Christmas in Prashnti Nilayam

[Guest guest]

on January 11 every year. In this issue we bring a detailed report of the

Christmas festival, one of the most joyful in the Prashanti calendar, as people

from all over the world gather here for many days, living and practising

together, in true brotherly love and harmony, so that they can present their

best programmes in front of the Lord. This year too devotees

from overseas, estimated at 3,000 to 3,500 people, gathered here to celebrate

the birth of Christ and ring out the old year and usher in the new.

Traditionally in the Western world, the nuclear families that live apart the

whole year come home for a full family reunion at Thanksgiving and Christmas.

So Christmas is a cherished time of the year that everyone looks forward to, in

order to see and be with their loved ones. But these devotees had come to their

real home - to be with their divine Father and Mother and their brothers and

sisters from all over the world. They all come quite early and some bring

their musical instruments with them. Christmas organising committees are then

formed - with a decoration committee, an adult choir and a children's choir

committee and so on and they even have their own seva dal to help wherever

needed. ORGANISING THE ADULT CHOIR What motivates the hundreds of

devotees that form part of the adult choir to come

here year after year? What drives them to put up with great personal

difficulties and inconvenience? What inspires them that they spend long arduous

hours in practise? Let us hear a first hand account from one devotee:

"Christmas in the Divine Presence is an incredibly thrilling, learning and

loving experience. Swami brings us from all parts of the world, with different

languages, cultures and past experiences, and shows us how to be as one. Many

come with expectations of just how Christmas must be celebrated. Others, having

arrived for the first time, come with no experience of being in the Divine

physical Presence of our Beloved Swami. The love energy that emanates from Him

fills us all with awe and the yearning to do that

which will please Him. Emotions and devotion are both very much in evidence. For

many, the feeling can be one of remembering past Christmases with fondness and

for others there is healing of memories that had caused pain. With so

many from differing areas of the world coming together to sing as one, one must

be ready for the very real experience of practising the Human Values, as taught

by dear Swami. There are challenges

enough to allow all to practise patience, perseverance and, by His Grace,

purity. Perhaps one of the most difficult for many from the West, is sitting

for hours on the floor. Western knees and backs are not used to the floor.

Further, by necessity, the seating has to be close. Both of these challenges

give the opportunity to overcome the noisy complaining of the body. Many of us

are used to much space and the need to pull oneself together, as it were, is

new to many. Much patience is needed. Language becomes an opportunity to

overcome shyness. We learn to talk with hands, smiles, nods and singing.

The Staff at the Ashram are ready and willing to give us all the help and

cooperation that one could wish for. By Swami's Grace, we are always given a

venue in which to practise. These practices comprise about 4 hours a day (2 in

the morning and 2 hours in the afternoon) for the singers. The musicians add

three more hours to this time. Beyond the time spent in actual practice, are

the times spent learning the texts and melodies. It is indeed a full schedule.

There are occasions when either darshan and/or bhajans must be missed due to

the duty of attending practice. The attempt is made to make these times as

infrequent as possible. For the musicians, however, the many hours spent

rehearsing means Swami must be experienced on the inside. Fortunately, Swami

makes His loving Presence felt with unmistakable clarity. These are the times

when tears of joy and gratitude flow freely. His love is what makes all

of this possible. For some, the combination of music and text that extol our

love for Swami, bring tears of relief and healing. Does everything move

easily and without any bumps and jumps? Of course not! How could we learn to

adjust and humble ourselves if all went smoothly? By Swami's Grace, we are

provided with plenty of opportunities to learn and grow spiritually. There are

the times when people are very tired and communication breaks down. We have the

chance to use our words with loving care and if we fail, there will be another

time when, by His Grace, we will listen carefully and speak lovingly. Often the

program for Christmas Eve, which contains Praise and Worship songs for Swami, is

worked on all

year. Many people keep their ears and hearts open to the words and melodies that

express their love for our Beloved Bhagavan. However, when we arrive at

Prashanti Nilayam, the time line is shortened. Many projects need to

be completed in a very short period of time. It has been my experience that

Swami will send the perfect person at the perfect time. For example, the choir

may be working on music that cries for a flute. With no effort

on our part, someone will show up and ask if we could use a flute player. The

quality of the musical talent is incredible. Professional musicians from

throughout the world come bringing their instruments so that they can have the

blessing of playing before Swami. It is when these challenges arise that the

Human Values really come into play. Someone may come with a song that they have

composed out of their love for Swami. This person will want to have their love

sung for Swami. However, the music may not be appropriate, the words may not

fit the theme, or, frankly, it may be beautiful to the composer, but not to

others. Here is where truth, spoken with love and compassion, must be uttered.

When this happens it is amazing to see how speaking with love and from a place

of dharma, people are able to accept that this song might be better used as a

devotional song in their Sai Centre. Anger is

rarely seen or heard. The occasional grumble is voiced, heard and dealt with. So

many come wanting only to sing for Swami on this Holy occasion, that the

challenges are dealt with in a spirit of cooperation. My personal experience

of the Christmas Choir for these past years, is one of great joy and humility.

To be allowed to participate with hundreds of brothers and sisters in singing

our love for Swami is the highlight of my year. The feeling of oneness is

palpable. Are there little glitches along the way? Certainly, but the Love and

Grace of Swami so completely permeates the environment that they become little

nothings compared to the joy of serving Him. Also on a personal level, but

one that has been expressed to me by several choir members, is that the

rehearsals become the focal point of Christmas. One becomes totally involved in

giving and the feeling is one of focusing completely on Swami and pleasing Him.

When focused upon singing His praises, we are raised above the petty level of

everyday challenges. The experience then truly becomes a Holy Christmas to

remember." This year around 564 ladies and 230 gents hailing from

nearly 38 countries were part of the adult choir. Co-ordinating this choir was

Ms. Silvia Olden an energetic, exuberant lady with deep devotion who was able

to hold this motley crowd together and mould them into one team, one voice. As

Vijay Vengetas, an Australian devotee said, "With nearly a 1000 voices

raised in 'Unity', melodious notes pouring out in absolute 'Purity', how could

we not feel the Divine Presence ('Divinity') around us. Christmas 2005, is

truly a fantastic experience being in the choir. I have been in the Christmas

choirs previously but this time seems different. The group is not

only much larger but also very enthusiastic. I think, NO - I KNOW that much of

our enthusiasm comes from our Director, Sylvia, who puts so much energy and

love into everything she does. The stories she tells touches our hearts and

teaches so many lessons. On the day of the narration the message comes out loud

and clear as though it was meant specifically for you. Attending the practice

sessions have brought great joy to many of us and it is no wonder that we

convey that joy in our singing. I shall take away many wonderful memories but

most of all I shall remember the joy of living each day as though it were my

last. Swami's message is very clear - Be Happy". THE DECORATION

COMMITTEE AT WORK What most people do not realize is the sheer amount

of work that goes in to deck up and decorate the

Ashram for every festival, and Christmas 2005 was no exception. The core

decoration committee members, about 30 in number, arrived in Prashanti Nilayam

about 3-4 weeks prior to Christmas to do the preliminary preparation work.

Devotees come from all over the world to work in harmony, unity and love. So

much love! The barriers of culture and language dissolve in Shed 36 where most

of the decoration prep work is done. The first thing that the core team does

is get all the stored boxes of Christmases past from the storage warehouse near

the Ashram Post-Office, which requires the tractor trailer to make 5 trips to

get all the boxes. Additional material (the delicate items) are in the basement

of North 5 and have to be carefully moved to shed 36. All these boxes are

unloaded and unpacked. Shed 36 is divided into seven designated decoration

prep areas (the Mandir, buildings in the Poornachandra complex, pillars and

fences of Sai Kulwant Hall, SKH gates, the canteens and deities like Ganesha,

Gayathri, Buddha, and Jesus in the Ashram). Wires are then strung for all

these designated areas in a uniform manner so that bunting preparation work can

be carried out unhampered and in an unobtrusive manner and later hung from these

wires, till they are ready to be installed. The front part of the shed has 3

main work areas. On one side is the Glitter Work, where devotees put glue over

cardboard and wooden stars and then dip and sprinkle gold and silver glitter

over them, then hanging them up to dry. The second area is a work

bench for Hot Glue Guns. These 4 hot glue guns are operated for sticking

mirrors, sequins, and other items onto cardboard, timber and cloth. The third

area is for the fabrication of longer items where operations like drilling and

sawing are required. Materials are brought from overseas, whatever devotees

can fit into their luggage. But a lot of items including consumables like glue,

paints, timber, foam boards etc. are purchased locally. 95% of the items are

made from scratch and are re-used or recycled the next year. A good example of

this is the number of earth globes left over from the youth conference

conducted earlier. They were covered with gold glitter and had red ribbons tied

to them with small mirrors, and they became the Christmas ornaments hanging from

the Poornachandra balcony.

Every year the Christmas festival has a different theme. Unity of

Faith being the theme for this year, the banner that was prepared and put up on

the

Mandir balcony stated "There is only one Religion - The Religion of Love".

Across the Poornachandra gate another banner was put up that read "King of

Kings". Devotees work 3 shifts in a day (morn/afternoon/evening) completing

6-8 hours in a day, apart from attending darshan. This goes on till the

decoration preparation work is complete and it is time to put it up. Teams are

formed to cover all the different areas where the decorations have to be put

up. When Swami gives His blessing at the most auspicious time, the devotees

work through the night, till the wee hours of the morning putting up the

decorations (for that is when the Hall is vacant). Ashram seva

dals also assist, especially in tasks like the hanging of large items from the

ceiling of Sai Kulwant Hall. The cynosure of all, the centre-piece of the

decoration, is the manger on the gents' side with statues of Mother Mary and

Joseph with the baby Jesus in a crib. On the ladies' side we have a statue of

the three wise men who came to visit the Baby Jesus in the manger. These

beautiful mock-ups were made and donated by devotees from Italy . We give an

explanation of the importance of these statues for Christians in the box below.

THE NATIVITY SCENE The diorama of the Nativity scene is a very

traditional part of the Christmas decoration, though it is now caught up in

controversy in the West. However in the Ashram, where all the festivals of the

world are freely celebrated, this realistic mock-up of Joseph, Mary and the

baby Jesus is very much appreciated by the people of all religions who come

here to celebrate Christmas

and all the other festivals in the Parthi calendar. Mrs. Milena Kunz-Bijno

from Italy contributed the following explanation for the origin of the

importance of the Nativity scene: It was a chilly night in the year 1203

A.D. St. Francis had invited the citizens and the peasants of Greppio, a small

hamlet near Assisi, to come for the midnight mass. It was Christmas Eve and the

"poor monk" as the people called him, wanted to make a real reconstruction of

the event that had brought the son of God down on earth. So, Francis decided

to dress a boy and a girl as Joseph and Mary, the parents of Jesus, and put

them along with a cow and a donkey in a cave in the hills. The people of the

village came through the fields bearing candles and bringing lambs and sheep,

singing carols. They reached the cave with Joseph and Mary and St. Francis

started offering the mass. And then the miracle happened: an effulgent light

enveloped the cave and everybody could see the newborn Jesus in the manger. The

air was full of softness and everybody felt the emotion of witnessing the birth

of Christ. The devotion of St. Francis was so great that Jesus had appeared!

Since then the habit of preparing a crèche is a dear tradition for the

Christians. Several items, sometimes the full scene of the birth of Christ, are

arranged ahead of Christmas and on the 24th of December at midnight the figure

of Jesus will be put in the manger by the smallest child of the family. THE

THREE WISE MEN The 3 Wise men, or magi as they

are called, also occupy a treasured place in Christian lore as they are

intimately linked with the birth of Christ. The traditional view of the three

wise men is that they came from Persia to pay homage to the baby Jesus, guided

by a star. Their names were Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar and were also

reputed to be kings. They brought costly gifts of frankincense, gold and myrrh.

The frankincense, an incense used in temple worship, speaks of Jesus'

priesthood. The gold speaks of Jesus' kingship. The myrrh, a spice or balm used

in preparing bodies for burial, speaks of Jesus' atoning death. Swami has

often asked the primary school boys (while pointing to the statues of the three

wise men) if they know who these figures are and He has also spoken about them

on a few occasions, such as during Christmas 1998. When Jesus was born, three

Arabian kings came to see Him. They were overjoyed on seeing the new-born babe.

While returning, the first king said to Mother Mary, “Mother, you have given

birth to a child who loves God.” The second king said, “Mother, you have given

birth to a child who will be loved by God.” The third king said, “Mother Mary,

your child is not different from God; both are one and the same.” Once

we understand the inner meaning of these three statements, we will know the

truth. The one who loves God is the Messenger of God. The one whom God loves is

the Son of God. The one who understands the principle of unity becomes one with

God. - Divine Discourse Christmas 1998. A total of 70 devotees took

part in the decoration team this year from different parts of the world. But

the work is not over after the programme is done. When Swami gives the command,

all the decorations have to be taken down, packed and put away in storage for

the next year. ORGANISING FOR THE CHILDREN'S CHOIR This year the

Children's Choir consisted of 90 children, restricted to the ages 6-l4 years

from 20 countries. Eighteen adults in the roles of organizing, childcare, and

musicians brought the number to

108. By giving the opportunity to prepare their songs over a number of days,

Swami allowed the children to experience the depth of His boundless love, mixed

with the clear discipline and structure as maintained in the ashram. This

created an enormous building of character in a very short period of time. In

this way, Swami planted the seeds of understanding how Swami’s children can

live as an example of His teachings. All the children showed their love

for Swami by giving

100% of their effort in learning the songs and practising steadfastly. They also

meditated and put on a little piece of paper a gift they wanted to offer to

Swami in the form of replacing a negative habit with a positive one. These

little papers were put on the Christmas tree, which was posted in front of the

Poornachandra Hall (Swami's residence). The children's choir was guided by

Ms. Alma Badings, a long-time Swami devotee from the Netherlands. Great was her

patience at playing Mother Hen to all these young and eager children for 4 hours

of practice every day (9:00 to 11:00 AM in the morning and 4:00 to 6:00 PM in

the evening), gently coaxing and cajoling, praising and giving tough love in

turn, till all the children moulded into one unit, till they all sang in unison

in one voice. And as the days rolled by, the hard work seems to have paid off,

for those of us who could listen as we passed by their practice, in the ground

floor of the "double-decker" building. And as Christmas day came closer and

closer they were all ready, willing, able and eager to go! The Christmas

Committee had a problem to place the children who could not sing in the choir

because they were either too small or came too late to learn the songs. Then

they had the idea to make them Swami's greeters. About 12 girls and 20 boys

were given small flower bouquets and waited close to the car path to welcome

Him as Swami passed by. When Swami looked at each greeter as He went by, one

little girl was so overcome with emotion that she stayed in her room the entire

next day crying with happiness! We are immensely grateful to Swami for giving

this profound experience of coming close to Divinity for all the children. The

memory of it will give them strength and guidance throughout their life. THE

CHRISTMAS EVE DINNER There are three canteens in the Ashram catering to

different tastes - a North Indian (NIC), a South Indian Canteen (SIC) and

a Western or Foreigner's Canteen (FC). While the Indian canteens play a major

role during the Birthday celebrations by catering to the hundreds of thousands

of people coming in streams to partake of Swami's prasadam, the Western canteen

now plays the major role during the Christmas Holiday season, with the

traditional Christmas Eve dinner being served to the devotees. The canteen

wears a festive look decorated with holly and twinkling stars and other

Christmas decorations. A huge picture of Swami adorns the back of the

Hall. A Christmas tree with all ornaments and a sleigh with a cushion seat for

Swami completed the decoration. All the tables are also well laid out and ready

for the candle-lit dinner. The gents and the ladies side both have a big

queue right after the evening bhajan. The myriad volunteers and the canteen

staff have been toiling the entire day to get the meal ready in time for the 7

PM service. The eclectic menu this year consisted of asparagus soup,

lasagne,

mashed potatoes with cheese, spinach with corn and potato, Russian salad, white

rice, dhal, chocolate and walnut ice-cream for dessert and herbal tea. And all

this for just 30 rupees (or 67 cents)! The doors open at 7 PM. The crowd comes

enters in an orderly fashion. The Brahmarpanam Thanksgiving prayer is first

recited in front of Swami's picture and the dinner is then served. The good

food and the festive ambience on Christmas Eve set the tone for the grand

Christmas celebrations in the morrow. THE CHRISTMAS MORNING PROGRAMME

BY THE SATHYA SAI STUDENTS Christmas morning dawns with a little nip in the

air and more than a little excitement. All the devotees are dressed in their

best and eagerly waiting for the Father who had sent Jesus to Earth, to now

come and bless them also. After Swami got down from the car, in a departure

from the norm, He cut the Christmas cakes first. There were cakes by the

Overseas Devotees, the Hospital Staff, the Institute and Easwaramma School

students. After cutting the cakes, Swami sat down in His customary position

on the veranda after profusely

blessing all the devotees with His abhaya hasta (hand raised in blessing).

Christmas morning belonged to the students of the Sri Sathya Sai Institutions,

as Swami had blessed music programmes by the Primary School violin boys and the

Institute Brass Band. After Swami had taken His seat, the Primary School boys

take their place for the first item of the day. They are neatly dressed in white

pants and a full-arm white shirt and a red vest that lends a neat festive touch.

The Primary School Violin Boys' Orchestra is made up of 17 violin boys, one

cello, and 13 recorder boys. The programme consisted of the energetic Vigoroso,

Dong Dong Merrily on High, Canon in D, and a jazzy version of Jingle Bells that

is very well received by the crowd and warms them up for the next item.

Swami then gave permission for the Institute Band to begin its programme. The

36 musicians joyfully raised their music stands and stood in position as its

conductor returned after speaking with Swami on the portico. The instruments

in the band include 2 flutes, 1 Piccolo, 6

Clarinets, 6 Trumpets, 3 Alto Sax, 1 Tenor Sax, 1 Baritone Sax, 4 Trombones, 3

baritones, 1 Band Leader, 6 Percussion instruments, 1 Tuba and 1 Sousaphone.

The varied programme opened with the Christmas Carol Ring Christmas Bells,

which the band played as a rendition of the Asatoma prayer. Other works

included The First Noel, Christmas Candle, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, Hark

the Herald Angels, O Little Town of Bethlehem , Rocking Around the Christmas

Tree, and Jingle Bells. The Institute choir accompanied

by the students of the Sri Sathya Sai Higher Secondary School next presented a

bouquet of 10 carols before Swami as a grand finale to the morning's programme.

Two students, one as Uncle Sam and the other as Little Jack gave an

introductory commentary before the start of each carol. The instruments

accompanying the singers were 4 keyboards, 2 guitars (base and rhythm) and a

saxophone. The

percussion instruments consisted of the jazz drums, the digital drums and other

special effects instruments. While there were some core singers to lead

everyone through the microphone, the entire student body joined in the singing

accompanied by the devotees to make it a full participatory and a memorable

experience for everyone. Extolling the charm, grace and joy Christmas brings,

the students started with the carol Oh the joy of Christmas Day which talks of

how people the world over have gathered in Parthi to offer their love and

prayers. The birth of Christ was heralded next in Ding Dong merrily on high, In

Heavens the bells are ringing… A beautiful piece on the guitar lead the crowd

into All Night Long I shall burn my Christmas candle, leading next to a Deck

the Halls Medley consisting of 4 songs (Deck the halls with boughs of Holly Fa

la la, Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer, You better watch out and the crowd

favourite Jingle Bells). While the strains of Jingle Bells filled the

air, a student dressed as Santa Claus

comes bounding in and seeks Bhagavan's blessings, and then goes around throwing

chocolates into the crowd. A beautiful piece on the saxophone was the lead to

the song Let Your Glory Fall, an inspired song filled with yearning for the

Lord's touch. The students then got everyone rocking with Aye ye ye

Christmas Day, followed by Hallelujah Hallelujah….. The next carol talks

of the prophecy that Jesus made of His father's coming ("…a crown of hair upon

His frame, a blood red robe just like a flame…") with the carol One day before

He left His frame He showed His future name. Accompanied with a beautiful

violin solo, a prayer to the Lord (Who is all goodness) to take control of our

lives and pardon us our misgivings was next with the carol God is Good All The

Time. The boys ended the morning programme on a very cheery note with With

Love and Joy we wish you all a Very Very Merry and Happy Christmas and a Happy

New Year. Distribution of prasadam followed by arathi brought to a close a

warm and cheery Christmas morning programme. THE AFTERNOON CHRISTMAS

PROGRAMME BY THE OVERSEAS DEVOTEES The afternoon was exclusively reserved

for the overseas devotees and brought to a fulfilling climax the arduous

preparation and the hard work of the past few weeks. A Short Christmas Skit

A small skit both at the beginning and at the very end of the

programme (after the children's and the adult choir) brought to light the

commercialization

rampant in the celebration of Christmas today. The small kids also brought out

the true spirit and message behind the birth of Jesus. While a full length skit

had been originally planned and prepared, it was scaled down at the last minute

due to the exigencies of time. The young children took it very well and it was

an abject lesson for everyone else in faith and love. Listen to what a 12 year

old devotee, Master Dhruvan Dellibabu from Raleigh, North Carolina, USA had to

say: "One important incident that happened during my play was that I had

somehow damaged my arm. I wasn't able to lift my arm at all and that was the

week-end of the recording so I prayed to Swami and I managed to do my part well

with my hurt arm. The next day we went to the doctor to check my arm. The doctor

said that it wasn't broken so I didn't need an X-Ray, but a voice in me told me

to have an X-Ray and it turned out that I had a broken arm. It was one month

before the final performance so I prayed to Swami

with all my heart and soul and when I got to Parthi my arm was better."

The Children's Choir Two boys and two girls from the children's choir first

welcomed Swami with a rose and sought His blessings. Then Ms. Alma Badings, the

children's choir conductor, sought His blessings also before the kids went into

their routine. They sang a total of 13 songs before our dear Lord. Starting

first with a prayer Ganesha Ganesha to Lord Ganesha to guide their way, the

children next sang a Telugu song called Antaa Okkate manamantaa okkate. The

gist of the song is - 'All are one, we are all one. Living under different

flags we are all one.There is only one land, one language. If you are a Hindu

or Christian, all are children of Mother Sai. If you are rich or poor, you are

all eligible for Sai's love. We are all citizens of universal peace, all one.'

The children then sang Jesus Christ Tender Child, followed by

All my little children do come unto me. Then they sang a joyous song called

Bells are ringing Christmas morn; Tidings bringing, Christ is born. This was

followed by Have a Holy Christmas and Noel Noel. Then they sang the

quintessential Christmas song called Joy to the world, the Lord has come!

Launching next to The Little Drummer Boy which had the crowd humming along.

This was followed by 2 songs singing a paean of praise to Swami called -

Ev'ryone loves Sathya Sai Baba, He

is God incarnate, followed by Sai Baba Sai Baba Sathya Sai Baba jai. The

children then sang All night all day angels watching over us my Lord and then

the perennial favourite Jingle Bells brought their thoroughly enjoyable

programme to a close. The Adult Choir The Adult Choir was next and

like the children's choir, they also sang 13 songs. Lead by Choir conductor

Sylvia, the huge choir sang a Sanskrit prayer first Om Ekadhanthaya Vidmahe,

Vakrathundaya Dhimahi, Thanno Dantih Prachodayath. (An

Invocation to Lord Ganesha praying: Oh Lord Ganesha! The one-tusked

elephant-headed Lord! Bless us with auspiciousness) Then they

launched with gusto into their Christmas routine for which they had been

practising for so long. They began first with Turn Your Eyes Upon Swami, Look

Full In His Glorious Face, and next they sang two songs of praise to Swami -

Dark Clouds can't O'er Take Me, Fear Dare Not Invade…and Light is Your Form,

Light Is Your Being. A Spanish song Un Solo Dios Eres Tu Eres Tu Mi Senor was

next. This was followed by Deep Within My Heart and Soul I find the Being

Without Form and Sri Sathya Sai Baba, He Is The Light Of The World. The

melancholy My Lord And My God, Take Away From Me All That Parts Me from Thee

was followed by an equally wrenching Where Are You My Krishna, Whither Have You

Gone? Turning more joyful with What's Love? It's The Voice Of A

Dear One was followed by a Sanskrit song Tvam Adidevah Purusha Purana, Tvam

Asya Visvasya Param Nidhanam. The rousing Feliz Navidad was next and Joyful,

Joyful We Adore Thee was the last group song for the evening.Swami then

instructed Sylvia that the choir could sing bhajans. The choir sang

bhajans with aplomb and lead everyone to great heights of devotional ecstasy.

While the bhajan singing was going on, prasadam was brought to be blessed by

Swami and then distributed. Swami held a peppermint candy cane and after

some time called Mr. Rafael Ferrero, a saxophone player from Argentina sitting

in the front row, and lovingly gave it to him. Rafael beamed at this unexpected

blessing and took his seat. After a few minutes, Swami again

called Rafael and started talking to him. A personal interview in full view of

the Christmas crowd! After discussing some personal matters and giving Rafael

the most valuable divine guidance, Swami waved His hand and made the most

beautiful

pendant for him. It was a circular gold framed pendant inlaid with precious

stones. More discussion and instructions followed while the crowd sat up agog

with excitement. Finally after fulfilling all his wishes completely the Lord

blessed Rafael again and permitted him to resume his seat.

But a visibly happy Lord had to express His happiness some more. He called

Michael, a guitar and drum player from the United States sitting next to Rafael

and made for him an exquisite golden chain. He lovingly undid the clasp and

personally tied the chain around Michael's neck. Michael buried his face deep

in Mother Sai's lap suffused with His love that flowed not only to him but also

engulfed all of us sitting in the crowd. Swami then asked Michael "Are you

happy?"- perhaps because Michael had been quite anxious all evening worrying if

their music would please the Lord. What glorious words of assurance from the

Lord - soothing and allaying fears and pouring bliss, unending bliss in

everyone's

heart. But the "fireworks" were not over yet. Roger Dietrich, a

flute player sitting next to these two who had already been honoured, was the

next one to be called. Swami made a ring for him which He

personally slipped onto a finger of Roger's right hand. Roger was overcome with

emotion and speechless. Swami graciously permitted him to take the much sought

padanamaskar before returning to his seat. After that Swami

signalled for the bhajan to stop and wanted that the arathi be taken.

Three of the people who had toiled hard for the past three weeks to bring

Christmas 2005 to a successful conclusion were honoured by being selected to do

the mangalarathi to Swami. After the arathi was taken, Swami turned to the choir

again and asked everyone in the front row "Are you happy?" and then blessed them

profusely. While there

was no formal divine discourse this Christmas, by His repeated emphasis on being

happy, the Christmas message was quite explicit and clear - Don't Worry, Be

Happy - for on the road to happiness, happiness itself is the road! DOUBLE

HEADER: TWO MUSICAL PROGRAMMES BY THE SHALOM GROUP FROM AUSTRALIA AND THE

SATHYA SAI SINGERS OF S. CALIFORNIA AND HAWAII ON DEC 26th On December 26th,

two musical programmes were on offer: first was a group of Jewish singers from

Australia called the Shalom Group who sang spiritual songs for Swami in Hebrew

and the next programme was by a group of musicians from Southern California and

Hawaii who also presented a musical programme for our beloved Swami entitled

Life is a Song Sing

it! The Shalom Group The Shalom Group is a group of Sai Jewish

devotees who have come to the Lotus feet of Swami about 20 years ago, and are

now living in Perth, Australia. The Shalom Group consists of a total of 21

people and 11 of them had come to Prashanti Nilayam as part of an Australian

youth group to attend the Christmas celebrations. The Shalom group have been

singing Jewish spiritual songs for the last 8 years. These spiritual songs

praise the glory and love of God and pray for peace and love in the entire

world and for

all humanity. The Shalom Group had been trying to come and sing in

His divine presence for over 5 years and they were given the lifetime

opportunity on Dec 26th, 2005. Auspiciously, it

was also the Jewish festival of Chanukah ("The festival of Lights"), which this

year coincided with Christmas and the New Year since it is celebrated over 8

days. Chanukah is celebrated to symbolise one of the great miracles of God

wherein he kept filling a jar of oil that should have lasted only 1 day to

light the menorah (Candlelabra) in the great Jewish temple in Jerusalem for a

full 8 days! The songs that they sang in the Hebrew language for Swami were

Shalom and Adonolam. Shalom is a song to call the angels to participate in our

prayers and goes on to praise the righteous man that follows in the path of God

with right action. Adonolam calls on the Master of the Universe, Who is and

always will be; Who ruled before any creature existed and Who with His will

created everything. The Sathya Sai Singers Group In 2005 the

devotees of Southern California were given the opportunity to travel together

as a group on a pilgrimage to see Bhagavan for Christmas in December. The

devotees were given the opportunity to choose one of four special sadhanas: a

choir group, a bhajan group, a play group or a service group. Each of these

groups met separately one or more times a week to practise their offering to

Bhagavan. The choir group, called

the Sathya Sai Singers, met twice a week for six months in order to rehearse and

make the final song selections that they wanted to perform for the Lord during

the Christmas celebrations in Prashanti Nilayam. They performed at several of

the monthly group meetings near Los Angeles as well as at the December Southern

California public meeting and at a church near San Diego in order to perfect

their presentation for Swami. The bhajan group and the play group also met

weekly to organize and rehearse their offering for Bhagavan. Everyone prayed

that Swami would allow the groups to perform in His divine presence.

On December 26th, the prayers of the Southern California devotees were

answered as Bhagavan graciously consented to have the choir sing in Sai Kulwant

Hall. Ms. Maryalice Jessup, the choir director, came forward to give Swami a

special handcrafted programme and a red rose on a silver tray. Bhagavan (who

was seated) stood up to greet her and smiled lovingly at her, saying "Very

happy, very happy!" This group of singers from Southern California and

Hawaii presented a bouquet of 7 beautiful songs to bring to a finish one of the

most exciting and beautiful Christmas celebrations in Prashanti Nilayam in

recent times. They started with a beautiful song "For The Children" which

pleaded with everyone to save the trees, the rocks, hills and valleys, the seas

and the planet for the children. Moving on to a prayerful song called "Lord Of

Love", they prayed to Swami that O Lord of Love, I come to You and give You my

life. I Surrender all, and I make You one with my life. The next song - "You

Raise Me Up" - talked about how Swami's support helps all to get over weary and

troubled times. This was followed by a song from Walt

Disney's "Pocahontas" called "Colours Of The Wind", and is a song depicting the

era in United States' history when England was sending people to explore this

"new" land. In this song, Pocahontas, a Native American woman, is chiding John

Smith, an Englishman, for his narrow views about nature. "In This Very Room"

- the next song expresses hope that in this very room there is love, joy for all

of us; for Baba, Sai Baba, is in this very room. The words of the song, "How

Beautiful Your Songs Of Praise" - How true and steadfast your ways. Let all

that is within me rise and sing. How beautiful Your Holy name. How marvellous

Your saving grace, that You would call me as Your own…how beautiful…beautiful,

left everyone moved to silent tears overcome by the surging emotions of love

for Swami. The last song called "Here I Am Lord" sang of the glory of God and

His promise to tend to the poor and the lame. Swami was immensely pleased with

the heart touching lyrics and the soulful music. He called the conductor, Ms.

Maryalice Jessup, and manifested a beautiful gold chain with a gold cross

encrusted with blue sapphires and asked her to slip it around her head. It

was a little tight and would not easily go over and the conductor turned to the

audience and humorously remarked, "I have a big head". Swami was touched at this

innocent and pure humour flowing

spontaneously as love from the heart. Swami also blessed Maryalice with a

personal audience the next day. Swami then asked the group to sing bhajans

and the group obliged magnificently singing both English and Sanskrit bhajans.

Swami sat for nearly an hour enjoying the music, before arathi was offered - by

one gent each from both the groups (the Shalom Singers and the group from

Southern California) and likewise by two ladies together - one from each group.

An entire year has gone speedily by. We are

now in the New Year - 2006, a year of new challenges and new opportunities.

While we mistakenly tend to view time as discrete independent intervals, we do

not always consciously realize that time is a continuum and thoughts and

actions from the past (samskaras) continue to influence and shape our present

circumstances and thoughts (prarabdha karma). And these samskaras are not just

limited to our present lifetime but go back to many prior lifetimes also. The

Vedas also tell us that there are 8.4 million different species on earth. Though

we have since time immemorial been travelling and taking birth with different

bodies in all these 84 lakh species, this time around we have been blessed with

a human body. Thus obtaining a human body itself is a very rare occurrence, but

to obtain a human body at the same time

the Avatar is also present on earth is the rarest and most fortunate of

circumstances. And of the billions of people on earth, we are the most blessed

to come in the divine presence of the Avatar and have His Darshan, Sparshan and

Sambhashan. This opportunity must not be missed for who knows how many

millions of lives will have to go by before such a rare opportunity comes our

way again. So let us resolve in this New Year to grasp this opportunity and

realize the aim of our life; let us resolve to love Him, pray to Him and listen

to whatever He says. And His message for 2006 seems to be "Always Be Happy!"

Jai Sai Ram. - Heart2Heart Team Source: Radio Sai E-Magazine, January 2006

Issuehttp://www.radiosai.org/Journals/Vol_04/01JAN06/prashanthi-diary.htm