New Equipment Inaugurated at SSSIHMS Prasanthigram

Prashantinilayam, 14th October 2013

A New Magnetic Resonating system (MRI) was inaugurated at the Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences at Prashantigram today.

Procured at a cost of Rs 5.5 Crores, this high-end 1.5 tesla strength, 32 channels MRI system is one of the most advanced systems currently available in the world. This will facilitate complex imaging examinations required by the patients can now be easily performed on this system.

PS: Needless to add, this equipment, like the entire medical facility (Super Specialty hospital and General Hospital) at Puttaparthi will extend genuine, free and loving MEDICARE to the poor & needy.

Dassera at Puttaparthi 1

Greetings from Puttaparthi. Delighted to be here for Dassera. With Divine Mother. 

I have always enjoyed the festivals in Prashanthi Nilayam. The core of all celebration is simplicity and spirituality. 

The drive to Parthi was great, last evening. Glad to spot buses, public and private, trucks/trailers and other vehicles, along the way. This part of AP limping back to normalcy?! 

Weather is beautiful. 

Prayers are with people and birds/animals in Coastal AP & Orissa. Prayers can move mountains, minimise impact of cyclone.

God forsaken | Business Standard

I am amused to see the title, "God Forsaken"! Hence, some Random Thoughts :  

• God & forsake!! Isn't that an oxymoron ? God never forsake anyone, it is we who forsake God. We tend to swing from/to different levels of awareness or even avoid the reality, ostrich-like :) 

• One of the main teachings of Baba is 'Each one of us is God'.  We are just not 'aware' of it. That is a choice we make! Let us not blame Divinity!

• The chair occupied by one of our political leaders, is not Vikramaditya's chair ('anyone occupying it had access to the emperor's wisdom'). A businessman chose to go to Puttaparthi to set up & run his business. Just as any normal business is cyclical, his handicrafts & jewellery business is also going through same. It is his choice to stay put or pack off, in search of 'greener pastures'. 

• It is sad if a resident-businessman looked at PTP as just one of the 4P's of marketing, 'Place'.. For the seeker, PTP is a place where 'Sarva Dharma' is genuinely practiced, an important Sai teaching.

• For a spiritual seeker, what is Puttaparthi, especially after April, 2011? Check out this video, which was received early this week (no coincidence!) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LyaRpkz7CCU . For a serious spiritual seeker, the shops & establishments at PTP are not of much relevance. Because, for him/her the journey is within. Also, let us not forget the macro-economic situation, in rest of India & different parts of world. People are in a mood to cut corners.

• An extract of today's Sai Inspires: The lesson that all spiritual discourses wish to convey is that you must give up your pursuit of sensory objects, if you seek lasting peace and joy. Material wealth brings along with it, not only joy but grief as well. Accumulation of riches, multiplication of wants will lead only to alternation between joy and grief. Attachment is the root of both joy and grief. Detachment is the saviour.- Divine Discourse, Aug 19, 1964. -- -- -- Sai inspires is a daily message from Radio Sai, Puttaparthi (Baba said that in 1964 and He always advised 'Ceilng on Desires')

• Perhaps the average profile of the traveler has changed, over the years, not just since April, 2011. The crowd during week-ends, festival days, etc are as big as it used to be always, 'over-crowded'. With three canteens inside ( south, north Indian and western, plus few stalls, bakery, tender-coconut etc inside Ashram, less and less people are stepping out!) Many, who have a place to stay outside, prefer to buy fresh fruits & vegetables and cook at home, a holistic and simple meal. (Families that eat & pray together, stick together!) Also, during a pilgrimage, food is not a priority. I reminded of the catering staff in a train from Mumbai to Blore complaining to me few years ago, 'all these Sai Baba people are not buying much from us' !! Hospitality sector is bound to feel the pinch.

• Real estate sector has had its share of prosperity, just as in rest of India. But they have wrecked havoc on the fragile environment, including the river Chithravathi, in this drought-prone terrain. Sad the author did not step out of the comfort zone to highlight that.  (If our media was more environment-conscious, man-made disaster Uttarakhand would not have happened)

• Whether the place will become a Shirdi or Tirupathi, is last priority for any genuine seeker. We are better off with the simplicity that prevails there and lesser crowd is perhaps more preferable. Baba always looked for a quality, not 'numbers' ! One who lives by Sai Ideals of Self-less Service...

• After one of my trips to PTP, after Maha Samadhi, a doctor-friend asked me, 'how is business in Parthi, outside Ashram?' I was taken aback... He had genuine sympathy for the business community outside ashram. BS reporter has a similar outlook and genuinely cares for business community. But may be, sometime in near future, it may be prudent to take a trip back to PTP ('home' for many), wearing the hat of a spiritual seeker, not a business correspondent. Then you will understand what Puttaparthy and Sai Baba is..

• And may be, BS can actually have a column for genuine seeker, just as BS Motoring, one of my fav :) God Bless 

Pls check out this link, photograph:  Mosque at PTP


Link to the article:  God forsaken | Business Standard

Sankranthi at PSN

Greetings from PSN ! Reached here last evening, after sunset.

To drive on the road, connecting NH to PSN, was a good experience, on two previous trips, when I drove during the day. But at dusk last evening, it was a different experience. Not as great !
The trucks & buses, and few cars & bikes, would drive past without using the dipper, though most trucks have 'Use Dipper' written on them. I wonder if that was lack of awareness and training, or sheer attitude and lack of empathy. If it was former, the process of issuing driving licences may need to be re-visited. If it was latter, that was a bigger issue, which can be improved at home, school and work, through universal participation. 

Upon reaching Vidyagiri, cops diverted traffic, via Satyam Hotel, on to the 'ring' (yet to "ring", or fully operational) road. Here again, half of the stretch has good concrete road, thanks to a developer, who has come up with one of the best apartments in Parthi ( Sai Leela). But, the second half was just not drive-worthy!! How can traffic be diverted to that stretch without ensuring the road was good enough, traffic included families on two-wheelers. PUDA is doing great and Police always did great job around Parthi. I am sure, it may be matter of few days, or weeks!

The diversion was due to the huge number of devotees thronging PSN, on the auspicious occasion of Sankranthi. Plus, there are many parents, whose children are students at schools in Parthi & Brindavan, and parents here to celebrate Sankranthi with Bhagwan and to participate in the Annual Sports Meet celebrations in Parthi. Also, there is an alumni meet of Balvikas... Wow ! Great week-end ahead...

Nothing like entering the arch of taluka and then reaching Vidyagiri. It was veritable the feeling of being back home... 

Back Home... @ Prashanthi Nilayam

Sairam…. 

Greetings from Prashanthi Nilayam. On a much-awaited ‘break’! Though I am on a ‘break’, got tied up with too many things over the last 5+ months. Could not just sit back & take few deep breaths. Wanted to desperately make a trip of this type to PSN. Enjoying blissful moments in PSN, since Monday, 10^th Sept.

Weather has been surprisingly very good. The cab ride was very refreshing, with the entire landscape in the region clean & green, along the national highway. As we hit the last-mile, near PSN railway station, the driver commented, ‘Puttaparthy is now Bangalore & Bangalore is like Puttaparthy”!  He was referring to the weather, of course. Puttaparthy (PTP) is no longer hot & dry as we usually we associate with Rayalseema region of AP., but green & pleasant.

Nature is doing its best. We just need to be more responsible to environment

Random Notes from PSN

Reached Parthi Saturday, late afternoon. Weather was a lot better this time, but only over-cast sky. 

• But, it kept drizzling on Sunday. It was almost like being in Kodai !

Hills around the region are seeing some digging - seemingly to collect rain water & make it more green. Great initiative. The region is a lot greener that it used to be 20 years back. But, we all should collectively make it greener & cleaner ( lot of scope to clean up too, esp in the village, outside Ashram)

But, rains are still not enough. Lands have been ploughed. Farmers seem to be waiting for more rains, so that they can get on with their agri-related activities. Let us pray for more rains.... 

• BTW, prayers have worked in Blore. City got torrential rains on Sunday !

Had a quick south-Indian-meals at Sai Towers

• Like Masala Dosa, SI-Meals also deserve to be part of list top-10 food to eat, before you die !

Delayed lunch meant, late for dinner. So, took a soup & light food at Hanuman cafe.

• These are two places serving devotees with hygeinic, delicious and reasonably-priced food. Like the ambience & service also.
• Afterall we are at PSN not for food-for-body, but for nourishment of the soul.

Ran into a devotee from our region, who very kindly invited me to his place. Last year, around same time, all roads led to his flat - thanks to vibhuti materialisation at his place.

• This year there was an encore of the Divine Grace ! Vibhuti was flowing out of photos, Swami-robe, et al !!!
• But, this time around, devotees seem to be blissfully unaware of the miracle !
• Sunday afternoon I went over, spent sometime silently praying at the flat. 

Bhajans at Parthi are very, very special. Nothing musically-comparable to that. With the weather so nice, ambience full of devotion.... truly Divine. 

Spent just one day at Parthi... but such a wonderful experience!

Love to all ! Samastha Loka Sukhino Bhavanthu!

Few images from Parthi:

Vata Vruksha @ PSN

Was at Parthi last week...

Glad to share this beautiful photo - across Chithravathi, from Puttaparthi. Very peaceful too.
It was very hot, during day time. But, ok in the evenings.

Among other things, I made it a point to go to the meditation tree on the hill, on the way to the ad block of Swami's university.

Hands in society & Head in forest...!

Sitting under the tree had a great calming effect - should be an integral part of Parthi trips

                                                              Meditation Tree @ PSN ( Courtesy : SSSCT website)
                   

Puttaparthi, in its glorious spiritual splendour

'Puttaparthi Loses Grandeur'  http://ibnlive.in.com/news/puttaparthi-loses-grandeur/204671-60-114.html


I was quite amused to read this report. My immediate thought was, 'ignorance is bliss' ! Or, may be 'not spiritual ignorance' !?

A photo of the sleepy village in 1970s ! Today, it is township which can boast of visitors from over 170 countries.....! Yes, the villagers from the area may see a slight dip on their economic front. But devotees of Sai need not worry of 'roti, kapda & makaan'... check out with His devotees, millions in over 170 countries.  Also, may be time to focus on the higher levels of Maslow's hierarchy of needs??

Yes, the township is reflection of the world. As such some of the global economic effects will 'reflect' too ! But not to worry, the holiest among places will lose no grandeur :) For the grandeur of the spiritual destination will shine forth... yes, we, the recipients of His love & grace,   have a responsibility to reflect His values in our lives...by Living SSpiritually

He was never woriried about external paraphernelia or 'grandeur'... all that we see was what His devotees wanted. He wanted to give drinking water, education, medical service, etc... all free. 

SSS CENTRAL TRUST releases annual report

The trust has proactively released their report. As per NDTV report, courtesy 'media pressure'. Also for the sake of general transparency.
Those of us who have travelled to Parthi for so many years always knew 'transparency' was always one of the key pillars of everything around Prashanthi Nilayam (PSN)... His life was His message, for His devotees.

Yes, Puttaparthi may see a shift - but is not change part of everything in life ?

But I can guarantee, based on my short trip to Parthi early this month... Parthi/PSN was surely very, very spiritual. And one can only 'feel' it, not see/hear/read it !

Check out folks ! Have a blissful day !
Samastha Loka Sukhino Bhavanthu


http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/sathya-sai-central-trust-releases-annual-financial-report-152493