divine Grace are both interdependent. Without effort, there will be no conferment of grace; without grace there can be no taste in the effort. To win that precious Grace from the Lord, all you need is only faith and virtues. You need not praise Him to win His favour. Praise feeds the fire of egoism and fogs genuine faith. God does not like mere external verbal praise and offerings of kind. He is yours and you are His. The entire mankind is God’s family. Knock with faith: the doors of Grace will open. Open your door! The Sun’s rays waiting outside will flow silently in and flood your room with light.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the day

Youth and students should go to the four corners of the country, cleanse the place and keep away from doctors by themselves being clean. If the aim is to do good to others, then God Himself will take care of the selfless aim of doing good. This is the essence of Vyasa’s eighteen Puranas. To be able to do good to others is a great virtue (punya) and to be able to keep away from doing harm to others is also a merit. Therefore, even if you are not able to do good, just sit quietly and keep silent; but do no harm to others. You must take care to see that all the five organs are without any blemish. You should not see any bad with your eyes. You should not talk anything unworthy with your mouth; and you should not touch anything unclean. You should thus keep all your five organs in a sathwik (or sacred) state.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

Come out of the well of ego into the sea of Universal Spirit, of which you are a part. Force your mind to breathe the grander atmosphere of the Eternal, by reminding it of God and His Glory, every second, with every breath, when you repeat any one of His many names. Or engage yourself in some work, which will take you out of your narrow self into the vaster magnificence, where you dedicate the fruit of your actions (karma) to God, where you devote your time and energy to share your joy, skill or knowledge with your fellow-beings. Or keep yourself surrounded always by persons devoted to the higher life - those who will encourage you to move forward towards the goal. Through these means, attain Chitta Suddhi (purity of mind) and then the Truth will be reflected clearly therein.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

Today, the commodities available are limited, and desires are unlimited. As our wants and desires are increasing beyond availability, there is an economic imbalance in the world. Many people are attempting to fix this by increasing the availability of commodities. Instead, if people learn to curb their wants and desires, there is neither need for increase in effort nor expenditure. This aspect of decreasing our desires and wants is called ‘Vairagya’ (detachment) in scriptures. The word Vairagya does not mean that you should run away from your family, sit in a forest, close your nose and put yourself to physical torture. The true meaning of detachment (vairagya) is you must stay in the society, do your duties, and learn to contain your desires and wants. Our life is a long journey. In this long journey of life, make every effort to diminish your wants and desires. Practice of Vairagya also includes taking sufficient food, avoiding wastage.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

You had a house and lived in it. You take great care to see that it is comfortable, charming and impressive. You get angry when some poster is pasted on its walls! Then one day you sell it. It is no longer the object of your attachment. Indeed, even if lightning strikes it you are not disturbed! Now you call the money you got yours; you put it in a bank and become attached to the passbook issued by the bank. You keep it in an iron safe and scan its pages lovingly. The money you gave the bank may be loaned by them to someone you do not like, but you do not care. You have the pass book with you. Now what exactly is yours? To which are you attached so deeply? The house, the money, or the pass book? You were attached to prestige, comfort, show, and greed - things that arose in your mind as desire; you were attached to your own ego, basically. That was the thing which induced you to claim these things, one after the other, as yours! Each of you must take up some spiritual effort in order to cleanse the mind of lust and greed, of envy and hate.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

True adherence to your conscience is righteousness prope

You should make your own conscience secure, and you should have confidence in yourself. Your conscience is your guide and it should dictate your behavior. Either for the good or for the bad, it is your conscience that is responsible. The guilt in you causes the bad; the strength and confidence in you should, therefore, do such things which will promote your confidence in your own self. That is why I have repeatedly told you, that you should follow the four F’s. “Follow the Master” and that is your conscience. The second thing is to “Face the devil”. The third is “Fight to the end”. Then you should “Finish the game”. If you remember all these four injunctions such that they are resounding every moment in you, there can be nothing more sacred than this in your life.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

Remember, there is no special merit in so-called spiritual exercises. Every act in your daily life must be sanctified by performing it as an offering to God. A farmer tilling his field should feel that he is tilling the field of his heart. While sowing seeds, he should sow the seeds of good qualities in his heart. While watering the field, he should think he is watering the field of his heart with love. In this way, everyone must pursue the spiritual path without the aid of rosary or going to the forest. Irrespective of physical and ideological differences, the Divine principle (Atma) is common to all. You must recognise that every being in the Universe is integrally related to society like different organs in a body. Humanity itself is a limb of Nature and Nature is a limb of God. If this integral relationship is understood, where is the ground for hatred? Hence conduct yourself in an exemplary manner.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

The true man is one who believes in equanimity - in the same way as one welcomes happiness, one should be able to welcome sorrows also.

Embodiments of Divine Love! Everyone aspires for happiness and wants to avoid sorrow. But in this world, truth and untruth, righteousness and unrighteousness, justice and injustice pass and change with time. One should have faith in the ultimate principle out of which both good and evil arise. Everyday one experiences happiness and sorrow, welcomes affections and aversions and invites worries and misery. How can one be at peace under these conditions? The true man is one who believes in equanimity - in the same way as one welcomes happiness, one should be able to welcome sorrows also. You should trust the Divine and experience His love in your hearts. If you want to be respected by everyone, you should respect everyone. Whether rich or poor, noble or ignoble, everyone has self-respect. One should put in effort to safeguard one’s self-respect. One who has true self-respect respects all. There is nothing new that I can tell you today. Everyone should attain bliss and conquer sorrow; develop true love and experience Divinity. This is My principal message to you today.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

Education is an ornament for you, it is your secret wealth that confers prosperity and fame. It is one's unfailing kinsman in foreign travel. More than wealth, this secures the respect of rulers. Education is the basis for leading a purposeful life in the physical world, in the realm of the mind and in society. It equips you with mental strength and steadiness to face the challenges in life and understand the myriad manifestations in Nature. Only when you understand the power of your mind, you can recognise the relationship between the world and society. Education should promote discrimination and humility, and enable you to recognise your obligations to your parents and others who have made you who you are today. Gratitude is a supreme virtue. Be grateful to your parents. Broaden your vision. Be aware of the Divinity that is inherent in every being. Cultivate the spirit of love and fill your life with joy.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

Students! 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, for anyone who is endowed with all these six precious qualities, success is assured. They will ensure your all-round prosperity. However these qualities confront various difficulties from time to time. Just as a student faces various exams to graduate, these noble qualities are also subject to trials. Such trials should be regarded as stepping stones to one's high achievements. These trials are in the form of losses, troubles, pains, sufferings and calumny. You must overcome these troubles with courage and self-confidence and go ahead. Without self-confidence the six qualities cannot be acquired. Students should 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

No one should consider themselves as insignificant or unimportant. Everyone, small or big, is a vital part of the whole and has an essential role in the world, like all the parts in a rocket. Any small defective part may cause the rocket to explode. Likewise in this vast Cosmos every being has a significant role to play to ensure its smooth functioning. Today, there is no unity, purity or awareness of Divinity. When there is discord between thought, word and deed, humanness is undermined. Unity must be promoted to foster humanness. We celebrate many festivals and birthdays. It is not the festivities that are important, not the dresses or the speeches. Feelings are what are important. Without purity of thought, purity of wisdom cannot be got. Seek to purify your minds. Cultivate selfless love towards all and engage yourself in social service. Service to the villagers is service to Rama (Grama Seva is Rama Seva).

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

In the present times, many men look down upon women and treat them as mere servitors. This is a big mistake. The more a man respects women, the more he will be respected. Men should not behave in an arrogant way towards women thinking themselves to be more strong and powerful. Today people are conferred various titles of repute like Padmashri, Padma Vibhushan, etc. But the titles conferred on women since ancient times are Grihalakshmi (Goddess of the house), Illalu, Dharmapatni (righteous consort), Ardhangani (one half of the man), etc. These are very high and sacred titles. How can women with such exalted titles to their credit be inferior to men? Every man should see to it that the women at their homes do not shed tears. The husband has the right to point out the mistakes of his wife, but he must not use harsh words and hurt her feelings. Never use harsh words with anyone. Talk sweetly and softly. Your family will attain peace and prosperity once you observe these principles.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

Today the food you eat, water you drink and air you inhale are all polluted. People themselves are highly polluted because their minds are filled with negative feelings and worldly desires. No doubt, you can have desires, but they should be under limits. Many human hearts are a den of evil qualities like anger, hatred, greed, jealousy, pomp and show. Love alone can drive away these negative qualities. Desire, anger, greed, jealousy, etc., arise only out of body attachment and improper food habits. So control your attachment and desires. The letters that you write will appear blue when the pen is filled with blue ink and red when it is filled with red ink. Similarly all that you see, hear and say will be negative if your heart has negative feelings. Hence fill your heart with love. Then all that you see, hear, say and do will be suffused with love and you will experience a world suffused with love.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

All religions teach one basic discipline - the removal from the mind of the blemish of egoism, of running after little joy. Every religion teaches human beings to fill his heart with the glory of God, and evict the pettiness of conceit. It trains you in methods of detachment and discrimination, so that you can aim high and attain liberation. Believe that all hearts are motivated by the one and only God; that all faiths glorify the one and only God; that all names in all languages and all forms you can conceive, denote the one and only God; and that His adoration is best done by means of love. Cultivate that attitude of Oneness (Eka-bhava), between people of all creeds, all countries and all continents. That is the message of love I bring. That is the message I wish you to take to heart. Foster love, live in love, spread love - that is the spiritual exercise which will yield the maximum benefit.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

Select any name of His that appeals to you, select any form of His. Every day when you awaken to the call of the brightening east, recite the name, meditate on the form; have the name and the form as your companion, guide and guardian throughout the toils of the waking hours. When you retire for the night offer grateful homage to God in that form with that name, for being with you, by you, beside you, before you, behind you, all day long. If you stick to this discipline, you cannot falter or fail. Endeavour always to promote the joy and happiness of your fellow countrymen; gladly share their joy and happiness. Resolve to carry on the quest of your own reality. Resolve to live in the inspiration of the constant remembrance of God. Cultivate love and share love. I bless that you achieve success in this endeavour and derive great joy therefrom.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

Parents and children must join together and sing the glory of God. Embodiments of love, your life must be dedicated to God: as a first step, you must devote a few minutes everyday to the adoration of His glory and enjoying the depth of that glory. Gradually, when the sweetness of the habit heartens you, you will devote more and more time and feel increasingly content. The purpose of 'living' is to achieve ‘living in God’. Everyone is entitled to that consecration and consummation. You are the Truth; do not lose faith; do not belittle yourselves. You are Divine, however often you slide from humanity to animality or even lower. Cultivate Love; share that love with all. How can you give one person less and another more, when they are both the same as you? If you forget the basic Divinity, hatred sprouts and envy raises its hood. See the divine (Atma) in all. Then Love sprouts, and peace descends like dew.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

An insidious disease is now rampant amongst most people, namely, disbelief. It sets fire to the tiny shoots of faith and reduces life into cinders and ashes. You have no criterion to judge, yet you pretend to judge. Doubt, anger, poison, illness — all these have to be scotched before they grow. Repeat the Lord’s Name, whether you have faith or not. That will itself induce faith; that will itself create the evidence on which faith can be built. You attach importance to quantity, but the Lord considers only quality. He does not calculate how many measures of ‘sweet rice’ you offered but how many sweet words you uttered, and how much sweetness was present in your thoughts. Offer Him the fragrant leaf of devotion, the flowers of your emotions and impulses which are freed from the pests of lust, anger, etc. Give Him fruits grown in the orchard of your mind, sour or sweet, juicy or dry, bitter or sweet.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

Nothing else can give you the bliss, courage and strength that you derive from namasmarana (chanting of the Divine Name). Even if some people make fun of you, do not bother about it. You may be young or old, rich or poor, everybody must do namasmarana. Sing the glory of God wholeheartedly without any inhibition, with full concentration and total dedication. Do not be afraid of anyone. Only then can you experience divine bliss. Begin this sacred namasmarana right from this moment. Take care to see the Name emerges from the core of your heart. Play on the veena of your heart and sing the glory of God. Ensure that you do not have evil thoughts as they produce discordant notes. Only then you will become the recipient of divine grace and energy. I bless you to lead a blissful life! You don’t need to search for bliss outside. It is within you. From today, let your devotion and sense of surrender grow more. Be fearless and sing the glory of the Lord wherever you are and lead the life of a true human being.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

Today many people do not attach importance to reciting Lord’s Name. It is a great mistake. Many are facing a lot of problems because they are not doing namasmarana. In the present age (Kali) chanting the divine name alone can redeem your lives. There is no other refuge! Singing the Lord’s glory is highly sacred. There are many snakes of wicked qualities in the anthill of your heart. When you recite the divine name, all the ‘snakes’ of bad qualities will come out. Namasmarana is like nadaswaram which attracts snakes and brings them out of anthills. Let this mellifluous name (nadaswaram) be your breath of life (jeevanaswaram). Repeat God’s name incessantly in order to get rid of evil qualities. Let each and every street reverberate with the singing of divine glory. Let each and every cell of your body be filled with divine name.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

Arjuna earned the Spiritual Instruction (Geeta upadesh) from the Lord Himself, because he experienced deep sorrow (Vishada), detachment (Vairagya), surrender (Sharanagati) and the single-minded-concentration on the Lord (Ekagrata). When the yearning for Liberation becomes intense beyond expression, you can set aside all social conventions, worldly norms, etc. which does not subserve that high purpose. Just as Prahlada gave up his father, Bhishma countered his Guru, Meera deserted her husband and Shankaracharya won his mother over with deceit. To develop that taste for liberation, Namasmarana is the best path. Let the sweetness of the Lord’s Name saturated with the sugar of His splendor play on your tongue and mind always. This simple but supremely powerful exercise can be practiced by all at all times, irrespective of caste, creed, gender, social or economic status.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

Your home (griha) must resound to the name of Govinda; otherwise, it is just a cave (guha), where wild animals dwell. The soul needs a house, and your body itself is its house. In that house too, the Lord’s name must be heard, or else it is a mud pot (ghata), not a human being’s body. Then your homes will be immersed in the highest peace (shanti)! Obedience to the Lord’s command is the secret to your liberation. Once you decide that the orchard in your mind belongs to Him, all fruits will be sweet! Your seeking refuge for protection (saranagathi) will render all fruits acceptable to the Lord, so they cannot be bitter. And for water, what can be purer and more precious than your tears — shed not in grief, but in rapture at the chance to serve the Lord and to walk along the path that leads to Him!

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

Of the 24 hours in a day, use six for earning and spending, six for contemplation of God, six for sleep and six for service to others. Most of you don’t even have five minutes to truly contemplate on the Lord, and you are not ashamed. What a tragedy! Ponder over your present condition (sthiti), the direction you are heading (gathi), your capabilities (shakthi) and your inclinations and tendencies (mathi). Then enter upon the path of spiritual practice, step by step, so you approach the goal steadily and swiftly, day by day. Indian culture advises the control of the senses, not catering to them. The car is driven by means of a wheel which is inside it, so that when the inner steering wheel is turned, the outer wheels move. Trying to move the outer-wheels alone is a sign of ignorance! Inner concentration must be developed in preference to outer distraction. Cultivate quietness, simplicity, and humility, instead of noise, complexity and conceit.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

People today suffer intensely from the fever of the senses and try the quack remedies of recreations, pleasures, vacations, picnics, banquets, dances, etc. only to find that the fever abates but returns after an interval – it does not subside. All the varieties in taste, colour, smell of the various food delicacies, when you consider fairly and squarely, are a mere drug to cure the illness of hunger. All the drinks that people have invented are but drugs to alleviate the illness of thirst. What you term luxury (bhoga) today, is a thing that drags people into excitement and insane pursuits. A fever will go away only when the hidden virus is rendered ineffective. So too, the virus or illness of your mind will die only when the rays of wisdom (Jnana) falls upon it. Discern and always try to prefer the beneficial (hitha) to the pleasant (priya), for the pleasant might lead you down the sliding path into the bottomless pit.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

Every individual’s struggle against their inner foes is different. Each person gets the result according to their Sadhana (spiritual practices), based on the deservedness of their acts in this and their previous births. Life is not a mechanical formula, where 2 plus 2 always makes 4. To some, 2 plus may be 3 or 5, depending on their ‘personal valuation’ of 2. In the spiritual path, each one must move forward from where they already are at their own pace, in the light of the lamp which each one is holding in the hand. Identify defects that would undermine your spiritual career, and fix them to advance in your journey unto Him. People buy clothes with deep colour, so that they may not reveal dust or dirt; they do not prefer white clothes, for they show plainly their soiled condition. But, do not try to hide your dirt in darkness; be ashamed of soiled natures and endeavour to cleanse them fast.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

If our love, belief and affection are confined to our nearest kith and kin, that will be the lowest kind of selfish love. On the other hand, if you stretch a little beyond the narrow region of your family and extend your faith and belief to your countrymen, then it becomes intermediate. If you treat the entire world as one and regard all the people living in it as one, and extend your faith and sympathy to all of them, then it is the highest kind of selfless love. Gradually we should move from the limited circle of our family to the wider circle of our country and then expand to the Universe. When we talk of humanity, it should not be confined to a small group of people. There is only one caste, and that is the caste of humanity, and when we talk of humanity, we must extend our selfless love to all species in the Universe too.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

People travel into the sky and soar to the very heights of the empty skies. They dive into the depths of the ocean; and in many other ways, people are doing incredible things. With the help of science and technology, they are discovering and inventing things which were not previously accessible to common human beings. They are making every effort to learn and understand several phenomena but are only partially succeeding in this objective. In fact, people are inventing complicated and sophisticated computers and machines, and through these are trying to conquer the universe. After acquiring all these strengths and capacities, if people do not have the wisdom to use them well for their happiness and peaceful living, all these inventions become useless.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Every living being in this world is knowingly or unknowingly on a spiritual pilgrimage.

Every individual’s struggle against their inner foes is different. Each person gets the result according to their Sadhana (spiritual practices), based on the deservedness of their acts in this and their previous births. Life is not a mechanical formula, where 2 plus 2 always makes 4. To some, 2 plus may be 3 or 5, depending on their ‘personal valuation’ of 2. In the spiritual path, each one must move forward from where they already are at their own pace, in the light of the lamp which each one is holding in the hand. Identify defects that would undermine your spiritual career, and fix them to advance in your journey unto Him. People buy clothes with deep colour, so that they may not reveal dust or dirt; they do not prefer white clothes, for they show plainly their soiled condition. But, do not try to hide your dirt in darkness; be ashamed of soiled natures and endeavour to cleanse them fast.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

Many are unable to understand the sacredness of the selfless love and devotion of the Gopikas and misinterpret all their actions attributing them wrong meanings. Gopikas had noble thoughts; their love and devotion to Lord Krishna was absolutely selfless. It is for this reason that even after so many centuries they remain fresh in the minds of millions in India. The Bhagavata preaches the sacredness of devotion to Lord Krishna. There is no hatred, jealousy, or anger in divine love; that is why it can give happiness to the entire world. We should accept selfless love as an essential type of devotion and promote it in our country. It must be an ideal so far as our relationship with God is concerned. Discard any unsacred thoughts or selfishness from your hearts, from this very moment, and cultivate selfless divine love and purify your heart.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

You must strive to diagnose your own character and discover the faults that are infesting it; do not try to analyse the character of others and seek to spot their defects. Life is a campaign against foes; it is a battle with obstacles, temptations, hardships and hesitations. These forces are within every individual and so the battle has to be incessant and perpetual. Like the virus that thrives in the bloodstream, the vices of lust, greed, hate, malice, pride and envy sap the energy and faith, and lead one to untimely fall. Ravana had great scholarship, wealth, power, authority, even the Grace of God – but the viruses of lust and pride lodged in his mind brought about his complete destruction. He could not dwell in peace and joy, even for a moment, after these viruses began their job. Remember, virtue is strength and vice is weakness.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

There are nations that have no peace even in the midst of plenty; they are obsessed by fear and anxiety on account of the very plenty they have earned for themselves. The only guarantor of peace for the individual and for society is spiritual progress and spiritual discipline. In India, as well as in other countries, there is to be seen a sad neglect of just these two objectives. Providing housing, clothing and food gives physical happiness (sukha); providing education in skills and imparting information about the world gives a means of livelihood. But the ancient adage says, "Na sukhat labhate sukham" - Real and lasting happiness cannot be won through physical happiness. Lasting happiness, happiness that will not be shaken or diminished or modified by good fortune or bad, can come only by the discipline of the mind and faith in a Higher Power that guides all the deeds and words and thoughts of man. The lamp of that spiritual awareness has to be lit and fed, so that the footsteps of man can take that path and proceed unharmed.

 Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

Hatred and envy distort an individual’s true charm. Anger is the fuel for all varieties of sin. Just look at yourself in a mirror when you are attacked by anger, and you will discover that you are then akin to Shoorpanakha (the demon king Ravana’s sister) of ancient times. The Rajo guna that is overpowering you then is the rakshasa (demonic) trait you must learn to avoid. Those aspiring for success in the spiritual field must therefore decide to control anger and subdue the vagaries of the mind. They must put down their mental agitations and worries and see that they do not create worry in others too. They must convince themselves that in everyone there is Divinity (Shivam), recognisable as breath (swasam); develop Universal Love (Vishwaprema) and demonstrate it in your words and deeds. I bless you to win satyam, shanti and sukham (Truth, Peace and Happiness) through these means and merge in the source of all bliss.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba