Recent Events At Prashanti Nilayam – Sathya Sai Baba Ashram – May 2010

Sathya Sai Baba

Recent Events At Prashanti Nilayam – Sathya Sai Baba Ashram – May 2010

– Curtesty Sri Sathya Sai Sadhana Trust:

• Buddha Purnima Celebrations…May 27 & 28, 2010
• Lava Kusha Ramayana – a Dance Drama by Bhagawan’s Students…May 25, 2010
• Sai Geetanjali – Music Programme by Balvikas Gurus, Karnataka…May 23, 2010
• Divine Discourse May 18, 2010
• Ugadi Divine Discourse….May 16, 2010
• Remembering Sai Gita – A Poetic Expression….May 22, 2010
• The Month that was……Apr 19 – May 19, 2010
• Sai Bhakta Samrajyam – Musical Dance Presentation …May 17, 2010
• Easwaramma Day Celebrations 2010…May 08, 2010
• Easwaramma – The Mother of God…a Poem… May 06, 2010

– Curtesty RadioSai:

Thursday, May 27, 2010
The Buddha Poornima celebrations by overseas devotees at Prasanthi Nilayam got underway this evening with Bhagavan entering Sai Kulwant Hall in a procession led by traditional dancers from Sri Lanka just after 5.30 pm. Before that, Swami had gone to the hall next to Yajur Mandir and blessed the teachers of the Sai University who had gathered there for the preliminary session of a two-day orientation course for new teachers. Moving among the faculty members, Bhagavan interacted with some of them informally for around 10 minutes before He left for Sai Kulwant hall.

The programme got underway shortly after Swami came onstage. Various items were presented to Him, including Sai Literature from Nepal and Sri Lanka. The Zonal chairman Dr. Ravindran introduced the two speakers for the evening, Dr. Art-Ong Jumsai, the Sai educator from Thailand and Mr. Sudhamek of Garuda Food Indonesia. After their brief talks, a drama entitled ‘Yashodhara’ got underway at half-past six. After the 35 minute drama, Swami sent clothes for the participants and accepted Arati. He went down for group photographs and blessed prasadam for distribution before returning to His residence at 7.30 pm.

Wednesday, May 26, 2010
This evening, Bhagavan emerged from His residence a few minutes after the bhajans commenced at half-past five. He sat onstage after His darshan round and accepted Arati at 6.10 pm. After Arati, He called up a couple of Professors from the University and asked Prof. Veerabhadraiah who teaches Telugu at the Prasanthi Nilayam campus to speak. In his fifteen minute Telugu talk, the speaker conveyed what Swami has spoken about Lord Buddha and His teachings. Bhagavan blessed him with a chain after his speech before accepting Arati once again and returning to His residence.

Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Students of Swami who had stayed back during their vacations presented compilation of dance and music this evening, ‘Lava Kusa Ramakatha’. Bhagavan came for darshan at a quarter past five and sat onstage for ten minutes after His darshan round listening to the Vedic chants. He then moved to the bhajan hall where the students were ready in costumes and spent ten minutes with them. Returning to the stage, He began the programme just after six o’clock. The 45 minute presentation of dances and songs on Lord Rama was narrated by ‘Sage Valmiki’. Bhagavan went down from the stage for group photographs and sent clothes for the performers. He also blessed ‘Mother Sita’ and ‘one of her sons’ with a chain and a ring respectively. It was a quarter past seven when Swami accepted Arati and returned to His residence.

Sunday, May 23, 2010 Full Story With Images »
This evening, Balvikas gurus from North Kanara of Karnataka presented a music programme. Bhagavan arrived for darshan at ten to six and came onstage after His round of the hall. The group had prepared an album of 85 value songs and were ready with a selection to sing in the Divine presence. After listening to them for half an hour, Swami asked the students to sing bhajans. Ten minutes later, He accepted Arati. After a brief interaction with some of the students, He returned to Yajur Mandir.

Thursday, May 20, 2010
The weather at Prasanthi Nilayam has cooled down a bit, with overcast skies and brief showers bringing the temperatures down. The lists of provisionally selected students for the new academic year have been announced on the University website. Bhagavan came for darshan this evening as the Vedam went on and came onstage after His round of Sai Kulwant hall just as the 5.30 pm bhajans began. He blessed some of the students and teachers sitting in the front with vibhuti packets before He accepted arati at 6.15 pm and returned to His residence.

Tuesday, May 18, 2010 Full Story With Images »
Swami came for evening darshan today after the bhajans began. After His darshan round, He sat onstage for a couple of bhajans before asking for His microphones to be brought. From 6.10 pm, Bhagavan addressed the gathering, narrating the stories of Savitri and Harishchandra. He stressed the importance of chastity, harmony and fidelity in the family and that these are as important for men as for women. The students sang a bhajan before Swami accepted Arati at a quarter past seven and returned to His residence after blessing the congregation with both hands.

Monday, May 17, 2010 Full Story With Images »
This evening, the students of the Sri Sathya Sai University presented a programme of songs and dances. Bhagavan came for darshan at half-past five. After His round of Sai Kulwant hall, He came into the bhajan hall and interacted with the students in costumes there for ten minutes. Moving to the stage, He began the programme at ten to six. The fifty-minute programme had semi-classical devotional songs and dances and was narrated by ‘Sage Narada’. Bhagavan went down from the stage and blessed the participants with group photographs before accepting Arati and returning to His residence at seven o’clock.

Sunday, May 16, 2010
Last evening Bhagavan had come for darshan at six. Research scholars of Prasanthi Nilayam campus of the Sai University were seated in the bhajan hall. After His darshan round, Swami spent ten minutes interacting with the PhD students, moving among them and speaking to many of them. He then moved to the stage as the bhajans went on and accepted Arati after twenty minutes. He came for darshan this morning at 10.10, returning to His residence an hour later. In the evening, He accepted Arati as prasadam was distributed at hal-past six. He then blessed the staff member who came up to Him with a chain and later with vibhuti. Then it was the turn of a student who came up to receive a ring. Then He blessed the ‘Birthday boys’ one by one. It was nearly seven when Bhagavan returned to His residence.

Thursday, May 13, 2010
Swami has been coming for evening darshan over the last few days. Last evening as well as this evening, He went into the interview room after Arati. After remaining there for a few minutes, He had made another extended round of the verandah and even moved briefly onstage before returning to His residence at ten to seven. This evening also He moved around the verandah for a second time before returning to Yajur Mandir.

Sunday, May 9, 2010 Full Story With Images »
Mother’s day is celebrated today, the second Sunday of May, in many parts of the world. Bhagavan asked Sri Ajit Popat of the UK and Sri B. N. Narasimhamurthy, Warden of the Brindavan Hostel, to speak this evening about Mother Eswaramma. After He arrived for darshan at a quarter to five, Swami sat for a few minutes onstage before calling up Sri Popat. After the two talks, Bhagavan accepted Arati at a quarter past six and prasadam was distributed to all.

Thursday, May 6, 2010 Full Story With Images »
On this Eswaramma Day morning, Bhagawan emerged in His car at just before ten o’clock to proceed to the Samadhi of His parents. There, a private function was held inside the inner sanctum with a song being sung on Mother Eswaramma. Half an hour later, Swami returned to Sai Kulwant hall. There, He sat for a while onstage before moving through the bhajan hall for a second round of the gents’ side in front of the students. Prasadam of Tamarind Rice and Sweet Rice was distributed to all in leaf plates. Swami accepted Arati at 11.15 am and an announcement was made about the evening programme. It was half-past eleven when Bhagavan returned to His residence.

In the evening, Swami came for darshan at ten to five. After His round of Sai Kulwant Hall, He came into the bhajan hall and interacted with a group of educators seated there who are to begin a new project based on Sathya Sai Education along with the Sri Sathya Sai Seva Organisation. Spending half an hour with this group, Bhagawan came onstage to begin the balvikas presentation after 5.30 pm. The story of Bhadrachala Ramdas was presented through many songs and dances in the fifty minute English drama by Balvikas children from Bangalore. Swami sent clothes and vibhuti prasadam for the children and they came onstage batch by batch for group photos with Him. The students sang bhajans for fifteen minutes before Bhagavan accepted Arati at seven o’clock. He then interacted some more with the Karnataka state Sai Organisation President onstage before returning to His residence.

Wednesday, May 5, 2010
On the eve of Eswaramma Day, this evening, Bhagawan came for darshan 4.45 pm in His car. He moved to the Samadhi through the central gate of Sai Kulwant hall. Statues of Mother Eswaramma and Sri Pedda Venkama Raju garu were readied there. Swami formally unveiled these statues and asked for coconuts to be broken. Spending almost fifteen minutes there, Bhagavan accepted Arathi before returning to the Mandir just after five o’clock. Alighting near the interview room, Bhagawan spent sometime outside the interview room before proceeding to the bhajan hall. He then came onstage as the Vedam went on and sat onstage for the next half-hour. When Swami moved to the interview room, Bhajans began at a quarter to six. When Swami returned to the stage after half an hour, He accepted Arati. An announcement was then made about the Eswaramma day celebrations tomorrow.

Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Bhagavan came for evening darshan at ten to five. After a full round of Sai Kulwant hall, He went on a second round of the ladies’ side before coming onstage. He sat listening to the Vedic chants there till nearly 5.30 pm, when He moved to the interview room. Emerging half an hour later, Swami moved to the Bhajan hall briefly before returning to the stage to accept Arati a few minutes later.

Monday, May 3, 2010
This evening also Bhagavan came for evening darshan in the car. Moving through the centre gate of Sai Kulwant Hall, He left for a drive through the village before returning after nearly half an hour at 5.40 pm. He then sat onstage till Arati just after six o’clock. He then had some interactions in the interview room and later in the the Bhajan hall, returning to His residence after half-past six.

Sunday, May 2, 2010 Full Story With Images »
This evening, preparations were made at the Samadhi of Swami’s parents for His arrival. Bhagavan arrived for darshan in the car just before half-past four and directly came to the stage. He sat there as the Vedam went on for half an hour. Spending the next fifteen minutes in the interview room, He went to the Samadhi and saw the arrangements made there for the Eswaramma day celebrations on May 6th. Returning to the Mandir as the bhajans went on at 5.40 pm, He sat onstage till Arati at 6 pm.

Saturday, May 01, 2010 Full Story With Images »
Bhagavan came for darshan by five o’clock last evening. He sat onstage listening to the Vedic chants till He accepted Arati at six. Before Arati, He called up one of the students in the bhajan group and blessed him with a chain. This evening, He came for darshan just before half-past five. Half an hour later as Arati concluded and one of the students came up to Him with a rose, Swami blessed him with a chain. He then sat onstage interacting with the students for ten more minutes before moving to the interview room. At 6.30 pm, He emerged to return to His residence after a short visit to the bhajan hall.

– Official Sri Sathya Sai Baba Website

Spiritual gurus soft targets as no clear policy to secure them

Spiritual gurus soft targets as no clear policy to secure them
Team DNA
Tuesday, June 1, 2010 2:11 IST

New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore: What kind of security are spiritual leaders provided? The question has assumed significance a day after a gunman shot at the convoy of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar near Bangalore on Sunday.

Tragedy at Mangalore AirportWhile the Art of Living founder has forgiven the gunman and invited him to his ashram, and the Karnataka police are playing down the incident as not a ‘targeted attack’, the issue of protection of religious and spiritual leaders, who move around freely among thousands of devotees and thus remain soft targets for miscreants, has come across as a concern for many.

Sources in the Union home ministry said there are no guidelines or norms to provide security to religious leaders. “The security is related to developments and is provided by the state governments as and when needed,” they said, adding that such attacks are generally the fallout of internal rivalries involving followers.

Buttressing the ministry’s point of view, a Delhi police source said the force had no trend of providing personal security either to such persons or to their establishments. “We do not provide security to any religious leader. Arrangements are made if the religious heads or their sects organise functions.”

The case with the Mumbai police, who have decided to re-examine the security cover to visiting religious leaders after the Bangalore incident, is similar. Currently, they have provision for Z plus security to two religious leaders — Nirankari Baba Hardev Singh and Sathya Sai Baba. As for the others, the police examine the scheduled places of visit and assess the threat perception.

“Each time a religious leader visits the city, we examine the level of security to be provided,” said Naval Bajaj, additional commissioner of police (Protection).

“Depending on whether the leader has recently been in controversy and the number of followers, we draw up a security cover that needs to be provided,” he added.

However, post the Pune bakery blast in February, the central security agencies, including the Intelligence Bureau, have been keeping a watch over spiritual centres across India. “The intelligence input gathered after the incident has created an additional burden on the security agencies towards providing security for seers and religious and spiritual centres,” observed an officer in the agency.

However, fool-proof security to spiritual gurus is not an easy task. In Karnataka, over 500 police personnel provide security to seers. But the proliferating number of swamijis and seers from each community makes it an onerous task.

Besides, spiritual leaders like to mingle with their devotees and brook no involvement of the police in gatherings. The alleged bid on Sri Sri at his Kanakapura ashram has exposed this vulnerability. He has Z-category security, say senior police officers.

DNA India Reference

SaiBaba Wall Papers – Shirdi Sai Baba Wallpapers

SaiBaba Wall Papers – Shirdi Sai Baba Wallpapers
(click thumbnails to enlarge)

Shirdi Sai Baba Wallpaper

Shirdi SaiBaba Wallpaper

Sai Baba Wallpaper

Free Sai Baba Wallpapers

Free Sai Baba Wallpaper

Sai Baba Wallpaper – Shirdi SaiBaba Wall Papers
Pictures & Info About Shirdi Sai Baba
Copyright-Free Sai Baba Wallpapers – Gallery One

Sai Baba Wallpaper – Shirdi SaiBaba Wall Papers

Sai Baba Wallpaper – Shirdi SaiBaba Wall Papers
(click thumbnails to enlarge)

Shirdi Sai Baba Wallpaper

Sai Baba Wallpaper With Ganesha

Sai Baba Wallpaper With Sayings

Sai Baba Wallpaper With Quotations

Sai Baba Wallpaper With Quotes

SaiBaba Wall Paper – Shirdi Sai Baba Wallpapers
Pictures & Info About Shirdi Sai Baba
Copyright-Free Sai Baba Wallpapers – Gallery Two

The Real Story Of The ‘Miracle’ Saibaba Statue In Lower Hutt

Sai Baba Of Shirdi

The Real Story Of The ‘Miracle’ Saibaba Statue In Lower Hutt
13/05/2010 13:01:00 Bhaskar Duvvuru

The ‘emergence’ of a statute of Shirdi Sai Baba recently in Lower Hutt fuelled rumours and speculation, with varied versions appearing in the media.

I accompanied Shri Shirdi Saibaba Sansthan of NZ Inc Vice-President Thulasi Krishna and Saikrishna Tridandapani to Wellington last week to ascertain the facts.

We met the owner of the property where the statue was reportedly found along with our Wellington based members Srinivas Gazula and Dharmesh Patel.

John Peters Presley (of Madhya Pradesh, India) and his wife Charlene own six acres of land in Wainuiomata. They constructed a house two years ago and planned to subdivide the balance land for residential purpose.

There was a spot next his house with a little water, frequented by wild birds and his domestic sheep. In September last year, Their daughter suggested that the pond be dug deeper to provide additional quantity of water.

It was while digging that Mr Presley found the Statue of Baba in His classic sitting posture. He thought he had found a Maori artefact but later learnt of Baba.

He was a devout Christian but decided to keep the Statue inside his house. As the news spread, streams of devotees of Baba began to visit the house.

Many of them offered money for the Statue but Mr Presley decided to return it to the place where it was discovered but secured on a wooden platform.

Following discussions, Pravin Gandhi, Karthik Badiyani, Ram Chander, Mr Patel and others took the initiative to form the Shirdi Saibaba Holy Land Trust, with Mr and Mrs Peters as the main trustees.

We were told that the Trust would consider plans to construct a Temple but issues relating to purchase of the land by the Trust, Resource Consent, mobilising funds and other issues are still under discussion.

I will keep our members and Indian Newslink readers informed of the developments as they come to hand.

Meanwhile, visitors to Wellington can have Dharshan of Jala Saibaba (Water Saibaba) at 195, Wise Road, Wainuiomata, Lower Hutt.

Bhaskar Duvvuru is Secretary of Shri Shirdi Saibaba Sansthan of NZ Inc based in Auckland. Email: secretary(at)shirdisaibaba.org.nz

India Newslink Reference

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Shri Shirdi SaiBaba

New Sai Baba Organisation emerges
13/05/2010 14:51:00 Staff Reporter

A group of promoters have got together to propagate the teachings of Shirdi Sai Baba and construct a Temple in Auckland.

The Shirdi Sai Baba Temple Committee has more than 20 founding members.

The founding members have recently established the Shirdi Sai Baba Temple of New Zealand Inc with the Registrar of Societies to conduct regular meetings, prayers and other activities.

Founder Secretary Ravi Chittajallu said the first prayer meeting will be held on May 20 from 730 pm at the Thiru Subramaniam Temple (also known as Stanhope Road Temple), located at 41A Stanhope Road in Auckand’s Ellerslie.

“The programme will include Bhajans, Ashtothram (Sanskrit slokas and prayer songs) and Mangala Aarti. This is the first programme of the new organisation and we are hopeful of achieving our main objective of constructing a Temple for Sai Baba with the help and support of donors and the public,” he said.

Shirdi Sai Baba (who attained ‘Samadhi’ on October 15, 1918) is one of the most revered Saints of India with a huge following around the world. As well as Hindus, the Saint has increasing following from people of other religious faiths.

A number of organisations have been established worldwide and weekly prayers are held (usually on Thursdays) in praise of Sai Baba.

There are also informal groups, which meet at individuals’ homes to offer prayers, promote the teachings of Sai Baba and undertake community and social work.

What: First Prayer Meeting
By Whom: Shirdi Sai Baba Temple of New Zealand Inc
Where: Thiru Subramaniam Temple (Stanhope Road Temple) 41A Stanhope Road, Ellerslie, Auckland
When: Thursday, May 20 at 730 pm
Contact: Ravi Chittajallu on 021-332922 or Anil Anna on (09) 5272244

India Newslink Reference

Also see:
Shirdi Sai Baba Statue Found Underground In Wellington, New Zealand

Sai Isa

Shirdi Sai Baba Statue Found Underground In Wellington, New Zealand

Wellington Shirdi Sai Baba Statue

Shirdi Sai Baba Statue Found Underground In Wellington, New Zealand

A find of a Shirdi Sai Baba by John Peters on his property at 195 Wise street Wainuiomata has delighted a Wellington family. The two-foot statue was found on April 15th 2010.

“Baba proved again that he is omni present,” Bhaskar Reddy (secretary of Shri Shirdi Sai Sansthan of New Zealand) said.

Water has erupted from the spot where the statue was found and has now become a small pond. Srinivas Gajula wrote in an email to Sansthan members.

“When the digger was digging he found a solid object and he stopped digging and he lifted the statue from 6- 7 feet under the ground. The developer stooped the digging and cleaned the statue and he was not sure what it was. The developer is an Indian Christian. He called a Hindu priest to identify the deity,” Gajula said.

“We are still trying to get hold off the developer to find some more details . . . apparently the developer wants to leave that particular spot and redevelop the other area. Water came from the place where the digger found the statue and it became a small pond now. Developer put the statue on a small wooden pallet and it is floating in the water now.”

Reddy said: The Sansthan organised two aarthis on 4th July 09 at Wellington and presented 30 bhajan books. Ever since, the families of our members in Welligton – Srinivas Gajula and Dharmesh Patel were conducting bhajans and Shej aarthi every Saturday. It’s amazing that a developer found a statue of Shirdi Saibaba ( about 2 ft ) while developing his 10 acres land. Blessed are Srinivas, Dharmesh, people of Wellington and people of New Zealand.

“This is a good omen and building a temple for our beloved Guru in Auckland is not too far.”

Indian Weekender Reference

Please Read Update (May 14th 2010):
– The Real Story Of The ‘Miracle’ Saibaba Statue In Lower Hutt

Language of the heart – Author Ramesh Sharma believes being spiritual is being human

Language of the heart – Author Ramesh Sharma believes being spiritual is being human
by Bissme S.

Since young, Ramesh Sharma has been fascinated about finding out the true purpose of human life. As he grew older, he continued with his quest, even going on trips to India to meet up with spiritual gurus.

Two years ago, the 53-year-old former salesman decided to write down his experiences.

A Buddhist Disciple Muk Tho’s Journey of Spiritual Mystic (Pristine Books, RM33.80) tells of some experiences which might seem ‘miraculous’ and somewhat out of this world.

For instance, there is the story about a garland his mother had placed on a photograph of Indian mystic Sathya Sai Baba which, his mother claimed, had grown longer.

“When she first told me about it, I didn’t believe her,” says Ramesh (bottom) at a recent reading of his book. “So when my mother told me again that the garland had grown longer, I was ready to prove her wrong.”

He decided to measure its length. To his surprise, he found the garland had actually grown longer! In the end, it grew so long that it touched the floor of the prayer room where the photo was placed.

Ramesh, who was 12 then, was speechless and spellbound.

Then when he was 15, he was stung on the hand by a bee. While getting ready to go to the hospital, his maid suddenly went into a trance and acted like she was possessed by the monkey god Hanuman (an Indian deity).

She grabbed his hand and sucked out the poison.

“I was trembling at that time,” he recalls. “Amazingly, the swelling on my hand went down.”

Another story also concerned his mother. During a trip to see Sathya Sai Baba in India years ago, she was given a locket by this holy man. But on the day she died, the locket mysteriously disappeared and was never found.

Of course, sceptics might have a hard time digesting some of these stories but Ramesh remains unperturbed.

“Miracles and divine interventions are experienced by people of all religions and races,” claims the author, who grew up in Penang.

“Spirituality cannot be found in books nor can it be intellectualised. It needs to be experienced through self endeavour and enquiry. Do not take my word for it.”

He encourages people to go on their own journey to find the meaning of life, love and god. “You cannot look for those things from other people’s experiences,” he adds.

Ramesh also believes that the human race will always want to be one with the Creator. “But man must be sincere in his quest to be connected to God. Being sincere means not asking for material wealth all the time. The human race always asks for the wrong things from God.

“Real happiness is not always equated to the material things in life but rather, it is within you – the way you feel and see things in life with contentment.”

He believes that God wants the human race to lead a fruitful life. “You should ask for virtues that will make you a better person. You should ask for strength and guidance.

“When you leave this world, you’re going to leave your money behind and where you’re going will depend on your good deeds.”

He dismisses the notion that being spiritual is about wearing robes, chanting mantras and meditating in a cave. “Being spiritual is being human,” he says. “And being human is about touching someone’s heart.”

Pointing to the late Mother Teresa as an example of a truly great human being, Ramesh says she once brought home a dying homeless man and bathed and cleaned him. She held his hand as he breathed his last.

“Before dying, the homeless man apparently told her: ‘I had lived my life as a pauper but I’m going to die as a king’.

The man was grateful that there was someone who loved him enough to clean him up and hold his hand on his deathbed. It is love that everyone is craving for, and not material wealth.”

It was his mother, Nivedita Joshi, who triggered his interest in spirituality. She was an ardent reader of books on this subject.

He was especially struck by a line in one book, Paramahansa Yogananda’s Autobiography of a Yogi. It says: “Why do you search for me when I am within you,” which he found very comforting.

Years later, when he inherited most of her books after her death, he read all of them and they opened up a whole new world of experiences for him – one that he cherishes till today.

Reference

The Divine Alchemy-A Miracle Of Sathya Saibaba

The Divine Alchemy-A Miracle Of Sathya Saibaba

Is there an end to Sathya SaiBaba’s miracles, that take place in glorious, mysterious ways?

Buzz up! A fascinating episode has been recorded in “Sai Baba: Invitation to Glory” by Howard Murphet.

There is no dearth for miracles in a Master’s prescence. Divine alchemy as we may call it, when Jesus Christ turned water to wine at Cana in Galiliee and Mosses turned the river Nile to a stream of blood in Egypt, is still a continuing story as Sathya Sai Baba turns water into petrol.

An old Sai devotee was once driving with Baba and others, just after the second World War, through the country side, heading to a religious festival. It so happened that the car car stopped mid way in want of fuel. One of the passengers knew a fuel station down the road but was not sure about the availability of petrol. The driver opted to buy petrol from somewhere nearby but since the availability was the seeming question, Swami asked him to fetch a pail of water from the house that stood less than a hundred meters from them.

When the driver returned with the bucket of water, Swami Sathya Baba played his finger on the surface of the water as those who accompanied Him stood watching silently. He then instructed the driver to pour the ‘Water-fuel’ into the petrol tank warning him not spill even a drop. Soon the Swami and the othres began to drive as the car responded to Swami’s miraculous petrol!

If this achemy could happen in Sathya Sai Baba’s physical presence, there are instances where it could happen in the absence of His bodily presence. The petrol tank of Mr. Gordon Chetty’s car, a nine seater Station Wagon, was always full miraculously! The vehicle was employed in spreading Baba’s teachings irespective of the distance. It happened eleven times in two years.

Once Mr. Gordon was in a wedding party when suddenly he was called by someone urgently to attend to the petrol spilling out of the tank. It was always a usual happening that his parked car would have its petrol tank full miraculously, and a little of the fuel overflowing. It was customary of a huge crowd, of over hundreds, watching each such miracle. At this particular happening there were about 800 spectators and twelve people who collected the overflowing petrol for their own use!

Is there anything that Grace cannot manifest?

One India Reference

Warner Bros Arranges A Strange Trip

Warner Bros Arranges A Strange Trip

There is no trace of impossibility in the world of Baba!

Indra Devi, an ardent devotee of Sri Sathya Sai Baba taught Yoga in Canada. It is said that she witnessed numerous miracles of Sathya saibaba in her life.

Once Indra Devi had not planned to attend the birthday of Baba as she was due to visit the country later. After her meditation session one evening, she looked at Baba’s picture and wished, “Bhagavan take me to Puttaparthi for your birthday”.

Two years later, the devotee received a phone call from a young man who used to frequent the Sai Baba Centre in Los Angeles, called Chuk Wein. Chuk Wein said that he was calling from the Warner Brothers Motion Picture Studio and asked if she would go to India the very next day to seek Sai’s permission to make a documentary picture of His life! He also added that Warner Bros will bear the cost for her travel.

Indra Devi started for India after two days. She learnt from the manager of Air India, Los Angeles that the “Warner Bros” had paid for her tickets. She arrived just when the celebrations of Baba’s birthday had commenced, early morning when Bhagavan hoisted the Prashanthi Nilayam flag and delivered His birthday message.

Sathya Sai Baba declared that He was an incarnation of ‘Shiva Sakti’ in order to guide men towards God. He stressed the necessity of a pure heart and the need to cleanse it in order to gain discrimination and love through grace. He said that He was born as ‘love’ in each and everyone and only the day when love is born in one can ever be His birthday!

Swami then proceeded from the temple to the auditorium in procession. Easwaramma, Sai’s mother garlanded Him and anointed His head with a flower dipped in fragrant oil. Sai Gita, the elephant headed the whole procession.

Indra Devi also had the good fortune of Sai to bless her just the day before her departure. When she was about to leave, Sai materialized a gold medallion of Goddess Lakshmi. Indra Devi pleaded that she did not want anything. But Sai pressed her to accept it saying that it was for the protection of her house, “This is not for you… for the protection of the house – no more fires”.

Little was the devotee aware of the difficulty that was about to befall if not for the divine protection of Sai, as she was about to loose her ranch.

Having returned from India, the blessed devotee visited the Warner Bros Studio. Wonder of wonders not a soul ever knew Saibaba, leave alone her trip to India that they sponsored!

It was yet another Leela or the Divine play of Baba!

One India Reference

Maria Polyzou is born to run the marathon

Maria Polyzou is born to run the marathon
Nihal Koshie / DNA
Monday, January 11, 2010 1:53 IST

Mumbai: Maria Polyzou was in Mumbai for the first time on Sunday. She was in the city to participate in the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon flame run — the first time the flame was seen outside Europe — from the Shiv Chatrapti International Airport to the Hutatma Chowk.

Polyzou is best-placed to spread the marathon spirit. At 41, she has been running marathons for 23 years. She is also the director of the Museum of Marathon in Marathon. In September she is planning to participate in the Ultra-marathon, a 250 kilometre grind, between Sparta and Athens.

This year marks the 2,500-year anniversary of the battle of marathon, so Polyzou wants to make it a special one for her and the sport as well. She had run in Xiamen, China, to celebrate the uncoming anniversary in September. “This is a special year for the sport. It’s great that the marathon flame has come to Mumbai. It will make this year’s event most special,” Polyzou told DNA on the sidelines of the run.

The marathon celebrates the run of a soldier, Pheidippides, from the battlefield near Marathon to Athens in 490 BC. Pheidippides was carrying the news a Greek victory over the Persians and collapsed and died at the end of his effort.

“There is something about marathons that elevate the spirit. If you can run a marathon you can safely say that you not only have attained the best from your body but have also managed to control your mind. There is no greater satisfaction than winning a marathon but even participating and lasting the distance can be a life-changing experience,” Polyzou said.

India is a second home for Polyzou. She is a Shri Sathya Sai Baba devotee and has been to Puttaparthi a number of times. “I have always enjoyed my visits to India. I am sure the Mumbai marathon will continue to be a success. What is most important for the success of a marathon is public participation and going by what I have seen today and heard about the previous editions, there is a tremendous support for the event,” Polyzou added.

Tarus, Too favourites
An elite athlete field comprising some of the world’s leading male and female long distance runners will participate in the seventh edition of the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon 2010. The course record for men stands at 2:11.51s, set last year by Kenyan Kenneth Mugara, while the record for women is 2:34:08, held by three-time winner Mulu Seboka of Ethiopia, set in 2008.

While Kenneth Mugara is missing for this year’s line up, due to injury, last year’s runner-up David Tarus, also from Kenya, will be back and going by his current form is one of the front runners to take home the winner’s purse of $35,000.

Tarus ran 2:09:24s at Eindhoven in October 2009 and will have to contend with another strong challenger from Kenya, Daniel Kiprugut Too, who has returned the fastest timing in 2009 from among the field, clocking 2:08:38s in the Paris Marathon.

The other leading contenders among the men are Ethiopia’s Gebo Burka, winner of the Alps Marathon in 2009, with a personal best of 2:10:18s, set at the Cannes Marathon in November 2009, and Kenyan Luka Chelimo, winner of the Toronto Marathon in September 2009 with a personal best of 2:10:26s.

DNA India Reference