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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 wishes readers and devotees a Happy New Year. Sai Vichaar believes that "Question of the week" is a useful segment that helps bring out various aspects of Sai devotion and Baba's message. Readers are encouraged to actively participate in this segment. The "Question of the week" for the week is, Q. On what basis our mind is set on one deity as our guru? Can any deity be a guru? 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 responsible for the opinions expressed by individual contributors.
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Feature of the week:
Guruji's New Year Message
Devotees speak volumes about their Masters. They speak on the Master's glory, personality, activities, miracles, their personal experiences, and on other devotees and group activities etc. Particularly, when it comes to Shri Sainath Maharaj, devotees speak more about dreams with relation to him, their own experience which they call miracles and on their emotive inter-action with Baba. In short, they experience Him as a Personal God, who can be a Sadguru or a deity. Some of them worship a number of Personal Gods at the same time and therefore, find it difficult to focus on one. In any case the One Ultimate has to be beyond all the Personal Gods. A Personal God, by whatever name, is called Saguna (with certain qualities and powers) Sakara (a form which a human mind can ordinarily comprehend). A finer understanding of God is Nirguna (beyond such limited qualities and powers), Nirakara (beyond specific forms). Nirguna Nirakara - this means seeing or experiencing the essence of God or that Ultimate reality or Brahma in all its creations - i.e. in the devotee himself and in the entire manifested and non-fested creation around him. By this logic all statues or paintings, structures (like Samadhis), names, Aartis, Mantras, Charan Padukas, etc. are symbols of God and certainly not God, the Ultimate. Such symbols are generally worshipped and contemplated on as it is easy for the limited human mind to comprehend them. The question is whether the human mind should necessarily be limited, or a path should be chosen to keep it limited. If any path or any religion prescribes for such an approach, it itself is limited. Hinduism prescribes certain methods by which a devotee can graduate from a Sakara (limited form) of worship to a Nirakara (form-less) worship. Religion means both ritualism and spiritualism. Unless one transcends ritualism, it is difficult to enter into the arena of spiritualism in the true sense of the term. Spiritualism means to follow the true dictates of the spirit within. Generally speaking, 'the spirit within' means the soul which is a part of that God the Ultimate who encompasses both the seen and unseen, the living and non-living aspects of nature and from the smallest particles to biggest stars. Spiritualism, therefore, has necessarily to expand the spirit of the soul from its limited body-bounden awareness to a vast cosmic awareness. If sheer ritualisms like puja, Archana, Yagyans do not uplift the spirit of the individual or expand his mental horizon, it certainly is not spiritualism.Generally, it is due to the lack of understanding of what real spiritualism means that most of the devotees spend their whole life doing certain rituals and yet do not progress. From multiple forms of God to a single form of God to a formless state God is the real prescription for spiritualism. Multiple form worships (i.e. of deities etc.) do not give focus on a particular form. Since these various symbolic representations of different aspects of nature go with various functions and powers, a person worshipping these forms gets scared to stop such worship even when he understands that he has to graduate to a formless state of worship. For example, Ganapati is for the removal of obstructions, Durga is for protection against enemies or Laxmi is for prosperity. Hence that all the four deities are manifestations of the Ultimate One but then on whom does the devotee concentrate. Where then is the question of what is called "Ekagra Chitta" as a sine-qua-non for subtle experience of God. In such a situation one has to choose one of the two ways. Either to worship the Ultimate One (Nirguna Nirakara) going beyond the worship of these deities or to evolve through these limited forms to the Ultimate reality through Gyana Marga (Path of Knowledge). All spiritual practitioners in all ages of whichever religion have gone through this process of leaving the forms and contemplating on the formless state of God or in experiencing the formless state of God through the forms. The Perfect Masters or Sadgurus always taught the same method to his disciples at a certain stage of evolution. Those who followed them and tried to experience the impersonal aspects of God evolved faster than those that stuck on to the Personal aspect of God only. Thus Baba has clearly stated in Shri Sai Satcharitra that the best way of worship is to experience Him as a Formless, Universal existence. If not, to worship Him with a form. Therefore, the devotees of Baba while worshipping Him with a form, should always try to experience Him as the formless. But then, the big question is how to be focused and be in a state of "Ekagra Chitta" when too many forms are contemplated on at the same time. Is not the form of the Sadguru enough! (Shri C. B. Satpathy)
Contributed Article:"I SPEAK AT RANDOM AND WHO BELIEVES ME" - Part II
Among other things, Baba has talked about A) Proper remuneration, B) Feeling of Gratitude, C) Contentment, D) How we suffer by Comparison, E) Inter religious Harmony, F) Respecting others sentiments/ feelings, G) Dream vision and a host of other things. As we wade through the pages of Sai Satcharitra we would come across many such things uttered by Baba and we find our selves far away from them. So it is obvious that we are not really falling in line with Sai's thoughts and utterances as our actions do not justify them. Thus proving Baba's statement "I speak at random and who believes me" really true. In such a situation, how can we call ourselves as true followers of Sai philosophy and devotees of Baba?
Unless we surrender totally to the lotus feet of the Sadguru Shri Sainath, we cannot call ourselves as His true devotees. Shri Satpathyji said many a time addressing devotees at several places, that people haven't really understood the meaning of surrendering in real sense. When we do not know how to render, then how can we think of surrendering, He keeps questioning? Shri Satpathyji has been carrying the mission of spreading Sai's glory ever since he was enveloped by Sai's grace in November, 1989.
Surrender is not an easy thing that we think it is. Where there is total surrender, there we have no trace of fear. We can always put a simple test to our faith in Sainath Maharaj by looking at one of His most famous eleven sayings i.e., "why fear when I am here". When we remain composed and unperturbed in any crisis and move nonchalantly taking the name of Sai, then we can say that we have truly surrendered to Him. Even in the worst possible situation too we should remain fearless clinging on to His feet. When we can do this, then we are bound to evolve and move closer to Him.
Baba said, "Believe Me, though I pass away, My bones in My tomb will give you hope and confidence. Not only Myself but My tomb would be speaking, moving and communicating with those, who would surrender themselves wholeheartedly to Me. Do not be anxious that, I would be absent from you. You will hear My bones speaking and discussing your welfare. But, remember Me always, believe in Me heart and soul and then you will be most benefited".
Before I close, I want to remind the question that once Damu Anna posed to Baba. "Of all the people who come to you, how many would remain with you Baba"? Baba replied taking the example of a mango tree saying that, 'if all the flowers remain on the tree then what a bumper crop it would be! But, some flowers fall off, while others fall of as unripe ones and only a few would become fully ripe'. So let us pray to Baba to ensure that we don't fall of as unripe ones and instead remain until the end so as to make the lives of others so sweet and happy. Jai Sai Ram, Peace Be To All (Concluded).
(Contributed by P. Raghunadha Reddy, Tirupathi, India)
Kamal Kiran Swati Gayathri Sai devotee Hari Sheeba Saradha Ananthasayanam Sekhar Till now my brothers are sending money every month by taking loans from others but how long it can continue Baba, and I did not get any job for the last two years and now this gap has become big problem Baba. Baba I prey you to kindly give me a very good job with good salary for survival and to take care of Giridhar Sai's treatment and clear loans. Baba I do not find any way to come out of these problems and days, months and years are passing and I am in dilemma what to do. You only can solve these problems Baba. Please do not leave me/us and bless us with immediate solutions Baba. Baba please give me job and cure Giridhar Sai's disease and give good health to me, for my wife, and my eldest son Sai Kiran. You only can help us solve the problems Baba.
Quotation of the Week
Q. On what basis our mind be set on one deity as our guru? Can any deity be a guru? A. by Ragavan, Auckland, New Zealand What normally is advised by Acharyas and Gurus is that you try to have one fixed deity as your favorite or family deity for your deep heart felt prayer. Once you achieve this, in whatever other deity form you worship later, you should be able to see the favorite deity in this deity's form or prayer. That is you need to realize that God is one and that your deity of prayer, whichever deity it is, is nothing but the same incarnation of your favorite deity.
In the house, the lady -- takes so many forms: Mother for some, Wife for some one, Grand Mother for some, sister for some, aunt for some, cousin for some, daughter for some, neighbor for some, employee for the office or work place, etc. The person is same but the roles are many. To the children, she is the kindest person but in the office, she may be a strict administrator, to the husband the sweet companion, to the parents, a good daughter, etc. Here again, the soft forms are accepted easily and the hard form is often questioned. To this I read a very interesting explanation and surely it is most acceptable. What it says is that the soft spoken, good natured mother, just coming out of her bath with her hair untied as she is still drying out the water-wetness, when she sees at a distance outside that her child is being beaten by the neighbor for some petty quarrel, immediately takes the form of "KALI" and rushes out with the most angry form to tackle this neighbor who is beating the child, to protect the child and to look after. That is the true nature of the mother who can even take the form of Kali when it is required, to save the children (devotees) from the neighbor (demons and evils). At the same time, she is embracing the child with all the warmth, wiping out the tears and giving the much-needed support at the right time. So different forms are those, which are convenient to the different devotees, who would like to see their God in that form as it pleases them that way. But God is one.
If only the devotee can get that level of mental maturity to accept that God is one and that one form which is the favorite one is the one to be taken as GOD and as Guru if need be, for all practical purposes and then see this GOD in all forms and on all occasions.
However, this seeing of GOD as also the Guru, doesn't necessarily absolve the real life Guru-disciple relationship where Acharyas and Sadhus and the like who are there in the Mutts, etc., who help the people with their teachings, preachings, lectures, pravachans, etc., and whenever needed, their help could always be sought and their advice to be made use of. A student (devotee) can always learn from many Gurus including God.
I trust that I have given some satisfactory response to the devotee who had raised the query. (In fact, when we try to explain to others, we ourselves are explained -- that is a beauty of our cultural and religious matters, which are being passed down generations for centuries and centuries !)
Shirdi Sai Jalaram Mandir, Houston, Texas, USA Sai Baba Center in Toronto Shirdi Sai Satsang, Minnesota
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