FOR OVER 22 YEARS, TILL 2013, THERE WAS A SRI SATHYA SAI CENTER IN FORT WALTON BEACH, Florida, and it was in my home for the last 15 years of that period. Over those years, I received valuable guidance from 3Bs of the Sai Organization–Ms. Bettina Biggart, Ms. Bea Flaig, and Ms. Berniece Mead, who trained me in Sathya Sai Education in Human Values (SSEHV) and the Center officers’ roles, including how best to serve as a Sai Spiritual Education (SSE) teacher. The Center verily became my heart chakra–it was the vibrant hub from which I derived energy, spiritual growth, and love. I felt Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba with us always, giving us tangible, miraculous, loving reminders of His presence.
Over time, the children attending SSE grew up and left the Center. Our service program, ‘Love for Lunch,’ which delivered food to the elderly, ended when its last recipients either passed away or were cared for by other shelters. So, the Sai Center at our home could no longer continue there. To meet with other devotees and stay involved with joint service projects, I migrated to the Pensacola Sai Center in Florida. Even as things seemed to stabilize there, COVID-19 pandemic broke out, and we stopped meeting at the Pensacola Sai Center. After that came the challenge of a newly created organization, the ‘Global Council,’ which distracted and divided the group. The new group leader left, our service projects ended, and the last of our members left. Sadly, our Sai Center was no more!
Sai’s Center Has Sai’s Love as its Center
Then Baba revealed what He had already willed–once a Sai Center, it is always Sai’s Center. When I thought that my home had ceased to be a Sai Center, it actually transformed into an ‘assisted living facility’ for my mother-in-law. We discovered her lifelong dependency on prescription painkillers and nursed her through detoxification for as long as possible. Finally, after a year and a half of loving care, we came to accept that she required care at a professional nursing home.
After fulfilling that responsibility, our home now became a refuge and safe house for our daughter and two grandsons. Our daughter had been traumatized through her divorce from an abusive, cocaine-addicted husband. Her recovery took four years. Then, just as our home grew very quiet, our financial difficulties began. We struggled for a couple of years, and finally, we lost the house to the bank, just like four of our neighbors. So, we finally moved on.
Yet, Baba was with us. Through all the beginnings and endings, through the transitions and transformations, He has been there all along. But still, once you had a Center in your home, how do you fill the void when it’s gone? And how do you continue to serve your community without a Center, without a connection, when you seem to be isolated?
Faith is the key. We must remember we are not alone. Baba is all that matters. We start with small service projects, like helping a neighbor, donating blood, or making arts and crafts to drop off at a nursing home. We serve individually or work with other service providers. Sri Sathya Sai Baba will bring the opportunities to us, responding to our genuine efforts and faith in Him.
Continued Opportunities, Continued Blessings
One day, my husband (who had been a Recreation Manager, teacher, and avid golfer) came home and joyfully announced that he was being considered for a new golf program called ‘First Tee,’ which incorporated core values and character training in children’s golf lessons.
“Guess what? This is the closest I can get to teaching Baba’s universal human values in a mainstream curriculum! Plus, I get to teach kids golf!” he exclaimed. He would be teaching nine core values - honesty, integrity, sportsmanship, respect, confidence, responsibility, perseverance, courtesy, and judgment – each one incorporated into a weekly lesson.
In the First Tee program, elitism was eliminated from playing golf. It would not be for rich kids alone anymore but open to all children, no matter if they could afford the lessons or not. The cost would be on a sliding scale. If the kids came from low-income households and qualified for a reduced rate or free lunches at school, then the lessons were offered at a reduced rate or for free! If the parents had more than one child in the class, the price was reduced. None of the parents would have to buy golf equipment because the kids would be playing with clubs, bags, and balls from the golf club. That way, if the kids didn’t like the sport, they just returned the equipment to be used by the next kid who needed it.
This is how Swami brought a tailor-made job directly to my husband. It was an answer to his prayers. Little did I know it would turn out to be a perfect fit for me as well, like an SSE class that had gone mainstream.
From 2013-2021, my husband served as the First Tee head-coach in our county in Florida, USA, recruiting three other coaches as the program expanded to seven golf courses. I worked by his side as a volunteer, helping teach kids between 5 and 16 years old. Over the last 10 years, 3,500 to 4,000 kids have completed the program in our county.
My husband always told the children, “In every other sport, you have a judge, a referee, an umpire, or an official to police your behavior. But in golf, you are your own judge. So it’s imperative that you have good character and honesty. It is how you behave when you think no one else is watching that counts. You must count your strokes and tell the truth if you make an error.”
“Your life skills are even more important than your golf skills because, face it, only a few talented kids will make it onto the pro tour (professional golf tournament). But the majority of you will go on to be successful citizens who enjoy playing golf. It enables you to play the game with your grandparents, your parents, or your bosses. What really matters is that you have fun.”
Each One of Us is His Sai Center, and We Should Grow
My husband suffered a stroke, developed Parkinson’s disease, and dementia. Hence, he is unable to play or teach golf, and I have been promoted to be an Assistant Coach one day a week in order to help the program continue.
Remembering how Swami instructed Berniece Mead that all SSE children were her children, we believe this is Swami’s program. We have treated the First Tee kids as our very own grandchildren. We’ve taught some children from when they were six years old until they graduated high school.
The most satisfying moments have been when parents have shared that playing golf brought their children focus, calmness, and good behavior at home, unlike some other sports, which seem to foster aggression or cause injury. We’ve had some special kids with Down Syndrome or Autism who came to us to learn how to behave so they could transition into the mainstream environment.
One boy, who initially could not bear to be touched, gradually allowed my husband to put his arm around his shoulder while shaking his hand for the group photo, and he received my hug with a smile. Once, a child who had lost an arm came to us. We played Zoo golf (imitating different animals). We acted like elephants, putting (golf stroke) with one hand, using it to imitate a trunk, like bats walking blindfolded, and like flamingoes limping on one leg. We all forgot the boy had only one arm. With a few coaching tips on balance and swing, he actually won a putting competition!
We’ve also had a few kids who became great golfers, going on to play at renowned Pebble Beach and John Deere tournaments, while some have received scholarships. Many joined their high school or college golf teams. The fulfillment is indescribable.
Last but not least, the entire process has made me let go of my personal and political prejudices. I realized that it was all Swami’s work. Just like the Beatles’ song, ‘Hey, Jude’ says, “Take a sad song and make it better,” can our involvement make the activity we are involved in better? That’s what Swami did. He made golf better by removing its impurities: elitism, racism, expense, and waste. He made us better people, having coached the children in core values, just as He had taught me strictly as an SSE teacher.
So, if you find yourself without a nearby ‘Sai Center,’ don’t worry, be happy. You can bloom where you are planted and grow into a Sai Center yourself. Life is full of beginnings, endings, transitions, and transformations, and you don’t know sometimes how things will turn out. Just have faith. Swami will show you the need, bring you the opportunity, and fulfill the desires of your heart, making it your true Sai’s Center!
Ms. Jorja Kelley worked at the Kansas State University, Physics Department and also as a defense contractor at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. She was on the Joint Electromagnetic Interference (JEMI) Joint Test Force, building classified databases. She is certified as an Industrial Defense Facility Security Officer. She met Ms. Somalatha Calnaido in 1987, who led her to Swami, by sharing with her the darshan video, “The Message of Love,” by Cosby Powell. When she heard Cosby read Swami’s quote, “There is only one religion, the religion of love, there is only one language, the language of the heart, there is only one caste, the caste of humanity, and there is only one God, and He is omnipresent,” she realized that Sri Sathya Sai Baba was her God, her Father, and her Godfather. Swami changed her career to that of a professional writer and also led her to write SSSIO service articles since 1992.
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First published in Eternal Companion Vol. 3, Iss. 5