Issue 159 - January 12, 2020
Inspirational Note...
In 2017 a Satsang held in the divine presence at Padova, Italy a devotee asks why are there no good leaders.
 
And here is what Swami said:
 
 
Whatever you experience is a result of your actions. Individual karma is the first level. All individuals are part of a family, so each person’s karma affects the entire family. If one member of the family goes astray, the entire family suffers. Conversely, if one member of the family does good, the entire family benefits. Next, all the families together form the society. If a family does good, the entire society benefits, and the reverse is also true. Then, all societies come together and form a nation. Therefore, a nation’s good depends on the society that comprises it. All these karmas – individual karma, societal karma and national karma are all interlinked. Even when an individual does good, somewhere, it affects the entire nation. When an individual does wrong, it somehow affects the entire chain. When more and more individuals start becoming good, it will start changing the way the nation is. It will create situations and circumstances to get the right kind of people to lead the nation. That is how a nation’s fate will change. Not just the leader, everything needed for a nation to grow will come by its own under this great, indispensable law of the Universe called karma.
 
That is what I am trying to do. I am trying to change as many individuals as quickly as possible so that one individual member can go and change his family, many families change the society, societies change the nation and nations change the world. Therefore, if individuals start becoming righteous, the entire thinking, the entire working of the nation will start changing, because the law of the Universe will ensure that the right people come at the right time to do the right things. On the other hand, if most individuals are just happy the way things are and not doing anything about it, nothing can change. Thus, more and more people have to become good in order to make the nation good. At no point in time can you expect every single person to be good but, when most of them are good, the nation will benefit. It all depends on the citizens of the country, not on the leader. The law of attraction will bring a leader who reflects the people in the country. That is the right way of changing things.
Service Updates
Seva Activities by Sri Sathya Sai
Annapoorna Trust and their Collaborators
Annapoorna's Fourth Year Anniversary

Sri Sathya Sai Annapoorna Trust celebrated its fourth Anniversary on December 28 and 29, 2019. The celebrations were attended by a large number of volunteers, Government officials including an Honourable Minister, CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) partners, Government School teachers from various parts of South India and beneficiary children from various breakfast centres.
Noida Sector 50 - Hoshiarpur School Engagement with BIMTECH MBA Students
60 students studying in the first year of PGPM-IB (MBA) from Birla Institute of Management Technology (BIMTECH), Greater Noida joined the team of Annapoorna volunteers for Annapoorna Breakfast Programme.

A special snack of bread pakoras was planned for all the children studying in the school. After distributing breakfast, the school children were sent to their respective classes. Then the MBA students formed groups of five to six and went to one class each. They were asked to drive the importance of ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’ (Clean India Mission) and personal hygiene through art, music, games and interactions.
Tata Steel CSR Initiative for Annapoorna Beneficiary School
Annapoorna is excited to share that 45 days basic computer training is being provided to an Annapoorna Beneficiary School in Jharkhand - Sri Surat Sarvajanik Gujarati ME School - by Tata Steel CSR through their Mobile Training Module 'Kaushalyan'. As a part of this programme, children from classes 8, 9 and 10 will be trained for two hours per class, on a daily basis, for the next 45 days by an expert trainer.

Annapoorna thanks Tata Steel for their support and is confident that students will be able to benefit from these training sessions.
Fun Filled Sports Day for Doddabele
School Children
Oracle CSR team and Annapoorna volunteers together conducted a 'Sports Day' followed by 'Share a Meal' with the school children of Doddabele Village off Mysore Road in Bengaluru. This is Annapoorna's first breakfast service centre.

The day was spent playing a large variety of outdoor games such as cricket, football, badminton, throwball and kho-kho which sent the children into excitement all through the day.

Juices were distributed to the students post the sports session and a sumptuous lunch was served to the students and villagers.

Overall, it was a day full of fun and excitement for the Oracle team, Annapoorna volunteers as well as for all the school children!
Sri Sathya Sai Aarogya Vahini
A Mobile Hospital Service
West Bengal India
Sri Sathya Sai Aarogya Vahini is a completely free of cost Mobile Hospital Service operating in the Eastern Zone of India with its base in West Bengal. Its focus is in creating access for Primary and Preventive Healthcare in rural India using fabricated Mobile Medical Units involving a host of Medical Experts.
 
In the last week, 17 outreach camps were held in different districts of West Bengal with two Mobile Medical Units traversing almost 200kms every day. Each Mobile Unit reached out to rural nodal points offering 1,432 consultations for screening patients for non-communicable diseases and providing basic diagnostics supported by Medicines. The outreach initiatives were also complimented with the Outpatient Department at Salt Lake, Kolkata, where consultations were offered for General, Gynaecology and Cardiology patients involving innovative tools for screening.
Madhava Seva through Manava Seva
The festive conclusion to the year comes in the form of December; the month in which people irrespective of any and all differences come together and spread infectious joy and happiness all around! The end of the year marks a threshold and invites a pause for reflection. It is a great time to take stock of the past year and look ahead. By the Divine Grace, Middle East has been engaged throughout the year in Madhava Seva through Manava Seva .
End of the Year Reflection
Seva at Construction Site
The group ecstatically participated in distributing snacks at two different construction sites in the Middle East. The workers were given orange juice, biscuits, and laban (cool buttermilk). It was a celebratory affair at the sites where both labourers and volunteers found peace and happiness in each other's presence; a united family, all serving the Divine with love!
Seva by Youth
The speciality of this Seva is that it is carried out by very young eager minds, most of them in their early teens or in their early twenties. These beautiful hearts gather every week and together coordinate, organise and serve the workers. The month of December saw the youths of the group distribute fruits to labourers in the region. The workers relished the bananas and oranges they received from the youth members, and it was evident that they thoroughly enjoyed the refreshments.
Seva at Ladies Camp
This Seva has been progressing consistently for two years, following the instructions from Swami to serve and empower women. The female volunteers visit this camp on a weekly basis and along with distribution of toiletries or grocery items, health awareness camps, hygiene and value-based classes/stories, they undertake spoken English classes, computer education and celebrating important days together. In December, 2019, the female workers were served with offerings of love in the form of rice and dal packets, fruits, Women’s Horlicks and bathing soaps. The year culminated with a cake cutting ceremony to welcome the New Year with joy, fun and love!
Desert Seva
This Seva began in July 2019. What began as one camp has grown today to nine desert camps and one labour camp. The initiative of a group of volunteers driven by the urge to serve those less fortunate than themselves led to the formation of the Desert Seva group that aims to provide basic amenities to those residing in the vast deserts of the Middle East. 39 people, taking care of farms in harsh living conditions now receive collections done by the Seva group that include basic amenities such as dry rations, drinking water, personal hygiene items, clothes, solar chargers, cooking stoves, utensils, vegetables and freshly cooked hot meals. The Fridays of every month are now filled with the joy of giving, love, laughter and listening to one another share in spite of all language barriers!

The slogan “God helps those who help themselves” has become outdated for today’s times; “God truly helps those who help others.” We look forward to continue serving with Love in 2020!
Serving Those Who Serve
During the rainy season in December, the youth were fortunate to be able to continue serving government workers. They often leave for work during the early hours of the day which results in their not being able to find any time to have some proper food. Therefore, every other day, the workers were provided with a warm meal along with freshly-made tea and coffee or a platter filled with refreshing snacks of sandwiches, biscuits and cakes.