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[sayEverything] KANSAI LIGHT JANUARY 2008 ISSUE.

 

 

Conversations with SaiKANSAI LIGHT JANUARY , 2008. ISSUENews letter of Sri Sathya Sai Organization Japanaddress: I.S.S, 2nd Fl, 1-3, Kumochi 5-Chome, Chuo Ku KobeTel: 078-222-1885, Email:rgcjp (Please print this copy for your reference).................................................................................................................................You wish to know the relation between "GOD" and the individual being...Well, GOD is the universal soul or Paramatma , and we are all the individual soulor Jiva atma.Table with 4 columns and 3 rowsspacerspacerSai Divine RealityspacerspacerI have canceled your cancerof birth and deathspacertable endCHAPTER 181. Arjuna says to Krishna, 'Lord, You have been very kind to tell me many things. As I understand it, I h ave to act, I have to be detached, and I alsohave to sacrifice. But I am still a bit confused. Somehow, all these requirements appear to me to be mutually contradictory. For example, if I plunge intoaction, I become fully involved, emotionally. How then can you expect me to be detached?'Sai Gita for Childrenspacer2. Krishna laughs and says, 'Arjuna, you are just like most of the devotees. They barely listen and that too with just one ear. So they hardly rememberanything of what I say, and also understand very little. Looks like you need one more revision. But note this is the very last time. Everyone is itchingto fight, and we can't postpone war too long.'3. 'You must make a clear distinction between attitude and form. You seem to think that only a Sannyasi wearing ochre robes and all that can be detached.Detachment is an attitude and ochre robe is part of a particular appearance. Attitude and appearances need not always go together.'4. 'There may be a person who is dressed like a Sannyasi but does that mean he is detached internally? Mental detachment - that is the important factor.Why do you think a Sannyasi alone can be detached mentally? Why can't you, a soldier, be detached likewise?'5. Arjuna protests and says, 'Krishna, how is that possible? I have a wife and children. Are you asking me to abandon them all?'6. Krishna counters, 'Did I ask you to? When did I say that you must abandon your duty to your family? When did I ask you not to love the members of yourfamily?'7. Arjuna continues to argue and says, "Krishna, that precisely is my point! In one breath You are asking for detachment, and in the very next You say loveyour family! Are these not contradictory instructions?'8. Krishna sighs and replies, 'OK, I see your problem. You are getting mixed up because you are interpreting My advice in a purely worldly manner. You haveto analyse at a much higher level than you are doing at present.'9. 'To start with, you should not imagine that a man who has renounced is like a hard rock or a dry twig. He can be detached and yet be full of Love andCompassion.'10. Arjuna is surprised and asks, 'How is that possible?'11. Krishna replies, 'Hold on! I am coming precisely to that point! Now, have you not heard Me say, "All are One. Be alike to everyone?" In the case ofthe person who suffers from attachment, he certainly loves his family, though perhaps in a worldly sort of way. But what about others? Does he love themlike he does the members of his own family? Never!'12. Arjuna interjects, 'Krishna! Be reasonable, how is that ever possible?'13. Krishna replies, 'Why not? Just look at Me. Don't I love all? Am I not the same to everyone? Don't dismiss this by saying, "Oh, You are different,"etc. Everyone, yourself included, can emulate Me in loving all and being alike to all. No question about that; just that most people don't want to. Theysay, "What's there in it for me?" This is the bane of humanity! Selfishness, utter selfishness!'spacerSai Gita for Children14. 'So you see Arjuna, you can do your duty, you can love all, and you can also serve all. Do all this without fear or favour. Regard everyone as justyourself. When you are thirsty, you have a drink. When you see someone else thirsty, imagine that you are thirsty yourself and give that person some water.See how happy that person becomes. Feel that happiness and become happy yourself. It is not at all difficult. See Me in all and help all. People don'ttry this simple method and on top of it give all sorts of lame excuses for not trying!'15. 'This brings Me to the subject of action and the various ways in which it can be performed. You see Arjuna, in the end, it all boils down to action.What one must take care is to engage in proper action, all the time. That is what living life properly is all about.'16. 'Thinking is a kind of action - it is action at the mental level. Speech is another kind of action - it is action at the verbal level. Obviously, onecannot think one thing and say quite the opposite; you understand that of course. And finally there is physical action carried out using the body.'17. 'Associated with each type just mentioned, are five factors. They are: 1) The overall personality of the doer, 2) the doer's body, 3) the doer's senses,4) the physical effort put in by the doer, and 5) Destiny. Yes, in the ultimate analysis, it is Destiny that decides who will do what, when, where andwhy.'18. 'It is common to recognise and accept the role of the first four of the above, but not everyone concedes the role of Destiny. When they are successful,such people take all the credit, but when failure haunts them, they blame it on God! It is all due to attachment to one's body, also called body-consciousnessor ego. True renunciation is giving up this attachment and body-consciousness.'19. 'A short while ago, you said that you did not want to fight. Why? You argued that fighting meant that you would have to kill your cousin, your grandfatherand so on. Your cousin is your cousin on account of your body. Similarly Bhishma is your grandfather on account of a bodily relationship. True, these relationshipsexist and must be respected, but only up to a point. When that limit is crossed, you must no longer allow such relationships to come in the way of theduty you are required to perform.'20. 'The duty dictated to you by the Atma overrides every other consideration. In other words, God must always be priority number one. If father comes inbetween you and God, God must be followed and not the father. This precisely is the lesson that the story of Prahalada and Hiranyakashipu teaches. So itis in every case.'21. Arjuna pleads, 'Krishna, please make it simple! Tell me in simple language; how a person without body-consciousness as You call it, and faced with theproblem I am having, would act?'22. Krishna replies, 'Well, such person would say, "I am a solider because Destiny has willed it be so. That very same Destiny has brought me here to fighton the side of Dharma. True, over there I see my Guru, grandfather, cousins, etc. But all those relationships are connected with the body. Dharma is Godand God is Dharma. Therefore, my duty to Dharma overrides all other considerations. If I have to fight all my relatives for the sake of Dharma, then sobe it. Destiny has decided this to be my role, and I cannot back out."'23. 'Arjuna, it all comes back to knowing clearly what your duty is and then performing it to the best of your ability, without any other consideration,including of success, appreciation, reward and so forth.'(To be continued...).......................................................................................................................................ACT XI - SCENE 4Sathya goes to the well to fetch water. There He sees an old man struggling to draw water. There are many people already there but no one is making anyeffort to help the old man.SATHYA [to a lady near the well]: That poor old man is struggling to draw water. Could you not help?Sai HofferspacerSai HofferLADY: If You are so full of concern, why don't You draw for that man?SECOND LADY: Leave that boy alone and pour water into this vessel.SATHYA: Grandpa, you step aside...Move over, and I'll draw.Sathya draws water for the old man.Sai HofferspacerSai HofferOLD MAN: May You live long and be happy!A LADY: My dear boy, can You give me also some water?SATHYA: Certainly mother.Draws water for the lady.Sai HofferspacerSai HofferLADY: May You enjoy a long and happy life!SATHYA: The strong must always help the weak; only then will God help you.SCENE 5Sai HofferspacerThe scene is again the Uravakonda High School. Raju has been made the class leader on account of His exemplary conduct. He is now in the class, cleaningthe blackboard in advance of the commencement of the class.A BOY: Raju, why are You cleaning the board?SATHYA: I want to show how a class leader must set an example thorough his behaviour and actions. That is why I come ahead of everyone else to clean. Forstudents, the classroom is the temple.Only if it is clean will our minds and thoughts be sacred, and the Goddess of Learning bless us.Soon, more boys come into the class. Sathya is wearing a white cap. One of the boys seizes the cap, and it gets passed around as Sathya tries to get itback. Despite Sathya's repeated requests, the cap keeps getting passed around.spacerSai HofferSATHYA: Gaffar Khan, give back my cap..give ...here..Hey, give it back...give..Shyam, return My cap.give, I say!. Gopal, give back the cap...Khan, My capplease!KHAN: What will You do if I do not return?SATHYA: I won't do anything. Khan, what will you do with My cap? You can only tease Me for a while and amuse yourself, isn't that so?KHAN: Raju, don't You ever get angry?SATHYA: No, Gaffar Khan. Anger is man's enemy number one. Anger promotes the spirit of vengeance, leading in turn to conflict, and evil deeds. Slowly, manbecomes submerged in emotional turbulence.Mental agitation is like an invisible fire; it will slowly but surely consume man. That is why I keep far away from anger. ..Khan, if having My cap makesyou happy, keep it.Sai HofferspacerSai HofferKHAN: Raju, You are just a student like me; yet, how nobly You speak! Here's Your cap....I have a request!SATHYA: What is it?KHAN: We have had our fill of sugar candy and such other sweets that You give us. Right now I feel like eating Mysore Pak! Will You give me some?SATHYA: O yes!spacerSai HofferSathya materialises Mysore Pak.KHAN: Mysore Pak, Mysore Pak!!BOY: Raju, will You give me a guava?SATHYA: Certainly!Sathya materialises a guava.A BOY: Wow, a guava!ANOTHER BOY: Raju, You gave him a guava; how about an orange for me?SATHYA: Definitely!Sathya materialises an orange.BOY: Look! Orange ! Orange!!Boys surround Sathya and clamour for all sorts of things. At this stage, the Teacher enters.TEACHER: Silence, SILENCE! What's all this noise? Is this a market place? Why are all of you crowding around Sathyam?BOY: Sir, Raju is materialising sugar candy from thin air!TEACHER: [sarcastically] Oh, sugar candy is it? Not tender coconut? Creating from thin air? What kind of a joke is this?BOY: Sir, I'm not making this up; it really is trueTEACHER: True is it?...Sathyam, come here.. It seems You are creating things out of thin air! Let's see, how about creating a fruit for me?Sathya creates a fruit. The Teacher is stunned.Sai HofferspacerSai HofferTEACHER: No, no! Not this.. I want a custard apple, custard apple!Sathya creates a custard apple; the teacher stunned even more.SCENE 6Sai HofferspacerSeshama Raju's house. Seshama walks in and is greeted by his wife Suseela.SESHAMA: Sathyam...Hey Sathyam! Where is He? I can't see Him.SUSEELA: He said that He is going to meet His friends. It's an hour since He went. He'll be back soon...Sathya enters.SUSEELA: Look! He is here!SESHAMA: Sathyam, examinations are approaching; what's the meaning of all these games? If You don't stay at home and study hard, You will not pass in theEnglish examination. Remember, You are now in a High School and not in the Puttaparthi Elementary School. Study hard!SATHYA: I already know all the lessons. Without any further study, I can answer well.SESHAMA: This is not like materialising things with magic and Mantras! Study! Only if You study hard can You really grasp.SATHYA: I am not creating things. For Creation, God is the cause. Goddess Saraswati has showered Her Grace on Me. So, words will automatically flow fromMy pen.Sai HofferspacerSai HofferSESHAMA: Is that so? Tomorrow when You write the exams, we will know how much Goddess Saraswati has favoured You! Increasingly, Your speech lacks meaning.You seem to think that You Yourself are God! You must listen to what elders say and not argue.SATHYA: I am not arguing. I am just expressing My faith and belief.SESHAMA: Your faith is Yours, and my anguish is mine!SCENE 7It is the day of the examination. Sathya comes to School and finds two of His classmates sitting under a tree. These two boys share the same desk with Him,and sit on either side. One of them is Ramesh and the other is Mahesh.SATHYA: What's this? Why are you both still sitting here? Are you not going to the examination hall?RAMESH: Raju, we are not going to write the examination! We are going home!!MAHESH: No matter how much we study, we cannot remember anything!RAMESH: If we do not answer properly in the examination, the teachers will have a poor opinion of us.MAHESH: Raju, we are going home!Sai HofferspacerSai HofferSATHYA: Listen, staying away from the exams after coming to School is not correct. Answer the questions for which you know the answer and leave the restto Me. Listen to Me. Trust Me, and I will take care of everything.BOYS: Alright Raju.SCENE 8Sai HofferspacerThe scene is the examination hall; the room is the classroom but the seating order is different. Sathya is well separated from Ramesh and Mahesh. The examinationhas commenced; the question paper has been distributed to the candidates.TEACHER: First read all the questions carefully and then write proper answers. If any of you tries to copy, I'll skin you alive! If you know the answer,write; otherwise, sit quietly in your place. No one is allowed to get out till the final closure bell rings. Now start writing!Teacher moves around, and watches the boys writing.TEACHER [to a boy looking at the teacher]: What are you staring at my face for?!. Look at the paper!! ..Hm, continue!Sathya embarks on a Divine drama! He is about to help His friends. Meanwhile, those two boys are completely stumped; they are unable to answer the questions.But they have the faith that Sathya would somehow come to their rescue.Sathya starts writing but quickly folds up the sheets. The teacher thinks Sathya is unable to answer the questions and is going to submit a blank answersheet.Sai HofferspacerSai HofferTEACHER [thinks]: What's this? It is only five minutes since the exams started, and instead of answering the questions, Raju has written His name, foldedthe paper and kept it under the pad!. Why bother?!The final bell rings; boys have to hand over the answer papers to the teacher and go out. Everyone does so. Sathya too hands over the answer book and goesout. He has given three answer books, not one! The other two are those supposed to be those of Ramesh and Mahesh. The answers in those books are in thehandwriting of those two students!Sai HofferspacerSai HofferThe teacher sees Sathya going out. He instinctively feels that something strange is going on but does not know what it is.Sai HofferspacerSai HofferPeople may wonder: "Is what Sathya did correct?" This question looks at the matter in a purely worldly sense. Where God is concerned, such an analysis ismeaningless. God will shower His Grace on anyone, at any time, and in any manner He wants. He is not bothered about worldly yardsticks. He is concernedonly about the faith the devotee has in Him and the Love that the devotee has for Him. If faith and love are present, God is ready to do anything. Thisis the important lesson that Sathya communicated to the world through this most unusual episode.Click here to go to Previous issue story > >Dear Reader, how do you like this series? Is it useful? Please tell us ath2h (AT) radiosai (DOT) orgmentioning your name and country. Thank you for your time.the key message of jesusThe root cause of all difficulties experienced by man is forgetting his spiritual reality and identifying himself with his body. The body is only the vestureof the Indwelling Spirit. By immersing himself in body-consciousness, man develops egoism and possessiveness, which result in promoting many bad qualities.He forgets his inherent divinity and fails to use the senses and organs he is endowed with for the purposes of the Divine.Sathya Sai SpeaksspacerTwo different characteristics are to be found among men. One characteristic, which is rather common, is for one to delude himself that he is a good man,with many virtues, intelligence and talents. The other quality, which is rare, is recognition of the good quality in others, their merits, abilities andgood deeds, and appreciate their ideals. Jesus belonged to the second category. He saw the good qualities in others, rejoiced over their virtues and sharedhis joy with others.In his twelfth year, Jesus and his parents, Joseph and Mary, happened to go to a Jewish festival in Jerusalem. In the jostling crowds Jesus lost his parents.After a frantic search, Mary found him in a temple listening to a speech of the High Priest. When Mary told Jesus about the anxiety that they felt whenthey missed him, Jesus replied: "Why should you worry about me? When I am with God, who is my Father, why should you have any fear on my account?" Jesusthus revealed that He regarded Himself as the Son of God.Jesus Prayed to God for Three ThingsJesus grew up at Nazareth till He reached thirty. After Joseph's passing, Jesus sought His mother's permission to embark on His Divine mission. He got baptisedby John, the Baptist, and spent forty days in penance in a forest. During the penance, He prayed to God for three things: One, He should be blessed withthe quality of loving equally everyone; Two, He should have the strength and forbearance to suffer patiently any indignity or persecution that He mightbe subjected to by anyone; Three, He should be enabled to use his God-given body wholly in the service of God.After forty days, Jesus emerged from His penance with the faith that His prayers had been granted. Jesus encountered the fishermen, at Galilee, who becameHis first disciples. He told them that He had come to establish the reign of love on earth and they would be His helpers in His mission. He spoke to themabout the preciousness of human birth and urged them to seek the Kingdom of God within themselves.By the way of illustration, Christ told them the following parable: In a river, when the water is flowing in a swift current, the tiny fish are able toswim in it and move about merrily. But a huge elephant is caught in the rapids and is likely to get washed away or drowned in spite of its enormous size.Whatever be the speed of the current, the small fish are able to swim freely in the river and enjoy themselves. But an elephant is unable to survive init. The reason is: What you need for survival in a river is not bulk but the ability to swim. Likewise man who is caught up in the ocean of worldly existence(Samsara) needs, not so much metaphysics, scholarship or detachment, as the grace of Divine love.Without Faith, No BlissWithout any knowledge of Vedanta (scriptural scholarship), if one is blessed with God's love, he can surmount all problems of life. Without faith in God,all scholarship, wealth, name and fame are of no avail. He cannot experience bliss. Christ also taught that the body should be used for recognising theIndwelling Spirit and not to protect itself. It is the mark of ignorance to pamper the body and ignore the Spirit within.If a tiny sugar crystal is mixed in a heap of sand, even the most intelligent person will not be able to separate the sugar from the sand and recover it.But without any extraordinary intelligence, an ant is able to make its way to the particle of sugar in the sand heap and relish its sweetness. The antis aware of the sweetness of sugar and is able to get at the sugar even in a heap of sand.spacerSathya Sai SpeaksLikewise, man should seek to distinguish between the permanent and the transient, and realise what is everlasting. Man is endowed with the capacity to discriminatebetween the permanent and the evanescent, but unfortunately instead of using this capacity he is caught up in the delusions of the phenomenal world andis wasting his life."You must adhere to truth and not succumb to falsehood or unrighteousness. You must face with courage the vicissitudes of life. You must love even yourenemies. Universal love transcends all other virtues. Love is the supreme virtue," declared Jesus.Only Love of God is Real LoveJesus taught that God is Love. Instead of recognising this basic truth, men are allowing hatred, envy and other evil qualities to pollute their love. Manis gifted with the quality of love not to express it for selfish purposes but to direct it towards God. Jesus declared that there was nothing great aboutreturning good for good. They should do good even to those who harm them.Love is the means of developing devotion and achieving liberation, apart from other things. Only the love of God is real love. It is the royal road forman to realise the divinity in him and in everyone.- Divine Discourse on Christmas Day,....................................................................................................................................spellbinding sai - Part IIBy late Prof. N. Kasturidl.asp?File=TALK_KASTURI_01.mp3 & Name=TALK_KASTURI_01H2H_AUDIO/H2H_Kasturi_Talk_PART2Block quote startThis is second part of the transcript of a talk delivered by late Prof. Kasturi many years ago. Thefirst partappeared inNovemberissue. This is being brought to you from our archives and we regret that we do not have the exact date of this talk, but we can say with reasonable suretythat it was in the year 1987.Block quote endThat is what He declared in His 21st year. "The Vishwam or Universe is My Mansion." Vishwam is cosmos. It means that into which He has entered: Pravesha.So God created this universe, and He entered into it. He is found in every cell and in every atom of it. So it is called Vishwa; that into which He hasentered. And therefore He says:The Divine - Beyond DistinctionsspacerSai Kasturi"I move all around the cosmos. I am found everywhere." And that is why we have stories how Baba is all over the world. One method of Baba showing His presencein any place is - what you call 'signs and wonders' - of Vibhuti or any other thing falling from His pictures; not only His pictures but other picturestoo.Whatever name you call Him, Jesus Christ it may be, or it may be Rama, Krishna or whatever it is, it doesn't make any distinction. And in order to showthat it doesn't make any distinction, you get this vibhuti or a number of articles falling from His pictures - a thing that has never been recorded ofany Divine phenomenon so far in human history.I have got with me photographs of pictures in a shrine in Perth, Australia; three photographs that this lady sent me. In one, you've got kumkum (vermillion)in the shape of a big Om. Baba is standing and there is a big Om encircling His frame.And in another, you've got yellow around His head; and in the third, a Shiva picture - they got in pink! They call it 'pink vibhuti' all over the head arrangedin a beautiful form! He is found everywhere. His presence is felt. He appears in dreams; He moves about. People have actually seen Him and been touchedby Him. He is a great Phenomenon.For those of you who are in Bangalore, when you go next, to go to Mysore, I would advise you to go to a place near the second bridge of Kaveri - the bridgenearer to Mysore - there you have a shrine of Baba and a great phenomenon is happening there for the last eight years. There's a man there who was a labourer,a wage earner, in a sugar factory. He had come to Mysore and he purchased a ring that was eight annas (paise) worth; and it had an enamel portrait of Babawhich fell off.And later he kept it in a container and you get from that container - from that enamel portrait - something sweet, fragrant and sticky; something like honeywhich we call amrita - a strange fragrance, a strange taste. And it has been oozing out of that enamel portrait for the last eight years, night and day!At least three quarters of a litre every day! And when he puts it on your palm, you can see the trickle - gradually the nectar coming, trickling and falling.Richard Bock of America, has taken a film of that years ago, and it is still happening.'It is for Me that I am giving!' - BabaThe signs of His presence are all over the world. There is no place which is too far for Him. There is one Norwegian, Tidemann, a marine engineer who hasgot a few patents. The grain ships when they come, they have to take out the grain by some vacuum arrangement or some such thing, by pipelines. He hasgot patents of such contraptions. And he was in Bombay for many years and used to go to Shirdi with some Parsi friends. He found that Shirdi Sai Baba hadtaken avatar again. So he came to Baba and used to visit off and on. When Pakistan bombed the harbors of East Pakistan, Chittagong had to be repaired.And this marine engineer got a contract and before going there he came to Puttaparthi, and Baba gave him a ring.spacerSai KasturiSometimes we say, "I will give you a ring, I promise" and what we do is we call them over the phone! Baba actually gave him a ring, but some people say,"No Swami, I don't wear a ring usually, no jewelry, etc." But Baba says, "No! It is not for you! It is for Me that I am giving! So that I may have somecontact with you; so I may know what happens to you!" So it is a kind of a contact that He wants to keep with the people whom He wants to Grace. So thischap also said: "No, no ring for me, Swami." But Baba said: "No, it is for My sake" and He gave him a ring.After about six months, he came one day to Whitefield. Bhajans were going on. Baba was sitting on His chair and along with Dr. Bhagavantham and few Americans,I was to His left. And he suddenly barged in at the door. He is a huge person; Norwegian, tall and fair. There's a sudden shadow on the door and Tidemannappeared. And he found that people were engaged in bhajans, so he slowly slid and sat by my side and Baba turned towards him and asked: "Where is the ring?"Because the ring was gone; it was not on his finger. He said, "Gone, Swami.Where?In Chittagong River. I was climbing on the side of a ship with arope, and then it fell into that river."Baba just waved His Hand and there was a ring. Of course everyone was tempted to ask: "Is it the same ring?" That question came right up to my throat alsobut it was Dr. Bhagavantham who asked. He said: "Is that the same thing?" Of course his was a scientific curiosity. Swami turned to him and said: "Afterhaving experienced me all these years you are still doubting?" He got it. I would have got it too if I had come out with that question. Luckily I had swallowedthat question!Swami said, "It fell into my hands. I was in that river." Now this is: "I move; I am everywhere." Tidemann's ring fell into Chittagong River on a certainJanuary 20th or so, and he came in February. You can't believe how all this is possible!"No! It is not for you! It is for Me that I am giving! So that I may have some contact with you; so I may know what happens to you!" - BabaOf course, in the Gita, in the scriptures, we have got it. And we believe it, honor it, listen to it and appreciate people who explain it. In Gita Yagnam(worship dedicated to The Gita) they go on expounding it saying 'God's hands are everywhere, God's feet are everywhere'. We appreciate it and recite it.But here you have got a person who says, "It fell into My hands!"Of course, Tidemann came and did namaskaar, and before He gave it to him, He said: "Look here! I have told you not to do certain things when you are inBangladesh. And you are doing it! Now promise that you won't do it again." Then he promised and shed some tears. Then, He gave it to him and cautionedhim again. So He is everywhere.Or, let me give you one more instance.A Blessed CatAt the government hospital in Guwahati, Assam, a matron lived inside the hospital premises. And she was a devotee of Baba. She had His pictures all overthe place. I have been to their house; they have one in the kitchen, one in the drawing room, one in the sitting room, one in the shrine room, one on thetable, and one right in front of the entrance door - 16 big pictures of Baba - and also other Gods and Divinities.She was having bhajans in her house. Her sister, a young girl of 13 who was going to school, one day found a cat caught in the rain and brought that littlecreature home. Her sister had an allergy for cats - something like Lord Kitchener who had an allergy for cats, it seems, he could fight a battle but notwith a cat.She was always blaming the sister for bringing a cat into the family. But the sister used it as a pet. One day, when she was preparing some dish out offish or something for lunch, this cat jumped at that piece of fish and ran out of the house. And the sister's pent up anger came against the younger one.And she caught hold of the cat and began to beat the little being with a stick. When she came to Whitefield later, I asked the sister what was the lengthof the stick? And she showed me and I thought: "What? To beat a cat with something like that?"Sai KasturispacerYes! She did that. And the cat was beaten. And as the cat was being beaten, all the pictures of Baba on the walls fell down - kitchen, dining room, drawingroom, and table. They thought it was an earthquake; because in Assam there are frequent earthquakes. And all the guests ran out on the road. But she foundthat only Baba's picture fell.The sister said, "Stop killing that cat!" And then, placed the cat on the table. The cat shook her body because it was suffering terribly from pain. Andall over the table fell vibhuti that had been applied to the cat by some unseen hand. Vibhuti! On the cat! That's God!Six months later, there was a special railway coach that was engaged by the devotees of Guwahati. They came for Swami's birthday and Swami asked them allto sit in a line. He talked to them and give them vibhuti packets - you know, He hands out packets of vibhuti to be taken home. I was carrying the basketfrom which He was taking out handfuls and giving it to people. And I followed Him and the girl was there, Laxmi, the younger sister who beat the cat, andI didn't know her. I got the story later, after this incident. And I was surprised and said, "I have seen Him giving packets of vibhuti to the cat!"I marked that particular girl and when she came out, I asked: "Who is this cat to whom He is giving vibhuti?" And then she told me the whole story: "There'sa cat blessed by Him; He had put vibhuti on her." Then I went to the place and got a photograph of the cat and I fondled that cat because it is such ablessed cat that Baba has put vibhuti on the cat. Call Him and He answers. Even a cat!The Unseen PassengerspacerSai KasturiIn the second line of the Telugu poem about Himself, Baba says, "I am available to devotees". This is His second characteristic which He mentioned. Here,it does not necessarily refer to this form or name, because, as He says:"I have no name. Any name is enough for Me. If you are devoted, dedicated, and on the God-ward path; if you are pure, true, genuine and sincere, that isenough."After my retirement, which happened years ago, I went to Benares. Baba said, "You go on a pilgrimage. Your mother is very anxious. You take her on a spiritualjourney to holy places." So I, my wife and my mother, went to Him and wanted His blessings for the journey. And then He said, "Four people are journeying,purchase three tickets". So we were four passengers with three tickets. He is the stowaway in all planes and streamers and really a ticketless passengerall through. At times, some people ask Him, "Swami, give me leave, I want to go to Hyderabad or some other place." He'll say, "Why do you ask leave ofsomebody who is coming with you?" He is coming with us, He is always with us.And sometimes Mr. Bala Krishna, Dr. Bhagavantham's son, also does that. He's rather heavy and therefore rather nervous of going on planes. So whenever hehas got to make a plane journey, He asks Baba's blessings. And Baba says, "I will be with you, go." And invariably it has been found, which is Mr. BalaKrishna's experience and also others, if you take His blessings and go on a plane, invariably, the seat on your left will be empty. That was Bala Krishna'sexperience. And when I was telling this to some audience in Madras, immediately a lady got up! She belonged to the World Health Organization. She said,"That has been my experience too!"The daughter of Dr. Chandru, a dentist in Malaysia, had to go to Vancouver and he asked Swami's blessings saying, "I am sending my daughter to Vancouver."Swami said, "Alright, why are you worrying? I will take her to Vancouver." And she writes from there that in all the planes which she got into on her wayto Vancouver , the left seat was vacant! So He is that ticketless passenger who occupies a seat always.Awakened by 'Ash'"I have no name. Any name is enough for Me. If you are devoted, dedicated, and on the God-ward path; if you are pure, true, genuine and sincere, that isenough." - BabaThere was one Mr. Patterson, a geophysicist who blongs to an organization in the United Nations. And he had come to India for the first time, to Hyderabadwhere there is a Geophysics Institute. And because Mr. Bala Krishna was also a deputy director of that institution, he took him home and there he foundBaba's portrait in that shrine room. He asked who He was and he was told something about Him and he got rather curious and said, "Give me some memento."Bala Krishna gave him a packet of vibhuti. And he opened it and found: "Ash?Yes, Ash.Ash?" He couldn't evaluate vibhuti and he was rather surprisedthat what Bala Krishna was giving him was a little bit of ash. And Bala Krishna said, "No! If anyone gives me that packet, I would consider it as mostprecious and I would keep it! You keep it."He said, "All right", just for good manners and put it in his pocket, and then thought, "What shall I do with it?' And when Bala Krishna told him to putit into his mouth, he was shocked even more! Eating ash is not a very pleasant thing to do. He said, "Whenever you encounter any difficulty which you cannotovercome by yourself, put a little in your mouth and pray to Baba." He gave him a photograph too.It is absolutely unbelievable what happened later. He went home. He had to go to New York and he writes a letter from London airport. "I got into a jumbojet in Delhi and I got the last seat, and I was surrounded by women." Of course that's not a calamity for many people but he didn't quite welcome it -quite a misanthrope, I believe! He says there were women and children; probably it was the nuisance these children created. 14 hours he had to travel surroundedby women and children. And I think that many of these children must have got up on his shoulder and taken his glasses out and tried to find out whetherhis nose was fixed on his face nicely.spacerSai KasturiHe felt absolutely miserable and he wanted to change his seat. He says, "I got down at the London airport. As I was walking around the airport, I rememberedthe powder which he had given me. And I wanted to test its efficacy." And he put a little in his own mouth and thought of the picture that he had got.He writes, "Immediately, my name was called over the loud speaker. I was asked to go to the query office. I was informed that I was to continue the journeyin the first class! I was ushered into the first class. And when I offered to pay the extra, they said it had been paid!" The extra amount had been paid!And therefore the next sentence is justifiable. The next sentence is: "That powder is some powerful stuff!" And that Patterson came again! Of course, howcould he keep back after this experience? So he came here.The other day, we had the Ramanavami Day celebration here. And I was here until 12 noon and then I hurried to Puttaparthi where Baba was. When I went there,since Baba had already started His discourse, I couldn't get in. I was in the veranda. After the discourse was over, people trooped out, and Bala Krishnatoo came out and behind him was Mr. Patterson. He introduced me to him, "This is Mr. Patterson of the airport fame, of the powder and its significance."I said, "You are Patterson? I have been talking about you all over the country and I am glad I saw you now." And he had to leave early morning. Baba wasinterviewing some others. So I said, "Are you waiting to see Baba?" He said, "No, I don't want to bother Him. For one and a half hours I was sitting inthe front line today. Baba was standing right in front of me. He was speaking in Telegu; but that doesn't matter. I heard His voice; I listened to Himsinging bhajans, two of them! I could see Him; fill my eyes with Him for one and a half hours! That is enough. I am going." That is Patterson. London airportgets upset on account of this man putting a little vibhuti in his mouth! That is the kind of power that this Phenomenon is.Household RescueDr. John Hislop said that he once bought a house overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Then they found the hill was seeping; it wasn't geologically a safe place.So the houses were getting down and one of the houses had, in fact, collapsed and gone into the waves. And the geologists of Mexico came and measured witha tape and said, "This month it has come three cms, four cms, etc." So it was inevitable that his house must go in the Pacific Ocean. And they didn't knowwhat to do. So Hislop put up a big photograph of Baba facing the Pacific Ocean and prayed, "Stop the waves! Stop this hill from sliding!" And he said thegeologists were not able to discover any further sliding of the house down the hill. For devotees who are dedicated to Him, He will stop the earth fromsliding or the sea from inviting houses into itself!Now, the third line of the poem is very important. Hitherto what we have read of incarnations is that God says," I will protect and guard the devotees."But Baba says, "I will give devotion and save." All of us have come because He has given devotion to us. He has caught hold of us and given us love forHim. He has put us on the right path and trained us.(To be continued.).....................................................................................................................................Dr. Harvey and Dr. GoldsteinRegion 5 Visit - Feb. 20, 2000Visit to North Central Region by Dr. Harvey and Dr. Goldstein, Chicago, Illinois, 2/20/2000SRI SATHYA SAI BABASRI SATHYA SAI BABADIVINE LOVE AND GUIDANCEEditWhat an auspicious date, 2/20/2000! Although we had some heavy snow on Friday, the highways were dry and clear by Saturday so our young adults could safelytravel to Chicago for their retreat, which was held in conjunction with the visits of Dr. Michael Goldstein, our world zonal coordinator, and Dr. WilliamHarvey, our United States coordinator. Sunday was warm, sunny, and full of Sai-spiration.We extend special thanks and appreciation from the region to the Metro Chicago Center for hosting these two wonderful Sai Organization leaders and providinga delicious and nutritious lunch, with lovely table settings, for us all. The Young Adults led a rousing and inspirational devotional singing program inthe morning with many new bhajans and many bhajans sung half in English and half in Hindi, which is an excellent way to introduce English into center bhajans.The Southeast Chicago Center was so kind to provide sack lunches for out of town travelers to take home with them. The Milwaukee Center spearheaded a childcare effort that was very much appreciated by the families with younger children. Most of all, thank you to everyone who took the time from their verybusy lives to come to Chicago to hear these two wonderful Sai Organization leaders and to represent their centers.First hand experience is best and my notes may be lacking in places, so I hope you will be understanding. I know in a region as spread out as ours, manywho would have liked to attend could not due to distance or other commitments. I will highlight the main points of these talks from my notes (we were notallowed to audio tape). If anyone would like to add to these points or if I made any errors, please correct or add anything as appropriate. I hope thisat least gives a flavor of this fine day.Dr. William Harvey lives in St. Louis and has been Coordinator of the United States for well over ten years. We are very fortunate to have him close athand. He is usually the first one I turn to with questions and concerns and as do many others, too, I suspect. He is unfailingly cheerful, upbeat and giveswise counsel.Dr. Harvey began his talk by discussing how the Sathya Sai Organization is a significant presence in over 150 countries. The purpose for our birth and thereason we are all here is to recognize the Divinity within us. We need to boost our stamina on our spiritual journey and not fall into the trap of beingdistracted by worldly events like the news, rumors, or squabbles at work, etc. That is all back drop. We should take just a few minutes three times eachday to contemplate our good fortune in knowing Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba in this lifetime.The Young Adult Program's unfoldment is more glorious as we flow along. Embrace the young adults as they are the leaders of tomorrow. Involve them in theplanning and implementation of projects. They are part and parcel of the Sai Organization and not separate from it. Each region has a Young Adult Maleand Female representative and advisor. Phyllis Crystal, Hal Honig and Dr. Harvey are the United States Coordinators. At the 2nd World Youth Conference,Swami gave several discourses and His main focus was that we need faith and courage. Faith and courage are the two wings that can carry us the rest ofthe way. Society can shake us up, depress us, and make us nervous, at the very least, but Swami is there personally for each of us.He has a way of making us aware He is aware of us. We can never get too far from that personal heart to heart contact with the Lord.We need faith and courage. We should pray to Swami to give us more and more courage to do what we have to do. Our tendency to worry and try to figure thingsout is dangerous. Too much thinking is not good for us. Worrying doesn't help. We must contain and curb the Monkey Mind. As we are digging the well deeperand deeper, we are piling up a mound of dirt, that gets higher and higher. Some people focus on the pile of dirt when they should be focusing on the well.Remember, Faith and Courage are Extremely Important!Dr. Michael Goldstein was introduced by Dr. Harvey. (Dr. Goldstein was Swami's Chief Guest on the occasion of the 18th Convocation of the Sri Sathya SaiInstitute of Higher Learning and Swami had many kind things to say about him in His discourse given in Sai Kulwant Hall on 22nd November 1999: "Since heis a familiar figure here, do not take him for granted.He is not ordinary person....Goldstein does not bother about grandness or greatness, he is concerned only with goodness....Goldstein does everything accordingto the commands of Bhagavan. He is a good, devoted and disciplined worker. As a loyal member of the Sai Organization, he has the three sacred qualities--duty,discipline, and devotion. Emulate him and follow these three qualities and become ideal models in your lives.")The themes of Dr. Goldstein's talk were the importance of time, the nature of God and man, our purpose and plan, and time, time, time. He urged us to transcendbeyond the illusions of Maya (this reality of day to day life) to the realization of our innate Divinity.Dr. Goldstein shared an incident he experienced at Prashanthi. Swami usually preselects those who speak prior to Him. One day, Swami said, without warning,to Goldstein, "Will you be speaking?" Goldstein replied "If You wish me to speak, I will speak." Swami then asked, "Are you ready?" and Goldstein replied"If it is Your Will, I will be ready." All the while, Goldstein was feeling perturbed and disturbed inside and experiencing inner conflict. Once more Swamiasked, "Are you ready?" and this time Goldstein replied, "I am ready." Swami responded, "Ready is a state of inner being." We cannot speak about love andpeace when we are not experiencing love and peace within us. That day Goldstein did not speak. We want spiritual experience not expedience.What about God?When God permits Himself to be known, it is for us to discover our own Divinity. I is a game of hide and seek. The knowledge of God is immanent in all humanexperience. In order to recognize our true humanity we need to demonstrate the five human values of Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba: love, truth, peace, rightaction, and non-violence. Goldstein said, "Behold and rejoice the Lion and Lamb are here with us." Beloved Swami is all knowing and present everywhere.He is sweetness and accessibility. He is unconstrained by the laws of time and nature. He knows our thoughts and is always giving and forgiving. He speaksthe truth spontaneously and with complete authority. Swami says only a fool goes looking for God, because He is inside our hearts. He is the mirror andmeasure of mankind. His works inspire us.The Nature of God and Man?Time is the body of God. The hour hand represents the changes in the world we can't see. The minute hand represents the changes in us we can't see. Thesecond hand represents Swami and His interactions with us that changes our lives. Right now, we need to comprehend that time is life. None of us knowswhat lies ahead. Only Swami knows. God is with us now in the human form of Swami. Of all the creatures, only man procrastinates. Only we put off what shouldbe done today. The significance of the millennium is that so many people in so many places focused on time, time, time. Knowing is not enough, we mustapply what we know. Willing is not enough, we must accomplish the tasks given to us. Conscience gives us consciousness. Love is God. Love All and ServeAll. Say, I am a man, not an animal. Will we ride through life as divine passengers or as beasts of burden? Conscience removes the dam and the damned.Lust, greed, pride, attachment go under. Brothers and sister in the family of humanity, life is a journey from Humanity to Divinity. See the map withinyou. See the Divine Love. Live lives with planful purpose. Our Swami is the Light of the Lord, the Light of Divine Consciousness. We journey from creation,reaping what we sow, to civilization with self inquiry where character determines rank and the kind, sincere, and selfless are free and noble and the insincereand selfish are enslaved and ignoble, to self realization where we become one with innate divinity.Self realization is the purpose of our human lives. We become the Light of God. We become constantly aware of Divine Consciousness. Heaven or Hell--thechoice is ours. Heaven is a state of mind--selflessness. Experience and live 'So-Hum'--the 'I am That.' state of bliss that never ending. We can live inheaven now. We need only seek within ourselves. Hell is also a state of mind that is characterized by incessant desires, giving rise to disappointment,frustration and pain. Spiritual transformation is the awakening of our latent divinity. The nature of consciousness is selfless love. Differences and diversityare superficial. We all must obey and follow the immutable Law of Divinity.Dr. Goldstein's Plan:Dr. Goldstein stressed the importance of having a spiritual plan, one that fits your needs and life. He shared his own Nine Point Plan with us. The firstthree points deal with outlook, the next three points deal with attitude, and the last three deal with actions.1. Don't worry about the past. Learn from the past but don't be preoccupied by it. Swami say, "Forget the past." Let yourself experience redemption. (Assomeone with a sometimes less than stellar past, I was even further comforted by the daily quote the next day, 2/21/00, onsai@k...: "There are some gurus who advise you to keep a daily dairy, where you note down every item of evil that you did; they ask you to read it as a spiritual exerciseand resolve to correct yourself. Well, reading it and writing it only tend to impress it more in the mind. It is better to substitute good thoughts forthe bad and cleanse the mind of all evil by dwelling on righteous deeds and holy thoughts. Forget the things that you do not want to remember. Bring tomemory only those things that are worth remembering that is the way to achieve spiritual progress.")2. Don't worry about the future. Dr. Goldstein told about a man with cancer who Swami had given twelve more years of life to, but who spent the entire twelveyears worrying about his cancer and death instead of enjoying his boon of life. We don't know how much time we have and every conscious moment should bereplete with Divinity.3. Don't worry about what other people think or external events. We are three people, the person we think we are, the person others think we are, and theperson we really are--Divine. Govern yourself from the divinity within.4. Be loving--in all relationships there are lessons for us to learn how to love.5. Be happy. This is contagious. Shine light into the hearts and minds of the people with you. Happiness is contagious.6. Be quiet and serene. Be peaceful--enjoy the absence of turbulent emotion and preserve the inner temple of silence.7. Discard unworthy thoughts. The mind is like fly paper and the bugs of thoughts stick to it. Don't permit them to land. Remove the sticky quality of thepaper. Dr. Goldstein shared a time when he tried to rid his mind of unworthy thoughts by shaking his head and other men on the verandah must have wonderedif he had developed some strange new affliction.8. Follow your conscience. Act without procrastination. Look into your heart and ask yourself, "Is is good or is it bad?" Have complete confidence in theconscience as the conscience represents God within ourselves.9. Focus on Swami/God/ Godliness/Goodness. His name and form or any name and form or attribute of Divinity. We MUST focus. This is real. This is the purposeof our lives. Swami is Divine Consciousness--He is Omnipresence in time. This focus on the Divine will preclude all feelings of racial, religious, andcultural separations.Dr. Goldstein concluded his talk by sharing some thoughts about the Sai Organization and the 7th World Conference. He said the Sai Organization has no lifewithout being immersed in conscience and selfless love. Swami has lent His Name so that all of our hearts and minds will be uplifted. We must be a source,not a force. The members and officers of the organization must be servants of the people. Swami is omnipresent, He is all names and forms. He is for ALLreligions and peoples. The 7th World Conference will be a great spiritual experience that will lead to better understanding of Swami's message and purposein our lives. If we are effective and diligent, the goal will be reached and our lives will become His message. Each region will have a regional pre conferenceand produce input for one consensual document reflecting the experience of the Sai Organization.What do devotees need? How can we uplift society? Theseresults will be the agenda for the World Conference. There are now over 2,000 Sai Centers in 130 countries. We are all different races, forms, religions,but this is only apparel. Under our costumes, we are all OneDivine Consciousness and Divine Love.Questions and Answers:Q: How can we displace improper thoughts?A: Fill your thoughts with God.Q: How can our centers be more welcoming in general and to Americans in particular?A: Welcome people with REAL love. Our centers must reflect the culture and society they exist in. We are not advocates of any religion. We need to reflectthat fundamental premise and truth. If there is no love, then the center is a dry and barren place. The spirit of love is the most important thing. Weneed to learn to love one another. As this deepens, we will make changes that are appropriate and good. In addition to love, there must be understanding.Changes must be evolutionary, not revolutionary. There must be understanding, then adjustment. (I would like to discuss this entire issue more in depthin my next email to all of you. I had a talk with Dr. Goldstein and he approved and recommended the implementation of a strategy I believe might help usbe more welcoming. I am sure that there are other ideas and strategies our centers are using. We need to pool our collective wisdom and each center takewhat might work for them.)Q: Will there be a need for service at the World Conference?A: There will be ample opportunity and need. Each center will have the opportunity to send one delegate, the president of the center or one person representingthe center. In addition, the coordinating council members may attend as delegates. Pick representatives who will uplift the quality of the conference.We want this conference to be conducive to the emergence of something useful. There will be consideration of reviewing the world charter and the nationalguidelines.Q: What about the current talk of Swami traveling?A: The last time He was asked in November, Swami said, "Get ready. I'm coming." He will be coming sooner rather than later. When Swami went to Delhi, someonesaid "First Delhi, then USA?" Swami said, "Yes, I'm coming, make arrangements." Then, He said, "No, not now. I'm coming soon." In Delhi, Swami told thepoliticians that if they did not serve the people, they would not remain in office. He told the wealthy, if you don't help the poor, your wealth will notlast long. Swami will come to the USA. It will be soon. He will come to America.Q: Is it OK to use Sai devotees or a survey to analyze the impact of religion on health and behavior?A: No. This is frivolous. The Sai organization is not a religion, it is a spiritual movement. This is unacceptable to Swami.Q: Is there a definite plan for a Sri Sathya Sai Baba School in America?A: Yes. We are taking a proposal to Swami in March. There is a plan for a school in a city on the East Coast in an underprivileged area. It will have alocal board and be connected to the SSEHV Foundation. This plan looks good, but the specifics will not be given until Swami approves.Q: How will the Young Adults be involved in the World Conference?A: I will let Bill speak to that. Plans are essential, although they do not preclude spontaneity. We must make plans to render service and to conduct ouractivities with dignity and confidence. In bhajan also, the most important is the feeling of selfless love, but the aesthetic aspect is very important.Q: What about Sathya Sai Education in Human Values in the public schools?A: There is a SSEHV Foundation and Board of Advisors. They are republishing the SSEHV Manual and producing a new Community SSEHV Manual. SSEHV may be usedmore extensively, retaining the name of the program. We do not retain the name (Sathya Sai) to promote Swami. The name preserves the sanctity and ensuresthe spiritual authenticity of the program.Q: What about the language/appearance of bhajans?A: The struggle. These things will resolve naturally as our understanding deepens. Our centers must be beacons of light for people in this society and culture.We need to inform people and inform them with love. Explain with love and help them feel welcome with love.Q: Should we avoid cake with eggs in it?A: Swami does not want us to eat eggs, but eating cake with eggs is not a sin that will burn you in hell. Dr. Goldstein told about a time when he ate chickenone night when he was alone in his hotel room in Bangalore. Later, he was sitting with Swami as Swami read letters and Swami asked him, "What did you havefor dinner last night?" Goldstein replied vegetables and rice.Swami asked, "What did you eat the night before?" Goldstein told Swami. Then Swami asked, "What about the night before that?" Goldstein was forced to reply,"Ch, ch, chicken, Swami."So, dear brothers and sisters, I leave you with one final thought from our Beloved Lord Sai:"Everyone is eager to be happy. Everyone thinks that wanting more and working less to earn the things wanted is the quickest way to be happy. No one triesthe other method, wanting less and working more."Hope you enjoyed this little recap of the visit of Dr. Harvey and Dr. Goldstein as much as we in attendance enjoyed them.In the Service of Sai,S.P.Rahul Dravid in Puttaparthi for Sathya Sai Baba's darshanAre you really suffering?By David JevonsThose of you who are regular readers of the Ramala newsletter will no doubt be aware that in recent months I suffered a heart attack, which necessitateda visit to my local hospital on three occasions and having to undergo two minor heart operations. These visits gave me time for reflection, both on thenature and purpose of suffering and on the way that I viewed other people's suffering. Many of you will also have heard that Sai Baba fell and fracturedhis hip a few months ago, and that he had to undergo a painful operation. For me personally it has been a challenging time, because I knew that Sai Babahad willingly taken on the illness of devotees at various times in the past in order to save their lives, and had subsequently healed himself, so why wouldhe not heal himself now? Furthermore, why did such an accident happen to an avatar, a realised being? If even they have to suffer, then, what hope isthere for us lesser mortals? I just could not understand why this accident had happened to Sai Baba and all sorts of niggling doubts began to arise inmy mind.We were in an interview with Sai Baba several years ago and some one asked him about how they should handle suffering. Sai Baba replied that all sufferingis associated with body consciousness and that the spirit, the divine atma, never suffers. He then took a handkerchief in his hand, held it up and droppedit saying, "This handkerchief represents the suffering, just let it go and it will fall away" and then to illustrate this he let go of the handkerchiefand it dropped to the ground. At the time I remembered thinking that whilst this process might apply to psychological suffering, I was not too sureas to how it would help me to cope with physical body pain. Nevertheless, in succeeding years, whenever I was faced with physical pain, usually in thedentist's chair, I got myself into the habit of chanting silently "I am not my body, I am not my body" and of saying the Gayatri Mantra. I used to meditateand try to move my consciousness onto another plane of being, to be the observer of my body, to disassociate myself from it, but I only met with limitedsuccess. The main problem was that I only practised the technique when I was about to face pain, rather than on a daily basis and, as with meditation,you just can't sit down and expect to do it. You have to practise. It is rather like practising a fire drill. You practise it even though no fire ispresent at the time. Nevertheless I know that the principle is correct and my more recent experiences have proved to me that relaxing and focussing onsomething other than the pain is most beneficial. Sai Baba says, " To rise above pain one should meditate and chant God's name. Without meditation itis not possible to control and master the mind. Thus, meditation is essential, to immerse the mind in the Supreme Consciousness."Suffering is an integral part of life on the physical plane of Earth. If you come on the Earth, even if you are an avatar, then you must expect to facesuffering in one form or another because, as Sai Baba says, "You have to pay your human taxes." But why would our Creator base the drama of life on sucha premise? Why does even a realised being, a Godman, have to suffer? Sai Baba says, " Various saints had endless troubles in their lives with family,harsh treatment from others, and so on. But their faith in God remained untouched. They themselves did not suffer. Jesus did not suffer. But it wasnecessary that they go through what is generally regarded as suffering so that the world could have noble examples of worldly detachment and unshakeablefaith in God." This is a lesson that many of us have to learn. When things go wrong we tend to look outwards and to blame others, especially God. Commentssuch as "How can God allow this to happen?" and "Why is God doing this to me?" abound. Whilst God does not personally instigate suffering against anyindividual or group, nevertheless, as the creator of the divine drama of life, God did create suffering. What would be His purpose in doing this? SaiBaba says, "Regarding people suffering; they are being tested, but it should not be called so. It is grace. Those who suffer have my grace. Only throughsuffering will they be persuaded to turn inward and make inquiry, and without turning inward and making inquiry they can never escape misery." How manyof us regard suffering as God's grace? Very few us us, I believe, and why should this be so? It is because we approach suffering from the point of viewof body consciousness. The body does suffer, but not the spirit. Our bodies are made of physical finite matter, and are inextricably bound to the cycleof birth and death. Disease and death are an inevitable part of life, especially when Man lives in a world of ever increasing pollution of thought, wordand deed. So if we recognise that suffering is an inherent part of physical life, what decides the degree and fruits of our suffering? It is our attitudetowards it. Our attitude is the cause of both our suffering and our happiness. With whatever feeling we see an object or person, the same is reflectedback to us. If we see the world as God's creation, empowered by God's love, existing only to awaken the God in us, then any suffering is seen as God'sgrace. But if we see the world as a Godless creation, where events are controlled by random fate, where might is right, where the weak fall pray to thestrong, then suffering is seen as something to be avoided or endured, and always, always, to be blamed on external forces.So it is the wise person who sees suffering for what it is, namely, a gift from God. Suffering is designed to test your faith in God, to test your devotionto God. It is intended to make you live up to the truth in which you believe. Do you stop believing in God just because you are struck down with cancer?Do you stop believing in God just because you are injured in a serious automobile accident, which forces you to be in a wheelchair for the rest of yourlife? Does it prevent you from achieving the purpose of your life? Certainly not! The purpose of life is simply not to be born again, and if you arestriving to achieve this goal, then recognise that in all probability you will be beset by pain and suffering as a means of burning away all the karmaof past births. The goal of life is liberation, is to be free for ever from the cycle of rebirth, and if you always keep the goal in mind, then any suffering,any sacrifice, has both meaning and purpose. As Sai Baba says, "Good people are always beset by difficulties and troubles. The messiahs, the prophets,the saints and God-men, have always suffered from troubles and ordeals of various kinds. You too should not be bothered by them. Have faith in God."It is by looking at the suffering of God-men that we can better place our own suffering in its right context. I have been reading the book 'Great Swan',written by Lex Hixon, which describes a collection of meetings with Paramahansa Ramakrishna, who was regarded by his followers as an avatar, a direct,fully conscious manifestation of Divine Reality in human form. Towards the end of his life Ramakrishna developed throat cancer, which generated excruciatingpain, and at times he was hardly able to eat or to talk. His devotees believed, and Ramakrishna confirmed this fact before his passing, that the illnesswas caused by him taking on the negativity of the entire world. Ramakrishna bore his illness with cheerfulness and understanding, saying, "Let the bodyendure its inevitable ailments, but you, O mind, be immersed in the Divine Nature and enjoy unalloyed bliss." He then went on to explain his illness bysaying, "Within me are two persons - Divine Mother (God) and Her child. The child has taken ill." Ramakrishna's illness threw some of his devotees intoconfusion. Some believed that it was a trick to test their faith and loyalty. Others lost faith in him as an avatar, refusing to believe in his humanvulnerability. Only a few were able to accept his humanity as well as his divinity and to accept the inevitability of his illness. Does this begin tosound at all familiar to you?The fact that Sai Baba has had to undergo a hospital operation has thrown many of his devotees into a similar confusion. Sai Baba was unable to appearin public and to give his darshan for over a month. When he did appear to give his first discourse after his operation Sai Baba stated quite categoricallythat he had not taken on anybody's illness. His body had quite simply broken down. The body is made up of five elements and one day or another it hasto collapse. His hip had broken into three pieces. He should have experienced excruciating pain, but he did not because he gave up body consciousnesscompletely. Why did he allow this illness to happen and why did he not heal himself immediately, as he had done in the past? It was to demonstrate tous that we have to rise above body consciousness and enjoy divine consciousness. We are not our bodies. If we identify with body consciousness then wewill suffer. If we aspire to enjoy happiness and peace, then we must get rid of body consciousness. Three days after his operation Sai Baba was up andwalking around - an almost impossible feat. How was this possible? Sai Baba said that it was because he had not even a trace of body consciousness. You only face suffering when you develop attachment to the body. He then made an amazing statement. "What is the reason for Swami getting well so soon.It is the prayers of the devotees that have made Swami's body healthy so soon. There have been prayers in all the corners of the world. With prayeryou can conquer and achieve anything. The impact of prayer is responsible for Swami's body getting healthier so soon. Neither did I want this sufferingnor did I desire to cure it. You wanted this body to be cured of the pain and you achieved it through your prayers. This body is not mine. It is yours;hence it is your responsibility to look after it. I am not the body, I am the indweller." He then went on to say that chanting the Divine Name can cureeven the most incurable disease. May we all see our own suffering in a similar light. The first step on the spiritual path is to control body consciousness.As body consciousness decreases so divine consciousness increases, and with divine consciousness comes the end of suffering.Our Divine Lord on the Wheelchair - Its SignificanceTue, 11 Dec 2007 23:28:19 +0800Fw: Our Divine Lord on the Wheelchair - Its SignificanceBlock quote startBlock quote startSairamThis is an excerpt from a Most Wonderful Talk given by Sri Anil Kumar:What is the significance of Bhagavan taking this ailment upon His body? Is it for welfare of any human beings? Is there any philosophical explanation forthis?Thank you, sir. This question is often put to me, whenever I meet big or small groups. I don't go into philosophical depth or spiritual significance ofthis particular event. The question is how do you look at the present situation of Bhagavan being in a wheelchair? Further, this gentleman wants to understandwhy He has taken this ailment upon Himself. Has He any aim, such as human welfare, in accepting the present ailment?My friends, the purpose of an Avatar is to teach. The purpose of an Avatar is to demonstrate. The aim of an Avatar is to set an example. To set an example,to demonstrate and to teach are the three-dimensional objectives of every Avatar. Baba, while walking briskly then, had a message to convey. Baba, in awheelchair today, also has a message to convey. We have a lesson to learn -- then, now and forever.If we look at it physically, the sight of Swami in a wheelchair is very painful. Some ladies even cry because it is a very sensitive matter. Some questionas to why He should be in that state. Some even doubt His Divinity. Some will feel badly that, while He cures everybody, why does He not cure Himself?Some people go to the other extreme. When He cannot cure Himself, how is He going to cure me? (Laughter)These are the questions that arise in our mind. There is no point in condemning anybody. There is no point in calling anybody less devoted or an atheist.There is no point in asking him to leave Prashanti Nilayam. You may ask one individual to leave, but there will be millions like that. So let us try tounderstand together. Let us try to explore together this particular question.I think there are a few lessons that we should learn from Swami in a wheelchair. The first lesson I think is the spirit of acceptance, as we already discussed.He has accepted the condition; therefore He prefers to be in a wheelchair.Two years ago, He was on a wheelchair. There in Kodaikanal some boys said, "Swami, we have a modern, sophisticated wheelchair where people don't see thewheels. You can sit majestically on it and go." They cried.Swami said, "No. Bring that ordinary wheelchair."Baba also added, "People come to see Me and not My chair. People don't come here to see the wheelchair. They come here to see Me!" (Laughter) That's whatBaba said. So, it only means that He has accepted that.This is a lesson to all of us. We have to learn to accept the reality, the fundamental fact. Yes, there is a fracture; ok I accept it. There is no pointin searching for another reason, another pretext.Secondly, He said that it happened in the natural course of events. He has not taken anybody's ailment upon Himself. If He tells us that He has taken so-and-so'sailment, we will finish that person the next moment. (Laughter) So He has made it categorically clear that He has not taken on anybody's ailment. It hashappened in the natural course of events.EVEN GOD MUST FOLLOW HIS OWN LAWS :Further, He gave one example. If anyone slips on soap in the bathroom, he is sure to fall, whether God or an ordinary human being. Laws of gravitation operatefor God also. He is not above the laws of Nature.He also said that a policeman sees to it that we abide by traffic rules and drive on the left side, not on the right. In the U.S., it is the right side;here it is left side. But the policeman who enforces this rule cannot himself drive on the right side: "I am the policeman so I'll drive on the right side."No! You are also supposed to drive on the left side.Therefore, God, who creates these natural laws, has to abide by His own laws. He has set the law and He has to unscrupulously abide by His own law. Thatis the second lesson. "When I am bound to suffer, it's alright! There's nothing wrong with it."The third lesson is that He doesn't show any trace of pain on His face. In contrast, in our case, any simple problem we have, whether a family problem ora community problem, we make it a national problem if possible! (Laughter) A simple headache or stomach ache is enough to impose curfew at home! "Nobodyshould see TV, nobody should talk, nobody should joke, nobody should smile, and no guests please because I have a headache!" (Laughter) So, we share ourheadache with everybody. We don't leave anybody until they also get a headache! (Laughter)But here is Bhagavan who never says that He is in any pain. He says nothing at all! He says that He has no pain at all and shares happiness with everybodywith His broad smile, kind gestures, and words of enquiry. This is a lesson to all of us to swallow all our problems. So sharing happiness with everyonearound is the third lesson.SWAMI HAS NOT CHANGED HIS SCHEDULEThe fourth lesson that we have to learn is this. Any simple problem makes us apply for a casual leave. One gentleman who was poor in English wrote in hisapplication: "I am suffering from the marriage of my daughter; therefore, grant me casual leave." (Laughter)Everybody laughed. Suffering? Well, he happened to be my friend. He is correct about suffering because he had to pay lot of dowry (Laughter). Also, he hadto extend all hospitalities and extra courtesies to the groom's family. Therefore, he had to suffer. So he is correct.And here Baba has a hectic schedule right from morning to evening: talking to people, granting interviews, giving darshans, guiding and chiding, directing,admonishing, and praising people. That schedule has never been changed for any reason. If it were you or me, we would apply for casual leave. "I have aheadache; therefore, I am sorry, but kindly grant me casual leave." Baba has never applied for casual leave for even a day.Then we may question why sometimes darshan is cancelled. Let me share with you a Divine secret, which I am not supposed to. I know I am taking a risk. Italways happens in my life. (Laughter) I can't avoid it. So many interviews are taking place at His residence today. If I get an opportunity, I would say,"Swami, what's all this?"He talks to many people there at the residence. It is not that He wants to avoid us. Important matters, policy matters are discussed. Therefore, Swami isnot on a holiday when darshan is cancelled. No! He is busier on the days the darshan is cancelled. He is so busy that He has to cancel darshan. He is morebusy than usual, the same way most of us work more on a Sunday than on any other day. We have some service activity, akhanda bhajan or study circle. Everythinghappens on a Sunday, so we are busier. Therefore, we would like to relax on a working day! (Laughter) So the lesson is that He has not made any kind ofchange in His schedule or itinerary whatsoever.SWAMI DEMONSTRATES BODY-MIND DETACHMENTAnother lesson we can learn from Him is this. He has been telling us that we are not the body. We know theoretically that we are not the body. But on pizzaday, I am the body! (Laughter) When I see a cup of ice cream, I am the body. When I see some South Indian pickles, yes, I am the body! (Laughter) So, weknow theoretically that we are not the body, but we are the body when the situation arises.We know that we are not the mind. Everyone says, "I am not the mind." But again, it's only theoretical. If you call that nonsense, the man gets angry. Butif he truly is not the mind, why should he get angry? (Laughter) Theoretically he knows that he is not the mind; but in fact, he is totally the mind. Themind or ego reacts immediately because the mind is still highly sensitive. It is like gasoline ¡V highly volatile.When the ego is affected, it goes to any extent. If I don't hear you, you are irritated. If I don't follow you, you are annoyed. We don't think about whyyou are like that. We don't bother to step into another's shoes and find out why someone is like that. We are only bothered about why he does not act accordingto our wish or why he does not conduct himself according to our desire. But we know theoretically that we are not the mind!So, my friends, we know too much theory and nothing practical. I am sure you are noting down my words. I repeatedly say, "We know." I don't say, "You know."I say, "We know", which includes me too. I am the first on the list.We know theoretically that we are neither the body nor the mind. Yet we react every time. So how can He convince us? How can He make us rally around? Hereis an open demonstration. Imagine the terrible pain from an initial fracture, then the subsequent operation, then the next fall and next fracture. Howis He able to bear that? How is He able to smile? How is He able to stand and give a discourse?When He was perfectly fit, He gave a one hour lecture. Today He gives a one and a half hour lecture. Extra! How is it possible? Suppose I have pain, canI smile? If I have some problem, can I attend my office? How is He able to do that? The simple answer is that He is beyond the body. He is beyond the mind.So, it is an open demonstration to all of us that one can transcend the body and the mind like Him. Unless we see it operating, unless we see it in frontof us, we cannot learn.Some people ask why He does not cure Himself. If He cures Himself, we are the first persons to say, "You are God. You could cure Yourself. So how aboutcuring me?"If He does not cure Himself, some say, "How can You be God if You cannot cure Your own suffering?" We don't spare anybody! (Laughter) We are always readywith questions. But when we stop these questions and accept, we will certainly learn many lessons.Jai Sai RamBlock quote endBlock quote endSHIRDI BABA PRANAAMS AT HIS LOTUS FEET."Whoever puts his feet on Shirdi Soil, his sufferings would come to an end"..................................................................................................................................But the way of Sai Baba is not only unique but simple and unfolding as well. He is in his Gurusthan at Shirdi. Sri Baba leads us to the highest goal onthe easiest path. Let us not leave Baba, because his way is simple and sure of success. To dispel all ignorance and to be free from all sufferings, pleasemake Sadhana.Please go to Shirdi. Until Shirdi enters into you, you repeatedly enter into Shirdi. Until Shirdi is established in your heart, visit Shirdi. Until yousee Sai Baba in your heart during your state of wakefulness dream and sound sleep gaze at him incessantly.Shirdi removes your sufferings. Shirdi grants you peace. Shirdi drives away your ignorance. Shirdi grants you knowledge and wisdom. Shirdi reveals yourown self. Shirdi unravels the mysteries of the cosmos, Shirdi cuts off the cycle of birth and rebirth. Shirdi will prove the statement of Baba that itwill remove all anguish.Shirdi is the Gurusthan of Sai Baba. Shirdi will grant us Moksha undoubtedly. My dear devotees of Sai Baba, in this vast universe, you are living with ShirdiSai Baba. Live in Shirdi, Shirdi will live in you. You cannot afford to be away from Baba. He is in you. You are in him. Know this truth and serve yourSadguru.Bow to Shri Sai - Peace be to all.(to be contd..)(Source Eleven Holy Sayings of Shirdi Sai Baba by Pujya Shri Ananda Sai Swamy)Being a Star in His Sky...By Mr. Amey Deshpandedl.asp?File=TALK_2007_08_21_02_AMEY.mp3 & Name=TALK_2007_08_21_02_AMEYdl.asp?File=TALK_2007_08_21_02_AMEY.mp3 & Name=TALK_2007_08_21_02_AMEYBlock quote startThis is the transcript of a talk delivered by Mr Amey Deshpande, a research scholar in Bhagavan's University, on the occasion of the 21st anniversary ofthe School of Business Management, Accounting and Finance, Prasanthi Nilayam, on August 21, 2007 in the Divine Presence of Bhagavan Baba.Block quote end"Where do I begin to tell the story of how great a love can be?The sweet Love Story.that is older than the sea;The simple truth about the Love He brings to me.Where do I. start?Where do we.start?"spacerameySri Amey DeshpandeI offer our most loving and humble salutations at the Divine Lotus Feet of our most beloved Bhagavan. Revered elders, dear brothers and sisters, Sai Ramto all of you.Even as we stand on the threshold of another milestone, another anniversary (it was the 21st Anniversary of the MBA programme of Sri Sathya Sai University),I cannot but wonder in utter awe, admiration and a deep sense of gratitude for what Bhagavan has done for all of us.In 1963, when one of the foreign devotees had come for the first time to Puttaparthi, he described Puttaparthi as a stone's throw from the Stone-age. Andtoday, what we see is that the whole world has come to Puttaparthi! How can we count our blessings? How fortunate are we? Let me just share with you thisinteresting thought that I have:Scientists say that the universe is about 13.5 billion years old, which is an incredibly long time, and the average life span of a man on the earth is about100 years. Imagine our great good fortune that we happen to be on this earth, at the very same time, in the entire span of 14 billion years! We happento be just at the time when God, the Creator of this Universe is also present on this earth!Puppets in His PlanMore importantly, how fortunate are we that we have been chosen by Him, that we have been called by Him that He has given us an opportunity to sit on thering-side and watch His Divine Master Plan unfold! Giving us this opportunity to play our little roles in this Divine Master Plan. My Mother had taughtme a very beautiful Hindi song. It goes something like this:Sai Ameyspacer"Ye dhuniya banana our banake phir chalana,Bus usi ka kaam hai,Bada zordhaar uska inthajam haiBada zarbardast uska inthajam haiSurya chandra tare apne dharma se na tal sakeInsaan ki majal kya vo uska kram badal sake?"which means, this entire world is a manifestation of His Master Plan. When even the Moon and the Stars cannot change His Master plan, where is man in thiswhole scheme of things? It is but a puppet. And we are so lucky to be puppets in His hand.To be Bhagavan's student, especially a Management Student, has been the only exhilarating experience of my life. What have I learnt from this experience?I wish to share some of my thoughts on what I have gained from Swami as a Management Student, taking the aid of a small stanza which runs as follows(A song in Hindi)"Hey Aankh voh jo Shyam ka darshan kiya kare?Hey sheesh jo Prabhu charan me vandan kiya kare?Bekar voh mookh hai, jo rahe vyarth bathon meyMookh voh hai jo, Sai naam ka sumiran kiya kare..Hire Mothi se nahi, shobha hai hath kiHey hath jo Bhagavan ka poojan kiya kareMarkar bhi amar nam hai us jeev ka jag mePrabhu prem mey, Sai prem mey, balidan joJeevan kiya kare.."[Of what use are the eyes, if they cannot have Darshan of Shyam (the Lord)? Of what use are the hands if they cannot worship the Lord? Foolish is the mouththat rambles aimlessly. Blessed is the tongue that chants the Name of Sai. The hands are beautiful not by holding precious pearls, but by worshipping theLord. The one who lives, even if he is dead, is the one who offers his life at the Feet of the Lord."]The Ultimate Lesson"Hey Aankh voh jo Shyam ka darshan kiya kare?"Those are the true eyes that see the Lord everywhere.How does this apply to us, Management Students? The corporate life can be a pretty tricky one. Bhagavan says, "See God in everyone." One of the Devoteesof Bhagavan, who is stationed in Delhi, heads a very large organization. And He used to hear Bhagavan often saying, "See God in everyone." He used to wonder,"Swami, how do I do it?"spacerSai AmeyAnd he had a special difficulty with one particular subordinate of his. This person was not only a misfit to the Organization, but more importantly, hehad an attitude problem. And whatever he did was just not tolerated by this Sai devotee. On one occasion, he had committed such a big blunder that in afit of rage, this devotee slapped him and told him, "Get out of here."That night as he slept, Bhagavan came in his dream. He saw Bhagavan standing outside the window, but what really horrified him was that Bhagavan's cheekswere red. And Swami was rubbing his cheeks.As soon as he saw this, he immediately got up and began to cry and sob. He said, "Swami, now I know what is the meaning of seeing God in every being is!"Let us all believe that every person who walks into our life, every individual who comes in contact with us, is His Form.He Writes the ProgrammeThe next line is the song is:"Hey sheesh jo prabhu charan mey vandan kiya kare."What use is the human body if it does not bow to the Lord with love and humility.I am reminded here of another very beautiful story. Swami says that a fruit laden branch always bows down. Because, it has humility, it wants to serve theother. And so also should be a knowledgeable mind. But unfortunately, when we gather all this data and information, we start to float. And Swami says thatthis knowledge is actually the air which makes us float, which is truly nothing.One of our students, armed with an MBA degree from this Institute, had passed out and had always this feeling that it is he who can do everything. Thistook him far and wide, to so many places and ultimately he joined a large multi national corporation in the United StatesJust to give a background of this organization, they manufactured a certain electronic component almost a hundred per minute, and a part of the processwas that as this item was manufactured, it had to be labelled and then it would be loaded on to the trucks. This labelling process was done manually andthat was the bottleneck of this process.This brother, a senior brother of ours, had risen to the position of the Chief Technology Officer, and so he proposed to the management to automate thisentire process of labelling. The management agreed to the proposal and gave him this responsibility, invested a sufficient amount of money and told himthat within 6 months he had to come up with the project.Sai AmeyspacerHe worked day and night and came up with a wonderful program that executes this entire process electronically. He tested this whole process more than 1000times and every time it was a success. The day of this program going live arrived, and five minutes into this process, he started to get calls into hisoffice - "This program is not working, what have you done?", "We have invested so much in this, and is this what we get?" and so on. Very soon, withinthe next 15 minutes the entire management team was in his cabin, questioning him.He was under intense pressure. At this stage, he just said, "Please leave me alone for 5 minutes. Let me try and rectify the situation. I will think peacefullyover a cup of coffee and get back."As soon as these people left, he didn't go for coffee. He just bowed his head down and said, "Swami, I am a big zero. I am nothing. This is my prayer toyou: Please bail me out of this trouble!"Just as he closed his eyes, he heard a voice say, "Kumar!" It was exactly the way Bhagavan used to call him, when he was here as part of his MBA Program."Kumar, emi ra Kumar?" (What happened, Kumar?) And he opened his eyes and he didn't know where this voice was coming from. It was very clearly Bhagavan'svoice.And then, he says, for the next 10 minutes what he didn't know what he did. He just mechanically followed Bhagavan's instructions. Swami asked him to opena particular window and change all the parameters there. A minute after the whole thing was over, the first phone call comes with the message: "Kumar,the process is successful, the labelling has started."Only when we bow down our head in humility and dedication, can we see His Power work through us!Photographic Shock"Bekhar voh mukh hai jo rahe vyarth bathon me.Mukh vo hai jo prabhu naam ka sumiran kiya Kare?"Wasted is the mouth that chatters.What is the use of the tongue, if it does not chant the Name of the Lord?Let us look at this third statement now. A saying goes that 'power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.' And when such a power corrupts, itaffects our very fundamental thinking process.spacerSai AmeyOne gentleman from Malaysia had a very similar problem. At the very young age of 35, he had romped all the corridors of power and travelled across the worldat least a dozen times. He thought, "Yes I am the greatest. I don't need any God, because God is meant only for the weaklings. I have achieved everything,I don't require God." He used to tell everybody that only through self-effort can you achieve in this world. God is not required, unless you are weak minded.One day, one of his aunts spoke about Bhagavan to this gentleman. And this gentleman said, "First of all, I don't even believe in the existence of God andhere you are trying to tell me that God can come in a human form? This is still a greater figment of your imagination."When he went to her house one day, he saw beautiful pictures of Bhagavan all over the place and started an argument with his aunt. As he recalls, "We alldo bhajans only for 30 minutes or one hour, but that day for 3 hours non-stop, I kept attacking Swami. I was doing this sub-conscious, unconscious 'Namasmarana'of Swami.I kept challenging Swami and at the height of my arrogance while arguing, I, once, pointed at a photo of Bhagavan and said, 'If He is who you say He is,let me see His presence, right now!'" And exactly at that moment, Vibhuti started to materialize from that photograph, and he was absolutely bowled over.He knew for the first time that there exists a power greater than himself, a Source that is not some static entity. It is dynamic and it responds to yourcall.Passing a TestThen, the fourth line of the song:"Heere mothi se nahi shobha hai hath ki,hey hath jo Bhagavan ka poojan kiya kare.."The hands that worship the Lord are precious,not the ones adorned with valuable pearls.Bhagavan says, "We have to see God in everyone." How do we do this? Let me narrate a very beautiful incident that happened about 5 years ago.Sai AmeyspacerIt was those cold wintry months of December and January. And one of our students was armed with a letter as he came to Mandir one morning. That was hischance to sit in the first row and he wanted to give Swami a letter which he was trying for many days. He knew that if he missed the chance that particularmorning, it would be weeks before he gets a similar opportunity.So he started from the hostel very early in the morning. As he was proceeding towards the Mandir, he saw a lady seated on the footpath shivering in thatbitter chill morning. He couldn't just pass by her. He thought, "Don't I have a responsibility. But then, what is going to happen to my chance?" So thinking,he said to himself, "Swami, I know I have to help this lady more than anything else."So he ran back to the hostel, picked up a small shawl and a bed sheet, returned to this lady and put it around her. But by that time it was too late. Whenhe reached Mandir, he had to be happy with a seat somewhere in the 5th row. And Bhagavan came out as usual, came straight to him, stretched out His handand asked for his letter. That day, the boy learnt if we extend our hand in the service of society, God Himself will stretch His hand to take care of allour troubles.Diving into the Depths of DevotionAnd the last line of the song is:"Mar kar be amar naam hai us jeev ka jag mey,Prabhu prem mey, balidan jo, jeevan kiya kare"Lucky is the One who lives even after death,the One who offers Himself with Love at the Feet of the DivineIt was one of those birthday functions where lakhs of devotees had come to Prashanthi Nilayam, and Puttaparthi was beginning to face the brunt of the resourcecrunch. It wasn't as ready then as it is these days and problems with water and sewage were beginning to erupt. On one occasion, it so happened that theentire sewage system gave up.spacerSai AmeyThere was a major block and all the sewage water began to overflow from a particular drain and everybody knew that the only way that this problem couldbe solved is by someone going down and clearing the muck that was there in the drainage system. But who will do that? How can one jump into that drain?One Sevadal volunteer from Orissa, without a second thought, removed his shirt and dived straight in! He removed the muck successfully and came out, wentstraight for a bath, put on his dress and returned to his duty.The birthday function was over and Bhagavan was giving Padanamaskar (the chance to touch His feet) to all the sevadal members. And nobody had physicallyinformed Swami about this, but He came straight to this man and openly declared in front of everybody: "This man will not have another birth for what hehas done."When we do something out of our love for God, then Bhagavan Himself will come and bestow upon us the highest of rewards!"Prabhu prem mey jo apne jeevan detha hai,Prabhu usko sub kuch dethey hai"The same few lines are echoed in this Telugu song which is very dear to Bhagavan:"Ninne dhyaninchaleni, Deha melano?Ninne Poojinchaleni, Karamulelano?Kanuvindhula ninu choodani Kannulelano?Ninne Marachi, Ninthalanchani, Janmamelano?Ninu thalavani ninu pilavani, jeeva mela jihva mela?"What is the purpose of this life, if it does not think of You, my beloved Lord?What is the purpose of the hands, other than to worship you?What is the use for my eyes, if they do not see Your Form?What is this Life for, without thinking of you?What is this mouth for, without singing to You,calling your sweet Name?Sai is Sacrifice in a ShapeWe see so much of Bhagavan's Love pouring forth. But how do we bring this love into our lives? When we look at Bhagavan's Life, we see that His Life isone of sacrifice. "This is not sacrifice" He tells us. He doesn't feel that sacrifice Himself! When we look at Him, we see that He is sacrificing. ForHim, it is an automatic expression of His love. And He says, just look around at everyone, at all the things that we see in the world. Everything is, infact, sacrificing for us.Parapokaarartham, phalanthi vrukshahaParapakaarartham dhuhanthi gavahaParapokaarartham vahanthi nadhyahaThe trees bear fruits for us, they sacrifice. The rivers flow, and the cows give milk, for us. This whole world functions only for us. Then what is ourrole? We also have to sacrifice. To conclude, I am reminded of this very beautiful song, which echoes these same sentiments.Sai Hoffer(A song in Hindi)Madhuban kushbhoo detha haiSagar saavan detha haiJeena uska jeena haiJo auron ko jeevan detha hai..Madhuban kushbhoo detha hai..Suraj Na ban paye tho ban ke deepak jaltha chal..Phool gire ya angare sach ki raah pe chaltha chalSach ki raah pe chaltha chal.Dil voh dil hai jo auron ko..Apni dhadkhan detha hai..Madhubhan Khushboo detha hai.The garden offers its sweet fragrance to all,And the ocean makes the rains for othersLife is worth living when lived for others' sakeIf you cannot be like the Sun, be at least a lamp,burning away for others with glee;Whatever be the challenges - bouquets or brickbats,Walk the path of righteousness with a spirit that is free;That is a true heart which lends its own beats to others.The garden offers its sweet fragrance to all....Oh Bhagavan, let us also learn the spirit of love and sacrifice from you. Make us like those flowers in your garden, that emit fragrance to who all comein its midst. Make us shine like that star in your firmament. Oh Lord, make us the flute which is hollow from within, on which you can play your divinemelodies.Jai Sai Ram!.......................................................................................................................................CHINNA KATHA- A Little Story from BhagavanThe Greatest SinTo access all the previous 'Chinna Katha' stories, please clickhere.Block quote startIn this short story from Baba, we learn about the terrible folly of our human nature which so easily turns away from the nurturing Divine Hand. So often,we forget the acts of His Grace which have saved us from the consequences of our own actions - and return once again to our old habits. It is a wonderthat the Lord has so much patience! In this story, Baba has portrayed real life and hitherto unknown examples from Jesus' life to educate us in self-awareness;let us use this Chinna Katha to examine our own faults and resolve not to squander the Grace that Baba continually pours upon us!Block quote endOnce Jesus was walking along the streets of a city. It was a slum area. He saw a young man rolling in dirt, dead drunk. He went to him, sat by his sideand woke him up.Chinna KathaThe young man opened his eyes and saw Jesus. Jesus asked him:"Son! Why are you wasting your precious youth in drinking?"The young man replied: "Master! I was a leper. You cured me of my leprosy. What else can I do?" Jesus heaved a sigh and walked away.In another street he saw a man madly pursuing a beautiful woman. Jesus caught hold of him and asked him: "Son! Why do you desecrate your body by indulgingin such a sinful act?"Chinna KathaThe man replied: "Master! I was really blind. You gave me vision. What else can I do?"Jesus trudged along another street. He saw an old man crying bitterly. Jesus approached him and gently touched him. The old man wiped his tears and lookedat Jesus.Jesus questioned him: "Why are you weeping old man?" The old man said: "Master! I was nearly dead. You granted me life. What else can I do except weep inthis old age?"Chinna KathaIn times of difficulty and distress, we cry out for God's help. But when God, out of His boundless love and compassion, responds to our prayer, we ignoreHim and fall back into our self-centered life. One must guard oneself against this greatest sin of ingratitude towards God.- Baba.......................................................................................................................................The Grace to Attain WisdomspacerSai Baba - Sanjay........................................................................................................VEDA CHANTING SEMINAR IN KOBE ...........Three years ago, on the day of Vijay Dasami, Veda classses started at the Osaka Sai Center.It culminated with the Japan Group offering Veda Chanting inthe Divine presence of Swami in Puttaparthi during July 2006 & May 2007. We are happy to inform that a VEDA SEMiNAR was conducted on December 16th at I.S.Stemple in Kobe by Bro Sonu Ram Shanker.Program Started at 10.30 till 5pm. Many Sai groupd came from many Japan centers and attended this program. One can see the devotions of Japanes & Indianschanting Veda and pracricing "Medha Suktam and Narayana Suktam.Later on devotional Bhajans. the center was full with devotees .All enjoyed bliss of Swami and felt His presence in this hall.Sai Ram. Ram.Chugani.................................................................KOBE CENTER PROGRAMSTable with 3 columns and 7 rowsKobe CenterPlace : l.S.S. 2nd Fl. 1-3, Kumochi 5-chome, Chuo-ku, Kobe(Tel: 078-222-1885)Home PageMAPBhajansBhajan PracticeStudy Circleevery Sun 4:00-5:00pmevery Thur 7:30-830pm1st,5th Sun 2:00-3:40pm2nd Sun 2:00-3:20pm3rd,4th Sun 2:30-3:40pmevery Thur 7:00-7:20pm2nd Sun 5:30-6:30pm (English)4th Sun 5:30-6:30 (Japanese)2nd Sun 3:40-3:55 (Gayatri Chanting)Ladies Programme3rd,5th Sun 5:30-6:30pmYouth Programme3rd Sun 0:30-2:20pm2nd Sun in odd months 5:30-6:15pm(Study Circle)1st Sun in even months 0:30-1:50SevaAisei-en (Orphanage home): 3rd Sun 9:30-11:30amNarayana Seva: 2nd,4th Sun 10:00-11:30am, 1st, 3rd Thur 9:00-10:00pmVeda ClubVeda clup is held on every 4th Sunday after Bhajans.Study Circle in (Japanese) is held on every 2nd Sunday on 1st fl.table endSubscribe/Un information: (Free copy)To , please send your request torgcjp To , please type "REMOVE" on the subject line and send torgcjp ----SAI CENTERS: KOBE, YOKOHAMA, OSAKA, SAPPORE,HAMAMATSUOKINAWA, CHIBA, NAGOYA, TOKYO & KYOTO.'SAI BHAJAN GROUPS.: OBIHIRO, SAITAMA, SHIZUOKA, KITAKYUSHU, MORIOKATAMA, NARA, FUKUOKA, TOHOKU, NAGANO, IWAKUNI,HIROSHIMA, KAGOSHIMA, GUNMA, KANAZAWA, KAGAWA.Note: Sometimes schedules is subject to change.Please contact respective centers and groups for information......................................................................................................#CONTENTES: SAI iNSPIRE, GITA,BABA'S STORY, SPELLBINDING SAI PART 2,DR.HARVET & DR GOLDSTEIN, ARE YOU REALLY SUFFERING, PROF A.K DIVINE LORD ON WHEEL CHAIR, SHIRDI BABA, CHINNA KATHA, VEDA SEMINAR.Ram ChuganiKobe, Japanrgcjp