Thought for the Day - As written at Prasanthi Nilayam


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Thought for the Day Archive

April 2005

April 1, 2005

The feelings of 'mine' and 'thine' are but temporary. "All is His"- that is the eternal truth. It is like the headmaster of a school being in temporary charge of the furniture of the school. He has to hand over the items when he is transferred or retired. Treat all things you are endowed with in the same manner as the headmaster treats the furniture. Be always aware that the final tallying up is imminent. Wait for that moment with joy. Have your accounts up to date and balanced, ready to be handed over. Treat all things entrusted to you with care and diligence.

April 2, 2005

A bar of iron sinks in water; but beat it into a hollow vessel and it will easily float and even carry some weight. So too with man’s mind; by nature it sinks easily in the sea of life. But beat it hollow, hammering it with the Name of the Lord, and it floats, unaffected by worry and sorrow; it can even help some others to see Light!

April 3, 2005
All that you see is the reflection of what is inside you. If you call a person bad, it is the bad in you being reflected in him. It has got nothing to do with him. Good and bad are but reflections of your inner being. Never consider them as separate from you. Good thoughts are the source of good vibrations. If your inner being is full of love, the same principle of love will find manifestation in your speech and actions. When you have sacred thoughts, you will become a divine person.

April 4, 2005

Man should be the master of his behaviour; he should not be led away by the impulse of the moment; he must always be conscious of what is good for him. He should carry on his daily tasks such that he does not make others suffer or suffer himself. Be calm, unruffled and collected. The more you develop charity for all beings, contrition at your own faults, fear of sin and love of God, the more firmly established you will be in Shanti (peace).

April 5, 2005

The human body has been given to you for a grand purpose - that of realizing the Lord within. If you have a fully equipped car in good running condition would you stow it away in the garage? The car is primarily for going on a journey. Only then is it worthwhile to own it. So too with the body. Proceed, march on towards the goal. Learn how to use the faculties of the body, the senses, the intellect and the mind, for achieving that goal.

April 6, 2005

For the bird in mid-ocean, flying over the deep, blue waters, the only resting place is the mast of a ship sailing in those waters. In the same way, the Lord is the only refuge for the man who is tossed about in the stormy seas of this world. However far the bird may fly, it knows where it can find rest; that knowledge gives it confidence. The Name of the Lord is like that mast; remember it always, associate it with the Form and have that Form fixed in the mind's eye. It is a lamp shedding light in the recesses of your heart. Have the Name on the tongue and it will drive away the inner darkness as well as the outer.

April 7, 2005

Grief is the feet and joy the head; both are part of the same entity. You cannot welcome joy and reject grief at the same time. You cannot have the obverse without the reverse. The diamond is at first just a dull piece of stone, a hard pebble. Only when it is cut by a skilled artisan does it shine brilliantly like a flame. Allow yourselves to be treated by the Master so that all your dullness will disappear and you will emerge effulgent as a resplendent diamond.

April 8, 2005

If only men knew the path to permanent joy and peace, they would not wander distracted among the bye-lanes of sensual pleasure. Just as the joy felt in dreams disappears when you wake, the joy felt in the waking stages too disappears when you wake into the higher awareness. Make best use of the present moment to become aware of the Divinity latent in all. When you die, you must not die like an animal or a worm, but as a Manava (Man) who has realised that he is Madhava (God). That is the consummation of all the years you spend in the human frame.

April 9, 2005 - Ugadi

The New Year Day is celebrated not merely to partake of delicious dishes. You have to imbibe sacred feelings and resolve to lead a fruitful life. The good and bad of the world depends on your conduct, which in turn depends on your thoughts. So, develop good thoughts; only then will you be able to lead a noble life. Set an ideal to your fellowmen. Give them happiness. Show compassion towards them. Talk to them lovingly. All this is possible only when you acquire Divine love. So, strive to become recipients of Divine love.

April 10, 2005

Love for the Divine is devotion. It is an inner experience which springs from the heart. As you think, so you become. Hence, the heart must be filled with good feelings. The senses must be engaged in good actions. When the eyes are turned towards God, all creation appears Divine. When you wear the right kind of spectacles, you see everything clearly. Otherwise, you get a distorted picture and your eyes are harmed. Likewise, if your heart is filled with love of God, all your feelings are sanctified by that love and undesirable thoughts drop away.

April 11, 2005

Man suffers from two kinds of ills, physical and mental. One peculiar fact about these two types of illnesses is that cultivation of virtue cures both. An attitude of generosity, of fortitude in the presence of sorrow and loss, a spirit of enthusiasm to do good and to be of service to the best of one's capacity, these build up the mind as well as the body. The joy derived from service reacts on the body and makes you free from disease. Thus, the body and the mind are closely interrelated.

April 12, 2005

This temporary, perishable body should be regarded only as a means for realizing the eternal Reality. The body should be considered as an iron safe, in which the precious jewels of good qualities and good actions are kept. It is these qualities that should be cherished. If today the state of the world appears deplorable, it is because man's actions and conduct are not pure. Man should return to the ways of righteousness and lead a good and godly life.

April 13, 2005

As long as you worship the form of the Lord, you offer certain flowers such as rose, marigold and jasmine, although the body that performs the worship and the flowers which you use are all impermanent. But, if you want to worship the formless God in your heart, then the flowers you use are different; they are the flowers of non-violence, of love and compassion, of charity and sacrifice. To elevate yourself to the formless principle, you will have to cultivate these flowers of the heart and use them in your worship. Then you will experience the ineffable and permanent joy of the spirit.

April 14, 2005 - Tamil New Year Day

It is the sense of dualism, the feeling of 'mine' and 'thine', which accounts for all the joys and sorrows, likes and dislikes experienced by man. This dualism is rooted in selfishness, which makes one think that as long as one is happy it does not matter what happens to the world. Such a self-centered person, who regards his body, his wealth and his family as all that matter to him, looks upon Reality as false and takes this false world to be real. To get rid of this deep-seated malaise, one has to engage in acts of service and thus realize that the body has been given not to serve one's own interests but to serve others.

April 15, 2005

Man is consciousness incarnate. Man is the highest object in creation. Hence, he should not become a creature of instinct like animals. Man should progress from the human to the Divine. It is not the world that binds man. It has neither eyes to see nor hands to grasp. Man is a prisoner of his own thoughts and desires. In his attachment to the ephemeral and the perishable, man forgets his inherent Divinity and does not realize that everything in the universe has come from the Divine and cannot exist without the power of the Divine.

April 16, 2005

Attachment causes pain, and detachment results in joy. But, you cannot easily detach yourself from activity; the mind clings to something or the other. Make it cling to God, let it perform all actions for God and leave the success or failure, the loss and the profit, the elation or the dejection, to God. This is the secret of Shanti (Peace) and contentment.

April 17, 2005

The mind flits rapidly from one idea to another; it plays with one object for a moment and forsakes it the next. You may manage to keep silent, but it is next to impossible to keep the mind quiet. The mind is woven out of the yarn of desire. Its characteristic is to flutter and flit, hither and thither, through the outlets of the senses into the external world of colour, sound, taste, smell and touch. But it can be tamed and put to good use by man. If we keep it engaged in good pursuits and good actions, particularly in the contemplation of the Absolute, it will not go astray and land man in ruin; for God is the source of lasting peace and wisdom.

April 18, 2005 - Sri Rama Navami

The entire world is one family. All are our brothers and sisters. This was the truth preached to the world by Lord Rama. He taught the world to diligently attend to the duties of everyday life, the social duties and family obligations. This triple stream of duties is the message of the Ramayana. Whoever bathes in the confluence of these three streams is absolved of his sins and is redeemed. Such a great work as the Ramayana has to read, reread and lived up to by everyone.

April 19, 2005

Birds, beasts and other creatures concern themselves with the enjoyment of external objects. Man alone is gifted with the capacity to discriminate between the transient and the permanent, and seek what is everlasting. It is the consciousness in the physical body that enables man to enjoy the pleasures experienced through the senses. Once this truth is realised, the divine nature of consciousness will become clear. Then, every action can be regarded as an offering to the Divine. Work will then be transformed into worship.

April 20, 2005

Man is in truth the Atma, which is beyond the bounds of his mind. The Atma has neither beginning nor end. The mind, the senses, and the body undergo decline or growth every moment and finally disintegrate and die. Man places faith in the instruments of exploration and experience, his senses, that are superficial and thus deprives himself of the supreme Ananda (bliss) inherent in the Atma. Like the sun hidden by clouds, embers covered by ash, the sheet of water veiled by moss, the consciousness of man is coated thick with likes and dislikes preventing the splendour of Atma from shining through.

April 21, 2005

A tree has a trunk covered with bark and myriad roots to feed it and hold it firm. It has branches spreading in all directions, tapering into twigs. It has millions of leaves which breathe and borrow energy from the Sun. It fulfills itself by attracting bees to fertilise its flowers into seeds. All this variety of colour, fragrance, taste, smell and softness, of strength, toughness and tenderness has emanated from one single seed. All creation has emanated similarly from God. This is the Reality inherent in all. That Thou Art. Be firm in that faith.

April 22, 2005

The sense of duality arises when the Aham ('I') assumes a specific form and name. Ahamkara (the ego-sense) is the result of this change in form. It is only when one dissociates himself from name and form that one can discover one's true divine self. To forget one's essential divinity and identify oneself with a changing and impermanent form is the cause of bondage and sorrow. It is the mind that is the cause of this wrongful identification, because of its involvement with the external world and the impressions received through the senses. When the workings of the mind are understood, the reality of the Atma, which is beyond the mind, will be experienced as the one omnipresent, immutable principle.

April 23, 2005

Both inner and outer purity are essential for man's physical and mental health. Most people are concerned about external physical cleanliness. People tend to ignore inner cleanliness in the belief that the heart and mind are not visible to others. But they should realise that the physical body is made up of the five elements and will return to dust sometime or the other. It is the state of the Spirit that is important. The body should be regarded as the abode of the Spirit and cared for as such.

April 24, 2005

The best Sadhana (spiritual practice) is to behave as you do when you get a parcel of books by post. To get at the books you unwrap the parcel and throw off the packing material. Now, take the prayer that is the deepest and the most significant - 'I want Peace'. Unwrap it of the 'I' (the ego) and of the 'want' (desire) and get hold of Shanti (Peace). When you are burdened with egoism and desire, how can you attain Shanti? So, throw away the outer covering and hold on to the precious essence that remains.

April 25, 2005

When you know that you are but a spark of the Divine and that everything around you too is a spark of the same Divine principle, you look upon all with reverence and true Love; your heart is filled with supreme joy and the assertions of the ego are rendered ineffective. Man seeks joy in far off places and peace in quiet spots; but, the spring of joy is in his heart, the heaven of peace is within him. Even when he walks on the moon man has to take with him his fears, his anxieties, his prejudices and his aversions. Have faith in God and in the correctness of moral living. Then, you can have peace and joy, whatever may be the fare fortune offers you.

April 26, 2005

Believe that God resides in all beings; speak such words as would spread goodness, truth and beauty; perform such acts as would promote the happiness and prosperity of all; pray that the entire world enjoys peace. Expand yourselves; do not contract into your own tiny individuality. Expand into universal love, unshaken equanimity, and ever active virtue. That is the path which will bring out the Divinity in you to the fullest.

April 27, 2005

This world is the jungle in which you roam; fear is the lion which drives you up the tree of samsara (worldly activities). Anxiety is the bear that terrifies you and dogs your every step in this world, so you slide down into attachments and binding deeds through the twin roots of hope and despair. Day and night are the rats which nibble away at the span of life. Meanwhile, you try to snatch a little joy from the sweet drops of egoism and the 'I' feeling. Finding at last that the drops do not give true fulfillment, you shout in the agony of renunciation, calling on the Guru; the Guru appears from within or without, and saves you from fear and anxiety.

April 28, 2005

The real meaning of the word 'culture' lies in giving up bad thoughts and bad actions, and cultivating sacred thoughts and noble deeds. Culture expresses itself as discipline; it must be evident in every aspect of life. One must live a purposeful life. By doing so, one can attain Divinity. Otherwise, life is rendered wild and wasteful. The senses and the mind have to be controlled and regulated so that one can win the battle of life. Self control is sense control and mind control.

April 29, 2005

What is valuable in this world is not our position, education or learning, but our conduct and behaviour based on spiritual values. Conduct and behaviour determine the result that we get for our efforts. Our conduct has to be patterned on noble and lofty ideals. We should give up all that is narrow and petty-minded and broaden our outlook. True education is love and nothing but love. Without love, life is not worth living.

April 30, 2005

Man can realise his mission on earth only when he reveres all others as Divine. Man has to worship God in the form of his fellowbeings. God appears before him as a blind beggar, an idiot, a leper, a child, a decrepit old man, a criminal or a mad man. You must see even behind those veils the Divine Embodiment of Love, Power and Wisdom - the Sai, and worship Him through Seva.


 

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