The alumni of the Sri Sathya Sai Balvikas gathered at the Lotus feet of Bhagawan to renew their bond with Mother Sai on 7th November, a red letter day in the annals of the Balvikas movement.
As the fragrance of nostalgia filled the air, it was a trip down memory lane for all. And what a touching scene indeed it was to witness their hearts’ outpouring! The programme commenced with the lighting of the lamp by the Divine hands, followed by a melodious prayer song seeking strength and devotion to ever be at His lotus feet and abide by his teachings.
Two alumni, Dr. Unnikrishnan from Kerala and Smt. Gunjan Sahni from UP spoke about the impact of the Balvikas programme in their lives. Dr. Unnikrishnan revealed that he understood what it was to be a doctor when he got the opportunity he got to do seva at the Sathya Sai Clinic. He further added that the Balvikas programme sowed the seeds of love and compassion in his heart which helped him to empathise with the needs of the patients, facilitating the humanising of ‘Medicare’. Sister Gunjan Sahni elucidated on how at every step of her life, the values imbibed in her balvikas days aided in strengthening the will and sharpening the power of discrimination , thus enabling her to maintain a fine balance . Justice V. Ramasubramanian, a judge of the Chennai Hight Courst. a product of the first batch of Balvikas paid obeisance to Bhagawan.
Next it was the turn of nine gems - balvikas students who had excelled in their lives - to be presented before Bhagawan, reiterating the fact that Balvikas results in blossoming of one’s personality bringing about holistic development. On this occasion, Bhagawan also blessed the compilation of articles by balvikas students entitled “ Living Life with Sai, Sai hi hai Jeevan”.
The crescendo of the programme was the performance of the balvikas students of the new generation. “Little Champs” brought the curtain down with their musical which touched the chord of every heart. They serenaded Mother Sai with the rendering of “Twameva Mata cha pita twameva” in Sanskrit, Telugu and hindi and two soulful offerings of “Suraj ki kirne” and “Sai Maa”. The accompanying instrumentalists on the violin, mridangam, ghatam and ganjeera engaged in a delightful jugalbandi that had a professional fragrance. The programme concluded with Arati, but not before enthusing all of ushering in the Sai era through the medium of BalVikas – the first step in the Educare mission of Bhagawan Baba.
