The Festival of Joy - Sai Children's Festival, October 22nd – 24th, 2005

[Guest guest]

The Sri Sathya Sai Bal Vikas programme was started by Bhagawan in 1968 with the

aim to inculcate the fundamental human values of Sathya (Truth), Dharma

(Righteousness), Shanthi (Peace) and Ahimsa (Non-Violence) among children so

that the foundations of a spiritual life are laid at an early age. Children in

the age group 6-15 learn about various aspects of spirituality from designated

Bal Vikas Gurus belonging to the Sri Sathya Sai Seva Organization. The Bal

Vikas movement today reaches out to more than 2 lakh (200,000) children all

over India through a network of more than 16,000 Gurus and is actively engaged

in realizing Bhagawan's vision of a spiritual revival in modern society.

>From October 22nd to 24th, more than three thousand Bal Vikas students from all

over India gathered at Prasanthi Nilayam to celebrate the 'Festival of Joy'.

The event was an outpouring of the love and gratitude of the students to

Bhagawan for entering and transforming their lives, and through them, the lives

of their family members and others around them. Over the three days, the

children basked in the love of Bhagawan, presenting a variety of programmes in

the Divine presence on the lessons they have imbibed as students of the Bal

Vikas programme. There was a significant presence of students from the far off

North Eastern states like Assam, Manipur and Sikkim, their faces beaming with

the joy of being with Bhagawan on this wonderful occasion. Bhagawan too

responded to the love of the children in so many ways. The students, with their

teachers, were all accommodated within the ashram

campus and were given free food on all the days of their stay at Prasanthi Nilayam.

Bhagawan evinced personal interest in their welfare and even blessed the

children with a visit to see for Himself the arrangements that had been made

for them. Two exhibitions were organised on this occasion. One showcased

spiritual books for children brought out by the Sri Sathya Sai Organizations in

different Indian languages. The other was on the folk arts and handicrafts from

all over India. Children could even learn the rudiments of these arts from

trainers during the days of the exhibition. The entire ashram was abuzz with

activity, with children practising for the programmes they would present in

front of Bhagawan during the three days of the festival.

The festival commenced on the morning of October 22nd in Sai Kulwant Hall.

Bhagawan lit the ceremonial lamp signalling the start of the festival. Sri

V.Srinivasan, President, Sri Sathya Sai Seva Organizations, India welcomed all

the participating students and expressed his gratitude on their behalf to

Bhagawan for blessing them with the opportunity to be a part of this joyous

event. After Sri Srinivasan's introductory talk, there was a music programme by

a choir composed of 300 children from different parts of the country. The hall

reverberated to the sound of their voices as they sang in unison, songs in

Hindi and Telugu languages. "Shakthi ni ivvu, Bhakthi ni ivvu" they prayed to

Bhagawan, "grant us Shakthi (strength to carry out God's command) and Bhakthi

(devotion to the Lord)". This programme was followed by speeches by three Bal

Vikas students. Kum. Shwetha, from the state of Karnataka, began by observing

that though man has

made such strides in science and technology, he has not yet learnt how to live

as a man. The true purpose of education is character, she said, and it was the

gift of character that they were receiving from Bhagawan through the Bal Vikas

programme.

Master Pranav Shyam Bhat from the city of Mumbai echoed these sentiments and

said that every Sai devotee has a moral duty towards himself and to the world

to tread on the path shown by Bhagawan so that all the people in the world

could reach God. He prayed to Bhagawan to grant all the students with purity in

their thought, word and deed. Master Krishna De, a nine-year old student who

hails from the state of West Bengal, declared, "We have come from You,

Bhagawan, and we must all return to You". He prayed to Bhagawan to mould their

lives to live by His teaching so that the ideal of "Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam" (The

entire humanity is one family) could be realized.

After the rousing speeches by the students, Bhagawan granted His Divine Message

emphasizing on the importance of maintaining purity in the food one consumes

and the company one keeps.

The food one ingests influences the kind of thoughts that arise in our minds,

and it is these thoughts that turn us towards or away from God. Similarly, He

said, it is vital to carefully select the circle of one's friends. One must

cultivate Sathsangam, the company of the noble. He advised the children to turn

away from books that dwell on negative aspects and instead read the inspiring

lives of great and noble men and sages.

The afternoon session saw a medley of dances on the theme, "The Glory of Sathya

Sai". The dances depicted the story of Bhagawan's life, whose coming had been

prophesied by the scriptures of many religions of the world. Many episodes from

Bhagawan's life such as incidents at the Pushpagiri Scout fair, the letter

written by Bhagawan to His elder brother, Shri Seshama Raju in which He speaks

of the Mission for which He has descended etc. were all presented through

beautifully choreographed dances.

The presentation had a very novel ending where a UFO descends on the floor of Kulwant Hall.

>From the UFO descend aliens who have come to earth after having heard of the

Avatar's descent on the planet. They threaten to take Him away with them if

they do not follow His teachings, as the entire cosmos is yearning for the

opportunity of being contemporaries of the Avatar. They are only satisfied when

representatives of Planet Earth promise to be worthy of God's Love. At the

conclusion of the programme, arati was offered to Bhagawan.

On the morning of 23rd, there was a presentation by Bal Vikas students of

various states on the religious customs and traditions of some of the major

religions of the world. The basic tenets of Hinduism, Christianity, Judaism,

Zoroastrianism and Islam were depicted through the rituals that are performed

by followers of these faiths. The afternoon session featured a very innovative

presentation by the children of the Sri Sathya Sai Primary School.

Using a projector-screen system for a backdrop, the programme dwelt on the life

and teachings of Bhagawan. The narrators of the programme were two students

dressed as Prof. Kasturi and Dr. Hislop, two devotees who were fortunate to

have enjoyed the proximity of Bhagawan and were witnesses to many wonders and

miracles of Bhagawan during their lifetime. They recall various incidents that

took place during Bhagawan's childhood days.

Then it is the turn of Mother Saraswati, the Goddess of learning and Lord

Dhanvantari, the God of Healing to express their gratitude to Bhagawan for

raising education and medicine on such a high pedestal through His educational

institutions and hospitals. The saints, Thyagaraja, Purandaradasa, Meerabai,

Chaitanya Deva also follow, paying homage to the Lord whom they all adored

through their devotional compositions. For the final scene, all the students of

the Primary School joined in waving golden stars and singing aloud the praise of

their Mother Sai. Bhagawan blessed the participating students with photographs

before accepting arati at the conclusion of the day's proceedings.

The morning of the final day of the festival, October 24th featured a

presentation with a difference. "Heritage Sports", as the programme was titled,

recreated the sylvan atmosphere of rural India, with the Bal Vikas students

showcasing some of the games and sports that are popular in the villages in

their states. The students from Andhra Pradesh displayed astonishing dexterity

in swirling tops and balancing them on their palms and on their heads and even

tossing it to each other and then balancing them. Students from Orissa

exhibited a game of amazing endurance, "Puchhi", which is played usually by

village girls there. All the games and sports were much enjoyed and appreciated

by the devotees who had gathered in Sai Kulwant Hall. This was followed by three

short speeches by Bal Vikas students.

In the evening, Bal Vikas students from Tamil Nadu, presented, "Bhakthi Mahima",

on the lives of two much revered saints of India, Tulsidas and Kanakadasa.

Tulsidas was very much a man of the world until his wife turned his mind away

from worldly pleasures towards the bliss of being immersed in devotion to the

Lord. His heart was then filled with a tremendous longing to have the Darshan

(Vision) of His beloved Lord Rama.

Lord Hanuman guides Tulsidas to Chitrakoot, where Lord Rama had stayed during

His exile from Ayodhya. There, however, He fails to behold His Lord, as,

absorbed in His contemplation, he does not notice Lord Rama, Mother Sita and

Lakshmana walking past him and only has a fleeting glimpse of them. He

beseeches Lord Hanuman to bestow the divine vision on him again. This time he

even applies sandal paste on the foreheads of Rama, Lakshmana and Sita without

realizing that the very Lord who he adored was now before him.

Tulsidas now dedicates himself to composing the epic "Ramcharitmanas" on the

life of Lord Rama. One day, some misguided people decide to steal into

Tulsidas's ashram to destroy his work. But, at the gates of the ashram, they

see two handsome princes standing guard. Realizing that they were none other

than Lord Rama and Lakshmana they beat a hasty retreat. Filled with remorse,

they beg forgiveness of Tulsidas. But, Tulsidas praises their good fortune that

allowed them to have the darshan he was craving for. Finally, Lord Rama, pleased

with devotion of Tuslidas, manifests Himself along with His consort, Mother

Sita, and brother Lakshmana.

Saint Kanakadasa was born in a low caste family and had never been educated in

the Vedas or other scriptures. However, he was full of devotion to Lord

Krishna. One day, he happened on a pot of gold concealed in a shrub in a

forest. But, such was his detachment towards wealth that he immediately

distributed it among the needy. A Guru, who was earlier a disciple of Saint

Purandaradasa notices this quality in Kanakadasa and initiates him as his

disciple. One day, the Guru decided to test his disciples. He gives them each a

banana and instructs them to eat the banana unseen by anyone.

All the disciples disperse looking for places where they could be alone. After a

while, the disciples return to the Guru. Kanakadasa alone has not eaten his

banana. The Guru asks him the reason and Kanakadasa reveals that he just could

not find a place where he could be alone because wherever he turned he saw

Krishna smiling at him. The Guru praises Kanakadasa's exalted state and blesses

him to go out into the world to spread the glory of Lord Krishna. Kanakadasa

travels to many pilgrimage places singing in praise of Lord Krishna. He reaches

the famous temple town of Udupi in the state of Karnataka. However, there, the

orthodox priests refuse to permit him inside the temple as he belonged to a low

caste family. In agony, Kanakadasa cries out to Lord Krishna to grant him His

darshan. The western wall of the temple cracks open, the idol reveals itself to

bless Kanakadasa with the

Divine Vision, and thus the world learns of the power of Kanakadasa's devotion.

A window is now fixed on this wall in the Krishna temple at Udupi and it is

called Kanakana Kindi. It is a custom to first have darshan of Lord Krishna

through this window before entering the temple precincts as a mark of respect

to this great minstrel of Karnataka.

This programme marked the conclusion of the 'Festival of Joy'. It was a

rewarding experience for all who witnessed the celebrations, but perhaps, most

of all for the participating students. The excitement of staying together with

peers from different parts of the country, broadening the mind by seeing at

close hand the rich traditions and diverse culture of Bharat, and most

importantly imbibing lessons for life from Bhagawan Himself, all these are a

treasure to be cherished for a long time. This meet will certainly prove a

fillip to all Bal Vikas students as the participants return to their homes

re-energized by the touch of Bhagawan. Let us all pray that this positive

energy spreads to rejuvenate the nation and pervade the entire world so that

the Kingdom of God can be realized on earth itself.

Jai Sai Ram!

Source: http://srisathyasai.org.in/pages/balvikas_conf_report.htm