Life spent in equilibrium, equipoise and equanimity

My uncle Shri  V.K.Rao, the last surviving ICS officer completed 101 years of distinguished and an eventful life on 15^th July, 2015 It has been my privilege of knowing him and receiving his affection, though I must confess I was only on the ringside. Possibly his way of bestowing kindness was in a measured way, not ostentatiously but in a silent fashion. People talk of detached attachment, the result possibly of his long association with  Bhagwan  Sathya Sai Baba. When I cleared the competitive examinations, he was discretely anxious what about what particular service I would choose.

The third son of an assistant engineer, he was relocated in his schooling days; but wherever he was educated  he distinguished as a student of immense potential. The shifting ended when he joined Loyola College in Madras where he excelled in  intermediate and BA (Hons) courses. He stood second in MA and there was no looking back. It was in 1932 he married Smt.Prabhavati from the Nidamarti family. My aunt breathed her last on 31^st December, 2014.  Uncle absorbed the tragedy with great equanimity. He proceeded to Cambridge  in 1935, where he was selected as a Wrangler in mathematics and in the same year 1937, stood fourth in the I.C.S. examination.

On his return to India, uncle was posted to the then Bengal province where he worked in Midnapore and then Manikganj, near Dhaka. The family lore has it that his young wife would on occasions spend tremulous time when he would go out on inspection on a boat in surging rivers. Later during the Bengal famine and the tumultuous pre partition riots, the family was  ensconced in Ballygunj but they spent anxious times nevertheless.

Post partition my uncle opted to serve in India. After three years of service in the Madras Secretariat in different departments, revenue, finance etc. he was posted as Collector at  Vizag.  In 1953 when the process of dividing Madras into Andhra and Tamilnadu  began , he represented Andhra in the committee formed to oversee the division of the state.

In 1959 he was appointed as a Joint Secretary in the Planning Commission. However he began to feel that the entire exercise of planning was quite  unnecessary and wasteful . Interestingly the present government has converted Planning Commission to NITI Ayog.  Not surprisingly thereafter, he moved over to the Works and Housing Ministry where he worked along with Shri.Dharamveera.

  The then Minister Meharchand Khanna, a tall well built person, often guffawed that between Dharamveera and my uncle who was taller, as both were short statured personalities.  The call of the State  made uncle  move back to Andhra where he served as  Secretary to  various departments. It culminated  in his becoming the Chief Secretary of Andhra Pradesh.

When Andhra was engulfed in agitation he was made an advisor to the Governor along withShri H.C.Sarin, who would present himself as the points person of the P.M. After the agitation petered out he was made Vigilance Commissioner.

He served on the interview board of UPSC.  A young aspirant apparently rendered a Carnatic classical song  during viva voce and was selected for the  IAS.

 His final posting with the government was to work  as Special Secretary to  Shri. Neelam  Sanjeeva Reddy, when the latter was the President of India.

Not being given to politicking he moved back to Hyderabad once the President’s term ended. Some well-wishers wanted to see him occupy higher positions but the “powers” at helm opined that, he was not sufficiently “political”.

An important characteristic of his personality is that he remains detached. The profound spiritual influence of Baba made him not to aspire for positions but positions came his way. He spends his time mostly reading and receiving old friends and sharing with them his thoughts. I understand he  also spends times listening to music. He is happy and contended and instead of identifying with situations, he observes and witnesses them in a detached manner. That is the essence of Ashtavakra Gita.

SRI SRI EXPRESS- ANUGRAHA YATRA

(15^th to 19^th February 2014)

In ancient India , Kings performed Aswamedha Yagya to expand their kingdoms through forcible conquests or  states accepted the suzerainty and became vassals . Guruji undertook a cultural conquest spread over 5 days and won the hearts of the people through Divine love . The horse was replicated by a train.

This train consisting of 20 coaches including a saloon meant for Guruji was christened SRI SRI Express ( Anugraha Yatra). The journey covered 18 districts of Andhra Pradesh , where Guruji interacted with lacs of people . 4 major Satsangs were held at Produttur, Tirupati, Mangalgiri and the coastal town of Kakinada . Further he mingled  enroute  at several stations with thousands of people . The YATRA commenced at Kacheguda on the 15^th of February , covered Telengana , Rayalseema and Coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh .

 It would be a fair statement to make that Mahatma Gandhi had undertaken a similar journey by rail crisscrossing the country side spreading the message of peace, non violence, evils of consumption of Bachus and communal  harmony besides exhorting people to  take up  cudgels against the tyrannical British rule. This Yatra  too was reminiscent of  the journey undertaken by the Mahatma. This was  mentioned  by those   frail in body but strong in spirit senior citizens or offspring’s of those who witnessed the earlier event.

A background

A chilly and wintry morning greeted us in Bangalore sometime in 2010 .As part of my protocol duty along with other senior railway officials we received Gurudev Express( a special train commemorating 150^th birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore) at Bangalore Cantonment Station . There was a fleeting thought in my mind that had  Guruji been  the Chief Guest of the function , the headlines and breaking news would have been GURUDEV RECEIVES GURUDEV .  The seed of SRI SRI EXPRESS was thus sown.

Promptly a mail was sent to Guruji to travel by   a special train in Karnataka showcasing various facets of Art Of Living , particularly Sudarshan Kriya and various Seva activities of the NGO .

Some   tentative plans were chalked out to run the  train  , on the lines of Deccan Oddesey  or Palace on Wheels .But perhaps the time was not ripe and the mission got aborted.

Meanwhile , I was transferred to South Central Railway , and along with Kishoreda kept requesting Guruji to allot dates and travel Andhra Pradesh  by a special train . But a mere request is not answered without a  deep Sankalpa  . It needs to be supported by a concrete action plan . Guruji was scrutinizing our seriousness and determination . Along the way ,  Kumar from Railways , Mani Naidu and Ravi Bhaiyya a DSN teacher from Andhra Pradesh joined the team and we kept persisting with our proposal . Between 2011 to 2012 we kept  a request letter at the sanctumsanctorum  during Shiv Ratri and Navratri Pujas seeking Divine blessings hoping that Gurudev would give his nod.

Finally , Guruji  in a TRM  agreed to the dates sometime in February 2014. But  we were overcome by anxiety and feverishness which  literally  forced  Guruji to advance the programme to November 2013. We did not anticipate poor response  in bookings, inclement weather conditions and the agitation by the populace of Seemandhra against  the bifurcation of AndhraPradesh . The Divine was aware all but  gave us a long rope and in all magnanimity changed the dates to the earlier planned February 2014. The super conscious mind had all along known the dates , but the ordinary mortal did not comprehend the Divine plan.

During the course of this historical Yatra , SRI SRI  addressed 4 major Satsangs and several station side meetings .Our present day politicians revel in road side shows , should have witnessed the fervor of the faithful and the casual onlooker at the stations where SRI SRI EXPRESS was provided a scheduled or an unscheduled halt .

The entire thrust of Guruji was a campaign against an unjust bifurcation of AndhraPradesh (keeping the sentiments of Seemandhra in mind) , forcible proselytization and  the need for good governance not only in Andhra Pradesh but in the country as  a whole. And Guruji skillfully and succinctly raised these issues during the entire Yatra without offending any particular group’s feelings or sentiments . His gem at all Satsangs and addresses was that we keep changing our Gods and not the guards(leaders) who administer us . By changing Gods  neither are we devoted  to any faith  but also betray our ancestors .Further by  constantly reposing faith in the same Guards , the  wheels of growth and development get fossilized and do not provide succor to the hapless population. Thus the need to Vote for  a better India. He was quite candid in mentioning that Lord Krishna could have comfortably played the flute for the Gopas and Gopikas of Brindavan , but plunged into politics to uphold Dharma .

 Before SRI SRI EXPRESS embarked upon the historical tour several  roadblock  and knots were cleared by the grace of the Guru . So much so that Railways provided the Art Of Living with concession even though it was a commercial project as far as railways was concerned. To begin with there were a few of us involved in this Yagya . And we  got caught in the vortex of ego and Gurumandal. Guruji purged it all by his grace thus a larger group was formed to execute the project .During the course of the preparation the AP Apex  astutely led by Shri Ramachandranji  andShri Ravi Kumar formed select committtees  to keep an eagle’s eye on each aspect of the project . These pertained to marketing , catering,logistics and operations, hotel arrangements, publicity et all.

Day-1  - Kacheguda to Yerraguntla

A special train consisting of 10 sleeper coaches, 6 air conditioned coaches( 2 each of ac three tier , two tier and first class) ,a pantry car , saloon for Guruji and guards van rolled into Kacheguda station of Hyderabad . 1000 travellers awaited Guruji’s arrival with bated breath . Guruji was greeted by Nadaswaram and he literally floated to his saloon . The faithful could hardly believe their eyes and jostled with each other to have the glimpse of the Master .

Sri Sri Express( Anugraha Yatra) stopped at Mehboobnagar, Gadwal, Kurnool Town, Dhone, Gooty  and Tadipatri before reaching Yerraguntla . Thousands flocked to have a glimpse of the Master .  He was accorded traditional welcome and people could scarcely believe that Guruji was amidst them and speaking on esoteric subjects like spirituality, pranayama, dhyana,yoga and topical subjects like bifurcation of the state, voting for a better and stronger India , perils of alcoholism etc.

Guruji who is pure energy personified  sprang surprises on the passengers by boarding the train and meeting each and everypassenger, celebrating their birthdays , commiserating with their problems if any and primarily making them happy . Devotees were dumbstruck that , Guruji like any ordinary traveller was traversing through the 20 coaches of the train . This is what they pine  for , this is what they long for ! To have a glimpse of the master . Each and every traveller opined that they never had such an interaction with Guruji ever in their lives.

He interacted with the security personnel and the cooks of the pantry car . With remarkable presence of mind  he  mentioned that Indian Railways ought to have  air-conditioned pantry cars in trains so that the food cooked does not get contaminated in any manner . His concern about the quality of food being provided to both nationals and internationals was indeed  touching .

As the sun sank at Yerraguntla and shadows lengthened , the train chugged into the station . The IRCTC( Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation ) who were not only providing security and food arranged buses to ferry passengers to Prodottur , where the first of the 4 Mahasatsang was organized in the trip . Even though the train was running behind schedule a record crowd had turned up for the Satsang , where Guruji conducted meditation and spoke with  effortless felicity and ease which perhaps only he can.

Day2- Renigunta- Tirupati

SRI SRI EXPRESS arrived early in the morning at Renigunta on the 16^th.

Gurudev (  Narayan) left early in the morning to Tirumala and freshened up at Padmavati Guest house and was received by Shri Bappi Raju ( MP) , the Chief of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam .He meditated and was present during the Suprabhata Puja. What  a mirror image of Narayana performing Puja to the Lord . At the crack of dawn , with a slight drizzle and incandescent bulbs still glowing provided the setting of Vaikuntha.

Guruji was felicitated by the priests of Tirumala with Vedic Hyms and incantations reverberated the temple.  Meanwhile 1000 devotees travelling on the special train got ready in various hotels at Tirupati and reached Tirumala . Vaishali , STC of AP along with a senior bureaucrat made arrangements for the Darshan of Lord Venkateswara . It was quite a task to ensure that all devotees went in a group for the Darshan . Guruji , had other plans . He  conducted a meditation for 1000 devotees , before they all could have Balaji Darshan . In one stroke Guruji ensured the presence of all the devotees  rather they going astray. Corporates and Governments  alike  can learn a few lessons in  skillful management of men,material and time.The devotees had never experienced such a powerful meditation nor a group Darshan of this nature .

Before the evening Satsang , Guruji paid homage at Goddess Padmavati’s temple at Tirachanur , where the incantation of the hymns were absolutely meditative and intoxicating .

This was followed by a massive Satsang at the University grounds . The meditation and Bhajans by Shalini and Srinivas held people spell bound . YesPlus activists enacted the jingle of Rail Yatra … Sri Sri  to perfection . The jingle in Telugu which incidentally  was  the theme song of the Yatra indicating the places where Guruji would be visiting along with different facets of Art Of Living is almost like a rap song and with proper marketing can become a very big hit with public . Years back Ashok Kumar the legendary actor sang a similar kind of jingle in the film Ashirwad and is still a very popular number.

Day3- Renigunta- Mangalgiri

The day was Monday (17^th) . The organizing team felt that something was amiss . How could the Master not perform Rudra Puja ? Gurudev( Shiva)  reached Srikalahasti  and was present during the Rahu, Ketu and RudraPuja . As soon as the train reached Srikalahasti , Guruji joined SRI SRI EXPRESS .The devout saw the Divine energy spreading as he entered his saloon.

Guruji touched , Nellore, Ongole, Bapatla, Chirala, Tenalai before reaching Mangalgiri . Enroute he was greeted by enthusiastic crowds and the Master spread the divine knowledge and his deep concern to make India a strong country . There are a very few spiritual leaders who make such strong pitch not only to rejuvenate the country spiritually but also politically . He has no stakes. His only mission is to spread the gospel of truth and purity . Infact Gurudev is the Supreme Consciousness. He is purity, hollow and empty, sacred , he is Narayana and Shiva .

This energy made him visit each coach several times a day .And get down at every  station  and address the devotees . On average he would have walked around 8 kilometres  daily without fail .And with enthusiastic devotees jostling and falling over him made  the task even more arduous and cumbersome.

That evening  a grand Satsang was organized at a resort called Hailand at Mangalgiri . The grandiose stage did not quite impress the Divinity . He specifically spoke about the need to ensure  austerity and simplicity . He was quite candid in mentioning that such backdrops  act  as   distractions .

The 1000 odd devotees were  housed at Hailand resort and suddenly problems of boarding and lodging  cropped up . Guruji assuaged the devotees by uttering  the word Toilets in his inimitable trademark  style  and disarmed all agitation and disquiet  from the minds of the faithful . By his grace , despite purported lack of accommodation , every traveller was provided a place to sleep and to freshen up the next morning. It was again the energy and magic of the Master at work.

Day4- Mangalgiri –Kakinada

While the devotees boarded the train at Mangalgiri , Gurudev performed Puja at Narsimaha Swamy temple .

Gurudev in this segment  of the journey stopped at Vijawada, Gudiwada, Akividu, Bhimavaram Town, Kovur , Rajamundhry and finally the train terminated at Kakinada . Thousands flocked at the stations and Guruji’ s grace simply flowed . Despite the crowds , the Master walked from one end of the platform to the podium in the circulating area of the station which  was at a quite a distance.

Like a child , Guruji through his saloon transfixed his gaze at the bridge over Godavari river and asked questions about chain pulling , crossing of trains , speed of trains etc . 

The journey culminated at Kakinada where Guruji addressed a massive gathering . There were 108 Grama Devatas , which added color to the existing splendor .

It would be pertinent to mention that , senior officers from railways travelled various segments of the journey who facilitated the movement of the train . It was almost running like a Rajdhani or Shatabdi Express . Interestingly all these officers have done some course of Art of Living and are indebted to Gurudev for the change in their lives .

The dream journey culminated on the 19^th morning at Kacheguda . While one can chronicle the physical aspect of the journey , it is next to impossible to gauge the spiritual energy received by the 1000 travellers , station staff enroute, staff on board , a few lac people who saw Guruji  in the physical form . People were transported from the mundane to sublime in these 5 days and  memories will be always etched to become better human. beings and contribute to the society .

The Journey has just begun