www.saitowers.com/magazine/set-oct-2000

The inauguration took place in the Auditorium of the Institution Campus at Brindavan with Her excellency, the Governor of Karnataka being the Chief Guest. Bhagawan spoke that morning and on every afternoon in Sai Ramesh Hall till the end of the two week course.

Every day, after morning darshan, the students would have lectures and presentations in the Institute auditorium by renowned educationists, eminent persons, faculty from the Institute and students. On some occasions, Bhagawan graced the meetings with His presence.

Every afternoon, before Bhagawan’s divine discourse, reports of the morning session were presented. This was followed by a talk by either a student, a teacher or administrator from the Institute. This year, Bhagawan in His discourses, took the audience through the mystery of the five elements, the role of parents, the eternal human values, the nature of the avatar and tenets of Indian Culture and Spirituality.

There was an examination for the students at the end of the course. The participants were also blessed with Bhagawan’s Prasadam every day in the form of delicious meal sessions. On the 29th, Bhagawan blessed all the participants with padanamaskar.

Guru Poornima Festival 16th July 2000 Guru Poornima this year had festivities from the 12th of July to the 16th of July, 2000. On the morning of the 12th of July, the celebration of Ashadi Ekadasi commenced with the devotees from Maharastra (Sri Sathya Sai Seva Organisations, Mumbai) presenting the traditional ‘Dindi’ procession. It is a dance wherein a group of ‘Varkaris’ throng the temple of Lord Panduranga at Pandaripur.
Children then put up a presentation indigeniously entitled ‘www.God Exists.Luv’. The play depicted that man should look deep within and not waste his time in browsing through websites with the help of a computer. A recreation of the dialogue between Lord Krishna and Arjuna on the battlefield helped to reiterate the concept of harmony between thought, word and deed. The evening programme commenced with a Bal Vikas Play entitled ‘Sant Tukaram’. It depicted the life and teachings of the great Maharastrian saint, Tukaram and how his single-pointed devotion to God earned him divine grace. Bhagawan blessed the performer with clothes. The child who played the role of Tukaram was blessed with a gold chain by Bhagawan.
Following the play, there was a musical rendering by the renowed Hindusthani classical exponent, Pundit Bhimsen Joshi. Bhagawan blessed him with a gold bracelet at the end of the performance. On the 15th of July 2000, children from Hyderabad presented a classical dance drama entitled ‘Srinivas Kalyanam’ in the divine presence in the Poorna Chandra Auditorium. The dance drama in the Kuchipudi ballet style depicts the human roles played by Lord Vishnu and Goddess Lakshmi in Indian mythology. The play culminates in the marriage of Srinivasa (Lord Vishnu) and Padmavati (Goddess Lakshmi).
The day of the Preceptor, Guru Poornima, was celebrated with sombreity on the 16th of July. Bhagawan arrived at Sai Kulwanth Hall in a procession led by two musical bands of boys and girls from the Primary School. There was a musical offering by students of Sri Satya Sai educational institutions followed by a talk by Professor G. Venkataraman, former Vice Chancellor of Bhagawan’s University. Bhagawan then gave His divine discourse. In the evening, 44 musicians from 19 countries offered at Bhagawan’s lotus feet a musical rendering entitled "Universal Symphony Orchestra’. Bhagawan blessed the artistes with shawls at the end of the programme.