Parthi Update Nov 18th, 19th, 20th 2005 - World Conference, Ladies Day, Ratothsavam

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FONT-FAMILY: 'Bookman Old Style'">INAUGURAL SESSION OF VIII WORLD CONFERENCE

Sairam. The 8th World Conference of Sri Sathya Sai Organisations – Worldwide on

the theme Unity, Purity, Divinity got underway this morning in the Sai Kulwant

Hall in the immediate Divine presence of Bhagawan. Bhagawan arrived in the

jam-packed Sai Kulwant Hall at 8:00 a.m., went for a full round before taking

His seat

on the dais and signalling the start of proceedings for the inaugural session.

Sri Indulal Shah, expressed his profound gratitude to Bhagawan for involving

his fortunate devotees in the execution of His glorious Mission. Addressing the

delegates who have been drawn into the hall from 180 countries, he reiterated

the breathtaking growth of the Sri Sathya Sai Oganisations, the seed for which

was sown way back in 1965, which has now grown into a full fruit laden tree

with over 5000 centres in

India and over 2000 centres overseas. He outlined Bhagawan’s directive and

assurance to the Organisation, that the whole world will be one huge Sathya Sai

Organsation and Sathya Sai will be installed in every heart. With the help of

'transformation technology' in a century which has been dubbed as an era of

‘information technology’ he implored the volunteers of the organization to

plunge themselves into holy task with zeal. Concluding his speech he gave a

beautiful insight into the realistic functioning of the organization saying

that the all the units of Sathya Sai Organisations are connected through WWW,

not world wide web but, through Work Worship Wisdom.

'Bookman Old Style'">Sri V. Srinivasan, All Indian President of the Sri Sathya

Sai Organisations, who spoke next, reminded the delegates that, Bhagawan does

not expect wealth, position or any material objects from us; he expects only

love for fellow beings. He highlighted that the role of Sri Sathya Sai Seva

Organisation in impacting the far reaching corners of India through service and

spirituality by following Bhagawan’s emphasis on quality and not on quantity

should be our guideline. He then assured Bhagawan on behalf of all that the

organization would concentrate on the individual to reach out to the world. He

concluded with offering his gratitude to the Lord for the unmatched facilities

arranged by Bhagawan for the delegates of the conference.

'Bookman Old Style'"> The third speaker, Dr. Michael Goldstein, Chairman –

Prasanthi Council, overseeing body of the activities of Sri Sathya Sai

Organisations – Worldwide, spoke briefly about the growth and activities of the

organization in overseas countries. He posed the following important questions

relevant to the growth of the individual and the organization as a whole. We,

who are imperfect join together to achieve perfection in the world. How to

realize the concept of Unity, Purity and Divinity as an organization? He

further prayed at His Lotus feet that His grace is needed to achive the goals

of the organization. He quoted words pregnant with spiritual wisdom of great

scientists like Einstein. He emphasized to have a perspective of Unity,

Experience of Purity & Blliss of Divinity

which is the goal of the conference. He said, in the name of Divinity work

unitedly and with Purity of intention, thought, word and deed. Mr. Leonardo

Gutter, a senior official of Sri Sathya Sai Organisations – Latin America

region, narrated his experience with Bhagawan, the undercurrent of which was,

of course, love and His assurance, “I will never disappoint my devotees”. He

mentioned that there are Sai devotees in every Latin American country, and

recounted his experiences in various countries.

justify"> We will be back with a more complete update of the days events. Until

then, Sairam. 19-11-2005 LADIES DAY Sairam. Just four sunsets to go,

as this update is being written, before we arise to witness the glorious day of

the 80th Birthday of our dear Lord. Ten years ago, our Divine Mother declared

that this day be celebrated as Ladies Day, in honour of The Mother and the

tradition continues with today, 19th November, being celebrated as the 11th

Ladies Day function in the Divine Presence. Let us recall a few excerpts from

His Message that day, a decade ago. “There is nothing greater than mother's

love.

Mother's words are always sweet. At times she may use harsh words, but they are

meant only to correct you, not to hurt you. There may be a wicked son, but

there can never be a wicked mother in this world. Today is declared as mother's

day only to make you understand the value of mother's love and her concern for

you. Among mother, father, teacher and God, mother is given the topmost

priority. The modern youth do not care for the mother. They think they are

highly educated and that the mother does not know anything. It is a great

mistake to think so. Never look down upon the mother.” Therefore, let us

begin by offering our sincere

Pranaams and obeisance to all the five mothers. The Deha Maata (physical

Mother), the Go Maata (holy cow), the Veda Maata (the Holy Scriptures), Bhu

Maata (Mother Earth) and above all the Supreme Divine Mother of the world – our

Sai Maata. Let us also pay our homage to Mother Eswaramma who blessed humanity

with this most precious gift of Sai. This morning, the Kulwant Hall is

decorated very well. A new set of decorations, different from yesterday. On the

wall above the car shed, near the Krishna statue are huge posters hailing the

'80th Year of Love in Action'. All along the front part of the Kulwant

Hall, at regular intervals, long vertical banners are suspended with beautiful

pictures of our Lord accompanied with valuable messages. The stage looks

gorgeous. Huge brown moulded oval shaped paper mache figurines, of the Dasha

Avataaras, have been fixed on all pillars in the Portico. They are oval shaped

with the idol embossed in it illuminated by focus lights. Long red tapestry

hangs from the top balcony of the Mandir until the lower balcony. Shorter

buntings are suspended from the lower balcony. A huge red umbrella is erected

in the centre. Right opposite, at the rear end of the Kulwant Hall, on top of

the huge gateway, is

Mother Eswaramma’s portrait held by two heavenly angels on either side. On it is

written, “Viswa Janani Eswaramma”. The entrance to the Ashram at the Ganesha

gate and even the entrance to the Kulwant Hall from PC are all decked with big

floral gateways that add a generous splash of festivity to the whole place. The

press gallery, stepped steel structure, that are normally placed on the Gents

side of the Hall next to the gateway on November 22nd during Convocation, is

already set up there today itself. Close Circuit Television sets to telecast

the celebrations are already in place in the Kulwant Hall right from the 17th.

The passage leading from the rear end gateway of the Hall to the extreme end

where the Rama statue is located, has a beautiful colourful roof that has been

strung with layers and layers of Zari garlands. Looks splendid!

Old Style'"> At 8.30 a.m. Bhagawan comes out for Darshan amidst Veda chanting

and Naadaswaram. Today, He is led by sisters chanting Vedam and other Stotrams.

His passage through the ladies side is peppered with flowers as the lucky few

flanking the pathway, offer flowers to Swami as the car passes by. As Swami’s

car enters the Kulwant Hall, the Vedam chanting is eclipsed by a beautiful

classical invocation verse that stirs the air and goes on until Swami reaches

the dais. By 8.35 a.m. Swami alights from the car and lights the ceremonial

lamp. The candle to light the lamp is offered to Swami by Smt. Sarla Ben Shah

and Smt. Chetana Raju. The programme for the morning is announced by Smt.

Chetana Raju.

justify"> It begins with a performance by the young sisters of the Primary

School Band. Subsequently, Bhagawan releases the Bi-annual Journal - ‘Mother

Sri Sathya Sai’ and a Souvenir brought out by the Eswaramma Women’s Welfare

Trust marking the 80th Birthday of Bhagawan. This is followed by three speakers

sharing their thoughts with all of us, on this holy occasion. The first

speaker is Mrs. Mallika Srinivasan, Director of TAFE Limited. She is an MBA from

the Wharton School of Business, alumnus of The University of Pennsylvania,

Member of the Executive Board of The Indian School of Business (ISB) and is a

member of the Board of Trade, Ministry of Commerce, and Director General of

Foreign Trade, New Delhi. She talks about the Eswaramma Women’s Welfare Trust

and the recently started Mother & Child programme giving all its details and

significance. She also mentions about the mobile medical camps that have been

started recently providing help at the doorstep of the villagers, especially in

cases of expecting mothers and delivery cases. All this has been possible only

by His Grace. The second speaker is Mrs. Gita Mohan Ram, the daughter of Dr.

Padmanabhan whom we know very well as the person who walks behind Swami during

Darshan in Brindavan. She shares two wonderful experiences with the audience.

She comes from a family that has served Swami for many many years and have been

so dear to Swami. Bhagawan had Blessed her twin children saying that He would

always take care of them. 23 years later she recalls a wonderful incident that

had occurred when her twin children were just 3 months old.

Style'">During this period, suddenly, due to some reason, the Glaxo Company

(erstwhile Burroughs Wellcome and GSK today, popular as manufacturers of Baby’s

food products) went on a strike and therefore she was unable to procure Glaxo

milk food for her babies, which was very essential for them. Not knowing what

to do, she prayed fervently to Bhagawan. Once her husband had gone out to some

other areas of Bangalore, to try and see whether the baby food was available in

some other stores, but did not succeed. As he was returning home, at a traffic

signal, a car stopped next to his scooter. When the signal turned green, he

wished to move forward but the car could not. It needed some pushing and

therefore at the request of the driver he got down to push the car aside.

'Bookman Old Style'"> At that time the gentleman in the car asked him whether

he could deliver an urgent parcel to a particular address as he would be unable

to do the same on account of the car breakdown. Mrs. Mohanram’s husband agreed

to help and the gentleman gave him a parcel and a slip with the address. Unable

to interact any further as the police came onto the scene to clear the way, the

husband returned home. He then opened the slip of paper to see the address

where he was supposed to deliver this parcel. To his amazement he found his

wife’s name written on it with their own house address. He immediately called

for his wife and checked about this. She too was perplexed. When they finally

opened the parcel, they found 24 cans of Glaxo Baby Food in it. Later when they

came to Parthi,

Swami enquired whether the milk food had reached her children. That is The

Divine Mother's Care. In another incident, Swami had given Mrs. Gita Ram a

packet of Vibhuti in the interview room. She tucked it away in her purse and

somehow forgot about it. A few months later, when she and her husband visited

New York to celebrate their Wedding Anniversary, they went to a temple in New

York. After this, they attended a Music Concert in a theater. During the

intermission, she went to the Ladies Room. There, a Hispanic Woman who was

cleaning

the bathroom, came forward and asked Mrs. Gita whether she was an Indian. Then

she asked her whether she knew about Sai Baba. On getting a ‘Yes’ for both

these questions, she asked her whether she had any white powder with her.

Upon enquiring her about the details and the reason for these questions, the

Hispanic woman said that she had an eight year old daughter who was seriously

sick. Both her kidneys had failed and chances of survival were very less.

Transplant of the kidneys would mean a lot of money which she could never

afford. All she did was pray to her Lord Jesus. After few hopeless days,

suddenly three days back, in her

dream she saw this man with an orange robe and afro type hair style who called

himself Sai Baba and told her – I am Sai Baba. You will meet an Indian in your

work place, ask her for Vibhuti – white powder. Give it to your daughter. She

will become better. Hearing this, Mrs. Gita Ram opened her purse and the

silently tucked away Vibhuti packet suddenly revealed itself. She handed over

the same to the woman, thrilled with the mysterious ways of Bhagawan. Later

when the couple arrived at Parthi and Swami gave them an interview, He told

them, “The girl is fine. Both her kidneys are okay. No surgery!” These

narrations strike a special

chord in all our hearts as we hear them in first person. This talk is followed

by the talk by Mrs. Chetana Raju. She speaks of Swami as being beyond time and

space and highlights the quantum jump in Universal Consciousness that is being

brought about by the Avataar. After her erudite and insightful talk, she

fervently prays to Swami to deliver His Divine Message. Swami smiles and

concedes. Swami stands up amidst loud applause and begins His Discourse.

Bhagawan concludes His Divine Discourse with Prema Mudita Mana Se Kaho Ram Ram

Ram. He receives Aarti at 10.10 a.m. and Prasadam distribution takes place. To

the greatest delight of all assembled in the Hall, Bhagawan stands up from the

chair again and with the help of the students who attend to Him, He walks all

the way from the dais to the car parked near the interview room. There is loud

applause. After a while He retires and Prof. Anil Kumar announces that the

eminent vocalist and playback singer Smt. Kavita Krishnamurthy will present a

bouquet of songs in the Divine Presence in the evening at 4.30 p.m. In the

evening, Swami makes His entry at 4.15 p.m. As He passes through the Hall

making His usual round, He sees the Mobile Clinic Bus, decorated with flowers,

parked in front of the rear gateway of the Hall adjacent to the pathway. He

proceeds towards the stage, moves out from the car and sits on the dais. Vedam

chanting and band goes on. Band is played by the Primary School children and

students of the Anantapur Campus. At 4.30 p.m. Swami gives the green signal for

the Music Programme to commence. Smt. Kavita Krishnamurthy along with her

husband Dr. L. Subramanian, the violin virtuoso and other members of the family

and accompanying artistes are seated on the right side of the dais while Swami

is seated as usual on the left side (gents side). The next one hour and

twenty minutes takes us away to the world of soul stirring music and melody.

The scintillating voice of Smt. Kavita Krishnamurthy accompanied by the violin

of Dr. L. Subramanian fills the Sai Kulwant Hall. All are spellbound and listen

with rapt attention. She delivers one hit after another and the devotees respond

with loud applause. She begins with the well known and relevant for this

occasion – Janama Diya Tune Sai Ko. This is followed by Om Namah Shiyaya, Mein

Ayi Thi Darashana Pane, Mene Prema Se Jyoti Jalai (all from her album Sai

Darshan), Sri Rama Chandra Krupalu Bhajamana, Raghupati Raghava Raja Ram,

Dhanya Bhaaga Seva Ka Avasara Paaya, and Mere Ranaji

Meine Govinda Ke Guna Gaana. She also intersperses these songs with wonderful

Bhajans rendered with such finesse. She leads with Nandaa Nandana Hari Govinda

Gopaala and Antaranga Sai Anaatha Naatha Sai, with all the devotees following

her. In the course of her rendering the pieces, Swami goes in for a short while

and spends some time interacting with devotees in the inner portico and in the

Bhajan Hall. He again comes out at 5.45 p.m. and finds the Primary School

sisters standing all dressed with dance costumes. A dance performance is

slotted after the music programme. Swami interacts with the coordinators and

after a while gives

His consent. The children immediately spring forth into their dance accompanied

by a very catchy song – folk music type giving a beautiful narration of Swami’s

life. There are several groups of girls and sub-groups within them marked by

different costumes and performing different parts of the dance. It appeals to

everybody and is received with very loud applause. It is already 6.05 p.m.

but our Lord wishes to shower all His Love on them. He agrees for a photograph

and all the girls come in groups according to their costumes and pose for the

photographs. The band girls too take this opportunity and come forward.

Finally, Smt. Kavita

Krishnamurthy, Dr. L. Subramanian and the others also hurry forward not wanting

to miss this lifetime opportunity. Swami gives them group photographs and

interacts with them for a long time. He Blesses Dr. L. Subramanian with a ring.

Having saturated all hearts with immense joy and Bliss, He turns to move towards

the car. Meanwhile Prof. Anil Kumar jubilantly moves towards the mike ready to

commence his announcement. The first announcement is about the Sri Sathya Sai

Mobile Clinic inaugurated by Bhagawan today. This is an air-conditioned mobile

clinic equipped with the latest gadgets like the Ultrasound Scanner, Auto Film

Processor,

Chemical Analyzer, Retinoscope, Ophthalmoscope, X-Ray machine, Public Address

System, a Screen and even a Video Projector. This mobile clinic is offered for

the service of the villages by Bhagawan on this day marking the beginning of

yet another noble initiative for Loka Kalyanam (global welfare). The second

announcement is about the 8th World Conference of the Sri Sathya Sai Seva

Organizations which will commence tomorrow in the Divine Presence at 8.00 a.m.

It is 6.20 p.m. as the Porte car glides towards PC amidst the chanting of the

Aarti.

TEXT-ALIGN: justify"> We’ll see you tomorrow again with further details.

Sairam.

0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center">18-11-2005 RATHOTSAVAM Sairam. The

countdown begins. Five sunsets to go. The official celebration of the 80th

Birthday of Bhagawan Baba commences today with the Rathotsavam festival. As we

all know this is the day when the idols of Lord Krishna and those of Lord Rama,

Sita, Lakshmana and Hanuman, which used to be worshipped in Swami’s childhood

house by the family members (that is what we hear); are brought out in a

procession. Decked with wonderful silk clothes and with flowers all around,

these idols are taken in two open palanquins from the Mandir Bhajan Hall to the

Old Mandir (which is now the Kalyana Mantapam).

justify">This morning, Swami was again out by 7.30 a.m. As He was taking a round

of the Kulwant Hall, dear Sai Gita irresistibly came forward to seek Swami’s

Blessings. The merciful Lord fed her with some apples and moved on. He came

right onto the stage, came out of the car and sat on the dais for quite some

time. The core Vedam group along with many other Vedam students in red Dhotis

and Angavastrams were seated inside the Bhajan Hall facing the idols of Rama

and Krishna that were kept ready for the procession. Swami sat

outside until 8.00 a.m. and then went into the Bhajan Hall. After a few minutes,

we guess that Swami would have given the signal, for the palanquins were brought

out. Out came the long line of Vedam chanters and Bhajan singers. Led by Sai

Gita the entire troupe went along towards the Gopuram gate of the Mandir to

proceed to the Kalyana Mantapam. As this was going on, Swami was sitting near

the Primary School end of the dais and hearing very joyously the loud chanting

of His young children. The children were chanting with all gusto. Accompanying

the procession were the Naadaswaram group and also the Panchavadyam team from

our Hostel.

A few minutes after their exit, Bhagawan most surprisingly asked His chair to be

moved towards the devotees. To everyone’s amazement, He went right towards the

Gopuram gate Blessing all devotees on the way. Around 8.30 a.m., He returned

into the Kulwant Hall again. Passing along the centre of the Hall, He came

right till the front and then turned towards the Gents side. All the students

seated along the path had a fantastic chance of His close Darshan. Swami even

spoke to a few boys. Having showered His Love and joy thus, Swami moved into

the interview room. Boys in the Vedam block were chanting Vedam though the

mikes were now

switched off. All were awaiting the return of the procession. They came back at

around 9.30 a.m. Immediately, Bhajans began and even before the first Bhajan

could get over, Aarti was given. Many students rushed to the Portico entrance

to see Swami getting into the car. But we were in for another surprise. Swami

asked the Vedam students inside the Bhajan Hall to chant Vedam. As they chanted

the Rudram, Swami moved in His chair along the central path of the Bhajan Hall,

Blessing all along the path. Then He came out from the rear door and went along

the upper VIP Portico talking to all the gentlemen seated over there. By 9.50

a.m. He

got into the car and retired for the morning. Just before entering the car, He

had given some instructions to Prof. Anil Kumar. Prof. Anil Kumar came over to

the mike and as Swami’s car glided towards PC, he made the announcement that

from today onwards free food (Prasadam) will be distributed to all devotees –

Breakfast, Lunch, Tea and Dinner – till the 24th of November.

TEXT-ALIGN: justify">The doors of Mother Sai Annapoorneshwari have opened and it

is just Akshayam for all. This morning, we tasted the first Prasadam for

breakfast. It was Semiya Upma and Chutney. As the front end looks so

fantastic and wonderful, the back end is equally amazing! There is so much of

effort being put in, back-stage, to make all this happen. And the uniqueness of

it is that all this goes on so silently – no noise, no chaos. Silent service for

the Lord!

justify"> In the evening, even as were proceeding to the Mandir at 3.15 p.m.,

Swami was already out in the Shanti Vedika grounds. He returned to the Mandir

by 3.30 p.m. and arrived straight on the dais. The chair rolled out and Swami

sat on the stage. He signaled the Vedam group to stop the chanting. In font of

the dais, on seven chairs, artistes from China were seated – all adept at

playing musical instruments of Chinese origin. Swami asked them to begin the

programme. Two young children, one - a boy wearing a Chinese cap with a long

pony tail and another a young girl compered the show. They presented some of

the popular Chinese rituals to Bhagawan. It started with the typical Tea

ceremony followed by offering of prayers for welfare of parents, for longevity

and culminating with offering baskets of gifts to the Lord. Swami was very kind

and put His Hand into the basket and picked up an item. All of them were

overjoyed. The next item was a musical offering by the artistes. There were 7

in all, four of them playing string instruments and the other three playing wind

instruments. The next one hour, was a treat to our ears. The Chinese instruments

produce very melodious music that is so soothing. They played a number of

Bhajans like Hara Shiva Shankara, Murali Krishna Mukunda Krishna….and many

others. All pieces were received with loud applause. The Ladies also

participated and sang a few Bhajans both in Chinese and Sanskrit / Hindi. At

4.30 p.m. Swami Blessed them with photographs. After the gents and the ladies

had their turn, Swami called

the artistes again and asked them to pose with their musical instruments. How

thoughtful of Swami! After all it was those instruments that brought them so

close to Swami. Therefore, the instruments also deserved a snap with the Lord!

Prasadam (Halva – sweet) was distributed to all. Swami went into the

interview room. At around 5.00 p.m. Swami went out in the Chair towards the

ladies side. From what we could see He was getting saris distributed to all the

ladies for their Ladies Day celebrations tomorrow. This went on for quite some

time and Bhajans began only at 5.25 p.m. At 5.45 p.m. Swami received Aarti and

retired for the day.

Prof. Anil Kumar announced that the Ladies Day celebrations would begin tomorrow

in the Divine Presence at 8.00 a.m. Visit us at this site again tomorrow for

details on the Ladies Day celebrations. Sairam.A Anantha

VijayaH.No.247Nizarapar RoadChandmari ColonyGUWAHATI - 781 003Mob: 9954206469 /

9954037252