My Stay in Sri Sharada Math : Part 1

My infinite salutations at your divine lotus feet Swamiji 🙇‍♀️💐 Immense gratitude for everything 🙏🙏

Inspite being born to a very orthodox brahmin family my father is a borderline atheist, never did any pooja, no Gayathri only janayu as a symbol. Before retiring in the night, everyday, he would say ” Srihari Mukunda Murari Keshava Achuta Ananda Govinda Govinda Govinda!!”  This was the only mantra I heard from him!!😊 Coincidentally (?) I too started saying SriHari without my knowledge later in my life. My mother would getup 4 in the morning and finish her pooja even before any of us woke up. Basically I was not exposed to much of spirituality or even the rituals for that matter.

For many years, God for me was someone who gets me out of unwanted situations, who helps me in exams by setting easy question paper etc.  Not sure if I really believed in His existence, but still I would bribe him with 1rupee, 2, 5, 10 and even 💯 rupees based on seriousness of situation that I want to get out…

After clearing engineering, by bribing God more than my engineering fees😀 I was at home preparing for interviews. One day accidentally I came across BhagwadGeetha book at home, munching chips or something I started to glance through it!. When Vishwaroopam part came, I was so surprised and reread it couple of times, first time I felt God may be true.( May be because Sanjaya saw it!!!!). This was my first real thought about God. That small BhagawadGeetha book has somehow stayed with me till date…

Few years passed,I was lost in the world again,  one day one of my colleague suggested me to read biography of Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa. I never thought reading his biography would be life transformation experience for me. It used take 1 hr to reach my office, i would read it in the office bus while traveling, and by the time I reached office my eyes would be red because I would have cried throughout. I decided I should renounce and join a math. 

I started to visit Sri Sharada math, seeing all the white and orange sarees , I was all excited, I was seeing myself as one among them. Meantime I got initiation from Atmasthananda Guruji🙏🙏, everything was perfect. There was one hitch though, I had crossed age limit to join the math. But I was not ready to give up. I used to visit  blore Sharada math often, head of math was very affectionate towards me, she said call the Sharada math in Calcutta and they will allow you to join here. I called and got  the permission to join the math.

Now next step was to declare my renouncement to the family!!. I was in blore and parents were in Mysore. I called my father and told that I am resigning the job and joining the math, he was not much shocked, I had given many other such shocks to him, he had become to immune to my sudden shocks. Knowing my impulse nature, he said, “Don’t leave the job, it is difficult to get one later, take a month leave and try whatever you want to do. Spirituality will be more challenging inside an organisation than outside.” For a change I agreed to his advise!

I was working in Hewlett-Packard at that time, my project lead also gave similar advice and I decided to try a month stay in Sharada math, in my mind I was thinking I am not coming back!!

Meanwhile my mother took my horoscope and ran to a family pandit, he said don’t worry she will come back within a month, my mother was relieved 😔 though she didn’t tell me anything then.

I was all set, got the leave approved for one month, permission from math though I had crossed the age limit, permission from home and I was just a step away from enlightenment….

Some clearance and some more preparation I am joining the math very soon… Stay tuned!

Jai Sri Hari 💐🌺🙏