Students are My Property, says the proud Father, the proud Mother...our Beloved Bhagawan...It will be interesting to know how these students view Him, in turn...Know their zeal for Divinity from a poem written by Sri Satyajit, an alumnus of Bhagawan’s University...as published in the December, 1999 issue of Sanathana Sarathi...

Experience, Oh Man! The joy of breaking away
Art thou not tired of clinging on night and day?
You search for Happiness, but you cling on.
You crave to be Free, but you cling on.
You want Peace, but my oh my, how you cling on!
You speak of Liberation, but you cling on.

Tear away, Oh Man! From these shackles that bind,
`Cause if thou see, the only shackle is thy mind.
Who can bind you, what withhold you?
Know that for your bondage, the only cause is you.
Has the world any limbs, that clasps you?
The one that clings is not the world, but you.

Free thyself, Oh Man! Of this madness of I and mine,
And thou shalt find thyself floating in Bliss Divine.
You are so busy entertaining `friends' and endearing ‘relations',
So engrossed in making money and appeasing passions,
You scant realise you are spiralling down a deep dungeon,
Of worry and misery, pain and separation and final destruction.

Elevate thyself, Oh Man! Beyond the reach of these petty ties
High above this apparent mesh of intertwined lives.
The bird on the tree can fly away, ‘cause ‘tis free,
But the fruit is bound ‘cause ‘tis attached to the tree.
Living in the Present, one is ever Free,
What binds is the Past and the Family tree.

Break free, Oh Man! `Cause thou art verily Divine.
Unchain thyself, `cause it ain't thy Destiny to crave and pine.
Thy Destiny is to blossom forth thy Divinity,
Not to hanker after this world so petty.
Thy Destiny is to reach out for the stars,
Not to be jailed in this shell - these bony bars!

“We hear that your Sai Baba gives gifts to people - chains, watches, rings and much more. What did your Sai Baba give you?” The boy looked up,and found five menacing pairs of eyes looking into his eyes, eagerly and expentantly?

This boy had gone through what is the toughest moment of every Sai Student’s life - to leave the portals of this hallowed Institution...to leave HIM, rather, to leave His physical presence, for His Omnipresence always guides and guards each one of us. History will remember us not because we had any great property; History will remember us for we are His Property. History will not remember us, because we had any great possessions, but History will remember us, for we are His Possession. History will not remember us, becuase I am I, you are you or we are we; history will remember us, because we all are His.

And this boy was now sitting in front of an interview board in search of a job, And the question was, “We hear that your Sai Baba gives gifts to people - chains, watches, rings. What did He give you?” All that the student had to do was not to look at anything that was on his person, but to look at ‘himself’. The student looked up, smiled and said, “Sir, I hail from a poor village and if today, I sit in front of as great an interview boards as yours, applying for an honourable post as this, what greater gift can I ask for than what I have received from Sri Sathya Sai Baba, my entire education - totally free of cost.” And needless to say, perhaps, the student would by now be a part of the interview board of that prestigious company.

(extracted from an article published by N.B.Vineeth, an alumnus of Bhagawan’s Institution, in the 20th Anniversary Issue of Sri Sathya Sai Higher Secondary School, Prasanthi Nilayam)