Posted: 27 Jan 2012 03:01 AM PST
Om Sai Ram
For all who were looking forward to hear about my experiences in Shirdi... Here it goes....
Before leaving for Shirdi I received many prayers to be taken to Shirdi. Those letters taught me a lot and made me realise that the grass is always greener on the other side! As in those letters Sai devotees had poured out their inner feelings, pains and problems to Baba. Some one wanted to have a baby and someone complained abt her childs ignorance. Someone wanted to get married and some one 's marriage was a complete disaster.It is so strange,what you might take for granted, that would be the only reason for me to live. Then there were prayers for the relatives who had health problems.And then there was this 26yr old guy from london who has a rare form of cancer at such a young age. I request all of you to pray to our Sadguru Sainath to show his miracle and bless his devotees with good health and a good life...
Anyways I removed the printout of those mails to Baba and headed for Shirdi. We thought we wont be able to reach in time for the Madhyan arti but we reached at 11am and I headed straight for the PRO office with my passport copy to get the vip pass to attend the arti but unfortunately the office was closed. I tried for abt 45 mins to somehow get the pass but it was all in vain and we lost all hope . I was thinking inside that I have come from so far and I am in time for the Madhyan arti but all the doors were closed for me.and I really wished that I could attend the arti. Anyways, we all know that not even a leaf can move without Sai's grace so we decided to move on and go to Dwarkamai for darshan,- thinking that now that most of the crowd has headed for the madhyan arti, darshan in Dwarkamai should be easier But alas ! when we went there, the line in dwarkamai was quite long and seemed like the doors were closed so the line was just not moving. Anyways , we just said Allaah Maalik and joined the line and as we all believe that if we move 1 inch towards Sai, He will move 10 inches closer to you. And that is what exactly happened. At 12 noon I stepped in Dwarkamai. We had a very good darshan and the second we passed between the window/door between samadhi mandir and dwarkamai - the madhyan aarti started. There was a tv just above where I was standing which gave me a blissful darshan of Sai in Samadhi mandir while I sang the Madhyan arti in Dwarkamai. This was definetly a vip pass for me from Baba.
After the arti , we went in that circle in dwarkamai where everyone meditates and were lucky enough to get naivaidya offered to baba as prasad along with coconuts. We then stood there praying to baba and thanking him for everything that he has given us. But to my surprise, when i opened my eyes, everyone was gone from that circle and no one was allowed in by the security guards except my friend and I. The gates to that circle were closed and we had the blissful darshan to our hearts content.
We saw the wall in Dwarkamai where Babas miracle picture was noticed a few days ago. My friend Aditi , could make out Babas picture on the wall but all I could clearly see was Lord Buddha. Strange, I could bet anything that it was not Sai on that wall of Dwarkamai but it was Lord Buddha giving me his blissful darshan... To me , this was a very wonderful leela of Baba that he made me see Lord Buddha on that wall. There were two reasons behind this leela of Baba - according to my understanding. I was desperately wanting to visit the Palitana Jain temples.
I had my mind set to go there but since I was in India only for 8 days and my 4-5 days went just attending the wedding functions of a close relative- and 1 day was set aside for shirdi- it was not possible for me to go there. I asked so many people during the wedding and they all told me that according to the plane timings and everything else , it would not be possible for me to go there.I did not have enough time on my hands-- may be that is why on that wall of Dwarkamai- Baba gave me the darshan of Lord Buddha .
The second reason is that personally, I think I have become very greedy since the past few months .. I have been having this urge to go for the Kailash Mansarovar yatra. And I want to be there specifically on the 4th of June 2012 to attend the Saga dawa festival during this sacred yatra and also pay my respects at the holy abode of Lord Shiva..
The Saga Dawa festival is celebrated on the 15th day of the 4th Tibetan month and is one of the most important religious festivals celebrated in Tibet. This auspicious day coincides with three important events in Buddha's life namely his birth, nirvana and parinirvana (death). Since the Saga Dawa festival falls on the holiest month of the Tibetan calendar, it is believed that good deeds and prayers are multiplied thousand fold during this event. So we can see everyone immersed in prayers and trying to appease the gods.
I really dont know if I will be able to make it. All my family and friends know abt this that I have my heart set on this Yatra..But now the chances of me going there do not look so good .May be that was the reason out of no where, Baba made me see Lord Buddha in Dwarkamai where everyone else could see Baba's face.I dont know what you will call this but I definetly beleive that ,-this was the most blissful leela of Baba for me..
Moving on we went near the Shani gate where the 3 small temples are located : They are dedicated to Ganesh, Shani (Saturn) and Mahadev (Shiva). I went to the Ganesh temple and then paid my respects to the Shani devta and then at the entry of the Lord Shiva temple - there was a security guard doing nothing. I dont know what got into him- He took a lota- filled it with water and asked me to put it on the Shivling in the Shiva temple.Out of so many people, he chose me. I just can not express how I felt when I entered the temple with water for the shivling in my hands and to add to that I found the bail leaves for the shivling too.Great is Baba and even greater are his leelas.Baba gave me the bliss of being in Kailash when physically I was in Shirdi itself. I had goose bumps all over my body , my heart was filled with content, my soul felt baba's bliss around me and the faith grew stronger that Sai knows what I desire. He will make my wishes and dreams come true in his own way thru his own amazing leelas.
After that ,We arranged for the VIP dhoop aarti passes at the PRO office, which according to me was another leela of Baba but I will share that some other time . Anyways, I did my routine Sai Seva work which I normally do in Shirdi. And then headed for the dhoop aarti.We had a wonderful darshan of baba during the dhoop aarti ,-since we were so close to baba in the VIP section..My friend Aditi and I , both read all the mails which were addressed to Baba and prayed individually for each one of them while we were waiting for the arti to start.After the arti we were able to give all those letters to the priest and he put them all on babas feet and gave it back to us.And later on, we were able to request one of the Sai Sansthan people to immerse those letters in the sacred dhuni.. So lucky were those people whose prayers reached the holy dhuni and I am so sure Baba that will take care of their problems now..
Ofcourse, My trip to Shirdi does not end there. Sai Miracles continued .At abt 7pm, While doing my normal Sai Seva work, I came across a person from the Sai Sansthan who spoke to me at Baba's command. He blessed me and made me realize abt my biggest mistake.He told me things about myself that only I knew.He enlightened me with Brahma Gyan and in the end he put the orange cloth with Baba all over it,- on my head and my shoulders. What more could I ask for. I received his blessings and a sign that no matter where I am- He will always be with me to take care of me and show me the way to His lotus feet...
I can go on and on with his leela's but I think for now this is enough. I will surely share more , If He permits me to do so. May the Merciful Sri Sai Baba always shower His grace on us and our families and remove our problems and anxieties by giving us all - strength , goodluck, success and happiness with peace of mind.
Sai bhakt,
Deepa H
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