orn into a middle-class, Hindu Menon family in Ottapalam, a small town called in Kerala, I was the younger of two siblings. I had a fairly normal childhood. Temple visits and rituals were the norm from very early on. I used to love visiting temples, watching movies and reading Hindu mythology stories.
When I was in third grade, I also found my ‘Guru’ (to teach us the ways and means to reach God), in Mata Amritanandamayi, popularly known as "Amma". We lived next to her Ashram in Cochin. I used to attend the Balvihar - spiritual classes for children and really enjoyed them. As a family, we also periodically visited Amma's main Ashram in the district of Quilon. I loved going there to receive her ‘darshan’. It gave me a sense of peace and happiness.
Life went on in this manner until I graduated from High School and went on to University. While in college, I was introduced to a religious sect called the Brahmakumaris, who have their base in Mount Abu, Rajasthan. They had a unique and exclusive understanding of God and a form of meditation which I practiced for a brief period. I occasionally visited Catholic churches at Easter and Christmas time with friends and knew a few stories about Jesus.
In 2003, in my third year at Chinmaya Vidyapeet College, Cochin, I heard a friend discussing the Bible with one of my classmates. I found it very strange that someone would discuss a religious text in college.
Later I asked her the name of her church and her response further aroused my curiosity. I had never heard of that church’s name and found it strange that their services were in the YMCA. Probably to cut short my barrage of questions, she invited me to visit the church. And what really caught my attention was her statement - "If you come there, you could experience God". That was the first time anyone told me that I could ‘experience God'.
I went there the following Sunday and got a Christian friend of mine to go with me. The small congregation there was singing and worshipping God in a deep and intimate way. A sermon from the Bible followed and after the service, everyone stayed back and talked to each other. There was such warmth and togetherness there.
I did not have anything better to do on Sundays and decided to keep visiting the church every Sunday. Within a couple of weeks, during one of the messages, a visiting preacher said that Jesus was the only way to God. That did not sit particularly well in my mind. From childhood, I had been taught that all religions lead to God. I wanted to discuss this exclusive claim about Jesus with someone. I had a brief discussion with the pastor there who told me that God was ‘One’ and encouraged me to seek the Truth.
During this time, the friend who used to accompany me gave me Josh MacDowell’s book entitled ‘An Evidence that Demands a Verdict’. It was an engaging read and for the first time I understood how the Bible came to be, the uniqueness of the Bible amongst other religious texts, the uniqueness of the claims of Jesus Christ, the fulfillment of prophecies and the significance of Truth. Meanwhile, I also started reading the New Testament.
I gradually noticed that something was happening deep inside my heart. I was having an increasing thirst to read the Bible. I started devouring many pages in one sitting, reading and re-reading the stories of Jesus Christ and His life. As I encountered Jesus in the gospels (the accounts by four different authors of Jesus’ life on earth) and during times of worship and prayer, I was captivated and transformed. I had an overwhelming awareness of the hidden deceit and wickedness in my heart that no one knew. I had lived a lie for twenty years, hiding behind external good behaviour and self-righteousness I realized that the lies and hypocrisy on which I had built my life were not hidden from His eyes.
By this time, I already knew why Jesus, the righteous Son of God had been born on the earth. He had come to give his life on the Cross for the atonement of the sin of the world. Sin that included mine.
I had no choice but to seek God’s forgiveness through Jesus Christ. I remember crying like a child as I experienced His love and holiness.
Immediately, I also experienced a cleansing deep within me. I felt that I was born once again. I was filled with joy and felt a unique closeness with my Creator and Lord. I took a decision then to follow Jesus. My conversion came from within.
He has transformed me and given me a sure foundation on which to build my life. Although I had found a sense of peace and happiness from my former religious practices, the deepest issues of my heart had never been brought to light.
In coming to the True Light, Jesus, the darkness of my heart was exposed. And only He could remove that darkness and fill my heart with His Light. It is no wonder that He is called the Saviour of the world.
Life has not been the same since then. There was much opposition from home when I chose to follow only Jesus Christ. This was the first time in our family that someone was leaving our religion to follow a god not their own. Initially, my decision was an embarrassment to my parents and relatives. Gradually, though, by God's grace, most of them have come to terms with my faith. I am married to Blodwen and we have four beautiful children Prarthna, Vishwas, Arpan and Jeevan. We make our home in a place called Kachhwa in Eastern Uttar Pradesh serving the poor and marginalised through a 122-year-old mission hospital.
I love the fact that Jesus Christ who rose again from the dead 2019 years ago in Jerusalem, from a tomb not his own, continues to transform the lives of those who earnestly seek the Truth.
