Today, being the 11th day of Bhagawan's shedding the mortal coil, a special function was held in the Sai Kulwant Hall.
The 11th day of the passing for mortals is normally celebrated as a Shraddha Ceremony. However, in Prasanthi Nilayam, the day was sanctified with a prayer for the Re-dawn of the Avatar. The programme commenced at the scheduled hour, at 0630 am, with "Punya Vachana", which is a prayer to
Beloved Bhagawan for the proper conduct of the programme. As one set of Ritwiks performed Havanam (sacrifice) through which various offerings were presented to the Lord, a second set of Ritwiks did Parayana (study) of Rudra Krama followed by Upanishads. At the conclusion of this,
there was a Tirtha Pooja (offering oblations with water from holy rivers) which was then sprinkled on the gathering by the Ritwiks as an assurance of Divine Benediction. Sri R.J.Ratnakar, the nephew of Bhagawan's physical frame took part in the proceedings, representing the family. The programme concluded with Mangala Arathi at 0930 hrs. Thereafter bhajans continued for the next half an hour to conclude at 1000 hrs. with Arathi.
Evening was marked by a special programme, wherein four eminent speakers shared the dais, speaking on the nostalgic golden days with Bhagawan. The programme was introduced by Sri S Rangarajan, Controller of Examinations, Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning. Prof. Anil Kumar, Sri Sanjay Sahani, Dr. Naredranath Reddy and Sri V. Srinivasan shared the dais that lasted
for almost two and a half-hour. While Prof. Anil Kumar took the audience to the wonderful life of Bhagawan, narrating the beauty of the Avatar narrating various incidents in lucid Telugu,, Sri Sanjay Sahani had interesting incidents, especially that related to the student fraternity to share with. While Dr. Narendranath Reddy who spoke next reasserted the intention of the Organisation to continue with the programmes, with much more intensity and devotion, Sri V. Srinivasan, President, All India Sri Sathya Sai Seva Organisation, gave a reassurance on behalf of the Trust to continue with every single activity Bhagawan has initiated. Referring to the activities of Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust, Sri Srinivasan mentioned that the Trust would exemplify itself in its mission, with transperency, to become a role-model trust to other charitable trusts. It is also proposed to release annual reports, with transperency, of all activities of various institutions run by the Trust, national and International, said Sri V.Srinivasan. Bhajans continued for some time before Arathi was offered at 1940 hrs.
It is admission time in Prasanthi Nilayam. Entrance 2011 for Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning began today with many girls participating in the first set of exams conducted today, for Anantapur Campus.