Auto Raja went from a life of crime to feeding 700 people every day
Every time we step out of our comfortable homes, we see children and adults begging to make ends meet. Many turn their heads away, some spare a little change but only a few actually try to spend some time to listen to them and lend a hand. One of them is T. Raja (AKA Auto Raja)49, who sagely says: “We should not wait for another Mother Teresa to come from a foreign country; we should help each other in times of need.
Auto Raja began stealing, drinking and gambling from an early age. When he stole from his family, they disowned him and kicked him out. He lived on the streets for two years like a beggar, sleeping on the pavement, among garbage bins and rabid dogs that constantly whined around him. He moved from Bengaluru to Chennai and continued his old ways. He got caught for his crimes, and was sent to jail. It was during this time that he began seeking the purpose of his life.
“What I do is God’s work and I am just an instrument in his mission” says Raja, who has rescued over 10,000 beggars and destitute from the streets of Bengaluru in the past 20 years. It was nearly three decades ago in the dark cells of the Central Prison in Chennai that as a 16-year-old inmate that Auto Raja underwent a transformation from a rogue to a saint. “I was a trouble-maker at home and outside. I was into thievery, street-fights and petty crimes. When I landed in the jail, I realised the miseries of life there. That’s when I sat in prayer one evening and vowed to reform and lead a sincere life,” recalls Raja.
After leaving prison, Raja came back to Bengaluru and asked his family to help him build a new life. He began driving autos and taxis to support himself. He even worked as a bodyguard to the autorickshaw union leader.
He had found his purpose and this realisation led to the formation of the New Ark Mission of India (NAMI) with the aim of helping the dying and destitute.
NAMI came into being in1997. His first rescue was a half naked lady, covered in fleas with maggots chewing on two of her toes. He got her home in his auto and from there began his journey. He would pick up the destitute from the streets and bring them home in his auto. He would then shave, bathe and clean their wounds, provide them with new clothes and a filling meal. Thus, NAMI began functioning in a 5’ x 6ft passageway outside Raja’s single room house.
“It’s not easy approaching the destitute. Passers-by suspect me of luring these people into hospitals and stealing their organs. The destitute are taken aback because they have never been approached by anyone before. In fact, they are only used to people throwing stones at them, and abusing them,” says Raja.
“Some are so weak that they can barely move. Those who manage to, have to compete with street dogs over leftovers in the trash. Most of them, rejected by their families, are living the most inhumane lives. When I come across such people, I bring them to the Home of Hope, a hospice under NAMI.”
Born out of compassion and empathy, this home now feeds 700 people, three meals a day. It provides medical care, shelter and education to homeless and destitute children. It survives on donations from the public and gets no support from the government.
The home finds it difficult to meet the needs of food, clothing, shelter, education and medication for its residents. Raja has managed to acquire an ambulance to pick up the sick from the streets, but he knows that there is a long way to go.
‘The limitations don’t distract me from the real focus of the Home of Hope,’ he says. His life’s focus is to ensure dignity of life and death. He gives special care and attention those who die homeless on the streets are taken to the home, bathed and then cremated. What more can we ask for?
One of the remarkable services offered here is that every effort is made to fulfill the last wish of a dying person. Some residents, in their final moments of life have desired to eat an apple; some have asked for a good meal while others pray and peacefully leave the world. Raja considers it an honour to be able to care for these people even if it was in their final moments of their life. Many residents of the home die in Raja’s arms. Such noble service is truly uncommon in today’s world.
Watch the Ketto video highlighting the great work Auto Raja is doing below
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