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The En-chanting Festival
(Dussera at Prasanthi Nilayam)
The legends are many… and all have
their reasons to celebrate the Festival, in myriad ways.
From the Ghats of
Hoogly, to the Maths at Kanchi…a billion bow in reverence to the
Mother. It's the festival of the nine nights…the Navaratri. A
legend says that the Mother fought the dark forces for nine nights
to give mankind goodness and godliness on the tenth morn and for
eternity.
Elsewhere, a Prince from Ayodhya battled a demon for 10 days to
slay him, achieved an Incarnaztion's purpose and gave mankind a
reason to celebrate…Dussera. People, nation over, sing the praise
of Rama, enact the story of His life, burn effigies of evil, and
dance for the good upon the earth.
At Prasanthi
Nilayam, the thousands who throng at the Lotus Feet have all the
above reasons to rejoice. And even more…
Here, Dussera
marks the commencement of a glorious sacrifice, the VEDA PURUSHA
SAPTAAHA GNANA YAGNA. Vedic chants reverberate and charge the air
during this weeklong propitiation of the Vedic Persona-God,
presided by the Persona Himself- Bhagwan Sri Satya Sai Baba! On
the 6th October 1961, the first Veda Purusha Saptaha Gnana Yagna
was conducted at Prasanthi Nilayam with the sole purpose of
bringing about the welfare of all humanity. Since then the
festival of Dussera has regularly witnessed this celebrated event.
Heart to Heart
takes you on a journey through this enchanting festival…
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They
come resplendent, both their silken ochre garb and in
their knowledge of the Vedic Lore. These venerated
priests consider the participation in this Yagna a
boon from God! The Chief Priest, called the Brahma of
the Yagna, leads them on the first day of the Yagna,
chanting mantras in the procession, to the
Poornachandra Hall.
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Trumpets and drums herald the start of the
procession for the Yagna, from the Mandir to the
Auditorium. A richly caparisoned Sai Geeta leads the
procession, followed by various musicians and priest
chanting hymns. Of course, the students from Sai
Institutions join the priests in the Chanting.
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Meanwhile, the throng of thousands is already in
raptures, for, the Lord has come on the stage, to
Bless them with His Darshan.
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The
Yagna proper begins with the ceremonial lighting of
the Sacred Fire, amidst the chanting of the Vedas. In
keeping with tradition, two priests rotate one piece
of wood to and fro against a stationary block of wood,
while a third one exerts necessary pressure to
generate the heat required to igniting the friction
area. The small spark is nursed with expert care, and
very soon the sacrificial pit is transformed into a
merrily blazing fire.
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Swami, seated on a chair atop the stage, watches all
this with the air of an uninvolved spectator, the
Witness, the Purusha!
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Around the altar, sit three or four priests, reciting
Vedic Hymns as they pour libations of clarified butter,
into the flames. This is the Rudra Homam, an
invocation to Lord Shiva, the Destroyer of Evil.
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The
central altar is flanked on one side by a group of
students chanting Vedam, and on the other side, by a
group of distinguished experts who have attained
mastery over the Veda. They recite the Yajur Veda, a
treatise on Yagnas and ceremonial acts. Both these
groups simultaneously chant the Hymns so loud and
clear that the atmosphere of Prasanthi Nilayam
resounds to their vibrations.
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A
priest with an athletic build performs
Suryanamaskar or worship of the Sun as a visible
symbol of the Supreme, to the left of the sacrificial
pit. He circumambulates around the offerings chanting
Hymns and then prostrates, more than a hundred times a
day. But when Swami is present, the priest never
misses the chance of going around Him, the source of
all Energy, and prostrates at the Lotus Feet.
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Meanwhile the other priests recite sacred epics like
the Ramayana, Mahabharata, Bhagavatam and even the
Devi Bhagavatam, during the period of the entire Yagna.
Yet another priest worships the Sri Chakra, a
mystic drawing representing the Supreme Mother.
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On
the extreme right of the stage is performed the
worship of the Mother Goddess. That place is also
reserved for performing the daily Arati after all
the ceremonies are over for each day at noon.
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Everyday in the evening, the Sai Kulwanth hall is
filled to capacity. There is the Prasanthi Vidwan
Mahasabha where Swami blesses some selected
students and Elders to address the gathering on
various spiritual topics. Above all, He himself
speaks everyday elucidating the most sublime of
spiritual topics in the simplest possible way!
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The
eighth day is the Ayudha puja when all the
instruments of work are worshipped. Swami comes to
the garage in the Kulwanth hall where the drivers
are waiting, their cars decorated with beautiful
garlands. Swami gives each one of them a chance to
drive Him in their respective vehicles. But the
moment to watch out for is when he ascends the
golden chariot. A sight for the Gods!
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The
Final day of the Yagna is on Vijaydashami, the
Tenth day, wherein the Poornahuti or the
Valedictory offering is made. The day begins with
an extraordinary manifestation of spiritual fervor
among the pundits and the participants of the
Yagna. Everyone in the Poornachandra Hall is
expectantly waiting to see Baba accept the final
offering of the Yagna. When the prescribed numbers
of offerings have been completed, the priests sit
on either side of the sacrificial altar. Swami
ascends the stage amidst the chanting of the Vedic
hymns and seats himself on a pedestal behind the
sacrificial fire.
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When
the chanting reaches a crescendo, Swami with a
sudden wave of His hand manifests a number of
precious gems. As they shine in brilliance, he
offers them, one by one, unto the sacrificial fire.
Everyone present in the vast hall is filled with
awe on witnessing this most sacred and divine act,
the Poornaahuthi! The priests then make their
grand offering to the Veda Purusha.
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The
priests circumambulate Swami and one by one,
prostrate at His feet. Grateful indeed they are
for having been selected to officiate in a Yagnam
conducted by God himself!
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A
few minutes later Swami comes down the stage, with
a priest following him holding sacred water in a
bowl. Swami, holding a big brush in his hand, dips
it in the holy water and sprinkles it on the
devotees. As Bhagawan goes around the place
sprinkling holy water, the students and the staff,
the young and the old, the men and the women,
seated inside and outside the Poornachandra, in
short, everyone is blessed by this holy shower of
Divine grace! The crowd simply goes delirious on
receiving this great blessing!
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As a
grand finale, in the yesteryears, on the
Poornahuthi day, there was also the famous
Vibhuthi Abhishekam where Swami churned an
upturned empty vessel to bathe the statue of
Shirdi Baba in a continuous shower of sacred ash…
unbelievable, but true!
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Thus
comes to a close the Yagna and Dussera…but the
message that Swami gives, through this enchanting
festival, is engraved forever in the hearts of
those who, witness it or even read about it:
"The heart of man itself is the sacrificial
fire altar. The pangs of desires are the tongues
of flame; the evil that is in man is the offering
that goes into the fire and the treasure of
unruffled Ananda is the ultimate gain. That is the
real Yagna that you have to perform everyday in
your life.".
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Source:
Radio Sai
E-Magazine, 1st October 2003
http://media.radiosai.org/Journals/Vol_01/03OCT01/CoverStory/CoverStory.htm
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