| Date | Thought for the Day |
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| 2008-05-07 | You feel the presence of God when silence reigns. In the excitement and confusion of the marketplace, you cannot hear His Footfall. He is Shabdabrahma, resounding when all is filled with silence. That is why I insist on silence, the practice of low speech and minimum sound. Talk low, talk little, talk in whispers, sweet and true.
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| 2008-05-06 | Be one a great scholar or an officer having high authority, one is but a child to onefs mother. Those who forget their duty toward their mother are sure to lose themselves in wilderness. You are but a reflection of your mother. Therefore, first of all you should carry out your duty toward your mother and make her happy. |
| 2008-05-05 | Human existence is enveloped in infatuation (Moha). When one frees oneself from this infatuation, one will be able to experience true happiness. This infatuation breeds egoism and possessiveness, which bring about the loss of onefs name and fame. One who is filled with ego will be unable to experience love from others. It is therefore essential to overcome this infatuation. By conquering infatuation, one becomes endearing to others. |
| 2008-05-04 | Compassion towards all creatures is the greatest virtue; wilful injury to any creature is the worst vice. Know this to be true; spread love and joy through compassion, and be full of joy and peace yourself. You do not have joy and peace now, mainly because your vision is warped and blurry. It is directed towards the faults and failings of others, instead of towards onefs own. Really speaking, inquiry and investigation should begin with oneself. For what we see in others is the reflection of our own selves, our own prejudices and preferences. |
| 2008-05-03 | Life becomes sweeter with a little dose of denial; if you satisfy all your desires, life begins to turn insipid. Deny yourselves many of the things your mind runs after and you will find that you become tough enough to bear both good fortune and bad. |
| 2008-05-02 | The cause of manfs suffering is that he has constricted his love to himself and his family. He should develop a broad feeling that all are his brothers and sisters. Expansion of love is life; contraction of love is death. |
| 2008-05-01 | When an iron filing comes in contact with a magnet, the iron filing also gets the properties of a magnet. Likewise, the knower of Brahman (the Universal Absolute) becomes Brahman. You are all children of immortality, you are eternal. The relationship between you and God is eternal. The body changes through many births, but the mind and deeds continue from birth to birth. Just as an accountant totals the accounts of the day and carries the balance over onto the next day, our mind follows to the next life. You should be able to control the mind by controlling the senses, then you can merge in truth and experience oneness with God. |
| 2008-04-30 | Vice breeds disease. Evil thoughts and habits, bad company and unsuitable food are the main causes of ill-health. Arogya (good health) and Ananda (happiness) go hand in hand. When the mind is happy, the body too is free of disease. Evil habits, which men indulge in, are the chief causes of diseases, physical as well as mental. Greed affects the mind; disappointment makes man depressed. Man can justify his existence only by the cultivation of virtues. Only then does he become a worthy candidate for Godhood. |
| 2008-04-29 | If you desire that others should honor you, you should honor them too. If others must serve you, you must serve them first. As a matter of fact, no joy can equal the joy of serving others. Be like a clock; it has no dislikes. It shows the correct time to everyone, irrespective of the person who sees the time. |
| 2008-04-28 | When a tree first shoots forth from the seed, it comes up as a stem with two incipient leaves. But, later, when it grows, many branches spring forth from the trunk. Each branch may be thick enough to be called a trunk; but, one should not forget that it is through that trunk that the roots feed life-giving sap to the branches. Similarly, it is the one God who feeds the spiritual hunger of all nations and all faiths through the sustenance of truth, virtue, humility and sacrifice. |
| 2008-04-27 | Godhead expressed itself initially as the five elements, the sky, the wind, the fire, the water and the earth. All creation is but a combination of two or more of these in varying proportions. The characteristic natures of these five elements are: sound, touch, form, taste and smell; cognised by the ear, the skin, the eye, the tongue and the nose. Now, since these are saturated with the divine, one has to use them reverentially and with humility and gratitude. Use them intelligently, to promote the welfare of others and yourself; use them with moderation and in the loving service of the community. |
| 2008-04-26 | Spread out on a flat surface there may be gold, silver, copper, iron filings, diamond, rubies, silks, and other things of value. The magnet pays no attention to all these, it selects only the iron filings. It is the same with devotees; God does not select them on the basis of wealth. He looks for the purity of heart. |
| 2008-04-25 | If a lamp is kept burning in a room, it may go out when winds blow in from the open windows. The Indhriyas (sense organs) are the windows and when they are open, the lamp of the Divine Name will not burn steadily. So keep the outgoing senses closed to the influences that distract, and concentrate on the Name of the Lord and its beauty and sweetness. By simply shouting Shivoham (I am Shiva), you cannot become Lord Shiva; develop the qualifies of Divinity like Universal Love, absence of attachment, etc. Then, you will be entitled to assert "Shivoham", for you will have no Aham (ego) then! |
| 2008-04-24 | What is Jnana or wisdom? It is to know your own true self, that is, self knowledge. Self knowledge is Self realization. Jnana calls for the control of thoughts by appropriate efforts. Constant contemplation on the Self is the means of experiencing the direct vision of God, and Bhakthi (devotion) is the means to achieve it. Whether one takes to the Jnana-Marga (the path of wisdom) or the Bhakti Marga (the path of Devotion), the goal is the same, illumination. |
| 2008-04-23 | When a plane flies across the sky, it leaves no mark on it, no streak that lasts, no furrow or pothole that interferes with further traffic. So too, witness all the feelings and emotions as they cross your mind, but, do not allow them to make an impression on you. This can be done by inquiry, by quiet reasoning within oneself, more than by listening to lectures or study of books. |
| 2008-04-22 | How to keep in constant contact with the Higher Self within us? The best means is the simple exercise of Naamasmarana, the repetition of any one of the glorious Names of the Lord. People indulge in all types of purposeless gossip and scandal; they find time and interest in these degrading pursuits; but, they have no inclination to awaken the Divine in them by constant dwelling on the splendour of Creation and the Creator. See only such scenes as will foster this discipline; speak only of elevating subjects; listen only to ennobling topics; think and feel only pure thoughts and emotions. That is the way to develop the Divinity inherent in each one. |
| 2008-04-21 | Man is not aware of the grand goal of his pilgrimage. He is straying into wrong roads which lead him only to disaster. He places his faith in objects outside himself and strives to derive joy from and through them. He does not know that all the joys spring forth from inside him; he only invests the outer objects with his own joy drawn from inside him. He envelopes the outer objects with his inner joy and then, experiences it as though it is from that outer object.
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| 2008-04-20 | The refinement of life calls for continuous spiritual practice. Without such practice, life gets degraded. For instance, a diamond gets enhanced in value when it goes through the process of cutting and faceting. Likewise, gold, taken out as ore from the earth, becomes pure and valuable after refinement. In the same manner, Sadhana (spiritual practice) is necessary to elevate life from the trivial to the sublime. |
| 2008-04-19 | Engage yourselves in selfless service. The reward for it will come of its own accord. Do not have any doubts on this score. Whatever you undertake, do it with all your heart and to your full satisfaction. That satisfaction is all the reward and recompense that you will need. It will confer great strength on you. This is the virtue that you have to cultivate. Acquire this true wealth. Without goodness, all other riches are of no avail.
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| 2008-04-18 | Dharma is universal. There is a test that may be applied to any action to determine if it is according to Dharma. Let not your deeds harm or injure another. This flows from the recognition that the divine spark is the same in every form, and if you injure another you are injuring the same divinity that is in yourself. Dharma enables you to come to the recognition that anything that is bad for another form is also bad for you. The test of Dharmic action is stated very clearly in saying: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you".
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| 2008-04-17 | Spiritual progress is not merely an intellectual exercise. It is right living, good conduct and moral behaviour. It is the natural outcome of belief in a good, just and compassionate God who is watching and witnessing every act. So faith in an Omnipresent, Omniscient, Omnipotent God is the first requisite for a good life. |
| 2008-04-16 | True devotion consists in offering all your thoughts and actions to God and yearning for His grace. Devotion confined to a brief spell in the Pooja room (shrine room) or temple is not true devotion. During that time, devotion seems to swell within you and you feel at peace but, once outside, the peace is lost and anger takes its place. This cannot be called devotion. Bhakti (Devotion) has been described as a state of non-separation from God. Regardless of time, space or circumstance, one should feel closeness to God – that is Bhakti. True devotion transcends the limitations imposed by onefs daily routines and the obligations of life.
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| 2008-04-15 | The shadow that you cast is reduced bit by bit with every step that you take towards the Sun until the Sun shines right on the top of your head and the shadow crawls under your feet and disappears. So too, Maya (illusion) becomes lesser and lesser effective as you march towards Jnana (wisdom). When you are well established in your understanding, Maya falls at your feet and is powerless to deceive you any further; it disappears, as far as you are concerned. Though you cannot know while in this dual world, how Maya originated, you can know how it can be terminated and can succeed in exterminating its effects. Maya has no beginning but it has an end, for him who wins the light by which the darkness can be negated. |
| 2008-04-14 | Love is the only path that can take you to God. When you develop love, God will give Himself up to you and will protect you always. There is an intimate and inseparable relationship between the love of a devotee and the grace of God. Only love can win divine grace. You have to practise righteousness and tread the path of sacrifice to experience everlasting happiness. The name and principle of Rama will give you tremendous strength and power. The divine principle underlying the Avatars of Rama and Krishna can neither be explained in words nor understood with the help of worldly education. Only through love can one understand them. Fill your heart with love and chant the name of Rama. |
| 2008-04-13 | Today is a sacred day which has to be spent in sacred thoughts and deeds and not in cheap debilitating sensual pleasures and pastimes. Of course, people in their ignorance resort to these hollow hilarities, urged by their innate and inescapable urge for Ananda (supreme bliss). The Ananda within seeks Ananda pure and undefiled. It can be secured only through the satisfaction of higher and more sublime desires like realizing the Ultimate. Each festival has been designed by the sages as a step in the progress of man towards this goal. Nevertheless, we are casting many a New Year Day behind us, unmindful of its significance. Year after year is wasted in misdirected effort at attaining Ananda, and in the consequent misery and despair.
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| 2008-04-12 | The main thing is the control and the sublimation of the senses. The conquest of the senses and of the passions and emotions is a slow and difficult process, which will be crowned by success only by systematic endeavour. How can man serve others or the Lord who is resident in all when the senses drag him away from that service or when passions peep in to tarnish the love that inspires the service? The Lokesha (Lord of the world) is engaged in spreading Ananda (bliss) in the Loka (world); man should be engaged in spreading Ananda around him. That is the way to co-operate and share in the task of the Lord.
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| 2008-04-11 | Bliss has to be sought not through accumulation of material wealth, but through sacrifice and promotion of the welfare of one's fellow beings. 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 from 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. |
| 2008-04-10 | The tree of life has to be watered at the roots, but now, people water the branches, the leaves and the blossoms, neglecting the roots. The roots are the virtues; they have to be fostered so that the flowers of actions, words and thoughts may bloom in fragrance and yield the fruit of Seva (service), full of the sweet juice of Ananda (bliss). |
| 2008-04-09 | Have faith in yourself, your own capacity to adhere to a strict time-table of Sadhana (spiritual exercises) and your ability to reach the goal of realisation. Obstacles that come in the way are often treated with a certain amount of resentment by the pilgrims on the spiritual path; but these tests are to be treated as ensuring safety. You drive a nail into the wall to hang a picture thereon; but before hanging the picture, you try to see whether the nail has been well driven by shaking it; when you are certain it does not shake even when all your strength is used, you become bold enough to hang the picture on it. You must welcome tests because it gives you confidence and hastens your promotion. |
| 2008-04-08 | Namasmarana (chanting God's Name) is the process by which an attitude of dedication can be cultivated and confirmed. When confronted by calamity, you must attach yourself to this Sadhana (spiritual practice) even more firmly, instead of losing faith in it and getting slack. The drug should not be given up when it is most needed. The pity is that, when the first disappointment confronts you, you lose courage and confidence, and give up the name of God. |
