Sahaj Sandesh No: 2011.29 Thursday, 28 July 2011

Rev.Master's 85th Birthday Celebrations – A Report

Revered Master's 84th birth anniversary was celebrated in Tiruppur, India between the 23rd and 25th of July, 2011.

Revered Master arrived at the venue on the 20th of July from Chennai. As soon as he arrived, he inspected the property, conducted a sitting and then went to rest.

Thereafter, abhyasis started arriving steadily and the pace picked up on the 22nd. By the 23rd , 41,500 abhyasis had reached the Diamond Jubilee Park of Shri Ram Chandra Mission.

The stage, the meditation hall and the walkways were decorated so beautifully that it inspired many to take pictures of these decorations and also became a favourite photo spot for many.

The theme given by Rev. Master for the celebration was "Discipline in Love".

On the 22nd morning, Master conducted the first satsangh at the meditation hall equipped to seat more than 40000 people. The satsangh was made special by the showering of a graceful drizzle as is customarily expected these days during such celebrations.

The 23rd morning satsangh marked the beginning of the celebrations. Rev Master solemnized eight weddings following which the Chairperson of the Celebrations Committee Shri. Harsh Vardan Gupta of Tiruppur welcomed the abhyasis in an inspiring speech. This was followed by the release of several books and tapes. In this set of releases, there was something for every one – children, youth and abhyasis speaking various languages. The special release was a two volume set of Down Memory Lane in English with new chapters and many beautiful photographs.

Please click here for a list of new releases

The evening Satsangh was followed by a traditional and modern dance performance by abhyasis.

On July 24th, Revered Master arrived at the hall about 30 minutes early. As He entered, a violinist played "Happy Birthday" in a soft melody. It was very simple, subtle and moving. Master seemed overwhelmed with the love and discipline of the abhyasis and many eyes welled up with tears of adoration and gratitude.

Master solemnized ten weddings after satsangh. Two abhyasis from Berlin, Europe presented a souvenir of books to Master. Followed by this event,Sister Ranjana and Brother Gurupreet sang a few bhajans that moved the hearts of all. After that revered Master then gave a speech.

Please click here for Revered Master's speech

The evening satsangh was followed by a Veena recital in the classical South Indian tradition.

This celebration was marked by a special booth by the youth of the mission.

The Youth Awareness Booth (YAB) was set up during Rev. Master's 85thbirthday celebrations at DJ Park, Tirupur for the first time this year. The purpose of this booth was to bring the youth of Sahaj Marg together by exhibiting youth activities conducted all over the world, thus spreading awareness and inspiring the visiting youth to carry these ideas back to their centers for continued involvement in SRCM activities. Some noteworthy features of this booth were an IT and UN desk, a display of photo entries from contestants across the globe, an art gallery, a presentation by the students of LMOIS and a 'Heartspeak' workshop. The booth received tremendous response. Around seven thousand abhyasis visited the booth and were a boundless source of encouragement and support, providing valuable feedback for the ongoing spiritual journey of the youth.

Please click here for more regarding YAB

Revered Master conducted the concluding Satsangh on the morning of the 25th. The sitting lasted for more than an hour. He also solemnized 10 weddings, totaling 28 for the occasion. Brother P.R. Krishna was requested to give the valedictory address to conclude the celebration. He spoke eloquently about how wonderful the celebrations had gone on with a good show of Discipline in Love, the final count of attendance at a record level of around 56,000 including 9,000 children. Some of the highlights of his talks were that obedience to the Master secures our spiritual future and the enemy is our own ego. The three cardinal vices are Prejudice, Expectation and Judgment. Becoming like Him is a joyous and wondrous process. Master sees light in us because He is all light inside Him. We suffer from dualities and only we can liberate ourselves from us.

Thus ended a glorious celebration full of inspiration, unfathomable grace, spiritual benefit, sisters and brothers filled with joy embracing Master in their hearts with Discipline in Love.

Please click here for photos