'Lingodbhavam' at Puttaparthi

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     "Deccan Herald" State

       Thursday 19 Feb 2004      ‘Lingodbhavam’ at Puttaparthi

 

     Bhagawan Satya Sai Baba performed the annual miracle of    

Lingodbhavam--pulling out a golden Linga from his mouth--this year too

      By SRIKANTH SRINIVASA      DH News Service, PUTTAPARTHI

      Sri Satya Sai Baba performed the ‘Lingodbhavam’ miracle thrice at about 6

pm on Wednesday evening . The spectacle was telecast live on the spiritual

television channel Sanskaar TV. ‘Lingodbhavam’ is an annual miracle performed

by Sri Satya Sai Baba to mark the festive occasion of Mahashivaratri. This

evening, Sai Baba brought out the Linga from his mouth after consuming a lot of

water. He left the dais and performed the miracle twice again, but away from the

glare of television cameras.

 

     Incidentally, mediapersons were denied entry to witness the spectacle. When

this reporter and the photographer sought entry into Prashanti Nilayam, (the

ashram of Sri Satya Sai Baba) early this morning, security personnel refused

entry and a senior security personnel curtly said, “The ashram is not a public

place. No one is admitted into the ashram without permission. This includes

even the media. No cameras and bags are allowed inside. Pictures of the

Lingodbhavam will be provided by the ashram authorities.”

 

     Despite a formal request sent to the ashram secretary by fax a day early,

the ashram authorities did not permit the media team to enter the premises.

Efforts to meet the secretary of the ashram (Mr Chakravarthy) proved futile.

Though he (Mr Chakravarthy) was very much present in his office, he refused to

meet the reporters.

 

     Last year, Sri Satya Sai Baba had brought out a golden Linga from his mouth

measuring about three inches in length by waving his hand in full view of his

devotees. The crowd was surprised to witness the second Linga from his mouth

barely three minutes after producing the first one.

 

     It is believed that the Linga is a symbol, a sign and an illustration of

the endless and the limitless. Sai Baba’s devotees have been imploring him not

to suffer the ordeal of bringing out the Linga every year at the cost of the

god man’s health.      Governor T N Chaturvedi and Chief Minister S M Krishna

were among the VIPs who visited the ashram for Sri Satya Sai Baba’s darshan.

 

     Long queues of devotees were seen since morning with men and women waiting

for their turn to have a darshan of their Bhagwan.

 

     Source:http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/feb192004/s5.asp