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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... Devotees willing to start Sai satsangs or sponsor the poor feeding programs are encouraged to contact Sai Centers that are currently involved in such activities to learn from their experience and for their guidance. For contact information or further help, please send an email to support@saibaba.org. Back copies of Sai Vichaar are available on the web by visiting the URL http://www.saibaba.org/whatsnew.html. Devotees looking for back issues may do so by visiting the URL mentioned above. Sai Vichaar and Saibaba.org wish to thank readers for their valuable contributions, feedback and support all these years and requests continued support and patronage. Please send us your comments by writing to Sai Vichaar. The "Question of the week" for this week is,
Humbly Yours, The Editor
Disclaimer Sai Vichaar is devoted to the philosophy and teachings of Shri Sadguru 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:
Fear and Sai Devotion
In nature, when two individuals meet, either they are attracted to or repelled by each other, i.e., they meet as friends or foes. Their respective strength, position, powers; sympathies and attitude towards external objects will determine the question of friendship or enmity. In the case of divine beings, the attributes in question include superior power, vast strength and protection or help to all creatures. So, normally, fear and awe are the first responses to be aroused when such a creature encounters the divine. These responses are followed by gratitude and service, and the creature may subsequently rise to or be raised to the level of being in friendship and love with the divine. This is accompanied by the spirit of perfect unreserved surrender ending in merger. Sri Narasimha Swami ji wrote that the above ladder of salvation begins with fear and humility and ends with transmutation of the fearing and separate individual self into the supreme self. Fear, like many other emotions, is seen to be a transient phase. Fear, though natural at first or early stages of contact, must pass or be changed into higher emotions and sentiments. Fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. However, it cannot even in the lowest forms, remain unalloyed fear. In higher cultures especially, it is seen to be soon transformed to awe. Awe, which recognizes the sublimity of Divine power, marks a distinct cultural advance. Even awe must be transient. If not, one would contemplate their life's time on witnessing God's miracles and stay at distance from God. It is unhealthy for one to remain longer in this stage of spiritual ladder. As fear is the most common, almost normal beginning of devotion, it is held to be a virtue. However, it is a virtue only at one stage. Fear is the teething ring or a rattle that has to be shunned away at one point in order to see the higher states of bliss. Inspired by "Glimpses of Sai Baba" by H.H. Sri Narasimha Swami ji.
Published by All India Sai Samaj, Mylapore, Chennai, India - 600 004
Contributed Article: Gurus
Taken from Shri Guru Gita - a dialogue between Lord Shiva and Maa
Parvati (An excerpt from Skanda Purana)
Om Guru, Parama Guru, Paratpara Guru, Parmeshwara Guru, Om Sri Mahadeva
Guru, Om Sri Mritunjaya Mahadeva Satguru Sainathaya Namaha.
Ever so many Gurus in the world rob the wealth of their disciples. But
Lord Shiva says to His consort Maa Parvati that I consider that Guru a
rare one among Gurus, who removes the afflictions of the disciple's
heart. He who is the clever, the discriminative, the knower of the
truths of spiritual sciences, the pure, is really the Guru. Gurus are
those who are pure at heart, calm, collected, of a saintly nature, who
speak measured words, who are free from lust, greed etc., and who have
conquered their senses and are established in good conduct.
Gurus are of many types with different capacities as below. The
intelligent one should know and test for oneself and seek refuge in the
one who is established in Self-Knowledge.
SUCHAKA GURU - Is the one well versed in all external worldly
sciences and who teaches his disciples the same.
VACHAKA GURU - Is the one who instructs the disciples about the
duties of the different casts and orders and about righteousness and
sin.
BODHAKA GURU - Is the one who initiates the disciples into the
mantras like Om Namaha Shivaya and leads him into spiritual path. He is
superior to Vachaka and Suchaka types named above.
NISHIDDHA GURU - Is the one who initiates his disciples into the
lower types of learning like, how to delude others, how to harm others
etc. He is a dangerous Guru.
VIHITA GURU - He teaches his disciples about the reality of the
world, which is transitory and an abode of calamities and miseries and
leads them into the path of dispassion.
KARANAKHYA GURU - He initiates the disciples into the Greatest truths
such as "Thou Art That" , "SO HUM", "AHUM BRHMASMI" and is the remover
of the disease of this Mundane world.
PARM GURU (SUPREME GURU) - Is the one who is an expert in total
removal of all types of doubts and who removes the fear of birth & death
from the disciple. One gets such a Supreme Guru because of merits
acquired in many births. Having attained such a Guru, the disciple never
falls prey to bonds to worldliness and is liberated forever. Just as the
ocean is the king of waters, the Param Guru is the King among Gurus. A
Param Guru is free from attachment etc., peaceful, always contented in
Himself, independent and who considers the status of Gods Like Brahma
(the Creator) and Vishnu (the Maintainer) like a blade of grass. One who
is independent at all times and places, who possesses an unshakable mind
and always blissful, who experiences the homogeneous essence of the
Self, such a one is the Param Guru. One who is free from the feeling of
duality and non-duality, who shines by the light of His
self-realization, who is able to destroy the deep darkness of ignorance
and is Omniscient, is a Param Guru. By whose mere Darshan (look with
devotion) one attains calmness, cheerfulness and peace and steadfastness
of mind such a one is a Param Guru. One who looks upon his own body as a
corpse and his Self as the non-dual Brahman and who has killed the
infatuation for wealth and women, such a person is a Param Guru. The
Param Guru is able to clear all doubts of his disciples by his knowledge
of the scriptures, logical and convincing arguments and by his own
direct Self-realization experience.
Lord Shiva says, O Parvati, there are in the world thus many kinds of
Gurus. Of all these, one should by all means and efforts serve the Param
Guru. We are all fortunate that we have Sri Sainath Paramguru, who is
our father, mother, Guru and God.
(Contributed by S Krishnaswamy)
Sruthi Previously I wrote my experience "Sai as Ganesha". Now I will narrate how I had vision of Baba in my dream. Although all my close friends are Baba devotees, I never thought about Baba very deeply nor I prayed to him. My engineering roommate was a Baba devotee. A small paperweight of Baba used to be there in the room, which they used to see every morning. We are group of six friends all of them are very great devotees of Baba except me because I never knew him but at the same time I never commented any of them. Well with God's grace when I was in seventh semester, I was selected in a Campus interview for an MNC company. My initial salary itself was 10,000. Well my mind was to accept any job even if it is 2000 because what all I aimed was to get into a job soon after my completion of BE. All my friends used to talk that after they complete BE they were aiming a salary of 15,000 or minimum of 10,000 etc. But I never had like that but luckily I got a very good job and placement was in Chennai. Now after my BE I am suppose to join my company and stay in Chennai. For accommodation I was aiming at joining "Ramakrishna missionaries hostel for working people." The moment I saw the place from outside, I made up my mind to join there only nowhere else. But initially I was not given accommodation. I waited for a week everyday going near those gates. At last I was given. My joy went boundless. If you do remember in my previous experience, I wrote that I was reading a Dairy of Vivekanada, which inspired me a lot. See how God has performed his miracle by joining me in that institution. By joining there and being with them I learnt the importance of "GURU and his position". She said that this ring would bring good to me always. Actually, she brought that ring from a goldsmith who is a very great devotee of Baba. While giving itself, he asked my mom to give it to me. Even today, I have that ring to my hand and I never removed it. My mom she was never a devotee of Baba. She is also not an orthodox woman. She won't do much of pooja also. But today she believes in Baba. Even today, I don't know what made her to beleive Baba. Only Baba knows. Baba drags his people near to him in his own way. Now I read Baba's Satcharitha also. In that, Baba asks for two things as Guru Dhaksina "Faith, and Patience". Now if I relate that to my dream: "Baba in the air next to hundi, that hundi was specially meant for guru dakshina only in that temple". On my friends advice I used to drop two rupees, which I never knew why only two. But I was very sincere in dropping that 2 rupees in that hundi when ever I go. I missed it only once (I dropped but more than 2 or less than 2 which I don't remember now). Now I know the reason and why Baba particularly appeared to next to that hundi only. He gave me an assurance that he is there for me and the same time standing next to hundi made clear that he needs his Guru Dhaksina which are nothing but Faith and patience. After a very long time I realized this truth. So dear Sai devotees please always remember the incidents in your
life. Don't forget them. There could be a message to you given by him,
which we need to follow. With this, I am concluding my second experience
with Baba.
Kavitha
Madhu Kuruvada
S Ramen
Dev Chandwani
Sonia
Shilpa Prakash
Sai devotee
Lakshmisujatha
Quotation of the Week
Q. What does Balaram Mankar's episode in Sai Satcharitha signify?
Sai Baba Center in Toronto Shirdi Sai Satsang, Minnesota
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