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Thought for the Day - As written at Prasanthi Nilayam
Thought for the Day Archive
December 2003
01 December 2003
The principles of Dharma will not change to suit the convenience of man.
Dharma is immutable. Dharma persists as Dharma, then, now and forever. Of
course, the practice and rules of applied Dharma might change according to
changing circumstances; but even then, those practices have to be tested
on the basis of the Sastras (scriptures), not on the basis of advantage.
02 December 2003
Whatever the situation in which the Avatar (Divine Incarnation) appears,
there is no limitation on the Avatar's Poornathwam (Fullness of Divinity).
Name and Form do not circumscribe the total fullness of the Divinity the
Avatar manifests. Name and Form are the self-chosen attributes of the
infinite, eternal, ever-pure Universal Consciousness.
03 December 2003
You must continuously be conscious about observing the precepts of dharma
and keep examining whether you are straying away from it. Dharma today has
become just a convenient excuse to derive benefits from others; not an
opportunity to fulfill your duties to others. You must remember not only
the rights that dharma confers, but also the duties it imposes.
04 December 2003
In this infinite world there are manifold beings. It is only Dharma
(right-conduct) and Jnana(wisdom) that distinguish man from other beings.
You can win the Grace of the Lord only by Dharma. Dharma induces the
spirit of self-surrender. Without the mastery over the senses, feelings
and emotions that is a result of the practice of Dharma, you cannot have
steady faith and detachment.
05 December 2003
Just as a child is entitled to enjoy the milk from its mother and the bee
is entitiled to enjoy the honey from flowers, there can be no objection to
man enjoying the resources of nature. But, as a result of uncontrolled
desires and reckless exploitation of natural resources, Nature is
exhibiting frightening disorders in the form of natural calamities like
earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, droughts and floods. Man today behaves
like a foolish woodcutter wielding the axe at the very branch of the tree
on which he is sitting.
06 December 2003
Man is basically and essentially immortal. But yet he is afraid that he
will die. He is Ananda swaroopa (Embodiment of Bliss), but he weeps and is
miserable. He is Shanti swaroopa (Embodiment of Peace), yet all over the
world he is burdened with anxiety. This absurd self-deception is the root
of the tragedy from which the world is suffering today. The truth has to
be driven in to the consciousness of man. The human being is a composite
of man, beast and God, and in the inevitable struggle between the three
for supremacy, you must ensure that God wins.
07 December 2003
Man is born for attaining the ocean of joy, not for sheer eating and
boisterous merrymaking. Real and lasting happiness can be won only by a
life led along the path of dharma. Dharma makes the inherent divinity of
man shine forth; that illumination is the purpose of life. The arena of
life is raised on four pillars: Dharma (righteousness), Artha (wealth),
Kama (desires) and Moksha (liberation). When mankind loses two of these
and struggles to stand on the remaining two - Artha and Kama, naturally
anxiety and grief afflict mankind.
08 December 2003
Man has set down certain modes of behaviour in all lands and communities
in order to secure orderly and smooth running of daily life. These have
proved to be beneficial by centuries of practice. Since they have become a
part of the code of conduct, they are also described as discipline. In
every community there have appeared off and on, great personalities who
shaped and burnished the codes and adapted the details to the needs of the
times.
09 December 2003
Modern civilisation is based on technological advancement, but there is a
higher technology, the understanding of the consciousness and the
transformation of that consciousness into a source of power, through that
understanding. This is Sujnana (experiential spiritual knowledge), as
different from Vijnana, which is science. There is again Prajnana, which
transcends even the consciousness, and takes man into the realm of the One
All-Pervasive, All-Embracing Principle that is God. This is the Adhwaitha
Jnana (Unitive Integral Knowledge), the culmination of the journey of the
Spirit.
10 December 2003
When you wake up, feel that you are entering the stage to play the role
assigned to you by the Lord; pray that you may act it well and earn His
approbation. At night, when you retire to sleep, feel that you are
entering the greenroom after the scene, but with the costume of your role
on; for perhaps the role is not yet over and you have not yet been
permitted to take the costume off. Perhaps, you have to make another
entrance the next morning. Do not worry about that. Place yourself fully
at His disposal; He knows; He has written the play and He knows how it
will go on and how it will end; yours is but to act and retire.
11 December 2003
All men in all countries are pilgrims proceeding along the path to God.
The progress of each is decided by the discipline adopted, the character
formed, the ideal kept in view, the leadership chosen and the faith
implanted. Just as trees and plants, birds and beasts differ from one
region to another, the rituals, practices, disciplines and ideals may
differ from community to community; each is good for that region and that
stage of development. You cannot transplant one, from one human community
to another. The atmosphere in which you have grown up is the most
congenial for you.
12 December 2003
Truth and righteousness are at the root of human existence. No one should
think it is difficult to adhere to truth. Righteousness (Dharma) is the
root of human life. Its importance is not realised just as people looking
at the fruit of a tree do not recognise its roots. People want to enjoy
the fruits of life without watering the roots of Dharma which nourish the
tree of life.
13 December 2003
This Sai has come in order to achieve the Supreme task of uniting the
entire mankind as one family through the bond of brotherhood; of affirming
and illumining the inner reality of each being in order to reveal the
Divine which is the basis on which the entire cosmos rests; and of
instructing all to recognise the common Divine Heritage that binds man to
man, so that man can rid himself of the animal and rise to the Divine
which is his goal.
14 December 2003
Sadhana (spiritual exercise) is most required to control the mind and the
desires after which it runs. If you find that you are not able to succeed,
do not give up the Sadhana but do it more vigourously, for it is the
subject in which you did not get passing marks that requires special
study, is it not? Sadhana means inner cleanliness as well as external
cleanliness.
15 December 2003
The driver of a car has to be alert and more so when the road is rough and
full of potholes. So too, you must know how to avoid the temptations of
falsehood and how to cruise along the smooth road of truth. When in
difficulty, pray for guidance and the Lord, who illumines dullness into
intelligence, will reveal to you the way out of the dilemma.
16 December 2003
Truth cannot be made or marred; it is, was and will be without
modification. The permanent and eternal truth of God should be the
ultimate aim. You cannot hide truth for a long time. However much you may
try to hide it, the truth will always come out. In fact, the Divine
strength in man's heart will always be pushing him to proclaim truth.
17 December 2003
Implementing truth into action is dharma. There is no dharma higher than
truth. The search for truth, the fostering of morality, these ideals are
essential for the realization of the Godhead. Truth is something that is
not modified by time or space. it must be the same forever unaffected and
unchanged, then alone it is truth. It should not be proved false by some
subsequent event or knowledge.
18 December 2003
The chief duty of man is investigation into truth. Truth can be won only
through dedication and devotion, and they are dependent on the grace of
God, which is showered on hearts saturated with love. Truth is more
fundamental than the atom. Every atom and every star manifests the truth
to those who have the eyes of wisdom. What is the special nature of man?
If he too lives and dies as an animal, how can his supremacy be justified?
His supremacy lies in his capacity to become aware of his truth.
19 December 2003
Speak the truth and speak it pleasantly. Just because a statement may be
welcome to the listener, do not speak it out to win his approval. If
speaking the truth may cause grief or pain, be silent. That is the vow of
truth in ordinary life. Do not have hypocrisy or crookedness in your
speech. Both unpleasant truth and pleasant untruth have to be avoided. The
experience of truth alone can foster love, the truth is so all-embracing
and integrating that it sees no distinction. Truth is the current and love
is the bulb it has to illuminate. Through truth, you can experience love,
and through love you can experience truth.
20 December 2003
There is in everyone a spark of the truth; no one can live without that
spark. There is in everyone a flame of love, life becomes a dark veil
without it. That spark, that flame is God, for He is the source of all
truth and all love. Man seeks truth. He seeks to know the reality because
his very nature is derived from God, who is truth. He seeks love to give
it and share it for his nature is that of God and God is Love.
21 December 2003
The Microcosm contains in it the Macrocosm, for the microcosm and the
macrocosm are the manifestations of the one Reality. The tree is contained
in the seed and seed in the tree, for the seed and the tree are one and
the same. While looking at the seed, you cannot see in it the tree. But in
fact, the tree is contained in the seed.
22 December 2003
If you wish to understand your true nature, you must do three things: bend
the body, mend the senses and end the mind. To bend the body means to
cultivate humility and carry out our duties sincerely. Mending the senses
calls for examining how the senses behave, whether they are tending to go
astray, and correcting them and restraining them when necessary. Change
and evolution are natural to mind, but the presence of the unchanging
Divinity should be experienced within.
23 December 2003
The Lord is experienced as Sath-Chit-Ananda (Being-Awareness-Bliss) which
is nameless and formless. When these three get associated with objects
which have name or form, we have the world. The cosmos is permeated with
the Divine. Even if you are unable to see it, the Divine is present in
everything. All our senses function because of the consciousness, that
operates in every being. Without that consciousness, man would be a
creature without sensation or feeling.
24 December 2003
Birthdays of great personalities are celebrated but the ideals for which
they lived are not remembered and followed. If you do not care to follow
their teachings, the celebrations lose their meaning and become artificial
observances. Christ taught people to love all beings and serve all with
compassion. It is only by practising these ideals that one can truly
celebrate his birthday. The Divinity within should be reflected in every
action. The seat of Truth is in your heart. Worship means loving others
with your full heart. You must live in love and lead a life of selfless
service based on love. This is the right way of celebrating the birth of
Christ.
25 December 2003
Jesus sanctified his body by sacrificing it for saving others. He was
conscious of that supreme purpose and duty. With faith in the oneness of
humanity, he stood against his opponents and critics and withstood their
onslaughts. Every saint and prophet who strove to uplift the downtrodden
and open the eyes of those blind to the splendour of God, was ready and
willing for the ultimate sacrifice. One has to welcome trouble as it
provides a chance for sacrificing everything for upholding Truth and
righteousness. Regard yourselves as embodiments of Love and dedicate your
lives, like Jesus did, to the service of your fellow men.
26 December 2003
Every act in daily life can be sanctified by dedicating it to God. By
dedicating all thoughts to God, man can achieve peace. There is no need to
wait for a suitable time for embarking on this exercise. The time is at
your beck and call. Great people do not wait for a propitious time. They
make time their servant.
27 December 2003
Make God the foundation of your life. Carry on your normal duties. Duty is
God. Work is Worship. Spiritualize all your actions and treat whatever
happens as being for your own good. Learn to experience perennial bliss by
seeking union with God. Never forget God and go behind the things of the
world.
28 December 2003
What is the meaning of jnana (knowledge)? It is not mere acquaintance with
numerous books. Even the acquisition of information about all the objects
in the world, animate and inanimate, is not knowledge. True knowledge is
awareness of the relationship between the individual and the collective
and their oneness.
29 December 2003
Many pray to God all over the world. They pray for the realisation of
worldly desires of one kind or another. This is not the right kind of
prayer. You should pray to God for His grace and love. That love is
everlasting. God is Sath-Chith-Ananda (Being-Awareness-Bliss). So, pray to
Him to confer that bliss on you. God's bliss is everlasting, whereas
worldly pleasures are transient. Only he is a true devotee who prays for
God's love and bliss.
30 December 2003
Impulses breed desire. Desires cause birth and also death. When man is
devoid of desires, he need not go through birth and death. The next birth
is the result of unfulfilled desires in this life and is determined by
them. Those who have no trace of desire for material objects can achieve
the awareness of the Atmic reality. In fact, the desire to know God, to
love God and be loved by God is not a desire which binds.
31 December 2003
The Atma is present in the body of each human. One who realises and lives
out the truth that the two - the atma which is everywhere and the atma
within oneself - are one and the same, is a true spiritual practitioner.
Whoever he may be, when he realises the truth of unity in diversity, God
shall always be with him and protect him.
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