Report on Karnataka Sai Youth
Festival – Yuva Vandana: 27th & 28th May, 2006
The Youth Wing
of Sri Sathya Sai Seva Organisations, Karnataka conducted a
Youth Festival 'Yuva Vandana' in the Divine Presence on 27th
and 28th May at Brindavan.
The dawn of 27th
saw several young men dressed in colourful costumes lined up in
the Trayee Brindavan compound eagerly waiting to welcome their
Beloved Bhagawan. As the door opened and Bhagawan came out, a
group of youngsters who were dressed in the traditional attire
of Dhoti and Angavastram, ceremonially welcomed Bhagawan with a
'Poornakumbam' while chanting Vedic hymns. As the procession
slowly made its way to Sai Ramesh Krishan Hall to the tunes of a
band, Bhagawan appeared in the hall through the usual
entrance
on the stage.
Bhagawan then
inaugurated the Youth Festival by pressing a button upon which a
big lotus kept on one side of the stage opened up even as a neon
sign reading "Yuva Vandana" flashed, and simultaneously all the
portraits of Bhagawan were lit up by spotlights. This grand
spectacle along with the beautiful floral decorations in the
hall took everyone's breath away, and the hall resounded with
thunderous applause. Following this, there was Bhajans during
which Bhagawan descended from the stage and went around the hall
blessing the youth seated there. With the
blessings of Bhagawan, on this occasion, the youth distributed
1000 school kits to children from villages where they have been
conducting regular Seva programmes. The morning session
concluded with a cultural programme consisting of dance
performance by children and a Carnatic vocal recital.
Bhagawan
arrived in Sai Ramesh Krishan Hall at 3.30 pm. After a few
Bhajans, as per Bhagawan's command, Sri Nagesh G. Dhakappa, the
State President of Sri Sathya Sai Seva Organisations, Karnataka
spoke a few words of introduction welcoming the Youth
participants. He also expressed his gratitude to Bhagawan and
sought His guidance and grace for everyone to lead ideal lives.
Following Sri
Dhakappa's speech, Kum. Shiva Leela a youth member from Dharwad
spoke eloquently in Kannada. She narrated a few of her personal
experiences of how she got transformed after coming into
Bhagawan's fold and how she realized the power of prayer. On one
occasion, when she and two more volunteers decided to go to a
village to undertake Seva activities, they wondered how they
would accomplish the uphill task that lay ahead of them. But by
Swami's grace, as they went about doing Seva, they were joined
by many villagers and the whole programme was completed
successfully. She exhorted everyone to live their lives as per
the Divine command and enjoy the sweetness of Divine Love. The
next speaker for the afternoon was Sri Vinay Hariharan, the
Youth Wing Coordinator of Sri Sathya Sai Seva Organisations,
Karnataka. Sri Hariharan briefly touched upon the various Seva
activities being undertaken by the Youth Wing, and how Bhagawan
has been continuously showering His blessings on them. Once
while they were taking out Rathotsavam (chariot procession) in a
village near Mandya, Amritham (nectar) was oozing out of
Bhagawan's feet from the photograph, thus demonstrating His
Omnipotence and His love for His devotees.
After Sri
Hariharan's speech, Bhagawan graciously rose up to deliver His
Divine Discourse. Bhagawan spoke about the four manifestations
of Shakti or power namely Vyashti (individual), Samashti
(society), Shrushti (creation) and Parameshti or Brahman (God).
He said that each of these has evolved from the succeeding
entity and ultimately Brahman is the origin of everything. Since
the individual has taken birth in the society, he is obligated
to serve the society. Swami then told that youth alone can
transform the world for they are bestowed with divine powers. If
they realize this truth and canalize it in the right way, they
would immensely benefit from it. Bhagawan then dwelt on the
greatness of Bharath and its cultural heritage and exhorted
everyone to follow his or her own culture instead of trying to
imitate other cultures. Bhagawan then concluded with the Bhajan
"Prema muditha manse kaho…" and remarked that the words 'Rama'
(divinity) and 'Prema' (love) are one and the same.
After
the discourse, Bhagawan accepted Arati and returned to Trayee.
At 5.40 pm, Bhagawan came to Sai Krishan Kalyana Mantapam to
watch 'Ekalavya' – a Kannada drama staged by the Youth Wing
members. The play written by the famous playwright Sri
T.P.Kailasam was adapted from the epic Mahabharata with subtle
changes to add to its poignant sanctity. The actors were all
alumni of Sri Sathya Sai Loka Seva Junior College, Alike and
presently, students of Mysore Medical College. The play
beautifully depicted the supreme virtues of 'Guru Bhakti'
(devotion to one's preceptor), dedication and sacrifice
personified as Ekalavya. At the end of the play, Bhagawan
materialized a ring for the youth who acted as Ekalavya, blessed
all the participants with watches and posed for photographs with
them.
On 28th
morning, Bhagawan came to Sai Ramesh Krishan Hall at 7.50 am and
listened to Bhajans. Afterwards, He blessed the Narayana Seva
(distribution of food and clothes to poor people) conducted on
the occasion of the anniversary of Sai Geetanjali, Bhagawan's
Mandir at J.P.Nagar, Bangalore. In the evening, there was a 'Talavadya
Kacheri' where the participants exhibited their mastery over the
percussion instruments such as Tabla, Mridangam, Ghatam,
Kanjeera and Morsing. Next there was a fusion music programme
which started with the Bhajan "Manasa bhajare guru charanam"
played on Sitar and accompanied by Tabla and Drums. For the next
twenty minutes, the
performers kept the audience enthralled with a lilting mix of
melody and rhythm, after which all the youth participants sang
the theme song "Yuva Vandana".
After the
programme, Bhagawan materialized a Navaratnamala (garland of
nine precious gems) for the State Youth Coordinator Sri Vinay
Hariharan and complimented him for his exemplary dedication and
effort in organizing the Youth Festival. Bhagawan was immensely
pleased with the whole programme and spoke a few words of
appreciation and encouragement to all the youth members in
Kannada, and blessed them. Indeed, 'Yuva Vandana' was a festival
of love and joy where the youth collectively expressed their
love and dedication to Bhagawan, and Bhagawan in turn showered
his bountiful love on each and every one of them and immersed
them in ineffable joy and bliss.
Source:
http://srisathyasai.org.in/Pages/Events/sai_vadana_06_report.htm
Images from
Karnataka sai Youth Festival
Source:
http://sssbpt.org/images/Karnataka_sai_youth_festival/index.htm
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