|
|
Prashanthi Bullettin
May 19th,
2005
Bhagawan came for both bhajan sessions, in the morning as well
as in the evening. 8.30 am was the time of His arrival in the
morning, and around 4.15 pm in the evening.
May 18th, 2005
It was the grand finale of the three days of Vedic sacrifices.
The Sai Ramesh Hall was gorgeously decorated. More than ten
priests from the famous Kollur Mookambi temple were ready for
the Chandi Homam in front of the stage at the centre of the
hall. At 7.15, Bhagawan arrived, and the grand sacrifice got
underway. Offerings to the Goddess included sweet pongal,
various fruits like mangoes, watermelons, pomegranates and
coconuts, flowers like lotuses, jasmine and roses, herbs, kumkum
and turmeric. Bhagawan witnessed the events till 11.15 am from
the stage, except for a 30 minute break at 9 am. At around
10.30, the Poornahuti was held. For the final two offerings, two
sarees blessed by Swami were also offered in the Homam.
Dignitaries from the state of Karnataka also attended the last
session of the sacrifice. The Governor, the Chief Minister and
Home Minister were present in the Sai Ramesh Hall for the
Poornahuti.
After the Poornahuti, Swami blessed the priests with dhoties and
other gifts. Then He asked Begum Parveen Sultana and her husband
Dilshed Khan to sing a Devi Bhajan. The surprise concert began
with the bhajan "Bhavani" and ended with "Sai Ram ... Sumiran
karo". With this musical conclusion, Bhagawan walked to the lift
on the gents' side of the stage, sat on the chair which came out
of the Toyota Porte car, and proceeded to Trayee in the car.
In the evening, Bhagawan came at 4.30 pm, and Bhajans were held.
May 17th, 2005
In the morning session, three rites including Rudra Homam and
Mrithyunjaya Homam were being performed simultaneously onstage
on the gents' side of the hall, with two or three priests
attending to each. Bhagawan arrived at 8 am and the priests
began the homams. 45 minutes later, Swami went back to Trayee,
returning for the conclusion of the rites around 10 am. Once
again, Swami blessed the priests with dhotis and everyone had
prasadam of vegetable rice and a sweet.
In the evening, Swami came at 4.15 and bhajans were held till 5.
Then, the Sudarshana Homam began on the ladies' side of the
stage. Bhagawan witnessed the yagna for another 30 minutes, and
then went to His abode. The yagna went on till the final
offerings at 9 pm, after which prasadam of upma and sweet was
served to everyone there.
May 16th, 2005
At 7.20 am, Bhagawan was brought in procession from Trayee
Brindavan to the Sai Ramesh Hall. The procession had students
and priests chanting vedic hymns. A canopy was held above Swami,
and traditional items of homage, chamars, were waved to Him.
After Swami came onstage and sat at the centre of the stage for
a while, the Dhanwantari Homam commenced at the altar
constructed on the ladies' side of the stage. After witnessing
the rites for a while, at 8.30, Swami went back to Trayee. It
was announced that Swami would return for the Poornahuti, final
offering of the Homam, later in the morning. Swami returned by
9.30, and the Poornahuti commenced by around 10.15. After the
ceremony, Swami blessed the priests with clothes and other
gifts. Prasadam of mango rice with a sweet was then distributed
to all present.
In the evening, Vedic chants were going on from around 3 pm.
Bhagawan arrived at around 5 pm, and Bhajans were sung for some
twenty minutes. Preliminaries were going on for the Homam on the
gents' side of the Sai Ramesh Hall stage area. Later in the
evening, the sacrificial pit for Wednesday's Maha Sata Chandi
Homam was prepared, dug out in front of the Ganesha statue at
the base of the stage area. The grand Homa kunda was seven feet
deep.
May 15th, 2005
Being Sunday, the Sai Ramesh Hall, including the new extension,
was filled with devotees by 7 am. Bhajans started just before 9
am, and Bhagawan arrived onstage in His chair soon after. After
fifteen minutes or so of Bhajans by the Sevadals, Swami asked
for the Arati, and returned to His abode, exiting backstage on
the chair. The Sunday Bhajans continued as usual after that, and
Bhagawan returned around 3.15 pm. This time He sat for around
half an hour onstage. Then He asked for the Arati. While the
Arati was going on, Swami was wheeled to the edge of the stage,
perhaps for seeing the preparations for the functions to be held
the next day.
After Bhagawan went in and the Arati concluded, an announcement
was made that from the next day, that is Monday, Chandi Homam,
Sudarshana Homam and Dhanwantari Homam would be conducted in the
Sai Ramesh Hall. These sacrificial rites would conclude on
Wednesday, May 18th.
The Union Home Minister, Mr. Shivraj Patil, had come for Swami's
darshan. After the Bhajan, he went inside Trayee Brindavan
behind Swami.
Source:
http://radiosai.org/pages/PB_20050519.htm
You can
see an illustrated version of happenings at Prashanthi Nilayam
in the
Prashanthi Diary of our monthly e-Journal
Heart to Heart.
|
