It was the first time that Swami was visiting the Mysore campus and the joy of the children knew no bounds. Bhagawan’s chopper landed in the Sri Sathya Sai Anantaniketanam at about 11 in the morning. He was welcomed with Poorna kumbham and Veda chanting.
After brief refreshment, Bhagawan first went to the Shiva temple at the top of the building and conducted a small Pooja there. Thereafter, He proceeded to the public Satsang that was organized. The students welcomed Bhagawan with beautiful Bhajans.
The programme began with Vedic invocation by grade 6 students. Mrs Vidya Vijay Sai then welcomed Bhagawan and the gathering. Students then sang few songs, and there was a dance presentation by the boys on the life of Lord Rama.
Bhagawan was offered Pada Pooja as boys chanted the Sai Ashtottara Shatanamaavali.
The first student speaker was Jivan Sai of grade 6. He expressed his love and gratitude towards Bhagawan and spoke about the learnings which Bhagawan taught him after he joined the institution and prayed to Bhagawan to keep him always with Him and bless him with an opportunity to serve Him in His mission.
The second student speaker was Pramod Kumar Revadi, who expressed his gratitude towards Bhagawan for admitting him in the institution through the Madiyal Narayan Bhat scholarship scheme and spoke at length about how he was at home and how he had changed as a person; how much he had learnt in the last eight months and how Bhagawan has become his father and erased the negative emotion of having a father who deserted his family.
Sri Gopinath, the Chairman of the campus spoke on Bhagawan’s command and talked about his change from living with college students to living with primary school students. He stressed on the importance of the open schooling system which Swami is starting and how it would help the students. He also spoke about the innocence and helping nature which is natural in children and compared them with clay and how we can mould them and transform them.
Thereafter Sri B N Narasimha Murthy spoke and congratulated students for the way they sang Bhajans, songs and chanted Veda as well. He advised the students to maintain this devotion to Bhagawan and said that it has to only grow and not diminish as they become older. He also spoke about Sri Gopinath who has spent all his life in the service of the Lord and many others in the institution. He told that in our campuses, students are Gods, teachers are the priests doing many kinds of service to them and Bhagawan is the devotee who comes to take their Darshan.
In the divine discourse Bhagawan expressed His happiness over the devotion and love students have developed towards Him and urged them to become like Prahaladas. He said, “Who will worship the God who is sitting in the temple, people believe in the God who removes their suffering. So, helping each other and loving all is the best form of devotion”. He told them how His own students are serving in the institutions and stressed on the importance of providing for the basic necessities of food, health and education and how one could rise to divinity through loving and serving all. Bhagawan said that His students must excel in service and sacrifice which are His subjects, as other worldly knowledge can be obtained in any other schools.
Bhagawan then partook lunch with the students, interacted with them and blessed all the students, staff and devotees. Promising to return soon, He then left for the Mandya Campus.