Sri Hari Ranjan Rao

Sri Hari Ranjan Rao is a personality of two very accomplished facets – different in their demeanour yet complementing in their nature. Mr. Rao is a senior IAS officer (1994 batch) working for the Government of India. He currently serves as an Additional Secretary to the Prime Minister of India. The second facet is that of a Balvikas Alumnus and an ardent devotee of Bhagawan. He hails from a family of devotees, and since the 70’s, he has been actively involved in Seva activities wherever his illustrious career has taken him. He recalls with pride that he is one of those lucky students whose Balvikas diploma certificates hold the divine signature. Below are excerpts from a discussion Vidyullekha had with him.

My parents were involved in the activities of the Sri Sathya Sai Seva Organisations in the small towns of Madhya Pradesh where they were posted. I was a student of Balvikas then. After I got into the IAS, I had a 3-year stint in Indore, where we had a very good youth group involved in multiple Gram Seva activities. The activities were both elevating and humbling, and left us with many fond memories. That group is still like a close-knit family to me. Later, during my 10 years of posting in Bhopal I got involved in EHV and that is where I feel most committed and connected to. This for me was one of the best opportunities at Swami’s feet as I am convinced that EHV is the way forward for the world.

Interaction with SSSIHL alumni:

To some extent I feel deprived that I was not a student of either Brindavan or Parthi Campus, yet throughout my journey I have met alumni at every corner. Some of them guided me and with some, I have had fruitful collaborations. Working with alumni is always a great honour because of their evident discipline and level of commitment. Swami always said that His army of white shall take His mission forward. So, Alumni are really blessed. And the good part is that they have been making their mark wherever they are. There are so many instances where the difference in a person can be traced back to being an alumnus of Sri Sathya Sai Institutions.

On the Role of a Sai student

I think the role of an alumnus has metamorphosed. I will enlarge the group, not strictly confining myself only to these two campuses but also include all the Sai soldiers. All their roles have now blossomed. One has to now be Swami’s messenger, rather than only do His work. This shift has already started. The impact of the campus can immediately be seen in the humility, softness and gratitude that linger on after they have left the place. There is one interesting advantage of alumni having worked and stayed in the campus. Having been part of that Swami’s journey, it doesn’t take time to trigger the goodness within them for any cause.

The other day I was speaking to one of the students, an alumnus, who also happens to be the daughter of one of my close associates. According to her, a lot of the students from the campus had been accepted into the company. For the management, it becomes very evident that these students are “made of different stuff”. She says, “As soon as they realise where we are from, they rarely doubt our deservedness”. So, I believe that Swami has been guiding you all along.

Recognise your passion and align yourself to the mission

Whenever a child becomes a part of this family, the value of seva automatically gets ingrained in him/her. Seva is the most attractive feature for a young mind. The intent towards personal Sadhana comes much later with maturity.

I remember this one incident from my school days. I had topped my district during my higher secondary studies, and my principal had decided to organise a small felicitation and make me address the school. That day, Swami, speaking through me, said that our freedom struggle was not over yet. India still needs fighters; and when we play a role in it, we should derive the same pride that our great freedom fighters did back then. But what do we fight now? As long as there is a single tear drop in this world, and it is possible for us to wipe it, our job is not done. Personally, I would like to see India free of poverty, people not having to struggle for basic necessities. Swami had always wanted education, peace, harmony and love for all. This is a goal that has not been achieved yet. The “fire in our belly” should be towards this goal.

I enjoy my work as I feel that it is still Swami’s mission that I am working on. Every student and alumnus should also find that mojo in their scheme of things, where they can connect and feel that they are working on His mission. If someone achieves such a goal (end poverty) for India, he should look towards the rest of the world, like Africa. That place too has poverty, and if it is not Swami’s student who does something for them, who else will? So, the path is cut out for a soldier/student of Swami and we all should have the courage to walk on it.

How do we connect to Swami when we feel low?

There are times in our life when we feel very low. These are the times when we should force ourselves to be optimistic. We should never imagine that situations will remain the same forever. Everything around us changes. When such critical times come, I have a simple technique. I close my eyes for a moment. And I imagine myself sitting in Sai Kulwant Hall, where Swami is sitting on his chair and I’m sitting at his feet. I touch his feet and take His blessings. And then I also imagine that I’m looking at his face and Swami puts his hand on my head and says, “Don’t worry, I am with you”. I do this whenever I have a critical meeting or take an important phone call. On multiple occasions I have seen people’s tone change while talking to me and I believe it is because I have been praying to Him.

So, whenever you feel low, close your eyes and talk to Swami. Everyone has their own personal way to connect to Him. Swami has never failed me. Another advantage of being part of Swami’s mission is that our conscience is always clear. Guilt comes only when one has done something wrong. When I haven’t done anything wrong, why should I worry about it?

There is a slightly more philosophical way to look at this. Swami never worried about his body. Whenever he spoke about his body, He would always call it “this body” and not “my body”. So should be our approach. Anything bad that happens, be it disease, accident or losing one’s job, it can only happen to your body. It will never reach the level of Atma. So, if you break every problem down like this, the problem seems inconsequential. Fear is the absence of love. When we have love within us, there’s no place for fear. If we don’t have fear, the majority of our worries are gone. We are scared of uncertainty, but there is nothing uncertain in our life. It is all set. My suggestion would be to just sit back and be part of the blissful journey.

How do you continue to connect with Bhagawan in the physical absence

Swami always sits personally in my office in the form of a photograph. Initially, I used to be scared that someone might object to this. Instead, this has worked the other way round. Whenever people enter the room and see Swami’s photo, I notice a change in them. There are people who come in with different motives and wrong expectations. Surprisingly they behave quite differently once they notice His presence. Swami’s photo in my room is a sort of declaration that He is the one who handles my affairs. It is a great hedge fund which you create for yourself.

Swami is in our hearts. We need not flaunt our connection to Swami because we don’t really deserve to claim to be his messengers. But then one also need not be hesitant in admitting that he is Swami’s soldier. Swami is here, He is with me. It puts a lot of responsibility on us but that is okay. It is also a kind of self-check, reminding us to conduct ourselves properly.