(Sri Sathya Sai University)

 

Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning (Public Charitable Trust) was founded on 31 October 1981 by Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, Revered Founder Chancellor, Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning (Deemed to be University). It was founded to foster the culture of India and promote in the students and teachers an awareness and understanding of the social needs of the country; with special focus to the needs of the rural population.

 

Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning (SSSIHL), Prasanthi Nilayam, Andhra Pradesh, India, is a visible manifestation of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba’s vision of education for human transformation. The institute was recognised as a Deemed to be University by the Government of India in 1981.

 

The university hosts over 1300 undergraduate, postgraduate and professional programme students across four campuses:

 

For women students:

Anantapur Campus at Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh

 

For men students:

Prasanthi Nilayam Campus, at Puttaparthi, Andhra Pradesh

 

Brindavan Campus, at Whitefield, Bangalore, Karnataka

 

Muddenahalli Campus at Muddenahalli, near Chickaballapur, Karnataka

 

The university has a merit-based open admissions policy for all, irrespective of income, religion or region.

 

SSSIHL provides free education to students in all programmes of study. This includes waiver of all fees- tuition, examinations, laboratory, library, sports and medical. Programmes offered include undergraduate, postgraduate, professional and research.

 

"Education must teach a person what life is, and what its goals are. It must purify the heart and clarify the vision. It must prevent pollution of the hand, heart and head by habits injurious to the individual, society and the nation. It must promote virtues and raise the moral and spiritual standards of the educated." - Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, Revered Founder Chancellor

 

Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning was founded to inculcate ethical and moral values in students. These ethics and morals form the undercurrent of every subject taught at the university. Here, the development of a student’s character is just as important as imparting knowledge.

 

This holistic development of students can only be possible in an environment that encourages the development of the student’s mind, body and spirit.

 

To facilitate this, the university has a compulsory residential policy for all students. The environment is similar to the ancient Indian gurukula system of education, in a modern context. Teachers and students live and grow together in an atmosphere of mutual trust and unity.

 

Most students typically spend between two to five years pursuing an education at SSSIHL. As a result, what differentiates them from graduates of other universities is the transformation of their hearts, not just the training of their minds.

 

The holistic approach to education that SSSIHL imparts is based completely on the life, teachings and direct precepts of its Revered Founder Chancellor, Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. Given below is a brief introduction to the university’s Vision, Mission, and Philosophy as laid down by its Revered Founder Chancellor.

 

The Underlying Philosophy

The Sai educational institutions have been established not merely to enable students to earn a living but to make them acquire good traits, lead ideal lives, and give them ethical, moral and spiritual strength. I have established them with a view to inculcate love and teach good qualities to students. They will learn here humility, discipline and faith.

 

 

I have established these institutions to impart spiritual education as a main component and worldly education as a secondary one. Education should enable one to cultivate good qualities, character and devotion. The teaching of the university curricula is only the means employed for the end, namely, spiritual uplift, self-discovery and social service through love and detachment.

This will be a Gurukula - a place where teachers and taught will grow together in love and wisdom - and like the ancient system of education, it will develop in its students a broad outlook and promote virtues and morals, which serve to foster noble ideals in society.

 

This Institute will be a temple of learning where youth are shaped into self-reliant, contented and enterprising heroes of action and self-sacrifice, for the purpose of serving humanity. - Sri Sathya Sai Baba,Revered Founder Chancellor

 

The Vision

To assist generations of students acquire Self-knowledge (Atma Vidya) and Self-confidence (Atma Vishwas), so as to cultivate Self-sacrifice and earn Self-realisation; thereby moulding them into leaders who will benefit society.

 

The Mission

To mould well-rounded holistic individuals – professionally sound, socially responsible and spiritually aware – who embody noble values and a right attitude, through Educare (Integral Education based on Human Values) that caters to the physical, intellectual, emotional, psychological and spiritual dimensions of the human personality.

 

 

In specific terms, the Core Purpose of the university is:

The Core Purpose

• To impart true, ideal education, and mould students as ideal citizens wedded to the service of society.
• To provide the youth with an education which, while cultivating their intelligence, will also purify their impulses and emotions and equip them with the physical and mental disciplines needed for drawing upon the springs of calmness and joy that lie in their own hearts.
• To help students to cultivate self-knowledge and self-confidence, so that each one can learn self-sacrifice and earn self-realisation.
• To blossom students as true representatives of Bharatiya Samskriti, spreading tolerance, charity and brotherhood throughout the World.
• To equip students for the role of future leaders of India, as persons of integrity and character, as embodiments of truth, justice (righteousness), peace and love; and to confer on them the courage to stand up against injustice, indiscipline, immorality and falsehood.

(Taken from the Website of Sri Sathya Sai Institute Of Higher Learning)

 

The Institute has been established for rejuvenating the nation and promoting the Dharmic way of life in the country through a generation of righteously educated students. It has no commercial aims. You must see that the good name of the Institute is preserved. Each one should examine himself. The senior students should be exemplary in their behaviour. If all of you behaved well, what a change would there be in the world!

 

I am devoting 75 percent of my time to the students and giving only 25 percent to the devotees from all parts of the world. Realise how much love I am lavishing on you. If you waste this sacred opportunity, you will not get it again. Conduct yourselves as the children of one mother. The elder students should be an inspiration to the younger ones. Be more concerned about acquiring good character than getting degrees. When parents and teachers are indifferent to their responsibilities, Swami cannot evade His obligation to highlight your lapses and to correct you. The good students will be helped in every way. But the bad ones will be given no quarter. Always bear in mind that the Sathya Sai Institute is a sacred institution. It has been set up for promoting the welfare of the world. Only good students can serve to improve the nation. We will be content even if we have a handful of them.  (SSS Vol.22, pp. 98-99)

 

The consistent endeavour of the university since its inception has been to develop core courses, bringing out value-orientation in an appropriate manner, blending of science and spirituality, providing interaction between head and heart through self-reliance programmes and co-curricular activities, designing Awareness and Foundation courses and incorporating these as part of the curriculum.

 

‘The university will not be imparting in Botany merely knowledge of trees in Nature; it will spread the knowledge of the tree of true living.

‘It will not be imparting the knowledge merely of economics; the knowledge of theistic ethics too will be included.’ It will not be teaching mere Chemistry (Rasayana Satra); it will also unravel the mystery of ‘Raso vai saha, the Supreme Embodiment of nectarine sweetness, the Atman.

‘It will teach not only the science of the material world (Penarth); it will also teach the science of the non-material world (Maratha). It will not differentiate the material from non-material or treat the non-material as irrelevant to the material.

‘We have decided that this shall be the uniqueness of this university. This will not be like all other universities which adopt a few faculties and burden their alumni with degrees, which they can present as begging bowls while clamouring for jobs.’

‘This university will confer on its alumni the courage and confidence, the knowledge and skill to shape their careers by their own efforts, relying on their strength.

‘So, we have proposed that spiritual education be integrated harmoniously with ethical, physical and metaphysical teachings in this university.’

‘The medium of instruction in this Institute is discipline; the first, the second and the third languages are Love, Service and Sahara’.  (SS Nov. ’99, pp. 329-331)

 

The chief goal of human existence is the realisation of ananda for all mankind and the unity of all men in the World of Love. This is the Higher Learning, which this Institute will teach. (SS January ’83, p. 10)

 

The chief goal of human existence is the realisation of ananda for mankind and the Unity of all men in a world of Love. This is the higher learning, which this Institute will teach. Service rendered to society is the sure road to prosperity. This is the lesson, which it will teach, with the brotherhood of man as its inspiration. When this Institute succeeds in this effort, it will be an example for other centres too and they too will strive towards the ideal. It will encourage transformation in moral, material, ethical, spiritual and political spheres too. Students who have to resuscitate the glory of the country, and protect and develop the country have to recognise and value these high ideals, for; the welfare and wealth of the country depend on their talents and virtues.(BA, pp.13-14)

 

Students! This Sathya Sai Institute has been founded to train ideal students who would be able to change the world, which is today plunged in chaos and corruption. Bharat, which was the fountain - source of righteousness and spirituality, is today divorced from Truth and Right conduct and is plagued by evil forces. Swami does not seek anything from you except that you should develop into ideal citizens who will bring good name and fame to Bharat. This is the sole purpose for which Swami brought the Institute into existence. You have all facilities needed for your studies. You have to transform yourselves and help to transform the country. In olden days, people regarded everything as given by God. They placed God first, the world next and themselves last. Today all this has been reversed. The ‘I’ comes first, the world next and God last.

 

The Mahabharata shows what it means to place God in the forefront or otherwise. Both Arjuna and Duryodhana went to Krishna to seek His help in the impending war. Krishna said they could make the choice between Himself and His army. Arjuna opted for Krishna and Duryodhana chose Krishna’s army. In the ultimate outcome the Pandavas, who placed God in the forefront achieved victory, while the Kauravas, who had faith only in arms, lost everything. (SS July ’88, p. 173)

 

At first, our Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning has only the Vidya agiri Campus College at Puttaparthi and Anantapur College for Women. Gundu Rao, the Chief Minister of Karnataka, resolutely overcame the obstacles that had to be met and helped in adding the College at Brindaavan, Bangalore, to this Institute. This day, the Institute has become the holy Triveni – Anantapur, the Ganga; Bangalore, the Yamuna; and Puttaparthi, the Saraswati.. Ganga is the pure heart, the source of good works (karma). The Anantapur College has initiated service activities saturated with holy love. The women students visit villages and render various forms of rural service. The Bangalore College students cooperate lovingly in service in order to realise the Divine Atmic reality that is evident in all. The flower (the Anantapur College) developed; the fruit has become ripe and sweet at Prasanthi Nilayam. As a result, degrees which enshrine the sweetness are to be awarded here itself.

 

This Trinity (Trimurti), the Three Eyes in the one face (Trinetra), the Three Ages of Times (Trikala), the three Worlds in one Cosmos (Triloka), the three Prongs of one Shula (Trishula), The Three Modes of One Nature (Triguna), the Three Leaves in on Bilva (Tridala) are to be adored and symbolically offered today by the students. (SSS Vol.15, pp. 186-187)