SaiRam Dear Members. Please find below the latest Sri Sathya Sai Center of Loudoun Newsletter.
Please join us with family this Sunday Oct 20th for Swami's Avatar Declaration Day Celebration with Special Guest Speaker Brother Arun Uthayan (Canada) @ Hovatter Elementary School in Aldie – 41135 Collaboration Dr, Aldie, VA 20105.
More Details about Devotional, SSSE, Seva, and YA Activities below.
SRI SATHYA SAI GLOBAL COUNCIL – ZONE1 (USA- REGION 2)
A Warm and Loving Sai Ram Dear Members,
Hope all of you had a Divine and Wonderful Week with Swami’s Grace!
With the Divine Grace of our Dear Swami, last Saturday we had wonderful, blissful, and vibrant Dasara Bhajans @ Jella’s residence. We thank Swami for the opportunity, all members, SSSE kids, YAs for offering their love by singing to our Dear Mother Sai, and hosts for opening up their home for this offering.
This Sunday October 20th – Avatar Declaration Day Celebration with special guest speaker Brother Arun Uthayan (Canada) from 9:30 AM EST onwards at Hovatter Elementary School. Please see the flyer below in the Devotional section.
“When the Divine comes down as Avatar―whether it be as Rama or as Krishna, Matsya (fish), Varaha (boar) or Vamana (dwarf―it is only for one purpose. You recognise only the momentary results of the advent. But you should note that the Divine comes as Avatar only to teach mankind the truth about love….. Love alone is the fruit of love. Love is its own witness. There is no trace of self-interest in it. Because love exists for its own sake, it has no fear. It is to teach humanity the way of love that Avatars come in the world. The world displays the diversity that has emanated from the One. The Divine demonstrates the unity that subsumes the diversity. Recognition of this unity in diversity can be learnt only from the Divine.”
Sri Sathya Sai Speaks Vol. 21 Ch. 25, September 3, 1988
See below for important details.
Please find this week's Centre Newsletter, updates from all wings (Devotion, SSSE, Seva & YA) along with Center Calendar for October 2024 and Zonal/National and Regional updates.
PRAGATHI PATHAM – SPECIAL STUDY CIRCLE SESSION FROM PRASANTHI NILAYAM on Saturday October 26, 2024 from 11.00 AM to 2.30 PM EST. This is a very important and exciting Study Circle session with Prof. Sudhir Bhaskar heading the session from Prasanthi Nilayam. It is a one day 3.5 hour session on two of Swami's important discourses. See Flyer below and if interested please reach out to Sister Sai Deepa for more information and material.
PARTHI PILGRIMAGE CENTENNIAL YEAR 2025 (July 10 – 13, 2025) – Registration is now open. We are truly blessed by His Grace to embark on both an inner and outer journey to our spiritual source, Prasanthi Nilayam. Parthi Pilgrimage, set during the centennial year, has been confirmed by the ashram authorities for the auspicious dates of July 10-13, 2025. see flyer below.
Sri Sathya Sai Center of Loudoun (SSSCL) Feedback form: We are requesting all members to provide your feedback about how the center is functioning or anything to improve center operations using the link below.
Avatar Declaration Day Celebrations with special guest speaker Br. Arun Uthayan (Canada) Sunday Oct 20th from 9:30 AM onwards. See flyer for details.
Tentative Agenda
9:00 AM – 9:30 AM – Setup (Please join if available)
9:30 AM – 9:45 AM – 3 Oms, 21 Samastha Lokah, Multi Faith Prayers, Swami Darshan Video,
09:45 AM – 11:15 AM – Intro & Guest Speaker Talk – Br. Arun Uthayan (Canada)
11:15 AM – 11:20 AM – Vote of Thanks & Token of Love to Guest Speaker
11:20 AM – 11:35 AM – Swami Bhajan & Closing Prayers with Prasadam (laddu) & 11:35 AM to 12:30 PM Clean up
Sadhana Hour session is scheduled for tonightFriday, October 18th starting at 9 PM EST. The session will be on “Learning to chant Sri Rudram”. Brother Venkata Ramana will teach Seventh anuvaka along with guidance on pronouncing the mantras. Sairam!
Global Akhanda Bhajans Saturday Nov 9th 6 pm to Sunday Nov 10th 6 am
SaiRam All,
As Global Akhanda Bhajans are fast approaching, this year we shall be offering 12 hour bhajans on Saturday Nov 9th 2024 starting from 6pm to Sunday Nov 10th 2024 6 am . Please mark your calendars, more details to follow.
Address: 42078 Barrymoore Place, Chantilly VA 20152.
Date & Time:Saturday Nov 09th from 6 PM to Sunday Nov 10th until 6 AM.
Last Day for RSVP – Sunday October 25th 2024.
Last Day for Bhajan Submission for SSSE/Adults/YA – Tonight, Friday October 18th 2024.
In order to plan better use below link to RSVP and Submit your 2 bhajan choices (preferably simple bhajans) for Global Akhanda Bhajans.
We will be having two Mandatory shruthi sessions and bhajan practice. Please be sure to attend.
Oct 19th Saturday-@ Ashburn – 22503 Bowens wharf place Ashburn VA from 03:00 pm to 5:00 pm – Bhajan Practice and 5:00 – 5:30 pm – Medley Practice (Both Men & Women)
Oct 26th Saturday @ Aldie – 24809 High Plateau Ct, Aldie VA from 03:00 pm to 5:00 pm – Bhajan Practice and 5:00 – 5:30 pm – Medley Practice (Both Men & Women).
Upcoming Akhanda Bhajans & Bhagawan’s 99th Birthday Celebrations – medley’s & song practices at center.
Birthday Songs will be shared next week.
Akhanda Bhajans Medley Offerings: As part of AKB, we will be offering Men’s & Ladies Medleys which will be practiced every Sunday at the Center. Please participate. (below are the Youtube links for Medleys)
SSSCL – No SSSE Classes: Please join with family this Sunday Oct 20th for Swami’s Avatar Declaration Day Celebration with special guest speaker Brother Arun Uthayan from Canada at Hovatter Elementary. This is one of the important days in Swami's Sai Calendar to know more about the avatar, so please have the kids attend this wonderful offering.
Any questions on SSSE related activities please reach out to SSSE coordinator, Sister Sai Vajra Neeraja @ sse@loudounsai.org
Sai Ram
SSSCL – SEVA UPDATES
Month of October 2024 Seva Activities
Narayana Seva: Dinner at Reston Shelter (October 19th)
Desc: Prepare and serve dinner at Reston Shelter located at: 11975 Bowman Towne Dr, Reston, VA 20190 on Saturday, October 19th, 2024.
As part of this service activity we are collecting old/used eyeglasses(Including reading and child). These eyeglasses will be dropped off at the Eyeglass Recycling center of Northern Virginia. Donated previously owned eyeglasses will be distributed to those in need around the world. Please bring it to the Center on Sunday.
For any Seva related questions, please reach out to Seva Coordinator, Brother Vijay @ seva@loudounsai.org.
Sai Ram
SSSCL – Young Adults Updates
YA Re-registration Form: Please look for information from YA reps to re-confirm as active YA of the center by registering using the link below. YA Re-Registration Form
Region 2 Fall YA Retreat from November 29th – December 1st, 2024: Sairam Dear Young Adults, I hope this message finds you well! With Swami's blessings, we are excited to announce that we will be conducting a region-wide Fall YA Retreat from November 29th – December 1st, 2024 (Thanksgiving Weekend) at the Vraj Temple in Schuylkill Haven, PA. The Retreat will be centered around the theme, “The Attitude of Gratitude.” We look forward to coming together as the Region 2 YA community and urge you all to register using this link by Saturday, September 28th, 2024.
Please see the attached flyer for more details and as always, if you have any questions, feel free to reach out to us! Let us all celebrate this Thanksgiving together by showing our gratitude to our Beloved Swami.
Loving Sairam, Region 2 YA Team Sejal Rajagopalan T: (908) 487-3722
We express our immense gratitude to Dearest Swami in launching the “100 Acts of Kindness” National Sri Sathya Sai Global Council-USA Young Adult Service Project: a Heartfelt YA Service Offering to Our Dearest Swami, On Occasion of Swami's Holy Centennial Birthday Celebrations!
We envision every YA across the U.S. to fulfill at least 100 acts of kindness each, leading up to Swami’s Centennial Celebrations in November 2025. Partaking in this service sadhana is a special opportunity to offer our deepest gratitude to Swami through our unity of thought, word, and deed.
“Acts of kindness” could be leaving a kind thank you note, giving a small token of appreciation to the local fire station or custodial staff, spending time with the elderly, or just taking the time to smile and listen to others! It is any act of selflessness that promotes positivity and looking outwards to “see the Sai in all.” Each time you partake in an act of kindness, kindly log in your service experience through this brief Google Form: https://forms.gle/uVmgmYhhqGWdfK4b6.
Through this Google Form, we hope to collect an abundance of heartfelt reflections that can be compiled and expressed in a final offering for Swami’s 100th Birthday. It will be inspiring to read about the diversity of service projects and acts of kindness completed by all of us YAs, through a spirit of unity and teamwork.
The 100 Acts of Kindness Service Project is simply a goal, as the magnitude of our devotion and love cannot be quantified for our Dearest Swami! Let us all join together in offering these service acts of kindness to our Dearest Swami and may we experience His infinite love and grace.
If you have any questions and (or) looking for more YA updates, please reach out to our Female YA Rep Varsha Rao @ yafrep@loudounsai.org and Male YA Rep Arjun Sundaram @ yamrep@loudounsai.org
Sai Ram
SSSGC's Regional, National and Zonal Updates
Updates from DMV & Region 2 Centers:
Sri Sathya Sai Center of South Bethesda – celebrating Avatar Declaration Day on Sunday Oct 20, 2024. On that occasion, we will have 99 Bhajans with loving and enthusiastic participation from our SSSE children, Young Adults and Adults. We also have a Seva activity planned. Please see the flyer for details.
Sadhana Initiatives for all devotees/centers in our region 2 as a collective/individual offering to our beloved Bhagawan on his 99th Birthday and Centenary celebrations. Our Region 2 Devotional Coordinator Krishna Prayaga in collaboration with Our SSSGC Region 2 Center Devotional Coordinators formulated the following.
Individual/Family Sadhana:
– Chant “Samastha Lokah Sukhino Bhavanthu” at least 9 times a day.
– Chant any or all of these Mantras at least 9 times a day
“Om Sri Sai Ram”, “Gayatri Mantra”, “Sai Gayatri” or “Mrutyunjaya Mantra”.
– Read Tapovanam once a month (Read the whole book in a day/week or a chapter a week, according to convenience/preference).
– Likhita Japa – Write “Om Sri Sairam '' at least for 9 minutes a day. ( The books will be collected and sent to Parthi to be used for Vibhuti Packaging.)
– Learn 9 New Bhajans before November 2024
– At Least for 9 minutes a day Read Swami’s Literature, Listen to Swami’s Speeches or devotees experiences about Swami
