Video/Photos: Guru Purnima Celebrations 2014 @ Shirdi

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Atleast 3-lakh devotees from different parts of the country visited Shirdi to have darshan of
Sai Baba temple during the 3-day long "Guru Purnima" festival from 11th July 2014 to 13th July 2014.
Scores of devotees reached Shirdi walking along with palanquins from Pune, Mumbai, Jalgaon and Nashik.
The highlight of the occasion was a Rs.20 lakh chariot of Baba, decorated by colorful flowers worth Rs.2 lakh.

According to Maharashtra Agriculture Minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, more devotees attended
the festival this year due to remarks against Sai Baba by the Shankaracharya of Dwarka.
Using the Rs.20 lakh donated by 10 devotees for free meals at the Shri Sai Prasadalaya,
the SST made arrangements for free meals as "prasad" for 2-lakh devotees,
besides also distributing 2.5 lakh packets of ladoos to devotees standing in the darshan queue.
Many devotees also donated blood before taking blessings of Saibaba during the festival.
The Saibaba temple was also decorated with flowers offered by devotees from Bangalore.

The Shirdi Sansthan had very tight security arrangements made in place
with 125 CCTV Cameras, 700 Security Guards of the Sansthan,
150 Policemen, 16 Rapid Action Force Armed personnel,
1 Secret Agencies personnel, 1 Bomb Squad and 1 Dog Squad.




The Sai Baba Temple received donations worth Rs 4.56 crore in just 3-days during the Guru Purnima festival @ Shirdi.
This amount is Rs.38 lakh more than that received during the same time last year during the Guru Purnima festival.

The Shirdi Sansthan received cash, gold and silver ornaments worth Rs 3.10 crore in its donation box,
while donations worth Rs 1.46 crore (of cash and ornaments) was made online and at the Sansthan's cash counters.

Foreign devotees from 25 countries also donated foreign currencies,
estimated to be worth about Rs.10 to 12 lakh during the festival.

The Sansthan has deposits of Rs.1,190 crore in different nationalized banks,
while its treasure has 305 kg gold and 3,647 kg silver,
which as per today's market rate are worth Rs 108 crore.

Continuing his tirade against Shirdi Sai Baba the Shankaracharya of Dwarka has said that one should
give a serious thought to the source of such money that is being offered as donation to the Sai Temple.
Swaroopanand Saraswati says that the poor and underprivileged need this money more than the temple Trust.
Sources say that it is a counter reaction of Shankaracharya non-stop tirade against Shirdi Sai Baba
that his followers have made such a huge donation this year and have even broken all previous records.





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"There are variOus tests tO which a devOtee is subjected:
they cOuld be Of the mind, Or the intellect, Or Of the bOdy.
In fact, gOd is cOnducting tests all the time; every Occurrence in life is a test.
Every thOught that crOps up in the mind,
 is in itself a test tO see what One's reactiOn will be.
Hence One must be always alert & alOOf,
cOnducting Oneself with a spirit Of detachment,
viewing everything as an OppOrtunity to gain experience,
tO imprOve Oneself and gO On tO a higher stage."
....Bhagawan Nityananda of Ganeshpuri






"The Ones whO questiOn gOd are the peOple whO have lOst their faith.
The Ones whO fOllOw him blindly are the Ones whO have lOst their sanity.
I fOllOw him blindly when everything is gOing fOr the wOrst
and I questiOn him when it's all fOr the best !"
....JacOb Gates






“Direct Me, Inspect Me, cOrrect Me,
PrOtect Me, Perfect Me” ....Dr Lej

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