Dear friends,

    God takes incarnations on earth to protect His devotees from evil and show people the way back to Him. Today, we are going to learn about Akkalkot Swami Samartha who was an incarnation of Lord Datta.

    Many devotees had faith in Swami Samartha. Saints perform miracles to increase people’s faith in God. So, we should not only watch or read about the miracles, but also increase our faith in God by doing spiritual practice. Swami Samartha had performed many miracles. Today, we will read about one such miracle that Swami Samartha performed for a devotee named Basappa from Mangalvedhe village.

    Once there lived an oil merchant named Basappa in a small village called Mangalvedhe (in Maharashtra, India). He was a great devotee of Swami Samartha. He was very poor. Due to his immense faith, he used to visit Swami Samartha without fail. He used to spend a lot of time in serving Swamiji and also in chanting* (repeating) God’s Name. Swamiji was very pleased with Basappa’s service and devotion.

    Once Swami Samartha was visiting another village. On the way, He had to pass through a forest. Basappa also accompanied Him. They walked through the forest until late evening.

    Suddenly there were thousands of snakes in the forest. Basappa was afraid. Swamiji said, “Basappa, do not fear. Take as many snakes with you as you want and go home. All your wishes will be fulfilled.” Basappa did not doubt Swamiji’s guidance even for a moment. Without fear he caught one snake and put it in his bag. Immediately, the rest of the snakes disappeared. Swamiji said to Basappa, ”there is treasure in your bag, go home, and live happily with your wife and children.”

    Basappa went home. His wife was waiting for him. He opened the bag to show the snake to his wife. As he did so, he saw that there were gold coins instead of the snake. The couple was delighted. Both of them closed their eyes and bowed to Swamiji mentally. Basappa loved and served God with all his heart, so Swamiji graced him and his poverty ended.

    Basappa always felt that everything in his life was only due to Swamiji’s grace and felt deep gratitude towards Him. Later, he spent the rest of his life chanting God’s Name and serving Him by serving Swami Samartha.

Positive changes at ‘Abhinav Vidya Mandir’, a school in Borivali, India, after including the Sanatan’s programs in the school’s activities

    The ‘Abhinav Institute’ first came in contact with the Sanatan organization in July 2000. The Abhinav institute organized a lecture on ‘Morals and Values’ for its students’ and parents on behalf of The Sanatan. Later, various activities were held by The Sanatan organization at the institute, for example, Lectures, chanting sessions, satsangs, self-defense workshops, workshops for parents about interacting with their children. The school further offered The Sanatan organization their venue free of charge for the Sanatan’s activities.

     In this and the next few Issues we will see various experiences shared by staff, parents, students and seekers with regards to the changes in the school after coming in contact with The Sanatan organization.

Positive change in behavior and studies of students after regular chanting*

    The students of our school have fared very well in their studies and tests after they started chanting in school. They learned about when and how to chant in the Sanatan organization’s satsangs. Their behavior has changed for the better and their chanting has inspired parents, too.