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The festival of Ganesha
Chaturthi or Vinayaka Chaturthi is one of the most popular
festivals among Hindus. Lord Ganesha, the elephant-headed God, is
one of the most interesting and important Gods in the Hindu
pantheon who is worshipped as
 the
remover of obstacles and difficulties, and one who bestows Buddhi
(intellect) and Siddhi (spiritual powers). Traditionally, any
activity, be it worldly or spiritual, begins with an invocation to
Him.
On the morning of 18th
September, Bhagawan arrived at the Sai Kulwant Hall at 7 a.m.
amidst Vedic chants; all the devotees and students feasted on the
beautiful divine form and filled their hearts with joy. Soon,
Bhagawan was seated on the dais and the proceedings of the day
commenced. Bhagawan blessed four speakers to address the gathering
that morning. The first speaker was Sri Deepak Anand, a research
scholar in the Department of Business Management of the Sri Sathya
Sai Institute of Higher Learning, Prasanthi Nilayam Campus. Sri
Anand narrated a few of his personal experiences that confirmed
his faith in Bhagawan as the ‘Sarvadevata Swaroopa’ (embodiment of
all names and forms of Divinity). On one occasion, when he was
praying fervently to Lord Hanuman atop the hill in the Vidyagiri
Stadium at Prasanthi Nilayam, the question arose in his mind as to
who was receiving his prayers – Lord Hanuman or Bhagawan. Just
then, Bhagawan unexpectedly arrived at the stadium and drove up to
Sri Anand and blessed him, as if to acknowledge that it was He who
was receiving his prayers.
The second speaker, Sri Shashank Shah, a student of the M.Phil
programme in the Department of Business Management, narrated a
beautiful experience of Swami Amritananda, a disciple of Ramana
Maharishi. When he was seven years old, he had performed a
particular ritualistic worship of Lord Ganesha, the result of
which, the Shastras (Scriptures) declared, would be the vision of
Lord Ganesha in his golden-hued form. Many decades later, when he
came to Bhagawan, he was called in for an interview. There,
Bhagawan reminded him about the worship that he had performed as a
young boy and asked him whether he had obtained the promised
result. Swami Amritananda said that he was only a child then and
may not have been deserving of it. But Bhagawan said that what the
Shastras declare must come true and then granted him the vision of
the golden-hued Ganesha, and thus demonstrated that He is verily
Lord Ganesha.
The next speaker was Sri Bharath Kumar, a final year student of
the MBA programme of the Prasanthi Nilayam Campus of the
Institute. He began with the
Sanskrit quote – “Aakashad pathitham thoyam yatha gacchathi
sagaram. Sarva deva namaskaraha Keshavam prati gacchathi”,
meaning, just as the rain water that falls from the skies finally
merges in the sea, the obeisance offered to all the deities
ultimately reach Lord Keshava. He recounted an experience of his
where the supplication to Lord Venkateshwara of Tirupati was
answered by Swami, and thus confirmed his belief in the identity
of Lord Venkateshwara and Lord Sayeeshwara. He concluded his
speech with an exhortation to all the devotees to engage in the
Sadhana (spiritual practice) of Namasmarana, the chanting of God’s
name.
Sri S.V.Giri, the Vice-Chancellor of the Institute, was the next
speaker. He mentioned that Bhagawan always holds Lord Ganesha and
Lord Hanuman as role models for all the students and elaborated on
the qualities that these divine personalities embodied that must
be imbibed by everyone. Ganesha, he said, stood for the balance
between knowledge and its application in practical life, as
symbolized by the huge form of Lord Ganesha riding a tiny mouse.
Lord Hanuman combined action and intelligence and was thus an able
instrument in the divine hands of Lord Rama. The Vice-Chancellor
concluded his talk with a prayerful request to Bhagawan to bless
everyone with His Divine Discourse.
Bhagawan commenced his discourse with a Sanskrit saying which
extols a virtuous son as one who brings repute not only to
himself, but also to everyone
 in
his lineage, just as the sun and moon illumine the entire world by
their light. Lord Ganesha, He said, was such an ideal son. Though
he had no Guru or a leader above himself, he loved and obeyed his
parents. To illustrate this, Bhagawan narrated a story where Lord
Shiva and Parvati held a competition between their two sons,
Ganesha and Subramanya, to see who could circumambulate the entire
world fastest. While Subramanya set out on his vehicle – the
peacock, Ganesha circumambulated his parents saying that his
parents were his world, and hence was declared the winner.
Bhagawan exhorted everyone to love and respect their parents and
obey their commands. Even if they appear to be angry, one must
realize that they are verily the embodiments of love, and that
they always act in the best interests of their children. The same
is true of God and God-realized persons too, He said.
Bhagawan remarked that nowadays, unfortunately, people have
neglected the worship of Lord Ganesha. He told that everyone must
propitiate Lord Ganesha,
follow his example and thereby attain success. He concluded his
discourse with the Bhajan – “Prema muditha man se kaho…”
In the afternoon, the senior students of the Prasanthi Nilayam
Campus of the Institute presented a programme on the ‘Navavidha
Bhakthi’ – the nine-fold path of devotion. Bhagawan, in His
discourses, has often mentioned that the ‘Navavidha Bhakthi’
consisting of Shravanam (listening), Keerthanam (singing), Vishnu
Smaranam (contemplation of Vishnu), Paada Sevanam (service to the
Lotus feet), Vandanam
 (salutation),
Archanam (worship), Daasyam (servitude), Sneham (friendship) and
Atma Nivedanam (self-surrender) is the royal road to salvation.
The presentation was a medley of songs, sthothrams (hymns) and
skits that lucidly illustrated the meaning, significance and
practical aspects of each of these nine steps and related it to
the worship of Ganesha.
This festival is usually celebrated over a period of a few days
when idols of Lord Ganesha are worshipped in every home and
workplace all over the country. At Prasanthi Nilayam too, the
students and staff of Bhagawan’s institutions erected pandals
(makeshift altars) where Lord Ganesha’s idols were installed and
worshipped with great ardour for three days. On the third day,
20th September, the idols were taken out in a procession in
grandly decorated chariots to the Sai Kulwant Hall where Bhagawan
blessed them all. Thereafter, the idols were taken to a nearby
pond and immersed amidst cries of “Jai” and prayers to visit next
year too.
Jai Sai Ram!
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