An Evening with Professor Anil Kumar Distinguished Faculty, Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning

HOUSTON: The Sathya Sai Centers of Greater Houston, from Sathya Sai Region 10 organized a special talk by Professor Anil Kumar, an ardent devotee of Sri Sathya Sai Baba, and an author of over 30 books on May 31 at India House. Prof. Anil Kumar has been very closely associated with the Sathya Sai Organization for over 40 years. He served at the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning as the Principal of the Brindavan Campus in Bengaluru. Until recently he served as a distinguished faculty in the Department of Biosciences at the Prashanthi Nilayam Campus. He is best known for being Sri Sathya Sai Baba’s voice in the English language for the last 23 years. Over 300 people attended the two hour talk at India House, which was followed by a question and answer session.
The program opened with an introduction of Prof. Anil Kumar by Sanjay Gupta, the President of the Sathya Sai Center of North Houston. He told the audience that Prof. Anil Kumar enjoyed the relationship of a Sakha- a Close Friend with Sathya Sai Baba. Prof. Anil Kumar is highly loved and respected by his students all over the world, since through his care, in an atmosphere of loving discipline, he put them at ease and made them feel at home.

Prof. Anil Kumar took the audience on an unforgettable two hour spiritual journey. He asked them to live a content life and remain happy even in the most adverse circumstances – an essential principle of spiritual equanimity taught by Sri Sathya Sai Baba.
In very simple terms Prof. Anil Kumar explained that that the ultimate goal of human life is ‘Self Realization’ and he outlined how to achieve it. He said that we have turned our mirror (our mind) towards the worldly distractions. We need to turn it inwards and it will lead to Self-Realization! The technique to achieve this higher state is by transitioning from concentration to true meditation; Meditation is the state of thoughtlessness and formlessness, which is opposite to the “market state of mind”, where the thoughts are dominated by various worldly forces
The profoundly inspirational speech was followed by a very lively and informal Q&A session. Among the questions asked was, “How do we strive to achieve more in material life and at the same time be content?” Prof. Anil Kumar responded by asking, “What is Success? Is it earning dollars and becoming a CEO?” He explained that “Success is not a materialistic financial transaction. If you are peaceful during most of the troubles, then you are successful! If you don’t yield to temptations, then you are successful.” Upon being asked “What is surrender to God and how can we achieve it?” He replied, “Surrender is the most misunderstood word. True surrender is achieved when we give up the ‘I’-ness. Just like water and sugar are two different entities before being mixed together; and once mixed, sugar dissolves and disappears. In the same way, when the idea of the lower “Self” (the ego) is gone, then the Supreme State is achieved; that is True Surrender.”
After the Q&A session the President of the Sathya Sai Center of South Houston thanked Prof. Anil Kumar for the enlightening discourse. He shared the sentiment of members of the audience that the two hours interaction had left them wanting for more. He requested him to revisit Houston for another such profound discourse. The program concluded with an interaction and dinner.

For further information about the Sathya Sai Centers of Houston, visit www.sairegion10.org