Report on Krishnashtami Celebrations 2003 - 19.08.03

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http://www.srisathyasai.org.in/pages/Krishnashtami.htm

 

Prashanti Nilayam

19 August 2003

 

Krishnashtami Celebrations 2003 Report

 

Krishnashtami, the festival that celebrates the birth of Lord

Krishna, the Avatar of Lord Vishnu, is traditionally marked with

gaiety and colour and is one of the most eagerly awaited events in

the festival calendar of Prasanthi Nilayam. And the cool morning of

the 19th of August held the promise of a joyous celebration that day.

 

After Bhagawan blessed the devotees gathered in the Sai Kulwant Hall

with His Darshan, the students of the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of

Higher Learning commenced the proceedings of the day with Bhajans.

Meanwhile, the procession with Sai Gita, the elephant, at the head

and followed by the cows of the Gokulam, was led into the Sai

Kulwant Hall by the students to the accompaniment of Bhajans and

chanting of Vedic hymns. As Bhagawan walked amidst the gaily

decorated cows and the boys dressed with colourful turbans tied

around their heads, it was as if the joyous times when Krishna

sported amongst cowherd boys of Brindavan, were being relived.

Bhagawan blessed the cows and fed them with His own Hands. But His

special affection was reserved for Sai Gita, the elephant, whom He

patted affectionately and fed with apples and bananas. The morning

programme concluded with Aarathi.

 

The afternoon programme featured talks by two speakers before

Bhagawan delivered His Divine Discourse. The first talk was by Dr.

M. Sainath of the Department of Physics, Sri Sathya Sai Institute of

Higher Learning. He spoke on one of the Bhagawan's oft-quoted maxims-

the four F's, Follow the Master, Face the Devil, Fight to the End

and Finish the Game. He stressed on the importance of recognizing

who our true Master is, quoting an incident from the Mahabharata

where the Pandavas were saved from grave misfortune only because of

their implicit faith in Lord Krishna. At the same time, he said, it

is important to face and vanquish the weaknesses in us that manifest

as ego, anger, jealousy, etc. He concluded with a prayer to Bhagawan

to grant everyone the strength and the faith required to reach the

ultimate goal. The next speaker was Dr G. Venkatraman, the former

Vice-Chancellor of the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning

who spoke on the project announced by Bhagawan on 19th January 2002,

to augment the supply of drinking water to the residents of Chennai.

He said that this project, on which work began in August 2002, was

again an instance of Bhagawan responding to the need of His devotees

even when they have not voiced their prayers directly to Him. He

informed the audience about various aspects of the project and

mentioned that it was indeed remarkable that such a mammoth project

with around 4000 people working day and night, was going on

unnoticed and without any publicity.

 

Bhagawan, in His Discourse related episodes from the life of Lord

Krishna and said that although Krishna's life was one filled with

difficulties, it was also one that removed the misery from other's

lives and brought joy to one and all. Bhagawan concluded His

Discourse with the song, "Bhaja Govindam", a composition by saint

Adi Shankara. The programme concluded with Aarathi offered to

Bhagawan.