Shirdi Sai Baba in Homa Fire - a photo on Flickriver

One of Shirdi Baba's devotees in Hosur wanted Him to visit the wedding of his daughter, but He didn't show up. When the devotee was lamenting the no-show, he was asked to check a photo where He did turn up. If you observe closely (or the Notes), you can also see a Ganesha, Om, and the logo of CM Russell, cowboy artist!

Used in the Shri Sai Satcharita Grid.

Sri Craig Sastry writes:
~~~~~
Cosmic Story - Personal Experience with Sani Havanam

In August, 2002, Jill and I traveled from our home in Maui, Hawaii, to Kakinada India. We were attending the Grand Inauguration of the new Veda Pathasala established there by Mahalakshmi and Panduranga Rao Malyala. Panduranga had personally supervised the construction of the Veda Pathasala in a five acre mango grove purchased at the end of 2001, when we performing World Peace Yagnas together there.

The Inauguration went very well. Large moortis (statues) of Ganapati and Saraswati were installed. Panduranga and Mahalakshmi distributed gifts to all the persons attending. After a few days, Jill and I requested Panduranga to take our leave, so we could holiday in Rishikesh at the foothills of the Himalayas before returning to our jobs in Hawaii.

Panduranga requested we stay one more day to participate in a Sani Yagna. This is called havan, where the pundits make offerings into the fire while chanting mantras to propitiate Sani. The fire is sometimes called a symbol of God Himself. Other times, it is said that Agni (fire god) is the messenger of the gods. When offerings are made to Agni (fire), it is said he delivers them to the gods. The mantras are like the addresses of the gods, Agni is the postman. In this yagna, the mantras are designed to propitiate Sani (Saturn).

I did not know a lot about havan, but was completely captivated by it. During the yagna, I got up from my seat and stood behind Panduranga, staring intently at the fire. A friend had told me that sometimes you can see the gods in the fire. I wanted to get a closer look. Panduranga and I were on intimate terms and I didn't think he would mind. But I noticed it broke his concentration and bothered him. So I went back to my seat.

Later in the yagna, about the time of Poornahuti (climax of the havan), I saw Sai Baba come out of the fire, sitting on a throne. This type of vision does not come from the two human eyes, but from the "third eye", the mystical eye that is situated above and between the two eyebrows. The figure was not material but existed on the astral plane and was made up of light particles.

Being brought up a skeptical westerner, I immediately wondered if this vision was real or just some fancy. I know of many people who "see things" who perhaps are just living in some fantasy world. So I prayed "Baba, if that is really you, please send me some small sign." I was hoping perhaps a bird would fly by or a leaf would fall from the ceiling. Nothing happened, so I forgot about it.

After the yagna, I was enjoying lunch with Panduranga, discussing the days events. I had completely forgotten about my "vision". I apologized for standing behind him and disturbing him. I embarssingly explained about wanting to look closely in the fire to see the gods, treating it as sort of a joke. To my surprise, he told me that yes, sometimes the gods do rise out of the fire. "Today, Sai Baba rose out of the fire during poornahuti" he said. Hearing this, I got very excited, as Panduranga confirmed my vision was real. He explained that such things happen all the time, but most people cannot see them because they lack purity of vision. This experience increased my faith in Baba a lot.

The next day, Jill and I started our trip to Rishikesh. We started talking about our future. For almost ten years, we had been working 6-7 days a week, 10 - 12 hours a day. Two years before, we had sold one of our businesses for a large sum of money. After the Sani Yagna, the same idea had come to both of us. "We could retire if we want!" Until the Sani havan, this idea had never even occured to us! Within a year, we had sold our remaining three businesses, retired, and started thinking about how to build a Sai Baba Temple.
~~~~~

Taken on: November 14, 2005

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