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: Everyday Monsters

The most important thing a saadhaka (spiritual aspirant) should do is to acknowledge the limitation nature has imposed on the self. Senses are double-edged swords; the ones that help realize the self are the same that takes away from the self. Self-realization at some point probably needs to encounter this predicament. Senses that hear God's glory, witness His grandeur, experience His presence are not so blessed when they involve in acts of self-indulgence, in blatant ignorance of the purpose self may have. Bombarded by lethargy, anger, lust, passion, and self-gratification even at its slightest level, human mind is in constant turmoil. This is the root cause even the greatest of aspirants have fallen to. These everyday monsters pleasing to the senses at first, lead as a sequel to indolence and self-delusion. Is there a way out? Let us see what the simple God of Sikhs and Parsees, Christians and Jains, Hindus and Muslims, and everyone that believed, said: "What do I do? Maya (delusion) troubles even the likes of me. What to say about everyone else?" By consenting to the existence of this innate limitation, the Saint Lord of Shirdi has in unequivocal terms points out what could be done. A rise is always followed by a fall. Senses that define a happy state of mind are the same ones that declare the catastrophe. Logic in its several forms ratifies the cycle of gaiety and gloom. Allah Maalik! The Master said, "be aware of the delusions, remember me always, believe truthfully in being the humblest, and realize that the real Kingship exists in the poverty". Knowing the existence of monsters must in fact bring one closer to the Master. Faith and patience, is the rope that should hold one to the pole. A calf restrained to the cow itself can never be lost.

CONTRIBUTED ARTICLE: Death and Dying

Once we are born, there is nothing more certain - among all the uncertainties of life - than death. Yet, when it comes knocking at our door, or the doors of our near and dear ones, we are often caught by surprise and thrown into a whirlpool of confusion and sorrow. Why does this event, as inevitable as the morning light, cast a shadow of darkness all around? While, traditionally, people of all nations rely on the revelations of their seers and prophets to clear the confusion regarding death, a tinge of wonder and timidity ferment in the hearts of even the most faithful. Death, shrouded in mystery, forever the burden of poets and philosophers, scriptures and dogma, has nothing to do with oblivion or loss; indeed, for those endowed with right understanding and a keen aspiration to know what death is, the once foreboding door of death opens to the eternal glory of immortality and bliss.

Sri Maharshi was born into that world of eternal Reality through the womb of death, during a brief, intense experience in his seventeenth year. From then on, he was established in the realization of his true Self and the illusion of death died forever. Here, as recorded in Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi, are a few words he spoke, from the depth of his experience, on death and dying. Mourning is not the index of true love. It betrays love of the object, of its shape only. That is not love. True love is shown by the certainty that the object of love is in the Self and that it can never become non-existent. There will be no pain if the physical outlook is given up and if the person exists as the Self. There is no death nor birth. That which is born is only the body. The body is the creation of the ego. But the ego is not ordinarily perceived without the body. It is always identified with the body.

If a man considers he is born he cannot avoid the fear of death. Let him find out if he has been born or if the Self has any birth. He will discover that the Self always exists, that the body which is born resolves itself into thought and that the emergence of thought is the root of all mischief. Find where from thoughts emerge. Then you will abide in the ever-present inmost Self and be free from the idea of birth or the fear of death.

Recall the state of sleep. Were you aware of anything happening? If the son or the world be real, should they not be present with you in sleep? You cannot deny your existence in sleep. Nor can you deny you were happy then. You are now the same person speaking and raising doubts. You are not happy according to you. But you were happy in sleep. What has transpired in the meantime that happiness of sleep has broken down? It is the rise of the ego. That is the new arrival in the jagrat (waking) state. There was no ego in sleep.

The birth of the ego is called the birth of the person. There is no other kind of birth. Whatever is born, is bound to die. Kill the ego: there is no fear of recurring death for what is once dead. The Self remains even after the death of the ego. That is Bliss - that is immortality. Training the mind helps one to bear sorrows and bereavements with courage. But the loss of one's offspring is said to be the worst of all griefs. Still it is true, pain on such occasions can be assuaged by association with the wise.

(Contributed by continued.....)

CONTRIBUTED ARTICLE: continued.....

The shock of the fear of death drove my mind inwards and I said to myself mentally, without actually framing the words: 'Now that death has come; what does it mean? What is it that is dying? This body dies, but with the death of the body am I dead? Is the body I? The body dies but the Spirit that transcends it cannot be touched by death. That means I am the deathless Spirit.' All this was not dull thought; it flashed through me vividly as living truth which I perceived directly. From that moment onwards the 'I' or Self focused attention on itself by a powerful fascination. Fear of death had vanished once and for all. Absorption in the Self continued unbroken from that time on.

(Contributed by Source: The Maharshi, May-June 1991, pub. Ramanashram)

DEVOTEES SAY:

Lakshmi
Tears was running out of my eyes while reading the answer to the question "Baba said, "What is our duty? To behave properly. That's enough!" by Ramaa Prasad. I am blessed to read answers put by Shree Sai's blessed devotees and we are blessed by Shri Sai Ram to have this blissful Sai Vichaar giving us Shree Sai Ram's teachings in the form of newsletters.

Sita
Thanks Baba for blessing me with a good job. I never expected that I would be placed in such prestigious IT Company. You have made everything so simple for me to get in. I was not put through all kind of formalities where in which you need to prove yourself worthy for a company like this. I am so surprised that everything seems so easy after I had started trusting you and stopped worrying about my life. I feel I am blessed with everything except the one thing (you know), which i am worried about. Please bless me to move further in life with full confidence.

Suhas
I was more worried about the EMI of my loan, which was higher then I expected. Due to the Sai's blessings, it was corrected by bank and apologized by the loan officer for wrong calculation. Thanks a zillion Sai.

Arpitha
Sai, thanks for everything, for being with us every moment, I can feel it, I thought to write this as I asked to change my brother life, and I hope he is getting into it, and please do take care of everyone, as u know my sister marital life matters too, help us Sai.

Sai devotee
Thanks to Baba, my sister's marriage has been fixed. He has been very merciful to us and always guiding us. Please bless the couple and grace the marriage with your presence.

Maya
Baba, when my daughter had fever, I prayed to you and gave her a glass of water mixed with udhi. Without any medicine, within half-an-hour the fever has come down to below normal. As we continue our prayers to you, please take care of my daughter like this forever.

Vidya
Sai, Thank you so much for helping me during my delivery and blessing me with a beautiful baby boy. Please help us bring our son to Shirdi for your darshan. Bless my family members and give my son good health and long life.

Geeta
Sainatha, thank you very much for curing my skin problem.

Anju
Our beloved Sri Saibaba has listened to my prayers and kindly granted my wish, once again. As promised, He is always looking out for his devotees. I love You Baba and will be eternally grateful. Thank You.

PRAYER CLUB:

Chaitanya
I write this, to pray to Baba to bless me as always, make me better with each passing day, and help me achieve some measure of success. I am thousands of miles away from my family, and I have not got home for almost two years now, but I pray that Baba blesses my family, and to give me the strength to manage my loneliness.

Madhuri
Sairam, Baba my grand mother is not feeling well please save her and cure her.

Vasanthi
I am very worried about my daughter and every advise of mine is taken wrongly. Please correct her behavior and let her realize good from bad. Please bless her and our family to get over hard times. Please bless us with peace and always keep us in your mercy. Om Sai Ram.

Ganesh
Dear Sai nath please make me hear well as my hearing problem is still persisting since years. I am being ridiculed by every one and also feel ashamed of this problem.

Mahalakshmi
Bless with a child. Oh Bhagwan improve my uterus condition and make it strong.

Chandrasekhar
Please bless me to get my immigration process inline and also with the projects I am working to be success.

Nirmala
Baba please bless me so that I have a respectful job and am able to serve my family.

Lalitha
Baba, please help my husband in giving up his smoking habit. He knows it is bad for health but it is taking a while. We have been telling him patiently all this while. Please Baba, as I prayed to you, I am giving up eating a favorite vegetable of mine until he gives it up.

Mala
Baba my husband has to have another test done this Friday. Please let us have faith at your holy feet for a miracle.

Monica
Please bless us with a baby Baba. Shower your blessings on us. Dear devotees please spend a minute to pray for us.

Gokulakrishnan
Please help my friend to overcome his stammer. Give him confidence to face whenever he gets it.

EXPERIENCE OF DEVOTEES:

Sreedevi
Dear Sai devotees, first I want to express my humble thanks to Baba, there are no words to express my gratitude to Him. So far He has been taking care of my family, as His own children, the miracles He has shown to us cannot be believed unless you experience yourself. When my in-laws where visiting us in US, my father-in-law had a stroke in the airport itself, he was saved by one of the fellow passengers who did CPR and was rushed to the nearby hospital. During a critical one-month stay in the hospital, doctors were not hopeful of his survival or a recovery, but due to the grace of Baba, he not only recovered but also survived for five years after that. Recently last year my mother-in-law visited us, but a month later, she had cardiac arrest out of blue and was rushed to emergency. Doctors said she is going survive only 30 minutes, my husband and myself were shocked, but we were confident that whatever happening is going to end because Baba is going to take care of her. She stayed at the hospital for over a month and after few weeks of recovery went back to India and visited Shirdi and is doing well. Not only these two incidents there are plenty of others where we are blessed by Baba' grace. Baba is there for everyone; if you totally submit yourself and have Shradha and Saburi you are going to reap great fruits of joy. Thank you Baba for giving me this chance to share my experience with others.

Mudit
This is a magic done by Sai Baba. I was going for an interview on my motorcycle with my wife sitting behind me, suddenly a scooter (two wheeler) coming from the opposite direction lost his control and hit the front wheel of my bike. (There was no divider on road). I lost control and was about to crash on left side of road and I don't know what happened some power a kind of bubble came under my bike and pulled me up from the road and then my bike went a bit straight and then down on right side. Same thing happened again this power (definitely Sai Baba) pulled me again from crashing and we went straight on to the heap of mud. Not even a scratch on our bodies. Definitely Sai Baba came to our rescue and you'll be happy to know that the very next day we were to leave for Shirdi and everything went so well. Sai Baba always comes to the rescue whenever we are in trouble. Jai Sai Ram.

Dinesh
Sai baba has really blessed my life! My wife and I were trying for a child for a long time. Two years ago, I went to Shirdi with my brother and this year, we have a perfect little boy. Baba, we are so grateful to you! On another note, my work has been very stressful this year. The other day, there was a big problem at work, which I did not know how to resolve. I prayed hard to Baba and by the time I got to work, the whole problem had been solved! Baba, thank you so much for all the blessings you have given me.

Ramkumar
I had prayed for the following things to Baba and vowed to post in this newsletter once he fulfills my wishes. (1) To cure the illness of my friend's parents without the necessity of a surgery - Ma Sai had obliged by curing them with just a simple procedure instead of the operation. (2) We were traveling to India and were worried about the terror alerts to flights from India and also the recent liquid article restrictions on board and so prayed to Sai to assure a safe trip - Mai Sai not only took care of it but the most wonderful thing is that He traveled all along with us in the form a picture in that day's news paper article about Sai which a fellow passenger had carried with him. We were totally moved to see His picture first the moment we took our seat inside the flight. Baba, please forgive me for posting it a little late. Wonderful are Your ways! Bless us forever.

QUOTATION OF THE WEEK:

"Let us do our prescribed duty and surrender our body, mind and five pranas (life) to the Guru's feet. Guru is God, all pervading. To get this conviction, strong unbounded faith is necessary."-Shri Sai Baba

QUESTION OF THE WEEK:

Q. Question of the week given below....

A. by .

Q. Saibaba said to Smt. Radhabhai Deshmukh, "Oh mother, My Guru never taught Me any Mantra, then how shall I blow any Mantra in your ears?". Comment?

SAI ACTIVITIES:

Shirdi Sai Temple of Chicago and Suburbs, Illinois, USA
Shirdi Sai temple is open daily from 8:00 a.m to 9:00 p.m (Winter hours). Daily program includes Kakad Arathi at 8 a.m. followed by Abhisek. Madhayana Arathi at 12 noon, Dhoop Arathi at 6 p.m. and Shej Arathi at 9 p.m. Archana, Homams, Sahasranama and sponsored poojas continue in between the Arathis. To request a pooja for yourselves, your friends and family, please call. Devotees can request water (Abhishek Jal) from the Holy bathing of Baba by sending us an email or by phone. Temple is located 25 minutes drive west of Schaumburg on intersection of IL Route 47 and Plank Road in Hampshire, IL. For more information please call 847-931-4058 or send email to maildrop@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.

Shirdi Saibaba temple, Los Angeles, CA
Devotees in Los Angeles area are informed about Sri Shirdi Saibaba temple in Los Angeles area. Please visit www.shirdisaila.org for more details.

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 participate by sending your contributions as well as suggested topics for the same.

The Question of the week for this week is,

Q. Saibaba said to Smt. Radhabhai Deshmukh, "Oh mother, My Guru never taught Me any Mantra, then how shall I blow any Mantra in your ears?". Comment?

Humbly Yours,
The Editor

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