The festival of Christmas
celebrates the glorious advent of the Son of God, Jesus Christ,
on this earth about two millennia ago. Born in Bethlehem, He
rose from humble beginnings to become a World Teacher. His
message of Love and Compassion inspires millions of followers
all over the world today. The Christmas season is marked with
festivities and rejoicing at the wonderful gift that God
bestowed on mankind in the form of His beloved Son, the Lord
Jesus Christ. And now, that very Father who sent Christ has
incarnated amidst us as our Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. It is
our good fortune to behold and adore His beautiful form and
witness the grand sight of people professing different faiths
deriving the bliss of celebrating their religious festivities in
His Divine presence.
The Christmas Celebrations at
Prasanthi Nilayam commenced on the evening of 24th December,
Christmas Eve. Devotees from many overseas countries had
gathered to adore the Divine Father with their carols sung first
by a children’s choir and then by the adults. It was
heartwarming to see thousands of eyes riveted in reverence on
Bhagawan as He listened to their expressions of devotion and
yearning. At the end of the programme, Bhagawan blessed the
conductors of the two choirs and presented them with sarees.
In the early hours of 25th
December, the choir groups gathered in Sai Kulwant Hall and sang
carols for about an hour and a half. After Bhagawan granted
Darshan, the students of Sri Sathya Sai Primary School presented
a violin programme. The Institute Brass Band then followed with
a thrilling performance. Bhagawan then permitted the students of
Bhagawan’s Institute and School to commence their musical
presentation. The students sang carols and songs capturing the
spirit of Christmas. The songs were interspersed with a dialogue
between a child and his uncle that brought out the many
wonderful aspects of the Christmas celebration. The beautiful
songs with excellent musical accompaniment gladdened the hearts
of all present. As the students sang the popular carol, “Jingle
Bells”, students dressed as Santa Claus, came prancing into the
hall and approached Bhagawan for His blessings before
distributing their goodies to everyone. Bhagawan then answered
the yearnings of the thousands gathered in Sai Kulwant Hall as
He descended the dais and went amidst the hordes of devotees
blessing them on this sacred day.
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The afternoon programme featured
talks by two distinguished devotees of Bhagawan. They were
introduced by the Christmas Programme Coordinator, Mr. John
Behner of El Salvador. The first speaker was Mr. Arthur Hillcoat,
a long-standing devotee hailing from Australia. He began by
observing that if Jesus were to come to Prasanthi Nilayam today,
he would be really happy. Not because we are celebrating his
birthday in such a grand manner, but because thousands of people
from diverse nationalities, speaking different languages and
following different faiths have come together to adore the Lord
in a spirit of love and harmony. The greatest gift we can give
God is to live by at least one of his teachings, he said. Mr.
Hillcoat mentioned that we must live life as it comes,
cherishing the difficulties, sorrows and tears as much as we
cherish our joys and pleasures, for it is the difficult times
that lead us to enquire into our true nature. The Lord will then
enter our lives to lead us to our own reality, he said. He
concluded his talk by saying that having been blessed to come to
the divine fold, we should not fritter away this golden
opportunity but practice at least one teaching of Bhagawan and
thereby find fulfillment in our lives.
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The second speaker was Father
Charles Ogada, a Catholic priest from the state of Abia in
Nigeria. Father Charles said that the essence of Christmas was
to realise the Christ Consciousness, which is but our inner
self. The purpose of our lives is to realise our true nature. He
narrated the thrilling story of how he came to the Lotus Feet of
Bhagawan, or as he put it, how Bhagawan came to him. He had led
a routine life until the age of seventeen. He was to go on to
study medicine at a prestigious university in Nigeria. One day,
as he sat in seclusion in a forest near his house, he heard a
Divine Voice asking him what he wanted to do with his life.
Recognising the voice to be that of God, he replied, “Sweet
Father, I want to offer this life to you”. His life thus took an
unexpected turn as he decided to study to be ordained as a
Catholic priest. However, after nine years of religious studies,
he was frustrated as he still could not come face to face with
the God he was praying to. One day, one of his teachers
mentioned the name “Sai Baba” and this name he said “shook the
foundations of Heaven within me”. There is tremendous power in
that name, Father Ogada said. A few days later, Bhagawan
appeared in his dream and said, “I am the one you have been
seeking”. He came to Prasanthi Nilayam in 2001 and was
overwhelmed by the Love of Bhagawan, which, he said, was like
the love of millions of mothers. When he met Swami, he felt he
met Jesus, for had Christ not said “I and My Father are one”.
Father Ogada concluded his thrilling talk with a prayer to Swami
to make the entire world aware that the Father, who Jesus had
said had sent Him, is now with us.
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Acceding to the prayers of the
devotees, Bhagawan then granted His Divine Discourse. Bhagawan
observed that man is a bundle of paradoxes. He can be loving
sometimes and full of hate at other times; he is deceitful to
some people while being a trustworthy person to others. In
truth, however, the inner self of man is without blemish.
Depending on every individual’s tendencies, he responds to his
environment. But, these are merely superficial appearances, for
the Divine principle within is beyond all attributes, He said.
Bhagawan, while praising Father Ogada’s devotion, reminisced
about His trip to East Africa and the intense devotion of the
people there.
At the conclusion of Bhagawan’s discourse, Bhajans were sung and
after accepting Arati He retired to His residence.
Jai Sai Ram!
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