Report on the Alumni Meet: 20th & 21st August, 2005

08-24-2005, 09:55 AM

Report on the Alumni Meet20th & 21st August, 2005
It was an emotional trip down the memory lane for the former students of the
School of Business Management, Accounting and Finance, Sri Sathya Sai Institute
of Higher Learning, Prasanthi Nilayam, when they gathered at the Lotus Feet of
their beloved Swami on the 20th and 21st of August for their Alumni Meet aptly
called 'Reconnect'. This meet was organized on the occasion of the eve of the
20th anniversary of the department coinciding with the 80th year of the Advent
of Bhagawan. Ever since the School of Business Management, Accounting and
Finance offering MBA (Master of Business Administration) was started on 21st
August, 1986, Bhagawan took a keen interest in fostering the business leaders
of the future into change agents who would spread His message of values into
the corporate world. For many years after the inception of the department,
Bhagawan would visit the Institute every week to deliver talks on management to
the students. It was
during these talks that Bhagawan succinctly summarized the science of management
as 'Man Management'. This concept is only now catching on in business thought,
but Bhagawan had already identified it as the key to successful management more
than a decade ago. It was to offer their gratitude to Bhagawan for all the care
and attention He had showered on them during their stay as students that around
500 members of the alumni gathered at Prasanthi Nilayam to bask yet again in the
sunshine of His Love and thus 'reconnect' and 'recharge' themselves.
On the evening of 20th, after words of introduction by Sri A.V. Gokak,
Vice-Chancellor of Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning, two members of
the alumni expressed their feeling of love and gratitude on behalf of their
brothers. The alumni had arranged for distribution of comprehensive toolkits
and uniforms to 80 needy youth trained as electricians, carpenters and plumbers
belonging to villages surrounding Prasanthi Nilayam. These men though possessing
the necessary skills continued to remain unemployed as they did not have the
wherewithal to procure the necessary tools. But, now Bhagawan has gifted them
not merely toolkits but also the
means to live a life of dignity.
Following this, there was a panel discussion on "Man Management – Relevance of
Values in the Business World". Seven members of the alumni spanning various
sectors of the industry and occupying senior positions in their respective
organizations participated in the discussion that focused on how Bhagawan's
teachings helped them to deal with the pressures and difficult situations that
arise in corporate life, drawing on their own experiences and insights. One
very significant point that emerged during the discussion was how one can
reconcile the pursuit of corporate excellence with spirituality. Sri Karthik
Shenoi, CEO, iCap Solutions Pvt. Ltd., illustrated how this reconciliation can
be achieved by recalling an allegory given by Bhagawan.
Bhagawan compares the pursuit of worldly goals to attempting to get at the
coconuts on a coconut tree by running up the shadow of the tree on the ground
and tugging at the shadow coconuts – a fruitless enterprise. But, when one
actually climbs up the coconut tree, one's shadow is also seen climbing the
tree. What this analogy reveals to us is that according highest priority to
spiritual goals is not necessarily divergent with life in the material world;
in fact worldl y success gets added on to us as a matter of course on the
spiritual path. Speaking about the means of dealing with stress, the panelists
concluded that stress arises whenever self-interest dominates one's thinking.
But, when we follow Bhagawan's teaching that the feeling of 'We' must
be placed above the 'I' feeling, one is not affected by stressful situations.
Another member said that one must follow the principle of 100% commitment and
0% attachment leaving the burden of victory or defeat to the Lord. Stress, they
said stood for Sai To the Rescue in Every Sticky Situation. Teamwork, which is
an important quality that every employer looks for, is something that students
of Bhagawan do not learn merely in theory but it comes to the fore during the
Annual Sports and Cultural Meet and the community service programmes, which are
a regular and integral part of the education at Bhagawan's university. The
discussion thus showcased how spirituality can be integrated into our daily
life to make it more meaningful and enriching. At the end of the programme
Bhagawan profusely blessed the participants, who enjoyed some blissful moments
of interaction with Him.On the morning of 21st, after an introductory talk by
Sri Subash Subramanian, an MBA alumnus and currently a Research Scholar in the
School of Business Management, Accounting and Finance, there were talks by two
alumni. The first speaker, Sri Amar Vivek, is a practicing lawyer in the High
Court of Punjab and Haryana and also at the Supreme Court of India. He belongs
to the first batch of students who earned their MBA degree from Bhagawan's
university. He has been engaged in many rural service projects most notably,
the Sri Sathya Sai Grameen Jagruthi programme under which a hospital, a school,
a vocational training center and a sports school are being run for the benefit
of the rural poor completely free of charge. His service programmes have earned
him recognition from the Government of India and he was conferred the National
Youth Award. He narrated
how Bhagawan had personally guided him in setting up and managing these service
projects, His unseen Hand helping him ford over obstacles on the way. He also
narrated two instances where by standing up to his principles he managed, by
Bhagawan's grace, to turn two seemingly impossible situations in his favour.
Sri Ashok Sundaresan, who spoke next, is a Chartered Accountant by profession,
and an active member of the Youth wing of the Sri Sathya Sai Seva Organization,
Tamil Nadu. He said that being a student of Bhagawan is a privilege and
opportunity and also a great responsibility. He narrated an experience of late
Prof N.Kasturi to emphasize our good fortune in being contemporaries of
Bhagawan. Once, Sri Kasturi had asked Bhagawan about the mystery of creation.
Bhagawan called Him one night to the balcony of the Prasanthi
Mandir, held his hand and asked him to look onto the grounds below. Kasturi Garu
was rendered speechless by what he saw; in place of the inky darkness he was
accustomed to, he saw what seemed to be a sea of luminous beings, all waiting
for Bhagawan's command. Bhagawan seemed to be communicating to them by His
eyes, and one by one after receiving their commands they left to execute them.
This, Bhagawan revealed to Kasturi, was how the entire creation was being
managed. And Sri Kasturi realized that at that moment, the Hand he was holding
on to was the Hand of the Creator Himself. Sri Sundaresan recalled the numerous
lessons he had absorbed during his days as a student at the Lotus Feet of
Bhagawan that had transformed his life. He narrated an incident to illustrate
how we must express our gratitude, an incident that was widely reported by the
print media. When
the Sathya Sai Ganga project to supply potable water to the city of Chennai was
underway, there was a family of eleven members all of whom were engaged in work
on the canal. The eldest member was eighty years old, and the youngest all of
three years. When asked, they revealed that they belonged to the Mahabubnagar
District of Andhra Pradesh where Bhagawan had executed a water supply project
in 2001. Before the project, the family members had to traverse miles for
finding potable water and this had completely disrupted their normal life even
making earning their livelihood a difficult prospect. But, now water was
arriving almost at their doorstep, their suffering was now behind them. In
gratitude, the entire family had decided to contribute their mite, in the form
of physical labour, to the Chennai water supply project. In conclusion, Sri
Sundaresan prayed to Bhagawan for strength to able to practice His teachings
and to love up to His expectations of His students.After the talks, there was a
music programme entitled 'Yaadein' by the alumni. Each song was preceded by
short talks by students who poured out their love and gratitude to Bhagawan,
each of them recalling memories of the beautiful moments they spent with their
Lord as students and also how Swami guided and guarded them several times
during their lives thereafter. At the end of the programme, everyone realized
that though they may have left the portals of the Institute, they can never
leave Swami nor can Swami ever leave them; Swami was always with them and their
bond with Him was eternal and heart to heart.In the afternoon, the management
students of the Institute presented a drama
entitled, "Karishye Vachanam Tava" meaning, "Command, and I shall obey!" The
drama depicted how two young management graduates who had recently joined
Navajivan Pharma Co. face many difficulties and disappointments due to the
unethical behaviour of a manager, how they overcome these difficulties, and
become instrumental in guiding the company to make decisions that go beyond
just financial criteria and contribute to the welfare of the society. The drama
addressed many issues and ethical dilemmas that face the managers of today's
corporate world and how they should be dealt with discrimination and a clear
conscience. After the drama, Bhagawan granted photos to the participants.
Bhagawan also blessed and
launched the website of the Institute – www.sssihl.org . The programme concluded
with arati and Bhagawan retired to His residence. Jai Sai Ram!
Source: http://srisathyasai.org.in/pages/MBA_meet.htm