Children are the most important group in our nation’s demography, but education without dharm and culture produces educated and misguided young minds. They can only become the instrument in realizing Param Pujya Swamiji’s vision of character, family, community, and country building with a strong foundation of values and principles. Talking about principles alone won’t help anyone acquire life lessons, instead, people need to see role models and real-world examples in front of them. No one other than His Divine Holiness Hariprasad Swamiji’s life can impart these valuable life lessons.

The life of Param Pujya Swamishree is like a nectar of life lessons. A single drop of this nectar would help to lead a life towards morality and humility. To illustrate some extremely important virtues from Swamiji’s life, students performed an act based on His real life incident during the Satyam House Creative Assembly on Saturday, December 18. The event was graced by Pujya Suhrad Swamiji and Pujya Nimit Swamiji. The act had a concise and yet a highly insightful title: અનુસંધાન નું અમૃત. The captivating tale was narrated by His Divine Holiness Prabodh Swamiji and the on-stage depiction of the same followed.

On the early winter morning, the staff and students witnessed the drama on a stage decorated with relevant backdrops. The story was from the days when Swamiji was as Prabhudasbhai who served Yogiji Maharaj in Gondal. During that time, a 3-day long Hariyaag Yagna was organized. Thousands of devotees were to attend the event. All saints and devotees were engaged in preparation. Prabhudasbhai was someone who could be trusted completely by not only Yogiji Maharaj but even His saints and devotees.

A day before the yagna, Prabhudasbhai was about to have His lunch and a saint asked him to bring the utensils from nearby villages. Without having lunch, He boarded the truck to bring utensils and returned to the temple late night. He was a man of actions, so he not only unloaded the utensils from the truck but also cleaned those big and numerous utensils all the night long without any expectation of help from others.

Next day morning, when He was just going to have breakfast, another saint called Him to bring vegetables from nearby villages, this time around on bullock carts. He not only brought the vegetables but washed, and sorted them without asking for help. As it late night when He reached the mandir, that saint served Him a plate with snacks. But as soon as He was about to start His first meal of the day, He was insulted and the plate was taken away by another ignorant sadhu. At that time also, Prabhudasbhai never wavered from His path and never let negative thoughts cloud His mind. He held a firm belief that it was the wish of His Guru that the situation had transpired in such a manner.

He accomplished the task given to Him and went beyond human capacity with full enthusiasm to please His Guru. Sacrifice in the guru-disciple dynamic involves relinquishing personal desires and ego, and Swamiji was an epitome of sacrifice. On the final day of the Yagna, after serving all the devotees, when He sat down for a meal after almost 3 days, He was called by His guru Yogiji Maharaj for yet another seva. Even after going hungry and sleepless for three days, Swamiji never felt tired, but on meeting Yogiji Maharaj, He realised that His guru felt tired instead. Such was the relation between the guru and the ideal shishya! Yogiji Maharaj was extremely pleased with Swamiji’s seva-bhakti and blessed Him heartily.

Sacrifice is not a loss but a shedding of the old self, making way for spiritual growth and evolution. This process is akin to a caterpillar sacrificing its identity to become a butterfly. For Swamiji, it meant giving up the comfort (sleep and food) and much more difficult than that, His self-respect, and embracing a path that demanded self-discipline and introspection. In the face of challenges and doubts, dedication and clarity of His destination became the anchor that kept Swamiji steadfast on His spiritual journey. This commitment is not blind obedience, but a conscious choice to walk the path with sincerity and devotion. Swamiji walked this path without any complain. The power of sacrifice and dedication is not a one-time event but an ongoing process of spiritual refinement.

The foundation upon which a person’s character is constructed is the set of values and concepts that are taught and instilled in schools. As a result, schools have a far greater role in creating human beings who strive to live by such ideals and would make meaningful contribution to their communities and the world at large.

Students’ involvement in these small ‘Samvads’ (creative assemblies) of AVM gives them opportunity to meet our divine gurus and experience the cultural, moral and spiritual values which are otherwise veiled by this techno-guided modern world. It also provides a platform for the students to showcase their talents and gives opportunity to the teachers to do their best for the society.

Satyam House Team