Andhra Kodai Summer Retreat 2023 : Day 7

Swami’s every action and word is pregnant with meaning. Being the final day of the most cherished divine trip for His devotees, the Lord donned the role of the Divine Father by not only serving the needy in a nearby village but also by guiding His chosen ones with fatherly guidance for achieving the objective of their life!

The day started much before the usual 5:15AM activities of Omkaram, Suprabhatam and Nagarasankeerthan. Preparations were underway right from 1:00 AM for the Grama Seva that was to happen later during the day. Post the Nagara sankeerthan, Narasimha Homam was conducted reminding everyone of the majestic Lord Lakshmi Narasimha back in the divine precincts of Sri Sathya Sai Divyaamritam.

As we have always seen, Swami, wherever He goes, spreads love, cheer and prosperity. Araku Valley’s Garudaguda village was no exception to this. The army of devotees with their Lord went to the village and performed Grama Seva where hundreds of needy families were provided with food, sarees, dhotis and various gifts from the divine Father. It was heart touching to see the villagers come together and receive their Lord in their ritualistic way of presenting a traditional buoquet made of a special bamboo-based handle. The thirst for seva seemed not to be quenched as the distribution at the village continued post lunch session.

The twilight of the final evening blessed the resort with a pleasant stream of breeze. The evening’s proceedings started with a traditional dance programme by Kum. Snigdha setting the tone for the evening. There were talks delivered by female devotees Smt. Aravinda Varanasi, Smt.Umabala Sarvepalli and Smt.Lavanya sharing their experiences and thoughts. Sri Nalam Subba Rao, the chief architect for Swami’s projects, took to the stage to share about aaharam (food) and the importance of our (aaharyam) attitude towards food. Following his insightful talk, Sri Ramagopal garu addressed the audience with an impactful talk with a call to action to always love and serve the Lord.

The most important and most awaited time of the evening arrived! Swami addressed the devotees with His love-filled message. Swami, with the care of a thousand fathers, expressed the need for the devotees to seriously put efforts to achieve Souseelyam in order to succeed in the mission of their lives. He guided the devotees with actionable insights to achieve the purpose of their life which would in turn please Him.

As the evening session came to a close, the devotees retired to their rooms with mixed emotions. They were happy because such a rare divine trip happened in the Divine Presence, but they were also teary-eyed as they will have to go back to the world away from this Divine Paradise. The Lord assured them that He will be with them and guide all through in their hearts if they put efforts towards Souseelyam. The devotees, determined to visit Swami in the next trip, vowed within themselves to make Swami proud!

#summerretreat