21 Jan 2023
[By Shri Srivatsa Datta]
Before I start, I would like to thank Swami for giving me this opportunity. To be very honest, when I sat down to write about my experiences, I had no clue where to begin. As you might have heard from my father’s (Shri Suryanarayana) experience, when my mother was carrying me, she fell a couple of times but came out unharmed, and even at the time of delivery, it was either the me or her, but by Swami’s grace both of us were safe. So, miracles started happening in my life even before I was born. Out of the many miracles that happened in my life, I will share a couple of miracles today.
Swami saving my Eyes
As a child, I used to play football a lot, and being someone who has spectacles, whenever the ball used to hit me on my face, my spectacles used to press hard, and my eye used to get saved by a margin of less than 1 cm. This happened many times with both the eyes, and even if in one instance the spectacles pressed against my eye, partial blindness was right around the corner. Swami saved me each and every time.
Swami saving me from a wrist fracture
Phani Mavayya and Akash, a friend of mine, came to Mumbai after my 10th exams, and the three of us went to see the newly opened monorail. On our return journey, at the monorail station, we took the escalator to get to the station. Standing on that, we were talking, and I had just extended my right hand on the wall next to the elevator such that my hand was in touch with the wall throughout.
Just then a bend came in the wall as part of the design, and my wrist got stuck between the escalator and the wall, with me still going up. Because the escalator was constantly going up, any person in such a situation will either fracture his wrist or, in the worst-case scenario, fracture his shoulder. Somehow, I managed to pull my wrist out of that gap, then Phani Mavayya took my wrist and rubbed it hard between his hands and tied a cloth around it. After that, when I went to the doctor, he said everything was normal. Swami in the form of Phani Mavayya saved me and brought me out without even a hairline fracture.
Swami giving me a Great First Job
I wanted to pursue my career in the field of data science, so from my 3rd year I was doing different courses in that area. However, all of the companies that came for placement in the final year were asking about data structures and algorithms, which were not even covered in the coursework for someone like me with a non-CSc background. There were many company exams that I exited just after reading the first question. It came down to a situation where I had completed my final semester exams but had no job in hand.
That’s when my resume for my current company got shortlisted for the written test. At the same time, I travelled to Vijayawada to attend a marriage function. The written test had two coding questions and a logical analysis part. My joy knew no bounds when I saw the first coding question because, in 2019, when I met Veena Datta, we were discussing his interview process, so I get some ideas. We had discussed several questions he was asked and the solutions he gave to land the job. We had discussed 3-4 questions that day, but I don’t know how I remember only 1 question we discussed, and that very question was part of the written test.
After successfully completing the first question, I moved on to the second, and when I saw it, my joy overflowed, because it was the very question my faculty had made us write in the first year. By Swami's grace, my written exam went off very well, and with His blessing, I was able to get through the technical interviews and HR round. Swami was very kind enough to be in the same house when my 2nd technical and HR round was taking place.
Post-HR round, when it was confirmed that I got the job, I was in a happy, confused, all-mixed-up state, thinking about what to do if I was called to Hyderabad, as my entire education had been in Mumbai with my parents. With these thoughts, I went and sat next to Swami. Swami, who is omnipotent, recognized my internal confusion and said, "Don't pray to God to extend Covid to get work-from-home; instead, pray to Him that the company itself extends work from home, that can be given." Like He said, my work from home, which was initially till December 2021, was extended indefinitely, i.e., as long as I am in this company, there is no need for me to go to the office and work. The position I was offered was also of a data analyst, which is the initial step to becoming a data scientist. So, Swami not only gave me a job but also gave me a job in the field I want to go into. Even in my day-to-day job, I can feel that I am sitting like a puppet in front of the laptop and that Swami is the one working through me. I've received numerous compliments for the accurate data that I provide, but I only know how it is happening. Within 1 year, Swami gave me more than 50% hike, which is pretty rare, along with many awards and recognitions.
I am greatly indebted to Swami for giving me the highest post of His servant in the entire creation and requesting Swami for the same in all my future births.
Swami, please excuse me if there are any mistakes.
Namaskaram Swami.
At Your lotus feet
Srivatsa Datta.
★ ★ ★ ★ ★