Love
on the March (continued d)
(in 4 parts: (a) continued
b, continued
c and continued
d)
College
Campus
The magnificent row of
buildings which comprise the Sri Sathya Sai College near Brindavan, was
opened at a joyous and colorful function by Bhagavan on 19th of May,
1978. The Karnataka minister for education, Sri Subbaya Shetty,
inaugurated the library building with the Prajnana (highest wisdom) Pradarsan on the first floor. The Pradarsan contains an impressive collection of charts, drawings and
pictures showing phases of Japa, Dhyana, Yoga and Puja. It
has photographs and models of the holy places of India. Books of all
major religions and portraits of saints, mystics and thinkers of all
faiths adorn the place. The sayings and teachings of Bhagavan,
explained and illustrated, find a place of prominence. To be among
these records means being reminded of the inevitable journey to God -
that oft-forgotten goal becomes clear once again.
The auditorium, was
inaugurated by Srimati Govinda Narain, while Sri Govinda Narain, the
governor of Karnataka, inaugurated the summer course in Indian culture
and spirituality which commenced on the same day. The discourses during
the first week were all on the Bhagavata Purana [see Bhagavatha Vahini] (or Srîmad Bhâgavatam), which is about the former avatars of the Lord, including Krishna.
'All
Vishnu Incarnations'
Bhagavan said that the
youth of the country suffered the imposition of pointless and
purposeless curricula. They were being shaped in colleges, into
recalcitrant unemployables and sent out into the world with begging
bowls called 'degrees' and 'diplomas'. They saw through foreign eyes,
thought along borrowed concepts and held only film stars as their
ideals. They had become rootless saplings, drifting with every whiff of
wind. Their patriotism was not even skin-deep, for they had no
knowledge of, or love for, their traditions and culture, their poets
and saints, their fellow men and homeland. Dr. Benito Reyes, president
of the world university in Ojai, California, who attended the course
and stayed with the participants, commented in high appreciation on the
benefits derived from it by westerners who had no knowledge of the
depth and vastness, the value and validity of the spiritual message of
India, so vividly perceptible in Bhagavan. He quoted T.S. Eliot and
asked, "Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge? Where is the
knowledge we have lost in information?" and answered, "It is here."
The
665
No sooner had the
summer course ended then the organizers were persuaded to accept
another assignment which was more spectacular and more fundamental -
managing at Brindavan a ten-day orientation course on spiritual
education for 665 teachers from the elementary schools of Andhra
Pradesh, deputed for training by the state government. The government
had planned a well-nigh revolutionary project of recasting the
elementary schools (for children between the ages of six and twelve
years) in the entire state, providing special emphasis on prayer,
music, dance, painting, modelling, and parent cooperation with the
teacher, so that the school house became a house of work, worship and
wisdom, of love and service, of spiritual discipline and yoga. Dr.
Chenna Reddy, first as governor of Uttar Pradesh and later as chief
minister of Andhra Pradesh, knew about the Bal Vikas classes conducted by trained gurus of the Sri Sathya Sai
Seva organizations, and had watched the children grow into
self-reliant, cooperative and service-minded youth, revering parents,
elders, and teachers. So he prayed to Baba to give the 665 teachers an
orientation course, holding the camp in the college campus at Brindavan
itself, so that they may benefit by the impact of His grace and from
exposure to the simple, unaffected band of students whom He had trained
as examples of His message.
The teachers were
chosen at random from the outlying villages of every district. They had
no time to prepare for the journey into a vastly different linguistic
and climatic region, the state of Karnataka, nor were they aware of the
discipline, the do's and dont's, spontaneously honored at the Brindavan
campus. But the ten-day stay was amazingly alchemic. Baba entered their
hearts and made them soft and pure. Several deep-rooted habits such as
smoking, eating harmful foods and arguing aloud were jettisoned without
a tear, while a sense of dedication was added to their professional
skills. They began to feel like patriotic warriors who were engaged in
driving away the demons of sloth and selfishness from schools,
restoring to children their heritage that they had been denied so long.
Bhagavan had planned lectures by devoted teachers in the morning hours.
He formed ten groups of thirty teachers each, who met on alternate days
to discuss among themselves the feasibility and necessity of the
suggestions that arose in these lectures. The reports of these
discussions were placed before Bhagavan in the evening and Bhagavan
would choose some outstanding conundrum that required further analysis
and clarification by Him.
Bhagavan also
personally supervised the teachers' boarding and lodging and enquired
about their health and requirements. He gave woollen rugs to those who
had not brought any with them, sets of books to some, and cassettes of
His Bhajans and discourses to others who had access to cassette players
in their villages. He posed for photographs along with teachers and
trainees from each district, and also arranged for each one of them to
receive a free copy on the day the camp ended. Most of the teachers
desired to visit Mysore and Puttaparthi, besides going round Bangalore
itself, but they could not afford the cost. So they appealed to the
government of Andhra Pradesh to loan them the money which they all
agreed to repay out of their salaries. When He learned of this, Baba
Himself arranged for buses, and saw to it that they were loaded with
hampers of food and plenty of fruit with which the teachers could
regale themselves while on the road.
The teachers were
filled with admiration at the intelligent and hearty response they
received from the student volunteers deputed to attend to their needs.
They concluded that it was the love that Bhagavan embodied and showered
on those whom He chose, that had moulded the students in His college
into young men of whom the nation could be proud. When the teachers
left the campus and the presence of Baba, they were all in tears.
The
Face of Divinity
Towards the end of the
course, on the eighth day, the trainees had the singular good fortune
of listening to a talk given by Dr. Frank G. Baronowski of Arizona
University, on the uniqueness of Bhagavan's aura. This speech equipped them with faith in the divinity of
Baba - a precious possession that would fortify them throughout their
lives. Dr. Baronowski said,
"I was not brought up in any belief, though I am a Christian by birth
and a roman catholic. The scientific community in my country finds it
difficult to accept God. "It is not scientific," they assert. The aura
that Swami projects is not that of a man. The white was more than twice
the size of any man's, the blue was practically limitless and then
there were gold and silver bands beyond even these, far beyond the
building, right up to the horizon! I am risking my reputation when I
make this statement. Two days ago, right outside this hall, I looked
into His eyes. They had a glow in them. It was clear to me that I had
looked into the face of Divinity. If ever I can use the phrase, 'I have
seen Love walking on two feet', it is here."
On 14th August 1978,
Bhagavan formed the Loka Seva Institution into a new trust, the Sri
Sathya Sai Loka Seva Trust, of which He agreed to be the President.
This He did at Muddenahalli where, too, there are schools and hostels
maintained as part of the Loka Seva complex. Bhagavan concluded the
formalities of the transfer and change of name. He later addressed the
members of the trust, teachers and students:
"This
holy institution was established by Narayana Bhat quite early in his
life. He was ever eager to offer pure and unselfish service, so he
planted the seed which has now grown into this tree. We have arrived at
the stage when we can eat the ripe fruit, but this tree has also to be
well cared for by us."
The
Mosque
The Muslim festival of
Ramzan (Rammadan) in 1978 was a landmark in the history of
Puttaparthi, for the muslims of that village celebrated in the mosque
that Bhagavan had built for them. It is a simple and spacious mosque,
with an ambience of spiritual fragrance. Professor Bashiruddin of
Osmania University expressed the gratitude of the muslims of the region
and described to the vast gathering how the impact of Bhagavan's
teachings had made him a more understanding practitioner of the message
of the holy Koran. Janab Fakhruddin, convenor of the village Muslim
committee, offered thanks to Bhagavan for this gift of love, saying "We
had earlier to walk four miles to Bukkapatnam, through sun and rain,
slush and sandy river bed, to recite our prayers." Bhagavan told the
Muslims that the real significance of the Ramzan fast was "to be near God and
detached from sensual desires."
He also said that the Ramzan month was one during which the holy Koran
was communicated to Mohammed. The message of Bhagavan is that the truly
religious will neither deny the validity of any particular religion or
group of religions, nor declare that salvation can be secured through
one path only. So He encourages all those who have faith to march
forward along their chosen paths, whichever religion they may follow or
be born in, since all spiritual paths lead to the same goal.
Baba's grace is
boundless and universal. So people from all lands and followers of all
creeds gather at His feet. Several sects and communities of India who
have special festivals to commemorate their regional deities, also
discard age-old boundaries and conventions and gather in thousands
wherever Baba may happen to be, feeling such celebration to be truly
meaningful in His presence. The Onam festival of the Malayalam-speaking
Keralites - Hindus and Christians - is held by thousands year after
year with all the orthodox observances. Bhagavan has thrown new light
on the legend which forms the background of Onam. What was for long a
season of folkplay and dance, has now taken on the habiliment of a
spiritually-elevating sadhana week.
Prolong
Your Life Span
Dasara 1978 began as usual with the hoisting of the
Prasanthi flag over Prasanthi Mandir and the celebration of the annual
day of the Sri Sathya Sai Hospital in the evening that same day.
Bhagavan touched the hearts of the massive gathering of devotees
present when He gave them the most worthwhile reason for preserving and
promoting their health.
"The
one grand reason for maintaining health, which I am urging you to do,
is that you have yet to witness and delight over many more Leelas and
Mahimas (expressions and manifestations of divine qualities) far
surpassing those you have witnessed so far, and many more wonders,
victories and triumphs. You can thrill with ecstatic delight when you
witness these. So guard yourselves carefully. Maintain good health and
keep your hearts ever filled with joy,"
He said.
During the discourses
related to the
Vedic yajna which lasted for a full week, Baba expounded
the meanings of various scriptural passages. The verses from the Gîtâ [*] which He prescribed for repetition while saying grace
before every meal, were given special emphasis by Him, for they remind
one of the immanence of God in the food made ready, in the fire that
was used for cooking it, in the cook, in the one who ate it and in the
activities which the eater could fulfil as a result of the strength
that the food conferred on both, his body and brain. [**]
Dasara is an occasion
when thousands from all over the country and abroad see for themselves
the triple ideal of Sai education - duty, devotion and discipline -
practised by the boys and girls of Bhagavan's colleges. They can listen
to these students speak profoundly on a variety of topics and share
their own intimate experiences of love and service towards Sai and
towards all those upon whom He bestows His grace. They can also be
audience to plays, choirs and orchestral music by students from all
parts of India and from places as different and far apart as Hawaii,
Fiji, Sri Lanka, Tanzania and Libya. Integration of mankind is no more
an armchair dream; it is being realized here.
Save
Villages from Cities
Twenty-five thousand
people gathered at Prasanthi Nilayam for the Birthday festival in 1978. Bhagavan emphasized that
it was not because of the birthday that so many people had assembled,
but it was because they assembled that the birthday was
celebrated!
"I
have no interest in publicising the date on which this body, which I
willed for a purpose, appeared among mankind. I want each of you to
celebrate the day I am enshrined in your hearts as My birthday,"
He said.
To those who wished Him
a 'Happy Birthday', He replied that "this is a superfluous wish, for I am always happy." The festival included a musical recitation by students,
with the college orchestra providing excellent accompaniment to a
narration of the story of the Sai Avatar. Baba exhorted every one to transform 'daily living' into
'truly living', visualising God as the very breath of life. Bhagavan
had called delegations of Seva Dal units (comprising men and women
living on Sai ideals and trained for service to the distressed, the
disabled and the diseased) from all over India. He directed them to
engage themselves more in rural areas, where the evils of city life
were becoming rampant. Villagers are misled; they imagine the
city-dwellers to be more happy amidst cinema houses and cars, immersed
in exotic and intoxicating life styles. They do not realise that their
physical moral and economic stamina is being corroded by gambling and
drinking, by noise and slogans, and by the rowdiness that thrives on
such life patterns. "Save them from moral and physical pollution," He commanded. When one of the district
convenors suggested that each seva dal member should always carry with
him a mini first-aid box so that he could serve people more often, Baba
modified the contents of the box, saying, "Carry in it a few tablets of
discrimination and detachment, an ounce or two of sense-control, a
packet of love and a bandage strip of fortitude. Only then can you
effectively render first aid to people suffering from a stroke of ego
or a bout of greed, a jaundiced vision or an allergy to serving others."
On 28th November 1978,
Baba laid the foundation stone of the College of Arts, Science and
Commerce at Prasanthi Nilayam. In the north-east corner Bhagavan laid
the first line of stones after sanctifying the spot and placing there
nine precious gems created by Him in the palm of His hand. Baba wills
that every college must have an auditorium as magnificent as the
college itself, and also a special building, as impressive as the rest,
for the library. He considers the library to be a fundamental part of
every educational institution. He selected Sri Ramanathan Chettiar of
Madurai and the Rajmata of Navanagar for laying the foundation stones
of these two allied constructions.
Isa-Sai
Christmas brings
thousands into the presence of Baba, for they find in him the teacher
who can reveal the true glory of Jesus and lead them along the path
illumined by the Son of God. Baba told them that day,
"Carols
and candles, readings from the Bible and staging plays about the
incidents from the life of Jesus are not enough. When Jesus declared
that the bread of the last supper was His flesh and the wine His blood,
what did He really mean? He meant that every being alive with flesh and
blood, was He Himself and ought to be treated so. That is to say, every
living being is divine. Therefore no distinction should be made between
separate physical bodies as good or bad, friend or foe, we or they."
Baba also revealed that
Jesus' actual name assigned to Him by His parents was Isa. And Isa, when constantly repeated, echoes Sai! Both words mean Iswara (God). Baba said,
"In
the Tibetan monastery where Jesus spent many years, His name is
recorded as Isa, which means 'Lord of all living beings.' "
The Tamils celebrated
their new year on 14th January, so Baba flew to Madras to bless them on
that holy day and to inaugurate the construction of a Dharmakshetra (an
arena of righteousness) in that city, which was to be called
'Sundaram', to complete the series which had started with 'Sathyam' in
Bombay and continued with 'Sivam' in Hyderabad. The festival also has
the overtone of a harvest celebration as the farmers of Tamil Nadu
offer gratitude to the bullocks that helped them grow grain and the
cows that gave them milk. They boil the milk on ceremonial hearths and
allow it to boil and spill over as a symbol of abundance and happy
sharing. The Telugu new year day was celebrated in March, and Baba
heightened the joy of the celebration by being present at Hyderabad for
a full week. He called upon the city-dwellers to serve the villages, to
which they owed much, by helping the farmers and artisans to combat
poverty, disease and exploitation.
Meanwhile, on 30th
January 1979, Swami entered the west coast harbor town of Mangalore in
Karnataka State, to proceed to Alike, the headquarters of the Sri
Sathya Sai Loka Seva Trust, which runs two huge educational complexes
for children, mostly from rural regions. One complex is at Alike itself
in the midst of the valley, nestling among the spurs of the western
ghats. The other one is at Muddenahalli, on the foothills of the
mountain range around the Nandi Peak, in the plains to the east. Alike
is a dream come true, a vision vivified by faith and hope, as if Divine
grace had shaped itself into its dormitories, playgrounds, libraries,
classrooms and gardens - a hermitage where the heart of the late
Madiyala Narayana Bhat throbs in the activity of the increasing band of
devoted teachers, an academy with palm groves whispering 'Sai Ram' to every breath of wind.
Led
into the Light
Baba's discourses
dispelled the gloom that had descended upon the district when its
patron, Narayana Bhat, was killed in a car accident. He restored joy in
the hearts of the students (numbering over a thousand), the more than
sixty teachers, several well-wishers of the project (who had cooperated
with Narayana Bhat, its founder, and stood by him through thick and
thin), the grateful parents and guardians of the thousands of boys and
girls whose careers had been shaped by the Loka Seva institutions, the
old students who were rendering service in various fields of activity,
and the farmers, traders and workers from the village and plantations
lying in the region. Baba likened Alike to a place of pilgrimage, when
He noted that "you
pay sincere attention to the development of the children under your
care and transmute them into worthy children of India." Before returning to Brindavan, Baba
visited Puttur and Chokkadi villages near Alike, Mangalore and Manipal,
in the same coastal district. At Manipal, the centre of a popular
educational complex built around well-equipped medical and engineering
colleges, Baba found at 11 p.m. at night a gathering of at least
fifteen thousand people waiting for Darsan. Such was their longing to have a glimpse of the Lord and
listen to His voice.
The summer course in
Indian Culture and Spirituality in 1979, laid emphasis on the Bhagavad Gîtâ. For one full week attention was
concentrated on this universal scripture which propounds and elaborates
upon the three paths of Karma
(action),
Bhakti (devotion), Jnana (knowledge). Bhagavan's daily discourse
provided simple and satisfying commentaries on the philosophical
principles underlying the teachings of Lord Krishna to His diffident and deluded warrior-friend, Arjuna. Swami, like Krishna Himself, exhorted the student participants to do their
best, without calculating the odds, and leave the rest to God. He
declared, as
Krishna had done on the
battlefield, that victory is the reward for the brave and that bravery
is drawn from the Atman, the Inner Spring. [***]
Justice V. R. Krishna
Iyer of the Supreme Court of India, while inaugurating the month-long
course in the presence of Bhagavan, said, "It is time that we wean our
colleges from becoming houses of vice and violence, with students
getting addicted to drugs and cultivating only materialistic desires.
Baba's balm of
Prema must penetrate Karma, kindle Jnana and sublimate into Dharma." He spoke on the inadequacy of science and its inability
to restore peace, morality and brotherhood. He stressed that India must
discover her soul and listen to the voice of the sages. Bhagavan
pointed out that leaders of today had no will to promote moral and
spiritual excellence in their people, while the people themselves had
no urge to warn their leaders of the disasters that lay ahead when this
foremost duty was neglected.
(5)
"Your questions about Lord Krishna are of relevance for the welfare of
the world because they satisfy the true self. (6) For mankind it is
certainly the best way to attain to uninterrupted service to the
transcendental without further motives. (7) Serving Krishna this way
one will find detachment and causeless knowledge. (8) One's normal
duties are useless if they miss this message. [SB, 1-2, v.5-8]
Swoosh!
Denise Eversole, who
was among the two hundred foreign students at the course, speaks about
its impact on her thus:
"What is it
like at the summer course? Let me throw out some adjectives to see if I
can highlight its essence: packed, hot, uncomfortable, thrilling,
awesome, pure essence, inspiring, stretching, blissful, catalytic,
cathartic, revitalising, transforming, beautiful... Here we were at the
feet of the same Soul which was the historic Krishna, Who first communicated the Bhagavad Gîtâ to Arjuna about five thousand years ago. As Sai Baba explained to all
the students the true meaning of spiritual life and how to live it, I
found every question I'd ever had, completely answered."
Karen F. Blanc
summarises the message conveyed by Baba:
"All life is a
meditation. Formal prayer and what you think of as meditations, are
means, not ends. They are good and are meant to help prepare the mind
for concentration. But along with such spiritual exercises and
practices, there must be examination of individual and collective
attitudes. Instil and cultivate in yourselves love and respect for all
religions. Return home and do God's work, wherever you are, with
conviction, confidence and enthusiasm. If life ever becomes difficult,
remember these evenings and think of Me, call on My name, and I give
you this promise that I will always heed your call. You will never be
alone again."
Karen went on to
describe a thrilling miracle which happened on one of the evenings. The
participants had many a chance to thrill at miracles that occurred
whenever they were in Baba's presence. "But this was a big one, really
first class," said Karen.
"Maynard
Ferguson, the world-famous jazz artist, gave a concert for us, about
twelve hundred people, one night at the auditorium of the college. Baba
was seated in the middle of the stage and Maynard Ferguson was standing
next to Him on the right. He played Indian classical music set to jazz,
with Baba tapping away at the beat gently with His hand. Then Ferguson
played an incredible trumpet solo with all his heart. Baba stood up and
made a large circle, clockwise with His right hand. Swoosh! Out of the air in front of everyone, Baba
materialised a solid gold medallion, suspended from a chain, and placed
it around Ferguson's neck. There was no movement in the auditorium. Not
a flicker. It was as if time stood still. Overwhelmed, Ferguson wept
like a child, just as we sat there with tears in our eyes and a sob in
our throats.
"Why was it so
beautiful? Maybe, because we all knew at that moment, without question,
what we had once known as little children but had long since forgotten.
There is a part in us all, at the very core of our being, that wants to
believe in angels, that good triumphs over evil, that Jesus did really walk on water and that Moses had once parted the Red Sea... . We want to
believe all that and, regardless of what we say, we want to stand by
the good guy... and we ourselves want to be good. That is why we wept
and that is why it was so beautiful. The medallion was not a magician's
trick. It was made for us all. It was so that we could all know, once
and for all, that 'It
is so, as it is written.' "
As soon as the summer
course ended, Baba returned to Prasanthi Nilayam with a large number of students from various
colleges who desired to spend a few more days in His presence at the
'International Temple of the Sai Avatar'. There a Sathya Sai college
was inaugurated on 1st July, the first-year classes being held at the Easwaramma High School building itself.
The
Buds Blossom
The Avataric mission of restoring humanity to man and
raising him to Godhood are being translated into action by Bhagavan
through educational reconditioning. He has blessed a world-wide project
which supplements the state directed, institutionalised, secular
education. It is called Bal Vikas,
which means 'Blossoming
of the Child'. Children in
the developed countries (and, by contagion, in the developing nations
also), are exposed to the ills of the machine age, the clash of isms,
the conflict of races, obsession with war, the dominance of violence,
an over indulgence in sensual pleasures and the open flouting of all
morals. The
Bal Vikas routes back the
child to its age-old culture so that it may grow strong and straight.
It instils a sense of reverence towards parents, elders and teachers,
who are repositories of learning. It encourages self-knowledge,
self-reverence and self-control, while enveloping the child in the
warmth of Divine love. Children grow up under the watchful care of
teachers whom Baba has blessed with the sacred title, guru. The teacher upon being conferred that title
becomes bound to remove, as Lord Shiva
does, the weeds of evil from the tender mind, to sow, as Lord Brahma does, seeds of courage and compassion, and
to foster, as
Lord Vishnu does, good
thoughts, good speech and good deeds, elevating the profession of a
teacher into a task carried out by the Holy Trinity.
Baba has developed
schools called
Vidya Vihars (education
through joy), where children are fostered after being admitted as whole
time inmates. When the children enter their teens, they are taught
elementary texts on spiritual discipline, besides being introduced to
the technique of Yoga, social service, choral service, meditation,
etc. These classes are referred to as 'pre-Seva Dal'. High schools that have been set up by Baba in several
places pay special attention to the development of character and to
programmes of
Sadhana and social service.
Then there are the colleges where the most impressionable years of
adolescence and youth are spent under the gracious guidance of Bhagavan
Himself.
"Students
are My hope, the source of My delight. They are what I live by," says Baba.
His
Kingdom
During the Dasara
celebrations in 1979, students of different religions from the Sri
Sathya Sai college in Puttaparthi, presented themselves in their
ceremonial costumes and described, to the great delight of the vast
gathering, the main principles of each religion. A Sikh from New Delhi,
a Zoroastrian from Bombay, a Christian from Hawaii, a Muslim from
Libya, a Buddhist from Sikkim and a Hindu from Kabul were the
participating students. When Baba stood in the centre of the group as
they finished, all were pleasantly surprised that Sai, the sum of all
religions and the goal of all sadhana, had condescended thus to teach them the unity of faith.
The students of Sai colleges have mastered the art of coordinated
labor. They have presented orchestras and plays on Sri Ramakrishna, Sankaracharya
and Jesus, besides having set the Ramayana and the Sai stories to music. Bhagavan is,
of course, the invisible and also, almost always, the visible source of
all their achievements. While inaugurating the first anniversary of the
association of old boys of the Sri Sathya Sai college at Brindavan,
Baba directed them to utilise all their resources and talents in the
service of the villages around Brindavan after a keen study of their
urgent needs:
"Students
must spring like tiger cubs into the arena of the villages and cleanse
them of pollution. They must teach and train the illiterate residents
of the villages to live happily and with dignity. They must strive,
along with the villagers, and lead them forward."
Baba also said on that
occasion,
"I
am encouraging these boys to be examples of the strength and equanimity
that can be gained by constant practice of My message. I am ever
prompting them to speak and recite, sing and enact this message, so
that it is installed in their hearts. Whatever I do or get done,
whatever I say or direct others to say, it is to emphasize, clarify or
exemplify this message - the Atmic Reality of man."
Bhagavan's message and
the master projects planned for its realisation, drew many
educationalists, administrators, scientists, communication experts and
psychologists to the colleges He has founded. Seminars on spiritual and
moral guidance were held at the Brindavan college. Summer schools
brought together college professors from all over the country besides
overseas countries including Singapore, the Philippines, Fiji, Italy,
Japan, United Kingdom and USA. Bhagavan conversed with groups of
vice-chancellors, headmasters, professors, scientists and technicians,
unravelling to them the insidious causes of the universal malaise and
revealing the curative measures urgently needed. As a result of the
impact of these conversations, the Sathya Sai Study Circle was formed
in Bangalore, to probe into the defects of the educational system, and
for restructuring and reforming it on Sai guidelines. Swami assured the
group, "I
promise you that I will be with you and take an active part in guiding
the activities of the Study Circle." Truly, the Avatar has no
rest! But, as Bhagavan says, "Had I needed rest, I would not have
incarnated."
During the Birthday
festival week in 1979, two thousand Bal Vikas gurus met at a conference
in Prasanthi Nilayam. Bhagavan blessed them and enlightened them on the
problems that they have to encounter and promised to reveal to them the
solutions whenever they prayed for light. The play 'Jesus' was
presented by the students on 22nd November. The costumes, the sets and
the actors appeared so authentic that the audience of twenty-five
thousand responded with a continuous ovation lasting several minutes.
Jesus Christ was very accurately portrayed as the Son of God, with
mercy, power and love in His voice, gestures and reactions.
Shiva
on the Spot
Devotees who sought the
home where Bhagavan incarnated as Sathyanarayana, the home of the parents Pedda Venkappa Rajju and Easwaramma, were for years shown an empty patch of land at the end of
a rubble track in Puttaparthi. They were very sad that no holy
structure marked that spot, after the Prasanthi Mandir and the temples
of Ganesa had come up on the outskirts of the village that was
immortalized by the birth, childhood and boyhood of the greatest Avatar in human history. They pleaded with Bhagavan
and prayed in unison. So a simple but charming temple was constructed
there, in which Baba installed an idol of Shiva on 22nd November 1979, fulfilling the long-cherished desire
of millions.
The Avatar's decision to declare the cloistered
village, Puttaparthi, still lacking even in several basic amenities, as
the hub of the
Sai Dharma Chakra (wheel of
righteousness), raised around the Mandir rows of three-storeyed
residential flats also housing banks, shops and a bus station. Besides
these, it has added to itself a resplendent suburb with ornamental
arches at both ends, containing rows of magnificent structures
comprising the elementary and high schools and the College of Arts,
Science and Commerce, besides a hostel for over a thousand students.
In June 1980 Bhagavan
visited Jammu and Kashmir, the northernmost state of India, famed
through the centuries for the artistic genius of its people, for its
mountain ranges which are the source of several rivers and for the
harmonious blending of cultures and races. He spent ten days amidst the
people until it became difficult to decide who loved the other more -
the people of the state or Bhagavan.
The
march of love continues - fresh, full and free.
|Previous |Next |
Bhajans
[*]
See Bhagavad Gîtâ:
Chapter 17,
Chapter 15, verse 14
Chapter 4, verse 24
Chapter 3, verse 14:
From
grains material bodies grow, from rains there is the production of
grains while rains become possible with the [watering by] sacrifices
that are performed out of duty.
[**]
Food
Mantra:
BG 4-24:
brahmârpanam
brahma havir
brahmâgnau brahmanâ hutam
brahmaiva tena gantavyam
brahma-karma-samâdhinâ
The
sacrifice itself, that which is offered in the fire of sacrifice and he
who is of sacrifice are of the same spiritual nature; he will certainly
attain the spirit of the Absolute [Brahman] who is completely absorbed
in working for the spiritual.
BG
15-14:
aham vaisvânaro bhûtvâ
prâninâm deham âsritaha
prânâpâna samâyuktah
pacâmy annam catur-vidham
Enacting
as the fire of digestion in the bodies of all living beings, I keep the
balance of the ingoing and outgoing breath and do digest the four kinds
of foodstuff [food that one
swallows right away, chews, licks and sucks].
[***]
See Gîtâ Vahini, Bhagavân on the
Bhagavad Gîtâ and
the Krishna Bible
