A PLAY WITHIN THE PLAY:
The Convocation Drama

The 22nd of November is an important day in the calendar at Prashanti Nilayam. It is the day on which the annual Convocation of the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning is held. It is the day when Bhagavan, the Chancellor of the University, confers on the students various degrees. Everyone present in that vast gathering can see the Lord bestowing certificates and gold medals to the students. But what they cannot see is the most precious gift that Swami gives them: Character, Self Confidence and Courage. But people get a glimpse of these precious but intangible gifts in the event that follows the convocation: the Convocation Drama.

Every year, after the Convocation is over, the students of SSSIHL stage the Convocation Drama in the vast Poornachandra Auditorium. And every year, at the end of His Benedictory Message to the students, Bhagavan invites the vast gathering of devotees to the Poornachandra to watch ‘a wonderful play’ by His students! For Bhagavan, the Convocation Drama is not just routine cultural entertainment; it is meant to be a message, a message that educates, inspires and elevates, a message that would be remembered for a long time, and above all, a Message from Swami Himself. Life itself is a drama in which the Lord takes on a cameo role, and here we can see ‘a play within a play’!

The theme of the drama is generally the ‘transformation of man’. Swami Himself has reiterated many a time that the purpose of the Sai Avatar is the transformation of our Hearts. This is also the refrain of the Sai educational institutions – to produce men and women of virtue and character. The Convocation Drama is a medium though which the message of Divinity through purity and unity is proclaimed to the world. This theme is presented through an enchanting story that has social, mythological and historical elements weaved into it.

The Most Involved Spectator
The best thing about the Convocation Drama is that one is blessed with the close physical proximity of the Lord. Swami takes personal interest in the drama right from the beginning to the end; from the first rehearsal to the final performance on stage. A leader leads by example and upfront. It is common in management parlance to quote the example of a piece of string. One cannot push a string from behind. One has to pull it up front. Swami sets His own Life as an example for all of us to follow. Come to think of it, imagine your favourite movie or theatre play. How many times would you have seen it? Once, twice, thrice, four times…ten times…but, do you have the same interest every time? Are we as involved in the movie the tenth time as we were the first time? Do you have the same thoughts and feelings and emotions every time? No, there is a progressive decrease in interest. This we feel is natural, because we know what is going to happen. We live in the past anticipating the future and not in the present. For God, this drama of the world is like a movie that He has been seeing from time immemorial - but He does not tire of it. For Swami every moment is new. He is Sanathana – Eternal, Niranjana – Ever New. This is reflected in His involvement in the dramas. He has the same interest right from day one to the final performance.

In the year 1999, there was a drama called “Dharmo Rakshathi Rakshithaha”. In that drama there is a scene with the Pandavas and Krishna. The Pandavas are conducting a mighty sacrifice and everyone is being allocated duties to perform. Lord Krishna, who is their guest, asks that He too be given a duty. Not knowing what duty to give to the almighty Lord, the Pandavas ask Krishna to do whatever He likes. To the dismay of the Pandavas, the Lord selects the duty of lifting the leaves with the leftovers after the guests have finished their meal! The Pandavas become emotional and beg the Lord not to do so!

It was at this point in the drama, when it was first shown to Swami that the boys observed His eyes brimming with tears! He would somehow suppress them and laugh it off. The amazing thing was, during every subsequent rehearsal and on the final day too, the same thing happened to Swami. This is the freshness and involvement with which He viewed the drama each day! Talk about living in the moment!

The Divine Director
Swami is not happy just being a spectator. He gets involved even with the tiniest of details. For instance, colours; it is a common experience that different colours give us different feelings. Rich colours closer to the red end of the spectrum are called ‘warm colours’ but the ones towards the blue end are called ‘cold colours’. This is true of their influence on our emotions. Swami is particular that the character should be dressed in a colour appropriate to the personality being portrayed on stage. Then the make-up, the hair styles, the features and if the role is of a mythical or religious character, the details have to be perfect. Even the music for the drama, the songs, the background score - everything is tuned to perfection by the Lord. Swami goes to the extent of singing the songs Himself and helping the lead singers to get the correct bhava or feeling!

On one occasion, one of the scenes involved an episode of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa and Swami Vivekananda; then still the young, scientific and skeptical Narendranath. Swami gave such special attention to this scene that one would think that He was actually reliving the experience. He changed the lines of the dialogue between Naren and Sri Ramakrishna giving a new meaning and dimension to the whole scene. He personally instructed the two boys playing the roles as to how to say each line, which facial expression for which emotion and how to emote a particular feeling. It was mesmerizing and out of this world to see the Lord who creates and sustains the world acting out the parts. The ultimate perfectionist, fine-tuning His creations to perfection.

Nothing escaped His eye; even the costumes received His personal attention. He personally stood and watched as the boy who played Narendranath was readied. He waited till the make-up artist had finished the major work. Then the fine-tuning started. A little bit of this, a little more of that…He would not be satiated by anything less than perfect. The punch line was when Swami took the comb from the hands of the make-up artist and personally combed the boy’s hair. It was a sight to see. The love in Swami’s eyes, the soft faraway look of a mother combing the tresses of her little boy. There were none that were not touched by the sight.

See Good, Be Good

Swami has often said that there is no fault in creation but there may be a fault in vision (perception). In the Bhagavad Gita Lord Krishna said that life is an eternal battle between good and evil, between the “Good Guys” and the “Bad Guys”. To reflect this conflict in these dramas, there generally are characters that symbolise a deficiency, an obstacle, or some form of impediment to the progress of the protagonist – in short, they are the “Bad Guys”. But for Swami there is nothing “bad” in His creation. It is only perception that makes a difference. So Swami does not allow even the “bad guys” to be portrayed as bad.

In the year 1998, the play involved a strong negative role of a person who for selfish reasons causes many impediments to the protagonist and his associates. The name of the character was Nagaraj, echoing a poisonous nature. During the initial rehearsals Swami did not comment much but after a while he was distinctly uncomfortable during scenes that involved this character and one day during the rehearsals, He stopped the play immediately after the character came on stage. He called for the actors in the play who were all students of Swami’s Institutions and explained that He did not appreciate the extent of evil in that character. He said that we may feel that we are just portraying a negative character, only acting the part - but real acting demands that we become the part. So when we think more and more about the negative part, our subconscious is affected and our real life attitudes also undergo subtle changes which can later be harmful. As we think so we become. So no character should be portrayed with too much of negativity. Who would think of a role in such a way, except the one who knows us inside out? This is a vindication of the truth that God knows us more than we know ourselves.

This is one instance; another one involved the role of Bheema, the second among the five Pandavas who were the “Good Guys” in the great epic Mahabharata. One of the dramas had a scene which depicted the life of the Pandavas in exile. Bheema is supposed to be very angry with his elder brother, for having lost the kingdom to the Kauravas in a game of dice. And he is even more upset that he and the rest of the brothers had not been allowed to fight for their rights. The boy who was playing this role took the word “angry” literally and lived the role to the T.

Once, the practice session was being held in Trayee Brindavan, Swami’s residence in Bangalore. That afternoon Swami waited till the scene involving Bheema started. The boy entered the stage breathing deeply, and exhaling with a growl, pacing the stage rapidly. Swami said mischievously, “Here comes the lion…doing exercise.” The surprised boy stopped and turned to Swami with folded hands. He apparently thought that he was doing a good job of playing the angry Bheema. Swami continued “Why are you so angry with Dharmaja? Because of your anger everybody is concentrating on you and the actual message of patience and faith in the Infinite Wisdom of the Lord is lost. Don’t show so much of anger. Instead, don’t look at him when speaking. Say your lines and bow your head as though deeply hurt…” It worked perfectly. Swami had identified and solved the problem at one go. Now the boy’s concentration was more on getting the real message across rather than the proper portrayal of the role of Bheema alone.

There is a lesson for all of us here: the whole is a combination of individual parts - it is more like a jigsaw puzzle. But were each piece of the puzzle to individually refine itself, independent of the rest of the pieces…it would not fit into the picture. The success of the drama lies in getting the message of “transformation through love” across to the audience. Were one role or one character to dominate, the purpose is lost. Even in real life this tenet holds, for were each of us to turn selfish, think only of ourselves, work with narrow perceptions, the primary goal of a world of peaceful coexistence would be lost. It is fundamental discrimination over individual discrimination.

On another occasion, in the drama entitled “Jesus Christ, Son of Man”, the scene depicting the Last Supper where Jesus speaks of His betrayal became a bone of contention. Swami would respond positively to every scene except this one. He would become fidgety and emotionally upset. It was decided that the scene that disturbed Him so much did not serve to be portrayed and an alternative way of narration was decided upon. But Swami said that He did not want the story to be compromised. The boys argued saying that they did not want to do anything that would upset Swami. Finally the scene was portrayed but only because Swami wanted it. But He beautifully recreated the scene that instead of Jesus and his betrayal being the cynosure of attention, it was subtly directed towards Swami and His Universal Love. The Lord had the final say, but not before He revealed an eternal truth.

It was a manifestation of “Trikarna Suddhi” the unity of thought, word and deed. Time and again Swami has reiterated that Man is part of the universal consciousness. The individual is part of Society; Society is part of Creation; and Creation is part of the Divine. He knows that He is divine and we don’t. So as the Indweller in all of us, He lived, felt, experienced and reacted to each role on stage accordingly. He was literally “Putting himself into the other man’s shoes”. In every single action He is teaching us the lessons of life, the way no other teacher can, eternally through example. This is one important thing that we always observe in Swami. Swami says, don’t live for the moment but by the moment and that is what he does in every one of these dramas. He is so involved in every second of the drama. The sorrow of a character weeping on stage reflects as a tear in His eye. The joy of another, as a broad smile on His lips. He is the director and the actor in this drama of the World and on the stage of Creation.

The Personal Touch
What really inspires and invigorates each one of those taking part in the play is the personal attention that Swami gives them. Swami has this unique way of making each one of them feel special. Come to think of it, what do we find easier? To play a role that is similar to our own true feelings or something self-contradictory? True acting talent is when we play a role that is absolutely contradictory to our personality and do it with aplomb. But in the Convocation Dramas this is not the case. The play is a portrayal of everything that connotes Truth, Goodness and Beauty: Sathyam, Sivam, Sundaram.

It is a custom that before a play starts, the lead actor or actors offer Swami a bouquet of flowers, a tastefully decorated card that is a brief of the play, take his blessings and begin the play. It so happened that for one play, the initial offering of the bouquet to Swami was done by an actor who played an intermediate role in the play. The lead actor had been waiting for this opportunity. He had been in the lead a previous time but this chance had been as elusive as the Holy Grail, and this time too it had evaded him. It was his last year as a student and he was sure he would never get this opportunity again. In fact he had specifically requested the director – all for naught. It was obvious that he was miserable and all the other actors sympathised with him but could do nothing. The play opened to a Qawali (an Urdu group song) in which all the actors of the play were to participate. The guest artists and the musicians were in the front rows and the main actors were in the last row. This boy was in the extreme corner of the last row. The stage being curved, only the curtain stood between him and the audience. His morale was at its lowest ebb, he felt cheated and the only thought that plagued him was: would he be able to do justice to the role he was playing? For an actor, it is important to live the role and not merely act. One just can’t act…one has to live the role, be it…feel the pleasure and pain as the individual character would. All that refused to happen to him. He could not do it. His mind was blank and he could only think of the betrayal. Then suddenly, he heard a rustle. All eyes swiveled to the left, the curtain wall pulled aside by invisible hands and Swami walked onto the stage.

It was really a surprise, because once He was to take His seat in the audience, He would not rise till the end of the play. But here He was, walking across the stage. He made a beeline to this boy and as he approached, he subtly beckoned to him. The boy leaned forward and what Swami said to him made his day. “You know, your mother was seated far behind where she would not be able to see you at all. I brought her to the front and had her seated where she can see you”. A gentle smile and He was gone. Only the swaying orange curtain remained as a memory to the few precious moments that had passed. But that was enough. The boy’s mind was clear and there was a lesson he learnt. God’s delays are not God’s denials. So what if he had not got the chance of offering a flower to the Lord? The Lord Himself had come to him and personally seen to it that his mind was clear. That is the way the Lord works. Every instrument has to be perfect if it has to be His instrument. And He is the ultimate perfectionist. Nothing escapes His attention. Nothing.

A Great Chance
One of the greatest lessons that an actor who has participated in the Convocation Drama learns is the lesson of humility. One cannot afford to have an ego when one is part of the divine mission. Only when we allow Him to work through us does our work become perfect. In fact, it is a great honour to be part of the Convocation Drama, because the day of the Convocation is special and on that day only the best of the best is portrayed. Therefore to be on stage on that day is to be a representative of the Sai Educational Institutions. It is to be an icon, a benchmark, an ideal that the world will look up to. Humility is the hallmark of the noble. To be humble for having received the opportunity is in itself an elevation. It is a reflection of the Lord’s trust and faith in us, that we are worthy of living His message through our words and actions.

The drama is not only an opportunity for all those involved to interact with Swami, but is an opportunity for the Lord to subtly make inroads into their psyche, cleanse their minds, change their perspective towards life, remove the cloaks of ignorance that they have covered themselves with, break the confines of their parochial vision and shatter the distorted images that they have construed of the world. He is forever the loving mother, caring father, the eternal teacher and the all knowing God.

The Convocation Drama is also an opportunity for Swami to bless the chosen ones with gifts, watches, chains, rings, clove boxes, pendants…and the list goes on. The loving God knows only how to give. What can we offer to Him who has created this universe? His Love is a gift that He has placed in our Hearts that we may love our fellow beings. We ought to realise that fundamentally, we are all one. All are reflections of the Universal Truth. “Ask and you shall be given. Knock and the door shall open. Seek and you shall find.” This is the truth of the secret of existence of man. The Convocation Drama is not just a chance, it is an experience of a lifetime. So many doors are opened in the minds of the actors. Windows to their innermost selves they never imagined existed, perspectives that they could never envision. This is not just a drama. It is real. It is what you are capable of. It is a lesson of what to be and what not to be. There is nothing that one cannot learn from another; from some, ‘how to be’; from others, ‘how not to be’.

All said and done, it is all in the mind. It may be raining gold and silver but if the pot is upturned it will continue to be empty. Likewise, the experience is granted, but it is for us to learn, to make or mar. As said by Robert Frost…

The woods are lovely dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.