Who are our friends and who are our enemies? Our own good thoughts are our friends. Our evil thoughts accompany us like shadows. When our thoughts are purified, our lives will be transformed into ideal ones. The mind is a bundle of thoughts. Actions ensue from thoughts. From actions flow the fruits thereof. Hence thoughts are the seeds which ultimately yield fruits in the form of good fortune and misfortune. Man is thus the architect of his own life. As thoughts determine actions, it is essential to cultivate good thoughts. Even bad men have been transformed by the influence of good and godly men. Ratnakara is an example of such transformation. Contact with sages turned him into the immortal author of the Ramayana. When the mind is turned towards God the entire life becomes purified. What is needed is control over the senses through devotion and steadfastness. – Divine Discourse, Feb 13, 1991.