108 Names of Sai Baba in English
Tradition of 108 Names
In Vedic teaching, it is auspicious to chant the name of the Lord; this is one of the ways to Liberation or salvation ~ meaning freedom from rebirth, and Union with Divinity ... this can be achieved either whilst still in the body, or after dropping the body. It is also one of the key pathways to peace, for all men and women are seeking this peace, peace from the struggles, burdens and trials of this life.
The Vedic term for this collection of prayers translates to garland of flowers offered to the Lord. In the East, the offering is made to the Feet of God; in the West, it is made to the Heart of God, e.g., the Sacred Heart of Jesus, or the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
Usually, the list of names are referring to various miracles, events which have occurred around Sathya Sai Baba or attributes of his divine personhood. For many of us, it is a never ending challenge to look beyond the form of Sathya Sai Baba to the divinity within, and to find that very same divinity within ourselves. Thus do we pray, repeat prayers and mantras, do selfless service, say his Name, see his Form, everywhere. We follow the teachings Love All-Serve All, Help Ever, Hurt Never.
As Sathya Sai Baba tells us, he has come to teach us the paths to blessedness, for we have forgotten the path, and need to find the way again. Sai Baba tells us that he will show us the path, and through our aspiring to reach divinity, we shall actually reach that divinity.
So the Sanskrit prayers recite the atrributes of divinity in Sathya Sai Baba; they recall his miracles, his places of dwelling, playing, and his great deeds for the spiritual progress of mankind. One of the most important tasks of Sai Baba is the restoring of the ancient eternal righteousness, called dharma, to its rightful state in human activity. So you will understand why the Sansrkit prayers recall, iterate, laud the works, deeds and attributes of Sai Baba.
God Hears Your Prayers in English
God hears your prayers in English. You should be comfortable in your relationship with the divine, you should know and reflect on the significance of what you pray and repeat, you should take joy and bliss therefrom. For whenever we turn to God with love for God, God looks to you, God sends his joy, his bliss, his very love unto you.
Sai Baba often tells us, think carefully over what you pray; reflect on the meaning of what you say, and bring that into your awareness frequently during your daily life. There are some tasks which require full attention and concentration. (Sai Baba says whatever is done with full concentration will always be successful!) In these situations, simply offer the work and the fruits therefrom unto God; he will take care of the results.
If you are not engaged in such demanding activity, and there is part of your mind which is not involved, then you may fruitfully recall these names and attributes and deeds of God, and repeat them to yourself as you do your duty, whatever that task is.
This is a most beneficial use of your mind; for worrying, having the mind jump all over the place from money to shopping to children, to parents, to events in the future, events in the past, stress, worry, all this drains your energy, and gives free rein to the mind. Your mind is not your master. It is your servant. Thus, Sai Baba tells, take this mind which has energy, attention, focus and mindfulness to spare, and turn it unto God.
Physical work improves muscles but when you are focusing on God and on overcoming adversities, it also gives you spiritual power. This then strengthens character and positive habits. To strengthen what is good in you keep repeating Name of the Lord. Mantras containing Divine Names have enormous power. And they will help a lot in situations you consider difficult.
Origin of these 108 Names of Sathya Sai Baba in English
We obtained an English version of the 108 Names of Sathya Sai Baba from a book written by Don L McDowell, Discovering My Higher Power. We cite the origin of this compilation from the book itself:
We had met a number of fine people during out stay at Prashanti Nilayam. One lady in particular, Dianne Dorfman, from Chicago, gave me a list of one hundred and eight names of Sri Sathya Sai Baba; this was in English. The Indians chant the one hundred and eight names of Baba every morning. These are ususally chanted in Sanskrit and they might as well be chanted in Hebrew or Greek, as far as my understanding is concerned. The list given to me by Dianne Dorfman was actually more like a list of divine attributes than names. Dianne said that "Baba had dictaed them to her through mental telepathy twelve thousand miles away," and she said, "they came to me so ast I had difficulty writing them down". I showed the list to Professor Kasturi who has been close to Baba for more than forty years and asked him how it compared with the Sanskrit version. He told me subsequently that "only a few of the English attributes had the same meaning as those on the Sanskrit list, but whatever I felt most comfortable with was the one I should adopt". The Sanskrit list, when it was chanted, had absolutely no meaning for me; however, I can read the English version and all one hundred and eight attributes in my opinion, describe Sai Baba perfectly. I now offer a copy fo these, which I read constantly, sometimes several times a day...
So we have Sai Baba's first biographer, Sri N. Kasturi advising that we should do only what we feel comfortable with. You should be comfortable with your prayers, and have full confidence that God hears your prayers in English. We offer you this extract of the 108 Names of Sathya Sai Baba in English for your spiritual uplift:
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