Chairman of Sai Baba organisation on familiarisation visit to Guyana

With the aim of improving the work done by the Sathya Sai International Organisation (SSIO) of Guyana, a high-level delegation was recently in the country on a one-day visit.
Leading the team was Chairman of the Prasanthi Council of the Sri Sathya Sai International Organisation, Dr Narendranath Reddy. The Prasanthi Council handles implementation and oversight of day-to-day functioning of the SSIO.
During an interview in the studios of Television Guyana (TVG) on Saturday, Dr Reddy explained that his one-day visit here was part of a regional tour whereby he went to Trinidad and Tobago for five days and Suriname for two days before

coming to Guyana.
He noted that his main purpose was to get a first-hand view and experience of the work being done on the ground by members of the SSIO. “So, the main purpose is to meet the devotees and officers of the Organisation to see the progress and enjoy being in their company,” he posited.
According to Dr Reddy, this visit to Guyana, which happens to be his first, is an important one. “I know, as the head of the organisation, what is happening here, but there is nothing like personally visiting the place, meeting the people, having dialogue with them; it gives me a better evaluation, a better assessment of what is going on. So that (if) there is any way we can support, from the senior leadership, the work that is going on (we will do that),” the Chairman noted.
One of the main services provided by the SSIO in Guyana is medical services and, according to Dr Reddy, who also chairs the Sri Sathya Sai International Medical Committee, they would have placed special emphasis on the work done in this area.
“For example in the medical work, we (got) to know what they need – like the gynaecological and urological surgery… (So now) we can support them from our overseas medical services in other countries,” he stated.
Meanwhile, the SSIO Prasanthi Council Chairman went on to talk about education, which he said is one of the pillars of the Organisation. He explained that their founder, Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba started providing education at the primary school level. That since blossomed to providing education at the PhD level. This, like any other service provided by the Organisation, is completely free. However, Dr Reddy pointed out that the emphasis was not only on academic excellence but the character development of the individual.
“He wants a well-rounded personality, not just having a degree to eking out a livelihood, but to be able to serve the society. His students and people who work with him are his exemplars…even though this was started in India, we now have educational institutes all over the world and we also have Sai schools all around the world which teach this value-based education,” the Prasanthi Council Chairman stated.
Dr Reddy was joined during his tour by Zone 1 Chairman, for English and Dutch-speaking countries within the Western Hemisphere, Dr Philip Gosselin. According to Dr Gosselin, while they are generally pleased with the work being done by members (called devotees) here, particularly in the medical camps, they want to see more done to encourage and enlighten people about Sri Sathya Sai Baba and his work.
“What we would really like is if Sathya Sai Baba, our teacher – if more people knew about him and the human values that he espouses. The idea being that all people of goodwill, they can agree that there are certain characteristics, certain values that we all share such as love, peace, truth, non-violence and right conduct and if the world really became unified behind those values, this world could be quite a different place,” Dr Gosselin noted.
The Sathya Sai International Organisation, which is headquartered in India, is a free, non-denominational voluntary organisation based in 126 countries with about 2000 Sathya Sai Centres. Its members come from all faiths and share a common goal: to reach the ultimate goal of realisation of their innate divinity by practising the teachings of love and service taught by their spiritual teacher, Sathya Sai Baba.