Dear Reader,
At the outset, we wish you a Happy, Holy and Prosperous New Year. Time flies, doesn’t it? It seemed as if 2004 had just started and here it is over, before we realised it. The question to be asked, as Baba puts it, is: "Was the year spent in a worthy manner? Have we taken at least a few steps more in our journey towards God?" This, of course, is something that each individual has to analyse for himself. Let us use these man made calendars as milestones to evaluate our spiritual progress.

January is a special month in the calendar at Prashanti Nilayam. The New Year brings new vigour to Swami's students. They busy themselves preparing for the Annual Sports and Cultural Meet of the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning to be held on the 11th of January. Last year in January, we carried an article on the Sports Meet. This time the Cover Feature is on a very crucial, but probably inconspicuous, aspect of the Sports Meet: The Brass Band.

The Brass Band is an institution of Swami’s students that has played an important role in all the major festivals at Prashanti Nilayam for the past 20 years. One cannot miss the Band, especially during functions like the Convocation and Christmas. It has received much praise and applause from the audience over the years. But behind the growth of the Band to this stature lies Swami's nurturing love and attention. The Cover Story brings you two articles on Baba’s Brass Band.

The first one is by a student who has been in the Band from the inception in 1985, till 1991. The second article is by a student, who has been the Bandleader in the later years, that is in the late 1990s. This is to give you an idea of how Swami has personally built up the Band to this level of proficiency and continues to be its sole inspiration.

This Issue also carries another important article -on the Chennai Water Project. This is a sequel to the story we carried in Vol 2 Issue 3, on how Swami rebuilt a canal to bring water to the city of Chennai. On November 23rd of this year, water flowed through this canal and finally quenched the thirst of Chennai people. Yet another milestone achieved in the Lord’s mission! Catch the story ‘Sai Ganga Reaches Chennai’ in the section Feature Articles.

The New Year also brings a new look to this magazine of yours.The much appreciated 'Getting Spiritually Better' series is concluded and its place is taken by a new serial called 'Shirdi Sai Parthi Sai'. Let us know how you like it. Once again, we wish you a Holy and Happy New Year.

Sairam,
SGH Team.