Truth Unity of Thought, Word and Deed Slide 1

Light Meditation Slide 2

Leadership Review In Swami’s Mahavakya on Leadership, what does Swami say are the 4 steps to being a good leader? In his 81 years of life, Swami has exemplified the role as our ultimate Leader thru his words, actions and deeds. Why does Swami so often emphasize the role of the youth as Leaders? Have you experienced any changes in your leadership traits after experiencing the Sai Challenges in the last 2 weeks? Please share these changes/experiences Slide 3

What is Pure Thought, Word & Deed? That which dwells on the Divine Name and Form That which dwells around “Help ever Hurt Never” “If it is good and will harm no one, go ahead. If it is not good, put it aside. If not sure, do nothing until sure” Pure Word That which exemplifies God’s Name (Namasmarana) That are soft and sweet “Before you speak, think - Is it necessary? Is it true? Is it kind? Will it hurt anyone? Will it improve on the silence?” Pure Deed Selfless Service – “Love All Serve All” That are offered to Swami “Hands that Serve are holier than Lips that Pray” Slide 4

What is Unity of Thought, Word & Deed? Swami says “What is this triple unity? Thoughts originate in mind, they express themselves through words and are manifested as deeds. Humanity or humanness is the confluence of the mind, speech and the body. If man is such that he has one thought, says something else and does something different, he should not call himself a man. How can such a man, who is afraid of truth within himself, search for the cosmic truth? It is only when there is a harmony between this thought, word and action that man will be in a position to recognize his own true nature. True liberation (moksha) consists of giving expression in words to the thoughts which arise in the mind and to practice what one says. Slide 5

What is Unity of Thought, Word & Deed? (Cont..) The ancients considered the triple unity as a form of yoga. Moreover, one should carefully analyze and weigh the pros and cons before saying something. That is why it is said Manasyekam Vachasyekam Karmanyekam. (Those whose thoughts, words and deeds are in perfect harmony are noble ones). Manas anyath vachas anyath karmanyanath duraathmaanam (The wicked are those whose thoughts differ from their words and actions). Hence every person should strive to achieve unity in thought, word and deed. That is the hallmark of humanness.” Slide 6

T T W W D D U U Why Unity in Thought Word & Deed? PURE IMPURE T Leads to bad words, bad actions Dwells on material world T Leads to good words, good actions Dwells on divine name & form Is true, kind and soft Necessary & meaningful Improves over silence Spreads Love Is false, unkind or hurtful Is unnecessary Does not improve on silence Spreads hatred & can not love GOD W W D Leads to righteousness Selfless Leads to wickedness, evil Self-centered D Spiritual growth Hallmark of humanness Earn punya; noble one (mahatma) Able to attain True Liberation Spiritual breakdown In-humane Earn Sin; wicked (durathma) Fails to attain True Liberation U U “True humanness consists in observing unity of thought, word and deed.” Slide 7

Why Unity of Thought Word and Deed? To give full meaning to any service activity we undertake – “True help should include the society and permeate your thoughts, words, sight, hearing and hands. Help rendered with unity of thought, word and deed is true service.” To create a better world – “All the Chaos in the world is due to the fact that people lead double lives. There should be unity in thought, word and deed. True spirituality consists in promoting human unity through harmonious living and sharing the joy with one and all.” To connect with our Atma – “Wherever there is oneness of the thought that comes to one’s mind, the word that comes from one’s mouth and the deed that one performs, there is the spirit of Atma.” Slide 8

Discussion Questions How do you tell if you are in Harmony with your Thoughts, Words& Deeds? Where do you see yourself on Unity of Thought, Word & Deed on a scale of 1 to 5, 5 being ‘fully in harmony’ and 1 being ‘in total disharmony’? What is your greatest challenge: developing pure thoughts, speaking soft words or performing selfless deeds; Or is it being in harmony with any two or all of these ideals? As a SAI Youth, in what situations do we notice the disharmony between thought, word & deed the most? (Sai Center, family, at work, friends, while you are alone). Do the three ideals keep changing based on your situation like difficulty with words at work, difficulty with thought while alone? When we do service in our centers, do our thoughts and words resonate with our activities? What techniques do you use to overcome the hurdles that prevent you from observing unity in Thought Word & Deed? Slide 9

Techniques for practicing Unity of Thought, Word & Deed Carry a small photograph of Swami’s with you all the time. Whenever you feel that you are about to break the thought, word and deed harmony remember that Swami is watching you! Do you want to do some thing that Swami does not like? Have an activity to counter disharmony If your words/ actions don’t reflect your thoughts, take a short break, focus on Swami and restart activity Strive to give up evil thoughts, evil looks, vicious speech and the greed to give ear to evil counsel and slanderous gossip Constantly practice on discriminating your thoughts to have only good thoughts and intentions Learn the meanings of some of the words in devotional songs. Make your thoughts dwell on these images during devotional service Keep good company, it will help you to think, do, and say good things Slide 10

Unity of Thought Word and Deed Words Deeds Thoughts Unity “Oh Lord, take my love and let it flow in fullness or devotion for thee, Oh Lord, take my hands and let them work incessantly for thee, Oh Lord, take my soul and let it be merged in one with thee, Oh Lord, take my mind and thoughts and let them be in-tuned with thee Oh Lord, take my everything and let me be an instrument to work!” Slide 11

Sai Challenges Challenge yourself. Take up one or more of these Sai Challenges and keep track of it until the next study circle: When thinking a negative thought, change focus by singing a devotional song or chanting a prayer.  Practice constant communion with Swami and use him as your Spiritual Police in practicing unity of thought, word and deed Read good books or Sai Literature for the next two weeks. Use these positive text in your constant pursuit of uniting good thoughts, with words and deeds Control your senses by practicing one hour of silence each day (without television, radio, or phones), what we see and hear directly affects our thoughts Think of one or more selfless service deeds that you can offer, discuss it with fellow YAs’, and conduct the selfless service once a month until WYC III Prepare and eat Sathwic “pure” food only for a meal…a day… a week -- Swami says, “As is the food, so is the mind, as the mind, so the thought, as the thought, so the act”. Looking for more challenges??? Refer to the accompanying word document. Slide 12

Extreme Sai Challenges If you share Swami’s teaching (whether through bhajans, speech or written words), be sure that you already practice it in your own life The rosary exemplifies the unity of thought, word and deed. Our mind ponders on the Name, our lips chant It and our hands move a bead for each name uttered. Chant “Aum Sri Sai Ram” or another chant 108 times with a rosary without once losing this unity Keep a spiritual diary of all the very positive thoughts and negative thoughts.  Gauge your progress until WYC.  How did these thoughts translate into words and deeds? Before going to bed, self-assess your thoughts, words and actions throughout the day and consciously work towards correcting yourself Slide 13

Next Steps Take first 10 minutes during the next study circle to recap Unity of Thought Word and Deed Practice sense-control, leadership and Unity of Thought Word and Deed and build from the previous study circles Share experiences on how the week(s) after this study circle was different by practicing Sai challenges – ensure that a holistic picture is obtained by sharing both challenges and successes Try to incorporate the Leadership sub-value in your efforts to unite thought, word and deed and discover similarities between this sub-value to Leadership As ideal SAI youth with the goal of uniting with Swami and His mission, an ideal first step on this journey would be to harmonize our Thoughts, Words and Deeds Slide 14

“Right Action (Dharma) is the practical application in real life of the ideal of Truth. Peace is the result of Right Action and Love is the effulgence of Peace.” - Sathya Sai Speaks 8:35, 189 , 03/03/1976 JAI SAI RAM Slide 15