http://srisainarayana.org http://sriamruthasai.org

1

Lots of devotees joined

us with family and

friends to celebrate the

divine wedding of God-

dess Padmavathy with

Lord Sreenivasa on

Saturday, the 11th of

July, 2015. Before that

the Divine couple were

taken out in a grand

wedding procession on

Thursday night (9th

July, 2015). The divine

baraath ended with a

fabulous display of fire-

works.

Gurur Brahma,

Gurur Vishnu, Guru

Devo Maheswaraha,

Guru Saakshat Para

Brahma, Tasmai Sri

Gurave Namaha

Since the beginning of

the universe, a Guru is

considered to be one of

the most important part

of one’s life, and has

been worshiped next to

God. The day of Guru

Purnima is dedicated to

all the academic and

spiritual Gurus in one’s

life.

In Sanskrit, the word

SaiRam,

Hope you all enjoyed

reading the first edition

of our newsletter. We

have been receiving a

lot of feedback from

several people. The edi-

torial team is striving

hard to incorporate the

feedback received from

all of you. Please contin-

ue to send your valuable

feedback.

In the month of July we

had lots a activities and

festivities at the temple.

Devotees participated

with a lot of enthusiasm

in all the events held at

the temple .

Navagraha Homam was

conducted on account of

the Guru Pravesham

(Jupiter transition or

Guru Peyarchi) on Sun-

day, July 05, 2015. Dur-

ing the homam, all the

devotees were able to

offer their prayers and

thank the Lord Guru

Bhagawan by attending

this special Navagraha

Abhishekam at our tem-

ple.

W e l c o m e M e s s a g e

Sa

i A

mr

ut

ha

Jy

ot

hi

I n s i d e t h i s i s s u e

Welcome Message 1

Upcoming events

in August

1

Annadanam Ma-

hadanam

2

Temple Deities 2

Sri Sai Satcharit in

our daily life

3

Word Search 3

Jeopardy 3

Panchatantra 4

You are there for

me always!

4

Answer Key for

July edition

4

Temple Services 4

5 t h A u g u s t , 2 0 1 5

U p c o m i n g e v e n t s

i n A u g u s t :

August 15th: Sravana

Masam starts

August 20th: Naga

Panchami

August 21st: Special

Abhishekam for Maha-

lakshmi and Prathy-

amgira

August 28th:

Vara Mahalakshmi

Vratham

Special Ab-

hishekam for Ma-

halakshmi and

Prathyamgira

2 0 1 5 , I s s u e 2

We welcome you to share your personal experiences in the form

of articles, poems, paintings etc. Please email us your articles, by

15th of each month, at saiamruthajyothi@gmail.com

Guru is divided into two

parts: The word “Gu”

signifies darkness and

“Ru” signifies the one

who removes the dark-

ness. Thus, the complete

word Guru means one

who is the remover of the

darkness (agyana).

Guru Poornima is a spe-

cial time to remember

and pay respects to all

those Gurus who helped

you attain what you de-

sired for. This year Guru

Poornima was celebrated

on Thursday, July 30th,

2015. This year we saw

an unprecedented num-

ber of devotees who

came to pay their obei-

sance to our beloved

Baba, our spiritual guide,

friend and philosopher.

May Sri Amrutha Sai

Narayana bless one

and all with peace of

mind, good health,

happiness and pros-

perity.

http://srisainarayana.org http://sriamruthasai.org

2

Annapurne Sadapurne |

Shankara Pranavallabhe |

Jnana vairagya siddhyartham |

Bhikshaam dehi cha Parvati ||

O Mother Parvati, you are Annapur-

na ­ the bestower of food.

You are always full of abundance.

You are the lifeline of Lord Shiva.

Dear Mother, through this sacred

food, bless us with the boons of wis-

dom (jnana) and renunciation

(vairagya)1.

Annapoorneshwari Devi is the Goddess

who provides nourishment to all. The

original temple dedicated to Goddess

Annapoorneshwari Devi is at Kasi

(Varanasi). She is depicted with a bowl of

annam (food) in her left hand a ladle

filled with food in her right hand. The full

bowl shows that she has abundant supply,

but what is more significant is that she

has a ladle spoon showing that she is al-

A n n a d a n a m M a h a d a n a m - S r e e l a t h a P a r a s u

ways willing and ever ready to serve2 .

Among all kinds of charity, giving food to

the hungry is the greatest of all, as food is

the source of life and energy. When one

gives money, gold, clothes, or place to live,

the greedy mind craves for more and nei-

ther appreciates it, nor is satisfied. But

when one provides food to a hungry person,

Sridharamrutham — “The tears of faithfulness to your beliefs cleanse your spirit to envision the road ahead.

Everything is possible for the person who believes.“

T e m p l e D e i t i e s — R u n a V i m o c h a n a G a n a p a t h y

Mushikavaahana modaka hastha,

Chaamara karna vilambitha sutra,

Vaamana rupa maheshwara putra,

as soon as his stomach is full, he is very

contented and blesses the person and the

family who appeased his hunger. Our

Vedas portray, food is the basic require-

ment for creation, and progression of

human life. Hence annadhanam is supe-

rior to any form of charity.

In August 2010, SSNO (Sri Sai Narayana

Organization) started the Sandwich Seva

program. About 125 bags, containing a

peanut butter and jelly sandwich and an

apple, are prepared and distributed to the

homeless and hungry every Saturday

through the Salvation Army of Central

Virginia. For doing this seva, devotees

can drop off fruits, bread, peanut butter

and jam at the temple. Volunteers are

welcome to help and prepare food, bag

and also deliver them to the above men-

tioned places.

In light of recent economic difficulties,

SSNO has joined hands with the Gooch-

land Free Clinic and Family Services, an

organization working for the betterment

of needy people in Goochland county.

SSNO has a donation center established

at our Sai Temple. Food items are collect-

ed on a weekly basis year round. All do-

nations, collected between Wednesday

afternoon until Tuesday evening, are

delivered to the Food bank on every

Wednesday morning.

Our temple focuses on donating more

milk and currently they are able to pro-

vide only about 85­90 gallons of milk

every Wednesday, to Goochland Clinic.

But our aim is to provide more milk gal-

lons to many more families in need. This

can be possible with the generosity of

each one of you . Devotees are more

than welcome to donate as many milk

gallons as possible.

Devotees can also sponsor Annadanam

every Thursday at the temple.

May Annapoorneshwari devi show-

er blessings on us so we may al-

ways have tasty and nutritious food

on our table!

1 satya.dk 2 Indian­heritage.org 3 www.mysai.org

Vighna vinaayaka paada namasthe

Lord Ganapathy is also known as Vigneshwara—the remover of all obsta-cles. According to the vedas, it is advised to pray to Lord Vigneshwara before start-ing any venture. Our small Ganapathy, installed at the Dhwaja Sthambham near the east en-trance of the temple, is very powerful. As many of our frequently visiting devotees know, people who are struggling to get job or those seeking expedience in moving their files for their visas, green card peti-tions, etc. are suggested to conduct Spe-cial prayers to Runa Vimochana Ganapa-thi. Runa Vimochana stotram needs to be recited to appease Lord Ganapathy in order to overcome any obstacles in life. We at the Sai Temple perform Ganapathy Homam and Abhishekam on Sankatahara Chathurthi every month. Upon request, Ganapathy Homam and Abhishekam can be performed at the devotees home or at the temple on days chosen at the devotees convenience too! Please contact the tem-ple for further information.

http://srisainarayana.org http://sriamruthasai.org

3

W o r d S e a r c h ! - C h a i t a n y a C h a n d r a

Search for the words chosen from Sri Shirdi Sai Satcharit!!!

Om Sri SaiRam.

I bow to Sri Sai and all of you.

CHAPTER 2.

LORD SAI ACTS THROUGH YOU!

Having observed the wheat flour miracle and its significance, Hemadpant decid-ed to document Lord Sai’s various mira-cles but was apprehensive on his capacity to write this Satcharit. He approached Shama, one of Baba’s close devotees who

S r i S a i S a t c h a r i t i n o u r d a i l y l i f e - S a n k a r K u m a r

Saiamrutham — “If formless meditation is difficult, then think of my form just as you see it here. With

such meditation, the difference between subject and object is lost and the mind dissolves in unity.”

pleaded with Baba for permission. Sai blessed the effort by saying that HE Himself will write through the author and asked him not to worry. Hemadpant had his first darshan of Baba in 1910 and was attracted to Baba immediately and remained His devotee till the last. Once, he debated in the Wada with one Sri. Pathe on the need for a Guru. Af-ter sometime, when he went to the Masjid, Baba addressed him as Hemadpant and inquired about the debate in the Wada! Thus Go-vindRao Raghunath Dabolkar got this name of Hemadpant, who was an efficient minister in the Ma-rathi Kingdom long ago. Later, while talking to Kaka Saheb, Baba said thus: ‘If you wander in a forest without an escort, you will lose your way. So, you should always have a guide as your escort.’ Hemadpant immediately under-stood the meaning and got his an-swer over his doubt on the need for a Guru.

Bow to Sri Sai! Peace be to all!

LIFE APPLICATION:

1. Lord Sai is the cause for all ac-tions and HE induces you in every endeavor.

2. When we decide to do any ac-tion, if we pray to Lord Sai, HE will consider the merits and demerits of the intended action and if it is no-ble, HE will act through us in ful-filling it.

3. In the spiritual path, we all need a Guru who can guide us properly and make sure that we are not lost on the way.

Lord SAI is our Guru who will

guide us successfully in our spiritu-

al quest.

Sri Satchitananda SadGuru

Sainath Maharaj ki Jai!

LEGEND

Bhakti

Chandorkar

Dabholkar

Jnana

Kakasaheb

Shama

Shirdi

Tatyasaheb

Upasana

X G E Z B A V B T D

C H A N D O R K A R

U G A K E S S B T L

I P X M H I H B Y Q

E Q A I A O M H A F

P I R S L H B A S W

N D V K A X S K A M

I P A N A N J T H D

T R C R L L A I E K

K A K A S A H E B R

Know our Vedas

1) This 2 word Sanskrit phrase is used to

represent the eternal or absolute set of

duties that everyone could practice

irrespective of religious beliefs?

2) What is known as the Language of the

Gods

3) Which word means the “Union of At-

man (individual self) with Brahman

(universal self)”

4) This word means “the law of ac-

tion and reaction (cause and ef-

fect) applied to life”

5) What is the word used for the goal

of human life for the soul to get

liberation from the cycles of birth

and death? 1. Source: ttp://veda. wiki dot.com/ faq

Jeapordy!

http://srisainarayana.org http://sriamruthasai.org

4

A n s w e r K e y f r o m J u l y e d i t i o n : W o r d S e a r c h

Pa n ch a t a nt ra :

T h e Mon key a n d t h e W ed g e

There was once a merchant who employed many carpenters and masons to build a temple in his garden. Regularly, they would start

work in the morning and take a break for the mid-day meals, and return to resume work till evening. One day, a group of monkey ar-rived at the site of the building and watched the workers leaving for

t h e i r m i d - d a y m e a l s . One of the carpenters was sawing a huge log of wood. Since it was only

half-done, he placed a wedge in between to prevent the log from

closing up. He then went off along with the other workers for his meal. When all the workers were gone, the monkeys came down from the trees and started jumping around

the site, and playing with the tools. There was one monkey, who got curious about the wedge placed between the log. He sat down on

the log, and having placed himself in between the half-split log, caught hold of the wedge and started pulling at it. All of a sudden, the wedge came out. As

a result, the half-split log closed in and the monkey got caught in the gap of the log. As was his destiny, he died in-s t a n t l y . M o r a l o f t h e s t o r y :

One, who interferes in other's work, surely comes to grief.

Source: http://www.talesofpanchatantra.com/

I reach for you because you are always

there no matter the circumstance!

You always get me through the hard

times.

God, how are you so great?

Why are you always here for me when

everyone goes?

I am never alone!

I have you in my heart and soul.

THANK YOU for all you have done!

Y o u a r e t h e r e f o r m e

a l w a y s !

- R i a n n e G i l l ( A g e : 1 5 y e a r s )

Services in the temple

Priests services like Yantra

Puja, Gruha Pravesham,

Satyanarayana Vratam,

P i t r u K a r m a ,

Seemantham, Upanayanm,

Vahana Puja etc., are avail-

a b l e w h i c h w i l l

be performed at devotees

homes for their good

wealth and prosperity. We

also do archanas, ab-

hishekam's for all our dei-

ties.

For more details please

v i s i t h t t p : / /

s r i a m r u t h a s a i . o r g /

services/. Or contact the

Temple at 804-708-0867

H E M A D P A N T C

G T B R H

A A R A O

N A E W L

H E H H E

M S W S R

A H E A

S A R A S W A T H I

A Y E R T A T T A D

U N H S I V M

LEGEND

Ganesha

Saraswathi

Bhrahma

Vishnu

Maheshwar

Dattatreya

Hemadpant

Wheat

Q u i z T i m e : A n s w e r s t o K n o w y o u r G o d s

1. Lord Ganesha

2. Goddess Saraswathi

3. Lord Brahma

4. Goddess Lakshmi

5. Lord Vishnu

6. Goddess Parvathi

7. Lord Shiva

8. Lord Venkateshwara Balaji

9. Lord Ram

10. Goddess Chamundi