It gives me great delight to write to you amidst the 93rd birthday celebrations of our dear Lord in Prashanti Nilayam. The ashram is bustling with devotees, colourful decorations and positive vibrations! It is a joyous time here and the world over for the Sai Family and also heralds the start of the holiday season filled with festivities like Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year. Most importantly, it is the season to show gratitude for all that we have received throughout the year. Engaging in selfless service is verily the best way to express gratitude. In Baba’s words, “The greatness that is present in service is not to be seen in any other Sadhana (spiritual practice). If we have this service as our primary aim and then adopt the various practices of devotion, such as listening and singing His praises, meditating on the divine name, servitude to the feet of the Lord, prostrating, offering worship, considering oneself as a servant and friend of the Lord, and the path of Self-enquiry, then the service will enable you to get rid of the ego and bad qualities in you. One's animal nature that is reminiscent in man is his ego. Service removes this animal nature, makes him softer and enables him to go nearer to God.”…Swami's Discourse, 3rd Sevadal Conference, 15 Nov 1975.

This time of the year also marks the end of autumn and the onset of winter. For those living in the northern hemisphere, winter is the coldest season and the most brutal one; however, on the subtle level, it’s a great time for inner focus, stillness, and reflection. It also gives an opportunity to offer seva as according to ayurveda, the cold weather can increase Vata imbalance (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dosha) in everyone and make the body vulnerable to disorders like colds and flu. Be sure to remind your patients to contact you at the first sign of a cold or flu as vibro remedies can shorten the infection or even prevent it, particularly among family members.

On the vibrionics front, it gives me pleasure to share with you that the online submission feature for practitioners to directly upload their monthly seva hours on the website: https://practitioners.vibrionics.org has been a resounding success, thanks to the unrelenting efforts of all involved in developing and implementing it. Not only has it made the reporting process more efficient and effective but it is also starting to build up a gold mine of data which we can use for continuous improvement in our vibrionics mission. To assist those who are unable to access or submit their reports online, we have started appointing local monthly report coordinators. Might I request anyone who has some extra time (it requires only a few minutes per week) and is prepared to take on this responsibility to please submit your name to me at [email protected]. This will most certainly alleviate the reporting burden on some regional coordinators and free up time for them to engage in our mission’s higher-order activities such as, training and organizing more seva camps.  

I am really happy to report that our vibrionics clinic, which is held three days a week on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays from 2-4 PM at the Wellness Center of Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences, Whitefield has gained significant traction under the leadership of Practitioner^{12051…India}. In the last 11 months alone, we have treated over 750 patients! As you may be aware, a lot of patients who are treated at this hospital come from remote and far-off places in India enduring long journeys (up to 3 days’ train journey) for treatment of chronic conditions such as those of the heart and the brain. In cases where the hospital is unable to assist or the waiting list is too long, the patients are often referred to the vibrionics clinic. After an initial consultation, the clinic monitors the patient’s progress via email/phone and where necessary, the practitioner sends remedies to patients by post at no cost to the patient.

We have also been working hard on a much-enhanced version of the Vibrionics 2016 book. We hope to launch that on Baba’s birthday.

Wishing the Swami in us all a very happy birthday! May this holiday season bring us much joy, love and energy to continue on the path of service with even greater devotion and dedication. 

In loving service to Sai

Jit K Aggarwal