Issue 150 - November 10, 2019
Inspirational Note...
In 2016 a Satsang held in the divine presence at Suffolk, UK a devotee asked how to open the hearth and love everyone.

Here is what Swami said:

Your nature is love. It would be surprising if one is unable to love, because love is your basic nature. Everything else has piled up on top of the nature to love and that is why you are not able to recognize it. To be able to love, you have to remove all the negativity within you; what remains, finally, is love. What is negative in you? Your own mind is negative.

It judges, it questions, it argues, it doubts, it suspects, it gets into all kinds of negativity. If you remove the mind, what remains inside is only love. There is a tumbler here, with a lid on top of it. If you want to drink the water, you have to remove the lid and then you can drink the water. In the same way, if you remove the mind from yourself, you remove the negativity from yourself, what remains is love, because your nature is love.

Try to see what is good in people, what is nice in people. Ignore what is bad, what is not right; it will help you to love them better. Always remind yourself, ‘I am not perfect, yet God loves me so much. If God also starts judging me for what I am, what would I do? Where would I go? When God has shown me the path by loving me and ignoring my shortcomings, then I, too, should follow the path of God, ignoring the shortcomings of others and trying to see the love and Divinity in them and being able to love.’

Somebody has to start loving; once you start, love will come back to you, as a natural response, from the other person. Therefore, it is important that you practice, to remove all the negativity in the mind, to look at what is Divine in others, what is good in them and love them for that. That is what I do, and that is how I am able to love everyone.
Service Updates
Launch Of Multiple Initiatives Towards
‘End Malnutrition'
By the Chief Minister of Karnataka at Vidhana Soudha, Bengaluru
It is said that children are the greatest asset of a nation as they are the future of tomorrow. A country can prosper tomorrow only if its children are healthy today and for that it is imperative to ensure the health of the mothers, for only a healthy mother can beget a healthy child. Unfortunately today, India is home to about 50% of under-nourished children of the world with an alarming rate of infant mortality.
'Honorable Mention' for Annapoorna in
Global Duty of Care Awards 2019
The Duty of Care Summit and Awards was held on October 17, 2019, in Shanghai. In this summit, the world’s leading stakeholders responsible for protecting the health, safety and well-being of their people gathered for the Duty of Care Summit to share best practices and trends, exploring the next generation of Duty of Care. The Awards recognise outstanding achievements in meeting high standards of health, safety and security at work. Judges reviewed entries representing 28 sectors across 31 countries.

Sri Sathya Sai Annapoorna Trust was shortlisted in the Education Category in the first round, and in the final round earned an *'Honorable Mention'* at the summit. There were three honorable mentions overall, along with a winner of the award.
Annapoorna Adjudged the Regional Winner
in the Field of "Social Impact"
'Spirit of Humanity' is a national-level platform for collaboration, capacity building, rewards and recognition within the social sector in India. Thought leaders from Corporate, Government, Academia, Social and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) sectors unite at Spirit of Humanity for rendering their knowledge and expertise in evaluating the social impact created by participating organisations.
On this prestigious stage, Annapoorna has been awarded the Regional Winner for contribution in the field of 'Social Impact'!
Deepavali Celebrations in
JP Nagar Slum Area
A team from Oracle, along with Annapoorna volunteers lit the Deepavali holidays for the children who are beneficiaries of the Ragigudda slum-based Annapoorna Programme. The volunteers made it bright by spending time with the children and lighting sparklers with them!

A number of activities ranging from paper diya (lamp) making, songs and dances, music quiz, other games and sparkler session made the day happy and delightful for the children.

Annapoorna thanks Oracle volunteers for taking time out to help light the children's faces with excitement and happiness!
Annapoorna Breakfast Programme in Vijayawada's SBSRMC Elementary School
Annapoorna is happy to announce the launch of the free breakfast programme at 'Sri Bellapu Sri Ramulu Pradhamika Patasala' in Vijayawada. This is the second Annapoorna beneficiary school in Vijayawada Urban.

About 60 students studying in this school will benefit from this programme and will receive daily solid breakfast at the school!
Annapoorna congratulates Vijayawada team of volunteers for launching the breakfast programme in this needy school.
Warm Love for the Chinnapannahalli Government School in Bengaluru
Annapoorna volunteers gifted the children studying at Chinnapannahalli Government School in Bengaluru with sweaters to help keep the children warm and unaffected during cold weather.

The children were also served with pulao and raitha for their breakfast meal. Kudos to the volunteers involved in offering their love to the children!
Dussehra Gifts for Children Studying in
Nagarbhavi Government School
On the twin occasions of Dussehra and Mahatma Gandhi Jayanthi, Annapoorna volunteers gave gifts to the children studying in the Government School at Nagarbhavi in Bengaluru.
Seva in the Middle East
With the Grace of the Lord the Seva Activies Continue With Vigor
Desert Seva
 
For the fourth consecutive month, youths in the region gathered to distribute rations to caretakers. With the grace of Swami, 35 individuals have benefited from the rations and cooked food this month. Each time the rations given are in accordance with the requirements of the beneficiaries. To further improve the efficiency of the Seva , the youths automated the rations list making it easy for donors to simply click on the items they wish to donate online.
Ladies Camp
At the Ladies’ Camp, the sisters were given weekly rations along with continuing computer classes for skills in using Microsoft Word and Excel. They also had a special session with a General Practitioner who treated their ailments. To celebrate the festival of Diwali, the sisters were treated to homemade idlys (rice and lentil cakes) and chocolates.
Youth Seva
The youth Seva continues with fervour as the region welcomes cooler weather. Every weekend the youth got together to distribute bananas to their labourer brothers.
Construction Site (Labour) Seva
The youths and adults come together to continue their support of Seva activities conducted at two labour camps in the region. The team provides a mixed variety of rations such as buttermilk, fresh vegetables, biscuits, cupcakes and so on.
Transformation
Swami’s Divine Grace
If our prayers are earnest in seeking Swami, He will ensure the granting of a heart touching Darshan ! I am Kumar, seeking to be an instrument of our dearest Bhagawan and to serve at His Holy Feet. It would be surprising to note that I did not have the opportunity to get our dearest Lord’s Darshan when He was in His physical form at Puttaparthi. I came into Swami’s fold in 2011 and got a chance to serve at the..
It will be incomplete if I do not mention how Swami has taken care of my family and personal life. Swami helped my father recover from an accident where my father broke 13 bones around the rib area. Swami has ensured that wherever I go for His Divine Work, I have all the facilities and comforts ahead of me, always. I pray to Bhagawan to guide me in my life as He always has done every moment, and help me serve in His Grand Mission!