September 22, 2009 - The Dassahera Yagnam Begins
September 22 marked the first day of the Veda Purusha Saptaha Jnana Yagna. The
English translation for the Yagna is "sacrifice" but a Yagna means that and
much more. At the physical level, it is offerings made to the sacred fire that
is generated in a traditional manner. But the physical is only one of the
aspects of the world around us which is influenced to a far greater extent by
vibrations. We see it for ourselves in daily life. When we enter a sanctum or
the place which has been witness to some great historical or spiritual event,
we feel thrilled. We don't know why but we say that there is "something in the
air" that seems to enthrall and envelope us.
Again when we are constantly bombarded with violence and negativity by the
media, we are depressed and frustrated though nothing physical has happened to
us! It is to generate and encourage the magical and spiritual "something in the
air" that Swami has encouraged these Yagnams in Prashanthi. With Swami, any
ritual is to realize the spiritual! A Yagna is a small manifestation of the
unbounded, vast, eternal Sacred Fire that exists in each one of us, invoked
from the Womb of Creation. With this background, let us continue to term the
Yagna as "sacrifice" and proceed.
The morning saw an assembly of the priests and students in the Bhajan Hall.
(The former Bhajan Hall so to say, as of late the Sai Kulwant Hall doubles as
the bhajan hall as well!) Swami arrived in the car and headed straight to the
Bhajan Hall.
He entered the hall and all the priests gathered there began to chant and carry
out some preliminary rituals. As a wonderful backdrop to this, the students and
teachers from the University, dressed in orange, continued to chant. Swami sat
listening to this for about ten minutes after which He began to distribute
sacred clothes to all the priests and the wife of one of the head priests. (It
is essential that there be one couple for performing the sacrifice.)
Everyone quickly changed into the new clothes and Swami told all of them to
proceed towards the Yagnashala (the ceremonial sacrificial pit) in the
Poornachandra auditorium. After the priests left, He directed the staff and
students too to leave. They filed out in a single line prostrating as they
passed by Him.
Swami arrived in the auditorium soon after that and the priests sought His
blessings to begin. The sacred fire (Agni) was generated in the traditional
manner by churning wood to give rise to a spark. The spark thus produced was
carefully tended to by a priest and as He gently blew into it, it burst forth
into a blazing flame. The Yagna then began.
Like the rising sun, Swami was in the eastern corner of the stage in orange.
The orange of the sacrificial flame, of the vestures of all on stage and
finally of the Lord's robe proclaimed the message of selfless sacrifice to one
and all.
The chanting of the Rudram - both the namakam and the chamakam was on and the
auditorium filled with people.
The Gram Seva distribution was scheduled to be in Puttaparthi itself so that
the students too could witness the opening day of the Yagna.
Right in front of Swami was a priest performing the suryanamaskar (salutations
to the universal provider - the Sun) and he too started it with prostrations at
Swami's 'rosy' feet! (He did place a rose on them!)
The Devi Parayanam (reading of the glories of the mother goddess) was on and
various other texts too were being read.
Swami sat on the stage for more than half an hour and after that, retired to
Yajur Mandir. It was at this point that the students and staff moved towards
their respective vehicles to carry out the Grama Seva. The priests continued
with the worship which concluded at about 12:15 p.m.
The evening session marked the beginning of the "Jyana" (wisdom) portion of the
Yagna where learned speakers would address the mammoth gatherings. Swami
arrived at about 4:15 p.m. and after a short visit to the interview room,
arrived onstage. Then, He started the Prashanti Vidwan Mahasabha.
Prof. Anil Kumar introducing the three speakers of the evening Prof.
Vishwanath Pandit, The Vice Chancellor of the Sathya Sai University
The translator, Prof. Anil Kumar introduced the three speakers for the evening
and the first to speak was the Vice Chancellor of the Sathya Sai University,
Prof. Vishwanath Pandit. He began with his recent experience in Delhi where all
the deemed universities had to report on their progress before an elite panel.
When he started to speak about the Grama Seva, there was nothing else they
wanted to hear about! While the other universities were subject to "intense
interrogation", he was conferred a friendly chat! And that is the power of
sacrifice and service.
Stressing on the concept of having a ceiling on desires, he stated that one
must be content with fulfilling the needs, for greed has no limits. He
emphasized that it is not sufficient if man just learnt addition and
multiplication of wants. He must divide what he has through sacrifice and
ultimately 'subtract' himself/herself from the entire picture realizing that
God alone is the doer.
Mr. S. V. Giri describing the Mother's Glory
The second speaker for the evening was Mr. S. V. Giri. The revered speaker
celebrated the fact that we were all in the presence of the Divine Mother and
went on to describe her glories. Stating that one needed peace of mind and not
a momentary state of peace, the speaker went on to highlight how one would be
able to achieve that peace of mind.
As he spoke, Swami made a brief visit to the interview room but returned before
the conclusion and with a smile said, "You spoke very well." The third and
final speaker for the evening was Dr. T. Ravi Kumar, lecturer and asst. warden
in the Brindavan campus of the University. As he bowed at the lotus feet, Swami
said, "Speak for however long you want. Speak about experiences from your
childhood onwards."
Swami was so emotional as He said that and that emotion immediately spread to
the heart and face of the speaker. The next forty five minutes turned out to be
divine as the speaker beautifully passed on that very same emotion to all of
the gathered thousands.
Dr. T. Ravi Kumar, lecturer and asst. warden in the Brindavan campus
He started from how his father had been introduced to Swami after the death of
his mother. His father, after losing his wife, was left with four children to
tend for and was struck by tragedy when he was diagnosed with cancer. 25
operations later, the doctor advised that it would be better that he spent his
last few days at home. It turned out to be "love after first sight" if we may
term it so, when Swami came straight to him and said, "Why did you have 25
operations? Your cancer is cancelled!" He lived for more than 30 years after
that day! In fact, the doctor who made the dire prediction about him passed
away before him!
The speaker also went on to narrate how Swami had guided him to take Chemistry
as his core subject after saving him from an academic debacle in mathematics.
He concluded with the experience of how Swami granted him his eyes back after
hot sulphuric acid had spurted into them! The most miraculous and jaw dropping
revelation came when he said that a short while after that, chromic acid tipped
into his eyes. And then, the loving Lord granted him with sight for the second
time!
The speaker stood there for all to see - a standing miracle. And Swami's eyes
were moist. He seemed to be offering what He has stated is most dear to Him -
"Tears of Love and Bliss". As the speaker continued his extraordinary journey
of Love, everyone in the audience seemed to be reminded of the umpteen times
they had been graced with His love.
As he concluded, the beautiful smile on the divine effulgent face and the
thunderous applause said it all! Swami clapped and gently slapped him on the
cheeks. Swami seemed intent on signing off the evening session on a devotional
high as He immediately asked for the aarti to be done. As it was sung, He
indicated that He would speak on the next day. Blessing everyone who had
gathered, Swami retired for the day.
With love and light
Sai Ram
