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Music
Programme
13th Evening
Tamil New Year and Vishu at
Prasanthi Nilayam - a Report
Dawn of Twin New Years
twin states get going welcoming another annual event
The inseparable bond of cultural and religious heritage of the
two closest civilisations of South India, the states of Kerala
and Tamil Nadu, dates back to many centuries. These two states
do share much in common; language of Kerala, Malayalam, being
a derivative of the original Tamil, the multi-religious
fabric, Kerala’s own past history of having been a part of the
erstwhile Chera Kingdom of the Tamil land, and later having
been a part of the formerly Madras Presidency (North Kerala
belonged to Madras Presidency), all these stand supporting the
unique bond between the two civilisations…and substantiating
this, come the twin New Years, Tamil New Year and Vishu.
Rarely had Prasanthi Nilayam witnessed these New Year
celebrations as it had been an almost regular practice of
Bhagawan to move to Brindavan or Kodaikanal before the onset
of simmering summer in Puttaparthi during the months of April
and May and as a natural fallout, Prasanthi Nilayam would
often miss out on these festivities. This year, as Bhagawan
continued to stay on in spite of the advancing summer, it was
time to celebrate, and Prasanthi rejoiced as large number of
devotees from the twin states flocked in to be in the Divine
Presence on the coveted occasions.
It is the month of Chittirai for Tamil Nadu…the first month of
Tamil calendar and it is time to welcome the advent of yet
another New Year…Every vernacular calendar has a legend
attached to it that Lord Brahma supposedly started creation on
the first day of the New Year and so it goes with Tamil belief
also.
The day begins with viewing the 'kani' (the auspicious sight)
at dawn, symbolically signifying the popular belief that
viewing of auspicious things would bring auspiciousness during
the entire year. The propitious things include gold, silver,
betel leaves, nuts, fruits, vegetables, flowers, raw rice,
coconuts and more importantly statues and images of deities.
Visit to a nearby temple after a ritual bath, wearing new
clothes is a widely practised custom that is followed by
reading of the Panchangam (almanac), yearly predictions. Women
at home adorn their houses with‘Kolam’ (design made with rice
flour) and deck the doorway with mango leaves. A sumptuous
feast that has a special item 'Maanga Pachadi' (a dish made of
raw mangoes, jaggery and neem flowers), is another highlight
of this festivity.
…And in the neighbouring Kerala, it is astronomical New
Year…this occasion signifies the Sun's transit to the zodiac
Mesha Raasi as per Indian astrological calculations. Keralites
celebrate this ‘New Year’ on the first day of the Malayalam
month of Medam. This invariably falls on 14th or 15th of
April.
Vishukkani, the auspicious sight, a metaphorically signifying
act, underlining the popular belief that viewing of auspicious
things would bring auspiciousness throughout the year is the
main ritual and the centre point of this festivity. During the
previous night vegetables, red cucumber ,snake gourd and
fruits like jack fruit, mango, flowers Kani Konnai along with
rice, dhal, gold and silver coins, lighted lamp called
Nilavilakku, metal mirror etc., would be arranged along with
statues and images of chosen deities. At dawn, in the
scheduled hour, as per the directive given in the Panchangam
(almanac) the senior member of the family, mostly mother,
would get up and have the auspicious darshan and would lead
the children and other members, blind folded, one after one,
in the order of seniority, to the ‘kani’ to have the maiden
auspicious sight at the commencement of the ‘New Year’. This
would be followed by Vishukkaineettam, an offering in cash
given to the junior members of the family by the elders;
children would burst crackers making merry of colours and
sounds and this would in-fact begin a few days earlier and
would reach its peak by the previous evening. In the afternoon
there would be a grand feast attended by the united family.
Tamil New Year in the Divine
Presence
Programmes on the morning of 14th April
14th morning was the day for devotees from Tamil Nadu. After
completing His full round of darshan, Bhagawan lighted the
lamp on the stage before occupying His seat. Trust Convener of
Tamil Nadu Sri. G.K. Raman had the singular opportunity of
completing the introductory formalities.
Referring to the Divine Discourse on the Ugadi Day wherein
Bhagawan exhorted devotees to take up Integrated Rural
Development Programme in interior villages, Sri. G.K. Raman
briefly narrated the initiative taken up by the State
Organisation in implementing the project in the state. He
said, 250 villages from 25 districts had been identified and
250 Village Panchayat heads and other senior leaders had come
seeking Divine Blessings. Providing Drinking Water to each
house in the adopted villages, awareness on personal hygiene,
cleanliness in and outside the houses, sanitation for the
villages as a whole, nutritive plants for the kitchen in each
household with the help of the panchayats were some of the
identified areas of the proposed project, as announced by the
Trust Convener. He further prayed for a repeat of the happy
days when Bhagawan most graciously blessed the city with His
Divine visit (after a gap of ten years) blessing the devotees
to bask in the glory of His Divine Love. He also made a
mention of the uninterrupted water supply in the city and
expressed gratitude to Bhagawan for His greater magnanimity.
At the end he introduced the three speakers for the session.
The first speaker, Dr. S.P.Thyagarajan, a medical
micro-biologist by profession, eminent educationist and
formerly the Vice Chancellor of The University of Madras,
while reaffirming gratitude to Bhagawan on behalf of the
citizens of Chennai for His greater benevolence for the Divine
visit to Chennai and the boon of ‘Elixir Divine’ conferred
upon them, dwelt upon the backdrop that finally led to the
fructification of Sai Ganga Water Project for Chennai.
Referring to the felicitation programme on the 21st January
2007 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium in Chennai that
brought a wide spectrum of political luminaries on stage with
Bhagawan, diffusing all political and regional differences, he
quoted Bhagawan’s core message of Love and Sacrifice delivered
on that day… Allow the God within to manifest and to take
charge of your mind and body. What is the expression of Prema?
Accept the manifestation of Divine Love latent within. Love
without sacrifice is meaningless and sacrifice without love is
impossible. Talking on education …on the dire need of value
based education, the speaker extensively quoted Bhagawan to
impress upon the audience the greater significance of the
ambience prevailed upon in Sri Sathya Sai Educational System.
He expressed his wish that the same ambience would prevail
upon the entire nation and such a transformation could be
brought about by Bhagawan alone.
Padmasri K. Balachander, film director of repute from the
Tamil Film Industry, the second speaker in the morning started
on a sober note explaining lucidly how Bhagawan played the
trick in absentia bringing in subtle blessings at the time of
dire need, quoting an incident happened way back in the year
1986 during the release of his popular film, Sindhu Bhairavi.
Talking about the enormity of the task that Bhagawan had
undertaken in fulfilling the mammoth water project for the
city of Chennai, Sri Balachander admitted that his skeptic
notion towards Bhagawan’s announcement had proved to be
absolutely wrong; Bhagawan is not an individual; He is an
Institution by Himself; He is a Phenomenon; He is the
Ultimate. Bhagawan had the vision; We lack vision… said the
learned speaker. While extolling Bhagawan for His single act
of grace and compassion, the speaker in an apparent reference
to the present day bureaucratic hurdles, mentioned that much
water has flowed under the bridge of indecision and
inaction…Chennai is enjoying the greater boon of Divinity
conferred upon them…and the fate of nine million people of
Chennai has been changed, said the speaker concluding his
talk.
The third speaker, Justice Ramasubramaniam of Madras High
Court started with an interesting briefing as to how over the
years Bhagawan has been showering His Divine Grace upon
him…Citing clear inferences of various occasions he had been
blessed with opportunities to speak in the Divine Presence,
the speaker added voicing similar to a judicial note, …that I
was a school student 36 years ago, …. that I am a Judge of the
High Court now….are of little significance…what is significant
is that Bhagawan has been keeping me under His Divine Care…an
Insurance that no other Insurance Company can ever
offer…Drawing attention on to the present day’s corrupt
educational system, the speaker observed that the constitution
made by Bhagawan to the society was immeasurable in terms…as
Bhagawan wanted everyone to become a good human being and
thereafter incidentally as a by-product, to become a
professional…Before closing he prayed Bhagawan to make every
day a festive day and continue to shower His Divine Blessings
on one and all…
There was an interlude before the commencement of Bhagawan’s
Divine Discourse and Sri. G.K. Raman, Trust Convener, Tamil
Nadu made a fervent prayer at His Lotus Feet to take up the
project covering a distance of 25 kms, from the zero point at
the Andhra-Tamil Nadu border to Sathyamurthy Sagar that was in
a dilapidated condition where the water flow was often
interrupted.
…And Bhagawan began His Divine discourse with a mention about
the Chennai Water Project. Declaring thatHe would undertake
the repair work of the canal right across the 25 kms stretch
from the zero point at the Andhra-Tamil Nadu border to
Sathyamurthy Sagar that had been left unattended, Bhagawan
exhorted the audience… Do not depend on anybody…depend on God
alone, Chennai would be getting water on a permanent basis now
onwards; so long Chennai stays…the city would get water,
declared Bhagawan. In an apparent reference to disputes over
drinking water, Bhagawan said, Water is not anybody’s
property; Water is God’s Property.
Let all of you lead life peacefully, blissfully…Think of God
incessantly…God’s Name will protect you everywhere…Why Fear
When I am here…Do not worry about anything…It is Bhagawan’s
responsibility to take care of everything…In this all
conquering New Year of Sarvajith citizens of Kerala and Tamil
Nadu will have all the reasons to be happy and blissful…said
Bhagawan concluding His Divine Discourse. It was His special
love for the city of Chennai, Tamil Nadu as a whole that was
made obvious during His short Divine Discourse. This was
followed by bhajans. Prasadam was distributed before Bhagawan
received Mangala Aarathi.
Evening Programme – Pancha Maha Yajna – Dance Drama
A dance drama entitled Pancha Maha Yajna, a depiction of the
significance and meaning of the ritual “Veda Purusha Saptaha
Jnana Yajna” by the Bal Vikas children of Tamil Nadu was the
highlight of the afternoon session.
It was a beautiful, colourful presentation, bringing forth the
greater significance of the five major Yajnas, namely, Deva
Yajna, Pitru Yajna, Athithi Yajna, Bhoota Yajna, Rishi Yajna
with emphasis on the description given by Bhagawan,
highlighting life incidents of some of the celebrated
devotees, finally precipitating to the bottom-line – impetus
on the core human value.
The drama began with a conversation between Sage Narada and
Sachdeva, with the Sage explaining the importance of being on
Earth, especially at Prasanthi Nilayam to witness the Divine
play of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. Dwelling on the
importance of Deva Yajna, the storyline touched the life of
Baktha Prahlada, a great devotee of Lord Narayana. His
suffering at the hands of his demonic father Hiranyakashipu
and subsequent blessings he received from Lord Narasimha
Swami, driving home the value of Devotion and Loyalty was the
central theme of the first scene…with Prema, Love for God
being the bottom-line…the core value.
The scene moved on to the life of Shravan Kumar whose
unsullied love; devotion and sense of duty towards his parents
were put on show signifying the importance of Pitru Yajna.
King Dasaratha, who was on a hunting spree, hit his arrow
inadvertently on the young boy Shravan Kumar, engaged in
fetching water for his blind parents who were travelling on a
pilgrimage through the forest. Fated to die of the mishap,
upon enquiring what he would wish the king to do in the dying
moments, the noble son instead of requesting the king to try
save his life wanted the king to be obliged in carrying
drinking water to his parents. Shravan Kumar is remembered
even today, as one of the noblest sons ever born!
This was followed an illustration of the significance of
Athithi Yajna, adoration of guests, with generosity and
humility being the driving force and Peace being the
bottom-line, the core value. The famous incident in the life
of Shankara when the great sage visited the house of an old
woman seeking alms was well portrayed in the scene driving
home the value imbibed in it. The hapless woman who had
nothing to offer to the great sage finally managed to get an
amlaka fruit as an offering to the great Acharya. Deeply moved
by the plight and haplessness of the woman devotee, Shankara
chanted Kanakadhara Strotram and prayed Goddess Lakshmi to
extend Her Grace upon the devotee…and there came raining
wealth…Golden Amla fruits in the house of the woman.
The following scene was about Bhoota Yajna, heralding the
greater significance of selfless sacrifice and greater concern
for all beings…and it was the moving tale of Shibi
Chakravarthi that was on display…a great episode highlighting
another human value, Non-violence. The Gods, wanting to test
the compassionate nature of King Shibi, assumed the form of a
hawk and a pigeon…Chased by the hawk the pigeon would fall on
the king’s lap seeking protection. The altercation that
followed saw the hawk arguing with the king claiming the
pigeon to be its food. The generous king most convincingly
offered his own flesh to satiate the hunger of the hawk, a
most exemplary act of selflessness. Being immensely pleased by
this great selfless act, the gods revealed their true forms
blessing the great King.
The last Yajna to be highlighted was the Rishi Yajna and the
scene depicted the exemplary life of discrimination and wisdom
of great Tamil Poetess, Avvaiyar…whose illustrious life and
one pointed dedication for the Ultimate Truth was a great
lesson to be cherished, great lesson worthy to be noted and
imbibed on with the core message of the greater significance
of discrimination and wisdom leading to Truth. The great poet
in her unsullied, selfless dedication and love for God dared
to pray to her chosen deity to take away her beauty so that
she would not be compelled to marry.
Interludes between scenes narrated how Bhagawan in the present
day prompts service activities to be done that had been
signified by the great lives of these illustrious souls of
Bharath. The drama ended on a high note, with Sachdeva having
got enlightened with the wisdom imparted after witnessing the
happenings at Prasanthi Nilayam expressing his gratitude for
having been in Prasanthi Nilayam in His Divine Presence.
Bhagawan who sat through the entire drama presentation chose
to pose for group photograph and gave away watches to all
participants including stage assistants. Memorable day in the
lives of Tamil devotees, wherein they won yet another great
boon from the Divine, an extension to the already conferred
Water – The Elixir Divine, incessant supply of water. Indeed,
Sai Ganga would flow incessantly to this blessed land of Tamil
Nadu, blessing her to bask in His Love and Compassion.
Speeches and
Music Programme
15th Morning Vishu Celebrations
Programme on the morning of the 15th of April
15th April 2007, the day when the entire state of Kerala would
reverberate with vitality and rejuvenated enthusiasm,
welcoming the advent of yet another ‘Vishu’ signifying
auspicious beginning. …And for those who assembled in
Prasanthi Nilayam, there was no other auspicious sight, than
the coveted darshan of Beloved Bhagawan. The land that is
popular for devotion to Lord Krishna, celebrated the day in
the presence of Sai Krishna…singing His glory in His immediate
Divine Presence. Bhagawan came on stage after His usual round
of granting darshan and lighted the lamp before taking His
seat on the specially decorated dais. After a brief Veda
chanting by the Bal Vikas children from the state, the stage
was taken over by two little hearts, one followed by another,
Bal Vikas children from Kerala, Master Pratyush and Master
Vishal. What could one expect from such tender hearts? Having
been in the Bal Vikas movement, it was indeed their tender
feeling of love for Bhagawan that they had in store to share
with the assemblage on the auspicious morning in the Divine
Presence. One would wonder at the level of self-confidence, a
rare possession of every Sai Student that helped them excel in
any endeavour.
Master Pratyush, the first speaker, shared with the thousand
odd Bal Vikas children from the state and other devotees
assembled his idea about God…He said: “God to many is in
different forms…to some He is a flute holding, yellow garbed,
peacock feathered, mischievous, endearing Sri Krishna…to some
He is the majestic bearer of bow and arrow…embodiment of all
nobilities, Sri Rama and as for me the picture of God is a
lovely orange robed, curly haired, lotus eyed, mesmerising
embodiment of sweetness with immaculate hands and glowing
feet…He is the King of all Kings…He is the Master of the
Universe…He is our very own Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai
Baba!…declared the little one with conviction. The boy added:
In our home every conversation either begins in Swami or ends
in Swami; Swami is our pivotal force; our life line…being a
Bal Vikas student, it is Swami’s stories, Swami’s teachings
and Swami’s principles that I have spoken out in my school
whenever given an opportunity. Vishu is the day that reminds
us that when our thoughts have to be pure, words have to be
pure and deeds have to be pure; all that Swami wants is to
reduce our selfishness to abate our desires to foster our
spirit of sacrifice to grow into noble human beings…all that
Swami wants is our pure, steady and selfless love. There is
only one Name… Sai, there is only one God…Sai and there is
only one Goal…Sai”… concluded the little speaker.
"Sathyameva Jayate", a skit by
Kerala Balvikas
15th Evening
Master Vishal, another Bal Vikas student from the state,
talking about the Bal Vikas Movement, said: …to participate in
Bal Vikas, we should be model children, …by putting into
practise all that we learn from Bal Vikas classes. Swami wants
transformation and not mere information…only from Swami we can
imbibe inspiration for this. Talking about Bhagawan’s
exhortation to revere parents, the boy said, “…when parents
are happy, our Lord is indeed happy. Bal Vikas classes make
one a role model in discipline in which Bhagawan lays deep
emphasis…..Through Bal Vikas we become God’s loving children“.
The boy concluded his speech with an earnest prayer…”Oh! Lord
please bless us with abundant strength and grace and transform
us to ideal children. We promise you Swami, to make our lives
Thy message for we know that will make Thee happy…”
This was followed by devotional singing by Sri
T.S.Radhakrishnan followed by bhajans by the Kerala troupe.
Prasadam was distributed and Arathi was offered before
Bhagawan retired to Yajur Mandiram.
Satyameva Jayate- Musical Drama
Great interest shown by Bhagawan for humanity to imbibe
cultural ethics and human values exemplified by great lives on
earth has been bringing forth role models of virtue, valour
and character from past history and epics onstage at Prasanthi
Nilayam in the Divine Presence over the years. The little Bal
Vikas children from Kerala, enacted a musical drama entitled
Satyameva Jayate, a poignant saga of virtue, character and
sacrifice of highest order, the story of Rajah Harishchandra.
Rajah Harischandra’s passion for Truth has given the world one
of the most exemplary anecdotes of exceptional purity and core
perfection, perhaps the only one of its kind in the history of
mankind, whose life was a testimony to the values so dearly he
adhered to. The drama as a musical and dance presentation
depicted the selfless saga most convincigly in colourful and
aesthetic dance form. …Wherein the King was forced to
reliquish all his belongings, reducing to the status of a
pauper; strictly adhering to the principle of Truth, he was
never ready for any compromise. the King faced the greatest of
the tests when his own dear wife brought the dead body of his
son, seperated apart long ago, to be cremated. Even after
recognising their identities, the king, who was loyal to his
‘master’ was not ready to budge, instead demanded payment for
the cremation to be undertaken. Advised by his master
Veerabahu, Harischandra was readying himself to kill his own
wife Chandramathi. Sage Vishwamitra who arrived at the scene
compelled the king to utter a single lie, so that Veerabahu
could let her free enabling Harischandra to regain all his
lost possessions. But again, the king who was committed to
Truth and honesty was not ready for any compromise. He raised
his sword to kill his dear wife. And Lo! The sword that was
held aloft turned into a garland of flowers and there appeared
all the sages and Gods showering benevolence and blessings
upon the king. Yes, Truth has emerged triumphant in the end!
Truth alone is victorious! Satyameva Jayate!
God was indeed moved! Pleased by the wonderful depiction,
Bhagawan materialised a chain for the young lad acted as the
son of Rajah Harishchandra. Bhagawan was most magananimous in
granting group photographs to the participants. Memorable
indeed was the session for these tiny tots who were privileged
to enact a story so dear to the heart of the Lord Himself in
His immediate Divine Presence.
Love Fills and Fulfills…
God’s strange ways are not known to anyone. The popular saying
goes as, …man proposes and God disposes…but, here man proposed
and God with His greater vision and boundless love
reciprocated manifold…and it was this boundless love of
Bhagawan that was there to experience for the thousand odd Bal
Vikas children, 500 odd parents and other devotees assembled
in the Sai Kulwant Hall on the 13th afternoon. The Vishu
celebrations got underway on the 13th evening that was made
doubly glittering by Divinity’s all encompassing Love…The
programme commenced with a mridagam performance by
Kuzhalmannam Ramakrishnan, noted mridangam artiste, who
performed a gruelling feat of marathon non-stop 84 hours
performance, titled, ‘Rhythm for Peace’, which earned him a
coveted entry in the prestigious Guinness Book of World
Records, in May 2005, in the category of percussion
instruments. The gifted artiste with astonishing feats on
mridangam thumped a rhythm on the instrument, showcasing his
talent, mesmerising the audience; indeed it was a veritable
musical feast that brought forth the finer aspects of the
unbounded musical prospects of this classical drum of South
Indian music. This was followed by a carnatic devotional
session by the popular singer, Kavalam Sreekumar…With his
melodious captivating devotionals setting an ideal background
for a wonderful evening session, Bhagawan asked the Bal Vikas
children to sing bhajans and what followed was a wonderful
array of bhajans that poured out from those little hearts that
continued for almost an hour… the children sang their hearts
out and Bhagawan was on the stage, as embodiment of love and
compassion, receiving the prayers emanated from those little
hearts.. A visibly moved Bhagawan came down the ramp to the
group of children, moved among them, conferring the blessing
of Divine proximity. A small visually challenged boy who was
on the harmonium had been blessed by Bhagawan with a chain and
one should have seen the expression of joy on the little face
whose handicap never failed him to visualising His beloved
Bhagawan. It was indeed an emotional scene for all who
witnessed the act. God's uncanny ways to reach out His
devotees! At the end Bhagawan distributed clothes to all the
children engaged in bhajans and to the artistes for the
session. This was followed by another set of melodious
devotionals by the students from Institute…the evening that
was originally planned to be a ‘yet another’ musical evening
was finally transformed into a glittering Bhajan Sandhya and
it was His love and glory that conquered the minds and hearts
that were present in Prasanthi Nilayam.
Memorable occasion to cherish for the devotees from the twin
states...Bhagawan was indeed reaching out!