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The En-chanting
Festival
(Dussera at Prasanthi Nilayam)
The legends are many…and all have their reasons
to celebrate the Festival, in myriad ways.
From the Ghats of Hoogly, to the Maths at Kanchi…a
billion bow in reverence to the Mother. It's the festival
of the nine nights…the Navaratri. A legend says that
the Mother fought the dark forces for nine nights to give
mankind goodness and godliness on the tenth morn and for
eternity.
Elsewhere, a Prince from Ayodhya battled a demon for
10 days to slay him, achieved an Incarnaztion's purpose
and gave mankind a reason to celebrate…Dussera.
People, nation over, sing the praise of Rama, enact
the story of His life, burn effigies of evil, and dance
for the good upon the earth.
At Prasanthi Nilayam, the thousands who throng at the
Lotus Feet have all the above reasons to rejoice. And
even more…
Here, Dussera marks the commencement of a glorious
sacrifice, the VEDA PURUSHA SAPTAAHA GNANA YAGNA. Vedic
chants reverberate and charge the air during this weeklong
propitiation of the Vedic Persona-God, presided by the
Persona Himself- Bhagwan Sri Satya Sai Baba! On the
6th October 1961, the first Veda Purusha Saptaha Gnana
Yagna was conducted at Prasanthi Nilayam with the sole
purpose of bringing about the welfare of all humanity.
Since then the festival of Dussera has regularly witnessed
this celebrated event.
Heart to Heart takes you on a journey through this
enchanting festival…
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They
come resplendent, both their silken
ochre garb and in their knowledge of
the Vedic Lore. These venerated priests
consider the participation in this Yagna
a boon from God! The Chief Priest, called
the Brahma of the Yagna, leads them
on the first day of the Yagna, chanting
mantras in the procession, to the Poornachandra
Hall. |
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Trumpets
and drums herald the start of the procession
for the Yagna, from the Mandir to the
Auditorium. A richly caparisoned Sai
Geeta leads the procession, followed
by various musicians and priest chanting
hymns. Of course, the students from
Sai Institutions join the priests in
the Chanting. |
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Meanwhile,
the throng of thousands is already in
raptures, for, the Lord has come on
the stage, to Bless them with His Darshan. |
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The
Yagna proper begins with the ceremonial
lighting of the Sacred Fire, amidst
the chanting of the Vedas. In keeping
with tradition, two priests rotate one
piece of wood to and fro against a stationary
block of wood, while a third one exerts
necessary pressure to generate the heat
required to igniting the friction area.
The small spark is nursed with expert
care, and very soon the sacrificial
pit is transformed into a merrily blazing
fire. |
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| Swami,
seated on a chair atop the stage, watches
all this with the air of an uninvolved
spectator, the Witness, the Purusha! |
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Around the altar,
sit three or four priests, reciting
Vedic Hymns as they pour libations
of clarified butter, into the flames.
This is the Rudra Homam, an
invocation to Lord Shiva, the Destroyer
of Evil.
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The central altar
is flanked on one side by a group
of students chanting Vedam, and on
the other side, by a group of distinguished
experts who have attained mastery
over the Veda. They recite the Yajur
Veda, a treatise on Yagnas and ceremonial
acts. Both these groups simultaneously
chant the Hymns so loud and clear
that the atmosphere of Prasanthi Nilayam
resounds to their vibrations.
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A priest with an
athletic build performs Suryanamaskar
or worship of the Sun as a visible
symbol of the Supreme, to the left
of the sacrificial pit. He circumambulates
around the offerings chanting Hymns
and then prostrates, more than a hundred
times a day. But when Swami is present,
the priest never misses the chance
of going around Him, the source of
all Energy, and prostrates at the
Lotus Feet.
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Meanwhile the other
priests recite sacred epics like the
Ramayana, Mahabharata, Bhagavatam
and even the Devi Bhagavatam, during
the period of the entire Yagna. Yet
another priest worships the Sri
Chakra, a mystic drawing representing
the Supreme Mother.
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