My Eternal Story is Your story, Our Story

The Beginning of the Story

“Do you want to know my story? Here we go.” My story began several millions of years ago. Back then, there was nothing — not even time. There was no today, no tomorrow. I was not born yet. The earth, the sun, the stars, the sky — none of them existed yet.Everything was silent… dark. Strange, isn’t it? Let us go further.

The Light Hidden Within Darkness

Even though everything was dark, beyond that darkness there existed a luminous light. There was only One, known as Oneness. As poet Pothana said in the Bhagavatam:

"Where all worlds, rulers and beings cease,Where only a dense darkness remains,The oneness that still remains. That I serve —the self-luminous divine light."

That very self-luminous One is the Supreme Being. This Oneness never undergoes any change. It is known as Sat–Chit–Ananda — pure existence, pure consciousness, pure bliss. It is joy and knowledge beyond imagination. That Oneness is called Parabrahman, because it is the source of all creation. Everything that exists arises from It, and everything remains in It. It pervades all of existence.

My Birth

From that complete Oneness…a small ripple emerged — that was me. And that is the beginning of my story. I am called Ātma — the Soul. That is my true name. In reality, I have no name or form. But to understand who I am, a name becomes useful — so I am called Ātma.

The Beginning of Creation

From that radiant Parabrahman, the first to emerge was Brahma. “Where have I come from?” he wondered, looking in all four directions. Thus he gained four heads. Hence he is known as Chaturmukha Brahma. Along with came — Time, Space, Stars, Deities, Sun, Moon, Earth, Water, Fire, Air, Birds, Animals, Trees, Rivers, Oceans — everything in this universe arose from the same Oneness through Brahma.

Even after this vast creation, Parabrahman remains unchanged. Just as it was before creation, it remains after creation.

The Upanishadic mantra explains this:

Om pūrṇam adaḥ pūrṇam idaṃ pūrṇāt pūrṇam udacyate ।

pūrṇasya pūrṇam ādāya pūrṇam evāvaśiṣyate ॥

“From the infinite, the infinite manifests. Even after taking from the infinite, the infinite remains infinite.”

Just as removing a drop of water from the mighty ocean does not change the ocean, the Oneness remains complete even after creation. The reflection of that Oneness appears in every being. That reflection is the Ātma —I am that. What is in me is in everyone.

The Truth I Forgot

I have always existed. Birth, death, growth — none of these truly apply to me. Yet I forgot my divine nature —the truth that “I am the Ātma.” And from that forgetfulness began the cycle —many births, many bodies, birth–death–rebirth…Countless times I was born; the number cannot even be imagined.

The Day I Remembered

Recently, one day in the temple, I was meditating with complete devotion. I turned inward and asked: “Where do I come from?What is my true nature?What is the purpose of my life?”

Then my inner world opened like a radiant light. I realized: “That same Parabrahman exists in everyone. That is the Ātma. That is me.We are all One. I must love all beings as everything is love.”

My Journey — Your Journey

Now my heart joyfully longs to return to that Oneness. But a thought arose — “What if I forget again?” I wondered what the solution might be. Then I remembered what Lord Krishna told Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita: “If you worship Me with love and remain steadfast,I will give you the wisdom by which you will reach Me.”

तेषां सततयुक्तानां भजतां प्रीतिपूर्वकम् ।

ददामि बुद्धियोगं तं येन मामुपयान्ति ते ॥

Though spoken to Arjuna, I felt as if Krishna said those words to me directly.

The Path

Meditation, sincere effort, devotion, and selfless love — These became my path. They showed me the way back to my true home.

The End — The Story of All of Us

This is not just my story. It is your story. It is the story of all of us.

Om Tat Sat

Written by: Hindu Mitra Dr. Malladi Srinivasa Sastry