HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO US! |
Loving Sai Ram and greetings from Prashanti Nilayam. One more Birthday of Swami has come and gone, and so also one more birthday of Radio Sai. While Bhagavan’s Birthday was duly celebrated, as it ought to be, Radio Sai’s birthday went unnoticed even by us here; we were too busy doing many things. So, maybe a belated Happy Birthday greeting from us to us!
Yes, 23rd November 2001 was when Radio Sai was born. When we first went on the air, few believed that there was actually a broadcasting station radiating Swami’s Discourses and Prasanthi Bhajans to the world. Such a thing was unthinkable and therefore not believable. Even today there are many, some of them right here in Prasanthi Nilayam, who are blissfully unaware of the existence of Radio Sai and the related activities of the Prasanthi Digital Studio, the nerve centre of what might be called the DIVINE MESSAGE SERVICE [DMS]. But that does not matter. What matters to us is that we are, in our own small way, able to bring the Message of the Lord in its various aspects through radio, video and the internet, to thousands and thousands all over the world. How do we know that we are reaching so many in so many places? Through the mails that we constantly receive; through the kind words listeners speak to us when they drop in at our studio, and so on. We will not tax you with recalls of such incidents [many of them most touching], lest that be mistaken for trumpet blowing. But this much we can be legitimately proud of; this year, thousands really enjoyed the long hours of Bhajan broadcast on Akhand Bhajan day. How do we know? From mails once again.
23rd November 2001 now seems long back in time, but it is just five years ago. And in five years, we are satisfied we have been able to reach a very large number of devotees in practically every continent, through one channel of communication or the other. Here we must emphasise that though operationally we have different services like Radio Sai, H2H, and Sai Inspires, emotionally they are one. Borrowing from Bhagavan, communication tools may be different but the Message is One.
Although there is much that we can legitimately be proud of, we are far from satisfied. There is so much more to do, and somehow or the other, we HAVE to. The word ‘we’ in the above remark does NOT stand for the half a dozen of us here in the Prasanthi Digital Studio. The WE really stands for all of us in the Sai Community the world over.
The point is very simple really. You see, the world today is full of problems, almost all of them caused by humans. Currently, humans dominate Planet Earth, not only in terms of their population, but also through the enormous power they have acquired thanks to Science and Technology. Planet Earth has existed for about four billion years, but man has occupied this planet only for about a hundred thousand years [leaving aside the preliminary period when he was still evolving from monkeys]. Some one described the short time-span of human existence as follows:
Imagine the Universe was created one second after midnight on 1st January. On this scale, humans appeared about one minute or even less before midnight December 31. And yet, humans have managed to devastate this planet like no other living species has been able to. Crocodiles, birds and fishes have existed for millions and millions of years; but they have not caused havoc on the planet. Man has been able to do that in less than a hundred years.
One can blame this on technology, on global politics, on ruthless exploitation, on economics based on greed and so forth. No doubt all these factors have made their own contribution to the mess we now are in, but at the fundamental level, it is all due to humanity turning a blind eye to Morality.
It is fashionable these days to sneer at Morality; that is because Morality is confused with religion. That, however, is a grievous mistake. Humanity must realise, as Gandhi emphatically affirmed, that there is a Moral Law governing the Universe. That Law is DHARMA. In the Gita, the Lord says that whenever Adharma gains ascendancy, He incarnates. God indeed has and right now, He is in our midst. People understand that, especially Sai devotees. However, what they do not understand is that GOD HAS NOT COME TO CLEAR UP THE MESS MANKIND HAS CREATED. As Swami has very clearly pointed out, the Avatar acts as a guidepost [we believe we quoted this in our last Sunday Special].
In practical terms, what it means is that we simply cannot expect Swami to wave His hand and make all problems vanish like the mist before the morning Sun. As the saying goes, he who breaks the vase has to own responsibility, and do what he can to repair the damage. Swami is here not to do the sweeping but to tell us how to clean up the mess. The buck really stops with us.
So, our first duty is to pay careful attention to His Teachings and Message. After that, we must try very hard to put them into practice. Simultaneously, we must also try to spread the Message, not as propagandists but in ways that are acceptable and beneficial to the world at large.
For example, thanks to a huge run on the resources of the planet, its renewable resources are being drained at an unsustainable rate; as a result, everyone is in deep trouble. The cry has thus been going round for some years that we must reduce consumption. Reduction of consumption is an urgent necessity, if we are serious about saving the Planet Earth. The first step in this process is to put into practice Swami’s lesson on Ceiling on Desires.
What we are driving at is that the real basis of saving humanity from crises and Planet Earth from disaster is to go back to our Moral roots, latent within us. Incidentally, that really is what Educare is all about. This innate and latent Morality must manifest as good action, and only then would the present dangerous trend be arrested. To put it all simply, we should practice Ceiling on Desires not as a physical necessity but as a Moral Imperative.
Charity must begin at home, and all of us have a serious duty to actually practice Swami’s teachings in our daily lives and not simply give fancy talks about them. Next, we must in different ways, also do our best to sensitize people outside the Sai-fold and help them understand that there must be a Moral Imperative underlying Society. Unfortunately, people who think along such lines are few, and the few who do, are not keen to talk about it openly. The Sai family must open its doors and reach out to such people seeking Spiritual shelter; that would be like offering an umbrella during rain, to a person who has none.
In reaching out to others and offering the comfort of a Moral rest space, we need not impose on them our traditions in the Sai family. This reach-out must be a service rendered in the same spirit in which patients are treated in Swami’s hospitals. No patient is required to become a Sai devotee, or even have belief in God. Thus, if an atheist turns up in Swami’s hospital with a serious heart problem, he or she is treated the same way like all patients are – that is what Swami teaches us, and that is what the Bhagavad Gita also enjoins us to do.
In short, we take this fifth birthday of Radio Sai to appeal to one and all to join us, and help people out there who are looking for an umbrella, a Spiritual umbrella that is. There is more to say on this subject and we reserve that for another occasion. Meanwhile, allow us to share with you some of the loving mails we have received from different corners of the earth.
I thank God for this opportunity to be with Baba everyday of my life through Radio Sai, receiving Baba's messages of love and wisdom. They are my everyday bread and the only reason why I run to the computer to see and feel what is awaiting me.
Sairam,
Margarita, Sydney, Australia.
My family really enjoys all the programs on Radio Sai and my one year old son is fascinated by the Sai Students' bhajans. He stands near the laptop all through Aarathi until shanthi. He listens very keenly and wherever he is in the house, he comes fast to the laptop the moment he hears the Aarathi. This happens during Students' bhajan. Swami's love is spreading through His students so wonderfully. Please continue the good service.
Rajyalakshmi, Connecticut, USA.
Very recently I was exposed to RadioSai on the internet. I just enjoy it. I have no words to describe this service to hungry devotees like us who love to be in Swami’s presence 24 hours by His grace.
Dr. Hema, from TN, currently in USA.
When I cannot sleep, I switch on my computer and read the Heart2Heart articles. I am then enabled to meditate more profoundly. It is always helpful to be reminded of Swami's teachings and I find that these seem to run constantly in the background of my conscious mind. It keeps me on my toes! I also enjoy reading about other people's experiences with Swami as it reinforces the link between us, Sai followers. As I am finding it difficult to go to India for the time being, being in touch with you is second best to visiting the ashram.
Jacqueline Trost, French living in Australia.
Everyday I get the free inspirational service with a piece of Swami's discourse. I begin my day with that. I have felt so many times, not only me, many of us have felt that on many occasions these are answers to our prayers. I feel Swami communicates to me through them.
Sujeetra Ashok.
A friend subscribed my e-mail address and I am thrilled. Please accept my heartfelt thanks for keeping in touch with so many of us. The picture and message of our beloved Lord is the most precious daily gift, we can possibly receive.
With gratitude and love,
Granny Ruth from the Czech Republic.
I have been reading the daily quotes and articles so long now that doing so has become such a precious and integral part of my life that it is hard to believe that there was ever a time when your publication did not exist. Thank you so much for all that you do. Your beautiful service is enriching my life every day. I have not been able to travel to India in the past couple of years and H2H makes that fact easier to live with. Your articles are reminders that help me to integrate the fact of unity more firmly in my consciousness.
Dixie Cooper.
Thanks for sparing a few moments to us. God bless and Jai Sai Ram
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