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.

Run up to the Youth Conference 2

It's difficult to find even a patch of road these days as one can find only a sea of devotees. The international youth have assembled in very large numbers. Add to it the Aashadi and the Gurupoornima crowd and you'll be lucky to find place to walk around!
Swami has been actively looking into preparations for the conference. inspite of this, he gives a lot of time for devotees everyday. a few days back, there was a drama by the Canadian youth. He profusely blessed them with prasadam and safari clothes.Almost everyday, we see Swami materialising a chain or a ring to some devotee or student during darshan.
Perhaps, the most exciting thing now is the arrival of a baby elephant here. Swami hasn't named her yet. She's about 4 years old. few days back Swami went near the planetarium where she's kept and spent around 45 minutes with her. i heard the baby elephant went ahead and did namaskar to Swami!
There's an exhibition on Swami's life and mission in the form of charts and videos being held in the Poornachandra auditorium. It's very well prepared and interesting to watch. We students especially liked the section of old photos of Swami with students and devotees.
the momentum is slowly building up and i'm sure this week will be a very exciting and memorable one.Sai ram

Run up to the Youth Conference

With the amount of activity and excitement that's being generated here, i'm sure every Sai devotee would like to be present in Parthi in the days to come. Right from the CEO to the floor manager, everyone seems to be occupied in the preparation for the conference. The CEO seems to be busy in the interview room, perhaps enquiring from the organisers about the developments.
Yet this CEO finds time to spend with her kids, showering her love and grace.Yes, Swami plays the Supermom very well.A few days back, some 3000 devotees from Medak district came to prasanthi nilayam for Swami's blessings. it was literally an invasion of orange scarves in the Kulwant hall. on the first day, there was a drama which was followed by a grand rally portraying the rich culture of Medak district. the programme lasted for 3 hours.
The next day, they had a music programme in the afternoon. Swami called for the two small kids, a boy and a girl, who had presented bouquets to Him on the previous evening. He then materialsed a chain for each of them. Also, many devotees, particularly the drama troupe and singers had received clothes from Swami. it was a very satisfying experience for the Medak devotees.
on Sunday afternoon, the music college students presented a programme. one of the boys, a mridangam player got chain. Swami was very happy with his performance.

Swami, give me a reason to write.....

It looked like the US group took away all the time and joy from our lord and left us with nothing to cheer about. Yes, we did feel jealous of them but then, honey bees do get more priority than frogs in the pond, right!
it was really a dull week as Swami seemed occupied in the interview room most of the time. he did interact with boys in the bhajan hall before bhajans, but i do not have any information of the conversations.
Everyone was eagerly awaiting Sunday as one chance of interacting with bhagawan through our programmes. the Ist year MBA boys were ready with a short skit and the Anantpur students also had a music programme ready on the same day.
On sunday afternoon, Swami came out as usual and proceeded to the interview room. all of us were anxious as to which campus will get the chance to present their programme. But Swami had different plans. He kept calling the VIPs for interviews till 4.45 pm, inspite of being informed about the two programmes. 10 minutes before the bhajans he came out and straight away proceeded to the bhajan hall! Everyone's hopes were shattered. the bhajans began, and Swami seemed happy as every singer began his bhajan with an alaap.
Suddenly out of the blue, he called the VC and enquired about the programme. When the VC confirmed it, He stopped the bhajans, came straight to the portico and asked the boys "what is the name of your programme?" Few boys went ahead and showed Him the card. The Ist MBA programme was quite forgettable and looked half-baked.
As soon as their skit was over, Swami indicated the Anantpur girls to begin. They were very excited as they had been painstakingly waiting for His approval. For sometime, it looked like the anantpur girls were competing with Ist MBA boys as regards the standards of the programme. But later, they exceeded everyone's expectations with some melodious songs, and one of them was appreciated by Swami with His claps.
Finally, Swami satisfied everyone, the boys, the girls and the devotees as well as he sat in the portico for more than 1 hour. It's getting very difficult to expect Swami to give us time, considering that the Youth World Conference is round the corner.

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TRUMPCARDS WORK

The past weekend has been very sombre as there was very less interaction between Swami and students. He was busy giving interviews to the VIPs and hardly anytime did he come out for a round in His wheelchair.

But Sunday is one fun day we all look forward to for, there are always some programmes by the boys on that evening. this week, the Ist MBA class had been preparing for a skit. Unfortunately, on Sunday morning, the skit had to be cancelled from the schedule as the class was not fully prepared. We did not want the weekend to go waste. So, the bhajan group and music college boys got together and in a span of few hours, prepared some solo devotional songs for Swami.

Swami came in the afternoon and fortunately, did come down towards the boys taking letters and blessing birthday boys. We took the opportunity and informed Him that there was a ready programme waiting. So, he agreed and came to the portico. Frankly, there was nothing so special about the programme as it had only solo songs sung by our best singers. After 40 minutes, Swami indicated that he'll take aarati. Finally, the boys played their trumpcard i.e. the song from Ramakatha which Swami is so fond of. Needless to mention, it worked.

The next 20 mintues were full of bliss and blessings from Swami as he called the boys for group photos, gave them safari cloth (asked them to get a pair stitched) and demanded one more group song.It was a memorable day for many.

These beans of grace spilled over to the next day as the devotees from the US (Southeast region)offered a music programme in the afternoon.After the programme, Swami graciously gave sarees and safari cloth to the US group and sat amidst them for long time. he even went around the group taking letters and talking to some devotees. Surely, it would've been the best time in their lives.

With Swami, it's best not to expect or make forecasts for, we never know when fortunes smile upon us.Sai Ram