The mother of all lectures
His name is Maturu Phalguna Rao. He
hails from a very remote village in India, Mamidipalli. He is only
26 years in age. He has his name etched in the Guinness book of
world records!
On August 21st
2003, He embarked on a mission that required great confidence and
and determination. His aim was to give the longest lecture in the
world. The earlier record was by an American who lectured for 51
hours 44 minutes and 17 seconds….
On that day,
there were thousands of witnesses , a team from the Guinness book
firm, and 20 professors watching this young guy. He was to be
allowed only a 15 minute break every 8 hours!
Phalguna
Rao started his lecture with a confident look, on 21st August at
11.45 am. On and on he went …stopping for just 10 minutes every 8
hours to pop in some glucose and a few apple slices….
Lectures, any
student will tell you, are usually long….but this one was the
mother of all lectures…..it stretched for sixty hours! Yes,
Phalguna Rao lectured on computer fundamentals for a continuous 60
hours non stop! The lecture ended on the 23rd of August 2003 at
11.46 pm! He had set a new world record! His name found a place in
the famous Guinness book of world records!
Ask Phalguna Rao
, the secret of his strength and success and he remembers Bhagavan
Sri Satya Sai Baba with gratitude. He says he derived this
confidence when he was a student in the Sri Satya Sai Gurukulam ,
at Rajahmundry, from the sixth to the tenth standard. The
discipline, the education and encouragement he received there had
a major role in shaping his ‘never say die’ attitude. The
highlight of his stay at the gurukul were the trips to Prasanthi
Nilayam when Swami would pour His love on them. At this point,
Phalguna Rao takes out the cherished group photograph that Swami
had taken with his class and shows it to us with pride.
“ Just before the
lecture, I had a lot of cough troubling me…I prayed to Swami and
started the lecture. For the next sixty hours the cough just
disappeared….I believe this is His grace!”, he says.
What are his
plans for the future?
“ In the future,
I would like to establish free libraries on computer education and
teach computers to underprivileged children.”
Hmm, a noble
aspiration indeed!
Heart to Heart wishes Phalguna Rao all the best in his
aspirations!
So, young brothers and sisters, this is what
self confidence coupled with Divine Grace can do
to anyone. That includes you too!!
Source:
Radio Sai E-Magazine,
April 1, 2004
http://www.radiosai.org/Journals/Vol_02/07April01/06_Tender_Hearts/Lecture.htm
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