Feature of the Week: New Year Resolution

Dr. S.P. Ruhela in " Shirdi Sai The Supreme" wrote, " With the speed of education and emergence of the age of logic, science and concern for functionality in every sphere of life, educated people of today do not have much interest and faith in divine or spiritual personalities and spiritual matters, their miracles and teachings which they usually consider to be rather very traditional, superstitious or out of tune with modern times. But on the other hand, the sociological fact is that there is a widespread anomie (normlessness), misery, immortality and resultant insecurity and unhappiness in the world. Only the intervention of Prophets, Saints and their teachings of the right kind of moral and spiritual values, which focus on universality and nobility of man's existence can save the crisis-ridden contemporary world".

Devotion for the most begins with the gratitude. Human mind normally fills itself with joy when the going gets good. When a calamity befalls, lo, the confidence in the self crumbles, and the mind goes in pursuit of the power that would deal with the insolvency. Then follows the gratitude towards the helmsman only to be overshadowed by the power of the mythical world, the whirlpool. This is the game of high and low and the life is one of unresolved spirits. Is devotion just an emotional gratitude to one's savior, a feeling of thankfulness for a temporary material benefit? Absolutely not! It is the beginning of a blissful process, a sign of more magnificent things to come. Let us dwell on these thoughts as the New millennium begins. Let us resolve to seek the coffers He has open for us. Let the New Year bring the awakening, the beginning of our spiritual journey with our beloved guide, the Saint God of Shirdi.
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Experience of the Devotees

Chithra Doraiswami, Bangalore, India
(From Sai Leela, October, 2000)
This story starts with the traditional beginning of ‘long, long ago’. My parents were young and they were friendly with the redoubtable Swami, BV Narasimhaswami. This was in Madras, where the Swamiji was trying to spread Sai Bhakthi. My mother was thrilled by the passion the great man brought to his Sai devotion and caught fire from it. She decided to name her second child (me) Sainath in honor of Shri Sai Baba of Shirdi. But alas, I turned out to be a girl and they hurriedly picked another name for me. The Sainath bit was dropped. By now, they had shifted to Bangalore and contact with Narasimhaswami ended as well. Many decades and many vicissitudes later, the whole episode of Sai Bhakthi was totally forgotten. Now, I was a middle aged working woman with my own family. And though I was deeply religious, I wasn’t keen on worshipping any saint....I thought most of them were charlatans and preferred to stick to my Krishna puja.

Every day, on my way to School, I passed the Lodi road, Sai Mandir. An elderly lady, who traveled with me, never failed to remark that I should turn to Sai Baba. I invariably smiled and kept quiet. Once, in school, I misplaced a most important book. I was in charge of the records of all House activities. I needed to tally the points gained by each House and submit a report to the Vice Principal. But what could I do? I had misplaced the blessed book and I was really in a stew. A thorough search had yielded no fruit and I was getting desperate. When my elderly friend once again remarked that I ought to take up Sai worship, I promptly vowed in my mind.... If you are so great a saint, then please help me find this book. Then I will take up your worship.

Need I say it? Yes, I found the book where it had absolutely no place to be and I wouldn’t have found it in a month of Mondays but for a very lucky chance (Sai’s hand?). Apparently, I had turned to him in the nick of time...A load of troubles was awaiting me. I fell very ill, my husband faced a grave crisis in his career, and my son was very depressed. I really didn’t know which way to turn. All my confidence in my ability to face life oozed away. Till then I had had the ability to take Life on the chin. But now I was sorely perplexed and very, very upset. The Sai prayer book thrust upon me by my colleague was my only anchor. I prayed to Baba by day and through the long, painful nights. Within three months, my husband got his rank, my son regained his will to study and an old friend came back into my life and gave me homeopathic medicine which cured me of my malaise. And to give my darling son that much needed boost in confidence to boldly face his first ever failure, Baba performed one more of his numerous leelas. I found.

I don’t know how it got there! in an old much neglected handbag of mine, an old, old pendant of silver with Sai on one side and ‘shraddha’ and ‘saburi’ engraved on the other. I promptly put it on a silver chain and round my child’s neck, where it nestles close to his heart. His bride’s thali is also Baba’s picture in gold. Never ever will we be alone again. Baba’s always with us.
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Sai Activities

All India Sai Samaj, Mylapore,Chennai-600 004 India
Sri K. Ramaswamy, President conveys his Best wishes to all devotees for peaceful, pleasant year 2001.
On 31st night from 8.30 p.m. till 11.45 in the night all devotees were allowed to perform Sangu Abhishekam to Lord Sainath., The performance of abhishekam was free to all devotees. Thousands of devotees participated and obtained immense satisfaction of having done abhishekam to Lord Sainath by their hands on the eve of the New Year 2001. All the devotes were given sweet prasad . At the stroke of 12.01 in the midnight, special arati was taken to Lord Sainath amidst thunderous chanting of SAI RAM,SAI RAM. Devotees were given lord Sainath photos, Sainath calendars for the New Year and sweets as Prasad. On first January 2001 the temple was kept open through out the day and thousands and thousands of devotees had darsan of Lord Sai and obtained prasadam, sweets etc., . Sri Sai Sansthan publications of Sri Sai Satcharita (English) for Rs.22/ and Sri Sai Satcharitra(Tamil).Rs.37/- were sold to devotees to the same price as in Shirdi Sansthan at the book stall of All India Sai Samaj. Sri K. Ramasamy, the President has taken efforts in getting these books from Sri Sai Sansthan, Shirdi o Chennai for the benefit of devotees. He met Sri D.Sukthankar, Chairman of Sri Sai Baba Sansthan Shirdi at his Mumbai for making available the copies of Sansthan books to other Sai Institutions to the benefit of devotees. He thanked Sri D.Sukthankar for the help he extended to forward thousands of copies to Chennai and make them available for the same cost as in Shirdi. Devotees are delighted to get copies of Sri Sai Satcharita for the same cost as in Shirdi at All India Sai Samaj, Chennai

Saidarbar, Hyderabad, India
SAI DARBAR NEWS-Dated 02-01-2001. Sai activities on the eve of New Year day at Sai darbar-Hyderabad.
1. Prayers were conducted for the welfare of all Sai devotees and their families across the Globe.
2. Two Poor feedings were undertaken in Sai temples located in Koneru street Secunderabad and Kapra village, Hyderabad respectively. The programs are sponsored Sai devotees from USA and Canada.
3. Saidarbar introduces a new page titled- JACEK POLLNER’S PAGE in http://www.saidarbar.com.
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Question of the Week

S.V. Swamy, Hyderabad, India Sai, as we are constantly reminded in Sri Sai Satcharitra, is both Nirgun and Sagun. Depending upon the devotee's level of development and as per the situation, He was showing the particular aspect. Once we accept that He represents that aspect of Parabrahman with attributes, i.e. Sagun aspect also, we have to accept both the positive and negative qualities or what is also referred to as Duality. As long as the devotee thinks of himself different from his surroundings, duality is the ruling aspect. This is true also for the devotee looks upon Sai as God or Guru, i.e. different from himself. With duality comes another aspect of duality, viz., opposites. Where positive qualities exist, automatically negative qualities exist. So affection (love) and anger are opposite sides of the same coin. One more reason for Sai's occasional spells of anger was that He wanted to give a practical training and demonstration of the lesson which He always used to din into the ears of His devotees, viz., to accept praise or criticism with equanimity and to accept whatever God gives as Prasad. So, those devotees, who took Baba's scolding as blessings prospered materially as well as spiritually. I would like to have the perceptions of other devotees too.
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Quotation of the Week

The path of Dattatreya embraces all spiritual paths and is the source of all other traditions. He who treads the path of Truth, regardless of what religion he belongs to, is treading the path of Dattatreya. As an incarnation of God, Datta came down to spread the universality of true religion. Anyone can be his follower, regardless of cast, creed, status, be they student, householder, recluse or renunciate. No matter what sect or religion the true seeker follows, eventually he comes under the guidance of Lord Dattatreya, the Eternal Spiritual Guide of all mankind - Sri Ganapathi Sachchidananda Swami
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