Significance of Sai Ram mantra

[Guest guest]

Significance of "Sai Ram" mantra

 

The reason behind calling Sai Baba as Sai Ram

 

Avatars are described in the Hindu scriptures as promoting human

welfare. They combine human and divine features. Especially in the

case of Sri Rama, the seventh Avatar, the human features come out so

as to enable the Rama personality to be of great service to us,

spiritual and temporal. Rama dhyana, Rama smarana and Rama Lila, in

general are found to be very useful for spiritual and temporal

purposes alike on account of the human element in Rama. Similarly in

Sai Baba, who is often termed Sai Rama, partly because Ram Navami

was chosen by Baba to be the day for his Urus to be celebrated at

Shirdi and partly because he showed himself as Rama. His human

elements and divine elements are both mixed up so finely as to help

us to understand him and approach him.

 

Source: HH Pujyasri B.V. Narasimhaswami, Life of Sai Baba, Vol. 4

 

---------------------------

 

When you meet each other, do not shout hello or bye-bye, or some

silly chatter. Let the moment of meeting be sanctified by the

remembrance of God. Say, Ram Ram, or Om, or Hari Om, or Sai Ram.

Sathya Sai Speaks X, Chap. 14

 

The quote from Swami (above) states in a nutshell why we greet

someone with "Sai Ram". It is a remembrance of God, the one God that

IS the other person and ourselves.

 

In Bavaria, southern Germany, many people greet each other

with "Gruess Gott", which means "Greet God". Same idea!

 

When greeting someone with "Sai Ram", try to think of greeting not

only the worldly body that you see but our SAI in that person. We

could use any name of God; it is the intent and feeling that counts.

We have happened to choose "Sai Ram" because of the universal appeal

of that name as a mantra. (Some devotees do repetition of the Name --

namasmarana-- with "Om Sri Sai Ram", repeating "Om Sri" on the

inbreath and "Sai Ram" on the outbreath.)

 

The word "Sai" can be split into two: "Sa" and "Ai". We have been

told that "Sa" means universal father, while "Ai" stands for

universal mother. Sathya Sai Baba, our Sai, is our mother and father.

 

"Ram" can be viewed as a shortening of "Rama". One interpretation of

this word is that "Ra" is the Fire Principle, which burns all to

ash, while "ma" stands for maya or illusion, so together, they mean

the destruction of illusion.

 

Sai Baba has said also that "Rama" means "He who pleases, fills with

bliss, causes delight", that "Rama" means the joy that comes from

love.

 

Source: http://www.sathyasai.org/devotion/sairam.html