It is commonly assumed that man resorts to any kind of spiritual pursuit only during the latter part of life. Stages of life according to Hindu scriptures include balya (infancy), kaumarya (youth), grihastha (household), and vanaprastha (retirement). It is thought that vanaprastha is a stage where in the man proceeds for a recluse in woods and spends time in search of fulfillment. Should this be the case? Shri B.V. Hanumantha Rao in Sai Anusaranamu writes, "Time is a valuable commodity. There should be no waiting to initiate any kind of attempt for liberation. It should be done when all our senses are in right order and we have the right physical and mental condition. It is a common practice for man to wait until the earthly life is settled, and it is his tendency to procrastinate until he will be ready for the spiritual journey. In reality, such a day may not come at all. Every stage of life brings with it, its own situations that may demand one's time and attention. It is very easy to be entangled in the trap of earthly comforts, joy, sorrow, fear, and a myriad of myth. Human life can be short and no one can predict when it will end. On the other hand, leaving everything, our thoughts, deeds, and their consequences at God's disposal will bring a renewed sense of well being, happiness and fulfillment that is only perennial. Cultivating the attitude of staying immune to the earthly uncertainty will bring one close to the Lord and assure him of a fruitful spiritual realization. Living dead in such instances will in fact amount to Living in God
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Experiences of Devotees

Ron , New York USA
This is just my experience with Sai's grace. Over the past year or so I visit this friend of mine at his place of business and I was always drawn to the picture of Sai Baba hanging on the wall. It just kept drawing me in for some reason. I was not born in India but have seen pictures of Sai Baba at my Grandfather's house, so I remembered it. Anyway, about two months ago, I found out that someone I admire was a devotee of Sai and so I began inquiring more about who Sai was and is. So I would pay regular visits to the various web sites about Him. The more I read the more I became drawn to Baba. Now I don't know how I ever survived without Him. He shows me every minute of the day the love he has for all of us. He shows that He keeps and will continue to keep His promises to His devotees, now and always. I would just like to convey a message to anyone who has doubts about Sai and His love for His devotees, ' Just look at Him and He will look at you.' The examples of Baba's love for me are seen every minute of my life and I try to share these with the anyone I meet and in the way I live. Om Jai Shri Sai Baba.

Todd J. Scudiere
SAI RAM - I am a new devotee of SAI BABA. In June of this year I was going through a very difficult time. I was reading about Meher Baba on the internet and at one point they listed the gurus whom Meher Baba considered to be Perfect Masters. Upon reading Shirdi Sai Baba's name, It filled me with something that I cannot explain. It was as if I could finally relax, that all would be taken care of for me. I have lived in India and studied Hindi for years so I was somewhat familiar with Shirdi Sai Baba, but I read more that night. Then I had a vision of myself surrendering to Baba and giving him all of my suffering. He hugged me and tears literally came to my eyes. Then, the vision changed and I was dancing joyously 'round and 'round in a circle with many other people. There were bright colors in the vision and SAI BABA was sitting on a throne watching us quietly. I am a graduate student working on my Ph.D. and the other day I was feeling very stressed. I thought that maybe I had made the wrong decision to go back to graduate school. I went into the bathroom at the library and before I went back into the library on one of the dividing walls I saw the letters "SAI" scratched into the paint. That is all that was written on the wall and my heart filled with love. I took it as a sign that Sai Baba will be with me throughout my studies and that he would bless my work. I prayed to him and today I had one of the best days I have ever had in graduate school. JAI SAI RAM!
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Devotees say...

A Sai devotee
This is in reply to Siddhesh's question in Sai Vichar about whether he should try to convince those who do not believe in God. The purpose of life is to outgrow our selfish desires and ego, to live with faith and confidence, to progressively develop disinterested love for all beings. Belief in a personal God and Guru, such as Sai Baba, definitely helps in this. But I have also met a lot of people who do not believe in God, or who do not care to form an opinion, who are also very selfless, who forgive easily, and live with grace and faith. I have tried to convince them of my beliefs, only to be humbled by the realization that despite their atheism, they are probably more spiritually advanced than I am. Now, to come to your question, I do not think one should try to argue or convince anyone out of a sense of superiority or to establish the correctness of ones view point. God has His own plans. "Believe" and"do not believe" are just words, and the way one lives life is the true measure of Faith and Grace. If you feel called upon to explain your view to him, without worrying about whether you succeed or not then go ahead. Or if the person is going through tough times and you genuinely wish to help, and feel that he or she is ready for it, then try to explain your ideas. But always keep in mind that it is not we who generate faith in another by the cleverness of our argument, but God does it when the time is ripe.

A Sai Devotee, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Sai Ram!Miracles happen all the time and as indicated under the feature of the week:"Unseen miracles" so called "unanswered" prayers turn out to be a part of a bigger plan of Sai and also better for us in the long run. We need to constantly count our blessings and thank Sai for what we already have rather than become dissatisfied for what we don't. Examples in all our lives are many, from very small to some close to life itself. Let me share some. To start with, could anyone believe that I was able to find my wedding ring stuck in the fence covering a large yard and secondly, my wife's ring in a golf course? Yes, both happened. I lost my wedding ring, but kept praying Sai to please help me find it. One day after cleaning the yard while praying I saw my ring, with "O" facing me, in between two planks of a wooden fence door. The ring was stuck in that strange position, as the size of the ring fitted exactly in the gap between two planks. As the wooden fence is old and gets wet and swollen during rainy periods, the base does not move freely. We need to hold the planks at the lower level and lift and pull at the same time to close the fence. It must have happened when I did so the previous time. A few years back, my wife lost her ring in a golf course in Africa. Although she and her friends thought that it was no point in searching for it, I wanted to give a try. After some time, I was able to get hold of the boy (caddie) who helped to pull my wife's golf trolley. With the caddie, we walked together from the first hole following the ball path that he could recall my wife hit the shots. After about an hour's struggle, we found the ring under a fallen bunch of palm kernels. Both the rings were found as I was praying to Sai Baba. Even today, people who knew where I actually found the two rings cannot believe how it was possible - inwardly, I know that anything is possible if we have faith (shradha) in Sai and maintain our patience (saburi).

Dinesh, USA
I received my first newsletter today. Onetime in the past I was depressed and frustrated because of the failure. But because of his grace I came to the US and started to get my college education. Everything is going fine so far. But I feel little bit scared of the new changes in my life. Because of his grace everythinggoes normal again. I request you to pray that I will be able to handle any challenge of my life and for SWAMI's blessing.

Ambica
This is in response to a question asked by Indira Pothuri in the newsletter. The address to Saibaba's temple at Mylapore, Chennai, is All India Sai Samaj Mylapore, Chennai - 600 004, India. Phone : 044-4940784 Any correspondence can be addressed to Sri. Ramaswamy, President of Sai Samaj.

A Sad devotee
I have no Idea how to explain my problems.I am praying babais not listening my prayers. I am mentally, physically, and financially broken. Please suggest me. Please don't ask my telephone number or my resume as I think it will not work out SAIRAM

A.S. Rao
I have sent an e-mail with my personal experience when my son passed his B.E. degree, and my prayers were received after I had finished parayana of "Satcharitra" and "Gurucharitra". As you may be aware Shiridi Sai Baba is regarded as same avatara as Sri Narashima Saraswathi of 14 th century, who lived for a long period in Gandgapur. Could you advise location and approach route to this centre. In our next visit to India we wish to visit this wonderful pilgrimage center.

A.S. Vijayaraghavan
This is with regard to the query of one Shankari in the Sai Vichar. If any such letters are received kindly ignore them as GOD is not asking us to do such things. If you fear then leave the letter in any temple and pray GOD nothing adverse will happen. Sai Maharaj is there to protect everybody. To quote an example : The Fire will burn anybody if it is touched. Whether you love the fire or not, if you touch it you will get burnt. Likewise, Sai will take care of everyone whether you Pray sincerely to him or not. If praying then he will take more care. Let us all pray SAI for peace/prosperity/health and wealth for ALL.
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Prayer Club

Robert Alexander Snel, Deventer - Holland
Since August 1,1999 I have lost my job (again). I have had several (temperary) jobs for these last few years, but never a job witch suits me well and make me feel good about it. I have a bc. degree in Housekeeping / Facility Management and I am 30 years old now. My latest job was trainee programmer 4-GL for almost one year. I really have no idea which job will really suit me well and make me happy about it. I'm also thinking to apply for a volunteer job at MSF (Medecins Sans Frontieres) and work for example in a developing country. I surely can use some help to make the right decision know, many thanks
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