One of the very enlightening affairs that took place just before the Diwali break was a visit by our alumni, Sachinbhai Verlekar (now a student at IISER Pune) and students from Shiv Nadar University.

Sachinbhai shared with us his experiences at IISER, his journey at Atmiya Vidya Mandir and what helped him achieve all that he has so far. He said, “The place we end up will not be a good one but a perfect one, as it is chosen by Swamiji Himself”. The three important points that helped him the most were:

  • Waging a war,
  • Remembering whatever was taught at AVM and
  • Swadhyay Bhajan.

Waging a war means to eliminate anything that distracts us and takes us off track. “DESTROY WHAT DESTROYS YOU”. There should be only one thing in our mind – “I want to please my parents and God”, and success will certainly follow our footsteps. To avoid being distracted, we must never sit idle because an empty mind is a devil’s workshop.

Remembering what was taught at AVM is a very significant aspect. We must always have a teacher as a friend with whom we can share anything and everything we want. And it is not just a teacher that can help, but also friendship with a saint is very important as they are the ones who can teach and inspire us to live according to God’s wish and follow the guidelines given to us by Swamiji for our benefit. They help us to remove all negativity from within.

We must not let our surrounding activities kill our enthusiasm. One must always remain positive about himself and have faith that we have done our part and now God stands with us to lead us further.

Sachinbhai also added that he was only able to do so with the help of the most powerful tool all of us possess – ‘Swadhyay Bhajan’. He emphasised on the importance of Bhajan. It not only helped him to stay focused but also overcome his difficulties.

At the end of each day we must reflect on how we have spent the day, do Bhajan and ask God for forgiveness if we have lived inappropriately, thank Him for the gift of life that He has given us and ask for strength to become a better being and live life to the fullest of our potential.

Also, AVM alumni of Class of 2016, Arpitbhai, Uttambhai, Utkarshbhai and Yakshbhai who are currently studying at Shiv Nadar University shared their experiences so far and motivated us all to use our time wisely while at AVM.

Written by: Alap Patel and Chirayu Agarwal (11 Science)