|
November 23, 2010 – The Resplendent
and Riveting 85th Birthday of Bhagavan
There come times when one feels that a day
ought to be etched in gold in the pages of
history. Such times become a regular feature
when in the Presence of an Avatar. But even
then, some days stand out sheerly due to the
myriad ways in which divinity is celebrated
and cherished. The celebration of the 85th
Advent of the Sai Avatar was definitely one
such day!
The announcement on the previous evening
that Swami would arrive to the Hill View
Stadium in the Golden Chariot had thrilled
everyone and that alone was enough to give a
sleepless night to many. All one had to do
was to take a walk in the wee hours of the
morning, at 1 a.m., and the Love and
Devotion that Swami inspires would become
more than clear. A bus stand is commonly
defined as a place where buses halt! That
was not the case that day in Puttaparthi.
The complete road surface of the bus stand
was populated with people who had made it
their bed for the night. These were people
who had streamed in large numbers to witness
the Divine glory on the following morning.
The pavements, patios of the shops,
corridors of the buildings - any piece of
real estate – was filled with this surging
mass of humanity who had come to pay
obeisance to their Lord. The elaborate
temporary shelters had already been filled
and were bursting at the seams by then.
It had been announced that people would be
let into the stadium from 9 a.m. onwards as
Swami would be arriving only after 10. At 1
a.m., the serpentine lines had already
begun. Hearing of the announcement, people
had rushed out, grabbed some grub to satiate
their hunger and had prepared themselves for
a night long vigil in order to be the first
ones to get into the stadium.
The devotees were sleeping in the waiting
lines - the earth below as their cushion
with the sky above as their sheet! By 3
a.m., the March had begun. Streams of people
coursed in from all directions to the main
road leading to the stadium. The young and
the old, the prince and the pauper -
everyone without exception headed towards a
single goal. Motor traffic had been severely
restricted on the road and only those who
had pre-approved passes were allowed to ply.
Elaborate arrangements had been made in the
venue itself. The organizers were also well
aware that no announcement would ever hold
back the crowds from coming in early and so
they had made arrangements for tea, coffee
and snacks to be served at the venue for one
and all. Eager to be part of the Birthday in
some way or the other, volunteers moved
around with mini water tanks on their backs
slaking the thirst of the thousands that had
gathered. Some others occupied themselves
with distributing caps to everyone in view
of the hot sun that would soon rise over the
horizon - it too was eager to see the Lord
on this occasion and the sunrise was early!
A
medical tent had been set up in case of
emergencies. The barricading had been
thoughtfully done so as to prevent crowding
and yet at the same time in a manner that
would not obstruct the view when the
‘Golden’ moment came. Huge LED screens had
been put up in various parts of the stadium
to facilitate darshan. The
decorations were so wonderful and beautiful
that it is best seen to be understood.
People started filing in great numbers to
the hill view stadium. They came in all
kinds of ways - by foot, in motor vehicles,
in cycle rickshaws, on crutches, in
wheelchairs - you name it and it was there.
From all directions, people were headed
towards the ground. The name "Sairam"
continously emanated from the lips and
hearts of everyone. The stands were full and
people were just flowing in. One just had to
move through the crowds and the pulsating
energy and vibrating excitement could be
felt. There was an anticipative joy
everywhere and everyone was aware that they
were about to witness something that would
be passed down generations as a legend.
Generations to come would surely say, "My
(great) grandfather/grandmother/uncle/aunt
saw the Lord on the Golden Chariot!" Now the
wait for Swami began.
The stadium was full and the sun was out in
complete splendour. There was no cloud cover
and soon the sun was mercilessly beating
down upon the people gathered. And yet, not
a single soul stirred out of the stadium.
The clock ticked past 11 a.m. and still
there was no sign of Swami. But that hardly
mattered for the people. Nothing would even
swerve their determination in the least.
Some people fainted, unable to bear the
sheer exhaustion of the 7-8 hour wait. But
their first words on recovery were, “Take me
back to the stadium. I have to see my Lord.”
And thus it was that everyone waited for
Swami’s arrival, graciously accepting the
snacks and drinks that were being offered by
the seemingly tireless volunteers!
It was after 11 a.m. that Swami arrived to
the Primary School premises in the Porte car
and as He came out, everyone in the
proximity let out gasps of joy as the Lord
was dressed in resplendent golden yellow. A
mere sight of Him moistened the eyes nearby
and like a flash of lightning, news spread
in the stadium that the Lord was in a
beautiful cream coloured silken robe. The
traditional "control rod" of the chariot was
presented to Swami and He accepted and
blessed it. This meant that He had granted
His permission for the chariot to move.
A
beautiful wooden lift got its own line in
this glorious page of history as it conveyed
the Lord up the chariot. Once Swami was
seated, the gates were thrown open and the
chariot began to move. A wonderful song
struck up the melody and everyone watched
with gaping mouths as Swami came out into
the sun from the shade. The song was based
on Krishna’s promise about His advent! The
sight of Swami on the Suvarna Ratham
erupted goosebumps on the skin. It is not
even the slightest exaggeration to say that
even the sun seemed to pale in front of that
majesty.
People began to cry; there were tears
flowing generously everywhere. Everyone rose
up and stretched out their hands with palms
facing Swami in order to grasp some of that
splendorous glory. No one seemed to know how
to react. Mothers and fathers burst out in
tears. The children too were weeping. And at
the same time, all were beaming their best
smiles. Many old people strained their eyes
and exuded feelings that their lives had
been sanctified. A peaceful smile lit up
their faces.
Oh! What a sight it was, a sight for all
mankind. The crowd burst into raptures at so
marvelous a scene. There were two Suns out
there; one up in the heavens and another
upon the earth. Decked in pleasing cream,
Bhagawan had made His appearance upon a
Golden Chariot. Dazzling and soothing alike,
unmoved yet propelling, aloof but alluring,
a tender sunflower and a diamond studded in
gold, grand and godly the King arrived upon
a hill of gold. The devotees gaped
openhearted, drinking every moment, to slake
the thirst of their souls, to imprint in
their hearts a golden moment when the Lord
arrived gliding in gold. There were two Suns
that day, nay there were thousands; in the
glistening eyes of every devotee there was
embossed the flame of gold. Oh! What a sight
it was, a sight for the gods!
In the villages it is said that if one wants
to watch the sun one has to prepare a lot
for the eye cannot stand that glare. So one
is advised to mix cow dung in water and look
at the reflection of the sun in that
blackened water. That way, one can watch the
sun and also be safe. Looking at Swami, the
joy that would burst through one’s being
would make one just drop down in sheer
ecstasy. Like looking at the sun through its
reflection, it was enough to see the
reflection of that sheer joy in the faces of
the devotees. They were absolutely crazed
with joy.
As it was told by many later on, everyone
felt that Swami granted them a special
glance. The omnifelicity of our Lord has to
be added to the list of His attributes of
omnipresence, omnipotence and omniscience.
The people pulling the chariot tugged it so
very gently and slowly and won the blessings
of thousands who were blessed with that
beautiful darshan. How much ever is
written, the feelings, emotions and
spiritual ecstasy that coursed through all
cannot be captured. It was like being
transported into another surreal world
completely devoid of worries of any kind
with only sheer joy to be offered to all.
On November 17, 2008, Swami had made an
appearance in the stadium on the Golden
Chariot, dressed in gold. On that occasion
we wrote, “Personally, the writer feels that
he has not seen anything grander in his life
nor would he ever see it again, unless of
course Swami repeats History or His Story as
He refers to it!” History repeated itself
and that day the writer has no idea as to
which was grander! Sitting atop the chariot,
Swami too was moved and seemed to break down
for a moment. Love is such a magic. It moves
the one who gives as much as it moves the
one who receives. And that day in the Hill
View Stadium, one witnessed the torrential
transfer of Love.
There was Love in the air as it was in the
dust and the grass and the tarpaulins and in
everything that was in the stadium! The
devotees were simply stretching out towards
the chariot and Swami. They seemed to be
grabbing at the air. They were crazed with
love and devotion and they had completely
forgotten themselves! Nobody seemed to have
the least bit of body consciousness - and
they say that it takes years of austere
penance to learn how to rid oneself of body
consciousness!
In the jubilation of describing Swami on the
chariot, we completely forgot to mention of
the elaborate procession that led the
chariot - but that was the case with
everyone who witnessed the event!
Bhangra dancers reveling in the
festival atmosphere, the band playing lively
tunes and the huge contingent of Veda
chanting students constituted the impressive
procession up front. It was the most
beautiful 15 minutes as Swami proceeded to
the stage.
The sun was at its blazing best and the
devotees would have certainly been ravenous
and tired, but not for those 15 minutes when
the Divine refreshed them. Swami was
transported to the stage via a wooden lift.
There was a wonderful and heart rending
Birthday song sung on stage by Sri Shankar
Mahadevan and Sri Suresh Wadekar, it was a
beautiful piece composed by Sri Anup Jalota.
After the Song, the Sai Anthem was played.
Aaj Tumhara Janamdin Hai Parabrahma
Avatari… (Today is the Avatar’s
Birthday…) was the Birthday song sung by all
the artists. Sakala Jagat Ke Rakhwale
Sathya Sai… (Sathya Sai takes care of
the entire world…) was the next.
As this song was sung, a helicopter hovered
above showering rose petals on the audience.
It was indeed unique that the devotees
received a shower on the Lord’s birthday!
Then Sri Shankar Mahadevan sang the famous
song, Mahaprana Deepam Sivam Swami
saw the sweltering heat and immediately
wanted the morning programme to be over as
soon as possible. He pointed out towards the
devotees and said that the sun was blazing.
The songs were stopped and the programme
proceeded to the next stage.
As introduced by the All India President,
Sri. V. Srinivasan, there were speeches by
Sri. S. M. Krishna, the Union Minister for
External Affairs, Sri. E. L. Narasimhan, the
Governor of Andhra Pradesh, Sri Subramaniam,
the Mayor of Chennai and Sri. S.V.Giri,
Member of the Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust
and former Vice Chancellor of Sri Sathya Sai
Institute of Higher Learning.
Sri S.M. Krishna began his speech by saying
that thousands had gathered that day and
including them there were millions around
the world who were offering their
salutations to Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba
that day who has been making great
contributions in the field of spirituality,
social uplift and education for the last six
decades and more. “The thirst of the people
of Anantapur and Chennai had been quenched,
the health of millions restored, and the
spiritual longing of people around the world
fulfilled by Swami who has a huge contingent
of devotees in Latin America, Europe, Sri
Lanka, Bangladesh and all round the world.
Our lives have been enriched by sitting at
Your Lotus Feet,” said the erudite speaker.
Sri S.M. Krishna concluded His speech by
extending his heartfelt greetings on behalf
of Government of India.
Sri E.S.L. Narasimhan, Governor of Andhra
Pradesh was the next speaker who spoke in
Telugu. Referring to Bhagawan, Sri
Narasimhan said, “Twameva Matha, Twameva
Pitha (You are our mother, You are our
father). Today we are in great company. We
are in the company of Sathya, Dharma,
Santhi, Prema and Ahimsa. I consider it a
great privilege to be here.” The 7 crore
people of Andhra Pradesh require Your
blessings, he prayed to Bhagawan. Concluding
his speech, Sri Narasimhan said that for
ordinary people, we wish happy birthday, but
for Swami, it should be Pallandu
Pallandu Pallayirathandu, Pala Koti
Nurayiram (Very many years! Many
thousands of years! Many crores of hundreds
of thousands years!).
Dr. Subramaniam, the Mayor of Chennai was
the next speaker. Stating that it was his
privilege to be here, he said that even with
the Telugu Ganga Canal, no appreciable water
reached Chennai due to seepage losses. Swami
announced in the year 2002 that He would
provide water to the people of Chennai and
the canal was re-laid with great cost using
the latest technology. Now the water from
the Kandaleru canal reaches Chennai in four
days and so when Bhagawan visited Chennai,
Dr. M. Karunanidhi offered his profuse
gratitude. He continued saying that 2,000
teachers of Chennai Corporation schools were
trained in human values by Sri Sathya Sai
Seva Organisation of Tamil Nadu and Sai
volunteers also provide medical services.
109 villages were adopted by the
Organisation under the Sri Sathya Sai
Village Integrated Programme (SSSVIP) and
they have all transformed into model
villages. Dr. Subramaniam concluded his
speech by offering his sincere gratitude on
behalf of the people of Chennai and Tamil
Nadu.
Sri S.V. Giri, the former Vice Chancellor of
Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning
was the next speaker. Sri Giri said that we
were at the threshold of an education
revolution. There is lack of equity and
access in education as only 20% of the
populace has good access to education. He
said that true education was qualitative in
nature and learning was a joyous experience.
And so Swami was launching the Sri Sathya
Sai Vidya Vahini project through which the
experience of Sathya Sai Schools would be
shared with other schools.
It is a unique programme imbibing the best
practices of education and Sai teachings and
it would be initially implemented in around
90 Schools and later it would be an integral
part of every school in the country. The
software for this most unique programme was
developed by Tata Consultancy Services
(TCS). Then the software was formally
presented to Bhagawan by Mr. Ratan Tata and
Sri Chandrasekaran. Swami was so moved at
this that He patted Sri Ratan Tata on his
cheeks. The great humble man went on his
knees and smiled at Swami! Blessed indeed is
he for he has given such joy to the Lord. A
short video made specially for the occasion
was played and for the next four minutes
everyone watched it on the screens. Swami
then pressed a button which unveiled a
plaque of the Vidya Vahini project.
Then the most wonderful part of the
programme took place wherein people who have
been benefited by Swami's wonderful projects
came on stage to speak. The first speaker
was Sri P. Narasimha Reddy from Pothipadu
village of Anantapur District. He began his
speech by offering his humble salutations to
Bhagawan. Rayalaseema receives very less
rain. People had to walk long distances to
fetch water. It was because of the
compassion of Bhagawan that 731 villages in
Anantapur District received supply of pure
drinking water in 1995. To an ovation from
the audience, Sri Reddy said, after Bhagawan
gave us water, we have been receiving
copious rains. It is because of the Super
Specialty Hospital that people of this
district receive good medical treatment for
chronic diseases. Read more about this
miracle of love
here.
The next speaker was Sri Suryanarayana Reddy
from Kutrawada village of the East Godavari
district. “We had no proper drinking water
system, as a result of which, people were
consuming polluted water and that was the
cause of diseases. Swami spent crores of
rupees to lay pipelines and construct tanks.
We also receive medical care regularly from
Sri Sathya Sai Seva Organisation. They
construct schools, have built Bhajan centres
and hold medical camps,” he said. For the
project miracle, please go to Cover Story
THE COPIOUS STREAM OF PURE LOVE,
Part 01 and
part 02.
Lakshman Bhai from Rajkot, Gujarat was the
next one to address. He said that the
massive earthquake which shook Gujarat in
2001 brought down many buildings. The
members of Sri Sathya Sai Organisation were
to first to rush and help. Bhagawan sent
truckloads of relief material containing
food, medicines, clothes and articles of
daily need under the leadership of Sri
Chiranjeevi Rao. He thus expressed his
gratitude to Swami. For more details of this
project, please
go here.
Sri R.M.P. Rajendran Nadar from Keechan
Kuppam village was the next speaker. When
affected by the massive tsunami, under the
stewardship of Sri K. Chakravarthi, relief
materials were sent from Prasanthi Nilayam
by Swami. “The government relief material
could not reach us. When people were crying
for help, it was Sai’s white army that came
forward. They first helped to dispose the
putrefied bodies and then gave medical help
to the injured. Now we have got another
life,” he said. To read the heart rending
details of this seva miracle please
go here.
In 2008, the State of Orissa was affected by
flash floods. Many thousands were affected.
Then Bhagawan sent Sri A. Ramakrishna, Sri
Kondal Rao and Sri V. Srinivasan to estimate
the damage. 700 homes were constructed.
“First the Sevadals came and helped us with
temporary shelters and food. Then Bhagawan
gave us succour by constructing permanent
houses for us,” said Sri Ravindranath Sahu
from Orissa. This is an awe-inspiring
miracle of Swami’s never ending love and
grace.
Read more
Ijaz Ahmed, a taxi driver from Bengaluru
city spoke on the treatment he received from
Super Specialty Hospital at Whitefield,
Bengaluru. Another hospital in Bengaluru had
declared that he cannot survive longer than
3 days. In Bhagawan’s Super Specialty
Hospital an angiogram was done and an open
heart surgery performed on him. He was
completely cured. Swami visited the hospital
at that time and he made best use of the
chance to prostrate to the Lord at that
time. Sri Ijaz Ahmed said that the hospital
offers treatment completely free of cost
which does happen anywhere in India or maybe
the world too. Read about Swami’s
hospital miracles.
The last speaker was Sri Rangappa from
Nedumamidi village of Anantapur district.
Sri Rangappa used to smoke beedi, cigarette
and drink brandy. A doctor diagnosed that he
had gastric problem. It was then that the
mobile hospital under the leadership of Sri
Narasimhan came to his village, at his
doorstep. He took an X-ray and diagnosed it
as a heart problem. He was sent to the Super
Specialty Hospital at Prasanthigram where he
was completely cured without a trace. Read
more about this
‘moving’ miracle
marvel.
This part of the programme was so beautiful
and as each speaker moved to Swami, He
profusely blessed them and accepted a rose
from them. It was very touching. As a
student who was seated in the stands said
later on,
“One thing about all the speakers was that
all of them were people who were simple,
lived each day as it came to them. Having
Swami introduced into their lives and
getting a glimpse of His love, made them
feel redeemed. Their talk wasn't something
that had been proof read or re-run in front
of wise experienced speakers, but there was
such a genuine sincerity and grateful
feeling that rang through it all. Listening
to all that made me feel so special that we
have had so many years to bask in that Love,
and have seen, felt and been a part of that
wonderful saga and how much of a
responsibility we all have.”
Two other major Initiatives were announced
by Mr. V Srinivasan on behalf of the Sri
Sathya Sai Central Trust:
1. Sai Net where in all the Volunteers of
the Sri Sathya Sai Organisations would be
under one portal.
2. Sai Digital Archives wherein all works
with regards to Swami and the Sai Movement
would be recorded and kept for posterity.
On this auspicious day, Bhagawan launched
another project of distributing food free to
villages where the Sri Sathya Sai Mobile
Hospital was conducting the check up camps.
This was another sign of Swami’s compassion,
said Sri V.Srinivasan. All the VVIPs on
stage now moved to Swami and fell prostrate
at His feet. Swami said that the sun was
very scorching and it was already time.
Aarthi was done and everyone joined in
the singing. Swami left the stadium at 1:10
p.m.
|
Darshan Update & Photos
