SRI SATHYA SAI INSTITUTE OF HIGHER LEARNING (Deemed to be University) SUMMER COURSE in Indian Culture and Spirituality 2014 Dedicated with Love to our Beloved Revered Founder Chancellor Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba Dedicated with Love to our Beloved Revered Founder Chancellor Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba Vidyagiri,Copyright Prasanthi © 2015 Nilayam by – Sri 515134, Sathya Anantapur Sai Institute District, Andhra of Higher Pradesh, IndiaLearning All Rights Reserved. The copyright and the rights of translation in any language are reserved by Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning (Deemed to be University). No part, paragraph, passage, text, photograph or artwork of this book should be reproduced, transmitted or utilised, in original language or by translation, in any form or by means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or by any information, storage and retrieval system, except with prior permission in writing from Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning, Vidyagiri, Prasanthi Nilayam - 515134, Anantapur District, Andhra Pradesh, India. First Edition: April 2015 Content, Editing & Desktop Publishing by: Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning www.sssihl.edu.in Printed at: Vagartha, NR Colony, Bangalore – 560019 +91 80 22427677 | [email protected] SUMMER COURSE IN INDIAN CULTURE & SPIRITUALITY 13-15 June 2014 | Prasanthi Nilayam Preface ost universities the world over set aside a few days during the beginning of each academic year to host orientation programmes for Mnewly admitted students. They are designed to help students to engage with the values and traditions of the university, get familiar with the facilities and resources it has to offer, and serve as an introduction to the academic climate and expectations of the institution. Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning, founded by Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, is unique in this aspect. The focus of the university is to inculcate good qualities, mould character and instil Self-confidence in students; preparing them to be better human beings who will be ideal examples of goodness and work for the benefit of society at large. To this end, the University has an intensive two-and-a-half day Summer Course in Indian Culture & Spirituality at the beginning of each academic year to orient students to Bhagawan’s educational philosophy and give them deep insights into what they could imbibe while pursuing their higher learning from this unique institution. It aims at preparing students to make the best use of the extraordinary opportunities that lie ahead of them. The genesis of the event dates back to the early seventies, when Bhagawan Baba organized Summer Courses in Indian Culture and Spirituality for the benefit of students. The course then was usually three to four weeks long and would typically consist of a series of lectures on Indian culture, the essence of the scriptures and other spiritual topics delivered by learned scholars, senior devotees and men of esteem. The highlight however was the daily discourse by Baba Himself, delivered typically in the evening. The Summer Courses in this format continued through the seventies; and after a brief hiatus (in the eighties), they continued into the nineties, until the last one in 2002. The current format of the Summer Course—two-and-a-half days during the second week of each academic year—has been in place since 2011. For the 6 academic year 2014/15, the event was held from 13th to 15th of June 2014. Students and teachers from all four campuses of the Institute as well Sathya Sai Mirpuri College of Music, Sri Sathya Sai Higher Secondary School, Prasanthi Nilayam (Class XI and Class XII) and Sri Sathya Sai Gurukulam English Medium School, Rajahmundry participated. This year, the themes (study circles amongst students) of the Summer Course were Rise from Animality to Divinity and From Knowledge to Wisdom, based on the 1992 Summer Course discourses that Bhagawan Baba delivered. All morning sessions took place in the Poornachandra auditorium at Prasanthi Nilayam and commenced with invocatory Vedic chanting by students of SSSIHL. The evening sessions consisted of talks and music programmes by students of individual campuses, along with Vedam chanting and Bhajans in the Sai Kulwant Hall, Prasanthi Nilayam. After dinner, each campus of the Institute held parayanam sessions, where senior academic staff and alumni would share with students their experiences with Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba and the wonderful Divine Love and blessings He showered on all. This book chronologically represents the entire programme of the Summer Course in Indian Culture and Spirituality 2014. This includes all the speeches, interactive sessions such as the Parayanam sessions (experiences with Bhagawan Baba), panel discussions and situational analyses. Every effort has been made to keep the first person narrative intact, so that the reader can appreciate the personality of the speaker and the purport of his or her talk. The reason for publishing the proceedings of the Summer Course in the form of a book is threefold. First, it functions as a valuable reference publication for the staff, students and visitors of the University. Secondly—for the public at large—it serves as a wonderful introduction to Indian culture and spirituality. Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, the book is glittered with personal incidents that the speakers have had with Bhagawan Baba and in many instances highlights Bhagawan’s teachings on several spiritual topics. 7 CONTENTS SSSIHL Summer Course 2014 DAY 1 | 13 June 2014 LESSONS FROM THE BHAGAVAD GITA FOR MODERN SOCIETY WELCOME NOTE Kum. Haripriya T V | 65 Dr. T Ravikumar | 10 LESSONS FROM THE BHAGAVATAM INAUGURAL ADDRESS FOR MODERN SOCIETY 68 Prof. J Shashidhara Prasad | 13 Sri Anvit Manohar Hegde | SIGNIFICANCE OF CULTURE IN HUMAN DEVELOPMENT DAY 3 | 15 June 2014 Prof. B S Nanjunda Dixit | 17 CHINNA KATHA ANALYSIS EXERCISE 72 | BHAJAN ANTAKSHARI VALEDICTORY SESSION Moderator: Sri Amey Deshpandey | 24 Dr. (Miss) Kiron Bala Arora | 81 LESSONS FROM THE RAMAYANA FOR MODERN SOCIETY | 26 Sri M Sai Ganesh PARAYANAM SESSIONS - Experiences with LESSONS FROM THE BHAGAVAD GITA Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba FOR MODERN SOCIETY ANANTAPUR Campus Sessions Sri R Sai Swaroop | 30 Ms. A Prasunamba | 86 Ms. Sai Lakshmi Devi | 89 DAY 2 | 14 June 2014 Mrs. M Shourie | 94 97 ALUMNI PANEL DISCUSSION – IDEAL SAI Ms. M Vijayalakshmi | STUDENTS AND THEIR ROLE IN SOCIETY PRASANTHI NILAYAM Campus Sessions Moderator: Prof. A Anantha Raman | 34 Prof. Radhakrishnan Nair | 103 116 LESSONS FROM THE MAHABHARATA Sri Amey Deshpande | FOR MODERN SOCIETY BRINDAVAN Campus Sessions Sri S Sai Giridhar | 44 Sri Aravind Balasubramanya | 125 LESSONS FROM THE RAMAYANA Sri C G Sai Prakash | 134 FOR MODERN SOCIETY MUDDENAHALLI Campus Sessions Miss Dibba Bhargavi | 53 Dr. S Siva Sankara Sai | 149 QUIZ ON THE LIFE OF BHAGAWAN Sri M G Nandagopal | 153 SRI SATHYA SAI BABA Dr. S Subramanian & team | 63 Day 1 | 13 June 2014 Welcome Note Dr. T Ravikumar Associate Professor, Dept. of Chemistry, SSSIHL Warden, Brindavan Campus, SSSIHL he Summer Course in Indian Culture & Spirituality began in the year 1972 in Brindavan. Speaking on that occasion, Bhagawan said, “Bharat isT a punya bhoomi. The very air that blows through this land has truth in it; the very dust that rises has righteousness embedded in it; the rivers that flow through this land are suffused with love in them and every Bharatiya has forbearance installed in his heart. This is a land whose glory is immeasurable; there is no land of this kind anywhere in the world. But sorry is the plight of Bharatiya culture this day. There is no one who has talked to the youth about the glory of this culture.” The youth these days see the Bharatiya culture through the eyes of the television anchors of the west and the Internet. The lifestyle of the west has made them starry eyed, making them forget the grandeur and glory of this culture. Bhagawan said, “Nobody has exposed our youth to the wonderful culture of our country. Therefore, I have taken upon Myself the task of doing this to the youth of this country.” From the year 1972 onwards, we had the Summer Course in Indian Culture & Spirituality. Typically lasting for thirty days, they would consist of students drawn from all states of India. The books that were compiled of these Summer Courses were named Summer Showers in Brindavan- Brindavan (in Bangalore) owing to the location and summer showers owing to the fact that the Indian monsoon typically started around this time of the year (May/ June). The external environment would be cool and Bhagawan would shower His nectarine discourses on all of us. He would pick up various themes of Indian Culture like Brahman, Bhagavad Gita, Bhaja Govindam, Srimad Bhagavatam, Ramayana, Mahabharata and the various epics and scriptures. Swami said, “Bharat is a punya bhoomi, it is a land of penance. The leaders of modern times are trying to convert it into a bhoga bhoomi (a land of pleasures); a land of skyscrapers and tinned food. This is a dangerous defiance of history 10 and a crime against humanity because if Bharatiya culture perishes, so does humankind.” To expose youth to the culture and scriptures of this land and to know what has made this civilization last from time immemorial, to this day—at His University—we conduct this Summer Course. It also highlights to the youth, the eternal presence and the vibrancy of this Bharatiya culture. It is this culture that the Avatar came down to nurture and nourish. Let us listen from Bhagawan Himself, what is culture and spirituality: Students! We have this Summer Course in Indian Culture & Spirituality. There is no difference between culture and spirituality. In spirituality we have culture or samskruti. That which refines oneself is samskruti. When you give gold to a goldsmith to make a bangle, he will put it in fire, hammer it and cut it.