Sai Sandesh Volume 4, Issue
10 & 11; Oct & Nov 2007 |
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Editorial: The divine name is more powerful than the Divine
Himself |
Sai
Wisdom |
Devotees' Experiences by Jitender Verma, Chandigarh |
Mind
Boggling Miracles of Sai Baba: Baba gives Moon Darshan |
Beacon Lights: Kakasahen Dikshit's unconditional surrender |
|
Life size
statues have arrived in New York! |
Life size
statues have arrived in New York. They are currently undergoing customs
clearance and will be installed at the temple shortly. An official
e-mail will be sent out to announce the installation date. |
|
|
Sri Rudra
Abhishekam - 11 Times Daily |
For the welfare of humanity,
Sri Rudra Abhishekam is being performed eleven times a day for a period
of 121 days. The prayers start at 8.00 A.M. and continue until 11.30
A.M. All are welcome to participate. |
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Editorial: The divine name is more powerful than the Divine Himself |
By The Sai
Sandesh Team |
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If there is anything more powerful
than the All-Powerful, it is His divine name. It is no secret
that countless seers, sages, devotees, and even ordinary
individuals have tapped into the power of God's name to
accomplish the impossible and, at times, alter the divine will
itself. What could be a greater endorsement of this truth than
Sai Baba's own words: "The Lord's name is so powerful, even
mountains of sins can be burnt to ashes through its constant
repetition."
The story of Ratnakar's transformation is a case in point.
Ratnakar was a ruthless highway robber who would not hesitate to
even murder his victims for a few pieces of gold. Blinded by a
false sense of invincibility, he continued indulging in criminal
activities until he was initiated into the mysteries of the
divine name by his mentor Narada. The meeting with the guru had
a powerful impact on Ratnakar's mind, and he immediately
abandoned his infamous career to dedicate his life to the
ceaseless repetition of Rama's holy name. Through constant
contemplation, he metamorphosed into Valmiki, the divine saint
who penned Ramayana.
Hanuman's life is another glowing testament of the glory of
God's name. Throughout his illustrious life, Hanuman
demonstrated how a devotee could perform superhuman feats by
unconditionally relying on God. One example illustrates this
point. Once, there was a disagreement between Sage Vishwamitra
and Sage Vashishta. The two were debating about the greatest
power in the universe. The former contested that Lord Rama's
arrows were supremely powerful, while the latter argued that
God's name was most powerful, even more powerful than God
Himself. To test the validity of their theories, they proposed a
test that was to be executed by Vishwamitra himself.
In those days it was customary for householder devotees to
receive guests, especially holy ones, with great reverence. One
failing this duty would often be the recipient of a curse or
fall prey to unpleasant circumstances. Vishwamitra was aware of
this and intentionally visited a devotee-king, Chandrabhanu,
while he was in deep meditation. Since the king was in a trance,
he failed to receive the saint reverentially. This infuriated
the sage and he rushed to Lord Rama, who held holy ones in high
esteem and went to great extents to appease them. Vishwamitra
was aware of this fact and he tactfully made Rama take an oath
that the one who insulted Vishwamitra would be killed by His
infallible bow. True to His promise, Rama set out on a quest to
kill the one who had offended the great Vishwamitra.
In the meanwhile, Sage Narada
informed Chandrabhanu about the imminent danger. Frightened by
the sure prospect of death, he sought Narada's counsel and
requested him if there was any way to avert the tragedy. Narada
advised Chandrabhanu to seek protection from Hanuman. He further
suggested that Chandrabhanu should reveal the source of danger
only after he had extracted a promise from Hanuman.
As advised by the sage, Chandrabhanu held Hanuman's feet and
sought his protection. Hanuman took an oath in Rama's name and
promised to protect the king even at the cost of his own life.
The stage was well set. On one hand the Lord was bound by His
oath, while on the other His most loyal and beloved devotee
Hanuman was bound by an opposing oath.
To fulfill his promise, Rama sent His powerful army to kill
Chandrabhanu but it was vanquished by the valiant Hanuman in a
trice. Rama then sent his brothers and ministers. They, too,
were defeated by Hanuman. Finally, Rama Himself came to the
scene to see the one who had given succor to Chandrabhanu. He
was surprised to find Hanuman, his most beloved devotee,
protecting the one who stood against Rama. The Lord immediately
ordered Hanuman to give up, but the latter, with great humility
submitted that he had taken an oath in Rama's name and would
never do anything to tarnish its glory. On explaining this
Hanuman stood still, but every pore of his body was
reverberating with Rama's name.
Rama then lifted his divine bow and let loose a foray of arrows,
all of which miraculously turned into flower garlands decorating
the neck of the valiant Hanuman. Vashishta explained the
astonished onlookers that even through Rama's arrows were
invincible, they were no match for His own name. It was then
that everyone, including Vishwamitra, realized the power of
God's name. Rama was extremely pleased with the devotion of
Hanuman and blessed him profusely. To keep his beloved devotee's
oath, the merciful Lord forsook His own and granted forgiveness
to Chandrabhanu. Such is the power of the name. It can protect
one from almighty God Himself, what power is there to fear then. |
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Sai Wisdom |
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From time to time, the Divine
power assumes numerous forms. In devotees, it shines as the
Jnana-Agni (fire of wisdom). In non-devotees, it burns as
Krodha-Agni (the fire of anger) or the Kama-Agni (fire of
desire). Man today has this fire (of anger, etc) in his heart
and has become a victim of fear and delusions. All other types
of fires subside in due course of time, but these fires (of
anger, etc.) never completely cease. They may flare up at any
moment. How, then, are these fires to be extinguished once for
all? Vairagya (detachment) and Prema (love) are the two
requisites to extinguish these fires. It is only through Prema
(love) that man can acquire peace.
Source: Thought for the day, Prashanti Nilayam, November 04,
2007 |
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Sai Leelas |
By Jitender
Verma, Chandigarh |
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After my marriage to Rashmi on
November 12, 2003, we visited Ooty, Kodaicanal, and on our way
back we halted at Bangalore to visit our relatives. Since our
return to Chandigarh was delayed by three to four days, our
relatives, who are not devotees, suggested that we take darshan
of Baba at Puttaparthi.
We visited Prashanti Nilayam on December 2003 and were fortunate
to have Baba's darshan the following morning. The darshan had a
miraculous effect on both of us and we felt instantly attracted
to Him. We stayed there for a few days and returned on January
06, 2004.
After our return, I was constantly thinking about Baba. One
night, when I was sleeping, I heard a distinct voice: "Hey,
son." I woke up and rushed to the lobby-lo, I could see Baba
everywhere in our house. I had not heard Baba's voice before but
when I heard his discourse on Sanskaar TV, I was convinced I had
heard the same voice the previous night.
On another occasion, we were at our relative's house for an
all-night vigil. There, Baba appeared in His physical form and
encouraged me and my wife to play the role of Lord Shiva and
Parvati, a role that we were hesitating to enact. Baba added
further, "I am Shiva and Shakti, do play the part."
Baba gave us a third revelation when I was half asleep one
afternoon. In response to the doorbell, I woke up and rushed to
the door. Before opening the door, I peeped through the window
to see who was outside. I could see a beautiful red car parked
in front of our house. It was dazzling with brass railings and
on the rear seat was a king's throne. When I opened the door
there the car had vanished.
I returned to my bedroom and fell asleep. This time, Baba came
in my dream and told me, "I have come to take you to Parthi.
Come with me." He was majestically seated in a red golf cart.
These experiences had a deep impact on our mind and me and my
wife decided to visit Parthi. Despite severe resource
constraints, Baba arranged money for the visit and we stayed at
Prashanti Nilayam from November 18 till December 01, 2004.
During this visit, we decided to spend the rest of our lives at
Prashanti Nilayam and wrote separate letters requesting Baba to
respond to our prayers. He did not take our letters, so we
mailed them.When we
returned home, there was a surprise waiting for us. I had
received an interview call from the General Hospital at
Prashanti Nilayam. I returned to Puttaparthi on December 14.
When I came for the interview,
Baba sent a word that I was too young and should remain with my
family. He also assured me that I would be called a later stage.
I was disappointed but felt happy at the thought that He had
immediately responded to my letter.
When I returned home, Swami appeared in my dream and said, "I
will call you to Pranshanti Nilayam in 2014." Strange are the
ways of Baba.
Mr. Jitender
Verma is an audiologist/speech pathologist at the Post Graduate
Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh. |
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Mind
Boggling Miracles of Sai Baba: Baba gives
moon darshan |
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Devotees rejoice!
The Lord of Shirdi and Puttaparthi revealed a small fraction of
the divine glory by appearing in the moon on October 22, 2007.
Witnessing the miracle was a treat for the eyes as Sai Baba's
form could be clearly witnessed in the moon.
Augmenting the spectacle further were four bright rays of light
emanating from the moon. Millions of devotees across the globe
were able to experience this mind-boggling miracle.
Several media outlets covered the story generously. |
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Beacon
Lights: The unconditional surrender of Kakasaheb Dikshit |
|
Surrender is a commonly used,
seldomly practiced term. There is one devotee, however, whose
unconditional reliance on Sai stands out as a beacon light for
the rest of us. Hari Sitaram Dikshit (a.k.a. Kakasaheb) came in
contact with Sai Baba around the year 1910. In the physical
sense, Dikshit was introduced to Baba by Nanasaheb, but in the
spiritual realm, it was Sai who had drawn Kaka to Him.
During his contact with Baba, Kakasaheb experienced numerous
spiritual and miraculous phenomena that convinced him about
Sainath's divinity and he gradually found himself surrendering
to His feet. Through steady practice of naama smarana (constant
contemplation of the divine name), what started as a tiny spark
of devotion assumed the form of an uncontrollable fire that
burnt all passions and worldly desires to ashes, and the person
who emerged from the flame was a spiritual being experiencing
Sai as everything and everything as Sai.
Kakasaheb developed such devotional zeal that he would rely on
Baba for every important matter. When Dikshit's surrender
reached the pinnacle, Baba gave him the opportunity to
experience the fruit of unconditional surrender. Due to adverse
circumstances, Kakasaheb, who was a lawyer by profession, found
his practice diminishing precipitously. He was quickly losing
the client base he had worked so hard to build. This was not a
cause of concern, for he knew that his Lord was watching over
him. After losing all income, there came a time when he had to
repay a loan of Rs. 30,000 (a large sum in those days).
One night, Kakasaheb had a dream in which he was saying, "I know
such and such individuals and with their help I can easily repay
the debt." When he woke up, he chided himself for relying on
mere mortals when his beloved guru Sai was there to protect him
always. From that day, Dikshit decided to do nothing about the
loan but sat calm and unruffled, knowing fully well that Sai
Baba would rescue him-what perfect reliance! True to his faith,
a strange incidence occurred. When the day of repayment was
dawning, a young man came to Kaka with a sum of Rs. 30,000 (just
what was needed). The man was the son of Kakasaheb's late friend
and he wanted Mr. Dikshit's advice on the best way to invest the
sum.
Kakasaheb, honest as he was, counseled the boy on different
investment strategies and then gave an alternate suggestion that
he could loan the amount to him on interest. Dikshit also
explained that as his income had subsided there was serious risk
involved in the transaction. The boy was adamant, however, that
the sum be taken by Kakasaheb himself as he trusted his word
over anything else-it was Baba who had led the boy to Dikshit
and rescued him at the "right time".
On another occasion, Sainath staged a unique drama to test
Kaka's faith. There happened to be an old, sickly goat in the
vicinity of Baba's residence. The Lord of Shirdi made a very
strange request and asked devotees to cut the goat with one
stroke. Many devotees in Shirdi were orthodox brahmins averse to
any form of killing. They were shocked beyond description to
find their spiritual preceptor demanding a sacrifice of this
nature. Many fled from the place to avoid the predicament.
Kakasaheb was present on the occasion and when Baba asked him to
strike the goat, he immediately readied himself to perform an
act he could not have done even in his wildest dreams.
Just when the axe was a few inches away from the goat's throat,
Baba ordered Dikshit to stop. The goat was let go. This child of
Baba had passed a severe test. The test was severe for a saintly
person like Dikshit but he did not consider its pros and cons.
He simply knew he had obey the command of his beloved Lord
without questioning the intention. What perfect surrender. To
obey his master, Kaka had set aside all philosophies and
beliefs.
The question that arises is why did Baba request the sacrifice
of an innocent goat? The author interprets the goat to symbolize
man's animal qualities, primarily the ones arising out of
weakness and attachment to senses. Not only Kaka, isn't Sai
asking all of us to sacrifice our animal qualities-lust, anger,
greed, pride, jealousy, and attachment-at every step of our
lives?
During life's journey we come across occasions where we find our
faith and surrender being tested. During tough times, do we
start questioning Baba and flee from Him or do we act like
Dikshit and face what Baba has ordained for us?-knowing fully
well that He won't let anything untoward happen and that He is
there to rescue us at every step.
God knows what is best for us and has shaped our lives as a
process of eliminating karma and evolving spiritually. He
doesn't get elated to watch us suffer. Experiences in life are
not designed to hurt us, but rather to help us evolve into
spiritual beings (our true nature). By surrendering to His will,
we allow this process to happen naturally and thus expedite our
growth and evolvement. |
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Who is carrying the bag? -
Adapted from Oka Chinna Katha |
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Once, Iswarachandra Vidya Sagar
was proceeding to a neighboring village to deliver an address.
People used to gather in large numbers to listen to his
lectures. A young officer, who wanted to listen to Iswar Chandra
Vidyasagar, got down from a train with a bag to go to the
lecture hall.
Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar also got down from the same train. The
young officer was calling for a porter to carry his bag. Iswar
Chandra went to him and said, "Why do you need a porter to carry
this small bag? Can't you carry it yourself and save the money?"
He replied, "It is not in keeping with my dignity to carry my
bag. I am an educated person." Iswar Chandra told him, "The
hallmark of education is humility, not pride. If you cannot
carry your own bag, how are you carrying your body? If, however,
you cannot carry your own bag, I shall do so."
And Iswar Chandra carried the officer's bag. He acted on the
motto, "Plain living and high thinking." The young man wanted to
offer money to his 'porter'. Iswar Chandra told him, "To serve
you is my reward".
The young officer left and was later proceeding to the venue of
the meeting. There, people were offering garlands to Iswar
Chandra Vidyasagar to welcome him to the meeting. The young
officer realized that the man who had offered to carry his bag
at the station was none other than the respected speaker of the
evening, Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar.
He felt ashamed that he had made such a great man carry his bag.
He reflected: "What is his education and what is mine? I am like
a glow worm before the Sun." |
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OM SAI MANDIR 45 11 Smart Street Flushing, NY 11355 Tel:
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ACTIVITIES
Daily Aratis: 8 AM, 12
PM, 6 PM, 8 PM
Bhajans: Every
Thursday 7 PM to 8.30 PM Every Sunday 2 PM to 3 PM
Prayers, stotras, and annadan:
Daily |
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UPCOMING
EVENTS Nov 07:
Dhanteras
Nov 09: Diwali Nov 10, 6 PM to Nov 11, 6 PM - 24 Hour Bhajans Nov
10: Gujarati New Yr Nov 11: Bhai Duj Nov 18: Ladies' Day Nov
22: Thanksgiving Nov 23: Swami's B'day Nov 24: Guru Nanak
Jayanti & Kartika Poornima |
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LIFE SIZE
STATUES HAVE ARRIVED!
Life size
statues have arrived in New York. They are currently undergoing customs
clearance and will be installed at the temple shortly. |
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