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Oct 7, 2004
Testing limitless Faith
"It is to be noted here that doubts and difficulties surround us, just to move us and confirm our faith. we are tested as it were. If we only hold on steadily to Baba, with full faith, and continue our endeavours, our efforts will be ultimately crowned with success." -Sri Sai Satcharitra, Ch. XXIX.
Milarepa, the great Tibetan yogi! Whose name has run around the globe. There is a touching incident. One day, Milarepa comes to his Guru and begs to be accepted as a disciple. The Guru, Marpa, says to him: "Do you have sufficient faith?"
Milarepa answers: "Master, my faith in you is beyond words."
"How much faith do you possess?" asks the Guru.
"As much as the limitless skies," is the answer.
The Guru hears the words but wants to put the disciple to a test!
"Here are some bricks," he says to Milarepa, "with them build a platform at this spot."
Milarepa sets to work immediately. He builds a beautiful platform which he feels should please his Guru. When the Guru arrives, he exclaims: "What a fool you are, Milarepa! You have wasted all your time and energy. I did not want a platform here, at this corner, but at the other corner."
Milarepa says to himself: "I clearly remember the Guru pointing to this spot; bet let not my faith be shaken. I must be wrong. The Guru is always right!" He dismantles the platform and starts building a new one at the other corner.
After a few days, the second platform is ready and Milarepa approaches his Guru.
Once again, the Guru is dissatisfied and says: "What a silly fellow you are! I never wanted the platform here."
Milarepa feels irritated, but controls himself and says: "Let me not doubt the Guru!" He builds a third platform.
The process is repeated several times. And now Milarepa can take it no longer. He loses his patience. His faith is completely shaken. He wants to run away from the Guru. The Guru’s wife learns of it: she comes to his rescue.
"The Guru is only testing you!" she says to him. "It was you who told him that your faith was limitless as the skies. Where is your faith gone?"
Milarepa’s faith renewed. He builds yet one more platform. When it was ready, the Guru embraces him, saying: "You are truly my child. Let me share with you the secret which I have shared with none else."
Milarepa sits at the feet of the Guru and receives from him what only a Guru can pass on to his disciple. He is enlightened. He is emancipated from the seemingly endless cycle of birth and death which is, inevitably, a cycle of suffering and pain, but from which, alas, many of us do not yet wish to be liberated.
May some of us be inspired to cultivate this great quality of faith. The Guru is too loving to punish and too wise to make a mistake. Therefore, let us learn to accept all that comes out of his hands as Prasadam. In sun and rain, in pleasure and pain, in loss and gain, let our trusting heart learn to pray: "Give me a place at Your Lotus Feet, Baba!"
Om Sai Sri Sai Jaya Jaya Sai.
Posted at 03:30 pm by saiavatar
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Jewels from afar
One evening in Brindavan, we were all gathered at Swami's feet, listening with rapt attention as He told us a fascinating story of an artisan's love for Lord Krishna. He described a magnificent gold statue that the artisan had made of his beloved Lord. He said the statue had been designed by divine inspiration. Lord Krishna, Himself, had guided every movement of the artist's hand during its creations.
Suddenly, Swami asked us: "Would you like to see it?" "Oh, yes!" we eagerly answered in union. Swami waved His hand and in it appeared a resplendent gold statue. many brilliant precious gems adorned Krishna's head and body. The graceful figure sparkled and glowed as though alive. The precious statue was then passed around and each person was able to hold and admire it. When it returned to Swami, He held it in His hand a moment. Then it disappeared.
Swami then told us a story about a treaty which India had made with another country. He explained that the entire treaty had been carved on a huge emerald that was presently being kept in the same museum as the Krishna statue. "I will get it for you," He said. When he stopped waving His hand, there appeared in His palm a very large emerald. We were all breathless! What an extraordinary, magical evening this was! We passed the emerald among ourselves slowly, not wanting there rare moments to end.
"Pass it quickly," Swami gently prodded us, "I have to return it to the museum before the guard realizes it is gone."
- Diana Baskin
http://www.saibaba.ws/miracles2/jewelsfromafar.htm
Posted at 08:41 am by saiavatar
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The Miraculous Appendix
From: Sathyam Shivam Sundaram, XLV
The Life of Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba
by Prof. N. Kasturi
"Dear Sri Kasturi! Your telegram cancelling your promised visit to Ceylon has helped to render our faith in Baba firmer than before!" This was not a particularly polite reply to receive from a Secretary of Sri Sathya Sai Seva Samithi. Baba had permitted me to accept an invitation to visit Ceylon, on a Sai Pilgrimage, meeting devotees in villages and towns, to share experience and delight. My passage was booked by rail and plane; so with my bag and portmanteau I went to Whitefield to take leave of Baba and to receive His Blessings. The Mail Train or Madras, from where I had to emplane was leaving Bangalore within an hour. When I touched the Lotus Feet, Baba asked me, "Where are you going?" I said that I was on my way to Ceylon. He said, "Why Ceylon? Send them a telegram cancelling your visit and come with Me to Goa tomorrow."
That was the telegram which placed the faith of Sai devotees in Ceylon upon an unshakeable basis! Later, Sri Thyagarajiah, the Secretary, set my mind at rest, explaining the cryptic comment. Dr. Nallainathan, the President of the Samithi, had read out my first letter accepting the ten-day schedule, before a large gathering of devotees and when he finished, he did a very un-Nallainathan-like thing. He heard himself say, "Of course, Mr. Kasturi has very kindly agreed to come and be with us for ten days. But listen, he may not come at all! There is many a slip betwixt the cup and the lip. At the very last moment, we may get a telegram, cancelling his visit." Six days later the telegram arrived! And Ceylon knew that it was Baba who had persuaded Dr. Nallainathan to utter those words that day, for He shapes the future, recasting His projected plan. When we cannot predict about our own selves, how can we predict about Baba? He says that no one knows that He is going to do in the next five minutes; therefore we must learn to remain content, witnessing the Divine play.
At noon the next day, I accompanied Baba on a circuitous journey to Goa. The three cars moved towards Jog Falls. The party included three lady devotees from the United States, June Schuyler, who describes herself as a simple, middle-aged teacher of young children; Indra Devi, celebrated as the 'First Lady of Yoga in America,' and Mrs. Rajagopalan, an Italian living in the United States with her Indian husband. As usual, while leaving Brindavan, devotees lined up on both sides of the road, anxious to get a glimpse of Baba and to see the Hand that waves out of the window, until a turn makes it impossible to fill the eye with it.
The afternoon was quiet and bright. "As the cars entered the tranquillity of the vast countryside," writes June, "my mind was jumbled with a feeling of incredulousness! For many years, peace of any kind seemed an unlikely prospect for me. God was my only hope; and now, wonder of wonders, I was happy, with the Lord lifting my burdens off my mind."
On the way Baba signalled the cars to turn towards a lane off the main road, so that we could drink coffee and consume some snacks. He Himself opened the tins and cans, containers and flasks, and served snacks and coffee to all. The chauffeurs too, joined the party and they were also served snacks and coffee to all. The chauffeurs too, joined the party and they were also served. A few tillers of the soil who had taken up positions to stand and stare received extra attention from the Master.
When we resumed the journey, Baba's car seemed to grumble a bit, but it was persuaded by mild and gentle pushing to take to the road. It had to be persuaded again thrice during the next fifteen miles: Jog falls were still a hundred miles away! At 8.00 p.m. the car stopped and refused to budge, despite inducements or threats. It had, indeed, to be led back in Tiptur for attention at a local workshop. Then Baba decided to go back to Brindavan. Baba was quite unconcerned, He did not speak about it with any feeling of disappointment. Among the eight attributes of Divinity, Vairagyam, absence of attachment, is one.
June writes, "A star fell; Baba who misses nothing saw it fall. He commented on it. I was grateful that I too had seen that bright thing falling where the Lord had come. While in the car, His glorious voice filled the night, for He was singing, drawing stars down to earth! Dinner was ready at midnight when we reached Brindavan. Baba's affection made Him appear anxious about our hunger. He took particular care to see that all were fed and sent to sleep, before He retired for the night. We felt that we were tiring Him even more, drawing His attention upon ourselves. Is that precious Body sustained purely by the Love It showers? We wondered." June writes, "I lay down with a feeling of anxiety. I feared that Baba might go now ahead of us, by plane to Goa. I was anxious not to miss the happy sojourn. I was sorry we had to return as a result of the breakdown of the car. Many things were battling in my brain that Sunday morning when I awoke, I pondered over them. Why had the Lord, Who produces all manner of things by the exercise of His Will, not repaired His car? He could have anticipated and never allowed it to happen! The question had great importance to me, since I was convinced that spiritual power has the mastery over matter. Perhaps Baba had willed the breakdown and the return, in order to provoke this question in me, so that I might seek answer. Every word, every act of Baba is a lesson. Here was a lesson - I wasn't sure for whom.
We knew even before we started that Baba was not keen on Jog Falls. He had ridiculed the name as 'Joke Falls' and even as 'Joke False'! He said, the route, if Jog Falls is included in the tour, will be lengthened too far. He will have to pass through many villages on the road, after nightfall. The villagers, would, He argued, be very sad when they learn that Baba had passed that way without their getting Darsan. Someone told us that Baba had questioned the driver who had supervised the 'servicing' of the 'historic car' about the quality and extent of the servicing. "He must have known that it will give a poor performance," he said.
Of course, if He had willed it, the car would have gone on to Jog; He willed a Joke instead! A day later we all left in two cars for Goa. On the way Baba spoke long, on spiritual matters. Alighting en route for breakfast, He gave us sweet, ripe, wild berries plucked by Him from the trees around saying, "Berries, such as I used to eat and pick with My comrades at Gokul on the banks of the Yamuna!"
The cars co-operated wonderfully, and we reached the grounds of the Karnatak University at Dharwar, and entered the bungalow of the Vice-chancellor, Dr. Adke at 2 p.m. There we found about 500 people singing Bhajans under a Shamiana. They had learnt about the arrival of the Lord! After lunch, Baba sat among them, silent, for a few joy-filled minutes!
June writes, "Those University Deans and Dons looking at Baba with devout childlike expressions, twanged the chords of my heart." Suddenly someone asked a question and broke the silence. For an hour thereafter, Baba related to them parables and tales from legends and folklore. "God is ever to respond, whenever there is a call for help. Yes, you seek the Grace of God, but can you get it, when you do not respond to the call of the distressed?... God waits on the doorstep, like sunlight, eager to slip through the narrowest slit, and spread light where there was darkness, warmth, where there was biting cold. So too, you must wait for the chance to brighten and lighten the lives of others, deprived of cheer and charity... Awaken the people to the Glory of the Creator through Nagar Sankirtan," He said.
June writes, on the occasional bursts of laughter which shook the room. "I felt, this is no dull sober God. When I think of Baba, I picture Jesus, with the same sense of humour. Baba was speaking in an Indian Language which I do not understand; yet in some mysterious way I too was receiving illumination."
It was a Fiat 1500 in which Baba, Mr. N.D.M. Appah, Chairman, Mysore State Electricity Board, and myself were travelling. The road was stony and rough, so the drive was full of jerks and bumps - this caused Baba to reprimand the driver for not being circumspect enough. "You do not know how much pain I get in the abdomen when it bumps," He said. We wondered why Baba who withstood worse roads better, was insisting on slow driving that day.
The last rays of sunshine cast long and slanting streaks through the tall heavily crowned trees of the Western Ghats, which we were climbing. When we were on top, the sun went down into the sea! There is a certain grandeur, albeit pathetic, in this daily drama - the inevitability of a sunset; its noiselessness and the panic it creates when you foolishly fear that it may not come up again. The forces of darkness quickly overwhelming the earth sometimes give one an eerie sensation of despair. But, we soon remember that the wise earth manages to keep one half of her lit and warm; and so, we sleep in hope and happy dreams!
When the cars reached Goa, it was night. The stars came forthy; they came with us, every yard of the road, keeping pace. When the border of Goa State was reached, Lt. Governor, Sri Nakul Sen, the host, received Baba and let us into a Rest House, where china gleamed in the shelves by the wall and geraniums glistened on the window sills. We had coffee; from then on Baba sat in the State car, with the Head of the State.
Hurrying around the rambling roads, towards Panjim Town, the cars finally arrived at Coba Raj Nivas, the Palace of the Governors-general of the "Portuguese Possessions in India and the Far East" for many centuries, but now, the official residence of the Lt. Governor. The time was 9-15 p.m. We had motored 385 miles, since morning, over good and bad roads, but Baba looked lithe and lily-like when He hastened up the red-carpeted flight of steps, 28 in all, to the flower-decked apartments, set aside for His stay. Very soon, Baba presided over the dining table to which we were led by the Lt. Governor. He watched with amusement the contingent of waiters, and the beautiful chinaware, which the Portuguese had brought from Macao.
Though Mrs. Sen made bold to remind Him of His duty to Himself, He did not eat anything. He appeared to be anxious to send every one to bed. "Go, go! You are all very much exhausted," He insisted. I protested that travelling with Him can never exhaust anyone, but He repeated that I was really in immediate need of rest. When we rose Mrs. Sen was informed by Baba that coffee need be ready for Him only at 8 a.m. the next day! She knew that at Prasanthi Nilayam, He had His coffee at 6 or 6.30 p.m. but despite appeals for revising the order, Baba gave instructions that it was to be brought only at 8 o' clock.
Baba was alone in the suite reserved for Him. Nakul Sen pleaded for permission to be within call, but Baba sent Him away to his own room. We from Bangalore were in rooms on the ground floor.
About what occurred that night, Baba wrote later to Dr. S. Bhagavantham, in a letter I carried to him on the 12th, "On the night of the seventh, strange events happened. I could not lie in bed, I could not sit upon it, nor turn, from one side to another. Nor could I speak or call. I did not like to cause anxiety or trouble to anyone. So I kept silent, pretending that all was well with me!
Next morning when the Sens grew aware of the truth it became clear, why He had abstained from dinner, and postponed the coffee hour, wanting only to hurry away to bed! I knew why He had come away from Dharwar, and why He had taken the driver to task. Obviously, He had been 'ill' when He started out from Dharwar!
Mrs. Sen felt that Cabo Raj Nivas was an 'unlucky' place since He had fallen 'ill' there, but Baba immediately corrected her. "No, it is a house of good luck! I brought the 'illness' with Me to Cabo, so that I could get rid of it here."
By daybreak on the 8th, Baba appeared to be in great pain and Nakul Sen called in doctors from the Medical College at Goa, and some leading physicians of the City. Soon an imposing medical team surrounded the sick bed; their report read as follows, "History of pain, right lower quadrant of the abdomen since 3 p.m. on the 7th December. To begin with, the pain was all over the abdomen, progressive in intensity; towards the night, it localised in the umbilical region, and the right lower quadrant. Had difficulty in extending the right lower limb. Pain is exaggerated by movement. 8th December morning, had nausea and fever." No one could be definite about the illness; there were too many experts and Baba was amused at the clash of their conclusions.
The American ladies were sent to visit the ancient Churches of Goa, redolent with history, and vibrant with spiritual power. The Sens were aghast at the turn of events for, among other reasons, the local Sathya Sai Seva Samithi had announced, that He would deliver a discourse at the large Maidan in the heart of the city, at 5 p.m. that evening.
June Schuyler writes, "Back at Cabo, we ate lunch, without Baba. It was a gloomy affair. Each person was wondering why He did not come; I did not know that some among them knew, and were too full of distress to speak. It is very strange for Baba not to come out of His room; at Prasanthi Nilayam, or wherever He is, He gives of Himself, plentifully at all times, from early morning till late evening. I knew that Baba was scheduled to go out into the city to address a public meeting. We had passed the very Maidan on our way to a Church, and noticed people streaming in, hours before the time announced for its commencement. I took heart because we would see Him then. Perhaps we would go with Him to the meeting! At ten minutes to five we gathered on the porch, dressed in our very best; my heart beat loud and rapid, as a clock ticked on, for the time was drawing near when we would see Him for the first time that day... My thoughts went back to the time when I first heard about Baba. A friend urged me to revere Him. I replied, "How can I, belonging to Jesus? I am sure about Jesus. If Baba is one with Jesus, it is to Him I pray. If He is not I won't have anything to do with Him." And, I added, "If Baba is all that you feel He is, I am sure He won't hold this against me!" The electrifying moment when I beheld Him for the first time came to my mind. I remembered the flood of awe and joy that overwhelmed me. His first comment when He saw me, assured me that He knew, and approved of my feelings about Jesus... that He was, certainly One with Him. My mind returned to the present; I watched Baba's door, intently."
Meanwhile, pain, nausea and fever kept Baba in bed all day. Information came that 20,000 people crowded the Maidan, awaiting Baba; and half the number had come from far off villages. Baba endeavoured to rise and don fresh clothes to keep the appointment, and not disappoint thousands of people. But Cabo Raj Nivas had no lift; for reaching the Maidan, Baba would have had to get down 28 steps and walk up some distance in order to give Darsan to the people. And then, climb the 28th steps up!
Baba directed me to tell the assembly to disperse quietly, and to assure them that He will be addressing them in a few days at he same place. I was to tell them that He had taken over the illness of a devotee, for I had witnessed such instances of healing and saving, in the past years.
June writes, "Baba's door opened!... Mr. Kasturi came out! Why Mr. Kasturi? Why not Baba? We sat sadly, watching a large blood-red sun sinking into the Indian Ocean."
The gathering heard my announcement with amazement and admiration, for they had heard many stories of Baba and His miracles, but this mystery of taking on an illness and saving a devotee from its consequences was something they had never heard, nor imagined as possible. Could such compassion exist? How does Baba assume the illness, and how does He rid Himself of it? How has He done it in the past? Many came up behind me to find the answers, and I could tell them of the great Guru Pournima Miracle, when Baba took upon Himself the cerebral thrombosis and heart attacks of a devotee, and after undergoing them for eight long days, rejected them before 4,000 people, becoming in a moment, His fresh, free and full Self. I could tell them that rescuing the good was as much the mission of the Avatar as Chastisement of the wicked. He atones for the Karmic debt of the devotees when they plead sincerely for Grace, I said. That is the measure of His Divine Compassion.
At 8 o'clock that night, the doctors reported, "Lying supine in bed, with legs drawn up. On examination, the right side of abdomen not moving with respiration; abdomen tender on the right side, and the lower flank... point of maximum tenderness in lower flank... no rebound tenderness... guarding present over right lower quadrant, with rigidity of flank. Temperature 100o F; pulse 100 M; respiration 16m. Total blood count 22,000; neutrophils 88%. A diagnosis of acute paracolic appendicitis was made. Unwillingness for surgical intervention."
Pressmen approached the doctors, anxious to report the reason for the postponement of the announced Public Meeting, alarmed at the news of the illness of the world-renowned Personality. The doctors told them that Baba was suffering from an acute attack of appendicitis. This news was flashed all over India and spread through the early morning editions and the papers issued from Bombay, Delhi, Calcutta, Madras, Bangalore and Madurai. Telegrams and telephone calls poured in from all over the country, praying and pleading, and denying - disbelieving, hoping, weeping and wailing. There were many offers to accept the 'illness' from Baba; some devotees said they would fast until Baba was free from the illness. Devotees having firm until Baba was free from the illness. Devotees having firm faith in His Divinity were convinced that just as the illness had been taken on miraculously, it will be thrown off miraculously, too.
The doctors told us Baba must be suffering excruciating pain, but He said, "If I have to acknowledge that it is paining Me, how would I have taken it on Myself? I have taken it on with Love and Love knows no pain!" June writes, "Mrs. Sen confided in me that she has been praying all day to Baba asking that she be allowed to share the pain. We all caught this idea and trooped into Baba's room with the same request. He sent us back, saying, "I do not feel any pain, and even if I do, I am never in the habit of distributing pain as Prasadam, (Gift from God)."
Indra Devi had with her a container with an idol of Ganesa on the lid given to her by Baba. It had Vibhuti in it, and Baba had declared whilst placing it in her hand, "Give this to people who suffer; it will alleviate the misery. The Vibhuti will never be exhausted. "She now offered some of it to Baba; He sent her away, saying, "That would be selfish. I want only you for the sake of others," "O Baba!" June implored silently, "You are so sweet, so completely good. The rest of us deserve this pain, but You, do not, please take this condition away from your precious Body."
June writes, "Finally, hesitantly, I prayed to Jesus, "If Baba will not heal Himself, won't You heal Him?" but I realised that this prayer was one without an answer, for Jesus and Baba were One! I fell back on metaphysics. Recognition of the Truth might cast out the illness. It was easy to behold the Christ in the Christ Himself!" Baba! You are the Light, and in the Light there is no darkness." I said this silently over and over again. I knew this statement was absolutely true, but, I also knew that, on the physical plane, Baba had allowed Maya free play for the sake of someone who had surrendered to Him. He would not let my feeble metaphysical falterings influence a step that He had determined upon. I was afraid my approach was quite wrong."
The doctors filed in and out of Baba's room. Indra Devi sat in the Cabo Shrine applying the curative Vibhuti Baba had given her, on the right flank of the Abdomen of a large sized picture of Baba, praying that He may soon heal Himself! Mrs. Sen alternated between confidence and concern.
June writes, "Mr. Kasturi oozed quiet confidence. He was certain that this was another miracle of miracles; that Baba was suffering for the sake of another; that He would concentrate into a few hours the suffering that the devotee was destined to suffer for weeks; that we would soon behold the end of another Divine Leela. We warmed ourselves often, in the warmth of His optimism. Mr. Sen too was certain that Baba would confront the doctors with another astounding and confounding miracle!
Suddenly it flashed on me that Mr. Kasturi was asked to cancel his engagements in Ceylon and join us on our journey to Goa, precisely for this reason. To spread assurance, whenever doubt raised its fearful hood! His role was to laugh the serpent off, and to restore courage. Tell us about the time when Baba took on the paralytic stroke, we begged, and Mr. Kasturi with genuine enthusiasm, plunged into that story of the eight appalling days and nights, the sudden doffing of the fell symptoms, the final triumph! The infinite compassion - the infinite power!"
The devotees came out of Baba's room. They looked solemn and serious, as if weighed by an insoluble problem. June writes, "I had once asked Baba a question, and I remembered His answer. 'Baba, why did Jesus allow Himself to be crucified?' "Because the Great Ones never use spiritual power for themselves." Ah! Baba had not set the car right on Saturday night because it was not imperative for the good of some one other than Baba." "Baba! Baba!," I exclaimed, "I adore you; I utterly love you. Imperfect as I am, I give my heart to you completely!"
Precisely at this very moment I became aware that Mr. Nakul Sen was motioning to Mrs. Rajagopalan, Indra Devi and myself to step inside the doorway of Baba's room. I could not believe it was true. We crossed the threshold half expectant, fixing our eyes on the bedstead where the Master was suffering for His dear devotee. He was not there! He was standing before us, feeble and frail, with eyes full of love and mercy - charming in spite of it all.
He drew back the orange robe, and permitted us to touch those precious Feet. The lovely feet were warm because of the fever. The beloved face was pale and etched with pain. The cheeks had been hollowed for want of sleep and refreshment. But He stood there for our sake. "Do not worry," He said tenderly, in a soft, soothing voice, "It is a little upset, that is all," indicating the right side of the body.
"Swami! accept what the doctors prescribe," We prayed. "What do the doctors know? What can they prescribe? I only want your Love," He said, quietly, almost wishfully. He stepped out of the room into the adjacent drawing room where several others anxiously waited. He stood for a few minutes, looking languidly, lovingly, at them all, reassuring the timid and charging them with courage. Then He returned to the bed. None of us knew that the appendix was very near bursting point, and the doctors had said that He must not rise from his bed at any cost."
Later in Bombay, on Christmas Day, Baba referred to the "illness He had taken on at Goa" and the suffering it caused to many. "The other day, a serious illness came upon this body in Goa. Many who are devoted to Me were plunged into anxiety and despair when they learnt of it. Illness can never afflict this Body. It cannot even approach it! If it should come sometime - believe this - it belongs to someone; not Myself. And it goes just as it came, of My free Will. I have no contact with it; I am not affected by it." The fact is that when a devotee prays for relief, Baba bestows upon Him His Grace directly or indirectly. At times, the devotee is unable to apprehend an impending illness. The All-knowing Baba at that stage intercedes between the devotee and the illness, as Lord Siva did in the case of Markandeya.
On 9th December, the doctors decided to put tubes down the nose to relieve the hiccough which was complicating matters, for taking the gas out of the stomach. They talked also of the urgent need that had arisen to puncture the lump and syringe off the pus from the abscess. It must indeed have given a terrible gash of pain for Baba, every time the hiccough pulled the muscle tight and affected the lump round the inflamed appendix! But eventually the doctors left Cabo Raj Nivas with their tubes and bottles, as Baba refused to accept their proposals.
On the 10th, a Bhajan meeting had been announced at Government House, and word had gone round indicating that Baba would attend the meeting! Baba too said "Yes! Arrange it." The doctors could not believe their ears. They did not foresee any possibility of a public appearance that day. There was doubt, wonder and amazement in the minds of various people, a few of them believing that whatever He says will come to pass. At tea time Mrs. Sen looked rather serious, as time was running out and already people were streaming towards the meeting place. Goa which had been previously shocked by the news of the agonising illness was now jolted by the impact of such good news.
Baba's condition may be described in His own words: "The doctors were unanimous that an immediate operation was necessary, or they would not be held responsible for what might happen. They said the inflamed appendix had burst, and the pus had entered the blood - a situation that is fatal for all mortals!"
Baba had to move across His own room, across the drawing room, walk along the veranda, ascend a low step, get across to the doorstep of the Hall which He had selected for Bhajan, traverse its length, reach the dais, climb two low steps - and finally sit upon the chair placed there. A total distance of 200 feet! A floral carpet stretched all this length.
Sri Nakul Sen spoke later during the Bhajan sessions. "The doctors became panicky, and I could feel that they were absolutely against what Bhagawan had said to me. My sixth sense somehow assured me that Bhagawan was showing one of His Leelas in Goa and that through His Sankalpa He would get rid of this trouble as quickly as He had assumed it."
Dr. Varma, the chief of team of doctors came at about 4 p.m. and finding a floral carpet covering a distance of 200 feet, protested that it was too long a walk. He suggested some short cuts through other doors and passages making the journey a distance of only 40 feet. He said, "The dais itself will have to go; let the chair be on the floor, for He cannot get up the steps however low they may be - and please, have the dais on the near side, not at the farthermost end of the hall."
At 5 p.m. Baba was led into the bathroom, and twenty minutes later He came out of it, clean shaven, wearing a new robe! Fresh as a new blossomed rose.
When the doctors examined Him again, they could not locate any abscess, nor could they find any trace of big lump of flesh near it. The whole area of the appendix was as soft and as normal as it could be.
"Lo and behold," said Nakul Sen, in the speech he delivered as soon as Baba sat on the dais at 6 p.m., "Bhagawan walked from His bedroom to the dais, a distance of about 200 feet without any aid. He sat down erect on an Office Chair."
June writes about that historic moment of ecstasy: "Bhajan began, and my heart was pounding a joyous tune of expectancy. Love for Baba filled the hall. Ah! There He was, moving majestically down the hall, although He had required the assistance of two men all day. He now moved as if nothing had ever happened. His steps were as sure and graceful as ever. The cheeks which had been hollow when I last saw them were completely filled out. His love flooded the hall. It was overpowering. He swung into the room, and when He saw someone leaning against the wall, with a sick child the Hand began the familiar circular motion to create the cure.
Baba's eyes which plumb the depths, His eyes which pour out love and compassion, His eyes which flash when he speaks of cruelty, falsehood, hypocrisy and injustice, eyes which can be full of quips, were as eloquent as ever. He took His place on the divan in front of the gathering and began keeping rhythm with the Bhajan being sung, with His head and hand. Mrs. Rajagopal whispered in my ear, "Look! Those eyes are more beautiful than ever. There is an ethereal expression, not of this world, in them; a look of radiant joy and adoration."
"Baba's eyes caressed the gathering, which was watching Him without even a wink, apprehensive that the cure He had effected on Himself, might be only partial or temporary."
Mr. Nakul Sen was full of gratitude and wonder! While welcoming Baba, and introducing the gathering to Him as convention demanded, he said, "Bhagawan lives in the inner recesses of the hearts of His devotees; there is nothing He would not do for them. He has simultaneously appeared in this Form at different places, to help His devotees in distress, or to save them from impending calamities, of which He alone has the precognition! Through His Sankalpa or Will, He has assumed the illness of His devotees and suffered it from them, because they would have succumbed to it, if left alone."
We have witnessed this now, a Leela which has greatly perplexed the medical experts of Goa. It leaves no doubt in our minds that there is nothing on this earth which is beyond Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. His Leela is Adbhut - unprecedented; it is Romancha Kari - exhilarating; it is Madhumaya - sweet in memory; Mangalamayi - promoting the happiness and welfare of mankind; Manoharini - overpowering the mind and turning it to truth, beauty and goodness. It gives Ananda!"
The Governor also spoke in some detail about Goa and associations it had with Rama and Krishna and their careers on earth. He spoke of the legends that enrich the holiness of the two rivers, Mandavi and Aghanasini that enter the sea right in front of Cabo Raj Nivas.
Nakul Sen concluded his descriptions of the ancient glories of Goa and its sacred contacts with Siva, Rama, Krishna, and Parasurama, the Divine Avatars, with these words: "No wonder the Lord decided to visit this ancient and sacred land again, in the form which He has assumed now, with the name of Sathya Sai Baba; He has loved Goa in His previous incarnations and Goa continues to be dear to Him even now."
Baba spoke for over forty minutes with His usual emphasis and elan. The gathering listened spellbound, for it was a message of triumph, benevolence, and benediction.
The illness that had vanished an hour ago was still uppermost in the minds of all, and so, Baba spoke of the significance of its 'entrance and exit' and its place in the scheme of the Avatar's Activities. "There are many who doubt the existence of God or deny Him, or dismiss the idea of God as a silly outworn superstition. To make them discard their conceit, the Divine, out of Its Innate Grace, reveals Its superhuman glory. The doubters receive the reply without asking, the door is opened without even a knock; for those who deny will not knock at all. The 'superstition' will be illumined into divine status by a concrete experience, an indisputable fact. The human body generates diseases as a result of faulty food or frivolous habits, or foolish rashness or fanatic emotions. The illness that was witnessed by you during the last two days was quite different. That was an illness taken over by Me, voluntarily put on, in order to save a victim who could not have survived it! His continued existence, in good health in desirable for the task dear to Me. Pouring Grace on the devout is one of the functions of the Avatar. The appendix was inflamed, it turned into an abscess which the doctors could cure only by removal... He could not have survived it, I know. I have come with this Body in order to save 'other bodies' from pain. This Body is ever free from pain. Disease can never affect it.
I had to go to the rescue of a person who had surrendered to Me - even his judgement. I took over his illness and went through it. It shall not recur again in him. You refer to this incident as a miracle, but remember, each one is a miracle! Every breath is a proof of the Providence of God. Each event is the consequence of Divine Omnipotence. Wherever you find truth, beauty, goodness, justice, wisdom, compassion - God is present, and active. An atheist denies God, with the very breath that God has given him! He closes the eyes that God has opened in Him, and declares that there he could see no God. Therefore, such amazing events have to be accomplished and made known to man everywhere, so that mankind can be saved from over-fond involvement with the world, and lovingly drawn towards the Master of the World."
For us, who adore Baba, and for all mankind who are deriving the benefit of this Advent (Whether they acknowledge it or not) it was great day, the 10th December. Baba was here with His majesty, magnificence and munificence, not only unimpaired, but enhanced, as a result of the world becoming aware of the deeper aspects of His mission.
Baba sang a few Bhajans and returned to His room. The completeness of the restoration can be gauged from one interesting incident. Baba had asked two young men from Brindavan to join Him at Bombay. We telephoned them on the 9th asking them to come to Goa itself, they rang back a few hours later to tell us that the Indian Airlines strike had spread to Bangalore as well. So they were told to proceed to Goa by car. They reached Goa at 6-30 p.m. on the 10th! Hearing Baba's voice over the loudspeaker, they entered the garden of Cabo Raj Nivas, ran up the steps and entered the hall. They heard Baba saying, "Now I shall tell you about the illness which agitated the whole country and caused great anxiety in the minds of millions, for they feared I was hospitalised and operated upon!" That was the first intimation to them of the illness that had come and gone.
Thereafter Baba was surrounded by us, the Sens and the doctors in His room. The Doctors asked Him some spiritual complexities, and He clarified them. While talking of Dattatreya, the God who represents the Trinity, the Trimurti so imposingly sculptured at Elephanta, Baba waved His palm, as He announced that He was Dattatreya, and lo, there was in His hand a picture of the three-headed God, the Trinity in Unity but, wonder of wonders, the picture Baba created showed the same head thrice, on the right, centre and left, Baba Himself, as Brahma, Vishnu and Siva! It was a picture which we were privileged to see, for the first time in our lives!
On the 11th, Baba called the doctors to His presence, created gifts of Grace for them and blessed them. Each one received a momento of the event. Every evening thereafter Bhajan Sessions were held at the Raj Nivas, attended by devotees who came from long distances. The promised meeting in the heart of the City was arranged on the 18th evening; the gathering was twice the size of the one that was sent away disappointed on the 8th; for there were many thousands who wanted to take the Darsan of a Baba who could take on and throw off illness, in order to save a devotee. Sri Nakul Sen presided; he spoke of the wide range of tasks on which the Formless Divine Principle had come 'with Form' as Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. Baba spoke about Yoga, and all activity as Ud-Yoga, that is to say, the higher Yoga of putting Yoga into practice.
The devotees in Bombay were getting restless, awaiting Baba's arrival. The strike of the pilots and the ground staff of the Airlines rendered them desperate; attempts to persuade Baba to sail by steamer failed, as it meant, spending long hours cooped up in the vessel! At last a privately owned plane was chartered to transport Baba and a few of us from Goa to Bombay, on 21st December.
http://beaskund.helloyou.ws/askbaba/sathyamsivamsundaram/s1045.html
Posted at 06:24 am by saiavatar
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Oct 6, 2004
Education is for life and not just for a living...
Education is for life and not just for a living...
In these days of communal and sectarian strife, the message clearly sent down in the Sathya Sai system is - there is only one religion - the religion of love; only one caste - the caste of humanity; and only one language - the language of the heart. The students live this precept out; for the festivals of all religions are celebrated. A student of this system is equally at home singing Christmas Carols, chanting the Vedas and reciting the Suras of the Holy Koran.
A parable often retold by Sri Sathya Sai Baba is the story of a little boy who tore up his father's world map into bits. While the father was furious, the boy decided to make amends and starts putting the pieces back in place to stick them up. Even as he puts in all his efforts he fails to put the world together again. Then he notices that on the reverse of the world map there are bits of drawings of the human body; a nose here, a ear there, a foot here and an eye there... and then an idea strikes him. He reverses all the torn pieces and puts the parts of the human body together so that they form the complete picture of a man. Then he turns the picture to have the whole world again! Likewise says Baba, in these troubled times when the whole world is going into pieces, the only way to make the world united is by making each human being a wholesome person. There are no other short cuts to it.
It was precisely with this aim that Sri Sathya Sai Baba, revered as a World Teacher, began his educational mission in 1969 with the establishment of a women's college at Anantapur. Over the past three decades, the mission has grown to include a Deemed University (the Sri Sathya Sai University) under which come the Anantapur campus, the Brindavan campus of the Sri Sathya Sai Arts and Commerce College, Whitefield and the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning (SSSIHL) at Puttaparthi itself, besides a dozen schools and colleges elsewhere in India and abroad following the Sathya Sai system of education.
The Ministry of Education, Mauritius, has adopted the Sathya Sai system of education. Likewise educationists in Zambia, U.K., Thailand, Brazil and many other countries around the world have taken up this programme entitled ``Education in Human Values'' (EHV). In fact it has created so many ripples that the UNESCO is organising a conference at Puttaparthi in collaboration with the Asia Pacific Network for International Education and Values Education, the Institute of Sathya Sai Education (Thailand), and the Flinders University Institute of International Education, Australia, this year. The conference will discuss the roles of teachers and parents in value education and debate on value education for the 21st Century and the evolving of a practical curriculum for value education. Importantly, the youth will also have their say at the conference.
EHV programme
Historically the EHV programme has its roots in the Bala Vikas programme started by Sri Sathya Sai Baba in the Sixties. Women, usually housewives, were the Gurus and once a week they would interact with children sent to them by willing parents. These sessions usually included retelling stories from the puranas and bhajan singing; discussions on how to tackle anger, envy and so on; enacting plays on nature, conservation etc.
This EHV programme, with suitable modifications, was made an integral part of the curriculum when the Sri Sathya Sai Seva organisation started educational institutions; and with the establishment of the Sri Sathya Sai University, of which Baba is the Chancellor, the EHV programme has blossomed to fullness.
Two thirds of a student's education takes place outside the classroom; therefore to ensure that there is no dilution of the EHV programme, these institutions are strictly residential.
Admission to the institutions is based only on merit; and beyond the primary school stage, there is segregation of the sexes; no fee is collected; even hostel accommodation is free; the students only pay a nominal sum for food. Except during vacations when they are sent home, everyday is a working day; even festivals and holidays are converted into learning opportunities.
Academically speaking, these institutions compare with the best in the world in terms of qualified faculty and facilities; besides, classes and examinations are held very studiously. Naturally, the results are enviable and many of the alumni are scholarship students with the CSIR, Indian Institute of Science and so on.
Sports and games also get pride of place. But the main thrust of the Sathya Sai system of education is on moulding the personality of the student, for Baba says, ``The end of education is character; education is for life and not just for a living.'' The watchwords in the Sathya Sai institutions are cooperation and harmony. Discipline, orderliness and patience needed for this are assiduously cultivated.
I asked an old student how this was achieved. She smiled and said, ``Standing silently and waiting patiently for one's turn - be it for a bath, breakfast, games or class and back; well, this disciplined routine itself is a great teacher!'', Time management is another concept learnt by practice. There are no holidays to laze around; no whiling away over a pack of cards; no watching the idiot box; no gossipping. A key factor that ensures the success of the programme is that the teachers lead from the front.
Practical training in living together as a community is imparted by Self Reliance programmes. Although there are cooks, electricians, plumbers and so on at the hostels, the running of the mess, cleaning of rooms, maintenance of hygiene, electricity and water supply maintenance, keeping music equipment and sports equipment in good condition - all these activities are done by the students. A history student may thus learn how to change a fuse; a literature student may learn how to take care of overhead tanks; a physics student may learn how to cook and so on. Within one hour, five hundred students eat noiselessly in a mess and leave after all the plates and glasses are washed.
EHV is infused into the teaching of academic subjects as well. Products from trees are used in the manufacture of perfumes, for example is converted into a fantastic EHV opportunity when the social studies teacher says, ``Look at the mango tree - you throw stones at it and yet in return it gives you delicious mangoes. And as for the sandalwood tree - it imparts fragrance even to the very axe that fells it. See their spirit of sacrifice! That is what we too should cultivate.''
The biology teacher while teaching about bacterial diseases explains how the loss of pain sensation leads to the mutilation of hands and feet in leprosy patients; as a spin off, he adds ``So pain and suffering also have beneficial role on life.''
The chemistry teacher while teaching about subatomic particle says, ``Just as electrons exist unseen in all matter, living or nonliving, so does divinity exist unseen in all things.''Another facet of the EHV programme is the awareness module. Adolescence and youth are biologically explosive times when hormones race through the system and cause violent emotions and feelings. The awareness programmes help students understand themselves better. Fear, ambition, success, failure, inferiority complex, birth, marriage, death - students thrash out all these issues with teachers; often the Chancellor too participates and guides. For a practical exposition, the epics of various religions, the lives of saints and the scriptures of various faiths are also studied. In these days of communal and sectarian strife, the message clearly sent down in the Sathya Sai system is - there is only one religion, - the religion of love; only one caste - the caste of humanity; and only one language - the language of the heart. The students live this precept out, for the festivals of all religions are celebrated. A student of this system is equally at home singing Christmas Carols, chanting the Vedas and reciting the Suras of the Holy Koran.
An in-depth exposure to Indian culture and spirituality is another exercise that contributes to the success of the EHV programme. Be it Adi Sankara, the Sufis, Buddha, the Thirthankaras or Gandhiji, the students are exposed to everything; and to make the exercise more meaningful, the lessons are driven home through mime, theatre, plays and concerts. Fine arts are also given great importance; for it is art that uplifts and refines man. At the Puttaparthi campus, on every Tuesday, the boys have a fine arts session, aptly named ``Saama,'' when everything ranging from Carnatic music, Kathakali, Bach'n Beethoven, and tribal music & dance are demonstrated and discussed.
The flagship of the Sathya Sai university is the MBA course. Total Quality Management and Re-engineering, the mantras of modern management schools are suitably modified here. TQM translates as ``Total harmony in the quality of thought, word and deed'' and RE as humility combined with co-ordination of head- heart-and-hand for without the former one would not accept the need for change and bench-marking; and without the latter the change would never take place. The cold, market economics usually taught at business schools acquires the warmth of compassion and human values at this institute.
DR. HIRAMALINI SESHADRI
The Hindu, Sept. 12, 2000
Posted at 08:00 am by saiavatar
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Who is Superior?
Baba said, "It is not good to dispute and argue, so don’t argue, don’t emulate others" in Sri Sai Satcharitra, ch. X.
Once upon a time the senses quarrelled among themselves as to who was superior, each saying: "I am superior, I am superior."
They went to Prajapati, their father, and said: "Sir, who is the best of us?"
He replied: "He by whose departure the body looks the worst – he is the best of you."
Speech then departed and, having stayed away for a year, returned and said: "How have you been able to live without me?"
They replied: "Like the dumb - not speaking, but breathing with the breath, seeing with the eye, hearing with the ear, and thinking with the mind. Thus we lived." Then speech entered in.
The eye then departed and having stayed away for a year, returned and said: "How have you been able to live without me?" They replied: "Like the blind – not seeing, but breathing with the breath, speaking with the tongue, hearing with the ear and thinking with the mind. Thus we lived." Then the eye entered in.
The ear then departed, and having stayed away for a year, returned and said: "How have you been able to live without me?" They replied: "Like the deaf – not hearing, but breathing with the breath, speaking with the tongue, seeing with the eye and thinking with the mind. Thus we lived." Then the ear entered in.
The mind then departed and having stayed away for a year, returned and said: "How have you been able to live without me?" They replied: "Like children – not thinking, but breathing with the breath, speaking with the tongue, seeing with the eye and hearing with the ear. Thus we lived." Then the mind entered in.
Now, when the breath was about to depart, tearing up the other senses, as a strong horse about to depart might tear up the pegs to which he is tethered, they gathered round him and said: "Sir, remain. You are the best of us, do not depart."
Then speech said to him: "If I am the most prosperous, so are you the most prosperous." The eye said to him: "If I am the firm basis, so are you the firm basis." The ear said to him: "If I am success, so are you the success." The mind said to him; "If I am the abode, so are you the abode."
Hence these are not termed organs of speech or eyes or ears or minds.
They are termed signs of life.
For life itself becomes all these.
(From the Chhandogya Upanishad, XIII. v. 1, Translated by Professor D.S.Sarma)
Courtesy: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sabkamalikek/
Posted at 05:04 am by saiavatar
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Oct 5, 2004
Shirdi Sai Baba's Sayings
Shirdi Sai Baba's Sayings
Why fear when I am here?
I am formless and everywhere.
I am in everything and beyond.
I fill all space.
All that you see taken together is Myself.
I do not shake or move.
If one devotes their entire time to me and rests in me, need fear nothing for body and soul.
If one sees me and me alone and listens to my leelas and is devoted to me alone, they will reach God.
My business is to give blessings.
I get angry with none.
Will a mother get angry with her children?
Will the ocean send back the waters to the several rivers?
I will take you to the end.
Surrender completely to God.
If you make me the sole object of your thoughts and aims, you will gain the supreme goal.
Trust in the Guru fully. That is the only sadhana.
I am the slave of my devotee.
Stay by me and keep quiet. I will do the rest.
What is our duty?
To behave properly. That is enough.
My eye is ever on those who love me.
Whatever you do, wherever you may be,always bear this in mind:
I am always aware of everything you do.
I will not allow my devotees to come to harm.
If a devotee is about to fall, I stretch out my hands to support him or her.
I think of my people day and night. I say their names over and over.
My treasury is open but no one brings carts to take from it. I say, “Dig!” but no one bothers.
My people do not come to me of their own accord; it is I who seek and bring them to me.
All that is seen is my form: ant, fly, prince, pauper.
However distant my people may be, I draw them to me just as we pull a bird to us with a string tied to its foot.
I love devotion.
This body is just my house. My guru has long ago taken me away from it.
Those who think that Baba is only in Shirdi have totally failed to know me.
Without my grace, not even a leaf can move.
I look on all with an equal eye.
I cannot do anything without God’s permission.
God has agents everywhere and their powers are vast.
I have to take care of my children day and night and give an account to God of every paise.
The wise are cheerful and content with their lot in life.
If you are wealthy, be humble.
Plants bend when they bear fruit.
Spend money in charity; be generous and munificent but not extravagant.
Get on with your worldly activities cheerfully, but do not forget God.
Do not kick against the pricks of life.
Whatever creature comes to you, human or otherwise, treat it with consideration.
Do not be obsessed by the importance of wealth.
See the divine in the human being.
Do not bark at people and don’t be aggressive, but put up with others’ complaints.
There is a wall of separation between oneself and others and between you and me. Destroy this wall!
Give food to the hungry, water to the thirsty, and clothes to the naked.
Then God will be pleased.
Saburi (patience) ferries you across to the distant goal.
The four sadhanas and the six sastras are not necessary. Just have complete trust in your guru: it is enough.
Meditate on me either with form or without form, that is pure bliss.
God is not so far away. He is not in the heavens above, nor in hell below.
He is always near you.
If anyone gets angry with another, they wound me to the quick.
If you cannot endure abuse from another, just say a simple word or two, or else leave.
What do we lose by another’s good fortune? Let us celebrate with them, or strive to emulate them. That should be our desire and determination.
I stay by the side of whoever repeats my name.
If formless meditation is difficult, then think of my form just as you see it here.
With such meditation, the difference between subject and object is lost and the mind dissolves in unity.
If anyone offends you do not return tit for tat.
I am the slave of those who hunger and thirst after me and treat everything else as unimportant.
Whoever makes me the sole object of their love, merges in me like a river in the ocean.
Look to me and I will look to you.
What God gives is never exhausted, what man gives never lasts.
Be contented and cheerful with what comes.
My devotees see everything as their Guru.
Poverty is the highest of riches and a thousand times superior to a king’s wealth.
Put full faith in God’s providence.
Distinguish right from wrong and be honest, upright and virtuous.
Do not be obsessed by egotism, imagining that you are the cause of action: everything is due to God.
If we see all actions as God’s doing, we will be unattached and free from karmic bondage.
Other people’s acts will affect just them. It is only your own deeds that will affect you.
Do not be idle: work, utter God’s name and read the scriptures.
If you avoid rivalry and dispute, God will protect you.
People abuse their own friends and family, but it is only after performing many meritorious acts that one gets a human birth. Why then come to Shirdi and slander people?
Speak the truth and truth alone.
No one wants to take from me what I give abundantly.
Do not fight with anyone, nor retaliate, nor slander anyone.
Harsh words cannot pierce your body. If anybody speaks ill of you, just continue on unperturbed.
Choose friends who will stick to you till the end, through thick and thin.
Meditate on what you read and think of God.
I give my devotees whatever they ask, until they ask for what I want to give.
You should not stay for even one second at a place where people are speaking disrespectfully of a saint.
If you do not want to part with what you have, do not lie and claim that you have nothing, but decline politely saying that circumstancesor your own desires prevent you.
Let us be humble.
Satsang, that is associating with the good, is good.
Dussaya, or associating with evil-minded people, is evil and must be avoided.
What you sow, you reap. What you give, you get.
Recognize the existence of the Moral Law as governing results. Then unswervingly follow this Law.
All gods are one. There is no difference between a Hindu and a Muslim. Mosque and temple are the same.
Fulfil any promises you have made.
Death and life are the manifestations of God’s activity. You cannot separate the two.
God permeates all.
Mukti is impossible for those addicted to lust.
Gain and loss, birth and death are in the hands of God.
When you see with your inner eye. Then you realize that you are God and not different from Him.
Avoid unnecessary disputation.
The giver gives, but really he is sowing the seed for later: the gift of a rich harvest.
Wealth is really a means to work out dharma. If one uses it merely for personal enjoyment, it is vainly spent.
To God be the praise.I am only the slave of God.
God will show His love. He is kind to all.
Whenever you undertake to do something, do it thoroughly or not at all.
One’s sin will not cease till one falls at the feet of sadhus.
Be ashamed of your hatred. Give up hatred and be quiet.
The Moral Law is inexorable, so follow it, observe it, and you will reach your goal: God is the perfection of the Moral Law.
I am your servants’ servant.
Always think of God and you will see what He does.
Have faith and patience. Then I will be always with you wherever you are.
May the Merciful Sri Sai Baba always shower His grace on us and our families and remove our problems and anxieties by giving us all - strength, goodluck, success and happiness with peace of mind.
Posted at 08:43 am by saiavatar
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Oct 4, 2004
Statistics of the Sri Sathya Sai Super Speciality Hospitals
Statistics of the Sri Sathya Sai Super Speciality Hospitals
Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences, Prasanthi Nilayam
Cumulative Statistics from 22nd November 1991 to 31st August 2004.
Procedures Done for - Number of Procedures
Heart Surgeries - 14,232
Cath Procedures - 14,538
Urology Surgeries - 24,137
Opthalmology Surgeries - 24,105
CT Scans - 3,839
Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences , Whitefield, Bangalore
Cumulative Statistics from 19th January 2001 to 31st August 2004.
Procedures Done for - Number of Procedures
Cardiac Surgeries - 4,682
Cardiac Catheterisation - 8,350
Neuro Surgeries - 4,061
CT Scans - 14,060
MRI Exams - 15,243
Source: Radio Sai E-Magazine October 2004
http://www.radiosai.org/Journals/Vol_02/18Oct01/Index.htm
Posted at 03:41 pm by saiavatar
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Humanitarian Works are changing the World
Humanitarian Works are changing the World
Courtesy: Saibaba News
 
SRI SATHYA SAI BABA
His Universal Message
His Humanitarian Works
An Inspiration To Humanity
You are cordially invited to attend a meeting about a remarkable person whose life, teachings and humanitarian works are changing the world.
Saturday October 9, 2004 at 7:00 P.M. to 9:00 P.M.
Bloor Street United Church 300 Bloor Street West, Toronto
RSVP for confirmed seating: 416 224 8389
No Admission Fee & No Donations
Program
7:00 pm - Welcome & Introductions:
7:10 pm - Speaker: Dr. David Gries, Ph.D.
8:00 pm - Speaker: Dr. Yassin Sankar, Ph.D.
8:30 pm - Film:
‘His Work’ is a moving portrait, highlighting the sweeping scope of humanitarian projects initiated and inspired by Sri Sathya Sai Baba. Free super-speciality hospitals, schools, colleges and a university, free drinking water to millions, rural outreach programs – all bear testimony to his selfless and tireless saga of love and compassion
8:50 pm - Closing Remarks
9:00 pm - Conclusion
Speakers
Dr. David Gries, a native of New York, received his doctorate from the Munich Institute of Technology, Germany. Since 1969, except for a few years, he has been on the faculty of Computer Science at Cornell University, USA, serving as Department Chair for five years and currently as Associate Dean of Engineering. Since 1985, Gries has been associated with the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning in India, and he generally teaches there for two weeks each year. He is the webmaster of the International Sai Organization website, www.sathyasai.org and is currently Chair of Zone 1 of the International Sai Oraganization.
Dr. Yassin Sankar is Professor of Management in the School of Business Administration at the Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, where he has been on the faculty for 30 years. He has a Ph.D. in Education from the Johns Hopkins University. He has written several books and articles on technological change, education, human values, and ethics, and management. He is currently in the process of completing two additional books: The Quest for Ethical Leadership, and International Management and Comparative Ethical Systems.
His Life And His Message
Sri Sathya Sai Baba is a highly revered spiritual leader and world teacher, whose life and message are inspiring millions of people throughout the world to turn Godward and to lead constructive and virtuous lives. His timeless and universal teachings, along with the example of his own life, are attracting seekers of Truth from all religions of the world. He was born as Sathya Narayana Raju in 1926 in Puttaparthi, then a remote hamlet in South India. As a child he was brilliant in his studies, but what made him unique was his extraordinary wisdom and compassion. At the age of fourteen, he declared that he would henceforth be known as Sai Baba and that his mission was to bring about the spiritual regeneration of humanity by inculcating love for God and service to all beings. Or over seven decades, his life has been a stirring and moving saga of love and compassion. Today, Prashanthi Nilayam – his ashram (spiritual oasis) in South India – attracts thousands of spiritual seekers from virtually every corner of the globe. This ‘abode of highest peace’ offers solace and inspiration to all who aspire for Peace.
Sri Sathya Sai Baba uplifts man by teaching and demonstrating that man is inherently divine and his nature is selfless love. Quoting the scriptures of various faiths, Baba often reminds us that Love is God and God is Love, and that Love is immanent in the heart of every being. Through his own example, Baba demonstrates how to tap that unfailing Source. He re-emphasizes principles that form the foundation of the world’s major religions: Truth, Right Conduct, Peace, Love, and Non-violence. He repeatedly exhorts mankind to “Love All, Serve All” and asserts that the essence of all scriptures is “Help Ever, Hurt Never!”
His Work
Sri Sathya Sai Baba uplifts the institutions of mankind through his unique and noble works. The sheer range and scale of the humanitarian projects initiated and inspired by him is unprecedented in modern history. What follows are glimpses of his Love in Action…
Education: Sathya Sai Baba has established a model education system, which includes primary and secondary schools and an accredited university, offering undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degrees, with no fees from the students. It has been hailed as a crown jewel of the Indian education system by leading educators. In addition to academic excellence, Baba’s system of integral education is designed to foster character and self-discipline, for as he often asserts, “The end of education is character.”
Healthcare: Sathya Sai Baba has established four hospitals, two of which provide advanced tertiary care. The hospitals are equipped with state-of-the-art technologies in cardiology and cardiothoracic surgery, neurology and neurosurgery, nephrology and urosurgery, and ophthalmology. To date, thousands of surgeries have been performed absolutely free.
Drinking Water: Starting from the mid-nineties, Sathya Sai Baba has executed massive drinking water projects, bringing much-needed relief to millions of villagers. For these long-suffering people a century-old dream has come true – safe drinking water, available free and throughout the year, right at their doorstep.
Rural Outreach: Every year, the students and staff of Baba’s University fan out into neighbouring villages and spend nearly two weeks distributing food and clothes, house to house, bringing comfort and love. This has inspired similar long-term projects throughout rural India and increasingly in other parts of the world.
Information
The Sri Sathya Sai Organization has a presence in over 100 countries with more than 2000 Centres world-wide, over 50 of which are in various cities across Canada. The centres provide a place to meet, study, and practice the teachings of Sathya Sai Baba. These Centres are engaged in selfless service in their local communities. The Centres also offer devotional meetings with group singing, meditation and prayer. Two programs of character development – Sathya Sai Education in Human Values and Sai Spiritual Education – are offered to children to inculcate the five human values of truth, right conduct, peace, love, and non-violence and to teach the fundamental truths underlying all religions. Such value-based spiritual training is also the basis for the Young Adult Program of the Organization.
For more information about the life and teaching of Sri Sathya Sai Baba or about the Sathya Sai Baba Organization of Canada, please contact
Sri Sathya Sai Baba Book & Information Centre
58-B Arlington Avenue,
Toronto, Ontario, M6G 3K8
Tel: 416-481-7242
www.saibooks.org
www.sathyasai.org
www.srisathyasai.org.in
Where there is righteousness in the heart,
there is beauty in the character.
When there is beauty in character,
there is harmony in the home.
When there is harmony in the home,
there is order in the nation.
When there is order in the nation,
there is peace in the world
- Sathya Sai Baba -
Posted at 10:58 am by saiavatar
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Sai Baba talks to Russian Ladies
Sai Baba talks to Russian Ladies
(excerpts)
Om Sri Sai Ram
Prasanthi Nilayam 25.06.2002
Sai Baba: What is a meaning of puja?
Lady: Puja is a worship of God.
Sai Baba: It is not correct. You have to worship God inside, not outside. Don't see God as a picture, see the picture as God. See God in everything.
Sai Baba: Do you have any questions?
Lady: How to find an answer to the question: "Who am I?"
Sai Baba: Think like this. We say: "This is my handkerchief." It means that I am separate from the handkerchief. We say: "This is my body" It means that I am different from my body. "This is my hand". "This is my leg". It means that I am not the hand and not the leg. But who am I? I am the consciousness inside this body. Consciousness is everything. Consciousness is God. But nowadays too many people have body consciousness.
God is one but He has many names. Christians call Him Jesus, Muslims call Him Allah, Hindus call Him Rama, Krishna, Govinda. But God is only one. When a doctor wants to make a blood test, he takes some blood from your finger. But the blood is the same in the shoulder, in the chest, in the leg. You can wear different types of jewelry - bangles, rings, chains, earrings, but the gold is one and the same. All of you here have different names and forms, but all are ladies. Similarly, God is one, path is one, goal is one. If you want to reach the goal you have to stick to one path. Some people go to one lady, then go to another lady. This is not good. There should be one path, one goal.
Now in Russia husband and wife often live separately. They fight with each other. Husband doesn't want to take care of the family.
Ladies have two stomachs. One is for food, another is for baby. In that other stomach often there are some diseases. One man comes and gives his blood. Another man comes and gives his blood, and so on. This blood mixes inside and causes problems. Ladies also take pills to prevent being pregnant. This is another reason for a disease. This is not good. Control your senses and you will not fall sick.
Sai Baba: What do you eat?
Lady: We eat vegetables.
Sai Baba: Very good. Vegetables contain all necessary proteins and vitamins. Vegetables and green stuff are very good. Meat is not good. It is very harmful. Animals eat impure food. Sometimes they eat dead bodies. If you eat non-vegetarian food all this poison goes to your body. Ladies are usually more careful than gents. They eat only good food. But gents go to the restaurants and eat anything. They buy different snacks in the bazaars and in the streets. This food is not good.
Many people nowadays are sick with cancer and TB. But look at the animals. They don't suffer from cancer and TB. Why? Because they eat natural, raw food. Their food is not cooked. Human beings, on the contrary, eat unnatural artificial food.
Lady: Can we eat fish?
Sai Baba: Fish is not good. Nowadays the water in the ocean is polluted. Such countries as Japan and China throw bombs and nuclear waste into the ocean. Fish is therefore gets poisoned and is not good. Do not eat fish.
Sai Baba: It is very important to control your five senses. This is the best sadhana. Meditation and repetition of Gods Name is not necessary. If you control your sense organs just for eleven days you will get Moksha, Mukti, Nirvana, Liberation.
Buddha also did tapas and meditation, visited different teachers and sages but finally he gave up all these practices. He understood that five senses are given to us by God and that we have to control them. He learned to control his senses and in eleven days he reached Nirvana. Once a very bright, effulgent Light came down on him from heaven. Ananda, who was sitting next to Buddha, also saw this light. He understood that Buddha is going and started crying. Buddha asked him: Ananda, why are you crying? Don't cry, I am going to God. My life is fulfilled. Thus Buddha went to God. After some time Ananda also was engulfed in Light and reached the state of Nirvana.
First of all you should control your tongue, eyes and ears. Tongue is the most important among the five sense organs. Many ancient sages observed mauna (period of silence). As a result they were in the state of bliss. Silence is gold. You should talk less.
Sai Baba (addressing one of the ladies): What sadhana are you doing?
Lady: Every morning I meditate on Your Name and Form.
Sai Baba: Very good. During meditation you should look at the tip of your nose, like this (demonstrates). If you keep your eyes fully open, your attention will be easily distracted, this is Raja guna. If you close your eyes completely, you may fall asleep, this is Tamo guna. Therefore you have to keep your eyes half-closed, looking at the tip of your nose. Then you will reach Sattva guna. And you always have to keep your mind here (points at the area between the eyebrows, third eye), and not there (points at the chest). Here is the minds real place. Here is God.
Lady: Why do bad omens come true?
Sai Baba: This is because of your mind. Mind is everything. If you think that something bad should happen, it happens. If you think of something good, then good thing happens.
Don't talk evil, talk what is good.
Don't hear evil, hear what is good.
Don't see evil, see what is good.
Don't do evil, do what is good.
Don't think evil, think what is good.
You are what you think. Yad Bhavam Tat Bhavati (As is the feeling so is the result). If you think you are a man, you are a man. If you think you are God, you are God.
What is mind? Mind is just a bundle of desires. Desires are like luggage in this journey of life. Less luggage more comfort. Therefore reduce the number of your desires, one by one. Take, for example, this handkerchief. It is just a piece of cloth made of threads. If you remove threads one by one, the cloth will disappear. Similarly, if you remove your desires, the mind will disappear.
Sometimes you feel envy, jealousy. This is a quality of a monkey. When you feel jealous, say to yourself: I am not a monkey, I am a man. The jealousy will go. Anger is a quality of a dog. If you feel angry, say to yourself: I am not a dog, I am a man. Then you will be free from anger. Envy, jealousy, hatred, anger - these are all animal qualities. You have to get rid of animal qualities and to develop human qualities Lust is like thorns and love is like a flower, a rose. You have to pluck a flower of love without touching the thorns and offer it to God.
You have to keep your heart pure. Pure heart means pure death. This is very important. Body is a water bubble, mind is a mad monkey. Don't follow the body, don't follow the mind. Follow the consciousness.
Never think that the work you have to do is your work. Consider all your work, all your actions to be an offering to God.
Think of God always. Mira used to spent all her time in the Krishna temple.. Once there came her angry husband and started shouting at her: What are you doing here?! Go home and do your household duties! He forbade her to go to the temple. At first, Mira got very upset. But then she understood that all temples are built by human beings and that body is the only temple built by God Himself. She started worshipping Krishna within her heart. (Swami sings Miras song): O, mind, go to the confluence of Ganga and Yamuna. The point of confluence of Ganga and Yamuna is here, in the center of the forehead. Here is the seat of God. It is not an ordinary seat. It is His coronation seat.
(To a lady who is crying): Why are you crying?
Another lady: She is crying out of love.
Sai Baba: Love is very easy.
Start the day with love
Fill the day with love
Spend the day with love
End the day with love
This is the way to God.
During the interview Swami materialized nine diamond rings, small golden statue of Goddess Lakshmi and a watch.
http://sairam19.tripod.com/russian/russian.htm
Posted at 10:51 am by saiavatar
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Oct 3, 2004
Sai Baba's Miracles
Picture of the 'Previous'
Venkamma, the 'sister' was pestering Baba for a picture of Shirdi Sai Baba, about whom so many songs were composed for the Bhajan by Baba, and it seems, He told her that He would be giving it by a certain Thursday. But, Baba went off to Uravakonda on the day previous to the Thursday indicated, and she too had forgotten all about it, for, she as sure she would get it some day and was not very particular. When night fell and all were asleep at Puttaparthi; some one called out, "Ammayi," "Ammayi" outside the front door, but, the sister did not go and open the door, since the call did not persist. She argued it must be some one calling the neighbour. When she laid herself down after the sitting up, she heard a sound, behind one of the bags of jowar in the same room; she imagined it to be a rat or a snake; it was distinct and loud; so, she lit a lamp and searched and, lo, something was sticking out behind the bag, white, sharp, a piece of rolled paper, a picture of Shirdi Sai Baba, mysteriously presented to her by Baba, who was at Uravakonda at the time!
http://www.srisathyasai.org.in/pages/bhagawan/miracles/Picture.htm
Posted at 01:26 pm by saiavatar
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