Sai Vichaar for Thursday , July 24, 2008

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Sai Vichaar

 

www.saibaba.org

 

 

Thursday , July 24, 2008 :: Volume 11, Issue 11

 

 

 

(In its eleventh 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: Imbibe Sai in every breath and gulp!

"Dwarakamayi pe dhyaan lagaana Sayee ke gun gaana Main Sayee mein aur mujh mein Sayee main tho Sai diwaana"

As I meditate on Dwarakamayi.. singing the glory of Sai The admirer of Sai that I am ..Sai is in me and I am in Sai Pure bliss is when the whole being, the thoughts, words and actions are soaked with Sai. The purpose of life is fulfilled when such a state is pursued. Knowledge and scholarship aside, the true pursuit of Sai begins in seeing the self in Sai and the Sai in the self. Such state is achieved as one sees Sai in everywhere and in every self. Let the day begin with the bounty of thanks to the Sadguru, the merciful fakir that guides us every day. Let Sai's presence be felt in sunshine and rainfall alike; let us see Him in everything good and everything bad. Ignoramus that we are, let us realize that good and bad are just manifestations of the myth. Let His thoughts lead us to the victory over fallible discriminations, our immature attempts to decipher what is good for us from what is bad for us. Let us limit ourselves to just one resort, the choice to make Sadguru as our only object of thoughts in our everyday lives. Let our practices, our habits, our routine include Sai at every step and in every form. This is the true saadhana!

 

 

 

 

CONTRIBUTED ARTICLE: Poverty is better than Kingship

Sri Saibaba used to say that poverty is better than Kingship and that the Lord is sustainer of all. More often, the poverty is taken as not having any material means of living and the hardships one faces in leading everyday lives. Can this be true? For a Sai devotee, if the conviction that every bit of sustenance comes as the result of Sri Sai's grace and blessings only, the question of one having anything of his own doesn't arise. Thus, the question of one being materially poor or rich does not arise at all. Then what could be the "poverty" Sri Sai refers to? Let us look at this in a different angle. The tenets of Sufism included poverty, also known as faqr, as one of its important beliefs. William Chittick in his book "Sufism a Short Introduction" writes, "The knowledge of human inadequacy is knowledge of our essential nothingness. This human nothingness is sometimes called as "poverty" or faqr. Both fakir and dervish mean "poor man", that is, a traveler on Sufi path. Sufism is poverty towards God. To be poor toward Him is to acknowledge one' need for Him, and the deeper and more sincere this acknowledgement becomes, the more it turns into an overpowering drive to reach the beloved. Few pains are as deep as the lovers' pain in their separation. Knowing their own pain, the lovers yearn for the cure of every pain, and that is their Beloved. The end result is deliverance from pain and union with all joy, but without pain, the journey will never begin".

Sri Sai referring to His Guru said, "Night and day, I gazed at him with no thought of hunger and thirst. Without him, I felt restless. I had no other object to meditate, nor any other thing than My Guru to attend. He was My sole refuge. My mind was always fixed on him". Gurupoornima is the most sacred day of the year for the Children of Sri Sai. On this day, let the true poverty of our need for our God be felt. Let the path to the union begin out of that sincere need, the pain of separation.

(Contributed by Sai Vichaar team)

 

 

 

 

DEVOTEES SAY:

PraveenaI am very much inspired by the question of the week and its answer. Sometimes in life relatives and our dear ones whom we trust a lot behave in a very awkward manner of no fault of ours for the sake of money etc etc. At that time it is very difficult to keep temparaments under control. But this message made me atleast evoke my thought process to make effort to keep anger under control. Thank you very much.

Sai devoteeBaba, thanks for all your support. Our prayers are heard. I prayed for my sister that all her test and scan should be normal. Baba please be with us all through our life and protect and take care of us and my family. Baba, one great wish is yet to be fulfilled in my life. Please be with my daughter and give her strength and support. I believe in You and leave it in Your hands.

JoshiI am worshiping Shree Saibaba as God. Last December I was continuously worshiping Baba when we were in India. My husband was sick. I was asking from Baba for his health. One night he got very sick. I put vibhuti on his forehead and Baba's picture I touched on his forehead. Within seconds he passed away. Many times Baba helped us during his surgery or any type of sickness. I did not understand why Baba did not help this time? I am still puzzled.

 

 

 

 

PRAYER CLUB:

Sai devoteeMy dear father please protect me. Since last one week I am having severe headache. I dont know the cause. Please heal me my father.my headache should be fully gone. My innermost fear and anxiety is completely gone. Please bless me with good health. Please guide my child to take the right course and get her admission in the right college. My whole life revolves around You my father. Bless me and my family. Thanking you.

Sai devoteeThank you for giving me this opportunity to write to You. I have hurt so many people in this world. That is the reason why I am suffering so much. As you know that I have been trying for a baby for so many years now with no success. I conceived last year but had a miscarrige. I am so bad that I held You responsible for this disguise. In a fit of rage I even dropped Your idol on the ground and it broke into pieces. Although I did realise my mistake but that was too late. I know Babaji, because of my karma, I am suffering so much. I don't deserve to ask anything from You. I will not ask You to give me a baby or give me happiness in life as I am a sinner. However, I request you to take care of my husband who is world's best husband and a very noble person. Also, please give me strength to confront all odds very bravely in life.

PrakashBaba I am joining my new post next week. I want to seek your blessing before joining the new post. Please bless me that I wll get my choice of work there. I will certainly come to Shirdi after joining the new post.

SrinathMy Baba, you know well that I am sensitive and fearing of my want of job for the past one year. You also know how my money is draining from my savings owing to my unemployment. Please shower your blessings on me for a suitable job immediately that shall wipe out all my worries and place me and my family at a happy place. I know that you could achieve for all reasonable prayers. I am sure my above prayer is genuine and deserves your blessings and fulfillment. I am only relying on You, Baba. Now it is You who shall take care of me and act upon my interest.

RandyI ask for more enlightenment, success in starting a freelance copywriting business and finding stead clients (after being laid off of work in November 2007), aid with health problems of left eye, heart, and liver and help with my Mom's health issues (she lives with me).

PreetiBaba, Koti Koti Pranam. You know I am going through very rough patch. All this make me worried all time. I am spending sleepless nights. Baba take me out of this situation. I am at Your mercy. I know You will sail me through this also as you have sailed me before also. Please protect me, my husband and my daughter.

JaneI am having a lot of misunderstanding with my husband Baba. Sometimes I feel it is very stressful. In our business the revenue has dropped tremendously as the economy all over is bad. I am very angry with my husband for not saving money when we were doing well. Now I feel that I am becoming too upset that I cant sleep at night thinking of our business. Whenever I talk to my husband he gets angry with me. I am thinking of my son's education. I dont have the money with me now. How am I going to send him overseas to study? Please Baba, I dont have anyone to help me. I cant even speak to my husband about my fear. He gets angry and scold me. I feel that there is no one to console or guide me. Please Baba, you have to help and guide me. I visited You two years ago but I am not satisfied Baba. I would like to come to You and spend more time. Allow me please and also change my husband's mind to be with You too.

MeenakshiOm Sai, Baba please help me to overcome from the hurdles in the office. Each and every day it has been worse. Please Baba help me to retain the same seat in the office. You know what difficulty will be there. My daughter's health is not well, make her well. I have surrendered to You. make me free from mental agony. Only You can solve this, nobody is there for me to help. Jai Sai Ram

Sai devoteeBaba, please forgive us for all our past sins and stop us from doing such sins in future. Baba as you know my new job itself standing on lot of arguments and pre-conditions which was not existing at the time of my appointment. All these terms are developed after I left my old job. Baba still I am waiting for my Visa. Baba take care of me in this new job. Help me in executing all my fuctions to the satisfaction of employer. If this job will not give us satisfaction and happiness, Baba please provide me with other good job in this new country itself. Please help me in taking wise decisions.

 

 

 

 

EXPERIENCE OF DEVOTEES:

PujanEvreyday I read stories about Baba's miracle and it fills my eyes with tears just to think how lucky we all are to have our Saimaa guiding us in evrey step we take. Today is 15th July, my birthday and as a way of thanking my Saimaa from the bottom of my heart for always being there for me, I would like to share my story. I had a dream on 3rd June where Shirdi Baba was asking me to feed Him ladoo. I fed Him sumptuously in my dream. Next morning when I woke up, I took it as a hint that may be He wants me to feed Him ladoo. But as there are hardly any Indian sweets shop near where I live I could not offer Him any. All I had with me at that time was this small packet of cornflakes. As I always offer anyting I eat to Him first, so before I went to bed at night I offered Him the small packet of cornflakes saying Swami, your daughter dose not have any ladoo please accept this as her love. Next

morning when I woke up wonder of wonder the whole cornfalkes along with the packet had dissappeared. I bursted into tears. Thank you Saimaa for always being there for your devotees. I love You from the bottom of my heart.

 

 

 

 

QUOTATION OF THE WEEK:

 

"Meditate always on My formless nature which is knowledge incarnate, consciousness and bliss".-Shri Sai Baba

 

 

 

 

QUESTION OF THE WEEK:

Q. When and how one can control his or her Ego?

 

 

 

 

SAI ACTIVITIES:

Shirdi Sai Temple of Chicago and Suburbs, Illinois, USAShirdi Sai temple is open daily from 7:00 a.m to 9:00 p.m.(Summer hours). Daily program includes Kakad Arathi at 7 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.

Sri Saibaba Mandir, Minneapolis, MNSri Saibaba Mandir is located in Minneapolis, MN at 1835 Polk St NE, Minneapolis, MN 55418. The mandir is open 7 days a week in the evenings from 6:30 pm to 9:00 pm and during morning hours from 9 am to 12:30 pm, everyday. Satsangs are conducted every Sunday mornings, 9 am to 12:30 pm. Please visit the mandir website www.hamaresai.org or call 612-789-7729 for more information on mandir activities, events and other information.

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 Temple of New England, Boston AreaSri Shirdi Sai Baba Temple of New England is now operational. It is located at 1827 Bridge St # 8, Dracut, MA 01824. The temple is open every Thursday from 7.00 pm to 9.00 pm and Saturday's from 4.00 pm to 7.00 pm. For temple hours and activities please visit the website www.nessp.org or send mail to maildrop.

Shirdi Sai Center in Bay Area, CAShirdi Sai Center is located 897-B East Kifer Rd, Sunnyvale, CA 94086. For more information please call 408-705-7904 or 408-564-6704 or send email to saibandhu. You can also visit our website is www.Shirdisaiparivaar.org.

Shirdi Saibaba temple, Los Angeles, CADevotees in Los Angeles area are informed about Sri Shirdi Saibaba temple in Los Angeles area. The temple is located at - 144 South 4th Street, Montebello, CA 90640. For more information please call Krishna Samantula at 949-679-9938 or visit www.shirdisaila.org.

Saibaba Temple, Columbus, OhioDevotees in Columbus and surrounding Ohio locations area are informed about Sri Shirdi Saibaba temple in Metro Columbus area. The temple is located in a leasing space at 7674 Sawmill Rd, Dublin, OH 43016. Please attend daily Aaratis and Thursday bhajans. For more information please call Panditjee at 614-799-8411 or visit www.saibaba.cc.

Shirdi Sai bhajans every Thursday at Maitland, FloridaDevotees are invited to participate in Sai study and bhajans on Thursdays between 7-8 pm at Meditation Gallery, 219 E Horatio Ave, Maitland, FL 32715. For more details please contact Bonnie at 407-830-1276.

Sri Shirdi Sai Temple of Austin, TXSri Shirdi Sai Temple of Austin, Texas opened at 601 E Whitestone Blvd (RM 1431), Cedar Park, TX. Daily 4 aarthis are performed to Sai Baba. As part of service to needy, a weekly sandwich seva is also conducted. For more information, please visit www.saiaustin.org.

 

 

 

 

FROM THE EDITORS KEYBOARD:

Please note that Sai Vichaar is only yet another global platform on the electronic medium for sharing information on the life and message of Sadguru Sainath of Shirdi. Sai Vichaar does not profess to endorse any particular thought, nor will judge or reflect the opinions expressed by individual contributors. A Sai devotee suggested the "Question of the week" for this week as follows: Q. When and how one can control his or her Ego?

Humbly Yours,The Editor

 

 

 

 

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From and Editor:

Shirdi Sai Baba Web Site

 

 

Shirdi Sai Baba Sanstha

 

 

(A non-profit organization)

 

Mail:

12N950 State Route 47

 

 

Hampshire, IL 60140, USA

 

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© Copyright 1998-2008 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.