Superb Artice in this issue of Heritage of Shirdi Sai Newsletter

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Dear Sai family,

 

I read this wonderful article in the Shirdi Sai Newsletter and thought of forwarding it...

That artice is pasted below, along with the full newsletter.

 

Jai Sai Ram

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FROM " LIFE OF SAI BABA " BY NARASIMHA SWAMI

…… " This means that we should be content with the lot assigned to us by God. Faith is best and perfect when it recognises that Sai is God, and that Sai's utterances are never wrong or false. Such a faith can conquer mountains and that is what we should have. We should be strong minded enough to brush aside contemptuous remarks of people (ignorant though well meaning people who refer to our faith as blind faith). For instance, when Kaka Saheb lost his practice and when under the very nose of Baba his daughter died people could not appreciate his Sai bhakti. Even Anna Saheb Dabolkar thought first `If Sai Baba could not save Dixit's daughter at Shirdi, what is the good of a Guru?' One might as well say, `When my dear ones die, what is the good of God?' Faith is not a guarantee that there will be no death evil in the world, nor pains in life. But as in the above case, intense faith makes the devotee brace himself up against all inevitable calamities, and learn more and more of God's scheme for our life, that life is not intended to be a bed of roses and a treasure house of wealth or total avoidance of poverty. Faith enables the devotee to see what life is and what God's plan is, and improve one's own attitude to life. We are God's slaves and surrendered instruments. God (Guru-God) is doing the best for us in the circumstances, and we should never murmur, but maintain peace of mind. The numerous ways in which the soul and its faculties expand are outlined in Dixit's life and other devotees' lives. We should recommend our readers to start by perfect surrender and perfect faith in Baba's assurances to the surrendered. Dixit always felt that Baba, as assured by Him, was supporting him, was behind him always and was looking after all his concerns, and hence he avoided fear and anxiety. We recommend the same attitude to our readers. Who will surrender and believe? Who will surrender his Tan, Man, Dhan, i.e., body, soul and possessions, and believe in Baba's assurances of complete protection and also in Baba's perpetual presence, and his watching and guiding us and being ever ready to appear before us, if necessary? These assurances of Baba, our Gurudeva, are the same as the assurances given in Dwapara Yuga through the mouth of Lord Krishna¬ –

Ananyaas chintayanto maam ye janaah paryupaasate Teshaam nityaabhi yuktaanaam yogakshemam vahaamyaham

That is, `if you completely surrender yourself and concentrate on Me and Me alone, if you are ever intent on Me, then I shall guard what you have and give what you require'. Baba says, `If one devotes his entire mind to Me and rests in Me, he need fear nothing for body and soul. If one sees Me and Me alone and listens to talk about Me and is devoted to Me alone, he will reach God (Chaitanya)'. " ……

---------- Forwarded message ----------heritageofshirdisai <heritageofshirdisai

>31-May-2007 13:51 HERITAGE OF SHIRDI SAI NEWSLETTER

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

N E W S L E T T E R

 

VOL30, MAY 2007

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FROM SHRI C.B. SATPATHY'S MESSAGE

…… " When one links devotional or religious activities, like visiting a temple, with the failure of one's son or the sickness of one's wife so directly, it surely proves that prayers to the Deity or Guru are not with any other higher intention than simply to be saved from all the troubles and tribulations of life. Such limited type of devotion is an attempt to achieve desirable results and not spiritually experience the Deity or Guru. Such people, at times, leave the path when their wishes are not fulfilled. They do not understand that the effects of the actions of the previous lives also manifest in this life. Sudden and unforeseen incidents particularly, are the results of the Prarabdha i.e. actions of the last lives. Unwise people do not want to accept the unhappy results of their own sinful actions. They aspire only for desirable and good results to all their actions, good or bad. When in distress, one feels miserable thinking that others are not facing the same troubles, but one forgets the brighter aspects of one's life with the sad aspects of the lives of others.

 

Unhappiness creates such illogical thoughts in the mind. Such limited thinking is like an attempt to stand on the Earth and calculate the number of hills on the Moon.

As written in Shri Sai Satcharitra, Baba has advised such people in the following manner:- " The reactions to the actions of past lives have to be tolerated in this life "

 

" As you sow so you reap………………. "

" You must surely tolerate the happy and unhappy results of your past actions. In case such reactions are not complete in one life, then rebirth will take place………. "

" I do every thing for one who remembers Me always with faith and patience………... "

Sadguru Sai had also promised that " I shall help you to bear the reactions to all your past actions easily, if your faith and patience in Me is unflinching " . Many such examples can be found in Shri Satcharitra.

Sadgurus do not break the laws of nature, but they manipulate the Natural Laws in such a manner, that their faithful devotees can face the ordeals of life rather easily.

Therefore, let our New Year prayers to Baba be thus, " Oh Master, the ocean of compassion, we promise to destroy the results of our Prarabdha Karmas of the past lives by bearing them in this life, but we request You to control our inner thoughts in such a manner that, knowingly or unknowingly, we do not repeat those sinful activities. " …….

 

 

FROM " LIFE OF SAI BABA " BY NARASIMHA SWAMI

…… " This means that we should be content with the lot assigned to us by God. Faith is best and perfect when it recognises that Sai is God, and that Sai's utterances are never wrong or false. Such a faith can conquer mountains and that is what we should have. We should be strong minded enough to brush aside contemptuous remarks of people (ignorant though well meaning people who refer to our faith as blind faith). For instance, when Kaka Saheb lost his practice and when under the very nose of Baba his daughter died people could not appreciate his Sai bhakti. Even Anna Saheb Dabolkar thought first `If Sai Baba could not save Dixit's daughter at Shirdi, what is the good of a Guru?' One might as well say, `When my dear ones die, what is the good of God?' Faith is not a guarantee that there will be no death evil in the world, nor pains in life. But as in the above case, intense faith makes the devotee brace himself up against all inevitable calamities, and learn more and more of God's scheme for our life, that life is not intended to be a bed of roses and a treasure house of wealth or total avoidance of poverty. Faith enables the devotee to see what life is and what God's plan is, and improve one's own attitude to life. We are God's slaves and surrendered instruments. God (Guru-God) is doing the best for us in the circumstances, and we should never murmur, but maintain peace of mind. The numerous ways in which the soul and its faculties expand are outlined in Dixit's life and other devotees' lives. We should recommend our readers to start by perfect surrender and perfect faith in Baba's assurances to the surrendered. Dixit always felt that Baba, as assured by Him, was supporting him, was behind him always and was looking after all his concerns, and hence he avoided fear and anxiety. We recommend the same attitude to our readers. Who will surrender and believe? Who will surrender his Tan, Man, Dhan, i.e., body, soul and possessions, and believe in Baba's assurances of complete protection and also in Baba's perpetual presence, and his watching and guiding us and being ever ready to appear before us, if necessary? These assurances of Baba, our Gurudeva, are the same as the assurances given in Dwapara Yuga through the mouth of Lord Krishna¬ –

Ananyaas chintayanto maam ye janaah paryupaasate Teshaam nityaabhi yuktaanaam yogakshemam vahaamyaham

That is, `if you completely surrender yourself and concentrate on Me and Me alone, if you are ever intent on Me, then I shall guard what you have and give what you require'. Baba says, `If one devotes his entire mind to Me and rests in Me, he need fear nothing for body and soul. If one sees Me and Me alone and listens to talk about Me and is devoted to Me alone, he will reach God (Chaitanya)'. " ……

 

 

DEVOTEE EXPERIENCE

Baba's Blessings in the Path of My Life

In fact Baba has always been with me, though I did not realize this. I was in Andhra and my husband was about to come home on vacation. He was working in JNV Andaman. Just before leaving he felt some trouble cropping up and started feeling a severe head ache. One week passed. The day he was to leave, he reached Port Blair to travel with all his colleagues and their families in a ship. He was feeling too sick, so he struggled to decide whether he was going to be safe for three days in a ship?

I never knew his condition was so serious. Something made me go to the Shirdi Sai temple where I did archana in his name. He decided to fly and landed in Chennai and admitted himself to a hospital. He called his brother and when he reached his hometown he was totally sick. The doctors gave a list of complaints kidney, lung, blood, malaria, decrease of blood platelets-hence loss of hope. We prayed continuously. Within two days he was out of danger – which was not even in the hands of doctor. It was Baba who understood me, my feelings, and my loss and restored my husband safe and sound.

 

R. Aruna , Visakhapatnam

 

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POEM

The Secret

One day, one friend asked another, " How is it that you are always so happy? You have so much energy,and you never seem to get down. " With her eyes smiling, she said, " I know the Secret! " " What secret is that? " To which she replied, " I'll tell you all about it,but you have to promise toshare the Secret with others. " " The Secret is this: I have learned there is little I can do in my life that will make me truly happy. I must depend on God to makeme happy and to meet my needs. When a need arises in my life,I have to trust God to supplyaccording to His riches. I have learned most of the timeI don't need half of what I think I do. He has never let me down. Since I learned that 'Secret', I am happy. " The questioner's first thought was, " That's too simple! " But upon reflecting over her own lifeShe recalled how she thought a bigger house would make her happy, but it didn't! She thought a better paying jobwould make her happy, but it hadn't. When did she realize her greatest happiness? Sitting on the floor with her grandchildren, playing games, eating pizza or reading a story, a simple gift from God. Now you know it too! We can't depend on people to make us happy. Only GOD in His infinite wisdom can do that. Trust Him! And now I pass the Secret on to you! So once you get it, what will you do? You have to tell someone the Secret, too! That God in His wisdom will take care of You! But it's not really a secret... We just have to believe it and do it... Really trust God!

Jai Sai RamDear Devotees .... please read and remember that blessings come in small everyday things which we often tend to overlook !!May our Lord Sai bless us all with Wisdom.

Vrinda Kumar, Delhi

 

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DEVOTEES' FORUM

The chela was slaving away attending all his needs of the guru and the guests who visited him. One day the chela thought that guru's job is simple as he was sitting and doing nothing. The guru understood the mind of chela and suggested an errand. The chela was asked to carry a closed box and deliver it to another guru in a different valley. When he returned after completing the mission, the guru would vacate his seat for the chela. The chela was excited and ran to get the mission done. While trying to find the other guru he got exhausted. He was tempted to find out what was in the box. He opened the box and the mouse ran away. He felt humble and returned to the guru accepting his defeat that he could not control his mind.

So he will be chela to one who has mastered the mind. After a long time the chela had become guru. Moral: One who knows how to control the mind and surrenders to the supreme is fit to be a Guru

Jagannathan Padmanabhan, USA

Pranams to Shirdi Baba.This world is Mayaajaalena Mohitam. Only those who have experienced this in their own life can understand the influence of maya in everyday life. The moment the desired will and target in mind is attained, we say God has helped. The moment the expected advantages fail to get accomplished, dejection is the result.

It is at this moment, the Great Guru comes to instill in us the righteous path. Eeswara Prerana Aajnaa. None lives inactive.

Willingly or unwillingly/unwittingly, everyone does something. When the mind sets out on its journey in absolute surrender to reach the great Guru (like Arjuna before Lord Krishna) and pleads for instructions about the righteous path and actions, which He deems fit to be taken in the battlefield (of life) then there dawns in his mind a spark of intuition leading him to initiate action. The results of such directions will be fair, just and pleasing to one and all.

 

T R Meenakshinatha Iyer, Trivandrum

We always end up end justifying our actions on one pretext or the other. The root of all such actions and reactions invariably is the attraction of Maya. No wonder saints called it mahathagni. Many intelligent people, hard working and helpful and having pleasant disposition succumb to the temptation. All the actions done while performing one's duty have to be done with a sense of detachment for personal gains, which are materialistic and motivated. Alas we the mortal beings keep falling in the ditch of Maya more often than required. Sai helps us when we dedicate all our energy and action to Him with clean conscience and selfless motive. Maya the illusionary power is no doubt most difficult to be won over. JAI SAI - Be with us always to support and guide.

Suman, New Delhi

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READER'S REFLECTION

I really like the magazine. Everything about it is amazing. All my queries are answered through this book. I feel very light after reading this magazine.

Rahem, Delhi

It is difficult to pen one's overwhelming thoughts, experiences and feelings about Baba. This magazine brings, personally to me a sudden awakening to make me alert and live in the present by concentrating on Baba. In the workplace when I get the copy on my computer, it changes me. Every time is a new time with Baba. It makes me wonder how much HE suffers for all of us, small and mean mortals. I am practicing total submission every moment and would continue to learn that throughout my life. That is what I am living for. Can there be a bigger/higher Yoga than this? I am what I am because of Him. This magazine, time and again, reinforces the thought in me. I am a reader who is trying to be a meditative reader and I think the magazine helps me a lot.

Charudutta Panigrahi, Delhi

 

 

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NEWS OF SHIRDI SAI ACTIVITIES

SHIRDI SAI BABA SANSTHAN, CANADA

Shirdi Sai Baba Sansthan, Canada holds Satsang on Thursdays and third Sunday of every month at Gur Mandir, 207 Queen's Plate, Toronto (Etobicoke). For other Details call 416-294-4804 or visit http://www.shirdisainath.org/

THE RESOURCE CENTRE

Shirdi Sai Baba Sansthan, Canada is pleased to announce the establishment of it's first Resource Centre in Woodbridge, Toronto. All visits are by appointment only. Shri Sai Satcharita is available in all languages. The Resource Centre is open Monday to Friday between 10:00 am - 5:00 pm. Location: Maple Crest Private School - 28 Roytech Rd. Woodbridge, On L4L 8E4 Ph: 905 - 652-6666. For other Details call 416-294-4804 or visit http://www.shirdisainath.org/

 

 

SHIRDI SAI MANDIR, TORONTO, CANADA

The Shirdi Sai Mandir located at 2721 Markham Road, Toronto, Ontario, M1X 1L5 (Intersection of Markham and Nashdene) is open through out the day on Saturday, Sunday and holidays and in the morning and evenings on all weekdays. Baba's Kakad Aarti, Abhishek Puja, Madhyan Aarti, Dhoop Aarti, Satcharita Reading and Shej Aarti are performed every day. Bhajans and Sai Naam Sankirtan in the evening on Thursday and Saturday. For information regarding the daily schedule, temple activities and events please visit Mandir's website: http://www.theshirdisaimandir.com/ or send an email to

info or call 647-444-4724.

 

SHIRDI SAI PARIVAR VANCOUVER

Shirdi Sai parivar in Vancouver holds Satsang on Thursday (6.30-7.30pm)and Sai abhishek and aarti first Sunday of every month at 8571, 118A St, Delta, V4C 6L2. For further details contact (604) 592 4182 or email, say.sai.sai.

SHRI SHIRDI SAI SANSTHAN LOS ANGELES

By the grace of our Shirdi Sai we are happy to announce the inauguration of Shri Shirdi Sai Temple in LA region in the city of Montebello. We need the support of all Sai Devotees. For more information please email krishna

 

SHIRDI SAI CENTER, BAY AREA, CALIFORNIA

Location: 897-B E. Kifer Rd, Sunnyvale, CA - 94086

Daily timings and activities:

Weekdays:6:15 am – 7:40 am: Abhishekam and Kakad Arathi at 6:30 am11.45 am – 12:30 pm: Madhyan Arathi at 12:00 pm6:00 pm – 9:30 pm: Dhoop Arathi at 6:30 pm and Shej Arathi at 8:30 pm

 

Weekends:6:15 am – 7:40 am: Kakad Arathi at 6:30 am11:00 am – 9:30 pm: Madhyan Arathi at 12:00 pm, Dhoop Arathi at 6:30 pm and Shej Arathi at 8:30 pm

Every Thursday:7:30 pm – 8:30 pm: Shirdi Sai Bhajans

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

saibandhu or visit our website at http://www.Shirdisaiparivaar.org

 

 

SHRI SHIRDI SAI SAMAJ MALAYSIA

No.744-1, Tingkat 1, Jln. Sentul Selatan, Sentul, 51000 Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaThis is a new Shirdi Baba center in malaysia. We conduct weekly prayers/arathi at the following times:

Friday - 7pm - 10.30pmSunday - Noon - 2.30pm

Our official centre website is http://saisamaj.blogspot.com

For more information, please email

hyperkinetix

 

PERSATUAN SHIRDI SAI BABA SELANGOR, MALAYSIA

This is to inform all of you that we have a Shirdi Sai Baba Temple in Malaysia. Here we have daily prayers and special prayers on thursday mornings 9.00am and bhajans and satsang from 8 pm onwards. Also breakfast, lunch and dinner, cooked by our seva-group is provided to all devotees. other than that first thursday of the month we have talk on spirituality, second thursday on health, third thursday satsang on Sai Satcharitra, fourth thursday talk on general topics, by experts in the respective fields. Lot of charitable activities are conducted by our Centre,like sponsoring immediate services to childrens\' homes, old-folks homes, sick and needy, etc. etc.

If any devotee, from Malaysia or Singapore likes to join our Centre, please contact Mr.SP Kannan at Mobile -012-2739486; usha - 006122392911; Res: 03-33717540. Our Centre address is : Persatuan Shirdi Sai Baba Selangor, No.2574, Jalan Seruling 59, Taman Klang Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia.Thank you and Sai Ram.

 

SHIRDI SAI TEMPLE SINGAPORE

The dream of having a full fledged exclusive Shirdi Sai Temple in Singapore, will soon come true. Thanks to the efforts of a Sai devotee in making this happen. The Shirdi Sai Baba Centre in Singapore is now live with the 3rd floor function hall, Sri Vadapathira Kaliamman temple, being secured and converted to a full fledged exclusive Shirdi Sai worship centre. The Centre will be devoted to celebrating the life & teachings of Shirdi Sai Baba only. For more information visit our website http://www.saisansthan.com

SHIRDI SAI BABA SANSTHAN, AUCKLAND NEW ZEALAND

Bhajans Every ThursdayVenue Mt Roskill War Memorial Hall, 13 May Road, Mt Roskill, Auckland

7.00 pm - 7.50 pm Sai Bhajans, 7.50 pm - 8.10 pm Pravachan and Sai Ashtotharam 8.10 pm - 8.30 pm Shej Aarthi8.30 pm - 9.00 pm Prasad distribution.For more details Contact us Amar Alluri(President) Mobile: (+64) 27 230 5360 Email: President or Sai Krishna Tridandapani (Secretary) Mobile: (+64) 21 239 7907 Email: Secretary

Address: Shri Shirdi Sai Baba Sansthan of NZ, P.O. Box: 16142, Sandringham, Auckland, New Zealand. Visit our website

www.shirdisaibaba.org.nz

 

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TOPIC OF DISCUSSION : SAI'S MESSAGE TO THE CHILDREN

 

 

 

 

 

 

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