Sai Vichaar for Thursday , March 23, 2006.......!!! Jai Sai Ram

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Sai Vichaar for Thursday , March 23, 2006Sai Vichaarwww.saibaba.org

Thursday , March 23, 2006 :: Volume 8, Issue 45 (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 WEEKCONTRIBUTED ARTICLEDEVOTEES

SAYPRAYER CLUBEXPERIENCE OF DEVOTEESQUOTATION OF THE WEEKQUESTION OF THE

WEEKSAI ACTIVITIESFROM THE EDITORS KEYBOARDFEATURE OF THE WEEK: Stones and

DiamondsTo be able to visit the Holy Shrine in Mecca is a matter of great

significance to the followers of Islam. Even if done once in a lifetime,

Muslims revere the occasion as the most blissful moment of their entire life.

Those who successfully complete this pilgrimage to Haj are respectfully

addressed as Haji and they command a high social status. Sidik Falke from

Kalyan, Maharashtra, India, was one such blessed follower of Islam who visited

Mecca and Madina and came to be known as "Haji" Sidik Falke. In his quest for

spiritual fulfillment, Haji came to Shirdi to meet Baba. Shri Hemadpanth

narrates Haji's visit to Shirdi and how he was treated by Baba (Shri Sai

Satcharitha Ch. XI, English version by Shri NV Gunaji). How could a spiritually

inclined person, Haji, a Saadhaka in his own right, be ignored at Baba's court?

Why did the merciful fakir ignore this apparently pious man? Baba told Shama,

"You are too young to understand this. If Allah does not allow, what can I do?"

After giving Haji, the necessary lessons in humility, Baba threw away His

kolamba (mudpot), rushed towards Haji and said, "Why do you brag and fancy

yourself great and pose yourself as an old Haji? Do you read Koran like this?

You are proud of your pilgrimage to Mecca, but you do not know me". His ego

completely annihilated, blessed Haji was enlisted in Baba's court.Even great

men fail due to this "giving in" to the myth of ego. Guru's grace will be on

those that can successfully isolate the "self" component and shatter the walls.

Once Guru's grace is obtained, it is the spiritual responsibility of the seeker

to sustain Guru's grace. Intense practice is necessary to ward off the creeping

ego. Experiences at the end of any spiritual pursuit should if any, be limited

to the satisfaction that the ego is kept away in the blissful presence of the

divine, for even a little slip here awakens the pride. Diamonds are the ones

that glow, being hollow of any obstructions to the divine light.CONTRIBUTED

ARTICLE: Where are You My Lord? Where are You?I have searched for You In

temples and ashrams

In masjids and minars But, I failed to feel You.

I have searched for You In churches and chapels

In gurudwaras and gopurams But, I failed to absorb You.

I have searched for You In discourses and bhajans

In meditations and murthis But, I failed to invoke You.

I have searched for You In mountains and valleys

In forests and caves But, I failed to see You.

I have searched for You in Rivers and rivulets In brooks and lakes But, I failed to trace You.

I have searched for You In flowers and fragrances

In the universe and ether But, I failed to know You.

I have searched for You In swamis and sadhus

In gurus and samadhis But, I failed to get You.'

I have searched for You In japa and tapa

In fasting and reciting But, I failed to hold on to You.

I have searched for You In retreats and resolutions In resorts and

rationalization But, I failed to meet You.

I have searched for You Everywhere day and night

It is now beyond my imagination Reveal Yourself Oh my Lord!

Ah! You are here my Lord, within Me! Just waiting for me to open up to You

Yes, You will not reveal to half-hearted efforts Unless I submit myself by

thought, word and actionMy Lord! You are within me But, fool am I that

I searched for you outside Without giving up what I am holding on

And living up to your expectations. Due to my ignorance and arrogance

I failed to enjoy Your love for me so far You are just waiting for my correct moves

To take me into Your lap.

Thank You My Lord! for the transformation Now, I can see You clearly

In every beam of Sun-rays In every moon-lit night In every flower In every smile

In everything animate and inanimate In fact, You Are and nothing else.

Thank You My Lord for Your Blessings and Love.(Contributed by Paritala

Gopikrishna)DEVOTEES SAY: AnitaThanks a lot Saibaba for showering your

blessings on me. My contract was getting ended in March. I sincerely prayed to

Saibaba that my contract should be extended another 1 month so that I look for

another job in 1-month period. My Baba's grace my contracted was extended one

more month. Baba, please help me to find a permanent job as early as possible.

I pray to all sai devotees to have faith in Baba.A devoteeI have been a Sai

devotee for the past 7 years after my marriage. I am very grateful to my mother

in law for giving me the Sai Satcharitha. I was unable to attend the Guru

Poornima celebrations in our area. I was feeling very bad about it and kept

thinking that I would definitely attend the Ramanavami celebrations in April.

We had bought tickets to visit my brother-in-law between April 6 and April 10.

But we got our citizenship interview letter for April 7. So we were very

disappointed and we postponed our trip to next weekend. The next day, I got a

mail from the Sai group that the Ramanavami celebrations are on April 8th. I

was very happy that Sai had postponed our trip so that we could attend the

function. I thank you sincerely and I have no words to describe what you have

given me. Please bless my daughter and please always be with us.PunamI want to

first thank Sai Baba and then this website, which gives us a provision to Pray

and to Share our Experiences. It also gives knowledge and a great feeling with

more faith in Baba's feet. Every human being has to pass with some bad and good

times. This site is useful in both times. In Sai Satcharitha, it is mentioned

and then devotees prayed through Baba's great bhakta like Shama, Mahalsapati.

This magazine is just like a great bhakt of Sai Baba by which you can pray to

Baba, Thanks to Baba .I am a regular reader of this site and magazine and every

time I pray, I read I feel more faith and more encouragement towards Baba

bhakti. Thanks a lot.PRAYER CLUB: SwapnaSai, Please help Hema with her baby and

pregnancy.KamathBaba I pray from the depth of my heart baba...baba be with my

husband during his interview and always with us and help him in getting this

job. I also request all Sai bandus to pray for us.RamanathanAtul and Swathi are

having problem with their speech and hearing. You know how much troubles they

are undergoing, please help them in their speech and hearing as only Your

blessings can help them speak and hear well.Sai devoteeDear Sai devotees,

please pray for our son to concentrate better and become responsible in his

studies. Pray for our family.SampaBaba please take care of my parents and in

laws and please be with my mother-in law during her surgery.SoundaryaBaba

please shower your blessing on my brother help him to be a brave person and

help him in getting married and settled soon.NeelimaPlease help my husband to

extend his job in the same company.RajaniPlease take care of my niece during

her exams and see to that she writes well and get very good marks and pass with

excellence. Please be with her always.NandakumarI am jobless for the past one

year. I request everybody to pray me to get a job in the SAP as a

consultant.SupriyaMy wish is that you must cure my daughter's eyes, as you are

my only God. She is taking medicine and we all wish that you should bless her

with improvement in her eyesight.EXPERIENCE OF DEVOTEES: ShiriI would like to

relate an experience that happened to me last week. My mother had severe back

and neck pain. As I live away from my mother, I prayed to Baba to help reduce

my mother's pain and I applied udi to my neck praying to Baba to reduce my

mother's pain as if I am doing it to my mother. I prayed to Baba that I would

write my experience as soon as my mother's pain reduces. The next day I called

my mom and she told me that she is feeling better, but still has little pain

and this week she is feeling completely better. I am so happy that her pain

reduced and by Baba's grace she is feeling good. Thank you Baba for protecting

my family. Baba help us and protect us always. Thank you Baba for

everything.AchutaramaiahRecently my wife and me made a trip to Shirdi. Since

there was a rush, I used my Ex-service card to get a quick entry. We got the

entry fast but were pushed aside in a hurry because the arathi time at 12:00 pm

was approaching. My garland was accepted fast and no flowers were given. We just

touched the Samadhi and we were bundled out quickly. My wife was in tears and

appealed to Baba to help us to see Him again. So we went in the afternoon at

4:00 pm and went by the normal route. We saw Him soon from the left side. I

asked the priest to give me a flower at least, he recognized me and gave a full

garland in my hand! I was overjoyed. But my wife again appealed to Baba to let

us visit Him again. And lo! as soon as we came out, we were asked to join a big

party heading to the mandir directly through special pass. This time my wife

went before me, saw Baba and had full darshan. Tears rolled down her face and

she saw Him again and again to her full satisfaction- even the guards allowed

her to stand for full five minutes while they jostled the other crowd. We had a

great day seeing Him three times. We thanked Him again and again. Soon it was

evening arathi time and we sat in the opposite garden and listened to the

arathi songs with awe and sang the arathi songs along with the multitudes in

choked voices. From the garden, one can hear and see Him on TV and also see Him

through the window right across. I am sure devotees may note this vantage point

where one can hear, see Him on TV and also see BABA with the priest garlanding.

So I want to thank Baba again and again and my wife was very glad to see Him in

full divine glow. Yes we feel in our hearts that the day was an unusual one to

us to be invited by Baba three times. Baba is living and listens to all poor

and rich alike. Please pray to Baba with faith.A Sai devoteeTo all Sai

devotees, I promised Sai Baba I would write my experiences if I get residency

(MD) in Internal Medicine in USA. I got residency in Internal Medicine this

year even though I had multiple attempts and low scores in USMLE exams. This is

just nothing but a miracle. I also would like to share other experiences, I had

a dream in the early hours in 2004 that Saibaba was blessing me and he was

telling me that all my desires will come true and he also mentioned that I am

going to build Sai mandir. Lot of changes took place after that dream. I came

to US, I got residency now, I got green card, I had persisted elevated liver

enzymes, all my other tests were negative, I went to Shirdi and prayed Saibaba

to bring my liver functions to normal, after my return I checked my liver

functions, it was normal. It is just a miracle. One day I was praying to Sai

Baba and asked Him to come to my house in any form, the same evening, I found

Baba's photo in my friend's car. We don't believe that we have hands and legs,

we know it is there so is Saibaba, He is there with us we believe something

which is unknown to us, Saibaba is not unknown, have faith and patience, He

gives everything that is good for us. Read Sai Satcharitha everyday. These are

just few miracles out of so many miracles in my life.QUOTATION OF THE WEEK:

"This fakir has compassion for all and will look after you very

lovingly"-SaibabaQUESTION OF THE WEEK: Q. What is the best way to worship

Saibaba of Shirdi? What should be our routine?A. by MadhumoortiThe best way of

worshipping Baba is to sincerely follow his teachings up to the last word.

Rather than having blind faith on Him just because thousands of people are

worshipping Him, it should be like what Rabindranath Tagore says, "Faith is the

song of a bird which feels the light and sings when the dawn is still dark". The

bird knows for sure that the sun is going to arise and the darkness is going to

be dispelled. Out of that happiness, it sings. So too, we Sai devotees should

worship Him with fullest Shradda and just develop that unconditional Love

towards Him. Rest assured the benevolent Sai will take care of our needs. As

for the routine is concerned, we should start with chanting Sai, Sai and

praying to Baba right in the morning when we get up. Every action, emotion and

thought should be oblated to Him and with His approval should be discharged.

Anything we eat, we should offer the same to Sai Baba, mentally, thank Him for

what He has given us and then eat. Similarly at the end of the day before going

to bed, we should again remember His name and thank Him for all that He gave us

during the day. We can surely feel His presence always with us and peace and

happiness sets in our hearts.Q. What is the best way to worship Saibaba of

Shirdi? What should be our routine?A. by Karthikeyan, AustraliaIn Sai

Satcharitha. Chapter 22, Hemadpant suggests an easy way of devotion and

meditation as follows:

"Let us try to see Baba's light. Look at Baba's posture, how fine it is! He is

sitting with His legs folded, the right leg held across the left knee. The

fingers of His left hand are spread on the right-foot. On the right toe are

spread His two fingers-the index and middle ones. By this posture Baba means to

say, as it were-if you want to see My Light, be egoless and most humble and

meditate on My toe through the opening between the two branches-index and

middle fingers-and then you will be able to see My Light. This is the easiest

means of attaining devotion."

And in chapter 11 he mentions about worshipping formless and God with form:

"There are two aspects of God or Brahman: (1) the Unmanifested (Nirgun) and (2)

the Manifested (Sagun). The Nirgun is formless, while the Sagun is with form,

though both denote the same Brahman. Some prefer to worship the former, some

the latter. As stated in the Gita (chapter XII) the worship of the latter is

easy and preferable. As man has got a form (body, senses, etc.), it is natural

and easy for him to worship the God with form. Our love and devotion do not

develop unless we worship Sagun Brahman for a certain period, and as we

advance; it leads us to the worship (meditation) of Nirgun Brahman. So let us

start with Sagun worship. Image, altar, fire, light, sun, water, Brahman are

the seven objects of worship, but Sadguru is better than all these. Let us, on

this occasion, bring to our mind the form of Sai,

Baba respected the feelings of His devotees and allowed them to worship Him as

they liked. Some waved Chamara or fans before him, some played on musical

instruments, some washed His hands and Feet, some others applied scent and

chandan, some gave betel nut with leaves and other things, and some others

offered naivaidya.The devotee may choose any form or method he pleases and

Hemadpant suggests evolving from a form Deity (not Idol) worship to a formless

(Brahman).

Baba, Himself used to serve non-vegetarian food and this should not prevent

non-vegetarians worshipping Baba. A person need not feel "guilty" about their

habits, whether food, drinks or moral values to take recourse at the feet of

Lord. Yet, Baba has mentioned in Chapter 22

"God lives in all beings and creatures, whether they be serpents or scorpions.

He is the Great Wirepuller of the world, and all beings, serpents, scorpions

etc., obey His command. Unless He wills it, nobody can do any harm to others.

The world is all dependent on Him, and no one is independent. So we should take

pity and love all creatures, leave off adventurous fights and killings and be

patient. The Lord (God) is the Protector of all."

Perhaps this is an indication of the need to evolve to a state of being able to

view all living beings as one creation of God.SAI ACTIVITIES: Sri Ramanavami

celebrations in Chicago, USASri Ramanavami and Urs festival celebrations are

the first major celebration of the year for Shirdi Sai devotees. The tradition

started in 1910 and continues each year. Shirdi Sai temple, Chicago will be

celebrating the event for three days starting from Thursday April 6th to

Saturday April 8th. The program comprises of Aartis, Maha Abhishek, Homam,

Palki procession, Satcharitra parayan, bhajans and much more. For complete

details please visit http://www.saibaba.us/index.html or call 847-931-4058.Sri

Ramanavami-Urs celebrations, MinnesotaShirdi Saibaba Prayer Center invites all

to Sri Ramanavami-Urs celebrations on April 8, 2006 from 4:30 pm onwards at

Geeta Ashram, Brooklyn Park, MN. The event includes Sai abhishek, Sai aarathis,

parayan, naam jap and bhajans, palki procession and chandan utsav. Please visit

www.hamaresai.org for more details.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-Ramnavami celebrations in Bay Area,

CaliforniaWe welcome all of you with family, to join us for Shirdi

Sai-Ramnavami celebrations in Bay Area, California on April 8th (Saturday) in

Sunnyvale between 4:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Venue: Sanatan Dharma Kendra, 897 E

Kifer Rd, Sunnyvale, CA 94086, (Located in Reliance Technical Service complex).

For RSVP and Info contact: saibandhu or 408-564-6704Sai 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) comShirdi 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.Sai activities in Vancouver, CanadaShirdi

Sai parivar in Vancouver invites you for satsang, every Thursday (6.30-7.30pm).

And Sai abhishek and satsang on first Sunday of every month (11am-12.30pm), at

8571,118A St, Delta, BC, V4C 6L2.For further details contact (604) 592 4182 or

email sai_ish (AT) hotmail (DOT) com.Website on Saibaba of Shirdi in TamilDevotees are

requested to note the starting of a new website and e-magazine on Saibaba in

Tamil. Please visit www.srisaimarggam.org and write to

omsairam (AT) srisaimarggam (DOT) com for more details. Sai Vichaar hopes that this

website will serve Tamil speaking Sai devotees all over the world.FROM THE

EDITORS KEYBOARD: Devotees are requested to refer to Sai activities for

information on a new website on Baba in Tamil. Sri Ramanavami is celebrated

during the second week of April 2006. Please refer to Sai Activities to know

more about the celebrations. Please write to maildrop (AT) saibaba (DOT) org if you would

like to publish about Sai activities in your area.

Sai devotee Poonam suggests the following "Question of the week" for the week,

Q. What is the best way to worship Saibaba of Shirdi? What should be our

routine? If we are non-vegetarian, is it OK?

Humbly Yours,The EditorABOUT THIS EMAIL:This newsletter is not sent unsolicited.

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