"Ramathe Raam.. Aaaojee.. Aaaojee.. ..udiyaan ki goniyaan laaojee.."
(Oh Playful Rama.! .come on.., and bring with you sacks of udi.)

Baba used to sing merrily, whenever He was in a cheerful mood. The power and greatness of udi, the sacred ash, is well known. It is believed that udi confers upon the devotees, health, prosperity, freedom from anxiety, and many other worldly gains.

One peculiarity of this Saint God is that He encouraged His followers to seek material wealth. There were several incidents wherein Sainath Himself brought about a particular longing of the devotees during casual conversation and benefited them appropriately. One famous parable of Sai Baba goes as follows: "My coffers are always open.. Come and fill your sacks as much as you want.." Now, material wealth, non-attachment, self surrender, salvation...How can they be all together? Don’t they seem contradicting each other? How can one ask for worldly riches yet at the same time develop non-attachment?

Asking and receiving the material benefit confirms one’s faith in Sadguru, the most important aspect of devotion. How can one know that he/she will get something unless he/she asks for it and gets it? The experience of countless devotees of Sai Baba is the same. Receiving benefits through His grace confirms and increases the faith in Him. Logically, it must make one to pay careful and close attention to what the Guru says. Material and spiritual benefits are two separate entities and by separating them so, the need for each of them is well defined. Usually, it is a practice to justify one’s wants based on the needs. However, a careful observation will reveal that there is no end for human needs and material wants are akin to a never-ending chain of temporary events perpetrated by the myth. Now, if one looks back and contemplates on Sadguru Sainath’s coffers, it will be evident that the reference made was to something beyond material. Something that is perennial, and something that should result in everlasting happiness.
Back to Menu

RELIGIONS OF THE WORLD Part V
(Contributed by Mr. Somalingam, Christchurch, Newzealand)

Buddhism

Buddha
Siddhartha was born in a king’s family about 560 BC in northeastern India. As an infant he lost his mother and raised by the King’s second wife, who was also his mother’s sister. A prophecy at his birth said that the child would be a great king if he stayed at home, but if he decided to leave home, he would become a savior for mankind. The king was disturbed at the thought of his son leaving home and hence he raised him in seclusion, surrounded him with wealth and pleasures and kept all painful and ugly things out of his sight.

Siddhartha grew into a fine young man, got married and had a son but still confined to the palace and its pleasures. One day he decided to go out and see the world. This trip forever changed the young prince, for it was during this journey that he saw the "four passing sights".

The first troubling sight that Siddhartha saw was that of a decrepit old man. When Siddhartha asked what happened to this man, and he was told that this man was old, as everyone someday would become. Later, he met a sick man, came to know that all people are liable to get sick and ill, and would suffer pain. Then, he saw a funeral procession on its way to the cremation, followed by bitterly weeping kith and kin of the deceased. When he asked what that meant, the prince was informed that it was the fact of life, and that everyone has to die some day, prince and pauper alike. The last sight was that of a monk begging for his food. Prince Siddhartha noticed the tranquil look on the beggar’s face and began to contemplate.

A few days later, while everyone was asleep, Prince Siddhartha left his wife, son, other family and home to think about all the suffering in the world. He lived for a time in extreme poverty, but hunger and cold made it difficult for him to think. The former prince, now a beggar, spent his time wandering from place to place seeking answers for all human suffering. He tried asceticism but this gave him no peace. Unsatisfied, he continued in his quest. The fateful day in his life came when he was meditating beneath a fig tree. Deep in meditation, he reached the highest degree of God-consciousness, known as nirvana. He supposedly stayed under the fig tree for seven days. After that, the fig tree was called the bodhi, or the tree of wisdom and from thence onwards, Siddhartha was known as Buddha, or the Enlightened One.

When Buddha emerged from his experience under the bodhi tree, he met with five monks who had been his companions. It was to these monks that the Buddha began his teaching ministry with the sermon at Benares. The sermon contained the following: The two extremes of human life, luxury and asceticism will not provide answers for the cause of human suffering. Passions of luxury are vulgar and ignoble while the asceticism is self-torture and thus useless. The path in between the two extremes will produce insight and knowledge, and leads to calm, to higher knowledge, enlightenment, and nirvana. This middle path is the noble Eightfold Path, namely, right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration. By the time of Buddha's death, at age 80, his teachings had become a strong force in India. Some time after his death, the Buddha was deified by some of his followers, although veneration of the Buddha is against the basic teachings of Buddha himself.

Buddhist Teachings

Early Buddhism was confined largely to India and is usually referred to as Theravada Buddhism. This is practiced in India, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Burma. Later Buddhism, which became very popular outside India (notably China and Japan), became known as Mahayana Buddhism. Mahayana Buddhism is followed in China, Japan, Tibet and Korea. An essential concept in Buddhism is nirvana, the final goal for the Buddhists. Literally, it means the "blowing out" of the flame of desire, the negation of suffering. The implication of the term is that it is not a place, but a total reorientation or state of being realized as a consequence of the extinction of blinding and binding attachment.

Japan is a good example of how many different sects of Buddhism can flourish alongside each other. There are at least six sects. Tendai, Shingon, Jodo, Jodo Shinshu, Zen and Nichiren are the most prominent. All follow the same basic teachings, they merely differ in their practices.

There are five precepts taught by Buddhism that all Buddhists should follow: -Kill no living thing (including insects) -Do not steal -Do not commit adultery -Tell no lies -Do not drink intoxicants or take drugs. Other precepts apply only to monks and nuns. These include, eating moderately and only at appointed times; avoid that which excites the senses; do not wear adornments; do not sleep in luxurious beds; accept no silver or gold.

Four Noble Truths
Buddha traveled all over the country, teaching people how to end suffering and discover enlightenment through the Four Noble Truth by practicing the Eightfold Path. The Four Noble Truths are:
1. All forms of existence are subject to suffering
2. Suffering and rebirth are produced by desire, or craving
3. The end of suffering comes with the end of craving.
4. The end of craving is reached by following the Noble Eightfold Path.
Buddha believed that one should strive for wisdom and morality through meditation. He said that if people followed this path they would free their minds from evil, cruelty, deceit and illwill.

Sacred Scriptures of Buddhism

In Theravada Buddhism, there are three groups of writing considered to be Holy Scriptures, known as the "Three Baskets" (Tripitaka). The Vinaya Pitaka (discipline basket) contains rules for the higher class of Buddhists; the Sutta Pitaka (teaching basket) contains the discourses of the Buddha; and the Abidhamma Basket (metaphysical basket) contains Buddhist theology. The total volume of these three groups of writings is about 11 times larger than the Bible.

In Mahayana Buddhism, the scriptures are much more voluminous, as many as over 5000 volumes. As there is such a large number and variety of scriptures, most Mahayana sects have chosen particular ones to which they refer exclusively.
Back to Menu

Experiences of Devotees

(Originally posted by Ashok Kumar on Tue, Feb 24, 1998 on www.saibaba.org)

Dear Sai Friends,

I want to share with you a story of how Baba helped me in my times of utter need. I went overseas on a trip and forgot some important documents at home. I could not finish my assignment and return without having the documents. I called and had my family search my study for the documents. They kept saying that they could not find it. I was thousands of miles away and after all the money spent and travel time, I just felt stupid and useless. How was I going to face my peers? How was I going to face my Boss?

I sat down in the Hotel room, prayed to Shri Sai Baba and started reading the Sai Satcharita Book, which I had taken along with me. The next day I called home again and had no luck. This happened the next day too. By that time, with nothing else to do, I had almost finished 3/4 of the book. Finally, resigning to the situation, I resolved to finish the book and prayed to Baba again.

The fourth day the miracle happened. No sooner that I had finished reading the last page of the book, I got a phone call from my family saying they found the documents and were sending it to me by courier. My joy knew no bounds and my eyes were filled with tears.

The documents reached me in a day and I finished my assignment and returned with great success. As it turned out that while packing my bags, I had put the documents in the inside cover of the portfolio, which I was not supposed to carry. On the third day, my uncle got a dream at 3 a.m. that the only place he had not checked was the portfolio cover and he woke up to see if the documents were there. This was the same time while I was about to finish the Sai Satcharita thousands of miles away.

I do not know what else to say except that I bow and pray to Shri Sai. Strange are his ways to get things done.

May peace be with you.
Back to Menu

Devotees say...

Devotee Harsha wrote..."Thanks for the promptness in sending the newsletter. Best wishes to you all, SAI RAM".

Devotee Sai Sreerama wrote to us, "Jai Sai Ram. First of all, I would like to say, Thank you very much for including me in your weekly letter. I really don't know how you got my address. But however you got my address, I am very happy to receive your mail. I am a strong believer in Baba. I try to go to Shiridi whenever I go to India. Once again, thank you very much for including me in your mail and Jai Sai Ram".

Thanks for your mail Harsha ji and Sai Sreerama ji. We would like to attribute our promptness in bringing out Sai Vichaar to the support of the devotees and the grace of Sainath Maharaj. As mentioned before, nothing can be accomplished without His grace and the contributions of devotees. We would like to once again request devotees to send their contributions in the form of writings, news clippings, pictures and photographs related to Sai activities for Publication in Sai Vichaar. Sai Sreerama ji, we are happy to note that you are receiving Sai Vichaar. Some times, Sai Vichaar is subscribed for, by friends and relatives of Sai devotees and others interested in Sai philosophy. It is possible that your subscription might have been as result of such an event. Please feel free to write to us about your comments on Sai Vichaar as well as your contributions to Sai Vichaar in the form of writings.
Back to Menu

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

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