Behind the Glorious 80th Birthday

[Guest guest]

beatific countenance on the Birthday evening… the lotus-shaped impressive stage

on the west from which soul stirring music by the who's who of Indian music was

filling my heart …every artist weaving magic with the instruments and their

voice, enlivening every cell of my being… And then, the laser show! I can never

forget that. What a grand finale! The laser show just arrested me with its

myriad patterns frisking and dancing in perfect synchronization to the

scintillating digital music, accompanying this, were the fireworks! Sparkling

beams of bright light on that pleasant star-studded night…bursting and

brightening that beautiful night…an unforgettable play of light and sound… add

to this, the cool breeze… and ultimately, and most importantly, all this

excitement in the immediate divine presence of the Eternal Enigmatic Being, my

most beloved Baba -

the very light of my life. No one present there could remain untouched with the

magic of the moment and I was no exception!" concludes a Sai devotee who had

come for the occasion from Orissa, a state which is miles away from

Puttaparthi. Every devotee who was present in the Hill View Stadium on the

Birthday evening can very easily relate to this. Truly, the 80 th Birthday

celebration was extraordinary. It was festivity at its best. Every devotee who

had gathered for the occasion went home with memories to last a life time.

Memories that drench every cell of their being with love and bliss whenever

recalled. It was to enjoy this moment with Sai on the 80th year of His

earthly sojourn, to make the moment as

special as possible, to make the long-awaited day as glorious as it could be

that a sea of humanity had gathered. Truly, it was a birthday by the devotees,

for the devotees, and in its truest essence, of the devotees. Truly the most

precious day for every devotee is the day Swami entered his/her life and for

each one of them the Lord's Birthday is an event head and shoulders above their

own birthday. Swami's Only Concern…His Devotees Swami, pure selfless love

that He is, if He were concerned about anything during the Birthday

celebrations, it was about the devotees comforts and their well-being. Elderly

devotees who were in close physical

proximity of Bhagawan only know how Swami used to enquire everyday about the

arrangements made for the devotees concerning their food and stay - and least

about what major functions were being planned for the Birthday celebrations, be

it dances, concerts, or fireworks. Whenever the elders who were chalking out

elaborate plans and embarking on grand ideas to mark the day presented Swami

with their plans, He would be quite uninterested, to say the least.To get His

consent to make more shelters for the devotees would be far easier than to

organize say, confetti being sprayed from a helicopter on the Birthday morning.

‘Big Stars' Came Because THEY Wanted To! If the big concert

happened and leading musicians played, it was because they wanted to be part of

the celebrations. It was a cannot-afford-to-loose opportunity for everyone. If

the fireworks or the laser show glittered and lit up the night sky and provided

a grand finale to the celebrations, it was because the organizing devotees had

not only worked hard night and day for it but also prayed even harder that they

be allowed to have the show. For, as already

mentioned, with Swami to organize a mass marriage or mass feeding for the poor

is easy, but never a cultural or entertainment extravaganza. As ever, never

an invitation was sent to anybody to come to Prashanti Nilayam. Devotees poured

in hundreds and thousands from the 18th of November when the Rathotsavam

(Chariot procession) was celebrated, as is done every year. The Ladies Day

celebrations followed on the 19th Nov. Responding to the prayers of more than

11000 delegates gathered for the 8th World Conference, Swami consented for the

World Conference to be held for two days on the 20th and 21st Nov. On the 22nd

was the Convocation of Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher learning with the

Governor of Karnataka being

the Chief Guest and finally the D-Day was on 23rd Nov. Pt. Shiv Kumar

Sharma and Amjad Ali Khan seeking Swami's blessings before their performance

A plethora of distinguished personalities – politicians, musicians,

sports-persons, educationists, doctors, lawyers, you name it from every field –

and a large motley multitude comprising of Sai devotees from more than 145

countries had converged to pay their

homage to Baba - their beloved, their divine mother and father. "An Exciting

Family Function" - G Sai Prasad from Hyderabad As one Sai Youth from

Hyderabad , G Sai Prasad, put it, "One would think that celebrating 80 th

birthday at Prashanti would be very festive; perhaps it was so for lot of

devotees. For me, however, celebrating our lord's 80 th birthday was more like

being part of an exciting family function, like a marriage of a brother or kid

sister." Experiencing The One Through the

Many - Ricardo from Italy Another devotee, Ricardo from Italy , said, "I'm

proud to be here. The conference is very well organized. The people here are

very well taken care of. In spite of the huge crowd everything is working

nicely. We are all mingling as a human family. We can experience the one

through the many." In fact, this was the feeling that many devotees echoed and

the whole celebration transformed itself into a grand family function…a great

family union. You could see the theme of the world conference – Unity, Purity

and Divinity - in action. And Swami, the divine mother, played the role of a

host to perfection to the thousands who had gathered to receive His love and

benediction. Food was served free of cost to everyone from the 18th of Nov

to 24 th. Everybody enjoyed being in Prashanthi those seven days and relished

the food that was served as ‘Prasadam', as one devotee, Keenan from Australia ,

said during the birthday week, "I Have Never Seen Anything Like This" –

Kennan from Australia "I have only spent 7 months with Swami. I hope to spend

more time and I have been blessed to be here for the birthday celebrations.

Swami is just taking care of all. He is feeding thousands of people and not one

is being left with an empty

stomach. They don't put a limit as to how much you can eat - you can eat as many

times as much as you want, it's incredible, I have never seen anything like it!"

Yes, incredible it was! In the Birthday week at least hundred thousand

breakfasts, lunches and dinners including snacks were served every day. Every

devotee looked at the arrangements made with awe and wonder.

"Everything is Conducted in an Atmosphere of Love and Dedication" - Pradeep

Kamath Pradeep Kamath, another devotee from USA , said, "I've attended the

other birthday functions, the 70th, the 75th, and in each one of them you see a

tremendous amount of love and dedication from the Sai devotees, especially in

all the arrangements they make for the devotees. Everybody gets fed and there

are almost a million people! There is never any violence or any other incident

here!

Everything is conducted in an atmosphere of love and dedication and respect."

Many Keenans and Kamaths like this who had come from all over India and the

world, while enjoying the elaborate arrangements made for the devotees,

wondered - "How does this all happen?" HOW WAS THE MAMMOTH UNDERTAKING

ACCOMPLISHED? FOOD AND ACCOMMODATION ARRANGEMENTS How lakhs of people

were assiduously fed everyday? How did the Ashram canteens and their staff cope

with such tremendous pressure? How were tens and thousands who landed in the

small holy town accommodated? Who looked after Ashram security? Who looked

after managing the tremendous crowd at every gate and every point of action?

Who metamorphosed the Hill View Stadium from a cricket field to a big open air

theatre? Who did the planning at the many levels and of course skillfully

executed it all? It is to provide clues to questions like this and to pay our

tribute to thousands of Sai volunteers who worked tirelessly, anonymously and

selflessly behind the scenes for weeks together, that we have this special

cover story. Many would not know that the planning for the Birthday

celebrations began with the dawn of 2005 itself and it gained vital momentum

during the Guru Poornima celebrations in July 2005. The All India President,

Sri V Srinivasan, in right earnest, called a meeting of all the State

Presidents of Sri Sathya Sai Seva Organisations of India and formed the main

Organizing Committee. Simultaneously various Sub-Committees were formed for

various specific activities like the Food Committee, Accommodation Committee,

Security Committee, Decoration, Sanitation, Health and Hygiene, etc. ‘Free

Food For

All' – Bhagavan Baba The most crucial of all was, understandably, planning and

organizing food for lakhs of devotees every single day for the whole Birthday

week from the 18th of Nov to the 24th. It was a mammoth undertaking and every

devotee who came for the birthday went home with pleasant memories of the

variety of dishes that were rolled out in all the seven days – each day's menu

being special and different. But nobody knows how many selfless men and women

with blue and orange scarves had worked towards this end, not for days and

weeks but for months. The First Meeting of The Food Committee In fact, the

first meeting of the Food committee was organized by Sri S G Challam, the

Service Wing Coordinator of Sathya Sai Seva Organisations, Andhra Pradesh, and

a member of the Food Committee on the 20 th and 21 st of August 2005 in Guntur,

a city in Andhra Pradesh as Andhra was assigned a major role in the food

management. It was a conference of elders, active workers, experts, planners

and thinkers where modalities of discharging the major responsibility of food

was discussed in great detail. Data from previous world conferences were

studied, a reasonable estimate of men and material was made and men of

experience and expertise were identified for each activity. It was going to be

a "Anna Yagnam" – a great sacrifice of offering food to thousands and the whole

Sevadal cadre of the state was really gearing up for it. The Second One

Followed Soon… Soon this was followed with another conference again in Andhra

Pradesh, but this time in the city of Rajahmundry . Now finer details of every

activity were worked out and planning went to micro-level. Various

sub-committees like Manpower planning, Material procurement, Material Handling,

Stores, Cooking, Kitchen Utensils, Kitchen Sanitation, Transportation,

Distribution, Registration, etc. took shape and committed volunteers with

experience were picked up to lead these committees. The role of every volunteer

involved was clearly defined. The preliminary menu of the dishes was also made,

estimates of the material required done and sourcing of all the materials, from

utensils and vehicles to knives and brooms

started immediately! The Third Meeting With The All India President Come

October and there was another meeting convened by the All India President (AIP)

of all State Presidents and a detailed discussion of the developments made in

every sphere of arrangement - from food and accommodation to decoration and

security - was made. It was in this meeting that the AIP conveyed the news

about the likely announcement of ‘Free Food For All' by Bhagawan for the

Birthday week. Soon estimates of different items required were done and the

great feeling of togetherness with which all the states joined in to offer

their mite is really overwhelming. To give you just a glimpse - Each State

Wanted To Be A Part Of The Sacrifice… While Andhra Pradesh offered rice,

oil, tamarind and spices, Tamil Nadu said it will take care of all the

vegetable, sugar and tea requirements. Punjab joined in to offer a variety of

pulses and wheat flour while cooking oil came from Gujarat . Similarly, Kerala

offered jaggery and vermicelli and the state president of Madhya Pradesh said

all beaten rice and some pulses would come from his state. All tea and coffee

would come from Karnataka and Assam. Bihar and Himachal Pradesh would

supplement the milk supplies. Like this, every state wanted to be a part of

this sacred undertaking and every state supplemented the rest of the

requirements and lent their

helping hand in every manner possible. It was decided that by Nov 10th all the

supplies would reach Prashanti Nilayam, and that's what precisely happened. The

execution stage had begun after months of planning. All the

provisions required...rice, oils, wheat flour, etc.were offered by different

states of India The Food Supply Network Now with the supplies in place,

activity shifted to preparing the infrastructure in Puttaparthi. Four kitchens

were readied for the purpose – The South Indian Canteen, the North Indian

Canteen, The Andhra Kitchen behind the North 3 Block and the newly constructed

make-shift Punjab Kitchen behind the North 5 Block. Four main distribution

points were identified inside the ashram with totally 80 food counters! Two

distribution points were meant for devotees and two were for delegates. For men

devotees there were 25 counters and for women

there were 27. For the delegates, there were 13 counters for gents and 15 for

the ladies. Additionally, there were separate counters for staff, police,

Sevadal volunteers, press and the physically challenged devotees. Temporary

sheds were erected with proper water facilities and barricades at appropriate

places were raised for smooth flow of traffic. One main store and four

sub-stores – one for each Kitchen – came up. Four tractors, six mini-trucks,

two vans, a mechanized hydraulic trolley and two hydraulic fork lifts drove

into Puttaparthi for distribution of food from the Kitchen to the various

distribution points. The information and communication accessories like

computer systems and wireless sets were organised. Water

points were set up at various locations inside the ashram to quench the thirst

of the teeming crowds. Similarly, to maintain cleanliness, there were garbage

bins at suitable locations. The Sevadal Volunteers Kept Coming…. Now, who

was doing all this? By 16th of November, nearly 2,500 Sevadal volunteers from

all parts of India, with a majority from Andhra Pradesh, had gathered and were

in action. This number grew to 3,000 by 19th Nov and on the Birthday there were

nearly 4,500 volunteers who had literally taken charge of every aspect of the

Birthday celebration. They were ubiquitous in the Ashram and their dedication

to selfless service was contagious. A large

number, nearly 60% of them were from the home state of Andhra Pradesh. Another

20% came from the neighboring state of Orissa, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The

rest were from the far away states of Haryana, Delhi , Punjab and the like in

the north, Sikkim and West Bengal in the East, Kerala in the South and Gujarat

in the West. More than 40% of this workforce were in their thirties and they

were ably supported by another 40% who were middle-aged. Every activity from

major to the minor was carefully thought through and executed. For example,

once the menu for the seven days was finalized, the cooking of various items

was beautifully shared among all the four canteens depending on their strengths

and skills. What Sumptuous

Menus! During the Birthday week, the typical menu for the day included idli

and upma or pongal with chutney for breakfast; puri or chapathi, flavoured

rice, vegetable curry, curd rice, pickles and a sweet dish for the meal

sessions, and pakoras, vadas, etc. to go with tea and coffee during snack

hours. While breakfast items and flavoured rice were prepared at the Andhra

Kitchen, the Punjabi kitchen took charge of preparing the chapathis and puris

and the appropriate side dishes such as peas curry, paneer curry, etc.

How The Different Canteeens Shared the Work South Indian Canteen Coffee,

Tea, Curd Rice daily and 20000 laddus on the eve of Birthday North Indian

Canteen Sweets and Snacks Andhra Kitchen Breakfast and other Rice items

Punjab Kitchen Rotis, Puris, Chapathis and side dishes Curd rice, coffee and

tea were the domain of the South Indian canteen while the kitchen attached to

the North Indian canteen supplied the snacks and sweets for the afternoon tea.

So, it was a great collaborative effort making optimum use of all the resources

– men, material and expertise - available. The food arrangement being the most

challenging operation had more than 30% of the volunteers working on its various

aspects. To this workforce joined another 400 young enthusiasts – The Hyderabad

Sai Youth Group. "The dedication and commitment of all these volunteers is to

be seen to be believed," a senior member of the Sai family said. In

The Seven Days Of Free Food... 2,28,000

devotees were served with Breakfast 3,71,000 devotees were served with Lunch

2,31,000 devotees were served with Snacks and 2,88,000 devotees were served

with Dinner In Other Words... 6,59,000 devotees were served with Meal and

4,59,000 devotees were served with Breakfast and Snacks No One Went Hungry,

Thanks To Continuous Cooking In the course of one week, more than 6 lakh

devotees partook of the Prasadam Bhagavan had so graciously blessed them with.

It was Bhagavan's command that no one who came to Prasanthi Nilayam should go

hungry and so there were days when food continued to be plied to the counters

long after the regular hours. Indeed, on November 23rd, the lunch session that

commenced at 10.30 a.m. continued till tea-time at 4 p.m. and the tea session

spilled over to the dining session which concluded only after 9.30 p.m.

Thus, on that day, the kitchen fires never stopped blazing and the volunteers

were on their feet all day distributing and serving the food at the counters!

And were all the distribution points only inside the ashram? No. Apart from the

four distribution points inside the Ashram, food had to be transported to the

Primary school, the Higher Secondary School Hostel, the Senior Boys Hostel, the

Bangalore students Hostel, the Anantapur girls Hostel, the Staff quarters and

even to the railway station! All the arriving devotees were served first with

Bhagavan's Prasadam as soon as they alighted from their train. Recalling his

experience at the railway station, a British devotee, Mark says, A

Sevadal directing a just-arrived devotee at the railway station Food being

served to incoming devotees at the railway station "One of the Best Days of

My Life" – Mark from UK "I smiled out of joy as I looked upon the station

forecourt. On the left were many tents under which full meals of prasadam (rice

and sweets) were being served to the just arrived railway passengers in perfect

discipline. This was such a caring gesture which seemed to assure the devotees

that the rest of the facilities would be of the same thoughtful nature. There

were a host of Sevadals on duty and the blue and white scarves gave me a

feeling of being welcomed home. The 80th Birthday fervour was sparkling in

the air. It was the 21st November, and the overcrowded station bore testament

to the lakhs who were converging to celebrate the biggest birthday party on the

planet! Such a huge

number of people required a similarly matched amount of shepherding, guidance

and practical help. And this was evident on leaving the station steps. A

fleet of shiny new blue and white buses were arrayed to take us to the ashram

just in front of the station. I stepped into one and was immediately welcomed

by the other passengers. We were all Sai pilgrims going to see our Master and

the shared excitement was palpable. The journey was short and then we were left

to merge with the sea of humanity who were blessed enough to seek His Grace and

join in the Party at Puttaparthi – one of the best days of my life!" That was

not all, there was a distribution point in the Puttaparthi village too! There

was a counter set up at Sri Pedda Venkama Raju Kalyana Mantapam, so that

devotees

staying outside would not be put to the inconvenience of having to stand in long

queues inside the ashram. Incredible Effort from The Sevadals Undoubtedly,

it was not easy managing the timely distribution of food at every point. The

first step was, of course, cooking. There was non-stop cooking which went on

for 16 -18 hours everyday in every kitchen. It was just spontaneous outpouring

of love of thousands of men and women who volunteered, unasked, to lend their

mite to this mighty and holy endeavour. These volunteers, who came from

different parts of the country, the young and the old, hailing from various

walks of life, selflessly toiled for a fortnight, setting

aside thoughts of their own comforts and convenience doing all sorts of

activities in the kitchen – cleaning and cutting vegetables, washing vessels,

shifting bags of rice and other items from the stores to the kitchens – and

then moving the cooked food to the various counters and actually serving at the

food counters. Their motto – ‘Cook With Love, Serve With Love.'

Sevadals at the Punjab Kitchen Snacks getting ready at the North Indian

Canteen And that's what they exactly did. Just to give you an idea of the

staggering scale of activity that was involved – In the seven days of cooking,

more than 170 tons (170,317 kgs) of food material were cooked. Rice alone, of

this, constituted 45 tons. Chapatis and puris were made out of 14 tons of wheat

flour. 18 tons of oil was consumed and 13 tons of sugar went into the sweets and

other preparations. And then, 50,000

litres of milk were used for various preparations apart from tea, coffee, etc.

while 31 tons of vegetables were cooked and 12 tons of pickle was served.

Work in Progress at the North Indian Canteen.... Shifting Food to

the distribution points... "They Were Truly the Unsung Heroes" – A

Central Trust Official All this happened silently. Selflessly. The whole

exercise was like a great sacrifice and all the sevadals offered themselves

completely - body, mind and soul – to see to it that every devotee who landed

in Puttaparthi was fed properly. "They were truly the unsung heroes", recalls a

Central Trust official who was present at the scene of action during those days,

"They were not superhumans, but with the unlimited strength and endurance they

derived from Bhagavan, all the fatigue and stress were forgotten. They braved

the weather that suddenly turned inclement, never allowing their enthusiasm to

flag or the work to be disrupted. They would cheerfully go about their work,

singing Bhajans full throated, thus motivating each other and also charging the

atmosphere with such divine vibrations of the sacred Name of the Lord."

In The Seven Days Of Free Food... 1,70,317 Kgs of Food Material was cooked

The Major Items were... 44,680 Kgs of Rice 31,115 Kgs of

Vegetables 13,850 Kgs of Wheat Flour 18,555 Kgs of Oil 13,350 Kgs of

Sugar 12,727 Kgs of Pickle 50,000 Ltrs of Milk, etc. Recalling a

moving anecdote which really summarized the whole ambience of the work place in

the kitchen, another Central Trust official says, Sevadals at the

Punjab Kitchen... Work in progress at the Andhra Kitchen... "Theirs was a

Labour of Love" – Another Central Trust Official "In the Punjab Canteen, as the

volunteers rolled out the chapathis in thousands, a young man gifted with a

melodious voice kept their spirits up by singing Bhajans without break for up

to eight hours! Can you imagine that! Theirs was a labour of love… a tale of

great sacrifice. They wanted no reward, no recognition, no appreciation. The

work itself was the reward. Most of them, you won't believe it, denied

themselves the bliss of having Bhagavan's Darshan or witnessing the grand

celebrations at the Sri Sathya Sai Hill View stadium, though they had come from

states thousands of miles away. Their focus and dedication was complete, to say

the least. Yes, they did not see Bhagavan, nay physically, because they saw

Bhagavan in their work, every moment. They did not miss Bhagavan on that

auspicious day too for their hearts and minds were with Bhagavan, always."

Food being served to the devotees by the Sevadals... Distribution of

Food - Andhra Pradesh Sai Youth Come Here After the cooking, the next major

task was to ensure that the food cooked reaches the distribution points in time

from the different canteens. This is the area where the Andhra Pradesh Sai Youth

did a splendid job, as ever. They have been handling such work whenever there is

a big event in Prashanthi Nilayam and during the 80th birthday they again amazed

everybody with their energy, expertise

and meticulous planning. You could see that they were putting their corporate

experience to full use by the way they went about doing their task – days ahead

of the birthday week they were identifying and numbering the different routes to

the distribution points, stocking adequate number of vessels required for every

route, estimating the vehicles and number of trips required for each route,

clearly marking ‘From' and ‘To' destinations with the Vehicle in-charge's name

and Mobile no. on the windshield of each of the 9 LCV's and two pick up autos,

constituting separate loading and unloading teams for each vehicle, positioning

multi-lingual experienced youth in each of the four canteens to bring about

perfect coordination with the distribution points as well kitchen in charges

and of course, picking the right persons for the right jobs. Did they fully

succeed in utilising their corporate experience? K S Ravi Kiran, a Project

Manager at GE in Hyderabad , who coordinated the activities in the Punjab

Canteen says, "The Only Awareness There Was…We Are Here For Bhagawan" - K S

Ravi Kiran "I was part of the Youth group from Hyderabad and was thrilled to

take up the responsibility of food distribution to the Schools, Colleges,

Railway station and the multiple Canteens for devotees. With an International

MBA degree I was ready to take the task head-on using my Project and People

Management skills, only to fall flat and realize on the first morning itself

that the task was

beyond the capabilities of a single human being or even a group for that matter.

It needed united human intervention at the physical level and abundant Divine

Grace for all the activities to come together and fall in place. And they did,

very magically!! People from different parts of the country met and

instantly/naturally became aware of the Universal Brotherhood (and

Sisterhood!). With the mornings starting at around 3 am, after an almost

oblivious 2 hour nap, and continuing until mid-night there was no time to think

about the "differences", the body and the clothes. The only awareness was of

the fact that we were all there for our beloved Bhagavan and we had a role to

play in the historic event. At home where we seek help to lift a gas cylinder

or for that matter the study chair, here the potential multiplied multifold. A

heavy vessel needed not more than 5 Sai Children, Sai's name did the magic."

The Hyderabad Sai Youth in action.... The youth not only

transported food items, they were engaged in other activities in the kitchen

too like the cleaning the vessels, kitchen sanitation, etc. And like Ravi Kiran

many youth realised that they were doing things that they had never imagined

themselves capable of doing! Recalling an experience on the same lines, G Sai

Prasad, a Country Manager at Nokia Research Division, India , who coordinated

activities in the Andhra Kitchen says, "No Hard Work...Just The Divine Thrill

of Seva" – G Sai Prasad "During the activity I could see myself doing things

that

I otherwise would not push myself into – getting up at 3 in the morning, or

lifting super heavy vessels, etc. Often I was compelled to take a leadership

stand and manage the team as if I was in some sort of warehouse doing

just-in-time material management. All in all, with the encouragement of other

Sevadal, elders and undeniably Swami's grace, the activity floated to

completion just as easily as it got ramped up. That is, the end of the Seva was

just as graceful and unclimactic as the beginning. As such was the case, I am

left to wonder if WE really did anything in the food transport, or, was there

some other unseen hand?? I am a conventional fellow. I can't venture a

guess about some magical stuff influencing our deliveries in some unseen subtle

ways. I can only say that while doing our Seva duty, we thought we were doing

some ‘hard work', but really we never were stressed or strained, instead, we

walked away with the gift of thrill in our hearts. Sometimes this feeling was

so abundant that we expressed ourselves freely on the tractor routes with some

fast and furious bhajans and shouts of "Sathya Sai Babaji Ki Jai". On the

day of the birthday, some of us spontaneously wrote love letters to Bhagavan on

our white T shirts. That is, it was not uncommon to see lot of us with pink and

blue crayon scribble of "Happy Birthday to our most beloved Bhagavan" on our

dirtied white T-shirts. Loud bhajans on delivery routes, shouts of "Jai" to

Bhagavan on loading docks, painted T-shirts… now does that sound like hard

work? No. To me it sounds like a family function where the kith and kin were

enjoying the occasion. And, that is exactly

how I would characterize our Beloved's 80th birthday service activity."

This is how the Hyderabad Youth celebrated their Dear Lord's Birthday...While

HE was in the Stadium Yes, for the youth it was a great family union…a grand

get-together to celebrate the birthday of their divine mother, the mother who

is most precious than all the wealth of the world. And they did everything that

is possible, the hard work and the unearthly

working hours was never a pain, it was a blessing on the contrary. Sai Prasad

again going down the memory lane with great joy recalls, "Throughout the duty

we were surprisingly unmindful of the birthday Darshan or bhajan activities.

Our world was food and its timely distribution to the devotees. Despite

enduring some of the so-called "hardships" – which, by the way, never appeared

to us as such – and, despite not having a chance to even glimpse Bhagavan even

for a moment during those famous birthday days, we never felt saddened or felt

deprived of anything. The thrill of Seva, the excitement in the air, the rush

of work was so palpable and enveloping us that we rarely missed the other stuff.

It was as if the joy that all the other devotees had enjoyed was somehow

packed in Seva and delivered to us in disguise as "the rush" from doing a good

activity." For the Sai Youth of Hyderbad, it was not hard work...it

was divine thrill Miracles Happened! – Ravi Kiran Yes, it was hard work. It

was thrill… not without challenges. With unclear skies and so many other

uncertainties, it called for tremendous presence of mind and faith in the

Divine. Recalling one of those pressure-filled moments, Ravi Kiran says, "It

rained the day before the Birthday and the Roti making facility got flooded in

the Punjabi Canteen. With fewer hands to make the Puris we were really short of

the 60,000 target-number for that evening. All the Seva Dal started reciting Sai

Gayatri and the hands which did the task of lifting those huge vessels with

equal ease started rolling the dough. Miraculously in less

than 90 minutes we were able to cope up with the lost time because of rain and

were bang on target. Later helped poured in from unexpected quarters and the

whole operation was a success." Just to get a glimpse of the sense of

dedication that these youth had for their beloved lord, (which really made

miracles happen) listen to what Ravi Kiran has to say - Pushing Through the

Pain… A Great Learning Experience. "I cannot help but mention the incident

with one of the younger Sai Brothers. With rain water all over the canteen

floor his feet soaked for a long time to the extent that they turned white in

color and wrinkled. He was busy delivering food in-time to

all the canteens, collecting the empty vessels. I met him at around 11:30 pm

when all the work was done. He was sitting alone on the steps that led to the

canteen and was visibly in terrible pain which he realized only after he had

fulfilled his duties for that day. He was in that state since morning, but the

"movement" did not stop. The sense of duty overpowered his temporary pain and

his senses were pushed to do the tasks that they wouldn't have done on any

other day. It was a great learning experience to work amongst such simple yet

great souls." They did tasks they had never imagined themselves to

do...and did it spendidly! "Was There A Divine Hand At Work?" - Gangadhar

Sarma. A great learning experience…an eye-opener in fact! As Gangadhar Sarma,

a project Leader in Wipro, who coordinated the transport activities at the South

Indian Canteen, says, "Though there was a tremendous pressure during the seven

day period of free food distribution, the entire team worked in such a manner

that the pressure was not felt… during the activity the team could do things

that otherwise would not be possible... Bhagavan gave us the strength and

energy to do the activity without much stress and pressure. At the end of the

Seva, there was a feeling in the team that did we really pull this of or was

there a divine hand at work?The Best Part of The Seva Was the Bhajans" -

Gopi Krishna The ‘Unseen Hand' of Swami is an experience and a revelation

that every Sai youth can vouch for. As Gopi Krishna, a management expert and a

senior member of the Hyderabad Youth Group, says, "The operations

were definitely tough, more so with the large number of devotees present inside

the ashram, moving up and down for Darshan and the other programmes BUT the

entire operations went off flawlessly without any problem, accident or

wastage…. There was a tremendous feeling of togetherness and Love within the

team. Though there was tremendous pressure during the seven day period of free

food

distribution, the youth took it in the most pleasing manner with Sai's Name on

their lips and it taught each one of us what Unity can bring. The best part

of the Seva was the bhajans our teams were singing while transporting food.

That gave us the strength. It was a great team work with abundant blessings

from the Universal Team leader – our beloved Mother Sai. Each and every one of

the team members felt the divine presence of Swami within him, around him and

behind him protecting him as the eyelids protect the eye." Hyderabad Sai

Youth - Vibrant Bhajans and Energetic Seva A sterling example of what selfless

service and sacrifice can do. A great reminder of that immortal declaration that

Lord Krishna gave to Arjuna thousands of years ago in the battlefield –

"Ananya Schintayantomaa Ye Janah ParyupasatheThesham Nithyabhiyouktanam, Yoga

Kshemam Vahamyaham." Meaning… Whoever is constantly engaged in thoughts of

Me, I shall take care and look after his welfare in all respects. "We Could

Feel Swami's All-Pervasiveness" - Sri Challam, Andhra Pradesh Sevadal

Coordinator Sri Challam, the Andhra Pradesh Service wing coordinator, recalls

the hectic says during the birthday and says, "We could feel Swami's

all-pervasiveness in every moment. There were many tense moments and in every

such situation, Swami gave us relief and eased out our position." It

was the Sevadals' total dedication to the cause that drew divine grace and made

the whole operation a success. Many would not know

that there was even a feedback committee of 8 experienced Sevadal volunteers.

These Sai workers discreetly and casually conducted opinion surveys about food

quality and quantity from devotees everyday. Every day a sample of 50

enquiries were done at every point which meant 200 responses per session. All

these inputs were carefully studied and put to good use so that devotees would

have no problems as far as food is concerned. These volunteers also assessed

the flow of devotees and helped in making accurate kitchen estimates which was

no mean task in planning and forecasting. "You Have All Done Well" - Swami

The fulfillment of the whole exercise was when Swami Himself on the 25 th of

November blessed the food committee members by expressing His Ananda, His great

satisfaction and happiness on the preparations done and even mentioned how all

the devotees ate with satisfaction. That was not all! The most merciful Lord

again on the 1 st December blessed the Sevadals saying "You have all done

well." Not once, but three times! There is nothing more that every Sevadal

could aspire for. Their mission was achieved, their sacrifice had found

fulfillment and their work truly had transformed into worship. "This

appreciation", Sri Challam, the Sevadal coordinator says, "of our most beloved

Lord goes to all the Sevadal, Group Leaders, District Batch In-charges, State

In-charges, District Sevadal

coordinators and District Presidents who have motivated and conducted training

classes for the Sevadals in the past one year and of course to the thousands of

Sevadals who worked day in and out in a great spirit of dedication and

sacrifice." Well, food was only one of the major arrangements surrounding the

80 th Birthday celebrations. There were many others – accommodation, security,

sanitation, crowd control, decoration, maintenance, etc and every one of these

activities were done by Sevadal. The Moving Devotion of Mahabubnagar

Sevadals One could see the youth of Mahabubnagar going around the ashram with

water cans on their back distributing drinking water to the thirsty. This was

their way of offering their gratitude to Swami, who had provided them with

drinking water in the year 2001 through the Sri Sathya Sai Drinking Water

Project. Another very moving scene was to see the Mahaboobnagar Sevadals

utilising trolleys in service. They would rush to the aid of devotees,

especially elderly people, who needed help to transport their luggage to their

place of accommodation in the ashram. The luggage was placed in trolleys

which were wheeled by the youth themselves. What a thoughtful and heartwarming

gesture! Nobody had asked them to do it. Some of them were senior executives

in reputed companies but this job of a ‘porter' was not menial for them. You

cannot help but be moved with their dedication and devotion to their beloved

lord. "More Than 30,000 Entered Through the Ganesh Gate" - Sri Veera Reddy

Similarly, hundreds of Sevadals were busy controlling crowd at crucial

junctions of the Ashram. Sri Veera Reddy who

was managing the crowd at the Ganesh gate says, "Generally after Darshan and

bhajan the devotees will go out from the Mandir, but from 15th to 30th Nov, in

addition to the devotees already within the Mandir double the number of

devotees entered in the Mandir for availing the free food facility offered by

the Bhagavan. Daily more than 30,000 people entered through Ganesh Gate in

addition to the devotees already in Mandir for availing the morning breakfast,

mid-day lunch, evening snacks and tea and also evening dinner. Purely because

of divine blessings of Bhagavan, we were able to manage the crowd without

causing any inconvenience to the devotees." ACCOMMODATION FOR THE THOUSANDS

Now, coming to the other principal task – providing accommodation to the

hundreds that landed everyday. No effort was spared by the ashram authorities

to ensure that none would have to be turned away at the gates of Prasanthi

Nilayam and everything that was possible was done with the help of enthusiastic

volunteers. In addition to the dormitories that are usually available, more

than 25 large shelters were put up to accommodate the hordes who were pouring

in by the day. And work on these shelters started months ahead of the birthday.

There were separate accommodation arrangements made for the nearly 12,000

delegates who had gathered for the world

conference. Every inch of Ashram space was utilized judiciously and a lot of

planning went into allotting shelters for every state of India and every region

of the world. You could see big boards on the temporary shelters saying –"

Maharashtra ", " West Bengal ", etc. Some devotees were even lodged in the

Deena Janodharana Pathakamu complex – the orphanage near the ashram. There were

free medical camps running and doctors were available round the clock for

consultation and treatment near the large shelters. It was a great sight to see

people from different regions and speaking different languages living and moving

with each other so cordially and comfortably. In the Sai family, there is no

stranger. "Sai Ram" is enough introduction and "Sai" is the common bond.

The 8th World Conference session in progress... THE 8TH WORLD CONFERENCE

The two-day World Conference which had 8,000 delegates from India and more

than 3,500 delegates from overseas was a sight to behold. It was a motley crowd

of different cultures and regions, languages and beliefs but there was an

underlying feeling of great brotherliness. All were just like children of one

God, come to be with their dear father and they took back with them some of

life's most precious moments. To give you some glimpses – "We're So

Blessed To Be Here" - Clive Gregory from Canada "It's so awesome, so wonderful

and so beautiful to see Baba every day. I have had friends who have had their

knees healed and operations cancelled because Baba healed them.

For myself, Baba is working on me. It's a work in progress. I see so many

people who come from all parts of the world. I was very blessed last year

because I was chosen to lead the western devotees for Christmas and we had 50

people on a team that were from 35 different countries. It was awesome and you

got to hear so many stories of people's experiences with Baba - of how He would

come in their dreams, of how they would be motivated to serve Baba in their

countries and here. Having read all of

the Sathya Sai Speaks books, all of the Vahini books and all of Kasturi's books,

it's overwhelming and I am in awe to be in God's presence every day. I say it

humbly from my heart because I sat yesterday when Swami came out from the

veranda, I started to cry because I felt so much bliss. And we are all so

blessed to be here, and I know Swami sits there and He enjoys all of our love

for Him as well, because thousands have come here from all parts of the world

to be here for Swami's 80th birthday. And we're so blessed to be here now.

Today I was helping the overseas and Indian delegates that have come for the

conference to find their seating. Everyone is so happy. How can you be

somewhere where there is so much love? I've been in baseball stadiums, in

Olympic stadiums, everywhere for different events, but this place is special. I

know that Baba's wish of

Dharma, world wide peace and love everywhere will come true, because if He can

find a place in my heart He can find a place in everybody's heart.We all love

Baba and I love everybody." This is the real miracle. The way Swami enters each

individual's heart and then slowly, silently but surely brings out a U-turn in

the individual's outlook. Many years pass and the individual cannot believe the

amazing changes that have come about in his attitude towards life and society.

And all this happens without Swami speaking a word to the devotee physically

even once. His presence is enough. His power is there everywhere. "I Am Doing

the Same Thing...But With A different Consciousness Now" - Ricardo from Italy

Ricardo, who was there for the World Conference from Italy , expressed exactly

the same sentiments when he said, "I met Swami for the first time in 1991.

I then came to Whitefield in 1993. Since then my life has completely changed. My

life now is full of joy. I never felt myself alone ever since I saw Swami for

the first time in the physical form. And now everywhere I go I see a friend

walking beside me, with whom I exchange all of my thoughts, needs, fears, joys

- everything! I am proud to be in the Sai Organization and I am

doing Seva. All of my life has been reenergized by this meeting I had with

Swami. I am doing more or less the same thing I was doing before, but with a

different consciousness, with a different way of looking at others. I really

hope that with Swami's grace the world will be a much better place than what it

is now. Apart from that my whole attitude towards life has changed. Whatever

I'm doing now is kind of a Seva for others, including parents, friends, and

everyone. I'm proud to be here." The theme of the conference was

Unity-Purity-Divinity and you could really see how there was this tremendous

feeling of brotherliness. It was a practical demonstration of the power of

collective positive thought which can do miracles. "To Be Here Is So Special"

- Hector Casteneda from El Salvador Moved by the love and unity so evident

during the conference, Hector Casteneda, Central Coordinator for Mexico ,

Central America and the Caribbean, mentioned the following to Heart2Heart,

"Well, we are here for Baba's birthday and to come here at such an

auspicious time is something you have to experience. There are so many people

here that have come from more than 170 countries. And I was impressed to see

members of so many religions who have converged here - that is something I have

seen for the first time and you have to just experience it. You have to feel

the love of the people that come to see Swami. I know that it is very difficult

for someone to stay here at this time because there are so many

people; but the love that He spreads and the love that all the devotees spread

all over makes you feel very comfortable. To be at this special place on the

Avatar's 80th birthday is something special, because we know that something

better is in store for this planet. Then, Swami's love for all people is

going to spread all over the planet and we are going to live in peace. This is

something which He has been telling us for years and it is going to happen."

Their conviction about Swami and His message is exemplary and contagious. Each

devotee has the golden book of his priceless experiences with Bhagavan in their

and that gives all the inspiration and strength that each one needs whenever and

wherever.

"The Care and Attention To All Was Wonderful" - Dr. Nelly Carache from

Venezuela Dr. Nelly Carache, a devotee from the South American country of

Venezuela , said, "It's my 6th trip here and I have known Baba for

eighteen years. I am a doctor and I have had a lot of experiences there with

Swami. Here, for this celebration, for the magnitude of this 80th Swami's

birthday, I just can say that the attention, and care to all the devotees was

lovely, wonderful. I feel

that there was a holy hand, a divine hand - if not, it would be impossible for

everything to be so perfect. Talking about my experiences, my husband (who

does not believe in miracles) was cooking in our kitchen, when suddenly he cut

his thumb badly. I told to him to just put Vibhuti with a bandage. We waited

twelve hours to check it and then found that there was not even a mark. His

hand was perfect again." In whichever corner of the world he/she may be,

each devotee feels Swami's love. And seeing Swami physically during the grand

Birthday celebrations was an experience that was phenomenal. Some devotees from

distant countries, who were there in Prashanti just a few months ago during the

Guru Poornima celebrations in July, could not allow themselves to miss the big

event. The magic of His love and the gift of His Darshan pulled them and they

were again back at the Lotus Feet of their beloved! "We Are So Pleased To See

Swami Again" - Steven Perry from UK One such example is Steven Perry

from UK who said, "We were here at Guru Poornima, and we felt so full that we

weren't going to come back. But we came back for the 8th World Conference and

to see Swami again! And we are just so pleased to see Swami so full of love for

everyone. I've known Swami since 1998, and since then I try to follow His

teachings. And although I am imperfect, I feel some movement is happening

within me. It's such a pleasure to see everybody here from every corner of the

world. It is just such a big birthday celebration. We all love Swami and we

have all got to learn to give that love to other

people as well." "The Best Miracle For Me Is To See Swami Move All Hearts" -

Juan Carlos Ponce de Leon from Peru Juan Carlos Ponce de Leon from Peru who was

here in Prashanti Nilayam during the Birthday told Heart2Heart, "It's

incredible for me to feel the love and the energy of Swami as His presence -

and in each devotee too. The best miracle for me is to see Swami move all

hearts, to share love and work together. This is the real transformation. I

have heard stories about the leelas of Swami, but the most important thing is

the change of mind and heart of people. And then to spread Swami's words to the

people in more than 140 countries." This was the inspiration with which the

thousands who had gathered for the World Conference left – to share Swami's

love and His message. Their hearts were recharged and full with the experience

of His presence and they wanted to share with anybody they could. And in fact,

that is what life is meant for – to share love, to be caring, to realise that

there is God in every being. When every man realises and practises this

fundamental unity in creation, each one can see and feel divinity in every

moment. The golden age truly then would have arrived. THE WONDERFUL SAI

SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA A

beautiful event associated with the World Conference was the Sai Symphony

Orchestra on the 21 st evening where 53 musicians from over 20 countries

performed before Bhagavan. There were artists from Asia , Australia , Europe ,

North, Central and South America and they worked together during five days of

rehearsals in a great joyful spirit of unity and love. Their goal was simple –

to do their best before their Sweet Lord. Now, we are not going into details of

the beautiful compositions they played. You must have read all this in the

Prashanti Diary of the December issue. (To read it again, go here.) What we are

going to give you is glimpses of the spirit behind their performances - what

inspired them to come to Puttaparthi? How did they know about Swami? And what

music means to them? "Swami Has Blessed Me" - Klaus Maurer, Conductor When

Heart2Heart asked the conductor Klaus Maurer his experiences, he told us -

"When I came first to Prashanti it was because one of my

friends talked about Swami, but actually Swami entered into my life much

earlier. Swami is omnipresent. He has created the whole world, He has created

me, so there are so many times in my life Swami has blessed me. He gave me my

wife. I asked Him to give me a wife who would be able to live around the world

and He gave me Johanna, who is a marvelous pianist from Poland. Then we came

to Puttaparthi, my wife had a chance to play a piano recital for Swami. And

after this, Swami gave me the opportunity to conduct this orchestra. How can I

thank Swami for all that He does, because it is a present for me. I conduct the

orchestra and I learn so much from Him. Everyday you try to improve, to make

better music - you try to seek perfection. You are not perfect, you never

achieve perfection - only God is perfection - but every day has a goal with

Swami."

"This is the Best Moment Of My Career" - Andrea from Croatia "My first

impression of playing for the Sathya Sai Symphony Orchestra was a year and a

half ago, when I was here in Puttaparthi, and Swami called me for interview,"

says Andrea, a professional musician who plays bass trombone, from Croatia who

was also part of the Orchestra. He continues, "In the interview He asked me

what my profession is. I told Him that I am a musician and that I play trombone

in the symphony orchestra. Then we talked about my profession and I started to

have a wish to play in

front of Swami. I didn't know that there is an international Sathya Sai Symphony

Orchestra. I was also here, 3 months ago. I met some people from the

organization and they asked me if I would like to play for Swami - I didn't

have to think very long! I think this is the best moment of my career - to play

in front of my God in this symphony orchestra. The atmosphere in this orchestra

is very good and very positive. We all come from various corners of the world;

we just met each other and started playing. So simple and so complicated

at the same time. Music is equal to divinity according to me. I don't know

what can be more blissful and more divine, because there is nothing in this

world that is more divine than music for me. I am a musician and I can tell you

that out of my experience. And when you come to Prashanti Nilayam, when you hear

bhajans, when you hear chanting of the Vedas, when you hear classical music, you

will always find the same vibration; you will always find the same divine fire

in all the music. Although they are various kinds of music, the divine fire

will be the same." How true! Andrea so beautifully spelt out the soul of

music. "It's Just Great To Be Here" - Letora from

France For some of the musicians it was their first visit to Swami

like Letora from France . "It's my first time here, and I'm very surprised

that there are so many people who have come to be with Swami," says Letora who

plays bassoon, a wind instrument, and landed in Puttaparthi just a week before

the orchestra. "I am very impressed," he continues, "that we have offered

this music to Swami. I love to play music because I think that rhythm has

something to do with spirituality. For me, this is the most important thing I

have to offer to Swami…. A lot of people are doing a lot of work here. It's

wonderful. The village and landscape of Puttaparthi is very beautiful. The

weather is good. It's just great to be here." "What Swami Said About Love

Really Moved Me" – Concert Member from Japan Another first-timer, from

Japan, says, "I joined the concert for the first time. I met Sai Baba this year

through my mother-in-law. So this year everything for me is new and I'm really

excited. I'm very happy to play the music with this orchestra because everybody

is nice and they are helping so much when I can't understand what to do. I'm

happy to do for Baba anything concerned with music. Music is my job. I had a

really special time at His birthday. I'm very excited now. And what Swami said

about love really moved me. Such kind of words I never heard. I'm trying to

understand more of Him and the Sai Community." "I Like Music With Love" -

Harry from Holland Harry, another member of the Sai Symphony Orchestra,

says, "I like music so much, not only classical western but I like all types

of music which is played with love. When there is no love, I don't like it.

When there is love, I like it. And this is how Swami wants us to be - full of

love. When we go back to our

countries, we are there to represent Swami's love. So we come together and play

to the physical form, but when we go back we carry the memories." Yes,

all the 53 musicians carried back with them memories…memories so sweet that

will fill them with bliss whenever recalled, memories that will inspire them

forever to divinize not only their music and but also every moment of their

life. After the World Conference, we know, there was the Institute's

convocation and then the action shifted to the Hill

View Stadium for the big day! THE STUNNING STADIUM ON THE BIRTHDAY Not many

people know of the elaborate planning and arrangements that were being made in

the stadium weeks before the Big Day. More than 150 Sevadal volunteers were

engaged in various activities in stadium for more than a week before the

Birthday. On the 22nd, there was even a rehearsal of the Sevadal

deployment and the whole stadium was divided into seven sectors – three on the

ground and the other four in the galleries. A student, who used to watch the

developments in the stadium from behind the hostel in its preparatory days,

says, "The stadium seemed to have woken up from its quite and sedentary ways.

The statues in the stadium already wore a fresh coat of paint as if they were

all dressed and ready for the grand event. A casual observer would have noticed

a team of people busy inspecting the Shanthi Vedika stage and the surrounding

galleries. In the days to come they transformed the stage and the stadium into

something that resembled a massive royal court! Somebody said, nay, it's a great

comfy open air theatre! With the green water-proof carpet all over the area of

the ground, the stadium had acquired a totally new manifestation." A Complete

Makeover to Shanthi Vedika Yes, the stadium was actually no more a stadium. In

fact, many people who had never seen the stadium in its preparatory days were

shocked to the ground on the final day - "My God! We cannot recognise this. Is

it the same Hill View Stadium that had the cricket ground?" they asked with big

eyes and open mouths. The path from the middle - an innovative

idea... The idea takes shape.... "The Shanthi Vedika stage was getting

a complete makeover. Beautiful cut-outs and decorations started adorning the

stage. The floor had beautiful tiles now and professional florists from many

regions including Japan and Switzerland were busy creating a masterpiece of

beauty. And then the ornate lamp-posts along the road…at night fall they lit up

like a necklace around the stadium!" says another student and continues,

"another neat idea you could not help appreciate was the path that was being

made through the center of the ground. Thanks to this red-carpeted centre path,

on the Birthday, hundreds of devotees could catch a glimpse of Swami from a

distance of only a few metres!" The Impressive Hoardings… Huge hoardings

came

up around the stadium days prior to the 23rd conveying what Swami truly is -

pure selflessness. "Your Well-being is my concern", "Your Joy is My Wish", "May

There Be Peace And Love In The World" the 40 ft by 20 ft structures stated along

with beautiful images of Swami smiling and blessing. And mind you, they were

permanent structures in wood and iron which had taken a week to erect. In

addition to this, smaller banners with the 80th birthday logo filled the

stadium and added so much colour to the setting. The huge

hoardings coming up... The hoardings proclaiming what Swami is - Pure

Selflessness In fact, such huge hoardings were found not only in the stadium

but inside the Ashram as well. Not only that, more than 30 such large hoardings

were put up even in the city of Bangalore and many more on the way to

Puttaparthi from Bangalore. All conveying the immortal message of love and

peace of Swami. Apart from the hoardings, there were also beautiful arches on

every entrance of Hill View Stadium and even beyond the stadium. All these were

the contribution of different states of India. Each coveyed an unique spiritual

theme with beautiful art-work. Beautiful

spiritual theme based arches from different states of India A New Stage

Blossoming… "You could not miss the galleries below the Hanuman statue

where a bright lotus like stage was blossoming!" another student currently

doing his Ph. D says. "Carpenters, decorators and engineers were busy at

work - Painting the flanks, putting up and testing the lights, setting up the

elaborate sound system, carrying out tests and fine tuning the performance of

each piece of

equipment." Just beside this stage, there was another big structure coming

up - the LED display screen. It was in fact, from one of world's best companies

in the LED business - Barco, a company renowned for its longstanding leadership

in the visualization industry. There were actually two screens, the second one

placed above the pavilion on the gents' side. And these two displays were

receiving their feed from eight video cameras set up at different strategic

locations all round the stadium. There were even two aerial multi-dimensional

‘speed dome' cameras

on either side of the Shanthi Vedika. Thanks to this set up, all the devotees

could totally involve themselves with the happenings on the stage and also

watch close-ups of Swami sitting on the majestic throne in the Shanthi Vedika.

Explosions and Lasers! Everybody who was there in the stadium on that

blissful evening can never forget the grand fireworks and of course the laser

show. The fireworks specialists were from the famous Sivakasi and were people

who had handled various other mega-events across the country. Thanks to their

expertise and also divine grace, in spite of the intermittent rain they lit up

the evening sky on the 23rd with one of the most spectacular fireworks

displays that Parthi had ever witnessed - the rockets went up to 100ft into the

sky and many lit up a diameter of 125 ft with sparkling colours. Coupled with

the laser show, these two events really mesmerised the devotees with the

delightful play of sound and light and made the evening so very memorable.

The launching pads of the

'fireworks' rockets Fireworks light up the sky... THE WORLD OF MUSIC

OFFERS THEIR DEVOTION TO SWAMI We know that very eminent musicians offered

their music to Swami on that beautiful evening. Be it Pt. Shiv Kumar Sharma,

Kavita Subramaniam and Dr. L Subramaniam, Amjad Ali Khan, Richa Sharma, Parveen

Sultana or Dana Gillespie, for all of these musicians, the experience was

priceless. Here is a glimpse of what a few of

musicians said - "We Think of Swami Constantly" - Amaan, Ayaan and

Ustad Amjad Ali Khan Amaan, Ayaan, Amjad Ali Khan and Subhalakshmi Khan

after the performance said, "We feel so blessed to have been able to perform

in the divine presence of Baba on His eightieth year. It was so moving to see

lakhs of people sharing the music in complete devotion that evening in

Puttaparthi, in spite of the constant drizzle. Ever since our entire family

had Baba's Darshan and Blessings, we think of Swami constantly and feel blessed

in every way every day of lives. We just feel so fortunate to have been here to

witness this great day and get Baba's blessings." This is what Rahul Sharma,

who along with his father Pt. Shiv Kumar Sharma performed on

the 80th Birthday night, said when we asked him - What does Swami mean to him?

after his performance - "I Feel Grateful...in This Lifetime To Receive His

Love." - Rahul Sharma "Well..where should I begin...I first went to

Him about 12 years ago and He had a mesmerizing impact on me. I was called back

to the

interview room and sat before Him while He told me all from my inhibitions and

my life, etc. Then out of the blue He materialized a navaratna (nine gems) ring

and put it on my finger. I thanked Him, and left. For a few nights, when I

used to practise the santoor and then go to sleep, He would appear in my dreams

and encourage me about my practice. It was amazing and then later when I would

meet Him, He would tell me about my dreams. I've had the fortune of playing

at least 3 or 4 times on stage for His birthdays, in His presence. I have been

truly blessed and received many tokens of His blessing, a wrist watch and Amrit

Kalash [nectar of the God's].

The most amazing memory I have was when I was in Dubai and the tyre of the car

I was traveling in at high speed burst and the only name that came to my lips

was, BABA..BABA..BABA...as I looked at the ring and prayed for a miracle as the

car crashed into the road divider and turned turtle and drifted to one corner of

the busy highway. I came out unscratched and was taken to a clinic in Dubai for

a routine check up and the first thing I see in the clinic in Dubai is a huge

picture of SATHYA SAI BABA. That says it all! Later when I was in Puttaparthi,

Baba narrated the entire incident to me about the accident and how it all

happened. He knew it all! I feel grateful, that in this lifetime I have been

able to receive His blessings and still continue to receive His warmth and

love.With Swami…We Are in Heaven" – Begum Parveen Sultana When we spoke to

Begum Parveen Sultana and Ustad Dilshad Khan after their concert on the 80 th

Birthday evening, recalling their first performance in front of Swami,

Parveenji said, "Believe it or not, for two minutes we could not

sing with the emotion choked in my voice. Bhagavan was sitting before us, I

can't believe it - we had heard about Him and that day… was it true that we

were going to sing for Him? I was pinching myself… where was I, was I really

sitting in front of Him? It was an unbelievable experience. And from that day

onwards we became His devotees…. Whenever we come here and sing before Swami,

I have very good experiences. Whenever I am with Swami and suppose somebody is

playing or singing, Swami just looks at me or I just look at Swami and we just

communicate like that - how the concert is going on, how nice it is, how divine

it is -

it is like a mental conversation, like father and daughter. There are so many

things you learn. Baba has taught us many things and whenever I sing, you

know, Baba is sitting there. I feel some more life to our music, some sort of

energy and vibration and I feel so much at peace and I become a different

person. I go to a different world with Swami's appreciation and Swami's power.

He charges me with energy. It is so divine that I don't care for the world. I

look at Swami and Swami looks at me and it is something like a booster rocket -

that kind of energy I get. Whenever I come here and sing, the satisfaction that

I get, I don't get anywhere else because this is divine satisfaction. We are

all professional musicians; we work hard and earn money. We sing for the

gallery, we sing for the masses, we sing for class - but here we sing specially

for God; we

imbibe the divine atmosphere. We feel as if we are singing in a Durbar, Swarg,

and Heaven. God is sitting before us." "All Our Life Is Devoted to Him"

- Ustad Dilshad Khan With a great sense of humility, Ustad Dilshad Khan adds,

"Sometimes we feel that what we got from Him, a child won't get from his parents

- the way we got so many

things from Baba. We will definitely serve and obey the orders of Sai; all our

life is devoted to Him. Not only this life but for all lives to come we will be

devoted to Him and we will do whatever He says." "I Think of Him In Every

Step" - Dana Gillespie We have read what Begum Praveen and Amjad Ali Khan had

to say. Now let's move from the heart of Indian classical music to the soul of

western contemporary music. This is how Dana Gillespie, a well-known

international blues singer, described her experience performing before Swami to

H2H - "I have sung beside Him when He sat on the side of the stage with

me. That is a strange dichotomy for as a performer you are meant to be

performing for the audience out there, but at the same time there is this

Presence. So you sing for the audience but occasionally I will give a little

glance to Him but would not sing straight to Him. A lot of people have said

it must be so emotional when He is sitting there. But in fact it is not; it is

as if on the day of the concert He switches off my emotions because if I was

emotional at that point I would be overcome with bliss and choked with emotion.

I do the job, I feel the joy but I focus on

the job. But if I am on my own during a rehearsal I am often in tears of joy and

sometimes it is as if it is not my voice and I can cry over the lyrics." And

how has Swami influenced her music and her life? Dana continues, "I try

to bring His teachings into the blues lyrics and I am proud that I have even

just heard of Him because I spent up 23 years thinking that all the holy

saints lived in the old days. He has shown that His omniscience, omnipresence

and omnipotence is so overpowering that I think of Him at every step. And

sometimes it is harder here with the physical form as He may not be talking to

you -so forget the interview, it is the ‘inner view' that counts!" SAI – To See

Always Inside How true and revealing…yes, numerous are the occasions when

Swami has mentioned that man has reached the moon and the depths of the ocean

but not an inch within himself! In fact, all His interviews are to persuade us

to see inside. SAI means to See Always Inside and millions derive

inspiration from Him from within. His 5'3" physical frame is just an easy and

sweet medium for us to derive bliss with least effort. But to remain in that

bliss at all times, one has to internalize Him. Parting Words...

Well…there is no end to the experiences of devotees, be it Sevadals, artists or

professionals who had come for the 80 th Birthday. Dear reader, the whole idea

of this cover story was to give you

those glimpses of the historic event that was the 80 th Birthday that many were

unaware of and therefore not touched by it. We hope that the great stories of

service and sacrifice of the Sevadals and the amazing experiences of various

people from all over the globe and from different walks of life that has dotted

this cover story inspire you, enliven you and give you another opportunity to

revel and bask in the glory of Sai. - Heart2Heart Team. We are grateful to D

J Das, Hari Shankar, Sudhindran, Gopi Krishna, Alex, Sri Challam and many other

Sevadal members for their active cooperation and inputs. Source: Radio Sai

E-Magazine, February

2006http://media.radiosai.org/Journals/Vol_04/01FEB06/coverstory_behind_80thbday.htm