Fwd: Sai Vichaar for Thursday , August 28, 2008

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Sai Vichaar

www.saibaba.org

Thursday , August 28, 2008 :: Volume 11, Issue 16

(In its eleventh year of publication.)

Sai Vichaar is a Weekly newsletter distributed every Thursday and is

devoted to the life, philosophy and teachings of Shri Sai Baba 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: Call me to Shirdi!

I wish I could come stay in Shirdi for ever and ever Oh Sai!

But, how could I? Unless you wish I could!

Call me to Shirdi my Sayee....Call me to Shirdi!

Baba said, " I draw to Me My man from far off, or even across the seven seas,

like a sparrow with a string fastened to its feet. " He also made it clear to him

that if he were not Baba's man, he would not be attracted to Him and given a

darshan. Baba also said that He is not the three cubits long body that lived in

Shirdi but He will manifest wherever there is true longing and devotion. The

above statements may appear to contradict unless one sees the real context in

which they are uttered or used. Realizing Baba in places other than Shirdi is a

true pursuit of Baba in the attempts to see Baba in every being. However,

visiting a pilgrim center such as Shirdi is a recommended practice for a

Saadhaka. It is a suggested that every Muslim must do Haj at least once in his

lifetime. It is also true that visiting Babylon is one of the desires of most

Christians. The physical presence of a devotee in Shirdi, the taste of its

water, soil, and breeze, the perfumes of the air and

the chanting of the aarthis in the presence of so many other devotees has a

magical effect. Standing in the Samadhi mandir, in front of the piercing eyes of

love and compassion does away with the pain and suffering of the visitors with

one stroke. The assurances of material and spiritual wealth come to reality.

Once a devotee steps on the soil of Shirdi, his life is set on a different

course. One immense longing that a devotee leaves Shirdi with is that he should

return to Shirdi. The power of the magic soil is such!

 

CONTRIBUTED ARTICLE: The Guru awakens and heals the mind

The insatiable spirit of inquiry, investigation and discovery to make life

totally happy and worth living has led man to unravel many secrets of creation

and to make his life more and more comfortable. But, eclipsing all these

achievements is the constant fear of old age, disease and death from which no

mortal can escape, and all men are mortal! Evidently, man's quest remains

incomplete as long as he cannot extricate himself from the clutches of mortality

and attain eternal peace and bliss. How can he do it? God alone, who is

Omnipresent, Omnipotent and Omniscient, possesses these prerogatives of

immortality and eternal peace and bliss. If, therefore, man wishes to acquire

these qualities, he should attain Godhead. How can a mortal gain immortality?

How can an ignorant man acquire knowledge? It is only possible through the

guidance of a teacher, who has already acquired that knowledge. Similarly, the

mortal man should seek the guidance of one who has already acquired

Godhead, that is, a Guru. Who is a true Guru? Obviously Guru is one who has

attained Godhead. He is immortal, and is the very embodiment of Peace and Bliss.

The true meaning of Guru is " One who dispels darkness of Ignorance " . " GU " means

" Darkness of Ignorance " and " RU " means " One who destroys or removes " . Hence a

Guru is one characterized as someone who dispels spiritual ignorance (darkness),

with spiritual illumination (light) - as per Advaya Taraka Upanishad (verse 16)

Every individual who wishes to rise above his existing levels needs a

lighthouse, a guiding star to guide him on the journey of life, who can help by

dispelling darkness at every step. The word Guru also means " One who is beyond

Attributes and Forms " . GU stands for Gunaatheetha - One who transcends the three

Gunas (Satva, Rajas and Thamas) RU stands for Rupavarjitha - One who is

formless. The One who is beyond all attributes and forms is none other than the

Supreme Self who is resident within each of

us. Prince or commoner, rich or poor, every individual who wishes to get

empowered and enlightened benefits greatly from the guidance of an Able Guru.

Even the Gods sought out Gurus for themselves. Lord Krishna's guru was Sandipani

Maharshi. Lord Rama and Laxmana along with many other Princes learnt all skills

from their Spiritual master, Guru Vasishtha. In Sri Sai Satcharitra a seeker

asks Baba: " Where to go? " Baba replies " High up " . The seeker then asks " How to

go there? " Baba answers: " Take a guide; he will take you straight to your

destination, avoiding wolves, tigers and ditches etc. on the way. If there be no

guide, there is the danger of your being lost in the jungles or falling into

ditches. " Lord Swaminarayan ordained Sikshapatri, containing 212 conventions

of code of conduct for every human being. One of the points reads: " Even the

most learned of men will become morally declined if he is not involved in

devotion to God and in good acquaintance. " This Jiva

(human soul) transcends the three qualities, viz. Satva, Rajas and Thamas, but

being deluded by Maya, he forgets his nature which is

'Existence-Knowledge-Bliss', and thinks that he is the doer and enjoyer and thus

entangles himself in endless miseries and does not know the way of deliverance.

The only way of deliverance is Loving Devotion towards the Guru's feet. The

great Player or Actor Lord Sainath has delighted His Bhaktas and transformed

them into Himself (His nature). (Contributed by Sai Eshwari) CONTRIBUTED

ARTICLE: Continued..

In Baba's words, " No Sadhanas, nor Proficiency in the six Shastras, are

necessary. Have faith and confidence in your Guru. Believe fully, that Guru is

the sole Actor or Doer. Blessed is he who knows the greatness of his Guru and

thinks him to be Hari, Hara and Brahma (Trimurti) Incarnate. " (Sri Sai

Satcharitra Chap18/19). Lord Sainath also urged that bookish knowledge is

worthless and added, " Let us do our prescribed duty and surrender our Body,

Mind and Five Pranas (Life) to the Guru's feet. Guru is God, all pervading. To

get this conviction, strong unbounded Faith is necessary. " (Sai Satcharitra Chap

32) Many seers have made various suggestions on how to embark on the spiritual

path according to their perceived wisdom. Is there a universally accepted

spiritual definition? How should one lead one's life, which balances both the

spiritual and the material? To understand all this and choose the right path for

a balanced life of duty, responsibility, love, detachment and

striving for higher consciousness, you need the Grace and Guidance of a

Spiritual master. As the saying goes " When the disciple is ready the Master

arrives. " Friends, Let us purify our hearts to let the Divine dwell in it. Let

us install our Guru God, our Sadguru Sainath, in our hearts! (Contributed by

Sai Eashwari)

 

DEVOTEES SAY:

Bakul

I am going to make an effort to stop whining and start doing. I love you baba,

thank you for always taking care, of the smallest of things. My faith is

immature but I love you so much baba, you are so kind. It's all thanks to you

that I am coming out of depression.

Saroj

A devotee who requested Sai's prashnawali, here is the online site, which I

found last month http://www.shirdi-sai-baba.com

Kay

Sai Ram Sai Baba, Thank you for everything that you have already done for my

family and me. Please Baba my nephew wrote his board exam in June this year and

he failed and he was very depressed. He is re-writing the board exam on

Wednesday 20 August 2008 at 14h00 SA Time Please Baba be with him and his friend

as they write their exam.

Sai devotee

This is in response to Vidya B on her Query regarding donation of Wheel Chairs.

I guess this can be done through any Major Hospitals. For example, Adyar Cancer

Institute in Chennai. A person while donating, can specifically mention towards

the items that he wishes to donate for like bed's, wheel chair etc.

Jayanthi

Baba, I have prayed to you for performing a good gruhapravesham. As expected all

went very well. Everyone enjoyed and so much so that I was initially worried. I

had bought sodas for the lunch after the puja and was worried the kids would

consume only that and not have any juice. To my surprise the sodas in the fridge

became frozen and it took a while to open them. Due to the extreme heat outside

the kids had to have juice. Even that small worry of mine was met by you. Thank

you Sai!!

 

PRAYER CLUB:

Savithri

Please Baba, bless my husband with a good job.

Sai Devotee

Sairam,Pranam, Please save my job and our company, Deva bless all employees of

our company.

SAI DEVOTEE

Please BABA my son is going to submit his visa application shortly. Please get

it done positively, please baba kripa karo... since no one there for us except

you. and ma made all the other things go smooth like u know rtc clearance/

houseren... smooth and excellent... rtc more active smart... total tandurasti

for all family members and togetherness pls. Baba please bless for he JAI SAI

RAM

Sai Devotee

Please cure my mother. Please let her enjoy all of her grandchildren. Please

forgive us for any mistakes. Please help us to go to the right path of life.

Please....please show me some good signs.....

Sai Devotee

Dearest Sai I came to you wanting to talk to you. you heard me and I wished to

be blessed with children endowed with your energies. Heal me Sai, make me your

shadow, talk to me...i need to hear from you Sai...I need you... I am not able

to bear the pain...of not being able to give that Dinesh waits earnestly. Please

look at me too...you have helped so many...hold me Sai...talk to me...send me a

word...that i will be.... I can't bear anymore....it hurts so bad...it is so

painful Sai....it is getting unbearable....

Sai Devotee

Please bless my brother to get a job in standard chartered. There is a opening

in HR dept. Please bless him to get and accept the job whole heartedly. Please

bless him to do best in this company. Please help him Baba. Jai Sai Ram

 

EXPERIENCE OF DEVOTEES:

Rohit

Yesterday I had gone for darshan to Saibaba temple here in Mumbai. Instead of

the usual of having darshan and going back home I decided to spend some time

alone in contemplation in the temple itself. As I sat and watched throngs of

devotees come with prasad thalis, bowing down to Baba, praying & then going

back...I thought what if a miracle happened & Shri Saibaba would come back in

the physical form again? Just imagine.... what a treat it would be! Wouldn't you

too like this miracle to happen in real...yes, of course!!!! But then I

thought, if Shri Saibaba would actually come back, how many of us would just

leave all our work / meetings / everything in the middle & go all the way to

have his darshan. I think nearly half of the world would do so. But tell me how

many of us make it a point to visit / talk or even spend some quality time with

our parents / aged elders & not have the usual excuse - " too busy or too tired

so not much time in hand!!! " . If Baba gave

spiritual discourses ... Wouldn't everyone listen with patience & obey whatever

baba spoke, But again tell me how many of us listen / obey to whatever our

parents / elders say and not just fret & fume regarding it as another lecture?

We all would love to cook for baba, make different types of sweets, feed him day

in & day out, would do all types of seva i.e., sweeping/mopping, cleaning his

utensils, massage his tired legs etc just to see that baba does not have any

sort of discomfort. Now tell me how many of us would be willing to do the same

for our parents / aged elders if so when required and not leaving them in the

hands of full time maids. We would be bringing different types of expensive

gifts/flowers etc for Baba. But how many times have you gifted anything to your

parents / elders and not waited for an occasion to do so and that even without

keeping the price tag in mind.

Continued..

Bowing down and dong naman to Shri Sai and touching his feet for blessings....

good!. But also do the same to your parents / aged elders and seek their

blessings as not only charity begins at home but blessing too should begin at

home!!! When you look into the eyes of Saibaba don't you feel a sense of

security and hope....Well look into your parents' eyes too...see their sorrows /

troubles and see how they feel a sense of security and hope!!! So, you readers

of this thought of mine, think about it...and give the aged be it your parents /

elders the sort of respect / time & love you would give to Baba as Baba is yet

alive in the form of your aged parents / elders. Finally I end by asking

forgiveness as I hope I have not hurt anybody's feelings but I do hope that I

have aroused everybody's feelings towards their parents!

Chris

I wanted to share a recent miracle of Baba protecting his devotees. One of our

clients used a Vendor Management Company to pay vendors. This VMC's parent

suddenly declared bankruptcy (misuse of funds was alleged), leaving unpaid

vendors and workers throughout the country. Although the parent company had no

claim to our client's payments, all VMC accounts were frozen causing payments

issued by the VMC to bounce. Recovering bounced payments required filing claim

in Bankruptcy court, with little chance of obtaining relief as an " unsecured "

creditor. Furthermore, the bankruptcy court prevented affected vendors from

receiving payments for work done/in progress or dealing directly with clients

until the Judge made a ruling. Baba took care of both our problems - the

bounced payments, and the ability to continue to service our client while

proceedings were going on. While other companies awaited the outcome of the

bankruptcy proceedings, our client obtained permission to continue

to work with vendors. The second miracle was that the client took care of the

bounced payments even though this was an additional expense for them. So, Thanks

to Baba a hopeless situation was resolved without any loss. Sairam.

Malathi P

Please read this experience of mine. I have been waiting to buy a house for the

last 6 years and have saved close to $80,000. We are staying with my in-laws and

were searching for a home and did not find anything. We finally saw a home we

really liked but that will not be ready till December. In order to settle down

quickly we took a home that we did not like and put all our savings into it. We

repented bitterly and were very upset since we have waited this long and took

the wrong house. We tried to break the contract but the builder asked us to pay

$10,000.00, which is a very large sum for us. There is no other way for us. I

used Sai baba's book of answers and asked him if I can break free from this

contract and this was the reply " You will succeed if you remember Shree Sai.

Your worries will end. You will hear good news " . So I became hopeful again and

am waiting. We are going to close the house in a few hours today and I am still

waiting for Sai. No matter what anyone

says I will still wait for Sai. I wanted to let you all know my experience so

everyone can see how difficult it is to implement faith and patience but I am

trying very hard. I really resisted my temptation in asking the questions again.

I asked only once on Aug 4th and am waiting. I am 4 hours away from closing the

house and I am still waiting. Last week Sai Vichaar mentioned about Kakasaheb

Dixit how he waiting till the last minute for Rs 30,000 so similarly I am

waiting too. Every minute gets more nervous for me. I keep seeing different ways

of breaking real estate contracts but it is almost impossible. If baba would

have answered my question to be happy with what I have I would have consoled

myself and warmed up to the house I don't like but since he said I will succeed

I am still waiting. I will let you all know how this has ended for me.

 

QUOTATION OF THE WEEK:

Shri Sai Baba's conversation and sayings were not delivered with the purpose

of dazzling a handfull of intellectuals with technical discussions of

philosophy; his aim was to rouse the moral insight of the average seeker. Often

employing analogies and similies drawn from experiences that are common to all

men and women, the Master was able to carry conviction and inspiration to those

who came to him-Mani Sahukar in Saibaba: The Saint of Shirdi

 

QUESTION OF THE WEEK:

Q. " Purification of mind is absolute necessity for the spiritual growth " -

Comment A. by Mukesh I agree with the statement that mind must be in pure

state for spiritual growth. On the other hand, I believe that if you make an

attempt for spiritual growth regardless of state of mind, it will bring purity

in your mind slowly. As you progress in the direction of spiritual growth, you

will start to realize that let me get rid of unwanted elements/thoughts in my

mind. In this day and age, we face many issues, temptations, materialistic

comforts, etc.; there are more chances that lots of impurity of mind exists.

Hence, I believe that we should make an attempt for spiritual growth even though

mind is not pure. Spiritual aspects are so strong that negative

elements/thoughts in mind will be driven away without specific effort to do so.

In short: " Purification of mind enhances spiritual growth and spiritual growth

enhances purification of mind " . Win-win situation.

Q. " Purification of mind is absolute necessity for the spiritual growth " -

Comment A. by Nainesh Mind has to be steady and pure with lots of love for our

Lord in order for spiritual growth. I know it's hard since this maya always

pulls it in different directions especially when we try to pray. Have faith and

patience and keep chanting Sai Sai and eventually it will become calm like a

candle on a windless night.

 

SAI ACTIVITIES:

Shirdi Sai Temple of Chicago and Suburbs, Illinois, USA

Shirdi Sai temple is open daily from 7:00 a.m to 9:00 p.m.(Summer hours). Daily

program includes Kakad Arathi at 7 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.

Sri Saibaba Mandir, Minneapolis, MN

Vigraha Pratishtapana Day Celebrations - September 6, 2008. Activities include

traditional arathis to Sri Saibaba, Sri Sai Sahasranaama Havan, Sri Datta Sai

pooja, and Sri Sainaama Jap. Please write to sai or visit

www.hamaresai.org.

Sri Shirdi Sai Baba Temple of Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas

Sri 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 Temple of New England, Boston Area

Sri Shirdi Sai Baba Temple of New England is now operational. It is located at

1827 Bridge St # 8, Dracut, MA 01824. The temple is open every Thursday from

7.00 pm to 9.00 pm and Saturday's from 4.00 pm to 7.00 pm. For temple hours and

activities please visit the website www.nessp.org or send mail to

maildrop.

Shirdi Sai Center in Bay Area, CA

Shirdi Sai Center is located 897-B East Kifer Rd, Sunnyvale, CA 94086. For more

information please call 408-705-7904 or 408-564-6704 or send email to

saibandhu. You can also visit our website is

www.Shirdisaiparivaar.org.

Shirdi Saibaba temple, Los Angeles, CA

Devotees in Los Angeles area are informed about Sri Shirdi Saibaba temple in Los

Angeles area. The temple is located at - 144 South 4th Street, Montebello, CA

90640. For more information please call Krishna Samantula at 949-679-9938 or

visit www.shirdisaila.org.

Saibaba Temple, Columbus, Ohio

Devotees in Columbus and surrounding Ohio locations area are informed about Sri

Shirdi Saibaba temple in Metro Columbus area. The temple is located in a leasing

space at 7674 Sawmill Rd, Dublin, OH 43016. Please attend daily Aaratis and

Thursday bhajans. For more information please call Panditjee at 614-799-8411 or

visit www.saibaba.cc.

Shirdi Sai bhajans every Thursday at Maitland, Florida

Devotees are invited to participate in Sai study and bhajans on Thursdays

between 7-8 pm at Meditation Gallery, 219 E Horatio Ave, Maitland, FL 32715. For

more details please contact Bonnie at 407-830-1276.

Sri Shirdi Sai Temple of Austin, TX

Sri Shirdi Sai Temple of Austin, Texas opened at 601 E Whitestone Blvd (RM

1431), Cedar Park, TX. Daily 4 aarthis are performed to Sai Baba. As part of

service to needy, a weekly sandwich seva is also conducted. For more

information, please visit www.saiaustin.org.

Shirdi Sai Mandir, Dulles, VA

Shirdi Sai Mandir is located at 43671 Trade Center Place #166 Dulles, VA 20166.

The mandir is open through the week in the evenings from 6pm to 9 pm. Sri

Satyanarayan pooja will be conducted every full moon day. Please visit the

mandir website www.shirdisaimandir.org or call (703) 661-4724 for more

information on activities, events and other information.

Shirdi Sai Mandir, Toronto

Shirdi Sai Mandir Toronto is open from 7am to 9pm for darshan. Extended hours on

thursdays and saturdays. For more information, program schedule or directions

please call 647-444-4724

 

FROM THE EDITORS KEYBOARD:

In the true spirit of Sai devotion, contributors are requested to remember the

global nature of Sai Vichaar readership. Therefore, the content, language, style

and presentation, appropriate to a worldwide readership will be more rewarding

and fulfilling. It should also be noted that when a section from any material

other than their own is quoted or referred to, it is the authors' responsibility

to acknowledge the source appropriately The " Question of the week " for this

week is Sri Saibaba said, " Purification of mind is absolute necessity for the

spiritual growth, without this all sadhanas are of no use " - Comment?

Humbly Yours,

The Editor

 

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