Four Days of Amazing Grace
Article written by the Lisa and pasquo Cassetta, Adelaide South Australia
The Australian & New Zealand Oneness Conference Adelaide, South Australia January 24th to 27th 2007
Sri Anandagiriji
From the moment that the opening ceremony of the Australian & New Zealand Oneness Blessing Conference went so smoothly, we had the feeling that our conference was going to be borne on the wings of amazing grace. As Sri Anandagiriji and Madhuji walked into the hall they were greeted and welcomed ‘onto the land’ by an indigenous elder of the local custodians of this ancient land. This was followed by a Maori call reflecting the bond of kinship between our 2 countries, Australia & New Zealand, and completing the protocols of honouring and welcome, invoking the spirit of the land to bless our conference with auspiciousness and harmony.
Following a dance by a local indigenous dance group, Sri Anandagiriji performed Arati. This invoked the energy of Sri Amma Bhagavan, which remained palpable for the 4 days. From that point it was like standing in the middle of a miracle that revealed itself beautifully and gracefully like an unfolding dawn. The blessing givers were held in the aura of Sri Anandagiriji’s every word, enchanted by the smile and laughter that embellished his wonderful story-telling and imparting of wisdom. The ambience was such that one felt that one was in the only place there was to be at that point in time, experiencing the completeness of the moment. This was the gift that Sri Anandagiriji had brought for us from Sri Amma Bhagavan. Already everyone was drinking the happiness.
In the afternoon session of the first day we took time to acknowledge the contribution that Raniji had made to establishing the work in Australia and New Zealand, as well as in America other parts of the world. For those who had not met Raniji, it was beautiful to be able to introduce her in this way. We did of course miss her physical presence at the conference and would have wanted her there to share our joy with us. The afternoon was concluded by a beautiful presentation by Rahasya and Nura together, sharing the depth of their love and wisdom as a couple with the group.
The blessing givers’ dinner on the first evening was a delight for the senses as well as for the soul. The hotel turned on a sumptuous vegetarian feast whilst Angelika from the USA and Louise Vanstone from Sydney nourished our heart and soul with their sublime voices and beautiful songs. At the end of the evening so many were remarking what a perfect day it had been. Perfect was the word used but grace was the force at work.
Day 2 was deepening day with the deepening blessing from Madhuji and small group interviews with Sri Anandagiriji. Following the morning discourse by Sri Anandagiriji our resident ‘divine charioteers’ Theo and Buddha left to escort Madhuji into the hall for the deepening blessing. It was heart rending to have Madhuji in such a high state, our hearts flung open at the sight of him clutching the Sri Murti of Sri Amma Bhagavan and Sri Anandagiriji attending to him as a divine brother. The blessing was pouring forth even before the touch of any hand. The day was a deep, deep blessing. Madhuji gave the deeksha in the main hall whilst groups were escorted to an adjacent room to meet with Sri Anandagiriji. Angelika filled out the ambience in the hall with her magical voice as the deeksha proceeded.
Grace kept flowing. The evening of this blessed day culminated with the satsang led by Deva Premal and Miten. We were delighted to have the company of Sri Anandagiriji with us as Deva Premal and Miten led us through a divine journey of sound and mantra transporting us with silky effortlessness into oneness of heart, oneness of soul, oneness of spirit. We don’t know if there has ever been an ‘encore’ to a satsang before but we demanded one – and got it!
Day 3 began with the continuing questions and answers session with Sri Anandagiriji. Many later remarked how Sri Anandagiriji’s responses helped them to cut to the core of issues and throw light on aspects that may have been troubling them. Others found joy in sharing their experiences with their fellow blessing givers in the presence of Sri Anandagiriji. The afternoon session centred around a wonderful meditation led for us by Rahasya and this was followed by the closing of the blessing givers’ component of the conference with deep-felt gratitude being expressed to Sri Anandagiriji i and Madhuji as well as for all those who had contributed to bringing the event together in such a beautiful way.
Then came a flurry of activity as our hall was transformed and 500 extra chairs brought in for the public event in the evening. A team of volunteers moved into place to help with registrations, the shop, information table, ushering as well as freshening up the stage setting. The blessing givers gathered in the hall to ‘rehearse’ the ‘strategy’ for the blessing giving to the public. Well, it gave us a sense of being prepared even though the divine was to have Its own ‘strategy’or ‘non-strategy’ in rolling out the program! Most of all it was a lot of fun for everyone involved. The registration team were amazed at how smooth the process of getting 500 people through the door and seated was. All the while we could not help but marvel at how the divine presence was easing the flow and all seemed to unfold perfectly.
The public program began with the MC’s welcome and short background explanation followed by a gentle and calming meditation led by Rahasya. This prepared the participants for Sri Anandagiriji’s discourse which followed. The feedback has indicated how deeply people were touched by Sri Anandagiriji’s discourse and by his mere presence. Many people who were hearing the message for the first time were moved by the nature and the scale of Sri Amma Bhagavan’s mission. The evening concluded with the public receiving the oneness blessing from the 120 blessing givers.
The final day of the conference began with a short video presentation of Oneness University in India including footage of the The Oneness Temple and excerpts of Sri Bhagavan’s discourses. Another meditation then prepared people for the first oneness blessing of the day and people were in a beautiful state when Sri Anandagiriji graced us again for his final discourse of the conference. For the afternoon session we were joined on stage by Sacred Earth who provided beautiful and powerful music and chant as background to the final oneness blessing of the conference. This culminated in a joyous music and dance finale that left everyone in an exulted state. Many hugs and expressions of joy and gratitude were exchanged as people revelled in the atmosphere of unconditional love and boundless joy that was generated through the Divine Presence during the conference. From the extremely positive feedback still coming in it is clear that this joyous event has given a tremendous fillip to the oneness blessing work in Australia and New Zealand.
Our heartfelt gratitude goes out to Sri Amma Bhagavan for their limitless love and compassion, to Sri Anandagiriji and Madhuji for making the journey and blessing us with their presence, to the dasajis in India whose guidance and endless prayers have given and continue to give us spiritual sustenance, to all the presenters who shared their special gifts and talents, to all the helpers and contributors on whose enthusiasm and energy the event was built and to all the participants both blessing givers and blessing receivers who allowed their collective heart to flower so graciously. Thank you to you all.
Lisa & Pasquo Cassetta (Australia)
Jane & Theo Hirschi (New Zealand)