"And I will put my spirit within you" - Ezekiel 36:27 "Where two or three come together in my name I am there with them" - Matt.18:20 Testimony Br. Aravindaksha Menon Testimony of Br. Aravindaksha Menon as being delivered at Divine Retreat Centre located at Kerala, South India. Continued from the first page.......... All the four Gospels say- Jesus was crucified on a wooden cross by the Rulers (Jerod and Pilate) and the seers (Annas and Caiphas) Yajurveda XXXI:18, Rigveda X:90:16. “Thamevam Vidwanamrutha iha bhavathy Nanya pandha ayanaya vidyathe” This (sacrifice) is the only way for redemption and liberation of mankind. Those meditate and attain this man, believe in heart and chant with the lips, get liberated in this world itself and there is no other way for salvation too. Romans 10:9 “If you confess with your lips that Jesus is the Lord and believe in heart that God raised him from the dead you will be saved.” When I could come across all these verses, I got confused once again. I went to that Brahmin Guru again and told him “It’s wonderful.” Again he told me “There’s nothing to be wonderstruck. Every ancient scripture was one and the same. Hindus, Christians and Islam were all categorized later, all man made. The word of God was one, because God is only one. He asked me “Do you believe that God is only one?” I told him “ Yes, I do believe God is only one” Again he asked me “If God only one how can the Son God be several? It is also one.” I came back to my house. That day became an unforgettable day in my life. 27th June, 1992. All the day time I was restless. There was a strong fight going on in my mind. The fight between the culture I was born and brought up in and the truth I found out now from the ancient scriptures of the very same culture. I became totally restless. In the night, on my bed, I thought about Jesus Christ. Of course I knew I knew him before; there was a picture of Jesus Christ in my mind too. Jesus the son of Joseph and Mariam, born in Bethlehem, brought up in Nazareth, studied the scriptures of Jew religion till the age of twenty nine and a half, who tried to hold a riot against the King and the priests with the help of poor fishermen, caught the soldiers of the King, faced trial and killed on the cross. This was the image of Jesus Christ in my mind. This was the communist line of thinking about him. But on that night, for the first time in my life, I thought about Jesus in a different way; Jesus, the Son of God, who got sacrificed for the sins of the world. The result was wonderful. There were hymns in the Rigveda, the meanings of which I could not understand in spite of repeated readings. But when I could ascribe Jesus as the sacrificial victim and his crucifixion as the sacrifice, the meanings of those verses came so clear to me. Then I could understand what my Guru told me was correct. Jesus is the only Son of God. I sat up on my bed. For the first time in my life, I, a staunch Hindu, prayed to Jesus Christ. I didn’t know how to pray. I didn’t know the narration of prayers as given in the Bible. “Oh! Our father thou art in Heaven!” I didn’t know any such prayers. I just prayed oh! Jesus, come to me. I am in distress. Come to me, save me. When I prayed to Jesus, of course I don’t hesitate to confess before you now I kept my prayers to myself. So secretly and silently I prayed so that no one should hear. Especially my wife, who is lying beside me, sleeping, should not hear. It was rather shameful for me to pray to Jesus Christ. But one thing is there. I have come to the faith of Jesus Christ studying the Hindu scriptures. Not inspired by the Bible, not inspired by any Christian priest or friend. So what if my wife knows, she should know. But I could not think so at that time. Not because my wife also belonged to a Hindu family. No, that was not the reason. On the day of our marriage, my wife had made a peculiar request tome. She also belonged to a Hindu family like mine. But all her neighbors were Christians. Very orthodox Roman Catholics. In each and every family there is one priest and two or three nuns. So many of her classmates and friends are now studying for priesthood or to become sisters. Due to her close acquaintance with these families, from early childhood, she believed in Jesus Christ. Every day she prayed to Jesus. Every Sunday she goes to the church and attends the mass. I, being a staunch Hindu, should not object her practice; that was her request to me. I told her “ I am a communist, an atheist. I don’t have such faith. I don’t go either to the church or to the temple. But in my practice, I never object or question the faith of others. So you can have your own faith. I don’t mind.” She continued to be in that faith. She brought up our children also in the very same faith. She was telling me also to have faith in Lord Jesus. But I didn’t care. When i lost my job and when my family was put in to so much of distress, then again my wife told me “Believe in Jesus Christ, our family will be saved.” I didn’t pay any attention to her words; instead I went to the temples and worshipped the idols. When I come back from these idols, most disappointed, then again my wife would tell me “ Believe in Jesus Christ, our family will be saved.” Again I didn’t care; I went on being an atheist and I began to preach against God. Now on my own, studying the authoritative Hindu scriptures, I have come to the faith of Jesus Christ. What my wife has been telling me for the last eighteen years has become true, yes, but how can I admit it before her, because I am the husband and she is my wife. So I kept my prayers to Jesus to myself and secretly prayed to him. After praying for some time I retired to sleep. When I lay down to sleep, my wife who was supposed to be sleeping beside me stood me. She was not sleeping she was watching me. Silently she stood up and to the nearby room. There she had kept a small wooden cross for her prayers. She lit the candles, knelt down on the floor and tears running down her face she began to praise Jesus Christ. I got the meaning of that praise immediately. For the last 18 years this poor woman was praying for me and at the fulfillment of her prayers, why she is praising her Lord now, I need not go to any astrologer to find out. I could not lie don any more. I also went to my wife, knelt down beside her, and joining hands, we began to pray to Jesus. That happened to be the first family prayer in my house. Praise the Lord! The result of this prayer, answer to this prayer was instantaneous. In the same night I received the answer to my prayers. You believe it or not, I am a man who spent sleepless nights for over six years. Since I lost my job, since my family was put into so much of hardships, I cold not sleep for even a single night. Whenever I close my eyes for sleeping, the images of my two daughters come to my eyes. Then I could not sleep. Like some psychological problem this phenomenon haunted me every night, and I could not sleep even a single night. But on that night, when I prayed to Jesus for the first time in my life, I could get a long deep uninterrupted sleep for over 14 hours. Praise the Lord! What is the big thing about it? To get sleep for a night. Is it a big boon or blessing? No. But that sleep I got that night has some relevance and importance in my life. Before that I went to ever so many temples, I went to ever so many gods, I gave thousands and thousands of rupee as offering to them and I prayed to them. But none of these gods heard any of my prayers and gave me an answer. But on that night, when I prayed to Jesus for the first time in my life, Jesus immediately answered; “Relax, I am going to bless you.” I relaxed I slept. That’s the special relevance and importance of that sleep I got in that night. Since then, till now, what all blessings Jesus showered on me, I cannot explain everything in detail now. On 27th June,’92, in the last week of June I prayed to Jesus for the first time in my life. In the first week of July, next week, without my appeal, without any sort of follow up from me, even without my knowledge, the Govt. of India took a policy decision. All those who were dismissed from services by the former Govt. on political reasons, should be reinstated in service. I was reinstated in my old service, which I lost six years ago. My income was restored. The days of starvation in my life are over. Praise the Lord! Verse no. 31 chapter 16 of the Acts of Apostles tells us “You believe in Jesus Christ, you and your family will be saved.” I was convinced. I believed in Jesus Christ and I was saved, automatically my family will also be saved. Enough. God kept his promise, I was convinced. But within a few days, God convinced me one more thing. God keeps his promises letter by letter. If he has promised that you and your family will be saved , he means you and each member of your family will be saved. The second member of my family is my wife. As she was educationally much backward, she could not get a job. She was a simple housewife till the age of 36. As I lost my job, on somebody else’s advice and persuasion she took an agency of the L.I.C. Very well she knew she could not work because she was practically illiterate, and she expected me to work for her. But I did not attend to that work at all. It was against my prestige to go around and before others because everybody now knew I was jobless. My wife also could not work and we could not make any income out of it and we were living by selling out material possessions. Then everything was over, nothing was left behind for selling out. I told my wife “You start the work of L.I.C., I'll help you.” Jointly we began to work. But we began to work only after accepting Jesus as our Lord and Savior. Jesus was with us in each and every step of ours. Every bit of business we attempted to, turned out to be a success. Now my educationally backward wife is drawing a permanent monthly income of over Rs. 4700/- from the L.I.C. She has also been saved materially, not only spiritually. The third member of my family is my first daughter. She was born in a hospital run by nuns. As my house was close by, she was practically brought up in that hospital. As I told you before, some of the friends of my wife later on became sisters and they were working in that hospital. They were so fond of my child; she was brought up there by these sisters. All her childhood she was always seeing these sisters nursing the ailing ones. May be I think because of that, when she passed her pre degree, she told me she wants to be a nurse. I told her “No. I don’t like it. The work of nurse is not so good. You may study well and you will get better jobs.” But she was so determined and she appeared in the Medical Entrance examination so as to get an admission to the B.Sc (Nursing) course conducted by the Govt. Medical College. She did not get the admission. She passed the examination in 78th rank. But there were only 75 seats in the college. Arising vacancies were out of question and she was never called. Eight months passed and in the month of December ’92, we came here to this Divine Retreat Centre for a retreat. After the retreat we went back home and there was an order waiting for me from the Govt. medical College to the effect that my daughter also gets admission to the B.Sc (Nursing) course and that she should join immediately. I just wondered. What’s the reason for selection now? Almost one year has passed since the Entrance Examination. I went to the Medical College and inquired. The Principal told me “I don’t know why, I received an order from the Govt. last week. The number of seats allotted to his college is raised to 80 instead of 75. Just 5 seats additionally sanctioned.” The Principal does not know why? But I know why? I am a politician a communist leader. I know why the Govt. is making such small increases. Further I inquired and came to know, the 80th rank holder in the Entrance Examination was the daughter of an M.L.A. So the Govt. cannot but increase the number of seats so as to accommodate that girl. And when she was accommodated, automatically my daughter was also accommodated. On getting the admission I came to know that her future is secured. As per the present rules, she is going to geta job as tutor in the same Medical College. Or else she is always welcome in the big hospitals in India and abroad on completion of her present course. She has also been saved with a secured and bright future. The last member of my family is my second daughter. She was very good in mathematics. Even though she gets low marks in some other subjects she always gets very high marks in math's. So I wanted to send for an education in Computer Sciences whenever she is to be sent for a higher education. It was my desire, my dream. But all such dreams perished when I lost my job. Computer education in our state s a very expensive affair, I could not afford. It was at this time, in the month of May’ 92, just one month before we accepted Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, the Govt. of India introduced a new scheme. In this scheme, students selected through an Entrance Examination would be given an education in computer science till post graduation level. Those who are going to take that degree till the year 2005 are guaranteed with a job in Gazette rank in the Central service, in the ministry of Human Resources Development. With ardent desire and great hope I made my daughter appear in this Entrance Exam. She not only got no rank in the Examination but failed with a very big 0 mark. Nowadays the examinations are like that. Objective type question and computer valuation. Subjected to that valuation, she got only a ‘0’. As she got only a ‘0’ we lost that hope and we just forgot the matter. Only after 7 months we came here for the retreat. After the retreat we went back home and on the fourth day I received an order from this particular institute stating “Your ‘0’ mark daughter is also selected, she should report for joining immediately.” This time I did not wonder at all. I knew it might be a mistake made by the Institute. How can ‘0’ mark girl be selected. However I went to the Institute and asked the Principle. The Principle told me “It’s a long story.” This Institute is situated in a village area, in the village I am residing. The land, building and every facility for this Institute is freely donated to the Govt. by the village panchayat. But when the selection was made through the examination, not even a single student from the panchayat got selected. So Village panchayat passed a resolution and sent a request to the Govt. of India so as to give selection at least to a few students from the village. After seven months, the Govt. considered this request and gave orders to the Institute to recruit 10 students from the village also. Then the Principal took the old rank list to find out the top 10 students who appeared in the examination from the village and scored the top marks. Then only it was found out, only 10 students from the village appeared in the examination. So being the 10th one, my ‘0’ mark daughter was also selected. No other way. Now my daughter is studying in that Institute anticipating a job in gazette rank in the central service. She has also been saved with a guaranteed future. I need not worry about the future of my two daughters any more. I lost my sleep for over six years, whenever I thought about the future of my two daughters, in the agony, pain and helplessness of a father. But after my praying to Jesus Christ, within no time, Jesus told me “You need not worry about them. Their future is secure in my hands; not the future of your daughters but your future, your wife’s future, the future of everyone in the family, thereby keeping his word “You and your family will be saved.” My dear brothers and sisters, this is the wonderful experience, that Lord Jesus gave me on my prayers to him, which I had to share with you. I pray to Lord Almighty to give you also that wonderful touch of the blessed hand of Jesus Christ during this retreat itself. Thank you. Praise the Lord! And the Attainment.. God is one and absolute. The omnipresent and the omnipotent. The creator, Sustainer and Guardian of this universe. Everyone has concurred to this eternal truth, And then differ in vain? Why is it ‘Your God’ and ‘My God’? This dilemma of the novice, the wavering, Just at the threshold of faith, Remains sadly unsolved. And those who have taken possession of God As their exclusive right, Would dismiss you for a dullhead, Immature and ignorant. Think not, contemplate not! Take shelter under unconditional belief. And trust! In whom? “In what I say. In the path I usher you unto.” Here, confusion becomes worst confounded. It is this predicament that has instigated me to set out And seek my God on my own. Here, let me submit myself, mind, body and soul, to my Lord Almighty, who had revealed me His magnanimity and graciousness in all its splendour whenever I invoke Him. Let me acknowledge the God’s grace showered on me. To be born in an orthodox Hindu family Which facilitated me to learn the Vedas And Mythologies, Which in turn have guided me like a beacon towards this accomplishment of comparison. Click here to go to previous page ......