I have a lot of stories -- when I have time, I'll type them up and post them here.

one of my favorite episodes, however, happened to a friend of mine, not to me: he was sleeping in our Shirdi Baba temple, in Penukonda, India, at the foot of the statue (he did that a lot in the early days of our ashram, when no one was really around) -- and he woke up suddenly in the middle of the night because the Baba statue (solid marble) KICKED him in the head!!!!!!!

he said it hurt, he really got whacked!

Alx

Jai Sai Rama,

Sai is everything for me and I can’t imagine my life since without his support. I was not much interested in God for the first 19 years of my life. It was very difficult for me to put all my faith on some Sadguru or God as my mind always wanted hardcore proofs and nothing satisfied me, and also because I was totally into maya. Somewhere inside me, I felt a bit indebted towards Baba as my parents had told me that I was born as a first male child in my paternal and maternal family side as my father had vowed to go to Shirdi if Baba would bless him with a boy. Also because my parents told me that Sai Baba had saved my father from a very big financial problem when I was little, without which my father’s health was also in danger.
In 2004, I wished to do my post graduate studies in Australia so I started asking Sai Baba for help as usual. But I didn’t have total faith back then. I could see that Baba was helping me with the whole process of submitting the paperwork etc through some signs like noticing his picture at the bank and when I first visited the Bank where I was trying to get a student loan from, I stepped out of the taxi, when I look straight across the street there was a small shrine, Sai Baba’s moorti (idol) on the foot path – I was so so happy to see that. But because I have a very negative mind Sai wanted to do something more to confirm my faith in him.
Now the day came when the last paper was supposed to be submitted to my agent and it was co-incidentally a Thursday. Due to some minor problem I couldn’t get that last paper on that day and my agent couldn’t post my full application for a VISA on that day. When I came back home late in the night and my father learnt this delay in submitting the application, he was disappointed and said “Today is Thursday, Baba’s day, and I thought it would have been good if the application was posted today, but it’s alright! Finish it off tomorrow.” Papers were submitted and a month elapsed but we didn’t get any answer from the Australian embassy. We all were getting a bit nervous. On one of the Thursdays then, I went to Sai Temple (Sai Dham in Kandivali, Mumbai) and bowed to all the idols of the small deities and then at the center was baba’s big idol with the impression of padukas (Baba’s feet) in silver. When I bowed and touched my head on the padukas, at the same second of the contact of my head to it, my mobile which was on silent mode vibrated but I didn’t attend the call. I finished praying and went outside the mandir, still looking at Baba idol I rang my mother back whos call I had missed earlier and she said that the postman just delivered my “Acceptance of Provisional VISA letter” and I was overjoyed. My mind couldn’t comprehend this leela as it was all beyond logic for me. I later told my father that “You were disappointed that I couldn’t submit all the papers on a Thursday but Baba gave me my VISA on a Thursday, do you see how smart he is?”
Dear friends I have later had so many experiences that my mind needs no further proofs that Baba is my sole savior and I know no other God now except Sai Baba. He is everything for me and I feel his presence in every part of my life. At times I think, how can someone answer so quickly to all my prayers and be so merciful towards me, as only I know the sins I have committed in the past. I feel so blessed at age 22 and I request you that even if someone has no full-faith, ask for it from our merciful Baba and he will even give us that – for sure.

also if you are interested, please check www.saileelas.org for a lot of other leelas of Baba. I was trying to find website on google where i could submit my experiences and i got this website...I believe everything happens for a reason so maybe Baba wants you to read this...Pls have an open mind and continue your spiritual endevour as Baba shall help for sure..

Sadguru Sai Nath Maharaj Ki Jai.
Saurabh.

Namaste to devotees of Shirdi Sai Baba and respectful pranams to Shirdi Sai Baba and Upasani Baba.

I will share my own story of being moved by the devotion of a bhakta of Shirdi Sai Baba. Years ago I had the honor of serving at a very busy spiritual bookstore. This store had the best of mankind's spiritual literature, not a new-age collection, but a collection of traditional spiritual and wisdom literature that represents the best of mankind altogether. As such, often very interesting people would be mysteriously drawn there. On one occasion a very sweet middle aged woman came into the store and asked if we carried any books of or about Shirdi Sai Baba.

As a matter of fact we carried several, including Shri Sai Satcharita, a collection of Leelas about the Great Master. This woman was overjoyed to see the books, and expressed great gratitude and praise that our store would carry the literature. Her voice was very emotional, very heart-broken. Then she told me her story, all the while shining a light of devotion and gratitude that was palpable, rich with love and joy, and deeply moving. She was a nurse from New England who was mysteriously drawn to travel in India for a time, on a spiritual pilgrimmage of sorts, wandering here and there. Somewhere in her travels she was again mysteriously guided to go to the humble village of Shirdi. There she met many villagers and was taken to the Samadhi Site of Sri Shirdi Sai Baba. And in that process, she had taken Shirdi Sai Baba as Guru, with profound love and devotion, realizing that her whole life had been Guided to Shirdi by His Mysterious Grace.

This woman spoke as a bhakta, one whose heart had been taken and washed and awakened. Her obviously love and respect for Shirdi Sai Baba and the humble devotee villagers of Shirdi was translucent with devotion and ecstatic praise. She was a woman posessed by a secret force of love. She kept confessing about the miracle of finding her Guru, Sri Sri Shirdi Sai Baba, and the profound devotion she found in the hearts of the villagers there. She was obviously in a state of deep Guru bhakti.

This woman was the most ordinary person, not full of ego-self making much of her, a compassionate nurse by occupation, but a heart-filled bhakta for life, her heart overflowing with the gifts of Guru's Grace, and her voice full of love, her eyes moist with tears. She just wanted to talk about the Guru, talk about devotional life, talk about the joy of surrender at Sri Guru's Feet. The living example of heart conversion that she represented, the profound humility and gratitude, the selfless desire to tell everyone about her Master, this was a gift from Shirdi Sai Baba given through this blessed devotee woman. Who doesn't want to awaken in devotion and love, beyond the torments of the worldly mind and the stresses of the superficial social ego? Who wouldn't want to make pilgrimmage to Shirdi (or wherever devotion sings the Heart) for Blessings and to partake in such a heart-culture of inspired devotion?

This woman was so moved that our store carried Shirdi Sai Baba's book, she wanted to offer me her Guru's prasad, so she told me she would make a copy of a video she had, which dramatized Shirdi Sai Baba's life, with Indian actors. The video wasn't even in English but she absolutely insisted to me that I take this gift as her Guru's prasad. She came back a few weeks later with the video, again full of love and devotion, shining the light of her Master, a beautiful thing. I watched the video with gratitude, aware that I too was being mysteriously Blessed.

One lesson I took from this woman is that devotees pass prasad, they share the Light of Sri Guru with all, selflessly.

It was a great joy to meet this devotee-woman, and wherever she may be, I send my love and deep respect to her. And to her Master Sri Sri Sai Baba of Shirdi and his lineage of Blessing, my deepest respect.

Jai Jai Sri Guru. Jai Jai Guruji. Jai Jai Baba.