Grama Seva 2016

Tuesday 4^th October 2011

Today is Durga Ashtami, the 8^th day of Navratri. This day is marked as very special during the Navratri festival. This was obvious in Sai Kulwant Hall as the atmosphere was charged. On this auspicious day, Vahan (Vehicle) Puja is carried out in the Sai Kulwant Hall. This is done to show gratitude to the instruments we use to help us carry out our daily tasks. This tradition has been followed since the ancient times of Bharat (India). On this day, the Pandavas completed their time in exile and the 13^th year of hiding. On this day, the weapons that were hidden away were reclaimed.

Swami’s Golden Chariot together with Swami’s cars were parked on the east side of Sai Kulwant Hall and members of the Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust carried out the puja with the breaking of coconuts in front of the cars.

A special village had been selected for today’s distribution of Swami’s prasadam. The village of Karmatamagepalli is the birthplace of mother Easwaramma. The village itself was located only 5 minutes drive from Prasanthi Nilayam and consisted of 700 houses. The village was noticeably poor and deprived yet the villagers received all the students with a hearty smile and welcome.

The afternoon Maha- Samadhi darshan was also the fourth day of the Vidhwan Maha Sabha. The audience were addressed by 2 speakers. Firstly we had brother Shivam Chopra, a student from Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning, Brindavan Campus, who spoke on “Gratitude.” He was followed by brother Amit Deshpande, a Gold medallist student in management studies. He further elaborated on the meaning of “Love is my form, truth is my breath, bliss if my food.” After both speakers, we heard an audio clip of Swami’s discourse during Navratri in the previous years.

Today was also the 56^th Anniversary of the beginning of the Sri Sathya Sai General Hospital. The hospital opened to serve the areas in 1954. To celebrate this, the staff of the hospital performed a drama followed by a musical offering. The drama was entitled “Journey to Sai...with Sai.” This was based on real life experiences of two doctors who had worked at the hospital, Dr Seetaramaiah and Dr Narottam Alreja