Youth Wing Hong Kong

[Guest guest]

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