Vol 2010-09

It is hard to be different

During the course of our life, we move from being a willing and obedient

member of the group to a member who wants to take control over our

lives. This is a very difficult transition. At this time, we are afraid of be-

ing ourselves. We are afraid of being unique and different. We are scared

of being individually powerful and successful. For the most part possible,

we make compromises to lead a successful life. Every single action we

do, we wait for approval from others and we want it to be accepted by

others.

It is very easy to settle in and allow our routine to take over our lives. It

is human to believe that things are fine as they are. But try to look at the

world through the eyes of others, view an alternate outlet, or read a book

or magazine something different than what you would normally select.

Do something different to make a conscious effort to learn how to do

something in a new way, with a different experience.

A change takes us out of the rut of whatever we had been doing, it puts

us on our toes, it gives jolts and gives us more opportunity to learn new

things and experience new ventures. It gives us extra energy to explore

new fields. We get interested in doing something new and expecting re-

sults out of it. So to achieve the best around us and to change ourselves

for the better let us this Thursday bring a positive change in us and lead

our contented life with happiness and joy. Try to imbibe the different

feelings with the blessings of Sai and reflect on the meaning of it and

grow spiritually.

FROM THE SATSANGS OF SAIBANISA JI

The Glory of Shirdi SaiThe Glory of Shirdi Sai

6 - M A Y - 2 0 1 0 Y E A R 2 0 1 0 — I S S U E 0 9

गुरुब्रह्मा गुरुर्विष्णु: गुरुरे्दवो महेश्वर: |

गुरु: शाऺात परब्रह्म तस्मै श्रीगुरवे नमः:||

CONTENT

Satsangs of SaiBaNisaji

Time Machine

Significance of Meditation

Shirdi Sai Baba's Sermon

The Dreams Train

Devotees Corner

Sai With Children

Spiritual Gems From Sai

Satcharita

JAI SAI RAM

श्रद्धा सबुरी

Eighth Year of Publication - Published as Bi-Weekly

www.saidarbarusa.org ~ an affiliate of www.saidarbar.org

P A G E 2

...My People do not

come to me of their

own accord; it is I

who seek and bring

them to me....

SIGNIFICANCE OF MEDITATION Prayer (wwwsaidarbar.org)

The power of Prayer is Universally accepted by all religions and cults. Prayer helps

in achieving not only personal benifits, cultural purposes and mental peace, it also

helps for the social good. Nothing is equal to Prayer in protecting the well being of

an individual as well as the society.

To achieve universal peace we request Sai devotees to pray Lord Sainath in this

Prayer room site.

"Oh! Sainath, the symbol of God in physical form, let your vast knowledge, true na-

ture, energy and a heart-ful of compassion be the driving force of mine in all walks

of life".

May the wicked turn good

May the good attain peace

May the peaceful be freed from all bondage

May the liberated redeem others

May everybody be happy

May everybody be free from disease

May everybody have good luck

May none fall on evil days

May everybody surmount difficulties

May everybody have good fortune

May everybody realise his ambitions

May everybody rejoice everywhere

T H E G L O R Y O F S H I R D I S A I

SAI’S NEWS FROM TIME MACHINE May 4, 1990: Foundation stone of Sai Baba Bhakta Niwas Sthan laid success-

fully.

Chaitra 1922: Hemadripanth (Sri. Anna Saheb Dhabolkar) commenced writ-

ing Sai Satcharitra Marathi Script.

1897: The festival of Ramanavami in alliance with Urus was celebrated in

Shirdi with pomp and splendor.

SHIRDI SAI BABA’S SERMON

P A G E 3 Y E A R 2 0 1 0 — I S S U E 0 9

(Four Chapters on Shirdi Sai Baba by Dasganu Maharaj)

The four Chapters are Chapter 31, 32 and 33 from Shri Bhakta Leelamrut and Chapter 57 from Shri Sant Kathamrut.

Chapter - 33 A clerk kills his master and takes his place. This also is not a part of his destiny. Then, the crook, on becoming the

master enjoys his wealth, moves about in cars, carts and on horse backs and says that he has become happy. He has,

infact, sinned by betraying his master. This Karma is added on to his existing Karma. This will cause his rebirth.

Wise people understand this, foolish ones can not. His position as a clerk, which he had earned due to his past

Karma also remains as a balance for the next birth. Thus, he prepares himself for the next birth. How-can such a

person avoid the cycle of birth and death? Death occurs on consumption of poison. This is not destiny. It is the fruit

of one's deed.

You see a number of graduates hold high positions, some go around the world and simply deliver lectures, some

become Yogis, some run shops whereas some teach children in schools. All the above graduates have taken same

efforts but they follow different professions. You will now, understand that this difference is due to their destiny

and is not the fruit of their efforts.

Listening to this, Chandorkar said 'Stealing makes one a thief and we say it is the fruit of his deeds'. Is it

(profession) not his destiny?

Listen to Baba's reply to the query of the loving devotee. He said, Oh gentle Narayan, You are stretching your

imagination and asking me silly questions. There are a number of real thieves but they are acquitted as there isn’t

any substantial proof against them. This is their destiny. One thief you find locked up in the jail whereas another is

moving about free as a gentleman. Both are responsible for similar deeds but one is locked up and the other is free.

Thus, the destiny has nothing to do with what the individuals do. However, the sin of the free moving thief will not

go unpunished. This will be the cause for his next birth. I therefore, have to tell you to follow the ethical ways while

accepting your destiny

Will be continued….

(Dreams Of Saibanisa after Undergoing Bypass Surgery on 17-5-1996)

Compiled by Saibandhu Raghu Raman Satulury

02-10-1996:

I went to a temple and found a saint giving discourse. The following words have drawn my attention:

1. While listening to spiritual words, empty your mind from pre-occupied thoughts. If not it

amounts to self- deceit.

2. A spiritual Guru should treat his disciple on par with himself.

3. Gods grace is highlighted in many epics and many living creatures are able to recognize, how-

ever human being in spite of being intelligent is not able to adapt gentle behavior.

The wavering mind is stumbling block in spiritual advancement.

THE DREAMS TRAIN

P A G E 4

“My Treasury

is open but no

one brings cart

to take from it.

I say,„Dig‟ but

no one

bothers..”

T H E G L O R Y O F S H I R D I S A I

DEVOTEES EXPERIENCE

DEVOTEES CORNER

I am not alone—Baba is with Me ~ K.S. Shenoy (Courtesy Saileela Magazine – May-June 2000)

"I am not alone, Baba is with me" is not an exclusive privilege of mine. It is a fact decreed for

every devotee. We have to be aware of His presence. He is with us hearing and looking at eve-

rything we say and do. He is witnessing our every speech and actions. The moment the aware-

ness of his continuous presence is felt, we get transformed. The thoughts which are the cause

of our speech and actions will naturally get oriented to speak and do things which have His

approval. Our ego the 'I' will get a knock and a slap. Our speech will get changed to be very

courteous and polite. We start appreciating others. We will start saying "Oh! You have done a

great job". This is because we also feel the Lord's presence in the person, whom we are ad-

dressing. We shall start saying, "I admit I was wrong". I know how difficult it is to admit our

inadequacies. But with the awareness of his presence in us it is easy. The 'I' becomes a non-

entity. When the 'I' gives room for 'We' the life turns out to be a happy passing phase.

One more thing we normally say "I did this, I said this, I did that, I said that" etc. We should

make it a habit to say "Let us do this, let us do that" etc. Let us include Him also in whatever

we say or do. I am a non-entity without Him. It is He who does everything and we are only His

instruments.

The eight words "I am not alone, Baba is with me" is a mantra that we have to repeat daily and

at all times and feel His presence with us! - Jai Sai Ram.

When I Saw Sai... By: Hebbar (Courtesy: OneIndia.in ~ Spiritual experiences)

He had come into my life through different means, many a times. Then, I was naive and did not

know the deeper meaning hidden in them. Today when I look back I understand that all was in

divine plan.

It all began years ago, my sister found her strength in Shirdi Sai. She was His ardent devotee

and so I was surrounded by His books, stories, et al. Nothing of this however, stirred 'that' chord

in me. Then one day He came into my house, when a friend visiting Shirdi gifted me His idol.

I placed Him in my prayer room with the other God's idols. Life went on....

During one of my regular TV channel surfing I chanced upon a serial based on the life of Shirdi

Sai Baba. I saw it for a few minutes and went back to surfing. After a week, again I came across

the same serial, which of course I saw for a few minutes and moved on. This happened for a

while and I gradually started watching the serial for longer. Finally there came a day when I be-

came a regular viewer of the serial.

Please tune in and

listen to non-stop

bhajans at: www.saibhaktiradio.com

Now you can view

this eNewsLetter

from iPhone at http://worldofsai.com.

P A G E 5 Y E A R 2 0 1 0 — I S S U E 0 9

“..I think of

my people

day and

night. I say

their names

over and

over again..

Miraculous powers of Shirdi Sai Baba

Extracts from: The Incredible Sai Baba, by Arthur Osborne. (In continuation from the last issue)

Like Jesus, Baba was able to cast out evil spirits from those obsessed and cure the most terrible dis-

eases, such as blindness, palsy and leprosy. For instance he allowed Bagoji, a man with advanced lep-

rosy, to come and shampoo his legs. People were afraid that Baba would himself be infected, but on the

contrary Bagoji was completely cured of his leprosy, only scars and marks remaining

By the end of last century, in spite of India's primitive communications at that time, Sai Baba's fame

was snowballing rapidly. The high peak was reached by about 1910 when an endless stream of visitors

began to flow in from Bombay and other places. Pomp and ceremony were thrust upon the rugged, un-

sophisticated old saint. Loaded down with jewellery, seated in a silver chariot with fine horses and ele-

phants, he was taken in grand and colorful procession through the streets.

Baba, it is said, disliked all this show, but he submitted to it to please the people. Yet despite the royal

treatment and the riches offered him, he continued to beg his food as of old; perhaps this was to show

that humility is more than ever necessary when wealth and pomp and power are striving to seduce the

soul of man.

Share your experience, articles or Poems.

ARTICLES FROM DEVOTEES

Throughout the time of the serial, I was glued to the TV. I felt as if I was receiving answers to many

complex questions of life. Somehow it made perfect sense and sat well on the situations and problems

in my life. Was it just a coincidence or was there something more to it? I thought the latter. Days rolled

by and one evening when I was watching the serial, I felt that Baba was asking me to visit Shirdi. I ig-

nored the call and continued with my life. Six weeks later when I was watching the serial again, I heard

Baba say "I asked you to come to Shirdi and you are ignoring me." It was a wake up call for me and I

decided to leave to Shirdi immediately.

I decided to visit the Sai Baba temple in town at the earliest. Couple of days later as I was stepping into

the temple, I saw the flower placed on Baba fall on the ground. I thought it was a good omen and I

asked Baba to make my trip to Shirdi comfortable. I then remembered what people had said very often,

"only if Baba wills, can you step on the soil of Shirdi."

That evening I informed my parents about my plan to visit Shirdi and they immediately said that they

knew a person who could be of help in Shirdi. Finally I was on my way to Shirdi not knowing what to

expect. I was not sure why Baba had repeatedly asked me to come to Shirdi. The bus journey of over 21

hours was comfortable and I reached Shirdi. The man known to my parents had taken care of every-

thing, including my stay, food and VIP darshan. This I took as a welcome sign from Him, for without

His will no one could step on the soil of Shirdi.

To be continued

P A G E 6

..Speak the

Truth and

truth alone..

SAI WITH CHILDREN Dear Children,

LOVE OF RIGHT ACTION

When Mahatma Gandhi was a young boy and was in the school, an Inspector came to their

school for inspection. A dictation was given to the pupils to see how proficient they were

in their studies. The boys were writing. The teacher was very anxious to get a good

remark from the Inspectors for his teaching. If all the pupils wrote the dictation well

without mistakes he would get a good certificate.

As the dictation was going on, the teacher was moving in between the rows of the students

and the teacher was slyly noting with the corner of his eyes whether there were any

mistakes in their writings. Suddenly he stopped near Gandhiji. Gandhiji lifted up his head

to see why the teacher was standing near him. The teacher found one mistake in the

spelling of a word in Gandhiji's writing and he made a sign to Gandhiji to look into the

notebook of the next boy and copy it.

Gandhiji understood what the teacher wanted him to do. But he knew that copying from

another boy was wrong. Even if the teacher told him, how could he do a wrong doing? He

pretended not to understand what the teacher was saying. The teacher felt very bad about

it. But Gandhiji was adamant. He was determined not to do a wrong thing. Throughout

his life he firmly observed this rule. Hence he became the great Mahatma and was

respected by all.

Source: Tell me a story

Children share your paintings, drawings, experience, articles , poems etc.

T H E G L O R Y O F S H I R D I S A I

God is not so far away. He is not in the heavens above, nor in the hell

below. He is always near you.

SPIRITUAL GEMS FROM SATCHARITA ~ CHAPTER 38

P A G E 7 Y E A R 2 0 1 0 — I S S U E 0 9

Contributed by: [email protected]

Baba's Handi - Disrespect of Shrine - Kala or Hodge-Podge - Cup of Butter-Milk.

In the last chapter we described Baba's Chavadi procession. In this we take up Baba's Handi (cooking pot)

and some other subjects.

Preliminary

Oh, blessed Sad-guru Sai, we bow to You, Who have given happiness to the whole world, accomplished

the welfare of the devotees and have removed the affliction of those who have resorted to Your Feet. Being

very liberal and being the protector and savior of the Bhaktas who surrender themselves to You, You incar-

nate yourself in this world to oblige the people and do them good. The liquid essence of Pure Self was

poured into the mould of Brahma and out of this has come out the crest-jewel of the saints-Sai. This Sai is

Atmarama Himself. He is the abode of perfect divine bliss. Having Himself attained all objects of life, He

made His devotees desire less and free.

Baba's Handi

Different sadhanas (means of accomplishments) are prescribed in our scriptures for different ages. Tapa

(Penance) is recommended for Krita age, Jnana (Knowledge) for Treta age, Yajna (Sacrifice) for Dwapara

age and Dana (Charity) for Kali (present) age. Of all the charities, giving food is the best one. We are much

perturbed when we get no food at noon. Other beings feel similarly under similar circumstances. Knowing

this, he who gives food to the poor and hungry, is the best donor or charitable person. The Taittiriya Upani-

shad says that "Food is Brahma; from food all the creatures are born and having been born, by food they

live, and having departed, into food again they enter."

Sai Ram. Anna Dan (offering of food) is accepted as the best of dana (charity) since a man needs food to

live and can't eat money. We are reminded of the story of Midas, who found that his touch turned food into

gold and requested that the power be withdrawn! Similarly we see many rich people, who have enormous

wealth unable to eat simple food! Such people are encouraged to do anna dan so that their karmic debts

are cleared and good health restored. Sai Ram.

SaidarbarUSA conducts bi-weekly satsang in Greater Philadelphia area. Next satsang is on 15th May,

2010. For more Information please visit www.saidarbarusa.org.

सत्सङ्गत्वे ननस्स्ङ्गत्वं ननस्सङ्गत्वे ननमोहत्वम ्| ननमोहत्वे ननश्चलतत्त्वं ननश्चलतत्त्वे जीवन्मुक्तः

Let us know Shirdi Sai Activities in your area

From the Editor’s Desk

“The wavering mind is stumbling block in spiritual advance-ment.”

Discover who you really are, develop your intuition and follow your heart.

Sai devotees may continue to write about their Sai-related activities, essays, articles or poetry and

send to the email id [email protected]. We shall put in our best efforts to include them in the

upcoming newsletter. Unless the author of the articles explicitly instructs not to publish his/her

email id, we will publish them as a matter of routine practice.

JAI SAI RAM

Disclaimer:

The editor does not accept any responsibility for the views expressed in the articles published. This

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Shirdi Sai Literature and Sanatana Dharma.

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Publisher and Editor: Badri Narasimhan

Editorial Team: Radhika Nistala, Kanchana Kumar, Sumathi VijayBhaskaran, Sneha Narasimhan

Email: [email protected]

BOW TO SHRI SAI ~ PEACE BE TO ALL