FROM PUTTAPARTHI...SPIRITUAL QUOTIENT - 44: THE PRAYER !!!

T here is a story of about a sea captain who in his retirement skippered a boat taking day-trippers to Shetland Islands .

 

On one trip, the boat was full of young people. They laughed at the old captain when they saw him say a prayer before sailing out, because the day was fine and the sea was calm.


However they weren't long at sea when a storm suddenly blew up and the boat began to pitch violently. The terrified passengers came to the captain and asked him to join them in prayer.

 

But he replied, "I say my prayers when it's calm. When it's rough I attend to my ship."


Here is a lesson for us......


If we cannot and will not seek God in quiet moments of our lives, we are not likely to find him when trouble strikes. We are more likely to panic. But if we have learnt to seek him and trust him in quiet moments, then most certainly we will find him when the going gets rough.

 

 

Sai Ram

 

PS:

A devotee is like a needle which is always drawn towards the magnet. But the needle has to be near enough and must be clean. If you stay far away and complain that Grace has not come, what can be done? You must scrape off the mud and rust by the process of repentance. Sometimes, you come near for some time and stray way.  I do not mean the physical distance. I do not measure distance in miles or meters. Realize that I am always with you, in you, beside you, ever. Only you have to be aware of Me and make use of My presence. - SWAMI

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FROM PUTTAPARTHI...SPIRITUAL QUOTIENT - 43: WHERE & WHO IS GOD ?!!

SPIRITUAL QUOTIENT –: 43

 

WHERE & WHO IS GOD!!!

 

·        Situated on the banks of the Ganges near holy Rishikesh in the Himalayas, there was once an ashram that had attracted a fair number of seekers.

 

The HEAD MONK once noticed that the Ashramites were often quarrelling and he could hear rude words that left him pained. 'Why are they angry with one another?' the guru asked himself. But he could not bring himself to throw anyone out - such was his compassion.

 

One day he saw two inmates fighting over food in the ashram canteen. The incident left him shocked and he returned to his hut in a despondent mood. 'What can be wrong with them?' he asked himself. He was racked with the problem of remedying the situation and elevating their souls.

 

So, he increased his discourses to them and gave more personal advice. The inmates' reverence for their guru increased, but unfortunately this did not translate in better behavior towards each other.

 

The GURU prayed to LORD SHIVA to help him find a solution. The LORD appeared in his dream & said, "I will come & stay in your ashram but not in this form. I shall be there in the guise of one of the inmates."

 

The guru's joy knew no bounds & he went & shared this information with all of the inmates. They were excited but at the same time confused.

 

"Is this inmate sitting near me SHIVA in disguise?" one disciple thought. "Who could be that person?" Nobody knew and everybody was left guessing and as a result careful too.

 

For, each one thought, "How can I fight against him if he is LORD SHIVA? And thus, a subtle change slowly came over in each one of them. They began to see God in everyone and took every opportunity to help the other and be kind and courteous. The whole atmosphere in the ashram was now totally transformed – only love and harmony prevailed.

 

·        There was a religious man who had invited all the members of his family, a few friends & relatives for food on 3 consecutive days on account of a function. That night LORD VISHNU came in his dream & said, "I shall come to your house tomorrow to take PRASADAM."

 

The man was elated & the next day, while all others were enjoying their meal, he waited for the LORD. An old beggar happened to come that time to his house & wanted to eat as well. But since everyone was busy, the beggar was overlooked & ignored!! The security then sent him away.

 

The man was very disappointed that GOD didn't keep up his word. That night the LORD came into his dream once again & said, "I came today to your house as the old beggar but you didn't even bother to serve me food."

 

The man was truly shocked, & exclaimed, "Oh! I had absolutely no idea." The LORD said in all compassion, "OK, I'll come again tomorrow."

 

The next day, the man ensured that all 'old men' including 'beggars' were served food while he looked at everyone 'minutely' wondering which one of them was the LORD.

 

Suddenly one DOG came into the dining hall barking & wagging its' tail. The man saw the DOG inside the hall & screamed at the security to get the dog out as it was a disturbance & a nuisance. The security drove the dog out!

 

For the 3^rd night in a row, LORD VISHNU appeared in the man's dream & said, "I came in the form of that dog & you shouted at me & drove me away! What is the use of all your religious practices if you can't even recognize that GOD is in everyone?"

 

PS: Thank you for all the responses that have been coming in during the last 1 month. We're re-starting the SQ series...

 

We've also sent vibhuti to SRILANKA, MAURITIUS, MUMBAI, VIJAYAWADA...as per recent requests.

 

Moderator

 

 

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FROM PUTTAPARTHI...THE CHOSEN ONES !!!

Once Swami was sitting with the students around Him. Suddenly He asked a strange question. "I am going to give Sai Gita(Swami's pet elephant) to you. Tell me who wants her? Who will take her?"

 

The boys were taken aback. Everyone wanted to say 'Yes' when Swami asked them something, but this... They thought,"How will I take her home?", "How do I feed an elephant?", and so on. Suddenly one of them said, "Swami, I am ready to take Sai Gita".

 

Swami, in His immense Love, waved His hand and materialised a small silver elephant and gave it to the boy. I am sure you can imagine the plight of the other students. Would not each of them have regretted not accepting Swami's offer? Regretted that they let their heads think and find obstacles instead of letting their hearts decide?

This beautiful leela was enacted by Swami, for each one of us. It echoes to the entire Sai fold, "Grab every chance Swami gives you! Else, you might regret it later."

 

But what exactly is this chance ? It is every opportunity to get closer to our Lord, every opportunity to make Him happy. Everyday, every moment, we are surrounded by opportunities to help others, to put a smile on a sad face, to do some noble deed. But we hardly realize that they are unique chances for Sai Seva, to make our dear Lord happy, to get one step ahead in our journey towards Him(which is in fact the journey to our true self).

Be ready to realize and accept every opportunity for Seva, to participate in a service activity of the nearby Sai centre, take time out of your busy schedule to stop and help out a collegue at the workplace, spare a few moments so that someone in misery can speak their heart out and confide in you. It is said that man was born with two ears and one mouth so that he talks less and listens more!

If at all we do realize this fact, and decide to do a noble deed, what follows immediately is a train of thoughts, each one finding a new reason as to why it should not be done. The brain is at work then, and not the heart. We are all full of limitations, full of incapacities. Put the heart to work and we realize "After all, who am I doing it for? Doesn't the Loving mother know my limitations?"

 

Yes. Swami knows what we are capable of doing. He knew very well that none of the students are able to take Sai Gita home and feed her. But when we are ready, He will create a Sai Gita that fits into our hands.

So, dear brothers and sisters, the next time you come across an opportunity for Sai Seva, dont think twice. Grab it and leave the rest to the all compassionate Lord of the Universe!

 

Remember, we are THE CHOSEN ONES, The direct messengers of the Avatar! If we dont make a difference in the world, who will???

 

PS:

Just as you prescribe minimum qualifications for every profession, the minimum qualification for Grace is surrender of egoism, control over senses, and regulated food and recreation. The body is the boat on which we voyage across the ocean of our worldly lives. It has to be kept trim and sea-worthy.  The atmosphere we breathe in, the water we take in, the ground we live in, the animals and plants that surround us - all have to be maintained clean. Exercise, bathing, washing and cleaning activities are prescribed for this purpose. So also, the voyager too, must be strong, confident and courageous.

SATHYA SAI BABA

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FROM PUTTAPARTHI...SPIRITUAL QUOTIENT - 42: THE BARBER !!!

SPIRITUAL QUOTIENT – 42

 

THE BARBER!!!

 

(Extracted, compiled & edited from RADIO SAI JOURNALS)

A man went to a barbershop to have his hair cut and his beard trimmed. As the barber began to work, they began to have a good conversation and talked about many subjects. When they eventually touched on the subject of God, the barber said, "I don't believe that God exists."

"Why do you say that?" asked the customer.

 

"Well, you just have to go out in the street to realize that God doesn't exist. Tell me, if God exists, would there be so many sick people? Would there be abandoned children?"

 

"If God existed, there would be neither suffering nor pain. I can't imagine a loving God who would allow all of these things."

 

The customer thought for a moment, but didn't respond because he didn't want to start an argument. The barber finished his job and the customer left the shop.

 

Just after he left the barbershop, he saw a man in the street with long, stringy hair and an untrimmed beard; he was looking dirty and unkempt.

 

The customer turned back and entered the barber shop again and said to the barber, "You know what? Barbers do not exist."

 

"How can you say that?" I am here, and I am a barber. And I just worked on you!" asked the surprised barber.

 

"No!" the customer exclaimed. "Barbers don't exist because if they did, there would be no people with dirty long hair and untrimmed beards, like that man outside"

 

"Ah, but barbers do exist! That's what happens when people do not come to me" argued the barber.

"Exactly!" affirmed the customer. "That's the point! God, too, does exist! It is only because people do not go to God & listen to him there's so much pain and suffering in the world. There is no point sitting in a boat & dangling your feet into the water saying that there are no pearls. If you want pearls you have to dive down & see yourself!!!""

 

PS: "Keeping salt in our mouth, we can not taste anything sweet. Only by rinsing our mouth and getting rid of the salt can we taste sweetness. Our perceptions & state of mind are like salt. Discard them; then we can see and realize divinity."

SAIRAM

Moderator,

http://groups.google.co.in/group/premasai_gurukulam

RESPONSES…

1.       Dear Sir,

This SQ – 41 reminds me of two things...

One is Kunti Stuthi in Srimad Bhagavatham, where Kunti prays to Lord Krishna to give her only sufferings so that she could ever be thinking of Lord Krishna alone.

 

The other is the various Panduranga bhaktas, our Azhwars and Nayanmars, who were always thinking of the Lord irrespective of what state they were. They thought about the Lord when they were happy or sad.

Regards

Vasantharajan R

2.       I have been enjoying the reading of Spiritual Quotients and the SQ – 41: SIN OF INGRATITUDE is really a wonderful article which teaches about ungratefulness. 

 

It is true that in times of trouble we call upon GOD but forget to give him thanks for all the good things that He has been doing to us.

Regards,

GANESAN A K

3.       Sai ram

Thanks a lot for wonderful sharing these special short stories!

I really enjoy every one of them!

Jai Sai Ram

LisaLosch

4.       This is the first time I am replying to this mail. I have no clue how I got into this group. However, I am glad that I did. Thank you for this wonderful thread. Most of the time if I have some questions, Swami seems to answer them through this link.

Love and regards to everyone. Please keep up the good work.

Swami Nathan

5.       Dear all
SQ 40 is not mere pearl necklace but the content is a priceless LIFELACE.
sairam
ganeshbalyu

6.       Jai Sai Ram,

YOUR STORIES ARE GOOD. I CAN TELL MY GRAND CHILDERN AS BED TIME STORIES. MANY THANKS.

NEENA AGARWAL

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