Prashanthi Bulletin, 15th - 19th May 2005

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Prashanthi Bulletin

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May 19th, 2005Bhagawan came for both bhajan sessions, in the morning as well as

in the evening. 8.30 am was the time of His arrival in the morning, and around

4.15 pm in the evening. May 18th, 2005It was the grand finale of the three days

of Vedic sacrifices. The Sai Ramesh Hall was gorgeously decorated. More than ten

priests from the famous Kollur Mookambi temple were ready for the Chandi Homam

in front of the stage at the centre of the hall. At 7.15, Bhagawan arrived, and

the grand sacrifice got underway. Offerings to the Goddess included sweet

pongal, various fruits like mangoes, watermelons, pomegranates and coconuts,

flowers like lotuses, jasmine and roses, herbs, kumkum and turmeric. Bhagawan

witnessed the events till 11.15 am from the stage, except for a 30 minute break

at 9 am. At around 10.30, the Poornahuti was held. For the final two offerings,

two sarees blessed by Swami were also offered in the

Homam. Dignitaries from the state of Karnataka also attended the last session of

the sacrifice. The Governor, the Chief Minister and Home Minister were present

in the Sai Ramesh Hall for the Poornahuti. After the Poornahuti, Swami blessed

the priests with dhoties and other gifts. Then He asked Begum Parveen Sultana

and her husband Dilshed Khan to sing a Devi Bhajan. The surprise concert began

with the bhajan "Bhavani" and ended with "Sai Ram ... Sumiran karo". With this

musical conclusion, Bhagawan walked to the lift on the gents' side of the

stage, sat on the chair which came out of the Toyota Porte car, and proceeded

to Trayee in the car. In the evening, Bhagawan came at 4.30 pm, and Bhajans

were held. May 17th, 2005In the morning session, three rites including Rudra

Homam and Mrithyunjaya Homam were being performed simultaneously onstage on the

gents' side of the hall, with two or three priests attending to each. Bhagawan

arrived at 8 am and the priests began the homams. 45 minutes later, Swami went

back to Trayee, returning for the conclusion of the rites around 10 am. Once

again, Swami blessed the priests with dhotis and everyone had prasadam of

vegetable rice and a sweet. In the evening, Swami came at 4.15 and bhajans were

held till 5. Then, the Sudarshana Homam began on the ladies' side of the stage.

Bhagawan witnessed the yagna for another 30 minutes, and then went to His

abode. The yagna went on till the final offerings at 9 pm, after which prasadam

of upma and sweet was served to everyone there. May 16th, 2005At 7.20 am,

Bhagawan was brought in procession from Trayee Brindavan to the Sai Ramesh

Hall. The procession had students and priests chanting vedic hymns. A canopy

was held above Swami, and traditional items of homage, chamars, were waved to

Him. After Swami came onstage and sat at the centre of the stage for a while,

the Dhanwantari Homam

commenced at the altar constructed on the ladies' side of the stage. After

witnessing the rites for a while, at 8.30, Swami went back to Trayee. It was

announced that Swami would return for the Poornahuti, final offering of the

Homam, later in the morning. Swami returned by 9.30, and the Poornahuti

commenced by around 10.15. After the ceremony, Swami blessed the priests with

clothes and other gifts. Prasadam of mango rice with a sweet was then

distributed to all present. In the evening, Vedic chants were going on from

around 3 pm. Bhagawan arrived at around 5 pm, and Bhajans were sung for some

twenty minutes. Preliminaries were going on for the Homam on the gents' side of

the Sai Ramesh Hall stage area. Later in the evening, the sacrificial pit for

Wednesday's Maha Sata Chandi Homam was prepared, dug out in front of the

Ganesha statue at the base of the stage area. The grand Homa kunda was seven

feet deep. May 15th, 2005Being Sunday, the Sai

Ramesh Hall, including the new extension, was filled with devotees by 7 am.

Bhajans started just before 9 am, and Bhagawan arrived onstage in His chair

soon after. After fifteen minutes or so of Bhajans by the Sevadals, Swami asked

for the Arati, and returned to His abode, exiting backstage on the chair. The

Sunday Bhajans continued as usual after that, and Bhagawan returned around 3.15

pm. This time He sat for around half an hour onstage. Then He asked for the

Arati. While the Arati was going on, Swami was wheeled to the edge of the

stage, perhaps for seeing the preparations for the functions to be held the

next day. After Bhagawan went in and the Arati concluded, an announcement was

made that from the next day, that is Monday, Chandi Homam, Sudarshana Homam and

Dhanwantari Homam would be conducted in the Sai Ramesh Hall. These sacrificial

rites would conclude on Wednesday, May 18th. The Union Home Minister, Mr.

Shivraj Patil, had come for Swami's darshan. After the

Bhajan, he went inside Trayee Brindavan behind Swami.

You can see an illustrated version of happenings at Prashanthi Nilayam in the

Prashanthi Diary of our monthly e-Journal Heart to Heart. The previous issue of

Prashanthi Bulletin is available here.

Source: http://www.radiosai.org/pages/PB.htm