The Glory of Shirdi SaiThe Glory of Shirdi Sai

1 7 - O C T O B E R - 2 0 1 3 Y E A R 2 0 1 3 — I S S U E 2 1

गरुुब्रह्मा गरुुर्विष्ण:ु गरुुरे्दवो महेश्वर: | गरुु: शाक्षात परब्रह्म तस्म ैश्रीगरुवे नमः:||

CONTENT

***

Ambrosia in Shirdi

Shirdi Dairy

Guru Poornima

The Dreams Train

Devotees Corner

Baba’s close devotees

Children Section

Spiritual Truths

***

श्रद्धा सबुरी

A Bi-Weekly Publication by www.saidarbarusa.org

an affiliate of SAIDARBAR Hyderabad, India

JAI SAI RAM

L eela 17: Lakshmibai and Janabai were grinding wheat

with the hand mill, when a lady from Bombay entered

Dwarkamai. She sat beside them, and asked Baba if she too

could grind the wheat. Baba said that she would get tired. None-

theless, she was eager to grind as much as was possible. Baba

asked Lakshmibai to let her grind the wheat. The lady was full

of questions, and was ea­ger to get answers from Baba. She

started asking Baba, Why the wheat was ground? Why He threw it at the village

boundary?

Baba said, "Akkabai Maaribai, Marriamma (i.e. dieties of cholera and smallpox)

want to enter the village so I feed them on the other side of this village and prevent

them from entering Shirdi. As they are propitiated, they do not enter Shirdi. Thus, I

save My devotees."

Then she asked whether there was 'Jari', 'Mari' (Durdevatha=evil forces). Baba

said, "Yes, there ex­ists durdevatha; but they will not do any thing to us." She said

that some people are dying because of durdevatha. To this, Baba said, "Durdevatha

was scold­ing Me and insisting that she be allowed to enter this village so I re-

quested the Almighty to give her the al­lotted person."

"Are there evil spirits, Baba? When I was in Naigaon, in Bombay, an evil spirit

would come from the side of the well and go to the room upstairs and disappear."

The Omnipresent, Omniscient, Baba re­plied, "Yes. But they will not do anything

to harm us." Then Baba told her that the spirit she saw, was that of the owner of the

house. "He comes and goes upstairs and disappears where you delivered".

The lady was astonished to hear all these facts and asked Baba how He knew them.

"I know you from child­hood, you have forgotten Me, but I do not forget. I call all

My children to Me even if they are thousands of miles away. I look after all

equally, be they good or bad." After a while she felt tired and asked Lakshmibai to

resume the grind­ing. The lady returned to Bombay unafraid and assured of Baba's

love and protection for her and her family.

Sai Satcharitra Ch.J describes the leela of Baba grinding wheat. "Go at once, to the

village boundary and throw all the flour at the side of the brook there!" said Baba

to the four women. Thus Baba prevented Cholera from invading Shirdi.

P A G E 2

Anthar

bhahischa sarvathra

vyaptha kila characharaya

Namaha

1912 February 14 Wednesday

I got up early, attended the Kakad Arti & was very much struck by the fact that

Sayin Baba, on leaving the Chavadhi made passes with his short stick towards

the East, north & South. Then he proceeded with hard words as usual. We held

our Panchadasi class as usual, saw Sayin Baba go out and later on went to the

Masjid as usual. Sayin Baba told two stories. One was that there was a traveler

who was accosted in the morning by a demon (Rakshasa). The traveler looked

upon it as a bad omen, but on proceeding further met two wells the sweet water

of which slaked his thirst. When he felt hungry, he met a husbandman who on

the suggestion of his wife, supplied food. He saw a field ripe with corn & wished

to have Hurda. The owner of the field gave it to him. So the traveler felt happy &

proceeded merrily smoking. In the forest through which he was passing he met a

tiger, lost courage & hid himself in a cave. The tiger was very big & wandered

about him. Sayin Baba happened to be passing that way instilled courage into the

traveler, got him out & put him on his way saying “the tiger would not hurt

unless you hurt him some way. ”The other story was that Sayin Baba had four

brothers, one of whom used to go out, beg & bring cooked food, bread & corn.

His wife used to give out just enough for their father & mother but starved all the

brothers. Sayin Baba then got a contract, brought the money home & every one

was supplied with food including the well-to-do brother. Later on the brother got

leprosy. Every one shunned him. The father turned him out. Then Sayin Baba

used to feed him & see to his comfort. Ultimately the brother died. The midday

Arti passed off as usual & after it we had our food & I had some rest. Shivanand

Shastri, & Thakur of Vijayadurga went away today. The Vyaki of the local

master invited all to a meal today. I declined but all others went. Sayin Baba, at

the evening stroll asked why I did not go & I told him the truth, that I could not

manage two meals in the course of one afternoon. Sayin Baba looked immersed

in care, gazed steadily at the East & West, & Dismissed us all with the usual

words “Go to the Wada.” At night Bhishma had his Bhajan and Mr Dixit read

Ramayan.

T H E G L O R Y O F S H I R D I S A I

Sri Saisatcharita contains essence of Ramayan, Bhagavatam, Shivamahapu-

ranam, Gurucharitra,Gurugita and Bhagavadgita the Discourses by Saibanisa

are proof for the same Now Listen to all the Discourses in ENGLISH and TE-

LUGU on Sri Shirdi Saibaba-by Saibanisa Gopalarao Ravada from this link.

CLICK HERE to Get weekly updates from Saibanisa's Sai In Dreams. Listen to

Saibaba discourses/Bhajans by SaiBanisa on the go. Watch Discourses Videos

and much more.

P A G E 3 Y E A R 2 0 1 3 — I S S U E 2 1

MESSAGE BY H.H.NARASIMHA SWAMIJI FOR GURU PURNIMA 7 July, 1952

The Taittiriya Upanishad (III. 1.1) says:

yatova imani bhutani jayante

yena jatani jivanti

yatprayantyabhisam visanti

tadvijijnasasva tad brahmeti

Meaning: "That from which the entire creation emanates, in which it lives and into which

it dissolves, seek to know that. That is Brahman."

That is, God is That from which all these things or beings arise, That which maintains them

all, and That into which all are withdrawn ultimately. There­fore, this tendency to unity draws

us to the main out­lines of the god idea. Therefore, this god idea, as shown in the above

definition is not a simple or abso­lute idea. It is three in one and one in three. One will do

well not to over-emphasize this so-called unity of god, at least to the extent of abhorring re-

ligions stressing other features of godhead. Primarily God is that which has unlimited power,

thereby contrasted with man who has limited power. God is that which has unlimited excel-

lences of perfection, etc., whereas man has only a few good qualities and abundance of limita-

tions. God is the perfection of not merely power but also of kindness and grace that come to the

rescue of man, and help him out of his helplessness. God is this essentially omnipotence, om-

niscience and all perfect love. In evolving these ideas, mankind has had always to utilize

those great souls, the pro­phets, the seers, the saints, etc., through whom such vast stores of

the above excellences were manifested in claiming to bless the men that approached them.

It is through men and men's excellences that the god idea was formed primarily, and these

men were the god-men. They were the men of Light and leading, and were the destroyers of

darkness. Therefore they were gurus in every sense. Guru means the great one, the perfect

one. Guru also means the destroyer of darkness, intellectual or spiritual. Therefore, as a

matter of fact, these leading lights of humanity were worshipped as gurudevas, and guru

worship may have been the origin of all worship; next in each particular group of human

beings, the forms of worship multi­plied and developed so variously that a number of ideas

entered into worship and religion.

Will Continue...

P A G E 4

Antar hrdhaya Akasaya

Namaha

T H E G L O R Y O F S H I R D I S A I

DEVOTEES EXPERIENCE AND ARTICLES

AN INCREDIBLE MIRACLE OF BABA IMPELLING

THE GOVT. OF INDIA

TO MODIFY THEIR DECISION FOR THE SAKE OF HIS DEVOTEE

~ (Late) Dr. RS.R. Swami

BABA'S MIRACLE - 13

HOW BABA GRANTS ANTICIPATORY BAIL TO

HIS DEVOTEES IN DIRE NEED?

The following occurrence took place in the Winter of '57 or '58, It concerns a

friend of mine, Shri A.K. Kumthekar by name, aged about 40 at that time and em-

ployed as an Asst. Foreman in the Inspectorate of Armaments in the ordinance Fac-

tory at Khamaria, Jabalpur. He was a highly principled brahmin hailing from Pune

greatly devoted to his parents. His first concern in life was about his aged and bed-

ridden father and he could not think in terms of living away from the old gentle-

man leaving him to be looked after by others. It was in these circumstances that

one fine morning his boss, a hard-boiled Lt. Col. notified him to be ready to go and

attend an 18 week Senior Armament Examiner's Course at Kirkee, Pune.

The above order acted as a bomb-shell on Shri Kumthekar and he found himself in

a quandary. For one thing, the passing of the Course was in the nature of a qualifi-

12-03-1998:

Sai appeared as a fakir and said:

1. Pen down your experiences with me and share them with like- minded

people.

2. My attire and appearance are that of a Turanian. You may feel and wor-

ship me as Lord Shiva as per your traditions.

3. You and I are servants of God having come into this World to eradicate

the evils in society. So should my introduction be.

4. I have spread the greatness of God to others without anticipating any

returns. Whenever you talk about me to others, do not expect any gains.

P A G E 5 Y E A R 2 0 1 3 — I S S U E 2 1

cation for promotion and no option was allowed. For another, it would mean being away from his father for the

stipulated period or shifting him to and from which would jeopardizes his health. So, he put up his request to be

exempted from the Course, or alternatively to be transferred to Kirkee on compassionate grounds. He then rushed to

me for solace and advice. He was on the verge of tears. He had heard from me many an account of the incredible

miracles Worked by Sri Sai Baba in my life and how he came to be the sheet anchor of my existence. I instinctively

felt that "Baba's sanction was there in his coming to me and His intercession and protection to enable him to fulfill

his filial obligation could be taken for granted. I told him accordingly beseeching him to rest assured that no power

on earth could come in the way of Baba's children discharging their duty conscientiously. Only from that moment,

he should without question put his faith in Baba knowing Him to be but the incarnation of Datta worshipped by

them in their family. These words had the desired effect on him and cleared the gloom of despair away.

Personally I had no qualms about Shri. Kumthekar being enabled to surmount the seemingly insurmountable obsta-

cle in his way for, this was not the first time that I had been impelled, sub-consciously or super-consciously as the

case might be, by Baba to hold out similar guarantees in cases of illness considered to be hopeless but by His infi-

nite Mercy happily ending in complete recovery in due course.

Hardly a week had passed when my friend came to me, with crest, fallen countenance with the Lt. Col.'s reply sum-

marily rejecting his request and peremptorily telling him to obey the order. He was given a week's time to collect

the TA and leave the station. He understandably felt that Baba was not acting in his behalf as expected. I, however,

was not at all perturbed knowing Baba's inscrutable Wisdom and Methods. I therefore encouraged him to be hope-

ful. I assured him that not unoften Baba acts in the last split second when all hope disappears. This had some effect

and he left.

In the next two weeks I was so completely occupied with the work on hand that I cleanly forgot about the affair.

Then one afternoon I rang up my friend's office to know the situation. To my pleasant surprise Shri Kumthekar an-

swered the call. Murmuring some apology, he said he was coming straight to meet me. And so he did. He was sorry

he could not see me earlier due to an urgent time-bound assignment, he said

It seems that submitting to the inevitable, he collected his TA and was planning to travel with the whole family to

Kirkee by the end of the stipulated week when to his astonishment, on the evening prior to the day intended for the

journey, a letter from his boss was delivered to him cancelling the original order. It left him speechless and over-

whelmed at the incredibly wonderful manner in which Baba had acted. The really thrilling part of the whole affair

followed the next morning, about 11 AM. As Shri Kumthakar was about to start his meal, a fakir dressed like Baba

came and stood at the door. When some coins were offered to him in the usual way, he declined saying he wanted

food which was readily given. Accepting it, he gave a small packet of Udhi to Shri Kumthekar asking him to keep

it before Datta's portrait, offer 'aarti' and then open it. Accordingly, it was done. When the packet was opened, in-

stead of the Udhi there were five miniature conch shells. Shri Kumthekar hastend back to the door only to find the

fakir gone. Only then did it dawn upon his mind that the fakir was none other than Baba himself. The conches were

kept as objects of worship.

Glory be to Shri Shirdi Sai - Grace be to all

Will continue…

P A G E 6

Baba’s Close Devotees ~ Courtesy: http://blessedones.saibaba.com/

DATATREYA DAMODAR RASANE alias Nana Sahib Rasane (or Daulatshah), Son of Damodar (or Anna) Savalram Rasane, Kasar, aged 40, Ravivarpet, Poona, May, 1936

My father is an old devotee of Sai Baba. He went to Baba

about the time Nana Saheb Chandorkar went to him. Then my

father had no issue and wanted to go to Baba to get his bless-

ings for obtaining issue. About 1895, a devotee had sent Baba

a parcel of excellent Goa mangoes. Of these he kept apart six

and distributed the rest as prasad to persons present. They wanted him to distribute

the remaining six also. But Baba said he had reserved some for Damya (i.e., my

father). But they said, 'Damya is not here'. "He has arrived at Kopergaon and will

be here soon", said Baba. Soon after that, my father went to Baba and presented

him with flower garlands, chadar etc. Then Baba said "Damya! Take these fruits

now. Eat and die". My father was frightened at these words. But Mahalsapathi who

was there told him that it was a bless­ing to die at Baba's feet. Thus encouraged, my

father thought he would eat the fruit. But Baba came to his relief with these words,

"Do not eat the fruits yourself. But give them to your junior wife. You will have

two sons first. You should name the first Daulat Shah and the second Thana Shah",

etc. My father returned to his home at Ahmednagar and gave the fruits to his junior

wife. He then noted the names to be given to the promised sons in a note book. One

year after that, I was born. When I was 15 months old my father took me to Sai

Baba at Shirdi for darsan and he then asked Baba, "How shall I name this child?"

Baba replied, "Have you forgotten what I told you? You have written it at page 3 of

your note book. Did I not say that he should be named Daulat Shah?"

In my fifth year (i.e., in 1900) I was taken to Shirdi for my tuft ceremony and given

my first initiation into the mysteries of the Alphabet. Sai Baba held my hand and

wrote on the slate etc. Thereafter I was taken to the school at Shirdi. When I was to

be married, four girls were offered to me. My father never acted in any serious mat-

ter without previously consulting and getting the sanction of Baba. He went to Sai

Baba and placed before Him all the four horoscopes (i.e., of the offered girls) one

of which had 2,500 or 3,000 rupees dowry and asked Him which was to be chosen.

T H E G L O R Y O F S H I R D I S A I

Antha kaleapi

Namaha

P A G E 7 Y E A R 2 0 1 3 — I S S U E 2 1

Baba selected a poor girl's horoscope and gave it into the hands of my father. That was the girl I married.

My father invited Baba to attend the marriage which was to take pace at Pandharpur. But Baba replied, "I

am with you. Do not fear. Whenever you think of me, there I am with you". My father pressed him further

to attend the marriage. Baba, however, declined the invitation with these words: "Without God's permis-

sion nothing can be done by me. I will send Shama (i.e., Madhav Rao) to attend it as my deputy". And

Shama attended it at Pandharpur.

I have a younger brother and he was named according to directions of Baba.

As for the issue of my marriage, two girls and a boy were born but expired within a few months of their

birth owing to fits. The male child died in 1926, my wife's health was bad and I was in great depression of

spirits and in that state I prayed to Him thus: "Instead of giving me many babies that die quickly give me at

least one child that will live long". When I was sleeping there at Shirdi, Baba appeared in my dream and

said that the male child I was grieving over was born in Moola Nakshatra (i.e., under the constellation

Moola) and that was harmful to the parents. I saw in that dream a bright circle like the Sun on Baba's

breast. Or rather inside the Sun, Baba was sitting with my deceased child on his lap and he said, "I took

away this dangerous child from you. I will give you a good child. Do not fear". Before this time our family

had migrated from Ahmednagar to Poona. When I went home I looked up the dead child's horoscope and

noticed that Moola was really the constellation under which the child was born. In fifteen months of the

visit I got a son who is still alive. This was in 1918.

My faith in Sai Baba increased. I look upon other Saints as Sai Baba and when I bow to them, I say either

expressly or within myself, "I bow to Sadguru Samartha Sainath". In 1927 I visited Khedgaonpet and

bowed to Narayan Maharaj with this thought or these words. He told me, "Your guru is Paramaguru. He is

of higher sort than myself. Why did you come here? Your prarabdha – Sanchida - is there. Your choice is

excellent. Go there and you will achieve your purpose". This was before the birth of the son I referred to in

the last paragraph.

In 1927 my stars were not auspicious and my health was bad. I went up to the temple of Sitaram

Uttareswar (i.e., Siva) 2 miles of Junner (about 40 miles from Poona) and worshiped the God every Sun-

day. One Sunday at 9 p.m. when I placed flowers on the God with the words, 'Namaskar (i.e., Salutation)

to Sai Baba', I saw a light at the image of the God and in that light the form as Sai Baba, whom I am al-

ways thinking of. Then my health improved and my drooping spirits revived. A saint, Janaki Das, is living

there. Every Sunday I went and bowed to Him also with Sai Baba's name on my lips. He then told me,

"You have resorted to a great saint. Why do you come to a poor saint like me? People like myself seize the

feet of Sai Baba.” Then I went to my lodgings and slept. Sai Baba appeared in my dream as a fakir and

said, "You are full of anxiety. Give me biksha, your entire body and mind as biksha".

Will Continue…….

Stories from “Chinna Katha”

Participate

Learn and

Participate

Learn and Children Section

Prayers must emanate from the Heart

Listen to what happened to sage Ramadas of Bhadrachalam, the

singer who was imprisoned by the Nawab of Golconda, for misap-

propriation of public funds (to renovate the Râma Temple at Bhad-

rachalam), whose liberation from jail was effected by Râma and

Lakshmana themselves paying the Nawab the sum appropriated!

Ramadas had piled up a large mass of palmyra leaves, on each of

which he had written with his stylo a song on Râma. When his eyes

fell on the heap one day, a thought struck him: "Did I compose

these songs for my pleasure? Or, for pleasing Râma?" He wanted to

know those songs which had pleased Râma, and fling away those which did not. He

decided to throw the whole bundle into the Godavari River, and let Râma save those

which He approved. Almost the whole lot sank in the depths; only 108 floated and

were rescued. They alone had arisen from the heart; the rest smacked of cleverness,

artificiality, punditry, pedantry. Prayers must emanate from the heart, where God re-

sides and not from the head, where doctrines and doubts clash.

Who is a real Bhakta?

There is the story of a rustic who sat among a gathering of devotees and listened to the

exposition of the Gîtâ by a great pundit. All were wonder-struck by the scholarly com-

mentary which the pundit gave and his learned disquisition on each word and phrase;

and the rustic, though the exposition was very much over his head, seemed to attend

very closely for he was all the time in tears! When at last the pundit asked him why he

was weeping, he surprised everybody by the sincerity of his bhakti. For, he said that he

wept at the predicament of the Lord, who had to sit at the head of the chariot and half

turning His neck hold forth so long to convince the dull-witted Arjuna. "How much

pain must He be suffering in His neck?" he asked and wept. That was real devotion, a

sure passport to spiritual victory. He had identified himself with participants in the epi-

sode and the whole setting had become alive for him.

T H E G L O R Y O F S H I R D I S A I

Great Men Always Spread the Light of their Wisdom

There was a king who led his mighty army across the snowy peaks that bounded

his kingdom, into his neighbor's realm. On the lofty pass thick with snow, he saw

a mendicant or ascetic sitting on a bare rock, with his head between his knees,

evidently to protect it from the chilly wind that blew across the gap in the peak,

He had no clothes on his body. The king was overcome with pity; he took off his

own shawl and coat and offered them to the yogi (ascetic, one who has mastered

the senses and the mind). The yogi refused to accept them, for, he said, "God has

given enough clothing to guard me against heat and cold. He gives me all that I

need. Please give these to some one who is poor". The king was surprised at

these words. He asked him where that clothing was. The yogi replied, "God has

Himself woven it for me; I am wearing it since birth and will wear it until the

grave, here it is, my skin! Give that coat and shawl to some mendicant beggar,

some poor man". The king smiled, for, who can be poorer than he, he thought.

He asked him, "but, where can I find a poor man"? The yogi asked him, where

he was going and why. The king said, "I am going into the realm of my enemy so

that I can add his kingdom to my own". It was the yogi who smiled now. He

said: "if you are not satisfied with the kingdom you have, and if you are prepared

to sacrifice your life and lives of these thousands to get a few more square miles

of land, certainly, you are much poorer than I. So, offer the clothes to yourself.

You need them more than I do". At this the king was greatly ashamed; he real-

ized the futility of fame and fortune and returned to his own capital, thanking the

yogi for opening his eyes to his innate poverty. He now understood that content-

ment is the most precious treasure. Great men spread the light of their wisdom

through every word and deed of theirs.

P A G E 1 0

Anthar yamine

Namaha

T H E G L O R Y O F S H I R D I S A I

Om Sai Shri Sai Jaya Jaya Sai

Namo namo hey Sai prabhu, tum ho jag ke naath |

sabke paalanhaar tum, charan navaavun maath ||

Hail, Hail oh Lord Sai - You are the ruler of this World.

You are the protector of All – I bow at HOLY FEET

Donon kar ko jodh kar, mastak ghutne take |

tujh ko ho pranaam mama, shath shath koti anek ||

I clasp my hands, bend and bow, I let my knees to ground,

Accept my salutations, Lord, Many million times I bow. .

Tan se seva Sai ki, man se sumiran naam |

dhan se dhruti dhaarnaa, karma karo nishkaam ||

With this Body, service is done to Sai, With Mind, I keep chanting/thinking His name.

With wealth, make a firm decision and wipe out your Karma

Bhakti bhaav shubh bhaavanaa, man me bhar bharpoor |

shradhdha se tujh ko namoon, mere Sai hajoor ||

With deep devotion, aspirations (sacred thoughts/feelings), With heart over-flowing with love,

With reverence I bow to Thee Lord Sai - my Lord of

Love. . .

…..Will continue

SAI AMRIT VARTA

From the Editor’s Desk

As soon as all the desires hidden in one’s heart are destroyed, he transcends from mortality to immortality. He enjoys the Supreme Bliss

~ KATHOPANISHAD

Dear Sai Devotees,

We encourage you to continue writing about your Sai-related activities and experiences in essay,

article, or poetry form and email it to us at editor@saidarbarusa.org. We will put in our best efforts

to include as many of your submissions as possible in the upcoming newsletters. As previously

done, we will publish the author’s email id with the respective entry. If you would like to stay

anonymous, please explicity state this request in your submission email.

JAI SAI RAM

Disclaimer:

The editor does not accept any responsibility for the views expressed in the articles published. This e-magazine is

intended for private circulation only. Information contained in this email is about Sri Shirdi Sai Literature and Sanatana

Dharma.

You have received this magazine because you are either subscribed to this directly or through one of the email groups

receiving "The Glory of Shirdi Sai".

To Subscribe: You or your interested friends and family members can subscribe for THE GLORY OF SHIRDI SAI by

sending an email with the subject line ‘Subscribe’ to members@saidarbarusa.org.

To Un-subscribe: If you are a direct member and do not wish to receive this e-magazine in future, please email to

members@saidarbarusa.org with the subject line ‘Unsubscribe’.

Please send your feedback to feedback@saidarbarusa.org

Kindly send your comments or suggestions to Editorial Team

Email: editor@saidarbarusa.org

BOW TO SHRI SAI ~ PEACE BE TO ALL