Fw: Celebrate Ugadi by Sacrificing Selfishness and Embracing Selflessness ..... The Eight Flowers That Please God ... Ugadi special wallpapers ......
Sangram Kondel
Posted on: Mar 31, 2014
Celebrate Ugadi by
Sacrificing Selfishness and
Embracing Selflessness
The dawn of a new year always brings with it a new hope; a hope for good change, improvement and better tidings. Though this change need not necessarily wait for a new year, we inadvertently connect the two. This leads to the year being welcomed with hope-suffused celebrations and, eager and anxious prayers. In all this we forget that every new year is a reminder that time moves on swiftly, and that it is indeed necessary for us to introspect whether we are living the purpose for which this life is given to us.
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Celebrations of such festivals in Bhagawan’s presence were special for this very reason. Yes there is rejoicing and revelry. But Bhagawan always drew our attention to the essential significance of the observance, and made sure that the soft spiritual calling is not drowned in the din of the festivity.
So let us all begin this Ugadi (New
Year day for Telugu, Kannada, Marathi, Marwari and Sindhi people) by reading and
listening to this Ugadi message of Baba, delivered on
13 April 2002 where Swami teaches us
the best way to celebrate this festival. What better way than this to start this
year named ‘Jaya’ (Victory)? May we all imbibe this message and move closer to
our own ‘Spiritual Victory'’
Embodiments of love!
For ages and generations we have been enjoying the bliss of celebrating this festival of Ugadi. Bharathiyas (Indians), through their spiritual insights have been conferring peace and security to all the countries. That is the reason why, from olden times to today, the prayer Loka samasthaa sukhino bhavanthu (May all beings everywhere be happy) is chanted. Today’s man has progressed well physically and materialistically. But in terms of ethical behavior, he is not able to keep criticism and narrow mindedness under check.
If one enquires and introspects deeply, one would realise that selfishness and self-interest are the root cause. Man today does not love material objects for their sake; he does not love individuals for their sake, nor does he love the country for the sake of the country’s welfare.
Whatever one sees, listens or thinks is being used for self-interests and
selfishness alone. We will be celebrating Ugadi in its true spirit only when we
give up our narrow-mindedness and selfishness. On Ugadi day, people wake up
early, have a sacred bath, put on new clothes and relish sweets and delicacies.
It is rather easy to have external cleanliness and to wear new clothes. They are
interested only in external cleanliness and are not concerned about purifying
their hearts which are tainted with evil thoughts and evil feelings. But that is
not the purpose of celebrating festivals. True celebration of Ugadi lies in
purifying one’s heart, developing selflessness and giving up evil tendencies,
thus, making man noble.
Embodiments of Love! Today is Ugadi. Since it marks the beginning (adi) of an era (yuga), it is called Ugadi.
Ugadi has been celebrated from times immemorial. Though many Ugadis have gone by, the evil tendencies in our hearts have not gone. The day when you give up bad qualities, fill your hearts with love and take to the path of sacrifice, is true Ugadi.
What you eat and wear alone does not qualify this day as Ugadi. Today you may wear a new shirt, but how long will it remain new? Tomorrow it becomes old! Nobody reads the same newspaper every day. Today’s newspaper becomes tomorrow’s waste paper. Our life too is like a newspaper. Once you have finished reading a newspaper, you do not like to read it again and again. You have been given this life, and you experienced it. Enough is enough! Do not ask for another birth now; just as you would not read the same newspaper again. You have read through this newspaper, you have experienced it, you have rejoiced, you have suffered, you have gone through it all, now do not seek another.
You should pray, “Oh God! You have given me this newspaper (life) today and I have experienced all that I need to. I do not want to have another newspaper; I don’t want another birth”.
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Many things happen in this world. We perform various tasks and undergo many experiences. But what is the use of all this, for it is unable to give us bliss. Neither by wealth nor by action nor by study of texts nor by darshan, sparshan and sambhashan (vision, touch and conversation) of noble souls can man attain eternal bliss. You can visualise the manifestation of God and experience bliss only when you purifies your heart.
Love
all. Have faith that God is present in all. Make everybody happy. Only then can
you attain happiness. It is impossible for you to attain happiness without
making others happy.
What is it that we have to do
on this day of Ugadi? Starting today, we must make efforts to purify our hearts.
Past is past. It will not come back. We have seen the path, we have
walked on. Now, we should look at the path before us. What is the point in
looking behind? Future is not sure, so that is not the truth for us. Even that
will pass on in a moment. What is the guarantee that we will be alive until
tomorrow? So, do not worry or think about your future; do not muse about the
past. Live in the present. Present is the important thing. It is not ordinary
present; it is omnipresent. So, when you sanctify the present, the past and the
future shall be sanctified automatically.
Embodiments of Love!
Today is the New Year day for the people of Andhra Pradesh. Tomorrow will be the Tamil New Year day and that will be followed by Vishu (the New Year Day) for the people of Kerala. Such festivals keep coming one after the other. There is no dearth of festivals. What is needed is the intellect to experience and understand their true significance.
Embodiments of Love!
Right from this day, from this moment, start giving up your bad
feelings, thoughts and habits. Thereby make your hearts sacred. Only
then will your obtain bliss. There is no point in reading sacred texts or
visiting noble souls unless you purify your heart in the first instance. Let
your thoughts, words and deeds be sacred. This is the true significance of
celebrating Ugadi.
If the feelings are sacred, the result is bound to be sacred. When you undertake any task with a sacred heart, you will instantly get sacred results. You do not have to look for anybody as proof of this statement. I Myself am the proof for this. There is no trace of selfishness in whatever task I undertake. Whatever I do is for the benefit of humanity. Many people do not try to understand this and think that it is done with some expectation. But I do not expect anything from anybody nor do I get any benefit out of it. I derive only one benefit, i.e., I feel happy when everybody is happy.
So too, as you all claim to be Sai devotees, you also should strictly adhere to the Sai path and experience the joy therefrom. When you follow in My footsteps, you too will certainly achieve sacred results, and also earn a good name. And this will happen instantly.
Being Sai devotees, you should at least to an extent, give up selfishness, embrace selflessness and lead your lives immersed in the principle of love. Give up criticizing others; give up hatred towards others.
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Offer respects even to those who hate you. Hatred is a bad quality. It will lead to your own ruin. Do not become a victim to this quality of hatred. Develop love towards everyone.
Help the poor and needy to the extent
possible. Help ever, Hurt never. Sage Vyasa has given the essence of eighteen
Puranas in two sentences, Paropakara punyaya, papaya parapeedanam (one
attains merit by serving others and commits sin by hurting them). This is the
main principle of Bharatiya (Indian) culture.
Do not be under the illusion that you are hurting others. When you hurt others, you are actually hurting yourself. When you help others, you will receive help tenfold. If you harm others, you will be put to harm ten times more. Keep this in mind.
So on
this sacred day, fill your hearts with love, become embodiments of love and
undertake sacred activities.
Bhajan: Prema Mudita
Manase kaho…
Radio Sai Team wishes all of you a blissful and sacred New Year.
- Team Radio Sai
Posted on: Mar 31, 2014
The Eight Flowers That Please God
by Dr. Narendranath Reddy
Part 01
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D
r. Narendranath Reddy graduated in medicine with distinction from S.V. Medical College, Tirupathi, Andhra Pradesh. He then went to the United States of America where he specialised in internal medicine and endocrinology. He has been a consultant and practicing internist-endocrinologist in Southern California for over 35 years.
He is a fellow of the American College of Physicians and the American College of Endocrinologists, California.
Four generations of Dr. Reddy's family are devotees of Swami, with Dr. Reddy himself having come to Swami at the age of five. Since 1984, Dr. Reddy and his family have had a Sai Baba centre in their home.
He is currently the chairman of the Prasanthi Council, the governing body which oversees the activities of International Sai Organisations.
Presented below is the edited transcript of a talk he delivered in Sathya Sai Centre of Arcadia, California, USA on New Year's Eve, December 31, 2013. Since in this month of March many in India and elsewhere celebrate Ugadi, the Telugu New Year Day, it is appropriate for us to ruminate on how to celebrate and observe the New Year. Dr. Reddy gives us powerful insights from his long association with Bhagawan and his deep commitment to the Sai Mission.
I offer myself at the divine lotus feet of our dearest, omnipresent, loving Lord Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. Greetings of loving Sai Ram to everyone.
Happiness and Love this New Year
I am grateful to Swami for giving us this opportunity to welcome the New Year by singing His glories and sharing His message. I wish all of you a happy, holy, and peaceful New Year. As part of our New Year festivities, we customarily spend time with friends and family and send New Year’s greetings. E-greetings are now very popular. They are elaborate and festive with text and graphics of bright colours and with singing and dancing figures. Such e-greetings, in this day and age, are an additional way to express our joy.
Two words commonly used in New Year’s greetings are “happiness” and “love”. Swami says that although these words are commonly used, most people do not understand their true meaning. He took a human form to show us the true meaning. In fact, people all over the world, celebrating the New Year, are seeking happiness and love. But what is happiness? Swami has repeatedly stated, “Happiness is union with God.” Until we are one with God, we cannot be truly happy.
Most people celebrate the New Year with song, dance, and drink hoping to be merry and happy. But such celebrations produce only temporary pleasure, an interval between two pains. For example, people experience the pleasure of drink and they get a hang-over or a car accident or some other trouble and then they regret. On the other hand celebrating the New Year at places of worship such as at a church, a temple or a Sai Centre, offering love to God and communing with Him, contributes to real happiness.
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| Dr. Reddy conducting a study circle in the Sathya Sai Centre of Arcadia, California |
How do we attain happiness? Swami has said that the royal road to happiness is the path of love. We can express this love by singing and sharing the glories of God, by communicating His message through stories, and by practicing His teachings. We also can make offerings of love to God. Offerings are an ancient tradition.
True Offerings that God Loves
When Jesus was born, the three wise men offered gold, frankincense (incense), and myrrh as tokens of their love. When Lord Rama was born, the celestials showered flowers of worship as offerings of their love. Devotees of Shirdi Sai Baba offered many different types of gifts. Even after His Mahasamadhi in Shirdi, devotees offered a throne and a crown made of gold. In the past people have made such offerings of a garland of gold coins, a gold crown, etc. to Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba too. I have seen Swami decline such offerings. He declined the garland of gold coins and immediately declared, “This should be sold right away and the proceeds should be used to serve the needy.” God does not want worldly gifts. Swami has repeatedly said, “I want only your love and not these expensive gifts.”
We know that God does not measure His devotee’s love by the value of material gifts. For example, Kuchela, the boyhood friend of Sri Krishna could not afford to give an expensive gift to his friend, the king of Dwaraka (and of course the Lord of the universe). All he could offer was parched rice. But Sri Krishna was touched by the sincerity and love of His poor friend and He ate the parched rice. Sri Krishna even washed the feet of Kuchela who then returned home to find that the Lord had given him tremendous wealth and a palace.
Lord Krishna simplified the tradition of making offerings for His devotees. He said that devotees need not offer valuable gifts. He would be pleased if devotees offered Him a leaf, a flower, a fruit or water (patram, pushpam, phalam, toyam) with love and humility. Anything we give to Him with love, He will accept happily. Flower, fruit, leaf, and water are available to all. They are easy to offer to the Lord.
Rukmini, the great devotee of Lord Krishna, offered just a tulsi leaf to Him and Lord Krishna was pleased. This simple offering of a tulsi leaf with love weighed more than all the gold and wealth that Sathyabhama offered to Lord Krishna. Similarly, Sabari, the great devotee of Lord Rama, offered a fruit to her Lord. Though she tasted it first, she offered it with great love and Lord Rama was pleased. He gave her liberation. The lesson of these stories is that anything we offer to the Lord should be given with love.
Sri Sathya Sai Baba has simplified for His devotees, to an even greater degree, the tradition of making offerings. We do not need to buy flowers or fruits. Swami tells us the real flower we should offer God is the flower of our pure heart. The fruit we should offer is the fruit of our good deeds. The water we should offer is the blissful tears of devotion that flow when we pine intensely for God. The leaf that we should offer—is a body utilized for selfless service.
Leaves from a plant will dry with time and flowers from a garden will fade, losing their fragrance and shrivelling within days. Water and fruits may spoil with time. But the offerings that please God do not fade or lose their fragrance. They do not shrivel or spoil with time. The true offerings are our good deeds, our pure hearts, our tears of joy flowing from intense longing for God, and a body sanctified by selfless service. If we offer these He is pleased.
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On New Year’s Day and on many other holidays, we send flowers to family or friends as an expression of love. We send flowers for Mother’s Day and Valentine’s Day; for weddings, memorial services, and festivals. In fact, we spend hundreds of dollars every year on flowers. Tomorrow, the Tournament of Roses parade will be held in Pasadena, California. Millions of roses are utilized for this parade and millions of dollars are spent. But expensive expressions of love do not please God. Swami says that God is pleased when you offer the real flowers of worship to Him. He says it beautifully in Telugu: Poovulenni thecchi pujalu chesinaa metsukonadu taanu putsukonadu, Hridaya Kamalamivva sadayudai grahiyinchu Sathya Sai santhi prema dayi (You may bring any number and any variety of flowers. Neither will I accept nor am I pleased. But I will happily accept the pure flower of your heart and grant you peace and love).”
On a number of occasions in discourses, Swami has described beautifully the flowers of worship that God likes. He has emphasized eight flowers of devotion that we can offer to Him. The first flower is ahimsa, non-violence; the second flower is indriya nigraham, sense control; the third flower is sarva bhoota daya pushpam, compassion for all beings; the fourth flower is kshama pushpam, forbearance; the fifth flower is santhi pushpam, peace; the sixth flower is thapo pushpam, penance and austerity; the seventh flower is dhyana pushpam, meditation; and finally, the eighth flower is sathya pushpam, truth.
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The first flower to offer to God is ahimsa pushpam, the flower of non-violence. Lord Buddha has said, “Ahimsa paramo dharma.” The highest dharma is ahimsa. Non-violence is much more than simply not participating in physical violence. Of course we should not physically assault another being. Physical violence is demonic. In addition, we should never hurt another being with words. The damage done by words is more powerful and more lasting than physical violence. Swami says that the scars from physical violence heal but the scars from verbal abuse linger, perhaps for years and sometimes for generations. We should therefore be careful with our choice of words. We should never use hurtful, critical words or find fault with others.
Jesus said, “You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother’s eye (Luke 6:42).” Swami has said that when a person finds fault and points one finger at someone else, three fingers are pointing back at the critic. Therefore finding fault is the greatest himsa, the greatest violence. Swami once told the students, “You are all terrorists.” We were surprised since we knew they are such good boys. Swami was referring to the most subtle level of violence, the level of thought. Swami says even having a negative thought is violence. Thus, whenever we think negatively about others, we are exhibiting a form of violence. An example of a good Sai devotee, who truly passed the test given by Swami, was Mr. Gopal Rao. He lived for one-hundred years. He was the chairman of Andhra Bank for many years and he was an exemplary devotee of Swami.
Swami celebrated Mr. Gopal Rao’s one-hundredth birthday in Sai Kulwant Hall on a grand scale. Gopal Rao was close to Swami. He was not only dear to Swami but he was also near to Swami. He used to travel with Swami in His car. On one such occasion, Gopal Rao was with Swami in His car and Swami was describing the bad behaviour of a devotee who was living in the ashram. Swami told Gopal Rao, “Tell him to behave properly and correct his defects.”
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| Dr. Narendranath Reddy and Mrs. Hyma Reddy with late Mr. Gopal Rao. Also alongside is an active Sai youth Krishna S. |
Gopal Rao replied, “Swami, that man is a senior devotee. I am here for only fifteen years. He has been here thirty years. How can I tell him?” Swami smiled. Gopal Rao continued, “He has also sacrificed more than me. He is a big business man. He gave up his business and money and came to live in the ashram. And thirdly, I have so many faults of my own, Swami. How can I correct that man?” Finally he said, “Swami, if he didn’t listen to You, God, why will he listen to me?” Swami replied, “I wanted to test you and see what you would say.”
Gopal Rao said, “Swami, I got out on the right side of my bed today. By Your grace I was able to pass the test and answer You properly today. Without Your grace I would have failed.” This story is an example of how the Lord tests us regarding criticism. Hence, the first flower, non-violence, includes not criticizing others.
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The second flower to offer to God is indriya nigraham, sense control. Swami says that real joy comes from controlling the senses, not from transitory worldly pleasures like partying, drinking alcohol, and other indulgences. He says, “Bend the body, mend the senses, and end the mind.”
Control of the senses is important. If you really want to be happy, see good. You do not need to suppress the senses. Swami says that suppression of the senses is difficult and the senses will revolt. The solution is to direct the senses toward good activities. If you have a desire to see movies, watch good, inspiring movies with morals. If you want to listen to music, listen to inspiring music that calms you and soothes you, divine music such as bhajans. If you wish to speak, narrate stories of God or inspiring stories instead of gossiping. Thus Swami says, “Do good, see good, hear good, and be good. This is the way to God."
Swami Karunyananda, a revered monk from South India used to go and see Swami Sivananda in the Himalayas. Swami Karunyananda had a habit of using snuff. Whenever Swami Karunyananda went to the Himalayas he took his snuff box also with him. When he went to Swami Sivananda’s ashram, he shared the snuff and many monks gathered around him to partake. Then Swami Karunyananda met Swami Sivananda and asked him for upadesh, spiritual advice. Swami Sivanananda replied, “No, no. You have your own following. You became a Swami and renounced possessions but people actually like you because of your snuff!” Swami Karunyananda realized his folly and immediately threw his snuff box into the Ganges. One time Bhagawan Baba Himself scolded a monk who was using snuff. He told him, “You are a monk and gave up everything for God. So, give up this snuff which is not good for you.”
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In the olden days Swami used to chew betel nut and betel leaves frequently. This would give His lips a beautiful red colour, like lipstick. Once Swami was wiping His mouth after chewing betel leaves and noticed a red stain on His handkerchief. Swami immediately stopped chewing betel leaves. This is an example of mastery over the senses. Swami practices what He preaches.
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The third flower to offer God is sarva bhootha daya pushpam, compassion for all beings. Swami says we should have compassion for all, not just for human beings. Jesus has said that when we serve the least of our brethren, we are serving the Lord. Swami has said that service to man is service to God. Our love should be for all beings, including animals and plants, for everything is permeated by God. For example, Sri Ramana Maharshi, the saint from Arunachala, felt one with all.
Once when somebody was cutting the branch of a tree, Sri Ramana stated, “Oh, somebody is cutting my arm…,” because he could identify himself with the tree. Similarly, when someone was walking on a grass lawn, Sri Ramakrishna, the nineteenth century Bengali saint, said, “Somebody is walking on my chest.” He could identify himself even with the grass.
Swami has respect not only for animals and plants, but for all creation. About thirty years ago walls were being built around the ashram. After building the cement walls, the custom is to spray water on the cement and a worker was spraying water with a lot of force. Bhagawan Baba, the Avatar of this age, was on the balcony watching the man and sent a message, “Tell him not to water with so much force.” Everything has consciousness including the inanimate objects. Swami says that when we walk we have to respect the earth and walk gently. Swami has said that everything is permeated with divine consciousness. So we need to have love and respect for everything in creation.
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The fourth and most important flower to offer to God is kshama pushpam, the flower of forbearance, fortitude. This is an extremely important quality for the spiritual seeker. Lord Buddha is an example of fortitude. Lord Jesus was also an example. When He was being crucified, instead of cursing his antagonists, Jesus said, “Father, forgive them. They know not what they do.” When Bhagawan Baba had a hip fracture, despite the pain and inability to walk, He maintained His routine as if He had no problem. He gave darshan, read letters from thousands of devotees, blessed innumerable people, and granted their boons. Swami is an exemplar of divine love and forbearance.
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Swami also talks about the following incident in the Mahabharata, involving Draupadi. Draupadi’s sons were all killed by Aswatthama. Naturally, being a mother she was grief stricken and was not happy that Aswatthama killed her sons. But, when Aswatthama was brought before Draupadi for justice, instead of punishing him or giving orders to kill him, she forgave him, saying “I know how much pain your mother will feel at your death.” Swami says that is the greatest example of kshama, forbearance and forgiveness.
I have heard of a similar example in our time. The only son of Althea, a devotee of Swami and mother-in-law of Charles Penn, was murdered. Althea went to the prison to meet the man who killed her son. People were concerned about this meeting but, to everyone’s surprise, she did not condemn the man. Instead she forgave him. She said, “I don’t know why you did this. May the Lord bless you and forgive you.” So, even in this age, examples of incredible forgiveness and forbearance occur.
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Another flower to offer God is santhi pushpam, the flower of peace. Swami has said, “Everybody wants peace.” Paul in his letter to the church at Philippi mentions the “peace that passeth all understanding.” (Philippians 4:7) Swami refers to a higher level of peace than most of us know. He talks about prasanthi not santhi. Santhi is peace. Prasanthi is supreme peace, the “peace that passeth all understanding.”
We tell Swami, “I want peace.” In response, Swami tells us the simple way to achieve peace. He says “Remove the ‘I’ and remove the ‘want’.” Then all that remains is peace. The reason we don’t have peace is because of our ego—the “I”—and our desire—the “want.” When we have too many desires, we are inevitably agitated. The whole purpose of spiritual practice (sadhana) is to minimize our ego and to minimize our desires. Swami says that man minus ego and man minus desire is God. As soon as the ego leaves, one realizes the inner divinity.
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Another flower to offer God is thapo pushpam, the flower of penance. A spiritual seeker should do some penance and austerity. Every tradition knows this. For example, during Ramadan, Muslims fast for 30 days. Catholic Christians observe Lent for 40 days. Hindus observe Shivarathri with vigil and fasting. But the real penance for this age, Swami says, is practicing unity of “thought, word, and deed,” trikarana suddhi. What we think, what we say, and what we do should be harmonious. However, the opposite is true today. Harmony in thought, word, and deed is rare to non-existent. That is why peace is lacking these days.
Swami gave the example of a home in which the family members are not in harmony: the father is doing one thing; the mother is doing something different; and the son is doing something else. Each one is going a different way and unity is absent. Harmony will not come to such a home. The same problem exists in us, as individuals. If we have harmony of thought, word, and deed, we will have peace. This trikarana suddhi is the real penance for this age rather than mere physical penance. The physical austerities such as fasting or doing vigil are fine but we should all practice harmony in our thoughts, words, and deeds. That is true penance.
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The seventh flower is the pushpam of dhyanam, meditation. Dhyanam is a good spiritual practice. Every spiritual path describes some type of meditation. However, rarely does anyone practice true meditation. Swami says that, in real meditation, if we think about God even for twelve seconds with concentration He will appear before us. Most people think that they are practicing meditation but their practice is not true meditation.
Swami says, “Real dharana lasts only twelve seconds.” Dharana is twelve seconds, a unit of concentration. One unit of meditation is twelve dharanas, one-hundred-and-forty-four seconds. If we meditate truly for two minutes and twenty-four seconds, we complete one unit of meditation. We sit trying to meditate for two hours but we are not truly meditating. Twelve units of meditation become samadhi. If we meditate truly for twenty-eight minutes and forty-eight seconds then we attain samadhi. Meditation is not an easy discipline. But Swami says that every act we do in life—drinking, eating, sleeping, talking, walking, driving, and working—becomes meditation if we offer it to God. Therefore, we should offer everything to God as a flower of our worship.
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The eighth and final flower of our worship is the flower of truth because truth is God. God is truth. We all know the story of Lord Rama. In order to honour His parents and to follow the path of truth, He gave up His kingdom and went to the forest. Similarly, Emperor Harishchandra, for the sake of truth, gave away his kingdom and his family. He gave up every worldly thing for the sake of truth. Of course our dear Swami is the very embodiment of truth. His very name is Sathya Sai Baba. Swami says that for Him truth is most important. In the past, Swami had many kings and other royalty as devotees. They wanted Swami to come and live in one of the cities near them.
Swami’s mother, Easwaramma started crying on hearing this and prayed that Swami would never leave her and Puttaparthi. Then Swami gave His word, “I will never leave Puttaparthi and this will become a place of pilgrimage. This is the punyakshetra (the holy pilgrim Centre).” He kept His word and made Prasanthi Nilayam the holy land for all Sathya Sai devotees.
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Another example of how Swami kept His word was His promise to Karnam Subbamma. Swami told her, “I will be there at the time of your death.” When Subbamma was on her death bed, Swami was physically a few hundred miles away. Some people said, “Swami gave His word to be present at the time of Subbamma’s death, but He is not here to fulfil the boon He promised to Subbamma.”
Swami came back finally and everyone told Swami that Subbamma had already passed away. Swami went straight to the place where Subbamma’s body was kept. Swami then said, “Subbamma, look at Me.” Lo and behold! Subbamma opened her eyes and Swami poured the water in her mouth just as He had promised her. Subbamma then left her body peacefully.
In summary, we should offer these eight flowers of worship to God. This should be our New Year’s resolution. Instead, people make all sorts of resolutions that they do not keep. I see this problem frequently in my medical practice. I treat people with obesity. Many of them make a resolution to lose weight. They often lose twenty pounds in one year and gain forty pounds in the subsequent year. We must have determination. We must make good resolutions and follow them. Swami tells a nice story that reminds us how our negative qualities are always ready to return.
The Nature of our Negative Traits and How to Deal With Them
A husband and wife, a generous couple, were good hosts. When guests came to their home they treated them well. A guest came to stay with this couple and told them he would stay with them for three days. As usual, they treated their guest well. They gave him breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks in between. But this guest didn’t leave after three days. He was still there after one week. Subsequently, the couple became concerned and thought about how to make him leave. They cut out the snacks and served only breakfast, lunch, and dinner. But the guest still didn’t leave. He stayed for yet another week. The hosts cut back from three meals to two meals a day, lunch and dinner. The guest still did not leave. Yet another week passed and the hosts decided to give him only one meal, dinner. The guest still did not leave.
The guest had become a pest. So the husband and wife played a drama. They pretended to fight and made a big scene. The guest became scared, packed up his stuff, and left. The husband and wife celebrated his departure and congratulated each other on their great acting. Then they heard a knock at the door. To their surprise, the unwanted guest had returned, saying that he acted even better and he was coming back to stay. Similarly, our negative tendencies—anger, jealousy, and greed—are deep rooted and lurk in our subconscious mind. We may think that we have controlled them but they are ever ready to return any time. So, we must be vigilant.
Swami cautions us, “Always be vigilant. Always be careful.” We need to constantly do a self-audit so that we maintain the good qualities that please the Lord. In this New Year, let us all strive to offer our Lord the real flowers of worship and let us be determined to always please Him.
Samastha Lokah Sukhino Bhavantu (May all the worlds be happy).
Thank you.
- Team Radio Sai
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On this occasion of Bhagawan's 88th Birthday we are pleased to offer you a special tone, and this one will be a perfect way to begin a day. Set this tone as your wake-up alarm and let Swami's gentle voice wake you up.
We hope you enjoy the latest ringtone and the alarm tone. Do let us know what you feel about our ringtones by writing to h...@radiosai.org
We hope you enjoy this latest offering from Prasanthi Nilayam.
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Radiosai team presents a Brand New and special calendar wallpaper “Anandamaya Bhagawan” for all Radiosai listeners and Radiosai Facebook followers. This wallpaper has made exclusively for you all with April 2014 month calendar. So that people can set it as their desktop background and meantime they can use it as a calendar too. While using it as calendar you can enjoy the important places associated with Bhagawan Baba i...n backgrounds. We hope you will enjoy this new look and it will reflect Swami’s supreme love towards all the beings in the entire world.
Next month Radio Sai May 2014 calendar will publish soon. Till then capture the hidden happiness inside yourself and stay tuned with Sai’s own radio – Radio Sai.
Background image: Trayee Brindavan, situated at Whitefield is Swami’s residence cum Ashram in Bangaluru.
Click here in to get the high resolution wallpaper for your desktop background from our website:
http://media.radiosai.org/journals/vol_10/01DEC12/ringtones.htm
Trayee: The Gift of Divine Intimacy
Few realize to what extent Swami goes out of the way to confer favours upon the students. One of the incomparable gifts of Divine intimacy that He confers is the famous 'Trayee Sessions' that take place while Swami is in Brindavan, Whitefield.
The circular building called Trayee came into existence in 1984, replacing an earlier building known as Bungalow of more conventional design. The centre of Trayee is a circular hall with a high ceiling. On the periphery of this hall are several rooms, some of which are set apart for Interviews. There are similar rooms on the first floor too, and Bhagawan occupies one of these. Right behind the main entrance is a large, curving, 'veranda' that can seat about two hundred or so. At one end of this veranda is a sofa and at the other end is a small swing or Jhoola. During the famous 'Trayee sessions', Swami is seated on the Jhoola while the boys crowd all over, spilling into the adjoining circular hall. In front of the building are lawns and flowerbeds.
The Trayee Discourses have a unique character of their own, and are quite different from the public Discourses that one is generally used to. Swami's voice is soft, gentle, loving, and most affectionate. It is very much like a mother talking to her children; indeed, it is nothing but that. When Swami speaks to students in Trayee, there is only one purpose - to mould their character. He does this in innumerable ways, illustrating His points with appropriate stories and historical anecdotes.
Anandamaya Bhagawan
There are tender moments too. Once, a casual conversation was in progress at the beginning of a Trayee session when a boy seated in the front offered some peanuts to Baba in a small bowl. Swami brushed it aside and continued the conversation. After a few minutes the boy tried again and once more Swami refused. A third try and a third refusal. The fourth time the boy was successful. Swami took the bowl from the boy's hands and after popping a couple of nuts into His mouth began distributing it to the boys nearby. Eagerly, boys thrust their hands forward. Swami dropped a few nuts into each palm stretched out to Him.
He then asked the boy who originally gave the nuts to stretch out his hand; the boy did. Swami dipped into the bowl, picked a few nuts, and then made a gesture like dropping the nuts into the out-stretched palm. What fell into the palm were not peanuts but a shining diamond ring! The boy was stunned. Swami took the ring and slipped it on to one of the fingers. The boy now began to cry; he was too overwhelmed to utter any words. Baba then said, "This boy loves Swami very much. He did not want to come empty handed here. He did not do anything great. He just took a small bowl, went to the Hostel store, filled it with shelled peanuts and brought it here - that is all. Swami is not bothered about what you offer but the feelings that accompany the offering. Any day, a teaspoon of cow's milk is better than a barrel of donkey's milk!"
Read more mesmerizing Trayee sessions shared by Prof. G. Venkataraman here in this link:
http://www.saibaba.ws/service/templeslearning/trayee.htm
Listen and learn this blissful bhajan ‘Anandamaya Bhagawan, He Premamaya Bhagawan’ here in our Bhajan Tutor Archive link: http://media.radiosai.org/journals/Vol_04/01SEP06/bhajans.htm#ananda
Feel free to download this “Anandamaya Bhagawan” wallpaper and set this as your desktop wallpaper or make it your facebook timeline cover photo. Feel thy happiness and spread it around you to make every being happy. Serve His children to make Swami happy and serve this mankind with whatever quality He has given you. Cherish every moments in your heart as every moment is filled with eternal joy of His selfless affection.
Radiosai facebook team
Please click on the following link to download
http://media.radiosai.org/journals/vol_10/01DEC12/ringtones.htm
Radio Sai Special Ugadi Wallpapers
Leaving the past behind and starting afresh with positive expectation is one of
the key aspects of Ugadi. The day also marks the beginning of spring season,
which is considered to be the first of all seasons, with plants, shoots, and
leaves coming to life and therefore, the day is believed to set things rolling
for a fresh and successful new beginning. It is a day when Vedic mantras,
auspicious chants and predictions for the coming year are made by the pundits.
Radio Sai team presenting here some special wallpaper for the auspicious
occasion of Ugadi. Download desktop and android/ipad versions of the wallpapers
here in our website:
http://media.radiosai.org/journals/vol_10/01DEC12/ringtones.htm
Direct Download links for Wallpapers
WALLPAPER - 01
Download for Desktop (3460×2165 px):
http://media.radiosai.org/www/imagedownloads/ugadi-01.jpg
Download for ipad & Android Mobile (1488×1488 px):
http://media.radiosai.org/www/imagedownloads/ugadi-02.jpg
WALLPAPER- 02
Download for Desktop (3460×2165 px):
http://media.radiosai.org/www/imagedownloads/ugadi-03.jpg
Download for ipad & Android Mobile (1488×1488 px):
http://media.radiosai.org/www/imagedownloads/ugadi-04.jpg
WALLPAPER - 03
Download for Desktop (3460×2165 px):
http://media.radiosai.org/www/imagedownloads/ugadi-05.jpg
Download for ipad & Android Mobile (1488×1488 px):
http://media.radiosai.org/www/imagedownloads/ugadi-06.jpg
Radio Sai Team wishes all of you a blissful and sacred New Year.
Radiosai facebook team
Leaving the past behind and starting afresh with positive expectation is one of the key aspects of Ugadi. The day also marks the beginning of spring season, which is considered to be the first of all seasons, with plants, shoots, and leaves coming to life and therefore, the day is believed to set things rolling for a fresh and successful new beginning. It is a day w...hen Vedic mantras, auspicious chants and predictions for the coming year are made by the pundits.
Ugadi is celebrated on the first day of the bright fortnight ('Shukla Paksha') of the first month ('Chaitra') in the first season of the year that is spring ('Vasanta'). This day is celebrated as the New Year Day in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra. The word Ugadi is derived from the Sanskrit word Yugadi which means beginning of a new Yuga or era. Legend has it that this was the day on which Lord Krishna shed His body, signaling the end of the Dwapara Yuga and the commencement of the Kali Yuga. It is also believed that Brahma created the universe on this day.
On Ugadi, it is the tradition to begin the day by partaking of a special preparation known as Ugadi Pacchadi. Six ingredients go into the making of this dish, each one representative of the six tastes – sweet, sour, spicy, salty, savory and bitter. This reminds us to accept both the joys and sorrows that life offers us with equal mindedness.
Our beloved Lord Bhagawan Baba taught us great significance of Ugadi in simple words. Let’s go through His divine discourse:
“True Ugadi is the day when man gives up bad qualities, fills his heart with love and takes to the path of sacrifice. Do not limit the celebration of Ugadi to merely putting on new clothes and partaking of delicious items. Today you may wear a new shirt, but how long will it remain new. Tomorrow it becomes old.
On this day of Ugadi, take a firm resolve to purify your heart. Past is past. It cannot be retrieved. When you are walking on the road, you should look at the path ahead of you. What is the point in looking behind? Likewise, there is no point in brooding over the past. Future is not certain. What is the guarantee that you will be alive until tomorrow? So, do not worry about your future. Live in the present. It is not ordinary present. It is omnipresent, meaning the results of past as well as the future are contained in it. So, when you make proper use of the present, you can be rest assured that your future is safe and secure”.
Excerpts from Divine Discourse: April 13, 2002
Feel free to make it your timeline cover and share with all to celebrate Unique Ugadi with us. Let this new beginning bring the brightest and choicest happiness in your life. Let this Ugadi pour peace and prosperity in every aspect of your life. Make it grand by tuning your life with Swami's seamless grace and start a new era of your life filled with divine peace, love and joy!
Radiosai facebook team
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