Issue 130 - June 30, 2019 | | 2019 First And Second Quarter Service Summary | | In 2016 a Satsang held in the divine presence in California. A devotee seeks Swami's grace on his health issues.
And here is what Swami said:
Serve – only service will cure you of your problems. Serve without thinking of your troubles and your service will bring so much benefit to you that your problems will disappear. Your solution is not to be cured and then serve; it is to serve and be cured.
You take the first step and the rest will follow. Putting your problems out of your mind, you can serve. I had so many problems, too, but whom could I discuss them with?
I had to keep them to Myself – but, as far as possible, I always came, gave Darshan, talked to people and consoled them. In loving them and consoling them, I forgot my pains. You have to experience that state where, through service, the mind rises so far beyond your individual self that all pains disappear – and they will disappear. The doctors cannot identify it because it is not a physical ailment. It is at another level, it is metaphysical, and the only solution is harmony; when all your thoughts, words and actions are in unity, the resulting inner peace will make all the pain disappear.
If you are standing straight, you can stand for long periods without any problem – but, if your head is bent one way, your abdomen is bent another way and your legs are bent yet another way; if you stand crookedly, you cannot stand for long and it will cause pain.
The same way, when thought, word and action are all aligned, there will be no pain. You should say only what you think and do only what you say. Do not be pressured by circumstances, people or society – think and act of your own accord. Once you align yourself that way, all the problems will disappear. The solution is not in physical medicine or anything like that; it is actually your mental state. | | A Summary of Service Activities from January to June, 2019 | | The first half of 2019 flew by swiftly, marked by a significant expansion in Seva opportunities across the country. Also, this period saw various activities catching the public and corporate eye. With Bhagawan's Infinite Grace and with an express mission to 'Let no Child Go to School Hungry Ever', Annapoorna made strong strides in its flagship breakfast programme and has currently reached out to more than 200,000 needy school going children across more than 2,600 centres spanning 16 states and one Union Territory. | | A Summary of Service Activities from January to June, 2019 | | - The dawn of a new year rejuvenated the youth to embark from January onwards, on a new project that would enable them to feed the poor and the homeless once a week, with nutritious home-made meals.
- Free of cost tuition classes continued to be carried out in Kirunakulam, Batticaloa, located in the Eastern region of the country which sees to the education of children from war-affected families.
- Daily breakfast is provided to the children from Dharmapuram School in Batticaloa.
- Lunch is also distributed once a month to the children studying at the Harvard School in Pettah, Colombo.
- Donations were made numerous times in the past couple of months, to the Cancer Hospital in Maharagama to fund both the patients' medicine and their daily needs.
| | A Summary of Service Activities from January to June, 2019 | | The Seva activities that happened in Nigeria are as follows:
1) Ereko Methodist School Lagos – Breakfast Packets were served once a month on a Thursday, to the Children and Teachers / Caretakers.
This was possible only with Swami's love and grace. It was so wonderful and the volunteers truly enjoyed the blissful moments spent with the kids!
Contents of the Food Bags served were:
One Biscuit packet, one Yogurt Drink tetra pack, one Cheese balls packet, one Bread Loaf and one Packet Sliced Cake.
2) Royal Dove Nursery Lagos - The Breakfast Seva at the Royal Dove Creche and Nursery in Lekki, Lagos, Nigeria feeds 120 children two times a week (and three times on special occasions), every Monday and Friday. The youth distribute packets that contain Bread, Fruits and an Egg as these foods are both nutritious and rich in energy.
| | A Summary of Service Activities from January to June, 2019 | | The youth have been doing regular service activities round the year from 2015, on a sustainable basis.
The main group has split into four groups according to the ease of access to the Seva location. These four groups visits four different labour camps every weekend, to do whatever little they can, to support the workers there. The details for the year 2019 are listed below: | | Group 1 The youth go to a construction site which, predominantly, has workers toiling under the hot sun. The group is very regular in distributing Tetrapack Buttermilk, Juices, Snacks or Biscuits, Fruits and Toiletries.
Group 2 This youth group has joined a like-minded organisation to distribute Buttermilk and Fruits to the construction workers. They are mainly school-going youth who initiated and are taking forward this Seva. They manage everything, from buying required items to coordinating the group and finally distributing the items to the workers.
Group 3 This group consists of ladies and they do their Seva at a Ladies Camp. They distribute Dry Ration Kits, Fruits and Vegetables in the camp. In addition to this service, the group exerted themselves one step ahead by empowering the women in various ways. They taught the women Basic Computer skills, Yoga practice, Breathing exercises and narrated stories that instilled good practices of Hygiene and Healthcare. They also conducted medical camps and awareness campaigns here.
Group 4 The youth in this group have identified another construction site and are catering to the basic needs of the workers there. They have been very regular in distributing Dry Ration Kits, Raw Vegetables, Toiletries, Clothing, Juices and Snacks.
Total number of items distributed and Seva done from January to June, 2019, are as follows: Buttermilk, fruits and snacks – 26,782 Groceries – 4,160 Skill Development - 572 Medical Assistance - 150 | | | | | | |
