Sai Vichaar for Thursday, November 17, 2005

[Guest guest]

of Shirdi. Feel free to forward this newsletter to your interested associates in

its original form. IN THIS ISSUE: FEATURE OF THE WEEK CONTRIBUTED ARTICLE

DEVOTEES SAY PRAYER CLUB EXPERIENCE OF DEVOTEES QUOTATION OF THE WEEK QUESTION

OF THE WEEK SAI ACTIVITIES FROM THE EDITORS KEYBOARD FEATURE OF THE

WEEK: Sai shaan mein raagi ban! Sayee shaan mein raagi ban Saath saath bairaagi

ban Har peedh mei

har tanhaayi mein Sayee se pehle Jai Sayee! Be passionate about singing the

glory of Baba Let only such a passion bring about the dispassion In every pain

and every longing Glory be unto you Sai even before I take they holy name! What

does one have to renounce to receive Sai's blessings? His assurances of temporal

and everlasting goodies? Did Baba ever ask those who came to him to renounce

everything and take up to the forests? Sri Sarathbabuji exhorts that if one has

to leave up everything I order to obtain Sadguru's grace then where is the

greatness of Sadguru? Where is Baba's mercy? A clear understanding of this

begins the process of knowing that it is Baba's blessings and blessings alone

that sustains everything. Once we begin to realize the fact that Baba's

blessings alone sustain our existence we inevitably resort to the constant

remembrance of His opulence. The outcome of this leads one to chant Sai's

divine name everywhere, anywhere and every minute, in every pain and I every

longing. Sing His glory in every form and exalt Sai's greatness with all the

passion our hearts are capable of. Such a lively and joyful passion alone can

obscure passions about everything else. Isn't that a life well lived!

CONTRIBUTED ARTICLE: My Experiences with Saibaba I was about 25-26 years when

my father and my mother ran into some health problems and also were cheated to

huge sums of my father's hard earned savings deposited in one of the well

established finance company and mother was robbed of our gold mangal sutra in

the bus. My parents were fully broken and with no one to console them. My

father was looking fearless and was appearing with full patience. It is my

mother who told about their feelings in their heart and then suddenly I said to

her that if Gods are there and you parents were worshipping, then

things should go in your favor. Then my mother pointed to a small photo which

was behind the saligramam box and said "My Kizhavan" (meaning old person) will

always save and protect me and my family at all times. I did not understand, my

father's eyes were tearing, then myself with anger asked who is that Kizhavan,

then my mother in front of my father narrated her experience of her travel to

Shirdi when she was a small girl along with her father. Then I realised that

Kizhavan means Shirdi Sai Baba. Above all, I want to tell you here is that we

got back most of the money my father lost and besides the most of the pieces of

gold chain snatched. Anyhow, from that day I was eager to visit Shirdi in my

life. I was a regular smoker and used to go to wine bars to drink whisky almost

three or four days a week for the last many years. I moved with my family to

Mumbai and one day after few years of my stay in Mumbai, in one of the bars I

saw a big photo displayed in front of me of Shirdi Sai

Baba. I was drinking too much without my knowledge by simply watching the

photograph of Baba, after a while I realized that I drank too much but somehow

managed to reach my home at 12.30 pm and then suddenly I told my wife and two

children that I wish to go to Shirdi now. They promptly packed up things and we

moved out of the house within minutes and reached Andheri Railway station. There

the depot manager informed that we are too late as the last bus to Shirdi has

left. We tried with Private bus operator, there again the same reply and one

person who happened to be a bus conductor in his uniform appeared in front of

us and told us to try at Dadar bus Terminal. Immediately we got into the local

train, reached Dadar Railway station and took a taxi and finally surprised to

find the bus just moving for Shirdi. We got into the buss and reached Shirdi in

the morning and had the darshan of Baba. I wept severely even in the queue, to

convey that it is Baba who saved my

family and me. Now I do not smoke and drink, I do my pujas and visit all temples

many times on routine basis. (Contributed by Mukundan, Mumbai) DEVOTEES SAY:

Sai devoteeI also sincerely request you to publish more on the sayings and the

stories of Sai Baba which would purify the mind of Sai Baba's devotees and help

us to walk in the spiritual path rather than the experiences of some devotees

dealing with petty visa issues. My only fear is that people who are reading

such articles will resort to Baba more for such things rather than seeking His

blessings for self-realization. So in a way you have a huge responsibility of

choosing which ones to publish to enhance the Bhakti and Devotion of the

devotees to Sai Baba. KrishnaI have not been able to sleep for three days due

to some worry but once I started doing Baba's naama

japa I felt much better and slept well at night. SudhirI am employed in Dubai

and my story is almost matching what Mr. Jaidev Singh has narrated and

published in your Sai Vichar. From the time I have come to Dubai, life here is

very mechanical and the company which I have joined was not doing too well and

therefore was unable to pay my salary and am just living on food expense with a

housing. Since I don't blame the company I have been recruited and am

compromising on what they give. I started reading the Sai Satcharitra and the

leela's of Sai Baba and it's amazing, I have changed a lot. Earlier I was too

violent with my family and maybe others too. I don,t know how many people I

have hurt unknowingly, now I would like to repent by doing good deeds, helping

others in need, reading and spreading the message of the living Sadguru.

Sadguru has opened my eyes and made me realise on what I have done and now I

want to change, get back my lost

friends who loved me so much. A good sign. To add the spice in my life now I

have got a job offer in a good company with a good salary and am waiting for

the one year minimum period to change the employment. My current employer too

has agreed to give me an NOC to get the visa transfered with the new employer.

I am now waiting and looking forward to get transferd to my the new employement

without any hindrance or obstacles from anywhere. Helps are pouring in and am

sure this would have not happened with the blessings of the Sadguru. I have

completed reading the Sai Satcharitra once and have started the second time. I

cant stop it as I want to keep reading it whenever I get time. Such is the Sai

Satcharitra which is a real gem one should read it. My suggestion to all the

Sai devotees to spread the message of Sai Baba and his leela's and do not

forget to attach the Sai Satcharitra along with your message. I fully surrender

to Sadguru Sai Maharaj of Shirdi and pray to guide me, my

family and all my friends and devitees to guide us in the right direction till

the end. PRAYER CLUB: ChitraYou know what I am going through. I feel me

and my husband has gone through many difficulties and please bless us with a

child. You can only do the wonder. I feel we have gone through all the

treatment and we have lost our hope on treatments. Only you can make the

miracle happen. SridharYou know every thing about my problem. Please Baba give

me strength and courage. Definitely this time I want to win this game of job

hunt, because my entire faith is on You. Baba, please forgive me for my past

mistakes and bless me with your Divine eyes. ArunI beg you Baba to get me out

of this financial crisis I am going through and live a peaceful life in your

devotion. Please help my parents, my wife,

brother and sister as entire family is undergoing hardship and financial crisis.

ShaliniPlease pray for my brothers' good health and recovery with all your

heart. HitendarSaibaba, I have heard about you long ago but it was only after

my marriage when my wife and I visited Shirdi. Even after that I did not always

remember You. Baba, forgive me for this selfishness. Please help me to give

shape to my career. I have become aimless, lazy and do not know what to do.

SandeepMy career, my interest and every other aspect of my life have been

affected. Baba, it is only you who can show me the right path. Sai devoteeOm

Sai, bless me and my sister with a decent job soon enough. We both have been

trying for quite a while but in vain. We have lost hope now. Plese Baba listen

to our prayers and please bless my sister with a beautiful and a

healthy baby. GajendraMost Respected Sainath, please, release us from all our

worries and misfortunes. We are ever debted to You. We have nobody to turn to

and tell our stories of sufferings. Please Baba accept us as your children.

DivyaBaba please give me peace of mind, I am really confused in my life and

don't know what to do. Actually now I am pregnant and I don’t have peace and I

cry everyday. I am worried about my baby, which is going to be born with all

this tensions, what will happen. Please forgive me for all the mistakes in life

and protect my baby without any problem and give me peace of life. I really have

faith in You that You will take care of us. Also please somehow make me to come

to your temple every week. Thanks for the prayer club. EXPERIENCE OF

DEVOTEES: RamaI would love to

share this experience with all of you, which happened just a week back. We were

going on a cruise vacation last week and this was my first cruise experience

ever. Just before going to the trip, I was talking to my colleagues in office,

and we all started talking about the different accidents that happened with

cruises in the past and about the cyclones in the Ocean etc..Even though I knew

weather was going to be just fine and there was nothing to be concerned of, back

of my mind, I always had a little bit of fear of unknown. "What might happen to

us" fear used to drag me to all the undesirable thoughts. I started to get

worried. It was last Thursday. After we had finished that little chat of ours,

I returned to my desk to find Sai Vichaar newsletter. And then most

unbelievable thing happened, the Feature of the week: Shake the Fear! There was

Baba telling me not to be afraid of anything. Following is a piece of that

article: "Fear is one of the qualities that could drive a

person to the level of insanity. Fear manifests in different ways and forms and

may lead to other vicissitudes such as anger, greed, lust, etc. Freeing oneself

of the fear that lies deep within becoming the cause of various unwanted traits

is necessary for any serious spiritual seeker. Fear of the unknown is the

biggest cause of misery. People make their lives miserable because of fear.

Fear can be fought with Faith and Patience. With Faith that all that will

happen will be for one's own good and patience that it will happen when the

time comes for the event to happen will go a long way to lessen the agony and

pain that one harbors in their lives. There was Baba telling me not to be

afraid of anything etc.." I was so moved and astonished to see how Baba told me

not be afraid, and I was not afraid or scared after reading this article. My

family and me had a very safe and very enjoyable vacation. I thank Baba with

bottom of my heart for giving his blessings to me. RamyaI was desperately

trying for a job for two months with no luck. I used to read Satcharitha every

night before going to bed. Then my husband suggested that I should do

Satcharitha parayan in a week's time. So I started reading Sai Satcharitha with

total devotion on November 3rd 2005 and completed it on November 10th 2005. From

the minute I started the parayan, I started attending interviews and on 10th

morning I completed reading the Sai Satcharita's last chapter. I prayed to Sai

from the bottom of my heart and guess what I got a job offer that very morning.

What more can I say about Sai and His Leelas. Dear devotees please have faith in

Him. He is with us at all times. QUOTATION OF THE WEEK: "Whoever puts his

feet on Shirdi soil, his sufferings would come to an end".-Sai Baba

QUESTION OF THE WEEK: Q. What is contentment? A. by Kandappa Contentment is

not something that could be said or described. Contentment should be felt and

experienced. People are wanting more and more and there seems to be no limit.

There should be a limit to the 'Wants'. When one is satisfied and happy with

what he has and do not want anymore then that is contentment. for example: One

may be happy and contended with a salary of $ 2000 per month, where as another

one is not at all happy with an annual income of $ 100,000. It is all in the

mind. Sai Ram. SAI ACTIVITIES: Shirdi Sai Temple of Chicago and Suburbs,

Illinois, USAShirdi Sai temple is open daily from 8:00 a.m to 9:00 p.m (Winter

hours). Daily program includes Kakad Arathi at 8 a.m followed by Abhisek.

Madhayana Arathi at 12 noon, Dhoop Arathi at 6

p.m and Shej Arathi at 9 p.m. Archana, Homams, Sahasranama and sponsored poojas

continue in between the Arathis. To request a pooja for yourselves, your

friends and family, please call. Devotees can request water (Abhishek Jal) from

the Holy bathing of Baba by sending us an email or by phone. Temple is located

25 minutes drive west of Schaumburg on intersection of IL Route 47 and Plank

Road in Hampshire, IL. For more information please call 847-931-4058 or send

email to maildrop (AT) saibaba (DOT) org. Shirdi Saibaba Prayer Center, MinnesotaRegular

Sai activities in Minneapolis, St.Paul area are being conducted at Shirdi

Saibaba Prayer Center, 725 Lake St NE, Apt 139 Hopkins MN. For details, please

contact hamaresai , or call Shirdi Saibaba Prayer Center at

952-938-2983, and to read the monthly newsletter Sai Sandesh, visit

www.hamaresai.org. Sri Shirdi Sai Baba Temple of Dallas/Fort Worth, TexasSri

Shirdi Sai Baba Temple of DFW Metroplex is located at 2109 West Parker (Parker

Plaza), Suite 212, Plano, TX 75023. For temple hours and activities please call

the temple office at 469-467-3388 or visit the website www.shirdisaidallas.org.

Shirdi Sai Satsang, Bay Area, CaliforniaShirdi Sai Parivaar invites all to join

us for Satsang every Thursday 7:30 pm at Odd Fellows Temple, 20589 Homestead

Road, Cupertino, CA 95014. For details please call 408-564-6704 or send email

to saibandhu or visit www.ShradhaSaburi.org. Shirdi Sai Satsang,

Ontario, CanadaShirdi Sai Baba Sansthan of Canada invites all to join us for

Satsang every Thursday 6:30PM at 147 Winston Castle Dr. Markham, Ont. L6C 2N4.

For details on other activities and services please call Shammi Chopra at

416-402-8089 or email us saileela99 . Diwali Annakut Celebrations by

Shri Sai Pariwar,

NJDevotees are invited to participate in Diwali Annakut celebrations on November

19th at Colonia Elks Lodge # 2282, 855 Middlesex Turnpike, Colonia, New Jersey

from 1:00 pm to 7:00 pm. For directions and other information please call

732-539-0631. Shirdi Sai Satsang in Vancouver, BC, CanadaShirdi Sai parivar in

Vancouver invites you for bhajans, every Thursday (6:30pm - 7:30 pm) at 8571,

118A Street, Delta, V4C 6L2. For further details contact Ritu (604)592 4182 or

email at sai_ish (AT) hotmail (DOT) com. Sri Shirdi Sai Mandir, Scarborough, CanadaThe

Shirdi Sai Mandir located at 2721 Markham Road, Scarborough, ON M1X 1L5

(Intersection of Markham and Nashdene) is open Monday to Friday from 6.30 p.m

to 8.30 p.m and Saturday to Sunday from 10.30 a.m to 8.30 p.m. For temple

activities and infornmation please call 647-444-4724 or send an email to

info (AT) theshirdisaimandir (DOT) com. FROM THE EDITORS KEYBOARD: Sai activities

section is a good opportunity to spread the word about various activities,

celebrations, and festivities of Sai mandirs across the world. Postings on Sai

activities are very useful for new visitors and for those who would like to

know more about Sai activities in theirs and other areas. Sai Vichaar receives

several emails for Payer Club. They will be posted in the order they are

received, please indicate if you do not want to include your name. Sai devotee

Subhadra suggests the "Question of the week" for the week as, Q. What is the

two-fold importance of Khandoba temple in Baba's life history? Humbly

Yours,The Editor ABOUT THIS EMAIL: This newsletter is not sent unsolicited.

This newsletter is e-mailed to you because of at

least one of the following reasons:1. You have d through our on-line

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maildrop (AT) saibaba (DOT) org and your inquiries will be attended to promptly. Thank

you,The webmaster From and Editor: Shirdi Sai Baba Web Site Shirdi Sai

Baba Sanstha (A not for Profit Organization) Mail: 182 West Melrose Street

Suite #4 South Elgin, IL 60177, USA Email maildrop (AT) saibaba (DOT) org Phone

847-931-4058 Fax 847-931-4066 © Copyright 1998-2005 saibaba.org, Shirdi

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