Sunday, January 31, 2010

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
There is no distinction between Bhakti (Devotion) and Jnana (Wisdom). Just as the worship of the Saguna (God with Form) gets transformed in to worship of Nirguna (Formless Divinity), Bhakti too matures in to Jnana. A block of sweet, when cut into three equal pieces has the same sweetness, weight and shape. The three attributes cannot be separated as we do not find sweetness in one part, weight in another and shape in the third part. When the sweet is placed on the tongue and it starts to melt, the taste is recognized, weight is lessened and shape modified simultaneously. So too, the Jiva (individual soul) and the Paramatma (divine soul) are not separate. They are one and the same. Therefore, each act you undertake must be in the spirit of service, love and wisdom. This is verily the roadmap to reach God.
-BABA

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
The worldly-minded individual’s love is tainted since it is directed towards material objects. Whereas, the same love, when it is directed towards the Lord, leads him to God Himself. Truly, devotion to God is the real technique for attaining liberation and it is a Sadhana (spiritual exercise) par excellence. Devotion will contribute to the growth of wisdom. Devotion and hatred cannot co-exist. When a person is filled with devotion, ignorance will vanish, step-by-step. Love directed towards God is most beneficial and will produce the highest good for all. Cultivate devotion.
-BABA

Monday, January 25, 2010

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
Worship the Lord who lives in your heart, nearer to you than your thickest friend, your father, mother or preceptor. He is all of these and more to you. The physical body and the pleasures and comforts you crave for are all subject to damage and decay. One day or the other, it becomes food for dogs and jackals. The Lord, on the other hand, grants you bliss and joy forever. He cannot be won by scholarship, pompous vows or colorful rituals. Surrender your heart to Him. He desires nothing else from you.
-BABA

Friday, January 22, 2010

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
Kinship with the Lord can be realized by every single person, who acquires these three chief instruments: (1) A mind unsullied by attachment and hatred (2) Speech unsullied by falsehood and (3) a body unsullied by violence. Discriminate at every stage, keep your instruments pure. Accept what is true and discard the rest. You cannot escape sorrow if you have worldly desires. Joy and peace do not reside in external objects. They are within you. Endeavour to experience the Love that is Divinity itself.
-BABA
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
The Vedas and Puranas (scriptures) deserve to be read and heard earnestly. God's Name should be recited and listened to devoutly. For some ailments, medicines are prescribed either for external application or consumption. However, for this universal ailment of Bhavaroga (the cycle of birth and death), Shravanam (listening to the Glory of God) and Keertanam (reciting or singing the glory of God) are the medicines prescribed for internal and external use. Every aspirant must chant as well as listen to God's Name to receive His Grace.
-BABA

Sunday, January 17, 2010

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
God is present everywhere; there is no place where He is not present. There is no form that does not belong to Him. However, you search for God, thinking that He is at some distant place. But God is in front of you, behind you, beside you. Every single person around you is an embodiment of God. However, you do not consider the people around you as embodiments of Divinity. You look at their form and consider them as mere human beings. Forget the form. Be firmly established in the feeling that wherever you see it is God only. It is only He who provides everything for our sustenance. You see duality in the world since you go by names and forms. If you see beyond names and forms, you will find unity everywhere.
-BABA

Friday, January 15, 2010

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
For attaining growth in spirituality, an ethical life is the foundation. This ethical life is based upon discrimination between truth and falsehood. Just as the pearl is retained, while the shell is discarded, you must accept the truth and reject the non-essentials. To achieve this, individual exertion and Divine Grace, both should be existent. You must constantly practice the great lesson that the body and the soul are separate. This is a highly beneficial exercise. This will serve you to realize the Truth - the Truth that Divinity resides in all.
-BABA
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
Unknowingly, you may create and develop in yourself an abounding variety of selfish habits and attitudes that cause great discontent for you. The impulse for this comes from the power complex; the greed for power and riches. You may feel elated that you are very wealthy, talented and knowledgeable. From where did you acquire these? You may even claim that you earned all this through your own efforts, but surely, you received it from someone. The source from which all power originates is Sarweshwara (Lord of All). Omnipotence belongs only to the Lord of all beings. Ignoring the Omnipotence and deluding oneself that the little power that one has acquired is one's own is indeed Ahamkara (conceit). Ahamkara causes grief and must be uprooted from within. It will not subsist in an individual filled with genuine devotion, recognized by the characteristics of kindness, love, patience, forbearance and gratefulness. Seek therefore, to develop these virtues in you.
-BABA
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
In this creation, wisdom is enveloped in ignorance. So long as the lamp is burning, there will be a shadow beneath it. That is just inevitable. So too, when the flame of illusion is burning, the shadow of ignorance persists, right underneath! However, the Knowledge of Self destroys the ignorance and makes wisdom shine, just as sunrise illumines the whole world and confers peace and wellbeing. To attain this result of peace, effort is super critical. The mind is conditioned to good or bad, by the environment. The reformers of today do not strive to transform the qualities of people. They are trying to bring about equality in economic matters, in outer life. Improving economic status alone will not bring about lasting peace. Lasting peace can only be obtained, when character is moulded and developed. There is an urgent need to reform the character through the Knowledge of the Self. This reform alone will bear fruit, the fruit of peace and eternal bliss.
-BABA
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
Culture must be directed towards reforming one’s character. Along with that reform and to the extent it is gained, outward standard of economic life too can be adjusted. Everyone must be trained in the techniques of enjoying peace and happiness. These do not depend on the outer, the external, the visible objective world. So there is no profit in worrying about or debating about these matters. You must take shelter in the contemplation of the Divine all the time. Remind yourself that the body is subject to change, it is temporary, and liable to decline. It is only when each and every aspirant is aware of this fundamental truth, equanimity, equality and exhilaration can be established on earth.
-BABA
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
He who sees a pot can know clearly that it is a pot all by himself, is it not? Such being the case, how is it that one identifies oneself with the body, just because attachment makes one feel that it is one's own? This attachment is called the Ajnana, or the “My-ness”. The Atman is formless and free from all mutations. It has no desires, impulses or intentions. It is free from the attachment. Hence, the afflictions of the world (Thaapathraya) do not affect it. It always realizes that it is not the doer, and remains as a witness, just as the lotus thrives on the water, unaffected and unattached.
-BABA
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
The Divine Self can be realized, only when one possesses the discrimination to free oneself from bondage. You must transform your intellect to become pure and sharp. Ignorant people, to whom the understanding of the Divine Self is beyond reach, delude themselves by the belief that they can derive joy from the objective world which their senses can experience. If only they reflect even a little while, it will become crystal clear that even that joy they experienced is a gift of God. The Divine Nectar is present in all places at all times. As a mature aspirant, skill yourself to give up the glittering falsehood of the objective world and relish the joy of Divine and attain peace. Will a honey bee ever drink the bitter juice?
-BABA
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
By mere force of intention, one can imagine in an instant, a scene in America. However, can it also be experienced in actual, at that very instant? No, one cannot! There is no use imagining and framing in the fancy. It must be experienced in mind, word and body. Similarly genuine peace cannot be obtained by merely knowing and learning about Divine Self. You may even firmly believe that joy is present in these, but that is of no avail. You must dedicate your life to win that joy and experience it and enter upon the discipline needed to acquire it. Only then do you deserve the Grace of the Lord and from that, you receive eternal love and peace.
-BABA
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
Always enjoy the peace that is the result of the cessation of all mental agitations. Do not allow the mind to run after this and that. Train it to keep quiet. Keep away and afar, the mental reactions caused by the contact with the external world. Then you can become mere Existence, Sath. That is the state beyond the realm of senses. This is the real Sakshaathkaara, the Goal of Life.
-BABA
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
It is often said "Daivam Manusha Rupena". It means that God incarnates in the form of human beings. Divinity is not a separate entity. It is immanent in humanity. God incarnates as a human to remind this and redeem mankind. That is why human birth is considered to be highly sacred. The human form is a conglomeration of five elements, namely earth, water, fire, air and ether. The Divine Power which makes the five elements function is called Atma, the Supreme Self. Atma does not have any form. It transcends all names and forms. Hence, do not be under the mistaken notion that God is confined to a specific form. Always remember, God is Love and Love is God!
-BABA
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
You must understand the distinction between Education and Educare. Education is information-oriented. Educare is transformation-oriented. Education is limited to physical and mental levels. Education has its roots in Educare. Educare is related to our inner feelings and purity of heart. Our speech, song and way of life (Maata, Paata and Baata) should originate from the heart. That is the essence of Educare. Only those endowed with the practical knowledge and wisdom will be able to understand and appreciate the concept of Educare. Even after acquiring a number of degrees, if you lack purity in your heart, you cannot be called truly educated.
-BABA
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
Every human being should essentially have three qualities - Nischalathwa, Nirmalathwa and Nirmohathwa (steadiness, purity and detachment). One who has these three qualities is verily God Himself. You need not enquire from others, whether you are good or otherwise. Your conscience is your own judge. You should always think of God. People worship God and sing His glory, thinking that He is present in some distant place. There have been many Divine Incarnations in the past, but the inherent Divine Principle in all of them is one and the same. Your heart is the real temple of God. Hence, fill your heart with Love.
-BABA
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
First of all, you have to realize that Divinity is present everywhere. Let all your actions be pleasing to God. You have come from God and are living in God. All your actions should therefore be dedicated to God. When you follow such a sacred path, you will ultimately merge in God. God is Bhaavapriya (lover of inner feelings), not Baahyapriya (lover of external appearances). He sees the feeling behind your actions. The world is interested in Baahyam (outward show) but God is interested in your Bhaavam (feeling). Hence, purify your feelings in the first instance.
-BABA

Saturday, January 2, 2010

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
He is a true devotee who considers God’s happiness as his own. He always aspires to give happiness to the Lord and does not want to cause any inconvenience to Him. You should never cause inconvenience to God in the name of devotion. Consider that God’s happiness is your happiness and your happiness is God’s happiness. Imbibe this spirit of oneness. Today most of the devotees are selfish. They have only Swartha Bhakti (devotion intended for selfish gains). They are concerned with their own happiness and not that of God's. You should see to it that your love is always pure. God is the embodiment of love. Such divine love is present in all. Share your love with everyone. This is what God expects from you.
-BABA
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
The questions that haunt us and pressurise us while we live- whence have we come, to where are we proceeding, how did the universe originate, etc. All religions try to answer these questions. Man has set down in all lands certain rules and regulations in order to secure orderly and smooth running of his daily schedule of activities, directed to the actual process of living. Since they have become part of the code of conduct, they are also described as 'Discipline'.
-BABA
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
The service activities that we undertake are meant to experience unity in society. It is a great mistake if you think that you are serving others. In fact, you should not consider anybody as ‘other’, for all are the embodiments of divinity. But man is not making efforts to realise this truth. Hence, he is subjected to difficulties. Once man realises that God is all-pervasive, he will be free from suffering. In order to get rid of suffering, man has to practise the principle of unity in society. Once he understands the principle of unity, he can attain the Cosmic principle.
-BABA
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
Man is equipped with a return-ticket when he takes birth. Holding it in his grasp, he earns and spends, rises and falls, sings and dances, weeps and wails, forgetting the end of the journey. But, though he forgets, the wagon of life moves towards the cemetery, which is its terminus. It brings no glory to man if he is tied helplessly to the wheel of birth and death. His glory and greatness consist in disentangling himself from that revolving wheel.
-BABA
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
The blemishes of the heart have to be washed by the moral life and the discharge of one's duty. A time may come when you become tired or weak, then you should pray thus: "Oh Lord, things have gone beyond my capacity. I feel further effort is too great a strain. Please give me strength." At first, God stands at a distance, watching your efforts like the teacher who stands apart when the student writes the answer to his questions. Then, when you shed your attachment to enjoyment and take to good deeds and service, God comes encouragingly near. For, He is like the Sun God, who stands waiting outside a closed door. God does not announce His presence or bang the door; He simply waits! When you open the door just a little, the sunlight rushes in and promptly drives out the darkness from within. So too, when God's help is sought, He is present by your side, with His hands extended to render assistance. All that is needed is the wisdom to remember Him and the discrimination to pray and ask Him.
-BABA

Friday, January 1, 2010

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
In everything you do, use all the strength and talent with which you are endowed, speaking and acting truthfully. At first, you might fail in this and you might encounter difficulties and suffering. But ultimately, you are bound to succeed and achieve victory and bliss. Each one of you should pay constant attention to your habits and to the traits of your character. Always remember the maxim, Sathyameva Jayate (Truth alone triumphs). Through your behaviour, through your way of life, you can realize the Truth and Paramatma (Eternal Self).
-BABA