Sree Sai Charitra Darshan

Lt. Col M.B. Nimbalkar has writen the prosaic version of the poetical grantha Sree Sai Satcharita which is a unique contribution to the Marathi Literature. Shri Mohan Yadav, Public Relations Officer of Shri Saibaba Sansthan Trust, Shirdi wrote the abridged version of this book titled as Sree Sai Charitra Darshan in Marathi. Devotees of Sree Sai Baba happily welcomed it. Now it is a matter of great pleasure for Sai devotees that this Marathi version of Sree Sai Charitra Darshan is translated in English by Dr. Amrita Sanjeev Kasturay who is a Professor and Head of English Department of Government P.G. College, Bhilai, Chhatisgarh.

Sai Baba lived in Shirdi, India in the late 18th and early 19th century. Countless miracles were experienced by his followers and devotees during this period. Even today, devotees all over the world continue to experience such miracles simply by mentally praying to Sai Baba. Sai Baba has an unlimited treasure trove of teachings to guide and help everyone on the path towards Spiritual Enlightenment. These are the same teachings found in the Hindu holy books of Vedas, Upanishads and Bhagavad Gita but in a much easier to understand way. Sri Sai Sat Charitra contains the miracles and teachings of Sai Baba. It was written from 1922 to 1929 by Raghunath Govind Dabholkar aka Hemadpant after he personally experienced miracles of and received permission from Sai Baba of Shirdi. Nagesh Vasudev Gunaji translated Hemadpant's Marathi edition into English in 1944. For the first time, this is a brand new 'For Kids' edition of Sri Sai Sat Charitra. Gunaji's edition has been simplified and retold to make it easy for Kids. This includes making the language simpler, explaining the background and concepts mentioned in the original text, splitting the chapters into smaller sections as well as adding questions and answers. Sri Sai Charitra is a guidebook to help your children start on an amazing spiritual journey of self discovery with Sai Baba.

Sri Shirdi Sai Baba (18381918), the first one in the trinity of Sai Baba Avatars (incarnations), was the incarnation of Lord Shiva. He led the life of an ideal Sufi saintbegging for alms; helping all, teaching the basics of morality and spirituality in his typical rural, rustic, simple, and lively manner, telling true stories of many births of his devotees and other creatures, and by his very brief and heart-penetrating comments and pieces of advice. He taught all to believe in God, who is omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient, and the One Malik (Master) of all and who is present in every creature. Gods grace can be achieved by anyone by earnestly remembering Him; by being moral, kind, and loving to all creatures, and by doing ones duties honestly and sincerely. Sai Baba always gave genuine assurances to those who called upon him for his miraculous grace and helped the distressed ones instantly. It is a well-known fact that Sri Shirdi Sai Babas grace is being experienced by countless people throughout the world, but only a few of such incidents are published in Sai journals and on the Internet. This book is a collection of invaluable articles on Sri Shirdi Sai Babas legendary grace and thrilling record of over two hundred testimonies of post-Samadhi period (after 1918 till now) beneficiaries of his grace. His temples are in India, USA, UK, Canada, China, South Africa, Mauritius, and many countries. Thousands of pilgrims visit daily his Dwarka Mai Masjid and Samadhi Mandir in Shirdi (India) and Sai temples in their countries daily to obtain his gracious help. All those who are eager to receive Sri Shirdi Babas divine grace for getting instant solution of and relief in their problems and seek proper guidance shall find this book a boon.

Life is like an educational institution where the nuances of living in peace and tolerance are self-taught. The events in our lives are pre-destined and without exception each individual has to face the highs and lows of life. This is a continuous process in which none are to be blamed, in particular God. In reality it is our Karma that pushes up or pulls us down. ”The will of God will never take you where the grace of god will not protect you.” Sunanda Ananth, the author, found herself posed with questions quite often by her friends and other Sai devotees – Why is it that we suffer despite being pious? What wrong have we done? Why does not God come to our rescue, and so on and so forth? Pondering over these questions, her quest for the answers began. At this juncture, a spiritually-acclaimed person came into her life to guide her in her quest. Popularly known as Udi Baba alias the Late Sri Manickam, he mentored Sunanda towards deep spirituality and contributed significantly to her progress in this path. Sunanda had always been a motivational speaker and during her interactive sessions she came to understand that for many devotees, devotion was superfluous and need-based. Through her personal interaction she strives to make Sai devotees realise that unwavering faith and unconditional surrender are the foundations to spirituality. We only need to cleanse our minds to realise the presence of Sai within us. Taking her inspiration and guidance from the sacred text Shri Sai Satcharita and other related and trusted writings on the life and leelas of Sai Baba, the author seeks to empower Sai devotees with the contents of this book. This book has been conceived with a new approach where a review after each chapter attempts to answer some of the queries likely to arise to the reader.

Balkrishna Pandey’s Sai Baba’s 261 Leelas is a handy compendium or, as he calls it, an aide-mémoire of 261 miracles of Shirdi Sai Baba, intended for the devotees. Culled from a number of sources, he has obtained stories from the often hard to find books like Narasimha Swami’s biography of Sri Sai Baba, and decades-old copies of the Sai Leela journal. The author does not try and interpret the miracles but lets the reader realise the universal message for himself. In today’s busy world, this work offers a shortcut for daily devotion, offering the reader a quick manual to peruse, ponder or meditate upon Sai Baba’s micraculous leelas while waiting for a bus or to fill any spare moment --- Dr Marianne Warren ,Author of Unravelling the Enigma: Shirdi Sai Baba in the Light of Sufism This book puts together the authentic and pithy miracles of Sai. All that was verifiable within the first twenty years of the 20th century, directly related to the Saint’s life has been arranged under scintillating titles, all 261 of them. The readers cannot but be deeply moved by the sentiments of devotion projected by Balkrishna Panday in his writing titled Sai Baba’s 261 Leelas.

Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba wrote a series of articles under the Vahini series, for Sanathana Sarathi, a monthly magazine being published by Sri Sathya Sai Sadhana Trust, Publications Division, Prasanthi Nilayam. These precious articles are brought out now, under the title “Geeta Vahini”, in this book, for the benefit of readers. This is not a commentary or summary of the divine message that was given by Lord Krishna to Arjuna. It conveys the same message in a simpler form to us, in order to remove our delusion and confer faith and strength on us, so that we may realise our own reality. Bhagawan says, “Drawing on the Divine that is inherent in us is the lesson of Geeta… Arjuna is the jiva and Krishna is the Deva. When both are in contact, impregnable might results… Krishna had to work in and through Arjuna, so that the reign of Dharma (righteousness) is re-established. Arjuna means white, pure, unblemished. Hence, he is the proper instrument.” We too can become proper instruments in restoring Dharma, if we follow the lessons that Bhagawan teaches through this book.