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Sai Vichaar Dec 31, 2009 Volume 12, Issue 34 (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... Sai Vichaar wishes readers a Happy, Peaceful, and Prosperous Year ahead. 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 What can one know from the experiences of Prof. GG Narke with Saibaba? 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: New Year Message
Birth and death are the two terminal points of human life. To be born is to die. In the cosmic period of time, human existence is like a bubble of moments. All embodied souls, be it human beings or any other species, will have to go through this short journey of a lifetime. Such embodied souls are known as 'Jivas' or life forms. There are millions of such life forms, both visible and invisible on this earth. Many of these forms are known to human civilization due to research and others are yet to be known. Their body forms, capabilities, intelligence level and periodicity of existence between birth and death are different and too numerous to be codified. However, the main principle of these manifested life forms is that once they are born, they must die after carrying out certain activities in accordance with their inborn capacities. Once they die, that is, when the life force holding the body elements together departs from the body or stops functioning in the form of a pulsating heart beat, the body elements separate from each other. The earth goes to earth, water goes to water and air goes to air. Hindu philosophy holds that 'Panch Bhutas' (Five elements) of nature merge with their primordial elements, once the life force departs from a living organism. Then comes the next question as to what happens to the 'Jiva' without the body? What happens to the life force that holds the body together? Do the 'Jiva' and the life force (Prana) have any existence and significance after separating from the body? Some spiritual thinkers define the life force (Prana) as the manifested dynamics of the soul (Atman). According to some religions and philosophies the 'Jiva' after death is re-born again and again. According to others, there is no re-birth or re-incarnation of human souls. This series of re-births continues till the 'Jiva' reaches the stage of 'Moksha' as Hinduism believes or 'Nirvana' as Buddhism states. Therefore every Hindu, from his very childhood, is taught to commit good deeds and avoid evil deeds. Like Newton's law of motion of matter, which states that every action will have an equal and opposite reaction, Hindus believe that every good or evil act committed by a human being shall have an equal and opposite reaction. The only difference is that, in the case of human beings committing such acts - good or evil, the reaction may not manifest in a single lifetime. It can stretch over to the next life or lives. Therefore, it advises each human being, to be prepared to enjoy or suffer the results of his good or evil deeds respectively in future lives to come. This is known as the famous 'Karma' theory, as propounded so meticulously in 'Geeta' and other Hindu scriptures. One often hears of Hindu teachers and pupils speaking in terms of 'Moksha' as a panacea to the unending series of painful births and deaths. Such people give donations to temples, feed the poor, perform numerous 'Poojas', visit places of religious significance (called 'Tirtha's) with the wish of achieving 'Moksha' or less than that to go to heaven (Swarg), a place of unhindered and absolute enjoyment and receive benefits for their so-called good deeds during life time. Many such activities are programmed like a modern corporate system - investment and profit, in this world and in the nether world doing noble jobs like feeding the poor and rendering services to the needy people is considered good. The problem is that, such an approach contradicts the other root principle of Hinduism which holds that such acts should not be performed with a desire, as desire creates a series of births necessary to fulfill these desires. Shri Geeta advises desireless (Nishkama) activities against desired (Sakama) activities. 'Shri Sai Satcharitra' and other literature on Shri Shirdi Sai Baba indicate that Shri Sai believed in re-birth of human beings. He in fact revealed to some of His devotees about their past lives and about His relationship with them during such past lives. He always advised His devotees to follow the righteous path of sacrifice, tolerance and faith in God, with patience. He has never spoken anything about 'Heaven'. His devotees were asked to cleanse their minds of evil or negative thoughts and fill it with pure and divine qualities and serve others without the wish to get returns. In the backdrop of what has been stated hereinbefore, it is for each devotee to examine whether his approach towards such religious activities is in accordance with the dictates of the Master. If confused, they should sincerely submit to Baba and pray for an answer. I believe that answers are there if the questions are genuine. May Shri Sai bless us all. (Contributed by C.B.Satpahty, New Delhi, India ) Contributed
Article: The Power of Nama Japa "If you always say "SAI", "SAI", I shall take you over the Seven Seas" - Sai Baba While answering the question of Narada, Lord Narayana says, "Mad Bhakta Yatra Gayante Tatra Tisthami Narada". Neither I am available in vaikuntha nor triloka sanchari like you, I am always present in the place where my devotees sing my name wholeheartedly". The significance of recitation of Nama Japa is very high in this Kaliyuga. In Vishnu Sahasranama it is said that "Sankirtya Narayana Shabda Matram, Vimukta Dukha Suknino Bhavantu". It means that if you take the name of Lord Narayana simply once, you will be out of the clutches of the Worldly Problems. In one of the instances in Sai Satcharita, Sainath suggests to his devotees to recite Vishnu Sahasranama to ward off all the difficulties. "Mananat Trayate iti Mantraha". Any word, which is uttered with the firm belief, becomes the Powerful Mantra. The sacred name of 'Sainath' came out from the heart of an ardent devotee, Mahalsapaty, like this only. The strong tools of Sai's Dharma Prachara are Shradha and Saburi. The nama mahima is well described in one of the instances of Kabir Maharaj, who is the greatest and ardent devotee of Lord Sri Rama. Kabir's son Kamal was roaming on the banks of the Holy Ganges in Varanasi and saw a trader was taking number of dips in the holy water to ward off his disease. When he saw this action of the trader, he could not stop and asked the reason for his action. The trader explained him about the reason. Suddenly, Kamal laughed and advised the trader to recite the Taraka Nama of Lord Sri Rama. Despite the fact that the trader uttered the name of Rama number of times he could not get relief. In a fit of anger, Kamal whipped the trader on his back strongly and the trader screamed in pain while taking the name of Rama. Finally, he was cured. Kamal narrated the whole story to his father when he reached back home. Kabir was furious and advised Kamal to consult Saint Tulsidas. Accordingly, he met Tulsidas and explained him about the whole story he witnessed on the banks of the holy Ganges. Tulsidas Maharaj laughed and then invited all the villagers immediately to assemble at his ashram. He took a glass of water and put some tulsi leaves in it and after uttering the name of Sri Ram; he sprinkled the holy water on all the villagers gathered in that area. Everybody felt excited and got a great relief. Those who were afflicted with diseases got cured after this ablution. Kamal came back and narrated the whole story to his father. Kabir was still not satisfied and advised his son to meet Soordas. Kamal was a bit disappointed but he decided to meet Soordas as per his father's advice. He went and met Soordasji and explained the whole story about the Trader and the subsequent experiences. Soordasji patiently heard everything and advised Kamal to bring back the dead body, which was floating nearby, in the holy waters of Ganga. Kamal was astonished as to how Soordasji, the born blind, came to know about the dead body floating in the Ganges. However, Kamal obliged with the instructions of Soordasji and brought the body immediately. Soordasji sprinkled water on the dead body and uttered "RA", before even uttering the word "MA" the dead body became alive. The incidents and miracles happened in several Sai devotees all across the globe are the strong witness to the fact that the undeterred devotion towards Sainath and recitation of His name with great faith has undoubtedly freed them from all the difficulties, which they were facing in life. Moving clouds cannot cast a permanent shadow on the bright Sun. Difficulties do come and go but your faith in the Lord Sainath should be undeterred. Utter the name all the time and He will take care of all your problems. (Contributed by Sai devotee Prakash)
A Sai Devotee I would like to narrate an experience in our lives that shows that Baba is God incarnate. 2 years back, when our family life was in trouble, my wife suspected she would have got pregnant. We went to a doctor for confirmation 2 weeks after that. The doctor scheduled for a scan and asked us to get the reports. We got the scan done and were waiting for the doctor' advise. After some 15 mins of discussion, the doctor came out and said the scan has been done and the result is of concern. The doctor explained that the Fetus is 6 weeks old and has stopped growing inside the womb since 2 weeks and it is a case of abortion. We were shell shocked. It was the first pregnancy and my wife was heart broken. Tears welled up in her eyes. I asked the doctor to double check. The doctor was a very experienced old woman and head of the Gynecology dept at the Hospital/University. To comfort us she did the scan again and showed us that there is no pulse and according to the dates, by now the Fetus should have a pulse and growing. She asked us to go for an abortion and advised us that it's okay for us to wait for a week and then come back for the abortion. We left with heavy hearts. All the way back home my wife was inconsolable. I could not do anything. I just prayed to god and accepted the situation. Suddenly I felt I should take a second opinion. After a week we went to another lady doctor, who was also equally experienced and was head of gynecology dept in another hospital. We explained her the situation and she scheduled a scan 2 days later. We anxiously waited for the day and after the scan were impatient for the result. The doctor took me aside and said the same thing as the first doctor. However she gave us a lot of mental support and advised us to wait for another week before coming in for abortion. We could do nothing but accept her suggestion. We went back home. That night I was very agitated. We both prayed to Sai, asked him to do whatever he feels best for us and then went to bed. Before sleeping my wife applied Udhi to her stomach. She did this daily for 1 week. After one week as advised we went to the doctor for an abortion. Before that, the doctor said she would do a routine scan. Now see the miracle. The scan showed the pulse and the fetus was growing. The doctor was shocked. She double checked the earlier scan reports, recalculated the dates. She talked to herself for 10 mins.we could hear her murmuring impossible..impossible 2 to 3 times. Finally she said "God wanted this baby to be born". She then gave us the happy news. We were thrilled. My wife was happy and we could not thank Baba enough. The Baby was born with no trouble and now he is a 2 year old active energetic boy. Baba's grace is unfathomable. A Sai Devotee Shaileeprasad Sai Sripad A Sai Devotee A Sai Devotee A Sai Devotee Ravi Quotation of
the Week: Q. What can one know from the experiences of Prof. GG Narke with Saibaba? A. Your answer can go here.
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