40 NEW PHOTOS:FROM PRASANTHI NILAYAM - CHIRSTMAS EVE 24 DEC 2008

December 30, 2008

40 new photos Christmas Eve Celebrationsfrom Prasanthi Nilayam

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Blessed Christmas - 24th Dec. 08 Christmas eve Update and photos

Christmas or Yuletide or Noel or Christ's Mass brings to mind images of snow and snowmen, candles and candies, Santa Claus and his sprinting reindeer, Christ and the Holy Cross. The night before, celebrated as Christmas eve, is that holy night when Jesus the son of God was supposed to have taken birth. And in Prashanti Nilayam, it is the holy night which is blessed by the father of Christ!

At about 4:15 pm, Swami arrived into the " decked with holly " Kulwant hall. A mention must be made about the elaborate decorations. Kulwant hall didn't seem as a place in South India. Huge cloth spreads with Virgin Mary and her babe boy hung from different parts of the hall. Beautiful paintings adorned the mandir premises and there were lovely blue lights draping the pillars along with decorative cloths. Tiny bells, ornamental trinkets and other Xmas decorations made the whole atmosphere festive and holy. How the entire decorations came about is a lovely story in itself which we plan to carry soon hopefully. The large number of participants for the choir sat neatly arranged in rows in their respective places. This choir has a wonderful story of its own and you can read that at

http://sssbpt.org/Pages/Prasanthi_Nilayam/SingingforSai.html

Swami observed the beautifully decorated Christmas tree as soon as He came out. Moving through the hundreds of Christian and Jewish ladies who had assembled for the occasion Swami blessed all. A huge area in the centre of the Kulwant hall had been occupied by the members of the choir. They bowed down to Swami and were flashing smiles of glee and joy. Passing through them, Swami blessed all of them. He took a complete darshan round as blessed the boys holding trays as He neared them. He accepted two letters and a card from the students and those happened to be the only " collectables " with Him in today's darshan rounds. Swami moved on to the stage and then lit the three huge candles that had been specially placed there. That was followed by a round of applause and then Swami asked for the choir to begin. Christmas Eve in Prasanthi Nilayam is distinctive over the years with a unique choir comprising representation of united nations singing His glory in His immediate Divine Presence. The overseas choir has been a part of the Christmas celebrations for over a decade now. This unique choir for this year had over 400 voices singing a spirited collection of songs basing different cultures from around the world.

Swami gave His blessings and the graceful conductor waved her finger-baton in the air tickling over 400 vocal chords resulting in three omkars kick starting yet another wonderful Christmas Eve in the immediate Divine Presence! All men and women, over 400 in number, clad in white, symbolizing purity sang their hearts out in devotional ecstasy on the Christmas Eve witnessed by the Holy Father and a concourse of devotees from around the world that filled the Sai Kulwant Hall to capacity. Some of the numbers for the evening included Christmas is the holy time to celebrate the birth, Almighty God…make me aware and And this is Christmas in Prasanthi. At His Divine command, they continued…As sonorous notes from an array of musical instruments rendered the air, with hundreds singing in chorus, the sun in the western horizon slowly fading off giving way to a beautiful twilight, they sang…Then sings My soul, My saviour God to Thee…How great Thou Art, How great Thou Art…It was a befitting evening paying homage to the Master of masters while remembering His chosen son, anticipating yet another Divine Advent…a glorious Christmas!!! It was such a wonderful feeling listening to the overseas devotees and seeing Swami. All sang in unison, united in their Love for Him. The joy and power of Unity which Swami always stresses on could literally be felt especially with the carols since these songs are chord based and all the counter strains add up to a great symphonic effect. Separately sung they seem disconnected but when combined, they make an everlasting impression - just what Unity does to diverse components - bringing synergy. >>>>CLICK TO READ MORE SEE ALL THE 40 PHOTOS