Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Shri Madhusuddhan Sai Hamani Saath. The founder of One World, One Family humanitarian mission, Bhaut Bhavshukriya. Thank you so much for being with us today, Sai. There are so many things in our mind. But first thing I would like to ask you, when I heard about the mission, the food, the healthcare, the education, wanted to know whether you're a human or a superhuman to do all of these things.
[00:00:24] Speaker B: Namaste to everyone, all your listeners.
See, I think when you have the power of love with you, any human can become a superhuman. And that's the proof of the concept in this mission. And today as we serve millions of people around the country, around the world, I myself cannot believe that all this has happened in just 10 or 12 years actually. And this is only because so many people have been touched and transformed by this very idea of selfless love and service which was taught by Bhagavan Shri Satya Sai Baba, whom we follow. And that has actually given us the super strength or whatever super powers if you may say so. But the truth is that I think the greatest superpower that exists is pure love. And that love itself is quite capable of achieving what it sets its minds on. So I think all the people who joined us over the period were moved by this love. And, and that's how all this has been done. That's the whatever secret sauce.
[00:01:25] Speaker A: It is so amazing to have you in front of you, you know, able to speak. There are so many things that we face in our day to day lives. One of the aspects is that when we try to connect with ourselves, we kind of make it a task or an action to take, whereas we forget that you know, every day we can. Is it possible for us to probably, you know, one month we take a vacation, we try to connect with us and we come back. As you mentioned about, you know, selfless love.
[00:01:54] Speaker B: Yeah. I think in this fast paced life that we are all, you know, leading right now, the pressures of survival, pressures of doing well, you know, growing and evolving. So at times we forget to tend to our own selves. And I think, yeah, there is one way to take a break or retire at 40 or whatever the new thing is. But that's not sustainable. You see, that's like quick fixes. You just do it for some time, then you're back into the same thing again. But I think a more sustained effort to balance yourselves and to as I said, give yourself that necessary time and poise that helps you to kind of collect yourself and gather yourself and come back again. In a better way. That is not yearly exercise. That is not something that you should do in once in a year or five years. It is a daily practice. So we recommend, or rather I recommend that you on a daily basis do some of this. These practices which help you to sort of center yourself every day, then you can act better, you can think better, you can speak better. And these are basic, simple practices. See, if you believe in a higher power like God or in whichever way that really helps, because then you feel very assured that there is something greater than you, which is at, which is in charge, which is going to look after everything, and then you start believing in that and then you really see that you feel very comforted. But those who do not have that idea, they still have to kind of, you know, center themselves every day through simple acts. I call that a one minute meditation. Even if you don't have 25, 30 minutes, just sit down and just go through whatever is running in your mind. Just sort that out like you sort a bookshelf or your own cupboards. What is necessary, what is not at all necessary and what is, it's okay even if I have it. So A, B, C kind of things, you know, which you do on your desktop, which you do for your mobile phones. So I think sorting yourself out every day, it's a very important exercise. And that means you only retain that with you in your mind, which is extremely important for you. That which is unproductive, unnecessary, sometimes even a drag on your energies and resources. They have to be kind of shunned. You have to be that way, a bit hard on yourself to get rid of those that whatever the baggage that we carry all the time. And then there are those which you haven't decided upon yet, so keep them in the middle one. But do this on a daily basis. And as I said, if you believe in something higher, it really, really helps you. But if you cannot do that, at least do this sorting out every day and do a closure to the day. When you begin your day, take that minute off to just sort yourself out. And you know, this is what is your A priority items. You want to do this today and these are B, if you do it, good. If you don't do it, it's okay. There are these C things which you shouldn't be doing. So you know, you keep doing this exercise every day and end of the day when you come back, whatever would be the time you have to have a closure to the day. So you again, tell yourself, you look at whatever has happened during the day and whatever you plan to do the next day, just sort that out again. So your mind is very sorted and when you go to sleep, you have a good sleep and then you wake up with a kind of very refreshed to again attend to your duties. But most of the time what happens, we put one thing into the other and then it's all a big mess. So it's like all your clothes are messed up in your cupboard and in the morning you want to go to office and you are just searching for that blue shirt that you want to wear, but you see every other color other than that blue, but it's there somewhere inside. You just didn't sort it out the previous night. So thoughts are also like this, your emotions are like that. And that which is not good for you, you know, you must get rid of it. The earlier you do it, the better it is. Don't hang on to it for too long.
[00:05:49] Speaker A: And as you mentioned all these things, the realization that happens, it happens with age is what I have noticed. When you're younger, you really want to prove, you want to build your career, you want to achieve so many things. That realization comes when you have achieved certain aspects and then you want to probably do much more than keep yourself surviving. So your thoughts on that?
[00:06:11] Speaker B: No, you're right. I think that Maslow's hierarchy is there. You start with your basic physiological needs, your food and your. Then your safety needs, then your belongingness, then you, your expression and finally actualization. So yes, we all grow in that hierarchy of things. And the earlier you reach, the higher goals, the better it is. Because for too long you can't be stuck in just food, safety and security and things like that. Which unfortunately is the case with so many people around the world who are poor or who are not having the same opportunities. They struggle with these basic hygiene things for most of their lives. So I think for them we have to be very sympathetic. But us, all of us who have got better opportunities, we have already crossed that stage. And you have to draw a line somewhere. You see, if you don't draw a line, you're never done with your desires. Now there is always something else to, you know, go after. And when you give yourself such ordinary targets in life, such ordinary challenges, which is to upgrade your car or to make a bigger house, or, you know, have more holidays and parties, they will give you some limited happiness. Only these are all what we call, as in economics, we call, you know, diminishing marginal utility of things. So most of the things of that relate to the mind have this effect of diminishing marginal utility. So to again, you know, get yourself excited, you need to get another car, another house, another friend, another holiday. So this goes on in a perpetual loop. The only way to, you know, further elevate yourself is to just break out of this loop and start doing things which make your heart, makes your, you know, whatever makes your heart happy. As I say now, this is not material. This doesn't cost you money. Maybe it will take some time on your part, some attention. But this is not expensive stuff like what we see here, especially in countries like this. So these are some things that are to your. It may be reading a poetry, it may be doing a little bit of good to somebody on the road. It may be just taking a walk in the garden. It could be anything that is just about you and yourself. See, once you start connecting that way to yourself, you realize that actually you are feeling quite happy and comfortable. You do not need somebody else to complete you or make you comfortable or happy. Today, when these dependencies go away, either on material things or on people, you start elevating very fast. You start moving up very fast because there is so much of less. Whatever you call the stones tied to your feet so you can fly faster. So this first part, yes, it takes some time to break out of this loop. And as I said, once your basic needs are met again, you have to define what is your basic need. And once you cross that and you start touching base with your deeper self, you will start seeing that you start growing very fast. And a day will come when, even if these basic needs are not as much taken care of as you would expect them to be, even then you are okay. Because there is something else that is now fueling your imagination that is making you happy. So suddenly you elevate yourself. And that is a process. The faster it happens to somebody, the more fulfilling lives they will live. If it happens to you at the age of 70, I think there is very little to enjoy. But if it happens to you at the age of 40 or 30 or even younger, you have found your true happiness. I think that the life is a great whatever. It's a picnic, it's joy, as they.
[00:09:35] Speaker A: Say, that true happiness lies when you serve others, when you make other people happy. And there are a lot of misconceptions on that in terms of giving back to the society. It is only when you attain something you want to give back to the society. And that is one idea which I'm not, you know, completely convinced with. You can actually start whenever you Want to start. And if you can, you can.
Your thoughts on that?
[00:09:59] Speaker B: Sai, this is a big dilemma and most of the people do not know when to start giving and how much to give because they always think, what if I need it? What if? So they never are sure about it. But as you said, somewhere you have to start because this gives you joy. And I give everybody a simple formula, it's a thumb rule. So give as much as you are aged in the sense whatever is your age. Give that much of your time, resources, talent, your treasure, whatever you have. So you are 25, keep 25% of your time, energy, resources for the greater good of others. 75% is still for yourself and yourself in this is your family. Anything that is related to you, then you are 50 year old, try to give half of your time and energy and resources for people and other half for yourself. So I'm very happy with those who want to retire at 40 or 50 because then they can spend so much more time on other things, especially doing good to the others. And then you're 80 or 75, you see, you start spending 75% of your time for others sake and only 25% for yourself and your family or anything that again comes back to you. And finally, when you're 100, I'm sure you have crossed all the boundaries of I, me, mine and now your life is for everyone. So this was also very interestingly put as four ashram dharmas in our scriptures. It's called Brahmacharya, Grihasta, Vanaprastha and Sanyasashrama. So in a lifespan of 100 years approximately divided into four quarters, the first one is Brahmacharya, which is to study. You are a student, you're learning things. The second part is the Grihasta, the family life, where you start earning for your family, not just money, but also name, reputation, whatever else. Then the third quarter is Vanaprastha, which meant you actually moved away to the forest from the society. And that meant you start engaging more in service activities. You see, in those times people would go to a Rishi's ashram or somewhere and stay there and do some service. But they will start moving away from their family things. So that is the third one which I call as returning. So learning, earning and returning. The third phase, you start giving back. And the fourth phase, when you are not any more young, you can't really do much with your body. You start more of contemplating and withdrawing from everything into yourself. And that is the fourth phase of sannyasa. So if you really see from that point of view, a student can only give so much because the student needs so much for himself. So 75% retain, 25% give. So this model, if we follow, and we follow it strictly, then we won't be confused about when to start giving in, how much to give. But it needs some bit of commitment to yourself.
[00:12:38] Speaker A: Beautiful. In terms of the entire way, the entire system that we are living, there are so many issues that we tackle on a daily basis. But if there was one word, one order for everything, we would have been so organized and so disciplined. Now the mission that you have one of the mission is Annapurna breakfast. The impact is phenomenal that you see. If you could tell us about food in terms of the broader perspective, in terms of the system, how can we regulate that? Better get better nutrition for each one of us?
[00:13:10] Speaker B: I think food has to be treated as food and not as an entertainment, not as whatever a feel good thing, not as anything other than pure nutrition for the body. So if you give food the respect that it deserves, I think you will do very well. That is what I think. Over the last few decades, food has been kind of glamorized and food has become, you know, in the name of restaurants, in the name of all kinds of five star cuisine, and even processed food and convenience and instant food and things like that, everything has got a little bit of messed up. So our original idea of food was that it was medicine for the body, for the disease of hunger. Think like that. So if you are hungry, you must take only so much of food. Like you would take medicine for your fever or any other issue. So overeating under eating, both were not allowed. The other thing that we always were keen on was let it be as natural as possible. The best food, I always say, is the one that is, you know, coming from the nature without being processed, without being modified. So you are, that is the best food that you can get. And I tell the best food that even amongst that, the best food is that which comes from this country. It means that fruits that fall from the trees after the birds have tasted them, they are the best fruits because birds know which one to taste and which one to live. So there is an intelligence at play. So our ancestors lived like that. Majority of the food was raw food and very little was the cooked food. But today things have changed. Not just cooked, they are highly processed. And if you satisfy your taste buds, then naturally your body goes for a toss. So most of the health issues is because of nutrition. So nutrition is the word and While we serve the undernourished children in the rural areas who do not even get two square meals a day. That's one kind of malnutrition. The other kind of malnutrition is the urban kids. You know, they eat all kinds of things and they are getting into other diseases, lifestyle diseases. So this is the other end of nutrition issue. So both need help. The lower end needs, they help with the right kind of nutritional products. And ours is a very scientifically designed fortified ragi based drink which gives you almost 50 to 60% of your daily micronutrients, like vitamins, minerals and several other things. So that takes care of the child's nutritional needs. That's on one end, but that's only in the morning when they go to the school. And the urban kids, of course I have to tell the parents they have to get themselves a bit of education on what kind of food to give to their kids. And food that is totally fresh from the farm, unmodified, unprocessed is the best. The second best food is even if you cook it or modify that, it will be at your home, should be fresh within three hours of cooking is what you should eat. After that there is too much of bacteria and that causes issues. And stored, refrigerated or highly processed or preserved foods are not at all good. Most of the people in India now there is a view that by 2050 we will have 20% of the population which will be highly obese and into all kinds of lifestyle diseases. And this is equally good for most of the developed countries because our lifestyles have changed, you see. So that is going to be a major health problem for most of the country. And that means it will lead into people's productivity, it lead into national, whatever gdp and also it will at the same time cause healthcare burden. But if we can take charge of our nutrition, I think that would be the best thing to do at this point in time. This is my advice to everyone.
[00:16:42] Speaker A: And also when it comes to kids, it's such a difficult task for most of the parents to not make them eat the junk foods which are available. So what are the things that parents can. Because time and again with my son, I give him that five minute pep talk. You know, if you eat this, this happens, but then that pep talk fades away. Is there a solution that, you know, parents can adopt, especially living here?
[00:17:04] Speaker B: First the parents should follow the food advice which they give to their kids. If the kids find you eating in hiding chips and actually they're going to come after you, they Say you say, but you don't do it. I think first sacrifice has to be from the parents side and on the kids side. I think kids are kids, you know, they, they deserve some of the nice things. We don't want to deny them all of it in the name of nutrition, but I think moderating it in the sense when they do something good, they can be incentivized that you will get this what you like only and only if you do this. So that kind of small carrot and stick model, sometimes you incentivize them, sometimes you deny them their favorite foods that they ask for, especially these processed ones and packaged ones. So once in a while it's okay. It should not be in excess. That's what we are saying. You can't be eating out of tins and packets all your life. That's not the life that we're talking about. But as parents do allow them, otherwise they will get angry and they will feel denied and deprived. That can lead to a lot of childhood traumas and frustrations I've seen in kids who hold their parents responsible even after growing up for denying them a movie or denying them a toy or denying them some eatable like this. And they hold it against them. So I don't think we should go that far. At the same time, be cautious and make it more like an incentive for them. Then pep talks don't work, you know, because children, children don't need that. You just need to incentivize them. They do good things, give them something of their liking. They don't do the right things, you know, deny them that for the next time. Some kind of model like this.
[00:18:39] Speaker A: Amazing. Let's come to healthcare. The work that one world, one family is doing, humanitarian mission is phenomenal again for the children especially and for everyone on in regards to that, you know, you're also giving free education as well. So how is that, you know, panning out for you so far?
[00:18:57] Speaker B: I think education is a fundamental right, that's what I believe in. That everybody who is born must be having an opportunity to get educated in whatever field that the person wants to get educated in. So we should not just make education available, but we should also be make making it equitable in the sense if I want to be a singer, I should be able to access an education which makes me a good singer. Similarly an engineer or doctor or whoever you are. So that kind of education is what we. This red jacket industrial kind of education, you know, which comes in government schools, it's no good because at the end the Child may not be enjoying it. So it leads to mediocrity in the society because you're doing something other than what you're born to do. And that is why most of the societies, you know, the levels of the quality of society starts falling. And then there are frustrated professionals who are always angry and not happy with their work. So that leads to all other issues. So education one, yeah, it should be for everyone. And if their parents cannot afford it, the society must come together to provide them. Because it's an investment that you're making in your society's future. You want more well educated, well cultured, well behaved people in the society. You do not want criminals, goons and thugs around you who have not been educated or schooled or taught about the basic civic things. So that is why education is a collective effort. It's a collective investment that everyone should make. Of course, governments take your taxes and then they are supposed to invest in education. Most of the governments are unable to implement it in the letter end. They just are doing a very ordinary job of it, because of which there are inadequacies and as I said, inequalities. So charity organizations, in much more education driven organizations like us, they are very focused because they are very passionate about what they are doing. So I think they are supported well, they can fill these gaps. They can work with the government system. They can also work individually or privately and start improving the system from inside. That's possible when we have a collaborative approach to it. I call it as a sarkara, samaja, Samstha model. Sarkara is the government which makes the policies and gives you the right kind of permissions and whatever other things are required. Society is the general society which invests in this kind of education not merely by the taxes that they pay to the government, but by making that extra effort. And then there are SAMSTAs, which are organizations like us who are very passionate about education. So they should be given the driver's seat. So if that happens, I think things will start falling into place. So I'm not, I'm not, I'm not like against privatization of education on the one end, because that's necessary, that has brought quality, good competition, but at the same time it has been very commercialized because of which children are under pressure, parents are under pressure, a lot of debts, educational debts have been built up. That leads to a lot of stress and then it's of course not available to everyone. At the same time. Government education system is not always the best. It is not doing his job well. So then Those who cannot afford this, they go there but they are not getting equal opportunities. So somewhere is a. It's like a private education system but which works on government principles of equality and equal opportunities. And only institutions like ours can do that. Because we are not the extremely commercialized on one end nor we are government like obliged to give. We are doing it more out of love and concern for the society. So if these systems support us, I think much can be done at least at primary level and higher secondary level we should do it because those are fundamental years. Many children in India, even a fifth class child cannot do no maths or read a sentence. You know, give him an some add two plus two digit figures because they are not able to add. Forget about multiplying and dividing this at fifth standard when you should be doing multiplications and divisions and maybe learning fractions. They can't even add two two digit figures. They cannot read one single sentence in English. So this is the quality of the system. So how do you expect them to become good professionals tomorrow? How do you want your society to grow then? When they do not get good education they will naturally go and do other things. We won't give them jobs because they're not qualified. Now they also have to eat and survive. So then it would be back borrowers steel. So that is the society we will build if we don't invest in education.
[00:23:21] Speaker A: And I think you are doing a phenomenal job. A big thank you on that part as well from all of us over here. A lot of people as you did mention that you know, what are you born to do? What is your purpose? Many have this purpose that we'll come here to this place, we'll earn a lot of money, we'll build a house back home and we'll go back. That has shifted now to many living here, buying a house here, moving to other countries for education.
So what I'm trying to say is the financial need to come to another country is. Is that something that you could find your purpose in in your life?
[00:24:00] Speaker B: I think one is. As you said, the survival pressures are there now.
See when, when people started coming to these countries from India, those were 70s or 60s or 80s, you know, when the opportunities were very less in India, especially for somebody who was by highly qualified and highly skilled. The opportunities were very few. The privatization had not happened, globalization had not happened. Most of it was public sector enterprises where people had limited opportunities for growth. So naturally there were a lot of people were disillusioned and they sought the greener pastures. And that time the idea was I earn some money, I go back and have a safe retirement in my own. But then now they have kids who are studying here and they have culturally got, I want to say they've got totally modified. So they, you know, they cannot just go back and adjust with the same old things. So that has become a dilemma for most of the people. You know, they can't stay here, they can't go back. So that's become another issue that I totally see it in people here. What is the solution? As I said, somewhere we had to draw a line. I think we forgot to draw the line or we drew only dotted lines. You know, there were perforations and things slipped out of control. Now the kids are kids, they want to pursue their career. I think you have to detach the two things saying that what you want in life versus what your kids want in life. You wanted a safe retirement, a secure retirement with enough savings so that you don't have to worry about your last year's. If you have achieved that and then your heart says you must go back to your country and do something nice over there. Live a peaceful life. Just do that. And the kids like you came out of your country leaving your parents, they will leave you and go ahead and do what they want to do in life. You can't tag along forever, ever. So they have their life they'll pursue. Now your purpose was, if it was to go back to your country, then follow that purpose. Now for these young kids, I always tell them, find your purpose. Find your purpose because your purpose is no more survival. You know, survival problems have already been solved for them. Their problem is what am I supposed to do? What will make me happy? Where should I contribute? That is the question they should ask. And that, that's for money, should be removed out of the equation. You know, you cannot ask your kid to study a certain subject because that's going to lead to a bigger package at the end. That was your problem of 1970s. Don't thrust it upon the next generation which doesn't need to worry about it. They know how to survive, but they need to do what they are born to do. That's when they will contribute to the societies. Most of the kids under parental pressures are just taking courses and exams only because their parents had that aspiration that I wanted to be a doctor, I could not be because we were poor and so, and so on, so forth. I worked two jobs a day and to meet the two. And all these stories they trust upon the next generation, say, now you better Be a doctor for my sake. The child wants to be a dancer for all you know. But now it wouldn't be allowed. So these kind of things, you do your purpose, let your child do their purpose, and that child will be happy. And I do not know how much money they will make at the end, but as I said, survival was not their problem. Because you earned, you have something for them, they also are earning something. Leave it at that. You do not want them to only die rich, you want them to die happy. And that means they have to do what they're born to do. So allow them to be dancers, singers, musicians or writers, poets, not just businessmen and engineers and doctors and whatever the other things that you thought you should be.
[00:27:22] Speaker A: And that's the question that I've been wanting to ask that. You know, a lot of people when, when they meet me, they ask me, how did you become a radio presenter? So I said I was working in a corporate office, I didn't like it. And then one day I sat with myself and then I realized that I have to do this because this is what will interest me. I didn't know what is in store for me, so they couldn't understand what I'm trying to say. So how can one find their purpose?
[00:27:48] Speaker B: As I said, you cannot just follow the herd. You can do it for some time, as I said, till your basic pressures are met. Now I'm asking you a question in return.
Suppose you did not have any money in your pocket, you had no safety whatsoever, you had nobody to support you. Would you still be a radio presenter? You would. So you wanted some of the basic needs met. That's why I said retire early. No problem. Retire with some money, but do your thing before it's too late. So most of the people find this dilemma. It's about survival versus what they want to do. Because what they want to do may not necessarily be supporting their survival. And they can't be, you know, dependents on their parents or others for too long. So this is the big issue. So my, my feeling, my, my advice to them is that if you have already found your purpose when you were just 18 or 20, that you felt you wanted to be a singer or you wanted to be a radio presenter, start working towards it. I know you'll have a little harder time compared to your friends. Your friends will have iPhones and things like that and you will still be managing with some old second hand phone, but that's all right because you have a bigger vision and your joy at the end is much more rewarding. But you have to stay true to the purpose. The other option, as you have done, is many people though, they know what they like doing, but they, because of the other pressures, they just keep doing things so that they earn enough. But call it quits as soon as possible. If you drag it for too long, then you will reach a point of no return. Then it's very difficult to live a life. Most of the midlife crisis, what we hear about is this. When people want to now become themselves but the family won't allow them. The circumstances won't allow them. The commitments that they have made won't allow them. And that's why they're frustrated and they want to do something else now, but they're clueless. So my feeling is that most of the marriages break, most of the families break apart because of this crisis of individual purpose when they suddenly discover that they are doing something other than they were born to do. But then you can't explain to your spouse in the middle of your career that I'm quitting now and you know I'm going to leave everything to whatever happens and it's right to the winds. You can't tell your children who are in the school that, you know, I do not know whether we'll be able to keep this kind of lifestyle anymore or things like that or your in laws. So that's the midlife crisis, according to me. When you really want to be yourself because you have had enough, you live somebody else's life so long and they're no more possible. So you want to go back to your own individual life and that's not allowed anymore. That's the crisis. That's why families break.
[00:30:25] Speaker A: And this is when, you know, when we see that there is so much passion out in the world when it comes to, let's say, cricket. I think that you also enjoy watching the game as well. When you see these cricketers, these athletes who not only perform but when they talk and they speak, they do inspire a lot of people.
Somehow we feel that, you know, they have achieved it, they have reached everywhere and that should be my aim. And this is where I think we all get lost, that, you know, we should be probably become this. We should. So having those idols, does it make a good way of looking at life?
[00:31:02] Speaker B: Yeah, I think cricket 50 years ago would have been a very inspiring sport. But today, the way it's commercialized, I don't think I'm truly enjoying the game because most of the people now play for we all know it. There's money at the end of the road. So you want to work towards that. The bigger the brand, the more the money. So very few people are truly, truly doing their best for the game or the love of the game anyway. That apart, you need to have examples in life. See if you don't have ideals, for example, you do not know how far you want to go, where you want to go. It's like milestones on the road. If you are traveling and you have a milestone which tells you that your destination is another hundred miles from here, you know how far you have reached and how far you have to go. So these people serve as your milestones, as examples and ideals. So you have to have. But you don't make a wrong person your hero. Now you find a little more about them. Most of these heroes on the silver screen are not real heroes, are they? But children get excited and children's minds are very, very soft and, you know, supple. So what happens if, in our school we have seen that if an IAS officer comes and gives a pep talk to the, to the kids, they all want to be is officers tomorrow. Now suppose somebody comes from the military and gives a talk, suddenly 50% of them want to be in the military. And then same with the cricketers and same with all kinds of celebrities. So I think that happens because you are too young. But if you have kind of, as you said, sat with yourself long enough and you know that this is what makes you happy, then you have to go back and look for the right person in that field again. Cricket, you can have hundreds of examples, but there are those who are very commercial, then there are those who will do it for the love of the game. They won't do anything else for anything. So find your right ideals also is very important. Do some reading up and research not just by what is shown on the media. That can be very, I think sometimes very not a wrong representation, but can be misleading.
[00:32:57] Speaker A: One couple of more questions just over here. Since it's a month where, you know, everybody fasts and there's a lot of connection with the divine and the giving. Nature comes naturally with all of us and this is what is being taught also in uae. So when it comes to giving, I mean, you know, it is just one act which we all do and how can we make it a part of our daily life as well?
[00:33:22] Speaker B: Yeah, I think I always say if you don't breathe out, you can't breathe in. You can't hold all the breath to yourself saying I don't want to give any breath out. The body has been designed like that, where you have to take in and give out. Also. The societies have been designed like that. Only in give and take that we grow. See, if we don't. This symbiosis that exists in the society is the very soul of the society. If you don't have that relationship, the soul will die. The societies will die. So giving and receiving, both in, you know, is the way of life and the month of Ramadan, especially because of the religious fervor and the intensity of these ideas, it is even a better opportunity for everybody to give. And I know Zakat is practiced in these communities, especially across uae. It's a part of your culture. And especially in this month, you give more then because if you did not do enough for the rest of the year, this is your opportunity. You can do all of it now. So it's a part of our culture and it's there in all cultures across. You go to Sikhisam, they call it daswant. They give a tenth of whatever they have you. In Hinduism, they call it dana and which is a compulsory thing. In fact, Krishna says in Bhagavad Gita, Yajna dana, tapakkarma, natyadjyam, karyya, mevata, these three things, one should never give up. Not only for a month or week, but throughout the life. Yajnas, dana and tapas. So these are the three. So dana again is a part of our culture. I think this has to be kind of, I don't know, through your. You and people like you, through influencers, it should get a little more attention and probably if it should be glamorized a bit, because giving seems like a painful thing. You know, you're giving away something that you want with so much of difficulty. I don't want to part with what I have. So that feels like a painful exercise. But then only after giving you. No, that actually gives you a lot of pleasure. It gives you a lot of joy. But if you give for the right cause and if I can give a piece of advice, in our scriptures it is written how to give, say Shraddhdaya Dayam, give with great sincerity. There should be purpose in your giving. There should be sincere feelings. Not because somebody is giving. I'm also giving. Not because somebody told swaying or worst for exhibitionism. So. So Ashradhaya Adeyam, if you don't have sincere feelings, rather not give. It says Shriya Adeyam, give in abundance so that the other person's needs are met. Bhiyadayam, give with the fear that you may not be doing enough. Kriya Dayam Give with humility. That you are giving, you're giving. God has given you an opportunity to pass on something that he had given you in the first place. So you're just instrumenting God's will by sharing it with somebody else. And Samvida Dayam finally, which means give with the knowledge of whom you are giving, how it will be used and how it is going to benefit the receiver. So with this kind of understanding, one should give. You can't just pull out a note from your pocket and give to somebody randomly. It's not a random thing. It's a very thoughtful thing. So it's an art and our scriptures talk about it that you just can't give. Because if you give and they misuse it, whatever the sin of it or things like it will come back to you. Because in some way you were a partner in that crime. Even if you were a sleeping partner or unawares, you still are a part of that crime. So give the right way. So that also is a part of our culture. I think one should give very carefully, right?
[00:36:40] Speaker A: Thank you so much. It's been such a wonderful experience, Sai, to be with you and to understand so many things, so many perspectives. One last how can people, you know, be a part of one world, one family mission if they want to be a part of it?
[00:36:54] Speaker B: As a mission itself says one world, one family. So everyone is welcome as long as they follow the family values. And the values are simply service and spirituality. Spirituality is mainly from the point of view that you believe in something greater than just you, you and yourself. And you. You are here to serve others and do the good. What I call as the greater good should drive your motives. So you are part of it. We are in 80 plus countries now, so you will definitely find some activity in some country wherever you are, unless you're living in, I don't know, the Antarctica or somewhere, but we have a website, one world, one family.org or you can go to srimadhasudansai.org and you can click there. There are opportunities to be volunteers and there's no official membership yet, but you can be volunteers or you can put in your request that you want to start a project in your place and you also need a support. So maybe we can then put few people in around that area to do that as well. So that way you can participate. And we are headquartered in India in near Bangalore, in Mudinhalli. And we have several programs happening in India too. So if somebody wants to visit India and be a part of it in India that's also possible. I also want to tell the audience that we are coming up with them a very beautiful hundred days cultural event in in Mudenhalli between August and November and that is coinciding with the hundredth birth anniversary celebrations of Bhagavanshri Sathya Sai Baba and that would showcase cultures of hundred countries from all around the world and they will present their culture, their philosophy, art, music, food and so many things. So that's another opportunity. And again the website would open. It's already open. You can go and check there and you can be a part of it. You can also contribute as volunteers or any which ways that you want.
[00:38:45] Speaker A: Thank you so much and we look forward for being a part of the mission and more power to you that you know, you keep doing the greater good that you're doing and you keep.
[00:38:54] Speaker B: Spreading the good news. I think that's the biggest job God has given you.
Thank you very much. Namaste.
