-Jennica Sai Naresh Khiatani

I was born into a Sai family, visiting Prashanti once a year since my birth and attending Balvikas during my childhood and teenage years. My parents and grandparents have been ardent devotees of Swami (Sathya & Shirdi) since their birth. My mother was brought up in Pune, Maharashtra, frequently visiting and doing seva in Dharmakshetra as a child and in Kodaikanal. My father grew up in Hong Kong. As adults, both were very involved in the Sai Center in Hong Kong, with my father serving as treasurer and executive director in SSEHV China and Hong Kong, working under Brother Ryoko Hira (Japan) and Ashok Sakhrani (HK) for 14 years, from 2005 to 2019. My mother held many roles, from Balvikas teacher to teacher trainer, and also published two books, Ahimsa 1 & 2, blessed by Swami in 2007, which raised a significant amount of funds for both local and overseas seva. In 2007, we moved to the Canary Islands, where the Sai Center had little activity, and my father took a backseat but my mother continued on as Seva coordinator.

Although I followed my parents’ spiritual practices as a child, it wasn’t until age 29 that I developed a deep personal yearning for Swami. I now understand how the subconscious seeds

planted during satsangs and Balvikas blossomed when the time was right for me.

Major Health Crisis & Mind opening

Like many people, suffering can be a huge catalyst for growth and inner reflection. My first big life crisis occurred between the ages of 21 and 26 when I was diagnosed with several incurable diseases. Doctors had no cure; I was bedridden and frequently experienced severe pain. When I discovered the natural healing world, my mind opened.. Ayurveda and naturopathy opened my eyes to the mysteries of life—it was then that my mind began to open and question: what else is possible? Experiencing miraculous healing inspired me to make a promise to the universe that if I healed, I would spend my life helping others achieve the impossible as well. I healed fully and went on to study Naturopathy and Ayurveda, among other subjects, to begin my service to the world. I began to feel a sense of greater purpose, a life beyond seeking to fulfill my own desires.

Swami calling

After I began healing, I started to realize something; although in the beginning I was so ecstatic about having a healthy body and moving freely again, the happiness didn't last very long as my mind found other reasons to suffer; other areas of my life that it started to complain about. It was then that I began to realize the nature of mind…and that the root cause of human suffering was much much deeper. My quest for ultimate truth began at this time. I realized the necessity of finding & connecting to a place within me as an anchor in this ever changing world. It was then that I began to hear Swami's calling.

It all started in 2019 with me listening to a random bhajan medley of Swami that popped up on my YouTube (430. Volume 3). Something struck deep in my heart and I literally played the same medley almost every day for two months. Intuitively, I started meditating, and doing yoga. Within weeks I had suddenly had a fixed morning sadhana routine: yoga first, leading into the bhajan medley and ending with meditation. I never went for any classes to learn all this, nor did i even plan it: it was literally Swami was guiding me on everything from within. I remember that later I would come across books that would speak of how to meditate, or meditative experiences, or yoga asanas…and I would realize everything I was doing, already existed…in the sense that someone else had done too, and written about. It was all so miraculous.

In 2020, I began to crave like minded company. This led me to open a non-profit association called Canarias Consciente, organizing free conscious events for the local community of Tenerife, including nature walks, group meditation, women’s circles, and spiritual study circles. This was the first time I took the role of a leader. The first event I organized, 30 people showed up, it was a silent hike in the pine forest in Tenerife. (It was much later that I realized how much these experiences would help me for future businesses as this would be the same target market I would tap into later.)

A call to Surrender

By 2022 I started visiting the local Sai Center regularly. My relationship with Swami intensified very quickly by this time. He was becoming the center of my life. After Swami left his body in 2011, my family, like many others, stopped going to Prashanti… and therefore I hadn't gone since. But I started feeling for the first time a personal calling to go. When I told my parents, they discouraged me from going as they said I wouldn't feel the same as He wasn't there anymore. This did not change my feelings. I Couldn't explain the reason why, but I knew I had to go. I finally traveled to Prashanti Nilayam with my husband, where we stayed for two months in February 2023. What to say…..It felt like a homecoming. I lived in bliss almost every day for those 2 months. Bliss…Causeless happiness. This inevitably deepened my connection to Swami as I began to see him truly as my Divine Parent over my material world parents.

My second life crisis happened the month after Prashanti, in April 2023. After our trip together to Prashanti, a month later my husband asked for a separation after 10 years together. We had done a marriage during COVID so wasn’t able to do all the ceremonies and planned to finalize marriage after a year, but at the year mark we decided to go separate ways.  It has been the most difficult and painful year of my life…. but also the most expensive because I felt closer to Swami than ever. When I look back, I feel like It was like Swami’s grace calling me into his arms to Prashanti to strengthen our connection before I had to go through this difficult period.

The work starts: A leap of faith

Couple of months later, in September 2023, I began facilitating study circles for the Bhagavad Gita with another lady at our Sai center back in Tenerife. Just the year before I had attended a Gita course led by a monk from London and began discovering its wisdom, but when the opportunity arose to facilitate it, i rose to the occasion. I learnt so much and experienced many miracles throughout the circles with the group. Everything was connecting, I began to feel like my whole life was a miracle ... .as if I was just a spectator and the pieces were coming together. Later on, I was asked to take the role of Youth Coordinator for the Sai Center, and later as the president. However, I declined the presidency, as Swami told me in my heart that it wasn't the right role for me at that time.