STIRRING SAI SEVA IN MALAYSIA - Two Inspiring Accounts

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who had helped physically and/or mentally challenged pilgrims have Darshan of

Lord Murugan during the festival of Thaipusam, at a hill top temple in

Malaysia. Thaipusam is celebrated on the full moon in the Tamil month of Thai

(Jan/Feb). Pusam refers to a star that is at its highest point during the

festival. The festival commemorates both the birthday of Lord Murugan, the

youngest son of Lord Shiva and Mother Parvati, and the occasion when Parvati

gave Murugan a vel (lance) so he could vanquish the demon Soorapadam. In

Malaysia, Thaipusam attracts mammoth numbers of devotees. Over 1,000,000 people

congregate at Batu Caves, Kuala Lumpur and

200,000 at the Waterfall Temple, Penang . Heart2Heart is pleased to inform you

about the wonderful seva carried out by the Malaysian Sai devotees at these two

sites during the festival period from 10th-11th February, 2006 . Sai Seva at

the Waterfall Temple, Penang Food was

taken at base camp The ascent up to the temple.... The Waterfall Temple is

located at the top of a steep hill. Many devotees make their way there to

worship Lord Murugan and to climb up is part of the ritual and penance. But the

Sai devotees of Brown Garden Centre, Penang, became concerned for those people

who are unable to climb up due to physical disabilities. They are forced to

remain frustrated at the bottom, while their relatives go up to the top to

receive the blessings on this holy day. It was indeed a sight to pity.

Emboldened by the teachings of Lord Sai to help those in need, they formed

themselves into special palanquin teams to convey the yearning physically

challenged pilgrims to have Darshan of Lord Murugan. This seva activity was

aptly called ‘Journey to God’ and it became so for both the sevaks and the

disabled people. The palanquins were handmade by the Sai volunteers themselves

and each was carried by 4 devotees with one man to oversee the safety of the

disabled devotee and to make way through the crowds up the steps. Upon

reaching the bottom of the hill the disabled pilgrims were given food by the

lady volunteers. Then, to invoke Swami’s blessings before commencing the climb

the volunteers chanted Ganapati Prarthana, Ganapati Atharva Shirsha Upanishad,

Narayana Upanishad, Sai Gayatri and performed Arthi to Swami’s picture.

Then, they began the ascent and reached the temple after one hour. We take

you through this holy journey with a series of pictures, showing one

gentleman’s complete ‘Journey to God’. We follow

this gentleman.... He is going through the crowds... The ascent

begins... Smiling, as he climbs higher... Now it is steep! At

last holy Darshan... Finally, the disabled people were able to feast their

eyes and fill their hearts at sacred Lord Murugan’s shrine. Many were in tears

at this longed for opportunity come true. Some of them had brought milk with

them, so that they could perform Abhisheka (worship) for Lord Murugan.

Here you see two other disabled boys being lovingly carried to the lord.

This boy is about to set off ... He looks very happy...

Strong young men are carrying him .... This is service to see God... So,

there were all kinds of people who were carried to the top – elders, physically

and mentally chanllenged children and adults. If there is one thing that was

common to all - the ones who were being served and the ones serving – it is the

smiling joy on thier faces. It was a truly joyful spiritual

odyssey. In all, 21 disabled people were blessed by Lord Murugan’s Darshan

that day, thanks to the Sai volunteers. One young boy could not stop speaking

of his experience for the whole day. Many of the disabled are not able to speak

and could not convey their feelings, or were too young, but their parents were

in tears at the sacred gift of Darshan that was given to their wards.

This man is taken up... And another boy... One volunteer said ‘When I

saw the smile in their faces, it was a heart-felt satisfaction because I

managed to help them experience a lifetime joy seeing Lord Muruga on such an

auspicious day. It was a wonderful feeling making another person happy.’ The

volunteers numbered 140. An interesting aside is that only 70 were from the Sai

Organisation. The remaining 70 were young people from a squatter village which

the Sai Centre had adopted some time ago and for which they had been conducting

Bal Vikas classes. By God’s Grace the inspiring flame of seva had spread to

them. All the

volunteers were overjoyed that they had made this holy pilgrimage possible for

so many. One volunteer mentioned that, ‘The joy of the disabled in getting Lord

Muruga's Darshan was the greatest gift that I have earned.’ And another echoed

these feelings, ‘To see the special kids and adults smiling in joy, finally

able to go up the stairs to the temple was just wonderful.’ Truly there is no

greater joy than bringing a smile to another’s face and happiness shared is

really happiness doubled. Record Breaking Blood Donation at Batu Caves, Kuala

Lumpur It is at Batu Caves, Kuala Lumpur, where the wish to have Lord

Murugan’s Darshan reaches overwhelming proportions. On 30th Jan

2006, the world’s largest statue of Lord Murugan was unveiled at the base of the

ascent to the caves - 140 ft tall and gold painted. Over one million people

throng there in the fervour of devotion during the Thaipusam festival. It was

here that the second seva event was held, when the Sai Organisation in

conjunction with the Malaysian Blood Bank set up camp at the festival site with

80 beds ready for blood donors’ comfort. This amazing mega blood donation drive

broke the Malaysian record, reaching 2,330 pints over a 35 hour period. The

Sai Organisation also organized non-stop singing of devotional songs from top

Malaysian Indian artists for 36 hours to inspire the devotees and attract them

to come forward to give blood. Behind them was the source of their inspiration

in the form of a large picture of Swami. The authorities gave the space used

free of charge and a prestigious radio station supported and covered the event,

encouraging its listeners to donate to save lives. In fact this time of year

heralds celebrations of Chinese New Year, a major Muslim festival and

Thaipusam. The 5 days of holidays unfortunately leads to many road accidents –

thus there is a vital need for blood in all hospitals. Some

volunteers were present for 48 hours! They looked after the donors

many of whom were donating for the first time, moved to come forward by the

singing, prayers and the festival atmosphere. The Star Newspaper covered the

event under the headline ‘2,330 blood donations collected in just a day’ and

mentioned that “The National Blood Bank and the Sathya Sai Council of Malaysia

could have achieved a record by collecting 2,330 blood donations in a single

day at the Thaipusam celebrations in Batu Caves.” The Star 12th Feb 2006 . At

the same time, in the cities of Ipoh, Penang and Johore Bharu, Sai Centres held

similar blood donation days, where a further 364 pints of blood were collected.

Heart2Heart is very pleased to pass on to you, dear reader, these two

accounts of inspiring seva. It

is wonderful what can be done with God’s grace, disciplined organisation and a

will to make a positive difference to the world. With Sai love from Sai

brothers – ‘’ Courtesy: http://media.radiosai.org/

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