NEWSLETTER - 1st Quarter 2024

Sai Ram Jai Maruthi Jai Maruthi! Welcome dear Sai brothers and sisters to the first quarter newsletter of the year. Filled with exciting and fun events starting with Pongal, all the way to the splendor of Maa’s Jayanti celebrations, this quarter was busy and full of celebration and pure happiness! 

The first day of Pongal fell on January 15th this year, during which people all over Tamil Nadu decorate earthen pots and prepare pongal (a South Indian kichadi) in celebration of the new year’s harvest. Day 2 of the Pongal celebration fell on January 16th and is known as “Mattu Pongal.” On this day, the mattu (cows) are worshipped and celebrated. The main event of course, was the outdoor cookout. Our Gurumaa sat under a tree, just outside the Goshala, and with an old fashioned pot placed atop bricks and logs for fuel, Maa cooked an irresistible, mouth-watering “Chakkarai Pongal (sweet pongal).”

February 26th was a very special day for everyone. It marked Sri Sai Darshan Trust’s 27th year in service to Baba.  A Dhanvantari homam were performed by all devotees present,  followed by annadhanam. This day was a wonderful reminder and inspiration for us, to continue living with the purpose of serving. Congratulations to all the devotees on completing 27 years!

Shivaratri fell on March 8th this year. We all joined together to worship Lord Shiva at our “Atma Lingam,” the shrine dedicated to Him. The pooja was done with milk, curd, honey, ghee, panchamritham, pancha gavyam, lemon juice, chandan, tender coconut, vibhuti, and sugarcane juice. All those who attended, kept vigil and a fast and participated in performing a “naalu kal” pooja (pooja done four times throughout the night), at 6 PM, 9 PM, 12 AM, and 3 AM. Rudrabishekam and Pooja were performed 4 times throughout the night as well.

The main highlight of this quarter and this newsletter was Maa’s Jayanti celebrations, which spanned over two days this year. This year, a Navachandi Homam was performed for Maa by Srividya Upaasaka, Sri Gnanam Vaadyaar (priest) and his group from Bangalore. On the 30th evening, Ganapathy Pooja was performed to invoke Lord Ganesha before officially beginning the function.Following this, Kalasha Sthapanam was performed, which signified the consecration of Chandi Devi in the Kalasha, followed by a Ganapathy Homam. Navakashari Homam was performed next. This homam signifies the “nava-akshara” (9 syllable) mantra which is chanted to invoke the power of Chandi Devi’s protection and blessings. Next, Yogini, Mathruka, and Kshetra Pala Pujas were performed to worship Chandi Devi in a holistic manner; worshipping every aspect of her protective, masculine, and her raw, true, nature which we find in her lowest forms. After these pujas, Dik Bali was performed. This is the sacred offering to the deity of each cardinal direction for protection. Finally, the evening concluded with Chandi Parayanam and Purnahuti. The unique feature of Sri Gnanam Vaadyaar’s group is in their expertise in decorating Chandi Devi as Devi is known as alankaarapriya, The priest did an beautifully elaborate flower decoration to the kalasha, and Devi was worshipped in a variety of beautiful ways. 

On the 31st morning, the function started with Ganapathy and Kalasha pujas, followed by Nadi Santhanam. This symbolizes the transfer of divine energy from the homam to the Devi Kalasha, through a thread. Next, during the main Chandi Homam, Durga Sapthashathi was recited by all the priests, while performing their offerings to the homam. What made this homam unique was that we offered 5 kilograms of Chakkarai Pongal, as well as 10 liters of ghee to the homam. Suvaasini, Kanya, and Vaduka Pujas were performed as well. Suvaasini Puja is worshipping the aspect of Shakti that is the divine consort of Shiva, the creatrix of the universe. By worshiping the Suvaasini, auspiciousness is granted. Worshipping of the kanya girls between the ages of 2-10, represents the worship of Devi in her very innocent and pure form. Vaduka puja is performed to boys who are initiated into the Vedic lifestyle between the ages of 5-11. The two vaduks were brahmacharis, whom we worshipped, signifying Ganapathy and Bhairava. Finally, the Maha Purnahuti was performed. The priests performed an elaborate Purnahuti, which took 15 minutes to complete. In this time, a 9 yard saree was draped to form the body, with Devi’s head represented by a coconut. The saree was draped around, and tilak and chandan was used to make Her feet. A thirumangalyam was tied around her neck. Lastly her feet were adorned with silver metti (silver toe-rings) as well as silver golusu (silver anklets). This created Devi in Her entirety in the purnahuthi, while, 54 plates of raw herbs were offered, one plate at a time. Everyone was left awe-struck watching the priests perform this beautiful Maha Purnahuti; it was unlike anything we had seen before! Kalasha Abhishekam was then performed, during which 16 kalashams of abhishekam was performed to Maa, using the Sahasra Dhara, while she sat next to Baba in the main altar. The Sahasra Dhara is an auspicious manner of performing abhishekam, using a brass dhara patram which contains hundreds of holes through which the Abhishkeam theertham passes through. A shivalangam and a murti of Devi were placed inside the Sahasra Dhara patram, upon which the abhishekam theertham flowed through. Finally, following Baba’s Aarti at noon, padha puja was performed to our dear Maa, followed by Annadhanam. During the entire 2 day function, a Nadaswaram group accompanied the puja as well as the homam, as music is one of the main forms of Bhakti for Devi. A special note for Maa’s Jayanti, was the presence and blessings of Sri Ramani Guruji from Shakti Arul Koodam in Selaiyur. He is a devotee of Kaagapujandar Siddha, and had attended the entire event, taking part in Maa’s Jayanti celebrations, and came up to Baba’s altar during the Kalasha abhishekam to Maa. It was an honor to have him amidst us to celebrate and honor our beloved Maa, together.

Maa’s birthday, was a special reminder, of who Maa is to us all of us-our teacher, our mother, and our Guru. Maa teaches us and reminds us daily, to lead our lives with a positive, confident, and kind mindset; with hearts full of love and dedicated to serving those in need. May we all, as devotees, work to imbibe these qualities and strive to spread the same love and happiness to others, as Maa does for us, each moment of every day. May Baba’s and Maa’s blessings and grace be ever-present in continuing our lives with the lessons Maa has taught us.

On the charity front, Sri Sai Darshan Trust distributed dry ration kits comprising of rice, 1 kg each of sugar, lentils, palm oil, and a small quantity of ghee, fruits, as well as a set of soap for bathing and washing clothes on 10th January, 2024 to workers in surrounding villages. The workers were overwhelmed by our gesture and expressed their gratitude during the distribution. SSDT also commemorated the completion of the toilet complexes at the Government Girls’ High School in Seethanjeri and Boys’ School in Ponthavakkam, on February 1, 2024. The total cost of the project work amounted to approximately 10 lakhs. Finally, SSDT donated 1 lakh to Aravind Eye Hospital, Chennai to the underprivileged patients in order for them to avail free eye surgery and treatments.

As always, it goes without saying that the Poornima pooja and Pradosha pooja, and Annadhanam, are taking place without fail. We thank you, all devotees and well-wishers, for your continuous support. Here’s to a wonderful quarter and year filled with love, happiness, and good health!

May Baba’s grace and Maa’s blessings be showered on us all.