wp-latest-posts domain was triggered too early. This is usually an indicator for some code in the plugin or theme running too early. Translations should be loaded at the init action or later. Please see Debugging in WordPress for more information. (This message was added in version 6.7.0.) in /home/srisathy/archive.srisathyasai.org.np/wp-includes/functions.php on line 6131spacious domain was triggered too early. This is usually an indicator for some code in the plugin or theme running too early. Translations should be loaded at the init action or later. Please see Debugging in WordPress for more information. (This message was added in version 6.7.0.) in /home/srisathy/archive.srisathyasai.org.np/wp-includes/functions.php on line 6131With love, reverence and gratitude I offer my prayerful Pranams at the divine lotus feet of our dearest, loving and omnipresent Lord, Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba.
Dear brothers and sisters – loving Sai Rams to all of you. I wish all of you a happy and holy holiday season and New Year 2019 filled with love, joy and peace. This is a time of celebration. Many of us share our love and gratitude with our family and friends during this season. Let us remember the most precious gift we all have received – that is, being the contemporaries of the Avatar of the age, Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. He is the incarnation of love. He is love walking on two legs. He is our eternal companion, protecting us, guarding us and guiding us wherever we are, at all times. That is His unconditional love. All names and forms attributed by man to God are manifest in His human form.
At this time, let us remember and reflect on two profound revelations Swami made during two of His divine discourses during Christmas. The first revelation was on 24th December 1972. Swami said that Jesus was the embodiment of love, sacrifice and forgiveness. Jesus said in a simple statement, “the One who has sent me will come again” and pointed to a lamb. The lamb is a symbol and sign of love. The lamb also makes the sound “baa-baa” which is announcing the advent of Baba. Jesus said, “His name will be Truth” – which is Sathya, and “He will be short with a crown of hair and wearing a red robe.” Swami said, “that Baa-Baa is this Baba – Sai”. What a joyous revelation and a blessing to all of us!
And the second revelation was in the Christmas discourse given on 25th December 1998. Swami said: when anybody asks you about Sathya Sai Baba, sing this song which conveys the whole message, which is “Love is my form, Truth is my breath, Bliss is my food. My life is my message, expansion is my life. No reason for love, no season for love, no birth, no death.” So, Swami’s form is love.
When we have received this precious gift, how do we express our gratitude to Swami? it is done by implicitly following His teachings. I know that the New Year is coming, and many people want to make many resolutions. At this time, I would like to share some of the simple, yet practical and powerful messages Swami gave – which all of us can practise in our daily lives.
Number 1: Swami said always have a positive attitude. He advised us, “Think good, think no evil. See good, see no evil. Hear good, hear no evil. Speak good, speak no evil. Do good, do no evil. This is the way to God.” This is the way we can develop purity of heart. Purity is enlightenment.
The second profound and practical message is the power of Love. Swami said, “God is Love, Love is God. Live in Love.” So, He exhorts, “Start the day with love, Fill the day with love, Spend the day with love and End the day with love. This is the way to God.”
Swami’s infinite love transcends the barriers of space, time, race and religion. Now, we see Swami touching the lives of millions of people around the world and we see more and more new devotees coming through the portals of Prasanthi Nilayam and many Sathya Sai centres around the world. During the recent 93rd Birthday celebrations in Prasanthi Nilayam, the Sai Kulwant Hall was not only full, but it was overflowing – and the devotees had to be seated in nearby Poornachandra auditorium. Devotees all over the world gloriously celebrated His Birthday, sharing His love, His message, and His works.
And the highlights of these various, beautiful works done by the Sathya Sai devotees is summarised in the 2017–2018 SSIO Annual Report which was offered at the Mahasamadhi of Swami during the 93rd Birthday celebration in Prasanthi Nilayam.
One of the blessings we received was the manifestation of vibhuti on many pages of the Annual Report, thus showering His love on all the members of the organisation and the selfless service done. People expressed gratitude to Swami for the love they have received.
Swami visited East Africa in 1968, visiting the countries of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. During this time, in July of 1968, Swami spent about ten days in these countries, showering His love, His blessings and His nectarine message on not only the devotees, but also the local tribal people. He extended His love to animals, plants, forests, and waterfalls and the whole of nature, the whole of creation. Our brothers and sisters in East Africa held a golden jubilee celebration of this visit in a glorious manner.
Swami says, “Nature is the vesture of God. Nature is the manifestation of God.” So, we need to revere nature. But man, in his ignorance and because of his selfishness, greed and excessive desire, is abusing nature. The price we pay for this is Climate Change, Global Warming, loss of biodiversity and environmental pollution which is causing many health problems. How to address this issue?
To serve the planet and protect the planet, we arranged the first “Go-Green Conference” in Prasanthi Nilayam in July of this year. More than 1,000 delegates from 78 countries participated. Many resolutions were passed after extensive deliberations by environmental scientists, subject matter experts and policy makers on how to address this problem. Now, these resolutions are being implemented by members of the Organisation all over the world to have a better planet and a better future.
Swami says the best way to spread His message is by being exemplars of His teachings. Taking this to heart, the young adults started a leadership programme in 2015. The programme started in 2015 is based on Swami’s life, His message and His works. Now, more than 1,000 graduates from 60 countries have come out of this programme and are taking an active role in the Sathya Sai International Organisation, serving in the Divine Mission.
Swami says there is only one religion – the religion of love and emphasized the unity of faiths and harmony of religions. The 125th Anniversary of the Parliament of World Religions was held in Toronto, Canada on November 1-7 of this year, and the theme was, “The Power of Love and Inclusion.” There were more than 8,000 delegates who participated from 80 countries and about 220 faiths were represented. The Sathya Sai International Organisation hosted a panel discussion, exhibition booth, Young Adults choir, and also a children’s play sharing Swami’s message, His love, and humanitarian works which were very well received.
While doing all these good works, let us constantly remember that the goal and purpose of human life and the Sathya Sai Organisation is to make us realise our innate divinity. That is: we are the embodiments of the divine Atma. We are embodiments of divine love.
So, keeping this in mind, we have various national and regional retreats. We have started a new initiative – an annual Summer Spiritual Retreat in Prasanthi Nilayam starting July 2019. We’ll be having talks, workshops and various spiritual practices focusing on the inward journey and how to intensify our effort to reach this goal.
In addition, we have started plans and preparations for the 11th World Conference to be held during Swami’s 95th Birthday celebrations, followed by the Young Adults Festival to be held in July of 2021.
Another important offering we want to make during Swami’s 95th birthday celebrations is the adoption of 95 communities, globally. I am very happy to share with you that by this 93rd Birthday celebration itself, we have already adopted 93 communities. It is very wonderful to see the enthusiasm of our Sai brothers and sisters to serve their communities.
In conclusion, let us rejoice in our Lord Sai, let us march forward with intensity and one-pointedness and with unity and love. I pray to Swami to shower on every one of us His love and bless us with a long, healthy, happy, peaceful and divine life.
Jai Sai Ram
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A two day interaction programme of the senior office bearers of SSSION, national coordinators, regional chairpersons, and regional coordinators was organized at ISSEN, Tokha on March 3-4, 2017. 93 office bearers attended the programme. This programme was mainly designed to make office bearers aware of their duties and responsibilities in their particular fields and clear the doubts and querries about the working pattern of the organization. All the attendees were very appreciative of the programme and felt that programme as such would be helpful in making them aware as well as clear of their duties and responsibilities in their respective fields in the organization. They felt recharged and energized by the participatory approach of the programme. They got opportunity to talk freely and understand many more unknown facts. The programme came to an end with Bhagava’s mangal aarati.
Women leadership programme 3/8/2017
March 8, on the holy ocassion of International Women’s Day, SSSION women wing organized women leadership programme in national level at Narayanchaur, Kathmandu. 600Women devotees and 30 men devotees from Sri Sathya Sai bhajan groups and centers of different parts of the country and attended the programme. The talks in the programme covered subjects like, Role of women in SSSION, Ideal Sai women as per Baba, Balancing home and organizational service work,Food and other habits, Interaction and Experince sharing with each other etc. The programme came to an end with mangal aarati of Bhagavan baba. The women devotees liked and felt energized and recharged by the talks. They suggested that SSSION should organize such programme as this once a year so that they would feel swami’s love and his presence all the time.
MEDICAL CAMP 3/14-20/2017
Sri Sathya Sai International Organization United Kingdom (SSSIO UK) in collaboration with SSSIO Nepal jointly conducted a series of medical camps in Nepal from March 14th to March 20th. A two-day medical camp was organized at Kavrepalanchowk district on March 14th and 15th. One-day medical camps were organized at Kathmandu, Chitwan and Kaski districts on March 16th, 18th and 20th respectively. A group of 60 volunteers (including doctors, pharmacists, clinical technicians and general volunteers) flew in from the UK to Nepal for the event. SSSIO Nepal provided a total of 59 doctors, 133 medical interns as interpreters, 3 pharmacists and 22 clinical technicians. The medical services consisted of general check-up, dentistry, optometry, gynecology, oncology, pediatric, otolaryngology (ENT), orthopedics, neurology, psychiatry, and cardiology. Pathology services were also provided in special labs setup at each camp. Medicines were distributed to the patients for free. During the 5 days of the camp, a total of 8071 patients were attended to, with 184 patients referred for further clinical checkups and or treatment. Ultrasound was performed on 56 patients, ECG on 344 patients and 92 patients underwent various pathological tests. A total of 196 eyeglasses were handed out to patients by optometrists. Over the period of five days, at least 9000 people (including patients, doctors, and volunteers) were served with free lunch as part of Narayan Seva.
The UK team of doctors and volunteers paid a visit to a number of ongoing service projects being run by SSSIO Nepal. In Kathmandu, the team took a tour of Sri Sathya Sai Health Service Center which provides various clinical services and medicines for free. In Chitwan the team stopped by the girls’ orphanage and spent some time with the children. Later they dropped in to inspect a new building in construction that is owned by SSSIO Nepal. The girls will be moved from the current rented property to this new building once it is completed. In Pokhara they visited the boys’ orphanage, recently started by SSSIO Nepal with 3 boys. In Pokhara the team also stopped by Sri Sathya Sai Vidyashrama to hand over tables, chairs, various outdoor play kits (see-saws, slides, etc.) and a projector all sponsored by SSSIO UK. SSSIO Nepal is currently running both the boy’s orphanage and the school on a rented property. Through generous land donation of Sai devotees in Nepal, SSSIO Nepal has already acquired its own land for both the orphanage and school. In Pokhara, the team also took a tour of Sri Sathya Sai Health Service Center. SSSIO UK donated 15 heart valves to Gangalal Hospital in Kathmandu meant for poor patients. The director of the hospital expressed his gratitude to Sri Sathya Sai Organization for this invaluable donation and also hoped that this tripartite cooperation between SSSIO UK, Nepal and the Gangalal Heart Center would blossom in future.
SSSION has started its helpdesks in two government hospitals of Kathmandu. Four Sai volunteers provide service to the OPD patients at each hospital.
At Tilganga Eye Center the volunteers serve from 08.00 to 12.00 and help the patients to get ready for Cataract operation and take them to the operation theatre. After the operation they take patients to the Post-Operative Ward. There they help to change and get them ready to return home.
The patients and authorities of the eye hospital are very much satisfied by the love and service of SSSION volunteers.
At Kanti Children Hospital the SSION volunteers serve from 08.00 to 14.00 hrs and make queue, give tokens, and make sitting arrangements to those patients who get the token and take them to their doctors. The SSION volunteers take care of the sick children when their parents are engaged in the OPD works. They also take care of the other children who come with their parents at the help desk. The loving service of SSION volunteers have received love and respect from the parents and relatives of the sick children.
The hospital authority is so much impressed with the service work that it has awarded the SSSION with a letter of appreciation.
New Center 1/2/2017
A new Center was inaugurated at Baluwa, Kavre district (Region 3) on 1 February 2017 with initial count of 70 members. With the addition of this center there are 210 Sai centers in Nepal. The program started with omkaar, suprbhatam and later followed by a rally. People carried Bhagvans photo circumamberating the area singing bhajans.later they placed that photo on the main alter of the Sadhana Bhawan. Bhajan continued for an hour. At the end mangal aarati was performed by the National president of the SSSION. Prasadam were distributed to more than 1100 people.
Interaction Program February 10-11/2/2017
Two days’Interaction Program for the Office Bearers of Region 3 of SSSION was organised at Kathmandu on Feb 10-11, 2017. 93 Office Bearers attended the program. The talks/ worshops in the program were focused on the Operational Guidelines which covered topics such as “Organization and Operational Guidelines”, “Spiritual Development and Organizational Activities” “Membership, Responsibility and Functions of Different Positions and Units”, “Organizations policy and programs for 2017″, “Central Trust and Financial Operations” and “Organizational Relations, Record Keeping and Reporting”.
Medical Camp 4/2/2017
SSSION organized a medical camp at lamsure, Hetaunda on February 4, 2017. 9 cardiologists and 9 nurses from a Government Cardic Center of Kathmandu provided heart checkup to 1051 patients including 321 ECO test.
Handover of the keys 12/2/2017
SSSION has built toilets on the bank of river Narayani at Devghat for the pilgrims.Thousands of pilgrims who come for holy bath in Narayani River use these toilets at Devghat. Pilgrims in general and women in particular felt very comfortable by this service.
The service is further extended by the construction of toilets and bathrooms near the electric crematorium in the premises of the Holy Pashupatinath temple at Kathmandu. Lack of those services were felt by the relatives and friends of deceased who had difficulty while waiting for their turn to cremate.In addition to these SSSION is also constructing a hall (shelter place) for the funaral groups to protect themselves from heat and rain. Amongst the veda chanting the Chairperson of Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust Nepal handed over the keys of the toilets and bathrooms to the member secretary of Pashupati Development Trust on February 12, 2017.The member secretary, in his short speech expressed his gratitude to Bhagvanand wished to work with SSSION in future also. The program attained by 30 people came to an end with the Mangal aarati by the member secretary of Pashupati Development Trust.
Narayan Seva to express Gratitude to Bhagawan 19-20/2/2017
Inhabitants of Balkot, a remote village of Western Nepal expressed their gratitude to Bhagawan Baba for providing them the rarest thing of their life, water in their area on 19 February 2017. The day began with Omkaar, suprabhatam, Veda Chanting in the newly constructed Sadhana Bhawan at the same place.It was followed by a rally circumamberating all the 4 wards,where the water isprovided, with Bhagvan Baba’s photo kept in a chariot. People happily walked singing bhajans and carrying the chariot turn by turn. Children of 4 schools and the inhabitants of the 4 wards were present in the rally. The place was decorated with festoons and looked as if they were celebrating a great festival. After the rally they kept the photo in alter and continued the bhajans for some time. Then there was a public meeting where a senior officer of the SSSION gave a talk on life, work and message of Bhagavan Baba to the huge gathering. The programme came to an end with the mangal aarati. More than 3500 Narayans of that area were served with lunch for two continuous days. The people of that village have named the water as ‘Sai Ram Water’ and the place as ‘Saisthan’.
Shivaratri festival 24/2/2017
MahaShivaratri was celebrated on 24 February 2017 by Sai Centers throughout Nepal with the usual devotional fervor.Most of the Sai Centers kept an all night vigil by performing non-stop akhanda bhajans for 12 hours starting at 6 PM and continuing until 6 AM of the next day. This year, more than a million devotees both from India and different parts of Nepal throng the Pashupatinath temple on this auspicious day to pay their homage to Sri Rudra.The temple premise was crowded neck to neck on the day and devotees had to queue for hours at an end to catch a glimpse of the Shiva Linga, the Sanctum Sanctorum.
SSSIO Nepal conducted the medical camp and water distribution nearPashupatinath temple. During the medical camp, a team of 43 members including doctors and paramedical staffs provided service to 550 patients. Water Distribution consisted round the clock serving by SSSION volunteers to the devotees standing in a queue. Blood donation Camp was also organized on this holy day near the medical camp and 92 pints of blood were collected.
Including this camp SSSION has been able to collect 213 pints of blood in the month of February, 2017.
SSSEHV Training 26-27/2/2017
Two days SSSEHV trainings for the 76 government and private school teachers were organized by the Institute of Sri Sathya Sai Education Nepal at Biratnagar on February 26 and 27, 2017.
The program was successful in penetrating the heart of the teachers. The Chief of local chapter of National Center for Educational Development (NCED), who was the chief guest said in his opening address to the teachers that this sort of training will be helpful in energizing their teaching profession.He said that by integrating HumanValues in education teachers will be able to eradicate the present degradation of values in the society and imbibe the rich ancient values.All the teachers were very appreciative of the program with comments that they received many teacher training programs but training as such was the first ever in their life. One of the participants, who was also the principal of a school told that he declared holiday on these two days and brought all his teachers in the training.He also said that being the head of institution he had conducted many in house training programmes to the teachers but was not able to convey the message as such in them.Although he was not a sai devotee, he was very grateful toBhagvan for providing such a wonderful opportunity to participate in this program.Another participant said that with money in hand one can receive trainings as one wishes but to get this training one needs his/hergood fortune. The programcame to an end with Mangal Aarati by two participant teachers.
Public outreach program 28/2/2017
SSSION organized a public outreach programme with the title,” Sai Adarsha(Sai Ideal)” at Biratnagar on 28 February 2017.The programme started with Omkaar, Gayatri and offering flowers to our beloved Bhagvan Baba. The advent of sai avataar, His life, His works, His messages, and His miracles were discussed in the program.Swami showed his presence when One of the young adults, a sai devotee told his story of miraculous recovery from Heart ailment. The doctors in the Christian Medical Hospital in Velor, India had told him that he could not live more than three years. On the last day of that dead line he had a excessive pain; he cried and prayed to Sai intensly. At that time what he asked with the lord was to grant him death not life. Where the science ends spirituality begins. When the doctors fail the lord steps in.He slept after some time. And lo!Bhagvan Baba appeared in his dream and said,’ you go to Velor for treatment. But why don’t you come to me?’ He managed to reach prashanti anyhow. But the lord was not there. He was at Whitefield. He went to the SSSS Specialty Hospital Prashantigram for checkup.The doctors told him that he had a hole in the heart. They told him to come the following day. The following day before going to hospital he offered insense to lord ganesha and prayed to the father through him. There he suffered from severe coughing. Then he went to the hospital.After checkup the doctor told him to come in the afternoon. He was called in the conference room and there were many cardiologists. They said to him what he did the previous day and before coming to them.He was shocked because the only thing he did was pray to god and lit insense in the morning to Ganesha. Then the doctor disclosed his miraculous recovery.The Lord had cured his disease not with the medicine, not by operation or by vibhuti but simply through the prayer and severe cough. The doctors’ doctor did his work.The doctor told him that his heart was stronger and healthier than his heart.After some time of this miraculous recovery he went to Prasaanti Nilayam.When he was in the darshan line at front in the first row the compassionate Lord came to him and stood before him.The sevadal who was sitting with him restricted the devotees from doing padnamaskar,so he could not move or bend his body.But when the Lord wishes what can the poor sevadal do? The lord played another leela. He mercifully inserted his feet under his lap, seeing this he could resist no longer and with tears of gratitude flowing from his eyes he did padnamaskar.Lord placed his hands on his head and went away. Now he is healthy with a wife and two beautiful daughters living happily. When he was telling his beautiful story none of the eyes were dry. He stood in front of the gathering as the live example of His Mahima, His leela and His miracle. Every one present there felt grateful to swami for his love and compassion for His people. About 85 non sai devotees and 55 sai devotees were present in the programme. The programme came to an end with mangal arati of Bhagvan by two non Sai devotees.
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