BEHIND THE GLORIOUS 80TH BIRTHDAY OF THE DIVINE SAI

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"Bombay Srinivasan" vsvasan99

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Sat, 11 Feb 2006 08:34:16 -0800 (PST)

BEHIND THE GLORIOUS 80TH BIRTHDAY OF THE DIVINE SAI

BEHIND THE GLORIOUS 80TH BIRTHDAY OF THE DIVINE SAI Sai Ram Shri Jaya Sekar, a

devotee from Chennai had kindly forwarded this detailed report on Swami's 80th

Birthday celebrations. In addition to various humble comments from few overseas

devotees, (as well as Indian devotees), Sri Sekar had also detailed about the

meticulous planing and execution of various projects connected with Birthday

celebrations. A nice case study indeed! The article also vividly describes the

earnest efforts and devoted seva of Innumerable seva dals during the

celebrations. A write up worth preserving as a Divine document, in every

devoteee' s home. Please put in circulation. Love and regards Bombay

SrinivasanJaya Sekar <saijaya > "A Thrilling

Experience…With The Eternal Enigmatic Being" "It was a thrilling experience…

an experience that is etched in my memory for ever!" a Sai devotee, with an

_expression of great fulfillment and joy on his face, says. He was a witness to

the glorious 'festival of bliss' that was the 80th Birthday celebration of

Bhagavan Baba on the 23rd of Nov, 2005 . "Whenever I recollect those

blissful moments….", another devotee, his face shining with a great sense of

elation says, "…Swami in the bright yellow robe seated on the swan-like grand

silver throne… so majestic, so magnificent and so full of benevolence with a

beatific countenance on the Birthday evening… the lotus-shaped impressive stage

on the west from which

soul stirring music by the who's who of Indian music was filling my heart …every

artist weaving magic with the instruments and their voice, enlivening every cell

of my being… And then, the laser show! I can never forget that. What a grand

finale! The laser show just arrested me with its myriad patterns frisking

and dancing in perfect synchronization to the scintillating digital music,

accompanying this, were the fireworks! Sparkling beams of bright light on that

pleasant star-studded night…bursting and brightening that beautiful night…an

unforgettable play of light and sound… add to this, the cool breeze… and

ultimately, and most importantly, all this excitement in the immediate divine

presence of the Eternal Enigmatic Being, my most beloved Baba - the very light

of my life. No one present there could remain untouched with the magic of the

moment and I was no exception!" concludes a Sai devotee who had come for the

occasion

from Orissa, a state which is miles away from Puttaparthi. Every devotee who

was present in the Hill View Stadium on the Birthday evening can very easily

relate to this. Truly, the 80 th Birthday celebration was extraordinary. It was

festivity at its best. Every devotee who had gathered for the occasion went home

with memories to last a life time. Memories that drench every cell of their

being with love and bliss whenever recalled. It was to enjoy this moment with

Sai on the 80th year of His earthly sojourn, to make the moment as special as

possible, to make the long-awaited day as glorious as it could be that a sea of

humanity had gathered. Truly, it was a birthday by the devotees, for the

devotees, and in its truest essence, of the devotees. Truly the most precious

day for every devotee is the day Swami entered his/her life and for each one of

them the Lord's Birthday is an event head and shoulders above their own

birthday. Swami's Only Concern…His Devotees Swami, pure selfless love that

He is, if He were concerned about anything during the Birthday celebrations, it

was about the devotees comforts and their well-being. Elderly devotees who were

in close physical proximity of Bhagawan only know how Swami used to enquire

everyday about the arrangements made for the devotees concerning their food and

stay - and least about what major functions were being planned for the Birthday

celebrations, be it dances, concerts, or fireworks. Whenever the elders who

were chalking out elaborate plans and embarking on grand ideas to mark the day

presented Swami with their plans, He would be quite uninterested, to say the

least.To get His consent to make more

shelters for the devotees would be far easier than to organize say, confetti

being sprayed from a helicopter on the Birthday morning. 'Big

Stars' Came Because THEY Wanted To! If the big concert happened and leading

musicians played, it was because they wanted to be part of the celebrations. It

was a cannot-afford-to-loose opportunity for everyone.

If the fireworks or the laser show glittered and lit up the night sky and

provided a grand finale to the celebrations, it was because the organizing

devotees had not only worked hard night and day for it but also prayed even

harder that they be allowed to have the show. For, as already mentioned, with

Swami to organize a mass marriage or mass feeding for the poor is easy, but

never a cultural or entertainment extravaganza. As ever, never an invitation

was sent to anybody to come to Prashanti Nilayam. Devotees poured in hundreds

and thousands from the 18th of November when the Rathotsavam (Chariot

procession) was celebrated, as is done every year. The Ladies Day celebrations

followed on the 19th Nov. Responding to the prayers of more than 11000

delegates gathered for the 8th World Conference, Swami consented for the World

Conference to be held for two days on the 20th

and 21st Nov. On the 22nd was the Convocation of Sri Sathya Sai Institute of

Higher learning with the Governor of Karnataka being the Chief Guest and

finally the D-Day was on 23rd Nov. Pt. Shiv Kumar Sharma and Amjad Ali

Khan seeking Swami's blessings before their performance A plethora of

distinguished personalities – politicians, musicians,

sports-persons, educationists, doctors, lawyers, you name it from every field –

and a large motley multitude comprising of Sai devotees from more than 145

countries had converged to pay their homage to Baba - their beloved, their

divine mother and father. "An Exciting Family Function" - G Sai Prasad from

Hyderabad As one Sai Youth from Hyderabad , G Sai Prasad, put it, "One would

think that celebrating 80 th birthday at Prashanti would be very festive;

perhaps it was so for lot of devotees. For me, however, celebrating our lord's

80 th birthday was more like being part of an exciting family function, like a

marriage of a brother or kid sister." Experiencing

The One Through the Many - Ricardo from Italy Another devotee, Ricardo from

Italy , said, "I'm proud to be here. The conference is very well organized.

The people here are very well taken care of. In spite of the huge crowd

everything is working nicely. We are all mingling as a human family. We can

experience the one through the many. " In fact, this was the feeling that many

devotees echoed and the whole celebration transformed itself into a grand

family function…a great family union. You could see the theme of the world

conference – Unity, Purity and Divinity - in action. And Swami, the divine

mother, played the role of a host to perfection to the thousands who had

gathered to receive His love and benediction.

Food was served free of cost to everyone from the 18th of Nov to 24 th.

Everybody enjoyed being in Prashanthi those seven days and relished the food

that was served as ' Prasadam', as one devotee, Keenan from Australia , said

during the birthday week, "I Have Never Seen Anything Like This" – Kennan

from Australia "I have only spent 7 months with Swami. I hope to spend more

time and I have been blessed to be here for the birthday celebrations. Swami is

just taking care of all. He is feeding thousands of people and not one is being

left with an empty stomach. They don't put a limit as to how much you can eat -

you can eat

as many times as much as you want, it's incredible, I have never seen anything

like it!" Yes, incredible it was! In the Birthday week at least hundred

thousand breakfasts, lunches and dinners including snacks were served every

day. Every devotee looked at the arrangements made with awe and wonder. Many

Keenans and Kamaths like this who had come from all over India and the world,

while enjoying the elaborate arrangements made for the devotees, wondered -

"How does this all happen?" HOW WAS THE MAMMOTH UNDERTAKING ACCOMPLISHED?

FOOD AND ACCOMMODATION ARRANGEMENTS How lakhs of people were assiduously fed

everyday? How did the Ashram canteens and their staff cope with such tremendous

pressure? How were tens and thousands who landed in the small holy town

accommodated? Who looked after Ashram security? Who looked after managing the

tremendous crowd at every gate and every point of action? Who metamorphosed the

Hill View Stadium from a cricket field to a big open air theatre? Who did the

planning at the many levels and of course skillfully executed it all? It is to

provide clues to questions like this and to pay our tribute to thousands of Sai

volunteers who worked tirelessly, anonymously and

selflessly behind the scenes for weeks together, that we have this special cover

story. Many would not know that the planning for the Birthday celebrations

began with the dawn of 2005 itself and it gained vital momentum during the Guru

Poornima celebrations in July 2005. The All India President, Sri V Srinivasan,

in right earnest, called a meeting of all the State Presidents of Sri Sathya

Sai Seva Organisations of India and formed the main Organizing Committee.

Simultaneously various Sub-Committees were formed for various specific

activities like the Food Committee, Accommodation Committee, Security

Committee, Decoration, Sanitation, Health and Hygiene, etc. 'Free Food For All'

– Bhagavan Baba The most crucial of all was, understandably, planning and

organizing food for lakhs of devotees every single day for the whole Birthday

week from the 18th of Nov to the 24th. It was a mammoth undertaking and every

devotee who came for the birthday went home with pleasant memories of the

variety of dishes that were rolled out in all the seven days – each day's menu

being special and different. But nobody knows how many selfless men and women

with blue and orange scarves had worked towards this end, not for days and

weeks but for months. The First Meeting of The Food Committee In fact, the

first meeting of the Food committee was organized by Sri S G Challam, the

Service Wing Coordinator of Sathya Sai Seva Organisations, Andhra Pradesh, and

a member of the Food Committee on the 20 th and 21 st of August 2005 in Guntur,

a city in

Andhra Pradesh as Andhra was assigned a major role in the food management. It

was a conference of elders, active workers, experts, planners and thinkers

where modalities of discharging the major responsibility of food was discussed

in great detail. Data from previous world conferences were studied, a

reasonable estimate of men and material was made and men of experience and

expertise were identified for each activity. It was going to be a " Anna

Yagnam" – a great sacrifice of offering food to thousands and the whole Sevadal

cadre of the state was really gearing up for it. The Second One Followed Soon…

Soon this was followed with another conference again in Andhra Pradesh, but

this time in the city of Rajahmundry . Now finer details of every activity were

worked out and planning went to micro-level. Various sub-committees like

Manpower planning, Material

procurement, Material Handling, Stores, Cooking, Kitchen Utensils, Kitchen

Sanitation, Transportation, Distribution, Registration, etc. took shape and

committed volunteers with experience were picked up to lead these committees.

The role of every volunteer involved was clearly defined. The preliminary menu

of the dishes was also made, estimates of the material required done and

sourcing of all the materials, from utensils and vehicles to knives and brooms

started immediately! The Third Meeting With The All India President Come

October and there was another meeting convened by the All India President (AIP)

of all State Presidents and a detailed discussion of the developments made in

every sphere of arrangement - from food and accommodation to decoration and

security - was made. It was in this meeting that the AIP conveyed the news

about the likely announcement

of 'Free Food For All' by Bhagawan for the Birthday week. Soon estimates of

different items required were done and the great feeling of togetherness with

which all the states joined in to offer their mite is really overwhelming. To

give you just a glimpse - Each State Wanted To Be A Part Of The Sacrifice…

While Andhra Pradesh offered rice, oil, tamarind and spices, Tamil Nadu said it

will take care of all the vegetable, sugar and tea requirements. Punjab joined

in to offer a variety of pulses and wheat flour while cooking oil came from

Gujarat . Similarly, Kerala offered jaggery and vermicelli and the state

president of Madhya Pradesh said all beaten rice and some pulses would come

from his state. All tea and coffee would come from Karnataka and Assam. Bihar

and Himachal Pradesh would supplement the milk supplies. Like this, every state

wanted to be a part of this sacred

undertaking and every state supplemented the rest of the requirements and lent

their helping hand in every manner possible. It was decided that by Nov 10th

all the supplies would reach Prashanti Nilayam, and that's what precisely

happened. The execution stage had begun after months of planning.

All the provisions required...rice, oils, wheat flour, etc.were offered by

different states of India

The Food Supply Network Now with the supplies in place, activity shifted to

preparing the infrastructure in Puttaparthi. Four kitchens were readied for

the purpose – The South Indian Canteen, the North Indian Canteen, The Andhra

Kitchen behind the North 3 Block and the newly constructed make-shift Punjab

Kitchen behind the North 5 Block. Four main distribution points were

identified inside the ashram with totally 80 food counters! Two distribution

points were meant for devotees and two were for delegates. For men devotees

there were 25 counters and for women there were 27. For the delegates, there

were 13 counters for gents and 15 for the ladies. Additionally, there were

separate counters for staff, police, Sevadal volunteers, press and the

physically

challenged devotees. Temporary sheds were erected with proper water facilities

and barricades at appropriate places were raised for smooth flow of traffic.

One main store and four sub-stores – one for each Kitchen – came up. Four

tractors, six mini-trucks, two vans, a mechanized hydraulic trolley and two

hydraulic fork lifts drove into Puttaparthi for distribution of food from the

Kitchen to the various distribution points. The information and communication

accessories like computer systems and wireless sets were organised. Water

points were set up at various locations inside the ashram to quench the thirst

of the teeming crowds. Similarly, to maintain cleanliness, there were garbage

bins at suitable locations. The Sevadal Volunteers Kept Coming….

Now, who was doing all this? By 16th of November, nearly 2,500 Sevadal

volunteers from all parts of India, with a majority from Andhra Pradesh, had

gathered and were in action. This number grew to 3,000 by 19th Nov and on the

Birthday there were nearly 4,500 volunteers who had literally taken charge of

every aspect of the Birthday celebration. They were ubiquitous in the Ashram

and their dedication to selfless service was contagious. A large number, nearly

60% of them were from the home state of Andhra Pradesh. Another 20% came from

the neighboring state of Orissa, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The rest were from

the far away states of Haryana, Delhi , Punjab and the like in the north,

Sikkim and West Bengal in the East, Kerala in the South and Gujarat in the

West. More than 40% of this workforce were in their thirties and they were ably

supported by another 40% who were

middle-aged. Every activity from major to the minor was carefully thought

through and executed. For example, once the menu for the seven days was

finalized, the cooking of various items was beautifully shared among all the

four canteens depending on their strengths and skills. What Sumptuous Menus!

During the Birthday week, the typical menu for the day included idli and upma

or pongal with chutney for breakfast; puri or chapathi , flavoured rice,

vegetable curry, curd rice, pickles and a sweet dish for the meal sessions, and

pakoras, vadas, etc. to go with tea and coffee during snack hours. While

breakfast items and flavoured rice were prepared at

the Andhra Kitchen, the Punjabi kitchen took charge of preparing the chapathis

and puris and the appropriate side dishes such as peas curry, paneer curry,

etc. How The Different Canteeens Shared the Work South Indian Canteen

Coffee, Tea, Curd Rice daily and 20000 laddus on the eve of Birthday North

Indian Canteen Sweets and

Snacks Andhra Kitchen Breakfast and other Rice items Punjab Kitchen Rotis,

Puris, Chapathis and side dishes Curd rice, coffee and tea were the domain of

the South Indian canteen while the kitchen attached to the North Indian canteen

supplied the snacks and sweets for the afternoon tea. So, it was a great

collaborative effort making optimum use of all the resources – men, material

and expertise - available. The food arrangement being the most challenging

operation had more than 30% of the volunteers working on its various

aspects. To this workforce joined another 400 young enthusiasts – The Hyderabad

Sai Youth Group. "The dedication and commitment of all these volunteers is to

be seen to be believed," a senior member of the Sai family said. In

The Seven Days Of Free Food... 2,28,000 devotees were served with Breakfast

3,71,000 devotees were served with Lunch 2,31,000 devotees were served with

Snacks and 2,88,000 devotees were served with Dinner In Other Words...

6,59,000 devotees were served with Meal and 4,59,000 devotees were served

with Breakfast and Snacks No One Went Hungry, Thanks To Continuous Cooking

In the course of one week, more than 6 lakh devotees partook of the Prasadam

Bhagavan had so graciously blessed them with. It was Bhagavan's command that no

one who came to Prasanthi Nilayam should go hungry and so there were days when

food continued to be plied to the counters long after the regular hours.

Indeed, on November 23rd, the lunch session that commenced at 10.30 a.m.

continued till tea-time at 4 p.m. and the tea session spilled over to the

dining session which concluded only after 9.30 p.m. Thus, on that day, the

kitchen fires never stopped blazing and the volunteers were on their feet all

day distributing and serving the food at the counters! And were all the

distribution points only inside the ashram? No. Apart from the four

distribution points inside the Ashram, food had to be transported to the

Primary school, the Higher Secondary School Hostel, the Senior Boys Hostel, the

Bangalore students Hostel, the Anantapur girls Hostel, the Staff quarters and

even to the railway station! All the arriving devotees were served first with

Bhagavan's Prasadam as soon as they alighted from their train. Recalling his

experience at the railway station, a British devotee, Mark says, A

Sevadal directing a just-arrived devotee at the railway station Food being

served to incoming devotees at the railway station "One of the Best Days of My

Life" – Mark from UK "I smiled out of joy as I looked upon the station

forecourt. On the left were many tents under which full meals of prasadam (rice

and sweets) were being served to the just arrived railway passengers in perfect

discipline. This

was such a caring gesture which seemed to assure the devotees that the rest of

the facilities would be of the same thoughtful nature. There were a host of

Sevadals on duty and the blue and white scarves gave me a feeling of being

welcomed home. The 80th Birthday fervour was sparkling in the air. It was the

21st November, and the overcrowded station bore testament to the lakhs who were

converging to celebrate the biggest birthday party on the planet! Such a huge

number of people required a similarly matched amount of shepherding, guidance

and practical help. And this was evident on leaving the station steps. A fleet

of shiny new blue and white buses were arrayed to take us to the ashram just in

front of the station. I stepped into one and was immediately welcomed by the

other passengers. We were all Sai pilgrims going to see our Master and the

shared excitement was

palpable. The journey was short and then we were left to merge with the sea of

humanity who were blessed enough to seek His Grace and join in the Party at

Puttaparthi – one of the best days of my life!" That was not all, there was a

distribution point in the Puttaparthi village too! There was a counter set up at

Sri Pedda Venkama Raju Kalyana Mantapam, so that devotees staying outside would

not be put to the inconvenience of having to stand in long queues inside the

ashram. Incredible Effort from The Sevadals Undoubtedly, it was not easy

managing the timely distribution of food at every point. The first step was, of

course, cooking. There was non-stop cooking which went on for 16 -18 hours

everyday in every kitchen . It was just spontaneous outpouring of love of

thousands of men and women who volunteered, unasked,

to lend their mite to this mighty and holy endeavour. These volunteers, who came

from different parts of the country, the young and the old, hailing from various

walks of life, selflessly toiled for a fortnight, setting aside thoughts of

their own comforts and convenience doing all sorts of activities in the kitchen

– cleaning and cutting vegetables, washing vessels, shifting bags of rice and

other items from the stores to the kitchens – and then moving the cooked food

to the various counters and actually serving at the food counters. Their motto

– ' Cook With Love, Serve With Love.' Sevadals at the Punjab Kitchen

Snacks getting ready at the North Indian Canteen And that's what they

exactly did. Just to give you an idea of the staggering scale of activity that

was involved – In the seven days of cooking, more than 170 tons (170,317 kgs)

of food material were cooked. Rice alone, of this, constituted 45 tons.

Chapatis and puris were made out of 14 tons of wheat flour. 18 tons of oil was

consumed and 13 tons of sugar went into the sweets and other preparations. And

then, 50,000 litres of milk were used for various preparations apart from tea,

coffee, etc. while

31 tons of vegetables were cooked and 12 tons of pickle was served.

Work in Progress at the North Indian Canteen.... Shifting Food to the

distribution points... "They Were Truly the Unsung Heroes" – A Central

Trust Official All this happened silently. Selflessly. The whole exercise was

like a great sacrifice and all the sevadals offered themselves completely -

body, mind and soul – to see to it that every devotee who landed in Puttaparthi

was fed properly. "They were truly the unsung heroes", recalls a Central Trust

official who was present at the scene of action during those days, "They were

not superhumans, but with the unlimited strength and endurance they derived from

Bhagavan, all the fatigue and stress were forgotten. They braved the weather

that suddenly turned inclement, never allowing their enthusiasm to flag or the

work to be disrupted. They would cheerfully go about their work, singing

Bhajans full throated, thus motivating each other and also charging the

atmosphere with such divine vibrations of the sacred Name of the Lord."

In The Seven Days Of Free Food... 1,70,317 Kgs of Food Material was cooked

The Major Items were... 44,680 Kgs of Rice 31,115 Kgs of Vegetables

13,850 Kgs of Wheat Flour 18,555 Kgs of Oil 13,350 Kgs of Sugar

12,727 Kgs of Pickle 50,000

Ltrs of Milk, etc. Recalling a moving anecdote which really summarized the

whole ambience of the work place in the kitchen, another Central Trust official

says, Sevadals at the Punjab Kitchen... Work in progress at the

Andhra Kitchen... "Theirs was a Labour of Love" – Another Central Trust

Official "In the Punjab Canteen, as the volunteers rolled out the chapathis in

thousands, a young man gifted with a melodious voice kept their spirits up by

singing Bhajans without break for up to eight hours! Can you imagine that!

Theirs was a labour of love… a tale of great sacrifice. They wanted no reward,

no recognition, no appreciation. The work itself was the reward. Most of them,

you won't believe it, denied themselves the bliss of having Bhagavan's Darshan

or witnessing the grand celebrations at the Sri Sathya Sai Hill View stadium,

though they had come from states thousands of miles away. Their focus and

dedication was complete, to say the least. Yes, they did not see

Bhagavan, nay physically, because they saw Bhagavan in their work, every moment.

They did not miss Bhagavan on that auspicious day too for their hearts and minds

were with Bhagavan, always." Distribution of Food - Andhra Pradesh Sai Youth

Come Here After the cooking, the next major task was to ensure that the food

cooked reaches the distribution points in time from the different canteens.

This is the area where the Andhra Pradesh Sai Youth did a splendid job, as

ever. They have been handling such work whenever there is a big event in

Prashanthi Nilayam and during the 80 th birthday they again amazed everybody

with their energy, expertise and meticulous planning. You could see that they

were putting their corporate experience to full use by the way they went about

doing their task – days ahead of the birthday week they were identifying and

numbering the

different routes to the distribution points, stocking adequate number of vessels

required for every route, estimating the vehicles and number of trips required

for each route, clearly marking 'From' and 'To' destinations with the Vehicle

in-charge's name and Mobile no. on the windshield of each of the 9 LCV's and

two pick up autos, constituting separate loading and unloading teams for each

vehicle, positioning multi-lingual experienced youth in each of the four

canteens to bring about perfect coordination with the distribution points as

well kitchen in charges and of course, picking the right persons for the right

jobs. Did they fully succeed in utilising their corporate experience? K S Ravi

Kiran, a Project Manager at GE in Hyderabad , who coordinated the activities in

the Punjab Canteen says, "The Only Awareness There Was…We Are Here For

Bhagawan" - K S Ravi Kiran "I was part of the Youth group from Hyderabad and

was thrilled to take up the responsibility of food distribution to the Schools,

Colleges, Railway station and the multiple Canteens for devotees. With an

International MBA degree I was ready to take the task head-on using my Project

and People Management skills, only to fall flat and realize on the first

morning itself that the task was beyond the capabilities of a single human

being or even a group for that matter. It needed united human intervention at

the physical level and abundant Divine Grace for all the activities to come

together and fall in place. And they did, very magically!! People from

different parts of the country met and instantly/naturally became aware of the

Universal Brotherhood (and Sisterhood!). With the mornings starting at around 3

am, after an almost oblivious 2 hour nap, and continuing until

mid-night there was no time to think about the "differences", the body and the

clothes. The only awareness was of the fact that we were all there for our

beloved Bhagavan and we had a role to play in the historic event. At home

where we seek help to lift a gas cylinder or for that matter the study chair,

here the potential multiplied multifold. A heavy vessel needed not more than 5

Sai Children, Sai's name did the magic." The Hyderabad Sai Youth in

action.... The youth not only transported food items, they were engaged in

other activities in the kitchen too like the cleaning the vessels, kitchen

sanitation, etc. And like Ravi Kiran many youth realised that they were doing

things that they had never imagined themselves capable of doing! Recalling an

experience on the same lines, G Sai Prasad, a Country Manager at Nokia Research

Division, India , who coordinated activities in the Andhra Kitchen says, "No

Hard Work...Just The Divine Thrill of Seva" – G Sai Prasad "During the

activity I could see myself doing things that I

otherwise would not push myself into – getting up at 3 in the morning, or

lifting super heavy vessels, etc. Often I was compelled to take a leadership

stand and manage the team as if I was in some sort of warehouse doing

just-in-time material management. All in all, with the encouragement of other

Sevadal, elders and undeniably Swami's grace, the activity floated to

completion just as easily as it got ramped up. That is, the end of the Seva was

just as graceful and unclimactic as the beginning. As such was the case, I am

left to wonder if WE really did anything in the food transport, or, was there

some other unseen hand?? I am a conventional fellow. I can't venture a

guess about some magical stuff influencing our deliveries in some unseen subtle

ways. I can only say that while doing our Seva

duty, we thought we were doing some 'hard work', but really we never were

stressed or strained, instead, we walked away with the gift of thrill in our

hearts. Sometimes this feeling was so abundant that we expressed ourselves

freely on the tractor routes with some fast and furious bhajans and shouts of

"Sathya Sai Babaji Ki Jai". On the day of the birthday, some of us

spontaneously wrote love letters to Bhagavan on our white T shirts. That is, it

was not uncommon to see lot of us with pink and blue crayon scribble of "Happy

Birthday to our most beloved Bhagavan" on our dirtied white T-shirts. Loud

bhajans on delivery routes, shouts of "Jai" to Bhagavan on loading docks,

painted T-shirts… now does that sound like hard work? No. To me it sounds like

a family function where the kith and kin were enjoying the occasion. And, that

is exactly how I would characterize our Beloved's 80th birthday service

activity."

This is how the Hyderabad Youth celebrated their Dear Lord's

Birthday...While HE was in the Stadium Yes, for the youth it was a great family

union…a grand get-together to celebrate the birthday of their divine mother, the

mother who is most precious than all the wealth of the world. And they did

everything that is possible, the hard work and the unearthly working hours was

never a pain, it was a blessing on the contrary. Sai Prasad again going down

the memory lane with great joy recalls, "Throughout the duty we were

surprisingly unmindful of the birthday Darshan or bhajan activities. Our world

was food and its timely distribution to the devotees. Despite enduring some of

the so-called "hardships" – which, by the way, never appeared to us as such –

and, despite not having a chance to even glimpse Bhagavan even for a moment

during those famous birthday days, we never felt saddened or felt deprived of

anything. The thrill of Seva, the excitement in the air, the rush of work was

so palpable and enveloping us that we rarely missed the other stuff. It was as

if the joy that all the other devotees had enjoyed was somehow packed in Seva

and delivered to us in disguise as "the rush" from doing a good activity."

For the Sai Youth of Hyderbad, it was not hard work...it was divine

thrill Miracles Happened! – Ravi Kiran Yes, it was hard work. It was thrill…

not without challenges. With unclear skies and so many other uncertainties, it

called for tremendous presence of mind and faith in the Divine. Recalling one

of those pressure-filled moments, Ravi Kiran says, "It rained the day before

the Birthday and the

Roti making facility got flooded in the Punjabi Canteen. With fewer hands to

make the Puris we were really short of the 60,000 target-number for that

evening. All the Seva Dal started reciting Sai Gayatri and the hands which did

the task of lifting those huge vessels with equal ease started rolling the

dough. Miraculously in less than 90 minutes we were able to cope up with the

lost time because of rain and were bang on target. Later helped poured in from

unexpected quarters and the whole operation was a success." Just to get a

glimpse of the sense of dedication that these youth had for their beloved lord,

(which really made miracles happen) listen to what Ravi Kiran has to say -

Pushing Through the Pain… A Great Learning Experience. "I cannot help but

mention the incident

with one of the younger Sai Brothers. With rain water all over the canteen floor

his feet soaked for a long time to the extent that they turned white in color

and wrinkled. He was busy delivering food in-time to all the canteens,

collecting the empty vessels. I met him at around 11:30 pm when all the work

was done. He was sitting alone on the steps that led to the canteen and was

visibly in terrible pain which he realized only after he had fulfilled his

duties for that day. He was in that state since morning, but the "movement" did

not stop. The sense of duty overpowered his temporary pain and his senses were

pushed to do the tasks that they wouldn't have done on any other day. It was a

great learning experience to work amongst such simple yet great souls."

They did tasks they had never imagined themselves to do...and did it

spendidly! "Was There A Divine Hand At Work?" - Gangadhar Sarma. A great

learning experience…an eye-opener in fact! As Gangadhar Sarma, a project Leader

in Wipro, who coordinated the transport activities at the South Indian Canteen,

says, "Though there was a tremendous

pressure during the seven day period of free food distribution, the entire team

worked in such a manner that the pressure was not felt… during the activity the

team could do things that otherwise would not be possible... Bhagavan gave us

the strength and energy to do the activity without much stress and pressure. At

the end of the Seva, there was a feeling in the team that did we really pull

this of or was there a divine hand at work?The Best Part of The Seva Was the

Bhajans" - Gopi Krishna The 'Unseen Hand' of Swami is an experience and a

revelation that every Sai youth can vouch for. As Gopi Krishna, a management

expert and a senior member of the Hyderabad Youth Group, says, "The

operations were definitely tough, more so with the large number of devotees

present inside the ashram, moving up and down for Darshan and the other

programmes BUT the entire operations went off flawlessly without any problem,

accident or wastage…. There was a tremendous feeling of togetherness and Love

within the team. Though there was tremendous pressure during the seven day

period of free food distribution, the youth took it in the most pleasing manner

with Sai's Name on their lips and it taught each one of us what Unity can bring.

The best part of the Seva was the bhajans our teams were singing while

transporting food.

That gave us the strength. It was a great team work with abundant blessings from

the Universal Team leader – our beloved Mother Sai. Each and every one of the

team members felt the divine presence of Swami within him, around him and

behind him protecting him as the eyelids protect the eye." Hyderabad Sai

Youth - Vibrant Bhajans and Energetic Seva A sterling example of what selfless

service and sacrifice can do. A great reminder of that immortal declaration that

Lord Krishna gave to Arjuna thousands of years ago in the battlefield – "Ananya

Schintayantomaa Ye Janah ParyupasatheThesham Nithyabhiyouktanam, Yoga Kshemam

Vahamyaham." Meaning… Whoever is constantly engaged in thoughts of Me, I

shall take care and look after his welfare in all respects. "We Could Feel

Swami's All-Pervasiveness" - Sri Challam, Andhra Pradesh Sevadal Coordinator

Sri Challam, the Andhra Pradesh Service wing coordinator, recalls the hectic

says during the birthday and says, "We could feel Swami's all-pervasiveness in

every moment. There were many tense moments and in every such situation, Swami

gave us relief and eased out our position." It was the Sevadals' total

dedication to the cause that drew divine grace and made the whole operation a

success. Many would not know that there was even a feedback committee of 8

experienced Sevadal volunteers. These Sai workers discreetly and casually

conducted opinion surveys about food quality and quantity from devotees

everyday. Every day a sample of 50 enquiries were done at every point which

meant 200 responses per session. All these inputs were carefully studied and

put to good use so that devotees would have no problems as far as food is

concerned. These volunteers also assessed the flow of devotees and helped in

making accurate kitchen estimates which was no mean task in planning and

forecasting. "You Have All Done Well" - Swami The fulfillment of the whole

exercise was

when Swami Himself on the 25 th of November blessed the food committee members

by expressing His Ananda, His great satisfaction and happiness on the

preparations done and even mentioned how all the devotees ate with

satisfaction. That was not all! The most merciful Lord again on the 1 st

December blessed the Sevadals saying "You have all done well." Not once, but

three times! There is nothing more that every Sevadal could aspire for. Their

mission was achieved, their sacrifice had found fulfillment and their work

truly had transformed into worship. "This appreciation", Sri Challam, the

Sevadal coordinator says, "of our most beloved Lord goes to all the Sevadal,

Group Leaders, District Batch In-charges, State In-charges, District Sevadal

coordinators and District Presidents who have motivated and conducted training

classes for the Sevadals in

the past one year and of course to the thousands of Sevadals who worked day in

and out in a great spirit of dedication and sacrifice." Well, food was only

one of the major arrangements surrounding the 80 th Birthday celebrations.

There were many others – accommodation, security, sanitation, crowd control,

decoration, maintenance, etc and every one of these activities were done by

Sevadal. The Moving Devotion of Mahabubnagar Sevadals One could see the

youth of Mahabubnagar going around the

ashram with water cans on their back distributing drinking water to the thirsty.

This was their way of offering their gratitude to Swami, who had provided them

with drinking water in the year 2001 through the Sri Sathya Sai Drinking Water

Project. Another very moving scene was to see the Mahaboobnagar Sevadals

utilising trolleys in service. They would rush to the aid of devotees,

especially elderly people, who needed help to transport their luggage to their

place of accommodation in the ashram. The luggage was placed in trolleys which

were wheeled by the youth themselves. What a thoughtful and heartwarming

gesture! Nobody had asked them to do it. Some of them were senior executives

in reputed companies but this job of a 'porter' was not menial for them. You

cannot help but be moved with their dedication and devotion to their beloved

lord.

"More Than 30,000 Entered Through the Ganesh Gate" - Sri Veera Reddy Similarly,

hundreds of Sevadals were busy controlling crowd at crucial junctions of the

Ashram. Sri Veera Reddy who was managing the crowd at the Ganesh gate says,

"Generally after Darshan and bhajan the devotees will go out from the Mandir,

but from 15th to 30th Nov, in addition to the devotees already within the

Mandir double the number of devotees entered in the Mandir for availing the

free food facility offered by the Bhagavan. Daily more than 30,000 people

entered through Ganesh Gate in addition to the devotees already in Mandir for

availing the morning breakfast, mid-day lunch, evening snacks and tea and also

evening dinner. Purely because of divine blessings of Bhagavan, we were able to

manage the crowd without causing any

inconvenience to the devotees." ACCOMMODATION FOR THE THOUSANDS Now, coming to

the other principal task – providing accommodation to the hundreds that landed

everyday. No effort was spared by the ashram authorities to ensure that none

would have to be turned away at the gates of Prasanthi Nilayam and everything

that was possible was done with the help of enthusiastic volunteers. In

addition to the dormitories that are usually available, more than 25 large

shelters were put up to accommodate the hordes who were pouring in by the day.

And work on these shelters started months ahead of the birthday. There were

separate accommodation arrangements made for the nearly 12,000 delegates who

had gathered for the world conference. Every inch of Ashram space was utilized

judiciously and a lot of planning went

into allotting shelters for every state of India and every region of the world.

You could see big boards on the temporary shelters saying –" Maharashtra ", "

West Bengal ", etc. Some devotees were even lodged in the Deena Janodharana

Pathakamu complex – the orphanage near the ashram. There were free medical

camps running and doctors were available round the clock for consultation and

treatment near the large shelters. It was a great sight to see people from

different regions and speaking different languages living and moving with each

other so cordially and comfortably. In the Sai family, there is no stranger.

"Sai Ram" is enough introduction and "Sai" is the common bond. The 8th

World Conference session in progress... THE 8TH WORLD CONFERENCE The two-day

World Conference which had 8,000 delegates from India and more than 3,500

delegates from overseas was a sight to behold. It was a motley crowd of

different cultures and regions, languages and beliefs but there was an

underlying feeling of great brotherliness. All were just like children of one

God, come to be with their dear father and they took back with them some of

life's most precious moments. To give you some glimpses – "We're So

Blessed To Be Here" - Clive Gregory from Canada "It's so awesome, so wonderful

and so beautiful to see Baba every day. I have had friends who have had their

knees healed and operations cancelled because Baba healed them. For myself,

Baba is working on me. It's a work in progress. I see so many people who come

from all parts of the world. I was very blessed last year because I was chosen

to lead the western devotees for Christmas and we had 50 people on a team that

were from 35 different countries. It was awesome and you got to hear so many

stories of people's experiences with Baba - of how He would come in their

dreams, of how they would be motivated to serve Baba in their countries and

here. Having read all of the Sathya Sai Speaks books, all of the Vahini

books and all of Kasturi's books, it's overwhelming and I am in awe to be in

God's presence every day. I say it humbly from my heart because I sat yesterday

when Swami came out from the veranda, I started to cry because I felt so much

bliss. And we are all so blessed to be here, and I know Swami sits there and He

enjoys all of our love for Him as well, because thousands have come here from

all parts of the world to be here for Swami's 80th birthday. And we're so

blessed to be here now. Today I was helping the overseas and Indian delegates

that have come for the conference to find their seating. Everyone is so happy.

How can you be somewhere where there is so much love? I've been in baseball

stadiums, in Olympic stadiums, everywhere for different events, but this place

is

special. I know that Baba's wish of Dharma, world wide peace and love everywhere

will come true, because if He can find a place in my heart He can find a place

in everybody's heart.We all love Baba and I love everybody." This is the real

miracle. The way Swami enters each individual's heart and then slowly, silently

but surely brings out a U-turn in the individual's outlook. Many years pass and

the individual cannot believe the amazing changes that have come about in his

attitude towards life and society. And all this happens without Swami speaking

a word to the devotee physically even once. His presence is enough. His power

is there everywhere. "I Am Doing the Same Thing...But With A different

Consciousness Now" - Ricardo from Italy Ricardo, who was there for the World

Conference from Italy ,

expressed exactly the same sentiments when he said, "I met Swami for the

first time in 1991. I then came to Whitefield in 1993. Since then my life has

completely changed. My life now is full of joy. I never felt myself alone ever

since I saw Swami for the first time in the physical form. And now everywhere I

go I see a friend walking beside me, with whom I exchange all of my thoughts,

needs, fears, joys - everything! I am proud to be in the Sai Organization and

I am doing Seva. All of my life has been reenergized by this meeting I had with

Swami. I am doing more or less the same thing I was doing before, but with a

different consciousness, with a different way of looking at others. I really

hope that with Swami's grace the world will be a much better place than what it

is now.

Apart from that my whole attitude towards life has changed. Whatever I'm doing

now is kind of a Seva for others, including parents, friends, and everyone. I'm

proud to be here." The theme of the conference was Unity-Purity-Divinity

and you could really see how there was this tremendous feeling of

brotherliness. It was a practical demonstration of the power of collective

positive thought which can do miracles. "To Be Here Is So Special" - Hector

Casteneda from El Salvador Moved by the love and unity so evident during the

conference, Hector Casteneda, Central Coordinator for Mexico , Central America

and the Caribbean, mentioned the following to Heart2Heart, "Well, we

are here for Baba's birthday and to come here at such an auspicious time is

something you have to experience. There are so many people here that have come

from more than 170 countries. And I was impressed to see members of so many

religions who have converged here - that is something I have seen for the first

time and you have to just experience it. You have to feel the love of the

people that come to see

Swami. I know that it is very difficult for someone to stay here at this time

because there are so many people; but the love that He spreads and the love

that all the devotees spread all over makes you feel very comfortable. To be at

this special place on the Avatar's 80th birthday is something special, because

we know that something better is in store for this planet. Then, Swami's love

for all people is going to spread all over the planet and we are going to live

in peace. This is something which He has been telling us for years and it is

going to happen." Their conviction about Swami and His message is exemplary

and contagious. Each devotee has the golden book of his priceless experiences

with Bhagavan in their and that gives all the inspiration and strength that

each one needs whenever and wherever. "The Care and Attention To All Was

Wonderful" - Dr. Nelly Carache from Venezuela Dr. Nelly Carache, a devotee from

the South American country of Venezuela , said, "It's my 6th trip here and

I have known Baba for eighteen years. I am a doctor and I have had a lot of

experiences there with Swami. Here, for this celebration, for the magnitude of

this 80th Swami's birthday, I just can say that the attention, and care to all

the devotees was lovely, wonderful. I feel that there was a holy hand, a divine

hand - if not, it would be impossible for everything to be so perfect. Talking

about my experiences, my husband (who does not believe in miracles) was cooking

in our kitchen, when

suddenly he cut his thumb badly. I told to him to just put Vibhuti with a

bandage. We waited twelve hours to check it and then found that there was not

even a mark. His hand was perfect again." In whichever corner of the world

he/she may be, each devotee feels Swami's love. And seeing Swami physically

during the grand Birthday celebrations was an experience that was phenomenal.

Some devotees from distant countries, who were there in Prashanti just a few

months ago during the Guru Poornima celebrations in July, could not allow

themselves to miss the big event. The magic of His love and the gift of His

Darshan pulled them and they were again

back at the Lotus Feet of their beloved! "We Are So Pleased To See Swami Again"

- Steven Perry from UK One such example is Steven Perry from UK who said,

"We were here at Guru Poornima, and we felt so full that we weren't going to

come back. But we came back for the 8th World Conference and to see Swami

again! And we are just so pleased to see Swami so full of love for everyone.

I've known Swami since 1998, and since then I try to follow His teachings. And

although I

am imperfect, I feel some movement is happening within me. It's such a pleasure

to see everybody here from every corner of the world. It is just such a big

birthday celebration. We all love Swami and we have all got to learn to give

that love to other people as well." "The Best Miracle For Me Is To See Swami

Move All Hearts" - Juan Carlos Ponce de Leon from Peru Juan Carlos Ponce de

Leon from Peru who was here in Prashanti Nilayam during the Birthday told

Heart2Heart, "It's incredible for me to feel the love and the energy of Swami

as His presence - and in each devotee too. The best miracle for me is to see

Swami move all hearts, to share love and work together . This is the real

transformation. I have heard stories about the leelas of Swami, but the most

important thing is the change of mind and heart of people. And then to spread

Swami's words to the people in more than 140 countries." This was the

inspiration with which the thousands who had gathered for the World Conference

left – to share Swami's love and His message. Their hearts were recharged and

full with the experience of His presence and they wanted to share with anybody

they could. And in fact, that is what life is meant for – to share love, to be

caring, to realise that there is God in every being. When every man realises

and practises this fundamental unity in creation, each one can see and feel

divinity in every moment. The golden age truly then would have arrived. THE

WONDERFUL SAI SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA A beautiful event associated with the World

Conference was the Sai Symphony Orchestra on the 21 st evening where 53

musicians from over 20

countries performed before Bhagavan. There were artists from Asia , Australia ,

Europe , North, Central and South America and they worked together during five

days of rehearsals in a great joyful spirit of unity and love. Their goal was

simple – to do their best before their Sweet Lord. Now, we are not going into

details of the beautiful compositions they played. You must have read all this

in the Prashanti Diary of the December issue. (To read it again, go here .)

What we are going to give you is glimpses of the spirit behind their

performances - what inspired them to come to Puttaparthi? How did they know

about Swami? And what music means to them? "Swami Has Blessed Me" - Klaus

Maurer, Conductor When Heart2Heart asked the conductor Klaus Maurer his

experiences, he told us - "When I came first to Prashanti it was

because one of my friends talked about Swami, but actually Swami entered into

my life much earlier. Swami is omnipresent. He has created the whole world, He

has created me, so there are so many times in my life Swami has blessed me . He

gave me my wife. I asked Him to give me a wife who would be able to live around

the world and He gave me Johanna, who is a marvelous pianist from Poland. Then

we came to Puttaparthi, my wife had a chance to play a piano recital for Swami.

And after this, Swami gave me the opportunity to conduct this orchestra. How can

I thank Swami for all that He does, because it is a present for me. I conduct

the orchestra and I learn so much from Him. Everyday you try to improve, to

make better music - you try to seek perfection. You are not perfect, you never

achieve perfection - only God is perfection - but every day has a goal with

Swami." "This is the Best Moment Of My Career" - Andrea from Croatia "My

first impression of playing for the Sathya Sai Symphony Orchestra was a year and

a half ago, when I was here in Puttaparthi, and Swami called me for interview,"

says Andrea, a

professional musician who plays bass trombone, from Croatia who was also part of

the Orchestra. He continues, "In the interview He asked me what my profession

is. I told Him that I am a musician and that I play trombone in the symphony

orchestra. Then we talked about my profession and I started to have a wish to

play in front of Swami. I didn't know that there is an international Sathya Sai

Symphony Orchestra. I was also here, 3 months ago. I met some people from

the organization and they asked me if I would like to play for Swami - I didn't

have to think very long! I think this is the best

moment of my career - to play in front of my God in this symphony orchestra. The

atmosphere in this orchestra is very good and very positive. We all come from

various corners of the world; we just met each other and started playing. So

simple and so complicated at the same time. Music is equal to divinity

according to me. I don't know what can be more blissful and more divine,

because there is nothing in this world that is more divine than music for me. I

am a musician and I can tell you that out of my experience. And when you come to

Prashanti Nilayam, when you hear bhajans, when you hear chanting of the Vedas,

when you hear classical music, you will always find the same vibration; you

will always find the same divine fire in all the music. Although they are

various kinds of music, the divine fire will be the same." How true! Andrea so

beautifully spelt out the

soul of music. "It's Just Great To Be Here" - Letora from France For some

of the musicians it was their first visit to Swami like Letora from France .

"It's my first time here, and I'm very surprised that there are so many people

who have come to be with Swami," says Letora who plays bassoon, a wind

instrument, and landed in Puttaparthi just a week before the orchestra. "I am

very impressed," he continues, "that we have offered this music to

Swami. I love to play music because I think that rhythm has something to do with

spirituality. For me, this is the most important thing I have to offer to

Swami…. A lot of people are doing a lot of work here. It's wonderful. The

village and landscape of Puttaparthi is very beautiful. The weather is good.

It's just great to be here." "What Swami Said About Love Really Moved Me" –

Concert Member from Japan Another first-timer, from Japan, says, "I

joined the concert for the first time. I met Sai Baba this year through my

mother-in-law. So this year everything for me is new and I'm really excited.

I'm very happy to play the music with this orchestra because everybody is nice

and they are helping so

much when I can't understand what to do. I'm happy to do for Baba anything

concerned with music. Music is my job. I had a really special time at His

birthday. I'm very excited now. And what Swami said about love really moved me.

Such kind of words I never heard. I'm trying to understand more of Him and the

Sai Community." "I Like Music With Love" - Harry from Holland Harry,

another member of the Sai Symphony Orchestra, says, "I like music so much,

not only classical western but I like all types of music which is played with

love. When there is no love, I don't like it. When there is love, I like it.

And this is how Swami wants us to be - full of love. When we go back to our

countries, we are there to represent Swami's love. So we come together and play

to the physical form, but when we go back we carry the memories." Yes, all

the 53 musicians carried back with them memories…memories so sweet that will

fill them with bliss whenever recalled, memories that will inspire them forever

to divinize not

only their music and but also every moment of their life. After the World

Conference, we know, there was the Institute's convocation and then the action

shifted to the Hill View Stadium for the big day! THE STUNNING STADIUM ON THE

BIRTHDAY Not many people know of the elaborate planning and arrangements that

were being made in the stadium weeks before the Big Day. More than 150 Sevadal

volunteers were engaged in various activities in stadium for more than a week

before the Birthday. On the 22nd, there was even a rehearsal of the

Sevadal deployment

and the whole stadium was divided into seven sectors – three on the ground and

the other four in the galleries. A student, who used to watch the developments

in the stadium from behind the hostel in its preparatory days, says, "The

stadium seemed to have woken up from its quite and sedentary ways. The statues

in the stadium already wore a fresh coat of paint as if they were all dressed

and ready for the grand event. A casual observer would have noticed a team of

people busy inspecting the Shanthi Vedika stage and the surrounding galleries.

In the days to come they transformed the stage and the stadium into something

that resembled a massive royal court! Somebody said, nay, it's a great comfy

open air theatre! With the green water-proof carpet all over the area of the

ground, the stadium had acquired a totally new manifestation." A Complete

Makeover to Shanthi Vedika Yes, the stadium was actually no more a stadium. In

fact, many people who had never seen the stadium in its preparatory days were

shocked to the ground on the final day - "My God! We cannot recognise this. Is

it the same Hill View Stadium that had the cricket ground?" they asked with big

eyes and open mouths. The path from the middle - an innovative

idea... The idea takes shape.... "The Shanthi Vedika stage was getting a

complete makeover. Beautiful cut-outs and decorations started adorning the

stage. The floor had beautiful tiles now and professional florists from many

regions including Japan and Switzerland were busy creating a masterpiece of

beauty. And then the ornate lamp-posts along the road…at night fall they lit up

like a necklace around the stadium!" says another student and continues,

"another neat idea you could not help appreciate was the path that was being

made through the center of the ground. Thanks to this red-carpeted centre path,

on the Birthday, hundreds of devotees could catch a glimpse of Swami from a

distance of only a few metres!" The Impressive Hoardings… Huge hoardings

came up around the stadium days prior to the 23rd conveying what Swami truly is

- pure selflessness. "Your Well-being is my concern", "Your Joy is My Wish",

"May There Be Peace And Love In The World" the 40 ft by 20 ft structures stated

along with beautiful images of Swami smiling and blessing. And mind you, they

were permanent structures in wood and iron which had taken a week to erect. In

addition to this, smaller banners with the 80th birthday logo filled the

stadium and added so much colour to the setting. The huge hoardings

coming up... The hoardings proclaiming what Swami is - Pure Selflessness In

fact, such huge hoardings were found not only in the stadium but inside the

Ashram as well. Not only that, more than 30 such large hoardings were put up

even in the city of Bangalore and many more on the way to Puttaparthi from

Bangalore. All conveying the immortal message of love and peace of Swami.

Apart from the hoardings, there were also beautiful arches on every entrance of

Hill View Stadium and even beyond the stadium. All these were the contribution

of different states of India. Each

coveyed an unique spiritual theme with beautiful art-work. Beautiful

spiritual theme based arches from different states of India A New Stage

Blossoming… "You could not miss the galleries below

the Hanuman statue where a bright lotus like stage was blossoming!" another

student currently doing his Ph. D says. "Carpenters, decorators and engineers

were busy at work - Painting the flanks, putting up and testing the lights,

setting up the elaborate sound system, carrying out tests and fine tuning the

performance of each piece of equipment." Just beside this stage, there was

another big structure coming up - the LED display screen. It was in fact, from

one of world's best companies in the LED business - Barco, a company renowned

for its longstanding leadership in the visualization industry. There were

actually

two screens, the second one placed above the pavilion on the gents' side. And

these two displays were receiving their feed from eight video cameras set up at

different strategic locations all round the stadium. There were even two aerial

multi-dimensional 'speed dome' cameras on either side of the Shanthi Vedika.

Thanks to this set up, all the devotees could totally involve themselves with

the happenings on the stage and also watch close-ups of Swami sitting on the

majestic throne in the Shanthi Vedika. Explosions and Lasers! Everybody who

was there in the stadium on that blissful evening can never forget the grand

fireworks and of course the laser show. The fireworks specialists were from the

famous Sivakasi and were people who had handled various other mega-events across

the country. Thanks to their expertise and also divine grace, in spite of the

intermittent rain they lit up the evening sky on the

23rd with one of the most spectacular fireworks displays that Parthi had ever

witnessed - the rockets went up to 100ft into the sky and many lit up a

diameter of 125 ft with sparkling colours. Coupled with the laser show, these

two events really mesmerised the devotees with the delightful play of sound and

light and made the evening so very memorable. The launching pads of

the 'fireworks' rockets Fireworks light up the sky... THE WORLD OF MUSIC

OFFERS THEIR DEVOTION TO SWAMI We know that very eminent musicians offered

their music to Swami on that beautiful evening. Be it Pt. Shiv Kumar Sharma,

Kavita Subramaniam and Dr. L Subramaniam, Amjad Ali Khan, Richa Sharma, Parveen

Sultana or Dana Gillespie, for all of these musicians, the experience was

priceless. Here is a glimpse of what a few of musicians said - "We Think

of Swami Constantly" - Amaan, Ayaan and Ustad Amjad Ali Khan Amaan, Ayaan,

Amjad Ali Khan and Subhalakshmi Khan after the performance said, "We feel so

blessed to have been able to perform in the divine presence of Baba on His

eightieth year. It was so moving to see lakhs of people sharing the music in

complete devotion that evening in Puttaparthi, in spite of the constant

drizzle. Ever since our entire family had Baba's Darshan and Blessings, we

think of Swami constantly and feel blessed in every way every day of lives. We

just feel so fortunate to have been here to witness this great

day and get Baba's blessings." This is what Rahul Sharma, who along with his

father Pt. Shiv Kumar Sharma performed on the 80th Birthday night, said when we

asked him - What does Swami mean to him? after his performance - " I Feel

Grateful...in This Lifetime To Receive His Love." - Rahul Sharma

"Well..where should i begin...I first went to him about 12 years ago and he had

a mesmerizing impact on me. I was called back to the interview room and sat

before him while he told me all from my

inhibitions and my life, etc. Then out of the blue he materialized a navaratna

(nine gems) ring and put it on my finger. I thanked him, and left. For a few

nights, when I used to practice the santoor and sleep, He would appear in my

dreams and encourage me about my practice. It was amazing and then later when I

would meet him He would tell me about my dreams. I've had the fortune of

playing at least 3 or 4 times on stage for His birthdays, in His presence. Have

been truly blessed and received many tokens of his blessing, a wrist watch and

Amrit Kalash [nectar of the God's]. The most amazing was when I was in Dubai

and the car I was traveling in at high speed had as the tyre burst and the only

name that came to my lips was, BABA..BABA..BABA...

as I looked at the ring and prayed for a miracle as the car crashed into the

road divider and turned turtle and drifted to one corner of the busy highway. I

came out unscratched and was taken to a clinic in Dubai for a routine check up

and the first thing I see in the clinic in Dubai is a huge picture of SATYA SAI

BABA. That says it all. Later when I was in Puttaparthi, Baba narrated the

entire incident to me about the accident and how it all happened. He knew it

all! I feel grateful, that in this lifetime I have been able to receive his

blessings and still continue to receive his warmth and love.With Swami…We

Are in Heaven" – Begum Parveen Sultana When we spoke to Begum Parveen Sultana

and Ustad Dilshad Khan after their concert on the 80 th Birthday evening,

recalling their first performance in front of Swami,

Parveenji said, "Believe it or not, for two minutes we could not sing

with the emotion choked in my voice. Bhagavan was sitting before us, I can't

believe it - we had heard about Him and that day… was it true that we were

going to sing for Him? I was pinching myself… where was I, was I really sitting

in front of Him? It was an unbelievable experience. And from that day onwards we

became His devotees…. Whenever we come here and sing before Swami, I have very

good experiences. Whenever I am with Swami and suppose somebody is playing or

singing,

Swami just looks at me or I just look at Swami and we just communicate like that

- how the concert is going on, how nice it is, how divine it is - it is like a

mental conversation, like father and daughter. There are so many things you

learn. Baba has taught us many things and whenever I sing, you know, Baba is

sitting there. I feel some more life to our music, some sort of energy and

vibration and I feel so much at peace and I become a different person. I go to

a different world with Swami's appreciation and Swami's power. He charges me

with energy. It is so divine that I don't care for the world. I look at Swami

and Swami looks at me and it is something like a booster rocket - that kind of

energy I get. Whenever I come here and sing, the satisfaction that I get, I

don't get anywhere else because this is divine satisfaction. We are all

professional

musicians; we work hard and earn money. We sing for the gallery, we sing for the

masses, we sing for class - but here we sing specially for God; we imbibe the

divine atmosphere. We feel as if we are singing in a Durbar, Swarg, and Heaven.

God is sitting before us." "All Our Life Is Devoted to Him" - Ustad

Dilshad Khan With a great sense of humility, Ustad Dilshad Khan adds,

"Sometimes we feel that what we got from Him, a child won't get from his

parents - the way we got so many things

from Baba. We will definitely serve and obey the orders of Sai; all our life is

devoted to Him. Not only this life but for all lives to come we will be devoted

to Him and we will do whatever He says.I Think of Him In Every Step" - Dana

Gillespie We have read what Begum Praveen and Amjad Ali Khan had to say. Now

let's move from the heart of Indian classical music to the soul of western

contemporary music. This is how Dana Gillespie, a well-known international

blues singer, described her experience performing before Swami to H2H -

"I have sung beside Him when He sat on the side of the stage with me. That is a

strange dichotomy for as a performer you are meant to be performing for the

audience out there, but at the same time there is this Presence. So you sing for

the audience but occasionally I will give a little glance to Him but would not

sing straight to Him. A lot of people have said it must be so emotional when

He is sitting there. But in fact it is not; it is as if on the day of the

concert He switches off my emotions because if I was emotional at that point I

would be overcome with bliss and choked with emotion. I do the job, I feel the

joy but I focus on the job. But if I am on my own during a rehearsal I am often

in tears of joy and sometimes it is as if it is not my voice and I can cry over

the lyrics." And how has Swami influenced her music and her life? Dana

continues, "I try to bring His teachings into the blues lyrics and I am

proud that I have even just heard of Him because I spent up 23 years thinking

that all the holy saints lived in the old days. He has shown that His

omniscience, omnipresence and omnipotence is so overpowering that I think of

Him at every step. And sometimes it is harder here with the physical form as He

may not be talking to you - so forget the interview, it is the 'inner view' that

counts!" SAI – To See Always Inside How true and revealing…yes, numerous are the

occasions when Swami has mentioned that man has reached the moon and the depths

of the ocean but not an inch within himself! In fact, all His interviews are to

persuade us to see inside. SAI means to See Always Inside and millions derive

inspiration from Him from within. His 5'3" physical frame is just an easy and

sweet medium for us to derive bliss with least effort. But to remain in that

bliss at all times, one has to internalize Him. Parting Words...

Well…there is no end to the experiences of devotees, be it Sevadals, artists or

professionals who had come for the 80 th Birthday. Dear

reader, the whole idea of this cover story was to give you those glimpses of the

historic event that was the 80 th Birthday that many were unaware of and

therefore not touched by it. We hope that the great stories of service and

sacrifice of the Sevadals and the amazing experiences of various people from

all over the globe and from different walks of life that has dotted this cover

story inspire you, enliven you and give you another opportunity to revel and

bask in the glory of Sai. Sai Ram With Love & Regards,Bombay Srinivasan,C-1,

Silver Valley -2,Shivaji Nagar,Vakola, Santacruz East,Mumbai-400055Tel:

022-26684021 Cel: 093229 47473

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