Another Parthi Update by A Sai Student ~

[Guest guest]

Sairam. Well, you can guess what this update is going to be about. Yes, today

was Ashadi Ekadashi. Huge crowds from Maharashtra have arrived at Parthi to

have His Divine Darshan.

The past few days have been passing very fast. Swami has been giving Darshan

everyday, though the timings of Darshan keep varying a little. One evening, the

students of our Music College presented a music programme in the Divine

Presence. We had both Carnatic and Hindustani songs being sung by young

students. Another evening, the students of the School had put up a programme

entitled, “Dharma Vaibhava”. Here, they depicted episodes from the lives of

great people like Harischandra, Buddha and others, to show how each one of them

held up the banner of Dharma and Truth. It was a good programme, very rich in

costumes.

We all were eagerly waiting for this day of Ashadi Ekadashi. We all know that

the Balvikas and Youth wing of Maharashtra and Goa put up classic programmes on

this day in His Presence. Today was no exception!!

In the morning, Bhagawan came out for Darshan amidst Vedic chants. But soon the

Vedam stopped and a very good singer started singing beautiful Bhajans on

Vittala. Swami came and sat on the sofa. From the past two-three days, Swami is

getting down just in front of the dais and climbing up the steps to His sofa.

Then He walks holding the railings, moving from one side to the other. This is

when all can have wonderful Darshan!!

After He sat down, some organizers and coordinators offered flowers to Bhagawan.

Then began the programme entitled, “The Supreme Verdict”. A wonderful programme

– most professional – deep meaning and profound message!!

Let me very briefly tell you about the story. It is about two devotees from Kali

Yuga – Swaroop and Sarvesh. Swaroop, true to his name worships only the physical

form of the Lord, while Sarvesh, true to his name, sees the Lord everywhere. He

believes in the omnipresence of the Lord and engages himself in service to the

needy and the poor. However, each one gets lost in his own way and becomes

egoistic.

One day, Lord Yama comes with a warrant to arrest both of them. The arrest

warrant has been given on account of a complaint made by God against both of

them for having cheated Him. Swaroop and Sarvesh are unable to understand what

mistake they have committed. Both feel that they are the best and have been

most devoted to the Lord. Upon pleading innocence and on requesting for

clarification – stating that this was their fundamental right, Lord Yama agrees

to take them to the court.

In the next scene, both these young men are taken to court. One is the court of

Dvaita and the other the court of Advaita. Chitragupta presents the accused

before the Judge and also points out all the accusations made against them.

Swaroop was accused of worshipping the Lord only in the temple, he never cared

for others, spent all his time in the temple, doing Aarti, making the Lord go

to sleep, waking Him up, but was totally self-centred. On the other hand,

Sarvesh was accused of being an atheist who never visited the temple, spent all

his time serving the needy but never bothered about the Lord.

The main anchorer of the programme (acted by a sardarji boy), agrees to be the

advocate for both of them and argues their case. He tries to plead innocence on

their behalf, saying that worship of any kind is dear to the Lord. How then,

could they be accused of cheating the Lord? Devotion to the Form was as good as

Devotion to the Formless. But then Chitragupta points out how they were lost in

their ritualistic practices forgetting the true purpose of their actions. The

Judges after hearing the case arguments from both sides, give their judgments.

Both Swaroop and Sravesh are proved guilty and are sentenced to death.

Shocked by this, both gentlemen plead for an appeal!!

The next scene is the court of appeal. This scene was the climax and was very

well presented. Here the three Judges comprising the Bench were Madhavacharya,

Ramanujacharya and Adi Sankara. Guests of Honour were Narsinh Mehta, Guru

Nanak, Saint Francis, Tyagaraja and others… All of them present their views and

then the three judges present their philosophy of Dvaita, Vishistadvaita and

Advaita.

Concluding that people of Kaliyuga have got confused with all these

philosophies, they all decide to gather at the Feet of the Kali Yuga Avataar

and seek His guidance to clear all this confusion. Finally, they all get

together and an audio tape of Swami was played, where Bhagawan says “Today, man

is forgetting the true purpose of all Sadhana. Instead of seeking God within

Himself, He is seeking God outside. The true purpose of Worship or Seva is to

ultimately seek the Lord within our own heart. People say that I am Sai Baba.

This is not true. I am not Sai Baba. I am I…”

The programme ended amidst loud applause. It was a wonderful time. It was very

rich in costumes, dance, sets and of course excellent music. Catchy tunes,

rhythmic songs….Bhagawan was very very happy. He got up, got down the steps,

came amidst the children and gave all of them photographs. He stood among them

for a very long time. Prasadam was distributed – Til Chikkis, Chocolates,

Wafers…

In the evening, as Swami came out, Vedam chanting went on for some time and then

beautiful songs were sung by very good singers. One was Anoop Jalota’s song –

“Neeli Chata Ke Piche Baita Jaane Kaun Madari..” and other Sai Bhajans.

Children from Maharashtra and Goa were ready with yet another presentation.

This was on the life of Khwaja Moinnudin Chisti, popularly known as

Garib-Un-Nawaz. Born in East Persia, he finally settled in Ajmer, in North

India and spread the message of peace, brotherhood of man and fatherhood of

God. This drama too was very good. A number of beautiful sets, good songs, rich

costumes. Swami was very happy. The anchoring was done by a young boy who acted

as the embodiment of Love. Towards the end, even as he was acting, singing a

song and moving towards Swami, Swami called him closer and materialized a ring

for him. Later all the children got group photographs.

The day ended on a very happy note. All were filled with joy and cheer.

Gurupoornima falls on Friday. Brindavan students are likely to arrive soon. We

all are looking forward to His message on the occasion of Guru Poornima.

Till then…

Sairam