Thought for the day as written at Prasanthi Nilayam - February 1st, 2008
Do not allow faith to falter when failure comes to your door. Meet it as a new challenge and triumph over it. Your faith must not be like your breath; for the breath comes in and goes out every moment. Let your faith be firm, with no alternations of entrances and exits. If faith is in one continuous stream, then Grace will be showered on you in one full continuous stream. God is with you at all stages and in all situations. Love Him from the depths of your heart. Take refuge in Him, He will definitely protect you. It is said 'Yad Bhaavam Tad Bhavathi.' meaning, "as is the feeling, so is the result". God will come to your rescue if you have total faith in Him.
-SAI BABA



Thought for the day as written at Prasanthi Nilayam - February 2nd, 2008
Do all work as an offering to God; do not classify some as ‘my work’ and some as ‘His work’. All work is His; He alone exists, for all this manifold universe is but God seen through the mirror of Nature. Everything is for the attainment of the Supreme, and to be utilised for that purpose. Nothing is to be used as itself, for itself. For the followers of Sai, this is the proper way of life.
-SAI BABA



Thought for the day as written at Prasanthi Nilayam - February 3rd, 2008
The recognition of one's innate Divinity and the regulation of one's daily life in accordance with that Truth are the guiding stars for those who are caught in the currents and cross currents of strife and struggle. Without that Atma Jnana (spiritual awareness), life becomes a meaningless farce, a mockery. It is the acquisition of that awareness that makes life earnest, sweet and fruitful.
-SAI BABA



Thought for the day as written at Prasanthi Nilayam - February 4th, 2008
There is no discipline equal to service for smothering the ego and filling the heart with genuine joy. To condemn service as demeaning or inferior is to forgo these benefits. A wave of service, if it were to sweep over all lands, catching everyone in its enthusiasm, it would be able to wipe out the mounds of hatred, malice and greed that infest the world. Attune your hearts so that they will vibrate in sympathy with the woes of your fellowmen. Fill the world with love.
-SAI BABA



Thought for the day as written at Prasanthi Nilayam - February 5th, 2008
Service to man is service of the Lord. That is the path of real Bhakti (devotion). For, what greater means can there be to please God than pleasing His children? The Purusha Sukta (a Vedic hymn) speaks of the Purusha or God as having a thousand heads, a thousand eyes and a thousand feet. That is to say, all are God. Though there are a thousand heads, there is no mention of a thousand hearts, there is only one heart. The same blood circulates through all the heads, eyes, feet and limbs. When you tend the limb, you tend the whole individual; when you serve man, you serve God.
-SAI BABA



Thought for the day as written at Prasanthi Nilayam - February 6th, 2008
It is pure love that bestows liberation. You should endeavour to attain this holistic love. To attain liberation, people undertake all sorts of spiritual practices, but love is the undercurrent of all spiritual endeavours. Bhakti (devotion) is a spiritual practice based on love. Devotion is not merely singing Bhajans or performing sacred rituals. True devotion is a direct flow of selfless and unconditional love from your heart to God. In the spiritual practices that people undertake, there is some amount of selfishness. Offer your love to God devoid of the least trace of selfishness or desire. The annihilation of desire is verily liberation.
-SAI BABA



Thought for the day as written at Prasanthi Nilayam - February 7th, 2008
God alone is the source and basis of bliss. Truth is the basis of God. Righteousness is the basis of truth. Love is the basis of righteousness. Faith is the basis of love. But man today has no faith. A person without Vishwasa (faith) is verily without Shwasa (breath). A faithless man is virtually a living corpse. Our ancient sages and seers therefore emphasised the need for faith in God. But man today has become virtually blind having lost his faith.
-SAI BABA



Thought for the day as written at Prasanthi Nilayam - February 8th, 2008
Each one must proceed from the place where he is, at his own pace, according to his own light. But, if each has caught a glimpse of the Atmic Reality, of the source from which he has emerged and the goal into which he is to merge, then all will reach the goal of the journey, sooner or later. Once that glimpse is received through Divine grace, the fascination for the body and the senses which dominate it, and the world which feeds the senses will all become meaningless and fade away; man will then have instead of the Deha-bhranti (attachment for body) which now torments him, the yearning to know and be established in the Dehi, the Divine Indweller.
-SAI BABA



Thought for the day as written at Prasanthi Nilayam - February 9th, 2008
The company of the good and the godly will slowly and surely reform and cleanse persons prone to stray away from the straight path towards self-realisation. Care must be taken to see that you select and stick to proper company. The Sathsang (holy company) that you join must be purer, more venerable and wedded to higher ideals than yourself. It must be qualitativelyhigher and greater than that in which you are now.
-SAI BABA



Thought for the day as written at Prasanthi Nilayam - February 10th, 2008
There is a technique by which the immortal Spirit can be discovered. Though it may appear difficult, each step forward makes the next one easier, and a mind that is made ready by discipline is able to discover the Divine basis of man and creation in a flash. There is no short-cut to this consummation. One has to give up all the tendencies that one has accumulated so far and become light for the journey. Lust, greed, anger, malice, conceit, envy, hate – all these tendencies have to be shed. It is not enough to listen to My discourses and count the number you have listened to. The only thing that counts is practising at least one of My teachings.
-SAI BABA



Thought for the day as written at Prasanthi Nilayam - February 11th, 2008
The Lord’s grace is conferred on each devotee according to the level of that person’s spiritual consciousness. The ocean is vast and boundless, but the amount of water you can carry from it is determined by the size of the vessel you take. If the vessel you carry is small, you cannot fill it beyond its capacity. Likewise, if your heart is constricted, Divine grace will be equally limited. Broaden your heart and receive the plenitude of God’s grace.
-SAI BABA



Thought for the day as written at Prasanthi Nilayam - February 12th, 2008
When you try to prepare a meal, you may have with you all the materials and ingredients you need but unless you have the fire in the hearth, you cannot cook and make an edible meal out of it. So too with life, Jnana (spiritual wisdom) is the fire which makes the material world and the external activities, edible and tasty, healthy and joyful. That joy is called Ananda; it is uplifting, it is illuminating, it is constructive. Iha-nivaasam (life in the world) is for Para-praapthi (attaining salvation). That is to say, life 'here' is for the sake of reaching 'there'.
-SAI BABA



Thought for the day as written at Prasanthi Nilayam - February 13th, 2008
Atma is the embodiment of bliss, peace and love, but, without knowing that all these exist in oneself, man seeks them from outside and exhausts himself in that disappointing pursuit. Birds that fly far from the mast of a ship on high seas have to return to that very mast, for they have no other place to fold their tired wings and rest. Devoid of this Jnana (spiritual wisdom), all efforts to seek spiritual bliss and peace will be futile.
-SAI BABA



Thought for the day as written at Prasanthi Nilayam - February 14th, 2008
Life is a campaign against one's inner foes; it is a battle with obstacles, temptations, hardships and hesitations. These foes are within man and so, the battle has to be incessant and perpetual. Like the virus that thrives in the bloodstream, the vices of lust, greed, hate, malice, pride and envy sap the energy and faith of man and ruin him.
-SAI BABA



Thought for the day as written at Prasanthi Nilayam - February 15th, 2008
The Vedas and Shastras, since they were won by penance and travail by sages and seers, who were interested in the welfare of humanity and the liberation of man, are the greatest repositories of Hitha (beneficence). They advise that man must regulate his 'outer-look' and develop the 'inner-look'; the inner reality is the foundation on which the outer reality is built. It is like the steering wheel inside the car which directs the outer wheels. Know that the basic reality is God. Become aware of it and stay in that awareness always. Whatever be the stress and the storm, do not waver from that faith.
-SAI BABA



Thought for the day as written at Prasanthi Nilayam - February 16th, 2008
Today people study the Vedas and other scriptures as a ritual; they do not put into practice any of their injunctions. Of what avail is it to merely know how the Vedas and Upanishads have described the Divine, when this knowledge is not reflected in one's life? Such a person is like a blind man who hears about the existence of the world but cannot see it. The scriptures are meant to provide guidance for practical living and not merely to be learnt by rote.
-SAI BABA



Thought for the day as written at Prasanthi Nilayam - February 17th, 2008
Today, man aspires to attain Mukthi (liberation). What is Mukthi? It is not the attainment of a heavenly abode. Mukthi means freedom from suffering. One needs to have Mukthi at three levels - body, mind and soul. For example, when one is hungry, one eats food and the hunger is satiated. This is a kind of Mukthi. Suppose, one is suffering from a disease, one gets cured by taking medicine. This is also a kind of Mukthi. All this is related to the body. At the mental level, Mukthi means controlling the vagaries of the mind. But, true liberation lies in understanding the principle of the Atma which neither comes nor goes. This is termed as 'Nirvana'.
-SAI BABA



Thought for the day as written at Prasanthi Nilayam - February 18th, 2008
Love alone can reveal the Divinity latent in all. Love is God. Live in Love. Love lives by giving and forgiving; self lives by getting and forgetting. Love is selflessness. Do not waste your life pursuing the narrow interests of the self. Love! Love! Become what you truly are - the embodiments of Love. No matter how others treat you or what they think of you, do not worry. Your own heart shining with Love is God's Love. You should constantly remind yourself, "I am God." The day you see yourself as God, you become God.
-SAI BABA


Thought for the day as written at Prasanthi Nilayam - February 19th, 2008
There is no living being without the spark of love; even a mad man loves something or somebody intensely. But, you must recognise this love as but a reflection of the Premaswarupa (embodiment of Love) that is your reality, of the God who is residing in your heart. Without that spring of Love that gushes forth from your heart, you will not be prompted to love at all. Recognise that spring, rely on it more and more, envelop the whole world with it, discarding all traces of selfishness. Do not seek anything in return for it from those to whom you extend it.
-SAI BABA



Thought for the day as written at Prasanthi Nilayam - February 20th, 2008
You have it in your power to make your days on earth a bed of roses instead of a bed of thorns. Recognise the Sai resident in every heart and everything will be smooth and easy. Sai will be the fountain of love in your heart and in the hearts of all you come in contact with. Know that Sai is Omnipresent and that He is present in every living being. Adore everyone as you adore Sai.
-SAI BABA



Thought for the day as written at Prasanthi Nilayam - February 21st, 2008
God is not involved in either reward or punishment. He only reflects, resounds and reacts. He is the eternal unaffected Witness. You decide your own fate. Do good, be good, you get good in return; be bad, do bad deeds, you receive bad results. Do not thank or blame God. He does not even will that creation, protection and destruction shall take place. They follow the same law, it is the innate law of the Maya-ridden (illusory) universe. Electric current, for example, can be used by us to power fans to get cool breeze, light bulbs for light, to magnify human speech, to make many copies of a printed sheet, etc. In all these cases, it creates, but if you grasp the bare wire which carries the current, you are killed. The current creates, it protects, it destroys; it all depends on how we utilize it.
-SAI BABA



Thought for the day as written at Prasanthi Nilayam - February 22nd, 2008
Life has to be an incessant process of repair and reconstruction, of discarding evil and developing goodness. Paddy grains have to be de-husked in order to become edible as rice. Cotton has to be converted as yarn to become wearable cloth. Gold nuggets have to be heated in the crucible to remove the impurities. Man too, must purify his impulses, emotions and desires and cultivate good thoughts, words and deeds so that he can progress spiritually.
-SAI BABA



Thought for the day as written at Prasanthi Nilayam - February 23rd, 2008
The sacred scriptures of Bharat loudly proclaim that the individual is the architect of his own fate. Whatever form the person craves for now while alive in this birth, that form he attains after death. Therefore, it is clear that Karma (consequences of one's actions) decides birth and wealth, the character and attitude, the level of intelligence. The joys and sorrows of this life are the earnings gathered during the previous life. The inference, therefore, is inevitable that the next life of the individual will be in consonance with the activities prompted by the level of Karma in this life.



Thought for the day as written at Prasanthi Nilayam - February 24th, 2008
Be always in the company of devotees of God. Through this Sathsang (good company), Viveka (discrimination) and Vairagya (detachment) will be inculcated in you. These qualities will strengthen the spirit and endow you with inner peace. If the mind is subdued, that alone is enough; it is not then necessary to conquer the external senses. If the mind has no attachment to the sense objects, the senses have nothing to cling on to and they become powerless; likes and dislikes are both starved out of existence. The bonds with the objective world are cut, though the senses may still be affected by it. For him who has been blessed by the awareness of the Atma, how can anything worldly bring grief or joy?
-SAI BABA



Thought for the day as written at Prasanthi Nilayam - February 25th, 2008
The first step to direct knowledge of God is spiritual practice; the first step in spiritual practice is service to the Guru performed in total faith and surrender. At the same time, the responsibility of the Guru is to instruct the disciple on the nature of God, to instruct continuously and in simple ways. When the disciple grasps this instruction, it becomes indirect knowledge. This indirect knowledge can be transformed into direct knowledge by constant recapitulation and by constantly turning it over in the mind.
-SAI BABA



Thought for the day as written at Prasanthi Nilayam - February 26th, 2008
Through activity, man attains purity of consciousness. In fact, man has to welcome activity with this end in view. And why strive for a pure consciousness? If a bucket is filled with polluted and muddy water, can you see its bottom? Similarly, within man's heart, deep down in his consciousness, we have the Atma. But it can be cognized only when the consciousness is clarified. Your imaginations, your inferences, your judgements and prejudices, your passions, emotions and egoistic desires, muddy the consciousness and make it opaque. How, then, can you become aware of the Atman, that is at the very base? Through Seva (selfless service) rendered without any desire to placate one's ego and with only the well-being of others in view, it is possible to cleanse the consciousness and have the Atman revealed.
-SAI BABA



Thought for the day as written at Prasanthi Nilayam - February 27th, 2008
The five elements each have a characteristic that affects and attracts one of the five senses. The ether as sound fascinates the mind through the ear; air as touch draws the mind to itself through the skin; fire as form manipulates the mind in its favour through the eye; water as taste enslaves the mind through the tongue; and earth as smell intoxicates the mind through the nose. The senses interact with the external world and produce experiences which yield joy or grief. Falsely identifying himself with the senses, man suffers in the coils of attachment. He does not realize that he is neither the body nor the senses, that he is Brahman (Godhead) Himself.
-SAI BABA



Thought for the day as written at Prasanthi Nilayam - February 28th, 2008
Virtues are more important than physical beauty. Observing the good and bad in the world, one should develop discrimination to choose the former. One should strive hard to cultivate virtues. Right from an early age, one should inculcate good qualities and develop good character. Wherever one may go, it is character that is of utmost importance. It is virtues that lend greatness to any person. If everyone develops good character, the whole country will become good.
-SAI BABA



Thought for the day as written at Prasanthi Nilayam - February 29th, 2008
The cosmos does not exist. It is an illusion. It never is, has been or will be. The creation of the cosmos, the dissolution of the cosmos, these billions of individuals emerging and merging back, all this is but a dream. There is no separate individualised soul (Jivatma), how can there be billions of Jivatmas? There is only one Indivisible Complete Absolute. Like the one sun reflected as a billion suns in a billion lakes and other water bodies, the Jivatmas are but reflections of the One in the minds that it shines upon.
-SAI BABA