RohitBehal

VEG OR NON-VEG : "TO EAT OR NOT TO EAT !" Food at a subtle level, it too is made up of the sattva, raja and tama components. The proportions of these subtle components vary depending on the type of food. Sattva stands for purity and knowledge while tama denotes ignorance and inertia. Anything that has a higher sattva component assists our spiritual journey and anything that is tama predominant has a tendency to diminish or obstruct our spiritual practice. Vegetarian food has more sattvic qualities than Non-vegetarian food while Non-vegetarian food has more Tamasic qualities than Vegetarian food. The reason for the increased tama in non-vegetarian food is because of the extent of suffering of the animal, when it is being killed. Also the thoughts of anger and revenge and pain in the animal when being killed are far more pronounced as compared to a plant which has a rudimentary mind and intellect. This is the main reason in the increased tama component. While due to the higher sattvikta in fruits they are offered to God is ritualistic worship. When tama predominant food is ingested on a regular basis the body is burdened with an excess of the tama component. A rise in tama component in a person has many negative side-effects. This tama component can only disintegrate if one is regularly doing spiritual practice. However since most people do not do spiritual practice this tama component accumulates in a person’s body, mind and intellect. Question : Botanical science tells us that plants also-have life. Then where lays the difference between vegetarian and non-vegetarian food? There are two kinds of life on earth, animate and inanimate. Men, beasts, birds, fish etc. are animate life while trees and other plants are inanimate life. Fruits ripen on the trees and then fall of by themselves, branches and leaves may be chopped off a tree and new one arises in their place. Many plants are propagated by their cuttings. Others can be transplanted. But all this is not possible with birds and animals. No limb of an animal can grow by itself after cutting. Man cannot produce animals like plants from earth. All the living beings are made up of five elements - the earth, water, fire, air and sky. All these five are present in man clearly and predominantly. Only four elements - earth, water, fire and air are predominant in animals. While in birds only three air, water and fire are predominant. Two elements - earth and fire - make up the insects. And only one element of water is predominant in fruits, leaves and vegetables etc. The rest four elements are in sleeping state in vegetables and plants. Therefore, eating vegetable foods consumes the minimum of factors. Saints and Sages do not pluck fruits from the trees, but they eat only those fruits which have fallen by themselves on ripening. Minimum damage to life is the basic criterion. There is no harm in obtaining fruits from trees but harm lies in their cutting. Question : Even when man treads the earth, many ants and insects are trodden under foot. So, what is different if other animals are killed? A man's character is judged by his intentions and deliberate actions. If a man deliberately and knowingly crushes under his feet any harmless animal, then it is violence. But if involuntarily or in unavoidable circumstances, some insects are killed, then it is an exceptional situation. But to kill others without any specific reason or to abet killing for food is plain murder. Question : Plants are also having life, so killing plants should also be a sin. Why is veg food better than non-veg in terms of killing or committing "sin"? It is true that plants also have "life" and killing plants is also sin. So the best way to observe total non-violence is to take only those fruits which have naturally fallen from the trees or plants. In this way we are doing harm to no one. But everyone can not follow that vow. We have to take food in order to survive and sustain this body. It is a necessity of survival. But we need to take that path which is less sinful and does less harm to other jivas (living entities). Now there are two reasons to say that vegetarian food is having insignificant sin. Many of the plants like rice, wheat, etc., are having life only for one crop time. Once their yield is over, they die naturally, even if we don't cut them. So by cutting those plants (which have already died) we are doing less sin or no sin at all. In many other plants, like mango, coconut, etc., by plucking the fruit, we are not killing the plants, and so we are doing very minimal sin or no sin at all. So vegetarian food is less sinful. More over, it is inevitable for our survival, but non-vegetarian food is a luxury to us and we can survive even if we avoid that. Next we need to know why certain acts are sinful. Each and every life (whether plant, animal, or human) has come to this world because of their past Karma’s and they have to live to the maximum doing "sadhana" (spiritual practices), so that they can clear their karmic debts & may get a better birth next life or finally get "moksha" (liberation). By killing them, we are cutting short their opportunities to do "sadhana" towards their liberation (moksha). Thus it is much more sinful. Question : Don’t plants also experience pain when killed? Yes, plants too experience pain when killed or parts of it are severed. The comprehension of pain however is less than animals. This is because the mind and intellect of a plant is rudimentary as compared to animals. However if a fruit or vegetable is plucked when it is fully ripe or has fallen from a tree there is relatively no pain to the plant. Question : Does not eating meat give more strength? Meat-eating gives the body not strength but a kind of unhealthy stimulation. The body receives an excess of nitrogen which creates uric acid and other harmful compounds in the blood stream. Just to expel these compounds from the body, a lot of energy is needed which the body's defense mechanism pumps up in a hurry to meet the emergency. This is mistaken as an input of energy, although in fact it is a depletion of the body's reservoirs of energy. Question : In olden days, the sages used to eat meat? There is an incident of Agasthya Muni eating meat in the "Vathapi - Ilvala" story. Yes, we do see some mention about such things in very old stories. We need to understand clearly why and under what circumstances they used to consume meat. Firstly, they used to take meat, but not as their regular food. The animal would be offered to 'yajna', the sacred fire, and then the sages, having very high yogic power, would consume the meat as a prasada of the yajna. Due to this auspicious activity (of yajna), the animal would go to the heavens. In the story of Agusthya Muni, when he said ' vathapi jirno bhava', he was digested immediately. Such was the power of the sages in those days. In olden days even if they consumed meat, they used to keep up their spiritual balance due to their yogic power or "tapas" (severe austerity). But now in the present age of kali-yuga, our mental powers and concentration powers are getting reduced. We are loosing our purity and peace of mind due to various reasons. As such, the sattvic atmosphere and sattvic qualities are reducing because we are not doing enough japa, tapa, etc. So if we start consuming meat we will loose all our good mental qualities very quickly. ~~~~~~~~~~~~ There’s a story of a great Indian Saint Gorakhnath. One day, Saint Gorakhnath and his followers were walking down in a forest, when they happened to pass a dirty lake. Saint Gorakhnath saw a few small fishes in the lake. So, he stopped and then bending forward towards the lake, he caught a small fish with his hands and then gulped it down his wide open mouth. His followers, who were watching his actions carefully were really taken aback to see their spiritual master consuming non-vegetarian – Fish !!! So, they thought that if our master can have fish, so why cant we too? And in turn they all looked for fishes in the dirty lake and like their master gulped a few down their throats. Saint Gorakhnath who was silently watching the antics of his followers, then started moving ahead and so did his followers. On the entire way Saint Gorakhnath was quite. Finally after walking down quite a distance they reached a fresh water lake. Seeing the fresh water lake, Saint Gorakhnath walked towards it and on reaching there, he did some kriyas and out came the small fish alive which he had consumed earlier. He spat out the fish into the fresh water lake and then looked towards his followers and said - "NOW YOU ALL TOO DO THE SAME ! " ....which of course none of the followers could do !!! Signification of Saint Gorakhnath`s actions - He just wanted to remove the fish from the dirty water lake and give it a better life in the fresh water lake. But his followers thought otherwise and had consumed the fish completely. Moral of the story – YOU DON'T KNOW WHY DO GREAT SAINTS / SAGES DO THE THINGS THEY DO, OR WHY DO THEY BEHAVE THE WAY THEY DO, NOR SHOULD WE QUESTION THEIR STRANGE ACTIONS, AS IT IS DONE FOR THE BETTERMENT OF ALL & TO TEACH SOME LESSON TO THE WORLD. ~~~~~~~~~~~~ SAI BABA & NON-VEG FOOD In our Hindu and Jain, Buddha religions especially, there is a belief that unless one gives up eating non-vegetarian food, one cannot attain emancipation or knowledge of the Supreme Spirit. Sai Baba Himself was an emancipated soul and had full knowledge of the Supreme Spirit and was capable of giving such experiences to others. However, He not only had no objection to non-veg food; but never insisted that His devotees, used to non-veg food, should give it up. Actually, in His early days, He used to cook non-veg food Himself in a big pot and after consecrating it through a Moulvi by reciting fatia, used to send as prasad to Mhalsapati and Tatya Kote Patil before distributing to others. (Ch. 38, Shri Sai Satcharita). In Bhagwat Gita, the Lord has clearly classified the foods into 3 types, Sattwic, Rajasic & Tamasic. The Lord has also clearly mentioned what is the effect of eating all these three types of food. The Lord says, Sattwa must be cultivated, Rajas must be suppressed & Tamas must be eliminated. Meat falls under the Rajas & Tamas types & hence one cannot remain untouched by the ill effects after consuming. The only exception is when a person is a Siddha. For a Siddha like Sai baba, it does not matter at all, as to whether he eats veg or non-veg, since he is beyond the three Gunas. That is why he is called Trigunaateeth or Trigun-Rahitam.. But for conditioned souls like us, whatever we eat, that is going to get reflected in us. Consider the teachings of our scriptures, it will be clear that not to eat Non-veg food is only one of the means to attain emancipation or knowledge of the Supreme Spirit but not a Goal in itself. Most of the famous suktas in Vedas have been authored by kshatriya or warrior caste. Sages such as Vishwamitra, Kings like Janaka, who were famous as Brahma-jnani or knower of the Supreme Spirit, were also of warrior caste and non-veg food was not taboo for them. Some religious principles do allow for eating of meat, when it is first properly sanctified by religion. That is why the Kshatriya kings would go for hunting & would eat animal food, without any apparent fall in purity. But, to say that without avoiding non-veg food one cannot achieve emancipation or knowledge of the Supreme Spirit is not correct. In fact, as a person progresses in his Spiritual sadhana, his attraction for non-veg and rich food automatically gets dwindled and is ultimately lost permanently but on one hand to give up Non-veg food and on the other if you keep craving for it, Isn't such vegetarianism useless? Sai Baba's ideas must be on the same lines probably. That is why He never advised His devotees to give up non-veg food. Sometimes jokingly as in Ch. 38, He used to ask an orthodox Brahmin, like Dada Kelkar to go and buy mutton from the market or as in Ch. 23, His order to His great Brahmin devotee Kakasaheb Dixit to kill a goat with a knife. But, this was only to test their readiness to execute, whatever order given by Him, their Guru; and, therefore, before the person started acting, He used to stop them. Similarly, to the devotees, in whose religion or caste only veg-food, was in vogue, He never tempted or encouraged to eat non-veg food. Baba's method of resisting His devotees from eating non-veg food was quite different and unique. He oft and on used to tell His devotees that He was present in every creature, moving about. In Ch. 9 to Mrs. Tarkhad He said, "The dog, which you saw before meals and to which you gave the piece of bread, is one with Me; so, also the other creatures (cats, pigs, flies, cows etc.) are one with Me. I am roaming in their forms. He, who sees Me in all these creatures, is my beloved. So, abandon the sense of duality and distinction and serve Me as you did today." When surrenders completely to the Lord, all his Gunas fall in place, irrespective of the person's evolution. Sattva becomes dominant & the other 2 gunas take a back seat. That is why Sai baba never asked anybody to change his food habits. Instead he asked them to practice devotion. This takes care of the food habits. Question : Did Baba distribute vegetable and animal food as prasad alike to all His devotees?" The answer is plain and simple. Those who were accustomed to (take) animal food were given food from the Handi as prasad and those who were not so accustomed, were not allowed to touch it. He never created in them any wish or desire to indulge in this food. There is a principle well established that when a Guru himself gives anything as prasad, the disciple who thinks and doubts whether it is acceptable or otherwise, goes to perdition. ~~~~~~~~~~~~ SAIBABA AND EATING ONIONS What applies to non-veg food also applies to onion. Sai Baba, Himself, used to eat onion with bread daily and did not like anybody expressing disgust towards it or not eating it; because of its bad smell. His incidents of teasing and ridiculing Dada Kelkar, Das Ganu and Kusha Bhau are well-known. He also once surprised a student of yoga by eating bread and onion in front of him and later gave a proof to him of His Super Yogic Powers. As if Sai Baba wanted to tell people, that because of baseless customs and beliefs, you are depriving yourself of onion and garlic, which are greatly praised by the ayurveda (Indian medical science) and are excellent health-giving foods. Isn't the poor and hard-working farmer able to perform laborious task of ploughing his field by eating bread and onion only? Short Story - A yogi named Premanand was dedicated to practicing of yoga. The real meaning of yoga is melting and merging in the Divine. Premanand practiced yoga for the real purpose and found difficulties for the goal. Some one advised him to visit Shirdi and meet Sai Baba, who was one with ParaBrahma (Supreme soul) and that He would be the right person to guide him. Listening to them the practitioner of yoga visited Shirdi. When he came near Dwarkamai, he saw Sai Baba sitting with devotees and eating. He noticed that Sai Baba took bites of onions with the food. Onions were favorite with Sai Baba. The yogi's mind immediately rebelled against this. He knew that the yogis have to stay away from the onions due to its tamasic properties. He was still a little far away from Sai Baba. Sai Baba did not want him to leave like that, and since he knew everything and every person's thoughts, he spoke out loudly. 'Onions should be eaten by the ones who can digest them, to those the tamasic properties cannot influence. For those getting influenced by the tamasic properties should not eat them, that is also true.' This words and the Divine attraction of Sai Baba removed the doubts of the yogi. He remained in Shirdi for a long time and benefited beyond his expectations. …..From the Gujarati book Sai Sarovar ~~~~~~~~~~~~ YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT. Non-vegetarian food has Acidic components while most of the vegetarian food has Alkali components. A healthy body needs adequate alkaline reserves to neutralize the acidic levels in our body which are the main cause of all diseases & when the human body doesn’t get enough alkalinity from our diet it absorbs our alkaline reserves from our bones/skin/hair & other body organs thus weakening them resulting in hair fall/skin problems/joint pains/ from common cough/cold to cancer. An acidic balance will: Decrease the body's ability to absorb minerals and other nutrients, decrease the energy production in the cells, decrease it's ability to repair damaged cells, decrease it's ability to detoxify heavy metals, make tumor cells thrive, and make it more susceptible to fatigue and illness. Circulatory system: In excessive acid conditions, bacteria, fungi or viruses can attach themselves to the inner wall of the arteries. This can cause plaque to form, narrowing the artery and restricting blood flow, which in turn restricts the flow of oxygen and nutrients to tissues. Heart attack and even cancer can result. Nervous system: When brain cells are too acidic they dysfunction and communication between brain cells and throughout the spinal cord is cut off, which can result in dysfunction in other body systems. In the nervous system insomnia, anxiety, depression, neurosis, psychosis and impaired memory can result from over acidity. THE EFFECTS OF AN ACIDIC BODY ARE: • Cardiovascular damage, including the constriction of blood vessels and the reduction of oxygen. • Weight gain, obesity and diabetes. • Bladder and kidney conditions, including kidney stones. • Immune deficiency. • Acceleration of free radical damage, possibly contributing to cancerous mutations. • Hormone concerns. • Premature aging. • Osteoporosis; weak, brittle bones, hip fractures and bone spurs. • Joint pain, aching muscles and lactic acid buildup. • Low energy and chronic fatigue. • Slow digestion and elimination. • Yeast/fungal overgrowth. Alkalinity creates. . . Sense of oneness & harmony Allows for friendly bacteria Healthy organs & glands Decreased body aches Diminished illness Relaxed behavior Mucous less body Cellular health Well-being Happiness Acidity creates. . . Irritability Depression Mucous build-up Auto intoxication Anxious behavior Increased diseases Cellular degradation Increases body aches Allows for bad bacteria Sense of separation & pain SO MAKE SURE NO MATTER WHAT YOU EAT…BALANCE IT WITH ATLEAST 80% ALKALINE AND 20% ACIDIC DIET REGIME. Alkaline minerals include calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium, chromium, selenium, and iron. ~~~~~~~~~~~~ "If Vegetarians eat Vegetables, what do Humanitarians Eat ?".....anonymous yOur Ratberry - rOhit beHaL

Who says "Whats in a Name ?".. See for yourself, one Mr.Venkatesh Ellore who is a master at making art work using Alphabets has made - "Lord Ganesha" using my full name - "Rohit Behal"... ***** Name "Rohit" is the Crown - Going from Top to Bottom of the crown : it starts with 'R', then'O', then finally 'H,I,T' are together. ******** Surname "Behal" is the Face : 'B' - The left Ear. 'E' - The left side of Ganesha's face including the left Eye. 'H'- The Forehead. 'A' - The right side of Ganesha's face including the right Eye. 'L' - The right Ear. ***** Isnt it amazing... Source - www myganesha com P.s- I do not know Mr.Venkatesh nor have ever met him, he just felt to make this artwork for me...so he did it. So, now when someone ask's "What's in a Name?' Say - "The Whole Universe !" Will i am Shakes Peer - rOhit beHaL

Parulkar Family has & Worships Sai Baba's Charan Paduka's since 1914. Aug 6`2009 Harda, M.P.- India : Amid protests raised after grapevine buzz about taking away of Shirdi's Sai Baba Charan Paduka's (footwear) to United States, a family here has been religiously worshipping and conserving Lord Sai's Baba's another pair of holy Charan Padukas for about 100 years, as precious possession. Baba's devotees protested the proposal of taking away the Padukas to the foreign land by dubbing it as a trick to make money and hog publicity. However, Retired lecturer and local-resident Kishore Parulkar, who never thought of basking in the limelight through Baba's Padukas, told UNI here today that Baba had given his Padukas to his devotee and Mr Parulkar's grandfather Shri.Krishnarao Parulkar alias Chottu Bhaiya in 1914. He said that Shirdi-based Temple Trust also demanded these Padukas of Sai Baba from him but he declined their proposal and clarified that this was the matter of personal devotion and feelings. Mr Parulkar wanted to preserve the footwears as a part of his family treasure. He said that in view of protection the padukas were kept in a transparent box of fibre and its security responsibility was on the shoulders of Ms.Radha Parulkar. Narrating the story behind Baba giving the Paduka's to his grandfather, Mr.Kishore Parulkar said that around 100 years back when there were no sufficient means of transportation, his grand-father sometimes walked quite a distance and also took a ride on a bullock cart for several days to reach Shirdi and pay obeisance to Babaji by crossing the groves and glades of the dense forests. Once Sai Baba asked his grandfather that why did he undergo so much of pain merely to see him & Chottu Bhaiya replied, '' Babaji I don't have any memento of yours and after some days when I go back from here, I start missing you and hence I am compelled to come back here to see you.'' Reacting on this Baba immediately told him to take his Padukas as memento, which he was wearing then, and asked him not pain himself to come to Shirdi again. This whole incident was published in a booklet by Shirdi Sai Trust with respectfully mentioning Mr Krishnarao's name. This incident was also mentioned in 'Ambrosia in Shirdi' book. Aarti was performed every Thursday akin those in Shirdi. "Once you attain perfect Inner Peace, there is No need to travel anywhere, No need to see anything, No need for pilgrimages to holy places, All can be seen Within".............Bhagawan Nityananda of Ganeshpuri. Looking Out fOr iNNer pEacE - rOhit beHaL

Bus Terminals to come up on Mill Land in Mumbai Sandeep Ashar / DNAThursday, August 6, 2009 2:43 IST Mumbai: Special terminals at Senapati Bapat Marg in Lower Parel will, in all likelihood, replace Dadar as the hub of all outstation road travel in the next few years. Driving the change will be mill lands. If all goes as planned, state and private transport buses, which currently operate from the Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Road outside the Dadar truck terminus, will be shifted to specially designed terminals to be built on mill lands. So would be Pune and Goa bound private taxis, and the Mumbai-Shirdi bound buses currently plying from Senapati Bapat Marg. The BMC has received proposals from owners of almost all mills being redeveloped in the area, offering to create public parking lots in return of additional FSI. Development control regulations were recently modified to let private parties develop public parking lots. Space to accommodate a minimum of 50 vehicles will earn up to 50% of the built-up parking area as incentive FSI. Based on the proposals, a parking space to accommodate more than 6,000 vehicles could be arranged for at Senapati Bapat Marg, said a senior civic official from the road department. The possibility has made a special five-member committee instruct mill owners to dedicate this space for creating bus and taxi terminals. A truck terminus is also being planned at one of the mills. "Real Strength is not just a condition of one's Muscle, but a Tenderness in one's Spirit."............McCallister Dodds hOcus-pOcus : rOhit beHaL

Sai Baba's Paduka’s Not Going to America Anymore. Due to lot of opposition by Shirdi Gram Udyog & many Sai devotees, Shirdi Sai Baba Sansthan has denied permission to Sai Baba Trust to take the Holy Charan Paduka’s of Baba, to America. According, to Sai devotees Baba never advocated his prachaar as he himself had said that he never needed any Tonga, or any medium to go anywhere, he just reaches the place where his devotees remembered him. Secondly, the devotees also fear security issues and don't want Baba's Paduka's to be insulted in any manner through out the trip especially at the security checks at airports. The representatives of Shirdi Gram Udyog said that they were ready to protest to it and would'nt even mind going to Jail for it. They said that the Sansthan had some time back themselves said that they would never take Baba's Paduka's anywhere out of India. According, to Shri.Jayant Sasane, Chairman - Shirdi Sai Baba Sansthan...the Sansthan has Two pairs of Baba's Holy Paduka's, one of which they had taken to Goa and a few more places in India as part of the centenary celebrations of the Chavadi Palki procession festival. Likewise, the Sansthan was getting a lot of request's from as far as USA & Australia, requesting them to get Baba' s Paduka's for Sai Bhajan Sandhya's at their Sai temples too, as part of the centenary celebrations. Shri.Jayant Sasane said that by taking Baba's Paduka's abroad, many devotees abroad who could not make it to Shirdi, could get a chance to have darshan of Baba's paduka's. But as many devotees were objecting to this, he did not want any division amongst the Sansthan, Sai Baba Trust and Baba's devotees nor did he want to create any conflict because of this, so, he has called off all the programs of taking Baba's Paduka's anywhere out of India. Thus, the program of Baba's Paduka darshan in Houston, Texas will also be cancelled but rest of the program of Sai Baba's Pran Pratishta will be done as scheduled. Source - India tv, Zee news, Star news & Zee marathi. Sairam, rOhit beHaL

Sai Baba Samadhi Day Kundli - Horoscope The day that Baba took Mahasamadhi, Tuesday 15 October 1918, was a very auspicious one for Hindus ; it also happened to be the Muslim month of Ramzan. October 15 was the Hindu festival of holy Vijayadasami, a few minutes into Ekadasi (a significant lunar cycle in the Hindu calendar). "Have Faith, Not Blind Faith !!!" Faithfully bLind - r:eek3: hit beHaL

Time Table of Shirdi Sai Baba's Daily Routine - 1 "The mind is the basis for the existence of the concept of time. If the outward looking aspect of the mind is the larger hand of the clock of time, the inward aspect of the mind is the smaller hand. When the mind is stilled in perfect concentration, time does not exist. Time is the experience of the mind that thinks that the self exists separate from the world and that both are bound by the limitations of time and place. Time was non-existent for Sri Sai Baba who was wholly immersed in the supreme self. That is why he once said that his age was, "Lakhs of years." On another occasion he said, "My mother was ecstatic with happiness when I was born,’ however I asked myself, ‘When was I born? Was I not there before too?’" Sai Baba on the one hand enunciates the apparent reality of the physical body when he states, "When I was born," but on the other, gives his experience of the ever-living soul when he asks, "When was I born?" That was Baba’s unique way of teaching spiritual truths. He gave happiness to his mother on birth. He gave happiness to the entire world, which is nothing but himself. He is the very embodiment of eternal and infinite happiness. In the blue skies where the limits of place and time are transcended, where the golden showers of love and affection abound, he is the rainbow of happiness which shines in the light of knowledge and dispassion." It is foolhardy to attempt to confine and describe the day-to-day activities of Sri Sai Baba to a particular timetable, while he himself was beyond the limitations of time and space. However, let us, within our human limitations, attempt to see what he did daily at Shirdi. Baba would rise before the rosy dawn first blushed across the sky, and meditate while sitting leaning on the pillar besides the dhuni. No one would get the chance to see what he was doing at that time. He would allow no one to come near or to be even within fifty feet of him. After a while he would softly chant words like, "Yaade Haq,Allah Vali Hai," and "Allah Maalik Hai" and perform some yogic mudras in between. Only Abdul Baba and Madhav Fasle would enter the mosque and do the normal housekeeping work, such as sweeping the floor of the mosque, trimming the wicks of the lamps and refilling them with oil, and placing the firewood near the dhuni. As the day broke, Bhagoji Shinde would enter the mosque and would softly massage Baba’s hand and feet. Baba’s hand was burnt in 1910 when he put his hand in the fire of the dhuni to save a child from being burnt. Bhagoji would open the previous days’ bandage and after softly massaging the scar with ghee (clarified butter), would tie on a new one. He performed this service to Baba daily for eight years, till his mahasamadhi. Perhaps Baba’s burn injury may have healed after a few days, but Bhagoji’s devotion and love for Baba made him continue with the service. He was indeed a blessed soul. After this Bhagoji would get the pipe ready and hand it over to Baba. Baba would take a couple of puffs and hand it back to him again. It would be about 7 to 7.30 am by the time all this was over. By then the devotees would have reached the mosque for the darshan of Baba. Baba would describe to them how he had saved his devotees who were far away from harm during the previous night, and how he had conveyed those who died during the night, safely to heaven. The devotees would later learn that whatever Baba had stated was true when the devotees from distant places came to Shirdi to thank Baba and narrate their experiences. ******** Time Table of Shirdi Sai Baba's Daily Routine - 2 While this was going on Madhav Fasle and Tukaram and other such attendants would fill buckets with water. Baba never brushed his teeth. He would rinse his mouth and wash his face, hands and feet. The way he washed his face was so delicate that one loved to watch him. Those suffering from leprosy would take the water Baba had used to rinse his mouth and would devotedly apply it to the effected parts of their bodies. The water would help them in proportion to their faith in Baba. While Baba was washing his face the devotees would start coming for the Kakad arati with mace, fans and other ceremonial accoutrements. Baba would welcome them like a mother welcomes her children. Later the devotees would take udi from Baba and depart for their daily chores. The Kakad arati and the Sej arati would only be performed at chavadi on alternate days. Baba did not bathe every day. A daily bath is forbidden to fakirs. In the early days he would bathe either in the Lendi garden or amongst the bushes outside the village. Later he started bathing at the mosque. The attendants would bring two copper vessels full of hot water and two vessels of cold water and lower the curtains around the mosque. Baba would mix the water to his liking and slowly bathe, taking an hour and a half for the bath. He would then stand near the dhuni while the close devotees wiped dry his back, neck and head. Devotees would treat the water used by Baba as holy and used it to cure their diseases. Ramji of Nasik, who was mentally ill and had come to Shirdi, became normal after drinking this water. As a mark of his gratitude he presented Baba with a stone to stand on while bathing. We can see this stone even now in Dwarakamai. Baba would bathe once in seven or eight days. Sometimes he would not bathe for even five to six weeks. When any devotee questioned him regarding this he would say, "I have just bathed in the Ganges, why should I bathe again?" What need does the ever-pure one have for bathing when he, by mere will, can make rivers flow from his toes? Baba would look very neat and clean even when he did not bathe. He would wear a green cloth after bathing, and after rinsing his kufni, place it near the dhuni to dry. He would put it on again after it had dried. He wore it at all times except after the bath. His kufnis were made of coarse cloth. The devotees would plead with Baba to change them when they became too old and torn, and only then would Baba wear a new one. Tatya would be bent upon making Baba throw away his bedraggled and torn kufni for a new one. He would go close to Baba on the pretext of talking to him and saying, "Baba, what is this? Your kufni seems to be torn!" and would put his fingers in the holes and tear them to make them even bigger, thus making them impossible to mend. He would then feign innocence and insist on Baba changing it saying, "Baba, your kufni is badly torn, you must change it immediately." Baba could then no longer avoid wearing a new one. He would call for Kashinath Shimpi, a cloth merchant and say, "Kashinath, get me a kufni!" Once Kashinath brought it, he would pay much more for it than it cost. He would wear the new kufni and throw the old one into the dhuni. Normally whenever Baba wore a new kufni, he would distribute new kufnis to the poor fakirs and other sadhus at the mosque. So it was a festival for them whenever Baba changed his kufni. Once in 1914 Baba was distributing kufnis at the mosque. A devotee called Narke who was standing there wished that he too would get a kufni from the hands of Baba. The moment the thought entered his mind, Baba turned to him and said, "No, the Fakir is not agreeable to your getting a kufni. What am I to do?" Baba would sometimes call a barber called Bala and have his head shaved. He would also have his moustache shaped by him and reward him handsomely. ******** Time Table of Shirdi Sai Baba's Daily Routine - 3 At about 8 a.m., Baba would start on his rounds for alms. He went to the houses of Ganapati Tatya Patil (Bayajabai), Appaji Patil, Sakharam Shelke, Waman Gondkar and Nanduram Marwadi. To them fell the good fortune of giving sustenance to the One who was the sustainer of life in all the worlds. Baba had a different way of calling for alms at each of the houses at which he begged. He would say, "Abaad-e-abaad, Allah bhala karega," and bless the housewives. He would say, "Bayaja maa! Jevan de! Roti lao (give food, get the roti)!" at the house of Bayajabai. He would stand in front of the houses of Appaji Patil and Waman Gondkar and calling them by name would say, "Bhakri de (give roti)." He would stand in front of Sakharam’s house and call for his wife, "Itlayi Bai! Roti lao." He would go last to the house of Nanduram Marwadi and say either, "Nanduram bhakri de," or call his wife Radhabai, "Bopidi Bai bhakri de.Bopidi" means "to stutter" in Marathi, and as Radhabai had a slight stammer, Baba sometimes called her by that name. He would shout at her, "Why so much delay?" if she were late in bringing the food for Baba. Sometimes, even when no special occasion such as a festival warranted it, he would say, "Bopidi Bai, mitha lao" (get the sweetmeats). She would leave all her work and make puran polies for Baba whenever he asked for sweetmeats. He would put a piece in his mouth and distribute the rest to the devotees present there. Baba went only to these houses for alms and he would always go to them in the same order, but there was no saying how many times a day he would go. There were sometimes occasions when he went seven or eight times a day. "Baba went eight times a day for alms in the first three years," says Sri Bayyaji Appakote Patil, "He then went four times a day for the next three years, and twice a day for the next twelve years, and in the last days he would go only once a day." When Baba went to Bayajabai’s house for alms, she would plead with him to sit a while in the house and eat his food there. Baba never entered any house as a rule, however, he could not refuse the loving supplication of the motherly Bayajabai and so he would sometimes sit on the platform abutting the forecourt of her house. The devoted Bayajabai never sent Baba away empty-handed no matter how many times he went for alms. She would eagerly come running out of the house and put at least some pickles or papadam in Baba’s alms-bag. Baba called her his sister; she was indeed blessed. She had seen the greatness and the glory of Baba when the whole world was unaware of him, and had resolved, even in those early days, not to eat till she had fed him. Her life in the previous birth must indeed have been meritorious for her to have such discernment. ******** Time Table of Shirdi Sai Baba's Daily Routine – 4 Ahmed Nagar district was reeling under a famine in 1876, two years after Baba came to Shirdi. Baba would then only beg at the houses of those who were relatively well off - Nanduram and Bayaja Bai. He would get half a roti at both of these houses during the famine. Later when the devotees recognized the divinity in Baba, they started coming to Shirdi in droves. Even when the richer devotees placed the choicest delicacies in front of him, he still begged his food and ate whatever he got as alms. He never even looked at the luxuries and rich articles surrounding him. He, who came to be known to this world as a fakir, lived on as a fakir till the end. He never cooked solely for himself, nor did he keep anything for tomorrow. Even in the last days when he was so unwell that he could not go for alms himself, he would send someone else in his stead and eat whatever was obtained. Baba sometimes suffered from constipation and diseases of the intestines. Then he would make soup of the sonamukhi leaf and some other herbs and drink it and also give some to the devotees who were present. When he suffered from eye ailments such as conjunctivitis, he would make a paste of black pepper and put it in his eyes. Apart from these occasional illnesses, he suffered a lot from asthma. Close devotees would cry to see Baba’s suffering when he had a bout of asthma. Once when Raghuvir Purandare saw him suffering badly from asthma and started weeping, Baba had to console him, "Oh Brother, what do you think has happened to me? Do not worry. It will be better shortly." Baba would not desist from going begging even when he was so ill. Sometimes when he was ill and in no state to even walk, the devotees would support him and take him around to the five houses. Once when Baba was severely ill a devotee presented him with a wheelchair. We can see this wheelchair today in Chavadi. Baba touched it once and set it aside. He never used it. When he was too ill to go for alms some close devotees would go in his stead. Some of these fortunate souls were Sri Madhavrao Deshpande (Shama), Sri Balakram, Sri Wamanrao Patel (Sri Sai Sarananand) and Professor G. G. Narke. Sri Sai Sarananand wrote thus in his memoirs, "Once, as Sri Balakrao was away from Shirdi, I had the opportunity to go for Baba’s afternoon round of alms for many days. I used to get alms from Sri Jog’s house and milk from another house." G. G. Narke, seeing the fortunate Sri Sai Saranananda, thought in his mind that he should also have the good fortune of begging food for Baba. Once, he did not have time to change his clothes, and came to the mosque dressed in his normal suit and a hat. Baba said, "This man will go today for alms for me." Narke went happily for alms in those clothes. He got the rare chance of begging alms for Baba for a period of four months. Baba would put a cloth alms-bag around his shoulder and carry a tin when he went begging. He would put all the solid stuff such as rotis and curries in the bag and the liquids, such as milk and curds in the tin. He never hankered after tastes and would instruct the devotees to disregard taste. Baba always followed the same alms route every day. He started from Dwarakamai and after crossing in front of Chavadi went to the houses of Sakharam Shelke and Wamanrao Gondkar. He then went to the houses of (Appaji) Bayayaji Patil and Tatyakote Patil (Bayajabai) which were a little distance away. Lastly he went to Nanduram Marwadi’s house. In those days, there was a small heap of stones on the way coming from Bayyaji Patil’s house. Baba would stop there and would feed the dogs and crows from the alms he had received. Baba’s padukas have now been installed there as a commemoration. As soon as Baba reached Dwarakamai after completing his rounds, he would place a little food in the dhuni as an offering, and would put the rest in the earthenware plate (kolumba) placed inside the mosque. As there was no cover on top of the kolumba, the dogs, cats, ants and flies would eat their fill from it. Anyone could take food from it. No one would be stopped from taking his or its fill. The woman who cleaned the mosque would freely take seven or eight rotis every day. ******** Time Table of Shirdi Sai Baba's Daily Routine - 5 Baba would daily go to Lendi in the morning between 8.30 and 9.30. He would normally use footwear only when he went to Lendi, and even that was subject to change as fancy took him. He would first come out of the mosque and stand leaning on the wall a while. After that he would stand opposite the Maruti temple to the God Hanuman, and gazing fiercely at the temple would move his hands about making some kind of signals. He would then stand at the crossroads at Gurusthan as if talking to someone, and then proceed further. The devotees who were staying at the wada and those who had recently arrived would have the darshan of Baba there. They would all be standing in lines, eagerly awaiting Baba's arrival from the mosque. Baba would slowly move down the lines, lovingly greeting each devotee by name, and smiling his benediction at them. He would then turn left and proceed towards the house of Pilaji Gurve. He would cross in front of the Vitthal temple and turn right towards the Kanifnath temple (located opposite the post office). He would walk a little further and turning another right would enter the Lendi. He used Lendi to complete his daily toilet. Where the neem and the fig trees are presently located in the Lendi, an ever burning lamp (nanda deep) was lit in a small depression in the ground. Curtains made of jute bags were placed all around the lamp and Baba would sit there for some time, always sitting with his back to the lamp and not looking at it. Abdul Baba used to look after the cleaning of the place and putting the oil in the lamps. He would fill two pots with water as soon as Baba arrived there. Baba would sprinkle the water from those pots in all directions while making some signs. He would not allow anybody to stay there while he did this, even Abdul Baba had to stay away during that time and the devotees who had accompanied Baba to Lendi would also stand outside and wait for Baba. Baba had himself planted the neem and the fig trees there. One of these plants was weak initially and did not take, so Baba used to daily bend it this way and that, and it became strong and grew well by his nectar-like touch. After spending some time at Lendi, Baba would return to the mosque the same way as in the morning; he never changed this route even once. He gave a lot of importance to a fixed routine or a certain way of doing things. The work may be small or big, but Baba would never agree to an iota of change in it. As the rush of devotees increased, the daily trip to Lendi started looking like a ceremonial festival procession. As soon as Baba came out of the mosque on his way there, Bhagoji Shinde would hold a ceremonial umbrella, delicately embroidered with tassles, over his head. Nanasaheb Nimonkar and Booty would walk on the right and left of Baba, and this fine appearance was a grand sight. ******** Time Table of Shirdi Sai Baba's Daily Routine - 6 It would be around 10 am by the time Baba returned to the mosque from the Lendi garden. His royal court would then be held till 11.30. Some devotees would come to him and tell him of their afflictions, hopes and fears, others would seek his advice. Some would pray to him to satisfy their desires. Singers, dancers, magicians would come and after displaying their arts would go away suitably rewarded by Baba. Baba would usually give them two rupees each. Devotees would come with offerings to Baba and he would touch these offerings with his hand as a token of acceptance and return to the devotees as his prasad. Sometimes he would have the offering distributed to all the devotees present. Only rarely would he take a little of the offering and put it in his mouth. Those whose offering was thus accepted by Baba would be ecstatic with happiness. In the mango season Baba would taste a little of the fruit every day and order them to be distributed to everyone. Other times he would buy mangoes and have them distributed to all. Baba would give the sweetmeats offered to him mostly to the children as some of the children used to come to him every day. In case the offering arrived when the children were not present, he would have the delicacies kept aside to give to them later. Baba loved children. He would talk to them gently and with love. He would never tolerate anyone talking harshly or beating children. Whilst he was so intimate and garrulous with the children, he was a model of brevity when talking to the grownups. He would smile but never laugh. He used to recount small fables when he was in a pleasant mood. These tales were usually the life story of one of the devotees present, who would be wonder struck at Baba’s omniscience. These stories would sometime contain admonishments too. Only those persons to whom the admonishment was meant for, would understand the story. The others would assume that the story was about someone or of someone’s previous life. Sometimes the devotees would totally forget the story told by Baba and try as they might, they would not be able to remember it even if they got together as a group to refresh their memories. Everyone was astonished by this. _Suchitra Devi At 11.30 the bell in the mosque went. This was the sign to the devotees that it was time for the noon Arati. All the devotees, wherever they were, would hurry to the mosque and take part in the Arati which would normally start at midday. Baba was worshipped with flowers and sandalwood paste. The ladies would stand in front of Baba in the mosque while the men would stand in the forecourt . Baba’s face would light up with an otherworldly light at this time. Many devotees have written in their diaries that two eyes were not sufficient to drink in the glory, power and beauty of Baba at the times of Arati. One may see Khaparde’s diary for more details. One can imagine how enchanting a spectacle Baba’s aratis were, when he was extant. After the noon Arati, Baba would bless all the devotees, give them udi and would send them home. He would lovingly greet devotees and ask each one to have his food and return again to the mosque. Later he would mix his alms with some of the offerings and eat his food together with ten to twelve devotees. Tatya Patil, Ramachandra Patil and Bayyaji Patil would sit on Baba’s left and the fakir of Malegaon (Bade Baba), Shama, Booty and Kaka Saheb Dixit would sit on his right. Tatya, Ramachandra and Bayyaji would eat from one single plate, while Baba and the Fakir of Malegaon would eat from another. Baba never had his midday meal alone and he would not sit for the meal unless Bade Baba was present. The devotees would wash their hands and feet and sit on either side of Baba, and after mixing all the offerings would keep the vessel in front of Baba. As soon as they sat down to eat the curtains in front of the mosque would be lowered down and no one else was allowed to enter it. Baba would offer the food to god and send a part of it outside as his prasad to be distributed to the devotees. Baba would take the remaining food and mix it with one part of milk, one part of sugar and one part of rotis and knead well. This would be distributed to all. Later Nimonkar and Shama would serve all the devotees who sat with Baba. If there were a particular food that a devotee liked very much, Baba would have more of it served to him. Shama was given a large helping of semolina pudding at meals as he was fond of it. M W Pradhan describes these occasions thus, "I used to eat with Baba at the mosque. Baba would serve us himself and heap our plates with food. I used to send a part of it to my house which would suffice for the entire household. Baba used to give each of us a fruit at the end of the meal. He noticed that my son Babu did not care for cooked food and gave him fruit instead ******** Time Table of Shirdi Sai Baba's Daily Routine - 7 Sometimes Baba would cook food himself and feed his devotees. He had two vessels which were big enough to cook for fifty to a hundred people. On the day that he decided to cook for the devotees Baba would go to the market and get all the condiments and groceries himself. He would do all the work such as lighting the fire, grinding the herbs and condiments and the cooking all by himself. (We can see the fireplace used by Baba to cook food at the mosque to this day). He would cook sweet rice pudding or milk rice pudding or mutton pilau. He would insert his bare hand instead of a ladle in to the boiling cauldron and stir and mix the food while it was cooking. Astoundingly, his hands were never burned. Sometimes he would cook gravy and add rotis to it. Other times he would cook gruel and serve it to the devotees together with buttermilk, or he would grind wheat and cook large rotis on the fire of the dhuni. Those rotis would be large and have many layers and one roti would satiate even the hungriest. He would never let the vegetarians draw near when he was cooking with meat. Once the food was ready he would have the maulvi offer it to god and later send a little to the houses of Mahalsapati and Tatya. Later the remainder would be distributed to all the devotees. After 1910, the number of devotees increased and the offerings also grew, so Baba stopped cooking food. The food offerings given as naivedya to Baba would feed 150-200 devotees daily at the mosque. Once all had finished their meal, Sagun Meru Naik would clean up the place. As Baba sat in his place, he would offer him betel leaf and nut along with a glass of water and two rupees as dakshina. No one would be allowed to stay at the mosque after the noon meal. Baba would send everyone away and stay alone at the mosque between 1.00 and 2.30 pm. Baba always had a brick with him which he used to look after very carefully. He would say that the brick was a prasad from his guru. He would keep the brick under his head when he slept. Whenever he sat down he kept the brick to his right and rest his right hand on it. Baba never slept during the day and never rested his back on the wall when sitting. He would sit alone unobserved by all and take out an old cloth bag. There would be some old worn out coins in it. They were of various denominations such as four annas, two annas half a rupee, one paisa and so on. (A rupee had sixteen annas in the currency of that time.) He would take out these coins and rub them vigorously saying, "This is Nana’s; this is Kaka’s, this Somya’s and this Damya’s". If he heard anyone’s footsteps nearing him, he would at once hide the coins in the bag. What those coins indicated or why Baba rubbed them thus was an unfathomable mystery. Baba never told anyone about those coins. It was also during this time of solitude that he would repair the holes in his old and worn out kafni Baba would again go at 2.30 pm to Lendi garden and return. He held court once again at the mosque after he returned from the Lendi garden. After this, in the evening, Sri Sai would walk about the forecourt of the mosque. He would stand next to the boundary wall of the mosque and talk to the passers-by. Sometimes he would talk in some coded words that only he could understand. He used to say things like, "Ten snakes have left, and many more will come". "Vani (the merchants) and Teli (the oil sellers) have troubled me too much. I am not going to stay in this mosque any longer. I am going away from here." Sometimes he would really start to go away from the mosque and Shirdi. This would be conveyed to Tatya who would come running to Baba and pacify him saying, "I will punish those who have troubled you. I will not let you leave Shirdi and go away. In any case do not go today. We will see about your departure tomorrow." Only Baba knows why he threatened to leave Shirdi. After allowing him to be cajoled into staying by Tatya, Baba would sit as usual in the mosque and talk to the devotees as if nothing was amiss. One can see small padukas, which have been placed where Baba used to stand at the boundary wall of the Mosque to talk to the passers-by. Padukas have been placed on the wall where he had rested his hand. It is said that Baba used to stand there sometimes and watch the sunset. ******** Time Table of Shirdi Sai Baba's Daily Routine - 8 Baba used to walk about the street abutting the mosque in the evenings. The people would stand in line on both sides of the street at that time. Baba would walk slowly talking to each person and enquire about his welfare. The evening arati was given to Baba between 6 – 6.30 pm. After the arati it was time for Sri Sai Baba to hold court again where the devotees could come and tell him of the troubles plaguing them and get his blessings. Baba used to demand and take dakshina from the devotees. Every day around 8 pm Baba would give away all the cash he had taken that day as dakshina. This charity continued all his life. He would give a fixed amount to each devotee every day. The devotees would consider it their salary. He used to give Rs.55 to Bade Baba, Rs.35 to Sri Tatya, Rs.7 to Jante Musalman, Rs.4 each to Bayyaji Patil Kote, Bhogoji and Ramachandra Patil and so on. Ramachandra Patil would give Baba four pieces of crystallised sugar in return for the four rupees he received from him. Baba would give a rupee each to the newly wed bride and groom when they came to him for blessings. On the occasion of festivals such as Ramanavami he would give two bundles of one rupee notes to Dada Kelkar and Bade Baba and instruct them to distribute the money. Many fakirs and mendicants stayed at Shirdi living on the food offerings, which came to Sri Sai Baba. He would give them each a quarter of a rupee a day. In the evening the balladeers, the storytellers, artists, dancers, acrobats would come to Baba and display their skills. Sri Sai Baba used to give them two rupees each. After all this was finished Tatya would bring rotis and milk for Baba’s repast. Baba would eat sparingly from that and give the remainder to the devotees as his prasad. He used to give 35 rupees to Tatya at that time. If it were the day for Baba to sleep at Dwarkamai, all would take Baba’s blessings and udi and would depart for their homes. Baba never permitted anyone except for Mahalsapati and Tatya to sleep with him at the mosque. Once there was a storm and a huge downpour of rain at Shirdi. As the mosque was in a dilapidated condition the devotees pleaded with Baba to sleep in Chavadi. They entreated him but Baba did not budge. Then a devotee called Narayan Teli summoned up his courage and lifted Baba and carried him on his shoulders to Chavadi disregarding Baba’s angry shouts. In this way Baba slept in Chavadi for the night. From this day onwards he slept on alternate nights at Chavadi Baba slept on the right portion of Chavadi, and some of the devotees slept on the left portion as it had been separated with a railing. The Chavadi Festival was conducted grandly on these days. Radhakrishna Ayi and Abdul Baba would sprinkle water on the road from the mosque to Chavadi to prevent the dust from rising. They would then decorate the entire distance with coloured powder in various designs. Cloths would be placed on the ground for Baba to walk on as befitting royalty. Then Tatya would come to the mosque to tell Baba to get ready to go to Chavadi. Baba would however not move from his place. Tatya would put his hands under Baba’s arms and lift him up to a standing position. As Baba started, he would place a gold embroidered shawl around his shoulders. Tatya walking on the left side and Mahalsapati on the right side of Baba would accompany him to Chavadi. Baba would first stir and rearrange the firewood of the dhuni with his right foot and extinguish the lamp with his right hand and then start for Chavadi. Tatya would hold Baba’s left hand and Mahalsapati would hold Baba’s right hand while walking him to Chavadi. As Baba was getting ready to climb down the steps of the mosque Pilaji Gurve would play the shehnai. The devotees would start singing bhajans. The horse Shamkarna would be decorated beautifully and would lead the procession. The palanquin with Sri Sai Baba’s padukas came next. The procession was lit with glittering lamps of various colours and was a magnificent sight. On one side the sound of musical instruments, on the other the bhajans by the devotees, and on another the shouts of "All hail to Sai Maharaj" would reach the skies. The devotees would throw flowers and coloured powder on Sai Maharaj as he stepped majestically as befits a king of the universe. He would progress slowly along in his awesome majesty and grandeur bestowing his kindly glance of grace. A well-decorated ceremonial umbrella was held aloft by Jog. As Baba came to the end of the mosque he would turn towards the Maruti temple and make some mystical movements. Chavadi would be well decorated with coloured lamps and mirrors to welcome Sri Sai Baba. As Baba reached Chavadi, Tatya would go in first and place a seat for Baba along with a plank for him to lean on and adorn him with a coat. Nana Saheb Nimonkar would hold the ceremonial umbrella, which would be revolving majestically. As Baba seated himself opposite the door, Jog would wash Baba’s feet in a silver salver and applying sandal paste would offer betel leaf and nut to him. The devotees would make obeisance to the lotus feet of Sai Maharaj. Shama would make a chillim ready by this time and lighting it would offer it to Baba. Sri Sai would take a few puffs and then hand it over to Mahalsapati. Later it would make the rounds of all devotees. Kondya would make some betel leaf and nut ready and offer them to Baba. Sai Maharaj would eat some and give the remainder to the devotees. The Sej arati would be performed at this time. After the completion of the arati the devotees would all take leave of Sri Sai Baba and go home. Baba would permit all to go home but would call Tatya and say, "Go if you must, but do come in the night and see me." Tatya would agree to do so and take his leave. Sri Sai Baba, who is the saviour of this world, may act as if he sleeps, as he has to follow the rules of the nature regarding the bodily form he has assumed. But his glance of kind compassion is ever upon us. He will keep his kindly eye on us – his children, and always protect us. Time-up, r;) Hit beHaL

Air Deccan, Jet and Indian likely to start operations to Shirdi. MADC in talks with NRIs in Dubai for charter flights - By Krupa Vora | Mumbai Monday, August 13, 2007, 10:00 Hrs [iST] Air Deccan, Jet Airways and Indian are likely to add Shirdi to their route networks as the airport gears up for operations, starting 2009. Shirdi is poised to have daily flights from Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai and Bangalore. Subsequently, charter flights from the Middle East region will be initiated at the airport owing to the huge demand from visitors. Group of NRIs based in Dubai is seeking to start charter operations to Shirdi. But, initially charters will be permitted to land once a week. Maharashtra Airport Development Corporation (MADC) will soon be initiating talks with the Bureau of Immigration Services and Ministry of Home Affairs for arrangement of immigration facilities at the airport. "Initially, we are targeting a minimum of 10 flights a day. On a daily basis, Shirdi receives about 6,000 to 8,000 visitors, while the traffic on Thursday and Sunday increases to about 12,000 visitors," informs R C Sinha, Chairman and Managing Director, MADC. The land identified to construct the airport by MADC is 500 hectares, with a well-connected road network of about 13-14 kilometers from the famous shrine of Sai Baba. Investment for the airport project is between Rs 80 to Rs 100 crore. The airport will have a single airstrip of 3,200 meters in length by 45 meters in width, well equipped with night landing facilities and will be able to accommodate small aircraft. MADC will also concentrate on non-aviation income, where it will focus on developing four-star hotels, restaurants, shopping facilities, as well as transport facilities. In terms of transport services, MADC is planning to give locals displaced by the project, an opportunity to start taxi services. Initially, the airport will be managed by MADC and a Public Private Partnership (PPP) model may be considered later once the airport registers a profit. ******** MADC to set up trust to develop Shirdi Airport Monday, August 25, 2008, 12:00 Hrs [iST] Airport expected to start operations by March 2011 - By Krupa Vora | Mumbai Land for Shirdi Airport, which is to be developed by Maharashtra Airport Development Corporation (MADC) has been identified at Kakdi village about 15 kms. from the Sai Baba shrine in Shirdi. MADC will develop the airport, which received approval from the Government of Maharashtra in June this year, under an unique model, whereby it will set up a trust, ‘Shri Sai Baba Airport Charitable Trust’ (SSBACT). SSBACT will give MADC the rights to manage the airport once the airport is operational. The development of the airport will incur an investment of Rs 200 crore and is expected to begin operations by March 2011. The SSBACT will have nine members comprising seven government officials and two private players. The government officials will include the Collector of Ahmednagar, Commissioner of Nashik, CEO of Sai Baba Temple Charitable Trust and heads of the various trade associations of Maharashtra. “The trust will be formed by the end of this month and the work on the airport will begin once the trust is formed,” informed R C Sinha, Vice Chairman and Managing Director, Maharashtra Airport Development Corporation (MADC). Acquisition of around 400 hectares of land needed for the airport will soon be started by the Ahmednagar Collector. For now, Aurangabad, 144 kilometres, or 90 miles away, remains the nearest airport. As soon as the airport starts its operations, SSBACT will give MADC the rights to manage the airport. According to MADC sources, the work on the airport will start after the formation of the trust; it will be formed by the end of September 2008. Interestingly, the trust can accept donations from the devotees and donor can benefit through tax exemptions. “We are currently awaiting approvals from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) and Ministry of Defence. We will soon invite consultants for the airport design,” added Sinha. The airport will be highly useful and give a boost to Shirdi, a popular pilgrim destination in the state. Shirdi receives close to 10,000 devotees on a daily basis and close to 15,000 to 20,000 devotees on Thursdays and Sundays. The airport will have a single airstrip of 3,200 metres in length by 45 metres in width, well equipped with night landing facilities and will be able to accommodate small aircraft. Plans are also afoot to start charter flights to Shirdi once the airport is operational. ******** Kingfisher Airlines offers an all inclusive fare for travel from Mumbai to Nashik Thursday, February 05, 2009, 16:00 Hrs [iST] By TBM Staff | Mumbai Kingfisher Airlines has come up with a value proposition for travellers for its Mumbai-Nashik flights. The airline is offering an all inclusive fares starting at Rs 885 for travel from Nashik to Mumbai and Rs 883 from Mumbai to Nashik. Passengers can now avail these ‘Value fares’ by planning their travel in advance. According to a report in Business Wire India, the flight will leave Mumbai Airport at 5:50 am and arrive at Nashik at 6:40 am. The return flight will leave Nashik at 4:30 pm and arrive at Mumbai at 5:20 pm. Passengers from Nashik can now get onward connections to Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad and London from Mumbai and it is now possible for Mumbai based passengers to visit Shirdi and return on the same day. ******** Environment ministry asks for details on Shirdi Airport Project Press Trust of India - 13:27 HRS IST Archana Jyoti New Delhi, 2 Aug 2009 (PTI) Devotees of Sai Baba will have to wait some more to fly to Shirdi in Maharashtra as the proposed airport is yet to pass the green test by the Union Environment Ministry, which has sought details of steps the developer intends to take to address concerns such as Air and Noise pollution. The Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC) is planning to develop the Rs 315-crore airport on 300 acres of land, about 3 km from the shrine in Ahmednagar, spread across Sonewadi and Savalivihirbudruk villages. The state government which had given "in-principle" approval to the project last year will provide 80 per cent of the land for the project and MADC will acquire the remaining 20 per cent. However,Union Environment Ministry at a recent meeting asked the project proponent to a hold public hearing as per provisions of Environmental Impact Assessment Notification 2006 and address issues raised by public in the Environmental Management Plan, before it could be given a go ahead. The Ministry has also sought details of the steps the developer plans to take to mitigate the noise and air pollution in the region due to the greenfield airport which is expected to become operational by 2011. "Details on resettlement of affected habitats, waste disposal plans and impact of the airport on the nearby settlements have also been asked to submit before the project is given green signal," an environment ministry official said. Shridi, a religious and tourist place, is witnessing increased traffic flow which reaches to about half a million people during auspicious days, weekends and public holidays, MADC said while seeking approval for the project. Considering the need and future growth of religious tourism in Shirdi, a Greenfield airport to take care of domestic as well as international traffic is essential, the MADC said. The Development Plan of Shirdi prepared in 1992 also envisages having an airport for Shirdi, it noted. The airport will have a terminal building, cafeteria, airline offices, parking, a 3,000-metre long runway and night landing facility. MADC will also construct a one-km two-lane road from Shirdi-Kopargaon road to the airport site. A 50-room hotel facility would be set up through a private developer adjacent to the airport, the company said. rEady tO tAke Off - r:cool: Hit beHaL

FORMAL INVITATION & PROGRAM DETAILS OF BABA'S PADUKA DARSHAN IN HOUSTON-TEXAS, AUG'09 SAIRAM, R:deal:hIT BEhAL

Farooq Abdullah inaugurates World’s Largest Solar Steam System HUGE SAVINGS OF LPG FOR SAIBABA SANSTHAN 14:39 IST Union Minister for New & Renewable Energy, Dr. Farooq Abdullah inaugurated the world’s largest solar steam system installed at Sri Sai Baba Sansthan, Shirdi today. The solar system has been designed for cooking food for devotees visiting the sansthan. The total cost of the solar steam system is estimated at Rs. 133.00 lakhs for which a subsidy of Rs. 58.40 lakhs has been provided by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE). The system installed & completed at Shirdi is the World’s largest solar steam system for cooking food for pilgrims visiting Shri Sai Baba Sansthan. The solar system enables the sansthan to cook food for 20,000 people a day, resulting in a huge annual savings of one lakh kg. of LPG translating to nearly Rs.20,00,000 per year. The system has been installed within a record time of 10 months. Steam cooking has been found to be very clean, efficient and hygienic way of cooking, especially when food is cooked for large number of people. The Shirdi system generates about 3500 kg of steam every day, which is sufficient to cook food for about 20,000 people. The system has been designed in such a way that it will generate steam for cooking even in the absence of electricity to run the feed water pump for circulating water in the system. To promote such systems in the country, a scheme is in promotion through Ministry of New and Renewable Energy which provides support upto 50% of the cost of systems to non-profit making bodies and up to 35% to profit making bodies availing depreciation benefits. Over 40 systems covering a dish area of about 12,000 sq. m have been supported by the Ministry so far for various applications, though the major application is cooking only. Other applications include process heat in industries & laundry, sterilization, air conditioning etc. Some of the large solar steam cooking systems installed include systems at Mount Abu in Rajasthan for 10,000 people/ day, at Tirupathi in Andhra Pradesh & Satyabhama university in Chennai each for 15,000 people/ day and the recent one at Shri Sai baba Sansthan, Trust, Shirdi for 20,000 people per day. India is full of sunshine during most part of the year. Solar radiation available during the daytime can be harnessed for generation of steam using automatically tracked solar concentrators. The concentrators focus the sunlight on receivers which convert water into steam flowing through them for use in the kitchen. The system comprising such concentrators is hooked up with existing boilers so as to take care of cloudy days/ non-sunshine hours. The system can help in saving 70 to 80% of the fuel being used for cooking or other steam applications. These installations can help religious places/ ashrams, schools, students’ hostels, canteens of various establishments etc. "Love, like Paint, can make Things Beautiful when you Spread it, but it simply Dries up when you don't Use it." asian paint - r:PHit beHal

Source- Shridi Sai Yatra Sairam, r (:^ Hit beHaL

Booking Re-Opens ***SHIRDI SAI BABA DARSHAN WITH IRCTC*** NEW DELHI- SHIRDI- NEW DELHI Departure Dates : 13th August 2009 18th September 2009 25th September 2009 1st October 2009 31st October 2009 21st November 2009 24th December 2009 Tour Itinerary: NEW DELHI - SHIRDI - NEW DELHI Day 01 Tour starts with the reporting at Hazrat Nizamuddin Station on Platform No.01 in front of Comesum Food Plaza at 0800 Hrs. Guests will be greeted with Welcome drinks on arrival, briefing & official formalities. Board the special 3AC Charter Coach/Sleeper Coach to be attached with Mangla Express at 0920 Hrs for Manmad. Overnight Journey. Day 02 Arrive in the wee hours at Manmad station at around 0435 Hrs. Meet & assistance. Transfer to Shirdi Dham by comfortable vehicles (50 Km). Check Inn at Hotel 0700Hrs Fresh n up & have Breakfast in the Hotel itself. Proceed for Sai Darshan. Post darshan back to Hotel for Lunch. Evening free for shopping / Leisure activities. Dinner Overnight Stay at Air conditioned rooms. Day 03 Wake up with morning Tea. Fresh n up Have heavy Breakfast and proceed for second time Sai Darshan (optional).Later proceed for Shani Signapur for lord Shiva Darshan by Non A/c vehicle Back to Hotel for Lunch. Post lunch time free to take rest & Check out formalities from the Hotel .Proceed for Manmad railway station to board the train for Delhi at 1500 Hrs. Board the train at 1740 Hrs .Overnight journey. Day 04 Arrive Delhi at 1320 Hrs. Tour ends with pleasant memories Sairam, r:pray:Hit beHaL

Thursday July 30, 2009 Blending of Dances Compiled by SHEELA CHANDRAN Evening of classical dance: Indian classical and folk dance academy Nritya Kalanjali presents Bhakti – Devotion on Sunday at Muzium Auditorium, National Muzium, Kuala Lumpur. ■ INDIAN classical and folk dance academy Nritya Kalanjali presents Bhakti – Devotion, an evening of Indian classical dance Bharatanatyam On- Sunday (8pm) and Aug 8 (7.30pm) At- Muzium Auditorium, National Muzium, Kuala Lumpur, and Maha Mariamman Temple Hall, Jalan Sg Pari in Ipoh, Perak. The academy’s founder and artistic director Sudha Sasikumar performs with 13 senior students. The programme is organised in aid of Persatuan Shirdi Sai Malaysia. Admission is by invitation that is available at Shirdi Sai Baba Centre, 27 Jalan Ampang, KL, and at Station Road, Ipoh. For info, call 012-211 8020. kAthAkAli mAsAkAli - r Hit beHaL

IHR’s New Offering Tourist Map and Visual Circuits of India 2009-07-29 08:19:54 IndiaHotelReview - Known for its innovative offering of online travel solutions and exciting range of packages, www IndiaHotelReview com has come out with yet another arrow from its quiver to help the tourists in charting out their travel itineraries. Termed as Visual Tourist Circuits they are all set to simplify the travel blues of travelers. Commenting on the launch of visual circuits the Business Head of IHR Mr. Ankit Rastogi said that these additions are one in the series of steps of making IHR catch the nerve of travelers. Ankit stressed “Inspite of hordes of travel sites dotting the worldwide web, I could not find a single that has a visual circuit that helps people gauge distances as well as show the physical location of the places as in maps. People who travel have two choices either to follow the maps of Google and the likes that show the physical locations but no distances or the distance charts which show the distance between places but with no clue of their geographical locations. IHR primarily addresses these two areas and tries to bridge the gap. Elaborating farther he said “the visual circuits as envisaged and drawn by IHR are made after a meticulous research, as a result we have come out with a circuit that is friendly, comprehensible and covers the most popular places of a particular area irrespective of the state barriers. For example our Gujarat circuit moves beyond the state frontiers to cover Daman and Diu both Union Territories as well. Also we have projected the most common routes irrespective of whether they pass through a hilly terrain or difficult stretch a serious putdown for wannabe travelers.” On the concluding note he said:“We have already prepared visual circuits comprising Kochi, Gujarat,Corbett and Shirdi (www indiahotelreview com / travel-guide /shirdi /overview-of-shirdi-107-0.htm) - the 4 most sought after tourist destinations. We plan to cover whole of India with such interesting circuits. In the offing are a Buddhist circuit of central India, a Konkan circuit comprising places in Goa and Maharashtra and a Jammu & Kashmir hill stations and pilgrimage circuit. Our bags are full. '' Visual shOrt Sir Cute (Circuit)- r hit beHaL

Invitation - Inauguration Of Solar Energy Project in Shirdi "SOLAR PANEL WINDOWS VERSION" The Result - rOhit beHaL