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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:
Mast!
Mujhe duniyaa se kyaa lenaa denaa (What do I have to do with earthly dealings? As long as I have your blessings Sai; I lay at your feet, always chanting your divine name) When Panduranga Dixit the renowned lyricist penned the above words, he was probably feeling that state of esoteric bliss. Sai Baba Himself lived up to this tradition. The Saintly Father of Shirdi lived His entire life in the thoughts of God. Always uttering, "God is Great", Baba gave immense importance to remembering God's name. Baba spent His entire duration in Shirdi in this God intoxicated state known as "Mast" in the Sufi tradition. When one thinks of God before every action, sensuous or spiritual, the desires for things transitory will surely wane away, so said Baba. The purpose of mind is to think. If it is given things of sensuous nature, the thoughts will be on the senses. If the object is Sadguru, the benefits are immense. Sensuous pleasures are transitory at best and will lead to the destruction at worst. On the other hand, if Sadguru is made the object of one's thoughts, it leads to a state of fulfillment that is permanent. Pursuit of things of earthly nature leads to longing that never ends while the thoughts on Sadguru leads to contentment that ever stays. Let us start this beautiful Thursday with the reminiscence of Hemadpanth: "Oh Sai Sad-guru, the wish fulfilling tree of the Bhaktas, Let us never forget and lose sight of Your Feet; we have been troubled with the ins and outs (births and deaths) in this samsar; now free us from this cycle of births and deaths. Restrain us from the outgoing of our senses to their objects and introvert us and bring us face to face with the Atma (Self). As long as this outgoing tendency of the senses and the mind is not checked, there is no prospect of self-realization. Neither son, nor wife nor friend will be of any use in the end. It is only You, Who will give us salvation and happiness. Destroy completely our tendency for discussions and other evil matters, let out tongue get a passion for chanting Your name. Drive out our thoughts, good or otherwise and make us forget our bodies and houses, and do away with our egoism. Make us ever remember Your name and forget all other things. Remove the restlessness of our mind, and make it steady and calm. If you just clasp us, the darkness of night of our ignorance will vanish and we shall live happily in Your light".
Contributed Article: The Sadguru the Destroyer of Ignorance
The akarma, the "non-deeds" (the things done, but not claimed by the doer as having been done by him) of the one who faithfully adheres to the advice of the Master, turn into good deeds. His deeds themselves are converted into Brahman. He is full of purity. He is so pure that whatever the actions (karma), nothing affects him. The image of the Master should be perpetually borne in your heart.
The sunlight is unbearably scorching because when the sun rises, once again, the daily life, along with all its day to day transactions begins, and with it comes back all the tensions, worries and anxieties. These anxieties bring about a burning (scorching) of the mind. During the night, while you sleep, there are no anxieties. In the sleeping state, the king and the beggar are both alike. The Sadguru is compared to the Sun. The transactions of the mind are carried out in both the waking and the dreaming states. The light of the Sun, in the form of the teachings of the Sadguru, destroys the darkness of Ignorance and brings about the dawn of Knowledge. When the Sun in the form of the Sadguru arises, it destroys the night of Ignorance and with it vanishes all of the sorrows generated by Ignorance. When the Sadguru accepts you as His disciple, He convinces you that the delusion of the worldly life is untrue. Such a Master should be offered a salute (namaskar). Why? Because we need Him, as He is the Sun, in the form of Knowledge. The Sadguru penetrates the night of Avidya (Ignorance), the objective knowledge and brings about the dawn of a "Golden Day" in the form of advice (teachings). Night means the Ignorance regarding our, "True Nature," Swaroopa, and regarding "Who am I?" True Knowledge cannot be realized unless worldly knowledge is proved to be untrue. The bird in the form of the individual (Jiva) is given the "Eyes of Knowledge" and is divested of the feeling of "I am the body" by the Master. He becomes convinced that He is the Self.
The Sadguru convinces you that you are the Self by advising the intellect. He also destroys the duality that has seeped into the intellect. He eliminates the discriminating viewpoint (duality) which taints the sight of the traveler treading the path of Self-Realization. When the inspiration "Soham," "I Am He" is generated deep within, the Sun in the form of Knowledge is at its zenith. The delusion, which has obscured the Self, thus far vanishes. How then, can the dream in the form of this world persist? Now, He who is the King of the land in the form of our house, the Self (Atman) has dawned. He destroys both, the apparent and the non-apparent.
There are two types of delusions, one is the delusion of the Maya (Illusion), and the other is the delusion of the Vedanta. The world is made apparent by the delusion of Maya. The delusion "I do not know the Self" is the Vedantic delusion. The Sadguru is always beyond these delusions. He may not be physically glowing but it is as if He, that Nivrittinath, (Nivrittti-devoid of concepts, nath-the Lord, the Lord who is devoid of concepts) has undertaken the venture of illuminating everything. I offer my namaskara (salute) to Him. When we come to know the greatness of the Lord, we can praise Him.
How do we praise the Sadguru? If we please God, he will grant us a boon or a gift by virtue of which we will get, even more entangled in the delusion of Maya. Vedanta is a marvelous invention. For the sake of the ignorant, the Saints and Sages of the old days have written down their direct experience as Vedanta. There are fourteen sciences and sixty-four arts. The "Science of Brahman" is the fourteenth science. Supremacy can be achieved with the aid of this Science. This Science which can be owned even by an individual (Jiva) is called the "Science of Brahman" and it can be achieved only by the teachings of the Sadguru. Therefore, it should be learned from the One who Knows Brahman and is proficient in the "Knowledge of Brahman."
Devotee Puja Laxman Sai Geeta Subramanian Alka Uha Preeti Priya Savithri Devotee
Quotation of the Week:
"All our senses, organs, and mind should co-operate in worshipping and serving Baba. It is no use in engaging some organs in the worship and deflecting others. If a thing like worship or meditation is to be done, it ought to be done with all our mind and soul".-Sri Sai Satcharitha
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 Sadashiv Kavthankar
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 Raghu
Once a devotee Ramdas came to Shirdi. He was a great devotee of Lord Rama. He stayed at Shirdi for some days. Every day sitting in the front side of the mosque, he read Vishnu Sahasranamam and Aadyatmika Ramayana. He made this Parayan several times. One day, while he was reading the Vishnu Sahasranaman, Baba sent him out on an errand. He obeyed Baba and stopped the Parayana in the middle. After Ramdas left, Baba took the Vishnu Sahasranamam book of Ramdas and gave it to Shama, saying, "Shama, this Vishnu Sahasranamam book is very valuable, which gives good results. I am presenting this to you. You read this sincerely with devotion. Once when my heart was beating rapidly, I suffered a lot and thought that my life was in danger. Under such difficult conditions, I put this book on my heart. It did a lot good and the suffering reduced. I thought Allah had come personally and cured my ailment. I am giving such a powerful book to you. If you read daily one Namam also, a lot of good will happen to you." But Shama hesitated to take the book as it belonged to Ramdas, who was an angry and quarrelsome person and a quarrel might take place when Ramdas returned. But he failed to understand that Baba's aim was to do him good. On his return, Ramdas learnt about this and created a scene even though Shama narrated the facts. Then Baba called Ramdas and said to him, "Ramdas, why are you in an angry and quarrelsome mood? Shama had nothing to do in the matter. I gave the book to him. Is he not our man? Why are you quarreling with him unnecessarily ? Always talk softly and with love. Even though you read sacred religious books daily, your mind still is not purified. A real Rama bhakta should practice equality and detachment and not attachment. With money you can purchase any number of books but not persons. Think well and act intelligently . You know this book "by heart" . Let Shama also read this and be benefitted . If you desire, you can have some other book from Shama in exchange for your book." Hearing this loving advice from Baba, Ramdas cooled down and took the book Pancharatna Gita from Shama, in exchange for his book. The above speech of Baba was not only intended for Ramdas but to all of us . Even though we read a lot of religious books or spend our time in the worship of God, there will not be any benefit unless our hearts get purified. Shyama was not a scholar professionally, neither he held any positions that raise his social status, unlike other devotees of Baba. But Baba's ardent love for shyama was unflinching. Shyama was so fortunate that baba cared him like a mother and looked after him through all the turmoils in his life. This is just because his mind was so pure and his love for Baba was unfathomable.
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