Sraddha 
Saburi
Quarterly Newsletter
Special Guru Poornima
Edition
Guru Poornima
Guru Brahma Guru Vishnu
Guru Devo Maheshwara
Guru Saakshat Parabrahma
Tasmai Shri Guruve Namaha
Volume 1
July, 2005
Sai Mandir, USA
Nori Foundation, Inc.
Dear Sai Devotees:
Shirdi Sai Baba "The God who physically walked the
earth" is unique among the avataras of God. Baba said to his devotees,
"Come to me with all your desires and the fulfillment of your wants will
be granted. Transfer your burdens to me, I will bare them and relieve you of
them". Whether one is a politician, philosopher, young, old,
conservative, liberal, businessman or bureaucrat, he or she can seek refuge at
the doors of the Sai Mandir in the hour of need. All desires will be supremely
satisfied and all ills will be met with instantaneous remedy.
Here in America,
away from home we look around for a dependable guide, a companion in life, and
a source of inspiration and a Guru of all Gurus, who promises to carry all our
burdens and give us peace, tranquility and happiness. My wife and I are extremely blessed to have this opportunity from
Baba to establish two Sai Mandirs in the U.S as places of worship for all our
Sai devotees.
We have just
completed our third anniversary celebrations on July 4th 2005. From
the inception of the project and selection of Sai Mandir site, Baba has shown
us several miracles and showered His blessings at every point of the project
development.
With Baba’s grace,
the Mandir has become a central congregational place for all our Sai Devotees
in this region. I am proud and pleased
to have the association and support of outstanding individuals, especially Mrs.
Geeta Paranandi and Mr. Shanti Kumar who are instrumental in establishing a
center for Bal Vikas at our Mandir. Bal
Vikas programs have grown ten fold over the last two years. I encourage all our parents to take
advantage of this unique program for their children. We are profoundly thankful to Mrs. Vijaya Malladi for her
unsurpassed dedication and devotion in managing Mandir activities.
Over the last
three years new centers such as Dwarakamai , Dhuni, Baba’s Gift shop and hall
for Maha Prasadam have been added.
Baba’s Abhishekams, Kakada Aarathi, Akhanda Aarathi, Dhoop Aarathi and
Seja Aarathi are conducted daily at our Mandir by our priest Mr. Raghu
Sankaramanchi with utmost reverence and devotion. I am pleased to inform our members that we have recently acquired
a large property in the back of the Mandir on Shoen Street. We are preparing plans to combine all three
buildings and expand the size of the main Mandir hall.
In addition, Nori
Foundation has also purchased six acres of lot in the town of Millstone in
Somerset County, New Jersey to establish a second Sai Mandir. This will be a central location for all our
devotees coming from Washington, Delaware, Philadelphia and New Jersey. The construction designs are prepared by
well-known architect Mr. Vilas Parab and are submitted to the county and with
Baba’s blessings we will begin the phase I of the project before the fall of this
year.
I would like to
thank Mr. Sreenadh Jonnavittula for creating an outstanding website for the
Mandir and to Mr. Devinder Kumar for helping us to establish a live video link
on the website. This has allowed devotees to have live darshan of Baba from any
corner of the world. My sincere appreciation also goes to all devotee
volunteers who work tirelessly in the day-to-day activities of our Mandir. I
encourage all devotees to participate in Mandir programs and projects. May
Baba's blessings be with you and your family.
SAI RAM
Dr. D. Nori
Sai Mandir USA, Nori Foundation, Inc. 
Sri Sadguru Shirdi
Saibaba
Guru the Sanskrit term means one who removes darkness
(ignorance). Guidance of Guru (preceptor) is very essential for aspirant of
spiritual knowledge. He inculcates spiritual knowledge in suitable environment
through different methods of worship as per the ability of the aspirants. Gurus
may have different levels of knowledge and wisdom. God arranges the association
of Sadguru who has realized oneness with Him to ardent devotees. Though
basically formless, God assumes human form to protect devotees from evil forces
and uphold Dharma. A devotee should have unflinching faith and wholehearted
surrender to procure God’s benevolence.
God-Sadguru-and Self are
the same. Sadguru sees no difference between himself and his disciple. Disciple
experiences supreme peace on resorting to Guru’s feet with full reverence. In
the oft recited Vedic invocation, Guru is said to be no other than Brahma,
Vishnu, Maheshwar and the formless absolute Parabrahma. It is ordained that the
aspirant should bow to his guru. There are several ways of invoking God’s
grace. Aspirants follow Bhakti, selfless service and Gyana (knowledge of
formless supreme consciousness). Devotion (Bhakti) is set to be most effective
in this Kaliyuga. Bhagavan Sri Krishna declares in Bhagavat Gita “those who
worship me with faith, holding ME as their supreme goal – are exceedingly dear
to Me”. Surrender to God in thought, word and deed starts purification of mind
and God’s grace completes it.
Bhagavan
Shirdi Sai Baba has all the divine powers of God’s incarnation and
accomplishments of Sadguru. He exhibits profound divinity in His merciful and
marvelous leelas. His preachings are judicious mixture of Vedic declarations,
philosophical stories and anecdotes suited to devotees of different
temperaments. His mysterious Udi removes miseries of devotees pouring nectar of
supreme peace. Miracles happen as a natural flow of his benedictions. He continues to answer the prayers of
devotees all over the world even after 85 years of leaving the mortal form.
Baba says “devotion and surrender to Sadguru is superior to worship of God and
Goddesses as he is a living personification of Para Brahma. Unless and until
one worships the bodily form, true devotion does not spring forth and till
there is such devotion full of love, the inner mind does not blossom”, says
Hemadpant in the holy Shri Sai Sat Charitra. This is marvel of Guru Puja
(worship). It is said every human being is indebted to parents, devatas and
Guru. One can repay the parents through service and devatas through prayer but
until one realizes his self, the debt to Guru lasts. On every Guru Purnima day devotees should rededicate themselves
through absolute surrender to Sainath Sadguru Parabrahmam.
“When an individual is born
as an ignorant person, there is a process by which he can purify himself. This process consists of seeing good people,
listening to good people, speaking to good people and following the advice of
good people. This process can convert
you from being ignorant person to being a Paramahamsa or a knowledgeable
person.” BABA
Guru Poornima
Today we are celebrating the
festival of Guru Poornima. Who is Guru? 'Gu' stands for Gunatheeta
(attributeless). 'Ru' signifies Rupavarjita (formless). There is another
interpretation for the word Guru. 'Gu' signifies darkness and 'Ru' denotes that
which dispels darkness. (Gukaaro Andhakaarasya, Rukarasthannirodhakaha). So,
God, who is attributeless and formless, is the true Guru. In the word
'Bhagavan', the letter 'Bha' stands for effulgence. An ordinary electric bulb
illumines only a limited area, but God who is all pervasive illuminates the
entire creation. Divinity shines forth in everybody. So, do not hate anybody.
Guru is one who dispels the
darkness of ignorance, arising out of body attachment. Body is but an
instrument. God has given you the body to take to the Path of action. Body is
God's gift. Deho Devalayah Prokto jeevo Devah Sanathanaha (body is the temple
and the indweller is God)! Consider all bodies as temples of God and offer your
salutations. Salute even your enemies. Sarva Jeeva Namaskaaram Kesavam
Pratigachchathi and likewise Sarva Jeeva Tiraskaaram Kesavam Pratigachchathi
(whomsoever you salute, it reaches God and whomsoever you censure, it also
reaches God).
Give up ignorance, light the lamp
of wisdom in you and ultimately merge in the Divine. This is Swami's message
for you today. Develop love. Through love alone can you annihilate the mind and
through love alone can you get cured of any disease. Only love can eradicate
the evil qualities in you. So love all. Love the Hridaya, not the physical
body. Love the Divinity that is installed in your heart. Body, mind, intellect
and senses are merely instruments, you are the master. So, master the mind and
be a mastermind. Never become a slave to your mind. Contemplate on the Divine
day in and day out. That alone can bring about transformation in you. You may
chant any name, contemplate on any form; but understand the truth that God is
One and only one.
Taken from Sathya Sai Baba’s Divine Discourse: July 16, 2000
Shirdi Sai’s Charan
Our Past Events
We
hosted several great events!
We hosted a series of memorable musical
events and other events. Most of the
musical events, curiously enough, were not planned. They just happened with BABA’s Divine Will.
On April 28th, noted Ghazal
singer, Shri Pankaj Udhas gave a short performance of bhajan. By Pankajji’s own words, bhajan singing is
not his forte. However, when he met Dr. Datta Nori and found out about our
temple, he felt compelled to sing before BABA. He delighted the audience with three very melodious and
emotional bhajans, all composed by himself.
Sunday May 1st
- Bal Vikas Group celebrated Mother’s
Day in a very unique way! Motherhood
shapes, softens, strengthens and brings the inner devotional love out of a
mother. This very value of a mother is
well recognized by the American culture in the form of a festival called
Mother’s Day. To enforce this value in
our children, the Bal Vikas Group celebrated this day in a very special manner. Not just children - parents, teachers and
Dr. Datta Nori and Dr. Subadhra Nori, founders of the Sai Mandir, also
participated and paid their respect to their mothers.
Following this on June 9th, 2005, Padma Vibhushan Pandit
Jasraj, the living legend in Hindusthani classical singing, gave a superb
rendition of bhajans composed in classical ragas for almost two hours. He gave an outstanding performance showing
the boundless capacities of the human voice. He was very ably assisted by
Smt.Tripti Mukherjee. Pareshji, we give
you a Ton of credit for organizing this event.
Saturday June 18, what better place could
be there to take children on an outing?
The children along with their teachers and parents left the hustle and
bustle of New York traffic and went to the scenic Arsha Vidhya Gurukulam in Saylorsburg,
Pennsylvania. Everybody felt
peaceful. The air was cool, the sun
lurking through the tall trees, we felt divine. Two bus loads of children and parents! The children and the parents all had a time of their life!
Sunday June 26, was the last day
of the Bal Vikas program. The children were very disciplined and participated
in Sathya Narayana Pooja and all the children were awarded certificates for
their participation. 57 children in
all! The teachers were recognized
bountifully by the Sai Mandir for their dedicated and unconditional volunteer
services.
To mark the third Anniversary of the mandir, we had a three day long
celebration beginning July 2nd to July 4th. On the morning of July 2nd
special pooja was performed and in the evening there were special bhajans by
the devotees. On Sunday morning
abhishekam was performed for BABA with scores of devotees pouring milk on
BABA’s vigraha. This was followed by
alankar and puja and during the alankar devotees sang bhajans in Baba’s glory.
In the evening on the same day, we had the good fortune of having Smt.
Anita Krishna sing Sai Bhajans and kirtans for over two hours. She sang non-stop, and her mellifluous voice
and lilting rendering took the audience’s breath away. Great Voice, Great Singing! The two instrumentalists that accompanied
her, Lalji on Tabla and Sabu - on key board, were wonderful in each and every
way.
Yet, another
musical feast happened on Thursday, July 7th. Two prominent artistes, Sri Hemant Panwar
and Smt. Sangamitra Chatterjee sang vocal classical bhajans. Absolutely excellent performance! Pandit Hemant Panwar who is a noted Kathak
dancer and also a singer was searching for a Sai Mandir in the New York area on
the web when he hit upon our Sai Mandir.
He called the Mandir and expressed his desire to sing for BABA. His rendering for about 40 minutes was a
blend of emotion and melody and enjoyed intensely by the devotees. This was followed by a delicate performance
by Smt. Sangamitra Chatterjee, who in her subtle voice rendered some very
intricate ragas in bhajan form with great ease.
Both of the above
artistes were accompanied on the Tabla by none other than the great Maestro
Pandit Samir Chatterjee who sent the audience into raptures by weaving various
‘kayadas’, ‘bols’ and ‘tukras’ in his accompaniment. This performance aptly concluded the 3rd anniversary
celebrations of the Mandir with a bang.
Vinodji, we thank you for organizing this event.
As Dr. Datta Nori
stated Baba always reveled in music and rhythm and we are indeed blessed to
have been able to make this humble offering at His Lotus Feet.
Philosophical Significance
of Grinding
Apart from the meaning which the people of Shirdi put on this
incident of grinding wheat, there is, we think, a philosophical significance
too. Sai Baba lived in Shirdi for about sixty years and during this long
period, He did the business of grinding almost every day - not, however, the
wheat alone; but the sins, the mental and physical afflictions and the miseries
of His innumerable devotees. The two stones of His mill consisted of Karma and
Bhakti, the former being the lower and the latter the upper one. The handle
with which Baba worked the mill consisted of
Gnana. It was the firm conviction of Baba that Knowledge or
Self-realization is not possible, unless there is the prior act of grinding of
all our impulses, desires, sins; and of the three gunas, viz. Sattva, Raja and
Tama; and the Ahamkara, which is so subtle and therefore so difficult to be got
rid of.
This reminds us of a similar
story of Kabir who seeing a woman grinding corn said to his Guru,
Nipathiranjana, "I am weeping because I feel the agony of being crushed in
this wheel of worldly existence like the corn in the hand-mill."
Nipathiranjana replied, "Do not be afraid; hold fast to the handle of
knowledge of this mill, as I do, and do not wander far away from the same but
turn inward to the Centre, and you are sure to be saved."
Articles and Events in this Newsletter
contributed by:
Dr. Datta Nori, Dr. Ram Mohan Rao Nori,
Mrs. Geeta Paranandi, Mr. Ramnath Paranandi and
Mrs. Kshanila Gandhi.
Photographs by Mr. Srinath Jonnavithula and Mr. Bala S. Nori.
Our Upcoming Events
Friday, August 12th Varalakshmi
Vratham
Thursday, August 25th Sri Krishnashtami
Wednesday, September 7th Vinayaka Chathurthi
Wednesday, September 28th Baba’s Birthday Celebration
October 3rd to October 13th Baba’s Punyathithi
Celebration and Navarathri
Weekend Classes
Bharatanatyam - instruction by Mrs. Satya
Pradeep Saturday 9:30 to 10:30 AM. Children of all
ages are welcome. To enroll, please
call the temple, or contact Smt. Satya Pradeep directly at (516) 783-1846.
Music Classes - instruction by Mrs.
Savithri Ramanand. Saturday from 10.30 to 11.30 A.M. To enroll, please call the temple or
contact Mrs. Savithri Ramanand directly
at (718) 479-3192
Bal Vikas Classes - Mrs.
Geeta Paranandi Sunday
from 10.30 A.M. to 12.00 P.M. To
enroll, please call the temple or contact Mrs. Geeta Paranandi at (516)
565-9846.
Meditation Classes - Mr.
Satish Malladi – Saturday
8.00 A.M. to 9.00 A.M... To enroll,
please call the temple or contact Mr. Satish Malladi directly at (516)
-931-1189.
Hindi Classes by Anju and
Avinash Jhawar and Alpana and Alok Jain - Sunday 12.00 P.M.
to 12.30 P.M. To enroll, please
call the temple or 516-623-3015 or 516-868-8356.
Pandit Jasraj visited Sai Mandir and
held Pankaj Udhas treated the
audience
The devotees
spellbound with a one and half with some bhajans
hour performance.
Anita Krishna
enthralled the audience Hemant Panwar receiving
flowers
On the anniversary
celebrations from Dr. Nori
Sangamitra
Chatterjee at the Sai Mandir Samir Chatterjee sent the
audience
With Dr. Subhadra
Nori into raptures
