Prasanthi Diary part 3 & 4 - The Chronicles of Heaven on Earth.

December 3, 2008

November 6, 2008 – Gifting of Red Silk dhotis to Veda Chanting Students

Since

the month of September, the learning of the Vedic hymn Rudram moved

into a new gear in Puttaparthi and all around the globe. That’s what

happens when one receives patronage from God Himself! On November 6,

Swami added something very special to the "incentives list" of this

"patronage package". It was the fulfilment of a promise that had been

made at the very beginning of the Rudram tutorials - Swami had said, “I

will personally give prizes to those who learn the Rudram well." As per

His command, 150 members from the staff and students of the Sathya Sai

University and the Central Trust who were well versed in the Rudram sat

in the Mandir portico by 8:00 a.m.

Swami had said that He would distribute dhoties and angavastrams to all of them. There was an air of eager anticipation and the atmosphere seemed charged. But come 9:00 a.m. , the bhajans

began. Grama Seva, that had already begun a few days ago, continued and

all the other students left for serving in their respective villages.

The bhajans also concluded eventually and the special 150

students and staff were the only people in Mandir now. At about 11:30

a.m. , giving added emphasis and meaning to the statement, "God's

delays are not His denials", Swami came out of Yajur Mandir in the car.

The 150 seated comprised of cream of the Veda chanting students, and

so, there was vociferous chanting of the Rudram. There were no mikes,

but the spirited spirits of the energetic youth pining for the Lord

more than compensated for that.

Swami came to the portico and then had the dhoties brought. To the delightful amazement of all, Swami was gifting His very own brand new silk dhoties

to all! Everyone felt a surge of thrill and as the Rudram chants

continued to eclipse all other sound vibrations in the vicinity, Swami

began to call the boys one by one and personally delivered the bundles

of silken joy. As He was distributing, He opened up many of them and

asked as to where the angavastrams (the cloth put on the upper half of the body) were.

Swami is happiest

when He gives ...

....the students are happiest when they

receive from Him!

He commanded that the angavastrams too be distributed to those that had already received the dhoties

from His hands. The distribution went on for about 20 minutes after

which Swami sat listening to the chants. It felt really vibrant to see

the Lord amidst the divine chants. As Swami was moving towards the car,

there was another chanting - this time in English, as all cried out,

"Thank you Swami!" And then, in the perfect silence that ensued after

that, Swami said in His sweet gentle voice, "I have the right to give

and you have the right to take. Then, why thank you?" As He beamed a

smile to the joyous gathering, smiles were beamed back at Him and

shouts of "Jai Bolo Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba Ki Jai" rented the

air.

Swami tells them to chant in unison

"Thank You Swami!"

From the Sai Kulwant Hall, Swami moved to the Vidyagiri stadium to

check the progress of the stage being built along with the galleries

being extended and also the kitchen and bathrooms being constructed for

the priests.

Talking to the engineer about the progress

Passing by the cooking sheds, works in progress

In the evening, Swami arrived at about 4:50 p.m. for the darshan round. As the bhajans

were on, Swami came out and sat on the stage. Many students had letters

and they sat holding them in their hands with prayers on their lips.

Swami, in the middle of His rhythm-tapping, signalled the boys to put

down their letters. But none seemed to obey. They held out with greater

desperation and eagerness! After about 10 minutes, Swami called one boy

and taking his letter opened it. It was an A4-sized paper and both

sides had been filled with writing. Swami had a shocked expression as

He asked, "Why such big letters? Keep writing like mad people? Write

only two or three lines, enough!" Blessing the boy nevertheless He once

again said to all the students, "I will not take letters if you write

such big ones!" After a while, one more student was called and Swami

opened it. It was again a huge one! Swami gave that, "see-I-told-you"

look and signalled that He would not take letters. At this point, some

of them dropped open the letters to show Swami that theirs were small!

Swami smiled and went in for bhajans. Thus ended another beautiful day with the Lord.

November 8 and 9 – Global Akhanda Bhajan Days

If

at all we get a chance to rise and travel with the Sun along its

perennially 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 in the

westerly direction into the later time zones 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 5 p.m. Indian Standard Time when Swami entered the Sai Kulwant Hall for the darshan

rounds. He took the detour after the Primary School block 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 once satisfied that all was fine, He moved

out to the stage.

What

happened there was something so special that maybe we could also term

November 8, 2008 as the " Kalpavriksha Day"! Swami sat outside

listening to the Veda chanting that was on. The Rudram was soon

completed and the Purushasuktam began. Swami called the Vedam tutorial

teacher and in a spurt told him that Swami's wish was that all learn

the Purushasuktam as well. The teacher, 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 practice, 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 the

Lord 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 up to 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 part two of the "Kalpavriksha Day"

celebrations. Swami called a boy who was holding a letter in the front.

He took his letter, went through it and then spoke a few words of

advice to him. Another boy, meanwhile, decided 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 5:20 p.m. till almost 6:00 p.m., 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 5:55 p.m., the boy sitting next to Swami

"reminded" Him that He was due to light the lamp at 6:00 p.m. 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 6:00 p.m. that Swami moved into the Bhajan Hall and gently lit

the beautiful lamp as the Aumkaram began.

A round of darshan before the bhajans can begin

"I declare the Akhanda bhajan open"

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 7 p.m. when Swami left for Yajur Mandir.

The 9th morning saw Swami coming out for darshan at about 9:20 a.m. after a plethora of "Aao" bhajans. 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 the Sai Kulwant Hall. Soon after that, Swami

moved into the Bhajan Hall where there were quite a few boys who had

spent the whole night singing the divine glories of God. He sat through

6-7 bhajans and then asked for the car, and 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 November 22, He sees through every

aspect of the drama right from the script writing to the acting and

costumes. As always, the devotees from the Sai 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,

then, signaled to them to go on stage and begin the drama.

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 Sai 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 4:45 p.m.,

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.

Blessing the rice prasadam for all

Sprinkling water over the laddoos

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.

A bonus round of darshan

The entire event was well covered by cameras

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 5:55 p.m., 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 Mahamangala Aarthi is performed

Swami sprinkles water on prasadam in mandir too

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" in 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 the ladies! The

prayer, "Brahmaarpanam" 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.

The Primary children chant "Brahmaarpanam"

Blessings for the students from Ananthapur campus

____________Bhagawatha Parayana SapthahNOVEMBER 10 AND 11 – THE FIRST AND SECOND DAY OF BHAGAWATHA PARAYANA SAPTHAH

As

part of the grand and sublime celebrations for the Sahasra Poorna

Chandra Darshana Yajnam (SPCDY), the Bhagawatha Parayanam was to begin

on November 10. The Bhagawatham is the collection of the leelas (divine sports) and mahimas

(miraculous powers) of Lord Mahavishnu with special emphasis on His

glories as Lord Krishna. Aeons ago, 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?

November

11 was a day that many of the westerners, the ladies especially, 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?

Lord Krishna as Venugopalaswami

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 the idol form at all times. At

about 10:30 a.m., Swami arrived for the installation and the first aarthi

was performed in the Sai 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 of Sevadal volunteers, the gates were quickly closed to

prevent the exuberant and charged devotees from rushing in. Swami

blessed all the priests and all who were on the stage seemed to be

intent on just falling prostrate at His feet. The priests and

organizers were 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 could already feel the magnificence and

grandeur of the upcoming event. From there, Swami drove back to the

Yajur Mandir.

Swami has a look at the sacred

idols in the morning

Blessing the one engaged in the Parayanam

(continuous reading of the sacred text)

Come the evening and Swami came out for darshan as usual - only this day 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! On November 11, 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 everyone in Puttaparthi for quite some time knew 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

foreigners." 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!

Swami's spirited devotee who

always follows His car!

Another act of overwhelming gratitude

from a longing devotee

When the Bhajan Hall’s 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 distribute 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 blue 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 spoken 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.

They pined for every chance to touch and feel Him...

"Did you get a saree?"

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 one whole hour and it was only after He had

personally distributed sarees to everyone inside (that is at least 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

exclaimed to 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 too. The

story of Krishna is sweetest when He performs 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. It was

a practical lesson 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

Bhagawatha 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 7:30 p.m.

when Swami retired into Yajur Mandir.

Dr. Nagaphani Sharma poses with Swami

Aarthi performed to all the Gods on stage

November 11 saw a sort of repeat of the previous day in the sense that

Swami came out at the same 10:30 a.m. 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 everyone felt it would not be a surprise if very soon

Swami ascended the stage once again to do the final checks. Swami

then returned to the Yajur Mandir.

Mr. Narasimha Rao speaks on the Avatar

in the Avatar's presence

The evening saw the continuation of the talks on the Bhagawatham. Swami came for darshan

at about 5:15 p.m. 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 could have easily mistaken him to

be the speaker of the evening! Garikapati Narasimha Rao, a renowned

scholar and excellent orator, was the scheduled speaker for the day. 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 the passage of time, more and more orderliness sets in and perfect

unity and harmony gets achieved, 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 necklace in gold is also His reward

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 - 5-6 of them arrive 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. It is a pity that each language has

its own unique specialty that cannot be properly translated into other

languages! It suffices to say that it was a Telugu person's delight to

hear Sri Narasimha Rao Garu.

At

the end of his speech, at about 6:45 p.m., Swami materialized 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 blessing everyone Swami retired for the day.

November 12 and 13, 2008 – The Third and Fourth Day of Bhagavatha Sapthah

The morning of the third day of the Bhagavatha Sapthah saw Swami arriving into the Mandir in the chair and going for a complete darshan

round. Those seated on the gents’ side would have definitely rejoiced

at this change of route after quite a few days of His taking the

detour. Swami went through the portico and then came on the front stage

and moved slowly across the shrine with the idols. He then went into

the Bhajan Hall for bhajans. As bhajans concluded and aarthi was being sung, Swami moved out of the Sai Kulwant Hall towards the stadium where the stage was on the verge of completion.

The

lift had been put in place and the roof of the Yagna area wore a regal

look. Just as Swami approached the dais, the power supply bowed out -

maybe in honour of the greatest "power" supply that was headed towards

the stage! Providence, as the world calls it or Swami's Grace in the

Sai devotees’ dictionary, ensured that a diesel motor engine powered

vehicle with the makeshift lift was also present and it got the

blessing of transporting Swami up to the stage. Once on stage, Swami

was surrounded by all the main and important members of the Central

Trust and they were all eager to ensure that Swami was happy with all

the preparations being made. Swami went around the Yagna kundams

and was very particular in finding out what place had been allotted for

Him to sit. "Swami, one place is right in the centre of the stage", it

was suggested.

The "generator" part of G.O.D in action!

The stage presents an impressive sight!

Swami went to the actual Shanti Vedika, off the newly constructed

platform, and had a look. The sight of Swami against the huge backdrop

of Krishna and Arjuna in a magnificent chariot being pulled by powerful

stallions was really thrilling. Swami had a brief glimpse of the room

that had been made for Him. But all the while, something seemed to be

on His mind. As we see it now, it was the fact that He had not found a

spot from where all devotees could see Him. He moved right to the front

edge of the stage. All the students and others who had gathered to see

Him were down there and their faces lit up as Swami came there. Seeing

this, Swami also seemed pleased and satisfied. He had found a place

from where He could see all His beloved devotees and from where all

could see Him too. As He was moving around all the workers atop the

stage had close darshan and many of them were blessed with a

personal and personalized smile from Swami! As Swami moved to the

western end of the stage, He stopped and gently looked up. Then and

there, right before everyone's eyes, a piece of the decorative plywood

from the top crashed down with a thud. Swami was the centre of calm

among the sea of storm. The beauty of Divinity is that it guides,

foretells, warns and finally congratulates for a job well done! The

warning before the congratulations that He surely will give seemed to

have been served. "Take care of the tiniest of the details. It is

inappropriate to say that the devil is in the details. Perfection and

God lie in the details!" seemed to be the message. Swami then descended

the stage and drove back to Yajur Mandir.

Noting down details of His observations

All the workforce were blessed with close darshan

The

evening sessions were dominated by the stories of the Lord as the

Bhagawatha Parayanam continued in full zest and vigour. Swami arrived

and after half a round, moved to the stage. Swami then got started the

proceedings with the puja by the Tirupati priests for a few moments

followed by the introduction of the speaker for the day - Tribhasha

Sahasravadhani V. Padmakar garu. The topic for the day was one that is

very close to Swami's heart - the story of little Prahalada. Prahalada

was the son of the demon Hiranyakashipu who had boons that made him

immortal - at least he thought that way. Like a single ray of light

that dispels the darkness existing in a room for centuries, Prahalada

illumined everyone with his intense faith and love for Vishnu. His

story is a witness to the fact that the Lord will tolerate anything

done against Him, but touch His devotee and it is all over. Lord Vishnu

took up the terrible Narasimha avatar and annihilated Hiranyakashipu.

The faith of the little boy is awe-inspiring and Swami seemed so

touched and happy throughout the narrative. As the 75 minute long talk

concluded, the Lord materialized a beautiful gold chain for the speaker

and put it round his neck. He also gifted him with silk clothes. Then

He received aarthi and blessed prasadam to be distributed to everyone. The concluding poojas for the idols were performed after Swami retired.

Enthralling all with the glorious devotion of Prahalada

Mr. Padmakar is blessed with a gold chain

The

night of November 12, 2008 is immortalized in the history of mankind

for it is on this night that the 1000th full moon got its opportunity

to shine down upon that earth which also held the physical frame of the

Lord of the Universe. So, date wise, the Sahasra Chandra Darshanam was

completed. The moon seemed to shine with added luster and why not? It

had every right to feel like the one in thousand that it was!

In

the morning of 13th, Swami did not come out for the morning session. It

also happened to be the concluding day of the Grama Seva being done by

the students. As a fitting finale, the seva was carried out for the

inmates of the ashram. This concept is so beautiful for in all of our

homes too, the hosts eat last after ensuring that everyone has had

their fill to their heart’s content. But another wonderful thing that

happened on this day was the supreme boon that Swami bestowed on the

members of the family of His physical frame.

As

mentioned earlier, the previous night was the formal completion of the

sighting of a thousand full moons. To celebrate that, Swami permitted

the family members to gather for a private function in His residence at

Yajur Mandir. It was a very warm and homely ceremony. Aarthis

were taken and other religious items waved at the Lord to ward off the

"evil eye" as it is called. The Lord belongs to the whole Universe

equally but it is really the blessings of God and the merits of many

previous births that one gets the opportunity to be born in the same

family as the Lord. Though Sri Krishna belonged to and loved everyone

equally, the Yadavas were His family members and that was something

unique and special. As the ceremony went on, Swami sat sweetly

receiving the offerings and the Padapooja (worship of His

lotus feet). He spoke to the members of the family and lovingly advised

them as the eldest in a family should and would. It was an entirely new

facet of Swami on display. He was now the Uncle, Father and Grandfather

all rolled into one. He posed lovingly for pictures and the members of

the family were grateful for this chance of many lifetimes that Swami

conferred on them. Swami also had wonderful lunch prepared for all of

them. Really, one has so much to learn from the Lord. Every moment with

Him is a lesson on how one must live one’s life - happy and contented

always and spreading the same to everyone who comes into contact with

him/her.

The evening saw the exposition

of the "Gajendra Moksha” story by the scholar, Bachampalli Santosha

Kumara Shastri. He had been introducing the speakers daily and so Swami

called on His translator, Prof. Anil Kumar to introduce him to the

audience. The talk centered around the story of the mighty

elephant-king, Gajendra, who is caught in the ferocious jaws of a

crocodile. When all fails, the elephant calls out to the Lord who then

arrives on the scene and rescues him. As has been through the past

three days, people sat listening to him in rapt attention. Swami was

there for all the 70 minutes on the stage. The greatness of these

speakers lies in the manner they extrapolate the stories to our day to

day lives and draw inspiring lessons for all. As he concluded, Swami

materialized a gold chain and presented it lovingly to him. He

requested Swami for a picture with him and Swami agreed to it. He also

gifted Him with silk clothes. Aarthi was then performed and Swami moved towards Yajur Mandir.

"Never has one with Faith ever been let down"

The "after-chain" blessing conferred

Again at Yajur Mandir, lamps had been lit forming the outline of the Shivalinga. The ladies from the family did Aarthi to Swami and sought His blessings. Smilingly showering His blessings on them Swami went into the residence.