About the Organisation in NZ
Introduction
The Sathya Sai Organization is a spiritual organization founded for the benefit of all mankind. It makes no distinction or separateness on the basis of religion, nationality, colour or creed. All around the world, members of Sathya Sai Centres, consisting of people of many different faiths and ethnic groups, are seeking spiritual upliftment through dedicating their time and energies for the betterment of mankind.
The fundamental objective of the Organization as laid down by Sai Baba, is to "Awaken in man the awareness of the Divinity inherent in him" by propagating, through practice and example, the basic principles of Truth (Sathya), Righteousness (Dharma), Peace (Shanti), Love (Prema) and Non-Violence.
Baba says that "I have not come to destroy or disturb your faith or vocation. I desire to confirm your faith and sublimate your desires. I have come to make everyone realize the One God within each, to urge everyone to live in Peace, Harmony and Love and to prompt everyone to strive for the happiness of one another". "I have come to reconstruct the ancient highway to God. My task is spiritual regeneration of humanity through truth and love."
The Organization is there to serve as a vehicle for people to carry out spiritual and service activities so as to uplift themselves. In the company of others who are on a like spiritual path, it helps one to become aware of the omnipresent responsive force operating in our daily lives. One is thereby enabled to find inner peace, notwithstanding the stresses and strains, defeats and success, the ups and downs of life, and eventually to discover one's own innate divinity and regain self-confidence and faith in God.
The Sathya Sai Organization is not an evangelical or proselytising organization.
Principal Objectives
- To help one to translate into practice in daily life, Divine Love and perfection.
- To fill one's life with joy, harmony, beauty, grace, human excellence and lasting happiness.
- To ensure that all human relationships are governed by the principles of Sathya - Truth, Dharma - Right Conduct, Prema - Love, Shanti - Peace, and Ahimsa - Non Violence.
- To make devotees of all faiths more sincere and dedicated in the practice of their respective religions.
These objectives can best be attained by adhering to the principles laid down by Sathya Sai Baba, namely:
- by the constant remembrance of God, and by looking upon all creation as only a manifestation of Divinity in different forms and shapes
- by underlining the essential unity of all religions and securing of all religions as based on Love
- by looking upon all work as service dedicated to the Divine without expecting any material reward or appreciation
- by facing all life's problems from the angle of Divine Love which breeds fear of sin and a steadfast wish to observe social morality
- by engaging in spiritual, educational and service activities, both at the individual and community levels, in an organized and systematic manner
Education Wing
"The future of the nation lies not with the politicians but with the values with which we are able to inspire today's children."
"Education is like a bank on which the Nation draws a cheque whenever it needs strong and reliable workers", says Sathya Sai Baba.
Sathya Sai Baba emphasises that Education should be for life, not just for a living. He says that, "Education should serve not only to develop one's intelligence and skills, but also help broaden one's outlook and make a person useful to society and the world at large. This is possible only when cultivation of the spirit is promoted along with education in the physical sciences. Moral and spiritual education will train a person to lead a disciplined life. Education without self-control is no education at all. True education should make a person compassionate and humane. It should not make him self-centred and narrow-minded." He points out that "Science without humanity and commerce without morality are both useless and dangerous."
Already, Baba is in the process of effecting a total transformation of the educational system in India -- a task to which the Government is now giving its full support. He has, Himself, opened several universities, both for men and for women, as well as very many colleges and schools. In all of these, emphasis is laid on the need to develop character, spiritual awareness and moral responsibility, while at the same time giving the students access to the most advanced scientific and technological knowledge.
Baba constantly reminds us that it is the youth of today who will be the ones to shape tomorrow's world. If we want our world to be a better, safer and a more ecologically viable place in which to live, then we need to develop in our children a sense of social responsibility and a strong spiritual awareness.
As a means for bringing about this much needed change in outlook, Baba has instigated a system of Values Education which can be taught outside school hours and which thus provides a much-need corrective to the current educational trends. For, as He says, "Present day education develops intellect and skills but does little to develop good qualities", and asks, "of what avail is all the knowledge in the world if one has not got a good character?"
It is the Educational Wings of the various Sai Centres throughout the world that have the responsibility of putting these programmes into effect and they deserve all our support and encouragement.
There is a great deal of anxiety at the present time among thoughtful persons, who sense that our rapid progress in control and adaptation of our material world has not been matched by corresponding advances in human character and virtue. Many observe that moral values are disintegrating on all fronts both public and personal life.
The very survival of our society and the world depends upon a wide-spread renewal of individual commitment to an active moral life. Human kind must rediscover a sense of meaning and recapture a feeling of total dedication to noble ideals. The Values Education programme is founded on the belief that such a renewal is possible. It sets forth a plan of education designed to help children learn and practise the basic values that are essential to civilisation.
Objectives of Value-Based Education
To impart values to the growing personalities of the children, which will enable them to live lives to the fullest potential. At the same time, they will share with people who are less fortunate and contribute to the general welfare of the whole community.
Through participation in this programme it is hoped that children will:
- Learn about the cultures, customs and religions of other people in order to appreciate the brotherhood of man.
- Appreciate the five basic human values of Truth, Right Action, Peace, Love, and Non-Violence as a essential to the development of character.
- Acquire necessary skills that will help them to experience the five human values and put them into daily practice.
- Act consistently with the stated human values in thought, word and deed.
- Acquire decision-making skills which will facilitate development of moral learning.
- Develop a sense of responsibility for the consequences of their actions and act with regard for the rights, life and dignity of all persons.
- Develop self-discipline and self-confidence necessary to promote the fulfilment of their potential.
- Develop a healthy attitude towards their environment.
- Develop the value skills needed for personal, family, community, national and world harmony.
There are five basic human values that are universally recognized and respected. They are the key to self-confidence, self-reliance, dependability, peace and happiness. Not only do they benefit the individual but, when practiced by the society, they create a peaceful, harmonious and purposeful society and nation.
The five basic values are:
- Truth
- Right Action
- Peace
- Love
- Non-Violence
Taken together, these values encompass a development vision of human potential. Thus the pursuit of truth will lead to right action: right action promotes peace: peace enables one to love, and love expands into non-violence.
There are also five domains of the human personality, each of which relates to one of the five values. These are: Intellectual, Physical, Emotional, Psychic & Spiritual.
The Sathya Sai Education in Human Values Programme
This is a unique programme that teaches these values in a simple and enjoyable way. It carries the name of Sathya Sai after its founder.
The programme was started in India in the schools administered by the Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning. So successful was it that it was adopted by the Indian Government and is now being introduced into many countries throughout the world as well. Click here to see more details of the new Sathya Sai Education in Values Institute being planned for New Zealand.
It may be taught within the normal school curriculum or as a community based Values Education Programme. In the first, the values breathe through the subjects being taught and are brought out of those subjects.
Spiritual Wing
Devotional Singing
Sai Devotional Singing is often in the form of Bhajans, which are a form of devotional singing traditional to India. Since Sai Baba's ministry began in India, some of the original ideas and words have been retained by the followers of His teaching. Here in New Sai-land these traditional Devotional Songs are sung in English, Sanskrit, and Maori. At larger centres they are usually accompanied by harmonium, drums, cymbals and guitar. Some smaller groups just sing without accompaniment. A lead-singer leads the group through the songs, line by line. Sai Baba has recommended that Devotional Singing should be in whatever language is appropriate to the language of the country.
It is said that when several people gather together to sing the Glory of God, then the atmosphere becomes purified. Mankind, to day, is forced to breathe an atmosphere polluted by sounds that spring from violence, hatred, greed and wickedness. The singing of Bhajans radiating devotion and love, with the melody emerging from the heart, creates a sacred sound that can help purify both the individual and the world. Baba asks us to practice unity in this world of diversity, and the Sanskrit Bhajans help that unity, for Sai groups all over the world, sing the same well-known Bhajan songs. Once these songs have become familiar to us, one can then feel at home in any Sai group the world over. They form, one might say, a universal "Sai language of the heart".
If you would like to know more about Devotional Singing, or find out whether there is a centre that you could attend, click here to go to the contacts section. You can also go to the library section to enquire about the learning tapes. Sai House has a large collection of CD's and cassette tapes of both English and Sanskrit Bhajans for purchase or lending.
Seating at Devotional Singing: In the Sai Organization, men and women are asked to sit separately at Devotional singing sessions. Swami has been quite specific on this subject, and insists that this is the way it must be in Sai Centres all over the world. Many people feel that this is an Indian custom which has been imported and is inappropriate in a Western culture, Baba has several times been asked if this rule could be relaxed as it seems odd in certain Western countries, but He has always refused.
He has said that, "When you mix men and women indiscriminately, there will be no prayers and a lack of concentration." I am well aware that many Westerners feel that this is ridiculous, and they affect the attitude that they are mentally well "above" being bothered by proximity to the opposite sex, but maybe Baba knows better . . . after all, He is inside our minds and hearts, so gets an "inside view", as one might say!
We also tend to under-estimate the fundamental difference in the subtle vibrations that emanate from the two sexes, positive for the men and negative for the women. When the positive and the negative are concentrated in different areas, the vibration from each is strengthened, and the psychic current can flow round the room as an invigorating force. When all is mixed-up, there is no flow; all that you get is a lot of little short-circuits! It may need a little psychic sensitivity to notice this, but the effect exists even if unnoticed.
We have only been asked to apply this ruling of segregation to Devotional Singing Sessions. It does not apply to informal gathering, Study Groups, public seminars, film evenings and the like, though men and women are asked to treat one another as Sai brothers and sisters at all gatherings conducted in His Name.
Study Circles (Discussion Groups)
Under the spiritual wing of the Sai Organization Study Group/Circle or Discussion groups is an important activity. Here a group of people meet regularly to discuss spiritual topics, and find their practical application in daily life.
The study groups enable us to learn from the wisdom of saints and other great spiritual leaders. The sacred Scriptures of all religions can be studied and discussed.
Sai literature, and the teachings of Sathya Sai Baba are also studied in depth. Therefore any literature that provides spirituality, awakening and inspiration is suitable for discussion. A Study Group provides an excellent opportunity for members to come to an understanding and practice of Sai teachings and other great spiritual Truths.
According to Sai Baba, hearing the words of Truth, reflecting on those words and experiencing them in practice, is an important step to spiritual understanding. The readings of the teachings provide the opportunity to hear the spoken word which can be far more potent than silent reading. The discussion that follows allows the many views of the teaching to be shared as each sees it from a different view point.
Sharing widens the understanding. We clarify our ideas and doubts; learn to express our views on spiritual topics. We learn to listen more closely to others ideas and to consider other viewpoints. By sharing thus with our fellow aspirants, we are inspired to regularly practice the spiritual disciplines.
Study Groups usually have a "facilitator" whose main job is to see that the discussion remains centred on spiritual topics, and does not degenerate into a conversation on purely mundane issues. The usual practice is for each person in the group to read a passage from whatever book has been chosen; this passage is then discussed before the next person reads the following one.
It can sometimes happen that some of the people in the group find difficulty in reading the passages allowed (especially if English is not their "mother-tongue"), and, in such cases it is sometimes better that the facilitator should do the reading, but it is still necessary to pause for the necessary discussion on each passage, as it is only in through sharing one's understanding of what has been read that a full understanding of the meaning can be reached.
As an alternative to the above method, the group can meet to discuss certain specific spiritual topics. In this case, it is usual for the topic that has been chosen to be announced in advance, so that each member can think about it in beforehand and even bring along some relevant texts.
In either case it is recommended that groups meet regularly and the numbers be kept to a maximum of 12/15 as participation plays an important part in the functioning of the study groups. If the number is too great, some people do not always get the necessary chance to express themselves. A deep feeling of unity very soon grows between the various members of a Study Group, for each has learned to listen to the others with attention and respect, and, in this totally un-critical atmosphere, has also found the courage to express himself or herself freely. Only those who have experienced it, can know how profoundly uplifting it can be to spend an hour or so in the company of like-minded people, and with the mind focussed solely on spiritual subjects.
Click here to go to the calendar section, to enquire if there is a study circle happening near you.
Retreat Camps And Seminars
Running retreats and organizing seminars, is also an important part of the work of the Sathya Sai Organization, for these fulfil a much-felt need. While Sai Baba does not want us to publicise Him, there is none-the-less necessary to make knowledge about Him available -- not to do so would be hogging knowledge of Him selfishly to ourselves. There are countless people in today's world who are hungry for Truth, and who are earnestly seeking for the meaning and purpose of life. It is for these that has Baba come, and it is for such as these that the Organization needs to run seminars and the like.
Those who are already on a God-ward path need not, and should not, be disturbed in their allegiance. All religions adore the One and Only God known by different Names. As Baba says, "God is the harmony of all the forms and Names that men give Him". He advises each to "observe the code of conduct laid down in his or her own religion. Continue the worship of God of your choice along the lines already familiar to you", as long as this does not lead one to "criticise or cast slurs on the beliefs of another". But there are many others who have not yet found their spiritual haven, and who are still tossed on a sea of many doubts.
Retreat Camps also focus on giving people a better insight into the Goal of Life and a greater understanding of Baba's Teaching, but such camps fulfil another need as well -- that of bonding people together into one large family. Many New Zealand devotees find themselves very isolated from others on a similar path, and they greatly look forward to these camps. Baba often speaks of the benefit of being in the company of others on the God-ward path. Good company is known as Satsang, and the Retreat Camps provide people with just that; people come away from them feeling spiritually re-charged and ready to face the problems of life with renewed courage and self-confidence.
Group Meditation
"To live in constant awareness of the truth … the truth that there is only one thing that truly exists - the divine ". Group meditation sessions are regularly conducted to motivate sincere spiritual aspirants towards realizing this ultimate goal. It brings about inner strength, mastery of the mind and in its depth of silence, lies an inner peace that is indescribable!
See calendar of events section for details about up coming events such as retreats, seminars, study circles, meditation and yoga sessions.
Service Wing
"When you feel that it is no other whom you are serving -but yourself, then your service will be better and more effective . Establish this attitude more firmly in your mind."
Sathya Sai Baba, in every message and every discourse at every celebration has never failed to convey the importance of Serving others and expressing the joy and happiness that will derive through the act of serving others.
"Service is that which makes us courageous. Through the medium of Seva (service), man can achieve divinity"
You should realize that the purpose of human birth itself is to do Seva. It is only by serving others till the last breath that this noble life is given to us and not for eating, sleeping and making money. You must try to find out the nature of suffering and undergone by your brethren and make efforts to remove it and afford relief to the best of your ability and capacity. Then only will God become the resident of your heart".
Despite a number of government programs providing social welfare, a significant segment of the population in New Zealand has become economically and socially disadvantaged and is in real need of assistance in a number of ways.
Listed below are some of the programs being undertaken by various centres around the country.
- Education in Human Values program
- Study Care Program
- Teaching Computer Skills
- Taking the Message of Love to prisoners ( Department of Correction)
- Sai Food Bank (dry food distribution)
- Sandwich Making Project
- Meals on Wheels
- Soup Kitchen /Nightshelter
- Hospice visits
- Rest homes and Hospital visits
- Refugee and Migrant service
- Women's Refugee
- Natural Disaster appeal etc
- Free Medical clinic - in NZ and overseas
- Blood donation drive
- Dental clinic
- Homeopathic clinic
If you wish to participate in any of the programs above, please contact (link to the contacts page) the respective coordinator.
Youth Wing
The role of the Youth Wing is to provide forums and opportunities to allow youth activities to flourish. Sathya Sai Baba has stated that, "the age span 16 - 35 is crucial, for that is the period when life adds sweetness to itself, when talents, skills and attitudes are accumulated, sublimated and sanctified".
The spiritual guidance of youth is of paramount importance to the success of the Sai mission. The foundations of morality and the benefits of virtuous living are of utmost significance. Hence, the aim of this wing is to build upon the knowledge and wisdom that has been conferred at the level of Sathya Sai Education (Educare). In this way, fundamental principles are re-iterated and expanded upon during the often difficult and uncertain period of adulthood.
The aim and objectives of the National Youth Wing are as follows:
Aims
- To awaken in the youth the awareness of the inherent divinity within and to live in that awareness by developing their character through the practise of the basic principles of Sathya (Truth), Dharma (Right-conduct), Shanti (Peace), Prema (Love) and Ahimsa (Non-violence) as set by Sathya Sai Baba.
Objectives
- To encourage and motivate the youth to take an active role within the Sri Sathya Sai Service Organisation
- To integrate youth activities within the existing structure of the Sai Organisation
- To encourage the youth to develop and practise spirituality in their daily lives.
Due to the vast difference in age groups, the Youth Group of New Zealand is categorised into three different sections:
Teen Youth (13 - 15 yrs) - This group caters for kids who have just left Educare and are looking for a guide down the road of spirituality.
Youth (16 - 24 yrs) - As the Youth develop further along their goal, they move into a stage where they can begin practical uses of the teachings they have learnt, and use them to help themselves in their daily lives, as well as others in the community.
Senior Youth (25 onwards) - Finally as they have fully immersed themselves in the journey to enlightenment, this groups caters for those who still have questions burning in their mind.
However no matter what the age group, the Youth Group provides a place to get like minded people together, to help each other progress in their journey as well as provide a fun, enthusiastic environment full of sports, drama and songs, and service to the community.
The Youth Wing plays an integral role within the Organisation, liaising and working in accordance with all the other wings.