Prasanthi Bulletin, January 2nd to 7th, 2006

[Guest guest]

grounds and when all of us felt that He would proceed to the grounds, the car

turned into the College through this end gate. He came straight towards the

Computer Centre and took a left turn towards the Auditorium, Blessing all those

standing on the way. Swami spent more than an hour inside the Auditorium

watching the full drama. There were three modules, one on Saint Thyagaraja,

another on the Pandavas and the third one on Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Swami was

very involved in the entire play and made few suggestions for improvement here

and there. At 10.55 a.m. He drove out of the College Campus. His Leelas are

known only to Him. The Bhajans were going on all the while in the Mandir Bhajan

Hall right from 9.00 a.m. We expected the car to hurry back to the Mandir for

Aarti. Instead our dear Lord chose to Bless the Primary School children. The

car turned into the Primary School Campus. Swami spent around half an hour

there and finally returned to the Mandir at 11.30 a.m.

when Aarti was performed and Bhagawan retired for the morning. In the evening,

Swami came out for Darshan at 5.25 p.m. He went straight into the Bhajan Hall,

sat for a Bhajan or two and then took Aarti. He instructed the VC and Sri S.V.

Giri to get into the car and off He went to the College Auditorium to watch the

rehearsal of the drama by the Prasanthi Nilayam students. Bhagawan returned to

the Poornachandra after 7 p.m. January 2nd to 6th, 2006 As the New Year has

begun and is running on its way, the first major festival that marks the year

is the Annual Sports and Cultural Meet of the Sri Sathya Sai Educational

Institutions. This is an occasion where students of all the three campuses of

the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning, the Higher Secondary School

students and the Primary School students assemble together in Prasanthi Nilayam

to display a variety of sports and cultural programmes in the Divine Presence

on January 11th . To add to this, this year also happens to be the Silver

Jubilee Year of the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning. Established as

a Deemed University in 1981, the Institute turns 25 this year. A quarter century

of Character Building at the Lotus Feet. It is most appropriate to recall what

Bhagawan had said at the time of inauguration of this Institute. He had said

that for the transformation of humanity and to bring in peace and harmony in

the world; there is no need for a new education system or a new political order

or government; what is truly required is ‘men and women of noble character’. It

was with this noble intention that this University was started by Bhagawan

Baba. As we know, Bhagawan gets fully involved in the Sports celebrations right

from the practice sessions to the final day presentation. On the 4th of January,

Swami made His first appearance in the Shanti Vedika grounds. Prior to that, for

a few days, the devotees in Kulwant

Hall were Blessed to have wonderful Darshan of Swami. On two evenings, Bhagawan

came out on the chair and went round the Kulwant Hall along the pathway,

talking to devotees and students, taking their letters, listening to their

pleas. It was just like the earlier days except that He was seated on His

chair. On the 4th morning, Swami was in the grounds, ready to witness the

practice session. He chose to see the events rather than the March Past. The

event first displayed was the Chinese Lion dance. 60 students decked up as 30

lions began their enchanting dance interspersed with dare devil stunts on

tables and vertical structures. Swami appreciated the dance very much. As the

Lion dance concluded the Chinese drums started making their presence felt. 25

drummers beating on huge Chinese drums created a real impact. They played all

types of beats, at times dancing in a rhythmic fashion. The acrobatics from the

Higher Secondary School followed next. The Pole Drill boys from the

Higher Secondary School also made their presentation. Bhagawan sat in the car

itself and watched all the events. Surprisingly and to our delight, Swami was

again present in the grounds in the afternoon too. Now the students were more

organized and prepared to display the events. We had the Giant Wheel display

which Swami was watching even as His car was moving along. Subsequently, the

Lions came in displaying more stunts on poles and even did bamboo walking. On

the 5th morning, once again, Swami was on the grounds. He arrived at 10.00 a.m.

and stayed on until 11.00 a.m. This time Bhagawan decided to sit outside. The

chair rolled out and Swami sat on a carpet spread at the end of the Gents

gallery towards the Shanti Vedika stage. First He saw the Lion dace. They

presented several new stunts that had not been shown earlier. Swami interacted

with the coaches and the teachers in charge, giving some suggestions. Then the

Delta Force students of the Institute presented

their event – a display of physical stamina by teams of students using long logs

of wood. Jan 6th evening was a real bonanza for all devotees in the Mandir.

Swami came out for Darshan and took a full round after which He came onto the

dais to sit down in His usual place. The Brindavan students too had just

arrived from Bangalore to Parthi for participating in the Annual Sports and

Cultural Meet. After a few minutes, Swami asked His chair to be moved towards

the Portico on the gents side. He came onto the middle Portico and then moved

out onto the Gents devotees side. However, He took an abrupt turn and moved

along the students and in front of the Birthday and the Vedam group. From

there, He kept moving forward all the way to the Ladies side. Over there, He

took a full round along the usual Darshan path and came all the way towards the

Gents side. He continued along the path and completing a full circle He returned

to the interview room. All devotees and students were

overjoyed to have such a close and long Darshan. Especially the Brindavan

students were ecstatic for they were seeing Swami after such a long time. The

Divine Mother knew how Her children were pining for Her Darshan! On the other

hand the Parthi drama boys were eagerly waiting in the Institute Auditorium for

Bhagawan’s arrival. They were well prepared for presenting their drama in the

Divine Presence for His feedback and approval. Swami had sent the VC and

Registrar to the auditorium saying that He would follow them soon. They

promptly arrived at the Auditorium while Swami filled the hearts of the

devotees in the Mandir with thrill and joy! So now the drama boys eagerly await

Swami’s arrival the next morning on the 7th . The combined March Past practice

of all campuses also begins from the 7th morning. So Swami may visit the

grounds too. You can see an illustrated version of

happenings at Prasanthi Nilayam in the Prasanthi Diary of our monthly e-Journal

Heart to Heart. The previous issue of Prasanthi Bulletin is available here. The

Photo album contains photos of events of past Prasanthi Bulletins. Index of past

Prasanthi Bulletins... Source: Radio Sai Websitehttp://radiosai.org/pages/PB.htm