A Temple without a Priest

Dear Readers, 

In India we find priestly services available almost in every temple except in some dilapidated ones tucked in some remote corner without any patronage. Here in Milipitas, a city in Santa Clara County, California,  just six miles from Sunnyvale, to my surprise,  I visited a Shirdi Sai temple located in a large building on one side of the main road. The temple is  inside a building with a few spacious rooms. No temple tower or the sacred pillar with a flag (dwaja stambham) is seen. We parked our car in the premises and entered a spacious prayer hall through a corridor. 

A beautiful statue of Sri Sai Baba seated on a pedestal with one leg folded cross-wise in charecteristic posture is seen. A row of chairs are kept on one side for the elderly people to sit  and pray to God. Others sat on  the floor with prayer books in their hands. People stood in a line and worshipped Baba one after the other waving arti (sacred oil-lit flame)  - as the volunteers courteously regulated the flow of devotees. The  devotees placed their offerings of various food items before the pedestal to be consecrated later as naivedya. In one  corner of the hall at the entrance a collection of prayer books and other holy religious books were kept for  ready reference and use by devotees. The arti song was played on an audio recorder as the devotees joined in , reciting in unison gently clapping their palms in a devotional mood. In the adjoining hall there is another small marble statue of Sai Baba with a small furnace that represents the place of dhuni (sacred sacrificial fire in Shirdi). In another spacious hall prasad (items of food offered to Baba) were distributed in paper plates. In this temple all basic amenities such as water , rest rooms  and shoe stand are available so that visitors will not feel any inconvenience when they come here. The temple has a library where religious books and any other information about this institution can be found. Without any customary priests and elaborate rituals every thing is done neatly and carefully by the volunteers of Shirdi Sai Parivar. The serene surroundings and the reverential attitude of the Sai Volunteers  fill our hearts with a sense of devotion and mental peace. Many elderly couple including Europeans and Americans  were seen kneeling before Baba with folded hands with a sense of spiritual satisfaction. This temple founded by Shirdi Sai Parivar on July 18th, 2010 serves as a cultural and spiritual centre for many devotees. This temple functions with a regular time schedule both in the morning and in the evening i.e. from 6.30 a.m to 12.30 p.m and from 6.00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. every day, with special programmes on important festival days. The Shirdi Sai Parivar also established a Sai Mandir in Sunnyvale  on March 7th , 2007 and has been organising the institution successfully with the co-operation of the local people such as I.T.professionals   retired employees and philanthropists. 

Let us hope that in future both these spiritual centres by the grace of Sai Baba flourish  and gain more prominence with the support of philanthropists and Sai devotees.                                                         

Jai Sai Ram