| | Issue 137 - August 18, 2019 | During a Satsang held in the divine presence in California, USA in 2016. A devotee asked if merging with God and attaining heaven ends the cycle of birth and death.
Here is what Swami said:
Heaven is like a holiday that you get when you do well in your exams. You go to enjoy yourself; you do not have to study; you do not have to worry about going to school and you can do what you want for a few days. Once your holidays are over, you have to go back to your class. That's what happens when you go to Heaven; you come back again to continue your studies. (Laughter and applause)
So, Heaven is not the ultimate, it is just a reward for the good that you have done. Hell is not the ultimate, it is the punishment for the bad you have done. That is how to understand it; if you do not do well, you have to repeat your class, work harder and do more assignments – that is Hell! (Laughter) If you do well, you get to go for a holiday; that is Heaven! So, he is back from his holiday again to continue his studies. | | Seva in Frankfurt am Main | | Sister Zvijezdana from Frankfurt got inspired to feed the homeless, despite not being able to act as part of a larger group, but rather initiate everything on her own. European Youth Meet in Rome in April 2019 especially created a strong desire in her, and the first packets were handed out right before Easter. The contents of the packages prepared are usually sandwiches with butter and cheese, some cake or biscuits, a piece of fruit or a juice box and some sweets. The homeless are very dignified in accepting the packages with utmost gratitude. The contact is made soul to soul, without words. Between April and July, 119 food packages were distributed to homeless and needy people, once a month. | 1) The Association has continued the programme GROWING TO BE GOD. Each meeting is started one hour before session of Bhajans. Currently there are two boys, ages six and seven who have taken part in all the classes.
2) The Association has continued to cooperate with the Warsaw Seva Association (WSA), which has been feeding homeless people five times a week for two years now. They have started to help WSA in distribution of meals to homeless people and also food preparation. This June, thirteen people from the Association LOVE ALL - SERVE ALL took part in this Seva | | Feeding the Homeless and Refugees in the Netherlands | "Go feed the homeless" were the words given by Swami recently when a youth from the Netherlands asked Him what more they can do as Sai Youth of the Netherlands. For a while, they were confused about the message and the direction because the Netherlands, for the most part, is a developed economy with a stable and financially homogeneous society.
On June 15, 2019, with Swami's grace and along with the staff at the shelter; the first date was set to cook and feed about 25 people for lunch. Again, on July 27, 2019, another Seva was done by serving about 20 people that came to the shelter. With Swami's will and direction, the youth hope to continue cooking and feeding the homeless at this shelter, once a month. | | Seva Activities in Kazakhstan | A month had passed very quickly since the last service activity. All the youth felt in their hearts that it was time to go and meet their friends in need. As it turned out, their friends were waiting for them to come and meet them too! This month, the youth visited five families whom they support regularly as a part of the Seva activities.
It was a second visit to a family with four children. The mother is the sole breadwinner of the family because the father is disabled. They live in a small house in the poor district of Almaty. This time the mother was all smiles, contrary to last month, when she was under the weight of great sorrow and hopelessness due to life's circumstances. | | | | | |