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.

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IN THIS ISSUE:

• FEATURE OF THE WEEK
• CONTRIBUTED ARTICLE
• DEVOTEES SAY
• PRAYER CLUB
• EXPERIENCE OF DEVOTEES
• QUOTATION OF THE WEEK
• QUESTION OF THE WEEK
• SAI ACTIVITIES
• FROM THE EDITORS KEYBOARD

FEATURE OF THE WEEK: What selflessness!

Sai Baba of Shirdi was known as a great mystic saint when he was in flesh. One curious story would be enough to indicate his saintliness.

One day, a man came to him begging for his blessing and some alms. Sai Baba told him, "I shall give you a rupee a day, if you would sit here the whole day long from morning till night and abuse me in front of all my devotees". The man was surprised and readily picked up the challenge saying, "It is the easiest thing in the world".

The first day, his voice was in its fullest strength. He abused and slandered the fakir to his heart's content. None knew that he was paid for it. The second day, he poured out the abuses, but they became distinctly feeble and weak. On the fourth day, he refused to carry out the fakir's orders. "I would rather go without your rupee and strive than slander a man like you."

The principal object of this great fakir was to drive away fear from the hearts of his devotees and to take upon himself their burdens. What selflessness!

(Source: "How I found God", by Yogi M.K.Spencer)

CONTRIBUTED ARTICLE: See Sai!

"Those who see Me in everyone and knows Me thus is blessed", said Sai Baba. How does this translate to practical terms? May be this is a yardstick one might use to see how realized they are spiritually. Myth does not allow one to drop everything that he/she acquired at an instance and embark on a spiritual journey or realize Sai in everything that is heard, seen, and felt. While part of the myth is due to the natural orientation the souls with the human body have to endure, significant effects do come from the slips of ignorance even for those who are vigilant. Saadhana should be such that the growth is progressive and the results permanent. It may not come with an ego-driven pursuit of an entity that is hard to explain, much less realized. On the other hand, the goal may lie next waiting to be realized. Shri Sai Satcharitha narrates several incidents supporting the thought that Sai is ubiquitous and some were made to realize this, the episode of Laxmibhai and the dog to cite an example. The principle of non-dual nature of the supreme has never been demonstrated in such simple terms. Blessed are the followers who realize this aspect of Sai tatva. Blessed are those who strive to see His dispensation at every encounter of life, animate and inanimate. Blessed are those who see Sai in every being and treat everyone as they would treat Him. Here lies the practical terms of egolessness and humility, very virtues Sainath stands for.

(Contributed by Sai devotee)

DEVOTEES SAY:

Haritha
Thank you Baba for bestowing on us everything we wished for. We asked for a nice house although there was no possibility of the same to get materialized but nothing is impossible unto you. Everything has fallen in to right place at right time, it surely is a miracle. My family and I feel blessed by you and we always feel your presence there around us.

Kamal
Sai Baba thankyou for giving my nephew the job he wanted. He really worked hard to get this job. I had promised to write the success of his interview. I finished reading Sai Satricharitra yestarday and today we got the good news. Thankyou Baba. Always be with us and protect us.

Radhika
My koti pranams to Sai Prabhu. You have answered my prayers Sainath. I have been praying to Sai Dewa to bless my daughter with a child. Each time she called me from US, I used to beg Sai to answer and bless her with a child. When I got to know she had conceived I pleaded Sai to protect her like his own child and take good care of her. He was with us always. Me and my husband came to US to see our daughter without any delay, and His loving grace was with us and my daughter always. On 20th October 2006 she was blessed with a beautiful baby boy. Normally they don't allow more than one person to be with the patient other than the husband, but one of the doctors asked me to go in and be with her. All this time I was holding the Sai Satcharita in my hand and praying to Him as my daughter was supposed to deliver only on November 26th. The doctor had to do a C-sect for her. All this time I was sitting by her head and holding the book and showing her Sai's photo. She is also a great devotee of Sainath. I am even more happy as the baby was discharged on Thursday, Baba's day, I had just finished my afternoon Aarthi then. This shows that Sai was with us always in some form or other. His Udi which I got from Shirdi was with us and I gave Udi in water to drink before she left home and in the hospital. Sainath please bless the little one with good health and let him also be your ardent devotee. When we all go to India I want them all to visit Shirdi as also my daughter wishes. Please make it possible Sainath. We bow to You and hold onto Your lotus feet, Sainath.

Anup
Jai Sai Ram. I am working in Nigeria. This time while coming from India I brought my mother with me on visit. Due to not knowing the right procedure I brought her on Visitor Visa without knowing that the same cannot be extended. While it came to expire after three months I was sure the same can be extended again for three more months, so I got changed the air ticket of my mother accordingly. But to my surprise when I contacted the Immigration, they informed us that as per present rule of Immigration this visa can not be extended. I tried from all sources but all in vein. Finally I prayed Sai Baba and to my surprise I had one way to represent my case to Controller General at Abuja but for that the time was not enpugh as well it was quite expensive to tavel to Abuja and meet him. I again prayed Sai Baba to help and again to my surprise the local controller had agreed to present the case to Contoller General and within two days I got the visa extended as a special case. Thanks to Baba who is always there to help us.

Maitreyi
These days I am not able to concentrate. I am getting so many questions in my mind about existence of God etc. I know You are there for sure but I am not able to control my thoughts. Please help me to come out of these illusions and attain great spirituality. I know without You I could not be here where I am now. Thanks Sai for everything You have given me. Please shower Your blessings as always on everyone and bless everyone with good thoughts and health.

Kanthy
I am very thankful to Baba for Your blessings on my husband to get permission to sit for exams. Baba please be along with us and guide us to right path.

PRAYER CLUB:

Rajyalakshmi
I am really disturbed and depressed with the family problems. Shower Your blessings so that I can have a very smooth and peaceful delivery in Singapore without any family tensions and misunderstandings.

Sampa
Baba I want to be something, I have failed many times in life. Baba please give me a chance where I can succeed, make my parents feel proud of me.

Rajani
I am really stressed with my health problems, Baba . Please don't be angry on me. Please be with me and my family always.

Nirmala
Baba, by Your grace I have become pregnant. Please bless my husband with good health Baba. He is having a skin problem. He started taking medicine for that, now he is having backache also. Please bless him with good health, Sai.

Sandhya
Please help my husband to overcome his addictions and his short temper. Please give me some more patience. Baba, I want my life to be peaceful, it is in Your hands.

Satbir
I have been married since five years but have very restrained relations with my husband. Please bless us with a happy married life. Also I want my son to be admitted to a good school.

Kumari
My mother is feeling very sad about my brother. Please remove his problems as soon as possible Sainaatha. Please help Baba, please improve his devotion towards You.

Ramkumar
Of late, bad thoughts have been troubling me and I beg You ernestly, Baba please be with me during this difficult time and protect me. Please do not let durbudhi take control of me and drift away from Your Lotus Feet. Shower Your motherly love on me and guide me in the right path.

Sai devotee
Baba you know what my husband is going through and I am doing everything to help him with his problem with a lot of patience. I need You to help him and also give me strength to work with him as well so that we can come over this hurdle together.

EXPERIENCE OF DEVOTEES:

Rohini
Three days back, my brother called from USA that he lost his passport. The whole family was very worried about him. I prayed to Sai baba and asked him to help my brother to get his passport. He also lodged a complaint in Indian embassy. He flew from Miami to Chicago. Once he reached Chicago, he found that the passport was missing. After the weekend, he drove back to Miami again for some official work. Suddenly, it struck to him that he might have left it in the cab, which he took to the airport for flying to Chicago. When he called the rental services office, the concerned cab driver searched and found his passport. The driver handed it over in the office. Saibaba was always there for us when we sought his help. Today morning, we got a call from my brother that he got his passport. Baba, thank you so much for everything that you did. My brother is a very good soul and help him all the time. Kindly be with us all the time and shower your blessings on our family and help me in fulfilling my desires.

Hitesh
We are devotees of Baba for long time. We live in US. Recently one of the great miracle occurred in our life and we want to share with so many hundreds of devotees like us. Baba gave us a wonderful baby boy on 21st August 2006. Our two months old son suffered from severe ear/stomach pain for last two days. He was not drinking milk. We did not know what to do. Even the doctors were not able to give us solution to make him drink milk. Yesterday we went to the pooja room in our home and prayed to Baba and gave milk with pinch of udi in it. Miracle of miracles after eight hours our son drank milk inside the pooja room. Even now he is drinking milk only with Baba's udi. We thank our God Sai for all the help and guidance He has given to us so far and ask Him to continue His blessings on us. From this incident we came to know that Baba is always shadowing his devotees every minute even if we are across seven seas.

Ramkumar
I wish to share my experience regarding Baba's motherly love. I had completely forgot to pay my personal property tax this year and yesterday, I got a letter from my County saying that my account is delinquent and asked me to pay the tax immediately or face legal actions. I was very concerned and I had never been in such a situation. I prayed to Baba that everything should go on well as I was going to pay the tax the first thing in the morning. Today I went to the County office and paid them and fortunately, was told that I would not face any issues with the credit. The miracle is that if this letter had come a little later, we would have been in serious trouble as we are going on a month long vacation and would not have noticed it. The County might have seized our property and also filed legal claims. Baba, being a kind mother for us all made sure that the notice came before we left on vacation and thereby taught me a lesson to be more cautious in the future. I had prayed to Baba that I would post it once everything is resolved. Pranams Baba. Please protect us as ever!

QUOTATION OF THE WEEK:

The love that a chaste woman bears to her husband is sometimes compared to that which a disciple bears to his master (Guru). Yet the former falls far short of the latter, which is incomparable. No one, whether he be father, mother, brother or any other relation, comes to our aid in attaining the goal of life (self-realization).-Sri Sai Satcharita

QUESTION OF THE WEEK:

Q. Why did Baba call Masjid as Dwarakamai? What is the significance of Dwarakamai?

A. by Geeta

The question this week was about Dwarakamai, the place where our dear Sai Baba used to sit. Baba sat here and all his devotees came to meet him, to some Baba gave Udi, some He gave His blessings by touching their back or head, some He used to give messages either directly or through some verses from Bhagvad Gita or similar books. In Sai Satcharita, Chapter 22, where Baba addresses his devotee Balasaheb Mirikar, Balasaheb was going to Chitali for some office work. He reached the office at 9:00 am. Since his office people had not come he and Shama, another devotee of Sai Baba, who had accompanied Balasaheb, on Baba's instructions, sat chitchatting at the Maruti temple. When he was waiting for his office people to come, a serpent came and sat on his upper dhotar. Shama and some other people came and killed the snake. This was predicted by Sai Baba when Balasaheb came to meet him before leaving for Chitali. He had asked Shama to accompany Balasaheb because of this. Before leaving Baba asked Balasaheb "Do you know Dwarakamai" - Dwarakamai is the place when Baba sat and his devotees gathered to listen to Him. She wards away all the dangers and anxieties from your life. The Masjidmai its presiding Deity, is very merciful whom she will save in calamities. Once a person sits on here lap, all his troubles are over. The person who rests in her shade get bliss. By warding off the danger from Balasaheb's life he protected Balasaheb from death. The significance of Dwarakamai is very great. Lets imagine that we are sitting on her lap and enjoying the bliss that Balasaheb and other devotees of Sai Baba received.

Q. Why did Baba call Masjid as Dwarakamai? What is the significance of Dwarakamai?

A. by SL Abhyankar

Baba was incarnation of God. Most popular amongst Dashavataras is that of Lord Krishna. Krishna created Dwarika to be the safe abode for Yadavas. Likewise the mosque was and is the abode, where devotees get blessed with the feeling of safety and security against all their travails. Since Dwarika connotes a place, where devotees feel secure, because God lived there in person, it was only apt of Baba to call the mosque as Dwarika. That is in tune with His assurance, "Maajyaa Samaadheechee Paayaree Chadhela | Dukkha hee hareyl sarva tyaachey ||" (Whosoever will climb up the steps of the place, where I Rest in Peace, the person will be blessed with alleviation of all his travails).

There is another beautiful reference in the 27th chapter of Sai Satcharita, where Baba has succinctly suggested His being incarnation of Lord Krishna. When telling of previous births of Mrs. Khaparde, He said, "She was a cow in one of her previous births and how much I relished her milk then!!" Does it not become the story from Krishnavatar in Vrindavan - Go-maataa and Go-paala?

Baba was incarnation - He was Shri Ram to the lady of the Madrasi family mela and also to the doctor, He was Lord Shiva to Megha, He was Lord Datta, whom Nanasaheb had overlooked when coming to Shirdi, with Binnivale, who was highly devoted to Lord Datta, He became Kaka Puranik for Panditji, who dared to apply Tripundra on Baba's forehead, He became Gholap-guruji for Muley Shastri, and Swami Samarth gave Drushtanta to Bhai in Mumbai that now I am in Shirdi. He became Vithu Patil for Kaka Dikshit and He drenched Dasganu Maharaj with the Kumbha waters of Prayag. In mythology, reference to a place, where devotees were secure, comes only in Bhagawat Puran of Krishnavatar. Baba gave that name of Dwarika to the mosque.

Q. Why did Baba call Masjid as Dwarakamai? What is the significance of Dwarakamai?

A. by S Ramani

From the days when Shri Sai Baba came to Shirdi with a marriage party, he stayed till he attained mahasamadhi, at the dilapidated old mosque which he called as Dwarakamai. Sai Baba always encouraged every one to practice their own beliefs and at the same time live let live united. By calling the mosque as Dwarakamai, Sai Baba symbolized unity in diversity. He always uttered that God is only one and is above all human beings. True to its name, Dwarakamai gave shelter to one and all who reached her floor.

Skanda Purana explains the meaning of Dwarakamai as the place doors are open to all people of the four castes for accomplishing the four purusharthas (objects of man's life) viz. dharma (righteousness), artha (means of living), kama (fulfillments of legitimate desires) and moksha (release from ignorance). The significance of Dwarakamai can be better understood by Sai Baba's own saying "Dwarakamayi wards off all dangers and anxieties from her children. Highly merciful is the Masjid Ayi, she is the mother of those who place their entire faith on her. If they are in danger, she will save them. Once a person climbs into her lap, all his travails will be over. He who sleeps in her shade attains bliss". Dwarakamai was open to all living beings, humans of all religions and castes and even animals of all types. Thereby Sai Baba established that God is one. All were allowed to worship there according to their religion.

SAI ACTIVITIES:

Shirdi Sai Temple of Chicago and Suburbs, Illinois, USA
Shirdi Sai temple is open daily from 7:00 a.m to 9:00 p.m (Summer hours). Daily program includes Kakad Arathi at 7 a.m. followed by Abhisek. Madhayana Arathi at 12:00 noon, Dhoop Arathi at 6:00 p.m. and Shej Arathi at 9:00 p.m. Archana, Homams, Sahasranama and sponsored poojas continue in between the Arathis. To request a pooja for yourselves, your friends and family, please call. Devotees can request water (Abhishek Jal) from the Holy bathing of Baba by sending us an email or by phone. Temple is located 25 minutes drive west of Schaumburg on intersection of IL Route 47 and Plank Road in Hampshire, IL. For more information please call 847-931-4058 or send email to maildrop@saibaba.org.

Shri Saibaba Mandir, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Saibaba activities in Minneapolis were conducted at Shirdi Saibaba Prayer center since the year 2002. Now, with the grace and blessings of Baba and the support of devotees, a new Saibaba Mandir has begun to function at 1835 Polk St NE, Minneapolis from July 11th 2006. Please visit www.hamaresai.org for all details.

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 or visit the website www.shirdisaidallas.org.

Shirdi Sai Center in Bay Area, CA
By Baba's grace, Shirdi Sai Parivaar is pleased to announce the grand opening of Shirdi Sai Center in Bay Area. The center is located at 897-B East Kifer Road, Sunnyvale, CA 94086. For more information please call 408-564-6704 or 408-705-7904.

FROM THE EDITORS KEYBOARD:

Sai Vichaar thanks you for your support for the Question of the Week feature. This feature is intended to initiate useful discussion on topics related to Sai philosophy, His message, and Sai devotion. Please send your suggested topics for the same.

The "Question of the week" for this week is,

Q. Why did Baba call Masjid as Dwarakamai? What is the significance of Dwarakamai?

Humbly Yours,
The Editor

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