By
Radhakrishnan Nair
(Mr
Radhakrishna Nair is the Vice President – Talent Acquisition, Group Human
Resources of TATA Group. He is a Post Graduate Diploma in Personnel Management
and Industrial Relations from XLRI, Jamshedpur (PGDPM&IR). His interests
are genuine Development of Human Resources which is not limited to the
Corporate World. He enjoys mentoring and coaching sessions and says these sessions
leave him feeling enriched. In spite of his vast attainments and senior
position in the TATA group, he is very unassuming and approachable to all. His
enthusiasm and down to earth attitude are worthy of emulation for all aspiring
CXO’s.)
When
I was a child I used to watch my mother wake up very early in the morning and
start the day with prayers. My father, in his own way, was also a very pious
person. Since I was the youngest of the 3 boys in the family, I was the
luckiest to learn from my parents the maximum. We were a very simple family
with little or no capability to spend money on even small luxuries. I was
fortunate to start experiencing God’s hand so early without anyone being
connected with Bhagawan, which I realize today, was Swami’s first miracle in my
life. Swami had entered our lives in anonymity. Baba has always told us, not to
consider HIM as limited to HIS form. This lesson was taught in an experiential
manner. No books were read, no discourses were heard, but the lesson of
Omnipresence, Omniscience and Omnipotence was taught. The beauty of these
lessons is that the stories that you read and the fairy tales that you hear
lead to faith and in turn with faith these become real.
GOD
becomes a part of daily life if we are lucky to be born in a pious, God Loving
family. As we will realize that the theory of Karma plays a big role in where
we are born and how we are nurtured. For a person born and bred in Godly
environment, she/he is able to see the Grace of God early and unless we
consciously give up this advantage, GOD holds on to us tightly. The analogy is
with the mother cat that carries her little ones in her vice like grip.
Now
to come back from the philosophical digression, couple of good things happened
in the childhood, which continue to happen even now. I was born and brought in
a very pure environment. Second, as a child, I was not seen as academically
bright, third, we were in a middle class situation. Then there were many twists
and turns in life, starting with my mother having to leave me in the care of
loving neighbours as she had to go home to take care of her mother, my
grandmother. This phase could have led to a major disaster since I was not
interested in studies and was quite happy hanging around with friends. In
retrospect, like on many other occasions, I see the Divine Hand ensuring that I
do not get tempted to do irreversible harm to myself during this phase. It does
not mean I was blemish less, it only means that HE carried me around and
overcame the temptations for me.
HIS next big miracle was giving this boy, who
came from a family that struggled, at times, to make both ends meet, admission
to one of the most prestigious and possibly expensive school in Delhi. I have
stopped trying to figure out how my father managed my fees. I can only say that
Swami made him succeed in keeping me in that school. While I missed my parents,
my Divine mother protected me from my own self that was forever complaining. HE
even made me a big success in sports and in dramatics, while I continued my
academic struggle. Like in the bhagavatham, one reads stories within stories,
in my life I can see experiences within experiences.
School
days were over and the college days brought in a new dimension. Swami entered
my life through my Aunt. During this phase, I read books which strengthened my
faith in miracles and I started experiencing these miracles with some more
awareness. However college life brought with it the usual temptations and I did
display my weakness in falling into the traps off and on. However, again
looking at where I could have gone on this I can experience Swami’s presence.
One of the early learning from reading Sai literature was that I must not crave
for things and I should learn to be happy with what I have been blessed with. So
when Swami gave me a job I was thrilled in just doing the work, the
remuneration became irrelevant although, technically I should have become
depressed on account of low compensation. Readers must remember that during all
this period, my connection with Swami was limited to reading something once in
a while, but HIS connect with me was like the mothers connect with her
child.
Then
the miracle that took my life to a different trajectory happened. HE decided to
send me to one of the best Business Schools in the country. A young man, not
ambitious for such things literarily gets pushed into a future that makes all
past associates wonder. The interesting aspect is that in this journey HE makes
me experience many a failures. The failures were part of the route. Today I
realize how important those failures were.
In
1984 after I finished the MBA program, a group of us friends went on a holiday
to Kodaikanal. By this time I had started experiencing HIS miracles with some
awareness. On one of the days in Kodai, I went around the lake in rain singing
bhajans, not knowing where Sai Shruti was. This was HIS way of blessing this
ignoramus. The next 27 years of work life have also been experiences which make
me see HIS Divine Presence in every event. Maybe another time I could write
about that.
I
can go on and on sharing my life’s miracles and maybe cause the readers
discomfort. The realization as it dawns on me may dawn on many of you. The
realization that our Lives are HIS Divine Miracles. That is how OUR LIVES BECOME
HIS MESSAGES, Knowing fully that HE is
NOW HERE. With each one of us let us all go forth and live the rest of our
lives in HIS DIVINE Presence.
There
is no aspect of our daily life that is bereft of spirituality. From the moment
we wake up till the moment we lose consciousness to sleep we are bombarded with
choices. Do we wish to live as per HIS Divine Message and experience the
challenge of such living, or do we want to live our mundane lives in an animal
like manner. Even as this document is getting typed, I am experiencing HIM
typing this using me as HIS tool. Thus I feel blessed.
