UPDATE_20th_July_2008

Education Conference and Vidya Jyoti Inauguration

Date: Monday, 21 July, 2008, 10:07 PM

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 11:50 am.

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 Dr Michael 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.

Forwarded by Mukesh Patel via Aravind Balasubramanya.....with the images

Written by Eswarachandra Vidyasagar (source: Puttaparthi Live )