Experiences show that intellectual endeavors, howsoever potent and mighty they may seem, have not catapulted or thrown or raised any human being to spiritual heights. History shows that the highest spiritual masters are those who were uneducated in formal sense. For example, Ramkrishna Paramhans, Shri Shirdi Sai, Namdev, Tukaram, Paltu Maharaj etc. It obviously means that there is something self-limited in the intellectualism in the path of spiritual progress. All that the spiritual masters learnt in their life and spread among others is 'Bhakti' or devotion. "Bhakti" means love of God. Since God is not sitting in a throne like an individual, therefore, how to love Him. The answer is that God is in everyone and if one has the capacity to love others, he is doing real devotion. Even doing all the worship, yoga, pranaayaam (breath control) etc., for one's own improvement is not 'Bhakti'. It is one activity for fulfilling spiritual/occult ambition like any other ambition.

People in the path of devotion develop certain qualities that manifest in their daily life activities. They become humble, sacrificing, more universal and sensitive to the pain of others. They love Baba and flow in that stream unknowingly carrying along with them all that come in their contact. They don't try to pray to Baba for the fulfillment of any material requirements. Baba has a role to play to lead them ultimately to the correct path and correct goal. They have nothing to prove and, therefore, do not allow 'ego' to assert itself. This is the correct path towards Baba.

(by Guruji Shri C.B. Satpathy ji)
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Contributed Article: Our Baba is always with us!

There was a time, not too long ago, when I was much pained by some people and mentally suffering. I was very scared for my life and life of my daughter and my husband. I remembered that my mother had told me long before that I should ready Vishnu Sahasra Naam Stotra. Such is human nature that when everything is going hail and hearty we don't remember God. But when we are faced with calamities, we rush to God. It's like a little child playing carelessly in a park, not caring in the least about its mother or father. Then when the child falls down and gets hurt, the very first thing the child utters is mother's name. And so I remembered BABA and I remembered that I should read Vishnu Sahasra Naam Stotra. I took the Stotra book in my hand and started reading it slowly. The Sanskrit words were very difficult to pronounce. I was having a very very hard time reading it. I started crying mid-way. I felt very despondent that I will never be able to read it proficiently. Somehow, I finished it. It took me about hour and half.

After a couple of days, I started reading the Stotra again. This time it was even harder than before. I remembered Baba and said, how will I read this? My situation is hopeless. Show me some way... help me. I cried, cried, and somehow finished the stotra. I felt that I was not pronouncing the words correctly, therefore I will not reap good results. All the time I was thinking of what I could do and how I could read it. That night I took SaiSatcharitra book in my hand and prayed to BABA to help me and show me some way. I opened the book. Lo and behold, the page on which BABA blesses SHAMA with VishnuSahasraNaam Chapter opened up!

I started weeping out of joy and sadness. My Baba is with me always and at times I forget that. And He keeps reminding me that HE is there constantly. His ways are so gentle and subtle. I read that section of SatCharitra. Shama says that he is such a rustic and that he cannot even read Devnagri then how will he manage to read Sanskrit? And Baba tells him to read it slowly; even if he reads one word/one sentence a day, it is enough! You can imagine what a sense of relief I had when I read this and my joy knew no bounds. I wept a lot because I could feel that I was enveloped by BABA's immense love, like a mother holds her child close when the child cries and the child cries even more so as to empty all the crying the child has.
Next morning when I woke up one of the first thoughts that came to my mind is that I should try and find a CD or AUDIO TAPE for VishnuSahasraNaam Stotra. That will teach me how to pronounce. So, as you may have all guessed I found such a CD quite effortlessly. I listen to it everyday, whenever I drive to work. Now I can recite the VishnuSahasraNaam Stotra much fluently along with the CD. Someday I'll have it by heart!
Om Shree Satchidanand Samartha Sadguru Sainath Maharaj Ki JAI.

(Contributed by Sai Devotee Karnad)
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Experiences of Devotees:

Sai devotee, Canada
This happened the other day in Mississauga, Canada. My wife & me were driving to attend Mata Amritanandamayi's fund raising dinner. It was raining incessantly and I was driving slowly towards my destination. All of a sudden, at a turning, I lost control of my car as it hit the curb and jumped the road partition. Consequently my car's front tire burst. I was in a state of shock and without even realizing for a moment started driving my car. Passers by soon started honking pointing out to me the pitiable situation of my car's front wheel. As my wife and me were in a complete state of shock, we didn't know what we were exactly doing. We soon managed to park the car besides a shopping mall. In the meanwhile, I decided to call CAA to fix the problem. Even as I was calling the CAA, a white van screeched to a complete halt behind us. A White gentle man stepped out and asked our permission to help us. Bewildered and puzzled, we did not know how to react! Seeing us looking stupefied, he took command of the situation. He asked me to open my car's backspace, to take the spare tire out. In the meanwhile, he asked my wife to stand besides his car to alert drivers on the road. Within minutes, he replaced the tire, inspected the vehicle and certified that it was OK to drive on. As I wanted to pay him, I asked him for the cost, and he replied that human beings should help one another. We thanked him profusely for his kind deed. With his deed done, he soon melted into the crowd. Dear readers, who do you think came to help us in a strange city? . We believe that it is none other than Sai Maharaj, the great.

Lakshmi
Glory and Praise be to Our Lord Sainath! First of all, I want to write about my niece who has finished her FY in Shipping Mgt. Out of a 29 passing percentage, both including correspondence and daily course students, one can well imagine the competition and toughness of the course. She not only passed but also topped the class, she is a regular course student, in what is considered to be one of the toughest subjects. And just now, she was informed that she would be receiving a Gold Medal for her performance since she has topped the FY course overall. No doubt she has worked hard but the ultimate credit goes to Our Lord Whose grace is needed to make all things possible.

The other one and much more important is about my mother. She has been having some cardiac problem, missing and extra heartbeats, which required her to undergo an angiogram because the cardiologist attributed it to a clot. The procedure would then require her to undergo either an angioplasty or a bypass to remove the clot. We were all apprehensive and were awaiting the outcome of the angiogram. Much to our surprise and delight, the doctor said there was no clot as a result of the angiogram. So no surgery. This is really a miracle of Our Lord Sai Baba. My mother is feeling so much at ease now and takes some light medication for her BP and heart.
I just felt that I should share these experiences with all Sai devotees; otherwise these miracles wouldn't be complete. OM SAI SRI SAI JAI JAI SAI
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Devotees say...

K Gulati
I am a Sai devotee, who performs her duties with complete faith and Shraddha. I have many personal experiences with Baba. Sometimes, when I am doing Baba's Aarti my voice changes into some strangers' voice, and it does not leave me until it wants to no matter how much I try. Yesterday, during the evening Aarti, I heard two (first a young girl then a man) different voices, before I could hear my own voice in the last few minutes of Aarti. Thank you.
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Prayer Club:

Aparna
From many months, I have been thinking to submit this article, but today Baba made it happen. I feel very sad for, my brother has gone to us for MS and I always think of spending time with him, which is a dream now. Why be separate from brother? I also feel very sad that I have not been scoring well at school. I am suffering. Baba I want peace n I want to become bold n face the world with confidence. Please help me Baba. I have staunch belief in you, you can do it Baba please Baba I want to do well in life and do best to my parents n brother.

Tirumala
O Saibaba, Koti namaskaras to your feet. Please accept my prayers. If you don't want me to live peacefully, let me die. I cannot make my parents, my wife sad, because of me. I am in pain please help me. My wife didn't get her visa, why are you doing this to my wife and me. If I did something wrong in my past, please forgive me. My parents are in pain due to me. Please make their life peaceful. I don't know why I was born. Is it to make everybody sad? I'm looking for job, but I'm not getting one. Please help me O Savior of Lives. Can anybody please pray for my wife and me? I don't want to see anybody sad, but it is happening, please help me come out of this great pain. Since childhood my life is sad, I can't go through this pain anymore, please help me. I don't know what to do to for the future, please show me the light of path, which is good. My wife is sad to; I can't bear this pain anymore. Either you make my life peaceful or let me die peacefully. Everybody tells that you are caretaker of his or her problems, but it didn't happen to me. I pray for everybody to live his or her lives peacefully. If you can hear my voice O Saibaba, please make my problems and pain go away. Is my life not worth of living? Please forgive me from my past life or past deeds! My life is making so many people sad, if not for my sake, for their sake please help me. I have gone through lot of pain, please help me Baba. Whatever I'm doing I'm getting negative responses, what is happening to me I don't know. I waited until now with lot of patience, but I'm losing patience now, O Baba please help me. I read that you forgave lot of people, why are you not forgiving me. I don't know where my life is going, please show me the path of life. I don't what I'm doing, why I'm doing. O Saibaba I beg you for my life. I request the devotees of Saibaba to pray for my wife and me. O Baba please help us.
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Quotation of the Week:
"If you are wealthy, be humble. Plants bend when they bear fruit".-Saibaba of Shirdi
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Question of the Week:

Q. "Quality of Devotion: Why can’t it be the same at all times?"

A. by Krishnaveni Penumaka

Love, I think, is an advanced, matured and a modified state of attachment. Attachment could be a result of a dependency, an attraction physical or otherwise or simply the result of proximity. Sustained attachment coupled with an ounce of selflessness will help it slowly turn into Love. In any relationship may it be between father and son, husband and wife or whatever else, if we want to feel or get a sense of pure love then we should be ready to be a little bit selfless and sacrificing. We may consider our existing relationships and evaluate for ourselves to see if they are mere attachments or we should make an effort to turn them into love. It depends on US. Let's also apply the same to our devotion for God and check for ourselves. It is completely okay and normal to develop attachment to God because of our dependency on Him, but as we become more and more engaged if we do not make an effort to be selfless in our devotion then the attachment will never turn into Love. Baba alludes to this subject as he responds to one of his devotees' query that not all the flowers on the Mango tree will turn into fruits, most of them would just wither away and only a few will sustain to turn into fruits. It would be up to us to decide for ourselves and make an effort knowing that while attachment may be transient, Love is ever lasting.
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Sai Activities:

All India Sai Devotees Convention
All India Sai Devotees Convention will be held on May 28 2004 at Shirdi Kalyana Mantapam, Shirdi Sai Nagar, Hubli. Sai Devotees Are requested to participate in the convention and receive the blessings of Shirdi sai Baba.Sri R.Radha Krishna, Convenor/President, 4/2, Bhavani Nagar, Hubli-580023, Karnataka, India

Sai Baba Center in Toronto
Devotees in Toronto invite you all to join in our weekly Satsang every Thursday at the two Locations mentioned below. For more information please call Shammi Chopra 905 887 1752 or Roshan Dastoor Ph: 905 812 8290 or email us at saileela99@yahoo.com

Shirdi Sai Satsang, Minnesota
By the grace of Sadguru Sainath Maharaj, Shirdi Saibaba Prayer Center is established in Minneapolis-St.Paul, of Minnesota. Regular Sai activities in the Twin Cities, MN are being conducted at Shirdi Saibaba Prayer Center, 725 Lake St NE, Apt #139 Hopkins MN. For details, please contact hamaresai@yahoo.com. or call the Prayer Center at 952-938-2983.
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