Sahtya Sai Baba Updates
|
|
|
Sunday, Jan 31, 2010 - Hyderabad youth and Mumbai children
Posted at 20:48:45 Hrs. IST on Jan 31, 2010
Six months of labour of love in the name of Bhagawan found its fulfillment on 30th Jan 2010 when the Hyderabad Youth were profusely blessed by Bhagawan with a an exclusive Divine Discourse at the Poornachandra Auditorium that lasted for more than 90 minutes. Encouraging the folks for their selfless service activities changing lives of many, Bhagawan advised them to continue the good work following the dictates of their conscience.
Starting off in His inimitable style making a mention of the illustrious life of Savitri, who with her unsullied devotion could win back the life of her husband Sathyavan from the hands of the Lord of death, Bhagawan narrated the illustrious sacrificial story of Chandramathi and Harischandra bringing home the point that Truth wins in the long run. Everything comes out of Truth and Truth alone comes to our rescue in the long run and finally everything merges back into Truth, exhorted Bhagawan.
None can escape the consequences of one’s own actions. Pain and pleasure do not persist for long. Everything is the result of reaction, reflection and resound. One should do good and remain to be good added Bhagawan, pressing the point that God is beyond any desire and is the eternal witness.
Touching upon the Upanishadic Truth that consciousness within is the Self – the Aham Brahmasmi principle, Tat Tvam Asi and Ayam Atman Brahma, Bhagawan said that none are born with any name; names are given by parents after birth; all are essentially Atman. Atma has no definite form. The So-hum, the process of inhalation and exhalation, goes on throughout one’s life which indicates that one is supreme consciousness itself.
Dwelling upon the relationships on the physical terrain, Bhagawan said, relationships are born out of illusion. In fact, there is only One exists and He is the One, the Supreme Consciousness. Referring to an incident during the visit of Kanchana Mala, film actor from early Tollywood, over forty years ago, Bhagawan drew home the point that the whole world is nothing, but an illusory puppet show. Kanchana Mala who observed long silence wanted to merge back into the Divine. She openly declared that she was one with the Divine and thus could not afford to be associated with anyone anymore. She merged back into the Divine ten days after her departure from Puttaparthi. Life is a puppet show organized and witnessed in the physical terrain, said Bhagawan declaring that Bhagawan is not separate from others.
Bhagawan further spoke about the mind, its monkey nature, meditation, God figures came out of painter’s imagination etc. before calling upon the two youth speakers for the session to interact with them on the dais.
Taking cue from what He spoke just before, upon calling the second speaker from the Hyderabad Youth, Ravi Kiran, Bhagawan asked about his name. Chiding the speaker lovingly for his ‘routine worldly’ answer Bhagawan said that the name Ravi Kiran was given by his parents for the body and his true name is Atma. Interacting closely with the speaker Bhagawan materialized a chain for Ravi Kiran blessing him profusely. “Time waste is life waste, do not waste time”. “Do not have any more illusion; do not have too many thoughts of activities, know by yourself the reality and concentrate on the principles of reaction, reflection and resound. Your own words will come back to you; action is bound to have reaction” said Bhagawan interacting with the speaker, apparently advising the assembled youth brigade.
The other speaker for the evening, Sai Gollapudi, was also called on stage and Bhagawan repeated the same question about his name. This time, having learnt from the ‘previous’ experience the speaker chose to give a wise answer. He replied: “Sai Prasad”, literally meaning the same. Upon hearing his full name “Sai Prasad Gollapudi” Bhagawan repeated the same advice given to the previous speaker telling that these are names given by parents to the temporal body and the real eternal name is “Atma” alone. He further assured the youth, “Call me by any name, I will respond…there is no difference between names….forms are based on the paintings done by Ravi Varma. To the speaker’s prayer for benediction to continue his activities with much more vigour, Bhagawan advised the youngster to go by His conscience as Swami is always there.
Earlier the session started at 4 pm with Prof. Anil Kumar starting the proceedings with his eloquent speech in Telugu that lasted for over 90 minutes until Bhagawan arrived at 5:30 pm.
Anil Kumar who had a distinguished career in the educational field, served as faculty in Andhra Christian College for 25 years. Later from 1989 to 1995, he served in the Brindavan Campus of Sri Sathya Sai University (then Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning) as Principal and afterwards is serving as faculty of Biosciences in Prasanthi Nilayam Campus.
He was introduced as the dynamic speaker and above all as the translator of Bhagawan’s Discourses. He has written dozens of books on Swami and travelled across the globe and interacted with over lakhs of devotees.
He began speaking about the predicament of different people coming to Prasanthi Nilayam. Our visit to Prasanthi Nilayam is not like the planned visits we make to other places. People who made elaborate arrangements to visit Prasanthi Nilayam could not do so due to some other preoccupations at the last moment. At the same time, people who did not have any travel plans to visit this place were drawn to this place. Our visit to this place is neither our effort nor election nor nomination, but Swami’s selection, said the learned speaker. Sri Anil Kumar said that it is the 46th year of his teaching profession. Please don’t think otherwise, “A teacher has no retirement. A teacher is an evergreen hero. A teacher needs to update himself constantly. When he does so, he becomes dear to students.”
Speaking on what is true education, Sri Anil Kumar said, “If one follows the teachings of Baba, that will suffice, one need not browse through various books nor listen to speeches by scholars. Once a hamlet, which did not have even a school or a primary health centre, has now a university, a super speciality hospital, an airport, and all these has been achieved by a single individual. Now this place, Puttaparthi is internationally acclaimed.
Only one person is responsible for all this – Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. Baba led an ideal life right from His childhood. He is a role model for all students. One should lead a simple life, and not a luxurious life in the student days. This will surely help him in later life. An Avatar incarnates to show by His own example, how an ideal life should be led, said the reputed speaker.
The erudite speaker further elaborated on Bhagawan’s life and how His life is a message for the entire humanity. Sri Anil Kumar said that Bhagawan exhorts us to run away from bad company and have the company of the good and noble to make our life ideal. Bhagawan’s life is a saga of love, we too should lead a life of love, said the speaker. Seriousness is sickness, so lead a happy life full of bliss. Religion is love, religion is celebration. Become recipients of His grace, said Sri Anil Kumar.
Though the speaker dilated at length for almost one and a half hours, the students and the dignitaries alike were captivated by the speaker’s unique style of narration of various events and they listened in rapt attention all through his speech.
Bhagawan Arrives…
Bhagawan arrived at 5:30 pm to the accompaniment of Vedic chanting. The first speaker for the session was Sai Gollapudi, who completed his higher secondary education from Easwaramma School and Sri Sathya Sai Vidya Vihar, Hyderabad. Holding a Masters in Electrical Engineering from Purdue University, Sai was a member of Scientific Staff at Nortel and had been heading the R & D Team, Nokia, until 2007. He is currently pursuing his doctoral programme in Cognitive Science at IIIT, Hyderabad.
The speaker, divulging in detail about the initiatives taken to organize and motivate the youth, was categorical in expressing his grateful thanks to Bhagawan on behalf of the Hyderabad Youth. For all that Swami has given the Youth wanted to share the joy and love with the society. Motivated by the Hyderabad Youth, the youth who were called in for the preliminary camp were co-operative and willing to listen, said Gollapudi praying to Swami for further blessings and guidance. The saga of greater effort that spanned for over six months with canvassing the youth from various educational institutions, pooling over seven to eight thousand youth, bringing them under one fold imparting awareness about value based education and service that finally culminated at the Lotus Feet with bringing over 1300 Youth were explained in detail by the speaker.
The next speaker was Sri Ravi Kiran Sripada, an MBA from Illinois University, US and the Youth co-ordinator of Sri Sathya Sai Seva Organisations, Hyderabad. Sri Ravi Kiran spoke about the "Sri Sathya Sai Reprogramming Lives Programme", an initiative by the Sri Sathya Sai Youth of Hyderabad. Over eight hundred students have been trained with right skills and thus have been benefitted by earning secured jobs under the scheme. Sai Youth working with various MNCs would assemble at Shivam Bhajan Hall at 6 pm to conduct the training programme till 9 in the night. Divulging inspiring anecdote from the lives of beneficiaries Ravi Kiran highlighted the moral transformation in many lives that have come into affect once the Reprogramming programme was initiated. Graduation Ceremony, a new concept that would motivate these almost forlorn, neglected by the society had greater impact, said the speaker narrating some heart-touching incidents in the lives of some of the beneficiaries.
The Educationists’ Conclave, as it was christened, was attended by eight Vice Chancellors from various universities from Andhra Pradesh along with scores of senior administrators from various Andhra based educational Institutions.
Bhagawan, upon coming into the Venue at 5:30 went amidst the Vice Chancellors for a brief interaction blessing them all. All the Vice Chancellors greeted Bhagawan with Roses as token of their love and reverence.
The three day Youth programme had other lecture sessions with various research scholars and faculties from Sri Sathya Sai University addressing the congregation. The speakers for the 29th evening were Sri Srinivas Srirangarajan, the Controller of Examinations, Sri Sathya Sai University, Sri Amey Deshpande and Sri Jagdish Chandra, both research scholars, and the speakers for 30th January were Sri Sanjay Sahni, Principal, Sri Sathya Sai College, Brindavan, Sri Shashank Shah and Sri Sai Giridhar, both research scholars.
On the 31st January morning, the youth were taken to the Chaitanya Jyothi Musuem giving them a visual experience of many things they have heard over the months.
In the evening, the Youth completed their three day pilgrimage with a bouquet of songs entitled “Sri Sathya Sai Sangeeta Vibhavari”, that contained eight numbers including a patriotic mix. This was followed by an array of bhajans, typical of Hyderabad Youth flavor. Bhagawan blessed the youth brigade giving away safari pieces to all the members. Bhagawan also blessed Y. Srinivas, Convener, Sri Sathya Sai Grama Seva Trust with a materialized ring. At the end Bhagawan blessed the entire contigent with a group photo session.
Bhagawan inaugurates Sai Manonmani Nurses’ Residential Complex
Earlier on 30th Jan, Bhagawan inaugurated the second phase of the Sai Manonmani Nurses’ Residential Complex, built as an extension to the existing residential complex adjacent to the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences, Prasanthigram.
The second phase, a three story block, has 48 quarters meant for inhabiting nurses and technicians.
Bhagawan arrived at the Venue at 4:10 pm on the 20th evening officially inaugurating the block by unveiling the plaque with a remote device.
Later Bhagawan went around the ground floor block blessing the personnel involved in the Mission before retiring after spending around forty-five minutes. The extension block is a loving offering from Dr. VKPillay and Family.
Dr. VK Pillay is a renowned Orthopedic Surgeon and a long time devotee of Bhagawan based in Singapore.
|
January 30, 2010 – Sri Sathya Sai Hyderabad Youth Conference – Day Two The previous day (Jan 29) many of the youth from Hyderabad had their first taste of Divinity as they basked in the joy of His darshan. On 30th, they were again immersed in His Love as eloquent speakers addressed them in the Poornachandra Auditorium. Swami was expected to grace the auditorium during the evening session.
The 3-day youth programme had other lecture sessions with various research scholars and faculty members from Sri Sathya Sai University addressing the congregation. The speakers for the 29th evening were Mr. Srinivas Srirangarajan, the Controller of Examinations, Sri Sathya Sai University, Mr. Amey Deshpande and Mr. Jagdish Chandra, both research scholars.
The speakers for 30th evening were Mr. Sanjay Sahani, Principal, Brindavan campus of Sri Sathya Sai University, Mr. Shashank Shah and Mr. Sai Giridhar, both research scholars. There were many guests of honour for the session which included vice chancellors of many universities in Andhra Pradesh like the Kakatiya University and the Osmania University. Also planned for that day’s evening was the opening of a second phase of buildings at Sai Manonmani, the nurses quarters at the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences, Prasanthigram. At about 4:10 p.m., Swami arrived out of Yajur Mandir and sitting in the car, headed straight towards the hospital. By 4:30 p.m., Swami alighted at the entrance of the new building. He was greeted by the Director of the SSSIHMS and Dr. Pillai from Singapore who had been instrumental in the construction of the new buildings. Accepting roses from the family members of the doctor too, Swami moved up the red-carpeted ramp.
He was given a remote and He pressed the button to draw away the curtains that covered the commemorative stone. A small round of claps went around the selected audience gathered there. Those sitting on either sides of the carpet handed Him letters and took namaskar. Reaching the end of the corridor, Swami lit a lamp and then cut a cake. After this, He untied the knot in the ribbon that stretched across the doorway of the building. A gentle smile erupted on His face as He did this and one could not help make an allusion to life and its problems; how He frees so easily with a touch of His hand! Swami then moved into the building corridors. It had a rectangular atrium which was well lit. Swami gazed at it and then moved into one of the flats. He asked for the senior Pillai and soon he came forward. Swami asked him about the rooms and He seemed very pleased with the construction.
After the Divine inspection, the Lord went along the corridors of the atrium and then came out of the building. There again, He spoke to all the family members who had gathered there. Then aarthi was offered and prasadam was blessed for distribution. After this, Swami got into the car and drove back towards the Mandir.
The drive which Swami takes is a sight in itself to behold. Like in the times when all the gopikas would rush out of their homes on just listening to the flute of Krishna, people rush out from everywhere onto the main road. Soon it is a riot of colours as people reverentially offer flowers to the car. Coconuts are broken by the dozen and everywhere people are waving camphor.
The road below is covered with rangoli patterns and so many have conjured this up in the short time He spent inaugurating the building! It was almost 5:10 p.m. when Swami entered the Sai Kulwant Hall. He took a round in the car and since the window was open, all the gents delighted in seeing Him. Swami arrived on the stage and sat for the bhajans. A few bhajans later, He began to enquire about the programme in the auditorium. Soon He asked for the aarthi to be done and by 5:30 p.m., began to move towards the Poornachandra auditorium. Prof. Anil Kumar was addressing the youth from Hyderabad at this venue. He was enthusing them and coming to know that Swami was arriving, he quickly concluded his speech with “Jai Bolo…” to Bhagavan. The enthusiastic youth screamed out Jaikars even as Swami entered the auditorium from the stage. A small Veda contingent led Swami from the stage to the temporary stage that had been set. On the way, Swami interacted with all the assembled vice chancellors. It was interesting that almost every vice chancellor who had come had a story. Take the VC of Osmania University for instance. Prof. V. Tirupati Rao had agreed to come for the meet but then when things got hot due to the Telangana issue, he canceled his plan. Meanwhile, Swami indicated at Puttaparthi that the gentleman would indeed be coming. The organisers seemed flummoxed.
The unrest at Osmania grew to such proportions and a student committed suicide too! In search of solace and answers, the vice chancellor had indeed arrived! The VC of Jawaharlal Nehru Technology University decided to forego the AICTE meeting to come to Swami. It is true indeed that unless He calls, none can come to Him! Swami moved up the stage and blessed the proceedings to begin. The first speaker for the session was Mr. Sai Gollapudi, who completed his higher secondary education from Easwaramma School and Sri Sathya Sai Vidya Vihar, Hyderabad. The speaker, divulging in detail about the initiatives taken to organize and motivate the youth, was categorical in expressing his grateful thanks to Bhagavan on behalf of the Hyderabad Youth. The next speaker was Mr. Ravi Kiran Sripada, an MBA from Illinois University, US and the Youth co-ordinator of Sri Sathya Sai Seva Organisations, Hyderabad. He spoke about the "Sri Sathya Sai Reprogramming Lives Programme", an initiative by the Sri Sathya Sai Youth of Hyderabad. Sai Youth working with various MNCs would assemble at Shivam Bhajan Hall at 6 p.m. to conduct the training programme till 9 in the night. He narrated many an inspiring anecdote to highlight the transforming power of love. After this, Swami consented to give His message. Here is the gist of what He said: Starting off with a mention of the life of Savitri, who with her unsullied devotion won back her husband Sathyavan's life from the Lord of death, Bhagavan narrated the sacrificial story of Chandramathi and Harischandra bringing home the point that Truth ultimately triumphs. Everything comes out of Truth and Truth alone comes to our rescue in the long run and finally everything merges back into the Truth, exhorted Bhagavan.
None can escape the consequences of one’s own actions. Pain and pleasure do not persist for long. Everything is the result of reaction, reflection and resound. One should do good and remain to be good for you are responsible for all your joys and sorrows. God is merely a witness. So cultivate values. Five human values are the ones which give live value to human life. A human can be called human only when he exhibits these values. All the worldly learning is of no use. Look at these lawyers, they carry heavy and fat books. After all, these books have the same A,B,C,D... (laughter). No use of memorising huge books if you have no values. All that you see is the reflection of your inner space... this whole world is nothing but reflection, reaction and resound. First you are one, then you marry… you become two... then you have children... you become three and four... but in fact you are only one... All this is illusion! A mother sent her child to tend to cows. He was singing loudly when he heard someone repeating his song. When he called, "Krishna", he heard the same. He thought that someone was mocking him. His mother told him that it was his own echo! When one is unaware, one makes such mistakes thinking that someone else is responsible. All are puppets in the hands of God. (Swami narrated the story of Kanchanamala, an actress who came to Him saying that she had enough of the artificial "screen life") I blessed her with peace and ten days later, she breathed her last. None are born with any name; names are given by parents after birth; all are essentially Atman. Atma has no definite form. The So-hum, the process of inhalation and exhalation, goes on throughout one’s life which indicates that one is supreme consciousness itself. You are God. All the names and forms of God too are born out of imagination. Rama, Krishna, Shiva are all from Ravi Verma's paintings.
Did he see them in person? No no! When someone asks you what is your name, tell them 'aham brahmasmi' 'tat twam asi' 'ayamatama brahma'. You say ' This is my body' that means you and the body are different. You say 'this is my mind' that means you and your mind are different. Then who are you? Inquire in this way. The greatest service you can do is to find out who you are. There is no difference between Swami and you. Swami may be sitting on this chair and you on the ground... but in fact all this is illusion, the fact is that I am you and you are Me. Swami then called the second speaker, Ravikiran and asked him what his name was.
"Swami, Ravikiran"
"That is what your parents named you. Your true name is Atma, okay?" He nodded.
Swami continued,
"What is your name?" The boy did not answer. Swami then asked, "You like Swami?" He nodded whole heartedly and Swami materialized a beautiful golden chain with His pendant. Swami then said, "Time waste is life waste, do not waste time. Do not have any more illusion; do not have too many thoughts of activities, know by yourself the reality and concentrate on the principles of reaction, reflection and resound. Your own words will come back to you; action is bound to have reaction.” The other speaker for the evening, Sai Gollapudi, was also called on stage and Bhagavan repeated the same question about his name. This time, having learnt from the ‘previous’ experience the speaker chose to give a wise answer. He replied: “Sai Prasad”, literally meaning the same. Upon hearing his full name “Sai Prasad Gollapudi” Bhagavan repeated the same advice given to the previous speaker telling that these are names given by parents to the temporal body and the real eternal name is “Atma” alone. He further assured the youth, “Call me by any name, I will respond…there is no difference between names….forms are based on the paintings done by Ravi Verma.” To the speaker’s prayer for benediction to continue his activities with much more vigour, Swami advised the youngster to go by His conscience as Swami was always there. Soon aarthi was taken and Swami agreed to move around the hall, amidst the assembled youth. But the highly energetic youth almost turned uncontrollable in their fervour to touch the Lord and gain His proximity. After moving a little, Swami was requested to return. As Swami turned, one could see some of the youth members banging their hands on their heads in agony at the missed chance.
But Swami's heart was with them. He moved to the stage and asked for the chair to be turned around. He raised both His hands in loving benediction and gave a long blessing to all assembled. It was almost 8 p.m. when He retired. One could see the oozing Love and Grace in the twinkle of His eye. |
Saturday, Jan 30, 2010
This evening, Bhagavan visted the Super Speciality Hospital here and inaugurated the new block of Nurses' quarters. Moving out of Sai Kulwant hall just after four o'clock, He returned from the Hospital an hour later. He had inaugurated the new buildings and moved through them, blessing the staff gathered there. Swami accepted Arati after twenty minutes of bhajans then moved to the Poornachandra auditorium. The Youth conference session in the Poornachandra auditorium had begun at 11 o'clock and had concluded at ten minutes to two. In the afternoon, the youth had again gathered there, with the session getting underway at ten past four. Once Bhagavan arrived, there were two short speeches, and then Swami delivered His benedictory message to the youth. Starting with the story of King Harishchandra, Bhagavan moved on to reminding the youth about their inherent divinity, speaking for nearly 90 minutes. Blessing one of the members with a chain and blessing the gathering, Swami returned to His residence at 7.45 pm. |
|
Friday, Jan 29, 2010 -Namaami Bharathiyam -Drama by Hyderabad Youth
More than a thousand young men from Hyderabad have come to Prasanthi Nilayam as part of a Youth Conference arranged by the Hyderabad Sai youth. Many eminent educationists from all over the state, including many Vice-Chancellors of Universities were also part of the group. They had a session in the Poornachandra auditorium this morning, with Prof. G. Venkataraman and Sri V. Srinivasan addressing them. In the evening, the Sai youth presented a Telugu drama in Sai Kulwant hall. Bhagavan arrived for darshan ten minutes past five, led into the hall by a group of Vedam chanting youth. He came onstage and blessed the youth leaders who came up to Him and began their 45 minute Telugu drama before half-past five.
The presentation emphasised patriotism and love for the Motherland. Bhagavan went down from the stage for group photographs with the participants before asking for the bhajans to begin. After twenty minutes of bhajans including two with alap, Swami accepted Arati and returned to His residence at ten minutes to seven. The conference had another session in the Poornachandra concluding at 9.30 pm.
|
|
Thursday, Jan 28, 2010 - More Projects blessed
Bhagavan came for darshan at 5.30 pm as the evening bhajans went on. After sitting onstage for half an hour, He came to the verandah where He blessed a devotee with a ring. He also blessed some students' project-reports onstage. It was half-past six when He accepted Arati. He then went to the interview room briefly before returning to His residence. |
|
Tuesday, Jan 26,2010 - ...Nation celebrated 60 years of Republic of India...
Posted at 12:00 Hrs. IST on Jan 27, 2010
When the nation celebrated 60 years of Republic of India with great patriotic and national fervour, Prasanthi Nilayam echoed a greater call for religious harmony that help redeeming the world from any impending disaster.
On the Republic Day evening, the Students from Sri Sathya Sai Higher Secondary School put up a drama presentation entitled, SAI – THE SAVIOUR declaring in no uncertain terms that He alone is the savior for a world that is caught in the mire of confusion.
Set in the backdrop of a religious conference aiming at redeeming the world, the drama had pointers from various religious heads hailing their respective religion to be the lone solution for the world facing impending disaster.
While Archbishop Williams representing Christianity had the glorious tales of love and compassion of Jesus Christ reminding about the promise of the son of God that the Father who had sent him would come in flesh and blood, the representative of Buddhism had the inspiring tale of transformation of Angulimala, the dacoit turned seeker of Truth. The dacoit’s heinous explorations in the forest, his meeting up with the Buddha and the story of transformation followed by King Prasanjith’s visit to the Buddha seeking protection from the dacoit were depicted driving home the point that Love alone is the most potent weapon that can bring in effective transformation. As the adjudicator went on inviting various religious leaders for their opinion, Maulana Meer Khasim Sahib, quoting scriptural inscriptions from his religion, had revealing statements about the advent of the Holy Saviour.
Pt. Rama Sastry from Banares, representing Hinduism spoke about the plight of the world that is limping with prevailing unrighteousness. Quoting Markandeya’s prophecy to Dharmaraja about the coming of the Avatar in Kali Yuga, the Pandit, dispelling doubts of the adjudicator with the help of an anecdote from Emperor Akbar’s story involving his minister Birbal, drove home the point that God alone would come in flesh and blood at times of impending global catastrophe.
At the climax scene, four more invitees of the conference, all well educated, holding esteemed positions in the society took the stage talking about a living master supposedly the Saviour of the world. Prof. Chaturvedi, an esteemed scientist from Kanchi, hinting at the advent of the Master was a delightful face while sharing his joy of being with the Master. Richard James, Director of World Bank, talking next quoting Christianity, spoke about the features of the would be Saviour whom he spelt out as the most compassionate being on earth, Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, a secret that he had never shared with his Christian community.
Substantiating the statements by Prof. Chaturvedi and Mr. Richard James, Dr. Abdul Rahman, an eminent cardiac surgeon, quoting the Islamic Religious Book in Arabic, “Ocean of Light”, spelt out the features of the would be Saviour that matches with Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. His Excellency, Justice Anand Vardhan from International Court of Law, had his claims based on Buddhistic scriptures leading to the coming of the supremely enlightened one, the would be Saviour as Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. Buddha’s declaration that he is not the single Buddha and many more Buddha’s will come in future was yet another pointer towards the coming of the Saviour.
The final scene was the story of Kalpagiri, the notorious criminal turned spiritual persona, depicting Bhagawan’s way of transformation. The notorious criminal in the guise of a saint tried to escape the law of the land. He was advised by Bhagawan to accept punishment for his crimes as none could escape the law of Karma. Kalpagiri, taking refuge in His words, obeying Him implicitly, went back to the prison wherein his death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment and finally got released on the grounds of exemplary behavior in the jail.
Towards the end the four invitees declared that they are the alumni of Sri Sathya Sai University, who were lucky to have education based on human values at the portals of the Sri Sathya Sai University, directly under Bhagawan.
Emphatic declarations by various religious leaders on the Advent of Bhagawan as the Supreme Commander of Universe reverberated the Sai Kulwant Hall marking the grand finale of the drama.
This was followed by an extensive session of interaction between Bhagawan and the cast. Coming down the dais, Bhagawan posed for photographs, interacted with many, gave away Vibhuti Prasadam to all and even materialized rings for two of the participating boys.
The boys from the Higher Secondary School, the blooming buds of Sathya Sai Educational System, get a single chance in the whole of the year to perform as an independent group. Capitalising the opportunity, the boys, raising to the occasion, spelt out the Truth through a thematic presentation that had nothing less than His own story, the story of His Advent!
The Drama had interposes with songs and dance sequences blending the story till the end. Earlier Bhagawan came out at 3:50 pm driving outside for a round. Upon returning, Bhagawan blessed the crew inside the bhajan hall after which He came onstage commencing the proceedings.
Arathi was offered at 6 pm before Bhagawan retired to Yajur Mandiram.
|
|
Friday, Jan 22, 2010 - Early darshan and a trip in the car
Yesterday and today, Bhagavan came relatively early for evening darshan and sat for a while onstage, blessing the Birthday boys. Yesterday, He arrived at ten minutes to four and later went on a drive outside the Ashram. Among those with whom He interacted onstage were the 12th class students who showed Him their Computer Science project reports. Today, He moved into the interview room after some time onstage, and later came to the bhajan hall to interact with some of the teachers there before returning to the stage to accept Arati at ten to six. |
|
|
Sunday, Jan 17, 2010 - SSSIHMS-Whitefield Celebrates 9th Anniversary
Posted at 08:30:00 Hrs. IST on 18 Jan 2010
Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences, Whitefield, Bangalore is completing nine glorious years of service to humanity on the 19th January 2010. Commemorating the anniversary, staffers from the holistic institution came down to Prasanthi Nilayam to celebrate the occasion in the immediate Divine Presence. Read on a report on the same by Sri Y. Arvind, Sr. Manager, Public Relations at SSSIHMS. Mr. Arvind is an alumnus of Sri Sathya Sai University passed out in the year 1999 with an MBA degree.
Nine years ago on the 19th of January 2001, Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, Inaugurated the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences, Whitefield, Bangalore. It is but natural that the institution should celebrate the day, rededicating itself to the serving the poorest of the poor; delivering free tertiary medical care to the needy.
On one earlier occasion the staff travelled to Prasanthi Nilayam to pray for Bhagawan’s continued blessings but were in for a surprise. Swami sternly enquired what we were doing in Prasanthi Nilayam on a working day. On hearing our reply that it was the hospital anniversary, Swami reminded us that the best way to celebrate the anniversary was to continue to serve the Patient – celebrations were secondary. Swami in His infinite wisdom taught us to use fundamental discrimination as against our individual discrimination. God first, others next, myself last. We had allowed our desire to ask for His blessings to take precedence over serving the patient thereby placing ourselves first in the equation. Swami did not lose the opportunity to drive home the lesson.
Ever since, the celebration has been a public holiday closest to 19th of January. This year 2010 it was on 17th, a Sunday. This year being the 85th year of the Avatar and also the fact that SSSIHMS - whitefield was celebrating its 9th anniversary in the first month of the year, it was felt that with Swami’s permission, we could present a small ensemble of group songs and have the heads of the institution express our collective gratitude to Swami for having given us the opportunity to serve in His Hospital.
After completing the day’s work on Saturday, the vehicles including two buses carrying 100 staff members and a cavalcade of cars, started early on Sunday around 4.30 a.m. in the morning and reached Prasanthi Nilayam by 8.30 a.m. After the morning session, the staff assembled in Double Decker Shed No 1 to practice, yet another time the group songs to be sung in front of Swami.
A short word on the preparations would lend clarity. We had planned brief talks by three senior doctors: Dr.A.S.Hegde, Director, Chairman Department of Neurosciences; Dr.Voleti Choudary, Chairman Department of Cardiac Sciences and Dr.Kolli Chalam, HOD Department of Anaesthesiology. This was to be followed by four group songs, a few back up songs just in case the Lord’s munificence granted us a longer moment and once we had exhausted our repertoire, we hoped to hand over the baton to the Bhajan group.
As was custom, we had brought a cake specially designed for the occasion. It had the five petal lotus designed decades ago by Swami Himself and first given to Prof.Kasturi as the emblem for Sanatana Sarathi magazine. But we modified it to suit the occasion. Instead of the five religions we had five images symbolizing various aspects of the hospital. Clockwise from top, we had the three domes of the main superstructure, Lord Dhanvantari, Praying hands, Comforting hands and a Doctors stethoscope. The central circle was replaced with a picture of the hospital Chandelier taken from the centre of the hall making it look like a chariot wheel. On this background was the numeral ‘9’ – symbolizing the 9th anniversary.
In the afternoon as the staff were being seated, on the white marble opposite lord Ganesha, the cake was readied inside the bhajan hall. Commonly called third block, the area in front of the Ganesha Statue inside Sai Kulwanth hall, is generally reserved for current students studying in Swami’s educational institutions and is granted to groups performing in the Divine Presence. Today we were granted the entire block, gents and ladies seated in separate groups.
The vedam chanting started at the dot of 4.00 p.m. and to our pleasant surprise and joy, Swami entered Sai Kulwanth hall a few minutes later. Quickly we arranged the cake and set it up against the pillar on the left hand side of the main portico. The primary school children not having arrived, a vast expanse was empty on the ladies side. Swami who blessed us by coming in His chair, cut across the hall and made a beeline to where we knelt with the Cake. Swami was accompanied by, Dr.Hegde and Dr.Dash while Dr. Voleti Choudary and Dr.Kolli Chalam along with a couple of managers were with the cake. Swami raised His eyebrows enquiringly and we immediately mouthed the words, “hospital anniversary, Swami”. He first went past the cake and blessed an elder on the portico then turned back to us. Even as He approached He reached out for the sliver knife and cut the cake. He then accepted a slim candle and lit the large scented Candle that stood on the cake.
Smoothly He turned to the waiting devotees and had His chair placed in the centre of the stage. With a nod He summoned the Managers leading the Choir. They offered their prayer to sing for Him and placed in His hands large cards, that had the lyrics of two newly composed telugu songs. Even as He read the lyrics Swami’s eyes glistened with love and He indicated that the programme should begin with the songs.
The first song entitled “Sharanamayya Karunamaya” was a heartfelt offering of gratitude to Swami for having blessed us to be in His proximity. This was followed by ‘Avo Sab milkar Gaye…’ A song inviting one and all to be united. The third song was ‘Dorkuna ituvanti seva’ once again an expression of Gratitude to Swami for granting us the opportunity to serve in His Mission. ‘I keep feeling your love in me’ hit the right note with all those in the hall joining in chorus. The last song, or so we thought was a new one, written and composed just a day earlier – ‘Ravoyi maa sai ma chenta ki’ (Come to us oh! Beloved Lord Sai) This song encapsulated the yearning felt by all of us at SSSIHMS, Whitefield, that has been waiting for His Divine Touch for the past two years – the last visit being on June 8th 2008.
Swami responded to the prayers in the hearts of those singing the songs and others behind the scenes with total involvement. At the end of the fifth song He beckoned to one of us and asked if we had more… and then followed the most soulful rendition of the well known song ‘Humko tumse Pyar Kitna…’ When the last words, “We love you Dearest Lord we loved you…” faded, the atmosphere was electric. The Lord wanted more and this time it was bhajans; then followed a wonderful rendition of bhajans perfectly suiting the occasion. Swami blessed the ladies group also to sing lead and they alternated with the gents group.
After a few minutes He signalled for a stop and blessed the three speakers for the day to address the audience. Dr.Hegde spoke first and in few well constructed sentences articulated the spirit of service of Swami’s hospitals. He spoke briefly including a short note on the statistics of work done at SSSIHMS, Whitefield. He concluded with a prayer to Swami to bless us that we may continue to do His Work.
Dr.Voleti Choudary spoke of the local and global reach of the Sai health care mission. He made a special reference to Swami’s hospitals being recognised both architecturally and Technologically as among the best in the world. Dr.Choudary peppered his talk with instances and anecdotes from his personal experiences as a doctor with Swami. He concluded narrating the story of a world famous singer who happened to be operated at Swamis hospital by Dr. Choudary himself. When Dr. Choudary later met the singer at a concert in United States, the singer publicly offered his gratitude to Swami’s hospitals and gratefully submitted that he owed his life to Swami’s Grace.
The last speaker for the evening, Dr.Kolli Chalam spoke in telugu and in ideal vein, alluded to Swami’s letter to his body’s Elder Brother, “Akila manavulaku anandamunu goorchi…” in which Swami Announced to the world the purpose of His incarnation. Dr.Chalam in his brief talk lucidly explained how Swami had fulfilled each of the promises made. He referred to various instances where one witnessed Swami’s Will running the hospitals citing rapid patient recovery, minimal stress conditions and many other clinical metrics that were way above the best hospitals in the world.
Swami blessed all the speakers with Padnamskar and signalled for the Bhajans to resume. Prasadam was distributed after which Swami received aarthi. He saved the best for the last, Blessing the entire concourse with both hands; a rare privilege indeed to be blessed with not one but two abhayahastas. Swami once again proved today that He responds to the strokes of our heart that say Sai we love you. The collective prayers proved too strong for Him to resist. As it is said, Love is His Greatest Asset and His Greatest Liability. He extended what was scheduled to be a 40 minute offering to two hours showering His Love, Grace and Benediction on all present. 17th of January 2010 will remain in our memory for a long, long time for it comes as a third opportunity that Swami has granted for the Staff of SSSIHMS Whitefield to come to Him as a group, growing from Vyashti to Samashti, from I to We.
It would not be fair to conclude without a mention of the effort that went in to make this possible. And add to it the fact that when Swami says “Love my uncertainty” – there is no ambiguity. Different teams worked in tandem to make the event possible. The work was distributed among all systematically with the ones responsible giving updates to the rest periodically. A special mention must be made of the music group that held practice sessions for the staff outside duty hours, for one hour everyday. The songs were also played on the PA system. The designing of the cake has been described before. Transport and logistics was handled masterfully so as to facilitate maximum staff to enjoy this opportunity. Despite all our planning, He has a master plan that He unfolds when He chooses. Rest assured, whatever He does is for our Good.
Friday, Jan 15, 2010
This evening, the students of the Anantapur campus of the University were ready with a music programme. Bhagavan was led into Sai Kulwant Hall by the brass band of the Anantapur campus at 5.20 pm. But when He reached the stage, He sat for a while as the Vedam went on, and then asked the boys to begin bhajans. 45 minutes later, He accepted Arati and returned to His residence.
Thursday, Jan 14, 2010
The stage was set for the valedictory ceremony of the Annual Sports and Cultural Meet this evening, coinciding with the Sankranti festival. The Sai Kulwant hall stage had the various prizes and trophies on display. Bhagavan arrived at 4.40 pm, ushered into the hall by the Prasanthi Nilayam brass band. Taking a round of the hall, He moved to the Bhajan hall to take a look at the arrangements made for the distribution of His gifts of love to His students. Moving to the stage, He began the proceedings at five o'clock. Mr. Sanjay Sahni, principal of the Brindavan campus, introduced the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Vishwanath Pandit, who welcomed the gathering with a brief talk. Bhagavan then blessed the medals and certificates of the prize-winners of each campus before beginning the distribution of His gifts. The Primary School had a special mention, with Swami presenting the teachers there with a large beautifully mounted portrait of Bhagavan. He then blessed the items to be distributed to each of the students. Notebooks and pen-sets for the University students, bags full of colouring kits for the small children. Young boys from the Primary School came up to the stage to receive their gifts, while the others received them where they sat. Gifts for the women teachers were also specially blessed and sent to them by Swami.
When the distribution came to a close at 6.10 pm, there were three talks by senior faculty members of the University, Dr. Pallav Baruah, Dr. Shiva Shankara Sai and Dr. T. Ravi Kumar. Swami then gave permission for the drama by the Prasanthi Nilayam students to be staged, and the area in the centre of Sai Kulwant Hall was cleared. The hour-long drama Mrithyunjaya began at seven o'clock when Swami emerged from the interview room. The stories of Ravana's unsuccessful quest for immortality and the granting of immortality to Markandeya were presented with music and dance. Bhagavan was pleased with their performance and went down among them for a short interaction before accepting Arati and returning to His residence at 8.15 pm.
Wednesday, Jan 13, 2010
This evening, the Brindavan students were to present a drama in Sai Kulwant Hall, Bhakta Tukaram. Bhagavan arrived for darshan at 5.20 pm, preceded by the Brindavan brass band, and moved to the Bhajan hall where the students were ready with costumes. After a short interaction with them, He moved to the stage and began the drama at ten minutes to six. The 70-minute drama was notable for the elaborate sets and the message of devotion of Tukaram conveyed through songs. Swami interacted with the students for a few minutes after the drama and then moved to the interview room. Just before 7.30 pm, He emerged, and Prof. Anil Kumar was asked to announce that Swami was very pleased with the drama, and that tomorrow the prize distribution ceremony would be held in the evening, followed by a drama by the Prasanthi Nilayam students.
|
|
| Tuesday,12, January 2010 |
A day after the Grand Annual Sports and Cultural Meet which has been astonishing and astounding the audiences who flock in from far and wide to witness it, there was a pleasing private sports display by His students to Bhagawan, on 12, January 2010 in the Indoor Stadium in Prasanthi Nilayam.
Bhagawan was welcomed at the Sri Sathya Sai International Centre for Sports by a troupe of Bhangra Dancers followed by a flag salute by another set of students. Even as Bhagawan descended from His car and entered into the indoor stadium, the Brindavan Brass Band was there welcoming Him with a sweet Bhajan.
The caretaker of the centre Sri ShiBhagawan visits Indoor Stadium 12 Jan 2010dev Singh gave a short talk about the successful running of the sports centre and the miracle of its construction at record time. This was followed by a display of exquisite gymnastics on Roman Rings performed by students and their coach Dimosthenis Tampakos of Olympic Fame from Greece. Dimosthenis was the gold medalist in the men's rings at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens with a score of 9.862 and also tied for first place with Jordan Jovtchev at the World Championships in 2003.
The Basketball game which followed was filled with thrills and spills. The exhibition match ended after 10 minutes with everyone begging for more.
At the conclusion of the match a special dance squad of boys gave a short yet thrilling dance display before the focus was shifted to the Volleyball court.
The 10 minute match had its fair share of smashes and subtle touches, incredible lifts and strategic passes. Bhagawan's students proved it again that they could not only coordinate and put up an event like the Annual Sports meet, but also compete with each other in the right spirit of the game standing up to every challenge.
Bhagawan retired after watching a short video clip on the evolution of sports in Prasanthi Nilayam done by Prasanthi Digital Studio.
|
|
Monday, Jan 11, 2010
The Annual Sports and Cultural Meet of the Sri Sathya Sai Educational Institutions got underway at the Vidyagiri Stadium this morning. Bhagavan arrived at the Stadium by 9.30 am, and was escorted to the stage by the marching bands of Anantapur and Prasanthi Nilayam campuses of the University. The spectators could watch the proceedings on two giant LED screens as the students marched past their Divine Chancellor.
As the ceremonial part of the inauguration concluded by 10.15 am, the Brindavan campus of the University presented their demonstration events - several dances, show-jumping on horses and motorbike stunts. The Prasanthi Nilayam campus and the boys' section of the Higher Secondary School began their presentation at 11 o'clock. They had a giant backdrop of a golden icon of Kartikeya.
Gymnastic events like basketball with trampolines and roman rings were interspersed with mass events like Chairobatics. Giant Chinese flags and kites led to the final event of Jeep stunts. It was past noon when Bhagavan accepted Arati and left for His residence, blessing the students on the way.
The afternoon proceedings began at the Stadium when Bhagavan arrived just after half-past four. The children from the Primary school welcomed Him, and presented their hour-long colourful presentation with panache. Gymnastics by the boys and dances by the girls were complemented by sprightly mass drills by tiny tots. The Anantapur campus of the Sai University then presented the concluding programme. Their action-packed half-hour included flag drills, mono- and bi-cycle stunts, balancing acts with weight-lifting bars, huge hula hoops and colourful mass formations. The conclusion was very attractive, with students waving mult-coloured LED lamps in the gathering dusk, singing their final song. Bhagavan accepted Arati at a quarter-past six and blessed the entire congregation in the stadium with both hands before returning to Mandir. |
|
Sunday, Jan 10, 2010
This evening as well as last evening, Bhagavan went to the Vidyagiri stadium to view the practice sessions of the students. Yesterday, it was the turn of the Primary School children to show their rehearsal to Swami. When He arrived in the stadium, the children were ready in their costumes in the Primary School grounds. So, taking a round of the stadium, Swami went to their school and watched their rehearsal. This evening, the march-past session was rehearsed during Bhagavan's visit to the Stadium.
The Chinese kites presented by Prasanthi Nilayam campus were also demonstrated after the marching was completed. Bhagavan arrived back at Mandir and sat for a few bhajans before accepting Arati at a quarter-past six. Prof. Anil Kumar then announced the programme in the stadium tomorrow, asking the audience to be seated there by 8 am. |
|
|
Thursday, Jan 07, 2010
Last evening, Bhagavan blessed one of the alumni with a chain during His darshan round at half-past four. This evening, He went to the Vidyagiri stadium for watching the students' rehearsals for their upcoming Annual Sports and Cultural meet. The Higher Secondary School and the
three campuses of the University presented ten-minute excerpts of their respective programmes as Bhagavan watched from the dee of the Shanti Vedika stage. It was 6.15 pm when He returned to the Mandir. Sitting onstage for a couple of bhajans while prasadam was distributed, Swami accepted Arati and returned to His residence in the car. |
|
| January 3, 2010 – Special Blessing for Sai University Alumni |
|
| This day was the official “final” day for the alumni who had gathered at Prashanti Nilayam. Emotions had run very high the previous day evening to the extent that discipline gave front seat to pining devotion. On Jan 3rd, that seemed to have calmed a bit and though many alumni had already left Puttaparthi, quite a few were still staying on for a final darshan. |
|
| It was at about 4:50 p.m. that Swami arrived for darshan. He moved through the ladies’ side and when He came in between the students, He asked for a path to be made...." Read more with photos |
|
|
|
| Saturday, Jan 02, 2010 - Alumni Home Coming - Poornachandra Session |
| "The Mother of all mothers with His unconditional love willed to bless His wards, this time He willed to bless them all with their escorts. As the “Love Story” between Swami and His students, “Alumni Home Coming”, extended to the third day on 2 Dec 2009, the spacious Poornachandra Auditorium witnessed unending excitement and greater merriment. |
|
The Lord chose to spend two precious hours with His former students inducing greater awareness about the Mission in hand, as designated senior spokespersons addressed the Alumni...Read more with photos & Report |
|
| Friday, Jan 01, 2010 - New Year Day in Prasanthi Nilayam |
Alumni of Sri Sathya Sai University, continued their Saga of Love on the auspicious New Year Day in Prasanthi Nilayam in the immediate Divine Presence.
|
|
| Singing for the Lord is altogether a different game and none else could excel in this art than His chosen students who are adept in reading the pulse of Divinity in physical frame....Read more with photos & Report |
| Also read New Year day eye witness account sent to SBOI group by a devotee from Puttaparthi |
|
|
|
|
|
Latest Darshan News & Photos
Entradas
No hay comentarios :
Publicar un comentario