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Buddha Purnima - 23rd May, 2005
 The
day of Vaisakh Purnima is considered most sacred by Buddhists
all over the world. This day is significant for three reasons.
It was on this day that Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism,
was born as Prince Siddhartha at Lumbini in Nepal in 560 B.C. It
is also the day when He attained enlightenment at Gaya in India,
after years of search and enquiry into the causes and remedy for
sorrow in the world. Thereafter, Siddhartha came to be known as
Buddha, or the Enlightened one. He preached that desires are at
the root of all sorrow and hence advocated the path of right
conduct and the right use of senses as the way to enlightenment.
He attained Nirvana (Unity with the Absolute) in 480 B.C., again
on the day of Vaisakh Purnima. This auspicious day is observed
as Buddha Purnima with reverence and piety by believers in the
Far East countries and in Sri Lanka and India as well.
 The
Buddha Purnima celebrations at Brindavan (Bhagawan's ashram at
Whitefield, Bangalore) this year was jointly organized by
devotees from Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Taiwan. On the morning of
23rd May, Bhagawan granted Darshan in the Sai Ramesh Krishan
Hall, with a procession of temple dancers from Sri Lanka
welcoming Him into the hall. Thereafter, there were bhajans,
with devotees from Sri Lanka leading the singing. In the
afternoon, three distinguished members of the Sai family from
Sri Lanka addressed the gathering. The first speaker was Colonel
Jayasuriya, deputy leader of the Opposition in the Parliament of
Sri Lanka. Colonel Jayasuriya observed that the precepts of
Non-violence and Peace that were preached by Lord Buddha more
than 2500 years ago are now being rejuvenated and propagated all
over the world by Bhagawan
Sri Sathya Sai Baba. Commenting on the present situation of
terror and turmoil prevalent in
various parts of the world, he
prayed to Bhagawan that the world needed Him in these troubled
times. He offered his gratitude to
Bhagawan for undertaking the laudable task of reforming young
minds and guiding them towards leading a life dedicated to
service of society and adherence to the five human values. Sri
Munasinghe, the Sri Lankan High Commissioner to India, who spoke
next, said that devotees of Bhagawan must be grateful to Him,
for, when the world is being torn asunder by hatred and
violence, they are able to experience such happiness and peace
in His
 Divine
Presence. Ms. Mala Sabaratnam, a prominent business leader in
Sri Lanka, narrated how Bhagawan
had purged her heart of hatred and filled it with love and
understanding for her fellow
beings. She recalled the words from the Dhammapada preached by
Lord Buddha, "Hatred cannot be appeased by hatred, but by Love",
and said that this very same teaching was now ingrained in her
heart by the grace of Lord Sai.
After the talks by the distinguished
guests, Bhagawan, in His munificence, responded to the prayers
of the devotees and granted His Divine Message. He said that God
is one, though He may called by different names. We must not
limit Him to the physical
form, but realize that Allah, Krishna, Jesus, Buddha are all
manifestations of the same Divine principle. He dwelt on the
significance of self enquiry and said that every man, when he is
born, cries "Koham", (Who am I?). This enquiry must persist
until he attains the realization "Soham" (I am That).
 After
Bhagawan's Discourse, the venue shifted to the Sai Krishan
Kalyana Mantapam adjacent to the Sai Ramesh Krishan Hall, where
devotees were treated to a dazzling cultural feast, the Dalada
Maligawa Perahara. The Dalada Maligawa Perahara is a traditional
pageant that is performed in the city of Kandy in Sri Lanka, to
commemorate the installation of the holy tooth relic of Lord
Gautama Buddha in the temple of Dalada Maligawa in Kandy.
The ceremony is a very elaborate one with vigorous dances to the
accompaniment of a variety of percussion instruments. Every
year, the pageant that welcomed the tooth relic into Kandy is
ceremoniously re-enacted. The ceremony in its present form dates
back to circa 1750 A.D. This dance ceremony was performed at the
Kalyana Mantapam thrilling one and all with its colour and
vibrancy. At the end of the performance, Bhagawan blessed all
the artistes and permitted them to stand for photographs with
Him. The ceremonies drew to a close with Arati being offered to
Bhagawan. Thereafter, Bhagawan retired to His Trayee Brindavan
residence.
Jai Sai Ram!
Source:
http://www.srisathyasai.org.in/pages/buddha_purnima_05_report.htm
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