2012 Jan Annual Edition
Lord of all the worlds, the very source of Divinity, the most loving and sweet Lord, our dearest Bhagawan grew up as a young lad through dreadful poverty. Foregoing meals and walking miles, doing good with torn clothes and harsh words of those who were unable to fathom His Divinity, He endured all hardships for the sole purpose of His Divine Mission. In a village that celebrated the first electric bulb not so long ago, He painstakingly built the spiritual haven that Prasanthi Nilayam now is. That Lord, who is beyond cause and effect, took upon Himself the labour of Love of shepherding many a lost soul. Bearing many bodily discomforts, He took on more to provide us with the comfort of His Love and guidance.
“…And all this I do, not for personal gain but, only because I have come for your sake. I never seek another’s help; I offer help, never receive it. My hand always gives, it never takes. Conclude from this that this power must be Divine, not human…”
Inscrutable are His ways. As He often reminds us, He is the true giver and we have always received from Him. Right from our needs to our desires, it is He who has showered us with His loving compassion. Men and women of greater position, ability and wealth have dreamt long of an opportunity to play a role in the Divine Mission. Alas, it is not the fortune of every common man … but that of a select few. When He, who is waited upon by the very Gods of all three worlds, chooses to ask His children in the right of Love, what does He seek from us?
“I am depending on you students, for a great transformation in outlook, a great revolution. Students of Sathya Sai College must lead this movement. You have to prove yourself worthy of this college. Be disciplined; be sweet in manners, in speech and in your relations with the less fortunate. Be grateful to your parents, your village, and those who strive for your welfare. Try your best to earn a fair name for yourselves, your college and for your parents. Do not be under the impression that you and I have come together only now since you study in this college; you have come to me for the sake of far higher triumphs as a consequence of merit acquired during many previous years, as a consequence of merit acquired during many previous lives. You and your teachers are destined to achieve tremendous tasks under My guidance, in the execution of the Mission for which I have come.”
His Mission is undoubtedly glorious. We know not what Divine providence crowned us, His children, with this singularly blessed opportunity to be a part of this grand saga. All along we have basked in the warmth of His selfless Love. While the whole world stood in waiting for His call, He chose to shower upon us His students immeasurable joy… joy so profound that the rest of the world rejoiced at this re-enactment of complete giving, by our Lord. While men of greater merit waited in patience for an audience with Him, it would be His wish to spend His precious time with us. What reason can we give for the Lord of all universe to step away from His throne, crown and regal glory to come down to our level to ask us what we did in our hostel, to teach us how to sing Bhajans, to enquire how we did in our exams…
We have enjoyed every bit of the moment we were blessed to spend in His Divine presence. Like the thread that is glorified for being associated with the flowers that are strung on it, we continue to be treated with much Love and affection by His devotees everywhere. We have bountifully received, are still receiving and will continue to receive from Him. As He says we can never match His completeness in selfless Love. But as one elderly devotee put it, what we get from Him is Prasadam and when we offer the same in Love to Him, it becomes Naivedyam. We have each, in our own ways, offered Him our paltry little in Love. And like a mother filled with pride at her child’s simple gifts of innocence, He has lovingly accepted them. In His own words:
Embodiments of Love! Dear Students!
You all working in far-off countries; yet, you remember Swami and try to be in His Divine Presence at least for a few days every year. This is your good fortune. There could be only one reason for it: your Love for Swami. If there is no bond of Love between you and Swami, you would not have come here along with your families, incurring huge expenditure, undergoing a lot of physical strain. You must realise this truth. You might have studied in Brindavan or Prasanthi Nilayam and are now working in different countries. Wherever you are, remember always that Swami is with you and in you. When someone asks you where you come from, reply that you are from Brindavan or Prasanthi Nilayam. You say so for your own satisfaction. But the truth is that Swami is in you, Brindavan is in you, and Prasanthi Nilayam is in you only. Whomever you come across, they are an embodiment of Divinity, verily. All are one, be alike to everyone. Love all and serve all, be they a beggar or a millionaire.
If all of you live in unity and constantly contemplate on God, you will achieve purity. Then, Swami will surely give you Darshan right where you are. I belong to you all. You all belong to Me. I do not differentiate between individuals. All are mine and I belong to all. There may be differences in certain aspects among people, from the worldly angle. But there should not be any difference at the spiritual level. Dear boys! You have come here with great Love for Swami. May your hearts be filled with Love up to the brim. Always speak Truth. You may encounter certain difficulties in speaking Truth. It does not matter; adhere to Truth. Then, you will surely achieve success. Never be afraid of speaking the Truth. Be prepared to fight for Truth. Truth alone triumphs (Sathyameva Jayathe).
If people praise that so and so is a good boy; he is a student of Sri Sathya Sai College, I will be very happy. You all earn that good name. It gives Me great happiness. There is nothing greater that I can wish for. I am not asking this for My sake. You earn a good name for your own sake. Bangaru (Dear golden ones)! Conduct yourself accordingly. Wherever you are, do not forget to contemplate on the Divine name of God. The joy we derive by singing Bhajans cannot be attained by any other means. There is so much joy in singing Bhajans and extolling the glory of God.”
Despite all the great men and women of wondrous achievements who have yearned to share in His labour of Love, He chose us, His apparently ‘little qualified’ students. However, when the Lord chooses His instruments, He empowers them with the capability to accomplish the charge He has set for them. As we stand at the helm of the Golden Mission of Sai, it is with the feeling that this is our Mission, it is our life … not a task that needs doing, but the very purpose of our existence. As one of our brother very rightly put it:
“Each and every alumni has to make their presence felt in their respective domains or places of work or stay, either by integrating totally with the Sri Sathya Sai Organisation, or in partnership or by virtue of their own service/social initiatives. We have wonderful instruments like our Sai Student portal and Vidyullekha to catalyze us as a team in the above direction. We all need to give priority to the Sai Mission and make it verily a part and parcel of our lives. We need to be better connected, we need to find opportunities to meet and to work together… Swami lived His entire life for us… He showed us the way for a happy and fulfilling life in our own interest. Let us now “WALK THE TALK”… Let Sai be the ‘Way of Life’, let Sai be the ‘Motivation of Life’, let Sai be the ‘Purpose of Life’, let Sai be the ‘Goal of Life’. If I were to summarize my learning in the Sai fold, the message comes loud and clear, Living a Life with Swami’s values we can become successful Heroes, otherwise we are Zeroes.”
Another senior alumnus who had the opportunity to spend many years in His close proximity ruminates “Often many of us think what is our role in His mission and what should we do. Luckily for us, the answer was provided by Swami in crystal clear terms. In His own words – “Your life should be My message.” That is our goal. But how can we lead such a life? The Lord answered – “Love – the Pure Unsullied Divine Variety is the golden way to lead our lives”. How do we put it to practise? In very sweet and simple terms He states – “Love as thought is Truth, Love as action is Dharma, Love as a feeling is Shanthi., Love as understanding is Ahimsa.” This is the most practical way to go forward as His students. How can we practise this in our daily lives? And our Lord had says – “SAI stands for Society and Individual.” Our foremost duty is towards the Society. As such, serving the society with Love in all the beauteous ways would automatically bring about our Individual transformation since we would be treading the golden path of Sathya, Dharma, Shanthi, Prema and Ahimsa – the Pancha sutras, which are the corner stones of our Lord’s teachings.”
The world awaits us, our dearest Bhagawan awaits us … As forerunners of His Mission we have a lot resting on our shoulders. As we know, with our Bhagawan there is no giving and taking, there is only providing, offering and accepting. This is not a task thrust upon us, this is our destiny. In its fulfilment we will find fruition.
It still rings fresh in our ears, Bhagawan asking us to keep coming back to Parthi every New Year Day. For long He envisaged us playing a more active role in His Mission than just a lucky few who were blessed with much! This Alumni Meet is the most promising occasion for us, His students, to come together, to plan and to work together in participating in His Divine Mission for us and for all humanity.
Our Lord’s Divine words from a PC session during the Alumni Meet in January 2009 resound:
Alumni: Bhagawan, what is the duty of a Sai student?
Bhagawan: Follow the words of Bhagawan. That is the highest path of duty. Enquire and analyse what to follow and how to follow and make efforts to follow it.
Alumni: There are many huge projects that even governments hesitate to embark on… These projects are of mammoth scales and require meticulous planning and involve huge expenses. Should students organise themselves and take up these projects.
Bhagawan: Yes. Go ahead and plan, arrange and organise yourselves to take up these projects. Much is expected of those to whom much is given.” – Our Beloved Bhagawan
Parthi Updates
Showers of Inspiration
It is said that the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. As alumni of Bhagawan’s hallowed institutions, the journey for us began when we entered His fold through His Temples of Learning. As students in Bhagawan’s educational institutions, each of us was blessed with His physical proximity and His bountiful Love.
The unique aspects of integral education have been instilled through the philosophy of the Sri Sathya Sai Institutions’ Hostels, which are based on community living wherein each one lives for the other and all live for God. The role of hostel life that instills guidance and discipline is aptly summarized in Sheeksha Valli, “Teacher is like the first syllable; Student is like the second syllable; Education is like the conjunction of the two syllables; and Guidance is like the grammar that allows the conjunction of two syllables to create a meaningful word”. The hostel, wherein every little detail of the schedule has been drawn by Bhagawan Himself, has been one of the bedrocks of student life at His University.
As we seek to raise ourselves beyond the need of Bhagawan’s physical presence and to evolve to a stage where we are connected to Him spiritually, some important questions that arise are: what are the activities we should engage ourselves in to enrich ourselves? How do we ensure that our lives continue to revolve around Bhagawan? What could we imbibe from the different aspects of current students’ life at the hostel? Some of our Sai brothers sought out resident senior faculty members in the Higher Secondary School and Prasanthi Nilayam campus Institute hostels to seek answers to these questions. The respected faculty members graciously consented to share their experiences as well as provide guidance.
Develop Individual Relationship
In both the Higher Secondary School as well as the Institute hostels the schedule that students currently follow is the same as those of the earlier batches and exactly the way it was designed by Bhagawan. In addition, conscious efforts are made by the teachers to encourage students to develop an individual relationship with Him. Parayanam sessions are arranged on a fortnightly basis where senior devotees as well as old students share their experiences.
The unique bond between the students and Bhagawan continues with the same intensity. The daily session in Mandir serves to recharge the students and continues to be a spot where He responds to students and students experience His Divine presence.
Towards the start of the academic year, one of the students was facing some personal problems at home. However, due to the nature of the problem he was not able to discuss it with the teachers. Sensing something was amiss, one of the hostel teachers suggested that he write a letter to Bhagawan. That evening, the boy offered his letter at the altar and the same night he received a call from his home – the problem had been solved that very evening! Isn’t it a moment to recollect the Lord’s benediction: “Why fear when I am here!”
The students’ spontaneous response to His Divine call and their thirst for God forms the other portion in this sublime relation. Thus, it is no wonder when students too demonstrate the same spirit of enthusiasm in continuing the same relationship as old – be it for celebrating festivals with the same intensity (bursting of crackers in the ashram for Diwali), offering letters or for baking the special Birthday cake and offering it to Him.
Selfless Seva: It’s Our Turn Now!
Students continue to nurture the bond of Love with our Lord in new and unique ways. Seva has always been very close to Bhagawan’s heart. A voluntary student task force with just 10 students has been formed in one of the hostels, the motivation being to inspire one another to make the hostel an even better place. Any unattended task is proactively taken up by this group and completed promptly. At the end of it, the service date and the task is mentioned and a piece of paper and is humbly placed at the altar as an offering to the Lord. In talks at the Prayer hall at the Higher Secondary School, a common theme has emerged in most of the student speeches. Looking back at their relationship with Bhagawan they felt that He has done His job for 85 years – It’s our turn now!
Spread His Message of Love
One of the faculty members noted – Bhagawan’s teachings were always that we shouldn’t associate Him with just the physical body. Similar to Rama and Krishna leaving Their physical forms at the end of Their mission, the Avatar of the Kali Yuga has shed His mortal coil. However, He is always with each one in His Divine form. His message is the same – each of us needs to recollect, reflect and practice them in our day-to-day activities. Once we do our duty He is sure to respond. Alumni could continue to visit Parthi and recharge themselves spiritually; however, it is more important to live His message. He has planted a tiny seed within the heart of His students. The seed should be nurtured so that in time it would grow to a gigantic tree and spread His message of Divine Love.
As we gather in Prasanthi Nilayam on the occasion of the 2012 Alumni Meet, let us take the occasion to reflect on these wonderful words of inspiration and hasten along the path that He has laid out for us.
