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April / May 2017

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Photos: Courtesy of Sarada Chiruvolu 42 wholelifetimes.com I n most external ways, I am no different from the billions of people who share the earth today. Although I was born in India, a country that has long been associated with ancient spiritual traditions and mystical practices, I was never involved in any spiritual tradition or practice while I was growing up or any time during my adult life. I was 14 when I left India and made the United States my permanent residence. It was a total cultural shock and I had diffi culty adjusting to the new environment, especially the educational system. Having lived my formative years in In- dia, my Eastern cultural roots and ideals had been well de- veloped before I came to the West. My way of thinking and my likes and dislikes were fi rmly in place by then. I have always believed that it is important to maintain strong moral and eth- ical virtues, as they lead us to- ward higher consciousness and spiritual growth. As the time passed I had com- pleted all my studies, worked for many years with various pharmaceutical companies and other medical industries, got married, and raised a family, all while leading a normal life. My journey started with my husband sustaining a heart attack at a young age that prompted me to learn Rei- ki healing. This led me into meditation, which then be- came the driving passion of my life. Soon that took me to a deeper sense of wonder about the existence of an inner world. After some time, I began to feel that something was missing and a yearning for something more than what I was doing. I wanted to fi nd out what was wait- ing for me and fi nd out what this unidentifi able long- ing was. I went on feeling this void despite the fact that I had everything. Shortly after, there was a radical shift that took place in my mind regarding the way I viewed life. I felt an inexplicable call, orchestrated by a deep yearning within, pushing me along on a journey of some kind. I named it "Divine Calling." An intense spiritual transformation transpired and thereaf- ter a dramatic change took place in my interests, my habits, daily duties, and in anything that the world had to offer. My energy was withdrawn from everything and I preferred to be by myself, spending more time focused on my meditations. I attended spiritual discourses and visited sanctuaries and places of worship. I read a wide variety of spiritual books in search of answers and had a yearning to associate with holy and enlightened beings. This rapid decline in zest for everyday life was enough to make me quit my job. I knew deep down in which direction I was being driven. My unexpected departure came as a surprise to many of my coworkers and man- agers. The decision was so strong. There was no wavering or doubt in my mind. I felt a deep drive toward something more than my routine life. My journey entailed the discov- ery of our true nature that dwells within each one of us and how that enlightened consciousness navigates our given life thereafter. I had fulfi lled all my routine du- ties, such as having a family, ca- reer, and social life, whilst I moved through ascending states of con- sciousness and experienced the highest levels of spiritual fulfi ll- ment. In essence, I developed a deep understanding of life and its purpose. My experience of Self-realization was not something I had preplanned, re- searched, or worked on for years before it occurred. Instead, I felt as though it was preordained and, in a sense, im- posed on me — a journey meant to be completed. Sarada Chiruvolu is the author of Home at Last published by White Cloud Press. Visit www.homeatlastbysarada.com backwords FINDING HOME By Sarada Chiruvolu From a fast track in the pharmaceutical industry to a divine calling…

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