Sai Vichaar for Thursday , August 30, 2007

[Guest guest]

Note: forwarded message attached.

 

 

 

 

______________________________\

____

Looking for a deal? Find great prices on flights and hotels with

FareChase.

http://farechase./

 

Sai Vichaarwww.saibaba.org Thursday , August 30, 2007 :: Volume 10, Issue 16 (In its nineth 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 WEEKCONTRIBUTED ARTICLEDEVOTEES SAYPRAYER CLUBEXPERIENCE OF DEVOTEESQUOTATION OF THE WEEKQUESTION OF THE WEEKSAI ACTIVITIESFROM THE EDITORS KEYBOARDFEATURE OF THE WEEK: He belonged to All!Saibaba wanted to belong to all and be shared by all. He apparently found himself at ease in this paradoxical situation. When pressed on whether he was Hindu or Muslim, he would often get very angry and abuse people. Once he told a devotes:" You have been with me for eighteen years now. Does Sai mean for you only these three and a half cubits of height?

Certainly, Saibaba never encouraged his own worship, though in the last years he gave up resistance and accepted the cult which the Hindus tribute to him, often in a quite ostentatious form. Saibaba was able to avoid clashes between two communities and succeeded in unifying them in an atmosphere of general harmony. At this early period, Hindu worship of Baba was purely individual. A devotee would bring flowers, bow to him, and ask for a blessing and leave. Mhalsapati was apparently the only one who honored him with a sandal paste puja.

Baba would often talk about Hindu gods, quoting from sacred texts and commenting upon passages of Bhagavadgita, the Isha Upanishad and so forth. The names of Krishna and Rama seem to have been particularly dear to him. With Muslim followers, Baba would always talk of Allah and Koran, often quoting Persian verses. Apparently one of his favorite expressions were Allah rakhega vaisa rahena, that is, Let us be content with what we have and submit our will to Allah. On several occasions, Sai reassured his listeners by saying that he, like them, was but a devotee of Allah, a humble faqir with two arms and two legs.In later years, Parsis and even a few Christians would come to Shirdi. Saibaba respected all creeds, true to his conviction that all religions are but particular paths leading to one ineffable goal. All had free access to the Masjid: outcasters, lepers, dogs, birds and so on. Baba particularly enjoyed the company of untouchables and the ill. One Bhagoji Shinde, a leper, came to be one of Sai's closest devotees. This was the reason why the Masjid came to be known by the Hindu name of Dvarakamai, the many-gated mother. From the young faqir, most asked for blessings of a material kind, progeny, jobs, cures from illness etc. very few requested spiritual guidance.

(Source: "The Life and Teachings of Saibaba of Shirdi" by Antonio Rigopuolos)

CONTRIBUTED ARTICLE: Each is unique..Sai devotees have a unique relationship with the master and their experiences are varied and individualistic too. We may at times feel that an experience narrated by others is much enriching than ours or our own experience is much important and profound than that of others. This sought of behavior will lead to unhappiness and an uneasy mind. Baba clearly instructed his devotees not to compare notes, discuss and argue as each one's path is different. He strongly advised his devotees to resort to his name if they were not able to control their urge otherwise. The methods used by the master are beyond the comprehension of one.

Satcharita exemplifies varied methods used by Shri Baba. To one devotee he advised being locked up in a dark filthy room for spiritual progress. For the same purpose, another one was asked to go to the top of a mountain! Even when curing devotee's diseases, He had different treatments. One was given to drink juice of some leaves when they caught cold which would otherwise be harmful, another was asked not to sleep upon snakebite. One suffering from asthma was made to sleep in the Chavadi. When a child devotee of his fell in fire at a distant place, He immediately put his hand in fire sitting in his abode to save the child! It is certain that the same process is continuing today too. As Shri Sai's arathi states, one experiences Him based on their approach and bhava.

Experience Baba with love and humility. One's own experience is the most important thing. Other's experiences may only serve as guidance or words of encouragement. Ultimately it is one's own effort towards reaching the master that is rewarded. Lobbying by others may only lead one to the master! After that each one has to toil. It is one's own journey and it is advisable if one becomes aware of this fact quicker and toils accordingly.(Contributed by Sai Vichaar Team)DEVOTEES SAY: AnjaliDear All, I would be grateful if anybody could please tell me Saibaba temple or satsang activities in and around London.NituI am thankful to baba for helping me to find my iPOD, which I misplaced and thought would never find. I pray baba to always help me, my family and everyone who has faith in him. Koti koti Pranam.VasanthiWith your blessings and grace my daughter secured seat in the field of her choice and also an accommodation within the campus. Please Baba help her throughout the course.NehaDear Navaneetha, You can view the full video of the Sai Baba Song - Sai nath tere hazaron hath on youtube.com just make your search with Shirdi Sai baba and find the video there.TejaswiBaba, Heartfelt thanks from the bottom of my heart. I felt that I would not clear TOEFL, as there were many distractions in the test center, as during my reading section, there was speaking section for others. I started losing interest in the passages I was reading and felt that I was marking incorrect answers. Actually, I felt I did badly in all sections except for the speaking section, but my results came today (Thursday) and they are excellent 114/120.30 or 40 marks more than I hoped for. Please continue to bless me, as I will be writing GMAT next month. Please, make me a good GMAT score too so that I can do my MBA from a good college. Things are finally looking up in my life. Thank you so much Baba. I truly believe that you can work any miracle.

PoojaI went through an interview and it was confirmed that I got the job. But they have taken lot of time to confirm my joining date. I was so scared and thought that I might lose the opportunity. I was daily praying Baba to show me his blessings and I should get a call today. It was Thursday morning and I just thought of Baba that today is your day and my joining date should be confirmed. After 15 minutes, I got a call from that company and they confirmed my date. I was so happy and Baba once again proved that he would help who ever comes to him. Thank you SaiBaba.VidyadhariSai Deva. I had posted a prayer about my friend's son, who is suspected of having Autism. I prayed to you Deva to help that family come out of this trauma while they waited for the final report from the Doctor. Yesterday the doctor gave the report saying, the child did not have Autism, but just a delay in learning. This was a great miracle. I told my friend to have faith in you, and you have never failed anybody. I have no words to thank you. I bow my head to you always.PRAYER CLUB: VidyaBaba help me. I am not alone I have my kids and my husband. Baba please get me out of this depressionAshutoshPlease pray for me to Baba to provide me a permanent relief from my financial burdens. My daughter is almost 5 yrs and until date, she is not able to walk or speak. There is no deformity...just delay but each minute is passing like hell... please please please pray to Baba for me and my familyPrabhakarSai Baba, My father in a critical condition in Hospital, please shower your blessings on him, and make him recover, Our entire family have very strong faith in you.SangeethaOnly you can pull me out of this please bless me with a job soon baba please don't make me sit like this please baba when I started it you showed me all the signs that this is the one for me please be with me and help me complete it.SriMy husband did not get a job from past 6 months. He lost his confidence on himself and he is so frustrated. Please Baba show your mercy on my husband, and show us a good path to settle in life.SurekhaMy husband and I are much tensed that what is going to happen for our visa status and the job here. Sai do something; give us the clear solution for this. Get me also a job so that we both can work and earn some money for us and to help others.VarshaWE ARE GOING THROUGH BAD TIMES PLEASE SOLVE OUR PROBLEMS.PLEASE SHOWER YOUR BLESSINGS ON OUR BUSINESS.HELP ME SAI BABADakshinamurthyDearest Sai, With all your blessings I got Visa and came to U.S.A, its been a long time I did not got a job and lot of pressure from my employer, Pls show me the way for Job and make me healthy.CynthiaDear Sainath, please forgive me for the debt I have incurred. Please give me knowledge and wisdom to clear this debt and to stop incurring more debt.DevoteeSaiBaba, thanks for showering your grace on us. With your blessings, we had a nice trip to Shirdi and we were able to see three aarthis. Baba, you know my family state now. Each of us is in different problems. I just have to have your blessings and I know only one word prayer. So, I hereby pray with my heart that please give us the power to face problems and stay with us always and continue to shower your blessings on us. Baba you also know what is there in my heart and what I truly yearn for.ChitraPray to you asking You to show me the way to handle my son's nighttime problem. I have not slept in so many nights and you have chosen to bless me with another baby. I am begging You to help me to heal my son. I know of no other way.DevoteeBaba please humare ghar mein sukh, shanti aur samridhi ho bas yahi ek ichha hai. Maine bahut baar tumse maanga, tumne kabhi khali haath nahi bheja, main tumhare dar pe aana cahti hun par koi asaar nahin bante. Please apne darshan de do itni pariksha na lo ki main haar maan ke baith jaon. Shrdi main rehne walon pe itne karam aur humara kya? Hamein bhi to shridi bulao baba.Sudha, QatarMy brother-in-law insisted me and my husband to go to Shirdi with my daughter. We went there. We prayed and came back. My brother-in-law insisted me to do pooja to Shirdi Baba after we returned to Qatar. But I didnt do the pooja. I prayed to him daily. I had to come back from India as I got an offer from a government organization at Qatar. We all expected that the offer will be with a good package. But unfortunately they didnt give a good package and so I denied it.

Now, all of a sudden my husband has got a good offer from one of the MNCs at Qatar. He is not able to join the company just because he is not getting release from his current company. This is a main problem who is all working in the Middle East. We tried to get it done smoothly by speaking directly to the company. But it is all in vain. Im still trying to solve this issue by getting help from a good hearted person. But till today, I didnt get any favorable answer from him also. I dont want to come back to India and live alone without my husband.

I have started to read Saicharithra since last Thursday. Im above to finish the book. I want all the Sai Devotees to pray for us. I believe in Shridi Sai Baba and expecting a good solution to my problem before this Thursday, 30th August 2007. Pray well that all my problems should be solved and my husband should join the company by this week. I believe in prayers, so I want everyone to pray and help me to get out of this miserable situation.A Sai DevoteeO Sainatha, Please solve the land dispute problem of my parents without making them blocked in any issues and please just give them the amount you feel like giving them. Please be with them always.PrabhaDear Sainath, I had said in my mind and prayed to you my Lord that my daughter who lives abroad and was looking for a house, should soon find a house of her choice, and you made it happen Sai, she got her own new house and she has moved in there with husband and two children. This is all your doing Sainath. She wanted to get one in the same place with school etc close by and she has prayed to you also, and you have answered all theirs and our prayers. Thank you so much Sainath. Let them be happy in their new house and they all keep praying and chanting your name.

Sai Prabhu you also have made mine and my husbands temple visits go smoothly, please let our further temples visits also go smoothly without any hurdles and always be in our thoughts and prayers. We hold on to your Lotus feet with full belief and devotion. Sainath Maharaj Ki Jai.

EXPERIENCE OF DEVOTEES: DeepakSai Baba is great. I am firm believer of almighty Sai. I had purchased a plot and I had paid some amount for that. I was transferred to Bombay and when I came back I was surprised to know that the same plot is allotted to some body else. I tried my political connections also but no positive reply has come. Today I said to myself why should I run after other people for help when my Sai is with me. I have asked BABA to help me and will request all Sai devotees to pray for me and if I get my plot back I will inform one and all and my faith in BABA will increase many fold.MeenaMy dear Shirdi Sai Baba, I would like to profoundly thank you for helping us all in the family to get jobs. For the past six months, it has been terrible with all of us not sure, if my husband will get a job abroad in Saudi as they said there was an age restriction and he has to seek a job here in India. He applied so many places and all of sudden he got a call and went through the interview and got a job in Saudi itself and that too for 4 years contract. Thank you so much Baba. My son who is hearing impaired had been looking for a job in multimedia and after so much of struggle out of blue suddenly one of my friends who had connections in the industry had him interviewed and the CEO was so impressed with his work and he got a job too. Thank you so much Baba. I had to leave my job for personal reasons and was looking for a job and today I got a call and hopefully I should have a nice job by next Thursday. Thanks for your help and affection towards my family.ShilpaSince I was about 5 years old, I had terrible migraines and whenever I used to travel for about 5 mins I got headache and used to vomit all the time. Had this problem at least 3 days a week. ...When I was 12 years old I had to change my school, which was (by Sai's grace) near Saibaba temple. So everyday morning I used to go to temple with my friends and especially on Thursday for arthi. My family never knew much about baba. But I don't know why that same year during my vacation all my family members planned to go to Bombay and Shirdi by car from Hyderabad. I didn't want to go because I had terrible headaches and travel sickness but by Baba's grace I agreed to go with them. And all the way through my trip, I never got headache even for a sec and I didn't get any vomit feeling at all. It is about one whole day journey by car but I never felt headache through the whole trip. I was definitely blessed by baba...And from that day until today, I never got frequent headaches. I never lost faith in baba.....I love you baba....I was also a very bad student. But after visiting Shirdi and by Baba's grace, wonder of wonders I studied very hard?passed all my classes?and also stood 1st in my university in engineering and then finished my MS in US without any difficulty and married to wonderful husband.

Whatever I got in life was not easy but I always trusted baba and worked hard. I am here because of you baba and I am still here to pray to you. Thanks baba for taking care of your kids. Please be always with us.

RajeswariThanks a lot for helping my sister going through a safe delivery and delivering a healthy baby girl, and thanks for the transfer of my brother again in Mumbai, it's all your grace.PadminiOnce I went to Sri Venkateshwara (SV) temple in Pittsburgh and when I was praying, suddenly a thought came in my mind, how nice it will be if Baba's idol was placed in that temple. Then I went home. Next time, when I went to temple, I saw Black Colored Baba's idol in the temple and I felt so happy for that. I don't know whether the idol was there for a long time but I saw that only after the thought came in my mind. By this experience, I can only say that Baba is listening to all of us. Baba, please help me to learn patience and let my faith on you increase infinitely.QUOTATION OF THE WEEK: "Use speech sparingly!"-Sri SaibabaQUESTION OF THE WEEK: Q. How can one be consistent with their devotion to Sri Saibaba?A. by RavinWhether it is a simple curiosity about Saibaba or an experience of His magnanimity, the first experience of Saibaba for anybody is a matter of heart. However, intellect takes over immediately trying to validate that experience. With that comes everything else from outside, all religions, rituals, people and the hearsay. Saibaba becomes a Guru, Sadguru or Paramaguru and all concepts about his incarnation and avatar and other denominations. Truly, if one would question the above then it becomes clear to one that all these are not their experiences but attempts to live others experiences. All "conditions" to reach Saibaba, know Saibaba, worship Saibaba start from this point, which were not present before. The first as well as the last step towards alienation from Saibaba begins here. If one would honestly question themselves, it will be known that no religion or path has brought them to Saibaba and in reality, the religions and paths came after the individual experience of Saibaba!

One easily forgets that no religion or path can teach one to love his or her mother or take care of one's child. It is an instinct honed in us before any religion or outside influences takes over. Others experiences are not ours however grand they may be. One's own experience is closest to the truth and none else's. If one would stay with that first experience of Saibaba, live it, re-live it everyday, it will be easily understood that the question of consistency with Sai devotion or alienation from Saibaba doesn't arise at all and Saibaba becomes a life long love affair. Every external activity is only to strengthen that inner experience. If one understands the true role of that external activity, then that becomes the true religion for a Sai child.

SAI ACTIVITIES: SHRI SHIRDI SAIBABA VIGRAHA PRANAPRATISHTAPANA, Minneapolis, MNSHRI SHIRDI SAIBABA VIGRAHA PRANAPRATISHTAPANA SAMPROKSHANA MAHOTSAV, the installation ceremony of Sri Shirdi Sai Baba Idol and Consecration of New Temple Sanctum in Minneapolis will take place from September13 to September 15, 2007 at Sri Saibaba Mandir 1835, Polk St NE, Minneapolis. We thank all Sai devotees for their enquiries and interest in participation in this ceremony. Please write to sai or visit www.hamaresai.org for more details. Sri Saibaba Mandir sincerely invites ALL Sai devotees to participate in this memorable occasion.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.FROM THE EDITORS KEYBOARD: Sai Vichaar is an open forum for those interested to share their experiences, views and ideas on Sai devotion and their experiences with Saibaba of Shirdi. Readers are requested to note that Sai Vichaar is not responsible for the opinions expressed by individual contributors. The Question of the week for this week is suggested by a Sai devotee as follows:

Q. How to remove FEAR and unwanted SENTIMENTS?

Humbly Yours,The EditorABOUT 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, or 3. 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 Vichaar, please visit the URL http://www.saibaba.org/newsletter.html and select the Submit Articles to Sai Vichaar option from the menu. Back copies of HTML version of Sai Vichaar can be accessed by visting the URL http://www.saibaba.org/whatsnew.html. For any questions or more information regarding this e-mail or our web site, please send an e-mail to maildrop and your inquiries will be attended to promptly.Thank you,The webmasterFrom and Editor:Shirdi Sai Baba Web SiteShirdi Sai Baba Sanstha(A non-profit organization)Mail:12N950 State Route 47 Hampshire, IL 60140, USAEmailmaildropPhone847-931-4058Fax847-931-4066© Copyright 1998-2006 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.