SAI BLESSED FOR VISHNU SAHASARANAMAM

Last year, One fine Saturday morning, I headed towards our shirdi Sai temple Irving, taking little Prasad (Pongal-rice cooked with moongdhal and garnished with ghee,ginger,cashew,jeera and pepper)with my younger son. I had the urge to chant Vishnu Sahasaranamam in the temple. ( By the grace of sai I try to chant everyday, ofcourse due to the daily chores I couldn’t on few days.)

We were in the temple well before the noon arati. I was sitting on the right hand side of sai in a corner and gazing at his divine face and was totally in a different world. Just then I got reminded of my chanting. I totally let my little one under the supervision of sai and he was behaving good and I did not get any kind of disturbance throughout. I was done with my chanting and in a short while the noon arati started , during the arati as usual the face of our sai was glowing with divine light. After the arati and darshan we were all given Prasad and I sat with my son and was having Prasad and trying to feed him. That day in the Prasad plate the pongal which I had taken for my sai was also served. At times the Prasad what we take may be served later or it depends.

Just then a couple arrived with a small kid , and 3 other friends(men). They took the darshan of sai and got their Prasad and sat little far from us. The kid (boy 1-2yrs) was not sitting in a place and got excited to run outside the temple as the doors were kept open. Before the parents could realize the kid was just at the door steps and I noticed him and cautioned the parents. This happened couple of times. Then atlast he stood close to his parents and was just looking at me and my son then slowly he came to me, stretched his right hand and asked for Prasad, I was so thrilled and immediately , made a small ball of the pongal in my plate and gave in his hand and he ate. After eating the Prasad he went to our sai’s padukas , placed both of his hands and kept on his face as elders do and came towards me very close and ran away. His parents were feeling embarrassed as he was taking Prasad from me and I just told them please don’t mind about it.

See the miracle, again he came and asked for Prasad, ate and went to sai’s padukas placed his hands and now he came running and kept both of his hands on my head as though he was blessing me. All this happened in a fraction of a second and I could not just believe it, I just felt as though it was my sai’s hands blessing me . My hair stood at their end. Before I could come to reality , the kid flew back to his parents, they had been watching the whole scene as they had finished having their Prasad they all left the temple smiling and wondering about the act of the kid towards me . I was speechless and just tried to touch his hand and could said thank you my dear. The kid did not eat anything else from the plate there were sweets and curd rice . He did not eat from anyone or from his own parents. He did not even go close to anybody else. It was as though he came just to take Prasad from me and bless me.

What should I think, how to contemplate this miracle, whether

* Sai blessed me for chanting VISHNU SAHASARANAMAM or
*Sai blessed me for the PONGAL Prasad which is considered to be the favorite dish of Lord Vishnu( this kind of pongal/, puliogare(tamarind rice)/ sweet pongal/laddu are usually given as Prasad in Tirupathi Balaji temple after darshan.,) Ultimately I was in a complete bliss in the temple . After this miracle everyday I am longing for that kind of blessing to be showered on me by sai. Thanking my sai by washing his holy lotus feet with my tears and,. Remembering the words of our Sai Maharaj, ”If you worship me wholeheartedly and chant my name ceaselessly, you will experience my leelas.”

In Shri Sai Satcharitra ch.27 baba gifted Vishnu Sahasaranmam and forced Shyama to chant atleast one slogam each day knowing it will bring lot of good for him. Our sai also told shyama that ,when he was suffering from severe pain in the chest he kept Vishnu sahasaranamam close to his heart and he felt that the Lord himself came down to relieve him from the pain. Everyone knew that sai needs no Vishnu sahasaranamam for any kind of relief as he himself is incarnation of lord Vishnu. He had to say all these parables to make us know the importance of chanting Lord’s name.

Let us all try our best to follow the advice given by our sainath and get his blessings.

MS Asha lata