The dawn of 15thMay 2019 brought along the divine chants of ‘Hari Bol, Hari Bol’. Marking the 49thMahayagna of Sister Shanti, devotees at the Sadhu Vaswani Mission, took to the streets with thePrabhat Pheri- Morning Procession, chanting the Name of the Lord and with it conveying the message of love andbhakti, - an ideal Sister Shanti embodied and lived.
“May the Master bless you abundantly and so bless me that I may find release (mukti),” said Sister Shanti on the 15th of May, 49 years ago to a young bride who had come along with her bridegroom to seek her blessings before they were to tie the sacred knot of marriage - recalls the then bridegroom, today a Retired Major General from the Indian Army. “We were naïve to understand but later we realised, she waited for us to seek her blessings before she could leave her physical body and merge with the Master. We were the last couple she spoke to before she departed and I feel ever grateful to Sister Shanti for it,” General Israni says.
In Rev. Dada J. P. Vaswani’s book ‘A Child of God,’ this young couple is mentioned too - A young couple on their way to the marriage-hall came to her at 5:30 pm, to seek her blessings. She met the bride and bridegroom with such warmth of love that they exclaimed: -“We shall remember this as not merely the happiest but, also, the most blessed day of our life!”
In observance of her Mahayagna, the Sadhu Vaswani Mission began the day, after the Prabhat Pheri, by lighting the holy havan fire and conducted seva activities of the needy and disabled. So was a seva activity for adopted children held. Seva items included school bags, dresses, shirts, stationery sets and the season’s favourite, mangoes!
In the evening, students of the St. Mira’s School (Primary and Secondary) gave inspirational tribute speeches. Each year, girls from the St. Mira's School are crowned with the Devi Shanti Award in recognition and appreciation of their loving and compassionate nature, the primary disposition of Sister Shanti. This year, Sachi Vyas (Std. IV), St. Mira's Primary School and Aaniya Motwani of Standard (Std.VI), St. Mira's Secondary School were crowned with the Devi Shanti Title. Likewise, Pramila Pradeep Sarkar (Std. VII) received an award for writing the Mahamantra highest number of times (7700). Avani Khurad (Std. III) got the first prize for Hindi Speech and Prachi Duseja (Std. IV) got the second prize for Sindhi Speech. A recorded upadesh of Gurudev Sadhu Vaswani was played. He spoke of love and yearning for the Lord and how a true devotee lives in utmost surrender.
A ratri satsang too was held.
On May 16, 2019, the morning session includedsatsan & havanalongside seva of needy students. Devotees also partook the Langar Prasad - fellowship meals. One of the volunteers, Gitika Valecha said, “I have been doing this seva since I was a little child and I find it immensely fulfilling seva. I have noticed the added strength and vigour that comes while I am at it. Also, the taste of the food is unique, as though there were some secret ingredient that brings flavour to it but we all know it is Dada’s love that acts as the ingredient.”
The evening session included a satsang with a movie giving glimpses into the life of Sister Shanti followed by a recorded upadesh of Rev. Dada J. P. Vaswani wherein he spoke of Gautama Buddha and how Sister Shanti reflected his teachings through her living example. He added as to how she spent her nights in meditation, love and longing and the days in purity of thoughts and action. The Upadesh gave a beautiful insight into Sister Shanti’s life and teachings - a child of God, a picture of compassion and an image of love and forgiveness.
The Mahayagna concluded with the Deepak Yatra and aarti at the Sacred Samadhi.
Shanti Clinic, healthcare and diagnostic centre of the Sadhu Vaswani Mission, gave 50 percent concession to 744 patients for color doppler, consultation, electrocardiogram, physiotherapy, x-ray, sonography, dental, laboratory, dispensary & homoeopathy. A bone mineral density camp was also held.
