Trials and Tribulations

Spiritual Growth despite Trials and Tribulations

On one hand young Deepak was making astonishing spiritual progress, but on the other, his worldly life began to interfere. Pujya Deepakbhai wrote a letter to Param Pujya Dada Bhagwan declaring his intent to live a celibate life. Recognizing his potential, Param Pujya Dadashri blessed him with a lifelong vow of celibacy. However, being the youngest and the only unmarried son, his father was very attached to him. So, for the next eighteen years, abiding by Param Pujya Dadashri's teachings he dealt with his father's expectations with perfect equanimity, all the while growing stronger from within through his inner penance. He brought much comfort to his ailing father, who ultimately declared to him, "Deepak, you are my true guru. You have shown me the true path of liberation."