Makara Sankranthi: Celebrations Report and more photos

[Guest guest]

is one of the most important festivals for Indians and one that holds immense

physical and spiritual significance. It is also celebrated as Pongal in the

southern state of Tamil Nadu. It is a festival when farmers rejoice at the good

harvest and express their gratitude to the Sun, the Earth and the cattle for

their bountiful blessings. It marks the end of the dull and dreary winter and

the onset of colorful and joyous spring. Sankranthi also marks the northward

movement of the sun called ‘Uttarayana’, and its migration into the zodiac sign

of Makara or Capricorn. The sun represents illumination and hence this event is

equally awaited by spiritual personages, for, it symbolizes the intellect being

directed towards achieving higher pursuits and the spiritual goal of mergence

with the Divine. Bheeshmacharya, the grandsire of the Pandavas and the Kauravas

in the great epic ‘Mahabharata’, is said to have lain on a bed of arrows for

days, waiting for this holy

day, to shed his mortal coils and attain to the higher worlds. At Prasanthi

Nilayam, this holy and joyous occasion also marks the valedictory ceremony and

prize distribution of the Annual Sports and Cultural Meet of Bhagawan’s

educational institutions. On the morn of 14th January, Bhagawan arrived in Sai

Kulwant Hall at 9.50 a.m. in a procession led by the captains and vice-captains

of the men’s campuses, along with the brass bands of the University campuses of

Anantapur and Prasanthi Nilayam. Soon after Bhagawan took His seat on the dais,

the Physical Instructors of all the campuses greeted Bhagawan with bouquets.

Bhagawan, then, lit the ceremonial lamp and commenced the proceedings. The

Vice-Chancellor of the

University, Sri.A.V.Gokak, spoke a few words of introduction about the

significance of the festival of Makara Sankranthi. He also elaborated on the

uniqueness of the Integral system of education offered at Sri Sathya Sai

educational institutions where equal emphasis is placed on the holistic

development of the body, mind and the soul. And the Sports & Cultural Meet is

an instance of the application of this integral approach, where the student’s

body and mind is strengthened, and he/she imbibes many valuable and enduring

lessons for life. After Sri.Gokak’s talk, Bhagawan rose up to deliver His

Divine Discourse. In His discourse, Bhagawan defined and delineated the

meaning and distinction between education and Educare. While education is

assimilation of facts and information from the outside, Educare means to bring

out the wisdom and virtues inherent

in man’s heart and apply them in daily life. Each individual is endowed with the

three Gunas (attributes) of Sathwa, Rajas and Tamas, and these represent the

Divine Trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshwara. Bhagawan also mentioned that

the students should not to be content with merely winning prizes and securing

degrees, for, what is most important is cultivating the three essential

qualities of Nischalatwam (steadiness), Nirmalatwam (purity) and Nirmohatwam

(detachment). If one has these qualities, he verily becomes Divine, Bhagawan

said. Bhagawan exhorted everyone to think of God always. Though there are many

manifestations of Divinity, the inherent principle - the Atma, in all of them,

is one and the same, just as gold is present in all ornaments and sugar is the

common ingredient of all sweet dishes. Bhagawan concluded His discourse with

the Bhajan – “Hari Bhajan Bina Sukh

Shanti Nahi”. Bhagawan, then, gave away the trophies and cups to the various

campuses. The afternoon session commenced at 4.15 p.m. with Bhagawan’s Darshan.

The programme scheduled for the evening was a drama by the students of the

Brindavan campus of the Institute entitled, “Adi Kavi Valmiki”. Sage Valmiki is

the composer of the sacred epic ‘Ramayana’ that narrates Divine story of Lord

Sri Rama, an incarnation of Lord Vishnu. While the story of Lord Rama is no

doubt enchanting and elevating, Sage Valmiki’s life story is no less inspiring,

for, it is the story of the transformation of a ruthless dacoit Ratnakaara into

Sage Valmiki by the power of the name of Lord Rama. The drama started with the

scene where Ratnakaara encounters the Saptarishis (seven great sages) in a

forest and threatens them to surrender their wealth and belongings. They pose a

question to him: “You claim to be indulging in robbery solely to feed your

family. Will your family agree to share a part of the sins that you commit

thereby?” When Ratnakaara goes home and enquires with his wife, she says that

no one can share another’s sins and each one is responsible for his or her own

actions and their consequences. This truth strikes him like a thunderbolt and a

disillusioned Ratnakaara repents for all his past misdeeds and decides to seek

God. He is then imparted the sacred name of Rama and is blessed by the

Saptarishis to meditate upon it. Ratnakaara undertakes severe penance and is

lost in meditation for thousands of years, so much so that an anthill comes up

around him. Then, the Saptarishis visit him and beckon him to come out. As he

emerges out of the anthill (called ‘Valmika’ in Sanskrit) grand and shining

with divine effulgence born out of chanting Rama’s name, he is christened

Valmiki. Sage Valmiki, then, is blessed with the

visit of Sage Narada and Lord Brahma who inspire him and bless him with the

sacred task of recording the story of Sri Rama – the Lord Incarnate who walked

the earth as an ideal human being to set an example for all humanity to

emulate. The drama depicted scenes from Ramayana on a stage in the background,

while Lava and Kusha are seen narrating the story in the foreground through

melodious songs in Telugu. Sai Prema Dhara On the evening of 13th

January, the students of the Sri Sathya Sai Primary School presented a

programme at Sai Kulwant Hall. It began with a violin concert by the girl

students. This was followed by a presentation entitled ‘Sai Prema Dhara’. Using

a projector-screen system, the programme dwelt on the life and teachings of

Bhagawan. The presentation commenced with Lord Ganesha and Lord Subramanya

offering their obeisance to the Shiva-Shakti principle embodied as Bhagawan Sri

Sathya Sai Baba. 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, which

demonstrate how, while even as a young lad, He displayed mastery over the

powers of Nature, and His leadership qualities and sterling virtues such as

Love and Compassion for fellow beings. One of the highlights of the drama was

the depiction of the episode where Bhagawan demonstrated His Divinity to His

brother Sri Seshama Raju Garu during their pilgrimage to the Virupaksha temple

at Hampi. The astonished entourage witnessed how young Sathya appeared in the

sanctum sanctorum of the temple even as he was seen standing outside the

compound of the temple, thus convincing His brother that He was no ordinary

lad, but the Omnipotent and Omnipresent Lord Himself. The grand service

projects undertaken by Bhagawan were also portrayed in a novel manner where

Mother Saraswati, the Goddess of learning, Lord Dhanvantari, the God of

Healing, and Mother Ganga descend to pay homage and express their gratitude to

Bhagawan for providing education, healthcare and life-giving water to millions

absolutely free of charge, and also restoring these gifts of God to their

pristine glory. The great saints, Thyagaraja, Purandaradasa, Meerabai,

Chaitanya Deva, Andal and Namdev also follow, paying their obeisance to the

Lord whom they had all adored through their devotional compositions. At the end

of their presentation, the students collectively sang the song, “Madhura Mohana

Ghanashyama…”, adoring the enchanting Lord Krishna who has descended as our

beloved Lord Sai to shower Ananda (Bliss) on everyone. Thus ended the

celebrations of the sacred

festival of Makara Sankranthi in the Divine Presence. Let us pray that this

Uttarayana period brings us all health, prosperity and happiness, and sees us

march forward with success on our spiritual journey. source:

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