Embodiments of Divine Love and Light,

Sai Ram!

On behalf of the North Central Regional officers, Conference Coordinators, and Conveners, we invite all of you for the 20th North Central Region Sai Conference and Retreat, with great enthusiasm and love.

The Theme for the Retreat is "Finding God Within". Swami says, "God is omnipresent. There is no place where you do not find God. God is always with you, in you, above you, below you. You must feel the presence of God wherever you go, whatever you may do, whether you are eating or speaking or working." Though it is easy to understand this intellectually, it is difficult to experience until we make sincere attempts through Sadhana (spiritual practices) to find God within. This Retreat, together with the Study Circles preceding the Retreat, provides us with a great opportunity to practice Swami's teachings and continuously improve our ability to find and connect with God within.

Sylvia Alden: We are fortunate to have Sylvia Alden as our Guest Speaker this year. She was brought up on a farm in the mid-western part of the United States. She is blessed by Swami to play the role of Choir Director for the Prasanthi Christmas adult choir and other international choirs. Initially, she struggled with beliefs about Jesus that she was taught as a child. She had a healing experience of Divine love in the presence of Sathya Sai Baba that helped her understand how she could live a Christ-like life. In 1978, she made her first journey to the Beloved Divine Feet of Swami. She says, "Swami’s teachings are universal. They allowed me to look more objectively at the teachings of the Christian religion. His discourses on the life of Jesus brought the real Jesus to life for me."

Christian Moevs: We are proud to have Christian Moevs from our region as the Guest Speaker. He was born from an Italian mother and an American father.  He studied philosophy at Harvard, received a PhD in Italian literature from Columbia, and since 1994 has taught at the University of Notre Dame.  He has won prizes both for teaching and for his book on the medieval poet Dante, The Metaphysics of Dante’s Comedy.  Currently he is writing a book on Dante and mysticism.  A Catholic from birth, Christian’s life changed when he met Sai Baba in 1991.  In the same year he met Don Mario Mazzoleni, and translated his book, A Catholic Priest Meets Sai Baba.  Over the past twenty years, Christian has made a dozen trips to India, served as the President of the South Bend Sai Center, taught SSE at all levels, and given a number of talks on spiritual subjects.

We are making every effort to make the Retreat truly inspiring and enjoyable to all. This Retreat will be a great opportunity to meet with hundreds of other Sai devotees from all Sai Centers in the Region. It will be a very memorable experience for all the devotees, because of the variety in programs to address the theme, while allowing enough time for leisurely interaction with the rest of the Sai family.

Please register early and help the organizing team to serve you better. You may register online using our secure website. If you need any help with registration fee or transportation, please let us know when you register.

In the loving service of Sai,

Dr. Venkat Kanubaddi, President,
Dr. Hari Conjeevaram, Vice-President
North Central Region (Region 5) USA   www.sathyasaicenters.org   retreat@sathyasaicenters.org      
 

You can download this invitation as a PDF document