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Report on Ganesha Chaturthi
Celebrations
18th September, 2004
The festival of
Ganesha Chaturthi or Vinayaka Chaturthi is one of the most
popular festivals among Hindus. Lord Ganesha, the
elephant-headed God, is one of the most interesting and
important Gods in the Hindu pantheon who is worshipped as
the remover of obstacles and
difficulties, and one who bestows Buddhi (intellect) and Siddhi
(spiritual powers). Traditionally, any activity, be it worldly
or spiritual, begins with an invocation to Him.
18th Morning - Bhagawan granting
Darshan in Sai Kulwant Hall
On the morning of
18th September, Bhagawan arrived at the Sai Kulwant Hall at 7
a.m. amidst Vedic chants; all the devotees and students feasted
on the beautiful divine form and filled their hearts with joy.
Soon, Bhagawan was seated on the dais and the proceedings of the
day commenced. Bhagawan blessed four speakers to address the
gathering that morning. The first speaker was Sri Deepak Anand,
a research scholar in the Department of Business Management of
the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning, Prasanthi
Nilayam Campus. Sri Anand narrated a few of his personal
experiences that confirmed his faith in Bhagawan as the
'Sarvadevata Swaroopa' (embodiment of all names and forms of
Divinity). On one occasion, when he was praying fervently to
Lord Hanuman atop the hill in the Vidyagiri Stadium at Prasanthi
Nilayam, the question arose in his mind as to who was receiving
his prayers – Lord Hanuman or Bhagawan. Just then, Bhagawan
unexpectedly arrived at the stadium and drove up to Sri Anand
and blessed him, as if to acknowledge that it was He who was
receiving his prayers.
The second speaker, Sri Shashank Shah, a student of the M. Phil
programme in the Department of Business Management, narrated a
beautiful experience of Swami Amritananda, a disciple of Ramana
Maharishi. When he was seven years old, he had performed a
particular ritualistic worship of Lord Ganesha, the result of
which, the Shastras (Scriptures) declared, would be the vision
of Lord Ganesha in his golden-hued form. Many decades later,
when he came to Bhagawan, he was called in for an interview.
There, Bhagawan reminded him about the worship that he had
performed as a young boy and asked him whether he had obtained
the promised result. Swami Amritananda said that he was only a
child then and may not have been deserving of it. But Bhagawan
said that what the Shastras declare must come true and then
granted him the vision of the golden-hued Ganesha, and thus
demonstrated that He is verily Lord Ganesha.
18th Morning - A student
addressing the gathering in the Divine presence
The next speaker was Sri Bharath Kumar, a final year student of
the MBA programme of the Prasanthi Nilayam Campus of the
Institute. He began with the
Sanskrit quote – "Aakashad pathitham thoyam yatha gacchathi
sagaram. Sarva deva namaskaraha Keshavam prati gacchathi",
meaning, just as the rain water that falls from the skies
finally merges in the sea, the obeisance offered to all the
deities ultimately reach Lord Keshava. He recounted an
experience of his where the supplication to Lord Venkateshwara
of Tirupati was answered by Swami, and thus confirmed his belief
in the identity of Lord Venkateshwara and Lord Sayeeshwara. He
concluded his speech with an exhortation to all the devotees to
engage in the Sadhana (spiritual practice) of Namasmarana, the
chanting of God's name.
Sri S.V.Giri, the
Vice-Chancellor of the Institute, was the next speaker. He
mentioned that Bhagawan always holds Lord Ganesha and Lord
Hanuman as role models for all the students and elaborated on
the qualities that these divine personalities embodied that must
be imbibed by everyone. Ganesha, he said, stood for the balance
between knowledge and its application in practical life, as
symbolized by the huge form of Lord Ganesha riding a tiny mouse.
Lord Hanuman combined action and intelligence and was thus an
able instrument in the divine hands of Lord Rama. The
Vice-Chancellor concluded his talk with a prayerful request to
Bhagawan to bless everyone with His Divine Discourse.
Bhagawan commenced his discourse with a Sanskrit saying which
extols a virtuous son as one who brings repute not only to
himself, but also to everyone
in his lineage, just as the sun
and moon illumine the entire world by their light. Lord Ganesha,
He said, was such an ideal son.
18th Morning - Bhagawan delivering
His Divine Discourse
Though he had no
Guru or a leader above himself, he loved and obeyed his parents.
To illustrate this, Bhagawan narrated a story where Lord Shiva
and Parvati held a competition between their two sons, Ganesha
and Subramanya, to see who could circumambulate the entire world
fastest. While Subramanya set out on his vehicle – the peacock,
Ganesha circumambulated his parents saying that his parents were
his world, and hence was declared the winner. Bhagawan exhorted
everyone to love and respect their parents and obey their
commands. Even if they appear to be angry, one must realize that
they are verily the embodiments of love, and that they always
act in the best interests of their children. The same is true of
God and God-realized persons too, He said.
Bhagawan remarked that nowadays, unfortunately, people have
neglected the worship of Lord Ganesha. He told that everyone
must propitiate Lord Ganesha,
follow his example and thereby attain success. He concluded his
discourse with the Bhajan – "Prema muditha man se kaho…"
In the afternoon, the senior students of the Prasanthi Nilayam
Campus of the Institute presented a programme on the 'Navavidha Bhakthi' – the nine-fold path of devotion.
18th Evening - A scene from the
presentation made by the students
Bhagawan, in His
discourses, has often mentioned that the 'Navavidha Bhakthi'
consisting of Shravanam (listening), Keerthanam (singing),
Vishnu Smaranam (contemplation of Vishnu), Paada Sevanam
(service to the Lotus feet), Vandanam (salutation), Archanam (worship),
Daasyam (servitude), Sneham (friendship) and Atma Nivedanam
(self-surrender) is the royal road to salvation. The
presentation was a medley of songs, sthothrams (hymns) and skits
that lucidly illustrated the meaning, significance and practical
aspects of each of these nine steps and related it to the
worship of Ganesha.
18th Evening - Arati being offered
to Bhagawan
This festival is
usually celebrated over a period of a few days when idols of
Lord Ganesha are worshipped in every home and workplace all over
the country. At Prasanthi Nilayam too, the students and staff of
Bhagawan's institutions erected pandals (makeshift altars) where
Lord Ganesha's idols were installed and worshipped with great
ardour for three days. On the third day, 20th September, the
idols were taken out in a procession in grandly decorated
chariots to the Sai Kulwant Hall where Bhagawan blessed them
all. Thereafter, the idols were taken to a nearby pond and
immersed amidst cries of "Jai" and prayers to visit next year
too.
Jai Sai Ram!
Source:
http://www.srisathyasai.org.in/pages/ganesh_04_report.htm
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