Gurupurnima at Prasanthi Nilayam

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Gurupurnima at Prasanthi NilayamJuly 21th, 2005

Thousands of devotees from all parts of India and other parts of the world

gathered at Prasanthi Nilayam to celebrate the holy festival of Guru Purmina,

the day dedicated to the Teacher of all Teachers, in the immediate Divine

presence of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, with devotional fervour. Bhagawan

arrived in the fully packed Sai Kulwant Hall at 7:30 a.m. to the accompaniment

of Nadaswaram, Panchavadyam and Veda chanting.

After blessing the devotees who had occupied every inch of space available

inside and outside Sai Kulwant Hall, Bhagawan took His seat on the dais

specially decorated for the occasion. Bhagawan gave an illuminating Divine

Discourse which was preceded by inspiring speeches by Sri V. Srinivasan, All

India President, Sri Sathya Sai Seva Organisations, Dr. G. Venkataraman, Former

Vice Chancellor, Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning, Sri Anil Vinayak

Gokak, Vice Chancellor of Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning and a

student of II year M.B.A., Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning.

Bhagawan in His Divine Discourse spoke on the significance of Karma Phala

(result of action). He reiterated that one has to face the consequences of

one's actions and only God's grace can nullify the effects of Karma. So one

should make sincere efforts to earn the grace of God. The first speaker Sri

Srinivasan stressed on the significance of Guru Purnima Celebrations, when we

pay our homage to the Teacher of all teachers, for all that He has taught. He

said Guru Purnima is the day when the Moon is full and our hearts are full,

when we receive transcendental vibrations from the Sadguru,. He is teaching

universal love that encompasses the whole of humanity…love that makes the

impossible possible…love which raises the bar of human excellence…protecting

the faithful…and all that we need is to develop Faith in Him, he added. The

next speaker Prof. G. Venkataraman gave a philosophical talk highlighting the

significance of festivals, the roles of Guru and Sadguru and its importance in

the present times when the world is marred with strife and conflicts. He said,

Gurus come and go, they educate and elevate, but it is a very rare occasion

when the Guru of all gurus come and blesses humanity. Dispelling the wrong

notion that Guru imparts wisdom, Prof. Venkataraman, quoting Bhagawan mentioned

that the role of a Guru is to scrub and clean our hearts to see that it shines

forth with the Wisdom that is latent in it…and what the Sadguru does is

creating a thirst, a yearning for God. He urged the devotees not to limit

Bhagawan to the physical frame, but to look inward to see the indweller in our

hearts. All religions say there is only one God and He is omnipresent. Let this

day remind all of us these ancient truths encapsulated in our holy

scriptures, Prof. Venkataraman reiterated. This is the time when we must

remember God, at a time when the world is torn with strife and conflict,

plunged into grief; we must give up hate, greed and develop love for God. This

is the day when one should reflect, not merely celebrate…reflect on the

Teachings of the Divine which have been imparted from times immemorial… to go

back to God…as He wants us just as we want Him…Together God and Man can make

this world bloom. While acknowledging thanks to Bhagawan for the opportunity

granted to share his thoughts with fellow devotees on the auspicious occasion,

the student narrated incidents from the stories told by Sri Ramakrishna and

anecdotes from Sage Narada's life to stress the importance of power of God's

name. The student, echoing the greater significance of the physical proximity

of Bhagawan that is granted to devotees, particularly to students, urged the

gathering that it is the duty of each and every devotee that he or she imbibes

the teachings of Bhagawan and put the same into practice in everyday life.

Quoting one of the recent Divine Discourses, he reminded that God is not

residing in Kailasa or Vaikuntha but is the indweller of all hearts…one has to

look deep inside to understand and realize the Supreme Truth: "I am I". The

last speaker was Mr. Anil Vinayak Gokak, Vice Chancellor of Sri Sathya Sai

Institute of Higher Learning who in his enlightening speech gave a glimpse of

the role of Bhagawan as the Supreme Guru. 'Gu' is Gunatheetha and 'Ru' is Rupa

Varjitha; Formless and Attributeless. The difference between Guru and Teacher

is that the teacher imparts knowledge whereas the Guru imparts impulses hich

are transformational in nature. Mr. Gokak also stressed on the significance of

the festival Guru Purnima: The full moon has the symbolic value both for the

Guru and Sishya. The cool light of the full moon symbolises the fully

illuminated mind of the Guru. Guru illuminates the path of divinity. For the

Sishya full moon symbolises his inner awakening and his inner awakening reaches

higher levels and in turn he expresses his gratitude to the Guru for the inner

awakening that takes place as a result of transmission of impulses by the

Guru. He urged the devotees to review, to introspect as to where one stands and

the extent of progress one has made in their spiritual journey. After the

end of His Divine discourse, Bhagawan has formally released the 5th Volume of

His Biography, Sathyam Sivam Sundaram. In the afternoon, students from Sri

Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning, Prasanthi Nilayam Campus enthralled one

and all by bringing the Life Story of Rama through mellifluous rendering of

Ramakatha in the immediate Divine Presence of Sai Rama.

Text source: http://www.sssbpt.org/Pages/Prasanthi_Nilayam/gurupurnima.htmImages

source: http://www.sssbpt.org/Pages/Prasanthi_Nilayam/Gurupurnima_05_Photos.htm