Sai Jewels, November 2001
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Sai Jewels Regional Newsletter—November 2001 SRI SATHYA SAI ORGANIZATION, REGION X Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, and Singapore SAI JEWELS REGIONAL NEWSLETTER Sri Sathya Sai Organization, Region X: Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, and Singapore YEAR OF LOVE November 2001, No 09/2001 Inside this issue: Unity and Purity—message of Ramzan 3 Revelations on the Life of Jesus 5 Activities Report 6 The Human Workshop—The Divine Instrument 12 Children's Corner 17 Satwic Meal 18 SAI Youth Page 19 Karma—the Cause and Effect 20 Secrets in Creation 22 Darshan, Sparshan, and Sambhaashan 24 Thought For the Month Institute of Sathya Sai Education 26 When a plane flies across the sky, it leaves no mark on it, no streak that lasts, © Sai Jewels, Regional Newsletter is published by the Sri Sathya Sai Organization, Region X. nor furrow or pothole that Kindly send any material to country contributors or interferes with further The Chief Editor, Sai Jewels, Regional Newsletter c/o 33 Cauliflower Street, Valle Verde 5, Pasig, traffic. So too, allow all Metro Manila, Philippines, Tel: 63-2-631-1574 feelings and emotions to Email: [email protected] cross your mind but do Sai Jewels is circulated free of charge. We have limited copies. not allow them to leave an Kindly pass on to another person after you have finished reading. impression. Articles, photographs, drawings and feedback are welcome. We reserve the right of discrimination in selecting and editing - Sri Sathya Sai Baba material for publication. Page 3 SAI JEWELS REGIONAL NEWSLETTER Unity and purity-message of Ramzan When we speak; our expressions begin with a particular religion but a ‘I’ and revolve around ‘I’. ‘I’ am walking, ‘I’ state of mind, the state of to- am sitting, ‘I’ am eating, ‘I’ am seeing – Who tal surrender to the Will of exactly is this ‘I’? This ‘I’ denotes three as- God. Islam means dedication, pects. First, ‘I am this body’; second, ‘I am surrender, peace, and tran- the life-force in it’; and third, ‘I am the Atma quility. Islam denotes the or Divine soul.’ social community whose ‘I’ the body: Expressions like ‘I am dark, I members have achieved am fair, I am short, I am tall, or I am young, I supreme peace through surrender to the All am a Hindu, I am a Muslim,’- concern the Merciful, All-Powerful God and who have body only. When a person is unconscious or vowed to live in peace with their fellowmen. in deep sleep, he is not aware of any of these It directs attention to the One in the Many, characteristics of the body. All these attrib- the Unity in Diversity and leads people to the utes adhere or fall off when time elapses or Reality named God. when circumstances change. The Atma can never be hurt ‘I’, the Individual being Principle or Life Every human being has three basic needs - Force: We say, ‘My intelligence is not clear,’ food, clothing, and shelter. Seeking to fulfill or ‘my mind is perplexed.’ This aspect of the them, man has developed a variety of foods ‘I’ too, is linked with the body through the ignoring the real purpose of eating. Clothing objects-senses-mind-reason complex. has to be worn to protect the body, but we are ‘I’, the Atma: The body is mortal; but the attaching enormously exaggerated value to Atma is Immortal. The Atma persists in unaf- clothing. Of course, one must have a house to fected glory while waking, dreaming, sleep- live in and lay the body down for rest. The ing, and beyond. The gross body is active in Gibran, asks why build these gigantic dwell- the waking stage; the subtle I-consciousness ings then? They are erected not for oneself is alert in dreams, the causal Atma is dormant but to hoard one’s treasure and riches. Gibran as ‘I’ in sleep. The real Atma has no exclu- says these mansions are tombs erected by the sive affiliation to one body, one country, one dead for the living. Hazrath Muhammad an- nation, or one sex. It is in every being every- nounced the message of God that he had where, in bird and beast, plant and tree. It is heard to the townsmen of Mecca. At that all pervading and immanent in India, Russia, time, people did not give heed to the Divine America, England, all over the world. Declarations. They forced him to leave the Quran – the voice of God place. But, he knew that truth will win and God will prevail. He knew that the insult and All founders of religions have heard this im- injury were only for the body; the Atma can personal Voice of God revealing the Truth never be hurt. that activates the entire Creation. Just as the Vedas (revealed sacred scriptures) were True meaning of Ramzan ‘heard’ and propagated as ‘heard’, the Quran The Ramzan month is set apart for the holy too was ‘heard’ by Hazrath Muhammad. The task of bringing into memory and practice the Quran has Salat and Zakat as the two eyes. teachings that Hazrath Muhammad conveyed Salat means prayer; Zakat means charity. and attaining that stage of unity and purity Those who consider charity as a high duty which is truly divine. Islam gives importance and elevate their consciousness through to the Moon, which regulates the months. prayers and continuous meditation on God When the New Moon is sighted, the Ramzan are Muslims. Islam is a word that denotes not fast begins and when the New Moon is seen November 2001, No 09/2001 Page 4 again, the fast ends. ‘Fast’ does not consist in Islam teaches that God’s Grace can be won merely desisting from food and drink. The through justice and righteous living; wealth, fast starts at sunrise and is broken only after scholarship, and power cannot claim it. Holy sunset and is observed most rigorously. Dur- Love alone can please the Lord. Ramzan ing Ramzan month rivalry is avoided. Wak- brings together in bonds of love kith and kin, ing as early as three or four, prayer is started, near and far, friend and foe. and throughout the day, the constant presence Islam stresses on The 3 HVs of God is sought to be experienced. This is the meaning of fast. Husband and wife live Islam insists on full co-ordination between apart though in the same home, mother and thought, word, and deed. Since Islam means children both follow the same spiritual regi- surrender to God, all who in a spirit of surren- men and an atmosphere of brotherhood is der and dedication, live in peace and harmony maintained. The body, the senses, and the in society, do really speaking, belong to Is- mind are subject to rigorous discipline. lam. Muslim holy men and sages have been emphasizing that we must inquire into the va- The Quran lays down that all men should cul- lidity of the ‘I’ which feels it is the body and tivate the sense of unity, of interdependence, the ‘I’ which feels it is the mind and reach the of selfless love and of the immanence of Di- conclusion that the real ‘I’ is the Self, yearn- vinity. Generally, all men take food for the ing for the Omniself - God. The Ramzan body five times a day. An early cup of coffee month, the fast, and prayers are designed to in bed, breakfast two hours later, a heavy awaken and manifest this realization. lunch at noon, tea at four and a fat dinner at - condensed from Divine Discourse on I2-7-I983 nine. Islam prescribes food for the spiritual nature of man and directs that it be taken five times a day, as prayer. For the arousal of the Atmic consciousness, for earning spiritual joy and for promoting the manifestation of Atmic illumination, prayer is prescribed as many as five times a day, from the dawn of discretion up to the moment of death. Prayer is a group activity Prayer in a group produces beneficial vibra- tions. Islam promises a greater flow of ec- stasy when God is adored by a huge con- course of yearning hearts. All of them bow low at the sight of the Masjid. They sit in rows with their knees bent and lean forward until their palms and foreheads touch the ground in humble submission to God’s Will. In Islam, the expression Salaam is used as Misunderstanding, conflict and enmity should a form of greeting. ‘Sa’ here is the com- not disturb the serenity of the occasion. bined expression of Saalokyam, Saaroop- Unity is the basic teaching of every religion. yam, Saameepyam, and Saayujyam (seeing Faith in Unity is cardinal. Without it, no sys- the divine, having vision of the divine, get- tem of belief and conduct can be a religion. ting closer to Him and merger into Him). God is one and the teachings in all faiths that exalt man are all on Love, Compassion, Tol- ‘la’ means merger. When these expressions erance, and Sympathy. The tragedy is neither are combined and merged into one – you the Mohammedans, nor the Hindus, nor the have Salaam – the merging of the Many followers of other religions are practicing in One. these values in daily life. Page 5 SAI JEWELS REGIONAL NEWSLETTER Revelations on the Life of Jesus Son of God despite its size. What- ever the speed of the In his twelfth year, Jesus and his parents, Jo- current, the small fish seph and Mary, happened to go to a Jewish are able to swim festival in Jerusalem.