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Convocation Day
22 November is the Convocation day of Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning, Prasanthi Nilayam.
Bhagawan Baba, “In olden days, when the pupils completed their educational tenure in the ashram of the guru and were about to enter the life of a grihastha (householder), the preceptor gave them a parting message to serve them as guidelines for their worldly and spiritual good. That ceremony is observed today as a Convocation. (SSS Vol.20)
The students were provided with holy guidelines and reminded of their duties. When the young were at the Gurukul, with fellow students and teachers, engaged in study, one had to strive ceaselessly to cultivate serenity, purity and detachment, and try to identify their truth. For, the stage of Brahmacharya (studentship) sets the pace and decides the fate of three subsequent stages of householder, recluse and monk. (SSS Vol.19)
When pupils completed mastery, of all branches of knowledge at the Gurukuls in ancient India, they were exhorted, on the day they left the sacred precincts of the hermitage, by the loving preceptor who showered blessings on them, to observe certain ideals and adhere to certain practices and attitudes in life. (SSS Vol.15)
The advice given by gurus during Convocations in hermitages is the same. "Mother and Motherland are more worthy of reverence than Heaven. Your parents are sacrificing their comforts and even necessities in order to ensure your progress. It is your duty to revere them and make them happy. Engage yourselves in acts that others will respect and not in acts of which you feel ashamed. Honour the elders. Love your native land." After receiving such directions from the Gurus, students returned home, with hearts heavy with gratitude and sorrow at the departure from the hermitages. The Convocation marked the close of a sweet chapter in life when the ideals to be pursued in later years were implanted. So the leave taking was fraught with humility and hope. They realised then that life involved both coming together and separation from each other. They engraved in their hearts in golden letters the advice imparted to them on the occasion of departure. (SSS Vo. 19)
The convocation address, delivered on the occasion of conferring degrees to those who have passed the examinations and who are venturing into the world beyond, is but a poor counterpart of that benediction and that encouraging counsel. The message communicated then was most elevating and was worthy of practical application in daily life and each axiom was nectarine in content. Every advice was clothed in inspiration. The tone and tonic effect of the message has become erased in the womb of Time and reduced to a forgotten dream. While the immortal words of the Siksha Valli (the section on education) of the Taithiriya Upanishath are being repeated for their benefit, the pupils of those days were thrilled and transformed by them. The response of the students of today to the same message will only be a mixture of strangeness and surprise. But that same message can serve as a beacon-light to guide present day students, who are tossed about on endless waves of worry and anxiety caused by in-ordinate desire and vain pursuit of tantalising goals.The characteristic result of the modern educational process is the bloating of conceit into the size of a pumpkin when only a mustard seed size of learning has been acquired! And, the students aspire for unlimited rewards. As the proverb says, they pay for an onion and demand a melon as extra. The bond between jobs, degrees has to be cut asunder. Education should foster moral and spiritual excellence. Students should cultivate the intelligence needed to cleanse the mind to stand on one's own feet and to tender service to fellowmen. Napoleon used to tell his people: "Be clear. The rest will follow." Minds clear and strong can achieve the hardest tasks with ease.
"Speak the truth. Follow dharma (righteousness). Treat thy mother as God. Treat thy father asGod. Treat thy teacher as God. Treat thy guest as God." These were the duties marked out for the pupils. The baby is borne and bred by the mother, the child is fostered and fed by the father, the boy is directed and divinised by the guru, and the adult is afforded the chance to serve and sacrifice for the guest. Man is moulded and made to shine and spread light, by these four---mother, father, teacher and guest. Students might fail to revere the guest or adore the teacher as God. But, it will be a great pity if they fall into the sin of dishonouring the father and the mother.Students! Learn effective means to smother the anxiety, the tears, the cruelties and the lies that afflict the world today. Revive the ancient ideals of learning and of high living in the awareness of divinity. Shine forth in the splendour of eternal truth, in the practice of time tested values and in ways of holy living adjusted to the times. Be ready to renounce that which leads you as precious. Be heroes for adventure. The world needs today youths full of universal love, enthusiasm to serve, and disciplined emotions. Students must cultivate commendable virtues, mould themselves into ideal men and women, promote the happiness of their parent, and be examples to others through their holy thoughts and deeds. (SSS Vol.15)
Education does not mean imparting of verbal knowledge. The knowledge that is gathered in schools and colleges should be capable of being used for service to society and helping to improve the conditions of one's fellow men. The place where true teachers and students are gathered should be filled with serene peace and orderliness (SSS Vol.20)
Students! You must be aware of the implications of studentship. You have to translate that awareness into actual practice. You have to enshrine the experience in your hearts. You must, then, share the joy of that experience with others. Do not allow your minds to get agitated with limitless desires. (SSS Vo. 19)
Sanctify your lives by making every act of daily living holy and purposeful. Students should dedicate themselves to the revival of Bharat's hallowed culture and to the service of the Motherland. You must uphold the good name of the Institute wherever you are. Revere your parents and make them happy. (SSS Vol.20)
The cultivation of love is the greatest need today. There is no use in acquiring all kinds of knowledge and performing of japas and mediation if there is no love in the heart. It is love alone which can save the world. Students, teachers and lovers of education! I wish that in your attempt to perfect the system of education you provide for love, dharma and moral values, for these alone can take the country forward and enable it to regain its past glory. (SSS Vol. 18)
First and foremost, make your parents happy. Make everybody happy and be an ideal.
The Vedas declare,
Sahanavavathu, sahana bhunakthu,
Sahaveeryam Karavavahai
Tejaswi navadheethamasthu
Maa Vidhvisaavahai.
May we grow in intelligence and valour working together!
May we live in friendship without any conflict!
I wish that you practice and propagate these sacred ideals. Blessing you.”
Convocation Day
22 November is the Convocation day of Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning, Prasanthi Nilayam.
Bhagawan Baba, “In olden days, when the pupils completed their educational tenure in the ashram of the guru and were about to enter the life of a grihastha (householder), the preceptor gave them a parting message to serve them as guidelines for their worldly and spiritual good. That ceremony is observed today as a Convocation. (SSS Vol.20)
The students were provided with holy guidelines and reminded of their duties. When the young were at the Gurukul, with fellow students and teachers, engaged in study, one had to strive ceaselessly to cultivate serenity, purity and detachment, and try to identify their truth. For, the stage of Brahmacharya (studentship) sets the pace and decides the fate of three subsequent stages of householder, recluse and monk. (SSS Vol.19)
When pupils completed mastery, of all branches of knowledge at the Gurukuls in ancient India, they were exhorted, on the day they left the sacred precincts of the hermitage, by the loving preceptor who showered blessings on them, to observe certain ideals and adhere to certain practices and attitudes in life. (SSS Vol.15)
The advice given by gurus during Convocations in hermitages is the same. "Mother and Motherland are more worthy of reverence than Heaven. Your parents are sacrificing their comforts and even necessities in order to ensure your progress. It is your duty to revere them and make them happy. Engage yourselves in acts that others will respect and not in acts of which you feel ashamed. Honour the elders. Love your native land." After receiving such directions from the Gurus, students returned home, with hearts heavy with gratitude and sorrow at the departure from the hermitages. The Convocation marked the close of a sweet chapter in life when the ideals to be pursued in later years were implanted. So the leave taking was fraught with humility and hope. They realised then that life involved both coming together and separation from each other. They engraved in their hearts in golden letters the advice imparted to them on the occasion of departure. (SSS Vo. 19)
The convocation address, delivered on the occasion of conferring degrees to those who have passed the examinations and who are venturing into the world beyond, is but a poor counterpart of that benediction and that encouraging counsel. The message communicated then was most elevating and was worthy of practical application in daily life and each axiom was nectarine in content. Every advice was clothed in inspiration. The tone and tonic effect of the message has become erased in the womb of Time and reduced to a forgotten dream. While the immortal words of the Siksha Valli (the section on education) of the Taithiriya Upanishath are being repeated for their benefit, the pupils of those days were thrilled and transformed by them. The response of the students of today to the same message will only be a mixture of strangeness and surprise. But that same message can serve as a beacon-light to guide present day students, who are tossed about on endless waves of worry and anxiety caused by in-ordinate desire and vain pursuit of tantalising goals.The characteristic result of the modern educational process is the bloating of conceit into the size of a pumpkin when only a mustard seed size of learning has been acquired! And, the students aspire for unlimited rewards. As the proverb says, they pay for an onion and demand a melon as extra. The bond between jobs, degrees has to be cut asunder. Education should foster moral and spiritual excellence. Students should cultivate the intelligence needed to cleanse the mind to stand on one's own feet and to tender service to fellowmen. Napoleon used to tell his people: "Be clear. The rest will follow." Minds clear and strong can achieve the hardest tasks with ease.
"Speak the truth. Follow dharma (righteousness). Treat thy mother as God. Treat thy father asGod. Treat thy teacher as God. Treat thy guest as God." These were the duties marked out for the pupils. The baby is borne and bred by the mother, the child is fostered and fed by the father, the boy is directed and divinised by the guru, and the adult is afforded the chance to serve and sacrifice for the guest. Man is moulded and made to shine and spread light, by these four---mother, father, teacher and guest. Students might fail to revere the guest or adore the teacher as God. But, it will be a great pity if they fall into the sin of dishonouring the father and the mother.Students! Learn effective means to smother the anxiety, the tears, the cruelties and the lies that afflict the world today. Revive the ancient ideals of learning and of high living in the awareness of divinity. Shine forth in the splendour of eternal truth, in the practice of time tested values and in ways of holy living adjusted to the times. Be ready to renounce that which leads you as precious. Be heroes for adventure. The world needs today youths full of universal love, enthusiasm to serve, and disciplined emotions. Students must cultivate commendable virtues, mould themselves into ideal men and women, promote the happiness of their parent, and be examples to others through their holy thoughts and deeds. (SSS Vol.15)
Education does not mean imparting of verbal knowledge. The knowledge that is gathered in schools and colleges should be capable of being used for service to society and helping to improve the conditions of one's fellow men. The place where true teachers and students are gathered should be filled with serene peace and orderliness (SSS Vol.20)
Students! You must be aware of the implications of studentship. You have to translate that awareness into actual practice. You have to enshrine the experience in your hearts. You must, then, share the joy of that experience with others. Do not allow your minds to get agitated with limitless desires. (SSS Vo. 19)
Sanctify your lives by making every act of daily living holy and purposeful. Students should dedicate themselves to the revival of Bharat's hallowed culture and to the service of the Motherland. You must uphold the good name of the Institute wherever you are. Revere your parents and make them happy. (SSS Vol.20)
The cultivation of love is the greatest need today. There is no use in acquiring all kinds of knowledge and performing of japas and mediation if there is no love in the heart. It is love alone which can save the world. Students, teachers and lovers of education! I wish that in your attempt to perfect the system of education you provide for love, dharma and moral values, for these alone can take the country forward and enable it to regain its past glory. (SSS Vol. 18)
First and foremost, make your parents happy. Make everybody happy and be an ideal.
The Vedas declare,
Sahanavavathu, sahana bhunakthu,
Sahaveeryam Karavavahai
Tejaswi navadheethamasthu
Maa Vidhvisaavahai.
May we grow in intelligence and valour working together!
May we live in friendship without any conflict!
I wish that you practice and propagate these sacred ideals. Blessing you.”