From Team Venugaanam's desk

We are delighted to bring to you the April 2013 edition of Venugaanam. This edition begins with Swami’s Divine exhortation to all to develop unwavering faith in the 4F’s. Follow the Master, Face the Devil, Fight to the End and Finish the Game says Swami. Read this discourse of Swami and know His message in His own words.

In Atmajyothi, we continue the deliberation on realizing our inner nature and true potential. This edition discusses the application and utility of Vedanta.

Bhargav shares a beautiful description of the Puttaparthi marketplace in the article entitled “Santa- the Saturday Market”. He leaves us with a message of optimism that promises to brighten up the lively faces at the market place again.

“There is a Divine providence in whose eyes we are all precious and who values an Afghanistan child killed by an American drone just as much as it does those who died in the collapse of the Twin Towers. Since death is not the end of life, all has meaning”, opines Don Mascon. An absolute Must Read article entitled “The Soldier’s story” to understand that though the term 'homosapiens' does not yet really apply to the majority of humankind today, there is the whole of eternity to allow the souls of men to mature.

SowmyaRoopa shares her experiences as a student of the Anantapur campus. In the series called Golden moments, she shares an episode from her tenure as a teacher at the Ooty school, where Swami clearly showed how He gave the best of Himself and His time to His dear students.

Confusion may not be as bad as it always seems. Confusion is the time when one questions the more important aspects of life. It is in these moments that we learn to address the really important things that count in any relationship, venture, or endeavour. Confusion may often be the harbinger of clarity …no wonder then, that Swami is also called ‘Kolahalapriyaya Namaha’ – the One who loves confusion. Read more in the Article “Confusion Can be Good”, which has been adapted from The Speaking Tree.
 

There have been some significant developments last month.  Construction is progressing rapidly. Flooring work in the first and second floor has been completed, the staircase has been laid, and the external masonry and electrical work is complete. In the coming month, the painting and final finishing of the building is expected to be completed. It is expected that we will be able to welcome the children by June. Read more and see some recent photos in the construction update.

We also invite applications for suitable volunteer families who will be willing to live with and take care of the children.  The ideal volunteer would be one dedicated to Swami. We are open to families coming and joining who feel the inclination to participate and involve in Swami’s project. Volunteer families would be provided suitable accommodation and their children would be given appropriate educational facilities also.

Currently, there is a requirement for 2 English medium teachers for the proposed English medium education for the children. Candidates with appropriate background and experience may apply. We are also looking out for a cook for the children’s home once it starts functioning from June.

We are happy to have your feedback on how to make ‘Venugaanam’ a better communication tool. You may kindly mail us at contactus@saikrushnamandir.org . Do feel free to share with us your experiences in following Swami’s teachings or on any other theme of your choice.

April is the month of New Year Celebration in many parts of India. According to the Indian calendar, this New Year is called ‘Vijayam’. We wish you all a Very Happy and auspicious New Year of ‘Vijayam’.  May our lives be fulfilled by it becoming an offering of love for His glory.

May Swami turn our lives into a celebration of His message of love, sharing and caring.

With All our Prema,

Team Venugaanam

Sai Krushna Charitable Trust

Swami's discourse

Four F's
THE process of education must render the individual a happier and more useful person; it must also make him a better citizen,: able and willing to further the progress of the nation to which he belongs. It must give up its present emphasis on the grant of degrees which are serving only as bowls, with which the graduates roam about the country asking for jobs to be deposited in them. Today, we hear a great deal about 'duty' and the responsibility to perform the duties concerning each group. This is all to the good. But, the connotation of the words is not properly understood. The student thinks that his 'duty' is only to be punctual when he attends college or school, and to be attentive during the lectures and other academic exercises. The teachers too consider their duty done, when they attend during prescribed hours and perform the assignments allotted to them.

Atmajyoti

 

Sri Laxmi Narayan Aithal

AGENCY, ETC.  ARE THE TRAITS OF EGOTISM?

   (Objection: -) It  doesn’t  seem  to  be  proper  to  tell  that  there  is  not  any  relationship  between  the  body  and  ourselves.  For,  there  is  a  property-proprietary  relationship  between  the  body  and  ourselves.  The body is ours and we are its owners.  We perform actions through the body, etc.  And enjoy their resultant fruits.  In  order  to  enjoy  the  fruits  of  actions  performed  previously  this  body  has  been  endowed  to  us;  and  in  the  future  also,  in  this  manner,  we  can  have  other  bodies,  isn’t  it?

   (Relief: -) In  the  practical  view,  the  following  concepts  are  real: (1).We  have  instruments  like  body,  organs  of  sense,  mind,  etc;  (2)  by  using  them  we  perform  actions  to  acquire  merits  and  demerits;  (3)  and  from  them  again  we  get  future  bodies.

Construction Updates- Making of SaiKrushna Mandir

With the Divine Blessings and grace of our Beloved Swami, the Phase 1 of the children’s home – Sai Krushna Mandir – will be operational soon. While there are numerous challenges, the SKM construction team is working to ensure that the construction and funding are all moving along expected lines.

There have been a few delays (which is to be expected in a construction assignment) in the final finishing work and the SKM team is monitoring the situation so that there is no compromise on quality. It is expected that Sai Krushna Mandir will be functional as a children’s home from May/ June 2013. That way, the children who will be coming will also be able to join during the change of academic session.

'Santa'- Saturday market in Parthi

 

KVRK Bhargav

 

Haji saheb was busy weighing the potatoes I had bought, when a lady turned up and asked the price of beans. Haji Saheb said, " Laxmi, it is Rs 20 a kilo." I was amused seeing him calling this lady as Laxmi. Curious I asked him, "Grandpa!, how come you address ladies as Laxmi." “All are divine, my boy”- pat came the reply.

Haji saheb has been the face of this market, with a long flowing white kurta, grey beard, a skull cap, full of enthusiasm, warmth and laconic wit. Enter this market, we find Ramu- busy making labyrinthine designs letting go dough in hot oil and then soaking them in sugar syrup to make mouthwatering jalebis. The road is unusually busy with people, vehicles and bovines jostling for the space available. The most relaxed of all are the cows which sit in the middle of the road happily munching in a typical bovine nonchalance. Two pugnacious ladies fight for a strategic location to place their baskets containing sweet smelling roses, jasmines and marigolds. The road is strewn with goat droppings. Ramaulamma, an old lady with a vibrant toothless smile and tongue turned red with chewing pan, sells freshly cut raw plantain neatly kept on a white tarpaulin cloth. As soon as she sees me, she bursts into an innocent smile and remonstrates, "Babu! Today the price is fixed, I can't give you 4 pieces for Rs 10." A gentle wind wafts across bringing with it the sweet smell of the season's first mangoes being sold by Gangadhar in his small auto. The calls of the hawkers beckoning you to buy from their stall fills the space.

Encounters

 

John Mascon

Given the current level of violence in the Middle East it seems difficult to temper ones grief for the victims of both sides with a hope that things will improve. While I am much saddened by the apparent inability of humankind to stop its murderous strife and instead pay homage to the creator of a universe that is a most awe-inspiring miracle, I do believe that, as part of that miracle, death cannot destroy us. What God has made cannot be unmade by the illusionary powers of man. The Palestinian suicide bomber is as much a part of that miracle as are his Israeli victims and they have eternity to recognise their Oneness.

Golden Moments

Soumya Roopa





It was the summer of 1988.Bhagwan arrived on a rainy April night at the Sri satya sai vidya vihar nandavan Ooty. The next morning there was a sports and cultural programme on the play ground. In the evening there was a cultural show by the students in the school prayer hall. When Bhagwan visited ooty school on His way to kodaikanal, He stayed for a day. On His return journey to Bangalore, Bhagwan used to stay for a few more days. Bhagwan came to the school on 9^th may 1989 on His way from Kodaikanal to Bangalore.

Confusion is Good

-adapted from The Speaking Tree Series

Only the intelligent feel confused….
The problem with people who are not confused is great: they think they know, and they know not. Those who believe they have clarity are really in great trouble; their clarity is superficial. In fact, they know nothing of clarity; what they call clarity is just stupidity. Idiots are very clear - they don’t have the intelligence to feel confused.

Confused And Blessed
To feel confusion needs great intelligence. The mediocre go on moving in life, smiling, laughing, accumulating money, struggling for more power and fame. If you see them, you will feel a little jealous; they look so confident, even happy. If they are succeeding, if their money is increasing and their power is increasing and their fame is growing, you will feel a little jealous. You are so confused and they are so clear about their life; they have a direction, they have a goal, they know how to attain it, and they are managing, they are already achieving, they are climbing the ladder. And you are just standing there, confused about what to do, what not to do, what is right and what is wrong. But this has always been so; the mediocre remains certain. It is only for the more intelligent to feel confusion.