Issue 265 - February 20, 2022 |
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Sairam Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Sometimes when we engage in the various service activities, we get so carried away by the activity itself that we tend to forget to stop and observe ourselves, and the progressive transformation it is bringing to each of us within.
Recently while speaking to a group of devotees engaged in sevā, Sadguru Sri Madhusudan Sai reminded everyone by saying, “More often than not many get carried away by the good that is done outside, which is necessary and a must. But more importantly one must see what it has done within. How have these activities improved you? Are you becoming more peaceful and restful or are you being restless even with the smallest change in life? Are you becoming more content with life, and more loving and kinder to each other? Are you becoming more compassionate and giving, service-minded and sacrificing? Are you becoming more equanimous? These are the questions one must ask within. Service activities are not only for the betterment of the world outside, but also for the betterment of the world within! Service will lose its purpose, and will remain incomplete if it only improves the world outside, and does not help oneself go within and aid in individual transformation.”
Sairam
Bhuvana Santhanam
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ātmano mokshārtam
(Emancipation of one’s self)
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The Story So Far
“I beg you to forgive me for beginning a story that I cannot end. But the end is not yet upon my lips. It is still a love song in the wind.” – Jesus – The Son of Mana, Khalil Gibran
The adventurous journey of every single soul, the jīvātmā, from the supreme one, paramātmā, is the greatest of the stories ever told. Each similar but uniquely different!
ākāśāt patitaṃ toyaṃ yathāgacchati sāgaram. Every single drop of rain that falls from the sky must meet the ocean ultimately, it’s final destiny. No exceptions.
As it merges into the ocean it must lose itself, must give up all that it was and still imagine itself to be. All those self-conceived limits must fade away, all the imaginary boundaries must vanish!
It must ready itself to take that final plunge of surrender into eternity, after which there is no more!
Being is lost in becoming and so this little drop must lose itself in becoming its Self!
All the haggling and hesitations, anxieties and apprehensions, doubts and fears that governed it all through its journey, ever since it parted from the comforts of the cloud, a long time ago, must dissolve and disappear in tireless pursuit of final moves as it prepares to lose its all to gain its all.
It must not turn back and look at the elapsed past, lest it should grow weak in its knees again, tremble in its heart and decide against its calling!
And it must ignore the cries of the muddy pools which refuse to move on and remain fearfully content with their stagnation, having embraced the compromise of living with the foulness of their own existence.
It must not remember the ups and downs of the tiresome terrain where it had lived a thousand lives and died a thousand deaths, before it began to flow again.
It must pay no heed to the voices of the distant drops that flow, unwillingly, far behind and cry in vain for its company, too selfish to let go of it.
It must turn a deaf ear to the scornful shouts and mocking murmurs of the pretentious and the proud, who call it insane and laugh at its madness of losing everything to gain nothing!
Leaving behind all its past, it must gladly glide into the beckoning arms of the ocean that stretched out countless times in the past but withdrew disappointed. And have stretched yet again today and now to embrace it forever.
It must stay firm in its faith, steady in its surrender and strong in its striving to let go and let God!
This is the story of one such drop, the story so far!
An excerpt from the book – ‘The Story Divine Part One’ authored by Sadguru Sri Madhusudan Sai, Pg no. 15 and 16.
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Love Transforms Everything
By Nunzia Pia Russi
Pharmacist, Italy
I have never met Swami in His physical form but I have had the grace to experience Him in His subtle form. I recall very well, the evening when I met Him at first. I had to attend a seminar and I was running late. When I arrived at the venue, the seminar had already begun. The moment I opened the door, I was literally hit by an energy so strong, so loving that I finally felt at home. At that point in time, I didn’t know anything about Swami. His energy, His eyes and His words were something which appeared to come from a person unknown but on the contrary, I felt like I had known Him since ages and have finally come home. This was the grand entry of Swami into my life.
I had a period of great upheaval in my life. I was undergoing a hard time accepting the things which were happening to me lately. Petrified with the circumstances and the messages that I received, I did not know how to interpret them and continually wondered, “Why all of this was happening to me?” Fear was one factor that always accompanied me throughout my life, even if there was no particular reason. I fought a lot against this fear, with all my strength every single day. But failed in my every attempt miserably. I noticed that it was fear that was getting stronger with each passing day and not me until one day in August 2021, when I decided to offer it all at the feet of the Master (at His Ashram in Assisi). Swami has the power to transform all that is given to Him with a sincere heart. Since then, the concept of fear has completely vanished from my life. Probably, as a third person, my life would look the same as I continue to be a mother, wife, sister, professional, etc., but let me tell you it's not the same anymore. My life has taken a complete shift, a positive shift. The meeting with Swami made me free from the all the conditionings that my role dictated and allowed me to become ‘Me’ truly.
The Divine takes different forms and, in my case, it has waited for me to be ready and for the right people to be accompany me. It is to these people that I owe all of my gratitude.
Divine love nourishes my every day and every part of me, despite my defects, my mistakes and my weaknesses.
"We are drops in THE drop", we are all One.
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To help reach Sri Sathya Sai Baba’s human values-based education to the world, and to resuscitate the humanness of humanity, the Sri Sathya Sai University for Human Excellence launched a unique, first-of-its-kind Institute of Human Values, to offer tailor-made courses totally free of any charges, curated by experts from around the world. The Vision of the Institute is to make better humans in their personal and professional spheres, by making them more sensitive towards society’s needs and exploring ways of their contribution to society in a meaningful and selfless manner, thereby creating a sense of global citizenship and responsibility.
The courses will help an individual balance the inside and outside, while progressively being a better human being, that will ultimately help him or her unravel the true meaning and purpose in life.
Learning from the heart is spiritual awakening, Baba would say. The Institute of Human Values is the first step to help lead the world into the beautiful awareness of its heart – a heart that operates from the universal human values of Sathya, Dharma, Shanti, Prema and Ahimsa.
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The biggest battle in the entire universe is to fight with one’s body consciousness and get established in the Divine consciousness. It is not at all easy compared to the worldly battles.
क्षुरस्य धारा निशिता दुरत्यया दुर्गं पथस्तत्कवयो वदन्ति |
kṣurasya dhārā niśitā duratyayā durgaṁ pathastatkavayo vadanti |
Sages from ancient times said, spiritual journey is like that of walking on a sharp razor's edge, hard and difficult to traverse. Only the courageous and focused individuals can truly walk upon this path, fight with all the calamities and reach the destination.
Right from the birth, every individual is made to believe that he/she is that very body. Gradually, the identification with the body gets concretised and becomes impenetrable for the truth to seep in—'ahaṃ brahṃāsmi, I am Divine’. Only with constant efforts, integrated awareness and guru’s grace can one break open from the cocoon of body consciousness and find himself/herself one with the ultimate force.
In episode 45, Sadguru Sri Madhusudan Sai speaks about the process of rising from body consciousness and enter the infinite realm of Divine consciousness.
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INSPIRATIONAL QUOTE FOR THE WEEK |
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“Happiness is like butterfly; the more you chase it, the more it will elude you, but if you turn your attention to other things, it will come and sit softly on your shoulder.”
– Henry David Thoreau
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jagat hitāya
(Welfare of the World)
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Sai youth in Kazakhstan participated in helping and distributing food to the individuals and families in need. Every Sunday, the volunteers distributed meals on the route from Church to the Mosque in Almaty city. In the month of January, around 110 meals including sandwiches, sweets, cookies and tea were distributed to the needy.
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The Sai youth supported the preparation and distribution of 2,000 meals during the month of December 2021 and January 2022 across a range of locations in the United Kingdom.
In spite of the on-going restrictions, the volunteers in London continued to give fresh pre-packed meals weekly from a public square in the city centre where many homeless and needy people congregate for food. The team served around 150 meals per week in addition to providing snacks and hot drinks.
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In Portsmouth and Southampton, volunteers from various regions worked in collaboration with local charities to prepare meals and provide other supplies to the rough sleepers and individuals without proper access to food in their local community. Over the Christmas period, they also gifted 236 hampers containing clothes, food and toiletries to those in need, including recently arrived refugees, the homeless and the elderly.
All activities are undertaken in compliance with government guidelines and maintain appropriate social distancing.
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