This morning, there was no Divine Darshan and Arathi was offered at 0940 hrs.
In the evening, emerging at 1729 hrs. to the chants of Vedam, Bhagawan went for a full round granting Divine Darshan. As Vedam continued beyond the scheduled hour at 1730, owing to a proposed cultural programme by students, Bhagawan upon completing the round moved into the bhajan hall where a group of 19 boys in their costumes with an additional band of a dozen backstage boys were invoking Divine Blessings for the ensuing presentation. Blessing the participating students after spending sometime amidst, Bhagawan exited through the rear entrance to come onstage at 1747 hrs. through the right of Ganesha. Veda chanting continued for some more time, till 1752 hrs., when the participating students exited from the bhajan hall seeking Divine signal for the commencement of the presentation. The programme entitled "Sai Bhakta Samrajyam", a collective effort of singers, dancers and actors was the depiction of Bharat's glorious devotional tradition presented in dance form entwined with lucid narration. Set against the backdrop of Saint Vyasa's predicament seeing the disastrous Kurukshetra scenes, Sage Narada advises him the right antidote, to embark on compiling Lord Hari's story. What followed was an array of glimpses from the lives of past masters depicting devotional trails, namely that of, Saint Thyagaraja, Saint Annamacharya, Saint Thukaram, Sadashiva Brahmendra (an Avadhoota lived in Tamil Nadu), Saint Tulsidas, Sakkubai, Bhadrachala Ramdas etc., brought in with devotional fervour intertwined with narrations of their heroics with Divine Name. It was the wandering saint, Sage Narada's privilege yet again, donning the role of "interlude presenter cum commentator" to "introduce" these foremost devotees of yester years to the presiding deity, Lord in physical, Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba!!! The fifty minute programme came to an end at 1840 hrs. with the the cast of Narada profusely thanking Bhagawan for the great good fortune Bhagawan bestowed upon them, the students, to learn at His Divine Lotus Feet! They concluded the programme bursting into a group song "Madhurama Amrithama Dharicherchu O' Nesthama...", afterwhich Bhagawan moved down the aisle to bless the participants with a coveted photo session. Arathi was offered at 1846 hrs. and Bhagawan moved off the dais at 1852 hrs. not before blessing the concourse with repeated Abhayahastas. Source http://www.sssbpt.org/Pages/Prasanthi_Nilayam/darshanupdateMay2010.html Om Sai Ram
