Temples of India-6

SRI BALA BALAJI TEMPLE-APPANA PALLE-5

Birth Of Garuda

Vinata was serving Kadruva as a slave. After some time the egg that she kept safely broke open and a form emerged which was half human and half bird. He had a massive and strong golden body, a white face, red wings, eagle's beak. He was very handsome and possessed a radiance so powerful that was equivalent to millions of suns. 

GARUDA

Garuda was very obedient and was dutiful to his mother. Kadruva was very jealous of Garuda since he was very strong and handsome and possessed massive strength. She told him that he and his mother were her slaves and should serve her and her sons. So he served them. 

But Kadruva and her sons kept on ill treating Vinata and Garuda. So one day Garuda went and asked his mother why and how they became slaves and how long they have to continue like that. Vinata narrated about the bet and pleaded with Garuda that he alone could relieve them from slavery.

Garuda went to Kadruva and her (serpent) sons and asked them how he and his mother could be relieved from the slavery. Then the serpents replied that they wanted Amrutham or nectar which was in Devaloka under the custody of King Indra. If he could bring it, he and his mother would be relieved from slavery.

He took blessings of his mother and father and told them that he was going to bring the Amrutham from the Devas. He then flew to Devaloka and there was a fierce fighting between Garuda and Devas who were guarding the nectar. Devas could not stand mighty Garuda and fled away. 


Lord Vishnu appeared before him and granted him immortality without drinking nectar and also made Garuda his carrier(Vahana) and flag. Even today in the temples ofVishnu, Garuda is the prime carrier known as Garuda Vahanana and the flag called Garuda Dhwajam adorns the temple flag posts on special and important occassions

Garuda took hold of the pot containing nectar and was about to fly away when Indra appeared. He asked Garuda why and where he was taking the nectar. Then Garuda explained to him that he was going to give it to serpents to relieve his mother from slavery. On hearing this Indra said that the serpents were cruel and if they drink the nectar and become immortal, it would be very difficult to control them. Instead of the nectar he would give what ever Garuda wanted. Then Garuda told him a plan as to how to save the nectar from being drunk by the serpents. Indra was very happy with that and wanted to grant him a boon of Garuda's choice. 


Garuda then said that the serpents were cruel and deceitful and caused a lot of hardships to him and his mother. So they were his enemies and from then onwards they should be allowed to be main food Garudas. Indra agreed for that. To this day, eagles staple food consists of snakes.

Garuda took the pot of nectar to the earth. Indra followed him invisibly to get back the nectar. Garuda placed it on Darbha (kusa grass). He then clled on to the serpents (Kadruvas sons) and told them that as per the agreement he had brought the nectar so he and his mother should be relieved from slavery. The serpents were happy as they were going to become immortal and relieved Garuda and his mother from slavery. Garuda told the serpents to take a bath and purify themselves before drinking nectar. He then flew away with his mother on his back.

The serpents went to take a dip. Waiting for this Indra took away the nectar and returned it to Devaloka. 

On their return the serpents could not find the nectar. They became very sad. They thought that a drop or two might have been fallen on the grass. So if they lick them they will become immortals. So they licked the grass. Kusa grass known as Darbha is very sharp and the tongues of the serpents were cut into two. Till this day serpents have a forked tongue. Darbha grass is very auspicious to Hindus as nectar was placed on it.

So this is how Garuda relieved himself and his mother from slavery. He came to be known as a son who was dutiful to his mother.

From that day onwards the Garuds started killing and eating serpents.

In my next post you will know about how the killing of serpents was stopped and how this story is related to the temple site APPANAPALLE

So watch out for it.......

Temples of India-5

SRI BALA BALAJI TEMPLE-APPANA PALLE-4

Tale of two sisters Vinata and Kadruva: Continued

One evening the two sisters, Vinata and Kadruva were walking along the sea shore enjoying the breeze and admiring the surroundings. They saw a milky white horse at a distance. This was the Uchaisrava -the milky white horse of Indra(king of Devas), which came out of Ksheerasagara madhanam (churning of milky ocean). 

Kadruva wanted to fool her sister Vinata. So she said "look at that horse, it is white as milk. But its tail is black. Vinata looked at the tail carefully and found that it was white. So she disagreed and asked Kadruva to look at it carefully. But Kadruva did not accept that. The sisters argued on this issue. Kadruva in a fit of rage said "Let us bet on it. If I am correct you and your children will  have to be my slaves for life. If you are correct then me and my children will be your slaves for life". Vinata had to agree. She insisted on going nearer to the horse to verify the colour of its tail. But Kadruva stopped her by saying that it was getting dark and that they should get back to  home. Next morning they would examine it in broad day light. They went back to their homes for the night.

Kadruva could not sleep at all. She was the one who insisted on betting. She also knew that she would loose as the horse's tail was white in colour. But she could not think of being slave to her sister. She called her sons, who were serpents and explained them about the bet. She asked them to help her win the bet by some how making the tail of the horse black. But her sons refused to do so as this was not fair. Even though she was their mother, they refused to be a part of the deceit saying that this was not ethical or moral and one should never go out of the way of Dharma or righteousness. 

But Kadruva was desperate to prove herself correct.So she said she would curse them. her sons still did not agree. So she cursed them that they would be burnt alive in the fires (This curse came true later on when the "Sarpa Yaga" was performed by King Janamejeya). 

One of her sons Karkotaka who was frightened by the curse and also loved his mother very much promised to help her. So next morning he went to the sea shore, found the horse, claimed and entwined himself on to its tail.

When Vinata and Kadruva came to inspect the horse, they found its tail black. They were looking at it from a distance may be because if they go near it the horse might get away. So from the distance Vinata could not see that a serpent was entwined on to the tail. All she could see was that the tail was black. She lost the bet and became slave of Kadruva from that day, serving her as a slave would.

Vinata was still looking after the egg to hatch...

Read about the birth of Garuda and how he relieved his mother Vinata from slavery in my next posts.....

Temples Of India-4

SRI BALA BALAJI TEMPLE-APPANA PALLE-3

The Story of Ksheerasagara Madhanam

I am stating this story very briefly for the purpose of identifying the link with this temple site. 

Devas (includes deities, spirits and gods) and Asuras (Raakshasas or demons) -who both were born to Sage Kashayapa but with different mothers, constantly battled for supremacy and controlling of various worlds. Asuras  due to their sheer brutal strength and devious ways and also due to many boons from Gods for their penances,  mostly had the upper hand and used to defeat the Devas.


So Devas prayed to Lord Vishnu for a way out of this. HE advised them to churn the cosmic ocean known as Ksheera Sagara or Milky Ocean for Amrutham-the Nectar/elixir/ambrosia  which would give immortality. But this could not be done by Devas alone. So they roped in Asuras too. They too wanted a share in this. Devas had to agree.


With Vasuki-the thousand headed king of serpents as the rope and the huge Mountain named Mandhara as  churn stick, churning of the ocean started. At the head side of the serpent were the Asuras and the tail was held by Devas. But soon after, the mountain being so huge and heavy started sinking. So they all prayed to Lord Vishnu to save them. Lord Vishnu incarnated in the form of huge tortoise bore the mountain on his back as long as the churning went on and saved it from sinking. 


You can see the depiction here:


http://www.flickr.com/photos/satyendra/3791844091/


It went on for thousand years or so.


Many treasures and jewels came out of it. Moon, Goddess Laksmi, Apsaras (beautiful damsels), Dhanvantari (a physician and father of Ayur veda) and many more came out of it. 


Uchaishrawa or snow white horse with seven heads came out of the ocean. This was the most beautiful, powerful and best horse which could fly. This was taken by Indra-king of Devas. Similarly other valuable things came out of it.


Finally, Amrutham or nectar came out. Both the Devas and the Asuras started fighting for it. Lord Vishnu transformed himself into a beautiful damsel- Vishwa Mohini and appeared between the warring factions. He then very cleverly distributed it to Devas but not a single drop to Asuras. 


Later on the pot of Nectar was given to Indra for safe custody. In Amaravathi, the kingdom of Indra this pot is kept under tight security. No one can enter the place nor can touch it.


I will write about this churning of milky ocean in detail some other time. For the purpose of our legend related to the temple, it is enough.Just remember Amrutham and Ucchaisrawa.


Now we have to get back to Vinata and Kadruva, the wives of sage Kashyapa. where we left them in my previous post.


Keep watching my blog for the next part of the story.....

Naga-Garuda Panchami

Today August 4th is Panchami or the fifth day of the Sravana month.

We Hindus  divinity in all, birds, animals, rivers and even mountains and stones. The reason behind this is that the environment or nature would then be respected. As humans we are more intelligent. At the same time, we have the power to destroy other creatures and nature. In order to avoid this, our forefathers-learned and wise sages taught us to see divinity in all.

Naga

Garuda

Today is Naga Panchami and also Garuda Panchami. Nagas means serpents. Garuda means the golden eagle. 

          Sage Kashyapa


Both are the children of the great Rishi Kashyapa. He had many wives.  Nagas  meaning snakes or serpents were born to his wife Kadruva. Garuda was born to his wive Vinata. you can read more about this in one of my previous posts:

http://secretsofancientwisdom.blogspot.com/2011/03/temples-of-india-2.html

Nagas or serpents are worshipped today. They represent so many mystical qualities and symbolise many things. I will write about them separately as there is lot to write about. Shiva wears snakes as ornament- primarily round his neck. Vishnu reclines on Shesha Sarpa. So many mythological stories are connected with them. They are worshipped in the form of Manasa devi-queen of serpents, Rahu-Ketu (shadow planets) as well as Kuja or Mars. Lord Subrahmanyam- son of Shiva is also worshipped in the form of snake.

Garuda or the mighty eagle, gold in colour is also known as Pakshi Raja -the king of birds and and many other names, is associated with strength. He is known for his love for his mother.

What to do today:

Lord Subrahmanyam and Nagendra is to be worshipped. Mansa Devi is also worshipped.

One can recite stotras, ashtotra, sahasranamas. A silver snake form is placed in a vessel and worshipped with cow milk (unheated), turmeric, vermilion and flowers  either by chanting the mantras or stotras of Subrahmanyam or separate for Nagendra. Sesame seeds and jaggery are powdered together and made into laddus (round balls), rice flour(raw rice washed and powdered) mixed with jaggery and made into laddus, cow milk is offered as Prasaadam and eaten. Many keep complete fast on this day except for eating the Prasaadam, some fruits and drinking milk. 

Many people don't use combs or cut vegetables with knives or cutters on this day. That is why they eat only those vegetables which need not be cut. Even cooked food is not eaten by some.

People also visit temples or other places to worship ant hills( where serpents reside) or snake pits. A little bit of earth from the same is taken and applied to ear lobes and eyes as it is believed that it keeps our sense organs healthy.  

Naga Puja or worshipping snakes is done for snakes are associated with fertility. By worshipping them many childless couples seek children. Good health of children, family members, safety from snake bites, prosperity-as snakes are believed to be safe guard wealth and possess presicious gems. They also represent spiritual knowledge and Kundalini shakthi.

Garuda is worshipped for health, for be-getting  strong children, as a protection against snakes, or snake bites and poison as well as the one who carries lord Vishnu.

Those who cannot do all this can at least recite stotras.

A Date With Moon Tonight....

Chandra Grahanam-Lunar Eclipse

Free Photos Shiva Pictures Shivaratri Lord Shiva Happy Maha Shivaratri Hindu Gods Shiva Shakti  http://www.occult-paranormal-psychic-yoga.blogspot.com

Today -15th June 2011- in an hours time, we will be witnessing one of the longest Lunar Eclipse of the century. It will start(Sparsa or Pattu in Telugu) from 11.53 PM Indian Standard Time (IST) and will end (Moksha or Vidupu in Telugu) at 3.32AM on 16th June 2011. Total Eclipse will be from 12.52 AM to 2.33 AM. This will be visible to most of the residents of India.

As per Vedic astrology, this eclipse will occur when the Moon is in Jyesta Nakshatra-4th Pada of Scorpio (Vrischika Rasi)and also in Moola Nakshatra 1st Pada of Sagittarius (Dhanur Rasi). So people born in these two Zodiac signs (moon Signs not the Sun Signs) must not see it. They should get Sapasukta Sahita Mahanyasapoorvaka Ekadasa Rudrabhishekam performed to Lord Shiva in any of the temples.

DOs and Donts during the eclipse:

• Eat at least 9-6 hours before the eclipse.
• Don't drink or eat or attend to natures call during this period.
• Don't keep any cooked food for use after the eclipse.
• Put a blade of Kusa Grass (Darbha) on water, milk, curds, ghee or pickles so that we can use it even after the eclipse.
• It is better to sit comfortably on a mat in your prayer room or where it is peaceful and chant the name of GOD or any Mantra given to you by your Guru.
• This is a very auspicious time for practising all your Mantras and gain power. It is also the best time for being initiated or taught a new Mantra.
• Those who know the mantras for curing, sprains, snake poison or scorpion poison or any other mantra including the Drushti Mantra( Nazar utaar ne ki mantr) should practise it this time to gain power.
• Chant the Mantras at least 11, 21, 40 or 108 times. The more the better.
• Usually, one is advised to take head bath at the beginning of the eclipse and then at the end before chanting the mantra. If this is not possible at least, wash your hands, feet and face, wear freshly washed clothes and then sit for chanting.
• Even meditation at this time if practised is powerful.
• Sadhana or meditation during this time gives powerful result.
• Any Daan (charity) at this time is believed to give more positive results than at ordinary time.
• After the eclipse is over, we wash our homes, and take a head bath. Then only we offer prayers at home. If possible go to temple.
• One should get Sapasukta Sahita Mahanyasapoorvaka Ekadasa Rudrabhishekam performed to Lord Shiva in any of the temples whether born in affected Moon signs or not.

Mantras to be chanted during the Eclipse:

Chandra, Rahu, Ketu Mantras or Kavachas, even all the Navagraha Mantras, Maha Mruthunjaya Mantra, Shiva Panchakshari or any other Mantra given to you by your Guruji or elders.

Even if you don't know any mantras, chant "OM NAMAH SHIVAYA" or "OM NAMO BHAGAVATHE VASUDEVAYA". For HE is the Saviour.

This year my Guruji had asked us to recite "BHU SUKTAM" to save our earth from earth quakes. Since it is believed that eclipses do cause earth quakes, those who can recite this may please do.

Those who are Ill or suffering from long standing illness chant :

         "KREEM ACHYUTANANTHA GOVINDA

Those who want success in competitive exams, legal matters or other ventures:

        "SRI RAMA JAYA RAMA JAYA JAYA RAMA"

For good education:

        " Sri HayaGreevaya Namaha"

So keep chanting.......Don't have much time now.....Will post more about eclipses according to our Hindu texts later.......

Bhajans of Satya Sai Baba

Baba Satya Sai's Bahajans are very popular as they are very simple, easy to sing and understand. Baba used to stress on singing those Bhajans which contain more names of the Lord rather than any other type, since Nama Japa is advised during Kaliyuga.

Baba sung many Bhajans  himself. One of the those which I like most is "Govinda Krishna Jai"

Courtesy: You Tube


Lyrics:

Govinda Krishna Jai
Govinda Krishna Jai Gopala Krishna Jai
Gopala Bala Bala Radha Krishna Jai
Krishna Jai, Krishna Jai, Krishna Jai
Krishna Krishna Krishna Krishna Jai
Gopika Mala Hari Pyari, Mayi Mira Mana Vihari
Madana Mohana Murali Dhari Krishna Jai
Krishna Jai Krishna Jai Krishna Jai
Krishna Krishna Krishna Krishna Jai
Krishna Jai Rama Krishna Jai Radha Krishna Jai
Bala Krishna Krishna Krishna Krishna Jai

Meaning:
Victory to Lord Krishna. 
Victory to Gopala-the Lord of the cowherders and Lord of Radha. 
Victory to Lord Krishna, who wears garlands offered by the Gopis  and who is in the heart of Meera . 
Victory to the enchanting Flute-Player, Lord Krishna. Victory to Thee, O Lord Krishna.
 

Bhajans

Introduction

India is the Land of Vedas and Vedic literature and culture and the land where Hinduism is practised. Hinduism is not a religion. It is a way of life where people are free to follow any of the numerous path, practise or philosophy to reach God.

Following Vedic Rituals, Prayers, chanting of Mantras, reciting Slokas and Stotras, observing fast or performing Yagyas-there are many methods of worshipping the God. Out of all these for Kaliyuga the most beneficial method that was advised by our  Rishis or Munis or Gurus was chanting of the name of God known as Nama Japa. When this chanting is musically done then it becomes more interesting and attractive.

Music as it is spellbinding. A Sanskrit Sloka says:

Sisur vethi, Pasur vethi

Vethi gana rasam Phanihi

Meaning; children, animals and even a serpent is spell bound by music. And when the music is used for singing the praise of Lord/God then it is more divine.

The science and art of Music in India originated with the sound OM. Sama Veda one of the four Vedas deals with the subject of music. The hymns of this Veda are sung rather than chanted or recited. Bhajans are a part of our Indian Music system or tradition.

Bhajans are a form of devotional songs sung in the praise of God. They can be classical, semi classical, traditional and even folk in origin. There are many traditions or schools of singing bhajans-Nirguni, Gorakhanathi, Vallabhapanthi, Ashtachhap, Madhura-bhakti or the traditional Sampradya Keertans from South India. 

Similarly different styles of singing like keertans, dhrupad, haridasa, sufi etc are most popular.

Some of the most popular authors since anceint times are, Kabir, Tulasidas, surdas, Meera, Namdev, Thyagaraja.

Bhajans can be singing out various names of the God/Goddess or singing in praise, singing about the great virtues, or from Ramayana or Bhagawata. 

Bhajans are the most popular form of devotional singing whether by class or by mass and till today being much in Vogue. They not only help us in expressing our devotion, but help us in concentrating our thoughts on God and are also great stress busters. Though Bhajans are sung at home daily or for special occasions, people form Bhajan Mandals or groups and sing together as this form of group singing is supposed to be more powerful.

I will be posting the lyrics as well as bhajans of various saints and poets from time to time.

Hope you like them.

Quotes Of Bhagawan Satya Sai Baba

Bhagawan's speeches are real Pearls Of Wisdom. His quotes contain a wealth of Spiritual  Knowledge and the summary of entire philosophy of the ancient texts. By following them or at least trying our best to follow them will give us peace and happiness.

I will be posting these some at a time.

Where there is FAITH, there is LOVE; 

Where there is LOVE; there is PEACE; 

Where there is PEACE; there is GOD; 

Where there is GOD; there is BLISS.

LIFE is a mosaic of pleasure and pain - 

Grief is an interval between two moments of joy. 

Peace is the interlude between two wars. 

You have no rose without a thorn; the diligent picker will avoid the pricks and gather the flower. There is no bee without the sting; cleverness consists in gathering the honey nevertheless.

Wealth that you hoard is not yours; wealth that you have given is really yours

Meera-Prem Diwani -II

    Lord Krishna

Meera brings along with her the idol of Lord Krishna and installs it at her quarters in her new home. She continues with her Krishna Bhakti despite threats from her in-laws. Her husband though does not like it first, learns about her devotion and appreciates her. He goes on a pilgrimage with her to many places including Pandharipur. He like to listen to her devotional songs or bhajans and takes up canting of Lord's name. He even builds her a very beautiful temple for Krishna at Chittorgarh.

See the temple and also the fort of Chittorgarh.

http://www.asrema.com/tpa/India-Rajasthan-Part2-MLT/slides/Rajasthan-Chittorgarh-Krishna_Temple.htm

Meera never had any interest in leading a life of ordinary married women. She was spiritually inclined and loved only lord Krishna. However she did not neglect her duties, attended to them and after completion, she used to go to the temple of Lord Krishna, to worship, sing and dance. At first the temple was meant for queen Meera. 

Many devotees, sadhu and sant (sages) hearing her soulful rendering want to visit the temple. So the temple is opened for the public. Many devotees, commoners, sadhu and sant used to frequent the temple. Interaction with these great saints increased the spiritual inclination in Meera more and more. 

Meera's mother-in-law, sister-in-law (Udabai) and other ladies of the palace did not like it at all. They did not understand the feelings or devotion of Meera. They were of the opinion that a lady after her marriage has to attend to her in-laws and her husband only. Her mother-in-law forced her to worship Durga and would taunt her often. Her sister-in-law too would complain against her to her brothers. They did not like Meera to go freely and mingle with men, sadhu and sant as Rajput women maintain purdah system and were strictly confined to their homes-especially the royalty. They put many restrictions on her. They complain against Meera saying that Meera's behaviour was tarnishing the image of their family,clan and that of Rajputs'. But Meera remained steadfast and unfazed.

This made the ladies of the palace even more enraged. Meera’s sister-in-law conspired against her and began to defame her by spreading many stories. She informed Rana Kumbha that Meera was in secret love with some one, she goes to the temple to meet her lover, and that she would show him the person if he would accompany her to catch them red handed. Meera's husband loved her a lot and had trust in her pious nature. So he refused to believe these concocted stories or rumours. 

However his sister was very persistent with her accusations. As this went on and on Meera's husband began believing these scandals and one day he rushed into his quarters in great anger, with sword in hand to kill Meera,  A relative of the Rana counselled him and pacified him. He advised him to enquire into the allegations carefully with a calm mind for finding out the truth. Out of sheer jealousy the ladies might have spread rumours against her to defame her. He pointed out that Meera was a great devotee of the Lord Krishna , very pious natured and for this reason he had married her.  Kumbha calmed down.

However his sister urged him to punish Meera for her illicit relationship (allegedly). So he accompanied his sister to the temple. He broke open the door, rushed inside and found Meera alone in a trance talking and singing to the idol.

He could find no one so he demanded that Meera should show him her lover who she meets daily. Meera points out at the idol of Krishna and replies, "There He is -My Lord, My Lover—who has stolen my heart". Rana is ashamed that he listened to his sister's concocted stories and returns back.

Meera continues her devotion and keeps on meeting the saints who visit her from far of places hearing about her great devotion and her melodious singing. She renounces all luxuries and wears simple clothes and no jewellery. Her songs, in simple language of Braj, sung soulfully, set to beautiful melodious music, attracted the listeners and transported them to a spiritual plane. Her singing and her devotion became very famous in North India and were much talked about. She was known as Meera-Prem Diwani (mad with Love) and as an incarnation of Radha.

  

The ladies of the palace unable to bear this(in those days ladies from royal families and of good lineage were not supposed to mix with or talk freely with men outside their families) floated rumors that Meera was mixing very freely with sadhus or saints and talked ill about her. They kept on torturing her through their malicious gossips, carrying tales to her husband and through other activities.

Meera does not like these interruptions or the restrictions on her devotion. She seeks the advice of Goswami Tulasidas, by writing a letter to him, who advises her to leave those who don't believe in Ram or Shyam and seek the Lord.

But Akbar's visit to Meera was the turning point. Akbar the famous Moghul Emperor, was a very powerful ruler and rival of the Rajputs especially Rana. But he was interested in various religious paths. He had heard about Meera's devotional and melodious singing. So Akbar and his famous court musician Tansen came in disguise to Chittor to hear her songs. They went and sat in the temple and listened to her soul - stirring songs to their heart’s content. Before his departure, Akbar touched the feet of Meera and placed a necklace made of precious gems in front of the Krishna's idol as a gift. 

This news reaches the Rana Kumbha. He became furious and angrily tells Meerabai, that she brought disgrace to the family by meeting their arch rival Akbar and accepting a gift from him. So he orders her to drown herself in the river and never show her face in future. 

Meera obeyed the king's(her husband's) orders and proceeded to the river to drown herself. She sang chanting Krishna's name as Giridhari, Govinda and Gopala and dances in ecstasy on her way to the river. 

When she enters the river, a hand from behind grasps her and embraces her. It was none other than her beloved Giridhari. She faints on him. After a few minutes when she opens her eyes, Lord Krishna smiles and gently whispers "My dear Meera, your life with your mortal relatives is over now. You are absolutely free. Be cheerful. You are and have always been mine. Go to Brindavan where you can peacefully seek me"

She obeys the divine guidance and leaves her home for Brindavan-where lord Krishna spent his child hood and youth.

She travels bare foot on hot sands of the desert, singing and dancing in ecstasy. Where ever she goes she is welcomed with great love and affection as well as devotion. Her fame spreads far and wide. her singing and her bhajans become popular with the common folk as well as the learned.

To be continued......

Update -2-4-2015:

This post has been modified slightly (the last paragraphs) for a more clearer picture of Meera Bai's life.  

Bhagawan Sri Satya Sai Baba Passes away

It is with great sorrow and heavy heart that I share with you the most shocking news of the departure of Bhagawan Sri Satya Sai Baba at 7.40 pm today to his heavenly abode. He was 86 years old and was admitted to Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences at Puttaparthi of Anantapur district of Andhra Paradesh. He was admitted to hospital on March 28th suffering from respiratory problems. 

Millions of devotees across the world were praying, conducting uninterrupted Bhajans, Yagyas, prayers ardently for His recovery. Our family was also praying for him. We all were convinced that He will be safe-nothing will happen to Him. Some where a small hope burned alive like a small lamp, even in the gloom of despair, that He will not leave us. 

There is what is called Law Of Nature. Though this has been established by God Himself, He too follows it scrupulously. There is a Rhythm, there is a discipline in Nature. Every thing that takes birth has to die. So God also adheres to it. Even the Avtars (incarnations of God) Rama or Krishna left this world when they accomplished their missions. 

When God wishes He appears on the earth as incarnation or what ever form He wants and withdraws at his will. The great souls like Shirdi Sai Baba, Vivekananda, Ramkrishna Parmahamsa etc visit this earth and take birth here to accomplish great missions as per the directions of God. Such great Souls or Masters are sent on to the earth to educate us, lead us and guide us spiritually as per God's wishes. They know about God's wishes. That is why some great souls have Ichha Marnam or death at their will-like Bhishma. 

Baba waited till today. Why? Because today is the most auspicious day-Sunday, Sapthami(7th day of our calender), Poorva Aashadha  star, Siddha Yoga- Planet Sun in Mesha(Aries) all these make it a favourable time for leaving His physical body on a divine journey. He knows it all, who are we to question Him?

But for us, we don't have any say in our births or deaths. We are all guided by our actions(Karma) and its affect. We can only come out of this Chakra or cycle by following the spiritual path as per Guru's guidance.

How can people like us who are spiritual illiterates know about great souls or their missions. We attach ourselves to what we see with our eyes and the physical body or presence. 

Now Bhagawan meaning God as people believe Him to be, always used to say that He is beyond birth and death. His body is not His but for our sake which we worship and follow with great devotion. 

The greatest spiritual Guru of modern times, he has crores and crores of disciples not only in India but from various countries of the world. He spread the message of Love, Peace and Service. He and his Trust do a lot of charity work, support educational institutions, hospitals and many more across the world.

As I am writing all this I am crying and all my family and friends are shocked. After all Baba was like our, mother, father, guru, friend and God all rolled into one. As long as His physical presence was there, we felt that he was there to safe guard us. 

One thing we have to remind ourselves is He is not just an ordinary human. He is a great soul and He will always be there with us. In our thoughts, in our actions, in our words, in everything we do-He is always with us. If we call ourselves His followers, His devotees then we have to adhere to what he taught us through his messages. Love all-serve all;Help ever, Hurt never.

Baba always taught us about Prema or Love-The Universal Love. This is the time when there is so much strife, so much unrest, so many calamities-that we need to spread His message of Love and Peace. Even if we begin this at our homes, our relatives, our friends and with those whom we come into contact, it is more than enough. We should follow Baba and lend a helping hand to those around us who need it the most. It need not be big, it need be colossal-just a small something; a hug, a smile, a pat on the back, a shoulder to cry, a warm handshake...small things which mean a lot to someone.

So come let us all take a Pledge that from today we will follow His Messages, spread Love and Peace, what little we can do to serve others we will do. we will always chant the name of God and Baba. 

He is definitely with us around us and in us.......we just need to call Him SAI RAM...

OM SAI RAM...............