Sai Shivoham
I am the Supreme Cosmic Divine Self
“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
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
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
“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
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!
“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
(Rathotsavam – 18th November 2008)
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.
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
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.
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
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
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