Today’s feeding program was offered at the Sathya Sai Maa Moksha Dham, part of a regular program that is planned at the Ashram.   Shivaratri is just 2 days away, and the Ashram is especially beautiful today, as the small sacred Shiva temple on the grounds has been freshly renovated for this celebration of Shiva.  Everyone is ready waiting for the kids to come, and delicious smell of the foods tempts our bellies.

First come the small children of the Shirdi Sai school which is located a minute’s walk from our ashram.  These children are all from the surrounding slums and very poor. They make a very strong impression the moment they arrive, being so joyful and so, so disciplined.  They come with big smiles and bless us all with so much love. They are seated quickly and we start the feeding with our traditional chant.  The ashram comes to life with so much grace.

On February 27th, Shivaratri was held across India and all-night celebrations honored the Hindu deity, Shiva. Shiva represents supreme divine presence, absolute potential of creation, and the energy of transformation. 

Sai Maa, spiritual master and chairperson of Sai Maa Vishnu Shakti Trust, celebrates her spiritual birthday on Shivaratri. In honor of this, we offered a gifted live stream of a special Shivaratri ceremony, a Rudra Abishek, at the site of Sai Maa’s Ashram,  Sathya Sai Maa Moksha Dham.

From wherever you are, we invite you to watch portions of the webcast that took place throughout the night and receive purifying energy to bring into your own life. 

The food distribution today was in the slums of Basha Bagh Colony located near an industrial area of central Varanasi.

About 20 families live here, mostly in very small huts they have constructed from plastic and tin. To earn money these people collect garbage from the street of the city and bring it back to their homes.   Even the young children will go out on the street, sorting though the garbage dropped on the streets for items of use.  The items are then sorted into groups – plastic, tin cans, paper etc and taken back into the city to be sold.   On a good day they may get about a $1 profit.

This will be the final Sai Maa Eye Cataract camp for the 2013-2014 winter program.

It is already getting hotter here in Varanasi and the danger of infection for the eye cataract patients increases exponentially with the increase in the temperature. Infection is the single greatest factor in an unsuccessful cataract procedure. The patients get sweat in their eyes and they forget that the ophthalmologists told them not to touch the eyes at any time. It is for this reason that they are given heavy, dark sunglasses and that they are told to keep on all the time. It is not so much for the light sensitivity as it is for the villagers to remember not to touch their eyes for 6 weeks after surgery. The glasses protect them from their grandchildren sitting on their laps and mischievously touching their eyes, from accidentally banging their heads, and many other unexpected mishaps. The failure rate on the cataract surgeries is only 1 in 100, but that one person will lose that eye.

The Sai Maa Eye Cataract Surgery program is being held in Birawan district of Varanasi, near the Benares Hindu University.  This eye camp is held over 2 days and both are hosted at the offices of Dr. Richa Srivastava, a cataract and refractive surgeon.  For several years now, Dr. Srivastava has donated her offices and services to the Sai Maa Cataract Surgery program.

On Friday, February 7th, the camp is held in the morning and early afternoon. Today there is no promotion throughout the villages via loudspeakers.  This camp is for those who have already been through the program, but have yet to have their operation.  More that 54 people arrive hoping to receive their surgery.  Their vital statistics are re-checked to ensure they still qualify for the surgery.  Many have been monitored by the doctors for several weeks checking whether their condition has stabilized or improved.  18 of these applicants are selected for this round of surgeries.

The Sai Maa Eye Cataract Surgery Program is continuing.  The site of this weekend's eye camp and surgeries is the Vivekanand Mission Hospital in the city of Bhadohi, just outside Varanasi.  On Saturday, February 1st, there is the usual canvassing of the local villages.  The hospital ambulance is wrapped in Sai Maa Vishnu Shakti Trust banners and equipped with loud speakers that blare a revolving message explaining the eye camp parameters.  It tells the villagers where to go for testing for the free cataract surgeries.  All in all, the ambulance covers more than 100 kilometers delivering this community service announcement.

On Sunday, February 2, the camp runs during the morning and early afternoon.  More than 23 patients are selected as suitable, however poor vital statistics such as blood pressure, mean only 16 are able to have the surgeries today.  The remaining 7 will have to come to a program later in the winter.  There are 64 family members in attendance with the 16 patients that are having the surgeries, so the hospital is bustling with activity.