Jai Sai Ram! Shri Sai Baba has in His own unique ways taught a number of lessons. While individual interpretations vary depending on the contexts and personal experiences and background, we could crystallize a few that stand out - the importance of practicing Shradha and Saburi (Faith and Patience), love, humility, devotion, forgiveness, calmness, charity, benevolence, control and purification of mind and body on one hand and on the other, avoiding lust, anger, greed, desire, ego, envy, and evil thoughts, words and actions. It would be wonderful if the focus of this newsletter were to promote desirable qualities to cultivate or undesirable ones to be controlled.

Humans are in one way blessed with unique feature of having the ability to control our senses to various degrees and go beyond instincts before we act. We are able to choose on what to think, say and do based on our judgments. The need for us to make decisions every moment is not easy. That could be a burden when the impact of a decision is likely to be huge.

As Sai devotees, let us try to recall what we could do. First and foremost is the acceptance of humility and understanding that we are actually NOT the thinkers, talkers or doers - all that is done by Sai Himself. When we reconcile that way, we can pass on the burden to Sai Baba. Drawing from Sri Sai Satcharita, one could let Sai choose the right decision. We could write all the options (not withholding undesirable ones) in small chits, fold them with the contents inside, place Sai's Udi on them and drop them on Sai's photo. Accepting and following strictly the message written on a chit that rests on Sai's big toe has worked for me. Sometimes the chosen message was not the one that I preferred, but with complete Faith and trust in Sai, I have executed the message and in the long run, Sai's message turned out to be in my best interests. The message could be that "Sri Sai Baba, please bless me by guiding that I should do - - - OR should not do - - by allowing this message to rest on your big toe and I will accept and execute your guidance with complete faith in You. Thank You Sai Baba". Depending up on the kind of situation, we could write two or options to be chosen from by Sai. Here again, this is but one way that has worked for me and there could be other ways that we could receive Sai's guidance. All boils down to our Faith and satisfaction in adopting what fits us.

(Contributed by Sai devotee Kamala Pallasenna)
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Contributed Article:My Sivanesan Swami ji - Part III

Contributed by Sai Premananda (Robert Meola), Berkeley, California USA, ©2002

When a devotee family I met in Shirdi invited me to their home in Paithan I went with them. I was happy to visit the village of Eknath Maharaj. People came to my hosts' home to touch my feet. My hosts told me it would be impolite to refuse their request to do so.

When I walked a dusty road to the temple in Dehu, home of Tukaram Maharaj, women again dropped on my path to grab my feet. These experiences only happened in Shirdi and in the villages of these three poet saints of Maharashtra - Jnanadev, Eknath and Tukaram. I can only believe that this was SaiBaba's doing and that Baba was with me at those times. I told Swamiji that I wanted to see Hanuman. He explained to me that people had seen various deities when looking at Baba's dhuni picture.

One time I sat next to the dhuni and instead of asking Baba how long it would take for me to attain enlightenment, I asked Baba to show me Hanuman. Then I said, "Baba you don't have to show me Hanuman. Baba, please, just put a bindi on my forehead." I opened me eyes and literally, within seconds of my request, a man whom I'd never seen before and who had just arrived, ascended the steps of Dwarkamai, quickly went to Baba's portrait, held out a bag of red kumkum powder, turned and walked straight to me, placed a bindi on my forehead and said, "Mustn't forget it's Thursday" [the day to honor one's guru]. He'd just come to Shirdi from Gujurat.

One time, while I was sitting in the Chawdi, an old man with a white beard came in. I hadn't realized until Sivanesan Swamiji told me after the man left that the man had been looking at me. Swamiji had asked the man where he'd come from and where he was going. The man had a twinkle in his eye. According to Swamiji, it was a playful conversation and the man did not give any definitive answers to Swamiji's questions.

Swamiji told Mrs. Shanta Singh and I that he had a feeling that that old man was Sai Baba and that he'd come to see us and tease us. Swamiji was not sure it was Baba. But, he felt it might have been Baba. Swamiji said that only before in his life had Baba ever appeared in bodily form before him.

I went out and searched the village as best I could. I went to the bus stand to see if the man was there waiting to depart Shirdi by bus. We'd never seen this man in Shirdi before. I could not find him. We never saw him again. One time when I was sick and Dr. Vinny Chitluri was visiting Shirdi, Swamiji asked her to check to see if I had a fever. She did. And she subsequently became a great friend.

Swamiji introduced me to Baba's devotees whenever it seemed appropriate. I met many good people in Shirdi. Sivanesan Swamiji gave me a mission. He told me to start a Shirdi Sai Baba temple in California in the United States. He gave me holy relics and told me to place them in the foundation of the temple. With Baba's help, I still plan to do that as instructed by Sivanesan.

Swamiji told me how he'd come to Shirdi and tried to leave Shirdi a number of times and was unable to do so in the 1950's. He then spent his life serving Baba. I remember Swamiji writing japa of Baba's name. He made paper book covers out of his japa pages.

Swamiji told me that if one soaks a rudraksha bead in water in a copper vessel overnight and drinks the water it would be good for one's heart. Swamiji also taught me that sleeping on one's left side is a good idea. He said that sleeping on the right side is a strain on the heart. Swamiji taught me to drink Baba's udi in water and to rub it on my body to cure whatever ails me.

Sivanesan took care of my every physical, emotional and intellectual need while I was in his care in Shirdi. Of course, he never took any credit for doing anything. Although it is Sai Baba who provided everything for me in Shirdi, he certainly did utilize Sivanesan Swamiji to care for me.

Sivanesan Swamiji gave me much love and humor and warmth and knowledge. His laughter was heart-felt and loving. A sadguru can take one to God. No doubt, if Baba is one's guru, he can take one to God. But if Sai Baba is my God, what guru took me closer to him? I call him Sivanesan Swamiji.

Swamiji's personal belongings seemed nonexistent. He wore the simplest pieces of cloth on his body and hair. I miss him now. I remember the times I knelt and kissed his holy feet. He was my teacher, my guide, my role model and my friend. I would love to hug and hold him now. He was Baba's bodily representative in Shirdi for me and others. I know that he is with Sai Baba always now. Sai Sai Sai Sai Sai Sai Sai Sai Sai. (Concluded).
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Experiences of Devotees

Sridhar
I would like to share an experience how I was saved from a major accident. I have been a staunch devotee of Baba for 10 yrs, living in USA for about 3 years now. A couple of years ago I had to move from Atlanta to California due to job relocation. Thinking of saving money and with holidays in hand, me and my wife decided to drive 2200 miles all the way to California. On the third day night we reached Nevada stayed for the night, and started next morning. With a heavy down pour, we were impatient to wait for the rain to stop and thought we would reach San Jose by the evening. Nevada is a hilly area with and I was driving carefully and slowly thinking about various things, new apartment, visa problem we had etc. All of a sudden, I saw a narrow turn ahead about 100 meters, and a speed sign indicating 35 MPH, I applied brakes to slow down the car but car didn't slow down, I realized that we were sliding down the hill at a speed of 110 MPH. Narrow turn ahead had iron railings by the side, beyond which was a deep valley. My wife didn't understand what was happening I didn't say any thing, remained calm pushing the brake as hard as possible. Looking at the railing I thought either it would be a major collision or if the rods were not strong, going to dive into the valley. As the car approached the railings and about to hit, I shouted on top of my voice "BABA". Believe me dear devotees, car hit the rods and came to halt by the side of the road as if the car just touched the rods. To my total astonishment , we did not feel any kind of collision, got down the car and looked at the front side found no dent except an inch long scratch, no words to say, took a deep breath told my wife what had happened, she was speechless. I started the car started to drive, remembering BABA, he was there when I was in India, he was there when I was in Atlanta he is there with me all the time, I felt so happy that I couldn't stop my tears flowing from my eyes, have faith in BABA he will take care of you.
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Devotees say...

Yateendra
I was a student in MIT, Manipal and I had an idol of Sai, which I used to pray to and perform puja. This idol was of breakable kind. When I was shifting my place I had a handful of things (pooja items, prasad, etc. Also in my hand was this idol. Unfortunately due to ill luck the idol fell onto the ground. I have seen it getting broken. Also I have felt some pieces of the idol hitting my leg. I was very sad and heartbroken and I just closed my eyes and asked for Sai's forgiveness for my neglect. I then bent to pick the pieces but to my very pleasant surprise I saw that it was my pooja "ghant" and that Sai was in my hand. I am sure that this is one of Sai's aparampar Mahima.

Smita
Om Sai, I have never done bhajan in my house and would like to organize a bhajan at my home in Florida. Is it possible for anyone to tell me how to organize one? I would really appreciate all your help in this regard. By Baba's Grace, I hope to have one in the near future.

Azalea
This is in response to the devotee who is finding it difficult to control her anger that manifests through her words and actions hurting her dear ones. No one is 'bad'. We are misguided at times. However, we have to consider it a BLESSING of our Sadguru, when we become AWARE of our actions and the words that hurt the people around us. There is no need to condemn one's ownself. When we become gentle, not selfish, first to our ownself, we may see the life in a very different light. There is a suvaakya in Sanskrit: A child can be a bad child (because of his/her immaturity) but never a mother. Relying on our innate Matrutva, we can provide unique parenting to our children. We have to work just a little for our shortcomings and our Sadguru takes over from there. Please smile...

I want to share a story that I recently read on the forum in case you have missed it. A Cherokee Elder teaching his grandson about life said to the boy, "A fight is going on inside me. It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One is evil he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego. The other is good he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. This same fight is going on inside you and inside every other person, too."

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, "Which wolf will win" The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."

Lakshmi
Dear Krishnamohanji, I strongly support your words and good direction from people like you are very important and give lot of courage to many devotees of Sai baba. Please also understand there is not only physical problems, but also some problems which are connected to mental torture. And a married woman has to go through lot of these problems if her fate is not good. And she needs Baba's support at every step. Without peace there is no worship and we cannot grow spiritually. I went through lot of problems initially and it is baba that helped me. How can a newly married girl take when her parents are let down in front of her? She needs lot of help from baba, so please don't say not to ask baba for help in fixing in-law's problems. I went through this problem and when I told my husband he scolded me only. Mathru Devo Bhava, Pitru Devo Bhava," is applicable to married women also. She cannot become paraaya in just one moment. We cannot tell our problems to our parents Sai baba is only our help, he himself said to leave our burdens on him. Sai Vichaar is our Baba's lap to us. We get some good feeling by leaving our burden on baba. And good words from devotees gives us mental peace and we feel we are not alone.

Meenakshi
This is in response to an article by a distressed Sai devotee who seems to have lost all hope. I know what u mean when u say u have no control over your words. I have something to share with you, which might help you understand why you do what you do despite your obvious faith in the lord. You are being ruled by your ego, which makes you feel that you are the doer and needs to be appreciated, and when that ego gets hurt you lash out at people. You are not the EGO. Here's my advice to you if you wish to be free of all this negativity and hatred towards people- give up the feeling that you this body is doing. Understand that the lord is the Doer and step aside- hold on to his feet and simply let the body do its work- let the lord do everything for you. Be a silent spectator to all that happens to you- let the lord work and speak through you. Start regular meditations and Japa every day for an hour in the morning and evening and focus only on the lord. Don't do anything rash. Take care and make peace with everyone at home- you will feel better automatically.
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Prayer Club

Keshab
My job is going to be ended by this June 2003 so please help me to find another good job to feed my family. Please help my parents because they always worry about us. I need your help. Help me Baba.

Prasanna Srinivas
Dear Baba, I know you have done so many things in my life.....Now I need one more help Baba........you know my wish ...please make it happen...you know how much I am struggling for that....I started not eating sweet from last 7 days....as I likes sweet always and I wanted my wish to come true as early as possible...today I am going to talk with some higher person to me about my things......please make sure that he should talk with me positively and make my wish to come true........please I am in need of your help.........Please I am bowing my head on your lotus feet...I am begging you...Please bless me with that.

Krishnaveni P
Baba, thank you for everything you've given me so far. You know what I am going through. Baba please get me a job, you know I am jobless for 6 months now. I can not survive anymore without a job. Baba, please listen to my prayers.

Sai devotee
Om Sai Ram! Baba thank you very much for everything. Please give me the strength and sincerity to pray to You and read Sai Satcharita regularly. Please remove all bad thoughts in my mind and lead me to path of love and devotion. My greatest shortcoming is my procrastination. Please help me to overcome that. I know there are lots of instances where I feel I am not praying to you or reading Satcharita with complete devotion. Please Baba! forgive me and lead me to path of complete devotion. I surrender completely to you Baba. Drive away all evil thoughts and protect me from evil deeds..OM SAI BABA.I love you Baba!

A devotee
Baba please give my son the strength to carry on, he is good but looses heart too soon. Show him light and please give him your blessings to follow it. Please bring all four of us to your door Baba.
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Quotation of the Week
"I am a slave of the simple and teach lessons to the scoundrels. I am the blotting paper of egotistic persons. I cannot tolerate ego. I suck it out."- Shri Shankar Maharaj
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Question of the Week

Q.What is Baba's dictum in performing rituals?

A. by Ravin, Minnesota, USA
Rituals are important means of communication with the Sadguru who is none else than God. For the mind immersed in logic, outwardly rituals may appear as practices done in a superficial way, but they impart a definite structure to the way a saadhaka conditions himself/herself to communicating with the Sadguru. Even if it is done with a just a little heart and soul, it will slowly but surely transforms one giving the rare opportunity of having Sadguru's glimpse in one's own personal way. Anyone that knows about Saibaba of Shirdi knows that His method of teaching is unique and as varied as the individual. Some were asked to undertake spiritual reading as a regular practice (ritual) and some were asked to just wait. Most importantly, Baba never allowed anyone to interfere with the way others' did their service to God.

Sai devotion may appear to pose a unique challenge to any onlooker drawn into the Shirdi God's fold. What rituals are to be performed? How are they performed? Must one always perform all the aarthis to Baba? Should one participate in Satsangs? Is it just enough to do naam jap? Or is it OK to perform shodasopachaara pooja to Saibaba of Shirdi? Is abhishek to Baba is a Hindu ritual and if so, is it OK to structure Baba's prayers within the conforms of a particular religion?

How does one reach the Sadguru God of Shirdi who refuses to fit into a religion? The answer is simple; through any structured practice with love, truth, honesty and an intense yearning to understand the nature of Sadguru. If such a practice is known as a Hindu ritual or a Kalma recital, so be it! Nevertheless, a structured practice is always useful as discipline is necessary for the most. Nama jap is as powerful a tool for a saadhaka as is performing any other ritual. No one ritual is superior to the other.

Ritual, if seen from outside the realm of religion, is nothing but a set of practices conditioned by culture and convenience. They all serve the same purpose if the underlying intention is the same. There is a tendency to dismiss rituals as hypocritical as sometimes they are performed without knowing what they truly mean. What good meanings can do if the true intention is just a pretense? Is it possible to know all the meanings behind everything one encounters? Is that not the very reason one seeks the Sadguru? Rituals should not be considered as intimidating because of the way they are performed or a measure of scholarship. Rituals are not compulsive bursts of activities to just fit a timeframe. If there is love to Sadguru, there are no compulsions. If someone feels compelled, the love is not complete.

A true Sai satsang is one where there is enormous love and devotion for Baba. The love and devotion that is natural and unsolicited. The love and devotion that sees Sai in every ritual. A Satsang that perhaps uses every means and tries to provide everyone the opportunity to realize Sadguru in his or her own way beyond the barriers of language, culture or social status. A true Sai devotee is one who nurtures the above with the intention of sharing his/her love and devotion to Sainath, withstanding every obstacle with faith and patience.

A. by Shyamala Hari
On Father's day this year, in our Satsang, we did Abhishekam to Sai elaborately with milk, yogurt, honey, juices, and so on, while reciting Vishnu Sahasranama and Sai nama. The ceremony lasted about two hours. Was that a ritual? It was. Is anything wrong with it? Absolutely not. Was it a waste? Absolutely No.

It gave us a chance to meditate upon Sai as long as it took us to give Him the bath. The purpose of any ritual is just that. It is to keep us engaged in Lord's worship for a while. Without a ceremony of some sort, most of us are not likely to spend some time in worship or prayer. The nature of the mind is to wander. Its attention span is very short. It is also drawn easily towards external objects. It is difficult to turn the mind inwards. So a ritual gives the mind some scope to wander while focusing itself on the Lord at the same time. So, as long as we know The purpose and meaning of what we are doing, performing a ritual cannot hurt. However, sometimes we follow certain rules too rigorously or give too much importance to trivial details with the result that the real objective, which is meditating upon the Lord is lost. For example, we do not usually do Puja after eating. This is because in Puja, we invite God (in whatever name, Shiva, Vishnu, Sai, etc.), to come over to our place and treat Him as our guest, we love Him, so we do not eat before offering Him food. However, if one were too hungry, to the point when he cannot think about anything else but his food, then throughout Puja, he would be thinking about food but not the deity. Such Puja is a waste. So, in fact, we are encouraged eat very light such as a fruit or milk before beginning to do any long Puja.

Baba emphasized devotion, love of God, and surrender to God or Guru who are one and the same. He did not specify or insist upon following any rigorous rules. He did not encourage fasting because fasting does not do any good if it does not help in keeping our focus on the Lord. Baba did not give any mantra to any devotee and did not teach any particular method for spiritual progress other than devotion and surrender to God. However, he encouraged devotees to continue whatever they were doing and emphasized Shraddha. Nanasaheb, a devotee of Baba usually worshipped the Shrine of Datta, on the banks of the Godavari at Kopergaon on his way to Shirdi, but one time, he came to visit Baba without going to that Shrine, to avoid delay. Baba complained, "You are so long in My company and how do you behave like this?" Nanasaheb realized his mistake and told Baba that while bathing in the Godavari, a big thorn went into his foot and gave him much trouble. Baba said that that was the slight punishment and warned him not to skip worship of Datta. So, although, it is a ritual to go and worship Datta on the way to Shirdi, Nanasaheb needed to do it because it is the only way to show his Shraddha to Datta. Baba made some devotees read Gurucharitra one hundred times. He made them do Saptahas, celebrate Ramanavami with parades and all. Baba made them read Vishnu Sahasranama. He allowed the elaborate Chavadi procession on alternate days because he knew that the devotees were doing it out of love and affection for Him. He made some devotees read Ramavijayam when He knew they were in their last days. He encouraged any ceremony that was performed with Shraddha, that is, with love and reverence to God. Moreover, from Mrs. Tarkhad's and other stories, He showed that giving food to animals and to the needy is also a way of worshipping God.
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Sai Activities

Shirdi Sai Satsang on New Year's Eve, Minneapolis, MN
Shirdi Saibaba Prayer Center, Twin Cities, Minnesota invites all for the Satsang on New Year's Eve from 7.00 PM until Midnight. The program will include Sai aarthis, showing of the movie Manoj Kumar's "Shirdi ke Saibaba", and Sai naam jap. For details, please contact hamaresai@yahoo.com. Or call Sangeeta (651-481-6782), Kiran (952-233-1819), Ravi (651-342-0600) Bhuva (651-681-2042) or Sathya (651-739-2105).

Sai Satsang, Houston, TX
Shirdi Sai Jalaram Mandir, Houston, Texas, USA cordially invites you for Thursday satsang at the following location: 5645 Hillcroft, Suite # 304, Houston, TX 77036, between 6.30pm to 8.30pm. For more information please call 713-789-7486 or contact Syamasundar at 713-383-6501.

New Years Day celebration at Sai Mandir, Sydney, Australia
With Sadguru Saibaba's blessings, Shirdi Sai Sansthan, Sydney invites you all with family and friends to join the New Year celebrations on Wednesday January 1st 2003 at Sai Mandir, 420 Liverpool Road, Strathfield South, NSW 2136 from 6.00 am to 8.00pm. Temple will be open from 5:00pm to 9:00pm for Darshan. All devotees are welcome. Please forward and pass on this message to all your friends and relatives.

Shirdi Sai Baba Chitra Yatra And Weekly Satsang, Canada
Shri Shirdi Saibaba Sansthan of Canada, Toronto cordially invites you all to for Thursday satsang at the following 2 locations: Durga temple., 2691 Markham Rd. Scarborough, ph: 416 754 2983 and Shri Vithal Hindu Mandir., 5359 Timber Lea Blvd. Mississauga, ph: 905 238 0946. between 6:15pm to 7:15pm.

We invite all devotees in Canada to join us in celebrating "Shri Ramnavami festival 2003 in Toronto. Devotees joining from outside Toronto looking for accommodation please register by 25th of February - devotees interested in volunteering or those interested in offering bhajans to Baba pls call Shammi Chopra 416 402 8089 from 7 to 9am or after 9pm in the evening.

Shri Shirdi Sai Chitra Yatra in UK
Devotees may participate in Shri Shirdi Sai Chitra Yatra currently underway in UK. To invite Baba to your home and for further details please contact Manu Bajaj at bajaj_manu@yahoo.com or call at +44 7905 933 489 in Wembley, UK

Shri Shirdi Sai Chitra Yatra in USA
"Shri Shirdi Sai Chitra Yatra(Pictorial Journey)", started in USA on Jan 01, 2002. With anchor points across USA concurrently participating from day one, this unique event is off to a great start.

The journey which involves the ceremonial travel of Baba in the form of a portrait will stop at all Baba devotees homes who are interested in being a host to his protrait. The Yatra which will run till fall of this year, is open to one and all. There is no fees or charges involved to take part in this event. You may participate either as a host home or serve as an anchor point in your community.

Vist online at yatra page for all the details and to register.

For questions, comments, suggestions or to get details on an Anchor home in your area, send us an email at maildrop@saibaba.org with the subject line of "Shri Sai Chitra Yatra".
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