THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

 For all the mantras, the primary mantra which enshrines the attributeless, Omniself, is the Omkara. Although there are many letters and words, the fundamental aksharam (letter), which has primacy of place, is Omkara. Om ith-yeka-aksharam-Brahma - the single syllable Om is Brahman Itself, says the Gita. All other letters and words are linguistic creations. They do not possess the unique sacredness and divine character of 'Om’. The special significance of 'Om' is not generally recognised or understood. Mantra Shastra (ancient scriptures on sacred formulas) has laid emphasis on the letter 'Om’. Omkara has no form. It is the manifestation of Brahman as sound. It is present in all creation. It is effulgent. It is in all speech. It is ever blissful. It is Paratparamayi (Embodiment of Supreme), it is Mayamayi (Repository of Illusory Power), it is Shreemayi (Embodiment of Prosperity).

BAGAVAN SRI SRI SRI SATHYA SAI BABA

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

 To grasp the full significance of all-pervasive Omkara, it is necessary to have self-control to bring the sensory organs under control. In reciting any mantra, the primacy to be accorded to Om should be recognised. In the mantras, Keshavaya namah, Govindaya namah, Narayanaya namah, the significance of ‘Namah’ which occurs at the end should be noted. The worshipful attitude signified by Namah (salutations) will be lost if Om is not used at the beginning of each mantra. It is only when ‘Om’ is said at the beginning and Namah at the end, that the full purport of the mantra will be brought out. The integral connection between Om and namah should be recognised! 

Namah represents Prakriti (objective world). Om connotes Purusha (Divinity). The purpose of the mantra is to reveal the connection between Prakrithi and Purusha!

BAGAVAN SRI SRI SRI SATHYA SAI BABA

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

 The educational system today makes an educated person selfish. It makes him a slave to the senses and as a consequence, he forgets his own divine nature. Educated men are not prepared to take up service to the suffering people. It is not only the educated who are to be blamed for this situation. The government, which has failed to encourage and enthuse the people, is also to be blamed for this. Students are not being taught to be self-reliant and self-supporting. Despite the possession of high degrees, the educated man is frantically after salaried jobs rather than seeking independent careers. The educated man fights for his rights, without regard to the duties to be discharged. The man who neglects his duties will lose his rights as well. Rights and duties are inseparably interrelated. Love is the connecting link between the two. The faithful ones in the spiritual realm crave for joy, peace and comfort without striving to realise how they can be obtained.

BAGAVAN SRI SRI SRI SATHYA SAI BABA

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

 We don’t want God nor do we cultivate devotion. But we want God to shower peace and divine bliss on us. If we want peace, we should conduct our life on lines conducive to peace. How can a person pursuing evil, unrighteous ways, ever obtain peace, truth and joy? Can we have the belch of a gourd by eating mangoes? As are the deeds, so are the rewards. As the motives, so are the gifts of God. Hence our motives should be sublime and deeds should be righteous. Students should try to develop powers latent in them. The educated men of today believe in what they read in novels and newspapers, what they see in films, and even in the whimsical words of a passerby. But they have no faith in God. This is a great misfortune. Men who believe in the words of an astrologer or a purohit, don’t trust the words of the Veda Mata, who taught four great truths: "Tat twam asi, Prajnanam Brahma, Aham Brahmasmi, Ayam Aatma Brahma" (Thou art That, Knowledge is Divine, I am Divine, This Self is the Omni-Self)!

BAGAVAN SRI SRI SRI SATHYA SAI BABA

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

 The Vijnana Samhita in Shikshavalli expounds on the conjunction between teacher, student, and the learning that arises therefrom. It stresses the importance of spiritual education, in addition to secular education through the education of the heart. This Samhita also imparts some essential teachings for one's conduct in life. The sacred injunctions contained in the Samhita shine as beacon lights to mankind afflicted with limitless desires and meaningless yearnings. These injunctions are: Speak Truth; Observe Righteousness; Foster knowledge with diligence; Abstain from vicious deeds; Perform worthy acts; Respect most meticulously the regulations laid down by society for leading a disciplined life in the community; As a householder practise charity according to your capacity; Show reverence and obedience to elders; And exercise extreme vigilance with regard to your duties and relationship with your kith and kin and fellow human beings.

BAGAVAN SRI SRI SATHYA SAI BABA

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

In each person’s life, Ramayana is happening: Rama is the son of Dasaratha — One with ten chariots! What do you think are these ten chariots? They are the senses: the five sense organs of action and five organs of perception.

 Truth (Satya), righteousness (dharma), peace (shanti), and love (prema) are the four sons — Rama is truth, Bharata is righteousness, Lakshmana is love, and Shatrughna is peace. Take as your ideals these great characters depicted in the Ramayana. You will see how your life will be filled with peace and joy if only you dwell on these ideals. Ramayana is to be experienced in the heart, not investigated as a mental phenomenon. As you go on reading and ruminating, the inner meaning will flash on you when the mind is cleansed by the elevating ideas therein. Do not exaggerate the importance of things that have but material utility; they fade even while you grasp them by the hand.

BAGAVAN SRI SRI SRI SATHYA SAI BABA

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

 Ananya Bhakti refers to that kind of devotion which is based on the conviction that there’s nothing in the universe other than God and that everything in creation is a manifestation of God. God is immanent in the subtlest particle in the universe. The devotee sees God in everything and experiences God in every action. Nothing exists for him apart from the Divine. Wherever he goes, it is a pilgrimage. Every action is dedicated to the Divine. Such devotees attained God-realisation by this type of one-pointed devotion. This form of devotion can’t be practised easily by all. It is easy to say that God is all-pervasive. But it is not so easy to experience that truth. A true devotee is one who acts on the convictions he professes. This is what is implied in the concept of Trikarana shuddhi (purity in thought, word and deed). The Ananya Bhakta is one who continually acts on the basis of his belief that the Lord is omnipresent, omniscient and omnipotent.

BAGAVAN SRI SRI SRI SATHYA SAI BABA

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Emperor Bali welcomed Vamana with open arms and promised that he would offer whatever he desired. Bali's preceptor, Sukracharya was an all-knowing counsellor. Aware that Vamana was an incarnation of Vishnu, he advised Bali to go back on his offer to Vamana. But Bali's magnanimity and greatness may be seen in the fact that he refused to accept his preceptor's advice. Bali said, "When the Lord Himself has come to me with outstretched hands asking for a gift, what greater good fortune can I have than making the gift from my humble hands? I am prepared to give away everything regardless of what happens to me." The Vedas have declared that in observing Dharma and doing one's duty for the Divine, the opposing words of no one - father, mother, preceptor or anybody else should be heeded. Bharata, Prahlada, Meera and others are examples of those who went against the injunctions of mother, father, husband respectively in adhering to their devotion to the Lord. No one is entitled to be a barrier between the devotee and the Lord, whatever may be that person’s relationship with the devotee .

BAGAVAN SRI SRI SRI SATHYA SAI BABA

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

 Archanam (devotion through offering) was the method adopted by emperor Prithu to worship the Lord. He demonstrated the unique significance of Anga Archana, using every sense organ in worshipping the Lord. Netra kamalam samarpayami - I offer this lotus of the eyes to the Lord. Srotra kamalam samarpayami - I offer this lotus of the ears to the Lord. Hridaya kamalam samarpayami - I offer this lotus of my heart to the Lord. In this manner, Prithu regarded every organ as a lotus to be offered to the Lord in worship. When the mantra Netra kamalam samarpayami is uttered, the real meaning is that the eyes are dedicated entirely to having the vision of the Lord! Likewise, when the devotee offers the ears, he should realise that he is dedicating his ears solely to the Lord and will not listen to anything bad or evil. The ears should be used only for listening to stories about the Divine and spiritual teachings. This should be the feeling with which the offerings should be made. This was the spirit in which emperor Prithu performed Anga Puja and attained God-realisation.

BAGAVAN SRI SRI SRI SATHYA SAI BABA

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Vishnu means, He who is everywhere. So, His residence, Vaikuntha (heaven) must be everywhere. You can gain entry by knocking with the correct password on your lips. Your heart can become Vaikuntha, if you cleanse it, purify it, and allow God to manifest in it. Vaikuntha means "the place where there is no shadow of grief." When God manifests in your heart, all is full and free. The cow transforms grass and gruel into sweet strength-giving milk and gives it away in plenty to its master. Develop that quality, that power to transform the food you consume into sweet thoughts, words and deeds of sympathy for all! When you have filled your heart with sympathy for the distressed, the Lord will shower His Grace. Draupadi had earned the Grace, through her devotion and virtues. Sita too stuck to the highest ideal of life, in spite of the severe suffering she underwent.

BAGAVAN SRI SRI SRI SATHYA SAI BABA

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Life has to be spent in accumulating virtue and safeguarding virtue, not riches. Listen and ruminate over the stories of the great moral heroes of the past, so that their ideals may be imprinted on your hearts. Virtue is becoming rare nowadays in the individual and in the family, society and community, in all fields of life, be it economic, or political or even 'spiritual’. So also, there is a decline in discipline, which is the soil on which virtue grows. Unless each one is respected, whatever his status, economic condition, or his spiritual development, there can be no peace and no happiness in life. This respect can be aroused only by the conviction that the same Atma that’s in you is playing the role of the other person. See that Atma in others; feel that they too have hunger, thirst, yearning and desires as you have; develop sympathy and the anxiety to serve and be useful.

BAGAVAN SRI SRI SRI SATHYA SAI BABA

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Ravana had vast knowledge of spiritual texts. His ten heads represent the learning he had earned from the six Shastras and the four Vedas. But, he never put that knowledge to any use. He craved the possession of Prakriti (material objects), only; he wanted to master the world of matter, the objective world. He was a master of the material sciences. But, he was not tamed by the spirit. He discarded the Spirit, Purusha-Rama; he was content with the possession at Lanka, of Prakriti, represented by Sita. That was why he fell. Like the monkey which could not pull its hand out of the narrow-necked pot, because it first held in its grasp a handful of groundnuts which the pot contained, man too is suffering today, since he is unwilling to release his hold on the handful of pleasurable things he has grasped from the world. Man is led into the wrong belief that the accumulation of material possessions will endow him with joy and calm. But Divine Love (Prema) alone can give that everlasting joy. Prema alone will remove anger, envy and hatred!

BAGAVAN SRI SRI SRI SATHYA SAI BABA

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

The Lord cares for the feeling that accompanies the gift, the attitude with which the offering is made; He is not moved by the quantity or the cost. Draupadi offered a tiny piece of leaf sticking to the side of the vessel in which she had cooked the meal, and the Lord was so fully fed that He said that He was freed from all hunger. Rukmini placed just a single basil leaf on the scale, but since she had saturated it with her devotion, it weighed as much as Krishna Himself. Kuchela took a little beaten rice, and the Lord ate it with relish and was highly pleased with the offering so full of devotion. A piece of paper that is white, tough, and clean is not as valuable as another piece of equal size that, though soiled and dirty, has upon it the imprint of the Reserve Bank, making it a hundred-rupee note. The imprint of devotion makes the beaten rice precious. Give the Lord the fruit - the love that grows on the tree of life.

BAGAVAN SRI SRI SRI SATHYA SAI BABA