When Sri Sathya Sai established a Modern Gurukulam on Guru Pournima Day...
Sri Sathya Sai at the entrance of the New College Building at Anantapur
on the day of Inauguration
Thursday, July 08, 1971
The President of India, Sri V. V. Giri, inaugurated the new building of the Sri
Sathya Sai Arts and Science College for Women, Anantapur on the 8th July, 1971,
Guru Poornima day. Swami came in a procession at 11 am accompanied by the
President and his wife Smt. Saraswathi Giri. The Members of Sri Sathya Sai
Trust, the Managing Committee of the College, Dr. Bhagvantam and the Principal,
Smt. Anima Mukherji accorded a traditional welcome. The function was presided
over by the Governor of Mysore, Sri Dharmavira.
Dignitaries on the dias: From the left - Sri Brahmananda Reddy, Chief
Minister, Andhra Pradesh; Sri Sathya Sai; Sri V. V. Giri, President of India
The dignitaries present at this function were, Sri K. Brahmananda Reddy, Chief
Minister, Andhra Pradesh; Sri Nakul Sen, Lieutenant Governor of Goa; Ministers
Sri G. C. Venkanna, Sri M. N. Lakshminarasaiah and Sri P. V. Narasimha Rao;
Members of Parliament - Sri Shankaragiri, Sri Brahmananda Panda, Sri Chanda
Narayanappa; Justice Balakrishna Eradi, Justice Gopi Vallabha Iyengar, Justice
V. Parthasarathi; Sri Vema Reddy, Chairman, Rayalaseema Development
Corporation; Ms. Indra Devi from Mexico; Sri S. Seetharam from London; the
Rajmata of Jamnagar; the Rajmata of Sirohi; Sri P. R. Kamani; Sri A. S. Adke,
the Vice Chancellor of Karnataka University, Dharwar; Dr. D. Jagannatha Reddy,
Vice Chancellor of Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati; the Kumararaja of
Venkatagiri; Sri V. K. Rao; and Members of the Legislative Assembly of the
region.
Prof. V. K. Gokak delivering the Welcome Address
(Seen the in the background: From left - Sri P. V. Narasimha Rao,
Minister, Govt. of Andhra Pradesh, Sri Sathya Sai; Sri V.V. Giri; Smt.
Sarawathi Giri)
The function started with Vedic recitation by Brahmasri Kameswara Ganapathy.
Prof. V. K. Gokak, Director, Institute of Advanced Studies of Shimla, then
delivered the welcome address. Dr. S. Bhagvantam presented progress details of
the College. This was followed by the speeches of Dr. D. Jagannatha Reddy, Sri
P. V. Narasimha Rao, Sri Brahmananda Reddy and Sri Dharmavira.
The Presidential Address by Sri V. V. Giri, President of India
Swami delivered His Discourse after the President’s address. He said:
This Day we are inaugurating the new buildings for the College dedicated to
this purpose of having such Maas (mothers) for the revival of the Dharma, which
Bharat and the world so urgently need today. Today, all departments of life are
reverberating with the raucous noise of anxiety and fear, uncertainty and
insecurity. The main purpose of life is the acquisition of Ananda, and the
sharing of that Ananda with others. This has gone under; and a vast new number
of desires, quite unrelated to the chief aim of the Vyakti (individual) who has
to make his Divinity patent, is emerging, like lava from the subterranean fire!
The Guru warns and waylays; but, his words are not heeded. Man loathes the law
and loves the lie; he gives ear to evil and invites iniquities on himself!
…This will be a Gurukul, a place where teachers and taught will grow together
in love and wisdom, as close to the ideas of the hermitages of the past as
possible under present conditions. Today is Guru-vaar, Thursday; it is also
Guru-Pournima, the Day set apart for adoration of the Guru (the Preceptor). It
was mentioned just now that this must prove to be the nucleus of a Women's
University---but, I am not enamoured of that prospect; I will be happy only
when the Gurukula atmosphere is fostered and maintained, uncontaminated. Women
must emerge from this College armed with deep-rooted virtue and firm faith in
the ideals of woman-hood, laid down in our sacred texts. Then only can they, as
mothers, mould their children as bright, beautiful, virtuous, strong citizens
of the world. This is the only way out of the horror in which the world is
simmering.
…The seed has been planted today; it has to sprout and spread as a tree, heavy
with fruits. It has to confer security and sustenance to all…
The ersthwhile Sri Sathya Sai College for Women at Anantapur; now the
Anantapur Campus, Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning
In the evening function, Sri Nakul Sen addressed the gathering. The function
concluded with Swami’s Discourse. On that occasion He said:
This day is Guru Pournami, when many offer special Puja to the Guru (worship of
the preceptor) who has initiated them into spiritual life, with the grant of
some manthra (sacred syllable) or some vow. To adore the preceptor who has
shown the path of liberation, you need not wait for the arrival of this
particular day. You need not watch the calendar at all; be ever grateful. The
guru has directed the vision inside, the goal is in you, the path leads you to
yourself, the I that shines unknown in you, as well as in all. Knowing it is
liberation from the bondage of the body and the chain of birth and death which
the body drags along with it.
People come to Me and pray, “Swaami! Naaku Moksham Kaavaali” (Swami, I want
liberation). Consider for a moment that statement of thirst. A parcel you get
through post is covered top and bottom, with the gift inside the two; you
remove the packaging material from top and bottom to get at the thing you
really value most; Moksha (the gift you value) is packed between two
ideas---'for me,' and 'is wanted'---the idea of Ego and the idea of Desire. So,
all I have to tell you is, "Remove the packing, and take the gift, Moksha. Have
no ego, discard desire, you are liberated!" The Guru asks you to repeat a
Mantra; but the Mantra cannot grant you the final beatitude, It will discipline
the mind, control its vagaries, and strengthen faith. But, unless you see God
in all, unless your mind is made a mirror reflecting the image of God that
everyone and everything is, you are not entitled to the release you claim.
…We have in this country, as well as in others, many institutions and
organisations devoted to spiritual uplift of man; but, they are all caught up
in the politics of competition for prestige and power, and in the game of
personal aggrandizement. Wherever you turn, you meet Sanyasins, Yogis, Gurus
and Babas, varieties of the same theme, clamouring for clientele, wheedling for
funds, parading for protocol! No one seems to have delved into the relativity
of things. No one seems to have dived for the pearls at the bottom and secured
them. All are on the surface of things, afraid to lose their identities, once
they have the light revealed. We require spiritual guides who are free from
conceit and pride, hate and greed; guides who have travelled the whole length
of the journey. In religious field, hypocrisy is high treason.
I know there are many of you who argue and discuss how and in what manner these
structures came to be built so grandly. If you have known Me through and
through, there will be no such argument at all. You will know that this is but
an insignificant product of My power. I have done this, only as an example,
for, unless those who lead are themselves active and earnest, to bend and bear
the burden, those who are encouraged to follow will lose heart and miss the
way. Religious leaders have a greater responsibility in this respect; for, it
is a field where hypocrisy is high treason. People fly high, only to cast their
eyes on a wider circle, searching for sustenance, as vultures do! The eye
belies what the wings proclaim.
Others, I know, have questioned, why I had requested the President of India,
Smt.Saraswati Giri, the Governor of Mysore, the Chief Minister of Andhra
Pradesh, the Education Minister of Andhra Pradesh, and the Vice-Chancellor of
the Venkateshwara University to share the Ananda (joy) of this occasion. They
hold positions which are sources of influence over many and it is necessary to
draw their attention to this resurgence of spiritual education. They themselves
have to be put into touch with the activities that are crucial to the revival
of the culture of this land. That is the reason why I am inviting these
dignitaries to attend and share in the joy of the proceedings. My aim is to
plant transformation in the hearts of all, whether they hold high positions or
not. All are dear to Me and all are important in My eyes. By having recourse to
all means, the mission of establishing Prashanti has to be achieved. That is My
task.
…Today, we have the happy confluence of three Gu's: it is Guru-vaar (the day of
the week is known as the Day of the Preceptor or Guru). The second refers to
Adi-Guru (Primary Preceptor), the Full Moon of this month, which occurs today
is revered as specially sacred to the memory of Veda Vyasa, the collator of the
Vedas, the author of Brahma Sutras (aphorisms on Supreme Reality), the great
poet who composed the epic known as the Fifth Veda, the Mahabharata, and the
author of the renowned scripture of Bhakti (devotion), called the Srimad
Bhagavata. The third Gu refers to this Guru-kula-Ashram, this college with the
new (but ancient) outlook, of reviving the master-disciple, sanctified by
centuries of spiritual effort and experience. These three Gu's are reminders of
the three-pronged Bilva (wood-apple tree) leaf, which is placed in reverence
while adoring Shiva, symbolising the three Gunas (qualities), the three prongs
of time (past, present, future) held as a spear by Shiva, and the three
attributes which man has to overcome, the Tamas, Rajas and Satwa (inertia,
passion and equanimity).
Source: Sri Sathya Sai Digvijayam Part 1 (1926 to 1985)
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