Thought for the day

The fulfilment of life consists in the realisation of Atma (Atma-sakshatkara). To get this realisation, one should be entirely free from impulses (vasanas). Liberation (moksha) is, in the true sense of the term, liberation from the bondage of these impulses. These tendencies are of two types: beneficent and maleficent. The beneficent tendencies are saturated with holiness. The maleficent ones feed the mind and make it more and more uncontrollable and unsteady; they spread and strengthen the desire for objective pleasure. If the beneficent impulses (shubha vasanas) are encouraged and cultivated, they will not go on multiplying and binding the mind indefinitely; they will become like fried seeds, which will not sprout. If you stick to the beneficent impulses, you can easily acquire the knowledge of Brahman. These impulses are characterised by such activities as association with great souls (mahatmas), reverence for the great, conversation with them, following their advice, charity, fortitude, love, patience, truth, courage, continence, etc. Such impulses are pure impulses.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

When you prostrate before elders, the mind too must be humble; it is not the body alone that should bend. Many social workers visit hospitals and do service to patients there. Most of the work they do is mechanical, like fanning patients, writing letters for them, and singing bhajans, without paying heed to the actual requirements of the patients. Many do this work because it is the current mode of social service. But it must be karma done with the full cooperation of the mind, gladly, intelligently, and reverentially. The patient should not feel disgusted at the fussiness of the social worker; the patient should be looking forward to the arrival of the person, of someone who is very near and dear! If you do not like that type of work, you need not engage in it! Do not burden your mind with the unpleasantness of the task. Work done mechanically is like the flame of an oilless wick; the oil is mental enthusiasm; pour it, and the lamp will burn clear and long

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

Man is endowed with the capacity to separate himself from his body, his senses, his mind and intelligence. He feels and says, “My eyes, my ears, my feet, my hands, my mind, my reason, etc”. He knows, deep down in his consciousness, that he is apart from all these; that he is their user, owner and master. No animal feels itself different from the body; for them, they are the body. They do not know that they are occupants of the physical frames. Man can, by a simple exercise in silent reasoning, discover that the physical frame is unreal and temporary. Once free from undue attachment to the body and its accessories, he is liberated also from the pulls of joy-grief, good-bad, pleasure-pain, etc. Then man discovers that the world is one kin, in God; that all is Joy, Love, and Bliss. He realises that he himself is all this apparent world, that all the multifarious manifestations are the fantasies of the Divine Will, which is his own reality. This expansion of one's individuality to cover the ends of the Universe is the highest leap of man.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

God is like the divine wish-fulfilling tree, which gives whatever is asked. But you have to go near the tree and wish for the thing you want. The atheist is the person who keeps far away from the tree and the theist is the one who has come near; that’s the difference. The tree does not make any distinction; it grants boons to all. The Lord will not punish or take revenge if you do not recognise Him or revere Him. He has no special type of worship which alone can please Him. If you have the ear, you can hear “Om” announcing the Lord’s Presence in every sound. All five elements produce this sound, “Om”. The bell in the temple is intended to convey that “Om” is the symbol of the Omnipresent God. When the bell sounds “Om”, the Divinity within you will awaken, and you will be aware of His Presence. That’s the meaning of the bell that is rung in front of an inner shrine in the temple. Earn the right to approach the Lord without fear and the right to ask for your heritage. You must become so free that praise will not emanate from you when you approach the Lord. Praise is a sign of distance and fear.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

I want you to be active, fully engaged, for if you have no activities, time will hang heavily on your hands. Don’t waste a single moment of the allotted span of life, for time is the body of God. He is known as the Form of Time. It’s a crime to misuse time or to waste in idleness. So too, physical and mental talents given to you by the Lord as capital for the business of living should not be frittered away. Like the force of gravitation which drags everything down, the pull of sloth will drag you relentlessly down, so you must be ever on the watch, be ever active. Like the brass vessel that has to be scrubbed to a nice shine, the mind of man has also to be scrubbed by means of spiritual discipline, that’s to say, by doing activities like the repetition of the Name and meditation. Karma that’s natural and automatic like breathing, becomes an impious act when it is done consciously, with a definite result in view!

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the Day

My suggestion to you today is this: just as you attend to the needs of the body, feeding it three times a day, in order to keep it in good running condition, so too spend some time regularly every day to keep your Inner Consciousness in good trim. Spend one hour in the morning, another at night, and a third in the early hours of dawn, the Brahma-muhurta as it is called, for repetition of the Name and meditation on the Lord. You will find great peace descending on you and great new sources of strength welling up within you as you progress in this spiritual discipline. After some time, the mind will dwell on the Name wherever you are and whatever you are engaged in, and peace and joy will be your inseparable companions!

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the day

Prema (love) must transform all relationships: social, economic, educational, professional, family, religious, legal, and others. The father must love the child a little more intensely and intelligently; mother must spread love to all who come within her influence; children must love servants. The sense of equality that everyone is the repository of the divine essence must transmute social and individual behaviour! You can call Me “Embodiment of Divine Love” (Premaswarupa)! You will not be wrong! Prema is the wealth that I have and I scatter it amongst the miserable and afflicted. I have no other riches. The Grace of the Lord is always flowing like the electric current through the wire. Fix a bulb, and current to the extent of the wattage, will illumine your home! The bulb is the spiritual exercises you perform; the home is your heart. Come to Me gladly; dive into the sea and discover its depth; there is no use dipping near the shore and swearing that the sea is shallow and has no pearls. Dive deep and you will secure your desire!

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba