Thought for the Day - As written at Prasanthi Nilayam


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May 2004

May 1, 2004

If a mother has two children and one of them is ill, she will give the child the prescribed medicine though it may be bitter. The other child may get to eat whatever he asks for. This does not mean that the mother loves one child more than the other. She realizes that what she is doing is for the good of the child though it may be unpleasant for him. God is like a mother, always looking after the welfare of His devotees and carrying them safely through life.

May 2, 2004

The person who is a slave to the mind will not find peace or happiness in life. The body is a mansion which has been projected by the mind for its own joy. Some waste their lives by expending their energy in looking after the body. Some others increase their attachment through thoughtless repetition of spiritual exercises, reducing them to mere ritual. The wise man is he who controls the mind and purifies the heart by filling it with good thoughts.

May 3, 2004

Man must worship God who appears to him in the myriad human forms around him - as a blind beggar, an idiot, a leper, a child, a decrepit old man or even a criminal. You must see the Divine behind all the physical veils and worship Him through seva (service). All Names and Forms, including yours, are His. You appear as separate individual bodies because the eye that sees them seeks only the outer physical form. When your vision is clarified, you will see others as waves on the ocean of the Absolute.

May 4, 2004

Truth is one. It is beyond mind and speech. It transcends the limitations of time and space. Innumerable seekers have pursued different paths to recognise this Truth. There are notable differences among the seekers of Truth. These differences do not affect the nature of Reality. On the contrary, it is the existence of these differences that has spurred the continuous search for a unifying principle.

May 5, 2004

It becomes essential to cleanse the mind through regular sadhana (spiritual exercises) and thereby tune your will to the infinite will of God, so that it becomes merged in His glory. Scholarship or skill, however deep and varied, have no cleansing power. They only add the impurities of pride and competition. Learned men are not necessarily good, nor are the men who possess power over the forces of nature. Sathya (truth), Dharma (righteousness), Shanti (peace) and Prema (love) are the hallmarks of a purified heart, where God is enshrined and is manifest.

May 6, 2004

Man should not be a creature of instinct like animals. He should progress from Nara (Human) to Narayana (The Divine). The wise man does not regard himself as bound by worldly attachments. It is not the world that binds man. It has neither eyes to see nor hands to grasp. Man is a prisoner of his own thoughts and desires. In his attachment to the ephemeral and the perishable, man does not realize that everything in the universe has come from the Divine and cannot exist without the power of the Divine.

May 7, 2004

You can get the feeling of yearning for the Divine only if you get a taste of the Prema (Love) of the Divine. That is why I have come among you - to give you a taste of that Love so that the yearning for God will be planted in your hearts. Mastery over mountains of information has been attained by man now, but wisdom has lagged behind. Hence, man's capacity to probe and progress into the realm of the universal and the Absolute has to be developed. He must realize the Truth that Man's distance from Divinity is the same as his distance from himself.

May 8, 2004

The Upanishads state that there are two birds, the Jivatma and the Paramatma that sit on the tree called the body. One bird eats the fruit of that tree while the other simply looks on as a witness. But, the wonder is that the two birds are in reality one, though they may appear as two. They cannot be separated since they are two aspects of the same reality. Steam in the air may be invisible, but it is of the same nature as ice which is solid. Niraakara (the formless aspect of the Divine) and the Saakara (the manifest Divinity ) are just two ways in which the One projects itself.

May 9, 2004

When a severe pain torments you, the doctor gives you a morphine injection and then you do not suffer any more. In the same way, the grace of God acts to take away the element of suffering from the Karma (consequences of past actions) which you have to undergo. It is incorrect to say that one's fate is entirely determined. Nothing can stand in the way of the grace of the Almighty.

May 10, 2004

Adhere to your faith and traditions, but do not give room for religious differences. When you can perceive the unity of all religions, love will develop within you and you will have a direct vision of God. Realize that love is present in everyone. It is the unifier, the motivator and the source of joy for every being.

May 11, 2004

Work is for the physical level. Worship for the mental level and wisdom is for the spiritual level. Each one has to pass through these three stages. That is why I say, "You are not one, but three." The one you think you are - the body or the physical person; the one others think you are - the mind or the mental person consisting of emotions, attitudes and beliefs and the one you really are - the Atma or spirit, the core of your personality.

May 12, 2004

There is none to question Me if I do not act; there is nothing I would lose if I do not engage in activity. Nor have I any great urge to be active. Yet, you see Me very active. The reason is that I must be doing something all the time for your sake, as an example and inspiration. Those who lead must set an example for others to follow; and those who command must themselves carry out what they expect others to do. I am engaged in activity so that you learn to transmute every minute into a golden chance to enable you to move towards Godhead.

May 13, 2004

It is best that you stay away from people who drag you to distractions that weaken and worry you. Spend a few minutes every morning and evening in the silence of your own home with God. Be in His elevating and inspiring company, worship Him mentally and offer unto Him all the work you do. When you come out of the silence, you will be more nobler than when you went in.

May 14, 2004

The six inner enemies - Kaama (lust), Krodha (anger), Lobha (greed), Moha (attachment), Mada (pride) and Maatsarya (malice) reduce man to the level of a demon. They have to be overpowered and transmuted by the supreme alchemy of Divine Love. Only then can there be purification of the mind and the illumination of the soul.

May 15, 2004

When you have attained true wisdom, you will find that good fortune should not be gloated over, nor bad fortune grieved over. The wise one treats both the good and the bad with equal unconcern. They are the gentle breeze and storms that cannot affect the depths of the Ocean of Bliss in the heart of man.

May 16, 2004

There is at the basis of everything, a power that is continuously at work. It is the Will of the Divine that maintains the balance in the universe. You may ask that if God is controlling everything, then what is the need for human effort? God is like the electric current. To obtain light from it, you need a bulb and a wire. Sathya (Truth) is the current, Dharma (Righteousness) is the wire, Shanti (Peace) is the bulb and Prema (Love) is the light.

May 17, 2004

It is not easy to understand the nature of the Divine. Worldly intelligence cannot fathom the ways of God. You may benefit from God, but you cannot explain Him. God is beyond the reach of the human mind; by standing on a rock, you cannot lift it. Similarly, living in Maya (illusion), you cannot comprehend its nature. But, once man realises the unity that underlies the universe, the problems arising out of the apparent diversity disappear.

May 18, 2004

Rituals and prayers are necessary in the initial stages of the spiritual journey. They are the kindergarten of spiritual education. The rules and regulations governing the performance of rites have to be extended and directed to more socially constructive ends by thoughts, words and deeds which promote humility and equanimity.

May 19, 2004

By Dhyana (meditation), you develop Jnana (spiritual wisdom) and by Japa (recitation of God's name) you develop Bhakthi (devotion) and by both, you cleanse your heart of the canker of ego. You can link yourself to God by a chain of Love, through the recitation of the Name from the depths of your heart and with full awareness of the meaning and its nuances.

May 20, 2004

Man today fails to recognise the power of the Divine because of his selfishness and self-centredness. Only when he gets rid of the impurities encrusted in his heart, will he be able to experience Divinity. Man and God are like the iron filing and the magnet. God by His very nature attracts man to Himself, for in man there is the Divine. Often we feel that God has forsaken us and we rush to blame Him, failing to realise our own defects. When the iron filing is too thickly covered by rust and dust, can it get attracted to the magnet?

May 21, 2004

The One is the basis of the many. To recognize this unity, one needs practice and effort. For weeds to grow, no effort is required on our part. But, if grain is to be harvested, the field must be ploughed, weeded, watered, manured and fenced. So also, to get a harvest of virtue, intense sadhana (spiritual practice) is needed, though no such effort is necessary to contract vices. Man has to struggle hard in order to attain the higher stages of spiritual development. He has to overcome many hurdles and put up with many difficulties and disappointments.

May 22, 2004

Why is man so pathetically afflicted today with fear and anxiety? Are we to search for the reasons outside us or do they live within us? The reason lies in the false emphasis we have laid on things of the material world, ignoring the things of the spirit. The body is a temple where God should be installed and worshipped. It is essentially an instrument for undertaking the journey to God.

May 23, 2004

God's grace is the greatest wealth. To consider the amassing of money, gold or other material objects as the ultimate goal is not right. The goal of life instead, should be the acquisition of the divine wealth of God's grace. Try to win His grace by reforming your habits, reducing your desires and refining your nature. One step makes the next one easier; that is the unique quality of the spiritual path. With each step, your strength and confidence increases and you feel the Lord's grace all the more.

May 24, 2004

The sound of mantras (Vedic hymns) has the power of transforming the evil impulses and tendencies. The word 'mantra' means that which saves when turned over in the mind. Revolve the mantra ever in the mind, that will keep off wild talk, purposeless conversation, gossip and scandal. Talk only when absolutely necessary. Talk as little as possible.

May 25, 2004

Let the petty wishes for which you now approach God be realised or not; let the plans for promotion and progress which you place before God be fulfilled or not; they are not so important after all. The primary aim should be to become masters of yourselves, to hold intimate and constant communion with the Divine that is in you as well as in the universe of which you are a part. Welcome disappointments. They toughen you and test your fortitude.

May 26, 2004

Seva (service) opens the eyes of man to the comprehensive unity of creation. The easiest and most fruitful expression of Dharma (righteousness) today consists in doing service as worship of the Divine around you. Dedicate all your skills, talents, wealth and scholarship to the living embodiments of Divinity around you. That is the Dharmashakthi (power of right activity) which can draw grace upon you.

May 27, 2004

Nobody can enter college until school education is completed. Several stages have to be passed. So too, we have on the spiritual path, the stages of work, worship, wisdom and sacrifice. Sacrifice may be likened to a ripe fruit falling from a tree, sacrificing its affection and attachment. Work is for the physical level, worship for the mental level and wisdom for the spiritual level. Each one has to pass through these three stages.

May 28, 2004

Bhajan is one of the processes by which you can train the mind to expand into eternal consciousness. Teach the mind to revel in the glory and majesty of God. Keep it clear of petty pleasures and passions. Bhajan induces in you a desire to experience the truth, to catch a glimpse of the Beauty that is God, to taste the Bliss that is the Self. It encourages man to dive into himself and be his Real Self.

May 29, 2004

Follow the call of the Divine arising from the hearts of all living beings. Serve them in an attitude of worship, not expecting anything in return. Do not accept even gratitude, having dedicated all your acts to the indwelling God. This will purify you so that you will be able to listen to the 'Soham' (I am He) that your breath repeats every moment. 'Soham' transmutes itself into 'Om' when the distinction between He and I has dissolved in the union with the Absolute.

May 30, 2004

It should be realised that there is no greater friend than God. He is unaffected by praise and censure. He does not give up man under any circumstances, not even on the latter's failure to come up to His expectations. That is why God has been given the appellation 'Suhrid' (a good friend), the one who confers benefits on His devotees without expecting any return for Himself. Only the man who accepts God as such a friend and is guided by His advice can understand the real meaning of Divine friendship. Faith of this nature alone constitutes true Jnana (wisdom).

May 31, 2004

The study of the Vedas is the highest type of learning, since it leads to the conquest of death, while all other studies deal with the means of deriving little pleasures of the world. The Vedas show the path to the realms of eternal bliss, where there is neither birth nor death. People strive to know all about the world, but they seldom try to know even an iota of their own inner realms.

 

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