KODAI DARSHAN

2nd May 2009 Evening

Bhajans began at 9.45 a.m. and Mangala Aarathi was offered as Bhagawan preferred to stay indoors.

 In the evening bhajan started round 5.25 p.m.  and Bhagawan came in for few minutes before moving out to grand darshan to the thousands assembled in the darshan grounds.  Prof. G. was asked to address and the dais was shifted to the verandah as the entire assembly could see Bhagawan and hear the speeches.

After the formal introduction by Mr. V.Srinivasan, Prof.Venkatraman started his speech saying that it was Bhagawan’s love & compassion for the thousands & thousands of devotees that made Him to arrange for the speech to be delivered out in the open so that all of them could have His darshan.  Just now the bhajan “PREMA EASWAR HAI” was sung which means God is Love. Swami added “LIVE IN LOVE”. The love that Swami talks about is not the romanticized worldly love. The love exhibited by the Lord is an out of the world. It is pure love that knows compassion & sacrifice. Selfless sacrifice issues from the Atman and manifests as pure love. It is not individual, not global but cosmic limitless sacrifice and selfless love is what we see in Bhagawan and then we all say only God can be like that. But Bhagawan says it is possible for us too , since, God is in all of us.

Bhagawan left school at the age of 14. Then world war 2 was raging and a small boy in a small hamlet declared that He was going to save the world . Even at that time people were drawn to Him, but, not in such large members. In a letter written to His elder brother He made a mission statement. To fill every one with Ananda, To make every one good not only through example but through exhortation too, To alleviate the suffering of the poor and needy.

He exhibited the phenomenon of the power of love. In 1990, on His 65th birthday He declared in the hill view stadium that one year from then a super specialty hospital would  be built and function with cardiac and nephrology departments performing free surgeries. Few people believed it then, since, we don’t believe in the power of the atman. Next year, Bhagawan went to Kodaikanal in April and stayed on for 41 days. Even in June, only the perimeter wall was erected but wonder of wonder,  an amazing structure arose on 22nd November. The prime Minister of India was received at the hospital and Swami inaugurated it by lighting a lamp. Four open heart surgeries were performed on that day. Even the architect to the Queen of England questioned as to how it would be possible to construct such a structure in so short a time. Swami sent students to AIIMS for training and Doctors there scoffed at the idea of free surgeries. Now, in 2009, it is still working and in these 18 years, tens of thousands of free surgeries have been performed. People say, it is possible only for Sai Baba.

On Jan 19th 2002, it was the 1st anniversary of the super speciality hospital at Bangalore and a medical conference was on. Swami in the middle of His discourse announced that He was going to give Krishna water to the drought hit Chennai. For 5 years in a row, Chennai had been reeling under drought conditions. The project was launched and a formal function to mark the release of water into the Poondi reservoir took place. 12 TMC water was supposed to reach the reservoir but only ½ TMC reached Poondi. So, He undertook to repair and relay the cannal on the Tamilnadu side too, so that , seepage could be avoided. On His 79th birthday, Chennai received water in abundance and to date the 80 lakhs who live there do not face any water shortage. In Jan 2007, the people of Chennai organized a function to thank Bhagawan and four Chief Ministers assembled – Maharastra, from where Krishna Originates, Karnataka and Andhra through which it flows and Tamil Nadu which is the recipient of Swami’s Grace. All of them assembled to ‘honour’ Bhagawan.

In Ramayana, a mere monkey crosses the ocean empowered by Bhakthi for Sri Rama. Sai Rama Bhakthi can achieve much. Love of God and fear of sin is the mantra. Swami does everything for us and nothing for Himself. When the devastating floods inundated Orissa, Sri V.Srinivasan brought pictures of Sai Seva there. Though there are many industrialists in Orissa, it was Swami who sent funds to build houses for the homeless. He had made a promise way back in 1947 to alleviate the suffering of the poor and needy. He always keeps up His promises. The keys for the 1st batch of houses were handed over to the recipients by Swami on Rama Navami .

Bhagawan might not have travelled to all countries of the world but from all over the world, we find devotees flocking to see Bhagawan. In 1940, there was no road to parthi, no electricity or phone connection. Yet, He has achieved what governments have not been able to do. That is the power of Atman and He assures us that we too can do the same. Follow Daiva preethi, Papa Bheethi and Sangha Neethi would follow.  Self Confidence which means Atma Viswasam should be there. One should feel pain of others and give up attachment to the things of this transient world. Do actions keeping an eye on the truth and one must be rooted in Sathya , Dharma and Prema. If you let yourself be an instrument in the hands of God everything is possible. If we do His bidding, the world and we would be redeemed, said Prof. Venkataraman bringing his speech to an end. Mangala Aarthi was offered to Bhagawan and blessed Prasad distributed to the devotees.