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 |