There is a great difference between liberation and realization. Liberation is much inferior to realization. One can reach liberation in one incarnation, and realization in some later incarnation. Or one can become liberated and realized in the same incarnation. But it is not possible to be realized without first being liberated. Sometimes a great spiritual Master, if he is fortunate, will bring down with him a few really liberated souls to help him in his manifestation. Sri Ramakrishna, for example, brought down Vivekananda and Brahmananda. Some of these liberated souls who enter the earth-scene with the great Masters do not care for realization. They come just to help. Others, like Vivekananda and Brahmananda, want realization also.

A liberated soul is liberated from ignorance, from worldly, undivine qualities. A liberated soul will inspire others with his presence. He will inspire them to be pure, simple, kind-hearted and loving. Tremendous purity and serenity will flow from him, and others will want to touch him, speak to him, and look at his face. You can say that he is much more than a saint. True, worldly obscurities, impurities and other things will not enter into the liberated soul, or he will be all the time cautious so as not to allow them to enter into him. But a realized soul is much higher. He is consciously part and parcel of God.

Realized souls are extremely powerful. They know what they are and where they have come from. On the strength of their universal and transcendental consciousness, they can enter into the ignorance of humanity, into the earth-consciousness as such, and illumine it with their light.

A liberated soul is like a child, so beautiful and pure. But how long can you stay with a child? With his capacity, you cannot go very far, or reach the Highest. A realized soul is like a mature person who can offer you tremendous aspiration, light and wisdom, the living reality. A liberated soul will inspire you to walk along the path. A realized soul will not only inspire you, but also guide you and lead you to your destination.

Back to Menu

Contributed Article: SRI SAI GURUCHARITRA -Chapter I

All hail to Sri Ganesha. All hail to the supreme Shiva, the five faced God. All hail to the fire of valor that is Shiva. I pray to you who are the father and mother to the whole universe, not to neglect me, your child. Your abode, the Kailas Mountain is most charming. Even Mahavishnu, the excellent one that meditates upon you at twilight. Oh thou master of all living beings, in the days of yore when Daksha prajapati had insulted you, being angered, you had incarnated as Veerabhadra. Oh thou consort of Parvati, your mission is to save your true devotee. Why then are you neglecting me? Oh thou mountain of compassion, why are you not heeding to my prayer? Oh thou the holder of the mighty trident, it may be that you are thinking that I am a great sinner and one steeped in ignorance and are not showering your grace on me. Oh the master of Uma, it is you who had presented me, a child, with this bestial nature. I am indeed an insignificant being. Please do not ignore me. It is said that the devotees of Iswara certainly find eternal happiness in you after death. It matters not the least whether he is the twice born Brahmin or the flesh eating chandala, your devotee becomes equal to Mahavishnu himself after death. There is no room for any doubt in this regard. As the life force shining as a flame in the hearts of all living beings is one, so are His children, all one. The Supreme Being who is the powerful master of the universe is the only truth. Where is the scope for duality in the hearts of those who do not differentiate amongst the people based on caste or creed? I beg you my lord, to protect and cherish such wise ones. Sant Kabir and his son Kamal Das of yore were great devotees. Did the Supreme God discriminate against them as they were of a different religion? Sri Panduranga is ever vigilant to see that no harm befalls those who are devoted wholly to god regardless of their malevolent planetary positions.

It matters not whether they are of low or high caste, whether they are rich or poor, only those who love god with single-minded devotion and rock like faith are the favorites of Sri Hari, the supreme lord. South of the holy Godavari River, about eight miles from Kopergaon is a poor hamlet called Shirdi. The abode of all the merit in this world, Sri Sai Baba arrived in that village one day. The people call him 'Baba or Sai'. He is ever immersed in the bliss of the Satchidananda. No one knows his antecedents or his previous history. What can I tell you of these details when I too am as ignorant as the others are? If anyone asked Baba this question, he would answer, "As the rain falls when the clouds in the sky peal with thunder, I too have fallen on this earth. I have no name or place. I am without any attributes. I have assumed this body due to the inevitable karma, which does its work, immutable and unalterable. I am known everywhere as a body. The whole world is my abode. Brahman is my father- the impenetrable Maya is my mother. It is by their conjoining that I have assumed this body which you see with your eyes." He would ever feel that this world is a transient place. That Sai Maharaj has shown innumerable instances of his divine power at Shirdi. How can this Dasganu, steeped in ignorance as he is, explain all these leelas?

Shirdi was a humble, poverty stricken village. There were very few shops in the village. Those few were mostly the grocers. Sai Baba would daily beg oil from the shopkeepers to light the lamps at the Masjid. In the same manner he would light lamps in the temples too. He used to conduct the festivals of lighting lamps at these places of worship. The shopkeepers were irritable at his begging for oil everyday from them. One day they all got together and discussed the matter. "From where can we give this man free oil everyday?" They decided not to give him any more oil. When Baba went to beg for oil, he got the same answer everywhere. "There is no stock, we are out of oil" Baba was surprised, "Why do you have to lie for such an insignificant thing?" said he and went back to his Masjid.

It is because of deceit and untruthfulness that people are submerging in the ocean of sorrows and becoming estranged from God. They are being entangled in karma of their own creation and are falling from the right path. The foremost sin is untruthfulness. God's grace is never upon those who tell lies. He is the slave of those who are ever truthful and honest. The sadhanas of japa or penance are nothing when compared to the sadhana of being honest and truthful. Truth is the basis and foundation of all dharma. Truth is the easy way for moksha. Truth is eternal bliss. Never forget truth and ever abide by it.

Sri Sainatha had thus returned to the Masjid without speaking harshly to the merchants who he knew were telling lies. He then did a wonderful thing. He placed the earthen lamps all around the Masjid and placed wicks in them. The whole village had come to know by now and had gathered at the Masjid to watch the fun. They talked amongst themselves. "How can lamps be lit without oil? This Sai seems to be very insane. Does the lifeless seed ever sprout? Does the barren woman ever give birth to a child and fill the household with joy?

Do the wise ever believe these to be possible? This mad man is trying to light lamps without oil. He is indeed without doubt the king amongst mad men and emperor of the insane" The villagers started to heckle Baba thus. Baba took the tin, which had a little oil remaining at its bottom, and went back in to the Masjid. Nanasahab Dengle saw the people making fun of Baba and insulting him. He said, "You people are blind. Do not heckle him and make fun of him in your ignorance. Only the God knows the extent of his power. Do we mistakenly discard in haste the jewel, which has fallen down amongst the rocks? Do not judge him in a hurry. Let us wait a while and see what this fakir will do. Why should we be in such a haste to condemn him?"

All were seated silently in the Masjid. Baba had sufficient oil to light only one lamp in his tin. Baba poured a little water, approximately half the volume of oil, into the tin of oil and closed his eyes in meditation. He took a little of the mixture of oil and water into his mouth and spat it back into the tin after gargling. He poured the mixture in to all the lamps. Incredibly there was sufficient oil for all the lamps now. He lit the lamps and they burned brightly throughout the night. Dengle was wonderstruck at this example of Baba's divine power. He reverently saluted his feet. The people were all stunned by this wonderful miracle of Baba. They exclaimed, "How wonderful is this Baba's leela? Baba is none but God." They all knelt in front of Baba. "Baba, we have committed a great sin by making fun of you. We are all your children. You are our real mother. Please do not be angry with us. Sai Maharaj, Oh! Mountain of compassion, please excuse our mistakes. You are verily the ocean of mercy; you are the effulgent sun shining in the sky of right knowledge. You are the vast sea containing all the good qualities. You are verily the mountain of peace." .

They all prayed to Baba not to be angry with them and to protect them. Baba spoke thus, "Hear and heed my words, Oh people. Behave always in the manner pleasing to the almighty. Never tell lies. If you stick to the truth, God will be pleased and stick with you. Do not cause any hardship to anyone. Give to the poor in charity as much as you can. You will gain merit by such charity and good will happen to you. By such conduct God will be pleased with you and give you his Divine vision at the end. This is the truth. Embed these words of mine in your hearts and follow them always." The people of Shirdi listened very happily to the teaching of Sri Sai Baba and went back to their homes contentedly.

Sri Sai Baba is a great yogi. It is beyond my feeble intellect to describe his divine powers. Fascinated by the divine power of Baba, and his throat trembling in passionate devotion, Dengle described Baba's leelas thus, "Baba's bed is of surpassing wonder. It is a wooden plank about a hand span in width and four cubits in length. He tied it to the roof beams of the Masjid with torn rags of cloth. The Masjid itself is in a dilapidated condition. The plastering of the walls was peeling off and falling down in chunks. The plank thus hung assumed a bow shape and all who saw it were wondering at its shape. Baba used to light lamps and keeping them on the four corners of the plank, would sleep on the plank. It was the power of his yoga that kept the bed aloft. The rags, which were used to hang the bad, were in such poor shape that it seemed they would be torn asunder at the lightest of weights placed on them. How can I describe the way Baba slept on that wondrous bed? Some people who had heard of this divine play, felt that it was false, a confidence trick. So they would come to the Masjid at night to see for themselves.

Gradually, the number of people increased so much that it was disturbing the peaceful atmosphere at the Masjid. Baba wanted to rid himself of this unwanted intrusion and one day removed the bed and discarded it. Baba's fame had spread to the four corners of the country. People started coming for the darsan of that great mahatma and started making vows for their weal. Shirdi became a great pilgrimage center. By Baba's power that small village gained fame as a great and powerful pilgrimage center throughout the country. As the garden soil gains repute by its flowers, as the holes made in the ear ornament gain luster by the jewels placed in them, as the cloth used to bundle gold gains respect by the gold it contains, so did Shirdi gain name and fame because of Baba. People thronged in the multitudes for the darsan of that mighty saint of infinite power. (To be continued)

(Contributed by Source: "Sri Sai Gurucharithra" originally by Santkavi Sri Dasganu Maharaj. Translated from Telugu version by Sri SVL)
Back to Menu

Experiences of Devotees:

Ashok Kumar Gupta
It was May 2004 that on retirement we had to shift from the Government flat to our own house. It was our last Sai Amrit Vani in the old house, we allowed the Sai devotees that they may bring their prasad or offerings to Baba. Mrs. Gupta prayed for all present there and for those who asked for the prayer. People had darshan of Baba all over the house. Now it was the turn of prasad distribution. So much of variety of prasad was there that the whole tables were filled with them. There was not even a single item, which was not blessed with Udi. Udi was sprinkled on all the items of prasad by Baba. It happens every Thursday that all the prasad is accepted by Baba and it is blessed like that. Mrs. Gupta distributed the prasad and as devotees started eating the prasad a dog opened the door by pushing it. It was very strange that a dog coming upstairs on the first floor and opening the door like this. People started giving him the prasad from their plates. Even I gave him the good amount of prasad and then shut the door. He again opened the door with his paw. Mrs. Gupta gave him all the variety of Prasad like Pakodas of Brinjal, Kari-Rice, Poolav, different types of sweets and so on. She finally asked him to go as he had eaten enough. The dog went away. Now the discussion started that it Baba in that roop. To end this discussion Mrs. Gupta said that let us leave it to Baba, and prayed to Baba that Baba, if that were you then please let us see one more roop or leela of yours. After that, some people went to the mandir, which is in kitchen to see Baba. To their surprise, they saw three lines of chandan started appearing on the forehead of the photo from which the Udi was coming. It was wet. People started weeping with joy. Some remained stunned. This was unimaginable. This may look like a story. But this really happened and it happens. The words are not enough to explain the leelas of Baba. Jai Sai Ram.

Shiva Prasad
Last month my parents and me were traveling from Gulbarga, India, in a train, in which some one through the window pulled my moms chain, me sitting next to her I could not even help her. I thought for a minute I lost the chain, as people say something goes wrong in life we blame GOD. The same thing happened with me too, after some time I became cool and apologized to SAI for blaming for the theft. After one month police people have called us to pick up the chain which is been found Now tell me how should I thank SAI for all this, being a human being I can only say thanks SAI.

One more miracle is last week wife; my mom and me went to my native where my mom still mentally disturbed about the incident, which mentioned above. So I asked SAI before leaving home please be with us whole trip. When we reached the railway station at the entrance, we saw SAI idol smiling at us. My mom got some courage to travel by train. And then every 30 minutes I use to find SAI photos, rings on some people fingers but any time I look at any place I use to find SAI photos, whole week this happened, I just use to smile at SAI and thanking him for being with us. At the end when we reached Bangalore back, we saw SAI photo with words saying "SHUB YATHRA " now I leave it to you how I would have felt about this. I can't explain my happiness. I request all SAI devotees tell Sai stories to other people who does not know about Sai, where we can help other people to get the blessings of SAI BABA. SRI SAI JAYA SAI JAYA JAYA SAI. Thanks Sai for everything.

Kalpana Devi
Om Sri Sai. I have completed my B.E. Today I am writing this article because of Sai blessings. During my B.E, I faced lot of problems financially, physically and mentally. I faced a lot of tension because of my backlog subjects; I used to pray for Baba for months and months that I have to clear my subjects and good health. Finally, I made an attempt of writing the subjects at a time, I have been writing from 4th semester onwards but I couldn't clear the papers. In 5 th semester too same thing happened. At last I came to 6 th semester and prayed to God and I believe that he is always there with me and he will help me, as usually I wrote the exam and when the results were going to come I was tensed as what would happen, but I cleared all the 18 papers at once. Our managing director, friends and family praised me for clearing all the subjects in one go, and this all could happen by none other than Saibaba who gave a new meaning to my life. Now I am looking for a stability in my life this will also surely happen by baba blessings only. " EVERYTHING WILL HAPPEN FOR OUR GOOD SAKE IF WE HAVE FAITH & PATIENCE IN HIM" AND THIS IS TRUE.
Back to Menu

Devotees say...

Hemant Bheem
I would like to know if there any mandir or place where Sai Baba puja or bhajan or kirtan is organized in or around London. Please inform me at hemantuk@aol.com. Jai Sai Baba Ki.

Jalaja Koteeswaran
Greetings to Devotees. 1) To the devotee, who asked for help on behalf of his son in UTD in Dallas, please send the resume to jalaja_koti@netzero.net. I will flag my contacts for any opportunities. 2) To the devotee, who asked for any Sai-Devotional activities nearby Dallas, TX. please visit www.ndsai.org. It is a well-rounded activity center for kids, also yoga, and other spiritual activities. Very disciplined community. I believe, there is also some Sai Devotional Activities (chartered place) in the Bahai's Center in Hedgecox Road, Plano, TX.If this information is useful, please thank Baba. If not, still thank Baba, he will treat it as an advance. Thank you.
Back to Menu

Prayer Club:

Sai devotee
Baba I am always praying & crying for your help. Please help me .you have always saved us from all kinds of problems. Today I'm praying for your help. Please save me from this chest pain. Baba please improve my health. It's been there from a long time and I cannot take it any more. I don't know what to do. Baba, please get me rid of this pain and suffering. Only you can help me Baba.

Snehalata
Please show a solution. Who will I convey all my pain. I am not able to tell my husband and parents how much I suffer every minute as I feel they will feel very sad. BABA please show mercy on me and give a solution baba. Please improve my health, Baba please put an end to my sufferings now and give me happiness baba. I am suffering everyday. BABA Dayakaro. Save me baba and bring some happiness in my life. Om Sai Ram, Baba please kindly be with them and protect them. Baba please kindly forgive us for all the mistakes we have done and all the mistakes we are doing. Baba please kindly forgive me for all my sins. Baba please kindly be with us. Baba, I am leaving everything at Your lotus feet. Please take care of everything, Baba. Sairama, please take care of our thoughts, words and actions always and please save us from all dangers. Our hearty thanks, sincere love and namaskarams to You, Baba.

Satyanarayana
Sai, I want to see you. I know its only few months (nearly 18 months) back that I have started praying you but in no time I have developed love on you. Please Baba, 2 to 3 times I saw a person in dream whose physical posture is like you but I don't know whether its you are not. Several times I prayed you to come into my dream and bless me and guide me. Only because of you blessings I got a job in MNC but as you can see I could not enjoy my work there. Please help me, I want to come Shirdi and see you. I want you to bless me directly with you divine hand on my head, please baba, always I want to be at your feet doing you paadaseva. Please make it possible for me to do seva for you. Please I want to see you, please come into my dream or through any way that I can recognize.

A Sai Devotee
Oh Lord of the Universe "BABA", please help my ailing parents (my mom a stroke patient and my dad suffering from Parkinson's) and my brother to get through all the obstacles they are passing. My parents are living like two corpses in the house. My dad has believed in someone has given him Rs 5 lakhs for the flat that is being constructed and now it is my dad who is still not getting any flat assigned in his name. I am in USA and all I can understand is that this was all his savings he had after retiring. He has been cheated before also. To make a small home was his dream and at this old age, it really hurts me to see how people can do this to someone who is almost handicapped. Please help them Baba as YOU have helped me every time before. Please make sure my parents don't get hurt. Please accept OUR HUMBLE PRANAM!

Divya Ramesh
Baba Today my heart feels so devotional. I have always vent my feelings to you because you are the only one who saves me in times of danger. Baba please help me in my studies and let nothing disrupt my studies until I finish it. I have lot of dreams that I want to achieve after the completion of my teachers training. please help me. Baba please help my husband be nice to me. Let him not be carried away by my in-laws. Please Baba make him reconcile with my brother and my parents. My son is too young to know the real nature of his dad and my in-laws. Please make my son to love me more.

Sai devotee
Aum Sai ram. Please pray for us. My husband and me are separate now for 10 years for no reason. Because of our sponsoring problems I am living in Canada my husband is living in Switzerland. We have a 10 year old son, me and my son are living in Canada for 10 years. I am sponsoring my husband since 2002 but I didn't get any replay from immigration. But Sai knows what will happen in the end. Please kindly as king for prayers for our family.
Back to Menu

Quotation of the Week:
"Baba is the master of making the impossible possible, the unattainable attainable"-Sainathuni Sarathbabuji
Back to Menu

Question of the Week:

Q. How far is the practice of seeking answer to a specific question by turning a page of Sai Satcharitha OK?

A by Ramesh Chandra Bose

Baba always said " KEEP FAITH IN ME, AND YOUR PRAYERS SHALL BE ANSWERED". Faith in Baba is expressed by devotees in many ways. Reading SAI SATCHARITRA is the one of the options; a true Sai devotee will opt to invite Sai's divine interference in guiding his life. We are all human beings and certainly all of us come across some situations where we are unable to make decisions based on the available facts, fearing that something may go wrong in the future. These are the moments, a true Sai devotee wholeheartedly needs Sai's guidance in taking decisions - be it for the well being of self, family or the society around us. What else can be a better method than involving Sai to mitigate your indecisiveness by turning the page of SAI SATCHARITRA and seeking the answer from Him? According to many devotees and their experiences published in this newsletter, Sai is omnipresent and is answering devotees' prayers in many ways. All that is required is SHRADDHA and SABURI. Sai is always there to help His devotees and turning a page of SAI SATCHARITRA is a widely followed method seeking Sai's divine interference to seek answer to questions, we face in our day-to-day life.
Back to Menu

Sai Activities:

Shirdi Sai Temple of Chicago and Suburbs, Illinois, USA
Shirdi Sai temple is open daily from 7:00 am to 9:00 pm. Daily program includes Kakad Arathi at 7am followed by Abhisek. Madhayana Arathi at 12 noon, Dhoop arathi at 6pm and Shej Arathi at 9pm. Archana, Homams, Sahasranama and sponsored poojas continue in between the Arathis. To request a pooja for yourselves, your friends and family, please call. Devotees can request water (Abhishek Jal) from the Holy bathing of Baba by sending us an email or by phone. Temple is located 25 minutes drive west of Schaumburg on intersection of IL Route 47 and Plank Road in Hampshire, IL. For more information please call 847-931-4058 or send email to maildrop@saibaba.org.

Sri Krishna Asthami was celebrated this week. Shri Ganesh Chaturthi will be celebrated on September 17th-18th.

Shirdi Saibaba Prayer Center, Minnesota
Regular Sai activities in the Twin Cities, MN are being conducted at Shirdi Saibaba Prayer Center, 725 Lake St NE, Apt #139 Hopkins MN. For details, please contact hamaresai@yahoo.com, or call Shirdi Saibaba Prayer Center at 952-938-2983, and to read the monthly newsletter Sai Sandesh, visit www.hamaresai.org.
Back to Menu

You may subscribe to receive the newsletter by e-mail.

Fill out your e-mail address and hit the subscribe button: