A warm Sai Ram to you all!

Hope everyone had a nice summer! I am aware that recently many of you have been to visit Our Dearest Swami. If you would like to share your experiences with us, as we would all love to hear about the magical and miraculous time you had with Bhagawan, please do not hesitate to send anything to me at shazer40@hotmail.com or divya27@hotmail.com. Any relevant articles are most welcome to contribute to the next issue if the newsletter.

In this edition to the newsletter, take a journey through the bond of sister and brotherhood with Raksha Bandhan. Find out the great mystery behind Lord Krishna and his Form, and also, read all about what Our Beloved Swami’s thoughts are on Truth. Read on to find out more…

Sharan

In this edition… Raksha Bandhan … Janmasthmi … Swami’s Words on Truth … Story of the Month

To contribute, please write to shazer40@hotmail.com _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Raksha Bandhan

Rakhi, or otherwise known as Raksha Bandhan, is one of India’s brightly coloured and joyous festivals celebrated all around India on the day of the full moon of the Hindu month of Shravan. A Rakhi is a special piece of colourful, holy thread tied on the wrist of a brother by his sister. The word “Raksha” symbolises the brother’s protection over his sister and “Bandhan” signifies the bond that they have between them. So when a Rakhi is tied on the brother’s wrist, the sister is showing her love for him and that he has good health, wealth, happiness and success in the future. In return, by giving his arm, shows his protection over his sister. Some may say that the strong must protect the weak from all that is evil. Rakhsa Bandhan has a few different names: Vish Tarak – the destroyer of venom, Punya Pradayak – the bestower of boons and Pap Nashak – the destroyer of sins. The ceremony is sometimes done with the sister performing Aarti to her brother followed by the chanting of a Mantra, so that God’s blessings are showered upon him. Once the Rakhi is tied, she places a sweet into her brother’s mouth and often the gift is returned by giving a gift, such as a small amount of money.

There are many legends associated with the Rakhi festival. Legend has it that Rakhi Purnima originated while Lord Indra was at war with the demons and his wife Indrani had made him a special talisman which she tied on his wrist on Shravan Purnima to win the battle. This talisman ended up making the Gods extremely victorious and became a tradition for siblings to bond and be blessed with health, happiness, wealth and victories.

The Rakhi tying tradition became very popular between the Rajput soldiers. Before they went out to the battle-field, the woman would tie a Rakhi on their wrist for good luck hoping that it would bring them victory and protect them from their enemy. A Rajput ruler, queen of Mewar, Maharani Karmavati, was threatened by a Governor called Bahadur Shah who wanted to take over her Kingdom. Not knowing what to do next, she sent a Rakhi to the Mughal King, Humayun hoping for his help. Moved by her innocent plight, he decided to protect her and her Kingdom. He reached Mewar and chased Bahadur Shah and his men away, restoring the Kingdom to its rightful owner. Today, Rakhis are tied on soldiers by children to protect them against danger and their enemy.

“May all be happy
May all be free from ills
May all behold only the good
May none be in distress.”

Janmasthmi

Janmashtami is the birth of Lord Krishna, the eight re-incarnation of Vishnu. Lord Krishna was brought up as a cowherd. Eventually, he obtained His inheritance and ruled in justice. Krishna was a great lover and his romances are described in the Mahabharata, one out of the two greatest pieces of Hindu literature, as representing God’s love for the soul. The Bhagavad-Gita is a section of Mahabharata where Krishna plays the main character as a Prince’s charioteer.

There is a main purpose as to why Krishna is re-born over and over again. He declares this in the Bhagavad-Gita:

“Yada yada hi dharmasya,

glaanir bhavathi Bharatha,

abyuthanam adharmasya,

thadaathmaanam srjaamyaham.

Parithraanaaya sadhunam

vinaasaayacha dushkrthaam

Dharma samsthaapanarthaya

sambhavami yuge yuge.”

“When Dharma declines, I restore it and put down the forces, which cause the declines by assuming Form and I am born again and again in way crisis in order to protect the good, punish the wicked and restore Dharma.”

This is manifested in the destruction of King Kansa whose atrocities were causing chaos amongst the people.

In His hand, Krishna carries a flute. This flute symbolises His love and affection. Also known as the Basuri, music is produced through continuous blowing effort. It is the part of the Brahman that has the power to transmit all human beings. It reminds people that Self-realisation can only be achieved by continuous effort. The hollowness of the flute reminds us to empty our minds of desires, needs, filth etc. so that the soft, sweet music from the Lord’s breathe will flow through, awakening every soul.

One of the greatest characteristics of Lord Krishna was His ability to observe every human being’s action. Those who performed good deeds were rewarded by Lord Krishna but He equally punished those who performed bad deeds. Wilfully, Krishna helped the poor and uplifted broken hearts by establishing his friendship with the lonely and downtrodden. Being of royal blood, and having defeated King Kansa, Lord Krishna refused to accept king-ship, even after being urged by his grandfather, Ugrasain. Krishna explained that his aim was to remove the wicked monarch for a peaceful life for his subjects.

‘Go’, meaning cow represents the individual soul which Krishna is the Protector over. Krishna is also called Gopala, meaning protector of the cows. The word ‘Go’ also represents the senses that graze in the world and Gopala is the Lord who guides them along safe and secure paths. The Lord declares in the Bhagavad-Gita:

“Ananyas cinta yanto mam

ye janah upasate

tesam nitya-abhiyuktanam

yoga-ksemam vahamy aham”

The Lord took three vows. These were:

1. For the punishment of the bad and for the protection of the good and the establishment of moral order.

2. Whoever is immersed in My contemplation without any other thoughts I shall be ever with them and I shall bear the burden of his welfare.

3. Surrender to Me. Give up all desires for the fruit of actions. I shall liberate you from all sins. Do not grieve.

Many people ponder over why Our Lord Krishna is blue. Well, let me explain it to you: When you look up at the sky, its colour is blue. This is not the actual colour of the sky, but an infinite space. The colour is associated with the infinite parts of nature, which are ever expanding, such as the blue sky or the deep ocean. The incarnations of Krishna represents the descent of the infinite Brahman in the material world. Krishna means dark. God is the greatest mystery. This symbolises the depth of that mystery. The ‘Krishna’ or dark is unknown to any human being and indicated the Supreme consciousness which is beyond any normal human’s knowledge. The yellow clothes that Krishna wears represent the earth or Prakrithi. The blue form of Krishna clothed in yellow suggests the pure infinite consciousness, which has come to earth to play His finite form. He also wears a crown on his head adorned with peacock feathers. The crown is a symbol of Supremacy and shows Krishna as a Supreme Being who has control over everything. The peacock is a beautiful but vain bird. The feathers symbolise beauty and vanity which is used to show the awareness of Supremacy. There is beauty in truth. The truth of the Brahman itself is beautiful. By wearing the peacock feathers the Lord declares that He was the Supreme Being.

Swami’s Words on Truth

Truth is one’s real nature and when you are yourself, there comes a great flood of joy welling up within you when you deny yourself and deceive yourself, shame darkens your mind and breeds fear, you take the path of falsehood because of the Rajasic passions of lust, greed, hate and pride. Contentment, humility, detachment-they keep you on the path of truth.

It is Truth and Truth alone, that is one’s real friend and relative. Abide by Truth and tread the path of righteousness and not even a hair of your body will ever come to harm.

Man’s real value is based upon his adherence to good conduct and his reliance upon truth.

Through Satsang, you develop freedom from delusion, through freedom from delusion you develop faith in Truth and through faith in Truth, you attain Liberation Itself

Be content with what you get and carry on your duties. This is "Thyaaga", a life of sacrifice.

Today the world needs Truth and Sacrifice. What does Sacrifice mean? Today there are millions of people who consider themselves Sai devotees. There is no need to go outside the Sai fold. If only the Sai devotees alone adhered to Truth and Sacrifice, the entire world will be transformed.

If you wish to change the world, these two principles are the recipe. Truth purifies the heart. Sacrifice transforms the physical environment. By this double transformation the entire world is divinised.

How long will men continue to wallow in the mundane world, forgetting the Divine? You must yearn for God and redeem your life.

Men desire to become millionaires. But how many of the millionaires have peace of mind? Money can give many things that are conducive to comfort. But it cannot give peace of mind.

It should be realised that the body and all the appurtenances of the mind have been given to man to enable him to achieve spiritual peace (Atma-santhi). If Spiritual Bliss is not attained, all other physical attainments are worthless.

Man has been endowed with a body to practise righteousness. Man has to rise above the level of birds and beasts. Dedicate your lives to the service of your fellow men. Do not lead an idle life. Why should people suffer from want? Because they are not engaged in the right type of activities. Many are wasting their time. Time is God. Time wasted is life wasted.

Story of the Month

Jesus Christ’s Colour Photo!!!

http://www.reiki.ee/gallery/jesus3.htm

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editor sharan soni team divya soni, parag agarwal