Thursday, Feb 21, 2013
Quote:
“In my treasury, all is available. I can give anything and everything to anyone.”- Shri Sai Baba
Announcements:
Saibaba.Org announces the start of Initiative to help those helplessly suffering all alone. Read more in the article below. If you can help, plese contact us.
Upcoming Events:
Maha Shivratri will be celebrated on Pradosham, Trayodasi Tithi on Saturday March 9th.
Mark your calendars for a day of prayer and service to Shri Sai.
Share your story and picture with other devotees by clicking here.
Devotees Say:
Varadarajan
Revered Shirdi Baba, Everyday from morning till I go to bed am spelling out your name many times and am sure you hear me and be with me always. Still, I wish that you come to my place in one or the other form and bless me so that my prayer get strengthened further.
Kashinath
OM SAIRAM . . . I do not know how to express my feelings. This is first time to write here. Baba grace me to read SAI SATCHARIT. I got an Oriya book and started to read regularly, almost all day but one chapter. This book was given by one neighbor, senior lady. After few days I got my own book, new edition, so I thought to start new one. Again I thought to start new one after completing old book. The day before yesterday when I completed old book, I got BABA BLESSING. During reading the last chapter I thought to thanks that lady with some Prasad, but she never came to our house and I did not know where she is. But fortunately her daughter came to our house when I started to distribute Prasad to our family member. So my wife also gave her same Parasad and I feel BABA fulfill my wish. OM SAIRAM
Ramakrishna
Sri Sai Satcharita [51 chapters]- Telugu Sri Sai Satcharita [Telugu] written by Hemadpanth, rendered by P J Sarma and music composed by Koti The Sai Satcharita book [Telugu] in audio format is available in iTunes under pod casts section. All the 51 chapters are available to download. It is free. https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/sri-shiridi-sai-satcharita/id370844189 For the Android and other users, you can download the mp3 files from this link. http://archive.org/search.php?query=collection%3Asatcharita&sort=-publicdate Please provide the feedback after you download it, so that it helps to reach more people. Om Sairam
Devotees Experience:
Swati
I am posting this article very late. I had desperately been praying to Sai that He should bless me with a child and promised that I would post in Sai Vichaar, if this would happen. All due to miracles of Sai, the impossible happened and today I am the proud mother of a 2 years beautiful baby girl. There has been lots of turmoil in my life post this. Things have started looking up a bit, but then every time something good happens and I start enjoying, something else happens pulling me down. I have placed complete faith in my only shelter- SAI BABA that He will pull me through all this too and help me through all the difficulties and I will look up and smile confidently always.
Ashwini
It was in December wherein I went to Shirdi with my wife and 2 kids - I has Baba's arti pass reserved at the PRO office but reached at 9 pm and the PRO office was closed. Next Day was sankranti and was told that the PRO office will be closed. It was massive rush and I could see only heads of people all over and it seemed absolutely impossible to stand in the queue and get Baba's darshan even in 5-6 hrs. We had our return flight next day afternoon. We got very disheartened and thought that this time we will have to go without darshan. Keeping faith in Baba I went to the temple and stood near the PRO office and was looking a Baba's Tomb and prayed that BABA please give us Darshan, as I do not want to go without Darshan. I had tears in my eyes and was just silent. Then suddenly one man comes and asks me what is the issue - I explained him everything - he asked me to wait and then suddenly in 10 minutes he opened the PRO office window and then he asked me, "What do you want?" The man I met was the PRO himself - I requested for AARTI and he immediately gave me the passes - we rushed immediately to the gate with the pass and were the first 20 in the queue - had fantastic darshan and enjoyed Baba's arti. I had tears all along in my eyes and kept thanking Baba from my heart. At one stage we were thinking that we will go without darshan and the next moment Baba showered his blessings and allowed us to go and do aarti and excellent darshan. All we need to do is to have complete faith in Baba and all else will fall in place on its own.
A devotee
It was the year of 2006. A year of joy and sorrow at the same time. I got married in Feb 2006 and came to the US. The first month of marriage went by, pretty decently. My husband and I were trying to get adjusted to the new life. After a few days, my husband realized that he is in love with somebody else and he is not able to take me as his wife. Things went from bad to worse. My life was in shambles and my husband wanted a divorce. In Sept 2006, he gave me an ultimatum. He will live with me for 1 month and if he doesn't get any feeling for me, and then we should part ways. I prayed to god for help. I did not have any other friend, but god. And in Oct 2006, I got the pleasure and privilege of the one and only divine Sai Satcharitha. I accidentally visited Saibaba.org and read devotees' experiences and noticed the miracles taken place in their lives after reading the Satcharitra. I looked in some forums and found that the whole satcharitra is available online. I have been a devotee of Sai Baba since childhood and would visit Shirdi often with my family. But I had never come across the Sai Satcharitra before. May be god wanted me to know and read about this divine scripture at this junction of my life, when I was able to understand it better. I finished my first parayan in the first week of Oct 2006. I would\'not say things started improving right after, but I got confidence that things will improve and my husband will accept me as his wife soon. On Oct 31, my husband told me that emotionally he has got over with the girl whom he liked and that he does not have any feelings for her any more. But at the same time, he said he did not have any feelings for me either. I finished one more parayan in Nov 2006. During mid-Nov, one evening I was doing the evening puja for god and had lit the lamp. The small lamp started getting into a slightly bigger flame. I did not know if it was just an illusion, or some kind of power that god had bestowed on me. I felt positive and prayed to god to give me marital bliss. After a few days, I got a dream. I saw Sai Baba in my dreams, pouring vermilion on my forehead. I woke up and felt ecstatic. Things started improving further and finally by Feb 2007, my husband had accepted me. I would say it was a miracle in my life and Sai Baba made this possible. He was my friend throughout and even today he continues to be my friend. Today, after 6 years of marriage, we have a lovely son. I thank the one and only one almighty, Saibaba, for giving me this happiness. I continue to have faith and in fact it has grown lot more from before. My only wish from Saibaba now is that he should bless my sister also and she should also get married soon and live a happy life with her husband. Thank you Baba. Thank you so much. If one wishes something from the bottom of their heart, even if it's difficult, they will achieve it if they have faith and patience in Saibaba. I love you Sai.
Weekly Question:
Q. Out of devotees of Sri Saibaba depicted in Sri Saibaba literature who do you like most and why?
A. by Vidya
Out of all the devotees of Sri Saibaba depicted in His stories, I like Shyaama (Madhav Rao Deshpande) the most. No other devotee ever had so much of freedom with Baba anytime. The way Baba treated Shyaama and the way Shyaama always frankly gave his opinion to Baba, in spite of knowing that He is the ruler of the world, is just amazing. Baba always had a special preference to Shyaama, be it in bestowing many literary books like Vishnu Sahasranam on him, or in giving him the privilege of explaining many difficulty concepts of spirituality to other devotees in his simple style. Baba Himself once told Shyaama that He has lived with him for 72 lives together. May Baba show His grace again on Shyaama and continue living with Him in all his remaining lives.
Q. How do you see and experience Sri Saibaba in your daily life?
A. Prithi
I see Baba in everything and all I know it's difficult to breath or take next step forward. Sainath you have done a lot for me all I can say every breath of my life is yours thanking u is never enough so all I can do for you is be at your feet day and night.
Q. How do you see and experience Sri Saibaba in your daily life?
Shilpa
I was praying to Saibaba since my college days. I was doing prayers and reading. But, at that time I didn't know the importance of Baba. Even after my marriage, He was with me but I didn't recognize. But, when I was pregnant I came to know the value and presence of Baba in all stages. Really I felt very happy when I remembered all past experience. I see Baba in all things at every step. Whatever situations come in my life, I remember of Sai Baba. Really I am happy that Baba is with me. I got dream a somebody is presenting Sai Baba statue to me, I was thinking whether it will happen I was surprised when my neighbor gave Sai Baba statue with prasadam to me. They have brought that from Shirdi. Baba is with all and is presence is everywhere.
Sai Vichaar Vol 13, Issue 17
Feature: Those two assurances
Sri Saibaba said unequivocally, "Allah has entrusted a few lives to me and I have to take care of them".
Baba also said that he would give his children what they wanted until they ask Him about what He wanted to give. Don't the above assurances answer any questions or concerns that a Sai child might have? Whether "material" or "spiritual'? If one would contemplate on the above, understand and experience it fully, is there any other need to resort to anything other than Sri Sai? God or demon, man or woman, Saint or a sadhu, or for that matter anybody else on earth and beyond?
What would sway one away from the grounding that the above assurances of Baba stand for? It is the inability to stay put in that first experience one gets from his or her encounter with Baba! Vicissitudes of mind is such that experience of the heart is easily given away to the chatters of mind. The so-called mind is conditioned by various entity some known and many others unknown. With such a mind, the individual runs from pillar to post in search of imaginary happiness while the very contentment is assured by Sri Sai unasked!
What is wanted is true faith in Baba's words and a perpetual contemplation on the indisputable assurances of the God of Shirdi, with love and patience. Wouldn't such a life be the true example for peace, contentment, and love, the true exuberance of Sai's grace?
Contributed Article: The Hour of Your Need is the Moment of His coming
I really don't know where I should begin- All my life I grew up with this picture of an old man sitting very pleasant and serene in the house- It was only in 1981 that I really had a revelation where finding myself in a very difficult position I bargained with him for help- Of course help came and I got my way so forgot all that happened and then in 1993 it was a real wake up call and I have never looked back since- There have been so many miracles in my life that it would take pages and pages of this Sai Vichaar - But what I want to say here is that no matter how low you feel , how helpless and hopeless you feel it is our state of mind as Baba will never forsake us- Now so many years later and being older and wiser I realize what this powerful omnipotent faith is all about- It is not Sai testing you as He knows everything about us even the thought that is to enter our mind he know what it would be -it is basically a test to us to see what is our resilience and loyalty to HIM- As we cope and realize life we get stronger in our faith and that carries us in our day to day existence- This last episode shows me exactly that -faith moves mountains- It was time for my family to move to another country and we were awaiting our final papers- Making all arrangements of storage and travel plans the papers seemed to be not forthcoming- We found ourselves in limbo for a very long time and it was unsettling and upsetting - Of course my only recourse was prayers and faith but even that at times would grow weak and thin but I firmly held on as I knew it was my only salvation- after a trying period of about five months there was light at the end of what seemed to be a never ending tunnel and we smooth sailed into our new life of choice- Yes it was very challenging to face this unknowing extent of time where I didn't know what was going to happen from one day to the next but the five months passed quite well in hindsight and many good things also came of it -So remember it is really the faith and patience which Sai Baba teaches is what gets us through- HIS teachings are simple and yet complicated but we Sai devotees are truly blessed -Remember - The Hour of Your Need is the Moment of His coming.
(Contributed by Sai devotee Havovi Medora, Canada)
Contributed Article: Help To EndureSM Initiative to help those enduring with hard times alone
Dear Readers,
Pain and suffering come uninvited, and nobody is immune to the perils
of bad times. As we all lead our lives under Sri Sai’s benevolent gaze,
we endure the hard times with the faith that help comes to us in
different shapes and forms.
To illustrate a real situation, imagine the challenges of being an
International student away from home. On top of it imagine
the cruel play of fate and being engulfed by a terminal illness with no
major health coverage and under a pile of medical bills! Imagine one in
prime youth, instead of being a ray of hope and joy to support retired
parents, he himself needs support! Enduring all physical, emotional and
financial pain, one continues to fight the disease against all odds.
Such are the real stories of these Children of Sai who are
trying to survive a day at a time, struck by the dreaded disease like
Cancer! Fighting cancer is difficult, prolonged, and expensive. It
drains out all the resources one has!
When we see such a dire situation, it pains us, makes us feel thankful
for what we have and it motivates us to do something. When
even the best medical care can’t provide cure in such a situation, what
it is we can do? We can Help To EndureSM
by sharing our blessings through most generous gift we can give.
Help To EndureSM, raises money to fight cancer,
to raise awareness of cancer in the community and help families endure
in their fight against cancer; one family at a time. It is a
community-developed event run by volunteers. All your
contributions go towards activities supporting those fighting cancer.
We know there are many more men, women, and children who will seek our
– and your – help. The need is greater than ever. Please send
your gift today. Please spread this message or sign up to volunteer for this cause.
For more information write to Help to EndureSM
support team at maildrop(at)saibaba.org