We also remember and pay homage today to our beloved Pujya Swami Sahajananda who had a very promising academic career ahead of him but gave it all up. Apart from the Grace Pujya Swamiji experienced, this great sacrifice of our Pujya Swamiji has benefitted us also, with two great rewards. The first being, Africa's greatest Saint and the second being the Divine Life Mission here in South Africa. Nobody can disagree that we as South Africans have indeed been blessed by both these gifts. Pujya Swamiji will always remain with us, guiding us from within. And, we have been given the guarantee by our Master himself that

"God will look after the divine work.
Lord will look after everything".

However, the opportunity is ours to overcome ourselves and take advantage of the facilities provided and to do everything possible to move in a forward direction.

At present the Society's work for the underprivileged continues unabated. The Society has completed more than 583 poverty alleviation projects to date. It cannot be over-emphasised that the success of Divine Life Society of South Africa is due entirely to the Grace of our Divine Master. Our scriptures and saints never tire of singing the glory of a God-realised Guru.

It would please our readers to learn that this year also marks the 60th anniversary of our Ashram here at Reservoir Hills which was officially opened in 1959.

In a pre-recorded ex tempore audio message, Pujya Swami Sahajananda dwelt on the importance of faith in spiritual life. He said. "If loss comes, we must bear the loss. Financial loss or any other kind of loss! Because everything is just. You are not going to make any progress if you don't have faith, if you don't accept. Because always your faith is going to come crashing down. So, you must have a lot of faith in the Law of Karma. Whatever Karma is going to work out according to what God has set, it's going to work out. If we don't take that Karma in the right spirit, then the danger is that we will forge more Karma. If we retaliate, then we are forging new Karma. If you are an intelligent person, then you will use the same Karma to develop faith in God and go nearer God. So, the gain is a lot. The loss also can be a lot.

"So, we should not get agitated when something happens. Anything can happen at any time and the Law is going to operate with great precision. Even Saints cannot escape the Prarabda Karma. So, we should not have fear‒if there is fear, then we should reduce the fear. If we want fearlessness, then we must trust in God."

It is customary on the anniversary dates to read the priceless letters written by our Divine Master to Pujya Swamiji. The instructions contained therein are valuable guidelines to spiritual aspirants. Three letters were written on this Satsang, date 11 November 1949, 2 December 1958 and 26 March 1960. The gist of these letters is as follows:

• Lust and pride are the root of all human ills. They are the enemies of peace and are the parents of a host of evils. Resort to His Lotus Feet. He will help you.
• You should not neglect your health. Meditation is the key to the Realisation of God Almighty.
• The four means viz. discrimination, dispassion, etc. are the steps or the golden stairs to the Temple of Moksha or the abode of Bliss Immortal.
• Yoga is a way of life. It starts with ethical discipline and ends in Samadhi.
• Through the Grace of the Lord you will be endowed with all divine virtues. For a sincere worker name and fame will come by itself. It cannot be avoided. But do not mind it. Treat it as a straw. Be humble always and serve. This will not affect you.
• Education should instruct one to be truthful, moral, fearless, humble and merciful.
• He who knows does not speak. He who speaks does not know.

Our sincere gratitude to our Divine Master, Sri Swami Sivananda and Pujya Swami Sahajananda for establishing and promoting the Mission in South Africa which should be treated as a means to make spiritual progress and attain union with the Divine.