VIAJES DE SAI BABA POR EL MUNDO 2015 09 Singapore Macau English

8/18/2019 VIAJES DE SAI BABA POR EL MUNDO 2015 09 Singapore Macau English

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Divine SatsangSingapore – 29th September, 2015

Macau – 3rd October, 2015

Divine Discourses

By Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba

In the Subtle Body

COPYRIGHT

Copyright © Sri Sathya Sai Premamruta Prakashana ®, Sathya Sai Grama, Muddenahalli,

Chikkaballapur Taluk and District – 562101, Karnataka, India.

This Booklet contains material protected under Union and International Copyright Laws and

Treaties. Any unauthorised reprint or use of this material is prohibited. No part of this bookletmay be reproduced or transmitted in any form, in the original language or by translation, by

any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any

information storage and retrieval system without express written permission from the

Publisher. Please contact [email protected] for more information.

All rights reserved.

November 2015.


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Table of Contents

Page

29th September 2015

Introduction to Singapore Visit 3

Morning Session at Sai Anandam

1. Report on Presentations at Guru Vikas Conference 4

2. Divine Discourse at the launch of Guru Vikas 7

3.

Question & Answer Session 15

Evening Session at Sai Anandam

1. Summary of talk by Father Charles Ogada 27

2. Summary of talk by Sri C. Sreenivas 28

3. Evening Divine Discourse 29

4. Question & Answer Session 35

3

rd

October 20151. Introduction to Macau Visit 41

2. Summary of talk by Sri B. N. Narasimha Murthy 43

3. Divine Discourse 45

4. Question & Answer Session 49


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Introduction to Singapore Divine Visit, 29th September, 2015

Singapore was the third leg of the Divine Asia - Pacific tour. This was the sixth visit of our

Beloved Lord continuing His Divine Romance with Singapore. We are eternally grateful to

The Lord for having chosen Singapore to be the stepping stone for all His visits to the Asia -

Pacific.

Three of the entourage stayed at Sai Anandam, the first of the 17 Ashrams which Swami is

establishing around the world for Prema Sai and the upliftment of humanity. The rest of the

group were accommodated at homes of Sai devotees in Singapore.

The next day (29th September, 2015) was the

inaugural event launching the GURU VIKAS

Movement (a unique mission of developing

and training Teachers) on a world-wide scale.

Twenty-eight individuals from 12 countries

were handpicked by Our Lord to attend the

first ever GURU VIKAS Conference in

Singapore. An excerpt of the various speakers

at the conference is included in this report.

The Supreme Teacher of Teachers BHAGAWAN SRI SATHYA SAI BABA then gave the

GURU VIKAS Discourse. It was a full day as Swami gave interviews after the Discourse and

then visited the home of an ardent devotee, Brother R Yugumaran and his family.

The evening Satsang commenced at 4.45 pm. More than 300 devotees had gathered at Sai

Anandam to meet their Beloved Lord and hear Him fill their hearts with bliss yet again.

Swami’s Discourse was preceded by short talks by Father Charles Ogada from Nigeria and C

Sreenivas, the Managing Trustee of the Sri Sathya Sai Health and Education Trust.

After Arathi Swami called all the overseas Gurus and lovingly spoke to each of them before

leaving for dinner at the home of another ardent devotee, Dr. Ganesan Naidu.

Swami took Arathi and left Singapore on the morning of 30th September. We were filled

with a heavy heart on His departure and eagerly await His return to our shores soon. Swami

subsequently travelled to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to bless His devotees. On 2nd October,some of Swami’s entourage left KL for Bhagawan’s visit to Macau.

This digital booklet is a collection of events, excerpts of talks and Bhagawan Sathya Sai

Baba’s Discourses in Singapore on Tuesday, the 29 th September and in Macau on Saturday

3rd October, 2015.

Lovingly offered at Dear Bhagawan’s Lotus Feet


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Report on Various Presentations at the Inaugural Guru Vikas Conference

29th September 2015, Sai Anandam, Singapore

Welcome by Bhuvana Santhanam, Organising Chairperson of the Guru Vikas Conference

It is a historical day with the launch of the Guru Vikas initiative by Bhagawan. Swami has

remarked that this will become a very big worldwide initiative. This Guru Vikas initiative

started in May 2015 in Kodaikanal and Swami had guided us to this very important day.

As a remedy to the plight of poor parenting, Bhagawan had given the gift of Guru Vikas a

comprehensive value based train-the-trainer programme. With this, thousands of children will

get transformed for generations to come by teachers who will be extra strong and act as a

catalyst in the process of modification and transformation.

On the Guru Vikas logo and its significance, Swami had instructed that it should have the sun and a

gesture of two hands in namaskar. Swami said, "A

Guru is like the sun who removes the darkness or

ignorance by selflessly burning himself or herself out.

It's only by sacrifice that one can teach love." The logo

was developed under Bhagawan’s Divine guidance.

Introduction by Sri B. N. Narasimha Murthy

Swami even in His Subtle Form works tirelessly to ease the pain and suffering of others.

Apart from Swami’s infinite love and compassion for everyone is His bleeding heart. Many a

times, Swami was moved to tears during His physical form, talking about the sufferings of

others. When Swami launched Grama Seva in Puttarparthi in 2000, He broke down saying,

“Do you know what prompted Me to undertake this Grama Seva? A poor helpless woman in

a village committed suicide because she could not feed her children.” Sri Narasimha Murthy

urged all to develop such a sensitive heart, saying the first thing any chosen instrument of

Swami has to develop is such a kind of heart, which feels that all children are mine. Now

Swami has no body, so all our bodies are His, and we need to be available to Him whenever

He needs us.

Sri Narashima Murthy ended by saying we should be very clear in our mind that without

devotion to God, without Sathya Sai, the God who has come to this world to rescue it there is

no education in human values. Devotion to God is the first thing and then you can teach about

the human values. Swami will guide on the syllabus for the Guru Vikas. Referring to the

assembled educators, he quoted the words of Jesus Christ, “You are the salt of the earth,”

because Swami has chosen you as His instruments to bring about a silent revolution in the

world - to change the elders through children. That is the revolution. To change those

children, we need committed teachers. That is where our requirements are.


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Presentation by Dr. Jeanne Lilly, psychologist & contemplative life coordinator, U.S.A.

Sister Jeanne said she was doing the presentation on behalf of Rita and Robert Bruce. Rita

Bruce is the author, of several books. She presented the methodology described in “ Love of

Conscience” and urged all to get a copy of the book. It explains the four aspects of human

nature and parenting and how they come together to develop and transform oneself and

therefore, the children. Baba had told Rita to write “ Love of Conscience” and gave the title of

the book. Swami had said “The proper study of mankind is man,” and the book is the proper

study of man. He had told Rita that it came from the Vedas.

When Sister Rita Bruce had the manuscript of the book ready and was asking for blessings

from Swami, a clove mysteriously appeared in the manuscript. Sister Rita Bruce knew the

clove meant something, as Swami never does anything without a reason. She silently asked

Swami, “Why the clove? What is the message You are trying to give me?” He replied within,

“The stem of the clove is symbolic of the root, the Divine source of all energy, which is God.

This root splits into four prongs that represent the four energies, four pillars, four corners on

which the world sits. The round ball in the middle of the clove is symbolic of the world.

These four energies support the world. The very meaning of the word clove is ‘c-love’, which

means conscious love. This clove is symbolic of the knowledge that you will learn about.”

The four aspects of energies are emotional, physical, intellectual and discrimination. When

perfected, each of these becomes a human value. With emotion, it motivates us to take action,

so when God is acting through us and we know we are not the doers, we achieve peace

(shanti). The physical body and senses are about protecting us from harm. In pursuit of our

desires we often do harm to others. When we eliminate selfishness and desire goodness forall, we achieve non-violence (ahimsa). When intellect is perfected and ignorance is gone, we

know the truth of our own divinity. Discrimination is about making judgments about what to

do, and when we perfect this energy, we have right conduct (dharma).

These four aspects also relate to the four steps of action, thought, words, deeds and

consequence. Conscious love means to be continuously aware of our words, thoughts, and

deeds. If we are conscious of the four energies within us and the programs that are created by

them, we have an expanded understanding of what is happening within ourselves. Then we

can transform our negative qualities into positive ones. The result is conscious love. The

ultimate consequence is that we become vessels of love.

Presentation by Dr. Ron & Suwanti Farmer, clinical psychologists and educators,

Australia

Dr. Ron and Sister Suwanti (Su for short) have been involved in Human Values education

since 1985. They are founding directors of the “Toogoolawa School” in Australia, which

provides full-time Human Values education for boys and have been training parents and

teachers of the Sathya Sai primary schools in Australia in Human Values education. They are


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currently writing a handbook titled, “The Mindful Teacher in Human Values Education,

Scientifically Grounded Teaching Strategies for a Meaningful Life,” under Swami’s direction.

In Australia, recently, Swami announced the setting up of a teachers’ training institute, saying

many will graduate from this institute and will go and teach in schools. They have developed

and run a comprehensive training approach in motivating teachers to implement human

values in the educational system. Swami had asked them to address two main issues (a) how

to bring about the transformation in the teachers, and (b) how teachers can impart and bring

out these values in the children. This eight-part program is equivalent to post-graduate

training in Australia.

The first module is to introduce people to the principles of human value education and to

understand what lies ahead of them. Experiential techniques are used, including guided

imagination, brainstorming and journaling. The second looks at strategies in human value

education for children. It draws on research on values education (also known as character

education). The third module is on brain emotional learning, to help people understand how

to do work on themselves. The fourth is human values in curriculum, which covers research

findings on various education systems and assesses what were the requirements for the best

outcome, in terms of children’s well-being, teachers’ well-being, academic proficiency, and

so on. The fifth module is about mindfulness teaching, which leads teachers into many

different ways of experiencing being in the presence ‘in the moment’. The sixth module is on

nurturing teacher well-being. The seventh and eight modules are teacher evaluation and

teaching material development respectively.

Presentation by Brother Sunil Naidu and Sister Sangita Naidu, Australia

The last presentation was on the Human Transformation methodology of Dr. Art-Ong Jumsai

and Sister Lorraine Burrows from Thailand’s ‘Institute of Human Values’. Their

methodology has been adopted in 24 countries. Brother Sunil and Sister Sangita spent almost

two years under the guidance of Dr. Art-Ong Jumsai, who has been an inspirational living

master to both of them, with regard to the transformation of the teachers and students. Sister

Sangita has a post-graduate degree in education, and has been involved with research along

with her husband, Brother Sunil, in the Sathya Sai Education in Human Values for the last 15years. They shared their journey as trained teachers on the training in Thailand with their

daily activities at the school in Thailand.


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Divine Discourse at the launch of Guru Vikas Programme

29th September, 2015, Sai Anandam, Singapore

Bhagawan Baba visited Singapore to launch the Guru Vikas programme amongst the chosen

Bal Vikas gurus from various parts of the world. Below is His Divine discourse, during themorning session, on the occasion of the Guru Vikas - teacher training programme.

I do not have any presentation to show. ( Laughter ) I don't have secretaries to make

presentations for Me. I only know one technique of teaching: Whatever is in My heart, that is

what I speak. And whatever is in the heart comes to My head, and that is what comes through

My mouth and through My hands. I know of no other way of talking and teaching like all of

you eminent trainers and teachers. I dropped out of school when I was only a boy. ( Laughter )

So what I can, I teach the teachers here. You are all very learned people. You all have been to

many parts of the world to attend many training programmes. Therefore, there’s really not

much that I can tell you, except for a few points of advice that you may choose to followaccordingly.

When I was a young boy, schools in villages were very poor. They did not have

infrastructure. They did not have benches and tables. They did not even provide meals to the

students. They did not have modern gadgets like the ones which are used now in schools.

Even the teachers were very simple.

Yet, amidst all these things, one thing that I remember even today are My teachers and the

love and affection with which they looked after the children. Even when they punished, they

punished out of sincere concern for the welfare of the child and nothing else, and not out ofany negative feelings. It is only out of love that they did whatever they were doing.

This love could be understood by the children, as well. Love is the language of the heart.

Today, when you all have come here from many parts of the world, for a very important

meeting, I had envisaged that this programme called Guru Vikas must happen now. It is the

right time to do it now.

I travel to many countries. I looked at the youth in these countries and found from the kind of

questions they asked, from their habits, and from their mannerisms, that they definitely

lacked good teachers. It is not the fault of the children who have become youths today.However, it is the responsibility of all the elders to provide them with good teachers to

provide good education.

Children are always Divine. They are born pure and Divine. They are like the rain that comes

down from the sky. Only when it touches the soil does it become muddy. Till then, it always

remains pure. When children interact with others in the society, they pick up the qualities of

the people around them. Rain that which is pure and colourless touches the soil and becomes

red, that is, acquires the colour of the soil. Likewise, children interact with their parents, with

their teachers, with other people in society and that's how they become one amongst them.


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To ensure the children remain pure, as they were when they were born, the environment

around them has to become pure. Guru Vikas is one such effort to ensure that they remain

what they are. They are pure, they are Divine, and they are full of love - and these qualities

must be preserved by providing them the right kind of environment.

It is not merely the responsibility of the parents to get the children educated or put them in the

school because they are born to them. Truly, children are the future of any society or country.

Therefore, it is the collective responsibility of every citizen of the country to ensure that

children get the right kind of education. Children cannot be blamed if something goes wrong

tomorrow. It is the entire society that needs to bear the blame for what has gone wrong.

‘T’ ‘E’ ‘A’ ‘C’ ‘H’ ‘E’ ‘R’ – that is the spelling of ‘teacher’ All the qualities of a teacher are

embedded in these letters which make up the word ‘teacher’. I have a plan and if you just

understand this word ‘teacher’ correctly, you will know what to do with your work in the

field of Guru Vikas.

See, the tank may be full of water but if the pipes are faulty, the water cannot be delivered

through the taps to the thirsty. If the water in the tank is cold and it runs through the pipes, the

pipes also become cold. If the water in the tank is hot, and it runs through the pipes, the pipes

also become hot. In the same way, if you derive all that you want to teach from the Divinity

within, you also become Divine in the process of teaching.

So, the very first letter ‘T’ in ‘teacher’ stands for transformation, and not merely information.

Information can be acquired from books, from the library, from many sources today.

Wherever I go, I see children playing with small computers or phones everywhere and they

learn a lot from these. The trouble is all parents do is give them their phones, and they are

busy with these phones and they learn a lot of things, good and bad. Who is responsible for

that? It is the one who has given that instrument into the hands of the children, and not the

fault of the children.

Likewise, the first thing that ‘teacher’ stands for is transformation. Merely providing bookish

knowledge or information is not the role of a true teacher. Definitely, the teacher needs to

provide information and knowledge as needed and but it is all knowledge related to this

world. This is important for survival in this world but it is not complete by itself. Such

information will produce great students but they will not be good students. The good part of itis also essentially the responsibility of the teacher. While the information makes the children

great, transformation will make them good, and therefore, the teacher’s primary role is to

bring about this transformation.

How does this transformation begin? It begins with the teacher - Acharathi iti Acharya, (the

one who practises is the teacher). The one who truly lives what he is teaching alone can be a

good teacher. First, transformation should happen within the teacher, and only by his conduct

can he teach the students.

Once upon a time, a mother brought her child to Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, who was a

spiritual Master during those times. She said, “My child eats too many sweets every day.


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Please tell him that he should reduce eating sweets.” Ramakrishna looked at the child and

said, “Come after one week.” Mother took the child back and returned with him promptly

after one week. Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa came out and told the child, “Hey boy, look,

you should not eat too many sweets, it is not good for you,” and he told them to go. Mother

was perplexed; she asked, “You could have said this a week ago. Why do you call him nowand tell him this?” Sri Ramakrishna said, “Amma, a week ago, I myself was eating too many

sweets! How could I preach something that I do not practise? In the last week, I practised not

to eat too many sweets. Therefore, now with authority, I can advise, I can preach to your

child, too.”

Swami used to eat a lot of paan in the earlier days. Those who have been with Swami in

those days will know that whether somebody was coming or not, the box of paan would

always accompany Swami wherever He went.

One day, a devotee who used snuff was sitting in front of Swami. All of a sudden, he felt like

sneezing. He took his kerchief, put it on his nose, and sneezed. The kerchief was completely

black because of the snuff. Looking at that, Swami told him, “Look at you, your habits are so

dirty! Your kerchief is all black because you use snuff.” Then he looked at Swami and said,

“But Swami, Your kerchief is also all red because You eat paan all the time.” That made Me

think: how I can preach to somebody to be clean, to keep his kerchief clean, when My

kerchief itself is red and stained because of paan? From that day onwards, I gave up eating

paan. It is only by sheer resolve to teach others that I had to give it up.

Therefore, transformation will not happen in others unless it has happened in you. You have

no authority to preach to anyone before you put what you preach into practice. The first ‘T’of the very word ‘teacher’ stands for transformation and not merely giving information to

people.

Then comes ‘E’. What is ‘E’? ‘E’ is, be an example to everyone -- not merely in the

classroom but whenever you are outside the classroom or wherever you are. You should be

an example to others. Children learn more from the teacher outside the classroom then what

they learn inside the classroom. In front of the police, all thieves will behave like saints but

when the police disappear, they will return to their bad habits.

In a classroom, in a school, everybody will behave well, bound by the rules. However, inyour personal time, in your personal lives, how you behave and conduct yourselves is

extremely important. Therefore, being a good example to everyone is very important. The

way you speak, the way you think, the way you act - everything should be exemplary. This

will be possible only if you truly practice whatever you are planning to teach. Unless you are

transformed, you cannot be an example to others.

For example, what is the greatest seva one can do? Being what you ought to be is the greatest

service that you can do to others. You then do not have to speak about it to anyone. Your

very presence will teach them. You see the Sun; the Sun rises in the sky all the time, and

burns itself out for the sake of nourishing the entire planet. Its very presence takes care of thesustenance of the entire universe. Likewise, the very presence of a good teacher will take care


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of everything that is happening in that school, in the society, and in the nation. An exemplary

teacher alone can create exemplary students. Therefore, in every aspect of your life be an

example, be willing to sacrifice all that is not good, and be willing to practice that which will

help you become an example to others.

Then comes ‘A’, awareness of Oneness, awareness of Atma. You cannot love others if you

think they are ‘others’, that they are different from you. The hand feeds the mouth, the mouth

then eats the food and sends it to the stomach, the stomach then digests and sends it to all the

parts of the body through the blood, which is pumped by the heart. All are working in unison,

because they know they are dependent on each other and are not different from each other.

Hence, Jesus said, “All are one, My dear son. Be alike to everyone.” Teachers should see the

inner Divinity in all these children and not differentiate between them based on their outer

appearances, habits and behaviour. They must believe that everyone is truly Divine.

Like the raindrops that are pure, it is only the company that changes people. Some students

might be well-behaved and they will listen to whatever you say. They will respect and honour

you, and so you love them. Some students may not be kind to you. They may not listen to

you, respect you, or follow you and you become judgmental and rude to them. First, accept

them, as all are one. Each is cast in the same image of Divinity and there is no difference

whatsoever amongst them. It is the circumstances that have made the children become what

they are. You should be able to see through these outer differences into the inner oneness of

all the children, and love them not as others, but as your own true self. It is you who have

come to yourself in a different form. It is the same God within you and in them. Every child

is Swami. He is only playing the role based on the time, space and circumstances that the

child was born and has grown up. All are Divine and if you believe everybody is Divine, all

your efforts will be fulfilled. If you think, “Oh! He is a useless fellow and there is no point in

me teaching anything to him. He is not going to change, he is only going to waste my time,”

then you will never achieve anything. If you truly believe that it is possible because he is

Divine, then you will be able to believe and keep the child close to you.

Transformation is not possible unless you believe that the child is Divine and will be

transformed by your efforts. Therefore, all are one. This awareness that everybody is the

same is extremely important. You should not differentiate. You should not judge children

based on their outer differences. What is an idol, after all? It is a piece of stone that has been

chiselled to perfection. Before it was an idol, it was only a piece of stone or a rock. All that

was unwanted was removed and what remained was the idol. So, believe that everybody is

Divine and Divinity is inside them. You should be able to bring out that Divinity from within

them.

I always insist that it is not about education; it is Educare. The Divinity which is within must

come out. You must provide an opportunity for the child to become and remain what it truly

is. Therefore, helping everybody understand that all are Divine, believing all are Divine, is

what you must teach the children. Don't differentiate based on the outer differences. This

awareness that all are one is extremely important. Whether the children are from India,Australia, America, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, or any part of the world – they are all


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essentially Divine. If you believe in their Divinity you will be able to teach them with all

your love; otherwise, you will become judgmental and will not be able to do justice to the job

that has been given to you.

‘T’, ‘E’, ‘A’ and then comes ‘C’, the culture of the country. The culture of the country is very

important while you teach. If you tell an Indian story to a Japanese child, what would he

understand? He will understand nothing. Therefore, what you teach using stories, parables, or

incidents that have happened, should be relevant to that particular country. You should design

your work, the teaching material, methods, whatever it might be, in the context of the country

where you are teaching.

All cultures have taught the same principles of brotherhood, of love, of goodness. Therefore,

there will be people in each culture and stories from each culture, which will help the

children appreciate and understand their culture better. There is no point in taking one story

and thinking it will be acceptable to every child. You should find locally, the relevant

materials, the language that you use, the people whose examples you quote, the methods that

are being used, that are relevant to the local culture and the country where the training is

happening.

‘H’ – Head, Hand and Heart. The unity of head, hand and heart is extremely important.

Hands – what do you mean by hands? That is shakti, the ability that you have to do things.

Head means your buddhi, that is, the intellect. Heart means your love – hridaya. ‘Hrid’ plus

‘daya’ – compassion is the quality of the heart. Unless head, hand and heart are working

together, you cannot teach. Otherwise, you will say something, do something, think

something else, and you will not win the trust of the people around you.

You must also understand the hands of the children - their physical growth is important. You

must understand how to take care of food, nutrition for the children; their growth, how to

look after their physical wellness, be it sports, games or various other kinds of physical

exercises. Unless the body is healthy, the mind cannot be healthy. Healthy food, healthy

place, and healthy activities are important for the child’s growth, as much as it is for you.

If a teacher has a big belly and goes around telling the students, “You see, you ought to be fit

and you should be running around,” who is going to bother about the teacher’s teachings? If

the teacher himself is eating the food of ten people and tells the children to eat selectively,carefully, who is going to listen to such a teacher? Hence, the teacher has to be healthy in

order to ensure the students follow.

You should know the nutritional needs of the children. In our schools, too, the people with a

lot of knowledge about nutrition, based on the age of the children, are providing advice in

order to prepare meals. Again, meals have to be prepared in the context of the local cuisine or

taste. You can’t take one menu from India and put it everywhere, in all places. Nobody will

be able to appreciate that.

With this healthy body comes the healthy mind, that is, the head. Therefore, your head should

also be healthy in order to ensure the children are healthy. Think good. Think positive. Many


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teachers think very negatively. In India, if you become a teacher, people look at you as

useless people in society. You could not become an engineer or a doctor or a lawyer, so you

have become a teacher. Such teachers are of no use.

Teachers who are sharp in their minds, who are intellectually capable of passing on

knowledge should become teachers. You should not become a teacher just because you did

not get another job. Teachers are essentially moulders of society. They are the builders of the

nation and must, take great pride and honour in their job of teaching. Don't think it is easier to

become a teacher because you cannot do anything else. In fact, a teacher’s job is the toughest

job, all other things are easy.

If you perform a bad operation, you will kill one person. If you construct a bad building, you

will kill a few more. If you are bad teacher, you will kill the entire nation. Therefore, it is

very important role and you must develop a sense of pride and honour that you are a teacher.

Helping others to become proud teachers is very important. It is a great role that you are

playing, whether somebody acknowledges it or not. The sharpest, and best of people should

take up the noble profession of teaching. You must encourage people who are intelligent to

participate in this programme.

Your hearts should be full of love and compassion. When children make mistakes, you must

ask yourself, did you not make mistakes like this when you were like them? If you cannot

learn how to forgive, you cannot teach anybody anything. Love will give you the power to

forgive and forget. Loves lives by giving and forgiving. Only selfishness lives by getting and

forgetting. The teacher’s life is always giving, and his job is to give and not judge. That

comes with a pure heart. The heart should lead you, and be your Guru. The head and handsshould follow. The heart should be the master. Only the unity of these three will help you

become a good teacher.

‘E’ is environment - the kind of place that you are teaching, the dress that you wear, the

language that you use. Many children go to schools. Schools are not at all like schools; they

are like offices. In Bengaluru, many schools don't have the culture of a school at all. There

are no playgrounds; the children are playing on the computer and not on the grounds outside.

They are eating food that was made three days ago and not what is brought fresh from the

farm. They don't get any of those good things that a child must get.

The right kind of environment is extremely important for children. Teachers must ensure that

the classrooms are bright, clean, and hygienic, that all the things are organised, and that there

are facilities to ensure that discipline, cleanliness and a good, positive environment is

maintained. Therefore, where you teach, and how you teach, what you wear, how the place is

- all this has impact.

When you go to an ashram you feel extremely peaceful when you see nature, the trees, the

flowers and the natural beauty. It immediately puts your mind at peace. A peaceful mind can

learn better. A place where there is too much of noise, that is not clean, and which is not

bright, will make the mind dull. You must ensure that the place for teaching is clean. That isthe role of the environment.


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‘R’ is role of religion. Most of the education system is afraid of talking about anything that

affiliates with religion. That leads to a lot of confusion in the minds of the people. From

ancient times, people have been fighting wars in the name of religion because they don't

understand anything. They quote and misquote from the scriptures without understanding a

word of them. An understanding that the undercurrent of all the religions is ‘the Brotherhoodof Man and the Fatherhood of God’ is extremely important.

Therefore, teachers must understand what the religions of the world teach. All religions are

like different schools, with different mediums of teaching and different teachers. However,

the subjects that are being taught are the same - the subjects of love, compassion, kindness,

and brotherhood are the same in all religions. A science teacher in India, America, Singapore

or Australia, may teach with different techniques or in a different language of communication

but nobody will teach that Sun rises from the west and sets in the east. All are going to teach

that the Sun rises from the east and sets in the west; the syllabus is the same. So, a proper

understanding of all the religions is very important.

I am telling you all this only to help you remember some important things. If I generally give

a long discourse, you will forget if it is not been categorised as point-wise. Likewise, when

you teach, you must also make it in a way that people will remember and not just talk. The

best technique for teaching is through your own practice. You must ask yourself, “Have I

understood it well?” If you have understood, only then you can go and teach others. Many

teachers don't go to teach. They confuse all the children. They talk big philosophies and then

the children think, “Oh, this teacher knows too much; maybe I am such a fool that I can’t

understand anything,” and they keep quiet. A good teacher should make the most

complicated subject look very simple, whereas a bad teacher will make simple subjects also

look very complicated.

There are many spiritual gurus nowadays all around the world, and they give long lectures

and discourses and use complicated philosophies and arguments to prove their point. The

poor, innocent devotees understand nothing of the whole programme. They only get

impressed by the verbal juggling performed, and they come back and think, “Oh this guru

knows too much!” The truth is, truth knows very few words to express itself. It is untruth that

needs many words. The one who is a true teacher would explain very simply, like the cows

eat grass and all kinds of things, but finally gives pure, white milk. Similarly, the teacher

should do more homework than the students. They should put in more effort to simplify what

is being taught.

I say everything in such a simple way that a lot of people think I don’t know very much. I

don’t talk about complicated things. Somehow, complication is considered as knowledgeable.

The truth is, one who has wisdom will always be simple. The greatest of teachers have

always been very simple. Keep yourself very simple. Simple living, high thinking.

A teacher who wears flashy clothes, moves around in a way that is very arrogant and then

comes and teaches the children to be humble and nice, is not going to be successful. You

have to first be, before you say anything. To ‘be’ is the first step. And then, to do, to see and


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to tell, these are the four steps; to be what you want others to be; to do what you are; to see if

there are mistakes children are making, and then only do you have the right to tell. You must

emphasise these four steps.

While I have given you a general understanding of what kind of teachers I am looking for, it

is important that you break it all down into a very clear-cut subject or syllabus. The entire

course of this teachers’ training should happen in nine phases, and in each phase of nine,

there will be nine sub-divisions, which everybody must understand. The first is just an

introduction to what a teacher’s role is in the context of transformation of the society and the

nation. You must grasp all aspects of what it means to be a teacher. That should be the first

part of the training.

You have to understand why they are joining this training, how it is going to benefit them,

and through them, the society and nation at large. What are the pre-requisites to be a good

teacher? Teachers must understand and be given a few months to do the homework,

understanding that they are ready and able to take the rest of the training. If they fail in the

very first programme and are not able to bring themselves to follow certain things, there is no

point pouring more water into the pots that have holes. All that will go to waste. First, repair

the pots; fill the cracks and holes. If they are ready to do that, then you should take them to

the second phase of the teaching. Otherwise, it will be a waste of time and effort.

Only sincere people will learn; others will waste energy and time. That's how you should take

them to develop in the second module, and the third and the fourth. You must understand

how you are going to take up each aspect that Swami has been speaking about, and how you

are going to make very simple, practical lessons, using stories, exercises, and different playsand parables, and then creating very interesting, simple ways of doing things. There should

be less of words and more of action. An action-oriented syllabus is what you should design.

When the teachers undergo training and return to their schools, they should apply what has

been taught to them and let you know the results, how it is has helped, where it has not

helped, and how it can be improved. Therefore, in each country when you first apply this,

take initially one school that you know and the teachers and principal whom you know, and

train them, and ask them to apply it in their own schools to their own children and see

whether it works or not.

The first step is to only take primary schools and, at the most, high schools. Don't go beyond

that. Start with primary and high school teachers, and then go to the higher levels. Those are

the formative years of the children. Whatever is taught will stay with them forever. It’s easier

to teach them. Water that has already spilled out of the vessel cannot be collected back. You

should save what is already in the vessel. Likewise, in the formative years of the children,

from six years to almost fourteen years, you should be able to teach most of it.

Identify such teachers and train them first. In each country, take one school, which is nearby,

and apply this and then see the results and make modifications accordingly. Take a year to

develop this programme carefully. Eventually, this programme will be accepted as a training


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programme for all the teachers all around the world. This will be part of the regular teacher

training modules of the governments, with modifications according to each country.

All this will happen. When Bal Vikas started, it was a very, very small thing. It centred on

how to keep these children away from bad company, and how to use their time well when

they finished school. With that thought, it started. Most of the children were troublemakers

after they came home from schools, and mothers did not know how to handle them. So, they

started by teaching them bhajans and telling them stories about Swami’s life and discourses,

and with that this Bal Vikas movement started. Ultimately, from high school you must take it

further to the college level, university level and further beyond.

All of you should spend some time together to understand. The earlier speakers have spoken

about many techniques which can be used in a collective way. Learn from each other how

best to achieve the goals. Take one school as an example first, apply whatever has been

taught, and ask the teachers to be in touch with you and inform you about the changes.

Are there any questions that you want to ask?

Swami lovingly answered the questions fielded by the assembled congregation

Question 1: It was said that the relation to God should always be a part of the training. In

Australia, many people are very averse to the word ‘God’. So, we have adopted the practice

that good is the same as God, as they are both dedicated to goodness. We can’t afford a

common language. Could Swami please provide more clarification on this.

Swami: They may not teach about God, but all the people in Australia belong to some

religion or the other, isn’t it? They follow some religion, be it Christianity, Hinduism, or

something else. In all these religions there is a concept of God, there is a concept of love and

brotherhood; therefore, I would say everybody should understand the basics of all religions

and the clarity about how all religions teach the same principle, and that the principle is the

principle of God.

If you teach the basics of all religions and develop broad-mindedness in the children, they

will automatically understand the concept of God, because that is being taught in every place.

You may or may not use the word ‘God’, but ultimately, the truth is that. Whether you use

the word ‘God’ or not, all religions mention and follow the concept of God. To develop

broad-mindedness, you should have a course to understand the religious philosophies of the

various religions.

Show the underlying oneness. If you teach that much to the teachers, that is enough. They

will have good understanding and they will be able to proclaim, “All are one”. However,

difficulties come whether you know it or not -- even the atheist says “Oh my God!” So he

knows that God exists, but he doesn’t understand the concept of God. Through their own

religion, teach them the concept of God; not merely out of a core syllabus, but making them


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understand their own religion better is good enough, along with all the other religions of the

world, and the oneness amongst them all.

Question 2: Swami, You said the entire course on teacher transformation can be graded in nine phases. Can You please, shed more light on that.

Swami: If I tell you the whole thing, what will you do? ( Laughter ) I want you all to put

together your thoughts and come up with how, step-by-step and practically, you can teach

them multiple things. For the first part, you should at least start with the general introduction

of why teachers play the most important role in society -- how they transform society, how

they can help the nation. All that Swami has spoken about today can be part of the first

course.

How do they need to behave? What do they need to do in order to be of help to society? Thengive them some practical examples. When I say transformation is important, practise before

you preach. Give them some examples, give them stories, give them exercises to do. The next

time, when a child makes a mistake, how would they deal with the same child? Would they

get angry and judgmental or would they compassionately try and resolve the problem with

the child? Would they try and understand why the child is behaving that way, or simply

conclude that it is a bad child? Would they take a positive approach, or would they take a

negative approach? In this manner, and with each of these principles, create practical

exercises which the teachers can implement and follow. They should return and feel that, yes,

they were able to find a difference, and are ready for the next course. Break up each the nine

phases this way.

Question 3: A lot of us come from countries that are multi-racial and multi-religious, and

the school systems are very committed to approaching education from a secular angle.

Religion is separated from education. You have rightly said that all religions teach the

same principles. However, there are religions in the world today that teach religion as if

theirs is the only path to God or theirs is the only right God, not recognising that all are

different paths to the same destination. In this scenario, teaching that ‘All are one’ and

'All Gods and all paths lead to the same destination’, in some countries, communities and

cultures would be interpreted as blasphemy. How do You advise us to approach this topic

without ruffling feathers? Thank You.

Swami: Whether somebody likes or does not like it, truth is truth. You cannot speak untruth

because you want to be popular amongst people who don't like the truth. Likewise, you must

maintain the truth. You need not take this and put it in the syllabus in the school. I want the

teachers to develop broad-mindedness and the right understanding. So, when they are

questioned by the children, just as you are asking today, teachers should have the right

answers. They should be able to say, while this religion or this particular country preaches


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this, the truth is, the underlying message of all religions is, “All are One,” and, “All Gods and

routes reach the same destination.”

The other day, we were in Fiji, and a boy asked, “Jesus says He is the only way; only if You

follow Him will you get liberation, otherwise you won’t get liberation. People asked to be

converted to Christianity as this is believed to be the right way. But why would Jesus say

something like that?” I told him, Jesus also said “All are one My dear son. Be alike to

everyone.” Why are they are not preaching that? They are preaching what they want to

preach. You must take it in the right context.

Jesus said, "I am the son of God; I am the messenger of God," and then He said, "I and My

Father are one." How could He say three different things about the same thing? Therefore,

you must understand the inner meaning. When He first thought He was here to preach God,

Jesus believed He was a messenger. But as He felt oneness with God, He finally said, “I and

My Father are one.” At the body level He was just the messenger, at the mind level, He was

the son of God; and at the Atmic level He and His Father were One.

If you teach the fundamentals correctly to the teachers, tomorrow, if they are asked any

questions by anybody, they should be able to give the right answers. They should not remain

narrow-minded. This won’t become part of the school syllabus. This is an independent

teachers’ training programme in which we can teach them things that we want to teach. Those

who want to learn will come learn and should have a clear understanding of everything.

Instead of hushing it away, saying, “Let us not discuss this topic”, it is only fooling yourself.

If you close your eyes, it won’t become night. Day will remain day. It is better that you open

your eyes and see things in the light. So, teachers should develop a broad-minded approach.

You must take the essence of all the religions, quote from them and explain how all these

religions are one. Narasimha Murthy can help you with a lot of material on that because that

is taught in our educational institutions to broaden the children’s minds.

Question 4: In practice, we find it very difficult to love people who are egoistic. I should

not be finding fault in them, but some people are arrogant and respond in a negative way.

It is easy to love people who are lovable. How to overcome this? Even within the family if

the children listen to you, you love them dearly, but when they are adamant and not

responding to you, you cannot love them. If I am in a constant state of agitation in trying

to overcome these things, how am I to reach the stillness and know that I am God? Please

explain.

Swami: You move from primary school, to high school, to university. It is very easy to be in

primary school all the time, isn’t it? However, should you continue to be there because it is

easy to be there? If you want to evolve, you have to take difficult subjects, you have to work

harder, you have to learn new things, and you have to pass all of the exams. That's when you

get promoted to higher levels. It is easy to love the one who loves you; that is all primary

school. Nobody needs to teach you, it is very simple. If, however, you want to go to high


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school, you should be able to love even those who do not love you. If you go to the

university, you should be able to love those who even hate or trouble you; then you are

evolving.

Even when Jesus Christ was being crucified, He said, "Father in heaven, forgive them. They

do not know what they are doing." Even when He was being killed mercilessly, His last

prayer to God was to forgive all these people, as they did not what they were doing. That's

when He changed to realise, "I and My Father are one." He realised there is no body, all this

is an illusion, and the truth that we are one and we cannot be destroyed.

You have to take up more challenges. You have to work harder in order to evolve. You have

worked hard like this in your academics and in your professions, then why not in your

spiritual life? If people don't love you, love them more. If somebody is sicker, he needs a

higher dose of medicine. Likewise, if somebody is more of a troublemaker, you should love

him more. Then, the disease can be cured once for all.

Question 5: Swami, I do teacher training at the university level. Is there a place for this

programme to start out at that level or, do You prefer that we reach out to a school and

involve teachers at the school level with younger children.

Swami: For the university level, the programme has to be different, but the fundamentals will

be the same. The way it is taught has to be different. We are not right now ready to take it

there. Let us start with primary school. As we progress well, we will bring it to the high

school level, and from the high school level we shall bring it to the university. At some point

of time, it will reach teachers of all kinds. However, it is better to start by making small

beginnings, taking one step at a time, and not rushing. Anyway, if these students are taught

well, when they reach the university they will all be good students, so that will solve your

problem of teacher training at the university level.

Question 6: I have a question on post-war reconciliation within the education system. Now

we have, especially in Sri Lanka, lessons taught in different languages. Teachers will need

a more holistic approach on that subject. What is your guidance please, Swami?

Swami: What is being taught in schools is in different languages based on the ethnic group

that the children belong to. However, teachers might know many languages. It is easier to do

our programme in one or two major languages, because everybody will know them. They can

definitely modify the programme according to the school that they are teaching, for they have

learnt the lessons. So, according to Me, even if it is Sri Lanka and there are many languages,

in many schools, if you teach the teachers who must know more than one or two languages,

that it is good enough.


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In India, too, in every state there is a different language medium -- it has to be modified

according to each place. Pick up one or two of the most common languages and start the

work. You can pick a school which you are familiar with, take the teachers from that school,

train them, and then if it is a success, if you have corrected it, we will take it to other schools.

Once it is ready, it is very easy to change to another language. As I have said, the culture,which is pertaining to the language, also has to be infused into the syllabus, the examples

have to be in the context of that particular group of people, and culture, their traditions. Take

it one step at a time.

Question 7: Swami, may I ask a question about medical teaching? A lot of doctors, not just

here, but all around the world, are becoming very technical. They are more interested in

treating the disease than actually looking at the well-being of the patients. I think this is

something that we are not doing right in medical schools. I am not sure what the solution

is. Could You advise, please.

Swami: It is always said "Do not do to others what you would not like done to yourself." If

you are on the operation table, would you do the same thing to yourself? If you can’t, then

don’t do it to the others as well. That is the way professors should teach.

When you are curing you are not curing just a particular part of a body, but the entire body.

When you cure the entire body, you cure the entire person, the entire family, the entire

society in which he belongs. Therefore, the patient is not merely a piece of flesh or bone. It is

a human behind all that. Would they do this to their own fathers, mothers, brothers, and

sisters, or even to themselves? If they won't, then they should not do it to others as well.

Life is reflection, reaction and resound. The one who is a doctor today can become a patient

another day. You can imagine what another doctor can do to him. It can come back to them.

Unless doctors all around the world develop this understanding, that they are primarily not

just curing a disease, but curing a person, who is a father, a mother, or a brother or sister, a

member of the family and this family, is a member of the society, and the society is part of

the nation, then he will really be helping the nation.

This broad understanding must be taught as part of the training of doctors itself. Merely

encouraging them for their intellectual prowess leads to all these kinds of problems. That is

why I said, it is only information knowledge. They only want to be great; they do not want to

become good. Goodness is from the heart; unless they have this understanding, they cannot

be good. As teachers, you must keep emphasizing, encouraging, acknowledging and

rewarding them for the good work they do, and not the great work they are doing.

If you go to Raipur Hospital and listen to the stories, you will know how much of goodness is

there, and not merely greatness. Here there is greatness. They do all kinds of complicated

children’s operations, but the heart is only as small as a two-rupee coin; it is so small and

there are holes that they need to close. Definitely it is a complicated job. However, they do it

with so much love, because they do not want patients to pay them but they want patients to


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love them. That is why, as a part of your medical curriculum, these values must be taught,

and not for the sake of just a few extra rupees should doctors treat their patients.

A doctor is really helping the whole nation when he treats a patient with a disease. Then, the

patient can take care of himself and he is no more a burden to the society. He can work, he

can earn, he can look after his family and the whole economy benefits as a result. This

economy pays the doctors, too. Therefore, he should understand that he is part of the bigger

picture. That understanding must be given. If the seniors follow the right approach, reward

the junior doctors for the right kind of work, and reward good doctors and not merely great

ones then obviously, they will be encouraged.

Question 8: Swami, we have a lot of children in Singapore with mental health concerns

and they end up in Children’s Homes. One of the things that we were thinking of doing is

EHV in Children’s Homes, to reduce the numbers of children in the homes who are suffering without any guidance at all. Can you please guide us, Swami.

Swami: You can do seva wherever you get an opportunity. Actually, the children who are

mentally ill are still fewer in number than the children who are going to be mentally ill soon!

( Laughter ). You should do the seva but right now we will take the original approach, because

that requires far more inputs from the fields of psychology and medicine, in order to design a

programme, and how to handle them. Of course, love is the common way. If you love them

truly, your heart will guide you as to what should be done for them. However, in an organised

and structured way, it can be added later to this whole programme.

It requires far deeper insights in order to handle mentally ill patients; you are not being

merely a teacher, you must also be a kind of a doctor or therapist to the child, which needs a

different set of skills, as well. Therefore, we can always take that up as a separate

programme.

Those people who are in the field of psychology and therapy, especially child psychology,

should give their inputs. The important thing is to always talk positively. I tell My teachers in

the school, when the child is doing wrong don't call him and say, “You are useless, you are

good for nothing, you are a burden.” These kind of words will only discourage him from

becoming better. Instead, you should call him and tell him, “I thought you are a very good

boy. I am sure you can do better than this. You can definitely score better marks than what

you have done. You are a good boy, good boy.” Like this, if you continuously emphasise, he

will believe that he is a good boy and his behaviour will change. That kind of positivity has to

be generated. No negative sentences; always use positive sentences. “You are bad!” - that

should not be used. You should say, “You can become better.” That is more positive. “You

are already good; you can become better.”

Question 9: Swami, is there a way we can get the government or policy makers involved in this teacher transformation programme, or in a different conference?


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Swami: You don't have to go and invite the government – the government itself will come

running after you. When they will realise the transformation it is bringing about in the

schools and in the teachers in society, they will come and ask you, “Can you please share this

programme in our other schools? Can we make it part of our education programme?” There

is time. First, prove that this all works and let them come and ask you - then it has great valuein it. Do this for a year or two. See the transformation and let the people come and ask for it.

That is the right approach.

Now, the government is asking us for more schools, and hospitals. We didn’t go and tell the

government; they want us to do it now. That respect they will give you, once you have

proven whatever you are doing. There will be a time when it will be a recommended course

for all people around the world, with some minor modifications based on the requirements of

the governments. Even Education in Human Values started as a small course, but it’s now

recognised in many schools and many governments are aware of the programme.

Question 10: Swami, a lot of children do a lot of seva in schools. They do even 80 to 100

hours of seva. They do it not out of selfless love, but to get into better schools, high schools,

or to a university and to put it in their resume. What is Your thought on how should we

guide these children to do it selflessly, and try not to use it only as a means to getting

admission into a reputable school or university?

Swami: Anything which is done with expectation cannot be seva. Seva should be done

without expectation. It is not done for the sake of doing. Love only knows of giving, it

doesn't expect. So, this is all out of force. Force will not last long, unless it is coming from

source. It will not help anyone. It becomes a burden that they have to go and do seva for the

sake of a few extra points or another benefit. It becomes a business; it is no more seva.

Therefore, this is not going to help. We can fool ourselves, but it is not true. The children will

not learn anything.

It has to come from the source. Only when they feel the joy of service will they be motivated.

Everything that we do in our lives is only to become happier. If they find happiness in

helping others, then you need not tell them. They will do more than 80 hours on their own,

without anybody asking. Help them experience this joy of serving. Help them do it selflessly,without expectations. These kinds of things are not good.

In our schools, we don't give marks to the children based on how they behave. That is not the

way. Then they will behave only for the sake of marks. That is the wrong motivation. You

must tell them, “You should get a good name, people should appreciate you and Swami

should be happy with you. You should be happy, above all.” Then it is good.

It depends on what the teachers encourage. If teachers recognise and reward the children who

are good more than those who are great, then obviously, this mind-set will change.

Otherwise, it won’t change. That is why, if teachers understand this phenomenon better, then

they will be able to tell the right things to the children.


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Question 11: Swami, there is a lot discord in the Sai centres. There’s not much unity

among the teachers. This is confusing the students. Also the teachers get the students only

for a little while during the week, and the parents have them most of the time. How do we

bring about transformation to show them Your love?

Swami: In our mythology, there is a character by the name, Ekalavya. Ekalavya did not have

a guru because he was born to a low-caste hunter family. He wanted Dronacharya, who was

the guru of the Kaurava and Pandava princes, to be his guru. However, out of his tremendous

enthusiasm and willingness to learn, he made a statue of his teacher, and learned the skills of

archery just by worshipping the statue, although the guru was not even physically present.

The truth is that for everyone the guru is within; it comes from within and not from outside,

that is why it is called Educare and not education.

A teacher is somebody who helps a child to bring out knowledge that is within. In this

circumstance, where we are presently, if you are really a loving and kind teacher, children

will fight with their parents to come back to you, and spend more time with you. Parents will

not be able to hold them back at home. They will say, “I want to be with the teacher, and I

want to learn new things. I want to spend time there!” Children will automatically be

attracted to teachers who are truly selfless and truly loving just as a piece of iron is attracted

to a magnet. If you are that kind of teacher, children will choose and come to you. There is no

need to form a syllabus and no need to form rules and timings, as they will come anytime to

you. Become like that. In the present state of things, you cannot make too many changes

outside. If you change from within, the children will come running to you.

It is not the quantity of time children spend with anybody, but the quality of time they spend.Even if they learn one good thing with you in an hour’s class, it will be far more useful for

them than spending ten hours learning nothing at their parents’ places. Teach one thing in that

little time and let them go and practise the rest of time they are at home.

In our schools now, children who are learning things are going and changing their parents.

They tell their parents, “This is not the way you should live; this is not the way you should

talk,” because they have learnt from here, and they transform their parents. It all depends on

the teacher. If a teacher is so loving and selfless, children will come, attracted to the teacher.

That is how we can transform and change the situation. Obviously, children will not go to

those who are not selfless. That's how things will start changing.

The worst of the sins is to do shishyadroha, that is, to cheat a student by telling him lies. That

is what Dronacharya did. Though Ekalavya was more deserving than Arjuna, he asked

Ekalavya for his own thumb as guru dakshina. So, there can’t be a worst sin than that. You

cannot commit a bigger sin than teaching lies and wrong things to a student who has trusted

you completely with his life.


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Question 12: Baba, earlier you said that we should all spend time together and move

forward together. Since people from all over the world have come here, how do we begin

doing that?

Swami: First, all of you should together create an introductory module to this programme,

which should emphasize personal transformation and various ways in which you can do it,

mainly in the aspects of head, heart and hand. How can you change yourselves in each of

these aspects? Everybody is essentially three, and not one: what you think you are, what

others think you are, and what you really are. All three things should be the same. A teacher

may think he is good and kind, but students and colleagues may not think so. He needs to

make changes to ensure that he is acceptable and loved by all. Then, of course, he has to be

pure within, and that is when he can be accepted by himself and others.

Make an introductory chapter with all these aspects: What kind of school environment should

we create? What do you mean by oneness of the religions? What do you mean by head, heart

and hand? What is meant by Educare? In these aspects, make some practical topics and use

your techniques to teach them, as part of the introductory part of this whole thing. Then, later

parts will be nothing more than detailed aspects of the things that you have put in the

introduction. You should only take it to the next course if they show interest, change

themselves, and come. Even if ten good teachers come, it is good enough.

One thing I must tell you is that, with numbers growing with a lot joining, different heads

will have different thoughts and ideas. If you use the head, there will be difference of

opinions. If you truly ask the heart, which is the same for each every person, the same

Divinity, you all will get the same answer for the same question. However children mayapproach a teacher, if the teacher is the same, he will give the same answer to the same

question. Therefore, approach your heart, ask your heart what needs to be done, and it will

tell you the truth; there won’t be any confusion.

Should we close for today with bhajans followed by bhojan (food)? For now, since it is

getting late, we will close and meet soon again. However, before that I want all of you to

work in smaller groups and prepare this introductory programme of this teachers’ training.

Give a glimpse of what is coming their way, in the next eight modules. Let them develop

their understanding as to why they should want to get into this programme.


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Inaugural GURU VIKAS Conference

29th September, 2015 Morning, Sai Anandam, Singapore

28 teachers from 12 countries selected by Swami were present at the launch. Sister Bhuvana, thechief organizer for the conference, provided the welcome address. She shared that the Guru

Vikas logo above was designed with Swami’s close guidance.


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(Above) Dr. Jeanne Lily (USA) presented on behalf of Rita Bruce on teacher training.

(Below) Dr. Ron and Su Farmer from Australia spoke on the curriculum in the post

graduate program they run. There was also sharing by Brother Sunil and Sister Sangita

Naidu on their experiences with the Sathya Sai Institute of Thailand.


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Swami graciously permitted SSEHV teachers from Singapore and a small group of

devotees to join in the morning proceedings at Sai Anandam.


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29 th September, 2015 Evening, Sai Anandam, Singapore

Summary of Talk by Father Charles Ogada

Father Charles Ogada narrated his incredible experiences with Swami, both in the Physicaland Subtle Forms, as we are aware of in these times of Divine Blessings.

As a young boy, there was an unknown Divine Presence that filled Father Charles with so

much joy and bliss, that he would forget time and space, making him withdraw into the

forest. This Presence would become so intense that he would lose body consciousness and

faint. Father Charles revealed that this Divine Presence and the Voice that pervades His

whole being is none other Swami Himself.

Swami was the “unknown

presence” that hovered round him

all this while, ever since Father

Charles was a child. He was the

Voice that said to Father Charles,

“What do you want to do with

your life?” Father Charles within

himself responded, “You are the

Life. I want to love You and serve

You.” From that moment on, with

this loving awareness, everything

became clear to him and his desire

was to become a priest.

Father Charles cited several overwhelming experiences in Nigeria, where he manages a

school and a children’s home. When he was in Muddenahalli last December 2014, Swami

told him, “I am always with the children. I know whatever you are doing. I come around with

Jesus.” This was such a revelation to him.

With the children, Father Charles learned many lessons of humanity. One incident made him

realise that his reaction was one of emotion, whereas the children’s was more of sharing and

caring. Swami said that the children know very well how to share, and for Father Charles it

was a lesson to be non-judgemental. Father Charles was taught a lesson on non-violence andcompassion one day when a boy killed an insect. The boy was very remorseful for what he

had done. On another occasion, while he was driving a sick boy to the hospital, he asked the

boy what he would like to be when he grew up. Father Charles was expecting he would say ‘a

doctor’ or ‘a lawyer’ but much to his amazement, the boy said he would like to be Jesus.

Father Charles was speechless.

Father Charles exhorted that every day is an experience of living in love. Every moment is an

opportunity to love. All we need to do is to be attentive and compassionate to all beings.

*****


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29 th September, 2015 Evening, Sai Anandam, Singapore

Summary of Talk by Sri C. Sreenivas

Sri C. Sreenivas started his speech referring to the Guru Vikas session in the morning as amiracle morning.

He spoke about how the session was truly education and direction for a lifetime for all the

selected privileged teachers attending the Guru Vikas session. He urged all the teachers to

deeply reflect word-for-word on the finest depiction of education given by Swami in His

Divine Discourse in the morning session.

C. Sreenivas was reminded of his warden days in Sri Sathya Sai College, and how Swami

invested much of His precious time on education. He said the same Voice was now

conveying the same investment in teaching and students, and that would bear so much fruit in

years to come.

He shared the mantra of education that was given to him by Swami. It begins with the heart

that feels – all human achievement and endeavours begin and sustain with the heart that feels.

From this comes the journey of education, which teaches us to cultivate the mind that

envisions, and then to develop the capacity to endeavour, and finally the will to achieve.

So, everything starts with the heart that feels.


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Swami's Divine Discourse

29 th September, 2015, Evening, Sai Anandam, Singapore

The way a reflection does not stick to the

mirror, the way the water does not affect or

stick to the petals of the lotus flower, in the

same way, sins don’t touch or stick to the

person with devotion.

Both wings of a chariot are needed to make it

move; similarly, birth and death are the two

wheels on which this world moves. Even if

one wheel falls apart, the chariot of this world

cannot move. This is the secret of this entirecreation and this is Truth, the word of Sai.

Embodiments of Divinity!

Every person born in this world also comes with another date written on his forehead - the

date when he will leave this world. Just like in a factory, when an object is manufactured, it

comes with a manufacturing date, it also comes with an expiry date. Everything in this world

comes with a date of birth and also, simultaneously, a date of death. In between these dates of

birth and death, what we undertake is the journey of our life. Know for sure that everything

that is born must die, and it is inescapable. But what we do with our lives, alone can make usimmortal. Everything which is made of the five elements must merge back in the five

elements, in due course of time; it cannot remain permanent. However, the good that we do

shall be remembered by the world forever, and can make us immortal. The world is

temporary; youth is temporary; wealth is temporary; this life is temporary; the only things

that are permanent are truth and good name, and nothing else.

As we live our lives in this world, we are influenced by various things. We tend to see what

others are doing around us, and if most of the people are doing the same thing, we think that

its right, and we tend to blindly follow. Even if many people tell an untruth, it cannot become

the truth. Even if a single person speaks the truth, it cannot become untruth. Untruth, even ifspoken by the entire world, shall only remain untruth; and truth, even if it is spoken by a

single person, will always remain the truth. This truth is the word of Sai- that only the good

that we have done to others will remain permanent and make us immortal.

Thousands of kings and queens have ruled the face of the earth – they conquered many

territories, amassed a lot of wealth, and had progeny; however, none of them exist today. We

don’t even remember the names of such emperors, except for a few which have to be

mandatorily remembered because of history books, otherwise you will fail the exams. We

have forgotten all of them, but still we remember good people, worship them, and draw

inspiration from their lives, to lead good lives.


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This way, one who realises that something is

temporary, will cease to make unnecessary efforts to

gain it. What good would it do if you put

tremendous efforts to seek something which will not

last? It’s like children running behind bubbles ofwater; they make bubbles and they run to catch

them. As long as the bubble is floating around, it

looks beautiful, with myriad reflections on its

surface. However, the moment you touch it, it

bursts, the bubble disappears, and along with it, all

reflections that seemed to be so real and beautiful.

Life is just a bubble. The body is a water bubble; do

not follow the body. The mind is a mad monkey; do

not follow the mind. Follow the heart.

This little boy here sang the bhajan ‘Heart is your

Master, follow your heart’. Even such a little boy

knows the truth, which elders tend to forget. The

heart is the Master. The heart alone can show you the

truth and take you to your destination.

Nevertheless, in times like these, the people, due to the influence of their minds, only seek to

please the mind and not the heart. They live very superficial lives and are happy with

temporary gains and temporary joys. They don’t look deep within for the source of

permanent joy. They are like children who play with a toy, in another moment get bored with

it, and look for another one. They play with the next one, break it and look for yet a third one.

They think the joy lies in the toy, and keep changing it, one after the other, but still, they are

never happy. They forget that joy does not lie in the toy; joy lies within.

Likewise, men and women seek temporary gains in this world. They make relations, they

expand their families, they do myriad different kinds of work, however, at the end of it, they

are never satisfied. Once they are done with one thing, they go for another, thinking that joy

lies in that. Then they go to a third one, and a fourth one, but whatever they do, they are never

completely satisfied. At the end of their lives, they ask themselves: I have led a life like this,

yet why am I not happy? I've done everything to keep myself happy, my family happy, but in

the end, I seem not to be too happy, despite having everything. This troubles them at the last

moment, and then they realise that all that they have gathered around them is not the true

source of happiness, but it is too late to do anything. You have deviated and, gone far away

from the true path. The petrol is over and now you can't come back. You have to wait to

refuel, so you take another birth, and come back again, and start the whole process all over.

Knowing that death is and that all you are trying to gather has to be left behind, alone can

liberate you. If you realise that you cannot take back with you all that you have gathered, then

alone will you lose attachment to everything. If ever your ego and attachment make you runhere and there to amass more, for a moment, take a deep breath, sit in contemplation and


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think about - the nature of that which will take away everything that you have ever done - and

all your attachments, all your ego will disappear.

In the Mahabharata, there is a

story. When all the Pandavas were

wandering thirstily in the forest,

they wanted to drink water but

there was no pond in sight. They

went searching and found a pond

a little far away. First, the

youngest of them, Sahadeva,

went. He tried to take water from

the pond, but he heard an invisible

voice say, “You have to answer

my questions before you takewater from this pond.”

He did not bother about answering the question and tried to drink from the pond as he was

thirsty. The water turned into poison and he collapsed. Even after a long time had passed, he

had not returned. So to look for him, came Nakula, the other brother. He also did not pay

heed to the voice, tried to drink the water and he also died. Similar was the fate of Bheema

and Arjuna. Ultimately came Dharmaraja, a man of discrimination and detachment. He came

and the same voice asked him, “If you answer my question, only then can you drink this

water, or else your fate will be the same as your brothers.”

Dharmaraja asked, “What is the question that you need me to answer?” The invisible voice

asked, “What is the most amusing thing in this world?”

Dharmaraja replied, “People live as if they are never going to die, and they die as if they have

never lived. They die in regret and remorse that they have wasted entire lifetime given by

God. When they live, they go on accumulating things, as if they are never going to lose all

that they have accumulated. Death is the most certain reality of life, yet nobody wants to

believe in it. Life by itself is temporary, but everybody trusts it. This is the most amusing

thing to me. Yet, knowing the truth, people tend to ignore it. Knowing the untruth, people

tend to embrace it.”

For a moment, if we contemplate on the nature of life, immediately our mind will know the

truth, and we will be liberated from the cycle of birth and death. Devotion to God alone can

help you choose to live in a way that, the consequences of your actions, do not stick to you,

like the water that does not stick to the lotus flower, or the reflection in the mirror that does

not stick to the mirror. Daiva preethi, that is, Love for God will lead to Papa bheethi, that is

fear of doing wrong, and Sangha neethi, that is unity of your own thought, word and deed.

This way alone, can you lead your life in the correct manner.

In the morning, I told the teacher training group that, whatever they try to teach, it will be awaste unless they follow it. Unless you follow, others are not going to bother. If you act,


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know for sure that children are better actors, and they will make you believe that they have

understood and they are following, but they won't do anything. First, you learn, believe in

these truths and follow them.

It's a short span of time that God gives you on this earth. If you fill every moment with love

for others and serve others, only then will this life be worth living. If you don't start early, and

drive slowly, you cannot reach safely. From a young age, children and young ones must be

taught these values. When they grow up, it is very difficult to change them. When they are

young, they are like soft clay, which can be moulded into any shape. Once they gro

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