Sri Sai Satcharita Parayana

Sai Bandhus,

In 1913 Radhakrishna Mai started Nama Saptaha. It has been exactly 100 years.

So Sai gave us blessing to do Sri Sai Satcharita Parayana Starting on Thursday, October 10^th 2013 (Just before Vijayadasami day) for 9 weeks. Starting on a Thursday and ending on Wednesday like we usually do parayana. 9 weeks will complete on December 11th 2013 (Wednesday).

Please organize among your fellow Sai devotees to get Sai's blessing. Please read as many weeks as possible. Even if you can read one week Parayana during this time, that's good. Baba also appeared as Lord Shiva in 1913 to a devotee. We have Karthika month also during this period. We will have great impact on our lives.

 After 9 weeks we are doing Puja and Abhisheka for Baba. (Please do the same at your place or pray at your house, temple or your satsangh.  Almost people in 26 -28 countries will be doing this.  Please be part of this. We are Sai family. Please forward this information to all the Sai devotees you know. Sai will bless all of us.

Please enter your name first with 1 (if you are not sure) then you can update if you read more times.

Please up-date your parayan count every week in google doc below: write your name, estimated parayan count 

https://docs.google.com/a/richland2.org/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AgVys-XgqJCFdExDTUxFVFBjbXkwbmZXdDNIWVlSaWc#gid=0

E-mail: srireddymd@gmail.com (Sai Satsangh Columbia)

OM SAI RAM!

Criticizing others - (Teachings to Change Lives)

పరనింద 

In our scriptures (Vedas) Agni (Fire God) has utmost importance. He is responsible to   carry Havissu” – (Havissu's are the ingredients one uses to please Gods through the
fire in the Yagnas).  Our body has different parts and each part has its own God linked to it. The speech is linked to Fire God. We have to understand how powerful this so called speech which is equivalent to Fire. When ever we perform some action we burn some calories. These actions are called karmas. There is either positive or negative consequence for each action.

We think of something in our mind, and then we have to execute this in to action. To implement this, we need to use our body parts or our speech. We use our mouth to communicate with others most of the time. Our words can either cause comfort or pain to others. The fire can burn any thing and in a similar way the speech is powerful too. What else is better than reciting God’s name. We have to resist the temptation to criticize others and stop looking for faults in other’s actions. This will burn our positive energy. Baba took advantage of one of the situations to teach this fact.

Sai does not require a particular place for his teachings – nor a right time or a right setting. Even while talking, walking or sitting he is able to effortlessly teach pure knowledge to all. The story will show Sai’s compassionate nature as well as his all-pervasiveness.

Pig eating filth and Baba’s teaching:

Once a great devotee, while somebody was talking of another person,  was prejudiced and got deeply involved in criticizing. The virtues were overlooked; and only the criticism was recounted on all sides. The actual story was lost sight of and this became a reviling session. If at all there is a reason (for disagreement), or if someone behaves abominably, then one should frankly and sweetly try to correct him, and should pity him. Never belittle anybody. This is known to everyone. But such a nature cannot be suppressed. It cannot remain under control. From within it rises, gradually, till it is blurted out of the mouth. When the lips open, happiness and contentment are pushed out.

The critic left the scene and went to the toilet and the rest of the group started towards the Masjid for Baba’s darshan. Baba was omniscient. He instructed the devotees at the proper time. Listen, how he made use of this incident later on. On the way to the Lendi along with the others, Baba inquired about that devotee and was told that he was at the village stream, for toilet purposes. After completing his ritual, Baba returned from the Lendi; and that devotee also turned from the village stream to go home. Both of them met. Oh, listeners! I pray to you to carefully listen to all that transpired at that meeting.

Nearby, next to a hedge, a village sow was eating excreta with great relish. Baba pointed out that to him.  “Look how its tongue is enjoying the taste of the human excreta!         A person who reviles his own brethren to his heart’s content is similar to it. If you are born as a human being, after doing a lot of good deeds in your previous birth, and if you thus waste the life, what good can Shirdi do for him, who is set to ruin himself? ” With these words, Baba walked away.

The devotee was inwardly hurt. He remembered the morning’s incident and those words pierced his heart. So be it. Baba teaches his devotees lovingly, at the opportune time. If the essence of his teachings is retained, can salvation remain far?

There is none else better than a critic, in the three worlds. He can help a person. Criticism does well to a person and a critic thus obliges a person. Some people remove dirt with the help of the soap-nut; some use products like soap; some do it with clean and pure water; but a critic does so with his tongue. In a way, they bear the deterioration of their own character for the sake of others, to do well to them. Therefore, their deeds are, really speaking, indescribably benedictory. Surely, a critic should be highly respected. At every step, he points out the hazards. He lets a person know his shortcomings under the pretext of criticizing, thus helping him to avoid future calamities and obliging everyone. How much more could I praise him? Many people have praised them. Even saints and sages have talked about their greatness. I bow down to that band of critics. Those who were listening were nauseated.

It might be difficult not to criticize others. Without our knowledge we fall in to this trap. Why are we doing this? Are we deriving some pleasure out of this? May be we mean best for the other person. We have to analyze ourselves. We have to realize that we are acquiring the other person’s karma by criticizing. Is this necessary for us? We have enough of bad deeds from the past lives. That’s why Baba showed the pig which was eating filth as an example.    

He, who definitely wishes to escape the bonds of birth and death, should follow the path of righteousness very meticulously and be always tranquil.

Here are some suggestions from Sai Satcharita.

1) One should abandon harsh words.

2) One should not pick on others’   weaknesses;

3)One should remain engaged in good acts concentrating on one’s own duties.

4) We have to realize that words are powerful and compared to fire.

5) People can make mistakes. If we have the capacity to make them realize this, that’s excellent, otherwise we have to keep our mouth under control.     

6) One should realize that they are acquiring bad karma from the other person by criticizing them.

7) Once the thought of criticizing others proliferates in our mind, restrict that thought in the mind itself. Do not let that materialize through our words. This is not an easy thing because this is habit we got used to for so many past lives.

8) Fill the mind with good thoughts so that it won’t go towards bad deeds.

9) Explain the mind about the consequences of criticizing others both spiritually and psychologically.

10) Understand that mind could be our friend or enemy.

11) Explain the mind that we can lose positive energy by criticizing others. We can observe this fact in our daily life. Sometimes we spend most of our day with gossip or talking bad about someone. We come home and we don’t understand why we feel tired. The reason is obvious. So we have to control the urge to criticize others.

12) One useful exercise is not to speak bad about anyone who ever is not in our presence. We might fail initially but we can limit this to a maximum.

13) We have to realize that God loves everyone unconditionally. Whatever is ours we tend not to criticize and we can let that go. So we can teach the mind this universal feeling as we are all part of God. 

14) One should surrender their mind and heart to Baba.

Let us ask Baba to give us his blessings so that we do not fall in to this trap of criticizing others.

OM SAI RAM!