Sathya Sai Baba centenary: Puttaparthi gets ready for 140-nation devotee gathering; PM to attend event on Nov 19

Puttaparthi (Andhra Pradesh), Nov 5 (PTI) Once a tiny hamlet, and now a headquarters of a district town --Puttaparthi-- is decked up with colourful lights, temporary welcome gates at multiple locations, and is buzzing with activities for the centenary birth celebrations of spiritual guru Sathya Sai Baba, for which devotees from nearly 140 countries are coming together.

As part of the centenary celebrations from November 13 to 24, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be attending a grand event on November 19, Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust managing trustee R J Rathnakar told PTI.

A large number of devotees from different parts of the country and world are expected to take part in the event, and massive arrangements are being made to provide free food and stay, for which temporary shelters are being set up. Also, the venue of the Prime Minister's event is being redeveloped for the occasion.

Sri Sathya Sai Baba centenary celebration has been planned for the past two years, and the devotees will be coming together from nearly 140 countries, Rathnakar said.

"Everyone in the Sai mission feels this is a momentous occasion...a once-in-a-lifetime occasion for them to express their commitment and to rededicate themselves to the cause of the Sai mission, to the teachings of Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, that is -- Love all, serve all. Help ever, hurt never," he said.

All the Sai devotees and followers are taking this occasion to rededicate themselves to the mission of service, spreading love and unity, he added.

November 23 is the most anticipated day for all the Sai followers and devotees across the globe, for which we have been preparing for the last two years, he further said.

"After Baba’s Maha Samadhi (death) in 2011, this is the biggest event that we are going to do, and this happens to be Baba’s 100th birthday. The celebrations are starting on November 13 till the 24th," he added.

PM Modi has consented to be here on November 19 and will be attending a grand programme at the Sri Sathya Sai Hill View Stadium, as part of the centenary celebrations, Rathnakar said.

November 22 happens to be the 44th convocation of Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning, a deemed university, and Vice President C P Radhakrishnan has consented to be the chief guest, he said. The next day, there will be a lot of invitees, including celebrities and people in high positions, taking part in the celebrations.

Indicating that the trust plans to unveil its next plans during the PM's visit, Rathnakar, without sharing further details, said, "it is on the cards, and we would like to do it on that day.” The Central government has agreed to release a commemorative stamp in Baba's honour, and also a commemorative Rs 100 coin, he said, adding it is likely to be released by PM Modi on November 19.

With massive arrangements underway and a large number of devotees starting to arrive, the army of volunteers known as "Sevadal", from various parts of the country, is also converging to provide their services, like managing the crowd, among other things.

According to the Trust officials, the number of people visiting Puttaparthi is more now than when Baba was physically here.

"We want to strengthen the legacy of Baba. We would like to see where we can expand. In fact, we are upgrading continuously. Just a couple of months back, we introduced robotic surgeries in heart surgery...I think it's the first robotic surgeries anywhere in the world that are done free of cost. We are continuously upgrading and trying to be trendy and trying to catch up with whatever is happening around," Rathnakar said.

Pointing out that after Baba's Maha Samadhi, a lot of questions were asked regarding how his legacy and programmes will be carried forward, the managing trustee said, the foundation that was laid by Sai Baba was very firm and absolutely on solid ground.

He created systems and a kind of institution that has the wherewithal to carry forward all the missions which he had started in his lifetime, with the support of his followers and devotees.

"All the works are absolutely going in the way he directed us to take them forward — like education, medical, and social services — everything, as per his direction, we are carrying forward with the support of all the devotees and followers of Baba," he said. Providing free and quality education and health care, and socially relevant projects have continued.

Along with the support of donations, the trust has also diligently built a corpus to fund programmes and service initiatives of Baba that are free, the managing trustee said. "We have a few thousand crores corpus, which gives interest also." "So every year, from donations, we are diligently proportioning some funds towards the corpus. So our corpus is also increasing. From 2011, after Baba left us, till now, we would have added nearly Rs 800 crore to a Rs 1,000 crore corpus, apart from what we spent — almost Rs 1,500 to 1,800 crores on regular works. So it adds," he said.

Noting that the youth are more inspired by the service activities Baba had initiated, more than the spiritual part of it, Rathnakar said that young people are very keen and they want to join socially relevant programmes. PTI KSU PYK PYK