Details of Sivarathri Trip to Parthi

[Guest guest]

Sai Ram

 

Details of Shivarathri Trip shared by brother Ravi

 

Deepak

 

http://mumbai.mtnl.net.in/~sairam

 

Daily updates: http://sss.340.tripod.com/pnnews/links.htm

 

 

Aum Sri Sai RamSai Ram Brothers, This email is to

update all about the trip some of us (#60) made to Parthi on the occasion of

Sivarathri. March 7, 20058:15 pmThe mood in the railway station was exuberant;

it was resounding with Swami's glorious name. There were only two thoughts on

everyone's mind - 1) Seva opportunity in the Canteen 2) Our beloved Lord's

darshan (off course a guy like me would have also thought about service near

"Sai Geetha" and the two buckets of complimentary fresh Sugarcane juice

Peddireddy garu usually gives!! ;-)) March 8, 20055:00 am5 am??? Yes, that's

correct. The train was scheduled to reach Parthi @ 7:30 am, but all of us got

up early to get fresh and be ready to start the service in the canteen as soon

as we touch base (ashram). By the time we reached there, around 8 am, Swami had

started the discourse (its unusual for Swami to give the discourse in the

morning on Sivarathri day). Because of that the accommodation office was not

open and we did not have a place to keep our luggage, nevertheless nothing was

going to stop us from starting the service; we dumped the luggage under a tree

near the sheds and two of our brothers volunteered to watch them. There was

decent amount of work in the canteen with thousands of devotees pouring in for

breakfast, lunch and dinner. None of us left the canteen till late in the

afternoon when all the work for the Lunch session was over, including cleaning

of utensils. Whenever there was little time we did the much-needed job of

cleaning the canteen! March 9, 20051:00 am25 bags of rice were cooked as

prasadam (Pulihora), which was to be distributed in the morning Darshan. By

about 4:30 am prasadam was ready and we transported the vessels into the

mandir, each weighing a good 200-300 Kg. It was a sight to be seen as all the

boys from Hyderabad (in their almost black clothes...thanks to the smoke and

dust in the kitchen) working in unison with the brothers from Swami's college

(in their lightening white clothes). I am sure Swami must have been smiling

from his room looking at the scene. task accomplished! Swami poured his love on

us by allowing us to sit behind the students, straight in front of him.special

darshan!! After all the work in the night most of our brothers were in a state

of meditation, also called sleep ;-). Swami jolted every one of us back to the

awareness state when he started drinking water profusely. our eyes were glued

to the television set right in front of us to get better view of what was

happening on the stage.my immediate thought was, "liberation from this cycle of

life and death has finally arrived" ;-). Immediately Swami's hi-tech chariot

was called for and the Lord was paced into Poorna Chandra Hall. My search for

Liberation started all over again! After the darshan was over we had our share

of Prasadam and headed to our sheds to get some rest and also get ready to do

service in the fields where Sai Geetha resides. We reached there at around 5

pm and started cleaning the grounds. Peddireddy garu was also there with us and

we thought that it was the right moment for us to request him to address the

group and share his experiences with Swami. This was a unique opportunity; the

details of it would be sent in another email, don't miss to read it. March 10,

20053:00 amWe were all eagerly waiting for this moment; it was Darshan time!

All of us got ready by 4 am, did Omkaram and Gayathri Mantram recitation,

formed two lines and headed to Sai Kulwant Hall. Swami once again blessed us

with a Special Darshan place both in the morning and afternoon. Some of the

brothers in the group came to Parthi for the first. Darshan was a mind-blowing

experience for all of us alike. Swami blessed the group both in the morning

and afternoon Darshans. 4 pm. reality struck us.it was time for us to leave to

Hyderabad. We prayed for one last time to the glorious form and vowed to return

as better human beings/citizens. Swami, bless us all in this endeavor. The

journey back home was equally exiting, we sang Bhajans for about 2 hours and

then retired for the day. Dear Lord, we thank you once again for giving us this

opportunity and pray that we get more of such in the future too. Jai Sai Ram