Satsang What did Sri Saibaba say about fasting?

What did Sri Saibaba say about fasting?
Sri Saibaba has given us the middle path to follow on the
path of emancipation. did not advocate the over indulgence
in either the senses or in asceticism.

Let us see what Sri Saibaba had said about fasting on
Thursdays or any other holy days.

M.W. Pradhan, a devotee of Sri Saibaba had organized the
birthday party of his son in Shama’s house at Shirdi and invited
all devotees of Sri Saibaba to lunch. That day happened to be a
Thursday. Bala Bhate apologized to Pradhan that he was unable
to eat on that day as he had a wow to fast on Thursdays and
went to the Masjid. As Baba saw Bhate he asked, “Have you
gone to Pradhan’s party and had your food?”
Bhate: “Baba, today is a Thursday”.
Baba: “So what?”
Bhate: “I do not eat on Thursdays. It is my wow”.
Baba: “To please whom have you made this wow”?
Bhate: “I have made this wow in your name for your grace”.
Baba: “I am telling you this myself. Leave off this fasting and
go have your food with Pradhan”.

From the above it is clear that Baba didn’t agree to do fasting
to please him on Thursdays. Now, let us see what Sri Saibaba
said about fasting on holy days such as Ekadasi, Maha Sivaratri
and such days.
Tatya Kote Patil was one of the closest and most intimate
devotees of Sri Saibaba. He had the great good fortune of
sleeping along with Baba in the Masjid for fourteen years.
Those who had seen the love and intimacy between Baba and
Tatya Kote Patil felt that Baba loved Tatya more than his life
even. Tatya in his reminiscences says thus, “I used to fast
regularly on Ekadasi, Maha Sivaratri and other such hold days.
Baba’s opinion was that fasting had no usefulness in either the
mundane worldly life or the spiritual life. I would try my best
to fast on these holy days but Baba would some how or the
other break my fast and made me eat something. On one
Sivaratri I said, ‘Baba, please let me fast at least on this day.
Please don’t make me eat anything.’
Baba said, “Eat man, eat, what Sivaratri are you talking about?”
Dada Kelkar who by standing by also told me to do as Baba
says and not to disobey him. I did not raise any further objection
to Baba and have never fasted on any day since then.”

Thus Sri Saibaba showed us in many incidents that there is
no meaning in doing fasting.
(Source: Sai Bhakti Sadhana Rahasyam,)

Satsang Sri Sai Amrit Vani

Sri Sai Amrit Vani
15th Feb 2007

Jai Sai Ram
Strange are the Leelas of Baba. For
the last two weeks, HE has not blessed even with a
pinch of Udi, as our house was in ‘Sootak’ and after
the Hawan was performed and Pandit/priests were fed,
Udi started oozing from the photos and the statue.
During these days it was all stand still and HIS
presence was also not felt by anybody during the
recitation of Sri Sai Amrit Vani. We are so used to
HIS presence that we missed HIM more than our uncle
who expired and was the cause of the ‘Sootak’. We
missed HIS Leelas. Now it is all normal with HIS
normal Leelas.

Today (16/2/07) is Shiv Ratri and as in
previous years Udi is oozing from the hands of Shivji
and Sindoor is falling from the hand of Parvati Maa
from the combined photo of Shiv –Parvati.

Following devotees, participated in
absencia in the recitation of Sri Sai Amrit Vani by
reciting Sri Sai Amrit Vani at their places on 15th
Feb 2007. The list is sorted as per their email ids.
However Mrs. Gupta prayed for all the devotees.
We include only those devotees in the list, who
themselves recite or read Sri Sai Amrit Vani at their
places. The names of the devotees “for prayer”, are
prayed for, but not included in the list. Kindly
mention clearly, against each devotee’s name that
he/she will recite or read or listen to Sri Sai Amrit
Vani, or only for prayers. Please also give the name
of the place.

We could see the following Leelas this
Thursday the 15th Feb 2007 .

1. Udi started appearing and oozing from the two
photos on the wall from Monday, Hindi words ‘RAM’
‘SHAM’ and ‘OM’, and figure of Trishool were
formed with Udi on one photo. On Tuesday Udi started
oozing from the main photo in the mandir. Hindi words
‘RAM’ ‘SHAM’ and ‘OM’ alog with other figures were
also formed on the photo in the mandir and Udi started
oozing and falling from the Statue from Tuesday
morning itself . It was our younger son’s birthday
also. Who is Chandigarh. Udi starts oozing on the
birthdays of any member of the family. So it was the
combined occasion on Tuesday.
2. There was lot of Water from the Charans this week
also. This water was collected in the Thali. The
taste of water was similar to gulab jal and kewara.
After Sai Amrit Vani, this water was given to the
needy devotees and again the Thali was filled with
water. This water was taken out of Thali 3-4 time
throughout the day and was given to devotees till
evening. Devotees even bring bottles to take the water
home.
3. Lap of Mrs. Gupta was filled with Udi during the
prayers. Udi was there between the falls of the Sari.
4. Udi also appeared on many other devotees.
5. On Thursday as soon as Bhog was offered, it was
duly accepted by Baba and after the Sri Sai Amrit
Vani we noticed that the box, which was placed
before HIM was partially empty with eaten and
partially remained pieces of items in the box, Part
of Bhog was on the lips of many photos and statue of
Baba. These parts of the remains in the box were
given to the devotees who offered that item of bhog to
Baba. Figures were formed on Burfees Kalakand and
many other sweets
6. Presence of Baba during the recitation of Sai Amrit
Vani was very strong.
7. All the boxes of Bhog which were kept on the table
were blessed with Udi,
8. The Charnamrit, the water in which Baba took the
bath in the morning was also sweet as if some honey
has been mixed into it.
9. Many papers and Statues, of devotees kept in the
mandir room, were blessed with lots of Udi as soon as
they were placed there. I am appending a photo of
statues of Baba blessed on this day.

Jai Sai Ram
Sri Sai Amrit Vani started at 11:04 AM. Noon
Aartee started at 12:00 Hrs. followed by brief
Meditation and the prayer, Prayan of one Chapter
from Sai Satcharitra. Mrs. Gupta offered prayers and
thanks to Baba. Finally distribution of Prasad, Udi
and the water from the Charans.

Following listed devotees participated in
the recitation of Sri Sai Amrit Vani ( in absentia)
and have either recited or read or listened Sri Sai
Amrit Vani at their places. Other devotees were also
prayed for but their names have not been listed.

Next Sri Sai Amrit Vani on 22nd Feb, again
will be held in Sidhartha Extension, New Delhi.
Devotees interested in attending it in person may
contact on phone nos. 26346942, 9810714688 or
9312494767 only after 11 AM (IST) on any day except
Thursdays but no calls on Thursdays PLEASE. They
should NOT bring any bhog with them and be in time.
Kids are also not allowed in the hall. No disturbance
is tolerated during the Sri Sai Amrit Vani .

Sri Sai Sandhya is being held on 24th Feb,
2007 in the Central Park of Sidhartha Extension, New
Delhi. From 5 PM onwards followed by Bhandara.

Sri Sai Amrit Vani is now available in Tamil
script also besides in Devnagri, English and Telgu, in
the file section of the yahoogroup. Links of Audio MP3
files are given in the link section of the home page
of ‘ mysaibaba20’ yahoogroup. To go to home page of
yahoogroup key in or click
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mysaibaba20 .
Audio Mp3 file has also been made available in the
publication section of http://saimemorial.com , the site of
Sai Memorial Temple of Baba of Lodhi Road, New Delhi.

This activity of Sri Sai Amrit Vani will be
in addition to any other pooja or sewa or prayer that
you are doing.

Jai Sai Ram.
Ashok Gupta
mysaibaba20@yahoogroups.com
akg_vg@bol.net.in
veena_gupta_2000@yahoo.com

Sri Sai Amrit Vani

Sri Sai Amrit Vani
8st Feb 2007
Devotees may forward this
letter to other Sai devotees.
Jai Sai Ram
First of all I would Thank all those
devotees, who have sent their condolence messages for
the demise of my Chacha Ji (uncle). On 9th Feb Hawan
was performed for the ‘Sudhi’ . As we were busy in
these activities, I could not check the internet
regularly.
This Thursday also our house was in
the ‘Sootak’ and there was no Leela of Baba at
Sidhartha Extension, New Delhi on 8th Feb. We
expected this thing and already communicated to the
members of the group that Sri Sai Amrit Vani will not
be held at Sidhartha Extension on this Thursday also.
Last Thursday also Sri Sai Amrit Vani was not held.
Very few dovotees attended the recitation of Sri Sai
Amrit Vani, only about 25 or so, as the message was
already given. Simply Audio of Sri Sai Amrit Vani was
played on the Cassette player and we all recited along
with it without the books.
There was no Bhog, no Pooja, no body was allowed to
enter the mandir room.

This Thursday the 8st Feb 2007, we missed
the following Leelas of Baba, which usually happen on
Thursdays.

1. No oozing of Udi or Honey from any photo on the
walls or photo or Statue in the Mandir. No formation
of any word or figures of OM, Ram and Sham
2. No water from the Charans of Baba this week.
3. There was no Pooja done, no Aggarbatti, no diya, No
books. Only recitation of Sri Sai Amrit Vani was done
with the help of Cassette.
4. There was no Udi in the Lap of Mrs. Gupta or any
devotees present there.
5. There was no Bhog offered to Baba.
6. No Documents, No photos , No Sai Satcharitras were
kept in the mandir room. In fact no one was allowed to
entered the mandir.
7. No Prayan of Sai Satcharitra was done.

Last three times, when our grand daughters
were born, Udi stopped oozing from that time and
started only at the time when the Hawan started.
Because it was the birth celebration. At present even
after the Hawan Udi has not started oozing from any
photo or statue. Perhaps it may start on Sunday or
Monday. You may very well guess Leelas of Baba.

However following devotees, participated
in absencia in the recitation of Sri Sai Amrit Vani.
The list is sorted as per their email id’s. We include
only those devotees in the list, who themselves recite
or read Sri Sai Amrit Vani at their places. The names
of the devotees “for prayer”, are prayed for, but not
included in the list. Kindly mention clearly, against
each devotee’s name that he/she will recite or read or
listen to Sri Sai Amrit Vani, or only for prayers, If
no mention is made in the letter, then it will be
presumed that the names are only for prayer and will
not be included in the list. Please also give the
name of the place.

Sri Sai Bajan Sandhya has been arranged on
24th Feb in the evening at Sidhartha Extension, New
Delhi.

Next Sri Sai Amrit Vani on 15th Feb, will be held in
Sidhartha Extension, New Delhi. Devotees interested in
attending it in person may contact on phone nos.
26346942, 9810714688 or 9312494767 only after 11 AM
(IST) on any day except Thursdays and no calls on
Thursdays PLEASE. They should NOT bring any bhog with
them and be in time. Kids are also not allowed in the
hall and mobiles should be put on silent mode..

Scripts of Sri Sai Amrit Vani are available
in Tamil, Telgu also, besides in Devnagri (Hindi) and
English, in the file section of the yahoogroup. Links
of Audio MP3 files are given in the link section of
the home page of ‘ mysaibaba20’ yahoogroup. To go to
home page of yahoogroup key in or click
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mysaibaba20 .

This activity of Sri Sai Amrit Vani will be
in addition to any other pooja or sewa or prayer that
you are doing.

Jai Sai Ram.

Ashok Gupta
mysaibaba20@yahoogroups.com
veena_gupta_2000@yahoo.com

Satsang When was the regular custom of performing Sej arati commenced?

When was the regular custom of performing Sej arati commenced?

The exact date/month in which the regular custom of performing
aratis commenced is not clear. Sri Sai Satcharitra Chapter 4 states
that the Night (Sej) arati commenced on December 10th 1910. In
the same book in Chapter 37 it is stated that from December 10th
1909 devotees began to offer regular worship to Baba in the
Chavadi! In the said context in Chapter 4 it is also recorded that
two more incidents took place on that day, i.e. on December 10th
1910. One is Sri G.S. Khaparde permission from Baba to leave
Shirdi and the other was the laying of the foundation stone of
Dixit Wada.
But according to the Diary of Sri G.S. Khaparde, the actual
permission to leave Shirdi was granted to him on December 12th
1910. On his first visit to Shirdi, Sri Khaparde stayed for about
eight days, i.e. from December 5th 1910 to December 12th 1910.
There is no mention of any arati ~ in any of the entries made on
those days in his Diary ~ whether Morning, Midday, or Night
~ or anything about the foundation laying ceremony of the
Dixit Wada! Sri Khaparde who did not elide to note down even
seemingly insignificant happenings, would not have passed
over recording such an important event as the commencement
of Sej Arati ~ if it took place on December 10th 1910(Sri Khaparde
who keenly referred to the Chavadi procession held on 6th and 8th,
did not even mention anything about it on 10th, as if nothing worthy
of mention occurred on that day!). On the authority of Sri Sai
Satcharitra, (but with a slight modification of the date by a margin
of two days) if the commencement of Sej Arati was to coincide with
the leave-taking or departure of Sri G.S. Khaparde, then it should
be on December 12th 1910(Sri Khaparde left Shirdi on that day by
evening, he could not have recorded the event).
(Source: Arati Saibaba)

Satsang In which temple Sri Saibaba's sacred tooth was kept? - Part 3

Among those who visited the temple was Sri Nanasaheb Awasthe,
who had had the darshan and blessings of Sri Saibaba while he was
alive. An organization for the development of the temple, called
“Sri Sai Dasa Mandali,” was started in 1950. The members repaired
the temple and also built an 800 square-foot hall in the front part of
it. Guru Purnima, Sri Ramanavami and Baba’s mahasamadhi
(Vijayadasami) festivals are celebrated there with great fervor.

We will now come to a great leela of Saibaba relating to this temple.
On 12 July 1961, the Pansher dam flooded and its water overflowed
the dam crests. Large parts of Pune were submerged, many houses
were destroyed and many people lost all that they had. As Shivaji
Nagar, where the Sri Saibaba’ s temple is located, is a low-lying area,
water was flowing twenty to twenty-five feet above the temple tower.
The water subsided after a few days and the rehabilatory work was
started. The temple was totally engulfed in mud and to remove it and
to restore the temple to its former glory was a daunting and costly task.
However, the devotees finished it cheerfully in a few days. They were
rewarded for their labor with a glorious sight. Sri Saibaba’s photo, which
had been worshipped daily before the flood, was undamaged and was
looking as new as ever! There was no trace of damage from the water
or mud. No-one could believe that the photo had been under water for
several days. The audumber tree beside the temple was also fine and
did not even sag as a result of the flood. Everyone believed by this
wonderful leela of Sri Saibaba that his effulgent grace was on the temple.
Later the devotees got a beautiful marble statue of Saibaba installed in
the temple in the same place where the Baba’s photograph had been.
Baba’s tooth now lies under the padukas at the feet of the marble statue.
The photo of Baba, which withstood the flood, is also kept in the temple,
and devotees pay homage to it daily.

Courtesy of Sri Sai Leela Magazine April 1977

Satsang In which temple Sri Saibaba's sacred tooth was kept? - Part 2

Kasibai of Shirdi was married to a man from Nifad village, but
unfortunately her husband died within a few months of the
marriage. She was already pregnant by this time and gave birth
to a male child who was named Madhav. Kasibai came back to
Shirdi from Nifad when Madhav was one year old and started
living with her father. She used to eke out her living as an
agricultural laborer but as she had to work in the fields from
morning to evening, looking after Madhav became a problem.
At last she found a solution. She would take Madhav with her
to the mosque in the morning, leave him with Sri Saibaba, and
then go off to the fields. In the evening she would come back,
salute Baba, and take Madhav home. Four years passed in this
way. From the time he turned five, Baba gave a rupee to Madhav
every day and Madhav in turn did small chores for him.

Kasibai came one day to the mosque and asked Sri Saibaba,
“Why are you only giving one rupee to my son each day - even
though he is doing so many chores for you - while you are giving
fifteen, thirty and fifty rupees to others?” Sri Saibaba replied,
“Kasibai! I know that I am giving less to your son but you should
know that while I may stop giving money to the others after a
while, I will continue to look after Madhav. I am the sole refuge
and the head of the family for all such as you who are orphans.”
Kasibai did not understand the full import of Baba’s utterance
and said, “The head of my family was my husband and he is dead.”
Baba was annoyed and started shouting at her. Kasibai got scared
and ran from the mosque and after that stopped coming for a
time. Baba relented a couple of days later and called for her. She
came along with her son Madhav. She was still afraid of Baba and
stood silently on the threshold of the mosque. Saibaba talked to
her with kindness and calmed her down. One of his teeth had
been loose for some time and he pulled it out and wrapped it in
a piece of cloth with some udi and told Kasibai, “Keep this
talisman with you. You will have good fortune always.” Kasibai
went away happily with the talisman.

Ever since the mother and son received the tooth from Baba they
never lacked for anything and everyone started calling the lad
Madhav Rao in a respectful manner. He would tie the talisman
to his biceps and was careful to treat it reverentially. After Kasibai
passed away, he went to Nifad and settled there. Once, when
Madhav was seriously ill, Baba appeared to him in a dream and
ordered him, “Give the talisman to a man called Nikham who will
come to your house today.” Baba also appeared to Nikham in a
dream and ordered him “to go to Nifad and take the talisman from
Madhav”. Nikham obeyed him. He kept the talisman for many
years and then presented it to the Sri Saibaba temple at Shivaji
Nagar. In this way the sacred tooth of Sri Saibaba came from him
to Kasibai and from her to Madhav Rao and from Madhav Rao to
Nikham and back again to Baba from Nikham. So Baba’s tooth
came back to him after many travels. The authorities of the temple
kept the tooth under Baba’s padukas (footprints), which were kept
under the photo of Saibaba. Devotees feel that they are in the divine
and immediate presence of Sri Saibaba because the sacred relic of
Baba is kept in the temple.
(to be contd...)
Courtesy of Sri Sai Leela Magazine April 1977