Auto Raja Interview

Going through the journey called life, we have taken many things for granted. Not many of us turn towards God to thank him for what he has provided us with. Somewhere in the midst of the desire to live a comfortable life we have lost compassion and humanity in between. Not many of us consider the world a part of our own family and existence. In this world driven by self-growth, there are near to no people who live for the others.

New Indian Statement Team stumbled upon this magnanimous personality, whose life touched us and inspired us throughout. We found out about the New Ark Mission of India, and the founder of the mission, Auto Raja by serendipity. We were deeply touched and inspired by his life and work, and were surprised at how many people still have no idea about the noble work done by Auto Raja. We would love you all to know the man who has given humanity a new definition. We are more than just honored,and we want you all to know his story, and also learn a lot from him through these digital pages.

This Mission was established in 1997 in a rented house and later on in 1998 the Mission was registered under the trust name called NEW ARK MISSION OF INDIA with Home of Hope as its rehabilitation Centre.Until now, the Mission could rescue over 7,000 people of whom about 3,000 died here in dignity with their last wishes fulfilled. This mission aims to provide help and compassion to the destitute. Our team got an opportunity to interview this amazing personality and we have learnt a lot from him. Let us delve into the interview without wasting much time!

1. Your real name is Thomas Raja. How did you come to be known as Auto Raja?

I’m named after my father. His name is Thomas, so they will call me Thomas Raja. The name ‘Auto Raja’ name is given by media and television channels. I was professionally an auto driver and member ofthe auto union leader.

2. You grew up in a well-off family, and went to a convent school. How did you end up being in jail at the age of sixteen?

My parents sent me to a convent school named ‘Seventh Day Adventist’. Due to badcompany and bad habits, I wanted money for alcohol. For that very reason,

I started to steal and rob from my house, school and other places, not in big way,

but small-scale thefts. After that, I left Bangalore city, and went to Chennai because Icouldn’t get love and care from my family. Then I continued doing the same things inChennai, so I was sent to juvenile jail at the age of sixteen.

3. The transformation that the sixteen-year-old T. Raja had in his life; do you consider thatas a miracle? What are your thoughts on human nature and second chances? What isthe true nature of a saint?

Prison was like hell for me. I wanted to get out of the prison very soon at any cost.

I meditated and prayed earnestly to God to have mercy on me. I repentedin front ofGod and asked for a second chance. “If You forgive me, I will serve you.” I would say. My parentscame miraculously and paid the fine charges in the court to rescue me. I fell at my parent’s feetand asked for forgiveness from them. I came home with my parents.

4. You stepped on this path alone, and with your own capable hands you have laid the bricks of the New Ark Mission. What were your thoughts when you set out on this journey by yourself?

When I started this service for this people, I felt joy, peace, and comfort. Inside me, therewas this big hope, that in the future, I will do something great for these people in need.

5. Your mission is named as “Home of Hope”. What is your personal feeling about the word ‘hope’? What is the weight of the word ‘hope’ for you?

Whoever enters ‘Home of Hope’, I would like to give them hope to fulfill their hunger (food),give them hope of comfort (clothes and shelter), hope ofleading a longer life.Last is thehope in me to give them dignity until death.

6. Most people live for themselves, and work up to fulfill their own desires and ambitions, achieving success and failing at times. How has living for others caused the difference that people cannot achieve on a regular basis?

When I live for others, it’s the most beautiful feeling for me. When I am living for others, I always feel and keep in mind that I am sacrificing everything for the needy people. I am born empty; I’ll goempty but I have a hope in me that the Almighty will give an everlasting life inheaven. When I serve the destitute, I feel that I am serving God.

7. The sixteen-year-old Thomas Raja who was a destitute back then, has now given shelter to more than 11,000 destitute. What would Auto Raja tell his sixteen-year-old self if he could meet him?

If I were asixteen-year-old once again, I would start with aiming to serve people in all the states of India, help more and more people and those who are in need. I would aim to create beggar less citiesand make sure that no one dies from a harsh death on streets as a destitute.

8. What would the sixteen-year-old T. Raja tell the children of his own age about living their lives?

I would say to the sixteen-year-old children to obey their parents, respect their

parents, honoring their parents, it’s a best blessing for them.

9. You’ve worked for the people consistently for 20 years now. How have you maintained consistency and kept on achieving on greater magnitude with every step? What struggles did you have to face?

NAMI has been working for 24 years. My whole life has been full of struggles.

• To feed 700 people every day,
• Everyday having 1 or 2 dead bodies, for cremation or burial as per theirreligions,
• Sometimes, if my inmates become sick or if they become seriously ill, and if amajor problem occurs for our inmates, I take them to big government hospitals. But they do not help my people as we expect them to. They will keep on referring to other hospitals and finally we come back to our home. The patients finally die in a few days. We have only one MBBS doctor and sixnurses. We are not able to manage 700 people with this much resource,
• Water Crunch is another issue for us. We are buying water daily to fulfillthe daily activities of cleaning, bathing and hygiene. Everyday 40,000liters of water is required. Butonly 5000 liters is given by the panchayat,
• Even we don’t have proper drainage system in our area to send thesewage and excreta to the mainstream drainage system. We have manually dug plenty of pits for cleaning and are somehow managing.

These are my struggles which I have been facing for the past 24 years.

10. People have prejudiced, preconceived, and stereotypical ideas about destitute. Whatwould you tell the people with resources to change their opinions and thinking about thedestitute on humanitarian grounds?

• We cannot change the mindset of people. In our country, maybe there are a plenty of people like this.Their own families have pushed them to live a life of the destitute, because of being given insufficient love and care.Some people will say that they suffer because of their own ‘karmas’. but I say that this is not because of ‘karma’. This has always been generalized for the destitute. I say, whatever I do, this is a will of God and I love to do His work. Removing these generalized and biased opinions on the destitute would make a difference. Destitute are people in need, and they are alone and helpless in the world outside. Considering this as God’s will, I will help them out.

11. Every person has an ideal or ideals in their lives. Your compassion and field of work have made you into an ideal that people can look up to. Who are the people who have inspired you on a daily basis?

The people who inspire me on a daily basis are

• Jesus Christ
• Mother Teresa
• Mahatma Gandhi
• B. R. Ambedkar

They are my role models.

12. What do the words respect and dignity mean to you?

I love to respect human beings, even those who are younger than me. I will call them

‘Akka’ or ‘Anna’. I respect human beings. When we say we are giving dignity to the humanbeings, there is no comparison for it. We can price a gold or diamond orplatinum, but there is no price for a dignified life. It is priceless. Hence, being a true human is respect and dignity for me.

13. You were once rendered homeless by your family. After your transformation, how has your family played a role in making your vision into a success?

All over the world, people love me, they honor me.Theywill make thousands of good speeches about me, but even today my family, my blood relatives, they do not show

any love and affection to me. I lost my parents without getting loveand affection from them.

14. On a different note, we have heard that you have varied interests. Tell us about them.

I want to build a big city for the destitute, I want to make charity hospitals. I am very

interested in building destitute homes in all the states of India, I have a lot of interest in living like a true Indian in favor of our country and humanity.

15. What message do you have for the people of this nation, about knowing their roots and humanity? What message do you subsequently have for the world?

We should not wait for one more Mother Teresa to come to the world.We should strive to belike her.We should not wait for one more Mahatma Gandhi or one more B.R. Ambedkar.We should be like them. We should be the light for our nation and thensubsequently for the world.

16. You have given yourself entirely for the service of the people in pain, and a lot of people have been touched by your life. Has anyone ever made you feel that the message you have been trying to convey has reached them? Please tell us one such moment from your life, that has touched you.

One Sunday, I was ready to go to Church. When I was coming downstairs from the

second floor to the ground floor, one lady came crawling to me, insidethe campus. She came up to me and shouted, “Daddy, Daddy, Stop! I want to ask you something!” and asked me for one ‘Masala Dosa’. I was in a hurry to go to theChurch as time was running short for me, but I stopped and called my Staff members to buy one Masala Dosa for her. Till the ‘Masala Dosa’ came from the market, I had forgotten about the church and I was talking to that lady. I was just talking, but, my mind, my heart and my spirit turned to that lady. I wanted to fulfill her wishes. Once the masala dosa came, I gave it to her and she had a smile on her face. She raised her hands and received it from me, with love. “Thank you, Daddy! Thank you, Daddy!” she shouted. With full joy and satisfaction, she slowly unwrapped and enjoyed her sumptuous meal. When I saw that scene, a smile on her face, satisfaction in her eyes and her happiness while she was eating, there was a particular feeling inside my heart- I had finished my prayer and worshipped there itself. There was no need to go to the Church that day, because when I fulfill these people’s last wishes, that is the real form of worshipping God. Most people before dying will either ask for

• Chicken Kebabs
• Masala Dosa
• Pani Puri
• Ice cream
• Pepsi
• An egg or an apple too!

They have last wishes before dying. I always want to fulfill their wishes and

desires. This is the message I want to convey to them.

17. What is New Ark Mission’s ‘Vision 2021’?

I want to come up with a similar home in at least one of the states in India.

18. How can the common people help you reach out to the people in need on a larger extent? What are your future plans on a broad spectrum?

We started a new project “I beg for my people; My people should not beg”. I am

begging for alms since a year for my people. It’s a minimal amount of one Rupee. More and more people arecoming forward to help the dying destitute. More than 20,000, people donate 1 rupee for us in a day. I want to enhance and expand this project in a bigger wayand I wish for at least 1,00,000 people to come forward daily.

19. What are some things that most people don’t know about you?

Most people will think that Auto Raja is getting funds worth crores from foreign countries,international donations, and he has a lot of money. He has become a big man. Peoplewill talk like that but the fact is, I am getting only 5-10% foreign donations;rest 90% funds are from Indians who are donating for this noble cause. I am managing with onlylocal support and leading a very simple life, and not a lavish one. I am staying on the 4th floor ofour building.It has a sheet roof, and I live along with all my people includingmy family, my wife and my three children.

20. What are some personal experiences that you can share with our readers about the people who are in your vicinity?

I want to welcome all the readers to our home and be a part of our family. You can come and volunteer and spend some time in serving these beautiful people.

Such beautiful thoughts and outlook on life. Auto Raja has lived a worthwhile life till now, and rightfully garnered the adjective of an ‘angel’. We wish him a lot of success for his noble mission, and also urge all our readers to be a part of this beautiful journey of helping others and sustaining and installing humanity. For more details about New Ark Mission India, visit their official website: https://newarkmission.org/