Sai Newsletter
Sai Newsletter
Newsletter - informal printed report containing news of interest to members of a club etc. (from Oxford Minidictionary).
Newsletter - A brief specialized, periodical news report or set of reports sent by mail (from Funk and Wagnalls Standard Desk dictionary).
Of course our Newsletter is - not a journal, not a literary magazine and not a book of reviews on selected topics. Our Newsletter is supposed to be an informal report containing news of interest to our members (fellow devotees). Unless we receive (on a mandatory basis) reports regularly, on on-going projects and project updates from unit Coordinators and Sub-unit Coordinators, we cannot share the news with our fellow devotees. We can gather material from several sources', but our idea here is to show and share the information on on-going activities of our Centre and also the talent of our children and youth.
As you may know, based on several positive responses form fellow devotees, we devised the existing format for our Newsletter. We have to somehow improve the motivation of our children (including youth) and adults to submit spiritually-oriented articles of interest.
An anonymous fellow devotee, after learning that the Newsletter will be back on track, took care of the entire copying costs of the last issue (v. 7; No. 1) of our Sai Newsletter. We sincerely thank the devotee for the generous help and excellent interest in the Newsletter.
I sincerely thank all the authors for sending their articles promptly. My heartfelt thanks are due to our good friends, the entire Vangala family for helping me with their computer expertise and for their excellent patience, in bringing out this issue on time.
All contributions must be submitted to the Editor, Dr. Venkata R. Neralla, via e-mail or on a 3 1/2" diskette in Microsoft Word format. I urge you all to send your reports, updates, articles etc. for future issues on time.
As you may know from our last issue of our Sai Newsletter, with the assistance and submissions from many of our fellow devotees, we revitalized our Newsletter activity. So, let us NOT allow the Newsletter to go back its earlier hiatus.
Let us keep the flame of SHARING (via this Newsletter) burning bright!
- Dr. Venkata R. Neralla,
Editor
I begin my experience with Swami, with humble pranams at our dearest Lord's Lotus Feet. Even though I believe now that I have always been in Swami's fold, in reality it was only about 13 years ago, in 1989, that I was introduced to Baba's teachings. As I had a liking for Eastern classical music, I appreciated the vibrations produced by Bhajans when I heard others sing from their hearts. No sooner had I the complete faith of a true devotee, than I realized Swami had chosen to make challenges in my career path and my life ever since.
Next I was in the United Kingdom (U.K.), having come to pursue higher studies. On successful completion, despite a severe economic recession, Swami found me a very good job doubling my salary with no prior U.K. work experience. I became actively involved with the Merton Sai Centre, Wimbledon, participating all activities of the centre, contributing songs and helping in the compilation of a bhajan book "SAI GEETHAM" consisting of 1008 songs. I was a regular driver cum delivery person on the weekend "Meals on Wheels" program of the Centre.
My first visit to Swami, in 1992, was as a messenger (that I realized later). I had to deliver a letter to Swami from a very dear and close friend of mine named Pari. He had married on September 14, 1991 and his wife Saradha had become very ill shortly thereafter and had passed away in July 1992. Whilst at Prashanthi Nilayam, I met many new followers and some very experienced and long-time devotees including Mr. Basdeo Maharaj of the Mississauga Centre at the orientation lecture, totally unaware that I soon would become an integral part of the Canadian contingent) whose company provided great inspiration to my inner quest for Swami and his teachings.
Little did I realize that I would be invited by Swami himself on my next visit, though my desire was to visit Kodaikkanal when Swami usually is present during the Sinhala & Tamil New Year celebration time in April of each year. In August 1993, suddenly I found myself in Whitefield, through an extended business trip to the Far East. I received Swami's blessings on a Thursday before my departure and was happy to have shared that great moment with Swami. Two of the new families with whom I became acquainted during that visit had, unknown to me, obtained copies of photographs that were taken of Baba blessing me, and had forwarded it to me when I arrived back in the U.K. This visit was crucial to me as I had also received Baba's blessing to move from the U.K. to Canada in 1994.
The most vivid memory I still have is of the Maha Shivarathri celebrations at York University on Thursday, March 10, 1994. This was an excellent presentation of group devotional singing by all the centres of Toronto, which indicated the unity that Baba has always been promulgating to all of us. This was a great eye opener for me as I had witnessed, and I am sure many of you have experienced the need to keep our egos in check. After the great celebration that proved to be a stupendous success within a highly charged environment of spiritual energy, work became such a pleasure.
On May 16, 1994 when I got married, I remembered Baba and requested his blessing during the ceremony at the altar whilst waiting for the bride to arrive, and instantaneously I had a flower that came down from the decorations and fell on my hand. This was the power of Swami's grace that I continue to enjoy each day. I thank Swami for having given me such a beautiful wife, Nila, from whom I have learnt the two greatest qualities of good character, i.e. patience and tolerance during my first four years of marriage than in all my life before.
Nila and I have continued to be members of the Sri Sathya Sai Baba Centre of Toronto over the past few years. Our son, Gajaan, enjoys the Bal Vikas program and insists on participation at the bhajan thereafter, despite our request for him to get home when he appears tired.
The greatest moment ever in our lives arrived when our family, including our infant daughter, Deloshene (Nila was induced on November 23, 2000, and our daughter was born on November 24, 2000). Gajaan, Nila and I were part of the group of 176 devotees that visited Puttarpathi in July 2001 and had Swami's personal darshan for over 2 hours on Friday, July 28, 2001. Baba showered compassion on each one of us. To me the greatest message he conveyed was to share our love for one another and live as brothers and sisters, to promote mutual harmony not only amongst all the devotees of the Centre but to infect all human beings we would come in contact with, be it in our homes, work place or wherever. All the children of our Centre enacted an excellent play for Swami on Wednesday, July 25, 2001 at the Poornachandra Auditorium, which was greatly applauded and gracefully blessed by Baba. According to Baba, spreading His message of love in thought, word and action is the only salvation for mankind from this troubled world of jealousy, envy, hatred and unchecked ego. In the 5 years I had been conscious of Swami's grace, this was the first time that Baba made eye contact with me, when he blessed our daughter and myself. Our son also received His blessings through his participation in the group song offered to Swami by all the boys of our Centre. Nila was more fortunate than me to have been blessed before during a Paadhuka Pooja Ceremony when we visited Puttaparthi in 1998 with Nila's mother. That was Nila's mother's first and last visit to Swami before her death in 1999 from terminal breast cancer.
Our son's question in his letter to Swami "What does Baba do in Puttarpathi?" - was answered by his compassionate company with us personally, having given us a discourse, treated us to a very delicious Prasadam (the Sweet Mysore Paahus), but above all His total bliss that we all enjoyed for the 2 weeks culminating on that great Friday afternoon, was a fitting grand finale to a wonderful trip. My own confirmation to Swami was to be thankful for having given me a beautiful wife and two lovely children, but more importantly to a transformed and spiritually-oriented life from now on. The transformation process had already begun for me long before the tour to Puttarpathi was undertaken.
I take great pleasure in offering my sincere love to Swami through our Sai Centre - Sri Sathya Sai Baba Centre of Toronto, to allow me to be an instrument of change and hopefully inspiring others through this article of my own transformation process to come forward and meet greater challenges that lie ahead of us.
- Kumar Sittambalam
The most dramatic and decisive moment of my life occurred 28 years ago in the cherished land of my birth, Guyana. On Nov. 23 of 1974, a very pious and elderly Hindu gentleman and friend asked me in a fatherly manner to accompany him to a satsang that was being held to celebrate the birthday of Bhagwan Shri Sathya Sai Baba.
We arrived at the address about fifteen minutes before the commencement of the program and discovered a large number of devotees already seated - males on one side and females on the other - facing an altar adorned with a most beautiful, divine and life size picture of Swami, as well as lighted incense sticks imparting and lending a pleasantly spiritual fragrance to the room's atmosphere.
I humbly and reverently sat myself on the soft-carpeted floor. The discipline of silence and the undisturbed calmness, quietness and peace so distinctive, yet intangible enveloping everyone in the congregation was for me an experience unique, unrivalled and inescapably profound. A devotee very smilingly and gently handed me a few sheets of paper stapled together on which the bhajans for the occasion were printed.
After the recital of OM three times, the bhajans started - male and female devotees singing alternately. As the chanting progressed, my mind accompanied by the vibrations generated, soared upwards into the lofty heavenly regions creating a feeling of blissfulness, happiness and a healing balm to my depressions, frustrations and dejection of spirits. The moment arrived when the devotee sitting beside me finished his bhajan. He softly whispered and smilingly invited me to lead the next bhajan.
This was the first time I was present at and listening to Sai Bhajans and their exotic tunes and, taken by surprise, I meekly assented and cooperated. The bhajan was entitled - Maanas bhajare guru charanam - and to my utter surprise, the tune chosen by me, as I later discovered, was the one familiar to all Sai devotees.
At the end of the Bhajans, a devotee who had just returned home from Prashanti, gave an inspiring and stirring discourse and referred to Swami as the Avatar of this age. This pronouncement impacted me to the very core and I returned home with the belief and faith that at long last the Avatar had come and by his advent the good and peace loving peoples throughout the world might now hope for and confidently look forward to the dawn of a new golden era when only Sathya, Dharma, Shanti, Prema and Ahimsa would prevail. A few days later I read "Man of Miracles" by Howard Murphet, and that was how I got into Swami's fold.
Jai Sai Ram!
- Darshnanand
When we first came into
contact with Swami's teachings, one of our concerns was eliminating
the killing of innocent animals for nourishing our body. Hence, we
began taking vegetarian cooking classes at the Montreal ISKCON
temple and did much reading. At first, the reason for being
vegetarian was that the animals had a soul and that eating meat was
killing and I lived with this reasoning for a few years. However,
one day I came across the book "Diet for a New America" by
John Robbins and after reading the book, vegetarianism had a whole
new meaning. I understood that animals were living, sensitive and
innocent beings and that especially in North America, they were
being very badly mistreated. Having understood this, I also
understood that consuming any products of the animal industry would
be supporting the cruelty and suffering which was being inflicted on
animals. Would any one of us support the infliction of pain and
suffering on any being, human or animal? Hence, throughout the year,
we slowly modified our eating habits, reading every label and
questioning the ingredients in every food item. We refrained from
supporting profit made through the infliction of pain and suffering.
There may be exceptions, but overall, profit and human values do not
go too well together.
Today, our concern is in doing the least harm to our fellow human and animal beings and also the environment. Our solution to this is by supporting environmental, vegetarian and organic organizations. Yes, there is a price to pay but we have it easy, our cost is mostly financial but many have paid with their lives for a cause in which they believed in. People like Steve Biko and Nelson Mandela have paid dearly for a cause which they believed in and these people may not be labelled as "spiritual" by many. How are we to act for causes which we believe in, considering ourselves to be devotees of Sathya Sai Baba? Some may say that what we eat is of little importance in relation to spirituality. However, if we cannot meet the "little" challenges, will we be able to meet the "big" challenges?
Today, oppression of human beings is on the wane compared to the past few decades. However, oppression of our mother earth and friends of the animal kingdom is on the increase.
Swami has recently spoken of the harm we are causing our mother earth. He has said: Nature is exhibiting frightening disorders. Natural calamities like earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, droughts and floods are the result of disturbances in the balance of Nature caused by reckless exploitation of natural resources.
Each and every one of us has the power to change the world and we make big statements of our beliefs through our actions. Let us tell the world what we stand for through our support of our mother earth and our brothers and sisters of the animal kingdom.
- Paul Urbani
With the assistance of Rasool Lochan and Meera Goocool as facilitators, a study circle entitled 'I Am Not Alone' was conducted on Sunday, 26 May 2002.
The format of the study circle was
Discussion:
Today man is facing various problems because he is not focusing on
the underlying unity in creation. We must see unity in diversity and
concentrate on the underlying Divine power. God pervades the entire
creation. God is the indweller of all beings. Never forget God, no
matter what the problem or difficulty. You do have a mind; be firm;
be resolute that God must be your goal and that you must pursue it
with steady determination.
Swami says: Dear children, people come and go. All the children in the world are mine and they are all part of me. They come and go throughout eternity. All happens according to God's will. Apparent death is traumatic at the time. The minds of those who are attached to the dying person are inevitably disturbed. People do not see things as they really are. They relate everything to the moment. But the time is timeless and time itself is eternity.
You can learn much from understanding these basic truths and adjusting your thoughts, feelings and actions. Do not fear, ever, there is nothing to fear. Remember the words of Jesus the Christ 'I and my Father are one'. That is the fundamental truth, THAT ALL ARE ONE, all are part of the whole world and no one is alone.
We must have totally positive attitudes. It is essential at all times. It is very important that we must have steady faith in God. This faith can move mountains. We all need more faith, real faith, and real inner belief that God is there, all the time and He is with us all the time. (When we are in trouble and when we are to achieve any good fortune). When we move our faith to the higher level our mind will be able to transform matter; we could have the confidence that anything is possible, we have the strength and energy to overcome all the obstacles in our life.
Happiness or worry is based on our feelings. If we consider the body to be the cause of worry, it will be so. In fact, God has not created anything bad. All are entitled to happiness. To receive your share of happiness, you must sanctify your life by serving society, using the noble qualities that God has endowed you within. It is God s grace that makes the sun to shine, the moon to glow, the rivers to flow, and the crops to grow; this helps us to live and be happy.
Swami says that you should have confidence in Him, and he will look after everything for you. Does it not go without saying that all His devotees have faith and confidence in Him? To quote an answer to that question this was Swami's response:
"All of my devotees have faith in me. But not all of them have confidence in me. Faith is one thing and confidence is another thing. Only when the two exists together, will there be a reaction from me."
Wake up in the morning and look for the light. Look within, not
out ---look for God.
Travel within, not to distant places. The secret of life is to find
your own self. When you find your real self, you have found God.
See the light --Be the light and merge with God.
That is the way to live your life.
Live in Love.
Say His name, See His form, and hold on.
- Nala Brodie
"I Am Not Alone" - A Member's Perspective
Do you ever feel alone or
upset? How do you deal with it? Many people experience the feeling
of loneliness at some point in their life, whether it is during good
times or bad.
On Sunday, May 26, 2002, the Sri Satya Sai Baba Center of Toronto held a study circle entitled "I Am Not Alone." It was an informative talk along with a discussion involving the audience from the center. The Study circle opened up with an introduction to the topic and also some questions followed by answers as gathered from Swami's Discourses.
The second half involved a breakout session with 4 groups. Each group was given a different scenario, and all four scenarios were challenging. A spokesperson from each group presented answers that they came up during their discussion.
Thereafter the facilitators of the study circle presented with some probable answers and read some relevant quotations from a few Discourses of Swami.
Over all the study circle was worth attending. The study circle came up with answers on how one should deal with their emotions and traumatic happenings in life. An interesting poem entitled 'Footprints' by Marge Powers (see below) was read and might have provided with some answers - in a different way.
- Mona Patel
FOOTPRINTS
One night a man had a dream,
He dreamed he was walking along the beach with the LORD.
Across the sky flashed scenes from his life.
For each scene,
he noticed two sets of footprints in the sand;
One belonged to him,
and the other to the LORD.
When the last scene of his life flashed before him,
he looked back at the footprints in the sand.
He noticed that many times along the path of his life there was only one set of footprints.
He also noticed that it happened at the very lowest and
saddest times in his life.
This really bothered him and he questioned the LORD about it.
"LORD, you said that once I decided to follow you,
you'd walk with me all the way.
But I have noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life,
there is only one set of footprints.
I don't understand why when I needed you most you would leave me."
The LORD replied, "My precious, precious child,
I love you and I would never leave you.
During your times of trial and suffering,
when you see only one set of footprints it was then that I carried you."
-Marge Powers
Workshop Report
Loving God Through Service & Serving God Through Love
A workshop to understand and discuss the spiritual role of service (or 'Seva') in the Sri Sathya Sai organization was held by Ontario Region 1 of the Sathya Sai Organization of Canada on Saturday, April 27, 2002. The following report describes the workshop and highlights the major presentations and discussions. In addition, a summary of the feedback received from the participants and a description of a specific action plan that was renewed as a result of the workshop is also noted.
Purpose:
Over the years, there have been ample discussions regarding the
spiritual act of serving others in need. Questions such as
"what seva activities to undertake?" or "where to
perform seva activities?" have been addressed and answered
eloquently within a similar framework. Several socially and
environmentally directed activities have been undertaken as a result
of such questions over many years.
In this workshop we review the act of service from the different perspective: We look beyond the What and Where of seva. We address the How and Why of seva. We ask "how should seva be performed?" and "why should seva be performed?" The answers to these questions were derived largely from the teachings of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba.
Format:
The workshop was a full day event from 8:30 AM till 5:30 PM with
short breaks for lunch and refreshments. It was held at the McLeod
Auditorium, Medical Sciences Building, University of Toronto, Toronto,
Ontario, Canada.
Content:
The first session consisting of three talks outlined and set the
stage for the workshop. The upshot of the session was threefold:
In the third part of this workshop, there was an excellent video presentation of service activities in the Sathya Sai Centers of Ontario Region 1. In keeping with the theme of the workshop, it was not sufficient to view the video but the audience was asked to comment on the impact of the activity on the individual who performed the seva. This was followed by an eloquent presentation on the discussions and resolutions of the 7th World Conference of the Sathya Sai Organization highlighting, especially, the importance of internalizing the act of seva in order to attain spiritual enhancement. The discussion on internalizing seva together with the breakout group discussions on building emotional spiritual assets set the stage for a presentation on learning to feel and serving together. The former was an interactive discussion on how to "see with the heart" when we come upon commonplace scenarios of poverty, hunger, abuse, homelessness, war and environment. The latter was an excellent presentation on individual spiritual enhancement through group seva activities. Finally the session concluded with an inspired presentation on and importance of service activities within the Sathya Sai Organizations so that we can take care of the needs of our own devotees.
The day's events concluded with three energizing experiences of
the inner spiritual significance of seva. The first was given by
Wayne Trelford, a former homeless person and drug addict who, while
recounting his experiences left an important message: Help for the
homeless is best given by food and physical assistance, not by
giving money. The second was an experience was given by Dr. Venkat
Sadanand on understanding loneliness having received training by
Mother Teresa. The message from this talk was that if you want to
help the homeless or sick, it is revealing and uplifting feel what
it is like to be homeless or sick. The seva then is more directed
towards loving God through the activity. The final talk given by
T. R. Pillay, was extremely touching and recounted the last moments
of her daughter Priti who died recently suffering from leukemia. It
left the audience with the thought that donating bone marrow or
blood is an enviable act of self-sacrifice. Such selfless acts of
serving others will always be appreciated by those in need and by God.
The workshop was then concluded with a recall of the main theme.
Overall, this was a very successful workshop and the participant feedback was well-received. Most responded with a very good impression of the workshop and felt inspired by the various topics and presenters. It is worth noting that the majority of the participants were greatly impacted by the life experiences of the three presenters in the last session. The overwhelming response was that they were greatly touched and really felt inspired from the heart. The questionnaire was a useful tool to assess the value of the conference as well as a way to help design future workshops on seva.
- Vinod Lad
Recipe for Friendship
Fold two hands together
And express a dash of sorrow
Marinate it over night
And work on it tomorrow
Chop on grudge in tiny pieces
Add several cups of love
Dredge with a large size smile
And mix with above ingredients
Dissolve the hate within you
By doing a deed of seva
And help a friend or loved one
If they should be in need
Stir in laughter of love and kindness
From the heart it has to come
Toss with genuine forgiveness
And give your neighbours some
The amount of people served
Will depend on you
You can serve the whole wide world
If you really want to.
- Author: Unknown
(Submitted by Rasool Lochan, Seva Wing. Read at a recent Seva workshop organized by Rasool Lochan and conducted by Shiva Gopie, on Sunday, 23 June 2002 during 4:00 to 5:30 PM)
We come across many Sanskrit words in Swami's Messages and in
other Sai literature. In order to understand and improve our
vocabulary of common Sanskrit, here is a puzzle with 34 common
Sanskrit words. See how many you can find!
A S H R A M S A D A Y A M S A P H A R T A M I A M R A H D S Q U T M D T H A L E E L T Q A C H R H A T Q Y A V W H G L H A H A U K P U R A N A S I A S F N A A S K F B N M U P H S K A A H K A H D X A R Y R T H A A B R L R A A S R B A I O T R G N A A S A A M P U A T Y A A U O A A K O R D D R V H J K R R C R N W M B A N A Y V E I A U P E Z J K A H N A P I K I G D E V A S A I H O Y N A A I O A Y T A S R B R A G F A M E Y E Q X F J A I B H Y A O Y H A
Revival of a Centre Tradition
Aum Sri Sai Ram! As you may have heard, the youth of the centre have taken up a project called 'Summer Challenge'. The primary idea behind this is to allow the youth to become a close-knit group by conducting different innovative projects together during the months of July and August.
One such project that the youth have chosen to undertake is to revive the activity of an annual offering of Bhajans, songs etc., by youth to Swami. These will be compiled entirely by youth and will be brought out as a final product of this project on a CD. This compilation, will be similar to the 'Gems of Devotion' audio tape series produced by our Centre several years back, except that the proposed project will show the creativity, skill and talent of our youth.
We need the help and assistance of all members of our Centre, to accomplish this project in a successful way. In this connection, we request that you provide us on loan, any audio and video tapes of Bhajans including special songs, instrumental music, etc., by youth, that you may have. Rest assured that we will return the borrowed material safely after our use.
We appreciate receiving any ideas that you and your family members may have for the design and suggestions for the name of this compilation project, by August 1, 2002.
Please provide all A/V resources to Sujith Reddy and all creative designs and ideas for a name to Ryan Udugam.
- The Youth of the Sri Sathya Sai Baba Centre of Toronto
A Trip to Prashanti
My family and I were blessed to be in the presence of our dear Lord Sai in Prashanthi Nilayam in July 2001. Even though, we decided to cancel the trip for some reason, honey appeared on Swami's picture and my mother's dream, changed our decision. We took a last minute decision to join the Journey of Love. It was so exciting to travel that long journey with our Sai brothers and sisters. With Swami's grace, the journey was so peaceful.
When we landed in Puttaparthi, it was very hot. But Baba's environment was giving a cool breeze. I was thrilled to walk on the land where Swami walked with his devotees in his younger age. It came to my mind that Baba used to sit with his devotees in the moonlight and talk for a long time.
When we arrived at the Ashram, Swami was in Maharashtra; we didn't have Darshan for two days. The only difference I noticed in the Ashram from other temples was that it was a gathering of different cultures and religions. There were Christians, Muslims, Hindus, and Sikhs etc.
Baba finally arrived on the third day. At once, the Ashram was filled with people who wanted to have the Lord's Darshan. I felt excited about seeing the Lord for the very first time. As the music came on, everyone turned towards Swami all at once. His footsteps were very soft as he came by. I felt his love and warmth surrounding him. When the music stopped and he went inside, everyone in the hall got up and left for breakfast. Throughout the rest of the trip, everyone had to go to bed at 9:00 and had to wake up at 3:00 in the morning. Although this time was very early, I didn't miss a single Darshan. I am sure I derived that energy and strength from Swami's grace.
A few days later, my friends, family and I went along the banks of the holy Chitravathi River. The river had dried up, but I still knew that this was where Swami had walked with his devotees like Professor Kasturi, discussing the Ramayana, Mahabarat etc. This was also the place where Swami was materializing lingas and idols from the sand.
After visiting the holy river, we climbed the stairs leading to the wish-fulfilling tree. We could see the army of monkeys that helped Rama to cross the ocean, still guarding the Kaliyuga Rama. From the top of the cliff, I could see the entire village of Puttaparthi. Swami has done lots and lots of things to the village. The students presented a performance to Swami. Baba was very happy and pleased with the theme of the drama. He blessed all the students on the stage. In the following Darshan, Swami indicated that we were to have an interview on that very day in the Mandir.
I had never been inside the Mandir myself. But when I stepped
inside, I was truly amazed. In the back there was a big statue of
Arjuna and Lord Krishna during the Great War in the Mahabarat. In
the front there were three pictures: one of Shirdi Sai Baba and two
of Sri Sathya Sai. When the interview started Baba blessed each and
every one. He gave us a two-hour discourse that only felt like ten
minutes. He started his speech with the meaning of the word 'man'.
Swami also emphasized character, controlling anger, not wasting
time, and doing service. Swami was very happy, saying that he was
pleased with our unity and devotion. We left Puttaparthi on the next
day. While I was leaving Puttaparthi, I was in total bliss. This was
an experience not many people had. In the interview room, Swami had
said that now we were in the hall, but when we returned to Canada,
the hall would be within us. The moment that I first saw Swami will
always be with me forever. This entire trip will be a cherished
memory that is embedded in me for evermore.
- Hari Mahaswaran
(12 years, group 3, SSE)
Unconditional Love
To obtain peace, Love is one of the many paths. Love in feeling is peace. With love, peace is easily gained. If we want to cultivate peace amongst ourselves, we have to cultivate unconditional love. To grow flowers we must have a pot of fertile soil. Likewise, to grow, we must remove all impurities and have a pure heart. With a pure heart, we can love family members, friends, and the community and gradually we can expand that love so we can love everybody as our brothers and sisters. When love is grown, it reaps tolerance, humility, faith and reverence. If we follow this path, we will start to loosen our attachments. Love binds all hearts in a soft, silken manner and as a result brings out our human nature. When we gain true love, our hearts are distressed at the suffering of others and sympathy is experienced. This is the true test of love.
We should love everyone equally and unconditionally. One example of a person who loved everybody was Mother Theresa. Mother Theresa took care of many orphans, sick, handicapped and old people and treated them all with pure love. Parents also love their children unconditionally. Like these role models, we should also do the same. We should never allow money or one's appearance to be factors in judging how much we should love somebody.
When love is in our hearts, jealousy, hatred and other bad qualities will find no place and will disappear. This is why there are so many problems in the world. People cannot get along with one another, and there is so much hatred and anger amongst people. If everyone loved unconditionally, peace would be easily attained.
Swami says:
Duty with Love is Desirable
Duty without Love is Deplorable
Love without Duty is Divine
- Brintha Chanthirakumar
(14 years, Group 3, SSE)
Dhruva: A Sign for the World
There was once a king named Uttanapada who had two wives, Suruchi
and Suniti. One day, Suniti's son Dhruva saw Suruchi's son Uttama
sitting on his father's lap. Dhruva wanted to sit on his father's
lap too but then Suruchi came rushing to Dhruva and said, "You
are the son of a king, but you aren't my son and so you don't have
the privilege of sitting on your father's lap. You will have to
perform a long penance. Pray to the lord to make you my son in your
next life." Dhruva started crying and ran to his mother to tell
her what had happened. After he finished telling his story, his
mother said, "Remember one fact, when one wishes someone ill,
that ill is visited upon the wisher. Do what Suruchi said, go and
pray to Vishnu. He is the only one who can rid you of your
unhappiness."
Dhruva left his father's city and journeyed into a forest where he met the sage Narada. Narada knew why the boy had ventured into the forest but asked him why he didn't accept his fate and go back to his mother. Dhruva replied that he was determined to win the Lord's favour. Narada told him that he was too young, and asked him why he didn't want to wait until he was older. Dhruva however refused to turn back and begged Narada to teach him how to succeed. The sage was pleased by Dhruva's determination and taught him how to meditate. He was to repeat the formula Om Namo Bhagawate Vasudevaya, which means 'I bow to the revered Vishnu' over and over again.
Narada then went to the palace of Uttanapada where he was welcomed politely. The king told Narada how sorry he was for not interfering when Suruchi sent Dhruva away with her harsh words and how worried he was about his son. Narada assured him that the Lord Himself would protect his son.
In the first month of his meditation, Dhruva only lived on the fruits he could find in the forest. In the second month he started eating only grass. In the third month he lived only on water. In the fourth month he lived only by breathing. In the fifth month he even stopped breathing. Dhruva's concentration stopped the air from flowing in heaven and on earth. All the people in heaven went to Vishnu for help. Vishnu told them that he would grant the wish Dhruva sought. Vishnu went to Dhruva and said, "You shall reign as king for 36,000 years, and then you shall stay in heaven."
Meanwhile King Uttanapada learned that Dhruva was coming home, and he was elated at the thought of seeing his son again. He went to meet his son, and Dhruva was carried back to the palace with much rejoicing. When he was old enough, he became king and his father retired to the forest. After ruling for 36000 years, he became the Pole Star. To this day the Pole Star is known as Dhruva.
- Sai Krishna Vangala
(11 years)
When I was at Uravakonda studying in the High School, you know I
came away one day and threw off my books and declared that I have My
work waiting for Me. Well, that day when I came out publicly as Sai
Baba, that first song I taught the gathering in the garden to which
I went from the Telugu Pundit's house was:
'Maanasa Bhajare Guru Charanam; Dusthara Bhava Saagara tharanam'
I called on all those suffering in the endless round of birth and death to worship the Feet of the Guru, the Guru that was announcing Himself, who had come again for taking upon Himself the burden of those who find refuge in Him. That was the very first Message of Mine to humanity. 'Maanasa Bhajare' - Worship in the mind. I do not need your flower garlands or fruits. Give Me something that is yours, something that is clean and fragrant with the perfume of virtue and innocence, and washed in the tears of repentance. Install the Lord in your heart and offer Him the fruits of your actions and the flowers of your inner thoughts and feelings. That is the worship I like most, the devotion I appreciate most. I have been all these days generally giving individual advice and giving answers to individual questions. The 'speech' today is a new experience for you.
The first sixteen years of this Life have been, as I have often told you, the period when Balaleela predominated and the next sixteen is being spent mostly in Mahimas in order to give Santosha (joy and contentment) to this generation. After the thirty second year, you will see Me active more and more in the task of Upadesa or Teaching erring humanity and in directing the World along the path of Sathya, Dharma, Santhi and Prema (and Ahimsa). Not that I am determined to exclude Leela and Mahima from My activity after that. I only mean that re-establishing Dharma, correcting the crookedness of the human mind guiding humanity to the Sanathana Dharma will be My Task thereafter.
Do not be led away by doubt and vain argument; do not question how and whether I can do all this. The cowherds of Brindavan also doubted whether the little boy who grew in their midst could lift Govardhanagiri and hold it aloft! The thing needed is faith, and yet more faith. Implicit faith is the secret of spiritual success.
Remember, the Lord loves not the Bhaktha but his Bhakthi. The Lord's Grace is like rain, pure water, falling equally everywhere; but its taste gets changed according to the soil through which it flows. So also the Lord's words are sweet to some, bitter to others. The lord's ways are mysterious; He blessed Vidura with the words 'Be destroyed' and Dussasana with the words 'Live for a thousand years'. He meant that Vidura's 'I' will be destroyed and that the wicked Dussasana will have to suffer the ills and tribulations of this world for ten centuries. You do not know the real reasons behind the actions of the Lord. You cannot understand the motives of other men who are almost like you in everything, actuated by the same motives and having the same likes and dislikes! But yet, how easily you discover the motives of One who is far, far above the level of Man!
God draws an individual towards itself; it is the nature of both to have this affinity, for they are the same. They are like the iron and the magnet. But if the iron is rusty and covered with layers of dirt, the magnet is unable to attract. Remove the impediment; that is all you have to do. Shine forth in your real nature and the Lord will draw you into His Bosom. Trials and tribulations are the means by which this cleansing is done. That is why Kunthi prayed to Krishna, 'Give us always grief, so that we may never forget Thee'. They are like the dietary and other restrictions that the doctor prescribes to supplement the effect of the drug of Naamasmarana. Sai is Sarvajanpriya and so any name, which gives you joy, you can take up. Tastes differ according to temperament and the character one has earned by generations of activity as a living being in this world.
Saadhana is most required to control the mind and the desires after which it runs. If you find that you are not able to succeed, do not give up the saadhana but do it more vigorously, for it is the subject in which you did not get passing marks that requires special study, is it not? Saadhana means inner cleanliness as well as external cleanliness.
(Excerpted from Sri Sathya Sai Baba's Discourse, 1953, Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol. 1, pp. 9-14)
It is with great sadness that we inform you of the passing of Mrs. Surrijdai Dalipsingh, affectionately known to us as 'Bhauji', on Tuesday, 16 July 2002, after a prolonged illness. When the Centre (Sri Sathya Sai Baba Centre of Toronto) was operating in the basement of her home, she was the one who cared for everyone in a tireless, humble and simple way. Surrijdai along with her family members, was instrumental in the development of our Centre. She was the dear wife of Mr. Moti Dalipsingh, one of the founding members of our Centre, and the mother of Mrs. Camila Balgobin, President of our Centre.
We pray Bagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba to grant eternal peace to her soul. Our heartfelt condolences to Mr. Moti Dalipsingh and his entire family, and we pray that Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba gives them strength and courage during this very difficult time.