MBA Redefined -Reminiscences of the First Batch
A session by Vidyullekha with the Class of 1988
Being the first batch, they had the exclusive attention of Bhagawan and were blessed… no, deluged by His Grace. He was involved in their lives at every level, cared for every need, personally taught them in classrooms and took them all to Kodaikanal at the end of the first year blessing them with the most coveted opportunity. Thirty-four years later, some of the brothers from this blessed group came together to share their magical moments spent learning the art of management at the Lotus Feet of the Divine Manager with the Vidyullekha team. Brother Y Arvind moderated the session on behalf of Vidyullekha.
Vidyullekha: Sairam brothers! It’s a wonderful thing to have caught up with the class of 1986. The learning that you all received directly from Him and the bliss that you derived is immeasurable and it is an opportunity for us to relive some of those moments and lessons through this meet which I am sure would become a Satsang.
MBA, to all of us then, was a pinnacle, a program all students wanted to be part of. Apart from the academic aspect, it was the importance Bhagawan would give to the course. We really look forward to absorb from all of you elders from the first batch of MBA through this interaction. So I open up the conversation there. To start off, What were your feelings when you first heard you were selected for MBA?
Raghavanand: I got selected for my Class XI as well. But during the 1970s, there was a constraint in hostel accommodation. So my father asked me to ask Swami for guidance. When I went to Parthi, in the Darshan line when Swami came, I could ask only for Vibhuti! I forgot to ask for hostel accommodation. So it did not work out. In 1984, when we came to know through Sanathana Sarathi that Swami is starting MBA, I was very keen to join. My family had an advertising agency so I was very keen to do a marketing course. Now with Swami starting MBA, I started preparing and fervently prayed. I would chant Hanuman Chalisa a lot and prayed to Swami that I should get at least the last seat in His MBA program. I applied and thought I did well in the entrance exam and the interview. However, I was not selected in the first list that was released on 21st August. A few days went in hope, prayers and frustration. Finally, on 25th I received a telegram from the Registrar to join the college. Apparently, against a dropout, I was asked to join and, literally, I was the last one to join the MBA program. The first day was heavenly – to be seated in the Veranda. Bhagawan came and asked me “Where do you come from?” I replied that I was from Vijayawada. He then enquired “MBA?” I replied affirmatively. “Good!” He said and patted me. This was an end to all the frustration and waiting to come to His portals since so many years.
Vidyullekha: That’s dramatic… to get the last seat especially after you’ve missed the opportunity the first time in your initial years. Can anyone else share similar memories?
G Sriram: I was in the second batch of the Institute and did my B.Com from Prasanthi Nilayam. After the course, I went back home because my father was retiring in two years. When this advertisement came, I told my father that instead of getting into Chartered Accountancy, I wanted to pursue an MBA. As it was an opportunity to be with Swami again, my father readily agreed. So I returned to Parthi. We were sitting in the veranda and around me were all the other senior students who had done their post-graduation and were applying for MBA. Swami approached. I got up and told Swami that I was writing the MBA entrance test. Swami didn’t say anything. He just waved His hand to bless me with Vibhuti. Back then I was this puny character and there are these seniors of mine with whom I was to write the entrance and become their classmate. Some of them in fact had waited after their post-graduation before joining the course.
Sameer: I was one such student. Swami had indicated in 1983 that He would be starting an MBA program, but we did not know when. I finished my M.Sc. in 1984. Swami would tell us to “Go back home” while we would persist that we wanted to be with Him. I was part of the Bhajan group, so after my MSc I waited for two years being in His presence, signing in the Mandir till the course actually took off. The idea then was just to be with Him as long as possible. So I ended up being with Bhagawan from 1977 to 1988. I was an average student, but during my MBA, I got passionate about Marketing which eventually helped shape my career.
Vidyullekha: How many subjects did you all have back then?
Raghu: We would have seven subjects per semester. Apart from that, we had a specialization in the second year.
Amar Vivek: In fact, I was the only one who did a specialization in HR. Given that I was a law graduate, I requested that I be permitted to specialize in HR instead of Finance or Marketing.
Sameer: After the first year, we received assignments from various organizations in Bangalore. For instance, I was in Karnataka Soaps doing Market research. Someone was in HMT, someone in BEML, etc. These were summer internships
Vidyullekha: So how was it to come back after your corporate assignments daily to be with Swami? He was in Brindavan that time, I guess.
KVS Shankar: I got an assignment with Escorts in Yelahanka. This was very far from Brindavan so I used to start very early and it was a struggle to reach back by 6.30 PM when the Bhajans end. One day I was scheduled to give Aarthi to Swami. I struggled to reach as usual and reached just after 6.30PM but was able to give Aarthi. Imagine, Swami called me inside and said that He ended the Bhajans late so that I could reach back in time! He would then pull my leg saying I am looking around outside the bus. As I look back today, it was His way to keep me motivated given my travel was tedious. His words ensured that I remain motivated and energized.
Raghav: In fact, He instructed us that while working in these organizations we should not accept free lunch. He was particular about it. I remember distinctly because I had received lunch there as a guest, but Swami wanted us to pay for our food and not be dependent on the organization.
KV Rao: All these memories make me reflect on how Swami shaped my family through this course. I had done my engineering and was about to leave for the USA to do my MS. My visa was rejected and my uncle who was an office-bearer in the Sathya Sai Organization asked my parents to let me apply to Parthi for this new MBA program. At that time my father was going through a lot of turmoil professionally though he is a pious person. When I eventually completed my MBA, I asked Swami to guide me. He said, “Go Home and take care of your parents”. That was a great Punya that He initiated me into. My father is 90 years old and my mother is 87. I continue to serve them. Had I taken up that course in the USA, I probably would have never come back to India.
Vidyullekha: True brothers. I request you all to share the classroom and AV room sessions you all used to have. It is, of course, a treasure trove of discourses. Could we have a few glimpses here?
Katta Prasad: Our class was at the extreme left entrance of the Parthi campus. I remember many times when Swami had walked into our classroom. Once He asked us, “What course are you studying?” We replied that we were doing MBA. He said, “No! It’s MMM. You can’t be an expert in all fields. You need to depend on others. So to manage a business, you should be able to manage people. Hence, it’s Master Man Management – MMM not MBA”. The beautiful thing was that MBA boys would always get the first line for Darshan. If the schoolboys were sitting in front, we would sit near the car shed, but He would still reach out to us there. We would, of course, ensure that we sat together. For Swami, the first batch of students and their teachers was one class. We were a mix of people who had worked for many years professionally and some who were from the system. Some of us would ask the logic of wearing whites or getting up early. His early involvement ensured we were all in line – something that would probably have been difficult for teachers to handle.
Amar Vivek: Swami once visited our class and we had planned to offer Him a group song. We sang the famous song ‘Tu Pyaar ka sagar hai’. The lyrics of that song have a line “Jo khil sake na woh phool hum hai…” (We are flowers who couldn’t bloom). He made us sing a different version which was “Jo khil sakenge woh phool hum hai” (We are flowers who WILL BE blooming).
Raghav: I would like to share two lessons that have stayed with me from those management sessions with Swami. One is that He would say ‘humans’ are the most important wealth in the world. In the corporate world, we tend to give undue importance to machines and processes without caring for labour. We feel we can belittle people with low skill sets, but for Swami an individual person is the most important asset. During Darshan you would notice that Swami would speak to a security worker or a VIP – all are the same in His eyes. The second lesson is that he would tell us to use all our skills in the assigned task. If you do not use 100% of your ability, it is stealing.
Raghunathan: What stands out to me was the bonding with my classmates. I joined as a complete outsider with little exposure to Swami. But the batch mates who were senior in age and experience would patiently explain to us and were caring. We became one family through the two years and during the trip with Swami to Kodai and Ooty. It helped me shape my personality. While I was good in academics, I could hardly converse in English during those days as I came from a simple Tamil family. Staying with such a wonderful set of batch mates helped in personality development. People around were very talented and busy with so many activities. The least I could do was to lend them my notes during exams. People used to find it amazing that before the first exam, I would be studying for the second one. But the fact is I was lending my notes to classmates to study as I would prepare for the next exam so that they can use my next subject notes when that particular exam arrived.
Amar Vivek: Elsewhere in colleges, it’s all competition. For us in MBA it was all about cooperation.
Katta Prasad: Let me share an instance of such cooperation. I was an athlete and loved to participate in competitions such as high jump and others. During a football game, I was injured. The second year was the final opportunity to get a prize from Swami’s hands. Hence, I decided to participate in the triple jump. I took the leap and won second place, but I damaged my ligament. Swami personally started enquiring about my wellbeing. Dr. Alreja was the doctor in-charge and Swami advised that I needed to be shifted to a hospital in Bangalore. I happened to miss the classes for almost three months in the last semester. In those days, there was no photocopying, scanning or email. So here I was hospitalized, away from classes – and believe me, each week I would get class notes! One boy among the class would volunteer each week to create a carbon copy of notes and send it to me. When I returned, brothers like Arun and Shriram would help me with studies and explain the lessons I had missed. Who, in a professional course elsewhere, would spend time on another classmate a day before the exam?
Vidyullekha: Seeing your camaraderie and unity, we wonder – how was it to get close to the last day of your course – the time when you all had to take separate paths.
KV Rao: Just to give you a background, in our second year Swami was not speaking to us at all. So at the end of the year, we had no directions or blessings from Him at all. Hence, all 28 of us decided to stay put. We were staying, I guess, till September next year in East Prasanthi. Those were wonderful times. It was only Darshan and no other worry about academic work or professional work. But Swami was ignoring us after all that He had showered on us. One fine day, He suddenly called all of us for an interview. People thought we are finally back in ‘form’! But He still appeared unhappy with us. He asked in a difficult tone “Why have you all not gone?” None of us had the strength to answer back. Swami, in those days, could be really like fire. Not getting any answer from us, He walked out of the interview room and we followed Him. It was one of the shortest interviews that lasted a couple of minutes! A few days later, He called us again. This time we could actually see the mother in Him, the soft nature of the Lord not wanting to separate from His children. He created a ladoo for all us, gave us Vibhuti and blessed us profusely. He told me to take care of my parents. It was a very emotionally charged session with Him. He asked me to approach a particular professional in Hyderabad and seek help for a job. It was like a mother concerned about little things about her child.
Vidyullekha: Amazing brother! So the entire batch had waited for more than six months to get blessings and guidance from Swami.
Amar Vivek: Let me share a memorable incident from that period. I was selected to be part of the President of India’s trip to Moscow, USSR for giving a talk in their university on Indian Culture. With great difficulty, I could get Swami’s permission and miraculously reached the USSR on time. I had prepared well for this talk. Just before entering the auditorium, someone suddenly bumped into me and said: “Be careful of what you speak – the audience has experts in Indian culture who are pursuing PhDs in this topic”. I don’t recall who this person was, but I got apprehensive hearing this and seeing the learned audience. I closed my eyes and prayed, “Swami please take over and take care”. Suddenly I had the confidence that He had actually taken over. The speech was delivered well. This was in July. I returned to Parthi. In August, Swami called us and asked me about this trip. He said, “Who reminded you of the scholars inside the University auditorium. You had ego which was to hinder your performance. I reminded you. You prayed and I took over. The football which has air is kicked around when the air is deflated no one will kick it around.” In August 1988 He called us for an interview session and asked, “You got so much from Swami – what will you give in return?” He held my hand and said ‘Do not get a bad name from Swami’. He asked me to continue LLB which I was not keen to pursue. He said LLB is “Live and Love Baba!”
Vidyullekha: Someone can share what happened when you all started searching for jobs?
KVS Shankar: Yes it was difficult initially as many people did not know that an MBA course was offered by our university. But the two years at Parthi had trained us that life is not a bed of roses. We would help each other and get help from other students in Bangalore. Getting accommodation in our budget was a serious challenge in Bangalore. And yet, from nowhere someone offered us a bungalow of five rooms to us for monthly rent of just two thousand rupees. You could actually feel that Swami was around still with us arranging a fully furnished bungalow with a telephone facility, which was not common back then. That place became a hub for students visiting Bangalore for the two years we stayed there.
KV Rao: During the times when we were waiting for Swami’s instructions, we had got so much blessings from Him. I remember before leaving, Swami gave me a handful of Vibhuti and assured me that He would take care. How I got my first job in Baroda seemed like a complete plan of Swami. He continues to guide us
Vidyullekha: Were there any awkward questions that were put to you during your interviews that you would like to share?
Sameer: Let me share an incident. We did not have the privilege of a placement program. So I had taken the first job that came my way in a very small company. It was in operations. My passion, however, was marketing and advertising. After two years, I came to know of a marketing opportunity with an FMCG company, but it needed two years of core sales experience. Though I didn’t have the relevant experience, I applied anyway. During the interview, the CEO asked me as to why he should recruit me when I did not have relevant sale experience. In my mind, I prayed to Swami to answer on my behalf. I had a feeling that Swami was saying, “Give it all to me. I’ll take care of it”. It was a make or break situation with the CEO of the company in front of me. The answer that came out from me was “Sir, the person who you expect to have two years of sales experience would definitely not have had two years’ experience two years ago, isn’t it? So if you could recruit him, why can’t you recruit me?” The sales manager who was sitting next to the CEO literally fell off the chair hearing this. The interview ended and I didn’t expect to hear from them. As Swami’s grace would have it, I got a telegram a few days later asking me to collect my offer letter. I knew it was Bhagawan who had spoken that day and not me. I learnt that day to leave things to Him when you know you can’t handle them.
Vidyullekha: You all had this privilege of being directly guided by the Divine Man Manager. As years passed, Swami kept on increasing the distance as His mission expanded. In the last few years, He distanced Himself further in the pretext of His health and now we have many batches of MBA that have received His lessons, but from His discourses. We would be grateful if you share some learning other than the key one on man-management – it would be of help to the future batches of fresh MBA graduates.
Katta Prasad: I think what differentiates us is our ability to have a view which we feel is good for the organization. Unlike people from other backgrounds, we do not need a group of people confirming our view. This may be because we know Swami is there for us. Swami would say, “You just be yourself. Be what Swami wanted you to be. People will recognize you and your university. Advertising about the university is not your job. Be sure that you are representing the university and the values of the university. People will automatically know the values of the Institution”.
KVS Shankar: I would like to add to that. Unexpected events happen in life. How you respond to them is a function of your core values that need to be strong. Once you embrace reality you will realize that problems are quite temporary and that they will pass. However, values need to stay with you. The grounding we had through that environment should make us internally stronger to respond to tough situations.
KV Rao: For me, all that Swami conveyed through interactions in class and on Sundays in the AV room, makes me feel we should always do something for the good of the organization. So when I went into the corporate world, I wanted to be sure that I do work that is for the good of the organization to which I can stand by transparently and honestly.
In 2017, I joined a one-year course by Harvard Business School. We were divided in groups of around 80 candidates and at the end, each student had to provide feedback about the other. The consistent feedback I had is that “You’re too nice to people”. People feel that is not a positive feedback, but to me it didn’t hurt because that’s what I’m supposed to be. That is what I was taught and as I have changed three organizations in 30 years – that is what has helped me foster relations. Not that I do any favours to people around, I speak to people in a warm manner.
Vidyullekha: So you cannot always oblige but you can always speak obligingly.
KV Rao: Absolutely. Firstly, the discipline of hostel life along with the fact that we can connect to Swami internally when we are faced with challenges gives us self-confidence. Secondly, Swami has always given importance to man-management. We should trust people; this helps us delegate with confidence. Of course, there will be difficult people around, but we should see people as Swami tells us to – there is nothing like a good or bad person. One should be like a growing plant, there may be trash and muck around but we need to be able to extract useful minerals and still grow. When I was given a leadership position to lead a team of 1000 people, Swami’s teachings helped me build a culture that was so positive and motivating for the entire team
Sameer: The greatest management lessons are learnt by observing how Swami conducts Himself. Not many would have seen Parthi without the Poornachandra Auditorium. It came up during my graduation days. We stayed back during the summer vacation. Swami used to direct us to help in the auditorium construction. Our work was to help level the place for construction. For those few weeks, just to see how Swami would motivate and monitor was a great leadership lesson. The aspect of divinity and miracles apart, Swami just wants us to create a vibrant performing culture in organizations we are part of.
KV Rao: His ability to know who is good at what, attention to micro details and yet have people motivated towards a larger common goal – that is amazing!
Amar Vivek: I am reminded of a sweet event. I had accompanied my classmate who had gone for Bhagawan’s blessings on his birthday. We were sitting in the verandah and Swami distributed ladoos. He called us and blessed this brother and gave us ladoos Himself. Then He remarked, “Do you know why I give you ladoos? It’s because you are my ladoos. Always be sweet like this ladoo”.
Vidyullekha: Wow! Brother, you should also share how Swami has inspired you to take up these service projects that you do despite your hectic professional schedule.
Amar Vivek: When we were leaving, Swami had asked me what I wanted to do. I responded, “Swami I want to start a medical centre and school which would be free of cost”. He replied, “That I will do for you. In fact, I will take care of your profession. What will you do for Me? Your job is to remain pure always”. The first time He spoke to me during the first year, He asked “What is your name?’ I replied Amar Vivek. He said, “Hamara Vivek?” He added, “If you are pure, you are Hamara Vivek (my Vivek), else you are hammer Vivek”.
Vidyullekha: One wonders that after having received so much from Swami physically, how do you keep yourself motivated given we are no more in His physical presence.
Amar Vivek: One day, Swami walked into our classroom. On the board was written ‘Zero-Based Budgeting’. Swami said, “Let me teach you today about Zero-Based Bhakti. Each day get up in the morning and feel like you are a newborn. Forget all the wrong that is done till yesterday. I will forgive you for that. Start afresh each day, keeping Me in your mind”. In fact, He would say MBA is “Mind on Baba Always”. To me being pure and thinking of Him ensures you are in His presence always.
Vidyullekha: Brothers, it’s been just a mesmerizing session with all of you discussing, reminiscing and going back in time with all of you.
KV Rao: It was like coming together again as we all were together in the Hostel. All of us together for Swami!
In Conclusion
This session was a rich mix of memories, lessons learned, paths taken and most of all a reaffirmation of the ever-present guiding hand of our Beloved Lord. From the entrance exam and selection, to hostel life; Swami Himself taking classes in the college and impromptu interview sessions in the Mandir.
First they learnt to manage themselves and then lead by example. ‘Living with God is True Education’ is not an aphorism but a real-life experience. The Master sent out His chosen ones with one message, “Men are more valuable than all the wealth of the world”. Though their destinies took them on different paths, careers and lives, the bond that held them together, the unity they experienced in the divine fold have endured the test of time.
Brief profiles
- Brother DV Raghavanand hails from Vijayawada and is currently the Marketing Head for Bambino Pasta Food Industries Pvt. Ltd
- Brother G Sriram is based in Oman and works for Oman Air as Senior Manager Finance. He is Vice President of Sathya Sai Organization, Oman.
- Brother Sameer Manel is a seasoned Marketing professional who has held leadership positions in advertising, communication & FMCG companies.
- Brother V Raghunathan is Chief Manager in Central Coal Fields (Coal India).
- Brother Amar Vivek is based in Chandigarh. He is a practising Attorney at the high court and the Hon’ble Supreme Court. He runs a model rural school giving free education to 450 children and a charitable hospital.
- Brother KVS Shankar works as Senior Managing Consultant, Master Card, Singapore. He continues to be associated with Seva activities of alumni. He has initiated a social initiative ‘Swaraanubhuti’ which is a platform to encourage young talent in Music
- Brother KV Rao is based in Hyderabad. He is the CEO of APTS Zone – Future Retail
- Brother Katta Prasad is currently in Dubai as the Vice President of Digital Business solutions for Xpress Money Services.
