“The Spirit shall look out through Matter’s gaze And Matter shall reveal the Spirit’s face.”
- Sri Aurobindo, “Savitri”
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| Sri Sathya Sai with the Vedam Students |
Spiritual education is to be secured only at the Divine Lotus Feet of Swami, by students as well as teachers; however, the Institute strives to build into all its programmes a spiritual attitude towards education. While learning their course content, be it Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry or Management, with all the academic rigor and meeting the highest standards of proficiency, our students do not forget that learning these subjects is not an end in itself.
No formal educational system intends to turn out crassly self-centered students, moved by considerations of self-aggrandizement or amoral attitude. However, very often, the atmosphere in educational institutions does not provide for a conscious and coherent development of students informed by wholesome considerations of the larger welfare of society or a spontaneous assumption of responsibility towards the betterment of less well-placed brethren. It is our belief that young men and women who want to pursue higher education are essentially well-motivated people. If given a proper learning atmosphere wherein values are taught, cherished and practised, they are more likely to foster them during their own lifetime, wherever they go and whatever profession or occupation they come to hold.
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| Sri Sathya Sai with Students serving during Narayan Seva (poor feeding) |
It is easier to preach than practice and nothing is more likely to make students cynical than the disparity between preaching and practising. That is why Bhagavan often talks to us about practising at least one virtue instead of merely talking about virtues as a whole. He tells us that practice of virtue is possible only where there is synchronization of good thought, good word and good action. Such synchronization leads to transparency and credibility. Young people who grow in an atmosphere where people stand as examples of unity in thought, word and deed themselves become role models, when they go out into the wide world and take up positions in organizations and in society. In the long run, this is the only sure way for well-educated students to combat the enveloping cynicism.
Charity begins at home, it is said. Similarly, morality begins with oneself. It is better to practice good conduct than to criticize others for their lack of good conduct. It is in this context Swami asks the students not to indulge in criticism of others. Moral life is both a means and an end. Moral life is to be led whether others lead it or not and that is why it is an end in itself. It becomes a means when the practice of it invests the practitioner with an authority that far exceeds the position he holds.
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| Sri Sathya Sai with Students - consecrating the idols of Rama Family for the Hostel |
Noble qualities such as selflessness, sacrifice, gratitude to parents, Institute, societies and God, adherence to virtuous conduct in private and public life get promoted in an atmosphere of purity and divinity inherent in the presence of Bhagavan. Swami points out to students that while they should do well in their academic studies and bring joy to their parents, they should also be aware that acquisition of degrees is not the objective of their stay at the Institute and that their formal education should really lead to being better human beings, eschewing animal qualities in them, practising balance and moderation in their lives, giving no room to excessive desires of any kind and leading their lives in a spirit of dedication to the Omnipresent Divine. Human birth is a rare gift and human beings are essentially divine. All education must be a process of bringing out the divine in man, that is, to make manifest what’s already there. Such an education is not bound in time as in the case of formal secular education. Their stay in the Institute in the presence of Bhagavan is meant to give them the necessary internal strength to quietly pursue that journey.
Secular and sacred education are seen as mutually reinforcing. There is no dissonance; spiritual education is not contra posed to secular education. Such an education should help the students to consider all life as precious, to consider all men worthy of respect, to treat parents with love and reverence, to appreciate that underprivileged people deserve kindness and compassion, and all service rendered to them as service done to the Omnipresent God who is seated in their own hearts.
While the academic community can feel a sense of fulfillment in fostering and promoting an ambience of teacher-directed learning as also student-driven self-learning, the long term beneficial impact on the students’ mental, moral and spiritual make-up is wholly attributable to the presiding Chancellor of the Institute, who is also considered by a large section of mankind as the presiding Chancellor of the Universe.
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| Sri Sathya Sai with Students celebrating Krishna Janmashtami |
The students at the Institute have opportunities to learn about the perennial ever-refreshing wisdom of their ancient land as given by the scriptures, oral traditions, classics, philosophical treatises, epics, dramas and poems. They become familiar with ideals exemplified by the Divine Manifestations as recorded in great classics and the undiminished relevance of such ideals and eternal values in today’s world and their visible representation in the form of Bhagavan. Education, therefore, is seen by them as not merely to be acquired and spent in a routine manner, but as a sacred trust meant to be used for the betterment of the people around them.
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| Sri Sathya Sai with Students after the Drama on Annamacharya |
Good education is hard to get. Good and free education is even more difficult to secure. Good, free and “man-making” education as given by Swami is one of its kind. The students get to know through their period of study here that nothing is expected of them by Swami except that they should use this literally God-given opportunity to prepare for a nobler, higher life. It is this visible act of selflessness of the Chancellor and their belief that enable them to put forth their conscious and continuous efforts at self-improvement to become worthy recipients of His love and grace.
Human nature is frail and unsteady. Education that provides strength and steadiness is a great gift. Students who receive such gift from Swami would have secured something precious to build their lives upon. They will not merely be working for a conventionally secure life, but striving for a good life – a life characterized by a sweet disposition towards others because others are also a reflection of one’s larger Self. What is spiritual education, if it is not a practical education which establishes the identity of the individual with that of others, thus promoting and realizing the reign of Non-duality?
About the Author
Sri K. Chakravarthi with Sri Sathya Sai
Sri K Chakravarthi joined the Indian Administrative Service (Andhra Pradesh cadre) in 1960; worked as Collector of Anantapur District, and held various positions including Finance Secretary (Projects), Commissioner of Relief and Commissioner of Commercial Taxes. He left the IAS in 1981 to become the first Registrar of Sri Sathya Sai Institute and later served as the Member-Secretary of Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust. Currently, he is the Chancellor of Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning.
Source: Vidyagiri: Divine Vision (2006)
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