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Sai Vichaar 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.Disclaimer From the Editor's Keyboard... Sai Vichaar further requests all contributors to use the contribution submission page for submitting any material to Sai Vichaar. Sai Vichaar humbly requests the cooperation of all readers and devotees in this matter in helping to expedite the processing of your contributions to Sai Vichaar. If you have any questions concerning the use of this form, please contact web site administrator. The editor often received phrases such as "r u" instead of "are you", or "b'cos, instead of "because". It would help the editing process if contributors use language and writing consistent with conventional English language. Sai Vichaar sincerely requests the cooperation of the contributors. Sai devotee K.G. Ramaswamy suggests "Question of the week", Q. What is meant by "TRUTH"? Humbly Yours, The Editor
Disclaimer Sai Vichaar is devoted to the philosophy and teachings of Shri Sadguru 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
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Feature of the week:
Guru Charanam.. Sadguru Charanam
In the word 'GURU', 'GU' stands for ignorance and 'ru' stands for removing that. Who is the real Guru? Real 'Guru' is God only. Sloka says "Brahmanandam Paramasukhadam Kevalam Gnanamurthim, Dwandwadeetham gaganasadrusam Tatwamasyathi Lakshyam. Ekam, Nityam, Vimala machalam Sarvathi Sakshi bootham, Bhavatheetham Trigunarahitham Sadgurum tham namami." This verse is really attributed to Sri Samartha Sadguru Sri SaiBaba. He is the embodiment of bliss, Wisdom originated, above the twin pair of Opposites, like vastness of sky, above all He is the witness of everything, beyond all bhavas and three qualities.. ie:-Satwa, Rajas, and Thamas. He is the Real Guru. He never craved for wealth or fame. He never feared for anything. He is our 'antharyami' (The dweller within our Heart). All these attributes come to the Lord Sainath. Sainaath is the treasure house of all knowledge, wealth, power of the universe. Still he behaved like an ordinary man by begging his alms. He sat in the open courtyard without fear of anything. He is the Omnipresent, Omnipotent, and Omniscient God. Faith in God being within the heart, faith in his Constant presence & Constant Guidance-these will confer courage, virtue and realization of the self. Bhagavat Gita says that if you give up all Dharma and take refuge in God alone, then He will save you from sin and wipe your tears. We have to give up the egoism that the 'doer' of all deeds and confirmed in the faith that God is the doer of every deed. Shri Sai Baba declared "Aham Atma hi Chandorkar, Sarva bhutasaya Sthithah- ie;-O, Chandorkar I am in the hearts of all creatures. There are no special ways to approach Baba. You can call Him as Saima, Saipitha, Saisahodara, saidosth. According to our faith He will manifest. Satha Koti Pranams to the Holy feet of Sri Sadguru Sainath Maharaj who is form and formless. (Contributed by K.G. Ramaswamy)
Contributed Article:Bhaja Govindam Sloka 27 (Attributed to Sri Sumati or Sumitra)
Geyam Geetaanaamasahasram Meaning: Substance: Commentary: Only knowledge of Self will give solace and strength to bear and tide over the sorrows and pleasures in life. The easy way to obtain this true knowledge of the Self is to read, understand and practice the principles laid down in Srimad Bhagavad Gita and meditate upon that Primordial Sakti, which is All-pervading, in and through the atom to Atma, i.e., Vishnu or God. Again Sri Adi Sankaracharya prescribed a convenient and at the same time scientific and time-tested method to do this also. He says that when the mind is drawn to something evil, seek the company of the good, noble and holy people. If you have wealth, spend it with full joy, for the sake of those who do not have, the poor, to wipe their tears, instead of squandering carelessly in wasteful deeds.
Sri Adi Sankaracharya is suggesting reading Srimad Bhagavad Gita, as it explains both the goal and the path and also gives different techniques of living and, secondly, reciting the thousand names of the Lord with one-pointed devotion. It means very clearly that by reading and understanding Srimad Bhagavad Gita one acquires the true knowledge and with that one learns to distinguish between Shreyas and Preyas, good and bad, true and false, permanent and impermanent, pleasure and pain and chose that one, which is good for the development and refinement of the self. By reciting the thousand names of the Lord, i.e., Sri Vishnusahasranamams, one develops devotion on that Force, which is running the whole universe every minute in a systematic and orderly manner from time immemorial. As one keeps doing these two regularly, one is definite to learn both the knowledge required to refine the soul and intensify bhakti in one's heart over a time.
The path will become very clear if one tries to approach the goal from these two paths, although if one opts for one path, at the end of it, one will come to know about the second path automatically. Therefore, one path, i.e., either knowledge or devotion, is sufficient, but to quicken the process, it is perhaps better to have these two legs to walk properly. Reading any holy book with full devotion and with a sincere approach to learn the basic truth coupled with regular sadhana will help one to understand the Maya and ultimately to overcome it by HIS grace.
Mere study does not lead one to anywhere. Unless the ideas gained from reading scriptures are not diligently put into practice in one's life, as the acquired knowledge will not get one the required result. Sincere and devotional reading of holy books will fill one's heart with humility, love and real joy. The first and the strongest sign of ego is development of body-consciousness. Srimad Bhagavad Gita teaches the difference between the body and the soul and how to overcome the body-consciousness, so that one is always established in the Soul-consciousness, Likewise, surrendering oneself at the altar of Narayana by reciting Sri Vishnusahasranamams and thereby getting oneself attuned to Him is the true worship. By attuning oneself with the sacred names of the Lord, the devotee tries to elevate oneself to those noble qualities of the Lord. All the efforts at study and worship of the devotee can be washed down in a single moment's passion, desire or lust, as it has such a power that it torpedoes the strong walls of will power. It is, therefore, essential to keep the company of noble and holy souls, to get encouragement and strengthen the will power.
Charity being made with true feeling will make one understand that the needs and requirements of others are as important as one's own. The charity must flow from one's own abundance and it should be done without any pomp and show, with a sense of brotherhood.
Sensory pleasures are momentary and lead to grief. If one gets used to the pleasures, which the senses give, an insatiable craving for them set in again and again. Therefore, one has to realize this truth and do not attach any importance whatsoever to the pleasures which come from the senses. Equanimity of mind is alone the true joy.
By renouncing the fruits of action, i.e., attachment, but not the action, which is the duty, itself, is the only possible path to lead a life free from sensual pleasures and selfishness. One has to learn to do every action as a form of worship to God, according to Srimad Bhagavad Gita. So, what has to be renounced sincerely is the desire and the attachment with an intention and spirit of dedication to God. What one can do to achieve this is to turn the intentions behind all actions towards good, positive or spiritual channels, as, at times, it may be difficult to by-pass or change the native and in-born tendencies.
While constantly remembering all the ideas enlisted above, one has to learn to recognize the truth that One Infinite Life is running through in everybody's heart and everywhere in the society and respect every human being with such a feeling that he or she is the Lord him/herself. Otherwise, not all other ostentatious and elaborate worships of Lord or pretensions will give one salvation.
(Contributed by Paritala Gopi Krishna, New Delhi, India)
C Kannaiyan My father couldn't bear my suffering and decided to take me to doctor, to whichever clinic was available first. The first one we went had no appointments and there was huge crowd already. So again, we were in streets looking for another clinic. I just prayed in my mind to baba to please show me a nice doctor and at that moment my father said look there is a clinic (showing a building with a doctor's name in it) and the moment I entered the clinic 's reception hall I was taken aback to see sai Baba's picture right there in front of me. It was overwhelming for me to see his picture at that moment. But there was no doctor in the clinic and the lady there said the doctor will come in few minutes but there was no sign of the doctor's arrival. Though I was chanting Baba's name and sitting in the reception waiting for the doctor to come, I couldn't sit any longer as it was more than an hour already and my fever was around 102. So, I urged my father to take me home. As I was about to leave, the doctor came in that exact moment. It's surely Baba's grace or Baba himself who came at that exact moment. The doctor was very nice person and her medication cured me in just two days. I was scared to appear for the test as I thought I hadn't prepared enough for the test to score well. I put all burden on Baba and appeared. I scored really well. This was possible only because of Baba. Then when I started applying for universities there was an air cargo strike and with Baba's grace my application reached the university just two days before deadline for fall 2003. Then, for the Visa at the American consulate in Chennai, I found there was no date available until August 31. At that moment I didn't know what to do and prayed to Baba to show me some direction and suddenly an idea struck, I fixed appointment in New Delhi consulate (though I reside in Chennai) on the day of my preference (Jul 3) .I didn't even realize that we are not supposed to fix appointment beyond our consulate region at that time but Baba helped me there too, an announcement came from Chennai consulate that due to sharp increase in applications in Chennai region people can go either in Delhi or in Kolkata for Visa. Its once again Baba's leela. Though there were few hiccups to travel to Delhi from Chennai Baba made it possible and I got my visa on Jul 3rd. If not for him I wouldn't have got it. I am so overwhelmed with the love and affection he has showered on me for the past few months. Baba is everywhere and he listens to all our prayers. Sai Eshwari A Sai devotee Sai devotee Sekar Parthasarathy Shalu Sai Devotee Simron Anil Kumar Mahesh Kumar A Sai devotee S.Sanjeevan Romi Kanungo
Quotation of the Week
Q. How does a Sai devotee define "ignorance"? A. by Sai devotee Sai Baba was the repository of knowledge that destroys ignorance. Yet, Sai Baba who personifies 'humility' feigned ignorance to avoid discussion or catching attention. Shri Hemadpant says that the true Saints are like the Sun that destroys the darkness of ignorance. Destroying ignorance is Jnana - Expelling darkness means light. Sai Baba explains to Nanasaheb Chandorkar, a good student of Vedanta, that: The Shishya (disciple) like the Sad-guru is really embodiment of Jnana. The disciple also is in fact of the same swarupa. However, because of his ignorance, he gets the impressions that "I am Jiva, a creature, humble and poor." The Guru has to root out these offshoots of ignorance and has to give upadesh or instruction. The following are the instances of Ajnana :- 1 - I am a Jiva (creature) - I am not God. It was the firm conviction of Baba that knowledge or Self-realization is not possible, unless there is the prior act of grinding of all our impulses, desires, sins; and of the three gunas, viz. Sattva, Raja and Tama; and the Ahamkara, which is so subtle and therefore so difficult to be got rid of. Sai devotees could define 'ignorance' as the state of mind that inhibits us to realize that God (Sai Baba), the world and us Jivas are all the same. We should realize that humility and getting over our ahamkara (ego), impulses, desires and sins by regularly reading Sai Satcharita with love, faith and devotion would remove our ignorance, poverty and give us knowledge, wealth and prosperity. Likewise, listening to Satgurus (Shri Sai Baba) and to His stories with undivided attention will destroy ignorance!
Shirdi Sai Satsang, Houston, TX Sai bhajans in Orlando, FL, USA Shirdi Sai Baba Chitra Yatra And Weekly Satsang, Canada Sai bhajans in Tampa, FL, USA Shri Shirdi Sai Chitra Yatra in USA 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 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. Visit online at www.saibaba.org and follow link to 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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