Sai Vichaar for Thursday, January 26, 2006

[Guest guest]

of Shirdi. Feel free to forward this newsletter to your interested associates in

its original form. 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 FEATURE OF THE

WEEK: Role of Sadguru Once upon a time, a teacher by name of Paramanandam lived

in a small village. He was a

married person with a wife and children. He had ten students under him. These

students were very naive and used to behave in foolish way. Most of the time,

they used to misinterpret the teacher's words and they used to create confusing

situations. The teacher knew their defects and always tried to help them. Days

were passing on like this. One day, a difficult, problematic situation had

cropped up. The problem was that the ten students had to cross a river to go to

the other side. The teacher told them all the precautions to cross the river

safely. The ten students, by holding hands together, crossed the river and went

to the other side. Then suddenly, they got a doubt that someone in them was

missing. So, they wanted to count each other. They selected a person among

themselves to do the counting. The person who did the counting (he did not

include himself in the counting) counted only nine people. This created tension

in them. Another one was selected to do the counting; he also

repeated the same mistake as the first one did. He also reconfirmed that only

nine people were left. Now, it became clear for them that one among them was

drowned in the river. They felt very sad. They started crying loudly for the

lost one. A passenger going by listened to their cries. He went near and asked

them about their problem. They explained to him the situation. This passenger

was an intelligent person. He understood their foolishness completely. He asked

the ten students to stand in a line. He started counting them one by one until

he counted the tenth person. The students felt very happy and thanked the

passenger. In this story, even though there is a tenth person, because of

ignorance, the presence of that person could not be appreciated. Then, the

teacher who came as a passenger, (teachings of the teacher) showed them that

the tenth person was present. The ignorance is two-fold. It makes us not to

appreciate the real and also makes us to misinterpret the

real. A Guru is essential for us to bring us out of the darkness of ignorance.

The Guru makes us to experience the 'Real' in a clear way. The Grace of our Sri

Sai who is a perfect master and a mother that knows the real needs of her

children blesses all of us. CONTRIBUTED ARTICLE: A Prayer Whenever I have

been depressed and low, which is often My Baba listens to my prayers, which is

always... I pray to you with my mind wandering here and there Bless me Baba,

control my mind Please be with me always and ever..... What shall I do without

your grace I need your blessings, your love and protection Please answer my

prayers, remove my fears I have faith, wish to have stronger faith Let me be at

your feet and let your hand be on my head, always and ever....... Baba I love

you, I worship you Let my heart be filled with your love and worship always and

ever.... (Contributed by Savita Jayaram) DEVOTEES SAY: SwapnaMy dear Baba,

thank you very much for granting my wish and coming to my home. After the New

Year, I received a letter from your temple in Chicago. I opened it with great

interest to see your greeting card blessing us for the New Year. When I saw it,

my happiness knew no bounds Baba. Please be always with us and help us get

through in this journey of life. KavithaI am a student doing my Post Graduate

and I was not able to write my exams properly. I really studied well, but

during that three hours I was not able to answer all the questions. I was

really very much worried about my results. I prayed Baba to help me. I got my

P.G in a well reputed college due to Baba's grace. Yesterday only I got my

result. I got 92 percent. I do not have words to explain my

feelings. I am very happy. I thanked Baba for helping me. Thank you very much

Baba. RaniSai Ram, yesterday I was in a big problem, when I was doing one

project work, my Laptop hard drive crashed and I could not start the computer

and gave too many errors. This project, I have been working since two weeks and

could not save or back up this particular file. I almost started to cry, as I

knew I will get bad name from my boss. Sai Bandhus please believe me, I just

started praying Baba and reciting Sai Namams and while chanting I packed my

laptop and took it to a computer service center and with great difficulty with

Baba's grace, the technician and owner had a looked at it and it started as if

nothing happened. KamalSai, this is your humble devotee. I had prayed to Sai

that if my sister found her gold chain which she had misplaced that I would

write to You. She found the chain after we prayed in front of

Your picture. Thankyou Sai we have full faith in You and you will not disappoint

your devotees. Sai Bless us always. Let us be humble to all. SurekhaThank you

very much for helping my husband to become a Ph.D candidate. You made everyone

to be in his favor. Though he did not do his oral exam properly, You helped him

get his candidacy. Thank you Saibaba, thank you very much. PRAYER CLUB:

ShashiI want to join my new company. I guess my manager will try to create

problems not releasing me from the company. He will say that he will not accept

my resignation. But I want to join the new company at any cost on 13th February

2006. Please Baba, help me get relieved by 13th of February with a handshake.

GeetaI am working for IDBI as a secretary. I have applied for IDBI's exam for

the post of assistant

manager. Please pray that I should get through the exam and the interview that

will follow. SrinivasWe are praying on a big request to You for the last six

years and that time has come Baba to see the reality of that request. Please

help us Baba in that and see that our child is born healthy and safely.

BhavnaPlease bless us to have a baby. Sai devotees, please pray for us, so that

we could get Baba's grace. We need that right now. SenthilHelp me to find a job

where I would have happiness, good salary and career. Find me the love of my

life. Please shower with blessing. I have no one without You. SanjeevaraniBaba

today brother's court case is there. Please be with him. Baba, he is much

feared. Please solve the case in our favor Sai. Baba my brother is innocent.

Please Baba be with my mother and brother in court. A Sai devoteeBaba accept my

gratitude to bless me with my result. Without Your help I couldn't able to pass,

please bless me continue to finish my degree and diploma. Please solve my work

problem and also find me a nice loving caring husband. Also find me some

friends and family whom I can trust to share my feelings. Please help my sister

to be with me and also help her to get married. Please show me your miracle. I

know You can help me. I have no one without Your feet. Sai devoteeOh! kind Sai

koti pranaams to You. First of all thank you dear Sai for making it possible

for me to be able to visit India and hence Shirdi and spend quality time with

my parents. Oh Sai today I am going to my in-laws place, please let our stay

there be peaceful without any trouble. Oh Sai please bless my sister with a

child. We have been praying so hard for her so please shower Your blessings on

her kind Sai. Please continue to protect my

family and my children. A devoteeI am facing lot of family problems, I don't

know what to do . Please guide me in this regard. Except You nobody can solve

my problems. I don't know to whom I have to trust and not to trust. Please help

me to build a house at my native place. Please guide me in this regard. Please

guide my daughter to behave in decent manner and go to school and classes

regularly. I have more faith and trust on You, please help my son to get good

marks like more than 80 percent in total percentage. If you think there is no

limits for sanctioning. GaureeDear Baba, You are always there whenever I need

you. You have always showered me your blessings and I still need that. Please

clear my all obstacles that are coming on my way so that I wish to reach my aim

soon. And Baba, please fulfill my wishes to have happy life. ShilpaI thank you

Sai Baba for

helping me out to come out of my problems and providing me a new job, but Baba

now please give me the strength to face the society because You know how people

treat when a girl leaves her hubby and try to face the world alone. My request

is that I don't wanna go back into my married life but I want my in-laws and

husband to realize what they have done to me is wrong. EXPERIENCE OF

DEVOTEES: SirishaI would like to share my experience with all the Sai

devotees. In November 2004 I became pregnant and after nine weeks of pregnancy,

miscarriage happened and I became devastated. At that time when I went to the

doctor, she did all the tests and results came that I have thyroid problem, so

I started taking thyroid medicines. Doctor also told me that upto one year it

is impossible for me to become pregnant. I came home and in front of Baba I

cried a lot. By Baba's blessings in

March 2005, I became pregnant but I was so tensed about my pregnancy because I

have thyroid problem. With Baba's blessings I delivered healthy baby boy on

January 4th 2006 without any health complications and I didn't suffer much in

labor time also. Because of Baba's blessing all this happened. I named my son

Sai. Please Baba shower your blessings on our family and all the Sai devotees.

CharulI want to share my experience that made my husband a devotee of Shri Sai.

My husband is an expert in the German language. Since the times are very

demanding and we were expecting our second child, we were looking for an

additional source of income. Baba made it possible for us to have that source

by giving translation assignments to my husband. As a token of respect, we

decided to offer 10 percent of the total extra income for charity purposes. It

was indeed a matter of great surprise for both of us when we purchased blankets

for the needy that the cost

of the blankets was the same as we had kept aside as if Baba was telling us that

He approves of our choice. For some it may be sheer coincidence but for us it

was Baba's words. I pray that Sai gives his divine grace to all, there be peace

and love all around. Let all the children of Sai be blessed by His grace and let

there be Sai everywhere. Om Sai Ram. RupaliSaibaba's miracles in my life are

endless. But one of them is as follows. My father suffered a heart attack on

Thursday just a week before the birth of my daughter. At first, I was very

disappointed with Baba. I thought why did Baba give this pain. I put udhi on my

father's forehead and all of us prayed to Baba. But later on when my father

recovered, I realized that Baba saved my father. It happened on

Thursday-Saibaba's day. He did not suffer much. Before next Thursday, he was

home. On Friday my daughter was born healthy with no complications since I was

worried that the emotional

stress I had due to my fathers ill health would affect my delivery. So my father

did not have much time to feel low about his health (the after shock) neither

did we, instead he survived a major crisis and was happy being grandfather.

QUOTATION OF THE WEEK: "Since you are not a prophet, follow the way taught by

prophets. Since you are not a king, be a loyal subject to the king. Since you

are not a captain, do not take the helm of the ship. Since you do not possess

every skill, have partners in your business. Be as pliant as dough in the hands

of others, that you may rise well."-A Sufi saying QUESTION OF THE WEEK: Q.

How are we to know that we have won Sai's grace? A. by Nandini Aum Sarva

BhaaraBhrthe Namah! (Obeisance to SaiNath who

takes over the burden of all) When the doubting mind finally rests, we begin to

feel peace and happiness from within for reasons beyond our understanding.

Suddenly everything looks perfect; we no longer feel the lack of anything. We

begin to see a glow somewhere and our hearts tend to believe we are on the

right path. The Holy Name of Sai or Rama will send a wave of satwik emotions

through our body. All this is the outcome of true surrender to a Higher Power,

for such a surrender is immediately followed by peace. Where there is

surrender, there the Guru's Grace has dawned! SAI ACTIVITIES: Shirdi Sai

Temple of Chicago and Suburbs, Illinois, USAShirdi 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 (AT) saibaba (DOT) org. Shirdi Saibaba Prayer Center, MinnesotaRegular Sai

activities in Minneapolis, St.Paul area are being conducted at Shirdi Saibaba

Prayer Center, 725 Lake St NE, Apt #139 Hopkins MN. For details, please contact

hamaresai , or call Shirdi Saibaba Prayer Center at 952-938-2983, and

to read the monthly newsletter Sai Sandesh, visit www.hamaresai.org. 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

Satsang, Bay Area, CaliforniaShirdi Sai Parivaar invites all to join us for

Satsang every Thursday 7:30 pm at Odd Fellows Temple, 20589 Homestead Road,

Cupertino, CA 95014. For details please call 408-564-6704 or send email to

saibandhu or visit www.ShradhaSaburi.org. Sai Satsang, New Jersey,

USAShirdi Sai Dham, Inc regularly conducts Sai bhajans followed by Aarti and

Parsad on every 1st Saturday of each month at Durga Mandir, Kendall Park, New

Jersey from 3 pm to 5 pm (Winter Hours). All are requested to kindly come and

receive Baba's blessings. For more information, please call us at 609-275-1334

or visit www.shirdisaidham.org or email us at

shirdisaidham (AT) hotmail (DOT) com Shirdi Sai Satsang, Toronto, CanadaShirdi Saibaba

Sansthan invites all to join for satsangs every Thursday 7:00 pm at Sai

Dwarkamai, 147 Winston Castle Dr. Markham, Ontario, L6C 2N4, phone 416-402-8089

or email: saileela99 . To request a pooja for yourselves, your friends

and family for any occasion at your residence, please call. Devotees can

request udi or Holy water (Abhishek Jal) from the Holy bathing of Baba by

sending us an email or by phone. Shirdi Sai Mandir, Scarborough, CanadaThe

Shirdi Sai Mandir located at 2721 Markham Road, Scarborough, Ontario, M1X 1L5

(Intersection of Markham and Nashdene) is open Monday to Friday from 6:30 p.m

to 8:30 p.m. and Saturday to Sunday from 10:30 a.m to 8:30 p.m. Dhoop Aarti is

at 7:30 p.m. everyday. Bhajans are on Saturday from 5:00 p.m. onwards. For

other temple activities and information please call 647-444-4724 or send an

email to info (AT) theshirdisaimandir (DOT) com. Shirdi Sai Satsang in Vancouver, BC,

CanadaShirdi Sai parivar in Vancouver invites you for bhajans, every Thursday

(6:30pm - 7:30 pm) at 8571, 118A Street, Delta, V4C 6L2. For further details

contact Ritu (604)592 4182 or email at sai_ish (AT) hotmail (DOT) com. Sai Satsang,

SingaporeTo all Shirdi Sai Baba devotees in Singapore, Sai Sansthan, Singapore

is organizing Shirdi Sai Baba prayer session every Saturday between 18:30 hrs

to 20:30 hrs at 2nd floor function hall, Sri Vadapathira Kaliamman temple,

(opp. to Sinda), 555, Serangoon Road, Singapore-218174. We invite you all to

participate and seek Baba's blessings. For further details, please visit

www.saisansthan.com. Sai Baba Satsang in Auckland, New ZealandSai Baba Satsang

( Bhajans , Provochan , Sai Ashotottram and Shej Arathi ) is held every

Thursday from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm at MT

Roskill War Memorial Hall, May Road , Mt Roskill, Auckland, NZ. For more detials

visit our website http://www.shirdisaibaba.org.nz or mail to

info (AT) shirdisaibaba (DOT) org.nz. FROM THE EDITORS KEYBOARD: Sai Vichaar thanks

you for your support for the Question of the Week feature. This feature is

intended to initiate useful discussion on topics related to Sai philosophy, His

message, and Sai devotion. Please send your suggested topics for the same. Sai

devotee Meenakshi Kumar suggested the Question of the week as follows: When

Hemadpant asked Sri Sai, "Baba do all the crowding around you are benefited?"

Sri Sai answered that only a few flowers ripe into fruits, not all are

benefited. My question is why is it so? Q. How are we to know that we have won

Sai's grace? Humbly Yours,The Editor ABOUT THIS EMAIL: This newsletter is

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[Guest guest]

I took my exam recently in UK.I had 10 stations and before entering each

room I prayed to Swamy to help me do well.When i came out I did not feel

very good but I prayed contiuously to swamy and He helped me pass.I

subsequently went to Parthi and got darshan .

Jayanthi