Satcharitra

Related to the vibhuti I got from my friend, I decided to read a book about the original Sai Baba, who lived in Shirdi, over 7 days, which is a traditional kind of ritual/vow from that tradition, to undertake, when you wanted to achieve something. Previously I had done a different thing, a series of fruit fasts and readings over... 7? 9? weeks, on Thursdays, with a different request in mind, and I ended up getting not just what I asked for, but much more than I could have thought to ask. The person who sent me the vibhuti suggested it, and it felt right, so I did it. It was quite an enjoyable experience. The writing of this book, the "Sai Satcharitra" is very dated, clearly translated, with a bunch of archaic, unidentifiable words and long difficult to remember names of various people, but it is a collection of stories about this miraculous saint, and despite the awkwardness, I found it quite moving. 

And reading that much every day meant I was putting my attention on something very positive and uplifting, instead of tv, video games, or fantasy novels on tape. The ultimate effect on me was really positive, and so I even decided to do a second 7 days, after finishing the first. It also collected a whole bunch of synchronicities, some of which were that it happened to end on Dasara (aka Vijayadashami), the final day after the 9 days of Navratri (the forms of the Divine Mother), which was also the day on which Shirdi Sai left his body. And that happened to fall of Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish year.

It made me want to spend more of my free time, reading things with a really good energy to them. My main spiritual teacher repeatedly said 'show me your company and I will show you your character' or something similar, and Albert Bandura, the famous social psychologist, says basically the same thing and proves it in his research. In the absence of real live saints and great people to hang out with, the media you consume also ends up counting as your 'company' and lets you spend time with the great minds and hearts of our generation and the past, which would not otherwise be available to you.

So, the kind of things I do (and read) during my down time, has been on my mind. After the 7 days, I didn't want it to end, so I decided to read at least a little bit from the Satcharitra every day, but just reading a single page doesn't have quite the same oomph to it, though it's better than nothing.

OK, I think that will do for this post.