December 9th, 2007 - Sai Students

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December 9th, 2007 From the district of Srikakulam in Andhra Pradesh, thousands had flocked to the abode of supreme peace by way of a pilgrimage. Today, Swami had agreed for a programme to be presented by them. It was about 4:15 pm when Swami came out to grant darshan. As He went around in the car, the excitement and more importantly, the Joy was evident in the radiant faces of all the devotees. Swami alighted from the car and there were several rounds of applause.Puttaparthi is a place that has grown with a lot of emphasis on discipline. Everyone is expected to be seated in their respective places and in this beautiful temple, the Lord Himself comes to each devotee to grant Darshan. Swami also stresses a lot on discipline. But on occasions like today, when there is the overwhelming outflow of devotion, it becomes difficult to restrain. The devotee, finding himself in a very difficult situation where he is not

allowed either to shout out or get up and dance in glee at the Joy he is experiencing seeing the sweet Lord, takes recourse to the 'decent' and more importantly permitted mode of celebration - the applause. A round of applause carries many emotions at Prashanti Nilayam, but one thing that is certain is that it is a spontaneous, emotional and overwhelming outburst.Swami went into the interview for a short while and then returned to take His place on the stage. The lamp being brought up to Swami to be lit and mark the beginning of the programme too has undergone a lot of transformations. Today it was a beautifully carved mandir fully in silver that was brought up to Him and He lit it up just as He had lit up the entire hall minutes before with His darshan. The traditional roses and dry fruits plate were offered to Swami. Finally the children who were part of the drama to be presented offered flowers to Swami. The programme was entitled, "Jagame Sarvam Sai

Mayam".The drama began with the activities of the Sai Youth in the villages. The joy of everyone sharing the feeling that Swami Himself had arrived to their village was brought out nicely. The father of one of the members of the youth, our hero in this drama, feels that his son is wasting all his time and energy on futile activities. Like all the deluded people of today, he measures the success of any activity undertaken from the money it fetches. He tries to drill "wisdom" into his son through a friend of his who has agreed to employ the boy. They are not prepared for a reversal of argument that the boy has in store for them!When the eternal values of Sathya and Dharma are attacked, the boy resorts to the example of King Harishchandra. The king never gives up on the Truth even in the face of death saying, "Just because something impermanent is passing away, should I sacrifice the only permanent entity in this Universe?" Quoting Swami's words, he says that

it is only adherence to Sathya and Dharma that can provide everlasting happiness and peace for they alone are eternal. "But they will not give you the money needed to live", exclaims the worldly wise uncle. "Swami's name is my greatest treasure. If I call out 'Sai', He will respond with 'Oyi' and if I cry out 'Swami', He will respond with 'Emi'. I may not be able to do anything with so little money, but with Him and so little money, there is nothing in this Universe I cannot attain."Listening to the powerfully scripted dialogues, one could not but help marvelling at the conviction and faith of the writer. Swami also appeared very moved by the words being spoken. The whole drama was interspersed with dances for songs which again were very moving in their emotion and very powerful in their meaning. The dialogues had such an impact on Swami that in between the drama itself, He called the hero and materialized a beautiful gold chain for him. Again,the applause began,

as Swami lovingly put the chain around the boy's neck. After that short "break", the drama continued. The final scene of the drama was one in which Mother Eashwaramma came to life with how much Love Swami had showered on her and everyone. She sang out her love for Him and it was such a tender sight to see the one with the Love of a thousand mothers well up with emotion on being reminded of His earthly mother's love. The final song described the beautiful image of Swami gently swinging on the Jhoola. Then all the actors and dancers came close together in the final formation. The Jhoola was also brought as part of the formation.Swami called the scriptwriter and created a gold ring for him - an apt reward for the fingers that had created the writing which had moved thousands of hearts. He also told him to be a part of the group for the final photo. Swami went down in the wheel sofa and then to the joyous amazement of everyone around, said that He would sit on the

decorated swing! He got up from the chair and walked slowly towards the Jhoola. Then, very gently, He sat on the Jhoola and the the people celebrated with another round of applause! Gently rocking Himself, Swami blessed everyone with smiles and loving words and pats. All the children were just diving at His feet and so sweetly Swami was telling them, "Sit down. Sit down. I will come." True to His word, after getting up from the Jhoola, He walked up to the stage, passing in between rows of Love hungry children!After going on stage, He gifted every child with clothes. The girls got sarees and the boys got white cloth pieces. He permitted the Srikakulam group to sing bhajans which they did so with gusto. Two bhajans new to the Sai fraternity at Puttaparthi were sung. After that, He asked for the camphor to be waved after which He retired to Yajur Mandir.Click here to view

pictures of the Srikakulam programme. Courtesy: http://www.saistudents.org/