Sri Sathya Sai Speaks

God has endowed mankind With the great weapon of the Mind. Only the one who subjugates the mind can achieve victories on earth. We cannot imagine anyone who is a salve of the mind and has attained happiness or peace. EMBODIMENTS of Love! Human existence can become meaningful only when man, at the very outset, recognises the nature of the mind and bases his actions on that understanding. The mind is extremely powerful. It runs at great speed. It is subtler than the sky and even more subtle than electricity. When such a mind is turned to bad purposes, a man becomes a prey to all kinds of sorrow.

The mind can run faster than light. Just as you are able to hear a broadcast of music from a radio station in Delhi simultaneously in Whitefield, the mind also operates like radio waves. Thought waves emanating from the mind have also got properties of radio waves. There is no end to the waves arising from the ocean of the mind. The power of thought is immense. Thoughts outlast the human body. Thought waves radiate very much like heat waves, radio waves and light waves. The thought waves are the cause of man's joy or sorrow, health or disease, birth or death. The potency of these waves has to be understood by man and his conduct has to be based on this awareness. The whole cosmos is made up of thought waves; hence, the scripture declares: "The mind is at the root of the cosmos." There is no place, or form or action wherein the mind is absent. Hence, all thoughts of man should be turned in the right direction.

When good thoughts, good feelings and good intentions are developed, the mind becomes pure. Only when the mind is pure, can the action be pure and the fruits thereof be pure. Today we sow the seed of thought - karma - and reap the fruit of action. From the seed of karma arises svabhava (the fruit of behaviour). Out of the seed of behaviour comes the fruit of character. The seed of character yields the fruit of adhrishtam (fortune). Thus, from thought to fortune, the chain of human progress can be perceived. Our good and bad luck are thus linked to our thoughts. The mind immerses man in impenetrable darkness through bad thoughts. The same mind can lift man to sublime heights by good thoughts. Thus, thoughts are supremely important for man. They constitute his very life-breath. Without understanding this truth, man allows evil tendencies like anger, envy, hatred and conceit to fill his mind and thereby courts disaster. A man seeking to harm others nourishes many evil thoughts in his mind. But these thoughts cause him ten times the harm they do to others. He is not aware of this truth. Consequently, he indulges in abuse of others and in doing harm to them. But there are no "others," but only manifestations of the Divine. Not realising the divinity in others, man tries to harm them. But whoever wields the sword against others, will perish by the sword. The harm which he does to others will be the undoing of himself. Whoever abuses others, will also be the target of abuse by others. As are the thoughts, so is the outcome. The entire human existence is based upon thoughts and their results.

Man perpetually tries to conceal his faults like the ostrich which buries its head in the sand hoping that thereby the-hunter will not see it. In fact, the ostrich becomes an easy target for the hunter. Likewise, a man filled with ego and wickedness imagines that his thoughts are not known to anyone else. But a man's mind is like a gramophone record. His good and bad thoughts are reflected in his face, though he does not notice it. But any outside observer can observe it well. The face of a man filled with evil thoughts appears like that of a man with pimples. The face becomes like a board indicating what goes on in the mind. As thoughts lead to actions, man's behaviour, speech and conduct affect the tendencies of the mind and give rise to good or bad impulses. Man imagines that no one can know his thoughts. While entertaining evil thoughts about others, he acts as if he rejoices in their company. But in fact, he is not deceiving others, but deceiving himself. He is only nourishing evil thoughts and degrading himself.

The natural state of a man's heart is pure. But by letting in the poisonous snakes in the form of evil thoughts, he is inviting trouble. How can a man have peace in his home if there is a snake in it? Bad thoughts in the mind are worse than poisonous reptiles in the house. Absolutely no room should be given for bad thoughts.

By our thoughts we can even cure the ills of others. When the friendship of good persons is acquired through good thoughts, the union of the good leads to the realisation of the Divine. One's thoughts determine the kind of people with whom one associates. A drunkard seeks the company of drunkards, a thief joins the company of thieves, a lawyer with lawyers, and so on. So, good-intentioned persons should associate only with like-minded persons. If they get into the company of evil-minded persons, even their good thoughts may get polluted. Men do not realise today the prodigious powers of the mind. The five elements, the five lifebreaths, the five sense organs, the five sheaths are all based on the mind. It is because the immense power of the mind is not recognised, human life is ruined. By belittling the mind, man is dehumanising himself and behaving either like an animal or as a demon. When man broadens his mental vision, he can realise his Divinity. If the nation has to improve and progress, if you want to experience the Divine that pervades the cosmos, you have to cultivate good thoughts. Do not treat thoughts as trifles. A giant banyan tree grows out of a small seed. There is a saying in Thelugu that even a small serpent has to be beaten with a long stick. In the same manner, even a small bad thought has to be rigorously eschewed.