Time and again, it needs to be stressed that mere gratitude to Sainath for what He bestowed on us is not sufficient. The gratitude must lead to the pure state of devotion. Few are born with the absolute realization of Omniscient and Omnipresent God. For the most, the first encounter with the supreme conscious happens as a result of an event that defies logic. Everyone of us stand a testimony to this phenomenon; students getting rewards that they did not expect, hopeless patients whose fortunes were reversed for the better, the jobs that we believe Baba give us, and even the occasional bliss our spiritual pursuits have brought us.

It is also the experience of several that such gratitude fades away slowly with time as other priorities occupy the lives. Although conscious of the never ending chain of wants and desires, the spiritually aspiring mind gives in to what appears as the real happiness. 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 spiritual fulfillment. The myth of life also concocts convenient justifications for waiting for tomorrow, not realizing that tomorrow does not exist for granted. Time is an entity that human life has no control over.

Shri B.V. Hanumantha Rao wrote "Sai Anusaranamu" a great work on Sainath of Shirdi in Telugu, "Time is a valuable commodity. There should be no waiting to initiate an 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".
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Contributed Article:Worship In Islam-Part II

Muhammad the prophet was chosen by God to deliver His Message of Peace, namely Islam. He was born in 570 CE (Common Era) in Makkah, Arabia. He was entrusted with the Message of Islam when he was at the age of forty years. The revelation that he received is called the Qur'an, while the message is called Islam. He was entrusted with the power of explaining, interpreting and living the teaching of the Qur'an.

The Qur'an is the exact word of God; its authenticity, originality and totality intact. The Hadith is the report of the sayings, deeds and approvals of the Prophet Muhammad. The Prophet's sayings and deeds are called Sunnah. The Seerah is the writings of followers of Muhammad about the life of the Prophet. Hence, it is the life history of the Prophet Muhammad which provides examples of daily living for Muslims.

Islam stresses Oneness of God, Oneness of Mankind and also the Oneness of Messengers and the Message. Islam rejects the idea of trinity or such a unity of God which implies more than one God in one. Muslims believe that God sent different messengers throughout the history of mankind. All came with the same message and the same teachings. It was the people who misunderstood and misinterpreted them. Muslims believe in Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Ismail, Jacob, Moses, David, Jesus and Muhammad. The Prophets of Christianity and Judaism are indeed the Prophets of Islam.
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Experiences of Devotees

A Sai devotee, USA
Countless are the miracles of our Lord Sainath that he does to show his continued presence amongst his devotees. One such event happened on a dark stormy night on our way in the North Eastern United States. It was snowing and it was pitch dark. Visibility was at zero and only a couple of yards were visible in the headlights of the van. There were ten of us including infant children and grandmothers. The storm just would not let go. After about 8 hours drive towards our destination, we were exhausted and the mood was very gloomy. We arrived to a place where the road started becoming hilly and curvy. Every turn there would be a sigh of relief that we made it safely through the slippery road. As we were nearing our destination, suddenly it happened. The van went out of control and started skidding. Cries and screams from the all in the van led to complete chaos. It seemed like ages before the van came to a complete halt. Now the snow had turned into silt. For a full minute or so there was complete silence then started the sounds of relief that we were all safe. We were safe alright but we were not out of woods yet. The back of the van had slid into a two foot ditch! Every attempt to push it out would drive the van back deeper into the pit. God knew when we would be discovered. We frantically reached for our cell phones, the latest and greatest in technology but to no avail! These do not work under such weather conditions as were in! All we could hear was static from these devices. The way the van was perched, it became impossible for any one to come out without having to jump! We went back to work to figure out how to get the van out of the ditch without the ladies and infant children jumping out. In vain we tried and slowly our prayers to Sainath turned to tears as we were helpless and caught in a blizzard with nowhere to go. Hardly a few minutes passed by that a mini truck came along on the deserted road. We moved aside to let the vehicle pass. Instead it stopped short of us and a man dressed only in jeans and a shirt came out of the truck. He had no overcoat or winter clothing on him! He just saw us caught in the ditch and without a question turned around picked up a bar from the truck and came back. He asked all of us to sit down in the van, and to push the accelerator when he gave the signal from the back. In under a minute our van was back on the road and everyone was overjoyed. We got down the van and tried to thank hime and to start a conversation to find out who he was so that we could send a thank you note or meet him if he was a local resident. We come to find out that he was not from around the area we were in and just happened to take a detour on the road we were on. Then he got in his truck and vanished the same way he appeared. Who could it be? We leave it to your imagination but in our hearts we know it was our Sainath who pulled his devotees out of trouble when needed most! Bow to Samarth Sadguru Sainath Maharaj.
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Devotees say...

Abhay Chavan
Hello Alex and Helen, Glad you had this curiousity, which also arises from Sai's holy feet. and here is the explaination: Guru Dev Dutta, (the form of 3 dieties Brahma, Vishnu, and Mahesh, always had 4 dogs at their feet, representing the four Vedas (four great Hindu ancient knowledge from Brahma regarding the creation of Cosmic- universe, ruling and its end). This great knowledge is at Sai's feet as he is the master, controlling Cosmic.

Vinay
In today Sai Vichar (Sai Vichaar - March 01, 2001: Volume 3, Issue 41), under the "prayer club" section there were 2 devotees of Sai baba needing prayers to be done for their loved ones. I am very much moved by their situation, we all pray to dear Sai Baba to cure both of these devotee's loved ones and give them happy lifes.

Ragu C. Nathan,MD.(email: cragunathan@yahoo.com)
Dear Sir/Madam,I was touched by the heart-rending story of young Padma's recent diagnosis of Oesophgeal Cancer.I am a Medical Doctor in Boston,MA and just returned from a trip(pilgrimage)to Colusa(near Sacramento),California. Many miraculous manifestations are occurring in the home of Mr.Ami Mangru,a Blessed Sai Devotee.There is a Holy Rock with Baba's picture that materialised in it spontaneously,which is used to treat cancer patients. If you go with complete FAITH and SURRENDER, CANCER WILL BE CANCELLED!!. Mr.Ami Mangru can be reached by phone by e-mail at mangrus@colusa.net SAIRAM!.

A S Vijayaraghavan
For SATYA When you believe in SAI he will do miracles and certainly her problem will be solved and she will recover very soon. The only thing required at this juncture is the TRUE FAITH. Leave everything to SAI, HE will take full care.
For SHYAMALA When sincere prayers are made to SAI there will not be any necessity for multiple surgeries and the boy will be cured soon. I visit Shirdi Sai Baba Temple, Mylapore, Chennai every Thursday and I will certainly pray for the welfare of the boy. Let us Believe in SAI. He will do G O O D.
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Sai Activities

SHRI SHIRIDI SAIBABA SEVA ASHRAM TRUST REPURU village, KAKINADA (RURAL) - 533 006 ,East Godavari Dt. ANDHRA PRADESH, INDIA
The trust operates under the guidance of Guruji Sri Ammula Sambasiva Rao and performs various programs and activities in the service of Lord Sainath of Shirdi including but not limited to Samuhic Shiridi Sai Sathyavrathams, " Sri Sai" Saikotinamalikhita Mahayagnams, Installation (prana prathista) of Shri Shiridi Saibaba statues in temples as per Indian tradition and customs, Free marriages, Ahdyathmic classes for children, etc.
Interested devotees may contact Guruji at the following email address: gamorai@hd1.vsnl.net.in
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Prayer Club

For Mr. Ambica Prasad Pattnaik, Orissa, India
Mr. Ambica Prasad Pattnaik is suffering from blood cancer. It is prayed with folded hands to kindly pray for him in the door of god by which he can be totally cured.
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Quotation of the Week

"By accumulating good character and deeds a human soul can rise above and fly like an angel but most of them give in to satanic vices and fall down" - Shirdi Sai Baba (Source : Abdul's Manuscript of Sai Baba)
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Question of the Week

Q."Why is it Baba bemoan the loss of the brick"? A. (By S.V.Swamy, Hyderabad, India)

Nothing in this universe is inert! All apparently inert substances teem with activity and energy. Even space is filled with energy. In fact, energy and so called matter are interchangeable at the sub-atomic particle level. For example, a ray of light (not visible, but nevertheless light) suddenly converts itself into an electron and a positron. And the positron meets an electron and both get annihilated (I would say both merge into each other) and the result is again a ray of energy! Could that be the reason that our Jnanis and Tatvadarshis (to whom Sri Krishna refers Arjuna in Sri Bhagavad Gita, as explained by Sri Sai to His Arjuna, Sri Nanasaheb Chandorkar), visualized God, Para Brahma as Matter and Energy and something beyond? And they saw Him (Her, It) in every conceivable shape?

Sri Sai moaned the breaking of the brick. The explanation offered by Shri Hemadpant in Sri Sai Satcharitra for His bemoaning the loss is that Sri Sai behaved like us ordinary people since He took a human body like us and lived in our midst. Possible. But by His grace, another perception comes up, that He, being a Jnani and a Tatvadarshi, in fact, being like Sri Krishna, Jnan itself, did not look upon the brick as an inanimate inert object but as a life long soulmate! Sri Bhagawan Ramana Maharshi, another great Saint looked upon Arunachala, the hill near Tiruvannamalai, Tamilnadu as His Guru and sang many hymns in praise of Sri Arunachala! The following stories from various Puranas will be of interest. Sri Vindhya was a disciple of Sri Agastya and so bowed to Him when He, along with His devoted wife Sri Lopamudra, came down from North. Sri Agastya asked His disciple Sri Vindhya, to stay bowed like that till He returned. And He did not return but stayed in the Southern part of India, so that Sri Vindhya does not rise again and block the sun light to the southern part of India! When Sri Hanuman was proceeding to Lanka in quest of the Divine Mother Sri Sita, Sri Mynak rises from the sea, and worships Sri Hanuman and Sri Hanuman rests on Sri Mynak's Sikhar for just a moment and then proceeds on His mission. Sri Himavantha was blessed to be the father of Sri Gouri and that is why, She is called Parvati, Hymavathi etc. Though all these appear to be just stories, they convey a great truth that, our ancient sages, with their Divya Drishti, never looked upon anything as inert.
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