Today we’d like to introduce you to Geetha Ravula.
Hi Geetha, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My life has been a concoction of deep learning and valuable experiences that paved the way to who I am now. I was brought up by Parents who had strong faith in GOD and a grandfather who used to share ancient stories of wisdom. My Grandfather named me Geetha after the Holy Scripture ‘Bhagavad Githa’; little did I know then after growing up, I would be learning and teaching ‘Bhagavad Githa’.
Right from a young age, I would not blindly follow; instead, I would question myself to understand before putting anything into practice. As I was growing up, I could not come to terms with the transactional love that existed in society, imposing belief systems and societal norms.
At the age of 24, I founded an IT Consulting Company. After successfully establishing the company meeting all my family needs, and as I was at the peak of my material achievements, a feeling of void, an unusual emptiness still prevailed in me. I would wonder, is this what life is all about? Is life only about earning a living, giving back to your family, creating a family, taking care of it, and at the end, leaving this world? My intuition would tell me that there is a deeper dimension that is still untouched by me that I didn’t know. I would wonder why I was not content after achieving all I wanted. I didn’t buy into the idea of setting up even higher goals because there was no limit to desires, and these desires didn’t fill my void anyways. Occasionally, I would naturally connect to the Divine energy and experience deeper contentment that had no words to describe.
One day, an incident triggered me to question if there is GOD. In that pursuit, I started seeking and reading spiritual books. It was in 2003, totally unplanned that I got initiated by Guru His Holiness Chinna Jeeyar Swamiji. The spiritual practices and the depth of the knowledge my Guru shared touched the deeper dimension I was seeking. The void I was feeling till then was gone. I felt like I was reborn.
In 2005, I traveled to India to spend time with my spiritual master. Towards the end of my trip, amidst many challenges, I was ecstatic for no reason. It was like I had found this new joy-making tool. I couldn’t find a straightforward answer to my joy, but I knew it was this entire process that brought me joy tranquility and made me connect to my deeper self.
I was curious if this was the only path and practice that brought joy. I started meeting and knowing enlightened ones from other paths and faiths. My joy multiplied after meeting every enlightened being, and it was heartwarming to learn about many beautiful paths that led to the same destination.
I became a regular meditator to understand the source of joy. It became clearer and louder that the problem and the solution is not outside but inside of us, in our own mind. When we identify with a race, nation, faith, color, caste, family, community, company, profession, titles, status, our body, our mind, our intellect, or anything or anyone, we are only leading ourselves to conflict. A conflicted mind can never be happy; it’s only oneness that can bring us joy. But the ignorance of identifying is rooted in our being because we are influenced from the time of our birth by parents, school, society, friends, and people we meet. To root out this ignorance, we need to understand the knowledge of self and apply. It’s a process and a continuous evolution.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
My life before I found my source of joy within has been an adventure with many emotional challenges. Every decision I made was a solution to a previous challenge but a challenge in the future. This really made me question the cyclic nature of life and the impermanence of happiness, leaving me hopeless.
As an elder child of a large family, I felt I had too many responsibilities than I could handle starting from an age of 7. Now, I see it as a blessing, but then it was a challenge which made me question and seek answers. I was extremely attached to my family & close friends, and my happiness revolved around them then. This kept me in a loop of emotional drama and validation from my loved ones. I also had pressure from a few of my very dear spiritual friends to follow their spiritual path and not to pursue my own.
At this time, I started seeking GOD for answers, and a few experiences I had were profound out-of-the-world experiences that made me build strong faith in GOD. I felt the presence of divine energy in my most difficult times, which inspired me to pursue my spiritual journey.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
In 2007, I founded non-profit organization ‘Ashirwad A Blessing Temple’ with a vision to share this knowledge and wisdom that empowers an individual to live their best life. I started teaching kids, and now we offer meditation classes worldwide online to kids and adults. Knowledge shared in these classes, when applied, has a profound positive effect on our life. I also host a spiritual radio show every Sunday at 12 noon on 98.7 FM, where I share this knowledge to wake up from our ignorance and lead a more peaceful and joyful life.
I put together a 15-minute simple yet powerful meditation technique called ‘Diya Meditation’, when practiced, has a profound effect on our overall wellbeing and has many benefits that includes reducing stress, ability to manifest what we want, and living a happy life. My students who practice this meditation have success stories, transmuted their challenges into solutions, and are living their best life. Along with meditation, I offer classes where I share how certain practices can help us connect with our deeper self and be our own source of joy.
Our organization collaborates with the Fort Bend County Judge’s office to host the Fort Bend Diwali event where we share Indian culture with residents of Fort Bend at Sugar Land Town Square. As a part of Diwali, we cook and share 1000 meals with the homeless and shelters. We conduct food and clothing drives and respond to support natural calamities in Greater Houston.
Helping residents affected by Harvey
Recent Workshops:
Spotlight on Well-Being at Google
Meditation workshop for Interfaith and Business Leaders at Ibn Sina Foundation
https://interfaithmhconference.org/blog/speaker/geetha-ravula/
MLK – Youth Day by Fort Bend Interfaith Council
Diya Meditation – Fort Bend Diwali
Speaker on Diwali – Methodist Hospital
Board or Committee Serving:
Board Member – Leadership Committee – Fort Bend Interfaith Council
Community Engagement Committee – Fort Bend County Judge’s Office
Event Chair – Fort Bend Diwali
Meditation Coach – Ashirwad A Blessing
Have you learned any interesting or important lessons in your journey ?
I learned many valuable lessons. First and foremost, to question the source of the problem. Instead of fixing the outside, I learned to look inside to see if I can bring peace within. Not just accumulating knowledge but putting what we learn into practice was important. Most of our problems are self-created because of our own limiting belief system and expectations. When we open up our minds, we see not one but many solutions.
Along my way I also learned that I didn’t have to prove anything to anybody. It’s my journey; I will run it at my own pace, surrender the outcomes to GOD, and keep moving. Always be grateful to the Universe (Source or GOD), your spiritual master, parents, well-wishers, and those who brought challenges too. Don’t identify yourself with anything that creates a separation. Mind is the cause of experiencing the dualities of life, sorrow, and joy; I learned to transcend mind by situating in self. Not always successful but it’s a continued work in process and evolution.
May it be any path or goal in your life. Have Faith in your path, Be Genuine, Be Honest to yourself, Have an Open Mind, Be Grateful to both success and failure, and Be Forgiving. As they say, your vibe attracts your tribe; don’t change your vibration or your state of being with every challenge that comes your way. Challenges, when taken as lessons, make us one step closer to our goal. Everyone’s journey is different, but you are the creator of your journey. Life goes by fast, don’t be dead serious; please relax, breath, and be happy!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.AshirwadABlessing.org or DiyaMeditation.com
- Email: VedicFair@gmail.com and DiyaMeditation@gmail.com
- Phone Number: 281-788-2286
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geetharavula/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/geetha.ravula/
- Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/geetharavula
- Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/@AshirwadABlessing
- Other: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSz6yKKGRBU
Image Credits
Geetha Ravula
