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Sai Vichaar 01.Feature of the Week 02.Contributed Article 03.Experiences of Devotees 04.Devotees Say 05.Sai Activities 06.Prayer Club 07.Quote of the Week 08.Question of the Week 09.Subscribe to Sai Vichaar 10.Email Newsletter to a friend 11.Submit Articles to Sai Vichaar 12.Un-Subscribe Sai Vichaar 13.From the Editor's Keyboard 14.Disclaimer From the Editor's Keyboard... Those contributing to Sai Vichaar are requested to identify themselves by giving their name. Unless Baba wills nothing can be done and it is symbolic of one's humility not to give too much credence to their writings or expressions. However, in respect to the etiquette of publication, it is only customary to identify the source of writings. Sai Vichaar hopes that devotees would oblige. A Sai devotee suggests the Question of the week as follows, Q. How can one be consistent with their devotion to Sri Saibaba? Humbly Yours, The Editor
Disclaimer 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 saibaba.org is not responsible for the opinions expressed by individual contributors.
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Feature of the week:
Why do we suffer?
God or His Name is the sole strength in living against all odds and uncertainties. If one is not at cross purposes with Him, one finds His manifestation in every happening. But, one has to bear with patience the onrush of the forces one has let loose. Yoke yourself unto Him and He will bear the brunt. Take refuge in none but Him. Dependence on Him makes one fearless. Human beings will enjoy three-fourths of life and one-fourth they will suffer. But, we lose our patience and do not accept even that one-fourth of sorrows given by Him. Don't be obsessed with any wish. Shake off sadness. Unhappiness is part of the ego. Beyond it, no such thing exists. That you have forgotten Truth (that God is within) is the root cause of your misery. A painful blow becomes bearable to a great extent by His remembrance. As He inflicts blows on you, so also He gives you the capacity for bearing the suffering. As one tolerates unbearable situations with patience, a time comes when He resolves all problems. Whenever you have tumults in mind, try to remember this very often. You can do this. The key is with Him. Truth wins. He is your shield. Destiny still comes but He eases the suffering. When you have the shelter of Satyanarayan (God within), He will test you in various ways. Your duty is not to get agitated when these sorts of events hurt you. There is a saying of Baba, "You look to Me, I look to you. Even then, if they do not leave Me and still seek Me, I then become their humble servant." The smiles and frowns of life are His tokens of love. Bear them with loving patience, you have to forsake nothing. Neither indulge, nor restrain. If you have devotion, you need fear nothing. Devotion is never devoid of strength. So many varied problems and hindrances must come, otherwise people won't understand and realize how and why He is the best of all friends and companions. He is the Dearest One, who keeps us protected in all calamities and adversities, which are unpredictable. People falter in life and suffer by discarding Him. But, they can't do anything without Him. Have faith in Him, unflinching faith. Love Him. Hazards take care of themselves. Remembering and depending on Him make one fearless in life, whatever may happen. He gives us jolts so that we can be ready to taste real happiness with Him, to make us free of maya, or mind and attachments. We do not know His Will, so we grieve over all He does, but He always does everything for the best. Do not worry. Never try to understand. Only accept as a gift whatever He gives, take it as His blessing. When one feels, "I am helpless, my strength fails" He comes to hold the rudder. Being always in the midst of people with their selfishness, jealousy and hatred, the mind is afflicted with pain. These afflictions are shaken off like dust through devotion and remembrance of God's Name within. He, the Almighty, by His wish and touch takes away the worldly attractions gradually to bring one to a blissful, peaceful state. A person cannot realize this state on his or her own due to the intensity of illusory worldly desire. You do everything, see everything, listen to everything, but do not get so deeply involved as to invite sufferings through them. Of course, He will ensure this, you don't have to make any effort for it. Just keep Him in your remembrance. (A message from Shri C B Satpathy ji)
Contributed Article: Arati to the Living Idol(continued from last week)
In the beginning, when the custom of offering regular arati was started, there were not many psalms which were especially composed on Sai Baba. Except a few, like Dasganu's and Madhav Adkar's, most of them were adaptations of the traditional arati-psalms composed by the mediaeval saint-poets of Maharashtra on the deity Lord Vitthal of Pandhapur. It was only about a year after the commencement of aratis at Shirdi, that the actual 'Psalm-Book' began to take shape. The kudos of giving a form and format to the Shirdi Aratis goes to Shri Krishna Jogiswar Bhishma.
Shri Bhishma hails from Bori, a village near Nagpur. He was a friend of Shri Khaparde with whom he visited Shirdi for the first time on the 6th of December 1911. He was an old-liner before he met Shri Sai Baba. A few years before he visited Shirdi, he had a vivid dream in which he saw a swarthy brahmin in traditional vestment of a Vaishnava gosai. The holy man, without uttering a single word, showed Bhishma a newspaper on which the words 'Sat-Chit-Ananda' (Being- Consciousness-Bliss) were printed in bold type. When Bhishma inquired of him what it was, the gosai again simply pointed to the newspaper wherein appeared another set of words 'mantra va shikava' (lit. 'mantra and learn'). Bhishma could not make out anything and before he posed another question the Vaishnava vanished with his mystic scroll! Bhishma was roused from his dream but could not figure out the meaning of the dream revelation. Later when he asked a sadhu about it, the latter construed the dream message as a mantropadesh (initiation into a mantra) and that Satchidanand was the name of the Guru who appeared to him in the dream. A few years passed before he went to take Baba's darshan on the invitation of Khaparde. As he approached Baba for the first time, the latter greeted him with folded hands, "Jai Satchidanand!" Bhishma was instantly mystified.
The thought that Baba might be the holy man who appeared to him in the dream flashed across his mind. But, he blinked it away with an orthodox proclivity to identify the Brahmin Gosai with the 'Muslim Sai'. While at Shirdi though he saw many brahmins devoutly receiving Baba's pada teerth without any orthodox scruple, he gently avoided the predicament. Baba used to smoke tobacco from a chilim (a clay-pipe) and as he smoked he used to offer a puff to the devotees present. Bhishma was apprehensive at heart at the possibility of smoking a chilim polluted by the lips of a Moslem. Surprisingly, for the first few days, Baba never proffered a puff to Bhishma even though he was sitting almost at his elbow. One day Baba was running over a parable to a group of devotees including Bhishma. Suddenly he stopped the narration and passed the chilim to Bhishma and bade him to smoke. Bhishma did Baba's bidding without any demur. Then Baba said, "Look here, I move about everywhere - hills and mountains, Bombay, Pune, Satara, Nagpur....; it is Rama who dwells in all these places" After a pause, he suddenly asked Bhishma complainingly, "Well, Why do you eat the laddus all yourself without offering a single piece to me? At least now give me five laddus!" As Baba spoke those words something happened which changed the basic outlook of Bhishma. His fogyish reactions suddenly evaporated, as if blown away in the singly puff he smoked from Baba's chilim. Then he himself asked for Baba's padateerth and wholeheartedly placed his head on Baba's feet. Baba blessed him by placing his hands on his head for a few moments which induced a strange ecstasy in him. He went to the lodgings but still his mind was running with Baba's cryptic remarks about the five laddus. He could not take Baba's words too literally nor could be clearly construe what actually Baba meant by 'laddus'. Next morning he got up seized by an overwhelming impulse to write a poem, which he penned immediately.
The following morning it happened again, and thus five poems were committed to paper, as if under a divine afflatus. When he offered those songs to Shri Sai Baba in lieu of the five laddus he had asked for, Baba blessed him approvingly. Besides the five devotional songs, Bhishma composed a few more later. The devotees have appreciatively added them all to their collection of arati-psalms.
Thereupon, Bhishma prepared a booklet entitled Shri Sainath Sagunopasana which contained, besides the arati-psalms sung in Arati to Shri Sai Baba, some traditional hymns from the Hindu liturgy like, Purusha Suktam, Sree Suktam, Mantra Pushpam, Sri Lakshmi Ashtotharam, intended for use in the daily worship of the devotees. Shri G.S. Khaparde had borne all the expenses of its publication till 1922, After Baba's Mahasamadhi, the book has been adapted as the official 'Book of Daily Worship' at the Samadhi Mandir. Shri Sai Baba Sansthan, Shirdi, on making some additions to it, has taken up the publication of the revised edition since 1923. In all, there are thirty psalms in the Book of Shirdi Aratis. Of the thirty, only sixteen are especially composed on Shri Sai Baba. The rest (fourteen, i.e. about half), are traditional arati-psalms composed by the mediaeval poet-saints of Maharashtra (excepting a Vedic chant). Of the fourteen traditional psalms five are composed by Sant Tukaram Maharaj, two each by Sant Namadev and Sant Janabai, one each by Shri Ramjanardhan Swami and Shri Rameshwar Bhat; of the remaining three, one is a Vedic hymn and the other two are traditional prayers. Of the sixteen, psalms especially written on Shri Sai Baba, the major bulk, i.e. nine, are composed by Shri K.J. Bhishma, three by Shri Dasganu Maharaj, one each by Shri Upasani Maharaj, Shri Madhav Adkar, Shri Mohini Raj and Shri B.V. Dev. Linguistically, of the thirty arati psalms twenty five are in Marathi, two in Hindi, two in Sanskrit and one a bilingual anthology of short Marathi and Sanskrit prayers.
(Contributed by from "Arati Saibaba" by Sri Sarathbabu ji)
Rahul Sachin Dinakar Padmini Raghu Sai devotee Sai devotee Sankaran Vasudha Anup Sai devotee Sai devotee Neelima
Quotation of the Week:
"Meditate on what you read and think of God".-Shri Sai Baba
Q. How can one be consistent with their devotion to Sri Saibaba?
Shirdi Sai Temple of Chicago and Suburbs, Illinois, USA Shri Saibaba Mandir, Minneapolis, Minnesota Sri Shirdi Sai Baba Temple of Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas Shirdi Sai Center in Bay Area, CA Shirdi Saibaba temple, Los Angeles, CA Saibaba Temple, Columbus, Ohio Shirdi Sai bhajans every Thursday at Maitland, Florida
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