On the morning of 13 February, all the chairpersons, Heads of Institutions, University staff members and Post-Graduate students gathered at the state-of-the-art conference room in the pentagon building. As soon as Sadguru Sri Madhusudan Sai arrived, Sri B G Jayaram welcomed all gathered, delivered a brief introductory talk. Thereafter, Sri B N Narasimha Murthy addressed everyone. He spoke about Sadguru’s vision for the educational institutions and how Sadguru has changed the structure of the institutions from being educational institutions providing spiritual knowledge, to being spiritual institutions providing academic knowledge.

This was followed by Sadguru’s inaugural address of the Chairpersons’ meeting wherein He outlined the journey of the Sri Sathya Sai Loka Seva Gurukulam in the last ten years. He spoke about various challenges and problems that had surfaced over the years and the ways in which He had dealt with each of them, leading to the institutions becoming what they are today. Sadguru emphasised the importance of both jana (people) and dhana (monetary contribution) in sustaining such institutions and explained how both were equally important.

After a presentation by brother Pavan Deshpande, alumni and Chartered Accountant who has dedicated His life in service of this noble mission, Sadguru granted precious guidance to all the staff members gathered about the next steps in the future of the education mission.

Thereafter, there was a short break for refreshments after which everyone gathered in the Prayer Hall for a quiz by the Post-Graduate students of the University.

Six rounds of fun and learning took place on the theme of the book ‘God Management’ by Sadguru Sri Madhusudan Sai, after which Sadguru blessed everyone and retired to His room for lunch and rest for the afternoon.

In the evening, all were gathered once again at the prayer hall for evening Satsang. The session began with a welcome address by Brother Devendra who is currently pursuing his second year at the Sri Sathya Sai University for Human Excellence, followed by speeches by two Post-Graduate students, Brothers Snehil Naidu and Anil Chandra. First, Brother Snehil spoke on the topic of ‘Vision and Mission of Sathya Sai’ and beautifully spoke about the ways in which Sadguru has brought about a complete educational reform through His institutions, emphasising more on the spiritual aspects of life rather than the material and worldly aspects and outlined what Sadguru expects of each one playing a part in this mission.

Thereafter, Brother Anil Chandra spoke on the topic of ‘The triangle of parent, teacher and student’. He narrated his own experience of the importance of the tri-partite relationship between parent, teacher, and student by recollecting anecdotes from his own internship at the Hampi campus. Brother Anil elaborated on the equally important roles of parents, teachers and students in the education of a child and shared his own learnings on the topic.

Sri B N Narasimha Murthy then addressed the gathering and spoke about the importance of inspiring teachers who encourage students to be the best they can be. Sharing some of his experiences, Sri Narasimha Murthy demonstrated how an inspirational teacher can mould a child and guide them towards a life of service.

Sadguru then granted His Divine message and explained how a person whose thought, word and deed is always in line, never suffers. “If one chooses to serve and do good, then one would never experience regret.” Sadguru spoke about the importance of making decisions in life that are based on what is good (śreyas) rather than what is pleasurable (preyas) so that regret is not experienced at the end of life. He also reminded everyone that at the end of life, nothing would matter other than the good that one has done with one’s life and therefore, one must live life so that it is fulfilling and satisfying and one does not feel regret about anything that one may or may not have done.

The evening session concluded with a wonderful quiz on apara vidya, with questions on general knowledge and awareness of current affairs. Whilst a great deal of emphasis is placed on para vidya or higher knowledge, the Sri Sathya Sai educational institutions also place an equal amount of importance on creating well-rounded, wholesome graduates and in this regard, general knowledge and awareness is a key aspect of the curriculum. After a fun-filled session of laughter and learning, Sadguru blessed all the participants of the quiz and after Mangala Arati, He retired for the evening.