|
Prashanthi Bulletin - February
6th to 9th, 2005
Important Announcement
in Sanatana Sarathi February 2005 issue
This is to inform all the devotees that Sivarathri will be
celebrated at Prasanthi Nilayam on Tuesday, 8th
March 2005. In this connection, here is an
important announcement. Devotees often have given expression
to their feeling that they are disturbed and pained and are
unable to bear the sight of Bhagavan's physical body
undergoing a lot of strain at the time of Lingodbhava. They
always yearn to see the ever smiling and enchanting form of
Swami. And, they were often praying to Swami not to perform
Lingodbhava. Bhagavan, out of His infinite compassion and
love for devotees, has acceded to their prayers and has said
that Lingodbhava will not take place on this Sivarathri day.
February 6th to 9th 2005
For the past few days, we were hardly able to have Darshan
of Bhagawan, for He was so busy with the preparations for
the February 10th function. After all, He was getting His
children married - a spiritual marriage, to usher them into
a new phase of their life!
Sunday morning, the 6th of February did not witness
Bhagawan's arrival in the Sai Kulwant Hall. What could be
the reason? We were all getting worried. But later we came
to know that Swami was out in the Poornachandra Hall,
guiding and overseeing the preparations, packing of gifts
etc. for the fortunate couples who would be Blessed with all
these mementoes on the 10th.
Our students who are currently working in the Central Trust
and Book Trust offices, lovingly called the CTBT boys were
bestowed by Swami with the chance of helping in this grand
programme. The staff and students of Anantapur were also
very lucky to be Blessed with the opportunity of helping in
organizing the function.
On the evening of 6th too, Swami just came out only for the
Bhajans. He came at 5.10 p.m. and took Aarti and returned at
5.35 p.m. So you can imagine how involved and busy Swami has
been with regard to this programme.
On Monday, the 7th, Swami came out for morning Darshan at
around 8.45 a.m. In the evening, He was out by 3.15 p.m. but
He went into the interview room as soon as He came and was
inside until the Bhajans began.
Tuesday, the 8th of February, turned out to be similar to
the previous day. However, Mr. Shivraj Patil - the Home
Minister of India - had come for Swami's Darshan and Swami
spent a long time with him in the interview room.
Yesterday, on the 9th, Swami came out at 7.45 a.m. for
Darshan. To the delight of the devotees seated in the Hall,
Swami sat down on the sofa. The Bio-Science department has
organized a National Workshop on "Recent Trends in
Bio-Technology" at the Institute. This is a three day
workshop that began yesterday. The total participants run to
almost 60. Most of them being gents, they were seated in the
upper Portico, in the faculty block.
At around 8.00 a.m., Dr. Krupanidhi, the Head of the
Bio-Sciences Department, prayed to Swami for departing to
the College to commence the Workshop. Bhagawan gave His
consent and all the participants got up and started moving
out. However, one of them made bold and came closer to Swami
from the side and sought His Blessings. Looking at this, the
others too were wise enough to not lose their life time
chance! One by one, all of them queued up to seek Bhagawan's
Blessings. Some bowed down while some others offered their
letters. Swami had a smile for each one of them!
In the evening, as we all entered the Kulwant Hall, we could
see rows of red coloured plastic basket chairs arranged in
neat rows right at the front, both on the Ladies and on the
Gents side. All the lucky couples were seated on these
chairs. Gents on the Gents side, and Ladies on the other
side. Most of the faces were familiar to us, as all these
were revered elders who had left all their worldly
possessions and positions aside and had settled down in
Prasanthinilayam for years , offering their Loving services
to Bhagawan! And here was Swami showering all His Love and
appreciation for them!
Swami came out for Darshan very soon. He was out by 3.00
p.m. and taking a short turn between the chairs, the Golf
Cart proceeded towards the interview room. The next few
hours, the Mandir was like a busy factory workshop with our
CTBT boys running from here to there, carrying items inside
the interview room and shifting some items outside.
At 3.25 p.m. Swami came out of the interview room and went
into the Bhajan Hall. The Anantapur staff was inside,
arranging all the gifts to be distributed. Swami spent some
time inside the Bhajan Hall giving instructions. Then began
an endless distribution of gifts to the lucky couples! On
the Ladies side, Anantapur sisters went around not just
distributing but even making the women wear bangles,
earrings, etc. Grand silk saris were then distributed to all
the brides. On the Gents side, the CTBT boys were busy
distributing Dhotis with Angavastram (upper garment).
This went on for quite a long time. The total number of
couples chosen for this occasion were around 280. After the
clothes, the special silk threads to be tied around the head
was given to all. This was followed by beautiful colorful
garlands - not flowers but the plastic zari ones, usually
used on such occasions...
All around the Kulwant Hall, we could see banners with
"Bheema Ratha Santhi" written on them. This was the title
given to the celebration to be held tomorrow. When we asked
some of the elders, there were different interpretations of
the title. Some said that Bheema stood for Shiva and
therefore it is an offering to Lord Shiva. Yet others said
that Bheema stood for strength and Ratha meant the human
body; hence, the prayer is for giving strength to the body.
The general idea was that it was a celebration meant for the
overall welfare of the old couples. (More of this in the
ensuing Discourse given by Bhagawan)
Bhajans started at 5.00 p.m. and by 5.30 p.m. Swami took
Aarti. We could see Prof. Anil Kumar running towards the
Bhajan Hall to make an announcement. Swami had called him a
little while ago into the interview room and had given him
instructions about the announcement to be made.
Prof. Anil Kumar announced that the 'Bheema Ratha Santhi'
will commence tomorrow at 8.00 a.m. with all the couples
coming in a procession from the Pedda Venkama Raju Kalyana
Mantapam in Puttaparthi village. They will be preceded by
Veda chanting and cultural dances of a traditional type and
all of them will enter the Sai Kulwant Hall through the main
Gopuram Entrance.
After they all settle down in Sai Kulwant Hall, the marriage
ceremony will begin. All relatives of the couples are also
welcome. The special wedding feast will begin from this
evening itself and will continue till tomorrow evening. For
the couples coming from outside Parthi, special
accommodation has been arranged. After the wedding tomorrow,
there will be a wedding banquet for the couples, their
relatives and all the devotees present here! This is
Bhagawan's Blessings of Love!!
Believe it or not, Swami was so particular to hear the
announcement and make sure that everything was conveyed that
He came outside after the Aarti and stood near the Golf Cart
until the announcements were made both in Telugu and in
English. Only after the long announcements were given, Swami
got inside the Golf Cart and retired to the Poornachandra
Auditorium. That is perfection. No detail is too small for
Him!!
The distribution of gifts was just completed by then. As we
walked out of the Kulwant Hall, the bridegrooms jubilantly
got up from their chairs and walked past us with Swami's
'Gift Bag' full of loving mementoes! We could see the joy
and cheer on their faces!! What a unique Blessing. Where
else in the world would we find a ritual, conducted to
honour old people and pay our gratitude to them?
February 10th 2005 (Morning)
The special day had finally dawned. By 7.00 a.m. we all
arrived at the Kulwant Hall. The entire space was blocked
for the ceremony. Therefore, all students packed themselves
tightly near the car garage, where the old students sit.
As we sat down on our mats, we gazed around the Hall and
looked at the wonderful decorations everywhere. Beautiful
brass vertical flower vases adorned the dais, with colourful
and fresh flowers shooting forth from them. The centre of
the dais had a very beautiful getup with a white backdrop
and colourful flower decorations on it. The Kulwant Hall
area, almost 50% of it on both the Gents and Ladies side was
set apart for the marriage function.
The arrangement was fantastic! Elegant enclosures were made
for each couple, with low level (maybe just 1 or 1 ? feet
high) brass railings serving as a curtain stand. Silk
curtains were fixed on these brass stands. The top opening
of these stands also served as a flower vase and had bright
red coloured Dahlias and Zinnias inserted into them. At
every corner of these stands, a plantain trunk was tied to
the stand - giving the entire Hall the typical auspicious
and sacred look of any marriage hall!
In these small elegant enclosures, were placed two bright
red coloured plastic bucket chairs for the bride and the
bridegroom and a low teapoy in front of the chair to serve
as the working table for the marriage. We gazed around to
see the other decorations. The inner portico was decked up
just like it is done during Bhagawan's Birthday
celebrations. Full of pearl garlands and other colourful
hangings! Rich floral garlands were covering the chandelier
lights at the base of the portico in the usual decorative
patterns!
To sum it up, the entire Hall looked like a beautiful
Wedding Hall awaiting the arrival of the brides and the
bridegrooms.
At 7.10 a.m., Sevadal people began their task of arranging
circular steel plates on the teapoy kept in every enclosure.
At 7.15 a.m., the core Vedam group began their chanting of
the Vedam. Bhagawan had started from Poornachandra for
Darshan. The learned Pundits who had come from Andhra
Pradesh for conducting the marriage were inside the Bhajan
Hall and they too started chanting Vedam. As the Golf Cart
went amidst the various enclosures, the Sevadal and some of
our students were arranging two small steel cups inside
every plate. This was possibly for the Turmeric and Kum-kum.
A red coloured velvet bag with several Pooja items inside,
was then placed on each table.
Bhagawan went by the teapoys watching keenly all the items
being placed on them. He took a full round of the Hall and
came to the middle of the Inner Portico. The sofa was placed
outside at the centre of the dais and on either side of the
sofa, were a dozen enclosures for the most lucky couples who
would be seated just next to Bhagawan for their marriage!
Swami did not get down from the Golf Cart but kept sitting
inside, listening to the Vedic Chants. After a while, the
Vedic pundits who were inside the Bhajan Hall came out and
went towards Swami to seek His instructions and Blessings.
As this was going on in the inner portico, outside, a
beautiful framed photograph of Swami was placed on each
teapoy for worship. Next came the Akshatalu (sacred yellow
rice) that was generously poured into each plate for a lot
would be needed during the marriage ceremony! At 7.30 a.m.
the Golf Cart went into reverse gear and went towards the
interview room. Swami got down and went inside the interview
room. Still half an hour more for the procession of the
couples to begin from the Pedda Venkama Raju Kalyana
Mantapam...
Betel leaves were placed in each plate - a part of any
auspicious ritual in South India. The whole Hall was
bustling with activity as a number of Sevadal and students
kept running around arranging the items, some of them
checking and the others shifting the materials. Swami came
out of the interview room at 8.10 a.m. or so. He stood just
outside the interview room with brother Nitin Acharya and
Mr. C. Sreenivas on either side, waiting for the arrival of
the couples.
At 8.20 a.m., we saw the devotees running to the back of the
Kulwant Hall and peeping over the wall. Simultaneously, the
sound of the Nada Swaram reached our ears and it rose to a
crescendo as the procession came closer and entered the
Kulwant Hall. What a grand procession! What do we see? The
special Pundits coming in a group, with the chief Pundit and
his wife leading them, along with the Poorna Kumbham. They
were followed by a group of Vedam students from our College.
Then came the core Nadaswaram team, followed by the
Anantapur students' Band and then the Anantapur students'
Nadaswaram.
And there we find the Lambadis dancing away to glory!! The
main dancer had a huge pot on her head. The Women folk were
dressed in bright red, with white bangle like rings,
covering their full hand. An assortment of ornaments covered
their face and head. The Gents wore orange and pink turbans
and one of them was rotating a green cloth in the air,
possibly indicating a change of steps in the dance. These
Lambadi folk took the centre of the Hall for their
performance. As the dance went on in full vigour, the
couples made their grand entry into the Hall! What a sight
to see all our grandmas coming in with bright red silk saris
and grandpas with Dhotis and an Angavastram on their
shoulders, All of them had silk thread headbands and a
garland around their neck.
The proceedings were very well organized. Every couple was
assisted by an Anantapur sister who would be like a
facilitator for that couple during the entire ceremony. All
the Anantapur sisters were wearing light pink saris to match
the grandeur of the occasion! Each couple waded through the
maze of enclosures, finding their way to their final
destination. As they sat down on their chairs, a mineral
water bottle was placed on each teapoy. How thoughtful of
the organizers! Being aged they would feel thirsty and the
same water could also be used for the rituals.
By 8.45 a.m. all the couples were seated on their chairs -
275 in all. All the while, Swami was standing and watching
with Love, His children taking their seats! Normally, the
parents of the daughter would be ecstatic at getting their
daughter wedded and the parents of the son would be joyous
to receive their daughter-in-law. Here was a special case,
where Bhagawan was the Divine Father and Mother to both the
Bride and the Bridegroom!! How happy and Blissful He would
Be!!
The Vedam Pundits started the ceremony. As they knew only
Telugu, Prof. Anil Kumar was very kind enough to become
their translator in providing instructions to the couples
about the rituals to be performed. However, having got the
mike into his hands, he took over the Telugu part too! The
ceremony began with the Ganapati Prarthana (Worship). The
couples were asked to worship the small Ganesha placed on
their teapoys with Akshatam. As the Sankalpam (Vow) was
chanted, the couples repeated their Gotra (Lineage) and
Nakshatra (Birth Star) in their minds and performed
Aachamanam (a ritual) with water.
At this point, Prof. Anil Kumar translated the 'statement of
purpose' of this function as stated by the Rithwik (Vedic
Pundit). This function was being performed to bestow upon
the couples a long, healthy, spiritual life. It was directed
towards establishing the unity of all religions through
collective prayers at His Lotus Feet, for the ultimate goal
of peace in the entire world!
By this time, Swami had gone inside the interview room and
the Worship continued outside. The next event was the
worship of the Raksha Bandhan (sacred protective thread). It
was 8.55 a.m. The couples worshipped the Raksha Bandhan with
Dhoopam (Incense Stick) and Deepam (Lamp). Jaggery was
offered as Naivedyam (offering). As per the instructions,
the Gents were to tie this on the left wrist of the brides
and the women had to tie this on the right wrists of the
bridegrooms! It was real joy watching them do this. Humour
too was part of the game! Some had already tied it on the
wrong wrists (confusion between right and left wrist) and
they immediately untied it and placed it on the correct
wrist!
The Mantras were chanted, describing the location of planet
earth in the galaxy of various Lokaas (worlds). The Mantras
went on to state that this ceremony at Bhagawan's Lotus feet
would draw upon the couples Divine Blessings for the
previous ten generations and the subsequent ten generations.
It would be even more powerful than the Aswamedha Yajna!!
Then came the very interesting part of the marriage; the
oath taking ceremony! Normally in any marriage the
bridegroom and the bride vow to stand by each other in the
three Purusharthas (goals) of life, namely - Dharma
(Righteousness), Artha (Wealth) and Kama (Desire). However,
in this spiritual marriage, as per Bhagawan's instructions,
the Vedic Pundits made the couples take the fourth vow too -
that of Moksha. Bhagawan said that Moksha (Liberation) too
should be uniformly available to all. Hence, the bridegroom
and the bride chanted as follows:
Dharmecha, Arthecha, Kamecha, Mokshecha Aham Evam
Eesham/Eenam Naati Charami. Naati Charami is chanted thrice
which means "I will stand by, I will stand by, I will stand
by!!"
When we heard all these significances and inner meanings, we
were so thrilled to realize that our culture has probed so
deeply into all possible aspects of human life on earth.
Marriage is such a great and sacred Institution that serves
as the fabric of society and is in fact the Royal path to
liberation as stated by Bhagawan Himself. Marriage is such a
sacred bond between a man and a woman, who are supposed to
stand by each other in all ups and downs of their lives,
assisting each other and prodding each other to move forward
on their spiritual journey, to ultimately reach His Lotus
Feet. Unfortunately, marriage is understood by youth today
in such a narrow and perverted sense. Bhagawan is truly
re-educating the world about all these great and noble
ancient Truths!!
Prof. Anil Kumar again took over and explained to the
couples that by taking this vow, they would be now moving
into a new phase of their life with rejuvenated enthusiasm,
and were expected to put in all their best in fulfilling
Swami's expectations. By now it was 9.10 a.m. The Pundits
declared that the auspicious moment was coming closer and
closer! The couples were asked to hold the cumin seeds and
jaggery in their hands for the next ritual. As the Mantras
were chanted, the couples were supposed to place these cumin
seeds and jaggery on each others' heads. Again it was a
sight to see this being performed! For most of them, the
cumin seeds and jaggery would fall down and they would
repeatedly make attempts to place them on each others'
heads!
By now Swami had come out of the interview room. He came to
the dais and then what do we see? The ocean of Love and
Compassion! He started walking to each couple on the dais
and handed over the Mangala Sutra to each bridegroom with
all His Blessings. Prof. Anil Kumar announced that Bhagawan
would distribute Mangala Sutra personally, to each couple.
He said that these were the most fortunate couples in the
entire Universe to have God Himself Blessing them with the
Wedding Chain! We thought that Swami would distribute the
Mangala Sutras to the couples on the dais and then the rest
would be given by some other senior members.
But how mistaken we were! The Compassionate Lord got down
the dais and went forward to the first row of couples. My!
Was He going to walk all along? The senior members prayed to
Swami and He sat down on a wheel chair placed over there.
From that point, the wheelchair was taken along every aisle
and Swami distributed the Mangala Sutras to each and every
couple. It was a sight for the Gods to see! No eye could
remain dry! We were all moved by His Love and Grace! Who can
stop the Divine Mother from showering Her Love on Her son
and daughter!
Believe it or not, this distribution went on and on as Swami
moved from couple to couple Blessing them with the sacred
chain. Meanwhile, some more boxes arrived outside. The
Professors and the senior authorities of the Institute were
marching forward with trays containing honey colored boxes.
They started handing over a box to each couple. Prof. Anil
Kumar announced that the Merciful Lord was now Blessing the
couples with watches. We saw the couples opening the boxes
in all delight. Wow! A beautiful watch for the bridegroom
and one for the bride! Prof. Anil Kumar announced that Swami
had given them these watches with so much of Love and they
should immediately wear these, and that is what all of them
did!
The Anantapur sisters started playing the Nadaswaram. The
Mangala Sutram distribution was still going on. Prof. Anil
Kumar standing in the centre of the Hall in front of the
dais and opposite to the Vedic Pundit team, was using this
time very well, by translating some wonderful explanations
given by the Vedic Pundits. He said that elsewhere,
marriages are performed bearing the welfare of the couple in
mind, but here the marriages were being performed with the
objective of Loka Kalyanam. (Universal Welfare)! Here every
couple was being worshipped as Laxmi-Narayana Swaroopa
(embodiment of Divinity).
The Vedic Pundits were praising these couples saying that
these couples had showered their Blessings on so many other
people in the past and now they were receiving the Blessings
from Bhagawan Himself for all their good actions. The
couples were asked to worship the Mangala Sutras as Goddess
Gowri Herself. Here in our case the Goddess Gowri was none
other than Eswaramma Gowri - the Divine Mother of our
Bhagawan who had gifted the Lord to the Universe!
It was 9.50 a.m., almost 40 minutes since the time Swami
started distributing the Mangala Sutrams. It was almost
coming to a close and the Worship of the sacred chain began.
Oh! there was more to come! Every couple was now gifted with
a silver idol of Lakshmi-Narayana to be worshipped by them.
This was given to them in a small red coloured box wrapped
in colour paper! The couples were overjoyed as gift after
gifts were poured into their arms by our dear Lord!
Bhagawan instructed the core Vedam group of students and
staff to start chanting - starting with Sri Suktam. At 10.00
a.m. the final chanting of Mantras for the worship of the
Mangala Sutra was in progress. Finally at 10.05 a.m. the
most auspicious moment arrived! Amidst Nadaswaram, Band,
Vedam chanting and loud claps, the bridegrooms tied the
Mangala Sutras around the necks of their wives! Cameras
clicked, smiles burst forth, and the entire atmosphere was
charged with a sense of thrill and joy! The spiritual
marriage was through!
The next ritual was Talambralu. This is a ritual where the
bride and the bridegroom are supposed to hold Akshatalu -
yellow rice in their hands and pour them over each others
heads. All couples were asked to do this. Swami was
personally supervising this event. He wanted the couples to
perform this over and over again and He was deriving so much
joy watching them!
He started walking on the dais again, Blessing each couple
by showering them with the sacred rice. But that Blessing
was not free! Swami would ask each couple to repeat the
ritual in front of Him. With slight embarrassment and
smiles, they would pour yellow rice on each others' heads
and then Swami would shower the yellow rice on them! We
could see Love emanating from Swami's face and He was
thoroughly enjoying the event of His children's' marriage!
It was 10.15 a.m. Swami finally sat down on the sofa placed
in the centre of the dais. Mind you, this was the first time
He sat on the sofa, since He came out at 7.15 a.m. That is
our Swami! How He involves Himself and conducts the entire
event! The Lambadis took their turn to please Bhagawan. They
started dancing with full vigour and ecstasy. For your
information, the Lambadis are tribal people who originally
belong to Rajasthan. Around 300 years back they migrated to
Southern India and settled down in the outskirts of the
villages. Therefore, their dance and their attire
predominantly reflects the Rajasthani style.
At 10.20 a.m. the garland exchanging ceremony began. This
was truly a great sight! We are sure that all couples would
have been reminded of their marriage years back when they
would have exchanged garlands in a similar manner in front
of their family deity idol. Least would they have expected
to do the same years later, right in the physical presence
of their almighty Lord!! What a piece of luck and good
fortune!
The final ritual was the wearing of toe rings, which is
again a very important part of the marriage ceremony in
India. The husbands put these toe rings onto the toes of
their wives, assisted by the Anantapur sisters. The final
icing on the cake was a photograph of the couple taken
earlier for the occassion, merged along with Swami's photo
and laminated as a memory for all of them. The couples
received this photograph with reverence and gratitude.
At 10.25 a.m. the Vedic Pundits started chanting the
concluding Mantras for the ceremony. By 10.30 a.m. the
wedding came to a close. Prof. Anil Kumar made the happy
announcement that the Wedding Banquet was ready. All the
brides and bridegrooms would first proceed to the canteen
followed by their relatives and then all the devotes too
would be served the special Lunch!!
Thus the grand ceremony came to a grand end leaving all of
us overjoyed! The couples were saturated with Bhagawan's
Love and Bliss! They were in the seventh heaven of delight!
All of them proceeded towards the canteen to partake of the
sacred Prasadam.
February 10th 2005 (Evening)
In the evening, Bhagawan came out for Darshan at 4.00 p.m.
He took a full round in the Golf Cart and got down on the
dais and moved towards the sofa. It was 4.05 p.m. and Swami
called Prof. Sudhir Bhaskar and Prof. Anil Kumar and told
them something. They ran immediately and arranged the mike.
Somebody would possibly give a talk - we thought. But Swami
again called them and told them something more. This time
the communication was clear. Bhagawan was going to Bless us
with His Divine Discourse. What a surprise! The table was
immediately arranged and the mike was placed on the table
for Swami.
In the Kulwant Hall, the chairs were arranged as it was done
yesterday, with all the Gents and Ladies seated on them,
just like the Reception programme in any Wedding. At 4.11
p.m., the Vedam chanting stopped. Bhagawan began the
Discourse.
Bhagawan concluded His Discourse at 5.11 p.m. He then called
the three birthday boys seated in the first row and Blessed
each one of them with Akshatas. After they returned to their
seats, Swami playfully waved His Hands and out came a gold
chain with a locket! Swami held it in His hand and asked
them, "Where did it come from?" One of the boys dared to go
in front and replied something. Swami called him in front
and to his amazement, Bhagawan slipped the chain around his
neck. As usual, a perfect fit. It just went over his head
and onto his ears, after which the boy took over and wore it
around his neck. He was thrilled!
Prof. Anil Kumar, then, as per the instructions of Bhagawan,
invited the singer for the evening, Smt. Sudha Raghunathan
to offer her songs in the Divine Presence. He announced that
Smt. Sudha Raghunathan was a 'Padma Shri' and her family
were devotees of Bhagawan from the last 60 years. In fact,
Swami had saved this singer in her childhood and that is
how, Bhagawan got the name "Jodi Adipalli Somappaya Namah",
which appears in the Ashtotra Shata Naamavali of Bhagawan.
In case you are not familiar with the above story - here it
is.... Long ago in 1958, the parents of Smt. Sudha
Ragunathan had come to participate in Bhagawan's Birthday
celebrations at Prasanthinilayam. As they were returning
after the Birthday celebrations, on the way, the child took
seriously ill. The parents were very worried and were
praying to Swami to provide some solution. Suddenly, out of
nowhere, a villager appeared over there with two more men.
The villager asked the mother to hand over the child to him
and said that he would cure her. The mother was perplexed,
but finding no other way out, she acceded to his request.
The villager took the child into his arms and then after a
while, returned the child to the mother. Lo and Behold! The
child was perfectly fine. The parents wept with gratitude
and asked the villager who he was. To this the village man
replied, "I am Jodi Adipalli Somappa". Months later, when
the parents returned to Parthi, they narrated this story to
Bhagawan. Swami smiled and confirmed that it was none other
than He, who had appeared as Jodi Adipalli Somappa.
Years later, when Prof. Kasturi once asked Swami as to why
He had given Himself that name, Bhagawan replied, "Jodi
means 'Couple' - the 'Divine Couple'; Adi Palli means the
'The Eternal Village' and Soma means 'Sa + Uma' the One with
Uma as His Consort". Thus He came to be known as Jodi
Adipalli Somappa.
Smt. Sudha Raghunathan came forward and took Swami's
Blessings! Again Swami waved His Hand and here was another
gold chain for the singer. She was dazed. She had not even
begun and there she was already Blessed! She settled down on
the dais with her accompanying artistes. For the next 50
minutes, we had such beautiful rendering of classical songs
that lightened our hearts and lifted our souls! If the
marriage in the morning, transported the couples into a
spiritual world, these songs in the evening ushered all of
us into a world full of spiritual Bliss and joy!
Song after song flew from her mouth as the Ganges, and
flooded the Kulwant Hall with its potent meaning and
vibrating tunes. She started with a song on Narayana:
1)Sriman Narayana Sriman Narayana ...
2) Brochevaarevarura Ninuvina Raghuvaraa...
As she kept us busy listening to these songs, the couples
were kept busy with hot coffee served sugarless (very
thoughtful of the organizers to consider the age of the
couples and ailments like diabetes etc.). Sugar was offered
separately to those who wanted it. 'Marie' Biscuits went
along with the coffee. Meanwhile the melodious music from
the singer continued:
3)Sita Kalyana, Rama Kalyana, Vaibhogame....
4)Adisidala Yashoda Jagadodarana....
5)Korai Onrum Illai Malai Murti Kanna...
6)Pyare Darsana Deejo Tuma Bina Rahyo Na Jaye....
When she sang songs 4 and 6, it was wonderful to see Swami
also singing along with her. In fact, song 6 which is a
Meera Bhajan was very lucky to have the Lord singing it
fully line after line!
7)Bho Shambho Shiva Shambho Svayam Bho....
8)More To Giridhara Gopala Dusaro Na Koi...
9)Man Ki Ankhein Kholo Sairam...
The song on Swami, praying Him to open the eyes of our minds
was a befitting close to the day's programme. For was this
not the true purpose of all our endeavours in life? The song
ended with fast beats that found all the devotees clapping
along with the song. Swami stood up and was swaying to the
beat. Our hearts too were swaying to the melodious rhythm
and beat.
Smt. Sudha Raghunathan got up and went to Swami to take His
Blessings. The other accompanying artistes too went forward
and sought Bhagawan's Blessings. Aarti commenced and Swami
turned and moved towards the inner Portico to the Golf Cart
stationed over there. Slowly the Golf Cart made its way
towards the Poornachandra Auditorium. A new milestone in the
saga of the Avataar. A new meaning was communicated to all
of humanity and a new initiative was set into force to
revive our ancient practices and highlight the importance of
the role played by senior citizens in our lives and the need
for expressing gratitude to them.
February 11th 2005
Today is a very auspicious day. Bhagawan had given
permission to go ahead with the Bhoomi Puja for the
construction of the new Building at the Prashanthi Nilayam
campus premises of the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher
Learning. You may recall that on the 2nd of this month,
Bhagawan had driven down to the College at 5.30 p.m. in the
evening after the Bhajans, to survey the land on which the
new Building would come up.
This morning, the students and staff proceeded to the plot
in front and to the left of the Library Building, for the
prayer session. A makeshift altar was already arranged over
there. A photograph of Swami accompanied by photographs of
Goddess Lakshmi, Saraswati and Ganesha were placed on the
table. A Pujari was performing the relevant rituals. The
students and staff started Bhajans and Vedam chanting.
Between 8.15 a.m. and 8.30 a.m., the Puja was completed. The
Vice-Chancellor Sri S.V. Giri placed the cement in the pit
made ready for the purpose. Subsequently, Prof. G.
Venkataraman - the former Vice-Chancellor of the University,
Sri Lakshminarasimham Garu - the Registrar, Sri Nanjundaiah
Garu - the Controller of Examinations, Prof. U.S. Rao - the
Principal and other professors broke coconuts and offered
flowers to the Bhoomi Puja site.
The ceremony concluded with Aarti. Maybe, the Building will
be ready by Bhagawan's 80th Birthday! Let's wait and see....
Source:
http://www.radiosai.org/pages/PB_20050210.htm
|