Thought Waves Make up the Cosmos
Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, in His discourse during the Summer Course in 1993, elaborated on the importance of cultivating good thoughts and advised that we should always seek good company.
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 slave of the mind and has attained happiness or peace.
Embodiments of love! Human existence can become meaningful only when man, at the very outset, recognizes 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 subtler than electricity. When such a mind is turned to bad purposes, 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 the radio waves. Thought waves emanating from the mind have 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 like heat waves, radio waves, and light waves. 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 scriptures declare, “The mind is at the root of the cosmos.” There is no place, form, or action wherein the mind is absent. Hence, man should turn all his thoughts in the right direction.
Our fortune is linked to our thoughts
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 are pure.
Today we sow the seed of thought—karma [action]—and reap the fruit of action. From the seed of karma arises swabhava (the fruit of behavior). Out of the seed of behavior comes the fruit of character. The seed of character yields the fruit of adrishtam (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 court disaster.
A man seeking to harm others nourishes many evil thoughts in his mind. But these thoughts cause him ten times more harm than they do to others. He is not aware of this truth. Consequently, he indulges in abusing and harming them. There are no “others,” they are all manifestations of the Divine. Not realizing the divinity in others, man tries to harm them. But whoever wields the sword against others, will perish by the same sword. The harm that he does to others will be his own undoing. If you abuse others you will also be their target. As are the thoughts, so is the outcome. The entire human existence is based upon thoughts and their results.
Face is the index of the mind
Man perpetually tries to conceal his faults like the ostrich that buries its head in the sand hoping that 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 on his face, though he does not notice it. But any outside observer can see it. The face is like a board that indicates the thoughts in his mind.
As thoughts lead to actions, man’s behavior, 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 only 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 to bad thoughts.
Good company leads to the Divine
By our thoughts we can even cure the ills of others. When you befriend a good person the good thoughts acquired in his company leads to the realization 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 people should associate only with like-minded people. If they get into the company of evil-minded people, even their good thoughts are polluted.
Men do not realize the prodigious powers of the mind. The five elements, the five life-breaths, the five sense organs, and the five sheaths are all based on the mind. Human life is ruined because we do not recognize the immense power of the mind. By belittling the mind, man is dehumanizing himself and behaving like an animal or a demon. When man broadens his mental vision, he can realize 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 Telugu [an Indian language] 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.
Source: Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol. 26
