PRASANTHI NEWS

2^nd and 3^rd February 2005

On the 3^rd evening, Swami came out for Darshan at 3.15 p.m. He went inside the interview room and came out for Bhajans at 5.00 p.m. Bhajans continued for twenty minutes after which Arati was offered to Bhagawan. Then He left for Poornachandra Auditorium. By then the devotees and students had started dispersing. Within a few minutes, there was a lot of activity near Swami’s residence. Suddenly Swami’s car emerged out of the Poornachandra Auditorium. Students, teachers and a few devotees who were fortunate to be there had a glimpse of Bhagawan. The car came out of the Gopuram gate and meandered its way through a beeline of devotees standing on either side of the road to the College premises. Swami’s car stopped near the Institute’s library. Swami spoke for some time with the Institute’s Vice Chancellor and returned to the Mandir. Again the students and teachers had a fulfilling Darshan as Bhagawan waved to them from the car.

This evening (03-02-05), Bhagawan came out for Darshan at 3.45 p.m. As soon as He came closer to the sofa, Bhagawan spoke to a professor and instructed him to pass on a message to somebody on the other side of the dais. Swami sat down on the sofa and after a few minutes asked the Vedam chanting to be stopped. Sri A.V.S. Raju, Chairman of the Nagarjuna Constructions Limited was asked by Bhagawan to render his poetic compositions to the large gathering. He has presented his poems in Telugu a number of times in the Divine Presence. He composes poems extensively, spontaneously and the list runs to thousands. For the next half an hour, Sri Raju engaged the audience to a mellifluous rendering of graceful poetry. Swami then called for the Bhajan students. They took their place in the front row and the Bhajans started at 4.30 p.m. At 5.00 p.m. Swami retired for the day after He was offered Arati.

4^th February 2005

These days Prasanthi Nilayam is witnessing a large influx of devotees. About 6,000 devotees had come from Vizianagaram district, Andhra Pradesh. They presented a variety of cultural programmes with emphasis on folk arts. On the 3rd night, they went round the thoroughfares of Puttaparthi displaying these art forms, singing in unison the glory of the Lord. The rich tradition of Bharat was vibrant in these people. The devotees also performed Sri Sathya Sai Vratam in one of the common halls of the Ashram. Bhagawan satisfied the yearnings of these devotees with Divine Darshan and also an opportunity to put up a dance drama in His presence.

In the morning, Swami came out for Darshan at 7.50 a.m. and went back to the Poornachandra Auditorium at 8.00 a.m. Everyone thought that Swami would possibly come back only for Bhajans. Suddenly, Swami came out at 8.30 a.m. and as the golf cart came half way through the Sai Kulwant Hall, it took a left turn and went outside the main gate. All were taken in by surprise! Who can ever gauge the ways of the Lord! Swami went in the golf cart along the road beside the South Indian canteen. Hundreds of devotees who stood in the queue had a wonderful glimpse of Bhagawan. Swami went round the Poornachandra Auditorium and again entered Sai Kulwant Hall to be in the Bhajan Hall right in time!

This evening again, Swami came out at sharp 3.45. The golf cart took a turn at the centre of the Sai Kulwant Hall towards the dais. As the golf cart reached the centre of the Hall, Swami looked at the four children standing with a flag in their hands in front of the backdrop of the dance drama. Another two children standing on either end of the backdrop carried a long banner with an ‘offering message’ written on it. Swami got down from the golf cart at the centre of the dais, climbed up the steps and sat down on the sofa. Instantly there was a loud applause from the huge gathering of devotees from Vizianagaram who had occupied every inch of space in the Hall. At 3.55 p.m. the Vedam chanting stopped. Two young girl dancers came forward and offered rose flowers to Bhagawan. Swami blessed the roses and gave them back.

As the girls were retracing their steps, Bhagawan lovingly, but immediately cautioned them about the steps as they were facing the Lord while going back. Then Bhagawan consented for the programme to be started. What followed was an interesting dance drama on the theme of unity of religions. The backdrop of water gurgling through rocks and pebbles in sylvan surroundings formed a beautiful stage setting to the dance drama. The storyline is as follows: A poor sculptor was passing through a jungle when he came across a beautiful black stone. He thought of sculpting an idol out of it. As he started to chisel, he heard the sound of Pranava from the stone. He was astonished to hear sound emanating from the stone. At that moment, a few Hindu priests happened to pass through that way. They asked him to carve a beautiful idol of Lord Krishna out of it. Then came, Muslims, Christians, Buddhists and Zoroastrians one after the other. When the representatives of the respective religions came, the sculptor could hear a sound indicative of their religions. All of them expressed their wish to make an idol of their chosen deities. He was baffled and could not decide on his next step. They coaxed and commanded the sculptor to submit to their demands. A scuffle broke out between them, one jostling the other in trying to put forth their demand. Each one was claiming the superiority of their religion.

After a few minutes of clashes, light dawned on them through little girls coming in with lighted candles and then followed a song describing the eternal truths of life as revealed by Bhagawan. All religions are one. Every religion teaches us noble things. If the mind is good, then which religion is bad?

“There is only one religion, the Religion of Love.

There is only one caste, the Caste of Humanity.

There is only one language, the Language of the Heart.

There is only one God, He is Omnipresent.”

The culmination of the dance drama came with the declaration that the essence of all religions is the Religion of Love. This was followed by a song, Manava Jati, Prema Matamu, Sai Daivamu … All the children assembled in an orderly group half way from the dais. Bhagawan raised both His hands and blessed them profusely! He then moved towards the interview room.

This was a commendable performance by the 74 Bal Vikas students from Vizianagaram district. It was also their first performance in the Divine presence. Then the Bhajan singers from the district led the Bhajans. Prasadam was distributed to all on this occasion. Meanwhile, the students continued the Bhajan singing from the Bhajan Hall. It was a long session which went on till 5.20 p.m., at the end of which Arati was offered to Bhagawan.

JAI SAI RAM