Parthi Update 13 th to 17th Feb 2005

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Parthi Update

13-02-2005

 

Dear Brother

Sairam

Today being Sunday, all of us scurried towards the Sai Kulwant Hall lest we get

late for His Darshan. We all settled down in the Mandir. Bhagawan came out at

7.25 a.m. for Darshan. He took a full round of the Sai Kulwant Hall and finally

got down from the Golf Cart and started walking on the dais. He came close to

the Sofa placed towards the Gents side. The Vedic chants were going on in full

swing and we had wonderful Darshan of Bhagawan

as He stood there for quite some time radiating His infinite Bliss and Grace on

all of us present there.

 

There was a gentle smile and His face was beaming with immense joy as He scanned

all the devotees seated in the Sai Kulwant Hall from end to end. Then He began

moving slowly towards the Ladies side, where the Primary School children were

seated. It was as though their innocent love and yearning for Swami was pulling

Him towards them! He went close to that end of the dais, and as He moved closer

their volume of chanting the Vedic Mantras rose higher. By the time Swami

reached their end, they had literally taken over the core Vedam Group with

their high pitch energetic voices!

 

Swami indicated to the core Vedam Group to stop chanting. Now the opportunity

was all theirs! As they chanted in magnificent harmony, the Kulwant Hall

reverberated with the powerful vibrations. For a moment it was as though we all

were struck with a high power voltage. After a while, Swami again asked the core

Vedam Group to take over. Meanwhile, Bhagawan kept moving forwards and went into

the interview room. The next we saw Him was after the Bhajans at 9.30 a.m. when

He was retiring towards the Poornachandra Auditorium.

 

In the evening, Swami came out at 3.10 p.m. for Darshan. He walked slowly along

the dais just as He had done in the morning and by 3.35 p.m., He was inside the

interview room, with some devotees. Bhajans commenced as usual at 5.00 p.m. and

Swami retired at 5.30 p.m.

 

 

 

15-02-2005

 

 

Yesterday evening, Darshan was as usual. This evening, Bhagawan was out by 3.15

p.m. The X class students of the Sri Sathya

14pt; COLOR: #993300; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New

Roman'"> Sai Higher Secondary School were ready with their ‘Gratitude’

programme. The ‘Gratitude’ programme is a presentation which

is put up by the outgoing batches of the School and the Institute in the Divine

Presence, at the end of every year. This is an occassion wherein they pour out

their hearts to Bhagawan expressing their deep sense of gratitude for all the

Love and Blessings showered by Him.

 

It is definitely not a farewell, for in this place, with Swami, there can be no

farewell. But it is only an occassion to express their Love and Gratitude.

Swami sat down on the sofa and at 3.30 p.m. He gave them the green signal to

begin their programme.

 

The X class students started their presentation with the chanting of Gayatri

Mantram. They had aptly titled their presentation as “Krutagnyata Ke Ye Kshan”

– “These Moments of Gratitude”. The presentation consisted of two anchorers who

would come forward and make some introductory remarks about each module. Then

the actual module would follow.

 

There were basically three categories of modules. One was sharing of experiences

by some students, which they had in their personal lives. The second was

enacting some real life situations where the students of Swami take decisions

to solve the dilemma, after consulting their conscience. The skits illustrated

how Swami’s students are tuned to their conscience and are ever eager to act in

a way that makes Bhagawan happy! The third category was of course group songs.

 

The presentation concluded at 4.20 p.m. Swami was very happy. They received a

loud applause. The lucky boy for the day was one of the anchorer, who was from

the Primary School. Swami called the boy closer and materialized a gold chain

for him. As the boy stood across the railing, head bent down in reverence and

thrill, Swami placed the chain around his neck.

 

Bhagawan got up and signaled to the boys to arrange themselves for the

photograph session. All of them assembled in groups in front of Swami. Cameras

clicked for a while. Subsequently, something very wonderful happened! The boy

who got a chain, commanded by Bhagawan, came onto the dais and stood beside

Swami for a photograph. After the photograph was taken, the boy, very

unexpectedly, prayed to Swami for giving all the teachers a group photograph!

 

Bhagawan was ecstatic at this prayer of the boy. What a sense of love for his

teachers! Would Swami not answer such a selfless prayer? He immediately gave

His consent and all the School Teachers gathered around Bhagawan for a group

photograph. In fact, the young boy frantically called out to all the teachers

to come forward and take their positions. That is the hallmark of a Sai

Student! We all were overjoyed!

 

Bhajans began and by 5.00 p.m. Swami retired for the day.

 

 

16-02-2005

 

 

This evening, Swami came out for Darshan at 3.45 p.m. At 4.00 p.m. Bhagawan

instructed the core group to stop the Vedam chanting. The mike was placed next

to Swami’s sofa. Well, this evening it was going to be a talking session. The

first speaker was Sri Harish Krishnan of the II MBA class. He gave a

10 minute talk – crisp and interesting – interwoven with Kabir’s Dohas and the

poetry of the Alwars.

 

The second speaker was Sri Deepak Venkateswaran, a I M.Sc.(P) student, who

delivered a very thought provoking 20 minute talk, centering around the oneness

between man and God. He profusely elaborated on the analogy of the tree trunk

and the leaves, to drive home the point that God and Man are indeed one and the

same, just as all the leaves and the trunk have arisen from the same seed!

 

The Warden, Dr. Siva Sankar Sai, was seated as usual just next to Bhagawan’s

Sofa and was busy lining up the boys for speaking. He would scan the rows of

boys to identify the potential speakers and then signal to some of them to get

ready. Least did he realize that he was in for a great surprise!

 

As Swami looked at him, the Warden looked at one of the boys and indicated him

to come forward. However, our Lord took over and said, “You come”. The Warden

hesitated and hoped that it was just in the lighter vein! But it was not to be

so! Bhagawan commanded the Warden to come over and share his thoughts.

 

Dr. Siva Sankar Sai, came over to the Podium and shared with all of us

Bhagawan’s explanations about Chamatkar – Sanskar – Paropakar – Sakshatkar. He

commenced his talk by chanting some verses from the Vedas and then elaborated

on the above theme. He struck a note of humour saying that he was under the

impression that as the Warden he only had to make arrangements for the

speakers, but today he realized that Swami wanted all of us to be ever ready to

speak in His Presence.

 

He remarked that Bhagawan always says – My Boys are My voice. My Devotees are My

voice. The fourth and the final speaker for the evening was Sri Govind Pratap

Singh, a II M.Sc.© student, who gave a talk in Hindi. He spoke for around 15

minutes, non-stop in chaste Hindi, leaving all of us stunned with his thoughts

and striking examples. He received a loud applause. Bhagawan Blessed each one

of the speakers after their talks and even spoke a few words with them.

 

The Bhajan boys started singing. After a few Bhajans, Swami got up. It was 5.05

p.m. when Swami got into the Golf Cart and moved towards His Abode.

 

 

17-02-2005

 

 

Today is the Chinese New Year day. Let us all wish the Chinese brothers and

sisters a very very happy and auspicious New Year. A group of Chinese devotees

from China and the Middle East Countries had assembled at Prasanthinilayam to

celebrate their New Year in the Divine Presence. By the time the students came

to the Mandir at 3.00 p.m.

FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">, Swami was already

out. He was sitting on the sofa and the Chinese brothers and sisters were

singing out their hearts in English and Chinese.

 

They sang devotional songs and then Bhajans. The communication between them and

Bhagawan was heart to heart! They struck the cords of devotion in their hearts

and Bhagawan reciprocated by receiving their offering for a full one hour and

five minutes. They sang until 4.05 p.m. Of course, we could understand nothing

of their Chinese Bhajans though the tunes were familiar as they were the same

as our Mandir Bhajans.

 

We were wondering how difficult it would be if we were to sing these Bhajans in

Chinese. Who would take the trouble of learning those tongue twisting words and

notes, and then sing them with all our love and heart. Would we do that even for

a thousand dollars? Doubtful! But would it not be the same case with these

foreigners when they hear our Sanskrit Bhajans? But, what is it that inspires

them to learn our language and take so much trouble and sing so fluently in

Sanskrit and Hindi? We have heard several devotees from different countries

doing that!

 

Just as these thoughts passed our minds, the lead singer started a song in

Telugu. The entire group followed every line and there we were – witnessing the

miracle we had just thought about! This is what Bhagawan’s Love can do! It draws

the devotees close to Him and they are ready to go through any amount of efforts

to please Him and express their Love for Him!

 

At 4.10 p.m. Bhagawan commanded the coordinator of the group, Bro. Wee Lin, to

share his thoughts with the audience. Wee Lin went over to the Bhajan group

seated in front of the dais, and took one of the mikes and started speaking

from there itself. He said that they all had assembled at Prasanthinilayam to

celebrate the Chinese New Year, marking the Birthday of their heavenly Father.

Here they were so lucky to be in the very presence of their Divine Parent – Sai

Baba.

 

Bro. Wee Lin, to our delight, shared some of his personal experiences. 24 years

ago, Swami had given him his first interview. Bhagawan had then asked him, “Who

are you?” Brother replied that he was an engineer. Subsequently, Swami kept

calling him ‘Engelin’. This is how he heard the name that Swami would call him

by. It was something like ..Anjalin… Anajnee..or so. But he could never

understand why Swami called him so. He felt that maybe Swami was punning on the

word ‘Engineer’.

 

Later, he went back to his hometown and involved himself in various service

activities, especially visiting old age homes, orphanages etc. He followed

Bhagawan’s dictum that the best way to serve is to set an example to others.

During those years he felt that as he was doing these activities which belong

to the realm of the angels, maybe that is why Swami had referred to him as

‘Engelin’. But still it was not very clear.

 

This time when he came here, Swami called him for an interview on 14th, the

Monday. Again, inside the interview room, Bhagawan asked him, “What is your

name?” He replied, “Swami my name is Wee Lin.” Swami again asked him, “What is

your other name?” To this, brother very spontaneously replied, “Swami

Hanuman-Das. I am the servant of Hanuman. I want to go to Lanka and help in

providing food to Tsunami victims in Trincomalee”. To this Bhagawan smiled and

said, “Sri Lanka…”.

 

The next evening, as brother Wee Lin sat in the Mandir for the Bhajans, our boys

– being a Tuesday - started singing the Hanuman Bhajan – “Anjaneya Veera

Hanumanta Shoora…”. As brother Wee Lin listened to this Bhajan, suddenly the

word Anjaneya struck to him like a thunderbolt!! He realized that this was the

very word by which Swami had called him 24 years back. But then he had not

understood that Swami was calling him Anjaneeya – not Engelin and not a pun on

the word Engineer. Brother Wee Lin was dumbfounded at this realization! He was

filled with joy and thrill.

 

He went on to describe how Swami taught him the skills related to Disaster

Management, by giving him the opportunity to serve the needy people in North

Korea. In 1997, when North Korea was hit by tidal waves, he went along with his

team to serve them. They had

to find special strains of paddy that could be grown in the brackish water that

had soaked into all their fields. Finally they could get this variety from

Bangladesh. They helped them by providing them with food stock – rice as well

as corn – tonnes of them were transported by railway carriages. They also

donated cows and bulls to help them earn a living. Fruit trees, especially

apple saplings were also distributed to enable them to nurture orchards for

their living.

 

At 4.20 p.m. Brother Wee Lin was through. As he came onto the dais, Swami waved

His hands in big circles and created a beautiful gold chain with a locket for

him. He stood bowing down and Bhagawan placed the chain around his neck.

Brother Wee Lin was all in smiles! Meanwhile, Swami had already indicated Prof.

Anil Kumar to get going….for his session. Prof. Anil Kumar was all set – geared

up to charge and inspire us with his talk.

 

Prof. Anil Kumar began his talk by stating the most amazing fact in this world.

He said that thousands of devotees come here to have Darshan of Swami. Devotees

come from hundreds of countries all over the world but all this happens without

Swami even stepping outside Puttaparthi. This is the greatest miracle!!

 

He narrated the incident of a boy who fell down from the roof of a multistory

building. However, Swami saved him in time and he escaped. Later, the father

expressed his gratitude to Swami and asked Bhagawan, “Swami thank you so much

for saving my child. But when did you come there to save him?” To this Bhagawan

replied, “My dear child, I need not come there, I am already there!” Bhagawan is

omnipresent!

 

He said that, “We think God is a goal, but that is wrong. God is existence! God

is not a concept – He is life itself!” He drew our attention to the fact that

the word ‘Sairam’ has become the most commonly used word today. All of us are

united by this one word. It is a most powerful antibiotic and is very essential

these days when people are miles and miles away from smiles!

 

He wished the Chinese brethren a Happy New Year saying that though the songs

sung by then were in Chinese, the songs were not new, the rhythm was not new,

and the beat was familiar! With Bhagawan, the language is ‘language of the

heart’. Therefore, it thrills everybody!

 

Once when Swami was giving a Discourse, Prof. Kasturi translated a statement

saying that Bhagawan is present all over the world. To this, Bhagawan objected

and said – not world – say Universe (Viswamu). Bhagawan is present in the

entire Universe! He is the support to all His devotees. He is ever ready to

extend a helping hand. He is the only One whom we can depend upon.

 

Prof. Anil Kumar said that Bhagawan Baba is like an intercontinental bank

wherein we can draw any number of cheques! He will always come to our support.

Once when Prof. Anil Kumar made this statement in front of Bhagawan, Swami

asked him to repeat the line. So Prof. Anil Kumar said, ‘Swami will always

support us”. To this Bhagawan replied, “Not just support you, He will come and

literally lift you up!” That is our sweet and merciful Lord!

 

He extolled Bhagawan saying that ‘Sai Drushti’ is like ‘Parijata Vrushti’. His

look is like a shower of Parijata Flowers! He quoted the incident of a

Malaysian Guitarist who was struck by a nervous disease that disabled the

movement of his hand. However, after sitting for Darshan for three days and

receiving the benedictory look of Bhagawan, the man was back to normalcy and

was able to play on his guitar!

 

Whenever, Swami says ‘Yes’ that is bound to happen. Sai Maata Sakala

Soubhagyamula Moota – Swami’s words are a bundle of all good fortune.

Bhagawan’s touch, Prof. Anil Kumar stated, was like that of a thousand mothers

touch!!

 

He concluded his talk, quoting another interesting episode that took place in

Brindavan. It was about a Buddhist devotee who had a very peculiar operation in

his young age about which only his mother and the concerned doctor were aware.

Years later, when he came to Bhagawan, Swami spoke to him and told him that he

had only three chambers in his heart when he was born! The devotee laughed

hearing this. But later, when he rang up to his mother, she was stunned, for

nobody other than her and the doctor were aware about this ailment.

 

Prof. Anil Kumar concluded his scintillating talk saying that Bhagawan Baba was

the Buddha for the Buddhist, Vishnu for the Vaishnavites and Siva for the

Shaivites. However, when we take His name all the 3000 crores of Gods are

worshipped at one stroke!!

 

As Prof. Anil Kumar wound up and came towards the dais, Swami again waved His

hand and created a large green diamond ring. He looked at Prof. Anil Kumar and

smilingly said, “Not for you!’. Brother Wee Lin who had just received a gold

chain a few minutes ago was again Blessed with the ring too. Swami lovingly

slipped the ring onto his finger!

 

The next event was Prasadam distribution. Oranges were distributed to all of us.

Another Prasadam was the bright red colour, shining packets from our Chinese

devotees, with their New Year Prasadam. It was a bright red packet with the

photograph of fruits on it and inside were a couple of chocolates and toffees.

Around 4.45 p.m.

FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> Bhajans began. At

5.00 p.m. Swami caught hold of the railings and stood up. He slowly walked to

the Golf Cart and moved towards the Poornachandra Auditorium. The Chinese

devotees were saturated with His Love and Grace, which shone on their smiling

cheerful faces!

 

 

Sairam

 

 

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