Sai Vichaar for Thursday , September 01, 2005

[Guest guest]

Sai Vichaar

www.saibaba.org

Thursday , September 01, 2005 :: Volume 8, Issue 16

(In its eighth 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 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: Not a matter of Words!

When all the words put together of all the languages of the world are not enough

to describe God (super consciousness), one that has been termed as

indescribable, then on what basis do we attempt to talk about it? Is it merely

enough to read or listen about metaphysical topics and grasp an understanding

through mere words? Is presenting about these topics worth anything without

direct first hand experience? And would one who has already acquired such

knowledge dare to describe the indescribable? In Shri Sai Satcharita, Shri Sai

Baba gave a lengthy dissertation of the requirements for acquiring knowledge

that is beyond, also known as God realization or as The Knower and All-entity

by scientists. In some way or the other all these terms are used to describe

the same thing. As Shri Sai has expressed, knowledge of God is not a child's

play and it is not easily available to every one. There are some key elements

that need to be present in a seeker of such knowledge. As one who seeks needs

to have some reassurance or prior knowledge of what it is they are trying to

seek, a low level understanding of God will suffice. But presenting that level

of low knowledge or indirect knowledge, acquired through books or listening, as

an expert is born out of ignorance.

Shri Sai has pointed out that knowledge of God realization (Super consciousness)

could easily be given by one who has already had direct first hand experience of

such knowledge and that too only upon Lord's grace. And to acquire that Shri Sai

suggests approaching and following such a teacher, continuous practice of

teachings, having faith in the teacher and aim for teacher's grace. In fact if

one had to state the essence of Shri Sai Satcharita in one sentence then it

could well be, "Continuously evolve yourself towards perfection while doing

your duties, having faith and patience in Me. I will do the rest".

CONTRIBUTED ARTICLE: Loving All

It is the inevitable destiny of everything ultimately to go back to the source

from which it came. The body, arising from matter, goes back to matter. The

Atma (Spirit) issuing the Divine goes back to the Divine. The Spirit is pure

Consciousness. It ever remains as Consciousness. It is embodiment of Love and

Light. One must seek to experience Ekatvam i.e., Advaita (Unity in diversity).

Advaita is expressed in three forms: Bhava-Advaita - Oneness in mental

attitude. The unity of the basic substance constituting the cosmos is perceived

as the underlying Reality; Kriya-Advaita - Oneness expressed in action. Every

action is regarded as an offering to the divine and is thereby divinised;

Padaartha-Advaita - Oneness seen in all objects. Implies recognizing that every

being or every object in the universe is composed of the same five elements

(ether, air, fire, water and earth that are divine in their origin; Everyone

should realize that the divine is equally present in all. Divinity (God) can be

understood only when oneness is experienced in all these forms. Worldly love is

momentary but God is the embodiment of love and his love is unbounded,

unchanging and eternal. His infinite love is offered to all in equal measure.

The Lord's love remains the same always. Bliss is the true nature of man, which

can be, realized only when the love of God is experienced. One has to totally

eradicate the sense of "my-ness", strive for the welfare of all and banish all

thoughts of hatred and envy to experience the love of God. One has to plough

the land, feed it with water, sow the seed, pluck out the weeds, and guard the

crop by a fence from cattle and wait patiently for harvest time. So also, the

heart has to be ploughed by means of virtues, fed with the water of divine

love, seeds of divine name are sown, weeds of evil thoughts are to be

destroyed, guard against the cattle of unsteadiness and doubt by putting the

fence of discipline.

The Sai name is proclaimed by trees when they wave their heads. The birds in

their chirping call upon men to remember Sai's name. The flowers in spreading

their fragrance declare the glory of Sai. The bees when they hum announce the

bliss in Sai's name. "Sai!" is the sound that reverberates from the sky and

earth. Sai can be experienced everywhere. "Sai" is not one's name. "Sai" is the

Indweller reclining in the heart of everyone. Our ancients glorified the

Divinity that is equally present in all human beings and propagated this truth

to the world. They summed up their message in one line: "Paropakaarah punyaaya;

paapaaya parapeedanam (Helping others is meritorious; harming others is

sinful)". "Help ever; Hurt never". Use your life to spread joy not grief. Let

no one suffer the slightest pain as a result of your thought, word or deed. Let

this be your saadhana. Realize that you are doing harm to God when you harm

anyone by actions, words and thoughts. The cool rays of shaanthi (peace),

sathya (truth), ahimsa (non-violence) and prema (love) do not emanate when hot

flames of kaama (intense desire) and krodha (anger) are rising from the heart.

Your love to others will raise you to the highest level of spirituality. Extend

your love by realizing that the Atma in everyone is the same. Developing this

kind of universal love will be the basis for Unity. The best way to love God is

to Love all and Serve all.

(Contributed by Sathyanarayana)

DEVOTEES SAY:

Anjali GadirajuI had applied for an exam to be held in 1st week of September. I

had sent my check and application 3 months ago. I was just studying waiting for

my admission ticket to come through as it comes only 1-2 weeks before exam.

Suddenly yesterday, Sai Baba made me to ring exam office to ask about when the

admission ticket would come. And to my surprise the lady in examinations

department said they did not recieve my application. That lady told if I could

find the acknowledgement letter then she could post me a duplicate. I searched

my whole house, I recently moved house so I thought I have lost it in shifting.

I was praying desperately to Saibaba, but could not find it. I told Saibaba if

he does not come for my rescue, I would never ever love Him anymore. I told Him

it was his test to show if he loves me or not. I was crying and went on praying

to Saibaba. Then I rang up another lady who receives applications in exam dept.

and requested her to check in her office and she said she would ring me in 10

minutes. Then again, I rang after 10 min and that lady told me that she found

my application and she would send me admission ticket tommorow. It was a

miracle by Sai Baba, to find an application after 3 months and he proved that

he is always there for people who call him truly. I am happy to get my

admission ticket but unimaginably happy that Sai Baba answered me that he loves

me. Now whatever comes in my life I know my Sai baba is there with me.

Rajani RajaVery many thanks to Saibaba for giving me this gift. it was a good

news to all out family members too. we have been longing to have a baby since I

got married for three years. Now came the moment when my pregnancy results came

positive yesterday. Baba, I sincerely pray to you to look after my baby's

health and me until my delivery and for the rest of the life.

Srinivas GDear Sai, thank you very much for blessing my sister with a job after

a long time. She is very happy and with your grace, her wish is fulfilled now.

Also please shower your blessings on me so that my finance is approved from the

agency. With your grace, I improved a lot in my life. Please be with me always.

KanthySaibaba, as per my promise to You, I am posting my experience here. Thank

you Saibaba for helping me passing the Real Estate exam and thank you so much

Saibaba for showing the way and to be there with us always.

Mamata MDear Sai, Thank you so much for everything. When my husband's project

finished this time I never got upset nor tensed like I usually get, because I

so much believed in you that I knew you would definitely get him job in the

same place as I am, but as time passed and he used to only get calls from

different places and slowly it got me worried, yet I had firm belief that you

would do something even in the last minute, three weeks had already passed and

my husband was ready to go to a job that he got in some other place that he

agreed to go, but on one Thursday you made him meet one of the recruiter from

my place and he was so quick that he arranged for the interview on the very

next day on Friday and he was selected and my husband also started going to job

on Monday,(he still has to cancel the offer that he has got in hand from

different place) such is your unbelievable leela.

Nainesh PatelMay Sai bless Hemanth. My sugggestion would be to take Hemanth to

Shirdi and place him at Sai's feet. Sai will take care of him. Apply Udi to his

head everyday and read Sai Satcharita. I know Sai will hear you.

Akhil GuptaSome weeks ago, I had contributed an article describing how Shri Sai

is my Saarthi. Recently, this proved true once again, and I had said in my

prayers that if my wish was fulfilled, I would write in to this wonderful

newsletter and describe it. I am a student in university and have just

completed my 4th year exams. The exams were a time of incredible stress, and I

tend to worry more than most. However, this time I decided that I would go in

with full faith in Baba and that I knew Baba would protect me and see me

through, as He did for Babu Tendulkar in Shri Sai Satcharitha. The first paper

was OK. The second one was OK at first, but as I had a few spare moments at the

end, I went back and changed some answers. In the discussions with colleagues

that followed the paper, I realized how silly I was to do so, as I was right

the first time. Suddenly, I harbored no hopes of passing and begged my Lord to

see me through. I must admit, I was so upset that I did not think straight and

was unsure whether Sai would help me. As it turns out, He did! On results day,

my result for this exam showed that I just narrowly got through! It was as if I

tried to jump off the chariot, but my saarthi grabbed a hold of my hand and

pulled me back on. This incident has reinforced my faith in my Sai, and now I

feel ashamed for ever doubting Him! Please, Baba, bless all your devotees and

guide them to Your feet. We love You always.

PRAYER CLUB:

A Sai devoteePlease help me Sai. Sadguru Sainath Maharaj ki jai. Please bless us

with healthy child soon and take care of our health.

SumanaPlease Baba give me courage to face interviews and get a nice job where I

am living now. And give me patience to achieve things.

Sharad KumarSai Baba, having had love failures in my life and a very hectic job,

I feel broken in life. Please help me out. I want to stay in Delhi only with my

parents and take your name everyday.

SirishaHey Baba, please cure my baby of all the diseases and bring him home at the earliest.

NeeluOm Sai, my Lord give me peace of mind to accept the girl my son has chosen,

if she is right for us. If not bring the right girl in his life that will bring

peace and joy in our home. Sai, except your holy feet I have no place to go,

please lord Sai help us.

SwapnaI want to have a child since two years. But my husband do not want child

so early. Somehow, I convinced my husband. Baba bless us with a child.

Soumya RI pray wholeheartedly for the recovery of my aunt - my mother's sister

who is in critical condition at the hospital. May Sai give her the strength and

courage to come out of this perilous state of health. I also request Sai

devotees to join me in prayer for my aunt.

Lakshmi BSai please bless us with a healthy child soon. You know all the

difficulties that we are facing and the health problems both my husband and me

are undergoing. Please forgive all the sins that we have made and keep your

blessings on us forever.

Sai devoteePranamams to the Lotus Feet of Sadguru Sai Baba. We have been blessed

with a baby and a job to my husband. You are also supporting us financially.

After my maternal leave, You are also showing a job which is going to be a

permanent one. You are taking care of our health. We pray You that we get a

chance at this stage to show our baby to our elders, siblings, etc. Kindly

bless us to have your darshan at Shirdi. In several incidents, You have shown

your presence by always blessing us whenever we are in need.

EXPERIENCE OF DEVOTEES:

Swapna SI thought of studying MS in USA and applied for visa. But unfortunately

my visa was rejected two times. I was depressed very much and lost hopes on

going abroad. I used to go to temple regularly and pray for visa and used to

cry in front of God. I applied for my visa third time. Before I went for my

visa, Saibaba came into my dreams and said that He is there and he will look

after every thing and asked me not to try and said that I will get visa third

time. So I went for visa and got my visa. I think this is all Sai Baba's

miracle. Now I am in USA and doing my MS. Saibaba is really great.

AnuDear baba Devotees, I wanted to share with u all a recent incident by which

baba fulfilled my wish. I wanted to gift my sister a DVD player for her

birthday...I did a lot of research online, but, nothing was in my budget. Two

days back, when I felt that in no way I could send her what I want, I just send

her a card, cake and a watch. I felt very miserable and thought that if I had a

job, I could send her whatever I want. Anyways, today when I called home and

spoke to my mom, she said that there was a lottery competition in my dad's

office and that he has won a DVD player. My joy knew no bounds, I felt so happy

that Baba has fulfilled my wish in another way. I was reminded of Baba's

assurance: " There shall be no want in the house of my devotees" I just pray to

baba that I get my work permit soon, so that I can start earning myself May god

bless us all.

Bhavani YarlakulaI would like to share my experience with everyone who visits

this site. I visited Shirdi in summer break. I traveled to Shirdi in a bus. I

started throwing up(vomiting) on my way to Shirdi. I was praying to Baba to

help me out but even in the temple I was vomiting. I did'nt even get a chance

to touch Baba's Samadhi. When I returned from Shirdi, I was thinking about the

incident. I was crying, "I traveled all the way from USA to touch Baba's

Samadhi". But Baba is always there whoever wants to see him. As soon as I

closed my eyes, I saw Sai Baba in person. I even touched his feet. So dear

devotees keep faith on him. He will for sure help you in everything aspect of

your life. Thank you so much Baba.

Minal ShahI am very thankful to my mother who inspired me to believe in Baba. I

strongly started believing in Saibaba after the blessings that He gave to my

brother and his wife. My brother's wife was unable to conceive and we had

almost lost our hopes. IVF was the only option with 40 percent positive result

expectancy and medical expense involved. Everybody was tense and having doubts

in their mind, whether we would be successful even after incurring this much

expense. But to our great surprise, everything went smooth. She did not have

any problems during the pregnancy and delivery was OK. Today my nephew is about

nine months and he is very healthy and cute. This was the milestone of my belief

that yes Saibaba is there to help if you really believe in Him and have faith

and patience. Another experience that I would also like to share is regarding

my daughter. She is about four years and she had urinary tract infection two

times before when she was small. This time when I came home on Friday from

work, she complained about pain while urinating. All the symptoms were same as

that of UTI. She was very afraid of going to Doctor for UTI because of the

previous test that they did where they inserted dye in the urinary bladder to

check that the kidney is not affected by reflux. I was also tensed because of

that test which doctor might again recommend. So, I prayed to Saibaba literally

crying and urging Him not to make my daughter suffer. She went to sleep at night

and did not wake up any time in the night. In the morning, I took her to the

Doctor and she said that we will do urine culture test and will wait to see if

she has UTI. She was going to call me back on Sunday morning. On Sunday morning

she called and said although all the symptoms looked like she had UTI, but the

test is normal. So she should be fine. We just gave her one dose of antibiotic

and she was all normal. I think this is all due to my serious prayer and strong

faith in Baba.

QUOTATION OF THE WEEK:

"What do we lose by another's good fortune? Let us celebrate with them, or

strive to emulate them. That should be our desire and determination"-Saibaba

QUESTION OF THE WEEK:

Q. How to Read Sai Satcharitha?

A. by Sakshi Sareen

Sai Ram, I've been in Baba's fold from last one and half year and I feel

sanctified to have a copy of Sai Satcharitha with me but I have a doubt how to

read it, one of the devotees in temple advised to read it thoroughly and learn

the significance of message behind each and every chapter of it. Every lesson

shows the path of very true and blessed life, munificent baba, omnipresent and

omniscient whose leelas are beyond explanation¸ through Sai Satcharitha has

given a chance to transform ourself to a better human being, you will see

Baba's miracles, have Shraddha and faith in Baba's words.

SAI ACTIVITIES:

Shirdi Sai Temple of Chicago and Suburbs, Illinois, USAShirdi Sai temple is open

daily from 7:00 am to 9:00 pm. Daily program includes Kakad Arathi at 7 am

followed by Abhisek. Madhayana Arathi at 12 noon, Dhoop arathi at 6 pm and Shej

Arathi at 9 pm. 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. Upcoming Events: Sri Vinayaka Chaturthi, Wednesday

September 7th, Monthly (second sunday of every month) Pooja, Sunday Sepetember

11th and Samuhika Satyanarayan Pooja on Pournima, Saturday September 17th.

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.

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.

Shirdi Saibaba Satsang, Seattle, WAWe are happy to inform and invite you for Sri

Shirdi Sai Baba Satsang at HTCC Temple, Seattle, WA. On Sunday, September 04th

2005 from 4.00 pm. The following will be the schedule of program: 4.00 - 4.15

pm- chanting Sri Sai Ashtothara Sathanamavali (108 names); 4.15 - 5.00 pm-

reading Sri Sai Satcharitha (Life History and Teachings of Sri Shirdi Sai Baba)

and sharing Devotees' experiences; 5.00 - 5.30 pm- bhajans; 5.30 - 6.00 pm-

evening Aarathi to Sri Shirdi Sai Baba and Prasadam distribution. For

directions and more information about HTCC Temple, please visit www.htccwa.org.

 

Shirdi Sai Satsang, Ontario, CanadaShirdi Sai Baba Sansthan of Canada invites

all to join us for Satsang every Thursday 6:30PM at 147 Winston Castle Dr.

Markham, Ont. L6C 2N4. For details on other activities and services please call

Shammi Chopra at 416-402-8089 or email us saileela99 .

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, V4C6L2. For further details contact Ritu at 604-592-4182 or

email at sai_ish (AT) hotmail (DOT) com.

FROM THE EDITORS KEYBOARD:

Sai Vichaar is an open forum for those interested to share their experiences,

views and ideas on Sai devotion and their experiences with Saibaba of Shirdi.

Readers are requested to note that Sai Vichaar is not responsible for the

opinions expressed by individual contributors. Devotees residing in and

visitors to Vancouver, BC, Canada are requested to refer to Sai Activities

section to know details about Sai activities in that city. Sai Vichaar is

immensely happy to publish details about growing Sai activities all over the

world. Please write to maildrop (AT) saibaba (DOT) org if you want to know about Sai

activities or interested in initiating Sai activities in your area. The

"Question of the week" for the week is, Q. What is single-minded devotion?

Humbly Yours,The Editor

ABOUT 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, or3. 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 (AT) saibaba (DOT) org 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 (AT) saibaba (DOT) org and your inquiries will be attended to promptly.

Thank you,The webmaster

>From and Editor:

Shirdi Sai Baba Web Site

Shirdi Sai Baba Sanstha

(A not for Profit Organization)

Mail:

182 West Melrose Street Suite #4

South Elgin, IL 60177, USA

Email

maildrop (AT) saibaba (DOT) org

Phone

847-931-4058

Fax

847-931-4066

© Copyright 1998-2005 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.