The ‘coming’ of a New Year…
a signpost for man to introspect the past...

Brotherhood of man and Fatherhood of God, the oneliner promoting universal oneness with One God concept, that has been heard many a time in Prasanthi Nilayam has had a greater impact in the coming into being of a specialised fraternity, a Universal Family practising Unity in Diversity. This fraternity’s added conviction to this universal theory of Oneness draws the focus of attention to the Divine Being Sathya Sai Baba, who with greater conviction advocates and thus promotes this intangible theory with tangible results. But for this advocacy and frontline guidance, suffused with spiritual vision of par excellence, the concept of Universal Brotherhood has always been waning in practice and popularity in a world that is infected by concepts driven by express egotism.

A single state with varied culture, showcasing a fine blend of diversity into quintessential Oneness with the magic formula of Love brings Prasanthi Nilayam to the exalted status to be the epicenter of the world of spirituality.  The miniscule of world population that throng to this privileged township do share their cultural heritage barring any variance with one another, exemplifying a universal home of greater harmony. …And this unique feature earns a festive galore status to Prasanthi Nilayam…bringing celebrations aplenty, and in this cultural and heritage galore comes the celebration of New Years…styling differently…tailored to diverse mythical concepts and beliefs.

20th March marks the 'coming' of the New Year based on the southern Indian lunar calendar for three Indian states.  It is Ugadi, the Telugu and Kannada New Year for Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka…and in Maharashtra it comes as Gudipadava.  Ugadi, an age old festival that revels, in essence, by purifying the heart is a periodical reminder to the man to revert to the age old Godly path with righteous living understanding his true essence.  Bhagawan says: True celebration of Ugadi lies in giving up evil qualities and purifying one’s heart. Human heart in its pristine state is highly sacred and human birth is difficult to attain. External cleanliness, an obvervance that man does as a part of this festivity by getting up early in the morning, having sacred bath, putting on new clothes, does indeed signify in essence the much needed inner purification that man should aim to achieve. 

How do we welcome the New Year?
The New Year comes with fresh hopes and man often makes attempts to raise his set standards with New Year resolutions.  While leaving these resolutions that often go down with dud progress, man should make serious attempts to reflect upon his own self, by introspecting his actions and contributions in the year that is passing by, and should be grateful for all that has been bestowed upon him during the year. During the Ugadi celebrations in the year 1985, Prof. Kasturi in his short speech in the Divine Presence significantly mentioned that the New Year day was an occasion for devotees to draw up a balance sheet of their record during the past year and submit it to the Lord. All of us, he said, are pilgrims to His Lotus feet. Man should cease to be blind any more and look up to the bestower with gratitude and in essence he should come to term with the reality that he is being constantly guided…and guarded by the Supreme Selfless One… “You cannot indulge in sinful deeds and hope to realise the fruits of meritorious actions. Hence embark on good deeds and sanctify your life. Do not get needlessly agitated over the name of the year. Shed all fear and, placing your faith in God, transform even a dreadful year into a divine one”. Bhagawan urged the gathering in the 1985 version of Ugadi in Prasanthi Nilayam.

Puttaparthi’s boon
Puttaparthi, the most privileged remote village of yester years, that has turned into a world renowned spiritual centre known as Prasanthi Nilayam,  that played host to the Divine Advent has been a silent witness to the ‘blossoming of the bud’, the bud that by itself is the sole light and the soul of all lights.  It had the greatest fortune to wintess the self-evolution of the earthly sojourn of this Avatar of Age. God’s angelic voice of Wisdom conquering hearts and minds taking souls to the exalted state of Divine Union…a Mission that Bhagawan does silently, yet with great profundity, with great patience and perseverance does echoe from the heart of this holy abode ceaselessly as a perennial flow of ocean of Wisdom. During Ugadi, time and again Bhagawan had exhorted invalubale life sustaining principles to the devotees flocked to Prasanthi Nilayam.  Here are some extracts of these words of wisdom…

in 1985…
Talking on the mounting differences between man and man, village and village, between states and countries, Bhagawan stressed the importance of being vigilant over one’s own actions.  He said: The year is filled with so much of hatred and anger that its heat will burn even green grass.  Referring to the impending scarcity and trouble, Bhagawan said: In the cycle of Nature, bad is likely to be followed by good and vice versa. Hence, we must cultivate the strength and equanimity to face difficulties and trou­bles. Only the grace of God can give this strength and courage.  Even in our daily life, we will have to conduct ourselves with great care during this year. Every word we utter must be spoken with due deliberation. We have to restrain our pride and anger to the greatest extent. We must eschew anger and hatred towards anyone. Even If there is some provocation for such feelings, it should be kept in check. If one succumbs to such provocations, grave consequences may follow.  Referring to the name of the year, Krodhana, Bhagawan said: The name of the year does not matter. What is really important is how we think and feel. If we do not fill our hearts with pure and sacred thoughts, any year will be unfavourable to us.

in 1986…
Bhagavan observed that the dualistic attitude of man was born out of a sense of separateness, which was not correct. Man should realise his inherent divinity and get rid of identification of his real Self with the body. The body is only an instrument for realising the Self. No great scholarship is needed for achieving this realisation. The attitude of surrender to the Divine and dedicating all thoughts, words and actions as an offering to the Divine will lead to Self-realisation. The bliss one will experience in that state is beyond description in words.

in 1987…
Dwelling on the subject how is God to be experienced? Bhagawan said: The first requisite is purity of heart. All religions have affirmed the basic importance of purity. The aim of all sadhanas is to achieve peace. Compassion towards all beings is devotion to God. God cannot be experienced through the ostentatious observance of rituals and worship. Where there is pomp and show there can be no divinity. The bliss of the Divine cannot be found there. As a seed will not sprout on rocky ground, the bliss of the Divine cannot be realised by worship devoid of humility and sincerity.

in 1988...
"Man should develop self‑confidence and not allow evil tend­encies to take hold of him or fall a victim to undesirable habits." Man should re­member that every moment is a "Yugadi" and his constant efforts should be to conduct himself in thought, word and deed as a human being.

in 1989…
We hail the New Year as Samvatsara because it signifies the omnipresence of the Divine. It is not the New Year Day alone that should be regarded as holy. Every moment is the beginning of a new year. Every moment should be made holy by sacred thoughts and actions,” observed Bhagawan, in the course of His inspiring discourse.

in 1990…
Firm faith in God's name will ward off many of the evil portents indicated by the planetary conjunctions in the New Year Pramoduta, observed Bhagawan, in the course of His discourse.Bhagawan said there were indications of various kinds of conflicts and dangers from fire disasters during the year, but many joyous events were also likely. He advised the large concourse of devotees to carry on their duties in a spirit of dedication, with firm faith in God.

in 1991…
In the eyes of the ancient Bharatiyas, there was nothing in the world that was not Divine. Ignoramuses, who were not aware of this truth, looked down upon Bharatiyas as worshippers of trees, stones, snakes, etc. Unfortunately, the aware­ness of this basic truth (about the immanence of the Divine in the Cosmos) is dec­lining even among Bharatiyas today. Such recognition (of the divinity of everything in the universe) is not to be found in any other religion or country elsewhere.

in 1993…
God is the embodiment of Time. Time is eternal. It has no end. It is boundless. As against this eternal Time, the life‑span of man is very limited. Because of his limited time-­span, man is bound by the passage of time in terms of hours, days, months and years. All the latter are by their intrinsic nature transient. The Lord declares: "I am the Eternal Time" ("Akshya Kaalah"). It is indeed a pity that this eternal time should be considered as a fleeting moment. Man's actions are governed by the change in time and circumstances. In the procession of years, the present New Year is known as "Srimukha". The past year was known as Angirasa. To bid farewell to Angirasa and to welcome Srimukha are considered a natural action among common people. Not realising the infinite and sacred nature of Time, men set bounds to Time and bid farewell to one year and extend welcome to a new year. In this context, all actions of men appear to be artificial. On this day, when one person meets another, he greets the other with the words: "Happy New Year!" The other man replies: "The same to you!" These words have no meaning at all. If, for one moment on one day one wishes someone happiness, will he secure happiness? People's entire lives are consumed by artificial behaviour.

in 1994…
Nature is the best teacher for mankind to learn the noble and sacred lesson of selfless sacri­fice. Look at the trees which yield fruits for the enjoyment of others, without any trace of selfishness. "Ugadi" or New Year day is a festival that teaches lessons in selfless service. It is not intended for feasting. It is a sacred day when wholesome wisdom should dawn and enlightenment should blossom in the hearts of people.

in 1995…
The world is confronted today with many problems. On the one side there is fear of war. On another side, there is fear of famine. On a third front there is the lust for power. On the fourth side, selfishness is rampant. There is discord between man and man, between one caste and another, between one nation and another. What is the reason for this? Society is riddled today with conflicts because morality has been banished and humanness has been forgotten. Becoming a prey to peacelessness, man seeks the Divine by various means. But why is he unable to realise his desire? What is the cause of his sorrow? Is it due to unfulfilled desire or the failure of his efforts? Is he miserable because he has not got various possessions, or failed to win a lottery? Lamenting over such trifles, man today is forgetting his divinity.

in 1996…
What is the significance of the advent of the New Year? It is not necessary to wait for twelve months for the New Year to appear for one to do what he wants to do. The year is made up of seconds, minutes, hours, days and months. Every second is a new moment in one's life. Why then wait for a year? Every one should strive to render help to the people every second of his life and lead a noble and ideal existence. It is necessary for man to understand the truth underlying this dictum. The eye sees different persons in different relationship to a person: the mother, the daughter, the daughter-in-law and so on. Although the eye that sees is the same, the persons seen are different and one's behaviour is to be in accord with the varying relationships.

in 1997…
If we wish to discover the presence of the all-pervading Divine in the universe, we have to recognise the Divine in our daily life. Like the power of sight in the eye and the power of hearing in the ears, God manifests as consciousness in the human body. There is no place in the world where God does not exist. God pervades everything.

in 1998…
Only those who recognise this truth can redeem their lives; they alone can achieve the goal of human existence. The powers of the Divine are limitless. Every living being in the world is governed by some limitations. Birds, beasts and insects are all taken care of by the Divine in respect of their essential needs like food and drink. Among all living beings, however, the life of human being is supreme as it is governed by morality and good conduct. The Divine has placed some limitations on the physical powers of man but has set no limits to his mental powers. Man can achieve whatever he resolves to achieve. He can even realise God. This divine power is given only to human beings.

in 1999…
Thoughts are the permanent asset of man. Thoughts are based on feelings and feelings on the mind. …As the thoughts, so the mind. If thoughts are good, humanity will blossom into Divinity. Today man's behaviour is not good because his thoughts are polluted. As the thoughts and actions of man have become perverted, the country is passing through troubles and turmoil. Man has filled his mind with thou­ghts about mundane, ephemeral and transient things. This is totally negative in nature. Only thoughts based on Truth are positive.

in 2000…
When the New Year begins, people start speculating as to what the New Year has in store for them and also for the world at large. The future of the world depends on the actions of man, not on the New Year. Actions depend on the mind, the mind on thoughts. As are the thoughts, so is the action. Hence, for the world to be peaceful and prosperous, man should foster truthful thoughts. The world will enjoy safety, security and peace only through men of truthful thoughts.

in 2001…
Right from the beginning, the Vedas have taught the principle of equanimity to mankind. It says that you are neither sin nor merit, neither happiness nor misery. You are neither Yajna nor charity. You are neither the ritual offering nor the process of worship. You are neither man nor animal. Then who are you? You are the principle of Siva (supreme consciousness).

in 2002…
We have been experiencing the bliss of celebrating Ugadi for the past many ages and generations. The Bharatiyas have been spreading peace and security to all the nations of the world with their strength of spirituality. Since time immemorial to this day, the prayer of the Bharatiyas has been: Loka Samastha Sukhino Bhavantu (May all the people of the world be happy!) But the present-day condition is just the opposite. Man has progressed in worldly sense but morally he has regressed. He is not able to give up his narrow ­mindedness and criticism of others.

in 2003…
Today is the New Year day. People celebrate it as a festival with all festivity and gaiety. But their enthusiasm and happiness are short-lived. They do not last even for one day. It is not the true celebration of the New Year. Your happiness should be forever. It should be permanent. True happiness is not something which comes and goes like a passing cloud. You are born with bliss; you should retain it all your life.

in 2004…
People are making efforts to realise truth but their efforts are not yielding the desired result. Divinity is the very embodiment of eternal bliss and is present in all of us. How can you visualise it? Firstly, you should understand that there is nothing superior to truth in this world. Your foremost duty is to recognise the principle of truth that is present in you. But you are forgetting your innate divinity. You are undertaking a number of Sadhanas (spiritual practices) to experience divinity. In fact, you do not need to perform any special Sadhana to have the vision of God who is always with you, in you, above you, around you.

in 2005…
Truly, God has endowed man with immense potential. That is love. It is beyond all description and measure. There is no greater power than this. But man is frittering away this power without realising its value. He is under the mistaken notion that love means physical and worldly relationship. No, no. This is not true love. True love is that which unites you with one and all. People utter this word repeatedly without actually knowing its meaning. Love does not hurt anybody. It always helps. Hence, consider love as your true property. There is no property more valuable than love in this world. You are misusing the God-given gift of love by diverting it to worldly matters and sensual pleasures. Your foremost duty is to make proper use of love by following the dictum, Help ever, Hurt never. There is no greater Dharma than this.

in 2006…
Good and bad coexist. It is not possible for anyone to separate them. When you cultivate more of goodness, the bad in you will become absolutely insignificant. There is no need to use any force to drive away all that is bad. When you forget bad, goodness will develop in you in full measure. This is the message I would like to give on this day. Do not think that the New Year will give you some new fruits. The fruits that you earn will be based on your qualities and actions. All that you think will be reflected back to you. Everything is the result of your thoughts.

On Ugadi day, people wake up before the break of dawn and take a head bath after which they decorate the entrance of their houses with fresh mango leaves. The green mango leaves tied to the doorway signify a good crop and general well being. It is noteworthy that one uses mango leaves and coconuts (as in a 'Kalasam', to initiate any puja) only on auspicious occasions to propitiate gods.

People also splash fresh cow dung water on the ground in front of their house and draw colourful floral designs. This is a common sight in every household. People perform the ritualistic worship to God invoking Divine blessings before they start off with the New Year. They pray for their health, wealth and prosperity and success in business too. Ugadi supposedly the most auspicious time to start new ventures.

Listening to the yearly calendar normally read at the temples or at a common place in the town popularly known as “Panchangasravanam” is a traditionally followed custom of the festivity.  Another important aspect of this festival is its special delicacies. "Ugadi Pachchadi" is one such dish that has become synonymous with this festival.  Kavi Sammelanam or poetry recitation is a typical Telugu Ugadi feature. It is the time when people look forward to a literary feast in the form of Kavi Sammelanam.

Bhagawan adds, “It is a practice among rural folk to eat what is called Ugadi Pachchadi (Ugadi Chutney). This is made from Neem flowers, mango juice, honey, sugar (jaggery) and other ingredients with different tastes. The inner significance of this preparation is to indicate that life is a mixture of good and bad, joy and sorrow, and all of them have to be treated with equanimity. Everyone should make resolution that he would face calmily whatever happens, accepting with good grace. Welcome everything. Do not bemoan over anything. Consider everything as for your own good. This is the primary purpose of the Ugadi festival.

In Andhra Pradesh, eatables such as "Pulihora", "Bobbatlu" and preparations made with raw mango go well with the occasion. In Karnataka too, similar preparations are made but called "Puliogure" and "Holige". The Maharashtrians make "Puran Poli" or sweet 'Rotis'.

Bhagawan had given a beautiful analogy on the festivity in one of His Divine Discourses saying “The Kali Yuga (the present era) started in the year Pramadi, the month named Sravana, the fortnight named Bahula, and the day called Ashtami. According to the English Calendar, this would be described as 20th February 3102 years before the advent of Christ. In order to bring out this aspect of the commencement of the new Yuga on 20th February 3102 B.C., our ancestors have been calling that day ‘the day of the beginning of a new era (Ugadi)” Since this was the commencing day of a new Yuga, it was called Ugadi. When looked at from this angle, we should also learn a different aspect, although it is not very pleasant. This particular day, Ugadi, is also the day on which Krishna gave up his mortal body in a sacred place of pilgrimage called Prabahatsa near Dwaraka.

God’s greater benevolence earned man with the luxury of festivals aplenty coming with subtle metaphorical significance. It is for the man to adapt and later adopt these subtle values in life to transmute his sojourn into a real pilgrimage wherein, in the end, he is sure to lose himself dazzled by the resplended glory of Greater Heaven.  The ‘coming’ of the New Year should serve man with the insight to look within in search of this dazzling and most complete one, Resplendent Divine!