Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Shri Sai Satcharitra for Kids - Introduction


Shri Sai Satcharitra for Kids

Introduction:

 
Shri Sai Baba lived in Shirdi, which is in Maharashtra, India, between 1858 and 1918. Devotees believe that Baba is an incarnation of Lord Dattatreya, and lived a life of purity and love. Baba delivered spiritual teachings to his visitors, recommending the reading of sacred Hindu texts and the Qur'an. He did not believe in any one religion, but in one God and the goodness of people. Baba advised his followers to lead moral lives, help others, love every living being without discrimination. Most importantly, Baba taught people to develop two important features of character: faith (shraddha) and patience (saburi).
Shri Sai Satcharitra is collection of stories and miracles (leelas) that have been witnessed by devotees of Shri Shirdi Sai Baba during his lifetime. They were written down by one of Baba’s devotees, Hemadpant, so that future generations would understand His love and teachings.
(To be continued)
For more stories and activities for children, please visit our website http://BabaTimes.com

Thursday, June 20, 2013

Prayer Song: Raham Nazar Karo

Raham Nazar Karo (Audio link from youtube)

Shirdi Sai - Raham Nazar Karo
Raham nazar karo, ab more Sai
Tum bin nahin mujhe, maa baap bhai,
Raham nazar karo

Mai andha hoon, bandha tumhara
Mai andha hoon, bandha tumhara
Mai naa jaanu, mai naa jaanu, allah ilaahi
Raham nazar karo

Raham nazar karo, ab more Sai
Tum bin nahin mujhe, maa baap bhai,
Raham nazar karo

Khaali zamana maine gavaaya
Khaali zamana maine gavaaya
Saathi akhir ka, saathi akhir ka, saathi akhir ka, Kiya na koyi
Raham nazar karo


Raham nazar karo, ab more Sai
Tum bin nahin mujhe, maa baap bhai,
Raham nazar karo

Apne mashid ka zadoo ganu hain
Apne mashid ka zadoo ganu hain
Maalik hamaare, maalik hamaare, maalik hamaare, tum Baba Sai
Raham nazar karo

Raham nazar karo, ab more Sai
Tum bin nahin mujhe, maa baap bhai,
Raham nazar karo

Sairam

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

FREE ONLINE GUIDED MEDITATION - Every Saturday 6.30 am EST

FREE ONLINE GUIDED MEDITATION
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With blessings and guidance from Swami Padmanabhanandaji, Divine Life Society 
This week - DISCUSSIONS ON SWAMI CHIDANANDA’s DAILY SVADYAYA  
" SADHANA FOR MODERN MAN
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RELATED TOPICS FROM VEDANTA
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Yoga of the Self – ‘The Art and Science of Non-Contactual Contact’

Posted from  http://dlsusa.blogspot.com/2013/04/spiritual-message-of-day-yoga-of-self.html
From Divine Life Society Publication - Chapter 10: “The Search for Truth” by Swami Krishnananda

In the recognition of the true nature of the Self, there are before us three great impediments – personality, society and the world, due to which, rarely do people become successful in the attempt. The assertion of our personal individuality contradicts our aspiration for the true Self which we wish to realise. Secondly, we are involved day in and day out in our contact with society and we live a social life much more than anything else. Thirdly, we perceive a large universe in front of us.

All these three difficulties mentioned are connected with the three states of consciousness, jagrat, svapna, sushupti – waking, dream and sleep. Neither the waking nor the dream nor the sleep condition is the essential nature of the Self. The Self is just as it is. It is Pure Being, Existence as such, Existence which is aware of itself. It is not existence like a stone’s existence. It is a consciousness-existence, or rather, existence-consciousness. In Sanskrit, we call it sat-chit. The Existence which is aware of itself is sat-chit. It is not limited by any kind of conditioning factor in the world and, therefore, it is utter freedom. So, it is bliss, ananda. Sat-chitananda is the  nature of the Self.

The Self is a wonder. Because, Desha-kala-vastu-pariccheda: the de-limitation caused by space, time and individuality does not apply to the Self.  Whoever knows the Self shall have everything.

Can anyone contact a Being, as such? If this could be possible, one can contact the Self, also. Actually, there is no such thing as contact with the Self, because contacts are always between two things and in the Self, there are no two things. No one is there who can contact it.

The contact of things in this world, says the epic Mahabharata, is like the contact of logs of wood floating on the surface of the ocean. The contact has been caused not because of their effort but because of the wind that blew from above. When the wind blew in another direction, the logs are separated. Neither birth nor death, neither coming together nor separation, is in anyone’s hands. It is the will of the cosmos that operates.

Contacts of any kind are not to tempt us to such an extent as to make us forget the true nature of the Self. All joys born of contact of sense organs with things are wombs of pain, says the Bhagavad Gita.

Non-contact is the nature of the recognition of the Self. Yoga of the Self – atmasakshatkara, or brahma sakshatkara – the realisation of the Absolute is the way, the art, the technique, the science of non-contactual contact. It is contacting oneself.

To contact yourself, you do not require eyes. You close the eyes, don’t see anything, and yet you will know that you are existing. Let there be no sensation of any kind through the organs of perception. You will still be conscious that you are there. There will be the existence-consciousness of the personality. You will know that you are: “I exist, and I am aware that I am existing.” To have this apprehension, sense organs are not necessary. Sense organs are not the means to practise yoga.

By sense-control, by the abstraction of the operation of the organs of perception, by freedom from desires that are mortal, deceptive and perishable, by contentment with whatever one has, by noncontact with people and having no attachment to anything, the Self reverts to Self-consciousness, the Aloneness that it is.

A gradual inwardness has to be practiced, rising from the personality and society and going further above into the cosmic existence, then finally centering oneself in the True Self. This indescribable thing is our own Self. “You” are the most important thing in the world. And if we can bring this Self of ours, which we consider as the greatest value, into the surface of actual, visible contemplation, direct perception, that would be the state of the practice of the yoga of the Atman.

Continue to read:

Chapter 10: “The Search for Truth” by Swami Krishnananda
Sadhana Tattva or the Science of Seven Cultures by Swami Sivananda

Sunday, March 10, 2013

Acute Water Shortage in Sai Baba Temple, Shirdi


 

Just like last year, there is severe water shortage in Shirdi due to drought. The Shirdi Saibaba Sansthan is spending about 1 lakh rupees daily to purchase water to meet its everyday water requirement. This is because the usual supply from Nashik’s darana dam has stopped and the tanks in Shirdi have dried up.
In 2012 too, Shri Saibaba Sansthan had to face a severe water shortage with the Darana Lake drying up due to severe drought. And the people in ‘prasadalaya’ were served lunch on disposable leaf plates instead of the steel plates.

Saturday, March 2, 2013

Ban on offering garlands in Sai Baba temple at Shirdi, to be implemented soon

Will our Hindu way of worship become extinct in the near future? 

Following terrorist threats devotees are not allowed to carry cell phones from 2007. Now ban on offering garlands is to be implemented and the dates are to be announced soon.

Countless threats have been received from the terror organisations recently that they are targeting  famous religious places like the Siddhivinayak temple, Mumbai. Offering of coconuts and garlands in this temple has been banned and police have cautioned devotees to be alert.

Shri. Shrikant Pathak, additional Superintendent of Police has now made a similar demand for putting a ban on carrying coconuts, garlands, flowers and cell phones (already banned) even in Sai Baba temple at Shirdi.
Kishore More, chief officer of the Shirdi Sai Sansthan Trust recently announced that the committee would take a  decision soon regarding banning of garlands at Shirdi Temple. This decision is due to the fact that there is a high probability of explosives being carried in the bags along with garlands. He further added that the date from which this rule will be implemented will be announced soon.

In lieu of the twin blasts recently at Disukhnagar, Hyderabad very close to the Sai Temple,  security in and around the Shirdi Sai Temple will also be beefed up.

Mumbaimirror also gives this interesting info “At present, 730 private security guards protect the 7-acre premises, funded by the Shirdi Sansthan which earned Rs 345 crore in donations last year. Fifty policemen, a sub-inspector and a bomb detection and disposal squad had also been deployed. According to a senior IPS officer, the state has sanctioned 190 constables, two sub-inspectors and one inspector for the police station. Talks are also on for the appointment of an IAS and IPS officer for the temple’s security and management.

Source
http://www.mumbaimirror.com/article/2/201303032013030301202837556d48212/No-garlands-inside-Shirdi-temple.html

Thursday, February 14, 2013

The BabaTimes: The Eleven Assurances of Shri Shirdi Sai Baba

The BabaTimes: The Eleven Assurances of Shri Shirdi Sai Baba:   Whosoever comes to Shirdi, his sufferings would come to an end immediately. The wretched and miserable would see plenty of joy a...