I’m very happy to be writing to you on the heels of Maha Shivarathri from Puttaparthi, where this joyous festival was celebrated with highly uplifting veda chanting and ecstatic twelve-hour long bhajans. According to our Great Master, “There is no use in just thinking of Shivarathri once a year. Every minute, every day, every night, you should think of Divinity and sanctify your time, for the Time principle, truly speaking is Shiva. You yourself are Shiva. Try to understand and recognize this principle of Shiva Tatva which is your own Reality.”  - Sathya Sai Baba, Shivrathri Discourse, 17 February 1985. Simple though it may sound, it is a highly compelling message for us to spiritualize our every moment/every breath. This becomes even more important today when the world seems to be in a state of turmoil on many fronts, is in the grip of panic due to the spread of Coronavirus or COVID-19 (as named by WHO), and is preparing to fight this potential pandemic. We have a significant coverage dedicated to protective measures in dealing with the virus in the ‘In Addition’ section of this issue. My simple thinking on this matter is that spiritually charging our lives and keeping a check on what we take in through our outer and inner senses is the best vitamin and most effective preventative measure one can take. Having said so, I strongly advise and request all our practitioners to also take safeguards as suggested in the last section of the newsletter.

In Volume 9 Issue 2 (March - April 2018) edition of our Newsletter, I had briefly touched upon our proposal to design and implement a formal organization based on best practices in alternative healthcare management with a view to gearing up for expansion. I am happy to announce that with encouraging response to my call for volunteers to step-up, we have now formalized such a structure with standard operating procedures (SOPs). We have formulated a very robust and dynamic organization structure with nine key functional wings: Operations & Logistics; Admissions; Education, Training & Promotions;  Research & Development; Newsletters; IASVP, Information Technology; Audio Visuals; and Publications. Each functional wing has several subject-related sections to be handled independently. This has already resulted in new admin seva opportunities for practitioners. As we expand, we will need more teachers (and mentors) at all levels from e-course right up to the SVP level. We will also need practitioners who have good writing skills for the News team and those who can transcribe information from audio files for the AV wing.  We will provide complete training and guidance to all those who volunteer for all specialized seva opportunities.

Our practitioners are conducting Sai Vibrionics camps at various locations, benefitting a large number of patients. While our focus remains on maintaining a high standard of treatment and on reaching out to maximum number of patients, we would like to record these activities and share the experience from these camps for the benefit of all practitioners. In order to do this, we would require a small write-up on all such camps along with a few good quality photographs. If practitioners who are conducting camps can all forward us the same it would be most appreciated.

There seems to be a little confusion amongst IASVP members about renewing their identity cards. Please note, on receipt of a renewal notification, it is mandatory to re-read the rules and regulations on our Practitioners’ website (as we do make changes from time to time) and “check” the box at the bottom of the webpage prior to hitting the “submit” button on the webpage.

In conclusion, I’d like us all to spend a few minutes everyday in prayer sending lots of compassion, love, and healing energy to our Mother Earth and all those affected with COVID-19 virus and leave you with this great enlightening message from our Lord – “When people view the world with the vision of love, they will have peace. All diseases will be cured. Most diseases have their origin in the mind. Everything has a psychological basis. When a person feels that something is wrong with him, he develops an illness. A healthy mind is needed for a healthy body."

”Start the day with love, spend the day with love, end the day with love, that is the way to God. If you develop love, disease will not come near you.” -- Sathya Sai Baba, Shivrathri Discourse, 17 February 1985.

In loving service to Sai

Jit K Aggarwal