The perception of a common man regarding a Police Inspector in India is that either he is synonymous with ‘haftha vasool’ or a hero who brings into book the antisocial elements. And there ends the opinion.
However, here is one Police Sub inspector who retired recently from service in Karnataka who is an exception  in Police force.
An intense devotee of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa,the best known saint of nineteenth century India, the Policeman Mr Ramakrishna Rao, an arts graduate from the Bangalore’s  prestigeous St Josph’s college has developed such a vast knowledge about epics like Ramayana Mahabharatha,Bhagavad Gita , vedas and upanishads that one can consider him as ‘lakho me ek’ in the police department.
Unlike other colleagues who were busy collecting fines for traffic violations and hafthas for allowing vehicles to be parked in the no parking zone near big shops and establishment even after their regular working hours, Ramakrishna Rao used to read books on Satana Dharma, Hinduism, and regularly attend the discourses at the Ramakishna mutt in Bangalore.
Quoting Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, he says, “When you meditate, go into the solitude of a forest, or a quiet corner, and enter into the chamber of your heart. And always keep your power of discrimination awake. God alone is real, that is to say, eternal; everything else is unreal, because it will pass away. As you discriminate in this manner, let your mind give up its attachment to the fleeting objects of this world. … Attend to all your duties but keep your mind fixed on God. Wife, son, father, mother — live with all of them and serve them, as if they were your very own. But know in your heart of hearts that they are not your own. “
In my over 4 decades experience as a Journalist, I had come across only two Police Officers – Mr B N Garudachar retired Karnataka Director General of Police who had mastered more than eight languages including Sanskrit, and Dr P S Ramanujum a prolific writer who also retired as the Inspector General of Police-who had an exceptional knowledge of the Great epics , vedas and upanishads, besides being multilingual speakers.
Like normal policeman, he could have made property, but the self  respect and devotion to god forbid him to go after them.
Mr Rao speakes so fluently both in Kannada and English and gives discourses that one would not believe that he is policeman.
Ask him any question pertaining to Vedas, Upanishads, or the great epics, Mr Rao  explains in details, the meaning of slokas in the language of the common man.
While Ramayana and Mahabharatha were scripted by Valmiki and Vyasa Muni respectively thousands of years ago, the Upanishads were handed down the generations by Rushi Munis.
The Upanishads are epic hymns of self-knowledge and world-knowledge and God-knowledge. There is no book in the whole world that is so thrilling, soul-stirring and inspiring as the Upanishad. The philosophy taught by the Upanishads has been the source of solace for many, both in the East and the West. The human intellect has not been able to conceive of anything more noble and sublime in the history of the world than the teachings of the Upanishads.
On Sanatana Dharma, Mr  Rao says,”Sanatana Dharma is by its very essence a term that is devoid of sectarian leanings or ideological divisions. This is evident by the very term itself. The two words, “Sanatana Dharma”, come from the ancient Sanskrit language. “Sanatana” is a Sanskrit word that denotes that which does not cease to be, that which is eternal. The word “Dharma” is a term that is only properly rendered into the English language with difficulty. Its approximate meaning is “Natural Law,” or those principles of reality which are inherent in the very nature and design of the universe.

Thus the term Sanatana Dharma can be roughly translated to mean “The Eternal Natural Way.”
Mr Rao agrees that the successive governments have not given encouragement for the propagation of Sanskrit from the primary school level due to politics.
The corpus of Sanskrit literature encompasses a rich tradition of poetry and drama as well as scientific, technical, philosophical and Hindu religious texts.