By Sau. Sri Sreya Gudigandla (Age: 12) (Taken from Sri Simham Issue 3)
The word PSLE itself gives primary students a chill down their spines, and it was the same for me as well!!
It was August 2021, and it was my PSLE year. Every thought about the examinations would make me nervous. I was worried about how I would score well on such a tough examination. I was very stressed and anxious, but little did I know that Perumal and Andal were going to sail me through this journey effortlessly and smoothly.
My family always eagerly wait for Andal and Perumal to visit our house every year. As usual, last year my family, including me, were so excited to have them at our house. Finally, the wait was over, and that day arrived. One fine day in August, midafternoon, Sri Mukund Swami, Krupa Mami, and my father carried Perumal and Andal into our house. They were shining as bright as the stars in the sky, and our whole house was illuminated by their presence. I was mesmerised by their beauty and the smile on Ramanuja’s face, and was excited to have them.
After their arrival, every morning I would recite prayers and offer milk to Divya Dampathi and Ramanuja. I was very happy, having such an opportunity to have them at our house. I also prayed to them every day to help me with my PSLE examinations.
During their presence at our house, one day while we were returning from an event in Sri Mukund Swami’s car, I asked my father and Swami can Divya Dampathi could stay at our house till my PSLE exams. Sri Mukund Swami mentioned that the next Bhaghawatha are eagerly waiting as well, so by the beginning of September have to move to the next house. I consoled myself because they had to bless another house also.
Without my realisation, days passed quickly, and my prelims were nearing.
I did prepare well, but I was not confident that I would do well. My teachers and principal always said that Prelims would reflect the final score of PSLE, which made taking this exam all the more scary. Nevertheless, I wrote the examination and hoped the best would be uncovered for me by Divya Dampathi.
Very soon, the results of my prelims were out. I was surprised to see that I did very well even though I did not give my hundred percent. On that day, when I returned home from school and was passing by Perumal’s room, I noticed a nice, gentle smile on both of their faces. I stopped for a moment and looked at them. Then it struck me that it was none other than Perumal and Andal who had helped me to do well. I was happy and grateful towards them. This motivated me to work even harder and give my best for PSLE. My faith in Perumal increased day by day, and I was determined to pass PSLE with flying colours. I started to see improvement in my practice papers, and my scores for every subject gradually increased.
Post my prelims, days flew by quickly, and PSLE was nearing as well. I was trying to memorise as many things as I could and correct mistakes which I had made previously. Studying for all four subjects at the same time was very hard, and all of the examinations were back-to-back, which gave me even less time to rest and revise for the next exam. Time was not on my side.
All bad thoughts started to fill my head thinking about whether I score less, but every day, looking at Perumal, Andal and Ramanuja, chanting Slokas boosted my inner strength and gave me enough confidence, which made me continue to work harder with faith in Perumal.
During this time, whenever I felt scared, I used to look at the smile of Ramanuja and would forget my fear.
A month later than that, PSLE was finally over, and the results were supposed to be revealed soon. I was most worried about the Mathematics score as I wrote the paper poorly, but at the same time, I felt like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders, as I didn’t have the stress of studying for exams anymore. By then, it had been almost 3 months since Perumal and Andal had been blessing our home, and ideally it was time for them to visit another Sri Vaishnavas home, but I was not in a stage for them to do Sancharum to the next house. Also, there was no call for them to move to the next house, and they continued to sanctify me and my family.
Later in October, the PSLE results day arrived. I went to school to collect my results with fear and anxiety to the extent that my heart was in my mouth. I was hoping for the worst, but when I looked at my results, I could not believe my eyes and immediately thanked Ranganatha and Andal. I had managed to get a decent score. Thereafter, reaching home, I placed my PSLE certificate at their feet and thanked Perumal and Andal, as it was only due to their presence and grace which helped me pass the first milestone in my life.
Days and soon months passed by, yet there was no call for Perumal and Andal to the next house. Meanwhile, I had to choose 6 schools and submit the preferences on the MOE website. Along with my parents, we visited around 8 to 10 schools to evaluate and eventually shortlisted 6 schools. This submission also happened in the presence of Ranganatha and Ranganayiki at our house.
A few more days passed, and the school posting was completed, and the results came out too. Yet again, all thanks to Perumal and Andal, I had gotten into a nice school named Kranji Secondary School and was very happy. My parents were so relieved that I had gotten into a good nearby school.
Kranji Secondary School is named after a tree called Karanja (Karanja is a medicinal herb mainly used for skin disorders. All parts of the Karanja tree (roots, flowers, leaves, bark) are used for medicinal purposes.). Little did I know about the tree or the divine name of Karanja. Sri Mukund Swami reflected on the name of the school is Sri Karanja Narasimha, Ahobilam. Then I realised all this is not a coincidence, just the blessings of Perumal.
A few more weeks passed by, and I purchased all new school items and showed all those items to Perumal as and when we purchased them. Perumal and Andal blessed me during my first day of Secondary school as well.
Divya Dampathi had been there with me throughout my prelims, PSLE exams, PSLE results, School posting, Posting results and even the first week of school. I was so thankful to them for everything they had done for me during my journey to Secondary school and for increasing my faith in them.
This whole 6 months of Journey with Divya Dampathi and Ramanuja at home strengthened my faith further. Soon they had to leave and go to another Srivaishnavite’s house. I was sad that they had to move on to the next house, but happy that they were going to bless another family.
One should always possess true faith in Perumal and Andal, and they will sail you through any situation in life. My journey would not have been very successful without their Grace.
Sriman Narayana Charanou Sharanam Prapadye
Srimathe Narayanaya Namaha
One response
Very Nice Shreya, God bless you and all the best!!