Christmas or Yuletide or Noel or Christ's Mass brings to mind images
of snow and snowmen, candles and candies, Santa Claus and his sprinting reindeer,
Christ and the Holy Cross. The night before, celebrated as Christmas eve, is that
holy night when Jesus the son of God was supposed to have taken birth. And in
Prashanti Nilayam, it is the holy night which is blessed by the father of Christ!
At about 4:15 pm, Swami arrived into the "decked with holly" Kulwant hall. A mention
must be made about the elaborate decorations. Kulwant hall didn't seem as a place in
South India. Huge cloth spreads with Virgin Mary and her babe boy hung from
different parts of the hall. Beautiful paintings adorned the mandir premises and
there were lovely blue lights draping the pillars along with decorative cloths. Tiny
bells, ornamental trinkets and other Xmas decorations made the whole atmosphere
festive and holy. How the entire decorations came about is a lovely story in itself
which we plan to carry soon hopefully. The large number of participants for the
choir sat neatly arranged in rows in their respective places. This choir has a
wonderful story of its own and you can read that at
http://sssbpt.org/Pages/Prasanthi_Nilayam/SingingforSai.html
Swami observed the beautifully decorated Christmas tree as soon as He came out.
Moving through the hundreds of Christian and Jewish ladies who had assembled for the
occasion Swami blessed all. A huge area in the centre of the Kulwant hall had been
occupied by the members of the choir. They bowed down to Swami and were flashing
smiles of glee and joy. Passing through them, Swami blessed all of them. He took a
complete darshan round as blessed the boys holding trays as He neared them. He
accepted two letters and a card from the students and those happened to be the only
"collectables" with Him in today's darshan rounds. Swami moved on to the stage and
then lit the three huge candles that had been specially placed there. That was
followed by a round of applause and then Swami asked for the choir to begin.
Christmas Eve in Prasanthi Nilayam is distinctive over the years with a unique choir
comprising representation of united nations singing His glory in His immediate
Divine Presence. The overseas choir has been a part of the Christmas celebrations
for over a decade now. This unique choir for this year had over 400 voices singing a
spirited collection of songs basing different cultures from around the world.
Swami gave His blessings and the graceful conductor waved her finger-baton in the
air tickling over 400 vocal chords resulting in three omkars kick starting yet
another wonderful Christmas Eve in the immediate Divine Presence! All men and women,
over 400 in number, clad in white, symbolizing purity sang their hearts out in
devotional ecstasy on the Christmas Eve witnessed by the Holy Father and a concourse
of devotees from around the world that filled the Sai Kulwant Hall to capacity. Some
of the numbers for the evening included Christmas is the holy time to celebrate the
birth, Almighty God…make me aware and And this is Christmas in Prasanthi. At His
Divine command, they continued…As sonorous notes from an array of musical
instruments rendered the air, with hundreds singing in chorus, the sun in the
western horizon slowly fading off giving way to a beautiful twilight, they sang…Then
sings My soul, My saviour God to Thee…How great Thou Art, How great Thou Art…It was
a befitting evening paying homage to the Master of masters while remembering His
chosen son, anticipating yet another Divine Advent…a glorious Christmas!!! It was
such a wonderful feeling listening to the overseas devotees and seeing Swami. All
sang in unison, united in their Love for Him. The joy and power of Unity which Swami
always stresses on could literally be felt especially with the carols since these
songs are chord based and all the counter strains add up to a great symphonic
effect. Separately sung they seem disconnected but when combined, they make an
everlasting impression - just what Unity does to diverse components - bringing
synergy.
There was something very subtle but interesting that happened as the choir was in
progress. Somewhere at the midway stage, Swami seemed a bit unhappy that no "Jesus"
carols were being sung. It may sound a bit in the face but we devotees of Swami
profess broad mindedness but become unwary victims to narrow mindedness. What are we
saying??!! Well just that, we are so enamored by our dear Lord that we feel that
singing His glory is sufficient and it is equivalent to singing the glories of all
deities. We forget what Swami says as, "Munde Munde Mathih Bhinna" (thoughts differ
from head to head). But Swami never allows that, for He has come to propagate all
pathways to the Divine. When it a Buddhist festival, He ensures that bhajans on
Bhagawan Buddha are sung and the same is the case on Islamic festivals where the
glories of Allah and The Prophet are sung. And so, Swami repeatedly called the
conductor of the orchestra and told her to sing "Jesus" carols. All who witnessed
this were in smiles as Swami seemed like a child insisting on the traditional
Christmas carols being sung. But a little introspection and we all realize the
wonderful unifying message that Swami is sending forth. There is no single pathway
to the Lord and Swami stands for all. Sing any name, about any form, the same Lord
receives it. And so when there is a gathering of various faiths, we must ensure that
our singing also reflects it.
Taken aback at this sudden insistent request from Swami, the conductor began to
guide the choir through the carols and songs that they had not practiced! O Holy
Night the stars are brightly shining and some of the more traditional carols were
then sung. As this was on, Swami blessed prasadam to be distributed to all. People
joyfully sang sweet songs as they received "sweet" gifts of the Lord. Towards the
end when The choir told Swami that they were done, Swami seemed to ask, "One more
please?" They were simply overjoyed and they burst out singing one more which
concluded with thunderous claps and a sweet smile from Swami. Swami then looked
towards the students and asked them to sing. It is so beautiful to see how Swami
involves the students in any celebration that happens in His presence. It is a great
fortune indeed to be His students. And as they began singing bhajans with Aalaap,
Swami sat enjoying it. After 3-4 bhajans, Aarthi was taken and Swami retired
granting Abhayahastha to all assembled.
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