Shri Sai Baba Archana (108 Names)

1. OM Sri Sai Nathaaya namaha
2. OM Sri Sai Lakshmi naarayanaya namaha
3. OM Sri Sai Krishnaraamashiva maruthyaadhi roopaaya namaha
4. OM Sri Sai Seshasai ne namaha
5. OM Sri Sai Godhavarithata shirdhivasi ne namaha
6. OM Sri Sai Bhakta hrudaalayaaya namaha
7. OM Sri Sai Sarva hrunnilayaaya namaha
8. OM Sri Sai Bhoota vaasaya namaha
9. OM Sri Sai Bhootha bhavishyadbhaava varnithaaya namaha
10. OM Sri Sai Kaalaa thiithaaya namaha
11. OM Sri Sai Kaalaaya namaha
12. OM Sri Sai Kaala kaalaaya namaha
13. OM Sri Sai Kaaladarpa damanaaya namaha
14. OM Sri Sai Mrutyunjayaaya namaha
15. OM Sri Sai Amarthyaaya namaha
16. OM Sri Sai Marthyaa bhayapradhaaya namaha
17. OM Sri Sai Jiivadhaaraaya namaha
18. OM Sri Sai Sarvadhaaraaya namaha
19. OM Sri Sai Bhaktaavana samarthaaya namaha
20. OM Sri Sai Bhaktavana prathikjnaaya namaha
21. OM Sri Sai Anna vastra daaya namaha
22. OM Sri Sai Aroogya ksheemadaaya namaha
23. OM Sri Sai Dhana maangalyapradaaya namaha
24. OM Sri Sai Buddhi siddhi pradaaya namaha
25. OM Sri Sai Putra mitra kalathra bandhudaaya namaha
26. OM Sri Sai Yogaksheema vahaaya namaha
27. OM Sri Sai Aapadbhaandhavaaya namaha
28. OM Sri Sai Maargabandhavee namaha
29. OM Sri Sai Bhukti mukti swargaapavargadaaya namaha
30. OM Sri Sai Priyaaya namaha
31. OM Sri Sai Preeti vardhanaaya namaha
32. OM Sri Sai Antharyaminee namaha
33. OM Sri Sai Sacchitatmanee namaha
34. OM Sri Sai Nityanandaaya namaha
35. OM Sri Sai Parama sukhadaaya namaha
36. OM Sri Sai Parameeshwaraaya namaha
37. OM Sri Sai Parabrahmanee namaha
38. OM Sri Sai Paramaatmanee namaha
39. OM Sri Sai Gnaana Swaroopinee namaha
40. OM Sri Sai Jagath pithre namaha
41. OM Sri Sai Bhaktaanaam maathru daathru pithaamahaaya namaha
42. OM Sri Sai Bhaktaabhaya pradhaaya namaha
43. OM Sri Sai Bhakta para dheenaya namaha
44. OM Sri Sai Bhaktaanugraha karaaya namaha
45. OM Sri Sai Sharaanagatha vatsalaaya namaha
46. OM Sri Sai Bhakti shakti pradaaya namaha
47. OM Sri Sai Gnana yraaghya prdaaya namaha
48. OM Sri Sai Preema pradaaya namaha
49. OM Sri Sai Samskhaya hrudaya dowurbhalya paapa karma vaasanaa kshayakaraaya namaha
50. OM Sri Sai Hrudayagranthi bheedakaaya namaha
51. OM Sri Sai Karma dhvamsiinee namaha
52. OM Sri Sai Suddasathva sthithaaya namaha
53. OM Sri Sai Gunaatheetha gunaathmanee namaha
54. OM Sri Sai Anantha kalyaana gunaaya namaha
55. OM Sri Sai Amitha parakramaaya namaha
56. OM Sri Sai Jayinee namaha
57. OM Sri Sai Durdhaarshaa kshobyaaya namaha
58. OM Sri Sai Aparaajitaya namaha
59. OM Sri Sai Trilookeeshu avighaatha gatayee namaha
60. OM Sri Sai Ashakya rahitaaya namaha
61. OM Sri Sai Sarva shakti murthayee namaha
62. OM Sri Sai Suroopa sundaraaya namaha
63. OM Sri Sai Suloochanaaya namaha
64. OM Sri Sai Bahuroopa vishwamuurthayee namaha
65. OM Sri Sai Aroopaavyaktaaya namaha
66. OM Sri Sai Aachintyaaya namaha
67. OM Sri Sai Sookshmaaya namaha
68. OM Sri Sai Sarvaantharyaminee namaha
69. OM Sri Sai Manoovaaga theethaya namaha
70. OM Sri Sai Preemamoorthayee namaha
71. OM Sri Sai Sulabha durlabhaaya namaha
72. OM Sri Sai Asahaaya sahaayaaya namaha
73. OM Sri Sai Anaatha naatha deenabaandhavee namaha
74. OM Sri Sai Sarvabhaara bhrutee namaha
75. OM Sri Sai Akarmaaneeka karma sukarminee namaha
76. OM Sri Sai Punyasravana keerthanaaya namaha
77. OM Sri Sai Theerthaaya namaha
78. OM Sri Sai Vasudeevaaya namaha
79. OM Sri Sai Sataamgathayee namaha
80. OM Sri Sai Satyanaaraayanaaya namaha
81. OM Sri Sai Lokanaathaaya namaha
82. OM Sri Sai Paavananaaghaaya namaha
83. OM Sri Sai Amruthamsavee namaha
84. OM Sri Sai Bhaaskara Prabhaaya namaha
85. OM Sri Sai Bramhacharya tapascharyaadi suvrathaaya namaha
86. OM Sri Sai Satyadharma paraayanaaya namaha
87. OM Sri Sai Siddheshvaraaya namaha
88. OM Sri Sai Siddha sankalpaaya namaha
89.OM Sri Sai Yogeshwaraaya namaha
90. OM Sri Sai Bhagwatee namaha
91. OM Sri Sai Bhakta vatsalaaya namaha
92. OM Sri Sai Sathpurushaaya namaha
93. OM Sri Sai Purushootthamaaya namaha
94. OM Sri Sai Satyatatva boodhakaaya namaha
95. OM Sri Sai Kaamaadi shadyri dwamsinee namaha
96. OM Sri Sai Abheedaanandaama bhava pradhaaya namaha
97. OM Sri Sai Samasarvamatha sammataaya namaha
98. OM Sri Sai Sri Dakshinaa moorthiyee namaha
99. OM Sri Sai Sri Venkateesha ramanaaya namaha
100. OM Sri Sai Adbhuthaanantha charyaaya namaha
101. OM Sri Sai Prapannarthi haraaya namaha
102. OM Sri Sai Samsaara sarva dukha kshayakaraaya namaha
103. OM Sri Sai Sarva vitsarvato mukhaaya namaha
104. OM Sri Sai Sarvaantharbhahi stitaaya namaha
105. OM Sri Sai Sarvamangala karaaya namaha
106. OM Sri Sai Sarvaabhiishta pradhaaya namaha
107. OM Sri Sai Samaras sanmaarga sthaapanaaya namaha
108. OM Sri Sai samartha sadguru Sri Sai nathaaya namaha

Greatness of Udi

It is well-known that Baba took Dakshina from all, and out of the amount thus collected, He spent a lot on charity and purchased fuel with the balance left with Him. This fuel He threw in the Dhuni - the sacred fire, which he kept ever burning. The ash from this fire was called Udi and it was freely distributed to the devotees at the time of their departure from Shirdi. Udi or ash is the purest substance on earth having tremendous powers of doing and undoing and is the result of sacrifices offered to fire (agni) which purifies everything by destroying whatever is evil. Performing 'Yagha' (Dhuni) is the most pious ritual recommended in the ancient Vedic literature.

There is a deeper underlying significance behind Baba’s practice of distributing Udi. Baba taught by His Udi that all the visible phenomena in the universe are as transient as the ash. Our bodies composed of wood or matter of the five elements will fall down, become inanimate after all their enjoyments are over, and will be reduced to ashes. In order to remind the devotees of the fact that their bodies will be reduced to ashes, Baba distributed Udi to them. Baba also taught by the Udi that the Brahma is the only Reality and the universe is ephemeral and that no one in this world, be he a son, father or wife, is really ours. We come here (in this world) alone and we have to go out alone. It was found and is even now found out, that the Udi cured many physical and mental maladies, but Baba wanted to din into the devotee's ears the principles of discrimination between the Unreal and the Real, non-attachment for the Unreal, by His Udi and Dakshina. The former (Udi) taught us discrimination and the latter (Dakshina) taught us non-attachment. Unless we have these two things, it is not possible for us to cross over the sea of the mundane existence. So Baba asked for and took Dakshina, and while the devotees took leave, He gave Udi as Prasad, besmeared some of it on the Bhaktas' foreheads and placed His boon-conferring hand on their heads. When Baba was in a cheerful mood, He used to sing merrily. One such song was about Udi. The text of the Udi song was, "Oh, playful Rama, come, come, and bring with you sacks of Udi." Baba used to sing in very clear and sweet tones.

So much about the spiritual implication of Udi. It had also its material significance. It conferred health, prosperity, freedom from anxiety, and many other worldly gains. So the Udi has helped us to gain both our ends - material as well as spiritual.

Dwaraka Mai And Baba

“Hech Aapuli Dwaraka Matha! Mashidiche ye aaki baisatha lekhru dehi nirbhaysth”[This is our Dwaraka Matha The children who come and sit in this Masjid should have no fear.[Roughly translated] Baba said His Dwarakamai was “mota kripalu” [Tremendously Compassionate] and the bhakta could easily cross the ocean [Beda paar] of life. It was Baba who perceived the desires and longings of the devotees and granted their wishes. It was from this Dwaraka Matha that Baba performed His leelas for sixty yrs and beyond. Baba often told His devotees that He was here thousands of years ago!
The old Masjid was dilapidated, the floor was uneven with pits and ditches. The Dwaraka mai [the Sanctum Sanctorum was about 15 Ft by 17 Ft] This sanctified place with its contents can teach us many valuable lessons. Baba’s life itself is an example of the highest truth that all religions teachings are the same. On the other hand Baba taught by example. He gave no sermons; nor preached to His devotes, a word here or a sentence there was sufficient to push the devotees to the next stage of his spiritual development.

Let me try to decipher the meanings and symbols of ‘The Dwarakamai and Baba’s sojourn in Shirdi’; The King of this Universe; the maker of this cosmos lived in this dilapidated mosque. Where even the lizards ran away and took refuge elsewhere. Thus implying that only a roof is necessary to give protection from the elements. And one does not need a huge palatial building to live in. As one enters the Sanctum Sanctorum, one finds Baba sitting ‘facing the South’. He is ‘Dakshinamoorty’.The ever smiling Guru’ this ‘South faced Guru symbolizes the ‘fact that a man of realization has transcended time’. That the Guru’s grace as His inner realization is being showered on the devotees who are caught in the net of Yama, the lord of death .The Guru leads the disciple to immortality. The south is the special domain of Yuma .Yuma means control. It can be self control as well as a limitation over ones capacity.

Baba’s asana [seat] was a sack. In the sack the weave is very evident there is a horizontal weave which symbolizes mans life of hopes, aspirations, goals and greed for a thousand materialistic things. The vertical weave is the Sadgurus or Gods will. The intersections as it were are milestones in ones life. When the devotee achieved or did not achieve his goal, this represents the essence of life that we wish for thousands of things, but the result depends on His wish. And we should happily receive what He gives us.
In the North East corner Baba sat in the direction of Isaana. His left hand resting on the [Kathada] Railing. His legs outstretched. Showering His blessings on the devotees. There are eight directions or quarters in this world. Each protected by a Deity [Dikpals] Baba sat in the N E corner which is protected by Isaana on Vrishaba [Ox] This symbolizes that each individual goes a certain direction ‘or follows a certain path that makes or mars his life. According to his vasanas, it is lord Isaana who guides the world. He comes riding on the Vrishaba to exhaust the accumulated vasanas of the jeevas. Thus Baba sitting in the N E guides the individual in the right direction. Therefore any puja starts with “Astha Dik Bandhan”[The 8 direction Bondage] is done. Then the mind of the individual is arrested from taking any direction. He discovers his own true nature.

The floor of the Dwarakamai was clean and nea,t it was washed daily and a slurry of cow dung was applied. Baba had an akhand deep [an ever burning lamp] which symbolizes an inner light. Baba got up very early in the morning and was found sitting in front of Dhuni Maa [Agni ] AGNI means leading [Nirukti Ref] i.e. leading towards evolution. Fire is death to everything and water is death to fire. If there are sins that are not burnt ; then water will destroy it as it destroys fire.

Baba went to Lendi Baugh twice a day; here Lendi Baugh represents a garden with a multitude of shrubs of different varieties along with weeds. Baba went in procession up to Lendi Baugh but entered the Baugh alone. There like a gardner He tended to and nurtured the plants [His devotees] The weeds symbolize the various destructive tendencies that take hold of our lives and pull us in a different direction. When Baba went to Lendi Baugh. He threw water in four directions. Baba would sit facing west the domain of Varun [Rain] Varun means ‘choicest things’ and also veiling [Maya] ref Ni #10[3rd St] Varun is on Makara [Crocodile] which is the hand of time; So Dhuni Maa symbolizes one should burn the internal Dhuni and offer greed and desires as oblation In Bhadrinayka Upanishad #2 ch5 sloka 9-14 says ‘God offered Faith as an oblation to fire [Heaven] thence came the moon.”

The Nimbar is on the Eastern wall it represents Mecca and Muslims do namaz facing it. Baba however sat with His back to it during mealtime. Daily it was garlanded by the devotes thus one learns that all religions lead to the same goal or as Baba put it succinctly ‘ Sub Ka Malik Ek’
Next to the Nimbar was the ‘Jaath’or quern [Hand Mill] In the Sai Satcharitra # 1 The wonderful Leela of Baba grinding the wheat is given. Every day;’ day in; and day out Baba undertook the chore of grinding the sins; the mental; the physical afflictions and the miseries of His devotees. The quern has 2 grinding stones the upper stone symbolizes Bhakti [faith] and the lower stone is karma while the handle is Gyana .One has grind all desires; sins; the traits of Raja; Tama; Ahamkar to develop spritually. Through Bhakti [faith] Nishwarth[selfless] karma and of course the grace of the Sadguru and Gyana the goal can be achieved. Baba had but a few belongings that were kept in the Dwarakaai. These were [1] The Matka or the Water Pot. It was an earthen vessel, used for storing water. The mud-pot symbolizes the human body that can break [die] at any time. Thus the transience or temporary nature of the human life.

Baba had but a few belongings that were kept in the Dwarakamai. These were [1]the Matka [Water pot] it was an earthen vessel used for storing water. The mud-pot symbolizes ‘body’ which can break[die] at any time thus the transient or temporary nature of the human life. Water represents the ‘Atama’ [soul]. Which is the life-giving element to the body. Water is oudorless, shapeless, and colorless, so also is the soul. It is Nirlingi [genderless] , Nirlaptha [not affected by anything] and Nirvikari [formless]. Being so it will take the identity of any living being just as the water takes the shape of the containe.r The lesson here is that all souls or Atamas are one and the same. That Baba is in all and was in all. [Sai Satcharitra #9] Mrs. Tarkhad feeds a dog then a mud smeared pig and Baba’s hunger is appeased.

(to be contd…..)
Source Shri Sai Leela Magazine

Sai Leela I

Sai Leela By Dr. G.R. Vijayakumar

One fine morning in 1978 or so, I went to meet Swamiji at the Sai Mandir. He was deeply engrossed in reading a letter from a devotee from Madhya Pradesh. The letter indicated that the devotee was in real distress and had sought Swamiji's blessings.

He had written to him:"......I have been reciting 'Vishnu Sahasra Namam' as advised by you. But why do I face problems after problems. Is there no end for this? ......" Swamiji gave me the letter and said: "If a devotee is interested in having the Guru remove whatever obstacles or difficulties come in his path, then he is behaving like a business man. As for as worldly advantages are concerned, they are purely transitory; wealth comes and goes, success comes and goes; it wise to use the precious wealth of Vishnu Sahasra Namam to acquire these petty advantages?"

Exactly at that time, an old lady came and prostrated to Swamiji. She was full of tears and was apologetic to Swamiji. On enquiry, she told me that about a week before, her only son was missing and she had come and told, Swamiji! “As to what is use in the recitation of Vishnu Sahasra Namam and she is full of problems.” Unperturbed, Swamiji had directed her to go back home and most unexpectedly, her son had returned home. She had now come to Swamiji to convey her gratitude for the turn of events.

As the lady left the place, Swamiji told us that one should not pray to the Lord for the removal of small, insignificant difficulties. After all, pleasure and pain are purely transitory. Pain is followed by pleasure and pleasure by pain. Pain did not exist before it came and it will not exist after a while. Similarly pleasure did not exist before it came and will not exist after a while. So why pray to the Lord for things which are only short-lived? It is as stupid as approaching the brim surgeon to help you pull a thorn from your foot when it can be removed with the help of a needle by yourself.

(Source Shri Sai Padananda October 1992)

Who is SaiBaba?

Long time ago, at the beginning of eighteenth century a young bearded man with sparkling eyes took shelter in a mosque, in Shirdi Village (of Maharshtra State, In India) . Nobody knew from where this stranger had come who hardly spoke a word and stayed there.

Gradually the curious villagers started offering food to the man, but he never asked anything from them. Sometimes he shared his food with the animals. Soon the young fakir, as he was started to be addressed, started expressing his view points with few elderly villagers. His simple language of expresssion and his special power of solving the problems of poor needy and destitutes soon made this less known fakir, known as Shri Sai Baba. As the days passed, devotees started streaming into Shirdi in ever growing numbers. The village was fast becoming a centre of pilgrimage. As gifts and presentations flowed in, the pomp and ceremony of Sai worship were evolving. Everyday Sai Baba would be a pauper having distributed all among the needy and the poor. But Sai Baba's life of a Fakir remained calm, undisturbed, unaltered and therein is the saint's Spiritual glory.

People also realised that this "Baba" was no ordinary person but a person with extraordinary godly powers. Such powers are not known or present in normal human beings. Baba preached his principle of love and faith in humanity to all his disciples. He always felt anguished over the fact that all those who came to him were more for their own personal problems and not for attaining the ultimate goal of reaching God which he felt could be attained only by true servicing of humanity.

Sai baba strongly believed in uniformity of religion and he never distinguished anyone on the basis of caste, creed or religion. He always made it a point not to return empty handed those who had come to him in their hour of need and grief. He performed miracles to alleviate the suffering of poor people. On one occasion he restored the eyes of a blind elderly and in another occasion he lighted a lantern with water when there was no oil to burn it.

As all good things have to end ultimately "Baba" also left his body on his own will on 15th Oct. 1918, leaving his millions of believers and followers crying. His body was laid in the Samadhi Mandir called "Booty", which he had asked his disciple to built before his death.

Sai Baba was Unique, in that, he lived his message through the Essence of his Being. His life and relationship with the common man was his teaching. The lmmense Energy that was manifest in the body of Sai was moving and is still moving in a mysterious way, creating and recreating itself everywhere, beyond the comprehension of time and space.Yet, he lived with the common folk as a penniless fakir, wearing a torn kafni, sleeping over a mat while resting his head on a brick, begging for his food. He radiated a mysterious smile and a deep inward look, of a peace that passeth all understanding. He was always and ever aware of what transpired within the hearts and minds of everyone, whether they be, His devotees or not. This Omnipresent and Omniscient Sri Sai Baba who left his mortal body in 1918, is the living spiritual force that is drawing people from all walks of life, from all parts of the world, into his fold, today.Sri Sai Baba lived, acted and behaved as only a "God descended on Earth" can. He came to serve mankind, to free them from the clutches of fear.

His most concise message for one and all alike was "Why fear when I am here". To take refuge in Sai, is to enter into ajourney to reach the Divine Oasis of Love and drink deep from the Fountain of Life, the source of all Spiritual Energy.Wherever the devotee is, Baba makes him recognize within himself his highest aspirations and goal and at one stroke, his conduct and the attitude to fellow beings is touched with the awareness of love, understanding, patience and faith. This is the promise that Sri Sai Baba holds out to all who come to Him. Sri Sai Baba was beyond the limitations of Time and Space and thus caste, creed, position dogmas and doctrines were fundamentally unimportant to him. Nobody really knew his parentage, where he came from or which religion he practised. He claimed no possessions nor accepted any disciples or gave any specific teaching.

This anonymity lent a strange facet to his interaction with the people who came to him for guidance. To the Hindus he was an orthodox Brahmin, with a sacred fire, enjoining the worship of many gods and the devout study of various Hindu scriptures. He lived in a mosque but always referred to it as "Dwarkamay!" (Lord Krishna's birth place is Dwaraka). To the Moslems he was a fakir living in a mosque observing the disciplines of Islam, uttering "Allah Malik" (God is the master) guiding Muslim seekers along the lines c)f their own religion. To the Parsis he was the sacred rire worshipper. His life was a living manifestation c)f the Sermon of the Christ and of the Eight-fold path of the Buddha.

Sai Baba's attraction and appeal lie in this fact that he was a perfect model of the harmony of all religions, for whom this world - with all its sectarian and religious antagonism, had been waiting. Sai Baba lived to awaken and lead mankind to the varities of spiritual life. He set in motion a wave of spirituality, which is now spreading all over the globe. All his life's activities constituted the upliftment of mankind. By first conferring temporal benefits, he drew unto himself countless souls caught up in ignorance (darkness) and opened their eyes to the true meaning of life. The miracles which manifested through Sai Baba were just such as were needed to create faith in the people and to make his devotees ethically and spiritually better evolved. Baba did not purposefully perform miracles to show his powers. The very strength of his perfect realisation, in its interaction with nature, caused "the miracle" to take place. Thus he drew people from their deluded pursuits after earthly objects of a transitory nature and induced and inspired them to strive for self-realisation. He continued this glorious work until the last moment of his human embodiment in Shirdi.

Amazingly, there are a phenomenally large number of Instances in which Sai Baba has been literally physically appearing before his devotees, even decades after his passing out of the physical body.Sai Baba is constantly and simultaneously proving that he Is alive in spirit and responds to our sincere prayers. He Is the One Spirit of all existence. which is God in all the forms of God, in all the saints, in all the men and in all the creatures.All those who sincerely take to a life of inner development, Sai Baba lifts him to a higher level. Every one derives benefit according to the ripeness o f his soul and in accordance with his inner yearning.Baba assured his devotees by his saying "I am at Shirdi and everywhere. Whatever you do, wherever you may be, ever bear this in mind, that I am always aware of everything". Sai Baba does not belong to any single tradition but to all mankind on the path of goodness, love and understanding.

SHRI SHIRDI SAI BABA’S ASSURANCES TO HIS DEVOTEES

1. Entry into Shirdi removes all sufferings.

2. Whether sufferers or very poor people, the moment they enter Dwarakamai, they will have happiness and wealth.

3. Even after leaving my physical body, I am very ever alert to the needs of my devotees.

4. The protection to my devotees will come from my Samadhi.

5. From my Samadhi itself, I will discharge all my duties.

6. My human body will speak from my Samadhi.

7. It is my duty to protect my devotees who come to me and who seek refuge in me.

8. My blessings are there to those who look to me.

9. Put your burdens on me and I shall carry them.

10. I shall give my advise or help the moment it is sought.

11. There is no question of ‘Want’ in the houses of my devotees.

Life Story of Shirdi Sai Baba