STORY OF THE DAY

[Ramesh Ramnani]

BABA's Divine Hand Helps You Fly Into the Fearsome Unknown....

The mother eagle tried hard to induce the little one to leave the nest, but the baby was afraid. Suddenly, the mother rose well above him. “I held my breath, for I knew what was coming”, recounts Christabel Gladwell. ‘‘The little fellow stood on the edge of the nest, looking down at the plunge which he dared not take. There was a sharp cry from behind, which made him alert, tense as a watch-spring. The next instant the mother eagle had swooped, striking the nest at his feet, sending his support of twigs and himself with them and into the air.

‘‘He was afloat now, afloat on the blue air despite himself, and he flapped lustily for life. Over him, under him, beside him, hovered the mother on tireless wings, calling softly that she was there. But the awful fear of the depths and the lance tops of the spruces was upon the little one; his flapping grew wilder; he fell faster and faster.  Suddenly — more in fright than because he had lost his strength — he lost his balance and tipped head downward in the air. It was all over; he folded his wings to be dashed into pieces among the trees. Then like a flash the mother eagle shot under him, his despairing feet touched her broad shoulders, between her wings. He righted himself, rested an instant, found his head; then she dropped like a shot from under him, leaving him to come down on his own wings.

“It was all the work of an instant before I lost them among the trees far below. And when I found them again with my glass, the eaglet was on top of a great pine, and the mother was feeding him”.

Christabel’s story of the mother eagle — first pushing her little one to fly, then protecting the eaglet till it righted itself and then once again leaving it free — could be very similar to the relationship we have to BABA SAI and the way we live life.

Life has a way of challenging us and pushing us to the edge, when our fears could get the better of us and we refuse to move either forward or upward. All the while we feel threatened, alone and fearful, BABA, like the mother eagle hovers over us, protecting us on all sides. And then suddenly, the nest is knocked from under our feet and we are left to negotiate the air and the winds alone.
   
When it seems we would have a free fall and dash ourselves to death, suddenly, the protective hand of OUR BABA — whether through family, friends or compassionate strangers — covers us and we are able to right ourselves again.
   
Repeatedly, we are thrust into the unknown, the uncharted and the uncertain. And like the eaglet we are afraid to encounter what is really the human predicament. But just as we are pushed into an uncertain world, just as we develop cold feet and fall from fear and fright, BABA SAI hovers over us and protects us.
   
Sometimes our sense of timing could be all wrong. We may have a set of plans and believe we could chart our future. Sometimes, our sense of timing could agree with BABA’s, at other times, not. But like the mother eagle, BABA SAI is always in control.
   
At times we believe that we can no longer handle the uncertainty. We cling to the familiar, but the only constant in life is change. Then like the eagle and the eaglet that learns to fly, we will have to trust in the larger scheme of life and the universe, to believe that we have it in us to meet and overcome all that has to be overcome and that we rest in the palm of BABA’s hand. We may yet flounder, but BABA’s protective Divine Hand will bear us up and enable us to walk and to fly.

Feel and Be In BABA'S Divine Hands always.....

[Ramesh Ramnani]

Brahmin Story

Lord Buddha was sitting under a banyan tree. One day, a furious Brahmin came to him and started abusing him.

The Brahmin thought that Buddha would reciprocate in the same manner, but to his utter surprise, there was not the slightest change in the expression on his face.

Now, the Brahmin became more furious. He hurled more and more abuses at Buddha.

However, Buddha was completely unmoved. Actually there was a look of compassion on his face. Ultimately the Brahmin was tired of abusing him. He asked, "I have been abusing you like anything, but why are you not angry at all ?"

Lord Buddha calmly replied, "My dear brother, I have not accepted a single abuse from you."

"But you heard all of them, didn't you?" The Brahmin argued half-heartedly.

Buddha said, "I do not need the abuses, so why should I even hear them?"

Now the Brahmin was even more puzzled. He could not understand the calm reply from Buddha.

Looking at his disturbed face, Buddha further explained, "All those abuses remain with you."

"It cannot be possible. I have hurled all of them at you," the Brahmin persisted.

Buddha calmly repeated his reply, "But I have not accepted even a single abuse from you ! Dear brother, suppose you give some coins to somebody, and if he does not accept them, with whom will those coins remain?"

The Brahmin replied, "If I have given the coins and not needed by someone, then naturally they would remain with me."

With a meaningful smile on his face, Buddha said, "Now you are right. The same has happened with your abuses. You came here and hurled abuses at me, but I have not accepted a single abuse from you. Hence, all those abuses remain with you only. So there is no reason to be angry with you."

The Brahmin remained speechless. He was ashamed of his behavior and begged for Buddha's forgiveness.

[SaiServant]

Jai Sai Ram!

Buddha certainly had a sense of humour!! More than the wisdom hidden in his approach, he disarmed the opponent by his calm amusement. Smile when you want to shout--this message comes across clearly in this nice story
[]

Om Sai Ram!!

Sunita Raina

[Ramesh Ramnani]

Simple Solutions

Many years ago in a small Indian village,

A farmer had the misfortune Of owing a large sum of money to a village moneylender. The Moneylender, who was old and ugly, fancied the farmer's beautiful Daughter. So he proposed a bargain.

He said he would forgo the farmer's debt if he could marry his Daughter. Both the farmer and his daughter were horrified by the Proposal.

So the cunning money-lender suggested that they let Providence decide the matter. He told them that he would put a black Pebble and a white pebble into an empty money bag. Then the girl would Have to pick one pebble from the bag.

1) If she picked the black pebble, she would become his wife and her father's debt would be forgiven.

2) If she picked the white pebble she need not marry him and her father's debt would still be forgiven.

3) But if she refused to pick a pebble, her father would be thrown into Jail.

They were standing on a pebble strewn path in the farmer's field. As They talked, the moneylender bent over to pick up two pebbles. As he Picked them up, the sharp-eyed girl noticed that he had picked up two Black pebbles and put them into the bag.

He then asked the girl to pick A pebble from the bag.

Now, imagine that you were standing in the field. What would you have Done if you were the girl? If you had to advise her, what would you Have told her?

Careful analysis would produce three possibilities:

1. The girl should refuse to take a pebble.

2. The girl should show that there were two black pebbles in the bag And expose the money-lender as a cheat.

3. The girl should pick a black pebble and sacrifice herself in order To save her father from his debt and imprisonment.

Take a moment to ponder over the story. The above story is used with The hope that it will make us appreciate the difference between lateral And logical thinking.

The girl's dilemma cannot be solved with Traditional logical thinking. Think of the consequences if she chooses The above logical answers.

What would you recommend to the Girl to do?

Well, here is what she did ....

The girl put her hand into the moneybag and drew out a pebble.

Without Looking at it, she fumbled and let it fall onto the pebble-strewn path Where it immediately became lost among all the other pebbles.

"Oh, how clumsy of me," she said. "But never mind, if you look into the Bag for the one that is left, you will be able to tell which pebble I Picked."

Since the remaining pebble is black, it must be assumed that she hadicked the white one. And since the money-lender dared not admit his Dishonesty, the girl changed what seemed an impossible situation into An extremely advantageous one.

MORAL OF THE STORY:

Most complex problems do have a solution. It is only that we don't Attempt to think.
 

[Kavitaparna]

OM SRI SAI RAM !

Ramesh Bhayya ! Sai Ram !

An excellent story . A story of the need indeed. As it rightly conveys the moral, every problem has a solution in itself. coz' problem is born after its solution is decided - just as any one is born only after the date of death is decided. Thank you.

 



Om Sri  Sai Ram!  Om Sri  Sai Ram!  Om Sri  Sai Ram!  Om Sri  Sai Ram!  Om Sri  Sai Ram!
Om Sri  Sai Ram!  Om Sri  Sai Ram!  Om Sri  Sai Ram!  Om Sri  Sai Ram!  Om Sri  Sai Ram!
Om Sri  Sai Ram!  Om Sri  Sai Ram!  Om Sri  Sai Ram!  Om Sri  Sai Ram!  Om Sri  Sai Ram!

kavita

[Ramesh Ramnani]

Only Shared Power is Truly Constructive

The desire to test oneself on the anvil of power seems to be part of human nature. If the Forbes list is indicative of where it is concentrated today, in the Heavens, the list was short, though the quest, as continuous and absorbing.

   Brahma and Vishnu were having a prolonged debate on which of them was more powerful. Finally they consulted the Vedas: The most powerful is Shiva, they declared. Brahma could not control his mirth. “Imagine the chap frolicking with his wife Parvati on funeral grounds is declared the most powerful!”

   Shiva did not appreciate this. So he manifested as the pillar of light and declared that the one who finds its beginning or end would be accepted as the most powerful. Vishnu embarked on the journey and went as deep as he could, but there was no end in sight. He came back and said so.

   Brahma on the other hand was determined to locate the top. As he was agitating in frustration, he saw a pretty flower descend down. Leaping forward he caught hold of the Ketaki flower and asked where it was coming from. “The top of the pillar of fire”, replied the flower. So you have seen the top? How much farther is it?” asked our traveller. Wearily the flower replied, “All I can tell you is that I have been falling for years now, and am still way above the ground”. Arrogant Brahma then made up his mind to do something which would have repercussions on his life for ever.

   Bringing back the flower, he said he had seen the top. But his bluff was called as the linga opened up and Shiva emerged, disgusted that a god of such eminence should stoop to tell a lie... all to prove his superiority. In his rage, from Shiva sprang forth the Kala Bhairava. This frightening and enraged aspect of Shiva plucked out Brahma’s fifth head. Along with it went the pronouncement that nobody would ever worship Brahma on earth.

   A repentant Shiva had to bear the consequences of killing a man. The head he had knocked off, stuck to Kala Bhairava’s hand and like the blood on Lady Macbeth’s hands, would not leave. Bhairava was commanded that he go begging for alms with the skull as his receptacle.

   Laden with guilt, Bhairava wandered aimlessly with his skull vessel. His consciousness was a woman, Brahmahatya, who does not let him forget his heinous act. Finally he reached Vishnu’s abode. Shiva marched into Vishnu’s chamber holding out his skull bowl for alms. Vishnu let pour a stream of blood from his forehead as the only appropriate offering to a guest so honoured as this and offered him advice to go to Varanasi where his sins would be washed off. And that is why till today people believe that a bath in the Ganges at Varanasi will wash off all their sins, for Bhairava lives there, waiting to devour the sins of all beings. The story tells of the oneness of spirit; the oneness of becoming, continuing and perishing. It tells of the need for multiplicity in oneness.
 
   Whether one worships Shiva or Vishnu, one is reflected in the other. It is symbolic not only of Shiva and Vishnu worship, but for catholicity of thought in general. In Vishnu’s offering to Bhairava is the sharing of wisdom and therefore power, the assertion that only shared power can be constructive, for power is the gift of the powerless... it lasts as long as the seemingly powerless is in partnership with the seemingly powerful. This understanding is realisation of the Absolute Self.

[Ramesh Ramnani]

When the Wind Blows
 
Years ago a farmer owned land along the Atlantic seacoast. He constantly advertised for hired hands. Most people were reluctant to work on farms along the Atlantic. They dreaded the awful storms that raged across the Atlantic, wreaking havoc on the buildings and crops. As the farmer interviewed applicants for the job, he received a steady stream of refusals.
 
Finally, a short, thin man, well past middle age, approached the farmer. "Are you a good farmhand?" the farmer asked him.
 
"Well, I can sleep when the wind blows," answered the little man.
 
Although puzzled by this answer, the farmer, desperate for help, hired him. The little man worked well around the farm, busy from dawn to dusk, and the farmer felt satisfied with the man's work.

Then one night the wind howled loudly in from offshore. Jumping out of bed, the farmer grabbed a lantern and rushed next door to the hired hand's sleeping quarters. He shook the little man and yelled, "Get up! A storm is coming! Tie things down before they blow away!"
 
The little man rolled over in bed and said firmly, "No sir. I told you, I can sleep when the wind blows.."
 
Enraged by the response, the farmer was tempted to fire him on the spot. Instead, he hurried outside to prepare for the storm. To his amazement, he discovered that all of the haystacks had been covered with tarpaulins. The cows were in the barn, the chickens were in the coops, and the doors were barred. The shutters were tightly secured. Everything was tied down. Nothing could blow away.
 
The farmer then understood what his hired hand meant, so he returned to his bed to also sleep while the wind blew.
 
MORAL: When you're prepared, spiritually, mentally, and physically, you have nothing to fear.

Can you sleep when the wind blows through your life? The hired hand in the story was able to sleep because he had secured the farm against the storm.
 
We, as believers in BABA SAI, secure ourselves against the storms of life by grounding ourselves in the Word of HIS..
 
We don't need to understand, we just need to hold HIS hand to have peace in the midst of the storms.

I hope you sleep well!

[Ramesh Ramnani]

The Master appears when the disciple is ready.....

There is a story about a great mystic:

The mystic was Mohammedan and he lived in a mosque, but he had a Hindu follower. The Hindu was a Brahmin and the Hindu would cook food for him and would bring it to the mosque, and he used to live five miles away from the mosque. And unless the Master ate, he would sit there and wait -- and the Master was a crazy man. Sometimes he would eat in the morning, some-times in the afternoon, sometimes in the evening, sometimes in the night, and the disciple would wait and he would not eat till the Master had eaten. So sometimes he had to remain hungry the whole day. And by the time he reached home he was so tired that he would think, "Tomorrow, now who wants to prepare food again?" He would fall asleep hungry.

One day the Master said, "Listen, you need not come so far. I can come there myself, so tomorrow you prepare the food and I will come. It is too hot to come, and then sometimes you have to wait the whole day -- change it now. You are ready: I will come."

The next day he prepared delicious food for the Master, because he was to come for the first time. He was thrilled. This was grace: his Master is coming to his home! He decorated the house, he threw flowers on the path... but nobody turned up, only a dog. He chased the dog out because the dog wanted to cat, and he chased and the dog would come back and would try to snatch food.

He had seen many dogs, but this dog was strange. He beat the dog but he still came. He really gave him a good beating, then he saw tears coming out of she dog's eyes. And then he disappeared.

Till evening he waited, and then he thought, "This man is crazy -- he may have forgotten." So he took the food, went to the mosque -- and he saw tears in the eyes of the Master. The SAME kind of tears! He was puzzled and he said, "Why are you crying?"

And he said, "Why shouldn't I? You have beaten me so much!"

And the disciple said, "What are you talking about? I, and I can beat you? And you never came and you had promised!"

And the Master said, "I came -- and not only once. At least twelve times!"

Then the disciple remembered the dog -- exactly twelve times the dog had tried to enter.

And the Master said, "You have to be capable of seeing the formless now. Don't be too much attached to the form. Why should I be thought of only in this form, in this body? Why can't you find me in other forms?"

So I say maybe this great seeker had come across God... in fact how can you avoid God? Whomsoever you come across, you always come across God.  But he had great ideas, and even God could not fulfill those ideas. He remained empty, doubtful, untrusting, and the search continued.

And one day when he comes to a man who fulfills his ideas, he creates another problem.

Then the Master says:

"THAT I CANNOT DO -- I cannot accept you as a disciple -- FOR WHILE YOU MAY DESIRE THE PERFECT MASTER, HE, IN TURN, REQUIRES ONLY THE PERFECT PUPIL."

The Master is saying, "Had you prepared yourself these twenty years to be a disciple, you would have found me much earlier. You came across me many times, but you missed. And this time also you have to miss."

This is the Sufi approach for having contact and communion with a Master: become a disciple. Don't search for the Master: search for disciple hood. And let me repeat: the Master appears when the disciple is ready.

[SaiServant]

Jai Sai Ram!!

A nice story Ramesh Bhai!! Thank You!

As someone who lived in Sufi land (Kashmir), here are my humble views. In the life histories of Sai Baba (Sai Satcharita) and other Sufi masters, we notice that Masters appeared as mute animals (dog in this case) or in their real form--in dreams or in person(even after they leave their bodies). True Masters are aware about the corruptibility of human mind and heart. Thus, they may not risk putting their true disciples to falsehood. So, when a Master intends to approach and guide His true devotee, He wouldn't disguise as someone that the seeker fails to recognize. To some extent, the responsibility of following the true Master falls on the disciple also. All scriptures warn spiritual seekers from being led astray by fake teachers. So, a true disciple ought to test anyone approaching him or her as the Guru. Kindly recall Swami Vivekananda's repeated testing of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, and the latter’s willingness to prove Himself.

In Sai Satcharita, we see how Baba used to get angry when His devotees enquired from others on spiritual matters. It also talks about the ‘false Guru’ Jowhar Ali, who claimed Baba was his disciple. It was Baba's sainthood that He agreed to being a disciple of someone fit to be His servant. Ordinary souls like us are not equipped with immunity to falsehood that Baba had. Someone may claim to be the Master or His ‘representative’ out of egoistic ambitions. Not being cautious and discriminating about whom to regard our Guru can bring the wrath of the true Master who is ever-vigilant on us. Baba has the power to indicate to us who should be taken as His representative (if at all) and who has to be ignored. Let us not forget that He can manifest Himself to any genuine seeker directly, in His recognizable form (in order to convince a doubting disciple), and He can speak to us in the stillness of our hearts. The best way to listen to Him is to stick to the words of His book Sai Satcharita. Let us recognize that the world can have wolves in sheep’s clothing (I’m borrowing that proverb from the holy Bible)!

May Baba Bless all of us with the power of Viveka (discrimination)!!

Om Sai Ram!!


Sunita Raina

[Ramesh Ramnani]

Grace cannot be bought. It is to be gained....

The relationship between a Perfect Master and a disciple is an inevitable outcome of the intrinsic conditions in the life of the aspirant. It is primarily a relationship between the lover and his divine Beloved. From the spiritual point of view it is the most important relationship that a person can enter. Love that constitutes the core of discipleship stands by itself among the different types of love that prevail in ordinary social relations.

   Mundane love is an interplay between two centres of God and the unconscious; whereas the love implied in discipleship is the love of the God-unconscious for the God-conscious. The love that the aspirant has for the Master is really the response evoked by the greater love the Master has for the aspirant; it is to be placed above all other loves.

   The fundamental requisite for a true disciple is an unquestioning love for the Master. All other streams of love ultimately join this great river of love for the Master and disappear in it. Majnun loved Layla so intensely that every moment of his life he was filled with thoughts about her. He could not eat, drink or sleep without thinking of her; all he wanted was Layla’s happiness. He would gladly have seen her married to some other person if he felt it to be in her interest and would have died for her husband if he had thought she would thereby be happy. The utter-self denial and sincerity of his love led him to his Master.

   When the disciple has wholehearted devotion for the Master, he opens himself to the reception of the divine love that the Master pours into him. All his weaknesses are consumed in this fire of divine love of which he becomes a recipient. If the disciple is to be free from all weaknesses and attain incorruptible and infinite purity, he has to dedicate his life to the Master without any reservations or provisions. His selfsurrender has to be so complete as to allow no room in his mind for even a shadow of self-desire.

   Complete self-surrender and unquestioning love become possible when the disciple has unswerving faith in the Master, an indispensable part of true discipleship. Kalyan was a disciple of Swami Ramdas Samarth, who was a Perfect Master at the time of Shivaji. One day Swami Ramdas asked all his disciples to come to him and pretended to be sick as to be on the point of death. He had placed a mango on the joint of his knee and bound it in a bandage so that it looked like a huge swelling. He pointed to his swelling and told his disciples that it was a malignant tumour and that there was no chance of his living unless someone sucked out the poison from the joint. At the same time, he made it clear to all that whoever sucked out the poison would die instantaneously. All hesitated except Kalyan, who began to do his guru’s bidding. To his surprise Kalyan found sweet mango juice and not poison and Swami Ramdas praised his unswerving faith and self-denying love. To be willing to die for the happiness of the Beloved is true love. Such implicit faith, unfaltering love and undivided loyalty as that of Kalyan can come to the disciple only through the grace of the Master.

   Grace cannot be bought. It is gained by being always ready to serve and reluctant to be served. To serve the Master is to serve one’s own Self in every other self.

[OmSaiRamNowOn]

The Butterfly

A man found a cocoon of a butterfly. One day a small opening appeared. He sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole. Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could, and it could go no further.

So the man decided to help the butterfly. He took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon.

The butterfly then emerged easily. But it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings. The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would contract in time.

Neither happened! In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It never was able to fly.
What the man, in his kindness and haste, did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to get through the tiny opening were God's way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon.

Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our lives. If God allowed us to go through our lives without any obstacles, it would cripple us.

[OmSaiRamNowOn]

Once when Samartha Ramadas was moving about the countryside with his disciples, those behind him seeing a fine field of juicy sugar cane entered it and started pulling out the cane, crunching it with great relish. The owner of the field naturally emerged at their behavior and at the loss, to which they were subjecting him, fell upon them with a stout cane. The Master was sorry that his disciples broke the discipline so objectionably drawn by the desire of the tongue for the sweet juice. Next day they reached Emperor Sivaji's place, where a great welcome awaited the Guru and his followers. Sivaji offered to attend personally to the Guru during his ceremonial bath; when Ramadas undressed, Sivaji was shocked to find broad red marks, indicating that he had been beaten! Such was the sensitive sympathy of the great saint, that he received on his back the blows meant for his pupils; Sivaji sent for the owner of the field of cane; and, when he stood shivering in fear before the Emperor and His Guru, Ramadas was requested by Sivaji to inflict on him any punishment he liked. But, Ramadas accepted the fact that wrong was committed by his disciples and blessed the farmer, granting him a boon that his lands would be tax- free for ever.

[Ramesh Ramnani]

Cycling Furiously on the Wheel of Transmigration

We are always searching... if we get silver, we pine for gold. If we get gold, we want diamonds. Yet, we remain dissatisfied. We look for more. And so we cycle on furiously, on the wheel of transmigration, what Hindus call “the wheel of eighty-four”.

   We have been cycling through life — in manifold species — for millions of years as determined by the law of karma which is based on our good and bad deeds. What, then, should we be seeking? What activities will earn freedom for our soul?

   Four men decided to go in search of riches. They asked a wise man how to find treasures and wealth. He told them to climb a certain mountain. As they climbed, they found a cave filled with silver. One of the four decided to take the silver and go home. The other three continued to climb. They found a cave full of gold. One of the remaining three decided to take the gold and return home. The remaining two men continued to climb and found a cave filled with diamonds. One of them decided to take home the diamonds and climb no further.

   The fourth man thought there atop the mountain, surely more precious riches awaited him. He continued to climb. Finally, on top, he saw a man seated with a spinning wheel that was turning on the top of his head. He asked the climber, “What has brought you to the mountain top?” The climber answered: “I am in search of treasure. My friends stopped climbing when they reached the caves in which they found silver, gold and diamonds. However, I feel certain that there are riches greater than those, and I want to find them”.

   The man with the wheel said: “I know how you can find what you are seeking. Relieve me of the burden of wearing this spinning wheel for a few moments, and I will tell you the secret”. The climber agreed, and let the other fix the spinning wheel onto his head.
 
   The man on the mountain then said: “I am glad to be relieved of this wheel. I have been wearing it for decades. Like you, I had been searching for riches and climbed this mountain with my friends. They too stopped climbing when, in turn, they found the caves of silver, gold and diamonds. I wanted more. Eventually, I reached the top and like you met a man wearing this wheel. He told me what I told you — that he would give me an answer to what I was seeking if I would relieve him of this wheel. He took it off his head and gave it to me. Ever since then I have been cursed by having to wear the heavy burden of this wheel. I could not remove it until someone came and asked me the secret for attaining riches. You are the first one who has come along, and so I gladly pass this wheel onto you. Now, you will wear it until someone else comes along and relieves you of it by asking for the secret to achieving wealth”.

   The man who was now free said further: “This is the wheel of eighty-four. It is a wheel of desires that binds us to the world. The secret of how to attain wealth is answered by wearing this wheel”. The climber knew why the wise man had sent him up to the mountain — to realise that desire and attachment lead us into bondage. The true wealth that we should be seeking is the elimination of desire and bondage to the wheel.

[OmSaiRamNowOn]

Whatever happens...

Once Akbar the mughal emperor and Birbal, his minister were having a chat. While cutting a fruit, Akbar cut his finger slightly and was upset about it. Birbal said "Jahapana, whatever happens is for your good. Do not worry". This irked Akbar and he wanted to score it even with Birbal. He takes him for hunting trip at the end of the day they are tired. Akbar asks Birbal to get down into an abandoned well and fetch water. After Birbal got down, Akbar pulled the rope up, said, "Birbal stay there, what ever happens is for your own good", and left him there. Wandering in the Jungle, Akbar lost his way back and was captured by the Tribes, who decided to offer him as a sacrifice to Goddess Kali. Just before chopping his head off, one of them sees the cut on his finger, asserted that he was not perfect, and hence cannot be offered as "Bali" and they released him. Akbar realized Birbal's words and repented for leaving him in the well and went back to get him. When Akbar explains what happened and apologizes to Birbal for his act, Birbal says "Jahapana, good that you left me, else they would have killed and offered me to kali instead of you".
It's a story, still the moral is priceless. We all know that thinking positively through tough times is not easy. It's hard to practice, easier said than done. Nevertheless, they are great support under difficult circumstances.

[Kavitaparna]

OM SRI SAI RAM

'I' have an Akbar in me.
When 'My' wish is not accomplished,
'I' blame Sai for not having fulfilled...
'My' wish OR for not having done things in
'My' favour but,
'I', realise the "ACTUAL" favour done to
'Me' by Baba after a gap of .....indefinite..time

"Oh! the Akbar in 'Me'!, Please try to be patient enough" that you condemn repitition of this".

Om Sri  Sai Ram!  Om Sri  Sai Ram!  Om Sri  Sai Ram!  Om Sri  Sai Ram!  Om Sri  Sai Ram!
Om Sri  Sai Ram!  Om Sri  Sai Ram!  Om Sri  Sai Ram!  Om Sri  Sai Ram!  Om Sri  Sai Ram!
Om Sri  Sai Ram!  Om Sri  Sai Ram!  Om Sri  Sai Ram!  Om Sri  Sai Ram!  Om Sri  Sai Ram!

kavita