Sri Sathya Sai International Organization

Love The World as a Mother Loves Her Only Child

Sri Sathya Sai International Organization (SSSIO) will celebrate Buddha Poornima (the “thrice blessed day” in the Buddhist calendar) and Easwaramma Day (homage to the Mother of our Beloved Lord Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba) with uplifting and special programs.

Theme:  “Love the Whole World Like a Mother Loves Her Child”

When: May 1 to 11, 2025 every day at 5:30 AM Los Angeles time on the SSSIO YouTube Channel. 

Schedule: 

May 1 - Special Buddhist Choir Songs by Chempaka Group

May 2 - The Mustard Seed, a Short Movie by Sri Lanka Young Adults and SSE

May 3 - Talk by Mr. Manoj Kumar Singh, Chairman, SSSIO Zone 4 

May 4 - Love For The Parents, a Short Movie by Indonesia Young Adults

May 5 - Interview With Buddhist Monk Ven Bhante Sumiththa

May 6 - Easwaramma Day Divine Discourse

May 7 - Homage and Offerings to Lord Buddha by Devotees from Around the World

May 8 - Buddhist Prayers and Bhajans by Devotees from Medan, Indonesia

May 9 - Talk by Dr. Narendranath Reddy, Chairman, SSSIO

May 10 - Grand Finale Buddha Poornima Program (About 80 mins live streaming)

May 11 - Buddha Poornima Divine Discourse

In a divine discourse on May 6, 2006, Bhagawan said: “There is no love greater than mother’s love in this world. It is imbued with immense power. But such a sacred principle of mother’s love is being neglected today.” In His compassion, the Buddha taught the nature and immense power behind our love for all.

In verses 87 and 88 of the Dhammapada, it is said: “The man of wisdom, leaving the home of craving and having Nirvana as his goal, should give up dark, evil ways and cultivate pure, good ones. He should seek great delight in solitude, detachment, and Nirvana, which an ordinary man finds so difficult to enjoy. He should also give up sensual pleasures, and, clinging to nothing, should cleanse himself of all impurities of the mind.”

The Buddha explained that Nirvana is that state in which we transcend our sense of separation and live in indivisible unity with all creation. Nirvana is giving up all delusions that our true nature is defined by our physical separation and that we need to live only in accordance with our self-will – it is giving up the ego. The purpose of our spirituality and spiritual practices is, thus, to extinguish self-will, which the Dhammapada personifies as Mara. In this way, we achieve the end of suffering. Swami spoke of God as the indivisible unity in creation and that the purpose of life is to realize one’s true nature.

This requires study, reflection, and practice. That is why being part of a Sathya Sai Center can be of tremendous benefit – it is the opportunity of satsang, the company of the truth. With effort and dedication, we overcome the wall of ignorance we have constructed over many lifetimes.

The journey to Nirvana requires that we develop selflessness and self-sacrifice. It requires that we be good, kind, and selfless (Swami spoke about this in His divine discourses during many Buddha Poornima celebrations held in His divine presence). These qualities are part of the personal transformation required for us to gain spiritual maturity, and for our love to evolve from attachment to our family and friends to unconditional love for all. With spiritual maturity, our love for the world always remains steady, unaffected by the experiences we encounter each day. The aim is to live with wisdom according to our Buddha-nature, or blessed by  Prema and Jnana, unaffected by the entanglements of the world.

In a discourse on July 16, 1996, Bhagawan said: “Worldly love is tainted with selfishness, and it craves for material possessions. Where there is selfishness, there is fear. Where there is no selfishness, there is no fear. Man should have no trace of selfishness in his love. He can have even the vision of the divine through selfless love. Love is selflessness; self is lovelessness. God has no specific form. Love is God; live in love.”

Thus, by our sadhana, we learn to give up selfish attachments. The detachment we seek from the world is not detachment from others, but detachment from our ego. The spiritual journey requires that we give up the sense of ‘I’ and ‘mine’ (the sense of possessiveness). This enables us to empathize with the sorrows of others and share in their joy, identifying with them and putting them first. Even if we disagree with others, our detachment from our ego allows us to do so lovingly.

To love others, we learn we must give up anger since war and violence in any form are not compatible with the teachings of the Buddha. Hatred in any form must be banished from our hearts and minds to allow love to blossom. In a divine discourse on November 23, 1996, Swami said, “Today love has been almost totally banished. Where love should prevail, hatred has taken its place. Petty jealousy has usurped the place of compassion. Man can experience true happiness only when the appropriate qualities reside in their allotted places.”

Freed from the prison of our egos, we are not hurt by the words or actions of others – we give not to receive, and help others increase their awareness of the truth within themselves. Freed from the prison of our ego, we live with greater wisdom and love, knowing that all life is interdependent. This is the liberation we seek, not the false liberation of thinking that we can do whatever we please in the material world, regardless of the consequences to ourselves and others.

In this liberated state, we see the unity of life, and in this way, we live abiding by dharma. When we see the unity in all creation and love selflessly, we are that much closer to the goal, Nirvana or Self-realization.