Receive my pure love with a pure heart. Make yourself holy. Live in love. Love is God. Bear in mind what Swami has said and regard Swami’s words as a beacon of light for your lives. With the light of Swami’s advice in your hearts, you can proceed on life’s journey for any length of time. Remember with love God, who is everything.
~Sri Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol 29 (1996)
SSSIO USA Mid-Central Region 4 Retreat
Sri Sathya Sai Center of Greater St. Louis
11952 Natural Bridge Rd, Bridgeton, MO 63044
Welcome Message
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
With a humble prayer asking for the blessings of our Beloved Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, I extend to you an invitation to attend the 47th Mid-Central Region 4, Annual Retreat 2024, to be held on Memorial Day Weekend, May 24-26, 2024 at the Sai Center of Greater St. Louis, Bridgeton, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis. This will be an inspirational Memorial Day weekend built around Swami’s teachings as we “Radiate Sai Light & Love”.
Our invited speaker is Leslie Farkas.
In Loving Sai Service,
Mahendran Naidu
SSSIO Region 4 President, Mid-Central Region, United States
Retreat Flyer Register for Retreat Detailed Retreat Program Nearby Hotels
Guest Speaker
Leslie Farkas
Leslie Farkas first visited Sathya Sai Baba when he was 21 in 1989. His mother Veronica was already an ardent devotee, but Leslie was very skeptical and even against this strange looking man in India. Leslie’s heart was deeply yearning for God, but he was living from his head, from the ego, thinking that he could be the master of his own life. Little did Leslie know that Swami was about to totally transformed him.
It was on Leslie’s third trip in 1992, when out of a deep existential crisis he finally surrendered to Swami. On that day of surrender the mind took a back seat and the Lord of Love became the charioteer of his life. This visit that was to last 6 months, turned into a five-year spiritual odyssey of living and serving in the physical presence of the Lord. In Leslie’s first interview in 1992, Swami asked Veronica and Leslie to run the Western Canteen. They had no prior training or experience, but with Swami’s grace, much hard work and the service of many devotees they managed, cooked, and baked feeding many hundreds and sometime thousands of devotees per meal.
When Swami would move to Bangalore they would run the Canteen there. Their vacation time from the Canteen was when they would follow Swami to Kodaikanal, Otty and other locations in India. Through his time in India, Leslie was blessed with numerous interviews, Swami’s close personal attention and deep, difficult and liberating spiritual lessons. In the last year of his stay, Swami asked Leslie to speak to visiting devotees as a Public Relations Officer, sharing Swami’s messages, teachings and his own experiences.
In 1997 Swami told Leslie it was time to leave and go back to California, where Swami would continue to guide and polish him, removing the obstacles to Union, through the miracles and drama of life. Since returning to the USA, Leslie has been working as an Electrical & Mechanical Engineer in the medical device and electric transportation fields. He continues to do service and shares his experiences and teachings of his Divine Master who resides in his heart as his very Self.
Program Details:
Hands-on Service Project: TBD
Devotional Programs: Omkaar, Suprabhatam, Veda Chanting, Nagar Sankirtan, Bhajan Sessions.
Family Fun Night: A captivating Saturday night program is being planned.
Group Discussion: SSSIO SAI100 Initiative – Devotees will lead discussions on implementation of the various components of the SAI100 initiative to intensify our spiritual journey while serving mankind and nature.
SSE presentation: TBD.
SSE Group 4 Presentation and Graduation
Above programs will be offered at no cost to participants. Meals will be provided for in-person attendees.
Samastha Lokah Sukhino Bhavantu
May All The Beings In All The Worlds Be Happy
