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Source: radiosai.org
November 23rd, 2005
November 22nd, 2005
 The Golden day has arrived - Bhagawan's 80th
Birthday. Nature has joined all of us in offering our Pranaams to our
Beloved Lord. Aakasha -– the sky is filled with different shades of grey
clouds that look like clusters of flowers to be offered at His Lotus Feet.
Vayu -– the Lord of air is blowing coolly providing natural
air-conditioning for the township of Parthi. Agni -– Surya Bhagawan is a
little slow in arriving at the venue -– thankfully! Aapaha -– Water is
showering her love on all assembled in the stadium in the form of a light
soft drizzle. It feels like pearls of love being showered on us. Mother
Earth is looking majestic, with a broad red carpet waiting to receive the
car with the Lord on her. Even the rest of the stadium where devotees and
students are sitting is spread with a beautiful netted green cloth that is
specially meant for such seating purposes. This makes the whole ground
look green with a red carpet running all along the length in the centre.
A number of flags are tied on the Hanuman hilltop, to the railings.
Beautiful garlands of white and pink balloons are tied across the gents
and ladies galleries and all along the railings on the top of the stadium
galleries. On the way to the Hanuman top, long vertical pillars of pink
and white balloons are reaching up into the sky. The live projection of
the proceedings is being seen on two giant LED screens, one on top of the
cricket pavilion and the other on the ladies gallery side. Pandit Shiv
Kumar Sharma's Santoor is playing softly on the PA system. The soft music,
the light drizzle, the cool air and the excitement in the atmosphere, the
multitude of people waiting eagerly – all these create the perfect
ambience for the entry of our beloved Lord.
Devotees however are trying to intensify their prayers pleading with Rain
God to postpone his offering for a while. On the giant screen, right now,
the video of Swami's earlier Birthday celebrations is being shown. It is
lovely to watch Swami of the earlier years running around so fast that all
around are struggling to keep pace with Him. The Helicopter Darshan of the
50th Birthday takes us down memory lane.
The Mahabubnagar Seva volunteers are busy serving water to all the
devotees - the task which they have taken up as an offering to Swami.
However, hardly anybody asks for it as everybody's thirst is only for His
Divine Darshan now. Minutes are ticking by and the golden moment is coming
closer and closer. Crowds are still pouring in. The stadium is already
jam-packed, but still multitudes come in and somehow find their place -
like sugar dissolving in milk.
It is 7.45 a.m. and the procession has begun from the Primary School end
of the stadium. A big group of Vedam chanting students lead the
procession. They are followed by a dance troupe. Behind them we see Swami
in a new car. The top of the car is open, but Swami is hidden from our
view. Only His face is seen. He is wearing a white robe. A student is
holding an orange umbrella above Swami to prevent the drizzle from wetting
His robe. As the procession begins, several Sevadals posted at different
points in the ground, release huge flower rockets. These are not crackers
but colourful paper strips sealed under pressure. When released, they
burst forth into the air like a jet spray of flowers. These flower rockets
fill the entire ground. Massive crackers are burst that release colourful
sparkles into the sky. Of course the colours are not seen as it is day
time. The fireworks are being blasted from the college grounds where an
entire firework display team has been continuously working on it for the
past three days. The experience is Blissful. A spring of joy bursts forth
in our hearts as the rockets burst forth into the sky.
On reaching the stage, Swami gets out of the car and walks onto the lift.
The lift goes up and Bhagawan goes walking onto the stage. All this while
a melodious song is being played on the system…... 'Ananda Baraso Hey
Managala Mayee...'…It reverberates in the entire stadium. Hundreds of
balloons burst into the sky. The curtain on the stage is yet closed and
after a while the screen rolls up. Suddenly the stage comes into our view.
Exquisitely decorated with bunches and bunches of colourful flowers, it
houses a huge Silver Throne at the centre. On the throne is seated the
Lord of the Universe in all His Glory!
It is 8.00 a.m. All of a sudden, the sky clears and the Sun God makes a
special appearance, literally touching the Lotus Feet of Bhagawan. Another
song starts playing on the speakers. The whole place is flooded with the
warmth of the sun. How beautiful it is to see Mother Nature participating
in this celebration performing her unique dance. Hardly a few minutes pass
and the sun vanishes as though it had never come out at all. A mild
drizzle continues that stops and starts intermittently. As Nature performs
her medley, another dance gets going on the stage on the Ladies Gallery.
The Amala Shankar dance troupe bursts forth into artistic movements
representing their Pranaams to Bhagawan.
Next, Sai Kumar (a Telugu Movie star) and Sunil Gavaskar (the famous
Indian cricketer) start compering the show from the stage. As this goes
on, teams from all major nations of the world, march on the road in front
of the stage and halt for a while performing some small feat in front of
Bhagawan.
Sai Kumar and Sunil Gavaskar offer their obeisance on behalf of all
assembled and describe the glory of the occasion and of our Lord. Sunil
Gavaskar appeals to all to heed the message of Bhagawan and play the game
of life with Unity, Purity and Divinity. He then presents the galaxy of
cricketers who have come to offer their respects to Bhagawan. Before the
cricketers march in, Sunil introduces Major Rathore, the Olympic medal
winner, who makes the first offering to Bhagawan. It is an insignia that
symbolizes global peace and harmony. Subsequently, all the cricketers
including Sachin Tendulkar come onto the stage and offer bouquets to
Swami. Sachin takes the mike and offers his Pranaams to Swami saying that
it is a great privilege to be here for His 80th Birthday and he is greatly
honoured. Swami calls him close and speaks to him.
V.V.S. Laxman, Murali Karthik, R.P. Singh, Jaiprakash Yadav, Yuvraj Singh,
Suresh Raina and others join Sachin in offering flower bouquets to Swami.
After doing so, they all sit on either side of Swami. Next Major Rathore
comes down the stage and starts running along the path leading to the
stage and then onto the hilltop. From the road leading to the hilltop, the
Global peace insignia is hoisted by Rathore. The insignia goes up to the
Hanuman top. It is 8.20 a.m. as the white disc with a golden border
bearing the numbers 8 and 0 in red, in the centre goes up. Inside the zero
is the picture of the globe.
As the insignia reaches the Hanuman hilltop, immediately a giant banner
(screen) rolls down along the hill slope below the Hanuman, right until
the foot of the hill. On it are inscribed the words: May there be peace
and unity and love in the whole world. Parallely, volunteers sitting on
the top of the slope, release long strips of silver and gold shining cloth
that roll down the slope like a running river. It creates a very good
effect. A number of them are released on the rock slope.
After this a few more top artistes including Manno and party come onto the
stage and start singing songs in praise of Bhagawan and wishing Him a
Happy Birthday. However, at 8.30 a.m. Swami asks for the mike to be
arranged.
Sri Indulal Shah comes in first, offers his Pranaams to Swami and gives a
talk. He glorifies Swami saying that He has changed the face of the whole
world in 80 years. The era of peace has been ushered in by Bhagawan.
Prasanthi Nilayam has now become the centre for the redemption of the
entire world. He is followed by Dr. Goldstein. Dr. Goldstein adores
Bhagawan as our dear Father and Mother. He is the Kali Yuga Avataar.
However, he says that more important than all these celebrations, is the
need to focus on Bhagawan’s Message and follow His Guidelines.
He compares Swami to the super magnet saying that we are like pieces of
iron that get attracted to Him. While being crucified Jesus cries out to
the Lord, “Why have You forsaken me?” But we must ask ourselves as to why
have we forsaken Him. Once when Dr. Goldstein asked Swami to give him a
glimpse of how the world looks like through Swami's eyes, Bhagawan told
him that if He would do that, Dr. Goldstein would not want anything after
that -– his wealth, status, family, wife and not even his body. Dr.
Goldstein urged all the devotees to ask themselves, Who is Sai and who am
I.
Swami has come to this earth to save us. He exactly gives us what we need.
We have come from Him and we need to return to Him. The body and the mind
are mere instruments that are made available to us to serve the Lord.
Anything good should be attributed to the Lord. Anything bad is due to our
mistake. He concluded stressing on the need to avoid negativity in life.
Swami always says,–"Be Happy". May our selfless Love shine forever
brilliantly. Dr. Goldstein prays to Bhagawan to deliver His Divine
Message.
The highlights of Swami’s Discourse: 8.52 a.m.
Premaswarupulara, without Truth, Righteousness, Love and Peace, everything
is useless. Be it charity, good actions, exalted position or any other
thing. Man is born to be peaceful. There are so many people with high
positions and great designations. But what is the use? Have they been able
to improve the position of the poor people? Everybody does Show Work, not
Social Work. Man will enjoy Truth, Peace and Love if he is compassionate.
We must help our fellowmen. All face difficulties in life. But we must
consider joy and sorrow alike. In order to progress in life, we must
develop a sense of equanimity. Without Samaanatva (a sense of equality),
how can there be Samaaja (society)? There is pain embedded in pleasure.
But today man gets very disturbed even with the slightest difficulty. If
you ask any common man, he will say that he has got all the comforts,
wealth and money, but he has no peace. How do you expect to get mental,
peace? We always ask everybody – who are you, but we never put the
question to ourselves - who am I? Once you know your reality, you will be
free from all difficulties.
We have no right to call ourselves humans without practicing human values.
God does not expect you to keep worshipping Him all the while. He wants
you to work and set an ideal for the community. Man is actually Divine.
Jiva is negative and Divinity is positive. Both together form man. One
must do Atma Chintana to understand this. Once you do Self enquiry, I will
manifest in you. The Cosmic Principle is present in all. You do not need
to exclusively search for God. He is in all.
You all are forms of Atma, not merely the body. The indweller is
permanent. It has no bondage or liberation. Can anyone say, ‘My Atma is
dead? No, this is not possible. Even after this body made up of five
senses perishes, the Self continues to exist. Without an object, there can
be no reflection. There is no separate sun for India and America. It is
the same sun that is seen in both places but the time varies. So too,
existence is the same everywhere.
Remember, if you are in conflict with somebody else, you are actually in
conflict with yourself. You may think that the other person has lost
against you but in reality you yourself have lost. Never differentiate
between each other. Who are you? Some may say - I am the body. How long
will it last? Body is like a water bubble, it can burst any minute. Others
may say - I am the mind. What is the mind? It is merely a bundle of
desires. It can give way any time. It is monkey mind. You must not be a
monkey mind, you must have a man mind.
Think that I am God in human form. Leave aside the body and consider
yourself as God. You are ready to worship a statue that has been built by
you but you are not ready to worship your own Self within. Have Atma
Vishvasam - Self confidence. You go to Tirupati and say that Lord
Venkateswara is my family deity. Somebody else goes to Ayodhya and says
that Lord Rama is my family deity. All are one. Consider God as one, and
then only you will get peace. Desires may be many, but the reality behind
them is one. Good and Bad are also two different words, but in essence
they are one. Today, you may call somebody as good, tomorrow as bad. All
these are relative terms.
Human life is very precious. Do not consider yourself as simple human
beings. You may have different names and forms but the Self is the same.
Do not go merely by the form. Understand the spirit behind the form.
Unless the husk is removed from the rice it will keep growing again. This
is the reason for birth and death. Remove the husk and make it into rice
grains, then it will not sprout again. Idli, Dosa, Puliyora, Sakar Pongal
are all rice preparations. Rice is the same but it is the mode of cooking
that makes the difference. This cooking or refinement is called Sanskara.
It is the transformation process.
Man is getting spoilt because of his materialistic vision. He has to
transform this vision on his own. God has bestowed everything on man in a
very pure form. You are spoiling them using your mind. Therefore
annihilate or withdraw the mind. Then all will be fine. You all are
sacred, but the clouds of desires appear and spoil you. However, these
clouds will pass away. Once it is cleared, you can see the sun.
In childhood, we while away our time playing. In youth, we get deluded on
account of our age and ego. In old age we keep repenting for all that we
could not achieve. At the end we may have experienced everything but there
is no peace. The stages of your life may change, but you are one and the
same. Change your vision (Drushti). Do not try to change Srushti
(creation). That is God's domain. He can do anything if He wishes.
Just as Muslims chant "Allah Ho Akbar" which means "You are our only
refuge", so too Hindus must say, "I want only God". But today no one wants
Divine, all go for Deep Wine.
At this point Swami narrates the story of the devotee who kept changing
the object of his worship. He starts with Shiva, Rama, then Krishna and
finally Devi. He gets some satisfaction with each one but then slowly
starts losing interest. Finally, when the devotee tries to stop the
fragrance of the incense sticks lighted for Devi from going towards the
other photos locked inside the cupboard, Devi manifests Herself and chides
him for being so fickle minded. She asks the devotee as to what is the
guarantee that he will continue to worship Her? Never change your mind
like this.
To be good, merely undertaking acts of charity is not enough. Surrender to
God. Then only you will be happy. Desires make the mind go astray. You may
ask whether there is any witness for all this. Is there anyone who
embodies all this? I alone am the witness to this. I have absolutely no
desires. I can go anytime I want. I can materialize anything that I want.
Never desire for fleeting things. Ask for that which is eternal. Today we
may hold high positions. But this will hold good only till our retirement.
The innate Divinity has no retirement at all. Love is the undercurrent,
Truth is the spoken word. Preserve both. Remain in Love always. Do not
limit your Love only to your family and relatives. All are Divine. I
always Discourse on only this Message. That is the very purpose of My
addressing such large gatherings. I am very happy that you all have
listened to My Message. I have received the Love of so many of you who
have come here. I know you all have come for Me. Practice the teachings
given by Me, then I will be even more Happy!
Do not make your Love physical. Let it always be Divine. I have spoken a
lot and given you strain. All is God's work. Do all your actions with this
feeling. That is enough. It will make Me happy. On this auspicious
occasion, I am Blessing you all with My Love. May you all have a long,
healthy, peaceful and happy life!
It is 9.50 a.m. Swami sits down on the throne. He sips some water. A huge
cake is brought onto the stage in a trolley. Bhagawan cuts the cake and
there is loud applause. He also lights the candle on the cake. After this,
the cricketers stand up next to Swami. But Swami keeps sitting. He sits
silently waving His Hand, with Bliss pouring out from His Being and
reaching out to the multitudes. Twenty minutes pass by. It is 10.10 a.m.
Some sweets are brought and Swami personally distributes the sweets to all
the cricketers. Finally, Aarti is offered. Immediately huge blasts,
showers of crackers and melodious songs fill the air. Swami gets down from
the throne and sits on His chair. Slowly, He comes onto the lift, descends
and gets into the car.
He is now in the Toyota Porte which glides along the central red pathway
and we manage to catch a glimpse of Him again. Prof. Anil Kumar makes two
announcements. Evening programme begins in the Hill View Stadium at 5.00
p.m. and Prasadam will be distributed along with lunch at the free food
counters.
November 22nd, 2005
We enter the Mandir this morning and find a totally new set of
decorations, each one more breathtaking than the other. Today there are
floral Toranams in grand designs hanging from the balcony of the Portico
and also from the roof of the first floor. Inside the balcony on the first
floor, huge floral arches having a mix of red and yellow flowers have been
placed on either side of the dais.
Lord Ganesha is surrounded with a grand floral arch filled with pure white
roses and a thick bunch of red roses at the centre. The background is
provided with green leaves. The two pillars on the stage on either side of
Swami's Chair and also the two pillars facing the stage are decorated
exquisitely with broad green leaves and light rose-coloured huge
petal-like flowers. These are wound spirally on the pillars like a creeper
and give a very grand appearance. Balls of roses of different colors hang
from the top roof of the Portico. All along the railings of the Kulwant
Hall colourful umbrellas have been fixed in the typical Kerala style.
Outside the Mandir, the Parthi township has been transformed into a dream
world. The entire road from the Mandir leading to the Hostel and beyond is
decorated with series lighting on the stadium side of the road. Yesterday,
we also saw the Laser Beams reaching out into the sky from the Hanuman
hilltop. There is going to be a laser show on the 23rd night. There is
series lighting all along the path leading to the Hanuman top. Series
lighting is also spread across the hillock itself and right on the top
there are some coconut trees created with lights, some sparklers (effect
created by lights). The stadium looks just out of the world. Huge speakers
are placed for the Music Programme. High wattage stage lights illuminate
the entire ground at night. The pathway that has been made for Swami in
the middle of the stadium ground is now covered with a red carpet. Looks
royal and befits the occasion.
Swami comes out for Darshan at 9.15 a.m. after the commencement of the
Bhajans. He takes a full round and goes inside the Bhajan Hall. Hardly a
few minutes pass by and He comes out again and gets into the car. The car
proceeds not towards PC but towards the Shanti Vedika grounds. Possibly
the final supervision round? Bhajans go on. After a long wait, Swami
returns only at 10.00 a.m. But He goes straight to PC. There He gets down
from the car and moves into the new building to supervise the Hall where
the Governing Body members for the Convocation procession, will be
assembling in the afternoon. After a few minutes of supervision, He comes
out and goes inside PC.
We assume that He has retired but that is not the case. The car again
parks itself outside the PC door. At 10.30 a.m. Swami again comes out,
gets into the car and drives to the Kulwant Hall. He goes inside the
Bhajan Hall. But again a few minutes later He comes out and sits outside
the interview room talking to some VIP's seated over there. Bhajans go on
uninterrupted. At 10.50 a.m. He asks Aarti to be given and retires for the
morning.
It is afternoon. The Convocation of the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher
Learning is scheduled to start at 2.45 p.m. as per the announcement made
in the morning. The Hall is jam packed and there are people all over the
Ashram and even on the road outside, yet waiting to come in and maybe at
least have a glimpse of the Lord from some corner. The Alike students have
just transformed the dais into an Indra Loka (the world of the Gods). The
floral arch in the centre has been enhanced with a Simha Dwaram (typical
temple type entrance gate) in the centre. The openings on either side of
the dais are covered with a floral curtain, literally looks like a floral
wall, again with a Simha Dwaram in the middle for enabling movement from
the inner Portico. Silver Coated Podiums are placed on either side and 3
Thrones have been placed for the Revered Chancellor, Vice Chancellor and
the Chief Guest.
At sharp 2.35 p.m. the Band begins at the PC gate. This time a very unique
feature of the Convocation is that all the College students of the three
campuses are not wearing just sashes but they are wearing a full fledged
gown and a cap - the normal Convocation costume. The Post Graduate
students have a maroon gown with yellow border while the Undergraduates
have a light blue gown. The front part of the Kulwant Hall is filled with
all these students and it gives a majestic appearance.
2 wooden vases almost 5 feet high, are placed on either side of the dais
and are filled with colorful flowers. The band is coming marching in. It
takes a turn in the centre of the Hall and proceeding towards the dais
moves on to the gents side of the Hall near the Krishna statue. The band
is followed by the Registrar and two student representatives of the
Institute holding the silver mace, conch and the discus mast. They are
followed by all the Governing Body members and the other administrators
who join the Convocation Procession. Behind all of them comes the Toyota
Porte, the lucky car to join the procession. In it are seated our beloved
Bhagawan and His Excellency, T.N. Chaturvedi, the Governor of Karnataka.
All the members stand next to their chairs and then Swami emerges from the
door at the centre of the floral curtain. To our greatest delight, we see
Swami walking and coming to His Chair. Of course He is being assisted by
the students. Swami is all smiles. He asks the Governor to take his seat
and then sits down on the centre throne. The garlanding ceremony takes
place and is followed by the chanting of the Convocation Vedam. They chant
the full Mantra and sit down.
At the prayer of the Vice Chancellor, Swami stands up and speaks into the
mike, "I declare the Convocation open".
Next is the turn of the Vice Chancellor to speak. He introduces the Chief
Guest, Sri T.N. Chaturvedi and then furnishes the audience with the
highlights of the Institute, the achievements in the past one year and
also the future plans. He stresses on the necessity of Value Based
education especially in the current scenario. He talks about the ancient
Gurukula system and its immense benefits. He also talks about the primacy
of the role of the teacher in any education system. He states that
education must be balanced and should be based on spirituality. He quotes
from Swami Vivekananda and Mahatma Gandhi while elaborating on this
aspect.
He then substantiates on the topic of Educare saying that education and
educare are like the two wings of a bird. He explains the role of Grama
Seva in our curriculum. He also gives the significance of the compulsory
residential system that is followed here. He calls the Mandir as the
temple of worship, the Institute as the temple of learning and the Hostel
as the temple of Living. He says that the students of Bhagawan are very
lucky to witness a spiritual revolution along with technological
revolutions. He concludes saying that Swami is like a Divine Magnet and
the graduating students are doubly lucky to receive their degrees on the
auspicious occasion of the 80th year of the Avataar. He appeals to the
students to be the torch bearers of the ongoing spiritual revolution.
It is 3.05 p.m. All students rise to take the Convocation pledge. This is
followed by the Gold Medals awarding ceremony. This time, Swami gives the
medals sitting on the throne. Swami talks to a number of the medal winners
and Blesses them profusely. It is 3.30 p.m. by the time all the medals are
awarded. It is now time for the Governor's Convocation address. The
Governor delivers a very scholarly and insightful talk, quoting
extensively from Swami's literature.
As he concludes his talk, Swami also claps and tells him, 'Very nice'. It
is 3.55 p.m. Swami gets up to deliver His Divine Message. The highlights
of Swami's Discourse:
The end of education is Truth. Education without Truth is no education at
all, it is merely secular. There are so many educated people today. What
are they all doing? There is no iota of selflessness in them. But
education is going on as usual. True education is spiritual education.
That alone points us to God. Secular education is only for a living. The
end of education is character. Without character, everything else is
useless. Today, we have distanced ourselves from this goal.
The heart will become pure only when we give up selfishness. We must focus
on the 'Self'. This must lead to 'Help' and finally to 'Sacrifice'. The
true Self is Atma - Chaitanya Shakti. Every human has this power. Eswara
Sarva Bhutaanaam.
Mere education cannot make a person a human being. Study for character,
not merely for money. However, today's world appreciates only people with
status and position and does not give any weightage to character. Such
people are not human beings at all. Even animals are better. They have a
reason and a season. But human brings do not seem to have any. Satya and
Dharma are the foundation for a good character. Satyam Naasti Paro
Dharmaha. Here both get united. There is no higher Dharma then Truth
itself. Satya is the foundation and Dharma is the building. These two are
very important. Put together, they give rise to Prema.
Ask anybody at random and they will say that they have everything in life
but no peace of mind. One you have peace, you will not face any
difficulties. The human birth is so valuable. It is only because of great
merits in the past that one is born as a human being. Without Satya and
Dharma, man is not a man; he is a demon or an animal. In the word 'Manava',
Ma means 'attached', 'Na' means 'not' and 'Va' means 'to live'. To live a
life without attachment is Manava. To gain peace, we must discard the
pieces of materialism collected in the world. We must strive to acquire
the freedom of oneness.
Swami then goes on to narrate the story of Ubhaya Bharati and Mandala
Mishra. How Sankaracharya has an argument with Mandala Mishra and Ubhaya
Bharati, the wife of Mandala Mishra becomes the judge. Finally, she
declares Sankara as the winner and accepts Sanyasa herself as per her
pledge. Sanyasa = Shun all Aashas (desires).
For students Brahmacharya (celibacy) is most important. When you come to
Swami, you say that you do not want anything else, you want only devotion;
but once you leave the boundaries of this place, desires overwhelm you in
bounty.
Sthaana Balam is very important. The story of Rama and Lakshmana is very
well known. At one point in the forest, Lakshamana starts behaving in a
very strange way and starts talking against Rama. Later Lord Rama reveals
to Sita that this is on account of the bad vibrations in that place as it
was inhabited by a demoness. Therefore, we must be very selective of where
we live.
Your qualities will depend on your friendship. As your friends, so will
you be. Good company is very important. Be friendly to all but once you
identify bad qualities in somebody, be away from them. There is no
inherent fault within anybody. It is all the effect of company, which is
more pronounced in this Yuga - the Kalaha Yuga.
Today, bad books and novels are also on the rise. This promotes more evil
and bad qualities. It looks as though students read good books but they
actually read dirty books. Even well educated people do this. The
publishers and authors have no concern at all about the impact that this
can have on the minds of the youth. So long as you do not engage in
self-enquiry you will continue to cherish bad company. One's conduct must
be very good. What is the use of mere high designation and high pay? How
long will it last? Money earned by bad means will get wasted away by bad
means. We must be cautioned in this regard. Many students talk sweetly but
their action is poisonous.
Earlier the Guru used to mould the disciple and the disciple had great
regard for the Guru. Today, the disciple betrays the one who has sheltered
him and given him food. There are six qualities that a student must
possess - good mind, steadfastness, adherence to duty, devotion?. Without
these, he is not a student but a stupid. Leave such stupid people alone.
Love is the greatest education. Today we need good students and that is
the purpose with which I have started this educational Institution. In our
Institute Library, there are no bad books at all. Our students will never
entertain bad thoughts. They set a good example even to their family
members, advising even their mothers not to eat Rajasic food. When food
and head in combination take us in the wrong direction, we forget God. We
must eat a lot of vegetables as they are very good for a healthy body and
mind.
Today, all people praise Sai students. Even if our students act in a wrong
way, people themselves will correct them saying, "See, you are a student
of Swami's Hostel. How can you eat such food?' Never give scope to anybody
to correct you. Some students who are very devoted when here get
transformed into bad students once they go outside. However, these are
very few in number. Majority of them are very good. Especially, the
students who have now joined the College and Hostel are very good. Sai
students should adhere to the rules and be an ideal for all.
It is 4.45 p.m. and Swami brings His Divine Discourse to a close. All
arise for the National Anthem. At 4.50 p.m. the procession begins its
return to PC. Prof. Anil Kumar makes an announcement about the evening
drama in PC and also announces that the Birthday Celebration will commence
tomorrow in the Hill View Stadium at 8.00 a.m. Swami also moves to the car
and proceeds towards PC.
All of us go into the Poornachandra Auditorium. After a long wait, the
Music starts playing on the sound system. At 6.20 p.m. the dignitaries
come out from inside the PC and take their seats in the D-Circle. We have
the Finance Minister of A.P., Sri Rosaiah Garu, Chief Minister of
Maharashtra, Sri Vilas Rao Deshmukh and H.E. Sri T.N. Chaturvedi.
The drama to be presented by the students of the Sri Sathya Sai Institute
of Higher Learning is titled 'Prem Ki Jyoti' - 'The Light of Love'. The
drama depicts the story of Viswakarma Constructions. This well known
construction company has just been awarded the contract for building a
Sarva Dharma temple. But now the dilemma is whether to build this massive
temple in Jyotir Gram which will cause a number of people to be displaced
or to build it on the Devagiri Hills which will incur a significant
additional expenditure to the company. One of the employees, Praneet, asks
his collegues to pray for a solution. He narrates the story of Vibheeshana
surrendering to Lord Rama saying that they too must surrender to the Lord
in a similar way. He says, 'Let us not look at God and say that we have a
problem, but let us look into the problem and sat that we have God with
us'. Many events then start occuring, miraculously facilitating their
noble task.
The drama has a dance and some songs too. It ends with a group song when
all the participants are to come to Parthi to be a part of the 80th
Birthday celebrations. This gives a very happy end to the drama. There is
loud applause from the devotees and the actors sing a nice Birthday song
for Swami.
Swami goes up onto the stage and sits in their midst for a nice
photograph. He interacts with all the actors and slowly moves backstage as
Aarti goes on. The drama makes a strong impact on the audience. It is a
short and sweet play with a powerful message. It is 7.35 p.m. and we all
hurry back to our homes.
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