Thought for the Day

1.Casting off the body is akin to shifting from one house occupied for some years to another. The act of shifting a home is physical, it does not affect you. So too births and deaths do not affect the eternal Paramatma (supreme soul) present within you. To escape this cycle of being born again and again, ‘Pranava’ (chanting of Aum) is a potent instrument. All the long years of life should be utilised for this final moment of consummation. Your mind should be fixed on Pranava when the body is being cast off. You belch the flavour of the food you have partaken; your last thought indicates the food you have fed on. Your Sadgathi (progress) is in accordance with your Sadhana (practice). Hence be aware of the need to fix your mind on holy thoughts when the body is got rid of. And this is possible when you im merse yourself in holy thought every moment, and practice it incessantly.

2.It is good to attend discourses on the Geetha by learned scholars. However this is of no use if you lean on a pillar in the lecture hall and doze off. That is to say, it is not the sound, but the meaning that matters. It is not the ear, but the heart that must drink the nectar of Geetha and imbibe its essence. Seek and enjoy noble company (Sathsangam); but along with that, there also needs to be self-examination. Examine yourself to see how much you have succeeded in escaping from the senses, and getting close to God. The mind is like a wild elephant which can be tamed by the repetition of the Lord’s name. Do not feed it with conceit, envy, hatred and greed. Let the name of the Lord echo ever in the ear.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba