From Team Venugaanam's Desk

We are delighted to bring to you the June 2013 edition of Venugaanam. We are also very happy to invite all of you for the house warming ceremony of the children’s home on 3rd June at 9:30 am. The first few children who have been identified as the first inmates will also participate in this function.

This edition  begins with Swami’s  Divine exhortation  to all to have sincere  faith in God and His  words. Read this  discourse of Swami and  know His message in  His own words.
In  Atmajyothi, we start with a  new series of discussion on Narada Bhakthi Sutras. These Sutras or aphorisms contain the secret of true devotion and highlight its glory.
Bhargav shares his thoughts on the state of the Chitravathi River in Puttaparthi today.The river which once gurgled with joy has been reduced to a tiny stream of dirty water and needs urgent attention.
“Science makes progress by asking questions and it goes on asking questions until it finds the answers. So, science is a matter of knowledge and faith doesn't come in to it.”- so believed the young man until he met his match. Read this real life incident recounted by Don Mascon.
God is there with us at each and every step. He shows His presence ever so subtly. Read this article of Dr Muruganant entitled: “The Journey with Sai because of Sai.”
What is needed to make the stone image respond and speak to us? It is a child’s innocent faith opined a wise man. Little Saishweta’s experience in Kids Corner is an apt illustration of this statement.
Swami would often say: “Would I put you in the crucible of fire, if it were not for the fact that you will come out brighter than before. Examinations help you to know where you stand and how you can improve”. In the article- “Test is to His taste- Part 2”, Vinod  shares an experience from his student days when Swami put them through the crucible of fire.
There have been some significant developments last month.  By Swami’s grace the construction and building work for Phase 1 of Sai Krushna Mandir is almost complete. The next few weeks will involve the installation of solar street lights outside the building final coat of interior and exterior wall painting and other small cleaning and fixing jobs to have it ready in time for operations by end June. Solar hot water facility is also being considered subject to availability of funds. The boundary wall work is also progressing rapidly. The members of the SKM construction team are also making frequent site visits to monitor the quality and quantum of progress. Read more and see some recent photos in the construction update.

We also invite applications for a cook and watchman for the children’s home once it starts functioning from June.
We are happy to have your feedback on how to make ‘Venugaanam’ a better communication tool. You may kindly mail us at  contactus@saikrushnamandir.org . Do feel free to share with us your experiences in following Swami’s teachings or on any other theme of your choice.

We invite our Lord to grace the occasion on 3rd June and pray Swami blesses children and inmates so that they may all come up to His expectations. May Swami turn our lives into a celebration of His message of love, sharing and caring.

With All our Prema,
Team Venugaanam
Sai Krushna Charitable Trust

Have Sincere Faith in God and His Words- Swami's Discourse

If you have steady devotion for God, there is nothing that cannot be accomplished. God Himself would come running forward to help you. Numerous such incidents occurred during the incarnation of God as Krishna.

Here is another example of Krishna’s limitless compassion. On the ninth day of the Kurukshetra war, Bhishma took a terrible vow to exterminate all the Pandavas before sunset the next day.

Draupadi came to know of this and became highly perturbed. She said to Krishna, “O Lord, this must not happen. You have to do something. I don’t know how, but You must make sure that I do not become a widow.” Krishna smiled and was non-committal. He just said, “Wait and see what happens.” God may appear non-committal but when you appeal to Him with deep sincerity, He will certainly respond.

Atmajyoti

    

Sri Laxmi Narayana Aithal

 In  the  world,  everyone  desires  to  have  Supreme  Felicity (Paramananda)PaP;  but,  he  never  tries  to  have  it;  he  is  caught  up  by  the  offensive  pride of  ‘me’  and  ‘mine’  and  by   the  defects  of  mind  like – desire,  anger,  greed,  mistaking  one  to  other,  arrogance,  jealousy,  etc.,  and , as  the  result  of  his  good  and  bad  works  he  attains  different  bodies.  Thus,  people  suffer  in  the  pulley  of  worldly  life;  due  to  their  actions  they  obtain  agreeable  and  disagreeable  and  accordingly  they  are  either  elated  or  depressed.  Only  devotion  to  God  and  no  other  means  helps  to  cross  such  living  beings  from  this  difficulty;  thus,  the  Spiritual  Guide Narada apprehending  through  the  scripture  and  experience  wants  to  preach  the  Principle  of  Devotion concisely  in  the  form  of  compilation  of  Aphorisms  on  Devotion and,  hence,  he  starts  his  scripture.  The following  is  the  first  aphorism  of  this  scripture :-

A  SOLEMN  DECLARATION IN  THE  BEGINNING  OF  THE  SCRIPTURE

अथातो भक्तिं व्याख्यास्यामः ।।1।।

ATHATHO BHKTHI VYAKHYANAMAH

1.Now,  therefore,  (we)  explain  devotion.

MEANING  OF  THE ATHA WORD

Construction Updates of SaiKrushna Mandir

With the Divine Blessings and grace of our Beloved Swami, the Phase 1 of the children’s home – Sai Krushna Mandir – will be operational soon. The “Gruhapravesam”(House Warming Ceremony) of the children’s home will be held on 3rd June and the first five children have been identified and will be attending the function.

By Swami’s grace, Sai Krushna Mandir will be functional as a children’s home from end June 2013. The children who will be coming will also be able to join Class 1 in English medium instruction .
We have found some volunteers to live with and take care of the children. We also invite applications for suitable caretakers. The caretakers would also be paid suitable as per their experience and ability. We are open to families coming and joining who feel the inclination to participate and involve in Swami’s project. Volunteer families would be provided suitable accommodation and their children would be given appropriate educational facilities also.
We are also looking out for a cook and watchman for the children’s home once it starts functioning from June. Interested people may contact us on +91 9663222362 or by email. By Swami’s grace the painting for the building for Phase 1 of Sai Krushna Mandir is now complete. The next few weeks will involve the installation of solar street lights in front of the building. Solar hot water facility is also being considered subject to availability of funds. The members of the SKM construction team are also making frequent site visits to monitor the quality and quantum of progress.

Is it the same Chitravati?

 

KVRK Bhargav

Bhajans ended and I was walking back on a warm Sunday evening back home, when some one called my name from behind. It was a familiar voice which had echoed in my ears many years back. I turned around to see that it was my classmate who had been erased from my memory due to his not coming to Parthi since we passed out in 2001. He came and hugged me tightly in his characterstic style, we exchanged pleasantries and he asked me to accompany him for a walk. We just came out of Ganesh gate when he burst  forth in excitement, "Let us go to our beloved river Chitravati." He had a child like enthusiasm in his eyes. He immediately got transported to that last few months of our MBA course when we once went for a bath to the Chitravati. He said with a gushing nostalgia, "You remember, how we enjoyed that Sunday when Warden sir took us to the Chitravati for a bath walking through the lush green fields behind the Sai Geeta shed." I nodded with a slight disagreement trying to show him that things are no more the same. He continued, " Remember,  I taught you how to swim in waist deep water all the while holding your hand to wade against the strong current of water.

The Old Man in the Park

 

Don Mason

In London there is a public park in which Londoners can escape the noise and bustle of the surrounding streets. One corner of this park is called 'Speakers Corner' in which it is a popular Sunday morning activity for members of the public to address their fellow citizens on any subject that they wish. On the particular Sunday of which I write a very earnest young man, dressed neatly in black and wearing a clerical collar, prepared to address those strollers who were looking for free entertainment. A member of the clergy looked promising game and the gathering crowd was not disappointed. The earnest young man held up a copy of the Bible.” In this book is your salvation.” he said. “ Between the covers of this most holy book you will find God's truth set out for you. Believe only this and repent of your sins and you will be saved.”

“Wait a minute.” said a young man in the crowd. “How can you claim that the Bible contains God's truth. In Genesis for example there are two different accounts of how Man was created. Which one is right and which one is wrong. Or are they both wrong?

The Journey- with Sai because of Sai

Dr. M Ananth

It was June 2012 and I had to come from Australia for my beloved father’s first year Shraadha ceremony. But there was one another agenda of that trip, which was admission of our daughter Saishweta in year 2 at Sri Sathya Sai Primary School, Prashanthi Nilayam.  This agenda was as important as the earlier. My father had merged into his cosmic formless being one with his SAI just 9 days after the eternal SAI willed to assume his Nirakara (formless) roopam (form). I would reserve an article on this for a later date. The current episode is about a trip in May 2013 that was being planned during our trip to Puttaparthi (Parthi) in June 2012.

We came to Parthi in June 2012 and met with the headmistress aunty as my nephew was being admitted to standard 1 in the Sri Sathya Sai (SSS) Primary school. We approached her with a request for our daughter’s admission. She maintained that there were no vacancies and that we should come in May 2013. More so, a letter written by Saishweta (our daughter) with the only request for admission in SSS Primary school kept in a sealed envelope in front of Swami was blessed with profuse vibhuti inside the envelope.

Kids Corner- Divine Games

By Saishweta Muruganant
Class III


I have come to India from Australia to try for admission  in Sri Sathya Sai Primary School. In Australia on Tuesdays there are study circles in our home. On Thursdays bhajans are held at our home.  On Thursdays after bhajans there is a five minute silent meditation. My father keeps Swami’s photo open on his laptop (see picture). One day when the meditation was going on I opened my eyes and saw at the photo of Swami and I saw that Swami winked at me.

 This happened after Swami’s Mahasamadhi.  I like it when Swami plays with me like this.

Test Is To His Taste-2

-K. Vinod Cartic

Read the first part of the article here

The opposite of love is not hatred but indifference. And here, we were literally ignored by the very Swami, who meant everything to us.  Our plight was like that of the frog in Ramayana, which was pierced by Rama’s arrow and wailed that it had no refuge to go to- all its life it used to remember Rama when in distress, to whom was it to turn now when Rama Himself was inflicting the pain? Our letters, entreaties and plea had been in vain. Swami had even stopped coming to the side where we sat and we were left feeling like ‘untouchables’.

Because Love Is Blind

-Anonymous

(a touching tale on the power of the Greatest of all Emotions)

The passengers on the bus watched sympathetically as the attractive young woman with the white cane made her way carefully up the steps. She paid the driver and, using her hands to feel the location of the seats, walked down the aisle and found the seat he'd told her was empty. Then she settled in, placed her briefcase on her lap and rested her cane against her leg.

It had been a year since Susan, thirty-four, became blind. Due to a medical misdiagnosis she had been rendered sightless, and she was suddenly thrown into a world of darkness, anger, frustration and self-pity. Once a fiercely independent woman, Susan now felt condemned by this terrible twist of fate to become a powerless, helpless burden on everyone around her. "How could this have happened to me?" she would plead, her heart knotted with anger.