A Journey from Vyasti to Samasti to Paramesti

Athi Rudra Maha Yagna, Navaratri Homa and Durga Puja were conducted at Sathya Sai Grama in Muddenahalli from the 13th to 23rd October 2015 in the Divine Presence of Shiva-Shakthi Swaroopa Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. A sacred moment of transition from Kali Yuga to Sathya Yuga where it will be easier for every individual to move from Vyasti (I) to Samasti (We) to Paramesti (He). When I reached the campus in an auto, the driver in awe says, I have never seen such a big event being conducted here in all these years!

The Yagna Shaala was tastefully decorated in a traditional coastal Karnataka style using areca nut, coconut leaves and bamboo, whereas the Navaratri Homa and Durga Puja venue at the auditorium had the touch of Bengal. Prof Nanjunda Dixit was the chief priest, who was also blessed to perform ARMY at Prasanthi Nilayam and Chennai in the physical presence of the Lord. He was in the ICU on 5^thOctober just 8 days before the commencement of the Yagna. It was only due to the grace of Bhagawan, he was able to officiate the Yagna. Swami sent him vibhoothi while he was admitted in the Jayadeva Hospital and assured him that he will be healthy to conduct the yagna. The chief priest was ably supported by 121 ritwiks for 11 days.

Why did Swami organise this Yagna? Sri Narasimha Murthy explains, "He has only one purpose. Samsara Panka Nirmagna Samuddharana Pandita" Mother is adored as the One who redeems those who are stuck in the slush of Samsara. Yagna is one of the ways.

Athi Rudra Maha Yagna was WILLED by Swami. It was conveyed to Smt Girija Gopinath from Thiruvananthapuram through a dream/vision. Her son Dr Neeraj Gopinath was a Swami's student in the 80's. A year back Swami appeared in her dream and said, "It is my blessing to your family that you are going to perform Athi Rudra Maha Yagna completely at your family's cost". She asked, "Swami! How do I go about it?" Swami said, "Go to Muddenahalli, and meet Narasimha Murthy" The family immediately came all the way to Muddenahalli. Swami was driving down to go to the High School on that particular day. He saw this family standing and asked Narasimha Murthy, "Why are these Kerala people here? Find out" And when Murthy Anna got back to Swami after talking to the family, Swami said, "Yes, I have called them!"

Yagna has taken place by His will, through this family. Swami is sitting here without a physical body, but is continuing to guide, guard and is the one doing everything.

On a day prior to the commencement, Swami went about personally inspecting the Yagna Shaala, Auditorium, Food Court, Premamrutham Hall and the tents.

Water from the Holy Chitravathi River was required for the Abhisheka of Hiranyagarba Linga during the Yagna but since there was no rain, the river was dry. Devotees entrusted with getting the water prayed to Bhagawan. If it rains in Chickballapur region, Chitravathi flows in Puttaparthi. There was heavy downpour here and Chitravathi flowed in full glory. Due to the incessant rains, inconvenience was caused for the Yagna preparation. Again, there was a prayer for the rains to stop. Swami responded, "Okay, no rains!" There was not even a drop of rain thereafter until the Yagna concluded. Instances where Swami shows He is behind this subtle drama.

One of the major highlights of the Yagna was the Talk on Bhagavatha by Sri Badri Narayanan. BHAGAVATAMU -- Bha means Bhakthi (Devotion), Ga means Gnana (Wisdom), Va means Vairagya (Detachment), Ta means Tatva (Principle) and Mu means Mukthi (Liberation). It is said; King Parikshit attained the Divine Lotus Feet of the Lord by merely listening to Bhagavata. Badri, an alumnus of Swami's University in Prasanthi Nilayam was working in big corporations in US, Canada, Australia until 2012 when he got the Divine Calling to give up everything and go ahead with the task to propagate Bhagavatha to the world. But in his own words, he says, with this decision of "giving up" the material world, he had only gained manifold. He has now set up an Ashram in Melbourne, Australia. Daily 45 minutes talk on Bhagavata delivered for 11 days was an instant hit among the audience for its contemporary style of rendition. It was powerful, engaging and witty. On one of the days, after Badri finished his expositions and came to take Padanamaskara, Swami exclaimed in delight, "Yentha Bhaaga Chepthavra, Naa Katha Vini Nene Maimarachi Poyanu" (How sweetly you expound My stories, listening to My own stories I forgot Myself) and added, "Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning should take pride that the institute has produced one Badri Narayanan."

Badri concluded his Talk series with a strong appeal to the devotees. "Ramakrishna Paramahamsa was able to produce so many Jnanis as his disciples. We have all assembled here as Swami's children. It is not enough to constantly keep saying, we are Swami's devotees. Bhagawan is our teacher, our Guru. If we don't pass, it reflects badly on Him. We cannot claim to say we love Him and at the same time make Him appear as a poor teacher. If we truly love Him, on this auspicious day when Sathya Yuga has taken birth, take a pledge. Each of us should take a pledge; we will all become Atma Jnanis. We will all become Brahma Jnanis. We will all become Masters. Don't enter into Prema Sai University as students; enter into Prema Sai University as teachers. That is the Sankalpa we should all take. If we can't get it under Bhagawan as our Guru, under whom would we get it?! Can we get this opportunity again? Let us not live in the fond hope of a tomorrow when Prema Sai will come, what is wrong with Sathya Sai today? Why should we not get the truth right now, today, in His Presence? Then let us be with Prema Sai. Let Jnanis surround Prema Sai. Like Dakshinamoorthy, let Him be surrounded by Rishis. Let us all become Rishis. Swami did not come to make devotees, He came to make Himself. Once in a Discourse Swami said, Ramakrishna produced One Vivekananda, but Sathya Sai will produce thousands of Sathya Sais, not Vivekanandas. Bhagawan wants to replicate Himself amongst all of us. It will not give Him joy to look at us as mere devotees; Bhagawan will find joy when we rise up to His level. Perhaps we can blame it on Kali Yuga until today, that because of the influence of Kali we were not able to make any progress. Swami has not given us any excuses from this moment onwards. We have to rise up, stand tall and let the world know, Sathya Sai is the producer of Jnanis."

"Swami! May all these stories of the Bhagavata reside permanently in all our hearts inspiring us to have that Bhakthi and Prema towards You. Even Bhakthi may have some distance, but Prema does not have a distance. Let that Prema grow so much that we no longer are separate from You. We belong to You. We are You."

Someone asked Badri Narayanan, how is it that you narrate stories from Bhagavata so beautifully to which Badri replies, "Other narrators have just read Bhagavata. I have seen Bhagawan in action, experienced His Love!"

Sound bites from Badri's Talks that gave me a high:

"The only purpose of life is self realisation. Everything else is secondary, incidental, unnecessary!"

"Brahma Sathyam Jagat Mithya, Only He is the TRUTH, everything else is false."

"It is not our Karma that can bring us to Bhagawan, Prema alone can bring us to Bhagawan."

"Everything in this Universe is the Dance of the Shakthi".

"She ALONE exists. Everything else is just a manifestation of Her Leela"

"If you have desire, you have to seek Him; if you have no desire, He seeks you!"

"All we have to do is get appreciation from the Master. The world does not matter. What anybody thinks of us, what anybody says to us, what anybody says about us does not matter. If the Master should be pleased, if Bhagawan should be pleased, what else is required?"

Dr. Manjunath, formerly the Director of Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning, Muddenahalli Campus and currently the Director of Sri Sathya Sai Centre for Human Excellence, Muddenahalli gave a rousing speech in Kannada on the fourth day evening. He has had the distinction of working under Late Sri Madiyala Narayana Bhat (Anna) in Alike in the early 70's. He went on to become the Principal Secretary of the Chief Minister of Karnataka after working for 18 years in Vidhana Soudha (State Secretariat). Just one promotion and he would have reached the position equivalent to the High Court Judge when he got the call from Bhagawan (in the physical form) from Prasanthi Nilayam to come and take charge as the Director of the newly opened SSSIHL campus in Muddenahalli. He had a choice to make, God or a lucrative career in the Government. He, of course chose God. He revealed many things related to Anna in the Talk. Anna had a dream to set up 'Sri Sathya Sai Missionaries', an organization of Tyagajeevis for the upliftment of the society along with one's own spiritual progress. But unfortunately, Anna's life was cut short. The 60 odd Tyagajeevis were left in a very deep shock. When Anna's sister went to Swami, she got an assurance saying He would fulfill Anna's prayers. Swami said, "Now there are 60 Tyagajeevis. I will produce not just 600 or 6000 but 60000 Tyagajeevis in the days to come". Having promised this, it seemed to look like He completely forgot about it. Once, the elders from Alike even reminded Bhagawan about the promise. Swami said, I remember, I will do it. When Swami shed His mortal coil within few months of him taking over as the Director, Dr Manjunath was completely shattered. He had sacrificed a promising career to come and serve under His lotus feet and Swami had left him in the lurch, he thought. He shared how he was later introduced to Swami in the subtle form. He was made the Director of Sri Sathya Sai Centre for Human Excellence, the institute which was set up by Bhagawan in the subtle form to fulfill Madiyala Anna's prayers! The objective is the same as 'Sri Sathya Sai Missionaries' but with a more acceptable and encompassing name. This institute will produce Gurus and Jnanis. Swami has limited the students' strength to ten per class. Swami is giving so much importance to these students which He hasn't given to any other campus' students. Dr Manjunath concluded his straight-from-the-heart Talk by letting the cat out of the bag. He revealed in the public speech that Bro Madhusudan Naidu was none other than Madiyala Narayana Bhat in the previous birth!

Swami delivered the Divine Message through Brother Madhusudan Naidu on all the 11 days of the Yagna. But the Discourse delivered on 20^th October (Avatar Declaration Day) was special. Here below is an excerpt.

"Don't be like Yadavas, be like Gopikas. Yadavas thought Krishna belonged to them whereas Gopikas thought they belonged to Krishna. You know what happened in the end. You may believe it or not. This place (Muddenahalli) is a very meritorious place; it's a land of penance. In Treta Yuga, Vishwamitra Ashrama was situated in this area. Rama and Lakshmana fought against Tataki here. It is not right on our part to think that this is an ordinary place. To think that people here are ordinary is also a mistake. The same Rama came as Krishna, the same Krishna came as Sai. People around Him, who love Him, who adore Him will also be born again and again. In future you will see, the whole place will be full of saints and sages. Wherever you see, you will see ochre robes. Great devotees, saints and sages will come here. People adorning high positions like Presidents and Ministers will also come here. Our students should not think that we are studying in a small institution. It is a sacred and noble ashram. Lodging facilities are not good enough right now. I will build more and more houses to accommodate devotees. Next year all kinds of canteens will start here. There will also be a hospital. In the hall which has come up, Prema Sai will come and grant His Darshan. Sathya Sai Avatar will continue for some more years. But after sometime I will come back as Prema Sai and stay in this Ashram and grant Darshan and even teach the Truth. I am preparing this place and cultivating the heart before the advent of Prema Sai. Earlier that was the declaration, today this is the declaration."

Swami, also during the course of Discourse announced, "By next academic year, Sri Sathya Sai Sathyanikethanam (A school by Sri Sathya Sai Saraswathi Trust) will come into existence in Hassan District (Karnataka)"

He emphasized, "Sathya Yuga will be like driving in daylight while Kali Yuga is akin to driving in night. It will get easier and more people will take to the path of spirituality."

Swami's trademark wit was on public display when He said, "One family has sold their properties to conduct this Athi Rudra Maha Yagna. They prefer Proper Ties with God more than their Properties!"

Sister Bhuvana Santhanam made an announcement as per Bhagawan's command, "With multitudes of devotees pouring every day, and lack of adequate accommodation, Bhagawan in His infinite mercy and compassion has permitted the construction of a new residential block Sai Ashraya, with studio and one bedroom apartments right here for all of us."

Sri Narasimha Murthy narrated an instance, "When the land for Gulbarga campus was identified, we needed 1.19 Cr for buying the land. And our balance was Zero. We just had a week to arrange the amount. I was sitting in my room in the 3rd floor of the Hostel building. A person comes and hands over to me a cheque of amount 1.19 Cr!! Swami's work has never stopped for want of funds."

Swami was very appreciative of the devoted youths from Bengal who organised the Durga Puja. The idols were brought all the way from Bengal for the celebrations. It was in mid April when Subhajit Roy Mukherjee, a young enthusiastic devotee from Kolkata was asked by Bhagawan to organise Durga Puja during Navaratri in Muddenahalli. Immediately, the team got into action mode to get the best talent from all over Bengal to please the Lord. Swami specifically wanted the traditional Bengali style idols for the Puja. Mohan Banshi Rudra Pal, a specialist in idol making was roped in. Decorators were from Midnapur district 250 Kms from Kolkata, LED lighting from Chandan Nagar, sweets, musicians and priests. Since the right clay wasn't available here, the idols had to be made and brought from Kolkata. When Subhajit conveyed this to Swami that it was difficult to transport idols from Kolkata 2000 Kms away from Muddenahalli, Swami assured, "Right man will come at the right time". They were brought to Muddenahalli by Writer Relocations, a relocation service provider! The idols safely reached Muddenahalli in less than four days. On one of the days, as Swami looked at the idols, He said, "I had to bring in rains for the ponds to fill, so you could do the immersion here!" Sweet Lord, isn't it?

After Poornahuthi, Swami lovingly went about sprinkling the Holy water to all the devotees assembled in the Yagna Shaala waking us all up from the deep slumber into the new age of Sathya Yuga. Swami declared, Hiranyagarba Linga will find its rightful place at Sri Sathya Sai Premamrutham on 18th November 2015 when it will be installed there. Daily Abhisheka will be performed to the Linga. Athi Rudra Maha Yagna, would be conducted every once in five years, and a Maha Rudra Homa every year in Muddenahalli.

USHERING IN SATHYA YUGA IN MY LIFE

• Ushering in of Sathya Yuga in my life :) - YouTube
  Literally waking me up from the deep slumber.. Ushering in of Sathya Yuga with the sprinkling of Holy Water after the Purnahuthi of Athi Rudra Maha Yagna at ...

I had planned to attend the Yagna on the first four days and the last two days. Exactly on the fourth day, as Swami was leaving the venue in the car, He rolled down the window and asked, "When are you leaving?" I said, "I am leaving tonight, Swami!" He said, "Okay, go and come back!" (He knew I was leaving that night and also was aware I had planned to return!) And I said, "Swami! I will be here on Thursday!" The Loving Lord said, "Come back and be here!" I returned on 22^ndand stayed back up to Sunday, the 25^th October 2015 when He had called for a special Prem Deep Session in the morning followed by a seated luncheon for the volunteers, an occasion to dine with the Lord! Swami then personally came serving the ice cream to each one of us present in the hall. When He came near me, as I received the butterscotch ice cream from His hand said, "Love You, Swami!" I really did not expect I would get to say those words to Bhagawan directly, something I always wanted to say to Him.

It would be apt to sum it up with Bro Vijay Sai's words, "The only thing we need to remember today, is that when the Lord has chosen us, all He needs is our availability to just do as He says, to let go.. And the different things He has asked us, different targets He has asked us to attain, for His Mission.. When I met Bhagawan in the Sukshma Shareera for the first time in Sept 2011, He said, My Mission, will be like the Ganges gushing forth and in it, it will take everything. Nobody can stop it. The only choice you have is to let go and be a part. That's the only thing we need to do. Totally, let go. The Lord will take care of everything.