Sathya Sai School with Five Other Toronto schools among the best in province: Fraser Institute | CTV Toronto News
http://toronto.ctvnews.ca/six-toronto-schools-among-the-best-in-province-fraser-institute-1.1666745#.UvIHRiAe2Xs.gmail I shall not forsake… Wednesday, February 5th, 2014 Recounting a beautiful incident from His Treta Avatar as Lord Rama, Bhagawan once narrated how precious is His birthplace, Puttaparthi, for Him…reiterating that He shall not forsake His birthplace, ever…Extracted from Bhagawan’s Divine discourse delivered on 25-05-1982. After the death of Ravana on the battlefield, Lakshmana asked Rama, “Brother! Our brother Bharata has been ruling the Kingdom of Ayodhya very well, for 14 years. That kingdom, though poor, is happy under his rule. Now, Lanka has come into our hands. This seems heaven when compared to Ayodhya. I pray that you assume rulership over Lanka and reform the Rakshasas.” Rama smiled at this suggestion. He replied, “Does any son give up his mother because her features are ugly? My motherland may be poor but it is my mother. Can I adopt a woman as mother, if she is more charming than my own? However rich and prosperous this Lanka is, I do not wish to be here.” Rama held up the ideal of a patriot eager to serve His native land. I shall relate an example in which I Am Myself the subject. Forty years ago, a rich lady named Sakamma (famed as a big coffee planter and manufacturer of Sakamma Coffee) used to come to Puttaparthi from Bangalore. In those days, journey to this isolated hamlet was a very difficult venture. Those who came by car had to negotiate mud tracks and park the cars on the right bank of the river and trudge across. On one occasion, Sakamma came with two maternal uncles of the Maharaja of Mysore, and prayed, “Swami! This place is very inaccessible. Devotees are undergoing much trouble. We shall purchase a few acres of land in Bangalore City and spend a few lakhs to build a fine spacious Mandir for You there. Swami must agree and must move over to that city.” I told her, “Sakamma! What is the greatness in promising water to those who come to the River Ganga? The greatness consists in promising water to those who come to the desert. Listen! This is the place where ‘This Body’ was born. You may build the Mandir as you plan anywhere. I shall come there and be there for some days. However, I shall not forsake this place.” Now, this tiny hamlet which was difficult to reach has become the centre of even a University. Can mere man transform it so? Through Whom has this village gained every modern convenience needed for a happy life? sourced: http://www.theprasanthireporter.org/2014/02/i-shall-not-forsake/ The Agony Of The Avatar… Wednesday, February 5th, 2014 Students are the very foundation of the nation. To make the foundation strong, the people, the government, the parents, the teachers, and the students all have to co-ordinate their plans and efforts. These five elements, these five vital forces have to work together towards the end…says Bhagawan. It is no secret that Bhagawan often cherishes and takes great personal pride in declaring His students as His ‘Real Property’. The Divine in His persona has set a higher benchmark for this most privileged lot. What does He expect from ‘His Properties’ whom He often refers to as future leaders? Read on an extract from Sanathana Sarathi published in July 1983, originally taken from the book “The Greatest Adventure” by Late Dr. M.V.N.Murthy, to find His greater expectations on His ‘White Army’. The other day, Bhagawan spoke to a student of His College who had just finished his examinations and was leaving for Madras (now Chennai) to spend the holidays with his parents. “Beautiful lotus flowers bloom in the pond. The frogs in the pond do not enjoy the fragrance and the nectar; they hop, leap and croak. Bees know the fragrance and the sweetness of the nectar; they come in swarms from afar. The frog uses the lotus as a perch! You do not realise what a blessing it is to be near to Swami. Look at all these persons who come to Swami from far off places!…” said Bhagawan. The boy was standing next to me; so, I could see the expression on Bhagawan’s face and also sensed the ‘anguish’ underneath those words. Surely they were not meant for him alone. There were other boys within hearing and many elders. It was meant for all. He came near the boy and said, “Come back early. Have you applied for admission to the post graduate class? Come in time for the admission test. Bring your brother’s son too for joining the primary school.” Here was the Lord, the Avatar of the Age, the Chancellor of Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning, speaking so intimately, so affectionately to His students, asking them not to miss the chance of continuing to be under His loving care. What amazed me was the `agony’ of the Avatar, the ‘anguish’ born out of extraordinary love. I had heard Him declare repeatedly, “If you ask Me, I would say, students are My property. I have no other property.” His efforts to establish educational institutions, to equip them with the best; the Love and care He bestows on teachers and the students are evidences of His concern for the future of this great country; and of a world on the brink of a disaster. Baba’s unspoken message was, “O! Dear children! I Am doing so much for your sake. I need no gain or dread any loss. You are all potentially Divine, Amritasya Putrah, Children of Immortality. You have the capability to become Madhava, Master of Maya. Why do you love to be just puny little men?” He told the boy from Madras, “Be near Swami. Everything will be added to you.” The feeling of ‘agony’ is adopted by the Personality of the Avatar to awaken our faith. If Bhagawan sometimes pretends anger, that too is born out of His Love; He expresses ‘sorrow’ and ‘disappointment’ that all His boys do not realise what they are missing. He has nothing but their highest good in His Mind. II Samastha Lokah Sukhino Bhavantu II sourced http://www.theprasanthireporter.org/2014/02/the-agony-of-the-avatar/ Take one step towards me and I shall take ten towards you - By Aravind Balasubrmanya No prayer ever goes unheard, no pining is missed; no effort goes unrecognized, no tear is unnoticed. When the devotee takes a step towards God, though he/she is unaware, the Lord has already taken ten steps towards the devotee. The experience of Saptarshi Chatterjee gives so much of hope and cheer to those who seek a heart-to-heart connect with God. His experience starts with tears and words galore and ends with a million smiles and the inability to speak anything! Truly, the Lord not only makes the dumb speak but also gets the orator tongue-tied. And through it all, Sapto realized that he has always been under the divine scanner - even before he got to know Swami! A BRAND NEW ARTICLE to recharge you in the middle of the week... http://aravindb1982.blogspot.in/2014/02/take-one-step-towards-me-and-i-shall-take-ten-towards-you.html Sathya Sai Speaks - By Aravind Balasubramanya Have you ever had this confusion? Listening to one discourse of Swami, you hear Him say something. Listening to another discourse, you hear Him say another thing which 'contradicts' what He said in the previous discourse. What do you do then? What do you follow? Though I feel it is preposterous to ask 'why' God does something (not because God is a dictator but because an answer beyond realms of the body and mind cannot be understood by the mind), I feel the answer to this problem is very clear.... And what a perfect and reassuring answer this is..... http://aravindb1982.hubpages.com/hub/Sathya-Sai-Speaks Personal Finance Seminar An audience of 32 youth and elders attended the 3 hour seminar on Financial Planning at the IT centre, Dharmakshetra on 2nd Feb conducted by Shri. Mukund Sheshadri. The participants experienced a variety of emotions during the seminar - laughter, amazement, concern, introspection etc. One would hardly expect these in a seminar where the topic is as dry as a desert - Finance. The sheer brilliance of the presenter, his knowledge, the style of presentation and most importantly linking Swami's words and Seva to Personal Finance made this possible. Starting from a self evaluation questionnaire filled by all participants, to defining Financial Planning, Steps on how to do and trying to simplify the Finance World it was a thoroughly hands on seminar with a very active involvement of the participants. The concept of identifying and putting Needs over Desires, Having a Ceiling on Desires, Understanding how our lifestyle contributes to the rampant Inflation that we face were used very effectively to underscore the importance of Effective management of one's own finances. Shri. Mukund used Swami's quote of Start Early, Drive Slowly and Reach Safety to emphasisze the need to start financial planning at a young age, take investment decisions rationally and succeed in reaching one's financial goals. Shri. Mukund also made a very interesting observation on How doing Seva more often than not grants financial balance and stability. It was a thoroughly value adding session for the participants who promised to implement these concepts in their lives. The youth wing is deeply grateful to Shri. Mukund for imparting this important knowledge in the first quarterly seminar series. Photos can be seen below Google Plus Link: https://plus.google.com/photos/115594714947438451860/albums/5975799070098087553?banner=pwa Picasa Web Albums Link: https://picasaweb.google.com/115594714947438451860/20140202?noredirect=1# Video will be uploaded shortly. -- --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "saimsg" group. 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