Ladies' Day at
Prasanthi Nilayam
"The day of 19th November
is celebrated as Ladies' Day in order to delve into the
sacred qualities of women with a special emphasis on the
quality of motherhood and disseminate them. Women are
repositories of Truth and Culture" declared Bhagawan on
19th November 1995 during the 70th Birthday
celebrations. Bhagawan also said that henceforth 19th of
November every year would be celebrated as Ladies' Day.
Ever since, it has been the privilege of women to
celebrate this day as Ladies' Day in His Divine Presence
at Prasanthi Nilayam.
Quoting innumerable
anecdotes from the lives of women of chastity and
virginity, namely, Mother Sita, Anasuya, Draupadi,
Gargi, Mother Easwaramma and the likes, Bhagawan has
been exhorting the women in general to uphold the great
cultural heritage and traditions these noble women
upheld through their illustrious, dedicated and devoted
lives. Dedicating the day for the womenfolk, Bhagawan
said, "As today (19th November, 1995) is a sacred day,
dedicated to women, they should change themselves and
help to transform the men and children. They should
develop qualities of sympathy, compassion, love and
sacrifice." Urging women to emulate the lives of great
personalities in the past, He added: "Study the lives of
great women, who were models of patience, fortitude,
compassion and sacrifice. I desire that you should take
the reins of leadership and bring peace and prosperity
to the nation by leading ideal lives."
Prasanthi Nilayam
witnessed yet another eventful ladies' day, today - 19th
November 2005; the mark of the day was recognized much
before dawn, when the day started with Suprabhatam at
5.00 a.m., followed by Vedic chants by the Ladies and by
a resounding Nagar Sankirtan around the Ashram. As the
eventful day dawned, the devotees poured into Sai
Kulwant Hall, the beauty of the already ornate hall was
doubly enhanced by the simple yet elegant decorations
that comprised of multi-hued floral decorations,
colourful festoons, banners with inspirational quotes
and well-carved statues of Dashavatars. Bhagawan was
accorded a traditional welcome into Sai Kulwant Hall by
the Nadaswaram and Special Band troupe from the
Anantapur Campus and by the girls' wing of Sri Sathya
Sai Primary & Higher School, at 8:25 a.m. to the
accompaniment of welcome song tuned to Hindustani style
by Ms. Kalpana Sumanth from Bangalore. The function
formally got underway when Bhagawan sanctified the day
by lighting the lamp which was soon followed by a short
but spirited display by the girls' bagpiper band of the
Primary School.
Before the commencement
of the speeches for the day, Bhagawan blessed and
released a Souvenir commemorating the 80th Year of Love
in action, brought out by Easwaramma Women's Welfare
Trust, Prasanthi Nilayam
The three speakers for
the day were Smt. Mallika Srinivasan, an MBA from the
Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania,
USA and Director of Tractors and Farm Equipment Limited
(TAFE), followed by Smt. Geeta Rao, a school teacher
from Washington D.C., and Smt. Chetana Raju from
Prasanthi Nilayam. Smt. Srinivasan highlighted
Bhagawan's definition of the ever expanding role of
women in the modern world while drawing attention to the
various initiatives undertaken by Bhagawan for the
welfare of women. Ms. Geeta Rao, enthralled the audience
with the narration of a few incidents from her life that
showed the sublime, transcendental love of our
all-knowing Bhagawan. Smt. Chetana Raju, the third
speaker for the session spoke about the Mission of
Bhagawan while highlighting the need to be responsible
enough to not lose this golden opportunity of deriving
maximum benefit of having the Lord in our midst. As
requested by Smt. Chethana Raju, Bhagawan to the delight
of all devotees consented to deliver His Divine
Discourse
For the benefit of
readers, we are giving a gist of the Divine Discourse,
Bhagawan delivered this morning.
-
One should see God in
everyone. When one starts looking at others as
human, feelings of hatred, jealousy and anger will
arise in one's heart. So, one should recognise the
innate divinity in every creature and every being of
the universe. To reiterate this point, Swami pointed
to the tiny sparrows which were busy picking flower
petals from the ground in front of Bhagawan, and
said God is there even in these sparrows also.
Always think that whatever happens is because of the
Will of God and develop love for your fellow human
beings
-
Swami then gave a
detailed account of "The Three Promises" He had
given to Mother Easwarmma. She asked for a school to
be built. Swami told her, "Wait for the right time
to come. I will fulfill your wish."
-
She saw poor people
carrying their sick children to long distances for
medical treatment. Her heart melted at this sight.
So, she asked Swami to build a small hospital in the
village.
-
She saw small girls
taking the heavy burden of carrying big pots of
water from a long distance. She requested Swami to
make arrangements to dig a well in the village.
Swami said everything would be done at the opportune
moment. As promised by Bhagawan, all her wishes
fructified at the right moment.
-
Swami said that she
asked for small things like a small school, a
medical dispensary for immediate treatment and a
well in the village. But I have now built a much
bigger university, hospitals and drinking water
projects. Apart from all these, Swami also brought
electric supply to Puttaparthi and neighbouring
villages.
-
Develop
broadmindedness. All My Discourses, Bhajans are for
this purpose only. What gives happiness to you will
give happiness to others too, and what makes You
suffer also gives suffering to others. So realize
this Oneness. Go beyond the concept of the body and
see the indwelling God present in everybody.
