I joined Swami’s Higher Secondary School in 2011 – the year of Swami’s Mahasamadhi – and continued to study at the Institute. While I missed the physical proximity of Bhagawan, I considered my stay to be heavenly and inspiring.

The myriad set of activities that comprise our daily routine kept our mind, body and soul charged and engaged. I firmly feel there is no other better place to develop oneself holistically than in Swami’s educational system. In fact, everything about the Institute glorifies Swami’s omnipresence as every activity is centered around Hostel, Institute & Mandir. When we combine the three letters, we see how the entire education system is designed to keep ‘HIM’ as the central focus and naturally empower us to acknowledge His Divine presence.

In retrospect, I see a common pattern to what brought me to this cherished benediction. I feel my student days helped me become more confident over the years. During my school days I was a very shy person. I once forgot my lines in the midst of a speech and that incident left a mental scar on me. Participation in all the hostel tasks such as Vedam chanting, Bhajans, undertaking Audio Visual work, Satsang sessions helped overcome this problem. Dr. Shailesh Srivastava, my 12^th class wing teacher, motivated us to maintain a personal diary and often stressed on the amazing benefits derived from it.

However, my academic marks did not reflect my exuberance. This did not go unnoticed by Mr. Sanjay Sahani, the then Director of Brindavan campus. When my parents visited Brindavan in my final year, they met the director and to get feedback about my progress. I didn’t expect any special response from him. However, to my surprise, he had nothing but praise for me and added that my future is secured in Swami’s hands. They were elated. I realized how handpicked teachers like Sanjay Sahani sir could easily identify this positive development and valued remarks way more than the marks sheet placed on the table. Needless to say, in my MBA, this deep-rooted confidence of his began to fructify as I scored ‘O grades’ consistently in all the four semesters and even went on to score among the top in a couple of my subjects. Perhaps, this was the true essence of Swami saying “Remarks are more important than Marks” and that good remarks would naturally follow good marks as well. In fact, it is only recently that the corporate world is beginning to acknowledge ‘Attitude’ as having more value than ‘Knowledge’ and ‘Skills’. However, the whole purpose of Swami starting his education mission was by itself based on this very fundamental premise and strong insight that “End of Education is Character” with the Sathya Sai Education system designed to nurture the same.

Thus, by experiencing His Divine Presence and Support, I often received the cushioning courage to go beyond my comfort zone. One such occasion was in my 1^st year MBA. It was time for the Sports Meet celebrations. Subash sir, an MBA faculty member in charge of Sports Meet coordination, was eagerly looking out for anchors to host the program and turned towards me for it. But I was informed about it only in the last minute i.e. on the very same day of the program thereby thrusting his hope on me. Given the short notice, it would have been quite convenient and fair for me, to humbly decline the opportunity as I was not prepared mentally. However, I took it as a Divine calling and accepted the challenge. So, I hurriedly got along with my co-anchor and quickly went through the programs lined up for that evening. The last thing I remember doing moments before walking up the stage is contemplating on Swami and surrendering my act to Him. Then, what happened for the next two hours was Swami speaking out the words through me and ensuring the whole event went on successfully without a hitch.

Therefore, instead of merely thinking in terms of enumerating our material accomplishments, it would also be best to count the number of times we have managed to move out of our comfort zones and attempted to conduct as expected by Swami. How many times did we undertake a task with a positive outlook that it is a God given opportunity bestowed upon us? And most importantly, have we filled our hearts with devotion and enjoyed the Divine bliss of God within?

The important question to ask is how well are we connected to the Divine Self within. Afterall, reveling in His glory and conforming to His teachings are the best means of not just connecting with Him but also achieving real fulfillment in life, thus being an all-rounder in the true sense.

Akshay Rao 11th & 12th grade in Prasanthi Nilayam, B. Com in Brindavan and MBA in Prasanthi Nilayam, 2011 – 2018, recipient of All Rounder Gold Medal, followed by a one-year fellowship in Sri Sathya Sai Vidya Vahini. Currently pursuing further studies. He has volunteered for the Sri Sathya Sai Vidya Vahini Teacher Training program 2020 and the Sai Krushna Charity Trust (SKCT) in Bengaluru and remote Seva activities.