Sai Vichaar for Thursday, December 15, 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: Sri Datta Jayanti On this holy day it may be worth to reflect the

tradition of perfect masters

incarnating on earth and their mission. It is said in the Hindu scriptures that

the foremost in line of the divine teachers to incarnate on earth is Sri

Dattatreya. To enable mankind to realize the ultimate truth which is but

difficult to comprehend; the Lord kindly consented to incarnate on earth from

time to time. The first and foremost time is considered to be as the son of

Anasuya and Sage Atri to fulfill the promise given as a boon to Anasuya. The

Lord born to them was called "Datta Atreya", of which the later word is

patronymic derived from Atri. Sri Datta, the Lord of the Avadhutas (the naked

sages), first taught the highest truth to Sri Parasurama from whom it was

passed on to Sri Haritayana and so on. Thus started the lineage of divine

teachers on earth. The lord did promise that this tradition would continue till

the earth remained in orbit. In the line of divine teachers many names are taken

across the world, some very well known and some unknown. But one thing is common

to all these divine teachers; they are pretty much self realized, reflect a

personality that is very difficult to comprehend, majority of them have their

early life shrouded in mystery and their life is dedicated to spiritual

evolution of souls that get attracted to them. The tradition of Sri Datta also

referred to as "Datta Parampara" continues uninterrupted even after so many

millions of years. Many consider Shri Sai Baba of Shirdi as being in the

lineage of Shri Dattatreya. By His life and stories, Shri Sainath did propound

the same principles that were first taught by Sri Dattatreya and by many divine

teachers since then. Sri Sai Baba's teachings are more geared towards the

current age yet the fundamentals remain unchanged. Among the few books Shri

Sainath encouraged his devotees to read and listen was Sri Gurucharitra, the

book on life and teachings of Shri Dattatreya! Not only did he encourage

reading but to one devotee he explained the meaning of it too! When

one reads Sri Guruchartitra they will find many parallels in the stories with

that in the life of Sri Sainath. It can't be mere coincidence or chance that

lead to this! Since time immemorial the fundamental truth remains the same, the

same teacher returns to earth as perfect master taking on different forms and

teaches the same truth through the thought process and the evolution of human

society of that age. CONTRIBUTED ARTICLE: Unity is Divinity Once a guru

taught his disciples, "Guru Brahma, Sishya Brahma, Sarvam Brahma" implying that

everything in the universe was Brahma. After this particular event, one of the

disciple stopped getting his seat to greet his Guru on his arrival. The Guru

questioned him on this strange behavior and the disciple replied that the

previous day, the Guru had said that everything was Brahma and therefore there

was to difference between them. Then

the teacher felt that what he said came back to him as a boomerang and he wanted

to teach the student a good lesson. He went to the board and wrote "Guru

Brahma", "Sishya Brahma" and "Sarvam Brahma" as two different words. When you

look at these three, though Brahma is occurring as the same in all the three,

the Guru, Sishya and Sarvam are different. Thus, until you are able to

experience this oneness of all in practice, the student will remain a student,

a teacher will remain a teacher, and there is no escape from the need for the

student having to respect the teacher. The student understood that, "The basis

is one but the containers are different". Man can be differentiated from birds

and beasts only when he realizes the fundamental 'I' which is the Atma Tattwa.

Man is not just a creature with hands and feet, eyes and ears, head and trunk;

he is much more than a total of all these organs and parts. These organs have

to be ground, scraped, polished, perfected,

smoothed and softened through the intellect, higher impulses, pure intentions

and ideals. The impulses will be rendered pure and the intensions will be

raised to the higher level if man decides to dedicate all his deeds, words and

thoughts to the Lord. Then, Man becomes the ideal candidate for divinity, which

is his real destiny. Once the Truth of the Indwelling spirit is recognized, the

awareness that the 'World is one family' dawns. After this, One is filled with

divine love, which becomes the driving force for all of his actions. Then, Man

turns away from the pursuit of endless desires to the search of peace and

equanimity. Therefore, One has to understand that by converting the love for

material things into love of God, one experiences the divine. So, Desires are

to be controlled by developing the spiritual approach and by diverting, the

mind from material objects to the divine seated in each one's heart. When a

corpse is placed on a pyre and lit, both the corpse

and the pyre are reduced to ashes. Similarly, the mind too disappears when the

senses are negated. So, Control the senses but do not yield to satisfy the

insistent demands of senses. When the mind disappears, delusion dies and

liberation is achieved. Spirit can be awakened and realized only through

individual discipline and by the Grace of God. Faith in God is the best

reinforcement for spiritual victory. When you revel in the contemplation of the

splendor of the Lord, all material will seem inferior and only company of the

godly and the humble alone will be relished. Therefore, Cultivate faith and

surrender so that Lord's Grace will flow through you into every act of yours as

every act of yours becomes his acts. All acts, words and thoughts will

thereafter be pure, saturated with love and conductive to peace. Cleanse your

hearts so that the Lord may reflect therein in his entire splendor in all his

myriad forms. So, The faith is essential in "One Supreme

intelligence" which conceives, conserves and consumes this entire universe.

(Contributed by Sathyanarayana) CONTRIBUTED ARTICLE: continued... One will

acquire an equal-mindedness towards all beings only when he turns his vision

inward and realizes his essential divinity. Out of that feeling of oneness, he

will experience the bliss i.e., divinity. So, Always remember the principles,

Eswara Sarva Bhutanam (God is the indweller of all beings) and Isavasyam Idam

Sarvam (the entire universe is permeated by God). Do not develop attachment to

the world, Instead, Cultivate spiritual attachment and live in harmony with

your fellow human beings. Then you will experience unity between man and man. A

real devotee is one who realizes this unity. Therefore, Unity leads to purity,

which in turn provides the experience of divinity. (Contributed by

Sathyanarayana) DEVOTEES SAY: RadhaI took a vow few months' back to

publish my experience if Baba helped me. As He always does, He did grace me

with his blessings but I totally forgot about my vow. I was reminded only after

reading about a devotee's promise that was published on 10th November. I lost my

diamond nose ring 2 yrs back which was bothering me quite a lot sentimentally

because it was presented by my parents 21 yrs back as part of my wedding. I

searched in all possible places including safety lockers both here and in

India. I prayed to Baba Sai that I shall do Satcharitha parayana in a week and

requested him to please bring back my ring to me. Also I took a vow to publish

this miracle and tell everyone if it happens. I went to India for a short break

to visit my parents and during my visit to the safety locker over there I found

my ring in the locker. It is to be mentioned that it was not seen before when I

did a thorough check earlier. I

could not believe with my own eyes and tears were flowing thinking the kindness

of Baba. What else can I say about this. All Baba is asking us is for Shraddha

and Saburi, which we all should implement in our life, which will facilitate us

to cross the samsara sagara. MadhaviBaba, thank you very much. With your

blessings, Sweta got Visa to USA for her higher studies. Looking at various

cases of rejection, we all were much tensed. We all were just counting on you.

And as always, you were by our side. Thanks again Baba. ManiDear devotees, Ohm

Sri Sairam, Sai Satcharithra is for parayana. Just read once in life time

whenever anyone is in problem. Every day read few chapters to complete it in

one week time. It will be easy to understand and is also available in many

languages. Those who read earlier had seen miracles in their lives including

me. Sai devoteeIn the

Bagawath Geetha, Lord Krishna clearly declares that He is everything from the

smallest to the biggest. To get this birth as a human we might have taken

millions of birth and come to this stage. Parents know the priorities of a

child, similarly the all knowing creator knows what to give us. Therefore we

should not pray for small material things. Again you will get what you ask for

and eventually you will also suffer as a consequence. He has given you the

intelligence to judge and decide for yourself. This freedom is not given to the

species of lower birth and therefore He controls certain actions of the lower

births. There is the 'karmic law' and we have to suffer the consequences of our

own actions in the past which we do not know. He may show mercy on us and take

the suffering himself. So it is better for us to leave it to Him and He will do

the best. PRAYER CLUB: Sai

devoteeSai Baba, please help my first brother. You know all his problems Baba.

Please show us the right path to solve all his problems. Help him join a good

job and help him get married to a nice girl who can fill his life with

happiness and peace. Please help us Baba. HarishOh Sairam! our Koti pranamas

to You and we bow to Your lotus feet. Thanks for answering our prayers. Now I

am requesting one more important prayer to Lord Shirdi Sainatha. Oh Shirdi

Baba! please bless my wife's pregnancy to be normal one and also carry out

successful delivery with your presence in hosptial. Also bless with good health

and long life to both my wife and our child. We surrender everything to Your

lotus feet and give us good strength and calm mind to pray always. Sai

devoteeDear Baba, Koti Namaskarams to Your lotus feet. I have started reading

Sai Satcharitra, please help my husband to get a job and guide

him to go to job regularly and get salary. Actually we are living seperately

because of so many problems. You guide him to lead a responsble life. Baba

guide my children to study well. EXPERIENCE OF DEVOTEES: RebeccaI run a

business and am always beset with problems and stress, to the extent that my

doctor has told me I have some actual brain damage from constant stress over

many years. The other day, I had a fellow from an ebay company over to pick up

a piece of equipment I wished to sell. He asked me for the manual for this

machine, as he wanted to tell any interested parties that it was available. "I

know exactly where it is," I said. I knew I had left it on the desk in my

office, which is up three flights of stairs. Up I ran, but it was not there! I

went up and down stairs several times looking for it and got all confused and

tired and my legs hurt, as

I am not as young as I used to be. The ebay guy was waiting patiently in the

basement. Finally, on about the third trip up to the office, I put my head down

on my desk in exhaustion and prayed, "Baba, please help me find this stupid

manual." I looked around again, but still did not find anything, so I gave up

and went downstairs to the living room. We have a glassed-in porch on our house

and hanging outside the windows are several bird feeders. One of these feeders

was empty and a chicadee had crawled under a glass partition and was trapped

inside. With a sigh, I went over to the window, moved a bunch of plants, opened

the window and let the little bird out. I turned around to open the big barrel

of sunflower seeds, and there on the table was the manual I had looked for so

hard. This little incident made me very happy. It reminded me of the story

where Baba said he draws his devotees to Him like little birds with a string

around its foot. Perhaps He

is active in my big problems, too. I feel, somehow that the karma is more

problematic than finding a lost object, and it takes longer. DeepakI am a great

believer of Sai, but my wife is not. But an incident changed my wife's views and

thoughts. On 1st December, 2005 my Boss told me that his wife with some of their

guests would be going to Shirdi. In the evening, I told this to my wife. After

this, I went to take a bath. While taking a bath suddenly it struck me that, I

should also pay a visit to Shirdi. While having dinner, I told my wife that we

all should go to Shirdi on my birthday i.e. 18th December. To my utter

surprise, my wife told me that while cooking food she also had the same thought

that we all should go to Shirdi, on my birthday. But she was little apprehensive

in telling this to me, as we had just come back from leave and if she told me to

take leave again I might get annoyed. While cooking the food, she took the name

of Sai Baba

and said she would believe in Him if we visit to Shirdi on my birthday could be

made possible and luck could have it, I was the person who said lets go to

Shirdi. " Sai Baba is Great". We have planned to visit Shirdi on 18th December

2005. QUOTATION OF THE WEEK: "Generally, the worldly parents give birth

to he body but death invariably follows life; but Sadguru does away with both

life and death and so he is more kind and merciful than anybody".-Sai

Satcharitha QUESTION OF THE WEEK: Q. Should Sai devotees believe in

Astrology and Palmistry? 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, Toronto, CanadaShirdi Saibaba

Sansthan invites all to join for satsangs every Thursday 7:00 pm at Sai

Dwarkamai, 147 Winston Castle Dr. Markham, Ontario, L6C 2N4, phone 416-402-8089

or email: saileela99 . To request a pooja

for yourselves, your friends and family for any occasion at your residence,

please call. Devotees can request udi or Holy water (Abhishek Jal) from the

Holy bathing of Baba by sending us an email or by phone. 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. Dhoop aarti at 7:30 p.m everyday and Bhajans on Saturday from 5:00

p.m onwards. For other temple activities and information please call

647-444-4724 or send an email to info (AT) theshirdisaimandir (DOT) com. 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. Sai Satsang, SingaporeTo all Shirdi Sai Baba devotees in

Singapore, Sai Sansthan, Singapore is organizing Shirdi Sai Baba prayer session

every Saturday between 18:30 hrs to 20:30 hrs at 2nd floor function hall, Sri

Vadapathira Kaliamman temple, (opp. to Sinda), 555, Serangoon Road,

Singapore-218174. We invite you all to participate and seek Baba's blessings.

For further details, please visit www.saisansthan.com. FROM THE EDITORS

KEYBOARD: Sai devotees from Singapore or those visiting that country please

refer to Sai Activities section for details on Sai satsang in Singapore. Sai

Vichaar thanks you for your support for the Question of the Week feature. This

feature is intended to initiate useful discussion on topics related to Sai

philosophy, His message, and Sai devotion. Please send your suggested topics

for the same. Q. Should Sai devotees believe in Astrology and Palmistry?

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