Thought for the Day

The spirit of sacrifice is the basic prerequisite for every sevak(servitor). Without the inspiration of the sense of sacrifice, your seva will be hypocrisy, a hollow ritual. You wear the sevadalscarf over your apparel, only to remove it soon! When you remove the scarf, you feel relieved that you have been released from the obligation to love and serve. In doing so, you are only playing a temporary role in a drama, donning a scarf and doffing it. Internalise the spirit of sacrifice in your heart, deep and clear. God is Love and can be won only through the cultivation and exercise of Love. He cannot be trapped by any trick; He bestows grace only when His commands are followed - the command to love all and serve all. When you do this, you are serving yourself most - yourself whom you love most! For God's Grace envelops you then, and you are strengthened beyond all previous experience.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Before embarking on a service project one must introspect and examine if the heart is full of selfless love, humility and compassion;

People are not aware that time sanctified by service offers high rewards to themselves as well as to those whom 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. Self-aggrandizement or competition or ostentation are motives that will pollute the sacred Sadhana of Service. The candidate for this spiritual activity has to avoid ahamkara(egoism), adambara (exhibitionism) and abhimana (favouritism). Before embarking on a service project one must introspect and examine if the heart is full of selfless love, humility and compassion; whether one’s head has the intelligent understanding and knowledge of the problem and its solution; whether the hands are eager to offer the healing touch, and whether one can gladly spare and share time, energy and skill to help others in dire need.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

You may belong to any country, be of any age, and any position; it is your character and discipline that is most important. There is no difference in the code conduct for an Indian, American, German or Russian. All of you are human beings first and belong to the caste of humanity, religion of love and the language of the heart. When you realise this truth, it does not matter to which country you belong. When you are in the golden age of youth, you should protect your character as your very life. In ancient times young men and women adhered to the principles of character and hence were highly reputed. The sapling has to be tended carefully, so that it could grow into a mighty tree in the right manner and serve the people well. If you want to be remembered, guard your character. From now on if you maintain good character, your progeny, the community you live in and all countries by and large will prosper.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

Any work done in this world with the attitude of love will be an achievement. The heart in which there is no love is certain to be the paradise of wickedness. Whatever you do, do it with love. The Gopikas prayed, “Oh Krishna, play Your sweet flute and sow the seeds of love in the desert of loveless hearts. Let the rain of love fall on earth and make the rivers of love flow continuously.” Therefore, start the day with love, spend the day with love, fill the day with love, and end the day with love - this is the way to God. You read such sacred and inspiring quotes every day, and see them on the boards, but are they getting imprinted in your hearts? Can your hunger be relieved, by just reading the names of many different sweets? So also, by merely reading sacred quotes or by listening to it will not purify your mind. Practice and experience the results!

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

You are born in society, you grow in society, and earn name and fame in society. You learn many skills from the society and develop intelligence, and thereby you gain reputation for being intelligent. You received all these precious gifts from society. Have anyone of you, young men and women, thought of showing gratitude to the society from which you got the name and fame? What service are you rendering to the society in return for the good things received? How are you expressing your gratitude to society? Put these questions to yourself, and you get shallow answers. Ingratitude is incorrect. Every human being must possess the quality of gratitude. Being beneficiaries one must show gratitude. And as an expression of one’s gratitude, one should render selfless service to the society; it is one’s foremost duty.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

Life is full of worries. They seem to come in an endless procession, isn’t it? When you worship God, make sure you repose total faith in Him. Without faith, what is the use of worship? Faith alone will take you beyond worries. What is it that does not cause anxiety? Birth is a worry, and so is existence itself; family life is a worry, death is a worry, childhood is a worry, old age is the same, living is a worry, working is a worry, pain causes worry, pleasure too causes worry, and so on. Worry, worry, worry all the time! In this world, troubles will come for sure but you must learn to rise above worry; this is possible only with forbearance (kshama). Welcome troubles with a smile saying, “Come my friend, you are the bearer of joy!” When you are filled with kshama, you will be blissful and achieve everything in life!

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

It is through sankalpa (thoughts and ideas) the entire creation manifests. As is the sankalpa, so is the human life. Life itself is an interplay of sankalpa; it has life and is powerful. There are two types of sankalpas - polluted and the pure. Thoughts and feelings associated with sacred activities, helping the needy, contemplation of spiritual truths and the divine nature of God are examples of pure sankalpas. The thoughts that lead one to take up service without selfishness, without considering one’s personal gains, and considering the welfare of the nation as one’s own, are all noble sankalpas. Jealousy that arises in seeing others prosper, and doing such things that could impede their happiness, focussing on the bad in others and resorting to criticising them - these are polluted sankalpas. Sages of yore, though they were ordinary people in the beginning, were transformed into great sages through their sacred sankalpa. It is such sankalpa that transformed Ratnakara, who lived as a thief into Maharishi Valmiki.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

People say Lord Yama, God of death takes everyone’s life away using a rope called Yama pasa. What is the rope that takes every person’s life? Attachment and selfishness are the ropes that bring end to each one! God does not create pleasure and pain from somewhere else! To think that due to others or external factors we get difficulties or happiness is incorrect! We ourselves cause our own happiness or grief. If we recognise this, we need not fear. When we are full of pure love we will be fearless. Where there is sin, there is fear. So, never give scope to wrong deeds. Whatever small work you may do, first discriminate whether it is good or bad. Take time. Do not be in haste. ‘Haste makes waste. Waste brings worry. So do not be in a hurry’. Whatever happens, be peaceful. Pray to God and cultivate love for God. That love is the divine nectar that will remove all sorrow.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Earn the precious reward while you are young and fresh....

Many postpone sadhana (spiritual discipline) to old age. This is wrong. Earn the precious reward while you are young and fresh. It is never too soon to begin. The tongue, the eye, the ear, the hand and mind should all be trained from childhood upwards to avoid evil. If these are kept clean and holy, the grace of God is won. When the flesh urges you to fall into falsehood, do not yield, stand firm. When the individual is strong and steady, the family prospers; when the family prospers, the village is happy; when the village is happy, the country is secure and strong; when countries are strong and secure, the world is full of humility and reverence, charity and peace. Sing aloud the glory of God and charge the atmosphere with divine adoration; the clouds will pour the sanctity through rain on the fields; the crops will feed on it and purify and fortify the food; the food will induce divine urges in man. This is the chain of progress. This is the reason why I insist on group singing of the Names of the Lord.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Love is the key to open the doors locked by egoism and greed.

God is the source of all love; love the world as the vesture of God, no more, no less. Through love, you can merge in the ocean of love. Love cures pettiness, hate and grief. Love loosens bonds; it saves man from the torment of birth and death. Seen through the eyes of Love, all beings are beautiful, all deeds are dedicated, and all thoughts are innocent. You are all caskets of divine Love; share it, spread it. Express that Love in acts of service, words of sympathy, and thoughts of compassion. Just as when you wake up from sleep you know that the dream which you had was a matter of minutes though the chain of events dreamt spanned many years, this life will appear a transient affair when you awake into jnana after this brief 'dream of life’. Hence be always full of joy so that when death calls, you can quit with a light laugh, and not whimper in grief.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

God has a million names. Believe that all names in all languages and all forms that man can conceive, denote the One and only God; that all hearts are motivated by the One and Only God; that all faiths glorify the One and Only God; and His adoration is best done by means of love. Cultivate that attitude of Oneness (Eka-bhava), between men 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. When you recite the Name of God, remembering all the while His majesty, His compassion, His glory, His splendour, and His presence, love will grow within you. Its roots will go deeper and deeper, and its branches will spread wider and wider giving cool shelter to friend and foe, one and all. Cultivate love and share love.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

The human body, fully loaded with skills, and so capable of great adventures is a gift from God to you

The human body, fully loaded with skills, and so capable of great adventures is a gift from God to you. Use it as a raft to cross this never-calm ocean of change (samsara) that lies between birth and death, bondage and liberation. Wake up to this primal duty when your physical and mental faculties are keen and when your power of discrimination is sharp. Do not postpone the ride on the raft, for it may become burdened with illness soon, and all your attention will have to be spent on its upkeep. Think of the incomparable joy that will surge within you when you reach the shore of liberation! Ride safe on the raging waters of worldly life; be a witness, do not crave for the fruit of action, and leave the consequences of all acts to God's will. He is the doer; you are His instrument. Practice spiritual discipline and be unaffected by defeat or victory, and establish yourself in unruffled peace.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

The past is beyond recovery;

Celestial spheres are revolving and disintegrating. Time is fleeting. Age follows age. Era succeeds era. Bodies that have taken birth, grow and end. But the urge to sanctify life with good works and good thoughts is nowhere evident. The fragrance of sincere spiritual practice (sadhana) is not found anywhere in the present times. Through the process of 'giving up’, great things can be achieved. Cultivate detachment, and the Lord will attach Himself to you. The past is beyond recovery; those days are gone. But tomorrow is coming towards you. Resolve to sanctify it with Love, Service and Sadhana. Love, adore and serve the Almighty Lord (Sarveshwara) who is resident in all mankind and through that realise Him. That is the highest Sadhana. Serve every being as God. Give food to the hungry, food that is the gift of Goddess Nature; give it with love and humility. Give it, sweetened with the name of the Lord.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Death lies in wait for every being......

Life is but the interval between birth and death, a procession towards the grave that starts at the very moment of birth. Tigers lie in wait in a bush by the jungle track; when they spot their prey, at the right moment they pounce, and drag the catch to their lair. So too, death lies in wait for every being. It trails behind you with silent paws and when the hour strikes, it leaps and snaps the thread of life. In this difficult journey of life, have God as your lamp, you will reach your destination safely. Resolve this day to adopt this spiritual practice of reciting your chosen Lord’s Name always! Welcome the habit of reading epics as you welcome efficacious drugs! They cure deep-rooted illnesses of the mind. Accept mantras as medicines, to cure the phobias of the mind, the disabilities of the inner senses, and the defects of the inner consciousness. They clarify your vision and make you strong and steady on the Godward path.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Like the music that is broadcast over the radio, it is all around you; but you must switch on your receiver and tune to the wavelength so that you can enjoy it.

God's grace is like the shower of rain or sunlight. You must do some spiritual practice (sadhana) to receive it, the sadhana of keeping a pot upright to receive the rain, or opening the door of your heart so that the Sun may illumine it. Like the music that is broadcast over the radio, it is all around you; but you must switch on your receiver and tune to the wavelength so that you can enjoy it. Do at least little sadhana and pray for grace. Grace will set everything right. Grace will grant you self-realisation (Atma Sakshatkara) and other incidental benefits too like a happy contented life and a cool courageous temper established in unruffled peace. The plantain tree has bunches of fruits as its main gift. But its leaves, soft core of the trunk and flower bud are subsidiary items that can be profitably used. This is the nature of grace. It fulfils a variety of wants.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Whatever you see outside is the reflection of your inner being.

If you want to see God, you should firmly believe that you are not the body. To identify yourself with the body is but an illusion. All that is seen outside is only a reflection and is not the reality. Whatever you see and whomever you come across, consider every form as nothing but the manifestation of Divinity. Do not give scope for differences of ‘I’ and ‘you’. Wherever you see, everything in God’s creation is reaction, reflection and resound. You look into a mirror and say that you are in the mirror. In fact, you are not in the mirror. It is only your reflection that appears in the mirror. When you go behind the hill and shout “Hello”, you will immediately hear someone shouting at you with the same intensity. In fact that voice belongs to you only, not to anyone else. Whatever you see outside is the reflection of your inner being.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

Develop the quality of love. Do not hate anybody. Develop the faith that whatever happens is for your own good. Whenever you encounter any difficulty or suffering, you alone are responsible for it. Respect others. That alone will protect you. On the other hand, if you insult somebody that act will punish you. Pleasure and pain are the products of your own making. The merit or sin committed by you will follow you like a shadow. People today love to give sermons to others. But they are not following their own precepts. What value will such teachings have? All this is mere deception. Whatever teachings you may read or listen to, can never help you if you do not put them into practice. Help your fellow human beings at least in a small measure. That alone will help you. Do not blame others for the difficulties you face. Do not ever abuse others. Love all.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

Sankranti bestows immense joy on animals and birds, nature and everyone, right from a farmer to the king. Sankranti marks the beginning of the sacred time of Uttarayana (sun’s movement toward North). Names may vary, but this festival is celebrated joyously by one and all irrespective of state, religion and nationality. You too should welcome the arrival of the bounteous month of Pushya and celebrate Sankranti in its true spirit by manifesting your inner joy and sharing it with others. The word kranti means change. It signifies a change from misery to happiness, from restlessness to peace and from pain to pleasure. Happiness cannot be purchased in a market nor can it be acquired by worldly means. It should manifest from within. “Start the day with Love, fill the day with Love, end the day with Love - this is the way to God.” If you practice this, you will always remain happy and not be disturbed by sorrows and difficulties.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

Presently people are not celebrating Sankranti in its true spirit. They confine it to mere performance of rituals, in the absence of purity and sanctity. In the past, of all the festivals, Sankranti was considered the most important. It is the day on which farmers bring home the harvested crop, feed the poor and rejoice. Vedic scholars get up during the early morning hours (Brahmamuhurta) and chant Vedic mantras, purifying the hearts of one and all. This festival also has a special significance for the householders. They invite their newly married son-in-law to their house, present them with new clothes and distribute sweets and rice puddings to all, thus the entire household abounds with joy. Cool winds, mellifluous bird songs and the sweet sugarcane crops herald the arrival of Sankranti. This festival bestows great joy and auspiciousness on farmers, householders, priests and children. It must drive away all disappointments and despair, and fill every heart with hope and enthusiasm.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

Today people talk harsh words which hurt the feelings of others. If you see inappropriate sights, listen to bad talk, and indulge in unholy activities, you are investing time in activities which ultimately ruin you. When you misuse your senses, how can you expect to be happy and healthy? In order to enjoy perfect health, you must make sacred use of your senses. You may be a pauper or a millionaire, but God has given each one of you five senses and a heart (hridaya). Make proper use of them and sanctify your lives. That heart which is filled with compassion (daya) is hridaya. As you think, so you become (Yad bhavam tad bhavati). In order to sanctify your senses, you should utilise them in the service of others. If you cannot undertake any service activity, at least speak softly and sweetly. You cannot always oblige, but you can speak always obligingly. 

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

The foremost activity everyone should engage in is to serve fellow human beings. Instead, people are wasting precious time worrying about either the past or the future. Embodiments of love! This body is not meant to be engaged in mere eating and drinking, and thus wasting away our valuable time. We must realise the truth that God has given us this body for serving others. All great men have sanctified their lives only by serving humanity. Every limb in the human body has been granted by God for Karmopasana (worshipping God through service). Karmopasana is the only means by which the human life can be sanctified. We are undertaking various sadhanas (spiritual efforts). But, all these can give us only temporary satisfaction, not eternal joy. Our ancient sages have been able to achieve eternal joy through conscious effort. Therefore you must develop firm faith in the truth that nothing provides eternal joy, except service to humanity.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

Popular cricket and tennis matches today involve several lakhs of rupees. As sports become business with no room for human values, peace becomes a casualty. Sports and athletics must be practiced with a sense of spiritual oneness, transcending differences of nationality, language and religion to experience good health, peace and bliss. Since time immemorial, sports and athletics were intended mainly to promote health and experience joy. Today these objectives are being forgotten and replaced with commercial motives and self-interests. People cherish body attachment, resulting in one's outlook being very narrow and limited. Consequently, peace and happiness are lost. In every action in your daily living, you should be sportive and cooperative with unity and harmony. You must recognise that the indwelling Spirit (Atma) is one and the same in all beings and develop the spirit of oneness and equality. Then the Divinity present within you will be manifested and your human nature will become divine.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

When the Lord’s name is pronounced by your tongue, and the image is adored by the mind, these should not degenerate into mechanical routine; the meaning of the Name and the content of the form must at the same time inspire and illumine the consciousness. Escape the routine; involve yourselves in the attitude of worship deeply and sincerely. That is the way to earn peace and content, for which all human activity ought to be dedicated and directed. Planting the sapling of the cotton-tree, how can you hope for the mango? Do it now! That is the urgency of this problem of all problems, of winning peace and contentment. If you feel hungry now, you cannot have your meals tomorrow; nor do you eat your meals now fearing that you will be hungry tomorrow. Eat when you are hungry - not before or after. Aspire now, adore now, achieve now.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, a great disciple of Lord Krishna, said, "Think of God incessantly. Chant His Name. There is nothing in this world except God.” He went about singing the glory of Lord Krishna in the streets. Some miscreants, jealous of his growing reputation, snatched away the cymbals from his hands. Thereafter he started playing on a drum while singing the Divine Name. The drum too was also broken by the miscreants, but he was least perturbed. He started clapping and singing bhajans, as he felt there was no need for instruments to sing the Lord’s Name. Then they beat him up mercilessly. His body started bleeding profusely, but Chaitanya continued to chant the Divine Name calmly, and within a few minutes, all blood and pain disappeared miraculously! Remember, difficulties in life do not cause any hindrance to a person pursuing a noble course of life. In spite of troubles and difficulties, they always remain at peace and contemplate on God constantly!

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

The root-cause of all discontentment is envy. You can be self-satisfied only when envy is eradicated from your heart. The contented individual enjoys peaceful living. How does envy arise? Discontent over what one lacks gives birth to envy. For example, when you compare yourself with those who are better off, or hold higher office, or score higher marks, or are more good looking, you suffer from a consciousness of your own inferiority! It is a crime to entertain envy within. To get rid of this evil quality, look at those who are worse off than you. For instance, when you look at those who got lower marks, you can derive comfort from the fact that you have done better than them! Hence, get rid of envy by comparing yourself with those who are worse off. In due course you must develop a sense of equal-mindedness towards those who are better off and those who are worse. Such equal-mindedness is a Divine quality.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

It is by the stroke of supreme good fortune that you have come to the Lord. You must not let this opportunity slip. This is your chance to secure your physical, mental and spiritual well being. You have got this blessing, thanks to merit earned in some previous lives. It is not the fruit of this birth. Remember, there is no Dharma higher than Truth. Truth alone triumphs. Amongst all the attributes of God, Truth is foremost. God is hailed as Satya-vak-palakaya Namah (the Protector of Truth), the Propagator of Truth, and the Embodiment of Truth. Truth is God. Students! Youth is a crucial period in your lives. It is the stage in which your Divinity can blossomforth. It is the right time for you to strive to sublimate your speech and practice honoring your own words. Hence when you give your word once or take a pledge or make a promise, make every effort to fulfil it.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

My dear students, love your parents. Obey their commands. Your parents work very hard to feed you, educate you and bring you up in life. They struggle to keep you in good mood and give you good food, good clothing and good education. If you do not respect such parents, how do you expect to be respected by society? You must bring joy to your parents through your behaviour. When you achieve high qualifications, it promotes ego, but not humility and respect towards parents and elders. Hence, cultivate the qualities of humility, respect and reverence assiduously. Only then will you become good citizens of the country. It is not necessary that everyone achieves greatness. However it is important for everyone to become good citizens. Name and fame will come today and leave tomorrow. But good name will last forever. Therefore earn a good name. Think of God always and earn His Grace. Your lives will certainly be sanctified!

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

Embodiments of Love! See that your love for God does not fluctuate according to whether your wishes are fulfilled or not. Remember that you reap the fruits of your own actions, depending on whether they are good or bad. Love of God alone can confer enduring bliss. Eschew bad qualities like hatred and envy. If you wish to lead a sacred life and have sacred experiences, you must engage yourself in sacred actions. The good and evil in the world can be changed only by the change in people’s actions. Transformation of society must start with transformation of individuals. Students! Remember that you are in a ‘golden age’ in your lives. Do not waste it. Do your duty. Love and revere your parents. Serve society. Adhere to good qualities always. Be happy and make others happy. When students cultivate humility, reverence for elders and love towards all, I feel very happy.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

Life is a newspaper; read casually a few columns and headlines that catch your fancy and throw it aside. Do not consider it any more important than that. Remember, today’s newspaper, is  tomorrow's 'waste paper'! So too, life is worth only a casual perusal! One birth is enough; let the death coming to you in this life be the last. You are all caskets of divine Love; share it and spread it. Express that Love in acts of service, words of sympathy, and thoughts of compassion. Just as when you wake up from sleep you know that the dream you had was a matter of minutes, even though the chain of events dreamt spanned many years, this life too will appear a transient affair when you awaken into jnana (supreme wisdom) after this brief 'dream of life’. Be always full of joy so that when death calls, you can quit with a light laugh, without whimpering in grief. I bless you to shape your life to attain that supreme everlasting bliss!

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

Arjuna is also called Partha - a name applicable to all, for, it means earthly or earthborn. His struggle is a reminder to all. Arjuna was overcome by Love, which was colored with egoism and delusion. He felt that it was wrong to kill his kinsmen by slaughtering the armies ranged against him. He preferred a life sustained on alms to ruling over an empire won by the sword. This misplaced compassion, based on an unreal sense of values, attracted the Lord’s attention, who resolved to transmute it into a renunciation of attachment to the deed and its fruits. If only you cultivate a deep yearning for guidance about your appropriate Dharma, and if you surrender your will, intellect, emotions and your impulses to God, He will lead you to Himself and endow you with Supreme Bliss. In your daily living, practice cleansing your emotions, reforming your attitude and journey towards the final consummation. This should become the constant vigil of every seeker.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

The most direct method of spiritual success is Nishkama karma(desireless action) - action without any attention or attachment to the fruit therefrom, action as duty, action as dedication, and action as worship. But, action and the fruit thereof are not two separate entities. The fruit is the action itself, it is basically, the action in its final stage; it is the climax, the conclusion. The flower is the fruit and the fruit is the flower; one is the beginning, the other is the legitimate end. The flower becomes the fruit. So too the action becomes the consequence. One's duty is to act. Act well and act in fear of God. Act within the bounds of morality. Act in love, and continue acting. The consequences will naturally follow as the fruit follows the flower. One need not worry or exult. Act enthusiastically and with faith - success will be yours.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

Everyone is eager to be happy; everyone wants to work less and gain more, give little and get amply, but no one experiments the other route, that is, desire less and give more. Every ‘want’ is a shackle that hinders ‘progress’. A young college student can roam free on two legs; when they marry, they become four-footed! A child makes them six-footed; the range of their movements become restricted. More the feet, less the speed; a centipede can only crawl! Accumulation of sofas and chairs, cots and tables clutter the hall and render movements slow and risky. Reduce wants, and live simply, that is the way to happiness. Attachment brings sorrow in its wake! At last, when death demands that everything and everyone be left behind, you are overpowered with grief! Be like the lotus on water – on it, not in it. Water is necessary for the lotus to grow, but it will not allow even a drop to wet it!

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

Love for God can grow only in a well-ploughed heart, free from weeds. So prepare your heart through Namasmarana (constant recital of the divine name). This is called Chitta shuddhi yoga - The path of Consciousness-cleansing. Charge every second of time with the Divine current that emanates from the name. Have the name of the Lord always on your tongue and in your breath, ever. That will evoke His form, as the inner core of everything, every thought and turn of events. That will provide you with His company, and contact with His unfailing energy and bliss. That is the Satsanga (good association) that gives you maximum benefit. Converse with God who is in you, and derive courage and consolation from Him. He is the Guru most interested in your progress. Do not seek the Guru outside you, in hermitages or holy places. The God in you is father, mother, preceptor, and friend. God is Love; live in Love - that is the direction indicated by the sages. 

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

Make a list of all the things for which you have cried so far. You will find that you have craved only for paltry things, for momentary distinctions, and for fleeting fame. From now on, you should cry only for God, for your own cleansing and consummation. You should weep, wailing for the six cobras that have sheltered themselves in your mind, poisoning it with their venom - Lust, anger, greed, attachment, pride and malice. Quieten them as the snake charmer does with his swaying flute. The music that can tame them is the singing aloud of the name of God. And when they are too intoxicated to move and harm, catch them by the neck and pull out their fangs as the charmer does. Thereafter they can be your playthings; you can handle them as you please. When these are laid low, you will gain equanimity. You will be unaffected by honour or dishonour, profit or loss, joy or grief!

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Do not shout, do not talk longer than necessary, and do not talk when there is no need to talk!

Do you like the voice of a crow? You drive the crow away when it starts to ‘caw’! Its voice is harsh and too loud! On the other hand, the cuckoo looks just like the crow, but everyone likes to hear its sweet voice, isn’t it? God blessed you with a tongue to express your thoughts, ideas, feelings, desires, prayers, joys and sorrows. If you are angry, you use it to speak out harsh words in a loud tone. When you are happy, you use it to speak soft words in a low and pleasant voice. I ask that you use your tongue only for your good and the good of others. If you speak harshly to another, they too respond loudly and harshly; angry words leads to more angry reactions. But if you use soft and sweet words when another is angry towards you, they will calm down and be sorry that they used their tongue in that way. So always speak softly and sweetly!

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba