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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... In the true spirit of Sai devotion, contributors are requested to remember the global nature of Sai Vichaar readership. Therefore, the content, language, style and presentation, appropriate to a worldwide readership will be more rewarding and fulfilling. 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. The "Question of the week" for this week is Sri Saibaba said, "Purification of mind is absolute necessity for the spiritual growth, without this all sadhanas are of no use" - Comment? Humbly Yours, The Editor
Disclaimer Sai Vichaar is devoted to the philosophy and teachings of Shri Sadhguru 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:
Call me to Shirdi!
Baba said, "I draw to Me My man from far off, or even across the seven seas, like a sparrow with a string fastened to its feet." He also made it clear to him that if he were not Baba's man, he would not be attracted to Him and given a darshan. Baba also said that He is not the three cubits long body that lived in Shirdi but He will manifest wherever there is true longing and devotion. The above statements may appear to contradict unless one sees the real context in which they are uttered or used. Realizing Baba in places other than Shirdi is a true pursuit of Baba in the attempts to see Baba in every being. However, visiting a pilgrim center such as Shirdi is a recommended practice for a Saadhaka. It is a suggested that every Muslim must do Haj at least once in his lifetime. It is also true that visiting Babylon is one of the desires of most Christians. The physical presence of a devotee in Shirdi, the taste of its water, soil, and breeze, the perfumes of the air and the chanting of the aarthis in the presence of so many other devotees has a magical effect. Standing in the Samadhi mandir, in front of the piercing eyes of love and compassion does away with the pain and suffering of the visitors with one stroke. The assurances of material and spiritual wealth come to reality. Once a devotee steps on the soil of Shirdi, his life is set on a different course. One immense longing that a devotee leaves Shirdi with is that he should return to Shirdi. The power of the magic soil is such!
Contributed Article: The Guru awakens and heals the mind
The insatiable spirit of inquiry, investigation and discovery to make life totally happy and worth living has led man to unravel many secrets of creation and to make his life more and more comfortable. But, eclipsing all these achievements is the constant fear of old age, disease and death from which no mortal can escape, and all men are mortal! Evidently, man's quest remains incomplete as long as he cannot extricate himself from the clutches of mortality and attain eternal peace and bliss. How can he do it?
God alone, who is Omnipresent, Omnipotent and Omniscient, possesses these prerogatives of immortality and eternal peace and bliss. If, therefore, man wishes to acquire these qualities, he should attain Godhead. How can a mortal gain immortality? How can an ignorant man acquire knowledge? It is only possible through the guidance of a teacher, who has already acquired that knowledge. Similarly, the mortal man should seek the guidance of one who has already acquired Godhead, that is, a Guru.
Who is a true Guru? Obviously Guru is one who has attained Godhead. He is immortal, and is the very embodiment of Peace and Bliss. The true meaning of Guru is "One who dispels darkness of Ignorance"."GU" means "Darkness of Ignorance" and "RU" means "One who destroys or removes". Hence a Guru is one characterized as someone who dispels spiritual ignorance (darkness), with spiritual illumination (light) - as per Advaya Taraka Upanishad (verse 16) Every individual who wishes to rise above his existing levels needs a lighthouse, a guiding star to guide him on the journey of life, who can help by dispelling darkness at every step.
The word Guru also means "One who is beyond Attributes and Forms". GU stands for Gunaatheetha - One who transcends the three Gunas (Satva, Rajas and Thamas) RU stands for Rupavarjitha - One who is formless. The One who is beyond all attributes and forms is none other than the Supreme Self who is resident within each of us. Prince or commoner, rich or poor, every individual who wishes to get empowered and enlightened benefits greatly from the guidance of an Able Guru. Even the Gods sought out Gurus for themselves. Lord Krishna's guru was Sandipani Maharshi. Lord Rama and Laxmana along with many other Princes learnt all skills from their Spiritual master, Guru Vasishtha.
In Sri Sai Satcharitra a seeker asks Baba: "Where to go?" Baba replies "High up". The seeker then asks "How to go there?" Baba answers: "Take a guide; he will take you straight to your destination, avoiding wolves, tigers and ditches etc. on the way. If there be no guide, there is the danger of your being lost in the jungles or falling into ditches."
Lord Swaminarayan ordained Sikshapatri, containing 212 conventions of code of conduct for every human being. One of the points reads: "Even the most learned of men will become morally declined if he is not involved in devotion to God and in good acquaintance."
This Jiva (human soul) transcends the three qualities, viz. Satva, Rajas and Thamas, but being deluded by Maya, he forgets his nature which is 'Existence-Knowledge-Bliss', and thinks that he is the doer and enjoyer and thus entangles himself in endless miseries and does not know the way of deliverance. The only way of deliverance is Loving Devotion towards the Guru's feet. The great Player or Actor Lord Sainath has delighted His Bhaktas and transformed them into Himself (His nature).
In Baba's words," No Sadhanas, nor Proficiency in the six Shastras, are necessary. Have faith and confidence in your Guru. Believe fully, that Guru is the sole Actor or Doer. Blessed is he who knows the greatness of his Guru and thinks him to be Hari, Hara and Brahma (Trimurti) Incarnate." (Sri Sai Satcharitra Chap18/19). Lord Sainath also urged that bookish knowledge is worthless and added, " Let us do our prescribed duty and surrender our Body, Mind and Five Pranas (Life) to the Guru's feet. Guru is God, all pervading. To get this conviction, strong unbounded Faith is necessary." (Sai Satcharitra Chap 32)
Many seers have made various suggestions on how to embark on the spiritual path according to their perceived wisdom. Is there a universally accepted spiritual definition? How should one lead one's life, which balances both the spiritual and the material? To understand all this and choose the right path for a balanced life of duty, responsibility, love, detachment and striving for higher consciousness, you need the Grace and Guidance of a Spiritual master. As the saying goes " When the disciple is ready the Master arrives."
Friends, Let us purify our hearts to let the Divine dwell in it. Let us install our Guru God, our Sadguru Sainath, in our hearts!
(Contributed by Sai Eashwari)
Rohit But then I thought, if Shri Saibaba would actually come back, how many of us would just leave all our work / meetings / everything in the middle & go all the way to have his darshan. I think nearly half of the world would do so. But tell me how many of us make it a point to visit / talk or even spend some quality time with our parents / aged elders & not have the usual excuse - " too busy or too tired so not much time in hand!!! ". If Baba gave spiritual discourses ... Wouldn't everyone listen with patience & obey whatever baba spoke, But again tell me how many of us listen / obey to whatever our parents / elders say and not just fret & fume regarding it as another lecture? We all would love to cook for baba, make different types of sweets, feed him day in & day out, would do all types of seva i.e., sweeping/mopping, cleaning his utensils, massage his tired legs etc just to see that baba does not have any sort of discomfort. Now tell me how many of us would be willing to do the same for our parents / aged elders if so when required and not leaving them in the hands of full time maids. We would be bringing different types of expensive gifts/flowers etc for Baba. But how many times have you gifted anything to your parents / elders and not waited for an occasion to do so and that even without keeping the price tag in mind. Bowing down and dong naman to Shri Sai and touching his feet for blessings.... good!. But also do the same to your parents / aged elders and seek their blessings as not only charity begins at home but blessing too should begin at home!!! When you look into the eyes of Saibaba don't you feel a sense of security and hope....Well look into your parents' eyes too...see their sorrows / troubles and see how they feel a sense of security and hope!!! So, you readers of this thought of mine, think about it...and give the aged be it your parents / elders the sort of respect / time & love you would give to Baba as Baba is yet alive in the form of your aged parents / elders. Finally I end by asking forgiveness as I hope I have not hurt anybody's feelings but I do hope that I have aroused everybody's feelings towards their parents! Chris Baba took care of both our problems - the bounced payments, and the ability to continue to service our client while proceedings were going on. While other companies awaited the outcome of the bankruptcy proceedings, our client obtained permission to continue to work with vendors. The second miracle was that the client took care of the bounced payments even though this was an additional expense for them. So, Thanks to Baba a hopeless situation was resolved without any loss. Sairam. Malathi P Bakul Saroj Kay Sai devotee Jayanthi Savithri Sai devotee Sai devotee Sai devotee Sai devotee Sai devotee
Quotation of the Week:
Shri Sai Baba's conversation and sayings were not delivered with the purpose of dazzling a handfull of intellectuals with technical discussions of philosophy; his aim was to rouse the moral insight of the average seeker. Often employing analogies and similies drawn from experiences that are common to all men and women, the Master was able to carry conviction and inspiration to those who came to him-Mani Sahukar in Saibaba: The Saint of Shirdi
Q. Sri Saibaba said, "Purification of mind is absolute necessity for the spiritual growth, without this all sadhanas are of no use" - Comment? A. by Mukesh I agree with the statement that mind must be in pure state for spiritual growth. On the other hand, I believe that if you make an attempt for spiritual growth regardless of state of mind, it will bring purity in your mind slowly. As you progress in the direction of spiritual growth, you will start to realize that let me get rid of unwanted elements/thoughts in my mind. In this day and age, we face many issues, temptations, materialistic comforts, etc.; there are more chances that lots of impurity of mind exists. Hence, I believe that we should make an attempt for spiritual growth even though mind is not pure. Spiritual aspects are so strong that negative elements/thoughts in mind will be driven away without specific effort to do so. In short: "Purification of mind enhances spiritual growth and spiritual growth enhances purification of mind". Win-win situation. A. by Nainesh Mind has to be steady and pure with lots of love for our Lord in order for spiritual growth. I know it's hard since this maya always pulls it in different directions especially when we try to pray. Have faith and patience and keep chanting Sai Sai and eventually it will become calm like a candle on a windless night.
Shirdi Sai Temple of Chicago and Suburbs, Illinois, USA Sri Saibaba Mandir, Minneapolis, MN Sri Shirdi Sai Baba Temple of Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas Shirdi Sai Temple of New England, Boston Area 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 Sri Shirdi Sai Temple of Austin, TX Shirdi Sai Mandir, Dulles, VA Shirdi Sai Mandir, Toronto
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