Insight into Sai through Glance, Heart and Thought

MUDDENAHALLI

CAMPUS

VOL 4, ISSUE 17 |SEPTEMBER 2016

PUBLISHED BY MUDDENAHALLI CAMPUS

SRI SATHYA SAI INSTITUTE OF HIGHER LEARNING

SAI SAMBHASHAN

DR SAYEE MANOHAR SRI V BHASKARAN SRI S SAI MANOHAR SRI CHANDRASHEKAR SRI VENKATRAMANA SRI SRINIVAS

THE EDITORIAL BOARD

To communicate one’s experience of the Godhead, words are inadequate. Two pilgrims were talking about the debt Man owed to several “mothers”. The talk drifted towards the importance of Go-puja; and, they began discussing what exactly is meant by the word ‘Go’, which means a cow. There ensued a debate about its characteristics: a tail, two horns, four legs, an udder, etc. They wandered long to discover an animal with those items and at last espied a buffalo, which they worshiped to their heart’s content. So the conception of Brahman also will depend on each one’s equipment and experience, but, that does not mean, there are so many different Brahmans. A man is called Daddy, Son, Uncle, Grandfather, Cousin, Nephew and Husband- but, that does not make him more than one individual !

IGNORANCE OR IGNORANT ?

DREAM BIG

STRIFE & HARMONY

EDITORIAL 06

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MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE

SEPTEMBER 2016, VOLUME 04 / ISSUE 17

GANESH CHATURTHI

ONAM

ARTS CORNER

LOVE & SACRIFICE 16

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LANGUAGE CORNER

SEPTEMBER 2016, VOLUME 04 / ISSUE 17

As minutes become hours, hours turn into days, days spawn weeks and weeks blur as months, time passes, with the

feet of a quicksilver moon, under the aegis of the Divine Master. It is with Swami’s Infinite Grace, therefore, that we

have reached the conclusion of another eventful semester – during which we were witness to the Sri Sathya Upanishad,

the induction of new recruits into various self-reliance departments, and the revivified emergence of students, both old

and new, from the Prema and Ananda houses, besides the everyday thrum of academics, sports, foyer sessions and

spiritual learning.

September itself has been something of an apotheosis, what with the approaching end-semester examinations, and the

preparations, from both teachers and students, towards it. Even with mounting academic deadlines, however, the

Ganesh Chaturthi was celebrated in the campus with great devotion and keen interest. God was in the details as each

class worked hard to build a unique palanquin, in which they carried their Ganeshas for immersion on September 6,

under darkling skies and amid the vigorous chanting of vedam and the fervent singing of devotional songs. Nor was

Teacher’s Day forgotten in the slipstream of the Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations, as a message of gratitude from the

students to their Teacher – and their teachers – appeared on the hostel notice board. The birthday of Sir M.

Visweswariah, in whose birthplace our empyrean campus is located, was also respectfully acknowledged. September

also saw, on the academic front, the final year students of B.B.M take their viva, based on all the core subjects they

have hitherto studied.

The coming weeks promise celebrations and service sandwiched by challenges, as the end-semester examinations

bookend the Dussehra/navarathri this year. It is time, too, for Grama Seva—and time, therefore, to contemplate on

Swami’s simple but profound messages on ‘service’. Where these contemplations will take us we may not know now.

With the Faith that God’s plans are always for the best, however, we present this, the sixteenth issue, of InSaight for

everyone’s reading pleasure.

– Faculty Desk

A reCAP and a prEVIEW

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IGNORANCE OR IGNORANT ?

World Treats Different ‘Differently’

- ARUN SAI PV (II BBA)

Twelve-year-old Vaibhav sat crying in one corner of the playground, plucking at the

grass, watching the other kids play at the far end. It had been a couple of months since

he first started avoiding them. His friends often talked about his dad and mom separating and they would

ask questions to which Vaibhav had no answers. ‘Do they fight?’ ‘Don’t you try to stop them?’ ‘Will you

leave us?’ ’Will you stay with your mom or your dad?’ ’Is your mom marrying again?’ ’Is your dad?’ Their

curiosity was legitimate. No one knew of such a case in their middle class neighbourhood. Divorces, even

in television soaps, were cause for much distress. Families were meant to stay together till the end of

time.

He had wandered to the E block of their apartment complex. This part had the cramped flats—those nice

little stinking one-bedroom apartments with flaky wall paint and wet clothes hanging from clotheslines in

balconies. As he aimlessly looked on, he saw a family stroll out from the lobby, giggling and laughing. A

middle-aged couple, much like Mom and Dad, and two kids. The younger of the two seemed to be around

his age and she was staring at her sandals which flopped and made a clapping sound as she walked. Her

left hand was skinny and maimed, like a dry stem, but she was smiling. Vaibhav felt envy rip him apart.

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‘They are all so scary,’ her mother would ask whenever she wanted a new VCD. ‘They are not scary at all,’ she would protest. But they would all go by her brother’s pedestrian choice of movies. ‘Let your brother choose,’ her father would say. ‘Is it because I’m this way?’ she would snap, pointing at her arms. Back then she was gradually beginning to realize there was something off about her. She knew she was different. She was yet to find out that the world treated different with hatred. ‘No,’ her mother would lie. Polio was one of the first words Aranya had learnt to write down. It was what her prescription had said. It’s a disease with no certain cause. It makes the limbs frail with little meat on the marred bone. It started showing up when she was only two. For a little kid it wasn’t much of a bother, in fact it was a delight. ‘Hey! I have two sorts of hands. One is fat and another lean. So cool!’ she would say. The condition slowly worsened as her entire hand went maim. The ‘condition’ didn’t matter a lot to her, at least not till she turned nine. She thought that it was just something people had, like short height, or a bad nose, or a brain less smart, or pointy ears. Now she knew that pointy ears would have been better. As she grew taller and wider and bigger, her hand did not grow proportionately. Soon she was a ‘freak’ in school. ‘Don’t be with her much or God will make you the same way,’ warned the ignorant parents of her classmates. Even her own brother wouldn’t treat her equally. The world looked at her with pity. She grew up without friends. Two of these situations above are not unusual to any of us. But yet they are treated differently. We know it’s wrong to treat them the way we do. They are alone, they need support, which we can give, but do not. Is it because we are ignorant ?

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When I know not, What’s beyond the mountains.

I know , What’s out there in the space.

When I know not,

What’s under my foot. I know,

That there is lava in the Earth’s crust.

When I know not, If I will see tomorrow’s sun.

I know, The weather forecast for tomorrow.

When I know not,

If I will pass my examination. I know,

Tom Cruise’s next movie will be a hit.

When I know not, The condition of the city after tonight’s rain,

I know, Water once existed on Mars.

When I know not;

The impact of my actions, I know,

That my action is undeniably clear-cut.

When I know not, I know nothing.

I know, That I know everything!

Am I the Knowledgeable or Ignorant?

Or is this sheer ignorance?

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We make judgements based on our perception, experiences in life, prejudices or

whatever little bit of knowledge we possess, but often fail to dig deeper into a cause. This has increased in recent times, where one is expected to make fast decisions. We are either pressured by others, or don’t deem the cause to be important, or are always in a constant hurry to make a mark for ourselves. Thus we overlook/ignore the important and obvious facts before making decisions. This brothers, can lead to disasters, embarrassment or even lifetime regrets. Let me give you an example for this which I heard in my class. “A 24 year old boy was sitting with his father in a train coach. The boy suddenly looks outside and says in delight “Look father the trees are moving behind.” The father nods and smiles at his son. A women sitting opposite gives him a look of pity.

More than meets the eye - SWANTANTRA KUMAR MOHAPATRA (III BBM)

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The boy again looks outside and says in delight, “Look father the clouds are moving with us”.

At this the woman says to the father, “You should take him to a doctor.” To this the man

replied, “He is coming after seeing a doctor. My son was blind from birth and just got his

eyesight.”

We can see from this what a fool we make of ourselves because of our snap judgements.

Stories apart, let’s look at real life time examples. The Trojans brought the famous wooden

horse inside their city walls, not realizing it was full of Greek soldiers who would open the

gates from the inside. Napoleon decided to invade Russia and returned with just a tiny fraction

of his once grand army. The Titanic was outfitted with only enough lifeboats for a third of the

total passengers and crew it could carry. Let’s look at a more recent example-Donald Trump for

example declared recently that both Hillary and Obama are the founders of ISIS. You must

have also heard about his recent hate remarks about Muslims, terming all of them as

terrorists. You can see the result that these baseless accusations have brought upon his

campaign.

I am not asking you not to make fast judgements and be ahead of others in this competitive

world. All I am asking for is that you make sure you have seen all your cards before making a

decision. After all there’s the saying, “There is more than meets the eye.”

ꬹ

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DREAM BIG - RAKESH LUWAGUN (II BBA)

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As the mind is clouded by the paltry pleasures this objective world has to offer, life sends one of its

inevitable curves, which become indispensable in shaping a man’s physical and mental health leading him

to the formless. Life offers both sweet and bitter experiences, which sometimes may be thunderbolts that

strike and cease our hearts and minds, or may be beds of roses. Sometimes, consciously or

unconsciously, we seek pain in pleasure which is not good; rather we should seek pleasure in pain.

People conceive of philosophy as something lofty and difficult, which in my opinion is a wrong notion.

Philosophy is a simple equation that solves the most complex of problems in the journey of life. Life is a

river that flows between two cliffs called pleasure and pain. Challenges and compromises should be

coupled with stability of mind in order for one’s efforts to result in success. As situations in life can never

be predicted with exactitude, the ‘knocks’ of life ensure cultivation of endurance and stability of mind.

Pain and pleasure are like wings that constitute a bird called Life without which there is no evolution in

human life. The purpose of human birth is evolution within oneself and society and not retaliation. Too

much comfort makes a person’s life miserable. Pain and pleasure are quintessential to elevate oneself

from dog to GOD. A stone undergoes the hammering of the stone-cutter to be turned into an idol of God.

Even gold and diamond undergo the hammering of a goldsmith and a diamond-cutter respectively, yet

they are the most precious metals available on earth.

Strife & Harmony - SARVESH (III BBM)

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Pain and pleasure are like two wheels of a vehicle on which the chassis of life is fixed, and this vehicle

leads you to your destination when fuelled with faith and devotion. People perceive liberation as the soul

advancing towards heaven but true liberation is having unfaltering faith in god, irrespective of the results

of an action when alive (absolute surrender).

Darkness can be dispelled by light whereas light cannot be dampened by darkness. There will be some

instances in life which feign insignificance but they offer us an ocean of lessons to learn. This point is

backed up by great stories which tell that ‘Minutes can make Miracles’.

LIFE

Risk & Reward

Pleasure & Pain

Comfort & Discomfort

Compromise & Challenge

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SAI KIRAN V (II BBA)

Arjun was busy with his hectic schedule at his office. He was a well reputed Sales Tax practitioner in ‘The City of Gardens’. He was updating himself during the break on Facebook. He saw that he had 5 notifications. He discovered that it was one of his classmate’s birthday. He wished his warm regards to him and was about to return to the home page. Before he could do that, he unknowingly clicked on the upcoming birthday list. He was taken aback when the page loaded onto the screen. He felt ashamed of himself. It read that the following day would be his mother’s birthday. He was drawn to his past. His father passed away even before he could call out to him. So his mother was both his mother and father. She had overcome many challenges to raise him. Now Arjun was happy to be a proud son of his mother as he could stand on his own feet when he was just 24 years old. However, what made him sad was that he forgot his mother’s birthday. He thanked Zuckerburg for his social media website which reminded him the birthday of the most important person in his life. After his work, he returned home and was thinking what to gift his mother for her 50th birthday. He thought that it would be best to ask her what she wanted from him. He immediately turned his laptop on and booked a flight ticket to ‘God’s own Country’ where his mother was living. All the technology is at your beck and call if you have money. He booked his ticket for the 4:00am flight so that he could take his mother to Guruvayur Temple which is in the ‘Cultural capital of Kerala’- Thrissur.

Love & Sacrifice

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He arrived at the Kochi international airport as scheduled and reached home in an hour. His mother was flabbergasted to see her son in front of her eyes as she opened the door. Customarily, he used to let his mother know well before his arrival, but this time he didn’t do that. She rubbed her eyes in disbelief. Arjun went and prostrated before his mother. She received him with open hands and made his much-loved breakfast- hot Velleppam with spicy Channa curry. Arjun realized that even on her birthday, she didn’t care for her comfort, instead made what he wanted. He knew that there is nothing in the world to give in return for his beloved mother’s unconditional love. After the sumptuous breakfast, he took his mother to the Guruvayur temple and had lunch at the temple itself which they give every day as part of Anna-dhanam. Then on their way back home, he asked his mother, “Amma, I want to gift you something, please tell me what you want”. She brushed aside his request. He compelled her to ask for something. She again denied his request. He pushed hard the request and finally she spoke out, “Arjun, I want nothing much. I just want you to spend the night at home”. Arjun agreed, but he wanted to gift her something very valuable. So he requested her to ask for another gift. She told she didn’t want anything else. Arjun was happy that his mother finally asked something from him. Then he said, “I will complete your wish in one condition, you should come for a movie tonight and we will dine together outside”. She agreed. At night, he took her to the Lulu Mall at Kochi, the second largest mall in Asia. They dined there and later went for the movie. At 11:30, they were back home and Arjun was so tired that he fell asleep immediately. Arjun’s mother saw that he was having a sound sleep. She sprinkled water on his face. Arjun got up and he asked her why she sprinkled water on his face. She didn’t give him any answer. He didn’t have any patience for waiting for her answer as he was feeling very sleepy. Again he fell

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asleep. After about 4 in the morning, she again poured water on his face. He got up with a jolt. His face was painted red with anger. “What happened Amma, why are you pouring water? Can’t you see that I am sleeping” Arjun spoke with fury. His mother smiled calmly and said “Arjun, the gift I wanted from you is to see you developing forbearance. When you were a kid, you used to wet the bed in your sleep. But I was not angry with you. When you were having fever, you used to cry in the middle of the night, and sometime, you would not sleep and you wouldn’t allow me also to sleep. That time I was not angry. My son, please develop the habit of sacrifice and forbearance”. Arjun broke down after listening to his mother. He understood his mistake and begged her for pardon. We often tend to take our parents for granted without knowing the sacrifice they under went in their life just for us. Our parents always love us and give up their happiness just to see a smile on our face. We can never return anything in our life time to them for their love and sacrifice. As it is perfectly said that, time is the best gift one can give to others as it cannot be returned. So spend few moments with your parents and make them feel proud for having a good son like you.

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The whole campus was charged with energy and excitement for the festival

of Ganesh Chaturthi. It is celebrated to mark the birthday of our dear Lord Ganesha, the son of Lord Shiva and Mother Parvathi, who is the favorite of all. The effort and love shown by the students was really remarkable. Not a single complaint about working very hard. Everyone contributed in making of the palanquins for Ganesha with full gusto. The celebrations started with the Puja by our brothers and the offering of various kinds of art forms to our Lord Ganapathi. Personally, I had never seen such splendid preparations for Ganesh Chaturthi, it was always a very quiet affair for me, except the day of immersion when entire India jubilates.

Various kinds of delicacies were prepared by our phenomenal kitchen staff, and the students were impartial in relishing the dishes. Following a hectic day, evening Puja was conducted by the Altar department, where several more of our brothers got the chance of conducting Puja to the Lord. In the meantime, the work on the palanquins continued, silently and smoothly for the students of various batches. My experience of working as a team, with people I have recently met was simply superb. I got to learn many things about art, architecture, designing, implementation of ideas and most importantly I have learnt, that “teamwork makes the dream work” and of course… good humor..!!

Cele

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Ganesh C

haturthi

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PR

AV

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(I B

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Delicacies continued to flow, events were always exciting, participation was the goal and the benefits were enormous, when finally, the celebrations came to an end, on the third day. Everyone displayed their batch’s hard work proudly, beautiful palanquins were lined in front of the hostel building. Our cute little UFO was placed near the HUGE lotus of the second years, who had done an excellent paintjob which made the lotus come to life. Next to the lotus was a beautiful chariot, like the one which was used in the Mahabharata with intricate artistic work, made by the third years, who had put the most effort compared to all of us, in decorating the entire campus and making of their chariot too. The MCA veterans outsmarted everybody by making an eco-friendly palanquin with leaves which stole the limelight. However, the entire campus was beaming with the display of creativity, perseverance, and love to the Lord of the Ganas. Then started the procession for the immersion of the Ganesha idols in a nearby lake, with refrains like “GANESH MAHARAJ KI JAI!!” Everyone was eager to hold the palanquins on their shoulders, and this sight filled me with joy, the joy of being with such people who were ready to do anything for their Lord. We all retired to our beds after the show, knowing deep in our hearts that Ganesha was smiling down upon us, for our hard work, dedication, devotion, and selfless love for him.

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1. According to some sources, the English alphabet used to contain a 27th character—something, like

the symbol ‘&’, which today is referred to as ampersand.

2. Of all the vowels and consonants that can occur after ‘q’, only ‘u’ is attested in English words (e.g.

queue, quintessence, queen, quilt). So, if you want to wish two people to be together for a long

time, you may say: Be like Q and U! Whether you come across as funny or nerdy depends on the

sense of the humour of the people receiving your wish and those around them.

3. George Bernard Shaw, the celebrated Irish playwright, has memorably illustrated how absurd

English spelling can sometimes be. For example, the ‘word’ ghoti can in his view be pronounced as

fish because: ‘gh’ stands for ‘f’ at the end of words like tough, rough, cough etc; ‘o’ stands for ‘i’ in

the first syllable of the word women; and ‘ti’ stands for ‘sh’ in the suffix ‘-tion’ which ends words like

examination, creation, oration etc.

4. William Shakespeare is arguably the greatest playwright to have put pen to paper (or quill to a

scroll, if you will) at least in the English language. Multiple theories abound, however, as to the true

provenance of his work. While some people claim that Shakespeare’s plays were actually written by

other Elizabethan playwrights, the film Anonymous, directed by Roland Emmerich, explores the

unique theory that they might have been written by a Duke, who, because authorship of artistic

work was scorned among the Gentry and Royalty of his time, asked Shakespeare to stage his plays.

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5. Pool and cool rhyme completely in English. On the other hand pool only half-rhymes with full (in

this case the expression ‘half-rhyme’ can be taken literally because the vowel sound in the word full

is the shorter variant of the vowel in the word pool). Full itself eye-rhymes with dull in that the two

words look the same (after their initial consonants are discounted), but do not sound the same.

6. When a man is knighted by the King or Queen of England, he acquires the title ‘Sir’. When a

woman is knighted, she acquires the title ‘Dame’. Either may be referred to, however, as a Knight

Commander of the British Empire (KBE).

7. Names of places are, among other things, generally not preceded by an article. Some exceptions

to this rule are: the Netherlands, the Philippines, the Hague and – this may be something of a

surprise – the Punjab (or the Five Rivers).

8. All English pronouns except ‘you’ have a subject version and an object version (e.g. I vs. me, he

vs. him, we vs. us). In Old English, though, ‘you’ also had a subject version, namely thou, and an

object version, namely thee.

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ONAM FEAST

DEBATE IT OUT

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ROHIT VERMA (I BCA)