Why should devotees do Pooja,Rituals for Shirdi Saibaba

Sairam friends,

Shirdi Saibaba is a saint who accepted devotion offered in any forms and ways. Many sai devotees used to write me that they did Sai Nav guruvar vrat for 9 weeks and some would say that they did StarSai Shradha Saburi Pooja looking at our site and recently i hear many sai devotees interested in lighting Coconut lamps for Saibaba.

Honestly, You can do any pooja or way of worship you wish pray Shirdi Saibaba:

In 2010 i received a mail from a Sai devotee who said StarSai is misleading in a way because when Sai lived, were there any of these pooja/rituals. Then why do you direct sai devotees to Shradha Saburi pooja, lemon lamps pooja, and of course coconut lamps pooja, etc.

Of course, I also believe Saibaba can be worshiped in any comfortable ways you choose friends..

1. You can sing/recite Shirdi Saibaba aarti all 4 times of day or at least listen to it once

2. You might choose to do holy parayan of Sai Satcharitra by Hamadpant or atleast a page a day.

3. You might simply visit a Nearby Shirdi Saibaba temple and relax with Sai.

4. You may also be involved in any good deeds like helping someone in education, giving food to hunger, taking someone to the hospital etc. While doing this if your mind keeps chanting “Sairam, Sairam , Sairam, That too is a blessing from sainath.

Then why i request Devotees to light lamps, offer naivaidhya(food) to sai, Involve in good deeds ?

Here are the points…

1. Poojas in StarSai can help devotees to divert their mind from worries and problems:

If you keep looking at a Shirdi Saibaba statue and Photo in our house pooja place for five minutes with devotion, i am sure you can feel sai is looking back to you. Sai is present where ever devotees look at him with love.  But when you are worried about your life, your parent’s health, some relationship problems, children’s education, problems in the office, etc will you be able to focus on Sai?

Instead, let’s say you play a Sai Aarti on a computer or DVD player and take a print out of Aarti from Starsai and recite it everyday at least the days you are free like Sunday, etc, won’t you feel happy? I am sure at least for few seconds you will forget your problems and feel peaceful.

This is why i encourage sai devotees to play Shirdi Saibaba Kakad Aarti every morning even if they are in hurry to go to the office. ( If everyone in-home agrees to do so , or its ok)

2. Most of the pooja i wrote in StarSai involves lighting lamps:

Personally, i am a believer in “Lighting Lamps” friends. Sai always tells things indirectly through incidents in his life. We all know from Sai satcharitra that Saibaba lit lamps using water in his holy Dwarakamai.

see more about the value of lighting lamps at

ShirdiSaiLight.com

Let’s say someone writes to me about their problem and ask me to pray for them. I myself will come tired from Office or some work in Sai baba temple in my home town. Will I be very fresh and in peaceful mind to pray whole heartedly for that devotee. Of course I am a well-wisher of every pure-hearted Sai devotee or anyone who’s not a devotee at all if they are good souls. So i will surely pray for them.

3. My intention is to show devotees a way, Try to make them take one step ahead to feel the Sai in them :

Sometimes Sai devotees even light many lamps and write me back with photos of how beautifully they did pooja. I will be really pleased to see how simply they did pooja and how my words have become the action of divinity.

Which is what I try to do here in StarSai

“What we write must bring about a change in others life. “

When a devotee did some pooja for Sai, I am sure they would have diverted their mind towards Sai instead of worrying about the past and future. They will believe that Baba is going to help them for sure. This enhances faith which is all we need.

Their heart gets purified and inspires good Thoughts and actions. It will surely help them make good decisions in life.

I can pray for a Devotees welfare but how sweet it will be if a Devotee themselves realizes the Sai in them?

Sai is Antaryami , The one who lives in the ways of your heart. Sometimes it’s hard to realize this and the devotee this he/she is different from Sai . In Sai Satcharitra we learn that Devotee and Guru are one and the same. Thus while doing pooja, in this fast world, devotee subconsciously realizes that Sai lives in themselves and working for their welfare.

Example :

A devotee saw this article

Chanting “Sairam, Sairam,Sairam” 50,000 Times a day

and mailed me it doesn’t make any sense because will Saibaba bless only a person who chants his name so many times? Trust me, My intention is to express how much time is there in a day to chant the holy name of Sai.So its surely possible to chant and remember Sai internally by doing such Naaam smaran

when we travel in-vehicle,

when we do any Odd job

or when we relax /worry about the past and future.

Why not spend just few minutes to Chant the holy name of our sweet Saint?

Same is the case with the pooja I wrote in StarSai…

Your mind gets involved in something good, then that’s my goal. I, again and again, request devotees not to stick to the pooja/ritual methods. If you don’t have earthen lamps light lemon lamps, if you can’t light lamps at all as you may stay in a room or in a hostel..fine, just lamps in your imagination..that will do. I never say that one who does the poojas I wrote is going to be blessed and others are not.

Pooja is to help you and Sai meet – When you take time to do Pooja, you think “Sai’. That’s my Goal:

In fact there are devotees who write me that I did pooja , still, Saibaba has not fulfilled my desires. Friends, Pooja is for making you and Sai Meet. Its sai who decides what to give you and when to do it.

About Sai Navguruvar vrat Pooja: My opinion

Though i have wrote about Sai Navguruvar vrat pooja years back and many devotees has followed it looking at StarSai, I have a different opinion to express. Personally, i request Devotees to read a Page in Sai satcharitra instead of vrat books. I also recommond Sainath Stavan Manjari written by Das GanuMaharaj.

I request devotees to have little vegetarian food  or milk,coffee,tea,fruits etc even during vrat because

Saibaba never allowed his devotees to be in Hunger.So have Little food/fruits. Please…

Saibaba himself will cook food in a huge pot for his devotees and share the food he got by begging alms in five houses in Shirdi . Will such a motherly Saint allow his devotees to starve in hunger in name of a Ritual.

It’s not important to Follow any rituals/methods strictly and never think only if you do, your desires will be fulfilled:

Secondly, devotees keep writing to me about availability of Sai vrat book for distribution. I clearly tell them its ok if they don’t do it.  some devotees are confused as many versions of such books are out there in the market. So better focus on simple pooja friends.This is the reason I have a simple solution, get such books if you can or simply read a Chapter from Sai Satcharitra by Hamadpant .

The same rules apply to Shradha Saburi pooja and other pooja i wrote in StarSai…Do what you can afford and feel comfortable about doing. There are no strict rules in the Kingdom of Saibaba.

I hope you understood why i wrote Pooja in StarSai and humbly request devotees to recite Aaarti, Light lamps, offer Naivaidhya ( food in the little plate to sai every morning or simply a glass of water which you can later have as prasad).

Nava Vidha Bhakti from Sai Satcharitra:

I wrote this article because StarSai will live for thousands of years and during my lifetime I must write what I meant to do instead of Confusing Sai children. Infact even a devotee who does not do any pooja and simply remembers Sai in his/her own ways is blessed. What matters is the purity of mind, thoughts, and good deeds.

In kaliyug, Chanting Saints’ name is auspicious and that’s something I always request devotees to do.

Kindly read Anantrao Patankar story from Sai Satcharitra chapter 21 .

Choose any of the Nava Vidha Bhakti  (Nine forms of Bhakti) you are comfortable with.

You will be blessed!

StarSai made by a ordinary devotee friends . i might do mistakes but what i have done so far satisfies me and I have to clarify devotees.

May Shirdi Saibaba bless you and your family with Good health, Peace and Prosperity

Venkat

Little servant of Shirdi Saibaba

31/12/2011