I am delighted to be writing to you on the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi, a highly auspicious period. I take this opportunity to wish our Jewish brethren a Very Happy Rosh Hashanah! We are so privileged to be part of this Universal Mission of Love where every faith and religion is honoured, all festivals celebrated with the same pomp and vigour, and divine vibrations are broadcasted to all -- transcending any and all differences that exist between us. This is truly unique and special!

Our hearts and prayers go out to our dearest brothers and sisters in the state of Kerala who have suffered immensely and continue to suffer as a result of an unprecedented wave of catastrophic floods. We’ve been closely watching another major hurricane (Florence) that is about to make land fall in the states of South Carolina and North Carolina in the US. As was mentioned in the last newsletter, we had already started broadcasting healing vibrations from the US to mother earth to alleviate the pain and suffering that our planet is undergoing. This initiative has now been launched in India by Practitioner ^{11573…India}, who along with a team of senior practitioners, has started broadcasting healing vibrations to our planet on a regular basis, every Thursday. So great is the power of prayer (similar to broadcasting), I’m certain that even a short heartfelt prayer from each one of us could help enormously.

At Prashanti Nilayam, we have been running vibro clinics for 15 days a month in the gents’ seva dal building but only on and off in the ladies’ seva dal building. I’m glad to share that post-Guru Poornima this year, two practitioners, under the guidance of their Teacher ^{11422…India}, have been providing this seva 3 times a week on a regular basis. As you will appreciate there is a high demand for vibro seva amongst seva dals and as such we would like to offer this seva on other days as well. Any practitioner coming to the ashram, who is able to commit to this seva one week at a stretch can write to us at [email protected] to register their name. We plan to draw up a rota? with an eventual aim to hold daily clinic.

I would like to congratulate Practitioner ^03560…USA and his development team for their immense dedication and hard work in putting together the practitioners’ website, which is now fully functional. As is the case with any new release, we recognize that there are a few teething problems/bugs/issues, which I assure you are being addressed almost on a daily basis. However, these issues are minor and should not prevent you from using the site. You may change your personal details (including uploading your photo), submit your monthly seva report or apply for the IASVP membership, which is now mandatory for all those who are VP and above. Should you experience any difficulty with logging in or submitting your seva hours, please feel free to reach out to [email protected] for immediate assistance.

This time I’d like to leave you with a short story on the significance of selfless service narrated by Swami on Ganesh Chaturthi – “A boy from Delhi had been listening to Swami’s teachings carefully. One day, he was going to the college to appear in an examination, which was to begin at 8 am. On his way, he saw a beggar who stumbled as he was very sick and could not walk. He helped him to get up, took him to hospital and had him admitted there. By that time it was 10 am. When he noticed the time, he found that it was too late for the examination. He thought, “Well this was a test of my conduct by Swami Himself.” He had no regrets that he missed the examination. He was actually happy. When he came to Me, he told Me, “Swami, one paper is gone, I will not pass this year but next year is always there. I have no regrets for I have passed in Your test.” I told him, “Don’t worry, you have passed in your test also.” Next month, the result was out. He secured first class. 

The boy did not bother about his examination because he had done a noble act of service to a poor man. He thought that he had failed in the worldly test, but he had passed in the test of God. There are many students like this who would put service before self. When you have this attitude in your life, you will never fail. Whatever you do, do it wholeheartedly. In this way, you can experience Divinity.”– Divine Discourse, Vinayaka Chaturthi, 1-09-2000, Prashanti Nilayam