This Beautiful Meera ( mirabai ) statue in our house is something that inspired me by grace of shirdi saibaba.

In this photography, Meera is in divine bliss remembering Lord Krishna and the candles behind conveys the

"Greatness of Lighting lamps ( Diya ) regularly in house and temples "

( The photo has candles , if you live abroad or really in a situation that you cannot get a earthern lamp, a bronze lamp or silver lamp, fine you can light candles, but its always great to light lamps with cotton wicks and Ghee, Oil is fine too ( gingely oil is best or any edible oil can be used )...a seperate website shirdisailight.com helps you see beautiful lamps ! )

June 16th 2005 : Nagasai temple :- Around 12:30 noon during arathi :

I was coming around dhuni from 10.45 in morning.Dhuni in thursdays will be very hot as many devotees will drop cocunuts.I was coming around dhuni for over 2 hours and suddenly felt i must do a photography with Meera statue to spread the message of " value of lighting lamps " .

I bought 30 candles and did this photography of Meera keeping candles in back ground. Since baba loves saffron colour , i used two orange roses in the photo. It took 45 minutes for me to shoot this.

June 16th 2005 : Around 5:30 evening during arathi :

( Now a days i am not too much expressive about visions etc as few saibaba devotees say am gifted etc. No i am not. I am also as ordinary as every other shirdi saibabas child. May be my imaginative quality mingled with my love on saibaba or its saibabas ways to help me spread good messages. Please dont been hooked by stories of visions , meditation, dreams etc. Its ok, listen to them but let your love be directly focussed on God and true Guru like shirdi sai baba........anyway listen to the vision i had years back... )

I closed my eyes prayed kuruvi sidhar, maha laxmi, saraswathi and baba. SaiBaba came in my vision and said the value of lighting lamps.Baba told me that when you light a lamp , the saints ( siddhar ) , angels ( devadhai ) and the Goddess MahaLaxmi , Saraswathi and Sakthi themselves come alive in the form of light.

This may not be visible to our eyes but the basic reason for lighting lamp at raagu kaalam ( friday 10.30am to 12 , sunday 4.30pm to 6 pm ) is that when we light a lamp during bad time , the power of the sacred lamp will drive away the evil spirits and any forth coming danger that might hurt us any way.

Shirdi Sai Dwarakamai.

Simple words of expression from me to spread the message of lighting lamps !

Little Light

Twilight bounds the birds flying towards the east
Her mom parts the curtains breaking the day in
This is Meera from the small galaxy
A blossom of morning dream can be washed by time

Shes out of her nest...
Shes out of her nest....
Flies to the river and brings home flower

one after another flowers for the idol
Like a falling star in distant sky
As she lits a light illuminating her dark pathway
A little light to guide in her journey

To the palace miles beyond the seventh world
There lives someone who fills her life .
Her heart is a Light
Her tears are the prism

As heart penetrates tears
she feels a rainbow of her life.
A eternal rainbow as the light enters her tears
she saw someone for whom she lived her life
she continues to cry but her lips could smile.

Her dream came true...
Her morning dream came true...
This is Meera from the small galaxy
Lingering with the music of flames
for rest of her life.......

A new dream every twilight
comes true with a little light

Written and photographed by C.Venkat Raman

Please remember lighting lamps and candles are very sacred.Dont feel shy to do it.The More lamps your lit, the better your life will be.The most important factor is lighting lamps regularly with out fail. Baba will surely guide you and help you cross the worst pains of your life.

Shirdi Sai Light

To help shirdi saibaba devotees and all Gods children realize the holiness of lighting lamps, i made shirdisailight.com ..

Life of Mirabai and her devotion towards Lord Krishna :

I felt its good only if i write some words about Mirabai and her love for Lord Krishna to satisfy the devotees of Meera and Shree Krishna. Though i had been to Guruvayur in 2009 april , my devotion to Lord Krishna emerged due to the respect i have for Bhagavat Gita and Karna , The charecter my mother likes the most for his humble nature of "giving".

The following information is from wikipedia. Thanks for all contributers.

Mirabai and Lord Krishna :

Mirabai 1498-1547CE) ( Meera; Mira; Meera Bai) was a Hindu mystical poetess, philosopher and sage. Her compositions are popular throughout India. She is held to have been a disciple of Ravidas. She composed between 1200 to 1300 prayerful songs called bhajans. These bhajans are in the bhakti tradition, and most passionately praised Lord Krishna.

Personal life and background
The Mirabai Smarak at Merta City

Mirabai was born in Kudki, a little village near Merta, Rajasthan, which is presently in Pali district. Her father was Ratan Singh, a descendant of Rao Rathor, the founder of Jodhpur. When Mirabai was only 3 years old, a wandering sadhu came to her family’s home and gave a doll of Krishna to her father. Her father took this is as a special blessing, but was initially unwilling to give it to his daughter, because he felt she would not appreciate it. However Mira had, at first sight, become deeply enamoured with this doll. She refused to eat until the doll was given to her. To Mira, this figure of Krishna embodied his living presence. She resolved to make Krishna her lifelong friend, lover, and husband. Throughout her turbulent life she never wavered from her youthful commitment.

On one occasion when Mira was still young she saw a wedding procession going down the street. Turning to her mother she asked in innocence, “Who will be my husband?” Her mother replied, half in jest, half in seriousness. “You already have your husband, Sri Krishna.” Mira’s mother was supportive of her daughter’s blossoming religious tendencies, but she passed away when she was only young.

At an early age Mira’s father arranged for her to be married to Prince Bhoj Raj, who was the eldest son of Rana Sanga of Chittor. They were an influential Hindu family and the marriage significantly elevated Mira’s social position. However Mira was not enamoured of the luxuries of the palace. She served her husband dutifully (Folklore suggest she didn't do so and even refused to accept Prince as her husband), but in the evening she would spend her time in devotion and singing to her beloved Sri Krishna. While singing devotional bhajans, she would frequently lose awareness of the world, entering into states of ecstasy and trance.

Conflict with Family due to her pure devotion on lord shree krishna :

However her new family did not approve of her piety and devotion to Krishna. To make things worse Mira refused to worship their family deity, Goddess Durga. She said she had already committed herself to Krishna. Her family became increasingly disapproving of her actions, but the fame and saintly reputation of Mirabai spread throughout the region. Often she would spend time discussing spiritual issues with sadhus and people would join in the singing of her bhajans. However this just made her family even more jealous. Mira’s sister-in-law Udabai started to spread false gossip and defamatory remarks about Mirabai. She said Mira was entertaining men in her room. Her husband, believing these stories to be true, tore into her room with sword in hand. However he saw Mira only playing with a doll. No man was there at all. Yet throughout these hysterical slanders Mirabai remained unmoved by both the criticism and praise of the world.

How beautiful and eternal is Mirabai's devotion on lord Krishna :

Mira’s fame spread far and wide her devotional bhajans were sung across northern India. It is said that the fame and spirituality of Mirabai reached the ears of the Moghul Emperor Akbar. Akbar was tremendously powerful, but he was also very interested in different religious paths. However, he and Mirabai’s family were the worst enemies. Visiting Mirabai would cause problems for both Akbar and Mirabai, but Akbar was determined to see Mirabai, the Princess Saint.

Disguised as a beggar, he travelled with Tansen to visit Mirabai. Akbar was so enamoured of her soulful music and devotional singing that before leaving, he placed a priceless necklace at her feet; unfortunately, the necklace revealed about the visit to Mirabai's husband Bhoj Raj, who was furious that a Muslim and his own arch-enemy had seen his wife. Bhoj Raj ordered Mirabai to commit suicide by drowning herself in a river. Mirabai intended to honour her husband's command, but as she was entering the river, Sri Krishna appeared to her and commanded her to leave for Vrindavan where she could worship him in peace. So with a few followers, Mirabai left for Vrindavan, where she spent her time in devotion to Sri Krishna. After a while her husband repented, feeling that his wife was actually a real saint. Thus he travelled to Vrindavan and asked her to return to him. Mirabai agreed, much to the displeasure of the rest of her family.

However, Mira’s husband died soon after, fighting in battles with the Moghul emperors. This made the situation even worse for Mirabai. Her father in law, Rana Sanga, saw her husband’s death as a way to be rid of Mirabai. He commanded her to commit sati. However Mirabai, with the inner direct assurance of her beloved Sri Krishna, said that she would not do this. Her real husband, Sri Krishna had not died.

After this experience, her family continued to torture her. They restricted her movements and sought to make her life as uncomfortable as possible. Yet in the face of all these trials and tribulations, she remained detached from her physical suffering. Nothing disturbed her inner connection to Govinda (Krishna as young cowherd boy). Legend says that twice her family tried to kill her: once with a venomous snake and once with a poisonous drink. On both occasions, Mirabai, protected by the Grace of Sri Krishna, came to no harm.

In Vrindavan

However the relentless torments and hostility interfered with her life of devotion and contemplation on Krishna. She sought the advice of learned men and saints. They advised her to leave the palace and return to Vrindavan. Secretly with some followers she slipped out of the palace and escaped to the holy city of Vrindavan. In Vrindavan Mirabai was free to worship Giridhara (Govinda) to her heart’s content. She would spend her time singing bhajans and in ecstatic communion with Krishna. Like a true bhakti she worshipped God wholeheartedly. The riches of the world offered no attraction to Mirabai; her only satisfaction came from her single minded devotion to Sri Krishna. Her soul was ever yearning for Krishna. She considered herself to be a gopi of Vrindavan, mad only with pure love for Krishna.

Even learned sadhus would come to her for inspiration. There is a story of one respected spiritual master who refused to speak to Mirabai because she was a woman. Mirabai replied there was only one real man in Vrindavan, Krishna; everyone else was a gopi of Krishna. On hearing this the spiritual teacher accepted the wisdom of Mirabai and agreed to talk to her. Later Mirabai would become his student. Vaishnava records indicate that the name of that Spiritual Master is Rupa Goswami, a disciple of Sri Krishna Caitanya.

Her Samaadhi : ( Earthly life merging with God )

Lengend says that once when she was singing in Dwarka, her ecstacy reached to such a high pitch that Lord Krishna, who was till then in the form a statue, appeared before her. At that moment, He smiled at her and extended His arms towards her as if indicating Mirabai to come to him. When Mirabai saw this sight, she fainted at the feet of her lord. All those around saw a light that travelled from the feet of the lord to His heart. Mirabai was united with her lord, with whom she yearned to be with since the age of three.

Poetry of Mirabai in praise of Lord Krishna :

Mirabai belongs to the Saguna class of worshippers of Brahman. Theologically, they believed that between atman and paramatma (here the Sanskrit Parama- carries approximately the same meaning as Latin Trans-), this physical body is the only wall, and upon death the atman and paramatman will combine, just as a pot filled with water is placed in pond and if the pot breaks the water inside (atman) will combine with the water outside (Parama Atman).

Mirabai's poetry holds love for Krishna closer to her heart than the love for friends and family. She perceived Krishna to be her husband, lover, lord and master. The unique characteristic of Mirabai's poetry is the use of complete surrender to her love for Krishna. Her longing for union with Krishna is predominant in Mira's poetry who says she wants to be "coloured with the colour of dusk" (dusk being the symbolic colour of Krishna). She believed that in her previous life she was one of the several gopis in Vrindavan, in love with Krishna. Much like the gopis, as mentioned in the life of Krishna, Mirabai looked upon Krishna as her lover, seeking spiritual and physical union with him. Her writings were at the same time, spiritual and highly devotional. Mirabai's songs portray a personal universe where the only existence was that of Krishna - her sole object of desire.

A Mirabai poem is traditionally called a pada, a term used by the 14th century preachers for a small spiritual song. This is usually composed in simple rhythms and carries a refrain within itself. Her collection of songs is called the Padavali. The typicality of Indian love poetry of those days was used by Mirabai but as an instrument to express her deepest emotions felt for her ishta-devata. Her typical medium of singing was Vraja-bhasha, a dialect of Hindi spoken in and around Vrindavan (the childhood home of Krishna), sometimes mixed with Rajasthani.

An example poem:

That dark dweller in Brajj
Is my only refuge.
O my companion,
Worldly comfort is an illusion,
As soon you get it, it goes.
I have chosen the indestructible for my refuge,
Him whom the snake of death
Will not devour.

My beloved dwells in my heart all day,
I have actually seen that abode of joy.
Mira's lord is Hari, the indestructible.
My lord, I have taken refuge with Thee,
Your dasi.

The poetry of Mirabai has been translated by Robert Bly in his Mirabai Versions (New York; Red Ozier Press, 1984). Composer John Harbison adapted Bly's translations for his Mirabai Songs.

Thanks to wikipedia for the article.

Friends , hope you learnt the pure devotion of Mira and also Greatness of Lighting lamps

Venkat Raman - Always in the holy feets of shirdi sai baba

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