PRASHANTI DIARY

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Sai news PRASHANTI DIARY After the hectic events leading to the

celebration of the 80th Birthday, it was just His Grace that events in

Prashanti Nilayam slowed down in its wake. This gave the myriad staff, seva

dal, devotees and students time to catch their breath and complete the more

mundane chores of life (like paying the bills), chores which had been brushed

aside and

put on the back-burner in anticipation and preparation for the Big B-Day. But

life in the Ashram cannot remain still too long. Soon it came abuzz with a lot

of devotees coming from overseas to celebrate Christmas and wind down the

year-long 80th Birthday celebrations. The Vidya Giri stadium also rang with

the excited shouts of students who were participating in their intra mural

games which lead up to the celebrations of the Sports Day on January 11 every

year. In this issue we bring a detailed report of the Christmas festival, one

of the most joyful in the Prashanti calendar, as people from all over the world

gather here for many days, living and practising together, in true brotherly

love and harmony, so that they can present their best programmes in front of

the Lord. This year too devotees from overseas, estimated at 3,000 to

3,500 people, gathered here to celebrate the birth of Christ and ring out the

old year and usher in the new. Traditionally in the Western world, the nuclear

families that live apart the whole year come home for a full family reunion at

Thanksgiving and Christmas. So Christmas is a cherished time of the year that

everyone looks forward to, in order to see and be with their loved ones. But

these devotees had come to their real home - to be with their divine Father and

Mother and their brothers and sisters from all over the world.

They all come quite early and some bring their musical instruments with them.

Christmas organising committees are then formed - with a decoration committee,

an adult choir and a children's choir committee and so on and they even have

their own seva dal to help wherever needed. ORGANISING THE ADULT CHOIR

What motivates the hundreds of devotees that form part of the adult choir to

come here year after year? What drives them to put up with great personal

difficulties and inconvenience? What inspires them that they spend long arduous

hours in practise? Let us hear a first hand account from one devotee:

"Christmas in the Divine Presence is an incredibly thrilling, learning and

loving experience. Swami brings us from all parts of the world, with different

languages, cultures and past experiences, and shows us how to be as one. Many

come with expectations of just how Christmas must be celebrated. Others, having

arrived for the first time, come with no experience of being in the Divine

physical Presence of our Beloved Swami. The love energy that emanates from Him

fills us all with awe and the yearning to do that which will please Him.

Emotions and devotion are both very much in evidence. For many, the feeling can

be one of remembering past Christmases with fondness and for others there is

healing of memories that had caused pain. With so many from

differing areas of the world coming together to sing as one, one must be ready

for the very real experience of practising the Human Values, as taught by dear

Swami. There are challenges enough to allow all to practise patience,

perseverance and, by His Grace, purity. Perhaps one of the most difficult for

many from the West, is sitting for hours on the floor. Western knees and backs

are not used to the floor. Further, by necessity, the seating has to be close.

Both of these challenges give the opportunity to overcome the noisy complaining

of the body. Many of us are used to much space and the need to pull oneself

together, as it were, is new to many. Much patience is

needed. Language becomes an opportunity to overcome shyness. We learn to talk

with hands, smiles, nods and singing. The Staff at the Ashram are

ready and willing to give us all the help and cooperation that one could wish

for. By Swami's Grace, we are always given a venue in which to practise. These

practices comprise about 4 hours a day (2 in the morning and 2 hours in the

afternoon) for the singers. The musicians add three more hours to this time.

Beyond the time spent in actual practice, are the times spent learning the

texts and melodies. It is indeed a full schedule. There are occasions when

either darshan and/or bhajans must be missed due to the duty of attending

practice. The attempt is made to make these times as infrequent as possible.

For the musicians,

however, the many hours spent rehearsing means Swami must be experienced on the

inside. Fortunately, Swami makes His loving Presence felt with unmistakable

clarity. These are the times when tears of joy and gratitude flow freely. His

love is what makes all of this possible. For some, the combination of music and

text that extol our love for Swami, bring tears of relief and healing.

Does everything move easily and without any bumps and jumps? Of course not! How

could we learn to adjust and humble ourselves if all went smoothly? By Swami's

Grace, we are provided with plenty of opportunities to learn and grow

spiritually. There are the times when people are very tired and communication

breaks down. We have the chance to use our words with loving care and if we

fail, there will be another time when, by His Grace, we will listen carefully

and speak lovingly. Often the program for Christmas Eve, which contains Praise

and Worship songs for Swami, is worked on all year. Many people keep their ears

and hearts open to the words and melodies that express their love for our

Beloved Bhagavan. However, when we arrive at Prashanti Nilayam, the time line

is shortened. Many projects need to be completed in a very short

period of time. It has been my experience that Swami will send the perfect

person at the perfect time. For

example, the choir may be working on music that cries for a flute. With no

effort on our part, someone will show up and ask if we could use a flute

player. The quality of the musical talent is incredible. Professional musicians

from throughout the world come bringing their instruments so that they can have

the blessing of playing before Swami. It is when these challenges arise that

the Human Values really come into play. Someone may come with a song that they

have composed out of their love for Swami. This person will want to have their

love sung for Swami. However, the music may not be appropriate, the words may

not fit the theme, or, frankly, it may be beautiful to the composer, but not to

others. Here is where truth, spoken with love and compassion, must be uttered.

When this happens it is amazing to see how speaking with love and from a place

of dharma, people are able to accept that this song might be better used as a

devotional song in their Sai Centre. Anger is rarely seen or heard. The

occasional grumble is voiced, heard and dealt with. So many come wanting only

to sing for Swami on this Holy occasion, that the challenges are dealt with in

a spirit of cooperation. My personal experience of the Christmas Choir for

these past years, is one of great joy and humility. To be allowed to

participate with hundreds of brothers and sisters in singing our love for Swami

is the highlight of my year. The feeling of oneness is palpable. Are there

little glitches along the way? Certainly, but the Love and Grace of Swami so

completely permeates the environment that they become little nothings compared

to the joy of serving Him. Also on a personal level, but one that has been

expressed to me by several choir members, is that the rehearsals become the

focal point of Christmas. One becomes

totally involved in giving and the feeling is one of focusing completely on

Swami and pleasing Him. When focused upon singing His praises, we are raised

above the petty level of everyday challenges. The experience then truly becomes

a Holy Christmas to remember." This year around 564 ladies and 230 gents

hailing from nearly 38 countries were part of the adult choir. Co-ordinating

this choir was Ms. Silvia Olden an energetic, exuberant lady with deep devotion

who was able to hold this motley crowd together and mould them into one team,

one voice. As Vijay Vengetas, an Australian devotee said,

"With nearly a 1000 voices raised in 'Unity', melodious notes pouring out

in absolute 'Purity', how could we not feel the Divine Presence ('Divinity')

around us. Christmas 2005, is truly a fantastic experience being in the choir.

I have been in the Christmas choirs previously but this time seems different.

The group is not only much larger but also very enthusiastic. I think, NO - I

KNOW that much of our enthusiasm comes from our Director, Sylvia, who puts so

much energy and love into everything she does. The stories she tells touches

our hearts and teaches so many lessons. On the day of the narration the message

comes out loud and clear as though it was meant specifically for you. Attending

the practice sessions have brought great joy to many of us and it is no wonder

that we convey that joy in our singing. I shall take away many wonderful

memories but most of all I shall remember the joy of living each day as though

it were my last. Swami's message is very clear - Be Happy". THE

DECORATION COMMITTEE AT WORK What most people do not realize is the sheer

amount of work that goes in to

deck up and decorate the Ashram for every festival, and Christmas 2005 was no

exception. The core decoration committee members, about 30 in number, arrived

in Prashanti Nilayam about 3-4 weeks prior to Christmas to do the preliminary

preparation work. Devotees come from all over the world to work in harmony,

unity and love. So much love! The barriers of culture and language dissolve in

Shed 36 where most of the decoration prep work is done. The first thing that

the core team does is get all the stored boxes of Christmases past from the

storage warehouse near the Ashram Post-Office, which requires the tractor

trailer to make 5 trips to get all the boxes. Additional material (the delicate

items) are in the basement of North 5 and have to be carefully moved to shed 36.

All these boxes are unloaded and unpacked. Shed 36 is divided into seven

designated decoration prep areas (the Mandir, buildings in the Poornachandra

complex, pillars and fences of Sai Kulwant Hall, SKH gates, the canteens and

deities like Ganesha, Gayathri, Buddha, and Jesus in the Ashram). Wires are

then strung for all these designated areas in a uniform manner so that bunting

preparation work can be carried out unhampered and in an unobtrusive manner and

later hung from these wires, till they are ready to be installed. The front

part of the shed has 3 main work areas. On one side is the Glitter Work, where

devotees put glue over cardboard and wooden stars and then dip and sprinkle

gold and silver glitter over them, then hanging them up to dry. The

second area is a work bench for Hot Glue Guns. These 4 hot glue guns are

operated for sticking mirrors, sequins, and other items onto cardboard, timber

and cloth. The third area is for the fabrication of longer items where

operations like drilling and sawing are required. Materials are brought from

overseas, whatever devotees can fit into their luggage. But a lot of items

including consumables like glue, paints, timber, foam boards etc. are purchased

locally. 95% of the items are made from scratch and are re-used or recycled the

next year. A good example of this is the number of earth globes left over from

the youth conference conducted earlier. They were covered with gold

glitter and had red ribbons tied to them with small mirrors, and they became the

Christmas ornaments hanging from the Poornachandra balcony. Every

year the Christmas festival has a different theme. Unity of Faith being the

theme for this year, the banner that was prepared and put up on the Mandir

balcony stated "There is only one Religion - The

Religion of Love". Across the Poornachandra gate another banner was put up that

read "King of Kings". Devotees work 3 shifts in a day (morn/afternoon/evening)

completing 6-8 hours in a day, apart from attending darshan. This goes on till

the decoration preparation work is complete and it is time to put it up. Teams

are formed to cover all the different areas where the decorations have to be

put up. When Swami gives His blessing at the most auspicious time, the devotees

work through the night, till the wee hours of the morning putting up the

decorations (for that is when the Hall is vacant). Ashram seva dals also

assist, especially in tasks like the hanging of large items from the ceiling of

Sai Kulwant Hall. The cynosure of all, the

centre-piece of the decoration, is the manger on the gents' side with statues of

Mother Mary and Joseph with the baby Jesus in a crib. On the ladies' side we

have a statue of the three wise men who came to visit the Baby Jesus in the

manger. These beautiful mock-ups were made and donated by devotees from Italy .

We give an explanation of the importance of these statues for Christians in the

box below. THE NATIVITY SCENE The diorama of the Nativity scene is

a very traditional part of the Christmas decoration, though it is now caught up

in controversy in the West. However in the Ashram, where all the festivals of

the world are freely celebrated, this realistic mock-up of Joseph, Mary and the

baby Jesus is very much appreciated by the people of all religions who come here

to celebrate Christmas and all the other festivals in the Parthi calendar. Mrs.

Milena Kunz-Bijno from Italy contributed the following explanation for the

origin of the importance of the Nativity scene: It was a chilly night in the

year 1203 A.D. St. Francis had invited the citizens and the peasants of

Greppio, a small hamlet near Assisi, to come for the midnight mass. It was

Christmas Eve and the "poor monk" as the people called him, wanted to make a

real reconstruction of the

event that had brought the son of God down on earth. So, Francis decided to

dress a boy and a girl as Joseph and Mary, the parents of Jesus, and put them

along with a cow and a donkey in a cave in the hills. The people of the village

came through the fields bearing candles and bringing lambs and sheep, singing

carols. They reached the cave with Joseph and Mary and St. Francis started

offering the mass. And then the miracle happened: an effulgent light enveloped

the cave and everybody could see the newborn Jesus in the manger. The air was

full of softness and everybody felt the emotion of witnessing the birth of

Christ. The devotion of St. Francis was so great that Jesus had appeared!

Since then the habit of preparing a crèche is a dear tradition for the

Christians. Several items, sometimes the full scene of the birth of Christ, are

arranged ahead of Christmas and on the 24th of December at midnight the figure

of Jesus will be put in the manger by the smallest child of the family. THE

THREE WISE MEN The 3 Wise men, or magi as they are called, also occupy a

treasured place in Christian lore as they are intimately linked with the birth

of Christ. The traditional view of the three wise men is that they came from

Persia to pay homage to the baby Jesus, guided by a star. Their names were

Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar and were also reputed to be kings. They brought

costly gifts of frankincense, gold and myrrh. The

frankincense, an incense used in temple worship, speaks of Jesus' priesthood.

The gold speaks of Jesus' kingship. The myrrh, a spice or balm used in

preparing bodies for burial, speaks of Jesus' atoning death. Swami has often

asked the primary school boys (while pointing to the statues of the three wise

men) if they know who these figures are and He has also spoken about them on a

few occasions, such as during Christmas 1998. When Jesus was born, three

Arabian kings came to see Him. They were overjoyed on seeing the new-born babe.

While returning, the first king said to Mother Mary, “Mother, you have given

birth to a child who loves God.” The second king said, “Mother, you have given

birth to a child who will be loved by God.” The third king said, “Mother Mary,

your child is not different from God; both are one and the same.” Once

we understand the inner meaning of these three statements, we will know the

truth. The one who loves God is the Messenger of God. The one whom God loves is

the Son of God. The one who understands the principle of unity becomes one with

God. - Divine Discourse Christmas 1998. A total of 70 devotees took

part in the decoration team this year from different parts of the world. But

the work is not over after

the programme is done. When Swami gives the command, all the decorations have to

be taken down, packed and put away in storage for the next year. ORGANISING FOR

THE CHILDREN'S CHOIR This year the Children's Choir consisted of 90 children,

restricted to the ages 6-l4 years from 20 countries. Eighteen adults in the

roles of organizing, childcare, and musicians brought the number to 108. By

giving the opportunity to prepare their songs over a number of days, Swami

allowed the children to experience the depth of His boundless love, mixed with

the clear discipline and structure as maintained in the ashram. This created an

enormous building of character in a very short period of time. In this way,

Swami planted the seeds of understanding how Swami’s children can live as an

example of His teachings. All the children showed their love for Swami by

giving 100% of their effort in learning the songs and practising steadfastly.

They also meditated and put on a little piece of paper a gift they wanted to

offer to Swami in the form of replacing a negative habit with a positive one.

These little papers were put on the Christmas tree, which was posted in front

of the Poornachandra Hall (Swami's residence). The children's choir was guided

by Ms. Alma Badings, a long-time Swami devotee from the Netherlands. Great was

her patience at playing Mother Hen to all these young and eager children for 4

hours of practice every day (9:00 to 11:00 AM in the morning and 4:00 to 6:00

PM in the evening), gently coaxing and cajoling, praising and giving tough love

in turn, till all the children

moulded into one unit, till they all sang in unison in one voice. And as the

days rolled by, the hard work seems to have paid off, for those of us who could

listen as we passed by their practice, in the ground floor of the

"double-decker" building. And as Christmas day came closer and closer they were

all ready, willing, able and eager to go! The Christmas Committee had a problem

to place the children who could not sing in the choir because they were either

too small or came too late to learn the songs. Then they had the idea to make

them Swami's greeters. About 12 girls and 20 boys were given small flower

bouquets and waited close to the car path to welcome Him as Swami passed by.

When Swami looked at each greeter as He went by, one little girl was so

overcome with emotion that she stayed in her room the entire next day crying

with happiness! We are immensely grateful to

Swami for giving this profound experience of coming close to Divinity for all

the children. The memory of it will give them strength and guidance throughout

their life. THE CHRISTMAS EVE DINNER There are three canteens in the Ashram

catering to different tastes - a North Indian (NIC), a South Indian Canteen

(SIC) and a Western or Foreigner's Canteen (FC). While the Indian canteens play

a major role during the Birthday celebrations by catering to the hundreds of

thousands of people coming in streams to partake of Swami's prasadam, the

Western canteen now plays the major role during the Christmas Holiday season,

with the traditional Christmas Eve dinner being served to the devotees. The

canteen wears a festive look decorated with holly and twinkling stars and other

Christmas decorations. A huge picture of Swami adorns the back of the Hall. A

Christmas tree with all ornaments and a sleigh with a cushion seat for Swami

completed the decoration. All the tables are also well laid out and ready for

the candle-lit dinner. The gents and the ladies side both have a big queue

right after the evening bhajan. The myriad volunteers and the canteen staff

have been toiling the entire day to get the meal ready in time for the 7 PM

service. The eclectic menu this year consisted of asparagus soup, lasagne,

mashed potatoes with cheese, spinach with corn and potato, Russian salad, white

rice, dhal, chocolate and walnut ice-cream for dessert and herbal tea. And all

this for just 30 rupees (or 67 cents)! The doors open at 7 PM. The crowd comes

enters in an orderly fashion. The Brahmarpanam Thanksgiving prayer is first

recited in front of Swami's picture and the dinner is then served. The good

food and the festive ambience on Christmas Eve set the tone for the grand

Christmas celebrations in the morrow. THE CHRISTMAS MORNING PROGRAMME BY

THE SATHYA SAI STUDENTS Christmas morning dawns with a little nip in the air

and more than a little excitement. All the devotees are dressed in their best

and eagerly waiting for the Father who had sent Jesus to Earth, to now come and

bless them also. After Swami got down from the car, in a departure from the

norm, He cut the Christmas cakes first. There were cakes by the Overseas

Devotees, the Hospital Staff, the Institute and Easwaramma School students.

After cutting the cakes, Swami sat down in His customary position on the

veranda after profusely blessing all the devotees with His abhaya hasta (hand

raised in blessing). Christmas morning belonged to the students of the Sri

Sathya Sai Institutions, as Swami had blessed music programmes by the Primary

School violin boys

and the Institute Brass Band. After Swami had taken His seat, the Primary

School boys take their place for the first item of the day. They are neatly

dressed in white pants and a full-arm white shirt and a red vest that lends a

neat festive touch. The Primary School Violin Boys' Orchestra is made up of 17

violin boys, one cello, and 13 recorder boys. The programme consisted of the

energetic Vigoroso, Dong Dong Merrily on High, Canon in D, and a jazzy version

of Jingle Bells that is very well received by the crowd and warms them up for

the next item. Swami then gave permission for the Institute Band to begin its

programme. The 36 musicians joyfully raised

their music stands and stood in position as its conductor returned after

speaking with Swami on the portico. The instruments in the band include 2

flutes, 1 Piccolo, 6 Clarinets, 6 Trumpets, 3 Alto Sax, 1 Tenor Sax, 1 Baritone

Sax, 4 Trombones, 3 baritones, 1 Band Leader, 6 Percussion instruments, 1 Tuba

and 1 Sousaphone. The varied programme opened with the Christmas Carol Ring

Christmas Bells, which the band played as a rendition of the Asatoma prayer.

Other works included The First Noel, Christmas Candle, Rudolph the Red Nosed

Reindeer, Hark the Herald Angels, O Little Town of Bethlehem , Rocking Around

the Christmas Tree, and Jingle Bells. The Institute

choir accompanied by the students of the Sri Sathya Sai Higher Secondary School

next presented a bouquet of 10 carols before Swami as a grand finale to the

morning's programme. Two students, one as Uncle Sam and the other as

Little Jack gave an introductory commentary before the start of each carol. The

instruments accompanying the singers were 4 keyboards, 2 guitars (base and

rhythm) and a saxophone. The percussion instruments consisted of the jazz

drums, the digital drums and other special effects instruments. While there

were some core singers to lead everyone through the microphone, the entire

student body joined in the

singing accompanied by the devotees to make it a full participatory and a

memorable experience for everyone. Extolling the charm, grace and joy Christmas

brings, the students started with the carol Oh the joy of Christmas Day which

talks of how people the world over have gathered in Parthi to offer their love

and prayers. The birth of Christ was heralded next in Ding Dong merrily on

high, In Heavens the bells are ringing… A beautiful piece on the guitar lead

the crowd into All Night Long I shall burn my Christmas candle, leading next to

a Deck the Halls Medley consisting of 4 songs (Deck the halls with boughs of

Holly Fa la la, Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer, You better watch out and the

crowd favourite Jingle Bells). While the strains of Jingle Bells filled

the air, a student dressed as Santa Claus comes bounding in and seeks

Bhagavan's blessings, and then goes around throwing chocolates into the crowd.

A beautiful piece on the saxophone was the lead to the song Let Your Glory

Fall, an inspired song filled with yearning for the Lord's touch. The students

then got everyone rocking with Aye ye ye Christmas Day, followed by Hallelujah

Hallelujah….. The next carol talks of the prophecy that Jesus made of His

father's coming ("…a crown of hair upon His frame, a blood red robe just like a

flame…") with the carol One day before He left His frame He showed His future

name. Accompanied with a beautiful violin solo, a prayer to the Lord (Who is

all goodness) to take control of our lives and pardon us our misgivings was

next with the carol God is Good All The Time. The boys ended the morning

programme on a very cheery note with With Love and Joy we wish you all a Very

Very Merry and Happy Christmas and a Happy New Year. Distribution of prasadam

followed by arathi brought to a close a warm and cheery

Christmas morning programme. THE AFTERNOON CHRISTMAS PROGRAMME BY THE

OVERSEAS DEVOTEES The afternoon was exclusively reserved for the overseas

devotees and brought to a fulfilling climax the arduous preparation and the

hard work of the past few weeks. A Short Christmas Skit A small skit

both at the beginning and at the very end of the programme (after the

children's and the adult choir) brought to light the commercialization rampant

in the celebration of Christmas today. The small kids also brought out the true

spirit and message behind the birth of Jesus. While a full length skit had been

originally planned and prepared, it was scaled down at the last minute due to

the exigencies of time. The young children took it very well and it was an

abject lesson for everyone else in faith and love. Listen to what a 12 year old

devotee, Master Dhruvan Dellibabu from Raleigh, North Carolina, USA had to say:

"One important incident that happened during my play was that I had somehow

damaged my arm. I wasn't able to lift my arm at all and that was the week-end

of the recording so I prayed to Swami and I managed to do my part well with my

hurt arm. The next day we went to the doctor to check my arm. The doctor said

that it wasn't

broken so I didn't need an X-Ray, but a voice in me told me to have an X-Ray and

it turned out that I had a broken arm. It was one month before the final

performance so I prayed to Swami with all my heart and soul and when I got to

Parthi my arm was better." The Children's Choir Two boys and two girls

from the children's choir first welcomed Swami with a rose and sought His

blessings. Then Ms. Alma Badings, the children's choir conductor, sought His

blessings also before the kids went into their routine. They sang a total of 13

songs before our dear Lord. Starting first with a prayer Ganesha Ganesha to Lord

Ganesha to guide their way, the children next sang a Telugu song called Antaa

Okkate manamantaa okkate. The gist of the song is - 'All are one, we are all

one. Living under different flags we are all one.There is only one land, one

language. If you are a Hindu or Christian, all are children of Mother Sai. If

you are rich or poor, you are all eligible for Sai's love. We are all citizens

of universal peace, all one.' The children then sang Jesus Christ

Tender Child, followed by All my little children do come unto me. Then they

sang a joyous song called Bells are ringing Christmas morn; Tidings bringing,

Christ is born. This was followed by Have a Holy

Christmas and Noel Noel. Then they sang the quintessential Christmas song called

Joy to the world, the Lord has come! Launching next to The Little Drummer Boy

which had the crowd humming along. This was followed by 2 songs singing a

paean of praise to Swami called - Ev'ryone loves Sathya Sai Baba, He is God

incarnate, followed by Sai Baba Sai Baba Sathya Sai Baba jai. The children then

sang All night all day angels watching over us my Lord and then the perennial

favourite Jingle Bells brought their thoroughly enjoyable programme to a close.

The Adult Choir The Adult Choir was next and like the children's choir,

they also sang 13 songs. Lead by Choir conductor Sylvia, the huge choir sang a

Sanskrit prayer first Om Ekadhanthaya Vidmahe, Vakrathundaya Dhimahi, Thanno

Dantih Prachodayath. (An Invocation to Lord Ganesha praying: Oh Lord Ganesha!

The one-tusked elephant-headed Lord! Bless us with auspiciousness)

Then they launched with gusto into their Christmas routine for which they had

been practising for so long. They began first with Turn Your Eyes Upon Swami,

Look Full

In His Glorious Face, and next they sang two songs of praise to Swami - Dark

Clouds can't O'er Take Me, Fear Dare Not Invade…and Light is Your Form, Light

Is Your Being. A Spanish song Un Solo Dios Eres Tu Eres Tu Mi Senor was next.

This was followed by Deep Within My Heart and Soul I find the Being Without

Form and Sri Sathya Sai Baba, He Is The Light Of The World. The melancholy My

Lord And My God, Take Away From Me All That Parts Me from Thee was followed by

an equally wrenching Where Are You My Krishna, Whither Have You Gone?

Turning more joyful with What's Love? It's The Voice Of A Dear One was followed

by a Sanskrit song Tvam Adidevah Purusha Purana, Tvam Asya Visvasya Param

Nidhanam. The rousing Feliz Navidad was next and Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee

was the last group song for the evening.Swami then instructed Sylvia that the

choir could sing bhajans. The choir sang bhajans with aplomb and lead everyone

to great heights of devotional ecstasy. While the bhajan singing was going on,

prasadam was brought to be blessed by Swami and then distributed. Swami held a

peppermint candy cane and after some time called Mr. Rafael Ferrero, a

saxophone player from Argentina sitting in the front row, and lovingly gave it

to him. Rafael beamed at this unexpected blessing and took his seat.

After a few minutes, Swami again called Rafael and started talking to him.

A personal interview in full view of the Christmas crowd! After discussing some

personal matters and giving Rafael the most valuable

divine guidance, Swami waved His hand and made the most beautiful pendant for

him. It was a circular gold framed pendant inlaid with precious stones. More

discussion and instructions followed while the crowd sat up agog with

excitement. Finally after fulfilling all his wishes completely the Lord blessed

Rafael again and permitted him to resume his seat. But a visibly

happy Lord had to express His happiness some more. He called Michael, a guitar

and drum player from the United States sitting next to Rafael and made for him

an exquisite golden chain. He lovingly undid the clasp and personally tied the

chain around Michael's neck. Michael buried his face deep in Mother Sai's lap

suffused with His love that flowed not only to him but also engulfed all of us

sitting in the crowd. Swami then asked Michael "Are you happy?"- perhaps

because Michael had been quite anxious all evening worrying if their music

would please the Lord. What glorious words of assurance from the Lord -

soothing and allaying fears and pouring bliss, unending bliss in everyone's

heart. But the "fireworks" were not over yet. Roger Dietrich, a flute

player sitting next to these two who had already been honoured, was the next

one to be called. Swami made a ring for him which He personally slipped onto a

finger of Roger's right hand. Roger was overcome with emotion and speechless.

Swami graciously permitted him to take the much sought padanamaskar before

returning to his seat. After that Swami signalled for the bhajan to

stop and wanted that the arathi be taken. Three of the people who had toiled

hard for the past three weeks to bring Christmas 2005 to a successful

conclusion were honoured by being selected to do the mangalarathi to Swami.

After the arathi was taken, Swami turned to the choir again and asked everyone

in the front row "Are you happy?" and then blessed them profusely. While

there was no formal divine discourse this Christmas, by His repeated emphasis on

being

happy, the Christmas message was quite explicit and clear - Don't Worry, Be

Happy - for on the road to happiness, happiness itself is the road! DOUBLE

HEADER: TWO MUSICAL PROGRAMMES BY THE SHALOM GROUP FROM AUSTRALIA AND THE

SATHYA SAI SINGERS OF S. CALIFORNIA AND HAWAII ON DEC 26th On December 26th,

two musical programmes were on offer: first was a group of Jewish singers from

Australia called the Shalom Group who sang spiritual songs for Swami in Hebrew

and the next programme was by a group of musicians from Southern California and

Hawaii who also presented a musical programme for our beloved Swami entitled

Life is a Song Sing it! The Shalom Group The Shalom

Group is a group of Sai Jewish devotees who have come to the Lotus feet of Swami

about 20 years ago, and are now living in Perth, Australia. The Shalom Group

consists of a total of 21 people and 11 of them had come to Prashanti Nilayam

as part of an Australian youth group to attend the Christmas celebrations. The

Shalom group have been singing Jewish spiritual songs for the last 8 years.

These spiritual songs praise the glory and love of God and pray for peace and

love in the entire world and for all humanity. The Shalom Group had

been trying to come and sing in His divine presence for over 5 years and they

were given the lifetime opportunity on Dec 26th, 2005. Auspiciously, it was

also the Jewish festival of Chanukah ("The festival of Lights"), which this

year coincided with Christmas and the New Year since it is celebrated over 8

days. Chanukah is celebrated to symbolise one of the great miracles of God

wherein he kept filling a jar of oil that should have lasted only 1 day to

light the menorah (Candlelabra) in the great Jewish temple in Jerusalem for a

full 8 days! The songs that they sang in the Hebrew language for Swami were

Shalom and Adonolam. Shalom is a song to call the angels to participate in our

prayers and goes on to praise the righteous man that follows in the path of God

with right action. Adonolam calls on the

Master of the Universe, Who is and always will be; Who ruled before any creature

existed and Who with His will created everything. The Sathya Sai Singers

Group In 2005 the devotees of Southern California were given the opportunity

to travel together as a group on a pilgrimage to see Bhagavan for Christmas in

December. The devotees were given the opportunity to choose one of four special

sadhanas: a choir group, a bhajan group, a play group or a service group. Each

of these groups met separately one or more times a week to practise their

offering to Bhagavan. The choir group, called the Sathya Sai Singers, met

twice a week for six months in order to rehearse and make the final song

selections that they

wanted to perform for the Lord during the Christmas celebrations in Prashanti

Nilayam. They performed at several of the monthly group meetings near Los

Angeles as well as at the December Southern California public meeting and at a

church near San Diego in order to perfect their presentation for Swami. The

bhajan group and the play group also met weekly to organize and rehearse their

offering for Bhagavan. Everyone prayed that Swami would allow the groups to

perform in His divine presence. On December 26th, the prayers of the

Southern California devotees were answered as Bhagavan graciously consented to

have the choir sing in Sai Kulwant Hall. Ms. Maryalice Jessup, the choir

director, came forward to give Swami a special handcrafted programme and a red

rose on a silver tray. Bhagavan (who was seated) stood up to greet her and

smiled lovingly at her, saying "Very happy, very happy!" This group of singers

from Southern California and Hawaii presented a bouquet of 7 beautiful songs to

bring to a finish one of the most exciting and beautiful Christmas celebrations

in Prashanti Nilayam in recent times. They started with a beautiful song "For

The Children" which pleaded with everyone to save the trees, the rocks, hills

and valleys, the seas and the planet for the children. Moving on to a prayerful

song called "Lord Of Love", they prayed to Swami that O Lord of Love, I come to

You and

give You my life. I Surrender all, and I make You one with my life. The next

song - "You Raise Me Up" - talked about how Swami's support helps all to get

over weary and troubled times. This was followed by a song from Walt Disney's

"Pocahontas" called "Colours Of The Wind", and is a song depicting the era in

United States' history when England was sending people to explore this "new"

land. In this song, Pocahontas, a Native American woman, is chiding John Smith,

an Englishman, for his narrow views about nature. "In This Very Room" - the

next song expresses hope that in this very room there is love, joy for all of

us; for Baba, Sai Baba, is in this very room. The words of the song, "How

Beautiful Your Songs Of

Praise" - How true and steadfast your ways. Let all that is within me rise and

sing. How beautiful Your Holy name. How marvellous Your saving grace, that You

would call me as Your own…how beautiful…beautiful, left everyone moved to

silent tears overcome by the surging emotions of love for Swami. The last song

called "Here I Am Lord" sang of the glory of God and His promise to tend to the

poor and the lame. Swami was immensely pleased with the heart touching lyrics

and the soulful music. He called the conductor, Ms. Maryalice Jessup, and

manifested a beautiful gold chain with a gold cross encrusted with blue

sapphires and asked her to slip it around her head. It was a little tight and

would not easily go over and the conductor turned to the audience and humorously

remarked, "I have a big head". Swami was touched at this innocent and pure

humour flowing spontaneously as love from the heart. Swami also blessed

Maryalice with a personal audience the next day. Swami then asked the group to

sing bhajans and the group obliged magnificently singing both English and

Sanskrit bhajans. Swami sat for nearly an hour enjoying the music, before

arathi was offered - by one gent each from both the groups (the Shalom Singers

and the group from Southern California) and likewise by two ladies together -

one from each group. An entire year has gone speedily by. We are now in the

New Year -

2006, a year of new challenges and new opportunities. While we mistakenly tend

to view time as discrete independent intervals, we do not always consciously

realize that time is a continuum and thoughts and actions from the past

(samskaras) continue to influence and shape our present circumstances and

thoughts (prarabdha karma). And these samskaras are not just limited to our

present lifetime but go back to many prior lifetimes also. The Vedas also tell

us that there are 8.4 million different species on earth. Though we have since

time immemorial been travelling and taking birth with different bodies in all

these 84 lakh species, this time around we have been blessed with a human body.

Thus obtaining a human body itself is a very rare occurrence, but to obtain a

human body at the same time the Avatar is also present on earth is the rarest

and most fortunate of circumstances. And of the billions of people on earth, we

are

the most blessed to come in the divine presence of the Avatar and have His

Darshan, Sparshan and Sambhashan. This opportunity must not be missed for who

knows how many millions of lives will have to go by before such a rare

opportunity comes our way again. So let us resolve in this New Year to grasp

this opportunity and realize the aim of our life; let us resolve to love Him,

pray to Him and listen to whatever He says. And His message for 2006 seems to

be "Always Be Happy!" Jai Sai Ram.

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