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Report on Dasara Celebrations
October 17th - 23rd 2004
The word 'Mother'
immediately conjures up images of love and warmth in every
person's heart. If this be the love of a human mother that we
have experienced, then how much more love, care and compassion
would a Divine Mother shower on her children. To experience this
very love, thousands of devotees gathered at Prasanthi Nilayam,
the abode of our Divine Mother Sai, to celebrate the festival of
'Dasara' or 'Devi Navaratri' and offer their obeisance.
Grama Seva: The convoy of trucks
and students leave for the villages
Over the past many
years the festival of Dasara in Prasanthi Nilayam, has been
closely associated with the 'Veda Purusha Sapthaha Jnana Yagna',
the week-long sacrificial ritual conducted in the Divine
Presence, for the welfare of the whole world. But in addition to
this Yagna, another Yagna was also undertaken, that of the
'Grama Seva' (Village Service), where the students of Bhagawan's
School and University visit
villages around Puttaparthi and distribute Bhagawan's Prasadam
consisting of food and clothes, as a symbol of Bhagawan's love
and blessings to the people.
Grama Seva: The villagers
receiving prasadam and clothes from the students
On the morning of
17th October, thousands of devotees and students assembled in
the Sai Kulwant Hall to have Bhagawan's Darshan. Bhagawan
arrived at 7.20 a.m. amidst vedam chanting and the auspicious
tunes of the 'Nadaswaram'. Later, eighteen pundits (Vedic
scholars) followed by the students of Bhagawan clad in saffron
silk dhotis and white angavastrams (traditional Indian attire
consisting of a cloth wrapped around the shoulders) marched in
procession to the Poornachandra Auditorium, the venue of the
Yagnam. At 9.00 a.m., the Yagnam commenced with the ceremonial
churning and rubbing of wooden blocks to produce fire in the
most natural way. Thereafter, the sacred fire thus produced, was
placed in the 'Yagna Kunda' (sacrificial altar into which
oblations are offered).
The Veda Purusha Sapthaha Jnana
Yagna in progress
The most important
component of the Yagnam is the Rudra yagam where the oblations
are made in the Yagna Kunda to Lord Shiva while chanting hymns
from the 'Sri Rudram'. In addition to this, other rituals like –
Surya Namaskar, Sahasralinga Archana, Srimad Bhagavatha
Parayana, Ramayana Parayana and the Devi Mahatmyam are
simultaneously performed. Amidst these rituals, a few pundits
continuously chant various hymns from the Vedas, joined by
Bhagawan's students.
The evening programmes were held in Sai Kulwant Hall, under the
auspices of the Prasanthi Vidwan Mahasabha, where many speakers,
primarily students and functionaries of Bhagawan's institutions,
addressed the august gathering on many topics like spirituality
and philosophy, Bhagawan's teachings and experiences of
devotees. Following these talks, heeding to the prayers of the
devotees, Bhagawan would bless everyone with His Divine
Discourse.
On the evening of 18th October, the Bal-Vikas children from
Hyderabad presented a drama entitled "Ashtaguna Pushpamulu", the
eight flowers representing eight virtues that are to be offered
to God as mentioned by Lord Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita.
Bhagawan has often stated in His discourses that the flowers
that are to be offered in worship to God are not those that grow
on plants, but the virtues like non-violence, control of senses,
love and compassion towards all beings, forbearance,
truthfulness, austerity, meditation on God, peace and
equanimity, that one must cultivate in one's heart. The children
expatiated on each of these virtues by depicting scenes from
mythological stories where the characters embodied these
virtues, practised them in their lives and thus attained
ever-lasting fame and honour.
Panel discussion on Upanishadic
Messages in the light of Bhagawans teachings
On 22nd evening,
there was a panel discussion where a six-woman panel comprising
of teachers and alumni of Bhagawan's educational institutions,
dilated on the sayings from the Vedas and the Upanishads and
correlated them with the teachings of Bhagawan. They said that
the Vedas were not only a source of spiritual wisdom, but also a
treasure-house of worldly knowledge pertaining to day-to-day
life of man, encompassing the entire gamut of subjects like
physical sciences, mathematics, astronomy, medicine, law,
political administration, art, linguistics, etc. They amply
corroborated their statements by quoting extensively from the
Vedas, Upanishads and Bhagawan's discourses. They concluded with
a note of gratitude to Bhagawan for leading us on the path
divine and for giving us the profound teachings of the Vedas and
the Upanishads in simple terms; for without Him, the vast
knowledge of the scriptures would have remained completely
beyond our ken of comprehension and assimilation. Following the
panel discussion, there was a Carnatic music recital by Mrs.
Anuradha Krishnamurthy. She began with a rendition of the famous
composition of Saint Thyagaraja – "Endaro Mahanubhavulu" in Sree
Ragam, and thereafter sang two more songs and concluded with the
Bhajan – "Koti Pranam Shata Koti Pranam."
Poornahuthi on the concluding day
of the Yagna
The Dasara
Celebrations came to an auspicious close on 23rd October. That
morning, the Poornahuthi or the concluding ritual of the Yagnam
took place at 8.10 a.m., when Bhagawan himself was seated in
front of the Yagna Kunda amidst the priests. After the seeking
the blessings of Bhagawan, the priests made the final offering
of clarified butter into the fire while chanting hymns from the
'Chamakam,' praying for the physical and spiritual welfare of
all the beings of the world.
In the evening, the Youth Wing of the Sri Sathya Sai Seva
Organizations, Andhra Pradesh presented a play entitled –
"Lakshala… Lakshyaala?" (Money … or Ideals?) that highlighted
the dilemmas faced by the youth of today. Ravi, who has just
graduated winning a gold medal, is troubled by the question
whether career, money, etc could grant him lasting happiness or
is there something higher in life. His teacher then guides him
that true happiness lies in serving one's fellowmen. The play
brought out some finer aspects of Seva – that it has to be
rendered selflessly and with a heart full of love. At the same
time, one must offer Seva only where it is required, and without
being attached to the results or the fruits thereof. At the end
of the programme, Bhagawan granted photographs to the
participants.
Jai Sai Ram!
Source:
http://www.srisathyasai.org.in/pages/dasara_04_report.htm
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