From the Mouths of Children
Following are the excerpts from various Bal Vikas Children’s speeches given in the presence of Bhagavan Baba, in Bombay, in 1975.
We are children of the Sai era. I wonder how empty our future would have been if the Sai era had not dawned when we were born. We see people rushing round and round, very busy. We find elders who do not pray or read Divine books. But, we, in the Bal Vikas [Swami’s program of spiritual education for children] know about the leelas [divine play] of God and the ways to win His grace.
We, the children of the Sai era, have the good luck of seeing the Avatar; just as the children of Gokul [where Krishna lived] had the chance to see and talk to Krishna. We have heard Sai Krishna sing and talk, we have touched His feet, and we have acted in plays in His presence, danced before Him, and been rewarded with His blessings.
Baba wants us to grow into good strong men and women, able and willing to serve others with love. He asks us to be as sweet, as loving and as fresh as He is; we promise Him every day, in our prayers that we will try to do our best with His blessings. We should, He says, be examples to other children. We know that this alone can please Baba.
Baba tells us that Bharat [India] is the land where we are born and where we have to live and serve. He says that to be an Indian means to have a strong attachment to God and that Bharat is the land of yoga [spiritual discipline] and tyaga [renunciation]. So, we have to learn yoga and practice tyaga in the days to come. Baba has given us a grand duty. He says we are the pillars of the nation and He wants us to see good, do good, and be good, so that Bharat may stand in the forefront of all nations.
Yes, each of us will be a Vivekananda, living the way Baba wants us to and spreading His message of satya, dharma, shanti, and prema, the message of our Master. We are hundreds and thousands of Vivekanandas, for all our Bal Vikas brothers and sisters from this country and other countries are getting ready to become fit instruments in the hands of Bhagavan Baba. We are the raw material and we pray, “Baba! Shape us, change us into real bangaroo [golden ones]!” We desire to grow into useful sons and daughters. The bamboo and the coconut tree both grow to the same height; but the bamboo has no fruit to offer, while the other tree carries bunches of nice fruits on its head. We, too, plan to lead fruitful lives.
I have made a blueprint for my future. No, I am not building castles in the air. My plans are not about which profession I am going to take up. Of course, I have my ambition and I am determined to put forth all my effort to study well. But, whether I join the engineering, medical, or any other profession, is something not totally within my choice. Destiny plays its role in this matter, and I will have to submit to it without slackening my attempts.
But living a moral disciplined life is certainly within my choice and I have chosen. I am the sole arbiter, when the choice is whether to tell a lie, or speak the truth and face the consequences. Whether to be friendly with others or hostile and harmful is a matter of my choice. Whether I live for myself alone or whether I take delight in serving my brothers and sisters, as well as my country is certainly my choice to make. These are the ideals Bal Vikas has set for me and for all my little brothers and sisters.
Baba has assured us, “Why fear when I am here?” If only we try to be pure and good, at home as well as outside the home, He will shower His grace. He is always ‘here’; His `here’ is `everywhere’; He is always with everyone. He is watching all our thoughts, words, and deeds every minute. I am aware I cannot escape His searchlight, for even a second. I know I have to be cautious all the time. Baba’s assurance has become my ‘policeman.’ Along with love and devotion, I have fear too; for, while guarding me, He is also watching me. He will guard me for years and years, since He has charted out our lives. From Bal Vikas, we move on to pre-Seva dal [service group]; from there, to seva dal and after a few years of seva [service] training, we take up our duties at the seva samitis [service centers], to be His blessed instruments in serving our families, villages, country, and humanity. This tender plant is sure to be guided and guarded till it grows to its full stature and bears delicious fruit.
The Bal Vikas program is making us happy and full of energy and enthusiasm. Our teacher told us a story she had heard Bhagavan relate. Once a group of eighty people went to New York, as a delegation, to attend a conference. They were lodged in a posh hotel; there they chose to take up lodging on the topmost floor, as their ambition was to live at the top of the city, above everyone in the world. One evening, they went out shopping; they purchased various novelties to take home and display proudly before their less fortunate friends and relatives. Unfortunately, when they returned to the hotel, the elevators were not working due to a power failure.
So, they had to climb up to the 80th story, carrying their the heavy packages with them. In order to while away their time and make the task of climbing bearable, they decided that each of them should narrate his greatest ambition in life, for others to listen and learn by. They did this up to the 79th floor; it was then the turn of the 80th man, the leader of the delegation, to finish the climb with his narration.
But he was silent. Others pressed around him and wanted him to give the finishing touch. At last he said, “I can only narrate a tale of woe; the greatest ambition of my life now is to collect the bunch of keys of our flat, for I have left it on the ground floor. I have to climb down all the steps now and climb up again.”
This is the state of man, says Baba. He has come to give us the key of life, by which we can reach the kingdom of peace, Prasanthi Nilayam. Man has gone up to the moon, but he has lost the key to happy life on earth.
We are molded by the Sathya Sai Bal Vikas program. Baba told us once that there are four types of vikas [development or blossoming]. They are manovikas (development of the mind), buddhivikas (development of the intellect), bhavavikas or hrdayavikas (expansion of the heart and the good emotions of the heart), and atmavikas (blossoming of the soul). He said that wet clay could be molded any way we like. It can be made into an idol of Lord Gajanana or into a common toy. There is a great difference between these two forms of clay. As Lord Gajanana it is adored and worshipped. As a toy it is thrown away, when the child has lost interest in it. The toy has no lasting utility; whereas the idol of Ganesha, though made out of the same clay, remains precious and revered forever. Baba told us that through proper training and effort, we too should make ourselves worthy, like the idol.
When religious ceremonies and birthdays of Rama, Krishna, and other Avatars and festivals of Ganesha, Shiva, and Durga, or holy days like Bakrid or Christmas were celebrated, we children did not know the reason for celebration and we only cared for the feast. But, Bal Vikas has taught us the real purpose of these festivals, and made us share in them with greater joy. We now help our parents to celebrate them. Bal Vikas has taught us to revere our parents and love our brothers and sisters, as Rama did and as Shravan Kumar [a devoted son] did. Harishchandra [legendary king] never swerved from truth. Dhruva and Prahlada [the child devotees] had unshaken devotion to the Lord. We desire to emulate their great qualities in our own lives.
We love to recite prayers and stotras [holy verses], at different times of the day. We are taught to respect our parents and teachers as God, and we do our best to follow the direction. They also appreciate us and treat us with love.
We also practise japa [recitation of the name] and dhyana [meditation]. We know Baba likes us to start early, drive slowly and reach safely. We like bhajans most and we are very happy when elders take us out with them for nagarsankirtan.
When we look around us at the trees and mountains, or up at the sky with its stars, we feel that God is the greatest artist. What a range of colors and sounds! What beauty! What variety! Everything and every being has its own special beauty. Even the lines on the palms and fingers are different for each man! Bal Vikas has taught us to see God’s power and wisdom in this. At the same time, there is unity in this variety. We should not disturb this harmony of unity; it is love that keeps up this harmony. We learnt a song, “In me there is Ram; in you there is Ram; in him there is Ram; there is Ram in all.” So, we do not hate anyone, for, in him too, there is the same Sai Ram.
Sai Ram! Make us come through schools and colleges not with a mere bachelor’s or master’s degrees, but, fully blossomed in mind, heart, and spirit, and rooted in the sacred values of life. Make us fit warriors for the battle of life, able to fight evil tendencies and temptations, and shape us into servants of the weak, the ignorant, and the distressed. More than the master’s degree that the colleges offer, we prize the degree, ‘worthy children of Sai.’ Jai Sai Ram!
Source: Sanathana Sarathi, June 1975
