Thought for the Day

The sixth flower dear to God is austerity (tapas). Tapas does not mean forsaking spouse and children, and escaping into the loneliness of the forest. The real austerity is the complete coordination between one's thought, word and deed. The evil person can never achieve this; they behave falsely to their own self. When a person succeeds in this tapas, the words they utter will have such power that whatever they say will be transformed into mantras! The seventh flower is dhyana (meditation). Today, many methods of dhyana exist! Remember, sitting quietly and transferring your emotions and feelings to God is no dhyana. You must earnestly transmute your emotions, desires, and feelings with the help of God into Divine qualities – that is true meditation! Through the help of your meditation, you should not bring God down to your level; instead, you must raise yourself to the level of God!

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba