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FEATURE OF THE WEEK: Sai Baba and the Astrologer
Shri Rao Bahadur M.W. Pradhan in his work "Shri Sai Baba of
Shirdi: A Glimpse of Indian Spirituality" depicts the following interesting
incident involving Sadguru Sainath's all-pervadingness:
Once, an astrologer who had heard about Sai Baba as a saint
of a very high order, came to Shirdi with the avowed objective of placing a
book on astrology into the hands of Sai Baba and receiving the same as
prasad from Him. The astrologer sincerely believed that such a prasad from
Sai Baba (consecration by Sai Baba) would make him very proficient
astrologer and thus enable him to make a fortune. But Sai Baba, when
implored to give the book to the astrologer, gave it instead to Bapusaheb
Butti (the well-known multi-millionaire who is credited with the
construction of Butti wada in Shirdi) who was sitting close by. Bapusaheb
Butti, who was a wealthy man and did not have worldly wish took the book
thrusted onto his hands by Sai Baba. The astrologer was disappointed.
Bapusaheb, who never cared to read anything, skipped over the book now and
then for a short time only because Sai Baba gave the book to him. Gradually
he began to take interest in the book and the subject of astrology. After a
few years, Bapusaheb Butti became proficient in astrology and he began to
help Sai devotees in their needs and was able to predict things with
precision! He did all of this without any remuneration!
The above incident, Sai Baba wanted to show that, He knew
that it was not the destiny of the Astrologer to be proficient in Astrology
as he had aimed at; that He wanted to show what any person who was the
recipient of such a Prasad would be capable of (in this case Shri Bapusaheb
Butti); and that Sai Baba wanted to teach His devotees that a person's
proficiency in any art or science is used best when given gratis to humanity
than for any love of lucre. |
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CONTRIBUTED ARTICLE: Disguise
Once upon a time there was a king. He was a very noble
hearted and generous person. He wished well for every one in his kingdom.
One-day, he decided to go undercover to meet the people and to know their
problems. He did this because he knew that if he went like a king, everyone
would not be able to be free with him. So, he went out in a disguise and
mixed with the people enquiring about their problems. Being a smart person,
he figured out the needs and necessities of different people. It helped him
make the necessary changes required for the growth of each and every one in
the kingdom. Even though the king appeared as an ordinary man to outside
world, the king alone knew his real identity.
Sri Sai, being a siddha and samarth sadguru, came in a
disguise of Maya as a common fakir. (Maya means ignorance of one's real
nature of satchitananda and identifying one self with the body). The
Intention behind the disguise is to heal and comfort the simple folks who
are tormented by the scorching flames of the samsaara. He remained as one
among them and conversed with them in their own style. Very rarely, he just
gave glimpses of the universal self. It is not a surprise if one's heart
melts with gratitude by looking at Sri Sai's life style. Sri Sai
scrupulously followed the conventional code of conduct and advised every one
to adhere to the rules of humility, charity, and compassion for living
beings etc. Sai treated himself as an ordinary person and emphasized the
power of Maya in our daily living. The Maya is the Adimaya of Sri Hari. It
is beginningless and endless. He stressed that Maya is a powerful actress
who can pull down both the renunciates and worldly people equally with her
seductive powers.
He mentioned the remedy by chanting God's name as much as
possible to transcend the Maya. If one establishes oneself firmly at the
lotus feet of God or Guru, Maya becomes powerless before the sincere
devotee. Sai conducted Nama saptah and asked his devotees to read Gita and
Gurucharita etc. Sai emphasized that devotion is a constant emotion of love
towards God present in every living being. The reality of Maya and the
absolute reality appear very unclear and unattainable to the normal everyday
person. It would be like teaching algebra to a very young kid who just
started learning numbers. This can make the child to refuse learning math
altogether. That is why Sai gave every one what he/she needed basing on
his/her inner growth. He showed us the simplest way [by practicing
(Shraddha-faith in God), (Saburi-forbearance to the situations in life
without losing faith in God)] to reach God.
(Contributed by Sai devotee) |
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DEVOTEES SAY:
Sai devotee
I would like to share my recent experience. I wanted to appear for an exam
conducted by a professional body for my career enhancement. I had ordered
for the study material which cost me about $ 500 USD. As the invoice amount
is more than $ 500 USD, as per the local law, the parcel got stuck at US
Customs. Moreover I gave my office address which caused more trouble at
customs. Customs thought that the parcel belongs to the company and not an
individual and asked me to pay more customs duty. I requested the parcel
company to help me in getting cleared the parcel. The parcel company agreed
but asked me to pay about $ 270 USD as the process fee. Despite of hiring
the services of the company, the parcel did not get cleared and was there at
customs for about a month. Last Wednesday morning I prayed my Lord Saibaba
to help me in getting cleared this parcel. It was a surprise to me that by
Wednesday evening I got a call that the parcel got cleared from customs and
will be delivered next day (Thursday). To my surprise, the parcel company
charged me less amount towards process than what they said earlier. It is
reconfirmed that Baba is there for me. Thank you Baba for your grace. Shower
Your blessing always on us.
Sri
I read Sai Baba Jeevita Cheritha book, as I started it on Thursday I am
having so much tension about job, but by Monday I got an interview call and
by Baba's blessings I got news that they selected me by Wednesday itself
before completing the book. After I read the book and when this happen now I
feel Baba is with me all the time. Really I am very happy now and I am happy
that I am a devotee of Saibaba.
Nikhila
Thank you for blessing me with a safe delivery. By Your grace I had a smooth
pregnancy and normal delivery. Although I am posting this a little late I
remember You always.
Geeta
Om Sainath, Om Sai. I was going through a very rough patch in life. My
husband was out of job and my son who is just four years old, got spectacles
with high number. I prayed to Sainath that if my husband gets a steady job
and my son's eye number reduces than I will post it in the Sai Vichaar. I
did the Saptah for both my husband and son. I gave a copy of Satcharita and
put him in the path of devotion. There was no hope for my husband as all his
licenses had expired. But he got a well-paid job and also my son's number
has come down. Only Saibaba could do this miracle.
Nithya
I prayed to Baba that if I get good marks in my exam I would submit an
article. I stood first in my class and I am so delighted. This week ahead is
getting very tough and strenuous. I pray to Baba that he be with me and help
me. Thank you Baba. |
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PRAYER CLUB:
Prabhavati
I have not been doing well at work and I am very worried that I may lose my
job. I have been working hard but just not getting any results. Baba, please
help me and let me get good results within this week so that I am able to
keep my job. This is the last chance given to me. I need my job Baba, please
help me.
Sasi
Baba please cure my fear regarding my health. I should be getting it normal
as before. I am sure you are there to take care of my family and me, still I
am scared.
Sita
Kindly help me to conceive and have a healthy baby by next year. Several
times, I experienced your blessings in the past. Please guide me in the
right path as you always do and shower blessings on my family.
Prashanti
Baba, I am sorry for what I did today. I really did not mean to hurt my
guest's feelings, it happened in a second. I want You to forgive me for
this, as I really did not intend to say what I said. Please Baba see that
they don't take this seriously and get hurt and see that they also forgive
me.
A Sai devotee
Baba I don't want to go back. Please do something so that we may stay here
forever.
Sai devotee
Om Sri Sai. Dear Baba, my husband and me are keeping utmost faith in You.
Baba, please bless us with a baby boy.
Dev
Dear Sai baba, I thank You for all I have and is all Yours. I need Your
bhakti and a heart full of humility and devotion to your feet. Please solve
my problem that my son is facing and the people have made allegations
against me out of jealously. You are the only protector and I have no where
to go. Please accept me I surrender thee.
Sanu
Sai Maa, I have immense faith in You. Whatever I have got is because of Your
blessing. This is most important part of my career life Sai. Please help me
get interviews, help me get a good residency program in IM in this year's
prematch/match. Baba, You are my saviour. Help me.
Sai devotee
Baba, please cure my daughter's wrist who is suffering for last six months.
You have always helped me. Please take care of her, she is in lot of pain.
Baba I have full faith in You. |
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EXPERIENCE OF DEVOTEES:
Mithun
I say to Baba that I have faith in you but I am not sure what faith exactly
is? Recently, I realized a part of faith. I am in a foreign land with a
newly married wife to support. I have just joined my part-time job as I am
studying here. I brought sufficient money from India but had to give it away
as deposit money for our accommodation. I had sufficient money for my living
before paying my university fees. I paid the amount by borrowing from a
friend. I had little money left with me for my living. At this point I was
worried and prayed to Baba to solve this crisis. I have two bank accounts,
and one of them is kept to receive my scholarship money from the university,
which I usually receive once a semester, and that too at the end of the
semester. I had already received scholarship money from the previous
semester and there was no money left in it as I withdrew the entire amount.
When I was facing this financial crisis, I had a feeling to check this empty
bank account once again through the Internet. When I opened it I was shocked
to see that I had around 280 dollars in balance. Later, I came to know that
I received this amount from the scholarship office due to some increment,
which was drafted at a later date. But it is a miracle for me and I believe
that faith in Baba means to leave the burden unto Him and be carefree. He
will take care of everything.
Bharat
Today is Dhanteras day in USA. I had planned to get a silver murthi of Baba.
Searching online, I found some choices but was not satisfied. They were
either too small or the posture was not what I had in mind. When I arrived
in Edison, I visited couple of stores, but they did not have any Shirdi
Saibaba murthi. When I went to the next store, the owner greeted me and
asked me what I would like to see. I told him that I was looking for Baba's
silver murthi. He asked me what size. I told him the size and he was very
surprised. He told me that he had received a similar size murthi two days
ago from India. He had placed an order for a silver murthi of Mahalaxmi
goddess, but when he opened the package, he found Baba's murthi instead. I
was elated because that was the style of murthi I wanted. This murthi was
the only one available in that size. All other Baba murthis were
approximately one-fifth the size of this one. Turns out the owner and his
family are all Baba devotees. His family narrated their experiences of Baba.
As I left the store after purchasing the murthi, his wife called me back to
give me a udi packet from Shirdi. Thanks Baba.
Ashutosh
Me, my wife and our little daughter were to board Mangla express from Manmad
on 27th September 2006. We started from Shirdi at 4 pm while the train was
scheduled at 6:20 pm. We had enough time in hand but we had no clue that the
Shirdi -Manmad highway is no longer a road. It has become a long pitch and
there was very severe traffic jam. We got stuck and desperately kept on
calling the Manmad station for train status.., praying to Baba to make the
train come late. However, the train came only ten minutes late and at that
time we were 15 Km from Manmad. We missed the train. I started calculating
what to do now and decided to draw money from an ATM in Manmad and buy
tickets for the next train to Delhi. We finally reached Manmad at 7:45 pm
and discovered to our shock that there is not a single ATM in Manmad or even
facility to buy tickets by credit card. We were not carrying enough money,
as we never expected this to happen. We silently prayed to Baba all the time
and went on to buy general tickets to Mumbai. In less than five minutes, we
got the "train not boarded" refund certificate from the stationmaster and as
soon as we reached the platform, within a minute we got a train to Mumbai.
We boarded the AC compartment as we had sufficient money to buy 3 AC tickets
of Manmad to Mumbai. The train was going to Kalyan, which is one end of
Mumbai and we had to go to Mira Road, another end in opposite direction.
Baba was so kind at that hour of the night that everything fell into place
after that. When we got down at Kalyan, we were to go to another platform to
take train to Dadar. But, to our shock, the Dadar local came at the same
platform where we got down and that too within five minutes of our getting
down.
continued....
After that, we took a chance and called up my wife's uncle, who is in
Railways in Mumbai to find out connecting train from Dadar to Mira Road. To
our great surprise, he was himself on duty on the last train. We requested
him to do whatever but take us home in his train. At Dadar, the Kalyan train
stops at one end of the station and the Mira road train at another end. The
Mira road train had already arrived at Dadar. We crossed the bridge with
bags and baby in arms and rushing to catch the train, as it was the last
train. My wife's uncle took the risk of halting the local train at Dadar for
more than two minutes, which can be a major thing as no local in Mumbai
stops for more than 30 seconds. But he took that risk for us and with Baba's
blessings, we reached my wife's house in Mira road at 2:00 am. Next evening
we took the Rajdhani to Delhi. Baba did not delay the train for us at Manmad
but just see how he then helped us. We did not face any problems at all. He
guided our instincts one by one and helped us reach home safe and sound.
Dadar train coming on a different platform than usual and my wife's uncle
being on duty on the last local train to Mira road cannot be mere
coincidences. |
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QUOTATION OF THE WEEK:
"I look on all with an equal eye".-Shri Sai Baba
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QUESTION OF THE WEEK:
Q. Why did Baba call Masjid as Dwarakamai? What is the
significance of Dwarakamai? |
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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. |
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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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