Sai Sat Charita Parayan Thursday

Here is a small attempt to give the Sai Satcharita in a summarised form so that every one can read the same daily from Thrusday to Wednesday,the same is ably edited by Bhuvenewari, hope this will help in achieving the spiritual goal for all of us. OM SRI SAIRAM Thursday’s Parayan Param Guru Sainath ! I salute you a thousand times and bow before you. I depend on you completely and have full faith in you. I seek your blessings. Your grace protects my life. Parameswar, please keep me with you, and let not any evil spirit distract me from your guidance and please give me strength to be with you always. Let me understand all your teachings and let me acquire the good qualities of a good human being. Sainath I prostrate before you a thousand times. In the district of Kopergaon in Ahmednagar, Maharashtra, there is a small village called Shirdi and in that village under a neem tree Sai baba appeared as sixteen year old boy. Baba lived there for many years and his kindness and miracles made Shirdi a holy place. No one knows the place of Sai Baba birth and no one knows about his parents. Baba never spoke to anyone about his past, his family or early years. He was affected by neither rain nor scorching heat nor the cold weather in winter. He would sit under a neem unaffected by the changes in the weather. He would often be seen in padmasan mudra doing the tapas. Once the people of Khandoba dug up a portion near the neem tree where they found a cave with four lamps burning. Baba informed the people that the cave was his Guru’s and asked the people around to protect it. Soon after this Sai Baba left Shirdi. He came back after three years with a marriage party and thereafter stayed in Shirdi till his samadhi. Once Chand Patil, a rich man, from the village called Dhoop was searching for his mare and then he saw a fakir wearing a turban and kafni sitting under a mango tree. The fakir told Chand Patil that his mare was near the nullah. To Chand Patil’s surprise and joy the mare was near the nullah. When he returned near the mango tree to thank the fakir, he saw the fakir strike the ground with his satka and out came a burning ember with the fakir let chillum and with a wet piece of cloth he held the hukkah pipe. The fakir offered Chand Patil the hukkah. Chand Patil realised that the fakir was not an ordinary human being. He requested the fakir to accompany his family to Shirdi for the wedding of his brother in law. When the marriage party reached the entrance to the village the priest of the khandoba temple welcomed the fakir by saying O SAI please come and from that day he was called SAI and in due course he became SAI BABA. In Shirdi, Baba stayed in a masjid made of mud. He wore a turban and kafani and his only possessions were a tin pot, a satka and chillum. Sai dressed like a Muslim, followed Hindu rituals and practices, like Hindu his ears were pierced and he resided in a in a masjid which he called Dwarakamai. He always kept a dhuni burning in the masjid like an ever burning agnihotra. He used to grind wheat in the two stone handmill. The devotees used to ring the bell before entering the masjid and would offer things in the dhuni to keep it burning. Brahmins used to visit the masjid and bow there heads before SAI BABA. Sai Baba would always chant Narayan Narayan and Allah Malik – Allah is the sole owner of this world. The Hindus celebrated Ramanvami festival at Shridi and the Muslims celebrated the sandal procession at the same time in Shirdi. Some times Baba would wear the bells on his ankle and dance as if in a trance all through the day and night and people would stand watching him mesmerised. Many people returned to good health on seeing SAI BABA and many had their desires fulfilled. Baba’s touch helped blind people regain their vision and the lame were able to start walking. His grace ensured that there was no dearth of food or clothing at the house of Baba’s devotees. Sai Baba used to say that whoever chanted his name or remembered him, he would always take care of their needs. He always blessed his devotees. Baba talked to everyone very affectionately and never discriminated between the rich and the poor. Even though he lived in Shirdi he knew about events happening in distant places. He used to remove evil thoughts from the minds of his devotees and would urge them to nourish good thoughts. He directed them to the spiritual path. Baba’s fame spread far and wide drawing devotees from different parts of the world. His presence gave immense solace to people who came to see him. At Dwarkamai Baba used to light earthen lamps with oil borrowed from the shop keepers at Shirdi. One day the shopkeepers refused to give Baba oil to light the lamps, saying that there was no oil in their stores. This behaviour of the shopkeepers did not upset Baba, instead he went about calmly pouring water in the lamps and to the utter bewilderment of the shopkeepers, Baba managed to light the lamps filled with water. The shopkeepers were ashamed of their behaviour towards Baba and they requested him to forgive them. Baba said that they were free to give or refuse but they should never lie. An old man called Gouli Bua was a devotee of Lord Vittal and when he saw Baba at Shirdi he knew in his heart that Sai Baba was the incarnation of Vittal He knew that Baba was not an ordinary person. During his early days in Shirdi Baba created a beautiful garden in the courtyard of the masjid and everyday he would water the plants with water in earthen pots. Baba would fetch water from a well that was far away from the masjid and after watering the plants he would break the earthen pots at the foot of the neem tree. Baba was given a fresh earthen pot everyday by Tatya Patil. In due course of time a lovely garden developed near the masjid. Gangadhari, a sadhu, on seeing Baba water the plants in the garden predicted that the boy would one day be a precious jewel of Shirdi. Shri Anand Rao Maharaj, a devotee of Akalkot Maharaj said the boy was a gem and the people would realise this one day in the near future. Once Shri Krishnaji, a devotee of Akalkot maharaj wanted to do the puja of the padukas of the Swami in Akalkot. In his dream he sawBaba who asked him to Shirdi and perform the paduka pooja. As instructed Krihnaji did the prathishta of the padukas under the neem tree and he took Baba’s blessings before doing the prathishta of the padukas. Sri Upasini Baba wrote a prayer and the same was engraved near the padukas under the neem tree. During Baba’s stay in Shirdi he used to act like a doctor and used to treat the people for their ailments. People with no vision were given back their vision with the help of Baba’s medication of biba seed paste which was applied over the eyes and bandaged. When the bandage was removed the patient found his/her sight restored. Sometimes Baba would take the sufferings of his devotees upon himself and would suffer along with them. Mr Kharpade’s son once got bubonic plague and Mr Kharpade came to Baba seeking his help in curing his son. Baba told Mr Kharpade that he was aware that his son was ill and had already started the process of treating the boy. Baba showed Mr and Mrs Kharpade showed the Bubos of Plague on his body and said that he had taken the same on himself to cure the boy. Baba used to treat devotees who were ill even when they were far away from him. One day Baba thrust his hand into the dhuni severely burning his whole arm. When questioned why he had done that Baba said that in a far away place a blacksmith’s wife who was working the near fire suddenly got up without remembering that she was holding her little baby in her lap. The baby was falling into the fire when, as the mother later recounted, an invisible hand stopped her son from falling into the fire and was thus saved. People in Shirdi realised that Baba was omniscient and knew if his devotees were in trouble and would rush to help them no matter where they be. Bhagoji Shinde, who was afflicted by leprosy, used to apply ghee to Baba’s wound caused by the fire and gently massaged his hand after it started to heal. Bhagoji Shinde continued with this practice till the Samadhi of Sai Baba. Bhagoji Shinde’s devotion towards Baba and Baba’s affection for him showed that Baba treated all his devotees alike and never discriminated on grounds of caste, creed or physical affliction. Sai Baba’s devotee, Das Ganu Maharaj, once wished to go to Prayag for a holy dip in the Triveni Sangam. Baba asked Das Ganu Maharaj to have faith in him and that he would soon be able to visit Prayag. Baba said that as Das Ganu was prostrating at his feet when water began to flow from Baba’s feet. Das Ganu beheld the holy rivers of the Sangam sitting at Baba’s feet. For some time a bachelor called Rohilla used to stay at the masjid with Baba and he used to do the aajan every day shouting Allah O Akbar and used to read loudly verses from Koran. This disturbed the peace and tranquillity of the place and many devotees complained to Baba about this and asked him to stop Rohilla from shouting. Baba asked his devotees to be patient with Rohilla saying that the bachelor was being troubled by his wife (bad thoughts) causing him to wail out the Lord’s name loud. As assured by Baba Rohilla recovered and stopped screaming. A devotee of Baba, Sheerasagar worshipped Lord Vittal till his death but his son discontinued the puja thereafter and never offered Naivedya. Baba passed on a message to Sheerasagar’s son saying that his father was a great friend of his and scolded the son for ignoring the puja and Naivedya of Vittal Bhagwan. Sheerasagar’s son realised his mistake and in earnest started the puja of Lord Vittal observing all the practices his father had followed including the offering of naivedya everyday. Anna Saheb Dabolkar once came to Shirdi, offered his pranam to be Baba by prostrating at his feet. Anna Saheb witnessed several changes in his life thereafter. While he was at Shirdi Anna Saheb once saw Baba grinding wheat at the masjid. Some ladies who were also witness to this sat down with Baba and began to help him grind the wheat. And while they did this they began to sing beautiful songs in praise of the miracles Baba had shown. When all the wheat was ground they began to gather the flour to take home with them. Seeing this Baba got angry and directed the ladies to take the flour and spread it in four directions across of the village. This, devotees later realised, was done to prevent cholera epidemic from spreading into the village. Seeing this and the other miracles of Baba Anna Saheb Dhabolkar wanted to write a book on them and he sought Baba’s permission through Shama, the great devotee of Baba. Baba granted Anna Saheb permission by applying udi on his forehead. Baba told Anna that he was would be a tool for writing the book while he would write his own biography as a living example. “Once my devotees listen to my leelas and preaching they will take the spiritual path and even an atheist will learn to respect me and begin to have faith in me,” Baba told Anna Saheb. He also said that no one who believes in him will ever go hungry. Baba used to lovingly address Anna Saheb as Hemandpant. Both Gopal Rao and Damu Anna Kesar who were childless for a long time were blessed with children by Baba’s grace. And in order to express their gratitude, Gopal Rao and Anna Kesar decided to start celebration of the Ramanavami festival and flag hoisting in the Masjid. Damu Anna Kesar and Nana Saheb together donated two flags which were taken out in a procession around Shirdi and thereafter they placed at the masjid. During this time a Muslim gentleman decided to start the Sandal paste procession. At Shirdi Ram katha, the cradle festival celebrating the birth of Lord Rama, and Sandal procession were held in a spirit of harmony between members of the Hindu and Muslim communities. A weekly reading of the Nam Saptah was also held and on the concluding day the poor were fed a sumptuous meal. Om Sri Sathguru Sainath Mahara Ji Ki Jai. O Sri Sainath, I prostrate at your feet and seek your blessings. Today I have completed the first day’s reading of your Satcharita. Please bestow your blessings on me to complete the weekly reading of your Satcharita. Please bless me and those around me with peace, tranquillity, and devotion towards you. I pray for your Grace all through my life. Sat Guru Sainathaya Namah Om Shanti Shanti Shanti

Spirituality Made Him Indian

He has authored several books which are well known internationally. His book, ‘A Concise Dictionary of Indian Philosophy,’ initially published by the New York State University Press, is already into its third edition. Jhon Grimes Family ‘Ganapati’ (on Lord Ganesha) was his first book and so far he has released a dozen titles, the latest being ‘Ramana Maharishi – The Crown Jewel Of Advaita.’ The author is an American, who knew India only on the world map in school. John Grimes, today, is a recognised authority on Advaita Vedanta. It is during an interview at his sprawling apartment in Poonamalli High Road that details of his spiritual pursuit come to light. “I say I have the samskaras ( latent Impressions) to do all this,” begins Grimes. “I was a pucca American up to the point of my graduation from the University of Washington, U.S., where I learnt western philosophy. One day I was overwhelmed by a desire to go to India to learn philosophy,” he continues. “It was in the 1970s, when people from the West set foot in India in the course of their spiritual quest. I wanted to learn about Indian sages, who were embodiment of Indian philosophy. The day I left for India, my father Johnson Alan Grimes, who was a city attorney in Beverley Hills, got initiated into the order of Swami Paramahamsa Yogananada. My sister was already a devotee of an Indian saint.” And how was he received here? “ I met several sages wandering around India and they had one word to sum up my inclination – ‘samskara. Some even felt it was the continuance of an old relationship when they saw me. My thirst to learn Indian mythology grew.” Today John Grimes calls himself an Indian when it comes to Indian spirituality. What was the search for and where did it end? “In the course of my search for a Guru, a Russian Yoga Instructor showed me the life-size portrait of a person in her studio that moved me. It was Sathya Sai Baba of Puttaparthi, of whom I had never heard of till then. I wanted to meet him and I set off for Puttaparthi. “I met him and on his advice went to Varanasi to study Sanskrit. I was asked to leave the country during Emergency in 1975. Returning to Baba’s Bangalore ashram, I was asked to attend his summer courses. Nine months later, he instructed me to go to Madras and do my masters in Philosophy at the University of Madras. My life changed course from that of a sadhak to a student of philosophy and I went on to earn a Ph.D at the Radhakrishnan Institute of Advanced Study in Philosophy, University of Madras.” It was during his student days in the mid 1970s that John met the child prodigy Bala Meera (Hari Katha exponent), whom he married later. The couple have a son named Isa, who is a Management scholar living in the U.S. On Sai Baba On Baba as his Guru. “The moment I saw his portrait, my desire was fulfilled. There wasn’t any direct learning. Many of my spiritual experiences happened outside the boundary of Puttaparthi.” How did he dare to do a treatise on Adi Sankara’s ‘Viveka Choodamani.’ “I had learnt Sanskrit by then and was fascinated by Adi Sankara’s Advaita Philosophy. It took almost 10 years for me to complete the book which I wrote in an inclusive style. I have also written a book on Sureshwara’s Naikarma Siddhi.” It was Professor R. Balasubramanian, Director, Radhakrishnan Institute of Advanced Philopshy, who inspired him to write a book on Ramana. “I would not have embarked upon this without someone prompting me. I have read about Ramana and studied his teachings for the past three years. Earlier, I was looking at it from a sadhak’s view point but now it has changed to an intellectual and analytical perspective. Arunachala the mountain, stole my heart.” Grimes describes the experience. “My sister, a staunch Visishtadvaitin, and I travelled to Tiruvannamalai. During the trip, we argued about the philosophies we learnt. As the silhouette of Arunachala began to emerge, we felt overpowered by a strong force. We became silent. We went to Skandasram and the Virupakshi cave, yet the impact never left us. We could feel the sakti. Arunuchala is a symbol of Brahman and in spite of being an Advaitik, I feel both Ramana and Arunachala are synonymous.” Close to the heart Which of his works are close to his heart? “‘Ganapati.’ I have read it several times. Many people around the world use it as a reference. In New York when I was teaching Advaita at the University, I was given a grant to do research on Ganesa. It is more of a devotional offering than a book for academicians and students of philosophy. Ganesa is not just an elephant headed deity. He is the beginning of all good things and is present everywhere including the Mooladhara Chakra,” John asserts. On future plans: “I want to write a book on all the sages and saints of India whom I have met during my spiritual quest and also a book on the gurukula system. John turns nostalgic when he says he misses the fun he had at Bangalore and Puttaparthi as a budding sadhak with young Baba. Keywords: John Grimes, Advaita

Simhavlokanam

Simhâvalokanam (August, 1919-20, pp. 103-104) Yoga and Nature By Swami Ramakrishnananda Books are nothing other than the records of men’s experiences about Nature; so in reality Nature is our teacher. Whenever Nature teaches us,we become really learned and gain something thereby not only for ourselves but for others. When young James Watt studied the action of steam in the boiling kettle before him, he made a valuable contribution to the progress of the human race. When Benjamin Franklin was flying the kite and detected the existence of electricity in the clouds, he gained a new and most useful servant for man. Similarly by studying Nature George Stephenson was able to invent the locomotive engine. All these incidents clearly show that Nature is the book the study of which gives us the greatest return. Our Indian Yogis, knowing this, deeply studied the book of Nature and ultimately found out the methods which took them beyond Nature. Through the study of the inner aspect of Nature they opened a channel of unlimited knowledge; they could subsist without food any length of time; and they gained supernatural powers which our modern science cannot even dream of. That a man can become practically all-knowing they seem to have at first learnt from studying the property of a convex lens. Ordinarily the solar rays have no burning power; but if brought together at the focus of the lens, they will begin to burn. This burning power is brought about by the convergence of the scattered rays of the sun to a single point. This fact suggested to the mind of the Yogi that because the mind is distributed through the senses and as such is scattered in all directions, it has only the ordinary power of knowing what is visibly going on in this world and of knowing that but very partially. If, however, he could call his mind back from all external pursuits and concentrate it on one idea or at one point, as in the case of the focused solar rays, then why should it not be able to perceive both these ordinary things and many extraordinary things also? He made the experiment and was successful. This intense increase in the power of the mind was learnt also from the current of a stream. If we build a dam across a flowing stream, keeping only a very small aperture in the embankment, the water which then comes out of that aperture has a thousand fold more power than the ordinary current of the stream. This suggested to them the idea that if by shutting up all other outlets of the mind, it is made to flow through one outlet, it must acquire powers unknown to it before: In this manner the Yogi discovered the extraordinary powers which mental concentration can produce. T h e V e d a n t a K e s a r i ~ 2 9 0 ~ A U G U S T 2 0 0 9

Bagavatham.Org

Dear All this is a web site created by a grandson for his grand father, please read the lovely stories of Bagavatham in the web site created by Mr.Natarajan the grand son.Incidentally Mr.Natarajan is maths teacher in Beharain. http://www.bagavatham.org/ You are now about to begin your mystical journey. This adventure will take you through powerful gods,terrorizing demons,Noble kings,benevolent saints and some just ordinary people. These stories sparkle not only in adventure,romance and intrigue but also have timeless wisdom and deep spiritual meaning. A tip on how to use this website You may first go the page of contents where there is a brief discription of each story. You may then go to the respective chapter and have a detailed reading. Enjoy every word of this classic and be blessed. Parents can also read these aloud for their children. you can sign our guestbook by clicking right here====================> About The Author: Sri P.S.Krishna Iyer was a mathematics teacher in the Government Trainning College , Trichur. He retired from the Government college Madapally in 1964 . At an age of ninety two he started writing the book ” Tales From The Bhagavatham” Retold For children and completed it in two years. Presently he resides at Palaghat , Kerala He has written this book when he was 95. > He is now 101 and resides at palaghat

Yoga And Nature

Sri Ramakrishna Mission Temple (August, 1919-20, pp. 103-104) Yoga and Nature By Swami Ramakrishnananda Books are nothing other than the records of men’s experiences about Nature; so in reality Nature is our teacher. Whenever Nature teaches us,we become really learned and gain something thereby not only for ourselves but for others.When young James Watt studied the action of steam in the boiling kettle before him, he made a valuable contribution to the progress of the human race. When Benjamin Franklin was flying the kite and detected the existence of electricity in the clouds, he gained a new and most useful servant for man. Similarly by studying Nature George Stephenson was able to invent the locomotive engine. All these incidents clearly show that Nature is the book the study of which gives us the greatest return. Our Indian Yogis, knowing this, deeply studied the book of Nature and ultimately found out the methods which took them beyond Nature. Through the study of the inner aspect of Nature they opened a channel of unlimited knowledge; they could subsist without food any length of time; and they gained supernatural powers which our modern science cannot even dream of. That a man can become practically all-knowing they seem to have at first learnt from studying the property of a convex lens. Ordinarily the solar rays have no burning power; but if brought together at the focus of the lens, they will begin to burn. This burning power is brought about by the convergence of the scattered rays of the sun to a single point. This fact suggested to the mind of the Yogi that because the mind is distributed through the senses and as such is scattered in all directions, it has only the ordinary power of knowing what is visibly going on in this world and of knowing that but very partially. If, however, he could call his mind back from all external pursuits and concentrate it on one idea or at one point, as in the case of the focused solar rays, then why should it not be able to perceive both these ordinary things and many extraordinary things also? He made the experiment and was successful. This intense increase in the power of the mind was learnt also from the current of a stream. If we build a dam across a flowing stream, keeping only a very small aperture in the embankment, the water which then comes out of that aperture has a thousand fold more power than the ordinary current of the stream. This suggested to them the idea that if by shutting up all other outlets of the mind, it is made to flow through one outlet, it must acquire powers unknown to it before: In this manner the Yogi discovered the extraordinary powers which mental concentration can produce. The above article is from the Archieves of Vedanta Kesari