INTERNATIONAL LADIES DAY DATE: SATURDAY, 18 TH NOVEMBER 2017

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1 INTERNATIONAL LADIES DAY DATE: SATURDAY, 18 TH NOVEMBER 2017

2 CONTENT Ladies Day When? Ladies Day Why? Ladies Day Feminine and Divine Women as Change Women & Leadership Reflections Role of Women Be a Mahaaraani Swami s Message

3 LADIES DAY-WHEN? Ladies Day is a special annual celebration inaugurated by Sathya Sai Baba in The day is dedicated to women acknowledging with gratitude the qualities of self-sacrifice, compassion, patience, forbearance and selfless love they display in their families and their contributions to society, indeed the nation and the world.

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5 LADIES DAY-WHY? Why Celebrate Ladies Day? Sathya Sai Baba initiated Ladies Day celebrations to emphasise to the whole world the crucial role of women in society. He has emphasised that women have a special duty to restore reverence and right action in the home. In Prasanthi Nilayam, Ladies Day is celebrated on the 19 th November each year. Swami has said: This day of 19th November is celebrated as Ladies Day in order to delve into the sacred qualities of women and disseminate them. Women are the repositories of Truth and Culture. Though earth is one, the plants vary depending on the seeds sown. The womb of mother symbolises Mother Earth. As is the seed of thought sown in it, so is the fruit it yields. You cannot expect mangoes by sowing a neem seed. So, the mother should be filled with good thoughts, good words and good deeds. Only then can her children be virtuous. Divine Discourse, November 19, 2000

6 Ms Rita Bruce, author of four fast selling books on Bhagawan including the popular Sathya Sai Parenting, has been a long time devotee. She has travelled to 18 countries overseas as a great speaker at public meetings, conferences and seminars on the Philosophy and Teachings of Bhagawan, besides being a facilitator for the material contained in her writings, especially Sathya Sai Parenting and Love of Conscience. We can ask ourselves, why did Sathya Sai Baba inaugurate Ladies Day? What was the purpose of this momentous occasion? Many ideas can come to our reasoning mind searching for an answer. Could it be that Swami thought ladies should have special recognition or perhaps, to bring awareness to the lack of equality that exists? I m sure there are obvious and not so obvious, known and unknown reasons that Swami has called attention to ladies by celebrating this event.

7 LADIES DAY-WHY? Celebration of Feminine and Divine It was on this day, Bhagawan Baba declared the 19 th of November as International Ladies Day a day marked to celebrate the feminine and the divine. Baba has always extolled women as the repositories of Truth and Culture. They are the torch-bearers of a nation, he would say. In a world riddled with growing intolerance, it is the women who can effect a positive change by nurturing, preserving and developing traditions, seeped in spirituality. A woman rooted in her divinity is an asset to the nation and world at large. She is a mother the first preceptor, the first teacher and guru and therefore plays a seminal role in shaping the future of the world.

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9 WOMEN AS CHANGE Women as Agents of Change Sathya Sai Baba makes some very powerful statements about the strength of women and the role of women as agents of change. He describes the innate sacred qualities of women as patience, fortitude, sacrifice, compassion, love and repositories of truth and culture. He teaches that in the Bhagavad Gita, it is revealed that women have seven kinds of powers whereas men have only three, highlighting that the basis of prosperity and happiness comes from women being honoured and respected. As well as having the capacity and the responsibility to transform the home, Swami reveals that women also have the power to change society. He indicates that the current degradation of society is because there is no encouragement for women to pursue these high ideals. He states that when women come up in society, the whole world will become sacred.

10 WOMEN & LEADERSHIP Ladies Day has been heralded by Sathya Sai Baba as an opportunity to remind women to develop Self confidence and Self respect. Self confidence is the first step towards Self realisation and a woman cannot transform her family or society unless she is aware of her own innate divinity. Sathya Sai Baba acknowledges the many obstacles in the path of most women in the development of this Self confidence and the pursuit of their spiritual development. He urges men to recognise and honour the importance of women as sacred agents of transformation of the world. Swami urges women to take up the reins of leadership and bring about prosperity and peace by leading ideal lives.

11 WOMEN & LEADERSHIP Women as Leaders Along with the embodiment of divine qualities comes the responsibility of women to assume leadership roles in the restoration of values-based living, peace and harmony. Sathya Sai Baba makes it clear that women have the strength and qualities to be leaders in all aspects of society family, community and nation Contemporary society is focused on the external world, including physical appearance, acquisition of wealth, status, selfishness, and chasing temporary pleasures. The world needs its women to fulfill their sacred duty more than ever. God has given women enormous strength and Swami has emphasised that women have the capacity to transform the home and also society.

12 REFLECTIONS Reflections on the Importance of Ladies Day QN: What legacy do we want to leave our sons and daughters regarding the sacred role of women? As women, are we teaching our sons and daughters by our own example our sacred role as embodiments of divine love? Are we demonstrating in the home the values of truth, love, peace, right conduct and non-violence? Do we demonstrate the value and respect we place on ourselves as women and are we reaching our own potential to be an example to our daughters? Are we demonstrating to our sons the value we place on womanhood so that they will in the future respect their own wives as partners and as mothers? As men, are we honouring and respecting the women in our lives? Do we express appreciation for their sacrifice and selflessness? Do we show our daughters by the manner in which we treat our wives and all women the reverence and respect due to women so that they will recognise and value these same qualities in a future husband? Through acting on such reflections we will be living by the highest teachings, enabling our own transformation into the divine beings we really are. Thus women by their own transformation will also help transform society.

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14 ROLE OF WOMEN Daughter Wife / Daughter-In-Law / Sister-In-Law Mother- Mother-In-Law Grandmother Great Grandmother Work at Home Work at Work Work After Work Spiritual Work Cultural Work Etc Work

15 BE A MAHAARAANI! I want each of you to be a Mahaaraani (Queen) of your household. Mahaaraanis watch the world from the inner apartments of the palace, through interstices in the wall or enclosures; they can see, but they are safe from other eyes. That is the highest sthree-dharma (Women's duty), as laid down in the Shaasthras; you should not be seen or talked about; you must be away from public gaze; you must be silent invisible partners, inspirers and teachers. If you desire that others should honour you, you should honour them too. If others must serve you, serve them first; love begets love; trust engenders trust. Self-aggrandizement and selfishness bring disaster in theirtrain. As a matter of fact, no joy can equal the joy of serving others. Be like this timepiece; show the correct time to all who desire to know, irrespective of the person who comes for the information. It has no likes and dislikes. Sathya Sai Speaks Vol 3, Chapter 24 'Be Mahaaraanis!'

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17 END OF PRESENTATION A Presentation By,