Gurupurnima at Prasanthi Nilayam
July 21th, 2005
Thousands of devotees from all
parts of India and other parts of the world gathered at
Prasanthi Nilayam to celebrate the holy festival of Guru
Purmina, the day dedicated to the Teacher of all Teachers,
in the immediate Divine presence of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai
Baba, with devotional fervour. Bhagawan arrived in the fully
packed Sai Kulwant Hall at 7:30 a.m. to the accompaniment of
Nadaswaram, Panchavadyam and Veda chanting.
After blessing the devotees who
had occupied every inch of space available inside and
outside Sai Kulwant Hall, Bhagawan took His seat on the dais
specially decorated for the occasion. Bhagawan gave an
illuminating Divine Discourse which was preceded by
inspiring speeches by Sri V. Srinivasan, All India
President, Sri Sathya Sai Seva Organisations, Dr. G.
Venkataraman, Former Vice Chancellor, Sri Sathya Sai
Institute of Higher Learning, Sri Anil Vinayak Gokak, Vice
Chancellor of Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning
and a student of II year M.B.A., Sri Sathya Sai Institute of
Higher Learning.
Bhagawan in His Divine Discourse spoke on the significance
of Karma Phala (result of action). He reiterated that one
has to face the consequences of one's actions and only God's
grace can nullify the effects of Karma. So one should make
sincere efforts to earn the grace of God.
The first speaker Sri Srinivasan stressed on the
significance of Guru Purnima Celebrations, when we pay our
homage to the Teacher of all teachers, for all that He has
taught. He said Guru Purnima is the day when the Moon is
full and our hearts are full, when we receive transcendental
vibrations from the Sadguru,. He is teaching universal love
that encompasses the whole of humanity…love that makes the
impossible possible…love which raises the bar of human
excellence…protecting the faithful…and all that we need is
to develop Faith in Him, he added.
The next speaker Prof. G. Venkataraman gave a philosophical
talk highlighting the significance of festivals, the roles
of Guru and Sadguru and its importance in the present times
when the world is marred with strife and conflicts. He said,
Gurus come and go, they educate and elevate, but it is a
very rare occasion when the Guru of all gurus come and
blesses humanity. Dispelling the wrong notion that Guru
imparts wisdom, Prof. Venkataraman, quoting Bhagawan
mentioned that the role of a Guru is to scrub and clean our
hearts to see that it shines forth with the Wisdom that is
latent in it…and what the Sadguru does is creating a thirst,
a yearning for God. He urged the devotees not to limit
Bhagawan to the physical frame, but to look inward to see
the indweller in our hearts. All religions say there is only
one God and He is omnipresent. Let this day remind all of us
these ancient truths encapsulated in our holy scriptures,
Prof. Venkataraman reiterated. This is the time when we must
remember God, at a time when the world is torn with strife
and conflict, plunged into grief; we must give up hate,
greed and develop love for God. This is the day when one
should reflect, not merely celebrate…reflect on the
Teachings of the Divine which have been imparted from times
immemorial… to go back to God…as He wants us just as we want
Him…Together God and Man can make this world bloom.
While acknowledging thanks to
Bhagawan for the opportunity granted to share his thoughts
with fellow devotees on the auspicious occasion, the student
narrated incidents from the stories told by Sri Ramakrishna
and anecdotes from Sage Narada's life to stress the
importance of power of God's name. The student, echoing the
greater significance of the physical proximity of Bhagawan
that is granted to devotees, particularly to students, urged
the gathering that it is the duty of each and every devotee
that he or she imbibes the teachings of Bhagawan and put the
same into practice in everyday life. Quoting one of the
recent Divine Discourses, he reminded that God is not
residing in Kailasa or Vaikuntha but is the indweller of all
hearts…one has to look deep inside to understand and realize
the Supreme Truth: "I am I".
The last speaker was Mr. Anil Vinayak Gokak, Vice Chancellor
of Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning who in his
enlightening speech gave a glimpse of the role of Bhagawan
as the Supreme Guru. 'Gu' is Gunatheetha and 'Ru' is Rupa
Varjitha; Formless and Attributeless. The difference between
Guru and Teacher is that the teacher imparts knowledge
whereas the Guru imparts impulses hich are transformational
in nature. Mr. Gokak also stressed on the significance of
the festival Guru Purnima: The full moon has the symbolic
value both for the Guru and Sishya. The cool light of the
full moon symbolises the fully illuminated mind of the Guru.
Guru illuminates the path of divinity. For the Sishya full
moon symbolises his inner awakening and his inner awakening
reaches higher levels and in turn he expresses his gratitude
to the Guru for the inner awakening that takes place as a
result of transmission of impulses by the Guru. He urged the
devotees to review, to introspect as to where one stands and
the extent of progress one has made in their spiritual
journey.
After the end of His Divine
discourse, Bhagawan has formally released the 5th Volume of
His Biography, Sathyam Sivam Sundaram.
In the afternoon, students from
Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning, Prasanthi
Nilayam Campus enthralled one and all by bringing the Life
Story of Rama through mellifluous rendering of Ramakatha in
the immediate Divine Presence of Sai Rama.
Text source:
http://www.sssbpt.org/Pages/Prasanthi_Nilayam/gurupurnima.htm
Images source:
http://www.sssbpt.org/Pages/Prasanthi_Nilayam/Gurupurnima_05_Photos.htm
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