25th weekly posting of Saudi SAI activities- 10h Aug 2007

[Guest guest]

sairam thank you so much for the details especially that of pradosham,exactly when i wanted to know more about this i saw this mail. thankyou, will you please elobrate what veda mantras where read there, can you get a collection of it, & mail it since it will benifit everyone, thanking you, vidyasatishRajan PBV <sssdgroup wrote: Sai-Satsang in 4 centers continued (week ending 10th Aug, Friday)Sairam to all Children, Sisters and Sai Brothers in all 4 Sai SatSanghs in Dammam, Jubail, Jeddah

andRiyadh.We continue with the Twenty fifth (25) posting of theactivities of all 4 centers.Summary:1) Total Attendance all over Saudi over 80.2) Note on Gunas (Study circle)3) Note on PradoshamDetails:In Dammam the weekly satsang was held on the eveningof Wednesday 8th Aug at Bro. Kannan’s SAFCO residence.The attendance was by 8 members starting at 7.30 pm.Aarthi was taken by Bro. Kannan. The report wasprovided by Bro. Prem (although he himself was away onbusiness tour).Jubail center held the weekly Satsang on Thursday 9thAug at 7.30 pm attended by about 16 members at BroGopi’s residence. Aarthi was taken by Bro Gopalaiya. 2members from Dammam joined the Bhajan. The report wasprovided by Bro. Wimal.Jeddah Group held the weekly Satsang on Thursday 9thAugust 07, at 7.30pm. It was attended by 13 members atBro. Gopinathan residence. Aarthi was taken by BroNada

Uncle (Riyadh center) who happened to be inJeddah. He also introduced 2 new members. He notedwith appreciation that children also participated inBhajans which is to be encouraged. We look forward tomore interactions with members of Jeddah center. Weinvite hem to visit other centers when they get anopportunity. Bro Saji provided the basic report. Riyadh group held the weekly Bhajan on Friday 10th Augmorning from 9.00 pm till about 12 noon. Before theBhajan, Lalita Sashranamam is recited by some devoteeson Fridays. The Bhajan was attended by about 50members. Sister. Mahesh Nada read a new chapter fromlife of Shirdi Sai Baba. The aarthi was taken by BroRaj Rajgopal who was celebrating his birthday thatweek. The Bhajans were followed by a study circle.Pl find attached the text file of new Bhajans sungthis week on 10th Aug - courtesy Bro. Suresh Iyengar.You can also visit link http://www.eaisai.com/baba/docs/frbhaj.html for textsof 108-Ashtothram, Sarvadharma, Asothama, Aarthi & Vibudhi prayers The study circle co-ordinated by Bro VenuGopal (SABIC)was conducted with about 15 participants. In this weeka discussion was started on 3 Gunas (characteristics)mentioned often by Swami and referred to in Vedanta. As mentioned in earlier sessions, while our inner core(Soul) remains an aspect of divine spirit (which ispure and without characteristics like Brahman) thebody (outer sheath) consists of matter which is alsocreated by Brahman as part of Prakrati (nature). Matter is of three distinct varieties named as gunasor qualities. The 3 gunas are sattva (purity), rajas(passion) and tamas (ignorance). The gunas determinethe quality of thoughts, emotions and actions in aperson. Together they bind us to the world.

They arein a manner of speaking, the 3 different types ofglues/stapler that hold our body and soul together.Tamas is a state of inertia and indifference. Rajas isa state of stress and agitation. Sattva is tranquilityof mind when one probably functions at one’s best. This is one description. There can be other ways ofdescribing these 3 also. Pl note that all 3 Gunas arecreated by God and therefore each has its own purpose.We cannot say, “this is bad and that is good”. Thereis no special way to switch from one to another. Anymodification, needs effort and has its ownconsequences. Another observation is, mostly all humans have amixture of all 3 Gunas but this mixture varies fromperson to person. While humans are in born with someGunas, they can be changed either by special ways orby life’s experiences. The mission of life as per Swami is to go beyond thethree gunas and get liberated from

the traumatic cycleof birth, death, decay and sorrow. We are born in theworld to attain Immortality. A person who hastranscended the gunas can become Brahman even whileremaining alive if we, remain undisturbed by theireffects and understand “That which is beyond them”, wecan reach the exalted state of Enlightenment (but isnot easy). The discussion will continue in nextfortnight.On Friday 10th Aug evening, I was fortunate to attenda Pradhosham poojai at Bro Venugopal (Riyadh Bank) whois likely to leave the Kingdom soon for betteropportunities elsewhere in Gulf. It consists ofreciting several Veda-mantras from 4.30 pm to 6 pm on13th Day (Thryodasi) which is considered the mostauspicious time, when Lord Siva is present with allDevas (praying to him) and grants whatever is wishedfor. The following is the story behind it:Pradhosha Purana: Once Devas and Asuras using the serpent Vasuki and

thehill Mandhara were trying to get Amrutham (nectar)from the Kseerabthi (milk ocean). Then the terriblepoison Halahalam came up. All got frightened andpleaded to Lord Shiva for rescue. Being the peak ofmercy Lord Shiva ate that poison. Then as per Hisorder they resumed their effort to get Amrutham. Theygot it on Dhwadhasi (twelfth moon day). Withoutpraying and thanking the God, by whom they gotAmrutham, Devas started dancing and celebrating theirvictory. On thrayodhasi (thirteenth moon day) they realisedtheir sin of not praying the God and pleaded forforgiveness. The pleased graceful Lord Shiva forgavethem and danced between the horns of the Nandhi (holybull). That time is called Pradhosham. Whoever praysLord Shiva in that time, Lord Shiva fulfills theirwishes and give them mukthi. During Prodhosha time anointing (Abhishekam) the Shivadeity with the following is considered fruitful.

Milk gives long life Ghee gives Moksha state Curd gives good children Honey gives melodious voice Rice powder frees from debts Sugar cane juice gives good health Panjamrutham gives wealth Lemon removes fear of death Sugar removes enmity Tender coconut gives enjoyment Cooked Rice(Annam) gives majestic life Sandal gives Lakshmi's grace Many of us have been on vacation to India or someother locations. Why not share your experiences withother members. Pl send me a brief note atsssdgroup so that they can besummarized and posted. Two people briefly shared withme their interesting vacations, Sister Preena Gopi(who had been to Parthi and was admired for hersimilarity to Swami on hair style) and family of RajRajgopal who had been to some exotic islands inMalaysia. Bro Swami Mahadevan devotes his vacations

tostrengthening "Sai Gramam" in Kerala which is a Rs 140crores (appox US$ 35 million) project that providesamong others, "Free Dialysis” for needy kidneypatients. I urge especially the children to write, asusually they have different perspectives than adults.While each one of us can observe only through our owneyes only, (being born with a single CPU), we canalways exchange our experiences via internet. Do notworry about your English or grammar, just write. Remember what Swami said “Why Fear, when I am here”.Sairam and Pranams to all.P.B.V.Rajan

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