Prashanthi Nilayam in earlier days and present day

[Guest guest]

Mandir - Its Genesis And Growth Baba was then a charming youth of seventeen

years. Three years earlier, he had declared, "I am Sai Baba of Shirdi come

again for the redemption of mankind!". In spite of the revealing declaration,

many people around him in Puttaparthi were still sceptical about his might and

mission. One such person was Lakshmaiah - but he had a deep love for the divine

boy. One day, Baba told Lakshmaiah, pointing to the hillocks south of the

village, "The SAI PRAVESH (the advent of Sai) will transform that region into

Prasanthi Pradesh (a region of highest peace). There will rise a BHAVAN

(mansion)! Lakhs of people from all over India, why only India, from all over

the world, will come and wait there for SAI DARSHAN (sight of Sai)!."

Lakshmaiah expressed his doubt. Baba asserted, "You

will have to believe it when you have to stand where we are now, trying to catch

a glimpse of me, standing on the porch of that Bhavan". The Bhavan that Baba

spoke of on that day is the Mandir in Prasanthi- Nilayam, the sacred abode of

the Lord in the human form of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. This Mandir is the

heartthrob of millions of people all over the world. Sri Kasturi, the

octogenarian biographer of Baba writes about the Mandir, "It has been the scene

of countless transformations of character, revolutions in belief, confirmations

of faith, curing of disease, calmings of temper, discarding of hatred,

salvaging of souls and reunions of hearts.." Indeed, the Mandir today stands as

the symbol of the redemption of the world through the transformation of man.

This Mandir is the nucleus of Sai's mission of Dharmasthapana. The majestic

Mandir now stands facing north in a compound measuring 220"X 150" and its

plinth area is a little more than 7500 square feet. It is

a Nilayam (residence) evolved into a MANDIR (temple). The construction of this

building in the late forties may be described as the first manifestation of the

engineering skill of Baba! Baba was then in his early twenties. It was felt that

the Old Mandir in the village was too small to accommodate the growing Sai

family that gathered round its young Master. A big building was the need of the

hour and it was raised with stone and mortar; and Bhagawan himself was the

architect and the engineer of this building, which he transformed into the

Mandir in 1974. Also, he was the accountant! Baba recollects even now with a

merry twinkle in his eye how he was doing the batwada (the weekly -payments to

labourers), getting the signatures of the lucky recipients on the vouchers.

Others who were associated with the construction of the Nilayam are Sakamma (a

devotee from the Coorg District in Karnataka, who was instrumental in the

construction of the . Old Mandir. in the village), the Raja of

Sandur (a province now in Karnataka), Tiruvenkatam, a merchant from Bangalore

and Thirumala Iyengar, an engineer in charge of the construction of the

Tungabhadra dam. Some curious engineers who visited the construction site now

and then accepted the ideas of Baba, because they found them to be better than

their own. They discovered that Baba had a greater sense of perspective and a

finer aesthetic vision than they had. The story of the construction of the

building is a chain of miracles wrought by Bhagawan's grace. The most

astounding was the transport of the huge girders for the central prayer hall

from the railway station at Penukonda sixteen miles away. Girders of 40 feet

length had come from Trichinopoly (now Tiruchirapalli) to Penukonda by train.

The road from Penukonda to Bukkapatnam was a district board road with a sandy

stream at the seventh mile and it passed through a few villages with delicately

built houses(!) flanking the narrow road on either side with a few

acutely angled curves. There was a track of three miles, from Bukkapatnam to

Puttaparthi with a few dilapidated culverts and low-level causeways and a broad

expanse of the sand of the river Chitravathi. Then there was the task of

hoisting the heavy girders on the twenty-foot high walls. Therefore, the

engineers gave up all hope of transporting the girders from Penukonda to

Puttaparthi and placed before Baba some alternative proposals for roofing the

prayer hall. But Baba did not relent. One fine morning, the Road Transport

Officer of Anantapur district, who was a devotee of Baba, woke up to find a

surprise in front of his house. It was a huge crane from the Tungabhadra Dam

site that had stopped there and refused to move forward. It had struck work!

The driver was grappling with the engine in vain. He could not make it move. He

sought the help of the Road Transport Officer who thought that the crane was

Baba sent(!) for transporting the girders from Penukonda to Puttaparthi.

It was agreed that the crane would transport the girders if it were repaired.

The R.T.O. hurried to Puttaparthi and prayed to Baba, who materialised some

vibhuti (sacred ash) and gave it to him. This vibhuti was smeared on the engine

and the driver was asked to start it and lo! the crane started moving. The

surprised driver went happily to Penukonda railway station, lifted the girders

with the giant arms of the crane and started towards Puttaparthi. The sight of

this giant carrying the girders was a great surprise for the villagers who

greeted it by lining up on the roadsides. The crane somehow passed over the

culverts, negotiated hairpin bends, lurched over the slushes and puffed its way

up the Karnatanagapalli hill! It did not move further, may be on seeing the

broad sheet of sand of the Chitravathi River! Baba himself went to the crane,

sat with the driver and handled the steering wheel. Thrilled by the touch of

the Lord, the crane moved happily to the work spot and unloaded the

girders. Prasanthi Nilayam, the simple looking two-storeyed building of granite

was inaugurated on 23rd November 1950, the twenty-fifth birthday of Baba. It

had a central prayer hall flanked by rooms on either side and corridors in the

front and behind. In addition, there was a small portico attached to the

central portion of the corridor in the front. The height of the prayer hall was

divided into two floors for the rooms and the corridors linking the rooms on

either side. The Nilayam continued in its original form with very few

modifications until 1973 when Bhagawan Baba planned and executed the

transformation of the residence into the temple. The building was extended on

all sides and domes were built on top of the building. The exterior of the

whole building, the corridor and the portico on the front and the interior of

the central prayer hall were covered with beautiful and meaningful pieces of

sculpture of Indian tradition. These alterations and additions changed the

very appearance of the building and gave the structure a very majestic and

sacred appearance. All this was completed by 23rd November 1974, the day on

which Baba completed forty-eight years. On that day, Dr. V.K Gokak, who later

went on to become the first Vice-Chancellor of Sri Sathya Sai Institute of

Higher Learning,asked Bhagawan "Swami, your first sixteen years were full of

Leelas (divine pranks), the second sixteen manifested Mahimas (miracles) and at

thirty two you started Upades (teaching). Is there any novel feature marking the

completion of forty-eight?". Baba said, "Look around!". There it was! Prasanthi

Nilayam had (Prasanthi Nilayamhad) become Prasanthi Mandir! The residence,

which housed the young, Sai had become the temple with God installed in it. The

three phases - Leelas, Mahimas and Upadesh - were fused together in divine

harmony to confer benediction by darshan (sight) alone. The Prasanthi Mandir is

a living testimony to the life and message of Bhagawan

Sri Sathya Sai Baba. The Mandir speaks eloquently the divine message of the

unity of life, universal concord and harmony through its sculptured angels,

humans and animals, feasting our eyes on the various faces of this aesthetic

wonder. The peacocks and the snakes, the elephants and the lions, nestling

close to each other on the facade of the Mandir in quiet ecstasy, speak a

meaningful message to those who have eyes to see, ears to hear and hearts to

feel. These sculptured beings on the facade beautifully bring out the drama of

transformation and transcendence that can occur if one sincerely strives to

sublimate oneself. The lions, elephants, snakes and peacocks, contemptuously

dismissed by us as sub-human species, have lifted themselves to a sublime

stature by practising maitri (friendship), mudita (joy), karuna (compassion)

and upeksha (detachment). The transformation of the human into the divine is

demonstrated through the sculptures of pamara (ignorant one), deva (angel) and

hamsa (swan). The pamara by constant striving becomes a devata (angel) and

ultimately transforms himself into a Paramahamsa (the realised soul) by

bringing into perfection the four noble virtues: maitri, mudita, karuna and

upeksha. The hamsa (swan), stationed above the elephants, lions, peacocks and

snakes, climaxes the sculptural drama of divine transformation, for the hamsa

signifies paramahamsa (realised soul) itself. The facade, which is the face of

the Mandir, expresses the very essence of Bhagavan's message. Another

sculptural drama that the Mandir unfolds is the drama of the adoration of the

divine. This sublime theme is unfolded through the sculptures of the sub-human

and the angelic creation of God rapturously lost in the worship of the Lord.

The sculptural figures on the darshan mantaps (shelters built for devotees

adjacent to the compound and facing the Mandir), for instance a pair of nandis

(bullocks) looking lovingly at a Shivalinga (a symbol of Shiva), a pair

of lions guarding the Dharma Chakra, the winged angels playing on the flute,

trumpet and cymbals in prayerful ecstasy write a rich commentary on this divine

adoration. The elephants carrying garlands to revere the Sarva Dharma Symbol,

the divine images carved on the wooden doors of the central prayer hall and the

interview room, substantiate the same theme. The sculptures of a pair of swans

gathering around a lotus, a pair of deer inhaling the fragrance of flowers and

a pair of peacocks gathered together teach us the valuable lessons of amity and

co-existence. The profusion of sculptured flowers strewn all over the central

Prayer Hall, on the ceiling, pillars, arches, doors and windows speak in their

own language of silence; the flowering of the spirit as a consequence of

devotion to the divine. The kingdoms of plant, bird, beast and angel have been

beautifully featured to substantiate the theme of adoration of the Lord. The

central prayer hall is a thing of beauty, joy and

wonder. The five religious symbols, descending from top to bottom of the walls

on each side of the altar sing silently but sweetly the song of the unity of

religions. The life-size portraits of Shirdi Sai Baba and Sathya Sai Baba glow

with life and light, thanks to the Divine Painter who guided the skilled hands

of the human painter. The portrait of Shirdi Baba, simple and austere, eyes

melting with quiet compassion, speaks of the Brahmatatva of Bhagawan.former

incarnation. The portrait of Sri Sathya Sai Baba, radiant,full and bewitchingly

beautiful, the eyes aglow with a merry twinkle, speaks of the Vishnutatva of the

Avatar. At the end of the hall is the sculpture of Sri Krishna singing the Song

Celestial (Bhagavad Gita) to the war-weary Arjuna against the background of the

battle of Kurukshetra. It is significant that in the same hall Bhagawan Sri

Sathya Sai Baba delivered a series of discourses on the Geeta expounding the

forgotten and latent meaning of this

Divine Song to the life-weary people of the Kali age. During those times of the

divine exposition of the Geeta, the sculptured Krishna and the living Sai

Krishna seemed to become one, breathing melodies eternally new. Equally

significant is the scene of the sculptured avatars, adorning the walls of the

hall, enacting the drama, of divine descent and divine grace for the uplift of

mankind. It is significant that all these avatars have upraised hands in the

abhaya pose, conferring benediction on all those who are pure at heart. The

ceiling of the Prayer Hall is profusely strewn with sculptured flowers of all

sizes. The splendid chandeliers hanging from beautiful lotuses make the

building an impressive blend of the ancient and the modern. And most

meaningful, of course, is the colour combination used inside and outside the

entire Mandir. Blue, yellow and pink are the colours used, communicating the

message of the harmony of spirit, intellect and heart respectively; for blue

stands for spirit, yellow for intellect and pink for heart (love). The rich

harmony of the three does result in Santhi and Prasanthi; and that really is

the message of the PRASANTHI MANDIR. Adjacent to the verandah of the Prayer

Hall on the left side, are two rooms set apart for interviews, zealously

guarded Dwarapalakas carved on the wooden doors. On the first floor is a large

portico, adorned with silver doors. For a long time Bhagawan used to give

darshan every day from this portico. How longingly the people waited with bated

breath for the silver doors to open and the Lord to give darshan! Now Baba gives

darshan from this portico only once a year, in the early hours of Christmas Day,

accepting the prayers and supplications of thousands of Christians who throng to

him. During that occasion, the portico appears to fade away, leaving only Baba

before us, who becomes one with the love, the longing and the devotion that

these seekers of Truth lovingly nourish in their hearts and

bring with them from the far off corners of the globe. Moreover, crowning the

Mandir are three domes gazing at the blue infinity, a symbol of eternity. In

front of the Mandir is a circle of greenery and amidst the greenery is the

yogic pillar with a number of rings. These rings indicate the different stages

of yogic discipline. This yoga leads to the unfolding of the . Lotus of the

Heart. whose petals are borne on the top of the pillar. This is the pregnant

meaning of the yogic pillar in front of the Mandir. Also of equal significance

is the deeper meaning of the three gates to the Mandir Prayer Hall. Bhagawan

himself has explained the subtle significance of these three gates: . The

first, the outermost one that leads into the compound, is the 'Gate of

Darkness'. A person who crosses it leaves darkness, ignorance and inertia

behind. He has nourished the holy thought of coming to the Presence and the

spirit of darkness and ignorance has fallen behind him.

Those who are immersed in darkness, the Thamasic, will not even have the

curiosity to enter! Then there is a second gate, just where the garden around

the Lotus Circle begins. There, one is attracted by the magnificence of the

building, the electric lights, the coloured candelabras, the hanging flower

pots, that is to say, the active and passionate aspects which appeal to

individuals who are Rajasic, active and passionate. Next, one comes to the very

door of the Prayer Hall, 'Gate of wisdom', leading the Sathwic to the Abode of

Peace. In front of this circular patch used to be the statue of Lord

Vighneswara seated in the Abhayahasta pose (hand upraised conferring

blessings); and there, a few yards away, a beautiful arch, the top of it

containing two winged angels carrying the Sarva Dharma Symbol. The arch leads

to the entrance gate of the gopuram. Speaking on the significance of the

gopuram, Bhagawan himself made the following pregnant statement, "If you dwell

upon

the significance of the gopuram, you can realise how holy, how mysterious, how

revealing is its purpose. The gopuram beckons to wayfarers who have lost their

way and who wander away from truth, 'O ye mortals! Blinded by the fog of

physical attachments and self-aggrandizing urges, overcome by the miasma of

worldly desires, which are fleeting and false, you have forgotten Me, the

source and sustenance of you all. Look up to this eternal, ever pure, over-full

tower of joy. Forgetting Me, you are wallowing in grief; you are pursuing the

mirage in desert sands. Come, have faith in the Everlasting Me. Struggle out of

the darkness and enter the realm of light, and come to the royal road of Santhi.

That is the Path of Dharma. Come, come, O come!. Thus does Gopala call on all,

with raised hand, from atop the Gopuras in every village". This is the

principle underlying the construction of Gopuras. Such high ideals inspire

these structures.This is the true meaning, a meaning

that can be experienced and felt. The light on top of the gopuram is the symbol

of the Light which is the refuge of all; it is the representative of the

unflickering inner lamp, lit at the self-same Flame; it is the Inner

Illumination, gained by merging in Hari". In consonance with what Bhagawan Baba

has said on the significance of the- gopuram, the gopuram of Prasanthi Nilayam

beckons to all of us to light our inner lamps to see and experience the Light

of Lights, which Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba is. The genesis and the growth of

the Mandir is as unique as the Avatar, whose divine abode the Mandir is. In the

hundreds of aeons that have passed, no temple was ever raised during the living

years of the Avatar. The Vanaras (monkeys) in the Tretha-Yuga had the singular

good fortune of building for Sri Rama a bridge across the waters of the Hindu

Mahasagar spanning Bharat and Sri Lanka. In the Kali age, the naras (human)

enjoyed the unique good fortune of building a temple for

their dearest Lord Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. The devotees carried brick,

sand and stone and built this aesthetic wonder, for their own joy and for the

pleasure of their own Loving Lord. The Prasanthi Mandir is indeed the Living

Temple for the Living God.

PRASHANTHI NILAYAM TODAY

With Sai love from Sai brothers - ''

Source and Courtesy: http://www..com/ptp2.htm

Mail Mobile Take Mail with you! Check email on your mobile phone.