Puttaparthi Updated News

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Parthi News Updated

Monday, July 21, 2008

 

This morning, the morning plenary session of the Education conference was to be

held in the Sai Kulwant Hall, so the Bhajans did not commence at 9 o'clock.

Bhagawan arrived at 10.30 in His chair, and when He reached the stage, Prof.

David Gries, the Zone I chairman of the Sathya Sai Organisation, introduced the

speakers. Dr. Tom Scoville, Dr. B. G. Pitre, Dr. Dalton de Souza Amorim and Sri

Srinivasan Srirangarajan were the speakers for the morning, representing the Sri

Sathya Sai Organisation and the Sri Sathya Sai University. They spoke on the

techniques and impact of Sathya Sai Education, with illustrative anecdotes.

Bhagawan accepted Arati after the speeches and returned to His residence at

noon.

The delegates for the conference gathered at various venues in the Ashram for

their respective post-lunch sessions and returned to the Sai Kulwant Hall for

the afternoon plenary session. Bhagawan arrived in His chair and moved to the

interview room after four o'clock. At 4.30 pm, the speeches for the afternoon

commenced. Mr. Victor Krishna Kanu, Mr. Jeremy Hoffer, Mr. M. K. Kaw and Sri

Sanjay Mahalingam spoke on the inspiration and activities of the Sathya Sai

Education programme. Bhagawan then graciously consented to speak to the

delegates.

 

Bhagawan took the sheet of questions posed by the delegates and clarifications

desired by them, and reading out the questions one by one, answered them for an

hour till 6.30 pm. Swami stressed on the need for parents to take proper care of

their children, and for the children to love, obey and respect their parents.

The students sang Bhajans for 10 minutes after Bhagawan's Discourse while the

delegates moved out from the centre of Sai Kulwant Hall to make way for the

devotees from the CIS (former USSR) who were to make a musical presentation.

Bhagawan returned to the stage after a brief visit to the interview room and the

music program began with a brief introduction. Songs from Russia, Georgia,

Belarus, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and so on kept the packed hall enthralled with

their catchy tunes and lively beat. After their half-hour programme, Swami asked

them to sing one more song, so they sang the popular " Kalinka " and had the

audience clapping all

through. Bhagawan interacted with the organisers, and then, waved His hands to

materialise a large golden lingam. Wrapping it in a small bag, He handed it over

to Dr. Goldstein with some instructions. Blessing all the devotees, Bhagawan

accepted Arati and returned to His residence at 7.30 pm while prasadam was

distributed.

 

 Sunday, July 20, 2008

 

Bhagawan opened the Sai Vidya Jyothi Educare exhibition this morning at 11

o'clock -  The Sri Sathya Sai World Education Conference 2008 was inaugurated

this afternoon. Bhagawan arrived in Sai Kulwant Hall in His chair after four

o'clock, and when He came onstage, He lit a lamp to begin the proceedings. Dr.

Michael Goldstein spoke first, followed by Sri. V. Srinivasan. Their

introductory remarks for forty minutes was followed by Bhagawan's Discourse at

5.20 pm. Swami spoke for fifty minutes, mentioning at the end that within twenty

to thirty years, the whole world will be one, united in love.

 

The Saisymphony orchestra was to perform next. The centre of Sai Kulwant Hall

was cleared and the musicians arranged their places there, with more than

seventy-five instruments. Bhagawan returned to the stage after visiting the

interview room, and the musical session began just before 6.30. After forty

minutes of the symphony, Bhagawan accepted Arati and returned to His residence

as prasadam was distributed.

 

Saturday, July 19, 2008

 

This evening, devotees from Austria presented a choral programme. Swami came for

darshan at 5 pm, and He took a round of the Sai Kulwant Hall in His chair before

coming to the verandah. Before the programme commenced, He once again took a

round of the ladies' side in His chair before moving up the centre of Sai

Kulwant Hall and coming onstage to start the proceedings at 5.25 pm. Bhagawan

asked them to sing some more after their half-hour of songs, so an encore

followed. Swami asked the devotee who introduced the songs whether he wanted

water, and referring to their tears of joy, he said, " Yes, Swami, so much water

has come out, now some water must go in also! " The students supplied them with

water followed by Prasadam distribution while Bhajans were sung for half an hour

with Arati at seven o'clock. 

 

At about 11 am there was a sudden hustle outside Yajur Mandir. Swami was going

to the Poornachandra auditorium to inaugurate the Vidya Jyoti exhibition that

had been erected there. A dash of Rangolis (symmetric drawings with colour

powder on the floor) adorned a large portion of the auditorium floor and

children from various nationalities held flowers to welcome the Lord. Swami

entered the grand entrance and lit the lamp to mark the opening. He went around

the various sections of the exhibition. There was an elaborate and well made

documentary on the various facets of Educare and Swami sat through the entire

video of about 20 mins. Then the different sections made were based on the

different regions of the world and the Sai system of education that was being

run and propagated there. Swami spent about 40 minutes in the exhibition and

blessing all the participants and watching brief clips at different points, He

went back to Yajur Mandir at about 11:50am.

 

 

20th July 2008 - Update on World Education Conference

 

In the evening, the opening ceremony of the Sri Sathya Sai education conference

was scheduled. Swami arrived in the chair and took a detour to the stage between

the seated ladies and gents delegates. A very interesting episode occurred. All

the delegate letters had been bundled into a huge package and the devotee

sitting right in the front offered it to Swami. Swami looked at it and it

appeared as if He wanted to take it. But at the last minute, He blessed it and

the package remained in the devotees hands. however as Swami came on the stage,

He told the student beside HIm, " Go down, take that package and keep it " There

was an applause of joy and thrill at this act of Grace. Swami lit the lamp to

mark the inauguration of the conference Then there were opening addresses by

DrMichael Goldstein and Mr.VSrinivasan. After their speeches, Swami asked for

His mikes and began His divine discourse.

 

" Today the education has become physical. There are millions who have studied

but of what use are they to the society. They are all achieving their own

selfish needs and none are there who think of others or realize the condition of

the society. In public, they declare that they help the poor but do nothing. You

know the plight of the world today. There is misery everywhere and there is no

trace of bliss. Every region or country speaks highly in self praise but the

suffering continues. Who are rich? 'Manas ekam, Vachas ekam, karmanyekam

Mahaatmanam. ' They are great who have unity in thought, word and deed. Big

countries like USA and Russia are doing a lot of harm to other countries. They

are unmindful of the poverty and do not even feel repentance at what they are

doing. The suffering of the people in Iran is immense. (At this point Swami

broke down just thinking of the plight of those people.). Every country helps

only the rich You must all stand by

the poor and for this Prema(Love) and Daya (Compassion) are essential. Only

those with Thyaga(sacrifice) get bliss. Never those with feelings of I and mine.

 

Today Paapa BHeeti(fear of sin) and Daiva Preeti(Love for God) are both missing.

These two can get you everything. The selfishness is on the rise and the

largeness of the world is reducing. The rich sit in palatial houses while the

poor toil. Everything is God's gift. How can it be denied to anyone? Serve and

be served by the poor. Today 100% of the educated are selfish. They are

responsible for cheap behaviours. The Iranians have suffered so much because of

the Americans. They attacked that country for the sake of their selfish petrol

and oil interests. People fight on selfish grounds. A human is one who has human

values. You cannot be happy when your fellowman is suffering. If you give pain

to any child of God, that pain will come back to you. Today, the spirit of unity

and equality is needed. Unity leads to purity of heart and finally to divinity

in experience. Do not be indifferent to suffering. God resides in all heart-

even in ants and mosquitoes.

 

So do not kill them by using Flit (an insecticide) . If you want to protect

yourself, use a mosquito net.

 

Show a little humanity. Today there is no compassion, only " come- fashion " .

Anger, lust, greed, hatred and jealousy are all demonic qualities. What is the

use of a human form if you have these qualities. For everything, there is

reaction, reflection and resound. If you make a country suffer, it will make you

suffer later. Go to any of our schools and ask any kid what is meant by human

values and they will tell you. A time will come when we have to learn from the

children.

 

Truth comes from the heart. Go deep within and enquire. The Truth will be

revealed. Truth with right action gives Love and peace. Love and peace will lead

to non violence. All these human values are within us. Man is indeed God. Ask

God, " Who are you? " and He will respond, Aham Branhmasmi. Names are different

and given by the parents. Ek Atma Sarva Bhootantaratm - the same soul resides in

all beings. You see ants moving in a row Whenever they meet another ant, they

kiss and consult and then move on. A calf keeps crying out to its mother when

born. When a hunter shot the male of a pair of birds, the female cried and died.

That episode lead to the composition of the Ramayana itself. When animals

exhibit such sentiments, man has to learn from them. No amount of speaking and

listening will help Only when you follow, you will understand. You feel bad when

others shout at you, then what about when you shout at others? Consider

everything as God's will as it is

good for you.

 

Today people have lost Self- confidence- Atma Vishwasam. When you say that this

is my kerchief, the kerchief is different from you. So too when you say that

this is my body, my mind, my intellect, you are different from them. You are not

understanding your true nature.Know your true nature and identity. God is with

you, in you, around you and above you. In fact, you are God. Education is not

merely learning. You learn the meaning of words and not their significance. Ask

who you are and get the answer for that question. It is not enough if you keep

reading books One student came to me saying that he had read the entire Shirdi

Sai Satcharitra. I asked him as to what he had practised from it. He said that

he hadn't practised anything!

 

When you open your eyes, you see thousands around. But close your eyes and you

see only yourself. I am I. That is the answer Names are only for practical

purposes Examine and recognise your heart. Goldstein and Srinivasan spoke so

much about education but educare is not related to the world. It relates to you.

Then only will you be able to proclaim I am I. Once you clearly understand this,

you will realize divinity Remember, literacy is not knowledge. Truth is God,

Love is God.

 

You cannot be the sole possessor of Love. God is the only owner of Love. Educare

is to bring that Love out from within. In just 25-30 years, there will be

harmony and peace in the world. Tomorrow, I will clear all the doubts you have.

Now its late. We will have the music. "

 

So, as Swami went for a short break into the interview room, the stage was set

for the Sai Symphony orchestra. As all the members of the orchestra were ready,

Swami arrived and asked it to begin. Conducted by Michael Koehler from Germany,

the orchestra consisted of violins, violas, cellos, bass, clarinets, saxophones,

oboes, bassoons, flutes, trumpets, trombones, French horns, percussions

alongside, a tube, a timpani and a keyboard- a wide array indeed! Representing

21 countries, the musicians just let themselves to be ruled by their heartfelt

feelings. The program consisted of Romantic music pieces of the great western

classical masters. They played Shostakovich festive overture, Ottorino Respighi,

Felix Mendelssohn and some more pieces. As they completed, Swami blessed them

and asked for tetrapaks of mango juice to be given to all. He also blessed

prasadam to be distributed. He then received Aarthi and left.