Download 2016-2017 Annual Report PDF Individual chapters are available below.
The hallmark of love is selfless sacrifice (thyaga). Love seeks nothing from anyone. It bears no ill-will towards anyone. It is utterly selfless and pure.
Sathya Sai Baba, 20 June, 1996
The members of the Sathya Sai International Organisation (SSIO) offer the 2016–2017 Annual Report to Sathya Sai Baba, the founder of the SSIO and the embodiment of love, who has exhorted that the best way to love God is by loving all and serving all. His life is His message – and His message is love that is pristine, unconditional, and transcends all barriers of time, space, race, religion, faith, gender, nationality and ethnicity.
Inspired by His life and His example, members and volunteers of the SSIO from over 120 countries around the world are involved in many service activities in education, healthcare, humanitarian relief, and community services. The surpassing benefit of these endeavours is the transformation of the heart in the volunteers and the recipients of the service. Activities in the field of education include providing free, values-based education through Sathya Sai schools, institutes, and community programmes, where emphasis is placed on excellence of character in addition to academic achievements. In the medical field, healthcare professionals around the world continue to deliver free healthcare with love and compassion, through medical camps, clinics, mobile clinics, workshops, and other avenues. During September 2017, about 400 healthcare professionals from 22 countries came together at a Sathya Sai International Medical Conference in California, USA, to share the principles and practices of Sathya Sai Ideal Healthcare and the Sathya Sai Global Health Mission.
SSIO volunteers have participated in many disaster relief projects and continued their selfless service during 2016–2017. Many disasters, including earthquakes, hurricanes, cyclones, floods, and fires are attributable to man’s disrespect for the planet Earth and the environment. Global climate change and environmental pollution are of concern to major governments all over the world, and all of us. Bhagawan Baba warned us many decades ago about the importance of respecting nature and maintaining balance between man and nature. In keeping with His divine guidance, the SSIO has initiated a project, Protect the Planet, led by Sathya Sai Young Adults, to preserve and protect the environment by conserving water, recycling and reducing plastic waste, recommending wholesome natural food, and conserving energy – to name a few helpful practices. This Annual Report also highlights other environmental projects, including planting trees, cleaning beaches and rivers, and conserving natural resources. In July 2018, a Go-Green Conference will be held in Prasanthi Nilayam to review and explore these topics in more depth and to develop practical initiatives to protect Mother Nature.
Many public outreach initiatives emphasising harmony of religions and unity of faiths were organised around the world, showing that there is only one religion – the religion of love, and there is only one God, who is Omnipresent – which helps us realise the unity in diversity. Walks for Values, public meetings, and community projects were organised in many parts of the globe to share Swami’s message of unity and the practice of human values.
In addition, the Young Adults have taken up global initiatives, including the Love All Serve All (LASA) music project to underscore the unity of mankind amidst diversity, the Sadhana of Love (SOL) initiative to promote individual sadhana through online workshops and guidance material based on Baba’s teachings, and many other projects. The Sathya Sai International Leadership Programme for Young Adults has been ongoing since 2015, and this year, more than 450 Young Adults from 58 countries will graduate from this programme, which consists of nine modules. Another significant event described in this report is the landmark Sathya Sai World Youth Festival, celebrated in July 2016 in Prasanthi Nilayam. The festival, themed “Love Is the Source, Love Is the Path, Love Is the Goal,” attracted about 3,000 young adults from more than 70 countries, including India. Many cultural programmes, exhibitions, and workshops were presented, showcasing the talent, energy, and dedication of the youth.
The goal of all service projects and individual sadhana programmes is to realise the oneness of creation, and to see and experience divinity in all. Swami exhorts us to realise that the purpose of human life, and the purpose of the Organisation that bears His holy name, is to realise our innate divinity and to help others realise their innate divinity.
I pray to Swami to bless us with strength and wisdom so that we can continue to serve Him and His creation in a selfless manner with unconditional love.
Jai Sai Ram.
Narendranath Reddy, M.D.
Chairman, Prasanthi Council
Sathya Sai International Organisation