After a long and tiring day we made haste to wash clean and done the best clothes we had and speed with the fast growing shadows to reach the shores of temple of joy. There we sat patiently for the tryst of love.

And when the clock struck the right hour, soft music would fill like a gladdening glow, the bedecked hall; and along the one most waited upon path would come strolling our Lord; divine like a dewdrop that has no past or a tomorrow, we would look upon Him with the same imploring yearn, like this was our first tryst and somehow the last one too. And in the instant we catch a glint of his eye or the soft curl of His smile or even an otherwise missed nod of His head, the world would melt away into non-existence. In that very moment all of creation would cease to be, but for our sweet Lord and us. In that song of our heart eternity would come to claim her reign.

Though this was an enactment of an hour of our lives as a student, this has also come to be the enactment of the years in our lives. Every year, as the New-Year comes fast approaching, we hasten to make arrangements to be home for the festive beginning. And when we get to our sweet Bhagwan’s lotus feet, the joys and sores, ups and downs of the year gone by seem to melt thin as a mist and all we have in front of us is hope and a blessing.

For each one of us, it is like a promise we keep with our Swami and a promise He kept with us. At the dawn of the New- Year we sweep away everything that has held our time. And we come clean to stand in front of Him seeking to fill our lives with His love. At the dawn of the New-Year, He paused everything that begged for His time, and like a mother turning to the expectant child to pick him up to show her love, He gave Himself to us. In many a colorful words we have painted this tug at hearts we feel. In songs we have sung, in dances we have danced and plays we have enacted our lisp of an answer to this calling we felt. This is but heaving of the ocean of love He has surrounded us in. Though we see it and feel it in every walk of our lives, this special moment seems to be a collective highlight. Perhaps, as the string has to be pulled for the kite to fly higher and safer, we, for the kite to fly higher and safer, we, for the kite to fly higher and safer, we, to fly higher. And in this light He has graciously reminded us to keep coming home to Him and forever remain in tune with His melody.

Every year, as the day drew close, He would follow with our brothers in Parthi on the preparation being made for the alumni meet. It interested Him greatly to be informed of the various activities that we were involved in. Though it was a pebble in the ocean of all good work done in His name, He felt the fatherly pride when He turned through the pictures of seva we presented to Him.

Love has a special mystic magic to help one see past the mundane and gaze upon the ever new. And Love did see into our aching hearts when we gathered to sing the very same bouquet of songs that we once sang as students. A tear was always met with a tear as we poured our hearts and brought time to a brief pause.

Every effort was made golden, when it was sown for the harvest of His delight. Be it the numerous hours our bothers spent in preparing the band performance or the heartfelt ‘Bridge Across Time’ CDs that we produced, every bit was worthwhile only when He crowned it with His approval of two words – ‘Chaala Santosham!’

It never fails to surprise us as to why we should be the recipients of such a flood of His love. Is it even humanly possible to deserve it? Nay, just as He has always stood beyond our limited reasoning so has His love. He has always given us a rather special place in His heart. Right from calling us His sole property to giving us the first day of the year, just for us – the alumni; His love knows no bounds. In us He sees the fruition of his human rendezvous. In a sense we continue to live His life as we have woven him into the various aspects of very existence. In many revelations He has parted the curtains of time to show what He has in store for us.

As part of this unraveling of His grand plan, it was His directions for us to set up a formal body that can act on behalf of all alumni and interact with the institute and other bodies that Swami has put in place. In line with these instructions, the alumni have chosen representatives from various regions, spanning across the globe who would form a part of the steering committee of the alumni body. Beginning in right earnest, these representatives gathered consensus, with as many alumni as possible over multiple meetings, on what is collectively seen as the way forward for us. These conclusions were then taken to the table when the streeting committee first met in a formal gathering on the 24th of August 2013, with the Vice Chancellor, Registrar and the Controller of Examinations. Over a fruitfull first discussion the elders appreciated and acknowledged the appreciated and acknowledged the Swami’s name.

1. Role of the Steering Committee: The respected Vice Chancellor opined that the service activities should continue in the current de-centralized form, with freedom to undertake service activities within the ambit of the guidelines provided by our beloved Bhagawan. The widespread activities of the alumni in India and overseas was recognized and appreciated. It was clarified that the current mode of seva activities should continue and be encouraged. The role of the Steering Committee will be to act as a bridge between the alumni and the University, formulate broad policy guidelines and facilitate alumni activity that periodically take place at Prasanthi Nilayam.

2. It was decided to work on the means of providing all alumni an SSSIHL email id to enable a connection with the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning and be recipients of periodic updates from Prashanti Nilayam.

3. Structure: The need for a formal registered Alumni body was discussed. It was decided that this needs to be explored and the thoughts and ideas that emerge would be shared with the alumni body as a whole before moving alumni body as a whole before moving forward.

The Vice Chancellor was gracious enough to send all alumni his well wishes in the following letter addressed to all alumni:

Truly the 1st of January has come to mean much more to each one of us. It is a time of reconnect, a chance for us to count our blessings, the greatest of which is the love He has bestowed upon us.