Sathya Sai World Youth Festival – 2016 – Day – 2
Wednesday, July 13th, 2016
The second day of the Sathya Sai World Youth Festival began at the break of dawn with the ‘Mornings at Hill View’ session. The young delegates took part in invigorating physical training activities at the Hill view Stadium, including yoga, Qi Gong, Tai Chi, volleyball, basketball, football and a hike to the Hanuman statue at the summit of the hill that overlooks the stadium.
The morning hike took the participants on a journey past the towering statues of Krishna, Buddha, Christ and other faith leaders that adorn the hilltop, underscoring the unity of major religions of the world. The walk was sanctified with beautiful and vibrant bhajans at the Feet of the statue of Lord Hanuman – the embodiment of devotion.
Later in the morning, inside the Sai Kulwant Hall, three speakers shared their personal stories of transformation by the grace of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba: Ms. Saiusha Haridas, Youth Coordinator of Zone 4 (South East Asia), Dr. Chandinie, Sathya Sai Youth of India, and guest speaker, Ms. Alida Parkes, Chair of Zone 6 (Southern Europe).
Speaking first, Ms Saiusha Haridas recounted her personal experiences with Bhagawan and said that with His love, one can reach great heights, fulfilling one’s potential. She started off on a high note, deliberating on the topic Where There Is Love…There Is A Highway, that offers a most conducive, comfortable, barrier-less journey. Bringing in interesting anecdote from her personal diary with Swami, Saiusha said, “without Your gentle nudging and little pushing i would not become the person i am”.
Speaking next, Dr Chandinie, a Sai Youth from India, underscored the fact that women are embodiments of strength, identifying the women as Shakti, Intellect and Divine Mother HerSelf. Keeping Mother Sita as the Ideal, the speaker identified potential messages for young women, to follow and imbibe. When life crashes on us, what is within us comes out, and through such make or break situations women understand that they are embodiments of love and sacrifice, forgiveness… no situation in life is worth losing out all these inherent qualities in our lives, said the speaker reminding the youth that by being under Bhagawan, we are empowered to bring out a radical change in the society.
The final speaker of the morning, Ms. Alida Parkes, shared her journey with Swami and urged the youth to live up to His expectations, making Him a priority in their lives. She reminded the youth that they should constantly conduct themselves with the awareness that the Lord is watching, and to offer the results of all actions to Him.
Deliberating on the theme Love All Serve All, the speaker also reminded the audience as to how Swami selected us, prepared and awakened each of His chosen ones to be His instrument in His Mission. The veteran speaker holding many responsibilities with the SSIO also stressed on the need to practise Sai, following His teachings, taking the same around the world in a bid to eradicate negativity on the planet…
Sharing her message received from Bhagawan, “Love For God, Fear Of Sin, Practise Morality”, Alida identified her own personal challenge in life, that being not to fail Him at any time, but to raise herself up to His expectations.
SSWYF-2016 theme song by the Indian Youth followed next, before Bhajans and Mangala Arathi.
The morning programme then continued in Poornachandra Auditorium. In his plenary talk, guest speaker Dr. Chandrasekhar Narayan, Director of Research, IBM, USA shared his laboratory’s ground breaking findings in environmental sustainability. Dr. Narayan reminded delegates of Sathya Sai Baba’s teachings about respecting nature and caring for Mother Earth.
There followed a lively and engaging debate between two global youth teams on the importance of righteousness versus love in the lives of the youth today. A heart-warming presentation on service projects conducted by Sathya Sai Youth drew applause.
The last segment of the morning session, Sai 360, featured youth from around the world, sharing personal experiences of serving in the Divine Mission. The central theme that emerged was that all action should be dedicated to the Lord.
Evening Session In Sai Kulwant Hall
On to Day-3 of the ongoing SSWYF-2016, Sai Kulwant Hall witnessed a series of three talks, including a summary presentation, followed by a Musical Presentation and Drama Presentation this evening here, in Prasanthi Nilayam.
Addressing first Mr Lorenzo Casadio, Dy Central Coordinator Zone 6 of SSIO deliberated on the topic “sailing through the ocean of life” reminding the audience of the importance of making friendship with God, considering Swami as the Best Friend. Sailing through the topic, Lorenzo, with rich anecdotes from his own perceptions, asked the youth as to how do we discharge our duties, as per the benchmark set of Bhagawan…? and where do we find the strength and inspiration while making an impact in our personal lives?? One need to find the answer, find Him in the deep recess, recognising Him as the One and Only Friend, observed Lorenzo, speaking with firm conviction.
The Guest Speaker for the evening was Sri Ramachandran Venkataramanan, Executive Director, Tata Foundation. Sri Ramachandran Venkataraman was an alumnus of SSSIHL, graduated with an MBA in 1996.
Sri Venkataramanan, delivering a straight-from-the heart-speech, reflected on his initial days of joining in the Sathya Sai world, coupling the same with the greater lessons it offered, that at that point of time appeared elusively unclear. Referring to the platform of Sai Youth, the speaker opined that such a platform does not exist anywhere and it is a great boon to have Sai as the uniting factor in our lives… Perhaps we can think of a united platform that makes a difference in the lives of millions of people, concluded the speaker.
International Music Team of SSIO then presented a special musical offering entitles “What It Means To Be A Sai Youth” musically depicting, with intertwined commentary, the journey of a Sai Youth, with each zone representing with its own musical tradition, connecting to Sai.
This was followed by a Drama Presentation by the World Drama Team of SSIO. The Drama was entitled “Love Is The Path to To Transforming The World”, a story of transformation by the soldiers of Sathya Sai.
Earlier, Mr Dashendran Reddy, Zonal Youth Coordinator, Region 9A presented the Summary Of Proceedings of the 2nd day of the SSWYF-2016.
Bhajans by the International Sai Youth followed and the session ended with Mangala Arathi to Bhagawan.
II Samastha Lokah Sukhnino Bhavantu II
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