Buddha Purnima Eve in Prasanthi Nilayam…
Monday, May 4th, 2015
A Japanese choir of devotional singing, two scholarly speeches marked the first evening of the two-day Buddha Purnima celebrations here in Prasanthi Nilayam yesterday.
Buddha Purnima or Vaisakha Purnima marks the birth, enlightenment and Parinirvana of Lord Buddha. A sizeable number of devotees from Region 4 & 5 of Sri Sathya Sai Organisations – Worldwide, comprising of countries Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore, Indonesia, Japan, China and Taiwan are camping in Prasanthi Nilayam for the holy occasion. The theme for this year’s celebration was ‘Metta – Loving Kindness’.
The session commenced with holistic Buddhist chanting by the devotees from Thailand followed by an introductory speech by Region 4 Chairperson Dr VK Ravindran. Highlighting on the need to discover the Buddha within, Dr Ravindran then introduced the twin speakers for the session.
The two speakers were Bros. Gehan Talgodapitiya of Sri Lanka followed by Bhichchu Shanta Maitri of Nepal. The first speaker Gehan Talgodapitiya spoke of the illustrious story of Siddhartha turned Buddha, the ‘making of the Buddha’, exhorting on the need to practise ‘Loving Kindness’ and Selfless Love following Bhagawan’s teaching of Love All Serve All.
The second speaker, Shanta Maitri spoke on Buddha’s teachings, highlighting on the three essentials in practising the teachings of the Buddha.
Devotees from Japan then presented an enthralling devotional session, serenading the Lord with Japanese versions of Prasanthi Mandir Bhajans. Soulful bhajans continued and ended with Bhagawan singing “Govinda Krishna Jai Gopala Krishna Jai…”
Prasanthi Mandir premises bore festive ‘chinese’ decorations marking the grand occasion.
Mangala Arathi at 1910 hrs. marked the end of the evening proceedings.
II Samastha Lokah Sukhino Bhavantu II
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