September 2024

Sai Ram dear devotees,

I pray that you and your families are all keeping safe and well.

September (mid-August in Scotland) marks the beginning of a new academic year for schools and colleges, including Bal Vikas classes in many parts of the country. Swami emphasised that education is not just about acquiring knowledge, but also about character development and spiritual growth. He often spoke about the importance of students cultivating good values, like discipline, respect, and selfless service, alongside academic learning.

Swami would remind students and teachers that education should be integral, balancing both secular knowledge (vidya) and spiritual wisdom (atma vidya). The beginning of the academic year is seen as an opportunity to renew one's commitment to learning with a focus on both intellectual development and moral excellence.

With this in mind, I hope that the recent Sri Sathya Sai Retreat in Leicester, on the theme of "Sai Always Inside," was a truly blissful and uplifting experience for you all. It was a joy to gather in His divine presence and immerse ourselves in the sacred atmosphere of love, unity, and devotion and to further “educate” ourselves.

Your heartfelt participation and unwavering support made the event a success, and we are deeply grateful for your dedication to Swami's teachings. May His infinite love continue to guide and inspire us all on our spiritual journeys.

We hope you found the talks during the retreat by Brother Amey Deshpande inspiring and enriching. His insights into Swami's teachings and experiences with Bhagawan have undoubtedly deepened our understanding of the divine path and filled our hearts with renewed devotion.

We thank him and his wife, Sister Bhabitha, for travelling around the UK to share his knowledge and experience with all those that attended his regional talks.

My heartfelt thanks also go to all those members who have continued to support the organisation since our transition from a voluntary unincorporated association to a newly-incorporated charity. Registration as a charity enhances our credibility and demonstrates our commitment to transparency and ethical practices.

We have a busy few months ahead of us in our Sai calendar with some of the programmes listed below. Please ensure that you subscribe to our WhatsApp community channel to keep up with all the forthcoming events.

May Swami's love and guidance continue to illuminate our lives as we walk this sacred journey together.

Lovingly, in Sai service

Pratap Thakkar

We are delighted to announce that, with the Divine blessings of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, two significant events have been organised as part of the Centenary of our Lord’s advent. These events not only serve as an opportunity to engage in selfless service, but also for the enrichment of our spiritual growth to deepen our connection with Bhagawan.

Medical Camp in Nepal: 24th March to 1st April 2025 (inclusive)

This camp is an initiative to extend our service and compassion to those in need in the 3 different regions in Nepal where the camp will take place. The camp is scheduled to take place from 24th March and will run over a 9-day period, which will include travelling between locations. Volunteers and medical professionals will be invited to join hands in this noble effort to provide medical care, support, and comfort to the local communities.

We encourage those with medical expertise and a passion for service to participate and offer their skills. The camp will offer medical consultations, treatments, and health education, ensuring that those in need receive compassionate care.

Centenary Pilgrimage: 28th July to 3rd August 2025 (inclusive)

In celebration of the Centenary of Sri Sathya Sai Baba’s birth, we are organising a special pilgrimage to Prasanthi Nilayam. This pilgrimage will be a momentous occasion, offering devotees an opportunity to deepen their spiritual connection and honour the legacy of our beloved Swami. The pilgrimage will include our offerings of Vedam, devotional songs and Bal Vikas dramas. There will also be service opportunities and visits to sacred sites and places of significance in Swami's life.

We invite you to join us on this sacred journey as we pay tribute to Swami’s divine mission and seek His blessings for our spiritual growth.

We will provide more detailed information regarding the itinerary for the pilgrimage and the organisation of the medical camp in the coming months. We are eager to have your support and participation in these transformative events. Please keep these dates in mind and stay tuned for further updates.

Let us come together in devotion and service, continuing to spread Swami’s message of love, compassion, and selfless service.

With the Grace of Bhagawan, we are delighted that we will be holding the wonderful event of singing His Divine Name, Sai Smaran Bhajans 2024. A day filled by singing, listening, remembering and contemplating on His Glory and Majesty. 

We are also very fortunate that Brother Amey Deshpande, part of the Prasanthi Mandir Bhajan Group, will be joining us on the day.

• Date: Saturday 14th September
• Time: 10am–4.30pm
• Venue: Royal Wootton Bassett Academy, Swindon, SN4 7HG

Please register to attend using the link below.

We look forward to seeing you on the day.

On the auspicious grounds of the Shri Venkateswara (Balaji) Temple, the day will be filled with divine grandeur, auspiciousness and sounds of spiritually uplifting Vedam chanting; devotees from across the UK will have the opportunity to come together and pray for Universal Peace.

• Date: Sunday 22nd September
• Time: 8.30am– 4.30pm
• Venue: Shri Venkateswara (Balaji) Temple, Dudley Road East, Birmingham B69 3DU

Please register for the event via the link below.

We look forward to seeing you and your family on the day.

Join us on Wednesday 25th September, as we explore:

• dharma in relation to women through the life of Mother Sita
• Swami's teachings on dharma for women

To get the maximum benefit from the satsang, we encourage you to familiarise yourself with the divine advent of Mother Sita, and engage with the pre-reading, which will be sent to you once you register.

Please register to be a part of the next satsang, even if you have registered previously for any other satsang. You can also register if you have not been a part of the series so far.

Once you register, we will send you the pre-reading and also the Zoom link for the live satsang.

We look forward to continuing this journey with you as we take the next step in the Sai Shakti Series.

We are thrilled to announce a global musical symphony on the occasion of Centenary Celebrations of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, centred around the theme of ‘Karishye Vachanam Tava.’ This tribute is designed to honour the divine legacy of our beloved Lord and will be one of the highlights of the centenary festivities.

The musical offering will be presented in Prasanthi Nilayam, as a part of the Centenary Celebrations. The offering will be a combined global offering consisting of Sri Sathya Sai devotees from India and across the globe.

This invitation is extended to singers, instrumentalists and percussionists who are active in SSSGC centres around the world to audition for this unique opportunity and be a part of this momentous offering.

Interested singers and instrumentalists who are part of SSSGC centres outside India can register using the link below. There, you will find all the necessary details for participation, including guidelines and instructions to ensure a smooth and meaningful contribution.

Registration will be open until 25th September.

With Bhagawan's grace, registration is now open for both medical professionals and non-medical volunteers, for the Sri Sathya Sai Global Council Birthday Medical Camp, taking place 18th-25th November 2024.

Registration links are provided below.

The Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences, Whitefield (SSSIHMS-WFD), was established in 2001 by Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba to provide high quality medical and surgical care to needy patients, free of cost. It is a 333-bed hospital located in Whitefield, near Bangalore, India.

The SSSIHMS-WFD performs close to 30 MRI and CT imaging scans daily consisting of cardiac, neuro, musculoskeletal and general imaging. Scans are reported using the state-of-the-art PACS reporting software that has remote access capability.

The Director of SSSIHMS, Dr Sundaresh DC, with the agreement of the Chairman of the SSSGC, Mr K Chakravarthi, is offering the opportunity for radiologists from SSSGC centres globally to serve the Institute by assisting remotely in cardiac, neuro, musculoskeletal and general imaging. The service can be provided from anywhere in the world via the PACS software, for a few hours a day/week on a consistent routine.

Interested radiologists may send their CVs and availability to Dr Sundaresh DC, Director, SSSIHMS-WFD, via email directorwfd@sssihms.org.in.

More details are available via the link below.

Day 1

The retreat began with Vedam and Bhajans, igniting our spiritual hunger. We heard from our Zonal Chair, Brother Philip von Dietlein, followed by the first talk from our guest, Brother Amey Deshpande, who spent many years in the physical proximity of Swami. He was born into the Sai fold and went on to spend 3 years in primary school, finally returning to complete a Finance MBA at the Institute of Higher Learning. Brother Amey described his childhood interactions with Swami, highlighting his innocence and pure love for Swami, not as his God, but rather as his Rockstar - propagating the idea that we can form a connection with Swami with pure faith and innocence.

Deeply energised and sufficiently pensive, we proceeded to reflect on spirituality through a series of workshops, tailored to trigger introspection and discussion, either to remind us of what we already know, allowing us to continue practising with mindfulness, or to teach us something entirely new, thus bringing to light new concepts and practices that may propel our journey. The first workshop was based on external spirituality, or how regular daily activities in our day can help us to practise spirituality. “Spirituality is a state of being” is one such interpretation that came out of these workshops, pointing to the inherent simplicity and complexity of the concept. Being spiritual does not have to be spending one’s life in a forest pursuing meditation, forsaking all the duties and responsibilities of life. In fact, Swami has warned us against that, and says that we should practise spirituality through everything that we do in our day.

The post-lunch workshop dived into spirituality a little more deeply, exploring our internal spirituality, and what either helps or hinders this. We discussed the effect that being in Prasanthi Nilayam has on our life, and although we entertained the discussion, none of us would let go of the opportunity to be in Puttaparthi. Being able to simply close our eyes and picture God is the ideal, but Swami understands that we may still be working on that journey, and so He has afforded us some help.

Between the two workshop sessions, as Swami insisted, we had some physical activities, to get our blood pumping. People had the option of football, cricket, rounders, or a scavenger hunt where they bonded and learnt along the way. There was also a talk by Brother Antoni Griera Aragones, the National President of Spain. After sharing how he first came to know about Swami, he shared some of his personal experiences with Swami, including his first trip to Puttaparthi in 1993 and his interview with Swami in 2001. He also shared how Swami had corrected him and told him that he had a "monkey mind."

After the workshops, we were kindly graced by a carefully prepared drama, designed to show us the multiple facets of the game of Life. Several messages came out of the drama, such as “Once Man has faith, Man can achieve anything,” “Serving yourself through serving others,” “Manava Seva is Madhava Seva” (Service to man is service to God), but arguably the most memorable is that we all need a personal trainer to help us through life: it is not something we can do alone. The drama also touched upon doubt, and its role in instilling faith. One can ask Swami their doubts as often as they want, and Swami will respond every time, if they ask sincerely.

The evening finished with a session on the importance of bhajans by Brother Amey, where he talked about why we sing bhajans: to still the mind. More than anything, he reminded us that bhajans are also yet another tool to pull ourselves closer to Swami. He described it as a car, meant to take us from A to B, and if we get attached to singing bhajans, it is akin to remaining attached to the car, and never getting out at the destination. He also talked about bhajans as a sadhana, and to offer it properly, it must be carefully practised, to be able to carry the devotees to Swami through the bhajan. A bhajan should be practised 100 times, Swami says: the first 25 to familiarise oneself with the bhajan, the next 25 to perfect it. The following 25 is to visualise Swami while singing, and the final 25 is to be able to allow every member of the congregation to visualise Swami. The day drew to a close with a heartfelt and mesmerising musical rendition by Sister Deepa Hattangady Karnad. However tired the audience might have been, Sister Deepa’s musical offering touched each person’s soul, energising everyone for another day of Sai activities.

Day 2

The second day of the retreat commenced at 7am with Omkaram and Suprabhatam, taking us back to the early mornings at Prasanthi Nilayam. This was soon followed by opportunities for devotees to energise their bodies through an engaging yoga class or a silent walk enjoying the fresh morning breeze around the college grounds.

The first session commenced with Vedam and bhajans followed by a talk by Zone 6 Central Coordinator Brother Ketan Gokani, who recollected pilgrimages that had been undertaken in Swami’s physical presence. He highlighted the importance of doing seva with a pure heart and of strengthening our faith in Swami.

This was followed by an interactive workshop on Growing and Maintaining Internal Spirituality, which discussed internal spirituality as a part of our personal sadhana. A quote that was a key takeaway from the session was: “You need not escape into a forest to gain silence and the chance of uninterrupted spiritual practice. You can make the place where you are a citadel of silence; shut off the senses, and let them not run after objects. Your home becomes a hermitage; your spiritual practices will then move on without any obstacle.” (Sri Sathya Sai Speaks Vol. 2, Ch. 6)

The workshop was followed by the much-awaited session with Brother Amey in the form of an interactive Q&A conclave, skilfully facilitated by Brother Sathish Kumar, National Spiritual Coordinator. The importance of religion was highlighted with the analogy of a small man disciplining a large elephant; similarly, religion, culture and society are important tools in controlling the ‘elephant’ of the mind. Concerns on the struggles faced in daily life were pacified through an analogy by Brother Amey portraying the Lord as our goldsmith and the difficulties faced by us as milestones in the pathway of our purification towards reflecting our divine ‘goldsmith’.

Following lunch was a succinct summary of the 3 workshops conducted. This was followed by the final session with Brother Amey, where the 9-point code of conduct was introduced as an important encapsulation of Swami’s most consistent teachings across His discourses. It was highlighted as a tool that fulfilled Swami’s 3 requisites of members of His organisation as detailed in a divine discourse delivered in 1967: being an eager spiritual aspirant, holding full faith in the name the organisation bears; and being a good person.

The session came to an end with bhajans and Mangala Aarti, after which devotees left with hearts full of Sai and bags full of prashadam!

We are thrilled to announce Sai Anveshana, a unique spiritual journey celebrating Swami’s 100th birthday. Led by Young Adults, this nine-month initiative invites devotees to explore and deepen their understanding of Swami’s divine writings, the Vahinis. Participants will engage in discussions, quizzes, and reflections on three selected Vahinis, making this a collective experience of living Swami’s teachings. We warmly invite all devotees to join us in this sacred offering, whether you are new to or familiar with Swami’s writings.

Key details:

• Duration: October 2024 to July 2025
• Vahinis: Prema Vahini; Bhagavatha Vahini; Sandeha Nivarini
• Structure: 9 months | 3 Vahinis | 6 fun-filled quizzes and satsangs per Vahini
• Deadline to register: Friday 27th September

Who can participate? Anyone aged 16 and up. Participants will be grouped by age. This journey is about inviting Swami’s love, guidance, and presence into our lives while sharing the experience with like-minded individuals. We encourage everyone to register and spread the word. Let’s unite in this collective offering to make Swami’s centenary truly memorable.

Register now and embark on this spiritual journey via the link below.

If you have any questions or need further information, please email us at: saianveshana@srisathyasai.org.uk

For the welfare of the country and of the entire world, the spirit of service, vital enthusiasm, constructive imagination, pure motivation, and unselfish alertness are all needed urgently.

Sri Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol. 15, Ch. 31, 19 November 1981

The purpose of the Young Adults Wing is to serve the whole organisation whilst supporting the spiritual journey of the next generation. Thus, it is the duty of the Young Adults to be of service, not only to their fellow brothers and sisters across the nation, but also to the world from which they merely borrow. This series of articles captures a snippet of the service activities supported by Young Adults across the UK, in the hope of inspiring others.

In this issue, we read reflections from Brother Seshasai from Region 3 on his experience in the recent UK Medical Camp.

I offer my most humble pranams at the lotus feet of our most beloved Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, recognising and acknowledging that we are all channels for Him to carry out His mission; His Nimitta-Maatra. Swami was once talking to a devotee about the ‘best midwife in the world’. The devotee was clearly very confused, and asked Swami who she was, expecting some super-trained midwife with a never-ending pedigree in the Mayo Clinic or Karolinska, or some such place. Swami showed this devotee an old woman in rural India working in a tattered nursing home, which further confused the devotee. Swami explained, “She asks me to deliver the baby through her.” How could she not be the best midwife in the world, if Swami Himself works through her!

To begin with a slight personal note, I am a newly-graduated doctor, having finished medical school earlier this year. It is His grace that I have become a doctor, to be able to help countless people over the course of my career. There have been many moments throughout my education where I have felt Swami’s hand, and I cannot help but feel that it was to facilitate me to help His devotees and humanity generally. Nothing more could be proof of this than my opportunity to volunteer within a week of graduating, and personally seeing circa 100 patients myself over the three days, a mere nod to the volume of altruism that being a doctor offers you.

The medical camps organised by the UK provided a wonderful opportunity to begin as I mean to continue. I graduated on 9th July, with 9 being Swami’s favourite number. Already, that felt like Divine acknowledgement of my offering my degree to Swami. Following that, I was serving as a General Practitioner in the medical camps, where I was given the opportunity to see patients within a week of my graduation. Over the course of the camp, the UK team saw over 1,000 patients, with the GPs collectively receiving over 700 patients. These numbers, although staggering and almost unimaginable, represent the global need for altruistic healthcare, and the opportunity for healthcare professionals to reach those that have less access to developed healthcare infrastructure. Patients were grateful for simply being examined by doctors; they were appreciative for relatively simple interventions such as debridement and dressings; and this gratitude from the patients to Swami flowed through the persons at the point of care, giving us the good fortune and privilege of the Karma.

Many miracles took place during this camp, both for the patients and some of our own team. One girl had been suffering from sciatica for almost 8 years, worsening throughout that time. Although receiving ongoing treatment in her home country, the pain was constant and, at times, debilitating, and there were plans for escalation of investigations and treatment. She had the chance to offer a flower to Swami, and from the next day she was completely free of her pain. I saw another patient who had a 10-year history of worsening weakness and postural instability, unable to see a doctor due to affordability of quality healthcare, and, more importantly, the cost of her and her carer both not working for however many days needed to make the trip to see the doctor. The single most important effect of these medical camps is on this patient demographic, to support their ongoing care.

The time that I spent in the medical camps was incredibly rewarding, both professionally and spiritually. I have wondered how to reconcile with the truth that Swami is the doer, and we are simply the medium, and healthcare offers a very barren perspective. Evidence-based medicine only goes so far in curing people, but any doctor with significant clinical experience will tell you that they have seen patients cured through ways simply beyond comprehension. We have various ways and urgencies for pharmaceutical interventions, or surgical intervention, but the truth is, the ultimate cure is ‘Divine Intervention’. As a surgery pursuant, I try to practise medicine according to the following phrase: let Swami operate, and you co-operate, because if you try to operate, Swami may not cooperate.