Shirdi Baba:- Sai Vichaar for Thursday , November 17, 2005

[Guest guest]

Sai Vichaar

www.saibaba.org

Thursday , November 17, 2005 :: Volume 8, Issue 27

(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: Sai shaan mein raagi ban!

Sayee shaan mein raagi ban Saath saath bairaagi ban Har peedh mei har tanhaayi

mein Sayee se pehle Jai Sayee! Be passionate about singing the glory of Baba

Let only such a passion bring about the dispassion In every pain and every

longing Glory be unto you Sai even before I take they holy name! What does one

have to renounce to receive Sai's blessings? His assurances of temporal and

everlasting goodies? Did Baba ever ask those who came to him to renounce

everything and take up to the forests? Sri Sarathbabuji exhorts that if one has

to leave up everything I order to obtain Sadguru's grace then where is the

greatness of Sadguru? Where is Baba's mercy? A clear understanding of this

begins the process of knowing that it is Baba's blessings and blessings alone

that sustains everything. Once we begin to realize the fact that Baba's

blessings alone sustain our existence we inevitably resort to the constant

remembrance of His opulence. The outcome of this leads one to chant Sai's

divine name everywhere, anywhere and every minute, in every pain and I every

longing. Sing His glory in every form and exalt Sai's greatness with all the

passion our hearts are capable of. Such a lively and joyful passion alone can

obscure passions about everything else. Isn't that a life well lived!

CONTRIBUTED ARTICLE: My Experiences with Saibaba

I was about 25-26 years when my father and my mother ran into some health

problems and also were cheated to huge sums of my father's hard earned savings

deposited in one of the well established finance company and mother was robbed

of our gold mangal sutra in the bus. My parents were fully broken and with no

one to console them. My father was looking fearless and was appearing with full

patience. It is my mother who told about their feelings in their heart and then

suddenly I said to her that if Gods are there and you parents were worshipping,

then things should go in your favor. Then my mother pointed to a small photo

which was behind the saligramam box and said "My Kizhavan" (meaning old person)

will always save and protect me and my family at all times. I did not

understand, my father's eyes were tearing, then myself with anger asked who is

that Kizhavan, then my mother in front of my father narrated her experience of

her travel to Shirdi when she was a small girl along with her father. Then I

realised that Kizhavan means Shirdi Sai Baba. Above all, I want to tell you

here is that we got back most of the money my father lost and besides the most

of the pieces of gold chain snatched. Anyhow, from that day I was eager to

visit Shirdi in my life. I was a regular smoker and used to go to wine bars to

drink whisky almost three or four days a week for the last many years. I moved

with my family to Mumbai and one day after few years of my stay in Mumbai, in

one of the bars I saw a big photo displayed in front of me of Shirdi Sai Baba.

I was drinking too much without my knowledge by simply watching the photograph

of Baba, after a while I realized that I drank too much but somehow managed to

reach my home at 12.30 pm and then suddenly I told my wife and two children

that I wish to go to Shirdi now.

They promptly packed up things and we moved out of the house within minutes and

reached Andheri Railway station. There the depot manager informed that we are

too late as the last bus to Shirdi has left. We tried with Private bus

operator, there again the same reply and one person who happened to be a bus

conductor in his uniform appeared in front of us and told us to try at Dadar

bus Terminal. Immediately we got into the local train, reached Dadar Railway

station and took a taxi and finally surprised to find the bus just moving for

Shirdi. We got into the buss and reached Shirdi in the morning and had the

darshan of Baba. I wept severely even in the queue, to convey that it is Baba

who saved my family and me. Now I do not smoke and drink, I do my pujas and

visit all temples many times on routine basis.

(Contributed by Mukundan, Mumbai)

DEVOTEES SAY:

Sai devoteeI also sincerely request you to publish more on the sayings and the

stories of Sai Baba which would purify the mind of Sai Baba's devotees and help

us to walk in the spiritual path rather than the experiences of some devotees

dealing with petty visa issues. My only fear is that people who are reading

such articles will resort to Baba more for such things rather than seeking His

blessings for self-realization. So in a way you have a huge responsibility of

choosing which ones to publish to enhance the Bhakti and Devotion of the

devotees to Sai Baba.

KrishnaI have not been able to sleep for three days due to some worry but once I

started doing Baba's naama japa I felt much better and slept well at night.

SudhirI am employed in Dubai and my story is almost matching what Mr. Jaidev

Singh has narrated and published in your Sai Vichar. From the time I have come

to Dubai, life here is very mechanical and the company which I have joined was

not doing too well and therefore was unable to pay my salary and am just living

on food expense with a housing. Since I don't blame the company I have been

recruited and am compromising on what they give. I started reading the Sai

Satcharitra and the leela's of Sai Baba and it's amazing, I have changed a lot.

Earlier I was too violent with my family and maybe others too. I don,t know how

many people I have hurt unknowingly, now I would like to repent by doing good

deeds, helping others in need, reading and spreading the message of the living

Sadguru. Sadguru has opened my eyes and made me realise on what I have done and

now I want to change, get back my lost friends who loved me so much. A good

sign. To add the spice in my life now I have got a job offer in a good company

with a good salary and am waiting for the one year minimum period to change the

employment. My current employer too has agreed to give me an NOC to get the visa

transfered with the new employer. I am now waiting and looking forward to get

transferd to my the new employement without any hindrance or obstacles from

anywhere. Helps are pouring in and am sure this would have not happened with

the blessings of the Sadguru. I have completed reading the Sai Satcharitra once

and have started the second time. I cant stop it as I want to keep reading it

whenever I get time. Such is the Sai Satcharitra which is a real gem one should

read it. My suggestion to all the Sai devotees to spread the message of Sai Baba

and his leela's and do not forget to attach the Sai Satcharitra along with your

message. I fully surrender to Sadguru Sai Maharaj of Shirdi and pray to guide

me, my family and all my friends and devitees to guide us in the right

direction till the end.

PRAYER CLUB:

ChitraYou know what I am going through. I feel me and my husband has gone

through many difficulties and please bless us with a child. You can only do the

wonder. I feel we have gone through all the treatment and we have lost our hope

on treatments. Only you can make the miracle happen.

SridharYou know every thing about my problem. Please Baba give me strength and

courage. Definitely this time I want to win this game of job hunt, because my

entire faith is on You. Baba, please forgive me for my past mistakes and bless

me with your Divine eyes.

ArunI beg you Baba to get me out of this financial crisis I am going through and

live a peaceful life in your devotion. Please help my parents, my wife, brother

and sister as entire family is undergoing hardship and financial crisis.

ShaliniPlease pray for my brothers' good health and recovery with all your heart.

HitendarSaibaba, I have heard about you long ago but it was only after my

marriage when my wife and I visited Shirdi. Even after that I did not always

remember You. Baba, forgive me for this selfishness. Please help me to give

shape to my career. I have become aimless, lazy and do not know what to do.

SandeepMy career, my interest and every other aspect of my life have been

affected. Baba, it is only you who can show me the right path.

Sai devoteeOm Sai, bless me and my sister with a decent job soon enough. We both

have been trying for quite a while but in vain. We have lost hope now. Plese

Baba listen to our prayers and please bless my sister with a beautiful and a

healthy baby.

GajendraMost Respected Sainath, please, release us from all our worries and

misfortunes. We are ever debted to You. We have nobody to turn to and tell our

stories of sufferings. Please Baba accept us as your children.

DivyaBaba please give me peace of mind, I am really confused in my life and

don't know what to do. Actually now I am pregnant and I don’t have peace and I

cry everyday. I am worried about my baby, which is going to be born with all

this tensions, what will happen. Please forgive me for all the mistakes in life

and protect my baby without any problem and give me peace of life. I really have

faith in You that You will take care of us. Also please somehow make me to come

to your temple every week. Thanks for the prayer club.

EXPERIENCE OF DEVOTEES:

RamaI would love to share this experience with all of you, which happened just a

week back. We were going on a cruise vacation last week and this was my first

cruise experience ever. Just before going to the trip, I was talking to my

colleagues in office, and we all started talking about the different accidents

that happened with cruises in the past and about the cyclones in the Ocean

etc..Even though I knew weather was going to be just fine and there was nothing

to be concerned of, back of my mind, I always had a little bit of fear of

unknown. "What might happen to us" fear used to drag me to all the undesirable

thoughts. I started to get worried. It was last Thursday. After we had finished

that little chat of ours, I returned to my desk to find Sai Vichaar newsletter.

And then most unbelievable thing happened, the Feature of the week: Shake the

Fear! There was Baba telling me not to be afraid of anything. Following is a

piece of that article: "Fear is one of the qualities that could drive a person

to the level of insanity. Fear manifests in different ways and forms and may

lead to other vicissitudes such as anger, greed, lust, etc. Freeing oneself of

the fear that lies deep within becoming the cause of various unwanted traits is

necessary for any serious spiritual seeker. Fear of the unknown is the biggest

cause of misery. People make their lives miserable because of fear. Fear can be

fought with Faith and Patience. With Faith that all that will happen will be for

one's own good and patience that it will happen when the time comes for the

event to happen will go a long way to lessen the agony and pain that one

harbors in their lives. There was Baba telling me not to be afraid of anything

etc.." I was so moved and astonished to see how Baba told me not be afraid, and

I was not afraid or scared after reading this article. My family and me had a

very safe and very enjoyable vacation. I thank Baba with bottom of my heart for

giving his blessings to me.

RamyaI was desperately trying for a job for two months with no luck. I used to

read Satcharitha every night before going to bed. Then my husband suggested

that I should do Satcharitha parayan in a week's time. So I started reading Sai

Satcharitha with total devotion on November 3rd 2005 and completed it on

November 10th 2005. From the minute I started the parayan, I started attending

interviews and on 10th morning I completed reading the Sai Satcharita's last

chapter. I prayed to Sai from the bottom of my heart and guess what I got a job

offer that very morning. What more can I say about Sai and His Leelas. Dear

devotees please have faith in Him. He is with us at all times.

QUOTATION OF THE WEEK:

"Whoever puts his feet on Shirdi soil, his sufferings would come to an end".-Sai Baba

QUESTION OF THE WEEK:

Q. What is contentment?

A. by Kandappa

Contentment is not something that could be said or described. Contentment should

be felt and experienced. People are wanting more and more and there seems to be

no limit. There should be a limit to the 'Wants'. When one is satisfied and

happy with what he has and do not want anymore then that is contentment. for

example: One may be happy and contended with a salary of $ 2000 per month,

where as another one is not at all happy with an annual income of $ 100,000. It

is all in the mind. Sai Ram.

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.

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 .

Diwali Annakut Celebrations by Shri Sai Pariwar, NJDevotees are invited to

participate in Diwali Annakut celebrations on November 19th at Colonia Elks

Lodge # 2282, 855 Middlesex Turnpike, Colonia, New Jersey from 1:00 pm to 7:00

pm. For directions and other information please call 732-539-0631.

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.

Sri Shirdi Sai Mandir, Scarborough, CanadaThe Shirdi Sai Mandir located at 2721

Markham Road, Scarborough, ON 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. For temple activities and infornmation please call

647-444-4724 or send an email to info (AT) theshirdisaimandir (DOT) com.

FROM THE EDITORS KEYBOARD:

Sai activities section is a good opportunity to spread the word about various

activities, celebrations, and festivities of Sai mandirs across the world.

Postings on Sai activities are very useful for new visitors and for those who

would like to know more about Sai activities in theirs and other areas. Sai

Vichaar receives several emails for Payer Club. They will be posted in the

order they are received, please indicate if you do not want to include your

name. Sai devotee Subhadra suggests the "Question of the week" for the week as,

Q. What is the two-fold importance of Khandoba temple in Baba's life history?

Humbly Yours,The Editor

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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

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