Sai Vichaar for Thursday, January 19, 2006

[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: Shri Sainath's life for posterity The glory of Shirdi Sai is spreading

across the globe at an amazing

speed. Shirdi Sai is today a phenomenon. It may well be that our great

grandchildren take Shirdi Sai to be a myth and fictious character in the ages

to come. Much of what is known to Sai devotees is primarily through Satcharita

and a few other books. The need of the hour is to scientifically research and

document the life of Shri Sai and His influence on the lifes of his followers

as happening today even after so many years of his Mahasamadhi. It is popularly

believed that Shri Sai Baba Sansthan and its official publication Sai Leela were

the first efforts towards publishing information of Shri Sainath. New research

by shraddheya Sri C.B.Satpathy has shown that in 1916 even before Baba's

leaving of mortal coil an organization was initiated by Mr Sathe (of Sathe wada

fame) called the Dakshina Bhiksha Sansthan to manage and organize the events in

Shirdi. A magazine by name "Sai Prabha" was first issued in April 1916 which

was bilingual in English and Marathi. Details

of research study and more on what it means for Sai devotees can be found in an

article in the magazine "Heritage of Shirdi Sai" issued dated October 2004.

Future generations may well demand documentary evidence of Shri Sai's existence

and his role in today's society. It is imperative that such rare and important

documents being found be preserved for posterity. All Sai devotees should wish

and pray that such an effort be underway without any controversies, discussions

and delay. CONTRIBUTED ARTICLE: Taking to the Forests Is running away from

the daily world the only solution for a person that is not in a position to

detach himself from the worldly affairs? Somdev did such a thing. He reached

Shirdi after his pilgrimage to Kedarnath and saw Baba's grandeur, flags and

chariot, and devotees flocking around Sainath. With questions about Baba's

detachment and feeling proud about

his achievement in being away from the family, Somdev approached Baba with a

contempt that was not uncommon with the doubting Thomases of those days in

Shirdi. Baba struck at him straightaway, without any compassion said, "get that

rascal away!" Somdev was puzzled, his pride running watery. Later, Baba, the one

who knew past present and future, reprimanded Somdev for running away from his

family in search of deliverance, and let out the words of wisdom; there is

nothing more sinful than renunciation as a means to escape from inability and

weakness. In fact, such an act amounts to selfishness! Sri Ammula Sambasiva Rao

in his "Life History of Shirdi Sai Baba" narrates an incident involving Nana

Chandorkar and Sadguru Sainath as follows: One's closeness to Baba was the

result of good deeds over many births, and such a person was Nana Chandorkar.

He learnt many things from Baba. He found this samsara (worldly life) to be

like a fearful ocean. The samsara appeared to

him like an obstacle to his spiritual progress. He learnt this truth by

practical experience. In the year 1918, one day when Baba was alone, Nana said

to Him, "Baba, I am finding the samsara very fearful. My mind is not interested

in worldly affairs. Somehow, give me salvation from this worldly affairs". On

hearing this Baba smiled and said, "There is some truth in what you said. But

the remaining is untruth and meaningless. You are under the impression that by

taking to forests, one can escape from trials and tribulations of the samsara.

But this is not correct. It is only an illusion, because wherever you go, your

body and mind are with you only. They will never leave you but will be giving

you some kind of happiness. Our past actions are the basis for our present

troubles and happiness. They should be faced courageously and with tact, and

you should lead a family life in the proper way. By getting away from samsara,

one cannot attain happiness. Everyone who proceeds in the

spiritual way will have to face all these problems and to think of renunciation

(escape) as a solution is not correct". This is the message of Baba.

(Contributed by Sai devotee) DEVOTEES SAY: A Sai devoteeI would like to

request all the Sai Devotees not to put condition to Sai, (saying you give me

this and in return I will do this.) I think we have some amount of good merits

in our past births, that's the reason we are in the safe hands of Sai, just

pray to Sai, just say Sai every time you get time, He will take care of the

rest, then say your experience or thanks to Sai in this newsletter or wherever

you feel like. Talk to him as a friend, Guru and whatever you feel like. That

is where you will reach the next level. Thanks very much Sai for your

blessings. KanthyI had nothing with me at one moment. Totally paralyzed

to some extent, personal life rocked and just was lying like a Dead Stone. When

Baba lifted me, gave me the strength. Whole new life with everything to live

on. It was almost like a rebirth with everything that even I could not have

dreamt. Then he gave a very respectful job, which is just his blessing; else, I

don't think I would be able to touch it. He has blessed me with the most

understanding, loving and caring husband. I just pray to Baba to give me more

strength and courage that I shall be able to do more good things in my life and

be of some difference to someone needful in this world so that he shall feel

proud to have blessed me with this rebirth. AnjuSai Ram, You have helped me in

passing the test. You gave me strength and confidence. You were the only hope

for me. I am very happy now. Thanks a lot Baba. SaveenThe mystical presence of

Sai in my life is something that I cannot describe in these

few lines. I always felt it and continue to experience that; why that a person

like me can who is so uneven, insensitive, selfish, and everything bad survive.

It is only because of his blessings, even though, I am only partially dedicated

to him, only spiritually, but not that complete surrender and I am only looking

for that day when I can fully surrender to his feet. I pray to Sai to give me

enough strength to be your true bhakta in every ways and help achieve that

complete Nirvana in your (Baba's) lotus foot. Bless me Sai Ram and I am so

sorry that I am sharing it after a long period time, though I promised it

earlier. Sai devoteeIt has happened so many times in our life when we find it

is getting tough in our life to over come problems. We start praying for you

and request you to bless us to get over the problem and you are always there to

help us in getting over the problem. The same has happened in locating a

bridegroom for my daughter

also. Thank you Dear Sai for helping us in locating a nice bridegroom who is

down to earth and Thank you for the same as you have given me a chance to thank

you for your eternal help. PRAYER CLUB: SumanaBaba you know that I came out

of depression and again started praying to god and doing pooja every day. Please

Baba I cannot face suffering any more take care of my daughter and me. You know

that now my daughter does not have father and for both of us you are the only

one who takes care of us. You should give moral, physical, and financial

security to us. I am writing my exams please see that I successfully complete

the whole program and find a good job. Take care of my daughter.

KrishnaveniBaba you know what is going on in our family. Please see to that

everything goes successful and let my sister get married as soon as

possible. A Sai devoteeBaba Please help me out of this work problem. Help me to

find a job where I would have happiness, good salary and career. Please solve

my marriage problem, Find me the love of my life. Please shower with blessing.

I have no one without You. RamkumarWe request you sincerely and earnestly to

pray to our beloved Sai with open heart that what we fear of must Not Be True

and my heart should be perfectly normal and let our dear Sai accept our humble

prayer, forgive all our sinful deeds in this as well as past lives and save us

from this calamity as he has done always. BhanumatiAum Sri Sairam! Baba, Please

bless me to get married as early as possible to a very nice and honest person.

DevikaBaba please be with me and get me this job. It is a job opening, which

suits my qualification and experience. But Baba

every time my talent will not be enough for the firm. They will find some fault.

Even my language becomes a big prob. Baba this time please be with me and help

me to get the job. EXPERIENCE OF DEVOTEES: VenkatI would like to share my

first experience with all the devotees. In 1992, I was trying for opportunities

in the Gulf countries through known people. One day my father was asked me to

visit his friend, who is staying other side of city so that I will get some

help from him. One fine day I thought I would visit him today and handover my

documents to him. I got into bus and got down at Secunderabad to catch other

bus. Suddenly I realized I need to take photocopies for some of the documents

and went to nearby shop and taken the photocopies and taken bus to visit my

father's friend. I have given all my documents and returned home. After a month

or so my mother was cleaning

up my Almairah (Wardrobe) and found out my passport was missing. She asked me

immediately and I do not have any clue about that. After thinking a lot, I

realized I might have forgotten my passport in the Photocopier shop. As I was

just started praying baba and visiting his temple. As I heard if we leave our

favorite food then we can see the results in no time. Immediately I went to

pooja room and prayed to Baba that I would stop eating Non-vegetarian food on

Thursday. Its almost a month and I'm trying different ways to get the duplicate

passport. One fine day, my father received a post card and surprisingly the post

card was from photocopier shop. He asked us to come and collect the passport. My

father immediately rushed to the shop and collected passport. When I returned

home, I came to know this and I was totally amazed and felt very happy. From

that day onwards I am praying Baba with more devotion. Sai, my humble sashtanga

namaskaras to You. SharmilaMy humble salutations to my Lord Sai. Baba, my only

prayer is to beg You to bless the whole world. Let the world rest in peace,

happiness and devotion towards the divine. Let Your mercy rule over the world;

let Your feet become the sole essence of our meditation. Let human birth remain

a boon on this earth plane. I would like to convey my heart through my dream

about Sai. There were few people in a big hall and I was sitting alone to a

side. There I saw one old person walking around and speaking to a few. I

thought to myself- Is that Shirdi Baba? If so, He would definitely bless me

with His presence near me. Lo, as these thoughts crossed my little mind, Baba

in no time approached me and I placed my hands on His divine feet and prayed

within twice- 'Lokaa samastaa sukhino bhavantu.' Then Baba was about to leave

but looked at me again with eyes full of grace, being full of pure love. He

looked at me as if He was asking if I wanted anything. I looked

into His eyes and said- 'Baba, andarnee challagaa choodandi'- meaning to say-

Look upon all with mercy. His eyes seemed as if He was to grant me that boon as

His feet made a move. QUOTATION OF THE WEEK: "I am not bothered whether or

not God has come in the form of Sai Baba - to me, Sai Baba is God!"-Sri Sarath

Babuji QUESTION OF THE WEEK: Q. What is the importance of khandoba temple

in Satcharitha? A. by Meenakshi Kumar Sairam to all Sai devotees, Shree Sai

first alighted in Shirdi at the Khandoba temple. Khandoba is lord Shiva. Bhagat

Mahalasapathi invited Sai saying ya Sai, Sai means SA: Sakshata I: Ishwara, or

Sakhata Ishwara/ Shiva. Mahalsapathi also means husband of Mahalasa, which is

husband of Parvathi, or in other words Shree Lord

Shiva himself! In other words, lord Shiva himself alighted at his own temple and

a devotee of Shiva himself invited him to enter the temple. Beautiful

coincidences as our beautiful Sainath! 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. Sai Satsang, New Jersey,

USAShirdi Sai Dham, Inc regularly conducts Sai bhajans followed by Aarti and

Parsad on every 1st Saturday of each month at Durga Mandir, Kendall Park, New

Jersey from 3 pm to 5 pm (Winter Hours). All are requested to kindly come and

receive Baba's blessings. For more information, please call us at 609-275-1334

or visit www.shirdisaidham.org or email us at shirdisaidham (AT) hotmail (DOT) com 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. Shirdi Sai Mandir, Scarborough, CanadaThe Shirdi Sai Mandir located at

2721 Markham Road, Scarborough, Ontario, 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 is at 7:30 p.m. everyday.

Bhajans are 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. Sai Baba Satsang in

Auckland, New ZealandSai Baba Satsang ( Bhajans , Provochan , Sai Ashotottram

and Shej Arathi ) is held every Thursday from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm at MT Roskill

War Memorial Hall, May Road , Mt Roskill, Auckland, NZ. For more detials visit

our website http://www.shirdisaibaba.org.nz or mail to

info (AT) shirdisaibaba (DOT) org.nz. FROM THE EDITORS KEYBOARD: 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. When Hemadpant asked Sri Sai, "Baba do all the crowding

around you are benefited?" Sri Sai answered that only a few flowers ripe into

fruits, not all are benefited. My question is why is it so? Q. How are we to

know that we have won Sai's grace? Humbly Yours,The Editor ABOUT THIS

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