Date: 29 October 2008
Time: 7:45pm to 9:00 pm EST
Venue: Tele conference
Topic: Sri Sri Swamiji’s Jayanthi celebrations – 2008
For the first time in our Satsang, the devotees from different parts of the US sprang together on a common platform to celebrate Sri Sri Swamiji’s Jayanthi. It was in the medium of a telephone. Devotees joined from different parts of the country – from Orlando to Seattle, from Boston to Los Angeles – to celebrate the great day.
Just as we would do what one likes the most on his / her birthday, this telecon satsang had 40 min of Mahamantra Kirtan, Sri Sri Swamijis most favorite. It was glorious to hear the satsang members of nearly 30-35 families chant Mahamantra in unison. Each of the satsang groups in the US was given 5 – 10 min of time to lead the Mahamantra kirtan. The schedule was as follows:
Eastern Time Nama Led by
7:45-7:50 pm New England Namadwaar
7:50-7:55pm Florida Satsang
7:55-8:00pm Midwest Nama (Chicago)
8:00-8:10pm Houston Namadwaar
8:10-8:15pm Seattle Namadwaar
8:15-8:20pm Bay Area Satsang
8:20-8:25pm LA Satsanga
When this came to an end, Kum Poornimaji gave a discourse on the greatness of Guru and said that if God’s grace were to take a form, then that form is the Guru. She explained who will be the disciple of which Guru is decided by God. The greatness of Guru is that He showers His grace on his devotees without expecting anything in return. A Guru has already attained the highest state. The scriptures say that it would be foolish on our part to return what a Guru does to us. A guru directs us in the right path just as a mom would help her toddler to walk. This gives a disciple that he is in safe hands. When the time is ripe, Guru takes the disciple unto his fold. This is akin to a goat got caught in the jaws of a tiger. There is no escape from Gurus grace.
The satsang concluded at 9pm with a brief narration on a few interesting incidents from the life of Sri Swamiji.