Sai Vichaar for Thursday , April 03, 2008

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Sai Vichaarwww.saibaba.org Thursday , April 03, 2008 :: Volume 10, Issue 47 (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: The Love "Affliction"Mohabbat ka rastha jisne dikhaaya

Shraddha Saburi se jeena sikhaya

Us Sayee ko mere lakhon pranaam

Jab gaatha hoon main Sayee ka naam

The one who showed us the path of Love

and to live with faith and patience

To that Sayee I offer my million salutations

As I sing the Holy name of Sayee

For those who are drawn to Sri Sai, it is natural to be curious and categorize what Sri Sai stands for, and see to which school of thought Baba's "teachings" belong to. Questions arise such as, is it Bhakthi maarg, the path of Love? or Jnaana maarg, the path of knowledge? Or is it from other traditions and practices from the past. Perhaps it is Prem rog, the "disease" of Love, the sweet affliction, which has the goal as its very path with the culmination in the inseparable merger with the God of Shirdi! One ought to remember that these questions arise from one's own position in life dictated by their religious backgrounds and outlook and not necessarily from their real experience with Baba.The first glimpse of Baba for those who are drawn to Him is always a splendid experience where His magnificence is seen, felt, and rejoiced. Amidst the feelings of gratitude, there exists a sense of belonging and the cognizance of a feeling, which is described as love. However, such a great beginning fades into the oblivion due to several reasons; one among them is the negligence of one's own experience with Sri Sai and the significance attributed to what traditions teach and those others insist. Thus, new "goals" appear from somewhere drawing one from the best of the original experiences, the very first one. With reference to the spiritual goal, by reading about what Sri Sai told Radhabhai Deshmukh in Sai Satcharitha one would get a little insight into the true tradition of Sai, the journey of the first hand experience of love and not the torn rags of other's garment, the hearsay of second hand concert.CONTRIBUTED ARTICLE: O Sai! Thou art the Datta Tatva (continued from last week)O Sai! Thou art the Datta!

Who teacheth us to learn from everything. O Baba! On an another occasion, one day at noon, You came near the house of one of Your devotees Radha-Krishna-Mai and said, "Bring Me a ladder." The ladder was immediately brought, and set against the house as directed by You. You climbed up on the roof of the nearby house, passed the roof of Radha-Krishna-Mai's house and then got down from the other corner. What object You had, none could know! Radha-Krishna-Mai was, at that time, suffering from fever. It may be to drive off that fever, that You may have gone there. Immediately after getting down, You paid Rupees two to the person who brought the ladder. Somebody asked You, "Why did You pay so much for this?" And promptly came Your reply, O Baba! "Labor should always be engaged on wages, and handsome remuneration should promptly be paid. (Shri Sai Satcharita, Chapters: 18-19) O Sai! Thou art the Datta,

Who teacheth us to learn from everything. O Baba! I recite, what Your poet-devotee composes: Jaya Deva Jaya Deva Datta avadhutaa, O Sayee avadhutaa Jodoonikara tava charanee ttevito maathaa, Jaya Deva Jaya Dev Hail Lord! Datta Avadhuta! (a Divine Incarnation) O Sai Avadhuta! With my folded hands, I place my head at Your feet. Hail Lord! Hail Lord Sainath!

Avataraseen too yaetaan dharmaante glanee, Naastheekaanaahee too laavisi nijabhajanee Daavisi naanaa leela asankhya roopaanee, Harisee dheenanche too sankata dinarajanee Jaya Deva Jaya Deva? You take Avatar (Incarnation) when Dharma (purity and righteousness) declines; even the non-believers develop faith in You. Showing many types of leelas (Graces) in Your innumerable forms; You remove the miseries of Your devotees, day and night. Hail Lord! Hail Lord Sainath!Yavana swaroopee aikhyaa darshana twaan dhidhale, Samsaya nirsuniyaan thathdwaitaa ghaalavile Gopichandaa mandaa twaanchee uddharile, Momina vamsee janmuni lokaan taariyale Jaya Deva Jaya Deva?

You gave darshan (divine vision) to someone in the guise of Moslem. By removing all doubts, You set him on the path leading towards the unity with the Self. Even Raja Gopichanda and the river Mandakini (Ganges) were purified by You. Born of a Moslem family of weavers You had brought salvation to all the people. Hail Lord! Hail Lord Sainath! Bhed na tathwee hindoo yavananchaa kaanhee Daawayaansee jzaalaa punarapi naradehee Paahasin premaane too Hindu yavanaanhee, Daavisi aatmatwaane vyaapaka haa sayee Jaya Deva Jaya Deva? You do not distinguish between Hindus and Moslems. In the present human form taken by You, you give the same look of love both to the Hindus and Moslems and establish the universality of Your love. Hail Lord! Hail Lord Sainath! Devaa Sayeenaathaa twatpadanata vhaahe, paramaayaamohita janamochana jhanin vhaave Twakripayaa sakalaanche sankata nirasaawe, deshila tari de twadhyash krishnaane gaave Jaya Deva Jaya Deva? O Lord Sainath, I would always like to be at Your feet. Liberate the mankind stepped in worldly illusions and remove their difficulties by Your grace. If You desire to give me anything, then give me the ability to sing Your prayers. Hail Lord! Hail Lord Sainath! (Concluded).(Contributed by Subodh Agarwal)DEVOTEES SAY: SirishaI posted my prayer here last time regarding my rental problems and my little daughter health problems .You solved both problems faster than expected. I don't know with what words I have to display my gratitude. I am numb I know from my childhood that You are there.MamataRecently we signed a contract for a new house. After few days, my husband came to realize that it is a bad deal. He asked Baba through a chit of "yes" and "no" and Baba guided him through a right way. We said no for the house and our real-estate agent started the problem. He gave us very hard time but my faith with Baba was strong. After 2 months, the realtor released us from the contract and gave us back our money. Have patience and faith in Baba.VidyaThank you Sairam for blessing Arjun and making his scans come out normal. Please continue to take care of him always.Sai DevoteeDear Sai, thank you so much for fulfulling my prayers, though I had full faith on You I was a little bit tensed about my visa processing and people around me were confusing a lot, but when I came to know that my result is on Thursday I was pretty sure that I will get the visa and I got it without any issues. Also I didnt have any problem with immigration or travelling

and I have reached safely and living happily here with Your grace. Thank you so much Baba without You nothing is possible and I need Your blessings all through my life. Love you Baba and thank you so much from the bottom of my heart.Sai devoteeLast week I prayed to Saibaba to rescue me from the difficult situation I am undergoing. This week Baba blessed me with a good job in a higher position and removed my difficulties. I am really happy that Baba takes care of persons like me also who had done a lot of mistakes in life and had greed in mind. I am very happy that Baba made me realise that I am a normal

human being and everthing with us is not permanent. I have understood the importance of life, job, wife, parents and friends and wish to lead a very good life. I sincerely pray to Baba everyday to lead me in the correct path and give me the courage

and hold me in difficult times. Baba, please bless our family and show us the correct path to lead a good life. Baba please also help all the beings who are in trouble and rescue them. Please make me a person who can also help the beings from the problems. Om Sainathaya Namaha. Thank you Baba.EtikaA few months back I went to Baba's temple on a Sunday and saw a girl reading Baba's book which I had never seen before. I asked her what that book was, she replied it is "Sai Satcharita by Indira kher" and was in more detail. I kept thinking in my mind "Wow she is so lucky to have that book, definately a blessed daughter of Baba." Just one and a half month ago during my normal visit to the temple, I saw that book being sold at the tuck shop in the temple. Before I could ask them about the price, a boy paid the money and bought it. I asked if they had another copy and they said "no". I was a bit sad but then thought all is Baba's wish. As soon I turned back I saw that girl whom I had seen reading the book for the first time. She called and told me, "I had gone to Shirdi and have bought Sai Satcharita by Indira Kher for you". I was speechless, believe me for few minutes I was numb. Baba definately listens to all our prayers and they will get answered at the right time. Love You always Baba!

VaijayanthiI have to write this experience, which is a great miracle of my Sadguru. I had a terrible year at work and I was praying to my Sadguru to relieve me of my problems. My guru, who knows it all, did the greatest miracles of all times and relieved me of my problems in a split second. I am very grateful to him and I bow down to him with humility and faith that he may keep this child of his always with Him.PRAYER CLUB: DevSai has saved us from a very difficult situation. I thank you Baba. Please give me Your bhakti and krupa. My son is not doing well in the University and my wife gets upset and she becomes faithless and cruel, worrying too much about the future of my son. I told her that she should have faith in Sai and see how things change. But she can't have this faith as she is a PhD in a science. Sai ! I pray for the sake of peace of my son , please bless him and let him pass courses so that he is not mistreated.VijayalakshmiPlease Sai help us out of these situations. You are the only one I can turn to and desperately seek Your intervention and blessings. Please bless our family and us.Sai devoteeBaba, you are aware with what we are passing through. Yesterday again my husband had gone for the test and again we had negative report. Baba, forgive us and bless us soon with a child.AngelaI cannot begin to tell you what my life has been like in the last 12 months with the separation, being a single parent, financial difficulties and fighting custody battle for my baby. I have been through hell and back hundreds of times in the last 18 months and it does not seem to end. Saibaba, I read Your miracle stories every week from other devotees, Please help my family and me.SrinivasThank you very much for Your krupa and also Your presence with us. Please bless us with healthy baby and please shower Your krupa on us for obtaining a suitable job.SavithriPlease bless my husband and help me this month by way of helping him. He does not understand my problem, and he is not polite to our daughter and me. When he himself is under pressure, he wants both of us to join with him. When I am able to see my days in front of me, he is not seeing that life. Please Baba do something for this. I am leaving the matter to You.Sai devoteePranam Sai, Baba bless me peace of mind, please get me settled now. Baba I feel very lonely, you know that I have been asking You for past one year. Baba please clear all my problems. I am going through tough times. I will write my experience in Sai Vichaar next Thursday if everything goes well.AmruthaSwami, you know everything that is happening in my life. I am very grateful to You for taking care of my daughter and me. Baba please help my husband. Even if there is a job opportunity he is not getting it and I am also losing confidence to ask him to do a certain job, because he does not seem positive for anything. Apart from that Baba, the greatest problem is his health, even though doctors say he is alright, he always says he is in pain and does not even look healthy and is becoming thinner by the day. Sai, you know I am far away from him and cannot do much from here. Please take care of the situation, see that he takes vibuthi in his drink and also spends time to pray. Please, I beg You Baba, do something good for him and build up his faith in You and see that he worships You with his heart and soul, and changes his ways and gains love and support of all.Sai devoteeSai, I pray in Your lotus feet. Please bring us out of this confusion in our life. You know my husband has heart problem, we are confused weather or not to get him operated. Please Sai show us the right way. I need your help Baba. Please bless my husband. EXPERIENCE OF DEVOTEES: Sai devoteeI would like to share my recent experience with Sai. He has been in my life since many years, but I would like to share this specific miracle: Me, my husband and our two kids stayed in the US. We wanted to move to India for good. Last year, we did not take permission from Baba. We just listed our home on the market and even though we had a great home, and numerous price drops, nothing happened. We thought we made a mistake by thinking of going back to India without Sai's permission and we pulled our home from the market and dropped the India plans. In that week, my husband's job wasn't satisfactory, so he quit without any other job in hand. He was home looking for a different job. He was looking something close to home, but this job just landed up in his lap without he even trying hard. But this was a long distance job, which he had to travel Monday thruogh Thursday. But he just took it up, upon Sai's permission. Within two months into this job, they asked him if he can take this account to India and run it from there. We were not even expecting it. So we thought this was Sai's way of making our India plan. So we took it up. He had to go to India within the next week and he just left with our older child. I was in the US with a toddler, still working and we listed our home on the market again and trying to wrap things up in the US to make our return to India possible. I was a big worrywart. Just left everything up to Baba's grace. Sarvasya saranagathi was Baba for me. Luckily, my manager agreed for me to work from India. So I just made our plans to go back to join my husband with the home still sitting on the market without any interest from buyers. We came to India and I started working and everyday our thoughts always were surrounded by how worse the economy is in the US and how can we pay mortgage in dollars while earning in rupees.continued......Last Thursday we had a showing during Madhyahna aarti time. I was not expecting anything, I just slept and the next morning, I had so many messages from my realtor trying to reach us. I was scared and called her. We had an offer. No contingencies at all and received a very good offer. We close in two weeks on a Thursday too. Nothing short of a miracle. Thank you Baba for being with us through all the difficulties.RajeswariRecently I was a bit worried, as my 15-month-old son was still not walking. Usually by this age, they say that a child should stand up and walk. I prayed to Baba with full faith and made a promise that I would submit my experience. Within 3 or 4 weeks of my making this promise my son started walking. Thanks a lot Baba for all the kindness that you have shown to my family and me. I sincerely pray that I conduct myself in the path shown by You.QUOTATION OF THE WEEK: "Get on cheerfully with your worldly activities, but do not forget God. Always remember Him" --Shri Sai BabaQUESTION OF THE WEEK: Q. Question of the week is given below......A. by MadhumoortiQ. How can we, the devotees of Sai Baba, ensure that our merits demerits both are worked out completely so that we get our deliverance become free?

A. There seems to be a sense of doer attitude in this question. Even in Bhagwad Gita, lord Krishna says in Chapter 3, Karmanyevadhi karaste mapaleshu kadachana, which means you have a right only to act and not for the fruit of actions. So also in spiritual path, one has to constantly, insistently keep putting efforts without expecting any reward. Sai Baba's teachings of Shradda and Saburi, namely faith and patience have to be practiced. Faith should not be shaky. It should be like what one of the poet says..."Faith is the song of the bird which feels the light and sings when the dawn is still dark". The bird knows for sure that the light is going to come. It feels and sings. Similarly we Sai bhaktas should also have full faith in Baba. It is not like praying Him when we are in trouble and forgetting Him when in happiness. He should be remembered always. Change will come very soon. There is an experiment in science, which is called titration, where the chemical is put drop by drop. Reaction takes place all of a sudden. Similarly, we should keep putting effort in the right direction day in and day out and there will surely be a day when we are rewarded for all our efforts.Q. Question of the week is given below......A. by KiranmaiQ. How can we, the devotees of Sai Baba, ensure that our merits demerits both are worked out completely so that we get our deliverance become free?

A. Each one of us is here on this planet to work our merits and demerits by Universal principle of "we reap what we sow". They are instances in each of our lives, when we think it is for the best, but still turns out sour for somebody else with our knowing or unknowing. This implies that there is only so much that each one of us can do to remain objective in any given situation and continue to make mistakes and faced with consequences. And solution to such paradoxical is explained Baba's two emphasized words as 'dakshina'. Practice patience - 'Saburi' that everything going on in each of our lives is a phase and have Faith - 'Shradda' that what ever is happening is for our own final good.SAI ACTIVITIES: Sri Ramanavami celebrations in Chicago, USASri Ramanavami and Urs festival celebrations are the first major celebration of the year for Shirdi Sai devotees. The tradition started in 1910 and continues each year. Shirdi Sai temple, Chicago will be celebrating the event for three days starting from Friday, April 11th to Sunday, April 13th. The program comprises of Aartis, Maha Abhishek, Homam, Palki procession, Satcharitra parayan, bhajans and much more. For complete details please call 847-931-4058.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, except Mondays. 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.Sri Ramnavami celebrations in Sydney, AustraliaShree Shirdi Sai Mandir invites you to with family and friends to join Shree Ram Navami celebrations on April 12th, 13th and 14th at 420 Liverpool Road, Strathfield South, NSW 2136, Australia. For detailed programme or Sansthan's activities, please contact Sansthan Info-Line at 0500 524 724.Shri Ramnavami Celebrations at The Shirdi Sai Mandir, Toronto, CanadaShri Ramnavami shall be celebrated at Shirdi Sai Mandir, Toronto on Sunday April 13th, 2008 from 7:00 am onwards. Day long festivities include all four aartis, abhishek, havan, puja, celebration of Lord Rama's birth at noon, children's activities, palki ceremony, bhajans and naam sankirtan. Mahaprasad shall be offered after all aartis. For details, please visit www.theshirdisaimandir.ca or call 647-444-4724. 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. A Sai devotee suggested the "Question of the week" for this week as follows: Chapter VIII of Shri Sai Satcharita says, "Those souls whose merits preponderate, go to heaven and live there till they enjoy the fruits of their actions and when this is done, they are cast down; while those souls, whose demerits preponderate go to hell and suffer the consequences of their misdeeds for as long as they deserve it. When their merits and demerits balance each other, they are born on earth as human beings and are given a chance to work out their salvation. Ultimately, when their merits and demerits both are worked out completely, they get their deliverance and become free." This quote by Hemadpant (as inspired by Baba) means that since we are born as human beings, our merits and demerits balance each other and we should concentrate on working out our salvation. Q. How can we, the devotees of Sai Baba, ensure that our merits and demerits both are worked out completely so that we get our deliverance and become free?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.