Study Circle Summaries 2017 - Sri Sathya Sai Center of Austin

Study Circle Summaries 2017

This is the list of Summaries of all Study circles held in the past by Date at the Sri Sathya Sai Center of Austin. Members, please feel free to read the summaries from the past study circles.

April 16th 2017

On April 16th Brother Pramod has started off with Swami's Divine Discourse on Feb 23rd 1968 at Prashanti Nilayam.

There was a recap on following topics :

1. 3-1=?

2. Give 2 equations in format (X ± Y = Z) with words

           ①  EGO, GOD, MAN 

           ②  DESIRE, MAN, LIFE

           ③  ATMA, MIND, MAN

3. Acronym of MAN 

1) Do our Sai Centers meet the purpose that Swami has laid down for the Organization, His litmus test, as below. Also how efficiently are we using our center resources to further these goals?

They must try to spread interest in japam (recitation of God's Name), dhyaanam (meditation) and other saadhanas (spiritual practices), which lead man Godward; they must demonstrate the joy derivable from bhajan (devotional group singing) and Naamasmarana (remembering God's Name), the Shanti (peace) that one can draw from Sathsang (good company).

Detailed Discussion on the Above Topic especially if the Sai Center is able to help members reach the above goals was discussed by all members. Also, there was discussion on what Jesus stands for this day being Easter. 

Later on Discussion shifted to these three questions..

1. Being + Becoming (Matter) = ?

2. Full - Full = ?

3. I + I + I + I + ... = ?

Later on discussion moved on the topic of Service and brief discussion on the hurdles faced by Prophet Mohammed, Jesus and Harischandra while rendering service was discussed.

April 9th 2017

On April 9th Brother Pramod has started off with Swami's Divine Discourse on Feb 23rd 1968 at Prashanti Nilayam.

•Transform your own villages into Prasanthi Nilayams, after transforming your own hearts into Prasanthi Nilayams

•Sages of India discovered that the way to inner peace and lasting joy can be gained only the roots of one's own inner reality called Athma (soul).

•Millions all over the land recite the Name of God, but few have steady faith therefore the japam (recitation) does not cure pain, grief or greed.

•Pundits who have read the scriptural texts do not themselves believe the assertions of the Vedas. If they only develop faith, the Veda itself will foster them and ensure for them a happy contented life.

•One living thing is food for another; death lies in wait at every turn of day and night. Man is stalked ceaselessly by death. He is not conscious of this companion.

•The Atma does not die; only the body dies. When man knows this, death loses his sting, death is not feared, and death is but welcome voyage into the known harbor.

•Dasharatha lost his life when confronted with the pang of separation from Lord Rama. All arising from his foolish attachment to his wife Kaikeyi.

•Pre-occupation with happiness derived from external objects and from others---this caused Dhasharatha's death. All men are Dhasharathas.

There was a discussion on following topics :

1. 3-1=?

2. Give 2 equations in format (X ± Y = Z) with words

           ①  EGO, GOD, MAN 

           ②  DESIRE, MAN, LIFE

           ③  ATMA, MIND, MAN

3. Acronym of MAN 

•Sai Organizations are not to be used to publicizing Swami’s Name, or creating a new cult around His worship.

•They must try to spread interest in japam (recitation of God's Name), dhyaanam (meditation) and other saadhanas (spiritual practices), which lead man Godward.

•They must render seva (service) to the helpless, the sick, the distressed, the illiterate and the needy. Their seva (selfless service) should not be exhibitionistic; it must seek no reward, not even gratitude or thanks from the recipients.

•Each one must realize his own truth. That is the purpose of all the teaching, all the curing, all the counseling, all the organizing, and all the advising that I do.  

•Develop Love, scatter Love, and reap Love. There is no religion higher than that. That is the noblest seva.

There was  discussion on the following topics :

1) How you were too attached to someone or something (an outcome, a status, etc.)?  How did you overcome that attachment?   Success stories too!
2) Do our Sai Centers meet the purpose that Swami has laid down for the Organization, His litmus test, as below. Also how efficiently are we using our center resources to further these goals?
They must try to spread interest in japam (recitation of God's Name), dhyaanam (meditation) and other saadhanas (spiritual practices), which lead man Godward; they must demonstrate the joy derivable from bhajan (devotional group singing) and Naamasmarana (remembering God's Name), the Shanti (peace) that one can draw from Sathsang (good company).
They must render seva (service) to the helpless, the sick, the distressed, the illiterate and the needy. Their seva (selfless service) should not be exhibitionistic; it must seek no reward, not even gratitude or thanks from the recipients. Seva is saadhana, not a pastime of the rich and well placed.

April 2nd 2017

On April 2nd Brother Madhav has started off with emphasizing the importance of "Faith". 

Is our faith like the flickering flame or a dry leaf floating any which way wind takes it or is it like a boulder, rock solid and firmly on the ground?

Some said their faith is solid, others said it is flickering. How do we develop that kind of firm faith? One quoted from Dharma Vahini on how faith can be developed over time, constant reading, listneing, satsang, nama smarana etc

Why aren't we reading Swami's discourses more often and consistently?

Is it possibly a Disconnect between what we know (read) and what we practice?, in my mind when the gap increases between what we know and what we implement, one loses interest in reading more, knowing more, what is the point? On the contrary, we discussed that you may not know how or where to implement the teaching right away but it's something that is in the back of your mind and will pop up when you need it most. So, it's okay to read and listen without thinking about how it applies to your life right away. Others mentioned the reason is we need to take it to heart and not apply it from the mind, then we will practice better.

Do we know the right from the wrong? Do we practice the right thing, at least when we know?

For example, would you rather eat carrot or donut, wake up at 5 AM or 10 AM, speak sweetly or harshly? Many said, they know the right choice and they would choose the right choice except when it comes to DONUTS! However, in reality we don't always choose the "right" option, part of the issue is that when we are weak physically we lose control of our bodies, when we are weak mentally we lose control of mind, that's a fact and I can prove it. How do we practice the "right" choice?

Swami has granted and blessed us in a discourse “Have a healthy life, happy life, peaceful life, divine life. I will bless you. I love you”, question then is "Why aren't we seeing it? Why aren't we all happy, healthy, blissful and divine?"

Swami says “Seek that, seeking which, you will never have to seek again.”, we discussed the wish-fulfilling tree and coffee powder story Swami narrated. We discussed the issue is not in Swami's assurance but within each of us, we can make the choice to be all of the above if only we make the right choices. There is more to be discussed here, we ran out of time.

March 26th 2017

On March 26th Brother Balaji has studied the discourse of the First World Conference given to Sevadal members in Chennai. Basically, Swami asked us to keep "Love" as the under current while performing various activities and have urged members to follow one of these ways - Karma Marga - thru Service, Bhakti Marga thru - Devotion and Gnana Marga thru Spiritual Wisdom. He said Happiness as "Union with GOD" and said that it can be attained by any of the above three methods.

March 19th 2017

March 19 : Dr. Madhuri started the study circle explaining how she got into Swami’s fold and how her wish was fulfilled by Bhagwan. Dr. Madhuri explained that she prayed to Bhagawan to give her opportunity to serve at his hospitals and after 15 years of wait, a group of doctors from Houston contacted her and asked her if she could join them in conducting medical education for staff at Prasanthi and Bangalore hospitals. Dr. Madhuri was not sure if she would get vacation on such a short notice. But when she explained to her employer about the volunteering opportunity, they not only gave her vacation but also paid for the trip. At this time a question was posed to the participants to share their experiences on how Swami answered their sincere prayers. 

Dr. Madhuri then shared a miracle that happened when medical director of Bangalore hospital prayed to Swami to grant them permission to hold the medical volunteer program. This was followed by another group discussion on Omni presence of Swami and how He always make us feel His presence. 

Dr. Madhuri then shared details about how well the volunteers were taken care of (reiterating the point that GOD is a perfect host) and all the activities they conducted in Prasanthi and Bangalore hospitals. 

March 12th 2017

March 12 : Last week on March 12th, Kaanchan dwelled on the topic of "Yoga, Sankalpa and Preserverance". He has explained the 5 koshas in terms of a house and described that Annamaya Kosha can be imagined as the walls, Pranamya Kosha the Wires or electricity, The technology to operate it(switches,projector) as Manomaya kosha, Idea behind it as Vignanamaya Kosha and the Atmic sheet as Ananadamaya kosha. He proved that Yogic process is to put light into our actions(Even eating consciously) and doing it with the awareness of it. He also elevated our knowledge on yoga as a process of knowing that Will to cultivate a spiritual sankalpa(determindation). Finally, he discussed briefly about four states of mind (Nidra, Swapna, Jagrith and Thuriya) and urged all of us to have the Personal Sankalpa (determination) which will elevate us from the 10 percent conscious mind to the 90 percent unconscious mind that we can tap into.

February 26th 2017

Feb 26th : Last week there was a video on the importance of service where a special emphasis has been made on adding Love to the service we do. Also, offering our daily activities to the Lord, we can convert Work into worship. After the thoughtful video members have shared about their perspective not only on service but also on converting the Love into service and Service helping us to control our ego.

February 19th 2017

Feb 19th : Last week Brother Aiyappan has discussed that the essence of Vedas can be obtained by chanting Rudram and also discussed the meaning and the essence of Rudram. There was a discussion on inner meaning and significance of Rudram and the benefits of chanting it.

February 12th 2017

Feb 12th : Last week Brother Sachin has discussed the four different types of Vedas - Rig Veda, Yajur Veda, Sama Veda and Atharvana Veda and their significance. Also Swami's view on each of these vedas have been presented. Finally, the conclusion was "The statements that are in our Vedas have told us to sacrifice everything and through sacrifice, we should be able to get a vision of divine in us."

February 5th 2017

Feb 5th : Last week Brother Sachin has listed a few small sloka's as examples Hymns from Vedas and members discussed the meaning of them. Later on, there were discussions on the fact that Aryans were the one who carry forwarded the message of Vedas. Also, discussion on the benefit of listening, chanting and understanding the meaning (inner significance) while chanting was discussed.

January 22nd 2017

On January 22nd Brother Sachin discussed about Vedas being the breath of GOD. Vedas are Divinely revealed stanzas which confer wisdom about the nature of GOD and human beings. They impart divine knowledge describing relationship of Creator and HIS Creation, Reasserting GOD's plan for humanity. Vedas provide wealth and prosperity by invoking divine blessings upon human activities.

January 15th 2017

On January 15th Brother Srinivas discussed the significance of various festivals and how they are celebrated. This week the three festivals of Sankranthi, Dussehra and Deepavali were discussed. Also, Swami's speech on the significance of each of these festivals was discussed. Spiritual significance of each of these festivals were also discussed.

January 8th 2017

On January 8th Brother Srinivas discussed the significance of various festivals and how they are celebrated. It started of discussing significance of January 8th which was Vaikunta Ekadasi according to Hindu tradition, then discussed about Sivarathri, Ugadi, Ram Navami, Guru Purnima and Krishna Janmashtami. Several members discussed as to what the significance of each festival is and how they celebrated them. Also, Swami's speech on the significance of each of these festivals was discussed. Spiritual significance of each of these festivals were also discussed.

January 1st 2017

On New Year's Day, the study circle was about integrating what the children are learning and practicing in SSE with devotional program for adults. Every SSE class has a topic that they focus on for a quarter and practice life application based on the topic. As part of New Years resolutions we request all center members to take up one of the values and practice it along with the children.

Values and examples of how they are being applied -

Helping family - cleaning up room, making up bed in the morning 
Loving ourselves - look in the mirror and say to yourself "I love myself"
Educare - taking care of the environment. Switch off lights when you leave a room, don't waste water. 
Watching our thoughts - think positive thoughts, pray to Swami to help if negative thoughts come. Pray to create a shield around ourselves so others negative thoughts don't effect us. 
Respect web - all people, things and environment are interconnected, showing respect to one has an impact on others
Self-esteem - list 3 positive things about yourselves