Overview:
The Youth Wing was established in 1985 for the benefit of young people between
the ages of 16-35. In the past two decades the Youth Wing has, through its
myriad of activities, helped transform the lives of several young women and men
in HK. It is our hope that we will continue to play an important role in the
transformation of HK Youth into dynamic young adults who are eager to serve
society and improve its moral fabric by their commitment to the universal human
values of Truth, Right Conduct, Peace, Non-Violence and Love taught by Sri
Sathya Sai Baba.
Activities:
I. Youth Classes
The Youth Wing is divided into two broad groups – the Junior Youth (ages 16-21)
and Senior Youth (ages 22-35). We have weekly classes for Junior Youth every
Friday from 7:15 to 8:30 p.m. and for Senior Youth every Wednesday from 6:45 to
7:45 p.m. To ensure that the classes are exciting, a wide array of diverse
topics are chosen (for e.g., Time Management, Health and Yoga, The Power of
Your Mind, The Secret of the Gayatri Mantra, and A Sense of Humor). Senior
members of the youth conduct the classes for the Junior Youth group, for in the
words of Sai Baba, “Only the youth can transform the youth.”
The primary purpose of the Junior Youth classes is to provide a fun-filled
spiritual environment for the youth, so that they can imbibe good values and
also enjoy themselves at the same time. A wide-variety of techniques are
utilized in conducting these classes, such as presentations, study circles,
workshops, life-games, debates, public-speaking and role-plays.
The classes for Senior Youth have a somewhat different focus, reflecting the
maturity of the participants. These classes are conducted by senior members of
the Sai-family and occasionally guest speakers are also invited to share their
expertise on topics of interest to the Senior Youth members.
II. Service Activities
Sri Sathya Sai Baba teaches us that “Hands that serve are holier than lips that
pray.” Therefore, in addition to the classes, the Youth Wing also organizes
various service activities. Every second Friday of the month, the boys of the
Youth Wing distribute food, blankets, clothing and other items of daily
necessity to the street-sleepers in HK. We have also recently commenced
distributing freshly cooked hot dinners to the homeless people. The fresh food
is cooked by the ladies of the Youth Wing in the Sai Centre amidst devotional
chanting, thereby enhancing its nourishment and endowing it with spiritual
vibrations.
Another service program, called the Sathya Sai Tutorial Service Programme, was
launched in February 2002 in conjunction with the Society for Community
Organization (SOCO). The tutorial program focuses on teaching English to young
children and youth who are poor immigrants from mainland China. These youth and
children live in difficult socio-economic conditions and have very little access
to education. They face discrimination from public schools and cannot often
find suitable spaces in schools. At present 6 youth members conduct 7 classes
per week, each containing about 5-20 people.
We are currently studying a proposal for launching a Sathya Sai Poverty Relief
Project, which will help the poorest families in HK by distributing items of
daily necessity, such as rice, noodles, milk along with a message of Human
Values.
III. Cultural Activities
We also organize various cultural activities that help spread the message of
human values in the local community. We have organized plays in both Chinese
and English for the elderly people living in old-age homes and also for
troubled teenagers. In the coming months, we intend to intensify these
activities and forge a stronger link with the local youth community in Hong
Kong.
Quotes for Youth
Here are some quotes from Bhagawan that address common concerns that youth have.
Youth Duty
“Tend to your parents with love, reverence and gratitude. Second, speak the
truth and act virtuously. Third, whenever you have a few moments to spare,
repeat the Name of the Lord, with the Form in your mind. Fourth, never indulge
in talking ill of others in their absence. And finally, do not cause pain to
others in any form.”
More freedom for Youth?
“Freedom is independence from externals. One who is need of the help of another
person, thing or condition, is a slave thereof. Perfect freedom is not given to
any man on earth because the very meaning of mortal life is relationship with
and dependence on one another. The lesser the number of wants, the greater is
the freedom. Hence perfect freedom is absolute desirelessness.”
Love
“ ‘Love’ is a much misused word. Any positive response or attraction is called
love; any feeling of attachment, however trivial or transitory is characterized
as love. We must certainly coin new words or set aside specific words to
indicate different forms of love…the response to sexual attraction is best
described as fancy, fascination or delusion…The yearning to reach for the
sublimity that lies inherent in Truth – this alone is entitled to be called by
the holy word ‘Love’.”
Gratitude to Parents
“However high you may rise, no matter how rich you become, if your parents are
neglected in distress, your life has been a tragic waste. If you have no urge
to please them, who are very happy when their children show the slightest
concern for their comfort, how can you even hope to please God? Show the
parents respect with love and devotion. It is a tribute you should offer them
for the great chance they gave you to come into this world, with all the
wonderful opportunities it offers for self-realization.”
Excessive Talk
“Talking too much hurt’s one mind and destroys one’s memory. The first thing
you have to do is reduce too much talk…This is most important for the students.
The energy that is present in you will diminish if you talk too much…Talking
too much will also weaken your nerves, making you a nervous wreck…It is because
of this that our ancestors gave so much importance to silence. They observed
silence for long periods of time. We see that to the extent we minimize our
talking, we promote the intelligence that is present in us.”
Invitation and Contacts
We welcome new members (boys as well as girls!) between the ages of 16-35
regardless of their social, religious, or ethnic background to participate in
the various activities of the Youth Wing. For further information on any of
our activities, please contact Vikas Kakkar, National Youth Co-Ordinator, at
9312-9919 or Liu Yan Chen at 9661-1920, or send an e-mail to
sainyg (AT) hotmail (DOT) com
http://www.saibaba.org.hk/Youth.htm