Every soul yearns for the light, and will find a way to grow toward it. No matter what the obstacles, the soul will find its way upward just as a blade of grass will sometimes grow through a slab of concrete.
What follows is taken from the journal of a young woman who lives in an area where it is nearly impossible for young women to find a quality education. For the sake of safety we will call her by her initial, S. Like that blade of grass, she found her way through difficult circumstances to join the online version of Ananda’s Living Wisdom High School led Nayaswami Nitai and other teachers. These excerpts, used with her permission, describe a small slice of her journey.
* * * * * * *
7th Feb. 2023: Today at 6:45 I had received an email from Sir Nitai. He asked me to introduce myself and how I found this school. Now it’s 12:17, and I am sending my response with so much anticipation. I will keep these words in my mind: “I won’t lose my heart and hope. I will remain hopeful since life without hope means nothing.”
7th Feb. 2023: 1:06 p.m. Yay! Hurray! I can’t express how excited I am. I am going to have an interview with Sir Nitai and Mrs. Kathy tomorrow at 10 a.m. my time. Although I am so much excited, I am not sure what will happen after the interview. Ah, if only I could go into the future, I would have loved to see what it looks like. Am I ever going to achieve my goals? Well, I hope so.
8th Feb. 2023: 9:50 a.m. I am a little anxious because I really want to get into school again. I miss how amazing it feels to study with passion. I better get even more ready for the interview. Just three minutes I have to calm my nerves.
8th Feb. 2023: 10:50 a.m. I can’t believe it; my interview was beyond my imagination. I loved how they made me feel valued. Oh my God, it was wonderful. Well, it seems unbelievable, but it is true: “I GOT INTO THE SCHOOL.” Haha, it’s amazing! It seems like I was wrong that I don’t deserve good things. Maybe good things will come eventually. I should start working on my application. P.S. My little sister will also join the Life Skill Course. It is wonderful to see her happy.
9th Feb. 2023: 12:39 p.m. I GOT ACCEPTED! Living Wisdom will indeed help me turn my dreams into reality. I am crying because of pure joy. This is a great feeling. I will work really hard because I want to make my sweet mother proud and fulfill my cute siblings’ wishes.
13th Feb. 2023: 8:50 p.m. Before my first-ever class at school, I was invited to the staff meeting. I really wanted to meet my teachers! Ah, this internet is so frustrating! This package of internet is really cruel.
27th Feb. 2023: 12:23. I really want to cry. Not only did I get into school, but I am also going to receive internet support. I am grateful for everything. My classes are absolutely perfect! I love spending the whole day doing my homework, actively engaging with what I am learning, and my extracurricular activities. Unlike the past, everything is fun now. It looks like I had truly lost my mind back then.
15th April 2023: It is very interesting. I was always yearning for graduation but now I don’t want to finish school sooner. I have a meeting with my dearest Sir Nitai about future plans. I know he will figure out a way for me to continue my studies. I am so grateful. Evening: I am applying to UoP. I am not very anxious, maybe because I believe good things will happen.
2nd June 2023: Last night I had my Self-Expression and Communication class. My teacher and classmates were bidding me farewell. They said things they had observed in me—I had never known I had those qualities. It is time to step into the next chapter of life.
15th June 2023: The first day of college class was indeed amazing!
30th June 2023: My dear Mrs. Mirabai and her kind husband helped me buy a laptop. As the previous owner of this laptop said, this laptop had brought him so much luck. Haha, I hope it does the same for me. It is more convenient and is very helpful. I am thanking you in my heart, my dear teacher. I hope you will feel how much you made me happy.
14th July 2023: 8:22 a.m. Today is a rare day that I open my eyes to the golden rays of the beautiful sun rather than starting my day with sharp words from a certain family member. Then, I saw an email that was unbelievable yet true. I was asked if I would like to work as a teacher assistant in World Religions.
1st August 2023: I received a message from Aryavan if I wanted to join EFL teacher training. I was more than interested in joining. I really want to discover why my teachers were working more on us to reach our highest potential than on the curriculum. At the same time, students in our schools have more wisdom. It is very intriguing.
6th Sept. 2023: First day of school. Now I come back to school as an assistant teacher. It is very exciting.
31st Jan. 2024: I got my first salary, $412. It feels so good to be financially independent. I will try even harder. I spend some of it on buying new jackets for all of my siblings and a dress for my mother. I also ordered pizza and chicken wings as per my little brother’s wish. I gifted a few things to my little, innocent, orphan students. So funny, but they wished I keep earning money so that I could spend it on them. I plan to save the remaining part of my salary for my education.
7th Feb. 2024: It has been a year now. Everything changes it is true. My life one year ago was much different from now. I am a college freshman with a CGPA of 3.95 so far. I volunteered to work as an English teacher in an online school to help my country’s sisters. At the same time, I am in the EFL training program and working together with Mrs. Kathy in the World Religions class.
* * * * * * *
This is a little longer than our normal blogs, but I doubt that you’ve minded. I’m sure that you’ve felt, as I did, that God’s love and light have found their way into your heart and soul.
In the love of God,
Nayaswami Jyotish
Listen to Jyotish as he first reads the blog, then expands on its meaning and messages for readers with behind-the-blog commentary. Subscribe to the podcast or download the audio recording by right-clicking here. Or listen to it here (11:58):
27 Comments
A blessing! Thank you for blogging this,the light in that person is shining! The Masters teachings being shared world wide. Thank you God and Masters!
I have been reading this blog weekly for a very long time and have received much blessings and inspiration from it.
But this article, really, touched my heart and gave me a fresh outlook on a reality so far from mine, yet near.
Good bless you, Jyotish-ji.
Dear ones,
After my praying and devotional meditation earlier on and now after reading this experience from our dear sister makes me confirm throughout life God is manifesting continuously through us, when we release our fears and embrace our dreams with hope, faith, gratitude and unconditional love ….then is when we can see and feel that God’s will manifest through us, around us and the interconnection that unite us essentially takes over our little self identifications and we overcoming something bigger than ever expected.
Our limited beliefs disappear and the abundance of life itself with God’s grace takes over our life lifting us above the ground in a constant ecstatic blissful state that we always can tap into it when the obstacles come back to us to overcoming them and grow as human beings into new layers of love consciousness to help to ascend the collective consciousness with our little acts of kindest around others.
So thank you so much for your persistent work spreading the truth among our fellow beings.
Much Love and blessings to us all.
Yours faithfully in love, always
Arielum
Master bless all.
Beautiful message and beautiful painting.
Thank you,Jyotishji!
Keep moving in light🌷A blessed share. Thank you🙏🤗
So heartwarming!
Lovely story, which shows how the Divine is “helping” if the student is open and ready. Thanks for sharing.
With Love from Aloysius
Inspiring blog🙏🕉️
Loved it! Pure Inspiration!
What a wonderful blog. It was a joy to read.
I am so moved by this young women’s words…what EFL (Education for Life) offers doesn’t seem so difficult…kind support, but for many it is hard to come by. We need to support our EFL schools with prayers and donations. Blessings
How wonderful. Thank you for posting this.
Well THAT was wonderful! Thank you, Jyotish, Nitai, S., & all the EFL teachers. 🙏
It is so important to share these stories as widely as possible to give hope to the whole world!
God love those good people doing this work.
Thank you so much for sharing this. Her joy, gratitude, enthusiasm and greatness of soul shine through what she wrote. She is such an example for all of us. We can’t begin to imagine the challenges she and her family face, or the ineffable joy she feels in her accomplishments in spite of difficulties.
Blessings to her and the EFL staff in their support!
Here is a talk link by Swami Kriyananda from Treasures Along the Path
Following the Highest Dharma
https://cdn.treasuresalongthepath.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/following-the-highest-dharma.mp3
Thank you for sharing this talk, Krishna.
I was deeply touched by this dear special soul and her account of this incredible journey. It shines a light so brightly for us all – encouragement, hope and inspiration. I think it is one of those diary accounts that could be shared widely – as well as the love and support of the wider team in response to her ‘energy output’ is beautiful!
Thank you for this special blog and sharing .
Remarkable! Thank you for sharing, Jyotish. The grass and concrete seemed a perfect simile. Long live Education for Life and the many souls it touches 🌈
Dear Nayaswami Jyotish,
That was wonderful. As a woman who is full of enthusiastic about learning, it was great and gave me lots of hope.
Thanks alot
Dear Jyotish,
This was one of the most inspiring blogs I have listened to. It brought deep feelings of hope for a world that needs to receive the light that is ever present. It also brought a deeper commitment to sharing the light in every moment to everyone I come in contact with.
I am so grateful for all that Ananda is doing to spread that light through tangible means to so many souls. Aum, Aum, Aum.
So beautiful! Inspiring story. The style of teaching she talks about is the way of the future for all schools. I would love to promote this school!??
Thank you for sharing! What a dear soul, I love teaching, and it’s so wonderful to see her evolution and her joy at learning. What a great opportunity; Ananda offered her a way up and out on many ‘levels.’
Namaste dear one.
Brought tears to my eyes! God bless all involved and the young student sharing here.
Your blogs were so inspirational. Amazingly, you’ve fought against all the difficulties life has thrown at you, and you’ve striven and persisted to grow and thrive.
I wish you all the very best.
Hugs!
Dear Nayaswami Jyotish Ji,
Thank you for sharing this account. Wow!
God is Love 🙏
Joy,
Prem