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Pathways and Serve the Planet Subcommittees’ Sadhana Quest

Dear Envirocare Coordinators, Go Green Champions and Eco Explorers,

This month, we uncover the marvels of the “Be, Do and Tell” framework to live each day in harmony with Nature. From worldwide climate issues, depletion of our natural resources, species extinction, collapse in biodiversity and ecosystems, to the everyday pollution in the air, of our lands, in our rivers and oceans, we see that our decisions each day are more crucial than ever before, particularly for young adults and future guardians of Mother Earth. Additionally, today we are all facing a worldwide health pandemic closely connected to the health of our ecosystem.

Here is the journey of Sai Young Adults (YAs), throwing light on the importance of the natural world and how we can make our daily transition sustainable for the upcoming New Year, 2022.

The Call of Sai Young Adults for Nature Protection

The International YA Pathways and Serve The Planet Subcommittees jointly initiated a 30-Day Sadhana Challenge between June 24, 2021 - July 24, 2021 for YAs aged 18-22, as an offering of gratitude and love to Sri Sathya Sai Baba, on the auspicious occasion of Guru Purnima. YAs in this age group must be imbued with a deep understanding of Sri Sathya Sai Baba’s teachings and are aware of the consequences of their actions on Nature.

This ‘Sadhana Quest’ sought to uncover, explore, and strengthen the connection between young adults, God, and Nature through the practice of daily eco-friendly and spiritual sadhanas. The foundation is in understanding the current impact of human activity and how inner awareness can transform the heart and restore Nature with more enlightened human endeavours. The programme was hosted on Zoom and supplemented with podcasts, webinars, and hands-on activities.

The Nine Acts of Kindness To Serving the Planet

Participants implemented Nine Eco-Spiritual disciplines related to ‘Ceiling on Desires’ and practicing the five Universal Human Values of Truth, Right Conduct, Peace, Love, and Non-Violence in Nature, to strengthen the ‘Water, Food, Physical, Mental and Spiritual Energy’ nexus.

Activity Tracker For Each Sadhana

Each participant logged into a Google form to track their progress and provide feedback on their daily spiritual practices. The programme culminated in an enlightening reflection and sharing session that was held on August 7, 2021.

Overall Progress Bar Chart

Learn, Grow, Keep Steady on this Path of Spirituality and Earn Badges

Participants had strong motivation to adopt a sustainable lifestyle with better insights and track their progress. They earned merit badges per category depending on the points they accumulated.

Sowing The Seeds Of Harmonious Qualities

Webinars and live demos were conducted at the end of each week in July 2021 to discuss and share the practices of each sadhana and to give a new dynamism to the young adults. Through this, YAs from different countries fostered unity and cooperation, and followed the path of love and service to Mother Earth. This journey moulded Sai YAs into future custodians of environmental progress. As Sri Sathya Sai Baba says, “Youth alone can transform youth.” - Sri Sathya Sai Baba, May 13, 1985.