If there is one month when real action takes place in my life then it is the month of April. There is something very dynamic about the month of April when it comes to my life. May be the universe conspires to celebrate April fool’s month with me.

April, being the “vacation start” month, my memories from childhood are enormous. April has never let me down as I have grown. I got my first job in April, resigned the same next April. Even my second and third jobs ended in April abruptly. My mother and daughter both share their birthdays in April. In summary lot of good and not so good things have happened in April in last three decades. Just in case you are guessing I got married in April then you are wrong. (It’s beyond the good or bad after all, with marriage things just get ugly :P)

Going by the ritual, April 2021 decided to not let me down. If Covid 19 had to happen to us it had to be in April and yes it did. The month started with my mother falling ill and slowly infection transmitting to all of us. With Swamiji’s grace though, we all recovered at home which is a luxury given the situation in India right now.

This year, with Navadurga Sadhana right in the middle of April, things got a bit complicated. Covid symptoms were at its peak by the time navaratri started. I somehow used to manage the ailing family, my own health and time slot that I promised to the universe for the Sadhana. But this time I wasn’t alone. I had someone for company which motivated me to do my best.

Rewind to April 2020

While we were hibernating in Covid 19 lockdown from March 2020 to August 2020, there was Plethora of “Me” time at disposal after office work. I spent this time iterating on what all I could do with my life to make it “Grand”, to achieve more than whatever I have today. I started collating lots of ideas, proposals, pitch decks etc. I Spent lot of time studying new topics that I had never touched before. As always Swamiji decided to read my mind and came up with Walk The Dragon Program to further fuel my “ambitions and desire” to build something “Grand”. By the time Covid 19 was celebrating its first birthday in India, I had spent a year weaving plans on building the product I so wished to.

To be fair to myself, my plans were never driven by obsession for money or by popularity. It was always and still is about building something useful for the community, especially for children. Amidst all this, I had also been tracking the academic progress of few students in my immediate family and relatives. Things weren’t looking encouraging with 2 students in particular. For the last 3 years their results had only gone south. 2020-2021 session was even worse, both of them got promoted. With Grade 10 due this year for both, I felt this was the time I park my ambitions of achieving “more” and better invest my time in building future for someone who are on crossroads of their academics.

I requested their parents to send them to stay with me so that I can mentor them personally while managing my work from home. I had communicated to their parents not to expect X % of marks in Grade 10th due to this engagement but instead a holistic development in their personalities so that they are in a comparatively better position to make future decisions and perhaps even identify their respective passions. I believe the marks will eventually show up once we put in the right effort with the methods I had planned.

Irrespective of the grades for last 3 years, the kids are pure gold. Every child is, trust me. It is our conditioning, expectation and few habits that alloys with their purity and makes their shine wither away. I had planned quiet a few things as part of their daily schedule so as to enhance their academic performance levels and also to get them more engaged with life in general.

Unfortunately only one of them could make it to my home before lockdowns started. With Navadurga due to start, I introduced him to this beautiful sadhana and its benefits.

So, this time for Navadurga sadhana, I had, lets call him Student 1 for company. I somehow felt, mother divine has something beautiful planned for him and grace has just started to show up. This April, I decided to dedicate my next one year to mentor three students, with two of them needing attention with their education and one of them, aged eight, who is all set to be a child prodigy. One of them is staying with me at my home and two others are in touch via digital means.

Over the next few posts, I will be taking you through the tools and methods that I am using with these students to find a better version of themselves and at the same time not losing sight of happiness. This journey am sure will be all about discovering a sense of direction in life.

See you in the next post.

Have a Nice Day!