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Report on Makara Sankranthi
Celebrations 2006
Makara
Sankranthi is one of the most important festivals for Indians
and one that holds immense physical and spiritual significance.
It is also celebrated as Pongal in the southern state of Tamil
Nadu. It is a festival when farmers rejoice at the good harvest
and express their gratitude to the Sun, the Earth and the cattle
for their bountiful blessings. It marks the end of the dull and
dreary winter and the onset of colorful and joyous spring.
Sankranthi also
marks the northward movement of the sun called 'Uttarayana', and
its migration into the zodiac sign of Makara or Capricorn. The
sun represents illumination and hence this event is equally
awaited by spiritual personages, for, it symbolizes the
intellect being directed towards achieving higher pursuits and
the spiritual goal of mergence with the Divine. Bheeshmacharya,
the grandsire of the Pandavas and the Kauravas in the great epic
'Mahabharata', is said to have lain on a bed of arrows for days,
waiting for this holy day, to shed his mortal coils and attain
to the higher worlds.
At Prasanthi
Nilayam, this holy and joyous occasion also marks the
valedictory ceremony and prize distribution of the Annual Sports
and Cultural Meet of Bhagawan's educational institutions.
 On
the morn of 14th January, Bhagawan arrived in Sai
Kulwant Hall at 9.50 a.m. in a procession led by the captains
and vice-captains of the men's campuses, along with the brass
bands of the University campuses of Anantapur and Prasanthi
Nilayam. Soon after Bhagawan took His seat on the dais, the
Physical Instructors of all the campuses greeted Bhagawan with
bouquets. Bhagawan, then, lit the ceremonial lamp and commenced
the proceedings. The Vice-Chancellor of the University,
Sri.A.V.Gokak, spoke a few words of introduction about the
significance of the festival of Makara Sankranthi. He also
elaborated on the uniqueness of the Integral system of education
offered at Sri Sathya Sai educational institutions where equal
emphasis is placed on the holistic development of the body, mind
and the soul. And the Sports & Cultural Meet is an instance of
the application of this integral approach, where the student's
body and mind is strengthened, and he/she imbibes many valuable
and enduring lessons for life. After Sri.Gokak's talk, Bhagawan
rose up to deliver His Divine Discourse.
 In
His discourse, Bhagawan defined and delineated the meaning and
distinction between education and Educare. While education is
assimilation of facts and information from the outside, Educare
means to bring out the wisdom and virtues inherent in man's
heart and apply them in daily life. Each individual is endowed
with the three Gunas
(attributes) of Sathwa, Rajas and Tamas, and these represent the
Divine Trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshwara. Bhagawan also
mentioned that the students should not to be content with merely
winning prizes and securing degrees, for, what is most important
is cultivating the three essential qualities of Nischalatwam
(steadiness), Nirmalatwam (purity) and Nirmohatwam (detachment).
If one has these qualities, he verily becomes Divine, Bhagawan
said. Bhagawan exhorted everyone to think of God always. Though
there are many manifestations of Divinity, the inherent
principle - the Atma, in all of them, is one and the same, just
as gold is present in all ornaments and sugar is the common
ingredient of all sweet dishes. Bhagawan concluded His discourse
with the Bhajan – "Hari Bhajan Bina Sukh Shanti Nahi". Bhagawan,
then, gave away the trophies and cups to the various campuses.
The afternoon
session commenced at 4.15 p.m. with Bhagawan's Darshan. The
programme scheduled for the evening was a drama by the students
of the Brindavan campus of the Institute entitled, "Adi Kavi
Valmiki". Sage Valmiki is the composer of the sacred epic
'Ramayana' that narrates Divine story of Lord Sri Rama, an
incarnation of Lord Vishnu. While the story of Lord Rama is no
doubt enchanting and elevating, Sage Valmiki's life story is no
less inspiring,
 for,
it is the story of the transformation of a ruthless dacoit
Ratnakaara into Sage Valmiki by the power of the name of Lord
Rama. The drama started with the scene where Ratnakaara
encounters the Saptarishis (seven great sages) in a forest and
threatens them to surrender their wealth and belongings. They
pose a question to him: "You claim to be indulging in robbery
solely to feed your family. Will your family agree to share a
part of the sins that you commit thereby?" When Ratnakaara goes
home and enquires with his wife, she says that no one can share
another's sins and each one is responsible for his or her own
actions and their consequences. This truth strikes him like a
thunderbolt and a disillusioned Ratnakaara repents for all his
past misdeeds and decides to seek God. He is then imparted the
sacred name of Rama and is blessed by the Saptarishis to
meditate upon it. Ratnakaara undertakes severe penance and is
lost in meditation for thousands of years, so much so that an
anthill comes up around him. Then, the Saptarishis visit him and
beckon him to come out. As he emerges out of the anthill (called
'Valmika' in Sanskrit) grand and shining with divine effulgence
born out of chanting Rama's name, he is christened Valmiki.
Sage Valmiki,
then, is blessed with the visit of Sage Narada and Lord Brahma
who inspire him and bless him with the sacred task of recording
the story of Sri Rama – the Lord Incarnate who walked the earth
as an ideal human being to set an example for all humanity to
emulate. The drama depicted scenes from Ramayana on a stage in
the background, while Lava and Kusha are seen narrating the
story in the foreground through melodious songs in Telugu.
Sai Prema Dhara
On the evening
of 13th January, the students of the Sri Sathya Sai Primary
School presented a programme at Sai Kulwant Hall. It began with
a violin concert by the girl students. This was followed by a
presentation entitled 'Sai
 Prema
Dhara'. Using a projector-screen system, the programme dwelt on
the life and teachings of Bhagawan. The presentation commenced
with Lord Ganesha and Lord Subramanya offering their obeisance
to the Shiva-Shakti principle embodied as Bhagawan Sri Sathya
Sai Baba. The narrators of the programme were two students
dressed as Prof. Kasturi and Dr. Hislop, two devotees who were
fortunate to have enjoyed the proximity of Bhagawan and were
witnesses to many wonders and miracles of Bhagawan during their
lifetime. They recall various incidents that took place during
Bhagawan's childhood days, which demonstrate how,
while even as a young lad, He displayed mastery over the powers
of Nature, and His leadership qualities and sterling virtues
such as Love and Compassion for fellow beings. One of the
highlights of the drama was the depiction of the episode where
Bhagawan demonstrated His Divinity to His brother Sri Seshama
Raju Garu during their pilgrimage to the Virupaksha temple at
Hampi. The astonished entourage witnessed how young Sathya
appeared in the sanctum sanctorum of the temple even as he was
seen standing outside the compound of the temple, thus
convincing His brother that He was no ordinary lad, but the
Omnipotent and Omnipresent Lord Himself.
 The
grand service projects undertaken by Bhagawan were also
portrayed in a novel manner where Mother Saraswati, the Goddess
of learning, Lord Dhanvantari, the God of Healing, and Mother
Ganga descend to pay homage and express their gratitude to
Bhagawan for providing education, healthcare and life-giving
water to millions absolutely free of charge, and also restoring
these gifts of God to their pristine glory. The great saints,
Thyagaraja, Purandaradasa, Meerabai, Chaitanya Deva, Andal and
Namdev also follow, paying their obeisance to the Lord whom they
had all adored through their devotional compositions. At the end
of their presentation, the students collectively sang the song,
"Madhura Mohana Ghanashyama…", adoring the enchanting Lord
Krishna who has descended as our beloved Lord Sai to shower
Ananda (Bliss) on everyone.
Thus ended the
celebrations of the sacred festival of Makara Sankranthi in the
Divine Presence. Let us pray that this Uttarayana period brings
us all health, prosperity and happiness, and sees us march
forward with success on our spiritual journey.
Source:
http://srisathyasai.org.in/Pages/Events/sankranthi_06_rep.htm
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