Issue 94 - October 21, 2018
Editor's Note...
Kahlil Gibran said, “You give but little, when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.”  Udara charitanam vasudhaiva kutumbakam  says our ancient wisdom which means, for the broad-minded people, the whole world is a family. Swami has often reminded us about the need to embrace everyone, irrespective of caste, creed, religion and gender. 

Swami’s message to the Sai youth around the world this week:

“Service to others is not a favour. It is not a charity. It is not doing something to someone out of pity or mercy. But service to others is something that makes you closer to your true selves, which is your Divine self, and this is the truth! The only way to love Him and serve Him is by loving and serving each other.”

Yours in His service,

Bhuvana Santhanam
Service Updates
Animal Sanctuary Farm
This time the youth group visited an Animal Sactuary Farm, where 56 animals live.

The bodies and inherent souls of these beings can live there until the end of their present incarnations, instead of being deprived of life and turned over to the slaughterhouse because of illness or injuries.

Michaela, the head of the farm, is the hero here, because she has given the sick and injured animals a home and all her available time since 22 years. She has her hands full of work every day and often at night as well.
French Cuisine Meets Greek Homelessness
Summary of youth Seva over the last month:
 
Youth in Cyprus:
  • Distributed over 800 cooked meals to impoverished Cypriot families and immigrants.
  • Allocated 400 packages of cheese and 15kg of olives to people in need, and surprised the children of these families with popcorn and chips.
Youth in Greece:
  • As Narayana Seva, served 3,000 meals to homeless Greeks; many clothes were also distributed. Invited and hosted a class of 25 schoolgirls from France to participate in the cooking.
  • Bought 70 sleeping bags for the homeless to protect them against the biting winter cold, out of which half were distributed.
  • Packaged and went door-to-door distributing boxes filled with dry food, cleaning products and basic household items, to approximately 50 impoverished families scattered around Athens.
  • Worked on translating the fourth book of the Uvacha series, to deliver by Bhagawan’s birthday. Being part of the translation team is perhaps the most demanding sector of all the service activities.
Associations for Social Promotion
Associations for Social Promotion was created at the end of 2017 by a group of friends connected by shared values, with the intention of promoting service for people in social and economic trouble and for homeless people. The feature that distinguishes them from other associations and institutions is the aptitude, the way they offer a certain service. They try to have a different point of view and a new approach to the person who receives them, to whom they offer the service and whom they listen to, to fulfill (esaudire) needs and dreams. One of their main points is making the person the center of their service, their first and only focus, in unison with a process of re-discovering the true Self.