Thursday, January 25, 2007

Quiz on Chapter XIII of Sai Satcharitra

Chapter XIII
(Devotees are requested to read Sai Satcharitra

Chapter XIII, translated by
Gunaji before attempting this quiz)


21) Who is the brother of Gangadharpanth
a) Kaka mahajani b) Shama c) Ganapat Bal Shimpi

d) Nanasaheb Chandorkar

22) _________ ate burfi mixed with ghee on the advise
of BABA and the stomach pain was cured
a) Madhavrao Deshpande b) Kakasaheb Dixit

c) Kaka Mahajani d) Nanasaheb Chandorkar

23) Mr.Bhimaji Patil of Junnar reached the holy feet
of Baba through
(a) Nanasaheb Chandorkar (b) Mr.Booty

(c) Mr.Noolkar (d) On his own will

24) Mr.Bhimaji was cured by Baba by the following method
(a) Medicines administered by Baba (b) Black Magic

(c) Through dreams (d) Through devotion and prayers

25) The Sai Satya Vratha was started by
(a) Nanasaheb Chandordar (b) Mr.Bhimaji Patil

(c) Shirdi Sansthan (d) Bala Ganapathi Shimpi

Sai Vichaar for Thursday, January 25, 2007

Sai Vichaar www.saibaba.org
Thursday , January 25, 2007 :: Volume 9, Issue 37
(In its nineth year of publication.)
Sai Vichaar is a Weekly newsletter distributed every

Thursday and is devoted to the life, philosophy and
teachings of Shri Sai Baba of Shirdi. Feel free to
forward this newsletter to your interested associates
in its original form.

IN THIS ISSUE:
FEATURE OF THE WEEK
CONTRIBUTED ARTICLE
DEVOTEES SAY
PRAYER CLUB
EXPERIENCE OF DEVOTEES
QUOTATION OF THE WEEK
QUESTION OF THE WEEK
SAI ACTIVITIES
FROM THE EDITORS KEYBOARD

FEATURE OF THE WEEK: Service
Sayee bhakth kare jo kucch bhee...accha ho parinaam...
Jo bhee inke dar pe aaya...banthe bigade kaam...


If silence is the language of the spirit, how does one
communicate it? If it is thought to happen at His will and
His alone, how does one receive it? Only because
someone wasn't silent and set out to share the peace
and happiness received by Sadguru's grace! One may
wonder if that amounts to being egotistic to go around
telling people about God's miracles in their lives and the
message shared through them. If that is being egotistic,
equally egotistic would be choosing not to share nor
participate in spreading His message within one's means.
However, one has to be careful about the double-edged
sword known as the sense of individual identity. The
identity that makes one raise above the obstructions and
render service may also come back and impart the doer
with the sense of doership.
Service, in any form, is a way of spreading God's message

and sharing His love with fellowmen. Such service needs to
be done, diligently, meticulously, with whole heart and
spirit, and most importantly with humility. Such service,
whether for a social purpose or to promote spiritual
awakening, will be successful. Shri Dabholkar wrote
Sai Satcharitra only after duly humbled by Sainath.
The humility of Dasganu Maharaj reflected in his costumes.
The most humble Booty was abundantly blessed for his
construction was consecrated due to Baba's samadhi mandir.
If one word describes the nature of a Sai devotee, it has to

be "Humility".
God of Gods, Shri Sai Baba called Himself, simply a servant
of God. Portrayed as the humblest of the humble and the
most merciful, Baba has several times stressed the importance
of humility. Humility is the most required attribute of a Sai
servant and only those who believe this and practice are
honored at Baba's court. The services of such, whether
towards a spiritual cause or other, will accomplish its
objectives.

CONTRIBUTED ARTICLE: Spiritual Value of Food
Light and Love the night has a thousand eyes,
And the day but One; yet the light of the bright world dies
With the dying sun. The mind has a thousand eyes,
And the heart but one;
Yet the fight of a whole life dies
When love is done.

The old saint looked kindly at the old businessman but
declined to attend the dinner proposed by him. All
persuasions yielded no result. Finally the businessman
slowly moved out of the ashram. After a distance, a
disciple of the saint came from behind and said that he
should not feel disappointed and that he would come
and attend the dinner on behalf of the saint and bless
him. The businessman agreed and next day the dinner
was held. On that night after dinner the disciple could
not meditate at all and could hear a low moaning of
a girl. This went on for three days. Ultimately, the disciple
approached his Guru and complained. The Guru asked
him to mention all that he had done in the last few days.
The disciple made a clean breast of the only unusual
event of the dinner he had in the businessman's house.
The all-knowing Guru told him that the businessman was

merciless money-lender. A poor agriculturist could not
repay the debt and the interest on it. He threatened the
helpless man and finally married his teen-aged daughter
in lieu of his debt as he had no male issue till then. This girl
was most unhappy at the turn of events and wept silently
in her lone moments. In that frame of mind, she prepared
the dinner which the disciple ate. The Guru explained that
while cooking, the personality of the cook would enter the
food through subtle vibrations. These unseen vibrations will
later enter into the personality of the eater and influence
his mind. That is the reason why his meditations were
disturbed. The Guru explained that what goes into the
mouth would greatly influence what comes out of it and
shape our lives. The food prepared in a spiritual frame of
mind, thinking only of God or Sadguru, will always give
peace of mind, with powers to divinely discriminate
between good and evil. Food especially taken

in hotels prepared and served with ungodly tendencies,
unruly behavior and foul in mouth do great harm to the
spiritual make-up of a person. Once in October 1916,
Bhikubhai came to Shirdi with barfi, watermelon and a
garland to offer to Sai Baba. She was a childhood friend
of Mother Radhakrishna Ayi and as she crossed Godavari
River in Kopergaon she saw the cremation site of
Radhakrishna Ayi, Overcome with emotion, she collapsed
at the site and wept bitterly. She felt Sai Baba was
ungrateful to Radhakrishna Ayi after all services to Baba.
She vehemently accused Baba. In such a frame of mind,
she came to Shirdi and offered barfi and watermelon to
Sai Baba. The all-knowing Baba refused to accept them.
When she wanted to garland Baba, mysteriously the
garland snapped itself into three parts. Bhikubai had to
return disappointed, Kaka Sahib asked Baba as to why
he refused the gifts of Bhikubai. Baba explained to him
that he cannot accept the eatables nor wear the garland
brought with such a troubled heart and mental uneasiness.

Sai Baba exhorted his devotees to think of Him before
they partook their food which would then become
sanctified from any spiritual impurities. Every action of
Baba had a meaning behind it. If we go deeper into
the matter we will thus begin to understand why he
acted so even while looking harsh externally.
(Contributed by Article by K. Navin Chander,

Courtesy: Sai Padananda, April 1998)

DEVOTEES SAY:
A Sai devotee
Ever since I started receiving this newsletter, I've been

feeling lighter. I'm also inexplicably experiencing the
strong feeling that Baba is near me. I have the habit
of reading at least one chapter of the Sai Satcharitra
every day; sometimes I feel so tired that I just read a
few pages and leave it off. But recently, I've observed
that despite the tiredness I find I can easily finish off
one chapter without any effort! I feel Baba is finally
showing me His mercy and grace. It seems like a
miracle.

Shipra
I had subscribed to Sai Vichaar some months back, I

used to get mails regularly but suddenly it stopped, I
wondered why. Yesterday I decided to sing Sai Arathi
for my Baba, basically I'm not a good singer but I
practiced. I wrote the lyrics listening to the Aarthi
cassette and sang wholeheartedly to my Sai. Today
I opened my mail and was astounded to find Sai Vichaar
newsletter and I was so happy that He exists, He listens
to devotees, so my friends believe in Him, He will never
let you down and He will come to you. It is my true
experience. Now I realized why in between the
newsletter didn't reach me, I was in some problems
and I had lost faith in my Baba but when I put my faith
and trust wholeheartedly again to my Baba, He came
to me forgiving me. Thanks Baba to be with me and
sorry for doubting Your powers and grace. Om Satguru
Shri Sainath Maharaj ke Jai.

Prathyusha
Thank you is a very simple word Baba. There is nothing

enough to thank You for what all You did to me. You got
me a job so soon without much struggle, that too at
Microsoft. Baba, I couldn't believe this and now I am really
getting scared that You might take away this from me.
This is not because I don't trust You, but I'm scared that this
is a huge responsibility and You know what I am really is.
Baba, here starts the new game. Be with me Baba, it's
only Your name that I can chant during tough times.

Karpagam
My father has been ailing for sometime. My brother and

sister in law have been taking care of him all these days.
To relieve my sister in-law for sometime, I prayed to Sai
that if Sai would make it possible for my sister to be able
to take him to her place in spite of unfavorable conditions
at her end, I would complete the Sai Parayan and post
this letter in Sai Vichaar. What a wonder!! Just a couple
of days after I started the Parayan, my sister was able
to take him to her place as she too wanted to take him
desperately but was not able to earlier, the situation
became conducive to her. Thanks to Sai for this.

Nirmala
Koti Koti pranam and thanks to Sacinand Sadguru Sainath

Maharaj for saving my son's life. My son came into my life
only due to Baba's blessings. Thank you Sainath for his
normal health reports.

Toral
My son had a stomach flu couple of days back; nothing was

working as he was vomiting continuously with a loose
motion. We got him medicine and again within one day it
started again. Then I prayed to Baba and I had a small udi
packet so from that I just put a small pinch of udi in his mouth
and did tika with the udi on his forehead when he went off
to sleep at night and see the miracle of Baba from that
moment vomiting stopped and loose motion also stopped
and he slept whole night.

PRAYER CLUB:
Sunitha
Baba please help my mother get on her feet and perform

her daily activities on her own. She has been a very good
person; she is suffering a lot now. Baba she believes in You
and has full faith in You. You are the only protector of her,
please help her. Let her suffering vanish and lead a happy
life from now on.

Venkatesh
Dear Baba devotees, I got a grandson after praying to Baba.

He was the cutest, but now he is 5 years old and have been
diagnonised as having autism. I am totally broken and don't
know what to do other than praying to Baba. He has been
kind enough always to me and blessed me with all my wishes.
I request all Sai devotees to pray for the cute boy to come out
of this problem and be a normal kid.

Sai devotee
Baba, I am really worried about my husband,s health and You
know it. Please
Baba help me through this phase of my life.
Bless my husband with life and great health. I am under lots
of stress, please Baba, You know how much I love him, You
also know that I cannot live without him. By your grace and
blessings I got married to him, now You have to take care of
my married life. You have to take care of your child.
Please Baba help me.

Your devotee
Baba, I am totally confused and depressed. You know the

current state of affairs at home; don't know what to do. Please
make my husband more understanding and responsible. If
I am going wrong somewhere, please show me the right way
to deal with the situation. I turn to You, Om Sai to bless me
and my family with a peaceful existence. Also I am thoroughly
disappointed with my mother in law's behaviour towards her
siblings. Kindly show her the right path too.

Rachna
Baba, please bless me with child. Baba shower Your blessings
and bless me with
a child. It has been time and I am sure that
this new year You will bless me. Please Sai don't disappoint me.
You know everything, You are the creater of the world so please
accept the small request from this child also.

Sai devotee
Baba, You know how much of mental tension I am going through

every minute. You have already helped us one year back on this
issue. Baba, kindly help us to overcome this whole problem. We
will leave everything to You and carry on with our routine work
Baba.

Kamal
Baba, please bless my mother who is having eye problem. Her

doctor has said she has aged macular degeneration(AMD) and
needs to be injected in the eye. Baba please bless her. She is so
found of reading and doing her pooja but because of her eye
problem she cannot see well and hence cannot read. I feel very
bad for her. Baba please give her strength and bless her to get
her eye-sight back. Baba, I am leaving it upto You to look after
her. Baba, please bless your children. Next month we are going
to India and want to go to Shirdi. Hopefully by Your grace and
blessings, we will make it to Shirdi. Baba, bless and guide us
always.

Sai devotee
Baba, please help me. You know very well Baba, that problem I

was faced. My mother is not feeling well, she is suffereing with
mouth cancer. She is unable to bear the pain. She has been
suffering for the past five years, give her relief in pain and also
she could not eat properly anything like other people. Baba
please put Your grace on my mother.

Lalima
Om Sai Ram ! Baba, as promised I am writing to thank you for

my father's successful operation. But we are wondering why
one of the wounds is not healing. We have faith in You and
know it will heal soon but in the meantime let our Shraddha
and Saburi soar to greater heights. Help my mother to get
better too and please keep blessing my family as You always
do.

EXPERIENCE OF DEVOTEES:


Sai devotee
I was not a staunch devotee of Baba, until my cousin got me
the book "Sree Sai
Leelamrutham through mail from
www.saibaba.org website in January 2005. At that time we
were in terrible situation, for the past three years without
having a good job.. I started reading the book on Thursday
January 13th, without any desire in mind, to complete within
three weeks. Then things started to change in my life. I have
been experiencing His presence since then. Before completing
the parayana, my husband got another job. Then after
completion of three weeks parayana, I kept on reading
Saileelamrutham in 3 days parayana, like this I completed
21 times parayana and 5 times Sai Satcharitra parayana by
May 2005. During this time I felt so many good experiences
for me and for my children also without praying for them. By
end of June, my husband got a very good project in a big IT
company. Only with Sai's grace, we came out of such a terrible
situation. By the end of the year I looked back in my life and
realised that all of my problems had been solved. I don't have
enough words to thank Baba for making my life from such a
miserable and terrible status to wonderful and comfortable
status. I thought I will post my experiences in Sai Vichaar if
my husband gets the project without any delay. In September
2006 my husband's project was over and without any delay, he
got another project with Sai's grace. Now I am also one of the
strong believers of Sai. What my strong feeling is," When Sai
is there with you, nothing in this world is impossible to you. If
you take two steps towards Sai, He will take ten steps towards
you". I ask everyone to believe in Sai Baba and read Satcharitra
repeatedly, you can definitely get His grace and Sai will give
you more than what you ask him. I love You, Sai Deva!!!

Deepti
My brother was trying to get admission for his Master's degree

in USA. Almost all the Universities declined. Finally he was
waiting for response from two Universities, they were also taking
a long time. I prayed to Baba that if he thinks it is good for my
brother to come here and study, He will surely get him the
admission. And by Baba's grace on Thursday, he got the news
from both the Universities that he got the admission. He applied
for his Visa, but it got rejected. Then again all of us in the family
were worried. My brother re-applied for a visa. We prayed to
Sai Baba for the sanction. He had his interview on a Thursday,
and finally got the visa the same day. It is all Baba's grace and
blessings. My brother is now studing in the United States.

QUOTATION OF THE WEEK:
A miser who is attached to wealth thinks always of wealth. So

also when the devotee's heart is awakened and he has intense
longing for God, he remembers God constantly. Many people
say that when they repeat God's name they cannot concentrate
upon God. This is because they have no longing for Him. This
longing for God and holding God as our dearest object of love
is Bhakti.
-Sri Radhakrishna Swamiji


QUESTION OF THE WEEK:
Q. Comment on what Saibaba said to Dasganu Maharaj.
A. by .
Q. Saibaba said to Dasganu Maharaj, "Why do you want

all this paraphernalia-coat, uparani and pheta etc, do off
all that before Me, why wear them on the body?" - Comment?

SAI ACTIVITIES:
Shirdi Sai Temple of Chicago and Suburbs, Illinois, USA
Shirdi Sai temple is open daily from 8:00 a.m to 9:00 p.m

(Winter hours). Daily program includes Kakad Arathi at
8 a.m. followed by Abhisek. Madhayana Arathi at 12 noon,
Dhoop Arathi at 6 p.m. and Shej Arathi at 9 p.m. Archana,
Homams, Sahasranama and sponsored poojas continue in
between the Arathis. To request a pooja for yourselves, your
friends and family, please call. Devotees can request water
(Abhishek Jal) from the Holy bathing of Baba by sending
us an email or by phone. Temple is located 25 minutes drive
west of Schaumburg on intersection of IL Route 47 and
Plank Road in Hampshire, IL. For more information please
call 847-931-4058 or send email to maildrop@saibaba.org.

Shri Saibaba Mandir, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Saibaba activities in Minneapolis were conducted at Shirdi

Saibaba Prayer center since the year 2002. Now, with the
grace and blessings of Baba and the support of devotees, a
new Saibaba Mandir has begun to function at 1835 Polk
St NE, Minneapolis from July 11th 2006. Please visit
www.hamaresai.org for all details.

Sri Shirdi Sai Baba Temple of Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas
Sri Shirdi Sai Baba Temple of DFW Metroplex is located

at 2109 West Parker (Parker Plaza), Suite 212, Plano,
TX 75023. For temple hours and activities please call
the temple office at 469-467-3388 or visit the website
www.shirdisaidallas.org.

Shirdi Sai Center in Bay Area, CA
By Baba's grace, Shirdi Sai Parivaar is pleased to announce
the grand opening
of Shirdi Sai Center in Bay Area. The
center is located at 897-B East Kifer Road, Sunnyvale,
CA 94086. For more information please call 408-564-6704
or 408-705-7904.

Shirdi Saibaba temple, Los Angeles, CA
Devotees in Los Angeles area are informed about

Sri Shirdi Saibaba temple in Los Angeles area. The temple
is located at - 144 South 4th Street, Montebello, CA 90640.
For more information please call Krishna Samantula at
949-679-9938 or visit www.shirdisaila.org.

FROM THE EDITORS KEYBOARD:
Devotees who are interested in receiving Sai Vichaar are

requested to visit www.saibaba.org/saivichaar.html and
subscribe for Sai Vichaar, the Newsletter from Saibaba.org.
Due to the volume of email IDs that needs be handled, the
subscription is automated as above. Devotee's cooperation
is sincerely appreciated.

The "Question of the week for this week is,
Q. Saibaba said to Dasganu Maharaj, "Why do you want

all this paraphernalia-coat, uparani and pheta etc, do off all
that before Me, why wear them on the body?" - Comment?

Humbly Yours,
The Editor

Satsang Gifts of Sai Baba

Gifts of Sai Baba
By Dr. V. N. Shiradhonkar
"The ignorant runs after false pleasures and falls into

the wide net of death. The wise knows what is eternal;
he does not expect anything of lasting value from the
inconstant pleasures of life."
- Kenopanishad


SAI-brother K. N. Narayan Swamy has made an appeal-
'Dedication to Sai' - in the January 1988 issue of Sai
Padananda, in which he has called upon Sai devotees
to contribute articles / experiences on Sainath to
several Sai magazines. Prompted by his appeal, my
mind mused over the gifts that Sai Baba has conferred
upon us.

Shirdi Sai Baba is a phenomenon. His physical body has
disintegrated into the elements many years ago. But
today belief in him and his power to assist people in
times of distress is growing. Sai Baba started no cult
and spread no religion which one could identify with
him. His teachings have been the essence of all religions.
His believers are countrywide and include Hindus,
Muslims, Parsis, Christians, and others and several

others abroad.

Saints exist to give devotees temporal and spiritual
benefits. Sai Baba has said: "I have come to give such
good things to the devotees". Once when one of His
devotees objected to people going to Sai Baba for
temporal benefits, Baba told him: "Do not do that. My
men first come to me on account of that only. They
get their heart's desires fulfilled and comfortably
placed in life, and then they follow me and progress
further. I bring my men from long distance under many
pleas. I seek them and bring them to me. They do not
come of their own accord. I draw them to me". These

words are law even today.

His assurances (11 sayings) are fulfilled in the case of
each Sai devotee in his own inimitable manner. Sai Baba
did not care for money or gifts during his life time: He
begged for food and ate along with dogs, pigs, beggars
etc. He had a perfect conquest of the palate and perfect

sense of equality that He displayed to all the living
creatures. They indeed see the very perfection of what
the world's scriptures had conjoined for the true seekers
of God, viz., not minding what one eats and treating all

life as one.

What gift can we give Sai Baba who in fact is sustaining
us in every moment of our life? We breathe Sai, talk Sai
and live Sai. I can only borrow a line of G.S. Khaparde
from his 'Shirdi Diary' -"From the moment I approached
Him, all the load of my worldly cares disappeared though
only a few minutes, before, it was felt to be exceedingly
oppressive and such as to cause disgust in life". So let us
contribute our two-pice 'dakshina' - Sraddha and Saburi
to our Sai Maharaj.

(Source Saipadananda July 1988

Satsang SAI SAVES THE SURRENDERED

I encouragingly told her that she did not write
the wrong answer to that particular question of
her own accord. As she answered all the questions
in the previous papers completely relying on

Sai Baba’s mercy, she did the same in answering
the questions in ‘Economics’ paper of that day
and as such there was no need and necessity to
discuss at large whether her answer to a
particular question in ‘Economics’ paper was
correct or incorrect. Her complete surrender at
the lotus feet of Shri Sai Baba alone would make
the valuation officer feel that the wrong answer
written by her was the correct and appropriate
one to give good marks. I repeatedly assured her
of her definite success in the 2nd B.A. irrespective
of her correct or incorrect answering of all the
papers of 2nd B.A., as those who cast there burden
on Shri Sai baba would never face a mockery in the
public. Then and there, alongwith kum. Niveditha,
I vowed to visit Shirdi with my family. If kum.
Niveditha came out successful in her 2nd B.A.

examination. However much I was encouraging and
assuring her of success in the examination, as
an ordinary student, she had her own doubts about
her success, whenever the feeling that she wrote
a wrong answer tone question in the minimum question
she answered in ‘Economics’ flashed on her mind.

One day, when she went to the college as usual her
friend took her to the college office to know their
results as the particulars of results of 2nd B.A.
were received in the office quite hesitatingly she
followed her friends to the office to know the
expected doom of her failure.

Lo! to the surprise of kum. Niveditha and much to
the astonishment of all her friends, she was
informed of her passing in the examination in all
the subjects.

She came home in the evening in the happiest mood
and informed me that Baba made her pass in her
2nd B.A. in all the subjects and our joy knew no
bounds. We offered humble pranams to the all

merciful Sai baba, who would reverse any matter
to bless. His trusted devotees.

As per promised vow, we all went to Shirdi and
offered our sincere prayers to Shri Sai Baba in
the Samadhi Mandir and Dwarakamayi for the kindest
blessings that He showered on kum. Niveditha in

securing success in 2nd B.A. in all subjects
despite a wrong answer to one of the minimum
questions in ‘Economics’.

One who surrenders completely to Shri Sai Baba
with Nishtha and Saburi, casting the entire burden
and responsibility on him, would never face any
unpleasentness or failure in any walk of life,

irrespective of any odds and inconveniences even
to-day after His Mahasamadhi in 1918.

Shri Sai baba always rushes to rescue his devotee
and to crown him with laurels of success in all
undertakings, irrespective of time and place
provided the devotee completely surrenders to
Baba with Nishtha and Saburi.
D.L. Kanta Rao
Retd. Dy. Tahsildar, Ponnapuram (Vil) Ponnapuram (post)
(Source Shri Saileela July 1983)

Wednesday, January 24, 2007

Quiz on Chapter XIII of Sai Satcharitra

Chapter XIII
(Devotees are requested to read Sai Satcharitra

Chapter XIII, translated by Gunaji before
attempting this quiz)

16) When BABA cured Mahajani, the following
was going on_____
a) Construction of pavement in front of Dwarakamayi

b) Replastering of Chavadi
c) The grill work of Gurusthan
d) Construction of Butis wada

17) Mr.Dattopant was from the place of
a) Pune b) Shirdi c) Kopergoan d) Harda


18) Madhavrao Deshpande suffered from piles and
BABA cured him by giving ______
a) Udi b) a decotion of sonamukhi c) grounds to eat

d) by feeding a cat near the Maruthi Temple

19) Mr.Gangadharpant suffered from which disease
a) stomach ache b) Heart pain

c) Cholera d) Tuberculosis

20) Gangadharpant was cured by BABA by
a) Udi b) Taking drugs suggested by BABA

c) Uttering th ewords “God will cure”
d) by giving anna dan to a certain number of persons
as suggested by BABA

Quiz on Chapter XIII of Sai Satcharitra

Chapter XIII
(Devotees are requested to read Sai Satcharitra

Chapter XIII, translated by Gunaji before
attempting this quiz)

11) Who treated Mr.Bapusaheb Butti before he
went to BABA for a cure
a) The village vaid b) Dr.Pillai c) Dr.Pandit d) None


12) What prevented the Swami from Alandi from
getting proper sleep
a) Pain in the back b) Pain in the ear c) stomach ache

d) headache

13) Who requested BABA on behalf of the Alandi Swami
a) Kakasaheb Dixit b) Balaganapat Shimpi c) Shama

d) None

14) The pain has subsided for the Alandi Swami but there
was still swelling, so in order to get the swelling removed,
the swami went to ______ for operation
a) Bombay b) Poona c) Ahmednagar d) Shirdi


15) Kaka Mahajani was suffering from _________
a) Cholera b) Malaria c) Diarrhoea d) Vomittings

Satsang The Ever-Vigilant SaiBaba By B. Sathyanarayana

The Ever-Vigilant SaiBaba
By B. Sathyanarayana


"One making proper use of existing circumstances
does not have to await success; success awaits such a
person. If you perform each action as worship of
Sai Baba then you will not have to remember Sai Baba;
Sai Baba Himself will remember you."
- Sri Radhakrishna Swamiji


It was during 1960-61. I was working as an Assistant
Engineer, Western Railway at Botad, about 100 miles
from Ahmadabad. A mail train met with an accident
at a Railway Station - 'Bhimnath' in my jurisdiction,
resulting in the loss of lives. I had to rush to the site
of accident to restore the railway line, to attend to the
transshipment of hundreds of stranded passengers,
to arrange medical aid, to face interrogation by the
local police and press reporters, and answering nerve
breaking queries of my superiors. All these happened
from 7 pm and the entire night. Though I was sure,
that I was not at fault, still people around me
including some of the railway officials, were talking
that I would be suspended the following day by the
Chief Engineer, coming from Bombay, and further
disciplinary action would be taken. There was none
to support me and at least to sympathize with me.
I was thinking of Sai Baba and mentally asking him:
“Baba, what wrong have I done? Why this torture”?

Thus praying, I was doing my duty of arranging
transshipment of stranded passengers at dead of
night from the site of accident to the relief train
which was at a distance of nearly one kilometer.

At about 1 a.m., one old gentlemen about 6 ft. tall,
well built, wearing a white long, soiled jubba and
a scarf with a knot tied round his head and
carrying a long stick and a bag hanging from his
shoulder came slowly towards me. He spoke to
me in Hindi thus: "What a big accident? How to
go?" I did not respond to him, as my mind was
totally pre-occupied. He passed a few steps, almost
brushing my shoulder. Then somehow I asked him
to wait and called one of assistants who was having
a lantern and told him to escort this old gentleman
carefully to the other train. On hearing this, this old
man came back to me and patted my shoulders and
said "Pikhir math karo, sab teek ho jayega” (Don't
worry, everything will be alright). So saying he
stared at me for a few seconds and left. Hardly few
more seconds must have passed when I shouted :
"Baba, where are you" and ran like a mad man in
search of him. But I could not find him anywhere.

I am quite sure that he was none other than Lord
Sainath and I got solace. Next day the Chief Engineer
came from Bombay and told me ‘not to worry’ and
handled the rest of the work. This in spite of other

officials insisting that I be suspended. Thereafter,
other routine enquiry was conducted and I was
appreciated in my work. The savior is none but all
merciful Sai BABA.

The mouth of man is a Temple of the Lord. Alas! We
desecrate it by indulging the tongue in useless talk
and speaking ill of others. "O my soul! Sing the
praises of the Lord, day and night, so that not a
single harsh or negative word leaves the lips!"
- J.P. Vaswani


(Source Saipadananda October 1991 Issue)

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Quiz on Chapter XIII of Sai Satcharitra

Chapter XIII
(Devotees are requested to read Sai Satcharitra

Chapter XIII, translated by Gunaji before
attempting this quiz)

1) “Saints are His living forms” who said these words
a) Lord Krishna to Uddhava b) Lord Krishna to Arjuna

c) Lord Vishnu to Prahalad d) Shiva to Parvati

2) Mr.Bhimaji Patil belong to _________ of Taluka
Junna Poona District.
a) Ahmednagar b) Kirki c) Narayangoan d) Kedgaon


3) Mr.Bhimaji Pati laws suffering from __________
which developed into Tuberculosis.
a) Kidney disease b) Cholera c) Jaundice

d) Chronic chest disease

4) When Bhimaji Patil met BABA in Shirdi who was
present with BABA
a) Mr.Nanasaheb and Mhalsapathy

b) Mr.Nanasaheb and Mr.Shama
c) Mr.Shama and Mhalsapathy
d) Mr.Khaparde and Bala Ganpat Shimpi

5) Baba asked Mr.Nanasaheb to stay in the house
of ________
a) Bhimbai b) Shama c) Radhakrishna mayi

d) Mahalsapathy

Satsang RELIGION OF OUR MASTER SADGURU SAINATH

RELIGION OF OUR MASTER SADGURU SAINATH

In reply to Prakash Palekar’s article in the October 1983
issue of “Shree Sai Leela”, A.S. Menon has forwarded
his observations on BABA’s religion in the current issue
(February 1984) of Shree Sai Leela. I read both the
communications with great interest. I am tempted to
quote Swami Vivekananda on his tribute to his master,
Ramakrishna.
“To proclaim and make clear the fundamental unity
under-lying all religions was the mission of my Master.
Other teacher have taught special religions which bear
their names, but this great teacher of nineteenth century
made no claim for himself. He left every religion
undisturbed because he had realized that in reality,
they are all part and parcel of the one eternal religion.

And this is absolutely true with our Sadguru Sainath.
His religion is Sai religion. His religion represents
humanity. This was equally observed by Sister
Nivedita on Ramakrishna. “He is a witness to the
world that the old Indian wisdom was not in vain. For
in Him meet the feeling and thought of all mankind
and he represents humanity.”

The religion of our Master, our Sainath also endorses
the above statement.
Ramakrishna once had a desire to known the truth

about the various religions. Upto that time, he had
not known any religion but his own. He wanted to
understand what other religions were like. So, he
sought teachers of other religions. He found a Muslim
Saint and placed himself under him; he under went
the disciplines prescribed by him and to his
astonishment found that when faithfully carried out,
these devotional method led him to the same goal he
had already attained. He gathered similar experiences
from following the religion of Jesus Christ. He went to

all the sects he could find, and whatever he took up
went into his whole heart. He did exactly as he was
told, and in every instance he arrived at the same
result. Thus from actual experience he came to know
that the goal of every religion is the same, that each
is trying to teach the same thing, the difference being
largely in method, and still more in language. At the
core, all sects and all religions have the same aim;
and they were only quarreling for their own selfish
purposes, they were however not anxious about the
truth.

This is exactly what our Baba has also found and He,
therefore, had taught as to learn with all humanity,
the one and the only essence in all religions is “NOT
ME; BUT THOU” And he who says always “NOT ME”
Baba fills his heart. The less of I, the more of Baba
within me. Our Sainath has taught us this to be the
real truth in every religion in the world. Ramakrishna’s
favourite illustration was, “When the lotus opens, the

bees come of their own accord to seek honey so let the
lotus of your character be full-blown and the results
will follow.”

This lesson also we have learned from our Lord, our
Sainath and our Master.

Baba’s religion is not talk or doctrines or theories nor
is sectarianism. His religion is the relation between
me and Him (between the soul and the God) and His
religion consists in realization only.

With Baba all the religions are but phases of one
eternal religion. He felt that only one infinite religion
existed all through eternity and it will ever exist and
this religion is expressing itself in various countries
in various ways and with various people.

Baba’s intense love for mankind would not let him
refuse to help even the humblest of the millions, who
sought His aid. Baba has been showering His blessings
in me to write scientific research papers for the last
thirty years; but the pleasure, solace, satisfaction and
contentment I have been receiving at this moment by

communicating some of my ideas and experiences in
“Shree Sai Leela” is many thousand times more
significant and much rewarding to me. Probably no
other highest academic honour or distinction of this
country could bring me that peace and happiness. If
my articles could bring some lessons to my Sai-brothers
then all these are because of Him since He had
encouraged me to undertake this task; but if I have
failed to carry out the task it is because of my not
being able to follow our Lord, our Master perfectly.
So to put me always in the truth I Bow to Thy Lotus
Feet, our Sainath.

M.R. Chakravarthi
Pune 411 004

(Source Shri Sai Leela July 1983)

Quiz on Chapter XII of Sai Satcharitra

Chapter XII
(Devotees are requested to read Sai Satcharitra

Chapter XII, translated by Gunaji before
attempting this quiz)

26) Mr.Moolay Shastri the Brahmin from Nasik
considered himself holy, Baba asked him
Dakshina through
(a) Nana Saheb (b) Shama (c) Booty

(d) Radha Krishna Mai

27) While others chanted Babas Arati, Mr.Moolay
Shastry chanted his gurus name. The name of
Mr.Moolay Shastris guru was
(a) Kabir (b) Ram Dass (c) Upasani (d) Gholap


28) Baba appeared as ___________ to the Doctor
(a) Krishna (b) Rama (c) Shiva (d) Vishnu

Satsang LATE RAO SAHEB V. P. IYER

LATE RAO SAHEB V. P. IYER
In Shirdi, near the temple of Sri Sai Baba is the Lendi

garden. There are a few Samadhis to the right side
of the entrance of the garden and one of them is of
Rao Saheb V. P. Iyer. He was my husband. He
breathed his last at Lakshmiwadi which is four and
a half miles from Shirdi - Kopargaon road.
I was at Lucknow at that time I got a telegram
informing me about his death. I wished to see the
place where he had passed away and I went there.
The children and myself reached the place four days
after his death. When the people of Shirdi knew that
I had come to Lakshmiwadi, many came to condole
me and talked about my husband.

Mr. V. P.Iyer was a Sugar Technologist. He worked
at various sugar factories. I had settled in Lucknow
for the sake of education of my children. When the
contract for his work was over, my husband would
come and stay at Lucknow till he again got a
contract for a job in another sugar factory.

For the 1943-44 sugar season, he did not have a job
and so he was at Lucknow. He was not worried
about it for he had absolute faith in Baba. He said
that why should he worry, for Baba will do what is
best for him. He was happy that he had more time
now to pray to Sai Baba. Before having- his meals
he would offer the food to his beloved Baba. He
would have all the various dishes served in the
Thali, even raw onions and salad and offer the
food to Baba. He would sit with eyes closed for

a few minutes and then start eating When someone
told him not to offer raw onions, he replied that
Baba would 'like it because it was a side dish for
the poor.

He had sent applications for job and he got one in
November 1944. He got a contract to work in the
Lakshmiwadi Sugar Mills, at Lakshmiwadi near
Kopargaon. When he saw the letter he said "Baba's

grace is great and he has called me near him". He
went to Lakshmiwadi and joined duty. He was
happy for, now he could go to Shirdi whenever he
got time. He often went in the evenings and
returned late at night. As he stood in prayer at
Baba's Samadhi he forgot everything. Many a time
people there reminded him that he should go
home as it was getting late. With great reluctance
he would leave the Mandir and return home. His
only wish seemed to be near Baba all the time.


His desire to be with Baba was so great that he
wrote in the letters to me that he wanted to stay
at Shirdi and not leave the place. When his friends
there heard this they advised him against it. They

told him that he cannot think of such a thing. He
must work and provide for the family till the
children are grown up and able to look after
themselves. His only reply was that he did not
want to leave Baba and go, and that he wanted
only to stay at Shirdi. In May 1945 the season was
over and his work there was finished. Mr. Iyer
wrote report and submitted it to the factory
management on the 26th May, and thought of
leaving Kopargaon on the 27th May for Lucknow.

Two of my sons had gone to Lakshmiwadi to
spend a part of the summer vacation with their
father. So they were there during his last days.

On the 26th evening, he went to Shirdi to have
the darshan of Baba. The Mandir was not as it
is today. It was small. Only the Samadhi of Sai
Baba was there and there was no statue. He
stood near a pillar in front of the Samadhi with
his eyes closed. Sometimes tears would come
from his eyes and he was not conscious of his
surroundings. Some persons tried to talk to him
but he did not respond. At about 9 p. m. he came

out of the trance. With great reluctance he left the
Mandir to return home. Since he was leaving
Shirdi, he said good-bye to the many persons
whom he knew. He felt no difference whether
they were rich or poor. All were the same to him.
When he said good-bye, tears were shed on either
side. He reached home at about 11 p. m. and after
dinner went to bed. At about 2 a. m. he woke his
sons and said that he was ill. The neighbour was
informed and he called the doctor The doctor came
and diagonised it as cholera and gave medicine.
By morning he had become very weak. By noon he
was only half conscious. He was lying quietly with

eyes closed. At times he would open his eyes and
look at Baba's photo which was on the opposite
wall. He was oblivious of his surroundings except
for Baba At about 4.30 p. m. he opened his eyes and
beckoned to the person standing near him. When
that person went to him and asked him what he
wanted, he made a sign that he wanted the picture
of Sai Baba. It was removed from the wall and
brought to him. He opened his arms and with his
eyes indicated that the picture should be put on
his chest. He then embraced Baba and said "Baba,
Sai Baba, Baba" and smiling, breathed his last.
When the people heard of the death of Mr. Iyer,

they were shocked and grieved, for the night
before he was well and now no more. Large
crowds of people came from Shirdi walking,
not minding the distance and the time for they
all loved him. He was cremated late at night.

The people of Shirdi approached the Samsthan
and requested that a Samadhi be built of Mr. Iyer
and they agreed. His ashes were buried and the
Samathi was built and the name and date were
engraved on it. Baba heard the prayer of his
Bhakta and fulfilled the wish and kept the loving
Bhakta near him forever. Baba has looked after
me and my six children. They are all educated
and well placed. All are married and have

children and are devotees of Sai Baba. I submit
to His will and have had no fear for I have
complete faith in Sai Baba.

Mrs. Hirabai lyer
(Source Shri Saileela Magazine Feb 1976)