Chellappa

Chellappa faithfully recited his prayers every morning. It was part of the family legacy. His grandfather was a guru and his family was part of the order of priests or Brahmin, the highest caste in India.

The soul’s destination

His grandfather’s death shook the ten-year old boy. Chellappa found no answers about the soul’s final destination so he flung himself into his studies. He wanted answers and started learning Sanskrit so he could read holy books.

“Swami, when I die, where does my soul go??” he asked in class one day.

Annoyed, Chellappa’s teacher told him read the Rig Veda, the oldest Sanskrit text, regarded as the holiest Hindu book. Chellappa was left to find answers for himself.

One day he read about the god Prajapati, who is known as “God of the people”?. Chellappa read that Prajapati took away the guilt of all mankind. Chellappa did not know any god in their temple that fit this description.

The mysterious voice

The priests had it with Chellappa’s questions and dispelled him from the temple. Disappointed and disillusioned, he started gambling, fell into debt, and was taken to court. He was also diagnosed with tuberculosis. He had no money for treatment and death became a matter of time.

One day at the railway station, he decided to jump off of a train. When Chellappa went to jump, he heard: “Whoever keeps his wrongdoings secret has no success; whoever acknowledges his faults and surrenders, finds God’s mercy.”? Eager to find the voice, he got off the train.

A large crowd was gathered. Chellappa stood at a safe distance, listening to a voice that rang over a loudspeaker. It was the same voice he had heard on the train.

The real Prajapati

The man was telling the story of Jesus, a god who had become a man, lived a simple life, and died an agonizing death. Chellappa was fascinated. Could it be that this god Jesus was the same as the Prajapati he had read so much about?

When the speaker asked if anyone wanted to accept Jesus, Chellappa ran to the platform. He had finally found his Prajapati.

Chellappa’s tuberculosis was healed and he worked his way out of debt. Fourteen years later he started his ministry to Indians and Tamils. Millions have been impacted by his teaching.

Take a look at your life. How would you describe it? Contented? Rushed? Exciting? Stressful? Moving forward? Holding back? For many of us it’s all of the above at times. There are things we dream of doing one day, there are things we wish we could forget. In the Bible, it says that Jesus came to make all things new. What would your life look like if you could start over with a clean slate?