Divya Sparsha_4th Issue (Half yearly E- Magazine By BalVikas Alumini, Odisha)

Divine Discourse

APERSONwhohasmastered Vedhas(ancientspiritualrevelations)andVedhaantha(metaphysicsofthe Supreme Reality) might be honoured as a Pandith (learned scholar). Another might be praised for his brilliant writings in both prose and verse. But if such scholars have neither purity of consciousness nor elevating Ideals, their capacities will result in more harm than good. They will promote neither happiness of the people nor peace in society. They will pass through life without the awareness of Its sanctity or sublimity. The Lord blessed the boy Dhruva, appreciating his Innocence and his steadfast faith in Him. TheLordsavedPrahlaadhafromdirectdisastersplannedbyhisownfather,fortheboyhadsurrenderedto Him and placed unshakeable trust in His Mercy. The Lord showered Grace on Kuchela who suffered from agonising poverty because he never once faltered in his devotion to Him. The Lord is the refuge of all who seek refuge, the saviour of all who have to be saved. He is the Embodiment of Sath Chith Aanandha (Being- Awareness-Bliss Absolute). He is now at Puttaparthi as the Effulgent Emperor over the region of Truth,GoodnessandBeauty.

BhagabanSriSathyaSaiBaba (PrashaanthiNilayam,23-11-1975)

hagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba to mankind. ershavebeentendedtobytheLordHimself.

In today’s world, where every parent is aiming to make his/her child great, the Bal Vikas movement is churning out good children. Bhagawan says that the parents should aim to make their children good. Greatness will automatically follow.

Divya Sparsha carries the love of the tender touch of the Lord to His children. These buds have now bloomed into flowers and fruits. They are shining in every walkoflife-asteachers,entrepreneurs,administrators,doctorsandsoon.Inspite of the myriad of professional fields, they carry one fragrance- the fragrance of goodness, the fragrance of the soil and culture of Mother India, the fragrance of their gardener- Sri Sathya Sai. If the past is the seed of the present and the present- the seed of the future, our Bal Vikas alumni are the fruits of our labour of love of the past and the seeds who will give us a bright tomorrow. Reconnecting with them every year and reconnecting them with this Divine Organisation gives usimmensesatisfactionandhappiness.

May the Divine Gardener’s Hands keep tending to these blessed blooms in every stageoftheirlivesandmaytheirfragrancecontinuetospreadhopeandjoyinthe world around them. May the Lord use them as His Divine Instruments to spread His message of Love and Service. May they be the lighthouses who will guide manywreckedshipsashoreinthisstormyseaofthesamsara. MaytheForcebewiththem!MayHisLovebewiththem!

JANMA KARMA CHA ME DIVYAM

SaiRam!

My humble Pranam at the lotus feet of our most beloved, most adored Bhagawan Sri SatyaSaiBaba. ThankstoBhagawan’sinfinitegrace,thefourthissueof‘DivyaSparsha’ a biannual E-magazine of the Balvikas Alumni of Odisha is going to be released on 23rd November, the most auspicious Birthday of Swami. For the current issue of the Magazine, the topic is “Janma Karma cha me divyam”, a declaration by Lord Sri Krishna in Bhagavad Gita (Chapter IV-9). It says- I am divine in my birth and action. The most compassionate Lord does not declare about His divine birth only, but also assures Arjuna (the representative of the entire man-kind) “One who thus knows my divine birth and divine action in true light, having dropped his body, does nottakebirthagainbutcomesuntome.

“JanmaKarmachamedivyamevamyovettitattvataḥ tyaktvādehampunarjanmanaitimāmetiso’rjuna”

(B.G IV-9)

To our utter good fortune, the Lord has kept His promise - “Sambavami Yuge Yuge”, and He has again come to the world for restoring Righteousness whom millions of people around the world adore as Bhagawan Sri Satya Sai Baba. The words of Lord Krishna are absolutely true when we come to know about Swami’s birth and action. HisbirthisdivineasSwamiHimselfdescribesitas‘Pravesh’not‘Prasabā’.Allofus know about the amazing episode before Swami’s birth. Once Iswaramma was fetchingwaterfromthewell,suddenlyablueluminouslightenteredherbodyand,as a result, innocent Iswaramma became unconscious. After some days she discovered thatshehadconceived.Again,whenSwamiwasborn,allthemusicalinstrumentsin the house began to play in unison producing very smooth sweet music. Swami enteredtheworldstagetoperformHisdivyaleelas.

It is divya because the Lord has not come bound by Law of Karma like ordinary humans. On the other hand, He is absolutely free. Due to His boundless mercy, He comes to the mundane world in order to establish Righteousness (Dharma). He comes to transform mankind so that they live in love and peace. Although He performsactionrelentlessly,Heisnottaintedbyaction.

“Namāmkarmāṇilimpantinamekarma-phalespṛihā’’

B.G.(Chapter.IV-14)

Nor do action taint me nor is the fruit of action desired by me. Therefore, not only is Hisjanmadivine,Hiskarmaisequallydivine.HisactionisonlyforLokaSangraha, for the welfare of mankind. Bhagwan has come down to uplift the miserable, the seekers, the believers and of course the non-believers too, because in this Sai-Avatar, He acts like Prema Avatar, an embodiment of Love. One may be a sinner or a saint, His infinite Love is all-encompassing, touching every one’s heart. He is the eternal charioteer,awonderfulworldteacher,aperfectGuide,atrustworthyfriend.Greatis ourfortunetobeborninthecontemporaryworldwhenBhagawanhastakenAvatar. He has hallowed the world by His Love in action. His Love is so profound, so deep, so limitless that cannot be explained by the limitation of the language. (Yato vaca nivartante ---) He is armed with Love, Mercy and Compassion. By applying these divyastras, He has transformed millions of hearts across the globe. Instead of doing Samhara (as in the previous Avatars), he has brought Sanskara in our hearts as a result of which a thief, sinners, non-believers, murderers’ hearts have been transformed. They used to bask in the light of Swami’s powerful love. He works untiringly, renders service lovingly, gives interviews for hours together but never feels exhausted. It is only due to his limitless Love for mankind. One day a devotee of Bhagawan asked Him in the interview room “Swami, you are working too hard for the welfare of mankind, personally supervising each and every thing. Please do not strain yourself so much. Swami immediately looked at him and said, “Bangaru, my missionistoredeemthedifficultiesofMankindusingthepowerfultoolofLove.

All that you have said is OK, but I do not like the word ‘Shrama’ (Strain) which you mentioned”, which he went on to explain that any work taken up with ‘Compulsion’ results in stress and strain. “My work is not an act of compulsion; my work is out of CompassionandLove.Hencethereisnoquestionofstrainatall,thereisonlyJoy,Joy and Joy”. This reminds us of Bhagavan’s historic letter to his elder brother Sri ShesmaRajudated25.05.1947whereherevealedaboutHisMissionforwhichhehas descended on this earth. “Among many vows to fulfill, some are (i) To redress the sufferings of the poor and needy is my definition of Love. (ii) To rescue and reclaim all those who go astray from the right path is my Vow and most importantly. (iii) To protect and grant Ananda (Bliss) to Mankind is my commitment.” In that letter, Bhagawan very clearly pronounced: “No one can comprehend my power however longtheytry,whoevertheyareandwhatevermethodtheyadopt”.

His words are absolutely true. During His 85 years of life in this mortal world, His glory has spread in the nook and corner of the world which he has mentionedinHislettertoSriShesmaRaju.“Youyourselfwouldwitnessmygloryin future.” His Sankalpa is ultimate: Action spontaneously follows His Sankalpa as it isdivineSankalpa.

The 1st Part of the Sloka (IV-9) in Gita speaks about the divine birth and action of the Lord. The second part is most valuable for the spiritual aspirants. It declares about the greatest goal which is attained by the seeker after his death (physical death) if the seeker knows about the divine birth and action in true light (tattvatah). It is difficult to comprehend the divine infinite form (Daiva Manusa rupena). One must have Chitta Suddhi first. Bhagawan very often speaks of Purity, Patience and Perseverance which we must practice. The Nine-point code of conduct prescribed by Baba should be regarded like the Gita and the Bible. In order to reach the goal we must practice in our daily life to enhance our Personal and Community Sadhana. He is our Guide. “The incarnation has come to warn, to guide, to awaken, to lay down the Path and shed the light of love on it. But man has to listen, and obey with hope and faith (S.S.S. Vol.VIII). When we seek His guidance, we take the first steptosaveourselves.

GraduallywesteptoascendthestepbysincerepracticeofHisteachings. Most importantly we must be extended by loving more and more people and serving more and more people. This is the formula Bhagawan kindly taught us to learn the art of meaningful living which ultimately leads to make us free from the cycle of “BirthandDeath”.

I pray Bhagavan to guide us, guard us in every step of our lives. The writingsofourAlumniaresuffusedwithdevotion,loveforSwami.MaySwamibless themtoactasperfectinstrumentsinthe‘DivineHand’.OntheauspiciousBirthday, let us offer our ecstatic gratitude to our most beloved Swami for the grace He showeredonus,i.e.tobeinHis‘DIVINEFOLD’inthislife.

PriyambadaPattnaik(Mohanty) Bhubaneswar

Janma Karma Cha Me Divyam

Sj. Narayan Prasad Sar East Zone President, SSSSO, India

descends as human, it is with a purpose. He takes upon a task which is for the welfare of humanity, for removing the suffering of the ailing human race and to foster the good ones. His discordance is out of all compassion for the fellow beings. During his sojourn on earth, He manifests the divine qualities that can be adopted by all to tread on the royal path to Godhead. Lord Shri Ram is called Maryada Purusottama, the personification of the ideal human. Similarly, Lord Krishna is termed as “Geetacharya”, the bestower of highest wisdom. The most recent is of the paripoorna avatar of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. The whole saga of His 85 years of avatarhood was a rejoice to mankind. Never ever in the history of humanity was there such a rare phenomenon of love love which encompassed the whole world and transformed millions of hearts across the globe. Each moment of his life was filled with lessons for all of us. Through his words and deeds, he set a lofty ideal for each once of us. To understand and witness His divine life is by itself the highest sadhana for us.

It so happened on one Sunday morning that a few students of Swamiji’s college were engaged in morning jog in the ground. To their surprise, suddenly Swami arrived. Students were so joyful to see Swami amidst them. Swami enquired about their exercise and invited them to engage in arm wrestling with Him. Students took it as an opportunity to touch Swamiji’s tender palm and readily agreed. To their utter embarrassment, one by one they failed to move Swamiji’s hand even an inch. Swamiji asked all of them together to give a try. However, the combined effort also failed. Finally, Swamiji on a single punch defeated them all. Exhausted and defeated, the students said, “Swami, you are God, you can do anything with your divine power”. Then Swami said,” No, I have not used my divine power. It is my physical energy. I am so strong because this body has never done anything wrong”. This was a vibrant message not just for those students but for all of us.

Whatever act the divine body took upon was pious and sacred. His divine body was ever engaged for the good of all the humanity. That is what is termed in Srimad Bhagabad Gita as “Janma Karma Cha Me Divyam” Even today His divine body rests in Sai Sannidhi at Kulwant Hall and is ever engaged in wiping tears and agony of millions who come to His divine sannidhi.

Similarly, when God descends, He decides His place and time of birth, His parents, etc. In the sacred month of Kartik, on the most pious day Monday, Satya descended on earth glorifying the world of Mata Eshwaranima in the clan of Ratneker, Ardra Naxatra. His Gotra was Bharadwaj Sutra Apastamba, all symbolising the auspiciousness that befits the Poorna Bramha taking human form. It is said that God descends so that the human ascends. Therefore, the Janma of God is always divine.

To understand and to assimilate this fact that the Janma and Karma of the Avatar is all divine and for the welfare and grace to the whole Creation is itself the highest sadhana. Keeping this in mind always, a sadhaka can merge with the divine lotus feet. Like Swamiji’s divine love transcends the physical and meta physical level His Avataric deeds have been inspiring and shall continue to inspire humanity to become dearer to God. Keeping His ideals high, lakhs of devotees and active workers of Sri Sathya Sai Seva Organization areengaged in selfless service with love to redeem their life.

In the words of the legendry servitor of humanity and poet of Odisha, Utkalamani Gopabandhu Das :

Meaning “Human life is not measured by the years, months or days he has lived but by the deeds he has done….Karma is the sole yardstick to measure a man’s life.

We don’t need a long life but a divine life it is all that the avatar of the age has taught us through love in action. Offering at his lotus feet.

Sai Love in Action

R KA SAGAR HAI, TERI EK BOOND KE PYASE HUM.

Offering myself at the divine lotus feet of the most loving and most caring Sai Maa.

Swami, at the end of many discourses you have sung the bhajan “Love is my form, Truth is my breath, Bliss is my food”. He is indeed Prema Swaroopa. Every action He does is filled with love and only love. Starting from his childhood he has shown to this world what true love is. Why do you think the lord of the universe will come down to the earth to make us realize who we really are? It’s because of pure love towards the mankind. He said, “I separated myself from myself only to love myself.”

There are many instances of devotees witnessing the love of Swami in many forms. I would like to share a personal experience of mine. It happened when I was studying in Swami’s Institute. On 1st Sep 2017, it was my birthday, and on August 31st night, I was thinking that it would have been so nice if my parents had been there with me on my birthday. I never knew that Swami had some other plans for me. On 1st Sept. morning our warden comes and announces that we will not have jogging that day; instead, we will have Nagar Sankirtan. I felt happy that the day began with a divine activity singing the Lord’s name. Then in the evening, special snacks were served, when our warden told us they were thinking of getting those snacks items to our hostel stores. So, those vendors had come to advertise their product. It really felt awesome. Again, in the evening we had a special dinner. One teacher from our campus had arranged the dinner because he got his PhD. My friends passed some comments telling, these special snacks and special dinner were arranged because it was my birthday and it indeed made me feel special. And to add ice on the cake, the study hours were also cancelled, because all the students had a very heavy dinner and if study hours were to be conducted all would fall asleep. So, it was decided that the Mahabharat serial would be played in the prayer hall and those students who wished to see that could assemble in the prayer hall.

Sri Sai Utpal Sahoo Jajpur

Oh my God!! I felt like I was in 7th heaven. The day ended but my experience did not end. That night Swami comes in my dream and tells me, “Is it only your worldly parents that can make you feel special on your birthday? Don’t you consider me as your parents?” This is what Swami is asking me in my dream. I was in tears.

There is another instance, after the completion of the water project in the Anantapur district in Andhra Pradesh. The devotees of the nearby villages had come for Swami’s darshan and to offer their gratitude for what Swami has done by providing free water to them. When they thanked Swami, Swami said, you should not be thanking me, instead I should be thanking you. You have given me an opportunity to serve you. So lovely and humble our dear Swami is.

Indeed, He pours upon us the love of a thousand mothers. But we ignorant people can’t even understand the love of one mother. How can we understand His love? Sometimes we feel if Swami is having love osf thousands of mothers, then why we devotees sometimes go through pain and suffering, our own mother would never have caused this to me.

But let’s take for example a child, when it is taken to the hospital and given some injection, does it not cause pain to the child? It causes immense pain and the child cries. But do we stop giving the injection because of the pain? No, right? We know that now the child is crying because of ignorance but when the same child becomes an adult, he/she will understand why that injection in childhood was necessary. The same thing happens to us. Swami gives us this pain only to make us strong to get rid of the diseases of the mind, and once we become mature and understand, we will never question him for whatever he does in our life.

I only pray that he gives us the strength to understand his love towards us and make us love him more and more till the last breath in this life and all the upcoming lives.

Sri Sathya Sai Avatar &

Dharma Sansthapana

Ms Aishwarya Barik Bhubaneswar City District

On 23 November 1926, a baby boy was born in a far away village of Andhra Pradesh called “Putta Parthi”. The family members gave him the name “Satyanarayana '' , for he was born after his mother, “Eshwaramma”, took the holy offering of “Satyanarayan” pooja. That day for Puttaparthi and the entire world, it was a divine and happy November morning: the Avatar was born. We all have read Ramayana and Mahabharata, where Ram and Krishna showed their divinity from their childhood. So was it with little “Sathya”. From an early age he showed he’s not just a simple boy but incarnation of God. In Vishnu's “Dashavatar”, each of the 10 avatars have a role and significance in each “Yuga '' . Then, what was the reason behind Sathya’s birth as an avatar? There was no demon, no Ravan, no Kamsa, then why was Sathya born? Little Sathya who was later known as Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai was “Shiva Shakti”, an avatar of both male and female aspects. He is the Poorna avatar who descended on earth as a human to elevate our consciousness and guide us to reach our ultimate goal, to bring transformation in us through love

One of the purposes of Bhagwan Baba’s avatar is to shield us from ignorance and illusion (maya), so that we can know our true divine entity. And this is what distinguishes humans from the avatar. We don’t know our true identity and live behind the veil of ignorance and for that reason we get stuck in the cycle of birth and death.

Every avatar’s form and role are dependent on the situation that led to their manifestation. Ram taught us commitment to truth by his words, thoughts and deeds, Krishna taught us the power of love, and Bhagwan Baba taught us important human values: Truth, Righteousness, Peace, Love, Non violence. In this materialistic world when we don’t find time to follow these values, from his early childhood, little Sathya followed the path of truth and showered love upon the poor. He is the purest embodiment of love.

What is Dharma for us? For a long time, humans have divided dharma into religion and the form of God they pray. Where mankind thinks of it as religion, but Bhagwan explains it as Righteousness or right conduct. He emphasised on the Vedic maxim: “Sathyam Vadha, Dharmam Chara”. To attain divinity, one should practice dharma and speak the truth. For Bhagwan “Dharma moolam idam jagath”; dharma is the root of the world. Bhagwan explains dharma as certain duties, regulations and obligations over words, behaviour and action. Following the path of dharma, man discards demonic qualities, fosters human qualities, to develop divine qualities. Man should act as he speaks and speak as he feels.

According to Bhagawan, when a man practices dharma, he recognises the same God in everyone as in himself. Once he does so, he wouldn’t dare to hurt others. Eventually he develops love for everyone. Once a man is filled with love, ultimately, he speaks and follows the truth. This takes man on the path of non violence. And the fruit of peace flourishes inside the man and in the world. These values develop divine qualities in man. And the main purpose of the avatar, to protect man from ignorance and illusion to understand its true divine entity will be fulfilled.

"Je kare amar aash,

Ms Sai Sradha Panda Sambalpur

"Je kare amar aash , aami kari taar sarvanash Tarpare bi je kare aash , aami taar dasher daash.."

A well known saying by Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, that makes it clear that the journey to Swami is full of hurdles, but what we need to pass those tests is complete FAITH in Swami. If we consider ourselves as Swami's students, then we must be aware that Sai maa is very strict with his students. So, we have to be very careful in our day to day lives, and once we completely surrender ourselves to Swami, he takes care of us at every single step.

When I was in hostel, starting from drinking water properly to take an extra pen to examination hall, everything was taken care of by Swami. Even if I had to get up early in the morning and I prayed to Swami before going to bed asking him to wake me up, then without any alarm I used to wake up at that exact time. I ask Swami before each and everything whether to do this or not, whether I should say this or not, whether to submit the form now or not, for everything. And if we have truly surrendered ourselves then we would definitely get those answers. But the most important thing is Faith. Once a student asked Swami, " Swami, if you can do everything, then you can also give us good grades in academics, why do we need to study hard? We all are your children you won't let us score bad na Swami?". Then Swami asked, " When you wash clothes, what do you do?" That student replied, " Swami, we wash it properly so that all the dirt is removed, then keep it under the sun to dry " .

And then Swami said, " The efforts you put to clean the clothes is your hard work and the sun rays are my grace. So, without hard work you cannot get Swami's grace".

I heard this experience but was not satisfied because there was a question in my mind that If the sunrays were Swami's grace then why doesn't Swami increase its intensity so that if a cloth takes half n hour to dry, it would dry in 10 minutes and we can also get the result of our hard work a bit earlier. This question was there in my mind for some days and I was thinking on it continuously. But then what happened was beyond belief. I had a dream where Swami was whispering in my ears that "The clothes would burn".

AND I GOT ALL MY ANSWERS.

Sometimes I feel that Swami is not answering my questions or not listening to me but then I realised that " It's not that Swami would listen to us when we think we want him to, rather when he thinks we really need him to". And now as we have started the journey To Sai with Sai let’sbelieve that "God's delay is not his denial but a test of our faith". Through all these tests, Swami is melting us, moulding us and shaping us into a beautiful ornament that glorifies his presence. So let us believe in Swami and face all the problems with a smile.

Jagatguru Sri Sathya Sai

Ms K. Sumala Patnaik Japan

Jagat Guru Sadguru Sai Guru Deva

Sarva Janashraya Mama Guru Deva

Have you anytime wondered why Sathya Sai Baba is called Jagatguru and not just guru? Why aren’t our teachers who indeed show us the entire world by just using chalk and blackboard are never called Jagatguru?

True to the name, our Jagatguru Sri Sathya Sai Baba has touched millions of lives not just in and around Puttaparthi but in the entire globe. Every time I hear the stories of Sai devotees, I feel astonished. The way Swami makes his path into devotees’ lives is so unpredictable.

Once a Japanese lady Sai Devotee narrated to me how she met Swami. She said she got the opportunity to see Swami for the first time through her friend’s friend who had booked an extra ticket by chance, and Lo! that turned into her lifetime chance. The first time she travelled to Puttaparthi, she felt like never going back again to her hometown in Japan. She says the first time she saw Swami, tears kept rolling down her cheeks, there was an unusual feeling of happiness within her and till date she doesn’t know the reason behind such emotions in Puttaparthi. But surely, I believe it was Bhagwaan's way of entering into her life. Later, after her marriage she faced a lot of problems at home and with every problem she emerged stronger. Today she can clearly see HIS hand behind all the happenings in her life. And believe me, she hasn’t even travelled to Puttaparthi after her first visit, and still her faith and emotions for Swami remain as strong as they were on her first time Darshan. Even today when she recalls her first meeting with Swami, she feels immensely happy within. She has been trying to re visit Puttaparthi for past many years, but as we all know, unless HE wishes even an ant cannot move, she is still waiting for HIS call.

I would also like to share the experience of another Japanese lady who is above 60 years of age now. Once she was travelling by car to a distant place. Unfortunately, the car happened to meet with a dreadful accident. The car had almost got destroyed and her relatives felt that they would even lose her permanently. But with HIS blessings, she survived with just a few minor injuries. And more importantly, they noticed vibhuti around her everywhere inside the car, and from then on, her entire family are ardent followers of Bhagwaan Baba. Whenever I met her, she couldn’t convey her feelings to me due to language barrier, but every time she just says “heart to heart” and leaves. This has left a very strong impression on me. Truly, as she says, it’s only the heart that matters, pure feelings lead to pure thoughts which in turn lead to pure actions.

Today, the whole world faces a variety of sufferings. A few with good health are not happy with their financial condition, those who have enough money are not happy with their health, those who have both money and health are not happy because they still feel there is something missing in their life and the circle unending.

But blessed are those, who are satisfied and happy with whatever they have. Our needs decide whether we are rich enough, healthy enough, happy enough or not.

The most powerful message of our Jagatguru“Be happy with what you have”,

I believe is the key to happiness in today’s world. At the end I would like to say, how Swami enters into our life and what impressions he leaves in our lives is completely up to him.

Let’s thank our Jagatguru Sathya Sai Baba for being the beacon in our life which we can always look up to.

Thank you, Swami

Sai Love in Action

Ms S Sai Sivanee Bhawanipatna, Kalahandi

Love is giving and forgiving; selfishness is getting and forgetting. Love is a bridge over the sea of change. Do not build a house on it.

— From the discourses of Sathya Sai Baba

Sathya Sai Baba always taught us that love is selflessness, and that the hallmark of love is sacrifice. His life is His message and His message is love. He is truly the incarnation of love. Love in action is service. The best way to adore God, according to Swami, is to love and serve everyone. There are many ways to show our love in actions. We can do many forms of seva. Love in action is demonstrating your love for others via deeds of generosity and assistance. You have a pleasant inside feeling when you show your love to those around you. Your beloved is also joyful. Serving the needy is a good way to express your care for them. Countless people struggle with life on a daily basis due to illnesses, disabilities, or poverty. This is also a type of love. Love in action also entails not bothering or upsetting other people. It means acting in a way that makes other people feel good, speaking softly, and being kind to them. 'Sai Premdhara' is a very excellent project that we have the true goal of our endeavor is to visit any SSSVIP and express love and care to pregnant mothers and their unborn children while also providing for their basic needs. They are receiving medical and spiritual attention. To provide nutritional care and doing godhbharai and teaching BalVikas to the kid’s. 'Sai Sraddha' is an initiative where we express our affection towards the elderly. 'Nitya Sikhya Danam' is to offer various forms of assistance for a child's education. 'Sai Amruta Kalsa' to assist anyone in need. 'National Narayan Seva' which involves feeding the needy while exhibiting respect and humility. Service to God, not to man, is what is meant by Narayana Seva. Depending on the requirements of the "Narayana" or recipients, there are various ways to perform 'Sri Sathya Sai Narayana Seva'. God manifests in two different ways: 'Lakshmi Narayana' and 'Daridra Narayana'. Fewer people choose to worship 'Daridra-Narayana' than 'Lakshmi-Narayana' in order to ensure their own personal prosperity and welfare. Swami frequently advises Sai Organization members to focus solely on serving 'Daridra-Narayana'. The hungry can be readily satisfied if they are fed. Service to 'Daridra Narayana' can never go waste. The highest level of sadhana is this one. Even though Seva is a little word, it has a huge spiritual meaning. When one performs Seva with no thought of return or recognition, God's grace will follow.

So Swami always says 'Love all Serve All'.

Love in Action

Ms Tamanna Das Nalco, Angul

Cry out loud with joy while stepping out first into the world. Bring a beautiful smile spreading happiness among the dear ones. Learn to differentiate between good bad, fair unfair, right wrong and Help the needy ones with an altruistic frame of mind. Feed birds and animals with a tender heart. Nurture the plants to make the environment greener, Help blossom flowers to adore the beauty of nature. Evolve as a genuine professional pouring work as worship at every instant and every place.

Build your talent with utmost passion. Grow as a responsible child taking care of parents.

Be a loyal life partner riding out every storm and overcoming all challenges of life.

Be the mother like a blanket shielding your child from the cold of the cruel world.

Be the father letting your child walk the path of horns and support as a back holder whenever he slumps.

Be the grandparent telling virtuous stories to your dear grandchildren. Live like a dedicated soul constantly of service to mankind.

Whatever you do, treat each and every action with love because love without action is meaningless and action without love is irrelevant. Faith in action is love and love in action is service. By transforming that faith into living acts of love we put ourselves in contact with Swami himself.

Lastly, depart from life like a cheerful soul with voiceover expressing minimal contentment that “Hey Swami!

I may not have executed all actions successfully as per your teachings but definitely tried to discharge all actions with full love " .

God's Grandeur

Ms Sai Suprateeka Khordha

Our lives are but fine weavings that God prepares, Each life becomes a fabric planned, and fashioned in his care.

We may not always see, just how the weavings intertwine, But we must trust the master's hand, and follow his design.

For he can view the pattern, From up above While we must look from underneath and trust in him to guide.

That's he who flies the shuttle, it's he who knows what's best, So we must weave in patience, and leave to him the rest.

The dark threads are as needed, in the weaver's skillful hand, As the threads of gold and silver, in the pattern he has planned.

Sometimes a strand of sorrow, is added to his plan, and though it's difficult for us, We still must understand.

Sai Love in Action

Ms B. Shivani Koraput

y parents and my elders, ellow and blue in colour.

What accompanied the scarf was Service, Discipline was their comrade, And that feeling blended together became "Seva Bhava"!

Years after, I see myself draping the scarf, The scarf of Unity with Swami, Re unify with the Swami in my fellow mates! I meander down the memory lane, To kindle myself with the miracles.

I tell myself, "Oh, I am here for this, for this very Mission of Swami. To be in Love, to pervade Love, and make Love the breath of my life."

"I am here, to immerse myself in the ever flowing river of Spirituality." "I am here, to hold Swami's hand and walk for the rest of my life and beyond."

And now, The scarf signifies a bond with Swami, Swami as omnipresent, and Swami as the one in all. Swami in all the activities, who pulls us and sets us there with comfort and joy!

That's all this life needs! Grateful, ever grateful ❤