Updates From Prasanthi Nilayam - Sri Sathya Sai Archive Complex at Prasanthi Nilayam...

Karathalamalaka…

Thursday, February 21st, 2013

To indicate that a thing is clear beyond the slightest shadow of doubt, it is described in Sanskrit as "Karathalamalaka", like the berry in the palm which all can see and none can deny. Proving to the genuine doubters, who doubted the Oneness of the 'two' Sais, Bhagawan had at times shown proof, Karathalamalaka proof, as indisputable as the Berry in the Palm! Read an account from Prof N Kasturi.

When Sri Sathya Sai Baba, at the tender age of fourteen was finally brought to Puttaparthi, after months of fruitless treatment by specialists in medicine and magic, devotees flocked around Him and gained His grace, every day, in ever increasing number. Baba was all the while declaring that He was Shirdi Sai Baba and no other; He was distributing to all the Udi He got by a mere wave of His hands; He was inspiring, curing, consoling, strengthening and blessing every one, as He was doing in the previous Shirdi manifestation also. When a few doubters of the continuity and identity between the two Babas approached Him one day, He lifted His palms and holding them up to their faces, said, "Look". They looked and got Karathalamalaka proof! One palm was a shining picture of Sri Sathya Sai Baba (!) and the other was a shining picture of Shirdi Sai Baba (!) both equal in size and splendour!

This was long ago at Puttaparthi, with Baba concretely in front of the questioners. Now, listen to Sri. C. H. of New Delhi, "It was exactly three months ago. I was returning on my cycle from my office in Old Delhi to my residence in New Delhi. I had been to Puttaparthi only once and I was so fascinated by Baba that I felt eager to visit the place again. But, I must say that I could not quite understand why a village boy from Andhra should call Himself 'Baba' and relate a peculiar story about Himself that He was 'Shirdi Baba' in His previous birth. Strangely enough that day, while coming along that road, this doubt was distracting me. Suddenly, I was alerted by some one on cycle who pulled up along side of the road and accosted me thus: "Well, have you finished office?" He was an old but hefty person dressed in white, with a kerchief round his head. I said "Yes," automatically; He asked me "Then, can you come with me for a few minutes to that tomb over there; I wish to talk to you." So, we directed our cycles to that ruined tomb, riding two abreast for a furlong or two. We got down and sat on the grass, with our backs against the wall.

It was the old man who began the conversation. "My friend, you have planned to go to South… is it not? Do not cancel it or postpone it," he said. I was astounded. It nearly took my breath away. I thought I must tell him about my doubts, the absurdity of Shirdi Baba being born again etc. So, without further enquiry, I poured out my heart to that old man. He evidently relished my story, for his eyes gleamed and there was a merry laugh hovering around his lips. When I had finished, he stared at me full in the face and holding both his palms spread in front of me, commanded, "Look." I looked and (would you believe it?) one palm was a portrait of Sri Sathya Sai Baba and the other palm was a picture of Shirdi Sai Baba! When I had recovered from the exhilaration, He told me "Do not neglect this great opportunity, my boy." We both rode back and the old man turned in the direction from which He had come (!) and …… even as I was looking at Him and His cycle…… melted into thin air."

The same Karathalamalaka proof, eighteen years later! Baba materialising Himself 1500 miles away, to direct the steps of a devotee who was hesitating at the crossroads! The continuity and the identity are as indisputable as the Berry in the Palm!

 

sourced:

http://theprasanthireporter.org/2013/02/karathalamalaka/

 

To Ask Or Not To Ask…?…

Wednesday, February 20th, 2013

Is prayer aimed at satisfying one's wish desirable? Quoting instances from stories of yore, from the lives of those who were close to the previous Avatars, Lord Rama and Lord Krishna, author 'anonymous' claims that satisfaction of one's wish might come about in an altogether unforeseen and often unpalatable manner. …And what Bhagawan Himself had to comment on it? Read an extract from Sanathana Sarathi, January 1990. (written by author anonymous, 'a faltering pilgrim', from Hyderabad)

Saint Thyagaraja begins one of his compositions with the line "Adigi Sukhamu levvaranubhavinchiriraa Aadimoolama Ramaa".

We are taught to believe that, just as it is natural for parents to take care of the comforts of their children, God, the Universal Father, protects and suitably provides for those whom He has created. But man in his ignorance and with his ego regards himself as his own provider and protector and turns to God only when he finds himself at his wits' end.

We are further told that every one receives worldly benefits in accordance with his past Karma. Even those who wholeheartedly pray to God for relief from agony or seek worldly benefits from Him are reckoned as the Lord's devotees. In the seventh chapter of Gita, Lord Krishna says: "The virtuous ones who worship Me are of four kinds—the man in distress, the seeker of knowledge, the seeker of wealth and the man of wisdom, O Lord of the Bharatas." Thus the man who prays because he is in distress and the seeker of wealth too are counted among these who worship the Lord.

Forgiving man for his ignorance and out of His grace, the Lord might answer a devotee's prayer and grant him his wish. Fulfillment of one's wish might however sometimes have consequences altogether different from what the devotee had intended and looked forward to.

It is in this context that Thyagaraja says, as if blaming the Lord, "Oh, Rama, the Primal Cause of the Universe, whoever has enjoyed happiness, having asked you for it?" The composer implies that none has and goes on to give illustrations in support. Rama's divine contort Sita had once expressed a wish to spend some time in the Ashrams of the great sages; the result was that she was banished to the forest and had to live in the Ashram of Sage Valmiki. The great devotee Narada had once asked to be shown the Lord's power of Maya. He got what he wished to have but in the bargain he became entangled in the coils of worldly existence for a long time. Devaki and Vasudeva did penance to have the Lord born to them as their son; the wish was fulfilled; however, not only had they to live in prison but Devaki had only the travail of bearing the child. It was Yashoda who had the good fortune of bringing up the divine child and enjoying His pranks. Other examples too have been given in the Saint's composition but these are enough to make the point of how satisfaction of one's wish might come about in an altogether unforeseen and perhaps unpalatable manner.

In the mid sixties when Bhagawan had more time, He was gracious enough to give me a long interview. There was no one else present. During the course of the interview, I asked Bhagawan whether it was right and proper to pray to God for satisfaction of one's worldly desires; there is hardly anyone who does not pray to God for relief from worldly troubles or for satisfaction of one's cherished worldly ambitions. The embodiment of compassion that Bhagawan is, He did not condemn the almost universal tendency of praying for mundane benefits or for relief from pain and sorrow but Baba spoke at length on the subject of the appropriate reaction of a supplicant whose suffering remains unmitigated or whose ardent wish remains unfulfilled in spite of hard endeavour and devoted prayer. In His characteristic style, Bhagawan gave me a telling example, which often comes back to my mind.

In those days, there used to be a metre gauge train running between Secunderabad and Bangalore via Guntakal. Leaving Secunderabad at night, it used to reach Guntakal next morning at breakfast time. Baba said to me: "Suppose you are travelling to Bangalore by this train; before going to bed, you tell the conductor that you want breakfast at Guntakal. On arrival at Guntakal, however, you find that no breakfast is served to you in spite of your having asked for it. It is certainly the responsibility of the Railway administration to provide you with breakfast but through some mischance you do not get it and you feel not only hungry but vexed with the Railway. Your hunger and vexation will not make you abandon your journey to Bangalore. Satisfying your hunger by whatever means come your way, you will pursue your journey to Bangalore. Not only then, but as and when there is need for it, you will continue to visit Bangalore, travelling by the same train. In a similar way, even after your hard work to attain a certain worldly object and in spite of your prayer for its realisation, your efforts and prayers might some times turn out to be futile. Nevertheless you should neither abandon your endeavour nor your faith that Providence in His grace will grant you whatever is good for you according to your deserts. Your goal is spiritual progress and you have chosen, after deliberation, to follow a certain path either on account of Swami's teachings, or the preachings of some great saint. Even when you encounter worldly disappointments and the minimum worldly comforts you seek are elusive, you ought not to give up either your longing for spiritual advancement or your chosen path for attaining it."

Baba's emphasis was thus on the way one should react to "the heart ache and the thousand natural shocks that flesh is heir to."

Saint Thyagaraja concludes the composition thus "Neeke daya butti brothuvo brovavo, Nee guttu bayalaaye…" Broadly it means and implies, "whether out of Your grace you grant the devotee's wish or not is not known; but Your secret is out. While the devotee seeks one thing, You might, while apparently fulfilling his wish, do so in an unexpected manner."

It is wise, therefore, not to ask for this or that benefit but to pray sincerely, "Thy will be done." We frail humans intellectually realise what is wise but do not cease to act otherwise.

In two essays entitled "Reflections on the Lord's Prayer" Aldous Huxley suggests that the invocation, "Give us this day our daily bread", really means a prayer to the Lord for divine and spiritual nourishment – the grace of God. In the same manner, "Ask and thou shalt be given" perhaps means not that all our worldly desires will be achieved through prayer but that divine grace can be attained through intense devotion to the Lord.

II Samastha Lokah Sukhino Bhavantu II

sourced

http://theprasanthireporter.org/2013/02/to-ask-or-not-to-ask/

 

 

SRI SATHYA SAI ARCHIVE COMPLEX AT PRASANTHI NILAYAM

On the 15th of February, 2013, the Bhoomi Pooja for the construction of the 'Sri Sathya Sai Archive' Complex was performed at Prasanthi Nilayam. This Complex will have special vaults to store the valuable manuscripts, photographs and videos of Swami collected through the decades.

All the storage chambers would be scientifically built to store these treasures for centuries to come so that the audio-visual material is preserved for generations to come. This is a special legacy of the Sathya Sai Avatar.

There is also a plan for a separate chamber to keep some of Swami's personal belongings. The building is proposed to come up within the next 2 years and would be inaugurated around the 90th Birthday celebrations of Swami. The building is being constructed next to the SSSIHL Admin block. In the years ahead, on the mountblock, devotees would be able to see 3 buildings - the Sanathana Sanskruthi Museum, the SSSIHL Admin Block and the SSS Archive Complex.

It is said that this plan was blessed by Swami a few months before the Mahasamadhi.

Sri Sathya Sai Service Organisation UK
National Youth Conference 2013

Web: www.srisathyasai.org.uk/national-programmes/NYC2013/

Email: youthwing@srisathyasai.org.uk

21st February 2013

Dear Fellow Devotees,

Jai Sai Ram!

Youth all over the UK are highly excited about the National Youth Conference "How To Make OUR Life HIS Message" happening this weekend in Watford. We are very fortunate to have with us, Dr Sunder Iyer as Guest Speaker. Dr Sunder Iyer has flown in from Cleveland, Ohio to be with us. He is an alumuns of Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher learning, Prashanti Nilayam having completed his Undergraduate degree, Masters and Phd there as well as teaching for a short time at the University. He was in the first batch of students to join Swami's college at Puttaparthi in 1979 and during his days as a student had the rare and golden opportunity to be Swami's personal attendant, thereby experiencing the most intimate and rare encounters with Divinity day to day.

There will be an opportunity for all devotees to hear Dr Sunder Iyer speak, via Live Web Stream as the activities happening in the main hall will be streamed live from Friday 22nd February 7:15pm to Sunday 24th February 1pm.

Please click on the link below to stream between Friday evening (22/02) to Sunday afternoon (24/02).

http://www.srisathyasai.org.uk/national-programmes/NYC2013/livestream.php

A program of what will be streamed over the weekend will be published on the link above.

Videos and photos will also be uploaded to our Youth Conference Website http://www.srisathyasai.org.uk/national-programmes/NYC2013/

With Sai Love,

National Youth Conference Planning Team 2013

CINEMA SHOOTING IN PUTTAPARTHI FEB 20,21, 2013

Pictures of Swami's new movie shooting in Puttaparthi

February 20,2013 (Wednesday)

Om Sairam dearest Sai Family

Puttaparthi has been buzzing with so much activity for the past two days thanks to Sri.Anup Jalota (famous Bollywood and Bhajan singer) and his team who are here to film some scenes for the latest movie on Swami titled, "Sri Sathya Sai Baba" in which Sri.Anup Jalota is playing the role of Swami.

(In this photo Sri.Anup Jalota is seen coming out of Hanuman Temple in Puttaparthi)



( This photo was taken on the banks of Chitravathi River)

( A close up of Sri.Anup Jalota in his car. Really liked his wig)

This movie directed by Vicky Ranavath and produced by Sri.Balakrishnan Srivatsav came to Puttaparthi with the entire crew to film some important scenes of the movie for five days.

On the first day of the shooting, some scenes were picturised on Sri.Anup Jalota, in Ganesh gate, Hanuman Temple, Chitravathi river.

So many Puttaparthians rushed to the shooting spot to see Sri.Anup Jalota dressed up like Swami. Even though no one can look or act like Swami in a close up, the wig of Sri.Anup Jalota was nicely done. Being a long time devotee of Bhagawan, I am sure he would have felt stress and ease in equanimity.

Speaking on this occasion, Sri.Anup Jalota said that it was his great fortune that he first had darshan of Bhagawan way back in 1960 along with his father. He said he also had the great fortune to witness the day when the Sarva Dharma stupa was inaugurated in Puttaparthi. He said apart from being a mainstream singer in bollywood, he also acted in 10 films before but this film according to him is his great fortune from the previous births and also a tough one.

For those living in Bangalore please note Shri.Anup Jalota would be having a musical programme in Sai Ramesh Hall, in Swami's Brindavan Ashram, on Sunday, February 24,2013.

FEBRUARY 21, 2013, THURSDAY:

Unlike yesterday, today the crowd were doubled in number. The whole of Ganesh gate area was jampacked. The cameramen, spot boys, light boys, makeup men every one were busy running up and down. For Puttaparthians, the biggest camera that we would have seen so far probably would be those used by the RADIO SAI team and it was first of its kind experience to see huge cameras used in Puttaparthi. For a while, when i took out the cameras, light boys etc from my mind and just saw the crowd lined up on either side of the road, a very blissful joy came from within remembering those golden days of Swami's street darshans where He would slowly pass in His car, blessing us with bonus darshans. But the very next moment the thought came, WHERE HAS SWAMI GONE? He is very much here with us...

Today's shooting had few scenes picturised on Bollywood hero Sri.Jackie shroff who apparently was playing the role of a Puttaparthi Police Officer and Ms.Shadi karandaba (hope its spelt right) as his wife. The first shot was of Jackie Shroff and his wife coming out of ashram after darshan.

The next shot shifted to Sai Towers Hotel, where Jacke Shroff dressed up like a police officer arrived in a car. After coming out of his car he goes into the hotel and then comes out to get into his car.

The whole thing was wrapped up in 5 minutes and we all should wait for the film to release to see who this police officer was and what made him go to Sai Towers hotel and come out so quickly!!!!!..

As this film involves so many devotees i am sure they won't spoil it up and hurt the feelings of devotees. It would be a whole hearted attempt to portray the story of the Avatar of this Kali Age.

With the kind of information, access to the literature and state of art infrastructure it would have been nice, if RADIO SAI with the help of students who can act very well, had taken up this movie project instead of individuals from film industry. Of course all is His well.

Lets us all wish this film a grand success.

A NEW GATE OPENED IN SUPER SPECIALITY HOSPITAL:

To the relief of thousands of patients visiting Swami's super specialty hospital, a new improvised entry gate was inaugurated on Feb 21, 2013 (Thursday). All these years, patients visiting the hospital had to stand in the queue right from 2 am on wards for the gate which would open around 6 am. It was a big challenge for those poor patients most of them with heart ailments, to stand in the queue for the whole night, some times in very cold conditions and also in rains waiting for their turn.

From now on there won't be any more waiting. A new registration section separate for Cardiology and Urology was inaugurated this morning in the presence of three Trustees of Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust, Shri.Chakravarthi, Shri.V.Srinivasan and Shri.Rathnakar.

This office would be open from 8 am to 5 pm and any one can walk in and get them selves registered. Every one would be given a bar coded identity card and the time slot for hospital visit would be intimated. The patients can just come on the prescribed time and consult the doctors for further treatment. This is a very well thought idea and a big relief to the patients who now can just walk into the hospital avoiding long queues. This programme was also attended by director of the hospital, Dr.Voleti Chaudary, Dr.Neelam Desai, Former students of Swami working in the hospital and also devotees and patients.

(Shri Rathnakar inaugurating Swami's altar)

(Officials offering prayers to Swami after the inauguration)

(Shri.Chakravarthi formally inaugarating the new registration office for patients)

(Shri.V.Srinivasan lighting the lamp during the inauguration)

For more photos of these events please click this link

www.facebook.com/saimemories

With Pranams at the Lotus Feet of our beloved Lord,
R.Satish Naik

'SATHYA SAI WITH STUDENTS' BLOG UPDATE - WEEK 23

Sai Ram,

The 'Sathya Sai with Students' Blog Team presents before our readers, the articles for Week 23:

1. We continue to study Bhagavan's Discourses on the Divine life, message and mission of Shri Adi Shankara. This week, we present Part 6 of Swami's Discourse on the Life of Adi Shankaracharya.

http://sathyasaiwithstudents.blogspot.in/2013/02/shri-adi-shankarcharya-his-life-message.html

2. Brother C.N. Kshetrajna's article on 'How many friends do you have?'.

http://sathyasaiwithstudents.blogspot.in/2013/02/how-many-friends-do-you-have-by-cn.html

3. In the bygone era, one of the cherished opportunities that Swami would give students was a 'Poornachandra Session', wherein He interacted with students in the Poornachandra Auditorium in a very informal setting. In one such session in November 1998, Swami highlighted the need for His Students to be away from the currently rampant and deadly 'diseases' of hatred and jealousy. We reminisce the second part of the Divine Directions on the theme "For Jealousy, There is No Medicine - Part 2".

http://sathyasaiwithstudents.blogspot.in/2013/02/jealousy-has-no-medicine-part-2.html

4. Prof. Michael Porter (a renowned management expert from the Harvard Business School) in a landmark paper in the Harvard Business Review proposed the concept of 'Shared Value' in January 2011, wherein he highlighted the benefits of integrating societal and institutional goals for long-term success. Over two decades ago, Swami had mentioned to His students the importance of integrating societal welfare into business and personal decisions to be successful as an individual and as an institution. We read the Divine Directions on 'Creating Shared Value'.

http://sathyasaiwithstudents.blogspot.in/2013/02/creating-shared-value.html

5. In this month, world over so many musical presentations were given by vocalists in memory of the great saint Tyagaraja. Over 65 years ago, Swami too gave a musical concert! We reminisce the Divinely Musical Occasion!

http://sathyasaiwithstudents.blogspot.in/2013/02/when-did-swami-give-musical-concert.html#.USUzYh1HIvo

6. In the section on the 'Song for the Soul', from this week, we start a series of Sanskrit hymns sung every year by Swami's students extolling the glory of Lord Shiva on the occasion of Mahashivaratri in the Divine Presence in Sai Kulwant Hall. This week we have the Linga Ashtakam - Eight verses dedicated to the glory of the Lingam.

http://sathyasaiwithstudents.blogspot.in/2013/02/life-is-so-lonely-without-you-tere-bin.html

Click the link to read the full articles:

http://sathyasaiwithstudents.blogspot.in/

Visit us:

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sathya-Sai-With-Students/383848508365392

Google+: https://plus.google.com/108773725221384230860/posts

Twitter: http://goo.gl/VaH10

Please forward the link to your class groups, friends, Sai devotees and Samiti members. You could suggest to them to enter their email address on the home page of the blog so that they would get an update every Thursday.

Happy Reading!

Loving Regards

'Sathya Sai with Students' Blog Team
Sri Sathya Sai Hostel for Senior Students
Prasanthi Nilayam