Report on Ganesha Chaturthi Celebrations - 18th September, 2004

[Guest guest]

The festival of Ganesha Chaturthi or Vinayaka Chaturthi is one of the most

popular festivals among Hindus. Lord Ganesha, the elephant-headed God, is one

of the most interesting and important Gods in the Hindu pantheon who is

worshipped as the remover of obstacles and difficulties, and one who bestows

Buddhi (intellect) and Siddhi (spiritual powers). Traditionally, any activity,

be it worldly or spiritual, begins with an invocation to Him.

18th Morning - Bhagawan granting Darshan in Sai Kulwant Hall

On the morning of 18th September, Bhagawan arrived at the Sai Kulwant Hall at 7

a.m. amidst Vedic chants; all the devotees and students feasted on the

beautiful divine form and filled their hearts with joy. Soon, Bhagawan was

seated on the dais and the proceedings of the day commenced. Bhagawan blessed

four speakers to address the gathering that morning. The first speaker was Sri

Deepak Anand, a research scholar in the Department of Business Management of

the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning, Prasanthi Nilayam Campus. Sri

Anand narrated a few of his personal experiences that confirmed his faith in

Bhagawan as the 'Sarvadevata Swaroopa' (embodiment of all names and forms of

Divinity). On one occasion, when he was praying fervently to Lord Hanuman atop

the hill in the Vidyagiri Stadium at Prasanthi Nilayam, the question arose in

his mind as to who was receiving his prayers – Lord Hanuman or Bhagawan. Just

then, Bhagawan

unexpectedly arrived at the stadium and drove up to Sri Anand and blessed him,

as if to acknowledge that it was He who was receiving his prayers.The second

speaker, Sri Shashank Shah, a student of the M. Phil programme in the

Department of Business Management, narrated a beautiful experience of Swami

Amritananda, a disciple of Ramana Maharishi. When he was seven years old, he

had performed a particular ritualistic worship of Lord Ganesha, the result of

which, the Shastras (Scriptures) declared, would be the vision of Lord Ganesha

in his golden-hued form. Many decades later, when he came to Bhagawan, he was

called in for an interview. There, Bhagawan reminded him about the worship that

he had performed as a young boy and asked him whether he had obtained the

promised result. Swami Amritananda said that he was only a child then and may

not have been deserving of it. But Bhagawan said that what the Shastras declare

must come true and then granted him the vision of the

golden-hued Ganesha, and thus demonstrated that He is verily Lord Ganesha.

18th Morning - A student addressing the gathering in the Divine presence

The next speaker was Sri Bharath Kumar, a final year student of the MBA

programme of the Prasanthi Nilayam Campus of the Institute. He began with the

Sanskrit quote – "Aakashad pathitham thoyam yatha gacchathi sagaram. Sarva deva

namaskaraha Keshavam prati gacchathi", meaning, just as the rain water that

falls from the skies finally merges in the sea, the obeisance offered to all

the deities ultimately reach Lord Keshava. He recounted an experience of his

where the supplication to Lord Venkateshwara of Tirupati was answered by Swami,

and thus confirmed his belief in the identity of Lord Venkateshwara and Lord

Sayeeshwara. He concluded his speech with an exhortation to all the devotees to

engage in the Sadhana (spiritual practice) of Namasmarana, the chanting of God's

name.

Sri S.V.Giri, the Vice-Chancellor of the Institute, was the next speaker. He

mentioned that Bhagawan always holds Lord Ganesha and Lord Hanuman as role

models for all the students and elaborated on the qualities that these divine

personalities embodied that must be imbibed by everyone. Ganesha, he said,

stood for the balance between knowledge and its application in practical life,

as symbolized by the huge form of Lord Ganesha riding a tiny mouse. Lord

Hanuman combined action and intelligence and was thus an able instrument in the

divine hands of Lord Rama. The Vice-Chancellor concluded his talk with a

prayerful request to Bhagawan to bless everyone with His Divine

Discourse.Bhagawan commenced his discourse with a Sanskrit saying which extols

a virtuous son as one who brings repute not only to himself, but also to

everyone in his lineage, just as the sun and moon illumine the entire world by

their light.

Lord Ganesha, He said, was such an ideal son.

18th Morning - Bhagawan delivering His Divine Discourse

Though he had no Guru or a leader above himself, he loved and obeyed his

parents. To illustrate this, Bhagawan narrated a story where Lord Shiva and

Parvati held a competition between their two sons, Ganesha and Subramanya, to

see who could circumambulate the entire world fastest. While Subramanya set out

on his vehicle – the peacock, Ganesha circumambulated his parents saying that

his parents were his world, and hence was declared the winner. Bhagawan

exhorted everyone to love and respect their parents and obey their commands.

Even if they appear to be angry, one must realize that they are verily the

embodiments of love, and that they always act in the best interests of their

children. The same is true of God and God-realized persons too, He

said.Bhagawan remarked that nowadays, unfortunately, people have neglected the

worship of Lord Ganesha. He told that everyone must propitiate Lord Ganesha,

follow

his example and thereby attain success. He concluded his discourse with the

Bhajan – "Prema muditha man se kaho…"In the afternoon, the senior students of

the Prasanthi Nilayam Campus of the Institute presented a programme on the

'Navavidha Bhakthi' – the nine-fold path of devotion.

18th Evening - A scene from the presentation made by the students

Bhagawan, in His discourses, has often mentioned that the 'Navavidha Bhakthi'

consisting of Shravanam (listening), Keerthanam (singing), Vishnu Smaranam

(contemplation of Vishnu), Paada Sevanam (service to the Lotus feet), Vandanam

(salutation), Archanam (worship), Daasyam (servitude), Sneham (friendship) and

Atma Nivedanam (self-surrender) is the royal road to salvation. The

presentation was a medley of songs, sthothrams (hymns) and skits that lucidly

illustrated the meaning, significance and practical aspects of each of these

nine steps and related it to the worship of Ganesha.

18th Evening - Arati being offered to Bhagawan

This festival is usually celebrated over a period of a few days when idols of

Lord Ganesha are worshipped in every home and workplace all over the country.

At Prasanthi Nilayam too, the students and staff of Bhagawan's institutions

erected pandals (makeshift altars) where Lord Ganesha's idols were installed

and worshipped with great ardour for three days. On the third day, 20th

September, the idols were taken out in a procession in grandly decorated

chariots to the Sai Kulwant Hall where Bhagawan blessed them all. Thereafter,

the idols were taken to a nearby pond and immersed amidst cries of "Jai" and

prayers to visit next year too.Jai Sai Ram!

Source: http://www.srisathyasai.org.in/pages/ganesh_04_report.htm

Tired of spam?

Mail has the best spam protection around