Shiven Tandon
Truth is His breath!
Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning has a special place in all our hearts. It is a temple of learning, where the most charming Lord taught us many beautiful lessons. In the early 1950s, in a hamlet with a population of about a 100, a 25-year-old boy declared that in the future, that very place called Puttaparthi, shall be home to a university. Truth is His breath! Soon enough, in July 1968, Bhagawan inaugurated the Sri Sathya Sai Arts and Science College for Women at Anantapur. Sri Sathya Sai Arts, Science and Commerce College for Men at Whitefield, Bangalore followed shortly in June 1969.
“I have established these institutions to impart spiritual education as a main component and worldly education as a secondary one… The teaching of the university curricula is only the means employed for the end, namely, spiritual uplift, self-discovery and social service through love and detachment.”
These milestones marked the beginning of the Sri Sathya Sai Education movement. With each passing year, it grew both in volume and in prominence. Today, fifty years later, the (close to) hundred thousand alumni from His Primary and Higher Secondary School and the University are living examples of the fact that the grand experiment of man making has not only succeeded, but is thriving. The model of Sri Sathya Sai Values-based Integral Education followed at the Institutions has spurred the Bal Vikas movement in India and the Education in Human Values movement in over a hundred countries abroad.
The Mission of Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning, as spelt out by our most beloved Bhagawan, is: “To mould well-rounded holistic individuals – professionally sound, socially responsible and spiritually aware – who embody noble values and a right attitude, through Educare (Integral Education based on Human Values) that caters to the physical, intellectual, emotional, psychological and spiritual dimensions of the human personality.”
How the Institute has, and continues to come through on this mission, is no obscure fact. In fact Swami has Himself been involved in all aspects of the University – from setting the daily schedule of students, to selecting and guiding the teachers and staff, to spending unlimited hours of His personal time with students over the decades. By Swami’s personal example and eternal Grace, which among other channels, is delivered through the ceaseless efforts of the faculty, the staff members, the Central Trust, and the alumni – the Institute has gone from strength to strength. With Swami’s teachings firmly placed at its very core, it continues to adapt, and suitably prepares its students for the demands of contemporary society.
Here is a brief review of where the three outcomes of the Mission of Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning stand today.
Professionally Sound
“This institute will be a temple of learning where youth are shaped into self-reliant, contented and enterprising heroes of action and self-sacrifice, for the purpose of serving humanity.”
With a 96% passing rate, a student to teacher ratio of 9:1, over 70% of the teaching faculty holding a Ph.D., 150 plus annual visiting faculty and guest lecturers, over 20 national and international conferences and workshops hosted in the past academic year, a record number of students passing National Examinations (like GATE/JEST and CSIR-UGC NET), a student to computer ratio of 2:1 with ultra-high-speed broadband internet connectivity at the computer and multimedia learning centres, and a total of more than 200,000 volumes at the libraries of the four campuses – there is no denying that the infrastructure and culture to cultivate and nourish professional excellence is very much in place (and evolving rapidly) at the University.
In the last few years, academic programmes such as M.Tech. in Optoelectronics & Communications, M.Sc. in Food & Nutritional Sciences, B.Sc. (Hons.) in Computer Science, M.Sc. in Data Science and Computing and an M.B.A. programme for women students, have been introduced.
On the research side, the need-based research efforts at SSSIHL continue on the high development arc of the past few years. The focus on the three broad areas of Health, Energy and Environment has resulted in significant research output and interdisciplinary collaborations. The Institute’s faculty are actively engaged in several cutting-edge research projects funded by external funding agencies (both government and non-government). Their research investigations during the the past academic year alone has resulted in over 200 research articles published in a wide range of peer-reviewed journals of high repute.
With over one hundred students and faculty currently pursuing a Ph.D. at SSSIHL, the Institute has recently set up a new Central Research Instruments Facility (CRIF) based at the Prasanthi Nilayam campus. Built with the support of Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust, this Rs.45 Crore facility is one of the few such facilities in the country, and the first in a rural location. It will supplement the Institute’s existing research set-up and help further the interdisciplinary research collaborations with the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences and other external agencies. All of the research output, such as Regenerative Medicine & Tissue Engineering, Rapid Detection of Endemic Diseases, Diabetic Retinopathy, Development of Cost Effective Multimodal Microscopes, and SPCE-based Point of Care Devices, will directly benefit society, in line with Bhagawan’s vision of research for societal benefit.
Our Doctoral Research Scholars have greater exposure than ever before. For instance, for the past few years, as part of prestigious SAKURA Science Exchange Program organized by the Japan Government, our Doctoral Research Scholars have been visiting the Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (JAIST) every year.
Swami says, “Knowledge must be supplemented with – neeti (morality), reeti (right conduct), khyati (reputation). That is the essence of the human race.” It is a matter of humble jubilation that feedback from the organisations where the alumni work suggests that Swami’s students are valued for their integrity, intelligence and hard work. May Swami continue to work through us in all our endeavours!
Socially Responsible
“There are many book knowledge experts/intellectuals/scholars. What good are they to society? Being born, raised and educated in society, what good is it if you cannot show gratitude to the society… Why do you acquire knowledge? Not for selfishness, not for self interest. You acquire knowledge in this community, you must serve the community. If you cannot work for the advancement of the community, better to burn all books.” – Baba
Swami always said that education must translate to service to society. And this idea has always been woven into the very fabric of the Institute. We all have fond memories of Grama Seva (service activities in villages), and how much love Bhagawan used to shower on us upon our return from the villages.
Today, while this has evolved into Seva activities of different kinds by all the campuses at the Institute, the spirit of it remains unchanged.
For example, Sai Bandhan – a domiciliary outreach programme initiated by the students of the Brindavan Campus – is a collaboration with the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences (SSSIHMS), Whitefield, Bangalore since the summer of 2015. The service programme involves students personally visiting patients (during their summer holidays) who have been operated at the Hospital and enquire about their welfare and whether they are following the post-op regimen prescribed by the doctors. Typically this involves about 125 students visiting over 600 patients each summer.
For the patients, the programme is a reminder that SSSIHMS is interested in their welfare even beyond their stay as an inpatient. In fact, many of them regularly volunteer to do service at the hospital. Students, on the other hand, experience the difficult conditions that the poor patients have to live under and the enormous difference our hospital is making in their lives.
The students of the Anantapur Campus have been doing tremendous work as well. Postgraduate students of the campus have taken the initiative to tutor the campus contingent workers’ school going children and semi-literate adults, in an effort to enhance the academic standard of the children and to aid in completing their home assignments (as majority of their parents are not literates). Adults are trained in basic reading, writing and arithmetic skill development. They conduct monthly Narayana seva in Anantapur and for the past several decades, even adopted a leper colony in the outskirts of the town.
The other campuses also have many service activities. From Grama Seva (in a different format) to visiting old people homes and cleaning up of villages, young graduates of the Institute have plenty to contemplate on the how social responsibility can affect transformation in the lives of India’s poor.
Spiritually Aware
“By simply learning the alphabets and letters, by acquiring a degree from a college, can you truly be called educated? Without discriminating knowledge and spirituality, can that ever be true education? If education is merely for a living, don’t you find the birds and beasts living without an education? The one without this sacred education is equivalent to an animal.”
Our most beloved Swami, throughout His physical sojourn, encouraged everyone to see the underlying aadhyatmic (divine) in everything aarthic (worldly). Through everyday student activities such as drama, sports, festival celebrations and hostel discipline, Swami brought home the underlying spiritual importance in the hearts of all students. The daily prayers like Suprabhatam, Brahmarpanam, and night prayer, all fondle our spiritual awareness and further foster our love for the Divine. The annual Summer Course in Indian Culture and Spirituality, the Prasanthi Vidwan Mahasabha (during Dasara), the Thursday Moral Class, the Morning Assembly talks by students and teachers, and the intermittent sessions by Alumni and eminent persons, all add up and work towards cleansing us of our shortcomings and elevate us to the notion of simple living and high thinking that He taught us. In a survey, over 80% of the alumni said they are involved in social service activities and spiritual practices. Perhaps this is the most intangible but real achievement for our hallowed University.
We, his property (and products of His educare revolution), must strive to represent Him the best we can throughout our lives – and in whichever way possible – we must serve the Institute. Some can serve through our intellects, some through our time, and others through our contacts and resources. There are several ways in which we can get involved. Let us rededicate ourselves to our alma mater, and to the cause of Sri Sathya Sai Education, and live by His values, everyday.
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