The Dallas homeless seva started about 20 years ago. It was initiated after Swami appeared in the dream of a lady devotee from the center. He showed her a place called the “Austin Street Shelter” and told her to go there and start helping them. To her amazement, when she went there, it looked exactly like the one that Swami had shown her in the dream. Since then, a group of about 20 devotees are serving about 350 homeless people on the second Friday of every month. The food is prepared at home and consists of salad, vegetarian spaghetti and sauce, bread, cookies, and juice. The guests at this night shelter say it is the only time in the whole month when they get enough to eat (Swami’s way of feeding the poor)

The homeless veteran population in the U.S. is growing and suffering deeply–emotionally, physically, mentally, and spiritually–and the Albuquerque Sathya Sai Baba Center decided to help them. “Love in action” is the practice of seeing divinity in all; veterans especially need it. Several members donated clothing, others knitted scarves, and three volunteered to participate in the Veterans Integration Center annual event, Standown–a military term meaning “removing combat troops from the field and taking care of their needs in a safe area.”

Even a wealthy country like the United States, with one of the largest economies in the world, has its share of the downtrodden. These unfortunate people, many with families, have found themselves without a home due to economic, physical or mental hardship. After a hard day's work, most of us can at least look forward to coming home for recuperation, relaxation and reflection. A home is not only a place of mere shelter where we have the ability to rest, have meals, and feel safe, but is also intimately associated with our sense of dignity. Adding to the burden, the homeless are also often without health insurance and thus without access to adequate healthcare.

Sathya Sai Baba center of Portland Oregon held a one day retreat in a secluded forest by a roaring river, a perfect backdrop for our theme on the teachings of the Native American Way. 5 members attended along with 2 guests. We were blessed to have “Bear Woman” Margo Bear, as our guest speaker, who is a member of the Grants Pass Sai center. Bear has followed the “Red Road” since she was a young woman after Swami’s direct instructions.

If life is lost in dreaming, and being is lost in becoming, then creation is an eternal saga of searching for joy that is fulfilling. From wealth to power and positions, from fame to relationships, human beings wonder all over, seeking that elusive and gratifying joy that may lend a sense of completion and meaning to their lives. 

At our SSE class of the Sathya Sai Centers of St. Louis, Missouri area, the topic for the last session was “service.” Our teacher decided that group 3 students needed some hands-on experience with service, and so we volunteered at Mother Teresa’s Soup Kitchen for 5 Sundays during January to March 2008.