Dear Reader,

Prashanthi Nilayam in the last month was witness to something it has never seen since it was christened and formally inaugurated by Bhagawan more than five decades ago in 1950. What a glorious Birthday it was! Bhagawan, in the sparkling white robe in the morning and the stunning yellow robe in the afternoon was irresistibly resplendent! In our Prashanthi Diary, you will find beautiful descriptions of the celebrations.

In the Divine Discourse on His 80th Year, Bhagawan reaffirmed His divinity in no uncertain terms and once again reiterated the great importance of Truth and Love in modern times. It was literally a sea of humanity in the Hill View Stadium on that momentous morning. Notwithstanding the discomforts and inconveniences, a few lakhs were in this ‘Vatican of the East’ and ‘Mecca for Sai Devotees’ to pay their homage and gratitude to the One who has touched them, transformed them and given a whole new meaning to their lives. Directly or indirectly, each one is a recipient of His boundless compassion and grace. And why not? For eight decades the only activity Swami has engaged Himself in is – Selfless Love.

After the wonderful University and the magnificent Hospitals, Swami proffered life-giving water to more than 1000 villages in Andhra Pradesh and subsequently to the whole city of Chennai – all for no charges whatsoever. And now there is yet another story of Sai’s inscrutable compassion – The Sri Sathya Sai Godavari Drinking Water Project. Swami is providing drinking water to half a million people in the interior uplands areas of East Godavari and West Godavari districts in Andhra Pradesh and hardly anyone knows about it!

Not many even inside the Ashram in Prashanthi Nilayam are aware of the tremendous work that is going on silently in these two Godavari districts so that the tribals and rural folk, some living in the forests and some spread over 500 villages, get safe water to drink every single day! This is precisely the reason why we have chosen the Godavari story for our cover story this time. You will get a good glimpse of what has been done and what is being done for these tribal populace in interior Andhra Pradesh.

As a fitting compliment to this cover story, there is a very revealing and elucidative article called “God, Man And Water”. In this you may learn how proper understanding of water resources and their usage is so important in present times for the world’s wellbeing, and what are Swami’s views on this great life-giving and life-sustaining element on earth.

After the Birthday, the next big event in the Divine Presence is joyful Christmas. Thousands flock to Prashanthi Nilayam to be with their “Father”, their Divine shepherd, the Embodiment of Christ Consciousness. For millions, Baba is the “Father who has come again” as promised by Jesus to redeem mankind and the similarity between Sai and Jesus is obvious – be it the message, the manifold miracles or the explicable magnificence and munificence. Every Christian Sai devotee knows it and has experienced it. Just to remind and reiterate ourselves of this magnificent phenomenon during this holy month of Christmas, we have for you three beautiful articles in the feature articles section. Do not miss them.

A few weeks ago, the Minister for Works, Government of Fiji visited the Sathya Sai School in Fiji and paid glowing tributes to the quality of the education imparted there. He hailed the school for its work on human values and many national dailies in Fiji carried stories about it. You will find this interesting item in our Sai World News section.

Did you know that Sai Centres in Taiwan conduct blood donation camps, visit mentally challenged children and take care of elderly citizens? In New Zealand, Sai devotees visit two prisons and provide physical and mental comfort to the inmates. Their visit left some inmates in tears with demands of assurances from them that they would be back. Our Sai Seva section will surely move your heart with the stories of selfless service going on in different corners of the world.

Towards the end of His beautiful 80th Birthday discourse, Swami said, “Let your life be filled with love. Do not confine your love to your family and friends. Share it with one and all. Whomsoever you come across, consider everyone as the embodiment of divinity. Share your love with your fellow human being and become the recipient of his love.”

Love and Service – this has been the principal message be it Jesus, Sai, Krishna or Allah. Let’s Trust His words and more importantly, Live His words. Just like the Sun which burns itself away everyday to give life and happiness to others, if not a star, let us be at least small candles bringing light, love and warmth to the fellow brothers and sisters around us. When that happens all around the world, the Golden Age would have dawned.

Let everybody in all the worlds be happy!

Loving Regards,

In Sai Service
Heart2Heart Team