The Question and the Answer Do you remember when you chose?The time when you chose this lifeThe day you chose these lessonsThe moment you chose your parents The second you chose to be YouWhy do you think you chose what you did?What did you know then, that you don’t know now?Why is it so difficult to remember what is real and what isn’t? Why do you have so many questions?How do you hush this “monkey-mind”?How do you make sense of the web He weaves?There is but one answer to these questions. It is to remember that you will never have a question that He doesn’t prompt.And that all answers are Him.He is questions and answers, choices and lessons, your lives, your families, and you. ~Jodi AlexanderHendersonville, North Carolina, USA, 2006

Sai Never Can Say Goodbye Sonya Ki has just returned from a very long and enjoyable trip with Baba.This is what she penned down before leaving Parthi. Monsoon tears flash flood the temple tilesdesperately I clasp the drowning days, hours, and secondsclose to my heartThrough the mist of departure I behold Sai Avatar’s face,and the constant brightness of His Cosmic countenanceillumines every nook, cranny, and infinite corner of the universeThere is no place on earth and beyond where He is notNow I am laughing and crying at the same timeHowmaya loves to play her notorious pranks! When I board that jet plane on ThursdayI know my dearest Sai Baba, the omnipresent Lord,has a first-class window seat right next to me! ~Sonya KiUSA

The Ninth Embrace Iwalked all the way from America to India overthe nine jeweled path of devotionthat leads to Your feet each translucent step a spiral staircasewinding thru’ wondrous solar and lunar sprayed galaxieslustrous luminaries designed toawaken the sleeping soul O’ Sai so close to You and yet so far,sometimes a distant and nebulous starthen again, unexpectedly the vast blue kiss of Krishnabrushes my burning lips *Blissful is the life that listens to the sacred stories and leelas of the Lord*Sanctified is the one who sings God’s sublime glory*Transcendent is the mind that remembers the blameless names of Easwara*Happy and harmonious is the heart that honors the holy feet of Hari*Tranquil and steady is the spirit who worships Madhava in meditation, prayer and praise*Free and content is the being who offers loving, selfless service to man and God*Constant is the Lord’s companionship, eternal friend and hope of the devotee*Ecstatic is the jivi who surrenders to the supreme will of God and merges in the ninth step of devotion ~Sonya Ki, USA

A Rose for the Lord When the bud was bornIn the daylight mornThe bud opened a bitTo see the world around it. It was a roseIn such reposeIt shone too brightIn the lovely sunlight. Bathed in the sunshineTrue happiness was the signPetals were like red dipped in milk.They were smooth and soft as silk. I went to it and it smiled at meFor it knew it was going to Thee!It did not let a thorn prick meIt smiled and said: “I’m for Sai.” The Lord took it; the air was full of fragrant smellThe heart of the little rose beat loud as a bell.I took padanamaskarWith the rose samskar. ~D. Sai Bindu (9 years),(Class 5, Vidyagiri)(Poem offered to Swami on 27‑7‑89 at darshan)Source: Sanathana sarathi, Aug. 1989

Desire Management Controlling your desires is not like riding a bike.You don’t do it once and then know how to do it forever.It’s not like driving a standard-shift vehicle.If you can drive one, you can drive anything. It’s more like riding a bike with no handlebars, blindfolded.It can be frightening and unpredictable.It can lead to great disappointment.You may feel defeated when you are unable to ‘kick’ a habit right away. You may take one look at your life and not know where in the world to start!But remember, desire management is a process.A process that Swami created for us to learn; so we would depend on Him.It’s not supposed to be easy. Is that why most people are given a lifetime to figure it out?Eighty or ninety years to surrender to Swami and follow His lead?Maybe.  But one thing is for sure.No one really knows when Swami will call them Home.So, you’d better tie on that blindfold and let Swami steer!! ~Jodi AlexanderNorth Carolina, USA

Tinderbox i often wondered what i would save in the event of a firewe all stared in shock and disbelief rooted to the concrete pavementas menacing black crouching dragons mushroomedbombing the shivering horizonspewing red volcanic flames from flaring nostrilsthreatening to reduce to ash our homes, possessionsand lives on a breezy, status quo, Monday afternoon inBrevard County, Florida Hurriedly i collected the priorities, irreplaceable memoirs, documents,and items, stuffing my car and suitcase… just in caseturning on sprinklers, i scanned my homeseveral houses, blocks away, had already burned to the ground emergency water helicopters and fire enginesbravely battled the out of control infernoin the midst of the anxiety, confusion, and panici felt an odd surge of extraordinary lucid impressionsflooding my consciousness What could i truly call my own?everything i held dear including this flesh and blood identitya gift offered and enjoyed for a brief, tenuousfleeting, mysterious moment in time You open Your panoramic, divinely dramatic All-seeing eyeand the entire Universe writhes and dancesdiving through fiery hoops, like professional fire-eatersswallowing, consuming their insatiable blazeraging desires You blink eternal beyond the ultra-silent starless people-less formless nightOne perfect, pure immaculate orange-robed Sadhu [ascetic] sits in classic lotus poseand thinks of…..absolutely nothing  ~Sonya Tomlinson Burke, USA

Prayer Given by Swami Will You, my Lord, let go the hold?You will not, You will not,You will not let go,However bad I be. Will You my Lord, let me waste my years?You will not, You will not,You will not let me waste,However dull I be. Will You my Lord, let me run to ruin?You will not, You will not,You will not let me run,However wayward I be. Will You my Lord let me escape Your eye?You will not, You will not,You will not let me escape,However wanton I be. You cannot but rush to rescue Your own,You cannot delay for weighing pro and con;You cannot stay unconcerned when we weep;You cannot but respond to the prayers of the poor. (Prayer written by Baba and given to Kasturi, New Year’s Day 1959) Source: Spiritual Impressions, Nov.-Dec. 1997

Sanathana Sarathi Salutations and worship! O Sanathana Sarathi!Abide in Thee, peace and tranquility!Nobly from the pranava [primodial sound] didst Thou cast a Universe as of fun;Ambitious, Thine enemies knew not, that Thou bestowed them their might!Truth (alack for them), remained mightier, that was rightHarnessing Vedas, Your steeds, with valor uncommon!Allaying the fears of Arjuna, Thou didst reveal, “all” in Thee are “One”Neither the Sun can change the course ordained by Thee, nor the Moon.Almighty! Infuse courage in us to Thy knowledge soon!Saddle this vagrant horse—the wandering mischievous mind.Alas! This chariot totters, under the brunt of time! Be kind!Round the rugged path of samsara [world], the wheels of dharma and truth give way!All the spokes of virtue trailing! The axel of faith, too, bent away!Tired… hope of goal, receded… I pray to Thee, Sri Sathya Sai!Herald of redemption! Thou hast come! My all… I give Thee!In Thy grace, help me steer to my end… in Thee! ~B. V. RamanSource: Sanathana Sarathi, May 1960

These Are A Few of My Difficult Things Irecently experienced a fracture in my right hand. I sat down before my puja [prayer] room and prayed to Baba to help me with strength, patience, forbearance, and healing. As I lay in my bed the next morning before greeting a new day, words came tumbling through my head and I sat to write them down, and I knew that I was prompted to do so. I set the words to the melody: “These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things.” Cutting up salad and cooking the dinnerPeeling an orange and squeezing a lemonUsing my left hand seems so very strangeThese are a few of my difficult things. Buttoning buttons and pulling up stockingsTying a shoelace and zipping a zipperFrustration sets in and soon I despairThese are a few of my difficult things. When the phone rings, when my friends bringWords of love and cheerI simply remember the lessons I’ve hadAnd then I don’t feel so bad… Signing a check and jotting a note downIt’s just enough to make my face frownUsing a kerchief to make an arm slingThese are a few of my difficult things. Step into jackets, avoiding the zipperCutting the sleeve off to accommodate hand castIt’s not ideal but I’m learning to copeHow can I possibly give up on hope When I sit still, when my heart fillsWith His love DivineI simply remember the blessings I’ve hadAnd then I don’t feel so bad… ~Marilyn Widrow (from a right handed person)New York, U.S.A

Krishna of Dwaraka Has Come To set things right and set them in proper order It is in utter chaos and discard The world needs correction: Seeds of hope, peace, and goodwill are to be sown To come down strongly on evil tendencies And to protect the virtuous and pious And exhort men to do the right things And to prevent just that lip movement without depth: To reveal the hidden secrets To relieve Mother Earth of her burden To fulfill the promises that He had made in Tretayuga The Krishna of Dwaraka has come as Sai on earth. (Bhagavan Baba sings this poem)Source: Sai Vani