DIVINE LIFE SOCIETY OF SOUTH AFRICA | OM NAMO BHAGAVADE SIVANANDAYA

Havan in Prayer Hall
Sri Swami Sahajananda

Pujya Swami Sahajananda's 86th Birth Anniversary was observed on Sunday, 10 July 2011. It was a day filled with rejoicing by devotees of the Divine Master, Sri Swami Sivananda and Pujya Swami Sahajananda. Through the Grace of the Divine Master and the efforts of Pujya Swamiji, thousands in this country have transformed their lives and taken to the spiritual path. About 200 devotees gathered at Sivanandashram, Reservoir Hills at 6am for a morning session with Ganga Arati, Invocation, chanting at Sahaja Kutir and Darshan in Pujya Swamiji's sacred room.

Beautiful life-size Shrine of the Divine Master on the Stadium

Focus then shifted to Sivananda International Cultural Centre, La Mercy. Ganga Arati commenced at 8.30am, followed by a "march past", a lap of honour for Pujya Swamiji around the Sivananda Stadium by the various branches of the Society.

Satsang at the Stadium commenced at 10am. About 1 500 devotees attended this very special Satsang, set against a backdrop of a beautiful life-size shrine of the Divine Master, Sri Swami Sivananda. The highlight of the Satsang was the Sivananda Gymnastics Drill display by the various groups. Drill participants dedicated their performances to Pujya Swamiji as a birthday offering, as the drill was very dear to him. The Spiritual Darlings drill display was graceful and inspiring, highlighting the various Asana postures they learn at Yoga Camp. The performance by the Mothers had the crowd enthralled, and the Fathers demonstrated the graceful combination of Yoga Asanas set to the song composed by Pujya Swamiji for Sri Gurudev's Centenary, "Sivananda Sivananda". The Youth Girls drill was a combination of graceful, elegant moves and daring Yoga Asana postures. The Youth Boys drill display was a combination of dare-devil moves and Yoga Asanas. The mass drill display done to the melodious Ram Bhajans was Pujya Swamiji's favourite, and was well received by all. The Drill presentation was perhaps one of the best ever. The excellent choice of music/ Bhajans that accompanied the drill, the colourful outfits, the encouraging and appreciative support from devotees all contributed to making this a fitting birthday offering. Pujya Swamiji would have been proud of this

Audio recordings of Pujya Swamiji singing Bhajans & Kirtans, as well as those sung by the singing team combined to make the Satsang truly memorable, with Pujya Swamiji’s presence being felt by many. A CD containing the continuous chanting of the Maha Mrityunjaya Mantra, set against the background of melodious music was released on Sunday as a Birth Anniversary offering to Pujya Swamiji. Also, our new improved prayer book, which is in great demand, was made available to the public.

In the evening, Satsang continued at Sivanandashram, Reservoir Hills. The highlight was a multimedia presentation depicting letters written to Pujya Swamiji by the Divine Master, musical items by the Spiritual Darlings of the Pietermaritzburg branch, and a dance item by Sivananda Dance Academy.

The evening Satsang brought to a close a highly memorable and inspirational day, where devotees paid homage to Sri Swami Sahajananda, one of the great spiritual leaders of this country. We offer our deepest gratitude to the Divine Master and Pujya Swamiji for giving us the best facilities in the world for our spiritual growth.

COMMENTS FROM DEVOTEES

I thought it is important for me to share the tremendous joy I experienced to be a part of the commemorative function to mark the birth anniversary of our most revered Pujya Swamiji. I could feel Swamiji’s divine presence as he presided over the celebratory programme of God-inspired items.

The well crafted programme unfolded with the precision and the meticulous attention to detail that we sometimes take for granted. The feeding teams went into gear like a well-oiled machine unobtrusively getting ready towards the end of the programme to serve the devotees and other guests. These comments were prompted by a guest whom I brought to the function. As an educator, she spoke enthusiastically of devotion and dedication of Sri Gurudev’s devotees in general and the participation of the youth in particular. She was particularly impressed by the discipline which was evident in the execution of the various items.

I wish to express my gratitude to Sri Gurudev and Revered Pujya Swamiji for their unconditional love and the trusted servants of the Divine Life Society for preserving the noble organisation’s rich legacy of love and service. I pray that our Divine Master and Pujya Swamiji gives our Trusted Servants on the Board of Management the strength to ensure that this venerable organization will continue to shine as a beacon of spiritual hope for the seeker yet to enter its hallowed portals.

I found every single drill programme to be absolutely top notch. Every time one drill programme finished I thought that the next one would not be able to match the one just finished, and each time I was happily wrong. Each programme was truly breath-taking and the oo’s” and “ah’s” from the audience told the tale more succinctly. I was put to shame by eighty-year old Mother Sharda’s spine bender. It is years since I got that asana anywhere near her perfection.

The older men were equal to the task, some of whom have literally grown old with me, but their bodies are far superior to mine. One got the impression that Pujya Swamiji was sitting there, immensely pleased at the level of physical perfection these fathers have achieved.

As for the girls, I think that Programme Director captured everyone’s inner feeling when he said at the end of that spellbinding performance of theirs, that we were misinformed that this performance was an Ode to Ganga Mata, as it was actually 18 Ganga Matas who performed. His comment brought a lump to my throat, as that was exactly what it was.

As for the boys, what can once really say. It was virtually impossible to even look at one person or even try to single anyone out. Every single person performed with such dexterity that the whole, to use the economic term, was far greater than the sum of its parts.

In terms of physical perfection, what Pujya Swamiji wanted when he first started this, has definitely been achieved. This was truly a sight for the Gods, in fact on Sunday it was the site of the Gods. The ground is now set for the next stage of development, to the inner perfection, to the “inner war without escape”.

PICTURES OF 10 JULY 2011