Sai Vichaar for Thursday Mar 18, 2010

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Sai Vichaar

www.saibaba.org

 

Thursday, Mar 18, 2010 :: Volume 12, Issue 45

 

 

(In its twelfth 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.

This is a post-it email only, any replies to this email will be ignored. To contact us please see information at the bottom of this newsletter.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

Tip of the Week:

 

 

"Shri Sai's love is felt through one's own experiences. There is no need to compare or contrast with others." --A Devotee.

 

 

 

 

 

 

FEATURE OF THE WEEK: Utter reliance on the Guru

 

Spiritual path though utter reliance on the Guru has been well summarized by Prof. Narke in The Incredible Sai Baba by Arthur Osborne. According to the tradition of Sai Baba, the disciple or devotee who comes to the feet of a Guru in complete surrender has, no doubt, to be pure, chaste and upright, but he does not need to continue any active practice of japa or meditation. On the contrary, any such practice or any intellectual process which involves the postulate "I am doing this" is a handicap. All sense of ahankara or ego in the devotee has to be wiped out, swept out of the memory and mind, as it is an obstruction to the Guru's task. The Guru does not teach, he radiates influence. This influence is poured in and is absorbed with full benefit by the soul, which has completely surrendered itself, blotting out the self, but it is obstructed by mental activity, by reliance on

one's own exertions and by every kind of self-consciousness and self-assertion. All observant visitors to Sai Baba must have grasped this great truth. He himself sometimes said to devotees: "Stay with me and keep quiet. I will do the rest."? That is secretly and inwardly... So the duty of a devotee or aspirant is firstly to keep himself chaste, pure, simple and upright, so as to be fit to receive the Guru's Grace, and secondly to have full faith in the beloved Master to raise him to various higher and higher experiences till at last he is taken to the distant goal, whatever that may he. `One step enough for me' is the right attitude for him now. He need not trouble to decide upon complicated metaphysical and philosophical problems about ultimate destiny. He is as yet ill prepared to solve them. The Guru will lift him up, endow him with higher powers, vaster knowledge and increasing realization of Truth. And the end is safe in the Guru's hands.

Says Narke, All this was not uttered by Sai Baba at one breath either to me or within my hearing, but the various hints I got from his dealings with people and his occasional words about it add up to this. And common sense points the same way.

 

 

 

 

CONTRIBUTED ARTICLE: Surrender to the Supreme Perfect Master - Shri Sai Baba

 

No man on earth has evolved beyond a certain point without any help. For that complete support, assistance from a guide and faith in him is essential. Only one who has treaded the path and crossed the obstacles can correctly guide others. And who is the guide who has treaded the path and knows the secrets of nature? It is the Perfect Master or the Sadguru. Shri Sai had once said that there are many paths of spiritual evolution - "There is one path through Shirdi.'' He also said, " One can cross the jungle path with the proper guide". The path obviously means the path of evolution Godwards through the thick forest of Maya. When the path ends one merges with God and to such a person there is no meaning of time as he has gone beyond it. To conquer time, therefore, we have to hold on steadfastly to our 'Param Sadguru' the Supreme Master Shri Sai Baba who has gone beyond the concept of

time. There is a prayer "Sai Raham Nazar Karanaa, Bachchon ka Paalan Karanaa" which means- 'Sai, please caste your merciful glances at your children and take care of them'. It is the duty of all of us, the children of Lord Sai, to keep up the noble values Sai Baba stood for. They are mutual co-existence, amity with all religion and love and compassion for all living and non-living beings so as to realize Sai-Chit-Anand- The Absolute Bliss. The essence of humanity or a human being, which is the latest development in the process of evolution of nature, lies in its contribution towards the growth of nature in the fellow beings and also all other living creations. Shri Sai saw no difference between a person and another person and between living and non-living. Today there stand two tombs at Shirdi one for a horse and other for a tiger as a monumental evidence of this Universal love of Shri Sai. This being the

theme of the Sai movement let us resolve to do our little bit in helping others to grow. Shri Sai was love. Let love prevail in a world of contradiction and antagonism. The best pledge we can take is to decide to flow along with the Sai Spirit that a confused and battered world of today needs. (Source: Guruji Shri CB Satpathy ji's writings on Sri Saibaba)

 

 

 

 

DEVOTEES SAY:

 

A DevoteeI was looking out for a job for a very long time, close to 7 months but was unsuccessful. The pain of fruitless search came to an end this week. I landed a job for myself within a week of offering prayers to Sai Baba at Shirdi. Such is the power of Sainath. I bow to Baba with all my heart and soul for answering my prayers and strengthening my belief in HIM. This has restored immense confidence in me and I am ready to face life afresh. A DevoteeBaba heartfelt thanks to you. Thank you very much for solving the problem at my mother\'s house. Please bless all of us and be our guide and guardian through out our life. SoumyaSoumya Pranaam Baba! Thank you very much Baba for helping me to complete my master\'s degree. Also, thanks a lot for helping my brother to clear his exam. Please continue to bless us. Please

bless me with an excellent job.

 

 

 

 

PRAYER CLUB:

 

AparnaSairam, Baba I pray to you to kindly shower your blessings on my husband to get him a good job. We are facing too many problems and you know everything. I do not want this to affect my children studies. Please Baba take him into your arms and bless him with your love.

 

 

 

 

EXPERIENCE OF DEVOTEES:

 

DevoteeSai Baba, three years back when I was married for only few weeks, I and my husband started to have trust issues especially on one. Even though he had some strong reasons for disbelieving me, you knew that I was being truthful and honest. I had no way to prove that I was not lying and he was not ready to believe me. He threatened several times to leave me. I prayed to you and cried in front of you for several weeks to save my marriage and to make him see the truth. I did Sai Satcharitra Saptaha but didn't see any improvement immediately. I was losing all hope and actually came to a point where I was just praying for Shradha, Saburi, courage, and strength to face any outcome. I prayed to you that if my husband and I were still together and happy after 3

years, I would post my experience and do Sai Satcharitra Saptaha again. I went into depression and didn't know what to do or whom to talk to. Somehow with prayer and exercise, I managed to pull myself out of the depression and tried to remain optimistic. My husband was constantly asking me the same thing again and again and disbelieving me every time. It was very hard for me to go through all this everyday, month after month. With your grace, very slowly things started to change after a year. My husband decided not to take any decision in a hurry. In the second year, the frequency of our arguments decreased and my husband started to trust me more and more. In the third year, he did not talk about this issue at all. Now he trusts me on everything else, even though he still has doubts about that particular issue. From past one year, he has been very loving and caring and we are even planning to have children. It is truly a miracle that we are

quite happy with each other and can see our future together after all we have been through. I now strongly believe that the tough times have passed. Baba, I cannot thank you enough for your miracle. I pray to you to continue to have your grace on us and bless us with a happy marriage and healthy kids. I ask fellow devotees to have Shradha and Saburi (Faith and Patience) in difficult times and Baba will make sure that you come out stronger. Sai Baba thanks for being with me and helping me all the time. I have been working on a project since early last year and my sub consultant and my boss were giving me hard time in every stage of this project. Yesterday my sub consultant sent few comments on the data, which I submitted. I was afraid of comments because my boss would create a big nuisance of it. I prayed Baba and went to office, my boss said it\'s not a big deal and without any hassle the problems were solved which gave me big relief.

Thank you very much Baba for saving me all the time.

 

 

 

 

 

QUOTATION OF THE WEEK:

 

 

"Serving Baba and being in love with him is the ultimate reality. I therefore do not seek things like 'Samadhi', emancipation, to be yogi, have miracle powers etc. When the most extraordinary God descends on earth as an ordinary person, how can the ordinary persons try to be extraordinary?" - Shri C.B. Satpathy ji

 

 

 

 

QUESTION OF THE WEEK:

 

Q: How should Sai devotees react when their wishes are not fulfilled? A. by Devotee We look upon Sai Baba as our God, our Almighty, and our Father. When we need something we go to Him and pray but do we have a right to get angry on Him when our prayers are not answered? I know most people do get angry and upset but why do we forget this that He loves us more than we love Him. His love for us is far greater than our love for Him. We ask Him to give us what we want but He gives us what we need. When He doesn't fulfill our wishes we should think that He has some other plans for us... a plan which is much better than our plan. He is above us and He thinks for us better than we think about ourselves. We should just believe in Him and wait for His plan to be revealed to us.

 

 

 

 

SAI ACTIVITIES:

 

 

Sri C.B.Satpathyji visits Shri Sai Baba Temple Minnesota, USA Thursday March 18thShri Saibaba Mandir, Minneapolis, MN welcomes Shraddheya Guruji Shri C B Satpathy ji on Thursday, March 18, 2010. The program for the evening includes Inauguration of Sri Saibaba Chavadi, and the USA launch of "Living with Sai", the audio CD written and composed by Shri Satpathy ji. The program will be broadcast live on Internet. Please visit www.hamaresai.org for more details.

 

Sri Ramanavami Celebrations at Shirdi Sai Temple Hampshire, Illinois, USASri Ramnavami will be celebrated for three days from Tuesday March 23rd to Thursday March 25th. The celebration will mark the first major festival of the temple in this year. For full details and sponsorship information, please visit the temple website or call 847-931-4058 or send email to maildrop. Sri Shirdi Sai Temple of Chicago and Suburbs, Illinois, USASri Shirdi Sai temple is open daily from 8:00 a.m to 9:00 p.m.(Winter hours). Daily program includes Kakad Arathi at 8 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 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. 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 four days from Thursday to Sunday. For temple hours and activities please visit their website. 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. 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. 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 6599 Dublin Center Drive, Dublin, OH 43017. Please attend daily Aaratis and Thursday bhajans. For more information please call 614-799-8411. 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 Shirdi Sai Temple of Austin, TXSri Shirdi Sai Temple of Austin, Texas opened at 601 E Whitestone Blvd (RM 1431), Cedar Park, TX. Daily 4 aarthis are performed to Sai Baba. As part of service to needy, a weekly sandwich seva is also conducted. Shirdi Sai Mandir, Dulles, VAShirdi Sai Mandir is located at 43671 Trade Center Place #166 Dulles, VA 20166. The mandir is open through the week

in the evenings from 6pm to 9 pm. Sri Satyanarayan pooja will be conducted every full moon day. Please call (703) 661-4724 for more information on activities, events and other information. Shirdi Sai Mandir, TorontoThe Mandir is located at Unit 7 & 8 2721 Markham Road Toronto ON M1X 1L5 Canada. Daily services offered to Baba include abhishek and all aartis. For Mandir hours and activities, please call 647-444-4724. Shri Shirdi Sai Baba Sansthan, Canada -TorontoDevotees in Toronto, are invited to join in Sai Namavali, Satcharita reading, Bhajans, Aarti and Prasad every Thursday from 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm. at GUR MANDIR 207 Queen's Plate Dr. Etobicoke - Hwy27 South of Finch for more info call (416) 294 4804. Sai Mandir, Baldwin New YorkDevotees in New York and surrounding locations are informed about Sri Sai Mandir in Baldwin NY. The temple is located at 1889 Grand Avenue,

Baldwin, NY 11510. Please attend daily Aaratis and Thursday Panchamruta Abhishekam and bhajans. For more information please call at 516-867-8008. Shirdi Saibaba Temple, Iselin/Edison New JerseyDevotees in New Jersey and surrounding locations are informed about Sri Shirdi Saibaba temple in Iselin NJ. The temple is located at 465 Lincoln Highway (Route 27) Iselin, NJ 08830. Please attend daily Aaratis and Thursday Panchamruta Abhishekam and bhajans. For more information please call at 732-283-1800. Shirdi Saibaba Temple, Flushing New YorkThis temple is located near the famous Ganesh Temple, Flushing, New york. All the day-to-day rituals at the temple are being conducted in a manner similar to that in Shirdi. The temple is located at 46-16 Robinson Street Flushing,NY,USA 11355. For more information please call 718-321-9243. Sri Sai Amruta Narayana Sarveswaraalaym, Richmond, VAThe

temple is open from 5.15 am to 9.00 pm, everyday (no lunch break etc). We have all 4 aarthis every day and Baba's paalki seva on every Thursday after Dhoop Aarthi. Further information can be obtained by calling the temple at 804-708-0867. Shirdi Sai Jalaram Mandir, Houston TXThis temple was inaugurated on August 28th 2009 with idols of both the saints Shri Sant Jalaram and Shri Shirdi Sai Baba. The temple is open for darshan and arathis all day. It is located in Sugarland and more information can be obtained by calling 281-433-4706. Shirdi Sai Baba Temple Detroit, MISri Shirdi Sai Baba temple, Livonia welcomes everyone to visit the temple and get Baba's blessings. The temple is open for darshan and arathis. For more information please call 248-471-6474.

 

 

 

 

FROM THE EDITORS KEYBOARD:

 

For the past several months we have been trying to work on issues related to distribution of Sai Vichaar. Our goal is to make this spiritual e-magazine rich in contribution and rewarding experience to its readers. Several factors have been responsible for delays and non-deliverability of Sai Vichaar. To receive Sai Vichaar without interruption, readers are requested to please add the from email to their address book. If you move or close your email account, please drop in a line to us so that we can update your records. Mail continued to be sent to dead accounts goes against the sender. By following these basic steps at your end will go a long way in helping us to keep our lists clean and all readers get Sai Vichaar every week. Thank you for your support and making Sai Vichaar a part of your lives. We will continue to strive to bring you material of benefit to all Sai devotees in the

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From and Editor:

Shirdi Sai Baba Web Site

 

 

Shirdi Sai Baba Sanstha

 

 

(A non-profit organization)

 

Mail:

12N950 State Route 47

 

 

Hampshire, IL 60140, USA

 

Email

maildrop

 

Phone

847-931-4058

 

Fax

847-464-1567

 

 

 

 

 

 

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