Sai Shivoham
I am the Supreme Cosmic Divine Self
Your mission has begun…
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Makara Sankranthi – 14th January
“Makara Sankranthi marks the movement of the Sun from the southern horizon to the northern horizon. This northward movement of the Sun has immense spiritual significance. The north is symbolised by Himaachala. Hima means snow. It is pure, untainted and soothingly cool. All these endow it with the quality of Prashanthi (perfect peace). Achala means that which is steady and unshakeable. Himaachala does not refer to the physical Himalayan mountains. It represents that which is cool, peaceful and steady. From this day the Sun is said to move towards such a state. The Sun symbolises the vision of man. The northward movement of the Sun is a call to human beings to turn their vision towards that which is cool, peaceful and unchanging, i.e. towards the divinity within.
– Divine Discourse: 14 January, 1994
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New Year Blessings!!!
Years come and go, so also pleasure and pain. Nothing confers permanent bliss except the experience of the Atma (Self). Man cannot attain peace and happiness from his actions unless he has sacred feelings within. Many people expect the New Year to confer happiness and prosperity on them. But in fact, New Year only confers on you the results of your past actions. In order to atone for your past sins, you have to cultivate sacred qualities and involve yourself in sacred activities more and more in the New Year. In fact, Bliss is within you, it originates from your sacred feelings. So, you have to manifest bliss from within – it cannot be bestowed on you by others. None can take away the bliss from you and you cannot obtain it from outside.
– Divine Discourse: 1st January 2001
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Christmas
There was a huge halo of splendour illuminating the sky over the village when Christ was born.
This meant that He, who was to overcome the darkness of evil and ignorance had taken birth,
that He will spread the Light of Love in the heart of man and councils of humanity.
Appearances of splendour, and other signs to herald the era that has dawned are natural when
incarnations happen on earth. Jesus was to shatter the darkness that had enveloped the world and the aura of light was a sign that announced the event.
The Masters arrive in answer to man’s prayer.
“Thamaso maa jyothir gamaya”
(Lead us from darkness unto Light!)
25th December 2021
It was to teach mankind the greatness of divine love that Jesus came. He resolved on three tasks: one, to be filled with Divine love and to share it with others – this was the main purpose of his life; two, he should not succumb to praise or censure in carrying out his mission; three, to inspire in others the conviction that the Divinity within is omnipresent. Jesus considered spreading the gospel of love as his foremost task. He encountered many ordeals in carrying out his mission, but he regarded them all as challenges to be overcome. He was determined to treat pleasure and pain, and sickness and failure with equanimity. He could not bear to see anyone suffer. Every human being is potentially a messenger of God. Humanness demands that everyone should manifest the Divinity within him. Everyone should be a real messenger of God and strive to promote peace and security in the world. There is no other path to be followed.
God’s message is sacred and totally free from self-interest.
– Divine Discourse, Dec 25, 1995
It is therefore appropriate that the Birthday of Jesus, who felt the need to save mankind and who
strove to achieve it, is celebrated; but, the celebration must take the form of adherence to the
teachings, loyalty to the principles, practicing the disciplines and experiencing the Awareness of
the Divine that he sought to arouse.
– Baba (24-12-1972)
Make your hearts pure, your activities holy, and your feelings beneficial to all.
That is the best way of celebrating the Birth of Christ. – Sathya Sai Baba
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The heart of Jesus was…
The yearning for bliss is the best proof of our holy nature.
Man is bliss;
He seeks bliss;
Bliss is blessedness for him.
Since God is bliss, happiness is union with God.
Nothing else can award that joy;
This joy is unaffected, by whatever happens or does not happen.
The heart of Jesus was pure and calm;
Therefore, it is honoured as sacred.
We must make our hearts sacred,
So that either we merge in Jesus or Jesus merges in us.
When we merge, it is called Bhakti.
To have Jesus awakened in us is called the path of Jnana.
Jesus was a Messenger of God;
But you should note this also –
All of you are messengers of God.
Jesus was not the only son of God;
You are all His children.
Jesus and his Father are one.
You and God are also one and you can be aware of it.
Christmas Discourse, Prasanthi Nilayam,
Sathya Sai Speaks Vol. 15, 25/12/1982
Everyone is a son of God
Sathya Sai Baba’s 96th Birthday – 23rd November 2021
“The Avatar comes to reveal man to himself, to restore to him his birthright of inner Bliss. He does not found a new creed, to breed a new faction, to instill a new God. If such happens, it is the consequence of the evil in man. The Avatar comes as Man in order to demonstrate that Man is Divine, in order to be within reach of Man. The human mind cannot grasp the Absolute, Attributeless Principle; it is Abstract and beyond the ready of Speech, Mind and Intellect. Fire is inherent in the matchstick but it is only when it is struck as flame that we can benefit from it. The Formless has to manifest as Form; the Formless has to appear with Form. Then only can man listen, learn, understand, follow and be saved, through the Bliss of that experience. He lights the flame of Realization in each; and the age-old ignorance is destroyed in an instant.”
– Sathya Sai Baba (Baba the Breath of Sai p.305)
It is a matter of great bliss to be loved by many. To win over the hearts of so many is a sign of Divinity. I love everyone and all love Me. Do not hurt anyone by your harsh words and enter into any evil paths. Recognise the truth that God pervades everything from microcosm to macrocosm. With Shraddha and Vishwasa (sincerity of purpose and faith) and self-confidence, you can achieve anything in the world. Love God from the depths of your heart. Follow Swami’s commands and you will attain everything and be victorious in all your endeavours!
– Divine Discourse, Nov 23, 2001
On His Birthday Embodying His Love In Our Lives
“My Birthday is the Date when Divinity Blossoms in your Heart”
– Sathya Sai Baba
“With holy thoughts in you on this auspicious day, you must go out into the world and spread your sacred feelings among others. Don’t confine your feelings to yourselves or retain them only during your stay here. Spread them wherever you go”.
– Divine Discourse: 23 November 1997
“Today, thousands of people have gathered here. What has brought them together here? Love is the main cause. Without love, but few of you would have come from such distant places. How does this love express itself? It is a process of give and take. You have to receive God’s love, and you have to offer your love to Him. But, both are one and the same love. God’s love is reflected in you. That is the meaning of the declaration in the Bhagawad Geetha: “A spark of Mine is present in every being.”
– Divine Discourse: 23 November 1996
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Awake! O, Lord Sathya Sai!
O, Son of Eswaramba! O, resplendent majestic One! Dawn is breaking in the East. The daily tasks of divinity which you have undertaken, have to be accomplished therefore, Awake! O, Lord Sathya Sai!
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Ladies Day – 19th November 2021
“This day of 19th November is celebrated as Ladies Day in order to delve into the sacred qualities of women and disseminate them. Women are the repositories of Truth and Culture. Though earth is one, the plants vary depending on the seeds sown. The womb of mother symbolizes Mother Earth. As is the seed of thought sown in it, so is the fruit it yields. You cannot expect mangoes by sowing a neem seed. So, the mother should be filled with good thoughts, good words and good deeds. Only then can her children be virtuous.”
– Divine Discourse: November 19, 2000
Wherever women are honored there is prosperity and happiness. Women should never be slighted or treated with disrespect. A home in which the housewife sheds tears will be bereft of all prosperity. This is the ancient conception of the role of women in the home”.
– Divine Discourse: November 19, 1996
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Rathotsavam – 18th November 2021
(Rathotsavam – 18th November 2008)
Photo by author
Subsequent to the Divine Marriage, ‘The Divine Couple’ along with Lord Venugopala Swami were escorted out in a royal procession as part of the annual Rathotsavam. ‘The Gods’ mounted on a chariot were taken out along the road in royal procession.
The Rathotsavam (Chariot Festival) at Prasanthi Nilayam is a tradition that goes back to the early 1950’s. This festival marks the beginning of the Birthday Celebrations of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. On this day, the students of Bhagawan, chanting Vedic hymns and singing Bhajans, lead a procession with the idol of Lord Krishna on a rath (chariot) and the idols of Lord Rama, Lakshmana and Mother Sita on a palanquin from Sai Kulwant Hall to the Old Mandir, or what is now the Kalyana Mantapam, in the village of Puttaparthi. After worship is offered to the deities, the idols of Rama, Lakshmana and Sita return to the Mandir. Later, in the evening, the idols are taken out in a procession in the village of Puttaparthi, amidst joyous celebration by the villagers.
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Global Akhanda Bhajan (13th – 14th November 2021)
Global Akhanda Bhajan, the timeless intonation promoting Universal Peace and Harmony is one of the most significant and far-reaching annual spiritual exercise initiated by Bhagawan way back in the mid forties.
Ever since, every second week-end of the month of November has been a fixed schedule for this 24 hour marathon non-stop bhajan saga.
The Akhanda Bhajan had its origin way back in 1945, started in Bangalore by a group of eight families. Upon the culmination of the year-long Thursday bhajans, they had been conducting quite regularly from 1944, during the World War II time, the group of eight families showed up to Bhagawan in Puttaparthi seeking blessings for conducting bhajans. The Divine Visionary that He is, Bhagawan blessed the group, praising the idea of bhajan singing and named it Akhanda Bhajan. Bhagawan even promised the group that He would bless the same with His physical presence. This grand Spiritual exercise has been going on uninterrupted ever since and the years that passed had been fortunate to have the spirited physical presence of Bhagawan during the occasion.
Purify-Yourself-and-the-World-by-Singing-Bhajans
“Today we are having the Akhanda Bhajan. This is being done not for the sake of one individual, one nation or one community. It is for the welfare of humanity as a whole.
The bhajans that are sung permeate the ether in the form of sound waves and fill the entire atmosphere. Thereby, the whole environment is purified. Breathing in this purified atmosphere, our hearts get purified. Reciting the Lord’s name is a process of give and take. Singing the Lord’s name should become an exercise in mutual sharing of joy and holiness. It should be remembered that the sounds we produce reverberate in the atmosphere. They remain permanently in the ether as waves and outlast the individual uttering the sounds.
– Divine Discourse on Akhanda Bhajan day on November 8, 1986
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Deepavali – 4th November 2021
Deepavali, the festival of Lights is celebrated on the new moon day in the month of ‘Ashwin’ of the Indian lunar Calendar.
It usually falls in late October or early November.
Deepavali or Diwali, , is a festival of lights symbolizing the victory of righteousness over evil and the lifting of spiritual darkness. The word ‘Deepavali’ literally means ‘rows of lamps’. The lamp is not merely the symbol of knowledge of Truth, but also of the one Atma (spirit) that shines in all.
“Today is the day on which Naraka, the demon was killed. What does this event signify? It signifies killing the demon in man. ‘Nara’ means man and ‘Asura’ means demon. This demon is present in every human being. It is not necessary to acquire great weapons to kill this demon. Man is called ‘Nara’ because there is Atma (spirit) in him. That Atma is the embodiment of love. It is possible to kill the demons only through love. Therefore, realize the Atma Tathva and develop love. This is true Bhakti (devotion)”.
– Divine Discourse: November 4, 2002
“The flame of a lamp has two significant qualities. One is to banish darkness; the other is a continuous upward movement. Even if a lamp is kept in a pit, the flame is directed upwards. The ancients have taught that the upward movement of the flame denotes the path to wisdom and the path to divinity. However, the external light can dispel only the external darkness, but not the darkness of ignorance in man.
Asato mA Sadgamaya |
Tamaso mA Jyotirgamaya |
MRRityormA AmRRitaM Gamaya ||
Om Shanthi Shanthi Shanthihi
Lead us from the Unreal to the Real
Lead us from Darkness to Light
Lead us from Death to Immortality
Om Peace, Peace, Peace
Deepavali ushers in the light of prosperity
From the very name of today’s festival–Deepavali–it can be seen that the Divine effulgence is manifest in it. Deepavali means “the array of lights.” “Thamasomaa jyotirgamaya” (Lead me from darkness to light) is an Upanishadic prayer: This means that where there is darkness light is needed. What is this darkness? Sorrow is one form of darkness. Peacelessness is another. Loss is another. Disappointment is one form of darkness. Misery is yet another. Lack of enthusiasm is another. All these are different forms of darkness. To get rid of the darkness of sorrow, you have to light the lamp of happiness. To dispel the darkness of disease, you have to install the light of health. To get over the darkness of losses and failures, you have to usher in the light of prosperity.
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Light Meditation
Guided Jyoti (Light) Meditation (Audio Source Unknown)
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Veda Purusha Sapthaha Jnana Yagna
Veda Purusha Sapthaha Jnana Yagna
During Dasara Celebrations the Yagnam commences with the rubbing of wooden blocks to produce fire through friction. Thereafter, the sacred fire thus produced, is placed in the ‘Yagna Kunda’ (the sacrificial altar into which oblations are offered)
The most important component of the Yagnam is the ‘Rudra Homam’, an invocation to Lord Siva, in which the oblations of clarified butter are poured into the Yagna Kunda while chanting hymns from the ‘Sri Rudram’. Other rituals also take place simultaneously like the Surya Namaskar, or the worship of the Sun as the visible symbol of the Supreme. The Srimad Bhagavatham Parayana, and the Ramayana Parayana and the Devi Mahatmyam are simultaneously performed by noted scholars, and a few pundits and Bhagavan’s students simultaneously chant various hymns from the Vedas. Another priest worships the Sri Chakra, a mystic drawing representing the Supreme Mother. The first 6 days the Yagna follows this routine daily.
The Dasara Celebrations come to an auspicious close on, Vijaya Dasami Day, the 7th day of the Yagna. Poornahuthi or the Valedictory Offering is made.
9th – 15th October 2021
After seeking the blessings of Bhagavan, the priests make the final offering of clarified butter into the fire while chanting hymns from the ‘Chamakam,’ praying for the physical and spiritual welfare of all the beings of the world. Bhagavan blesses all the priests by sprinkling sacred water and akshada (turmeric coated rice) on them.
9th October 2021
Listen to the various Vedic chants that are recited during the Yagnam with introductions. (Radio Sai)
Veda Paraayana
Surya Namaskar
Rudrahomam
Sahasralingaarchana
Mantrapushpam
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Navaratri 7th – 15th October 2021
Dasara or Navaratri is a ten day festival, usually falling in the month of October, that is celebrated all over India in the worship of the Divine as the Mother principle. Bhagawan has explained that the festival of Dasara is a celebration of the triumph of good over evil signifying the vanquishing of the ‘six demons’ of lust, anger, attachment, greed, pride and jealously within us.
The Dasara celebrations at Prasanthi Nilayam begins with the Kalasha Sthapana Puja in the Bhajan Mandir. After this, Kalasha puja is performed during all days of the Navarathri.
Durga is worshipped the first 3 days,
Lakshmi the next 3 days, then Saraswati the final 3 days.
Vijaya Dasami Day being the 10th Day.
The Meaning of Navarathri
The Light and Delight of Dasara
(from Radio Sai)
Durga Mata Puja
Sarva Mangala Maangalye,
Shive Sarvaartha Saadhike.
Sharanye Tryamba Ke Gauri,
Naaraayani Namostute.
Adorations to Goddess,
who is the auspiciousness of all that is auspicious,
who is the consort of Lord Shiva,
who is the bestower of every desire of one’s heart.
Adorations to You!
O Devi, I have taken refuge in you.
Is the mother of the universe and believed to be the power behind the work of creation, preservation, and destruction of the world. Since time immemorial she has been worshipped as the supreme power of the Supreme Being and has been mentioned in many scriptures
– Yajur Veda, Vajasaneyi Samhita and Taittareya Brahman.
Devi Durga stands on a lion in a fearless pose of “Abhay Mudra”, signifying assurance of freedom from fear. The universal mother seems to be saying to all her devotees: “Surrender all actions and duties onto me and I shall release thee from all fears”.
“WHY FEAR WHEN I AM HERE” …Baba
“The life of a man who cannot respect and love one’s mother is utterly useless. Recognizing one’s mother as the very embodiment of all divine forces, one must show reverence to her and treat her with love. This is the true message that this nine-night festival (the Navaratri) gives us. The supreme Shakti manifests herself in the form of Durga, Lakshmi, and Saraswati. Durga grants us energy – physical, mental, and spiritual. Lakshmi bestows on us all forms of wealth – not just money but intellectual wealth, the wealth of character, and others. Even health is a kind of wealth. She grants untold riches to us. And Saraswati bestows intelligence, the capacity for intellectual inquiry, and the power of discrimination on us. The Navaratri festival is celebrated in order to proclaim the power of the goddesses to the world. One’s own mother is the combination of all these divine beings. She provides us with energy, wealth, and intelligence. She constantly desires our advancement in life. So she represents all the three goddesses that we worship during the Navaratri festival.”
– Divine Discourse: 14th October 1988
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