Sri Sathya Sai World Education Conference 2008

Composite Shiva Linga

Monday, July 21, 2008
This morning, the morning plenary session of the Education conference was to be held in the Sai Kulwant Hall, so the Bhajans did not commence at 9 o’clock. Bhagawan arrived at 10.30 in His chair, and when He reached the stage, Prof. David Gries, the Zone I chairman of the Sathya Sai Organisation, introduced the speakers. Dr. Tom Scoville, Dr. B. G. Pitre, Dr. Dalton de Souza Amorim and Sri Srinivasan Srirangarajan were the speakers for the morning, representing the Sri Sathya Sai Organisation and the Sri Sathya Sai University. They spoke on the techniques and impact of Sathya Sai Education, with illustrative anecdotes. Bhagawan accepted Arati after the speeches and returned to His residence at noon.

The delegates for the conference gathered at various venues in the Ashram for their respective post-lunch sessions and returned to the Sai Kulwant Hall for the afternoon plenary session. Bhagawan arrived in His chair and moved to the interview room after four o’clock. At 4.30 pm, the speeches for the afternoon commenced. Mr. Victor Krishna Kanu, Mr. Jeremy Hoffer, Mr. M. K. Kaw and Sri Sanjay Mahalingam spoke on the inspiration and activities of the Sathya Sai Education programme. Bhagawan then graciously consented to speak to the delegates.

Bhagawan took the sheet of questions posed by the delegates and clarifications desired by them, and reading out the questions one by one, answered them for an hour till 6.30 pm. Swami stressed on the need for parents to take proper care of their children, and for the children to love, obey and respect their parents. The students sang Bhajans for 10 minutes after Bhagawan’s Discourse while the delegates moved out from the centre of Sai Kulwant Hall to make way for the devotees from the CIS (former USSR) who were to make a musical presentation. Bhagawan returned to the stage after a brief visit to the interview room and the music program began with a brief introduction. Songs from Russia, Georgia, Belarus, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and so on kept the packed hall enthralled with their catchy tunes and lively beat. After their half-hour programme, Swami asked them to sing one more song, so they sang the popular “Kalinka” and had the audience clapping all through. Bhagawan interacted with the organisers, and then, waved His hands to materialise a large golden lingam. Wrapping it in a small bag, He handed it over to Dr. Goldstein with some instructions. Blessing all the devotees, Bhagawan accepted Arati and returned to His residence at 7.30 pm while prasadam was distributed.

The Book Trust website has a report with images.

Sunday, July 20, 2008
Bhagawan opened the Sai Vidya Jyothi Educare exhibition this morning at 11 o’clock – the Book Trust website has a report with images.

The Sri Sathya Sai World Education Conference 2008 was inaugurated this afternoon. Bhagawan arrived in Sai Kulwant Hall in His chair after four o’clock, and when He came onstage, He lit a lamp to begin the proceedings. Dr. Michael Goldstein spoke first, followed by Sri. V. Srinivasan. Their introductory remarks for forty minutes was followed by Bhagawan’s Discourse at 5.20 pm. Swami spoke for fifty minutes, mentioning at the end that within twenty to thirty years, the whole world will be one, united in love.

The Saisymphony orchestra was to perform next. The centre of Sai Kulwant Hall was cleared and the musicians arranged their places there, with more than seventy-five instruments. Bhagawan returned to the stage after visiting the interview room, and the musical session began just before 6.30. After forty minutes of the symphony, Bhagawan accepted Arati and returned to His residence as prasadam was distributed.

Curtesty RadioSai Prashanti Bulletin

Composite Sai Baba Linga

The Divine Miracle Message Manifested By Sai Baba In London

Sathya Sai Baba

The Divine Miracle Message Manifested By Sai Baba In London

Miracles have a strange way of manifesting themselves before the true devotee.
J.K., embodies the meaning of the word ‘Devotion.’ His work in setting up Sai Schools in Africa is being orchestrated by Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. Jay kay gives us a vivid description of the many miracles that Swami has given him.

Jay Kay is a devoted servant of Sai Baba. He has been involved in the setting up of Sai Schools in Africa and does other service work, mainly with blind children. His work for Zee TV in London has enabled him to set up a TV program on Sri Sathya Sai Baba. Well-known devotees from all over the world are telephoned and asked to share their experiences of Baba. Baba does not allow Jay to visit Him often as he claims that the money, which would be used for travel, would be better off utilised in service work.

However, Jay Kay regularly recieves communication from Baba in the form of letters that flutter down from the ceiling to materialise in mid air. A special letter always arrives on Jay’s birthday. Sometimes Jay will send a letter to Swami. These are generally returned unopened, with a response written over the letter in highlighter pen. Jay is often posted to different countries for a time. Wherever his altar is set up, miracles occur. Vibhuthi is found to manifest profusely off pictures of Sathya or Shirdi Sai will appear, sometimes inside picture frames. These may later “walk out” on to the altar. Sometimes vibhuthi forms the words, Om, etc. The following message was sent in a letter to Jay from Baba and has since been printed on a calendar, which is distributed throughout Malaysia. This private message contains, in a nutshell, many of Sai Baba’s essential teachings.

“Your faith should be of full divinity. Apart from saying God is Love, I do not think that anyone with human consciousness can define God until you merge with God. My message is of divine Love and Service. My life is my message. And what is life? Dedicated long service to mankind 24 hours a day, seven days a week. At night I read through sackfuls of letters. I do not sleep. I do not waste a single moment. What is life? The successful life is the development of one’s talents in the service of others. You are all tiny cells in this body of mine. The whole world is My vesture including animal and vegetable kingdoms. There is only one religion, The religion of love. There is only one caste, the caste of humanity. There is only one language, the language of the heart. The heart is the key of mystical insight. The secret of happiness lies in not doing what you like but in liking what you have to do. If you follow your deepest conscience however difficult, you will find in time joy and contentment, which is far satisfying and fulfilling than anything that self-will and the pursuit of physical and material desire can give you. I accept all religions and people from all religions. It is good to be born in a church but it is not good to die in one. Self-awareness and self-honesty are very important. You are not one but three: the one you think you are, the one others think you are and the one you really are. Be true to your innermost nature. True spiritual growth needs an honest base from which to grow. You must try to become children of God, rather than children of conditioning. Meditation should be done. Two-thirds of meditation should be self-enquiry. The elimination of the ego is another one third, for ego is the real enemy of self-honesty, and dedicated service is the best way to erase it. Life is a bridge over the ocean of change, pass over it but do not build a house over it. You all should know how to live, not just how to make a living. Character is important, I am not much interested in the marks a student gains as the remarks about his character. You seek too much information and not enough transformation. There must be a balance between knowing and being, between what you know and what you are. Knowledge which is not put into use in service is like food not being, digested. Too much book learning can lead to doubt and confusion. Be simple and sincere: God is simple, everything else is complex. A friend who cannot be corrected is not a friend. If your faults are pointed out, do not bear a grudge. Examine your own conduct carefully and mindfully proceed to correct yourself: You should be grateful for it and not be offended by it. Of course, selfishness is the greatest negative tendency in man. There is a road for each heart to God. Each will come in his own way at his own pace.

There is a way of life, a method of uplift, a path of progress distinct for each person, different from those of others. Come one step, I shall take a hundred towards you. Shed just one tear, I shall wipe a hundred from your eyes. Don’t worry I am always with you.

“With Love,”

Baba

Phillip and Jenny Cottingham

Reference

NRIs Back Barack Obama, Thanks To Hanuman

Barack Obama

NRIs Back Barack Obama, Thanks To Hanuman
30 Jun 2008, 0024 hrs IST,PTI

WASHINGTON: The support of the Indian Americans to presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama is steadily rising , thanks to his lucky charm Lord Hanuman, suggests a leading American daily.

Obama's Hanuman

The backing for Obama has shot up among Indian Americans, who were earlier backing Hillary Clinton, since a photo published earlier this month revealed that the 46-year-old Illinois senator carries a tiny brass idol of Hanuman among his handful of good-luck charms.

“When it comes to American politicians, Bill Clinton has been the darling of India,” said an article in the Washington Post.

“That love extended to Hillary Clinton during the Democratic primaries — especially with respect to fundraising among Indian Americans, who grew to become a significant base of support for her White House bid,” the article titled ‘Indian Americans Take note of Obama, thanks to Hanuman’ said.

But now people are supporting Obama, it said. “It’s a big deal,” said Bhavna Pandit, 28, a political fundraising consultant based in Washington who thinks the revelations about Obama’s lucky charm will lead to new interest in him among Indian American donors.

Pandit said news of the Obama trinket has swept across Indian American living rooms and through Indian newspapers and TV networks.

Pandit said the people she knows as “aunties and uncles” – women and men from her parents’ generation – are suddenly taking note of Obama. “They think it’s kind of neat. They rarely see our religion played out in the mainstream media in America,” she said. “In India, they’re like, ‘Wow! The person who can be the president has a connection to us that’s very personal.'”

Obama, who recently defeated Hillary Clinton, is running ahead of his rival John McCain. A recent photo shows that Obama carries with him a bracelet belonging to an American soldier deployed in Iraq, a gambler’s lucky chit, a tiny monkey god and tiny Madonna and child.

Reference

Hanuman