November 23 marks the birthday of Bhagwan Sri Sathya Sai. This is major spiritual and emotional connecting day for all his devotees and followers, so much so that a long schedule of celebrations is planned annually. This year too a week-long celebrations is underway now marking the 92nd birth anniversary in Prasanthi Nilayam at Puttaparthi. Starting from Saturday week long celebrations are planned with luminaries like Governor of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana ESL Narasimhan attending followed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be participating on November 21.
Marking the occasion, as has been the custom over the years, Sitarama Kalyanam was performed in the Sai Kulwant Hall.
The programme held on a make-shift podium lasted nearly two hours during which the idols of Sita and Rama, flanked by Lakshmana and Hanuman on one side and Lord Venugopala Swamy on the other side, were placed on the podium as rituals were performed, including upanayanam, the sacred thread ceremony of the bridegroom, kanyadanam (giving away the bride) amidst floral offerings and nadaswaram music and tying of the mangalasutram.
For the seventh consecutive year, the divine wedding was conducted in the Sai Kulwant Hall. Hundreds of devotees took part in a procession of the deities, with village folk dancing to the tune of drumbeats and breaking coconuts amid religious fervour.
Veda Sammelanam
Governor ESL Narasimhan inaugurated International Veda Sammelan at Prashanti Nilayam, the abode of late Sathya Sai Baba. 15,000 Veda exponents including several from Germany and other European countries are participating three day event. Prominent Veda exponents from SV Veda University, Veda Pathasalas across country and other German University are participating in the event whose focus issue for discussion is preservation of the endangered and extinct Vedic practices which were carried by word of mouth.
Bhagwan – Spiritual Master
Sri Sathya Sai Baba was born as Sathyanarayana Raju on November 23, 1926 in the village of Puttaparthi, in the state of Andhra Pradesh in South India. Even as a child, His spiritual inclination and contemplative nature set Him apart from other children of His age, and He was known as ‘Guru’ and “Brahmajnani’ (knower of Brahman or Godhead) among His peers and others in the village. However, it was not until October 20, 1940, the day He made the historic declaration of His Avatarhood, (Avatar – Divinity Incarnate) that the world at large learnt of this divine phenomenon.
In His own words, “This Sai has come in order to achieve the supreme task of uniting the entire mankind as one family through the bond of brotherhood, of affirming and illuminating the Atmic Reality (Atma – The Self) of each being, to reveal the Divine which is the basis on which the entire cosmos rests, and of instructing all to recognise the common Divine Heritage that binds man to man, so that man can rid himself of the animal and rise up to the Divine, which is the goal.”
Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba is an integral manifestation who combines two very significant roles. Firstly, He is a great spiritual Master, famed for His simple and sweet exposition of the greatest and most intricate of spiritual truths which form the fundamental teachings of all the religions of the world.
Secondly, He is an inexhaustible reservoir of pure love. His numerous service projects, be it free hospitals, free schools and colleges, free drinking water supply or free housing projects, all stand testimony to His selfless love and compassion for the needy and less privileged. The Sri Sathya Sai Organization today has a presence in over 167 countries in the world and members undertake group service activities that benefit their immediate community.
Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba is thus a beacon of hope in a world that is desperately seeking an end to the unrest and sorrow prevalent today.
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