Prasanthi Update - 14th July - Ashadi Ekadasi

[Guest guest]

The morning of Ashaadi Ekadasi dawned with a dash of colour and a rush of energy in the abode of highest peace. It had been announced yesterday evening that the morning programme would begin at 9:00am. At 8:50am, Swami arrived from the Yajur Mandir. The usual Vedic chanting started, but very soon it was replaced by songs that had been specially composed for the occasion of Ashaadi Ekadasi. The song was full of vigour and life and the audience began to clap rhythmically with it. Specially dressed men stood in the centre blowing conches heralding Swami's entry into the mandir premises. Swami moved on the chair and went through the whole hall granting the joy of close darshan on this auspicious morning. Well, any morning when one can have a beautiful darshan of the Lord becomes holy and auspicious! Passing through the students area, He blessed all

the boys holding trays and celebrating birthdays.

 

From the portico as He came on to the stage, there were many VIPs and MLAs seeking His blessings. He was smiles to everyone and was radiating joy and peace as He came on stage. The stage had been decorated very grandly with a beautiful idol of Vitthala adorning the centre. Swami looked at the whole stage and moved to the gents side corner to light the lamp. A blue gentle wax candle was given to Him and He slowly lit all the six wicks in the lamp and a round of applause rented the hall. The programme began with the arrival of the traditional Varakaris. Every year, thousands of pilgrims walk all the way to the banks of the mighty Chandrabhaga river, to the "mother's home"- Pandharpur and pray to Vitthala. Now Puttaparthi has become the "mother's home" and dear Sai- the Lord as the pilgrims conclude their walking pilgrimage in His divine presence on the Ashaadi Ekadasi day.. ("Co-incidentally" Pandharpur translates into English as 'white

field' !!) The dance was the folk type and was marked by the energy and quick movements demanding lot of stamina.

 

Before the dance actually began, a garland of Tulsi leaves and dry fruits were brought up to Swami for blessings. The dance consisted of many human pyramid formations. Each pyramid that came up was more intricate and tougher to form than the previous one. There was a formation of steps and the lotus formation too. The dance received a lot of appreciation and it was after the dance that the main programme of the morning began.

 

The programme was by the Bal Vikas children from the Pune district of Maharashtra. Entitled "Adhyatma Ramayanam", it was based on the inner significance of the Ramayana as Swami has said it. The actors playing the part of Rama, Lakshmana, Sugriva and the squirrel who helps a 'tiny' bit in bridge building, came up to the stage offering the card and flowers to Swami. Swami blessed them and then the enactment began. It began with all the great poets who had written the Ramayana - sage Valmiki, Kamban, Tulsidas, Thyagaraja- arriving to the present where a Bal Vikas teacher is discussing the Ramayana with the children. The whole story of Ramayana was weaved by these great saints and landmark events were depicted on stage. The narration starts with a joyous dance at the prospect of Rama being made the king of Ayodhya. Then the quenn Kaikeyi, under the influence of her maid Manthara tells Dasharatha to banish Rama into exile for 14 years and

asks for the coronation of Bharatha. Everyone is shocked and worried- all except Rama, the epitome of calm and composure. Sita and Lakshmana follow Rama to the forest. In the forest, the episode of Sita's kidnapping by Ravana was depicted after she is enticed by her desire for a golden deer. It was brought out powerfully that in life too, once Kama(desire) overpowers, Rama (God) leaves! Sita pining for the golden deer, ends up getting the golden city (lanka) itself, but ends up losing Rama. She is sad and despondent. Stated another way, as long as the Rama tattwa (spirit of Godliness) exists, Ravana tattwa(the negatives) cannot enter. The special smoke and lighting effects as Ravan tries to cross the famous "Lakshman Rekha" were good.

 

The Eagle king Jatayu fights valiantly to help Sita and in the process loses his own life. That act of bravery and selfless love wins Jatayu the supreme merit of having his last rites performed by Rama himself - a merit that even the great Dasharatha was not fortunate enough to get, though he was Rama's father. Rama and Lakshmana then meet Hanuman and Sugriva. Vali, who stands for body attachment, is slain by Rama and then the search for Sita begins. Hanuman meets mother Sita after crossing the Indian ocean. Hanuman's flight across the ocean was also creatively depicted. There he gives courage to Sita and strikes terror in the hearts of all the demons at Lanka. He returns triumphantly and very soon the bridge to Lanka is built. The episode of the squirrel contributing a few grains of sand to the bridge was also shown. The special message was very clear. The world judges a person by the fruits or the results the person produces. God

judges not and He sees only the efforts made. Efforts not results please Him! The drama concluded with the coronation of Rama and a grand dance to celebrate that. The inner significance as stated by Swami and brought out by the drama was this:

 

Rama is the Indweller in every Body. He is the Atma-Rama, the Rama (Source of Bliss) in every individual. His blessings upsurging from that inner Spring can confer Peace and Bliss. He is the very embodiment of Dharma of all the Codes of Morality that hold mankind together in Love and Unity. The Ramayana, the Rama story, teaches two lessons: the value of detachment and the need to become aware of the Divine in every being. Faith in God and detachment from objective pursuits are the keys for human liberation. Give up sense-objects; you gain Rama. Sita gave up the luxuries of Ayodhya and so, she could be with Rama, in the period of 'exile'. When she cast longing eyes on the golden deer and craved for it, she lost the Presence of Rama. Renunciation leads to joy; attachment brings about grief. Be in the world, but, not of it. The brothers, comrades, companions and collaborators of Rama are each of them examples of persons saturated with

Dharma. Dasaratha is the representative of the merely physical, with the ten senses. The three Gunas - Sathwa, Rajas and Thamas - are the three Queens. The Four Goals of Life - the Purusharthas - are the four Sons. Lakshmana is the Intellect; Sugriva is Viveka or Discrimination. Vali is Despair. Hanuman is the embodiment of Courage. The Bridge is built over the Ocean of Delusion. The three Rakshasa chiefs are personifications of the Rajasic (Ravana), Thamasic (Kumbhakarna) and the Sathwic qualities (Vibhishana). Sita is Brahmajnana or the Awareness of the Universal Absolute, which the Individual must acquire and regain undergoing travails in the crucible of Life. Make your heart pure and strong, contemplating the grandeur of the Ramayana. Be established in the faith that Rama is the Reality of your existence.

 

As the drama concluded, all the participants came into a final mass gathering. 143 girls and 81 boys fromed a huge mass of children in all colours and forms! Swami was very happy and He blessed all of them. The Ramayana is such a powerful story that one does not need a fantastic script or great acting skills. The story simply narrated in itself inspires and brings feelings of devotion and love from within. It is small wonder then that He holds the Ramayana so dear to His heart. Swami told all the children that He would come down for group photos. The sight of so many children sitting around Him must be seen to be believed! He called the little squirrel and spoke to 'it' asking for the name and place! Even in this yuga, the Lord seemed to be appreciating the efforts rather than the size of the role played! Swami created a chain for the lad who played the role of Rama in the forest. He then told all the children to come and sit close so

that good pictures could be taken. Then He moved to the front where He called of for Rama, Lakshmana and Sita and posed for pictures with them. Then He asked one of the photographers, "Call Pattabhi Rama also." So the crowned and decked Rama, Lakshmana and Sita too came and were blessed with photos with Him. After the photo session, Swami said that He would stand up and bless all. As Swami rose, there was an uproarious applause. Swami beamed and blessed all. Then slowly, He walked up the way on to the stage.

 

As He sat on the stage, He called the main organiser and spoke to him about the children - how they had practiced, how they had put in the efforts and how many days it had taken. Swami was told that everything had come out so wonderfully sheerly through His Grace alone. Swami spoke quite a lot and it was very evident that He was very happy. He called Sita onstage and asked,"Are you a boy?" The lad blushed and the redness on his face travelled very soon to His face too! He asked his name and patted him on the cheeks. He blessed prasadam to be distributed and in fact He himself distributed it to some of the actors who were nearby. Then Aarthi was taken and Swami, (after a very long period of time now), raised both His hands in loving benediction to all the children. In between all this, He also granted interviews to some people and the artistes of yesterday's programme. Going back to the car, it was about 11:10am when He finally retired for

the morning.

 

In the afternoon, Swami arrived at about 4:30pm. He moved through the ladies side on the chair and then cut through the central stage area and went straight to the interview room. At 5:00pm, He came out and sat on the stage. After a short while of Veda chanting, He raised His hand to signal it to a stop A musical dance ballet entitled, "Tripura Rahasyam" was to be presented in the divine presence by the Balvikas students and Gurus of the Mumbai organisation. The lead actors and dancers came on stage and presented Swmai with the card and flowers and sought His blessings for the success of the programme. Swami blessed them and the programme began.

 

The Tripura Rahasyam literally means, "beyond the trinity". It is the greatest among the works of Sri Ramana Maharshi expounding the traditional teachings where a steadily self aware Sadguru imparts knowledge about inner perception, enabling the disciple to share the same state. For his part, however, the disciple must be eager, have full zeal to know and have unqualified faith in the Guru's guidance. The programme began with a dance for the veneration of Goddess Sri Tripura. The goddess, regarded as the pure unsullied Intelligence manifests in ten forms then. Each form was welcomed with the appropriate musical chants. Covering the entire aspects of the manifest and unmanifest, the ten forms are very interesting, atleast from an academic point of view. They are - Dhoomaavathi, Tripura Sundari, Bhuvaneshwari, Tripura Bhairavi, Maha Kali, Tara, Matangi, Chinnamastha, Bagala Mukhi and Kamalathmika.

 

This knowledge had been first imparted by Lord Dattatreya, considered as the ultimate Guru, an embodiment of the holy trinity, to the great sage Parashurama. The great knowledge was imparted through parables.. The story of princess Hemalekha's sound advice to the prince Hemachuda was depicted very creatively. The fickle mind, thoughts, the senses and the vices were all "humanized" and built up as a single family with the relationships between them subtly hinting towards the actual relationships existing as they arise in humans. There are heavy conflicts within the family and this ruins the intellect and ultimately makes one ignorant. And ignorance is the root cause of all the problems - far from being the bliss that it is so often mis-associated with in a common proverb! Another story of the brothers Rukmangada and Hemangada was also depicted. They use widom to save themselves from being devoured by the demon of doubt.

 

By way of these parables in dreams and visions, Lord Dattatreya resolves the doubts of Manav- the representative of humanity. Everything begins with Virakti(disgust of material possessions) leadinf to Vairagya (detachment) which finally leads to Viveka (discrimination). But for all this, the Grace of the Lord is paramount. The programme concluded with the manifestation of the Devi in all her glory and grandeur on the chariot when all the sages viz. Sanaka, Vasishta, Pulasthya, Pulaha, Kratu, Bhrigu, Athri, Angiras, Prachetasa, Narada, Cyavana, Vamadeva, Vishwamitra, Goutama, Sukra, Parashara, Vyasa, Kanva, Kashyapa, Daksha, Sumanthu, Shanka, Likhita and Devala, and the Gods of the trinity pray for her! As the final song began, Swami called the protagonist and created a golden chain for him. In the meantime, everyone came into the final formation and Swami said that He would move down and bless the children with group photos.

 

 

Swami went down and like bees swarming around sources of nectar, the children came all over Swami. Swami was so happy! He went through the children and posed for pictures twice or thrice. He spoke to many and took letters from many more. He asked the names from some of the children.. He saw 'Hemalakha' and asked 'her', "Where is your husband?", much to the merriment of everyone around. Once again, for the second time today, He rose from the chair and holding on to the children, posed for group photos. He moved back on to the stage and as He sat there, He kept selecting diads to come up and pose with Him. He picked similarly costumed people to come up and it was such a beautiful photo shootout! A "demon" told Swami that He wanted to go on stage to pose with Him. Swami told him to put on his crown and then come on the stage! After a very joy filled and eventful session, Swami asked for bhajans to begin. After a while He went into the

interview room. Soon, He came out, received Aarthi and retired to Yajur Mandir at about 6:40 pm.

 

Om Sai Ram

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