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The Festival of Joy – Sai
Children's Festival, October 22nd – 24th, 2005
The Sri
Sathya Sai Bal Vikas programme was started by Bhagawan in 1968
with the aim to inculcate the fundamental human values of Sathya
(Truth), Dharma (Righteousness), Shanthi (Peace) and Ahimsa
(Non-Violence) among children so that the foundations of a
spiritual life are laid at an early age. Children in the age
group 6-15 learn about various aspects of spirituality from
designated Bal Vikas Gurus belonging to the Sri Sathya Sai Seva
Organization. The Bal Vikas movement today reaches out to more
than 2 lakh (200,000) children all over India through a network
of more than 16,000 Gurus and is actively engaged in realizing
Bhagawan's vision of a spiritual revival in modern society.
From October
22nd to 24th, more than three thousand Bal
Vikas students from all over India gathered at Prasanthi Nilayam
to celebrate the 'Festival of Joy'. The event was an outpouring
of the love and gratitude of the students to Bhagawan for
entering and transforming their lives, and through them, the
lives of their family members and others around them. Over the
three days, the children basked in the love of Bhagawan,
presenting a variety of programmes in
the
Divine presence on the lessons they have imbibed as students of
the Bal Vikas programme. There was a significant presence of
students from the far off North Eastern states like Assam,
Manipur and Sikkim, their faces beaming with the joy of being
with Bhagawan on this wonderful occasion. Bhagawan too responded
to the love of the children in so many ways. The students, with
their teachers, were all accommodated within the ashram campus
and were given free food on all the days of their stay at
Prasanthi Nilayam.
Bhagawan
evinced personal interest in their welfare and even blessed the
children with a visit to see for Himself the arrangements that
had been made for them. Two exhibitions were organised on this
occasion. One showcased spiritual books for children brought out
by the Sri Sathya Sai Organizations in different Indian
languages. The other was on the folk arts and handicrafts from
all over India. Children could even learn the rudiments of these
arts from trainers during the days of the exhibition. The entire
ashram was abuzz with activity, with children practising for the
programmes they would present in front of Bhagawan during the
three days of the festival.
The
festival commenced on the morning of October 22nd in
Sai Kulwant Hall. Bhagawan lit the ceremonial lamp signalling
the start of the festival. Sri V.Srinivasan, President, Sri
Sathya Sai Seva Organizations, India welcomed all the
participating students and expressed his gratitude on their
behalf to Bhagawan for blessing them with the opportunity to be
a part of this joyous event. After Sri Srinivasan's introductory
talk, there was a music programme by a choir composed of 300
children from different parts of the country. The hall
reverberated to the sound of their voices as they sang in
unison, songs in Hindi and Telugu languages. "Shakthi ni ivvu,
Bhakthi ni ivvu" they prayed to Bhagawan, "grant us Shakthi
(strength to carry out God's command) and Bhakthi (devotion to
the Lord)". This programme was followed by speeches by three Bal
Vikas students. Kum. Shwetha, from the state of Karnataka, began
by observing that though man has made such strides in science
and technology, he has not yet learnt how to live as a man. The
true purpose of education is character, she said, and it was the
gift of character that they
were receiving from Bhagawan through the Bal Vikas programme.
Master Pranav Shyam Bhat from the city of Mumbai echoed these
sentiments and said that every Sai devotee has a moral duty
towards himself and to the world to tread on the path shown by
Bhagawan so that all the people in the world could reach God. He
prayed to Bhagawan to grant all the students with purity in
their thought, word and deed. Master Krishna De, a nine-year old
student who hails from the state of West Bengal, declared, "We
have come from You, Bhagawan, and we must all return to You". He
prayed to Bhagawan to mould their lives to live by His teaching
so that the ideal of "Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam" (The entire
humanity is one family) could be realized.
After
the rousing speeches by the students, Bhagawan granted His
Divine Message emphasizing on the importance of maintaining
purity in the food one consumes and the company one keeps.
The
food one ingests influences the kind of thoughts that arise in
our minds, and it is these thoughts that turn us towards or away
from God. Similarly, He said, it is vital to carefully select
the circle of one's friends. One must cultivate Sathsangam, the
company of the noble. He advised the children to turn away from
books that dwell on negative aspects
and instead read the inspiring lives of great and noble men and
sages.
The afternoon
session saw a medley of dances on the theme, "The Glory of
Sathya Sai". The dances depicted the story of Bhagawan's life,
whose coming had been prophesied by the scriptures of many
religions of the world. Many episodes from Bhagawan's life such
as incidents at the Pushpagiri Scout fair, the letter written by
Bhagawan to His elder brother, Shri Seshama Raju in which He
speaks of the Mission for which He has descended etc. were all
presented through beautifully choreographed dances.
The
presentation had a very novel ending where a
UFO
descends on the floor of Kulwant Hall.
From the UFO descend
aliens who have come to earth after having heard of the Avatar's
descent on the planet. They threaten to take Him away with them
if they do not follow His teachings, as the entire cosmos is
yearning for the opportunity of being contemporaries of the
Avatar. They are only satisfied when representatives of Planet
Earth promise to be worthy of God's Love. At the conclusion of
the programme, arati was offered to
Bhagawan.
On the
morning of 23rd, there was a presentation by Bal
Vikas students of various states on the religious customs and
traditions of some of the major religions of the world. The
basic tenets of Hinduism, Christianity, Judaism, Zoroastrianism
and Islam were depicted through the rituals that are performed
by followers of these faiths. The afternoon session featured a
very innovative presentation by the children of the
Sri
Sathya Sai Primary School.
Using a projector-screen system for a
backdrop, the programme dwelt on the life and teachings of
Bhagawan. The narrators of the programme were two students
dressed as Prof. Kasturi and Dr. Hislop, two devotees who were
fortunate to have enjoyed the proximity of Bhagawan and were
witnesses to many wonders and miracles of Bhagawan during their
lifetime. They recall various incidents that took place during
Bhagawan's childhood days.
Then it is the turn of Mother
Saraswati, the
Goddess of learning and Lord Dhanvantari, the God of Healing to
express their gratitude to Bhagawan for raising education and
medicine on such a high pedestal through His educational
institutions and hospitals. The saints, Thyagaraja,
Purandaradasa, Meerabai, Chaitanya Deva also follow, paying
homage to the Lord whom they all adored through their devotional
compositions. For the final scene, all the students of the
Primary School joined in waving golden stars and singing aloud
the praise of their Mother Sai. Bhagawan blessed the
participating students with photographs before accepting
arati at the conclusion of the
day's proceedings.
The
morning of the final day of the festival, October 24th
featured a presentation with a difference. "Heritage Sports", as
the programme was titled, recreated the sylvan atmosphere of
rural India, with the Bal Vikas students showcasing some of the
games and sports that are popular in the villages in their
states. The students from Andhra Pradesh displayed astonishing
dexterity in swirling tops and balancing them on their palms and
on their heads and even tossing it to each other and then
balancing them. Students from Orissa exhibited a game of amazing
endurance, "Puchhi", which is played usually by village girls
there. All the games and sports were much enjoyed and
appreciated by the devotees who had gathered in Sai Kulwant
Hall. This was followed by three short speeches by Bal Vikas
students.
In the
evening, Bal Vikas students from Tamil Nadu, presented, "Bhakthi
Mahima", on the lives of two much revered saints of India,
Tulsidas and Kanakadasa. Tulsidas was very much a man of the
world until his wife turned his mind away from worldly pleasures
towards the bliss of being immersed in devotion to the Lord. His
heart was then filled with a tremendous longing to have the
Darshan (Vision) of His beloved
Lord Rama.
Lord Hanuman guides
Tulsidas to Chitrakoot, where Lord Rama had stayed during His
exile from Ayodhya. There, however, He fails to behold His Lord,
as, absorbed in His contemplation, he does not notice Lord Rama,
Mother Sita and Lakshmana walking past him and only has a
fleeting glimpse of them. He beseeches Lord Hanuman to bestow
the divine vision on him again. This time he even applies sandal
paste on the foreheads of Rama, Lakshmana and Sita without
realizing that the very Lord who he adored was now before him.
Tulsidas now dedicates himself
to composing the epic "Ramcharitmanas" on the life of Lord Rama.
One day, some misguided people decide to steal into Tulsidas's
ashram to destroy his work. But, at the gates of the ashram,
they see two handsome princes standing guard. Realizing that
they were none other than Lord Rama and Lakshmana they beat a
hasty retreat. Filled with remorse, they beg forgiveness of
Tulsidas. But, Tulsidas praises their good fortune that allowed
them to have the darshan he was
craving for. Finally, Lord Rama, pleased with devotion of
Tuslidas, manifests Himself along with His consort, Mother Sita,
and brother Lakshmana.
Saint
Kanakadasa was born in a low caste family and had never been
educated in the Vedas or other scriptures. However, he was full
of devotion to Lord Krishna. One day, he happened on a pot of
gold concealed in a shrub in a forest. But, such was his
detachment towards wealth that he immediately distributed it
among the needy. A Guru, who was earlier a disciple of Saint
Purandaradasa notices this quality in Kanakadasa and initiates
him as his disciple. One day, the Guru decided to test his
disciples. He gives them each a banana and instructs them to eat
the banana unseen by anyone.
All the
disciples disperse looking for places where they could be alone.
After a while, the disciples return to the Guru. Kanakadasa
alone has not eaten his banana. The Guru asks him the reason and
Kanakadasa reveals that he just could not find a place where he
could be alone because wherever he turned he saw Krishna smiling
at him. The Guru praises Kanakadasa's exalted state and blesses
him to go out into the world to spread the glory of Lord
Krishna. Kanakadasa travels to many pilgrimage places singing in
praise of Lord Krishna. He reaches the famous temple town of
Udupi in the state of Karnataka. However, there, the orthodox
priests refuse to permit him inside the temple as he belonged to
a low caste family. In agony, Kanakadasa cries out to Lord
Krishna to grant him His darshan.
The western wall of the temple cracks open, the idol reveals
itself to bless Kanakadasa with the Divine Vision, and thus the
world learns of the power of Kanakadasa's devotion. A window is
now fixed on this wall in the Krishna temple at Udupi and it is
called Kanakana Kindi. It is a
custom to first have darshan of
Lord Krishna through this window before entering the temple
precincts as a mark of respect to this great minstrel of
Karnataka.
This
programme marked the conclusion of the 'Festival of Joy'. It was
a rewarding experience for all who witnessed the celebrations,
but perhaps, most of all for the participating students. The
excitement of staying together with peers from different parts
of the country, broadening the mind by seeing at close hand the
rich traditions and diverse culture of Bharat, and most
importantly imbibing lessons for life from Bhagawan Himself, all
these are a treasure to be cherished for a long time. This meet
will certainly prove a fillip to all Bal Vikas students as the
participants return to their homes re-energized by the touch of
Bhagawan. Let us all pray that this positive energy spreads to
rejuvenate the nation and pervade the entire world so that the
Kingdom of God can be realized on earth itself.
Jai Sai Ram!
Source:
http://srisathyasai.org.in/pages/balvikas_conf_report.htm
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