Sri Sathya Sai Baba Centre of Tooting
Love All Serve All - Help Ever Hurt Never
WELCOME TO SRI SATHYA SAI BABA CENTRE OF TOOTING
WEEKLY ANNOUNCEMENTS
Find out about upcoming Activities
Announcements for this week
Upcoming Events
Monthly Homeless Service
Service to the homeless is conducted by the centre in Central London on the last Saturday of each month please contact tootingsaiservicewing@gmail.com should you wish to help.
Thursday Darshan 18 April 2024
Please take a few minutes to take in Swami's darshan as posted by Sri Sathya Sai Media :
Thought for the Day
ABOUT SRI SATHYA SAI BABA CENTRE OF TOOTING SAI CENTRE
The Sri Sathya Sai Baba Centre of Tooting is affiliated to Region 1 of Sri Sathya Sai Organisation United Kingdom, has been operating in the Tooting area since 1977. The centre meets on a weekly basis every Sunday at Fircroft School, Fircroft Road in Tooting London SW17 7PR conducting activities inspired by the teachings of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba.
The centre is part of the wider Sri Sathya Sai Organisation; a non-political, non-profit organisation with a spiritual core and base, promoting the practice of the 5 human values of Love, Peace, Truth, Right Conduct and Non Violence. The Organisation provides opportunities to participate in a wide variety service activities.
This is worded beautifully in Bhagawan’s own words:
"I have come to light the lamp of Love in your hearts, to see that it shines day by day with added lustre. I have not come on behalf of any exclusive religion. I have not come on a mission of publicity for a sect or creed or cause, nor have I come to collect followers for a doctrine. I have no plan to attract disciples or devotees into my fold or any fold. I have come to tell you of this unitary faith, this spiritual principle, this path of Love, this virtue of Love, this duty of Love, this obligation of Love."
- 4 July 1968, Sathya Sai Baba
Currently, Tooting centre has about 80 members and active Service, Spiritual, Youth and Sai Spiritual Education (SSE) wings, with weekly, monthly and annual activities. For more details, please refer to our weekly programme of activities.
We look forward to welcoming you, your family and your friends at Tooting Sai Centre!
PROGRAMME OF ACTIVITIES
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8:30 Hall Opening and Set up
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9:30 Multi Faith Prayers
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9:35 - 10:30 Group Devotional singing (Bhajan)
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10:45 - 11:45 Bal Vikas (Sai Spiritual Education Classes) During School term time
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Service - Monthly Homeless Feeding on fourth Saturday of each month
Centre Calendar
Service Wing
Service is the life breath of the Sathya Sai Organization- Swami says “Service to Man is service to God”. Service allows us to develop compassion and can help those are less fortunate; it should be rendered selflessly, in the spirit of sacrifice. We all have talents that Swami has given us, to perform his work and aid others in the process.
“Do not believe that you can by means of service reform or reshape the world. You may or may not; that does not matter. The real value of service, its most visible result, is that it reforms you, reshapes you. Do service as a spiritual discipline; then you will be humble and happy.” -Sai Baba
These are some of the service activities that Tooting Sai Centre participates in:
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Annual afternoons of entertainment for older people in conjunction with the charity, Agelink, at various locations, both at Centre and Regional level
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Regional cooking for the homeless at Spires, Streatham, at least once every quarter (in conjunction with the Youth Wing)
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Christmas present and Easter egg collections for children at local hospitals
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Clean up of the River Wandle with the local community
Youth Wing
“The future of the country depends on the skill and the sincerity of the youth. Therefore, the necessary enthusiasm and encouragement must be generated among the youth. All my hopes are based on the students, the youth. They are very dear to me”.
Sathya Sai Baba, Sathya Sai Speaks IX (old edition), 34, 184.
The purpose of the Youth Wing, is to encourage young adults to lead purposeful lives through learning about Sathya Sai Baba’s life, his message and his work and putting these into practice.
Sathya Sai Baba has said that the years between the ages of 16 to 35 are a golden period in one's life; "for that is the period when life adds sweetness to itself, when talents, skills and attitudes are accumulated, sublimated and sanctified."
At Tooting Sai Centre, the Youth are encouraged to take on responsibilities and roles within the wider organisation, such as: participating in devotional music programmes, involvement in the planning and delivering of events, at both a regional and centre level, assisting and teaching SSE classes, and partaking in local service activities.
Bal Vikas
"The ideal of the Bal Vikas (Sai Spiritual Education) is to raise a generation of boys and girls who have a clean and clear conscience. Bal Vikas is the primary basis of the great movement to restore Dharma in the world. The young minds of children are not polluted and hence they can be led into good ways of living, simplicity, humility and discipline…Help them understand the five human values, so that they can practice these in their daily lives; Guide them to Love all and Serve all. In short help them grow into worthy citizens to serve the world; identifying the divinity present in all. Education must aim at providing the child not livelihood, but, a life worth living. The promotion of human values must become an integral part of the educational process”
– Sathya Sai Baba
Swami has prescribed Bal Vikas classes to consist of five teaching techniques, to awaken and draw out the divine qualities inherent within the child and allows them to develop self-confidence:
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Prayers
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Story Telling
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Group Devotional Singing
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Group Activities
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Silent Sitting
At Tooting Sai Centre, our Bal Vikas classes are held every Sunday from 10.45am – 12:50pm in line with the school term. SSE students are encouraged to participate in various Centre activities, such as leading Bhajans every 4th Sunday of the month, reading the weekly ‘Thought of the Day’, and presenting plays and musical offerings as part of special programmes. Although the classes are split into age appropriate groups, before classes an assembly is held, where all the children come together and share what they have learnt, and also share prasadam (blessed food) before the school closes.
If you are interested in enrolling your child for Bal Vikas Classes please contact: sse.tooting@gmail.com
Spiritual Wing
The aim of the Spiritual Wing is to help individuals on their own spiritual journey, by providing them with activities and opportunities that promote spiritual growth and awakening, whilst joining company with other like-minded people.
At Tooting Sai Centre, the Spiritual Wing is involved in the following activities:
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Group Devotional Singing- “Sing aloud the glory of God and charge the atmosphere with divine adoration . . . This is why I insist on group singing of the names of the Lord”. (SSS, VI, 239)
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Study Circles and Workshops- “Study with faith and devotion. Delve into the significance and meaning of what you read, and always have before you the goal of putting what you read into practice. Unless you do so, the Study Circle will remain a half Circle forever, it cannot be a full Circle”.
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Celebrations of Holy Events- "Let the different faiths exist, let them flourish, let the glory of God be sung in all languages in a variety of tunes. That should be the ideal. Respect the differences between the faiths and recognize them as valid so far as they do not extinguish the flame of unity."