History has shown that the Divine Incarnations (Avataras), Perfect Masters (Sadgurus) and other spiritual personalities are capable of bringing about great and long term social changes at different places and at different times on this earth. Some of them like Lord Buddha, Lord Christ, Prophet Mohammad and Guru Nanak also created new religions. Others have shown new paths for betterment of the human race and spiritual evolution of the souls coming into contact with them. When they carry on their Divine and universal duties as ordained by God the Almighty they are automatically supported by the mighty and unseen powers of nature. The possession and use of such powers is natural to them. These powers are far superior in nature to the powers that all others species, including human beings, possess. These are called 'Divya' (Divine) powers. From the word 'Divya' comes the words 'Devata' in Hinduism. While working in a human form these spiritual entities display the powers and characteristics of both human beings and Devatas as per their will and requirement. Just as the human beings have superior power and intelligence over all the other species on this earth, so also these powerful divine personalities possess superior intelligence and vast capabilities much beyond the capabilities of human beings. As a man does not always have to think that he knows veterinary or medical science when treating an animal, similarly these Masters are not aware of their divine powers when they are helping or treating human beings and other species whether in their worldly problems or in their spiritual evolution. They use these powers spontaneously for the benefit of others without expecting any material returns. It is their magnificent quality of kindness that propels them to help others and suffer for them. On the other hand, human beings, when they come face-to-face with such mighty personalities are utterly surprised and moved to see the miraculous play of spiritual powers.

Further, the kindness with which Masters use these powers for their benefit brings forth an emotional upsurge in their hearts. This is beginning point of Bhakti. This is what used to happen to anyone and everyone who came in contact with Shri Shirdi Sai Baba when He was in His human embodiment at Shirdi. Baba's capabilities to give immediate and long-term redress to any problem of any person (both temporal and spiritual) was so vast and effective, that even the most powerful and capable personalities of that time like Khaparde, Buti, Kaka Saheb Dixit, Chandorkar etc. looked insignificant before Him. Forgetting their material or social status they had to surrender to Him. Being totally overpowered by the personality of Shri Sai Nath Maharaj and deeply indebted to Him for His kindness, these devotees used to spread His glory. They spread the name of Baba mostly through word of mouth and through varied social interactions, whenever they got a chance to do so. Ardent devotees like Dasganu Maharaj spread His name in the rural areas of Maharashtra through kirtans, ballards and folklores. During the period when Baba was at Shirdi (between 1860-1918), there were a very small number of newspapers and journals in Maharashtra. Study of such newspapers and magazines shows that during that time, Baba's name rarely appeared in them. After Baba left His body in 1918 "Sai Leela" an official publication (magazine) of Shri Shirdi Sai Baba Sansthan came to life and this continues to be published till today. The prominent devotees of Baba like Dasganu, Chandorkar, Kaka Saheb Dixit and many others who were instrumental in spreading the name of Baba were extremely cautious and truthful in uttering or writing anything pertaining to Baba.

The two magazines, Sai Prabha (1915-1919) and Shri Sai Leela (1923 till date) were not commercial ventures. Neither the publishers, nor the editors or the writers had any commercial angle attached to it. It was out of pure love towards Baba and the real life experience they had with Him, that they wrote on their experiences in these magazines for the benefit of other devotees. They did not brag about the information they shared with others or their proximity to Baba. They did not write about any imaginary / concocted miracles. They did not indulge in bringing out competitive marketing serials based on half baked truths or speculations on Baba, as is sometimes being done in audio/video channels of today. Today nine decades after Baba's Mahasamadhi, His name continues to spread far and wide in India and abroad. As Baba had forecast, Shirdi is thronging with devotees from all over the globe and the number is ever on the increase. Hundreds of temples have come up in His name in India and abroad. The number of commercial movies, TV serials, magazines, books, audio-video cassettes pertaining to Baba in different languages is too numerous to be listed. Stories on Baba's life, news and views on activities pertaining to the Sai movement today and experiences of devotees can be seen through these audio/video/print medias. Some of them are good. However, what is sometimes lacking is a truthful and correct projection of Baba. Some people are perhaps not aware of the fact that a real Spiritual Master like Baba does not need a purely commercial venture to attract His devotees towards Him. By their subtle divine power, Spiritual Masters can draw any soul from any distance by their sheer will. This is what used to happen at Shirdi during Baba's time. Baba has clearly mentioned that He can draw His devotees even from beyond the seven seas whenever He willed.

A true devotee who has full faith in Baba would avoid projecting Baba through imaginary or concocted stories of miracles. Such false projections sends a wrong message to the devotees and works as a hindrance in their correct appreciation of the personality of the Master, His philosophy and His teaching methods. On this day of Gurupournima the devotees should pray the Master to give them the correct emotional and mental capabilities to understand Him through their inner perception. The devotees should not condition their mind through whatever they read, see and hear superficially but should read Shri Sai Satcharitra regularly and concentrate on the divine attributes (qualities) of Baba and meditate on His form.

A message from Shri C.B. Satpathy ji.
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Contributed Article: Poverty is better than Kingship

Sri Saibaba used to say that poverty is better than Kingship and that the Lord is sustainer of all. More often, the poverty is taken as not having any material means of living and the hardships one faces in leading everyday lives. Can this be true? For a Sai devotee, if the conviction that every bit of sustenance comes as the result of Sri Sai's grace and blessings only, the question of one having anything of his own doesn't arise. Thus, the question of one being materially poor or rich does not arise at all. Then what could be the "poverty" Sri Sai refers to? Let us look at this in a different angle. The tenets of Sufism included poverty, also known as faqr, as one of its important beliefs. William Chittick in his book "Sufism a Short Introduction" writes, "The knowledge of human inadequacy is knowledge of our essential nothingness. This human nothingness is sometimes called as "poverty" or faqr. Both fakir and dervish mean "poor man", that is, a traveler on Sufi path. Sufism is poverty towards God. To be poor toward Him is to acknowledge one' need for Him, and the deeper and more sincere this acknowledgement becomes, the more it turns into an overpowering drive to reach the beloved. Few pains are as deep as the lovers' pain in their separation. Knowing their own pain, the lovers yearn for the cure of every pain, and that is their Beloved. The end result is deliverance from pain and union with all joy, but without pain, the journey will never begin".

Sri Sai referring to His Guru said, "Night and day, I gazed at him with no thought of hunger and thirst. Without him, I felt restless. I had no other object to meditate, nor any other thing than My Guru to attend. He was My sole refuge. My mind was always fixed on him". Gurupoornima is the most sacred day of the year for the Children of Sri Sai. On this day, let the true poverty of our need for our God be felt. Let the path to the union begin out of that sincere need, the pain of separation.
(Contributed by Sai Devotee)
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Experiences of Devotees:

Kabir
I recently had an accident where I fell onto the pavement on my chin and had a deep laceration, hairline fractures and a couple of chipped teeth. I could not even open my jaw fully and was advised to have liquid foods only. Even this was difficult since two of my teeth had exposed nerves and having even lukewarm soups, juices, etc would cause a lot of pain even inspite of the strong painkillers I was taking. The actual surgery was a week away and the suffering almost reduced me to tears for a few days. I then talked to one of my friends who suggested mixing some of Baba's udi with whatever I was going to eat or drink. I prayed to Baba and tried doing this and was shocked to realize that my teeth and jaw did not hurt when eating anything! The curious person that I am, I tried having food without Baba's udi and had the same pains as before. This is still a mystery to me; how can my teeth hurt continuously for two days upto that morning but not that afternoon? I had been going through a very rough patch in my life up to then and I believe this was Baba's way of showing me that He was (and is) always with me. The doctors who saw me a week later for my surgery was surprised at how much my face had recovered. The surgery itself went smoothly and painlessly. I now offer anything I eat or drink to Baba before I touch it to the best of my ability. Baba proved to me again that he is Mercy itself and that he loves us all. Om Sai Ram.

Veena
Pranam Baba, thank you for the miracle that has happened in my life. I have been suffering from stomach problem and infertility problem. In the month of April, too the same happen. But this time it was so persistent that I just could not digest any food. Therefore, I decided to go to my chest specialist; however, Baba had another surprise for me. On the day of my appointment I woke up at around 3:15 am, in fact I was dreaming that Baba is urging me to have my urine tested and not to go to that doc. I heeded to what Baba said and lo, the test was positive. I was so happy I went to Baba to thank him for this good news. On 7th July, my doctor informed me that all my test result is positive and the baby is growing normally. I pray Baba to shower his blessing on my child and give me a healthy baby and to continue blessing my whole family throughout our whole life. I sincerely pray for all sisters having problem to conceive. Have faith and patience in Baba.
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Devotees say...

Sai
I finished my one-day sapthaham yesterday and you resolved my dads court case, which has been dragging for months, passed my brother with 85 percent in his java certification, and you even took care of my doctors visit. Baba, I am sure if we leave everything at your feet you are always there to take care of your kids no matter how bad the kids are.

Suresh
As wished I am posting this article to say my thanks to Baba for the blessings and grace for my US visa, and the kid. Forgive me for the delay in posting the wish in Sai Vichaar, this would not have been possible without Your grace. Please shower Your blessings on all of us and please take care of us all the time.

Sai devotee
Sai Ram! Sai Ram! You have done many miracles, I am imploring to you that my son should score well on the exam that he is going to take on June 14th. Sai natha please be with him and guide him. Please Sai Aiya, he should get the questions that he know. I am surrendering at Your lotus feet and I will bring him to Shirdi. Sainath Maharaj Ki Jai. Thanks for all the help and being with us all the time.

Maleshwari
Koti Koti Pranams and many thanks for Your blessings on our family. Thank you for the miracle of giving my husband a new lease on life. It was Your kind blessings and love that helped him get the treatment in time and it was Your love and blessings that saved his life. We all thank you sincerely for taking care of our family. Om Sainath.

Sharmila
Thanks for listening to my prayers on last Sunday, I was really afraid on that situation, but You showerd your blessings on me in such a way that every thing is fine now.

Shria
Sai Baba, thank you very much for enabling me to successfully complete my BBA and get the degree despite all hurdles.

Preeti
Dear Sai Baba, pranam to you. Thank you so much for giving us a beautiful baby girl to my sister and giving them good health. Thank you Baba.
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Prayer Club:

Mala
Baba, you are the almighty, you know everything and I can clearly see why this whole thing happened. You made me do this. I totally surrender my life, my conscious at your lotus feet. Baba please bless me and please guide me to do what is good for me. Baba if whatever happened is due to my ignorance, please forgive me. I believe that You are the doer of everything and we are just the players. How can I do any action without Your permission. Please forgive me for my ignorance and please fullfil my wish.

Sai devotee
Sairam, Baba you have always fulfilled our wishes and been a guiding force in our lives. We cannot thank you enough for your unconditional love to your devotees. If not for you, we could not have successfully given the presentation at our office. Baba you knew how tensed we were, we were not even prepared for it and did not even know how to get going, but you made our endeavor a success. Please shower your divine blessings on all your devotees, and us for all the days to come. Bow to Sat Guru Sainath, Peace be to all.

Surriya
Baba please help, take pity on Brian, my cousion as he is suffering a lot. You are our saviour. Fogive him for his sins of his past life burn them, he has cancer of spine. My request to all Sai devotees to take a minute out of their precious time and pray for him. He has received his last rights also. If Sai Baba makes him well, I will ask him to visit Shirdi when he gets over his illness for thanksgiving as we are in a country where there are no Baba's temples. Sai has always answered my prayers what about this one.

Sai devotee
Saibaba, you always help me out on my every stage, I have trust and faith on you. During my pregnency I am having trouble with baby's growth, doctors are saying it is not normal baby, but they didn't make any decision yet, just want to wait for two weeks. Please Baba help me out, I will accept Your decision, whatever you think I am happy with that.

Sai devotee
Sai, please bless us for the house very urgently ( You know which house and where). I promise to distribute sweet candies. Baba, through this give me darshan. You know I am very stressed. Jai Sai Ram.
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Quotation of the Week:

"Have friends that will stick to you till the end. I will never leave anyone in the middle".-Shri Sai Baba
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Question of the Week:

Q. When and how one can control his or her Ego?

A. by Sai devotee

Ego is one of the incurable diseases, which breaks good relations between the Humans, the only way to control ego is, only when we concentrate our mind over Sadguru, only when we surrender ourselves to Sai, how simple he looks, and his way is also very simple. Let us satisfy with what God gives to us. There will be different results between two humans, who are doing the same work, that is nothing but prarabdha, Sai says satisfy with what we have in present generation, there may be better results in future generations, let us think deserve before we desire any thing. If we have self-satisfaction, make mind and soul as one and concentrate on Baba, he will take care of it, because Baba came to this world to save the mankind, not only mankind but also every thing, which have life, nothing to worry about the future risks. How Baba protects us? It is a priceless question, but here is answer, Baba protects all of us as gazing day and night sitting all around protected a newborn baby, so that no harm may occur. Always Baba will be with all of us, though we cannot see physically with our simple eyes, but Baba sees us and always he will be with us wherever we go, Baba predicts the future of his devotees' .So nothing to worry about our lives, let us be confident and say simple Jai Sairam.

Q. When and how one can control his or her Ego?

A. by Abhishek

First of all, claiming to the know the right answer to this question itself defeats the purpose of curbing one's ego. This is only my attempt to shed light on one of the most difficult traits to vanquish. Almost every Sai devotee would say that upon falling at Baba's feet, one's ego is diminished. The probable reason for that claim is that when one falls at Baba's feet, believes him and prays to him earnestly, he has offered himself in body and soul as a whole to the feet of the Lord, begging for His guidance and concern, as he treads in life. This act of surrendering himself was also performed by Bali Chakravarthy, the Demon Emperor, as stated in the Bhagwat Purana, when he succumbed to the feet of the saint boy, Vemana, who was none other than an incarnation of Lord Vishnu. Ego is synonymous with the word of possession, "I". When the mentality of the person transitions from "I did it" to "Because of Him (God), I could do it", Ego has been quelled. All that is needed to control one's Ego is submission (to one's capabilities) to one's Guru or God and accept that all the good and bad is because of Him, performed through him. Jai Sainath.
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Sai Activities:

Gurupournima at Shirdi Sai Temple, Chicago and Suburbs, Illinois, USA
Gurupoornima celebrations will be held in Shirdi Sai Temple, Chicago from Thursday, July 17th through Saturday, July 19th 2008. Program highlights: Maha Abhishek, Aarthis, Satcharita parayan, Sri Sai Satyanarayan Pooja, Sri Datta Moola Mantra Homam, Palaki procession and more. For program details please visit the temple website www.saibaba.us or contact the Temple office at 847-931-4058.

Gurupoornima Celebrations - Sri Saibaba Mandir, Minneapolis, MN
Sri Saibaba Mandir in Minneapolis, MN will celebrate Gurupoornima 2008 from July 17-19. The program includes traditional Sai arathis, Sainaama jaap, Parayana, Sri Sai Gayathri Havan, and Sri Sai Satyavrata. Please visit the mandir website www.hamaresai.org or call 612-789-7729 for more information on mandir activities, events and other information. 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.

Gurupoornima Celebrations in Sydney, Australia
Shree Shirdi Sai Sansthan Sydney invites you to with family and friends to join and celebrate Guru Poornima on 18th July 2008 at 420 Liverpool Road, Strathfield South, NSW 2136, Australia. For more details contact contact Sansthan's Info-Line 0433 959 360 or email: events@shirdibaba.org.au
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