Puttaparthi - 21st July 2008 - World Education Conference Day 1

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Puttaparthi

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

July 21stNews

 

 

 

 

World Education Conference – Day 1This evening as part of the World Education conference there were speeches by devotees in mandir. Mr. Srinivasan and Mr. Goldstien spoke about education and its values etc.After their speech Swami gave a discourse which had some wonderful messages.Swami talked about how rich countries were not doing enough to help the poor countries. Not only that they are also making the poor countries suffer for their own selfish needs.Swami said that if one country makes another suffer, it will have to suffer the consequences of its actions.Swami said that highly educated almost 100% of them are becoming selfish and not helping others. More and more there is less compassion around and it’s becoming into come passion.Swami said it’s not good enough to have this human form. You should also show human qualities.Swami said everyone should realize

their inner God and know that when ever they show good qualities it’s the God who is acting out from within them.Swami said within 20 to 30 years time the whole world will unite and become one.There will be one religion, one caste and one God.Swami ended his discourse saying that it was already late and He would answer all our doubts tomorrow.After the discourse the Sai Symphony orchestra performed some wonderful classical music from well known composers like Dmitri Shostakovich etc.After few wonderful compositions they ended their performance and Swami asked for the Aarthi to begin.Later prasadam was distributed to all. It was 7:00 pm by the time Swami retired to Yajur mandir.

Update on Guru poornima CelebrationThousands thronged to the holy hamlet of Puttaparthi to be with their dear Guru on the occasion of Guru Poornima. Kulwant hall was brimming with people everywhere. The students from all the campuses too had arrived and what greater good fortune for a student than being with his/her Guru on this occasion. The sun had risen quite early in the morning and was shining bright already. Maybe he too wished to glimpse at the Sadguru from the heavens! Resplendent in a golden yellow robe, the sun of every heart rose at 8:50am. Unlike the heavenly star, the sweet Lord seemed to bring in waves of cool calm with His arrival. A special Golden coloured chair was His chariot today and He was lead in the procession by His baby elephant which was bedecked in festival finery.Swami moved slowly through

the throngs and a "Mexican wave" of joy moved through the crowd, the crests of the wave coinciding with His position in the hall, as everyone craned to gift their eyes with the heavenly sight. There was exuberance and joy everywhere. Swami, in sharp contrast to the reactions of the devotees, was the epitome of calm and He had a stoic smile as He gently moved through the surging and swelling crowds. He was centre of calm in the devotional storm. Completing a full round, He moved to the portico. A huge cake adorned the veranda. The cake was thickly covered with icing. But the 'icing' on the icing was a lovely model of Lord Rama embracing his dearmost Hanuman. Swami lit the candle on the cake and also cut it. There was another cake too which Swami cut and blessed. Then He moved to the stage. The moment He was on stage, the magic and joy of spontaneity was experienced by all in the hall- seeing Him so majestic and powerful, yet so dainty and sweet, the

crowd burst in rapturous clapping so spontaneously and seeing His devotees oozing with joy and enthusiasm, Swami raised both HIs hands in the ultimate act of Grace and benediction- all so spontaneously. That divine smile now danced on His lips. He sat for a while listening to the Vedam chanting along with the Nadaswaram and Panchavadyam performed by the students. He also kept beat with the music as the boys continued playing.It was the that Sri Shivraj Patil, the Union Home Minister, presented a book to Bhagawan for release. This tome on the Bhagawad Gita was written by him and was made available in English, Hindi, Marathi and other languages. Swami was very eager in blessing the book. Bhagawan then asked Prof Anil Kumar to announce the details of the book and then Sri Shivraj Patil was asked to address the gathering. In his short speech, Sri Patil thanked Bhagawan for inspiring the book. As he completed his speech, Swami asked for a pen. Then

He took the book and signed on its first page. It seemed so fantastic and appropriate. The Bhagwad Gita is an immortal treasure trove of wisdom that has inspired countless aspirants on the path to ultimate realization. And the teacher there is the Lord himself in the form of Krishna. To be released on Guru Poornima by that same Krishna is a blessing that could not have got better for Sri Shivraj Patil.After releasing the book, Swami asked for His mikes to be brought. Wow! Today was indeed a supremely blessed one for the best possible event was taking place. The Guru addressing all! Swami began with a long Telugu poem which the translator did not get the opportunity to translate. Then the discourse proceeded:"It is the power of Love that makes everything possible. All the names are God's names. But the Truth is Aham Brahmasmi. The universe derives from and dissolves into the Truth. There is no place without Truth and God is the cause for

everything in the universe.Shivraj Patil here has written this Gita text after poring over various texts and grasping this essence. There are many who write books but this one is very special for it has been written from the heart. Whenever, I visited him, he used to get it corrected and verified by me. And since it has arisen of his heart, the essence of the Gita is present in it.Guru Poornima is not just a day when you pay respects to the elders by giving them some money. "Gurur Brahma, gurur Vishnu, gurur devo maheshwara; Guru sakshath parabrahma tasmai sri gurave namaha". In that sense, God is the only Guru. Poornima is the moon that is full without any defects or black spots. With a pure heart, whatever is said, comes true. And whatever comes from the heart is the true word of the Guru.

Once in their childhood, when the Pandavas and Kauravas were engaged in a ball game, the ball fell into a well and the children began to weep. Drona, his wife and son Ashwattama were passing by that way. Drona, the master, shot an arrow to the ball. Then successively, he shot arrows one behind the other and made a rope out of the arrows and pulled out the ball for them. Such was his greatness. Ekalavya wanted to become his disciple too but Drona refused to take him as one stating that he would not teach hunters. So the lad made a clay idol of Drona and mastered the art of archery. Once when Drona and all the princes were in the forest, a dog started barking and disturbing. Very soon, its mouth had been rendered shut by hundreds of arrows shot with great precision! All wondered who had done so and it was discovered that Ekalavya was the one

responsible. At this time, Arjuna grew very jealous. How can there be anyone else who is so skilled? On inquiry, when Ekalavya said that his guru was Drona, Arjuna was angry too! The art of shooting by mere hearing was something his Guru had promised to teach him alone. He wanted his guru Drona to ask as a Gurudakshina( gift of gratitude to the Guru), the shooting thumb of Ekalavya! This stemmed from his ego that he was the best archer in the world. Drona did so to please Arjuna and Ekalavya lost his thumb and thus his career too.The guru may ask anything, but the true Guru is one who resides in the heart and gives instructions from there. The Bhagwad Gita is the teaching of the heart. Though Shivraj Patil read a lot, he had a lot of doubts. Finally he wrote what his heart felt. He did not follow any other text or teaching. It was Swadhyaya (the delving into the soul or Atma) that gave joy and clarity. Just remove the feelings of I and mine, ego

and possessiveness, and the Atma Tatwa stands revealed. Many make attempts to know the Self. To do that first drop the I. That is also symbolised by the Christian Cross. The Cross stands for the fact that when 'I' is crossed, Jesus is liberated. Also, one must give up possessiveness.Shivraj Patil has been coming to me for 30 years now. Chavan and Patil came together to Swami. Patil was first made a minister in Mumbai and then He moved to Delhi. He became the speaker. But he never asked Swami for anything. He has achieved a good name in the government too. They have full confidence in him. One must always have three things- Self confidence, Self-sacrifice and Self-satisfaction. And for all these 3, faith is absolutely essential. And Love of course! Demons have faith in God, but they hat God! Just reading and speaking is not enough. What you do practiocally counts. See first and develop faith and then follow. That will finally lead to

Self-realization and that is Poornima- being spotless in thought, word and deed.Share with all whatever you know. This applies to the teachers and students alike. Teachers and students are like the positive and negative respectively. Whatever you experience, tell your parents. Have a close relationship with your mother and father. One who pleases parents will have progress on all fronts. God will be with them always. The last shloka of Gita states that where there is Arjuna(devotee) with Krishna (God), there will be ultimate victory and fulfillment.Today Shivraj Patilhas given you a book with beautiful ideas and sentiments. That is why he has satisfaction and the book is respected. BUt you see boys reading all sorts of novels these days. They will hold a big spiritual book and concealed in it will be a novel! Such bad books must not be kept in our libraries. Even if they are kept, our boys will not even glance at them. Have sacred hearts

and that will lead you to The secret place. Boys are all very good, but due to the age some thoughts do come. Be resistant at such times. All of you too must write books. We have one student.....whats his name? (after conferring a while with some people around), Ah yes! Hungary government has called him....He is Gowrishankar. He is going to Hungary for the paper that he has published. Every Tom, Dick and Harry doesn't get called like that. {Swami blessed the lecturer Sri.Gowrishankar on stage and told him to earn a good name for his parents and the Institute.}Whatever you learn, you must spread it to some people. You should go everywhere and tell everyone about what you have learnt here in our Institute.There are two girls in the Anantapur campus to. Having excelled in English and Physics, they are being financed for a trip to USA. All of you should earn such a good name."Concluding His discourse, Swami called two students from the

bhajan group and told them to sing Shiva bhajans. And then again He told them "Sing shankar bhajans".Mysterious and indeed unfathomable are the ways of God. Maybe a mere coincidence but still worth noting is the fact that while on His left sat Shivaraj Patil, on His left was Gowrishankar! The boys told Swami that they had prepared some songs for the occasion. Swami agreed and told them to sing two songs. Two songs later, Swami asked for the aarthi to be performed and retired to Yajur Mandir.In the afternoon, there was no scheduled programme as such. But with Swami, its always loving His uncertainty! Swami arrived at about 5:10 pm in the same chair as the morning! This time, like the evening sun, He was in the orange robe. He took a full darshan round and moved to the stage. The Malladi brothers were seated there and Swami played His first stroke of loving uncertainty. He called them and told them to sing! They did not have their accompanying

artistes. So the students were called to accompany them on the harmonium, tabla and mridangam. They began with a song on the glory and grandeur of the guru. Then in their usual panache and wonderful style, they went about singing other songs.

The highlight of the evening was the song, "Nagumomu". If all the feelings that coursed through all the people including Swami during that 15 minute period that the song lasted is to be captured, either 1 trillion words are needed or just one suffices - Bliss! The skill of the throat when it combines with the magical composition of a literary genius and most importantly with the streams of devotion in the heart - sheer bliss is the inevitable result. Swami was very frequently singing along with the singers. As the song moved through its ups and downs of scale and moods, Swami seemed to reflect every thing. At one point, the singers were at the heights of both, devotion and pitch, like a glistening dew drop on the lotus petal, a tear seemed to form in His eye! Simultaneously, there were wet eyes at many places in the hall. The Malladi

brothers went about the vocal gymnastics and thrilled everyone. There was not a single moment when Swami sat 'still'. He was all the while moving His hands or swaying - and it is the highest of achievements to "move" the Lord! In this case Swami was literally and figuratively moved. Very few manage to replicate the technical genius of the uneducated Thyagaraja but it is only a magical few who bring alive the devotion to Rama that he embodied. Any amount of description cannot do justice to those mesmerising moments in His presence.Swami asked for shawls to be brought and very lovingly honoured the singers who had brought so much of Love for God in the hearts of thousands. To intensely Love God is indeed a blessing from Him but indeed it is a greater boon to bring out Love for God in hearts of others too and the brothers were doing just that. After receiving shawls and Love, the concert continued for some more time. 3 songs later, Swami asked for

Aarthi and then as prasadam was being distributed, Swami retired.Written by Eswarachandra Vidyasagar