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

July Theme: The Guiding Light Mon Tues Wed Thurs Fri Sat Sun 123 4 5 6 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 4 Boys Class Message Sathya Sai World Youth Festival 2016 Aadi Celebration & Group 2 Year 1 Class Message Guru Purnima Day National SSE Graduation Day Sai School Canteen Day

Supraniti Jyotis By Sis Divythra NaiduSupraniti jyotis also known as the guiding light comes in many forms, sizes and shapes. Aguiding light is basically something or someone who dispels the darkness from our life byshowing us the right path of life. This shows us that the guiding light is actually our guru.Guru is the one who removes darkness through light. This is because in Sanskrit Gu meansdarkness whereas ru means light. Many of us go around searching and sourcing for theguiding light but we have failed to realise that this guiding light is actually within us.This is why a day such as Guru Poornima is very auspicious and is celebrated grandly bymany of us. On this very special day, the one who suffers from identification with the untrueobjective world is enlightened into the reality of the ‘Guiding Light’ within him/her. Apartfrom that, on this very special day those who have no interest in the path of spirituality areinspired to seek the bliss which this path will bestow.Guru Poornima must be celebrated with prayer and repentance as these alone can cleanse theheart and not by feasting or fasting which affects only the body and nothing else. This is theday when you decide to become the master of your senses and intellect, emotions andpassions, and thoughts and feelings. This can be done through sadhana (spiritual discipline).The guiding light is something which we cannot go around seeking from anywhere oranyone but from within. With this source of guiding light we will be able to differentiateright and wrong as well as make our decisions based on the power of discrimination. It helpsus form the correct attitude towards life. Only if one has all these will they be able to becomebetter souls. This means, there will be lower amount of negativity happening on Earth suchas, murder, bomb blasts, robbery, etc. It is a known fact that now, many of us are afraid tostep out of our house. Not only that, most of us are also afraid to even go to a petrol stationafter midnight to fuel up. There’s more hatred being spread around instead of love andcompassion. These are just minor examples of the current situation.People these days always think about themselves and their own priorities. Today’s world canbe known as a heartless place to live in. This is because one has not connected with theguiding light within themselves. This is why the guiding light is an important key to all ourlives. It helps us prevent all this antagonism from taking place. We should all come torealization that there is only one love and one religion which is the religion of love. Race is ahuman race – it is not based on colour, caste or creed.

Hence, Incarnations of Divine Love, if you would like to understand Divinity in a clearerpicture, you should have the firm faith that Divinity is omnipresent. It exists everywhere,anywhere and at any time. There is no place or object without God. God is not to be spokenof as coming down or going up, since HE is everywhere. “Where there is FAITH, there is LOVE, Where there is LOVE, there is PEACE, Wherethere is PEACE, there is GOD, Where there is GOD, there is BLISS”

Why Is Aadi Special? By Sis Thivesni GunaThe Tamil month Aadi is the fourth month of are named based on the nakshatra thatthe Tamil Calendar and begins on 16th July. prevails during the full moon day orThe start of this month is the Dakshinayana Pournami. In Chithirai month, the full moonpunyakalam or the night time of Devas. day happens during chithirai nakshathiram, in Vaikasi month during VisakaAadi is a month of fervour and observances Nakshathiram and similarly in Aadi fullfor Goddess related to water and other moon day happens during Aashadanatural forces (e.g. Mariamman temples, Nakshathiram and thus this month got theMundakanni Amman temples, etc.) where name Aash Aadi (in north) / Aadi (in theprayers are offered to propitiate the powerful south). The auspicious days are Aadigoddesses and seek their protection from the Sundays, Aadi Tuesdays (Aadi Chevvai) andinauspicious aspects that are often associated Aadi Fridays (Aadi Velli).with the month. The month of Aadi isconsidered very auspicious to connect The Aadi Velli and Aadi Chevvai are ofoneself to this Divine power. No weddings great significance to women as numerousor other similar functions are celebrated rituals are performed. Women of theduring Aadi as it is considered inauspicious. neighborhood and friends meet on Fridays and do pujas and exchange Thamboolam.Also, starting this month the heat of the sun Varalakshmi Puja an important ritualreduces and the rains start. It is during this dedicated to Goddess Lakshmi is performedtime that the monsoon peaks on the west on a Friday in the month of Aadi.coast and the rivers of Tamil Nadu, shrunkenin the summer heat, get replenished, often to Some important festivals celebrated in thisnear full levels. Usually the Tamil months month are as follows:Aadi Pirappu:The first day of this month, usually falling on July 16 is celebrated as Aadi Pandigai or AadiPirappu, which is an important festival to most Tamils, especially newly-weds. The first ofthe month is marked with a special puja, followed by a feast with ‘payasam’ prepared withcoconut milk, ‘puran poli’ and vadai. Traditionally, the family of a ‘pudhu maappillai’ (newson-in-law) is invited to the girl’s house, where the couple is gifted new clothes and otherpresents.

Aadi Amavasai:No moon day in Aadi month dedicated to offering Shradh and Tarpan to dead ancestors.Aadi Pooram:This month is the birth (Avathara) month of Sri Andal (one among 12 great Alwars of SriVaishnavism). Legend has it that Vishnu Chitha (known as Periazhwar) was a sinceredevotee of Lord Ranganatha of Srivilliputhur. He was childless for a very long time. Hisprayers were answered and on Aadi Pooram day, when the devotee was collecting flowersfor his puja in his garden, he found a girl child. The child was named Kothai who grew upwith devotion to Lord. Every day, Vishnu Chitha made a garland of Thulasi leaves to offer tothe deity at the temple. Kothai used to wear that before offering to the Lord. One day, thedevotee happened to see her wearing this garland and so he replaced with another one.However, the Lord refused to accept the new one and said that He would only wear thegarland worn by Kothai. Vishnu Chitha realized that his daughter is Goddess Maha Lakshmiherself. Andal then came to be known as Choodi Kodutha Sudarkodi, meaning ‘garlandoffered after being worn’.The Aadi Pooram 10-day festival is celebrated in all Lord Vishnu Temples in Tamil Nadu.Aadi Pooram festival is most famous in Srivilliputhur Andal Koil in Srivilliputhur, thebirthplace of Andal, Sri Parthasarathy Swamy Temple at Chennai and at the SriRanganathaswamy Temple at Srirangam.The 10th day is celebrated as Aadi Pooram day where Thirukalyanam (divine marriage of theGod and the Goddess) is conducted. Special pujas are also conducted on this day. It isbelieved that if unmarried girls worship Goddess Andal on the 10th day of Adi Pooramfestival, they will get married soon. In the Saiva temples, this day is celebrated as theValaikappu festival for Ambal, when glass bangles are offered to Ambal and then distributedto the devotees. These bangles are said to provide offspring and generally protect us from allevils. (Valaikaappu is a festival when a pregnant woman wears glass bangles, the sound ofwhich is said to protect her and the child from evil forces.)Varalakshmi Puja:Worship of Goddess Lakshmi.The Friday before the Full Moon, or Pournami day, of Tamil Month Aadi is chosen toperform Varalakshmi Puja. The corresponding month in the Kannada, Marathi and TeluguCalendar is the Shravan month. Worshipping Goddess Lakshmi on Varalakshmi Vrata day isequivalent to worshipping Ashtalakshmi – the eight goddesses of Wealth, Earth, Learning,Love, Fame, Peace, Pleasure, and Strength. The importance of Varalakshmi Puja ismentioned in the Skanda Purana. It is believed that importance of Varalakshmi Puja wasnarrated to Goddess Parvati by Lord Shiva. Goddess Parvati wanted to know about a Vrata

that is highly beneficial to a woman, which will help her lead a happy and prosperous life onearth. Lord Shiva then mentioned about the Varalakshmi Vratam.Aadi Perukku:Aadi Perukku or Pathinettam Perukku is celebrated on the 18th day of this Tamil month Aadi.The people of Tamil Nadu celebrate the monsoon throughout this festival. People worshipthe rivers (water bodies) for the rains in abundance. Aadi is the month for sowing, rooting,planting of seeds and vegetation since it is peak monsoon time. Aadiperukku is very specialin the Kaveri delta. This festival is peculiar to all the perennial river basins of Tamil Naduand major water source areas and is intended to celebrate the rising levels of water due to theonset of monsoon, which is expected to occur invariably on the 18th day of the month Aadicorresponding to 2nd or 3rd August every year.Hence, ‘Pathinettam perukku’ – Pathinettu signifies eighteen, and Perukku denotes rising.On this auspicious day, Goddess Parvathi Devi is worshipped by offering different ricedishes. People celebrate this occasion by offering chitrannam or rice cooked in differentflavors, colors and ingredients to the river-goddess. Usually mixed rice dishes like SweetPongal, Coconut rice, Lemon rice, Tamarind rice and Bahala bath or curd rice are prepared.Offerings of flowers, Akshata and rice offerings are done into sacred rivers like Kaveri. Asper Purana, Parvathi Devi meditated upon Lord Siva to see the divine vision and Lord Sivaappeared as Shanka-Naraya Swami. Aadiperukku is a festival of fertility and people of TamilNadu especially women offer prayers. They wear new clothes and perform abhishekham forKaveri amman.Aadi Karthigai:Festival dedicated to Lord Muruga.Putthukku Paal:Majority of the people also worship snakes during the Tamil months of Aadi and Thai. Theyvisit a snake putthu (nest) and offer cow’s milk, as offerings to the Snake God. They alsobring sacred mud from the snake putthu and apply it on their body with a belief that it willhelp in getting rid of health problems. They offer milk to snake idols and perform puja toremove the naga dosha for wealth and prosperity.

Sathya Sai World Youth Festival 2016 By Sis Laaviny Nair “It is the youth and the youth alone who can set this world right.” -Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba-An unprecedented event – the Sathya Sai World Youth Festival (SSWYF) was held inPrasanthi Nilayam from 12th to 14th July 2016. Prasanthi Nilayam was filled with zest, colourand majesty along with about 3,000 youth from 69 different countries from all zones.The objective of the SSWYF is to celebrate the joy of being a Sai youth, to celebrate the lifeand teachings of Swami, to preserve and share His life and message for future generationsand to provide the youth of today with guidance on practising values and spirituality in theirlives.The theme of the festival was love – Love is the Source, Love is the Path, Love is the Goal!The festival was designed in a way where participants are taken through a journey of lovewith the Divine for three days. Each day focused on one part of the theme.On the first day, the focus was ‘Love is the Source’ and the participants were reminded toPlug In to the Source. The second day’s focus was ‘Love is the Path’. Participants weregiven guidance on how to “Sail Through the Ocean of Life”. On the third day, the festivalfocused on the sub-theme, ‘Love is the Goal’ and that is to recognise that every momentshould be lived in love and lived alongside God.To convey these messages to the youth in a relevant fashion, the festival housed manyamazing programmes including interactive quizzes, talk shows, sports activities (volleyball,hiking, football, qi gong, capoeira, etc.), debates, a networking fair/ exhibition, dramas,video presentations, Bhagawan’s discourse videos, workshops and talks by distinguishedpersonalities like the iconic Indian Cricketer, VVS Laxman, an Executive Director of aMultinational Company, honourable Indian politicians and others.Approximately 80 Malaysian youths attended this festival. The contingent was led by Sis.Saiusha Haridas, the Zone 4 Youth Coordinator who played an important role in planningand organising the festival. Seven youths from our centre (SS3) attended the festival in

Puttaparthi and they contributed to the festival in small ways. Some of them included, beingpart of the core programme team during the planning stages of the festival which involvedthe contribution of ideas and establishing the concept and framework for the festival and theprogrammes within it.During the festival, youths from our centre were involved in the exhibition showcasingservice activities held in Malaysia regarding social issues that youths face. They wereinvolved in the research work as well as the presentation of material for this exhibition. Oneof our youths was part of the Sathya Sai International Youth Bhajan Team and sang in theKulwant Hall and the Poornachandra Hall for the festival and the Sathya Sai InternationalYouth Leadership Program. Others helped out with logistics and the setting up of audioequipment.

Graduating Class of 2015 By Sis Saiiswari Sivanesan Thanisha Sree Harry Amesha Roshini Divythra NaiduBalvikas has played a major Even though I started Balvikas Balvikas has not only made merole in molding the individual late, I think I’ve grown so a better person spiritually but itthat I am today. much as a person from a has also taught me how to face spiritual perspective. I had a life by using the power of lot of fun & my Gurus were discrimination. the best, they inspired me. Sivasreeny Ramarao Saiiswari Sivanesan Chandralekha Chandra SegaranBalvikas has made me more My commitment to Balvikasbrave, independent and has was the first step I ever took I think it is the foundation ofgiven me more courage. towards Swami, and from that who I am today, the way I He has taken thousands more think, speak and act; almost towards me. everything is sourced from my Balvikas experiences.

Naavish Nair Venod Nambiar Taarshwen KumarBalvikas taught me the Dedicated teachers + Balvikas has made me aimportance of discriminating Excellent lessons +Lovely better person spiritually. Ibetween the rights & wrongs friends = Best Class Ever. have not only gainedin life. worldly knowledge but also spiritual knowledge, which will guide me in life. The end of wisdom is freedom; The end of culture is perfection; The end of knowledge is love; The end of education is character. Kashmira JeevaBalvikas has trained me tolook at situations fromdifferent perspectives.

Parentcare 2016 By The Youths TeamThe Sathya Sai Parentcare programme was held at our centre starting on the 17th of July. Itwas six weeks long and included nine participants. This programme is essentially aninnovative parenting tool that redefines the parental role by taking one within oneself. It isbased on the five domains of human personality, human values and teaching techniques. In anutshell, these sessions are designed to address parents and parenting issues so that they canbring about positive growth in their lives and the lives of their families.All in all, it was a great success as eight parents graduated from this programme. Participantshad to attend at least five modules to graduate. Prior to the presentation of the certificates ofgraduation, there was a heart warming performance of \"you raised me up\" by the children ofthe participants followed by the children acknowledging the small changes that they hadstarted seeing in their parents.After the final session ended we got the chance to interview one the graduates, Sister Pojaand here is what she said;Interviewer: What do you think about the programme?Sister Poja: I am glad that I decided to attend the sessions as they were very useful and I gained many insights that I would not have thought of otherwise.Interviewer: What did you enjoy most about the sessions?Sister Poja: I liked assignments given to us because I could practice what I had learnt at home with my family.Interviewer: Did these sessions change your perspective on parenting?Sister Poja: Yes. I did not realise that there were so many different ways to be a better parent. We learnt so many parenting techniques during the sessions.Interviewer: Have you seen any changes in yourself after attending the sessions?Sister Poja: Yes definitely. I am hoping to see more changes in myself when I incorporate more of techniques taught at home.We also managed to interview Sister Poja's 10-year-old daughter, Saisha, and this is whatshe said;Interviewer: Have you seen any differences in your mother after she attended the sessions?Saisha: A bit. Amma screams and scolds at us less.Interviewer: Anything else?Saisha: Amma smiles more.

August Theme: Sacrifice 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 29 30 31Events this month: Preschool 5 Years Old Class Message National Gurus’ Enrichment Varalaksmi Celebration Group 4 Girls Class Message Group 2 Year 2 Class Message Krishna Jayanthi Celebration

The Ultimate Gift to God By Bro Krishna “Don’t do it!”That’s what everyone told him when he decided to go to war. Even if they didn’t say it, theythought it. Self-preservation and conventional wisdom united their antagonistic whispers in away that made him wonder if he actually was crazy. He was leaving the comfort of home torisk his life on foreign soil. He knew it didn’t make sense, but in some corner of his heart, hehad a level of clarity foreign to most. He wanted to do this; he needed to do this—for hissake and for theirs.The Nature of SacrificeWhy would anyone risk his or her life so others could keep theirs? Some of those who weresaved would likely waste the life they’d been given. Some would even go so far as to mockand ridicule his decision. He was willing to give them everything, fully aware that some maynot appreciate it.That’s the nature of sacrifice, and soldiers know it all too well. They leave families, friendsand homes to fight for a nation and values. The Church should have a greater appreciationfor sacrifice because we know we need someone to fight for us.The Ultimate SacrificeEach of us was created with a God-given purpose, but each of us is born with a conditioncalled sin that keeps us from experiencing all that God designed us to do. When we sin, wecommit cosmic treason against the God that created us. The bad news is that we can’t doanything to save ourselves from our treasonous condition so we are destined to die the deathof a traitor. In our sin, we are hopeless (Ephesians 2:4-5). We need someone to sacrifice theirwell-being so that we can walk free. But who in their right mind would die for a traitor?His name is Jesus. The Son of God sacrificed the life of a king to walk on earth to savetraitors. He lived the perfect life that we could not live, died the traitor’s death that wedeserved, and rose from the dead so that we could follow Him in a life of freedom (Romans6:4, Galatians 5:1). That is good news for any traitor. “We are drawn to stories of sacrificebecause we know we need to be rescued. We know we can’t save ourselves.”As weremember those who’ve served, let’s stop and reflect on why we are so drawn to stories ofsacrifice. We are drawn to stories of sacrifice because we know we need to be rescued. Weknow we can’t save ourselves. It’s OK, we live to help each other in times of despair and thisis how we know that we will all be OK.

The Glorious Gayatri,the Embodiment of all GodsGoddess Gayatri is the mother of all vedas By Sis Haveena Nandhiniand the protector of all living beings. Thedivine mother confers the boon of The Gayatri Mantra is a cosmic rhythmIntelligence as Gayatri, Protection as consisting of 24 syllables, arranged as aSavithri and Learning as Saraswathi. triplet of 8 syllables each. When you repeatGayatri is therefore called Sarva Devata the mantra, meditate on the meaning of theSwarupini which means the form of all Mantra and pray for the vision of MotherGods. Gayatri, Savithri and Saraswathi are Gayatri Devi. This mantra is dedicated toinherent in everybody. They can be God as light and the Sun is the symbol ofmanifested by reciting the Gayatri Mantra that light. This mantra confers wisdom,daily with consistency and prosperity, purity and liberation. Itwholeheartedness. removes all fears, is the best cure for all illnesses, destroys karma and blesses usThere is so much power behind the Gayatri with liberation. There is no greater wealthMantra. It bestows all that is beneficial to than the Gayatri Mantra.the person who chants it with faith. Hence,it is a treasure and we must, therefore, Swami says the Gayatri Mantra may beguard it throughout our lives. The only considered to have three parts. The mantraway to do that is by learning to pronounce has all the three elements that figure in theand chant the Gayatri Mantra correctly andexactly as taught by Swami and chant it atleast a few times every day with a pureheart. This single mantra repeatedsincerely and with a clear consciencebrings the Supreme Good, which isliberation or emancipation from the wheelof birth and death. This mantra destroys alldelusions, energises prana, and bestowslongevity, health, brilliance andillumination.

adoration of God, meditation and prayer. “SHANTI” three times. We should repeatAn appeal is made to the Divine to awaken “SHANTI” because it will give peace ofand strengthen our intellect. mind, to the three entities in us – body, mind and soul.It starts with “AUM” the primeval soundfrom which all sounds emerge. Lastly, Swami had said definitively that “full faith in the power and potency of the“BHUR BHUVA SVAHA” means one Gayatri Mantra will be generated onlywho is our inspirer, our creator and who is when the seeker has developed thethe abode of supreme Joy. It also means requisite degree of enthusiasm, reverencewe invoke the earthly, physical world, our and love towards this mantra.”mind and our soul. Consequently, we should strive to recite this mantra at least three times daily in this“TAT SAVITUR VARENYAM” Tat manner.denotes the supreme being, Savitur meansthe radiating source of life with thebrightness of the Sun and Varenyam meansthe most desirable.“BHARGO DEVASYA DHEEMAHI”Bhargo means luster and splendour,Devasya means divine or supreme andDeemahi means “we meditate upon”.“DHI YO YONAH PRACHODAYAT” isthe prayer to God to confer on us powerand strength.Swami advises that each word should bepronounced clearly and distinctly, withoutundue haste or hurry. The heart needs to becleansed thrice a day - dawn, noon anddusk. Besides these times, Bhagavan hassaid that the Gayatri Mantra can berepeated anywhere at any time, includingnight time. The Gayatri Mantra issynonymous with divinity and hastherefore to be approached with humility,reverence, faith and love towards themantra. End the mantra by repeating

Krishna Janmashtami By Sis Thanisha Sree Harry Krishna Janmashtami is an annual celebration of the birth of the Hindu deity Krishna, the eighth avatar of Vishnu. The festival is celebrated on the eighth day (Ashtami) of the Krishna Paksha (dark fortnight) of the month of Shravana (August–September) in the Hindu calendar. Rasa lila, dramatic enactments of the life of Krishna, are a special feature in regions of Mathura and Vrindavan, and regions following Vaishnavism in Manipur. While the Rasa lila re- creates the flirtatious aspects of Krishna’s youthful days, the Dahi Handi celebrate God’s playful and mischievous side, where teams of young men form human towers to reach a high-hanging pot of curd andbreak it. This tradition, also known as uriadi, is a major event in Tamil Nadu onGokulashtami.Krishna was the eighth son of Devaki and Vasudeva. Based on scriptural details andastrological calculations, the date of Krishna’s birth, known as Janmashtami, is 18 July 3228BCE and he lived until 18 February 3102 BCE. Krishna belonged to the Vrishni clan ofYadavas from Mathura, and was the eighth son born to the princess Devaki and her husbandVasudeva.Hindus celebrate Janmashtami by fasting, worshipping Krishna and staying up untilmidnight, and offer prayers at special time when Krishna is believed to have been born.Images of Krishna’s infancy are placed in swings and cradles in temples and homes. Atmidnight, devotees gather around for devotional songs, dance and exchange gifts. Sometemples also conduct readings of the Hindu religious scripture Bhagavad Gita.Janmaashtami, popularly known in Mumbai and Pune as Dahi Handi, is celebrated as anevent which involves making a human pyramid and breaking an earthen pot (handi) filledwith buttermilk (dahi), which is tied at a convenient height. The topmost person tries tobreak the handi by hitting it with a blunt object. When the handi breaks, the buttermilk isspilled over the entire group. This event is based on the legend of the child-god Krishnastealing butter.

The Squirrel Story By Sis Kashmira Jeeva From a class message delivered by the children from Group 2 Year 2Long ago in ancient india, the 10-headed king from Lanka, King Ravana kidnapped a King’s wife.The king was King Rama and the Queen was Queen Sita. Everyone loved Rama and Sita becausetheir hearts were pure. King Rama declared war on King Ravana. The great king of the Monkeys,Hanuman led the army.They travelled until they came to a vast sea, which they will have to cross to reach Lanka. Ramaattempted to calm the raging ocean by shooting arrows into the waves. The king of the sea rose upand said, “This sea cannot be overcome by force, it needs a strong bridge.” So, Rama ordered themonkeys to build a strong bridge that could hold his entire army. Monkey after monkey set to workcarrying huge and enormous stones. Thousands of monkeys worked continuously and Rama waspleased. Rama then noticed a small squirrel moving up and down from the hills to the shore carryingsmall pebbles in its mouth. “What is little creature doing?” he wondered. The monkeys saw thesquirrel and got angry. “Get out of the way,” they shouted, “You are not needed!”“I am helping to build a bridge to help save Queen Sita”, said the squirrel. All the monkeys began tolaugh, “We have never heard anything so foolish in our entire lives!” they said. “I cannot carry bigstones, I can only carry small pebbles, but that is what I can do to help. My heart feels for Sita and Iwant to help in any way I can.” The monkeys moved the squirrel away but the squirrel continuedpicking up pebbles. Finally, one monkey got very irritated that it lifted the squirrel and threw her inthe air. The squirrel then yelled for Rama, “Rama!” Rama turned and caught the squirrel by hishand. It was just at this moment that the monkeys realised they needed the small pebbles in betweenthe bigger stones to make the bridge stronger.Lord Rama said, “Monkeys, never despise the weak or those not as strong as you, they serve up tilltheir capacity.” With three fingers, Lord Rama drew three lines down the squirrel’s back. “Whattruly matters is not the strength one has, but how great one’s love and devotion is.” From that day,squirrels have had three stripes down their furry back – the marks of Lord Rama. That is how thestrongest bridge across the sea was made.Inspired by the story, their class conducted a project called ‘Swami’s Little Squirrel’. This project isto instill the habit of controlling their desires and putting aside some savings for the needy. This isone way this class has incorporated one of Swami’s nine point code of conduct, Ceiling on Desires(CODs). The children are encouraged to control their spending and to put aside 10% of theirschool’s pocket money as savings for the needy. Every week, the children will bring their savingsand put them all collectively in a big container. They hope that their savings will be used for serviceprojects for Swami’s birthday project this year. The children’s message this week is something thatwe should all ponder upon.

Varalakshmi Vrata The Propitiation of the Hindu Trinity By Bro Vinod JayVaralakshmi Vrata is afestival to propitiate thegoddess Lakshmi, the consortof Vishnu, one of the HinduTrinity. Varalakshmi is onewho grants boons (Varam). Itis an important poojaperformed by many women inthe states of Andhra Pradesh,Telangana, Karnataka andTamil Nadu. The Hindufestival going by the name‘Vara Lakshmi Vrata’ iscelebrated on the SecondFriday or the Friday before full moon day – Poornima in the month of Śravaṇā, also calledŚawan in Hindi and Aadi in Tamil, which corresponds to the Gregorian months of July–August.This pooja is also performed here at the SS3 Sathya Sai centre. Varalakshmi Vrata isperformed by married woman for the wellbeing of all the family members, especiallyhusband, to get progeny etc. It is believed that worshiping Goddess Varalakshmi on this dayis equivalent to worshiping Ashtalaksmi – the eight goddesses of Wealth, Earth, Learning,Love, Fame, Peace, Pleasure, and Strength.Because of the popularity in some states of India, it is declared as an optional official holidayin India. Fortunately, not in Malaysia. Prior to the beginning of the Pooja a shortexplanation and message was given by Uncle Muthu, a rephrased of his explanation follows.This Pooja is done in a group setting for the reason it creates a more positive vibrations asopposed to performing it singularly. This will have more significant effect on the purpose ofthis ceremony. The purpose of this pooja is to evoke the Goddess Lakshmi, the goddess of

wealth and prosperity as mentioned above. This Pooja has a lot of intricate steps that have aprofound reason. Before the evoking of Goddess Lakshmi is done, an abhishegam for LordGanesha is done. Yes, you guessed it! There’s a reason for it too. It’s done to remove all the obstacles – He will remove all your difficulties and will bestow happiness and joy not only for the Pooja performer but her family as well and, subsequently, peace for the universe. To perform this abhishegam, milk, curds, honey, ghee, sugar, coconut water, sandal paste, is used. The 108 name of Ganeshaknown as the Ashtottara shatanamavali is chanted close to end of this pooja. Upon thecompletion of this abhishegam, the evoking of Goddess Lakshmi is commenced. A lot morewent on through this pooja.At the end of the pooja, the water which is the blessing product of the pooja, which is calledkumbam water is taken home to bless the home and can be used for showering. In myopinion, this is the most intricate, auspicious and beautiful ceremony I’ve seen andwitnessed. The pictures above will explain.

September Theme: Service to Man is Service to God Mon Tues Wed Thurs Fri Sat Sun 1234 5 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: Group 1 Year 1 Class Message National New Gurus’ Training (Phase 3) Ganesha Chaturthi Group 1 Year 3 Class Message

Service to Man is Service to God By Sis Saiiswari SivanesanService to man is service to God – we hear this phrase so often that sometimes, we forgethow much meaning it carries. Service itself is a powerful word. To serve is to devote one’slife for the betterment of the human race, to want to live not only for us but for our fellowmen too.Swami has always pressed on service, as it is the purest act of this human form we all bear,as service is the nature of our being. A life lived for selfish gains, regardless of others’ needs,is said to be worse than death. A bird or a beast collects food for itself and its young ones. Itis some kind of work no doubt, but it is not that kind of work that man is expected to do. Heis the roof and crown of creation and so he is supposed to live a larger life by applyinghimself to the service of humanity.God is omnipresent. He would stand before us everywhere. He would stand by a man in thetemple. He will also stand by a man on the plough. Ignoring the cries of man is equivalent toignoring God, as they are no different from one another.As everything else we face, this is not an easy task to base our lives upon, but let us notforego all the opportunities we face to serve mankind by being aware of our nature. In thisbirth, we exist in a world full of suffering and pain. The need for help is bountiful and we seethis need every day, instead of letting it just pass by us, we must act on it. Suffering of otherspresented in front of us is a chance for us to embrace God himself. When we ignore suchopportunities, we are going against the nature of our hearts and this leads us further andfurther away from the ultimate goal.All this is something we all know but fail to imbibe permanently in our daily lives. Instead oftrying to grasp so much more in this life, let us all take a step back and realise this basicnature of us and build upon it. Service activities in the centre are one of the main ways wepractice service to man, but what is more essential is practising this daily in our lives not justthe centre. That is the key to feeling the amazing grace of God, serving Him in His manyforms of man.

Service to Man is Service to God By Sis Regiena RegunathanThe term “Service to man is service to God” means that selfless service for the cause ofhumanity is as important as worshiping to God. It is the duty of every human-being to treatthe other fellow-beings with respect, love and dignity. When we do this, we automaticallyare serving God without least efforts. We are all born with a reason and we should all servemankind without any expectations. We may have helped a million people while our stay hereon the beautiful earth and may have not received even a single appreciation or anacknowledgment from the person who has received it. Hands that help are holier than the lipsthose pray. This saying elucidates that if man wants to worship god they can do better byserving by serving the poor and the needy. The real service to man is the service to god. It isa very simple yet the depth of it can be understood only when we try and contemplate it. Byhelping others we are helping ourselves to get closer to God and be there forever. Servewithout expecting and be rest assured that you are serving the Lord himself.Every day, we find one class of people who are rich, with their bungalows and luxuriouscars, while on the other hand; hundreds and thousands of people are living in slums,foregoing basic meals, shelter, cleanliness and surroundings who are left uncared for. Therich continues to be rich and the poor continues to be poor. There is one unansweredquestion that is intriguing. When any wealthy person who is able to enjoy luxurious life, canhe think of parting a part of the same with the people downtrodden with all sufferings?Mostly, it is seldom and very rare. However, a small portion of wealthy persons who havehumanitarian approach do by donating a part of their wealth without expecting anything inreturn.We should therefore dismiss the age-old practice of searching for Him in the temple ofbricks. If God is in me, He is in others too, in the rich and the proud as in the lowly and thelost. To stand on the dust and perspire in the service of others is thus to be in service of GodHimself, to worship God in the true sense of the term.

National Wanita Convention 2016 By Sis Suja ChandranThe much alluded National Wanita Convention was held at the Corus Hotel Port Dicksonfrom the 9-11 September 2016 with a total of 134 participants from throughout the nationattending this event. There were three participants from our SS3 centre.3Ds : 'Devotion, Dedication and Discipline' was the theme of the event, opening its curtainsfor three young mothers to share their experiences with SAI. Their sharing concluded withmany suggestions, ideas and take home messages on how one can incorporate the 3Ds intheir life and the lives of their family and community. One such idea was the prayer boxwhereby little messages to Swami were put in the box at the end of each prayer session in thehope that it gets resolved.Many profound speakers were roped in to present relevant topics of interest that relate to thewomen folks. The subject matter that caught my utmost interest was the Sathvik dressing, theseven chakra, and the strengths a woman possesses. The extensive research done by thespeakers was overwhelming and it is an understatement to just say that they were good. Theywere fantastic and must be applauded. I personally feel that this knowledge ought to beimparted to all women who had missed the opportunity of hearing these talks first hand.The National Wanita Coordination, Dr Nalini Arumugam in her closing speech touchedmany hearts of those who were there. The pledge recited by her and repeated by theparticipants made the finale a heart wrenching one. The recitation made us feel that thepledge was between us and Swami. It was our promise to Swami. The pledge was soprofound as it encompassed all aspects of livelihood that a woman can help and get involvedin. The threshold a woman has in achieving whatever the heart desires is limitless.The talks and motivation for the past two days have garnered for the 4th “D” to beincorporated in addition to the theme “3Ds”. Women must rise and this can only be achievedwith the 4th “D” - DEVELOPMENT.DEVELOPMENT of women means progress in the nation and ultimately peace and LOVEin the world.

Experience at National Mahila 2016 Convention By Sis Uma DeviI thank the Beloved Lord for allowing me to attend this three-day conference.Collating ideas from the three-day conference has pushed me to revamp my ideas of life. Myinitial principle of just giving without considering the importance of self, became subject tolots of detailed scrutiny. I began to ask myself about the quality of Seva - whether it wasdone to glorify Swami’s teachings, or glorify only self, this body.I begin to ponder on the extent of transformation that has taken place, about my biggestchallenge of balancing workplace, home and service. I learned from my younger Sai Sisterabout the healing process of spirituality that uplifts and inspires one to lead by example athome. Purification that would take place naturally.One salient factor is that the conference provided me with the opportunity to meet othersisters. This exposure has opened my mind to understand how other centres are functioning.Then I realised that for many years I had been living in the cocoon of SS3. Though thisprovided support, it had a limiting effect.After the conference, I have thought hard of something which is close to my heart - “Seva”.Don’t wait to be called to Serve, but look for a chance to serve. This need not be within theboundaries of the Sai centre. It can be done wherever, whenever and in any way.One suggestion I arrived at after the conference is that we need to develop knowledge onInformation Technology among the Mahila’s - “Information for Transformation”, whereevery Mahila can serve even from home. With this, Mahilas can share ideas within the Saifold in Malaysia and overseas, and arrive at new innovative ideas to glorify Swami’steaching.

Group 3 Sadhana Camp Day 1 By Sis Aishwarya Lakshmi SivanesanThe Group 3 Sadhana Camp was held in Sathya Sai Baba Centre of SS3 from the 23rd to 25thSeptember 2016. There were few activities held on 23rd September 2016 (Day 1) in theevening. At 7.00pm to 7.30pm. the registration took place. After that, from 7.30pm to8.00pm, we had our dinner together. Then, the activities began. We were given a lightedcandle. Aunty Selva conducted this activity and from this, we learned that we are a part ofGod. This activity took place for an hour. After the session by Aunty Selva, we were given a very entertaining and interesting speech by Uncle Suresh Govind about the life of Adhi Shankaracharya. He spoke about the life of Adhi Shankaracharya from childhood. From Uncle Suresh’s speech, what struck me was a quote by Swami which Uncle Suresh had mentioned. The amazing quote was, “We should always have the head of Adhi Shankara, the heart of Buddha and Thehands of Janaka.” We were also informed about details of Adhi Shankaracharya’s life. Forexample, his Guru was sage Govinda Bala. Uncle Suresh ended his speech by giving theexplanation to the meaning of the first verse in Bhaja Govindam. Bhajagovindam, Bhajagovindam Govindam Bhaja Muudhamate Sampraapte Sannihite Kaale Nahi Nahi Rakshati Dukrin Karane Meaning: Worship Govinda, Worship Govinda, Worship Govinda. Oh fool! Rules of Grammar will not save you at the time of your death.That session concluded the day. Before retiring to bed, we had supper. It was an amazingevening!

Group 3 Sadhana Camp Day 2 By Sis Narmetha RegunathanWe started the day with prayers and the chanting of Swami’s 108 Namavali. The prayersession was conducted by Teacher KO Ravi. We then sang some Ganesha bhajans whichwas led by Laaviny Akka. Breakfast was served after the bhajans and morning prayers. We were then led to Premalaya and the first activity that we did was fun! All 6 girls were grouped together for this activity. Five of us girls were asked make a bridge formation by joining our hands together and the 6th girl was asked to walk on this “bridge”. We were not supposed to help the girl who’s walking on the “bridge”. As for the boys, they had formed two large groups and had to race. The personwho could cross the “bridge” the first would be the winner. The point of this game was toteach the person walking on the “bridge” that life is uncertain just like the flimsy “bridge”made of hands and going through life will be challenging. However, in times of difficulties,we have to have trust on the ‘hands of God’ and call on Him to guide us.The second activity was conducted by Teacher Uma. She narrated a scenario. ‘There wasonce a family of 5 who lived in the Maldives. They lived happily and they grew a lot of plantsin their backyard and around their house. One day, they received news about a tsunamistorm that was predicted to hit their country. There were five shops in their town, three wereclosed and two were open. The first shop was a grocery store that sold almost everything,from food items to clothes to toys. The second shop was a store that sells electronic gadgets.When the tsunami had hit the town, a plane was sent to rescue the family. However, eachperson is only allowed to carry 20kg worth of things.’ Teacher Uma then told us to come upwith a list of things the family should bring with them on the plane given the 20kg limit. Thelist of things was discussed. We learned that, everything in life is temporary and God is theonly unchanging factor so we should take God along with us.

The third activity was an outdoor activity. We were asked to change into our sports attire andwe were brought to the field near our centre. Laavanya Akka conducted the session and itwas called the Game of Life. We had five chairs placed in front of us. Each chair representedan age, the first chair 10 years old, the second chair 16 years old, the third chair 35 years old,the fourth 60 years old and the last chair was death. We were given a die to toss and we weretold to take as many steps as the dice shows. Once we reached a chair, we took a card whichhad either statements or question. That piece of information was details or situations we werefacing in life. Some positive and some negative ones. The game would be over for aparticular player if the card says death. The moral of this game is that anything can happen toanyone (even the sultan’s son) at any time of our lives and we should be prepared for it.The last activity was conducted by Teacher Mona. We played the game Rakshasa. Thisactivity was really fun! Continued by Sis Deepika Damodaran NairAfter a short break for about an hour,Teacher Lavanya did a recap on theactivity that we did in the morning whichwas the game of life. It was a veryinteresting game to play. It teaches usthat life is very uncertain and anythingcould strike at any moment. This activitywas a summary of the Bhaja GovindamVerse 4.After that, we took a tea break. Later on,we started our discussion on the Study Circle which is one of the main activities in thisSadhana Camp. A few facilitators were chosen and we were separated into a few groups. Allof us worked as busy as a bee to do a small sketch about the Study Circle. We practised theStudy Circle scene for a few minutes. The topic of the Study Circle is \"How not to be aMUDHAMATEY\" which means how not to be a fool. By 5.30 pm. we had finished all ofour preparations and met up at Sai Blossom.The Sadhana Camp was indeed such a wonderful and enjoyable camp. I'll say that everyonewould want to join a camp like this again.

Group 1 Year 3 Class Message By Sis Chandralekha Chandra SegaranThe sketch presented by the Sai Geetha Class (Group1 Year 3) had a short and clear message; it was allabout appreciating and honouring your parents. Thesketch was based on a popular story of the apple treeand the boy. It was all about how the tree was sogiving and compassionate towards the boy throughouthis life despite the boy’s attitude of ungratefulness.At every stage of his life, the boy would request for something from the tree and the tree willwillingly give it to him without expecting anything in return. This continued on tilleventually the boy did not have any time to spare for the tree and this saddened the tree as allthe tree wanted was to spend quality time with the boy. At the end of the sketch, the boy,now an old man, eventually returns to the tree. This was a sketch put up by the 8-year-olds based on the resemblance and similarities of what actually takes place in reality. They concluded that the tree was like our parents. Children like us love our parents and can never be separated from them. We do take them for granted at times but we hope not to do that anymore. When we grow up, even when we leave them, we will always return to be with them giving them the same love and care they gave us years ago. We do hope youwould do the same too. Our parents will never give up on us. Let us all, treat our parentswith honour, compassion and love. A son has no greater duty, no higher good, than serving his parents. -Baba-

Ganesha Chaturthi By Sis Chandralekha Chandra SegaranGanesha Chaturthi is the most anticipated celebration of the year. It is a significant Hindufestival, celebrated with great joy and enthusiasm. Ganesh Chaturthi, also known asVinayaka Chaturthi, is one of the important Hindu festivals celebrated throughout the globewith great devotion. This day is celebrated as the birthday of Lord Ganesh, the elephant-headed son of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati.On this day, an Abhishegam isconducted at the SS3 Centre. TheGanesha Abhishegam is the purest formof worship to Lord Ganesha. The LordGanesha Abhishekam Pooja is donewith raw milk, followed by GanapatiAtharvashirsham. Avaratan is acommon name for GanapatiAtharvashirsham. In this pooja, the pathof Ganesha Atharvashirsh is repeated21 times that endows peace andprosperity in life. The Abhishegam isdone with many auspicious items like Panchamirtham, Sandanam, fresh milk and Tulsiwater. This year, there was also a kumbam set up and the Abhisegam was conducted in agrand manner. The Abhishegam was followed by Ganesha Bhajans and the GaneshaPancharatnam. As per the Hindu mythological scriptures, Lord Ganesha was shaped by Goddess Parvati, the spouse of Lord Shiva. It is said that Parvati created a sculpture from the paste that she used on her body prior to taking her bath. She infused life in the shape and ordered him to safeguard the door while she took her bath. God Shiva returned and was stopped at the entry of his house by the boy. In intense fury, Lord Shiva struck off the boy’s head. This incident made Goddess Parvati angry and furious. She requested Lord Shiva to return her son to her. Then, Lord Shiva fixed the head of an elephant and brought back life to

the body of the boy. Lord Shiva named this boy as “Ganpati” Gan means (hosts) & Patimeans (Chief) and blessed that Ganpati would be adored before each fresh venture. Hence,Ganapati is always prayed to first. The celebration of Ganesha Chaturthi is considered as a community event and was restarted by Lokmanya Tilak, a freedom fighter, who made use of this as a tool to spread the message of unity and gather public support uniting all sections of Hindus in India. As we evolve with globalization, the Ganesha Chaturthi celebration significantly represents an auspicious beginning of all our lives. This one day should be utilized to reflect upon our actions of the past and to complete the next following months of the year with a new zeal and determination.

Feeding the Homeless The Pertiwi Soup Kitchen organized their 3rd Malaysia Day street breakfast on the 16th of September 2016. The location was in KL around the Kota Raya area. Various NGO’s such as Kechara, Kaseh4U, 1Indian Student Movement and the Sathya Sai Baba Centre of SS3 joined in to help cook and distribute the food. About 20 devotees gathered in the centre about 5 am to start cooking and also packing the food.Our centre prepared vegetarian mee hoon and we also had jelly and banana cake. The fooditems were all packed into brown goodie bags to make it easier to be given away. We left thecentre about 7.30 am and reached there in time to help set up. The other NGO’s had preparedequally scrumptious food such as kaya toast, half boiled eggs, thosai and much more.However, nature decided to bless us with heavy rain early in the morning. We were drenchedand even the food was getting slightly wet. Nevertheless, about 300 homeless people turnedup to collect the food.Overall, it was a morning well spent, and we are thankfulfor the opportunity that was given to us to go out andserve the community. It was nice to see a smile on thefaces of all those who got food, and also the joy for allthose that participated.

New SSE/SSEHV Gurus Training: Blended Learning ProgrammeThis year’s Gurus’ Training was planned in avery elaborate way and was broken up intothree phases throughout the year instead ofthe usual one-time training that was carriedout previously. There was a lot of revamps tothis year’s training which benefited all thetrainees. It was a training programme plannedto develop Gurus that were competent fortoday’s and the future’s Balvikasenvironment.Phase 1Phase 1 was an SSE Sadhana Camp held at the Divine Life Society and it focused on theEDUCARE process of eliciting the 5 Human Values that are inherent in the teacher throughthe 5 koshas or human personalities. It was about getting in touch with the spirit, tapping thesource and drawing the latent Divinity to make it patent will be dealt both theoretically andmore practically. This phase was all about getting the body, mind and spirit inline andcleansed. From this camp, many learnt that it is important for us to be cleansed internally andenergized before embarking on a journey of servitude because being energized spiritually isessential to enhance one’s skills and creativity which is much needed for a SSE/SSEHVGURU.Phase 2Phase 2 was a two-day programme where our Centre played as the host of the programme. Itelaborated the SSE Curriculum and Syllabus, demarcations on the SSEHV and EHV and thefive teaching techniques. The holistic model of EduCare on the Body, Mind and Spiritof child was presented during the training. Lesson Plan Creation based on the threecomponents of head (cognitive), heart (affective) and hands (psychomotor skills) and theintegral educational outcome and life long learning was thought during the training. The newgurus got to experience a hands-on training on constructing an effective lesson plan which

included all the 5 teaching techniques. This 2-Day programme gave us a lot of insights onthe various methods of conducting a lesson via the construction of an effective lesson plan. Itwas a true eye opener for us as we realized the importance of a lesson plan for an effectiveclass.Phase 3Phase 3 was a 2-Day programmeheld at Sai School. This phasediscussed the importance ofunderstanding the psychosocialdevelopment of children, theirbehavioral changes, their physical,mental, emotional, social, esteemand actualization needs. Thisphase also emphasized theintegrated model of Educare andOutcome Based Learning on teaching, learning, assessment and evaluation of the child in alldomains of head, heart and hands. This phase also was to cultivate the Student ContactLearning (SCL) between the trainers and the trainees of this programme. This involvesonline group discussions, group assignments, individual assignments, lesson plan creationsand in-house guru training practicum in their respective Centres or Bhajan Units. This phasegave us a lot of awareness on the importance of incorporating the use of technology in ourBalvikas environments to complement the human touch in our teachings and to preparecompetent Balvikas students.To conclude this entire programme, the trainees will be embarking on a Gurus yatra toPuttaparthi next year during the Chinese New Year celebration. This entire programme willdefinitely assist in the flourish of the SSE/SSEHV programmes. For all the trainees, this wasa complete eye opener to a new perspective of teaching.“The purpose of the SSE/SSEHV? Simple! To create beings that must not create a wallbetween the worldly and the spiritual lives.” Hands in society, Head in the forest -Baba-

Study Circle How not to be a Mudhamathe? By Sis Laaviny NairThe Study Circle was chosen as an activity during the Sadhana Camp not only because thescheduled date for the Study Circle conveniently fell on the date of the camp but also thisactivity will serve as a platform for the children to share and reaffirm their learnings. Forwhat better way to learn than to teach another? The children were given the liberty to choosethe topic of the study circle and they choose the topic, ‘How not to be a Mudhamathe?’. Thistopic is coherent with the theme of the camp which was centered on the Bhaja Govindamwritten by Adi Shankara. The word ‘Mudhamathe’ itself was repeated many timesthroughout the camp. Not only because its meaning - fool, tickled the children but alsobecause it is part of the chorus of the Bhajan Govindam and the chorus is repeated afterevery verse. After the topic selection, they were taught mind mapping techniques to ease thediscussion process during the Study Circle. The gurus went through the content with thembefore the activity and allowed them to conduct the session by themselves. This was to buildthe children’s confidence. Many elders and parents who had attended the study circle gavepositive feedback because the children were able to present themselves so well in a crowd.Some parents even said that they were shocked at the amount of knowledge their childrenhad acquired from the balvikas classes. Others said they were so happy to see their childrenspeak in front of a large crowd especially to impart knowledge to an audience much olderthan them. Below is a sharing of experience accounted by a Group 3 Balvikas Student whoplayed a part in running the Study Circle. By Saii YashaaAfter thorough preparation for the study circle we attended bhajans that started at around7.30 pm. All of us had great time during bhajans. At the same time we could not wait to eatnasi lemak that was going to be served after bhajans. The food was mouthwatering andeveryone had a wonderful meal. After dinner, we conducted a study circle. We were dividedinto four groups; two groups to facilitate the boys and two for the girls. Both groupsdiscussed the same topic entitled “HOW TO NOT BE A MUDHAMATHE”. Each groupwas given an A2 sized paper and pens to write down the findings of their respectivediscussions in the form of a mind map. We discussed with everyone who present, mostlyparents who shared their very useful ideas. My group members and parents gave answerslike being able to discriminate, choosing good company, have discussions, eat satwic foodand doing namasmaranam as ways to not be a mudhamathe. After that, we presented ourdiscussion. The other groups also had interesting ideas. We learned a lot that night. After thestudy circle, we headed off to our beds to sleep.

UPSR SPECIAL PRAYERSOn the 31st August, our centre had special prayer for the 12-year-old balvikas children whowere about to sit for their UPSR examination. The prayers started at 7 pm as the childrenplaced their pencil boxes on a tray next to Swami’s paduka followed by the chanting of thegayathri mantra for 108 times. After the short prayer, the children received the blessing oftheir parents and collect a lime (which is energised with the chanting) from Uncle Muthu,who conducted the prayer. The lime symbolizes “Mother Gayatri”, the divine essence ofwisdom. The lime acts as a confidence booster when the children are in doubt during exams.They are advised to keep the lime energized by chanting the Gayatri Mantra daily at leastnine times. After the examinations, the children were instructed to either bury the lime in agarden or throw it in a river. This prayers are held annually for the children who are about tosit for their major examination. This year, we decided to interview three Balvikas UPSRstudents on their journey while preparing for the exams. The three students were; SaiiYashaa, Naresh Engad, Aishwariya Lakshmi.InterviewQuestion (Q) 1. How did you feel before the prayers?Answers (A): Yashaa - I was having mixed emotions. Scared and not scared at the sametime as I knew I was well prepared for the papers.Naresh - I was nervous because I was not sure if I could get 6A’s. I was constantly thinking,‘What if a question comes out and I’m unable to answer it?’Aishwariya - I was feeling ordinary. Just normal. I wasn’t afraid as I didn’t have the “UPSRfeel”. It felt like a normal exam to me.Question (Q) 2. Did the prayers help you?Answers (A): Yashaa - Yes, I was very much calmer after the prayers. I decided to surrenderto God as I’ve already prepared myself to the best of my abilities.Naresh - Definitely, I was relaxed. I think God will guide me if I black out while answeringthe paper. But I know I have to do my best.Aishwariya - Yes, I felt energized as I received the lime after chanting the Gayatri Mantra.Question (Q) 3. Did you engage in any Sadhana prior to your exams to please God (orbribe Him) ?Answers (A): Yashaa - Yes, I made a promise to God that I’ll sing during bhajans if I get6A’s for UPSR.Naresh - NoAishwariya - No

October Theme: VictoryMon Tues Wed Thurs Fri Sat Sun 12345678910 11 12 13 14 15 1617 18 19 20 21 22 2324 25 26 27 28 29 3031Events this month: Commencement of Navarathri Celebrations Deepavali Celebration

Victory By Bro Shailen BramhanandaVictory is a word that we commonly hear being used everyday. Victory can be defined as amoment when an individual or group is triumphant or overcame a certain obstacle usuallyagainst another individual or group. Victory has been an integral part of our existence andhas been that way since early human evolution. Great battles and wars were fought, landswere conquered and kings gained power. All these victories were important as it meant prideand, more importantly, survival.Take a close look at the numerous stories and tales in our Hindu culture, and you will noticehow victory plays a big part in it. These victories have come in different forms and duringdifferent time periods. For example, Lord Krishna killing the demon Kamsa and Durgaincarnating to kill Mahishasura can be seen as a victory of good over evil. Another well-known victory is that of Lord Rama defeating Ravana in Lanka.This victory is sometimes seen to symbolize knowledge over ignorance. These famousvictories are still celebrated by us in the form of Diwali, Vijaya Dasami and etc. It serves asa reminder for us to be victorious in our individual battles in ensuring that we can overcomeall the obstacles and evil forces that stand between the divine and us.

Group 3 StateSadhana CampThe 1st October 2016 was an auspicious By Bro Omesh Dayalday. It was the first day of Navarathri andalso Group 3 State Sadhana Camp. The brainstorm to come up with a creative sevaday started with an Omkaar session. I felt poster. After much discussion, we came upvery fortunate as I got a chance to sing. I with Learn to give, serve and share. Shortwas optimistic it was going to be a good and sweet, just the way we like it.day. We were then divided into groups andbriefed on the day’s activities. I was Our next activity was making desserts.confident it was going to be a day full of During this activity, I learnt that a sharedchallenges, as I have never done most of burden is a burden halved. My facilitatorthe activities we were going to do. made sure all of us took turns to do the activity. None of us were left out orAfter breakfast, all the groups were busy overworked. I might even try making thewith their respective duties. Bangsar pudding for my family.Centre was chaotic with our hustle andbustle. One corner there were people After that, we all sat together to pack thepeeling and cutting onions, ginger and care package which consisted of nasicucumber. In another corner, people were lemak, keropok, water bottle and a thankfrying tofu and peanuts while some were you card. Lunch; it felt wonderful eatingcooking rice. the nasi lemak and desserts made by the members of group 3. It was satisfyinglyMy group’s first activity was to make delicious.thank you cards and create a poster withthe theme seva. I was very anxious to make The hardest part of the day was walkingthe cards because I am not much of an from Bangsar to Brickfields under the hotartist but with the encouragement of our sun at 1 pm. This experience taught me togroup facilitator, I managed to make three have empathy for all those people whonice thank you cards. These thank you work under the hot sun every day. Thecards would be put into a little care exhaustion was unimaginable. My worstpackage to be served to the needy. I made nightmare was ‘I am going to be burntsome new friends while doing the poster under the hot scorching sun’.with my group members. We had to Seva started and the groups were given different tasks. Two groups distributed

food in front of the Shirdi Baba Centre; wipe the mirrors, railings and walls. Itwo groups distributed food in front of realized that it was not easy to clean after aMangala Deepam shop; two groups long and tiring journey. This made mecleaned the Shirdi Baba Centre, two groups appreciate my parents who toil hard at theircleaned the Buddhist Maha Vihara Temple, workplace the whole day and still dotwo groups cleaned the Shiva Temple and housework after they return home.two groups cleaned the Karpaga VinayagaTemple. The day ended at the Brickfields Centre with bhajans and presentations by theMy group’s seva was cleaning the Karpaga groups. Overall, I am amazed at how muchVinayaga temple. There was nothing much I learnt in just one day. I am very gratefulto do as the temple was very clean. The for all that I have.priest took pity on us and asked us to just

Avatar Declaration Day 2016 By Chandralekha Chandra SegaranEvery year 20th October is very significant for Sai devotees around the globe. It is on this daythat our dear guru declared himself as Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. This is a true blessingas most of us cannot imagine what it would be like without the knowledge of our dear guru.This day is celebrated as the Avatar Declaration Day. It is on this historically significant dayin the year 1940 that the young Sathyanarayana Raju at the age of 14 revealed to the worldHis Divine identity and the glorious mission on which He has come.The following lines capture the events on that epochal day:Sathyanarayana started for school as usual. However, within a few minutes, He returned tothe house. Standing on the outer doorstep, He cast aside the books He was carrying andcalled out, “I am no longer your Sathya. I am Sai.” The sister-in-law came from the kitchen,only to be blinded by the splendour of the halo around Baba’s head! He addressed her, “I amgoing; I don’t belong to you; Maya (delusion) has gone; My Bhaktas (devotees) are callingMe; I have My Work; I can’t stay here any longer.” When the brother hurried home onhearing all this, Baba only told him, “Give up all your efforts to ‘cure’ Me. I am Sai; I do notconsider Myself related to you.”In spite of repeated pleas, Sathya would not step into that building again. He moved into thegarden of the Excise Inspector Sri Anjaneyulu’s bungalow, and sat on a rock in the midst ofthe trees. People came into the garden from all directions bringing flowers, fruits, incenseand camphor to worship Him. The garden resonated with the voices of hundreds singingbhajans (devotional singing) and following the lines of the first bhajan that Sri Sathya Saitaught them. “Manasa Bhajare Gurucharanam Dusthara Bhava Sagara Tharanam” (O Mind!Meditate on the Feet of the Guru, which will take you across the wearisome sea of Samsaraor worldly existence.)Firstly, how do we define an avatar. Swami has said that there are fifteen signs of a self-realized being and these can be achieved through spiritual discipline and sadhana. Thesixteenth sign manifests only in a true avatar. The sixteenth sign is absolute omnipotence,omniscience and omnipresence. This marks the glory of Sathya Sai Baba. Since that day, Hisleelas have established the fact that He is always present everywhere, walking with us

through this journey of life. What He has not done, one may ask! He has built schools,universities, general hospitals, super specialty hospitals, and water projects. All free of costaimed at alleviating suffering and uplifting the moral conduct and conscience of mankind.One unique quality of Swami will definitely be the connection He has with His devotees. Itis the truest and the purest form of love that He transmits to the entire universe that attractsHis devotees to him. He is the MahaAvatar, the fusion of all avatars and the supreme Sathya(Truth). This day should signify as a day for all devotees to learn more about their Guru andHis remarkable leelas. This day should stand as a reminder for us, devotees of the teachingsof Sathya Sai Baba and this should further encourage us to hold on to His teachings withabundance of faith and love.At SS3 centre, this day was commemorated by some prayers, the chanting of Namavali andfollowed by bhajans. To celebrate this landmark event in Swami’s life, the AvatarDeclaration Day is celebrated every year with devotion and gratitude.

PT3 Prayers By Sis Chandralekha Chandra SegaranFeeling anxious or nervous before a major examination is very common. It is alwaysrecommended that students engage in activities that would help them to calm down a day ortwo before the start of the examination. At SS3 centre, special prayers are conducted justbefore major examinations begin.On the 9th of October, special prayers were held for the 15-year-olds who were sitting fortheir PT3 examination. The morning started off with some prayers and the chanting of theGayatri mantra to set a positive environment for the students. The students’ pencil caseswere placed at Swami’s Padukas and after the prayers, it was given to the students by theirparents along with a lime (energised by the chanting) after receiving their blessings. This is avery important part of the prayers.It was receiving the blessings of the parents and receiving the lime that gives confidence tothe students that they are able to overcome any hurdle during the examinations. The studentsare advised to chant the Gayatri mantra daily and keep the lime with them throughout theexaminations. It is this ritual that contributes to keeping students calm during examinationswith the help of the vibrations of the powerful Gayatri mantra.

Navarathri By Sis Suchitra Saayi SugumaranNavarathri; nine nights. In general, we view Navarathri as a festival during which weworship the three forms of Devi—Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswathi—three days for each ofthese forms. However, what we sometimes forget is that the festive aspect only takes placeafter the nine nights, which is the 10th day or in other words, Vijayadasami. The nine nightsis a process of cleansing oneself and the celebration only takes place on the 10th day, whenthe mind has turned pure.So why is it named Navarathri? What is the connection between these nine nights and thethree forms of Devi? When one experiences night, the first thought that comes to mind isdarkness. In this context, this darkness is associated with the ignorance of the mind. Thus,making the purpose of Navarathri to enable man to get rid of the various types of darknessesthat has taken hold of him. The connection is made to Devi because She signifies the unifiedform of Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswathi, whom together represents Shakthi.Shakthi is the energy that accounts for all the phenomena of Prakruthi (Nature). Prakruthi ismade up of three qualities, namely Sathwa, Rajas and Thamas. Nature is energy and thecontroller of that energy is the Lord. The three God forms represent all these three qualitiesindividually; Durga - Thamas, Lakshmi - Rajas/Rajo and Saraswathi - Sathwa/Sathya.Hence, for man to get control over his/her nature, man worships these three forms of Devi.Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswathi are not just mere Goddesses but the deified symbols of thethree qualities (Sathya Sai Baba, 1992).Our centre has been conducting the prayers for Navarathri ever since it was established, rightback from Uncle Muthu’s house. This year Navarathri was celebrated for 11 days, includingVijayadasami where all families in the centre took part. We conducted prayers every eveningand each day there were a family who participated in the prayers. Uncle Muthu and BrotherHari conducted the daily prayers. On the days of worship for Saraswathi, we had a particularactivity on each day. We had the feeding ceremony in which children were asked to sit ontheir mother's lap, and their father fed them pure items such as water, milk, honey, ghee andsweet rice—a symbol of instilling purity in the mind.The father then gave his children a lighted earthen lamp that signifies enlightenment, andthen the children took blessings from parents. There was also the yagna, which signifies thesacrifices that we make in our lives for a better living. Not forgetting the Paadha pooja

(worshipping of the feet) we conducted for all the mothers. In this ceremony, children weregiven the opportunity to wash their mother’s feet and offer their salutations. This is the cyclethat repeats itself for all of these years during Navarathri at our centre.Something to be learnt from observing Navarathri is that the process of cleansing oneselfdoes not end in those 10 days. We should always keep ourselves reminded that our mindshould be pure at all times. We all know the mind is very powerful, since the very root to ourcharacter derives from the thought that is produced in the mind. Only a pure mind producespure thoughts, and it is from those pure thoughts, they become sweet words to acts ofkindness becoming a righteous habit and finally shaping oneself to an exemplary being.

Deepavali By Puspanjali Nagarajan and Bro Naavish NairDeepavali is a celebration that we look forward to; to enjoy with our family and friends andit’s a chance for us to escape from our busy routine. The celebration not only brightens ourmood but it also brings us so much joy to see children bond with one another. It’s animportant celebration to bring people closer regardless of age and race. - Kavy & FamilyFor most people, Deepavali is a celebration of the triumph of good over evil. However, inour family the auspicious day is celebrated by singing the praises of the Lord. We faithfullywait for this time of the year to come around to gather with our loved ones. - Shree Harry &FamilyOur Deepavali celebration is the time of the year where we look forward to having a closerbond with all our family members. -Bhavany & FamilyDeepavali is not how much you have or what you have. It’s about love and being with lovedones. - Latha & Family

November Theme: Love 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 30Events this month: Akhanda Bhajan Swami’s 91st Birthday Swami’s 91st Birthday Celebration by Sathya Sai Baba Centre of SS3

Sai Works To You, Through You By Sis Suchitra Saayi Sugumaran“Friends are like stars, you don’t always see them but you know they are always there.”Sai - is that to me. Like stars, He is everywhere at every time; during the day and at night. Heis the only reliable person, figure, or even source to me, my life - this life. I have come torealize that answers don’t come instantly. I perceive it as a quest; you go around, comeacross various hurdles, stretch your limits to its extreme and then you finally succeed. Lifeproblems - as we call it, are just like quests that has got many levels to it; merely just testingyour capabilities. That’s it, which is precisely how Swami communicates with us and howHe communicates through us.The message of this year’s Swami’s birthday celebration is “Sai works to you, through you”.We are all just a medium in which Sai resides and the objective of this medium is, to carryout His teachings at all times. This includes one’s daily routine - our thought, speech and act.The twist here is to make sure we know and understand His message and to conduct it in theright manner. What we tend to do is block His communication pathway by indulging inactivities that do not coincide with His teachings. It is only in silence where one achievestheir goal. Silence in this context is the acts of purity.Life is a game, play it. Swami didn’t just say this quote for no reason. This quote is related toa perspective of watching a movie. The world is the stage and we are all mere actors. He isthe director, of course and our role is just to follow the script - He tells, we follow. Yes, wedo get out of track, act something else and mess up the whole story but the ideal purpose is,to just, follow. He would somehow bring us back to our specified roles and purposes, toensure the story goes on and ends well later.Sai to me is a constant reminder that no matter how far you go to hide yourself, get into acompletely different area, He is going to be there; whether you like it or not. It’s a matter ofus noticing Him and constantly reminding ourselves that He - is - just - there. Thus, with theBig Boss’s 91st birthday, let us try to keep this in thought and act like how He would want usto be because at the end of the day, we should be acting according to the script. Think lessabout being off track and focus more on how we are going to carry out our roles constantly.We will get there and He will be a proud director, but that is only if we start now. Focus onhim and let His love flow to you and through you. Happy Birthday Dear Sai!

Gardening Project By Sis Chandralekha Chandra SegaranThe gardening project kicked off this month with a purpose of creating environmentalawareness in conjunction with Swami’s 91st birthday. A lot of plans and preparations wentinto the efforts of starting off this project. The aim of this project is to restore the old flowerbeds, create new flower beds and most importantly adding more quotes to the flower beds.The first set of tasks was completed in the beginning of the month and the hope for thisproject is for more people to join in this project regardless of their age. There will be moreupdates on the progress of this project as it heads closer towards completion.

Global Akhanda Bhajans 2016 By Sis Chandralekha Chandra SegaranThe Global Akhanda (Indestructible) Bhajans had its origin way back in 1945. It started offas a weekly Thursday bhajan by a group of 8 families till they went to see Bhagawan inPuttaparthi for seeking His blessings to conduct the bhajans. The Divine Visionary that Heis, Bhagawan blessed the group, praising the idea of bhajan singing and named it AkhandaBhajan. This grand spiritual exercise has been going on uninterrupted just like its name eversince.Today, we continue to have non-stop twenty-four-hour global devotional singing (AkhandaBhajan) by Sai devotees from all over the world. This is being done not for the sake of oneindividual, one nation or one community. It is for the welfare of humanity as a whole.This year’s Global Akhanda Bhajan for the Klang Valley was held in Sai School and SS3centre’s slot was from 11 am to 12 pm. To sum it up, the weekend comprised beautifuldevotional singing and great vibrations and ambience.

SPM Prayers By Sis Chandralekha Chandra SegaranIt is very common for students to feel anxious andnervous before a major examination. It is alwaysrecommended that students engage in activities that wouldhelp them to calm down a day or two before theexamination begins. At SS3 centre, special prayers areconducted just before major examinations begin.On the 6th of November, special prayers were held for the17-year-olds who were sitting for their SPM examination.The evening started off with some prayers and thechanting of the Gayatri mantra to set a positiveenvironment for the students. The students’ pencil caseswere placed at Swami’s Padukas and after the prayers, itwas given to the students by their parents along with alime (energised by the chanting) after receiving theirblessings. This is a very important part of the prayers. Itwas receiving the blessings of the parents and receiving the lime that gives confidence to thestudents that they are able to overcome any hurdle during the examinations. The students are advised to chant the Gayatri mantra daily and keep the lime with them throughout the examinations. It is this ritual that contributes to keeping students calm during examinations with the help of the vibrations of the powerful Gayatri mantra. A few of the students wereinterviewed on their outlook of chanting the Gayatri mantra during the examination.