Sai Vichaar For 25th June 2009

Sai Vichaar Thursday, Jun 25, 2009 :: Volume 12, Issue 07 (In its twelfth year of publication.)

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Sai Vichaar is a Weekly newsletter distributed every Thursday and is devoted to the life, philosophy and teachings of Shri Sai Baba of Shirdi. Feel free to forward this newsletter to your interested associates in its original form. Please do not reply to this email. All replies will be ignored. To contact us please see information at the bottom of this newsletter. IN THIS ISSUE: •

FEATURE OF THE WEEK

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CONTRIBUTED ARTICLE

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DEVOTEES SAY

•

PRAYER CLUB

•

EXPERIENCE OF DEVOTEES

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QUOTATION OF THE WEEK

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QUESTION OF THE WEEK

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SAI ACTIVITIES

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FROM THE EDITORS KEYBOARD

FEATURE OF THE WEEK: Why know the nature of "Self"? Sai Baba's famous parables and cryptic remarks are well known. These comments were always impregnated with a message directed towards the individual who is addressed. Once, a devotee wanted to take a photograph of Baba. When Baba was approached regarding this, He said, "No, it is enough if he knocks a wall down". The devotee stood confused. Later, an explanation was given as follows: The photograph is one's likeness of Baba. The wall is "I am the body" idea, which is an obstacle that interferes with identifying the supreme spirit. One straightforward remark of Baba has always been "awaken the self". The nature of self is not easily explained. The pursuit to know the self is as varied as the individuals themselves. However, it is said that one must have an honest yearning and God's grace to know the nature of self. Now, why should one know the "self"? The Geetha says, " With the self unattached to external contact, he finds happiness in the Self; with the self engaged in the meditation of Brahman, he attains endless happiness". Swami Chinmayananda on his commentary on The Geetha explains further, "Why should I deny myself the brilliant flashes of momentary joys in exchange for a steady stone-like, impregnable monotony, call it equilibrium or equanimity, peace or Godhood? Any sensible seeker entering the halls of spiritual study with his intellect bright and clear should come to doubt its efficacy and utility. Though the process of selfdevelopment is essentially a process of detachment, this technique of negation does not take us to an empty and purposeless zero, but when we have negated all that is false,

we come to experience and live a total positivity. When the dreamer has renounced all his contacts with the dream world and thrown away his dream personality, he does not become a non-entity, but he re-discovers himself to be the more vital, more effective personality, the waker". Sadguru Sainath's remarks on awakening one's self refers to this state of awakening that is more vital, blissful and permanent, by Sadguru's grace. CONTRIBUTED ARTICLE: The Sage of Arunachala Ramana Maharishi, one of the greatest sages of India, was not a mere life but a manifestation that descended on to this earth on December 30, 1879. It was a Monday and more important the `Day of the Arudra Darshan', (celebrated as the birthday of Siva). He was apparently an ordinary baby at birth. What he made out of his life, however, was extraordinary. When he was barely 17 years old and in the summer of 1896, he experienced a feeling of death and life thereafter. The aftermath of the experience left him not scarred or scared but enlightened. The boy Ramana, magnetized by the vibrations of the sacred hill Arunachala at Tiruvannamalai in Tamil Nadu, India, reached there on September 1, 1896. He never moved out again except for his heavenly abode. Aware that the time of his departure was due, the Maharishi tried to console his devotees and assuage their grief in many words, "Where could I go?" he queried. "The body is itself a disease; when we have finished a meal do we keep the leaf plate on which we have eaten it?" Just as a servant rejoices to lay down his burden at the place of delivery, so does a Jnani rejoice at being relieved of the body by death." For a man who gave up just about everything, except his loincloth, the Maharishi did indeed have a large family of devotees. They came in hordes and from all strata of life - queens, princes, ministers, Presidents, philosophers, foreigners, musicians, the ardent seeker, the curious intellectual, the rich zamindar and the pauper. He viewed all of them with the same compassion. In his heart there was place for all creatures great and small. His demeanor towards the quadruped, the winged and the reptiles is worth pondering over. He never referred to an animal as `it' but always as "he" or "she". When he said, "Give Lakshmi her rice at once," it was the cow whom he meant. In fact the rules of the Ashram dictated that at mealtime, the dogs be fed first, then the beggars and only then the devotees. Squirrels used to hop through the window on to his couch and he always kept a little tin of peanuts besides him for them. The animals felt his Grace and once a devotee asked him what it felt to have a snake pass over him and he replied "Cool and soft." It was a delight to watch very young children run up the hill to be with the Maharishi. Ramani, a nonagenarian fondly recalls with tears in her eyes, "We never knew that he was a Maharishi. He was `Omachi thatha,' to all of us (children). It was Kavyakanta Ganapati Sastri, one of the earliest disciples of Bhagavan, who first addressed him as Maharishi. My father Manavasi Ramaswamy Iyer was a great Ramana bhakta. He was a poet who composed many songs on `Bhagavan.' He was popularly referred to as Saranagati Thatha on account of the popular Saranagati song he composed on the Maharishi. But more poignant is the fact that on the day Bhagavan died, Ramaswamy realized that he could compose no more. The stream of songs that gushed out uninterrupted for 40 years dried on the day of the Mahanirvana." Bhagavan was a simple human being. In everyday life, he was punctual, meticulous to the last detail, and simplicity incarnate. Devotees recall that he would never allow

privileges of any kind to be shown to him. He shunned ostentation of any kind and refused to be garlanded on any occasion. In the dining hall, if anything extra or special was served to him he would immediately express his displeasure by refusing to eat the food. On another occasion when a devote reprimanded a European lady for not crossing her legs, Bhagavan, in spite of his arthritis and rheumatism, crossed his legs that a rule was applicable to all and refused to straighten them till the lesson had been driven home. In the last years of his life, the Ashram authorities commissioned a sthapati to carve a statue of Bhagavan. Hearing the stone being chiselled, Bhagavan jocularly remarked, "The stone God is getting ready to sit upon the stone sofa." F. H. Humphreys, the first European visitor to the Ramanashram penned his experience, of seeing Ramana Maharishi, to a friend in London. "For half an hour I looked into the Maharishi's eyes, which never changed their expression of deep contemplation. I could feel only that his body was not the man: it was the instrument of God." But Humphreys was neither the first nor the last to experience God in the form of Ramana Maharishi. Paul Brunton, who arrived at Tiruvannamalai more a skeptic than a believer records the impact of the eloquent silence of Maharishi: "Before those (eyes) of the Maharishi, I hesitate, puzzled and baffled ... I cannot turn my gaze away from him. I know only that a steady river of quietness seems to be flowing near me ... " Scholars came to Bhagavan Ramana Maharishi to get their doubts clarified but his teachings were not theoretical in the least. In fact they were simple and practical. He would constantly urge the process of self-enquiry. His oft-repeated advice to aspirants was, "Constantly introspect - Who am I? That which is peace. All that we need do is to keep quiet. Peace is our real nature." (Source: "The Hindu" dated May 9, 2003) DEVOTEES SAY: Srinivasarao Om Sai Ram. Dearest Baba aap ko koti koti pranam and dhanyavad; because of you only our nephew got this job;but for you Baba it would never have been possible; Baba always be with us all and take care of one and all; Sai Saranam Sarvasya Saranagati. Krishnaveni Deva, thanks for showering your leela's and miracles. Please forgive me if I have done or spoke wrong in this process.2 weeks back I wrote in Sai sathchritha about my problems... today I am here thanking for leelas. Jagannathan Dear Baba: My wife and I had prayed to You through the columns of "Sai Vichar (April 23, 2009 issue)" to help my son, Sanjay, get a job. Baba, you have been extremely kind. With Your Grace, he has got a job now and today he has joined the job in Ban galore. No words can express our gratitude on this boon from You. Thank you so much Baba. Please help Sanjay in prospering in his job and make a mark for himself. Please help him Baba. He is also an ardent devotee of you. Sudha P Last month I went for medical check up for immigration purpose with my husband and I prayed Baba to get the normal medical reports. And just because of you Baba we got it normal. Thank you Saibaba.

S Rudra Koti koti pranam and thanks to Shirdi Sai Baba. Finally I have received Baba's kripa prasad, my prayers are answered i.e. I have been blessed with a baby boy after 10 long years. I had vowed that I would write in Sai vicar my experience of this long awaited period. Not a single day started without praying Baba's name and begging with open arms and tears in my eyes for an issue. Baba, I always said you are the malik of our destiny, so why delay in giving the kripa prasad to your daughter or do some miracle in my life and the day turned out to be December 11, 2008 when I was blessed with a baby boy. As per my vow I had offered golden palna and money as per tulabar of my son at Shirdi. I would request all Sai bhakt's to have shradda and saburi and their prayers will be answered. PRAYER CLUB: Neha Baba, please take care of us and please shower us both with love so that we both don't quarrel and live happily together with your bhakti as we start our new life. Silpa YOU should be with me and help me do the right thing. Please Baba. Please help me Baba. Babu should be happy with my decision and get settled in his life without any further troubles in his life. Please help him Indu Baba please help me to come out of the present tensed situation. Help me Sai, I beg you. Satyanarayana Raju Baba - many salutations to You. Please help with selling the house as soon as possible. Need your grace to fulfill this objective. Sharma Please SAIBABA, please see that I should get this job. Sandhya Dear Sai Baba, you know that my father's health is very bad, he always has high blood sugar and now with BP. He was hospitalized also. And my sister's health is not well. Please bless my parents and sister with good health. Rajnish Baba, Please help us and clear all of our Immigration papers. We are really stress out. Saroj Baba please let my elder niece get married. Everyone gets worried about it. Please help us to find a suitable groom for her. Ritu I am living by following the Sai principle of Shradha and Saburi. Please Baba, help us to calm down and protect us from all directions EXPERIENCE OF DEVOTEES: Mahi

A few months ago my fiancé got laid off from his company. He is on an H1B visa and would go out of status if we don't either change to another visa or transfer it to another employer. We decided to transfer it to another employer. A friend of us said he would sponsor one. After a month of applying we got a very tough RFE asking for many documents. We were scared that it will not be approved and that we have to go back to India. We were getting prepared for that. I asked my fiancé to keep total trust in Sai Baba and start doing Parayana of Satcharitra. Even before he completed reading he could get all the documents needed and mailed. Just last week his visa got approved. I am thankful to Sai Baba for that. Though I trusted that things would smoothen out, we landed in even bigger mess and I did not trust he would take care of it. I was tired battling everything. But still he does not forget us and proves that he cares for us no matter what. I am thankful Baba. And at the very same time very sorry, I kept losing my patience over and over again. Please take care of everything. I will surely work on being more patient and start believing in your divine providence and being more humble and controlling my temper. I am very thankful for being there for me. QUOTATION OF THE WEEK: "I do not need any paraphernalia of worship - either eight-fold or sixteen-fold. I rest there where there is full devotion." - Sri Sai Baba QUESTION OF THE WEEK: Q. What is the attitude of Sai devotees towards raising their children? A. Your answer can go here. SAI ACTIVITIES: Gurupournima celebrations in Chicago, USA Sri Shirdi Sai temple Chicago will celebrate Gurupournima celebrations for three days from Tuesday July 7th to Thursday July 9th with Main day being Tuesday July 7th. The full event program can be viewed on events page at the temple website. The three day event comprises of Kalash abhishek, Homa, all four arathis, Gopal Kaala, Scriptural reading, Sai Paalkhi processiona and Bhajan Sandhya. The Bhajan Sandhya will be rendered by classical singer Priya Krishnamurthy on Thursday evening after the paalkhi program. Please plan to attend the event celebrations in person or you can sponsor the event in absentia. To sponsor online, visit the home page on saibaba.org and follow the link to Gurupournima event. Please join us with family and friends in one of the biggest events in Shirdi Sai Baba tradition. For more information please call 847-931-4058 or send email to [email protected]. Gurupoornima Celebrations - Sri Saibaba Mandir, Minneapolis, MN Sri Saibaba Mandir, Minneapolis, MN invites all to visit and participate in Gurupoornima Cleberations from July 5 to 7, 2009 at the mandir located in Minneapolis, MN at 1835 Polk St NE, Minneapolis, MN 55418. Please call 612-7897729 for more information on for more details as well as mandir activities, events and other information. The mandir is open 7 days a week in the evenings from 6:30 pm to 9:00 pm and during morning hours from 6 AM to 8 AM, 11.45 AM to 12.30 PM everyday. Satsangs are conducted every Sunday mornings, 9 am to 12:30 pm.

Sri Shirdi Sai Baba Temple of Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas Sri Shirdi Sai Baba Temple of DFW Metroplex is located at 2109 West Parker (Parker Plaza), Suite 212, Plano, TX 75023. For temple hours and activities please call the temple office at 469-467-3388. Shirdi Sai Temple of New England, Boston Area Sri Shirdi Sai Baba Temple of New England is now operational. It is located at 1827 Bridge St # 8, Dracut, MA 01824. The temple is open four days from Thursday to Sunday. For temple hours and activities please visit their website. Shirdi Sai Center in Bay Area, CA Shirdi Sai Center is located 897-B East Kifer Rd, Sunnyvale, CA 94086. For more information please call 408-705-7904 or 408-564-6704. Shirdi Saibaba temple, Los Angeles, CA Devotees in Los Angeles area are informed about Sri Shirdi Saibaba temple in Los Angeles area. The temple is located at - 144 South 4th Street, Montebello, CA 90640. For more information please call Krishna Samantula at 949-679-9938. Saibaba Temple, Columbus, Ohio Devotees in Columbus and surrounding Ohio locations area are informed about Sri Shirdi Saibaba temple in Metro Columbus area. The temple is located in a leasing space at 6599 Dublin Center Drive, Dublin, OH 43017. Please attend daily Aaratis and Thursday bhajans. For more information please call 614-799-8411. Shirdi Sai bhajans every Thursday at Maitland, Florida Devotees are invited to participate in Sai study and bhajans on Thursdays between 7-8 pm at Meditation Gallery, 219 E Horatio Ave, Maitland, FL 32715. For more details please contact Bonnie at 407-830-1276. Sri Shirdi Sai Temple of Austin, TX Sri Shirdi Sai Temple of Austin, Texas opened at 601 E Whitestone Blvd (RM 1431), Cedar Park, TX. Daily 4 aarthis are performed to Sai Baba. As part of service to needy, a weekly sandwich seva is also conducted. Shirdi Sai Mandir, Dulles, VA Shirdi Sai Mandir is located at 43671 Trade Center Place #166 Dulles, VA 20166. The mandir is open through the week in the evenings from 6pm to 9 pm. Sri Satyanarayan pooja will be conducted every full moon day. Please call (703) 661-4724 for more information on activities, events and other information. Shirdi Sai Mandir, Toronto The Mandir is located at Unit 7 & 8 2721 Markham Road Toronto ON M1X 1L5 Canada. Daily services offered to Baba include abhishek and all aartis. For Mandir hours and activities, please call 647-444-4724. Shri Shirdi Sai Baba Sansthan, Canada -Toronto Devotees in Toronto, are invited to join in Sai Namavali, Satcharita reading, Bhajans, Aarti and Prasad every Thursday from 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm. at GUR MANDIR 207 Queen's Plate Dr. Etobicoke - Hwy27 South of Finch for more info call (416) 294 4804 Sai Mandir, Baldwin New York Devotees in New York and surrounding locations are informed about Sri Sai Mandir in Baldwin NY. The temple is located at 1889 Grand Avenue, Baldwin, NY 11510. Please

attend daily Aaratis and Thursday Panchamruta Abhishekam and bhajans. For more information please call at 516-867-8008. Shirdi Saibaba Temple, Iselin/Edison New Jersey Devotees in New Jersey and surrounding locations are informed about Sri Shirdi Saibaba temple in Iselin NJ. The temple is located at 465 Lincoln Highway (Route 27) Iselin, NJ 08830. Please attend daily Aaratis and Thursday Panchamruta Abhishekam and bhajans. For more information please call at 732-283-1800. Shirdi Saibaba Temple, Flushing New York This temple is located near the famous Ganesh Temple, Flushing, New york. All the day-to-day rituals at the temple are being conducted in a manner similar to that in Shirdi. The temple is located at 46-16 Robinson Street Flushing,NY,USA 11355. For more information please call 718-321-9243. Sri Sai Amruta Narayana Sarveswaraalaym, Richmond, VA The temple is open from 5.15 am to 9.00 pm, everyday (no lunch break etc). We have all 4 aarthis every day and Baba's paalki seva on every Thursday after Dhoop Aarthi. Further information can be obtained by calling the temple at 804-708-0867. FROM THE EDITORS KEYBOARD: Sai Vichaar has learnt that several have received their weekly email into their unwanted email folder due to the email filter function of the respective email providers. Please check your email folders before deleting to make sure Sai Vichaar is not delivered into Spam mail. In the true spirit of Sai devotion, contributors are requested to remember to suit the content, language, style, and presentation, appropriate to a worldwide readership. It should also be noted that when a section from any material other than their own is quoted or referred to, it is the authors' responsibility to acknowledge the source appropriately. Sai Vichaar requests the devotees to continue to submit to Sai Vichaar using the pages intended for various sections of Sai Vichaar. Sai Vichaar gratefully appreciates the patience of its readers during the past few weeks of revamping of our database. A Sai devotee suggested the The "Question of the week" for this week as,, Q. How does a Sai devotee deal with deceitful relationships and situations where there is abuse of trust? Humbly Yours, The Editor ABOUT THIS EMAIL: This newsletter is not sent unsolicited. This newsletter is e-mailed to you because of at least one of the following reasons: 1. You have subscribed through our on-line subscribe page, 2. You have visited our web site and shown interest in the Sai topics and asked for information, or 3. You have been gifted a subscription by a friend or a relative. To Subscribe Sai Vichaar for receipt by Email please visit the URL http://www.saibaba.org/newsletter.html and select the subscribe option from the menu.

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