| Man minus desire is equal to God. Any desire will make you unfit to be God. Be desireless. He alone or she alone who has no desires can be truly a divine person. Anapeksha. Any desire is – even the desire that I want liberation is also a desire. I want nothing. God knows everything. If I ask Him and demand things from God means I am not trusting Him. He will do everything. Life becomes so peaceful! -Baba | | With the Blessings of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, we are delighted to present our One Hundred and Forty Fourth issue of Ananda Vahini. The weekly newsletter includes interesting musings and short excerpts from the week's events. In this issue, we bring you the updates of Navaratri Homa, Durga Puja, Chaturveda Parayana, Maha Rudra Yajna Celebrations at Sathya Sai Grama, Muddenahalli from October 10 to October 19, 2018. In this week's INNER VIEW, Brother Madhusudan Naidu shares an interesting moment which happened between Bhagawan and a devotee. - Sathya Sai Grama Communications Team. | INNER VIEW By Sri Madhusudan Naidu S-A-I Student Swami was visiting the girls campus at Nallakadirenahalli, truly a heaven on earth for those girls who owing to poverty could have been deprived of such education and ended up being married off in their teens. A girl narrated her tearful tale of troubles that she had to face in her childhood due to poverty and deprivation, but thanks to Swami that she now was studying in Swami's college and was looking forward to a brighter tomorrow dedicated in service to the society. The American devotee who heard the soulful speech was visibly moved and submitted to Swami with moist eyes, 'Swami we need such children in America to change America'. Swami responded spontaneously, "Indeed, I am going to send these children all around the world, like a farmer who scatters the seeds all around. They will take roots and grow into spiritual giants in those geographies and provide cool shade of love to those scorching in the worldly heat." Then He turned to the children and said, " You are Sai Students and the very name defines the qualities that you must have. S-A-I stands for Service - Adoration- Illumination (Karma- Bhakti- Jnana). Therefore, the way of a Sai student is to serve with love and attain enlightenment! You don't have to do anything else, but simply follow the very essence of your existence, the very name that you bear, the name of Sai Student and I shall look after the rest." Who on earth could define the essence of Sai Student so succinctly but Sai Himself, who painstakingly prepares these seeds of His students to be sown in the soil of the hearts of the entire humanity, for its redemption! | NAVARATRI CELEBRATIONS – SATHYA SAI GRAMA, MUDDENAHALLI OCTOBER 11, 2018 (DAY 2) Morning The second day of the Navaratri Celebrations was welcomed by devotees as they gathered early to bathe in the powerful vibrations of the Vedic chants. Two Homams were performed including Pavamamana Homa and the Ashlesha Bali Homa. The Pavamamana Homa was performed to get everyone purified, so one could march forward towards God, and the Ashlesha Bali Homa was a special ritual offered to the Serpent gods, so they would free all from the curses garnered because of previous Karmas. Bhagawan entered the Yaaga Shaala at around 10:30 a.m. A stunning Rangoli of Mandala with serpents was beautifully drawn by the Ritwiks, who had spent more than eight hours the previous day. The Vedic chants and an explanation about the efficacy of both the Homas at the end in both Kannada and English languages, captivated everyone present in the precincts of the blessed Hrudaya Mandir. To celebrate the second day of the special Durga Puja, devotees from West Bengal performed a dance on the Mahishasurmardini Stotram, which signifies the prayers and calls of devotees to the Goddess Mother to come to earth and relieve them from all their.... To know more, click HERE | A stunning Rangoli of Mandala with serpents for Ashlesha Bali Homa | Dance performance on Mahishasurmardini Stotram | Pavamamana Homa being performed by priests | Evening Satsang in progress | Harikatha recital by Dr Prema Pandurang | NAVARATRI CELEBRATIONS – SATHYA SAI GRAMA, MUDDENAHALLI OCTOBER 12, 2018 (DAY 3) Morning On the third day of the auspicious Navaratri, two special Homams were performed by the Ritwiks propitiating Lord Shiva through the Shiva Panchakshari Homa, and Sapta Dravya Samarpanam Homa, where seven different objects were offered to the Havan Kunda. The devotees were drenched in the powerful and moving chants propitiating Lord Shiva in the very presence of Sai Shiva. A beautiful Rudra Mandala designed in vibrant and attracting colors adorned the Havan area. After Poornahuti, Swami moved inside the Hrudaya Mandir, and blessed the devotees. He walked towards the traditional 'Kollu' display where Kumkum and Turmeric Archana was offered, and a beautiful Rangoli was prepared on the surface of water. A special dance performance was offered with a Bengali song 'Tumi Jaago Durge', which signified the calling of devotees to Goddess Durga, to awake fully from Her Samadhi, and take care of Her devotees. After Durga Arati was performed by Dhunuchi dance and the Dhaki drummers, Mangala Arati was offered to Swami. It was a blessed day indeed for the devotees. After blessing everyone, accepting letters, and also encouraging them to continue on their spiritual journey, Swami blessed girls students from Baagepalli and their teachers with chocolates, before retiring and thus the morning programme of the third day concluded. Evening The evening celebrations commenced amidst chantings of Sri Rudram and 'Samasta Loka Sukhino Bhavantu'. Day three is dedicated to Chandragantha. The Mother in this form carries a Trishul, a mace... To know more, click HERE | Shiva Panchakshari Homa and Sapta Dravya Samarpanam Homa being performed | Durga Arati being performed by Dhunuchi dance and the Dhaki drummers | NAVARATRI CELEBRATIONS – SATHYA SAI GRAMA, MUDDENAHALLI OCTOBER 13, 2018 (DAY 4) Morning The fourth day of the Navaratri celebrations was marked by the performance of Pooja to the Goddess by the Ritwiks, who conducted the Lalita Homa and Durga Homa. The visual beauty of the Sri Chakra was stunningly marvellous as the devotees wanted to catch a glimpse of it and the details it carried. It looked like a divine piece of artwork as the Ritwiks spent close to eight or nine hours preparing the Mandala, which is considered to be one of the toughest to create. Bhagawan arrived in the Pandal and Vedic chants were recited by the Veda Parayana group. Kanika Archana was performed with very detailed rituals and after the Poornahuti had been offered, Bhagawan blessed each and every one of the Ritwik couples who took part in the Pooja and also the chief priest. Bhagawan then proceeded inside the Hridaya Mandir hall and blessed the devotees with His Divine Darshan before moving towards the Kullu display where devotees had prepared a special flower Rangoli, which represented the Koorma (turtle) Avatar. The various forms of God and His incarnations are depicted in this traditional observation so that young children can learn about their rich cultural heritage. Devotees then presented beautiful dance performance along with a Bengali song 'Durga Durgatinashini', which signifies the Goddess receiving ornaments and apparel from devotees, after assuming a form to come and save them in response to their prayers. Devotees had painted a beautiful coconut in the form of the Goddess and they presented this coconut to Bhagawan. Durga Arati was offered with Dhaki drummers and Dhanuchi dance by the priests and this was followed by the offering of Mangala Arati to Bhagawan. Thus the auspicious morning session came to a conclusion. Evening The celebrations of day four continued in the evening at Premamrutham hall in Sri Sathya Sai Grama, Muddenahalli, commencing with sacred chantings of Sri Rudram and the universal prayer, Samasta Lokah Sukhino Bhavantu. The last three days had seen the retelling of glorious anecdotes from the Srimad Bhagawatam, accompanied by beautiful songs. However, today marked the beginning of a series of presentations by eminent scholars on the relevance of the ancient Vedas to present day society. Our Beloved Bhagawan was welcomed to the Premamrutham Hall with a procession of Poorna Kumbam and Vedic chanting by girl students and Bhajans. After Bhagawan had ascended... To know more, click HERE | A stunning Mandala of Sri Chakram | Lalita Homa and Durga Homa being performed | Rig Veda chanting by Veda Parayana group | 'Durga Durgatinashini', a dance recital by a Bengali devotee | Evening Satsang - Rig Veda chanting by the priests | Swami Paripurnananda Swamiji from Vyasa Ashram speaking about the Vedic knowledge related to the practise of agriculture without chemicals | Sri Avinash Rai Khanna, an eminent Parliamentarian sharing his experiences and learning from his various Seva activities | | | |