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SUNDARAM - A PRASANTHI NILAYAM IN CHENNAI - II

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in Sundaram, with nine ornate windows, five entrances and embellished with

symbols depicting all religions of the world is spacious and tranquil. On the

stage, apart from Swami’s picture in the centre, there is a beautiful statue of

Lord Ganesha in the front as is in most Sai temples and also on either side of

the dais are arched decorations of Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu on glass with

beautiful wall inscriptions of Dasavatar (the ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu)

on either side of Swami's picture. Among the rarities that can be noticed

here is the image of Lord Shiva holding a conch in one hand (generally

Vishnu is associated with the Conch). Incidentally, these glass panels serve

as a door when Swami comes to the stage for giving Darshan in the evening

during His stay in Chennai. The stage also has the Lord’s ‘Padukas’ (Sacred

Sandals) embedded in gold inside a golden lotus in the forefront and the usual

cushioned chair with a foot rest - all dedicated for Baba. “The arathi at

the end of bhajan or other spiritual sessions in Sundaram is an electrifying

experience”, says a regular visitor to Sundaram. “With the majestic chandelier

being lit during arathi, the huge bell (made

specially in Kumbhakonam) resonating with “Aum”, and nearly two thousand

devotees joining in with great gusto and devotional fervor, the arathi is an

indulgence of mysticism.” Apart from the Main Darshan Hall there is also a

small prayer hall with a beautiful picture of Swami in “Abhayahasta” (blessing

with a raised hand) and an impressive wooden carved statue of Dakshinamoorthy

(Lord Shiva) and also other matching architecture of Lord Ganesha, Lord Muruga

and other deities. It is here that Bhajans are conducted on all days other than

Thursdays and Sundays by groups from Sai Centres across the length and breadth

of Chennai. The Hallowed Shirdi Baba Temple Another significant structure

in the Sundaram compound which deserves a special mention is the “Shirdi

Temple” located at the northern end of the campus. They say that the peace that

pervades the atmosphere here is to be experienced to be believed. It is

special because Swami has blessed and spiritually charged this temple profusely

by materializing a nine-gemmed flower-shaped jewel which He pressed on the

forehead of the marvelous sparkling white Shirdi Baba idol. Besides this idol,

there is also a miniature idol made of panchaloha (five metals) for the purpose

of

abhishekam (doing worship with flowers, milk, etc.) which is performed every

Thursday and on all festival days. There is also a beautiful ‘shaligram’ (a

lingam), again manifested by Baba, which is placed before the silver padukas

(sandals) in front of the idol with a metal-snake hood over it. No one can be

untouched by the soothing divine vibrations emanating from this place.

Shanthi Vedika – The Lord’s Durbar “Shanthi Vedika”, the raised platform facing

south in the open sands outside the main building is another important structure

in Sundaram, because it is here that Swami usually gives discourses

to the crowd when He is in Chennai. With a beautiful sculpture of Garuda

(vehicle of Lord Vishnu) holding the platform from below and its pillars

decorated with symbols of all religions, this picturesque venue is where Swami

has spent hours speaking to the devotees, seeing the performances of Bal Vikas

children, distributing food and clothes to the poor and guiding the Sevadals

during His numerous visits to Chennai. SAI DEVOTEES AND SUNDARAM “Sundaram

is Like My Home” – Sri A K Kumar Many longtime devotees now joyfully narrate

how Sundaram actually brought them close to Swami. Sri A K Kumar who has been a

devotee for more than two and a half decades now and regularly sings during the

bhajan sessions says, “My journey to Sai began in Sundaram in 1980. One of

my close associates in my school asked me if I would like to sing in Sundaram.

Then I thought, ‘what is so great about this place but maybe I will try to make

it once a month, that too just for listening’ - but now Sundaram is almost like

my home. You will not believe it, but one day I had to go to hospital for some

registration and quite unknowingly I landed in Sundaram and went inside and

only then I realised I was supposed to be heading somewhere else! That is the

affinity I have for Sundaram.”

And this special relationship with Sundaram is because as already mentioned

it is at Sundaram that many people have basked in His love and grace, as Kumar

recalls, “Whenever Swami comes to Sundaram, the first thing He does is He steps

inside, comes near us, enquires about us and only then He proceeds. How can we

ever forget the golden moments we have had with Swami…He used to spend so much

of His time with us, almost play with us!” “We Associate Swami with

Sundaram” – Dr. Mohan Speaking about His association with Sundaram, another

longtime devotee, Dr. Mohan says, “Several times when Swami has come to Chennai

we had the good fortune to have the Darshan of Swami in Sundaram. So next to

Puttaparthi, which we visit several times year, our association with Swami is

at Sundaram. We associate Sundaram with Swami and all the good things, all the

teachings which Swami stands for, and to us it is a great source of mental

peace, inspiration and above all sets to us the right ideal.” IN SUNDARAM -

WORSHIP TRANSFORMS INTO SERVICE So, Sundaram is not all about serenity, peace

and beauty alone. It is a bridge between the devotee and the Lord. What is more

noteworthy is how all this

devotion to the Lord gets translated here into concrete action. To quote from

Dr. Hiramalini Seshadri’s article “Sundaram – A Haven of Love and Peace” which

appeared in the Hindu, on Jan 8th, 2006, a few days prior to its Anniversary

day, “The first Chennai organization to rush with food for those affected on

that fateful Boxing Day, 2004; the silent hub through which a crore worth of

relief materials were disbursed to the tsunami affected of Tamil Nadu; the

on-the-spot agency that coordinated efforts to get water to parched Chennai

through the Sathya Sai Ganga Canal; the venue for over 200 marriages of people

of all faiths conducted totally free of cost with clothes and gifts to set up

home for the newly weds; the chapel that puts up the finest Christmas tree

and manger in town; the Masjid from which men sally forth laden with eats and

drinks to greet

their Muslim brothers as they walk up from the Marina sands after the daylong

Ramzan fast and prayers; the temple where upanayanams (Hindu thread ceremony)

are done free for all, irrespective of caste and creed; the Veda Patashala

(vedic school) where women are taught to recite the Vedas; the divine

'hospital' that has been conducting free weekly clinics for 25 years; the NGO

that has arranged for over 7000 cataract surgeries at Chennai; the 24 hour

'liquid love’ helpline that connects volunteer blood donors to needy patients

and hospitals; the 'school' that not only helps slum children with lessons but

imparts education in human values, and Sanskrit (later we will relate the

moving story of how one of the kids, Durga, is now doing a degree in Sanskrit

at QMC (Queen Mary’s College) and even teaches other slum children spoken

Sanskrit!); the centre where since 2002, at Baba's behest, Disaster Management

Teams have

been trained so that during calamities trained youth can plunge into disaster

management rather than just hand out some relief (the tsunami saw exemplary

disaster management by these teams at Nagapattinam and Colachal); the hallowed

grounds where divine all-faith bhajans resound every Thursday and Sunday ;

"Sundaram" is all this and more." Sundaram – The Nodal Point of Sai

Organisation Activities Yes, Sundaram is much more. Sundaram is a synthesis of

peace, love and more importantly, service. And it is this service, done with

great discipline and dedication, which has made Sundaram a very unique

spiritual centre. It has inspired thousands to feel for their fellowmen and

extend their loving hand selflessly to other

thousands who have no shelter, no basic education or healthcare facilities.

Every activity is done strictly according to the guidelines laid down by Swami

from time to time. It is this disciplined approach to service and spirituality

which has caught the attention of many. As one devotee says, “The moment we

started attending the bhajans there and got to see some of the activities

taking place at Sundaram, a great transformation came in our lives because we

realised not only the spirituality which pervades this place, but also the

strength of the Organisation, its discipline and its character and the way

things are done within the Sai Organisation really made a deep impression on

us.” With the Sai Organization spread in every district of Tamil Nadu, there

are

more than 700 Sri Sathya Sai Centers in the state and Sundaram is the nerve

centre of this entire network. The concept of service was enumerated and

emphasized by Swami by practice and precept in Chennai more than four decades

ago. In fact, the first All India Conference of the Sri Sathya Sai Seva

Organisations was held in Chennai in April 1967. And since then, service has

been a continuous activity by the Sai Organization in Chennai, receiving added

impetus in the form of better infrastructure and resources after Sundaram came

into being in 1981. “Liquid Love” – A 24/7 Supreme Service Among the

various service activities that go on continuously in Sundaram is the

all-year-round-the-clock service of organizing blood donors for patients

undergoing surgeries in the

city hospitals. Rechristened as “Liquid Love”, this started in a small way on

6th Dec 1998 in Sundaram and now has an elaborate information counter and a

data bank manned by three volunteers, 24-hours 7-days a week. With a need-based

software and a database of more than 3000 donors comprising of all blood groups

which is constantly updated, it serves on average 100 patients a month

undergoing surgeries with some receiving 2-3 units of blood, including rare

blood groups. The way this service operates is this - the moment there is a

request for a blood donor from any of the city hospitals, the enlisted blood

donors are immediately contacted who readily volunteer to donate at the

respective hospitals/blood bank with fervent zeal. Thanks to frequent

interaction with the hospitals, there is excellent coordination and the needy

are served at the required moment. A

number of shields, trophies, and citations awarded by the Madras Voluntary Blood

Bureau stand as testimony to the yeoman service being rendered by this set up in

Sundaram In fact, this service is there even in the Railway Station in

Chennai. Christened as Sri Sathya Sai Public Utility Services, this counter in

the railway platform provides a host of voluntary services to people landing in

Chennai from all parts of the world including first-aid, city info, etc. Many

people visibly moved with this service say, ‘it is such a comforting feeling to

know that there is always a “Sai Brother or Sister” in Chennai ready to help you

in your times of need including arranging for blood, if required. The Amazing

Sai Krupa – Heaven for the Poor and The Sick Another regular free medical

service which is run every Sunday is at a place adjacent to Sundaram called

“Sai Krupa.” With doctors from all disciplines of medicine treating several

hundred poor patients every week here, this is a godsend for the

underprivileged and the sick. And this was going on as early as 1977, that is,

much before Sundaram came into being. Dr. Prabhu, Director, Advanced Nuclear

Medicine Research Institute, Puraswalkkam, Chennai, who has been serving at Sai

Krupa for many years now, recalling his first experience at the centre says,

“The Patients Come Here For Love” – Dr. Prabhu “The very first experience was

very encouraging and all the paramedical and the volunteers were so friendly

with me. Motivated by the will to serve and through their love and affection I

decided to come every week. I even shifted my residence to T. Nagar which is

nearer to Sundaram, so that I will not miss any Sunday…. I came across a lot of

patients, about 300 to 400, most of them suffering from various degrees of

illness. One may get the impression that these patients are being cured by the

medicines which we give. But actually this is not true. The patients who come

here are not coming for the medicines that are being dispensed here, but for

the love. It is really the love of our beloved Swami that heals them. Slowly we

started getting higher medical specialists like cardiac thoracic surgeons,

plastic surgeons, vascular surgeons, who started coming regularly. And this

kept us motivated further and we kept improving our care to these people.”

Even If Out Of Station, I Do Not Miss Sai Krupa On Sunday ”– Dr. Kumari Menon

“Even if I am out of station I make it a point to come to Chennai on Sunday so

as not to miss the Sunday at Sai Krupa,” says another doctor, Dr. Kumari Menon,

a pediatrician in Vijaya Hospital, Chennai who has also been associated with Sai

Krupa for decades now. “I remember” she continues, “once there was a child

who had obstruction in sebro spinal fluid in the brain. We had done a shunt

(bypass) for the child. The child used to come to Sai Krupa every Sunday for

regular check up and by Swami’s grace was cured without any complications. On

one of the occasions, I remember, we had lunch with Swami. While interacting

with us, He said, ‘it is better to go and serve in the door steps rather than

waiting for the patients to come.’

And so, we started Grama Seva (serving in the villages). We not only were

attending the patients there but also were giving them much-needed health

education.” The commitment of the doctors and their dedication to Sai and

the service camps is exemplary, to say the least. How Is Sai Krupa

Different? How is it different serving in Sai Krupa than in their regular

hospitals? “Sai Krupa is more like a family,” says Dr. Prabhu. “Here, doctors

not only give the required medical help but also patiently listen to all the

difficulties of the poor patient. The very act of listening to their problems

and pain cures 90 % of

their illness.” In Sai Krupa a concerned effort is made by all the doctors to

understand the patient first before prescribing anything. Keeping their

sensibilities, rural conditions and other factors in mind, a lot of thinking is

done as to how the medicines are to be dispensed, how rural camps should be

organized and how to better understand the pains and suffering of this often

neglected and poor section of the society. And all this has resulted in better

care to the patients and their numbers keep increasing every Sunday.

A dentist busy in Sai Krupa... Sevadals serving at the Sai Krupa

dispensary... This Is How Sai Krupa Grows… In fact, impressed with the

purity of the cause, many more doctors have joined Sai Krupa lately. Dr. Prabhu

mentions about three of his friends. One is Dr. Jayavel Rajkumar, a plastic

surgeon at the Madras Medical College (who in his younger days somehow was not

influenced by Swami though he saw Him a couple of times, but is now a regular

at

Sundaram). “Similarly, Dr. Sundar, a Cardiac Thoracic Surgeon who has worked in

the United Kingdom as a consultant for more than 9 years,” Dr. Prabhu says,

“called me up one day and said, ‘Prabhu, I will be happy to do some work for

poor people’. And I said, ‘why don’t you accompany me every Sunday to Sai

Krupa’. He liked the idea but could allot only one day a month. But now Dr.

Sundar is helping diagnose cardiac patients every week in Sai Krupa, unless he

is out of station.” The third on Dr. Prabhu’s list is Dr. Raghunath, a

vascular surgeon with 13 years experience in UK , who is a consultant at Apollo

Hospital. Like Dr. Sundar, Dr.

Raghunath too was looking for something like Sai Krupa and after coming to know

of it, visits regularly to see the patients. In fact, Sai Krupa, as somebody

remarked, is now almost a super specialty centre! Striving continuously to

improve their services, the doctors at Sundaram have also recently started a

“Young Adults Health Care Programme” to guide the youth in the villages who

suffer from alcohol abuse, drug abuse, anemia and improper health education.

The idea is to make the youth physically, mentally and spiritually strong so

that they can be socially productive. All media – from charts to audio-video

CDs – are being used to effectively communicate health education to the youth.

The Doctors serving in Sai Krupa also

voluntarily participate in the Public Utility Services at the Central Railway

Station. “This gives an opportunity to interact with passengers with varying

difficulties. We were able to guide them as to where to seek medical attention,

apart from rendering first aid services,” one devotee-doctor says. Years ago

when Dr. Rama Devi, now retired Director and Superintendent of the Government

Children’s Hospital, showed her stethoscope to Swami to bless it after she

completed her medical education, Swami said “Praja Seva Chei Bangaru” meaning

“Serve the people, dear one”. And this is precisely what Dr. Rama Devi and

all the doctors at Sundaram are engaged in - unmindful of their personal

comforts and heedless of luxury. Courtesy:

http://media.radiosai.org/Journals/Vol_04/01MAR06/

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