Feature of the week: Gratitude and Devotion

Time and again, it needs to be stressed that mere gratitude to Sainath for what He bestowed on us is not necessary. 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 any kind of 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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Experiences of Devotees

MRK, Phoenix, AZ, USA
Asthma cure by Sai Maharaj. In 1916, one Kasibai and her husband Hansraj visited and stayed in Shirdi for six months serving Sai maharaj. Hansraj was suffering from severe asthma. Earlier the couple visited a siddha purusha Narasinga maharaj in Nasik. They submitted to him they are without children and Hansraj was suffering from asthma. Narasingmaharaj told them to go to Sai and that he would dispel a bhooth (evil) occupying Hansraj. As told by Narasinga, they came over to Shirdi Sai Baba. The moment Hansraj met Sai, he gave him two slaps and directed the bhooth (evil) to leave Hansraj and it left him. Due to Sai's grace, they got children. As far as asthma is concerned, Sai told Hansraj not to eat curds and sour foods. Hansraj did not follow the instructions. He liked to eat cultured yogurt. Every night, he used to keep milk with the culture, but a cat used to come and eat it away. One day Hansraj spied on the cat and beat him with stick. Next morning, he went to see Sai. Then Baba said to all that were present, "there is stupid fellow in a village. I told him many times not to eat curds, but he continued eat. Then I used to go in the shape of a cat and I used to drink away the curds. One day, he beat me with a stick'" and showed the stick mark on the back of his own shoulder. Hansraj till then thought that he beat the cat. Now, realizing what he did, he fell on the feet of Baba and prayed for forgiveness. The ocean of compassion, Baba excused him. From then on Hansraj gave up eating curds and sour foods and was free of asthma. The above incident was mentioned to Sri.B.V.Narasimha Swamiji in on 2 Dec 1936. SRI B.V.Narasimha swamiji commented on this story as follows:-- Sai means Swamy, Bhagavan. Baba was Jagatpita (father of the cosmos). Baba took avatar to establish Dharma, punish the bad and protect the good. His mission was to establish peace and understanding and establishing equality and camaraderie between all religions. Whoever saw Him did so because of good karmas in his previous life. His grace was some how to convert the erring humans towards divinity. Even when a child weeps, bitter medicine will be administered by mother. Likewise, Sai mother is converting persons who surrendered to him by Sama, Dana, Bheda, and Dandopaya (by good words, by charity, by separating, and by punishing). The story of Hansraj is one such example.

Veena Gupta, New Delhi, India
It was in 1995 that I felt that Baba is asking me to come to Shirdi and tie Rakhi on Raksha Bandhan. My husband was unable to come with me due to office work, so I decided to go along with my younger son and booked the Railway tickets. At Shirdi, we were provided VIP accommodation at the Prasadalay. I tied Rakhi to Baba. Baba also wore the dress, which we took for Him from Delhi. Most of the time we stayed either at the Samadhi Temple or at the Dwarka Mai. We enjoyed our stay at Shirdi. We remained in Shirdi for 3 days. When we came back to Delhi, I was much disturbed due to my domestic problem. I prayed repeatedly to Baba for His help to solve the problem and then came the Ganesh Chaturthi. Udi started coming from the glass photo of Baba. It was 5-6 spoonful of Udi. The message from Baba was clear 'Nothing to worry when He is there and He has come'. Udi was coming daily. After 2-3 days, we started all the Artees of Baba. Udi was being taken by many devotees as Prasad. At night we used to collect the remaining Udi, cleared the mandir and made the Baba sleep by switching off the lights, Electric diya (lamp) and taking out the oil diya, and finally putting the curtains. It was the atmosphere of the temple. Many devotees came for Darshan of Baba and seeking His blessings. As it was homely atmosphere each devotee spends a considerable amount of time before Baba and had full satisfaction. This phenomenon went on until Ganesh Visarjan. On that day, we saw few water drops coming from the photo and they fell on the Udi and Udi gradually disappeared. During this period daily many devotees had the blessing of Baba. One devotee was from Russia who was having a brain tumor. She got her MRI done and surgery was advised to her. She prayed repeatedly to Baba that she does not want to die. She has small kids. She wept before Baba. Her brother is a Doctor. Her MRI was done at All India Medical Institute and by the grace of Baba, her MRI was clear this time and no surgery was required. She thanked Baba again & again. One devotee was having a paralytic problem of his hand and he was unable to move his hand. He requested for Udi and asked that the remaining oil of the diya be rubbed on his hand and shoulder and Udi be applied. Next day he telephoned that, there is much improvement to his hand. Such are the miracles of Baba. In this holy atmosphere, I was so involved that I forgot my problem and I found that it has been solved.
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Devotees Say

Shambu, VA, USA
Dearest Self in Sai Love, May the peace of the Master be with you. I would like to know if any Shirdi Sai Baba devotees can tell me if there are any song books with songs of devotion in the Shirdi Sai Baba tradition and lineage? How can I obtain one? And are there any Shirdi Sai devotees in the Alexandria, Virginia or Washington, D.C. area who would like to meet for devotions? I can be reached at AMEENVAB@aol.com May Allah bless your efforts.

Anonymous Reader, CA, USA
I am not a Sai Baba devotee. I do not harm anyone neither do I hurt anybody's feelings. But I need help and I do not know to whom to turn to. If in anyway this message could reach Sai Baba, I wonder whether he could help my children and me?

My wife is a Sai Baba devotee and goes to the Local Sai Center with my two children every Sunday, here. I know they all preach and teach good things and love everybody and so on. I hear this from my children all the time. But my problem is this. My wife is the biggest hypocrite I have ever seen in my entire life. She physically and mentally harms and hurt my children and abuses them. She has no respect for fellow human beings and very selfish. Always uses bad languages and her life is very self centered. There is no correlation to what she says and what she does. She can act beautifully in front of others and hide her true behavior, especially when she knows that the other person is "important" and may be useful to her. I think, most of the time she uses the terms "Sai Baba's devotee", "Sai Ram" and all that, is to claim a "social status" among peers. Otherwise, I cannot understand the philosophy and the contradicting behavior!

I wonder whether Sai Baba can "knock" some sense and understanding into this woman's brain, so that we all can live with some peace tranquility, if not in the world but at least in our own home. Thank you.

Madhu Chauhan
Sai Vichar, Thanks for starting this excellent site for Sai devoties. From this site, we come to know about the experiences of the devotees all over the world. Mrs. Veena Gupta's experiences are amazing. I would be obliged if you could give me her e-mail address.
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Question of the Week

"How do spiritual pursuits help material contentment?"

Raghu Vissamraju
Contentment in life is a state something which rarely attainable in many of our lives. It is that our desires are endless, satisfaction of one desire leads to another and thus they entangle our thoughts and completely take control of our senses and mind. Thus, we are lost in the midst of heavy fog or mist of material desires. Relentless spiritual pursuits magnifies the light of wisdom in the midst of thick fog of desires like a sunlight, and the fog slowly clears up and gives us a clear vision to look at the objective we are supposed to concentrate on. Baba's message to us to gain material contentment is very clear. We have to first sacrifice or give away the thing, which we are yearning to gain. For example, a Man who wishes to gain wealth for material contentment has to first give away or donate his wealth to the needy and the poor. In this context, let us recall Baba's say that "I WILL HAVE TO GIVE 10 TIMES OF WHAT I TAKE FROM YOU". Baba took Dakshina (Donation) from devotees not only in the form of money but in the form of a simple "Namaskarams" (Salutation) and blessed them with both material and spiritual contentment. Baba blessed with Children for Childless, health for the sick and with wealth for the poor. Baba says that "My Treasure chest is full and over flowing, it is for you to fill in your own containers, but it is only for those Children of mine who deserve and capable of doing so". Hence what we offer to the poor and needy is for our own self. We have to offer with kindness, love and humbleness. Our spiritual pursuits will not only yield material contentment but also leads us to reach the goal, which is our ultimate objective. Baba kindness and love has no bounds and so he says, " Poverty is something that can never be seen in my devotees house".
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Prayer Club

Aymee Minaya, New York, USA
Hello and blessings to all. It feels very good to be part of this site. The responses to the question of the week in regards to character were so touching that is amazing. The devotee from Argentina seeking prayers for her dad, consider it done today. I will like to ask for prayers for my children and me. We are all going through very difficult times. Now we are trying to buy a house in New Jersey after several problems upstate New York. This Sunday we are moving and putting our belongings in storage until the deal with the house goes through. My brother in law offered me a place to stay for three weeks until the house situations get resolved. I am desperate, but at the same time, I know that my lord is with me and that everything happens for a reason. Not everybody has a good heart. I learned that in 1999. I am working myself to become more spiritual and follow our lord's rule through out no matter what it takes. I know is not going to be easy, but I know he will bear with me. What worries me the most about this entire situation is my children. I will never forgive myself for causing such a mess. By trying to secure their lives and their future now we don't have a place to live as of yet. We are literary in the streets. Please brothers and sisters pray for us. Sai Ram.
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