Mata Annapurna Ashrams and Schools No child will sleep hungry in India. No child will grow up without proper education.       How the journey began  A Spiritual Quest  51 years ago a 9 year old boy had a question     This photo had always been in our home. I had stood before it and prayed to it a thousand times. But nothing like this had ever happened before. I was 9 years old. One day when I was standing in front of Bhagavan's photo ready to say my prayer and suddenly there was a question in my mind.  Shankar Bhagavan is meditating on whom?  In that one question,  there were several questions.  Who is higher than HE? HE is GOD. HE has everything. Why does HE meditate? What does HE need?   The question excited me. It energized me. I felt happy like I had found something precious.   My father and I, we had a great thing going. We were buddies. I could talk to him about anything, ask him anything. He always explained everything in great details. He had taught me how to do my own thinking.  I thought about this question for several days. Then I asked my teacher. He said, "Oh, artists just draw pictures like that." That didn't satisfy me so I asked the Pujariji at the Mandir. Somehow my question made him very happy. He kept looking at me in a special kind of a way. I couldn't understand that look but it felt warm and loving. Finally, after a very long moment, he said, "Son, I don't know the answer. I'm doing puja in this Mandir for all these years, but this thought never came to my mind. You're still a small child and you have this thought. You're blessed." I was talking to other people because my father had explained to me that discussing our thoughts with other people helps our thinking. Anyway, when I sat down with my father, we had a long discussion. He told me, "Hold on to this question. Keep thinking about it. When you think, you will come up with more questions. Think about the new questions and that will produce even more new questions. Keep thinking. This is a never ending quest. No one can ever understand everything. Some answers you will find soon, some answers will take a very long time and some answers you may never find. But don't ever give up. The thinking will enrich your life. The more you think, the more you will benefit."   It takes only one seed to plant a tree and no one can tell how many fruits that tree will bear.   I am blessed that my father planted that tree. As the tree grows, deeper go the roots. 51 years of thinking and still hungry for more. Now the desire is to explore my questions with others who may have taken similar journey and to learn from their thoughts and experiences and in the process of my own quest, to help others explore their questions.  This is my father, Shri Haridas Thakersy Sampat,  my best friend, my Guru,  my source of inspiration and strength. This is me      Back to Home Page Contact Us   © Copyright 2001: Ramesh Haridas Sampat. All rights reserved.

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