Saluting the spirit of service, Love In Action brings you stories of service from across the world where alumni are joining hands with the local wings of the Sai organization and rendering heartfelt seva. In 2009, these efforts spanned multiple continents and cultures, and cut across a variety of societal needs. While seva itself is the primary focus, discussing and planning such seva are also key in ensuring that seva is useful, targeted and effective. For that reason, we also feature conferences and retreats where seva activities were planned, along with a limited selection from the spectrum of special initiatives underway this year.
Gadoli Kalan Village, Gurgaon
In Gurgaon, inspired by Bhagawan’s call for village service, seva activities are being carried out in the village of Gadoli Kalan. Alumni are playing an active role in serving this village which houses 250 families, with a population of about 1,800 people. Seva activities in the village have included the organization of a mega medical camp in which a team of six doctors looked into the health status of more than 220 villagers. Alumni also undertook Bal Vikas and cleaning of village temples. Touched by this selfless work, the villagers have promised full co-operation in the broader village integration programme. The assessment of the medical status revealed problems such as dental fluorosis, scabies and other health hazards among women indulging in smoking. Sai youth have pledged their services towards eradicating the health challenges plaguing the village.
Health and Nutrition
Beating The Heat
In Kolkata, alumni and the seva samithi joined hands to provide the city’s hard-working traffic constables with a much-needed respite from the summer heat. Cops in our country are seldom appreciated and cared for. Two vehicles loaded with water packets and Glucon-D took rounds under the blazing afternoon sun distributing the ‘prasadam’ to beat the summer heat. The traffic police were in for a pleasant surprise when they saw members of the Sathya Sai Seva organisation handing out the cool water and energy boosting glucose packs. “At least someone cares for us” was the reaction of the cops, a smile lighting their sunbaked faces.
Education
Sri Sathya Sai Higher Secondary School, Piplani (Bhopal)
The Sri Sathya Sai Higher Secondary School in Piplani (Bhopal) provides education to a number of poor children at a very nominal fee. The lone bore well in the school recently dried up, resulting in a serious scarcity of water for the school. Following a discussion with the school principal during Easwaramma day celebrations this year, alumni worked out a plan to fix this problem. A well-planned water harvesting system has now been implemented at the school. The water from one half of the school’s roof passes through two filters and then supplies the water table that feeds the bore well’s water supply or is stored in a 1,000-litre tank above ground.
In addition, for the third consecutive year, eight deserving girl students identified by the principal and school staff received financial scholarships.
Employment & Life Skills
Job Mela, Mehboobnagar
At Mehboobnagar in Andhra Pradesh, alumni organized an innovative “job mela” for local village residents. With the help of an employment officer and potential employers, about 1,300 villagers were taught how to fish (trained in vocational skills) rather than merely being given the proverbial “fish” (jobs), as preached by Confucius. Participants were divided according to their qualifications and guided towards the employment opportunities available through the employment officer and other employers.
SAI GRACE, Kolkata
SAI GRACE is the name of an initiative being undertaken by the Sai organization in West Bengal, aimed at equipping youth with the competencies and skills necessary for success in the workplace. The GRACE model seeks to accomplish this objective by emphasizing the importance of Goodness, Readiness, Attitude, Communication and Etiquette for optimal workplace impact. The scope of this initiative includes high school graduates, between the ages of 18 and 30, associated with Sai Centers in West Bengal.
Alumni were actively involved in leading this initiative along with Sai samiti volunteers. In August, one of them sought Swami’s blessings for this initiative, and with His divine blessings, the project has been extremely successful in achieving its aims.
Nominations for the SAI GRACE workshop was methodically sought through samiti convenors of various districts and through the Bengali edition of Sanathana Sarathi. Nominations started to pour in from all parts of the state, and the first fifty nominees were invited for a workshop conducted at Sur Industries, Kolkata in September 2009.
An alumnus kicked off the proceedings, inviting the Chief Guest, Mr. Radhakrishnan Nair, Chief of Human Resources at TATA Steel, to address the gathering. The state president of the Sai organization also addressed the attendees on the occasion.
The workshop included intensely interactive and useful sessions focusing on each aspect of the SAI GRACE model. These sessions highlighted the importance of effective communication skills, positive thinking, and personal values such as dignity of labour, faith and a positive attitude in the workplace. The wife of an alumnus, herself an alumnus of the Anantapur campus of the Sri Sathya Sai University, was the main workshop facilitator, given her specific expertise in the subject.
After the workshop, all participants were divided into five groups for a” Training Needs Analysis”. Subsequently, panels consisting of two members each conducted mock interviews for the participants, to identify each participant ‘ s strengths and areas of improvement, and to plan follow-up grooming sessions accordingly.
Follow-up activities from this workshop have included ongoing mentoring and spoken English classes for all the participants for a period of six weeks. Participants have greatly benefitted from this initiative.
Helping Bhutanese Emigrants
Alumni in the southeastern region of USA have joined forces with a local organization to help Bhutanese refugees who have fled persecution in their native land.
Bhutan is made up of several ethnic groups, one of which is the Lhotshampa, a people of Nepali origin who began to settle in the south of the country in the late 19th century. In the 1980s, the Lhotshampas were discriminated against, imprisoned, and tortured according to Amnesty International. By the end of 1992, there were more than 80,000 living in UNHCR camps in southeastern Nepal.
Background
In early 2009, after learning that the United Nations intended to relocate 20,000 Bhutanese people to the USA, some young adults realized that these newcomers from Bhutan would require assistance in acclimating to a new homeland. After refugees arrive in the United States, a governmental agency provides only six months of support to help them settle in their new country. After that, they are left to fend for themselves. Being in a new land far from home, with a different culture, a different language, and different ways of doing things can overwhelm almost anyone.
Key Activities
Several alumni have joined young adults to offer their service in this cause, with guidance from Hebrew International Aid Society (HIAS) and Sai devotees from across five states. Activities have included:
-Arranging information sessions on guidance necessary to apply for the basics, i.e., immigration (Green Card), driver’s license, medical coverage, etc.
-Helping refugees find employment, including identifying job opportunities and preparing resumés.
-Organizing a sports day for families in Charlotte (North Carolina) to foster camaraderie and banish loneliness
-Gifting over 5,000 articles of school supplies to the children of the Bhutanese population in Charlotte
-Providing household supplies to the elders of each family
-Arranging basic transportation for everyday activities such as buying groceries, attending training sessions, and participating in social activities
-Teaching formal spoken English classes for the elderly
Conferences, Retreats & Reflection
Ethics in Finance
The Conference on Ethics in Finance was held in Prashanti Nilayam on August 28-29 with the kind blessings of Bhagawan. The event made a major splash in the national media and was extensively reported in several important Indian newspapers.
The genesis of this conference goes back two years, when an alumnus working in the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) prayed to Swami for an opportunity to bring policy makers and key players in the Indian financial sector to have an audience with Him. The appropriate time came this year, when the whole world, and the financial sector, underwent a deep crisis. Bhagawan gave His blessing for this initiative in March. His timing to underline the urgent need for introspection within the financial sector was spot on. The Sri Sathya Sai University decided to host the seminar on ethics in finance in the Prashanti Nilayam campus. The RBI Governor was the keynote speaker and the conference were scheduled for August.
About twenty-five alumni from Mumbai and Bangalore took part in organizing the activities connected with the conference. They led the discussions with the university, and helped extend invitations to the delegates, fine-tune the agenda and discussion panel topics, and co- ordinate the logistics for the delegates. As the date for the conference drew closer, Bhagawan Himself took on the role of the perfect host, taking care of all aspects of the conference including making suggestions on such small matters as the quality of the bedding for delegates and the variety of food items offered in the menu. The conference eventually evolved from a prayer initiated by alumni to a function hosted by Bhagawan Himself.
Of the 28 delegates who attended, a majority were visiting Prashanti Nilayam for the first time. There were senior officers from well-known and respected banks: Mr. K V Kamath from ICICI, Mr. R Sridharan from SBI, Mr. Aditya Puri from HDFC Bank, Ms. Kalpana Morporia from JP Morgan, and Mr. Uday Kotak, among others. Bhagawan treated ach delegate as an honoured guest; in fact, many among them remarked they had never experienced so much peace and the feeling of being at home anywhere else.
While the conference proceedings are well documented in Sanathana Sarathi and the Sai organization’s website, there were a few items of note that demonstrate how deeply Swami touches the hearts of people who have experienced Him for the first time.
Hospitality: The entire Ashram and the University went out of their way to make the delegates feel welcome and at home. The absence of commonplace luxuries such as air conditioning, television, etc. did not cause them even a moment of inconvenience. The delegates were honoured guests in the Lord’s home and treated befittingly.
Devotion at work: The most emotional part of the entire conference, besides interacting with Swami, was the visit to the Super Specialty Hospital. Most of the delegates returned teary eyed after the visit, wonder-struck at the love and affection showered on the patients at no cost to their families, with the only objective being that of selfless service.
Interactions with people: Apart from the formal panel discussions and functions, the delegates interacted closely with students and senior officials of the Central Trust. These interactions were spontaneous and unrehearsed. Many of the guests had questions about the running of the organization and the motivation behind the attitude of service without motive.
The delegates left Prashanti Nilayam full of warmth and admiration, marveling that that there exists a place where people really practise the concept of “Athithi Devo Bhava”. Many of them returned to their homes promising to come back more often.
Darshan, Sparshan and Sambhashan: Of course, this was the highlight of the entire function and the real reason why all delegates attended the conference. Bhagawan was full of grace, bounty and love towards the delegates. He gave opportunities to most of the delegates to have padanamaskaram, made each one of them feel welcome, and directed His divine discourse at them, providing answers to questions they had in the deepest recesses of their minds, questions they had never articulated before. It was one of those rare moments when one could see these powerful men and women completely off-guard and behaving like children in the presence of the Lord.
Sarva Dharma Sammelan, Noida
In the northern plain of Noida, alumni undertook key responsibilities in organizing health camps and in conducting a “Sarva Dharma Sammelan,” a unique conference on the unity of religions. Learned and eminent speakers from different faiths shared their wisdom with the audience and underscored the fact that each religion essentially stands on the common pillars of love and unity. The Sammelan focused on Christianity, Sikhism and Islam, showing each religion as a pathway to one God.
National Youth Conference
The first-ever National Youth Conference (NYC) in USA was blessed by Swami to be conducted from May 29-31 in Chicago, Illinois. More than 400 youth came together for this grand and historic event. Alumni played a big role in organizing the conference, and twenty- five of them attended the event in person. The wheels had been set in motion almost six months earlier and meticulous planning bore fruition in the form of flawless execution, making it a memorable experience for one and all. Alumni helped in organizing the workshops, laying out the plan for the entire proceedings and ensuring the smooth flow of various events. The organizing team worked with clockwork precision and efficiency to help various young adults who were arriving both by air and road. The highlight of the first day was the introductory session by Prof. Anil Kumar, who engaged the attendees and answered with aplomb the various questions posed by them.
The next morning, Sri Shitu Chudasama, the international youth coordinator, delivered the opening address. Dr. Michael Goldstein, the president of the International Sai Seva Organizations also sent his words of advice and wishes in a letter for the delegates. Then, the first guest speaker, an alumnus from the United Kingdom, addressed the morning plenary session and highlighted the theme of the conference – “We are One for SAI”. Youth facilitated several workshops focused on specific areas of Swami’s teachings, in subjects including leadership development, developing “Self” confidence, and answering the question “Who Am I?” the last of which was facilitated by two alumni of Swami’s school. These active and well-organized workshops were received quite well by the participants. Prof. Anil Kumar then delivered an energy-packed speech urging youth to take their roles in society and serve humanity. The evening session was surcharged with verve and vigour with an excellent cultural program of varied styles depicting the various aspects of the American culture and heritage, with spiritual undertones.
On the second day, a spirited group engaged itself in Nagar Sankeerthan announcing the arrival of the morning at the break of dawn. Everybody assembled in the prayer hall for the second day’s main program. An alumnus from the Anantapur campus was the plenary speaker of the day. Her wonderful talk was followed by an inspiring symposium wherein youth from various parts of the country showcased the most innovative and ground-breaking service projects being undertaken in the United States, including projects involving medical service, robotics and bone marrow donation.
On the final day, alumni led an interactive session called “The Way Forward”, where young adults engaged in brainstorming and interesting discussions on further developing existing service projects and implementing new projects across the country. The Way Forward Initiative, now the main youth initiative in USA, is led by an alumnus. All in all, the retreat was a memorable and rejuvenating experience. Participants left filled with determination to engage themselves in seva and lead increasingly spiritual lives.
Alumni Retreat – North America
The first-ever Sai Alumni Meet of North America (titled ‘Re-Connect’) took place on October 3–4, 2009 in Chicago. Forty-nine alumni from across the United States and Canada and ranging from batches as early as 1978 to the latest in 2008 attended the meet.
Just as alumni finished watching a video of Bhagawan in the introductory session, they received news from Prashanti Nilayam that Bhagawan had blessed the invitation card for the meet a few hours ago during evening darshan. The timing of the blessing was stunning, and left no one in doubt that it was Bhagawan’s unique way of letting His presence and blessings be felt! Next, as part of a reflective session titled “Reconnecting with the Source”, alumni watched a video of Bhagawan’s Q&A session with the students on Dec. 31, 2008. The group then reflected on selected quotes of Bhagawan and engaged in an active group discussion centered on three fundamental questions:
–What are Swami’s expectations of alumni?
–What can we do to come closer to that ideal?
–Are we waiting for His permission, or is He waiting for us to act?
The proceedings touched upon several themes over the course of two days:
– “Giving back to the Institute” focused on identifying and building ways in which the North America alumni could support their alma mater in an organized manner.
–Planning for the 2010 Alumni Meet in Prasanthi Nilayam. A number of creative ideas for the cultural program before Bhagawan were shared and discussed. “Supporting the Sai Organization”: This session explored more ways in which alumni could serve in the Sai organization. Participants who have been office bearers in the Sai organization shared their experiences.
“Serving the Community” centered on various projects undertaken by alumni across the globe, including the Zambia Sai School project and the Easwaramma High School project. This was followed by a brainstorming session that explored service projects the group could undertake.
Finally, participants shared beautiful stories of personal interaction with Bhagawan, of memorable words of divine wisdom and gestures of divine love.
Alumni also performed a soul stirring music program that was attended by the local Chicago Sai community. All participants wholeheartedly agreed to make this meet an annual feature. The next alumni meet is set to be held in Boston in 2010.
Special Projects
iDo – Individual Social Responsibility at D&B TransUnion
Alumni have played a key role in the genesis of iDo, an individual social responsibility program to practice integration of human values in business and personal lives. iDo is an initiative that has been instituted under the auspices of D&B TransUnion ADSL, a global information products and consulting organization based in Chennai. The initiative seeks to institutionalize social service activities in a way that encourages each associate of the organization to contribute to chosen social causes. The US Ambassador to India, Mr. Timothy Roemer, was the chief guest at a function celebrating the second anniversary of the initiative – culminating two years of successful growth. The appointed program manager of this initiative is an alumnus.
iDo launched some important initiatives during this period driven by the inspiration provided by Bhagawan:
Educare: A prime objective of this effort was to make a difference in the lives of underprivileged children who have a desire to complete their education. Asa first step, housekeeping staff and the security guards at D&B were encouraged to take up studies and educate themselves and their children. iDo also started a computer literacy program for those showing keen enthusiasm to learn these skills.
“iDo” has granted scholarships to about thirty children and this number is set to increase this year:
- Total spending focused on elementary school education (52%), college (30%) and high school education (18%) in that order
- In all, 57% of the spending focused on educating the girl child
- 45% of the funds were spent for education assistance of students in the age group 15-20 years; 17% towards children in the age group 10-15 years and remaining 38% spent for children aged less than 10 years
iDo has initiated tuitions for such children every weekend in the office premises, and regularly monitors the progress of scholarship awardees.
Alumni and associates have also met with the heads of more than half a dozen financially under privileged schools and will soon offer them support in the form of tutoring, arranging for computer literacy programs and providing English communication skills.
Under the Medicare Program, iDo has conducted two blood donation camps till date that saw huge participation from employees. During the camp in June, a total of 160 units of blood were donated for use in transfusion to children suffering from Thalassemia.
Greening the Environment: iDo has led an organizational initiative to do away with printing paper unless essential. All the paper used for printing is also recycled and reused. Other initiatives included a screening of the movie “An Inconvenient Truth” by Al Gore, and a slogan competition on environmental issues. The best entries from the latter were printed for use as bumper stickers to spread awareness on these causes. iDo also organized a tree plantation activity at a nearby school and plans to expand this program to reduce the carbon footprint as much as possible.
As a part of our other Sociocare initiatives, iDo has reached out in various ways to support children that are physically handicapped, orphaned, blind, HIV patients, as well as mentally retarded women, and women carrying HIV.
techSAI, an acronym for Technology for Social Applications and Innovation, is a key initiative launched during this period. iDo members came across many under-funded schools and ‘not-for- profit’ organizations that were struggling with outdated software tools and applications. techSAI aims to serve their need. This initiative is one of its kind, as not many software organizations encourage the idea of employees voluntarily spending time in developing software applications for social causes, free of cost. iDo has developed seven software applications in the last one year. These efforts would be valued at over US$50,000
Sharing and caring – the musical way (Alumni Band seva)
‘Life is a song, sing it.’ For the alumni band, events have shaped out in a fashion that have helped them savour the rewards of living out this famous saying of Bhagawan. The alumni band’s debut performance took place on the morning of Jan 1, 2007, in Bhagawan’s divine presence. It took a year and a half more, however, to commence sharing the joy of performing for society at large, especially for a noble cause.
On the evening of June 9, 2008, the band played tunes to the residents of Karunashraya, a home for terminally ill cancer patients in Bangalore. It was a heart-opener for all involved. The caretakers, nurses and patients all shone with visible love and joy after the performance. Alumni members learned that the patients, many of their bodies wasted by cancer, still had that one portion of their being beyond the reach of any disease. It was reflected in the glitter in their eyes as they acknowledged a favourite tune; in the tap of their feet and fragile fingers which echoed timeless memories into their minds.
Since then, the alumni band’s performances have grown in two cities, Bangalore and Chennai. Alumni from cities as far as Hyderabad, Coimbatore and Mumbai have participated in these performances. However, individual performances are also done on a purely voluntary basis.
In these performances, the objectives are two- fold – firstly, to leverage musical abilities and make a positive difference to people’s lives, and secondly, to remain in touch with the instruments and music. In doing so, the band members have received much more than they could ever give and learned that music truly is a universal language of the heart.
Lessons of Love
In Chennai, while performing in an orphanage, band members had second thoughts about performing peppy Hindi number before Tamil- speaking kids. But once the song was on, language took the backseat and the kids surprised them with delightful whoops of glee.
Band members also learned that there is no dearth of talent or ability. In the same orphanage was a child whose height barely matched the height of the audio speakers arranged for the performance. But the little boy seemed a natural as he rendered a breezy song in a manner that would have drawn the envy of any professional singer. Yet another time, the band was performing at a village school. While playing a ‘sophisticated’ composition of the Greek composer Yanni, band members were surprised to notice village kids and old people alike keeping perfect time to an unusual beat structure and appreciating the nuances of western classical music!
The band has performed in orphanages and welfare centers for handicapped, in schools for the blind and the so-termed downtrodden. Everywhere they have performed, they are humbled by the spirit of service and sacrifice of the audience. All of this is due to the silent assistance provided from many quarters, including members of the alumni music and Bhajan group. Alumni all over help the band with logistics and transport. Family members of the alumni band help with photography and the serving of snacks and goodies to the audience wherever the band perform. The children of alumni band members also complement their performances with their own contributions like a magic show, for example. Complete strangers rent out instruments at very nominal rates, thus enabling the alumni band to engage in service that is truly making a difference in people’s lives. As the band members hold their instruments and play, they realize that they themselves are nothing but instruments in His hands. And in His hands, all of our lives become music whose leitmotif is nothing but Pure Love.
