Thought for the Day - As written at Prasanthi Nilayam


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February 2004

February 1, 2004

Inner purity is more important than outer purity. By practicing patience and forbearance we will be able to acquire all other important qualities such as mind control, faith, renunciation, endurance and concentration. This will bring about a state of inner purity. God is ever present both inside and out. Therefore, both the inner and the outer, where the Lord is to be found, must be purified and sanctified. Then the indwelling God will protect you wherever you go.

February 2, 2004

On the royal road to spiritual realisation, there are three stages as mentioned in the scriptures: Karmajigyasa, Dharmajigyasa and Brahmajigyasa. 'Jigyasa' means inquiry. A person becomes fit to inquire in to Brahman (God) and succeed in that inquiry only when his consciousness has been trained, shaped and purified by inquiry in to the modes of Karma (activity) and Dharma (conduct). He who discriminates well before engaging in any activity will be naturally righteous in conduct and behaviour.

February 3, 2004

Time passes by fast like a stormy gale and man's life is melting away quickly like a block of ice. Everything around is undergoing change, but man's intellect and mind remain unchanged. Obsessed with the external world, preoccupied with the acquisition of external objects, man's life is becoming more and more burdensome everyday and man is losing his peace of mind. Anxiety, fear, suspicion are dominating him. Only by getting rid of these burdens can man hope to ascend spiritual heights.

February 4, 2004

Men are wasting their precious lives in the pursuit of fleeting and petty pleasures. Make the best use of the opportunity you have now got. That is true devotion. You alone are responsible for your condition because of the way your mind works. Do your duty, recognise the truth of your being and you will be able to experience your Divinity. There is nothing equal to the bliss of experiencing the Divine. You have to purify your heart of all the other desires, aspirations and yearning for other means of happiness in order to experience the Divine.

February 5, 2004

The ills of humanity are due to the undernourishment, not so much of the body, but of the spirit caused by want of spiritual exercise and neglect of spiritual regimen. It must be understood that the root cause of suffering is due to lack of wisdom that enables you to realise the indwelling unity amongst apparent diversity. The safest and surest means of uprooting this suffering is by removing ignorance, resulting in the realisation of the Reality.

February 6, 2004

Man strives to provide himself with food, clothing and housing for the sake of the body. He must also provide himself with something to keep the mind healthy and happy. It is the mind that conditions the body. The mind is an instrument by which one can ruin oneself or liberate oneself. The mind must become the servant of the intellect and not the slave of the senses.

February 7, 2004

Without Sathya (Truth), Dharma (Right conduct), Shanti (Peace) and Prema (Love), the accumulation of knowledge is a barren achievement. Without them all Karma (actions), even connected to charity and Seva (Serving others) are ineffective. Without them, positions of authority to which one is raised become positions of persecution. Without these values, no good act or meritorious achievements can yield fruit.

February 8, 2004

A tongue of a human being that does not pronounce the name of God, a hand that has done no charity, the years of life which have not tasted the bliss of peace, the talents which have yielded not fruits of success, a life that has not accumulated wisdom, a religious place where there is no atmosphere of reverence and talk that does not communicate sense - all these are of no worth.

February 9, 2004

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.

February 10, 2004

There is no need to retire into a forest or a cave to know your inner Truth and to conquer your lower nature. In fact, while living in isolation, one has no chance to exercise restraint on one's anger and other weaknesses and so the victory achieved there may not be long lasting or genuine. Win the battle of life; be in the world but yet be away from its tentacles. That is the victory which you have to achieve.

February 11, 2004

More effulgent than the sun, whiter and purer than snow, subtler than ether in space, the Paramatma (God) dwells in all, permeating the entire cosmos and shining in every atom. You are in that Brahman (God); that Brahman is in you. You are that Brahman and Brahman is you. There is no truth greater than this.

February 12, 2004

Man is not a mere combination of the physical, the mental and the intellectual, but also the spiritual. He is enveloped in five sheaths: the Annamaya Kosa (gross body), the Pranamaya Kosa (the sheath of life force), the Manomaya Kosa (sheath of the mind), Vigyanamaya Kosa (the sheath of the intelligence) and the Anandamaya Kosa (the blissful sheath of the spirit). The Upanishads (ancient scriptures) state that each of these Kosas (sheaths) are sacred and suffused with Divinity.

February 13, 2004

Man's vision which is now turned outward towards the phenomenal universe, should be turned inwards towards the indwelling spirit. One should manifest the divine consciousness inherent in him. He should submit himself to that consciousness as a spiritual discipline. This is called the "Conscious realisation of the inner Divinity." The first step is to develop awareness of the Divinity within. The next step is to realise that the divinity that is within one's self is equally present in all others also. One must recognise that the veil that appears to separate him from others is born of delusion and every effort should be made to remove it. Only then will it be possible to experience the oneness of all living beings.

February 14, 2004

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.

February 15, 2004

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 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.

February 16, 2004

God incarnates for the revival of Dharma (righteousness) which includes morality, truth, virtue, love and a host of other qualities that sustain individuals and communities. The Divine punishes even those who either do not oppose or remain passive while injustice and wrong-doing is perpetrated. To remain silent in such circumstances is an indication that they too are tainted by the same guilt. It is only when we resist acts of unrighteousness and injustice and try to weed out malpractices in society that we can claim to be assisting in the task of restoring Dharma.

February 17, 2004

Electricity is found everywhere in nature, but it can be tapped and put to use only through certain contrivances designed by man. The Atma Shakti (spiritual power) that is present everywhere is stored in the body and passes through the thin wires or nerves and illumines and directs activity. These activities have to be oriented towards Ananda (spiritual bliss) and not attachment to temporary pleasures. The life principle that flows as intelligence through every cell and nerve is also a reflection of the Atma.

February 18, 2004

There are some ignorant persons who consider Bhajans and other acts of worship as a waste of time. Those persons might also laugh at your sprinkling bags of paddy seeds on a slushy field and condemn that act as a waste of precious food material. But, you know that for every bag of paddy seed, Mother Earth will give back, in a few weeks, grain tenfold or even twenty fold. Time spent in contemplation or adoration of God is indeed well spent for it rewards you with a rich harvest of mental peace and courage.

February 19, 2004

Is the Universe real or only relatively real? This question has been agitating man since ages in all lands. The scientists and philosophers have argued on their explanations for centuries. The scientists believe that the universe is merely a conglomeration of atoms in varying patterns which have assumed manifold names and forms. But this is only partially true. The philosophers point out that a firm base is essential for all this transformation to happen. The universe must have a basic force or phenomenon that is as basic as clay is to a pot. This fundamental principle is, according to them, the Atman.

February 20, 2004

God is not a separate entity having a distinct form. Man is the image of God. The scriptures declare: Daivam Maanusha Roopena. It means that God appears in human form. God does not come down to relieve individuals of their troubles and sorrows. Difficulties and troubles come in the natural course as a consequence of past actions. The Divine comes only to teach mankind the truth about Love. It is Love and Sacrifice which make man Divine. It is to show to humanity how human life can be divinized that Avatars come from time to time.

February 21, 2004

Each one has come embodied into this world of joy and grief, of growth and decay in order to discover the way home, to get back to the source from which he has strayed into this wilderness. This has to be done within the allotted time of our life span. But, man is attracted by the phantom lights and he ignores the call of destiny. His senses lead him on and on, deeper and deeper into the waves of the maze until he dies with a moan instead of with a smile. The precious years between birth and death are wasted in worthless acquisitions and meaningless achievements.

February 22, 2004

The Avatar has come solely for saving mankind in response to the yearnings of noble people. He is aware of the past, present and future of all. He has come to lead and liberate. He comes when a large number of good men are afflicted with fear of the survival of goodness. The Lord incarnates to feed their drooping spirits and revive faith and courage in their hearts.

February 23, 2004

Do not give room for differences based on language, religion, caste or nationality. Develop the feeling that all are children of God. You may worship God in any form of your choice, but always bear in mind that God is one. Cultivate love towards all beings and promote unity and harmony.

February 24, 2004

All that you cannot see, hear or understand cannot be ruled out as non-existent. Even if you flash a powerful light in front of a blind man, he will only see darkness, because he does not have the eyes to see the light. Likewise, persons having no faith will not perceive God even if you show God to them. They do not have the eyes to see divinity and they proclaim that there is no divinity. A blind man can neither see his body nor describe his looks, but it does not follow that he has no body.

February 25, 2004

The real nature of Avatars is one of unalloyed bliss. His heart overflows with limitless and boundless love when He beholds His devotees. There can be no change in His attitude and affection. But, the ignorant attribute the changes they imagine or the differences they see to God out of their petty-mindedness. When we are happy, we praise God, and in suffering we condemn Him. God, as a guardian has come to warn and wean people away from harmful habits. If necessary, He will not hesitate to resort to infliction of pain as a curative and corrective treatment.

February 26, 2004

Man is very eager to get happiness and when there is a prospect, he jumps at the idea, but is soon tired of the effort. He seeks shortcuts and aspires for much fruit in return for little effort. But, rigourous discipline and steady faith are absolute necessities for success in spirituality. Mere listening or delivering spiritual discourses will not do. To have discipline, man has to control the senses which drag the mind towards ephemeral attractions of the external world. To have steady faith, one must control the wayward mind that paints attractive pictures in false colours.

February 27, 2004

God is no partial benefactor. He gives the fruit from every tree according to the seed. If you had planted the seed of a sour mango, then why lament that the fruit that you got is not sweet? Do good and aspire to get the fruit of goodness - that is pardonable. Atleast, it is not as bad as doing evil deeds and blaming God for its consequences.

February 28, 2004

Man is born out of desires and lives to fulfil his desires. His life is based on desires and thoughts which control his actions. Hence, man's destiny is determined by his thoughts. To act according to the dictates of the senses is the code of animals. What we should have is Divine Consciousness. The incarnation comes to warn, to guide, to awaken, to lay down the path and shed the light of love on it. But man has to listen, learn and obey with hope and faith.

February 29, 2004

The Sun derives its energy and effulgence from the same cosmic source that accounts for the power of the human mind and body. There is no greater power than this. This boundless power is being recognised and exercised by each according to the level of his development. Since man has the ability to manifest the latent divinity in himself, he is described as a manifestation of God. Humanness consists in manifestation of what is hidden and invisible to the eye.





 

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