Thought For The Day
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Thought for the day as written at Prasanthi Nilayam – June 1st, 2006
A 'Manishi' (ordinary man) gets transformed into a 'Maharishi' by engaging
in selfless service. Truly speaking, the merit that can be obtained from
service cannot be acquired even by the practice of rigourous austerities.
Service brings human beings closer to each other and promotes affection
and friendship. Without this feeling of friendship and love towards one's
fellowmen, one cannot attain intimacy with the Lord. Install in your heart
the feeling that the service you render to your fellowmen is service to
God.
-SAI BABA
Thought for the day as written at Prasanthi Nilayam – June 2nd, 2006
The river strives, yearns and struggles to merge with the sea from which
it has come. It has that consummation ever in its consciousness. It
attempts to make itself pure and pellucid so that it may be welcomed by
its source. It overcomes every obstacle of terrain in order to journey
successfully towards its goal. Man too must utilize all the physical,
mental, intellectual and moral endowments that God has granted him so that
he may journey to the goal of Self-Realization.
-SAI BABA
Thought for the day as written at Prasanthi Nilayam – June 3rd, 2006
Love is inherent in man, but like a seed that has to be nourished by
water, love in man has to be fostered by dedicated service. Love is a
sacred quality. Love is like nectar. A man who has tasted the sweetness of
Divine Love will not desire anything else in the world. Life must be a
constant manifestation of love. Nowadays, love is expressed in a
constricted, selfish manner. It needs to be expressed in the form of
service to society. Thereby love becomes a reciprocal, ever-widening
experience.
-SAI BABA
Thought for the day as written at Prasanthi Nilayam – June 4th, 2006
Birth as a human being is a rare and unique opportunity. For, man is
endowed with a discriminating intelligence, the power to reason out the
best among alternative courses of action. The tongue that does not chant
the name of God, the hand that knows no charity, the years of life that
know no peace of mind, talents that do not find fulfillment, a life that
has not garnered wisdom, a temple where there is no atmosphere of
reverence, speech that does not communicate knowledge - all these are of
no worth.
-SAI BABA
Thought for the day as written at Prasanthi Nilayam – June 5th, 2006
Envy and greed emanate from the ego and have to be carefully watched and
controlled. Like the tadpole's tail, the ego will fall away when one grows
in wisdom. It must fall away; if it is cut, the poor tadpole will die. So,
don't worry about the ego; develop wisdom, contemplate on the ephemeral
nature of the objective world. Then the tail of the ego will no longer be
evident.
-SAI BABA
Thought for the day as written at Prasanthi Nilayam – June 6th, 2006
To realise God, it is not necessary to have wealth, gold, luxuries and
comforts; nor is scholarship a requisite. All that is needed is pure
devotion. Without purity of thought, word and deed, it is impossible to
experience the Divine. God cannot be realized through ostentation and
self-conceit. The basic requisite is the shedding of selfishness and
possessiveness so that one can engage oneself in actions in a
disinterested spirit. Any person is entitled to embark on this quest
irrespective of age, caste or gender.
-SAI BABA
Thought for the day as written at Prasanthi Nilayam – June 7th, 2006
Seek and remain in good company; keep association with the holy. Being in
the midst of such spiritual heroes, you can fight against evil with
greater chance of success. Being in the company of the holy is like the
bit and bridle for the wanton steed, the dam and canal for the raging
flood. The value of holy places consists in just this: kindred spirits
congregate there and contribute to the deepening of spiritual yearning.
You can take sweet and sustaining counsel in such places and strengthen
your faith and devotion.
-SAI BABA
Thought for the day as written at Prasanthi Nilayam – June 8th, 2006
Without the sanction of the Lord, man cannot achieve anything in the
world. The Divine is the basis for everything. Man, however, is filled
with conceit that he is the one who is doing everything. This pride is the
cause of his ruin. It is the cause of his frustration and disappointment.
Man today is basing his life on nature and is hence forgetting God. This
is a grievous mistake. You must place your faith in God, the Creator of
the universe, and then enjoy what nature provides. Faith in God is the
primary requisite for man.
-SAI BABA
Thought for the day as written at Prasanthi Nilayam – June 9th, 2006
The Upanishads declare that immortality can be experienced only through
Thyaga (renunciation or sacrifice). This renunciation does not mean giving
up hearth and home, kith and kin. It means giving up the transient and
impermanent things of the world. This calls for discrimination between
what is permanent and what is perishable, what is good and what is bad.
Only then can man discover the Divine principle within him.
-SAI BABA
Thought for the day as written at Prasanthi Nilayam – June 10th, 2006
Man today has forgotten his true nature and perceives the world entirely
through the senses and the mind. The world is the effect of which the
Brahman (God) is the primal cause. Truly speaking, the effect is not
different from the cause. The millions of living beings are like the
branches, twigs and leaves, and the Brahman is the seed from which the
tree has come in to being. He who is aware of this has understood the
Vedas.
-SAI BABA
Thought for the day as written at Prasanthi Nilayam – June 11th, 2006
Man today is knocking on doors other than that of God. Man now is praying
to God only for worldly possessions. Man should seek the gift of spiritual
knowledge that can bring fulfillment to life. However, man today has
acquired proficiency in various skills and has mastered many fields of
knowledge, but he has not acquired the peace that is his due. Science can
offer only temporary worldly comforts; spirituality alone can give you
enduring bliss.
-SAI BABA
Thought for the day as written at Prasanthi Nilayam – June 12th, 2006
You are all the indestructible Atma, nothing need discourage you. In your
dream, you suffer so much due to fire, floods, insult, loss of money, etc.
But once you wake up, you are not affected at all. When these events
happen during the waking state, you feel afflicted. But let me tell you
that from the state of Realization, even the waking state is equally
without validity. It is not the real 'you' that suffers all that. Give up
the delusion that you are this physical entity and you become really free.
-SAI BABA
Thought for the day as written at Prasanthi Nilayam – June 13th 2006
Man implies three things - doing, knowing and being. When the body acts
alone without regard to the mind and the Atma, that person is considered
to be in the animal state. When the mind acts in association with the body
without regard to the Atma, that condition is described as demonic. When
man acts in consonance with the Atma, he achieves oneness with the Divine.
Hence, man has in him these three potentialities, he can manifest himself
as an animal, a demon or God.
-SAI BABA
Thought for the day as written at Prasanthi Nilayam – June 14th, 2006
The inextricable connection between the phenomenal world outside and the
world of consciousness inside eludes the understanding of ordinary people.
Immersed in the desires of enjoying worldly pleasures, they do not attempt
to discover the boundless joy that can be derived from the inner spirit.
This is because all the sense organs are open only to the experiences from
the outside. Only a few develop the inner vision and enjoy the spiritual
bliss within.
-SAI BABA
Thought for the day as written at Prasanthi Nilayam – June 15th, 2006
Seek the Light always; be full of confidence and zest. Do not yield to
despair, for it can never yield results. It only worsens the problem, for
it darkens the intellect and plunges you into doubt. You must take up the
path of Sadhana (spiritual exercise) very enthusiastically. Half-hearted,
halting steps will not yield fruit. It is like cleaning a slushy area by a
stream of water. If the current of the stream is slow, the slush cannot be
cleared. The stream must flow full and fast, driving everything before it,
so that the slush is removed without leaving a trace.
-SAI BABA
Thought for the day as written at Prasanthi Nilayam – June 16th, 2006
Service to God has been described as Bhakthi (devotion). The heart of the
devotee overflows with love for the Lord through constant remembrance and
recitation of His name. Out of this stream of love, devotion emerges. One
who is nourished by the nectar of Bhakthi will not desire anything. To be
unaffected by joy or sorrow, gain or loss, praise or blame, to remain
steadfast and unwavering in faith is the hallmark of true devotion.
Affection, attachment, desire are natural to man. However, when these
qualities are directed towards God and when one is continuously engaged in
good deeds, these qualities acquire purity and sacredness. Then one
becomes not just a great soul but God Himself.
-SAI BABA
Thought for the day as written at Prasanthi Nilayam – June 17th, 2006
The body and the mind are closely inter-related and both derive sustenance
from food. Therefore, food has considerable impact on the character and
destiny of the individual. As the food, so the mind; as the mind, so the
thought; as the thought, so the act. All that is perceived by the senses
constitutes 'food'. For the Sadhaka (spiritual aspirant), the intake must
always be Sathwic, i.e., pure and moderate. The sounds, the sights, the
impressions, the ideas, the lessons, the contacts - all must promote
reverence, humility, balance, equanimity and simplicity. It is only the
Sathwic 'food' that will keep the mind on an even keel, fully concentrated
on the Atma on which one must contemplate in order to attain peace.
-SAI BABA
Thought for the day as written at Prasanthi Nilayam – June 18th, 2006
In the quest for mental peace, you should not be concerned only about your
own needs. Apart from such a quest being an index of intense selfishness,
it is also a futile one. Is it possible for a single individual alone to
achieve peace? If there is chaos and unrest all around you, how can you
alone have peace? Your peace is dependent on peace in the family, in
society and in the world. You have to cultivate the feeling that your
individual peace is intimately related to the peace of the world. The
ancients perceived this profound truth and hence prescribed the universal
prayer - "Loka Samastha Sukhino Bhavanthu" (May all the beings in all the
worlds be happy).
-SAI BABA
Thought for the day as written at Prasanthi Nilayam – June 19th, 2006
It is attachment to property or position born out of a sense of
possessiveness that is the cause of man's sorrow and unhappiness. Man must
strive to get rid of this feeling of "I" and "mine" in order to experience
enduring happiness. When everything appears to be going well, man forgets
everything including himself. His ego gets inflated as a result of his
achievements and acquisitions. He should realize that he is only a
temporary beneficiary of what he possesses and has no permanent title to
them. He should regard power or position as a moral responsibility
carrying the obligation to discharge the duties relating to it. It is only
when all actions are done in this spirit of moral imperative that man can
experience genuine happiness and satisfaction.
-SAI BABA
Thought for the day as written at Prasanthi Nilayam – June 20th, 2006
Vedanta (Vedic philosophy) declares: "Brahman is Sathya (Truth); the
Cosmos is Mithya (illusory)". Your primary concern must be to understand
whether you are real or unreal or what in you is real and what is unreal.
It is only when you have recognised the truth of your own being that you
can recognise the world as illusory and your own self as the only reality.
The realized person asserts: "I am Brahman". Wherefrom has this statement
emanated? What does it mean? It is a spontaneous expression and not the
result of a thought or feeling. The "I" is boundless Infinite. When the
finite individual merges in the Infinite "I", the "I" alone remains.
-SAI BABA
Thought for the day as written at Prasanthi Nilayam – June 21st, 2006
Good Sankalpas (thought impulses) can elicit the best out of man and help
him to use all his mental strength for his uplift. Ships at sea are guided
by the compass along the desired direction; without it, they risk being
wrecked on rocks or icebergs. Man has to sail safe across the ocean of
Samsara (worldly existence). So he needs a one-pointed, unruffled mind to
guide him and guard him. Man has to recognise bad Sankalpas as soon as
they arise and render them ineffective by the systematic cultivation of
beneficial Sankalpas. These latter alone can save a person from disaster
and confer Prasanthi (supreme calm).
-SAI BABA
Thought for the day as written at Prasanthi Nilayam – June 22nd, 2006
We become what we contemplate. By constant thought an ideal gets imprinted
on our heart. When we fix our thoughts all the time on the evil that
others do, our mind gets polluted by the evil. When, on the contrary, we
fix our mind on the virtues or well-being of others, our mind is cleansed
of wrong and entertains only good thoughts. No evil thought can penetrate
the mind of a person wholly given to love and compassion. The thoughts we
indulge in shape our nature; along with others, they affect us too.
-SAI BABA
Thought for the day as written at Prasanthi Nilayam – June 23rd, 2006
You must realize that Bhajan (devotional singing), Namasmarana (chanting
God's name) and Puja (ritualistic worship) are not for pleasing or
propitiating God, but for our own spiritual progress. Frequently people
flatter the rich and the powerful - especially when they are in their
employment or are beholden to them for some precious help - in order to
induce them to shower gifts on them. But God does not shower grace on
people because they sing His praises. Nor does He come down upon them
because they do not deify Him. Contemplating on the Divine attributes
enables us to dwell on elevating ideals and brings us nearer to the
Divinity that is our nature.
-SAI BABA
Thought for the day as written at Prasanthi Nilayam – June 24th, 2006
As a preliminary to Seva (selfless service) you have to attain purity of
heart. You must examine your motives and skills, your intentions and
qualifications, and discover for yourself what you hope to achieve through
Seva. You should ferret out any trace of egoism, and also the desire for
fame. You have to get rid of all sense of mine and thine and burn to ashes
the pride that comes from the feeling that you are offering service to
someone poorer and less fortunate. Give up pride of status, wealth,
scholarship and position, and practise humility, obedience, discipline and
compassion.
-SAI BABA
Thought for the day as written at Prasanthi Nilayam – June 25th, 2006
Education must lead to illumination; the darkness of ignorance and the
dusk of doubt will flee before that splendour. Then it is easy to
cultivate good thoughts and feelings in the heart thus illumined.
Education does not end with the accumulation of information; it must
result in transformation of the habits, character and aspirations of the
individual. Knowledge has to be tested in daily life. Now, man has no
inkling of the most precious heritage that he has within him. He is
interested in everyone except his own self. If only he becomes aware of
his self, he can have vast strength, abiding peace and great joy added
unto himself.
-SAI BABA
Thought for the day as written at Prasanthi Nilayam – June 26th, 2006
There is no being without a trace of love. Love leads to Ananda (Supreme
bliss), pure and lasting. Many seek this Ananda through their
relationships with other individuals, others try to attain it by amassing
fame, power and riches and a few others attempt to gain it by renunciation
of material possessions and desire for worldly pleasures. Detachment alone
can confer Ananda. The Upanishads proclaim that Thyaga (sacrifice) alone
can grant Amrithathwa (Bliss of Immortality). One must give up all
attachment and affection and, in the heart thus liberated, install God in
all His glory. This is the only means to earn everlasting, undiminished
Ananda.
-SAI BABA
Thought for the day as written at Prasanthi Nilayam – June 27th, 2006
Do not blame God for your misfortunes. When everything goes right, you say
that God has come close to you; when something goes wrong, you say that He
has deserted you and gone far away! God does not move far or near. The
distance between Him and you is as much as the distance between you and
Him. He is everywhere. He is always in your heart. Recognise Him there;
realize Him as nearest and dearest to you. He is your own self, neither
terrible nor tender, but simply 'is'.
-SAI BABA
Thought for the day as written at Prasanthi Nilayam – June 28th, 2006
Food is an important factor which determines the alertness and sloth, the
worry and calm, the brightness and dullness of man. When the mind is fed
on Rajasic food that induces passion and emotion, activity and adventure,
it gallops into the world with the plunge of desire! It brings man deeper
into the morass of suffering. When it is fed on Tamasic food, which dulls
and induces sloth, the mind becomes callous, inert and useless for
uplifting man. Every activity of man is dependent on the energy he derives
from the intake of food. The success of the Sadhana (spiritual exercises)
that one undertakes depends upon the quantity and quality of the food
taken by the Sadhaka (spiritual aspirant).
-SAI BABA
Thought for the day as written at Prasanthi Nilayam – June 29th, 2006
Without unwavering faith in an all-knowing God, life becomes dry and drab,
darkened by the ever-present shadow of despair and doom. Love for God and
fear of sin are the two primary needs for a happy life. Without these two,
man becomes a monster. Man must be ever ready to sacrifice his selfish
needs for the sake of the larger community. There is nothing as glorious
as renunciation. Be honest, be detached, and with God installed in your
heart march forward to offer your talents and skills in discharging your
duties. Do not strive for your happiness alone, but strive for the
happiness of all.
-SAI BABA
Thought for the day as written at Prasanthi Nilayam – June 30th, 2006
God will respond to your prayers for succour only when you respond
sympathetically to the needs of others. Life should not be wasted in
selfish activities, blind to others' distress and deaf to others' groans.
Treat joy and grief equally - this according to Lord Krishna is Samathwam
(equanimity). Practise this equanimity - this is the way to win His Grace.
You may not be rewarded materially for your compassionate acts but there
is no greater reward than the joy that you derive by alleviating other's
sorrow.
-SAI BABA