A Dreamy New Beginning in New Zealand the love of Sai comes to the refuge of the Bhutanese refugees No one wanted them, neither the country of their origin nor the land to which they had given their sweat and blood for years. More than a lakh of such Bhutanese refugees have lived a miserable existence in the north-east of Nepal for nearly two decades now. But now, when there was an opportunity to end this desperate situation of at least a few of them, the Sai devotees in New Zealand grabbed this opportunity and opened their hearts out to embrace them in the love of Sai. This is one heart warming account which demonstrates how through little kinds of kindness and genuine love we can make profound and powerful impact in the lives of our brethren, no matter who they are or where they come from. It is a country which is often referred to as one which is “scarcely touched by the modern age.” Progress, in this nation, is not measured by Gross National Product, but by Gross National Happiness. The people of this land take great measures to preserve their old culture, rich traditions, and more importantly, their literally ‘top of the world’ natural environment. Yes, this tiny landlocked nation is perched right on the roof of the world. Nestled in the eastern Himalayas, Bhutan is one of those rare countries of this world where people live in great harmony with nature and where the environment is still pristine even today. In fact, the country has been identified as one of the 10 bio-diversity hot-spots in this world. But what is more interesting is the fact that it was rated as the happiest country in Asia by Business Week in 2006. Yes, the majority of Bhutanese are pleased and proud of their country, and the way their land is governed, even though only in the previous year, in 2008, this nation moved from absolute monarchy to constitutional monarchy. But, at the same time, this is not the story of every Bhutanese. At least one-sixth of the population of this mountainous nation lead a precarious existence in refugee camps, all from the ethnic Nepalese group. A large number of them are actually descendants of Nepali settlers (Nepal is a neighbouring country) who came to work in the southern valleys of Bhutan in the late 19th and early 20th century. They are referred to as Lhotshampas (literally translated as “people from the south”), and in many ways are different from the indigenous population. They speak Nepali, while Dzongkha is the country’s national language; most Nepalese are Hindus, while Buddhism is the state religion, which is followed by two-thirds of its population. But at the same time, they constitute almost 35% of the population of Bhutan and for generations had a ‘perfect life’ in this peaceful kingdom working as farmers. In fact, the government encouraged the integration of this significant group into mainstream Bhutanese society in many ways, from teaching in Nepali in the schools of the southern Bhutan, to inter-ethnic group marriages. But after 1980, the attitude of the Bhutan rulers changed for various reasons and the government started a series of “ethno-nationalist” policies in the 1990s. Since then hundreds of thousands of Nepalese-Bhutanese have become stateless and have been living in seven refugee camps in South-eastern Nepal. But after 1980, the attitude of the Bhutan rulers changed for various reasons and the government started a series of “ethno-nationalist” policies in the 1990s. Since then hundreds of thousands of Nepalese-Bhutanese have become stateless and have been living in seven refugee camps in South-eastern Nepal. The United Nations Commission for Refugees stepped in to help these homeless people and began discussions with the Bhutanese and Nepalese governments to provide the exiled people a home in either country, but met with little success. However, in 2006, the US government generously offered to resettle more than 60,000 of these refugees over the next five years.

Stirring Sai Seva In Malaysia Two Inspiring Accounts Here are two accounts of seva carried out at mammoth gatherings of devotees at Lord Murugan’s shrines in Malaysia. It is heartwarming to learn how, in one instance, the Sai volunteers made every effort to help those unable to have Darshan, and in the other, break a Malaysian national record – read on to know more! ‘The spark of tears in their eyes gave me the happiness of a lifetime, not because I have achieved something great but to remind me to be more grateful to God for having an able body.’ This was the moving comment from a volunteer who had helped physically and/or mentally challenged pilgrims have Darshan of Lord Murugan during the festival of Thaipusam, at a hill top temple in Malaysia. Thaipusam is celebrated on the full moon in the Tamil month of Thai (Jan/Feb). Pusam refers to a star that is at its highest point during the festival. The festival commemorates both the birthday of Lord Murugan, the youngest son of Lord Shiva and Mother Parvati, and the occasion when Parvati gave Murugan a vel (lance) so he could vanquish the demon Soorapadam. In Malaysia, Thaipusam attracts mammoth numbers of devotees. Over 1,000,000 people congregate at Batu Caves, Kuala Lumpur and 200,000 at the Waterfall Temple, Penang . Heart2Heart is pleased to inform you about the wonderful seva carried out by the Malaysian Sai devotees at these two sites during the festival period from 10th-11th February, 2006 . The Waterfall Temple is located at the top of a steep hill. Many devotees make their way there to worship Lord Murugan and to climb up is part of the ritual and penance. But the Sai devotees of Brown Garden Centre, Penang, became concerned for those people who are unable to climb up due to physical disabilities. They are forced to remain frustrated at the bottom, while their relatives go up to the top to receive the blessings on this holy day. It was indeed a sight to pity. Emboldened by the teachings of Lord Sai to help those in need, they formed themselves into special palanquin teams to convey the yearning physically challenged pilgrims to have Darshan of Lord Murugan. This seva activity was aptly called ‘Journey to God’ and it became so for both the sevaks and the disabled people. The palanquins were handmade by the Sai volunteers themselves and each was carried by 4 devotees with one man to oversee the safety of the disabled devotee and to make way through the crowds up the steps. Upon reaching the bottom of the hill the disabled pilgrims were given food by the lady volunteers. Then, to invoke Swami’s blessings before commencing the climb the volunteers chanted Ganapati Prarthana, Ganapati Atharva Shirsha Upanishad, Narayana Upanishad, Sai Gayatri and performed Arthi to Swami’s picture. Then, they began the ascent and reached the temple after one hour.

Swami is Here! Sai Ram Dears:  I was gifted with Swami’s Robe recently and went to have it blessed on February 15, 2012. Attached are pictures with a brief description of events.  On Feb.16.2012 during shower Swami told me in my head that I am to give theOn Feb.16.2012 during shower Swami told me in my head that I am to give the Vibhuti to a Couple, the Gentleman is a retired Commander of the Indian Air Force. After I came out of the Shower, I called his house number and his wife answered the phone. This is our conversation: Me : Sai Ram Auntie. She : Who is this. Me : Sai-DeepakDeepak. She : Who. Me : We meet at bhajans at Jal-vayu Vihar (Jalvayu Vihar is occupied by Military people). She : Oh. Me : I was recently gifted Swami’s Robe. She : Ah-ha (I could notice that she was either un-interested, or, having difficulty speaking over the phone). Me : I went to have it blessed yesterday. She : Ah-ha. Me : A lot of Vibhuti has appeared on the Robe. She : Ah-ha. Me : This morning during shower Swami told me that this Vibhuti is for you and your husband. SheShe : (As if taken a-back) ‘Really’? and she started crying so loud. She : You know, I am going in for my Ovarian Cancer operation on Monday, they are going to remove the ovaries. She : (after pausing a while) ‘Thankyou, Thankyou’. Me : You don’t have to thank me, it’s all between you and Swami. Me : I shall come by later and drop the Vibhuti to your husband. She : He has gone for dialyses, both his kidneys are not functioning properly. She : He will return only after 4 in the evening. Me : That’s fine. Feb.16.2012 being a Thursday there were bhajans in the house of the Naval Commander Srinivasan, I called him and told him what had happened, he asked me to come to his place in the evening at 7 and that the Air Marshal Ram Mutrthy will also be attending. I went to Jalvayu Vihar in the evening at the residence of the Naval Commander Srinivasan and after bhajans were over I spread out Swami’s Robe and all devotees were very happy to see the Vibhuti on the Robe. Air Marshal Ram Murthy was also there. I told everyone that this Vibhuti was meant for Air Marshal & his wife, everyone happily scraped the Vibhuti off the Robe and gave it to Air Marshal, he did share some of the Vibhuti with all devotees there. After that the Air Marshal Sir came and fell at my feet like a stick, I withdrew backwards and told him that you should me doing this to Swami, not to me. With moist eyes he looked at me and said ‘Thankyou, Thankyou’. I told him that I was just a messenger like a post-man, if a post-man were to deliver a letter to him, would he be thanking the post-man again and again. After thanking him for letting me be allowed to be used as an instrument for Swami’s command, I told him ‘Sir, now the entire matter is between Swami and you’. I brought the Robe back home and yesterday (Feb.17.2012) before putting the Robe back in it’s box, I decided to clean with a moist Q-tip that section on the Robe with the words ‘With Love Baba’, and this can be seen clearly on Picture 12. Sai Ram & Sai Love. Swami’s Robe, with the Altar partially visible.