Sai Picture gallery: Shri Shirdi Sai Speaks-24th April/ Shiv Puran/ Wishing you and your loved ones a blissful Akshaya Tritiya

My Favourite Thoughts and Inspirations.Read them ,May b u will find the answer to ur problem

Very fortunate is the one who has learned to admire, but not to envy................ Pin all your hopes in god, and then you will not be pinned down by man................. The wealth of a rich man can be stolen or burnt, but the happiness & wisdom of the wise remain................ Life may be struggling, but is very good............ When in doubt, just take a positive step......... Life is too short, but we all have to go long way....... Your work would not take care of your health, but your Prayer to Baba,who is your father, mother & friend, will answer it............ Never be anxious to win every argument. Listen to others also................. Smiling is more healing than crying alone. Never get angry, Baba knows, when & how to take care of you............... Save for retirement starting with your first pay cheque. Make peace with your past & don't screw up the present. Never compare your life with others to make yourself miserable............... Never make any relationship a secret............... Everything can change in the blink of an eye. Have Shraddha & Saburi inBaba.............. Take a deep breath to calm the mind........... Be resourceful to acquire what you love in life....... Burn the candles to enlighten others. Don't save it for a specialoccasion. Today is special............ No one is in charge of your happiness but you. Be selective & choosey.............. Forgive & Forget to make others happy. Time heals all the wounds. Have patience. Good or bad is never permanent, welcome a change. God loves you because you are one of His creations. Come out & adopt positive attitude to witness miraculous ways of Baba........... Envy is a waste of time............ The best in you is knocking your door. Look in to feel His presence........... Never get into any arguments; feel fresh, get up, dress up & show upwith a smile................... Life isn't tied with a bow, but still is a gift showered by GodAlmighty................... If I keep the weaknesses of others in my mind, they soon become a part of me................... The ego is the poison of the soul...drink in the bliss and spit out the poison............... To be free from negative thoughts is to be free from punishment.................. In the long run the most difficult thing is to search for an easy way out............... If I enjoy praise, it means I can be easily hurt by defamation.................. Try to conquer greed now because “while man becomes old, his greed becomes youthful........... The end of birth is death. The end of death is birth........ The stronger your attachment the greater the power of the Maya (the illusion : Her creation) over you..... "I put firm faith in the words of my Guru, considering them more valuable than all the shastras put together." ........... Don't poison your soul, mind, heart and body with negativity....bathe in Divine positive love............ Your Soul is always trying to be heard above the noise of your mind, when you quiet your mind your Soul takes command!.................... Pin all your hopes in god, then you will not be pinned down by man................. Remember that you are very special. NO ONE can play your role better than you.................. If someone defames you or insults you, shower him with flowers, smiles and good wishes............ When you get angry, you lose more than your temper When all your attachments are with the one God, then your achievements are many............... When people cannot stand you because they do not understand you, God will stand by you........... To give happiness to others is a great act of charity. A slip of the foot we many recover, but a slip of the tongue leaves a deep imprint............ Life is like a drama. If I understand the plot, there is great happiness........... To smile in the face of disaster is the result of a stable mind............ If God answers ur prayer,He is increasing ur faith. If He delays,He is increasing ur patience. If he doesn’t answer,He knows u can handle........... You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree............... Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present............... Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about............ If a relationship has to be a secret,you shouldn't be in it........... However good or bad a situation is, it will change Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift."......... How many times should I forgive, I am tired of forgiving? – Forgive as many times as you would wish God to forgive you!................ Never do anything which you would not wish to do during the last hour of your life.............. Ego-based desire is the root cause of all suffering......... Contentment is the destroyer of all three - desires, anger and greed......... Knowledge leads to freedom, but pride of knowledge leads one to hell.......... A single act of selflessness can turn hell into heaven. The habit of giving rather than asking is the tool for an enduring relationship........... Silence is the best language.......... Only the joy that comes from right conduct is true happiness- Other pleasures are really sources of pain and causes of shame.......... A god-fearing person can never be religious, because if you fear God you cannot love him............. The most beautiful thing is to see a person's simling face.And even more beautiful is, knowing that u r the reason behind it..................................................................................With lots of good wishes and regards to all from Deepa H and family [ debu7366@yahoo.com ] ...............May Sai always give us peace of mind and May he always make us feel His presence where ever we go.... Saibhakt, Deepa H [You can always contact me at debu7366@yahoo.com ]......................................

One step closer to Brahma Gyaan

One step closer to Brahma gyan:::: A 'devotee' goer wrote a letter to the editor of a newspaper and complained that it made no sense to go to the Temple . 'I've gone for 30 years now, he wrote, and in that time I have heard something like 3,000 mantras. But for the life of me, I can't remember a single one of them. So, I think I'm wasting my time and the Gurus are wasting theirs by giving services at all. This started a real controversy in the 'Letters to the Editor' column, much to the delight of the editor. It went on for weeks until someone wrote this clincher: I've been married for 30 years now. In that time my wife has cooked some 32,000 meals. But, for the life of me, I cannot recall the entire menu for a single one of those meals. But I do know this... They all nourished me and gave me the strength I needed to do my work. If my wife had not given me these meals, I would be physically dead today. Likewise, if I had not gone to the Temple for nourishment, I would be spiritually dead today! When you are DOWN to nothing.... God is UP to something! Faith sees the invisible, believes the incredible and receives the impossible! Thank God for our physical AND our spiritual nourishment! ------------------------------ So easy to beat yourself up over mistakes you've made. So many amongst us live in the past rather than loving the present and building a brilliant future. Some people stay stuck for years over something they did or a failure they've experienced. Sad. A life is a terrible thing to waste. But let me ask you a question: "is there really such a thing as a mistake?" First of all, no one tries to fail or mess things up. Every one of us wakes up in the morning, walks out into the world and does the best we can do based on what we know and the skills we have. But even more importantly, every so-called "mistake' is actually a rich source of learning. An opportunity to build more awareness and understanding and gain precious experience. Experience that will help us do, feel and be even better. So, just maybe, there are no mistakes. Just maybe what we could call failures are actually growth lessons in wolf's clothing. And just maybe the person who experiences the most wins. ---------------------- A sick man turned to his doctor as he was preparing to Leave the examination room and said, 'Doctor, I am afraid to die. Tell me what lies on the other side.' Very quietly, the doctor said, 'I don't know.' 'You don't know? You, a Christian man, Do not know what is on the other side?' The doctor was holding the handle of the door; On the other side came a sound of scratching and whining, And as he opened the door, a dog sprang into the room And leaped on him with an eager show of gladness. Turning to the patient, the doctor said, 'Did you notice my dog? He's never been in this room before. He didn't know what was inside. He knew nothing except that his master was here, And when the door opened, he sprang in without fear. I know little of what is on the other side of death, But I do know one thing... I know my Master is there and that is enough.' ------------------------------- A boy and a girl were playing together. The boy had a collection of marbles. The girl had some sweets with her. The boy told the girl that he will give her all his marbles in exchange for her sweets. The girl agreed. The boy kept the biggest and the most beautiful marble aside and gave the rest to the girl. The girl gave him all her sweets as she had promised. That night, the girl slept peacefully. But the boy couldn't sleep as he kept wondering if the girl had hidden some sweets from him the way he had hidden his best marble. Moral of the story: If you don't give your hundred percent in a relationship, you'll always keep doubting if the other person has given his/her hundred percent.. This is applicable for any relationship like love, employer-employee relationship, friendship etc., Give your hundred percent to everything you do and sleep peacefully ---------------------- The tragedy of life is not death,but what we let die inside us while we live.When u were born,the world rejoiced while u cried,-live ur life in such a way that when you die,-the world cries while u rejoice.. -------------------------------- Your days are your life in miniature. As you live your days, so you craft your life. What you do today is actually creating your future. The words you speak, the thoughts you think, the food you eat and the actions you take are defining your destiny â€“ shaping who you are becoming and what your life will stand for. There's no such thing as an unimportant day. Each of us is called to greatness. Each of us has an exquisite power within us. But for this power to grow, we need to use it. The more you exercise it each day, the stronger it gets. The more this power gets tapped, the more confident you grow. The best among us are not more gifted than the rest. They just take small steps each day as they march towards their biggest life. And the days slip into weeks, the weeks into months and before they know it, they arrive at a place called Extraordinary. ----------------------------- If you can not respect , love , care about ,stand by or be honest with your own parents ,-who gave birth to you and were the very first people who fell in love with you -- then whether you accept this or not but you do not love anyone else in this world either with all your heart and soul ....and time will show that none of your children will stand by you either- when you will need them the most.. ----------------------------------- If you sit with a person who is smoking, even without ur knowledge- You will end up inhaling second hand smoke.In the same way, if you be in the company of saints who constantly preach about the importance of doing good karma-, automatically even without ur knowledge- u will end up doing a lot of positive and humble deeds. If you be in the company of a person who keeps saying bad words and abusing others then then obviously whether u like it or not -- u will end up being the same kind of person sooner or later. And if u constantly listen to Gods name, his praises, his bhajans-even without you being aware of it - the words that will come out of your mouth will be nothing but the nectar of love and bliss. So be in the company of God and even without your knowledge-You will find him seated in your heart - talking to you and finding solutions to ur problems and worries.You just need to take one step towards Him and He will take 100 steps towards you.. By Deepa H inspired by Sai -------------------------------------------- Always tell someone that you love them because you never know what day Will be their last, or your own. Always seek to resolve your problems or disagreements with loved ones Because if either of you should pass on before, the one who is left alive will have the rest of their life to ponder those unresolved feelings but will never find closure. And closure usually brings Peace... ......................................................................................With lots of good wishes and regards to all from Deepa H and family [ debu7366@yahoo.com ] ...............May Sai always give us peace of mind and May he always make us feel His presence where ever we go.... Saibhakt, Deepa H [You can always contact me at debu7366@yahoo.com ]

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Shri Shirdi Sai Speaks-24th April/ Shiv Puran/ Wishing you and your loved ones a blissful Akshaya Tritiya

Om Sai Ram ! Om Namaha Shivaya!

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Since about more than a month we all have been graced with the blissful darshan of the sacred shivlings around the world. But all this seems a little incomplete to me without the knowledge of the holy Shiv Puran. So how about we all start reading this sacred book together..And hopefully before I head to Kailash- we all will be blessed with the wonderful stories which are related to our creator. However, " The Shiva Purana has twenty-four thousand shlokas which are divided into six samhitas or sections." But I will not be posting any of the shlokas in these mails. I will be posting the most simplest version of the Shiv Puran with the blissful pictures of various temples as we go along- , so that it is easily understood by all of us and can also be shared with our children and grandchildren.May Lord Shiva bless us all in this journey of going one step closer to His Lotus feet . And last but not the least, My Humble Pranams to this Holy book along with all the Gods and Godesses ..

I have a kind request to all of you who read these mails that if you ever get lucky and are able to visit any of the sacred temples in reality- Plz do offer my Humble Pranams at these temples and thank the lord on my behalf for making us all feel his presence and His leelas around us..

Sai bhakt,

Deepa H

Now, Lets start reading this very sacred Shiv Puran by Saying

Om Shree Ganeshaya Namaha

Incase You have missed the previous mail /chapter of Shiv Puran - Here is the link

http://debu7370.blogspot.com/search/label/Shiv%20Puran

Incase you have missed the previous mails of our sacred journey of paying respects to the shivlings around the world go to...
http://debu7370.blogspot.com/search/label/Shivlings%20around%20the%20world

In Yesterdays Mail-

Lord Shiva preached Daksha in the following way-

"The person who has the right knowledge (gyani) is the supreme among all human beings. An action which is performed in one's ignorance and jealousy does not liberate a man from his world bondages. "

O Daksha then accomplished his yagya singing the praise of lord Shiva. Sati - the daughter of Daksha was reborn as Gauri- the daughter of Himalaya and Maina. By her tremendous penance she again had lord Shiva as her husband.

Shiv Puran

Narada requests lord Brahma to shed light on the birth of Maina and Himalaya.

Brahmaji Said-

"After relinquishing her body, Sati - the daughter of Daksha attained to the abode of Shiva. In her next birth she was born to Maina - the wife of Himalaya and was known as Parvati. Maina had done great service to Sati in her previous life considering as her own daughter. For this reason she was blessed and got Parvati as her daughter. Parvati did tremendous penance and got lord Shiva as her husband."

Continuing with his story Brahmaji said-

"Once Himalaya - the king of the mountains, decided to marry with the desire of expanding his lineage. The deities came to know about his desire and so they went to the Pitras and requested them to give their daughter - Maina, so that Himalaya could marry her. The Pitras agreed at this proposal. Thus Maina got married wih Himalaya. After the marriage ceremony the deities returned back to their respective abodes.

Maina gets Liberated from the Curse

Daksha had Sixty daughters, 'Swadha' was one of them and was married to the Pitras. In due course of time three daughters were born to them - Maina, Dhanya and Kalawati. Once all the three of them went to Swetadweepa to have a darshan of lord Vishnu. Right then, sages like Sanak, Sanadan etc arrived there. Everybody present there stood up in reverence, but Maina, Dhanya and Kalawati could not identify who they were and hence they remained sitting. Not only that, they did not even make any salutations to them. The sages became angry and cursed them to be born as humans in their next birth. Maina, Dhanya and Kalawati became very afraid and requested to be pardoned.

Sages Sanak feeling pity on them told that Maina would become the wife of Himalaya, in her next birth and give birth to Parvati, Similarly Dhanya would be married to king Janak and Sita would be born to them, similarly Kalawati would be married to Vrishbhan and Radha would be born to them. Sage Sanak also told them, that in this way all three of them would attain to the heaven.

Brahmaji told Narad that after getting married with Maina, Himalaya enjoyed a happy married life for a long time. Once, lord Vishnu paid a visit to his place, accompanied by all the deities. Himalaya was very pleased by his arrival. After making salutations, he asked for the purpose of their visit. The deities revealed to them that very soon the incarnation of Sati - Parvati is going to take birth. "Therefore, O Himalaya! be prepared for that glorious occasion." Said the deities. Himalaya was very pleased at this news. The deities started invocating Uma.

Goddess Uma Consoles the Deities

Being pleased by the invocation made by the deities Goddess Uma assured the deities about her arrival in this world. She told that her incarnation would take place in the house of Himalaya and by the virtues of her tremendous penance she would get lord Shiva as her husband. She also told the deities that she was satisfied by the service of Maina, done to her in the previous life. After being assured the deities went back satisfied. Himalaya and Maina commenced their penance with the objective of getting Uma as their daughter. Maina did a tremendous penance which lasted for twenty-seven years. Goddess uma became very pleased by her penance. She appeared before her and asked her to demand anything she wished for. Maina expressed her desire of having one hundred valiant sons and a daughter, who would be worshipped by the people in all the three world. Goddess Uma blessed her by saying Tathastu. Maina narrated this incident to her husband Himalaya. He became very pleased. In due course of time one hundred sons were born t o Maina. One of the sons was Mainak who possessed supreme qualities. Due to some reasons, Indra had severed the wings of Mainak's ninety-nine brothers, but by taking the refuge of ocean, Mainak was able to survive the assault of Indra's Vajra.

[Tomorrow will continue with the sacred Shiv Puran abt the birth of Parvati]

Today – April 24, 2012 – is the third day of the Shukla Paksha of Vaishakh month (third day of the waxing phase of moon) and is observed as Akshaya Tritiya also known as Akha Trij or Akha Teej. Special prayers are offered on the day to Ganesha, Goddess Lakshmi and Sri Krishna. Parashuram Jayanti is also observed today.
The word Akshaya means ‘that which never diminishes’ and the day is ideal for beginning new ventures as it is believed that all investments on this day appreciates. The day is also ideal for performing charity and auspicious deeds. Annadanam of food donation on the day is considered highly meritorious.

In the most famous story associated Akshaya Tritiya, Kuchela, a poor Brahmin and schoolmate of Sri Krishna, visited Krishna with the intention of asking some financial favor. Kuchela, also known as Sudama, carried with him handful of poha or aval (beaten rice). On reaching, the palace of Krishna at Dwarka, Kuchela was ashamed to give the ‘poha’ to Krishna.

But the ever playful Krishna noticed the small bag in the hand of his schoolmate and soon grabbed it and ate a handful of ‘poha’. Kuchela could not believe his eyes, Krishna, the king, eating his poha.

It is said ‘Athiti Devo Bhava’ (Guest are equal to God) and Krishna treated Kuchela like a God. The poor Brahmin was so overwhelmed by the love shown by Krishna that he forgot to ask for financial help and returned home empty handed.

On reaching his village Sudama could not find his old hut. Instead his hut was replaced by a palace. His wife and children were wearing good clothes and everything that was old and worn out was replaced with new.

It didn’t take long for Kuchela to realize that all this was the ‘leela’ of the ever-smiling Sri Krishna. The day Kuchela met Sri Krishna was hence observed as Akshaya Tritiya.

Another legend happened in the Mahabharata. While the Pandavas were in exile, Sri Krishna presented them with an Akshaya Patra – a bowl which gives unlimited amount of food. It is believed that Krishna had presented it on a Trithiya day. Therefore it is believed that all investments on the day will only increase in value.

The day is also the birthday of Lord Parashuram, an incarnation of Lord Vishnu.
According to the Puranas, the day also marks the beginning to Treta Yuga. On this day, Veda Vyasa began the composition of the Mahabharata.

Today, talk about Akshaya Tritiya and the first thing that comes to the mind is Gold – not Kuchela and Sri Krishna. Akshaya Tritiya is the day when Sri Krishna proved to the world that what matters is Bhakti or Devotion. Not rituals, not costly pujas, not austerities not torturing the body but steadfast devotion is what makes the difference. The sweat and stone filled beaten rice (aval or poha) of Kuchela turned to gold because of devotion.
Today we don’t remember Kuchela and Sri Krishna, but clearly remembers the gold. Gold is worshipped not God.
What a clever marketing executive of a jewelry shop executed a decade ago became a craze and today Akshaya Tritiya has become a day to buy anything and everything from gold to safety pin.

Ardha (wealth) is an important aspect in Hinduism

But Ardha (wealth) is only one among the purushartha – aims of life. There is also Dharma, Ardha, Kama, and Moksha.

Even when dealing with religious scriptures we are choosy, we twist them according to our mindset like Ardha and Kama is okay but not Dharma and Moksha.

In fact, our seers had cleverly placed Dharma first because when Dharma is followed there will be balance in Kama and Ardha.

When Dharma is practiced there is no hoarding and there is Dhanam (donating).

Akshaya Tritiya also gives importance to Dhanam. Sanatana Dharma teaches to prosper by giving.

Puranas and epics clearly mention about the importance of alms giving, donating, Anna dhanam (donating food) on the day. But we never see advertisement about this aspect of Akshaya Tritiya. All advertisement talks about buying and hoarding.

If possible do not fall for the advertisements and fake teachings. Cleverly invest in what is necessary for you and for that you don’t need an Akshaya Tritiya day. Tomorrow don’t coming running to God saying You cheated me. God do not cheat anyone it is your ignorance that cheats you.