howling. From the bag I took out the plate and a big camphor, lit it and offered harathi by chanting :

Transcription

1 S a i A m r u t h a J y o t h i 1, I s s u e N o v e m b e r 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 GURUJI S EXPERIENCE *********************** SAMBHA BHAIRAVAR *********************** It was an usual day in the forest. Two days have gone by, after completing the Prayogams I asked the tribals who were there helping me to return to the hamlet. I thought of spending one more day in the forest..i started walking further deep. After a couple of miles I felt tired and took rest. After sometime I felt the smell of Cucumber..I knew it was her.. A Yakshini by name SAMBHAVI. When she makes her presence felt, she emits this smell. But very rarely she appears, out of the 387 yakshinis known to me, SAMBHAVI is the only one who appears very be hundreds of rarely. She wanted hounds, foxes and me to follow her. wolves started howling. From the bag I took out the plate and a big camphor, lit it and offered harathi by chanting : So I started walking behind her. After a couple of miles, there was a small water fall and a stream. So I bathed in the stream and applied sandal paste on my body. SAMBHAVI likes the smell of sandal, luckily I had sandal powder in my bag. She was very happy and laughed. It echoed across the mountains. She said Come just another mile..i will show you something beautiful. By the time we reached the spot it was late evening. She said we will wait here till the moon rises up in the horizon. The moon light was not that powerful, as it was the waning moon and the 'RAKTHAJWALA JADADARAM SASIDHARAM, RAKTHANGA TEJO MAYAM HASTHE SOOLA KAPALA PAASA DHAMARUM LOKASYA RAKSHAKARAM NIRVAANAM SUNA VAAHANAM TRINAYANAM ANANDA KOLAHALAM VANDE BHOOTHA PISACHA NAADA VATUKAM SHREE-HI KSHETRASYA PALAM SIVAM' It was a wonderful sight. With Sambhavi s grace I could have the blessings of Lord eighth day (Ashtami). As the moon s rays fell on the opposite mountain right Bhairavar. from the bottom to top I could visualize KALA BHAIRAVAR. May Today also when I go that side and when I see the mountain I pray to Lord Bhairava. I I n s i d e t h i s i s s u e Words of Wisdom 1 Upcoming Events 1 Sri Sai Satcharita in our daily life Towards the Divine 3 Significance of Lighting a Lamp PANCHATANTRA TALES call him SAMBHA BHAIRAVA MURTHY thereby offering my respects to Yakshini SAMBHAVI. Purely Lords Mercy & Grace!!! *************************** U p c o m i n g e v e n t s : 12/12 Thirukarthigai 12/28 Hanuman Jayanthi 12/31 New Year Eve Japam & Prayers 2 4 5

2 2 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 Chapter 15 Narada s technique; Cholkar s sugarless tea; Two lizards. Generally, those who do Hari Kirtan will wear decorative costume and ornaments while on stage. When DasGhanu Maharaj also dressed himself similarly before doing a Sai Kirtan and stood before Sai, Baba mocked at him and ordered him to remove all the paraphernalia and dress simply, just as Narada used to roam around the worlds in puranic tales. Thus Baba promoted simplicity in dress. There was a poor court clerk by name Cholkar who happened to listen to Dasghanu maharaj s kirtan and then and there, he vowed to go to Shirdi and offer sweet candy to Baba, should he pass the departmental exam. And he did pass the exam but had no money to go to Shirdi. So, he stopped taking sugarless tea, thus saving money for his Shirdi trip. After sometime, he went to Shirdi and offered candy to Baba. Baba accepted it pleasantly and told his friend Mr. Jog, to take Cholkar to Wada and give him tea with lots of sugar! Cholkar knew the significance of this statement and felt very happy. Baba told him that if one surrenders to Him, He will be with him for-ever. One day at the masjid, when Baba was talking, a devotee saw a lizard tick-tick ing and asked Baba of its significance. Baba said the lizard s sister is going to visit her shortly and hence it is happy. No one knew its significance but soon a gentleman came from AhamadNagar on horse back to see Baba and he wanted to rest his horse and opened a sack of grains to give it to the horse. To everyone s surprise, a lizard, jumped out of the sack, climbed the wall and met with her sister. Both inter-twined and danced happily. How did Baba know of this? Everyone was so thrilled at Baba s omniscience. Those who read this chapter daily will be rid of their wordly troubles. Bow to Shri Sai Peace be to all Life applications: Be simple in your dress and speech. When in difficulty, pray to SAI and fulfill your vow faithfully. Know that SAI knows everything and will be with you if you are sincere. Believe in the omnipotence of Sri Shirdi Sai. Sri Satchitananda SadGuru Sainath Maharaj ki Jai! Saiamrutham Wealth is really a means to work out Dharma. If one uses it merely for personal enjoyment, it is vainly spent.

3 3 * T o w a r d s t h e D i v i n e * - K a v i n a y a BHAKTHI ************* What is Bhakthi? Bakthi is nothing but supreme love for the Divine. Love between humans causes desire which leads to attachement. Whereas, love towards the Divine releases humans from attachments. When Bakthi is at its extreme, it is called Nishkamya Bakthi. It does not expect anything in return from God. It is love for love s sake and nothing else. Puranas have great examples of such pure devotion. Kannappa Nayanar was such a devotee of Lord Shiva. He was born as a hunter, but when he came across Lord Shiva in the forest, he was completely overcome with love for Him. He felt bad that Lord Shiva was all alone in the midst of the forest and wanted to protect him. As the familiar story goes, Lord Shiva accepted His love completely, even though everything that Kannappa Nayanar offered was not clean in the worldly sense. However Lord Shiva accepted them only because of his pure Bakthi. Matha Sabari s story from Ramayan is another great example of such Nishkamya Bakthi. Matha Sabari was a poor old woman who only had fruits she picked from the forest to offer to the Lord. She was not sure if the fruits were poisonous or bitter or tasty. So she bit off each fruit and separated the ones that tasted good, and offered them to the Lord. Lord Rama lovingly accepted her offer only because of her pure hearted devotion. There are many such stories about devotees with Nishkamya Bakthi. Let us follow their foot steps and aspire to have only pure love for the Divine. *Services in the Temple* Priests services like Yantra Puja,Gruha Pravesham, Satyanarayana Vratam, Pitru Karma,Seemantham, Upanayanm, Vahana Puja etc., are available which will be performed 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 temple. For more details please visit our website: rg/services/ or contact the temple at

4 4 * S i g n i f i c a n c e o f L i g h t i n g a L a m p * - S r e e l a t h a P a r a s u In every Indian home, a lamp is lit at the altar of God. Some people light once a day, others twice a day (morning and evening), and some others the entire day. Usually the entire day is done in the temples or when particular rituals and practices are followed. All auspicious functions begin with the lighting of the lamp and it is maintained till the end of the function. Light represents knowledge and darkness represents ignorance. The light or knowledge shows us the way out of our problems, fears, tensions, and unhappiness. And brings us well being, wisdom and wealth. God represents knowledge, and is the source of all knowledge. He is an enlightener and illuminator of knowledge. Light removes darkness as knowledge removes ignorance. Knowledge is an inner wealth by which all outer achievements are accomplished. In modern times we substitute by switching on a light instead of lighting a lamp. But our traditional way of lighting a lamp using oil or ghee has its spiritual significance. The oil and ghee in our lamp symbolizes our vasanas or negative tendencies and the wick our ego. When lit by spiritual knowledge, the vasanas get slowly exhausted and the ego too finally perishes. The flame of a lamp always burns upwards. Similarly we should acquire such knowledge as to take us towards higher ideals. Mostly Ghee or sesame oil is used to light the lamp. Ghee made from only cow s milk and not buffalo s, is considered as the purest form of ghee and is used in the lighting of lamps to gain prosperity, health and happiness. Sesame oil is used to remove all obstacles and evil effects that haunt us. It is exclusively used to pray to Lord Saneeswaran (Saturn). Some people use other types of oil, Coconut oil is used to please Lord Ganesha. Neem oil is used for prosperity too. Castor oil ensures fame, happy family life and to gain a devotional mind set. People also use Panchadeepa oil for special and particular practices. Panchadeepa oil is made out of ghee and four different oils mixed together. Coconut oil or sesame oil, castor oil, neem oil, iluppai oil(mahua tree) and cow s ghee should be mixed in the ratio of 3:2:1:2:2 respectively. A Panchadeepa Oil lamp protects the home and it's inmates from negative energy, evil eyes, illnesses and bad thoughts. It ensures prosperity and all forms of wealth. Health, abundance and happiness thrive in the family. Different types of wicks are used to procure different things in life. Commonly cotton wick is used to obtain all good fortune. Wick made of banana stem fiber helps to seek forgiveness for mistakes committed and ancestral curse. Lotus stem fiber wick removes previous birth karma and establishes a happy and prosperous life. Lamps with one wick, two wicks, three wicks, five wicks, hundred wicks or even thousand wicks are used to light the lamp. Usually hundred and thousand wicks are used to do Aarti in the temple during festivals and very special poojas. Commonly temples use one wick on a daily basis, and five wicks for elaborate prayer and ceremony. Special functions, weddings and social gathering use five wicks to light the lamp. People generally use two wicks in their house, as two represents a pair. And three Symbolises to honor and welcome the Trinity Goddesses : Parvathi, Lakshmi and Saraswati. Directions play an important role in lighting a lamp. North: The most preferable direction to place and light a lamp. One is blessed with the Ashtaaishwaryas of Goddess Lakshmi. East: It will ensure good health and peace of mind. West: It will free you from debts and ensure victory over foes. South: Never place and light a lamp in the south direction. It will bring all the bad tidings. Strictly avoid lighting a lamp in this direction. Some special reasons to light a lamp. Lighting a lamp is meticulously followed at times when there is lack of concentration and peace of mind. One can go to Durga temple and light a lamp with ghee in a earthen lamp for three consecutive Fridays. When one has obstacles, blocks in career, work and life it can be removed by lighting a lamp with coconut oil to Lord Ganesha. To get rid of past life sins and attain moksha one should light a ghee lamp to Lord Shiva.

5 5 * 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 The Musical Donkey ************************** Uddatha was a fine donkey, belonging to a washerman. The washerman used it to ferry the clothes to be washed, to and from the river. He took care of the donkey during daytime and during night, he let it roam by itself. Uddatha having worked during daytime, instead of grazing the fields nearby found an easy way to feed himself. He could kick the door of the farms and would feed on the food kept for the animals. A jackal roaming near the farm noticed this and went after the donkey and started feeding on the animals. Slowly a friendship developed between them. One day, having had his fill, donkey felt exuberant and started to sing. He thought he could sing and produce a beautiful raga. The jackal got scared and tried to stop him, saying that he will wake the farmer. Uddatha would not heed to his friend's advice and kept on singing. Jackal excused himself and went away. Donkey brayed and the farmer woke up and all the nearby people started chasing him. After catching him, they tied a wooden plank on his neck, so that he could not enter their farms. When the jackal saw him next, said, "Well well, they gave you a nice necklace for your singing, right?" and could not control his laughter. MORAL OF THE STORY *************************** ONE SHOULD UNDERSTAND THAT THERE IS A TIME AND PLACE TO DO OR SAY ANYTHING!!! SRIDHARAMRITHAM ******************************* Try Accepting yourself for what you are, before expecting others to accept you for what you are.