Sri Madhusudan Sai’s leadership has inspired a global movement of selfless service that transcends boundaries of nationality, race, and economic status, recognising the interconnectedness of all people.
New Delhi: Sri Madhusudan Sai is a humanitarian leader whose vision is rooted in the conviction that nutrition, education, and healthcare are universal human rights, not privileges. Sai believes in the inherent dignity of every human being and the moral responsibility to serve the most vulnerable.
Envisioning a world where nations, societies, and individuals support one another as family, he is driven by an unwavering commitment to uplift humanity. His leadership has inspired a global movement of selfless service that transcends boundaries of nationality, race, and economic status, recognising the interconnectedness of all people.
In an exclusive interview with India.com, Sri Madhusudan Sai talks about inner philosophy, spiritual conviction, and other aspects of human life.
- In a world often divided by identity and ideology, your message of “One World, One Family” offers a powerful spiritual alternative. How can individuals begin to cultivate this unity in consciousness in their daily lives?
Today, humanity is intent after external validation, seeking instant gratification, moving farther away from their very divine and spiritual core, which, ultimately, adds to the ever-evolving gaps, barriers and discriminating attitudes.
My message of “One World, One Family” or vashudhaiva kutumbakam is a call to action for humanity to shed their inhibitions, stop seeking external transformation and embark on their inner transformation journeys – journeys that will advance them towards their core that is pure, divine, all-encompassing!
With the millennial generation succumbing to worldly responsibilities and the gen Z living superficially, a spiritual quest may seem unachievable and even uncalled for, for many. However, realising that we all are a part of the Divine and our happiness, sorrow, success, growth, failure, quests, and beliefs are interrelated, can be grounding and refreshing for humanity today. This will not only strengthen their core but help them achieve materialistic success.
Individuals can begin to cultivate this unity in consciousness in their daily lives through self-retrospection, being on an inward journey, reflecting upon the timeless Indian vedic wisdom, implementing their learnings through small yet measurable efforts, adopting body, mind and soul-conscious lifestyle choices and more.
2. You’ve created the world’s largest free morning nutrition program and India’s first rural-focused medical college—all deeply rooted in selfless service. What inner philosophy or spiritual conviction has guided you to integrate service, education, and healthcare into such a cohesive and scalable global humanitarian mission?
I studied in the Sri Sathya Sai Educational Institutions for my graduate and postgraduate studies. The first time I visited Sri Sathya Sai Baba’s birth place, Puttaparthi, I saw the Super Speciality Hospital which offers treatment completely free of charge to all the patients. It was too good to believe that a hospital like that existed. His educational institutions bestowed free of charge education for all. I felt that here is a person who really puts into action true spirituality. ‘Love All Serve All’ is his motto and this really inspired me.
As I continued my studies there, the very presence of Baba and His true love for humanity inspired me and uplifted me. I wanted to dedicate my life for Him and His work. But based on Baba’s guidance, I took up a banking job in Bangalore, and this gave me a lot of experience in the world.
Then, when Baba left His mortal coil, I had this inner calling to do what I am born to do. I find my true happiness in serving others. This is how, from the year 2012, I was divinely driven to execute a lot of service projects including schools, paediatric cardiac hospitals, a morning nutrition programme for children, a university, medical college…etc.
By drawing my inspiration from Baba on the ideals of selfless love and service, all the humanitarian services offered by us are completely free of charge to the beneficiaries. Baba was a reviver of the ancient Indian ideals of offering health and knowledge free of charge to all. We are walking in His footsteps to work in the fields of Nutrition, Education and Healthcare, with the principle of vasudhaiva kuṭumbakam – One World One Family. A family will not charge a fee for the food served, or the education and healthcare offered. Similarly, we don’t charge our beneficiaries any money for our services.
Service for the poor, but not poor service is our model. Though everything is given free of charge, we ensure that the best quality service is given to our beneficiaries.
3. With your mission now spanning over 80 countries and receiving support from global corporations and governments, how do you envision the next phase of “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” in action—especially in a world facing growing divisions, health inequities, and spiritual disconnect?
Our Mission has now spanned to 100 countries and it reflects our firm belief that compassion knows no borders. Every child needing nourishing nutrition, empowering education and every individual needing access to quality healthcare, no matter where they are in the world, becomes our collective responsibility. Each one of them is a part of our global family, who need to be reached out to, cared for and offered all the opportunities they deserve. These beliefs and objectives have guided us so far in our global outreach endeavours.
Our Mission envisions the next phase of vashudhaiva kutumbakam in action by continuing our humanitarian initiatives in the Nutrition, Education and Healthcare verticals. Over the years, we have come to realise that different nations contend different challenges. While some nations struggle with growing mental health concerns in Youth, some struggle with elderly care, and other aspects of sociocare. Our initiatives in each country is crafted to address the unique challenges faced by the people there.
Over the years, we have had the loving support of our growing network of self-inspired spiritual seekers, like-minded networking organisations, individuals, corporates, and patrons, who ‘walk the talk’ wit us, helping us achieve milestones across the globe that were initially thought unattainable.
With the world facing growing divisions, health inequities and spiritual disconnect, our Mission and initiatives driven by actionable compassion and love for humanity, are even more crucial. The blend of compassionate care when and where needed, backed by a strong spiritual core and our ethos of One World One Family, will pave our way forward, in reaching all those in need.
4. The Annapoorna Morning Nutrition Programme now serves over 10 million children daily and has surpassed 1 billion total servings. What core principles and operational strategies have enabled it to scale across 143,000 schools while maintaining both quality and impact?
The Annapoorna Morning Nutrition programme, which started with just 50 school-going children, has clocked 2 billion+ servings till date. The statistics speaks for itself and reaffirms that compassion and selfless service can defy all barriers, borders and discriminations. Daily, 10 Million+ school-going children across 147,000 government schools in India in 25 states and 4 UTs, receive the nourishing SaiSure multinutrient supplement, which not only addresses hunger, hidden hunger and malnutrition but also contributes to their holistic growth, academic performance and more.
Our key collaborations with the State governments, such as Karnataka and Telangana, have been instrumental in scaling up our programmes. Additionally, partnerships with corporate entities under their CSR initiatives have provided vital funding and resources, enabling us to expand our operations. We have started discussions with research institutions like ICMR-NIN and IIMR to ensure that our programmes are backed by scientific research and impact assessments, allowing us to refine our strategies and improve outcomes.
5. The Sri Madhusudan Sai Institute of Medical Sciences and Research is the world’s first free-of-cost medical college located in a rural setting. What inspired this “In Rural – For Rural” model, and how does it align with your mission of inclusive nation-building?
73% of India’s rural population has access to only 25% of the urban-centric healthcare solutions. The doctor-patient ratio of 1:11,802 is a stark reality that continues to challenge India’s healthcare infrastructure. It brings quite grave scenarios to the fore – the lack of healthcare education facilities in the rural, the high price of medical education and the millions of rural candidates who never dare to dream the unfathomable. These scenarios formed the foundation of SMSIMSR and the concept of “In Rural – For Rural” model.
This is a cornerstone initiative of our Mission’s nation-building efforts as it is poised to strategically address the existing systemic disparities and pave the way for a robust, resilient and sustainable healthcare infrastructure for India. SMSIMSR is an endeavour to address the accessibility, affordability and availability barriers to healthcare service and education for the needy and the deserving.
6. You have united millions through the philosophy of “Love All, Serve All.” How this simple yet profound message can becomes a cornerstone for humanity’s spiritual evolution in the 21st century?
“Love All, Serve All” is the philosophy of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, my spiritual master, which is deeply ingrained in all of our Mission’s initiatives. In fact, it forms the very core of all of our initiatives being led by our team of self-inspired staff, patrons and partners across different walks of life. Our Mission is a testament to the vashudhaiva kutumbakam – One World One Family ethos, which inspires our belief that we all are the parts of the Divine. By loving and serving all, we reaffirm this sentiment, strive to be good and do good for all, without any discrimination. It also inspires our objective of “Leaving no one behind” as we firmly believe that unless each of us across the globe are happy, healthy, enjoy a good quality of life complete with hope, dignity and opportunities, the dream of attaining global harmony is far from being achieved.
In the 21st Century, the philosophy of “Love All, Serve All” is even more significant, especially pertaining to humanity’s spiritual evolution. Today, individuals, societies, and nations contend with multiple facets of barriers – geographical, linguistic, cultural, societal, financial, etc. Today, while most of humanity is after personal fulfilment, the spiritual journey takes a backstage. For those aspirants who wish to make an honest effort, too, the barriers and distractions pose as monumental challenges. At such a juncture, realising that we all are equal at our very core and part of the same Divinity, can only redeem us and keep us focused on our spiritual quest. However, this transformation is far-fetched until concrete examples are established through actions rather than words. So, across all our initiatives, we strive to
