Beacon
of Bliss
'There
are four things in which every man must interest
himself:
who am I, where from have I come,
whither am I going,
how long shall I be here'
Confusing and
confounding stories depicting the illness of
Baba, and details of the operation that was not
performed, generating distressing news that He
would not be able to make a public appearance
for months, filled the drooping hearts of
devotees in Bombay with fear and anxiety. These
uncalled for fears, the progeny of rumour and
hallucination were allayed by Baba's Presence at
Dharmakshetra on Christmas Day. The gathering
heard a long discourse, followed by many Bhajan
songs, from Baba. They heard the authentic
version of the assumption of the illness and its
equally sudden dismissal. Illness had appeared
to affect that holy Body, but in fact it cannot
afflict it. It had been a passing phase,
belonging to someone it came and went like a
passing cloud. "But, I have no contact with it;
many people, however have the courage to suggest
to Me ways and means of dealing with such
situations!" According to them the Swami should
not allow the illness of another to come upon
Him, causing sufferance to lakhs of people. Baba
told the gathering that it is His duty to take
upon Himself the suffering of those who surround
Him. Likewise it is the duty of His devotees too
to suffer on that account.
But the truth is, there is no suffering, and as
such no reason to get anxious. Christ sacrificed
His life for the sake of those who put their
faith in Him. Service is God, Sacrifice is God -
that was His declaration. The whole world can
derive joy from that Divine assurance. "Do not
grieve, the Savior who will take on your grief,
has come."
On the first
day of the new year, the Kamanis, the famous
industrialists had the privilege of welcoming
Baba at Kurla. Their community hall, which is
really a Prayer Hall, was declared open that
day. Even though entrance to the commodious
auditorium was restricted by passes only, there
was not an inch of space even to change one's
sitting posture. The auditorium consisted of
workers and their families. The area was
tastefully decorated with simple unostentatious
dignity, television sets provided the entire
gathering with the thrill of Darsan.
Commenting on
this, the Bhavan's journal wrote: "When a sage
brings down his mind from the higher realms of
beatitude to dwell on a mundane matter like
employer-employee relations, the subject is
bound to acquire a new dimension and a fresh
sparkle of spirituality. The words of wisdom
contained in the discourse delivered on January
1, 1971 by Sri Sathya Sai Baba at the premises
of a massive industrial establishment in Bombay
have great relevance to modern
India".
While
exhorting the employees to develop the
enthusiasm to earn rights by fulfilling
obligations, Baba also exhorted the employers to
take care of the employees and provide amenities
to their children to develop a strong and
virtuous character. To put it in the words of
the Divine Master:
"Happiness
and peace are mental conditions which grow in
the soil of love, and not of power, affluence
or skill.
The tree of life yields as its most precious
fruit, the quality of Love, sweet fruits have
bitter rinds. This fruit too is encased in a
thick bitter six-fold rind, composed of lust,
anger, greed, attachment, pride and hate. If
these are negated and the rind removed, the
nectarine sweetness of Love can be tasted and
taken into the system. Those who make effort
to explore into that treasure of Love within,
they alone can have the Peace and Bliss.
Sadhana is the name of process by which man
discovers the Spring of Universal Love within
him, by which he is privileged to share it
with all beings.
Riches of various kinds, possessions and
power, name and fame - these are not of much
worth; the precious possession called Love,
is the very breath of Life for man. A heart
devoid of Love is an altar plunged in
darkness. Bats of evil passions will make it
their home. They will render it in a dirty
sinking seat of chaos. Only the Light of Love
can illumine the heart and drive away these
vicious inhabitants.
We
have here, gathered in thousands, the
employees of the Kamani factories. The
industrial, agricultural, mercantile,
political and administrative fields are as
five vital airs to the human community. They
have to be healthy and harmonious, so that
mankind can live in peace and prosperity. If
these five are aware of their
interrelationship and interdependence and if
they lovingly cooperate in common endeavor,
this country, and the world too, can
celebrate each day as a festival day, can
festoon each door-sill in
green.
But,
at the present time, the bond of love and
mutual cooperation is absent. There are
factions in each of these fields, each
producing its own share of confusion; so, the
country is heading every moment into deeper
and deeper anxiety. People are moving about
in fear, grasping their lives in the palm of
the hand, doubtful what the next moment holds
for them. This is not a proper state of
things to be welcomed.
Emotions
and passions have a way of suddenly rising
into devastating floods. Really speaking,
every worker has to earn the authority,
before standing forth as a part of the
organization, of which he is a limb. Emotion
and passion have to arise out of earned
authority; now, they surge forward from
persons who do not carry out the duties
undertaken by them. Authority and influence
have to emerge from the discharge of one's
duties. Then only will they be effective. We
must be convinced that rights are deserved
only by the discharge of
obligations.
But
today, agitation is only for rights; there is
no enthusiasm to earn right, by fulfilling
obligations. Every one must work with the
consciousness that Duty is God and that Work
is Worship. If devotion to duty is developed
and all work is done as sincerely and as
correctly as acts of worship, then each one
can be happy, and society will be free from
discontent and misery.
The
Kamanis are fabricating transmission towers
in their factories. Every person who is
engaged in the fabrication and erection has
to carry out his work correctly and
sincerely, so that the towers may be strong
and secure. Who among them does the more
important item of work? It will be impossible
to discriminate. Each item is important, and
each worker earns his right by discharging
well his particular share of the total
obligation. There should not be any attempt
to compare and claim superiority or confer
inferiority. Such attempts will only promote
ill feeling, and obstruct the flow of love
and tolerance.
Let
me illustrate this by an example. There was a
man going along a country road whose eyes saw
ripe fruits on a wayside tree. The eyes told
him that they were desirable and would
provide him a feast. So the mind got attached
to them, the feet took him nearer the tree,
the body was bent by the muscles of the back,
the hand moved down to the ground, the
fingers picked up a stone and clasped it, the
shoulders gave the needed thrust when the
hand threw the stone on to the tree in the
direction of the fruits. That made one fruit
fall on the ground. But, more items of work
still remained to be done by the limbs of the
body. The fingers have to pick it up, the
hand has to offer it to the mouth, the tongue
has to place it between the teeth, the teeth
have to chew it and the gullet has to swallow
it and send it to the stomach. Now, which
among these items are more important and
which less? Which limb had done more and
which less? Each limb has done its duty
exactly when needed to the best of its
ability and so, the fruit on the tree reached
the stomach of the hungry person. We must
respect each worker as the contributor of a
valuable share of the common task. Feel that
all are divine, all are equally to be loved;
that is the
Sadhana
that will bestow
Ananda
on both the individual and
society.
Doing
the duty that has fallen to one's lot is the
best way to make life worthwhile and to
contribute the skill and intelligence one is
endowed with for the common good. This is the
debt one has to discharge for having come
into this world embodied as a human being. We
have not come into this world for the sake of
eating and drinking; we eat and drink in
order to live; we do not live in order to eat
and drink, we have to reach the far higher
goal - the Presence of God, through the Path
of Love. That is the higher duty, the most
elevated item of work we are engaged in the
Factory (the Body) where we are. All our
energies and skill have to be fully directed
towards this effort. Or else, we may waste
our lives in the chaos of emotional
impulses.
Of
course, the question may be asked: Who is
God? Where can we find Him? Who has seen Him?
I can tell you a story to elucidate this. A
sanyasi (monk) wearing a gerua robe entered,
during his pilgrimage, a village, renowned
for its godlessness. Seeing his robe which
indicated a person who had dedicated his life
to God, a crowd gathered around him and
started heckling him, on the existence of
God. "Can you show Him to us?" they asked and
the monk said, "I can." However he called for
some milk, evidently to overcome exhaustion.
When the milk was brought, he stared into the
cup for a long time in the silence. The group
of villagers lost patience and clamoured that
God be shown to them, as promised. They asked
him why he was staring at the milk so long.
He replied that he had heard that milk had
butter in it and so, he was trying to see the
butter! They laughed; they called him a fool
and a simpleton. "Don't you know that milk
has to be boiled and cooled, curdled and
churned before the butter can be seen as
such, clear and distinct? Now it is there in
the milk, in every drop." The monk said,
"There, you have the answer to your question.
God is in everything and being, in the
Universe. If you want to see him clear and
distinct, you have to go through various
processes called Sadhana.
You can see Him thereafter, not now, by
merely asking me."
The
essential ingredient of this Sadhana is Love.
Sadhana without Love (Prema) towards all
creation, will reveal only
Satan.
'It
is your duty to ask God. Words must be said
and the words must
correspond to the thought. The thought must
be put into a true word.
It is true enough that the Divinity knows
all.
But He requires that the true word be
said.
The mother may know that to maintain life the
child requires food.
But milk is given when the child asks for
it.
Even when you have to speak harshly to a
child or a parent
because all other means of bringing a point
home have failed,
let your heart be soft, let it not be
hardened by prejudices or hatred ...
the basis of the teacher's Sadhana is
love'.
I
shall explain this a little more. Around us
now here, we have the radio waves carrying
music from the broadcasting station Bombay.
We have the radio waves from Delhi also; in
fact we have, here and now, the radio waves
from stations all over the world, though we
are not able to see them or listen to the
'programmes' they carry. When we have with us
a Yantra, called receiver, and when we adjust
the wavelength to the station that transmits
the programme and tune the receiver
correctly, then we can hear the music or the
news. God who is also here, now all around,
can be cognised clearly by means of a Mantra
(meditation on a meaningful mystic formula).
Have the Mantra, concentrate on it (i.e. the
adjustment to the wavelength), with Love
(i.e. the tuning in) and you become aware of
God (i.e. listening to the omnipresent
programme). If the tuning-in is not accurate,
you run the risk of listening to the
nuisance, not to the news! So too, unless
love is poured out in profusion without any
idea of Self, you run the risk of cognising
Devil, not God! And if you do not develop
concentration, your mind will wander in many
directions at once, causing
confusion.
Therefore,
Love is the best instrument to win Grace.
Draw everyone near, as you draw your own
brother and sister, and resolve to bear your
responsibility with the utmost care and skill
you are capable of. In fact, life as a worker
is most valuable and fundamental. Work,
worship and wisdom are three stages on the
Godward path; work is the base - work that is
dedicated, work that is done righteously and
in reverence to others. The employer and the
employees are bound close to each other, as
close as the heart and the body. The master
is the heart and the men are the body. There
can be no heart without a body and no body
without a heart; both are essential for each
other. The employer-employee relationship is
as the bond between a father and his
children. It is only when such affection and
regard prevail, when the atmosphere of
brotherhood is recognized among workers, that
mutual help and service can flourish. Under
such conditions, each can fulfil his duty
gladly and
peacefully.
When
the employees have any problem that worries
them, they can place them before the employer
and both can discuss them calmly and sweetly,
without unnecessary passion, without arousing
hatred or malice and spreading unrest among
others. Above all, each person must be
conscious always of his obligations as well
as of his rights. That is the basic
requisite.
The
community centre has been inaugurated by Me
just now. I suggest that you gather in the
place once a month, or more frequently, once
a fortnight or once a week, for
Satsang,
where you can have Bhajans,
spiritual discourses or other programmes
which will turn the mind towards the
contemplation of the glory of God or the
spiritual treasures in your own selves. I
desire also that the children of the
labourers be provided with schools where they
will be initiated into Bhajans, instructed in
spiritual discipline and theistic beliefs and
inspired to develop strong virtuous
character.
Discipline
is the most essential equipment for man; the
acquisition of discipline should be the
primary goal of all endeavor. Life is
rendered worthwhile and valid, only when it
is lived out in disciplined ways. It is a
great source of Ananda for me to be with you.
Let the new year bring you new opportunities
to establish joy and peace in your
hearts."
The beginning
of 1971 was conspicuous because of its
auspiciousness for devotees in Bombay who had
the benefit of Baba's immediate presence there.
In the evening of the first day of January, Baba
addressed a public meeting in the compound of
Dharmakshetra;
the sea of humanity seemed to overrun its
precincts. John Hislop is inseparable from paper
and pen, whenever he is in the August
Presence; he jots down notes of what he
hears on spiritual matters from Baba. On this
occasion Hislop posed two questions,
viz.:
"What
does Baba mean to me, as a person born and
educated in a foreign country?
And what does Baba mean to the subtler aspect
of me which has no nationality?"
These
questions were answered by himself when he went
on to state,
"He
is the Lord of the heart. He has removed from
my heart the hardness accumulated during the
years and made it fresh, new and
joyous."
The second
question he answered, saying:
"Baba's
Divinity is an overwhelming and
incomprehensible mystery. He is the Supreme
Teacher, He guides us to
liberation."
Blessing the
devotees, Baba told them to pray for peace and
concord amongst communities and nations. Mankind
must learn to live happily as one human
family.
During Baba's
stay in Bombay the children attending Bala Vihar
classes enacted plays, recited poems, sang
Bhajans, and repeated stories selected from the
Epics and Puranas.
There were occasions when they felt so deeply
the impact of Baba that they broke down in
tears, in sympathy with the characters they were
portraying. One boy concluding his account of
Bhagavad Gîtâ with a direct
appeal to the Sai Krishna who was
standing beside him, sobbed in uncontrollable
joy. No wonder Baba considered those children
the Prahlâdas
of the present age. [See
also Srîmad Bhâgavatam, Canto 7, for
the story about Prahlâda
etc.]
"The
children of the Sathya Sai Baba Vihars must know
the Sathya Sai residing in their hearts.
The teachers must also take it as the Puja of
Sai Ram. How to reveal these children the Sai
who
is in their hearts - that is the problem you
should set before yourselves.
By leading the children towards Divinity, the
teachers are serving their parents and
society,
for they will cleanse and brighten their homes
and surroundings," Baba said.
Talking to the
members of the Service Organization, Baba
emphasized the role of Sadhana which
leads man to Self-realization, implying that all
are waves of the vast ocean called the Higher
Self - Paramatma.
Warning them against any display, pomp and
publicity, he advised them to link themselves
with God by the chain of love, through the
recitation of names saturated with His loveable
qualities. His Name uttered in sloth or slight,
in resentment or rancour, will constitute a weak
link and the chain will not bind.
The 7th
January was
Vaikunta
Ekadasi, the day on which "the Gates of
Heaven are opened." Baba observes these
festivals in order to restore their
significance. At the conclusion of the
Akhanda
Bhajans
on that day, Baba revealed the real meaning of
Ekadasi
- the eleventh: when the ten senses are
coordinated and turned towards God, then the
doors of Heaven will certainly open, welcoming
you into the presence of the Eleventh, that is
God.
Before leaving
Bombay, Baba addressed members of the Seva Dal.
He said,
"Discipline
comes to your rescue when the world storms
around you with the dark flood of hate or
derision, or when those in whom you put trust
shun contact and shy afar. Crucify the ego on
the cross of compassion, preparing yourself
by all means for serving others with your
specialized skills. When you are engrossed in
such work, remove the Ego with
Namasmaran,
Japam,
Dhyana
and Study."
Baba
exhorted them to lead simple lives, not to wear
gaudy and outlandish dress and manners, for they
keep the common folk away from them. Test every
gesture, and mannerism, every habit, and every
whim of yours on this touchstone: will Baba
approve of this?
During Baba's
stay at Bombay, a unique book was dedicated to
Him by the members of the Maharashtra Branch of
the All India Prasanthi Vidwanmahasabha, founded
and directed by Baba. The President of the
Sabha, Sri P.K. Sawant declared that the book
will 'Light a path to the Almighty'. Sri V.S.
Page, the Chairman of the Maharashtra State
Legislative Council, said, while offering the
book, at a public meeting at Dharmakshetra: "I
sat at the Feet of Sri Sathya Sai Baba and
started questioning Him on many secrets of
spiritual progress. He was kind enough to give
His Grace freely. Others of the Sabha
participated in the process of questioning and
learning. This is a faithful record of such
Divine Dialogues, "which confers illumination to
those who struggle in the darkness of
confusion." Baba explained that there seemed to
be three stages in the life of a
Bhaktha:
- Tavaivaham:
I am entirely Yours. Here, the Bhaktha
completely surrenders himself to God without
any reservation.
- Mamaivatam:
You are exclusively mine. Here, the Bhaktha
thinks himself to be the chosen devotee of
the Lord and starts to make a claim on
Him.
- You
alone are, and I am not.
I
am yours and you are nothing but 'I'. Here,
the Bhaktha sees God alone, everywhere,
including himself.
Dhyani
also has three phases of his life:
- I
am He.
Here, the Bhaktha contemplates on the
universal God and tries to identify himself
with him.
- Here, the
Bhaktha reaches a stage when he feels he is
identified
with the Lord.
- I
am I.
This is a stage where there is no distinction
between God and the Bhaktha.
Giving
directions about Dhyana,
Baba mentioned a method which He has elaborated
often.
"Are
we not at peace, when one thought ceases and
another does not rise? You have to watch that
moment, be one with that moment and get fixed
in that, so that, there is ceaseless
continuous peace; thoughts arise and die as
ripples on water; you have to look at the
water, rather than the ripples. Neglect the
waves, watching the water.
"
Page pursued
the subject and asked, "That is
Nirvikalpa Samadhi. Nirvikalpa is
like water without waves or ripples. Can we
watch the water, even when there are waves and
ripples? For us to have deep peace in the mind,
should we not have experienced
Nirvikalpa sometime or other?" Baba
answered,
"Yes.
The person who takes up the process of
meditation lands into a state of Nirvikalpa
some time or other though it is a very
difficult state to attain. Even a
Karmayogi
or a
Bhaktha
touches this stage time and again in the most
natural way, and knows fully what it is.
Therefore, he can remember it and bring it
back into experience, and feel the joy of
continuous communion with
God."
Page writes,
"This was a complete answer to my question, and
I was very much satisfied with it. I could not
get this answer, from my reading of the
scriptures, but, as Sri Sathya Sai Baba was kind
enough to give it, I hope it would be useful to
a number of aspirants, including
myself."
Another very
interesting point clarified by Baba was about
Neti, Neti (Not this, not this). He
said, "Brahman is like a balloon that bulges; it
never bursts! So, Neti refers to the
comprehension of Brahman, not Brahman itself?
Neti does not mean, 'No, it is not
this,' it means: 'No, it is not thus.' 'No, this
is not all.' 'No there is much more to Brahman
than this or thus.' " [See
also Srîmad Bhâgavatam, Canto 7,
Chapter 7 (What Prahlâda learned in the
womb) verse
23]
Page mentions
that Baba distinguished between ego and Self.
Baba said: "
'I'
pure and simple is God;
'I'
identified with the body, the subtle body and
the body imagined in dream life is the ego."
Then Page asked, "God is said to be One. Is
there one 'I' pure and simple for all of us?"
Baba replied, "The different egos are but
reflections of one and the same Self or
God." Page asked, "Is the mind a material,
just like our body? Can it be objectified?" Baba
replied, "Yes. Mind is matter. Only, it is
very subtle, we cannot point out its breadth,
length, thickness or weight. It can be
objectified.
Sankalpa
can do that." Page asked about the miracles
too. He says, "Sri Sathya Sai Baba explained
these miraculous powers in a very frank manner
and we accepted the same without any
reservation." Baba said that the miracle was the
Nidarsan
(Witness, Evidence), of God having created the
world out of His Will.
The festival
of
Mahasivarathri
in 1971 was celebrated on 23rd February. Though
Prasanthi Nilayam gets overcrowded
during that time, the peace of that Abode is
maintained, due to the holy rays emanating from
that holiest of places. Speaking from
Santhivedika,
Baba raised a very interesting question and
answered it Himself. "Why does Swami produce the
Linga
from Himself this day? Let me tell you that it
is impossible to understand the attributes of
the Divine. You cannot measure Its
potentialities, nor gauge the significance of
Its Mahima;
it is Agamya:
unreachable, Agochara:
un-understandable. Because of these, you get an
example of Divine attributes. In order to bear
witness to this Divinity that is amidst you, for
your benefit and benediction, the Linga emerges.
If even these glimpses are denied, faith in the
Supreme will vanish and an atmosphere of greed,
hatred, cruelty, violence and irreverence will
overwhelm the good, the humble and the
pious."
The
Linga's Bhagavân produced at Shivarathri
2003
The
Linga is an illustration of the limitless,
formless, beginningless, Divine Principle. Baba
stayed at Prasanthi Nilayam to assuage a
large number of persons who had come long
distances to fill their eyes and minds with the
sanctity and elation that the
Lingodbhava
gives, and to touch His Lotus Feet. After
showering Grace on them, Baba left for
Brindavan, for He had willed that the Women's
college at Anantapur must be shifted from
temporary sheds and rooms to its own magnificent
home, with the beginning of the academic
year.
The Sathya Sai
Seva Samithi, Bombay, had organized the first
All India Bala Vihar Teachers Conference on 11th
and 12th May. So Baba in response to the prayers
of the devotees of Bombay visited that city for
a few days, to bless the teachers. 404 teachers,
crusaders of the new Sai Era of Education
attended, and were benefited by Bhagavan's
counsel. Baba interpreted the usual invocatory
verse on the Guru, recited by a pupil and made
it the text of His Discourse. The Guru
is Brahma, because, He said, teaching is
a creative activity; he is Vishnu
because the teacher has to foster the child,
guide him and guard him: he is Maheswara,
since he has to weed out deleterious components
and undesirable traits and habits. The verse,
which has been all along taken to mean
conventional praise and glorification of the
Teacher thus assumed the role of a clarion call
to the entire profession itself. That is the
significance of Sai Touch!
"The
Guru is praised as Parabrahma,
the genuine supra-soul, for He reveals to the
pupil the Reality that makes him
free."
He said, "Recognize the vast potential lying
dormant in the child; help it to express
itself."
For this
reason, Baba suggested that the name of the
classes for children should be changed from
Bala Vihars; for more than play and
recreation, what has to be done is to encourage
the good, the true, the beautiful in the child
to blossom, to express and expand.
"Bala
Vikas," Baba said, "is the more correct
name." He wanted that the little children must
be trained and encouraged to speak before
gatherings of devotees and even others, so that
elders might learn from the lips of children
what they refuse now to learn from those
entitled to advise them. He appreciated the
short speech given by a little pupil on 'Film
posters, and the horrors they inflict.' It was
an eye-opener to the elders who are tolerating
such insults on the innocence and purity of home
life.
All over the
country now, the tiny tots of the Bala
Vikas sing Bhajans, draw pictures,
paint, write stories and relate them, about
heroes of the spirit, and the great mothers of
the land, and enact plays depicting elevating
incidents from the Upanishads,
Ithihasas
and Puranas,
as well as the religious literature of all
faiths. A big revolution in thought, and in
social relations, is fast coming into fruition.
The Maharashtra State Conference and the Gujarat
State Conference of the Organization were held
in May. Baba was present in Bombay for the
Maharashtra Conference, He sent a message of
Blessings to Dwaraka for the Gujarat Conference.
"I
am watching the entire proceedings; do not
deplore that I am not present with you. I am
present as the Eternal
Witness,"
He wrote.
While
returning from Bombay, Baba presided over the
Mysore State Conference at Dharwar, on the 14th.
About 200 office-bearers of the Units all from
parts of Mysore were charged with steadier faith
and deeper devotion for the work
ahead.
"The College
at Anantapur," wrote Dr. S. Bhagavantham, D.Sc.,
"is a concrete manifestation of something
superhuman. At an enormous cost of four million
rupees, within a record time of ten months, Baba
has reared a structure, which is good enough for
a University! Who did all this work? Where have
the funds come from? If you want to see Divinity
in action, you can find concrete evidence at
Anantapur! It is something beyond the pale of
human reason, and mortal prowess!"
The College
was to be inaugurated on the 8th of July, 1971
by the President of India, although there seemed
to be no sign or hope of completing the building
by the stipulated date! Everyone swore that it
was an impossible task. A big industrialist who
had visited Anantapur a week before the
inauguration said, "If I had applied all my
energies with my entire organizational machine,
I would have thought that it would take another
six months for completion of the
work."
The College
building is the architectural archetype for Sai
Era in education for individual and social
uplift. Baba has the Sai Emblem depicting the
many faceted adventure of man to realize the
Divinity inherent in him as his very breath,
hoisted on the central tower as the symbol of
hope and victory. The college building is a full
circle of charm and dignity. It symbolizes the
fulfilment of the search, called religion. It is
Brahman, the beginningless and endless, which a
circle alone can represent. It is redolent with
the fragrance of the cultural heritage of India.
It is resonant with the echoes of Sanathana
Dharma. It carries sky-high the Lotus
Flower, (the Hrdaya-kamala) which
blossoms at the first touch of the rays of the
rising sun (Intelligence, Reason).
Baba has
installed a clock on the tower, so that Time the
Divine Watchman, can waken, hasten and warn the
process of teaching and learning, shaping and
strengthening, that happens in the College.
Architects sat with Baba to translate His ideas
on paper, but, the supreme Architect had it all
in His Will, and that was enough. The Anantapur
College looks like a prayer rising up from the
heart, a poem of praise for the Giver of all
Good. The building is a miracle in marble, brick
and stone, colour and light.
On the day of
the Inauguration an international gathering saw
a constellation of great personalities. The
President of India, Sri V.V. Giri, the wife of
the President, Srimathi Saraswathi Giri, the
Governor of Mysore State, Sri Dharma Vira, the
Lt. Governor of Goa State, Sri Nakul Sen, the
Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Sri P.V.
Narasimha Rao, the Vice-chancellor of the
Venkateswara University, Dr. Jagannath Reddy,
Sri G.C. Venkanna and Sri M.N. Lakshminarasiah,
Ministers of the Government of Andhra Pradesh -
it was a bouquet of talent, authority, sacrifice
and patriotism.
Above all,
there was Baba, fresh as a flower, beaming with
a benignant smile, with no trace on His Divine
Face of the exhaustion, worry or anxiety that He
had removed from the faces of even the most busy
workers around Him. The bright morning was
rendered doubly bright by the Light of Love that
shone on that face.
Dr. Gokak,
Director of the Institute of Advanced Studies,
Simla, welcomed the distinguished guests. He
communicated to every one an awareness of the
epochal character of the moment. "This college
and the others that Baba has planned to
establish in every state in India will inculcate
Indian culture in its essence and purity; they
will develop not only knowledge and skill, but
balance and insight, and faith in the unity of
all religions, and in the Reality of Oneself."
Dr. Bhagavantham, formerly Vice-chancellor of
the Andhra and Osmania Universities said,
"History has few parallels of a college that is
so well equipped on the date of its
Inauguration!" Dr. Jagannath Reddy, spoke of the
phenomenal growth of the college in the short
span of 3 years. The Minister for education
said, "When Baba establishes a college for women
we can be certain that it will not be just one
among many. It will be a beacon, a lesson for
others, a model, a pioneer." Sri Brahmananda
Reddy greeted the day as a festival for Andhra
Pradesh and for Bharathiya Culture itself. Sri
Dharma Vira felt that the college for women will
be of lasting benefit for the whole country,
since educating a woman is educating a whole
family. The President declared that it was a
good augury for India that Baba is not only
conferring spiritual enlightenment to millions,
but granting the proper type of education to the
youth of the land.
The 8th July,
1971 was Guru Pournima, the Full Moon Festival,
dedicated to the Primal Spiritual Preceptor,
Vyâsa,
and also to the adoration of Spiritual
Preceptor, by aspirants. It is the Day when
millions seek to have Darsan of Baba. It
was Baba's Will that the College in which the
Guru-Sishya
relationship of Ancient India was to be revived,
should be inaugurated that Day
itself.
Baba pointed
out that, as lava from subterranean fire, a huge
upsurge of low desires is smothering man, though
his chief desire should be the visualizing of
the God in him, and the cultivation of peace,
beauty, truth and love that are the marks of
that Divinity. "Man
has in him a fountain of joy, peace, love and
courage. Cultivate these by precept, example and
exercise. Then, the educated men and women will
have security and sweetness as long as they
live."
"India
is being forged into a Bhogabhoomi - land of
luxury - a land of skyscrapers, tinned foods,
air-conditioning and television. Indians are
being shaped into an imitative, insurgent,
ill-disciplined mass. They are being
transplanted on other soils and encouraged to
grow, without roots. This is an insult to our
past and a dangerous defiance of history. It
is a sacrilege on the sanctity of time, on
the holy purpose of the human body. That is
the reason, I have decided that this college
has to be inaugurated on Guru-Poornima Day on
Guruvar - Thursday - as a Gurukula - the
hermitage school of ancient India in which
the highest ideals of life were instilled by
personal example and guidance by the Guru to
the pupils eager to
imbibe."
[See also:
Bhagavatha
Vahini, Chapter 41: The Divine
Students]
Baba concluded
with the Blessing:
"The
seed has been planted; it will sprout and
spread, heavy with fruits, providing shade,
security and sustenance to
all."
The
educational institutions started with the
Blessing of Baba will not imitate nor help to
forge out of competitive or compulsive society.
They look forward with hope and envisage a
society built on love and cooperation,
blossoming the human spirit, and the human
community.
'The
root is education and the fruit is virtue.
Children are the crops growing in the fields to
field the harvest on
which the nation has to sustain itself.
Children are like realized souls without
attachment.
In children, the mind is in its native purity;
for, they have no sense of mine.'
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