Parthi Update 23rd to 28th Jan 2005

[Guest guest]

Parthi Update

23rd to 28th January 2005

 

Sairam. The past three days have been quite uneventful at the Mandir. Sorry,

uneventful is a very wrong word to use in relation to Bhagawan. He comes for

Darshan and goes away into the interview room and so we may feel that there is

nothing special happening. But there could be nothing farther away from the

truth. Every wave of His Hand during Darshan may be answering so many queries,

a single nod of His Head may be soothing so many hearts, one Look of His and

thousands in that direction are filled with inexplicable joy! What appears as

normal Darshan to us is filled with mysterious events and happenings that draw

hundreds of His devotees closer to Him. Therefore, we first apologize for using

the word uneventful. Let us put it this way: for the past three days, there were

no special programmes in Sai Kulwant Hall, nothing visibly happening that we

could relate to you.

On 23rd morning, Swami came out only for Bhajans. However, in the evening, Swami

came out for Darshan at around 3.15 p.m. and sat outside after a long gap of

several days, giving all of us wonderful Darshan for full one hour. That came

as a downpour on the desert like dry hearts of ours owing to the recent

drought!!

On 24th morning again, surprisingly, Bhagawan came out early in the morning at

7.15 a.m. There were very few people even in the Portico as all were used to

Swami’s arrival after 8.30 a.m. These are His wonderful ways! He definitely

keeps us on our toes!! In the evening, Swami came out by 3.15 p.m. but

disappeared immediately into the interview room, only to emerge out for the

Bhajans.

On the 25th morning, Bhagawan did not come out for Darshan, but in the evening,

He came out at 4.40 p.m. He sat outside and asked the Bhajan boys to start

Bhajans. We had lovely Bhajans till 5.30 p.m. and once again it was a feast to

our eyes to watch Him sitting on the sofa and keeping beat to the soul stirring

Bhajans!

 

26th January 2005

26th morning, all students and staff assembled at the Institute for the Flag

Hoisting ceremony, marking the 56th Anniversary of the Republic of India. At

sharp 7.00 a.m. our Tricolour Flag was hoisted followed by a brief inspiring

talk by our revered Vice-Chancellor. Subsequently, we all rushed to the Mandir.

Swami came out at 7.55

a.m. As He came and got down on the dais, He spoke to brother Nitin about

something. We saw brother Nitin moving towards the Bhajan Hall and then Swami

was continuously looking towards the Poornachandra Hall side. We thought that

Swami was expecting some guest. There was news that the First Lady of

Kazakhstan was arriving at Parthi for having Bhagawan’s Darshan.

Several minutes passed by and Swami kept enquiring about something. We were

wondering why the guest was not arriving and were concerned to see Swami

standing and waiting for the arrival. Wow! How important that person could be

for Swami to wait so long. Then Swami again called brother Nitin Acharya and

signaled towards the boys. Still, we were not clear what was happening.

Finally, the VIP arrived and we could see the delight on Bhagawan’s face. Boxes

of Perk Chocolates were brought in by the boys into the Portico. My God! So

that was what our Divine Mother was waiting for! For our Divine Mother,

showering Her Love on Her children is what gives the greatest joy. We thought

that Swami was waiting for some VIP – Very Important Person. Least did we know

that He was waiting for the VIP – Very Important Prasadam!!

The chocolates were distributed to all the students. Then came Wafers that were

distributed to all devotees. Swami was sitting and observing the entire

process, giving some instructions and guidance here and there to ensure perfect

logistics and delivery! Bhajans started at 8.25 a.m. and went on till 9.15 a.m.

By then the distribution of Prasadam was through. All had the sweet chocolates

and wafers in their pockets but their attention was on the source of all

sweetness – our dear Lord sitting on the sofa with a gentle sway that kept beat

with the Bhajans!

In the evening, Swami came out at 3.15 p.m. He got down and came towards the

sofa. Would He sit down or would He turn and go back into the interview room?

To our delight, He sat down on the sofa amidst loud applause. He spoke to the

Warden and then the Vice-Chancellor. It was obvious that Swami was looking for

some student to give a talk. The lucky student was Sri Jagadish Chandra, a

student from the II M.Sc.(Physics) class. Bhagawan called him forward and spoke

to him. Meanwhile, the mike and the podium were kept in place. Brother Jagadish

went over to the stage and delivered an inspiring talk filled with patriotic

feelings, reminding us about our

obligation to our sacred Nation and evoking tides of Love for our dear Motherland!

Following him, brother Sudhindran, who is part of the Vedam Chanting core group,

was called upon by Bhagawan to translate the Sri Suktam for all of us. The rest

of the core group chanted two lines at a time followed by a vivid translation

and an occasional explanation about the inner significance of the Vedic

utterances. The entire Sri Suktam was chanted in this manner. After brother

Sudhindran completed his talk, brother Shashank Shah, who has completed his MBA

Course and is now pursuing his M.Phil. at our Institute, was Blessed by Swami to

share his thoughts with the audience.

Brother Shashank spoke at length, detailing the major landmarks in the life of

our dear Bhagawan, starting right from His declaration to the world about His

Avataarhood, until the latest Chennai Water Project commissioned coinciding

with the 79th Birthday celebrations of Bhagawan. Incidentally, the video

describing the Chennai Water Project in detail, produced by the Prashanthi

Digital Studios, is available for viewing at www.saicast.org. He completed his

talk at 5.05 p.m. Swami called him closer and materialized a gold ring with a

green diamond for him and slipped it onto his finger. The

student was filled with great joy and gratitude at this spontaneous Love of Bhagawan!!

27th January 2005

This morning, Bhagawan came out for Darshan at 7.45 a.m. The First Lady, Her

Excellency - Sara Alpysovna of Kazakhstan had arrived yesterday night. She is

the wife of the President – His Excellency - Nursultan Abishevich Nazarbayev of

Kazakhstan. She is also the President of “Bobek” Children's Foundation,

established in 1992. Bhagawan gave her and her party an audience. The First

Lady also visited our Institute with her party members at 11.00 a.m. She went

around the various departments and the A.I. Lab, followed by a special session,

where the VC gave a talk supported by a video film, explaining the salient

features of the Value Based Education offered at our Institute.

In the evening, Swami came out at 3.00 p.m. He first took a group of devotees

into the interview room. After a long while, the door opened, but then the

First lady of Kazakhstan went in with her team. It was close to 5.00 p.m. when

Bhagawan came out and went into the Bhajan Hall. Bhajans began at 5.00

p.m. and at 5.30 p.m. Bhagawan took Aarti and retired to PC. Even as we were

moving out of the Sai Kulwant Hall, the convoy of the First Lady of Kazakhstan

left the Mandir to make a visit to the Chaitanya Jyothi Museum.

For your information, a few years back, one of our alumni Sri Kshitij Gupte who

had completed his MFM from our School of Management was working at Kazakhstan.

During that period the First Lady of Kazakhstan had contacted him and had shown

keen interest in the Value Based Education imparted to students here. In fact,

she had asked him to assist

in framing a Value Based Education Model for her country. It was at that time,

that he had accompanied the First lady along with her team, in a chartered

flight to Prasanthinilayam.

 

28th January 2005

This morning, Bhagawan came out for Darshan at 7.15 a.m. The team from

Kazakhstan was once gain privileged to have an Interview with the Lord that

went on till 8.20 a.m. Subsequently, Swami came and sat outside on the sofa.

The Kulwant Hall was filled with thousands of devotees from Anantapur District.

Around 6000 of them had arrived at Parthi as their part in the 80th Year

Celebrations of the advent of Bhagawan. Ladies and Gents wearing badges

sat eagerly to have Darshan of the Lord. After Swami sat down, Prof. Anil Kumar

took over the mike. There was to be distribution of Sewing Machines and Wet

Grinders to the needy people from Anantapur. This was an offering by the

devotees of Anantapur to the Sai installed in the hearts of these poor and

needy people!

As their names were called out, the candidates, most of them being women and a

few men, came over to the front of the dais, bowed down to Swami and received

their tokens of Love. We were not there to witness this scene as it was a

working day for us. However, a visiting Professor who was present in the Hall

said that it was a very fulfilling event and it was even more meaningful for

those who realized that it was not just a sewing machine or a wet grinder that

was being offered to the needy but it was a source of income – a source of

livelihood for them that would change their whole lives!! Around 100 of them

were benefited by these gifts.

At 8.50 a.m., Bhajans were sung by the Gent devotees of Anantapur. This went on

till 9.15 a.m. when Swami took Aarti and retired to PC.

In the evening, Swami was out for Darshan by 3.00 p.m. The Anantapur devotees

had their backdrop ready for the cultural programme to be presented by them.

Swami got down from the Golf Cart and went inside the interview room. He came

out only at 3.50 p.m. He walked to the centre of the dais and sat down on the

sofa.

The dance drama to be presented by the Anantapur Samithi children was titled,

“Anantha Varadayee Sri Sathya Sai” – “The Bestower of Infinite Boons – Sri

Sathya Sai”. The dance drama was presented in modules; each module starting

with a commentary by a small boy who would come forward and speak in Telugu,

with a mock mike. Of course, the commentary and songs were all prerecorded.

This would be followed by a dance, the lyrics of which talked about the theme

of that module.

The best part of the play was the backdrop, yet one more innovative idea

springing up in the Sai Kulwant Hall presentations. All the backdrops, a dozen

or more of them, were huge screen printings on canvas, but were all on a

continuous canvas sheet. The whole sheet was rolled up on an axle and was

rolled down one after the other as the scene would begin. This kept the

backdrop firm and tight enough between the two axles, and the rolling was a

very easy and smooth way to bring in the next scene!! Hats off to this creative

idea being implemented for the first time by the Anantapur Samithi organizers.

The first module spoke about the Lord as the one who bestows infinite boons on

humanity. The second module was on the Educational Institutions started by

Swami. The backdrop was a beautiful photograph of our Administrative Block and

on top was written – Om Sri Sai Vidya Dayine Namaha – Sai the Bestower of Vidya

(Knowledge). Towards the end of the dance for this module, we had young boys

coming in with small banners in their hands exhibiting the photographs of the

various educational institutions started by Swami, the ones at Parthi,

Bukkapatnam, Kothacheruvu, Anantapur, etc.

The third module was on the Super Specialty Hospitals. The scene at the back had

this written on the top – Om Sri Sai Arogyapradaya Namaha – Sai the Bestower of

Health. This was followed by Om Sri Sai Deenajana Poshanaya Namaha – Sai the

Caretaker of the Poor and the Needy – which talked about the Deenajanodarana

Pathakam – the orphanage started by Swami. The fifth module was – Om Sri Sai

Annavastradaya Namaha – Sai the Bestower of Food and Clothes. This covered the

Grama Seva, construction of Kalyana Mantapams in villages and other services to

the poor and needy.

The sixth module, needless to say was – Om Sri Sai Jeevadharaya Namaha – Sai

the Support of our Life – depicting the Water Project Gift of Bhagawan. The

first backdrop for this module was a lone villager sitting on a dry parched

land with huge cracks that mercilessly cracked the hearts of these poor folk.

Then came in a make shift well, that was fully dry and a tree with no leaves.

Following the dance, came the next scene of Swami’s Water Project Tanks, and a

group of girls rushing in with blue saris in their hands making wave like

patterns! Sai Ganga had gushed in to save the thirsty villagers!!

The final scene was a dance with the backdrop reading – Om Sri Sai Jagad

Rakshakaya Namaha – Sai the Protector of the Universe! The dance drama came to

a close at 4.30 p.m. All the participants assembled in front of the dais. Swami

got up from the sofa and got down the steps to Bless them with group by group

photographs amidst loud applause. The organizers too, both Ladies and Gents

were lucky to manage a photograph with Swami.

As Swami went and sat down on the sofa, classical songs filled the air of Sai

Kulwant Hall. Both the men and women rendered three songs. Bhagawan signaled

for the Aarti. It was 4.55 p.m. when our dear Lord, having satisfied all the

devotees from Anantapur by giving them an opportunity to perform in His

Presence and saturating their hearts with Bliss and Joy, retired to PC. Day

after day is ticking by as we approach the 80th Birthday of our Beloved

Bhagawan. Let us see what comes next in His Agenda!. We will get back to you

soon.

 

Sairam

 

A Anantha VijayaManager (Sales & Mktg.) Dhara Vegetable Oil & Foods Company

LtdC/o National Dairy Development BoardNear Mahananda DairyWestern Express

HighwayGoregaon (East)Mumbai - 400 063Ph: (off) 26850459 (res) 26850458

Search presents - Jib Jab's 'Second Term'