Sai Vichaar for Thursday , May 01, 2008

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Sai Vichaarwww.saibaba.org Thursday , May 01, 2008 :: Volume 10, Issue 51 (In its tenth 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: Tatya's PhetaOne would wonder what was going on in Tatya's mind as the angry fakir tore apart his headgear and threw it in the fire. Did it occur to him that he was going to be rewarded with a new headgear by his beloved Deva? Probably not! Why does the Master of Cryptic messages resort to this sort of blessing that only seems like cursing? No one knows! Hemadpanth illustrates several incidents of Baba's strange behavior that were mistaken for His indifference in the beginning only to spell relief later. Some times the reason was to teach a lesson. Some times it was to make a point. Most of the times, it is not known. When He dissuaded Damu Anna from grain dealing business, Baba saved him the agony of losing money in an unprofitable venture. When the Haji was kicked out, it was only to bring him closer! When He burnt Tayta's pheta, it was only to give him a better one! Burning is symbolic of the end. The end of perhaps a forgettable past! the closure to an unappealing present? May be just a reminder as to who calls the shots! Nevertheless, it is the new beginning. Anger of the mad fakir can only be a miracle that is unseen. A short move in His bigger plan. Towards bigger and better. Let us on this Thursday think about those miracles that we do not see for those are the real spiritual treasures hard to seek.CONTRIBUTED ARTICLE: Offer to Baba firstWithout offering to God first, we should not take any food. Mind and intellect take part in enjoying the food before senses (tongue). If we remember God and offer food before we eat, the senses will calm down and worldly desires will get subdued. Food offered to God is sanctified. Very few persons have the habit of offering food, before they partake.

On one Sunday, Hemadpant came from weekly bazaar to masjid and strangely, some grains of food fell down from his shirt. Baba humorously said,' this fellow has the bad habit of eating alone'. Hemadpant denied and said he never ate alone, if someone is with him. Then Baba said ' are you remembering me, before you eat, am I not always with you? '. By this Baba has clearly instructed that we should offer first to Baba, and then take it.

Whatever we have and get is only due to God's grace. As Baba is our father, sustainer and protector, we should offer to Him first, whatever we get and after being sanctified by Him, we should partake.(Contributed by Varaprasad)DEVOTEES SAY: VidyaI had sent one request to prayer club requesting Saima to get an appointment to my son. I was reading daily one chapter of Sai Satcharitra as I was not finding time to do Saptaha. I made one sankalpa that my son should get job of his choice within one week on completion of reading the Satcharita. Before it is published in newsletter as per my request, my son got an appointment confirmation from a very good company and relieved me and my family from worry.MonuOm Sai Ram. I want to share one of my recent experiences. I was going through a bad phase in my career. I was desperately looking for a career change. I prayed to Baba to help me out of this situation. It so happened that one of my old managers contacted me and told me that he knew a person in my dream company who could refer me there. I sent him my resume and after about a month, I got a call for interview from the company. I carried a photo of Baba during the interview time in my pocket. By Baba's grace, I cleared the interview successfully and was offered a job in my dream company. I cannot say how indebted I am to Baba for bringing me under His shelter. Getting this job was very important to me and my family and Baba listened to my prayers. Thank you Baba for being with us forever.KirtiBaba, please accept my heartfelt gratitude for helping my daughter succeed in the competition so far. Please be with her until the final round and help her retain the trophy for her school.SrabanWith Your blessings, my pregnancy is confirmed. You have helped me in a number of ways. But I have never experienced Your blessings in such a way before this. Take me into Your fold, Baba. I am an ordinary human being with vices. Please forgive me for all my faults.RajasekarJust two hours back I was worrying about how am I going to solve the issue I have. I looked at Your photo and asked for Your help. Immediately the problem was solved. It would not have been possible without Your guidance. Please be with everybody and please guide everybody in a good path.UshaI always received blessings of Baba in many difficult situations. I work in a school in UAE and on January 23rd, I got a call from India from my sister that my mother was seriously ill. I prayed to Baba and luckily I got ticket on the same day and reached next day early morning. I went to the hospital and then I came to know that she was on ventilator. In the morning they let us in to see my mother and I was shocked to see her condition. Doctors told me that her condition was very critical and they had no hope. My sister and I prayed to Sai and in the evening doctors came and checked but there was no change. They told us we should be prepared for everything. Evening when we were able to see our mother we took Sai Satcharitra with us and touched it on her body. Later doctor came at 7pm and he told us that there was a slight improvement. Her blood pressure started rising. We prayed all night. Early morning we went to Baba's temple. We prayed and brought vibhuti from there. We told the nurse in ICCU to put the vibhuti on her forehead. She did and again we went with Sai Satcharitra and touched her. Morning when the doctor came he told us that she is improving better than they thought. My sister and me wrote Om Sai Ram in a notebook. By the time we finished the book my mother had tremendous improvement. She was on ventilator for 15 days. She survived only because of prayers. We are sure about that. Even the doctors were surprised. Thank you Baba for giving our mother back.MiniRecently, I took my teenage daughter for her annual dental examination. Much to my dismay the dentist told me that she wanted to talk to me since my daughter had a white patch on her tongue. I was worried since a white patch can be a symptom for pre cancer or cancer. I prayed very hard to Sai Baba the ever benevolent and read the Sai Satcharitra in a week. I also mixed a little vibudhi in water and gave it to her every day. We took an oral biopsy and by Babas' grace the report was normal and there were no abnormal cells. I made a vow that I would post my experience on the Sai Vichaar newsletter. Thank you Sai Baba and please continue to help Your bhaktas overcome their problems.PRAYER CLUB: RituYou know the problem I am facing regarding my health. Sai, I have not been keeping well since the past 15 days. I surrender to Thee to help me to recover from my illness in a week so that I can come and take Your blessings in Shirdi.

SwathiI request you to bless my husband with a good job in some good company with very good salary and with a long contract.AnweshaMy family is passing through a tough time. Please bless us all, be with us, and end our sufferings.MonicaPlease make him understand my feelings and give him sunmati, so he starts to respect women, especially women of his life.SumathiOm Sri Sai! Baba, you know it took three long years for us to find a house and now we are having all kind of hurdles during construction. We are just losing peace of mind. Please help us and let things work out in our favor.NamrataI beg of You to bless me with this one bond that has been nurtured with dedication and honesty.DevoteeI am scared Baba and need Your guidance and a miracle. Please help me to conceive normally and to deliver a healthy baby normally. Please help me Baba.LavanyaI need Your blessing to get married with my loved one. You should stand beside me and make this happen. Without Your blessing, nothing will happen.RajeswariThis April 24th was our 4th wedding anniversary, so 5th started after my marriage. Until now, I did not ask You about kids. Now I am feeling like it is late and I am begging you Baba, please bless me with a child.RajagopalanOm Sri Sainatha, my third son Sri Koushik aged 30 died in train accident on August 25th 2006. Through out his life he was desciplined and sincere. Helped many of his friends. His wife and only daughter are always remembering him. I do not know how to console them. Please be with us and bless my son's soul so that it remain in peace. Everyday I realise that Sairam is taking care of my departed son's wife and his daughter and able to get good material support and required wants in life. Besides there is enormous delay in my pension getting approved. I am one among 286 retirees waiting for this approval. Please help me to get my pension earlier to survive in the old age.

Sai devoteeJai Sai Ram, you have listened almost all my prayers, a lot of thanks and koti koti pranam. Sai, please listen o this prayer also. My son has applied for H-1B visa for his to be wife, please do something so that she can get this visa. I will write in devotees experience if she will get it. Sairam, please listen to this prayer. EXPERIENCE OF DEVOTEES: SudarshanMy wife was applying for her residency in U.S with average resume. With competition being so high, we knew that our chances were very low. With Baba's grace, she got interviews. Though we did not get any positive response from them, we had full faith in Sai. While we were waiting for the results, a week before, I got the message from Baba to start Sai naam jaap. The day before the results, I was praying to Baba to give me some hint. And I started to watch Baba's video when I got the message "Have Faith and Patience". Then the same day we were supposed to prepare to apply for the unfilled positions and Baba gave me clear indications, as there is no need to prepare for it, as she would definitely be selected. On the day of results, we completed the Sai naam jaap in the morning. And I was watching Baba's video and thinking if I should do the Ram Raksha stotra, and immediately I hear Sai Ram, Sai Ram song in it, giving a message I should do it. My 15 month old daughter was taking my wife's time and she couldn't start her daily reading of Satcharitra. Earlier, I was saying to Baba mentally, if my wife finishes her daily reading before the results, 12.00 pm, it would be good and she finished her reading at 11:56 am and I refreshed the screen on my computer and by Baba's grace she was selected and it was an absolute miracle and also to get to know it few minutes before the official time.GeetaIn February 2008, both my husband and I were jobless and we felt that our world had shattered. Being so mentally disturbed, I started reading the Sai Satcharitra on a Thursday and completed in seven days. On the last day (Thursday), I got an interview call. It took about three weeks to complete all the interview process and on Thursday last week, I got an offer letter from the company for a permanent full time position. When I had gone to the company for the first time, I felt that I could never be hired in such a big company, but Baba works in miraculous ways. My husband also got a job immediately. Have full trust in Sai, and He will always make things work out in the end. Thank you Baba, you are our true Savior. Sainath Maharaj ki Jai.

SasaneI have been visiting Shirdi since my childhood. I had seen many ups and downs in my life. As I grew, my stress level also started growing high. I was bothered about my education, career, money, life partner and my child; which is inevitable to all of us if I am right. From past few years, I surrendered myself to Sai Baba and stopped worrying about my life. I kept my efforts going but least worried. In this way, I found myself in peace, happy and growing in every aspect i.e. career, money, family matters.VaralakshmiI am a struggling musician. Recently I had an important concert in Chennai. I worked very hard for this concert but was always worried about it. On the morning of the concert, my mother called me to give me advice. She told me not to think of anything but Baba and to chant His name all day long. I too had decided on this. I sang the concert very well. However, I had never properly timed it at home, it so happened that I finished exactly at 8:30, the stipulated finished time. My voice too behaved well and I had no problems with it. All told me that I sang well. Such is the divine power of Baba, that He takes care of everything once you surrender yourself to Him. Om Sai Ram.QUOTATION OF THE WEEK: "When someone casts their burden on me and thinks of me, I look after all their concerns."-Shri Sai BabaQUESTION OF THE WEEK: Q. Question of the week is given below.......A. by NavalpreetQ. For a Sai devotee, is it appropriate to base decisions on practices such as Kundali or seek the advice of other Gurus?

A. Being a devotee of Shri Sai baba ji, if you still think it is necessary to get your answers through these kudalis or by consulting astrologers, fake sadhu's and saints, who are just doing all this to misguide public and loot them of their hard earned money, then it is a shame. In Shri Sai Satcharita, Baba ji has told his devotees many times that "Am I not sitting here to answer you?" Dear devotees He is hurt a lot if being his kids, if you go to others to seek advice. Will you ever want to hurt your Sai maa? I am sure you won't, so stop seeking advice from others and live your life as it comes because He is the wire puller and everything happens as per His will, nobody expect Him can change your sufferings of your past karmas, you have to suffer for what you have done. The only thing which you can do is, do His devotion, serve Him in the best possible way you can, even if you are happy never forget to share with Him what you are feeling. OK though inwardly he is away from all these things but still he is also waiting for you to talk to him, he also feel like laughing with his kids, enjoying with them, and being happy if they are happy.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 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.