SOWMYA RAMANI

The foremost learning as being part of Sai Aashraya is that the act of serving is for self-transformation first; there has to be a sense of gratitude to the receiver for giving the opportunity to serve. Until a couple of years back, this concept was unknown to me. There was a sense of satisfaction and admittedly the sense of doer-ship. Sai Aashraya not only provided the opportunity to serve but also changed my perception of service; it has humbled me.
With very senior and devout volunteers leading the youth, Sai Aashraya provides varied learning experiences which are not limited only to service, the very act, but a gamut of other things. I have now seen from them what it is to be selfless, what it is to be in strict obedience, what it means to sacrifice, what it means to love, what it means to put others before you. In short, it is overwhelming.

I have personally felt that all the services in Sai Aashraya may be Medical camp or Leprosy service or breakfast service, have taken priority over personal agendas for the volunteers. This has been another significant learning for me. Service is not a hobby but it is as significant as personal endeavors. This, in my opinion, doesn't translate to contribution of substantial time; its quality that matters and not quantity. The result that it offers has to be experienced rather than told. Personally, being part of Sai Aashraya has been momentous in my personal transformation. I consciously remind myself that ‘known is a drop and unknown is an ocean’.

The entire experience leaves me only with one concluding thought “ I am fortunate beyond words and thoughts that I am part of Sai Aashraya and would always be grateful for the opportunities for service and spiritual upliftment”

HEART TO HEART

ARUNA NARAYANAN

- Volunteer, Experience during Christmas celebrations with residents of Sai Aashraya Adarsh Gram, Dharmapuri, in Sai Aashraya's Headquarters

In December 2019, I had the opportunity to visit Sai Aashraya in Bengaluru. It was the day of Christmas and people from a Leprosy village near Dharmapuri were invited to Sai Sannidhi, home of Sai Aashraya. Witnessing the leprosy patients getting dropped off by Sai Aashraya volunteers in their own personal cars, and few more volunteers welcoming them with roses to be seated among everyone else in the family, was a deeply moving experience.

An unforgettable moment was when I had the honor of feeding a venerable lady whose fingers were eaten by the dreadful disease long before the intervention of Sai Aashraya. Now they are all fully healed, due to the personal care and love showered by Team Sai Aashraya. However, she couldn’t eat herself. For every spoon I fed her, she would lovingly smile at me. She had the most beautiful and innocent smile I have ever seen. Tears welled up on my eyes and I felt the joy of my life at that moment. First time ever I had the feeling of seeing God in human form. Sharing this with lots of gratitude to Sai Aashraya for providing this opportunity.

HEART TO HEART

ROHIT RAO

On September 21, 2019, a small group of us in Dallas, Texas had a wonderful opportunity to personally hear several experiences from Sai Aashraya volunteers. We were filled with bliss just by listening to the several ongoing service efforts in India like the 24x7 Narayana Seva, the Sai Aashraya Adarsh Gram, the Medicare Camp and so on. While sharing these experiences, one volunteer stated, “It is not about how Seva helps others, but it is about how Seva helps you”. This changed my whole perspective about Seva. I wanted to personally taste this sweet nectar of bliss that the volunteers claimed was possible only by doing selfless service. I thought to myself, “Alas! How I wish I were in Bengaluru at this time”. Just as I was having this fleeting thought, one volunteer said, “We should start a breakfast service here in Dallas!”. Everybody gathered replied unanimously, “YES!”.

All of us huddled up and started brainstorming ideas, logistics, volunteer schedules and it was decided that every morning, we will serve a bowl of hot oatmeal with water and fruits to the less privileged on the streets. At that time, it was unimaginable for us to be doing this every day! We thought “What about work? What about early morning meetings? How will our bosses react if we go into work late? How will we do this with just 4 volunteers?” The questions and doubts were countless. But we had undermined the power of a selfless thought. Everything magically fell into place and last week we celebrated the 1-year anniversary of the breakfast Seva! This journey of love has been a totally transforming one for all the volunteers involved.

The first day of seva on September 22nd was perhaps one of the most memorable one. All volunteers reached promptly at 8:00AM at a predetermined spot. Just as we were serving food and fresh fruit juice, I noticed that the volunteers paid equal importance to interacting with the people, hearing their stories and experiences. Just then a volunteer said “Serving food is only a medium. The real goal is to interact with them, to know their problems and ultimately to help them get off the streets. No one deserves to be on the streets.” Just as we were walking, we noticed an old man in severe discomfort. After talking to him, he told us that he was having trouble breathing. Some of us quickly rushed to a nearby pharmacy store to get medication. Upon examining his pulse rate, it was clear that chances of him having a cardiac arrest were high and he needed to be taken to a hospital immediately. After a few minutes of giving him some medication, he started feeling much better and started walking. We dropped him at a nearby bus top and asked him to go to the hospital immediately. In the following days, the volunteers kept checking on him and below is a picture of him taken a week later. He was smiling again.

In my experience, the joy of Seva is the greatest joy there is. To see a smile on peoples’ faces after having a hot bowl of oatmeal with their favorite toppings is the greatest bliss. As days went by, we developed a strong connection with the people, seeing them as our own family. They now recognize us by our names and call us the “oatmeal gang” Our only prayer to God is to help us continue to be His humble instruments and continue this path of loving and selfless seva. Because in the end, ITS ALL ABOUT LOVE. 

HEART TO HEART

ADITYA KURULKAR

I got introduced to the young and inspiring founder of Sai Aashraya - Sai Prasad Venkatachalam back in 2017 through a close friend of mine; This is when Brother Sai Prasad was invited by the Indiaspora to address an esteemed and established set of people. Soon after I met Sai and learnt about this outstanding work for humanity that he had carried out in the Syrian border and in Bangalore, I could sense that this young boy was on a mission to carry out more and more selfless work to serve the needy. While Sai Aashraya’s work kept expanding in various parts of Bangalore, Dharmapuri and North East; I was left more inspired and awestruck by the service projects that were initiated to serve the remotest parts of our population. In 2018 Sai Prasad made us aware of the local service that we can carry out as well in Oakland through daily breakfast seva which inturn gave me an opportunity to learn how to serve our fellowmen and thereby got an opportunity to interact more with Sai Aashraya team in India as well. . While this continued; in 2020, we got a chance to serve for the very first time in the Bangalore Medical Camp which taught me how to serve and that the very first medication that is needed to cure anyone is nothing but Love which the volunteers of Sai Aashraya have been immensely showering to all their patients.  

Volunteering with the team in Bangalore during the daily breakfast seva and also during the Bangalore medical camp gave me a completely different perspective on how Sai Aashraya carries out their seva activities so diligently, lovingly and meticulously. Each and every volunteer of the organization truly follows the statement of “Love All, Serve All” and “Help Ever, Hurt Never”. It had been a transformational journey till then by volunteering with Sai Aashraya. 

In 2021, When I came to know about the upcoming super specialty hospital that was planned to be built by the team of Sai Aashraya, I was (and I am) very much excited and thought it would be great if I get a chance to be part of the IT and networking team of the hospital. As a pleasant surprise, this opportunity was shared with me by the team and my joy knew no bounds! I jumped at the opportunity to join the IT team with what ever little knowledge that I had. Working and volunteering with the Sai Aashraya’s core team and fellow volunteers itself was a life changing experience which taught me how to work silently, humbly and unitedly at the same time. Along with the guidance of all the senior members in the team we are continuing to build the most unique IT infrastructure team which will cater to the needs of our population. I am really grateful to the entire team of Sai Aashraya including the volunteers who have given me and my family to be a part of this initiative (and others as well) and we look forward to continuing our journey with them. At the same time I would like to profusely thank and congratulate the entire team of sheer dedicated founders, committee members and volunteers of Sai aashraya for their extraordinary service and wish them great success in the coming years. 

HEART TO HEART

MEGHA JOSHI

“Service is Love in Action”- You can truly experience this when you volunteer at Sai Aashraya.

It was in 2017 when I had the wonderful opportunity to personally hear the amazing work carried out by Sai Aashraya from the founder Sai Prasad Venkatachalam himself. This has completely changed the perspective of Seva for me. It is more for Self-transformation and Gratitude to the receiver for blessing us with the opportunity to Serve. 

During my visit to India in February 2020, I got the opportunity to attend Sai Aashraya’s Medical Camp in Bangalore. This was a two-day event, yes I call it an event - because it was indeed a festive atmosphere where the entire camp was organized, clean and built the previous day in just a matter of 4-5 hours. All the volunteers greet and welcome each and every one of them with a broad smile, be it patients, doctors or volunteers and that makes you feel cared and loved. Just being there for two days with such amazing people was a memorable and unforgettable experience. 

In 2021, I learnt that Sai Aashraya is going to build a Super Specialty Hospital in Bangalore in order to cater the needs of the patients. Later in 2022, I was blessed to visit the construction site and was amazed at the work that was being carried out so silently. On one of the days, our family had the opportunity to serve at one of the Breakfast Seva schools. As soon as we went, I was awed when I saw that all the kids assembled in the dining hall with utmost discipline and seated in an orderly manner. The most touching part was - the volunteers served each and every dish on the plate with a smile and by patting them gently on their back inquiring about them. We interacted with the kids where they took us around to their classrooms, sharing stories about their routine, discussing hobbies, singing songs etc. It was a moment filled with so much joy and gratitude conversing with the children in the school. 

I am very thankful and will always be grateful to the entire Sai Aashraya team for giving me this opportunity as this taught me how to practice humility and compassion through Service, the highest form of Spiritual Discipline. 

HEART TO HEART

RATHIPRIYA BHASKAR

Being part of Sai Aashraya since its inception has helped me to set myself up on a journey of self-discovery, to be more compassionate, loving and aware of the needs of others around me. Through the various projects, interactions and experiences, I have begun to appreciate the importance of time, the preciousness of life and continue to uncover the true meaning of service and the responsibility with which it needs to be carried out. I wish for my kids to be part of this beautiful journey, to imbibe the values of Sai Aashraya, to understand the ideals of service and the importance of it being a central part of their lives. I firmly believe that service to mankind is the way to invite love into one’s life and experience pure joy. My immense gratitude to Sai Aashraya for giving me an opportunity to experience the same and look forward eagerly to the many years of service ahead.

HEART TO HEART

SIVA CHANDRASHEKAR

I would like to share my thoughts on why I chose to donate a good amount to Sai Aashraya, while there are many non-profits that support the underserved people of India, the country where I hail from.

There are several reasons that stand out about Sai Aashraya. To learn and follow their core concept of Ceiling on Desires, where we reduce our “wants'' to get to a “needs” level, and apply this not only to money, but to every thought, word, and action, thereby use whatever we save in terms of money, time, energy, and more, for a good cause, was a moment of transformation for me. I realize that being part of Sai Aashraya is an opportunity that transforms not only the receiver, but more so the giver too.

In most non-profit organizations, typically 60% to 70% of contributions would reach the actual cause, and the rest goes towards employee salary, fundraising, travel, and other organizational expense. At Sai Aashraya, each penny that is contributed, only doubles up in value, because of their hard work. They receive goods and services at a huge discount, nay, at almost at cost price from several vendors they partner with; The entire org is run by volunteers and employees who work for free and perhaps take an honorary amount only for the sake of books. Every expense is from the volunteer’s pocket; The founders lead by example in all of these, and I see the rest of the team simply follow their footsteps.

I get inspired every time I listen to the story of Sai Aashraya and how the entire organization is run only out of Love for the underserved and with a sense of brotherhood of man. They provide the most quality offering for the most underserved, that too at their doorstep by finding such people in need. It has been a blessing for me to be part of Sai Aashraya’s noble cause and nothing less than soul satisfying experience for me.

HEART TO HEART

BHARADWAJ SWAMINATHAN 

The uniqueness of Sai Aashraya is the effort put in by the team to go to any length, to identify the most underserved living in the remotest locations of Bharat. Sai Aashraya caters to every situation uniquely by creating tailor made solutions to holistically serve the recipients through its well-defined pillars to holistically serve on a unique one-on-one basis as needed. 

In today’s world where everyone is actively pursuing name and fame, Sai Aashraya volunteers work silently without much fan-fare or marketing, and execute with zero wastage and nil unwanted admin expenses, by continuously focusing on conscious spending of every available resource, thus making every contribution to have a direct impact. Following the ideals of Sai Aashraya has helped to teach my children about the value of available resources and how to live consciously and as responsible global citizens.

HEART TO HEART

Varshni Iyer - Bay Area, USA

I have had the wonderful experience of being associated with Sai Aashraya since 2018. Being a Pediatrician and having completed my medical school in India, I have distinct memories of volunteering and participating in various medical camps. Truly, the impact, care and human relationships formed by Sai Aashraya through their various medical and nutrition endeavors go above and beyond the norm. My first volunteering opportunity with Sai Aashraya was in Bangalore right after my marriage in 2018. My husband had been a volunteer with them for many years and he introduced me to them. The entire organization welcomed me into their home with open arms and I immediately felt a strong familial connection. It is hard to describe that feeling in words but I knew it was where I belonged. That day, I went with several volunteers to a deaf and dumb school for underprivileged children in Bangalore. It was so heartwarming to see the abundant smiles all around in those precious children when a delicious meal was served. I learnt that Sai Aashraya has similarly adopted 9 underprivileged schools in Bangalore and provides nutritious breakfast to all those children. Previously, the principal of this particular school had mentioned that children were even fainting in the
morning assembly due to hunger. Now, after starting the day with a full stomach and also a full heart, it was so clear that these children were thriving. Such was the direct and beautiful impact I observed on my first day with Sai Aashraya. I am eagerly awaiting my next visit to India to be able to volunteer in many of the various medical camps they do throughout India.

Currently, I reside in the Bay Area in which one Virus Pandemic in turn lead to an even rampant pandemic of homelessness. As a local volunteer of Sai Aashraya’s USA team, I am happy to bring Sai Aashraya’s message of Love All, Serve All to those needing it in our own backyard. Every day for the last few years, different volunteers go to Oakland and have served a hearty, nutritious breakfast to the homeless population in the streets. This may seem very common in non-profit or volunteer programs, however, we also try and form a connection with those served by talking with them and finding out their needs. We have helped in finding housing, obtaining social security, creating resumes and aided in job searches to create self-sustainability and bring these folks out of the streets. Recently, these efforts have expanded to the homeless population in San
Francisco as well. I have personally seen in 2021 a young man with social and mental stressors which brought him to the streets be rehabilitated and reunited with his family by the wonderful volunteer team of Sai Aashraya USA. It has always been an ambition of mine to be involved in Global Health initiatives while I was pursuing my medical degree. I truly cherish and love the opportunities provided by Sai Aashraya to continue learning and expanding my medical enthusiasm by taking the goal of Healthcare for All to my motherland, India. I hope I can join the team often in their health, nutrition and social endeavors throughout the world. Jai Hind!

HEART TO HEART

BALA PADMANABHAN - BAY AREA, USA

Sai Aashraya – “Transforming Lives”
If we all get a chance to “Say what we Do and Do what we Say” that by itself is an inspiration for some of us going about our daily busy and mundane life. I am blessed to come across this extraordinary group of people volunteering for this organization called Sai Aashraya. First it was curiosity for me to find more on what they do, how they do and the space they operate in, to save, sustain, uplift and transform lives of people who are coming into their gambit from under privileged, from lack of awareness to reach out for help at right times, from people who will shine if given a helping hand to do best with little support in any form like food, education, medical needs. To make a “society wellness” it may not be enough just to help an individual or a few by giving charity we can afford. We, most of us in my opinion, always want to help someone - in some way but do not have the time to find the right cause or right organization at the right times perhaps. Few of us are blessed to find such good organizations doing selfless service to society. I am very blessed to come across Sai Aashraya which is a unique organization doing a phenomenal service in Food&Nutrition, Medicare, Educare, and Sociocare. For every need, Sai Aashraya works through its well-defined pillars and loving volunteers to cater specifically to the person to holistically take care of them on a unique one-on-one basis not just attempting to solve the current need rather helping to find a long-standing Transformation of Lives for the needy. I have had the opportunity to work closely with the Sai Aashraya team observing them and learning from them for many years now. There is no stone left unturned during the planning for a service activity to ensure that the recipients of the care get the highest quality servings; be it as food, medicines, or solution for any issue that hinders the peace or growth of the individual or community. The uniqueness of this organization is the effort put in by the team members to go to any length, neglecting their own personal needs to identify the most underserved. This fundamental definition is truly inspirational, and we see this getting executed very soulfully, selflessly, sincerely, and subtly. The unique heart-to-heart connection made by Sai Aashraya team with recipients of care; be it children or elders, gives the advantage to understand their real source of the issue. By focusing on prevention, research and outreach, Sai Aashraya has created a much healthier and morally responsible society, whose impact cannot be quantified or expressed in words. This is “A movement which is making these Transformations possible for a lot of people, to societies at large”

HEART TO HEART