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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
December 2005
December 1
Be equal-minded in fortune and misfortune, in happiness and
sorrow, loss and gain. The ups and downs of life have lessons to
teach us. In fact, without reverses in our life, we will not be able
to experience Divinity. Without darkness, we cannot appreciate
light. Without experiencing difficulties, we will not value the
pleasures we enjoy. It is lack of peace of mind which compels us to
seek the means to realize everlasting peace. The Upanishads have
declared that through renunciation alone can immortality be
attained. Man should learn to practise renunciation so as to
discover the secret of enduring peace and bliss.
December 2
Consider the reality of the objects from which one derives joy.
Each one of them is saturated with the Divine Essence. The rain that
falls, the Sun that shines, the Moon that cools, the rivers that
flow are equally available to all. Therefore, no one has the right
to claim them exclusively for themselves or to prevent others from
enjoying these gifts. The Divine is the basis for everything. The
eye cannot see nor the ears hear unless the life-principle is active
through the grace of the Divine Atma or Brahman. Man can become
aware of the Atmic truth when he casts off the trammels of egotism
and possessiveness.
December 3
Bliss has to be sought not through accumulation of material
wealth, but through sacrifice and promotion of the welfare of one's
fellowbeings. Thyaga (sacrifice) is recommended by the Vedas as the
only path to immortality. Give in plenty, give gladly, and with
gratitude to God. Selfishness is the canker that destroys charity.
Though one is aware that a certain act is wrong, selfishness does
not allow him to desist. But, this weakness can be overcome by
steady determination. Share with others the knowledge and skills you
have earned, the ideas and ideals you have benefited by and the joy
you have won by discipline and dedication. Sharing will not diminish
them or devalue them. On the other hand, they will shine with added
splendour.
December 4
The joy and pleasure earned by activity are only temporary.
Nevertheless, one should not desist from karma (action). How, then,
is one to act? One should practice detachment and desirelessness
towards the results of one's actions. That is to say, one should
treat all actions as yagnas (sacrifices) performed for the glory of
God and not for selfish ends; for earning lasting merit and not for
temporary benefits. Action done in this spirit will engender neither
greed nor grief. Indeed, it will endow one with a sense of
fulfillment at having discharged one's duty.
December 5
Whatever learning one may acquire, whatever positions of
authority one may occupy, however great one may be, if one lacks
human values, one cannot be called a human being at all. What is
humanness? Essentially, it means unity of thought, word and deed.
When one's thoughts are at variance with what one says or does, one
ceases to be human. Today, what men have to cultivate is unity and
purity in thought, word and deed. True human qualities can grow only
in a heart filled with spiritual aspirations; seeds should be sown
in fertile soil and not on a piece of rock. Hence, to develop these
qualities, men have to develop compassion and equanimity amidst the
vicissitudes of life.
December 6
The dominion of God is horizonless; it envelops space and goes
even beyond it. So, do not allow the needs of worship to put
blinkers on your eyes. Do not hate other names or manifestations of
the one Supreme Being, the Purushotthama. For, hate breeds fear,
hate is the seedbed of anxiety, scandal and falsehood. It drains
your mind of peace. Unless you are at peace with yourself and with
those around you, your mind will be agitated and your blood will be
boiling in rage and rancour. Love alone can alleviate anxiety and
allay fear.
December 7
A 'Manishi' (ordinary man) gets transformed into a 'Maharishi'
(sage) by engaging in selfless service. Truly speaking, the merit
that can be obtained from service cannot be acquired even by the
practice of rigorous austerities. Service brings human beings closer
to each other and promotes affection and friendship. Without this
feeling of friendship and love towards one's fellowmen, one cannot
attain intimacy with the Lord. Install in your heart the feeling
that the service you render to your fellowmen is service to God.
December 8
There are two things that draw man's mind: hitha and priya - the
beneficial and the pleasant. Prefer the beneficial over the
pleasant, for, the pleasant might lead you down into a bottomless
abyss. The true doctor is interested in curing you of all illness
and so, he advises hitha to restore your health. The Guru is a such
a doctor. Obey him, even when his prescription is unpalatable, for,
you can be cured only by him.
December 9
Love is Divine. To render an act fit to be offered to God and
pure enough to win His Grace, it has to be a manifestation of love.
Love is not affected or modified by considerations of caste, creed,
or religion; it cannot be tarnished by envy, malice or hate.
Preserve love from being poisoned by these evils; endeavour to
cultivate a broad mind, uncontaminated by feelings of hatred and
parochialism. The root of all religions, the substance of all
scriptures, the destination of all paths, the inspiration of all
individuals is the Principle of Prema (Love). It is the firmest
foundation for man's mission of Life. It is the Light that ensures
peace and prosperity in the world.
December 10
Man is burdened with the delusion that the temporary objective
world is eternal. This delusion has arisen out of long
identification with this illusory world. So, man has to be
re-educated into the right understanding. The absolute reality that
persists unchanged is this 'I'. All else is unreal parading as real.
The 'I' in you is Paramatma (God) Himself. The waves play with the
wind for a moment over the deep waters of the sea. It gives you the
impression that it is separate from the ocean below, but it is just
an appearance - a creation of the ideas of Name and Form. Get rid of
this misconception, and the wave disappears into the sea; its true
nature flashes upon you and you realize that God is present in man
as Love.
December 11
The senses have to be controlled, primarily because they pursue
deleterious influences that harass man and lead him into ruin. Inner
peace is lost when the senses feed man on inciting wants and
infructuous desires. For the sadhaka (spiritual aspirant), what the
senses imbibe must always be pure and saathwic in nature. The
sounds, the sights, the impressions, the ideas, the contacts, the
impacts - all must promote reverence, humility, balance, equanimity
and simplicity. If the impressions are raajasic (inducing passion) ,
the mind will get agitated and vengeful. If they are thamasic
(inducing dullness of mind), the mind will not even be aroused into
the awareness of its own shortcomings. It is only the saathwik
impulses that will keep the mind on an even keel, fully concentrated
on the Atma on which one must contemplate in order to attain
peaceod.
December 12
The most important goal for man is to put into practice the
doctrine of divine love. The principle of love is the greatest
unifying force; it unites all spiritual practices, all creeds, all
the goals of life and all the scriptures. The foremost path for the
spiritual aspirant is the path of complete surrender to the Lord for
earning His love and grace. The devotee offers everything he has and
approaches the Lord in the same manner in which a bride in this
country renounces all that was hers before her marriage, when
joining the household of her husband. God's love cannot be gained
without such renunciation by the devotee.
December 13
Bhakthi (devotion) is defined as a means of discovering the
Divine reality within each being. Four steps are laid down in the
scriptures to help man succeed in this effort - discrimination
between the permanent and the ephemeral; desisting from pandering to
the senses; control over one's feelings, thoughts and pursuits, and
incessant yearning for liberation from all bonds. Bhakthi is the
urge which manifests as all these four endeavours. It directs man to
have God ever in mind and to cultivate love for God within him.
December 14
Through spiritual practices, discard the attachment to the sense
of individuality and physical pleasures. Welcome the aspiration to
expand the heart into the Universal. Do not cloud your mind with
base desires, transitory hungers and thirsts that need but morsels
or mouthfuls to be satiated. Yearn for the enthronement of your Soul
as the unquestioned Monarch of the Universe. When you merge in the
Universal, celebrate your triumph over the inner foes that hampered
your march to victory. Acquire Me as your charioteer and I shall
lead you to that consummation. Earn that unfailing grace by your
sincerity, simplicity and sadhana (spiritual practice).
December 15
There are valuable lessons to be learnt from the Sun,
Moon, the clouds, the sea - all are teachers of the importance of
discharging one's duty. Trees distribute their fruits and grant
their shade to every one, even to those who lay their axe on them
with intention to destroy them! Mountains suffer heat, rain and
storm without demur, and are plunged in meditation for ages. Birds
do not hoard for years together, the wherewithal for food or
shelter; they do not use more than is absolutely necessary for their
survival. Nature (Prakrithi) is your school, your laboratory, the
gateway to liberation and the reflection of God's manifold majesty.
Seek to know the lessons it is ready to teach; all things in Nature
are Brahman just as you are. So, any act is Divine; all work is
worship; build the mansion of your life on the strong foundation of
the faith that all creation is Divine.
December 16
The scriptures have declared that birth as a human is a rare
privilige. Man is the foremost among all living beings in creation.
In spite of being endowed with superior faculties and capabilities,
if man lacks jnana (wisdom) he is no better than an animal. It is
jnana that distinguishes man from animals. In spite of possessing a
human body, with its sacred capacities, man pursues wrong paths and
indulges in misdeeds, thereby degrading his precious heritage. One
who ought to dedicate himself to the pursuit of the Divine and
experience bliss, reduces himself a slave to his senses and wastes
his life in the pursuit of the ephemeral. It is this preoccupation
with the mundane that is at the root of all the insecurity and
unhappiness experienced by man.
December 17
We have in the atmosphere around us, the music emanating from
all the broadcasting stations of the world, but they do not assail
your ears at all times. Only if you have a receiver and you tune it
to the correct wavelength do you hear the broadcast from a
particular station; if you fail to tune it correctly, you will get,
instead of news, only nuisance! So too, the Divine is everywhere -
above, around, below, beside, near as well as far. For cognising it,
you require not a yanthra (machine) but a manthra (mystical
formula). Dhyana (meditation) is the fixing of the exact location of
the station in the band, love is the correct tuning in, realizing
the reality and the bliss it confers is the happy and clear
listening!
December 18
One may say, "I am striving to control the mind but it runs
about like a mad dog. How am I to succeed?" Therein lies a mistake.
The mind is intangible, but, it is attached to the senses. Hence,
control the senses; let them not draw you into the objective world.
By this means, the mind can be made an instrument of illumination
and not of delusion. The truth will then dawn that this Atma
(individual soul) is Brahman (God). The splendour of this awareness
will drive away the darkness of ignorance, for, the Atma (Self) is
jyothi (light) and there can be no Thamas (darkness of ignorance)
where there is light.
December 19
People engage in Bhajan (devotional singing), Pooja (ritualistic
worship) and Dhyana (meditation). But these are only at the physical
plane. But, unless these are imbued with sincerity, they will not
elevate us to the Divine. The Lord judges you by the sincerity of
your thoughts, not by the form of your worship. The Lord sees your
bhakthi (devotion) and not shakthi (power). He cares for your gunas
(qualities) and not your kula (caste or lineage). He looks at your
chiththam (heart) and not at your viththam (wealth). You must strive
to purify your heart and engage yourself in righteous action, with
devotion and integrity. No Sadhana (spiritual discipline) is of any
use if you are involved in sinful deeds.
December 20
The happiness derived from sensory objects arises and vanishes
with time. For instance, when hunger is appeased, there is happiness
for that moment; but this happiness ebbs away after a while. This is
true of all objects in the world; the joy derived from them is
evanescent. Man, however, is after lasting Ananda (bliss). He is in
fact the embodiment of bliss. Bliss constitutes his very nature and
being. Why, then, does he not experience it? This is because,
unaware of his true nature, he is obsessed with the external world
and fails to experience the bliss within him. He mistakenly imagines
that the source of joy lies in the phenomenal world.
December 21
Whatever one's religion may be, one should cultivate respect for
other faiths. One who does not have such an attitude of tolerance
and respect for other religions is not a true follower of his own
religion. It is not enough merely to adhere strictly to the
practices of one's own religion, one should also try to see the
essential unity of all religions. Only then will man be able to
experience the oneness of Divinity. Once the Truth of the Indwelling
Spirit is recognised, there dawns the awareness that the whole world
is one family. One is then filled with Divine Love which becomes the
driving force for all of one's actions.
December 22
One should yearn not for the prolongation of life but for its
sanctification. A few moments as Hamsa, the Celestial Swan, are far
more precious than many years as a crow. One should sublimate one's
lower urges and take to the holy path, and achieve the glorious
destiny of oneness with the Cosmic Consciousness, the identity of
the Jiva (individual) and the Deva (Universal).
December 23
The mind has no distinct form or shape. It assumes the shape or
form of the thing it is associated with. Wandering from wish to
wish, flitting from one desire to another - this is its nature.
Thus, the mind is the cause of loss and grief, of elation and
depression. It is worthwhile for man to know the characteristics of
the mind and the ways to master it for one's ultimate benefit. The
mind is prone to gather experiences and store them in memory. It
does not know the art of giving up. Nothing is cast away by the
mind. As a consequence, grief, anxiety and misery continue simmering
in it. Give up what has to be cast away, know what has to be
attained, then, Ananda (bliss) becomes your nature. So give up the
idea of the world being real; know the reality of the Self and
attain the Source, the Brahman.
December 24
A sparkling diamond, even if it is in a heap of garbage, will
not lose its brilliance or its value. Likewise, the glory and
greatness of good men will suffer no diminution in whatever
circumstances or situation they may be placed. Such divine
effulgence shines in every human being. Love is an expression of
this effulgence. To manifest this love, men must bear every kind of
suffering. The human being is like the sugarcane, filled with the
juice of love. It is only when he is subjected to hardships that the
divine, sweet juice of love can flow from him.
December 25 - Christmas
The lives of personalities like Jesus are lived out in order to
establish the welfare of humanity, the prosperity and peace of the
world, and demonstrate the way to achieve liberation from sensual
desires and passions. Jesus sacrificed His happiness, prosperity,
comfort and safety; He braved the enmity of the powerful. He refused
to yield or compromise. He renounced the ego, which is the most
difficult step on the spiritual path. Honour Him for these. The
celebration of His birthday has to be marked by your sacrificing at
least one desire and conquering at least the more disastrous urges
of the ego. The celebration must take the form of adherence to the
teachings of Jesus, loyalty to the principles He espoused,
practising the disciplines that He laid down and experiencing the
awareness of the Divine that He sought to awaken.
December 26
If you are not moved at the sight of human distress, disease or
injustice, how can you muster the determination and dedication
necessary to serve the unseen, inscrutable mysterious God? When you
do not love man, your heart will not love God. Despising your
fellowman, you cannot, at the same time, worship God; if you do, God
will not accept that hypocrisy. God is the resident in every heart;
so if you serve anyone, that service reaches the God within him: it
brings to you the grace of God.
December 27
The thought of Brahman should be firmly established in the
heart. When this is done, one sees the entire universe as a
manifestation of the Divine. The universe must be considered as the
temple of God. One must realize that the five elements - space, air,
fire, water and earth, the five Pranas (vital breaths), the five
sense organs, the mind and speech, all these have emanated from the
Brahman. This beautiful nature with its lofty mountains, the vast
oceans, the stars in the sky, the sweet fragrance of flowers must be
regarded as proclaiming the glory and power of the Divine.
December 28
God is the harmony of all the Forms and Names that man gives
Him. Only those who are ignorant of God's glory will insist on one
Name and one Form for His adoration and, what is worse, condemn the
use of other Names and Forms. Be warned against such silly obduracy.
Do not go about proclaiming that you belong to a separate sect and
are distinct from those who adore God in other Forms and Names;
thereby you are limiting the very God whom you are extolling.
December 29
An able monarch will have his ministers under control; he will
direct them along proper lines and maintain the peace and security
of the kingdom. On the other hand, a monarch who allows himself to
be controlled by his ministers does not deserve the throne; he is
spurned and disgraced. His kingdom has no peace and security. The
mind is the monarch in man and the senses are the ministers. But, if
the mind is enslaved by the senses, the individual knows no peace.
Every Sadhaka (spiritual aspirant) who aspires to attain the Divine
in him has, therefore, to earn mastery over the senses. That is the
first step. The next one is the conquest of the mind, its
elimination. The third is uprooting the Vasanas (innate tendencies),
and the fourth, attainment of Jnana (spiritual wisdom). Only then
can the awareness of the Atmic reality be gained.
December 30
Our devotion and prayer to God should not be for the sole
purpose of obtaining something or fulfilling some desire of ours. It
should be for the sake of securing the bliss of being close to the
Lord and becoming one with Him. Do not ask for this or that from Him
in return for prayers you offer or the sacrifices you make. Do not
calculate returns or plan for the consequences. Act, because you
have to and since it is your duty. Dedicate the deed as well as its
consequences to Him. That is real devotion.
December 31
Deep sleep is often compared to Samadhi (spiritual trance), for,
the senses and the mind are transcended and the ego is immersed in
itself. It is in bliss, but, it is not aware of that bliss, for,
wakefulness alone gives that knowledge. So, what can grant
realization is the awareness of the waking stage and the bliss of
the sleeping stage. Concentrate on the point, where one is having
these two: that is the moment of victory. Mark the word 'Sama dhee'
- it means balanced, unruffled intellect, and equanimity in the face
of grief and joy, pain and pleasure, rejection or rejoicing. One who
has attained that stage will be indifferent to fear or favour, to
hate or love, to praise or blame. Where there is only One, how can
even thought arise? That is the true Samadhi - the being, the
awareness and the bliss.
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