I have always felt connected to Sri Sri, even before meeting him. After my 12th grade exams, I visited the Art of Living International Center in Bangalore with my family. At that point in time, my mind was very unstable and confused because even though my exams had gone fine, I had another big decision in front of me: what field should I major in? What field do I choose to establish a career in. To top it all, my result date was rapidly approaching. Several people had given me guidance about which field of study to choose, which confused me further. I had decided to simply ask Guruji what to pursue because I knew that would be the best guidance. There were way too many fields, and many people for guidance who had different opinions about each course. I decided to follow what Guruji would say, that would be the best guidance ever. We went to the secreteriate to request for an appointment to meet Sri Sri. We were told to come back later. This went on for the next three days. It was holiday time and there so many courses going on, including one taken by Gurudev himself, so he was very occupied. Plus, there were so many devotees who also wanted their time with him. Though I perfectly understood the situation, it was heartbreaking for me that after reaching the ashram, I was not being able to meet Guruji. Then, one day we were walking around the old ashram to go to Sumeru Mantap for our meditation. We passed by a beautifully decorated hall with essenced flowers, people were dressed in heavy colorful clothes. We understood a wedding was taking place here. We just stood there admiring the beauty of it all. A man standing near the hall spotted us and invited us to the wedding. We didn’t know at the time but he was the father of the bride. He was a fine gentleman who lovingly called us and told us to attend the ceremony. He said it meant more blessings for his daughter. We couldn’t resist his kindness and decided to go in. The groom was welcomed in at the beats of drums. After some time, the relatives of the couple were standing at the door waiting to welcome somone. In few moments two cars arrived. In the first one was Bhanu Didi, who entered the hall. We all took her blessings. She truly looked radiant and divine. We heard people whisper around that Guruji would also be reaching soon. I felt so joyous that I would get to see him. He was welcomed with a garland and a traditional Jaipuri head gear. He spent time with the couple and blessed them. As he was preparing to leave, I quickly took the opportunity to meet him. I asked Guruji the question that was bothering me: which field of study and career is the right one for me. He smiled and said, “the choice is yours, the blessings are mine.” While it wasn’t a definite answer, it left me very satisfied. I left with the feeling that now only the right things will happen. He would take care of this. During kriya with Gurudev, my intuition told me which course of study I should take up. When I reached back home in Mumbai, the admission process began. Luckily, I got through all of the colleges and courses I had applied to. Ultimately, I made my choice and it worked out extremely perfectly. It was all done with so much grace. I received such clarity of mind after meeting Guruji. It was all that I needed and he knew it. Jai Guru Dev.
- Karishma Khanna