Studying at the Sri Sathya Sai Institute - The Road Less Travelled... - By
Gunaranjan Turaga
In May 2002, I was at cross roads to decide a career path, like most under
graduate students would be placed in. There were two options – one, a known,
clearer, easier and presumably a faster track for a good prospective career;
and second, unknown, living in something like a Gurukulam, a road less
traveled. However, as destiny has its way, I had to take the ‘road less
traveled’.
At that time, with little inclination towards Sai Service activities, His
Mission and His Institutions, I was not aware of what awaited at the portals of
the Sai University for a person who wanted to fathom and experience the vast
unknown.
Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning - Brindavan Campus
I was asked to report at the Brindavan Campus by the 14th of May 2002, to
attend the Summer Course in ‘Indian Culture and Spirituality’. I was bemused,
unable to figure out why an MBA student at the University needed to attend this
course.
This was the beginning of my endless questions, doubts and apprehensions that
poured forth during my course of stay at the Institute. Most of them had been
answered to my complete satisfaction while I was there.
Firstly, as I wanted to know more about Swami, His Mission and His
Institutions, my brothers suggested names of books to quench my thirsty mind. I
started with a few of them but never was able to finish even one. The books
were giving me information and echoing Sai's Omnipresence, Omnipotence and
Omniscience. My thirst was more and beyond. I wanted to know about "The Perfect
Human Being". The only way to do this was my decision to bid adieu to books &
take to observing Swami in his entirety. Fortunately being ‘His student’, was a
blessing in disguise.
My main objective of Darshan was to fix my eyes on Him; understand how God
acts, walks, talks; behaves like a perfect human. To be honest, it was an
exploration, which only left me in sheer awe and amazement of how consistently
perfect He is.
The way He sits on the Throne, His gestures, His expressions, the way He uses
the handkerchief; puts it back appropriately, the way He makes eye contact with
devotees, the way He sometimes avoids a few first-line students who are sitting
with letters to be given to Him, the way He acknowledges one’s arrival at
Parthi, His attention to every detail, His very reminiscent smile, etc. Oh!
These are real great moments to watch keenly and learn how to lead a life, so
perfect in every way!
I heard of an incident that happened during a Kodaikanal trip. One afternoon,
during a lunch session, Swami, as usual, completed His meal early and started
walking between the students and devotees sitting on either side in the dining
hall. He talked to a few of these devotees and students, enquiring how a
particular dish tasted & whether they wanted more of the same and accordingly
telling the serving people to provide more of that, or at times the Lord
Himself would serve a few portions to the lucky ones. Sai was playing the
perfect host. At the farther end of this hall was a washbasin for hand wash
after meals. As Swami was doing His rounds, He casually had a glance at the
washbasin. His glance turned into a stare as He found that it was not clean and
tidy. He slowly walked up to the basin, rolled up His sleeves and opened the
tap to clean the washbasin with His hands. It was only when He stood long
enough at the basin that everyone sensed He was doing something. Through this
small episode, Sai reconfirmed His absolute priority to cleanliness and
self-reliance and taught us to live by example.
There are a good number of occasions when I observed Him communicating in a
perfect way, even without exchange of words. One such occasion was on a cold
winter afternoon, when this long time elderly devotee in a wheelchair was made
to sit on a chair just behind the Ganesha Portico, close to and facing the
interview room door. Swami walked out of the interview room and stood there for
a while talking to the Vice Chancellor and the Registrar, when He noticed this
devotee. He looked at him quite keenly, raised both His fore arms closer to His
chest, closed His fists and gestured as if to ask “Are you feeling cold?” The
devotee nodded his head very gently. Swami gracefully looked down and made eye
contact to a student assisting Him, who in a jiffy brought a shawl from the
interview room. I think nobody understood what was happening until Swami walked
up to this devotee, took the shawl in His hands, opened it up completely &
wrapped it around him. The devotee’s only expression was drops of tears
trickling down his cheeks.
Observing Sai’s daily life, moment to moment taught us the ‘Job and Art of
Living’..
To hear about Sai is to know,
To listen/read about Sai is to understand,
To live with Sai is to experience.
He has influenced us, not just at the physical plane but also at the mental,
emotional, psychological & spiritual planes. He has raised the 'Sensitivity
Quotient' in us through community living at the Hostel, through the Awareness
Classes at the Institute and through numerous programmes that we had performed
to please Him.
Had I chosen the beaten and known track, I would know not what life would have
been beyond making it fit for a living. It was on this ‘road less traveled’
that I was taught about life itself in the larger context, helping me paint
broader strokes on the canvas of my life, giving me awareness to live in the
present and to give back to society. To this, I owe everything to Sai.
- Gunaranjan Turaga
Student (2002-2004), Department of Management Studies
Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning
Prasanthi Nilayam Campus
Source: Fragrance 2005 - An 80th Birthday Offering by the Alumni of the
Management Programme at SSSIHL
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