 |
Thought for the Day
|
As written at
Prasanthi Nilayam
Source: Radio Sai
Global Harmony
Thought for the Day Archive
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.
|
