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'.
|Previous |Next |
Bhajans