Sai Vichaar
 Thursday , July 20, 2006 :: Volume 9, Issue 10
 
 (In its nineth year of publication.)
 

Inspire Me | Pictures | Audio-Video | Wallpapers| Greeting-cards |SBOI-Group | Sai news

 


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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
  • Shirdi Sai wallpapers  »»
  • Shirdi Sai screen savers »»
  • Shirdi Sai  E-Greeting Cards  »»
  • Shirdi Audio:mp3, Bhajans, prayers, Aarties download »»
  • Shirdi Sai Baba's life story & miracles »»
  • 100 Shirdi Sai sayings »»
  • Sathya Sai reveal facts about Shirdi Sai »»
  • Saiashtothram »»
  • Rare Shirdi Collection-Photos »»
  • Shirdi travel Info »»
  • Books on Shirdi Sai Baba »»
  • The Saint of Shirdi: The charisma of Sri Sathya Sai Baba »»

FEATURE OF THE WEEK: How to Recognize a Perfect Master

"You will never be able to understand thoroughly how great Sai Baba is. He is the very personification of perfection. If you know Him as I know Him, you would call Him the Master of Creation" - Meher Baba (1894 - 1969)

Meher Baba said that when a sincere and patient seeker of Truth comes into contact with one who is spiritually perfect, he would observe certain outer signs that are inseparably associated with inner spiritual perfection. The most important of these signs are three: firstly, Perfection is not only "Oneness with God," but also the continual and uninterrupted experience of "Oneness in everything." A Perfect Master continually, without break, experiences and realizes his own Self as the Self in all. This inner experience objectively manifests itself in the spontaneity of love that such a one feels or expresses towards all Creation. To him nothing is attractive or repulsive. Good and bad, saint and sinner, beauty and ugliness, wisdom and idiocy, health and disease -- all are modes of his own manifestation. When embodied Perfection loves, fondles or feeds any living creature, it feels and enjoys as if it were loving, fondling and feeding its own Self. In this stage no vestige of "otherness" is left.

The second sign is the atmosphere of bliss that Perfection radiates in its immediate vicinity, an atmosphere that a stranger in search of it cannot help feeling. A Perfect Master not only enjoys infinite bliss but also experiences universal suffering. The acuteness of suffering however is nullified or subdued by the overwhelming feeling of bliss. Hence Perfection can outwardly appear blissfully calm in the face of every kind of suffering and persecution.

The third sign of Perfection is its power to adapt itself to any level of humanity. It can be as nonchalant on a throne as in a gutter. It can very naturally be thrifty with the poor, extravagant with the rich, regal with kings, wise with the learned and simple with the illiterate and the ignorant. Just as a Maser of Letters teaches English in different ways to beginners and graduate students, so also a Perfect Master adapts himself to the level of those whom he wants to uplift spiritually.

Sadguru Sainath is the foremost of the Perfect Masters Meher Baba resorted to during his quest to seek realization. Meher Baba, a great Yogi himself, felt that if one knows Sainath as he had known him, he/she would accept Him to be the Master of the Creation. Sainath of Shirdi is the rarest of such Perfect Masters who is perfect in and out.


 

CONTRIBUTED ARTICLE: The Winner

To return to other stories of Baba, there was a wrestler in Shirdi, by name Mohiddin Tamboli. Baba and he did not agree on some items, and both had a fight. In this, Baba was defeated. Thenceforth, Baba changed His dress and mode of living. He donned Kafni, wore a Langot (waistband) and covered His head with a piece of cloth. He took a piece of sackcloth for His seat, sackcloth for His bed, and was content with wearing torn and worn out rags. He always said, "Poverty is better than Kingship, far better than Lordship. The Lord is always brother of the poor" - Sri Sai Satcharitha, Chapter V - The English version by Shri N V Gunaji).

Baba lost the fight. However, He won the world and beyond. Stories of lives of saints are uniquely impregnated with interesting events. Some times the events may sound trivial, but every incident seems to have its message. Human life is constant struggle and competition. Usually, the assessment of a person or an event is shaped by the outcome and such a judgment itself in reality is the ego ratified. Sainath's contention is perhaps the same. Accomplishing victories of mundane nature may ratify one's ego, but does not necessarily guarantee the permanent happiness, a pursuit every human birth longs for. Accepting God's dispensation and long for, if any, His grace will bring permanent happiness. True winners are those who accept God's will, surrender their selves to His cause, accept their roles in His play and strive for the permanent happiness.

(Contributed by Sai Vichaar team)


 

DEVOTEES SAY:

Sai devotee
I consider myself blessed that Sai has shown me so many times that he is with me. Even after being in the United States for 7 years, I did not drive. I was very scared. But after I had my daughter, I had to drive to take her to the classes, etc. I did saptah and the next thing I know is I am on the road driving. Forgive my mistakes and be with us always Baba.

Subbarao
I relocated from US to India last year. This year I filed my US Tax returns for which I got refund money. My friend got the check and posted it to my bank. But Bank rejected it and sent to wrong address. I thought I lost the money. With Baba's miracle, the bank got the returned mail and sent it to me by mail to India. Baba this is purely because of your miracle that I got the money back.

Madhavi
My friend had lot of problems in his marriage life he was undergoing lot of stress I prayed to Saibaba and told him that if his problems get solved I will post my experience, Surprisingly next day both husband and wife talked to each other on Thursday and they are together now. Thank you Saibaba for helping me and helping them. Keep faith in Saibaba.

Rama
Recently I got sick and hospitalized. I was undergoing so much pain I was praying on one side and wishing for a death on the other and that is what I told our Baba. But Baba took care of me; I got well in no time and back to my normal. Thank you Baba for removing my suffering. Take care of me, my health and take care of all your children.

Lakshmi
My brother is getting married its just all because of you. Please take care of my family & bless each and everyone who needs you.

Suresh
I had prayed Sainath that if I get a good job I will publish this in Devotees Say section in Sai Vichaar. By the grace of Sainath I have joined a good organization one month ago as Vice President. This is nothing but Baba's miracle.

Sandhya
Om Sai Ram, as promised Baba I want to thank you immensely for helping me sort out the problem between my brothers. I was scared but in my heart I knew that I dont have to fear about anything as You are here and You will solve all the problems and You will remove all the hatred that they had in their hearts and they will be in good terms again. Thank you Baba for everything that You have done. Please help me to score good marks in all my subjects in the forthcoming exam and help me to get a good job and a house of our own so that we can live together and in good terms. Once more thank you Baba.


 

PRAYER CLUB:

Sai devotee
I am going through lots of problems please help my brother get his documents all right and please enable me to be able to pay my fee and go to University please help me.

Nikhil
Baba I had made some mistakes in my life please forgive me for my mistakes and bless me so I do not repeat this mistakes again in life and bless my small family that we stay to gather forever.

Ezhilmurugan
I am completely down in life at present. I request you to guide me and help to come over this and relieve of my problems and to overcome the problems successfully. I would like to have a peaceful life with your grace. Kindly help me to have peace of mind with your grace.

Pallavi
Baba, help us getting settled in India. And help me getting a good job in India. Please shower your blessing on our family Baba.

Anita
How many ever few days my family and I live please have it filled with good mind, healthy mind and honorable life. Our happiness is at your feet. You know how difficult life seems at time to live. Bless my husband with huge success in his career.

Tushar
Sai Baba please do bless us with a child, my wife is under severe stress and I'm afraid that if she does not conceive soon she may go into depression. You are the only hope that we have.

Annapurna
Baba, You know what's going on with my cousin. Please shower Your blessings on her son who is fighting for life for the past 4 days. Baba I heard and read your Miracles happen but please do some miracle and bring his life back. Baba I have faith on You and You can do this if you want.

Santosh
Baba we thank You for all that You have given us in life, we are very grateful to You. Baba, You know all our problems and pains. Please solve all our problems, relieve us of all our pains. Give us good health, good luck, see that we get our share of all the property, money that is due to us at the earliest without any problems, give us good name, peace of mind and success in life. Please fulfill our good wishes and give us the strength and the good fortune to come to Shirdi at the earliest and regularly, offer our prayers and fulfill our vows.

Ravi
Dear Sai Ram, so long I only know about You and your works to me. I am still running my life without any settlement in my life. I pray to You Sai please give me courage and strength to withstand all the troubles which I come across in my US Visa process. By Your blessings I got my Ph.D study opportunity in MUM (IOWA). I once again pray to you Baba give me confidence in winning Visa interview process. I should not have any hurdles in bringing myself to MUM and also my family to MUM and get a good exposure there. I will be happy to serve there in a such good University for life long. I pray to You kindly bless me with this path because I do not know other things in my life expect teaching and lecturing and research writing. Sai bless me in a good place of MUM and let me settle my life peacefully with that University for all my career paths.

Sudhir
Jai Sri Sainath, Oh Sadguru I have full faith in You and You have given everything for what I had desired in life. For every pain there was a relief, for every problem I faced there was a solution and it did work all the time, and this would have not happened without Your grace, my Sainath. Since Your miracle has been talked about in Shirdi and now spread across to many parts of the world, your bhaktas are increasing day by day in many folds. Oh Saibaba, one such bhakta of yours is a friend of mine working in the gulf. Due to the closure of his company where he was working he has been temporarily being appointed in another firm and is wating for his residence visa. There are some obsatcles which is delaying the process and my friend is real confused with the current situation as he has got his family along staying with him. I beg from You Sai to have this obstacles removed from the path of my dear friend and put him on the track of success with faith and devotion in You. On having his residence visa transfered to the new employer, my friend will post the experience in the newsletter. Thank You Sai and always shower your blessings to your bhaktas as usual.

Sai devotee
My son needs Your blessing and guidance Baba. He is in his teens. This is the age where all teenagers can go astray. Baba be with him and help him to make wise decisions in all matters. He is doing his final year in college. He seems to be getting very tired and not concentrating in his studies. This past block test he did very badly. Be with him Baba to concentrate in his studies and till he goes to the University. He has only 3 months for his finals. He has only known You as God Baba and no one else. Whenever his needs anything, he only pray to you. If he does not do well Baba he would not be able to go to the University and all his life studying will be a waste. Please, Baba be with him. He would get his result next year in March. I will thank Youu by writing in Sai Vichaar. Please help him.


 

EXPERIENCE OF DEVOTEES:

Sumesh
Dear all Sai devotees, I would like to share a recent experience in my life where Baba played a major role. I am working in a company in Bangalore and have been posted to Singapore as regional manager. But I faced lot of difficulties in getting an employment pass from the ministry of manpower. So I used to travel back to India every 15 to 25 days as my immigration is only for 14 days. Already 4 to 5 times my application was rejected without any reason and I got fed up applying again and again. I got angry at Sai Baba whom I consider as my father and every time my application is rejected. Even I broke the idol of Baba, which was given by my girlfriend at the time of leaving to Singapore. But on 23rd June 2006 I received a letter saying that my EP has been approved. I had a vow that I will submit this article when I receive my EP. In my 12 years as a staunch devotee of Shirdi Saibaba I got angry several times and will throw away Baba's photo and books but in few months I will come back to His feet again with new knowledge. Like a bird tied to string He will pull me wherever I am. I am not writing this letter because I got my EP to work in Singapore but the awareness I got that Saibaba of Shirdi is the Antharyami-who is residing within. Saibaba is not something confined to photo or idol it is all that has to be experienced. Now I can feel that He is directing me ahead in my day-to-day life. What to do and what not to do. I am sure he will help me reach my final destination. My word to Sai devotees is do not ask for anything to our Sai. Just tell your problem and let Him take the decision, as He knows what is best than us and feel the miracle.

Rupa
We were vacationing in some Caribbean islands and since I am not a swimmer, I was feeling bad that I wouldn't get to snorkel or go diving to see all the colorful fish under water. When we were discussing sightseeing plans with the hotel's front desk, the lady said she had the perfect thing for me. There was an activity where non-swimmers still get to go 25 ft under water by wearing a helmet that supplies oxygen. I didn't have to breathe differently or even know how to float, as there were railings under water to hold on to. I couldn't believe it and we took the trip. The day we were supposed to do this sea trek, it started raining and I was quite nervous too as I had never gone under water like that. The first group of people that went down while it was still raining. I just felt so bad and a bit scared that while it was raining a bit hard outside, how to get under water etc. But by the time the first group returned and it was our turn to go down, I started praying to Baba for courage and asked to take care of me. Guess what, it stopped raining and the sun came out. And I clearly felt I saw Baba's smiling face in the sky and felt so reassured all of a sudden. So instead of being terribly scared, I became excited to do this and went down saying Baba's name. I had the most awesome time watching colorful fish and didn't want to get out of water. All this and any other miracles in my life reinforce my faith in Baba. He is the kindest and most loving God. We just have to learn to put our faith in him and he will do the rest. Jai Sairam!


 

QUOTATION OF THE WEEK:

"Stay by me and keep quiet. I will do the rest".-Shri Sai Baba


 

QUESTION OF THE WEEK:

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

A. by Nainesh

 

Q. Though Baba had all eight powers, "Ashta Siddhis" at His command then why did he lose to Tamboli in a wrestling bout?

A. I feel the reason why Baba though had all eight powers, "Ashta Siddhis" at His command he lost to Tamboli in a wrestling bout, too show his devotees to be humble. Like Shree Krishna who let his mother tie him up after many attempts that failed by her when her rope fell short, finally giving into her. Baba followed this way to show I will let you beat me but I will win you in the end.

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

A. by Ratan Irani

 

Q. Though Baba had all eight powers, "Ashta Siddhis" at His command then why did he lose to Tamboli in a wrestling bout?

A. Sai Baba's losing to Tamboli was just an example he wanted to set about being humble. He always stood by the fact that being poor was better than being a king. He who could calm a storm or put down the fury of a fire did not really need to win a wrestling bout to prove anything to anyone.


 

SAI ACTIVITIES:

Live Sai bhajans by Pandit Ajitkumar Kadkade in North America
Pandit Ajitkumar Kadkade will be performing live Sai bhajans in North America in "Ek Sham Shri Sai Ke Naam", organized by Saibaba.org. To learn more about program venues, dates and Ajitkumar Kadkade, log on to www.saibaba.org and follow link to Ajitkumar Kadkade page or call at 847-931-4058.

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 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 Satsang, Bay Area, California
Shirdi Sai Parivaar invites all to join us for Satsang every Thursday 7:30 pm at Odd Fellows Temple, 20589 Homestead Road, Cupertino, CA 95014. For details please call 408-564-6704 or send email to saibandhu@yahoo.com or visit www.ShradhaSaburi.org.

Sai Satsang, New Jersey, USA
Shirdi Sai Dham, Inc regularly conducts Sai bhajans followed by Aarti and Prasad on every 1st Saturday of each month at Durga Mandir, Kendall Park, New Jersey. All are requested to kindly come and receive Baba's blessings. For more information, please call us at 609-275-1334 or visit www.shirdisaidham.org or email us at shirdisaidham@hotmail.com.

Summer Sai activities for Children, Toronto, Canada
Shirdi Sai Baba Sansthan of Canada cordially introduces "Character and Moral Values"- a unique 4 Week Summer Program for Children of all ages. The Guiding Principal of the program is "Shraddha" & "Saburi" with its curriculum based on the Teachings of our Sadguru Shri Shirdi Sai Nath. For details to enroll or volunteer visit www.shirdisainath.org or send email saileela99@yahoo.com or call 416-402-8089 or 416-895-7905.

Shirdi Sai Mandir, Toronto, Canada
The Shirdi Sai Mandir located at 2721 Markham Road, Scarborough, Ontario, M1X 1L5 (Intersection of Markham and Nashdene) is open Monday to Friday from 6:30 p.m to 8:30 p.m. and Saturday to Sunday from 10:30 a.m to 8:30 p.m. Dhoop Aarti is at 7:30 p.m. everyday. Bhajans are on Saturday from 6:00 p.m. onwards. For other temple activities and information please call 647-444-4724 or send an email to info@theshirdisaimandir.com.

Shirdi Sai parivar, Vancouver, Canada
Shirdi Sai parivar in Vancouver invites you all for Sai satsang on Thursday from 6:30 pm to 7:30 pm and first Sunday of every month from 11:30 am to 1 pm, at 8571, 118A St, Delta, V4C 6L2. For further details contact (604)592 4182 or email at sai_ish@hotmail.com.

Sai Satsangs in Singapore
Dear Sai devotees in Singapore, Shirdi Sai Baba Sansthan (Singapore) conducts regular Sai bhajans every Saturday from 6:30 p.m. at Shri Vadapathira Kalliamman Temple, Serangoon Road, Little India, Singapore. Please visit the web site http://www.saisansthan.com for more details.

Sri Shirdi Sai Akshaya Meditation, Malaysia
We have regular gatherings, bhajans on Thursdays at Sri Shirdi Sai Akshaya Meditation Centre, Brickfields, Kualalumpur, Malaysia. For more information please call 60322606030 or send email to daewanand@yahoo.com.


 

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. What does a Sai devotee learn from Shri R B Purandhare's devotion and service to Saibaba?

Humbly Yours,
The Editor


 

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From and Editor: Shirdi Sai Baba Web Site
  Shirdi Sai Baba Sanstha
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Mail: 12N950 State Route 47
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© Copyright 1998-2006 saibaba.org, Shirdi Sai Baba Sanstha - Sai Vichaar Weekly may only be redistributed in its unedited form. Written permission must be obtained to reprint or cite the information contained within this newsletter. Sai Vichaar is devoted to the philosophy and teachings of Shri Sadguru Sai Baba of Shirdi, and will take every measure to avoid topics or themes contradicting the same. Sai Vichaar team or the Shirdi Sai Baba web site is not responsible for the opinions expressed by individual contributors.