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Sai Vichaar Dec 17, 2009 Volume 12, Issue 32 (In its twelfth year of publication) 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.Back Issues 15.Disclaimer From the Editor's Keyboard... Those who would like to write to Sai Vichaar for publication may do so by submitting via the article submission page. Please use your original names and check the box if you would like to remain unanimous. Using others' name is not only unethical but would constitute a crime. Thanks for your cooperation. "Question of the week" for this week is Sai devotees have a practice of greeting each other with "SaiRam". How and when did this practice originate? Humbly Yours, The Editor
Disclaimer Sai Vichaar is devoted to the philosophy and teachings of Shri Sadhguru 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: Baba's message through Javhar Ali's episode
Sai Baba met one fakir Javhar Ali about five years after his wrestling match with Mohiddin Tamboli. This fakir was learned and a scholar of Koran and had a sweet tongue. He started living in Rahata along with his disciples and bewitched the religious and devout people of Rahata. He came in some conflict with villagers when he started to build an Idgah [a wall before which Muslims pray on Idgah day] near a Hindu temple. As a result, Javhar Ali had to leave Rahata and he went to Shirdi. He started living with Baba. Here also, people were captured by his sweet talks. He gradually started calling Baba as his disciple. Baba did not object and consented to be his disciple. Then both Guru and Shishya decided to return to Rahata and live there. Javhar Ali did not know the worth of Baba but Baba knew the shortcomings of his so-called 'guru'. Nevertheless, he served Javhar Ali as his Guru with respect and sincerity. The loving devotees of Baba did not want him to stay away from Shirdi. So, they went to Rahata to request him to return to Shirdi. They faced the wrath of the ill-tempered 'Guru' of Baba for trying to take Baba back to Shirdi. However, after some discussions, both Guru and Shishya returned to Shirdi. A few days later, a person by the name of Devidas tested the Guru. Devidas was a dispassion incarnate and a jnani. He lived in Maruti temple in Shirdi and many villagers of Shirdi regarded him as their Guru. They brought Javhar Ali in Devidas' presence and in the discussion that followed, Javhar Ali was defeated and he fled from Shirdi. Several years later, when he returned to Shirdi, he prostrated before Baba. His delusion that he was Guru and Baba his shishya was cleared. Seeing his repentance, Baba treated him with respect. This is the basic story. There are a few interesting aspects in this story. The question arises as to why Baba accepted the discipleship of an unknown fakir. Was it because of his Muslim background In 'Life of Sai Baba', Narasimhaswamiji tells us that when Javhar Ali came to Shirdi, he saw that Baba [who looked Muslim in his appearance] had a Hindu following, worshipping him at the Masjid. He called upon Baba and asked him whether he knew the Koran and the Sharia't. Baba said he had learned neither. Thus, the fakir ordered him to accompany him to Rahata, evidently for some religious training. Baba went along with this command in spite of his knowledge of Javhar Ali's shortcomings. He observed his duties to his Guru respectfully and carefully. Sai Baba's acceptance of Javhar Ali as his Guru, particularly when Baba had already established himself in the hearts of his Hindu devotees, emphasizes his equanimity and humility. Baba's decision to stay with the fakir must have made the Muslim minority of Shirdi happy, as they perhaps needed some assurance that Baba was of Muslim background. On the other hand, Hindu people of Shirdi going to Rahata to bring Baba back to Shirdi shows Baba's popularity amongst Hindus. Sai Baba treated Javhar Ali with respect when Javhar Ali repented and asked for Baba's forgiveness. As in many cases, here also Baba showed through his own conduct how one should get rid of egoism, how not to harbor any grudges and how to do the duties of a disciple in order to receive knowledge. (Contributed by Azalea Rose, USA) Contributed
Article: Spiritual revolution of the present times What was really happening on the spiritual front in India and this world during the 19th century, when the Avatar of the Age, our humble and simple Shri Sai Baba had manifested as a human being, can only be speculated. But tying together the lives of well known saints and sages not only in Maharashtra but from other parts of India as well, it presents a very different picture. If one starts reading the lives and stories of well known spiritual leaders be it a Perfect Master at the zenith of the spiritual hierarchy and one with the unending or of other spiritual teachers who obscurely performed their assigned roles, one thing that stands out very blatantly is that all these events happened in different parts of India but during the manifested life time of Shri Sainath from his birth anywhere between 1820s and 1830s to his leaving the mortal coil in 1918. Let us start with some well known perfect masters. References to Shri Akkalkot Maharaj who attained Mahasamadhi in 1878 can be found in Shri Sai Satcharita. A study of the life stories of the great master of Akkalkot reflects similar experiences in the life of Shri Sai. Many followers of Akkalkot experienced presence of the Maharaj in presence of Shri Sai in Shirdi. Same thing can be said about other perfect masters Hazrat Babajan(1820-1921), Shri Gajanan Maharaj who attained mahasamadhi in 1910 and Hazrat Baba Tazuddin of Nagpur(1861-1925). Upasani Maharaj(1870-1941) and Meher Baba(1894-1969) who both went to Baba, find reference in literature on Shri Sai at some point or the other. Almost all of the great spiritual leaders mentioned till now lived or were connected with Maharashtra. When one tries to widen the search to other parts of India, then one starts seeing a pattern that most of the spiritual influencers lived at some time or the other along with Shri Sai securely anchored in Shirdi. One of the most prominent Spiritual worker of India who carried the message to the world from Calcutta is Swami Vivekananda. Swami Vivekananda's address to the religions of parliament was in September 1893. Swami Vivekananda(1863-1902) was initiated by his Guru Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa who incidentally lived from (1836-1886). Swami Vivekananda upon returning from his Chicago address met Shri BalaGangadhar Tilak many times, if one reads in the available literature. The same Tilak who went to seek Baba's blessings with Kharparde and later sent Geeta to be blessed by Baba! Another great yogi who influenced many lives and did lot of spiritual work in the west was Parmahansa Yogananda(1893-1952). Is it coincidental or what that in the same year when the west gets a taste of Indian sprituality, another great worker is born to continue the legacy by bringing the Indian Yoga system to the West in a very effective way. Yogananda was initiated into spirituality by his Guru Shri Yukteshwar Giri who was a disciple of Shri Lahiri Mahasya. The deathless Mahavtar(Babaji) gave Kriya Yoga initiation to Lahiri Mahasya in 1861. Wonder who the deathless Babaji could be? One finds very similar powers of travelling without a body, materializing somewhere else while seated in the front of others elsewhere, etc. attributed to the great teachers of Yogananda who did their work in silence. Speaking of successful yogis who worked outside India, another great spiritual seeker and philosopher who returned after studying in the west and took upon his spiritual practice in Pondicherry is Sri Aurobindo Ghosh(1871-1950). Going further south of India, another Saint who created a strong spiritual presence and self-realized was the Saint of Arunachal, Sri Ramana Maharishi(1879-1950). Some of Sri Ramana Maharishi's followers have experienced Shri Sai. One of the well known is Arthur Osborne, who went on to author the book "The Incredible Sai Baba" and another one, Yogi Spencer, who sought Sri Ramana Maharishi's help for attaining samadhi state during his meditations but to whom eventually Shri Sai helped through his unmanifested form. It is said that in the early life of this great saint, when as a kid he quietly left his family to make Arunachal his home, he was met by a Maulvi on the train who helped him on his journey with some information that made his journey possible. Wonder who that Maulvi could be? Now there are many more great spiritual souls who acted their roles during the manifested period of Shri Sai's life, some being Swami Rama Tirtha (1873-1906), Papa Ramdas (1884-1963), Swami Omkar (1895-1982), Sri Ananda Mayee Ma (1896-1982), Swami Sivananda (1887-1963) and probably scores of others who lived during that time and can't be named due to space limitations. We can only look at these Saint's lives and events from their historical significance and by the value their lives, examples, sayings and preachings help us to make ourselves a better person. But seeing what is going today in Saism, the growth of Sai Philosophy is at an exponential rate both in and outside India. It may be true that there is not a single state of India where Baba's temple does not exist. Baba has truly lived up to his sayings and anyone can dare and test Baba to experience and find out if he answers their prayers or not. Why is Saism spreading so fast after over 80 years of his Mahasamadhi and not before? Yogananda's and Vivekananda's centers to propagate their philosophies were put in place while they were still alive and continued to flourish. Many such centers were started with direct disciples or with the involvement of the family of the Saint. Not with Baba, he did not leave any legacy, no directions, no system, nothing. But still his work goes on as it did from the day he set his foot on this blessed earth. There is no centralized center or such thing that can dictate Baba's word or work! So, Baba continues his own work even in his unmanifested form true to his promise. Why is it then that amongst the so many saints who lived with Baba, Baba is called the Avatar of the Age? And if he is to be believed as an Avatar then it is naive to believe that he did not know or did not have anything to do with the spiritual activities done by all the great souls mentioned above and many others present during his manifested life. When Baba knew the past, present and future of everyone in his manifested life as explained in Shri Sai Satcharita, how could he not be aware of all these happenings and some how not have a say in the things going on around him, when he is the master? This analysis and continued questions that arise in one's mind raises doubts that what we know of Shri Sai and his work during his manifested life probably can never be understood or gauged but research into his life will continue to amaze a serious seeker. That in itself satisfies the true test of Vedas in explaining the nature of God when it stops itself without going further saying 'Neti, Neti'. We may take comfort from that ultimate test that what can't be totally explained and understood is God and so it is true of our God, Shri Sai. (Source: Sai Vichaar)
A Sai Devotee A Sai Devotee Ameet A Sai Devotee Quotation of
the Week: Q. Sai devotees have a practice of greeting each other with "SaiRam". How and when did this practice originate? A. Your answer can go here.
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