Thought for the day as written at Prasanthi Nilayam - July 1st, 2008
The spark of Love in you has to be cherished and nourished; then, every being will be God, every act will be Divine and every reaction you get from the outside world will be charged with love and sweetened with that nectar. When you love the God in all beings, He responds with love. Love God, though tribulation may be your lot, love Him though you are refused and rebuked; for, it is only in the crucible of travail that the metal is purified and cleared of blemish.
-SAI BABA



Thought for the day as written at Prasanthi Nilayam - July 2nd, 2008
Man should be the master of his behaviour; he should not be led away by the impulse of the moment; he must always be conscious of what is good for him. He should carry on his daily tasks such that he does not make others suffer or suffer himself. Be calm, unruffled and collected. The more you develop charity for all beings, contrition at your own faults, fear of sin and love of God, the more firmly established you will be in Shanti (peace).
-SAI BABA



Thought for the day as written at Prasanthi Nilayam - July 3rd, 2008
Broaden your heart and make it as magnanimous as that of God Himself. If you look at a balloon, at first, it is flat. If you go on blowing air into it, it becomes bigger and bigger, and at one stage it will burst. Though beginning with the ideas of 'I' and 'mine', if you ultimately move on to the stage where you realize that "all are mine", "all are one"; gradually you will become broader in your vision and will merge in God who is omnipresent. You should recognise the truth that man's life consists of making the journey from the stage of 'I' to the stage of 'We'.
-SAI BABA



Thought for the day as written at Prasanthi Nilayam - July 4th, 2008
Man has the choice of two paths - the Pravritti Marga (the outward path of involvement) or the Nivritti Marga (the inward path and non-involvement). When involved in the world, man is confronted with the six internal foes - lust, anger, greed, attachment, pride and hatred. When detached from the world, man is helped by six internal friends - sense and mind control, fortitude, contentment, faith and equanimity. The human body is deified as the temple of God; but the foes have to be evicted and the friends admitted before the Divine can establish itself there.
-SAI BABA



Thought for the day as written at Prasanthi Nilayam - 5th, 2008
Do not get attached to this evanescent body; utilize it as an instrument. Consider yourself as being separate from the body created out of the conjunction of the five elements. Know yourself to be the indestructible Atma. The body is the root cause of all grief and misery. Make the body obey your will. Contemplate on the truth that the body and the Atma are separate. This practice is indispensable for realizing the truth of one's Divinity.
-SAI BABA



Thought for the day as written at Prasanthi Nilayam - July 6th, 2008
Grief is the feet and joy the head; both are part of the same entity. You cannot welcome joy and reject grief at the same time. You cannot have the obverse without the reverse. The diamond is at first just a dull piece of stone, a hard pebble. Only when it is cut by a skilled artisan does it shine brilliantly like a flame. Allow yourselves to be treated by the Master so that all your dullness will disappear and you will emerge effulgent as a resplendent diamond.
-SAI BABA



Thought for the day as written at Prasanthi Nilayam - July 7th, 2008
Man is enamoured of wealth, spouse and children. These obstruct him at each step and act as handicaps to spiritual advancement. Of course, money is essential for the process of living and labouring for it cannot be avoided. But, beyond a limit, riches foul the mind and breed arrogance. They must be used for good purposes, fostering Dharma (righteousness) and well-being, and fulfilling one's duties along the Divine path. If riches are spent for realizing fleeting desires, they can never be enough and the ego discovers newer and more heinous ways of earning and spending.
-SAI BABA



Thought for the day as written at Prasanthi Nilayam - July 8th, 2008
The nature of Divine love is different from that of human attachment. It is timeless and constant. Make it your sole ideal. It is inherent in you; all that needs to be done is to manifest it in the proper way. If there is sugar at the bottom of a tumbler of water, you can make the water sweet by stirring the sugar to dissolve it. Likewise, your heart is a tumbler at the bottom of which there is Divinity. Take the spoon of Buddhi (intellect), stir the heart by the process of Sadhana (spiritual effort). Then, the Divinity in the heart will permeate the entire body.
-SAI BABA



Thought for the day as written at Prasanthi Nilayam - July 9th, 2008
What God loves most are the flowers that blossom on the tree of man's own life, fed and fostered by his own skill and sincerity. They are the flowers of virtues grown in the garden of his heart. Of these, the virtue of non-violence is most important. It involves much more than abstaining from harming living beings. One should desist from causing pain to any living being, not only in deed, but also in word and thought. One should not entertain any idea of hurting or humiliating another.
-SAI BABA



Thought for the day as written at Prasanthi Nilayam - 10th, 2008
The human body has been given to you for a grand purpose - that of realizing the Lord within. If you have a fully equipped car in good running condition would you stow it away in the garage? The car is primarily for going on a journey. Only then is it worthwhile to own it. So too with the body. Proceed, march on towards the goal. Learn how to use the faculties of the body, the senses, the intellect and the mind, for achieving that goal.
-SAI BABA



Thought for the day as written at Prasanthi Nilayam - 11th, 2008
You wear coloured glasses and see everything through those glasses. Correct your vision; the world will get corrected. Reform yourselves and the world will get reformed. You create the world of your choice. You see many, because you seek the many, not the One. Try to subsume the many in the One - first the family, then the community, the state, the nation and finally the world. Thus, progressively march on towards more and more inclusive loyalties and reach the stage of universality in thought, word and deed. This is the Sadhana (spiritual endeavour) of Love, for, Love is expansion. The individual has to be Universalized and expanded into Vishwaroopa (the cosmic form of the Divine).
-SAI BABA



Thought for the day as written at Prasanthi Nilayam - 12th, 2008
With faith in the omnipresence of the Divine, man should engage himself in good deeds, cherish good thoughts and dedicate his life to good practices. His words should be words of truth. The ornaments he should wear are the necklace of truthful speech, the earrings of listening to sacred lore and the bracelet of charity. Money is of the nature of manure. Piled up in one place, it pollutes the air. Spread it wide, scatter it over fields, it rewards you with a bumper harvest. So too, when money is spent for promoting good works, it yields contentment and happiness in plenty.
-SAI BABA



Thought for the day as written at Prasanthi Nilayam - July 13th, 2008
Broaden your vision. Cultivate the spirit of love. Being endowed with the human form, you must strive to develop human values and not stray away from the path of righteousness. Fill your minds with sublime thoughts, and your hearts with divine feelings. Consider everyone as your brother and sister. Only then will you realize your unity with all creation. Redeem your lives by revering your parents, honouring your teachers and developing loving faith in God. Be aware of the divinity that is inherent in every being. Thereby, you will grow in self-esteem. Fill your life with joy. Be happy and make others happy. This will please God.
-SAI BABA



Thought for the day as written at Prasanthi Nilayam - 14th, 2008
For the bird in mid-ocean, flying over the deep, blue waters, the only resting place is the mast of a ship sailing in those waters. In the same way, the Lord is the only refuge for the man who is tossed about in the stormy seas of this world. However far the bird may fly, it knows where it can find rest; that knowledge gives it confidence. The Name of the Lord is like that mast; remember it always, associate it with the Form and have that Form fixed in the mind's eye. It is a lamp shedding light in the recesses of your heart. Have the Name on the tongue and it will drive away the inner darkness as well as the outer.
-SAI BABA



Thought for the day as written at Prasanthi Nilayam - 15th, 2008
The proof of rain is in the wetness of the ground. Likewise, the proof of true devotion is in the peace of mind that the aspirant has been able to attain - the peace that protects him against the onslaught of failures and disappointments, the stillness of mind which is not agitated by loss and dishonour or perturbed by anger, jealousy and other lower passions. Know that you are the embodiment of that peace. Whoever has the determination, discrimination, steadfastness and the earnestness to reach the goal will reach it.
-SAI BABA



Thought for the day as written at Prasanthi Nilayam - July 16th, 2008
The sense of duality arises when the Aham ('I') assumes a specific form and name. Ahamkara (the ego-sense) is the result of this change in form. It is only when one dissociates himself from name and form that one can discover one's true divine self. To forget one's essential divinity and identify oneself with a changing and impermanent form is the cause of bondage and sorrow. It is the mind that is the cause of this wrongful identification, because of its involvement with the external world and the impressions received through the senses. When the workings of the mind are understood, the reality of the Atma, which is beyond the mind, will be experienced as the one omnipresent, immutable principle.
-SAI BABA



Thought for the day as written at Prasanthi Nilayam - July 17th, 2008
Man is a prisoner of his senses as long as the feelings of 'I' and 'mine' remain. Man strays into misery and pain, because he aspires for the temporary and the trivial. He ignores the voice of God that warns and guides from within, and pays the penalty for the transgression. Life is to be dedicated not to mere food and drink and catering to the cravings of the senses. It has to be devoted to the attainment of the bliss that God alone can confer.
-SAI BABA



Thought for the day as written at Prasanthi Nilayam - July 18th, 2008
Guru Poornima
'Gu' means darkness and 'Ru' means light. Guru (spiritual preceptor) scatters darkness through light; he imparts wisdom which roots out our ignorance. 'Gu' also connotes 'Gunaatheetha' (One who is beyond 'gunas' or attributes) and 'Ru' connotes 'Roopavarjitha' (One who has transcended Form). Do not seek human Gurus, however great their reputation. They are bound by the qualities they have developed and they are still in need of the Form so that they may conceive of Reality. They themselves being limited, how can they communicate to you the Unlimited? Pray to the Parabrahma Principle (transcendental principle) or God within you to reveal Itself. Accept that as the Guru and you will be illumined.
-SAI BABA



Thought for the day as written at Prasanthi Nilayam - 19th, 2008
Believe firmly that the body is the residence of God, that the food you eat is the offering you make to your deity; that bathing is the ceremonial bathing of the Divine Spirit in you; the ground you walk upon is His domain; the joy you derive is His gift; the grief you experience is His lesson that you tread the path more carefully. Remember Him at all times; many people think of God only when grief overtakes them; of course, it is good to do so; it is better than seeking the help of those who are also equally liable to grief. But, it is infinitely better to think of God in grief and in joy, in peace and strife. The proof of rain is in the wetness of the ground; the proof of Bhakthi (devotion) is in the Shanti (equanimity) the bhaktha (devotee) has, Shanthi which protects him against the onslaughts of success and failure, fame and dishonour, gain and loss.
-SAI BABA



Thought for the day as written at Prasanthi Nilayam - 20th, 2008
The mind must become the servant of the intellect, not the slave of the senses. It must discriminate and detach itself from identification with the body. The kernel of the ripe tamarind fruit is not attached to the outer shell; likewise the mind must be unattached to this shell called the body. Strike an unripe tamarind fruit with a stone and you cause harm to the pulp inside; but, when you strike the ripe fruit it is the dry rind that falls off; nothing affects the pulp or the seed. The mature aspirant does not feel the blows of fate or fortune; it is the unripe one who is wounded by every blow.
-SAI BABA



Thought for the day as written at Prasanthi Nilayam - July 21st, 2008
Attachment causes pain, and detachment results in joy. But, you cannot easily detach yourself from activity; the mind clings to something or the other. Make it cling to God, let it perform all actions for God and leave the success or failure, the loss and the profit, the elation or the dejection, to God. This is the secret of Shanti (Peace) and contentment.
-SAI BABA