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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
November 2005
November 1
God is in all beings at all times. Endeavour to remember this
fact whatever you may be doing, whomever you may meet. You will
succeed in this, provided you do not give up the recitation of His
Name. On this Deepavali Day, resolve to light the lamp of
Namasmarana (remembering the Lord's name) and place it at your
doorstep, the lips. Feed it with the oil of devotion; have
steadiness as the wick. Let the lamp illumine every minute of your
life. The splendour of the Name will drive away darkness from
outside you as well as from inside you. You will spread joy and
peace among all who come near you.
November 2
Love must expand from the individual to the whole universe. We
must regard Love as God. The different forms attributed to God are
products of fancy. But Love can be directly experienced. Whether one
is a theist or an atheist, a hedonist or a recluse, a yogi or a
materialist, he values love. Love is the one form in which everybody
is ready to accept God. The cultivation of love and achieving
universal love is the sublime path of Bhakti (devotion).
November 3
In the spiritual sphere, the responsibility for success or
failure is entirely one's own. You have no right to shift it on to
others. The fire will rage only as long as it is fed with fuel.
Hence, do not add fuel to the fire of the senses. Detach the mind
from the evanescent and attach it to the eternal. Plant the seedling
of Bhakthi (devotion) by the practice of Namasmarana (remembering
the Lord's name). That seed will grow into a mighty tree with the
branches of virtue, service, sacrifice, love, equanimity, fortitude,
and courage.
November 4
When the obstacles in the path of truth are laid low,
deliverance is achieved. That is why moksha (liberation) is
something that can be won, here and now; one need not wait for the
dissolution of the physical body for that. Action must not be felt
as a burden, for that feeling is a sure sign indicating that it is
against the grain. No action which helps your progress will weigh
heavily on you. It is only when you go counter to your innermost
nature that you feel it a burden. A time comes when you look back on
your achievements and sigh at the futility of it all. Entrust to the
Lord, before it is too late, your mind, and let Him shape it as He
likes.
November 5
The perceiver should not attach himself to the perceived; that
is the way to earn freedom. The contact of the senses with the
object gives rise to desire and attachment; this leads to effort and
either elation or despair; then, there is the fear of loss or grief
at failure and the train of reactions lengthens. With many doors and
windows kept open to all the winds that blow, how can the flame of
the lamp within survive? That lamp is the mind, which must burn
steadily, unaffected by the dual demands of the world outside.
Complete surrender to the Lord is one way of closing the windows and
doors, for in that stage of Sharanagathi (complete surrender to
God), you are not buffeted by joy or grief. Complete surrender makes
you draw upon the Grace of the Lord for meeting all the crises and
renders you heroic and better prepared for the battle of life.
November 6
For all types of spiritual discipline, congenial company is very
necessary. Pure water that falls as rain from the sky is changed
into a hundred tastes and colours by the soil on which it falls.
But, even the slimy slush of the gutter has some hope of turning
into pure water again; for, when the Sun shines, it can rise as
vapour into the clouds and regain its pristine nature. Repentance
must be followed by resolute determination not to repeat the wrong.
You must pray for God's grace and help in Sadhana (spiritual
endeavour).
November 7
The tongue is the armour of the heart; it guards one's life.
Loud and unnecessary talk, words full of anger and hatred - all
these affect the health of man. They breed anger and hate in others;
they wound, they excite, they enrage, they estrange. Why is silence
said to be golden? The silent man has no enemies, though he may not
have friends. He has the leisure and the chance to dive within
himself and examine his own faults and failings. He has no more
inclination to seek them in others. If your foot slips, you suffer a
fracture; if your tongue slips, you fracture someone's faith or joy.
That fracture can never be set right; that wound will fester
forever. Therefore, use the tongue with great care. Always speak
softly and sweetly, and only as much as is necessary.
November 8
Man should get rid of Ahamkara (the feeling that he is the
doer). As long as the ego is dominant, the Atmic consciousness will
not develop. The egoist cannot recognize the Atma. It is egoism that
is at the root of all of man's troubles. It is delusion based on the
misconception that the body is real and permanent. The truth is
otherwise. One should recognize the evanescence of the body and the
senses and control the desires prompted by the sense organs. Desires
are insatiable. The pursuit of wealth, power and position can only
end in misery. Instead, one should take refuge in God and dedicate
all actions to the Divine.
November 9
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 "Conscious Realization of the Inner
Divine." The first task is to develop awareness of the Divinity
within. The next stage is the realization of the truth that the
divinity that is within oneself is equally present in all others.
One must recognize that the veil or barrier that appears to separate
one 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 creation.
November 10
Love exists for love's sake and nothing else. It is spontaneous
and spreads delight. Everything is permeated by love. Love can
conquer anything. Selfless, pure, unalloyed love leads man to God.
Selfish and constricted love binds man to the world. Unable to
comprehend the pure and sacred nature of love, man today is a prey
to endless worries because of his attachment to worldly objects.
Man's primary duty is to understand the truth about the Love
principle. Once he understands the nature of love, he will not go
astray.
November 11
He who has good thoughts and good ideas is a Sadhu (holy man).
Sadhu does not mean one who merely wears an orange robe, shaves his
head and wears Rudraakshas (holy beads). The real Sadhu is he whose
deeds are in accordance with the words of advice he utters. Devotion
cannot tolerate in the devotee the slightest trace of envy or
jealousy. Make your daily life holy and pure. Render your life
worthwhile through service to man and service to society. That is
the most important aspect of surrender to the Absolute.
November 12
The remembrance of God and repetition of His name is the only
means of liberation that is easily accessible to all. People tend to
treat the name of the Lord casually, not realizing its potency. All
the power of the Cosmos is contained in it. You must understand the
significance of the name properly and use it in the right way.
Bhajan (devotional singing) is an effective activity by which Kama
(desire) and Krodha (anger) can be kept at bay.
November 13
The body is a chalice wherein you collect the nectar of Divine
Grace. That is the prime purpose for which it has been gifted to
you. When He showers His grace on us, our entire being is filled
with bliss. Nara and Narayana (man and God) are like iron and
magnet. God by His very nature attracts man near, for in man, there
is the Divine. When the magnet fails to attract the iron piece, the
iron foolishly concludes that the magnet has lost its power! The
reality is that the piece of iron is too thickly covered by rust and
dust. It does not realize its own defects; it hastens to blame God
(the magnet) or even to deny Him!
November 14
The Universe is the Field where God sports. Be aware of this
fact in every moment of consciousness and there is nothing more you
need for a happy existence. For, you will then contact God in
everything, through every thought, at every place and at very
moment. His glory is evident in the smallest flower and the most
distant star. The joy that you can derive from the contemplation of
these proofs of providence is indescribable. Lord Krishna has said
in the Bhagavad Geetha that He is ever by the side of the joyous
being. Be joyful yourself and share it with others. Limited
happiness arising out of self-centeredness should be given up.
November 15
In creation, no single object is like any other. No two human
beings are similar in all respects; there is some aspect which
distinguishes one from the rest. Immense diversity prevails. Each
one has his own peculiar set of experiences. Nor is an individual
the same always. The infant changes into a child, then into a boy,
an adolescent, an adult, and soon becomes middle-aged, old, decrepit
and, finally, senile. Why, during the course of a day, an individual
passes through different states of consciousness in deep sleep,
dream state and wakeful state. So man must seek refuge in the
changeless Supreme Reality from which all variety emerges, and into
which it merges. Then only can peace and contentment be secured.
November 16
Those who deny God are denying themselves and their glory. All
have Love in their hearts, in some form or the other, either towards
children or the poor or they work for the good of others. That Love
is God, the spark of the Divine in them. They have Ananda (Bliss)
however small or temporary, and that is a spark of God. They have
peace, detachment and sympathy. All these are the reflections of the
Divine in the mirror of their minds.
November 17
The world is one vast community. Every individual in it is a
part of this community, bound to it by the bonds of love. This love
is there, deep in the heart of every man. Only, it is unrecognised,
ignored, doubted, denied and argued away. It is the latent source of
all sympathy and service; it creates the urge to live in, and for
society. It is the Vishwa-Prema (all encompassing love) that flows
from one spark of the Divine to all other sparks. When the eyes
shine illumined by the highest wisdom of Jnana, they see all as the
One. Man realises that Sarvam Brahmamayam Jagath (the entire
universe is pervaded by Brahman). To have this One revealed as in
All, one has to develop faith and discipline the mind. The mind has
to shed its fancies and foibles; the Truth has to be known and
experienced.
November 18
Man has achieved immeasurable progress in science and
technology. But, in the field of morality, he is still unable to rid
himself of narrow cynicism, limited outlook and the demonic hold of
selfishness, pride, envy and other evil traits. When we examine the
basic cause for this state of affairs, we discover that it is the
consequence of egoism that has struck deep roots in the heart of
man. It has reduced man to the status of a puppet. It pollutes his
thoughts, words and deeds. It directs him to gather and hoard
material riches. It does not allow the Atma to shine forth. When the
veil of egoism is set aside, the Atmic effulgence, and with it,
Ananda (bliss) and Jnana (supreme wisdom) will be revealed.
November 19 - Ladies Day
Women are the makers of the home, the nation and the world. They
are the mothers who shape the generation to come. So, they must
enshrine in their hearts the spiritual urge towards light and love,
wisdom and bliss. The Feminine Principle is the foundation on which
a peaceful and happy world is to be raised. When women are true,
brave, kind, and compassionate, the world can have an era of peace
and joy.
November 20 - Eighth World Conference
No object in the world can be without a creator. Everything we
use in our daily life has been made by someone. But, there are also
objects which are beyond the capacity of humans to create. The stars
which twinkle in the sky, the sun and moon that illumine the whole
world, all these demonstrate the existence of a superior power.
These are not human creations. Have they come into existence by
themselves or have they created by some invisible force? The supreme
power which has the capacity to create such marvels has been
described by the Vedas as Aprameya, one who is beyond all proofs and
all limitations. He cannot be described in words. The primary object
of man must be to seek to understand this Infinite Power.
November 21
During our lives we accept the help rendered to us by many
thousands. We have to pay back this debt by helping as many people
as we can. With genuine keenness or readiness to serve others, you
can be happy in any group or community. Derive bliss through seva
(service) that is not done with any desire to get something in
return. When you get a chance to help someone, rejoice at your good
fortune. The very eagerness to serve others will endow you with the
power and skill necessary for the required service.
November 22 - Convocation of Sai University
Education must instil the fundamental human values; it must
include the entire world in its broad outlook. When earning money is
held as the goal, the system fosters falsehood and injustice; it
restricts the vision to one's family and community, and brings in
its train, anxiety, sorrow and hatred. Education must equip man to
live happily without making others unhappy; to evaluate everything
correctly and without prejudice, and to fix one's attention ever on
the highest and the most precious achievement of all, the Atmic
victory. The spiritual stream must flow in the heart as the source
and spring of all endeavour. So, one must enshrine in one's hearts
the spiritual urge towards Light and Love, Wisdom and Bliss.
November 23 - Bhagawan Sathya Sai Baba's Birthday
You can call Me Premaswarupa (the embodiment of Love). Prema is
the wealth I have and which I spread among all. I have no other
riches. The Grace of the Lord is always flowing like the electric
current through the wire. Fix a bulb and the current will illumine
your house. The bulb is the Sadhana (spiritual practice) you
perform, the home is your heart. Come to Me gladly; dive into the
sea and discover its depth. There is no use playing in the shallow
waters and lamenting that the sea has no pearls. Dive deep and you
will secure your heart's desire.
November 24
There is no need to go in quest of God. Infact, it is God who is
in search of a genuine and steadfast devotee. Today's Sadhaka
(spiritual aspirant) is approaching God for the fulfilment of his
petty desires. He does not seek to understand the nature of true
love or the Divinity that underlies everything. He proves himself to
be a self-deluded being with no moral commitment. Just as the sun
can be seen only by its own light, the love of the Divine can be
acquired only by Divine Grace and not by pursuing some trivial
practices. These Sadhanas (spiritual practices) are invariably
motivated by selfish objectives. There is an element of selfishness
in every act of service which man undertakes; it is tainted by
egoism or the acquisitive urge. Only when the Sadhaka's heart is
filled with the Divine, will he be able to entertain pure and sacred
love.
November 25
We become what we contemplate. By constant thought, an ideal
gets imprinted on our heart. When we fix our thoughts all the time
on the evil that others do, our mind too gets contaminated by that
evil. When, on the contrary, we fix our mind on the virtues or
well-being of others, our mind is cleansed of all wrong and
entertains only good thoughts. No evil thought can penetrate the
mind of a person wholly given to love and compassion. The thoughts
we indulge in shape our nature. Immerse your mind in good thoughts
and world will be good; soak it in bad thoughts and the world
appears to be filled with evil.
November 26
Heaven and hell are dependent on the conduct of man. True
humanness consists in having unity of thought, word and deed. In
Vedantic parlance, this unity is described as Trikarana Shuddhi
(threefold purity). True moksha (liberation) consists in speaking in
accordance with one's thoughts, and further, in practising what one
speaks. The ancients considered this unity as a form of yoga.
"Manasyekam, vachasyekam, karmanyekam mahaathmaanam" (Those whose
thoughts, words and deeds are in complete accord are noble beings).
"Manas-anyath, vachas-anyath, karmanya-anyath duraathmanaam" (The
wicked are those whose thoughts, words and actions are in deviance).
November 27
Consider, O man, whether you earn any lasting joy at all from
your toil from the time of your waking in the morning to that of
going to sleep at night, a toil incessant and limitless, a toil
which often does not leave you even a moment's interval to call to
mind the glory and grandeur of God! No wonder that even though God
is everywhere, those who have seen Him are few and far between. God
belongs to all, but there are hardly any who actually claim Him as
their everything. Thousands there are who extol the beauty and
majesty of God in elegant prose or poetry, but few are the souls
that receive His Grace. For the sweetness of nectar is known only to
those who place it on the tongue, and not to those who in spite of
collecting it in cups, caskets or even barrels, but do not taste
even a drop!
November 28
Faith is essential for human progress in every field. Knowledge,
and hence, wisdom can be earned only by means of faith and effort.
Equipped with these, man can scale great heights and emerge
victorious. However, one has to be warned against cultivating too
much faith in things that are merely material. One has to root it
deep in the eternally valid Truth, God. Faith is power. Without
faith, living is impossible. We have faith in tomorrow following
today. That is what makes us take up activities that extend beyond
this day. People with no faith cannot plan; they court misery by
their want of faith.
November 29
Without self-knowledge, man is led into the belief that the
objective world is true and everlasting, and into the neglect of the
true and the eternal. He ignores the Atma, the Divine Principle that
he is. Denying the Atma, disregarding its mandate, ignoring its
existence - these are the roots of grief. Through Karma (activity)
one becomes a moral individual and one starts seeking the basis of
morality (Brahman). One discovers that virtue and morality add to
one's Ananda (Bliss) and that all Ananda everywhere flows from
Brahman Itself. One realises that activity devoid of this awareness
is barren and binding.
November 30
It is the bounden duty of man to know and experience the basic
cause of the Universe and all the love and sweetness it evokes in
him. When that is done, man can have unbounded bliss. All misery is
due to the feeling of separation from the Source of all. He is
Sath-Chith-Ananda Swarupa (Embodiment of Being, Awareness, Bliss
Absolute) and he must become aware of this fact so that he may be
happy. If he believes that he is not Sath, but an inferior
principle, subject to decline, decay and death, he will be haunted
by fear and uncertainty. If he thinks that he is not Chith, he will
be wrapped in doubt and dialectics and will wander on the devious
paths of delusion. If he imagines that he is not Ananda, he will be
struck by every passing gust of disappointment and be subject to
sorrow at every trivial defeat. The basis of the Universe is
Sath-Chith-Ananda, and since man has emerged from this basis, he too
is Sath-Chith-Ananda.
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