Sri Sathya Sai International Organisation

Maha Shivaratri: Today is the holy day of Shivaratri. Shiva means auspiciousness. Where there is Shiva (auspiciousness) there cannot be shava (inauspiciousness). This holy day of Shivaratri must be spent in the constant contemplation of God chanting the holy name of Shiva right from early in the morning till you go to bed. The Lord’s name must dance on your tongue.   March 8, 2005

https://SaiSpeaks.SathyaSai.org/Discourse/you-are-all-amrutaputras-sons-immortality 

The lesson of Sivarathri is that devotees should foster good and sacred thoughts. They should be filled with godly thoughts. They should seek to become one with the Divine by reflecting on their inherent divinity. If you constantly chant the name of God, God realisation will come in due course.
Whatever other things they may possess, men suffer from lack of peace and bliss. These two can be obtained only from God. It is for these two that men should pray to God and not for anything else, because God alone can give them. When these are secured, all other things will come of their own accord by the grace of God. People should yearn for God. All other desires are worthless.

Sri Sathya Sai Baba, February 26, 1998

Aaraadhana Day: Sathya Sai Baba took Mahasamadhi (His soul left the physical body) on 24^th April 2011. In Honour of and to pay reverence to Sathya Sai Baba, His teachings to humanity, and to celebrate His life this day is observed as Araadhana Day. This day is marked by self-less service for the needy.

What does Aaraadhana (Divine Adoration) mean? It is not a mere offering of worship with the paraphernalia of rituals. Aaraadhana is the unification of the Hearts. To attain Oneness through Unity is Aaraadhana. To experience the Bliss of the Self is Aaraadhana. Recognising unity in Diversity is Aaradhana. - Summer Showers in Brindavan 1993, Chapter 04

Guru Purnima: The Guru Purnima festival is an opportunity to express our gratitude and pay our tributes to our Guru, Guide, and God, Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba.

Guru Purnima is a festival observed internationally to honour spiritual and academic teachers and mentors. It is celebrated on a full-moon day during the Hindu lunar calendar month of Ashadha which corresponds to June–July in the Gregorian calendar. On Guru Purnima celebrants meditate, fast, and perform acts of charity. It is also a good day to start one’s spiritual learning (diksha).

Seniors Tea Party: Many senior citizens within our local areas are lonely, house-bound, some are disabled and may hardly have any interaction with the outside world. This service activity is organised especially for the senior citizens to entertain them and bring joy and happiness to them. Volunteers engage with the senior citizens and look after them for the duration. The senior citizens participate in and are entertained through various activities like singing, dancing, bingo etc. Cold and hot refreshments and food is served. 

Worldwide Akhanda Bhajans: The first Akhanda bhajan started in February 1946 at 10:30 am and proceeded blissfully for the next 24 hours. Sathya Sai Baba first attended and blessed a 24-hour continous bhajin in 1946. Sathya Sai Baba later established it as a formal, worldwide 24-hour event in 1974.

Akhanda Bhajans is twenty-four-hour continuous devotional singing, chanting the glory of God all over the world. The bhajans charge the atmosphere with positive vibrations.

The program of devotional singing continuously done all around the world in all lands has, therefore, spread the message of love through the Names of the Embodiment of Universal Love (God). It has saturated the atmosphere with the thought of God and of the peace and joy He showers. The devotional singing that you have done here has affected not only this particular area and its environment, but it will transmute the entire atmosphere. Continue this attitude of devotion and humility, of service and tolerance and the atmosphere will not be polluted by hatred.    - Sri Sathya Sai Baba, November 14, 1976

Sathya Sai Baba’s Birthday: Sri Sathya Sai Baba was born on November 23, 1926 in Puttaparthi, a small hamlet in South India, which became the destination of pilgrimages for millions of people around the world. On October 20, 1940, Sri Sathya Sai Baba unveiled the mystery surrounding His birth, life, and mission by declaring to the people around, and through them to all humankind, that He is indeed the Supreme Consciousness embodied in a human form and that He took birth for the upliftment of humanity.

Sri Sathya Sai Baba spent His entire life (1926–2011) teaching the supreme truth about divinity and demonstrating to all, the ideal examples of selfless service by providing free health care, free education, free water, and service to the needy, without expecting anything in return.

This is a very special day in the SSSIO UK calendar. It is celebrated in a grand way through offerings of devotional songs, talks and self-less service. It brings everyone together as one big SAI FAMILY in the LOVE of SAI.

Through Love alone--Love acquired through saadhana, and shared with all as saadhana--can peace be attained, by the individual as well as by the nation. My Life is My Message and My Message is Love. That explains why you have gathered hither in hundreds of thousands.   -Sunday, November 23, 1975

Christmas: The day, Christmas, the birth of Christ is celebrated by the children of the Education Wing putting up performances relating to the stories from the Bible, carol singing and quiz whereby the whole congregation participates. The finale is when Father Christmas enters, bringing presents for the children.

This day, Christmas, when we celebrate the birth of Christ, resolve to lead the lives of loving service to the weak, the helpless, the distressed, the disconsolate. Cultivate tolerance and forbearance, charity and magnanimity. Hold dear the ideals He laid down and practice them, in your daily lives.

Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol.11/Ch.54