A Blessed Pilgrimage

It has been three years since I visited "Prashanti Nilayam" (PN) - "The Abode of Supreme Peace" - in Puttaparthi, a hamlet about 2 hours from Bengaluru International Airport.  PN is the ashram of our guru, Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba and to this day, despite having left His physical form in 2011, devotees still throng this holy place every year to attend festivals or merely to make a pilgrimage.

Bhagawan's Samadhi

I was lucky to be among a group of 14 devotees  from Penang.  This is the first time I have been on a pilgrimage to PN since Swami's departure ... and also for Christmas ... and it was indeed a very happy and pleasant experience.

The weather was cool and nice though it got very cold on a few mornings.  As usual, there was a huge international crowd of devotees and this year, the Canadian devotees had the honour of hosting the Christmas programme.  We heard some lovely singing by the International Christmas Choir as well as the Children's Choir  The buildings and grounds were beautifully decorated with festive lights which brought the whole place to life at night.

Nativity scene at the Western canteen

Festive lights

We attended the daily spiritual programmes which included Vedam chanting and bhajans (singing of Sanskrit hymns) in the mornings and evenings.  On Christmas Day and Boxing Day, there were special programmes by Swami's students and devotees.  All very enjoyable.  The prayer hall is equipped with 3 huge LED screens so that everyone can see what's going on, wherever they are seated.  For Christmas, some of us were fortunate to get tickets to sit in a specially designated part of the hall where we could witness the celebrations. At the end of every prayer session, devotees are allowed to go up to Swami's samadhi and pay their respects.  Some devotees offer a flower and there is a long queue every day.
 
The Western canteen, which is manned by foreign devotees, had lots of scrumptious Christmas fare such as cakes, cookies, pizza and ice cream, which I thoroughly enjoyed.  On one evening, devotees from Indonesia took over the cooking and gave us some of their local delicacies. Really yummy!

For this trip, we had made arrangements to distribute food parcels to the poor in the outlying areas near the ashram and on the 23rd December morning, we set off in a convoy of 6 to 8 auto rickshaws to the villages.  The deserving families, having been previously selected by us with the help of a local, greeted us with happy cries of "Sai Ram".  The living conditions of these poor people are very sad and pitiful - if you want to see poverty, India is the place to go to. A second food distribution took place on Christmas Day.

Two of the homes we visited

We also gave away schoolbags to the children of a primary school who garlanded us and gave each of us a rose.  We were delighted and very touched by their kind gesture. 
These children are so innocent and lovable - I hope they will always remain that way!  I hate to see any of them exposed to the cruel and materialistic world outside their home.  

These children have no tables or chairs in their school

Some members of our group with their garlands

 

Delicious lunch served at the orphanage

We also visited an orphanage which housed about 50 children and was established 6 years ago. They too were simply delightful and very well disciplined.  We distributed chocolates to them and had a short prayer session before lunch.We were pleasantly surprised when we found that they could sing bhajans beautifully! Lunch had been sponsored by some well wishers and we all tucked into a hot meal of chapatis, dhal curry, rice and papadam.  The children served us like professional waiters and also didn't forget the drivers of the auto rickshaws waiting outside!

Members of our group singing with the children

Prayer session with the children

Unfortunately all good things must come to an end and soon it was time to go home. On our way to the airport for our flight home, we stopped at the ancient temple at Lepakshi, about 120 km. north of Bengaluru. Lepakshi is historically and archaeologically significant and the temple is famous for its stoned carved pillars which were created by artisans of that time. 
 

Nandi

About 200 metres down the road is the monolithic "Nandi" (Bull) sculpture which is said to be the biggest in India.  It is 4.5m. high and 8.23m. long. In Hindu mythology, the bull is Lord Shiva's vehicle and signifies strength and virility.


We also stopped at the well known Shiva Temple and the ISKON temple, both of which I had visited on previous trips to India but well worth seeing again.  Being a Sunday, there were long queues at both temples and since time was short, we paid for "special" entry passes which allowed us to skip the long lines of people and proceed to the temple direct.  (That's one clever way of making money!)


There are always many lessons to be learnt from a trip to Puttaparthi.  As Swami used to say, one cannot come to PN unless He wills it and when we are there, He works on us like a smith repairing damaged or broken hardware. We go home with our batteries re-charged and a renewed eagerness to live out His message.  I had many quiet moments for self introspection and I consider myself very fortunate to have had such close proximity with Swami when He was physically in PN.

I have lost count of the number of times I have been here in the past with my mum. Even though it was difficult for her at times, she never complained, so long as she could catch a glimpse of her beloved Swami.   Of course sad memories of the time I spent with her at the ashram in Swami's presence cropped up now and then on this trip but somehow I knew that she is there with Him, in PN, where she belongs, and enjoying every minute of it.

I offer my humble and grateful thanks to Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba for returning me to His lotus feet once again.

Jai Sai Ram!

Beautiful flowers for sale at the roadside.  One stalk of rose costs onl Rs.10 and a garland could cost anything  from Rs.30 depending on the flowers used.

 "LOVE ALL, SERVE ALL"

Visit www.srisathyasai.org.in for more on Bhagawan.