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Moving through the ladies side, Swami reached the centre of the hall where He took a detour towards the interview room. The Primary school children were arriving in great hurry and Swami seemed to enjoy them rushing in. Anyway, rushing for God is a noble quality worth of emulation by anyone! Swami granted interviews to various devotees till 5:15pm. He then came out and wanted the drama to begin. The initial offerings of the card and flowers were made. Once the Veda chanting stopped, flexible and foldable props erupted on the stage and created appropriate settings for the scenes to begin.

The storyline was very similar to many dramas put before but the presentation style was different and nice. The drama begins with a dialogue between Narada and Kali (the demigod in charge of the present age). Kali exults over his power and influence. Narada laughs at him and challenges him to influence a simple person. Kali uses all his powers to tempt that person into taking money - by ensuring that he loses his job, pressures from the family growing and finally with his mother falling very sick. But the person never yields and Kali surrenders as the hero's mother is alloted a bed in a Super Speciality hospital under the Trust's hospital collaboration scheme. Wondering where on earth does the lad get his sustenance and determination from, Kali discovers the power of the Sathya Sai kavacham (shield). He too desires to come to Parthi to see Swami and gives up his crown of ego.
 

Swami seemed very involved in the drama. He was very touched when the hero held on to his principles in the face of very stiff challenges. Swami was moved seeing the hero torn between options and was pleased to see him select the correct one over the easy one.

As the drama concluded, Swami called one of the participants and told Him that He would move down for group photographs. He moved down and the boys clustered around Him. He materialised a gold chain for the Narada of the drama. He kept saying, "Romba Santosham" and His smile and beaming face conveyed the same to those who did not understand Tamil or could not catch those words. He moved up the stage and then brought Safari cloth pieces from inside. As Aarthi was performed and prasadam was distributed, He personally distributed white cloth pieces to each and every member of the performing troupe. The boys were all joy at this shower of Grace.

Icing up this cake of Grace, Swami asked the boys to sing some bhajans. The mikes were quickly transported to the youth from TN and they began singing. Swami kept rhythm as two bhajans were sung and everyone joyfully clapped and followed. After those bhajans, Aarthi was performed for a second time. Everyone seemed so happy because very rare are the days when Swami receives Aarthi twice. Swami raised both His hands in benediction and Love and told all the participants that He was very happy. Then He retired.

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The red rays of the early morning sun turned golden and began to filter and flow into the Kulwant hall lighting up the central area especially. Krishna Gita, the elephant, the Gokulam cows, deer, peacocks, doves and rabbits accompanied by the students too had arrived to the mandir in procession. They too had been bedecked and some of them appeared to be in bridal finery. It was at this moment that the sweet Lord too arrived covered in the golden yellow robe! There was an applause of thrill as He entered the Kulwant hall. We have only heard about the beauty of Lord Krishna in the pitambara (yellow dress) but we are indeed blessed to see Him in the splendid yellow robe! HE moved slowly down the aisle and a sweet smile adorned His beaming face. He blessed all as He arrived. As He neared Krishna Gita, she stretched out her little trunk to touch Him. Smiling to Himself, Swami slowly waded into the confluence from the animal world.
 

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He fed the cows with bananas. There was a suckling calf. Today it was blessed to receive milk from two mothers as Swami too fed it with milk from a feeding bottle. Gently moving amidst the animals, He ensured that everyone was fed at least something in His divine presence. Two white doves had the special privilege of being released into the free skies from His divine hands. As the birds soared skywards, the decibel levels in the hall also soared as people joyously clapped at the happy sight. Moving ahead, Swami lovingly fondled a baby deer that was brought up to Him. He fed the mother of that deer with a biscuit which she quickly gobbled. He not only blessed the animals but their caretakers too. Many of the members of the Sathya Sai Gokulam offered roses to Swami. It was as if a bouquet of roses had been presented to Him. He patiently and lovingly accepted all of them and then moving through the students, He went up the stage. It was then that two children decked as Krishna and Balarama went on stage. Swami blessed them and the sweets they offered to Him. top

Swami sat listening to the chants that were on. He sat that way for about 20-25 minutes. In between, He told the caretakers to take all the animals away, back to their lovely homes that He so lovingly has gifted them. It is really wonderful how much concern Swami has for the animals. Normally any of us feel that though the animals do not know, it is their privilege to be in Swami's presence. However, on the smooth marbled floors of Kulwant hall, the animals find it a little difficult to get a grip. It was not so before when the hall had concrete floors and before that when there was sand. So Swami sends back the animals as soon as possible so that they remain on firm footing!

Once the animals left, Swami asked the students to put up their programme. The card was shown to Him and the programme started with a group song, the Pandurangashtakam. Since it is a popular one, even the children from the Primary school joined in the singing. After that, two students sang the song, "Govardhana Giridhara" in all its majesty and grandeur. This was followed by a novel programme. A group of students have been working hard at picking up playing the flute. All these students with their teacher, put up a 15 minute recital in His presence. Swami kept tapping in beat as they played on the flute. And therein lies the beauty of being a student! Any talent that one has or any skill that one acquires, one gets the wonderful opportunity to present before the supreme Lord Himself! After they finished their presentation, it was back to songs. A Telugu song recounting the leelas of Lord Krishna as a child was sung and Swami was so involved in the song. He seemed to be drinking in every word of the song and appeared very touched at times. As that song was completed, Swami decided that it was best that all leave in that frame of mind. He asked for the Aarthi.
 

As the Aarthi was nearing conclusion, Swami called the students who had arrived with a cake. He cut the cake and naturally so for was it not His birthday? Many Krishnashtami cards had been made by students from the Institute, school and primary school too. Swami called them all and began to slowly and patiently go through the works of art that His children had designed. Some were huge, others were three dimensional structures, some others were fine carvings while some others were simple sketches and paintings depicting the episodes in the life of Krishna.

But all of them were prayers addressed to Swami. As Swami was going through these cards, the "Krishna" and "Balarama" moved up on stage again and offered chocolates to Swami for giving the Primary school children who had made the cards. Swami seemed to like the idea and He gave a chocolate to every child who came to Him. In this manner, Swami spent more than 20 minutes seeing and blessing the cards with their creators. Then raising both His hands in benediction, He retired for the morning.  Click here to read more details of Krishna Janamasthmi Darshan - an eye witness account submitted to "SBOI" by a Sai devotee from Prasanthi Nilayam >> -   top

There was a funny sequence whence Hanuman teases and troubles Lankini! Finally vanquishing her and releasing her from the curse she had been under all this while, Hanuman comes to know the whereabouts of Sita from Vibhishana, the Satwic brother of Ravana. Sita is with Sarama, Vibheeshana's wife. Ravana enters the orchard with material gifts and tries to persuade Sita to marry him. Sita reprimands and curses him. Hanuman then makes his appearance and tells mother Sita all about Rama. The description of Rama touches the inner recesses of Sita's heart. It also seemed to touch some chords deep within Swami. He was touched by the loyalty and love of Sita to Rama and Hanuman's devotion to both Rama and Sita.

All the singing was being done by the Bhagavathars as they are called, standing backstage. There was the main singer and accompanists for him. A mrindangam, a drum, a set of cymbals and a music box provided the rich music. Most of the speaking was being done by that singer. The actors would once in a while speak English dialogues so that the non-Kannada people could also catch the action going on. But all that was rendered superfluous by the superlative acting of the children as they brought alive all the characters from a time period of thousands of years back!

Sita is overjoyed and she hands over the "Choodamani" as her mark of identification for Rama. Then when she seems to despair, Hanuman, meek and sweet till now, stands to his magnificent height and reassures her. Hanuman then destroys the Ashokavana and then gets captured willingly when Indrajit, Ravana's son, uses the Brahmaastra against him. In anger, Ravana commands that Hanuman's tail be set on fire. Jumping across the city of Lanka, Hanuman sets it on fire. Finally, Hanuman returns to Sri Rama and informs the joyous tidings. When he gives the Choodamani to Rama, Rama embraces him. Marching against the demonic forces, Rama vanquishes Ravana and rescues Sita. The drama closed with the scene of the coronation of Lord Rama. It displayed the glory of the humble Hanuman who achieved so much that even the Lord was speechless in gratitude to him.

The Ramayana is such a wonderful epic that even today when we listen to it, it arouses such noble feelings and emotions within. The story never seems to get boring and every time it is narrated or depicted, it inspires one to rise above the pettiness and narrow mindedness and get lost in Love for God. And so it is no surprise that Swami gives so much importance to that epic. It is not just a story, but the story of every person in the journey called life.

As the drama concluded, Swami came down from the stage and was so very happy with all of them. He stated so many times that each and every actor had done a wonderful role. He posed for group photos with all of them He also materialised two gold chains simultaneously and gifted them to Rama and Sita respectively. Many tried giving letters to Him. He told them to wait and hold on. He seemd to say, "When I am here available for you to tell me whatever you want, why the impediment of the paper? When the rich feelings of the heart are on song, why use the grossly insufficient medium of the words of a language?" He called for Rama, Sita and Lakshmana and took a picture. He then slowly moved on to the stage. All the children in a very disciplined manner moved backstage when they were all told to come front and sit.

Discipline is something that pleases Swami so much. Not one person, child or adult, rushed to Swami. As a result, Swami Himself kept calling people to Him and spoke and interacted with them. He sat for more than 20 minutes after the drama and interacted with all. He distributed t shirts for all the students. He gifted the elders with Safari pieces. For some of the elders who always dress in traditional clothes, He gifted silk dhoties. He asked about the people who had been involved in the make up. He gifted clothes to them also. He spoke at length with the heads of the institution at Alike. Then blessing them profusely, He asked for the Aarthi to be taken. He sat for the whole Aarthi and blessed the children specially after it concluded. Before leaving, He once again said, "Very nice drama. All acted very well. Very happy!" Blessed indeed are these children for they delighted the Lord so much!top
 

Swami came out at about 5:05 pm and after listening to the Vedic chants for a while, asked them to stop and beckoned the Vishakapatnam group begin the programme. The office bearers first came and symbolically offered the programme unto His feet. A silver lamp made its way up the stage and soon it was lit by the Lord. This is another practise that is gaining ground especially among the different districts of Andhra Pradesh. A lamp is lit by Swami at Parthi and its "light" is taken back to the respective places signifying Swami's entry into their homelands. And so it was only after the lamp was lit and Padukas blessed that the actual participants moved upto Swami and offered flowers. Soon the drama began.

The drama opened with Karnam Subamma calling out to Krishna and little Sathya responding to her asking her why she had called. He reminds her of the wonderful Brindavan days that He has come to recreate - those days of leelas when He as Krishna had danced with the gopikas. Then too, like now, He was the favourite of everyone. All wanted to spend time with Him and no one felt their day complete without Him being a part of it. As a tiny tot, Krishna showed Mother Yasoda that the entire Universe is in Him - the same boon that the little Sathya bestowed on Subamma. The episode of Krishna merrily dancing on the hoods of the vicious serpent Kaliya as He subdued him was wonderfully depicted and the episode of Swami swallowing the poisoned vadas and in turn consuming the hatred and anger of people who tried to poison Him was brought up as a comparision. Krishna also performs the miracle of lifting the mountain Govardhana to spare the people of Gokulam, who had placed all their faith in Him, from the ire of Lord Indra. When Subamma asks little Sathya whether He would do a similar thing even now, He replies, "Then I lifted only one mountain - symbolic of achieving the impossible. This time I shall do many more." He then allows her a sneak peek into the future where He accomplishes "lifting the Govardhanas" of health care, educare and socio-care. top

Throughout the drama, Swami was very moved and it appeared as if He was reminded of the Love that exists between Him and Subamma and that which exists between Him and Yashoda, if there is any difference between them that is! He seemed overwhelmed on many occasions and here and there kept nostalgically remembering the episodes and even told some of them to the people by His side. The crowning moment for the drama came towards the end. Both Subamma and Yashoda express their desires to see their dear little ones gently swinging in a jhoola. At this point both Krishna and Sathya came to Swami and pleaded with Him to fulfill that desire! Swami agreed and as the final dance was on itself, Swami moved down from the stage and near the big swing that had been placed in the centre of the performance area. The dancers went about merrily dancing till Swami told them to stop and pose with Him by His side.

And so all the children came crowding around. Slowly all the people associated with the dram also came to Swami They surrounded Him from all sides as the flashes were fired and tapes rolled. Most of the children began to break down into uncontrollable tears. There were expressions of Love and uncontrollable joy. The urge to fall full at His feet was also uncontrollable. In short, everything about the final formation and photo session was uncontrollable! And thats how it is with the Lord - everything beyond limits and boundaries! Swami created two gold chains simultaneously and gifted one to Krishna and the other to Subamma. He was surrounded on all sides by the children and children seemed to be everywhere. And everyone seemed to have only one objective- to fall at His feet. Soon, Swami waded out of the surging waves of children and as He moved towards the stage, He asked for sarees and white safari pieces. He gifted two beautiful sarees to Yashoda and Subamma. He also asked for sarees to be distributed to all the other children. For the boys side, He gave T-shirts to all the kids and to the elder boys, He gifted Safari pieces. In the meanwhile, He also sent word for Krishna and Sathya. He told Krishna, "Call your mother also." The innocent 'Krishna' instead of calling 'Yasoda', called her mother from the audience. And the mother of Sathya also came to Swami in the same fashion. Swami posed for a picture with them. The mothers broke down and almost lay at His feet. Swami told them to rise and blessed them. top

 

Swami continued the giving with pens that were also brought out. To many of the children, He Himself distributed. After that was done, Swami went back on stage. Everyone were so happy and Swami was the only reason for that. Swami said that the drama was very well scripted and presented. After a short visit to the interview room, Swami received Aarthi and retired for the evening.
 

Photos sent by Sai devotee - Sai abode :" We would like to share a few pictures from our visit to Kodaikanal and Puttaparthi   ...Sai abode

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After a short while, Swami came out slowly to the stage from the gents side via the portico. He came front till the railings and then sat there gently swaying to the tunes of the Vedic chants. It is such a satisfying feeling to have the great Lord Himself "swaying to the tunes" of your chants! And that too with a smile dancing on those lovely lips. With a sweeping glance, He graced everyone in the hall. He suddenly beckoned to His left and to the pleasant amazement of everyone, He came down the central ramp and began moving around the students. He began His rounds where He had left off during the previous trip! Slowly moving into the gents side, He began to ask for and collect letters. It is a great joy for all when Swami begins such rounds.

It was a beautiful and touching sight as people rejoiced at His close proximity. He moved over to the students' side where there were letters galore awaiting His attention. Each and every letter got the attention it deserved. The birthday boys and boys with trays were blessed. He passed by the Veda group and was soon engaged by a group of boys who also prayed for MBA day celebrations. Swami interacted with them and then moving further along the boys, materialized a gold chain for one of them. Thus having completed the rounds, He was headed towards the interview room. But then, a subtle movement of His eyes indicated that He wanted to Grace the ladies too with a bonus darshan round. And so, it was round 2 for the women.

Swami moved along the corridors and continued taking letters. Completing that, He moved along the students back towards the bhajan hall. Not leaving anything incomplete, He took a round in the bhajan hall too! Then He topped it by moving through the upper portico. Surely not only the darshan-thirsty, but also the darshan-greedy would have been satiated today. It was 5:30 pm when the bhajans began and they continued till 6:00 pm when Aarthi was taken.
A Wonderful, Divine and Joyous Day for everyone to remember and Cherish. top