OM SAI RAM
From time memorial, the sacred land of Bharat or India has produced countless Sages, Saints and Avatars or reincarnations of God. One such divine being took birth on November 23, 1926 in a small village called Puttaparthi in the Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh. His name was Satyanarayan Raju. On October 20, 1940, at the age of 14yrs., young Satyanarayanan told his family : "I am the reincarnation of Shirdi Sai Baba. My devotees are waiting for me. Shirdi Sai Baba was a great saint who passed away in 1918. Before He died, he told His devotees that He will reincarnate in 8yrs. or 1926. Since then, young Satyanarayan Raju became known as Sathya Sai Baba. As a young boy, Baba demonstrated his divine qualities. He refused to eat meat and despised the killing of animals and birds for food. He displayed qualities of infinite compassion towards all beings.
He had a burning desire to serve others, for he could not stand others' suffering. He had great respect for elders. With remarkable miraculous powers manifested in Him, He could quote from and discuss any spiritual text without even reading them. He manifests various articles and sweets through His divine will as symbols of His divine grace and love.
Thousands of devotees have been cured of dreadful diseases and ailments. Such miracles are continuing to this day throughout the entire world. At an early age, Baba declared His mission in life to His devotees by saying: " I have resolved to enfold the people of the world in the fostering care of Universal Love. For the world is my mansion and the continents are the halls therein. I have come to inscribe a golden chapter in the history of humanity, wherein falsehood will fail, truth will triumph and virtue will reign. Character will confer power then, not knowledge or inventive skill nor wealth. Wisdom will be enthroned in the councils of the nations. Do not be misled. It is not my purpose to strike men dumb by the display of miraculous might. I have come to confer the boon of blessedness, the benediction of bliss as the reward for genuine spiritual endeavor and to lead mankind into liberty, light and love.
Baba's mission thus ensures that all of humanity be governed by the spiritual values of Sathya or truth, Dharma or righteous conduct, Shanti or peace, Prema or love and Ahimsa or non-violence.
Baba says: " Use me for your liberation and uplift by watching my every step. Observe my actions and activities. Follow the guiding principle of which my life is an elaboration. mark my love, my compassion and wisdom. Try to bring them into your own life. My life is my message. In 1940, Baba's devotees built an Ashrama at Puttaparthi. Baba named it Prasanthi Nilayam - the abode of supreme peace. This is the central prayer hall in the Ashram compound. Other magnificient structures include : The Poornachandra Auditorium, which was built in 1973 with a seating capacity of 15 - 20,000 people. Inside the auditorium are sculptured figures of various Gods, Goddesses, Avatars and Saints of the Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims, Christians and Parsis.
Nearby, is the 50 ft. Sarva Dharma Aikya Stambha built in 1975. It depicts the symbols of world's major religions, namely, Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Christianity and Zoroastrianism.
In 1981, the Sri Sathya Sai institute of Higher Learning - a deemed University, was recognized by the Government of India. The uniqueness of this University, along with Baba's other primary and Secondary schools, is that it imparts integral education to the students. Students are given social, moral and spiritual education and are taught the value of selfless service in which they actively participate in the various towns and villages. Baba says that education is for life, not merely for earning a living. It is essential to practise spiritual discipline along with academic studies. What we are teaching and learning in the schools of today cannot be considered real education. The educational institutions must endeavor to produce students with integrity, character and self-confidence.
Cultivation of knowledge is secondary. Education must result in humility. Humility is the best credential for success in life. Learning to earn a living is only half the job. The other half is to make life worthwhile and meaningful. What the world needs today is neither a new order, a new education, a new system, a new society nor a new religion. The remedy lies in a mind and a heart filled with holiness. Whatever studies you may pursue, do not give up your faith in God. To give up God is to give up life itself. Life is God. Truth is God.
Baba provides free education to all students as well as free medical care of the highest quality. An US $18 million Super Specialty Hospital, of which the first phase was inaugurated in 1991 by the Prime Minister of India, conducted over 700 heart operations. Highly qualified surgeons, physicians, technicians and nursing staff come from all over the world to provide selfless service.
Today, there are nearly 1700 Centres in 137 countries upholding the teachings of Baba. Baba says that the 'Sai Organization is simply a gathering together of souls who have started to become awakened to the Truth. Devotees join the Organization both to give , to receive, to progress, to learn, to become inspired and to serve. But the Organization itself is not important. It exists only for what it gives. It gives an opportunity for searching souls to gather together and find the way to progress along the spiritual path and to help others on the same journey.
Since 1940, when Baba was just a 14yr old boy, there has been a continuous stream of devotional songs or bhajans and kirtans sung in traditional and local languages throughout the entire world.
Baba says that the easiest and most fruitful method of keeping yourself free from dust and rust is Satsangh or good company. The company of the good and the godly will slowly and surely chasten and cleanse the persons prone to straying away from the straight path towards self-realization. You are molded by the company you relish. When you make friends with the blacksmith, you are bound to collect black dust on your clothes and skin. That is why Sangam or association is held to be so crucial in spiritual life. Through Satsangh you develop freedom from delusion; through freedom from delusion you develop faith in truth and through faith in truth you attain liberation itself.
With OVER 55 MILLION DEVOTEES WORLDWIDE, the Sai Organization is joined by people of all faiths. One can find people of different race, creed and religion, coming together to join in bhajan, kirtan and hymns on a weekly basis. They chant the different names and forms of God emphasising the 4 principles laid down by Baba :
1. There is only one religion, the religion of love.
2. There is only one language, the language of the heart.
3. There is only one race, the race of humanity.
4. There is only one God, and He is omnipresent.
Baba says that bhajan is one of the processes by which you can train the mind to expand into eternal values. Teach the mind to revel in the glory and majesty of God. Wean it away from petty horizons of pleasure. Bhajan induces in you a desire to experience the truth, to glimpse the beauty that is God, to taste the bliss that is the self. It encourages man to dive into himself and be genuinely his real self.
You must pass your days in song. Let your whole life be a bhajan. Believe that God is everywhere at all times and derive strength, comfort and joy, singing in your heart, in His presence, the glory of God. Let melody and harmony surge up from your hearts and let all take delight in the love that you express through that song.
Baba's Education In Human Values (EHV) program is taught in schools in over 100 countries. The EHV program seeks to confer the knowledge of the spiritual reality to the students. Humility, reverence, compassion, forebearance, sacrifice and self-control are the qualities which reveal the outcome of true education. The EHV program and academic studies must enthuse the youth to understand their precious heritage, culture and spirituality and to evoke the higher powers they possess.
Baba says that we must dedicate our lives to selfless service to our fellowmen. Service to man is service to God. The hands that serve are holier than the lips that pray. The fulfillment of human life consists in the service that man renders, without any thought of return, in an attirude of selflessness. Service rendered in this spirit sheds light in the dark interior of man. It widens the heart, it purifies the impulses and confers lasting bliss. Service is a process through which the lower wisdom, and after that, even the higher wisdom can be gained.
The fulfillment of man's life on earth consists in filling oneself with love of God and transmitting that love into acts of service, service to man who is the embodiment of God. If man has no love in him and if he does not share it with all beings, he is but a burden to the earth. God will not ask you when and where did you do service. He will ask - With what motive did you do it ? What was the intention that prompted you ? You may weigh the service and boast of its quantity. But God seeks quality, the quality of the heart, the purity of the mind, the holiness of the motive.
OM SRI SAI RAM
Dedicated to my Beloved Guru - Swami Sathya Sai.
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Ashram Mathura, Jyotishi, Vedic Astrologer.
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