Shirdi Sai Baba

Sai Baba of Shirdi

Sai Baba of Shirdi was a crown jewel among Saints. He lived his entire life out in a small and obscure village in India. The villagers of Shirdi each claimed him as a member of their own religion, Muslim or Hindu, but really he came to make peace between them and he always encouraged each to stick to his own religious path. He drew devotees from all over the country though he never traveled and never cared for fame. Over and over his devotees found he knew their innermost thoughts and details of their lives. He effected cures, conferred health, happiness, and prosperity, and made childless couples conceive. His real purpose though was to awaken in them a longing for the spiritual life. Thousands thought of him as a wonderful saint with miraculous powers but his innermost circle knew him to be in incarnation of God himself. Some said of Datta, others of Shiva, still others saw ecstatic visions of their own beloved Guru or chosen Ishta (personalized icon of God) while gazing at Him. He himself said only that he was the humble servant of God and pleased and furthered all who came in contact with him. Many books have been written about Shirdi Sai Baba but the Shri Sai Satcharita, the story of Sai Baba's life and actions (quoted from below) was written in his own lifetime and is best known among Sai devotees. Just before leaving his body he told a disciple he would be reborn in a certain village 8 years hence and so it came to pass.    (See section on Sathya Sai Baba.)

Sai Baba was first seen as a youth of sixteen sitting under a neem tree in Shirdi. None knew his origin or past. Even then he seemed to be full of the knowledge of Brahman. He had no desire for worldly objects, even in dream. He kicked out Maya (illusion) and Mukti (illumination) was serving at his feet. This young lad, fair, smart, and very handsome, was first seen under a Neem tree seated in an Asan (meditative posture). The people of the village were wonderstruck to see such a young lad practicing hard penance, not minding heat and cold. By day he associated with none. by night he was afraid of nobody. People were wondering whence that young chap turned up. His form and features were so handsome that a mere look endeared him to all. He went to nobody's door, always sat near the Neem tree. Outwardly he looked very young; but by his action He was really a great soul. He was the embodiment of dispassion and an enigma to all.

A saint name Gangagir who frequented Shirdi said of him on first setting eyes on him "Blessed is Shirdi, that it got this precious jewel". Another saint by name Anandanath said "This is a precious diamond in reality, though he looks like an ordinary man. You will realize this in the near future."

Peace or calm was his ornament and he was the repository of wisdom. He had no love for perishable things and was always engrossed in self-realization. He did not know or care for honor or dishonor. The name of Allah was always on his lips. His inside was as calm as the deep sea. Though he sat in one place, he knew all the transactions of the world. Though a Siddha (realized being), he acted like a sadhaka (disciple on the spiritual path). He was meek, humble, and pleased all.

Shortly after coming to Shirdi Baba displayed his mastery over matter. He was fond of lights and used to borrow oil from the shop keepers to keep earthen dishes with wicks burning the whole night in the masjid (temple). After a while the shop keepers got together and decided not to give oil. Then they watched to see what Baba would do. Unperturbed, Baba poured water into his oil pot, took a drink from it, then filled all his earthen dishes with it and lighted them. To the surprise and dismay of the shopkeepers, the wicks began to burn and kept burning the whole night. Afterwards the shopkeepers repented and apologized.

Experiences of Sai Baba's Various Devotees

Sugar Tea

Das Ganu was once performing his Kirtan (religious discourse) and singing the glory of Sai Baba, in the Koupineshwar temple in Thana. One Mr. Cholkar, a poor man serving as a candidate in the Civil Courts in Thana, was amongst the audience. He heard Dasganu's Kirtan most attentively and was much moved. He there and then mentally bowed and vowed to Baba saying - "Baba, I am a poor man, unable to support my family. If by your grace, I pass the departmental examination, and get a permanent post, I shall go to Shirdi, fall at Your Feet and distribute sugar-candy in Your name." As good luck would have it, Mr.Cholkar did pass the examination and did get the permanent post and now it remained for him to fulfill his vow, the sooner the better. Mr. Cholkar was a poor man with a large family to support; and he could not afford to pay for the expenses of a Shirdi trip. As Mr. Cholkar was anxious to fulfill his vow as early as possible, he resolved to economize, cut down his expenses and save money. He determined not to use sugar in his diet and began to take his tea without it. After he was able to save some money in this way, he came to Shirdi, took Baba's darshan (sight of a holy person), fell at His Feet, offered a coconut, distributed it with a clean conscience along with sugar-candy as per his vow and said to Baba that he was much pleased with His darshan and that his desires were fulfilled that day. Mr. Cholkar was in the Masjid with his host Bapusaheb Jog. When the host and the guest both got up and were about to leave the Masjid, Baba spoke to Jog as follows:- "Give him (your guest) cups of tea, fully saturated with sugar." Hearing these significant words, Mr. Cholkar was much moved, he was wonderstruck, his eyes were bedewed with tears, and he fell at Baba's Feet again. Mr. Jog was also curious about this direction, regarding the tea-cups to be given to his guest. Baba wanted by His words to create faith and devotion in Cholkar's mind. He hinted as it were, that He got the sugar-candy as per his vow and that He knew full well his secret determination not to use sugar in his diet. Baba meant to say, "If you spread your palms with devotion before Me, I am immediately with you, day and night. Though, I am here bodily, still I know what you do; beyond the seven seas. Go wherever you will, over the wide world, I am with you. My abode is in your heart and I am within you. Always worship Me, Who is seated in your heart, as well as in the hearts of all beings. Blessed and fortunate indeed, is he who knows Me thus."

Bread and Onion Story

Once it so happened, that a sadhak (disciple) of Yoga came to Shirdi with Nanasaheb Chandorkar. He had studied all the works on Yoga, including the Yoga-sutras of Patanjali, but had no practical experience. He could not concentrate his mind and attain samadhi (the highest meditative state) even for a short time. He thought that if Sai Baba be pleased with him, He will show him the way to attain samadhi for a long time. With this object in view he came to Shirdi and when he went to the Masjid he saw Sai Baba eating bread with onion. On seeing this, a thought arose in his mind, "How can this man, who is eating stale bread with raw onion, solve my difficulties and help me?" Sai Baba read his mind and said to Nanasaheb - "Oh Nana, he who has the power to digest onion, should eat it and none else". Hearing this remark, the yogi was wonder-struck and then he fell at Baba's Feet with complete surrender. With pure and open mind, he asked his difficulties and got their solution from Baba. Thus being satisfied and happy, he left Shirdi with Baba's Udi (sacred ash) and blessings.

Picture equivalent to Darshan

It was often the experience of Sai Baba's devotees that seeing Baba's picture earnestly is equivalent to seeing Him in person. The following story illustrates this statement.

A Saint of Bombay named Balabuva Sutar, who on account of his piety, devotion and bhajan (sacred singing), was called "Modern Tukaram", came to Shirdi for the first time in 1917. When be bowed before Baba, the latter said "I know this man since four years." Balabuva wondered and thought, how could that be, as that was his first trip to Shirdi. But thinking about it seriously he recollected that he had prostrated himself four years ago before Baba's portrait at Bombay and was convinced about the significance of Baba's words. He said to himself, "How omniscient and all-pervading are the Saints and how kind are they to their Bhaktas (devotional devotees)! I merely bowed to His photo, this fact was noticed by Baba and in due time He made me realize that seeing His photo is equivalent to seeing Him in person!"

Faith Secures Passing Grade

There lived in Bandra, a suburb of Bombay, one Tendulkar family, all the members of which were devoted to Shirdi Sai Baba. The son of the family was studying hard day and night and wanted to appear for the medical examination. He consulted some astrologers. Examining his horoscope they told him that the stars were not favourable that year and that he should appear for the examination next year, when he would be certainly successful. This cast a gloom over him and made him restless. A few days afterwards his mother went to Shirdi and saw Baba. Amongst other things she mentioned the gloomy and morose condition of her son, who was to appear for the examination in a few days. Hearing this Baba said to her,"Tell your son to believe in Me, to throw aside horoscopes and predictions of astrologers and palmists and go on with his studies. Let him appear for the examination with a calm mind, he is sure to pass this year. Ask him to trust in Me and not to get disappointed". The mother returned home and communicated Baba's message to her son. Then he studied hard and in due course appeared for the examination. In the written papers he did well, but being overwhelmed by doubts he thought that he would not secure sufficient marks for passing. So he did not care to appear for the oral examination. But the examiner was after him. He sent word through a fellow- student, stating that he had passed in the written examination and that he should appear for the oral. The son being thus encouraged appeared for the oral examination and was successful in both. Thus he got through the examination that year successfully by Baba's grace, though the stars were against him. It is to be noted here that doubts and difficulties surround us just to move us and confirm our faith. We are tested as it were. If we only hold on steadily to Baba with full faith and continue our endeavours, our efforts will be ultimately crowned with success.

Suicide Thwarted

Mr. Gopal Narayan Ambadekar of Poona was a devotee of Baba. He served for ten years in the Abkari department, from where he had to retire. He tried to get some other job, but he did not succeed. He was overtaken by other calamities and his condition grew from bad to worse. He passed 7 years in this condition, visiting Shirdi every year and placing his grievance before Baba. In 1916 his plight became worst and be decided to commit suicide in Shirdi. So he came there with his wife and stayed for two months. One night while sitting in a bullock cart he resolved to end his life by throwing himself into a well close by. He proposed to do one way but Baba wished to do something else. A few paces from this place, there was a hotel and its proprietor Mr. Sagun, a devotee of Baba, came out and accosted him thus, "Did you ever read this Akkalkotkar Maharaja's life?" Ambadekar took that book from Sagun and began to read it. Casually, or we may say providentially he came across a story which was to this effect. - During the life time of Akkalkotkar Maharaj a certain devotee suffered very much from an incurable disease and when he could endure the agony and pain no longer, be became desperate and to end his miseries threw himself one night into a well. Immediately the Maharaj came there and took him out with his own hands and advised him thus, "You must enjoy the fruit - good or bad - of your past actions; if the enjoyment be incomplete, suicide won't help you. You have to take another birth and suffer again; so instead of killing yourself, why not suffer for some time and finish up your store of the fruit of your past deeds and be done with it once and for all?"

Reading this appropriate and timely story, Ambadekar was much surprised, and moved. Had he not got Baba's hint through the story, he would have been no more. Seeing Baba's all-pervasiveness and benevolence, his faith in Him was confirmed, and he became a staunch devotee. His father was a devotee of Akkalkotkar Maharaj and Sai Baba wanted him to walk into his father's footsteps and continue his devotion to Him. He then got Sai Baba's blessings and his prospects began to improve. He studied astrology and gained proficiency in it and thereby improved his lot. He was able to earn sufficient money and passed his after-life in ease and comfort.

Statements of Sai Baba

	There will never be any dearth or scarcity, regarding food and clothes, in any devotees' homes. It is my special characteristic, that I always look to, and provide, for the welfare of those devotees, who worship Me whole-heartedly with their minds ever fixed on Me. Lord Krishna has also said the same in the Gita.
	Be wherever you like, do whatever you choose, remember this well that all that you do is known to me. I am the Inner Ruler of all and seated in their hearts. I envelope all creatures. I am the Controller - the wire-puller of the show of this Universe. I am the mother - origin of all beings - the harmony of the three gunas (attributes), the propeller of all senses, the Creator, Preserver, and Destroyer. Nothing will harm who turns his attention towards me, but Maya will lash or whip him who forgets Me. All the insects, ants, the visible, movable and immovable world is my Body or form.
	You need not go far, or anywhere in search of Me. Barring your name and form, there exists in you, as well as in all beings, a sense of Being or Consciousness of Existence. That is Myself. Knowing this, you see Me inside yourself as well as in all beings. If you practise this, you will realize all pervasiveness and thus attain oneness with Me.

Baba's Mission Continues after Death

Bhakta Narayanrao had the good fortune to see Baba twice during the Latter's lifetime. Three years after the passing away of Baba in 1918, he wanted to come to Shirdi, but he could not come. Within a year of Baba's Mahasamadhi (leaving the body) he fell sick and suffered much. All ordinary remedies gave him no relief. So he meditated on Baba day and night. One night he had a vision in his dream. Baba coming to him through a cellar, comforted him saying, "Don't be anxious, you will be improving from tomorrow, and within a week you will be on your legs." Narayanrao got perfectly well within the time mentioned in the vision. Now the point for consideration is this:- Was Baba living because he had the body, and was He dead because He left it? No, Baba is ever alive, for He transcends both life and death. He who loved Him once whole-heartedly gets response from Him at any time and at any place. He is always by our side and will take any form and appear before the devout Bhakta (devotee) and satisfy him.

Saints Working in Unison

In 1917 Haribhau Karnik of Dahanu came to Shirdi on the Guru-pournima day and worshipped Baba with all formality. He offered clothes and Dakshina (money offering), and after taking Baba's leave through Shama, got down the steps of the Masjid. Then he thought that he should offer one more rupee to Baba and was just turning to get up when Shama informed him by signs that as he had got Baba's leave, he should go and not return. So he started home. On his way, when he went into the temple of Kala Rama at Nasik for darshan, the resident Saint Narsing Maharaj who used to sit just inside the big door of the temple, left his Bhaktas there, came to Haribhau, caught his wrist and said, "Give me my one rupee". Karnik was surprised. He paid the rupee most willingly and thought that Sai Baba recovered the rupee, which he intended in his mind to give, through saint Narsing Maharaj. This shows how the saints work in unison.

Role of Pain and Suffering

One Dr. Pillay was an intimate Bhakta of Baba. He was much liked by Baba, who always called him Bhau (brother). Baba talked with him off and on and consulted him in all matters and wanted him always at His side. This Pillay suffered once very badly from guinea-worms. He said to Kakasaheb Dixit, "The pain is most excruciating and unbearable. I prefer death to it. This pain, I know, is for repaying past Karma, but go to Baba and tell Him to stop the pain and transfer the working of my past Karma to ten future births of mine." Mr. Dixit went to Baba and told Him his request. Then Baba, being moved by his request, said to Dixit, "Tell him to be fearless. Why should he suffer for ten births? In ten days he can work out the sufferings and consequences of his past Karma. While I am here to give him temporal and spiritual welfare, why should he pray for death? Bring him here on somebody's back and let us work and finish his sufferings once for all".

The doctor was brought in that condition and was seated on Baba's right. Baba gave him His bolster and said, "Lie calmly here and be at ease. The true remedy is, that the result of past actions has to be suffered and got over. Our Karma is the cause of our happiness and sorrow; therefore put up with whatever comes to you. Allah (God) is the sole Dispenser and Protector, always think of Him. He will take care of you. Surrender to His feet with body, mind, wealth and speech, i.e. completely and then see what He does." Dr. Pillay said in return that Nanasaheb had put a bandage over the leg, but he found no relief. "Nana is a fool" replied Baba. "Take off that bandage or else you will die. Now a crow will come and peck you, and then you will recover."

While this conversation was going on, one Abdul who always cleaned the Masjid and trimmed the lamps, turned up. While he was attending to his work of trimming, his foot accidentally fell upon the stretched leg of Dr. Pillay. The leg was already badly swollen and when Abdul's foot fell upon it and pressed it, all the seven guinea-worms were squeezed out at once. The pain was unbearable and Dr. Pillay bawled out loudly. After some time, he calmed down and began to sing and cry alternately. Then Baba remarked, "See, our Bhau is all right now and singing." Then Pillay enquired when the crow was coming and pecking at him. Baba said, "Did you not see the crow? He won't come again. Abdul was the crow. Now go and rest yourself in the Wada and you will be soon all right."

By application of the Udi and by taking it in the stomach with water, and without taking any other treatment or medicine, the disease was completely cured in ten days as predicted by Baba.

Summoned by Dream

It is said that a dream, which we get in the small hours of the morning, generally comes out true in the walking state. This may be so, but regarding Baba's dreams there is no restriction of time. To quote an instance:- Baba told Kakasaheb Dixit one afternoon to go to Rahata and fetch Khushalchand to Shirdi, as He had not seen him since long. Kakasaheb accordingly took a tanga (cart) and went to Rahata. He saw Khushalchand and gave him Baba's message. Hearing it, Khushalchand was surprised and said that he was taking a noon nap after meals when Baba appeared in his dream and asked him to come to Shirdi immediately and that he was anxious to go. As he had no horse of his nearby, he had sent his son to inform Baba; when his son was just out of the village-border, Dixit's tanga turned up. Dixit then said that he was sent specially to bring him. Then they both went in the tanga back to Shirdi. Khushalchand saw Baba and all were pleased. Seeing this Leela of Baba, Khushalchand was much moved.

More Statements of Sai Baba

	Unless there is some relationship or connection, nobody goes anywhere. If any men or creatures come to you, do not discourteously drive them away, but receive them well and treat them with due respect. Shri Hari (God) will be certainly pleased if you give water to the thirsty, bread to the hungry, clothes to the naked and your verandah to strangers for sitting and resting. If anybody wants any money from you and you are not inclined to give, do not give, but do not bark at him like a dog.
	If my Leelas (sportive Divine actions) are written, the Avidya (ignorance) will vanish and if they are attentively and devoutly listened to, the consciousness of worldly existence will abate and strong waves of devotion and love will rise up and if one dives deep into my Leelas, he would get precious jewels of knowledge.
	Let the world go topsy-turvy, you remain where you are. Look on calmly at the show of all things passing before you. Demolish the wall of difference that separates you from Me; and then the road for our meeting will be clear and open. The sense of differentiation, as I and Thou, is the barrier that keeps away the disciple from his Master, and unless that is destroyed the state of Union or At-One-ment is not possible.

Baba Fed Sumtuously, How?

Once, Mrs. Tarkhad was staying in a certain house in Shirdi. At noon, meals were ready and dishes were being served, when a hungry dog turned up there and began to cry. Mrs. Tarkhad got up at once and threw a piece of bread, which the dog gulped with great relish. In the afternoon, when she went to the Masjid and sat at some distance, Sai Baba said to her, "Mother, you have fed Me sumptuously up to my throat, My afflicted pranas (life-forces) have been satisfied. Always act like this, and this will stand you in good stead. Sitting in this Masjid I shall never, never speak untruth. Take pity on Me like this. First give bread to the hungry, and then eat yourself. Note this well." She could not at first understand the meaning of what Baba said. So she replied, "Baba, how could I feed You? I am myself dependent on others and take my food from them on payment." Then Baba replied -- "Eating that lovely bread I am heartily contended and I am still belching. The dog which you saw before meals and to which you gave the piece of bread is one with me, so also other creatures (cats, pigs, flies, cows etc.) are one with me. I am roaming in their forms. He, who sees Me in all these creatures is my beloved. So abandon the sense of duality and distinction and serve Me, as you did today." Drinking these nectar-like words, she was moved, her eyes were filled with tears, her throat was choked and her joy knew no bounds.

Maid Servant demonstrates meaning of Upanishad

Das Ganu once started to write a commentary on the Ishavasya Upanishad. He translated it verse by verse into the Marathi language, but did not comprehend the gist of it and so was not satisfied with his performance. He therefore consulted some learned men regarding his doubts and difficulties and discussed with them at great length. They did not solve them nor did they give him any rational and satisfactory explanation. So Das Ganu was a little restless over this matter.

This Upanishad is the quintessence of the Vedas. It is the science of self-realization, it is the scythe or weapon which can rend asunder the bondage of life and death, and make us free. Therefore, he thought, that he who has himself attained self-realization, can only give him the true or correct interpretation of the Upanishad. When nobody could satisfy Das Ganu, he resolved to consult Sai Baba about this. When he got an opportunity to go to Shirdi, he saw Sai Baba, prostrated himself before Him, and mentioned his difficulties about the Ishavasya Upanishad and requested Him to give the correct solution. Sai Baba, blessed him and said- "You need not be anxious, there is no difficulty about the matter, the maid-servant of Kaka (Kakasaheb Dixit) will solve your doubts at Vile Parle, on your way home". The people who were present then and heard this, thought that Baba was joking and said, "How could an illiterate maid-servant solve the difficulties of this nature", but Das Ganu thought otherwise. He was sure, that whatever Baba spoke, must come true, Baba's word was the decree of the Brahma (Almighty).

Fully believing in Baba's words, he left Shirdi and stayed with Kakasaheb Dixit. There the next day, when Das Ganu was performing his morning worship, he heard a poor girl singing a beautiful song in clear and melodious tones. The subject matter of the song was a crimson coloured Sari (Indian dress), how nice it was, how fine was its embroidery, how beautiful were its ends and borders etc. He liked the song so much that he came out, and saw that it was being sung by a young girl, the sister of Namya, who was a servant of Kakasaheb. The girl was cleaning vessels, and had only a torn rag on her person. On seeing her impoverished condition, and her jovial temperament, Das Ganu felt pity for her and when Rao Bahadur M.V.Pradhan next day gave him a pair of dhotars, he requested him to give a sari to the poor little girl also. Rao Bahadur bought a good Chirdi (small Sari) and presented it to her. Like a starving person getting luckily good dishes to eat, her joy knew no bounds. The next day she wore the new Sari, and out of great joy and merriment, whirled, danced round and played `Fugadi' with other girls and excelled them all. The day following, she kept the new Sari in her box at home and came with the old and torn rags, but she looked as merry as she did the previous day. Seeing this, Das Ganu's pity was transferred into admiration. He thought that the girl being poor had to wear a torn rag, but now she had a new Sari which she kept in reserve and putting on the old rag, strutted herself, showing no trace of sorrow or dejection. Thus he realized that all our feelings of pain and pleasure depend upon the attitude of our mind. Thinking deeply over this incident, he realized that a man ought to enjoy whatever God has bestowed on him in the firm conviction that He besets every thing, from behind and before, and on all sides and that whatever is bestowed on him by God must be for his good. In this particular case, the impoverished condition of the poor girl, her torn rag and the new Sari, the donor, the donee and the acceptance were all parts of the Lord and pervaded by Him. Here Das Ganu got a practical demonstration of the lesson of the Upanishad - the lesson of contentment with one's own lot in the belief that whatever happens is ordained by God and is ultimately good for us.

Sacred Ash (Udi) of Sai Baba

One of Baba's special features was that he always kept a sacred fire (Dhuni) burning. The ash from this fire was called Udi and it was freely distributed to the devotees at the time of their departure from Shirdi. What did Baba teach or hint by this Udi? Baba taught by His Udi that all the visible phenomena in the universe are as transient as the ash. Our bodies composed of wood or matter of the five elements, will fall down, after all their enjoyments are over, and be reduced to ashes. In order to remind the devotees of the fact that their bodies will be reduced to ashes, Baba distributed Udi to them. Baba also taught by the Udi that the Brahman is the only Reality and the universe is ephemeral and that no one in this world, be he a son, father or wife, is really ours. We come here (in this world) alone and we have to go out alone. It was found out and is even now found out, that the Udi cured many physical and mental maladies, but Baba wanted to din into the devotee's ears the principles of discrimination between the Unreal and the Real.

Scorpion Sting

Narayan Motiram Jani of Nasik was a devotee of Baba. He was serving under another devotee of Baba, by name Ramachandra Vaman Modak. Once he went to Shirdi with his mother and saw Baba. Then Baba Himself told her that he (her son) should serve no more, but start independent business. Some days after, this prophecy turned true. Narayan Jani left service and started a boarding house, 'Anandashram' which thrived well. Once a friend of this Narayanrao was stung by a scorpion and the pain caused by it, was severe and unbearable. Baba's Udi (sacred ash) is most efficacious in such cases; it is to be applied on the seat of pain, and so Narayanrao searched for it, but found none. Then he stood before Baba's picture and invoked Baba's aid, chanted Baba's name and taking out a pinch of the ashes of the joss-stick burning in front of Baba's picture and thinking it to be Baba's Udi, applied it on the seat of pain and the sting. As soon as he took out his fingers, the pain vanished and both the person were moved and felt delighted.

Udi used to facilitate childbirth

About 1904-05 Nanasaheb Chandorkar was Mamlatdar (revenue collector) at Jamner, in the Khandesh District, which is more that 100 miles distant from Shirdi. His daughter Mainatai was pregnant and was about to deliver. The case was very serious and she was suffering from labour-pains for the two or three days. Nanasaheb tried all remedies but they proved in vain; he then remembered Baba and invoked His aid. There in Shirdi, one Ramgirbuva, whom Baba called Bapugirbuva, wanted at this time to go to his native place in Khandesh. Baba called him and told him to take a little rest and stop at Jamner on his way home and give the Udi and Arati (spiritual ceremony) to Nanasaheb. Ramgirbuva said that he had only two rupees with him and that amount was barely sufficient for the railway fare up to Jalgaon and it was not possible for him to go from jalgaon to Jamner, a distance of about 30 miles. Baba assured him that he need not worry, as everything would be provided for him. Then Baba asked Shama to write the well-known Arati composed by Madhav Adkar and give a copy of it with Udi to Ramgirbuva to be delivered to Nanasaheb. Then relying on Baba's words, Ramgirbuva left Shirdi and reached Jalgaon at about 2:45 a.m. He had only two annas left with him and was in a hard plight. To his great relief he heard somebody calling out "Who is Bapugirbuva of Shirdi?" He went to him and told him that he was the person Bapugirbuva. Then the peon, professing to be sent by Nanasaheb, took him out to an excellent tanga with a good pair of horses. They both drove in it. The tanga ran fast and early in the morning they came to a brooklet. The driver took the horses for watering them and the peon asked Ramgirbuva to partake of some eatables. Then both of them took the refreshments and started again. They reached Jamner at dawn. Ramgirbuva alighted to attend a call of nature and returned within a few minutes, but found that there was no tanga, no driver and no peon. He was dumbfounded. Then he went to the neighbouring Katcheri and making enquiries, learnt that the Mamlatdar was at home. He went to Nanasaheb's house and announced himself and gave Nanasaheb Baba's Udi and Arati. At this time, Mainatai's case was most serious and all were in deep anxiety about her. Nanasaheb called out his wife and asked her to give the Udi, mixed with water, to their daughter to drink, and sing Baba's Arati. He thought that Baba's help was most opportune. In a few minutes came the news that the delivery was safe and that the crisis had passed away. When Ramgirbuva thanked Nanasaheb for the peon, tanga and the refreshments etc. the latter was greatly surprised as he had sent none to the station, and was not aware of any person coming from Shirdi.

Saved from Humiliation by Baba's Grace and Udi

Balaji Neweskar was a great devotee of Baba as was his son after him. Once it happened that at Balaji's anniversary day, a certain number of guests were invited and dinner was prepared for them. But at the dinner-time it was found that thrice the number of people invited turned up. Mrs. Newaskar was in a fix. She thought that the food would not suffice for the people assembled and that if it fell short, the honour of the family would be at stake. Her mother-in-law comforted her by saying, "Don't be afraid, it is not ours, but Sai's food; cover every vessel with cloth, putting some Udi in it, and serve from the same without opening it : Sai will save us from ignominy." She did as she was advised and it was found to their surprise and joy that not only did the food suffice for all, but plenty of it remained after serving. "As one feels intently, so he realizes accordingly" was proved in this case.

Neuronal filters for broadband information transmission in the brain

(Medical Xpress) -- As in broadband information technology, the nervous system transmits different messages simultaneously from one brain region to others. But how are messages retrieved at the other end without confusing them? Scientists from the Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research (FMI) have discovered neuronal filters between the olfactory bulb and the cortex that can handle this problem. In a study published in Nature they show that neuronal filtering in the cortex can extract information about specific odors from the plethora of information that is broadcast by the olfactory bulb. This filtering is likely to be important for the perception and memory of odors, and may also be implemented in other brain areas.

In the age of Morse, information transmission was straightforward: a telegraph operator at one end of a wire encoded a message in a train of clicks that was then received and decoded at the other end. With an ever increasing need for urgent messages, however, more efficient modes of transmission were required. Nowadays, multiple messages are sent through the same wire simultaneously, or even broadcast everywhere in wireless mode. How, then, is a given message extracted from this muddle and correctly decoded? One solution is to encode different messages in different frequency bands and tune the receiver to the desired frequency, as in our radios.

The brain has to deal with similar problems. Nerve cells send all kinds of messages to other nerve cells using a code that resembles the Morse code. At each moment in time, an individual nerve cell in a network has to extract the relevant information from a bombardment of inputs while ignoring irrelevant inputs. Scientists from Rainer Friedrich's group at the Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research have now elucidated how this is done as information is transmitted from the olfactory bulb to its cortical target. In a great team effort, they determined how the nerve cells in the cortex process odor information without being lost it in the cacophony of clicks from the olfactory bulb neurons. Their results are published online in the leading journal Nature.

The olfactory bulb is the first olfactory processing center in the brain. Upon stimulation of sensory neurons in the nose with an odor, nerve cells in the olfactory bulb produce complex patterns of activity that are transmitted to multiple higher brain regions. Since individual neurons can be activated by several odors, information about each odor is encoded by many nerve cells. Moreover, the pattern of activity encodes different information on different time scales. Fast components of the activity patterns, for example, are informative about broad categories of odors, while the precise identity of a stimulus is encoded efficiently in the slower components. Friedrich's group therefore studied the filters that are used to read out these patterns in the cortex, an area that is believed to form specific olfactory memories. They took advantage of the zebrafish, a small vertebrate model system that allows for the combination of sophisticated optical, genetic and electrophysiological techniques. "To tackle the function of biological systems of such complexity we ultimately need mathematical models. But to construct good models we first need measurements and data from many individual nerve cells" comments Friedrich, "and in the olfactory system of the zebrafish we are able to obtain this data."

Through the development of an ingenious optogenetic tool and pure assiduity, the scientists could explain how information about specific odors is transferred from one area of the brain to the next. They found that neurons in the cortex employ what is called a low pass filter. In other words, nerve cells tune in specifically on those parts of the neuronal conversations that are informative about the precise identity of an odor. "It may appear that some information is lost through this filter", said Friedrich. "However, we know that there are nerve cells in other brain areas that apply other filters. We therefore believe that the brain uses sophisticated arrays of filters to ensure that neurons receive appropriate messages. Neuronal filtering may thus play an important role in the perception and memory of odors and other stimuli."

More information: Blumhagen F, et al. (2011) Neuronal filtering of multiplexed odour representations. Nature, Nov 13. doi: 10.1038/nature10633 [Epub ahead of print]

Provided by Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research

"Neuronal filters for broadband information transmission in the brain." November 21st, 2011. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-neuronal-filters-broadband-transmission-brain.html

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Robert Karl Stonjek

How brains benefit from meditation

Tuning out: How brains benefit from meditation

 

 

Experienced meditators seem to switch off areas of the brain associated with wandering thoughts, anxiety and some psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia. Researchers used fMRI scans to determine how the brains of meditators differed from subjects who were not meditating. The areas shaded in blue highlight areas of decreased activity in the brains of meditators. Credit: courtesy of yale

Experienced meditators seem to be able switch off areas of the brain associated with daydreaming as well as psychiatric disorders such as autism and schizophrenia, according to a new brain imaging study by Yale researchers.

Meditation's ability to help people stay focused on the moment has been associated with increased happiness levels, said Judson A. Brewer, assistant professor of psychiatry and lead author of the study published the week of Nov. 21 in theProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Understanding how meditation works will aid investigation into a host of diseases, he said.

"Meditation has been shown to help in variety of health problems, such as helping people quit smoking, cope with cancer, and even prevent psoriasis," Brewer said.

The Yale team conducted functional magnetic resonance imaging scans on both experienced and novice meditators as they practiced three different meditation techniques.

They found that experienced meditators had decreased activity in areas of the brain called the default mode network, which has been implicated in lapses of attention and disorders such as anxiety, attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder, and even the buildup of beta amyloid plaques in Alzheimer's disease. The decrease in activity in this network, consisting of the medial prefrontal and posterior cingulate cortex, was seen in experienced meditators regardless of the type of meditation they were doing.

The scans also showed that when the default mode network was active, brain regions associated with self-monitoring and cognitive control were co-activated in experienced meditators but not novices. This may indicate that meditators are constantly monitoring and suppressing the emergence of "me" thoughts, or mind-wandering. In pathological forms, these states are associated with diseases such as autism and schizophrenia.

The meditators did this both during meditation, and also when just resting — not being told to do anything in particular. This may indicate that meditators have developed a "new" default mode in which there is more present-centered awareness, and less "self"-centered, say the researchers.

"Meditation's ability to help people stay in the moment has been part of philosophical and contemplative practices for thousands of years," Brewer said. "Conversely, the hallmarks of many forms of mental illness is a preoccupation with one's own thoughts, a condition meditation seems to affect. This gives us some nice cues as to the neural mechanisms of how it might be working clinically."

Provided by Yale University

"Tuning out: How brains benefit from meditation." November 21st, 2011. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-tuning-brains-benefit-meditation.html

 

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Robert Karl Stonjek

New research sheds light on how we see family resemblance in faces

 

Whether comparing a man and a woman or a parent and a baby, we can still see when two people of different age or sex are genetically related. How do we know that people are part of a family? Findings from a new study published in the Journal of Vision increases our understanding of the brain's ability to see through these underlying variations in facial structure.

"Being able to see the family resemblance between faces that have some underlying difference, such as the difference between male and female faces, is an ability that is not well understood and merits further investigation to work out how visual information about faces is organized," says author Harry J. Griffin, PhD, of the Department of Cognitive, Perceptual and Brain Sciences at University College London.

As described in the paper, (Relative faces: Encoding of family resemblance relative to gender means in face space), researchers conducted two experiments using original and synthesized cross-gender "sibling" faces that resemble each other and "anti-sibling" faces that have the opposite characteristics of the original face.

In the first experiment, participants were asked to identify male-female sibling pairs. Possible pairings included a face with its synthesised opposite-gender sibling, a face with its opposite-gender anti-sibling, and a face with a randomly selected opposite-gender face. Participants chose the sibling pair significantly more often than the randomly selected cross-gender pairings and the random pairings more often than the anti-face pairings.

"This pattern of results shows that when we see a face, we compare it to an average face for that gender, allowing us to pick out only the face cues that tell us about family membership while disregarding the irrelevant gender cues," explains Griffin.

In the second experiment, using the visual adaptation method of biasing an observer's perception of objects through prolonged exposure, participants were shown a male anti-sibling generated from a female face. The results indicate that adapting to the male face clearly influenced the perceived identity of a subsequent identity-ambiguous female face. According to the researchers, this implies that the cues underlying family resemblance for both male and female faces are processed within the same brain space.

"We used this simple, non-invasive method to show that the facial appearance of men and women are processed by overlapping populations of brain cells," says Griffin. "This takes our understanding beyond the conceptual and gives a picture of how the brain actually works."

The research team hopes their findings will prompt other researchers to investigate the perception of similarity in other aspects of facial appearance such as underlying differences in age or racial groups. They s also suggest the results may have an impact on the computer science industry.

"Understanding how we encode faces can inform computer scientists who are building face recognition systems for security applications and computer graphics teams building synthetic faces for applications in the film and gaming industry and to enhance human computer interaction," added computer scientist and team member Peter McOwan from Queen Mary, University of London.

More information: http://www.journal … fvision.org/

 

Provided by Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology

"New research sheds light on how we see family resemblance in faces." November 21st, 2011. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-family-resemblance.html

 

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Robert Karl Stonjek

Regeneration after a stroke requires intact communication channels between the two halves of the brain

 
Stroke damage (white circle) can destroy the communication channels within the brain. This depiction of stretches of fibres show that the damage can also affect fibres between the hemispheres (red) which whither in the course of the illness, thus hindering the exchange of information between the hemispheres. Credit: MPI for Neurological Research

(Medical Xpress) -- The structure of the corpus callosum, a thick band of nerve fibres that connects the two halves of the brain with each other and in this way enables the rapid exchange of information between the left and right hemispheres, plays an important role in the regaining of motor skills following a stroke. A study currently published in the journal Human Brain Mapping has shown that in stroke patients with particularly severely impaired hand movement, this communication channel between the two brain hemispheres in particular was badly damaged.

In order to relate brain function and anatomical structure with each other, in this study the scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Neurological Research and the Department of Neurology at the University Hospital of Cologne combined two imaging methods. They asked stroke patients to make a simple tapping movement using the hand affected by the stroke and recorded their brain activity using functional magnetic resonance imaging. The data obtained in this way were then compared with data from healthy subjects. As expected from previous test results, compared with the control group, the stroke patients recorded a lower tapping speed and increased brain activity on both sides of the brain. “The increased activity in the healthy brain hemisphere, in particular, points to the impaired processing of motor programs between the two brain hemispheres,” explains Christian Grefkes, head of the research study.

In order to demonstrate the structural connection between brain areas, the Cologne researchers used diffusion-based magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI), which can be used to reconstruct longer stretches of nerve fibres. dMRI is based on the principle that cell elements, such as the membrane or extensions, inhibit the spread of water molecules thereby preventing them from diffusing randomly in all directions. Consequently, parallel nerve fibres can be clearly identified using dMRI. Compared to the healthy control group, the stroke patients had lower diffusion values in the corpus callosum region. This would indicate that this interhemispheric communications connection was damaged by the stroke. The most significant deviations from the values of the control group were observed in patients with more severe motor defects and increased activity in the healthy brain hemisphere.

Therefore, in addition to cell death in the actual stroke area, damage to a very distant connection structure plays a crucial role in the inability of stroke patients to fully regain their original motor capacities. “This is why, we are currently examining whether we can regenerate the communication between the brain hemispheres through early and regular stimulation treatment. Our long-term aim is to improve motor deficits in stroke patients,” says Grefkes.

More information: Ling E. Wang, et al. Degeneration of corpus callosum and recovery of motor function after stroke: A multimodal magnetic resonance imaging study, Human Brain Mapping, online publication, 22, Oct. 2011 | DOI: 10.1002/hbm.21417

 

Provided by Max-Planck-Gesellschaft

"Regeneration after a stroke requires intact communication channels between the two halves of the brain." November 21st, 2011.http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-regeneration-requires-intact-channels-halves.html

 

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Robert Karl Stonjek

What Is Homeopathy?

Homeopathy is a complete system of medicine based on certain laws of physics. It is the second largest system of healing in the world. Dr. Christian Friedrich Samuel Hahnemann found this system more than 200 years back. The principle of homeopathy is based on nature’s law of cure. Homeopathy believes in rapid cure with single dose of medicine, which is more similar to the diseased individual. The selection of medicine in homeopathy is different from other major systems of medicine. A homeopathic physician should find the totality of symptoms of the individual for the selection of a suitable remedy. Homeopathy treats the patient not the disease. By correcting the patient’s altered functions to normal, this system effects cure, not palliation. A very detailed case taking including mental symptoms and dreams may be essential for collecting the totality.

How homeopathic medicines are prepared?

Homeopathic medicines are prepared from all sources like, animals, plants and minerals. The preparation of medicines is different from other systems. Homeopathic medicines are dynamically charged due to the process of dynamisation. Dynamisation is the process of increasing the power of medicine and reducing the toxic effect of the same. It is possible by vigorous shaking of medicine with suitable vehicle. The drug strength reduces in each process of dynamisation but the inert power of the substance increases. So it is harmless in children and pregnant women. It never produces any adverse effects.

Why homeopathy?

Major systems of medicine, treat the disease and it considers the part of the human body not the person. It has a particular approach instead of a general approach to a particular organ or disease. In fact the disease may subside or palliate. The concept of cure is different. We cannot expect a permanent cure in a particular approach. Only in general consideration of the patient with all the complaints and other changes including physical and mental planes leads to a permanent cure. In homeopathy the physician understands the totality of the symptoms and prescribe a single remedy for all his complaints. This single remedy in minimum dose ensures a rapid cure instead of a palliation without any other side effects or complications.

Concept of disease in homeopathy

The disease is caused due to the alteration in vital force. Vital force is an autocratic force, which is maintained by harmonious neural, hormonal and endocrinal functions. When this harmonious function alters, the disease sets in. Here homeopathy is significant to restore the normal functioning of the vital force. Homeopathic remedies helps to bring back vital force to its normal functioning and hence effect a cure.

What are the diseases that can be cured in homeopathy?

All the acute and chronic diseases can be cured in homeopathy as it treats the patient not the disease. A well selected remedy as per the principles of homeopathy is very much effective to restore the normal functioning of vital force and it makes the patient free from signs and symptoms of the disease.

Homeopathy in India

Government of India recognized homeopathy as a system of medicine and started various clinics, hospitals and homeopathic medical colleges in various parts of the country. All these establishments work in both government and private sectors. West Bengal and Kerala are highly saturated with homeopathy and people consider homeopathy as first choice of treatment. Homeopathy has good reputation in all the metros and major cities in India.

Homeopathic medical education in India

There are a lot of homeopathic medical colleges in India. The basic course is graduation in homeopathy (BHMS). It is a five and a half years course and it covers all non-clinical and clinical subjects and one-year compulsory internship in a recognized institution. Post graduation can be pursued in many branches (MD Hom). It is a three years course after graduation in homeopathy.

Dr. Suneeth Mathew B.H.M.S.; M.Sc (Psy), M.Phil(Clinical Psychology) PGDC & FSc

Are we just a 3D hologram created by 2D information stored at the edge of the universe?

By Sophie Bushwick

 

 The images on your computer screen also exist in software as a series of ones and zeros. The music coming from your headphones might come from those same ones and zeros - or from carefully-pressed plastic, or from laser-etched metal. A lot of things you interact with daily come from information that's stored in many formats…and so are you. According to physicist Leonard Susskind, the three-dimensional universe is a hologram, a projection of two-dimensional information stored along the boundary of the universe.

"This is a real disconnect and it's very hard to get your head around," said Susskind in the first episode of NOVA's The Fabric of the Cosmos with Brian Greene. But the concept of the universe as a hologram arises from the mathematical study of black holes. When an object - say a red rubber ball - gets sucked into a black hole, it passes the event horizon and is lost. The distinctions that make that object unique, however, do not disappear. Instead, information about the ball's redness and spherical shape spreads over the surface of the event horizon, forming a two-dimensional shell of information. Theoretically, a computer could even use that shell to reconstruct a duplicate of the original ball.

The math that describes the black hole's information shell matches the math describing the universe as a hologram. Although the concept seems utterly alien, Susskind says, "I think it's already reached a consensus" in the theoretical physics community. Still, the theory could be proven wrong - except any experiment devised to do so would be too complex for our technology to implement.

So what effect does this revamping of reality have on our lives? According to Susskind, not much. "I'm a normal human being," he says, "I don't think holographically."

Image by bluetoo via Shutterstock

 

NINE WAYS TO CONQUER ONLINE MARKETING

“Make sure they are master marketers.”

That really got me thinking about people in my networks who have a great brand, credentials and credibility, degrees and accomplishments–but  aren’t engaged in their own self-marketing and promotion. They are not taking the lead on branding themselves through online communities, email marketing or at least a Facebook page.

In today’s business paradigm, combining the two worlds (in-person and online) and all of the platforms that afford us free access to people all over the world is a must. With so many solopreneurs, businesses of one, consultants, authors and trainers out there, being a master marketer is about the most important skill you can  have in your toolbox as a businessperson today.

Here are 13 tools I have used to become a “master marketer.” These are proven ways to your build brand awareness and credibility and grow your relationships with your personal and professional communities.

1. LinkedIn is the professional platform with unparalleled potential to  introduce yourself to and interact with top people in your field or related fields.
2. Facebook is the most diverse platform for engagement and interactivity.
3. Twitter can be a “real time” communication tool.
4. Blogging is the best way to build Klout and authority in your area of expertise.
5. Email marketing can help you grow relationships with your permission-based community.
6. Article writing, either on your own blog or for other key blogs and websites, builds your credibility.
7. Texting used properly can also be a “real time” marketing tool.
8. Video is the best way to show people your vibe, personality and how you present yourself.
9. Workshops brand you as an expert in your field and also give you a platform to present yourself.

New technology keeps seniors free

UNIVERSITY OF WOLLONGONG

The daily routine of each household will be mapped; with the monitor sending out an alert should an irregularity appear. Image: Thomas_EyeDesign/iStockphoto Seniors will be able to continue living an independent lifestyle in the comfort of their own home thanks to new in-home monitoring technology being trialled on selected Illawarra residents. The technology, launched recently at UOW’s Innovation Campus, is the creation of a collaborative team comprised of the UOW-based Australian Research Council Centre for Excellence for Electromaterials Science (ACES), Illawarra Retirement Trust (IRT) and Dublin City University. The in-home monitoring system will provide vital information on the day to day wellbeing of seniors who choose to remain in their own homes by recording data based on energy consumption in the household. The daily routine of each household will be mapped; with the monitor sending out an alert should an  irregularity appear. ACES Executive Director Professor Gordon Wallace said the technology would help fulfil seniors’ desire for ‘active ageing’ and an independent lifestyle within their own homes. “By working together and combining what is available across the globe, we can realise this in a very effective and timely manner,” he said. “Installation and testing will begin in about two weeks and by the end of next year we hope to be developing wearable technology to assist seniors undergoing rehabilitation and study their movements. Everyone’s looking forward to getting stuck into it!” IRT’s Luke Oborn said the technology would help seniors take greater control of their independence and reflected the role technology will play in the future of aged-care. “Collaboration with the University of Wollongong is very important to the future of aged-care. In-home monitoring technology is just one of the many projects IRT is collaborating on with UOW and I look forward to seeing this relationship being further consolidated in the future,” he said. Editor's Note: Original news release can be found here.

Predicting disasters with rocks

MACQUARIE UNIVERSITY

Studying the rocks with deep water samples may help to understand events like the Deccan traps. Image: sasar/iStockphoto Research published today in Nature Geoscienceprovides new insight into the water cycle of the deep Earth, volcanic activity in the Pacific and the potential catastrophic effects when these two combine. Geologists and geochemists have had longstanding problems measuring and understanding what happens in the water below the earth because of the difficulty in sourcing authentic recent, samples. To address this, ARC Professorial Fellow Professor Simon Turner has led a team of US, French and Australian scientists to source and measure a set of very rare geological samples. "We normally study lava samples, which are an indirect source of a volcano, not the real source. In this study we were able to use source rocks from xenoliths in the Philippines, very young rocks, carrying deep water samples. They tell a more recent story of what is happening below the earth's surface." The team obtained the rocks five years before they had developed techniques precise enough to extract a result from the low-level sources. Over the last year they have used an isotopic method used only at Macquarie University and just a few other labs around the world. The U-series Research team pushed the capabilities of uranium series techniques, and their results tell a story of the subterranean ocean moving in two directions: up to the surface through mantle plumes and down, beyond volcanic arc fronts and carrying into the deep mantle of the core of the earth. It is this second aspect that has catastrophic potential. When the water goes further into the earth, it may become stored in mantle materials at depth. As these become heated they can rise as mantle plumes and erupt in large volcanic provinces, emitting voluminous aerosols powerful enough to change earth. This discovery provides a new perspective on earlier catastrophic events, including the Deccan Traps of million years ago in India, when volcanic gases were released, resulting in mass extinction. Turner hopes this research will help to understand events like the Deccan Traps and be better prepared for future events. Editor's Note: Original news release can be found here.

Global warming beats land-use change

THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES

Changes in snow and rain caused by global warming dominate the effects of land-use change on regional climates, according to a new study in the journal Nature Climate Change. The study by a team led by Professor Andy Pitman, of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate System Science, found that land-use and land-cover changes tend to act as regional cooling mechanisms at mid to high latitudes but amplify warming in tropical regions. The Centre is hosted by the UNSW Faculty of Science. However, it also found that larger climate change influences – particularly changes in regional precipitation caused by global warming - could override or significantly alter the size of those effects. The findings are mostly significant for improving climate models, says Professor Pitman, a senior member of the UNSW Climate Change Research Centre. The research team also includes researchers from the CSIRO Centre for Australian Weather and Climate Research and the Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l’Environnement, in France. “This paper not only showed the influence of land use on regional climate, it emphasised exactly why we need to improve the way precipitation is represented in climate models,” Professor Pitman says. “Currently we can show precipitation changes at global and continental level but projecting changes in precipitation down to regional scales as the planet warms remains one of the great challenges for climate researchers. “Until we can accurately project this it will be difficult to determine exactly how much land-use and land-cover change amplifies or potentially reduces the regional effects of global warming.” Regional precipitation is particularly difficult to project because of the lengthy chain of inter-related processes that occur within and outside these smaller areas to bring about rainfall, he says. Substantial, sustained research across a broad range of scientific disciplines is needed to meet this challenge. “The Centre of Excellence for Climate System Science has been created to tackle exactly this kind of complex, long-term research,” he says. “The extensive effort required to deliver foundation climate science of this nature is often limited due to the scale of expertise required – this is beyond the capacity of most single institutions. “By bringing together a consortium of five universities along with major national and international partner organisations, the Centre has the capacity to take on this difficult and important research to strengthen and improve the building blocks of climate modelling. “It is difficult research but it will have a direct impact on how Australian communities can prepare and adapt to the future challenges of climate change.” Editor's Note: Original news release can be found here.

Less emissions from rebuilt tools

MARION LOPEZ, SCIENCENETWORK WA

A Curtin study has revealed re-manufactured refrigeration and air conditioning compressors produce up to 93 per cent less greenhouse gas emissions than new original equipment manufactured (OEM) compressors. Led by the Director of the Centre of Excellence in Cleaner Production, Associate Professor Michele Rosano, the research makes a case for the market development of re-manufactured compressors as a more sustainable alternative to traditional OEMs. According to A/Prof Rosano, switching to re-manufacturing would diminish the production of new OEM compressors, therefore avoiding the release of 1,590kg of CO2 emissions. “The replacement of a new OEM compressor with a re-manufactured one can mitigate about 1,470kg of CO2 emissions, which is similar to the greenhouse gas emissions from 1.56MW/h of electricity generation in WA, and 1.71MW/h in Queensland and NSW,” she says. “This electricity generation would meet the average electricity demand of an Australian household for three-and-a-half months.” A/Prof Rosano says the results highlight the importance of re-manufacturing in reducing not only the resource intensity and carbon footprint, but also the cost associated with the purchase of a new compressor. “If the carbon price was set at $50 per tonne of CO2 emissions, a new OEM compressor would cost $79.50 and a re-manufactured compressor only $5.85.” A/Prof Rosano’s team has been working in partnership with Recom Engineering, leader in the re-manufacture compressor marketplace, for about three years to try to get industries to make the change. However, Director of Recom Engineering Mr Peter Frey says his business has been around for 30 years and is still struggling to reach large industries such as Coles and Caterpillar. He believes re-manufacturing would thrive a lot more if the middle-men weren’t part of the deal.  “Re-manufactured compressors work as good and as long as OEM ones, cost half the price of a new compressor and come with a two-year warranty so there are no reasons why industries wouldn’t want to shift to re-manufactured compressors,” he says. “The problem we have is convincing the service companies we deal with to agree to supply their clients with re-manufactured compressors. “Because they cost less, service companies are keener to sell new OEMs to get a better margin, especially in these hard economic times.” However, Mr Frey says re-manufacturing could soon become industries’ first choice thanks to Sustainable Energy Australia (SEA)’s Director, Professor Ray Wills. Promoting any enterprise that looks at reducing carbon emissions, Prof Wills says the need to demonstrate to government agencies and industries that re-manufactured compressors are as viable and reliable as research and precedent have shown is crucial to reverse the current market tendency of rejecting re-manufacturing goods. Editor's Note: Original news release can be found here.