AKSHAYAA - Edition 2 (2016) by Sathya Sai Baba Centre of SS3

Edition 2 - 2016Akshayaa Everlasting... Sathya SaiBaba Centre of SS3

OurhumbleofferingattheLotusFeetofourbelovedBhagawanSriSathyaSaiBaba.OnHis91stbirthday,weofferourmagazine,Akshayaawhichmeanseverlasting,limitlessandnever-declining.SwamiwasbornintheHinduyear,AkshayaaandjustasHisgloryiseverlastingandhowheneverdeclinedinHisresponsetoselflessservice,weasyouthsstrivetocarryoutHismissionlikewise.WenamedthemagazineAkshayaatosymboliseoureverlastingLoveforSwamiandourvisionofdoingmoreofHiswork,selflessly.WealsohopetoextendSwami’severlastinggloryandteachingstotheyoungeronesandreachouttomorepeoplethroughthecompilationofpiecesbyvariousagegroupsinourmagazine.TheyouthsbehindthismagazinewouldsincerelyliketothankSwamifortheopportunitytolearnandbondwithanamazingteamwhileworkingonthisprintmagazineandwebsite.Wehavelearntsomuchtogetherthattheexperienceandknowledgewegainedissomethingwewillcarrywithusforalong,longtime.ThankyouSwami!Theteamwouldalsoliketothankallthecommitteemembersandeldersofthecentreforguidingandsupportingusthroughout.Weappreciateitandhopetoreceiveeverlastingsupportfromall.Astheyearspassandthemagazineteamchanges,ouraspirationistoimprintintheheartsofthedevotees,memoriesthatareworthcherishingforalifetime. ThankyouandJaiSaiRam! TheAkshayaaTeam

Message From The Chairman SaiRam,IamhonouredandhumbledtopenafewlinesinAkshaya,SS3 SaiCentre’smagazine.Thisisthesecondeditionofthemagazine producedbyouryouthtocommemorateSwami’s91stbirthday. Letthismagazinebeanexampleforalltheyouthsandchildrenthat whatevertheyhavelearntinBalvikascanbereflectedintheform of articles,drawingorevenmessages.Furthermore,throughthismagazine, ourdevoteesand theparentsoftheBalvikaschildren areableto understandtheroleofthecentreinspreadingthebeautifulmessageof humanvalues,whichisoneofthesoulmissionofourSwami…BhagawanSriSathyaSaiBaba. Theefforttakenbyouryouthinproducingthismagazineiscommendable.Thisyear,theYouthgave atimeframefortheBalvikasstudentsandindividualstocreatetheirofferingsforSwamiintheform ofarticlesandartworkforthemagazine.Theseofferingshavebeencollatedeachmonthandtheend resultisthismagazine.Theparticipantsinthismagazinearefrom ages7to17.Therewasample opportunityforeveryonetocontributetothismagazine. Furthermore,through thisproject,many youthsareableto work togetherby forming the brotherhoodofSai.Theyworktirelesslyanddonothesitatetocomeforwardwhenevertheyare askedtoperform certaintasksgiventothem.Inthisway,manyofourex-Balvikasstudentswere drawntothecentretoparticipateinthisnobleactivity. Finally,IwishtheYouthTeam abigthankyou.Ihopetheenthusiasm andwillingnesstowork togetherwithotherswillcontinue.Keepitup. JaiSaiRam! BroK.O.Ravi

CONTENTS AKSHAYAA - EDITION 2 (2016)THEME : NEW BEGINNING Parentcare Gradution 2016New Beginning Sathya Sai World Youth FestivalThai Ponggal SSEHV Graduating Class Of 2015Thaipusam THEME : SACRIFICETHEME : PROSPERITY SacrificeProsperity The Glorious GayatriBenefits Of Donating Blood Krishna Janmashtami Group 2 Year 2 Class MessageTHEME : DUTY, DEVOTION & DISCIPLINE Varalakshmi VrataDuty, Devotion & DisciplineGroup 3 Year 2 & Boys Messsage THEME : SERVICE TO MAN IS SERVICE TOTeen Youth Guru’s Training GODPrayer or Service Service To Man Is Service To GodShivaratri Feels Service To Man Is Service To God 2.0Shivarathri Q&A National Wanita Convention 2016 National Mahila Convention 2016THEME : UNITY Group 3 Sadhana CampUnity Group 1 Year 3 Class MessageRama Namavami Q&A Ganesha ChaturthiUgadi Celebration Malaysia Day Street BreakfastBaisakhi Celebration New Gurus TrainingSathya Sai Mahasamadhi Day 2016 How Not To Be Mudhamathe UPSR PrayersTHEME : GRATITUDEGratitude THEME : VICTORYSadhana Camp VictoryGroup 3 Year 1 Class Message Group 3 State Sadhana CampEaswaramma’s Day Avatar Declaration Day 2016Mother’s Day PT3 PrayersMother’s Day Q&A NavarathriGroup 1 Year 1 Class Message DeepavaliBuddha PoornimaSS3 Family Gathering THEME : LOVE Love, Sai Works Through YouTHEME : CEILING ON DESIRES Garderning ProjectCeiling On Desires Global Akhanda Bhajans 2016Ceiling On Desires - SS3 Projects SPM PrayersFather’s Day Behind The Scenes : Swami’s 91st BirthdayGroup 3 Temple Visit Drama PracticeTHEME : SUPRANITI JYOTIS BALVIKAS CLASS PHOTOSSupraniti Jyotis GALLERYWhy Is Aadi Special ?

January Theme: Mon Tues Wed Thurs Fri Sat Sun 1234567 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29Events this month: SSE Classes Commence Thaipusam Celebration

A New Beginning By Bro Vinod Jay2016 marks the new beginning of our lives. A new beginning means a makeover, or amoulding of our past experience, lesson and character and for some of us, it might beachieving a specific goal or outcome. The beginning of the New Year brings a specialatmosphere that motivates new action, which gives us a perfect opportunity to startsomething new or finish something that we have started previously. This time will be toreflect and allow ourselves to either accept the person we are, or to try to change certainqualities that could be changed within us. As Swami says, life is an experience meant to trainthe individual for a higher, deeper and expanded state of existence through the experience ofthe results of our actions. The aim for everybody's life is the attainment of completeperfection in the Spiritual Absolute.There are new opportunities in the New Year that can be made as it is a great time and itmotivates new action. It offers us opportunities like self reflection, it’s a great time toprobably reflect on where we were in the past, how did we do last year, what were themistakes and lessons that we can learn from our past and certain qualities and experience thatwe would want to carry forward to the next year. It’s also a great time to probably expressour gratitude and appreciation for the people that we have forgotten to do so in the past.Trying new experiences, accomplishing goals, something that is as simple as setting newgoals and keeping in touch with friends and family members are a few things we could do inthe New Year. Although the New Year has the atmosphere that motivates the action goalsetting, it should not be thought as a resolution; instead it should be perceived as goals thatare personal to you and you would have the drive and the motivation to achieve it in the NewYear.Reflection will be a great time to remind ourselves of all the accomplishments we have hadfrom all the previous years of our lives. Affirmation that we are going in the right directionof our lives is very important. There is no such thing as perfection of ourselves, it is all theperception of our minds because let’s face it, aren’t we not perfect? So, let us accept it andlook forward for a greater year with greater experiences. Swami says, there is no strengthmore effective than purity, no bliss more satisfying than love, no joy more restoring thandevotion and no triumph more praiseworthy than surrender. Lastly, reflections andopportunities are all tools and motivations to help you kickstart a great year. Let it be amotivation for a fresher start and let us all be thankful for all the experiences and lessons wehave received from the previous year. Let us make this a celebration of happiness.

Thai Pongal By Sis Haveena NandhiniIt is the day when the poor, the rich, the villager and the city-dweller offer theirgratitude to the Gods, the Sun, the Earth and the cattle for a bountiful harvest.Thai refers to the name of the tenth month festive dishes such as murukku, vadai andin the Tamil calendar, Thai. Pongal usually paayasam. Friends and family sendmeans festivity or celebration. More greetings via text messages or social mediaspecifically Pongal means \"overflowing\" these days.signifying abundance and prosperity.Symbolically, Pongal signifies the gradual To me personally, pongal greatly remindsheating of the earth as the Sun travels me of my late grandfather. He used to getnorthward toward the equinox. It brings very excited and enjoyed the celebration arespite to the people as it marks the end of lot. Days leading up to it, he would put upcold winter and the advent of spring. From the sugar cane plants at the front door andthis time onwards the length of the day hang mango leaves at the entrance of theincreases and that of the night shortens in house. He insisted we made the pongalthe Northern Hemisphere. outside the house, the traditional way of doing it, using bricks and sticks for the firePongal refers to the traditional practice of just as they would do in the estate where hepreparing sweet rice infused with milk and grew up. These simple rituals brought sojaggery in a new clay pot. In fact the rice much joy to our family. As of late, wethat is used for making pongal is also make our pongal on the hob in our kitchenfreshly harvested and boiled with brown and never fail to speak of his antics on thissugar or jaggery and topped off with ghee, auspicious day. When the pongal is ready,raisins and cashew nuts. It is usually we place the pongal rice on a banana leafprepared at sun rise. When the milk boils together with the other prayer offeringsand spills over from the clay pot as used by and pray for a bountiful year. We alsorural households, the words “Ponggalo thank the nature, the spirit, the Sun and thePongal” are traditionally uttered farmers for a bountiful harvest.accompanied with blowing of the conchwhile ululating as the milk spills over.Essentially, the festival is celebrated tooffer thanks to the Sun God and thelivestock for creating the agriculturalabundance. The pongal is prepared atsunrise and offered to the Sun God,thanking Him for the abundant harvest.The sweet pongal rice is then served to theothers in the house along with the other

Thaipusam By Sis Kashmira JeevaThaipusam which falls in the month of Thai (January to February) is celebrated on the fullmoon when the constellation Pusam is on the ascend, and this year, the festival was on the24th of January. Pusam refers to a star that is at its highest point during the festival.Thaipusam is celebrated by the Tamil speaking community particularly the Southern states;Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka and Andra Pradesh. Countries like Malaysia, Singapore,South Africa and Sri Lanka also celebrate this festival.This day marks the victory of good over evil. It is believed that Goddess Parvathi gave the‘Vel’ to Lord Muruga on this day to vanquish the Asuras. Thaipusam commemorates thedeath of Tharakasuran, a demon at the hands of Lord Muruga. The Lord defeated this demonas well as many other Asuras using the powerful Vel. Some sources do depict thatThaipusam actually celebrates the birthday of Lord Muruga and on this day devotees showtheir sincerity by making and fulfilling vows to the Divine. On some occasions, devoteestake this festival as the time to do penance for any wrongdoings of being unworthy. A vastmajority carry out this penance by either wearing ‘kavadis’ or ‘paal kodam’.Kavadi simply means suffering at every step. The kavadis are basically shrines decoratedgrandly assembled upon a steel frame that is supported around the bearers’ waist. How theKavadi came about was based on the story of Idumban, a student of Sage Agastya and LordMuruga. He was asked by his teacher to bring the two hills, Shivagiri and Shaktigirioccupied by Lord Muruga. As Idumban picked up the mountains, Lord Muruga wasobserving from a distance and decided to test the determination of Idumban.The Lord disguised as a little kid and stood on top of the mountain. Idumban requested thechild to move, but failed to get any response from him. Enraged by the child, he attackedhim but Idumban was not able to move the child despite his powerful warrior qualities. OnceIdumban regained his composure, he finally saw who the child really was, and stood therefolding his arms in reverence. Seeing this, Lord Muruga appointed him as his guard anddeclared that any devotee who carries a Kavadi which symbolizes the mountain carried byIdumban will be given preference in a Murugan Temple.Paal kodam is where men and women, including children carry a silver pot of fresh milk ontheir head in thanks for any children born that year for married couples. Some devotees offerfruits and flowers to the Lord. They are usually dressed in yellow or orange coloured dress asthese colours identify with Muruga.

Annually, the SS3 centre is involved in a blood donation campaign on this auspicious day atBatu Caves. Here are some accounts by Brother Naavish and Sister Selvi. Brother Naavishhelped at the registration tables and explaining the forms and specific requirements to thedonors. According to Sister Selvi, this festival is the celebration of faith and penance. Sheadds that this festival is more commercialised in Malaysia. On the other hand, BrotherNaavish states that this auspicious day is to celebrate His greatness and power. Inconclusion, it is important to celebrate Thaipusam as it gives the entire Hindu community anopportunity to devote themselves to Lord Muruga.

February Theme: Prosperity Mon Tues Wed Thurs Fri Sat Sun 1234567 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29Events this month: Group 4 Boys Class Message Chinese New Year Celebration Teen Youth Teacher’s Training Group 3 Year 1 Boys Class Message

God’s Will is ProsperityIn times of prosperity, people By Sis Sivasreeny Ramaraoshould prepare for changes. Some for instance, reward their childrenProsperity often puffs up people with with a car when they graduate from highnarrow vision. They often imagine they school. The car may already be parked inare high and mighty. Moreover, they look the lot after the graduation ceremony anddown upon frugal people with contempt. when the child sees it, he is overwhelmed with happiness. Seeing a child happy,Only a true noble and resolute character you rejoice because you know you childwill find valuable lessons in adversity and is blessed.profits by it. Prosperity surfaces our That is the case with God. It makes Godhighest and best qualities for we are happy to see you blessed and prosperous.always on trial when fortune smiles upon Imagine for some reason your child isus. Weak characters are warped by pulled out of the commencement line andexcessive prosperity making more does not graduate, it takes away your joynegative traits surface. because you are unable to reward your child with the car. God reacts in the sameIt has been said, “God does not send us manner. He is disappointed when we dodirect money but gives us promissory not prosper because he has alreadynotes and pays these notes when faith reserved many good things for us.presents them at the throne.” God Therefore, it is incumbent upon us to beintroduces spiritual lines and paths and blessed.this is sufficient for our needs if we areincited to act on these through divineimpulsions. You’re not a worm on Earth;you are the highest concept of theabsolute.Do you know God’s will is prosperity? InHis sovereignty and authority, he has notordained that we sit at home in povertywith a depressed and lonely heart. No,that is the picture society has sown intoour minds.God has always something better in storefor us. Simply stated, God’s will for youis prosperity. Every time you come intothe fruition of blessing, God is happy.Let’s just say He has a personal interest inyour prosperity.

Benefits of Donating Blood By Bro Naavish NairWe have always been told since young that donating blood helps save lives. However,have we ever wondered what are the benefits obtained from donating blood? While anofficial from the medical field would provide the various scientific benefits of donatingblood, it is important for us to realize that the benefits of donating blood aren’t exclusive toscientific researches. Therefore, this article focuses on the humanitarian and psychologicalgains of donating blood.In accordance to Red Cross Blood – a humanitarian organization that operates on a globalscale and is primarily responsible for blood donation – a single donation has the potential tohelp more than one person. In basic terms, this means that the 10 minutes you spend filing upa form, getting your blood tested and lying on a comfortable chair while donating bloodcould be the potential factor that saves another individual’s life. It is indeed amazing whenwe think of the huge potential of a simple, selfless act. We not only assist an individual whoneeds blood but we also share a common bond of humanity. Your small act of kindnessprolongs the lifespan of someone you have never met before.On a psychological point of view, donating blood has two benefits. The first is a rehash ofmy first point of saving someone else’s life. This brings about a feel good factor, as you areaware of the benefits the individual receiving your blood will attain. On the second level, thehuman body would produce more blood cells after donating blood. This is a naturalsystem that replenishes the blood lost in the body. When new blood cells have beengenerated in the body, we indirectly become healthier as the new blood cells are able toexecute its functions better. We will develop the tendency to be more physically active as weare aware of the health improvement obtained from donating blood.Lastly, from a logical point of view, donating blood will make us more alert and proactive.This is because the new red blood cells that have been produced by the bone marrow will beable to conduct its function of transporting oxygen to the brain faster than the ‘old blood’ inthe body, as it is fresher. When oxygen is transported to the brain more frequently, webecome more alert and we will be able to think better and faster. To conclude, it is good foreveryone to donate blood regularly as there are various benefits of donating blood. Pleaseunderstand that as compared to solely saving another’s life, it is more beneficial to theindividual donating blood.

March Theme: Duty, Discipline, Devotion Mon Tues Wed Thurs Fri Sat Sun 123456 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31Events this month: Group 3 Year 3 Girls Class Message Mahasivarathri Celebration National New Guru’s Training Sadhana Camp (Phase 1) Group 3, Year 2 & 3 Boys Class Message

Duty, Devotion, and Discipline By Sis Amesha RoshiniBeing born as a human is a divine gift, a true blessing. We, as humans, do not realize norappreciate this gift of life. We take life for granted by blindly satisfying the needs of ourpleasure senses (Kama) and going after materialism (Artha). As we believe, everything hasits purpose. Well, so does this gift of life. But what is the purpose of life? What is theultimate goal? Well, it is to reach God, which is by attaining enlightenment (Moksha). Thatis our goal in life and that should be the only goal. Somehow the road to achieve this goal isnot as easy as you think it is.To achieve the ultimate goal, we have to follow the pathway paved by God. This is bysimply following the teachings of Swami, which are to always love all and serve all; to havecontrol of our mind and more. But the core action that Swami has emphasized is to followthe 3D’s (Duty, Devotion and Discipline) as a basis of life. When these three actions arejoined in force, I would call it ‘The Trinity’, as it is that powerful and it will definitelyelevate us as humans with true humanity. We should never neglect any one of those actionsas they are equally important. In one of Swami’s discourses, He said, “Duty, discipline anddevotion are all absolutely essential for everyone. You may have devotion and you may bedischarging the duty entrusted to you. But unless you are saturated in discipline, the othertwo are useless.”Now we know that duty, devotion and discipline are essential to achieve the ultimate goal,we should have a proper understanding about them. I will be using the great Sanskrit epicRamayana by Sage Valmiki to give you a further understanding about duty, devotion anddiscipline that has been portrayed by the inspiring characters in Ramayana.Duty. What is duty? It is to do something that you are assigned to do with morality. We, ashumans, definitely have a role to play. Such as a mother, father, son, daughter, teacher, etc.Just by having a role is not good enough to fulfill the needs. We have to make sure we do theduty of our role with perfection. We have to know the art of multitasking, as each and everyone of us more than one role in this journey of life. Just like how a great actress knows howto change her facial expressions and body gestures that are suitable for the character sheplays in every different scene. From Ramayana, the value of fulfilling one’s duty can be seenin Rama. Rama who’s the eldest son of King Dasharatha has beautifully portrayed his duty

as a son and a great ruler. As a son, Rama who was newly wedded to Sita was demanded toexile to the forest for 14 years by his father. Rama, who had all the power to object and sit onthe throne as a king, willingly accepted his father’s orders without questioning him and leftto the forest with his dear wife Sita. This proves that Rama played the role of a son at itsbest. Swami once said, “Work is worship, duty is God. Duty without love is deplorable, dutywith love is desirable, love without duty is divine, the secret of happiness lies not in doingwhat one likes but in liking what one has to do.”Next, devotion is simply having a strong love or loyalty; the quality of being devoted. Thefeeling of devotion is definitely God’s grace. Having constant contemplation on God isBhakti (devotion), without devotion Akhanda Nyana (infinite knowledge) is not possible.Only with true dedication and pure love can one attain such high knowledge. As we allknow, Hanuman is a true great devotee of Shri Rama. Hanuman is an inspiration to all of usas a devotee – he dedicated his entire life, totally devoted and 100% committed to themission of Shri Rama. Hanuman was never a slave to his senses; he was the master of hismind. Even though there were so many obstacles that arose, he was never distracted byanything but only had the thought to help Rama by finding Sita. In short, when a diamond iscut repeatedly it shines with added brilliance and its value increases. Thus, in order toexperience divinity within, one has to face many obstacles.Finally, the hardest and the most undesirable one by most of us, discipline. Discipline isbehaving in a way that shows a willingness to obey rules and orders. Discipline is veryimportant. As Swami’s students, we should understand and apply this in our daily life asSwami quotes about discipline all the time. Without discipline, the mind of man is turnedinto a wild elephant in a rut. We would not have control and would dwell in the materialisticworld by feeling fascinated and craving for whatever that pricks our pleasure senses (Kama).The almighty King Dasharatha played the role of a disciplined husband by keeping his wordto his wife, Kaikeyi. Years ago, Dasharatha granted Kaikeyi two boons when she hadbravely saved his life in the battlefield. Being deceived by Mantara, Kaikeyi became self-centered and used her first boon to fulfill her selfish desire to exile Rama to the forest for 14years and secondly to crown her son Bharata as the king in King Dasharatha’s stead. Theking was disappointed, heartbroken and helpless. He knew he could not do that to Rama, themost favorable son of his but at the same time, he was a disciplined man at heart and born ofa noble-hearted clan. He understood the importance of honoring one’s word and keepingpromises. Thus, he did what Kaikeyi desired.Now that I have elaborated the 3D’s (duty, discipline and devotion), I hope you have a betterpicture of what the 3D’s are and how we can apply it in our life. Anything is possible – wecan all try to fulfill the 3D’s so that we can be closer to God. So let us take this challenge todo so.

Group 3 Year 2 and 3 Boys’ Message By Bro K.O. RaviOur class message was on truth (Sathya). When we lie, we will have to tell more lies tocover up that lie. We have learnt that there are consequences to all our actions. Lookeshstarted our class presentation narrating a story on Peter’s experience on lying.Peter had a very dear friend in school. One day, he wanted to go meet his friend. He knewthat his parents would disagree because his friend’s house was far away. He had a plan.He told his mother that he was going to see his friend Ted who was living only a stone’sthrow away from his house. His mother reluctantly agreed.On his way he hit a boulder. Peter broke his leg. He cried for help. A man found him andrushed him to the nearest hospital. The man called Peter’s parents. After several minutes, hisparents arrived. Peter apologized to them and promised never to lie again.Moving on, a few of my friends shared their experiences. Some of them lied to their parentsand some to teachers. We were feeling really nervous while talking but after delivering ourmessage we were relieved. A piece of advice from all of us out of experience – big or small,lies are lies and lying hurts. Cradle habits will only end in graves Tottil Pallakkam Sudu Kaadu Manttum

Teen Youth Teacher’s Training By Sis Thiveshini GunaThe Teen Youth Teacher’s training was held on the 26th February 2016 for three days at theGreenview Farm in Broga, Semenyih. The atmosphere of the place was of harmony andthere was an immediate stillness to the worldly matters running around in your mind at thesight of the green hills and fresh air. There were a total of 40 gurus and aspiring gurus fromall over Malaysia participating in this camp. The objective of this camp is to show how theNational Teen Youth come up with lesson plans and how we Gurus can also come up withthese plans. To be a Teen Youth Guru, first we have to put ourselves into their shoes to knowwhat is exactly needed as a lesson. Our training was done surrounding this aspect ofcloseness and getting teen youths to share and speak out, and relate it to their daily liveswhile incorporating values in it.We became students for the activity sessions and Gurus later on for the debrief sessions. Wewere to create Level 1, 2 and 3 questions based on each activity that we had. These questionsbasically encircles how the students felt during the activity, what was observed andacknowledge the values/ sub values pertaining to the activity and finishing up with Swami’squotes on the value. Numerous deliberations were done during this course of time, helpingeach other to gain insights on teaching techniques done in various centres, thoughts oncultivating more independent teen youths at this very awkward age and how we can alsobetter ourselves as Gurus. We also had a forum acknowledging our general concerns asGurus with Sis. Roshini, Bro. Vasu and Sis. Majari. The camp ended on a good note afterhaving a very relaxing session with Bro. Vasu on how to remain detached, that we are notthe “doer” in the class and helping us realise its Swami working through us in class toconnect with teen youths.“Today in the context of there being about 5000 Bal Vikas Gurus, if each teacher can set right a hundredstudents, the whole country can be improved in a large measure. Today there being 5000 gurus of BalVikas classes, what is the progress we have made during the past four years is a question we should askourselves? We should carefully examine everything that each one of us does. The Gurus whohave Sathvik feelings can inspire such noble feelings in the students who learn under them. If we thereforewant sacred ideas to be promoted in the students, first thing to do is to develop sacred thoughts in theminds of the teacher.” (Divine Discourse to Bal Vikas Gurus at Poorna Chandra Auditorium - 20 Nov 1979)

Prayer or ServicePrayer or Service – which path is better in By Sis Suchitra Saayi Sugumaranthis spiritual journey as a Sai youth? Thatwas the topic of the debate at the Omkaar The debate was for the benefit of the teensession, which was held at Bangsar centre. youths and youths who had attended theI was not very keen in debating this topic Omkaar session that day and for that, Ieven when I was put into the “Service would like to thank the Big Boss for givingteam” simply because I believe a Sai youth me such an opportunity. After all, that wasor anyone for the matter of fact needs a service that He allowed me to do.balance of both prayer and service.Choosing one out of the two was not aneasy job as rebuttals could have been madeto each point by both teams. Thus, thisdebate was not very effective for me as anindividual.However, when there was a shortdiscussion after the debate, I realized thatmany of them had actually gained newinformation about prayer and service. Forinstance, we all have the mindset thatservice is only an action that is done with itbeing labelled as service but we do notrealize that even smiling at a stranger orany other individual is already service.Also, we have a small perception thatprayer must be done in a ritualistic wayaccording to the customs, but the momentwe say ‘Om’, that itself is considered as aprayer. These two points were brought upby both teams and it had enlightened theothers who were witnessing the debate.That was when I realized the reason behindmy participation in the debate.

Shivaratri Feels“It was one of my nicest and most By Sis Saiiswari Sivanesanfulfilling Shivaratri experiences. Verynicely done prayers and variety of mantra, “Shivaratri this year was beautiful. Stayingchants and songs. I felt the night pass by so awake was so easy especially because ofquickly. Also, time was taken to explain the variety of activities planned throughoutthe significance of the name and history of the night, and the superbly energeticthe deity, which made it more meaningful. Bhajans! Generally, I am not too wellIt’s such a powerful and important festival versed with formal, ritualistic prayers, butthat I think we should encourage more performed in such a serene manner, withpeople to take leave on the next day so that so much love definitely invoked a feelingthey can participate throughout the night.” of devotion and admiration for Lord– Sis. Nesa Shiva.” – Sis. Sai Usha“We observe Shivaratri in contemplation “The Shivaratri celebration for this yearof Lord Shiva and likewise we have to live was truly amazing. Reasons being, theour life daily in contemplation and beautiful decorations, the excellentremembrance of the Almighty Supreme at teamwork from the ladies and youths,every moment in life. Shivaratri is just exhilarating Bhajans, the four kaala poojasanother reminder of that. The more we and, most importantly, the great devotionthink of Him, we shall eventually emerge of the people. Looking forward to the nextin our original true nature of love, peace celebration in the centre.” – Bro. Ganeshand silence which Shiva represents.” – Sis.Mona“The continuous Bhajan and prayer filledand moulded a highly energized spiritualexperience. The journey was filled withimmense immersion into the magnanimityof the aspect of Shiva through Rudramwhish is said to be the remover ofnegativity. Topping it off was Swami’sblessings for us in providing a Sai SundaraLingam.” – Bro. Monty

FAQs on Shivaratri Answered by Uncle MuthuQ: People say the items we use for perform the sacred austerities on this dayabhishegam could be put to better use will be freed of all sin. Devotees willlike feeding the poor. What is the usually observe a fast throughout the daysignificance of the abhishegam on Shiva (and night) and perform worship in aLingam? variety of forms on the Shiva Linga.A: When a farmer throws seeds in the Shivaratri is celebrated at night because itfield, only the farmer knows that it will is said that Lord Shiva saved the worldbring grains (food) in the future. Likewise, from darkness and ignorance, and it wasabhishegam for the Shiva Lingam also at night that Lord Vishnu and Lordsymbolises the sowing of seeds for the Brahma worshipped the Shivajyothirbenefit of all (society) in the future. The Linga.whole world is a projection of God and bydoing abhishegam we are expressing There are variousgratitude for all that He has given us, by interesting legends related to the festival ofgiving it back to Him. Looking at it from Maha Shivaratri. According to one of thethe perspective of wastage is a narrow most popular legends, Shivaratri marks thepoint of view because the energy that the wedding day of Lord Shiva and Parvathi.abhishegam creates benefits not only the Some believe that it was on the auspiciousindividual but also society as a whole. It’s night of Shivaratri that Lord Shivamore on the concept of ‘the more we are performed the Tandava, the dance of thegrateful for what has been given by Him, primal creation, preservation andthe more He blesses us in abundance.’ destruction. Another popular Shivaratri legend stated in Linga Purana states that itQ: What is Shivaratri and why is it was on Shivaratri that Lord Shivacelebrated? manifested himself in the form of a Linga.A: Shivaratri simply translates to the great Hence, this day is considered to benight of Lord Shiva. The festival is extremely auspicious by Shiva devoteescelebrated on the 14th night of the new and they celebrate it as Mahashivaratri.moon, which usually falls betweenFebruary and March. There is a reference Q: Why do we stay up duringto this in one of the Puranas, where Lord Shivaratri? Does God really sleep?Shiva himself tells Parvathi Devi that this A: Shivaratri usually falls on a ‘no moon’day is very dear to him and those who day. During this time, the mind is calm and

able to focus. When the mind is settled, it head of the 18 siddhas (scholars) ofis easier for us to experience a leap of Hinduism and being the close assistant ofconsciousness. That is what we must strive Lord Shiva, Nandi too can confer boons toto achieve while staying awake during Shiva’s sincere devotees. There is aShivaratri – to experience a higher tradition in India where devotees whisperconsciousness. Challenges to the human their wishes into the ears of Nandi as theymind during this time may come in the believe it is carried directly to the Lord andform of sleep and hunger but if we are eventually granted.disciplined and stay focused through thenight, the experience we gain is bliss. It is Q: What does the Shiva Lingaman opportunity for us to raise our symbolizes?consciousness by staying awake during A: The Shiva Lingam is the holy symbol ofthis time. And umm, does God really sleep Lord Shiva and it can be found in the*laughs* well sleep is something very ... shrines of Lord Shiva all over the world.human. God has no form and no name, no The Lingam is round and elliptical inphysical or mental fatigue, so there really shape, and it represents the omnipotentisn’t a need for God to sleep. Lord – who is formless. Lingam is a*Shivaratri occurs on a monthly basis but combination of two words leeyathe andduring Mahashivaratri (once a year) it is gamyathe. Swami has said “leeyatheobserved on a larger scale – the gamyathe ithi lingah”, which means, “thatsignificance of monthly Shivaratri, in which all merge, that to which allhowever, is the same as Mahashivaratri. proceed is Linga.” Merge in God; submerge your mind in Divine activity.Q: What is the significance of Nandi? The Linga is like an egg and represents theA: Nandi the bull is the vahana (Wagon) of ‘Brahmanda’ or the cosmic egg. It alsoLord Shiva. The vahana of the Gods and portrays that creation is affected by theGoddess are always placed in front, facing union of ‘Prakriti’ and ‘Purusha,’ the malethe deity. Likewise, the Nandi represents and the female powers of Nature. Theus, Jeevatma, and we must always be Linga can also denote ‘Sathya,’ ‘Jnana’focused on the Lord and ever ready to and ‘Ananda’ which are Truth, Knowledgeserve Him, the Paramatma. Nandi signifies and Bliss. The Lingam is usually set on astrength, load bearing capacity and virility. circular base or peetham, according toGiven that Shiva didn’t have to fight fierce scholars the peetham signifies Parashakti,battles or travel quickly between the the manifesting power of God.worlds (as He spends most of the time inmeditation), He didn’t have to choose amore agile vahana similar to Vishnu’s.Nandi has been given many propertiessuch as, the protector of dharma, he is the

Q: Why are there four kalas? Does it Q: Does a different ingredient (e.g.signify anything? fruits, milk etc.) signify somethingA: There is no specific significance as to different?why there are four kalas, but the main A: It depends on the deity we are offeringobjective is to keep us awake and our to. A few items have different significanceminds focused. In the centre, we divide the but mostly what we offer is what we deemprayer into four kalas to keep us occupied to have brought/will bring benefits to us.throughout the night. For example, after For example, offering of rice is simply toone kala there is some performance and thank God for the grains He has given us;bhajan singing and then before you know offering of panchaamritham signifies theit, it’s time for the second kala. It’s just a five nectars of immortality.way of keeping us focused on sacred Milk = blessing of purity and piousnessactivities like bhajan singing and Yogurt = prosperity and progenyabhishegam. Honey = sweet speech Ghee = victoryQ: How different were each Sugar = happinessabhishegam? Water = purityA: For each abhishegam we offereddifferent items and usually rice is offeredlast so that it can be distributed asprasadam after that. There was a list ofitems to offer during abhishegam, each onewere different simply because we cannotoffer all items in one kala, hence wedistribute different items throughout thefour kalas. Each item has a different wayof offering and different mantras to bechanted, hence the reason why eachabhishegam is a little different from eachother.

AprilTheme: UnityMon Tues Wed Thurs Fri Sat Sun 1234 5 6 7 8 9 1011 12 13 14 15 16 1718 19 20 21 22 23 2425 26 27 28 29 30Events this month: Group 4 Girls Class Message Ugadi Celebration Group 2 Year 3 Class Message Vishu Celebration Tamil New Year & Vaisakhi Celebration Sri Rama Navami Celebration Group 2 Year 1 Class Message KL-SEL State Educare Carnival & Earth Day for Group 1 and 2 Mahasamadhi Day

UnityThe first thought that comes to most By The Youth Teampeople when the word unity is mentionedwould probably be mutual respect among and deeds are not in sync because itpeople that is bounded by humanity. reflects the type of person we are.We fail to realize that in order to achieve For example, let’s assume that anthis harmonious environment that we all individual does not like another individualcrave so badly, we need to make sure our and has negative thoughts towards thethoughts, words and deeds are in sync. person constantly. However, he or sheThis is important as Swami says, “If there would behave in the exact opposite manneris righteousness in the heart, there will be when they meet that individual in person.beauty in the character. If there is beauty in That person would be labelled as athe character, there will be harmony in the hypocrite.home. If there is harmony in the home,there will be order in the nations. When The question that we all have to answerthere is order in the nations, there will now is, how to unite our thoughts, wordspeace in the world.” and deeds. Only when we have found the answer to that question, can we begin theA person’s character is usually determined journey to world peace.by the thoughts of the individual. This isbecause ours thoughts would transcendinto our words and our words wouldtranscend into our actions. Regardless ofwhat our intensions are, our thoughts andwords will be drilled into the subconsciousmind before provoking the thought into anaction.However, many of us do not speak thesame thoughts we think and do not practicethe things we preach. The main reason isbecause we are afraid of judgment fromothers. It is bad when our thoughts, words

Rama Navami Q&A By The Youth Team1. Do you know who named Lord Rama?The Guru of Raghu dynasty, Vashishta Maharishi blessed the Lord with the name ‘Rama’.He explained that this divine word is a combination of two Beejaksharas: Agni Beej andAmrutha Beej. These Aksharas energise the body, mind, and soul.Lord Rama is also called Kamalnayan because of his beautiful captivating eyes. You cancapture his beauty by downloading beautiful wallpapers from this website: Lord RamaWallpapers, http://www.astrosage.com/wallpapers/ram-wallpaper.asp2. Do you know who defeated Lord Rama in a battle without using any weapon?Lord Hanuman fought against Lord Rama to save Yayati. Lord Rama wanted to kill Yayati,as ordered by Sage Vikramaditya. Hanuman helped Yayati in winning the battle by chantingthe name of Lord Rama in the battle field. The arrows of Lord Rama did not have any effecton Lord Hanuman and thus, He (Lord Rama) gave up.3. Do you know at which age Lord Rama went to exile?At the age of 27.4. Do you know how and where Lord Rama left his body for the journey toward hisheavenly abode?Lord Rama had taken Jal Samadhi in the river ‘Saryu’. He did that when Mata Sita buriedherself into Mother Earth after going through numerous tests to prove her innocence.5. Do you know the name of the forest where Lord Rama, Mata Sita and Lakshmanhad spent their exile?The name of the forest where Lord Rama spent his exile years is ‘Dandakaranya’. This forestis spread across the regions of Orissa, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, and Maharashtra withan area of about 36,500 square miles.Lord Rama solved all the problems of his devotees. They only need to have pure dedicationand devotion. To get the solution of all the problems through Shree Ram Shalaka, click here:Shree Ram Shalaka, http://www.astrosage.com/ramshalaka.asp

6. Do you know who kidnapped Lord Rama?Ahiravana, brother of Ravana, kidnapped the two brothers and took them to the fire tosacrifice their lives as an offering to Goddess Mahamaya. But, Lord Hanuman saved theirlives by killing Ahiravana.7. Do you know the length of the bridge, Ram Setu and how many days were spent onconstructing it over the sea with limestone shoals?Ram Setu was built by Vanar Sena (army of monkeys – followers of Lord Ram) fromRameswaram island of Tamil Nadu to Mannar island of Sri Lanka. The bridge isapproximately 30 km long and took a total of six days to construct.8. Do you know who helped Lord Rama to understand the black magic and powers ofRavana in the battle of the two?Vibhishana, the younger brother of Ravana helped Rama to conquer the battle by helpinghim understand Ravana’s powers, magic, and tricks.Lord Rama showed the right way of leading life to humans, he created the ideals to befollowed in life. Ram Navami is the day to recall and adopt them in life. So, follow the noblevirtues of Lord Rama and get his divine blessings. Rama Sai Rama Sai Rama Sai Ram Koushalya Nandana Dasharatha Ram Janaki Vallabha Jai Jai Ram Lakshmana Sevita Lavanya Ram Ravana Mardana Ranadeera Ram Ayodhya Vasi Raja Ram Anjana Priya Sutha Atmabhi Ram

Ugadi Celebration By Sis Chandralekha Chandra SegaranApril is a very significant month for the Hindu communities as they celebrate theirrespective New Year. The Ugadi celebration marks the beginning of this auspicious monthand it is the New Year’s Day for the people of the Telugu and Kannada community aroundthe globe.Ugadi is believed to be the day when Lord Brahma formed the universe according to theTelugu Panchangam (Almanac). With this in mind, the significance of this celebration canbe seen in its name since yuga mean ‘era’, and aadi means ‘the beginning’. Hence, like anyother New Year, this celebration should mark a new beginning in a person’s life.The preparations for the celebration begin with spring cleaning of the home a day before andthe purchase of new clothes. Families come together to perform prayers for the Gods andGoddess in a special ceremony called the Nokkalamma Panduka the night before. In thisceremony, they perform the Intamana Talli prayers.On the morning of the celebration, fresh mango leaves are hung above doorways of homes asa mark of a new prosperous beginning. The normal practice is for families to wake up beforesunrise and take an oil bath, followed by prayers. One interesting part of the celebration isthe ritual of reading the Panchanga Sravanam (Religious Almanac Predictions) at temples.Another unique highlight of the celebration is the food prepared. The main dish of the day iscalled Ugadi Pachadi, which is widely practiced in Malaysia. The Pachadi is made up of amixture of ingredients that represent six tastes – neem flowers (bitter), raw unripe mango(tangy), tamarind juice (sour), green chilli/pepper (spicy), jaggery and ripe banana pieces(sweet) as well as a pinch of salt. These tastes symbolise the ups and downs, and differentexperiences of life, which every individual must accept.“Ugadhi for me is just like the Ugadhi Pachadi. It is a reminder of the myriad of experiencesin the New Year, both good and not so good. It also reminds me that the most important partis our attitude towards life and how we decide to experience it,” said Sister Ranitha whenasked about the significance of Ugadhi.

BaisakhiThe vibrant festival of Baisakhi is By Sis Geetika Kapoorconsidered to be an extremely importantfestival in India for a number of reasons. Ones and gave a unique identity to Sikhs.Apart from being important for the farmers On the same day, the guru administeredas a harvest festival, the festival is of prime amrit (nectar) to his first batch of fiveimportance in Sikhism as a foundation day disciples making them Singhs, a martialof Khalsa Panth. community. By doing so, he eliminated the differences of high born and low born, andHarvest Festival established that all human beings are equal.Baisakhi is celebrated as a harvest festivalby the large farming community in the Significance of Baisakhi in Otherstates of Punjab and Haryana. Since ReligionsBaisakhi falls in the middle of the month The day of Baisakhi is of significance forof April (April 13), Baisakhi marks the the Hindus, as it was on this day in 1875harvest time of the rabi (winter) crops. that Swami Dayanand Saraswati foundedFarmers are loaded with cash at this time the Arya Samaj – a reformed sect ofand are in full mood and spirit to enjoy the Hindus who are devoted to the Vedas forfruits of hard work as they celebrate the spiritual guidance and have discarded idolBaisakhi Festival. worship. Besides, Baisakhi day is of relevance for the Buddhists as GautamaThanksgiving Day Buddha attained enlightenment andThe festival of Baisakhi is celebrated as a Nirvana on this auspicious day.Thanksgiving Day by the farmers. Peoplewake up early on the day and take bath in Astrologically, the date of Baisakhi isrivers or ponds and pay a visit to the significant as it marks the sun’s entry intotemple or gurdwara (place of worship for the zodiac sign of Mesha (Aries). For thisSikhs). Farmers thank God for the very reason, many people also knowbountiful harvest and also pray for Baisakhi as Mesha Sankranti. Theprosperity in the future. Many people also auspicious date of Baisakhi is celebratedperform charity on the day as a custom. all over India under different names andFarmers also celebrate Baisakhi by rituals. It is celebrated as ‘Rangali Bihu’ inperforming energetic Bhangra and Giddha Assam, ‘Naba Barsha’ in Bengal,dance and participating in Baisakhi Fairs. ‘Puthandu’ in Tamil Nadu, ‘Pooram Vishu’ in Kerala and ‘Vaishakha’ in Bihar.Significance of Baisakhi in SikhismBaisakhi is of major importance for peoplefollowing the Sikh faith. It was on aBaisakhi day in the year 1699 that theTenth Guru of Sikhs, Guru Gobind Singhfounded Khalsa Panth or the order of Pure

Sathya SaiMahasamadhi Day 2016The 24th of April is a very significant day By Bro Shailen Brahmanandain the lives of all Sai devotees. It was onthis day that our beloved Lord and guru It took about two and a half hour to finishattained Mahasamadhi and merged into the preparing all the dishes. We then had aformless. short prayer session before the food was served. All those who came to eat left withHence on 24th April every year, devotees a smile on their faces after enjoying such aaround the world honour Sai by offering scrumptious vegetarian meal. It also madeprayers and, more importantly, going out us, as devotees feel happy as we had theto serve the community and the people chance to serve the families.around them. In line with Swami’s sayingof “hands that serve are holier than lips Later in the evening, we had Gayathrithat pray”. chanting and bhajans at the center with many devotees present to receive HisWe did our part as well, as the Sathya Sai blessings on this auspicious occasion. TheBaba Center of SS3. We organized a evening session concluded with severalnarayana seva at Kg Bunga Raya to youths sharing their personal stories andprovide free lunch to the many families experiences. The devotees were thenliving there. About 30 devotees from our treated to a very tasty dinner.center participated in this activity.It was nice to see the younger youths andthe senior devotees all working together –from cutting the vegetables to the actualpreparation of the food while Gayathrimantra was being chanted to sanctify andenergize the food. The youths alsomanaged to learn some valuable tips fromthe aunties about cooking. It was also niceto see the kids from Kg Bunga Raya comeforward to help, as this also allowed us toget to know them better.

MayTheme: GratitudeMon Tues Wed Thurs Fri Sat Sun 123456789 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31Events this month: National Gurus’ Enrichment Easwaramma Day Easwaramma Day Celebration & Group 3 Year 1 and 3 Girls Class Message Group 2 Year 2 Class Message Centre Family Day Buddha Purnima / Wesak Day

GratitudeThankfulness, appreciation, indebtedness, acknowledgement, credit – these are all synonyms of the word‘Gratitude’ that we are all aware of. Nevertheless, we sparsely practice the meaning of any of these wordsand if we happen to do so, it stops rather at a surface level. The important fact about practicing gratitude isthat it is a process that has no end. Being grateful or thankful to someone does not stop by saying “ThankYou”, with a thank you card or with a gift that is of high value in terms of money. It is a habit that one hascultivated within oneself and should be exercised at all times in their life.The speciality or rather the peculiarity about gratitude is that pure and true gratitude only comes fromwithin. If we just learn to value and appreciate everyone’s presence around us, we are already gettingourselves to the right path. Whilst carrying out this appreciation process, it does not necessarily need to besaid out loud constantly. No doubt the person would feel overwhelmed with your thankfulness, but weshould never forget that actions always speak louder than words. This is where the practice of doing goodcomes in place.When we have the habit of doing good at all times, gratitude tags along. The word ‘good’ here implies thatas long as the action does not cause harm or a negative effect to the other person, it can be considered asdoing good. There is a reason why the word ‘always’ comes before the phrase ‘do good’. Swami wants us toconstantly do it and, most importantly, start it without delay, as we don’t control time or the life span ofanyone.We tend to take everything for granted that when we live in the absence of it, we undergo the phase of griefand repentance. We should not expect the “too late” stage to arrive; instead treat everyone to the best levelthat you can. This, of course, should be done with utmost sincerity and without the thought of expectation.Certainly, we might think that it’s a hard thing to do; resist ourselves from having expectations but when weare in the moment of need and we are aided, we naturally show sincere gratitude towards them.Most importantly, we should remember that everything has a root to itself. The action would not be purifiedif the thought was not pristine. For that thought to be taintless, we should constantly think before speaking,or acting. Let’s question ourselves on how we would like to be appreciated by others and act the same waytowards them. This is not to be confused with building expectation. This is simply having ourselves as thecentre point, and working towards it.To add on, when we reflect on how important a person was in our lives and how huge the impact of theirpresence was, we impulsively keep them in our minds at all times. Being in a state where you do not forgetthem and their work, humility comes into play. We would not consider high of ourselves, as there weremoments where we needed help to reach the stage we are in now. This will lead to thanking the Big Bossbecause we would realize that without Him, these people would not have been part of our lives.Now, when we constantly thank Him for His blessings, we are habitually keeping Him in our minds. Whatmore do we need in our lives but to continually have the Big Boss remembered? I believe I have shown howthe practice of sincere gratitude can incline us in doing more good deeds. Say thank you and preach it. Stayhumble, remember your roots and tell yourself “All praises are to the Lord” (as constantly mentioned byA.R. Rahman).

“Arise, Awake & Stop Not Till the Goal is Reached” By The Youth TeamOn the 1st of May, the Youth Team of SS3 were given the opportunity of facilitating a two-hour session at a Sadhana Camp hosted by Shri Sai Vidyalaya Malaysia.Seven of us from SS3 planned out several activities a week before the event. Games that weplanned were highly inclined with the theme “Arise, awake and stop not till the goal isreached”. The creative Youth of SS3 had also prepared simple debriefs of the activities forthe participants aged 9-16. The first ice-breaking game introduced at the Sadhana Camp wasthe “chop chilli” game. This game taught the children how their actions have an impact onthe people around them and that they should always be aware of how their actions have adomino effect on the world.Following that, we then introduced a game called “butterfly in the cocoon”. This game wason a slightly more serious note because the take home lesson was an important one forchildren and teenagers these days. In a nutshell, the game aimed to teach them that whateverthey see themselves as, is not permanent and should not be worried about. As children andteenagers nowadays are sometimes very insecure, this game taught them that sometimeswhat they think negatively about themselves is a quality admired by the people around them.This session was wrapped up with them understanding that there are three aspects of aperson. The first being what they think about themselves. Secondly, what other people thinkabout them and thirdly, who they really are. This statement left the children in a positivestate of curiosity of what lies within. This game was very interactive and personal to someextent. Fortunately, the children were very open and cooperative even though we weresomewhat strangers to them.The third and final game we introduced was inclined to setting goals in life. For a change,this game was slightly more physical than the previous games. Basically, this game testedthe eagerness of the children when they had no goal and when they had set a goal. Theresults were pretty amazing and the children were also amazed at how much harder theyworked when a goal was set. This game taught them that in life, we must always have goals,

no matter how big or small, but goals always push us harder to strive for perfection. Thisgame was one of the children’s favorites as it was physically entertaining and had a verysimple and understandable lesson behind it.When closing the session, we had asked some of the children to share what they had learntwith everyone and to our amazement; a few of them stood up and spoke amazingly. It wasreally heartwarming knowing that the children had actually benefited from the session andwere also able to summarize the lessons learnt.We, the youth team, were also very fortunate to have been learning along with the children.This opportunity was truly a great lesson for us as the youngsters of today. Through suchactivities, we youngsters learn the importance of giving whatever we can to whomever wecan. As one of the goals of our Youth team is to bulk up on service activities, this was indeeda good place to start.Our hopes as a team are to get more young people involved to maximize our capabilities inevents like these. Apart from helping people around us, such activities also strengthen thebond of the SS3 Youths, which indirectly pushes us further to achieve more for our centre.

Group 3 Year 1 Girls’ Class Message By Sis Deepika Damodaran NairOn the 7th of May 2016, we the Group 3 Year 1 girls were honored to do a class message onMother Easwaramma with the guidance of our teachers, Aunty Yoges and Aunty Uma. Inthat message, we created awareness about what would have happened in a town where thebasic facilities are not available and what was Mother Easwaramma’s role in building thenation.As we know, Mother Easwaramma asked Swami for three things which would lead to thebetterment of humanity. The first thing was to build a school. Secondly, a hospital. Finally,clean water. Due to her generous request, Swami granted her not only a general hospital buttogether with it a super specialty hospital. Along with that, not only schools were set up butmany universities were put up as well. Swami also made sure ample clean water wasavailable not only in Puttaparthi but in all surrounding districts. There were no fees chargedin all of these facilities. Everything that Swami granted her was free of charge.We were asked to act to show what would have happened if there were no basic facilities inPuttaparthi. Some of the consequences were, children who have had lack of knowledge andended up being burglars. Apart from that, people would have to resort to sorcerer treatmentand so on so forth. We are blessed to have a mother like her whom we can consider wouldhave been a good minister. Mother Easwaramma only thought of common good and was soselfless with her thoughts. While we were practicing, we ensured that we were actingaccording to what we were told with full of energy and enthusiasm.We, as devotees, feel very safe at Puttaparthi and every time we look forward to be atSwami’s place because of Mother Easwaramma. Our performance was also to spread thespecial message to everyone, which is to always remember Mother Easwaramma’scontribution. We had so much of fun together as a team preparing for this message. Weended our message with a short video presentation about Mother Easwaramma as a gift ofappreciation to her.

Easwaramma’s DayEaswaramma’s Day is celebrated every By Bro Taarshwen Kumar Muralidharanyear on the 6th of May by Sai devoteesfrom all around the globe. This auspicious implicitly obeyed the command of hisday is celebrated to mark the day father and changed the name of his wife toEaswaramma, Swami’s mother left her Easwaramma. Prior to which,mortal coil. Bhagawan always urged his Easwaramma was known asdevotees, especially the children, to revere Namagiriamma at the time of birth.their mother as God and hence, Moving on to one of the most humble factsEaswaramma day is also a celebration of of Easwaramma; her three wishes thatthe sacred ideal of motherhood. Usually, were Swami’s commands. Her first wishSai devotees sing Easwaramma bhajans in was for a school to be built in Puttaparthi,conjunction of this auspicious day. so that the children didn’t have to walk long distances to receive education.Now, a little flashback on howEaswaramma got her name. Kondama Thus, Swami built a school behindRaju, the grandfather of Swami, being a Easwaramma’s house. Her second wishjnani (a wise man), was blessed with a was for a hospital to be built in Parthi andvision of the future. One day he called his so Swami made sure the hospital wasson, Pedda Venkama Raju, and told him to constructed. Easwaramma’s final wish tochange his wife’s name to Easwaramma. Swami was for a few wells to be dug in theHe told this because he felt the divine village to provide water to the villagers.vibrations originating from within. His Swami however, never stopped there andintention was to convey that she was the went on to provide water to the entiremother of Easwara, God Himself. Rayalaseema region.But Pedda Venkama Raju was not aware of From this, we know how much even Godthe inner meaning of this name. He respects His mother. Therefore, we as His children should also follow His footsteps by honouring our mothers as God.

Mother – God’s Greatest Gift To Us By Bro Shailen BrahmanandaThe Lord has showered us with many gifts, but his greatest and most precious gift to us isour mothers. A mother is an embodiment of pure love who sacrifices herself for her childrenand family. When we mention the word mother, there are so many different attributes thatcome to mind. However, there are certain characteristics about a mother that is universalsuch as loving, caring, forgiving and the list goes on. It is indeed a divine blessing fromabove that we all have such amazing mothers, but how many of us have actually taken thetime to ponder upon this great gift that has been given to us?A mother’s relationship with her child starts the moment the child is conceived. She thenpatiently carries the child in her for nine months and then goes through a tremendous amountof pain during the childbirth process. However, even that pain becomes irrelevant themoment the mother takes the newborn child into her arms and sees her child for the very firsttime. This is the start of a unique and pure bond between mother and child. Once this bondis established no one can severe it.A mother plays an important role especially during the early stages of a child’s life. Amother is there to hold your hand the moment you take your first step and is there to catchyou when you fall. She starts to teach the child the basics of life from reading to writing towalking and talking. She then slowly starts teaching the child about God and starts infusingbasic human values into the child. Everything that a mother teaches her child at this earlystage in life is essential, as the child will carry it throughout his or her life. As the child startsto grow, the mother’s role will slowly start to change. She will slowly become someone thatthe child will turn to for support physically, mentally and also emotionally. A child goingthrough his teenage life will need constant advice for all their problems, and the mother willalways be there as a strong pillar of support. We have to always remember that our motherswill be our greatest critic but also our greatest supporter.Our mothers are a special gift to us simply because they are irreplaceable, and it seems likeevery mother has been specially designed by the great Lord and fitted with all the necessarycharacteristics needed to be a mother. A mother’s love is selfless because she puts the needsof her children and family above everything else. For example, she will ensure that herchildren have enough to eat even if it means she has to go hungry. She always insists that thechildren should eat wholesome home cooked meals and not outside food. She also makessure that the home is conducive and comfortable for the family because she believes thatcreating a positive environment will ensure a happy family. Moreover, a mother sees toevery family member’s needs before she does anything for herself, which at times may meantucking all the kids in to sleep and going to bed very late at night.

In our Hindu culture, a mother is held in high regard. I’m sure many of us have heard theterm ‘matha pitha guru deivam’. This means mother, father, guru and God. This clearlyshows the importance of the role of a mother. Our very own Lord and guru Sathya Sai Babahas repeatedly emphasized on how we should always respect and revere our mothers. Swamisays, “You are born from your mother’s womb hence you should express your gratitude toher and bring her a good name.” Swami himself set an example for all of us by fulfilling hismother’s (Easwaramma’s) wishes.There is no love greater than the love of a mother. She has done and will continue to do somuch more for the benefit of her children. Yet it is sad to see some people who neglect andabandon their mother once their mother gets old. We should never neglect our motherwhatever the circumstance may be. We must think about all that she has done for us and wemust provide her with the care and love that she truly deserves. We should do everything thatwe can to make our mothers happy while we still have her around and while she canappreciate it. It is no point waiting till the last minute to show her our gratitude, as it may justbe too late.I would like to end this mother’s day tribute with a beautiful poem by Helen Steiner Riceaptly titled ‘A Mothers Love’, which encapsulates the essence of a mother. A Mother’s love is something that no one can explain, It is made of deep devotion and of sacrifice and pain, It is endless and unselfish and enduring come what may For nothing can destroy it or take that love away . . . It is patient and forgiving when all others are forsaking, And it never fails or falters even though the heart is breaking . . . It believes beyond believing when the world around condemns, And it glows with all the beauty of the rarest, brightest gems . . . It is far beyond defining, it defies all explanation, And it still remains a secret like the mysteries of creation . . . A many splendored miracle man cannot understand And another wondrous evidence of God’s tender guiding hand.

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY! Experiences & Advice from Mothers By Bro Dinesh Raj & Sis Sangeeta SuppiahBeing a recent mum, how has motherhood affected your life?Bhavani Akka: Well, it was a 360 degree change! In short, sacrifices, commitments,breastfeeding, constant exhaustion, and so on, all of which while always putting my babyfirst. Despite all of this, at the end of the day, it is always worth it. A smile from my baby isenough to melt away all my troubles and tiredness.Beautiful. Out of curiosity, what were your thoughts when you saw your baby for thefirst time?Bhavani Akka: Well, I had mixed feelings; a mixture of excitement, anxiety, worry and joy.Yet, my very first thought was of how cute and adorable he was!Being a mum, have you ever thought ‘gosh, I can’t do this’ and why?Sangita Akka: Yes, when I started my neurology training and my daughter was just 5months old. The working hours were long, I had to do night calls and in addition, I had toread journals, do research, as well as present in various meetings on a regular basis. After along day, when I got home, I would tend to my daughter’s needs and run the householdchores. Sleep was a luxury, one that could rarely afford. Between juggling work and mychild while being sleep deprived was THE most difficult thing for me. At that point, I reallywanted to forego my neurology training, but with the support from my husband, parents andin-laws, I managed to pull through the most challenging patch of my life.Wow, despite it all, what makes it most rewarding to be a mum?Sangita Akka: After a long, hard day at work, when I come home and see my daughterhiding and waiting for me, subsequently surprising me by saying, ‘Amma, I love you. Youare my best friend.As one of the best role models of a mother, what is your advice for all future mothers?Aunty Muthu: Swami says to only preach what you practice, so I will tell what I did withmy children. Unconditional love. That is all a mother needs, I loved my children with all myheart. I taught them all the good things in life, told them they need not be academically greatso long as they are children of character. I told my children, ‘I don’t want you all to be verygreat and corrupted, rather simple and good.’ As a mother, you should not get angry, you

must be loving. Love is the only thing that can conquer anybody. Teach your children fromyoung to not lie, not to cheat. Tell them, ‘If you do something wrong, come and tell us’.Another important thing I feel is to bless your children before sending them out of the house,pray for them.What would you tell the children?Aunty Muthu: Always ask for blessings before leaving the house. All my children alwaystouch my feet and give me a kiss before leaving the house. And remember, mothers onlyscold because they want to see the best out of you. Her children are her main priority.As the loving mum you most certainly are, how do you provide unconditional love toyour children without spoiling them, in the sense, what is the balance between love anddiscipline?Aunty Mohana: As parents, we have an obligation to raise our children to be good,responsible and productive adults. This seemingly heavy responsibility places a burden on usto bring up our children in a way that is acceptable and agreeable to our family, friends, andcommunity. Due to this responsibility and love for our children, we are obligated todiscipline our children when they make mistakes or behave improperly. Sometimes wecreate unrealistic expectations for our children and also because we want them to have betterlives than we did, we become over ambitious for them without realising their needs, likes orcomforts. So how do I strike the right balance between love and discipline? (Caveat: I doyell, have certain expectations of my kids and go through parental stress sometimes.) Thetechnique that I apply and the technique that works for me is: I REMIND MYSELF!I remind myself in every difficult situation that: -1. My children and I are equals and that they are, like me, spiritual beings having human experiences and that they come with their special individual behavioural traits. And that I have to, at all times, respect their feelings and emotions; their likes and desires.2. Each child of mine is a unique creation and they are exactly the way they are supposed to be to make my life complete. They have been placed in my care and custody for my learning and spiritual progress.3. I have to accept them just the way they are so that I do not block the beautiful relationship that I am blessed to have with them.4. My children will emulate me and I have to be first, the role model that I want my children to be.5. When I am playing the role of a parent who has to discipline her child for misbehaviour, I have to be willing to compromise and have my emotions under control without my ego getting in the way. I must execute the punishment without any intention of hurting them. I must execute the punishment with an intention of guiding them in the right direction with the rule of love.

6. I must not exert control, for when I do they will resist me. So I must speak softly and calmly even when my child’s voice is raised. Instead of controlling my children, I must influence my children positively with my positive thoughts, words, deeds and actions.7. Children are sensitive to the vibrations that we create due to our feelings and emotions. So when I come home after work, I have to leave behind all my job stress at the door of my house and look forward to having a healthy and quality time with my children.8. I have to always praise them when they have done well and NEVER compare them with another child. My children do not need the approval of others, not even my parents, in order to be good enough.9. I have to transform the habitual pattern of behaviour of parenting with expectation to parenting with understanding acceptance and unconditional love.10. MOST importantly, whatever the problem, issue or situation is, I have my BIG Swami backing me and I ALWAYS have a choice of surrendering to Him and letting him take charge and enjoy my freedom. For that, I must develop complete faith in Swami and patience. I have to let go and let Swami take care of everything. Hope the “I REMIND MYSELF” technique works for you too, if you are a parent. Mom's smiles can brighten any moment, Mom's hugs put joy in all our days, Mom's love will stay with us forever and touch our lives in precious ways... The values you've taught, the care you've given, and the wonderful love you've shown, have enriched my life in more ways than I can count. I Love you Mom!

Group 1 Year 1 Balvikas Class Message “Why Fear When I am Here?” By Sis Seema RavindranThe purpose of our message was to teach everyone that God is one. All religions ultimatelylead us to one universal God. We should love everyone regardless of which God they believein, their religions and their beliefs or rituals. The children dressed up as the many forms ofGod to raise awareness of the different religions and God’s association with them. Themessage we wanted to spread was no matter which religion we are part of, we all share thesame love because at the end of the day, all religions has love but love has no religion.Mother’s Day Celebration In SSEHV Classes By Bro Dinesh RajIn conjunction with Mother’s Day and Easwaramma Day, the kids of Group 1 Year 1 (6years old) conducted an activity to celebrate their much loved mothers. The kids were giventhe opportunity to make something special for their mothers. The kids were very excited,energetic and enthusiastic but were very well kept under control by their gurus, AuntySujatha and Aunty Sheila. The kids made beautiful cards and posters portraying their verydeep love for their mothers. The most amazing thing is that these little kids are aware thatMother’s Day should not be the only day to appreciate mothers but every other day on thecalendar is relevant too. It is true after all there is indeed so much we can learn from kids.

Buddha Poornima Celebration By Sis Chandralekha Chandra SegaranBuddha Poornima or Wesak day is the auspicious day when Buddha achieved enlightenmentmany years ago. It represents the birth, enlightenment and the passing of Gautama Buddha. Itis mostly celebrated by Buddhists all over the world and this year our Centre had theopportunity to celebrate it in a simple yet adequate manner.The celebration started with the bathing of Buddha in the mandir, which is a commonpractice among the Buddhists on Wesak day. This ritual highlights a universal message that“it's easy to wash away physical dirt but it’s much more difficult to cleanse one’s ‘inner dirt’of greed, anger and ignorance.” Hence, the ritual really enhanced the celebration by addingan inner significance to the purpose of the celebration.Moreover, the youth of the Centre presented a small sketch in conjunction with BuddhaPoornima. The sketch highlighted the fundamental understanding of Buddhism in a questionand answer format.The sketch mainly focused on the attainment of peace on a daily basis, methods ofmeditation and the harmony of thoughts, words and actions. The answers were presented in asimple manner so that the crowd would be able to comprehend it.A few of the questions were;1. How do you achieve peace of mind on a daily basis?2. If I can’t seem to meditate, is there another alternative for me to stay calm?3. How do I make sure that my thoughts, words and actions are in sync on a daily basis?The sketch concluded with Swami’s message of always being aware and mindful of yourthoughts, words and actions, which could be attained through meditation alone. “All that we are is the result of what we have thought. If a man speaks or acts with an evil thought, pain follows him. If a man speaks or acts with a pure thought, happiness follows him, like a shadow that never leaves him.” – Buddha.

SS3 Family Gathering at Broga, Semenyih By The Youth TeamOn the 14th and 15th of May 2016, our centre had a family gathering at the Green View FarmResort in Broga. There were approximately 80 people who attended this gathering – bothchildren and adults.This event was a collective effort by the youth of the centre with the support of thecommittee members. Our aim was to recreate the bond and reminisce good times with theold members of the centre and foster new relationships with the new members of the centre.Apart from that, we also wanted to create a platform for all devotees to discuss ways to moveforward together as a Sai family.The two-day event started with dividing everyone into groups and coming up with eccentricgroup names like ‘Laddu Titanic’ (who also emerged as the winner at the end of both days).On the first day, we played lots of games – both indoors and outdoors. After which, we hadthe Way Forward Session at night. During this session, coordinators of each wing(Education, Spiritual, Service, Wanita and Youth) presented on the activities conducted (andfuture activities) by their respective wings and ways on how we can improve together. Wegathered lots of feedback from the devotees and these will be discussed further with thecommittee members to see through to its implementation. The night ended with thescreening of ‘Zootopia’, a family-friendly movie for children and adults.The next morning began with a tele-match followed by swimming. It was truly a sight tobehold when everyone including adults and children were in the pool laughing and trying toget each other thrown into the water. The spirit of unity was amazing and we hope this bondof love we have lasts for a lifetime!Lots of Love,The Youth Team

June Theme: Ceiling on Desires Mon Tues Wed Thurs Fri Sat Sun 12345 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30Events this month: National New Gurus’ Training (Phase 2) Group 1 Year 2 Class Message SS3 Centre AGM Group 3 Teens Temple Visit

CEILING ON DESIRES In The Pursuit of Happiness By Sis Haveena Nandhini AnbananthanWhen I was a little girl I would wake up to birds singing, flowers freshly sprinkled in dewand everyone going about their daily routine. In every direction you looked you would seecheer. My family and I lived in the heart of a lush jungle. There were so many of us that wewere basically a village. We all lived together happily as a community. We had no need tointeract with the outside world or at least we did not want to. Our land had openings to growjust enough food and a river running through it for running water when we needed it. Welived in peace with nature and we cherished her for her bounty.When my brother and I were little, our mother would let us explore the tropics. We had a lifeof laughter and extraordinarily wild adventures. I still remember how we chased each otherwith the wind blowing in our hair as we ran. We taught ourselves to swim and found manyhidden treasures of the jungle that people could only dream to see. We swam with thecolourful fishes and had cool evening showers by the waterfall. We had no care and no fear.This green paradise was our home and we loved it dearly.As years went by, we gained more responsibilities. This was when we discovered that livingin this heaven had its struggles. Our parents never had any trouble so why did we. Well, theanswer was simple, greed. Mankind let desire and selfishness win over nature’s splendour.They always had brilliant excuses to approve of their adverse endeavours. We began havinga lot of difficulties growing food because weather patterns changed and soon, the river wasfilled with gunk from factories the ingenious men had built upstream. We were forced to sellour land for more construction and move to a freshly built town nearby.In the desperation to fit in, we lost ourselves. We lost the family that lived in the woodlandsnot too long ago. Our desire to prosper tore us apart. My brother moved to a developed cityto gain more wealth. He saw the glamorous lives of friends who moved there and wanted allthey had and more. His goals changed completely over the years. It was worrying to see hisstruggle for affluence.

Many years have passed and now I see my grandchildren grow up in a world very differentfrom mine. It is clear that the world has become so fast paced and our priorities have shifteddue to our desire to be better than what we were before. I cannot disagree that technology hasgiven us a huge upper hand in this era but we should not deny that it has blinded us from theworld around us. We have reached a point where nothing is ever enough. Yes, it is a greattrait but we should take into consideration the consequences of advancement and how itburdens the voiceless beings around us.Sadly, my brother is now lying on his deathbed – his lavish lifestyle and his climb to getthere took a toll on his health and he is suffering more than ever before. He struggled withsevere alcohol abuse and drug dependence. No amount of money could buy joy in his lifeanymore. Sometimes I wonder if he had stayed behind and had not given his pursuit for amaterially rich life that we would be sitting in a garden somewhere by a river feeling thegrass under our feet and once again feel the tranquillity of our old friend Mother Nature.It is sad but mostly true that human advancement has caused the destruction of theenvironment. We cannot erase the damage that has been done but we must diminish thedesires that wound the earth. Easy steps such as keeping track of your daily water and energyconsumption and making sure waste is managed properly, should be taken. These simplechanges to our lifestyle can help take big strides for the recovery of the Earth. Ultimately, wehave to be a little more selfless even if it takes more effort to help win this battle for ourhome, Mother Earth.Many times, in our wild chase to succeed in our lives we forget the little things that bringbliss and peace. We lose grasp of our desire and let it take over our lives. This can cause somuch pain to not only us but the beings around us. Swami has said, “Who is the poorestman? He who has much desires is the poorest man in the world. Who is the richest man? Hewho has much satisfaction is the richest man in the world.”

Ceiling on Desires Projects in SSE Classes By Sis Chandralekha Chandra SegaranCeiling on desires (COD) is a programme that has been cultivated in the SSE classes sincethe beginning of the SSE or formerly known as, Balvikas classes. The main aim of theCeiling on Desires Programme is to prevent the waste of money, time, food and otherresources, and to use the resources for the welfare of the people. This programme has beenproposed so that man does not waste anything in the areas of food, money, time, or energy.In these areas, we are expected to reduce our desires so that limited wastage or damage isdone. Do Not Waste Food Do Not Waste Money Do Not Waste Time Do Not Waste Energy Do Not Exploit NatureOver the years, SS3’s SSE classes have carried out many effective COD projects that havenot only benefited the students themselves but the society as a whole. One of the mainhighlights of these projects was the COD project carried out by the Group 2 Year 2 SSEclass in 2015. Back then, this class had collected a certain amount of money from their CODproject and the money was handed over to the Sathya Sai School for the development of itsfacilities. This project was truly meaningful as a group of 11-year-olds were able to reducetheir desires and save their pocket money for a good cause. Subsequently, a Games Day wasorganised for the children of the school as well as our SSE children with the aim of creatinga good bond between both groups of children.As for this year, most classes from Group 1 and above have already started with their CODprojects. To illustrate, the Group 1 Year 3 students have started their COD project and areplanning to contribute their money to an animal farm. In conclusion, the COD project for thepast few years have been observed to be a useful tool to cultivate the attitude of reducingones’ desires as well as the value of servitude in these young children. This project willclearly continue to reap its benefits so long as it is carried out effectively and with the rightintentions.

Happy Father’s Day By Bro Dinesh Raj and Sis Divythra NaiduAs a tribute to all the fathers that are undeniably the backbone of our beloved centre, wehave taken photos of some of the fathers and the caption attached to each image are the firstwords they themselves mentioned when spontaneously asked of their notion of a father. God took the strength of a mountain, The majesty of a tree, The warmth of a summer sun, The calm of a quiet sea, The generous soul of nature, The comforting arm of night, The wisdom of the ages, The power of the eagle's flight, The joy of a morning in spring, The faith of a mustard seed, The patience of eternity, The depth of a family need, Then God combined these qualities, When there was nothing more to add, He knew His masterpiece was complete, And so, He called it ... Dad

The Countless Forms On The Supreme Group 3 Temple VisitOn the 25th of June, the Group 3 teens of By Sis Saiiswari SivanesanSS3’s SSEHV class had an excitingadventure to the Sri Sivasanggara Valmuni Apart from that, the teens of Group 3 hadVanamuni Alayam located in Ulu Sawah, the great opportunity of indulging in theNegeri Sembilan. There were beautiful architectural structures of theapproximately 50 attendees inclusive of the elaborate statues of the deities and demi-teens, Gurus and youth Seva Dals. gods at the temple. The diverse statues are really amazing to see with one’s own twoThe highlight of the temple visit was the eyes. Among the statues at the temple is atreasure hunt organized by the diligent Chinese warrior statue, which is quiteGurus. With the checkpoints led by several abnormal in a Hindu temple. The templeGurus, uncles and aunties, the teens were also houses several huge statues of Lordkept on their toes, giving it their all in an Shiva in the state. Among the biggestattempt to solve the challenging quizzes of attractions are the beautiful Ganeshathe checkpoint leaders. The whole treasure statues of immense sizes. The teens alsohunt concept is a very practical one as it appreciated statues of Hanuman,involves getting the teens physically active Narasimha and a rather large Shivaas opposed to boring them by only pouring Lingam.information into them. Through personal experience, it is thought that activities like these are usually most

memorable and meaningful to young adults our parents are also Gods and must neverin SSEHV. Interactive and fun learning is be treated wrongfully in any point of life.important to drill lessons into them without As children of God, we must never causebeing forceful. Undoubtedly, the teens suffering towards our parents.thoroughly enjoyed this temple visit andtook home many different and meaningful All in all, it was indeed a fun-filled andlessons. educational day! Hopefully, this trip is a truly memorable one to the teens of GroupAs our Chairman, Uncle Ravi, stated after 3. In the will of Swami, hopefully theythe activity, the teens learnt about many took home important messages and lessonsGod forms and how all these forms are while enjoying themselves at the samerelated to the ultimate Supreme One. More time.importantly, the teens also realized how