Faith Works Miracles

If the feeling and thought behind an action is good you will get good result; if the feeling and thought behind an action is bad you will definitely get a bad result.

Mind is a bundle of thoughts. Based on our thoughts our actions are shaped. Happiness and sadness are the result of our deeds.

Ratnakaara ( the original name of sage Valmiki ) was a wayside robber who used to rob and kill travelers to make a living. Once he had an encounter with the Saptarishis, whom he tried to kill but failed to do so. They advise him to leave this kind of life and become honest. They also give him the Rama nama to chant. By the darsan, sparshan and sambhashan of the rishis, such a hard core killer like Ratnakaara got transformed. By the continuous chanting of name of Rama, he became the sloka daata (One who is the source of sloka i.e. Ramayana). Rama's name of loka daata (the protector of world) would not have spread without his story being written as Ramayana by Valmiki. Thus you see the importance of Satsang which confers Jeevan Mukthi (liberation from life).

Today man has lost the power of faith. Nobody ever came to ruin because they had faith. We take some other unknown person's claim as Sunday and take a holiday on that day, but we are not prepared to believe the Veda which says such great truths as "Tat Twam Asi" (I am that), "Aham Brahmasmi" (I am Brahman).

Once Nana's ( a very close devotee of Shirdi Baba) daughter Meena was undergoing labour pain and for three days suffered a lot but was unable to deliver. Those days there were none of the modern day hospitals or nursing homes. Nana was continuously praying to Baba in front of His photograph. The connection between God and His devotee is faster than a wireless. Here in Shirdi, Baba called a person whom He used to call Bhau and asked him to rush to Nana 's village with the Udi prasad. Bhau was in a dilemma and told Baba that he had only Rs 2/- with him and this will cover the ticket up to Jalgaon, thirty miles before Nana's village. Baba then said "Don't worry. Have faith in me and go. All arrangements will be taken care of". Having faith in Baba's words Bhau boarded the train and got down at Jalgaon. It was 1:30 am in night. He was wondering what to do and how to go to Nana's village when a tall and well built person in the dress of an attendant of a Tahsildar came to station, inquiring about one Bhau who had come from Shirdi. Bhau introduced himself and the attendant took him to a convenient Tonga (horse drawn carriage) with a strong horse. The journey to Nana's village was swift and comfortable and in no time the attendant was showing Bhau the house of Nana. Bhau went towards the house and seeking some clarification turned back. There was no tonga nor the attendant. He went to the house and introduced himself to Nana, handed over the Vibhuthi prasad and thanked Nana for sending the tonga. Nana was perplexed since he did not know anybody was coming from Shirdi and certainly he had never sent any tonga for anyone. Keeping aside all his doubts and thanking Baba for the timely help, Nana rushed inside to give the prasad to his daughter. Shedding tears of joy, he was singing Baba's praises in front of His photograph when he heard the wail of the new born baby. The third day Nana and Bhau returned to Shirdi overcome with the sense of gratitude and awe.

The Rama nama is so efficacious and powerful that it can melt the heart of even a rock. The continuous chanting made Ratnakaara oblivious to every thing so much so that an anthill (valmika) grew around him. Since he came out of a valmika he was known as Valmiki. He made Lava and Kusha, the sons of Rama sing the story of Rama in the very physical presence of Rama. All this, you should remember is because of the grace of the Saptarishis. Their company changed him.

Students should seek out such elders and first and foremost should understand that it is the parents who are equal to God. They should root out cruel thoughts from the heart and make it habitable for God. This heart is not a double bed sofa, nor can it be used as musical chair. It is meant only for God to reside.

One should always discriminate between good and bad thoughts. Ravana was dying after he was hit by the divine arrow of Rama. All the sages and saints of the time gathered around him to get some final words of wisdom from Ravana, one of the greatest scientists and scholars. Due to the touch of divinity, all good feelings came forth from Ravana. With difficulty he saluted them and advised the sages and seers two things: "Never hesitate for action when you get a good thought. Implement it immediately. I wanted to change the saline water of sea into sweet water. I wanted to alleviate the sufferings of all those in hell. Yet, I always postponed the action thinking I can do it at a later date. Now I am leaving my breath without fulfilling either of them. Always take time when you get a bad thought. Once you are sure it is bad never even think about it again".

You students are all the future citizens of this country. Concentrate on your individual characters now. Without character all life is a waste. You will become a leader only because of your character. This alone will lead to national character. He who does not have pride in his country, in his language and in his religion is as good as a dead corpse. The heart should be closed to all bad thoughts like we close the doors and windows of a house when undesirable things like dirt and animals start entering the place. Our drishti (vision) should be good. The Nandi (bull) in front of all Shiva idols became an object of our reverence because it's vision is turned towards God. That is sudarshanam.