...How the Sai Volunteers in Bihar braved
perilous odds
to reach out to the devastated and isolated
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This is a story of two currents. One
that destroyed and the other that saved. Both
were mammoth and moving. How the most unexpected
and unprecedented-in-half-a-century massive
flood devastated millions of lives, destroyed
crores worth of property and devastated hundreds
of acres of cultivable land in one of the most
populous and least developed states of India -
Bihar, in the second fortnight of August 2008 is
a shocking story, to say the least.
But what is equally astounding is how an
Organisation consisting of a band of absolutely
selfless workers plunged into this catastrophe
without losing a second, to provide hope, succor
and comfort to thousands who had resigned to
their cruel fate and hopeless ends. They did not
eat or sleep for days, and braved damage and
death to ensure that their brethren are safe.
This is a story of human empathy that flowed as
swiftly as the speeding waters, giving true
meaning to the most pious emotion of this
universe - 'love'.
The New York Times
reported it as the worst flood in the area in 50
years; their headline pronounced: "Millions
displaced by floods in India." The Prime Minister of
India declared it as a "national calamity" on August
28, 2008. The Indian army and non-government
organizations operated the biggest flood rescue
operation in India in more than 50 years. More than
2.3 million people were marooned. At least 2,47,000
acres of farmland were swamped destroying precious
crops of wheat and paddy.
The ravaging waters
gushed in at 25000 cubic meters a second and
thousands were washed away even before they realised
what was happening. Over 800 villages, 1000
individuals and countless families were destroyed.
It was unprecedented, unexpected and the most
ruthless devastation the state had ever seen in half
a century. This is the sorry story of what unfolded
in the one of the least developed and most populous
states of India – Bihar, in the second fortnight of
August 2008.
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Bihar witnesses the most
atrocious floods in 50 years
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The tremendous current spares
nothing in its wake
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Railway tracks are washed
away...
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...and roads become dangerous rivers
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The Saddest
Day in Bihar in Half a Century
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Mr. S. B. Chaudhury, State President of
Sri Sathya Sai Seva Organisations, Bihar
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In a matter of a few
days from August 18 – when the people of India
elsewhere were still upbeat after celebrating a
lively Independence Day on August 15 – thousands of
poor folk in Bihar were running for their lives,
literally.
Leaving behind their
homes and belongings, helplessly they sprinted as if
possessed by a devil to find areas of safety; it was
as if the God of death was after them. "Yes, it was
not an ordinary flood, it was like a Maha Kal (a
terrible wrath of the God of Death)," asserts
Mr. S. B. Chaudhury, the State President of Sri
Sathya Sai Seva Organisations of Bihar.
"Floods in Bihar are
not uncommon," he adds and continues, "Every year
the River Kosi flows into the inhabited lands of
Bihar and destroys crops and property. This river,
as it is often called, is truly the 'Sorrow of
Bihar'. But the people on these occasions are not
taken by surprise; they are prepared for it.
But what
happened this year is shocking; it caught everybody
unawares. The River broke its embankment at Kusaha
in Nepal and through a huge 2 km breach in the dam,
picked up an old route it had abandoned over 100
years ago! On the night of August 18, a huge wall of
22 feet of water started rushing in furiously and
washed away everything - buildings, people, cattle,
castles, trees, etc. – that came on its way. For all
we know, the 1000 deaths might be an underestimate.
Thirteen districts were affected, but in four the
damage was severe; in Supaul it was the worst."
"Yes,
it was not an ordinary flood, it was
like a Maha Kal (a terrible
wrath of the God of Death)"
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The eastern state of Bihar (left)
and how the River Kosi unexpectedly
chose a route it has abondoned a
century ago, and converted large
parts of Bihar into a virtual watery
grave
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Another Flood
Begins… the Current of Sai Love
Mr. Shiv Shankar
Choudhury, the District President of the Sai
Organisation of Supaul, rushed to the site of
devastation as soon as he heard the news. "We took
motorcycles and rode immediately towards the
affected areas. What we saw there was simply
pathetic. A middle-aged man was running carrying his
children on his shoulders; an old man rushed as fast
as he could with a tiny bag of belongings on his
head; a third was trying to save his cattle; the
fourth had tied a little food in a torn towel and
was rushing crying out aloud as he had lost
everything…. The flood waters were closing in at a
fast pace; they had no time to think. They were just
running piteously to elevated areas. Tears started
streaming down our cheeks… People were now living on
trees; they had nothing to eat or drink, except the
polluted water that pervaded them on all sides."
"The
flood waters were closing in at a fast
pace; they had no time to think. They
were just running piteously to elevated
areas. Tears started streaming down our
cheeks… People were now living on trees;
they had nothing to eat or drink, except
the polluted water that pervaded them on
all sides."
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Shiv Shankar and other
members of the Organisation returned and immediately
started preparing for relief work. The government
and other non-governmental organisations, who were
ill-prepared for a calamity of such magnitude, were
still trying to come to the grips of the situation.
Meanwhile, the spirited Sai volunteers collected
essential food items and on the night of August 21,
served more than 2000 people. They went into
villages which were completely marooned and where
approachability was very poor. In fact, it was
highly risky to visit those remote pockets of
inhabitants.
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The tragedy of these scenes...
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Houses destroyed, they walked
miles in water to find a shelter
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Human endurance - as high as
nature's fury
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"Yes, it was a
perilous adventure and we did not even have regular
boats; we had to make use of country boats," recalls
Mr. Shiv Shankar, and adds, "The current of
the water was so high that if you stood on two feet
of water, you would surely be washed away. In fact,
the police and government authorities were stopping
people from going into those areas. But, we were not
afraid because we were absolutely confident that
Bhagavan is with us. That is why Sai
Organisation was the first to start relief work and
we started with really remote areas where people
were stranded on trees and elevated structures.
Loaded with poha (beaten rice), jaggery,
biscuits, milk, salt, candles, bread, clothes and
medicines, we rowed kilometers on the rickety boats
and reached out to the distressed. We had no fear;
Bhagavan gave us the strength and we distributed all
these items as His prasadam (gifts)."
"That
is why Sai Organisation was the first to
start relief work and we started with
really remote areas where people were
stranded on trees and elevated
structures. Loaded with poha
(beaten rice), jaggery, biscuits, milk,
salt, candles, bread, clothes and
medicines, we rowed kilometers on the
rickety boats and reached out to the
distressed. We had no fear; Bhagavan
gave us the strength and we distributed
all these items as His prasadam
(gifts)."
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Overwhelming
Sai Love in Action
Twenty sevadals served
from 9 o clock in the night till 4 in the morning
with the help of torches. They located every
individual seeking help in the destroyed zone of
Supaul and offered them food and clothes. If this
was the situation in Supaul, it was no different in
Madhepur, another worst-affected district. "When we
surveyed this area on 23rd, we found that water had
entered into the offices of the District Collector
and the Superintendent of Police," says Mr. Ram
Avatar Razaq, the District President of the Sai
Organisation of Madhepur. "In fact, the entire
capital town of the district was a sea of water.
We found people
perched on top of buildings and on elevated
embankments. They were hungry, crying, shocked and
devastated. When we filled their desperate
palms with food carrying love in our hearts and the
name of 'Sai' on our lips, they cried copiously.
Overwhelmed with gratitude, they too vociferously
chanted 'Sairam!' It was three days since their
lives had turned completely upside down and nobody
had come to their rescue. Since we served each one
of them personally with lot of dignity and concern,
they started treating us as if we were gods."
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Hope springs eternal as the blue
scarved
Sai army rush to their rescue
with food and medicines
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Scores of sevadal gathered, packed
and distributed food grains,
biscuits, milk and other essential
supplies
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All he needed was something to
eat - So happy to receive the
biscuit pack!
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Marooned by cruel fate, the packets
distributed by the Sai workers are
now their only prized possession
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The Mission
I'm-Possible
Were there not other
Organisations doing relief work? "Yes, they were,"
clarifies Mr. Ram Avatar, and adds, "But they would
not venture into risky areas. For example, the
village, Rampur, was 30-35 kilometers from Madhepur.
It was completely covered with water, and all the
people had taken shelter on an elevated land; they
were anxiously waiting for relief but nobody would
go there. In fact one of the government boats was
drowned while making an attempt. But with the name
of Sai in our hearts and the continuous chanting of
Sai Gayatri, we rowed into that danger zone with
loads of food and other essential items.
"The village, Rampur, was 30-35
kilometers from Madhepur. It was
completely covered with water, and all
the people had taken shelter on an
elevated land... But with the name of
Sai in our hearts and the continuous
chanting of Sai Gayatri, we
rowed into that danger zone with loads
of food and other essential items."
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There was a huge crowd
waiting eagerly standing on a single piece of high
land and surrounded on all sides by water. When we
reached out to them and distributed milk, biscuits,
rice and clothes, their sense of relief and joy knew
no bounds! And Rampur, mind you, was not the only
such location, there were plenty and we went to many
such remote and completely isolated villages like
Murliganj, Tunahi, Sukhasan and Garibtola. This was
our continuous activity for days and weeks."
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The few who had saved their
lives, thanks to an elevated
land in Rampur, eagerly await 'Sai
Supplies'
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Delivering the essential items was
the toughest and most risky of all
Sai service activities
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While individual
districts started relief activities immediately as a
spontaneous reaction to the calamity on August 21,
the State President of Sai Organisation felt the
need to coordinate and organize the efforts more
systematically to sustain the momentum of the good
work. Hence, he called for a meeting of all the
district presidents on the 24 th. After this
session, supplies to the affected areas started
arriving from more than 30 districts of Bihar and
Jharkhand. 30 truck-loads of essential items came in
immediately, and meanwhile, with the direction of
All India President of Sai Organisations,
neighbouring states too started sending in truck
loads of materials.
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The supplies started coming in
from other states
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They were then arranged neatly to
sort and then pack
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Like from Jamshedpur, essential
items came from each of the 30
districts of Bihar
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All the supplies were aggregated in
Saharsha where they were then
converted into small packets
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"Now, resources were not a
problem," says Mr. Chaudhury, the State President.
"Many states joined in. The state of Maharashtra
sent vitamin biscuits for small children; and rice
and dal, soaps and tarpaulins, sarees and dhotis
came in from Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and
Punjab. Similarly, other essential food items and
clothes arrived from Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal.
What was needed at this point was proper
organisation of packaging and distribution.
For this purpose, we created a
base camp at Saharsha because this was the only
place from where all the affected districts could be
reached at the earliest. A theatre owner in Saharsa
offered two big rooms and it was here that 50 Sai
workers worked tirelessly every night for days and
weeks making individual packets of all essential
supplies. Each bag contained a minimum of 2
kilograms of beaten rice, jaggery, biscuit packets,
milk powder, soaps, candle, matchbox, common
medicines, clothes and other small items. Early in
the morning everyday, a truck load of such packets
were ready and a team of youth carried them to the
distressed areas.
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Sai teams worked all night to
create comprehensive units
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...and then journey for distribution
started
early in the morning
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Where There is
Nobody To Help, There is Sai
To give you one
instance, our Sai Youth went to a completely
marooned village called Sukhasan. Now, this hamlet
was covered with three kilometers of water on all
sides. When our devotees reached there with lot of
difficulty on the country boats, the people there
started crying out of joy because they said, 'Nobody
has bothered about us till now; we have been
suffering for so many days.' They felt 'there is
somebody who has not forgotten us' and we told them
it is Sai Baba who is concerned about you. They had
never seen a picture of Bhagavan earlier, but now
whenever we go there, in joy they exclaim 'Sai Baba
has come, Sai Baba has come'.
"Our Sai Youth went to the
remotest of areas and delivered the
items wherever they were. Like all Sai
activities, we did all of this with
great reverence and love for the
unfortunate ones."
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What needs to be
highlighted here is that while there were many other
agencies engaged in relief and rehabilitation work,
their efforts were restricted mainly to the towns
and the areas that were easily accessible. They
asked the people of affected areas to come to the
urban areas to collect the supplies, but our Sai
Youth went to the remotest of areas and delivered
the items wherever they were. Like all Sai
activities, we did all of this with great reverence
and love for the unfortunate ones."
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What was a village is now
only a tree
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Sai workers went to those areas
where nobody had reached
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Mr. Srinivas, a Sai
Youth from Jamshedpur, adds, "I went with the first
big consignment from our city to Saharsha on August
29. The next morning, when we went to the affected
areas in Madhepur, I was utterly shocked. The
district head quarters was completely inundated; it
was a such a sorry sight because there were shops on
either side of the main road, or rather which had
been the main road, because now, there was no road;
it was covered with two feet of water! People were
moving about on boats.
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A
few days ago, this main street
of Madhepura had at least two
feet of water
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People traveled in boats to commute
within this district capital of Madhepur
for many days
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Soon we reached the
relief camps and other affected areas. At every
place, we first made everybody – children, ladies
and gents - sit in neat rows and only then started
the distribution chanting Swami's name. What
generally happened in such situations, with other
organisations, is that there would be a stampede,
and then many items would be either destroyed or
lost because of grabbing and fighting. But
we treated them with love and they responded well
too. We ensured that there is discipline and
calmness during distribution so that everybody got
his/her packet."
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Discipline was conspicuous in
every Sai distribution
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...they were first neatly lined and
only then served
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Nobody was missed out and
there was no confusion
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So happy to have received something
for her starving family
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The 'Grama
Seva' Experience Put Into Action
"It was not difficult for us to
immediately strike a chord with the villagers
because we are used to serving in the rural areas
all the year around," explains Mr. P. V. Krishna
Mohan, an alumnus of Sri Sathya Sai University and
now Jamshedpur Sai Youth Coordinator. "We understand
them very well. Besides, because of our experience
in disaster and relief management, we were among the
first organisations to get into the rescue act. And
our focus was on the villages and isolated areas
because it was these areas which no other
organisation was venturing into."
"I cannot forget Garibtola," adds
Mr. Ram Avatar Razaq. "It was so risky to get there.
The river was overflowing; at places it was very
deep. Our boat was literally rocking dangerously; we
could bang into anything and turn upside down. It
was due to His sheer Grace that we reached that
village which had now become an island. We saw
people sitting on raised platforms and trees; they
were probably living in that situation for at least
ten days. They drank the same flood water as they
had no choice. The government helicopters did drop
relief material, but many a times these fell into
the river.
"Once we reached there, we
personally distributed food, clothes and medicines
to women, children and the adults. Throughout the
day, like during many other days, we were so
occupied with relief work that we forgot hunger. We
used to eat only after we returned to our base camp
in Saharsha in the midnight.
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This was the situation in many
areas even a week after the
flood waters first came in
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Sai workers went to every nook and
corner, and offered succor where it
was most needed
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New
Challenges, But Same Solution - Love
"But the challenges were
different in every area. In another village,
Rampoortola, we traveled on knee-deep water for 40
kilometers in our jeep, and after that there was
absolutely no road. So we walked another 3 miles
carrying all the relief material on our shoulders.
In fact, a few of our volunteers and the villagers
had to acts as security guards with sticks because
there were people in the towns who looted the
supplies. We did finally manage to reach the
completely devastated village.
Our hearts broke when we saw the
sight there. The children were crying; the women had
lost all hope – you could see the emptiness in their
eyes, and the men folk were hungry and helpless.
They had received messages from other organisations
to go to the towns for food, but they had no energy
or hope. When we served them food, they were still
dazed; they could not believe that somebody had
actually come to their destroyed village and was
concerned about them.
"They had received messages from
other organisations to go to the towns
for food, but they had no energy or
hope. When we served them food, they
were still dazed; they could not believe
that somebody had actually come to their
destroyed village and was concerned
about them."
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I was so grateful to Bhagavan at
that moment for having blessed me with that
opportunity to help those poor souls. I did see God
in each one of them, and with that feeling I wiped
their tears. I had never before experienced the
bliss of serving and giving like I did that day.
This entire project has been such a powerful and
divine experience for me."
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At
some places, the supplies had to
be carried on shoulders with the
help of village folk
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This lady has somehow found an
elevated place to survive - Sai
workers do not miss her
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These were the kind of temporary
shelters in which the poor villagers
survived rain and Sun
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No government organisation or NGO
was aware of such unfortunates who
were far away from the towns
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Sustained by
His Energy, Nothing Else
"I sincerely felt that it was God
who was reaching out to another form of God," says
Mr. Shiv Shankar Choudhury, the other district
president. "The grueling five weeks of service was
like a penance for me. I used to get up at 4 every
morning and sleep only after midnight. At 6.30 a.m.
every day we started with our loaded trucks and
returned not before 10.30 p.m. After that I had to
attend to other organizational and paper work to
ensure that the supplies are properly received and
packing went on smoothly, apart from preparing
official reports. On many days, the only food I had
during the whole day was a biscuit packet. I have no
idea from where the energy came from. If none of us
have fallen ill, it is purely His grace. In fact, we
felt His love and protection every single day."
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Mr. Shiv Shankar Choudhury
(left), the district president
of Supaul, who worked 24/7 for 5
weeks non-stop
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Mr. Ram Avatar Razaq (on phone), the
district president of Madhepura, had
no moment of rest since Aug 18
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Saved by His
Unmatched Grace
Now, Mr. Ram Avatar
takes over again. "Yes, I remember, on August 28
evening, when we were returning with left over
relief material on our truck, it started raining
heavily. Our materials were not covered; they were
in jute bags. We intended to distribute them on our
way back. At 9 p.m. when we stopped at a town called
Jitapur, we were shocked to see that none of the
packets were wet! We immediately brought them down
and distributed it to the people of that area. There
was one building which had survived the flood in
Jitapur and that government shelter was crowded with
people. They were needy and too delighted to receive
our food and clothes."
"Instances of His Grace are
numerous," continues Mr. Shiv Shankar Choudhury.
"When the dam breached on August 18 near the
Indo-Nepal border, one of the villages which was
terribly destroyed was Dirpul. None of the houses –
old or newly constructed – in that village could
withstand the ferocious water current, except one.
"It was a family of Sai devotees;
they climbed onto the roof of their house.
Their faith in Bhagavan was
so strong that they had no fear. The water rose to
20 feet but they, along with their house, were safe.
They stayed on their roof for 10 days and once the
water receded, came down the stairs and found all
things in their house intact!
"There is another incident of how
Swami amazingly saved a boat full of people. The
sister of one of the Sai devotees was trapped in a
flooded area. This area was 40 kilometers from
Supaul. We were unable to reach her in spite of our
best efforts for many days. And then suddenly, on
the eighth day, she called up from her mobile.
"We were taken aback. Her phone,
by providence, had started working after more than a
week! Then, we arranged for a military boat to go to
her rescue. As the vessel moved, it found a lot of
people on the way seeking to be helped, so it got
all of them on board. Slowly, the number increased
and by the time the boat reached his sister, there
were already 80 people inside; there was no room for
her.
"So the vessel turned, promising
her to return for the second trip. On the return
journey, suddenly the engine of the boat stopped
functioning. It was a precarious situation because
the water current was very high. We were worried and
started chanting Swami's name. Next, the boat hit
the pillar of a bridge, and was tossed back and
forth by the ravaging waters. It again banged into
another concrete post. Mind you, these were really
hard collisions, but somehow the boat was not
destroyed. And fortunately during this process, the
vehicle got stuck to the bridge. Then the military
personnel on the bridge got immediately into action
and dropped ropes. Soon, all the people were saved.
After two days, the devotee's sister too was
rescued. It was prayer alone which saved so many
lives, quite mysteriously, that day. Baba says 'I am
the Indweller' and we felt His presence in so many
ways."
Sai Service –
An Eye opener For Many White-collared
Mr. Krishna Mohan, the
enthusiastic Sai Youth who works in Telco Company,
Jamshedpur, says, "This chance to serve blessed us
with a higher level of self-satisfaction because we
felt we were offering service not to people, but to
different forms of God. More than the bliss of being
use to others, it was an eye-opener too to many
people in the Sai Organisation and beyond. I sent
out an email to all the employees of our company
informing them of our service initiative, and so
many came forward to help.
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Essential medicines were so
vital
to the suffering lot
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The joy was not only of the
beneficiaries,
but also of the sevadals
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They were shocked when
we showed them the pictures and video clips of our
work. The ideals of the Sai Organisation moved them.
It shook their beliefs and they came out of their
comfort zone to help the distressed wholeheartedly.
This transformation in their outlook is something
very valuable to themselves and to the society at
large. Therefore, there were such silver linings too
to this dark cloud of disaster."
A Diwali With
a Difference
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The joy of being one in Love
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The relief work that
started in right earnest in August 21, 2008
continued for five weeks benefiting 50,000 people in
the worst affected districts.
"Once the water
receded completely and people returned to their
respective villages, we distributed them special
kits to help them rebuild their lives," says Mr. S.
B. Choudhury, the State President of Sai
Organisation of Bihar.
"These comprehensive
packs which had cooking utensils, serving plates and
spoons, blankets, 20 kilograms of rice and other
food grains, sarees and dhotis were gifted
to them before their festival day of Diwali which
fell on October 28. The joy in their faces is to be
seen to be believed. For us, there was no other way
we could have celebrated this festival of lights
better."
Sai – The
Perennial Stream of Love
Truly, we shine
brighter when we lend our lives to others. The Sun
is glorious because it gives itself to others
incessantly. And walking in this sunlight path of
selfless service, the volunteers of the Sai
Organisation of Bihar have experienced true bliss;
they were able to fathom the source of genuine joy.
The magnitude of their
service may not be mammoth when compared to the
colossal devastation that this poor state saw, but
at the end of this sacred exercise, Sai workers grew
richer by enriching the lives of how many ever they
could in the best manner possible. It was simply
Pure Love in action, inspired by Pure Love
Incarnate, Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba.
- The
Heart2Heart Team