That Christmas Eve when the Lord saved My Life… – By Sai Shreyas It was on a Christmas Eve, about four years ago, an eighth class boy was hurrying from Mandir back to the Hostel. It was getting late and he did not want to get into trouble with the Hostel authorities. As he was rushing down the General Hospital slope, his physics teacher, who was on the other side of the road on his scooter, spotted him and signalled him to cross the road and get onto his scooter for a ride back to the hostel. The boy, in all his excitement, dashed across the narrow road, without looking on either side of the road. Halfway across the road, from the corner of his eye, the boy realized that a speeding car was fast approaching him. But, it was too late. The boy was in the direct path of the car. It was inevitable that the car would crush the boy. The teacher too noticed it, but it was too late as already mentioned. A fraction of a second later, the car went through the boy, but, not a scratch on the boy, not a strand of hair harmed! And then the boy and the teacher knew that they had just been witnesses to one of the many millions of ways that the Lord had touched people’s lives. Moreover, if that merciful Lord had not touched that boy’s life, I would not have survived to recollect this vivid account. Till last year, I used to think that as a Sai student, I had done lots of service by going for Gram Seva and other such activities. In fact, I used to be proud of it. But, all this disappeared when I heard the story of a group of Sai Youth from my place that had gone to a mental asylum in a neighboring country. This mental asylum had members from the age of four to twenty five. They had absolutely no one to care for them. They had neither family nor any relatives. All they had were 2 pairs of clothes and a common room with metallic chairs to which they were chained. As they were mentally retarded, they had absolutely no sense of personal hygiene and cleanliness. There was fecal matter strewn all over the place, on their beds and even on themselves. Only God knew when the last time that they had had a bath was. And now comes the part that would sweep you off your feet. This group of Sai Youth visited that very asylum and decided to clean up the place. They cleaned all the cots, cleaned up the floor, had the hall disinfected and finally gave each one of those inmates a proper bath. The Sai hand reaches where no other hand can. This is real service. I learnt a very valuable lesson the day I heard this.  We would always have to face the reality, the reality that there are some people who don’t believe in Bhagavan and some who do not know about Him at all. And a similar thing too had happened for me when I had gone home during the vacation. One day, someone asked me, “Shreyas, how do you know that your Baba is God?” And believe me, I had absolutely no clue about what I replied to him, and I am at least a hundred percent sure that those words were not mine. I asked him what his definition of God was. And after a few minutes of discussion we agreed on the meaning of God as someone who could do things that an ordinary human could not do. And then I told him, let’s choose to forget the fact that Swami can materialize things, read the minds of people, and let’s forget that He is omniscient and omnipresent. With this as a background, I asked him if he knew anyone who was running two Super Specialty Hospitals that had departments ranging from Neurology to Nephrology, having the best of the doctors that treated anybody and everybody, regardless of caste, creed and colour; regardless of whether he was rich or poor, without taking a single rupee from anyone. I asked him if he knew anyone who ran educational institutions that offered education right from class one till PhD courses free of cost. I asked him if he knew of anyone who had started a drinking water supply that poured water down the taps of thousands of homes for free. And then I asked him if he knew of any charitable organization that never asked any of its members for a single cent of donation. I could see that his head was swirling. And then I asked him, “If this man is not God, who is He?” After all this, I myself was shocked at the way I had spoken. I was dead sure that these were not my words. It is said that: Mookam Karoti Vachalam, Pangum Langhayate Girim, Yat Kripa Tamaham Vande, Paramananda Madhavam (The Lord is known to make the dumb speak and the lame walk on the mountains. What can the Lord not do?) In this context, I would like to narrate an incident that happened to my mother a few years ago. My mother was having some pain in her abdomen for quite some time due to which she had difficulty in moving about. Upon examination by doctors in Singapore, she was found to be having a fibroid in her uterus. Fibroids are growths that can cause harm internally. She was then advised to undergo surgery. She decided that she would undergo the surgery only after visiting Swami in Puttaparthi. So, she arrived at Puttaparthi, stayed for a few days and then went to Bangalore. At Bangalore, they decided to take a second opinion at the Super Specialty Hospital there. They did a few minor tests and confirmed the presence of not one but two to three fibroids. They suggested her to come the next day for a

Sri Sathya Sai on Jesus Christ – Part 3 (Significance of His Birthday) More than 2,000 years ago, when ego and pride became human nature, ignorance reigned supreme and the demonic nature of man was at its peak, Jesus Christ descended on earth and through His message of love and compassion demonstrated the path of righteousness. Today, you must recognise the most important aspect of the life of Jesus Christ. In the very beginning of His life, Jesus declared, “I am a Messenger of God”. He proclaimed that all are embodiments of Divinity in this human form, and all are messengers of God. He said that every ounce of this human body till the last drop of blood should be dedicated to the service of mankind. “A heart filled with love and compassion is the real temple of God”, declared Jesus. The alarm clock wakes us by ringing the alarm at the right time. The great sages of ancient times would wake man from the slumber of ignorance by warning him at the appropriate time and in the appropriate manner. They would warn man to recognise the Divinity which is all pervading. One must remember these teachings and put them into practice every moment of our lives. Celebrating the birthday of such a great and pious soul as just another ritual is not what is expected. The day you understand the teachings of Jesus, and implement them with your heart and soul, that day will really be the Birthday of Jesus Christ. The words of such great people should constantly ring in your hearts and should be the guiding light of your lives. Your real offering to God will be the dedication of your life to practicing these teachings.  “The Descent of God is for the Ascent of Man”, Discourse 01, My Dear Students, Volume 05 You celebrate the birthday of Bhagavan. But do you follow the teachings? You will experience the fruits of celebrating the birthday only when you follow the teachings. Jesus said, “Love everyone.” Christmas is celebrated, but how far does one practise love? None at all. There is love in everyone’s heart. Share it at least with ten persons every day. This is seldom done. People are keener on receiving than on giving. They are willing to give away only things which they do not relish. There is no sacrifice in this. “Purity, Patience, Perseverance: Steps to Divinity”, Sathya Sai Speaks, Volume 26, November 23, 1993, Prasanthi NilayamIt is therefore appropriate that the birthday of Jesus, who felt the need to save mankind and who strove to achieve it, is celebrated; but, the celebration must take the form of adherence to the teachings, loyalty to the principles, practicing the disciplines and experiencing the Awareness of the Divine that He sought to arouse. These days, the world is deriving satisfaction in mere words, and in witnessing clever rules designed to cover up one’s faults.The birthdays of the Great are honored by such hypocrisy and external pomp. There is no examination in the light of the message they gave, nor, any effort to practice it and derive the bliss it promises. The Great teachers belong to mankind. It is wrong to believe that Jesus belongs only to the Christians and the Christmas is a holy festival for the West only. To accept one of them as one’s own and discard the rest as belonging to others, is a sign of pettiness. Christ, Rama and Krishna- they are for all men everywhere.“He whom Christ Announced”, Sathya Sai Speaks, Volume 11, December 24, 1972, Bangalore It is not right to celebrate Christ’s birthday by feasting, drinking, singing and merry-making. The ideals taught by Jesus should be put into practice. That is the right way to celebrate His birthday. Whomsoever you adore, you must try to live up to His teachings. What kind of devotion is it when the devotee does not practice what he professes? It is pseudo-devotion. Remember the Lord with love. Worship Him with love. Sanctify your life with love.“Love – The Key to Human Unity”, Sathya Sai Speaks, Volume 21, December 25, 1988, Prasanthi NilayamFar more beneficial than honouring the great is the practice of loving them. Praise, glorification and eulogy raise them on to an unreachable pedestal. Love binds one heart to another. Gratitude for the inspiration and instruction received must bind the hearts in love. The celebration of Christmas should not conclude with some carols, tableaux and made-up trees and Santa Claus. It must be soaked in the resolution to practise at least a few of the lessons Jesus taught us. The very first need is faith in God and in our own Divine Nature. “Everyone is a Son of God”, Sathya Sai Speaks, Volume 15,December 25, 1982, Prasanthi NilayamThe Birthday of Jesus must be celebrated by all mankind, for such Karana-Janmas (a Master born with a purpose) belong to the whole human race. They should not be confined to a single country or community…Carols and candles, readings from the Bible and acting out the incidents that surrounded His Birth, are not enough to celebrate the Birth of Jesus. Jesus said that the bread taken in the ‘last supper’ was His Flesh, and the wine, His Blood. He meant that all beings alive with flesh and blood are to be treated as He Himself and that no distinction should be made of friend or foe, we or they. Everybody is His Body, sustained by the bread; every drop of blood flowing in the veins of every living being is His, animated by the activity that the wine imparted to it. That is to say, every man is Divine and has to be revered as such.“Isa”, Sathya Sai Speaks, Volume 14, December 25, 1978, Prasanthi Nilayam Today is the birthday of Jesus, celebrated amidst December snow-falls with lights and Christmas Trees, and prayers. But it is useless to pray just one day and forget God, the rest of the year. That is an empty show; it does not emanate from the heart. We are true Christians only when we live according to the teachings of Christ and practise

Satsang Episode 5: Be Patient With God – Prof. R. Kumar Bhaskar Patience is a virtue, especially on the spiritual path.  In this episode of Satsang: Experiences of Students and Teachers with Sathya Sai Baba, Prof. R. Kumar Bhaskar, Former Head, Department of Management and Commerce, Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning, Prasanthi Nilayam Campus, shares how Swami taught him and his family the lesson and value of patience.

Are Sathya Sai Students Ready? – By Dr. G. S. Srirangarajan Often, I keep asking myself this question, “Are we ready, are we ready?” The day Bhagawan addressed ‘we students’ as His Property and stated that we would be the instruments through whom He would bring about a change in the world – the Call was given. Bhagawan has blown the conch in the battlefield of each one of our hearts, in the battlefield of society. Will we rise up with courage and confidence and fight the forces of Adharma within and without, or will the bow of confidence slip from our hand and the arrow of faith fall away from our quiver? Where do we stand? We students have been touched, by none other than the Lord Himself. We must become something more than just average human beings – as a testimony to His Presence in our life. Let not the generation of tomorrow proclaim, “Here are a band of men who were in direct association with the most effulgent Lord, but where is Thy luster lost in them?” If we were to ask the question, “Have the students of this Institute made an impact in the outside world?” The answer comes, ‘Definitely Yes!’ But is it adequate? ‘An emphatic No!’ Many of us possibly settle down for a low aim. But Bhagawan has explicitly declared that each of His students is capable of becoming a Vivekananda. It is for us to rise up to the occasion and seek our fulfilment in fulfilling His statement!What will we be known by? What will the students of Bhagawan be known by? Character, Self-confidence, Competence, Sincerity, Integrity, Humility, Perseverance, Detachment, Sacrifice. Possibly a varied mix of some or all of these, and maybe many more such virtues. On one occasion, Bhagawan expressed His expectations from His students saying that they should maintain their Gauravam (dignity), Maryada (respect), Neeti (morality) and Nijayati (integrity). We students live in the same world as others do and will therefore face similar problems and difficulties. For a Sai Student, the difference does not lie in what he faces, but in how he faces it. How we respond to situations and circumstances, how we tackle adversities and challenges, will show our true worth and that is where we must leave our mark.  What keeps us from reaching the top? Based on my interactions with several students of the Institute in the past decade, I have been able to observe several patterns in our perceptions and attitude. I dare not generalize, but would still make an attempt to list out a number of apprehensions that many of us foster and the possible solutions to it. Most of these arise on account of a mismatch between our expectations and reality. Bhagawan says; accept whatever comes to you in life as God’s Will, but practicing this is often very difficult. Once we accept everything we must not expect anything. But if we expect something, how then, can we accept everything? • Problems in life are like passing clouds: Some of our alumni face a variety of problems after they leave the portals of this Institute. A delay in getting a job, lack of job satisfaction, not getting due recognition, family problems, etc. But trials and tribulations are part of the game of life and are common to all. On one occasion a faculty member working in our Institute had decided to resign from his job for some personal reasons. Before he could implement his plan, Swami had called all of us for an interview and addressing this gentleman, Swami said that, the problems that he was facing were a consequence of his own past actions and had nothing to do with his working in this Institute. These problems would appear wherever he would go. Let us remember that in as much as good moments do not last forever, bad times too are not permanent. • Living up to His expectations: We do have a ‘market’ out there – no doubt. But often, many of us have the hope that as soon as we go out, we would receive a very warm welcome. No doubt, Swami’s name will carry its own ‘weight’, but we must prove ourselves by living up to the expectations that people have from Sai Students. It is a great responsibility for us to live up to these expectations and avoid any tarnish to His name, not withstanding the fact that He is the Sun whose brilliance can never be reduced by any amount of darkness. • We are not alone in this battle: A critical weapon in the hands of a Sai Student is faith in Bhagawan. Bhagawan’s assurance that He is always with us, in us, around us… is amply testified by the innumerable experiences of several students. However, many a time, we feel helpless. This is because we look at all the undesirable things going on in the world around us and feel that we have to fight this Adharma all alone. The moment we consider that we are alone in this game; the feeling of pessimism and helplessness overwhelms us. Constant Awareness of Bhagawan’s omnipresence is the only antidote to such negative feelings. None of us are fighting this battle of life alone. He is always with us! • Do we really cry for Dharma: However, sometimes just the reverse happens. We forget the role that we have to play and expect Swami to wave a Magic Wand and change the whole world. When we see lot of negativity around and no major transformation occurring, we get disheartened and even start doubting Swami. However, if we truly have a strong desire to walk on the path of Dharma, He will facilitate our journey through this world, by paving a special path for us, enabling us to live by our principles. In other words, He may not change the whole world, but He can and will change our world! The point in question is, do we really cry for Dharma? • Changing ourselves is our duty, changing the

When Swami sent New Year Greeting Cards to Devotees Thursday, January 08, 1948 Baba sent New Year greeting cards to some blessed devotees. These cards had beautiful scenery on the top, and Baba’s endearing appellation of the devotees along with a Telugu poem on the inside.  Baba visited the palace of Sri Desaraj Urs of Mysore where the Maharani of Sandur had Darshan of Baba for the first time. Even at the very first sight she instinctively felt that He was God, although He was just a boy. Baba approached her and applied kumkum to her forehead with His thumb. He blessed her saying, “Amma, don’t worry about your State, for it will become a hundred times bigger than it is now”. Then He added, “Come to Puttaparthi with the Maharaja”. The Maharani then extended an invitation to Baba to visit her Bangalore residence, which Baba gladly accepted.Six months later on June 17, 1948 Swami visited the Sandur Palace and blessed the royal family. He made many predictions for the royal family that have come true to this day.