Index of earlier Bulletins

August 19, 2006

Today, commencing once again at 5.00 AM after the Mangalavaadyam by the Naadaswaram group, the priests finished the 11 times Rudra Parayanam with Abhishekam just as Bhagawan sat onstage at 7.30 AM after His darshan round. Once again, Swami proceeded to the interview room after sitting onstage for 45 minutes. He came back onstage just before 9.30 AM when the priests were ready for the concluding part of the proceedings. Bhagawan asked for Arati, and the morning's function came to an end.

This evening was the penultimate evening of the Athi Rudra Maha Yagnam and the atmosphere was as electrifying as on the preceding days. The high volumes of the chants indicated the fervour and enthusiasm. Swami came out of the Yajur Mandiram at around 3:20 PM and almost immediately the rithwiks were joined by everyone in the Kulwant Hall. Swami came and sat on the sofa at around 3:30 PM. The speaker of the day was Sri B. N. Narasimha Murthy, the warden of the Brindavan Campus and the author of the 5th volume of Sathyam Shivam Sundaram. (The first four volumes were written by Sri N. Kasturi.) A prolific and entertaining speaker, he delivered a speech in sync with Vedanta and the Yagnam.

A summary of the speech:

"The great land of Bharat is the mainstay of Vedas. The abode of all sacrificial rituals, the mother who gave birth to many avatars, the true land of morality and character. It is hence the dream of many a thinker and philosopher that the land and society will match the ideals of true Bharat. The great poet Jayadeva mentions that the revival of Vedas and existence of the world is interdependent. That is why the Vedaposhaka - Swami - is expressing His Love for humanity by performing this Yagna. It is only in this place that the people from all over the world come and chant Vedam. The very purpose of Yagna is Loka Kalyanam. The Karnataka Youth headed by Sri Vinay Kumar are to be congratulated for their impeccable efficiency.

The Lalitha Sahasranama extols the Divine Mother with the lines

"She is adept in redeeming men and women who are stuck in the slush of Samsara,
She loves Yagna, she performs Yagna and presides over the Yagna."

This is precisely what Sai Lalitha is doing right now, in the context of the Athi Rudra Maha Yagna.

It was in the 1970s, when Swami held a Summer Course with the theme as Vedas and Vedic Culture. His discourses were filled with quotations from the commentaries of Western and Eastern philosophers, ranging from Adi Sankara to Max Mueller. On the stage He was surrounded by scholars like Sri V.K. Gokak and Dr. Bhagavantam. It was as if Saraswati was on one side and Lakshmi on the other. Dr. Bhagavantam used to translate Swami's discourses. He got a doubt whether what Swami is claiming to be from the Vedas is truly from the Vedas. He went and asked Sri Gantikoti Subramanya Shastri, a doyen in Vedas. He replied, "It is not that whatever Swami says is from the Vedas, but WHATEVER SWAMI SAYS IS VEDA!" Sri V.K Gokak asked Swami when he read the works of all the scholars. But Swami replied humorously that He never had the bad habit of reading. Swami also added the profound truth that all knowledge was already existent in the human brain, only we have to tap it from there. True indeed is the power of the Human brain.

This Yagna stands for compassion for all beings. Truly the emancipation of the human kind is in line. The true path for Man is the path to God. The Upanishads highlight that in four levels. The first stage is that of polytheism, where various Gods are worshipped. All facets of nature are also seen as Gods. Next is monotheism, where we come to accept that the various Gods are all manifestation of the same being. The next stage is to realize that the Being pervades within us, the final level is to understand that only the Being pervades all.

The best way to evolve is devotion. It is a way of life. Swami and the Upanishads declare in unison that the only way to evolve is Bhakthi. It can be easily summarized in these five sentences

LOOK BEHIND, THANK GOD- For all the things that He has done for you in the past.
LOOK AHEAD, TRUST GOD- Definitely He will not leave you having brought you till here.
LOOK AROUND, SERVE GOD. - Verily the same Swami is in all the fellow human beings whom we can serve.
LOOK WITHIN SEE GOD. - He is our Indweller!
LOOK THROUGH, BE GOD." - Let us go beyond this veil of Maya and realize who we really are!

Then Vinay Kumar was asked to speak by Swami. He highlighted the fact that Swami had guided him and his team from start to finish of the Yagna. He thanked Swami and prayed for Loka Kalyanam.

At 4:33PM, Swami delivered his Divine Discourse. A brief summary of the discourse follows.

"Embodiments of Love!

I am searching for a devotee and I have been searching for a devotee, I am still searching for a true devotee. Will the hunger of a starving man be appeased by listening to the menu? Will the suffering of poverty be removed by listening to state of Finance?

Embodiments of Love!

The most essential thing is to understand the true meaning of Vedas and experience it. All the rithwiks are very good. The batch of rithwiks here is so select. The sadhanda, procedure and sincerity of the rithwiks are commendable. It is much more than expected. It is really surprising to have such a batch of rithwiks. Tomorrow the Yagna comes to a close, but not the Mantra. The mantra goes on. It is formless, attribute-less and blemishless. Such mantras are heard delightfully by everybody. A rithwik is the one who chants Veda. Actually the Veda is not different from the Rithwik. Only one who has knowledge of the Veda becomes a rithwik. Only fortunate ones can learn and chant these mantras. World has multitudes of people, but only you (referring to the rithwiks) are chosen to be here. Oh Priests! You go by the dictum of the Shastras and Vedas. Such priests are very difficult to find. It's a great fortune to have such priests who chant with such perfection. In Puttaparthi there is one more Yagna in the pipeline. A week long Yagna happens during the Dussera time. That is for the mind (Jnana Yagna). This Yagna is not for the mind. This is for Loka Kalyanam. The rithwiks have taken strain in doing this Yagnam. They will certainly experience bliss.

It's a matter of luck to have youngsters as rithwiks. Youth joining this group is a positive sign. Whether you have conveniences or not, you stayed here. I used to enquire about your comforts everyday. If you are happy, I am happy. In all these days Swami has been sharing bliss to all and has been in bliss. These ten days passed by like a fraction of a second. Tomorrow you all may feel you have to leave Swami. Wherever you go Swami will be with you. You will cherish your memories here at all times. Very soon a Yagna is going to be held in Madras as well. All are requested to participate in this yagna.

The true spirit of Yagna is purely spiritual in nature. At all levels, there is joy given, at the level of body, mind and spirit. Every minute detail was taken care by Me. Even choosing of the Rithwiks' dress was done by Me. Just as parents take care of children, Swami has tried to take care of you all (pointing towards rithwiks). After tomorrow, I will feel bad that you all will be leaving. So also, you all will feel bad that you all are leaving me. This is true devotion. Do not worry! I am in you, with you, around you, below you, above you. Never consider that I am away from you. I am always there with you.

The head priest is a very sincere person. He has conducted the Yagna with sincerity and devotion. It is very rare to find a priest of such caliber. The Vedam that has been chanted will not go waste. The vibrations will be taken by the wind across the globe. The goodness will spread. It is resonant all over the globe. The vibrations will be carried all over and there will be Loka Kalyanam - Welfare of the World.

All foreigners learn Vedam. They openly declared that Vedas protect their motherland. Vedam must be chanted from dawn to dusk. Foreigners struggle to learn Vedam but still they are determined and learn it. Many such Yagnas should be held. The performance of such yagnas will unify the entire world. Now a days the world is divided. Pakistan, USA, Afghanistan, Germany, Japan will come together by the performances of such yagnas. We should work for Unity for it leads to divinity. All are brothers and sisters. Hence the world will become one."

Anil Kumar Sir with Swami's permission added that even if the whole of seven oceans are taken together they will form a droplet when compared to Swami's love. Swami promised that He will perform the Prokshanam Himself after the Purnahathi which was scheduled at 8:45 AM tomorrow.

The Discourse was followed by a musical programme by Ghatam Karthick and his troupe. They opened with a number in a raga called Ritipathipriya extolling the Devi. Then they spurred the gathering into a devotional state with a number that was repeated chants of the Panchakshari (Namah Shivaya). Throughout the performance the tempo was upbeat and the heads in Kulwant hall were swaying. The highlight of the performance was an instrumental piece that was played at the end. It was the dessert of the evening, a delicious cassata, which fused the various schools of music. The medley consisted of works of Beethoven, Bach and Mozart blended with the traditional songs of carnatic music. It was a treat to the connoisseurs' ears. It hit the crescendo with the popular numbers of Indian patriotic music like "Jayati Jayati...", "Vande Mataram..." and culminating in the last line of the national anthem. There was a flurry of musical notes that escalated everyone present into a state of sheer epiphany.

Swami materialized a ring for the violinist of the troupe and blessed everyone with clothes. Swami retired to the Yajur Mandiram at 6:15PM.

Images from 19th August as well as the text versions of Bhagawan's Discourses on the 9th, 10th and so on are available at the Book Trust website.

During the Ati Rudra Maha Yagnam, Radio Sai will be broadcasting special half-hour capsules daily: The schedule page lists this programme as "Sounds from the Ati Rudra Maha Yagnam being conducted at Prasanthi Nilayam." We have also started a download service, with these programs forming a pilot run: these programs are available for download from http://stream.radiosai.org/ our download site.

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