Volume 2011-16

The Glory of Shirdi Sai Ninth Year of Publication - Published as Bi-Weekly www.saidarbarusa.org ~ an affiliate of www.saidarbar.org

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गुरुब्रह्मा गुरुर्विष्णु: गुरुर्दे वो महे श्वर: |

गुरु: शाऺात परब्रह्म तस्मै श्रीगुरवे नमः:||

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सबुरी

CONTENT Satsangs of SaiBaNisaji Time Machine Shirdi Dairy Shri Sainath Stavan Manjari The Dreams Train Devotees Corner Baba’s close devotees Children Section Spiritual Gems From Sai Satcharita Quintessence

No prayers go unanswered

There is delay in answering of the prayers Sri Sai Baba, who knows our past, present and future is the best judge of what is useful for us and what we need. Next time, when we think - Sri Sai Baba has not heard my prayers, let us stop and reflect upon His teachings and know that - He did indeed answer our prayers and has given us what is good for us. He is the best judge.

Sri Sai will always look after the welfare of His children.Remember always Sri Sai and live in tune with him. Be happy and calm in all situations. See, hear, and speak only good things. Total surrender to Sri Sai will give peace of mind. Remember always Sri”s grace for all achievements. Don't get dejected in failure and fall. His grace will be upon us like a flower give always the perfume of love and joy.

Pray for the awareness that always you may be in Him and He in you. We have got this birth at the will of Sri Sai and we are on our way to Him. Always remember that chanting His name will save us from fear, doubt and anxiety. Supreme knowledge is ultimate devotion to Him. What ever we do will be seen by Sri Sai Baba.

On this Thursday enjoy the sunshine of Sri Sai Baba's splendor and glory. ***

JAI SAI RAM

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Shri Govind Raghunath Dabholkar whom Sai Baba affectionately called as Hemadpant was blessed with Baba's darshan in the year 1910. He soon became a ardent devotee of Shri Sai baba and decided to write Baba's leela , few good incidents as collection of stories. Shama asked Saibaba to bless Hemadpant for writing the book. Baba said "Let him surrender his ego and pride, I will myself write the stories ,he will be the instrument. " This resulted in the gift of "Satcharitra". This is not just a book which one reads to gain information, but has secrets beyond the worldly existence.

Stay by me and keep quiet. I will do the rest.

1911 8 December Friday Shirdi.

I forgot to mention yesterday & the day before that Upasani Vaidya that used to be at Amravati is here & saw me soon after my arrival. We sat talking. He told me briefly his story since leaving Amravati, how he went to Gwalior state, how he purchased a village, how it became non- paying, how he met a Mahatma, how he got ill, how he tried all remedies, applied to various Sadhus & Mahatmas, how finally Sayin Maharaj took him in hand, how he improved & is now under orders to stay here. He has composed a stotra of Sayin Maharaj in Sanskrit. We all got up early and attended the Kakad-Arti. It is very edifying. I prayed, bathed & saw Sayin Maharaj go out, then again after he returned & once more in the afternoon. Sayin Maharaj looking at me said “Ka Sarkar ”.

Then he gave the general advise that I should live as God keeps me, & added that a man fond of his family has to bear many things & so on & told the story of a rich man who slaved till evening, cooked for himself and ate a very rough bread, all on account of a temporary difficulty. We saw Sayin Maharaj again the evening & then sat in the verandah of the house built by Dixit. Two gentlemen from Bombay brought a Satar & playing on it said Bhajan. Mr Thosar whom I call Hazarat also sang very beautifully and Bhishma had his usual Bhajan. Time passed very pleasantly till midnight. Thosar is a very pleasant companion. I had a long talk with my son Balvant the Bombay men & others about contemplation etc. Madhavarao Deshpande was here & fell asleep. I saw with my own eyes, & heard with my own ears what I only read about but never experienced that with every outgoing & in drawing breath of Madhavarao Deshpande comes the clear sound of “Sayin Nath Maharaj Sayin Nath Baba ” This sound is as clear as clear can be & when Madhavrao snores, the words can be heard even at a distance.

This is really wonderful & he is in deep sleep all the time.

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(A Humble Tribute of praise by Dasganu Maharaj) (Translated from the marathi by Smt.Zarine Taraporevala and edited by Dr. Smt.Indira Kher, Ex.Executive Editor, Shri Sai Leela Magazine)

A HUMBLE TRIBUTE OF PRAISE TO SHRI SAINATH Regarding this hymn, oh wise ones, Have faith in your hearts About the efficacy of this hymn; And give no place To doubts and misconceptions.

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Go on pilgrimage to Shirdi, Concentrate on the lotus feet of Baba, Who is the succour of the poor and the meek, The wish- fulfilling tree for the devotees ! 157 It was because of the inspiration received from Him That this hymn has been composed.

How else could an insignificant ignorant one, like me, Have written it ?

158 In Shak year 331840 In the bright half of the BHADRAPAD month, On GANESH-CHATURTHI day, Monday, in the second 'PARHAR' 34 159

Peace be with you ! May this humble tribute of praise to Shri Sainath Help you cross the worldly ocean.

This is the prayer, with faith and respect Of Das Ganu, to Shri Panduranga.

163 Let this be offered to Shri hari-Hara!

Bless us, O Lord !

PUNDALIK VARDA (fulfiller of wishes) HARI-VITHAL !

I recall Sitakanta ! Hail Hail Rama Parvati-pate Har-Har Mahadev !

Hail to Shri Sadguru Sainath Maharaj !

Shri Sadguru Sainath, I offer this to you Bless us, O Lord!.

33.

i.e. A.D. 1918 i.e. three hours after sunrise.

35.

Near Indore.

34.

This humble tribute of praise to Shri Sainath, Was completed at Maheshwara35 By the sacred bank of the Narmada Near Shri Ahilya Devi's SAMADHI. 160 At Maheshwara , the famous TIRTHA, The hymn was completed.

Shri Sai Nath made me utter every word By becoming part of my mind.

161

The disciple Damodar Became the scribe truly, I, Das Ganu, am only an obedient servant.

Of all the saints and sages.

162

With this issue, Stavan Manjari is concluded.

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(Dreams Of Saibanisa after Undergoing Bypass Surgery on 17-5-1996) Compiled by Saibandhu Raghu Raman Satulury

09-03-1997: Sai appeared as Saibandhu Sankaraiah and said: My eye is ever on those who love me.

1. Try to uphold the human values. Do not cause pain to anybody and befriend only Saibandhus.

2. All are equal before Sai. Therefore distribute Sai prasad equally to all.

Conduct Saidarbar with peace and patience.

3. To progress spiritually one need not renounce the World and wear saffron clothes. One should mentally turn saintly and realize the importance of Sai’s Udhi.

4. Realise the Sai’s omniscience every moment lived.

Sai smaran alone will ferry you across.

DEVOTEES EXPERIENCE (continued from previous issue…)

Please tune in and listen to non-stop bhajans at: www.saibhaktiradio.com

Now you can view this eNewsLetter from iPhone at http://worldofsai.com.

THE

By then a fellow who could get down into the well, (available in villages) arrived at the scene very unexpectedly. He got down into the well and before fire brigade arrived, with the help of ropes and other people he brought her up from well. There was no single scratch, no pain, no fear she was very calm just like nothing happened. With the fear of suspected internal injuries she was immediately admitted in ICU at KMC Manipal. Her death was postponed by Sai. This was above all surprise and miracle to hundreds of people assembled there waiting to take out her dead body saw her alive who remained in deep cold water for 2-3 hours. In the history of our native place, nobody in such condition survived. Merely peeping into the well or by the thought of jumping only one can die with the fear.

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This looks like an unbelievable miracle for everybody. I need not write here that, just like nothing has happened, further programs continued.

Still I don’t know, whether I am blaming Sai to separate me from my husband, left me to live a sorrowful life, snatching the opportunity of Kanyadhan of my daughter or thankful to him for rushing to show his concern towards my family. Whether Sai will answer this?

One more incident of same occasion, during the function, me and my son, were sitting alone. It was my son’s belief that Sai will definitely come to the function and bless the couple. But I did not answer, because, if he comes also how we can recognize him. Then we left that topic and became busy somewhere.

After some time at about 1.00 PM, my brother who was attending the guests, called me and told, "See, somebody has come to meet you”, they told that they are Poojaries from Mhalsa and they want to bless the couple. He also told me to take them to stage and to give some fruits and Dakshina as they will not wait for Bhojan. I did accordingly. I took one of them to couple and made to give offerings from their hand and to take ashirvad. Then I again brought the offerings for another and called him, to stage. But the first fellow, immediately came and replied that my friend’s clothes are dirty, and face is un-shaved, so will never come to stage or stand for photograph, whatever you want to give, you give from your hand instead of couple, and take blessings. The gentleman’s eyes were on the couple and he was looking at them smilingly for a long time, standing on one leg, just like Sai sitting keeping his one leg on the floor. I followed the instructions. During this entire episode, I was just like in a semi conscious human being. After 5 minutes I came to full conscious and remembered the things happened, searched for those two Brahmins around to show them to my son so that he also could meet them. But they were not seen anywhere. I and my son were so happy that our wish of "Sai attended our function” came true.

I have a lot of things to write in this book. I want some answers for some of my doubts from Sai also.

OM SHREE SAINATHAYA NAMA Shashikala Madhukar Nayak Courtesy:http://www.shirdisaibabaexperiences.org/

Om Sai Ram English and Telugu Version of SHIRDI SAI NATHUNI MADHURANAMAMRUTHAM (Prema Maniharam) is now available.

Diamond Necklace to Shirdi Sai Baba Publisher: Sterling Publishers This book is about 108 names of Shirdi Sai with Detailed Meaning + Miracles + prayer for each name

Please contact: Sai Giridhar Ari http://www.shirdisaiashtothara.com/ http://shirdisaimadhuranama.blogspot.com/ http://www.sterlingpublishers.com/bookinfo.asp?na=9788120758681

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Babaâ€&#x;s Close Devotees G. G. Narke Professor Of Geology & Chemistry In College Of Engineering, Deccan Gymkhana, Age 53, Brahmin, Poona.

If a devotee is about to fall, I stretch out my hands to support him or her.

Experiences with saints and progress in one's spiritual affairs cannot be revealed. According to the (hackneyed) saying of Kabir 'What one has got, he keeps secret.' This has been the strict injunction of my teacher Sri Sai Baba.

The mouth instinctively closes when I try to mention my experiences. I can and may give some superficial account of occurrences and things concerning Sai Baba. These are well-known and no rule of secrecy is violated thereby. But they are chaff and hardly worth any trouble to write or talk about. Yet as you are keen after any bit of information I shall mention some of such facts. Of course, the deepest experience one has is incapable of utterance, apart from any question of rules of secrecy.

In the first place, you see I have placed Sai Baba amongst the household Gods we worship daily at home. Sai Baba is God - not an ordinary Satpurusha. The divine gleam in Sai's eyes denotes that He is the Satpurusha. His powers and actions were wonderful. I will give a chronological account of my spiritual leanings and how I came into contact with Sai Baba.

My early surroundings promoted faith in Sai Baba. My father-in-law, Mr. Buty, my wife and my mother were all great devotees of Sai Baba and worshipped him as God. I used to read Jnaneswari and other works which deal with greatness of Satpurushas.

In 1907-9 I was at Calcutta and was trained in Geological survey and (as a scholar from C.P.) I had got my M.A. in 1905. I was sent in 1909 as State Scholar of Govt. of India to Manchester where I stayed till 1912 and got my M.Sc. in Geology and Mining. I came back in August 1912. My wife, mother and my father-in-law were often at Shirdi and they wrote to me to go over to Shirdi to pay my respects to Sai Baba. I wrote back to say that I would go, if Baba wanted me. My father-in-law then asked Baba and wrote to me that Baba wanted me. So I went to Shirdi in April 1913. Baba was very kind to my

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relations. He would jump up (occasionally) and play a jig, as it were, before my mother, showing how happy he was to see my mother. Mr. Madhava Rao Deshpande went with me and introduced me for the first time to Sai Baba. Baba replied, "You introduce him to me! I have known him for thirty generations". What wonderful knowledge of the past was this!

Will be continued....

Having realized his own self as the Self a person becomes selfless. ~ Maitrayana Upanishad

Meditate and realize that this world is full of the presence of God.

~ Shvetashvatara Upanishad

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Lear arn n an Le andd Pa cip Parti rtic ipaate te

Stories for this Week: “ The Foolish Lion and the Clever Rabbit” This is one of the most famous stories of the Panchatantra. Once upon a time, there lived a cruel lion by the name of Bhasuraka, in a dense forest. He was very powerful, ferocious and arrogant. He used to kill the animals of the forest to gratify his hunger. This action of the lion became the cause of worry for the animals of the forest. They were worried that after sometime none of them would be left alive. They discussed this problem among themselves and came upon the decision to hold a meeting with the lion. They wanted to arrive on a friendly settlement with the lion and to put an end to the problem.

One day, as per the plan, all the animals of the forest gathered under a big tree. They invited the King Lion to attend the meeting. In the meeting, the representative of the animals said,” Your Majesty, it is our happiness, that we got you as our king. We are all the more happy that you are attending this meeting”.

The King lion thanked them and replied, “What is the matter? Why we have gathered here?”

All the animals started looking at each other. They were recollecting enough courage to start the topic. One of the animals stood up and said,” Sir, its natural that have to kill us for your food. But, killing more than what is required is not a good approach. If you go on killing the animals without any purpose, very soon a day will come, when there will be no animal left in the forest.” The king lion roared, “So what do you want?”

One of the animals replied, “Your Majesty, we have already discussed the problem among ourselves and have come upon a solution. We have decided to send one animal daily to your den. You can kill and eat it, the way you like. This will also save you from the trouble of hunting.” The lion replied, “Fine. I agree to this proposal, but make sure that the animal must reach to me in time, otherwise, I'll kill THE

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all the animals of the jungle." The animals agreed to this proposal.

From that day onwards, daily an animal was sent to the lion to become his food.

The lion was very happy to have his food right before him without taking any pains of hunting. So, everyday it was the turn of one of the animals. Once, it was the turn of a rabbit to go to the lion’s den. The rabbit was old and wise. He was unwilling to go, but the other animals forced him to go. The rabbit thought of a plan which would save his life and the lives of other animals of the forest. He took his own sweet time to go to the Lion and reached the lion’s den a little late than the usual time.

The Lion was getting impatient on not seeing any animal by the time. The Lion got extremely furious when he saw a small rabbit for his meal. He swore to kill all the animals. The rabbit with folded hands hesitatingly explained, “Your Majesty. I am not to be blamed for that. Actually, six rabbits were sent to make your meal, but five of them were killed and devoured by another lion. He also claimed to be the king of the forest. I have somehow escaped to reach here safely."

The king lion howled in great anger and said, “Impossible, there cannot be another king of this forest. Tell me. Who is he? I’ll kill him. Take me to the place, where you saw him.” The intelligent rabbit agreed and took the Lion towards a deep well, filled with water. When they reached near the well, the rabbit said,” This is the place where he lives. He might be hiding inside.”

The Lion looked into the well and saw his own reflection. He thought it was the other Lion. The Lion was furious and started growling. Naturally the image in the water, the other Lion, was also equally angry. In order to kill the other Lion, he jumped into the well. The Lion darted his head against the rocks and drowned in the deep well.

The wise rabbit, with a sigh of relief went back to other animals and narrated the whole story. All the animals got happy and praised the rabbit for his wit. Thus, the jubilant rabbit saved all the animals from the proud Lion and they all lived cheerfully thereafter.

Moral: Intelligence is superior to physical strength.

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CHAPTER 43 AND 44 Contributed by: swamy@saimail.com

continued from last issue..

Bapusaheb Jog's Sannyas

I think of my people day and night. I say their names over and over.

Hemadpant closes this chapter with the account of Jog's sannyas. Sakharam Hari alias Bapusaheb Jog was the uncle of the famous Varkari Vishnubuva Jog of Poona. After his retirement from Govt. Service (He was a Supervisor in the P.W. Department) in 1909 A.D., he came and lived in Shirdi with his wife. He had no issue. Both husband and wife loved Baba and spent all their time in worshipping and serving Baba. After Megha's death, Bapusaheb daily did the arati ceremony in the Masjid and Chavadi till Baba's maha-samadhi. He was also entrusted with the work of reading and explaining Jnaneshwari and Ekanathi Bhagawat in Sathe's Wada to the audience. After serving for many years, Jog asked Baba - "I have served you so long, my mind is not yet calm and composed, how is it that my contact with Saints has not improved me? When will You bless me?" - Hearing the Bhakta's prayer Baba replied - "In due time your bad actions (their fruit or result) will be destroyed, your merits and demerits will be reduced to ashes, and I shall consider you blessed, when you will renounce all attachments, conquer lust and palate, and getting rid of all impediments, serve God whole-heartedly and resort to the begging bowl (accept sannyas)." After some time, Baba's words came true. His wife predeceased him and as he had no other attachment, he became free and accepted sannyas before his death and realized the goal of his life.

Sai Ram. These golden words of Baba should encourage all of us seekers and should assure us that service or the company of Saints never goes waste. When the wood is dry (all vaasanas have disappeared), it catches fire easily and gives udhi (ash) that helps other spiritual aspirants. Only a truly renounced soul can take to the begging bowl without incurring further karmic debts! Others who beg to fill their stomachs incur huge karmic debts that they need to pay in future lives or they are paying the karmic debts of the past lives (suffering the ignominy of begging for their livelihood) because they did not give when they were able to help!

Sai Ram. Will be continued‌

Bow to Shri Sai - Peace be to all

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(By Late Sri Bharam UmamaheswaraRao) ~ Contribution by "Shashank"crazydiode@gmail.com, Mrs and Mr Anand Chapter 36: The Value of Human Birth Continued from the previous issue…

Family love is merely one of the first exercises in the Divine plan to engage ourselves in a friendly love. Feel that life blood of God in the form of true love is circulating in the veins of all living beings. Think always that we are God’s children on the path of spirituality, on the road to self-realization. Offer your life-partner good cheer in distress, sympathy in sorrow, advice in trouble, forego your selfish pleasures and self-interest, for the sake of the happiness of your life-partner without expecting any returns.

It is far better to conquer by love the heart of a person who hates you than vanquish him by other means. Pour the healing rays of your love into his dark, hatred -stricken heart, let the flame of your love burn bright which in turn will give and guard solace. Love is bliss itself. Delve deep into a person’s mind and guard yourself against being prejudiced by little peculiarities. Wander in the sky; see all the shades of clouds that pass through.

Will be continued...

For all SaiDarbarUSA activities in Greater Philadelphia, please visit www.saidarbarusa.org.

Sai Temple, Downingtown, PA. (http://www.saitemplepa.com/.) Temple is open on Thursdays and Sundays after 2:00 pm.

Please contact Mr. Raj Singh at 610-656-1396 or Sai Temple at 610-269-1112 for more details about the temple activities.

For more event info please visit http://www.saitemplepa.com/.

UDI Prasaad From Shirdi Now Available in Canada for Distribution : Devotees of Greater Toronto Area can visit Sai Darbar and receive UDI from Baba with His Blessings - Darbar is open for DARSHANbetween 10:30am to 4pm every Thursday. (visits after 4pm pls call to confirm). Devotees in the OTHER PARTS OF CANADA can receive UDI PRASAAD by submitting their request by email at saileela99@gmail.com orSubmit your willingness by visiting www.shirdisainath.org giving your full family name - Phone number postal and email address.

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JAI SAI RAM

Publisher and Editor: Badri Narasimhan Editorial Team: Radhika Nistala, Kanchana Kumar, Sumathi VijayBhaskaran, Sneha Narasimhan Email: editor@saidarbarusa.org

BOW TO SHRI SAI ~ PEACE BE TO ALL