“Smile is the most potent antibiotic for all the diseases of life.. Evil is the misunderstood wisdom of God.. Never renounce smiles. Success will never renounce you” – Bhagawan Sriram Sir – The God In Human Form
My name is Ashwini Karthik Jonnakadla, working with a MNC, living in Bangalore with my husband, Karthik Jonnakadla and our two daughters. My in-laws and parents, we all live together.
Not long ago, Karthik and I were both working in the same MNC, leading a near perfect life.. Vacations, getaways, beautiful own house, caring family, two wonderful children; we had it all.In 2015, my husband decided to pursue his startup dream, but things did not turn out the way he had envisaged.
We were naïve and probably not well prepared. Come 2016, we had exhausted all of our savings and with no startup success in sight, Karthik was completely demotivated. Like a free falling feather gets pulled down by gravity, he was totally bogged down by the negativity in his mind, depressed and listless.
They say people can snatch away everything from you, but your hope is a wealth no one can touch. This could not have been truer for us. What we thought was the darkest hour of our lives, made way for the brightest light- Bhagawan Sriram Sir was introduced to us in 2016 by Narrenaditya Sir.
It was a life altering moment for Karthik when he finally managed to converse with Aditya Sir (Narrenaditya komaragiri) he overcame depression and life took such a drastic change from there on that at every step, things only got better.
Did Sriram Sir weave a magic wand and make our life a so-called fairy tale yet again? No, we got a bigger gift.. We were taken into His fold, being led on a path where the journey seems more meaningful than the destination. But is it really 2016 when He entered our lives ??
Read on and you can decide
We began to build our own house in 2013. In 2014, we had a housewarming ceremony and every guest who came, spoke about amazing positivity in the house and presence of divine vibes. We felt a great sense of happiness, were thankful for the blessings and we moved into our new house soon.
Then 2015 came by where we were terribly shattered, but when we were inside the warmth of our home we always were at inexplicable peace. Sometime in 2017 we came to know about a startling fact about our house. An old lady who used to be our neighbor and was witness to the entire construction of our house had done something unthinkable for us, for our house.
While the foundation of our house was being laid, she had given ‘Srirama koti’ books to the workers to place each sheet in between the foundation stones, which was duly done without us even being informed. Who planned this divine design?
Do I need to say more for you to understand Sir entered our lives long ago, only we did not realize.
My obeisance to Sir for giving us the divine protection which has always kept us happy, healthy and safe. We first saw Sriram Sir, in person, in Hyderabad on December 24, 2016, during the first ever Global meet of Tirumalesa readers. It was an unforgettable moment for us. Sitting in the last row, tucked in a corner we were experiencing the whole event with deep joy within, but nervous excitement on the outside.
After witnessing the enthralling miracle during the question answer session where Sir held the audience captive, where He showed He is indeed God in human form, Daivam Maanusha Rupena, we were further drawn in to Him, like the people of Vrindavan were to their beloved Lord Krishna, enthralled and enchanted.
We then had the great fortune to be serving as the members of the EC team when the Tirumalesa Bhagawan Sriram Sir Global meeting happened in Bangalore in March 2018, in Chennai in January 2019, in Hyderabad in November 2019 and the recently conducted first ever virtual meeting of Sriram Sir associated WhatsApp group members.
I have always noticed some inexplicable energy when the EC team comes together to deliver on the global meeting. We are like an army of soldiers with complete dedication and sole purpose of serving the divine, thanking every opportunity that comes our way in this mission. Aditya Sir has trained us in this manner.. We put in meticulous efforts, as it must not be anything else for the Swayam Bhagawan.
One day,
When we were preparing for the meeting in March 2018, in Bangalore, Aditya Sir got a phone call from Sriram Sir Himself. During that call, He spoke of attention to detail and urged us to put meticulous efforts. He stressed a couple of times on checking the mike functionality. I was handling this portion of the event and Aditya Sir immediately cautioned me on this and asked for extra preparation.The day of the event came..
Grand hall, divine atmosphere, stunning decoration- eyes were filled with tears of joy when we entered the set up at 6.30 AM. But lo and behold, where was the mike! There were lapel mics, handheld mics but there was no podium mike – I was forewarned. We caught it right in time and the issue was resolved, by the grace of Sir.. ‘Sriram Sir is watching’, Aditya Sir said and we all had a great laugh.
I cannot even imagine the grand meeting without the podium mike! Sir saved us!! In instances more than one Sriram Sir has shown us that He is omnipresent, omnipotent and omniscient. My younger one always refers to Sir as the ‘jeji’ in Tirupati. She was all of four years when she said this and we knew Sir had shown Himself as Lord Venkateshwara to her..
But there is another story which took us by surprise.. I have a ritual of taking my daughters to the famous Nilgiri’s annual cake exhibition in Bangalore. This happens every December and in 2019 also, we were set to visit it. As we were getting ready, my younger one said, ‘Amma, Sriram Sir came in my dreams last night and said He will be at the cake exhibition waiting for me.’
I did not brush it aside as child talk but was extremely curious to know how this will unfold. On reaching the exhibition, calm and composed, she paused and stood still at a particular cake and kept looking at it as though in conversation with that.. I looked at her and then at the cake and then realized “she found her Sriram Sir there”.
That was a cake in the shape of a beautiful Idol of Radha Krishna . Seeing it, I too found my answer but please don’t ask me for what question. Bhagawan Sriram Sir for us is something words cannot describe. He is our cosmic father, a divine feeling, an exuberant sense of joy, our greatest teacher, incomprehensibly comprehensible..
We have placed our total faith and surrendered to Sir and like my daughters say, ‘when Sriram Sir is here, why fear’! We have the belief that He is watching over us, controlling our every move and has plans for us that are beyond our comprehension. The lock down due to Covid pandemic has given us many more comforting instances.. Karthik is now into travel business and his industry was the first and worst to get hit.
At every juncture when we needed it the most we have had an assurance from Sir that He is with us. Recently, Karthik was driving for an important meeting, Sriram Sir Himself called on his mobile, comforting him that when one door closes another one always opens and that he should not worry.. If God calls you, can you even remain composed, be in your senses? Delirious excitement is experienced by every nerve, every cell and every atom of the body.
Karthik was a free falling feather again but this time not with a sense of pain but with one of joy, with the knowledge that the supreme force is with us and nothing can take us down.
We bow down with understanding that behind a teardrop there is always a smile and at the right and ripe time, things always get better and we know not to expect anything in a hurry.. Just do our best and leave the rest to Him.
“For us there is only the trying. The rest is not our business”- T. S. Elliot
Thanks & Regards
Ashwini Karthik
https://www.facebook.com/ashwini.jonnakadla
