The seven day long ritual, Dasara Jnana Saptaha Yajnam concluded on 28th morning with Bhagawan receiving Poornahuthi as Yajna Purusha, witnessed by thousands in a jam-packed Poornachandra Auditorium. Bhagawan who presided over the Yajna blessed the occasion while the final offerings were being made in to the pit; amidst the holy Vedic Chantings.
The very name ‘Vijaya’ meaning ‘victory’ summarized the significance of the entire festival of Dasara - the triumph of the good over evil. On the auspicious morning upon entering the Sai Kulwant Hall, Bhagawan granted Darshan to the thousands assembled there after which He blessed the priests with special clothes, in the bhajan hall.
Clad in a maroon robe, upon reaching the dais, Bhagawan, after watching the proceedings for sometime asked for the special metal pole through which the final ghee offering was to be done as the concluding part of the Yajna. The Yajna Purusha He is, Bhagawan was invoked by the priests to take His seat to accept the final offering. Surrounded by the priests, amidst loud chanting of the Vedas by the priests and students, and a thundering applause from the multitude of devotees, red flames of the sacred fire rose up to receive a red cloth bundle of offerings along with a continuous stream of ghee. Subsequently He went to the western end of the stage where special Kumkum Archana along with Lalitha Sahasranama Parayanam was being done and received Arati marking the end of seven day long ritual.
This was followed by the final lap of Grama Seva 2009, wherein women students of Sathya Sai University along with staff members from the University and Primary School distributed Prasadam to all inmates at their door step inside the ashram, marking the end of ten days of Karma Yajna, started on the 19th of September.Yet another memorable occasion in the annals of Prasanthi Nilayam!!!
Earlier, during the six consecutive days, starting from the first day of the Yajna, 22nd September 2009, the archetype assembly of the learned shared their wisdom in the Divine Presence and adding glitter to this archetype assembly came a Divine Discourse lasting ninety minutes wherein Bhagawan dwelled upon in detail on His childhood days. The other speakers who spoke on various days included Prof. Vishwanath Pandit, the current Vice Chancellor, Sri S.V.Giri, IAS (Retd.), formerly Vice Chancellor, Dr. T.Ravi Kumar on 22nd, Aman Jhaveri and Robin Sharma, students from the University followed by Sri B.N.Narasimhamurthy on 23rd, Sri Sashank Shah, Research Scholar, Akshay Kamath, student from the University followed by Dr. Subhash Subramaniam, faculty member from the University on 24th, Sri V.Srinivasan, All India President of Sri Sathya Sai Seva Organisations, Bhabani Shankar, M.Phil student who spoke in Hindi followed by Srinivasan SriRanagarajan, Controller of Examinations on 25th, Prof. Anantaraman, faculty, MBA Dept., followed by Sri K.Chakravarthi, IAS, Secy, Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust on 26th, Prof. G.Venkataraman, formerly Vice Chancellor, Sri Sathya Sai University on 27th. All these speeches were preceded by rhetoric excellence by Anil Kumar Kamaraju in Telugu who dwelled upon various aspects of the “attributeless” Mother Divine, often peaking with excellent poetic narration. Anil Kumar was the master of the ceremonies for the archetype assembly of scholars.
Here are some of the highlights of the speeches…
Akshay Kamath in his exhilarating speech urged one and all to follow His path by being aware, by showing gratitude and by acting upon the task. Talking about His omnipresence he narrated a beautiful incident wherein Bhagawan told him that he was aware about everything, referring to an incident wherein the boy translated two hindi lines into English, in the night preceding to a programme in the Divine Presence, sitting under the streetlight, all out of love for Bhagawan.
Narrating a beautiful incident involving former Chairman of ICICI Bank, Padmabhushan K.V.Kamath, Sashank Shah mentioned that Mr. Kamath and a group of members from the Saraswat Brahmin community went to their preceptor in Kashi, Sri Sudheendra Teertha asking a question about the true nature of Bhagawan…and they got the right answer…Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba is the incarnation of the triune principle of Brahma Vishnu and Maheshwara in human form.
Dr. Subash Subramaniam, a lecturer from the Sri Sathya Sai University, using the verse, "Anapeksha Suchir-daksha Udaasino gathavyathah; Sarvaarambha Parithyaagi Yo madbhaktah sa me priyah" from the Bhagwad Gita as the backbone of his speech went on to illustrate each of these qualities dear to the lord with an example. Thus, it was that the experiences of Mrs. Sakamma, the Rajmata of Nawanagar, Prof. N. Kasturi and Mr. Rama Brahmam regaled and touched Swami and the audience.
Mr. Bhabhani Shankar from the University spoke in Hindi; the speech was rousing and sprinkled amply with humour as he described the glory of the Mother and Swami quoting extensively from many a great people.
Mr. Srinivasan SriRangarajan, the Controller of Examinations, spoke on the evolution of man as he asks the three "Why"s. The first one being "Why me" which evolves into "Why not me?" and grows to just "Why" before culminating in the ultimate answer, "Sai".
Referring to the Divine Love that is Bhagawan, Prof. Anantaraman said, one could only experience it, but could never understand the same. Calling the gathering at Prasanthi Nilayam a heterogeneous one, the learned scholar in his classic speech displaying rhetoric excellence and mastery over language said that experiences were given to make us richer, to instruct us in the science of being and the art of living. He narrated a beautiful experience, which he preferred to call parables of wisdom, narrating the mysterious style of Divinity showing omnipresence, omnipotence and omniscience ending up teaching us precious lessons.
Calling his speech as no reflection of the speech given by the previous speaker, Prof. Anantaraman, admitting that he would often go emotional while speaking about Bhagawan, Mr. K.Chakravarthi, Secretary, Sri Sathy Sai Central Trust said, His story has no beginning and has no end…we all add up to some chapters in His continuing saga…how we write these chapters depend on our earnestness and our humility. We are all given some role by Bhagawan in His great saga of service and sacrifice, of love and mercy, of renewal and redemption…I am constantly humbled by watching the love and devotion, the faith and determination of devotees, young and old, men and women, rich and the poor, the mighty and the meek…I know from the depths of my heart that they, like me, are here not because of any deservedness, but because of His Grace…” said Mr.Chakravarthi in an emotionally charged speech packed with greater wisdom.
Ayudha Pooja in Prasanthi Nilayam is atypical with a fleet of cars serving the Divinity getting blessed by Bhagawan, a custom that has been prevalent for years. …And alongwith the same comes the Golden Chariot. 26th Sept, 2009, the scheduled Ayudha Pooja day witnessed Bhagawan blessing various cars bedecked with garlands and neatly parked in Sai Kulwant Hall. Coconuts were broken and chocolates were distributed to everyone.
