Remembrance Day at Puttaparthi Town

By Terry Reis Kennedy

April 24, 2016

The sun burst upon me like a blast of heat from a furnace as I stepped outside of my house, Sai Prem, on Coconut Grove.  It was only 9 a.m. and my clothes were already dripping with sweat.  I made my way towards the ashram in a daze of grief, of bliss, of ineffable mixed emotions.

I walked through the tiny streets of Puttaparthi town remembering how I used to run to the main road when word rustled through the air that Sai Baba was out in His car, on the way to visit the students, or His pet elephant Sai Gita, or patients at the hospital.  I was crazed with joy seeing Him in His car.  I was not the only one.

We hurled flowers at the windows, we touched the doors; we were Gopis and Gopikas that not even the police could stop.  Swami loved our madness as He smiled out at us, sometimes even having the driver stop the car so He could have a word with someone.  The blasting heat, the monsoon downpours, nothing could keep us away from Him. Before we had a cover over the mandir He would often stop the rain when He came out for Darshan.  He loves us that much. 

And today it is the same.  It was the 5^th anniversary of my Sat Guru, the Kali Yuga Avatar, Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba’s leaving—the day He chose to exit His body, a day the Hindu’s say, “He took Mahasamadhi”, meaning the day He returned to the Supreme Consciousness He is, the Great Quietude.  In plain America English, He died.  Yes, He is immortal.  We are all immortal.  But for me it was a day I felt pressed into a mold of mortality.  Everything I’d lived for, been living for, seemed to have vanished.

Until I got home to my writing desk where I could record my thoughts, I felt barely part of the world as I had known it.  Luckily there was a message from my editor at Bangalore’s Deccan Herald asking me to write a recollection of Sai Baba’s life and to have it done in two hours.  Most of my professional life I’ve spent meeting deadlines.  I was so relieved to have another deadline to meet.  As I typed the remembrance I realized what a gift My Baba had given me….a deadline.  But in this case it was a lifeline.  By having to go to work, to be of use, to focus on readers that would be wanting the news of Swami’s passing, I felt purposeful.  There was no time for crying.

Within hours of completing that news story millions of people from around the world were on their way to little Puttaparthi to say good bye to Sai Baba, the “man” who had changed the face of India and the world.  The God we loved, the One Who had loved us beyond our understanding.  

Today, five years later, He remains the same for me.  As I continued on my way to the ashram the crowds grew thicker.  I heard that 40,000 people were in Hill View Stadium eating their free breakfast provided by the Central Trust, Baba’s Trust, ensuring Swami’s devotees that nothing has changed for them.  Puttaparthi town continues as before.  Swami will never leave His home.  He had promised us and He had promised His mother Easwaramma.  The breakfast plates were also carried home to those who could not walk to the stadium.  Everyone got fed, the poorest of the poor, the richest of the rich.

As I neared the Ganesha Gate entrance, I saw that some people were going up Gopuram Road to the stadium and some were coming down carrying their gifts of saris and dhotis, heading towards the ashram.  As I entered and passed through the security check I felt lighter, less hot.  A slight breeze was turning the leaves and swaying the bougainvillea blossoms.  Incense wafted towards me.

After hearing Swami’s discourse from years gone by I found myself smiling at the youngsters who smiled at me.  “From which place did you come,” their perennial question made me happy.  Though I have lived in Parthi for 25 years I told them the truth they wanted to hear.  I replied, the United States of America.  Oh, the USA one of them said, as if to let me know how informed she was.

In spite of the heat, in spite of the crowds I managed to get into the Ladies ‘side of the dining tent.  And I was served a heaping plate of south Indian delicacies, foods of a region that I have come to love…slowly, very slowly.  It was like an arranged marriage, Telugu country and me.  First I found I could not adjust.  But Mother Sai taught me how to accept the things I could not change, and to change the things I could—that meant transformation.  I learned how to grow where I was planted.  

Today, I heard a little voice inside me say, “Remember Who loves you, Baby.”  And I remembered.  Thank you, Bhagawan, for my life.

Sai Baba on MEDITATION

By Terry Reis Kennedy

I first started meditating at the age of 38.  I was instructed to get into any comfortable position, seated, either in a chair or on the ground.  I was taught that the purpose of meditation is to become one with God.  However, I had no idea how to merge with the formless God I believed in—a faraway, faceless force that ruled my life.  It was not until I became of devotee of Sai Baba in 1990 that I began to understand that a person needs an object to focus on in order to meditate.  That can be a symbol of God, a deity, or even a flame.

According to Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, meditation is a process of Self discovery.  He has said, “All accomplished spiritual aspirants, yogis, and renunciates have acquired knowledge of the Absolute through meditation.  When higher knowledge is established, there is no sense of past or future; all is present-time.”

And it is precisely in this meditation moment, that there is the experience of the living God and nothing else.  It is in synchronicity with the beats of one’s own heart.  Such a moment leads to the discovery that the Absolute and you are one.

For me, meditation produces refreshment, like water when I’m thirsty, sleep when I’m tired.  Puttaparthi Sai taught, “Through meditation, the weakness of the body can be overcome, the restless nature of the mind can be controlled, and progress towards the Seat of Grace made easy. One can then attain the experience of Primordial Powers.”

And what might these powers be?  For me, they are peace, sense control, love towards all, patience, spontaneity, and joy.  Without worry, anger, fear, jealousy, and hatred I feel free!  So, meditation brings liberation—at least for segments of time.  With more practice, “nirvana” lasts longer.

But meditation is much more.  Parthi Sai, in his own down-to-earth way of teaching said that meditation is a way of life. “One should have Daiva Preethi, Papa Bheethi and Sangha Neethi (Love for God, fear of sin, and morality in society). That is true Nirvana.” 

He prescribed, “Be away from sin. Understand that Daiva Sannidhi (proximity to the Divine) is true Pennidhi (wealth principle)… While you are walking on the road or driving a car, if your vision is not focused on the road, you may meet with an accident. Concentration is necessary in all aspects of life. But concentration does not become meditation. One should go beyond concentration which means the mind should become still. You should be free from thoughts. That is true meditation.”

There is a step-by-step process for new and seasoned meditators.  According to Bhagawan, “When in meditation, concentrate on the form chosen by you, then pass into contemplation and then into meditation.  Only by the three states will you get there…When there is complete attention on the form chosen that will lead to meditation.  The attention of the mind is totally removed from the body and totally concentrated on the form chosen as the object of your meditation.”

Sai Baba on Time and Place of Death

By Terry Reis Kennedy

When I first came to live in the presence of my Guru, Avatar Sri Sathya Sai Baba, one of the things I wanted to know was what happens after we die.  Every day I would hike up a steep hill inside the ashram to a little library and try to master this subject.  This was long before the present library existed, long before Internet.  Invariably in the afternoon heat I would fall asleep and wake up in time for Darshan. I didn’t learn a thing. Then in one discourse I heard Swami say that after death everyone’s experience was different, just as it was after birth.

Beloved Mother Sai said, “Man is stalked ceaselessly by death; it may pounce any moment on its prey.  He is not conscious of this companion; he has not learned how to meet him and rob him of the fruits of his exploit.  The Atma does not die; only the body dies.  When man knows this, death loses his sting, death is not feared; death is but a welcome voyage into the known harbor.”

It seemed to me that I had died many times in this lifetime alone.  Yet, there was always a resurrection. I came back from the so-called deaths and took up life again as if it were brand new.  Eventually, I accepted that whatever death I was destined to meet, I would meet it gracefully.  And Swami’s words were comforting, confirming my own outlook.

He said, “If you are asked, what happens to man after death, you can point to yourselves and declare: ‘This is what happens’; they are born again.”

For a while I had fancied just blowing up in a plane.  It would be fast, I reasoned, and fairly inexpensive, sparing those who would have to pay for after-death services.  But that was forgetting that God calculates differently.  Puttaparthi Krishna said, “No one is competent to determine where a certain thing should take place. Life may end in a town, in water, or in a forest. Each one’s life will end in the place, the manner and the time prescribed for him. This is inescapable. This is according to the operation of Nature’s law based on the pairs of opposites in life—what ever has to happen, how, and what time and in what manner, has been predetermined and the mere fact that I am near by will not serve to alter them.”

Oh, I didn’t like hearing that.  So, I took comfort in other words he spoke, “The Lord, however, is a witness to all happenings.  In some instances He gives prior indications and warnings.  When these are heeded, the person concerned gets sanctified.  When one disregards them, he forfeits his sanctity.”

Over the years I learned to heed Sri Sathya Sai’s inner guidance.  I have been forewarned about many events simply by going within and communing with him—my Highest Self.  Hopefully, at the time of leaving my body, I will do exactly that.  

Sai Baba on Jesus - A Christmas special

By Terry Reis Kennedy

The Christmas story I grew up on was Baby Jesus was born in a manger, a building used to house farm animals during the night.  His parents were on the way to pay their taxes when Mary’s time came for the baby to be born.  This was a side story in our home; it was Santa Claus who was the main star.

By the time I arrived at Sai Baba’s ashram, Prasanthi Nilayam in Puttaparthi India in 1990, I had given up on Santa Claus and had distanced myself from my religious roots.  However, it is Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba who brought me to a deeper awareness of Lord Jesus.   He led me to see a common theme in the stories of great masters, spiritual leaders, and saints.  At some point in their lives, they turn their backs on the worldly life.  They walk away from the mundane to demonstrate the power of the Divine within themselves.  Eventually, these spiritual revolutionaries become our guides and gurus through the challenging labyrinth of life. Even Saint Nicholas who became known as Santa Claus was a very rich man who spent his life serving the poor.  He spent his wealth and inheritance fulfilling the wishes of the destitute.

But frequently, because they step outside of the box of convention, spiritual revolutionaries are defamed.

According to Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, “As the name and fame of Jesus spread, opposition to him developed among a section of Jews.”

Later that opposition grew beyond his homeland and he was viewed as a dangerous radical by many.  Nevertheless, multitudes began to follow his teachings and the world welcomed a Saving Light.

“After his father's death, young Jesus considered it his duty to help his mother and revere her as Divine,” Puttaparthi Swami taught.  He said, “Jesus preached the primary obligation of everyone is to show one's gratitude to the parents. Jesus came with his mother to Jerusalem when he was 11 years old. His mother was worried about the activities of Jesus.”

With a mother’s foresight, Mary wanted to protect her son.  She knew that his thoughts, words, and deeds were not those of an ordinary young man.

Our Beloved Baba explained, “Jesus was critical of the ways of the Jews in the temple in Jerusalem. He came out against the harmful practices in the temple and preached the omnipresence of God in all living beings. He exhorted the people not to cause harm to anyone.”

That an uneducated son of a carpenter would speak with such authority on matters going on in the temple infuriated many elders.  Yet the words he spoke were also what so many others would have liked to have said themselves.  But they feared what they would reap from the “Big People” who ran and controlled their lives.  “Little people” had no say.  Jesus became a spokesperson for the poor, the oppressed, the sick and the suffering.  

“What he preached was in accord with the basic teachings of all religions.” Sathya Sai said. “He engaged himself in a mission of mercy to the sick and the poor. He offered food to the hungry. Seeing his acts of love and kindness, people declared that he was a Messenger of God."

In his short 33 years on earth, Jesus changed from a kind hearted, responsible son to someone who recognized the God within himself.  

Christmas, according to Sai Baba is more than a season; it is a way of life.

Happy 90th Birthday to My Guru, Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba of Puttaparthi

By Terry Reis Kennedy

Dearest and most beloved Bhagawan, Happy Birthday!

For the record, I want to say thank you for being my Guru, for rescuing me from the terror and vicissitudes of life that sometimes overcome me.

Thank you for feeding me, for clothing me, and for nurturing me.  Thank you for always being there for me.  When family turned its back on me, when friends betrayed me, when those I love rejected me, you have stayed with me. People say you have left the body, that you are dead.  To me you are more alive than ever.  You are in my heart, you, Sweet Everything, are the very breath of my life.

Through the darkest nights of my soul, through sickness, defeat, loss of reputation, loss of money, and loss of all my possessions, you did not abandon me. And it is because of you that I have managed to rise up from the ashes of my own life, on so many occasions.

Most of all, thank you for allowing me to come to India to be near you, and affording me some of the most soul-satisfying experiences a person can enjoy—swimming in the sacred Ganges, studying the dazzling stars of a Himalayan night, planting a lush garden on a patch of land that was once a garbage dump and watching that garden take root, flourish and give glory to you.

Maybe most of all I should acknowledge the countless prayers that you have answered.  But it was those you didn’t answer (or haven’t yet) that forced me to go deeply within myself to find my own solutions and in so doing taught me self-reliance.

During those desperate times I didn’t know how, or if, I would surface from the depths of such self-inquiry.  But I did.  And I am still smiling—thanks, again, to you.

If, as you have said, on your birthday you bless others, I ask that throughout the coming years you never let me forget what you have said about the significance of birthdays: 

“Every human being has four birthdays.  The first is when he emerges from his mother’s womb, and being neither holy or unholy, craves only for food and shelter; the second is when he begins his spiritual study to lead him from darkness to light; the third is when he has gained wisdom, having mastered the disciplines propounded by the rishis for achieving self-realization; the fourth and last is when he realizes his true identity and merges with Brahman.”

Sweet Bhagawan, may I celebrate all my birthdays with you!

Sai Baba on Vegetarianism

By Terry Reis Kennedy

From the beginning of his teaching, Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba has been clear. “It is a sin to kill an animal. You may reply that an animal was killed by the butcher. That is incorrect; it is only because you are eating them that the animals are being killed.”

When I lived in California, I believed, “You are what you eat.”  But I was a vegetarian more out of stylishness than out of heartfelt conviction that eating meat was wrong.

Then I moved to India, land of Buddha, the great Masters, and home to Lord Sathya Sai.  Living in the physical proximity of Beloved Sai, my thinking changed by osmosis. However, not enough to stop me from gobbling chicken tikka, mutton biriyani, and gobs of fish when I could get these “treats”.

Nevertheless, Swami had said long ago, "Today, let it be anyone, whether one deems himself a devotee or not, he should give up meat eating. Why? Meat eating promotes only animal qualities. It has been well said that the food one consumes determines one's thoughts. By eating the flesh of various animals, the qualities of these animals are imbibed. How sinful is it to feed on animals, which are sustained by the same five elements as human beings! This leads to demonic tendencies, besides committing the sin of inflicting cruelty on animals. Hence, those who genuinely seek to become devotees of God have to give up non-vegetarian food. Calling themselves Sai devotees or devotees of Rama and Krishna, they fatten on chickens. How can they be deemed Sai devotees? How can God accept such a person as a devotee?  Therefore, whether they are devotees in India or outside, they should give up from this instant meat eating...... those who aspire to become true devotees of God have to give up meat, liquor and smoking."

Of course, Sai’s words echoed in my consciousness as I devoured meat, smoked cigarettes, and sipped the best wines. I justified my habits with perverse logic, saying that as a spiritual aspirant I was above the mundane world.  It’s all Maya, I told myself. But who was I kidding?  My clay feet were upon the earth—His earth.

Eventually, by the grace Sai, my mind changed about meat-eating, smoking, and drinking.  I was finally able to accept his words which I heard in person, but resisted, as far back as November 23, 1994.

“Embodiments of Love,” he had said. “You are deeming this day as the 69th birthday of Swami. I have no desire to celebrate such birthdays. As I was coming I was greeted by many wishing me Happy Birthday. I am always happy. Why should anyone wish Happy Birthday for me? Be Happy yourselves. Your happiness is my happiness.  Today as an offering to Swami, give up meat eating, consuming liquor and smoking. By renouncing these three, you will benefit yourselves as well as society and the nation. Swami's sole aim is to promote the welfare of the family, the society and the nation. If you wish to carry out Swami's aim, renounce from this moment itself these bad habits.”

Sai Baba on Unity

By Terry Reis Kennedy

Some of you know I was born in the United States and came to  India be near my Guru, Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba more than 18 years ago.  In India I had the luxury of being able to reflect on my Mother Land.  I could better understand the confusion of Americans from a distance.  We are brainwashed from birth that money brings happiness and that control over others ensures peace.   Before long, though, I discovered the people of India are also obsessed with money and power.  What to do?

Bhagawan Baba teaches, “Bharat today is in a crisis created by myriad difficult problems.  But not Bharat alone, all other countries are also facing similar crises.  What is the reason?  It is the total failure to remember the spiritual oneness of mankind.  Only the sense of spiritual unity will generate universal love.  That love alone will bind men together in unity.  This love principle should emanate from the heart.  Only then true unity will emerge.”

I imagined that was easy enough to do.  I could visualize unity amongst my fellows. But!  It was not so easy for me to feel it in my day-to-day dealings, especially with charlatans and thieves.  How could I, a mere human, love on such a noble scale? 

Baba, the Ever Gentle Master, says, “In this cosmic university all are students.  Hence everyone should render social service to the extent of one’s capacity and spread Swami’s ideals among all.  There is nothing selfish in Swami’s message.  Hence anyone can spread it selflessly.  Sow the seed of love in your hearts and it will grow in due course into a big tree.  God is one.  Do not entertain any differences of creed or caste.  Carry the message of unity to every home.”

So, this I consciously attempt.  I am better at serving, perhaps, than I am at loving.  Certain people still enrage me.

On the other hand, our Beloved Bhagawan Baba understands.  “There are few today who recognize unity in diversity, though there are any number of intellectuals who are engaged in promoting divisions and differences.  The world today needs righteous men who will promote unity.

“Embodiments of love!  There is only one thing you have to offer to me today.  Pray that people in all countries, nay, the entire humanity, should be happy and at peace.  ‘Lokaa Samasthas Sukhino Bhavanthu.’  (‘Let all the worlds be happy.’)  Then alone there will be real unity.  Do not wish merely for the peace and prosperity of India alone.  Pray for the welfare of all countries.  All are our brothers, whether they are in Pakistan or America or elsewhere.”

Now I have come to regard my Native Land as the whole Earth.  Yes, I may have been born in one part of the Earth but I am part of every culture and every creed.  Living in India has shown me that I belong to only caste that Sai Baba sways we all belong to—the caste of humanity.

God, Science and Mother

By Terry Reis Kennedy

When the first man walked on the moon I was a young mother with three children under four.  News of the landing did not excite me.  I felt that exploring outer space and stabbing a US flag into the heretofore sacred lover’s orb had nothing to do with my life: Constant motherly vigilance, piles of laundry and continuous pleadings to God, the angels and the saints, for guidance during this challenging time.

How was this quantum jump of science going to help me raise my children? How was I going to instill human values in their hearts when even school curricula focused on gaining knowledge for the purpose of getting good grades, a good job, and earning pots of money? 

Suddenly, stars were no longer mysterious twinkling diamonds in the sky to be wished upon.  Now they were simply destinations.

I felt my children needed a direct link with the Almighty to get them through life. I believed that anyone with a brain knew that it was God, not science, which was going to keep us together when everything around us was falling to pieces. Well, I was wrong.  Science, not God, won out.  But why?

For the most part, we spend our lives in the material world.  We are more impressed by bad money than by good Samaritans.  Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba has said, “The discoveries made by the modern scientists are in the realms of matter whereas the sages of ancient India explored the region of the Spirit.

“The scientists are feeding greedily on what was dismissed as trash by our great sages of the past. The narrow-minded scientists do not bring themselves to believe in the great discoveries made by our ancestors.  Whether they believe it or not, the truths discovered by the wise ancestors stand as eternal verities.  It is not science which is anti-God; it is the scientists who are anti-God… 

“It is sheer ignorance on the part of the scientists to be carried away by the proof furnished by the senses.  The scientists should enquire and investigate into their hearts, instead of mechanically probing into machines.”

Of course, I am grateful for the machines I do have.  But when catastrophe crashes into my life, I don’t kneel in front of the refrigerator!  I go to my altar, light the lamp, and unburden my soul.  I feel better believing in a power greater than myself.

Sai Baba assures, “God can be known only by experience and not by experiments.  Sadhana (spiritual practice) is needed for this purpose.  Men who are engaged in exploring space do not make the slightest effort to explore the Divine within them.  Of what use are experiments aimed at exploring space, while there is no genuine cultivation of human qualities and the practice of such basic virtues as showing reverence for the mother, the father and the preceptor.”

Now that I have entered the grandmother years, I find that faith in God is critical.  The world of my grandchildren is even more threatening than the world my children were born into.  Without a strong connection to the Divine, life could be a very disturbing experience.

Sri Sathya Sai emphasizes the importance of communion with God. “The great scientist, Einstein, regretted in his last years that his scientific findings had led to the production of the atom bomb,” Sai Baba said, and “Sir Isaac Newton ended his life in a hospital with a mental affliction.  True knowledge must secure mental peace and enduring joy.  For this, contemplation of God is essential.”

Sai Baba on Meditation

By Terry Reis Kennedy

I first started meditating at the age of 38.  I was instructed to get into any comfortable position, seated, either in a chair or on the ground.  I was taught that the purpose of meditation is to become one with God.  However, I had no idea how to merge with the formless God I believed in—a faraway, faceless force that ruled my life.  It was not until I became of devotee of Sai Baba in 1990 that I began to understand that a person needs an object to focus on in order to meditate.  That can be a symbol of God, a deity, or even a flame.

According to Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, meditation is a process of Self discovery.  He has said, “All accomplished spiritual aspirants, yogis, and renunciates have acquired knowledge of the Absolute through meditation.  When higher knowledge is established, there is no sense of past or future; all is present-time.”

And it is precisely in this meditation moment, that there is the experience of the living God and nothing else.  It is in synchronicity with the beats of one’s own heart.  Such a moment leads to the discovery that the Absolute and you are one.

For me, meditation produces refreshment, like water when I’m thirsty, sleep when I’m tired.  Puttaparthi Sai taught, “Through meditation, the weakness of the body can be overcome, the restless nature of the mind can be controlled, and progress towards the Seat of Grace made easy. One can then attain the experience of Primordial Powers.”

And what might these powers be?  For me, they are peace, sense control, love towards all, patience, spontaneity, and joy.  Without worry, anger, fear, jealousy, and hatred I feel free!  So, meditation brings liberation—at least for segments of time.  With more practice, “nirvana” lasts longer.

But meditation is much more.  Parthi Sai, in his own down-to-earth way of teaching said that meditation is a way of life. “One should have Daiva Preethi, Papa Bheethi and Sangha Neethi (Love for God, fear of sin, and morality in society). That is true Nirvana.” 

He prescribed, “Be away from sin. Understand that Daiva Sannidhi (proximity to the Divine) is true Pennidhi (wealth principle)… While you are walking on the road or driving a car, if your vision is not focused on the road, you may meet with an accident. Concentration is necessary in all aspects of life. But concentration does not become meditation. One should go beyond concentration which means the mind should become still. You should be free from thoughts. That is true meditation.”

There is a step-by-step process for new and seasoned meditators.  According to Bhagawan, “When in meditation, concentrate on the form chosen by you, then pass into contemplation and then into meditation.  Only by the three states will you get there…When there is complete attention on the form chosen that will lead to meditation.  The attention of the mind is totally removed from the body and totally concentrated on the form chosen as the object of your meditation.”

Sai Baba on Christmas

(A short Essay)

Christmas for many of us is more than a celebration of the birth of Lord Jesus.  It is the time of year, perhaps, when we reflect on the impact of the life and teachings of the Master Christ.  The followers of Jesus eventually became known as Christians—practitioners of Christianity, the largest religion in the world, followed by Islam, and then by Hinduism.

According to Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, “The Great Teachers belong to mankind.  It is wrong to believe that Jesus belongs only to the Christians and that Christmas is a Holy festival for the West only.  To accept one of them as one’s own and discard the rest as belonging to others, is a sign of pettiness.  Christ, Rama, Krishna—they are for all men everywhere.”

Though Christmas lights sparkle on all continents and gifts are exchanged as symbols of love, friendship, and duty, how many hearts are full of joy at this time of the year?  How many of us really emulate the actions of Lord Jesus?  Frankly, some days I do.  Other days I don’t.  And the Christmas season can become a tedious round of have-to-attend events, and have-to-do chores.

“Jesus was a master born for a purpose, the mission of restoring love, charity and compassion in the heart of man,” Sai Baba explained.  The mad rush of day-to-day life might make us forget why we were born.  So Christmas is a time to reflect on and to remember the purpose of our own existence, and our own mission as children of God. 

Puttaparthi Sai explained, “Jesus had no attachment to the self; he never paid heed to sorrow or to pain, joy or gain; he had a heart that responded to the call of anguish, the cry for peace and brotherhood.  He went about the land preaching the lesson of love, and poured out his life as a libation in the sacrifice to humanity.”

And, in the words of the Poorna Avatar, Christmas reminds us that we are a world family, “All faiths are inter-related and mutually indebted to each other for the principles they teach, and the disciplines they recommend.  The Vedic Religion was the first in time; Buddhism which appeared about 2,500 years ago was its son; Christianity, which was influenced by the Orient, was its grandson.  And Islam, which has the Prophets of Christianity as its base was like the great-grandson.  All have Love as the fundamental discipline of the mind, in order to chasten it and merge man with the Divine.”

How could the infant born in the humble setting of an animal stable, come to be known throughout the world if not by Divine design?  Sai Baba noted that first Jesus thought of himself as separate from God, next Jesus saw himself as the son of God, but at the end of his Self Realization he said, “I and my Father are One.”  The process of moving from humanity to divinity took rigorous introspection.  According to Sai Baba, “Jesus wandered purposefully in lonely places for 12 long years, engaging himself in study, spiritual exercises and meditation on God.”

His life was certainly his message.

REPORT FROM VENEZUELA

REPORT FROM VENEZUALA by Faith, correspondent for Terry´s Blog.

To tell you the truth, I am very sorry about Chavez because I love him very, very much.  You know I never got involved in politics.  But, when I came here, some friends invited me to their house (this was back in 1998) and they were watching a show where they were interviewing the candidates. And I also watched since there was nothing else for me to do there.  So... as I watched I asked Our Lord, out of sheer curiousity:  "Oh, Lord, I wonder which one is the best for the job. " Just talking to Him.  And, Chavez was the last one to be interviwed, and after about 10 minutes after the interview started, Our Lord said to me the following: (He had only talked to me 3 times in my whole life) "This is the one I have chosen for this job, join him and help him in any way you feel."  So, I did, but, not directly because I had no contact with him.

It is true that Nicolas Maduro and his wife are Sai Baba devotees.  I mean I read that they had been to Puttaparthy to see Baba.  I do not know how much of a devotee he is, but, I have heard that his wife really is.  I like him very much and especially since Chavez appointed him as his vice president and just before he became so ill, he gave us all a message to support Nicolas.  I went to see Chavez from where I live by airplane.  Because of my age, they let me in to see him without having to stand in those lines for hours.  There are people who have stood in line for about 13 or 15 hours.

 There are millions of people from all over the country to see him, and maybe even from different  countries.  The presidents of about 20 countries from all over the world came to see him in his coffin.  People are just flooding here to see him.  He was a very, very dedicated man.  Dedicated to the welfare of poor people who had always been treated like dirt.  And, no politician or president of this country ever did anything for them.  They lived in very, very horrible places and also very, very precarious places.  He built so many, so many houses for so many of those poor people.  Beautiful, beautiful houses.  He made it possible for them to go to school, high school and even college.  He made them feel like somebody and was always talking about God.  That it why so many, many people love him all over the world, and especially here.

  I love him very, very much and he said to support Nicolas Maduro and I do, spiritually, of course, and if someone asks for my help for him, I will gladly do it because Chavez was preparing for the last 12 years and made him his vice president.  So, I am very, very happy that he is now the temporary president until the elections, which will be within a month of two.  The exact date has not been decided by the Department in charge of the votes, etc.  But, I have heard that it will be around the beginning of April.  Anyway, i will let you know.

  Oh, by the way, Chavez came from a poor family but was educated, of course.  And, Nicolas was a bus driver.  So Chavez was and Nicolas is very knowlegeable about the poor people´s needs and of course, they are not against rich people, but rich people can take very good care of themselves, and they always ignored and put down the poor people, who deserve to live well also, and that is what Chavez did and Nicolas will be doing.  Of course the rich people need poor people around, so they can feel that they are better than someone else.  And, that is the whole thing that is happening.  I feel very, very strongly that Nicolas will win the elections and will continue with the same work since Chavez prepared him very well for that.

So, i guess now you are more well informed than you were before and I hope you come and see all the wonderful things Chavez did for the poor people and that Nicolas will be doing for them also.  I mean these were people many of whom had never even gone to school in their lives and they have even reached high school and many of them college.  And, they love Chavez so much, that is that they are very grateful which not many people are when someone gives them something.  So, many times it has brought tears to my eyes to see how much Chavez did for them and how they appreciate it and how much they love him.  I mean, can you imagine them waiting on line 10, 12, 13, 15 hours?

 As I said before, I even went there by airplane and because of my age and the pain on my back when I stand for more than 10 or 15 minutes, I was let to see him in a shorter period of time, but I was there and I walked at least 4 miles to go see him.  I had never seen anyone in a coffin that looked so alive in my life.   There was a lot of light around him.  And, millions of people love him so much (including me, even though I am not Venezuelan legally, but I am at heart).

Anyway, i hope now you know enough about him and what a wonderful human being he was and still is.  He believed in :Total surrender to God and his duty.  Everyone can feel his energy all around.

Faith