As for Baba's declaration about his Guru, Professor Narke heard Baba say, Maja Guru Brahman ahe, that is, My Guru is a Brahmin. Having said so much about his Guru, professor Narke carefully noted that Baba did not say that he had any sishya to continue his line. On the other hand, Sai Baba said, 'I would tremble to come into the presence of my Guru.' There was no one prepared to serve Sai Baba in that way at Shirdi. Once Sai Baba asked, it seems, 'Who dares to call himself my disciple? Who can serve me adequately and satisfactorily?' But apart from a disciple to continue the line, Baba helped in various ways and in various degrees. He encouraged them, protected them, and gave them instructions occasionally.

Narke was studying Baba's methods of teaching and improving devotees. Baba gave our moral tales and a few occasional directions. But these were exceptional. But the traditional method of Baba was not oral. His traditional method was first the negative portion; that is, the Guru did not give to his chosen disciple any Guru mantra. Usually a Guru whispers a mantra into the ear of the sishya, and he seems to be almost biting the ear when he is whispering. So, Baba said, 'Me Kanala Dasnara Guru Navhe.' That is, 'I am not the Guru that bites the ear. He did not regard japa and meditation as sufficient for the sishya. These produce in the sadhaka Abhimana or Ahamkara. Unless and until Ahamkara is completely wiped out the Guru is unable to pour all his influence into the sishya. In Baba's school, the Guru does not teach. He radiates or pours influence. That influence is poured in and absorbed in full by the soul which has completely surrendered itself and blotted out the self, but is obstructed by the exercise of intelligence by reliance on self-exertion and by every species of self-consciousness and self-assertion. Baba, therefore, would tell some devotees, 'Be by me and keep quiet and I will do the rest,' that is, 'secretly or invisibly.

One who was merely seeing him and staying by him for a while got faith. Baba gave experiences to each devotee, of his vast powers of looking into his heart, into the distance regions of space and time, past or future and this infused faith. One need not swallow a thing on trust. The solid benefit, temporal or spiritual reaped by the devotee and his feeling that he is under the eye and power of Baba always, wherever he may be and whatever he may do, gave him an ineradicable basis for his further temporal and spiritual guidance.

Baba's is the power that controls this world's goods and our fate here and now, as well as our experience and fate in the future, in this world and many unseen worlds. The professor concludes that the duty of a devotee under Baba is only to keep himself fit for the Guru's grace. That is, he should be chaste, pure, simple and virtuous and he should look trustfully and sincerely to the beloved master to operate on him secretly, and to raise him to various experiences, higher and higher in range, until he is taken at last to the distance goal. 'But one step is enough for me', is the proper attitude now, He need not take the trouble to decide complicated metaphysical and philosophical problems about the ultimate destiny. He is ill-prepared to solve them now. The guru will lift him and endow him with higher powers, vaster knowledge and increasing realization of truth. And the end is safe in the Guru's hands.

These above conclusions, as the professor says, are not from any single lecture or address by Baba, but are gathered from the various hints, his dealings with many people and his occasional words.

(Courtesy: HH Pujyasri B. V. Narasimha Swamiji)
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Contributed Article:Bhaja Govindam Sloka 11

Contributed by Paritala Gopi Krishna, New Delhi, India

Maa Kuru Dhanajanayauvanagarvam
Harati Nimeshaatkaalah Sarvam
Maayaamayamidamakhilam Hitvaa
Brahmapadam Tvam Pravisa Viditvaa
Bhaja Govindam, Bhaja Govindam...

Meaning:
Knowing, Brahmapadam - the state of Brahman, Tvam - you, Pravisa - enter into, Viditvaa - after realizing Maa - do not, Kuru - take, Dhana - in possession, Jana - in the people, Yauvan - in youth, Garvam - pride, Harati - loots away (takes away), Nimeshaat - in a moment, Kaalah - the Time, Sarvam - all these, Maayaamayam - full of illusory nature, Idam - this, Akhilam - all, Hitvaa - after.

Substance:
The pleasures of worldly life, such as wealth, friends and youth, are deceptive appearances. Do not boast of them. Understand that each one of these is destroyed within a minute by time. Be detached and dispassionate from the illusion of the world of Maya, cultivate renunciation, and realize the state of Brahman.

Commentary:
One is entangled in Samsaara due to the attachment to the tools of Maya, such as wealth, friends, youth, etc. These are all false vanities and hollow conceits, which will vanish in no time, if fortune begins to frown on one. One should not, therefore, be proud of one's wealth, youth, health, etc. All the arrogance born out of these false attachments will change in a moment into shame, because of their instability. One invites problems when one maintains relationship with the world of objects, feelings and thoughts through one's body, mind and intellect.

Sense enjoyment will lead to miseries. The desire to possess and enjoy will one day end in dissipation, as these sense objects will wither away with the time. Wealth is neither constant nor stable. Most of the human beings are slaves to this aspect of Maya, as the materialistic world is completely dependent on this. Like wise, the other faces of Maya are youth and friends. As we learnt from the earlier slokas, the relationship with kith and kin is proportionate to the wealth one possesses. Once it is vanished, all the relationships will vanish in no time. The youth of today will be an elderly person of tomorrow. One cannot escape from the Kala-chakra, i.e., jaws of the wheel of time. With the passage of time, the body decays and perishes.

Sri Adi Sankaracharya, therefore, warns that one should not dissipate one's energies in these false vanities. Instead, realizing the illusory nature of this world of objects, one should concentrate and realize the state and true nature of Brahman. Only that will give relief from the vicious cycle of birth-death-birth
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Experiences of Devotees

Anil Kotian
A few years back, I was traveling to Shirdi with my wife and infant son. The driver of the car was a young lad who had accompanied us on many occasions earlier. We had started early in the morning at about 5.00 AM wanting to come back to Mumbai the same night. My wife however wanted to stay overnight at Shirdi and return the next morning. About 20 kilometers before Shirdi, Francis just remarked that if this time after visiting Shirdi, if his job is not confirmed, he would never again visit Shirdi. To this, without thinking, I said: If everybody's wish is fulfilled by such threatening talk then there would be no unhappy devotees left and everybody would be coming to Shirdi! No sooner had I finished uttering these words, the car which until now was running okay, sputtered to a stop. And for the next half an hour, we were stuck on the road trying to figure what was wrong. Finally, the driver hailed a passing truck, managed to get a mechanic from the nearby village, and got the car working. My wife who was quiet all along just stated that I talk too much, too soon. Well, I regretted what I had uttered. We reached Shirdi that evening had Darshan of Sai and immediately started for Mumbai just as it was getting dark. Five kilometers down the road, the car again stopped and by the time we could get it going, it was dark and I was apprehensive covering the trip back home in the night. We got back to Shirdi, stayed overnight, as my wife had originally desired, and started for Mumbai the next morning. Francis got confirmed in the organization after some time and I do not recollect if he came to Shirdi again. Maybe he did! It has been an incident that will not be easily forgotten by us. Remember, Sai is with us all the time! Best wishes to all.

Subhadra Srinivasan
I am an ardent devotee of Shirdi Saibaba. I have been reading this book Saisatcharita for the past 45 days. It gives me an immense pleasure since I am able to be very calm and my time is utilized in a very useful way. Now my only pastime is to know more about our Baba on web and it makes me more and more to browse about his life and finding the temples in and around USA.I was in Nagpur for one decade but I feel sad since I have never had an opportunity to visit Shirdi. Now my only desire is to visit India and make a trip to Shirdi. I hope I get an opportunity to see Sai baba over there and see all other temples at Shirdi. One should read this Sai Satcharita and makes us how to be better and make us feel and understand that we can be better by helping others and if someone seeks help, I always think that they should worship Sri Sai to overcome their grief. Sai baba even I seem to have so many hurdles in life but with your picture at home have the courage that we can overcome all this by your grace. I have been telling my daughters too about Saileela and that they think of baba always when they are in crisis. I have made them wear Baba's pendant daily, which gives me and satisfaction that they are protected until they are back from school. Such belief I have been having and my only wish is that what I think and pray I am sure you will know. Kindly help me and family members to be happy with your blessings. Answer my prayers Baba.
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Devotees say...

Sonik Chopra
I request you to please make this Newsletter's content more summarized and less detailed. It is not possible to read whole of the newsletter. Feature of the week section can be reduced a lot so that exact message can be conveyed efficiently to the devotees.

Nainesh Patel
Hi Leena, Jai Sai Ram, Sai Sham, Sai Sankar, Sai Christ, Sai Nanak, etc. I am very pleased that you are attracted to Baba. Its really Baba calling out to you and his devotees and pulling them to him like a sparrow pulled by a string tied on there feet. Any way to your question why Ram, does it really matter whether it is Ram, Sham, Sankar or any other form of God. Sai is all Gods and all Gods are one but appear before the devotees as their faith and chosen deity. It is just a matter of calling him by any name one likes as long as it is done with love and faith. Always have faith.

A Sai devotee
In reply to the question asked by Ms Leena, why we say Sai Ram when we say it as a prayer. If Ms Leena has read the Sai Satcharitha, it is clearly indicated in many chapters that Sai is an avatar of Rama, or Krishna. In the later chapters, Baba will tell Booty that he will be taking the place of Muralidhar, that was supposed to be installed in the Wada, now the Mandir. When Baba passed away, his Samadhi is in the place of Krishna's statue. Thus, we can deduce that Baba is Sri Ram!
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Prayer Club

Sai devotee
Dear Baba, My family particularly my mother is undergoing a bad phase due to the attitude and behavior of my youngest sister. Request you to kindly bring about a change in my sister's attitude towards her family members. Please help her to concentrate on her studies and enable her to come out with good marks in her studies. .Baba! I make this humble request to you to bring about a transformation in her. Please bless her and guide her path. Sairam I'd like to ask everyone out there to pray for the people who are involved with the war situation in Iraq. Please pray for all those in the army, their family and all the people of Iraq as well, who are living in this war zone.

A Sai devotee
Om Sai Ram. Baba! Please bless me and my daughter to get success in every phase of our lives. Baba! Please be with us and give us strength and patience to survive. You are aware of everything, about the past, present and the future. I would like to request you please give us happy future so that I can forget the past. You know I am willing, please be with us to make the right decisions always. Please bless me so that I can fulfill all the responsibilities and keep everybody happy in the family. Om Samartha Sadguru Sai Natha Maharaj Ki Jai!

A Sai devotee
Baba, my husband has a job out of town and is traveling back and forth. I am finding it hard to work and manage my two kids and he is tired of traveling and being away from family. Kindly bless my husband with a wonderful job/ good running lease location close to home. Baba, our house in Madras, which is right across from your mandir, has been in court for many years. Please bless that we should get the matter resolved soon in our favor. Kindly bless my parents and my family to be in the best of health and always have your mercy and protection. Om Sai, Sri Sai, jaya jaya Sai.

A Devotee
Om SaiRam. Baba please forgive the sins, which the elders in the family may have done knowingly and unknowingly. Baba please bless the innocent child in our family. Show your miracle on the baby Baba. Hold her in your arms tonight, play with her Baba, when you play with her you will see that she cannot move properly to play with you, nor can she sit straight because though she has grow 10 months old she still does not have the support. Baba please please forgive us. Please lay your hands on the innocent child she needs your healing touch to sit and walk around. Baba please do some miracle on her. I know you will not let us down this time. Please help all your devotees to go on the right path and be with them whenever they want to make a right decision.

Sai Devotee
I am Sindhi girl and fallen in love with Mangalorian guy . I am loving him truly but he is not ready to get marry with me cause of Intercaste and I cant live without him. Baba please listen mine request. How can your devotee be cruel and pathar dil . I always heard that Baba's devotee is very soft heart. Everyone has insulted me Baba I cant take more insult from everyone mine respect is on your feet I am surrendering myself at your feet, please Baba make mine marriage with him. .. I cant live without him .I am begging from you Baba please listen mine prayers and save mine life.

Sai Devotee
Thank you Baba for the encouragement. Please be with us all the way. Help my husband get the best. He has been looking for a job for a long time.You know he deserves the best he is honest, sincere and hard working . Please bless us don't ever leave us on our own, we just cannot do without you.

A Sai devotee
Madut karo o Pervadigaar. Raham karo Sai reham karo. Saibaba I see no light in my life, Baba by your grace I have completed my studies, Baba I am in search of a job now .Maharaj where are you please come to my resuce this child of yours is facing major problems in life come soon Sai before it is late. Please Maharaj shower your grace on this small creature who only knows you and nothing else ALLHA MALIK. Lotuke Aja Sai hamare, Tumbin jeeven jahar hai Sai.

Sai Devotee
Baba, you know everything, for some reason I am not able to control my anger. Baba please help me to come over it and have patience, Baba also please help my husband to pass the exam, he has tried many times but was not successful. I know Baba with you grace please help him pass, there is lot of tension in the family, also Baba my parents are looking for a nice match for my brother, please see that he is married this year and have a wonderful life. See that whoever comes into our family understand the sutations. Please help me take care of my daughters. Please show your daya on our family. Please BABA help us out. SAI RAM SAI RAM.
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Quotation of the Week
"The wretched and miserable would rise into plenty of joy and happiness, as soon as they climb the steps of my Samadhi".-Saibaba of Shirdi
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Question of the Week

."What is the nature of that Viveka (knowledge) which leads to Vairaagya (detachment)?"

A. by Vageeshwar

Viveka is nothing but discrimination - discrimination of the Self from the not-Self. Discrimination is brought about by a process 'neti neti' or 'not this , not this'. The process of discrimination through 'neti neti' brings about elimination of all the things around us that are 'not-Self'. If we continue to do this, and eliminate all the things around us, we will come to something that cannot be eliminated, and that is called the 'Self' and that alone is Real.

In our daily life, we are attached to things only if they belong to us. For example, if there is a house on some road, you don't feel attached to it, nor are you bothered if anything happens to the house. Contrarily, if you inherit the house, you develop an attachment to that same house, which didn't mean anything to you, before you inherited it. Thus, we see that attachment is based on this feeling of 'I' and 'mine'. Through proper discrimination or 'neti neti', we keep on eliminating everything until we come to the Self. This discrimination removes the feeling of 'I' and 'mine' and thus leads to vairagya or dispassion.
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Sai Activities

Annadanam seva (Feed the hungry service) from saibaba.org
Annadan Program will end on March 31st, 2003 and this is the last week for devotees who wish to participate in this program.

Devotees who are interested to participate may do so by visiting www.saibaba.org and follow the Annadan page link or click here Annadan page or send an email to maildrop@saibaba.org.

Ramnavami Celebrations at Shirdi Sai Jalaram temple, Houston, Texas, USA
Shirdi Sai Jalaram Mandir, Houston, Texas, USA cordially invites all devotees to join us in celebrating Shri Ram Navami Festival 2003 in Houston, TX on Saturday, April 12th at The Hindu Worship Society, located at 2223 Wirtcrest Lane, Houston, TX, 77055 from 4pm to 9pm. For more information; Phone: (713) 789 7486, (832) 567 7861; Web: http://www.babamandir.org; Email: saibabahouston@yahoo.com

Ramanavami - Urs Celebrations - Shirdi Saibaba Prayer Center, Minnesota, USA
By the grace of Sadguru Sainath, Shirdi Saibaba Prayer Center, Twin Cities, Minnesota is preparing to celebrate the Ramanavami - Baba's Urs festival on April 12 at Geeta Ashram, Brooklyn Park, Minnesota. The program will include Sai Shodasopachara Pooja, Sai aarthis, Sai naama Jap, Flag and Chandan procession, Bhajans, Kids programs, and Palki Seva to Baba. 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). Regular Sai activities in the Twin Cities, MN are being conducted at Shirdi Saibaba Prayer Center, 725 Lake St NE, Apt #139 Hopkins MN

Shri Shirdi Sai- Ramnavami celebrations in Bay Area,California
We welcome everyone to join us for SHRI SHIRDI SAI- RAMANAVAMI Celebrations in the Bay Area, CA on Sunday April 6th, 2003 between 5:00pm - 8:00pm. AGENDA: 108 Shirdi Sai Namavali, Sai Satcharitra Parayana (Chap 6), Sai Mahima, Shirdi Sai Bhajans,Hanuman Chalisa, Naivedya, Dhoop Arathi and distribution of prasad. VENUE: Fair Oaks Park Building, 540 N. Fair Oaks Avenue, Sunnyvale, CA 94087 (Located close to the intersection of Wolfe and Fair Oaks Avenue). For more information write to saibandhu@yahoo.com.

Shree Rama Navami Celebrations in Sydney, Australia
Shree Shirdi Sai Sansthan Sydney invites you all with family and friends to join Shree Rama Navami Celebrations at Sai Mandir, 420 Liverpool Road, Strathfield South, NSW 2136 (Corner Hill Street & Liverpool Road). on April 4th, 11th and 12th. Maha Prasad will be served on all three days. Temple open all day for Darshan on 11th and 12th April. For Programme details or information on Sansthan's activities please call Info-Line 0500 524 724 or visit www.omsrisai.com.

Ramnavami Celebrations, Toronto, Canada
Shri Shirdi Saibaba Sansthan of Canada cordially invites all devotees to join us in celebrating "Shri Ram Navami Festival 2003 in Toronto on Saturday April 12th at Durga Temple, 2691 Markham Rd. Scarborough, ph: 416 754 2983 or 905 887 1752. Devotees interested in volunteering or those interested in offering bhajans to Baba pls call Shammi Chopra 905 887 1752 from 7 to 9am or after 9pm in the evening or leave a message. For the details of the program and updates please visit our Web page at http://www.geocities.com/shirdisaisansthanofcanada/. Shirdi Sai Shirdi Sai Chitra Yatra, Toronto - Devotees can participate in Shri Shirdi Sai Chitra (Portrait) Yatra currently in effect in Toronto. To invite Baba to your home and for further details and directions please contact Shammi Chopra or visit Shirdi Sai Chitra Yatra Link on Home Page of www.saibaba.org

Shirdi Saibaba Satsang in Columbus, OH
Satsang in Columbus, OH has been taking place for the past few years. We are grateful to our Lord Sainath who has taken us to the 5th consecutive year. We always have felt him among us in our Satsang sessions making us feel blissful. Devotees around Columbus, OH area can visit: http://www.srishirdisaibabamandir.org or email: sssb_temple@yahoo.com for more details on events and join us in serving Mother Sai.

Sri Shirdi Sai satsangs in Auckland,New Zealand
Sri Shirdi Sai Sansthan,NZ is celebrating Sri Ramanavami on the Sunday 13th April 2003 at the Mt Eden war memorial hall, Mt Eden, Auckland. The morning will start with reciting Sri Sai Sahasranamavali, followed by Bhajans, Pravachan, Arathi and Maha Prasad. Also all Sai devotees are invited to participate in Sai Bhajans, discourse and arathi every Thursday at 7:30 pm.The venue is located at Balmoral Mandir, Balmoral, Auckland, NZ. For more details please contact Dr Ram Prasad at prasads@quicksilver.net.nz.

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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