The Charter of the Organisation
PERMANENT CHARTER granted by BHAGAVAN SRI SATHYA SAI BABA to the SRI SATHYA SAI SEVA ORGANISATIONS AT THE THIRD WORLD CONFERENCE, dated this 14th day of January, in the 55th year of His Advent, Anno Domini 1981. BHAGAVAN SRI SATHYA SAI BABA, out of His infinite Grace and Mercy sends blessings to all to whom this Permanent Charter shall be seen, shewed, or read.
WHEREAS the Advent of BHAGAVAN SRI SATHYA SAI BABA as declared by HIM is for the establishment of Sanathana Dharma.
AND WHEREAS this World Organisation is a Spiritual Organisation founded for the whole Mankind, not recognising any distinction or separateness on the basis of religion, caste, colour, or creed.
AND WHEREAS this Organisation takes within its fold persons belonging to all religions in order to establish unity of all faiths AND WHEREAS it is for establishing and promoting the content of such Sanathana Dharma and also to establish oneness of all thoughts that the Sri Sathya Sai Seva Organisations are taking existence.
AND WHEREAS the most fundamental object of this Organisation as laid down by BHAGAVAN is to “Awaken in Man the awareness of the Divinity INHERENT in him” by propagating through practice and example the basic principles of Sathya (Truth), Dharma (Righteousness), Shanti (Peace), Prema (Love) and Ahimsa (Nonviolence) set by BHAGAVAN SRI SATHYA SAI BABA.
AND WHEREAS to experience this Divinity, mere environment and circumstances outside are not sufficient but a change in the minds of men is necessary.
AND WHEREAS the activities of the Organisation are only a means to the spiritual progress in this direction and which progress will ultimately enable everyone to enjoy inner peace notwithstanding the stresses and strains, the frustrations and sorrows, the defeats and successes, the ups and downs of life.
AND WHEREAS to achieve maximum results towards these objectives:
It Is Hereby Declared:
A. That this shall be the Charter governing the Sathya Sai Seva Organisations.
B. That all the office bearers and members of this Organisation at present and all those who will join this Organisation shall be one in Deed and in Name, by the name of Sri Sathya Sai Seva Organisations, and as such, they shall be entitled to carry on the activities in the name of the Organisation.
C. That in order to achieve the objectives as laid down hereinabove the members shall follow a strict Code of Conduct of Sadhana (spiritual exercises) so that they become worthy instruments of our Divine Master in the efforts to fulfil the objectives of this Organisation.
D. That no person shall be qualified to associate himself/herself as office bearer or worker with this Organisation who wilfully deviates from the Code of Conduct laid down hereinafter.
CODE OF CONDUCT
That in order to remember continuously Bhagavan’s teachings and in order to put the same into practice and to be worthy instrument of our Divine Master every member must undergo, Sadhana, a spiritual discipline which should be merged with day to day life so as to make Sadhana (Spiritual Exercises) a part of his or her worldly life, and Every member shall make his or her “Family as a Unit” for such Sadhana (Spiritual exercise):
Thus with a view to qualify to be a true member of the Organisation the following shall be followed:
- Daily meditation and prayer.
- Devotional singing with members of his family once a week.
- Participation in the Bal Vikas Programme by children of the family conducted by the Organisation.
- Attendance at least once per month at Bhajan or Nagarsankeertan organised by the Organisation.
- Participation in community service and other programmes of the Organisation.
- Regular study of Sai Literature.
- Speaking softly and lovingly with everyone.
- Not to indulge in talking ill of others especially in their absence.
- Narayan Seva – some cereals to be kept separate every day to feed the needy and form habit not to waste food and putting into practice the principles of “ceiling on desires”.
Thus he or she, through practice of these Spiritual exercises, will develop the quality of selfless love, which in turn will qualify the individual to transmit to others the Divine message of Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba
E. That in view of the Objectives laid down hereinabove there shall be only one set of basic norms applicable to all the constituents of the Organisation.
F. That in order to enable the Organisation to be one in deed and name, every constituent of the Organisation must compulsorily affiliate with the Organisation in such manner as may be prescribed from time to time and in the absence of such affiliation, no person or body of persons, calling themselves Sai devotees, shall be entitled to use the name of Sri Sathya Sai Seva Organisations or Sri Sathya Sai or any variations of the same, in any in any state.
G. That the membership in any unit of the Sri Sathya Sai Seva Organisations, shall be purely voluntary and cannot be claimed as a matter of right. All rights and privileges are reserved by the Organisation. No person shall have any legal or enforceable right or claim to be a member of the Organisation or to hold any office therein.
H. No difficulty or dispute should ordinarily arise in respect of the affairs of the Organisation in course of its functioning or administration. However, matters which are not covered by this Charter or the applicable rules shall be placed before the All India President who shall be the final authority to give decision on the same including the interpretations of the rules and his decision shall be final, conclusive and binding on all parties.
(The name of the organisation and all references to it, in India, shall for all purposes be read and known as Sri Sathya Sai Seva Organisations.)