The Story behind the Story

Mr.Ragunanthan, Founder of Disha Strategic Foundations came to CBS as a part of the induction program and addressed us on the topic- “The Story behind the Story”.
The first thing which came to my mind on hearing this topic was the movie of superstar Rajinikanth-Badshah. Its success at the box office can be attributed to being based on the concept- “Story behind the Story”.
Mr.Ragunanthan kindled our interest by starting off with an activity. He asked a few of us to write our names on a slip of paper and also the reason why our parents/ family had given us that particular name. The others had to guess as to why each of us had been given a particular name. We all took turns in hazarding a guess, but were way off the mark. Surprisingly, most of us did not know why we had been given a particular name!
Later he told us the reason for this activity. He said that there is a reason for everything which happens. He impressed upon us the need to live in the present, without being weighed down by our past or worried about the future. He said that if we were “alive” to the present then there would be an incident which would guide us to a wonderful future.
To make us understand it better, he gave us the example of T.K. Rajendran, I.P.S, ADGP (Tamil Nadu Intelligence wing). Mr. Rajendran had planned on joining London Business School to pursue his post graduation when there was an unexpected incident in his life. As he was travelling to Delhi by train in order to take a flight from there to London, he lost his luggage. He immediately went to the RPF to complain about the incident. But there was no proper action taken. He was made to run from pillar to post, but the authorities did not take any responsibility. Totally frustrated by the callous attitude displayed by the authorities he decided to join the Police force in order to bring in some discipline and accountability in the Force. This incident was the turning point in his life and changed the course of his life.
Mr.Ragunanthan also told about the life of Mother Theresa, who devoted her life to the needy, sick and dying. He narrated the incident which led to Mother Theresa starting the organization-Missionaries of Charity. Once as she was travelling by train to Loreto Convent, Darjeeling from Calcutta for her annual retreat, she saw the image of Jesus Christ bleeding. She described this vision as being “the call within the call”, which made her establish the Missionaries of Charity.
The session with Mr.Ragunanthan was an eye opener. We all benefited by the session and also realized that there could be a turning point at any juncture in our life, which would have an indelible impact on our future!