July 9th is the birthday of UG.
A person named Venkat visited our home on this day.
Our conversation started at 10 a.m and continued for three hours.
It all began two
days before. He has read my blog recently and contacted me through e-mail – “I
have gone through your Jillellamudi posts and loved them. I wish to learn Sri
Vidya. I wish to live a life filled with multi-faceted wisdom, just like you.
But I have no clue on how to begin and go about it. Can you guide me?”
I replied: “Sure. Can you give me four reasons for your
interest in learning Sri Vidya?”
He replied:
1. I want to talk to the Universal Mother like I do with my family.
2. Nature has a lot in store. It has more secrets hidden than those revealed to the outside world. If I do not develop the right eye and knowledge to grasp it, I would forever miss these mysteries. I would like to witness the entire world vibrating with divinity.
3. I am extremely scared of snakes and evil spirits. Fear is always linked to death in some way or the other. I would like to overcome my fears and emerge as fearless. It has been my long-lasting wish to sleep alone in the cremation ground and hold snakes with my bare hands. I want to seek the help of Sri Vidya in turning me into a dare devil who isn’t scared of anything.
4. I do not want to live the mundane routine of earning, eating and ultimately dying. Without getting totally detached from the physical world, I would like to know through experience that the claims in our scriptures are indeed true and not a fragment of someone’s imagination.
For the above reasons, I would like to learn Sri
Vidya.
His approach was different, unlike others. He was not
asking routine questions about horoscopes, astrology, easy ways to earn money,
illness and disease - which I liked.
I replied – “I like your answers. Your display picture
is of Sri Ramana Maharshi. Did you not find from him what you are seeking?”
He said: “I found lot of peace in Ramana Maharshi. I
understood that this entire world is dream-like. Just like in the movie ‘Inception’,
I experienced a dream within a dream within a dream. So, I started questioning
the actual truth in this world. I now believe that everything is pre-destined.
My experiences may be preliminary because I’m naive. I lost interest in life
because of these thoughts. I could not look forward in life with the same
enthusiasm of a kid. It might be because of my lack of understanding or
knowledge. Sri Vidya is filled with intense energy and passion. Instead of
being either enthusiastic or despondent, I wanted to be both.
I have researched Sri Kavya kantha Ganapati Muni as
well. His soul was filled with Ramana Maharshi. At the same time, he pursued
Sri Vidya as well. After knowing this, I realized it was my path too. I
imagined knowledge as the soul and Sri Vidya as the colourful cloth adorning
it. Ramana Maharshi was akin to a spotless white cloth. I would like to
decorate it with colors using Sri Vidya. I want Ramana Maharshi but I also want
to try the practices done by Sri Kavya kantha.
The Sri Vidya that I aspire for appears like the sage Jillellamudi amma.
During my initial days of researching Ramana Maharshi, I wanted to quickly gain
knowledge and put an end to my cycles of birth and death and re-birth. But now
I believe that human life is very beautiful. I would like to experience it over
and over again in many births. I am very fond of this thought. Instead of being
greedy for my own salvation, I want to admire and adore the divinity and
miracles in God’s creation. This has been the recent trend in my thought
process.
I asked if he had read any of my books.
He replied: “No. I came across your blog yesterday
night. And I have been through your book samples over the net. I understood
that you follow a straightforward and scientific approach to spirituality
without blindly following unnecessary customs and rituals.”
I agreed and replied “I will be leaving Hyderabad for
U.S.A in three weeks. You may meet me before that”.
He agreed to come over and asked for my details and
time schedule.
I gave him my address and said “Please be here by sharp
10a.m. I appreciate people who are punctual.”
He agreed.
(To be continued…)
