Nashik, the Guru, and Me

Washim, India/October 5, 1955 – “It’s a boy!” and so began my pilgrimage in this world.  After the death of my oldest brother and the birth of my sister, in Pune, I followed down the pathway of life.  Three more brothers were to follow me, all born in central India!

The vast Asian sub-continent was to be my home until I was in my teens.  Taking it all in… the sights, the sounds, the beauty, yes and sometimes even the poverty made for a rich and unforgettable childhood.  I received my education in Nashik, site of the Kumbh Mela.  Years ago, according to Hindu mythology, the gods and the demons skirmished above the clouds over a pot containing the nectar of immortality.  In the ensuing melee, a portion was spilled on Nashik.  Could it be that one day my pilgrimage to find  immortality would culminate in Nashik?

Arriving at Los Angeles International Airport in 1964 my culture shock began.  Awed by the freeways, my sister and I talked in the back seat of a Ford about the beautiful music we were hearing.  Concluding that it must be coming from the telephone lines outside, we learned later that radios were actually installed in automobiles!  I soon longed to return to the land of my birth.  It was back in India, this most intriguing and religious land, that I surveyed the scenes of holy men sitting in ashes, the cremation fires dotting the banks of the Godavari River, the  barefoot holy men strolling through the shoe store with cow dung jelling their hair.  One day, while gazing  out  of  the  window  of the old  Chevrolet, a  thought came into  my  mind …“How fortunate I  am  to  be  born into this family!”

There was a Guru  (teacher)  who lived many years ago, who also lived in a land where religion abounded.  He  told the religious pundits of His day, who also had the opportunity of being born in good religious families, that they “must be born again”.  Born the second time?  Was it not enough to walk 1000 kilometers in your bare feet in order to bathe in a holy river?  Was it not enough to deny yourself comfort and to live a life of pain?  Was it not enough to be serious about your religion?  Was it not enough to be born into a good family and attend church?  Was it not enough to feel that your karma was good?  Sadly enough, I found that my present status did not prepare me for eternity.  This Guru (teacher) told mankind long ago, “It is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.”

He also taught:

        “You  must  be  born  again.”    It  was  in Nashik, site of the Kumbh Mela, that I prayed and met this teacher, Jesus Christ, early one morning.  He said to me as He is saying to you,

         “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

         “And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die.”  

Yes, I did find truth and immortality in Nashik, India in the person of Jesus Christ.  I was born into my new family in the middle of India.    He was calling me the whole time to be a part of His family and He calls you today.    Now I make up part of two families. 

Are you becoming weary in your quest for God?   Meditate  on the words that Jesus spoke  to you  in Matthew 11:28-30  –  “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

Brother Jared

Jesus is so much more than a Guru (teacher).  He is “the Word”.  Discover who He is in John 1:1-14:

1. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

2. He was in the beginning with God.

3. All things were made through Him, and without    Him   nothing   was  made  that  was made.

4. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.

5. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

6. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.

7. This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe.

8. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.

9. That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.

10. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.

11. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.

12. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God,    to those who believe in His name:

13. who were  born,  not of blood,  nor  of  the will of the flesh,  nor of the will of man, but of God.

14. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.