Sai Sarathi commenced publication in the early 1990s as a newsletter for the Sri Sathya Sai Baba Center of Manhattan. In 1993 it was redesigned as the official newsletter for the Mid-Atlantic Region of the Sathya Sai Baba Organization of America (Zone 1 – Region 2). It’s original purpose was to connect Devotees within the region by publishing contact information for all the Mid-Atlantic Sai Centers, including the dates of service activities, bhajans, meetings, and other gatherings such as the annual regional retreat.
Swami’s Signature in blue ink on the first issue of the Sai Sarathi Newsletter, February 1994
When in February 1994 devotees presented the first issue of the redesigned regional newsletter, along with the proposed name, Sai Sarathi*, to Swami, he blessed the publication, approved the title, and wrote “With Love, Baba” on its cover. That signature appears in the right column of the printed newsletter, and also in the right column of every page on this Web site.
Now, thirty years later, Sai Sarathi continues to serve the Mid-Atlantic Region, and even has subscribers in many far away places. With Swami’s blessings, readership of the newsletter blossomed and many groundbreaking, original articles and talks by devotees were published over the years, leading eventually to the publication of a book distributed by the S.S.S. Books and Publications Trust, now entering its 4th edition, entitled, Encounters with Divinity.
Featuring discourses new to most readers, inspirational talks by traveling guest speakers, special submissions from S.S.E students, and regional announcements of bhajans, seva activities, and holiday events, the Sai Sarathi newsletter strives to be informative, insightful, inspirational, and relevant to the lives of Sai devotees.
Each issue of Sai Sarathi is lovingly crafted by a volunteer army of devotees: articles are typed; talks are transcribed from audio recordings; submissions are sorted; text is copyedited; pages are designed on the computer. After the publication has been assembled, proofreaders and U.S.A. Central Coordinator Bill Harvey review it. By the time the Sai Sarathi reaches the printing shop and the website, a lot of devotees have contributed to it. But it doesn’t end there. Each month, volunteers buy the postage, print mailing labels, fold and collate the newsletters, address them, stamp and seal them one-by-one, and, finally, drop them in the mail box. Wow, that’s a lot of work! After that, the articles are added to this web site so they can be accessed by the many readers who are not subscribers of the print newsletter.
We encourage you to read these articles. For readers who rely upon this online edition, we are also glad to accept any small donations you wish to send to help continue this work. A subscription / donation / volunteer form is included here. Or you can e-mail the Editor if you’re moved to make a donation or participate in creating the Sai Sarathi each month. You may be surprised to know that you already have many of the skills we need and can use each month. We are especially looking for a devotee to assist with this online edition of the newsletter.
Today, both the Manhattan Sai Center and the Mid-Atlantic Region have their own web sites on which they publish contact and event information. Email has supplanted a print newsletter as the means of communications between devotees in different towns. Yet the Sai Sarathi remains, both as a monthly print publication and as an online blog, carrying forward the message of our gracious Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba.
As always, should you have any questions, materials to submit, or thoughts about how Sai Sarathi can be improved, please feel free to e-mail me.
The Editor
Kumkum Bhasin
*A Note about the name Sai Sarathi
Sarathi means “charioteer” or “companion” and reflects our yearning as devotees to have Sai as our constant charioteer in this lifetime. “The individual must install himself in a chariot with the wheels of detachment and truth; the Lord will then accept the position of charioteer; He will hold the reins (mind) and direct the horses (senses) straight and safe over the road (the path of salvation through self-realization).” ~Baba
A note about photos on this blog
Most of the photos on this site have been drawn from Google image searches. We assume that since they are all photos of our Divine Lord and Master, no individual or organization is going to claim ownership. However, if you are the “owner” of one of these images and would like to have it removed from our site, please use the Contact the Editor form on this web site to send a message to the Editor requesting removal. Please paste in a link to the specific article to which the image is attached so we can be sure to remove the correct photo.
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