SHIRDI SAI BABA IN JOHOR
The respectable person Mr Muralitharan, the founder of the PERSATUAN PENGANUT SHREE SHIRDI SAI BHAGWAN - JOHOR BHARU (PPSSSB) naturally has a kind heart to help people in the community and served the community through various platforms such government and social organizations. Thus, as a part of the services, he involved himself in the temple volunteer services a few years ago in Johor Bahru. He has joined the Sai Baba temples (Mandir) to do his volunteer service (Seva) in Johor Bahru and has formed a strong team with the same mindset. Our Mahaprabhu Sadguru Shiridi Sai Baba has become his "guru" to guide the spiritual journey in his life. He has learned philosophy and started to direct the journey of his life by following Sai Baba's footsteps/teachings as referred from the holy book called Sai Satcharitra.
Mr Muralitharan gained various experiences while associating with the volunteer organization and through his leadership, many social activities and programs were conducted to benefit the community. Baba showed him more of Leela’s and created self-confidence that led him to have a strong belief in Baba as a lifetime “guru” who will always guide him. Many people like to meet him to seek advice, and he always remembered to follow Sai’s teaching through his own experience. Naturally, he has strong discipline on Sai’s ethic and notices anything that is being misconducted by the engaged association and disappoints him. He decided to take further action to consider opening his own “Sai Mandir” after consulting with his fellow members.
In March 2017, he planned to open a Mandir and looked for a strategic location to build it. However, Baba did not give him so much of hassles as he managed to find a suitable location at 1, Jalan Baiduri 1/1, Taman Baiduri, 81200 Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia in August 2017. Thereafter, he made an official registration with the Johor state government to kick start a registered association. On 23 September 2017, the team successfully renovated the Baba mandir and set it up with facilities. The association has decided to “STABANAM” (Tamil word, which means the placement of Baba statue permanently) by the priest (Asaki Muthu) from one of the foremost spiritual temples in India (Tiruchendur Murugan Temple). The Baba murthi arrived a bit later than the date was fixed (two days before the kumbhahishekam) for “KUMBHABHISHEKAM” (Tamil word, means the ceremony day of the statue placement) where Baba played (in belief) a little trick as baba always tests his devotees on Shraddha and Saburi (means faith and patience). Baba will always test his devotees but won’t make them to suffer. The Baba murti arrived on the day of Kumbhabhishekam which is on 23rd September 2017 after peacefully handling the logistics session.
Since day one, our Mandir has become a place of worship for the surrounding Sai community; but its significance is much more than that. Thus, we are celebrating a few major festivals which show importance such as Maha Shiva Ratri, Sree Rama Navami, Guru Poornima, Thiruvilla (the annual festival), Deepavali and many more, and through this, we gather and build the community as a united community. Apart from the religious activities, we are also involved in several activities including serving Annadhanam, helping the needy by collecting donations, education guidance, and arranging Shirdi tours to get Sadguru (Shiridi Sai Baba) dharsan (blessing) and others that benefit the community services that are specific to reach out to the community.
Our Sai Mandir serves a meaningful purpose in the area where it resides, helping people assimilate into their new city while preserving the age-old traditions and culture. An important aspect of the Sai Mandir and the reason why it is so popular in Johor Bahru is the fact that it remains very traditional, sticking to Sai Baba's teaching. The strictness and discipline of the Sai philosophy of the Mandir are something that appeals to the flushing community, especially new Sai devotees who want to know about Shiri Sai Baba as a guru. This is a vital part of their community, for both the religious and the non-religious.