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Report on Ashadi Ekadashi
Celebrations
- 29th June, 2004
‘Ashadi Ekadashi’
is one of the major festivals celebrated in the state of
Maharashtra in India in worship of Lord Vithoba or ‘Vitthala’ as
He is lovingly addressed by his devotees. The devotees from the
states of Maharashtra and Goa thronged Prasanthi Nilayam to
celebrate Ashadi Ekadashi at the lotus feet of their Lord Sai
Vitthala.
The Divine Padukas being brought
in the palanquin
Bhagawan arrived at the colourfully decorated mandir at 7.30
a.m. amidst Vedic chants. The morning programme commenced with a
welcome song, followed by the traditional ‘Dhindi’ procession
lead by a palanquin carrying the
Padukas (sandals) of Lord Sai and
with men donning saffron-coloured turbans dancing to the
mesmerizing rhythm of cymbals. The devotees placed a garland
strung of tulsi (basil) leaves, which is believed to be pleasing
to Lord Vitthala, at the Lotus feet of Bhagawan.
A scene from the play The Supreme
Verdict
The Bal-Vikas children and the
Youth of the city of Mumbai then presented a musical drama
entitled – ‘The Supreme Verdict.’ The presentation attempted to
provide an answer to a question that has been baffling the minds
of devotees of God for a long time: “Should one be content with
worshipping the physical form of the Lord or should one go
further and realize God’s omnipresence through the Form. The
first scene opens with a lawyer who builds his case in support
of both the modes of worship by drawing instances from the epic
Ramayana. He cites the example of Lakshmana who served his
brother Sri Rama in person and thereby followed ‘Sagunopasana’
or worship to the physical form of the Lord. On the other hand,
Bharata worshipped Sri Rama as ‘Atmarama’ or the soul that
permeates everything and every being, and thus demonstrated
‘Nirgunopasana’ or worship to the Formless God. He then pleads
on behalf of two devotees of the Lord - Swaroop and Sarvesh, who
follow the ‘Sagunopasana’ and ‘Nirgunopasana’ respectively, in
the Divine court where they are being tried for ‘cheating’ God.
Swaroop is charged with
neglecting God who is present in all living beings and
restricting himself only to the worship of the stone idol and
not surrendering his ego to the Lord, thereby digressing from
the example set by Lakshmana. Sarvesh, on the other hand, is
charged with the crime of showing disrespect to the physical
Form of God and also taking the credit for the acts of seva done
by him instead of surrendering them to God, which goes against
the rules of worship of God as practiced by Bharata. In the
Divine court with a panel of jury consisting of great saints and
devotees of God from various schools of philosophy and religion,
it is decided that only God can deliver ‘The Supreme Verdict’
for this case and they decide to approach Bhagawan Sri Sathya
Sai Baba, God-incarnate in the Kali Yuga. Then, they played a
discourse of Bhagawan where Bhagawan
declares that it is foolish to search for God when you are God
yourself; the end of Sadhana lies in realizing the supreme truth
– “I am I,” thus bringing the dispute to a conclusive end.
A scene from the musical- Hazrat
Khwaja Moinuddin Hassan Chisti
After the play,
Bhagawan posed with the group of participants for photographs
and distributed prasadam to each one of
them and brought joy to everyone. Thereafter, Bhagawan sat
listening to Bhajans as all the devotees assembled in the Sai
Kulwant Hall feasted on the Divine Name and Form of their Lord
to their heart’s content. After the arati, Bhagawan got on to
the golf cart and proceeded to Poornachandra.
The evening
programme started at 3.30 p.m. when Bhagawan came out for
darshan to the accompaniment of Vedic hymns, followed by
rendition of melodious devotional songs by the devotees from
Maharashtra and Goa. Then, the Bal-Vikas students presented a
play on the life of Hazrat Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti, the Sufi
saint of Ajmer, popularly referred to as Garib-Un Nawaz. Sufism,
as a movement, was inspired by the mystic
love of God and the need to realize the innate harmony between
all the faiths of the world. Among all the Sufi saints, Hazrat
Khwaja Moinuddin Hassan Chisti stands out as a Saviour of the
Suffering and Supporter of Peace. Born in 1143 A.D. Born in
Sanjaristan in East Persia,
he was initiated in to the
path of Divine Love by an unknown mystic very early in life and
later received formal
spiritual training under another mystic saint for more than 20
years. Afterwards while on a pilgrimage to Mecca, as per the
bidding of an angel, he migrates to Ajmer in India to spread the
Love of God in that war-ravaged region. Though initially he is
met with opposition from the locals, he wins them over with his
stupendous faith in God and his pure, selfless love. Khwaja
Saheb left for his heavenly abode in 1233 A.D., but the
heart-stirring story of his life and his teachings continue to
inspire many people from all faiths and walks of life
even today.
Bhagawan poses with the
participants of the evening programme
After the play, Bhagawan graciously granted photographs to all
the participants and the programme concluded at 5.00 p.m. with
arati to our dear Lord Sai Vitthala.
Jai Sai Ram!
Source:
http://www.srisathyasai.org.in/pages/Ashadi_04_report.htm
Ashadi
Ekadasi
Ashadi has come…with
the typical Maharashtra flavour…29th July 2004 was again a day
marked for devotees from Maharashtra….they sung, danced and made
everybody happy including their Vittala, Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai
Baba.
In fact this is the
day, when lakhs and lakhs of Varkaris from all parts of the
country, especially from the state of Maharashtra throng the
spiritual capital of the state, Pandarpur to have darshan and
blessings of their chosen deity Vittal Rakumai.
Bhagawan was
accorded a traditional welcome to the beautifully decorated Sai
Kulwant Hall at around 7:30 a.m. to the accompaniment of Vedic
chants by students of Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning,
Prasanthi Nilayam. There was riot of flowers in the dais set for
Bhagawan as it was beautifully bedecked with flowers of various
hues…and a statue of Lord Vittal adorned the dais. An invocation
song by the Maharashtra Choir and the subsequent arrival of
‘Varkaris’ dancing in ecstasy (symbolically signifying the ‘Dindi
Yatra’ that happens every year during this period in Maharashtra)
surcharged the atmosphere with divine vibrations. This was
reminiscent of those days when two of the greatest saints of
Maharashtra, Sant Jnaneshwar and Sant Tukkaram set out for
Pandarpur with their hearts resonating with …Jai Jai Ram Krishna
Hari and mind fully engrossed in spiritual ecstasy. This time
Varkaris from 22 districts of Maharashtra participated in this
Dindi Yatra from Dharmavaram to Prasanthi Nilayam.
It was a fine blend
of old and new, devotion and perspective of yore, and the so
called devotion and confusion of the present times that set the
stage for the morning presentation entitled “The Divine Verdict”.
The programme clearly depicted the modern man’s confused mindset
to choose the right path to attain Godhood. Whether one should
follow the Dwaita (worshipping the form) path?.... Is not Adwaita
(worshipping the formless) proclaimed by Adi Shankara the proper
path?....then what about Visishtadwaita…which defines your
relationship with God?...Yes…we are a confused lot…and the Bal
Vikas and Youth Wing from Maharashtra had something definite to
say about it. At the climax they invited the jury of experts to
the Divine Appellate Court. St. Francis of Assissi, Sant Kabir
Das, Saint Thyagaraja, Guru Nanak, Narsi Mehta, Sant Jnaneshwar
all of them gave their version and with them joined the preceptors
of three different paths, Madhwacharya, Adi Shankaracharya and
Ramanujacharya. …still no consensus on the contentious issue and
it was left to the Ultimate Divine…Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba.
…the curtain came to a close when Bhagawan’s Message was aired to
the august gathering.
‘The Supreme
Verdict’ commands us to look inward rather than concentrating on
mundane illusory world which is unreal. To understand the Atmic
Principle that the Supreme Divinity is present in every atom of
the universe, and true devotion to Bhagawan is to recognize this
Truth first in our own selves and then through Saguna Bhakti
(worship with form) moving on to Nirguna Bhakti (formless worship)
and thus establish eternal relationship with the only One.
Bhagawan blessed the
participants with a photograph session which was followed by
bhajans by Maharashtra devotees. Prasadam was distributed and
Mangala Aarathi was offered to Bhagawan in the end.
In the afternoon the
Bal Vikas and Youth Wing of Mumbai gave an illuminating
presentation on the life and teachings of the illustrious Sufi
Saint Hazrat Khawaja Moinuddin Chisti of Ajmer. As the Musical
Drama unfolded to its climax, it was his message of love, humanity
and brotherhood, which even won over his enemies, was lingering in
the mind of the audience.
The Musical Drama
came to a close at 5:00 p.m. with Magala Aarathi offered to
Bhagawan.
Source:
http://www.sssbpt.org/Pages/Trust/Updations02.htm
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