September 26, 2009 – Fifth Day of Dassahera Yagnam

The Ayudha Pooja (Worship of Instruments) is an integral part of the Devi Navarathri and Dassahera celebrations. The Bharatiya (Indian) tradition considers everything as God, especially the tools and implements that one uses for a livelihood and for life. And so, we see a driver bowing to the steering wheel before beginning his day and a farmer praying to the plough as he begins a new day.

Legend has it that in the bygone age, after slaying the demon Mahishasura, the Divine Mother Chamundeshwari lay her weapons down. They were worshipped for being instrumental in the redemption of the Universe. From then on, the tradition of Ayudha Pooja has come alive. In Puttaparthi, this has a unique significance along with multiple dimensions. Swami Himself presides over the worship of the "instruments"!

It becomes profound as Swami, the Ultimate Doer, offers gratitude to all the instruments that serve Him. It is a special day for all 'devotees' as they bow down humbly, for are they too not His instruments? And what else can one do but bow in humility when the Lord offers gratitude? It was just after 9:00 a.m. that Swami arrived from Yajur Mandir.

All the cars parked in various sheds of the Mandir had been neatly arrayed on the eastern side of the Sai Kulwant Hall. Adorned with garlands and with lemons under each of their tyres, the cars seemed to exude excitement at the prospects of seeing their Master. At about 9:15 a.m., Swami arrived from Yajur Mandir and moved through the ladies side. He passed by each of the cars and gazed at them. Every God has His/Her vahana (mount/vehicle). Indeed blessed are these cars for they have served as Vahanas to the Kali Avatar!

All the drivers and other staff associated with the maintenance of the cars were there offering roses and their salutations to Swami. Bhagavan then blessed coconuts to be broken before each of the cars and that privilege went to the current and ex-vice chancellors of the University. Then, with His permission, the grand golden chariot was brought out from its shed. Oh! A glorious sight it was and flooded one's heart with joyous memories of the unforgettable November 17, 2008, when the Lord in gold sat on the chariot in gold!

Swami also blessed prasadam to be distributed before moving along the students and finally to the auditorium. He was there on the stage for about twenty minutes in all during which He received the aarthi at the western end of the stage too. By 10:30 a.m., He retired for the morning.

In the evening, there was another beautiful session of the Prashanthi Vidwan Mahasabha. It all began with Swami arriving at the stage and asking who the speakers for the day were. Prof. Anil Kumar told Him that there were none on the list as all wanted Him to speak. Swami insisted that there are speakers and then told him to announce those names. After his speech, Prof. Anil Kumar introduced the two speakers for the evening.

Prof. Anantaraman,Faculty of the University		Narrating the mysterious style of Divinity

Prof. Anantaraman seemed pleasantly surprised that he was the first to speak. He moved to Swami and offered pranams at the lotus feet. Swami accepted the rose he presented and put it in his pocket. Then He took the letter from his other pocket. The professor seemed startled and told Swami that it was his speech! Swami smiled and returned the paper to him. The speaker moved to the podium and began his speech.

Referring to the Divine Love that Bhagavan is, Prof. Anantaraman said, one could only experience it, but could never understand the same. Calling the gathering at Prasanthi Nilayam a heterogeneous one, the learned scholar in his classic speech displaying rhetoric excellence and mastery over language said that experiences were given to make us richer, to instruct us in the science of being and the art of living. He narrated beautiful experiences, which he preferred to call parables of wisdom, narrating the mysterious style of Divinity showing omnipresence, omnipotence and omniscience.

Mr. K. Chakravarthi, Secretary, Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust

Calling his speech as no reflection of the speech given by the previous speaker, Prof. Anantaraman, and admitting that he would often go emotional while speaking about Bhagavan, the next speaker, Mr. K. Chakravarthi, Secretary, Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust said that His story has no beginning and has no end.

We all add up to some chapters in His continuing saga and how we write these chapters depend on our earnestness and our humility. We are all given some role by Bhagavan in His great saga of service and sacrifice, of love and mercy, of renewal and redemption. "I am constantly humbled by watching the love and devotion, the faith and determination of devotees, young and old, men and women, rich and the poor, the mighty and the meek…I know from the depths of my heart that they, like me, are here not because of any deservedness, but because of His Grace…” said Mr. Chakravarthi in an emotionally charged speech packed with greater wisdom.

As he concluded, Swami again indicated that there was no time for Him to speak and none wanted Him to speak. There were loud open pleas by all the students for the Divine Discourse. Swami said, "Nobody even placed a mike for me!" It was the divine drama at its best. A student moved up to the stage and pleaded with Him on behalf of everyone present. Swami said that He would speak the next day and retired after receiving aarthi.

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