Example
and Precept
Baba hurried
from East Africa to Bombay and from Bombay to
Anantapur, en route to Bangalore, since a great
step in the campaign of
Dharmasthapana
for which He has come, had to be initiated on
the 22nd of June 1968. Baba was establishing a
college for Women at Anantapur!
Aurobindo
has said, "A new center of thought implies a new
center of education." This avatar has no
destructive weapon in His possession, like the
Kodanda (bow) of Rama,
or the Chakra (discus) of Krishna.
He relies on education, rather than elimination;
instruction rather than destruction. The good
are encouraged to become better, the better to
enter the region of the best and the blest. The
bad are encouraged to shed the coil of
cowardice, which keeps them in fear and induces
them to cause fear in self-defense.
Baba is
therefore the premier educator of the age. Every
word of His is a Mantra,
every speech an Upanishad,
every exhortation a Geeta, every song that He
sings a pilgrimage into the holiest core of
one's being; a revelation of one's destiny and
Divine glory. Baba instructs the incorrigible,
the intransigent, the infidel and the infant in
spiritual Sadhana.
He takes all into His fold. In His presence one
cannot say, "The hungry sheep look up and are
not fed." They may be sheep or goats; they may
not look up at all; they may not realize that
they are hungry; they may not recognize good
food from bad; they may not be aware of where
food is available in plenty! But Baba fondles
them and feeds them with food that ensures
health and happiness beyond measure, beyond the
ravages of time and the erosion of
doubt!
Baba often
writes letters to those whom He wants to correct
or console, or to conduct into the fortunate
group of the illumined. He showers love, guides
with sweet companionship, warns sternly and
leads
Sadhakas
by the hand. The books He has written -
Prema Vahini
(The Stream of Divine Love),
Jnana Vahini
(The Stream of Eternal Wisdom),
Prasanthi
Vahini
(The Bliss of Supreme Peace),
Dhyana Vahini
(Practice of Meditation),
Dharma Vahini
(The Path of Virtue),
Sandeha
Nivarini
(Clearance of Spiritual Doubts), the
Gita Vahini
(The Divine Gospel) and the
Bhagavatha
Vahini
(The Story of God and His Devotees) - are
treasures that shed light on intricate problems
of spiritual discipline. Passing down the
corridor of time, the epics and
Puranas
have accumulated interpolations from imaginative
enthusiasts, which mar the grandeur of the
originals and disgust seekers of Divine Nectar.
Baba has edited the Bhagavatha and the
Ramayana
(The Rama story, Stream of Sacred Sweetness) in
a manner which makes them invaluable guides for
aspirants to liberation. Baba's discourses which
attract gathering of tens of thousands even in
the most secluded village, herald a new era in
the lives of all who hear them, even if they do
not understand the language which He uses; for,
as Baba says, when heart communicates with heart
in Love, language is an impediment, rather than
an instrument!
Baba as
Educator does not spare even the hours of sleep
of those whom he intends to teach. When He
struck Swami Abhedananda on the heart while He
was lying in bed at Sri Ramanasram in
Thiruvannamalai, the aged Swami sat up, and
wondered who, what and why! Baba gave him the
Darsan of the late Sri Ramana Maharshi and of
Himself, separately and as an upsurge of light
in which both merged. This was to reveal to him
that He and his Guru were the same. Then, he
spoke to him in Telugu about the ways in which
he had to modify his meditation, to enable him
to get rid of the doubts and deviations that
haunted him.
Baba appears
to some Sadhakas during what can only be
described as 'dreams' and favors them with
timely advice, such as, "Concentrate on the
Visuddhi Chakra." The Sadhaka who received this
advice asked me what and where the said Chakra
is situated. It was found that this Chakra is
the Center of nourishment for the body, which at
the time was just the problem confronting the
Sadhaka. Or, "Read the Mahanyasa also." He
advised another Sannyasi
who was ceremonially reading the Devi
Bhagavatham. Baba also teaches during Dhyana
(meditation), as He does with Mr. Penn in
California, whenever the latter has a spiritual
dilemma or knot to unravel. I shall give here
two extracts of what He once said to a Sadhaka
in a dream, which the Sadhaka recorded in his
notebook as soon as he awoke.
"You
must have freedom not only from fear, but
freedom from hope and expectation. Trust in
My wisdom: I do not make mistakes. Love my
uncertainty! For it is not a mistake. It is
My Intent and Will. Remember, nothing happens
without My Will. Be still. Do not want to
understand; do not ask to understand.
Relinquish understanding. Relinquish the
imperative that demands
understanding."
"Meditate
upon the feeling between waking and sleeping,
know how immediate, how close, how deeply
compatible it is. There is the feeling of
really giving up; the body is limp. Awareness
too is limp. Let the feeling of God overcome
you like sleep."
Appearing to
devotees in dreams, Baba has taught them new
Bhajan songs, sitting in front of them as music
teachers do, with instructions to sing them
during the Dasara festival at Puttaparthi.
Later, when they arrived at Puttaparthi they
were prompted by him to sing them! A devotee was
once so involved in civil suits at court that he
was nearly bankrupt. Appearing to him while he
was asleep Baba told him plainly, "Properties,
my dear fellow, are not proper ties!" Baba as an
educator and as the incarnation that has come in
order to educate, is engaged in that task, all
over the world at all times.
His opening
words at every discourse are
"Divyatma Swarupulara!" Embodiments of the
Divine Atma!
That is the sum and substance of all His
teachings. Man has to realize that he is the
Atma,
unconquerable, indestructible, unlimited, the
Existence-Knowledge-Bliss-wave of the ocean that
is God. The awareness of this truth is Bhakti,
'Swaswaropa-anusandhanam-Bhakthirithi-abhidheyathe'
says Sankara.
Baba
insists upon every one being told this truth
about himself, every one being given a glimpse
of himself in the mirror so that he may live in
strength, faith, courage and peace. He says that
the tree of life, the Asvattha (a banyan tree)
(*),
has its roots in the
Atma.
If that faith is absent we dry up and are wafted
hither and thither by every wind of fortune -
wayward whiffs of transience! The trunk and the
branches, the leaves and twigs of the tree of
life are the ramifications of our contacts and
commitments with the outer world, the kith and
kin, the I and mine, the plus and minus into
which life proliferates. The flowers of the tree
are words, thoughts and deeds of Love; and the
Ananda
derived is the fruit. But, Baba says the
sweetness in the fruit is Virtue, Seela, good
godly character. Without Seela which makes the
fruit worthwhile, and the Atmic root which
sustains the tree, life is a mere ploughing of
sands, the body is but fuel, fodder for
vermin.
In order to
imprint upon man the truth of this Atmic core,
Baba has a continuous chain of organizations
which are supervised and managed by devotees
soaked in His teachings and guided by Him.
Toddlers are gathered by affectionate arms into
Bal Vikas classes; they were called Bal Vihars,
but the name has been made more purposive and
significant. They are taught Bhajans, they enact
plays on themes selected from the Upanishads,
Epics, Puranas and the lives of Saints, many of
them written by Baba Himself.
They are
trained to revere parents and elders, to observe
the rules of the road, to draw and make models
of scenes and shrines reminiscent of the higher
values of life. They greet each other
reverentially with "Om," which is as it should
be. In short the Bal Vikas child discards the A
for apple and adopts the A for Arjuna stage. It
does not repeat "Baa Baa Black Sheep, Have you
any Wool?" or talk of Robin Redbreast and Santa
Claus. It repeats 'Raghupate
Raghava Raja Ram' -
MP3
-
(**)
or 'Subrahmanyam,
Subrahmanyam, Shanmukhanatha
Subrahmanyam'!
Then the boys
and girls enter the Junior Seva Dal, where they
learn selected verses from the Bhagavad Gita,
and songs sung by Saints in adoration of God.
They attend first aid classes, practice
meditation, develop artistic talents through
plays, paintings and floral decoration and speak
before gatherings on Baba and His Teachings,
reproducing the illustrative stories and
parables that Baba uses.
When they
reach the age of eighteen, they are inducted
into the regular Seva Dals and given a sound
spiritual training to withstand the hard
realities of Seva. They organize Bhajans in
Jails, Remand Homes, Leprosoria Hospitals,
Slums, Schools and Hostels. They help in keeping
their town or village clean and healthy, donate
blood to the blood-banks, study the scriptures
and enact moral plays. Every opportunity is used
by them to develop skills and place themselves
at the disposal of the distressed and the
deprived.
The older
people have the Seva Samithis, which organize
Bhajan Mandalis, Nagarasankirtan, study circles
and the celebration of holy days to commemorate
the greatness of saints and sages. The Mahila
Vibhags of these Samithis extend Seva among
women and conduct Bal Vikas classes guiding the
children, along the path to truth. Thus, under
Baba's continuous and consistent inspiration and
guidance, a fertilizing flood of higher
education and spiritual transmutation is
sweeping over the earth.
Baba has
declared that He has come to establish truth,
uproot untruth and revitalize the moral ideal in
the affairs of mankind. The Bhagavan Sri Sathya
Sai Seva Organization has become the new center
of education for the new center of Sai thought,
in this Sai Era. Baba says, "This organization
is intended to broaden service. It has not been
devised to parade devotion, or collect devotees
or canvass support for some newfangled creed. It
is dedicated to the great task of progressively
aiding people to realize their reality and merge
in it."
"Vidya dadathi
vinayam," Education must endow man with
humility. The wise are humble that they know no
more; the fool is proud that he knows so much.
Humility and reverence are the genuine fruits of
education. Instead, reverence is the first
casualty in schools and colleges today. Baba
repeats a Geeta dictum: Pandithah Samadarsinah,
Scholars visualise Unity. They do not promote
factions, they do not encourage hatred. They
seek the One; if known, all else in known! They
seek harmony and not conflict. But nowadays,
scholars have envy, malice and conflict as their
professional malady. Baba finds that the task of
Dharmasthapana, the re-establishment of morality
and righteousness, has to be undertaken in the
educational institutions also, for every year
they pump into the stream of national life the
perfidious poison of irreverence, indiscipline,
inefficiency and rootless culture.
Jesus
said:
'The scripture says, Man cannot live on bread
alone, but needs every word that God
speaks'.
Baba
says:
'Man does not live by bread alone. He lives by
the Atma. Devotion and surrender - and not greed
and deceit - should form the basis for man's
life and lead to the blossoming of spiritual
wisdom in his heart'.
The
Upanishadic student was advised by the Guru
before every lesson that education was a shared
experience, and that the slightest tinge of
anger and misunderstanding between the teacher
and the taught contaminates the gift, the giver
and the receiver - all three. Students of today
terrorize the teacher; teachers calculate their
monetary rewards and evade their fundamental
duty to teach. They do not examine their right
to claim reverence. The Upanishadic Guru sent
the student home, after he had completed his
studies, with the exhortation:
Sathyam vada, dharmam chara, mathr devo bhava,
pithr devo bhava, and acharya devo bhava! Utter
Truth. Walk in the path of righteousness. Revere
the mother as God, revere the Teacher as God!
But,
parents are now treated as obstructions,
troubling the young from the other bank of the
generation gap. The mother is a bundle of
old-world superstitions and the teacher is a
person who can be bribed or frightened into
granting certificates and marks to pass
examination and get degrees!
Therefore,
Baba felt that youth has to be quickly led back
onto the road they have missed. They must be
warned of the calamity that awaits them, and
through them, the country, not only in India but
in all lands. The student unrest that is
spreading over the world is but the external
rumbling of an internal maladjustment. The
atmosphere in which they grow up, and the roles
which they are being prepared for by parents,
elders and rulers, are reeking with hypocrisy
and pettiness, triviality and
titillation.
Example is
better than precept, the saying goes; but the
example that the older generation is holding
forth before the young now is more pernicious
than their precept! Baba has laid the blame
squarely on the shoulders of parents, teachers
and society, for bringing up the rising
generation in dull, drab, dismal schools, with
God kept out and idealism negated. Baba holds
that there is no authority which has laid down
that an Avatar can do this or cannot do this.
Krishna planned to drive a chariot, for this was
the best and speediest way for the task which He
had come to accomplish. Rama went hunting a
golden deer though He knew that it was only a
clever decoy, for, it was necessary that He
should be away so that Ravana could kidnap Sita
by a stratagem, a fell crime for which death was
the legitimate reward! So Baba asked,
"What prevents me from starting colleges? No one
can prevent a flower from imparting its
fragrance to the air! It is my Nature to
educate, to draw forth into the light the
Divinity that is inherent in man. I use all
means for that consummation. You have been
praying - Thamaso Ma Jyotir Gamaya - lead us
from darkness into Light! This is one of the
answers."
Baba thought
of correcting the education of women, in the
first instance, for, as He has written in
"Dharma Vahini"
-
"No nation can be built strong and stable,
except on the spiritual culture of its women.
This generation is full of unrighteousness and
injustice, malevolence and greed, falsehood and
cruelty, because the mothers who brought it up
were not vigilant enough or intelligent enough,
or because they were not trusted enough by men
with the responsibility of chastening and
fostering their children. What is past is past.
To save at least the next generation, women have
to be educated in a well-planned manner and
endowed with the wisdom, fortitude and faith
that can equip them for the great responsibility
that rests upon them."
In June 1996,
Baba was at Anantapur, the biggest town of the
District and its official capital, 60 miles from
Prasanthi Nilayam, at the invitation of the High
School for Girls. The plight of the girls who
had to go to distant places for higher education
and also the kind of education for which they
were spending much time and money, affected Him.
He resolved upon another step in His task of
Dharmasthapana;
for women have been the custodians of
Dharma
since millennia; the cradle is the first school
for the children of man. He announced that there
would be a Women's College at Anantapur soon. He
resolved upon making Anantapur the focal point
of the Educational Revolution that will
consummate the Revival of
Sanathana
Dharma,
for the lasting benefit of the human
family.
The Women's
College was inaugurated on the 22nd of July,
1968. Very few colleges are inaugurated under
such distinguished auspices or with the promise
of such triumphant careers for the alumni. Few
have on the opening day itself such an imposing
array of equipment, furniture, books and above
all, a band of teachers with such enthusiasm and
academic efficiency.
The Minister
in charge of Education in the Government of
Andhra Pradesh who presided over the Public
Meeting said that what was being inaugurated was
not just one college among so many, but a New
Chapter in the History of Women's Education
itself. He knew that the College was to be the
precursor of many more such colleges all over
the country, for Baba announced that He was
planning a college or two in every State of
India, all to be knit together later into a
University, as an instrument forged for His
Task.
Baba
said, "The prompting behind this College is
not the search for reputation or the desire
to propagate a cult, or the hope of monetary
profit. Fame is a fickle figment! Reputation
rots quite soon. Profit, when it is
calculated in terms of cash, defiles. I have
allowed this College to rise because it will
install in the minds of the students, the
ideals of Sathya (truth), Dharma
(righteousness), Santhi (peace) and Prema
(love) - ideals delineated in the Vedas,
described in the Sastras, illustrated in the
Epics, practiced by countless generations and
confirmed by experience, as best suited for
individual and social progress. Every child
born in Bharat has the right to know and
benefit by this precious heritage.
"Agriculture
is for living; Atma-culture is for success in
life. An educational system that keeps
children away from God - the only refuge, the
only kinsman, the only guide and guard - is a
system where the blind are engaged in
blinding those who long for
light."
"Women
are the bulwarks of spiritual culture, But,
as is evident from the attitude and behavior
of educated women today, they are fast
succumbing to the flimsy attractions of froth
and frippery, cheap and shoddy literature and
sensual films."
"Every
child has five mothers, and owes its loyalty
to these five; they fill its life with
meaning and purpose:
* the Dehamatha - the mother who gave birth
to its body,
* the Gomatha - the cow that gives it milk
and the bullock that is the partner in
growing its food throughout life,
* the Bhoomatha - land, that in return for
seeds offers grain a hundred-fold,
* the Desa-Matha - the region inhabited by
the society it is born into that stamps on it
its way of living, lines of thinking and
ideals and goals, and
* Vedamatha - the heritage of spiritual
treasure.
The first Mother has to reveal to the child
the glories of all the other four and so, her
status is crucial, her responsibility is
pivotal. That is the reason why I have
resolved to start a women's college in the
first instance, in order to preserve and
promote Dharma - the Universal Sanathana
Dharma I have come to vitalize and lead to
victory."
"Atmavidya
(Self-knowledge) alone can fix the mind in
Dharma," Baba declared. The Sathya Sai
Vedasastra Pathashala at Prasanthi Nilayam is
preparing a number of young men, acquainted with
the terrain of the spirit as explored by the
adventurous pioneers of ancient India. They also
imbibe the message of Prasanthi Nilayam,
practicing the discipline of silence (not the
negative silence when the temptation to speak
aloud and to express emotion and passion are
resisted) but the positive silence that springs
from freedom, holiness and awareness of the
Omnipresence of Baba.
There is also
the All India Prasanthi
Vidwan
Maha-Sabha
with its galaxy of Vedic Pandits and Sanskrit
Savants, who have been commissioned by Baba to
share their scholarship and their wealth of
Prasanthi (unruffled mental peace) with the
uninitiated and the struggling, so that they too
may get a glimpse of the Glory and move forward.
But, Baba says,
Atmavidya
should no longer be the monopoly of Pathashalas
and Pundits; it is the right of every human
being, endowed with
Viveka,
Vairagya,
and Vichakshana:
(Discrimination, Detachment and Reason), whether
they are aware of it or not, to imbibe, and earn
joy and peace.
Water is
cheaper than milk. Water is essential for the
process of living. Milk is essential for health
and strength, to resist the onslaught of
disease. Now, secular education (water) which
teaches skills and transmits information is
being supplied in schools and colleges.
Atmavidya
(milk) is stored by Pathashalas and Ashrams.
Water becomes costly and a high price is paid
for it, when mixed with milk. Then, it too
becomes nourishing! Therefore,
Atmavidya
has to be communicated to youth in the colleges
along with skill and information, so that they
can boldly face the dilemmas of life.
Baba
says, "We have heard of the seven year's war,
the thirty year's war, the hundred year's
war. The war between man and mind, between
the
Jivi
and Maya,
the individual and the objective world, is
coterminous (same as) with Time. The earliest
men were entangled in it; the last man will
have to fight it. Unless, like Arjuna, you
choose the Lord as your Charioteer and
surrender the senses, the mind, the
intellect, the desires, the means and the
ends to Him, the war shall not end in your
victory. That is the lesson that Atmavidya
teaches; that is the lesson that the children
of men have the right to imbibe."
Apart from the
curriculum and the attention paid to its
demands, the College insists upon the students
attending prayer sessions, and meditation
classes. A course of lectures on the cultural
heritage of India is given during the year. The
importance of Yoga and mental poise for physical
well-being is emphasized and practical lessons
arranged. Students are trained to keep away from
the contaminating influence of films and horror
comics. They are encouraged to be simple in
dress and avoid elaborate hairstyles which
attract attention by their outlandishness. They
are advised to emulate the great women of
ancient India, celebrated in the epics and the
Upanishads, as well as in history.
The atmosphere
of the College charged with the blessings of
Baba, is itself conducive to the development of
Sathwic qualities. Baba visits the College often
and advises the students Himself. Occasionally,
He brings with Him eminent educationalists
filled with Sai inspiration to speak to them.
Above all, Baba knows every one of the staff and
students. He is immediately aware of whatever
happens in each one's mind and so, all are ever
alert that the limits set by Him for conduct are
not infringed. Dr. Gokak has said that many
others have emphasized the ideals of Sathya,
Dharma, Santhi and Prema. But it is only Baba
who has shown them in practice so clearly and so
uncompromisingly.
"If you yearn for Santhi, learn it from Baba. If
you aspire to find Prema, approach Baba and be
inspired by Him. But, there is one more superb
excellence - an excellence that is unique, in
Baba, and that is Power. He has the power to
change circumstances, to shape the course of
events, to redirect help forward, transmute and
terminate whatever He feels needs such
treatment. So, when He starts a College and
dedicates it for a purpose, it is bound to move
along the lines He has laid down. He has the
Power. Its students have the fortune of being
forged as instruments for transforming the world
into the Heaven He has planned it to
become."
"Make
Me your Charioteer!" Baba tells us. "Take hold
of the unique chance. Ask Me about the Sadhana
which can grant you Liberation. For later, it
will be difficult for you to approach Me. Flood
streams of people are coming to Me from all
quarters. This Divine Phenomenon is bound to
grow into a Viswa Vriksha (a World-tree that
provides shade and shelter for all humanity).
This has come down in this Form for that very
purpose. It knows no hesitation, no halting. My
Name is Sathya (Truth); My Teaching is Truth; My
Path is Truth; I am Truth."
Baba, luckily,
is the Charioteer of the College, and so the
students will grow into straight, brave, honest,
pilgrims. They will grow into good daughters,
efficient citizens, faithful wives, affectionate
mothers and expert teachers. The mother brings
up the child; she also teaches the child to
revere the father. She has to do it because
nature does not bind the father to the child as
intimately as it binds the mother.
"Baba has come
to teach!", declares Charles Penn. "Let us all
avail ourselves of Him. Know that we have been
drawn to Him, to learn! We must not only bathe
in the momentary bliss of His being, but learn
to carry this security, this inner Peace with us
to our homes. When we arrive home, we must
remember that distance has no power to prevent
Baba's teachings to flow to us. We must remember
to ask Him to solve each of our problems and
then, be constantly aware of each succeeding
moment for His guiding answer. The answer will
be clear and correct, and the interpretation
will be easy, if only we pray." Every student of
Baba's college is privileged to have such a
Teacher! This is indeed a great good
fortune!
Baba has a
sense of urgency when He speaks educational
reconstruction, for the consequences of starving
the spirit at a time when boys and girls are
preparing for the battle of life, are serious.
So the Anantapur College was started in borrowed
rooms and halls and hurriedly erected sheds, so
as to avoid any further delay while the
buildings came up, according to the plans He had
drawn and designed. So, too, when He resolved
upon a boy's College at Bangalore, He graciously
allowed the College to encroach into the garden
at Brindavan itself, so that temporary
structures could be erected there in order to
commence the college instantly.
"Colleges are not composed of brick or mortar;
nor are they to be evaluated by the magnitude of
the buildings which house the classes. They are
to be evaluated by the character and usefulness
of the students who fill the classrooms, their
behavior in the playgrounds and outside, their
attitudes towards their parents, elders and
teachers, and the ideals they follow in their
later lives." Baba says.
Baba Himself
supervised at every stage the erection of the
buildings for the laboratories, the library and
the classes. He guided the fulfillment of all
the contingent requirements and so on the
Inauguration Day, the college looked spick and
span - a rare example of a college completely
equipped and furnished on the very day when it
began receiving the first batch of
pupils!
On the 9th of
June 1969, the College was inaugurated by the
Chief Minister of Mysore State, Sri Veerendra
Patil. He said, "Baba has come to resuscitate
Dharma, which is the foundation for the welfare
of humanity. Dharma insists on the supremacy of
ethical and spiritual values, and a College
fostered by Baba is bound to promote these
values among the youth." Dr. V.K. Gokak, the
Vice-chancellor of the University of Bangalore,
to which the College is affiliated, welcomed the
new addition as a "gem in the jewel crown of the
Bangalore University." "It will set the pattern
for the College education, not only in the
academic field, but also in the ethical and
spiritual fields. This is a college conceived,
devised and completed by Baba's Love, Grace and
Wisdom. Brick by brick, plank by plank, He
attended to every detail. It is a lesson for all
who seek to do sincere loving service. Here
teachers and students have the unique chance of
learning the art of achieving harmony and
gaining peace, apart from the intellectual
attainments which the curriculum
enjoins."
Baba drew the
attention of the large gathering of rural folk
who had evinced enormous enthusiasm that a
College had been established in their village.
He said that villagers still preserve and
promote traces of mutual cooperation and
brotherly love, faith in God and reverence to
elders. He exhorted them to uphold those ideals,
so that their children might grow into happy
citizens, unaffected by the damaging
distractions of city life.
"This
College will pay attention to providing for its
alumni a complete education, namely Karmamarga,
Dharmamarga, and Brahmamarga, all the three -
the principles of right action, right social
behavior and spiritual advancement," He
said.
Addressing
the students He said, "You may continue in this
college or leave and join some other one,
returning home after completing your studies,
but wherever you are, I desire that you should
shine forth as recipients of the special
attention we bestow upon you. Do not enter the
fray of political controversies. Politics at
present, and perhaps always, is a sordid game,
where passions run high, power is sought through
devious ways and prejudices are fanned into
hatred. You must become a new type of leader.
Shaped in the crucible of Seva, march into the
future with the Light of the past, as one who
appreciates the wisdom that has been garnered
through the ages."
In
a message, Baba gave to be printed in the
Prospectus of the College, He stated, "This is a
divine and blessed land. The tradition of this
land is spiritual, but ninety-nine percent of
the people are either ignorant or scornful of
anything that bears the label of spirituality.
The people have themselves devalued their
culture. Correct your own faults and do not
search for faults in others. Be respectful and
loving to your near and dear ones, and to your
fellow beings; serve the country and pray for
the welfare of the world."
The College
emblem selected by Him is eloquent about the
ideals that are being translated into action in
the College. It has a five-petalled lotus within
a circle. The petals represent the five major
religions of the world. Om standing for
Sanathana Dharma, the Cross for Christianity,
the Chakra for Buddhism, the Crescent for Islam
and Flames of Fire for Zoroastrianism. The Lotus
is the ancient Aryan symbol, untouched by the
mud where it is born, and unsoiled by the water
through which it emerges and upon which it
floats. It is a symbol of beauty, peace, and
auspiciousness. Inside the Lotus is the Flame of
Illumination, without which knowledge is a
burden and life an arid encounter with the
flimsy urges of the senses. Overarching the
circular emblem, is a semicircular border along
which is printed the College motto,
'Dharmo
rakshathi rakshithah; Sathya annasti
paradharmah,'
embodying the very core of Vedic Teaching.
Dharma, it says, guards those who adhere to it,
and there is no Dharma higher than Truth. When
Dharma ceases to inspire and transform
individuals, the world will inevitably be
afflicted by agony and fear.
Among the
rules for students that are given in the
Prospectus, we find this sentence: "Now that you
have earned the privilege of being students of
this College, under the direct guidance and
fostering care of Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba,
make up your minds to be worthy students,
remembering Baba's exhortation, "Education
without character is a great danger." No. 10A of
the Rules reads: "Students are particularly
advised to cultivate courtesy, helpfulness and
tolerance. Baba's fivefold message of conduct -
Sathya, Dharma, Santhi, Prema and Ahimsa (Truth,
Right conduct, Peace, Love and Nonviolence) ,
should inspire every one working and learning in
this College." No. 11 reads: "The College
attaches great importance to studies." Weekly
and monthly tests, quarterly examinations etc.
are laid down, and progress reports are sent to
the parents periodically.
Here too,
Bhajan, meditation, and prayer at the beginning
of the day's work, for which students and
members of the staff have to be present, are
insisted upon. Above all, Baba evinces maternal
affection upon every student, however large the
number in the College. He loves the boys so much
that they obey Him implicitly. They are so
afraid of His neglecting them or ignoring them
even for a minute if they misbehave or break any
of the taboos, that they are ever vigilant in
discipline.
Baba
always advises them to avoid five delinquencies:
The eyes should not wander towards sights that
inflame the senses, or arouse ideas conflicting
with morality or the duty towards parents,
elders and the culture of our country. Words
that emanate from the mouth should not hurt the
self-respect of others, or utter lies simply
because they are pleasant; they should not smack
of scandal or spite. The hand should not be
raised in anger against anyone, nor should it be
used to wreak vengeance, or steal another's
property. The ears should not exult in salacious
stories, scandal or deleterious lilts. The mind
should not be fouled by attachment to bad
habits, bad impulses and plans to achieve the
conspiracies of the senses. These five
'Doshas'
are anathema [devoted to evil] in the
opinion of Baba, and every student is made to
remember this by constant warnings from
Him.
There is no
activity of the College in which Baba does not
evince interest, for He knows that it is the
atmosphere in which education is imparted and
imbibed that really counts. Since the College
and Hostel are situated within the compound,
Baba walks in during the prayer session,
presides over the moral instruction lectures and
Himself supplements the instructor. He writes
and directs plays for the College Dramatic
Society. Often He pats a good student on the
back, pulls up a lecturer who saunters into the
lecture hall a few minutes after the bell,
inquires from a sluggard the percentage of marks
he secured at the monthly test, creates a
fountain pen or a watch for some diligent
well-behaved boy about whom the principal gives
a report that confirms His own opinion, advises
the librarian about classification, peeps into
the dissection room of the budding zoologists
and generally moves about as the Guardian Deity
of the Institution.
As a result,
the students of the Colleges established by Baba
reveal qualities of goodness, levels of
sympathy, depths of learning and veins of golden
devotion that few would believe they
have.
(*)
See
the Bhagavad Gîtâ, Chapter
15.
(**)
Raghupatey
Raghava Raja Rama
O Raja Rama O Sai Rama
Patita Pavana Sita Patey Rama
O Raja Rama O Sai Rama
Dasharatha Nandana Raja Rama
Kausalya Atmaja Sundara Rama
Rama Rama Jai Raja Rama
Raghava Mohana Megha Shyama
Jai Jai Ram Jai Jai Ram
Jai Jai Ram Jai Jai Ram Jai Jai Rama
Rama Rama Raja Ram
Patita Pavana Sita Patey Rama
O Raja Rama O Sai Rama
'Pray
and chant the name of Lord Rama, the Prince of
King Dasharatha and Mother Kausalya. Victory to
Lord Rama, the savior of the downtrodden and the
Lord of Sita'.
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