This is the true story and quest for peace of Raj, a man who once taught others how to worship Hindu gods but now follows Jesus as his Lord and Savior. Names and certain details have been changed for security purposes.
The Quest for Peace
Growing up I had no one to teach me right from wrong. No one was there to guide me. My parents did nothing with me.
When I finished the 12th grade, I didn’t know what I should do. In our village, there was a Hindu priest who did all the rituals and worshipped the gods. I thought that he must be doing the right thing, so I joined him.
He started guiding me and teaching me how to worship the gods. Then he sent me away for some training at a Hindu holy place. I spent three months there learning the rituals, ordinances, and practices.
Every morning I got up at 4:00 to go and worship. They shaved my head and I wore the orange robes. I sat in classes during the day where I learned all about Hindu worship practice and how to teach people to worship the gods and goddesses.
When my training was finished, I went back to my village and organized a team to go from village to village, house to house to facilitate Hindu worship. I also performed weddings and other religious practices for people of my area.
Still, through all of this, I was not sure if I was doing right or wrong. I often asked myself, “Is this the same God who created the world?”
I didn’t understand and had no peace even while I worshipped the gods.
The Peace of God
In 2003, I met my wife who had been arranged for me when I was 12. On the first night of our marriage, my wife told me about the Lord Jesus. When I heard the story of Jesus, I wondered if this could really be true.
I did not believe then, but my wife was praying for me. Then the thought came to me one day as I was worshipping at the Hindu temple and helping others worship that I was doing wrong.
I used to worship, but there was no peace in my soul. As I saw those statues, I was thinking, “How can these statues build a whole? How can they be the creator of this universe?”
I had never heard any story about gods who came and died and saved us from our sin. But about Jesus, I came to know that, yes, there is a God who came and died for his people and gave his life. Then the feeling rose in me that I should believe in that God.
I stopped all Hindu practices, and I knew that I should receive Christ as my Lord. I prayed for that, and I was baptized. Everything that was old, I left and started a new life.
In my family, only me and my wife believe. Would you pray with us for our family to believe in Jesus?
In the month of May we are praying for India, the prayer focus from Secret Church 16: A Global Gospel in a World of Religions. Join us in praying for India. For more information and ways to pray, visit PrayingForIndia.org or download the prayer guide.
