Baba’s Concern of Water!

By: Aravind Alwar, Doylestown Center

You all may be familiar with the name “Sathya Sai Baba”. Well, who is he? How is he important to our universe and how did the world change? Was it his generous nature that changed our world?You are soon about to find the mystery!

We all know that Sathya Sai Baba was an incarnation of the previously known, Shiridi Sai Baba! He was very different from the others, even as so enduring a torture from a cruel witch doctor!He would not ask for anything and he’d be content with whatever he had! However ,in his later life, an aspect of the human body had given him concern!

In the 1990’s, villagers situated in India, Anantapur District had hardships faced by the lack of Drinking Water, and couldn’t afford good drinking water! Luckily, in 1994, Sathya Sai Baba came to the spot. He gave them a simple path to the solution of getting good drinking water through the SSSCT. He told them to “Do all that you can to provide safe drinking water throughout the year, to as many people as many villages as possible.

The project was to bring water to the villages, using 4 schemes. The people used Direct Pumping,Infiltration Well Schemes,Summer Storage Tank Scheme, and Borewell Schemes. In the first method, water would be drawn from a dam, and then with the help of pipelines, sent to the villages.It started in Penna Ahobilam Balancing Reservoir, then went to 93 villages in Kalyandurg, Atmakur, and Udripikonda. The next method used riverbeds in the underground. The next method would use the idea of surface water drying up. Water would be sent from the Tungabhadra Canal when rainy, and sent to summer storage tanks.This would cover 97 villages. Borewell Schemes would cover about 300 villages, while additionally requiring underground drilling of borewells. Before Bhagawan’s 69th(or 70th) birthday, on 18 November 1995, the first phase was inaugurated by Shri PV Narasimha Rao.

From 18 months of hard work, a total of 1.25 million people benefited from the project. 43 sumps with capacities from 1 lakh to 25 lakh liters had been constructed. A total of 125 ground reservoirs had been set up(20,000-80,000 Liters).

About 2 years later, in 1997, the Government of Andhra Pradesh received the project.

Because of the hard work and tremendous effect that the water project had on many people, the project received a lot of acclaim from the Government of Andhra Pradesh. On Bhagawan’s “74th” Birthday, the Departments of Posts and the Government of India released a postage stamp in recognition of this service.

Click to see answers!

Arjun Sood, Doylestown Center

Akshaya Shankar, East Brunswick Center

Swami’s Birthday Trivia

By Aravind Alwar, Doylestown Center

1.What is Sathya Sai Baba’s full name?

2.When was Bhagavan Baba born(day-bonus),and where was he born?

3.What was the name of his father?

4.What did the other teacher discuss with Bhagavan, in regards to his previous teacher making him stand on a chair?

5.How did Baba’s overall personality/actions change?

6.What Service did Bhagavan Baba offer to participate in, with his Phys Ed Class?

7.How does Bhagavan Baba create food?

8.What was the name of his first bhajan he sang?

9.How often does Bhagavan Sathya Sai eat per day?

10.When did Bhagavan Sai Baba created the SSIO?

11.What type of incarnation did Sai Baba announce that he would be born as? What age did he expect to live till?

12.Bhagavan’s Mandirs have become well known and famous for its dedication to religion. What was the name of the Mandir he established on January 19,1981?

13.Circa March,1995,a drought in Rayalaseema occurred?How did Bhagavan Baba modify and “resolve” the situation?

14.What was the cause of his hip fracture, circa 2003?

15.When did Bhagavan Sai Baba vanish in his physical form(day-bonus)?How can he assist people with anything they need(post-vanish)?

Offering of Love

By: Vedika Deshpande, Doylestown Center

Sairam, my name is Vedika Deshpande from Doylestown Sai Center. As part of an SSE activity, we had to monitor and track how we spend our time on a daily basis. In addition to figuring out how much time we waste, our other goal was to find out if we as an individual spend time on spiritual activities aside from the time we spend during SSE. After discussing the monitored time every Saturday at SSE, I personally thought about the ways I could change the distribution of my time among different activities. In the end, I think that it paid off.

Today I am going to be reflecting on my spiritual time. I first started becoming spiritually involved with Swami when I was just a little kid. So, some of the practices such as bhajans are not new to me. My time with Swami includes practicing harmonium, singing bhajans, and listening to bhajans. This past summer I also completed the reading of Tapovanam, the life story of Swami. The process of documenting my time, allowed me to reflect upon the number of minutes I spent on spiritual activities in relation to the time that I spent on other activities. Later on during this exercise, I consciously made an effort to increase my spiritual time as much as I could. With increased time I certainly could feel that my singing and my harmonium playing skills improved significantly. Also, reading Tapovanam was an eye-opener as I could learn more about Swami and his life. If nothing else, whenever someone talks about an incident from the book, Tapovanam, I am pretty sure that I will be able to relate to it. I know that I can do more, but it is still a work in progress and hopefully, with Swami’s grace it will happen.

Artwork by: Valli Swaminathan, Fairfax Center

Word Search by: Aman Kanuri, Richmond Center

Click on the puzzle to complete!

thewordsearch.com/puzzle/1576627/

Understanding "Mother Sai"

By: Ajay Donthula, Cherry Hill Center

Swami has ensured my safety, well-being, and life goals as long as I can remember. Everytime that I want to fulfill one of these goals, Swami is always there, ready to support me and give me the best of luck to succeed. In the past, I barely understood why devotees called Swami, Mother Sai, but after experiencing the love that Swami’s out-stretching hands provide on a daily basis, I understand the name clearly. Swami is a clear representation of a mother; Swami carries the same characteristics of a mother and acts as a mother would to a child. Yet, Swami can not be related to any regular mother because Swami is Mother to all children of the Universe; he is omnipresent and contains a cosmic consciousness that can sense each and everything living or non-living thing in the universe. The cosmic consciousness stated above does not only apply to Swami’s Mother perception, it can also be applied to each and every prayer a devotee releases. Whether it being a devotee of Jesus, Buddha, or Allah, Swami ensures purity. Although at some points Swami does not grant a wish, I have understood that everything happens for a certain reason. The philosophy of praying revolves around receiving something in return for the prayers, however, Swami must teach that your prayers must consist of purity to be fulfilled. To reiterate, helping others must be the main priority while praying, but in particular circumstances, Swami encourages self betterment.

My Small Story of Swami

By: Branavan Baskaran, Richmond Center

On the first weekend of October, My dad and I went on a Kayaking trip with my scout troop. During the trip, our boat hit a rock and we fell in the water. And it was in the rapids(mini rapids) I was very scared but I did what I always do and I prayed to Swami. It gave me the confidence I needed to get out of the situation safely. And the Scoutmaster and other scouts were very helpful in getting us out of the river. It taught me a very important lesson being if we find ourselves in a bad situation, all we have to do is trust in Swami that he will help us.

My Gift to Swami

By: Arya Shastri, Edison Center

Swami always said “Help ever, Hurt never”. Swami strongly believed to help those in need and be kind to everyone, be reasonable and understanding. He came in his physical body to make us better and kinder people overall. I believe the best gift I can give Swami, is being a better person and being a better version of myself.

Some ways to be a better person is not complicated and can be done without difficulties. Helping your parents, being kind, and listening to your elders. Some are not easy to do. When Swami talked about Ego he said, “For a person, so small as to be invisible, so temporary is the expanse of the universe, to live with ego is shameful.” Swami believes ego can destroy human beings. In swami’s September 4th, 1998 discourse, he talks about ego. “Emperor Bali undertook all sacred activities, but he had in him two bad qualities, ego and possessiveness (ahankaram and abhimanam).... As long as man does not give up this moha (attachments), he will not get moksha (liberation).” By giving up our ego, we can show our love and affection for Swami, Swami doesn't want anything for himself. His very presence is for us, and he does not believe in mortal possessions. He only cares about our devotion and love towards him. By removing ego, and foolhardy desires we can show our love for Swami.

Of course this is no easy task. I am no perfect boy, I can never be perfect, but by working towards the goal of being perfect, I can achieve the best version of myself. By simply being calmer, and doing things without thinking “Oh why can’t he/she do this work? Why me?” will slowly improve me.

So, by following Swami’s teachings, and principles, I can give Swami the best birthday present I believe I can give.

God's Love

By: Soham Rattan, Cherry Hill Center

During the summer of 2020, I had a test I had to take to pass my math course. I had 3 days left until my exam took place. I studied very hard so I would do well. I felt very stressed out because if I wasn’t able to do well, I would have to take the course again. But I applied what I learned from SSE and did yoga every morning and did the gayatri mantra every morning and night. I felt relaxed until the day of the test. That day I had the butterflies and felt very nervous, but I kept saying the gayatri mantra and studied all morning hoping I would do well. Then it came time to take the test. It was around 5:30 pm and the proctor said I could start my exam. I was fully concentrated on completing and checking my answers to make sure they were right. I felt very confident in my answers so I was ready to submit and see my score. I pressed on the submit button. My heart skipped a beat. I closed my eyes, and peaked at my score on the computer screen, and thanks to swami, I got a good score. I felt a burst of joy pass through my body as I stared at the score. This little incident of mine proves that prayer and hard work of a person can help them achieve anything.

My Gift to Swami

By: Samyukta Iyer, Richmond Center

My gift to Swami for his 96th birthday is me, a good devote being successful and happy in life. Swami never expects us to get Him anything, he just wants us to do well in life and be prosperous. You can never get Him anything. Nothing will be enough! Our gift to Swami must be memorable, something for Him to remember us by. And I, for His birthday, intend to make him happy and to make Him smile. My gift for Swami is for me to get good grades, wake up early in the morning by myself, sing bhajans, and help my family whenever they want. I will make sure to accomplish each of those and maybe more this year. I will not give up and will be determined to make Swami happy. Then, on November 23th I will write a letter on what I will follow throughout the year, and make a promise to keep up my work and to seek His blessing to do so. By next year, if I accomplish all of this, I know that Swami will be satisfied, and will shower me with blessing so that I can be fortunate in life. Knowing that this day will occur, I wish You a very happy birthday! Sairam and thank you…

Aarthi Dhruvas, Richmond Center

Vinuta Ramakrishnan, East Brunswick Sai Center

Showing Love to Nature

By: Vinuta Ramakrishnan, East Brunswick Sai Center

Sai Maa has showered us with Her grace

Scenic views, unique animals, what a great place!

Everything makes a difference, even the smallest birds

But what really preserves the beauty is our actions and words.

As the population of the beautiful trees are rapidly decreasing,

Problems arise, and bad thoughts are slowly releasing.

Though many people don’t show their love

We always know that Swami is above.

We can make a change, we can impact the Mother Earth

Make it more green, give it a new birth

Even the smallest changes, like planting a tree

Will slowly change the environment, and give us inner happiness and glee

So let’s make this change, let’s do it now

Let’s take this meaningful vow

We will help the Earth, as as a team

To achieve our biggest dream.

The BIGGEST gift we can all give to Swami together

Is to make the world a better place, more fresher

Love All Serve All

Samastha Lokah Sukhino Bhavantu

Even the smallest act of service, the simplest act of kindness, will make a difference.

Eeshawnee Kotaru, South Bethesda Sai Center

Letter to Swami

By: Saipriya Buddhavarapu, Fairfax Sai Center

Dear Swami,

As I’m sure you know, my name is Saipriya, and I am a g3 student of FXSC. For your birthday, I wanted to write you a letter and share how your education, your SSE curriculum, has impacted me as a person- particularly exploring how I have learned to express more love through thought, word, and deed. I have seen a major difference within myself over the past few months in particular, largely thanks to my SSE education and my parents.

Whenever I arrive at the center on Sundays, whether it be online or in-person, the energetic and loving atmosphere there always inspires me and serves as a reminder of what I should always aspire to be. At home, my parents successfully manage to create an environment where they can correct me in such a way that does not affect my self-esteem.

In the recent past, I have learned that there are far more ways of showing love than simply saying “I love you.” Personally, I have always been the kind of person to be caught up in my own world, to not always be aware, alert, and in the present. I sometimes lose touch of reality in my thinking and daydreams, which is only detrimental to the people around me. However, I think I have improved lately in the sense that I try my best to not only be there, but to be present in more than just my physical body. This allows me to open my mind to the needs of others, as I am focusing on facets beyond myself.

This enables me to show more love through action- for example, if I am eating lunch with my family and somebody starts coughing, I am expressing concern and love by immediately bringing them a glass of water. A few years ago, I would probably have not been as proactive.

I also think that with my focus on the present, my EQ, or emotional quotient, has increased. I have become more empathetic, and it has become far easier for me to put myself in the shoes of other people. This newfound empathy has helped me care and account for the needs of other people, and to always try and show love, rather than subconsciously reverting to the safe shelter in myself.

Even through my childhood, I think I was always a very detached person. I was never very emotional, nor was I social. This led to me not caring as much about the emotions of people beyond my family- including my friends.

But now, I have trained myself to partake in small acts of kindness, whether it be complimenting a classmate on their test score, or congratulating an opponent in a tennis match. In fact, something my dad had said a while ago has stuck with me- “Everything we say and do should be to empower other people, not to bring them down.” I try to internalize this quote and make an effort to always make people happy.

Swami, I hope you are happy to hear all this. Happy 95th birthday!

Lots of love,

Saipriya

Sathya Rajeswaran, East Brunswick Sai Center

Ganesh, Manhattan Center

Shivansh Sharma, East Brunswick Center

Defining Pathways of Love

by: Rutajit Shetty, South Bethesda Center

During discourses Swami always addresses us by, “Premaswarupalara,” this translates to embodiments of love. This suggests that the pathway of love is to oneself or God, as Swami says, “Man’s distance from divinity is the same as his distance from himself.” This infers, that the path of love is the pathway to moksha. One may not restrict this path to bhajans, veda chanting, seva and other center activities. Instead, one should dedicate every single action they do to Swami, whether it be doing your homework, reading a book, or even doing the dishes. Whatever one does, should be considered as their sadhana, this is the true path of love.

In the months following to Na Kasturi’s retirement, he would go visit Swami every weekend for darshan. As the weeks passed by his spirits were rising and he knew he would spend the rest of his life with Swami, in Prashanti Nilayam. During one of his visits, he told Swami that he just had a few more months till retirement and could commit himself to Swami’s work from then on. Swami told Kasturi that all duties one performs should be treated as God’s work and should be done with selfless love. Swami says that one should not separate their worldly life and spiritual life, rather one should consider all aspects of life as spiritual and should perform all duties with utmost devotion.

Amara M., Manhattan Center

Hiranmayi B., Fairfax Center

Word Search Puzzles!

worksheet.pdf

Keshav Sabapathi, Doylestown Center

Click here for the answer key!

Shivansh Sharma - 8th Grade - EB-NJ Sai Center - Pathways of Love word search.docx

Shivansh Sharma, East Brunswick Center

Saipreeti Srinivasan, Pittsburgh Center

Saipreeti Srinivasan, Pittsburg Center

Pathways of Love

by: Anirudh Ramakrishnan, East Brunswick Center

On the auspicious day of Swami’s 95th Birthday, there are many things that anyone can do to spread love. Due to COVID-19 and the increase of coronavirus cases day by day, one simple thing that each and every one of us can do is to practice social distancing, wear a mask, and other safety precautions. This is a simple action, but its benefits are plenty. If everyone takes simple safety measures like wearing a mask, washing their hands, and more, the virus will be harder to contract. However, even if one person doesn’t follow these simple rules, they are putting themselves and everyone else with them at risk of contracting coronavirus. By keeping yourself and others safe from contracting the virus, you are showing love by expressing how you value your life and their lives, and how you want to make sure that they are okay. Another thing that people can do is to say thanks. The month of November is here and Thanksgiving is approaching, so try to say thank you to at least one person. A simple “thank you” can really change someone’s day and make them feel appreciated. There are many opportunities for people to say thank you, and everyone should try their best to be aware of all the help that they receive and thank the people who are helping them. For example, if you order food or groceries, be sure to thank the delivery workers, because they are working hard to get the stuff that you need to your house. A quick “thank you” would really mean a lot to them, because it shows that people appreciate the hard work that they put in everyday and their value. As you can see, love can be shown to anyone in any way possible, so always make sure to show love to everybody that you meet!

Gratitude

by: Sritej Padmanabhan, Pittsburgh Center

The world around lies with many gifts

Yet people don’t appreciate with even a shift

Many support others in tough times

But some don’t thank as if they are being paid a dime

Those who take time to help and make your day

Are the ones whom you can give words in a bouquet

Appreciation is the kindness shown by one

That goes deep into another’s heart

Few words of thank you

Can stop someone from feeling so blue

Appreciation inspires one to keep helping

Uplifting those in depressed feeling

Love and gratitude are spread

When our Beloved Swami’s words are read

Few words of gratitude go a long way

To the one we must thank on his day!

Sai Baba, We thank you and love you - Happy Birthday!

Anisha Kuppili, Cherry Hill Center

Click here for the answer key!

My Gift to Swami: A Pure Heart

by: Atharv Tripathi, Loudoun Center

Without a gift to the giver of all gifts, how can we stay happy

God’s happiness is our happiness

When God is happy, everything goes right

If we are good, God is happy

If we follow His teachings, God is happy

If we love all serve all, God is happy

If we help ever hurt never, God is happy

What better gift than to make God happy

God does not need money

God does not need a house

God does not need food

God only wants our pure heart

A pure heart is truth

A pure heart is right action

A pure heart is peace

A pure heart has the love for God

With the gift of a pure heart, Swami will be happy

It is our only duty to make Swami happy

Other things don’t matter

If I give this gift, I will be saved

If we give this gift everyday, we will be saved

If we all give this gift everyday, the world will be saved

My gift to Swami is a pure heart

My gift to Swami is to make Swami happy

May Swami accept my gift to Swami

May Swami guide me to gift Swami

May Swami give me the power to gift Swami

Gifts to God

by: Shivansh Sharma, East Brunswick

Shivansh Sharma - 8th Grade - EB-NJ Sai Center - Gifts to God Poem.docx

Shivansh Sharma - 8th Grade - EB-NJ Sai Center - Gifts to God Article.docx

Keerthana Gopinath, Bridgewater Center

Sathyasai center of Hampton Roads.mp4

Hampton Roads Center

Gratitude Letters from the South Bethesda Sai Center

Nithya Chilukuri, South Bethesda Center

Aabha Tarun, South Bethesda Center

Keerthna Rawat.pdf

Keerthna Rawat, South Bethesda Center

Shreya Hamal.pdf

Shreya Hamal, South Bethesda Center

Eeshwanee Kotaru, South Bethesda Center

3B1 Harshith's Gratitude Letter.docx

Harshith Miyyapuram, South Bethesda Center

3B2 Rutajit Shetty Gratitude Letter .docx

Rutajit Shetty, South Bethesda Center

3B3 Soham Jinsi Gratitude Letter.docx

Soham Jinsi, South Bethesda Center

3B4 Aron - Gratitude Letter -.docx

Aron Paudel, South Bethesda Center

3B5 Jai Ahuja Gratitude Letter -.docx

Jai Ahuja, South Bethesda Center

3B6 Arun Vaidyanathan Gratitude Letter .docx

Arun Vaidyanathan, South Bethesda Center

3B7 Sachet Korada Gratitude Letter - .docx

Sachet Korada, South Bethesda Center

3B9 Shray Bhandari Gratitude Letter.docx

Shray Bhandari, South Bethesda Center

3B10 Mikey Gratitude Letter .docx

Mike Figliozzi, South Bethesda Center

Abhishek, Flushing Center

Abhishek- Group 3.mov

Abhishek-Group 3

Archuthan Nagatheepan - Group 2

Archuthan Nagatheepan, Flushing Center

Keertana

Keerthana, Flushing Center

Akshatha - Group 3

Akshatha, Flushing Center

Priya&Annikalove.mov

Priya and Annikalove, Flushing Center

Ritika- Group 3

Baba’s Concern of Water!

By: Aravind Alwar, Doylestown Center

Arjun Sood, Doylestown Center

Akshaya Shankar, East Brunswick Center

Swami’s Birthday Trivia

By Aravind Alwar, Doylestown Center

Offering of Love

By: Vedika Deshpande, Doylestown Center

Artwork by: Valli Swaminathan, Fairfax Center

Word Search by: Aman Kanuri, Richmond Center

Understanding "Mother Sai"

By: Ajay Donthula, Cherry Hill Center

My Small Story of Swami

By: Branavan Baskaran, Richmond Center

My Gift to Swami

By: Arya Shastri, Edison Center

God's Love

By: Soham Rattan, Cherry Hill Center

My Gift to Swami

By: Samyukta Iyer, Richmond Center

Aarthi Dhruvas, Richmond Center

Vinuta Ramakrishnan, East Brunswick Sai Center

Showing Love to Nature

By: Vinuta Ramakrishnan, East Brunswick Sai Center

Eeshawnee Kotaru, South Bethesda Sai Center

Letter to Swami

By: Saipriya Buddhavarapu, Fairfax Sai Center

Sathya Rajeswaran, East Brunswick Sai Center

Ganesh, Manhattan Center

Shivansh Sharma, East Brunswick Center

Shivansh Sharma, East Brunswick Center

Defining Pathways of Love

by: Rutajit Shetty, South Bethesda Center

Amara M., Manhattan Center

Hiranmayi B., Fairfax Center

Word Search Puzzles!

Keshav Sabapathi, Doylestown Center

Shivansh Sharma, East Brunswick Center

Saipreeti Srinivasan, Pittsburgh Center

Saipreeti Srinivasan, Pittsburg Center

Pathways of Love

by: Anirudh Ramakrishnan, East Brunswick Center

Gratitude

by: Sritej Padmanabhan, Pittsburgh Center

Anisha Kuppili, Cherry Hill Center

My Gift to Swami: A Pure Heart

by: Atharv Tripathi, Loudoun Center

Gifts to God

by: Shivansh Sharma, East Brunswick

Keerthana Gopinath, Bridgewater Center

Hampton Roads Center

Gratitude Letters from the South Bethesda Sai Center

Nithya Chilukuri, South Bethesda Center

Aabha Tarun, South Bethesda Center

Keerthna Rawat, South Bethesda Center

Shreya Hamal, South Bethesda Center

Eeshwanee Kotaru, South Bethesda Center

Harshith Miyyapuram, South Bethesda Center

Rutajit Shetty, South Bethesda Center

Soham Jinsi, South Bethesda Center

Aron Paudel, South Bethesda Center

Jai Ahuja, South Bethesda Center

Arun Vaidyanathan, South Bethesda Center

Sachet Korada, South Bethesda Center

Shray Bhandari, South Bethesda Center

Mike Figliozzi, South Bethesda Center

Abhishek, Flushing Center

Archuthan Nagatheepan, Flushing Center

Keerthana, Flushing Center

Akshatha, Flushing Center

Priya and Annikalove, Flushing Center

Ritika, Flushing Center