Shirdisaila.org newsletter April 09

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Sai Sai

Newsletter April 2009

Shri Shirdi Sai Baba Sansthan Los Angeles' newsletter is published 1st Thursday of every month to propagate the teachings of Shri Shirdi Sai and connect the devotees of our Baba temple. Devotees may kindly send their articles on any section of newsletter

by emailing the same to [email protected].

Sections

From our TempleLife of Sai Baba

About Shirdi

Sai Baba Says

Experiences, Saileela

Topic of Discussion

Children Section

Priest Section

http://us.mc551.mail.yahoo.com/mc/[email protected]








Adv Section

News and Events

From our Temple

Wish you all a very Happy Thursday, Happy Baba's Day. May Baba's love envelope us all ... May His

blessings shower like the longest monsoon in our lives.

We had a festive beautiful month in April - we celebrated Ramanavami with all the parphernalia.

We begin the newsletter with this beautiful thought on humility and modesty from Sai Vichaar in

http://www.saibaba.org/

Baba said, "He (the devotee) should be modest and humble towards all, and worship Me with heart

and soul. If he does this, he will get eternal happiness" in Sri Sai Satcharitra Ch.III. If you derivethe least benefit from anyone, or should anyone contribute to your happiness in any way,

acknowledge his services sincerely and feel grateful to him. Never for a moment think that thebenefit of happiness you derived was due to your own Prarabdha and he was only an instrument and

did nothing to earn your gratitude. On the contrary, you should feel that he conferred a greathappiness. Gratefully remember the help received from him, do not forget it throughout your life

even when circumstances have changed and always try to make him happy and be of service to him.

Do not hesitate, when necessary, to acknowledge his services to you openly before a large

gathering. This will foster mutual love between you and your benefactor and promote happiness andpeace; the spirit of making others happy will grow from more to more among people, mutual

sympathy and the spirit of service will receive encouragement. Remember that he who cherishes a

feeling of gratitude towards his benefactor renders a great service to the world at large; for suchan attitude pleases the heart of the benefactor, he feels encouraged, and the spirit of service andbenevolence gets strengthened within him. Be grateful and never forget the obligation of your

benefactor.

(Courtesy: Wavelets of Bliss - by Sri. Hanumanprasad Poddar)

Continue reading

Life of Sai Baba

THE TIMETABLE OF THE GLORIOUS SAINT (6)

"It would be around 10 am by the time Baba returned to the mosque from the Lendi garden. Hisroyal court would then be held till 11.30. Some devotees would come to him and tell him of their







afflictions, hopes and fears, others would seek his advice. Some would pray to him to satisfy their

desires. Singers, dancers, magicians would come and after displaying their arts would go awaysuitably rewarded by Baba. Baba would usually give them two rupees each.

Devotees would come with offerings to Baba and he would touch these offerings with his hand as a

token of acceptance and return to the devotees as his prasad. Sometimes he would have theoffering distributed to all the devotees present. Only rarely would he take a little of the offering

and put it in his mouth. Those whose offering was thus accepted by Baba would be ecstatic with

happiness. In the mango season Baba would taste a little of the fruit every day and order them to

be distributed to everyone. Other times he would buy mangoes and have them distributed to all.

Baba would give the sweetmeats offered to him mostly to the children as some of the children usedto come to him every day. In case the offering arrived when the children were not present, he

would have the delicacies kept aside to give to them later. Baba loved children. He would talk to

them gently and with love. He would never tolerate anyone talking harshly or beating children.

Whilst he was so intimate and garrulous with the children, he was a model of brevity when talking tothe grownups. He would smile but never laugh. He used to recount small fables when he was in a

pleasant mood. These tales were usually the life story of one of the devotees present, who would be

wonder struck at Baba's omniscience. These stories would sometime contain admonishments too.Only those persons to whom the admonishment was meant for, would understand the story. The

others would assume that the story was about someone or of someone's previous life. Sometimesthe devotees would totally forget the story told by Baba and try as they might, they would not be

able to remember it even if they got together as a group to refresh their memories. Everyone was

astonished by this.

At 11.30 the bell in the mosque went. This was the sign to the devotees that it was time for the

noon Arati . All the devotees, wherever they were, would hurry to the mosque and take part in theArati which would normally start at midday. Baba was worshipped with flowers and sandalwood

paste. The ladies would stand in front of Baba in the mosque while the men would stand in theforecourt . Baba's face would light up with an otherworldly light at this time. Many devotees have

written in their diaries that two eyes were not sufficient to drink in the glory, power and beauty ofBaba at the times of Arati. One may see Khaparde's diary for more details. One can imagine how

enchanting a spectacle Baba's aratis were, when he was extant.

After the noon Arati , Baba would bless all the devotees, give them udi and would send them home.He would lovingly greet devotees and ask each one to have his food and return again to the mosque.

Later he would mix his alms with some of the offerings and eat his food together with ten to twelvedevotees. Tatya Patil, Ramachandra Patil and Bayyaji Patil would sit on Baba's left and the fakir ofMalegaon (Bade Baba), Shama, Booty and Kaka Saheb Dixit would sit on his right. Tatya,

Ramachandra and Bayyaji would eat from one single plate, while Baba and the Fakir of Malegaonwould eat from another. Baba never had his midday meal alone and he would not sit for the meal

unless Bade Baba was present.

The devotees would wash their hands and feet and sit on either side of Baba, and after mixing all



the offerings would keep the vessel in front of Baba. As soon as they sat down to eat the curtains

in front of the mosque would be lowered down and no one else was allowed to enter it. Baba wouldoffer the food to god and send a part of it outside as his prasad to be distributed to the devotees.

Baba would take the remaining food and mix it with one part of milk, one part of sugar and one part

of rotis and knead well. This would be distributed to all.

Later Nimonkar and Shama would serve all the devotees who sat with Baba. If there were a

particular food that a devotee liked very much, Baba would have more of it served to him. Shama

was given a large helping of semolina pudding at meals as he was fond of it. M W Pradhan describes

these occasions thus, "I used to eat with Baba at the mosque. Baba would serve us himself and heapour plates with food. I used to send a part of it to my house which would suffice for the entire

household. Baba used to give each of us a fruit at the end of the meal. He noticed that my son Babudid not care for cooked food and gave him fruit instead."

(Source: Suchitra Devi in Sai Padham)

About Shirdi

HOOKS ON CEILING

Nana Saheb Dengle brought a wooden plank of about 8' wide and 5' in length and gave it to Baba forsleeping. Baba tied this plank with old rags to the hooks on the ceiling like a swing. After lighting

four Panthis He kept them in each corner of the plank. Baba The Yogi Raj' then slept on this plank.

Many people wondered, and tried to watch Him get up and down this plank, and so, one day Baba

broke it (Ref. ESS, Ch.X). Dasganu says, "The plank hung so close to the ceiling that no one could situpright, one could only sit on it bending one's body like an arch. Yet this great Yogi slept on it"!

(Ref. Bhakta Leela Amrit, Ch.31). Devotees look with wonderment at the ceiling in front of the

"Nimbar" at these hooks.

THE NIMBAR

In a Masjid the Nimbar is said to represent the Darga at Macca. The devout Muslims do Namaz in

front of it. In Baba's Dwarakamai it is next to the everburning lamps on the western wall. It isgarlanded daily. Mention is made of this Nimbar in several places in the Sai Satcharitra. The Urs

started in 1897 during that time the Sandal Procession also took place. This procession is held in

honour of great Muslim saints. Chandan paste and scrapings are put in a Thali and carried aroundthe village in procession. After returning to the Masjid the chandan is pasted with the hands on thisNimbar. This Sandal procession was started by Amir Shakkar Dallal of Korhla. Now the descendants

of Abdul Baba carry on this tradition. (Ref. ESS, Ch. VI).After the Noon Arati the devotees went home, Baba then went inside, and sat behind the curtain,

with His back to this Nimbar for meals. There were two rows of Bhaktas one on each side, after all

the Naivedya was mixed together and placed before Baba, who consecrated it and everybody dined

to their hearts' content. (Ref. ESS, Ch.XXXVIII).



Source - Adopted from Ambrosia In Shirdi by Dr.Vinny Chitluri, this book can be readat http://saileelas.org/books/ambrosiainshirdi1.htmand this book is a

virtual guide on Shirdi with lots of rare photos on Baba

Sai Baba Sayings

53. Saints exist to give temporal and spiritual benefits.

54. I have come to give such good things to the devotees.

55. My business is to give blessings.

56. A devotee objected to people going to Baba for temporal

benefits eg - employment, money, children, cure of disease

SaiBaba: Do not do that, My men first come to me on accountof that only; they get their heart's desire fulfilled;and comfortably placed in life, they then follow me and progress

further. I bring my men to me from long distances under many please.

I seek them and bring them to me, they do not come(of their own accord).

I bring them to me. However distance - even thousands of miles away - my

people might be, I draw them to myself, just as we pull bird to us with

a string tied to their foot.

57. This is Brahmin, a white Brahmin, a pure Brahmin. This Brahmin

will lead lakhs of people to the Subra Marga and take them to the Goal-right

up to the end. The is Brahmin's masjid.

Sai Babas Charters and Sayings

From the book (The God and the Apostle)

By Pujyasri B.V.NarasimhaswamyPublished by All India Sal SamaJ, Chennai.

Experiences, Saileela

Meeting with Lord Vithoba of Pandharpur

"Om Shri Sainathaya Namaha.".

Dear Sai devotee readers I request you to please forgive me as I do not have the chronological

sequence of events as were experienced by my father. I am narrating to you as they come to my

mind. My father used to describe them to us whenever he used to come into that spiritual mood and

hence chronological order is not possible for me to state.

http://saileelas.org/books/ambrosiainshirdi1.htm






As informed earlier, the Tarkhad family started worshiping SaiBaba on daily basis and on Thursdayevening they used to perform the Aarati collectively at their residence. My grandmother was

completely at peace of mind and she was very happy that her headache had disappeared forever.

She was now getting attracted more towards spiritualism. She started reading spiritual books

regularly. Once she expressed her desire to my father of going on a pilgrimage to Holy Pandharpurand to take Darshan of Lord Vithoba. She went on to inform him that, the holy books suggest that

before one parts with this world, one should visit Pandharpur. My father advised her to check with

Baba and seek his clearance.

Accordingly, during their next visit to Shirdi, she asked Baba to permit her to go to Pandharpur.

Baba told her" Oh Mother for us Shirdi is our everything and there is no need" She was ratherdisappointed . She told Baba that Pilgrims visit Pandharpur, as they firmly believe that Lord Vithoba

is stationed there and once you have his Darshan then your path to attain Moksha (salvation) is

clear. She expressed to him that she has developed very strong urge to visit and perform his pooja

at least once in her lifetime. Baba knowing her desire to be genuine then declared "Oh Mother do

not worry you will visit Pandharpur and fulfill your desire." On returning home they informedBabasaheb Tarkhad about that and after proper planning my father and my Grandmother proceeded

to Pandharpur. Readers will appreciate a point that as Mecca is to Muslims, Bethlehem to Catholics

so is Pandharpur to Maharashtrians.

On reaching there my father made all the necessary arrangements.After taking bath and breakfast when the morning rush hours were over they walked up to the

Vithoba Mandir along with pooja material. On entering the sanctum sanctorum they seeked the

permission to perform pooja from the priest of the Mandir. My grandmother proceeded in her own

way and almost completed the pooja. Now was the time to adorn the Vithoba Murti with the garlandand there was a dilemma. My grandma would want to garland with her own hands but the priest

would not allow doing so, as no one is permitted to climb the platform where the Murti is situated.My grandma told my father that her pooja would remain incomplete if she were unable to garland

the Murti with her own hands. My father advised her to pray to Baba and seek his help as he hadgranted her permission to visit Pandharpur. She closed her eyes and raised both the hands holding

the garland, and requested Lord Vithoba to accept her pooja. Then came a miracle. Lo and Behold!The Murti of Lord Vithoba slided down the platform. My father instantly shook my grandmother

Bodily. He told her to open her eyes and see for herself that the Lord had responded to her

prayers and now she can adorn him with her garland. She instantly placed the garland o n Vithoba's

neck and the Lord was back to its original place. Both mother and son prostrated in front of LordVithoba.

On seeing this, the priest was completely astonished and flabbergasted. He jumped down from theplatform and held the feet of my grandmother and father and declared that they are the Vithobaand Rakhumai and he would not allow them to go away. He pleaded pardon for his arrogant behavior.

My father consoled him and told him not to have any wrong ideas about their identity. He told himthat they are devotees of Shirdi SaiBaba and on getting consent from him they are visiting

Pandharpur. He further told him to have strong faith in Lord Vithoba who is Jagrut (wakeful) over

there and is no more a stone God. He advised him to perform his pooja from the bottom of his

heart and seek his blessings in return. He then requested the priest to give them prasad so that



they could leave the Mandir. They purchased Brass Idols of Vithoba -Rakhumai and placed it in

their Sandalwood Mandir to offer daily worship.

This experience was like receiving heavenly pleasure for both of them. Though they use to offer

prayers to God very sincerely they never ever imagined that Lord Vithoba will greet them in that

fashion. After this visit when they visited Shirdi next, Baba asked my Grandmother (mother) could you meet Vithoba?" My grandmother replied "Baba this is all your making. I am now read to part

with this world as I consider my life is complete now." She profusely thanked him.

Dear Sai devotee readers my father used to say that God always exists in any stone Murti which you worship. I for one strongly feel that all those divine experience they encountered purely

because of their solemn and good deeds of the past and undoubtedly they were under the umbrellaof Grace of Sai"s blessings all along which made this possible.

Source - LIVE EXPRIENCES OF THE TARKHAD FAMILY WITH SHRI SAI BABA OF SHIRDI BY

VIRENDRA JYOTINDRA TARDHADhttp://saileelas.org/books/jyotindra.doc

Devotees may share Baba 's leela in their life in our "EXPERIENCES" section. Kindly email us the

same.

Continue reading

Topic of Discussion

Question - Killing of insects, non-violence ?

Answer

During Baba's lifetime devotees visiting Shirdi usedto voluntarily take part in executing some duties such

as cleaning of Dwarkamai, sweeping the road from

Dwarkamai to Lend! Baug which Baba use to walk upon

daily. These duties were not entrusted upon butdevotees would perform them as though they are

offering their worship to Baba through such socialdeeds. The resident devotees of Shirdi were regularly

performing such duties. My father whenever in Shirdi

would undertake the job of cleaning the Petromax

Lanterns and lighting them up in the evening and hangthem in assigned places all over Dwarkamai. He would

use that opportunity to seek clarification from Baba

on any query he would tumble upon. Once he declared to

Baba that he would no more light up the PetromaxLanterns because that act of him is making him to be a

sinner. No sooner the Lanterns are lit and darknessapproaches, lots of insects gather around the lamps

http://saileelas.org/books/jyotindra.doc






and after hovering around for sometime they fall

beneath the lamp and die. In the event that he doesnot light the lamps they would not come there and

possibly would not die My father basically wanted to

know why God had created such a phenomenon and Baba's

explanation on that matter. Baba laughed at that queryand said "Hey Bhau you are mad. Do you think that

these insects will not die if you do not light the

lanterns? They would go to the place where there are

lamps and light and would die there. This is allLord's creation. He had planned their death at the

time of their birth itself. In case Lamp or light isnot there then other creatures would finish them.

These types of deeds do not add to the sins of a human

being. Your main intention of lighting the lamp is to

remove the darkness from Dwarkamai so that the

devotees can perform their worship with ease. You aretherefore not indulging in any act of sin. The very

fact that the dying of insects hurts you in itself is

an indication that you have a kind heart. The Lordknows his duties very well and we need not interfere

with his work. He has planned our end side by sidewhile putting life into us. You therefore need not

worry and continue to perform the work which gives you

pleasure. Lord will be kind to you (ALLA BHALA

KAREGA)". So Baba's teachings were very simple and ofa convincing type. Through this incident he

administered a noble advice to my father and made himaware of a norm created by God.

Another beautiful answer

-------------------------------

"Whenever I injure any kind of life I must be quite certain that it isnecessary. I must never go beyond the unavoidable, not even in apparently

insignificant things. The farmer who has mowed down a thousand flowers in his

meadow in order to feed his cows must be careful on his way home not to strike

the head of a single flower by the side of the road in idle amusement, for he

thereby infringes the law of life without being under the pressure ofnecessity."

- Dr. Albert Schweitzer

Kindly post your question and/or replies at

http://email.secureserver.net/[email protected]

Continue reading







Children Section

THANK YOU LORD

I dreamed that I went to Heaven and an angel was showing me around. We walkedside-by-side inside a large workroom filled with angels.

My angel guide stopped in front of the first section and said, "This is theReceiving Section. Here, all petitions to God said in prayer are received. "I

looked around in this area, and it was terribly busy with so many angels

sorting out petitions written on voluminous paper sheets and scraps from

people all over the world.

Then we moved on down a long corridor until we reached the second section. The

angel then said to me, "This is the Packaging and Delivery Section. Here, the

graces and blessings the people asked for are processed and delivered to theliving persons who asked for them. "I noticed again how busy it was there.

There were many angels working hard at that station, since so many blessingshad been requested and were being packaged for delivery to Earth.

Finally at the farthest end of the long corridor we stopped at the door of a

very small station. To my great surprise, only one angel was seated there,idly doing nothing. "This is the Acknowledgment Section," my angel friend

quietly admitted to me. He seemed embarrassed.

"How is it that?

There's no work going on here?" I asked.

"So sad," the angel sighed. "After people receive the blessings that they

asked for, very few send back acknowledgments.

"How does one acknowledge God's blessings?" I asked."Simple," the angel answered. "Just say, "Thank you, Lord."

"What blessings should they acknowledge?" I asked.

"If you have the food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof

overhead and a place to sleep ... you are richer than 75% of this world. "If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish, you

are among the top 8% of the world's wealthy.

"If you woke up this morning with more health than illness ...... you are moreblessed than the many who will not even survive this day.



"If you have never experienced the fear in battle, the loneliness of

imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation ... you areahead of 700 million people in the world.

"If you can attend a temple or church meeting without fear of harassment,

arrest, torture or death .. you are envied by, and more blessed than, threebillion people in the world.

"If you can hold your head up and smile, you are not the norm, you are unique

to all those in doubt and despair."

Let us always be under the lotus feet of Almighty, thanking himfor his blessings.

Devotees, kindly email children related stories, articles at

http://email.secureserver.net/[email protected] We also request

parents and Raju Guttula from Bal Gokulam to encourage their children to write on suitable topic ofinterest. Kindly compile those answers (along with child's name, age) and email us the same.Continue reading

Priest Section

Meaning of Kakad Aarti - portion 10 in English

X. PADH

Composed by :: Sri Dasganu Maharaj

Sai raham nazar karnaa Bachonkaa paalan karnaaSai raham nazar karnaa Bachonkaa paalan karnaa

Refrain:Sai, look at us mercifully, and take care of your children. Sai, look at us mercifully, and take careof your children.

Jaanaatumneh jagat pasaaraa Sabahee jzhoott jamaanaaJaanaatumneh jagat pasaaraa Sabahee jzhoott jamaanaa Sai raham

You know this mundane world, this world full of illusion. You know this mundane world, this world full of illusion. : Sai:

Mein andhaa hoon bandaa aabkaa Mujhse prabhu dikhlaanaa

Mein andhaa hoon bandaa aabkaa Mujhse prabhu dikhlaanaa Sai raham

I am blind and ignorant devotee of yours, give me Gods vision. I am blind and ignorant devotee of yours,give me Gods vision. : Sai:

Daas ganu kahe ab kyaa boloo Thak gayi meree rasnaa.Daas Ganu kahe ab kyaa boloo Thak gayi meree rasnaa. Sai raham

Das Ganu says : What shall I say now? My tongue fails me : Das Ganu says : What shall I say now? My tongue fails me : Sai:

Shri Satchitaanand Sadguru Sainaath Maharaaj kiJai








Let us Hail! Shri Sachchidananda Sadguru Sainath Maharaj!

News and Events

Monthly Events

Shri Sai Satya Vrat Every second Saturday - 10 am

Satyanarayan Vrat Every Poornami - 9 am

Weekly Event Bal Gokulam Every Saturday after Madhyahana Aarti

Mahaprasad/Annadanam every Thursday evening Daily Event

All 4 aarti and Baba Abhishekam takes place in the temple daily 7 days a week, 365 days an year at

the following timings

Temple Timings

WeekDays 8.30AM To 12.30PM, 6PM To 9PMThursdays 8AM To 9PM

Weekends 8AM To 9PM

ARATHI TIMINGS -EVERYDAY

8:30 am - Kakad Arati

9:00 - 9:40 am - Baba Abhishekam/Archana

12:00 pm - Madhyana Arati

6:30 pm - Dhoop Arati

8:30 pm - Shej Arati

All Arathi lasts for about 15 to 25 minutes approximately.SHIV ABHISHEKAM Monday 6.00PM

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Shri Shirdi Sai Baba Sansthan, 144 South 4th Street, Montebello, CA-90640, USA. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Disclaimer: The newsletter is intended to spread the message of Shirdi Sai Baba. We would avoid

subjects contradicting His teachings or philosophy. Shri Shirdi Sai Baba Sansthan Los Angeles isnot responsible for opinions expressed by individual contributors. If you prefer not to receive

future newsletter/email from us, please email to

http://email.secureserver.net/[email protected] with the subject"unsubscribe" -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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