The Glory of Shirdi Sai A Bi-Weekly Publication by www.saidarbarusa.org an affiliate of SAIDARBAR Hyderabad, India
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श्रद्धा CONTENT *** Ambrosia in Shirdi Shirdi Dairy Guru Poornima The Dreams Train Devotees Corner Baba’s close devotees Children Section Spiritual Truths ***
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गरु ु ब्रह्मा गरु ु र्विष्ण:ु गरु ु र्दे वो महे श्वर: |
गरु ु : शाक्षात परब्रह्म तस्मै श्रीगरु वे नमः:||
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eela 17:
Lakshmibai and Janabai were grinding wheat with the hand mill, when a lady from Bombay entered Dwarkamai. She sat beside them, and asked Baba if she too could grind the wheat. Baba said that she would get tired. Nonetheless, she was eager to grind as much as was possible. Baba asked Lakshmibai to let her grind the wheat. The lady was full of questions, and was ea-ger to get answers from Baba. She started asking Baba, Why the wheat was ground? Why He threw it at the village boundary? Baba said, "Akkabai Maaribai, Marriamma (i.e. dieties of cholera and smallpox) want to enter the village so I feed them on the other side of this village and prevent them from entering Shirdi. As they are propitiated, they do not enter Shirdi. Thus, I save My devotees." Then she asked whether there was 'Jari', 'Mari' (Durdevatha=evil forces). Baba said, "Yes, there ex-ists durdevatha; but they will not do any thing to us." She said that some people are dying because of durdevatha. To this, Baba said, "Durdevatha was scold-ing Me and insisting that she be allowed to enter this village so I requested the Almighty to give her the al-lotted person." "Are there evil spirits, Baba? When I was in Naigaon, in Bombay, an evil spirit would come from the side of the well and go to the room upstairs and disappear." The Omnipresent, Omniscient, Baba re-plied, "Yes. But they will not do anything to harm us." Then Baba told her that the spirit she saw, was that of the owner of the house. "He comes and goes upstairs and disappears where you delivered". The lady was astonished to hear all these facts and asked Baba how He knew them. "I know you from child-hood, you have forgotten Me, but I do not forget. I call all My children to Me even if they are thousands of miles away. I look after all equally, be they good or bad." After a while she felt tired and asked Lakshmibai to resume the grind-ing. The lady returned to Bombay unafraid and assured of Baba's love and protection for her and her family. Sai Satcharitra Ch.J describes the leela of Baba grinding wheat. "Go at once, to the village boundary and throw all the flour at the side of the brook there!" said Baba to the four women. Thus Baba prevented Cholera from invading Shirdi.
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1912 February 14 Wednesday
Anthar bhahischa sarvathra vyaptha kila characharaya Namaha
I got up early, attended the Kakad Arti & was very much struck by the fact that Sayin Baba, on leaving the Chavadhi made passes with his short stick towards the East, north & South. Then he proceeded with hard words as usual. We held our Panchadasi class as usual, saw Sayin Baba go out and later on went to the Masjid as usual. Sayin Baba told two stories. One was that there was a traveler who was accosted in the morning by a demon (Rakshasa). The traveler looked upon it as a bad omen, but on proceeding further met two wells the sweet water of which slaked his thirst. When he felt hungry, he met a husbandman who on the suggestion of his wife, supplied food. He saw a field ripe with corn & wished to have Hurda. The owner of the field gave it to him. So the traveler felt happy & proceeded merrily smoking. In the forest through which he was passing he met a tiger, lost courage & hid himself in a cave. The tiger was very big & wandered about him. Sayin Baba happened to be passing that way instilled courage into the traveler, got him out & put him on his way saying “the tiger would not hurt unless you hurt him some way. ”The other story was that Sayin Baba had four brothers, one of whom used to go out, beg & bring cooked food, bread & corn. His wife used to give out just enough for their father & mother but starved all the brothers. Sayin Baba then got a contract, brought the money home & every one was supplied with food including the well-to-do brother. Later on the brother got leprosy. Every one shunned him. The father turned him out. Then Sayin Baba used to feed him & see to his comfort. Ultimately the brother died. The midday Arti passed off as usual & after it we had our food & I had some rest. Shivanand Shastri, & Thakur of Vijayadurga went away today. The Vyaki of the local master invited all to a meal today. I declined but all others went. Sayin Baba, at the evening stroll asked why I did not go & I told him the truth, that I could not manage two meals in the course of one afternoon. Sayin Baba looked immersed in care, gazed steadily at the East & West, & Dismissed us all with the usual words “Go to the Wada.” At night Bhishma had his Bhajan and Mr Dixit read Ramayan. Sri Saisatcharita contains essence of Ramayan, Bhagavatam, Shivamahapuranam, Gurucharitra,Gurugita and Bhagavadgita the Discourses by Saibanisa are proof for the same Now Listen to all the Discourses in ENGLISH and TELUGU on Sri Shirdi Saibaba-by Saibanisa Gopalarao Ravada from this link. CLICK HERE to Get weekly updates from Saibanisa's Sai In Dreams. Listen to Saibaba discourses/Bhajans by SaiBanisa on the go. Watch Discourses Videos and much more.
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MESSAGE BY H.H.NARASIMHA SWAMIJI FOR GURU PURNIMA 7 July, 1952
The Taittiriya Upanishad (III. 1.1) says: yatova imani bhutani jayante yena jatani jivanti yatprayantyabhisam visanti tadvijijnasasva tad brahmeti Meaning: "That from which the entire creation emanates, in which it lives and into which it dissolves, seek to know that. That is Brahman." That is, God is That from which all these things or beings arise, That which maintains them all, and That into which all are withdrawn ultimately. There-fore, this tendency to unity draws us to the main out-lines of the god idea. Therefore, this god idea, as shown in the above definition is not a simple or abso-lute idea. It is three in one and one in three. One will do well not to over-emphasize this so-called unity of god, at least to the extent of abhorring religions stressing other features of godhead. Primarily God is that which has unlimited power, thereby contrasted with man who has limited power. God is that which has unlimited excellences of perfection, etc., whereas man has only a few good qualities and abundance of limitations. God is the perfection of not merely power but also of kindness and grace that come to the rescue of man, and help him out of his helplessness. God is this essentially omnipotence, omniscience and all perfect love. In evolving these ideas, mankind has had always to utilize those great souls, the pro-phets, the seers, the saints, etc., through whom such vast stores of the above excellences were manifested in claiming to bless the men that approached them. It is through men and men's excellences that the god idea was formed primarily, and these men were the god-men. They were the men of Light and leading, and were the destroyers of darkness. Therefore they were gurus in every sense. Guru means the great one, the perfect one. Guru also means the destroyer of darkness, intellectual or spiritual. Therefore, as a matter of fact, these leading lights of humanity were worshipped as gurudevas, and guru worship may have been the origin of all worship; next in each particular group of human beings, the forms of worship multi-plied and developed so variously that a number of ideas entered into worship and religion. Will Continue...
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12-03-1998:
ď œ Antar hrdhaya Akasaya Namaha
Sai appeared as a fakir and said: 1. Pen down your experiences with me and share them with like- minded people. 2. My attire and appearance are that of a Turanian. You may feel and worship me as Lord Shiva as per your traditions. 3. You and I are servants of God having come into this World to eradicate the evils in society. So should my introduction be. 4. I have spread the greatness of God to others without anticipating any returns. Whenever you talk about me to others, do not expect any gains.
DEVOTEES EXPERIENCE AND ARTICLES AN INCREDIBLE MIRACLE OF BABA IMPELLING THE GOVT. OF INDIA TO MODIFY THEIR DECISION FOR THE SAKE OF HIS DEVOTEE ~ (Late) Dr. RS.R. Swami BABA'S MIRACLE - 13 HOW BABA GRANTS ANTICIPATORY BAIL TO HIS DEVOTEES IN DIRE NEED? The following occurrence took place in the Winter of '57 or '58, It concerns a friend of mine, Shri A.K. Kumthekar by name, aged about 40 at that time and employed as an Asst. Foreman in the Inspectorate of Armaments in the ordinance Factory at Khamaria, Jabalpur. He was a highly principled brahmin hailing from Pune greatly devoted to his parents. His first concern in life was about his aged and bedridden father and he could not think in terms of living away from the old gentleman leaving him to be looked after by others. It was in these circumstances that one fine morning his boss, a hard-boiled Lt. Col. notified him to be ready to go and attend an 18 week Senior Armament Examiner's Course at Kirkee, Pune. The above order acted as a bomb-shell on Shri Kumthekar and he found himself in a quandary. For one thing, the passing of the Course was in the nature of a qualifi-
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cation for promotion and no option was allowed. For another, it would mean being away from his father for the stipulated period or shifting him to and from which would jeopardizes his health. So, he put up his request to be exempted from the Course, or alternatively to be transferred to Kirkee on compassionate grounds. He then rushed to me for solace and advice. He was on the verge of tears. He had heard from me many an account of the incredible miracles Worked by Sri Sai Baba in my life and how he came to be the sheet anchor of my existence. I instinctively felt that "Baba's sanction was there in his coming to me and His intercession and protection to enable him to fulfill his filial obligation could be taken for granted. I told him accordingly beseeching him to rest assured that no power on earth could come in the way of Baba's children discharging their duty conscientiously. Only from that moment, he should without question put his faith in Baba knowing Him to be but the incarnation of Datta worshipped by them in their family. These words had the desired effect on him and cleared the gloom of despair away. Personally I had no qualms about Shri. Kumthekar being enabled to surmount the seemingly insurmountable obstacle in his way for, this was not the first time that I had been impelled, sub-consciously or super-consciously as the case might be, by Baba to hold out similar guarantees in cases of illness considered to be hopeless but by His infinite Mercy happily ending in complete recovery in due course. Hardly a week had passed when my friend came to me, with crest, fallen countenance with the Lt. Col.'s reply summarily rejecting his request and peremptorily telling him to obey the order. He was given a week's time to collect the TA and leave the station. He understandably felt that Baba was not acting in his behalf as expected. I, however, was not at all perturbed knowing Baba's inscrutable Wisdom and Methods. I therefore encouraged him to be hopeful. I assured him that not unoften Baba acts in the last split second when all hope disappears. This had some effect and he left. In the next two weeks I was so completely occupied with the work on hand that I cleanly forgot about the affair. Then one afternoon I rang up my friend's office to know the situation. To my pleasant surprise Shri Kumthekar answered the call. Murmuring some apology, he said he was coming straight to meet me. And so he did. He was sorry he could not see me earlier due to an urgent time-bound assignment, he said It seems that submitting to the inevitable, he collected his TA and was planning to travel with the whole family to Kirkee by the end of the stipulated week when to his astonishment, on the evening prior to the day intended for the journey, a letter from his boss was delivered to him cancelling the original order. It left him speechless and overwhelmed at the incredibly wonderful manner in which Baba had acted. The really thrilling part of the whole affair followed the next morning, about 11 AM. As Shri Kumthakar was about to start his meal, a fakir dressed like Baba came and stood at the door. When some coins were offered to him in the usual way, he declined saying he wanted food which was readily given. Accepting it, he gave a small packet of Udhi to Shri Kumthekar asking him to keep it before Datta's portrait, offer 'aarti' and then open it. Accordingly, it was done. When the packet was opened, instead of the Udhi there were five miniature conch shells. Shri Kumthekar hastend back to the door only to find the fakir gone. Only then did it dawn upon his mind that the fakir was none other than Baba himself. The conches were kept as objects of worship. Glory be to Shri Shirdi Sai - Grace be to all Will continue‌
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Baba’s Close Devotees ~ Courtesy: http://blessedones.saibaba.com/ DATATREYA DAMODAR RASANE alias Nana Sahib Rasane (or Daulatshah), Son of Damodar (or Anna) Savalram Rasane, Kasar, aged 40, Ravivarpet, Poona, May, 1936
ď œ Antha kaleapi Namaha
My father is an old devotee of Sai Baba. He went to Baba about the time Nana Saheb Chandorkar went to him. Then my father had no issue and wanted to go to Baba to get his blessings for obtaining issue. About 1895, a devotee had sent Baba a parcel of excellent Goa mangoes. Of these he kept apart six and distributed the rest as prasad to persons present. They wanted him to distribute the remaining six also. But Baba said he had reserved some for Damya (i.e., my father). But they said, 'Damya is not here'. "He has arrived at Kopergaon and will be here soon", said Baba. Soon after that, my father went to Baba and presented him with flower garlands, chadar etc. Then Baba said "Damya! Take these fruits now. Eat and die". My father was frightened at these words. But Mahalsapathi who was there told him that it was a bless-ing to die at Baba's feet. Thus encouraged, my father thought he would eat the fruit. But Baba came to his relief with these words, "Do not eat the fruits yourself. But give them to your junior wife. You will have two sons first. You should name the first Daulat Shah and the second Thana Shah", etc. My father returned to his home at Ahmednagar and gave the fruits to his junior wife. He then noted the names to be given to the promised sons in a note book. One year after that, I was born. When I was 15 months old my father took me to Sai Baba at Shirdi for darsan and he then asked Baba, "How shall I name this child?" Baba replied, "Have you forgotten what I told you? You have written it at page 3 of your note book. Did I not say that he should be named Daulat Shah?"
In my fifth year (i.e., in 1900) I was taken to Shirdi for my tuft ceremony and given my first initiation into the mysteries of the Alphabet. Sai Baba held my hand and wrote on the slate etc. Thereafter I was taken to the school at Shirdi. When I was to be married, four girls were offered to me. My father never acted in any serious matter without previously consulting and getting the sanction of Baba. He went to Sai Baba and placed before Him all the four horoscopes (i.e., of the offered girls) one of which had 2,500 or 3,000 rupees dowry and asked Him which was to be chosen.
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Baba selected a poor girl's horoscope and gave it into the hands of my father. That was the girl I married. My father invited Baba to attend the marriage which was to take pace at Pandharpur. But Baba replied, "I am with you. Do not fear. Whenever you think of me, there I am with you". My father pressed him further to attend the marriage. Baba, however, declined the invitation with these words: "Without God's permission nothing can be done by me. I will send Shama (i.e., Madhav Rao) to attend it as my deputy". And Shama attended it at Pandharpur.
I have a younger brother and he was named according to directions of Baba. As for the issue of my marriage, two girls and a boy were born but expired within a few months of their birth owing to fits. The male child died in 1926, my wife's health was bad and I was in great depression of spirits and in that state I prayed to Him thus: "Instead of giving me many babies that die quickly give me at least one child that will live long". When I was sleeping there at Shirdi, Baba appeared in my dream and said that the male child I was grieving over was born in Moola Nakshatra (i.e., under the constellation Moola) and that was harmful to the parents. I saw in that dream a bright circle like the Sun on Baba's breast. Or rather inside the Sun, Baba was sitting with my deceased child on his lap and he said, "I took away this dangerous child from you. I will give you a good child. Do not fear". Before this time our family had migrated from Ahmednagar to Poona. When I went home I looked up the dead child's horoscope and noticed that Moola was really the constellation under which the child was born. In fifteen months of the visit I got a son who is still alive. This was in 1918.
My faith in Sai Baba increased. I look upon other Saints as Sai Baba and when I bow to them, I say either expressly or within myself, "I bow to Sadguru Samartha Sainath". In 1927 I visited Khedgaonpet and bowed to Narayan Maharaj with this thought or these words. He told me, "Your guru is Paramaguru. He is of higher sort than myself. Why did you come here? Your prarabdha – Sanchida - is there. Your choice is excellent. Go there and you will achieve your purpose". This was before the birth of the son I referred to in the last paragraph.
In 1927 my stars were not auspicious and my health was bad. I went up to the temple of Sitaram Uttareswar (i.e., Siva) 2 miles of Junner (about 40 miles from Poona) and worshiped the God every Sunday. One Sunday at 9 p.m. when I placed flowers on the God with the words, 'Namaskar (i.e., Salutation) to Sai Baba', I saw a light at the image of the God and in that light the form as Sai Baba, whom I am always thinking of. Then my health improved and my drooping spirits revived. A saint, Janaki Das, is living there. Every Sunday I went and bowed to Him also with Sai Baba's name on my lips. He then told me, "You have resorted to a great saint. Why do you come to a poor saint like me? People like myself seize the feet of Sai Baba.” Then I went to my lodgings and slept. Sai Baba appeared in my dream as a fakir and said, "You are full of anxiety. Give me biksha, your entire body and mind as biksha". Will Continue…….
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Lear arn n an Le andd Parti rtici cippa atete Pa
Stories from “Chinna Katha” Prayers must emanate from the Heart Listen to what happened to sage Ramadas of Bhadrachalam, the singer who was imprisoned by the Nawab of Golconda, for misappropriation of public funds (to renovate the Râma Temple at Bhadrachalam), whose liberation from jail was effected by Râma and Lakshmana themselves paying the Nawab the sum appropriated! Ramadas had piled up a large mass of palmyra leaves, on each of which he had written with his stylo a song on Râma. When his eyes fell on the heap one day, a thought struck him: "Did I compose these songs for my pleasure? Or, for pleasing Râma?" He wanted to know those songs which had pleased Râma, and fling away those which did not. He decided to throw the whole bundle into the Godavari River, and let Râma save those which He approved. Almost the whole lot sank in the depths; only 108 floated and were rescued. They alone had arisen from the heart; the rest smacked of cleverness, artificiality, punditry, pedantry. Prayers must emanate from the heart, where God resides and not from the head, where doctrines and doubts clash. Who is a real Bhakta? There is the story of a rustic who sat among a gathering of devotees and listened to the exposition of the Gîtâ by a great pundit. All were wonder-struck by the scholarly commentary which the pundit gave and his learned disquisition on each word and phrase; and the rustic, though the exposition was very much over his head, seemed to attend very closely for he was all the time in tears! When at last the pundit asked him why he was weeping, he surprised everybody by the sincerity of his bhakti. For, he said that he wept at the predicament of the Lord, who had to sit at the head of the chariot and half turning His neck hold forth so long to convince the dull-witted Arjuna. "How much pain must He be suffering in His neck?" he asked and wept. That was real devotion, a sure passport to spiritual victory. He had identified himself with participants in the episode and the whole setting had become alive for him. THE
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Great Men Always Spread the Light of their Wisdom There was a king who led his mighty army across the snowy peaks that bounded his kingdom, into his neighbor's realm. On the lofty pass thick with snow, he saw a mendicant or ascetic sitting on a bare rock, with his head between his knees, evidently to protect it from the chilly wind that blew across the gap in the peak, He had no clothes on his body. The king was overcome with pity; he took off his own shawl and coat and offered them to the yogi (ascetic, one who has mastered the senses and the mind). The yogi refused to accept them, for, he said, "God has given enough clothing to guard me against heat and cold. He gives me all that I need. Please give these to some one who is poor". The king was surprised at these words. He asked him where that clothing was. The yogi replied, "God has Himself woven it for me; I am wearing it since birth and will wear it until the grave, here it is, my skin! Give that coat and shawl to some mendicant beggar, some poor man". The king smiled, for, who can be poorer than he, he thought. He asked him, "but, where can I find a poor man"? The yogi asked him, where he was going and why. The king said, "I am going into the realm of my enemy so that I can add his kingdom to my own". It was the yogi who smiled now. He said: "if you are not satisfied with the kingdom you have, and if you are prepared to sacrifice your life and lives of these thousands to get a few more square miles of land, certainly, you are much poorer than I. So, offer the clothes to yourself. You need them more than I do". At this the king was greatly ashamed; he realized the futility of fame and fortune and returned to his own capital, thanking the yogi for opening his eyes to his innate poverty. He now understood that contentment is the most precious treasure. Great men spread the light of their wisdom through every word and deed of theirs.
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SAI AMRIT VARTA Om Sai Shri Sai Jaya Jaya Sai Namo namo hey Sai prabhu, tum ho jag ke naath | sabke paalanhaar tum, charan navaavun maath || Hail, Hail oh Lord Sai - You are the ruler of this World. You are the protector of All – I bow at HOLY FEET Donon kar ko jodh kar, mastak ghutne take | tujh ko ho pranaam mama, shath shath koti anek ||
Anthar yamine Namaha
I clasp my hands, bend and bow, I let my knees to ground, Accept my salutations, Lord, Many million times I bow. . Tan se seva Sai ki, man se sumiran naam | dhan se dhruti dhaarnaa, karma karo nishkaam || With this Body, service is done to Sai, With Mind, I keep chanting/thinking His name. With wealth, make a firm decision and wipe out your Karma Bhakti bhaav shubh bhaavanaa, man me bhar bharpoor | shradhdha se tujh ko namoon, mere Sai hajoor || With deep devotion, aspirations (sacred thoughts/ feelings), With heart over-flowing with love, With reverence I bow to Thee Lord Sai - my Lord of Love. . .
…..Will continue
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From the Editor’s Desk As soon as all the desires hidden in one’s heart are destroyed, he transcends from mortality to immortality. He enjoys the Supreme Bliss ~ KATHOPANISHAD Dear Sai Devotees, We encourage you to continue writing about your Sai-related activities and experiences in essay, article, or poetry form and email it to us at editor@saidarbarusa.org. We will put in our best efforts to include as many of your submissions as possible in the upcoming newsletters. As previously done, we will publish the author’s email id with the respective entry. If you would like to stay anonymous, please explicity state this request in your submission email. JAI SAI RAM
Kindly send your comments or suggestions to Editorial Team Email: editor@saidarbarusa.org
BOW TO SHRI SAI ~ PEACE BE TO ALL