{"id":553,"date":"2019-04-03T04:48:40","date_gmt":"2019-04-03T04:48:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/centers.saimedia.org\/chicagometro\/?page_id=553"},"modified":"2019-04-03T05:01:40","modified_gmt":"2019-04-03T05:01:40","slug":"watch-april-2019","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/centers.saimedia.org\/chicagometro\/watch-april-2019\/","title":{"rendered":"Watch: April 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"InThisEdition\">In this edition<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><a href=\"#InUpComingEvents\">Upcoming events<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#GeethaVahini\">Geetha Vahini<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#Himself\">Sri Sathya Sai Baba on Himself<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#Rama\">Rama accepts whoever surrenders<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#DevotionalActivities\">Devotional activities in Chicago and suburbs<\/a><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"InUpcomingEvents\">Upcoming Events<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><li> <strong>Shri Sathya Sai Aradhana Mahotsvam<\/strong><ul><li><strong>Saturday, April 6, 2019<\/strong>: Special service project at&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/goo.gl\/maps\/NnQ1kcoJFtw\">FMSC<\/a>, Schaumburg from 07:00 PM \u2013 09:00 PM<\/li><li><strong>Wednesday, April 24, 2019<\/strong>: Special Devotional program at&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/goo.gl\/maps\/8EihXpWkYWQ2\">Sant Nirankari<\/a> from 07:30 PM \u2013 10.30 PM<\/li><li><strong>Saturday, April 27, 2019<\/strong>: Mini Retreat with Prof. Anil Kumar (Swami\u2019s divine discourse translator) at&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/goo.gl\/maps\/8EihXpWkYWQ2\">Sant Nirankari<\/a> from 10:00 AM \u2013 04:30 PM<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li><strong>Sunday, April 14, 2019<\/strong><ul><li><strong>Ugadi, Vishu and Rama Navami celebrations<\/strong><\/li><li>Special Devotional Program by YAs<\/li><li>Time: 09:30 AM \u2013 01:00 PM<\/li><li>Venue: River Forest Community Center<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li><strong>Sunday, April 21, 2019Easter Celebrations<\/strong><ul><li>Special Devotional Program<\/li><li>Time: 09:30 AM \u2013 01:00 PM<\/li><li>Venue: River Forest Community Center <\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"text-align:right\"><em><a href=\"#InThisEdition\">Back to the top<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"GeethaVahini\">Geetha Vahini<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>When man has a right for engaging in\nkarma, he has a right also for the fruit; no one can deny this or refuse his right.\nBut the doer can, out of his own free will and determination, refuse to be\naffected by the result, whether favorable or unfavorable. The Geetha shows the\nway: \u201cDo &#8211;and deny the consequence.\u201d The desire for the result of your action\nis a sign of Rajo Guna. The giving up of action since you cannot benefit by the\nfruit is a sign of <em>Thamo Guna <\/em>(dullness, ignorance). To engage oneself\nin karma, to know that the result will follow, and yet, not to be attached to\nit or getting concerned with it\u2014that is the sign of <em>Sathwa Guna <\/em>(pure).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Karma Yogi who has learnt this secret of \u201cKarma combined\nwith Phalathyaga\u201d should have Samabuddhi (equanimity), more than Sangabuddhi\n(mind attached to the world). For, the Sangabuddhi draws him into attachments and\nentanglements. \u201cThis karma is mine, its results are due to my endeavors. I am\nthe person entitled to it,\u201d such are the thoughts which bind the doer. Krishna\nadvises that one should rise above this Sangabuddhi. He declared that <em>Samathwam\n<\/em>(unruffled equanimity) is the genuine Yoga. (<em>Samathwam yogamuchyathe<\/em>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em> In the second chapter, Krishna has made clear, in a general way, four principal points: the Saranagathi principle, the Sankhya teaching (path of knowledge), the Yoga attitude and the Sthithaprajna (steady wisdom individual) nature. We have noted the first three already. Now about the fourth: <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Krishna taught Arjuna the nature and\ncharacteristics of the Sthithaprajna (steady wisdom individual) when Arjuna questioned\nhim. Arjuna prayed \u201cO Kesava!\u201d and when that appellation was used, Krishna\nsmiled. For He knew then that Arjuna had understood His splendor. Do you ask\nhow? Well, what does Kesava mean? It means, \u201cHe who is Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva,\nthe <em>Thrimurthi <\/em>(Trinity).\u201d Through Krishna\u2019s Grace, Arjuna had reached\nthat stage of realization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When Arjuna prayed that Kesava must\ntell him the true characteristics of a Sthithaprajna, He replied, \u201cPartha! He will\nbe free from all desire. He will be stable in the knowledge and awareness of\nthe Atma only.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now, there are two processes in this:\nTo give up all the promptings of desire in the mind is the negative process; to\nimplant joy, ever-present joy therein, is the positive aspect. The negative\nprocess is to remove all the seedlings of wrong and evil from the mind. The\npositive process is to grow, in the field cleansed thus, the crop of attachment\nto God! The cultivation of the crop you need is positive, the plucking of the\nweeds is the negative stage. The pleasures the senses draw from the objective\nworld are weeds, the crop is the attachment to God. The mind is a bundle of\nwishes. Unless these wishes are removed by their roots, there is no hope of destroying\nthe mind, which is a great obstacle in the path of spiritual progress. When the\nyarn that comprises the cloth is taken out, one by one, what remains of the\ncloth? Nothing. The mind is made of the warp and woof of wishes. And when mind\nvanishes, the Sthithaprajna is made.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, the first thing to be conquered is <em>Kama<\/em>, the demon of desire. For this it is unnecessary to wage a huge war. It is also unnecessary to use pleasing words to persuade the desire to disappear. Desires will not disappear for fear of the one or for favor of the other. Desires are objective, they belong to the category of the \u201cseen.\u201d With the conviction that, \u201cI am the seer only, not the seen,\u201d the Sthithaprajna releases himself from attachment. By this means he conquers desire. You must watch the working of the mind, from outside it. You should not get involved in it. That is the meaning of this discipline<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"text-align:right\"><strong>-Excerpts from Geetha Vahini<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"text-align:right\"><em><a href=\"#InThisEdition\">Back to the top<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"Himself\">Sri Sathya Sai Baba on Himself<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>An <em>Avatar<\/em>\nis an Incarnation of God. In a broad sense, everything in the Universe is a\nmanifestation of God. Yet, the term<em> Avatar<\/em> is reserved for those\nIncarnations wherein the Lord deliberately assumes a specific form for a\nspecific purpose. Swami says,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color\">The word Avatar means descent. It is not\ncoming down from the peak of a mountain or the top story of a tall building. It\nis a descent from the state of the <em>Atma<\/em>\nto the level of the body. No blemish attaches to the Divine as a result of the\ndescent. There is no diminution in Divine power either. Let us say there is a\nchild playing on the ground. If the mother feels it is beneath her dignity to\nbend, and tells the child to leap into her arms, the child cannot do so. The\nmother does not ask the child to do such an impossible thing. Instead, full of\nlove, the mother stoops and lovingly picks up the child. Likewise, the Lord\nincarnates assuming a human form to bless and rescue those who cannot rise to\nthe level of the Divine. Incarnation is an act of benediction. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What\nabout the name \u2018Sai Baba\u2019 of the present <em>Poorna Avatar?<\/em> Swami has this\nto say:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color\">The name \u2018Sai Baba\u2019 means \u2018Divine Mother and\nDivine Father\u2019. Like a mother, I will be tender and soft and give you\nhappiness, and like a father, I will punish you when needed. Through these\nmethods I shall take you to a high level. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Why does God incarnate?\nSwami goes deeper into the subject. He says,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color\">To elevate man to the level of Supreme Consciousness, God has to incarnate as man. God has to speak to man in his own style and language. He has to teach mankind the methods that it can adopt and practice. Birds and beasts need no Divine incarnation to guide them for they have no inclination to stray away from their respective duties. Man alone forgets the goal of life. The essential quality of an Avatar is to teach you to make good and proper use of your thought, word and deed. Depending on the conditions and the environment in the country, the Avatar will teach and show the right use of the Divine faculties gifted to man. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In earlier\nincarnations, the Lord physically annihilated the evil. What about this time?\nSwami has the answer: <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color\">In this Kali Age, the wicked have to be\nreformed and reconstructed through Love and Compassion. That is why this Avatar\nhas come unarmed. The Avatar has come with the Message of Love. My objective is\nto establish unity in mankind, to reveal the aspect of the Divinity latent in\nman, and that God must be the only goal in life. It is also My duty to make you\nrealize the kind of relationship that should exist between fellow human beings.\nThere is considerable change in human outlook that I have to bring about. No\none can stop Me or deter Me from fulfilling these tasks for which I have come,\nnamely the establishment of the one unchanging Truth. In this task, you have a\npart to play. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Playing a role in\nSwami&#8217;s global Mission calls for a proper attitude and frame of mind. Many\npeople are carried away by Baba&#8217;s miracles, but that is not correct, as Swami\nwarns. He says: <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color\">You must take a path by which you can see\ndeep in My heart, and experience the various Divine aspects of Mine. You must\nunderstand the all-knowing power in Me. Do not be led away by people who always\ntalk of having got a locket or a watch or a ring from Me. These things have no\ndeep meaning. Divine Love is associated with Immortality. It is to teach\nmankind the truth about this Divine Love that Love itself incarnates on earth\nin human form. When <em>Narayana<\/em>\n(Supreme God) takes the form of a man and wants to help humanity, He will act\nlike a man. Just because God comes in human form, it is no excuse for man to be\nindifferent. He must realize that all the <em>Poorna\nAvatars<\/em> are incarnations of the same Formless, Eternal, Supreme\nConsciousness and the Cosmic, Omnipresent, Omnipotent, and Omniscient God. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color\">When the <em>Avatar<\/em> appears in human form, we find that He exhibits human consciousness along with Divine Consciousness. Ordinary people cannot grasp the Divine Consciousness of the <em>Avatar. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"text-align:right\"><strong>-Baba&#8217;s discourses on Himself<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"text-align:right\"><em><a href=\"#InThisEdition\">Back to the top<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"Rama\">Rama accepts whoever surrenders<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>God is so merciful that He will come ten steps towards you, if you but take one step towards Him. Vibhishana, the brother of Ravana, inquired from Hanuman whether Rama will accept his homage and take him under His protecting shade. Vibhishana said: &#8220;I am the brother of His worst enemy, whom He has vowed to destroy; I am a member of the demonic race; I am unacquainted with the Vedas or Sastras&#8221;. Then Hanuman replied: &#8220;O you fool! Do you think He cares for ritual correctitude, or family status or scholarship? If so, how could He accept me, a monkey?&#8221;&nbsp; Vibhishana was assured of grace. When he went to Rama later, Rama asked the elder monkeys around Him whether He could accept Vibhishana into the fold. Of course, He did not need any counsel from anyone. He was never influenced by others. But, still, just to bring them into the picture, He made a pretense of not having made up His mind yet. When Sugriva said &#8220;no&#8221;, Rama reminded him that he too had come to Him, first, giving up his elder brother! When Lakshmana said that he deserved to be thrown back into Lanka, Rama said, and \u201cYes! I am resolved to crown him as the emperor of Lanka&#8221;. Whoever surrenders, Rama accepts without reservations. When someone suggested that Ravana may fall at the feet of the Lord and earn pardon, Rama replied, &#8220;In that case, I will hold both hands of Bharata and beg him to make Vibhishana Emperor of Ayodhya, our ancestral domain; we both, Bharata and I, will spend our time happily in the forests&#8221;.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"text-align:right\"><em><a href=\"#InThisEdition\">Back to the top<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"DevotionalActivities\">Devotional Activities in Chicago and Suburbs<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Every Monday<\/strong><ul><li>Bhajans in Aurora Shirdi Mandir from 07:00 PM &#8211; 08:00 PM<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li><strong>Every Wednesday<\/strong><ul><li>Bhajans in Hoffman Estates from 07:30 PM &#8211; 08:30 PM<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li><strong>Every Friday<\/strong><ul><li>Bhajans in Oak Brook from 08:00 PM &#8211; 09:00 PM<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li><strong>First Saturday of the month<\/strong><ul><li>Bhajans in Glenview from 04:30 PM &#8211; 05:30 PM<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li><strong>Saturday March 9, 2019<\/strong><ul><li>Paduka Puja in Bolingbrook from 10:00 AM &#8211; 12:00 PM<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li><strong>Saturday March 23, 2019<\/strong><ul><li>Bhajans in Burr Ridge from 06:30PM &#8211; 07:30 PM<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"text-align:right\"><em><a href=\"#InThisEdition\">Back to the top<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In this edition Upcoming events Geetha Vahini Sri Sathya Sai Baba on Himself Rama accepts whoever surrenders Devotional activities in Chicago and suburbs Upcoming Events Shri Sathya Sai Aradhana Mahotsvam Saturday, April 6, 2019: Special service project at&nbsp;FMSC, Schaumburg from 07:00 PM \u2013 09:00 PM Wednesday, April 24, 2019: Special Devotional program at&nbsp;Sant Nirankari from &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/centers.saimedia.org\/chicagometro\/watch-april-2019\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Watch: April 2019&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-553","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/centers.saimedia.org\/chicagometro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/553","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/centers.saimedia.org\/chicagometro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/centers.saimedia.org\/chicagometro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/centers.saimedia.org\/chicagometro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/centers.saimedia.org\/chicagometro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=553"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/centers.saimedia.org\/chicagometro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/553\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":563,"href":"https:\/\/centers.saimedia.org\/chicagometro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/553\/revisions\/563"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/centers.saimedia.org\/chicagometro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=553"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}