Issue 172 - April 12, 2020
Inspirational Note...
Question to Sri Madhusudan:

Swami had earlier said that by 2022 many changes will happen. Now that Swami has said that He will continue for 10 more years in the subtle form through you, has anything changed in the original plan of sudden changes that are to happen in the next three years?

Here is what swami said:

The changes begin now and when they begin they might be too much to take. But after sometime, I guess people will get used to these changes and they will become the ‘new normal’. They won’t realize that the changes are happening though they would be happening all the time. But when they begin, probably, it will hit you in your face. Therefore you will think there is too much of change happening all of a sudden. But these changes will continue and the last change Swami said is Man becoming Divine. Probably, the ephemerality of this whole world, the flimsy support system that we depend on, will all start failing us. And that is the time we will start looking inwards. Anything that begins new seems like too much to take in. But as we start living with those changes, they become normal. Perhaps, it begins with the three year fast changes as Swami has told. And they will continue for a long time, it is just that we would have got used to these changes and we won’t feel the pinch of it because we have recalibrated or readjusted ourselves to the new world. Swami has not clearly or separately said anything other than what He has already spoken earlier. But today, Swami was particularly speaking in terms of Prema Sai when He said that in the next five decades, every other person will be Divine. Every other person will be a realized being. And He said that is the age, Golden age, when everybody would be reveling in their own divinity and He said it does not mean that the carpenters or the sweepers or doctors and engineers will disappear and only beard fashioning ascetics will inhabit the planet. He said they will be just ordinary people but each would be a Brahma Jnani. They will continue to do their cooking, cleaning and housekeeping but that will be only external. Deep inside; they all would be totally installed in that belief, in that experience of their own divinity. Like King Janaka who would rule the kingdom by the day and be a Brahma Jnani by the night! He would do the work only as a duty to God. At the end of the day, totally detached, unperturbed by whatever happens. That is Prema Sai’s Mission,
Service Updates
COVID-19 Crisis Support
In times of COVID–19 lockdown, many families have lost their means of livelihood. Annapoorna Trust supports those needy families by supplying them with Food Essentials.
Tamil Nadu
Avadi

Grocery kits for daily wage workers in Avadi, Chennai:
Chennai

Meals for migrant workers in Chennai – Week 1:
Telangana
Bhuvanagiri District

Over 1.400 people were reached out to, in Bhuvanagiri District in Telangana – Week 2:
Hyderabad

Food Packets distribution – Week 2:
April 9, 2020: The Annapoorna team in Hyderabad distributed food packets to the needy who were affected by the lockdown.
Mehaboobnagar
 
Relief Work at Mehaboobnagar in Telangana – Week 2:

Annapoorna volunteers have distributed food essentials to 636 needy families affected by the COVID-19 lockdown in Mehabboobnagar.
Jamshedpur, Jharkhand
  • 81 families in Jamshedpur receive groceries
  • Up to 50,000 meals to be served daily in Jamshedpur, under Tata Steel Foundation’s initiative
Karnataka
JP Nagar, Bengaluru
Groceries for needy families in Bengaluru during lockdown

Thubarahalli, Whitefield, Bengaluru
 
Essential groceries for construction workers at Thubharahalli slums
Ramamurthy Nagar, Bengaluru

Each family was given the following: Rice eight kg, Atta (flour) two kg, Oil one kg, toor dal two kg, salt, sugar two kg, moong dal one kg, one detergent soap and one bath soap.
Sidlaghatta, Chikkaballapur District
More than 100 families in Sidlaghatta town receive groceries – Week 2:
Annapoorna team reached out to over 100 needy families in Sidlaghatta town in Chikkaballapur District in Karnataka State, to help them during the COVID-19 lockdown.
Chintamani, Chikkaballapur District
Grocery kits for needy families in Chintamani town – Week 2:
Annapoorna collaborated with other organisations such as Team Marga, Lions International Club, Lions Club chapters in Bengaluru
Hubbali
Daily wage labourers in Hubbali provided with groceries
Prakasam District, Andhra Pradesh
5,000 Annapoorna breakfast children’s parents in Prakasam District supported with groceries.
Annapoorna serves breakfast daily to needy children studying in a large number of rural government schools in Prakasam District in Andhra Pradesh State.
Kannur, Kerala
Overall, about 100 grocery kits were delivered at the houses of the most deserving families. Volunteers took the assistance of Ward Councillors in identifying eligible families. Food distribution for the homeless is being done on a continuous basis. Food packets are bought at Rs. 20 per packet by the volunteers from the community kitchen and distributed freely to the needy.
Dehradun, Uttarakhand
Needy families in Dehradun were provided with essential groceries
As  #IndiaFightsCorona , Annapoorna volunteers in the city of Dehradun, Uttarakhand State took note of some needy pockets in the city which would need help during the nationwide lockdown.
Noida, Uttar Pradesh
Annapoorna regularly serves breakfast at two government schools in Hoshiarpur village in Noida in Uttar Pradesh. Due to the current nationwide lockdown that was announced to tackle the menace of COVID-19, the children who are from poor and needy families might not have access to enough food to satiate their hunger.
Sri Sathya Sai Aarogya Vahini, West Bengal
A total of 769 beneficiaries have been consulted throughout the month. Apart from these, 484 patients in villages were consulted for COPD, Asthma, Skin Disorder, Musculo-skeletal pain, URTI (upper respiratory tract infection) and GI (gastrointestinal) disorders.
Middle East Seva
March 2020
Desert Seva

The coronavirus has proved to be one of the biggest challenges to humanity. We have understood now that it is the need of the hour to support one another while still maintaining a safe, social distance. With the Desert Seva scheduled for the first week of March and the Middle East Government sending out warnings restricting large group gatherings, closing down places of worship, shopping malls and schools; the volunteers were put to a big test.
One Meal A Day Programme (OMAD)
The world is living through unprecedented times. Along with physical sickness, COVID-19 has brought with it mental illness in the form of anxiety and fear. The fear of food shortage is prompting consumers to panic and hoard large supplies, resulting in depleted supermarket shelves, growing stockpiles and food wastage at home. During these difficult times, one has to remember that the only way forward is to help one another.
Serving Those Who Serve
Although the month of March arrived with a fanfare of trouble for the world, the youth were determined to continue serving others during every opportunity that presented itself. To the youth’s delight, with Swami’s Grace, the serving of refreshments for the government workers continued even amidst the country’s lockdown.
Meals with Love
The Mahinda Vidyala located in Mirihana focuses on special-needs children from low income families. The youth helped provide the school with dry rations every week to enable the students’ mothers to cook a mid-day meal for the children and staff throughout the months of January and February.