It was in the first year of my MBA in Parthi, and we were enjoying a beautiful period when students from the new batch would get an opportunity every week to speak at the Institute foyer and it so happened that Swami would inevitably acknowledge the days speaker in his own beautiful ways during evening darshan, something we would eagerly look forward to. This became a great motivation for many of us to want to make it to the weekly foyer podium and pray for an opportunity to be physically noticed and acknowledged by Bhagawan.

I had my moment too, and I remember talking about my journey to the divine portals of the institute and as part of my talk also referred to a beautiful couplet in Telugu that starts as follows “Pattina pattu pattaney pattitivi, pattu neggedudaka viduvakundu…” which basically emphasizes the need to hold on to HIS feet at all costs and never let go, ask whatever you wish to but never give up until you get what you must, the little Krishna being naughty and fickle as he is, you should hence hold on tight at all times, lest you lose him forever”. Bhagawan did not speak to me directly that evening, but very subtly mentioned the couplet to a brother sitting next to me, looking at me from the corner of his twinkling eyes and with a naughty Krishna like smile, that could melt a million suns. It had made my day and life, for that is all I wished for, his smile and words of acknowledgement that reflected his joy and pride in me.

The two years of my MBA at Parthi was nothing I had ever planned for, it was a gift and blessing from Bhagawan, that laid the foundation for my life in many ways. Now, after my MBA, with his grace I did get into a job and followed the usual path not too different or extraordinary in any ways, but far from what I had planned, the journey thereupon played a major role in bringing me to where I am today.  

Have been more of a witness to my own life – watching events unfurling and happening as per the charioteers wish. The charioteer has plans and for a reason, which we seldom are blessed with wisdom enough to understand, fathom and acknowledge willingly. Apparent failures at various stages or situations not turning out to my expectations, all the while wondering and not understanding why? But in hindsight, as I turn back to each page of the book, trying to join the dots, I see the reasons more clearly and can only watch with gratitude and in awe at the beauty of the masters’ strokes.

I am a ‘Social entrepreneur’, working in a space I never really planned to be in. Am truly blessed with this opportunity that Bhagawan has bestowed me with, where I witness and experience the purity and power of love, the belief and joy of indeed playing a small part in his divine mission. There have been many situations that do put me to test, what I like to call ‘my experiments’ – to check on the choices and decisions I make, the paths I wish to take, the means and manner I end up adopting, how much would I be willing to burn in the fire of my conviction or would I douse it with my excuses of survival and human nature to err. Among the many tests as part of my journey, I was once faced with a situation wherein I had to make a choice between a contextually critical purchase order and my reluctance to bend and insistence to not compromise on the values we so pride ourselves on. Am not sure if it was a consciously heroic decision or a desire to experiment or doing something different or is it the inherent tuning and the switch that disallows you to stray or call it the string that tugs at you and eventually helps you come out on the right side of all such experiments, but when you are held lovingly by the divine charioteer, you willingly or unknowingly submit to his will without worrying about the consequences of actions. The only prayer I have had and will ever have to Sai, my mother and charioteer– ‘Sai maa, make me worthy of your love, worthy of being that flower to be offered at your lotus feet, worthy of being that kite in your hands, realizing and knowing all along that it is you who holds my string, worthy of being a small cog and a brick in your divine mission – I pray, all I yearn to hear you say- ‘mana pillalu, good boy’ and nothing more”.

Vijay Sai Pratap MBA, 2000 – 2002, Prasanthi Nilayam. He is the co-founder and CEO of Gram Vaani (OnionDev Technologies Pvt Ltd), a social tech enterprise that builds innovative voice-based community media technologies for the underserved. He is an active part of the Catalyst team.