!!!Om Sri Mahasimhaya Namaha!!!

Bhagwan Sri Krishna is deeply entrenched in my heart since childhood. I grew up listening to His Leelas and enjoy every aspect of Him. As a child, I accompanied my father to the Parthasarathy Swami temple in Triplicane, Chennai, quite often and on many occasions felt blissful in that ambience, soaking in the vibrations.

Over the years, I have been blessed to have Lord Krishna’s darshan at various temples across India. Among them, I feel my deepest connection in Guruvayur and it is my most favourite of all His Shrines. I still remember, as a 5-year old, I used to find my way into the inner premises of the temple for His darshan and would quickly come back for another, and another ending up having many darshans. The priest in the sanctum sanctorum would ask my name and offer prasadam expressing his fondness to the little child he saw eagerly receiving it each time.

In Guruvayur, there is powerful, albeit fierce, image of Lord Narasimha (One of the avatars of Vishnu – half lion and half man) that always captures my heart. Narasimha avatar is the iconic symbol of hope against odds, victory over persecution and annihilation of evil. It was the shortest avatars of Vishnu in terms of time span. He came for a specific purpose to declare that, “God permeates every little atom”. Most people’s understanding of this avatar is that Narahari manifested to protect Prahalada. My perspective is that God can very well protect us without ever having to take a form and did so only to prove this point.

If one reads the story of Prahalada, there are several instances when Prahalada’s asuric father Hiranyakashipu tries to kill him and he is saved each time by the Lord without His physical presence.  Finally, when Hiranyakashipu thundered, “Where is your lord? Show me your Lord. Is he in this pillar?”, Prahalada calmly asserts “He is everywhere, from this pillar to a speck of dust.”

The enraged Hiranyakashipu breaks the pillar with his mace which is when the incredible manifestation takes place to proclaim that God is indeed omnipresent and those who support malevolence will be annihilated reinstating that evil can never triumph over good.

Satyam vidhaatum nija bhrutya bhaashitam

vyaaptim ch bhooteshwakhileshu chaatmanaH

adhrushyataatbhuta roopamudhwahan

stambhe sabhaayaa na mrugam na maanusham..

To prove that the statement of His devotee Prahlāda  was substantial, To prove that the Supreme Lord is present everywhere, even within the pillar of an assembly hall—the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Hari, exhibited a wonderful form never before seen. The form was neither that of a man nor that of a lion. Thus, the Lord appeared in His wonderful form in the assembly hall.

God can take many forms and one such is Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. Being born in a spiritually oriented family, I was exposed to Sathya Sai very early. Bhagwan has been such an integrated part of our life that he feels like a family member. What Narasimha was to little Prahalada, Sathya Sai Baba, is to me. I am not equating myself to Prahalada but highlighting Lord’s presence can be felt, even as a child, in the spiritual path.

In 2016, I decided to switch from a software engineering role to data science (artificial intelligence) after eight years in engineering roles. It was a tough call because I had to learn statistics from the basics, not something I had a lot of prior formal education in. Deep inside me, I knew it was going to be a challenge. I was living in Chennai then and had to go to Bangalore frequently for the new assignment.

On one such visit, I felt that things were getting a little dicey and wondered whether my switch over to data science was the right decision. I get into this kind of confused state of mind very rarely and almost always during such situations, I have seen Baba extending His grace.  Within seconds of that thought coming in, I saw was a huge picture of Sathya Sai Baba with the words “Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning”.

That was more than a green signal for me to take up the new role. A few months later, I casually applied for Business Analytics and Intelligence course at Indian Institute of Management (IIM). It felt great to know that, I was one among fifty students who were chosen from thousands that had applied. I thanked Baba silently.

2017 was a hectic year. I was juggling work and studies, traveling every weekend to Bangalore to attend the course and again get back to office in Chennai on Monday. The one thing that made it seem easier, was staying at my sister Sathya’s house in Bangalore, while doing the course.

During one of the visits to Bangalore, the night before I left for Chennai, I had a vivid dream of a huge lion knocking at the door.  While I was scared stiff, he was so friendly, studying data science with me, helping me with the solution, wearing my spectacles and working on my laptop, cracking silly jokes to bring some smiles during my serious preparation. I knew it was divine play that was guiding me. In the morning, I told Sathya about this funny dream and she narrated her dream about Lord Subramanya the same night. The timing was such that we could relate to each other’s experience. When I shared this dream with my father, he said “Lord Narasimha is always with you and be assured that success is yours”.

Now, let me confine myself to give a little background about the sequence of events that unfolded before Mohanji became an integral part of my life.

Little did I realise that Baba’s words of higher learning meant not only IIM but a lot more, which I discovered later. I had no clue that Mohanji was coming into my life very soon, although my dad was connected to Him since 2015. I met Mohanji for the first time in December 2017, at a Shirdi Sai Baba temple inauguration near Chennai. It was a very beautiful experience for me.

In that meeting, my parents said, “Mohanji, we are planning to move to Bangalore and would like to take your blessings”.

He looked at us, smiled and immediately replied, “I am also coming to Bangalore.” I did not know the profound impact that these few words would have on my life. Like the lion in my dream, Mohanji simply pulled me into the foundation, gave me a role on the management and has guided me ever since.

I completed my IIM data science course successfully, at the top of the class, with His blessings and was recognized as the “Best Student of the Year”. When I thanked him, he said, “You deserve much more for your sincerity and dedication. Congratulations and wish you much more recognition in the coming days. Your highest strength is your sincerity. This will bring you glory.”

I always treasure these powerful words in my heart because it gives me all the courage to move forward in whatever I take up. Much as I am confident in my abilities, I am also conscious of my own limitations and frailties when faced with challenges and draw strength from the inexhaustible reservoir of Mohanji’s grace and guidance.

We have had the incredible privilege of hosting the first two Acharya level 1 trainings at our home. My sister, Sathya, was part of the second one in January. During the training, when everyone was deep in discussion about Datta, Nath and Shiva, suddenly Narasimha avatar flashed in Sathya’s mind and she wondered how would Mohanji be connected with Narasimha, the deity I connect naturally to.

Just as thought flashed in her mind, Mohanji addressed Rajesh– “Kamath, Where is the Ahobilam blog? Such blogs should keep flashing and not lie hidden!”

Sathya felt as if she could not have had a better answer as Mohanji added, “Look at me, I am sitting on the Simhasana!” pointing to the chair that he was sitting on.

As I look back at the sequence of events, it fills me with awe and amazement. As my father predicted, the Lion headed Avatar has been with me all along!!  The Lord that talked to me, from a picture in the temple at Guruvayoor, as a child, has been protecting me in the form of Sathya Sai and now continues to do so as Mohanji. The mane of the lion is distinctly identifiable in each of them!!

Just like the Lion was acting out a drama in my dream, Mohanji is continuing the divine play of the Lion on earth, protecting us day and night. With His Grace, more mysteries will be unraveled.