Youth for Peace and Oneness

The Youth from Delhi-National Capital Region has returned after its fours days (26th to 29th January 2012) of Pilgrimage titled “Youth for Peace and Oneness” . . The Youth attended lecture program, meditation session, special sessions at the University and the Super Speciality Hospitals apart from visiting important locations across Prashanti Nilayam. They also participated in the Nitya Annadanam on the morning of Sunday, 29th January 2012.

You can click on the report below from Prashanti Reporter on the Youth Pilgrimage to the lotus feet of our most beloved Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba This is the complete report with video clips: http://theprasanthireporter.org/2012/01/prasanthi-pilgrimage-of-delhi-youth-2012/

Also click on the link below to see the coverage of the Delhi-NCR Cultural presentation before Bhagavan in the 28th January Edition of the The Hindu Newspaper (Banglore Edition): http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-andhrapradesh/article2838736.ece#

 

Impressive list! Ready to follow it?!

Rarely are there email forwards, which you want to put up on your blog! But, here is an interesting one:

60 TIPS FOR A STUNNINGLY GREAT LIFE

1. Exercise daily.
2. Get serious about gratitude.
3. See your work as a craft.
4. Expect the best and prepare for the worst.
5. Keep a journal.
6. Read Mahatma Gandhi’s Autobiography “My experiments with the Truth” and “The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin”.
7. Plan a schedule for your week.
8. Know the 5 highest priorities of your life.
9. Say no to distractions.
10. Drink a lot of water.
11. Improve your work every single day.
12. Get a mentor.
13. Hire a coach.
14. Get up at 5 am each day.
15. Eat less food.
16. Find more heroes.
17. Be a hero to someone.
18. Smile at strangers.
19. Be the most ethical person you know.
20. Don’t settle for anything less than excellence.
21. Savor life’s simplest pleasures.
22. Save 10% of your income each month.
23. Spend time at art galleries.
24. Walk in the woods.
25. Write thank you letters to those who’ve helped you.
26. Forgive those who’ve wronged you.
27. Remember that leadership is about influence and impact, not title and accolades.
28. Create unforgettable moments with those you love.
29. Have 5 great friends.
30. Become stunningly polite.
31. Unplug your TV.
32. Sell your TV.
33. Read daily.
34. Avoid the news.
35. Be content with what you have.
36. Pursue your dreams.
37. Be authentic.
38. Be passionate.
39. Say sorry when you know you should.
40. Never miss a moment to celebrate another.
41. Have a vision for your life.
42. Know your strengths.
43. Focus your mind on the good versus the lack.
44. Be patient.
45. Don’t give up.
46. Clean up your messes.
47. Use impeccable words.
48. Travel more.
49. Read “As You Think”.
50. Honor your parents.
51. Tip taxi drivers well.
52. Be a great teammate.
53. Give no energy to critics.
54. Spend time in the mountains.
55. Know your top 5 values.
56. Shift from being busy to achieving results.
57. Innovate and iterate.
58. Speak less. Listen more.
59. Be the best person you know.
60. Make your life matter!

 

Who needs the Sai Organisation?

Who needs the Sai Organisation?

“The present situation in the world is like a typhoon, causing unrest and confusion. No one has mental quiet; fear and anxiety stalk everywhere; panic reigns even while the conquest of space and the creation of new planets is being hailed.” ~ Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Welcome to Kali Yuga! These are times of chaos, of selfishness, of lack of Prema and Shanti, of the decline of Dharma. These are the times when people are most deluded and confused, when desires and false dreams are multiplying, when love for the material world and fear of God is growing. This is the tragedy of the Kali age!

“Respect for spiritual institutions, temples, holy places, elders and sacred books is fast declining. Pride in material wealth and competition in acquiring it, are fast increasing. This is the tragedy of our times.” ~ Sri Sathya Sai Baba

So, how do we overcome the tragedy of our times? How do we become a lotus, which while surrounded by filth still remains untouched and pure? What do we change and how do we change? Just think of His name and it will give us our answers: ‘S’ stands for ‘spiritual’  change; ‘A’ stands for ‘association’ change, this is a change in one’s relationship with others in society; ‘I’ stands for ‘individual’ change. ‘SAI’ thus signifies changes at three levels – spiritual, social and individual. But what can help us in this change process?

The only hold that man has in this dreadful darkness is the name of God. That is the raft which will take him across this stormy sea, darkened by hate and fear, churned by anxiety and terror. ~ Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Swami, in all his mercy, has given us a ship, the Sri Sathya Sai Organisation, which gives us a chance to cross the stormy sea in these difficult times. Passengers of the Kali Yuga, wanting to lead a life of inner satisfaction and fulfilment; a life based on selflessness, Prema and Dharma; a life based on fear of sin and Love for God, must board this ship.

While a lot of us think that we are on board, we need to introspect and see if we are really sailing on the right ship? Baba has clearly directed that, “They (the Sai Organisation) must try to spread interest in japam (recitation of God’s Name), dhyaanam (meditation) and other saadhanas (spiritual practices), which lead man Godward; they must demonstrate the joy derivable from bhajan (devotional group singing) and Naamasmarana (remembering God’s Name), the Shaanthi (peace) that one can draw from Sathsang (good company). They must render seva (service) to the helpless, the sick, the distressed, the illiterate and the needy. Their seva (selfless service) should not be exhibitionistic; it must seek no reward, not even gratitude or thanks from the recipients. Seva is saadhana, not a pastime of the rich and well placed. Each one must realise his own truth,” says Baba.

The Sai Organisation thus really becomes a place for the ones who want to realise their own Truth. It’s a place for those who are looking for peace and happiness, joy and calm not through the external world but through their inner-self. It’s a place for the ones who are blessed to play the role of the squirrel in His Mission. It’s a place for those who are living in His Love, for His Love and are making themselves a messenger of His Love!

“God has not fallen into a ditch for you and me to help Him out by building a hospital or something of that sort. He allows you to work. He allows you to exercise your muscles in this great gymnasium, not in order to help Him but that you may help yourself. Blessed are we that we are given the privilege of working for Him, not of helping Him.” ~ Swami Vivekananda

 

Dr. Manmohan Singh at Puttaparthi for the 29th Convocation of SSSIHL

The 29th Convocation of the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning, Prashanti Nilayam was held on 22nd November in a ceremony graced by the Chancellor of the Institute Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba and attended by Chief Guest for the convocation His Excellency The Prime Minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh along with a host of glitterati from the political world.

The host of dignitaries included Sri K. Rosaiah, Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Sri E.S.L. Narasimhan, Governor of Andhra Pradesh, Sri Y.S. Yeddyurappa, Chief Minister of Karnataka, Sri Shivraj Patil, Governor of Punjab, Sri M.K. Stalin, Deputy Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Sri Sushil Kumar Shinde, Union Minister for Power, Sri Ashok Chavan, former Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Dr. Ratan Tata, Chairman of Tata Sons and Sri N. Chandrasekaran, CEO and MD of TCS.

Some Highlights from the PM’s Convocation Address

Complete text of the speech is available at http://pmindia.nic.in/lspeech.asp?id=986

I deem it a great honour to be here at this 29th Convocation of the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning. That the Convocation coincides with the 85th birthday of Shri Sathya Sai Baba makes it even more special. In conveying my greetings to Baba, I hope and pray that he may continue to be an inspiration for us for many many years to come.

I was last here for your 14th Convocation in 1995. The changes that have taken place since then are truly phenomenal. Your university has grown enormously and you have diversified your scope of learning. In place of the more modest facilities 15 years ago, I see an international township and I see people from all over India and all parts of the globe together at this institution making it unique. I see a medley of races and cultures.

Yours is a relatively young university but it has already established its place as a centre of excellence. What makes it so unique is that it also shows us a new way forward and adds a new dimension to the quest for learning. To paraphrase Baba’s words, this is not a place simply to earn degrees. Its main purpose is to help students cultivate self-knowledge and self-confidence so that each student learns self-sacrifice and self-realisation.

This institution has consciously sought to amalgamate a system of formal education with wholesome development of character. Baba’s belief that the true meaning of education is not knowledge in itself but knowledge in action is one that commands our respect It is one that we should all share. At this institution, you seek to combine the absorption of knowledge and skills — what is learnt in courses and for degrees — with the ideas that have come to us as the wisdom of the ages, and the ideas of Sathya, Dharma, Shanthi, Prema and Ahimsa, that should govern our daily lives. You endeavour to structure your curricular programmes and project work with an awareness of duty and social responsibility.

As the human condition has changed, for the better in some ways and for the worse in others, I see a greater need for both academic excellence as well as the values and attitudes that you are cultivating and emphasizing here.

Today, we cannot succeed without providing value based education to our youth. In this endeavour, you are breaking new ground; others would do well to follow in the path that you have charted, to make both learning and character building universal in the realm of education.

I am glad to see that the emphasis on scientific research in this university has increased over the years and that you are promoting high quality research in interdisciplinary areas such as drug designs and drug delivery systems, structural biology, nano materials and biomedical engineering.

I am also deeply impressed by the work that is being undertaken here to help the people of the surrounding areas. What is heartening is that all these services — water supply, education, medical and health — are rendered totally free based on Baba’s commitment that the basic requirements of every civil society should not be a burden on recipients.

It is also commendable that the Sri Sathya Sai institute of Higher Learning is forging backward linkages with your sprawling school system that extends to almost 100 Sri Sathya Sai schools and about 3 lakh Bal Vikas children who receive the benefit of Baba’s ideas.

May god bless you all.

Complete text of the speech is available at http://pmindia.nic.in/lspeech.asp?id=986

 

Life is a Game, Play it (School Workshop)

Its always nice to go to school – or shall I say, go back to school ! A few weeks ago, I got a chance to interact with about 200+ 9th class students at the Vishwa Bharti School in Noida. The Sri Sathya Sai Organisation (SSSO) Noida was invited by the School to add to the ongoing education of the 9th class students by way of values based education.

Well, since ‘moral class’ or ‘values education class’ may sound boring to a lot of students – we called it Life is a Game, Play it. The students loved it – not only the name, but the entire format – as it was quite interactive, informative and made interesting by use of multimedia.

Following are some of the highlights!

• As we always do, we started with a prayer:
  Om Sahana Vavatu Sahanau Bhunaktu Sahaviryam Karavavahey Tejasvinav adhitam Astu Ma Vidhwishavahey

  Om Shanti Shanti Shantihi

  ॐ सह नाववतु |

  सह नौ भुनक्तु |

  सह वीर्यं करवावहै |

  तेजस्विनावधीतमस्तु मा विद्विषावहै ||

  ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ||

  Together (saha) may we (Na) be protected (Vavatu) Together may we be nourished (Bhunaktu) Together may we work with great energy (Viryam Karavavahey) May our study together (Vina Vadhita Mastu) be brilliant (Tejas) and effective May there be no bad feelings between us (Ma Vidhwishavahey). Om, may there be peace, may there be peace, may there be peace!

• We had a very lively discussion around the following quote:
  “Life is a Game of Football and we are the footballs…
  Never Mind the Kicks of Life, because without being kicked, no football has EVER reached the GOAL”

• Then we played some games (edutainment), where some students from each section of the 9th class participated and they were being cheered by their classmates! Brought back me memories of the Good Old Days!
  

• Thereafter, we all enjoyed an amazing video entitled, “Life is a Cup of Coffee”
  

• After some wonderful discussion on the above mentioned video, we moved on to the next video – “212, the extra degree” – It’s an energizing and inspirational video – A must watch!     

I’ll possibly write a more detailed account of the next class. The links above may help the students get back to the video’s which they totally enjoyed! Any comments/feedback is most welcome.

Enjoy the Game Called Life!

Cheers,
Vikas