Sai Vichaar for Thursday, May 08, 2008

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Sai Vichaar www.saibaba.org Thursday , May 08, 2008 :: Volume 10, Issue 52 (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: Wherever You Go! Jahan Jahan mein jaatha Sayee Geeth thumhare gaatha...geeth thumhare gaatha Meree vinthi sunle Baba...kabh se tumhe bulaatha Geeth tumhare gaatha...geeth thumhare gaatha (Wherever I go, as I wander from place to place.... Your name be praised.... Oh Sai, Listen to my prayers Oh Lord; I have been calling you for a long time Your glory be sung.... Oh Sai.) The pious face with the piercing eyes represents everything that is beyond. Just as the source of light cannot have its own shadow, Sadguru Sai is self-illuminating spirit that stays with those who have faith in Him. Just like the Sun is not left behind wherever one wanders, and wind is not parted, Baba stays with those faithful wherever they go. It is one of His assurances. For someone who had no need to travel anywhere beyond a few miles from where He had stayed, physical distance is not a criterion. If this fact is not assuring, none else is! A concern that one would stay out of His divine grace should never be

a criterion, for Sadguru is the most merciful and the most compassionate. He will never forsake His children. On the other hand, it is the devotees' prerogative that he should constantly remember the graceful Sadguru and His benevolence. It is the devotees' spiritual duty to seek Sadguru wherever they go and whatever they do. That is the constant remembrance, which will lead one to break the wall that separates Sadguru and Sadbhaktha. This is no other saadhana! CONTRIBUTED ARTICLE: How to Recogonize a Perfect Master "You will never be able to understand thoroughly how great Sai Baba is. He is the very personification of perfection. If you know Him as I know Him, you would call Him the Master of Creation" - Meher Baba (1894 - 1969) Meher Baba said that when a sincere and patient seeker of Truth comes into contact with one who is spiritually perfect, he will observe

certain outer signs that are inseparably associated with inner spiritual perfection. The most important of these signs are three: firstly, Perfection is not only "Oneness with God," but also the continual and uninterrupted experience of "Oneness in everything." A Perfect Master continually, without break, experiences and realizes his own Self as the Self in all. This inner experience objectively manifests itself in the spontaneity of love that such a one feels or expresses towards all Creation. To him nothing is attractive or repulsive. Good and bad, saint and sinner, beauty and ugliness, wisdom and idiocy, health and disease -- all are modes of his own manifestation. When embodied Perfection loves, fondles or feeds any living creature, it feels and enjoys as if it were loving, fondling and feeding its own Self. In this stage no vestige of "otherness" is left. The second sign is the atmosphere of bliss that Perfection radiates in its immediate vicinity, an

atmosphere that a stranger in search of it cannot help feeling. A Perfect Master not only enjoys infinite bliss but also experiences universal suffering. The acuteness of suffering however is nullified or subdued by the overwhelming feeling of bliss. Hence Perfection can outwardly appear blissfully calm in the face of every kind of suffering and persecution. The third sign of Perfection is its power to adapt itself to any level of humanity. It can be as nonchalant on a throne as in a gutter. It can very naturally be thrifty with the poor, extravagant with the rich, regal with kings, wise with the learned and simple with the illiterate and the ignorant. Just as a Maser of Letters teaches English in different ways to beginners and graduate students, so also a Perfect Master adapts himself to the level of those whom he wants to uplift spiritually. Sadguru Sainath is the foremost of the Perfect Masters Meher Baba resorted to during his quest to

seek realization. Meher Baba, a great Yogi himself, felt that if one knows Sainath as he had known him, he or she would accept Him to be the Master of the Creation. Sainath of Shirdi is the rarest of such Perfect Masters who is perfect in and out. (Contributed by Sai Vichaar team) DEVOTEES SAY: TejaswiI was really worried about my funding for my MBA studies but finally received a GA position at my chosen University. In between, I had lost total faith on Baba, and had stopped reading Satcharita. I am really sorry to have lost faith, and it is my ardent request to all devotees never to lose faith on Baba. Troubles are here only to test our faith. RamI was not feeling well Monday afternoon in the office. I was sitting in my cube but I was not able to do anything because my body was aching and I felt slight

fever. I prayed to Baba and asked him to make me feel better by next day morning and promised that I will write my experience in Sai Vichaar. I came home after that and slept that night. When I woke up next day morning I was feeling lot better. Baba always protects his devotees as he promises. UshaWith the blessings of Shirdi Sairam my daughter got a job. Thank you Sairam. NaineshWe had decided to go out to pick up some diner. We had two cars in our driveway. On one side of the driveway we also have a basketball hoop. We usually take my wife's car, which is the furthest from the hoop. However for some reason (Sai's prompting) we took that day the car closer to the hoop. On our return to home, there was a strong wind, rain and lightning that started and by the time we got home, the hoop had fallen down. If we had not taken the car we took, it would have had to lot of damage from the hoop that

fell across the driveway. This is nothing but Sai saving his devotees from any kind of damage or set backs. JyothirmayiLast November we had been to Shirdi. My sister-in-law and her mother-in-law gave me some money to put in the "hundi" at Shirdi. As our trip was very short and hectic, I completely forgot about it. On our way back, it suddenly struck me that I had forgotten to put the money at Shirdi and mentally I offered an apology to Sai Baba. No sooner did this thought cross my mind, the driver of our vehicle got a call from his friend saying they were making a door for the Shirdi temple and he wanted the driver to stop by and see the door on the way. We stopped by on our way back to see the door and saw the life-size photo of Saibaba. Annadanam(feeding the hungry) was also being organized there. Not only could I send the money through the team who were on their way to Shirdi, I also had the fortune of taking part in the annadaan.

Ever since then, my belief in Sai Baba has been tremendous. PrasanthiThank you Baba for solving all my problems, one by one. Because of You, my fiancee got a good job and he joined the company today(Thursday). Please bless him in performing all his duties efficiently. Please Baba, help me also in finding a suitable job. NandKishoreIt was last year a day before Dhanteras, I was having Rs. 500 with me and was wondering how will I celebrate Diwali this year, no scope of resources. I was sitting in my cabin in the office and thinking on the subject, all of a sudden my colleague came to my room and asked permission to leave because he wanted to visit Shirdi. I said fine and gave him Rs. 100 to be offered to Saibaba as dakshina. After a while I received a call from my Managing Director asking me to see him in the evening. I met the director in the evening and to my surprise he handed over a packet,

which had loads of money in that and said, "go celebrate this Diwali with your family". My joy knew no bounds and I thanked Sai Baba profusely for giving me what I did not expect. PRAYER CLUB: Sai devoteeSai Baba, I am suffering from severe head pain due to an accident while returning from Shirdi. I pray to Baba to relieve me from this pain and save my life and to do normal work. My request may kindly be graced and blessed by Baba. Also bless our family with good health and happiness. Thanks a lot for all Your blessings and kindness. A devoteeMy daughter has been unwell from the past few days and the doctor has called her for some tests on Saturday. My daughter is very scared and has been crying uncontrollably. Although, she has faith in Baba, she is still very scared for whatever the doctor has suspected. I urge each one

of you to pray along with us to Baba, to help her so that all her test reports turn out to be normal and she is hale and healthy. I will write to you once again, when we hear about the reports. Until then, please pray for her. VijayenderDear Sainath, thank you for all Your blessings. Please arrange a stable and respectable job for my youngest brother-in-law. Inspite of praying to You so many times I still have tremors in my right hand. Kindly solve this problem of mine as soon as possible. Baba, please forgive me for all my mistakes, I will never repeat those. Kindly bless me so that I can write with my right hand properly and nicely. PujaOh my deva sorry for all the bad I do knowingly and unknowingly. Bless me to follow Your path with devotion and clear my mind of the bad thoughts and bad words. I know she is hurt, please make her feel better and happy. Baba please make my mother's trip easy

today and make her return home safely back. I will post an article on the coming Thursday as I know you will like always. Deva, I am waiting for the miracle to hapen and I know You will make it happen and cure my sister's thyroid completely to the doctors shock. Foe this bless me and help me to start reading the pothi, please as it is only possible with Your grace. Baba there is one more thing in the list is that my younger daughter is about to be two years and is still not speaking which is really worrying me as children at this stage start speaking. Baba, please bless her with good speech and bless and take care of both of them. Baba, please improve our relationship with my husband and my brother-in-law and clear all misunderstanding and help him in getting our dues cleared from the client Baba. Bless my family and all your devotees. SheebaBaba has always helped me out from many worse situations. Today again I am begging Him to

shower His blessings on me as I see no other means for rescue. I am suffering from major depression and chronic insomnia and many other frequent health problems. I am not able to do much for my kids or family. Nobody seems to understand my problems including my husband. I feel very desperate and weak day by day. Baba, you are my only resort. Please help me out of this and fulfill my desires. Please devotees take a moment to pray for my health. Om Sai Sri Sai Jai Jai Sai. Sai devoteeBaba, with your blessings I am able to complete my certification. I am looking for a change in my job for good. I need Your help. Without your help, I cannot achieve this. Please provide the peace and health to my family. Sai DevoteeSai Ram, I am assailed only by afflictions for many years. You gave me some good life for two months by giving me proper assignment but the assignment is going to end pretty soon. I am

really crushed in this world and please give me an assignment. Please make my kid to do well. He is loosing concentration and please help him. I do not need to explain the difficulties and sorrows that I go through because you know everything. Please help me Deva, I am helpless. Please increase my kid's score. Deva, I promise that I will post my experience in Sai Vichaar. Sai Ram Maharaj ki Jai! Sai devoteePlease cure my mental health and let me have full faith in You. Let my prayer be answered. Shata koti pranam at Your lotus feet. Your devoteeBaba, koti koti pranam. Baba, please help us to sell our house and show us good path for my daughter and my husband. Baba help us, we badly need to sell the house. EXPERIENCE OF DEVOTEES: UshaOn Thursday, November 29th, 2007 I went to Sai Baba

temple in Mylapore. I entered the temple at 10.30 am and at 10.40am when I wanted to sponsor for Annadaan, I found my purse missing. Mandir is flooded with people on all days, especially on Thursdays, it is packed. I was sure at 10.30, I had my purse in my handbag, because my husband gave me money for the sponsorship. I had kept the money in my purse and put it inside the bag. It was our wedding anniversary and I was terribly upset, to be very honest, I could not pray sincerely that day. I had all my cards in the purse. Fortunately, there were a couple of policemen in the Mandir, and I lodged a complaint immediately with them and blocked my cards by calling the banks from the Mandir itself. I returned home that day with a heavy heart and prayed to Saima to get back my purse with the cards, because my purse had all the cards like medical, pan, etc. Days elapsed, months elapsed. Suddenly on 22nd March 2008, I got a call on my cell from a gentleman that he had found my purse

on the road. While he was standing in the bus stand, he saw my purse on the road, he picked it up and found a few cards along with my business card. He called me immediately the moment he saw my business card. He said in a couple of hours, he will let me know as to where I should go and pick up the purse. I was skeptical and could not believe at the first instance. That gentleman gave his contact information to me, so I called my husband who was away, to get in touch with that gentleman to collect the purse. In the evening when my husband was returning from office, he had been to that gentleman?s house to collect the purse. My husband was dumb founded to receive the purse along with Sai?s prasad. That gentleman had been to Shirdi and just returned the previous day. He had given a couple of rare photographs of Sai and udi along with the purse. We were spellbound. AradhnaThis story started in December, every December we went to Shirdi

to celebrate the New Year with Saibaba. With Sai kripa, I really got a good job with the good salary but unfortunately I was not selected in the field where I have interest. I worked in that field for 9 months and I love my company so much that I don't want to leave that. I spoke with my manger to put me in the field I like and used to cry in front of her that I cannot work in this field where I am. She always gave me fake promises that she will definitely do something for me. Finally she told me to wait till November and she promised me to promote me that department. As November came I did not see any effort from her side. In starting of December I prayed in front of Saibaba with tears in my eyes telling Him that He has given me a good job but what was the use of that job if I am not happy there, I was in that department from last 9 months but cannot be there any more, and asked Baba to do some miracle for me or take me out from this tension or situation. Finally after

the first week of December, my manager called me and said that she is promoting me to the department where I want to go. I had a ticket booked on December 28th 2007 for Shirdi and on 26th December I was thinking that this time when I went to Shirdi I will pray to Baba that when I come back from Shirdi in January 2008 my manger should promote me to carrier level and on 27th December 2007, I got another miracle that she has promoted me again. I am working in that department with the Carrier level and Baba is helping me every month in achieving my target. Just want to say Baba be with me always I cannot do anything with You! SirishaLast Saturday, I went to a birthday party with my family and on our way back home we stopped by a retail store to meet a family friend. We stayed there for over an hour and half while they were looking at some appliances to buy. After that we started from there to our home and after more than 40 minutes of

drive, I realized I lost my handbag which had all my credit cards, gift cards and checks and my license. It had been more than 2 and a half hours since I left the store. I was very tensed and prayed to Baba while my husband called up the family friend to check with the store manager. Just then, someone turned the handbag to the manager and everything was intact in the bag. It is very surprising as the store was crowded with people buying lawn and patio furniture and also it happens to be in a busy mall on a weekend. It would have been a disaster if not for Baba's leela. QUOTATION OF THE WEEK: "I rest where there is full devotion"-Shri Sai Baba QUESTION OF THE WEEK: Q. Question of the week is given below....... A. by Akhil Q. For a Sai devotee, is it appropriate to base decisions on practices such as Kundali or seek the advice of other Gurus? A. All we need to do is simply place our firm faith in Baba, and not concern ourselves with any other worry or other thoughts. Baba told Babu Tendulkar to believe in Him only and not the palmists or astrologers for passing his examination. It is needless to say that he got through. Damu Anna wanted a child, and according to his horoscope, there was no chance of him obtaining an issue in this lifetime. However, he pinned his faith in Baba and it is no surprise that he got what his heart longed for. There are numerous other incidents described in which what Baba, and not the astrologers and palmists said, turned out correct. I think that the following line said to our Sadguru when he asked a Brahmin bhakt Kakasaheb Dixit to do the unthinkable and kill a goat sums up quite nicely the type of faith we should all ideally have in

our Baba: "Your nectar like word is law unto us, we do not know any other ordinance. We remember You always, meditate on Your Form and obey You day and night, we do not know or consider whether it is right or wrong to kill, we do not want to reason or discuss things, but implicit and prompt compliance with Guru's orders, is our duty and dharma". Q. Question of the week is given below....... A. by Kiranmai Q. For a Sai devotee, is it appropriate to base decisions on practices such as Kundali or seek the advice of other Gurus? A. For a true Sai devotee devotion is reward in itself and it is will of Grace to bestow experiences of omnipresence, detachment, non-duality, awareness of life force to further awe or respect and help discriminate real versus unreal. For many of us, who are novice to concept of 'Aham Brahmasmi' these topics of kundali is quite distant. Just because we don't

understand some topics, does not make it appropriate for any of us to get judgmental as how one's convictions influence one's decision-making. There is a story in Sai Satcharitra as to how Baba directs someone to a maid-girl so one could understand that the real joy is a state of mind and not a materialistic possession. If we closely reflect on the story, the maid-girl here played the role of a 'Guru'. If motivation of question is that of a pure heart and thought then there is no place for doubt as Baba is 'antharyami'. SAI ACTIVITIES: Shirdi Sai Temple of Chicago and Suburbs, Illinois, USAShirdi 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, MNSri Saibaba Mandir is located in Minneapolis, MN at 1835 Polk St NE, Minneapolis, MN 55418. The mandir is open 7 days a week in the evenings from 6:30 pm to 9:00 pm and during morning hours from 9 am to 12:30 pm, everyday. Satsangs are conducted every Sunday mornings, 9 am to 12:30 pm. Please visit the mandir website www.hamaresai.org or call 612-789-7729 for more information on mandir activities, events and other information. 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 Temple of New England, Boston AreaSri 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, CAShirdi 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, CADevotees 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, OhioDevotees 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, FloridaDevotees 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. FROM THE EDITORS KEYBOARD: Sai devotees posting prayer request are requested to state their needs briefly and be specific about their prayer needs. This will help with good use of space and allows more requests to be posted every week. Also, please use the appropriate A Sai devotee suggested the "Question of the week" for this week as follows: Q. For a Sai devotee, is it appropriate to base decisions on practices such as Kundali or seek the advice of other Gurus? 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

page,2. You have visited our web site and shown interest in the Sai topics and asked for information, or3. You have been gifted a subscription by a friend or a relative. To Subscribe Sai Vichaar for receipt by Email please visit the URL http://www.saibaba.org/newsletter.html and select the option from the menu. If you are subscribing the newsletter for your friend or a relative, we request that the person concerned may be notified about receiving the newsletter and the willingness to receive the newsletter be confirmed. To Un-Subscribe receipt of Sai Vichaar, please visit the URL http://www.saibaba.org/newsletter.html and select the option from the menu. If you have problems accessing the web page due to network problems, please send an e-mail to support with the words "Un Sai Vichaar" in the subject line. To make a contribution to any of the sections of Sai

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organization) Mail: 12N950 State Route 47 Hampshire, IL 60140, USA Email maildrop Phone 847-931-4058 Fax 847-931-4066 © Copyright 1998-2008 saibaba.org, Shirdi Sai Baba Sanstha - Sai Vichaar Weekly may only be redistributed in its unedited form. Written permission must be obtained to reprint or cite the information contained within this newsletter. Sai Vichaar is devoted

to the philosophy and teachings of Shri Sadguru Sai Baba of Shirdi, and will take every measure to avoid topics or themes contradicting the same. Sai Vichaar team or the Shirdi Sai Baba web site is not responsible for the opinions expressed by individual contributors.