"This world is being ruled by three qualities: Tamas, Rajas and Satvik. Tamasik quality presents itself as laziness, inertia and a kind of stagnation in our life. In the Rajasik quality, you have the power to take up activity. The highest quality is the Satvik feeling. Satvik quality is a Divine quality for which the basis is Selfless love. The activities that are prompted by Satvik quality, give us fruits of bliss; by Rajasik quality, lead us to bondage and we should never do activity based on Tamasik quality. The journey of life is to rise from Tamasik to Rajasik, and finally to the Satvik quality.
-Baba
With the Blessings of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, we are delighted to present our Sixtieth issue of Ananda Vahini. The weekly newsletter includes interesting musings and short excerpts from the week's events.
In this issue, we bring you the second part of the update of the celebration of grit, grandeur and grace - The Sri Sathya Sai Annual Sports and Cultural Meet 2017 (January 18 & 19, 2017).
We also bring you the videos, and a report of the three awardees of the 'Sri Sathya Sai Award for Human Excellence 2016', in the field of Music and Fine Arts, Unity of Religions, Woman & Child Welfare, which took place on November 23, 2016.
In this week's INNER VIEW, Brother Madhusudan Naidu shares yet another interesting moment between the Lord and His students.
We wish all our readers a Happy Republic Day!!
- Sathya Sai Grama Communications Team
INNER VIEW
-By Sri Madhusudan Naidu
As Swami came out of His interview room and was going towards His bedroom, He saw three students who were standing outside His room.
Seemingly puzzled He enquired, "Why are you here?"
"To serve Your dinner Swami!", one of them replied.
Swami, the Master who never loses an opportunity to teach, asked them,
"Did you cook the dinner?"
"No Swami", they replied in unison.
"Did you buy the groceries?", the questioning continued.
"No Swami".
"Did you harvest the crop?"
"No Swami".
"Did you grow the crop?"
"No Swami".
Then came the lesson from Swami, "So you did not cook the food in the kitchen or buy the groceries from the market, nor worked in the fields to till the land, sow the seed, water the crop, harvest or transport it to the market, but the consummation of it all, which is the good fortune of serving the dinner to Swami tonight, was given to you and not to the farmer, or the grocer or the cook or all others who worked tirelessly to help you gain this opportunity! So be grateful always, as you are able to do things as you wish only because several people have worked for it, and you are only enjoying the fruit of their hard work. Be always grateful to all others and be humble knowing this great truth, for ungrateful arrogance born out of ignorance is the cause of one's downfall."
Lesson taught!!
ANNUAL SPORTS AND CULTURAL MEET 2017
JANUARY 18, 2017
Day Four - Evening
The evening programme commenced with Vedic Invocation, the Shivopasana Mantram by students of the Mandya Campus. The next hour and fifteen minutes was a scintillating concert by the Brass Band of the Muddenahalli Campus, 'Sai’s Angels'.
Two weeks before the concert, Swami had asked - “What should be the name of the Concert?” With His infinite compassion and grace He said – “The Boys are playing instruments with Love. They are not playing Music. They are playing Love.”
Then HE went on to say - “What is Love? Love is Prema. What does the Heart do? It Beats. So let’s call this concert "PREMA SPANDANA." From a marching band, 'Sai's Angels has grown in to a concert Brass Band, which comprises of 37 students in the age group of 12 to 17 years, youngest being a sixth grade student, and Vinayak Gaurav, who is currently in his second year Pre University is the chosen band leader.
The Musical concert constituted famous international music themes and Bhajans, interspersed with talks by students about their Self transformation, after joining the brass band, and videos which showcased the history and genesis of the band.
The first piece was the Award winning theme music from Pink Panther. Other renditions offered at Bhagawan's Lotus Feet were “Chariots of Fire”, “Conquest of Paradise”, a traditional song from the eastern Mediterranean region – “Misirlou”, “Mission Impossible”, amongst others. The students also performed two Bhajans “Govinda Krishna Jai”, and "Love is My Form", to the delight of Bhagawan.
Four short videos on the various facets of the evolution of Sai's Angels were screened, beginning with “The History” and how it all began. During the initial days, students practised with old instruments, but in September 2014 Swami gifted new band Instruments when HE visited the High School Block, where HE revealed that a band teacher from America will come, when the students prayed for one. And he came, Mr Dimitris Lambrianos, a Greek musician from New York, to whom Swami had told 22 years ago that one day he would teach His students. Mr Lambrianos can play over 20 musical instruments and on the command of Swami, has made Muddenahalli his home. Mr Lambrianos firmly says that it is nothing short of Swami’s miracle that these children are able to pick up notes with ease, and perform with passion.
It was indeed magical to see the audience in complete awe, as these young musicians performed with so much confidence and passion, with only one thought - to make Bhagawan happy!
The mesmerising concert ended with Swami profusely showering His love and grace on all the students. Mangala Aarti was offered, and the evening came to a close with Prasadam.
Scintillating musical presentation by Sai’s Angels – the brass band of the Muddenahalli Campus
Mr Dimitris Lambrianos playing Theremin, an electronic musical instrument controlled without physical contact
'Sai's Angels' gleaming with joy and happiness with Lord Sai
SRI SATHYA SAI ANNUAL SPORTS AND CULTURAL MEET 2017
VALEDICTORY FUNCTION
JANUARY 19, 2017
Day Five - Morning
The Valedictory Function of Sri Sathya Sai Annual Sports and Cultural Meet was held on the morning of 19th January at Sri Sathya Sai Grama, Muddenahalli. Bhagawan was welcomed by a procession of the Brass Band and the Chinese Lion Dancers led by the traditional Poorna Kumbham.
The morning programme began with the Vedic invocation by the students from the Muddenahalli campus. The first speaker for the day was Kumari Apoorva, a second-year PU student in the Chikkabalapur girls college. Apoorva, who spoke in Kannada, began by expounding on the essence of the Bhagawad Gita. She beautifully illustrated the feeling of oneness, that was prevalent among the all the students from various campuses who would compete intensely during the day, yet serve each other with love in the dining hall at night. She further went on to describe the lessons she had learnt by being a part of the sports meet.
The next speaker was Chi Yuva Supreet Reddy, a grade nine student in the Muddenahalli Campus. The student spoke his heart out, elaborating how the annual sports and cultural meet was not just an opportunity for students to display their talent but an opportunity to gain proximity to Bhagawan. He went to express that such meets foster brotherhood and oneness amongst all the participants. He also proudly reported to Bhagawan that the students participated in the true spirit of sportsmanship, being equanimous in triumph and in defeat. He ended his talk, urging the students to become bold messengers of Bhagawan’s message of love and unity.
The next speaker was Sri BN Narasimha Murthy, Chief Mentor, Sri Sathya Sai Loka Seva Institutions. He spoke about the glory and grandeur of the current phase of the Avatar in the subtle...
Sai's Angels, the Brass Band and the Chinese Lion Dancers leading Bhagawan to the dias
Dignitaries on the dias along with Bhagawan
Vedic invocation by the students from the Muddenahalli campus
Pre University Girl Students of Chikkaballpur receiving first prize for Volley ball from Mrs Revathi Shashidara Prasad
Students receiving their Shield from Bhagawan
Pre University girl students receiving their prize from Dr K P Sai Leela, Chairperson of all girl campuses
'Sai's Angels' receiving a special trophy from Bhagawan for their scintillating performance the previous day
Sri Ramana Raju receiving a trophy from Bhagawan
Sri Shashidhara Prasad, former Vice Chancellor of the Mysore University and the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning addressing the audience
DIVINE BOOKLETS
Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba has been travelling all over the world in the Subtle to keep His promise of visiting the countries. Below is the link to the Google Drive library of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba’s divine visits overseas.
If you would like to subscribe to receive the new Booklets of Bhagawan’s overseas travels in 2016, as soon as they are available, kindly email bhagawanspeaksglobal@gmail.com.
And as Swami continues travelling in 2016 and beyond, and new Booklets are created, they will be added to the Google Drive Library.
DR K J YESUDAS MUSIC AND FINE ARTS
Yesudas’ music transcends to transform hearts and minds beautifully exemplifying Sri Sathya Sai Baba's philosophy that the power of music can connect the Divine within, to the Divine beyond.
As one of India's foremost exponents of classical Carnatic music and a leading playback singer, Sri K J Yesudas music continues to captivate millions of listeners at home and abroad. Kottasery Joseph Yesudas was born in 1940 in Fort Kochi, Kerala to a devout Catholic family. His father Augustine Joseph, a well- known singer and actor, was the first tutor of Yesudas. Starting at the tender age of five, he was tutored by several musical stalwarts, including Chemmangudi Srinivasa Iyer and Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavathar.
Yesudas joined the R L V Music Academy in Tripunithura for the Ganabhooshanam course, which he completed with a double promotion and distinction in 1960. He then joined the Sree Swathi Thirunal Music Academy, Trivandrum, for higher studies.
In 1961, Yesudas recorded for a film, for the first time, a verse written by Sri Narayana Guru, the sage who championed the cause of the backward classes of Kerala. The simple song was in fact a clarion call for unity and brotherhood. For Yesudas, for Kerala and for India, this song turned out to be epochal. K J Yesudas has never looked back since. He was invited to present concerts all over India and has performed in every major city in the world. National integration became the hallmark of his musical career when he broke through the confines of the Malayalam film world to sing for Tamil, Hindi, Telugu and Kannada films.
His pilgrimages to the Ayyappan Temple at Sabarimalai and his singing at the Sree Krishna Temple at Guruvayoor were aimed at propagating the philosophy of "One Religion, one caste for all Human Beings" expounded by Sri Narayana Guru. In 2004 after the devastating Tsunami, Yesudas invited people of all religions and organised a Yajna in Chennai for the protection of people of all faiths.
Yesudas is one of the few Indian artists to have performed across the USSR; at the Royal Albert Hall, London, and at the Sydney Opera House, Sydney. He tirelessly performed to raise funds to aid the war efforts, first in 1965 when China attacked India and in 1971, when the war over Bangladesh broke out, travelling the entire length and breadth of Kerala collecting funds to help the nation tide over the crisis. Yesudas presented the money thus collected to the then Prime Minister, Ms. Indira Gandhi, who lauded his patriotism and selflessness, wholeheartedly.
He established the Tharangnisari School of Music in Trivandrum to spot and and promote fresh talent; a Voice Bank System for young talented artists to record and send their tapes to a bank system that would filter and select the best, and the pioneering Tharangini Studio and Records would produce and distribute these music cassettes effectively.
Winner of several prestigious national and international awards, he is the proud recipient of the Padma Bhushan in 2002 and an Honorary award by UNESCO for Outstanding Achievement in Music and Peace.
Below is the video on his soulful musical journey.
Sri Sathya Sai Awards for Human Excellence 2016 - Dr K J Yesudas - Music and Fine Arts Category
DR A T ARIYARATNE UNITY OF RELIGIONS
Dr Ariyaratne's life mission is a shining example of the philosophy of Sri Sathya Sai Baba that all paths lead to God, that God is love and that loving all and serving all is the greatest service to God.
Dr Ariyaratne's unique Gandhian - inspired Buddhist village-based movement combines spiritual awakening and social transformation, catering to personal and community needs, including a non-violent response to the civil war in over 1,500 villages across Sri Lanka. Dr Ariyaratne, known as the Gandhi of Sri Lanka, has created one of the most powerful global examples of Buddhist inspired, indigenous rural development.
Born in 1931 in the Galle district of Sri Lanka, Dr Ariyaratne evinced an early interest in social issues and Budddhism. He began his career as an educator at the Nalanda College in Colombo. Helping the villagers, in the impoverished village of Kantoluwa, outside Colombo, to build a road through voluntary labour was the first lesson in the power of self -reliance, a tipping point in what was to become a global model for sustainable development.
Dr Ariyaratne visited India to study Gandhian ideas of selfless service and rural development to expand his movement more comprehensively. He named his fledgling movement 'Sarvodaya Shramadana'. Sarvodaya meaning "The awakening of all" and Shramadana meaning "Sharing or donating one's time." From a few to hundred and soon 1,000 villages, the Sarvodaya movement began responding to larger shared issues such as health, education, environmental degradation, economics and peace-building. While Sarvodaya began as development organisation, its work has decisively expanded into peace building, as a response to the civil war; banking, to reduce the dependency on the government for financial support; health and infrastructure services, to respond to crises such as the Tsunami; and environmental issues, in response to rampant consumerism.
Currently Savodaya has established over 5,000 pre- schools, community health centers, libraries and cottage industries and a nationwide village network of banks.
Form the early 1980's when Sri Lanka became mired in deadly civil war that was to last three decades, Sarvodaya's vibrant nationwide village infrastructure worked with village communities on both sides of the conflict to promote nonviolence and peaceful rehabilitation. Since 1983, Sarvodaya has organized camps for refugees, aided victims, advocated non-violence through highly publicized peace walks and established the "1,000 Village Link-up" programme, matching villages in Tamil and Muslim areas with those in the more prosperous Sinhalese South.
Dr Ariyaratne has been praised for his groundbreaking work in rural development, peace- building, economics and environmentalism, but for him, these aspects are part of an integrated Buddhist approach to village life. In this way, he exemplifies the Buddhist idea of personal liberation as the bedrock for social empowerment.
The many international awards he has received include the Niwano Peace Prize in 1992, which Dr Ariyaratne used to create the Vishva Niketan Peace Center, the Mahatma Gandhi Peace Prize in 1996, Sushil Kumar International Peace Award in 2006 and the Mahatma Gandhi Service Award in 2006.
Dr Ariyaratne has trained many volunteers from other countries and the Sarvodaya programmes are implemented in the USA, UK, Japan, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Nepal, India and Pakistan as a universal practice based on Buddha's teachings which could be shared by all, leading to sustainable development and peace.
Below is the video on his Gandhian way of life.
Sri Sathya Sai Awards for Human Excellence 2016 - Dr A T ARIYARATNE - Unity of Religions
DR SUNITHA KRISHNAN WOMAN & CHILD WELFARE
In her exemplary and selfless contribution towards the upliftment of women, Dr Sunitha Krishnan embodies the philosophy of Sri Sathya Sai Baba that women must be respected as the anchors of society and the builders of nations.
Dr Sunitha Krishnan is an iridescent beacon of light and hope to those deprived of both. An eminent human rights activist and film-producer, she is nationally and internationally known for her fight against sex crimes and trafficking of women and children. She has been instrumental in rescuing thousands of victims from horrific abuse, restoring hope and dignity to their lives. Her anti-trafficking interventions are considered as best practice models in the world today.
Born in 1972, Dr Sunitha Krishnan, secured a Bachelors degree in Environmental Science from St. Josephs College of Arts & Science, Bangalore, and a Masters degree in 1995 in Medical and Psychiatric Social Work form Roshni Nilaya, Mangalore. Dr Sunitha along with Bro Jose Vetticatil co-founded 'Prajwala', an anti-human trafficking organization in 1996. She has been instrumental in evolving one of the most holistic rehabilitation programmers for victims of trafficking. Prajwala's educations programmes have helped in the rehabilitation of thousands of women and children with empathy and care. With a victim-centric approach and in order to bring in sustainable social transformation on a larger scale, Dr Sunitha has initiated several pioneering and path-breaking campaigns such as Movement Against Trafficking (MAT), ‘Swaraksha’ - a participatory awareness raising initiative to counter trafficking and the first ever survivor's movement titled ‘Aparajita’.
Consistently at the forefront to bring about policy changes and legal reforms, Dr Sunitha spearheaded some of the most effective anti-trafficking policies in the country.
This includes the Minimum Standards of Care for Safe Shelters, now adopted as a state policy by the Governments of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Kerala. ‘Nirbhaya’, adopted as state policy by the Government of Kerala in 2011, also hailed as a unique and one of the most holistic policies in its approach. She currently serves on several policy-formulating committees at both-the State and the Central levels, to combat human trafficking. At the state level, she has been responsible for the effective implementation of the Juvenile Justice Act, setting up of protection homes and evolving a victim-protection protocol for all stakeholders. At the national level, her intervention has led to the establishment of the Organized Crime Investigation Agency and to the drafting of a comprehensive legislation to combat trafficking.
For her selfless service and stupendous achievements, Dr Sunitha has been recognised both nationally and internationally. Some notable honors received include, the Padma Sri Award by the Government of India in 2016; the CIVICUS Nelson Mandela Innovation Award in 2014; the DVF Exemplary Woman Award the Dianne Von Furstenberg Foundation Award 2013; Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Hero from US Department of State in 2009; Perdita Huston International Award for Human Rights, United Nations of Capital Hill, Washington DC in 2006; Stree Shakti Puraskar, Government of India in 2003; listed among 150 Fearless Women in the World by the Newsweek magazine.
Below is the video on her breathtaking and inspiring journey
Sri Sathya Sai Awards for Human Excellence 2016 - Ms Sunitha Krishnan - Women & Child Welfare.
Sanathana Vani is a platform to invite, associate, speak, listen, contemplate, seek, practise and realise the truth, taught by all the great beings that ever walked the face of our planet.
A new show 'My Lord and I’has been launched, which is a series of stimulating conversations, cutting across boundaries and barriers. Sweet stories of the Lord and His devotees from different walks of life, which are refreshing, inspiring and scintillating will be On Air every week. These will be a beautiful amalgamation of an individual’s journey from 'I' to 'We' to 'He'.
Come, let’s listen, contemplate and bask in the divine bliss of the Voice Eternal, every Thursday at 1500 hrs IST and repeat at 2200 hrs IST. This week our guests on show are Dr Ram Setty and Mrs Usha Setty (Part IV),sharing their experiences with their Lord.
A repeat broadcast of the interview with Dr Ram Setty and Mrs Usha Setty (Part III), will be aired on Monday, January 30, 2017 at 0900 hrs IST and 1900 hrs IST.
DIVINE DISCOURSE SUMMARY
JANUARY 19, 2017
Develop Divine love to experience God
The whole world is based on Divine love. All creation in this world is a testimony to this Divine love. Unable to know this, man is subject to all disasters today. There is no selflessness in the worldly ties such as that in parent-children, husband-wife or any other relationship. They all lead to only bondage. In love, there is no give and take. When we give something to others, it is very worldly to expect something in return too. But Divine love does not expect anything in return. Hence, this Divine love always remains same, never increases and never decreases. But when we mix this Divine love with our desires and expectations, it diminishes.
We do not see such pure selfless love anywhere in this world other than in our children (Swami’s students). The only desire they have is to be deserving of Swami’s blessing and love. For this, they are ready to do anything. People who have come from outside and those who are watching may feel that whatever performances the students are exhibiting must be very strenuous. But when you go to children and ask them they say it is not at all strenuous. If you have love you won’t have strain. If you feel strained, it means you do not have enough love.
As all of you know two-three educational institutions are being built every year and hence our family is growing year by year. What are we doing in this growing family? Filling their hearts with the love and blessings of parents, elders and teachers, the senior students are...
Qualification: Young graduate with fluency in spoken and written English. Basic knowledge of computer operations.
Experience: 1-2 years of selling books, preferably in a book publishing house.
Responsibilities: The candidate is expected to travel, identify potential points of sales for spiritual books, follow up sales targets, establish liaison with book retailers. He has to report once a week to the headquarters at Sathya Sai Grama, Muddenahalli. Having own vehicle for travel will be an advantage.
Salary: Commensurate with experience and will be linked to the total sales output in a month.
Interested candidates can respond by e-mail to: info@saiprakashana.org
Or, by written application addressed to: HR, B103, Sai Sannidhi, Sathya Sai Grama, Muddenahalli, Chikkaballapur, Karnataka - 562101.
Please enclose copies of all documents – qualification, experience, age, address and identity proofs. Mention your expected salary.
Subscribe to 'Amruta Vahini', the monthly magazine from Sathya Sai Grama, Muddenahalli today! From Divine Discourses to event updates, from photo features to travelogues, from book excerpts to news updates, 'Amruta Vahini' is a must-have monthly magazine!
Amruta Vahini also features the series, 'Sri Sathya Sai Divya Anandam', the continuing biography of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba in the subtle form, by Sri B N Narasimha Murthy.
To subscribe to 'Amruta Vahini' mail us at commsmdh@gmail.com
We will be happy to assist you with the subscription formalities, and deliver to your home or office!
Tune in to Sanathana Vani every Thursday (IST 5:30pm), Sunday (IST 6pm), and during festivals, to listen to the LIVE satsang, streamed directly from Sathya Sai Grama, Muddenahalli.
