Baba with the Holy Quran and Muslim students of the Institute on the occasion of Ramzan Id

The Prashanti Nilayam Ashram is the place where a deep transformation takes place in the lives of the students. The Ashram is 500 meters away from the Hostel, sprawling over 200 acres of space and houses the Revered Chancellor’s residence, temples, an auditorium and boarding and lodging arrangements for visitors. The students from the men’s campus at Bangalore and the women’s campus at Anantapur come to Prashanti Nilayam on all important festival occasions such Guru Pournima, Navaratri, Shivaratri, SSSIHL Convocation and Annual Sports and Cultural Meet.

Among the other festivals celebrated at Prashanti Nilayam are Sankranti, Ugadi (New Year), Ram Navami, Tamil New Year and Vishu, Krishna Janmashtami, Ganesh Chaturthi, Deepavali. Besides these festivals representing the Pan Indian characeter and all encompassing Indian culture, other festivals such as Christmas and New Year, Chinese New Year, Ramzan Id, Buddha Pournima and festivals of national importance such as Independence day, Republic day, etc..

These festivals are celebrated in their true traditional fervour and the Revered Chancellor addresses the students explaining to them the real inner significance of the festivals, rituals and ceremonies. Thus these festivals act as an eye opener for the students and enable them to know of the rich culture and heritage of India which has survived the test of time of the last many millennia. The seed of Unity of World Religions is thus sown in the young minds. The ancient dictum 'Truth is One, the wise refer to It by many names' is thus brought to light.

Christmas at Prashanti Nilayam

On the occasion of these festivals, various spirituality based skits and plays with a moral theme are put up by the students and members of the Sri Sathya Sai Seva Organisation with the objective of sharing and depicting the values and morals manifest in the lives of great saints and sage of all lands, cultures, religions and eras. These include the lives of Jayadeva, Tyagaraja, Kabir, Meerabai, Surdas, Tukaram, Spirit of Islam, Jesus Christ, Zorashtra, Moses, Prophet Mohammed, Guru Nanak, Ramana Maharishi, Gautam Buddha, Adi Shankaracharya, Ramanujacharya, Madhavacharya, Annamacharya, Narsimha Mehta, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Jhulelal, Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, Swami Vivekananda, Shirdi Sai Baba and many others and also episodes from the great Indian epics such as the Mahabharata, the Ramayana, the Bhagavatam and the Bhagavad Gita. Students also get several opportunities to share their views on a variety of topics in the presence of the Revered Chancellor and many other dignitaries. These serve as a training ground in public speaking and self confidence building.