The ashram is gaily decorated, flags hanging from the Ganesh Temple, and from East Prashanti across the walkway to the darshan hall. Giant red balls hang from the celing, the porch is decorated, the darshan hall is full. Students sit in front of the garage area, and in front of the porch. Red, blue, violet, yellow, gold, green decorations hang from the ceiling and sway in the pleasant breeze. In the centre area where the perspex canopy is normally visible, streamers fill that entire area, silver, green, gold and red streamers sway in the breeze.

A feeling of peace and intimacy pervade me as I sit through the bhajans. Arunachala Shiva Om, the bhajans lift the energy and bring that feeling of home, here in Prashanti Nilayam.

I look over the assembled devotees, all drawn by that desire to see the Lord, to feliciate the Lord, to offer him their worship, their pranams, their love. I think of Church services I have attended over the years and try to compare being here in Prashanti Nilayam. It is incomparable, for grace flows into the Darshan Hall, non-stop.

The pigeons are resting on the chandeliers, I see both sparrows and finches (so my question from many days before is settled; there are finches here in Prashanti Nilayam).

I think back to the many darshans I have had on this trip; Christmas Day, New Years Day, the decorations, and wonder in awe at the sense of timelessness I often experience here, in Prashanti Nilayam. And I think to the future, to the unborn generations who will come here in Awe and give thanks for this Holy Ground, that the Lord has trod.

People come and people go. The bhajans continue. I rest in peace, drifting along with the bhajans, Sai Gopala Hare. A Seva Dal walks up and down and cajoles devotees to stay.

Swami comes, towards the end of the bhajans. He comes in the sedan-chair, the sunlight is brilliant upon his form, and waves of love pour off him as he enters the darshan Hall. I offer my love.

God is my best friend. There are many paths to the Divine, up that mountain towards blessedness, that path HE has come to restore. We may walk that path of devotion, of service, of bhajan or meditation, of practising Human Values, or the path of good character and integrity.

Wherever there is purity of thought, word and deed, there is God.

For me, that lingering sense of intimacy remains, that sense of closeness, that sense of oneness. There is such a gap between human love, which loves in order to satisfy needs or to give and get, and Swami’s thorough-going intimacy within. Swami is everywhere within us, his love drenches us within as he patiently waits for us to return to the heart, where his home is.

So I have two homes, here, this Holy Ground of Prashanti Nilayam, and the home of the Lord, in my heart. So do you, dear reader.

St Paul, in one of his letters to the nascent Christian Community wrote:

Always be happy in the Lord;
What I want is your happiness;
The Lord is always near

And that is my prayer for you, dear reader.

Sai Ram from a pleasant morning in Prashanti Nilayam.

Late afternoon I was out in the village doing my errands and walking along Gopuram Road—towards the Gopuram, actually, when the wooden doors opened and I could see right up into the Darshan Hall, right up, past the porch, and in fact, I reckoned that I could see the windows on the Interview Room! “Oh, the Gopuram Gate is open”, I thought. Seva Dals tumbled out onto the Main Road, and the crowds rushed past me to get up to the gate and take darshan. A police escort vehicle was waiting on the road outside the gate. (more…)

We were having a discussion in the Western Canteen during lunch yesterday, and the subject of darshan came up, and people told their favourite darshan stories. I suppose all of us have our favourite darshan stories which we tell again and again. The human story is nothing but the story of God. But now, God is actually here in a human form with superhuman powers, to lead us to the paths of blessedness. Swami uses a metaphor, just as a bird flying over the ocean sooner or later has to find a ships mast to rest, so too, sooner or later, we have to find the path to peace. (more…)

(Welcome from New Zealand, Aotearoa, which Swami has called New Sailand!)

The madding crowd had lined up in the streets expecting Car Darshan. However, the inner voice told “Come at 5pm”, so I ignored those lined up for Car Darshan and made my way up to the Ganesh Gate. The generator was going and I could hear chanting as I entered the Ashram. (more…)

Excuse my tardy posting. A developing cold in the head and five handkerchiefs later, we surface…

I had quite a surprise when I entered the Western Canteen for lunch yesterday. There were only about 30 people eating lunch there, and morning darshan was quite sparsely populated this morning. The Christmas crowds have all but gone and the only large group remaining is that group from Maharashtra-Goa, and a large contingent from South Africa. A group of Australians from New South Wales arrived Monday, all in their green and gold scarves. But the ashram is quiet. Walking through the ashram yesterday morning, it was a very pleasant experience to not have to thread your way through the thousands and thousands. Doubtless that will all change this coming weekend… (more…)

It was the turn of the Ladies of Maharasthra-Goa this evening. When I arrived at the darshan hall there were many banners hanging in the centre of the darshan hall, and there were groups of men and ladies seated in the centre area where students normally sit. Chanting was going on in the mandiram, and the darshan hall was filled with waiting devotees; silence prevailed. (more…)

A sunny morning, the boarding school children have come, the darshan hall is quiet and serene. Soon the three Om’s come over the loudspeakers and bhajans commence. The darshan hall is largely full, and I see that huge Maharashtra-Goa group are seated nearby the front on both the ladies and the mens sides. (more…)

I heard the generator going as I entered the ashram yesterday afternoon. The penny did not drop until I wandered down to the darshan hall and saw the crowds in there; there were props for a presentation and the hall was full, particularly the Alumini seating area, and the Guest areas. The back of the hall, of course, was full. The Maharashtra~Goa group gave a presentation, the first of three presentations they are to give. (more…)

The ashram was serene after the morning events. The darshan hall was mighty stuffy, mind you. Almost immediately, there were loooooooooooooong queues at the Indian Canteen and the North Indian canteen. I gave them the go-by and went to the Western Canteen, where there was huge crowd, some even sitting on the floor by the nativity scene. (Jesus-Isa-on-the-Lotus is seated adjacent the vibhuti bowl at the moment)… (more…)

The darshan hall is quiet, the flag-bearers await Swami, the procession and band wait quietly outside Yajur Mandir. The darshan hall is chock-a-block full of waiting devotees. Primary school children enter the darshan hall, in their bright orange vests; parents wait for their children to pass and get a glimpse. Classes carrying New Year Cards and Greetings to Swami; some are quite large. (more…)

The darshan hall was crowded this evening. Looking up towards the garage, that area is completely filled by old students; they go in and fill the mandir, so the bhajans were led by old students this evening. (more…)

Turn to God with Love for God; that is the signature in my mind as I walk to darshan this morning. Sat at the “side” with East Prashanti behind me. That walkway there, it’s odd you know. Sometimes the women are five, six deep there … I don’t know why they don’t go to the ladies side and take a seat in the darshan hall. Families arriving, new arrivals plop their bags there and await the arrival of Swami; then of course, some men decide it might be good to prop there and have a look. Sometimes it gets very crowded in that walkway, never mind after darshan when the crowds pour out of Sai Kulwant Hall. (more…)

THe darshan hall was full for evening darshan again; crowds arriving and departing. Swami came during the second bhajan and went right across the hall, through the front of the men’s side. Thankfully, most of the men did not get up, but mostly just elevated themselves only a little bit. (more…)

Watching Swami closely when he picks up his kerchief, I have noticed that his hand is very slow to rise to his lips, as if there is an unseen force pressing down on this arm, pressing down on his hand.

Some days later I gave some thought to this and it has occurred to me that the magnetic power that makes Swami’s feet stick to the earth (as he told in that discourse three or four years ago) is now so much greater that it presses down on Him completely … that kinda makes a lot of sense to me. His hand is so slow to rise at times. (more…)

You can certainly say Puttaparthi is a place of change. Last night there was an enormous crowd pouring out of the ashram, some new groups have arrived from Rajasthan, Nepal and some place with a blue scarf, but the writing looks very funny, I tried to read it, but was unsuccessful. I spotted Venka, the senior Seva Dal from Brindavan here last night, along with the head of the Sathya Sai Seva Samithi in Andhra Pradesh, also. I have learned a lot from watching these men at work in their service. (more…)