Sai Darshan News: November 9-11 2008 - Sai Students

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November 11 2008 All good things in life come in pairs they say. We referred to the Akhanda Bhajans as the "Kalpavriksha Day". It seemed as if that too comes in pairs! As part of the grand yet sublime celebrations for the Sahasra Poorna Chandra Darshanam Yajnam (SPCDY) the Bhagawatha Parayanam was to begin on the 10th. The Bhagawatham is the collection of the leelas and mahimas of Lord Mahavishnu with special emphasis on His glories as Lord Krishna. King Pareekshith had been cursed to meet death in 7 days and he made the correct choice to listen to the Srimad Bhagawatham in the last week of his life. Death approached him but it was immortality that embraced him as he was freed forever from the tyranny of the flesh. The power of this is such because as Swami says, the Name equals the Form. What then do we say

when the name and form come together? Cutting the suspense, what was the "Kalpavriksha Day" part 2 all about? Well it was something that many of the westerners, the ladies actually, will cherish throughout their lives. Lets go through the beautiful day without hurrying, in the order in which the events unfolded for this is the best order - hasn't it been ordained by Swami Himself?The idol of Sri Venugopalaswami(Lord Krishna) had been installed and decorated with all jewels and flowers at the centre stage. There were priests attending on to the Lord in idol form at all times. At about 10:30 am, Swami arrived for the installation and first Aarthi that was performed in Kulwant hall. The hall was empty as the morning session had just concluded and everyone had given up the thought of Swami coming out in the morning. But well, as He came, many of the students who were still around, rushed in and were lucky to witness what happened. Since the hall was

almost devoid of the full strength Seva dal volunteers, the gates were quickly closed to prevent the excited and charged devotees from rushing in. Swami blessed all the priests all those on stage seemed to be intent on just falling prostrate at His feet. The priests and organisers are all part of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam. Receiving Aarthi and blessing all the priests, Swami made another round to the Vidyagiri stadium where the work now has taken on a feverish pace and one can already feel the magnificence and grandeur of the upcoming event. From there, Swami drove back to the Yajur Mandir.Come the evening and Swami came out for darshan as usual - only today it would not be that usual! Swami's darshan is never the same or "usual" in the way we use the term. New and refreshing things keep happening. It is only on a few fortunate occasions that we come to know what is happening or at least what happened! Today, Swami completed the darshan

rounds and all expected Him to come on the stage. What does the Lord do instead? He moves to the ladies side for a second round and in what seems like a random choice, starts picking up ladies and tells them to move towards bhajan hall."Is it an interview? But...wait. An interview will not be for 30 people! And Swami is simply picking up people from everywhere? The only thing common among all of them (other than their Love and devotion to Him of course) was that they were all westerners or shall we say non-Indians."Swami then went into the bhajan hall and the ladies sat, overwhelmed and happy. Swami spoke to a few of them as to where they had come from. Then He said, "Two Russian ladies...they run behind Swami's car always... call them." These two ladies have been so persistent and tireless in their pursuit of God that not only the all-knowing one but almost all those in Parthi for quite some time know them! They were immediately brought

to His presence and Swami gifted them a smile. He moved up and down the aisle and gave a command, "Call all the foriegners." As people hurried to put His command into action, He gently moved around the hall bringing tears from many eyes. To those lost in the Love of God,(and who is not? Many who have claimed and even paraded themselves as atheists have sobbed and wept in front of Him as children for apparently no reason whatsoever.) there seem to be tears always. When they cannot see their Lord, their tears speak of their agony and when they see Him, it is the tears again that speak of the unspeakable joy. Tears! Those salty droplets that carry with them the sweetest of feelings!When the bhajan hall ladies' side was filled to its capacity, Swami began the distribution. Distribution? Of what? When the Bhagawatha Parayanam begins, it is customary to do Vasthradaanam (distribution of clothes). Boxes of brown silk sarees were opened and lovingly

Swami began to distriute these to the ladies who had assembled. As He gave away the sarees, many of the ladies spoke to Him in their native tongues. There was so much that each wanted to tell Him and there seemed to be so little time. To top it all, this opportunity had arrived as a pleasant bolt in the blues and no one seemed prepared with what they wanted to tell Him. And that shows the importance of living every moment of life occupied with those thoughts and feelings that we cherish the most for at such sudden times, only they surface in the mind and get rendered out by the tongue. Swami's response to the multitude of languages being showered on Him was in a language that all know and understand - that of the heart. His smile seemed to have a magical calming effect on all and His Abhayahastha seemed a satisfactory enough answer to all the travails and tribulations of every heart.There were mothers with their babies, grandmothers who had

difficulty standing such that Swami had chairs arranged for them to sit and young women beginning their journey of Life receiving the gifts of Love from His hands. Swami advised one of the women to eat well and have porridge and milk. To another He enquired whether she was happy and she replied loudly, "Very happy Swami. Very, very, very happy." All the babies inside were blessed and the mothers were so pleased with that. Swami went on this way for about 1 whole hour and it was only after He had personally distributed sarees to everyone inside (that is atleast 250 of them) that He moved back into the interview room. In that one hour, He had spread happiness to various parts of the globe even with His physical frame as the grateful and joyous recipients spread it through word of mouth and the scientific technology of the cell phone and the internet. As Swami moved out of the bhajan hall, one of the boys there told Him, "Swami how you shower so much

Ananda on all!" Swami just seemed to shrug it away for what seems as extraordinary for us is so natural for Him. And it was so apt also. The story of Krishna is sweetest when He is doing His divine leelas as a child among the gopikas. Sai Krishna seems to have gopikas from all the nations of the world and what we witnessed before the Bhagawatha Parayanam was the ceaseless flow of love that exists between Sai Krishna and His gopikas, the Lord and His beloved devotees. Practicals even before the theory class if we can call it so!Swami then quickly moved to the stage where the Saptaham was to commence. The priests did a brief ceremony and Swami moved across the stage to observe the Idol. After a short introduction in Telugu, Brahmasri Dr. Nagaphani Sharma took the stage with his Bhagavatha narration. Interspersed with songs and poems, the scholar described the glory of Sai in mellifluous Telugu for an hour. The speaker, an orator par excellence,

had a mridangam and harmonium supporting him as he spoke and sang. Swami seemed very happy and touched with his rendition. So lost was he in the glories of Sai, that it truly became a Sai Bhagawatham Parayanam. Swami blessed him profusely and patted him while posing for pictures with him. Then as He moved into the car, He raised both His hands in a smiling benediction for all. There were gasps of delight from everyone who saw the beautiful scene. It was 7:30pm when Swami retired into Yajurmandir. The 11th of November saw a sort of repeat of the previous day in the sense that Swami came out at the same 10:30am or so and after a brief stint with the installed idols, made His way to the grounds. The grand stage looked wonderful once the supporting scaffolding was removed. It looked so inviting that it will not be a surprise if very soon Swami ascends the stage once again to do the final checks. Swami then moved back into Yajur mandir.The

evening saw the continuation of the talks on the Bhagawatham. Swami came for darshan at about 5:15pm and took the detour that the narrow passage after the Primary school block afforded Him. He came on stage and the priests did the brief ceremony. Swami blessed one of the priests to introduce the speaker of the day. He did so with such force and vigour beginning with the glory of Lord Sai that one who doesn't understand could have very much mistaken him to be the speaker of the evening! The speaker today was Garikapati Narasimha Rao, a renowned scholar and excellent orator. He spoke to an enthralled crowd for about an hour and fifteen minutes. Though the speaker was excellent and flawless in his rendition, it was only Swami's presence that kept the entire crowd in order. There is the scientific law of entropy that states that with passage of time, the randomness or disorderliness increases unless energy is spent to maintain order. BUt in the Divine

presence, this law gets reversed. With passage of time, more and more orderliness sets in and perfect unity and harmony gets achieved at that too apparently effortlessly! But that just speaks of Swami as the greatest generator of godly energy! This got demonstrated when Swami went briefly into the interview room. People started getting up and relaxing their muscles and moving around a bit maybe to refresh the blood circulation in their tired legs! Some even began to get up and file out. Five minutes later, Swami arrived and then it was all back to perfect order! It must be said that the speaker did a really fantastic job and narrated the Bhagawatham from Pareekshith's curse and dilemma till the Varaha Avatar of Lord Vishnu. The talk was peppered with examples from day to day life and sprinkled liberally with humour. For instance, the speaker said that worries were like Government buses - they arrive 5-6 in a row and after that for the next 3-4 hours

there are none! So when in worry remember that trouble free days are coming soon. Its a pity that each language has its own unique speciality that cannot be properly translated into other languages! It suffices to say that it was a Telugu person's delight to hear Sri Narasimha Garu.At the end of his speech, at about 6:45pm, Swami materialised a beautiful gold necklace for him and lovingly put it around his neck. He also blessed him with silk clothes - dhoti and angavastram. The Aarthi to Swami and the idols were simultaneously performed and Swami blessing everyone retired for the day.November 9 2008 If at all we get a chance to rise and travel with the sun along its perinnealy westward journey, we will find that the second weekend in the winter month of November is something very special. As the sunset time gets due, the primeval sound - the Omkara - resounds marking the beginning of the 24

hour long Akhanda Bhajans. As we move along westward into the later timezones of the world, more and more nations join this activity of devotion, peace and love till a point when the whole world is reverberating with the divine name. This practice which began as a small stream of singing at a senior devotee's house in Bangalore has today gathered momentum into a massive river of devotion worldwide surging towards the tranquil ocean that the Lord is.It was about 5pm IST when Swami entered the Kulwant hall for the darshan rounds on the 8th. He took the detour after the Primary School blaock to enter the Bhajan Hall where a lovely large lamp had been prepared. This is the lamp that Swami would light to mark the beginning of the global Akhanda Bhajan. Swami inspected it and He was shown the various fittings that would be added on soon to the lamp to make it taller and grander. He also examined the wicks and satisfied that all was fine, moved out to

the stage.What happened there was something so special that maybe we could also term today as the "Kalpavriksha Day"! Swami sat out listening to the Veda chanting that was on. The Rudram was soon completed and the Purushasuktam was beginning. Swami called the Vedam tutorial teacher and in a spurt told him that Swami's wish was that all learn the Purushasuktam as well. He, on his part, assured Swami that all the students and staff would begin efforts in earnest towards that direction. Swami then called the boy in front who was holding up a tray. He spoke to him and blessed him by sprinkling the holy Akshatha grains on his head. As is the practise, when Swami calls one of the boys with the tray, it is assumed that He has called the other "tray boys" too. So, one by one, the boys started to move to Swami and Swami blessed them all. He spoke a few words to some, listened to a lot of words from many(!) and granted the twin joys of an Akshatha shower

and a padanamaskar to all. The grace-hungry are a huge number and even Swami seemed a bit startled as about 25-30 boys came upto Him with trays! Though He jocularly asked once, "How many boys!!?", He ensured that every boy returned with a heart full of satisfaction and joy.Then began the part two of the "Kalpavriksha Day" celebrations as we have chosen to term it! Swami called one of the boys in the front who was holding a letter. He took the letter and went through it and spoke a few words of advice to him. Another boy meanwhile decide to play his chances and moved to Swami along with the first boy and he too gave a letter. Swami simply smiled at him and took his letter and spoke to him too. Emboldened by this response another boy and then yet another moved to Swami. And again from His side, it was the same response. With smiles on their faces, the boys slowly made sort of a line that was headed to the Lord and Swami too noticed that from the

corner of His eye and merely smiled. And so from 5:20pm till almost 6:00 pm, boys kept moving to Swami handing over their letters of gratitude, love, prayers and petitions and Swami satisfied each and everyone. The whole block now resembled a river that was flowing on to become a waterfall as all the boys converged to join the stream that was headed towards Swami and bliss! As the time became 5:55pm, the boy sitting next to Swami "reminded" Him that He was due to light the lamp at 6:00pm. At that time, Swami sweetly said, "Only 5 minutes left now." That acted as a prod for all to go quickly to Him and offer letters. It was seconds before 6:00pm that Swami moved into the bhajan hall and gently lit the beautiful lamp as the Aumkaram began.Swami sat for about an hour listening and keeping beat for the bhajans. The boys and girls, as usual, alternated in singing the bhajans. It was about 7pm when Swami left for Yajur mandir.The 9th morning

saw Swami coming out for darshan at about 9:20 am after a plethora of "Aao" bhajans as they are called had been sung. These are bhajans which request and plead with the Lord to come and bless all with His darshan. Swami cut through after the Primary school block. However, He moved to the stage and sat outside and everyone assembled in the hall had beautiful darshan. Singing the name as we see the form is a sublimely uplifting experience. And that experience was conferred on the thousands gathered in Kulwant hall. Soon after that, Swami moved into the bhajan hall where there were quite a few people who had spent the whole night singing the divine glories of God. He sat through 6-7 bhajans after which He very sweetly excused Himself! He then left for the Institute Auditorium where the students were rehearsing for the Convocation drama.Swami takes keen interest especially in the Convocation drama and though it is performed in His presence on the

22nd of November, He sees through every aspect of the drama right from the script writing to the acting and costumes. As always, the devotees from Kulwant hall and other places in Puttaparthi made a beeline towards the car to glimpse their beloved Lord as He drove by. Swami was welcomed into the auditorium by the Vice Chancellor, the principal and the controller of examinations. All the boys lined up the path through which Swami entered. Swami signaled to them to go on stage and begin the drama.It is on an apologetic note that the updating on the sequence of the drama and Swami's specific reactions have to be reserved to preserve the suspense of the drama! However some points can be divulged. Swami watched the drama with rapt attention. Speaking to the warden who sat beside Him, Swami enquired into the various roles and characters on stage. There was a scene from the Ramayana which was very apt to the situation and it evoked very positive

response from Swami. He was absolutely touched. All the various songs that were part of the drama were sung live by the students. Swami gave feedback on the drama to the warden and asked for it to be trimmed at certain points to make it crisp. After watching for 50 minutes, Swami blessed all and said that it was time to leave. As Swami moved towards the car, all the students crowded around Him and sought blessings. Chocolates were blessed to be distributed to all. As He came out of the auditorium, the Institute brass band struck up the National Anthem. It was played beautifully and listening to that, Swami left for the mandir and moved into Yajur mandir.Meanwhile the bhajans continued in the mandir and as the evening drew close, more and more people thronged the mandir premises. The prasadam to be distributed at the end of the bhajan session was also carried in or wheeled into the Kulwant hall. The rows of vessels holding tamarind rice and the

laddoos were placed neatly at the Northern end of the hall. It was about 4:45pm, when Swami came out once again. He moved through the ladies and then took a detour towards the Northern gate where all the prasadam had been kept. He blessed them and then surveyed all the preparations done for the distribution. Turning back, He moved towards the mandir again and near the gents side took another detour. Now this detour was something that pleased all the gents as it meant that Swami was coming towards them. After a gap of many days, Swami was going through this path and naturally there was a rejoicing. Swami took a complete round as if rewarding all for whatever efforts they had put in for the Akhanda bhajan.The evening was characterized by Swami moving in and out of the bhajan hall. He moved through the central aisle in the bhajan hall and also through the upper and lower porticos in the mandir. He sat out for a while collecting a few letters and

granting darshan. Nobody could have complained of not having darshan. The tempo and enthusiasm levels of the bhajans went up as the conclusion time arrived. At about 5:55pm, Swami asked a pair of boys in the front to sing the Sree Raghavam aalaap bhajan. Everyone expected that with that bhajan the 24 hour session would culminate. But sensing another minute and an opportunity remaining, the girls began in full speed, "Namah Parvati Pataye Hara Hara". Swami saw that and smiled. After a while, He told the boys with puckered lips that the girls took the opportunity and they are concluding. A total of more than 400 bhajans had been sung and according to one student, the exact number stands at 424! With that bhajan, Aarthi began.The last stanza where the tempo picks up was marked by resounding clapping and vociferous singing. Swami also asked all to sing the "Samastha Loka Sukhino Bhavanthu" is a very loud voice and all were only too happy to oblige.

Swami then sprinkled water over the vessels holding the prasadam and blessed them to be distributed. When a boy started serving the boys immediately, Swami told him that ladies must be first and so the prasadam must be kept on the other side for serving to the ladies! The prayer, "Bhrahmaarpanam" was then done after which everyone began to eat in the divine presence on the divine command.Swami then moved out of the bhajan hall and surveyed the food being served to the Primary school children. They too began to chant the prayer and so sweetly at that too! It was a high pitched one and Swami sat sweetly swaying to the chants. As they completed, Swami told them all to begin eating. Then He slowly moved through the ladies side and blessed the Anantapur students who were seated there. Finally, leaving all with full hearts and quickly filling bellies(!) Swami retired into Yajur mandir.

 

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