Guest guest Posted January 3, 2009 Report Share Posted January 3, 2009 December 25, 2008 – Christmas in the Divine Presence ================================================================= Christmas morning is something very special in terms of the schedule in Puttaparthi. Till a few years back, the Lord clad in pure and pristine white would grant darshan to all the eagerly awaiting devotees from the shiny silver door leading to the balcony in the Mandir premises. It’s been a few years since those days, but the lovely taste and feelings of those beautiful mornings linger in the hearts of the thronging thousands as they encircle the hallowed Mandir premises singing carols. The way the Christmas processions have progressed with each passing year has been symbolic of a spiritual revolution that is encompassing the world over with His presence. Those were the days when Swami would physically come up in the balcony to bless the devotees. The devotees would carry candles and sing hymns glorifying the Father and His blessed Son Jesus. Today, the candles are absent and carols are no longer restricted to "Christian" themes as they embrace all, being sung in the glory of the single God. The whole experience represents a movement from the religious to the spiritual. More joy awaits the watching ones…this is the way to express the beautiful morning of 25 th December. True to the feeling entailed in the expression, the Christmas morning indeed was brought forward from the previous evening wherein the spirit of the festivity was very much ringing in….and the beautiful morning had men and women clad in white singing His glory in the waking hours rounding the ashram, and at the culmination they sang Christmas Carols for the Lord in the Mandir. Two screens that had been put up in the Mandir played clips of the times when Swami would bless the thousands with candles and people rejoiced in that memory and the joy of the brotherhood of man under the fatherhood of God. The celebrations in the Divine Presence got underway at 8:30 a.m. with Swami's arrival from Yajur Mandir. There was a procession by the members of the Nativity scene as Swami watched on. A few tiny tots moved up to Swami offering Him flowers and Love. Swami smiled and blessed them. Swami was in shiny white and the moment the hem of His robe was visible to the vast gathering, a rapturous applause of glee moved through the entire Sai Kulwant Hall. The Heavenly Father that He is, He was seated on a lovely golden throne and He entered the hall as the heart of the procession. Soon the procession moved on and Swami gracefully granted darshan to the joyous devotees. The Veda chanting was on and it was such a harmonious commingling of the instrumental carols on the PA system and the Veda chanting by the students. One can say with surety that such a Christmas will never be witnessed anywhere else in the world. The procession of the Nativity scene at His residence The Lord in resplendent white on Christmas Swami completed the darshan rounds and then arrived in the portico. Several cakes and their makers awaited the Lord's attention. Swami smilingly moved from one cake to another, lighting the candles on them and gracing them with a gentle cut from the knives. Blessing all the cakes thus, Swami arrived on the dais. The whole hall was so beautifully decorated and lit up. Swami blessed the programme to begin. The University brass band was the first to perform. It turned out to be a scintillating band display by the University boys. Some of the popular Christmas numbers namely, R udolph the Red-Nosed Reinder, Noel, etc. were rendered to perfection by the well trained students. Swami kept tapping His hands in rhythm to the playing band. The audience too clapped in unison to some of the lively numbers. After about 5 pieces, Swami said that it was time now for the Primary school violins to take over. Lighting the candle on a Christmas cake... ....cutting the cake of a Christmas candle! The card is blessed The enthralling band performace The kids rose and with wonderful co-ordination and harmony played a few carols and bhajans on the violin. Towards the end, they played the famous "Jingle Bells" piece and with that popped up half a dozen Santas! They moved to the stage where Swami took chocolates from their bags and threw them to the students nearby. Then He bid them to go around spraying their chocolates on all. All the devotees leapt and rushed for the chocolates, for they had been blessed by Swami, and just receiving one made them feel that they had a part of Him with them! Swami watched these scenes from the stage and soon two "snow machines" installed on the roof of the hall began to emit snow flakes adding to the Christmas atmosphere. Swami and Santa - both rained chocolates that day The symphony of the tiny tots' violins As the violins completed their performance, Swami blessed the University students to begin their carol programme. Swami looked so beautiful - the embodiment of purity in the silken white robe! A mere sight of Him was enough to send thrills of joy through ones being. People drank in thirstily at His form and the eyes feasted on a magnificent supper! Request to sing carols - soon sanctioned by the Lord The senior Santas make their appearance too. The students beginning with the Aumkara, presented a most joyful gift of Christmas Carols tied together by a thoughtful and informative voice-over narrative depicting the entire course of the story of His Divine Advent - the Christmas Story, to all assemblage consisting of a sizeable number of western devotees. Starting with " Light one thousand candles", they sang a variety of carols covering all the significant aspects of Christmas. As the programme went on, Swami sifted through the various letters that He had collected during the rounds. The programme climaxed with the song, " Come everyone to Santa Claus's Party". It was at this time that the "senior" Santas came onstage. Swami blessed them and their bagful of chocolates too. Then they hopped and skipped around throwing chocolates to all the devotees and students. The programme continued after that with a few more songs. Swami then blessed the more prasadam to be distributed to all. The Christmas day also happens to be the Students’ Hostel Anniversary. So, a few students moved to Swami to show the pictures of the decorated hostel. They also showed Him pictures of His visits to the Hostel with the aim of (as they put it), "making Him nostalgic and inducing another Hostel visit!" Swami smiled (for no motive is secret from Him!) and blessed the students. A few more Christmas cards were blessed before Swami received arthiRam ChuganiKobe, Japan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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