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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
January 2004
January 1, 2004
Embodiments of Love! The New Year comes
regularly year after year. But do you have any new thoughts? You do
not shed your old, mistaken ideas. They should be given up, yielding
place to new, sacred and sublime thoughts. Of what use is it to
celebrate new year days if you do not change your old ways of
thinking and behaving? Make proper use of time which is both
precious and sacred. Do not indulge in useless gossip. Develop good
qualities like compassion, love and sympathy. Act as your own
monitor and correct yourself by self-punishment. Above all, place
your reliance on God.
January 2, 2004
You must realise that the Divine current that
flows and functions in every living being is the One Universal
entity. When you desire to enter the mansion of God, you are
confronted by two closed doors - the desire to praise yourself and
the desire to defame others. The doors are bolted by envy, and there
is also the huge lock of egoism preventing entry. So, if you are
earnest, you have to resort to the key of Prema (Love) and open the
lock; then remove the bolt and throw the doors wide open.
January 3, 2004
There is the 'higher mind' in man. It is
present to enable man to transcend the physical and mental planes
and reach for the divine. Ordinary life consists of matter and mind.
But, matter plus being is beyond mind. The mind attracts many
objects that it sees. It promotes a variety of qualities, attitudes
and attachments. Above all, it encourages the inflation of the ego.
Puffed by the ego, man loses all powers of discrimination.
January 4, 2004
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 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.
January 5, 2004
Impure gold is melted in the crucible and it
emerges shining and bright. The mind rendered impure by Rajas (passion)
and Thamas (sloth) and by the impressions of a thousand attachments
and desires can be made bright and resplendent if it is put into the
crucible of inquiry and heated on the coals of discrimination. That
brightness is the light of realisation, of the knowledge that you
are the Atman.
January 6, 2004
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.
January 7, 2004
Man has demarcated two distinct goals before
himself, material and spiritual. But, such distinction is wrong and
ruinous. It may be congenial and convenient on the surface, but if
acted upon, great harm will be caused to the blossoming of the soul.
For they are both the same, one continuous pilgrimage towards the
divinization of man.
January 8, 2004
It is best that you imprint on your heart the
dual nature of the world that is a mixture of pleasure and pain, joy
and grief, victory and defeat. Practice the constant presence of God
and learn to offer all your activities at the feet of the Lord as an
act of worship. Then they will be cleansed of all faults. Life
sustained by food is short; life sustained by Atma is eternal. Do
not lay claim to long life, but to divine life. Do not strive for
more years of stay on the earth, but for more virtues in the heart.
January 9, 2004
You are all the indestructible Atma, nothing
need discourage you. In your dream, you suffer so much due to loss
of money, fire, floods, insult, etc., but once you wake up 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
Realisation, 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.
January 10, 2004
People should know that there is nothing
closer to them than the divine. Each one must strive to recognise
this indwelling divinity. Most people waste their time in observance
of external rituals and forms of worship. Along with external
observances, people should try to achieve internal purity. The human
being is a composite of man, beast and God, and in the inevitable
struggle among the three for dominance, you must ensure that God
wins.
January 11, 2004
God and the devil, good and bad are denizens
of one's own heart. Where God is, the devil cannot be. You cannot
know what may happen at any time, in any situation. What is bound to
happen cannot be prevented. Hence, you should regard anything that
happens as a gift from God.
January 12, 2004
The wicked tendencies in man, such as
arrogance, envy, bad thoughts and misdeeds, go on shearing the life
of man into pieces. His bad qualities shorten his life span. When
man's life is filled with good thoughts and good actions, he can
live for a hundred years. The secret of the longevity enjoyed by the
ancients is precisely this. Man today wastes his life immersed in
bad thoughts and actions and ultimately meets a sad end.
January 13, 2004
Man is the embodiment of the Divine Atman
which is infinite, ever-full, and indivisible. However, today men
are filled with rajas (passion) and thamas (sloth) and are content
with their merely dealing with the objective world. Their ideal is
only to amass material wealth and satisfy material needs. Examine
yourself and discover at what level you are by analysing your
desires and activities. In this way, you can sublimate your thoughts
and urges yourself.
January 14, 2004
The Makara Sankaranti is a holy occasion to
pray to the Lord : Asatho maa sath gamaya (Lead me from unreal to
Real); Thamaso maa jyothir gamaya (Lead me from darkness to Light);
mruthyormaa amritham gamaya (Lead me from death to Immortality).
Festivals connected with the Moon and the Sun are celebrated in
order to drive into the minds of men the importance of mind control
(Chandra or moon is the Deity of the Mind) and of clarifying the
intelligence (Surya or the Sun is the Deity of the Intelligence).
When the Sun moves Northward, that is 'Godward', the Intelligence
too must proceed on the Godward path.
January 15, 2004
Man is unaware of the activities that can
lighten the burden of his life and also illumine the Atman. It is
the Atman that illumines all, but man is in the dark about its
existence. Just as something tastes sweet because of sugar present
in it, all objects are cognised because of the Atman. It is the
universal witness.
January 16, 2004
As a drop of water on a lotus leaf disappears
in no time, even so, we should know that our life is transient and
will disappear in no time. The world is full of sorrow, the human
body is full of disease and our life is full of turbulent thoughts.
Under these circumstances, it is possible to live in a peaceful
manner only by following the Divine path and getting over all our
worldly attachments.
January 17, 2004
For a tree to grow and provide fruit and shade,
there are three essential things - wind, rain and earth. Of greater
importance than these three, is the seed, without which a tree can
never grow. In the same manner, it is by the Sankalpa (Will) of God,
that man is created in this world. In the case of every man, the
Sankalpa that created him is like a seed. So long as the Sankalpa or
desires are in man, it is not possible for him to escape being born.
January 18, 2004
There is only one royal road for the spiritual
journey - love all beings as manifestations of the same divinity
that is at the very core of oneself. This faith alone can ensure the
constant presence of God within you and endow you with all the joy
and courage you need to accomplish the pilgrimage to God.
January 19, 2004
Vedas are the recordings of visions and divine
experiences whose source cannot be traced to one particular person.
They were revealed by God Himself, out of his own innate mercy. The
Vedic inheritance has been preserved pure and unsullied even to this
day because it was handed down from the master to the disciple, in
regular succession. Since it is timeless and authorless, it is
worthy of acceptance by all. No one can afford to neglect or deny
their value.
January 20, 2004
While driving a car, if you do not apply the
brakes in time, accidents are bound to be your lot. Your body can be
compared to a car. Your eyes are like the lights; your stomach, the
petrol tank; your mouth, the horn; your mind, the steering wheel.
Dharma (righteousness), Artha (wealth), Kama (noble desires), Moksha
(liberation) are the wheels; air within the tyres is faith and
Buddhi (intelligence) is the ignition switch.
January 21, 2004
Transcending the fifth element - space is God.
When you pursue your inquiry into the function of the elements in
the body and mind, you find that the different qualities of elements
account for different feelings and reactions. These qualities have
to be brought under control. Simultaneously, one has to reduce the
burdens of mundane existence and the desires that fill the mind. Man
today is weighed down by the overwhelming burden of desires.
Spiritual progress is directly proportionate to the reduction of
desires.
January 22, 2004
When you scatter seeds on the surface of the
soil they do not germinate. You have to plant them inside the soil.
So too, My words, if scattered on the surface, will not germinate,
grow into a tree of knowledge and yield the fruit of wisdom. Plant
it in the heart, water the plant with Love, and measure it with
faith and courage. Keep off pests with Bhajan and Satsang (spiritual
congregation), so that you may finally reap its benefit.
January 23, 2004
Love is a ceaseless flow of Divine effulgence.
Sages call this Love, Atma. This Atma, which is full of Love, is
shining in all hearts. Love, Atma and heart are synonyms for God.
For such pure Love, there cannot be any differences based on mine
and thine. This Love is selfless. Where there is confidence, there
is Love. Where there is Love, there is Peace. Where there is Peace,
there is Truth. Where there is Truth, there is Bliss. Where there is
Bliss, there is God.
January 24, 2004
The moment you see your own inner beauty and
are so filled with it that you forget all else, you become free from
all bonds. You realise that you are all beauty, all the glory, all
the power, all the magnificence of the universe, for the Jiva (the
individual) is the reflection of God in the mirror of Nature. Once
you attain self-realisation, you recognise everyone else as but the
reflection of yourself. This is the true basis of the unity of
mankind.
January 25, 2004
The mind is subject to unsteadiness because of
desires. Desires are aroused by the impressions received by the
senses from outside. The only way to avoid these external
impressions is to turn the senses inwards. The intellect should be
used to determine what impressions should be kept out and what
should be let in.
January 26, 2004
Man, today, is like a horseman riding two
horses at the same time. Man aspires for the Divine, but at the same
time yearns for worldly pleasures. Man forgets that the Creator
contains within Himself, the Creation. Forgetting this truth, man
runs after the phenomenal world. Man behaves like a fool, who cries
for the butter while having milk in his hand.
January 27, 2004
The Divine exists in everything and in every
being. It is only when you develop such faith and love for God that
true spirituality can grow. Qualities like Kshama (forbearance),
Daya (Compassion), Sathya (Truth), Prema (Love) are the spiritual
qualities that are essential for man no matter in which place or
time he lives.
January 28, 2004
Man must develop faith in God and see to it
that it is firm and unchanging. Ignorant of the immensely valuable
treasures in God's treasury, man seeks cheap trinkets. Instead of a
diamond, man asks from God a piece of charcoal. Man's attitude
towards God should not be based on the fulfilment of petty desires.
You must feel that whatever happens to you is for your own good.
January 29, 2004
It is important to cultivate contentment and
accept things as they happen; do not multiply your wants and foster
greed and despair. You take off your warm clothing when you start to
feel warm. So too, the coat of desire has to be taken off when the
warmth of Bhakthi (devotion) increases. Strive to secure Grace; do
not strive to secure any lesser fruit.
January 30, 2004
Recognise the fact that the whole universe is
within you. You have all the powers in you. They are derived from
the Divine spirit within you. It is the Divinity which endows you
with the will power. Forgetting the supreme power of the spirit,
people place their reliance on the powers of the body, the mind and
the intellect.
January 31, 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.
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