http://srisainarayana.org http://sriamruthasai.org

1

He..If Lord is taking care of everything, why your car should

stop in the middle of ghats that too at midnight.

Me..Probably Lord designed in such a way that I can meet You

and your Wife and have a delicious porridge from her hands.

He..So you firmly believe that Lord is the reason behind all this.

Me..Not just mere belief..It’s his grace that the seed of belief

has grown into a mountain of Faith.

He..Incase you have

time I will take you to a place inside the forest tomorrow.

Me..Very Gracious of

you. God’s gift to Me..

Next Day morning around 5AM the old

man, his wife and myself started moving inside the Jungle.

There was a small waterfall and a big pool of water. We all took bath. We started

moving further. His wife had bought some eatables and we ate in

the middle. After about 10 hours, by around 3pm we

reached a place. It was very beautiful. Lots of Plantain trees, Lots of

Monkeys. The couple took me across these plantain trees. Finally there was a huge rock

on a mountain. Around 5pm we reached the rock. They

GURUJI’s EXPERIENCE

The Car stopped as I was returning from forest (Ghat Section). Many

times I tried to crank the engine, but it didn't start. It was past 1.30 at night. I Just locked the

car and started walking. On the way I saw an old man with a stick to

support his walking, sitting on the road side. He had lit some fire and

was sitting by the side since it was cold. As I crossed him, he called

me. I stopped and went back to him. He asked me what I was doing there at the middle of

the night. I told him that my car has stopped, and walking down to a

nearby town or village. He said it was far and said come with me and

stay tonight. He said you may proceed in the morning, so I went behind him.

Inside the forest at a distance about 2 miles, there was a small hut.

His Wife an old lady welcomed us. She said to have some porridge

with green mango, chilly and some buttermilk. The man asked me as to

what I do for a living. Me..Lord’s Grace..I’am under his care and hence there is nothing to

think about leave alone worrying.

W o r d s o f W i s d o m — F r o m o u r G u r u j i

Sa

i

Am

ru

th

a

Jy

ot

hi

I n s i d e t h i s i s s u e

O c t o b e r 2 0 1 6

near me and looked at me. It looked as though they smiled at me and ran

away.

I could recognize that they are none other than

‘GANDHARVAS’ who roam in different forms in the forest.

I came back to the car and just one cranking. It start-ed and I drove straight to Madurai for halt.

LORD’s MERCY and GRACE.

, I s s u e

took me to the other side of the rock where

there was a huge opening like a cave. We walked inside and the

light was minimal. The woman took out a big spoon, she poured some oil in it and lit it.

One of the fantastic works of the Lord I could see on the wall of

the rock. ’PRAYOGACHAKRADHARI SRI YOGENDRA

LAKSHMI NRUSIMHA SWAMY’..The Lord seated in Padmasana

with SREE DEVI and BHOOMA DEVI standing by the side and comforting the

Lord with Chamaram(Fans). The old man asked me to feel the feet

of the Lord. As I touched both the feet, it was more alive and

spongy. From the right feet of the lord he asked me to take Chandan

(Sandal Paste). It was fresh and very fragrant. The Lady had brought some flowers and asked

me to offer.

I requested their permission and started

doing a Prayogam called ‘UJEEVANI’. It took me 8 hours to

complete the prayogam. The couple were missing. I stayed

in the cave wondering at the Lord. I left in the morning, walked back to the location of the

hut of the old couple. I didn't find them there.

But interestingly I saw

something beautiful. A Tiger and Tigress were playing. I just stood at a

distance and they came

Words of Wisdom 1

Upcoming Events 1

Sri Sai Satcharita in our daily life

2

Towards the Divine 3

Rangoli/Kolam/Muggu 4

PANCHATANTRA TALES

5

NAVARATHRI 2016 6

U p c o m i n g e v e n t s :

11/06

Subramanyeshwara

Kalyanam

11/13

Karthika Pournami/

Satya Narayana

Puja

11/27

Thanksgiving Day/

Special Abhishekam and Anna Koot for

Baba

http://srisainarayana.org http://sriamruthasai.org

2

Chapter 14

Rathanji Wadia of Nandhed – Sage Maula Saheb – Principles of

Dakshina – Mimamsa

By listening to Sai Leelas, we will get salvation in this birth itself.

There lived in Nandhed, a rich gentleman known as Rathanji Wadia. Despite his enormous wealth, he had no children. As perDasganu’s advice, he took a basket of mangoes and prostrated before Saibaba of shirdi and pleaded with him to bless him with kids. Baba asked a dakshina of 5 rupees but got only Re. 1-2.0 saying the he had already got Rs.3.14.0 . Rathanji gave the money and Baba blessed him. But, Rathanji was perplexed as to how he could have paid him earlier when this is his first darshan of Baba. Later, while discussing this matter with Dasganu, it was revealed that Rathanji fed a local Maulvi named Maula Saheb which cost him the exact amount Baba had subtracted! Thus, he understood Baba’s omnipotence. He was later

S r i S a i S a t c h a r i t a i n o u r d a i l y l i f e - S a n k a r K u m a r

blessed with 12 kids out of which only 4 survived.

Baba never wanted money but the practice started when devotees started placing coins in front of Him. It is customary to give dakshina to King, teacher, sages and God and this is the ultimate way for humans to get higher blessings. Baba then insisted on His devotees for dakshina but all those who gave got back 100 folds more of its worth! He even asked dakshina in various forms, like asking Prof. Narke to give dakshina in the form of his knowledge from ‘YogaVasishta’. He demanded the 6 bad qualities as dakshina from a lady known as Tharkat. Despite getting dakshina all through His life, he had only Rs. 9/- left at his time of Samadhi! He demonstrated renunciation and purity by asking for dakshina.

He never demanded from everyone. Sometimes He demanded more and more from the same person and never asked from some. If He didn’t like a particular dakshina, He asked them to take it back. For some, He used to give back a portion of the money . He would ask someone to beg,or borrow to give the dakshina! He spent a portion of the money to buy tobacco for His chillim and wood foe his Dhuni. He gave

Saiamrutham — “I give my devotees whatever they ask, until they ask for what I want to give.”

back the rest of it to all. He claimed only His loin-cloth, towel, kafni, and tin-cup as His belongings and none else. Women and money are the two obstacles in spiritual life and to demonstrate this He used to send His devotees to Radhakrishna Mayi’s house and demanded dakshina. Thus He purified them. Giving dakshina at a sacred place to a sacred soul is of highest order .

Bow to Shri Sai Peace be to all

Life applications:

Believe in the omnipotence of Great souls.

Importance of Dakshina is the essence of life.

Help and give charity.

Do not accumulate wealth more than what you need.

Sri Satchitananda SadGuru Sainath

Maharaj ki Jai!

http://srisainarayana.org http://sriamruthasai.org

3

DIWALI

***********

Diwali is one of the major

festivals celebrated in India.

It is celebrated not only by

Hindus, but also by Jains,

Sikhs, and some Buddhists

alike. Diwali is celebrated in

number of different ways,

and in number of different

days as well. It is celebrated

for 6-days at the

maximum. There are also

various legends

associated with Diwali, every

one of them signifying

victory of good over evil.

Some of the popular legends

indicate Diwali as a

celebration of killing of the

demon called Narakasura by

Lord Krishna and his consort

Sathyabhama. Some

celebrate the return of Rama,

Sita, and Lakshmana

after 14 years of exhile after

killing Ravana as Diwali.

Some celebrate the return of

Pandavas after their exhile

as Diwali. Diwali also

signifies the birth of Goddess

Lakshmi from churning of

the milky ocean.

Diwali literally means row of

lights, and hence it is

popularly known as Festival

of Lights. The significance of

all festivals is to remind us

of the Divine and to get closer

* T o w a r d s t h e D i v i n e * - K a v i n a y a

to Him. As such, Diwali

reminds us the

importance of knowledge,

self-inquiry,

self-improvement,

knowing and seeking the

good and the right path. It

is a metaphor for

resisting evil, for

dispelling darkness

within us and it persuades

the celebration of

victory of inner light over

spiritual darkness, of

knowledge over

ignorance, and of right

over wrong. It is a festive

restatement of the Hindu

belief that the good

ultimately triumphs over

evil.

While we wear new

clothes, eat lots of

varieties of sweets and

savories and share with

families and friends, light

firecrackers and happily

celebrate, let us also take

a moment to remind

ourselves the true

meaning of Diwali and let

the inner light shine in

our hearts!

HAPPY DIWALI !!!

*Services in the Temple*

——————————————

Priests services like Yantra Puja,Gruha Pravesham, Satyana-

rayana Vratam , Pitru Karma ,Seemantham, Upanayanm, Vahana

Puja etc., are available which will be per-formed at devotees homes for their good

health and prosperity. We also do archanas, abhishekam's for all

our deities.

Seva (Volunteering) opportunities are also

available at the tem-ple.

For more details please visit our web-site:

http:www.sriamruthasai.o

rg/services/ or contact the

temple at 804-708-0867.

http://srisainarayana.org http://sriamruthasai.org

4

Why do we draw Rangoli/

Kolam/Muggu?

************************************

“Cleanliness is next to

Godliness”. This is an old

saying and I believe our folks

followed this from ancient

times. Getting up early in the

morning,before sunrise at

Brahma muhurtham. Sweeping

the entrance and mixing water

with cow dung and sprinkling it

at the entrance and drawing

different designs with rice flour

is Rangoli. By sweeping we

clear all the unwanted things

around our house. Cow dung is

a natural disinfectant and by

sprinkling cow dung water we

kill all the germs. And by

making rice powder and using it

for drawing designs and

patterns we feed the ants and

birds. By waking up in the

morning we are up and about

and active. We benefit a lot

from the simple practice of

putting kolam.

Rangoli can be drawn by two

different methods one is by

using dry rice powder and

another is with wet watery rice

batter. For everyday Rangoli,

people use dry powder and for

the Rangoli to last couple of

days, they use wet rice

batter. People use dots and

make designs, some patterns

have no dots but continuous

lines and curvy

lines. Traditionally designs are

also passed from one

* R A N G O L I / K O L A M / M U G G U * - S r e e l a t h a P a r a s u

generation to another. Eve-

ry household enjoys the

display of Rangoli. The de-

signs and patterns for

Rangoli are made up

of lotus or other flowers,

parrots, peacocks, swans,

elephants,cows, deer,

and different things from

nature. Geometrical de-

signs, Gods and God-

desses also are used as

patterns. Once the outline

is drawn people make it

colorful by decorating it

using different color

powder. In olden times we

used rice flour for white

color, turmeric powder for

yellow, kumkum and brick

powder for red color, leaf

powder for green, coffee

and tea powder for dark and

light brown color, charcoal

for black color, grey by

mixing rice powder and

charcoal, etc.

On festival days, the Rangolis are very big, bright and beautiful. Especially on Sankranthi days, Deepavali, Krishna Jayanthi, Dussehra, Onam festival, Margazhi maasam(mid Dec-mid Jan). And special occasions like weddings, birthday and anniversary milestone celebrations. On Sankranthi days people decorate the Rangoli with a blob of cowdung in the middle of the Rangoli and a pumpkin flower on the top of the blob of the cow dung. Rangoli competition are held in schools, temples

and neighborhoods. Like any other art form Rangoli classes are given for children. Many varieties of Rangolis do exist, few are flower Rangolis, fruits and vegetables Rangolis, colored rice or colored rock salt Rangolis, these are exclusively for competitions. During Onam and wedding people exhibit lovely flower petal Rangolis.

As days and decades go by

the decorative side of

Rangoli is given importance

and people use paint or

chemical color powder to

decorate. I hope we can

avoid this and resume the

older organic powder and

cherish the true value of

Rangolis.

***************************

http://srisainarayana.org http://sriamruthasai.org

5

The Village Man & The Crooks

****************************

In a village, there lived a man named Mitra Sharma. During one rainy season, he wanted to sacrifice a goat to appease the Fire God. He traveled to a nearby village and he was offered a goat by a devotee. Since he could not control the goat, he carried it on his shoulders. En route, three crooks saw him and made up a plan to rid the man of his goat and to feast off it. They made up a plan and accordingly, the first crook went near Mitra Sharma and said, "Sir, you look like a learned man, but why are you carrying this vicious dog on your shoulders?". Sharma chided him and said that he is carrying a goat and proceeded on his way. After some dis-

* P A N C H A T A N T R A T A L E S * - S a t h y a R a m k u m a r

tance, the second crook approached and said that he is carrying a cat. Shar-ma was confused but said to him also that he is only car-rying a goat. But, when the third crook came by and told that he is carrying a donkey, he was really scared and thought that he is carrying a shape shifting goblin. He dropped the goat and ran away to his village. The crooks feasted on the goat and laughed in merriment. Moral of the story : **************************

Repeated many times, even untruth appears to be truth

SRIDHARAMRITHAM *******************************

If you want to use mind or buddhi or ahamkaar, use it in office or business, but not in valued personal relationship

http://srisainarayana.org http://sriamruthasai.org

6

Navarathri is one of the most

favourite times of the year. I

love the Koluvu/Golu, all the

colorful dolls happily bring-

ing in the festive mood. Ab-

hishekams & Alankarams to

the Mother every morning, Kumkuma archana & Lalitha

Sahasramam in the evening.

A beautiful conclusion of

each day with a Music or

Dance offering to the Mother

Goddess. All artists getting

the wonderful blessings of the

bhagawan as the Lord Him-

self/Herself is the ultimate

audience during these perfor-

mances. We are sharing with

you some of the program pic-

tures of this years Navarathri

cultural programs.

* N A V R A T H R I 2 0 1 6 * - S h a r a d a J a m m i