Sri Sathya Sai International Organization - USA

Sai Spiritual Education- The Bridge to Higher Learning

The Education Wing of Sri Sathya Sai International Organization USA conducted a two-day retreat for Regional and Center SSE Coordinators on March 30 & 31^st, 2024 in Sai Prema Nilayam, Riverside California.  The theme for this retreat was, Sai Spiritual Education - the bridge to higher learning. Thirty-one attendees representing all 10 regions attended. 

 

Day 1 Saturday, March 30, 2024

 

The morning session began with light meditation and devotional singing. Aparna Murali, National Education Coordinator in her introductory remarks, welcomed everyone and shared a short video clip of Sri Sathya Sai Baba speaking to overseas SSE teachers in training in 1983. In His discourse, Sri Sathya Sai Baba revealed that while there are so many individuals, only a few can serve as SSE teachers. This is a result of merit acquired during previous births that culminated in the precious opportunity to serve in this lifetime. All attendees were urged to remember this blessing and commit to listening to new ideas and sharing insights and best practices during the retreat.  

Living an integrated life- Keynote speaker, Leslie Farkas 

The keynote speaker, Leslie Farkas shared his profound experiences and wisdom with the SSE Coordinators group, recounting his time spent in the presence of Swami. He emphasized the importance of humility and childlike innocence, quoting Jesus' words about becoming like children to enter the kingdom of heaven. He stressed the significance of connecting with Swami from the heart rather than just through intellectual understanding.  

He recounted personal experiences, including his son's journey to understanding God, advocating for allowing individuals to experience spirituality rather than imposing beliefs. He underscored the purpose of life as realizing our true selves and emphasized the importance of maintaining a personal relationship with Swami, free from expectations. Liberation, he noted, comes from accepting everything as Swami's Will and practicing gratitude. 

The speaker likened life's journey to a train ride towards Swami, warning against getting sidetracked by worldly temptations and emphasizing the importance of patience and perseverance. He concluded by advocating for teaching children that Swami is their best friend, fostering a deep and personal connection with the divine. A recording of his talk is available.

Workshop 1- Excellence in SSE teaching

Experienced SSE teacher and a former middle school teacher, Mr. Srinivas conducted a workshop on “Excellence in SSE teaching.” The workshop opened with the question, “what is the difference between an SSE teacher and a guru?” This prompted deep reflection among the attendees, some of whom shared their perspectives. The facilitator then explained how gurus have the vision and insight to inspire and transform. It is that ability that marks the difference between a teacher and a guru. Three essentials for a guru are:  

• The strong faith that when Swami is here, what can possibly go wrong?  

• The heart of a guru should be full of goodness, selflessness and love and that will lead students to express themselves. And once the teachers are sathwik, students will also grow into embodiments of love.  

• Adveshta Sarva Bhoothanam: No hatred towards anyone. Be as loving as possible. 

The second section of the workshop explored the qualities of a good teacher through the following questions.  

• Is the teacher sathwik?  

• Is the teacher a good team player?  

• Is the teacher strongly committed to the program? 

After elaborating on each of these questions, the facilitator shared stories of his two trips to Prashanti Nilayam in 1983 and 2007 and summarized the lessons learned from these trips as they pertain to SSE coordinators:  

• Be a family within our group and promote unity.  

• Intensify sadhana and connect ever closer to Swami.  

• Strive to be the best human being.  

• Expand your heart to include more and more people.  

The workshop ended with a powerful reminder about the singular purpose of SSE, “fill your mind with GOD and transmit GOD to children.” 

Download the Excellence in SSE Teaching Slides

Field trip - Sathya Sai Book Center of America 

The afternoon session was a field trip to the historic Sathya Sai Book Center of America in Tustin. Mrs. Vasanthi Hedge who manages day to day operations of the Book Center expressed how thrilled she was to welcome, “Swami’s guests.” Many attendees had spoken with Mrs. Hedge over the phone regarding Teacher’s manual or ordering books for children for SSE graduation. They were delighted to meet her in person and also get a tour of the Book Center.  After the group assembled in the prayer room, Mrs. Hedge spent some time sharing the history of the Book Center, and how it was started by Walter and Elsie Cowan. Baba’s handwritten letter stating His approval of the Book Center is on display. She also shared a few experiences of the Cowans, including how Swami performed their second marriage on the occasion of Walter’s 80^th birthday. Their beautiful wedding picture along with their wedding jewelry, which Swami materialized is also on display. Mrs. Hedge also shared recent miracles which demonstrated Swami’s continued grace and presence at the Book Center.  

Enriching Center SSE program: Sai Parenting 

Swami often describes the SSE program as a three-legged stool, each leg representing parents, children and teachers. Each has a critical role to play in the success of the program. In the past few years, there has been much focus on parenting programs at the Center. The attendees were divided into three breakout groups to discuss the following questions.  

• Share best practices and challenges of the parenting program.  

• What should the components of Sai Parenting Program be? 

• Any other suggestions to consider.  

There was a rich exchange of ideas, and all responses were collated in a separate document. Post retreat, a team is coming together to put these great ideas into action and create a national framework for Sai Parenting coinciding with Swami’s birthday in November 2024.

Download the Sai Parenting Summary

Amazing Grace 

After devotional singing and dinner, it was an open mike session where attendees shared a recent miracle they had experienced or a transformative moment. An SSE coordinator from New Jersey shared his experience of witnessing an exchange at the airport which demonstrated that there is truly one language, the language of the heart and there is only one caste, the caste of humanity. Another Coordinator shared how she was deeply moved by the opportunity to offer lunch for consecration at the main altar. The reason being that just a few months back when she was visiting her family in India, she had prayed to Swami to bless her with an opportunity to serve food for consecration. Two months later, the prayer was granted. All attendees felt uplifted by other personal stories and reassured by Swami’s omnipresence and omnipotence.  

Sunday March 31, 2024 

Enriching Center SSE program: Group 3 and Group 4 Curriculum

A dedicated workshop to address the curriculum for Group 3 and Group 4 led to a very collaborative effort. The questions posed to attendees focused on a) unique needs and challenges faced by our SSE Group 3 and Group 4 children and b) evaluating the current curriculum. In small groups, attendees discussed the following questions.  

• What is working well in Group 3 and Group 4 SSE class? What is not working well? And why?  

• Since this group is a transition between lower groups and the more mature Group 3, what kind of topics will be appropriate for this group?  

• What should be the presentation technique appropriate for this group? (guided problem solving or empowerment, not fully independent discussion)    

• What teaching technique is appropriate for Group 4 students? (study circle, group discussion, debate, essay writing, problem solving, helping teachers in lower groups, occasionally teaching a lower class etc.) 

These answers have been collated and presented via a separate report. A national taskforce is being assembled to create a framework to supplement the existing curriculum. 

Download the Group 3 and 4 curriculum development

Workshop 2: Facing Characters and Build Character 

The retreat concluded with a workshop led by Seema Miller on “Facing Characters and Build Character.”  The workshop began with an exercise to delve deeper into why the topic of “speak obligingly” was put forth in the retreat planning survey. Using examples from movies the facilitator illustrated how broadly speaking there were three types of conflicts that pose a challenge to the principle of “speak obligingly.” They were a) man vs. man, b) man vs. nature and c) man vs. himself.  

The group discussion examined Swami’s message “how we can speak obligingly, even if we can't oblige”. It was a robust exchange of ideas and experiences that looked at the practical application of Swami’s teaching.  The facilitator also shared a few important reminders to help practice this important teaching:    

• We should not harm anyone because God exists in all.   

• See oneness, hurt no one and speak with a smile.   

• Speech is very important; it can change the mind and melt the heart.   

The framework to assist in navigating these types of situations in a Saiful way was to:   

• Wait or walk away   

• Process and manage emotions   

• Understand the motivation (should this be motive?)    

• Speak when calm   

• Be loving    

• Seek resolution   

One profound insight shared by the facilitator that resonated deeply with everyone was, “Good is a dynamic state and it is one we earn every second. It is absolute perfect harmony between thought, word and deed.” 

Download Face Characters Slides

Closing Remarks 

Aparna Murali in her closing remarks expressed gratitude to Swami, Region 8 (hosts), Sai Prema Nilayam Committee, SSSIO-USA and several individuals who supported this national retreat.  She also shared the story of Sir Christopher Wren interacting with three different stone masons during the rebuilding of the Cathedral in London. The take home message was that being an SSE teacher is no ordinary task. We need to approach it with reverence and gratitude. She also shared that with Swami’s blessings a National Sai Parenting Initiative will be launched by November 2024. Also, a committee will be set up to work on supplementing Group 3 and Group 4 SSE curriculum.  

The retreat concluded with devotional singing and prayers.