Images from Gurupurnima Celebrations 2005 at Prasanthi Nilayam & text Report

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Images from Gurupurnima Celebrations 2005 at Prasanthi

Nilayamhttp://www.sssbpt.org/Pages/Prasanthi_Nilayam/Gurupurnima_05_Photos.htm

Gurupurnima at Prasanthi Nilayam

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 into and

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.

 

 

 

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