Sai Vichaar - Thursday, Oct 15, 2009

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Sai Vichaar
Thursday, Oct 15, 2009 :: Volume 12, Issue 23
(In its twelfth year of publication.)
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
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: Shake the Fear!

Fear is one of the qualities that could drive a person to the level of insanity. Fear manifests in different ways and forms and may lead to other vicissitudes such as anger, greed, lust, etc. Freeing oneself of the fear that lies deep within becoming the cause of various unwanted traits is a must for any serious spiritual seeker. Fear of the unknown is the biggest cause of misery. People make their lives miserable because of fear. Fear can be fought with Faith and Patience. With Faith that all that will happen will be for one's own good and patience that it will happen when the time comes for the event to happen will go a long way to lessen the agony and pain that one harbors in their lives.

Shri Sainath gave the lesson of Faith and Patience not as mere words to be remembered once a while or read in books, but to continuously put them into practice. Though very easy to read and understand the dictionary meaning, they are the most difficult to practice in one's life. As one tries to practice these two qualities, they discover that the harder it gets to deal with them. At times it goes to such an extent that Baba's dictum seems more philosophical than practical. It is for this reason that Baba left a series of stories to serve as an example to inspire his followers.

Patience is merely not just waiting but also actively believing that God is with them and will help them against all odds. Keeping faith alive against all odds in prayer and experiencing all difficulties that may come is Patience. As Baba says, Faith and Patience are like twin sisters, one cannot live without the other. Where there is no faith there is no patience and vice versa. The difficulties that do come in our lives are a result of our own past actions and the results of those have to borne as explained by Baba in Satcharita. So there is no point in arguing why difficulties or unhappiness comes, it is a fact of life as any other fact. Dealing with it in the way prescribed by Baba is the key to burden and live it when sorrow knocks on the door.

When one walks on the path laid by Baba it is invariably noted that slowly but surely the fear that was lurking behind slowly disappears and one starts becoming free of the burden and sing joyously in honor of the master who is ever ready to lead all those who approach Him.



CONTRIBUTED ARTICLE: S.N. Kharkar

SHRIDHAR NARAYAN KHARKAR, aged 57, Kayasta Prabhu, Accountant, Thana, Says :

My earliest period, that is infancy, was well stocked and fed with religious ideas and ideals by the pious prudence of my grandfather. When I was thus developing the orthodox side of my religious study and practice, Mr. Appa Kulkami, Deputy Collector, a very pious soul, showed me the picture of Sai Baba that he was devotedly attached to. That was my first contact with Baba. Very soon after that I got from Mr. Dabholkar a picture of Baba, a number of Sai Lila Masiks and a packet of Baba's Udhi that came on a day. I was unwell; and on the second day, I got all right and started my worship of Baba, which steadily grew thenceforward.

The beginning of my faith in Baba was marked by a remarkable dream or vision.

The picture I got from Mr. Dabholkar I took to my Pooja room but when I was taking it near the picture of the Akkalkot Saint that I was already worshipping, some impulse made me withdraw the new picture. 'Hallo! This is the Moslem's picture. How could it be placed next to the holy Hindu saint?' So thinking I kept it apart, a little distance from (and not in the same group with) Akkalkot Maharaj's picture.

I had a dream that night. In the morning, I first forgot all about the dream but when I began to worship I at once recalled the details of my night dream. In the dream. I saw a fakir robbed like Sai Baba coming towards the oti or veranda on which I and some one else were sitting. I got up to welcome that fakir. Perhaps I was going to make some invidious distinction. At any rate to prevent such a distinction being made, the person who was next to me told me this (Sai Baba) is not different from Akkalkot and I was directed to treat Him on the same footing as Akkalkot Maharaj. Recalling the dream, I rearranged the pictures and placed Sai Baba's picture along with Akkalkot Maharaj's and worshipped Him.

By Baba's kindness, devotion to Sai Baba has increased by leaps and bounds not only with me but also amongst all the members of my family. I read up all available books on Sai Baba and my wife and children all have taken to Baba worship and show such a great zeal that in case I fail to attend to arati or pooja of Baba, someone else is ready to take it up.

At first, there appeared to be some exceptions to my felicity in this respect. My mother was living away from me for many years. But, by the grace of God and Baba, she came to live with me. But at first, seeing the worship I paid to Baba's Picture and my visits to Shirdi she was displeased on the ground that Baba was a Moslem. But, Baba's kindness towards her and me was most remarkable. He worked a gradual change in her feelings. As she was not for Baba, I took other members of my family with me to Shirdi but not my mother. After 2 or 3 such years, i.e. in 1933, she wished to go to Shirdi and pay her respects to Baba's shrine, and asked my wife and daughter to see that she was taken to Shirdi. I was very glad to see the change worked in her. Baba's kindness made a great change in her attitude. Extremely orthodox though she was, she dropped her orthodox scruples when devotion to Sai Baba suggested the contrary course. She was well impressed with all she saw at Shirdi.

The visit to Shirdi was none too soon. Shortly after our return from Shirdi, she breathed her last at my residence at Thana. It was a great kindness on the part of Baba to have brought a change in her and given her darsan of the Samadhi just in time before she passed away. I can easily multiply instances of Baba's kindness to me and my family. But, it is needless. It is enough to say that I feel Baba is guiding us and watching over our interests and actions in everything.

I shall give only two instances to show how other members of my family are sharing the kind and merciful care that Baba bestows on his own. My second son. Govind. Was hungering and thirsting to have the joy of visiting Baba's Samadhi and Dwarkamai at Shirdi. So in 1934 for Ramnavami celebration when our family friends Mr. G.B.Datar and family were going to Shirdi my son accompanied them. When he went to Dwarkamai (i.e.) the mosque, he was alone with Baba's eyes from the portrait seem to pierce into you, wherever you may stand in the hall. My son gazed with rapture at the portrait and closed his eyes. He heard then a distinct and audible voice (Have you come?) That is the parental affectionate greeting he had. He opened his eyes and found himself alone. There was no other to utter those words of welcome, but Baba. About 8 years back, my daughter was in the family way and we had taken her to our village at Khar (some 2 or 3 miles off Thana). When the delivery was to take place, there was no proper medical aid. My relations were blaming me for not providing a providing at Thana for the delivery. My wife came and told me that the delivery was obstructed. The child had evidently died and could not easily come out. There was great pain and anxiety was felt by the patient and by all of us. It was midnight or rather 2A.M. when the condition was reported to be so painful and anxious, I was helpless. Suddenly, it dawned upon me that I had a safe resource in Baba's Udhi. My wife took the Udhi and applied it to my daughter. Within 30 minutes or one hour of the application the child came out. It was dead, but my daughter's life was saved and our anxieties were at an end. A doctor came in the morning and wondered how it had come out. He thought that ill trained people like the midwife would have thrust their hands in and created danger of septic and possible post-parturition troubles. He was surprised to learn that mere Udhi without any physical interference resulted in the expulsion of the child, the placenta and everything.

All my girls take part in the service of Baba and daily perform their arati. A week or so before my daughter's delivery, my son informed me that Baba had just appeared in his dream and called our "Nana, Nana. (meaning myself) Where is he? Why is he afraid? Apply my Udhi". Though my son had told me this. I did not recall it at the time of my daughter's serious troubles: but instinctively I resorted to the aid of Baba's Udhi. Long afterwards I thought over the matter and found that in my son's dream, Baba had given me a forewarning of the impending danger and shown me the way out of it. And when I failed to realize this at the critical moment, I was made unconsciously to utilize the very way He had mentioned.

(Source:Devotees Experiences of Saibaba by BV Narasimha Swami ji Dated 1st September, 1936)



DEVOTEES SAY:

Shankar
Sai You know we are so close that what I do is known to you, I am seeking alliance to my Daughter, Please be with us, and make the right decisions, so that her life is settled. You have given us your love and attention. Thankyou and always shower your blessings on US.

Devotee
Thank you Saibaba for helping my mother get the visa. She is new to all the procedures and has to do everything by herself after the demise of my father. She is an ardent devotee of Saibaba and He always helps her.

Preeti
Baba thank you so much Baba for listening to all my prayers...with your blessing I m with my husband today. I never thought this would come true..Thank u Baba...



PRAYER CLUB:

Saby
Please be with my dad during his operation. Please help him every moment and Please make the operation successful. Please make him feel comfortable and bless him.

N Karnad
Baba two months back my dad got brain attack he lost memory, speech, right leg and right hand. By your grace he got memory back. Slowly he is recovering now. Please help him, bring him back to normal. Daily he is suffering a lot u know everything about my dad. Bless him with good health. Bless total family members.

Parthasarathy
Sainath, in many critical occasions you lent your both hands and helped me. From April 209 I was out of job. Please bless me to get a good job and settle in my life.

Mangamma
Please help my son with his nosebleeds and cold. Give him strength so he can fight and get more immunity. Baba please help baby with constipation problem. Baba please help me walk in the right direction,

Alka
Pl bless me Baba with a good job and happiness in life



EXPERIENCE OF DEVOTEES:

Naveena
I have submitted my experience, which was posted on 8 of Oct in Sai Vichaar. I mentioned that my contract was ended due to the Budget Issues but I had left that job in good terms. After I had the baby I was home for like 6 weeks and Miracle happened when I got the Job at the place where I was dreaming about. Baba gave me in right time. I can definitely say that God knows what to give and what not and everything is for our benefit only. So patience here is very imp and Shradda too. Koti pranams Baba....Words wont be enough to express my feelings.

Usha Nanda
Namaskar Baba. Thank you very much for solving and saving us by withdrawal of attachment of our current account by sales tax authorities due to administrative delays which would have paralyzed our operations otherwise."Deivam manusha rupena" was true in our case where the DC of sales tax who was unsure whether meeting with his higher ups would boomerang back pushed our case quite strongly that we came out of the problem immediately. Before approaching the sales tax authorities I had appealed to Saibaba ji that if things get resolved I would post it in Sai Vichaar.

Chithra
Baba, You have showered your Grace on us time and again. We have no words to thank You with. Thank You very much for taking care of my father-in-law's health. Thank You very much for helping us sell our house despite the troubling housing market. We were extremely worried and desperate when the first deal did not go through. The deal was off just a couple of days before the closing. We were really shocked. But You came to our rescue like You always do. You sent this other young couple and helped us to sell our house. You also took care of our financial strain. Thanks to You, we did not incur debt from our relatives and were able to manage funds with all of what You have given us. Baba, somewhere in our previous births we have had Your Blessings and You continue to protect us and guide us. As always we needed Your Blessings and we pray that You would always be with us to take care of us.



QUOTATION OF THE WEEK:

"Baba required very little food for Himself and what little He wanted, was obtained by begging from a few houses. But when He took it into His mind to distribute food to all, He made all preparations from beginning to end, Himself. He depended on nobody and troubled none in this matter - Sri Sai Satcharitha"



QUESTION OF THE WEEK:

Q: How does a Sai devotee stay grounded amidst the swell of spiritual ego?

A. Your answer can go here.



SAI ACTIVITIES:

Sai Bhajans by Shailendra Bhartti at Sri Shirdi Sai Temple Chicago and Suburbs, Illinois, USA
Sri Shirdi Sai temple will be hosting bhajan sandhya by Shailendra Bhartti vocalist and well known among sai devotees for his audio rendering of Shri Sai Satcharitra in Hindi on Thursday October 22nd from 7:30 pm to 9 pm followed by Shej Arathi and prasad. Please attend and partkae in this evening dedicated to Shri Sainath. For more information please call 847-931-4058 or send email to maildrop@saibaba.org.

Sri Saibaba Mandir, Minneapolis, MN
Sri Saibaba Mandir is located in Minneapolis, MN at 1835 Polk St NE, Minneapolis, MN 55418. The mandir is open 7 days a week in the evenings from 6:30 pm to 9:00 pm and during morning hours from 9 am to 12:30 pm, everyday. Satsangs are conducted every Sunday mornings, 9 am to 12:30 pm. Please call 612-789-7729 for more information on mandir activities, events and other information.

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.

Shirdi Sai Jalaram Mandir, Houston TX
This temple was inaugurated on August 28th 2009 with idols of both the saints Shri Sant Jalaram and Shri Shirdi Sai Baba. The temple is open for darshan and arathis all day. It is located in Sugarland and more information can be obtained by calling 281-433-4706.



FROM THE EDITORS KEYBOARD:

Please visit the Sai activities section for details of upcoming events. To post an event in your temple, please send details by email. We regret the inconvenience caused due to disruption of distribution of Sai Vichaar to some users. We are continually striving to overcome the technical challenges being faced and hope to resolve them in the next week or so. We thank you for your patience and support. Please check your email folders before deleting to make sure Sai Vichaar is not delivered into Spam mail. It will also help greatly if you send us email to update any changes in your email accounts as that will prevent us from sending Sai Vichaar to closed or discontinued email accounts.

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.

"Question of the week" for this week is

Q. How does a Sai devotee stay grounded amidst the swell of spiritual ego?


Humbly Yours,
The Editor

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