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Thought for the Day
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As written at
Prasanthi Nilayam
Source: Radio Sai
Global Harmony
Thought for the Day Archive
April 2004
April 1, 2004
By simply reading and repeating the text of
Bhagavad Gita or any other scripture, by merely thinking about the
contents of the text, we do not derive any benefit out of it. It is
only by understanding the meaning of the text, by ruminating over
the meaning in your mind and internalizing it completely and making
it a part and parcel of your life, can you truly be benefited.
April 2, 2004
Today all spiritual sadhana is being done
through the mind. As long as the mind dominates spiritual exercises,
the goal of self-realisation cannot be attained. The mind is like a
thief who will not allow himself to be caught. There is no use
relying on the mind to realise the self. When the vision is centred
on the self, the mind fades away by itself.
April 3, 2004
The Upanishadic texts proclaim that Thyaga (renunciation)
alone can grant Amrithathva (bliss of immortality). One has to
ignore all bonds of kinship and comradeship, give up all attachment,
and in the heart thus liberated, install God in all His Glory. This
is the only means to earn everlasting and undiminished Ananda
(Divine bliss).
April 4, 2004
Man cannot lead a fruitful life on this earth
if he tries to earn only material wealth. He has to cultivate and
practise virtues too. He has to adhere to Dharma (righteousness).
The scriptures direct that man should earn just enough for his
upkeep, and use the rest of his time and skill for the general good
of humanity. Earn Artha (wealth) through Dharma (righteous means)
and that will confer the grace of God on you.
April 5, 2004
What you need for spiritual progress are three
things: a heart free from attachment and hatred; a tongue that is
not tainted by untruth; a body not polluted by violence. The one who
has these three is indeed holy. Without these three, all penance and
religious practices are of no use. You have to pray incessantly for
Divine Grace to confer these qualities.
April 6, 2004
Man's attitude towards God should not be based
on the fulfillment or non-fulfillment of his petty desires. You must
feel that whatever happens to you is for your own good. This is
called Bhakthi (devotion). It is love for the sake of love alone. It
is characterised by fearlessness and it always yearns to give and
not to receive. It is only the Love of the Divine that is devoid of
any trace of self-interest. Of what avail is it if you simply
worship Me without attempting to cultivate my qualities of Samathwa
(equanimity), Shanti (unruffled peace), Prema (equal love for all)
and Sahana (patience and fortitude).
April 7, 2004
The mind has no independent identity of its
own. It is a conglomeration of the desires that sprout from the
impulses. A cloth is essentially a bundle of threads. Threads in
their truth are basically cotton. Similarly, desires arise from
basic impulses, and the mind is constituted of these desires. Just
as a piece of cloth disintegrates if threads in it are pulled apart,
the mind too can be destroyed by the eradication of desires.
April 8, 2004
I am the embodiment of Love; Love is my
instrument. There is no creature without Love, even the lowliest
loves itself and its 'self' is nothing but God. There are no
atheists, though they may dislike God or refuse Him. They are like
the people affected by malarial fever who dislike sweets or like the
diabetic patients who refuse to have anything to do with sweets!
Those who preen themselves as atheists now will one day, when their
illness is gone, relish God and revere Him.
April 9, 2004
One has to be slow and steady on the spiritual
path. Adhere to a regular routine. Just as a doctor prescribes a
certain fixed measure or weight of a drug and warns you that
anything more is harmful, so too, have some limit for your spiritual
exercises. Do not overdo them or perform them casually and without
care. Just as the medicines have to be taken at a particular time of
the day and a specified number of times a day, so also the japa (chanting
the Lord's name) and dhyana (meditation) have to be carried out
regularly at specified timings every day.
April 10, 2004
It may be possible to teach a person the
posture, the pose, the position of legs, feet or hands, neck, head
or back, the style of breathing or its speed. But meditation is a
function of the inner self; it motivates deep subjective quiet, the
employing of the mind and filling oneself with the light that
emerges from the divine spark within. This is a discipline that no
text book can teach and no class can communicate.
April 11, 2004
When a sculptor transforms a piece of rock
into a beautiful idol to be worshipped in a shrine, what was inert
and worthless becomes sacred. In the same manner, everything which
is petty and worldly should be transformed in course of time into
something sacred and divine. That is the real transformation that
every man must aspire for.
April 12, 2004
In order to calm the mind and keep it on an
even keel, dhyana (meditation) is prescribed as a sadhana (spiritual
exercise). Dhyana is the process by which the positive and negative
aspects of the mind are regulated out of existence. Man enjoys
unlimited bliss when the stage of 'nirvikalpa samadhi' (state of
thoughtlessness) is reached. A taste of this experience is offered
to man during his deep, dreamless sleep, when no wish or want, no
desire or denial disturbs him. How much more satisfying should be
the bliss when we attain that state with all consciousness through
dhyana? It is beyond one's imagination.
April 13, 2004
The New Year Day proclaims the truth that God
is the Master of Time. Unfortunately, man fails to understand the
power of God. He wastes three quarters of his time in unworthy
earthly pursuits. Spiritual pursuit is the right way of making use
of time. It calls for fostering good feelings, doing good deeds
without any selfish motive and extending love and compassion towards
all beings. By utilising your time in spiritual pursuits, you can
enjoy spiritual wealth. If you want to sanctify your hard-earned
human birth you have to cultivate divine thoughts.
April 14, 2004
The New Year Day gives you an opportunity to
contemplate the vastness of time, its fleeting nature and the short
span of time that we share. Contemplate on the beginning of things,
of nature, of life, of man - all emanating from God and journeying
towards God. Dwell on the grandeur of this procession from birth to
Liberation, life after life. Become aware that you, Nature and all
that is, that was and that is to be, are Divine. Love is the surest
means to attain this awareness.
April 15, 2004
There are three things which one should keep
in mind, namely, "I will not think of anything except God; I will
not do anything without the permission of God and I will have my
attention completely fixed on God at all times." It is only when one
accepts and puts into practice these three statements that the Lord
will look after one's welfare. However, one does not care to follow
God's injunctions and instead questions God as to why he does not
look after us.
April 16, 2004
The Divine manifests itself in many forms. God
is worshipped in many forms for the joy to be derived from it. The
primary duty of human beings is to recognise that though the paths
indicated by the various religions are different, the goal is One.
Love, sacrifice, compassion, morality, integrity and similar
qualities are common to all religions. In different ways all
religions seek to promote unity in diversity.
April 17, 2004
You have to busy yourselves with activity in
order to use your time and skill to the best advantage. That is your
duty and duty is God. Tamasic (dull and lethargic) individuals will
hesitate to be active for fear of exhaustion or failure or loss.
Rajasic (emotional and passionate) individuals will plunge headlong
and crave for quick results and will be disappointed if they do not
come in. Sathwic (balanced) individuals will be active, because it
is their duty; they will not be agitated by failure or success. They
do it as a means of worshipping God and they leave the results to
God. They realise that they are but instruments in the hands of God.
April 18, 2004
How can a person who himself cannot swim teach
others the art? How can one whose granary is empty pour out in
charity to others? Acquire the wealth of devotion, fortitude and
peace before venturing to advise others on how to acquire them. You
may be very enthusiastic to spread the message of the Lord, but the
one and the only sure way of doing it is by translating the
teachings in to action in your lives. Your thoughts, words and deeds
must be saturated with the love and message of the Lord. Then the
message of the Lord will spread effectively throughout the world and
transform everybody.
April 19, 2004
God is present in every human being as a seed.
For a seed to become a plant, earth and water are essential,
likewise for the Divine seed in man to grow and blossom into a
flower of Sat-Chith-Ananda (Being-Awareness-Bliss), it needs Bhakthi
(devotion) and Shraddha (faith and earnestness). It is not enough if
one merely turns the mind towards God, one must endeavour to
experience the presence of the Divine in every particle and at every
moment. One must fill the mind with pure and sacred thoughts.
April 20, 2004
Some people ask - "How can we find time for
sadhana (spiritual practice) when we have to toil every moment for
feeding and clothing ourselves?" They forget that the Lord will
grant these material comforts and even immortality, if only they
completely rely on Him. Whatever you do, always have the name of the
Lord on your lips, you do not have to spend extra time or energy for
that. When you rise in the morning and slide into sleep in the
night, do so with the name of God on your lips.
April 21, 2004
Matham (religion) is a matter of Mathi (mind).
Based on the teachings of the founders of different faiths, having
different regard to the requirements of the time and circumstances
of particular countries, and keeping in view the specific needs of
the people concerned, certain rules and regulations were laid down.
On this account, one faith should not be considered superior and
another inferior. Man's primary duty is to bear in mind the sacred
truths enshrined in every religion and practise them in his life.
April 22, 2004
There are three ways of realizing oneself:
Pravrithi, Nivrithi and Prapathi. Pravrithi (external activity) is
the method of sublimating the instincts and impulses. Nivrithi (detachment
and internal quiet) is the method of subduing the thirst of the
senses and the ego. Prapathi (surrender) is the method of utilizing
the senses, instincts, emotions and intelligence for the
glorification of the divine. Perform your actions and dedicate them
to God without worrying about its results. That is the secret of
spiritual success.
April 23, 2004
Reflections of the sun shining in the sky can
be seen in the oceans, rivers, the lakes and in the wells. Though
the reflections are varied, there is only one sun. The Divine is
present in man like the unseen thread which holds a garland of gems
together. The entire cosmos is permeated by the Divine and is the
visible manifestation of the Divine. Nothing in the world, no object,
no human being, no creature can be found wherein God is not present.
There is only one God and he is 'Sath-Chith-Ananda' (Being-Awareness-Bliss).
April 24, 2004
Active paticipation in society, in a spirit of
dedication and surrender, conceiving all acts as worship and all men
as the embodiments of the Supreme, is one of the best forms of
Sadhana (spiritual practises). For, there is no place where He is
not; no object which is not Divine. The Vedas declare that that the
Supreme willed and became all this. Worship, undertaking pilgrimages,
etc. are only means to an end. The goal is the realisation of the
ultimate truth that "God and I are One." That alone can fill the
heart with permanent bliss.
April 25, 2004
Let the different faiths exist, let them
flourish. Let the glory of God be sung in all languages and a
variety of tunes. That should be the ideal. Respect the differences
between faiths and recognise them as valid, so far as they do not
extinguish the flame of unity. The motive behind the formation and
the propagation of all these different faiths is the same. The
founders were all filled with love and wisdom and their goal and
purpose was the same.
April 26, 2004
The aeroplane has to land at a certain place
in order to take on board those who have reserved the right to fly
through the tickets that they have purchased. So too, the Lord has
to descend so that those who have won the right to be liberated may
be saved. Incidentally, others too will know of the Lord, of His
grace and ways of winning it and the joy of liberation. However, a
few ignorant people will cavil at the very Lord who has come to save
them.
April 27, 2004
It is not possible to consider Creation and
the Creator, Nature and God as different or separate. Just as the
bubble is born in water, stays on water and disappears in water, so
too the Cosmos is born in the Absolute, exists as a part of the
Absolute and merges back in the Absolute. Recognise the truth that
just as the bubble cannot be conceived without water, the Cosmos
cannot be conceived without God.
April 28, 2004
You are in this body in order to realise the
God you really are. This body is the cocoon you have spun around
yourselves by means of your impulses and desires. Use it while it
lasts, to grow wings so that you can escape from it. You came into
this world crying, announcing your grief for having to take on the
burden of earthly existence. Having come with grief, decide not to
go with it from here. Get rid of it in this very life.
April 29, 2004
Men try to know everything about everybody
else; but, they do not try to know about themselves! The attempt to
know about the 'Knower' is called sadhana; knowledge about the 'Knower'
is Aathma Vidhya. It is only through that knowledge that man can
live in peace anywhere. For, when you know that you are but a spark
of the Divine and that all else are the same Divine sparks, 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 places and peace in quiet spots; but the spring
of joy is in his heart, the haven of peace is within him. Have faith
in God, and in the correctness of moral living. Then, you can have
peace and joy, whatever may be the fare that fortune offers you.
April 30, 2004
There is only one religion, the religion of
Love. There is only one caste, the caste of humanity. There is only
one language, the language of the heart. There is only one God, He
is omnipresent. All religions are different paths leading to one and
the same destination. All devotees should understand this truth and
live up to it in their daily lives. They should adhere to the right
path.
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