Report on Makara Sankranthi Celebrations 2006

[Guest guest]

this event is equally awaited by spiritual personages, for, it symbolizes the

intellect being directed towards achieving higher pursuits and the spiritual

goal of mergence with the Divine. Bheeshmacharya, the grandsire of the Pandavas

and the Kauravas in the great epic 'Mahabharata', is said to have lain on a bed

of arrows for days, waiting for this holy day, to shed his mortal coils and

attain to the higher worlds. At Prasanthi Nilayam, this holy and joyous

occasion also marks the valedictory ceremony and prize distribution of the

Annual Sports and Cultural Meet of Bhagawan's educational institutions. On

the morn of

14th January, Bhagawan arrived in Sai Kulwant Hall at 9.50 a.m. in a procession

led by the captains and vice-captains of the men's campuses, along with the

brass bands of the University campuses of Anantapur and Prasanthi Nilayam. Soon

after Bhagawan took His seat on the dais, the Physical Instructors of all the

campuses greeted Bhagawan with bouquets. Bhagawan, then, lit the ceremonial

lamp and commenced the proceedings. The Vice-Chancellor of the University,

Sri.A.V.Gokak, spoke a few words of introduction about the significance of the

festival of Makara Sankranthi. He also elaborated on the uniqueness of the

Integral system of education offered at Sri Sathya Sai educational institutions

where equal emphasis is placed on the holistic development of the body, mind and

the soul. And the Sports & Cultural Meet is an instance of the application of

this

integral approach, where the student's body and mind is strengthened, and he/she

imbibes many valuable and enduring lessons for life. After Sri.Gokak's talk,

Bhagawan rose up to deliver His Divine Discourse. In His discourse, Bhagawan

defined and delineated the meaning and distinction between education and

Educare. While education is assimilation of facts and information from the

outside, Educare means to bring out the wisdom and virtues inherent in man's

heart and apply them in daily life. Each individual is endowed with the three

Gunas (attributes) of Sathwa, Rajas and Tamas, and these represent the Divine

Trinity of Brahma,

Vishnu and Maheshwara. Bhagawan also mentioned that the students should not to

be content with merely winning prizes and securing degrees, for, what is most

important is cultivating the three essential qualities of Nischalatwam

(steadiness), Nirmalatwam (purity) and Nirmohatwam (detachment). If one has

these qualities, he verily becomes Divine, Bhagawan said. Bhagawan exhorted

everyone to think of God always. Though there are many manifestations of

Divinity, the inherent principle - the Atma, in all of them, is one and the

same, just as gold is present in all ornaments and sugar is the common

ingredient of all sweet dishes. Bhagawan concluded His discourse with the

Bhajan – "Hari Bhajan Bina Sukh Shanti Nahi". Bhagawan, then, gave away the

trophies and cups to the various campuses. The afternoon session commenced at

4.15 p.m. with Bhagawan's Darshan. The

programme scheduled for the evening was a drama by the students of the Brindavan

campus of the Institute entitled, "Adi Kavi Valmiki". Sage Valmiki is the

composer of the sacred epic 'Ramayana' that narrates Divine story of Lord Sri

Rama, an incarnation of Lord Vishnu. While the story of Lord Rama is no doubt

enchanting and elevating, Sage Valmiki's life story is no less inspiring, for,

it is the story of the transformation of a ruthless dacoit Ratnakaara into Sage

Valmiki by the power of the name of Lord Rama. The drama started with the scene

where Ratnakaara encounters the Saptarishis (seven great sages) in a forest and

threatens them to surrender their wealth and belongings. They pose a question to

him: "You claim to be indulging in robbery solely to feed your family. Will your

family agree to share a part of the sins that you commit thereby?" When

Ratnakaara goes

home and enquires with his wife, she says that no one can share another's sins

and each one is responsible for his or her own actions and their consequences.

This truth strikes him like a thunderbolt and a disillusioned Ratnakaara

repents for all his past misdeeds and decides to seek God. He is then imparted

the sacred name of Rama and is blessed by the Saptarishis to meditate upon it.

Ratnakaara undertakes severe penance and is lost in meditation for thousands of

years, so much so that an anthill comes up around him. Then, the Saptarishis

visit him and beckon him to come out. As he emerges out of the anthill (called

'Valmika' in Sanskrit) grand and shining with divine effulgence born out of

chanting Rama's name, he is christened Valmiki. Sage Valmiki, then, is

blessed with the visit of Sage Narada and Lord Brahma who inspire him and bless

him with the sacred

task of recording the story of Sri Rama – the Lord Incarnate who walked the

earth as an ideal human being to set an example for all humanity to emulate.

The drama depicted scenes from Ramayana on a stage in the background, while

Lava and Kusha are seen narrating the story in the foreground through melodious

songs in Telugu. Sai Prema Dhara On the evening of 13th January, the

students of the Sri Sathya Sai Primary School presented a programme at Sai

Kulwant Hall. It began with a violin concert by the girl students. This was

followed by a presentation entitled 'Sai Prema Dhara'. Using a projector-screen

system, the programme dwelt on the life and teachings of Bhagawan. The

presentation commenced with Lord Ganesha and Lord Subramanya offering their

obeisance to the Shiva-Shakti principle embodied as

Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. The narrators of the programme were two students

dressed as Prof. Kasturi and Dr. Hislop, two devotees who were fortunate to

have enjoyed the proximity of Bhagawan and were witnesses to many wonders and

miracles of Bhagawan during their lifetime. They recall various incidents that

took place during Bhagawan's childhood days, which demonstrate how, while even

as a young lad, He displayed mastery over the powers of Nature, and His

leadership qualities and sterling virtues such as Love and Compassion for

fellow beings. One of the highlights of the drama was the depiction of the

episode where Bhagawan demonstrated His Divinity to His brother Sri Seshama

Raju Garu during their pilgrimage to the Virupaksha temple at Hampi. The

astonished entourage witnessed how young Sathya appeared in the sanctum

sanctorum of the temple even as he was seen

standing outside the compound of the temple, thus convincing His brother that He

was no ordinary lad, but the Omnipotent and Omnipresent Lord Himself. The

grand service projects undertaken by Bhagawan were also portrayed in a novel

manner where Mother Saraswati, the Goddess of learning, Lord Dhanvantari, the

God of Healing, and Mother Ganga descend to pay homage and express their

gratitude to Bhagawan for providing education, healthcare and life-giving water

to millions absolutely free of charge, and also restoring these gifts of God to

their pristine glory. The great saints, Thyagaraja, Purandaradasa, Meerabai,

Chaitanya Deva,

Andal and Namdev also follow, paying their obeisance to the Lord whom they had

all adored through their devotional compositions. At the end of their

presentation, the students collectively sang the song, "Madhura Mohana

Ghanashyama…", adoring the enchanting Lord Krishna who has descended as our

beloved Lord Sai to shower Ananda (Bliss) on everyone. Thus ended the

celebrations of the sacred festival of Makara Sankranthi in the Divine

Presence. Let us pray that this Uttarayana period brings us all health,

prosperity and happiness, and sees us march forward with success on our

spiritual journey. Source:

http://srisathyasai.org.in/Pages/Events/sankranthi_06_rep.htm