NEWSLETTER - 1st Quarter 2023

Sai Ram Jai Maruthi Jai Maruthi! Welcome dear Sai brothers and sisters to the first quarter newsletter of the year. Filled with exciting and fun events starting with Pongal, all the way to the splendor of Maa’s Jayanti celebrations, this quarter was busy and full of celebration and pure happiness! 

The first day of Pongal fell on January 15th this year and is essentially known as the “Happy Pongal!” day, on which people all over Tamil Nadu decorate earthen pots and prepare pongal (a South Indian kichadi) in celebration of the new year’s harvest that God has provided us with. Day 2 of the Pongal celebration fell on January 16th and is known as “Mattu Pongal.” On this day, the mattu (cows) are worshipped and celebrated, as they are essentially the sole reason for the successful new harvest and agriculture; as without the cows, we would not have milk and oxen to plow the fields for crops to grow into. The main event of course, was the outdoor cookout. Our Gurumaa sat under a tree, just outside the Goshala, and with an old fashioned pot placed atop bricks and logs for fuel, Maa cooked an irresistible, mouth-watering “Chakkarai Pongal (sweet pongal).”

Shivaratri fell on February 18th this year. We all joined together to worship Lord Shiva at our “Atma Lingam,” the shrine dedicated to Him. The pooja was done with milk, curd, honey, ghee, panchamritham, pancha gavyam, lemon juice, chandan, tender coconut, vibhuti, and sugarcane juice. All those who attended, kept vigil and a fast and participated in performing a “naalu kal” pooja (pooja done four times throughout the night), at 6 PM, 9 PM, 12 AM, and 3 AM. Rudrabishekam and Pooja were performed 4 times throughout the night as well.

February 26th was a very special day for everyone. It marked Sri Sai Darshan Trust’s 27th year in service to Baba.  A Dhanvantari & Sakala Devata Gayatri homam were performed by all devotees present,  followed by annadhanam. This day was a wonderful reminder and inspiration for us, to continue living with the purpose of serving. Congratulations to all the devotees on completing 27 years!

March 30th was Ram Navami and was celebrated with a special pushpa alankaram at Ram Darbar. Neermor and panakam were offered as naivyedyam. The devotees chanted mantras and bhajans dedicated to Rama. 

The main highlight of this quarter and this newsletter was Maa’s Jayanti celebration. On the 31st, Maa’s calendar birthday, Laksharchana of the mantra “Om Shri Sai Nathaya Namaha” was performed by approximately 150 devotees. Bhagavatars chanted Vishnu Sahasranama and sang Bhajans, in celebration of our dear Gurumaa! They performed wonderfully, and the celebration was full of music, happiness and love! This was followed by Padha Puja to our dear Gurumaa. Noon Aarti and Annadhanam followed. Maa’s birthday, was a special reminder, of who Maa is to us all of us-our teacher, our mother, and our Guru. Maa teaches us and reminds us daily, to lead our lives with a positive, confident, and kind mindset; with hearts full of love and dedicated to serving those in need. May we all, as devotees, work to imbibe these qualities and strive to spread the same love and happiness to others, as Maa does for us, each moment of every day. May Baba’s and Maa’s blessings and grace be ever-present in continuing our lives with the lessons Maa has taught us. 

Sri Sai Darshan Trust has welcomed Samskrita Bharati to spread the knowledge of Sanskrit through spoken Sanskrit classes which are conducted each Saturday for the next 15 weeks. SSDT devotees as well as students from Chennai city are attending these classes to start learning the language of ancient religion and the scriptures. 

On the charity front, SSDT donated 6 lakh rupees to Sankara Nethralaya for the purpose of eye treatments and other eye surgeries for those in need. as well as 6 lakhs to Adyar Cancer Institute for those in financial need of cancer treatment. With Baba’s grace we are blessed to be involved in supporting these noble causes. 

An exciting update is that we have officially restarted our monthly Medical camps, which take place every second Saturday of each month! 

As always, it goes without saying that the Poornima pooja and Pradosha pooja, and Annadhanam, are taking place without fail. We thank you, all devotees and well-wishers, for your continuous support. Here’s to a wonderful quarter and year filled with love, happiness, and good health!

May Baba’s grace and Maa’s blessings be showered on us all.