Dear Reader,
“If Christ had not been raised from the dead, our preaching is useless and so is your faith…” (1 Corinthians 15:15, 17, 20). This is what St. Paul, the diehard critic of Jesus who turned into an indefatigable Apostle of Christianity, wrote in a letter to the early Christian community a few years after Jesus had returned to His heavenly abode. Truly, the Resurrection of Jesus is the greatest turning point in history (and in His Divine Story) which shocked the followers of Jesus out of their stubborn slumber and disbanded the doubts and suspicions about Him once and for all. It is the single most mind-shattering event which instantaneously instilled faith in the confused and closed hearts and minds of thousands, more than two millennia ago and continues to do so even now.
This is the sacred month, the holy month of Easter, when more than two billion Christians, distributed literally in every country and region of the present day world, congregate and rejoice because “He rose”. Be it Catholics, Protestants, Anglicans, Lutherans, followers of orthodox churches or any another type of Christians, every believer in Christ at this time relives the events that happened in the life of Jesus more than two thousand ago and draws comfort from the fact that “He reigns and brings Peace!” (John 14:27). He/she feels secure because He is “the Power of the powerful”, (Psalm 62:11, Rev 5:13) and adores Him with all devotion because “He is Holy, Righteous, Mighty, and Pure.” (Leviticus 11:45). But is adoring Him enough? Is believing Him sufficient to make Him happy? Is one a true Christian if he/she just accepts Christ as God? What does it mean to be a good Christian? And what is the real significance of Easter? What should Easter mean to us?
The cover story of this issue will help you to find answers to all these questions and more. If you are not a Christian and are already feeling out of place, wait a minute! It is not meant only for Christians or Christian Sai devotees. Easter is not just a joyous festival, it is, in fact, a fascinating spiritual journey as you will realize when you read the cover story. It is a journey which will release us from our own inner conflicts and frigid fixations of mind and lead us to light, love and pure eternal joy and this is, in essence, the goal of every religion - to awaken the inherent divinity in man.
What is special about the cover story is that for all the questions mentioned above, we have answers not from the bible or any other holy text, but from the direct lips of the “Father” Himself! Swami in His innumerable discourses on Christmas and other occasions has given profound insights into Christianity and the life of Jesus which have guided many a troubled Christian souls from despondency to divine bliss, from confusion to spiritual vision, essentially, from darkness to light. You will find any number of such examples in our cover story and we hope this will be of immense use to you in your spiritual journey.
Just like the divine miracle of the Resurrection of Jesus which stirred the hearts of men centuries ago, a very significant divine mystery in the life of Sai which kindles faith in newcomers and confirms faith in the minds of the old devotees, is the spectacle of Lingodbhavam which happened a few weeks ago in Prashanti Nilayam. In the “Prasanthi Diary” of last issue, we had a very detailed account of what factually happened during this major event. In this issue we have a very insightful feature article which will tell you what is the real significance of this divine manifestation and what should be the ‘take homes’ for all of us from this divine display of power, love and sacrifice.
The way the word of Sai spreads around the world is most mysterious. Recently the Vice President of Fiji visited the Sai School in Fiji and hailed Bhagavan and the good work done at the school; the education minister of UAE, Shaikh Nahayan recalled the private audience he had had with Swami a few months ago and said to the Sai volunteers in Abu Dhabi in February this year that it was “his great good fortune” (you can read about this in the Sai Seva section). There is also another very inspiring article in the Sai Seva section about a innovative service project undertaken for the first time by the Sai Youth of Hyderabad, do not miss it!
Three decades ago in Latin America, nobody knew about Sai Baba but today there are more than 250 Sai Centres - Mexico alone has about 30 Centres. In fact, the history of the Sai Movement in Latin America is very fascinating. It is to bring to light what is so silently and so beautifully happening in this part of the world that we have decided to carry the story of one Latin American country in every issue starting from this issue. The first country chosen for this issue is Mexico – not because it is sitting at the top of all Latin American countries but because the Lord chose this country to pioneer the Sai movement in that region. You can read all about this in our special feature article.
In the H2H Special section of this issue, apart from continuing the remarkable experiences of Mr. Chidambaram Krishnan, we have a special article for all the listeners of Radio Sai. It is actually the transcription of a Radio talk delivered by Prof. G Venkataraman in response to the enormous feedback we received on invitation from listeners all over the world. If you are a listener of Radio Sai, please do read this and let us know what you feel about it.
One of the highlights of the recent celebrations in Puttaparthi was the celebration of Holi in the divine presence of Bhagavan. What a joyous occasion it was! Swami literally gave Himself away to the hundreds of people who had come all the way from Bihar to be in His presence. They sang beautifully, danced in ecstasy, staged a scintillating drama and basked in His bountiful love. They left with memories to last a lifetime. You will enjoy this account in Prashanti Diary. Also, you will find here the just-concluded glorious celebration of Ugadi in Prashanti.
Before we leave you to explore the rest of the journal (this time the journal is huge with more than 200 pages of material), just one word of gratitude. The ‘Sai Inspires’ subscription list, dear reader, is more than 10,000 now and we are happy that many enjoy this service and we are grateful to you for your continued support and encouragement. If you have any comments/suggestions, please feel free to write to us. We are here to serve the “Sai” in you.
Let our every thought be Sai, every breath be Sai.
In Sai Service
Heart2Heart Team.
