Thaipusam 2012 – Penang. All of us are familiar with the huge crowds, the panthal-lined roads, the loud music, the scores of kavadi, the snacks and sweets, and the overpriced food. The fanfare is so great that the whole spiritual aspect of Thaipusam seems to get diluted. However, the spiritual backbone is never quite lost.

This year, for the 7^th time the Journey to God event was carried out. Essentially, Journey to God is an event where the disabled who are not able to climb up the steps to the Murugan Temple on the hill are carried on specially made chairs, up those steps.  At the same time as this was a blood and organ donation drive. Things started quite early in the morning – by 7:30a.m. some of us had gathered to set up the tents and banners for the blood donation. Not long after, the hospital staff arrived and the event kicked off smoothly. An impressive number of people came by to donate blood, and was successful to a degree that will definitely be beneficial to aid the critical shortage of blood. However, the number was still rather small when considered in proportion to the throngs of people that come for Thaipusam. Interestingly, a significant number of Indian citizens also donate blood. Apparently the notion of donating blood is much more common in India than it is here, as blood donation drives are frequently organized there to deal with the frequent shortages of blood faced there. Also, rather unfortunately, some potential donors had to be turned away as during the screening process prior to actual donation, as it was determined that the alcohol content in their blood was too high. This instantly brings to mind the various forms of improper behaviour that greatly undermine and attempt to subvert the spiritual nature of the celebrations. Nevertheless, a good amount of blood was obtained and also, over 100 people pledged their organs.

While the blood donation was going on, participants who were to be carried up the steps in the Journey to God event were being gathered and transported by van to the centre of operations at the foot of the hill on which the Murugan Temple is situated. As clearance had been given to commence only at 1.00 p.m., participants were stationed in a tent where there were provided with lunch and drink.  Prior to commencement, there was a briefing and demonstration to everyone who was going to carry the disabled up the steps on the safety measures, the technical aspects of performing the task properly, and the system of rotating bearers of the specialized chairs.

Volunteers were grouped by height so as to try to establish a level plane to aid balance. A runner was also assigned to each participant to clear the path for the volunteers carrying him/her. It was certainly hard work that tired the body, but the notion of bringing some form of joy and happiness to these poor disabled people overshadowed the physical challenges of the task.

Being in the close presence of the disabled, although not for long, allowed us a closer perspective of their lives, enabling us to inspect, learn, understand and realize, to a greater degree the suffering they endure, and the multitude of challenges they cope with, to lead their lives as normally as possible. In spite of the business of preparation and ensuring all arrangements are attended to, the mind is never fully focussed on the organizational aspect of the event. It is impossible to do so when the heart fixes a constant gaze at group of disabled people sitting together. It is impossible to not feel at least a slight tinge of sadness. It is impossible to not feel pity. Thinking about the whole concept of Journey to God, one comes to have a better appreciation of the idea that we should live to serve others. Service to others is the primary function of human life. While the purpose of human life may be to realize God, let us not forget that seva is one of the paths to God. In today’s debilitating state of the world where it is sick, where billions suffer from a lack of food and water, where millions die of starvation, and sickness, how can we ignore?

The philosophy of service is one that can save this Earth from its dire predicament. Viewing the world through the prism of the philosophy of service, we see everyone else as equally important as us, as equally in need of our needs, as having the same essential desires as we do, as being able to feel as we feel, hunger as we hunger,  thirst as we thirst, cry as we cry, and die as we die.

Through the prism of service we can see that our primary duty in life is to help others, and aid in the helping of others – to realize that a global network of goodwill and service should be the ultimate goal; for it alone, other than the direct intervention of God, can bring about the necessary reparation to society the world over. To reach such heights, it is impossible without the adequate resources – but we must realize that the primary resource is none other than love. Not just love to shower others with, but to develop love within us, to be connected with our higher selves as often as possible as constantly as we can and to progress thereof, to be able to be constantly in touch with Universal and spiritual love, divine love, whatever we wish to call it. Thus, in appreciating service more and in realizing the necessity of love, we come back to what Swami has said – self transformation. Without transforming ourselves, how, just how can we change anything else? How can we effect change on something else when we ourselves have not changed? Journey to God, like all other service, brought me to the realization that the most important thing, that we should do and can do, is to transform ourselves. By transforming ourselves, we change vibrationally, and as others change, the vibrational change that occurs spreads and strengthens. It is hard to overstate the necessity of practicing as one preaches. Let us all transform, change, and seek company that helps us maintain and increase our vibrational progress. Let us embrace truth, seek love, embody that love, and spread it.  It is the only way to bring about goodness in the world.

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To promote this consciousness Sri Muda Centre organized a Educare Carnival at Ladang Ebor Tamil school on the 29th April 2012 from 7.30am-1.30pm. This Education Carnival kicked with children from various locations to the school. These children were selected from their location where our teachers are conducting EHV classes on weekly basis. The groups which participated in this carnival were Sri Muda EHV, Sri Muda Bal Vikas, Desa Ria, Desa Mentari, Ebor Tamil school. All participants were given door gift and the winners took away special prizes.

The Sathya Sai Baba Centre of Sri Muda has relentlessly learned, unlearned and relearned the purpose of the centre and examined the roles played by us in the light of creating major impact in the consciousness of the society where we exist.

The carnival also brought out the hidden talents of these children. The theme for the event was H.O.P.E. (Honour Our Parents Everyday). There were storytelling, public speaking and talent show which all of it projected the value of H.O.P.E.

More than 220 children from age 6-15 participated in this carnival. The parents and others made the occasion grand. There were free flow of food and drinks for all participants.

On behalf of the centre we would like to thank the school for their cooperation. Everything from the school has no cost to the organizers. The VIP for the function Dato J.Jegadeesan. Not forgetting all centre members who worked extremely hard to make it happen.

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SSE children, gurus  and parents  celebrated  Tamil New Year on a  grand scale at the Maha Mariamman temple at Dusun Nyior, Seremban.  The main puja was followed by bhajans led by  the older SSE children and then came the highlight…… a portion of the  Ramayanam was enacted by the SSE tiny tots of grp 1 . They were a delght to watch and thrilled and amused  both parents and  devotees who gathered  at the temple.

To make the outsiders aware  that SSE classes were held ,  informative pamphlets were distributed to the crowd  and sufficient announcements were made by the temple priest who was very supportive of the whole programme.  The  Sathya Sai Centre of Seremban   was once again invited  to conduct  a bhajan during the coming Chitra Pournami festival  on 29^th April  2012.

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Good Friday (6^th April 2012)  happened to be SSE day as well  at the  Seremban   center and to create more awareness   about   its significance ,  the SSE   children were given    a brief explanation   about  Lent,   and   how  Good Friday  was  the day when  Jesus was crucified   and that on the 3^rd day  on  Easter Sunday,   Jesus was resurrected.   To mark   the coming Easter,   all the gurus brought whatever they could collect from their homes   for the children to decorate the   Easter “eggs” with.  The eggs by the way were made out of paper Mache.  The children decorated   the “eggs” in groups and were also told that they could write Swami’s sayings on it. The whole activity took about 25 minutes after which classes resumed.   The activity brought about a lot of   team work with the younger kids being guided by the older ones with   fun and excitement stirred   among both children and gurus alike.  Children were taught to appreciate and respect  Christianity and its festivals and there was new found knowledge about Christianity.

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The Sathya Sai Baba Centre of Seremban    first  carried out a  Gayathri  chanthing  session  on 17th March 2012 at Makkal Illam  in  Seremban  Selatan . Makkal Illam   houses destitutes  and    it has a   total of 30 inmates   consisting   of of men, women and boys.

The chanting session commenced at 6pm  followed by bhajans. It was interesting to note that there were  a few  inmates who could follow the chantings. The bhajans were  also met with a lot of interest and some of them were very keen to learn them.  So, it was decided that  Gayathri chanting at the makall illam would   now be  carried out on a  monthly  basis followed by bhajans. Bhajan   teaching and   practice would   now be carried out   after every Gayathri  session.

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A Talk by Bro. Dato Jegatheesaan will be held ont he 15th of April 2012  at the Seremban Centre. Here are the Details of the event.

Venue: Seremban Centre, Taman Permai 2
Date:  15^th April 2012

Programme:

9.30 -10 am: Light refreshments

1.  10am- 12.30pm: The miracles of Sai & the miracles of Sai Devotion (Grp 4   students   and adults) -

12.30pm- 1.15pm:  Lunch

2. a) 1.15pm – 4.00pm

1. Conversations With Sai
2. Constant Integrated Awareness (CIA)
3. Drops of the Ocean-The essence of Sai Teachings
4. “The Science of Mantra Yoga and the secret of OM”.
5. Q & A

(In between these Bro Jega  will share a session called “The Origin of Songs”.)

2.b) . 1.15pm – 4.00pm  -  i. Coping with Teen Years  (Grp 4  students) By Sis Datin Lalitha Jegadeesan

In today’s world of ever expanding globalization, we have reached a point in time where everyone has a notion of what a comfortable standard of living is. Most of us are very familiar with the amenities and accessories of civilized life in the 21^st century, which more often than not, we take for granted. If there is a breakdown of water supply, we telephone the Water Department, and things are fixed in a matter of hours. A malfunctioning switch and we are quick to call in an electrician. And for food, it’s even possible to order pizza online without ever even picking up the phone. While these descriptions apply to the lives of many, if not most, there is a counterpart to this life, which is much darker, and starkly different. On the 28^th, while participating in the NarayanaSeva in NibongTebal, Penang, all of us saw a few outhouses.This was a significant symbol of the standard of living of a people living in the same affluent world, yet living life so very differently.

For the NarayanaSeva this time around, we delivered food not to the homeless but the very poor people living in estates in the mainland of Penang. Three estates we visited – Bayram Estate, Caledonia Estate, and Victoria Estate. We had over 250 food packets, some of which was nasilemak, meehoon, etc. As usual, before proceeding to the delivery points, there was a shortbhajan  followed by Satsang in the SeberangPeraiSai Centre.

The first stop was Bayram Estate. Here a few of the village men passed the word round, and soon we had a line of people queuing for food. As with any village, there were a few cars parked in some houses, but to use that as barometer for the overall standard of living of the whole village would be unfair. Despite the little luxuries they had, it was still a difficult, uncomfortable life. In this village was also made an arrangement for the delivery of a wheelchair for one of its needy residents.

Leaving Bayram Estate, we moved to Victoria estate, which was where the outhouses were. Running from these outhouses were PVC pipes, but even those had broken and thus holed parts along its length, leading to what looked like an irrigation canal. Here too was a young, smiling dog in good spirits, but pitifully thin. We fed it, but it stopped eating after eating very little, leading us to speculate that the size of its stomach had shrunken so greatly over time from a lack of food. Despite it being quite literally skin and bones, it had a happy personality about it, staggering around wagging its tail. Here too there was a very distinct atmosphere of poverty.  A grandmother screaming at a grandchild, old, faded clothes, and most sadly, a glow of gratitude in the eyes of some residents.

The young children moving about gave us more to ponder upon. This is an age where a ten year old can remark that an i-Pod is ‘soo yesterday’, and another ten year old can be wearing tattered clothing that have not been washed for days, not knowing what an i-Pod even is. We live in a time where while some people cannot afford even a two burner stove, some easily build and install designer kitchens.It is a time where some use outhouses, while some desire bathrooms with gold plated toilet seats. One cannot help wonder what went wrong along the way of our progress.Finishing with Victoria Estate, we drove off to Caledonia estate where we went to individual houses giving food, and also to some dogs, one of which was rather hostile. There too, the atmosphere was one of poverty. The smell from dung and animal excrement often filled our nostrils, and many houses were partially dilapidated.

This NarayanaSeva enabled us to get a personal perspective of lives we are lucky to not live. Malaysia is a reasonably wealthy nation, where we have almost everything to fulfil our fanciful wants. To be happy and enjoy life perhaps isn’t a sin, but to do so without feeling any gratitude for what we enjoy is indeed wrong. On the 25^th of December 1991, Swami in His Divine Discourse said.

“The foremost quality every human being should have is gratitude. Without it, man ceases to be human. It is because people today have ceased to cherish gratitude that they have become prey to many ills.”

Seeing families living with financial, psychological and physical strain and hardship was a great eye opener. How many of us today can happily live for one day without wireless internet connection? We all extol hygiene but are we thankful enough that we are in a position to be able to extol and practice such hygiene? The importance of food, and the incumbent duty to never waste food, even when it seems to be a last resort, takes on an elevated understanding and appreciation when we see the plight of the poor. A facebook status by one of Swamis’ devotees I find particularly inspiring: “The river of gratitude immerses itself into the ocean of humility.”

We all know that none of what we have is ours, but for as long as we have them, for what we have, let us feel gratitude, let us be thankful grateful for.

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Meera played to packed audience on the 2nd of December at the Kalamandapam in Kuala Lumpur and an encore on the 21^st. January at the Seremban Sai Centre.

This was the second of the  Wanita Wing’s   presentation on the life of the women saints of India the first being Andal in 2010 and in 2011, Meera. The Sathya Sai organization is a service oriented organisation , we are not a dance school, music school nor a speech and drama school.  But the miracle of Sai saw an evening that was inspiring and very  professional.

Swami, it was a labour of love for YOU,  and after all, YOU were the director of the whole event. So it was perfect !!

When the women and girls went on stage in both Meera and Andal,  it was NOT to show case talent, but to share with all, the devotion that is inherent in all of us, especially the bhakthi in women.

Meera, the Rajasthani princess,  is regarded as an incarnation of Radha.  Krishna asked Radha to come down to earth to teach humanity the essence of devotional love. Both , Radha and Meera’s relationship with Krishna symbolizes the soul’s yearning for the divine. The devotion and love expressed by them is above gender and everyone here, whether male or female,  is a Meera and  Radha, seeking the love of the Lord.

Meera’s life story infuses faith, courage, devotion and unconditional love of god in the minds of all. It and inspires us to follow the path of devotion not through ritualistic  worship but through  the simple sadhana, that of true love. Meera literally taught all of us the way to love God ; her many soul stirring hymns were the beginning of the bhakthi movement, reaching out to the common man knowing no caste or creed.  It was the forerunner of Swami’s call that nama sankirtanam is the foundation of all spiritual sadhana.

Meera depicted the highest form of Bhakthi. Maadhurya bhakthi. Andal and Sri Jeya deva too had this bhava for Krishna. In his great work, the Geetha Govindham, Sri Jeya Deva sang about the love of Radha and Krishna, symbolising the longing and striving of the individual, for communion with God , culminating in their blissful union. Though Meera merged with Krishna at the end of her life, she continues to live with all  of us as a symbol of Bhakthi.

Meera , the musical, concludes with the lively and vibrant ashtapadi of Sri Jeya deva – Chandhana Charchita – to show that the joy , the romance and the dance of the Lord and his devotees continues – the yearning for the Lord, by the Meeras of today, and their desire to merge in Him continues.

The 6^th February 2012 saw the Mahilas, youths and children of the Sathya Sai Baba Centre of Seremban  taking part in another service- oriented  activity  this time  at the Sri Palani Murugan Temple, Temiang, Seremban. Their  main task was to help out in the cutting of vegetables on Thaipusam eve  for  lunch   that was to be  served to more than 1500 thousand devotees   the next day. The Mahilas went on working till midnight to ensure that all the vegetables were cut. There was a lot of goodwill and cheer among the ladies while they  did their work.

The next day, it was the youths of the centre who amazed all with their zest to serve   lunch to the hundreds of devotees who   flocked to the temple.  They worked from  12noon to 2.30pm.

The temple committee was deeply grateful to the Sathya Sai Organaisation  for the effort and service rendered.