How can we pray to our Guru?

We have to always try to bring Shri Sai before our mental vision, and re-

member him at every occasion possible. His teachings have to be prac-

ticed as we lead our life, as mere reading is of no use. We have to think

and carry our what we read. Mere book learning without the grace of

Guru and self realization is of no avail.

There are nine different methods which we could adapt depending on our

life style - Hearing about Shri Sai (Shravana), Praying to Shri Sai

(Kirtana), Remembering Shri Sai (Smarana), Restoring to Shri Sai's feet

(Padasevana), Worship of Shri Sai's feet (Archana), Bowing to Shri Sai

(Namaskara), Service to Shri Sai (Dasya), Friendship to Shri Sai

(Sakhyatva), or Surrender of self of Shri Sai (Atmanivedana).

Ultimately Shri Sai's feet are the only means of attaining happiness. Look

at His posture, He is sitting with his legs folded, the right leg across the

left knee. The fingers of His left hand are spread on the right foot. On the

right toe are spread His two fingers- the index and middle ones. By this

posture He says, be most humble and meditate on my toes you will be

only able to see My light. Sai has also advised that before the senses,

mind and intellect enjoy their objects, He should be first remembered.

We should make it a habit to offer whatever we enjoy to Him. The ob-

jects that is not fit to be enjoyed will be shunned by Him and in this way

our unacceptable habits will disappear and our character will improve.

FROM THE SATSANGS OF SAIBANISA JI

The Glory of Shirdi SaiThe Glory of Shirdi Sai

1 6 - D E C E M B E R - 2 0 1 0 Y E A R 2 0 1 0 — I S S U E 2 5

गुरुब्रह्मा गुरुर्विष्णु: गुरुरे्दवो महेश्वर: |

गुरु: शाऺात परब्रह्म तस्मै श्रीगुरवे नमः:||

CONTENT

Satsangs of SaiBaNisaji

The Dreams Train

Devotees Corner

Time Machine

Navavidha Bhakti

Shri Sainath Stavan

Manjari

Children Section

Spiritual Gems From Sai

Satcharita

Quintessence

JAI SAI RAM

श्रद्धा सबुरी

Eighth Year of Publication - Published as Bi-Weekly

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

SAIDARBAR COMPLETESSAIDARBAR COMPLETESSAIDARBAR COMPLETES TWELVE YEARSTWELVE YEARSTWELVE YEARS

P A G E 2

Meditate on Me,

with form or

without form, that

is pure bliss.

~Baba

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

DEVOTEES EXPERIENCE

DEVOTEES CORNER

Sai Ram. I would like to share my experience that how Sai Ram helped me

instantly. I am working for a German Company as a Secretary. I was expect-

ing six visitors from Germany for a conference in Abu Dhabi. Accordingly, I

had applied for six visas through our agent. After 4 days, the secretary from

Personnel Department. came with the original visas and asked me to ac-

knowledge. As a matter of trust, I received it and she left. The sponsor's of-

fice is just opposite to our office. Later when I checked I found only five vi-

sas, whereas I had acknowledged for six visas. I got the shock of my life. I

ran to the Sponsor's Secretary, showed all the visas, and told her that I didn't

receive one visa. She told me directly that I had acknowledged it and hat's it.

I explained to her very well you could see only you gave me five Visas, I

double checked it might be sticking to one another, but all in vain. I gave the

secretary the name of the person whose visa I didn't receive and came back

to my office. It was already late in the evening, I kept these five visas in the

safe, locked it up and then left for home. I was totally worried about that par-

ticular visa. Next day the moment I came to the office, called that secretary,

and asked if she found the visa, she said no. Then, I cam back to my office,

started my routine, first thing after coming to the office, I Have a diary in

which I write "Om Sai Ram", that day also I was writing Sai Ram and pray-

ing that I should get the visa, immediately I got a voice coming saying open

the second draw, I opened it I found only that particular visa as the rest 5 vi-

sas, I had kept it inside the safe. I was dumbfounded, SaiRam really helped

me. I really was so much thrilled and excited that I was feeling on the top of

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.

THE DREAMS TRAIN

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

Compiled by Saibandhu Raghu Raman Satulury

04-01-1997:

Sai appeared as a Saint and said:

The barriers of age, language, and external appearance of a person should not

come in the way of making spiritual friendship. Being good at heart, and

faith placed in God are two important qualities. Discussions with such indi-

viduals could be undertaken for gathering finer details, but the spiritual jour-

ney has to be a lone one.

Remember to befriend one who is above you in totality.

P A G E 3 Y E A R 2 0 1 0 — I S S U E 2 5

the world. Sai helps everybody. It's just the faith, devotion and entire surrender to him will help everybody

in all walks of life

- Jaya Venkat, Abu Dhabi, U.A.E

****

I would like to narrate a significant miracle, not that miracles are small or big, a miracle is a miracle.

Baba's grace is magnanimous and we have to acknowledge that. Yes, there are some Bhakts' who are disil-

lusioned at the moment but Baba knows what is going on in our lives and by surrendering to Him, we can

get rid of our problems. However, when we lose patience and faith, we lose the vital link, and this is unfor-

tunate for any devotee. My daily prayer to Baba comprises prayers' for all Sai Bhakts' that, may our faith

and patience in you grow magnificently. Well, let me not digress from my experience, which I would like

to share with everyone. My niece, Anuradha was afflicted with leucoderma, a disease that leaves white

patches all over the body, and disfigures the face. She developed it suddenly, sometime in 1995. What

started as a tiny patch grew insidiously and in no time, she had full-blown leucoderma. At nineteen years

of age, her dreams of getting married or socializing with people were completely shattered. However, I

went to visit her in Chandigarh, India and gave her some UDHI, which I always carry with me. That was in

December 1995, I am mentioning the time so that people in a similar dilemma can hope for something

similar to happen to them and can appreciate the time lapse, and the patience. My niece started going to a

local Sai temple every Thursday. She would sit there, attend Arti, sing Bhajans', and she was positive from

day One that her cure was imminent. Well, a homeopathic doctor gave her some medicines, which she

would apply on her face, but she feels that Doctor was Baba in disguise, because he gave her the medicines

and was not contractible after that which remains a mystery. Now, Anu is cured and the patches are not

visible anymore. I firmly believe that when He cures, He cures from the root. Sai Ram to all.

- A Sai Devotee

सत्सङ्गत्वे ननस्स्ङ्गत्व ं ननस्सङ्गत्वे ननमोहत्वम ्| ननमोहत्वे ननश्चलतत्त्व ंननश्चलतत्त्वे जीवन्मकु्तः ||

For all SaiDarbarUSA Satsang information in Greater Philadelphia, please visit www.saidarbarusa.org.

Sai Temple, Downingtown, PA. (http://www.saitemplepa.com/.) Temple is open on Thursdays and Sun-

days after 2:00 pm. Please contact Mr. Raj Singh at 610-656-1396 or Sai Temple at 610-269-1112 for

more details about the temple activities. For more event info please visit www.saitemplepa.com.

UDI Prasaad From Shirdi Now Available in Canada for Distribution :

Devotees of Greater Toronto Area can visit Sai Darbar and receive UDI from Baba with His Blessings -

Darbar is open for DARSHAN between 10:30am to 4pm every Thursday. (visits after 4pm please call to

confirm).

Devotees in the OTHER PARTS OF CANADA can receive UDI PRASAAD by submitting their request

by email at saileela99@gmail.com orSubmit your willingness by visiting www.shirdisainath.org giving

your full family name - Phone number postal and email address.

P A G E 4

BABA'S MIRACLE - 14 ~ (A RECORD OF THRILLING EXPERIENCES OF (LATE) DR.P.S.RAMASWAMI ~ (AN ARDENT DEVOTEE OF SHRI SHIRDI SAI BABA)

BABA'S CONTROL OVER THE FORCES OF NATURE

One of the drawbacks in my life has been the lack of robust health, though I have taken it as a blessing in disguise

because it prevented me from following 'the primrose path of dalliance' and induced me to keep my head well

above water. However, I have remained 'a human barometer' very sensitive to heat and cold, and averse to going

even on promotion to regions noted for their extremes of temperature. Thus it was that I declined to go on deputa-

tion to the U.K., and again when I was asked to go on promotion to Jabalpur in Feb '55, 1 had no hesitation in

turning it down much to the embarrassment of the authorities and secret ridicule of my colleagues. In doing so I

had not recknoed with the All-knowing and Inscrutable Baba who, as I realised much later, was behind the offi-

cial move and in the best of my interests too. For one thing, the NHQ did not leave me alone. Letters and tele-

grams followed in quick succession, both, to persuade me and as thinly veiled ultimatum to oblige me to agree

Nevertheless, I was unmoved.

In our office, there was a self-effacing Bengali clerk named Das Babu, a man of few words and quiet efficiency.

We had never spoken to each other till then. One day, towards the end of April when I was about to leave, he

stood up to draw my attention, and in the gentlest of tones asked somewhat apologetically, "Why not trust God,

accept the Promotion and go?'. The words went home to my heart, till then adamant to pleadings and threats. It

was as if "the hard rocky surface withstanding the repeated blows of the hammer and crow-bar readily cracked at

last at the gentle touch of the tenderest of the roots of a tree to make way for its entry" (Thiruvalluvar) I now real-

ise that Das Babu was the; chosen agent of Baba for the moment. The every next day a very high-ranking officer,

friendly disposed towards me, beseached me in the sincerest tones to accept the promotion and go. Baba's method

of choosing His messengers is impeccable. I sensed His will and, to the surprise of all, including those secretly

indulging in malicious glee till now at my seeming stupidity in refusing fortune's proffered hand, I started for Ja-

balpur on the evening of May 2nd, much to the delight of the authorities who had been keeping the vacancy un-

filled for my sake for three months, quite unusual especially, in the defence department. He who runs can infer

from this that what God or Allah or Baba wants to give, no power on earth can take away. The converse is also

true.

The next day as my train was leaving Raipur about noon, the Summer began to bare its fangs. It was only a fore-

taste of its fierceness further on. I began regretting the decision I had impulsively taken, not withstanding an in-

ward recognition of Baba's Omnipresence and Grace as 'Bhaktha-Paraadina'. The thought of abondoning the

whole venture sneaked in. In this perplexed frame of mind, I reached Gondia at 4 pm, only to be greeted by

scorching hot winds hitting the face. By 6 pm I was sitting rather bewildered in the compartment of the narrow-

guage train for jabalpur completely at a loss. Baba alone could and must retrieve the situation, I felt and closed

my eyes, half in prayer and half in despair.

Will be continued….

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

ARTICLES FROM DEVOTEES

P A G E 5

Whatever

creation comes

to you, human or

otherwise, treat

it with

consideration.

NAVAVIDHA BHAKTI (Source: Sai Leela Magazine July-Aug 2004)

Eighth Step – Sakhya Bhakti

Khaparde

Many other naivedyas came, far superior to this one. Often they remained untouched.

What was the greatly impelling reason to eat this only ? “You keep aside all the

other platters. Even if some are made of silver, you hurl them far away. But, only

when this lady’s platter came, you got up immediately and started eating. This is sur-

prising !” After saying this, He did full justice to the meal, washed His hands and

mouth, belched to show His satisfaction and resumed His seat. Such was Sree

Samartha the compassionate ! Sainath, the protector of all who have surrendered ! He

always fulfils the devotees’ cherished desires and works for their welfare.

Kakasaheb Dixit

“I too was waiting for you, Then I sent Shama to meet you, all the way to

Nagar”, spoke Sai clearly to him. His body trembled; his mind was en-

grossed in Self Bliss; his eyes were half closed and he was immersed in a

cloud of joy.

Megha

When Megha died see the importance given by Baba for his cremation,

and Baba’s affection towards the devotee. Megha was already gratified.

Accompanied by all the devotees, the villagers went in procession to the

cremation ground. Baba also went to the cremation ground, showering

flowers on Megha. After Megha’s last rites Baba’s eyes also filled with

tears. Like an ordinary being, with all attachments, He was full of grief.

With love, Baba covered the body, with His own hands, with plentiful flow-

ers. After lamenting the death with pitiful tones, He returned.

Will be continued…

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

Sai, the name was given by the priest Mahalsapati ( a close devotee

of Shri Sai) during the evening when Baba returned to Shirdi after

leaving earlier in his teen days. The priest Mahalsapati confesses that

he used this name as a honorofic word meaning father, Sir. Also the

word Sai is from Indian and Arabic origin which means "Sakshat

Eshwar" or the "Divine".

SHRI SAI NATH STAVAN MANJARI

P A G E 6 Y E A R 2 0 1 0 — I S S U E 2 5

(A Humble Tribute of praise by Dasganu Maharaj)

(Translated from the marathi by Smt.Zarine Taraporevala and edited by Dr. Smt.Indira Kher, Ex.Executive Editor,

Shri Sai Leela Magazine)

A HUMBLE TRIBUTE OF PRAISE TO SHRI SAINATH

The water latent in the clouds

Does not alter that part of the earth on which it falls;

Yet, that very part of the earth

Is called Godavari (or pure) by the scholars

of the scared books. ….36

Where the water has fallen elsewhere,

It has acquired the qualities of the soil of those places;

Contaminated, bitter salty it becomes

Though. originally sweet ….37

Same is the case with you, oh, GURURAYA,

In whom there is no impurity of the six - vices5

To that holy form

This title, "Saint " is befitting. ….38

Therefore, saints are Godavari

so full of grace:

Amongst all the beings

Your place is the highest! ….39

From the beginning of creation

Godavari has been in existence;

It has been full of water

And it has never lacked it till today. ….40

Look, the enemy of RAVAN6

Came to the banks of the Godavari

But it's water has flowed

And the water at present is not the same as old water. ….41

The bed alone remains the same.

The waters have flowed into the ocean,

The sanctity is eternal

Of the river - bed, to this day. ….42

5. These are lust, anger, greed, desire, ego, envy. 6. i.e. Rama

Will be continued......

Story for this Week: “ The Cedar Tree”

Participate

Learn and

Participate

Learn and Children’s Section

In a beautiful park the cedar tree stood tall and proud. Alongside him stood the lime tree, the lemon tree and a rather elegant orange tree that had such pretty, sweet-scented blossom which, in the due season, gave forth a succulent fruit. People came from many miles away to sit in the park and drink of its peace and quiet, and gain refreshment from its beautiful scents and sights. They used to wander amongst the trees admiring the variety of new blossoms in spring, the heavily laden branches in summer and, in the early autumn, would eat of the fruits given forth. On hot, windless days it was to the cedar tree they went to shel-ter under its widespread cooling branches. Each tree had something to offer the visitors. Each tree had something to offer the other. The cedar tree listened to the people saying how beautiful he was and how won-derful it was to be able to stand there and let him give them shade, and he spread his branches even further out and stood up even more proudly, basking in their adulation. Over time, he began to resent the people looking at the other trees around him for was not he the best? His vanity grew and grew and he made him-self stronger by taking only for himself the nourishment in the soil that was there for all the trees. In his vanity he became greedy. He would posture and declare, “I am better than any of you. I will get rid of you all.” He showered the lime, the lemon and the orange trees with his needles and beat his branches against them until, worn down and weakened by the lack of goodness left in the soil, they with-ered and died, eventually to be cut down. The cedar preened in his solitude and laughed, knowing that everybody would now only look at him and come to him for shade. They would all admire him and see how very strong and beautiful he was. Gradually, however, people stopped coming. There was no variety left in this once beautiful park; no mingling of scents and no sight of the many-hued blossoms. There was only the old cedar tree and he really was beginning to look rather ugly, wasn't he? He seemed over-large now, standing there without the other trees to distract the eye; almost out of place. One night, there came a mighty storm. So great was the storm that the cedar, standing alone and without any support, swayed and bent. First one way and then

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

the other and finally, in a massive rush of wind and with a final creak and groan that was terrible to behold, the mighty once proud cedar knew defeat and came, slowly at first and then with awful speed, crashing to the ground. As he lay there dying he knew he had done a great wrong in wanting to stand tall and alone in the eyes of the people. He knew now that he had needed the support and protection of the other trees around him and that alone he had nor been able to stand the onslaught of the storms. In his vanity and greed he had leeched all the moisture from the surrounding land and, in the death of the sur-rounding trees, had lost their support from the high winds: The same winds that now buffeted against his prone trunk in full force. Inexorably he grew weaker and as he lay at the mercy of the emptiness around him he himself had created, the winds laughed at his distress and blew the more full. A lesson? I think so. There is strength in unity and a bonding in togetherness and mutual help. A group is made up of individuals and needs that individuality to maintain cohesion but no one of those individuals is more important, nor should try to stand taller, than the others.

United we stand, divided we fall.

QUIZ

In the epic, Ramayana, Rama asks Hanuman to fetch him a medicinal herb

that grew in the Himalayas. What was its name?

Kailash

Chaaksu

Ajmoda

Sanjivini

In Hindu mytholgoy, which kingdom did Kamsa rule?

Mathura

Dwarka

Kishkinda

Lanka

P A G E 9

God have

agents

everwhere and

their powers

are vast.

~ Baba

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

SPIRITUAL GEMS FROM SATCHARITA ~ CHAPTER 41 Contributed by: swamy@saimail.com

Story of the Picture - Stealing the Rags and Reading of Jnaneshwari. As stated in the last chapter, we continue here the story of the picture.

Nine years after the occurrence of the incident depicted in the last chapter, Ali Ma-

homed saw Hemadpant and related to him the following story.

One day while wandering in the streets of Bombay he bought the picture from a street

-hawker; then he framed and set it on a wall in his house at Bandra (suburb of Bom-

bay). As he loved Baba, he daily took darshana of it. Three months before he gave

the picture to Hemadpant, he was suffering from an abscess or swelling on his leg for

which an operation was performed and he was convalescing in the house of his

brother-in-law, Mr. Noor-Mahomed Peerbhoy in Bombay. For three months his

house in Bandra was closed; and nobody was living there. Only the pictures of the

famous Baba Abdul Rahman, Moulanasaheb Mahomed Hussain, Baba Sai, Baba Ta-

judin and other saints (living) were there. The wheel of time did not even spare these.

He was lying sick and suffering in Bombay. Why should the pictures suffer there (in

Bandra)? It seems that they have also their ins and outs (births and deaths). All the

pictures met their fate, but how Sai Baba's picture escaped it, nobody had been able

to explain to me up till now. It shows the all-pervasiveness, omnipresence of Sai and

His inscrutable power.

Sai Ram.

All saints have the power since they all are facets of the same One / God. However,

just as they don't interfere with the karma / destiny of their own bodies, they would

not interfere with the fate / destiny of their photos too.

Sai Ram.

He got a small picture of Saint Baba Abdul Rahman from Mahomed Hussain Thari-

yatopan many years ago. He gave it to his brother-in-law, Noor-Mahomed Peerbhoy

and it was lying on his table for eight years. Once the latter saw it, took it to a pho-

tographer and got it enlarged to life-size and distributed copies of the same amongst

his relations and friends, including Ali Mahomed who fixed it up in his Bandra

house. Noor-Mahomed was a disciple of Saint Abdul Rahman and when he went to

present the picture to his Guru in an open darbar held by him, the Guru got wild and

ran to beat him, and drove him out. He felt very sorry and dejected. He thought that

he lost so much of his money, and incurred his Guru's displeasure and anger. As his

Guru did not like image-worship, he took the enlarged picture with him to the Apollo

Bunder and, after hiring a boat, went in it and drowned it in the sea. He requested the

friends and relations to return their copies and after getting them (6 in all) back, had

P A G E 1 0

Quintessence from Shri Sai Baba’s Philosophy (By Late Sri Bharam UmamaheswaraRao) ~ Contribution by "Shashank"crazydiode@gmail.com, Mrs and Mr Anand

Chapter 35: The Wheel of Time and the Pangs of sorrow and Death

Continued from last issue...

To realize the physical body is the material wealth of every individual. Self is the seat of immortality. Death occurs to the physical body alone but Self remains immortal. It is possible for every person to attain this state during the present birth itself by performing Spiritual Sadhana regularly. The birth sustenance and death (Srushti – Sthiti – Laya) takes place in an uninterrupted manner. Just as fire blazes continuously, Supreme God too remains so, blazing eternally. Sri Sai Baba says: Gain and loss, birth and death are in the hands of God, but how blindly you are all forgetting God. Look after life, just so long as it lasts. When death arrives, do not be grieved. The wise ones do not grieve about death. Birth also is dealt similarly. Do no be jubilant over a birth. This is a process of creation. Be not moved by it. He also said: The earth bears seeds. Clouds drop their rain on them. The sun sends his rays and makes them sprout. When these sprout, earth, clouds, and sun keep on their sport and happily course in all directions. But they neither exult at the growth nor deplore the destruction. You should also be unaffected like this towards birth and death. Baba also said: Birth and Death are relatives. They are dependent on Poorva Karma. Even God, who has created the world, cannot alter. Do you think He can tell the Sun or the Moon – Rise some 2 yards away from your usual or appointed place? No. he cannot and will not do that. That would produce disorder and chaos. For every living being, death is a certainty and so is re-birth ensuing it. None can transgress this order. So we should not worry ourselves about death. We must break the bonds of destiny with the help of a self-controlled mind. Those who succeed, attain Divine State. We must keep the equipoise of our mind and the Karanas soul from one body to another. As the Atman remains

untainted without seeking results. The imminent birth will be the outcome of our last mental feelings. This feeling

(Bhavana) is dependent on our own mind and nature.

Will be continued….

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

them thrown by a fisherman in the Bandra sea. At this time Ali Mahomed was in his brother-in-law's

house. He was told by him that his suffering would come to an end if he would soon drown the pictures

of the saints in the sea. Hearing this, Ali Mahomed sent his Mehta (Manager) to his Bandra house and

got all the pictures of the saints in his house thrown into the sea.

Sai Ram.

Islam focuses on worship of the Nirguna form of God and thus it was natural that their Saints would dis-

courage their followers from worship of idols and images, photos etc. But when the disciple was bowing

and honoring the Saint, a sort of worship is indeed going on to the body of the saint! One should of

course follow one's Guru's instructions in such matters and not dispute or argue with others. Each Guru

gives the advice suited to the particular disciple.

Sai Ram. Will be continued….

From the Editor’s Desk

“Those who fully worship the un-manifested, that which lies beyond the perception of the

senses, the all-pervading, inconceivable, fixed and immovable the impersonal conception

of the „Absolute Truth‟ by controlling the various senses and being equally disposed to eve-

ryone, such persons, engaged in the welfare of all, at last achieve Me.”

~ Sri Krishna ~ BG v12-3

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

editor@saidarbarusa.org. 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

e-magazine is intended for private circulation only. Information contained in this email is about Sri

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: editor@saidarbarusa.org

BOW TO SHRI SAI ~ PEACE BE TO ALL