My Mother and the story of this Unique Sai Photo

Dear Sai readers,
Happy Thursday to all .
I have already posted Sai leela of my dearest Aunty. While writing about Aunty I recollected Sai incident of my Mother. Writing about this incident and my mother makes me nostalgic .

I remember all those days when she inculcated Sai devotion in me and my brother, whatever Sai seva I am doing today is because of my parents upbringing and my mothers devotion in Shirdi Sainath.It becomes very important for me to write how Baba came in my mother's life.

My Aunties experiences shall be posted one by one .Continuing here about their friendship.....
Baba has chosen my aunty as his messenger to bring HIM to my mother's life. Aunty and my mother were bosom friends and often met. (They are still good friends after so many years).

Aunty was not very good in reading Hindi books so she often asked my mother to read Sai chalisa for her. After a long association when Aunty was departing from my mother to another place on transfer, she came to my mummy and gave her a big photo of Sai Baba .She told her to place it in the temple (in Army they have their own temples) then she left .Till that time my mother was not a Sai Baba devotee even though she used to read Sai Chalisa with devotion and repsect.But she had not experienced any Leela of Sainath till than.

One fine day, she took the photo to be given to the temple. When she reached there she saw there were already few photos of Sai Baba on the wall and for a moment her world stopped. She could not move nor take a step ahead as though a voice was telling her something from inside.

She waited and thought what? And with in a fraction of second she felt that a voice strongly guided her to keep the photo to herself .She was mesmerized by the voice. She was not aware of the surrounding around her and holding the photo close to her chest, she stood still for sometime .As the time passed the thought became stronger and stronger .And the very moment she realized where she was, she turned back and headed towards our home.

(You can download this wallpaper photo, click here as this is the wallpaper from beautiful screen saver posted on Jamnmashtami.)

A fakir whom she did not know, who HE was and what was HIS history, whether he was Hindu or Muslim or what? But with lots of respect for the Guru, with simple affectionate heart and unquestioning mind she placed the photo exactly in the center of the temple. While doing this unconsciously she had shifted other frames of God to make a space for this photo.

Unaware of the Divine intervention my mom did not realize it was not the photo that was placed in the center of the temple but Sai HIMSELF sat in the center of my mother’s heart. The frame seated beautifully in the center of the mandir.


At that time my mother was totally ignorant of pooja procedure, vrat, mantra or any kind of prayer offerings to Shirdi Sainath. Nevertheless out of sheer devotion and unquestionable heart she would recite 11 vachan of Baba. That was the only prayer she had and she offered her sincere pranam every day during her prayers.

After this photo came in our life, our life was totally changed and we started experiencing Sai leela.

When I look back I feel so blessed. I feel the one and only person who was truly blessed in our family by Baba was no one other than my Mother .She was the one whom Baba guided to bring Him to home .Like in Sai Satcharitra when Baba wanted someone to come to HIM or HIM to go to his devotee he would arrange everything and calmly sit and watch the show, similarly HE pulled my mother to HIS Darbar of Sai children. She is the one who was chosen to worship Him.

Like many Ardent Sai bhakt who dedicated their whole life in spreading about Shirdi Sai Baba and his Divineness. I personally feel that in the present time my mother is also chosen in her own way by Baba to do this seva.She not only influenced her close ones but her relatives and friends to Sai bhakti Marg. She is like a tree who provided life giving force "SAI"to her all branches be it me, my brother, relatives, friends including total strangers too.

By her devotion and prayer she influenced many other people to come under Sai fold. Who ever comes in contact with her ,she preaches Baba's teaching and hands over to them Holy Sai Satchritra, UDI, Baba’s locket, Stickers and calendars(when they ask for ). Even the foundation of our (my parents home) home "Sai-Kripa" started with sprinkling of UDI before anything else could be started. And it is truly blessed house where many people have felt the presence of Sai, including our maid Shanti about whom I have already written long back.

From foundation till now my mother has witnessed Sai blessing, be it coming up of the home or ups and downs in life. Not knowing much pooja vidhi but just sincere chanting of Sai Naam she faced each day as it came. It’s her strong believe that Baba's UDI and HIS blessing is keeping her home and life blessed and safe.

Since my maternal home is Sai kripa that is why the group that I had started is also with the same name SHIRDISAIBABAKRIPA.

I would like to mention a very important thing whenever my mother went to Shirdi or any Sai temple she would bring extra Sai Satcahritra,udi locket etc and distribute to the one's who would come to her asking for it. And before it would deplete some or the other way with blessing of Baba her stock would replenish again.It is always a mystery how it happens.She gets her sai udi ,Sai Sansthan invitation on festival exactly on Thursday and no other day...))

Situation is like this, in a small hill station where there is still no Sai temple and very few know about it she has been chosen by Baba as another messenger to bring HIM into life of so many others. And now there are many Sai devotees.


With this photo life of everyone in our family changed .I have written a post on how I was pulled by Baba growing up looking every day at this photo .It was my mothers devotion, her Sai teaching, her faith in Baba and her guidance that my father, myself, my brother and our close relatives could develop that love and faith in Baba .Seeing her devotion we (myself and my brother)have grown up with Sai values.

This Photo reminds me of Sai Satcharitra Chapter 9 where master Tarkhad's father forgets to offer Navediya to Sai Baba's photo in their home in Bandra,so Baba in Shirdi say's to Mrs Tarkhad "Mother, I had been to your house in Bandra, with a view to having something to eat. I found the door locked. I somehow got an entrance inside and found to my regret, that Bhau (Mr. Tarkhad) had left nothing for me to eat. So I have returned from there without eating anything."

Immediately here I remember -Vinni didi's statement (Vinni didi has written many important books on Shirdi Sai Baba ).She said "Manisha my mind would question over and over again why master Tarkhad wanted to take Baba's permission and leave Shirdi for Bandra when Baba was right in front of HIM"?

After deep thinking Vinni didi found the reason behind this .She said "Baba had blessed them with photo and had asked them to worship it like they worship Baba at Shirdi.This indicated Baba's message that he was not limited to physical body but pervaded everything ,than be it a inanimate thing like a photo. Doing a namaskar to Photo itself has been told by Baba is accepted as namskar to HIM personally.

Hence When I recollect this conversation of mine with Vinni di I immediately also get answer for the DIVINENESS this PHOTO has and how Baba is blessing us and is present in our life. It is not photo but Baba Himself for us.

Dear Readers not only chapter 9 of Sai Satcharitra but in chapter 33 of Sai satcharitra also its indicates Baba's equivalence to Himself in Photo here are few lines on it.

"A Saint of Bombay named Balabuva Sutar, who on account of his piety, devotion and bhajan, was called "Modern Tukaram", came to Shirdi for the first time in 1917. When be bowed before Baba, Baba said "I know this man since four years". Balabuva wondered and thought how could that be, as that was his first trip to Shirdi. But thinking about it seriously he recollected that he had prostrated himself four years ago before Baba's portrait at Bombay and was convinced about the significance of Baba's words. He said to himself,” How omniscient and all-pervading are the Saints and how kind are they to their Bhaktas! I merely bowed to His photo, this fact was noticed by Baba and in due time He made me realize that seeing His photo is equivalent to seeing Him in person!"

Not only chapter 33, I have written few post where it is strongly indicated Sai Baba indicating importance of Him in the photo.You can read the words that I have highlighted .

Sai readers the reason to write in detail is to let everyone know about baba and HIS connection with HIS own photo and more than 30 years of my mothers experience with this photo of Sai Baba and Sai Baba HIMSELF.
And I am sure many of you have the same experience .You can mail me your experience at my mail ID and share with one and all.

There are many leelas, one of them is how my father had his first experience with Shirdi Sai Baba I shall write tomorrow.Jai Sai Ram.



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