Issue 193 - August 30, 2020 |
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Mind is the cause of bondage and liberation, and if one can master this mind, one can become not just a mastermind but the master Himself, says Sadguru Sri Madhusudan Sai. In this series of talks, ‘Master the Mind’, primarily given to the Ashram residents of Sathya Sai Grama, Sadguru Sri Madhusudan Sai guides us step by step, to take up a 30 day sadhana to understand, analyse, master and finally merge the mind into the divine self.
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INNER VIEW
By Sri Madhusudan Naidu
Inner Conquest
The students had just returned from a sight seeing tour of Athens and Swami asked them, “Did you see the ancient Acropolis?”
“Yes”, all replied in chorus.
“What about the Parthenon?”
“Yes, Swami. We even went to the ancient museum”, added the students.
“Did you go to our Seva Centre?”, enquired a curious Swami.
This Seva Centre, named by Swami as Nectar of Love, was opened a year ago by Swami, which houses a conference room, offices, a radio studio and most importantly a community kitchen where the devotees and youth cook over 2000 meals for the refugees twice a week, and carry it all the way to their dwellings along with daily necessities and medicines.
“No Swami. We did not have enough time”, submitted the students apologetically.
Swami was a bit disappointed and He said, “Oh, then you have missed something important. While all that you saw were built by the emperors of the yore for conquering the world outside, our Seva Center was built for the inner conquest, to win over our inner enemies of ego and attachments born out of our false sense of identity. You missed the most important mansion in Athens.”
Only when the host intervened and offered to take them to the center next day, was Swami satisfied.
Recently He even revealed that He is travelling around the world and establishing these centers and Ashrams because a day will come when tired and disappointed with outer illusions, the world will come looking for inner guidance and these centers will be the beacons of light, guiding the wandering ships of their misguided lives to the shore of sublime eternity.
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2020 Region 3
First - Third Quarter Service Update
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Youth in Croatia have been active in several ongoing activities, with Swami’s Blessings.
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First and foremost, they were engaged in ‘Feeding the Homeless’ Seva weekly until the lockdown, after which they continued supporting the homeless by sending donations and food packages.
- Furthermore, they have organised weekly study circles on Zoom, first with an educational purpose, then for psychological support during lockdown and recently on Master the Mind series.
- Alongside these activities, some have also been involved in regular Vedic prayers and chants.
- ‘Growing to be God’ classes have been conducted fortnightly for children and teenagers by a group of five teachers.
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The Sai Youth Germany group has been involved in several Seva activities in their respective towns and cities, by Swami’s guidance and Grace.
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In Grafrath, the group continued their Narayana Seva, making 100 packages with fruit, sandwiches and sweets to distribute to the homeless in Munich twice a month, until it was restricted by the lockdown regulations.
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Members of the group from Freiburg have been organising Bhajan singing circles once a week, in the last few months.
- Some youth have been writing articles for German Sai Prakashana once a month, since February, 2020.
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In Greece, the devotees started this year with increased efforts.
- They managed to prepare up to 700 food packets each week, which were delivered to the homeless people at Pireaus Harbor and also to the residents of a few other old people's and children's homes.
- In parallel, members of the group have been supporting a very important organisation, called 'Allos Anthropos' that feeds the poor.
- Members of the youth group have also supported a child's brain surgery, as well as a family which could not afford paying electricity bills.
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During the lockdown in Italy, considering the stringent situation nationwide, most of the Seva activities were brought to a grinding halt apart from Grace Kitchen in Rome which continued with the Seva, modifying it a little bit. Food was also distributed in Padua where and when possible. The Guru Vikas project was in full swing as well, during the lockdown period, with the usual weekly online meets.
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For the last eight months, the youth of Kazakhstan have been actively engaged in Seva activities by the Grace of Swami. The following is a summary of their activities:
Supporting poor families: Every month, the youth engaged in assistance to single parent families, primarily single mothers and widowed mothers, who are raising many children. Basic necessities such as food and hygiene products were distributed.
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The youth group of Lithuania has been very active and engaged in a number of different service projects, with Swami’s Blessings.
Translation work has been going on, focusing on books 6, 7, 8 and 9 of the Uvacha series and The Story Divine part 2, as well as various Divine booklets, together with weekly updates on the Sai Prakashana websites with translations of Swami’s teachings.
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The youth of the Netherlands have been involved in a variety of Seva activities as instructed by Swami. From serving the elderly and feeding the homeless, to spiritual Seva activities like running Satsangs and a multi-faith library.
Twice a week, online Satsangs were held country-wide, including study circles and Swami’s recent series (Master the Mind) which are open to everyone.
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The youth of Russia have been engaged in Seva activities by the Grace of Swami. Supporting people who are on self-isolation in Moscow region. Basic necessities such as food and medicine are distributed every day. Disabled families were helped with food.
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Youth group of Turkey was involved in many Seva activities during 2020 and through the lockdown, as per Swami’s request:
The group has been organising weekly online study circles and separately, weekly online practice of Vedic chants, including nightly prayers. Some members that are part of the Sai Clinic do distant healing sessions three times a week. Regular Seva of feeding the needy in four districts of Istanbul is organised, distributing cooked foods like pasta, chickpeas, vegetable stew, or lentils. During colder months, families in need are also distributed firewood.
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UK youth have continued to serve those in need following the onset of the pandemic and subsequent lockdown measures. At this time of social distancing, they have been brought closer together by a strengthening of the heart-to-heart connection that they all share!
- Working with local government and charities, the youth have coordinated the preparation and distribution of meals to the most vulnerable in their local communities.
- They have also gone beyond borders to support fundraising for international relief efforts, moved by the plight of those less fortunate.
- The monthly group meetings which now take place online, enable them to support one another on their individual journeys and reflect on the significance of the events they are observing globally.
- They are also making use of this period to develop online platforms (websites and social media channels) for all their programmes so that they can share this transformative opportunity of selfless service with more youth.
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