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Prashanthi Bullettin -
February 25th-26th, 2006
Maha Shivarathri
celebrations....
February 26th, 2006
We wish you a very happy Sivaratri.
This morning, Swami came out for Darshan at 8:30 AM. As we
entered the Kulwant Hall this morning, we were surprised to find
four brand new cars, dark red in colour, parked near the gents'
side garage. Two were Hyundai Accent models, the third one was a
Hyundai Santro and the fourth one was a Hyundai Getz model.
Swami had got these to gift them to some very special people.
At 8:30 AM, as the Porte Car made its way into Sai Kulwant Hall,
the Pancha Vadyam and the Naadaswaram, both were being played by
the students standing near the Gopuram entrance of the Hall.
Taking a full turn, the car stopped near the interview room.
Bhagawan was wheeled onto the dais. Swami first spoke to Sri
Sanjay Sahni, Principal of the Brindavan Campus of the
University. Soon the mike was arranged and Mr. C. Srinivas came
forward and interacted with Bhagawan.
It was clear that some special function was about to commence.
Mr. Sanjay Sahni announced that Bhagawan was today, Blessing
four very distinguished men who had offered yeoman service in
the cause of Bhagawan's Mission. The first gentleman was Mr. A.
Ramakrishna, former Vice-President of ECC construction division
of the L&T Company. Swami had entrusted to L&T under Mr. A.
Ramakrishna's guidance, the construction of most of His grand
project buildings; such as the Bangalore and Parthi Super
Specialty Hospitals, The Chaitanya Jyoti, The Water Projects at
Anantapur, Medak, Mehboobnagar and East & West Godavari tribal
areas and of course the Sai Kulwant Hall.
Mr. A. Ramakrishna came forward and Swami Blessed him with the
keys of the car. Meanwhile, all the four cars were brought in
front of the dais with one of Swami's 'driving team' at the
steering wheel of each car. Swami was not satisfied with merely
giving him the car key. He then got up from the chair, came
walking down the central steps to the side of the car. Standing
there, Swami commanded Mr. A. Ramakrishna to get into the car
and He literally flagged off the car and caught his hands and
Blessed him as the car moved along.
Prior to this, Mr. Ramakrishna spoke a few words offering his
gratitude to Bhagawan for all the Love that He was showering on
him. It was very clear to him that Swami was doing everything
and giving him the credit for all the success. He explained how
after Swami came into his life, the L&T Company has prospered
enormously.
Swami continued standing there as Mr. Sanjay Sahni called out
the other names. The second distinguished gentleman was Mr.
Kondal Rao, Senior Technical Consultant to Govt. of Andhra
Pradesh for the Sri Satya Sai Water Supply Project, and also the
Chief Engineer supervising the Chennai Water Supply Project. Mr.
Kondal Rao had been closely working with L&T in the execution of
these projects. Mr. Kondal Rao got into the car and received the
Blessings as earlier.
The third special recipient was Mr. Chakravarthi, the secretary
of the Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust and formerly collector of
Anantapur District and also the first Registrar of the Sri
Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning. The fourth Blessed
gentleman was Prof. G. Venkataraman, former Vice-Chancellor of
the Institute, currently Director of Prasanthi Digital Studio
and Radio Sai Global Harmony. He is also actively involved in
conducting the Values Based Course called the Awareness
programme for the Post Graduate students at the Institute.
After Blessing all of them profusely, Swami walked back to the
dais and then Blessed Mr. Ramakrishna and Mr. Kondal Rao with a
photograph. Both of them sat beside Swami and Swami holding
their hands kept praising them for a long time telling about
their achievements to the boys seated in front. Next He Blessed
Mr. Chakravarthy and Prof. G. Venkataraman with a photograph and
also praised them for a long time. By now it was 9:05 AM.
Swami gave permission for the Stotram chanting to commence. This
morning, the presentation was organised very well. We had brief
commentary preceding every song, both in Telugu and English
rendered by two students very well. The Stotrams chanted
included the following:
Chidananda Rupah Sivoham Sivoham
Bilvashtakam
Lingashtakam
Ganga Taranga Ramaneeya Jataakalaapam
Neela Kantara Devaa Deena Bandhava Ra Ra
Sada Sivam Bhajaamyaham Sakala Loka Naayakam
Siva Siva Siva Siva Anaraada
Shiva Shankari Shivananda Lahari - Solo
Om Namah Shiyava -- Om Namah Shivaya - Solo
The last two were solo songs very well by the Mandir Bhajan
singers. Others were all group songs. Swami was very involved
throughout the presentation and especially appreciated the last
two performances. It was 9:55 AM when Bhagawan asked them to
stop.
After this Prasadam was distributed to all (Mysore Pak sweet in
a neat plastic box). At 10:30 AM, Swami went near the interview
room and Blessed the special cake baked for the occasion. At
10:40 AM, Bhagawan retired to Poornachandra.
The Evening Session
It was 4:00 PM, when Bhagawan made His entry into the Kulwant
Hall. He took a full round in the car as He usually does and
then went into the interview room. After a while a number of
trays with blue coloured boxes started coming outside in the
hands of students. All these were placed on the dais, ready for
distribution. Meanwhile, another team of students who had rushed
to Poornachandra Auditorium just before Bhagawan's arrival
returned with big carton boxes full of white safari cloth for
students.
All the cloth pieces were placed on the dais. A few minutes
later Swami came out and was wheeled onto the centre of the
dais. Swami immediately instructed the students to go ahead and
distribute the safaris to all the students. Both college and
school students were the lucky recipients of this Blessing from
Bhagawan. After a while the blue coloured boxes were also
distributed to the students. This contained a small calculator
that made some sort of music when started. This we came to know
since all boys started opening their boxes and switching on the
calculators!
All the while Swami sat and kept watching the distribution. Now
and then, He called the boys and gave them some guidelines for
distribution. By 4:35 PM, He was wheeled in again. After around
10 minutes, very surprisingly, we found Swami getting into the
car and driving away to PC. We all were eagerly waiting for His
Divine Message but here was Swami leaving us in suspense. After
some time, Swami again came out into the car and went somewhere
outside for a short while. Once again, He was back to PC. Then
at 5:15 PM, Bhagawan returned to the Sai Kulwant Hall.
He was wheeled onto the dais for a few minutes and then in
again. But after a few minutes we saw Him walking on the inner
VIP Portico adjacent to the Bhajan Hall, talking to a number of
devotees. He then went again towards the interview room and
finally at 5:25 PM, Swami came onto the dais walking. He stood
holding the railings for some time giving joy to one and all.
For a moment He raised His right Hand and gave Abhaya Hasta
Blessings to all. Immediately there was loud applause.
At 5:30 PM, Swami was seated on His Chair. Mr. A.V.S. Raju,
Founder-Chairman of Nagarjuna Construction Company Limited, was
also wheeled in and made to sit next to Swami. Swami spoke to
him and we knew that he was about to read his poems to us. The
Vedic hymn Mantra Pushpam was being chanted and to our joy,
Swami also started chanting along with the students.
Around 5:45 PM, Swami gave some instructions to brother Nitin. A
few minutes later the famous playback singer P. Susheela came
onto the scene. Swami spoke to the Music boys giving them some
instructions. We thought that it was going to be some musical
programme by her. But who can understand Swami's ways? Swami
asked the boys to start with a Ganesha Bhajan followed by some
other Bhajan. Then, Swami asked Smt. P. Susheela to sing two
Bhajans. She sang Esawramba Priya Tanaya Sai Narayana and Manasa
Bhajare Guru Charanam. After these two Bhajans the boys
continued the Bhajans. But Swami had other plans.
At 6:10 PM, suddenly, Swami asked them to stop singing Bhajans.
He instructed Mr. A.V.S. Raju to share some of his poems with
the audience. This went on till 6:35 PM when he was asked to
conclude. Subsequently, we were almost sure that Swami would ask
us to continue singing Bhajans but instead Swami asked for the
Discourse mikes to be arranged. Bhagawan stood up and to the
delight of all, commenced His Sivaratri Divine Message at 6:30
PM.
The whole Universe is in Him. Can you
build a temple for Him? When He resides in all beings, what name
can you give Him? When all the oceans find refuge in Him, can
you give Him a bath? He is not merely Iswara; He is the Iswara
of the whole Universe. Prapancha is a combination of the five
elements. 'Pra' means expression or manifestation or blossoming.
'Pancha' stands for the five elements.
There are the five elements - earth, water, fire, air and ether.
There are also the five senses - Shabda (sound), Sparsha
(touch), Rupa (sight), Rasa (taste) and Gandha (smell). The five
life breaths are Prana, Apana, Vyana, Udana and Samana. The Lord
is the basis for the expression of all these. Is any among these
permanent? No, only Brahma Tatva is eternal. What is Brahma -
that which represents these five.
Man worships a specific form. This is not permanent. We worship
with narrow feelings and forget the Cosmic Principle. The
Universe is the form of God. Anda, Pinda and Brahmanda. Anda
consists of the material world, Pinda consists of the fulfilment
of one's birth and both these occur in Brahmanda.
Love is the foundation of the Universe. There can exist neither
Nature nor world without Love. The world is sustained by the
Love that is distributed in the five elements. Forgetting Love,
following any mode of worship is in vain. The five elements
express their power through the human life.
Prana (life) - why is it given? Human birth is the rarest of
all. Man is Divine but running after Kama (desire). God created
all - wife, children and friends. It is the duty of man to
respect each one accordingly. The wife should be considered as
Divine. Children also represent Divinity. Enemies are also
Brahmaswarupa. Even those who fought with God were finally given
mergence in the almighty.
There is no place where there is no God. All eyes and ears are
His. Nobody recognizes this Truth. People wonder how God can
hear - where are His ears? We must understand that sound itself
is God, light itself is God. Therefore, there is nothing that
God does not know. God's creation is highly sacred.
Human delusion is on account of attachment to one's body. Manava
- 'Ma' stands for Maya, 'Na' stands for no or not and 'Va'
stands for living or conducting oneself. Therefore, we must
conduct ourselves such that we do not allow Maya to overpower
us.
Good and bad are all in your thoughts. Correct your thoughts. If
there is any element of hatred, feel ashamed of it. If you are
attracted by anybody, it is because of attachment. Understand
that it is God who attracts. All forms are His. You have none
but one true enemy and that is your own mind.
You are the origin of everything. You are all Embodiments of
Love. None of you is separate. There is no second at all.
Nothing like a 6th element. Your Love represents the Divine
Form. Brahma is not away from you. To think that He is away is
Brama. Action (Karma) is also Divine. Never accuse or criticize
God. All is God.
It was 7.10 p.m. and Swami sat down on the sofa and continued.
All is Sivam, all is Vishnu, all is
Divine. This is the Sivaratri message for all. From a tiny
granule to a gigantic tree, Divinity resides in all. There is no
need to search for God. You are verily God. You are verily
Vishnu and Shiva. It is only your feelings that create a
difference. Sometimes you get angry. The same anger gets
transformed into love later. Yesterday's anger becomes today's
love. They are not different.
1 + 1 = 2, 2 + 2 = 4, 4 + 4 = 8 but 5 + 5 is not equal to 10. 5
+ 5 = 1 only. The rest are all zeroes.
Ekam Sat Viprah Bahuda Vadanti. There is no second at all. This
unity is God. Know this Truth. Jeeva and Deva are not different.
Your shadow is not different from you. Bliss is your own
reflection. Only when we understand this oneness, can we
experience Divinity.
1&0 = 10, add a 0 = 100, add another 0 = 1000, add another 0 =
10000, add yet one more 0 = 100000
If you remove the One, nothing is left. Just zeroes. So too in
life, we say:
My wife, my child, my land, my house...
'My' is like 1 and all the rest are like zeroes. Nothing remains
at the end. The whole world is a zero that comes out from God
who is the Hero.
Doubts and imaginations rob us of our Bliss. Never entertain any
doubts. It is like poison. You get doubts about your wife,
children..... all this is useless. Why don't you doubt yourself?
Then you will feel so ashamed. Even if doubts come, brush them
aside. You can develop strong faith only when you remove all
doubts. Doubts can be dangerous and can sometimes prove fatal.
A car can ride well only if all the four tyres are in good
condition. Even if one tyre gets punctured you can meet with an
accident. In our life, Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha are the
four tyres. None of them should get punctured. Students, body is
the chariot. Mind is the steering. You must control the
steering. Until the mind is annihilated, you need to control it
very well. This will lead you to Moksha and your life will be
fulfilled.
When you ride a bicycle, balance is very important. So too in
life, balance is very important. Being born as a human being, if
you slip into the existence of an animal, it would be so
embarrassing. This is the teaching of Shiva. You are a human
being. You are not an insect, not a bird or an animal. You can
never deny the Atma. Do not claim everything as yours. Ma in
Manava stands for mine. Get rid of this Ma Ma Ma - mine, mine,
mine.
Your goal is to attain Divinity. For this you need Sanmati (good
mind). Unity leads to purity, purity leads to Divinity. All must
have this unity. We all are humans; brothers and sisters.
Students of Satya Sai College must always be united. Only if you
are united, you deserve to be called Sai Devotees, else there
will be no purity of Sai in you.
Love God and it will transform your hate towards others also
into love. Therefore, develop Love.
It was 7:30 PM. Bhagawan concluded His Divine Sivaratri
Message with the Bhajan, Prema Mudita Mana Se Kaho.... After the
Bhajan, He once again continued...
The name of Rama has been helping humanity
since ages. This is the power of Rama Nama. Everybody chants the
name of Rama. Be it in a village or a city, valley or the
mountain top. People of all religions should begin with chanting
the name of Rama. Rama means that which attracts - Ra Ra -
come,come...
Then Swami narrated the story of King Krishna Devaraya and his
minister Tenali Ramakrishna. Once Tenali Ramakrishna constructed
a sentence containing five words which meant the same but in
different languages. It was 'Ye Aao Ra Ba Va?' Actually it was a
question asked of Ramakrishna, 'Which cow is it,
brother-in-law?' in Telugu. But when split up it could also mean
'Ye' -come- in Marathi, 'Aao' -come- in Hindi, 'Ra' -come- in
Telugu, 'Ba' -come- in Kannada, 'Va' -come- in Tamil. The lesson
from the story was that words should be used very carefully.
Understand small things and then you will
be able to understand the bigger things too. All students should
develop good qualities, and live an ideal life. Then, Swami will
be very happy. Those who make Me happy, I will make them very
happy. Get a good name wherever you go. Conduct yourself as
befits a Sai student. This is the message of Sivaratri.
When all of you enjoy supreme Bliss, it is Sivaratri for Me. My
Blessings to all of you?. Sing the glory of God all night. Do
Naama Smarana whole heartedly. Then you will attain Divinity. Am
I giving you trouble? (Boys immediately replied - No
Swami.)
It was 7:50 PM and Bhajans began. Just two lines were over and
Swami again stopped them. He said:
Do not sing the word 'Digambara' in the
Bhajans. Laymen understand this word to mean 'naked'. But the
true meaning is that God has His attire as the eight directions
'Diks'. Thus He is called Digambara. But avoid this while
singing.
Bhajans continued. At 8:00 PM, Bhagawan retired for the
day. It was such a hectic day for Swami. Morning to evening, He
kept giving and giving tirelessly! The mikes for Bhajans were on
till 9:30 PM. Later an announcement was made as per instructions
of Bhagawan by Prof. Anil Kumar. He announced that Aarti would
be at 7:00 AM tomorrow and Prasadam (Puliyora and Sakarpongal)
would be distributed thereafter.
Watermelons and speeches....
February 25th, 2006
This evening, Swami came out for Darshan at 3:45 PM. After the
usual round, Swami came walking onto the dais. As soon as He
reached the centre of the dais, He signalled to the students at
the rear end to move. We were not clear what Swami wanted, but
soon Mr. Chakravarthi received instructions from Swami and he
came and passed on the same to the boys. The entire group of
boys seated at the rear end got up and marched towards
Poornachandra Auditorium. We were wondering what the task could
be.
A few minutes later, all the boys returned in a line, marching
in with huge watermelons in their hands. Swami asked them to
distribute to all the students and staff - each one receiving a
huge water melon! This went on for quite some time with boys
marching back and forth between the Poornachandra and Sai Ramesh
Hall. Subsequently, Swami asked the Lady Sevadals to collect the
water melons and serve the devotees on the ladies side.
It was 4:20 PM when the entire drill was over. The next
programme was poem recital by Sri A.V.S. Raju Garu, the
Founder-Chairman of Nagarajuna Construction Company Private
Limited. We have heard him so often sharing his poems in the
Divine Presence on earlier occasions. His chair was wheeled in
and placed next to Swami's. Sitting there, he read out a number
of poems for several minutes.
At 4:45 PM, Sri Ajit Popat (devotee speaker from UK) was
summoned and he thrilled the audience with his electrifying
speech till 5:25 PM. This was followed by a few Bhajans and
finally Swami retired at 6:15 PM.
Source:
http://radiosai.org/pages/PB.htm
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