Om Sairam dearest Sai family,
The Birthday of our beloved Lord was celebrated grandly at the Abode of our beloved Lord Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. Puttaparthi, the holy abode which witnessed the birth of the Lord of this
Kali age was blessed again to celebrate the 84th Birthday. Thousands thronged to this holy land and words are not enough to express the happiness among those people who were blessed to be born in the surroundings of this holy land..
It is a matter of pride happiness and contentment for all of us here and thousands come to Puttaparthi to wish the Lord of the Lords, the Lord who has neither a beginning nor an end..that Swami who is eternal and immortal it is only His immense grace and love for us that He allows us to celebrate 23November every year as His Birthday..
Puttaparthi and its surrounding were jam packed. .All the streets were full and there was hardly any place even to stand.. The gents line touched Hanuman temple and people were standing in the lines since 2am in the morning. Inside it was the same scene. Stringent security arrangements were made for the big day and the mandir was beautifully decorated.
Inside the Sai Kulwanth hall it was just beautiful. There was a big arch like thing on which 84th birthday celebrations was written.. It was
announced yesterday that the birthday programme would start at 9:30am. Every one were eagerly waiting for our beloved Lord on His (body's)
birthday. It was 9am and the Prasanthi Campus boys, primary school children with their bag pipers and Anantapur campus sisters with their full fledged band and vedam chanting boys were eagerly waiting for the Lord by His residence..
Around 10am the long wait was worth while when our beloved Lord gave His most divine darshan which also commemorates 84 years of the Advent. The Band from all the campuses came in first, later the vedam boys and then Swami clad in a beautiful white robe seated on a golden colour car chair blessed those lucky souls who could make it to the Sai Kulwanth Hall.. As soon as Swami entered the hall, two little girls, bit shy, offered rose to our Swami and Swami moved forward to bless all the ladies' seated there. Then it was turn of sisters from Anantapur, who were watching Swami with tears in eyes, Swami very sweetly smiled back at them and then the journey continued and now it was the turn of little sisters from the Primary school. They had some beautiful handworks made specially for Swami and Swami very keenly looked at them and gave the most beautiful smile in appreciation..
Swami now was right in the middle of the hall, He could take a right turn and go
directly to the dais, but our most compassionate Lord preferred to take a full round as He knew there were thousands who were waiting to see Him for hours.. Swami very slowly moved among His devotees blessing few, smiling at some and speaking to few more blessed ones..
Every one were in tears, tears of joy, seeing the most beautiful form of this world, seeing their beloved Lord from so close and that too on His
birthday, that Lord whom they always look upto in difficulties, that Lord whom they always thank when He takes care of their
problems, that Lord who very generously pardons all our mistakes and takes us in His arms.... Swami was looking so fresh and full of joy and bliss and thats what He asks us to be like..
Swami now moved to the verandah and then He preferred to take one more round and now moved on the exit path blessing more and more devotees on the ladies' side. Swami then came on the dais and blessed the
chief minister of Maharashtra Mr.Ashok Chavan who is here for the past 3 days and other dignitories.. The three bands then played some bhajans in sequence and Swami listened to them and after some time Swami signalled all of them to be seated..
Sri. Chakravarthi briefed Swami about today's programme and it was the most memorable day for Malladi brothers to sing in the divine presence for the second time on His birthday..
The programme started with the song Parama Shivudu puttina panduga .. and there were few more karnatic songs and one song that touched Swami's heart was when they described and praised Swami for being born in Puttaparthi.. The song first started telling about Valmiki and how that great soul was born from an ant hill, Lord Venkateswara who was drinking milk from the ant hill and Lord Subramanya is worshipped with milk by pouring the same in the ant hill and Lord Shiva's ornament Snake also lives in the ant hill (which is called Putta in telugu).. the next lines of the song Puttu leni Swami ki (that Swami who doesn't have birth) Putta meeda Prema poledu (still loves Putta (ant hill), anduna Sathya Sai Ayi PUTTA parthilo puttinadu..(that is why has born as Sathya Sai in PUTTA Parthi)..
Swami was so touched by these words and the way the brothers sang the song made everyone of us cry and it was very emotional and heatening to see Swami's feelings when those lines were sung.. The next song was about Mother and the brothers started with the Jijiya bai Shivaji's(a great emperor of Maharashtra ) mother who was instrumental
in molding her son into a able emperor, Putli Bai who moulded her son Mahatma Gandhi who later became father of the nation, Mother Kausalya, who taught Rama how to lead an ideal life and at the end the lines were on chosen mother Eswaramma.. The lines said (a rough translation as telugu is such a sweet language that it is hard to translate AS IT IS in English and that is why we many a times see Prof.Anil Kumar being corrected by Swami while translating), Mother Eswaramma if she hadn't taken her little Sathya in her arms and not taught the right conduct, would we witness our Lord Sathya Sai today as the Avatar of this Age.. When ever the topic on mother comes, Swami is deeply touched.
The love He has for HIs mother and His beloved Students is
matchless and Swami again gave a very emotional look at the Malladi brothers when those lines were
sung. The Malladi brothers repeated those same sentimental lines which added more emotions in Sai Kulwanth hall and every one closely watching Swami just broke down.. after all Mother is Mother even to the Avatar.. That is why in yesterday's discourse Swami asked every one of us not to forget our mother, you can shed a tear for your mother but she should never shed a tear under any circumstances..
It was close to 12pm by then and Swami called upon the brothers and asked to stop now and continue the session later in the afternoon as it was getting delayed.. Swami blessed them with padanamaskar and also gave prasad to every one in the group personally..
Swami later called upon Prof. Anil Kumar to announce that there would be a musical presentation by Malladi brothers again in the evening at 5pm and another musical presentation by Sister Dana Gillispie who is very well known for her melodious voice and I remember her singing on Swami's 80th birthday and recently a few months ago..
Arathi was given to Swami at 12pm and Meenakshamma wife of late Sri.Janakiramayya, physical brother of Swami gave mangala arathi to Swami on behalf of Ratnakara Family, and next it was Muni madam from the primary school to take NAJAR to Swami as Students chanted
Vedas..
Swami before retiring to His abode posed for photo graphs with the 200 odd band students.
Thus ended a beautiful morning, Birthday morning yet another beautiful day in my Prasanthi Dairy...
Posted at 20:02:00:12:12 Hrs. IST on 23 Nov 2009
Source: sssbpt.org - web-layout & design saibabaofindia.com
The "Divine Almanac" had a red-letter day that is perpetually tallying with a dotted day in the
English almanac. 23rd Nov earned the rare distinction, winning a “date” with Divinity, when God
Himself decided to come down to earth in human frame on this very auspicious day of the eleventh
month of English almanac, November.
Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba’s Birthday celebrations is always a Special Occasion in Prasanthi
Nilayam. It is also elaborately celebrated in other parts of India and all over the world with
religious fervour. At Prasanthi Nilayam, the entire week is dotted with celebrations with one
grander than the other, and to top it all comes the D-Day, Bhagawan’s Birthday on 23rd November.
We will begin our reporting with the happenings outside the portals of Prasanthi Nilayam. The local
administration has ensured the cleanliness of Puttaparthi and its environs. The police force has
taken good care of the security aspect with continuous rounds on jeeps and on foot through the lanes
and by lanes of Puttaparthi.
On this morning, one could see long serpentine queues leading to the Ashram security gates. The
Ashram officials did their best to accommodate the ever-surging concourse of devotees both inside
and outside the hall. Cameramen and lensmen of news channels and newspapers were busy going about
their work trying to catch the pulse of this grand event.
Now, coming to the setting inside the Sai Kulwant Hall. The hall was filled to its seams both on the
gents and ladies side. Elaborate, but simple and elegant decorations were made inside the hall with
Chinese lanterns, cloth hangings and festoons while fresh flowers of various hues adorned the stage.
Welcome arches made beautifully with flowers with the wordings “84th Birthday of Bhagawan Sri Sathya
Sai Baba” were put up in front of the gates leading to the hall, i.e., the gate leading to
Bhagawan’s residence and on the Dasavataram gate.
A separate makeshift elevated gallery for the pressmen was arranged in the hall at a vantage point.
Video cameramen of the Prashanti Digital Studio and still digital cameras of the publications
division covered the proceedings of the function. Television sets were placed at different points in
the hall and 2 large screens were installed to beam live the proceedings of the function. A
Nadaswaram troupe played Carnatic music tunes while the Veda chanting group of students and teachers
chanted the Vedas from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m.
…With Sai Kulwant Hall filling and fulfilling, the adjacent Poornachandra Auditorium was made a
secondary darshan venue which again was filled to capacity.
Bhagawan upon coming out of His Divine Abode, made it straight into the Poornachandra Auditorium
grating His first darshan of the birthday morning to the concourse over there.
Thereafter, Bhagawan arrived in the hall at 10.10 a.m. in an immaculate white dress. Long
contingents of Band playing students from the Anantapur Campus, Primary School girls’ and boys’
section, the university brass band, Veda chanting groups of students from the primary school boys’
section and the university and Higher Secondary School preceded Bhagawan to the hall.
As Bhagawan neared the primary school boys’ side, the tiny-tots showed the beautiful things that
they had made as an expression of their love for Bhagawan. Upon completing His full round Bhagawan
yet again went towards the ladies’ side and came back the same way quenching the thirst of the
devotees on that side. It looked as if Bhagawan was gliding slowly amongst the devotees. Such is the
inexpressible love of Bhagawan for devotees.
In the portico, Bhagawan lovingly cut the Birthday Cake specially prepared by the group from Italy.
As Bhagawan sat on the dais, the university brass band followed by the Anantapur campus band played
Happy Birthday tunes melodiously while the Primary School band played the song, “We have a great big
wonderful Lord.” The Primary School girls’ band also played their part as the Veda chanting
continued. The university brass band then played the song pregnant with meaning, “Love is Your form,
Truth is Your breath, bliss is Your food while Anantapur campus band took the cue from the
university brass band.
After the Primary School boys section played the songs, “We shall overcome one day” and “Tu Pyar Ka
Sagar Hai” (You are the ocean of love), Bhagawan asked for the evergreen Carnatic melody duo Malladi
Brothers to take the stage.
The singing duo started with the famous song, “Bhagawanudu Puttina Panduga, Paramasivudu Puttina
Panduga, Jagadeeswari Sathya Sayeeyai, Jagadeeswari Mettina Panduga (this is the celebration of the
birthday of Bhagawan, the celebration of birthday of Lord Siva …) There was an emotional intro for
this song which described the love of Bhagawan for the land of Puttaparthi. Then followed the songs,
“Jagadanandakaraka”, “Rama Nannu Brovara.” One song followed the other like a cascade. They
concluded their musical presentation with the song, “Sai Nama Smaranam, Sai Nama Dhyanam.”
Bhagawan then blessed the specially prepared chocolates brought by overseas devotees for
distribution. As the brass band of the university and Anantapur campus band entertained the audience
with their lilting tunes, Prasadam was distributed to everyone. An announcement was made for the
evening programme that the Malladi brothers would perform again and would be concluded by a
performance by Ms. Dana Gillespie of international fame.
Arati was offered to Bhagawan at 11.40 a.m. The special guest for this morning function was Sri
Ashok Chavan, the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, who was blessed by Bhagawan after Arati. Bhagawan
then went to the Bhajan Hall of the Mandir and lovingly cut cakes brought by the staff and students
of different educational and Ashram institutions.
This marked the morning session of the 84th Birthday Celebrations.
While the
Birthday morning
was blessed with His immaculate, resplendent white robe darshan, the
evening had its share of glory when The Lord came out in a golden-hued robe, lighting the evening
turned twilight to eternal bliss.
On the evening of 23rd November, the 84th Birthday, Bhagawan came to Sai Kulwant Hall at 5.30 p.m.
in a sparkling golden-hued robe, a sight for everyone to behold and cherish in their lives. Blessing
the huge gathering of devotees with a complete round, Bhagawan came to the dais setting the stage
for the evening’s further proceedings.
Dana Gillespie seeks blessings
What was in store for the evening session were two musical
concerts as announced in the morning; the first to perform was Dana Gillespie from the United
Kingdom followed Malladi Brothers from Vijayawada.
Gillespie is famous world over in the genre of blues. After offering her salutations to Bhagawan,
Gillespie began her performance which was a mixture of her old and new songs. At the outset, she
introduced the accompanying artistes who were students from the university. All her songs had an
underlying spiritual meaning in them and were addressed to Bhagawan.
Ms. Gillespie singing in divine presence
To mention a few of her songs: “Om Sakti, Om Sakti, Om Sakti, Siva Sakti Om”, “Oh my beloved, you
are the light in my heart, a light in my heart of hearts.” On a personal note before singing a song,
she said, “When in troubles, it is Swami who took me out of the troubles as the guardian blue
angel.” As an intro to the song,
“Love the lover, the beloved”, Ms. Gillespie said, “It is not
enough if we love Him, we should love everything on this earth.” She also sang the Bhajan, “Allah Ho
Akbar, Allah Ho Akbar, Allah Ho Akbar …” Everyone present in the hall joined in chorus as she sang
the Bhajan in her devotional ecstasy. She ended her performance with a song which she found in the
Upanishads, “The whole universe indwells in our heart.”
The second programme for the evening was by the famous Carnatic musical artistes Malladi Brothers
who gave a scintillating performance in the morning session too.
After receiving the blessings of
Bhagawan, Malladi Brothers with the song, “Ra Rama Intidaka Raghuveera Sukumara.” One song followed
the other in quick succession transporting everyone into a divine plane. Their songs had a perfect
mix of Bhava, Raga and Tala (feeling, tune and beat). At times, the songs reached a crescendo. It
was during one of the songs that Bhagawan called both the brothers and materialised gold chains for
each of them, put it round their necks and honoured them with shawls.
He also gave clothes to the
accompanying artistes. To name a few of their songs, “Janulamadhya Tirugare Jagapathi”, “Taraka
Mantramu”, “Nannu Palimpaka Nadachi Vachchi.”
Clothes for accompanying artists
The Malladi Brothers ended their concert with a Mira
Bhajan, “Bhaja Kesava Hari Nandalala Bhaja Giridhari Gopala.”
Yajur Mandir shining in splendor
Photographer's Delight...a copy to Bhagawan
Prasadam was distributed to everyone
present in the hall. Arati was offered to Bhagawan at 7.30 p.m. after which Bhagawan retired for the
day.
Yajur Mandiram Exterior
Knock and the door shall open... Yajur Mandir Divine Abode
Evening Aarthi at His Divine Abode Yajur Mandir
Thus, ended the day of 23rd November 2009, the 84th Birthday of the Avatar in human form, a day to
be remembered, and a day to be etched in the annals of the Avatar.
