Life has been so kind that it lead me to My Lord and My God! Born of very orthodox parents from Tamil Nadu, I was taught to seek God and His intervention in my scheme of things. At home, the pujas, the homums, the japams, the srardhams and all the rest of it kept happening at regular intervals. The many festivals and feasts and their demands for new clothes and super food delicacies brought joy and happiness to me. The hard work of my dad, his anxiety and restlessness to fulfill our desires during those festivals and at other times enhanced his difficulties and lead to quite a suffering. We have heard that he was one of the richest during his school days. Slowly and gradually the properties began disappearing and with the death of my mother (when I was about five) he became a pauper. Until I took admission at the university, with a gap of about three years after my graduation, we suffered a lot. In retrospect, I can understand the kind of suffering my dad would have gone through and the feelings that would have squeezed his heart. But whatever happened, he used to spend money on several religious rites and rituals. He would even borrow and spend on such things. Unaware of the resultant sufferings and embarrassment, we all enjoyed the ceremonies and functions. The shame, humiliation and the mortification only further lead us to seek God for His intervention.
Though I hate affliction, misery, misfortune, distress, trials, tribulation, and suffering, they always have been loyal to me in the sense they teach me a lot. Without these friends I would not have been refined and therefore prepared to meet My Lord and My God.