Prashanti Nilayam
19 August 2003

Krishnashtami Celebrations 2003 Report

Krishnashtami, the festival that celebrates the birth of Lord
Krishna, the Avatar of Lord Vishnu, is traditionally marked with
gaiety and colour and is one of the most eagerly awaited events in
the festival calendar of Prasanthi Nilayam. And the cool morning of
the 19th of August held the promise of a joyous celebration that day.

After Bhagawan blessed the devotees gathered in the Sai Kulwant Hall
with His Darshan, the students of the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of
Higher Learning commenced the proceedings of the day with Bhajans.
Meanwhile, the procession with Sai Gita, the elephant, at the head
and followed by the cows of the Gokulam, was led into the Sai
Kulwant Hall by the students to the accompaniment of Bhajans and
chanting of Vedic hymns. As Bhagawan walked amidst the gaily
decorated cows and the boys dressed with colourful turbans tied
around their heads, it was as if the joyous times when Krishna
sported amongst cowherd boys of Brindavan, were being relived.
Bhagawan blessed the cows and fed them with His own Hands. But His
special affection was reserved for Sai Gita, the elephant, whom He
patted affectionately and fed with apples and bananas. The morning
programme concluded with Aarathi.

The afternoon programme featured talks by two speakers before
Bhagawan delivered His Divine Discourse. The first talk was by Dr.
M. Sainath of the Department of Physics, Sri Sathya Sai Institute of
Higher Learning. He spoke on one of the Bhagawan's oft-quoted maxims-
the four F's, Follow the Master, Face the Devil, Fight to the End
and Finish the Game. He stressed on the importance of recognizing
who our true Master is, quoting an incident from the Mahabharata
where the Pandavas were saved from grave misfortune only because of
their implicit faith in Lord Krishna. At the same time, he said, it
is important to face and vanquish the weaknesses in us that manifest
as ego, anger, jealousy, etc. He concluded with a prayer to Bhagawan
to grant everyone the strength and the faith required to reach the
ultimate goal. The next speaker was Dr G. Venkatraman, the former
Vice-Chancellor of the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning
who spoke on the project announced by Bhagawan on 19th January 2002,
to augment the supply of drinking water to the residents of Chennai.
He said that this project, on which work began in August 2002, was
again an instance of Bhagawan responding to the need of His devotees
even when they have not voiced their prayers directly to Him. He
informed the audience about various aspects of the project and
mentioned that it was indeed remarkable that such a mammoth project
with around 4000 people working day and night, was going on
unnoticed and without any publicity.

Bhagawan, in His Discourse related episodes from the life of Lord
Krishna and said that although Krishna's life was one filled with
difficulties, it was also one that removed the misery from other's
lives and brought joy to one and all. Bhagawan concluded His
Discourse with the song, "Bhaja Govindam", a composition by saint
Adi Shankara. The programme concluded with Aarathi offered to
Bhagawan.

From kingdomofsai site

Morning 
In the morning Swami came out at 6.50 am. 

He asked the boys to start the Bhajans at 6.55 am. 

Sai Geetha (Swami’s Elephant) and the cows from Gokulam were brought to Sai Kulwant Hall in a procession by the students dressed as cowherd boys at 7.20 am. 

Swami fed the elephant and the cows with His own hands. Sweets were distributed to all devotees assembled in the hall. 

The hall was about 90% full. Swami asked the Mangala Aarathi to be performed at 7.55 am. There were no Bhajans at 9 am.

Afternoon
In the afternoon, Swami came for darshan at 3.10 pm. 

There were a group of visitors from an American company who were called for interview. 

Swami came out at 4.35 pm after the interview and sat in the verandah of the hall. There were 2 speakers. One was a faculty from the collage (an ex-student too) and the other was Dr. G.Venkataraman. 

Dr. GV spoke in detail about the Chennai water project which is nearing completion. 

Swami started the discourse at 5.35 pm and ended the discourse at 6.55 pm. Almost 1 ½ hrs! He spoke about the birth of Krishna and His killing of Kamsa, Shisupala and Dantavakra etc. He said normally Ashtami is considered as an inauspicious day. How could it be inauspicious if it happens to be the birthday of Krishna, He asked. He said Krishna had to face a lot of difficulties during His life right from His Birth, but yet we cannot call Ashtami as inauspicious. Swami said He too had to face a lot of difficulties during His childhood and narrated how He was given a poisoned vada by one Subbamma (Reddy). He concluded the Discourse saying that the doctors said it will take one year for Him to walk around after the operation and because of the love and the prayer of the Devotees, He could start walking normally within a month. He said Devotees are His property and Devotees’ property is Bhagawan. He said He would start soon move about and go to places to grant Ananda to the devotees. He concluded the Discourse with the Bhajan “Bhaja Govindam, Bhaja Govindam”

Mangala Aarathi was performed at 6.55 pm.