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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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