Sai Baba is Guru and Sadguru. He is not one that just preached but He is the one that practiced. It is said that Sainath was awake when the whole world slept. He commanded respect from all the forces of nature since He is one that controls them. It was a practice then and is now to question the veracity of manifestations of God.

Smt. Mani Sahukar writes in Sai Baba: The Saint of Shirdi, "The human soul, even though initiated in the spiritual path, cannot love an abstract power: and it is for this reason that the scriptures advise us to venerate those who lead us to God and to love their physical presence as the Divine itself manifesting in human form".

She continues, "The Guru’s mission is two-fold. First and the more important is to help the aspirant to achieve a total surrender to himself as God’s true representative. Knowing fully well that the human mind cannot be awakened without an altar of dedication, the Guru projects himself as an ideal. For, to constantly contemplate on some Divine embodiment establishes a divine channel of reflection, which automatically leads to meditation. The second purpose of Guru is rather paradoxical in that he helps the seeker to transcend the state of complete dependence which the Guru himself has taken pains to foster! The final spurt of realization is exclusively the devotee’s job, and the Guru withdraws his tangible hold on the one who is now ready to go beyond all that is personal and individual to a universal realization of Truth".
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(Dedicated to the Children of the World)
Contribution by Havovi Medora, Bombay, India

Chapter 11

My Personal Rapport with Sai Baba

Most of my experiences with Baba are very personal. However, since my daughter was keen to know what they were, I thought I would share a few of them with other children as well.
Faith in my family came from my father’s mother who was a great believer in Sai Baba. My mother got her faith when I was a small girl. Baba had granted her a wish and my mother’s faith in him grew stronger as the years went by. I have bargained with Baba, laughed with him, cried with him and the moment I think of or call upon him I sense a divine presence. A great peace surrounds me and I feel lifted out of my problem. Many devotees feel this way too. We must accept what is there before us. All our feelings of pain and pleasure depend upon the attitude of our minds. We fall ill and have our moments of anxiety, but Baba is there to help us through them.
Saint, Grandmasters and Messengers have all graced this world and touched our lives. But this unique and incredible Sai Baba stands apart from them as being the most approachable and most important of all. He preached no religion and made no demands. All his sayings and teachings can be related too easily. He taught us not to fast. He said God is not available on an empty stomach. He said all that is needed of his devotees is love, compassion for the poor, and charity where it is needed. No punishment should be meted out to anyone. There is only one God for all. He is the Sole Proprietor; nobody else is our Protector.
"The sense of differentiation as thou and I is the barrier that keeps away the disciple from his Master, and unless that is destroyed the state of union or atonement is not possible," taught Baba. How true! Very often, I sit in my home; suddenly there is an aroma of burning joss sticks, and my prayers get answers. It is Baba’s way of saying to me, "I am near." Many of my friends who are staunch devotees have also experienced this miracle of the powerful aroma of joss sticks, especially when they are feeling low or sad.
As for home remedies, I always reach for my jar of udi. My last accident at home was a nasty burn on my hand while cooking. Each day after my bath I would pack the burn with udi. There was never any pain. Two weeks later new skin arrived and before I knew it, the burn had healed without leaving a mark.

I reach out for udi innumerable times when my daughter or I have headaches, fevers, etc. I thank you Sai for always being there for us even in our needs for things so small. Just to look at his face-lifts our spirits and makes us know someone out there is caring us.
Baba once appeared to me in a dream. He asked me to give his photograph to a friend of mine called Jeroo (not her actual name), who at that time was not a believer in Sai. I hesitated, for Jeroo, her family is staunch Zoroastrians, and I was afraid that his photograph would not be welcomed. However, Sai insisted I give it to her. So I gave Jeroo a beautiful photograph of Baba and asked her just to keep it with her. Jeroo was surprised, but took the photograph gracefully.
A few months later I learned that Jeroo had cancer, possibly terminal. Baba knew of the turmoil that was about to enter her life, and he wanted to be there to comfort her and take her through this killer illness. Jeroo became a believer in Baba and today, after a mastectomy operation, appears to be fully cured of the cancer.
One day, I promised myself that I would give Baba two hundred rupees when I next visited his mandir. Come Thursday morning, my usual day to visit the mandir, I realized I had only one hundred and fifty rupees in my purse. Therefore, I took five hundred rupees out of my cupboard. I went to the mandir, offered my prayers and put two hundred rupees into the box. Then I returned to the school that I teach in. At school, I remembered I needed some toiletries, so I gave a peon a hundred rupees to buy them for me. Just then, I received a call from my maidservant at home that she had found five hundred rupees lying on my bed. I was dumbstruck. Where had all the extra money in my purse come from?
I checked my purse and found another one hundred and eighty rupees nestled there. All this while I had been under the impression that I had put the five hundred rupees in my purse. I had made a vow to give Baba two hundred rupees that day. Therefore, in order not to disappoint me, Baba filled my wallet as I had left my money at home. This incident showed me that when we wish to give Sai something, he takes it and fulfills our wish, come what may. On another occasion, when my husband was overseas on a business trip, my daughter had high fever one evening. Usually when he is overseas, my husband telephones us every alternate day, and he had done so the day before. Seeing my daughter unwell, I was anxious and wanted very much to speak to my husband, but did not know where to contact him. I prayed silently to Sai. Believe it or not, at that instant, my apartment filled with the aroma of many joss sticks and the telephone rang urgently. It was my husband calling to say he just felt like talking to us. My daughter was thrilled to hear her father’s comforting voice. Her fever abated shortly thereafter and we all were at peace, thanks to Sai.
So, I believe no matter how small or trivial or serious your problem, Sai Baba is always there for his devotees. One of his early sayings was, "If you look to me, I will look to you; if you take one step in my direction, I will take ten towards you."
I shall end my story with a few words from our beloved Sai, words that we should always keep close to our hearts. "I want to give you what you want, as finally I want you to want what I want to give you." With this, I hope all young readers have enjoyed Sai Baba’s Story, and will enrich their lives by believing in him and practicing the lessons he taught. END
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Experiences of Devotees

I am SAI CHAND
I am a devotee of saibaba.
I have a lot of experiences with SRI SHIRIDI SAI BABA.
I used to share an apartment with another guy while i was doing my Masters. I lost my apartment key. On that Thursday, I had an early class in the morning from 8AM to 10 AM. My roommate was leaving to go to his office the same time i was leaving. He (my roommate) comes home only in the evening. I asked him to give his keys to me as i would be done with my class by 10 AM and would be at home in the evening. I also told him that i would make a duplicate key for my self. However, he refused to give his keys. I was hurt because it was a small favor that I asked him. After I finished my class I stayed the whole day at some other place. To my surprise, when I came in the evening, I found a cop talking to my friend in our apartment. Do you know what happened? While my friend was returning from the office into my apartment, someone mugged my roommate and stole the apartment keys from my friend. My friend lost only his apartment keys-nothing else. The mugger scared my friend by showing his gun. I think Baba doesn't tolerate people who are not nice to His devotees. HE takes care of us in every way.

OM SRI SHIRIDI SAI BABA GURUNATHAYANAMAHAKIJAI
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Devotees say...

This is in response to the letter written by Bill of Colorado in the 15 Oct Sai Vichaar.

Dear Bill:

I was amused to note that you feel Baba must hate you. Let me assure you that words like "hate" do not exist in his vocabulary. Sai is so full of compassion for all - poor or rich, black or white. Yes, I can understand that you are feeling desolate, but please don't give up. He is not known as the Unique Saint for nothing; he is a most kind and lovable soul.

There have been times when I have felt he doesn't listen, but believe me he is listening. Here's an example of just how well he listens. Once, I was in bad mood and my daughter was preparing to go to my mother's house to spend the day. She was swinging a glass bowl in a plastic bag, and I told her that if she broke the bowl I would break her leg! Of course, I didn't mean it literally and it was downright silly of me to have said it.

Later that day, I went over to my mother's house and returned home with the bowl. On my way back, as I walked through the lobby of my apartment block, I felt a push in my back. Before I knew it, the glass bowl flew out of my hands and broke on the marbled floor. That's when I heard Sai's voice tell me, "You're lucky I didn't break your leg!" I felt so ashamed and mentally apologised to Sai instantly. I felt no pain although I had fallen quite heavily. Baba forgave me, asking me to be more gentle with my daughter in future.

Baba loves us all and, no matter what, his love is unconditional. He says, "You take one step towards me and I'll take ten towards you." Bill, do start reading the Sai Satcharitra again and believe that Baba will always be there for you. He has a reason for everything and he will not forsake you. Yes, you will know his power and love - just have patience and faith.

Havovi Medora, Bombay
18 Oct 1998

Shirdi Darshan, the video clip is a wonderful addition to this web site. Watching Shirdi Darshan was an out- of - the world experience. I felt transported to Shirdi. Thank you so much for making this possible. May Baba bless you all and help you in making this site better and better. I am eagerly awaiting part 2 of Sai Darshan. Can you also try to post the English/Hindi translation of the various arthis?

SaiRam.
Butchi Gollpudi.

Really appreciated the new Sai screen saver I being a Computer Instructor at on eof the Institutes In Dubai Have installed that screen saver in our Office & my some Sai Bhakt Students really appreciated it Thanks for keeping me updated.

Keep me posted

Regards
Rehan.......
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