Om Sri Sai Ram Saturday’s Parayan Once Baba Saheb Mirikar, who was on his way to Chitali, came for Baba’s Darshan. Baba asked him if had seen a long baba, warned that it is like death, but it does not harm devotees of the Dwarkamai, the masjid is very kind. Baba Saheb Mirikar was puzzled by Baba’s question and warning. Later when Shama and Baba Saheb Mirikar were sitting at a temple courtyard in Chitali, a serpent unnoticed, came and coiled itself on Baba Saheb Mirikar’s lap. A temple staff noticed the snake and began to shout “serpent, serpent.” To everyone’s relief, the serpent slithered away without harming anyone and Baba Saheb Mirikar knew Baba’s blessing had saved him from harm. Neither scorpion nor any serpent can cause any harm unless ordered by God. So we should never harm any of these creatures as God will take care of us, thus Baba used to tell devotees. Mahatma Apa once gave a book titled Vichar Sagar to Sri Thakur and asked him to read it saying his wishes will be fulfilled after reading it , and in due course of time a saint from the north India will show him the way to salvation. After some years Sri Thakur came to Shirdi and on seeing him Baba said that the spiritual path is not all that easy as told by Mahatma Apa. The spiritual knowledge gained in real life to achieve salvation. Once Radhakrishna mai, a devotee of Sri Sai was shivering with fever. Baba untold went near her house and asked for a ladder. He then climbed the roof and crossed over to the other side. While Baba was doing this Radhakrishna mai’s fever began to subside and she was well soon. After climbing down the roof, Baba gave Rs.2/-to the person who had brought the ladder for Baba. When people asked Baba why he gave so much money, Baba replied that one should never take any service free from anybody and must pay whatever is due. Baba once told a devotee who was known to be rude and ruthless that he was like a pig that lives in and eats filth and there was no point in him coming to a sacred place like Shirdi. The devotee soon realized the significance of Baba’s message- his actions and words said with the intention of hurting others would come back to hurt him. Once Das Ganu Maharaj was translating the Isha Upanishad in Marathi but he could not get the essence so he went to Baba and asked for his help in understanding the Upanishad. Baba told him that the meaning of the Upanishad would be taught to him by the maid at Kaka Saheb Dikshit’s place in Ville Parle, Bombay. Baba’s instructions surprised Das Ganu Maharaj but he decided to follow it. He went to Kaka Saheb’s house at Ville Parle and he saw the maid dressed in rags and wondered how this girl would teach him the meaning of the Upanishad. Das Ganu felt sad for the girl and asked Kaka Dikshit to buy her new sari. The next day Das Ganu saw that the girl in a new saree, singing merrily as she was washing the utensils. The following day, Das Ganu saw that the girl was wearing her old torn dress but she was still singing happily as she did her work. On seeing this Das Ganu in an instant realized that both happiness and sorrow depend on our own attitude and mind set, and he understood why Baba had sent him to Kaka Saheb Dikshit’s house. Sri Patankar, a learned man, came to Shridi to seek Baba’s blessings for peace of mind. Baba told Sri Patankar that without devotion all the knowledge gathered was a waste and that the right way was to have devotion with love and respect and that will give him the mental peace and tranquility he was looking for. Sri Patankar understood the meaning of Baba’s message and felt blessed and at ease. Once a rich man came to Baba seeking Brahma Gyan. Baba told him that a person whose intention is to only earn money for the sake of hoarding and does not use the money earned in good work should not aspire for Brhama gyan. He advised the rich man to have faith in his guru, overcome his greed for money, and practice pancha prana and panch indriyas to be blessed with Brahma Gyan. Once Sri Sathe came to Shridi feeling troubled and anxious. Baba advised him to read the Sat Charita for seven days and said that his miseries will end thereafter. Sri Sathe reading the Sat Charita as advised by Baba and one day Baba appeared in him dream with the Sat Charita and asked him to do the Parayan for another seven days. Another devotee of Baba, Hemandpant, who heard about Baba’s assurance to Sri Sathe, felt upset that even though he had been reading the Sat Charita for several years, he had not been blessed by Baba. Baba, the Omniscient, could read Hemandpant’s mind. Baba asked Hemandpant to visit Shama and to chat with him. During their conversation, Shama told Hemandpant about an old lady called Radha Bai Deshmukh. Radha Bai Deshmukh once came to Shirdi and began a fast to seek Baba’s blessings. On hearing of her fast, Baba called her and asked her to end her fast. He told her that his guru who was in Samadhi never gave any mantra, he only asked for a dakshina of two paise – that is the paise of Shraddha and Saburi (were devotion and patience). Baba further explained to Radha Bai Deshmukh that he had dedicated himself to the service of his guru and aspired for nothing more. He said patience will wipe away all our sins and difficulties, determination will take us through this life and give us peace. Baba also told her that his guru’s blessing was the reason for all that he had or learned. He asked her to similarly devote herself to the service of her guru and she was sure to achieve Mukti. On hearing about Baba’s advice to Radha Bai Deshmukh, Hemandpant realized that he would receive Baba’s blessing one day and his prayers and devotion will be heard and answered Baba. After a while Shama and Hemandpant went to dwarkamai on hearing the sound of bells for the arti. After the arti, Baba placed some sugar candiesy in Hemandpant’s palm and asked him to always remember the story of Radha Bai Deshmukh and it would remove the barriers between the guru and his disciple. Baba assured Hemandpant that his life would be as sweet as sugar candy. Thus Hemandpant received the blessings from Baba. Om Sri Samarth Sadguru Sai Nath Maharaj Ki Jai. Baba my prostration to you at your feet. With your blessings I could complete the Parayan for Saturday. Please bless my family, my friends and others around me with long life, good health, enough wealth to take of their needs, and peace. Please bless me with your remembrance and to receive the Prasad of your blessings daily. Om Satguru Sainathaya Namah. Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti
Makar Sankranti is one of the most auspicious occasions for the Hindus, and is celebrated in almost all parts of the country in myriad cultural forms, with great devotion, fervour & gaiety. It is a harvest festival. Makar Sankranti is perhaps the only Indian festival whose date always falls on the same day every year i.e. the 14th of January. Makar Sankranti is the day when the glorious Sun-God begins its ascendancy and entry into the Northern Hemisphere and thus it signifies an event wherein the Sun-God seems to remind their children that ‘Tamaso Ma Jyotir Gamaya’, may you go higher & higher, to more & more Light and never to Darkness. To Hindus, the Sun stands for knowledge, spiritual light and wisdom. Makar Sankranti signifies that we should turn away from the darkness of delusion in which we live, and begin to enjoy a new life with bright light within us to shine brighter and brighter. We should gradually begin to grow in purity, wisdom, and knowledge, even as the Sun does from the Day of Makar Sankranti. The festival of Makar Sankranti is highly regarded by the Hindus from North to down South. The day is known by various names and a variety of traditions are witnessed as one explores the festival in different states.
As one of the rare living Avataras… His Holiness Parama Pujya Sri Ganapati Sachchidananda Swamiji is the Pontiff of Avadhoota Datta Peetham at Sri Ganapati Sachchidananda Ashrama in Mysore, India. Sri Swamiji is renowned for His Healing and Meditation music and He is considered a divine guide who cultivates the ancient Vedic traditions. He was born fully realised in command of the eight Mahasiddhis and is a Guru in the Dattatreya Avadhoota lineage. Sri Swamiji honours all religions and teaches that it’s possible to reach God by many paths. “It is of primary importance to attune with God through prayer, worship and the chanting of God’s holy names”. “Then God Himself will give you good guidance” says Sri Swamiji. The path of Dattatreya embraces all spiritual paths and is the source of all other traditions. He who treads the path of Truth, regardless of what religion he belongs to, is treading the path of Dattatreya. As an incarnation of God, Datta came down to spread the universality of true religion. Anyone can be his follower, regardless of cast, creed, status, be they student, householder, recluse or renunciate. No matter what sect or religion the true seeker follows, eventually he comes under the guidance of Lord Dattatreya, the Eternal Spiritual Guide of all mankind. Datta’s presence is not limited to any one country or sphere, as He is the Guru of all Gurus, the all-seeing, all-powerful, ever-present link between God and Man. However, special places of worship (Datta Peethas) have grown up around sacred areas, where His presence is most strongly felt by the sincere seeker of Datta. These places include Suchindram, Senthamangalam, Mount Girnar, Nagalapuram in Andhra, Prayag, Datta Guha in the Himalayas, Gulbarga -Ganagapura, Narasimhavadi in Maharastra, Quthambara near Poona, Avadumbara, Somapuram, Chandradronagiri and Datta Peetha at Sri Ganapathi Sachchidananda Ashrama, Mysore. One notable aspect of these Datta Peethas is their indefinable but inseparable relationship with worship of God as Mother , the Supreme Energy -Shakti. (Hence, Sri Swamiji’s fierce aspect as Mother Chamunda.) Parasurama (eighth incarnation of Lord Vishnu), approached Lord Dattatreya and was initiated into the intricacies of how to worship the Mother (Shreevidya Upaasana), before undertaking intense penance to obtain the grace of the Divine Mother. The Saandilya Upanishad declares very clearly that Lord Dattatreya is the Supreme Reality and is the cause of everything that is created. It states, “The Supreme Brahman performed penance which was of the nature of knowledge (jnyana), and desiring to become many, assumed the form of Dattatreya. From that form came out the three letters A, U, M; the three mystical names Bhuh, Bhuvah and Svah; the three-lined Gayatri; the three Vedas Rig, Yajur and Sama; the three Gods Brahma, Vishnu and Maheswara; the three castes Brahmana, Kshatriya and Vysya; and the three fires Gaarhapatya, Ashavaneeya and Dakshina.” “The lord is endowed with all wealth. He is all pervading and resides in the hearts of all beings. He is the great Maayavi, sporting with His own Maaya. He is Brahma. His Vishnu, He is Rudra. He is Indra and He is also all the gods of heaven and all other beings. He is East, He is West, He is North, He is South, He is below and He is above. He is everything. This is the glory of the form of Dattatreya.” Lord Dattatreya came as the Supreme Philosopher ( Avadhoota ) so that the true meaning and purpose of Sacrifice (Tyaaga) may be revealed to mankind. Atri, His father, symbolizes penance (tapas) as described in the scriptures, and Anasooya represents freedom from jealousy. When penance and non-jealous nature unite in a single person, the highest truth emerges as Lord Dattatreya. As ultimate self-sacrifice, the Supreme God gave Himself as Datta to Atri and Anasooya. Hence, “Datta” means not only “that which is given”, but also as the ideal of “giving” without desire for reward, i.e. selfless giving. The whole life of Dattatreya shows us that this “giving” selflessly is the true renunciation/sacrifice. The significance of this sacrifice is stated in the Dattatreya Upanishad where the Lord says, “Not by action, not by progeny, nor even by self, but by renunciation (tyaaga) alone is immortality attained. “Real renunciation is the giving up of “I” and mine, not the mere abandoning of duties. Living a selfless life require giving up one’s ego. That is what Lord Dattatreya describes as true sacrifice. As a Yoga-Avatar, Lord Dattatreya teaches us to perform all our duties skillfully and diligently. Yoga does not require outside aids, nor does it demand great physical effort. All we have to do is change our outlook and transform our attitude to life. This “change” consist of giving up the idea or feeling of “doership”, “enjoyership” and the resultant anxiety (and attachment ) for the fruits of our actions. By performing all our duties with this changed outlook, our mind will be freed from agitation and attain the restful state called “equanimity”, or the state where there is no “mind”. This is the state of Bliss that every soul ultimately aspires to. This is the state of Datta – the ultimate Gift of God. The Hanuman temple at Chennai Vijayanagar is the ashram of the swamiji where we pray and tie the coconut for geting the blessings of the Anjneya in geting our desires fullfilled. Please visit the following You Tube site to listen about the Dattatreya Ashram @ Mysore http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7cPjdbJnds http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrD9DJSt0RE&feature=related
The theme behind celebrating Dusshera or Navarathri is the victory over the evil. It’s either celebrated as Lord Rama’s victory over the ten-headed Ravana (Commonly known as Ram Leela) or killing of mahisharsura by Goddess Durga (Ambal). Ram Leela is a common thing in the north. On the tenth day of the Dusshera, the effigy of Kumbhakarna, Meghnad and Ravana is burnt. It’s really a wonderful sight to watch. This has been depicted in the film Swades as well. In Tamilnadu, it is celebrated as Golu. The dolls are considered as Gods and Goddesses’ who help Goddess Durga in winning over Mahisharsura. Today, it’s such an easy task to keep a Golu. Everything is available in the shops – stand, dolls, decorative materials etc. But this wasn’t the case 15 years back. The affluent people employed skilled carpenters to design and architect a Golu padi. The Golu we celebrated at D-4 isunforgattable, office appa use to take great intrest and design the golu padis, the main architec of the whole show used to be Sheaojee from 1956 onwards till appa retired from Incab , two corners of the drawing room had semi circular steps with dolls and the centre used to be the straight steps. It used to take nearly a week for the prepration and the golu at D-4 was one of the best in town. We used to enjoy the variety of sundal prepared for the ten days period, we used to have rehersal of the drama to staged at South Indian Association during navratri period, as office appa used to be the director for the stage play, even once Gopal has acted in one of the dramas. Nice days to remeber on all these festive occassions
