CHRISTMAS DISCOURSE

26/12/07

Swami arrived in the evening at 5 pm, as all devotees patiently waited for His discourse. He asked a professor to speak for sometime. At around 5.30 he got up, with a beaming smile, ever ready to bless all of us. Here are a few excerpts from His divine discourse.

• Anger is the cause of failure. It leads to commit many sins.
• All conflicts arise due to lack of love. All problems, difficulties are nothing but our own imagination. There’s nothing like restlessness in the world. There’s Shanti everywhere. Peace within your heart will get reflected in peace around you. Everything is governed by the principle of “reflection, reaction, resound.”
• (Swami asked a boy) “What is your name?”(he replied “vikas”). No, you are not Vikas. You are Brahman. If you ask God “what is your name?” he will reply “Aham Brahmasmi”
• You are not one but three (one you think you are, others think you are…)What others think you are is a matter of imagination. The true self is “I” which is common to all of you. Christians worship this “I”
• One is not born with the name. It’s just for the sake of identity.
• All beings take birth by the Will of God. (At this point, Swami materialized a chain and placed it on the mike.) We run after materialistic things which are nothing but shadows (maya). The shadow changes according to the position of sunlight but the object remains same. The object is the Brahman.
• Love is the basis for faith. LOVE, the first letter stands for Lord. Everything arises from the Lord. Without creator, there’s no creation.

Swami discussed in detail about the life of Jesus.

• Jesus was a son of a carpenter named Joseph. Joseph loved a girl in his village. After sometime, he noticed she was pregnant. It was election time then. So, they had to return to their native village. There was no transport available, so they had to ride on a donkey. When they reached the village, they found all houses were occupied. They went to a place nearby where donkeys were kept and spent the night. Mary had labor pains, but Joseph thought it was because of long hours of travel. On that holy night, Mary delivered a baby boy
  

• Jesus grew up under the care of his mother. One day there was a function in Jerusalem. Jesus went to the function and got separated in the crowd. His parents thought their son was lost and cried in despair. But He returned back at night, much to the relief of his parents. He told them that he had joined a gathering in listening to the speeches of wise elders in village. The pundits said that there is only one truth, which is the self. Later on, contemplating n this truth, Jesus went around mountains near the village. He came down by the riverside and met Peter, a boatman. Peter introduced himself and his father to Jesus. He told Jesus that they were not able to catch any fish in the river anymore. Jesus pointed out a place and asked them to go and fish there. To their amazement, they found plenty of fish. All the fishermen thanked Jesus and accepted Him as their master.
  

• Seeing this popularity of Jesus, some people were jealous of Him. They decided to conspire against him. (Swami narrated episodes of how Judas betrayed Jesus and how Jesus was crucified). When Jesus was about to be crucified, Mother Mary came to him and cried. Jesus pacified her saying body is just a water bubble, the true self can never die. But she said that she couldn’t bear such torture to her son. Jesus replied “I am not anybody’s son. All are my children”
  

• The next day Jesus appeared for the supper. The king was surprised and asked how he could come here. Jesus said, “I can go anywhere, at my Will. I am God. None can kill me” These words moved the king and he decided to bow down to Jesus.

• There’s nothing beyond the Will of God. Any person having complete faith in these words will be protected. Faith is most important. Today, people have lost the two eyes of faith and have become blind. With faith and love, one can achieve anything. Faith grows in love.
  

• Many foreigners have faith, but sometimes love is missing. Both are like +ve and -ve forces. Develop this “Master Faith” in the Lord. If you strengthen faith, you can achieve anything.
  

• Bhagwan isn’t ordinary. The mistake of such thought lies in your vision. Swami’s happiness is in you. You are not separate from Him. This is the fundamental truth.
  

• Bhagwan makes you work like instruments. He wants you to become ideal instruments in His mission. With Jnaana, Vijanaana and Sujnaana, Swami wants all of you to become powerful instruments.
  

• You think your qualifications make you succeed in life. There are so many educated people in this world. In fact, educated people are the ones who ruin the world today. Thus, with secular education, a spiritual life is very much essential.
  

• Students, you are ripe fruits. But fruit must have the sweet juice (of love), otherwise it will be discarded. You are not here merely for learning, but to learn from Swami. Have strong faith, grow your love. Believe in the principle of oneness.
  

• (Swami sang the bhajan “Hari bhajan bina sukh shanti nahin...”) Bhajan alone gives you true peace. You may earn your degrees, but do not forget the chanting of Lord’s name. It is the easiest way to attain moksha, be it a tiny tot or an old man.

Swami later put the chain around the neck of a student. After a bhajan, aarati was given. He sat through he entire aarati. It was 6.45 when he returned to Yajur Mandir. It was the longest discourse given by Swami in recent times, but we just couldn’t figure out how time passed by so soon!

A MERRY MERRY CHRISTMAS

Things seem to be getting better in mandir day by day. As Swami started coming late for darshans since last month, His interaction with us was limited to a few occasions. Christmas has truly brought the yonder days back. I’ve already discussed about the drama episode before.

A couple of days before, Swami asked a boy whether students are practicing any carols for Christmas. He was enquiring as to what songs were being practised for the 25^th. The boy replied that Christmas programme was ready and mentioned the various carols. He said even the Jingle Bells song was ready. Swami was pleased.

On the Christmas morning, all of us were ready and seated in Kulwant hall by 7 am. However, Swami arrived only at 8.30. In the beginning, there was a violin recital by a group of kids from Primary School. The boys played three beautiful pieces including the jingle bells song. As soon as that piece began, four tiny tots dressed as Santa appeared. They went to Swami and got their sacks blessed. Swami was very amused; He even joined them in throwing the chocolates to the students!

Soon after, there was a programme by the Institute Band group followed by carols sung by students. Swami was indeed enjoying the music and songs; He patiently waited till 10.00 am so that students could sing all the songs.

The evening session was no less exciting. Though Swami came a bit late at 5pm, the programme went on as planned. There were four speeches, first being a talk given by a youth wing member from Argentina. She narrated experiences from her life and how Swami brought her back into His fold. Swami was pleased with her and materialized a chain. The next speaker was another youth, originally hailing from Fiji, now settled in Mumbai. He too spoke on similar lines and His talk was interspersed with some melodious songs. Later, there were a couple of speeches by senior overseas devotees. First was Mrs. Hilcott who spoke about the various episodes in Prasanthi Nilayam during Christmas in the past. Her talk was very interesting and transported us to those wonderful days of the seventies and eighties.

After the four speeches, the master of ceremonies requested Swami to give His Christmas message. It was already 6.30 in the evening, so Swami said that devotees have been sitting for long, He does not want to trouble them more. However, He consented to give His discourse the next day.

This year’s Christmas was special for more than one reason. The huge gathering of devotees made the environment look as if it was Sivaratri. The decorations in mandir were fantastic. There was a special huge candle brought from Georgia, a statue of the Virgin of Guadalupe besides many other fancy items. The mood of Swami was something that struck me the most; because of late, there were hardly any interactions with Him to talk about. Today, he looked like a proud father celebrating His son’s birthday. The bottomline remains; we are all truly merry this Christmas.

Christmas Gifts from Sai

It’s been quite a dreadful time for me in the past few weeks. To meet the project deadlines, we (MBA) boys were cutting all corners out, even to the extent of going late for darshans at times. Our Mother Sai knows it all, for He has changed the darshan timings these days. It’s all His grace that made us complete our projects on time.

Though He arrives late, Swami makes it a point to bless all of us, sometimes by spending time in the portico or watching the programmes put up by the various groups of devotees. Parthi always seems crowded as every other day, new groups of devotees land here. Though it’s Christmas time now, the huge crowds make us feel it’s Swami’s birthday festival coming soon!!!

For the past one week, Swami had been enquiring as to what the boys were doing, why they were not putting up any programme. “So many groups put up drama, when will our boys present one?” he remarked. Therefore, a Burrakatha (folk song) was presented by three boys few days back.

As Christmas is a couple of days away, the decorations in Kulwant hall have already begun. Yesterday, Swami sat in the portico for an hour and blessed us all. He asked a professor to give a speech in telugu. There is a statue of an angel kept near portico along with other decoration items. Swami kept looking at it (with an expressionless face), turned towards a student and asked, “what is all this? Is Christmas round the corner?” In matters of humour, none can beat Him.

Some boys showed a card to Swami yesterday, regarding the drama. He was pleased and consented to see it the next day. I can say He was more than just pleased because He kept on enquiring today afternoon whether the actors are ready. The Vice Chancellor came running to Kulwant hall and told the boys, “Swami is waiting for you. Get your make up done as soon as possible.” Our lord finally arrived at 5 pm and went straight to the bhajan mandir where the actors were waiting. He said, “I was waiting all this while for you to get ready. Is your make up over?” He spent quite sometime talking to the actors and then came to the portico.

At this juncture, I must mention about one of the actors. This boy was initially dejected when he got a small role (as Sravankumar’s father). He was praying desperately that Swami should look at Him. As Swami sat in Bhajan mandir before drama, a boy pointed out the main roles of Rama, Lakshmana, Sita etc. Swami looked at Him and replied, “ But where is Sravankumar’s father?” That actor’s happiness knew no bounds. Since he was also one of the few who could speak telugu, Swami preferred to ask him most of the questions too.

The drama was very brief and very beautifully enacted. It had incidents from Ramayana like the devotion of Sravankumar, Shabari and Guha. The songs were well sung, which was one of the main reasons that made Him happy. After the programme, Swami blessed all actors with photographs. He materialized vibhuti and surprisingly, rolled it in his palms to make a lump before giving it to every boy. He materialized a chain and gave it to the student who acted as Shabari. Swami looked very happy and stayed on till Aarati was given to Him. He said, “I am very happy with your drama. You should have portrayed how Sravankumar’s parents curse Dasaratha after knowing about their son’s death. Anyway, next time, I want you to put up this drama in Poornachandra Auditorium with all the sets and costumes. I will personally come and direct it.”

Well, that’s our Director Divine, the Will behind Ramayana as also behind each of our lives. MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

HRIDAYAVAANI

Some incidents touch our heart. But some of them create impressions, lasting a lifetime.

Hridayavaani was one such festival that moved many. I’ve been writing about our convocation drama in my previous posts. These 25 days of hard work, prayer, spirit of brotherhood, love and faith in our Swami has made us so much stronger today.

We were ready with recording of dialogues & sets by the 15th, and thus began practicing in the Poornachandra auditorium (PC), the venue of our drama, from 17^th itself. Our teacher incharge had shown Swami a list of names for the title of drama and Swami chose “Hridayavaani”. The name truly resembled the spirit and essence of the story, which was based on Swami’s teachings and projects.

On 21^st , Swami agreed to see our practice in PC, this time with the dress rehearsal. We were eagerly waiting for Him in the backstage from where He would enter the auditorium. The programme in mandir got over pretty late as Swami was busy distributing sarees to the VIPs . It was 11 am when He came. We were greeted with a beautiful darshan as Swami blessed us all, though we could see that he was apparently tired. He stepped down the stage and sat in His usual place, accompanied by a few elders. The drama went well and as each scene progressed, our confidence grew stronger. Swami was very happy with our rehearsal. While He returned, He remarked to an actor “ Black pant”. He was unhappy with the boy’s costume. So the boy had to find an alternative pair for the next day.

22^nd Diary:

The mood is upbeat, all of us are eagerly awaiting the most crucial moment of our lives, the chance to act in front of our Lord, that too on the day of our convocation. This day is special for every student, a matter of pride and great blessing, of being recognized as His students.

The convocation programme is scheduled to begin at 3 pm. The Vice Chancellor, professors and council members as well as Institute band and vedam groups are ready for the procession. The drama boys have to stay back in PC for make up as the drama would start immediately after convocation. So we have to be content with the darshan of our Lord as He comes out of His residence.

Lo and behold! Swami comes out in a sparkling white robe, looks at everyone and indicates with His hand “begin the procession”. We are all very excited as Swami has hardly come for convocation in white.

Our make up is over and we are waiting for Swami’s arrival to PC. The convocation programme in Kulwant hall has been brief , giving Swami plenty of time to speak. Swami spoke for one and half hours. At 5.30 pm., He returns back.

Swami enters the backstage with an enchanting smile, enough to boost our confidence for the evening. He identifies some of the actors, blesses us and goes outside to join the audience. Except for this moment, the backstage is a scene of chaos, all of us trying to make sure things are in place.

The drama begins at 6 pm. Throughout the play, Swami is in rapt attention, and becomes emotional in certain scenes. Mind you, no one else can give so much attention after having watched a full practice twice before. But that’s our Mother, always ready to cheer us up. I’m reminded of what a teacher told us after the first practice that Swami saw 10 days ago. He said “Swami listens to each word and gives it due importance. That is why He feels so touched by the scenes.”

After the drama , He comes on stage and blesses us all with photographs. He looks at the same actor who wore black pant yesterday “ your dress is good today. Very happy.”

As He’s taking aarati and returning back, we form a path (rather narrow the path) and wish Him in unison “Swami, Happy Birthday” He looks at us amused, “Oh birthday? But I am always happy”

Indeed, everyday is His birthday, a celebration of love that fills the emptiness within our barren hearts and transforms us each day, from a bud to a blooming rose, ready to spread its fragrance to others around. It is the Hridayavaani of every heart. We bow in gratitude to this eternal fragrance of love. Sai ram

FIRST MOMENT OF TRUTH

Since many days, we’ve been expecting Swami to come to college and see the drama practice. He too has been showing a keen interest in the play.

Yesterday, all of us were expecting Swami to come in the morning, as He said on the previous day that He’d see our practice after bhajans. Due to the recording session of dialogues in progress, we slept late in the night, the day before.

It was 10 am in the morning but there was no sign of Swami coming. He did not come out of Yajur mandir for the bhajans too. Finally at 10.30 we got the message that Swami had gone upstairs to his room. We were dejected a bit, but knew that the afternoon would be most probable time for Swami’s visit.

At 3 pm all of us assembled again in the auditorium. Satyajit had conveyed the message that Swami would come after 3.30pm. There was a lot of anticipation as usual. Many senior people also came and waited. Swami came at about 4 pm.As soon as He stepped out of car, He asked a teacher, "when did boys come?" Teacher replied, "Swami 3 pm" . Swami was upset "I told you i will come at 4 pm , then why did you call boys early and make them wait ?" That's our Mother's love.

As He entered the auditorium, He saw the drama troupe. The boy enacting the role of Tanesha (king) was ready in his costume. He asked the boy, “who are you?” the boy replied, “Swami, I am the king”. “king emi?” He asked again. “Swami, sultan of Hyderabad.” Swami looked at Him and replied “ Phir Hyderabad jaao (then go to Hyderabad)”.

He sat in the center of front row and asked us to begin. There were quite a few emotional scenes and touching scenes in the drama. He was in tears on the more than one occasion. There’s a scene where Ramdas sings in prison and Rama and Lakshmana watch from behind. After the drama, He called Rama and said, “you sang well. So, you two help Ramdas in repaying the debts, isn’t it?”

Overall He was very happy and said “short drama. Chala bagundi (very nice)”. Well, experience tells us that there is always calm before the storm. He did not point our mistakes today.

AKHANDA BHAJAN DISCOURSE

The Akhanda bhajan this year was very special. i think Swami must have broken His all time record of collecting maximum letters on a single day. Right from the beginning, He was entirely involved in ensuring that we are focused on the bhajans, as He would come out frequently from the bhajan mandir and survey the entire Kulwant hall in chair. this topic requires more elaboration and i'd defer it for a later date for paucity of time.
Yesterday, He came late in the evening when bhajans had already begun. After about 4 bhajans, He asked Prof. G Venkatraman to speak. After the speech, He called for the mike to be brought and began His discourse! If He wants a programme, He has 101 ways of bringing it up. All this was happening inside bhajan hall.
Excerpts from His discourse:

• Understand the significance of Akhanda bhajan. Bhajans are of 2 types- Khanda (finite) bhajan and Akhanda (infinite) bhajan. To think of God only for a few moments is khanda bhajan (fragmented devotion).
• Akhanda bhajan means singing the glory of God in all 3 states ie the waking state, dream state and deep sleep state.
• There are 3 hands of a clock- the seconds, minutes and the hours hand. Of these, the hours hand assumes maximum importance.
• (Swami narrated the story of parrot and king where the parrot is told to go and ask different animals to chant Rama’s name) All species rise above their levels. Man however, remains at the same stage and does not progress. Though he chants the name of God, he has a wavering mind
• Thus transformation is hard to come about in man. If you do every activity with the feeling that it is God’s work, then there will be transformation. For example, while cooking, you can think that the food is being prepared for God
• At least once, you must utter the divine name with complete faith. That amounts to the “hours” hand of the clock. Empty repeating of God’s name is like the seconds and minutes hand.
• People make various excuses like cold, throat pain etc for not singing bhajans. Even a dead person can be brought back to life by the power of divine name. Eg. Savitri
• With a pure mind and sacred heart, chant the name of God
• Man is a replica of God. Therefore, he must have the same purity of love that God has. You are a spark of the Divine. Do not forget this fact. If you contemplate on this truth, it amounts to having read the Bhagavad Gita itself.
• Truth is God . Faith is God. Love is God, live in love. Always remember these 3 statements.
• Waves (problems) come and go but the water (faith) remains constant. Thoughts are like passing clouds. So, strengthen your faith.
• All that glitters is not diamond. “Die mind” and become a diamond. Do not get carried away by temporary things.
• Akhanda bhajan is kept with this purpose. In between the bhajans, if we get up and go, the mind gets disconnected. Swami does not say that you must remain 24 hrs without food or bath. Even while partaking food, contemplate on the divine.
• In Bhagvad Gita, Krishna said “O Arjuna ! Fight while thinking of me”. That is namasmarana. There is no big deal fighting wars with weapons. True weapon is name of the Lord.
• Work with a smile. True happiness is union with God.
• Attending bhajans in the morning and evening is a great fortune. Do not waste this opportunity.

THE CONVOCATION VACATION

(note: please do not paste this material in any website)

Every winter vacation, we see rains more often than our Lord. Darshans are infrequent, and Swami would be seemingly busy with some work or the other. This time, things were a bit different, fortunately.

Right from the beginning of our vacation, Swami has been showing keen interest in the convocation drama. This has really boosted our spirits. Every other day he keeps enquiring about the play, acting, roles etc. some of those conversations are worth noting.

Swami (to an actor): What is ur role?
Student: Swami i'm a businessman who went to US
Swami: Oh US? After marriage or before marriage?
Student: Swami, in the story, my friend leaves me
Swami: So what, girlfriend hai na.
Swami (looks at other student who recovered from illness recently): what are u acting?
Student: i'm not acting, swami.
Swami: Oh! he's acting as patient na!

One day, he kept discussing the story with other students in bhajan hall (the story is supposed to be kept confidential) but his version was entirely different, much to the surprise and relief of script writers. He said "tell boys to be aware of the stage movements. they should not make too many gestures or overact. they should be natural."

Yesterday, there was a programme by youth from Orissa. There was a drama about "true happiness" followed by a breathtaking dance performance by boys aged 10 to 14 years. their acrobatic steps enthralled us all and caused neck sprain to a few.

Swami was very happy. he gave the boys sarees, and later on safaris too. Well,
the vacation is supposed to be over; classes have begun but my pen isn't still writing. i don't think it will agree to do so for the next 20 days. Sai ram

DOES SWAMI GET A VACATION?

i must apologise for being out of blogger for a long time. there was so much to write about and lots to share. i'm sorry to have missed the part.

Since a fortnight, Swami seems to have changed His darshan timings as he generally comes out 1 or 2 hours later than His usual time. The Grama Seva during the Dassehra festival was an exhilarating experience for all students. it rejuvenated us after a nightmarish time with the exams. I could see the enthusiasm of students in doing seva which was doubled this time because of vacation and therefore less headache.

On the day of Poornahuti, Swami gave a much needed and beautiful discourse. i guess i'm pretty late at discussing that so i'll prefer to skip the part. during the past few days, there have been programmes by the Youth, one from Prakasam district of AP and other by the youth from North eastern states of India. we should be grateful to them as they have given Swami more than one reason to bless us with His presence. Since most of the students have gone home for vacation, we cannot expect Swami to come out and sit in the portico everyday.

I had missed the excitement generated a few days ago when some people saw Swami's face on the moon. i had received emails and calls, even few people stopping me on the road, just to share their happiness of that occasion.it was a unique and blessed moment and shouldn't be discounted. last evening, when i sat for darshan, i was looking at our Swami giving a beautiful smile. I wondered, "we get so excited to see Swami on the moon, why doesn't the same enthusiasm be felt when we see him right in front of our eyes?" i think it's time we felt the nearness to our Lord rather than sending Him to some far off planetary body out there.

This same enthusiasm which i talked about was visible in the dance troupe of Manipur drummers who performed before Swami yesterday. there were two dances by the youth, a bhortal dance and a drum dance. Swami was very much impressed with the main drummer whose acrobatic steps enthralled one and all. He materialised a ring and put it on his finger. this man taught me a lesson about true enthusiasm and craving for Lord's presence.

Let me end on a personal note. today, I sat inside bhajan hall for the morning bhajans. Swami hasn't been coming out in the morning for the past few days. Since i'm leaving home in a couple of days' time, i thought i must sit inside mandir and meditate. Lo and behold! our lord comes out during the bhajans and straightaway enters the bhajan hall. Lesson: blessings are always unexpected. He sat for a few moments and the went to the veranda and talked to a few VIPs. As he was passing by, i could see Him from the window outside. Imagine Swami walking outside your house and then peeping through the window inside! Lesson 2: Stop being foolish. the house isn't yours, it never was. He is the owner , you're merely a guest.
He came inside the hall(His hall) from the backdoor and blessed us all. i was lucky to give Him a letter after a long time. At 9.40 am, aarati was given and he He returned to Yajur mandir.Swami doesn't have a vacation. He's too busy giving love. It's drizzling outside but i think it's pouring (His love) inside too.Sai ram.

The Krishanaashtami festival this year was a unique experience. It was very special for me, especially because i got a chance to participate in the key programmes. thus i could have many insightful first hand experiences.
A few days before the festival, Swami expressed His wish to have a cow procession led by students on the festival day. It has been a custom for decades for the students to get the cows to mandir on this day and then Swami would feed the cows with fruits, then bless the students too.Thus it is one of the sought after chances for the students here. but slowly, the many chances that we get on this day have been reducing year after year.
So, this year, none of us expected this event. It was Swami who mentioned it to an elder person and asked for the programme. for days, i had been thinking about how all of us used to enjoy getting lots of chances on this day, in the past. i felt sad that those wonderful times were a thing of the past. Few days later, a student brother came up to me and said that Swami asked for the cow procession and that i was selected as one of the cowboys! my joy knew no bounds.
the next morning, all the selected students assembled in Gokulam for getting a practice on handling the cows. Myself and another student brother were assigned a cow kept near the Samadhi place of Swami's parents. this cow (Gayatri) is special, since the milk given by her (approx. 16 litres a day)is supplied to Swami's residence. She was one of the two cows selected from the Samadhi place for the procession (the other was her mother). Gayatri was four months pregnant. She was very cooperative when we took her for the practice walks, unlike other cows who took the boys for a ride.
After two days of practice, the D-day of festival arrived. We got up early in the morning and proceeded to the cow shed to decorate our cows. The procession began at 8 am. It was truly an amazing sight as the little Krishna Gita was leading some 20 cows. also, there were other animals like the deer, peacock and doves which were being brought by the students. The baby elephant was at her cheerful best.
We we entered the Kulwant Hall from Gopuram gate led by the baby elephant and arranged the cows in rows on both sides. Swami was just arriving to the Hall in car. He was wearing a beautiful yellow robe. He stopped near Krishna Gita, got down and fed Her fruits. KG was ready with her amusing pranks. First, she prostrated before Swami with her forelegs stretched and trunk raised. As soon as Swami offered her fruits, she grabbed it with her little trunk and put it in her mouth. if that wasn't enough, she picked on the fruits that the boys had kept in their plate to offer it later to Swami.
After feeding Krishna Gita, Swami came towards the rows of cows standing behind. There were a lot of people around and so the scene was a huge commotion. Nevertheless, Swami went and started feeding bananas to each and every cow. He didn't miss a single one. some cows refused to eat. Our Gayatri was one of them. When He offered her a banana, she refused to eat it. He looked at me and asked "why are these cows not eating?" i didn't have a clue, and replied "Swami, maybe because she's pregnant!" he smiled and went ahead.
As He reached the portico, some boys took a couple of doves to Him. He blessed them and asked the doves to be released. the boys did so and guess what, the doves refused to fly away from Swami. both of them stood on the railing in front of Him. Even the animals don't want to leave His presence. A few moments later, both of them flew away.
All the while Krishna Gita was entertaining us with her gymnastics like stretching her forelegs and raising her trunk. But the cows behind her certainly didn't appreciate it. They were getting scared and urinating all over. The block was a mess of dung & urine and sevadals had a field day cleaning the floor. We were also getting nervous avoiding the heavy feet of the cows, lest they stamp on us making the day more than a memorable experience.
As soon as Swami blessed all the animals, He instructed Mr S. V Giri to announce that the morning programme was over and that the devotees can leave! Swami had solely come to shower His blessings on the animal kingdom. One of the cowboys shouted " Jai bolo Bhagwan Sri... ..... Jai". Unfortunately, he shouted near the ear of his cow and this scared her (we learnt that when cows get scared, they urinate). The cow was out of control and she almost rammed into our cow while returning back. Due to Swami's grace, the entire event passed peacefully.
We were lucky to have so many such beautiful, inspiring and amusing experiences that day.i really learnt how one should look at society in its entirety. It is only Swami, who by sheer example, sensitises us and teaches us to love and care for these innocent and mute creatures.
Sai ram.

IT`S POURING, AND POURING MORE LOVE.........

Sai Ram, I must apologise for my prolonged absence from the blogging world. during the past 20 days, so many interesting incidents have occured that one or two posts cannot capture them. well, the phrases like "interesting incidents" are a cliche here. But then,listening to any number of these do not quench our thirst enough.
These days, Parthi has been seeing a lot of rain; feels like the monsoon has just begun. Our beloved Swami has been equally unpredictable in His darshans and interactions. Recently, we witnessed the Krishnaashtami and Ganesh Chaturthi festivals. Generally, the mood is upbeat during these times but when we see that Swami too shows a keen interest in celebrations, our zeal knows no bounds. This is what exactly happened this time.
Before krishnaashtami, Swami expressed His wish to have procession of Gokulam cows led by few of our students. There was a lot of excitement on that day, which i have dealt in detail in my next post.
The Ganesha festival was equally wonderful. As a custom, the students prepare Chariots for Ganesha to be taken to Swami during the immersion day. This year, the students showed a lot of skills in their innovation and design. There was a Dragon chariot by 12th class students, a chariot in the form of a huge ship prepared bu class 10, and many other beautiful masterpieces. Even the Hoggwarts school design was not spared!
swami came very late, around 5 pm to see the chariots with Ganeshas. He went around and looked at each of them. we could see that he was very impressed, not because the chariots were good, but because His students had worked hard to impress Him. This is what happens in any programme. And this is what keeps us going. The bond with our mother is so deep and strong that both of us compete in making each other happy.
Well, keeping competition apart (After all Sai`s love has no competition) the entire evening was filled with joy. the chariot boys took Swami`s blessings and left for the immersion. even before the bhajans began, Swami went back to Yajur mandir. we were surprised. No sooner di we think that the session was over than our Lord sent a message: "All boys must return to mandir for bhajans, i want to see them." Can we measure the love of our Lord?
Each day, He makes it a point to come to the portico and sit for some time. it appears as if a shepherd watches over His flock of sheep. And His sheep can only wish that such times may last an eternity.

Central Trust Anniversary Discourse

this day must have been a very memorable one for all the CTBT boys as Swami showered His love on them from morning till evening. In the morning, Swami came in car and proceeded directly to the Bhajan hall where the Central Trust boys were waiting with a programme. For two long hours, He sat in the bhajan hall listening to their songs and speaking to them.
In the afternoon, there was a long list of speakers, mostly senior members of the Central Trust after which they prayed for Swami to speak. their speeches dragged on till 5.40 pm and we felt Swami wouldn't give a discourse today. Well, students propose and Swami disposes. to our amazement, He got up to deliver in His sweet voice. here are a few excerpts:

Dear students

• our boys have sacred hearts, pure minds, they are selfless and humble. they do not commit any mistakes. even if a few do commit some mistake, they immediately correct them. that is why "Central Trust" means "our students". the elders are only administrators, whereas our boys look after all activities. Swami chose to speak today because of these boys. They do great work. they shall support the Trust in future. The Trust is dependent on them.
• Bhagawan wants students to be the future leaders. The future of Trust depends on you. Everywhere around, you see only money matters. money comes and goes, morality comes and grows. It is your morality that supports the Trust today.
• You have expectations and imaginations. you must consider them as illusions, passing clouds. Don't be victims to such imaginations and resist them.
• Your tasks should be an ideal to the world to emulate. Today there is advancement in technology. but all this is only "tricknology". Develop the discrimination to know this truth. the future depends on you.

• (Swami asks how many students work in the Trust. they say 155 boys. He asks all of them to come front.) Get a good name, strengthen your self confidence. It will then strengthen your faith. Faith leads to love. This love will give you all the capacities. Faith is important.
  
• Love is God, live in love. I walk on the two feet of love and self confidence. With these, i achieve everything.
  
• Dear students, whether you believe it or not, every Monday, Swami sends a cheque for Rs 500 crores which is distributed to various welfare activities like Tamil Nadu water project. However, some help is required and so some members of the Trust help in distributing the money.. Inspite of this high expenditure, people from Madras come and say that they do not have adequate water. So, in addition to the Godavari water, some water from Bhadrachalam (Krishna river) too is diverted for this purpose.
• no one gave a naya paisa to Swami for this, nor did Swami ask money from anybody. Bhagawan's will (Sankalpa) is His power and strength. We don't want money but good qualities.With love in your heart, you can attain everything.
• later, bhagawan will explain in detail about love. Never utter lie or resort to injustice or intolerance. Live together in harmony. In Bharat, unity is lacking. therefore there is no unity and thus, no divinity as well.
  
• Do not feel bad that Swami is not talking to students. Swami thinks of you all the time. Without you I am non-existent. I and you are one.

After the this, Swami gave watches to all the CTBT boys. He even gave prasadam to each and every person in the group. It was truly a very fulfilling experience, as though a mother was celebrating with her children. Indeed, Love is Mother Sai.

ONAM BONUS

Since the past 10 days, Swami has been coming everyday in chair instead of by car. All of us are having such a wonderful time here. we have lost count of how many letters we've given to Him. If our silly letters weren't enough, Swami has to bear with the programmes that are being put up every day.

The programmes aren't bad, but people do not understand; everyone wants an opportuntity to perform before Swami. And our Lord is only too compassionate to listen to them. The past few days witnessed a lot of programmes by the Kerala devotees for the Onam celebrations. At the end of almost every programme, Swami would materialise something for the artist.

Some days ago, a very senior person, an ardent devotee of Swami passed away. He had a very peaceful death. Swami gave him water during his last moments.
The month of September is waiting with festivals one after another.the most exciting part is that the festivals of exams are also scheduled in september!Well, this is the easiest time to surrender to our Lord.

August 22 discourse

Swami was very keen to see us today morning. he wasted no time in coming to the point and "hammering on our wavering minds". Well, it's not the hammering that teachers give to us, but one that is unique, for it shapes our mind to be steady and ultimately transforms our character.Here are many of the points that He spoke of:

"today, this meeting is concerned with business management. what is business? it's not mere transaction, exchange etc. it means the entire world

• everything in this world follows an expected procedure. our students should fully realise what's expected of them in every field
• man has 5 senses. all are constantly engaged in business. every limb follows business. a true manager is one who makes proper use of 5 senses
• reading books, studying forex, comparing foreign and indian environment is not business mgmt. Indian business is unique. you must compare deha with desha and then understand business. foreign business is based on domination and power. do not imitate them. you must design your business model based on feeling, needs, etc of this land.
• true business comprises understanding of caste, culture and country. Today, some have given up caste. but do not give up culture. what is culture? adherence to the path of tradition laid before us is culture. it's not possible to give up culture. Human activity is a blend of these three.
• culture is not obtained from relations but can be adhered through discrimination. Heart is the basis. out of discrimination, u can face changes and trasformations in environment. today, absence of discrimination has resulted in perversions. Since culture is spoilt, the country has become weak. it leads to questionable behaviour. Today, each (political) party has its own doctrine, principles etc. therefore country is weak. the best results will come only if there's unity.
• when Swami was 11 years, a certain Hanumanthappa, a communist came to Swami and requested him to compose a song for his party. the song went like this: a child was crying, mother got a swing and a rubber toy and said, "my child don't cry, people won't call you brave.men and women will together fight for independence. (it was a time when Germany was at war with russia). child, don't cry, to kill Hitler, there's the Red army lead by Stalin." the next day after this composition by Swami, Hitler died
• Since a long time, people have run after different fashions to become modern. From moustache to apparel, they haven't spared anything. these fashions are like passing clouds.
• like this,there are changes in education today. Arjun Singh has many plans. he wants to try many permutations and combinations (of science and commerce disciplines) and introduce inter-disciplinary courses. but there aren't enough qualified teachers to teach them. when teachers are good, students will also be good. So, do not run after these changes.
• because of changes in diet, we fall sick.Earlier things were made of clay (pot). Now, we use stainless steel utensils. Plastic bags, plates etc which are non-degradable cause soil pollution. Similarly, junk food causes food pollution. Thus we see that changes have resulted in pollution of various kinds. Therefore, in the field of education, do not change or imitate the west.
  
• You experience Ananda here. understand that this ananda will follow you in future too. Future is based on past. Do not worry of the future. Past is past. The present is omnipresent. Follow the present.
• Only the Sathya Sai University has got its curriculum based on the present. Do not change this system of education. It will ensure you a bright future.
• Help ever hurt never. Never hurt anyone. Thinking of the past, we ruin the present. Right now, you are in a perfect study mind. Earlier, it was dirty mind. Change in man is because of the mind. Parents also do not understand this truth. Our students came up in life in the present. They are ideals to the world. In present there is “less luggage and more comfort”
• Present means you are there in the classroom. Otherwise you are marked absent. (taken at face value, this statement very relevant to us students as we bunk so many classes. and lack of attendance results in promotion problems). Thus being present is important.
• Elders feel bad that the past days were good, young respected the old, showed courtesy. but the present (situation) is bad. People do not follow the righteous path of their elders. Today there’s no purity or unity but only enmity. Therefore, give u the six vices of kama, krodha,etc….. oly then will there be unity.. Bose was driven out of India because of this enmity and selfishness. But wherever he went he served the society and always thought of motherland.
• Instead of earning Rs 10000 abroad, it’s better to earn even Rs 1000 here. Out of Rs 10000, you have so many expenses like rent, food etc. Thus life abroad is difficult. Even a banana is costly, it costs 10 Rs! How can you afford all that and take care of your children? But you want to strain yourself and go abroad. Swami hasn’t gone abroad.
• Swami went to Africa , but only for a short while. He saw wildlife there. It was very beautiful. The animals were so majestic. The elephants there had he ears, all the mosquitoes would get blown away when those ears would flap! But those animals were harmless. They also have values. They don’t hurt you unless you intend to hurt them. Swami fed fruits to the lions. But the animals wanted more! Swami told them He shall give the next day. Animals react based on feelings. Yad bhavam tad bhavati.
• Have the feeling “I’ve studied in this great University, keep the flag flying high. To get a good name join good company. As is the company, so you are.
• The MBA boys spoke very well yesterday. Swami was touched by their talk. All of you should be good boys. Even a gold may lose its value, but goodness doesn’t. Maintain your goodness.
• First, you must have aatmavishwas. Radha, Dhruva, etc all had good thoughts, so they met with good results. People with faith in God will never fail in life. Where there’s faith, there’s love: where there’s love there’s Atma. All are formless. Love is God, live in love. Truth is God. Recognise this fundamental truth.
• Never lose faith. It is the basis of life. Have total faith. He then narrated the story of Ramdas which had the lesson of faith)
• Foreigners have so much faith and confidence. Inspite of a lower standard of life here and many troubles, they have chosen to settle here. Without self confidence and discrimination, there’s no use of vast knowledge gathering. Self realization starts with discrimination. Discrimination leads to self satisfaction.
• You are all pure gold. But sometimes, clouds do appear. Do not get carried away by the passing clouds. Be steady. Study to be steady. Preserve all this in your mind. There’s nothing great about going abroad. Money comes and goes, morality comes and grows. It is not merely the currency notes, but their use that is important. BE HAPPY.

UNENDING SAGA OF LOVE

Till now, i was only discussing about the joy that Swami showered on various devotees and youth groups by granting them an opportunity to put up programmes and conferences. it was really a bother to us to such an extent that we thought students can stop expecting blessings they had before.
How little our minds are! When the Lord says he spends a lot of time thinking of His boys, how can the boys ever think that He has forgotten them?
the independence day programme as we know, was still lingering in our minds. The next programme would be the MBA anniversary day on 21st august. As a custom, the MBA boys prepare a drama on that day. So, we got our second chance at putting up a programme. The exams just got over and the boys had very little time to prepare this drama. two days prior, the Vice Chancellor came to the auditorium to see the rehearsals. Well, what we put up was more like a spoof rather than play. Lord Vishnu and Narada composed their own lines and Duryodhana forgot his hometown of Hastinapura. However, it was well polished and the VC liked it. He said he would inform Swami the next day.
The next day, we were all very excited as there was apparently a sure chance of putting up drama this time. Around afternoon, we got a heartbreaking news, similar to the one before. Swami said he didn't want the drama, he was bored of them. But he hinted on some kind of a programme on August 21.
thus, on August 21, we were ready with songs and speeches. Swami came in His chair, blessed all of us and came to the portico. it was truly looking like a festive occasion. the inaugral speech was given by our Principal, who spoke of the system of education here, particularly MBA programme. it was then followed with speeches by two research scholars. Since, they were also part of the bhajan group, their talk was interspersed with songs too. This really set the tone for what followed later, even till this day. Swami was moved to tears by their talk. He said "I am very happy", "Manchi boys" . the speeches were followed by songs and Swami was asking for more. Finally, the VC and Principal prayed to Swami to speak to the boys. the boys too shouted "Swami, speak to us". But it was already late and Swami said He'll speak later.
After the programme and aarati, Swami got into the car to return back. He remarked to the Principal "manchi boys, all boys are good"
We were very happy that August 21 did not pass like a stale day. At night, we recieved an exciting news that Swami had called the boys next day morning for darshan. He wanted to speak to us.
the message was probably meant for the MBA boys but the warden allowed all Institute boys for morning darshan. Swami came in the morning in His chair again and again took letters from many boys. he proceeded to the portico and asked for the mikes. We couldn't believe our eyes! Well, in Parthi every day is a festival. Swami spoke for more than an hour about business and similar aspects, which i've dealt in next post. He materialised chains for the two research scholars who spoke on the previous day. in the end, He raised both His hands and blessed us all. Could we ask for more?
The evening of august 22 was again booked with a couple of speeches. it seems Swami wanted the boys to speak everyday. So, since August 21, the norm has been that every evening, one student and one teacher would give a speech in Kulwant hall. We only hope the festival lasts indefinitely so that all th boys may get an opportunity they dream of, that is, to speak in His presence. Sai Ram

INDEPENDENCE DAY DISCOURSE

August 15, 2007

• I never intended to speak today. Purely out of love towards you, I got up and decided to speak.
• Swami felt bad that none of the previous speakers mentioned about Bose. Thus I felt you must all know about him.
• Bose was a virtuous man. He passed the ICS. He had an excellent and ideal character.
• The situation made him leave the country and today, he is treated as an enemy.
• There are rumours that he died in plane crash. No, he did not die in the crash.
• He was extremely patriotic and had immense love for the nation. He married a woman who translated his book “My country” and had a daughter by the name Lalitha Bose.
• Lalitha Bose strained and struggled a lot to come to Partthi and see Swami. She followed Swami everywhere, from kodai to whitefield, ooty and so on.
• Lalitha was an ardent devotee till her last breath. She died recently.She had a lot of respect and love for her father.
• Bose had sharp faculties. Very few people know of his intelligence. He always wanted the country to prosper. No one at that time was as patriotic as him.
• Today, people only know to speak. Bose not only spoke, he practiced it too. It is sad that no one remembers him today. Sarojini Devi was also a patriot. But no one remembers her today.
• Lalitha came to Swami and said to Him that she was sent by her father.
• All of you must have such kind of national pride. If you don’t love your nation, you consider yourselves as good as dead.
• Swatantra, Swaatantra and Swaarajya
• Life of Bose should be known to all.
• Love all and serve all must be your guiding principle.
• Today, there are many rich people but many more are poor. The rich should serve the poor. You should follow Dana and Dharma. You say “brothers and sisters”. You should really mean it and put into practice
• Bose came to parthi and had Swami’s darshan. He said, “Bhagawan, how is this that you have undertaken this selfless service at such a young age?”
• Today, it is love, not money that is important. You are all embodiment of the divine.

• Youth should understand the meaning of Swaarajya and inner divinity. Only then will India become number one in the world

INDEPENDENCE DAY

August 15, 2007

The morning of 15^th was a very quiet affair as Swami spent most of the time in interview room. We did not expect much from the afternoon darshan as well . First of all , the mood was off as our drama was cancelled. So,we were busy preparing for the evening programme in hostel. But Swami always likes to surprise us so much.

He came in the afternoon at 3.30 pm and asked for the programme to begin. The list was so long that we wondered when the session would get over. There were 3 elderly speakers for the afternoon. This would be followed by a music programme by the institute boys (it was a consolation that Swami gave for not having the drama). This would then be followed by a drama by the youth from West Bengal (imagine how jealous would we feel). But then, guests should be given priority at home, isn’t it?

The speakers spoke of Swarajya and such other concepts. After that, the music boys came forward and sat for the programme. But our Lord was in a different mood. He asked for the mikes to be called, got up and began to speak!

I have rarely seen and heard anything like that.He straight away began with the story of Subhash Chandra Bose. Swami was completely in tears while he spoke of him. He didn’t even give Anil Kumar a chance to translate! I have noted down a few thoughts in the next post which were summarized and translated by Anil Kumar after Swami’s discourse.

After the discourse, there was music programme where patriotic songs were sung by our boys. When, the boys sang Vande Mataram, Swami too joined them! The youth from Bengal were waving flags during the songs. Swami notice them and became emotional.

Later on, the Bengal youth presented a drama. Swami liked it very much and gave vibhuti to a few actors. All of them got group photographs as Swami stood up in their midst.

It’s truly amazing to see the love that Swami is showering on the youth these days. And I’m sure it’s just the beginning. Sai Ram

THE DRAMA BUBBLE

August 14,2007

Our batch “Sarvajit” is known for extraordinary events, both on positive and on not-so-positive side. It was truly a thrilling day with so much of excitement and drama that I have to devote an entire post for this purpose.

As a custom, every year, final year PG students present a drama before Swami on independence day. It’s a great opportunity and an exciting event as an entire class gets totally involved in preparing for this play. This year too was no exception to this. What follows now will surely be an exception as you read along.

The midsemester exams got over last week and the students wasted no time in plunging into drama preparations. Two days back, Swami they presented a card to Swami about the drama. He looked into it and showed a keen interest. He asked if Siubhash Chandra Bose was there. when the student replied in the affirmative, he said “ I know, even Tilak is also there”. after dinner, all of us assembled in the Shanti Vedika for a rehearsal as Vice Chancellor was coming to see the practice. The VC said that Swami had specifically asked him to go and see the drama practice. It seems he was continuously enquiring about it and was saying that the drama must be good, the sets also should be good. As the practice was in progress, our warden received a message that Swami had, before retiring upstairs, again asked about the drama and wanted it to be good. You can well imagine that we were in Seventh heaven.

The drama actually portrays bharatiya culture and has scenes from Ramayana, Shivaji, Bose, Tilak , and Lala Lajpatrai. I’ll be mentioning in detail as there were comments by Swami on each scene later.

The next day, as usual most of the boys took leave from classes to prepare for the drama. In the afternoon, some of us went with another card. Swami arrived at about 3.45 pm, but he turned left from the ladies side and went to the portico. As soon as He got down from the car, he asked where is the drama going on. One of his attendants replied that some actors had come with a card. Swami called immediately for the car and said that he wants to see the practice! We couldn’t believe our eyes. Actually, we didn’t have time for that as we immediately ran back to the hostel to inform others.

We expected Swami to come to hostel but instead he went to the auditorium. So, very few boys were present. We again ran to the auditorium and the actors went one by one to seek Swami’s blessings. There are two Bose characters in drama, one younger and the other older. Both went to Swami and His attendant interoduced the older bose saying he is the bigger Bose. Swami looked at the actor and remarked “older bose? When did you get married?”

The drama began with the Ramayana scene.

Scene 1: Rama wins battle but refuses to preside over Lanka as king

The scene was in telugu. Swami turned to warden and said “ is the drama in telugu? Warden said “ yes Swami, this scene”. The scene had nice patriotic dialogues and Swami was visibly very moved. He was shedding tears like a child

Scene 2: Shivaji prays to Durga for the battle sword.

This scene was in English. Swami again turned to warden “you said drama was in telugu.” Warden replied “Swami, only first scene, not the entire drama” Swami kept pulling warden’s leg (as usual) on this issue later on.

Scene 3: Younger bose in class. He slaps his teacher.

The scene was well enacted. the actor was short. Swami asked “ Bose was big. Why is this boy short?” Warden replied “Swami, this is college scene”. After the slap, we all looked at Swami for His reaction. He turned to Warden and said “ call the boy . there is slap, but no sound.” The boy came down and Swami told him “ slap harder. Sound should come” our warden added “Swami, on final day we’ll have extra keyboard effects”

Scene 4: Tilak scene. Kesri paper is banned

Swami had a special interest in Tilak, we don’t know why. The scene went on well.

Scene 5:. Simon go back scene. Lala lajpatrai is killed

This scene had a good amount of violence, something that Swami doesn’t like. It was very well enacted though. The songs were also good.

After the drama got over, Swami came out of auditorium and went to the restroom. When he came out, one of the boys went ahead and asked him if we could name the drama “Janani janma bhoomischa Swargadapi gariyasi”. Swami replied sarcastically “ mother is fine, motherland is also fine, fighting is also fine”. He looked at VC and said, “ I told you to look at the drama, didn’t I?” VC replied “Swami I did and I pointed out about the violence too”. Swami repeated his words in a teasing manner. It was 5.00 pm and he went straight for the bhajans.

If there was a heaven beyond seven layers, we were surely up there. never before did a low key drama like this get so much attention from Swami that He came even for the rehearsal. We were scheduled to have a practice with mikes in kulwant hall after bhajans. So we proceeded to mandir at 6 pm. After an hour, the VC came and said Swami decided not to have drama tomorrow! Well, does even a stock market crash sound so bad?

However, there was a silver lining as the VC told us that Swami wants us to prepare another drama in a few weeks on the topic “love all, serve all” (that’s underlining non-violence for us).But to say the last word, Swami did see our drama, didn’t He?

Programmes galore

The busiest person in Parthi today is Sri Sathya Sai Baba. i sympathise with Him for, he's been bugged by so many dramas and music programmes, inaugrations etc. as i'm writing this sentence (it's 7.30 in the morning), Swami has already left outside the mandir gate in car and is proceeding towards the Institute hostel.

I hope Swami wouldn't read this post or else i'd be in trouble. Like most people here, we take Swami to be a 5 foot 4 inch human who's 81 years old and needs help to walk around. But how wrong we are! Can we ever compare our Lord or limit Him to any form? The past week was an indication of just this truth.

Let me begin with the programme put up by Himachal youth a week ago. there was an excellent bhangra dance followed by a qawwali. Swami was extremely happy with them. He materialised a chain for a youth and asked him to apply for MBA here next year (he's already done an MBA). He distributed clothes to all present and while doing so, He spoke to each and every member of the group. the distribution perhaps took more time than the programme itself. at that point i remembered what he said last year "call the youth from india separately and i shall speak to them"


Over the days, programmes have been put up by devotees from the US, the people from Karimnagar district and so on. Swami has been benevolent in attending to each one of them and showering His love.A few days ago, Swami visited SSSIHMS to inaugrate the renovated reception block.

Yesterday morning, Swami did not give darshan in the morning (the usual Sunday morning blues). In the afternoon, students from class 12 were ready with a skit. to everyone's amazement Swami came out in chair, blessed all the devotees and even took letters. He sat through the entire drama.

The next few days are packed with more programmes as the youth conference is about to begin. on the other end, the final year students of intitute are preparing a drama for the independence day. i guess it just doesn't get any bigger than this! Sai ram

Bonus rounds of blessings

i felt that this week would be very dry and Swami would keep indoors most of the time. The conference was really a hectic affair. But our Lord doesn't know what's rest. He was only too willing to give joy to His devotees. We feel ashamed at times, because to be frank, the conference tired us a lot. we wanted some rest!
On tuesday, there was a music programme by the devotees of UK (Popat group). They tried their best to please Swami by remixing His own songs! it was really very boring. Swami seconded this opinion as He soon moved inside the bhajan hall and immediately asked the boys to start bhajans. The following day too, there was a music programme, this time, by the devotees of US. i wondered what they were up to ths time. Swami came in the afternoon in chair, blessed all devotees and took letters. The US group had a mix of english songs and hindustani music. but no remixes, all were original and surprisingly very well sung. In between, there was a dance by two boys on the song "Shambho Shiv Shambho". it enthralled one and all. Swami was very pleased, He called them and materialised a ring and chain for both.
On Saturday, there was an orchestra by a German troupe who were on tour in India. Swami was very pleased with their performance and distributed clothes to the artistes. The youth form various parts of India have started coming now. There are some programmes scheduled between 11th and 15th August. Right now, the students are suffering from exam fever. as they say, pleasure is an interval between two pains. Sai ram.

Guru Poornima

July 29,2007

A grand event came to a close with a an even more grand occasion. What a good fortune that the youth conference had to culminate with the celebration of our Jagat Guru!
To describe the scene at parthi, i'd like to quote what one of the youth in his conference speech had to say "There is so much unity and oneness here in Kulwant hall which can be seen by the fact that all of us are cuddled so close together leaving no inch of space!" we can extend this unity to the entire town as the crowd was just unimaginable.
In the morning, we were all seated early in the kulwant hall to avoid the swelling crowd. Swami came out just before 8 am, led by a procession with the baby elephant in front. it was such a lovely sight to see Swami in His sparkling yellow robe welcomed amidst the chanting of vedas, the music of Nadaswaram and Panchavadyam. Swami went to the portico and the baby elephant followed Him right up there. He fed her bananas and some other fruits. Swami named her Satya Gita. She's very naughty and playful.
Soon after, a Carnatic music programme followed. the two singers sang very well and brought tears to Swami's eyes. Later on, the boys went up to Swami seeking His permission for singing stotrams. Swami looked at the card and talked to the boys but didn't agree. the primary school boys lined up for showing their various masterpieces.It was around 10 am when Swami returned to yajur mandir.

In the afternoon, to our utter surprise, Swami again came in yellow robe. There was a dance programme by people from Latin America. Later on Swami called for the two carnatic singers and asked them to sing again. This time He was in a more generous mood as He called one of them and materialised a bracelet for him. Swami blessed the families of those singers profusely and gave group photographs. It was close to 6 pm when He returned back.

Youth Conference discourse 2

July 28, 2007

During the valedictory session of the conference, Swami was gracious enough to speak to us in the evening. here are some of the points.

Swami began His discourse with a poem on truth as the basis of everything. Soon, He waved His hand and Lo! a big oval shaped silver lingam came out. Swami showed it to all and said "this is truth"

Truth is the basis

• Lingam is the pure truth "Shuddha Satwam". All beings have taken birth from this truth. This truth is in the possesion of Swami only.
• Hold on to truth forever. establish it in your heart.
• What is "Sathya Sai"? Sathya which has originated from Sai
• Reflection, reaction and resound of this truth comes in the form of Dharma.

True Education

• True education is truth. Truth, righteousness and peace have no name or form.
• Man has highest potential. So he should develop and bring out the 5 human values latent in him
• You are God , not a human. You must constantly think so "Yad bhavam tad bhavati". Bad thoughts lead to bad results
• Selfish, fragmented love makes you sick and weak . So love all and serve all

• You spend lives worshipping idols in temples. Body is a temple. Within this body, there's energy. We must use our discrimination with this energy. Divinity is present in all. You are not energy or the body. I am I
• ABC "Always be careful (do not forget yourself)

• Everyone here is divine. God is Virata swaroopa "cosmic form". this assembly is a cosmic form.
• You are not different from Swami. I and You are one. Strengthen love and remove this duality.
• Fruit (love) must ripen in the heart and then tasted before it is shared with others.
• God is the only hero (1). all others are zeros(o). without 1, there is no value for 0.

Mind

• Mind is not monkey mind, but mankind. it is divine.
• Mind spreads light and joy, is the cause of all worries and problems.
• Mind changes due to company ( of friends, food). Satsangatwe nissangatwam...( verse from bhaja govindam telling importance of good company)
• God is not mind, intellect or imagination. God is God. have this firm faith.
• Think that you are Swami with steady mind and meditate.
• Polluted water sickens body. This water pollution has a solution i.e. repeating God's name
• Body is water bubble, mind is mad monkey. do not follow body or mind. Follow your conscience
• Chittasuddhi "pure mind" leads to wisdom. Good thoughts and love are my property. Love is God, live in love
• You are born with a pure mind. your sadhana is to see that it remains pure.
• Meditate, keep mind steady for 11 seconds. Before the passing of 11th second, you can attain liberation.
• Do not waste time and money. If you have time, think of God. He will appear before you. Concentrate deeply.

Devotion

• Where there's faith, there's love;where there's love , there's truth; where there's truth, there's God
• Simply meditating for hours results in joint pains. So do not strain unnecessarily and do not trespass the limit of 11 seconds. Maintain time
• Have good dietary habits. avoid non-veg food. You like cheese. More cheese makes you more weak. too much milk is also bad. Milk and water should be 50:50
• Bliss is your nature. Reduce attachments "less luggage more comfort makes travel a pleasure"
• Worry is bad, curry is bad. they make heart weak. do not worry. think "this too shall pass"
• if you follow Swami's words, you will experience God.

• Devotion means steady love for God
• Worldly association gives rise to demonic traits.
• Once you laugh or smile, love manifests. Do not have caster oil face. God always smiles, so He has no pain anytime

• Swami hurt His hipbone, had 4 cracks due to the fall. the doctors advised Him to wear bandage and take rest, but He refused it and went on to give darshan to devotees. eminent doctors came from all over the world and said "Swami give us 5 minutes and we'll cure the ailment". Swami replied "if it is for your spiritual upliftment, i'm ready to give you 5 hours, but if it is for this body, i won't give even 5 minutes."
• Swami has no body weakness. He weighs a constant 110 pounds and is very healthy.Your love makes Swami painless. Only devotees, not the doctors can make Swami painless.
• Swami's happy to see thousands of youth assembled here. their love makes Swami blissful. He sees waves of happiness (the youth) seated in front of Him.
  
• Your love will make Swami walk very soon. There's no greater medicine than pure loveBhagawan's love is the most powerful medicine. By the time you go back home, you'll be very blissful.
• You can see this lingam (showing the lingam he materialised before). Something bigger than this will come out from Swami's throat. but you must wait till Sivaratri.

The discourse was followed by a european music programme where songs were sung in many European languages.

Youth conference discourse

July 26, 2007


Here are a few excerpts from Swami's discourse that i've noted down-

Man is most precious

• The 5 elements are present in all life and non life forms. Man develops knowledge and common sense on these. But inspite of this, he has "ZERO discrimination". thus human quality is on decline.

• Man runs after money, without discriminating its need and use.
• Mind is the effect of attitude. Man is not one but 3 (the one you think you are.....).
  Like a cotton is the basis for cloth, divinity is the basis for human body. Man is spark of the divine
  

Man is God

• When there's fire (god) at home, why search for light outside?
• I is ahamkar. Cut the I, then you can say, I am I. this table is god, glass is god, everything is God.
• I am not Sathya Sai Baba. it is only a name. I am
  

Road to God

• All depends on reflection reaction and resound. so strengthen faith in God. Then you can develop love. Love is followed by peace, which leads to truth and truth is God.
• Love is God, live in love.
• Some do meditation, some use japamala. they only learn how to rotate beads. all this is artificial.
• Love is everywhere. do not fragment love. you have only artificial love Loving God alone is true love.
  
• in the evening, Swami will explain in a nutshell what is "true love". There's nothing beyond love in world.
• Swami has nothing to do with match ( referring to basketball match in the evening. some elders informed swami about it so that he may postpone his discourse). He will be present for all in the evening!
  

O When the Saints go Marching in...............

July 26,2007


Lo and Behold! the message has arrived. In my limited years of a Sai student life, i've rarely seen an event as magnanimous and vibrant. it only echoes the zest of the Youth. This World youth conference is an experience to remember a lifetime.
On the previous day, the students of the institute and the delegates from all countries were given a bag which contained a book having experiences of the youth from across the world, a japamala, a notepad, pen and so on.
The next morning at 6.30 am, all of us, the delegates and students, totalling about 6000, assembled near Chaitanya Jyoti museum from where the procession for the conference began. it was led by Vedam group, band groups from university and flag bearers of different nations. As the youth marched towards mandir singing bhajans and chanting the vedas, one could imagine a huge army marching towards its master.
The procession lasted about 1 hour and when we reached the gates, Swami welcomed us, fresh in His orange robe as if a mother was waiting for her children after a long time.
There was hardly any corner of Kulwant Hall, which was spared some item of decoration. From Chinese lanterns to banners containing Swami's sayings, each contributed its bit to make the hall a Vaikunta Mahasabha.
the opening address was given by Michael Goldstein, Chairman of Sri Sathya Sai Organisation. He spoke of significance of youth in world stage as leaders of tommorow Swami's role in inspiring them. The Sai youth needs to draw the love from their Source and spread it across the world, he said.
Mr Goldstein's address was followed by that of the International Youth coordinator, Mr. Shitu Chudasama. He thanked Swami for His permission and His active participation in overseeing the arrangements.
It was about 10 am before the most awaited moment came i.e. Swami's discourse. i'll cover it in my next post.

After Swami left to Yajur mandir after discourse, we had the first session of speakers Mr Sanjay Sahani and Mrs Mallika Srinivasan. this was followed by a question and answer session by a panel of speakers. Around 12.30 pm, we left for lunch.
During the Q & A session, we got news from Yajur mandir that Swami had consented to the basketball match and that he would be present there at 4 pm. So, around 2.30pm, all of us, the students and delegates, assembled at the International indoor stadium for the basketball match. the mood in the stadium was very lively even before swami's arrival ( after all youth power).the delegates seated were practising mexican waves too.
Swami arrived at around 4pm and blessed the players from India and Sri Lanka. We thought Swami would soon return back as He was more interested in giving discourse that he mentioned in the morning. But to our surprise, swami sat the entire match and was very keenly observing it. He was asking his attending regarding rules of the game! the match wasn't worth watching but our Swami doesn't disappoint anyone. He almost shed a tear when one of the Sri Lankan players fell down. The Indian team eventually won (because of height factor), but Sri Lankans played a good team game. During match intervals, there were dance performances by students of a popular dance school.
Swami returned back to His residence at around 6.30 pm. Truly, it was a very memorable day for all of us. Sai ram.