Power of Thought

There is a story in the Bhagavatam of a great monarch Bharata. In his old age, he gave up his life of luxury and opulence, handed over the kingdom to his son and retired to the forest. It is said that Bharata was then on the verge of Enlightenment. One day when he was in deep meditation, a hunter who was chasing a pregnant deer came in the vicinity. As the deer delivered the offspring, the hunter killed her.

Bharata saw that the infant would die without help so he looked after it. In the process, he got attached to the baby deer. Instead of thinking of God, his thoughts would go to the deer and he would wonder if the deer was all right. Even on his deathbed, his attention was on the deer. As a result, the desire for the deer that he had cultivated made him go through an entire incarnation as a deer before he got enlightened. This is the frightening power of thought. Not knowing this, we carelessly entertain all kinds of thoughts, oblivious of their effects. Your thoughts are the building blocks of life.... Your thoughts determine whether your mind is tranquil or agitated. They decide the clarity or confusion of the intellect. And the body follows suit. If you are heedless of health, you eat the wrong type of food and suffer from all sorts of ailments. The moment you become aware of healthy living, you eat nutritious food, exercise and become fit and strong. It is ignorance that makes you act against your interests. Once you become aware, correction is automatic.