Prashanthi Nilayam - History of the Mandir

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Om Sri Sai Ram

Om Sai Jai Sai Jai Jai Sai

 

PRASHANTHI NILAYAM IN EARLY DAYS AND PRESENT DAY

 

Mandir - Its Genesis And Growth

 

Baba was then a charming youth of seventeen years. Three years

earlier, he had declared, "I am Sai Baba of Shirdi come again for

the

redemption of mankind!". In spite of the revealing declaration, many

people around him in Puttaparthi were still sceptical about his

might

and mission. One such person was Lakshmaiah - but he had a deep love

for the divine boy. One day, Baba told Lakshmaiah, pointing to the

hillocks south of the village, "The SAI PRAVESH (the advent of Sai)

will transform that region into Prasanthi Pradesh (a region of

highest peace). There will rise a BHAVAN (mansion)! Lakhs of people

from all over India, why only India, from all over the world, will

come and wait there for SAI DARSHAN (sight of Sai)!." Lakshmaiah

expressed his doubt. Baba asserted, "You will have to believe it

when

you have to stand where we are now, trying to catch a glimpse of me,

standing on the porch of that Bhavan".

 

The Bhavan that Baba spoke of on that day is the Mandir in Prasanthi-

 

Nilayam, the sacred abode of the Lord in the human form of Bhagawan

Sri Sathya Sai Baba. This Mandir is the heartthrob of millions of

people all over the world. Sri Kasturi, the octogenarian biographer

of Baba writes about the Mandir, "It has been the scene of countless

transformations of character, revolutions in belief, confirmations

of

faith, curing of disease, calmings of temper, discarding of hatred,

salvaging of souls and reunions of hearts.." Indeed, the Mandir

today

stands as the symbol of the redemption of the world through the

transformation of man. This Mandir is the nucleus of Sai's mission

of

Dharmasthapana.

 

The majestic Mandir now stands facing north in a compound measuring

220"X 150" and its plinth area is a little more than 7500 square

feet. It is a Nilayam (residence) evolved into a MANDIR (temple).

The

construction of this building in the late forties may be described

as

the first manifestation of the engineering skill of Baba! Baba was

then in his early twenties. It was felt that the Old Mandir in the

village was too small to accommodate the growing Sai family that

gathered round its young Master. A big building was the need of the

hour and it was raised with stone and mortar; and Bhagawan himself

was the architect and the engineer of this building, which he

transformed into the Mandir in 1974. Also, he was the accountant!

Baba recollects even now with a merry twinkle in his eye how he was

doing the batwada (the weekly -payments to labourers), getting the

signatures of the lucky recipients on the vouchers. Others who were

associated with the construction of the Nilayam are Sakamma

(a devotee from the Coorg District in Karnataka, who was

instrumental in the construction of the . Old Mandir. in the

village), the Raja of Sandur (a province now in Karnataka),

Tiruvenkatam, a merchant from Bangalore and Thirumala Iyengar, an

engineer in charge of the construction of the Tungabhadra dam. Some

curious engineers who visited the construction site now and then

accepted the ideas of Baba, because they found them to be better

than

their own. They discovered that Baba had a greater sense of

perspective and a finer aesthetic vision than they had.

 

The story of the construction of the building is a chain of miracles

wrought by Bhagawan's grace. The most astounding was the transport

of

the huge girders for the central prayer hall from the railway

station

at Penukonda sixteen miles away. Girders of 40 feet length had come

from Trichinopoly (now Tiruchirapalli) to Penukonda by train. The

road from Penukonda to Bukkapatnam was a district board road with a

sandy stream at the seventh mile and it passed through a few

villages

with delicately built houses(!) flanking the narrow road on either

side with a few acutely angled curves. There was a track of three

miles, from Bukkapatnam to Puttaparthi with a few dilapidated

culverts and low-level causeways and a broad expanse of the sand of

the river Chitravathi. Then there was the task of hoisting the heavy

girders on the twenty-foot high walls. Therefore, the engineers gave

up all hope of transporting the girders from Penukonda to

Puttaparthi

and placed before Baba some alternative

proposals for roofing the prayer hall. But Baba did not relent.

 

One fine morning, the Road Transport Officer of Anantapur district,

who was a devotee of Baba, woke up to find a surprise in front of

his

house. It was a huge crane from the Tungabhadra Dam site that had

stopped there and refused to move forward. It had struck work! The

driver was grappling with the engine in vain. He could not make it

move. He sought the help of the Road Transport Officer who thought

that the crane was Baba sent(!) for transporting the girders from

Penukonda to Puttaparthi. It was agreed that the crane would

transport the girders if it were repaired. The R.T.O. hurried to

Puttaparthi and prayed to Baba, who materialised some vibhuti

(sacred

ash) and gave it to him. This vibhuti was smeared on the engine and

the driver was asked to start it and lo! the crane started moving.

The surprised driver went happily to Penukonda railway station,

lifted the girders with the giant arms of the crane and started

towards Puttaparthi. The sight of this giant carrying the girders

was a great surprise for the villagers who greeted it by lining up

on the roadsides. The crane somehow passed over the culverts,

negotiated hairpin bends, lurched over the slushes and puffed its

way

up the Karnatanagapalli hill! It did not move further, may be on

seeing the broad sheet of sand of the Chitravathi River! Baba

himself

went to the crane, sat with the driver and handled the steering

wheel. Thrilled by the touch of the Lord, the crane moved happily to

the work spot and unloaded the girders.

 

Prasanthi Nilayam, the simple looking two-storeyed building of

granite was inaugurated on 23rd November 1950, the twenty-fifth

birthday of Baba. It had a central prayer hall flanked by rooms on

either side and corridors in the front and behind. In addition,

there

was a small portico attached to the central portion of the corridor

in the front. The height of the prayer hall was divided into two

floors for the rooms and the corridors linking the rooms on either

side. The Nilayam continued in its original form with very few

modifications until 1973 when Bhagawan Baba planned and executed the

transformation of the residence into the temple. The building was

extended on all sides and domes were built on top of the building.

The exterior of the whole building, the corridor and the portico on

the front and the interior of the central prayer hall were covered

with beautiful and meaningful pieces of sculpture of Indian

tradition. These alterations and additions changed the very

appearance of

the building and gave the structure a very majestic and sacred

appearance. All this was completed by 23rd November 1974, the day on

which Baba completed forty-eight years. On that day, Dr. V.K Gokak,

who later went on to become the first Vice-Chancellor of Sri Sathya

Sai Institute of Higher Learning,asked Bhagawan "Swami, your first

sixteen years were full of Leelas (divine pranks), the second

sixteen

manifested Mahimas (miracles) and at thirty two you started Upades

(teaching). Is there any novel feature marking the completion of

forty-eight?". Baba said, "Look around!". There it was! Prasanthi

Nilayam had (Prasanthi Nilayamhad) become Prasanthi Mandir! The

residence, which housed the young, Sai had become the temple with

God

installed in it. The three phases - Leelas, Mahimas and Upadesh -

were fused together in divine harmony to confer benediction by

darshan (sight) alone.

 

The Prasanthi Mandir is a living testimony to the life and message

of

Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. The Mandir speaks eloquently the

divine

message of the unity of life, universal concord and harmony through

its sculptured angels, humans and animals, feasting our eyes on the

various faces of this aesthetic wonder. The peacocks and the snakes,

the elephants and the lions, nestling close to each other on the

facade of the Mandir in quiet ecstasy, speak a meaningful message to

those who have eyes to see, ears to hear and hearts to feel. These

sculptured beings on the facade beautifully bring out the drama of

transformation and transcendence that can occur if one sincerely

strives to sublimate oneself. The lions, elephants, snakes and

peacocks, contemptuously dismissed by us as sub-human species, have

lifted themselves to a sublime stature by practising maitri

(friendship), mudita (joy), karuna (compassion) and upeksha

(detachment). The transformation of the human into the divine is

demonstrated through the sculptures of pamara (ignorant one), deva

(angel) and hamsa (swan). The pamara by constant striving becomes a

devata (angel) and ultimately transforms himself into a Paramahamsa

(the realised soul) by bringing into perfection the four noble

virtues: maitri, mudita, karuna and upeksha. The hamsa (swan),

stationed above the elephants, lions, peacocks and snakes, climaxes

the sculptural drama of divine transformation, for the hamsa

signifies paramahamsa (realised soul) itself. The facade, which is

the face of the Mandir, expresses the very essence of Bhagavan's

message.

 

Another sculptural drama that the Mandir unfolds is the drama of the

adoration of the divine. This sublime theme is unfolded through the

sculptures of the sub-human and the angelic creation of God

rapturously lost in the worship of the Lord. The sculptural figures

on the darshan mantaps (shelters built for devotees adjacent to the

compound and facing the Mandir), for instance a pair of nandis

(bullocks) looking lovingly at a Shivalinga (a symbol of Shiva), a

pair of lions guarding the Dharma Chakra, the winged angels playing

on the flute, trumpet and cymbals in prayerful ecstasy write a rich

commentary on this divine adoration. The elephants carrying garlands

to revere the Sarva Dharma Symbol, the divine images carved on the

wooden doors of the central prayer hall and the interview room,

substantiate the same theme. The sculptures of a pair of swans

gathering around a lotus, a pair of deer inhaling the fragrance of

flowers and a pair of peacocks gathered together teach us the

valuable lessons of amity and co-existence. The profusion of

sculptured flowers strewn all over the central Prayer Hall, on the

ceiling, pillars, arches, doors and windows speak in their own

language of silence; the flowering of the spirit as a consequence of

devotion to the divine. The kingdoms of plant, bird, beast and angel

have been beautifully featured to substantiate the theme of

adoration

of the Lord.

 

The central prayer hall is a thing of beauty, joy and wonder. The

five religious symbols, descending from top to bottom of the walls

on

each side of the altar sing silently but sweetly the song of the

unity of religions.

 

The life-size portraits of Shirdi Sai Baba and Sathya Sai Baba glow

with life and light, thanks to the Divine Painter who guided the

skilled hands of the human painter. The portrait of Shirdi Baba,

simple and austere, eyes melting with quiet compassion, speaks of

the

Brahmatatva of Bhagawan.former incarnation. The portrait of Sri

Sathya Sai Baba, radiant,full and bewitchingly beautiful, the eyes

aglow with a merry twinkle, speaks of the Vishnutatva of the Avatar.

 

At the end of the hall is the sculpture of Sri Krishna singing the

Song Celestial (Bhagavad Gita) to the war-weary Arjuna against the

background of the battle of Kurukshetra. It is significant that in

the same hall Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba delivered a series of

discourses on the Geeta expounding the forgotten and latent meaning

of this Divine Song to the life-weary people of the Kali age. During

those times of the divine exposition of the Geeta, the sculptured

Krishna and the living Sai Krishna seemed to become one, breathing

melodies eternally new. Equally significant is the scene of the

sculptured avatars, adorning the walls of the hall, enacting the

drama, of divine descent and divine grace for the uplift of mankind.

It is significant that all these avatars have upraised hands in the

abhaya pose, conferring benediction on all those who are pure at

heart.

 

The ceiling of the Prayer Hall is profusely strewn with sculptured

flowers of all sizes. The splendid chandeliers hanging from

beautiful

lotuses make the building an impressive blend of the ancient and the

modern. And most meaningful, of course, is the colour combination

used inside and outside the entire Mandir. Blue, yellow and pink are

the colours used, communicating the message of the harmony of

spirit,

intellect and heart respectively; for blue stands for spirit, yellow

for intellect and pink for heart (love). The rich harmony of the

three does result in Santhi and Prasanthi; and that really is the

message of the PRASANTHI MANDIR. Adjacent to the verandah of the

Prayer Hall on the left side, are two rooms set apart for

interviews,

zealously guarded Dwarapalakas carved on the wooden doors. On the

first floor is a large portico, adorned with silver doors. For a

long

time Bhagawan used to give darshan every day from this portico. How

longingly the people waited with bated breath for the silver doors

to open and the Lord to give darshan! Now Baba gives darshan from

this portico only once a year, in the early hours of Christmas Day,

accepting the prayers and supplications of thousands of Christians

who throng to him. During that occasion, the portico appears to fade

away, leaving only Baba before us, who becomes one with the love,

the

longing and the devotion that these seekers of Truth lovingly

nourish

in their hearts and bring with them from the far off corners of the

globe.

 

Moreover, crowning the Mandir are three domes gazing at the blue

infinity, a symbol of eternity.

 

In front of the Mandir is a circle of greenery and amidst the

greenery is the yogic pillar with a number of rings. These rings

indicate the different stages of yogic discipline. This yoga leads

to

the unfolding of the . Lotus of the Heart. whose petals are borne on

the top of the pillar. This is the pregnant meaning of the yogic

pillar in front of the Mandir.

 

Also of equal significance is the deeper meaning of the three gates

to the Mandir Prayer Hall. Bhagawan himself has explained the subtle

significance of these three gates: . The first, the outermost one

that leads into the compound, is the 'Gate of Darkness'. A person

who

crosses it leaves darkness, ignorance and inertia behind. He has

nourished the holy thought of coming to the Presence and the spirit

of darkness and ignorance has fallen behind him. Those who are

immersed in darkness, the Thamasic, will not even have the curiosity

to enter! Then there is a second gate, just where the garden around

the Lotus Circle begins. There, one is attracted by the magnificence

of the building, the electric lights, the coloured candelabras, the

hanging flower pots, that is to say, the active and passionate

aspects which appeal to individuals who are Rajasic, active and

passionate. Next, one comes to the very door of the Prayer

Hall, 'Gate of wisdom', leading the Sathwic to the Abode of Peace.

 

In front of this circular patch used to be the statue of Lord

Vighneswara seated in the Abhayahasta pose (hand upraised conferring

blessings); and there, a few yards away, a beautiful arch, the top

of

it containing two winged angels carrying the Sarva Dharma Symbol.

 

The arch leads to the entrance gate of the gopuram. Speaking on the

significance of the gopuram, Bhagawan himself made the following

pregnant statement, "If you dwell upon the significance of the

gopuram, you can realise how holy, how mysterious, how revealing is

its purpose. The gopuram beckons to wayfarers who have lost their

way

and who wander away from truth, 'O ye mortals! Blinded by the fog of

physical attachments and self-aggrandizing urges, overcome by the

miasma of worldly desires, which are fleeting and false, you have

forgotten Me, the source and sustenance of you all. Look up to this

eternal, ever pure, over-full tower of joy. Forgetting Me, you are

wallowing in grief; you are pursuing the mirage in desert sands.

Come, have faith in the Everlasting Me. Struggle out of the darkness

and enter the realm of light, and come to the royal road of Santhi.

That is the Path of Dharma. Come, come, O come!.

 

Thus does Gopala call on all, with raised hand, from atop the

Gopuras

in every village".

 

This is the principle underlying the construction of Gopuras. Such

high ideals inspire these structures.This is the true meaning, a

meaning that can be experienced and felt. The light on top of the

gopuram is the symbol of the Light which is the refuge of all; it is

the representative of the unflickering inner lamp, lit at the self-

same Flame; it is the Inner Illumination, gained by merging in

Hari".

In consonance with what Bhagawan Baba has said on the significance

of

the- gopuram, the gopuram of Prasanthi Nilayam beckons to all of us

to light our inner lamps to see and experience the Light of Lights,

which Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba is.

 

The genesis and the growth of the Mandir is as unique as the Avatar,

whose divine abode the Mandir is. In the hundreds of aeons that have

passed, no temple was ever raised during the living years of the

Avatar. The Vanaras (monkeys) in the Tretha-Yuga had the singular

good fortune of building for Sri Rama a bridge across the waters of

the Hindu Mahasagar spanning Bharat and Sri Lanka. In the Kali age,

the naras (human) enjoyed the unique good fortune of building a

temple for their dearest Lord Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. The

devotees carried brick, sand and stone and built this aesthetic

wonder, for their own joy and for the pleasure of their own Loving

Lord.

 

The Prasanthi Mandir is indeed the Living Temple for the Living God.

 

http://www.sathyasai.org/ashrams/prasanthi/history.html