There was a good-natured millionaire in the town. Three beggars thought of approaching him for help. The first went to the millionaire and said: "O Lord! Please give five rupees." The millionaire was taken aback at this man's impudence and said, "What! You demand five rupees from me as though I owe you the money! How dare you? Here, take these two rupees and get away". The Second went to the millionaire and said: " Maharaj! I have not taken a square meal for the past ten days. Please help me". The millionaire said, "Take this ten rupee note. You can have nice food for at least three days". The third beggar came and said: "Maharaj! I have heard about your noble qualities. Therefore, I have come to have your Darshan. Men of such charitable disposition are verily the manifestations of God on earth". The millionaire was happy and offered him place to sit and decent food to fill his stomach. Later, The millionaire requested beggar to remain with him, built a decent house for him in his compound and looked after him for the rest of his life.

God is like this good millionaire. Three classes of people approach him with three different desires and prayers. The first approach with full of vanity, arrogance, desires and demands objects of worldly enjoyment. The Lord grants him some part of the desired objects. The second approach the Lord for relief from the sufferings of the world but he is ready to abide by Lord's will. The Lord grants him full relief from suffering and bestows much wealth and property. The third (Jnani) approaches and praises Lord but expects nothing. But the Lord is highly pleased with his spirit of renunciation, desirelessness and of self-surrender. Therefore, he grants him supreme devotion and makes him to live in his own house (Vaikuntha). Afterwards, This jnani-Bhaktha dwells in Lord's abode as a Liberated Sage. There is no limit for Universal Mother's (Lord) Love.

Love is of three kinds - First, The love that is concentrated on oneself is like a bulb that illuminates the room without shedding light outside the four walls. It is confined to the senses and never opens out to others. Second, The Love that is larger and deeper which expands into the members of one's family. It is like a moonlight not strong enough to make things clear but enough to move about. It undergoes rise and fall, increase and decrease. Third, This is the most desirable type of Love which is like Sunlight that always engages in purifying, activating, illumining and knows no distinction. This love will make man act ever in the spirit of dedication to the Lord. The One who attains the third kind of Love will perform acts that would be elevating and holy.

Man is miserable only due to his perverseness and stupidity. He should know that the illness that is torturing him is due to not giving up greed and lust; not giving up the habit of catering to the senses; not giving up the belief that he is just this body. Assimilate the virtues of sathya, dharma, shaanthi and prema (truth, righteousness, peace and divine love) into your character so that you will shine with fine mental and physical health. "Uddhareth aathma-na athmaanam": "Save yourself by yourself". University degrees will not give, riches cannot buy, kinsmen cannot hand over and teachers cannot confer the pre-requisites for Shaanthi. Shanthi is attained by only Faith and Devotion.

The cause of the most chronic disease of man is Ajnana (i.e., Ignorance of the undying Athma within him) is due to infatuation for the objective world, subservience of senses, the undue prominence given to the body and imagining body to be touchstone of value. The body is like a temporary shelter where you reside for a short while on your jouney to your goal i.e., kaivalyam (Liberation) which gives the highest bliss. Be a true bhaktha and become so small that you wriggle out of the shackles of the senses or be a true jnaani and become huge so that you escape by breaking the shackles.

Believe in the Lord but not in the little things. Do not keep your trust in little men, wicked men and in men who are vicious and greedy. Instead, develop faith and keep trust in the Lord who is more merciful than any father, more loving than any mother is, more powerful than any earthly authority and more considerate than any kinsman. One has to remember the Name of God and deepen faith in God to cultivate the attitude of dedication. Dwell on the Naama so that its sweetness will saturate your tongue and improve your taste. The Lord will respond if you call him at least once from the depths of feeling. He will be deaf even if you call him a million times automatically, artificially.

You cannot offer full heart to the Lord if it has leaks of Egoism, pride, and thirst for fame because sweetness will be drained away through the leaks. Omsai Srisai Jaijaisai

(Contributed by Sathyanarayana)
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Contributed Article: Sri Sai Gurucharitra - Chapter IV(continued from last week)

"Nana! Shama, dama, titiksha, uparati, sraddha and samadhana are the six sadhanas. Shama is to possess mental restraint towards sensory objects. Dama is to forcibly restrain the body and the senses from seeking sensory enjoyment. Titiksha is forbearance. It is to bear with equanimity all that is happening one as a result of prarabhda karma. Uparati is the withdrawal of the senses so that one does not fall into the maya of considering woman, gold, children, relatives and friends as true. Sraddha is the faith and devotion to one's guru. Now I will tell about the last Samadhana. Listen to me carefully."

"To look at happiness or misery with an equal eye with the heart bearing steady is samadhana. The one who has the strong desire for moksha in his heart, and disregarding everything else; searches sincerely for the path to achieve the knowledge of the Brahman is a mumukshu. I have described the qualities of a mumukshu earlier. Moksha is not kailas, the abode of Siva or Vaikunta, the abode of Vishnu. Moksha is a very difficult thing to achieve. The path to moksha has many obstacles and pitfalls. Nana! Pay close attention. To conjoin with the pure conscious which is the basis and the foundation of this universe is moksha. To reach that everlasting stage is the object of human endeavor (purushardha). All else is a waste."

"Nana heard the able one with joy. He joined his hands in supplication and asked, "Baba, what is pure conscious? What are its characteristics? Where does one find it?"

"Baba replied patiently, "What is the basis for this universe; what is existing in all living and non living creation and is still left over; what is the life force which is the foundation of the universe is the pure conscious. In what the universe again merges at the end of it, all is pure conscious. What is visible to our eye in the entire universe is that Brahman. The pure conscious shines without interruption in all in the form of, "I am ", "I am". This is a constant experience of all living beings. You asked me where the pure conscious is. You tell me where it is not. You may search everywhere in this universe and out side it; you will never find a place where it is not. Everything is pure conscious. It has no name and no form. As the air is beyond shape or form or color or other attributes so is pure conscious. That is pure conscious or Brahman. Never forget this truth. The saints who have realized themselves are always in the direct experience of the Brahman. The various animal life, plant life and humanity are all its forms. The seer, the seen, the look, the knowledge, the energy - pure conscious is the basis or the foundation for all this. It is omnipresent. It is pure bliss. It is the true knowledge. The form of that pure conscious is Brahman."

"Nana was still not clear in his mind. He joined his hands in supplication and said, "Baba, Oh complete and able Sadguru! You say that the Brahman is everywhere; you say it is pure bliss and it is one. If it is one, how is that visible to us in so many forms in this universe? You say that the pure conscious is filling everything in the animate and inanimate world. And you say that its form is pure bliss. Why then is there so much misery in this world? I am not able to understand this. How can one born blind in both eyes appreciate beauty? In the same way, how can pure conscious which is the truth abide in this world which is an illusion? If you say that the soul is the pure conscious, how are there so many souls when the conscious is one? Each soul has its own experience of pleasure and pain; happiness and misery. How can you say that a single pure conscious abides in all and everywhere? The soul abiding in each body is different from the others. How can you say that the pure conscious is the soul? I believe that they are different. Please clear my doubt."

"Baba patiently replied, "Oh Nana, you are making a mistake here. Still your mind in concentration and peacefully listen do what I say. Take some pots of water and mix white, black, yellow, green, red, pink, green and magenta colors in the water. They all look different from each other. But the water is the same in all pots. The water seems red in the red pot and yellow in the yellow pot. If the mixed colors are removed somehow from the water, the same water remains. In the same way, the soul is one. The hearts are many. It is only when the soul and the heart are joined in one place that the happiness or sadness is experienced. Know this well, Nana."

"The Atman has no difference or division. It is the same everywhere. This is the truth. Happiness or sadness is the dharma relating to the heart. The heart gets the conscious only when it is conjoined with the soul. Let me explain this in more detail so that you can understand it easily. This conscious shines in the beings in the form of paramardhaka, vyavaharika and pratibhasika depending on the progression and spiritual maturity of the beings. Oh Narayana, even though the body is one it has the various forms of youth, maturity and old age. It is the same case with the conscious."

"The paramardhaka conscious may be seen only in the saints. Those who model their conduct as enjoined by the sastras and know what is to be retained and what discarded and progress towards salvation are the vyvaharikas. Those who believe the untruth to be the truth and whose intellect is steeped in ignorance are the pratibhasika. You should know that the pratibhasika are the ignorant, the vyvaharika are the wise and the paramardhaka are saints. Even so, the same Atman shines in all. The king, his officer, and his emissary are all part of the same kingdom. The basis and the foundation of their power is the constitution of that country. Even then, there are differences amongst them. One rides in state on the elephant and sits on the throne. He moves about as he fancies. All the people follow the constitution. It is the duty of every one to follow it without demur. The king, his officialdom, the servants, and the people are all different but they all follow the same constitution. The king may die but the constitution lives on. The successor to the king obtains his power from that. That constitution is not a thing to be purchased or sold commercially but all weal is available because of it. By which constitution the king sits on throne, by the same constitution the servants serve him and look after his every comfort. The king gets the greatest benefit from it; his officialdom gets lesser benefit, his servants even less benefit and the common people the least benefit. In the same manner he who has realized and experienced that his soul and the Brahman are one; gets the Brahman in its full form." Nana heard what Baba said. He was still perplexed. He asked, "Baba how does the constitution which is one for all change to so many forms to benefit people in different ways? By such division does not its unity get disturbed?" Well asked Nana, said Baba, "The constitution is a unified whole. It is indivisible.

But it looks as if it is divided and applied differently to different individuals. The same applies to pure conscious too. Pure conscious is not divisible but the individual obtains only what he grasps. Let us take the example of pots of various sizes filled with water. The same sky one sees in the mighty river is seen in the pots too. The pot may be big or small; the sky reflected in the water contained in the pots or the river is the same. In the river one sees the biggest reflection of the sky. The sky in each pot seems smaller or larger depending on the size of the pot. Has the sky been divided? In the same way is the case with pure conscious. This world is an illusion (maya). Brahman and maya have joined together to create this world." to be continued)

(Contributed by Source: "Sri Sai Gurucharithra" originally by Santkavi Sri Dasganu Maharaj. Translated from Telugu version by Sri SVL)
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Experiences of Devotees:

Uma Chandran
I know Saibaba only for the past few years and I pray to Baba everyday. Many a times I experienced that whatever I pray, that has come true. Some time delay also will be there, then I will think of Baba he will decide what I want and just leave it to him. I have gone through several problems at home, whatever the problem, I will tell all my problems to Baba and ask him to take care of me. I am having bad leg pain for the past 4 months. I went to ortho and other doctors. But the pain persists. The pain was so acute on last Saturday, I thought I should go to some specialist, and then saw the CSI doctor. She said you have to get admitted then only the doctors can check thoroughly, why there is swelling in the leg. I refused to be admitted, and then I requested doctor to write and give what all the test I should get it done. The doctor said I should get the Doppler test, which will show if there is any blockage in the vein. I went for the Doppler test. I was told to lie down in the bed and the doctor started scanning me, at the same time I prayed to Baba," Baba I have no one to help me, even my children are far off and I can't take leave in the office as my presence is required very much, only you should make my report negative, if you mind it, otherwise whatever your wish you do as per that. My eyes were filled with tears. I am hiding my tears from the doctor and the nurse by praying to Baba and the test was over. Slowly I got up from the bed and the doctor said, no blood clot in the vein and it is only superficial. I was so happy and Baba helped me and saved from crisis. I know Baba is always with me taking care of my family and me. I believe him.

Srilakshmi
Sairam, I would like to share my experience in buying our house. We have been looking for almost 2 years to buy a house. This time when we went to see the house I saw a pocket calender picture in our van. I know we have many pocket pictures of Baba at home but that day all of a sudden I saw the picture in van. I knew in my heart some thing good is going to take place because Baba is with us on that day. We bought the house we saw on that day. We did closing on the house on Thrusday even though we had different date of closing, it was schedule on Friday but was postponed to Tuesday and Wednesday and finally on Thrusday. We wish you all the best and it is always good to reading the experience of other devotes.Thank you GOD for every thing. Please look after us. We are your childern. We need you in every step and every moment. God bless you all.
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Devotees say...

A Sai devotee
I wish to share this experience with all devotees of Shirdi Sai Baba. I've been a devotee of Sri Baba for only the past 3 years or so. But I've experienced so much of his kindness in this short time that I wish to narrate one such incident, which happened recently. Before my marriage, I was working in Bangalore and had come to US on an official trip. After I went back to India, I put a lot of weight and was diagnosed with hormone problem a few days before my marriage (I was supposed to come back to US where my husband is). My gynecologist suggested that I go to an endocrinologist ASAP and so I went to her. She saw my test reports and started saying that my condition is serious and what she started saying unnerved me completely. She was telling that even normal people have difficulty conceiving children and with this level of imbalance, it is going to be difficult for you. She suggested that I start taking medicines immediately. But with a week before my marriage, I didn't want to get into this treatment especially since people will start talking all sorts of things. So, I said to her that I'll come later and went home very dazed. I told this to my mother and sister and started crying. They were also disturbed but they consoled me that God will take care of all these things (At that time neither my mother nor my sister were devotees of Baba. But Baba didn't leave them and pulled them to him and they are now steadfast devotees of Baba. Their story itself needs one more experiences section). For me I prayed to Baba and left the rest to him. I told Baba mentally - that I am going to US having full faith in you and that you'll not leave me any moment. With this thought in mind, I was at peace. We got married and came to US within a month. I didn't go to any doctor after I came here telling myself that Baba will take care of everything. And after two years of marriage, we started hoping for a child recently. And I found out yesterday that I am indeed pregnant. All this is of course due to Bhagawan's grace. I am sure that Baba will help me get through this process and deliver a healthy baby. I also wish to become less and less selfish in asking Baba's help for satisfying personal materialistic desires and accept whatever he gives as "Iswara Prasadam" and attain the ultimate goal in life - Liberation. With Baba as Guru I think that Moksha is very much possible in this janma itself with considerable efforts from my side.
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Prayer Club:

A Devotee
Baba, You know what all bad things I am doing. Please help me baba to overcome my bad habits. Help me become a good parent and a good person. Please, please help me baba. I cannot do without you Baba. I am in a terrible situation Baba now, only you can help. Nothing seems to be working out. I come so close to having success and then everything falls through. Why is it Baba? I am not asking this for myself. As you know this particular thing is for my children. Can you not take care of them. Baba, please do this thing for me. I promise you the next time I come to India I will come to Shirdi. Please baba, only you can help. Please bless me Baba, cure me of my bad habits, and do a thing I need so desperately before Dec 1st. Thank you. Om Sri Sainath Maharaj Ki Jai

Muktha
Om sai ram please be with my in-laws we are far away from them. Give them good health and happiness always. Take care of them and protect them every minute of their life. Bless my daughter give her good memory power and help her to study well. Guide her, and be with her always. Be with my husband at job help him to get good prospect in his job. Give me good health and wealth and help me to be always helpful to others.

Seema Bhal
Baba, Koti Koti Pranam, Baba, he is your gift to me, you know it. Baba, I will not be able to take it if something goes wrong, I will be dead. Baba, hold him tight near your Lotus Feet, don't let him go, guide him and take him to the path of success with professional qualification. Baba, bless all, my desire is to have your Swaroop when I close my eyes, I know for that I need to have that deep rooted faith, but again without your blessings nothing moves. Baba I pray from the core of my heart to have that deep-rooted devotion.

Ushasri
Om Sai ram, Baba I start to pray to you for past three months. Now I am reading Sai satcharitha daily. You know what is my problem Baba. I want to live with my husband. Please let him realize I cannot live without him. Please let my husband's family to accept me then only he will change his mind. I am planning to go to Shirdi. I believe after come back from Shirdi I will go back to my husband. Please help me Sai.

Anil
My dearest Baba, I and my entire family is going through a lot of hardship and turmoil. Only You can help us from this crisis. I pray to you, my loving Baba to bless us and help us.

Sai devotee
Sai Ram ji Baba, please call us for your darshan with family my two children ,who are not married yet. I have a desire that they get married soon and I take them with me with their spouse and have your darshan. Please do listen to my humble prayers.Baba I want to do laksha in my home but some how it is not working out. Baba can you help me and make things work out so I an do laksha at my home and Baba do come and give us darshan.

Kamal
Sai Ram this is your follower. I pray for my mom and dad's health. Help us in all our troubles and always give me strength to be hardworking, honest and not to hurt anyone. Help my nephew and niece find a good job and and help me to get my nephew's love back. Pray that my neice's immigration comes through without a hitch. Thank you Sai Baba.

Padmavathy
Om Sai sri Sai jaya jaya Sai. I am very very happy in chanting your bajans. Please help me to spend more time in chanting your namas. Please help my family, I donot know where we are going. I am very much worried about my daughter and son's future. Please give them good dicipline. Plese help my son to concentrate in his studies and get good marks in first year and all the years. Please guide him to the right path.
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Quotation of the Week:
"All experience is necessarily transient. But the ground of all experience is immovable. Nothing that may be called an event will last. But some events purify the mind and some stain it. Moments of deep insight and all- embracing love purify the mind, while desires and fears, envies and anger, blind beliefs and intellectual arrogance pollute and dull the psyche"-Sri Nisargadatta
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Question of the Week:

Q. How is Sadguru dependent on his bhaktas?
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Sai Activities:

Shirdi Sai Temple of Chicago and Suburbs, Illinois, USA
Shirdi Sai temple is open daily from 8:00 am to 9:00 pm(Winter hours). Daily program includes Kakad Arathi at 8am 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.

Upcoming Event(s): Christmas, Saturday December 25th. Sri Datta Jayanti and Sri Satyanarayan Vratha Katha Full moon day, Sunday December 26th. New Year's Eve Special Pooja, Friday December 31st.

Shirdi Sai Satsang in Singapore
I am Kalaiselvanam from Singapore. Currently, two of us are working on setting up a temple for Shirdi Sai Baba. We need 10 committed and keen devotees of Shirdi Sai Baba to form a team. The reason why we need 10 is that the Registrar of Societies in Singapore needs at least 10 members to form a society. If you are keen, call me in Singapore at 91799733.

Sai Satsang at Marlboro, MA, USA
Om Sairam. We are doing sai sathsangam on every alternate Saturday from 5pm to 7.30pm since last year successfully with baba blessings. In sathsangam we do guru dhyanam, Sai asthotharam, sai the master written by Sri Ekkirala Bhardwaja book parayana, sai sandhya aarthi, bhajans and prasad distribution. We cordially invite all of you to participate in baba sathsangam. Please contact Pallavi or Uttam at 508-786-0380 or send us email to saiuttampallavi@yahoo.com. Our address is 36 Royal Crest Drive #2 Marlboro MA-01752.

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.
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