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A Tribute to Colonel Joga Rao
Kudos From Swami
“All of you
know him as Colonel Joga Rao, but I know him
as
Karma Yogi Joga Rao!”
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These were the words with
which Swami decorated Col. Joga Rao after presenting him
ceremonial kankanams (gold bracelets) and a
silver salver, in front of the vast concourse of
devotees assembled in the Hill View stadium to celebrate
Bhagavan’s 65th Birthday celebrations.
Some people
live with such courage, verve and an endearing joy of
life that it is an inspiration to all around them.
Colonel S.P. Joga Rao was one such person. His
high-spirited personality and openhanded nature endeared
him to everyone. His brilliance, commitment and
integrity at work earned him plaudits from the mighty
and the scholarly.
An eminent
and vastly experienced engineer, Sri Joga Rao, will best
be remembered for his yeoman contribution to the
development of the Prashanti Nilayam and Brindavan
ashram campuses and his close involvement in several of
Bhagavan’s service projects.
He was
instrumental in the establishment of the Sri Sathya Sai
Central Trust, a charitable trust under the guidance of
Bhagavan, which has executed several mammoth welfare
projects. |
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How
Col. Joga Rao Came to Swami
S P Joga Rao
enjoyed a successful tenure as Chief Engineer of Hindustan
Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL), where he was responsible for much of its
construction and commissioning. He also served in the armed
forces where he rose to the rank of Colonel, and had been posted
at many places all over India. Later he started a Civil
Engineering and Consultancy Company along with a host of experts
drawn from various fields of engineering, construction and
management which was quite a successful venture.
But, all this was
just a training ground for the stupendous tasks he was to
accomplish under the guidance of the ‘Architect of the
Universe’. Destiny was to crown his life with a long and sweet
association with the Lord come in human form.
The divine call
came in 1969. One day, Bhagavan visited the house of Sri
Ramaswamy, a neighbour of Col. Joga Rao who was closely
associated with service activities in Brindavan, Bhagavan’s
ashram at Whitefield, Bangalore. Joga Rao, though a devotee of
Lord Krishna from his childhood, had his reservations about men
in ochre robes.
So, although his
wife and he received an invitation to Sri Ramaswamy’s house to
have Darshan of Bhagavan he was reluctant to go. He had
already been annoyed when a few days prior to this, he found a
photo of Bhagavan Baba in the altar of his house, which his wife
had received from Smt. Ramaswamy. But, his wife persisted and so
he went there.
Bhagavan spoke very
lovingly to him and invited him to Brindavan. Baba's gentle and
warm demeanour touched Joga Rao's heart and he was drawn to
Brindavan soon after that. The devotional ambience of the
ashram and the discipline there had a profound impact on
him.
Bhagavan received him very affectionately. During the
conversation, He casually mentioned to Joga Rao to associate
himself with the construction work of the college building at
Anantapur. The passionate engineering professional in Joga Rao
responded positively and that marked the beginning of a new
chapter in his life.
An Intimate
Relationship…
In the Nava Vida
Bhakti (Nine stages of devotion) outlined
in the ‘Narada Bhakti Sutra’, the stage of
Sakhya Bhakti is the penultimate stage
before the final merger of the individual self
with the Absolute. In this stage, the devotee
experiences the relationship of an intimate
friend with the Lord, sporting with Him and
losing oneself in the bond of love with the
Lord. Sri B N Narasimha Murty in Sathyam
Shivam Sundaram V says, Col. Joga Rao was
privileged, to enjoy such a relationship with
Swami.
Recalling this
unique relationship Sri Joga Rao had with Swami,
Sri V. Srinivasan, President, Sri Sathya Sai
Seva Organizations, India, recalls,
“Col. Joga
Rao would intercede, to the extent
that it was possible to do so, on
behalf of many devotees with
Bhagavan, which sometimes earned him
reprimands from the Lord. He took
them with a smile and would say to
Bhagavan that He should extend his
mercy to these people who were
pining for His Grace. Bhagavan was
also tolerant because He knew that
Joga Rao was not asking anything for
himself but only for others.”
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He was a man with a
fondness for eating and more prominently, for
feeding others. Dr. Voleti Choudhary, a cardiac
surgeon in Swami’s hospital, in an interview
with Swami was witness to the Swami-Joga Rao
relationship and this is what he narrates,
“In our
later interview, Swami’s attention slowly
shifted to playfully teasing the colonel,
especially about his eating habits. Joga Rao
mildly protested that he eats so much only
because Bhagavan feeds him so much. I was
very fascinated by the dynamics between
Bhagavan and Joga Rao. Though he was 85
years old, Joga Rao responded to Bhagavan
like a child being overwhelmed by the
attention he gets from his loving parents
.”
“Joga Rao,
They Are Not Coming!”
Sri Joga Rao was
quite often at the receiving end of many of
Bhagavan’s “practical jokes”. Sri B N Narasimha
Murthy, currently the Warden of the Brindavan
hostel, and who has been associated with Swami
for more than four decades recalls an amusing
incident,
“When the document of the Sri Sathya
Sai Central Trust was to be
registered at Hyderabad in 1972,
Bhagavan asked Joga Rao to
coordinate all the related work
apart from organising His visit to
the city. It was obligatory that the
members of the Trust be present at
the time of registration. Therefore
Joga Rao called up the Rajamata of
Nawanagar who was at Bombay, to come
to Hyderabad along with Sri Nani
Palkhiwala and Sri Indulal Shah. The
Rajamata conveyed to Joga Rao the
same evening by telephone that she
would be coming to Hyderabad with
Sri Indulal Shah. She also informed
him that Palkhiwala who had gone out
of station would not be able to make
it to Hyderabad. Since Bhagavan had
had already retired by that time,
Joga Rao could not convey the
message to Him.
When
Joga Rao went to the post office
next morning along with Sri Prasada
Rao, then the State President of Sri
Sathya Sai Organisations of Andhra
Pradesh, he found a telegram sent by
the Rajamata to Bhagavan confirming
her arrival. When they met Swami and
handed over the telegram to Him, He
read it and said, “Joga Rao,
they are not coming!”
Puzzled and bewildered, Joga Rao
read the telegram again and again.
According to the telegram, what Baba
had said was right! Joga Rao showed
the telegram to Prasada Rao; they
looked at each other in wonder and
stood speechless. But during their
lunch with Swami, He laughed and
gave them the telegram again. It
bore the same words they had read at
the post office!”
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That was Baba's way
of playing a joke on them! Yes, of course, the
Rajamata arrived at Hyderabad with Indulal Shah
on time and the registration of the Trust was
completed.
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Selfless
Service – Joga Rao’s Passport to Swami
Col. Joga Rao once said to Swami, “I do not
know how to do meditation or sing bhajans or do
penance, but I can only do selfless service.”
Swami promptly told him, “That is why you
are so dear to me; whereas everyone
chants 'Sai Ram' 'Sai Ram' , I call 'Joga Rao',
'Joga Rao' so often.”
It was this selfless service and uncompromising
zeal for excellence in work that earned him the
confidence of Bhagavan. With Swami’s guidance,
he set about improving the amenities for
devotees in Prashanti Nilayam and Brindavan. He
plunged with enthusiasm into the task of
planning and constructing the campuses of the
Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning at
Prashanti Nilayam, Anantapur and Whitefield.
At the age of 85, when most people would rather
spend their time in quietude reminiscing about
the sunny days they had spent, Joga Rao
dedicated himself to fulfilling the declaration
Bhagavan made on the eve of His 70th birthday in
His discourse on the 22nd November 1990, that in
a year’s time a massive hospital would be
constructed near Prasanthi Nilayam, that would
bring top notch medical care to the poorest of
the poor.
Courage,
Capability, Efficiency and Joga Rao
Dr. Safaya, Director of the Sri Sathya Sai
Institute of Higher Medical Sciences since its
inception, recalls:
“I remember
when in April 1991, he showed me the stretch
of land, which the Trust had acquired for
building the hospital and its campus, I felt
utterly frustrated because before me was a
completely desolate, uneven and even a bit
hilly, semi-arid land of nearly100 acres. To
clear this area and to flatten it would take
several years! We had very little time and
Bhagavan had declared that the Hospital
would be built and be functional by 22 nd
November, 1991. I had a strong urge to run
away and go back to Delhi. It was Col. Joga
Rao, who convinced me that all would be done
on schedule and he did it. It stands before
all of us now as a living testimonial to his
courage, capabilities, and efficiency.”
But, there were times when Joga Rao himself was
racked with doubts about the completion of the
Hospital project. In the summer of 1991,
Bhagavan was at ‘Sai Sruti’, the
beautiful mandir overlooking the scenic
lake at Kodaikanal. In fact, the foundation work
for the building was just commencing at the time
Bhagavan left Prashanti Nilayam for Kodaikanal.
Joga Rao came to Kodaikanal after a three day
stay at Chennai for some work in connection with
the Hospital project. Sri B.N. Narasimha Murthy,
Warden of the boys hostel at the Brindavan
campus of Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher
Learning, who was sharing the room with him at
‘Sai Sruti’ says,
“He
looked very tired and went to bed
quite early that evening after
dinner. When I woke up around two in
the morning, one of the lights was
on, and I found Joga Rao sitting on
his cot with his hands clutching the
forehead, and eyes closed. I could
make out that he was very
uncomfortable. I sat up and asked
him, “Sir, can I help you? You seem
to have a bad headache.”
“Yes, I have a headache; but it is a
different kind of headache!” replied
Joga Rao.
“Can
I be of any help, sir?” I persisted.
“None except Swami can do anything
to cure me of this headache!” Joga
Rao sounded very categorical. More
out of sympathy for me than anything
else, he continued,
“How
will the hospital building be
completed before November? There are
so many problems.”
That
was his headache! There was nothing
I could do about it, but I felt
overawed by his concern and anxiety
over the work that was very dear to
Swami’s heart. He was working very
hard to meet the deadline set by
Bhagavan’s declaration about the
hospital on His previous birthday.
With these thoughts hovering in my
mind, I lay down and slept.
Next
morning during the breakfast, Swami
asked Joga Rao, “Joga
Rao, you didn’t have good sleep last
night. Isn’t it so?”
“Swami, You know everything,”
submitted Joga Rao.
“Why
are you losing sleep over what I
have promised?”
“Swami, sometimes I get worried.”
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“Joga Rao, you have no reason to worry. Rest
assured that the project will be completed on time.
The land of Bharath is Yoga Bhoomi, Thyaga Bhoomi
and Punya Bhoomi. Anyone undertaking any work in
this great land with selfless intention will be
successful without any doubt. Men, money and
materials which are required for the completion of
the work, will come by themselves. It is not only in
the case of Swami, but it is so with anyone who is
completely selfless!” declared
Bhagavan. Those words of assurance cleared the
clouds of worry and doubt from the mind of Joga Rao.
Those who were witnesses to the divine scene in the
dining hall in Sai Sruti felt truly blessed.’
A Revelation In the End…
In the end, as we all know,
the Divine Will prevailed over all obstacles, and the
magnificent edifice of the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of
Higher Medical Sciences that stands at Prasanthi Gram,
about five kilometers from Prashanti Nilayam was
inaugurated exactly a year after Bhagavan’s declaration,
on 22nd November 1991, with four operations being
conducted successfully on the very first day. Col. Joga
Rao was to say later,
“Baba plans each
construction work as a simple project and gradually
develops it after careful scrutiny. If He wants a
project to be completed by a particular date, it
will be completed by that time. That is the power of
His sankalpa (Divine Will). There may be any number
of problems, but the project will be completed by
the date set by Him!”
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Col. Joga
Rao garlanding the president of India, Dr.
Shankar Dayal Sharma
during the 70th Birthday celebrations of
Bhagawan
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“I have already
received the highest honour….” – Sri Joga Rao
It was this unshakeable
faith in Swami’s divinity that allowed him to take up
the implementation of Bhagavan’s project to supply pure
drinking water to the water scarce district of Anantapur
in 1994. The depth of his devotion to Swami can be
understood from the fact that when he was offered a
National Award to be received from the hands of the
President of India in recognition of his services, he
politely refused saying,
“I have already
received the highest honour from the Lord Himself.
It would not be appropriate for me to even think of
accepting any other award!" That is truly
Karma Yogi Joga Rao.
It was in these and many
other ways that Joga Rao experienced the divine nature
of Swami. The greatest fortune conferred on Joga Rao by
the Lord was to be His friend and devotee when He is on
earth in the human form. The wonderful relation that
this engineer enjoyed with the Avatar is unsurpassed for
its charming intimacy. He was privileged to be witness
to that astounding incident when Swami revealed His true
form to a select group of devotees at Ooty, on the day
of Mahasivarathri in 1978.
On the previous
Mahashivaratri in 1977, observing the difficulties
of the mammoth crowd of devotees surging forward to have
a glimpse of the Lingodbhava at Prashanti
Nilayam, Bhagavan had announced that He would be
cancelling further public celebration of the festival
and that the devotees could celebrate the holy day in
their own places from next year onwards. The next
Mahashivaratri was on Thursday, the 7th of March
1978 . Even as devotees were wondering where He would be
on that sacred day, He went away to Ooty during the
early hours of the morning of 4th March with a very
small contingent of students and devotees. He left Ooty
on the 7th and proceeded to Mudhumalai forest, which is
on the way to Mysore . He broke journey at the
guesthouse on the top of a small hill in the forest.
After breakfast, Baba walked
on to the beautiful meadow in front of the guesthouse
and posed for photographs with every member of the
party. A Polaroid camera was used by a student to click
the photographs. The photos were given to the members
instantly. Finally, Baba asked the student to click His
photograph.
The lower part of His orange
robe had been caught in the twigs of a bush. Before the
camera clicked, Smt. Ratanlal rushed forward to set
right the folds of the robe. Everyone was astonished
when Bhagavan shouted at her loudly, "Don't touch
Me!" and she retreated quickly. After the camera
clicked, Baba held the photo coming out of the camera
and gave it to Joga Rao. As he held it in his palm, the
picture developed gradually. But what did he see?
In the place where
he had expected to see Baba's form in orange robe, there
stood a young figure in the black and white photo. The
form, which wore a white flowing garment, had three
heads and six hands!
Each arm was holding an
insignia of Divinity. The lower left arm bent at the
elbow, was resting on the back of a majestic young cow.
There were four dogs in the background. The face in the
centre was that of Baba! It was the form of Lord
Dattatreya as described in ancient Indian texts,
the integrated form of the Trinity - Brahma,
Vishnu and Maheshwara! That was
His real form! After all eyes had feasted on that
incredible creation and all hearts had registered the
rare revelation, the photo vanished. Bhagavan confirmed
while speaking to the students at Brindavan the next
morning that it was indeed His true form. He also
clarified that Smt. Ratanlal would not have survived if
she had touched Him then!
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A Pair of Protecting Hands
Another instance,
when Bhagavan revealed His Omniscience and
Omnipotence to Joga Rao was recounted to us by
Dr. A. Sudhir Bhaskar, professor in the School
of Business Management, Accounting and Finance
at Bhagavan’s University. Joga Rao was returning
to Prashanti Nilayam after visiting some
officials at Anantapur. But, even as they were
hurrying back, they were caught in a heavy
downpour. But, Joga Rao was eager to apprise
Swami of all that had transpired and he prodded
the driver on in spite of the reduced
visibility. Just as they entered the Sathya Sai
Taluk, their car entered a ditch and to their
horror they were being swept away in the current
onto one side of the road.
It was precisely at
this moment they experienced as if there was a
big tug and the car was moving in the direction
of the road as if being pushed from behind.
Joga Rao and another person seated in
the back seat could see a pair of hands on the
rear windscreen pushing the car to safety.
To continue the incident, the car miraculously
started and the party reached the Mandir
safely and Col. Joga Rao came to know that Swami
had enquired about him before retiring for the
day. When the colonel went to “update” Bhagavan,
Swami straight away said, “Joga Rao
you should not have instructed the driver to
drive car in the overflowing road. What would
have happened if the car were to fall into the
ditch?” The astounded colonel
could only mumble words of gratitude. Later that
day he remarked to the co-passenger “If
you do Swami’s work perfectly, Swami will
protect you”.
This protecting Hand
of Bhagavan was to come to the Colonel’s rescue
on many more occasions. Once, Joga Rao developed
severe chest pain with all the symptoms of a
heart attack. He was rushed to a reputed private
hospital in Bangalore, where he was kept in the
Intensive Care Unit. Meanwhile, during the
afternoon Darshan at Prashanti Nilayam,
Bhagavan told the students and a few elders who
had gathered in the portico of the mandir,
"Joga Rao is not well. I have to go to Bangalore
and see him." The driver got ready with the
car; His departure to Bangalore was imminent.
Baba went into His room, came out after sometime
and announced, "I went and saw Joga Rao; he
is alright. I sat by his side on the bed and he
was upset that no chair was provided for Me!"
When Joga Rao's
son-in-law went to see him late in the
afternoon, Joga Rao told him, "Swami came
here and blessed me. He sat on my bed since no
chair was placed for Him." A few days
later, after Joga Rao was shifted to a suite
from ICU, Bhagavan travelled to Bangalore and
visited him in the hospital.
Another instance
concerns his eldest daughter, who had to undergo
a hysterectomy. The doctors were contemplating
removing one of her kidneys as they had the
apprehension that it may malfunction. Joga Rao
went to Prashanti Nilayam and met Bhagavan. Even
before he could utter anything to Baba, He said,
"Joga Rao, there is no need for
removing the kidney. Be assured that everything
will go well."
He also materialised
Vibhuti for his daughter and gave it to
him. When he went to meet his daughter in the
nursing home the next morning, she was beaming
with smiles; she said, "Father,
please give me the Vibhuti. Swami came here last
night and said that my kidney would not be
removed and that He would send Vibhuti for me!"
Needless to say, everything was alright
thereafter. |
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The Simplicity and Large Heartedness of Col. Joga Rao
Colonel Joga Rao’s lively
and charismatic personality and the close relationships
he formed with those around him are the stuff of legend.
Dr. Narendranath Reddy, Chairman, International Medical
Committee, had these words to say about Col. Joga Rao:
“He had child-like
simplicity. Even though he was physically close to
Swami, he would heartily talk and laugh with a child
or old man, a millionaire or a poor servant, a
scholar or illiterate with the same gusto and tempo.
Even after having sumptuous lunch or dinner with
Swami, he would not hesitate to invite himself for a
tasty dish with devotees. His favorite was
“pesarattu” (pancake made with whole green gram)
from my mother. He used to joke ‘I eat and Swami
digests for me.’ His favourite hobby was to feed his
guests sumptuously with tasty dishes. He retained
this zest for life even when he was physically
ailing and bed-ridden and had to be physically away
from Swami. Even then he would welcome devotees come
to pay him a visit and regale them with his
memorable experiences with Bhagavan.”
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The Singularly Fortunate…Sri Joga Rao
On 31st August 2005, Colonel Joga Rao shed his
mortal coil to be one with his beloved Swami.
Bhagavan lovingly sent a silk dhoti to drape
over his body on its final journey. Many are the
tributes that have been paid to this blessed
soul. Sri C. Sreenivas who has for years been on
the council of members of the Sri Sathya Sai
Central Trust, said of him,
“The Grace,
kindness and love showered and shown
by Bhagavan to Shri Joga Rao in his
long association will remain
unparalleled. To be a recipient of
Grace is a Blessing and good
fortune. To have been a recipient
like Sri Joga Rao was so rare and
privileged that the Divine
singularly chose to confer. His life
will remain a memorable saga.”
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In His discourse to
the public on the occasion of his 70th birthday,
Bhagavan said,
“There
should be many more karma jivis
and karma yogis like Joga Rao in
Bharat in the coming years.
Everyone should become a karma
yogi. That Karma gets
transformed into Dharma. That
Karma will sanctify human life.”
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His life will always be a
source of inspiration to all of us to dedicate our lives
in the service of the Lord sincerely and selflessly.
- Hari S and
The H2H Team |
Source:
Radio Sai
E-Magazine, October 2005 Issue
http://media.radiosai.org/Journals/Vol_03/10OCT01/jogarao.htm
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