Have I seen God?

I read a small story few years back and am reminded of that. It goes like:

Once upon a time, in a village there was a Priest. He had immense faith in God. One day it started raining profusely and soon there was a danger of floods. Priest was standing outside his house when a car stopped.

The driver invited priest to come aboard and leave the village. Priest said “You are a mere mortal, who are you to save me??? My God will save me”. The water level started increasing and then a boat passed by. The same incident was repeated.

Soon, the entire village was drowning and the priest had to go on the top of his house. A rescue helicopter came looking for survivors but the Priest turned him also away saying the same thing “ God will save me”. He soon drowned and died....

When he met God in heaven, he complained “I worshiped you whole life but when I was drowning, you never came to save me. How uncool is that?”

God smiled and said “First I sent a car for you, then a boat and finally a helicopter. What else were you waiting for, a direct ladder from heaven?”

Few days back I was in the beautiful city of Pune. I visited my very old friend Shivendu’s parents’ house. Shivendu is now APAC head for Pringles at P & G and lives in Singapore; his parents have settled down in Pune. It was great meeting them after almost 18 years.

There is a great uniqueness in this family. Uncle, Shivangi (Shivendu’s elder sister) and Shivendu, all three did their management from IIM, Calcutta. When Shivangi was in her second year at IIM- C and Shivendu in his first year, IIM- C had the re union of their first five batches. Uncle was the first batch pass out. The Father, daughter and son were felicitated on stage and surprisingly it was Aunty who was presented with an award for the best manager (to be able to manage three IIM- C people at home :). I am sure it was a very proud moment for the family.

Somebody once asked uncle if he believed in God. He answered back that he didn’t only believe; he had actually seen God. His theory is that if anyone does anything that makes a difference in your life, it is God that has appeared through him/ her. Interesting thought and made me think:

- In 1990, I was waitlisted in some engineering colleges but was not sure of admission. My friend Anurag Batra (He is now chairman of www.exchange4media.com) gave me a BITS, Pilani form and asked me to rush as next day was the last day for submission. He had already got confirmation for computers science in a good engineering college and gave his form to me. I took the first bus to Pilani to submit the form. I was later selected and was the last ID of 1990 batch at BITS, Pilani. That one moment when I met Anurag and he gave me his form changed my life, my destiny forever.

- I did my schooling in Hindi medium and when I went to BITS, I felt completely out of place. There were not many Hindi speaking people there and I was embarassed to admit my problem of English speaking . Then I met Shivendu, who understood my problem without mentioning it. He pushed me to start talking in English with him. He never made fun of me and helped me correct my mistakes. I have now headed India business at few multinationals and am acknowledged for my public speaking skills. :)

- In 2002, my career was not progressing much. It was OK but not moving ahead. I received an interview call from a company called VERITAS. Their national sales head Savio Monteiro met me and though I didn’t have the relevant experience that they wanted, offered me the position. He said “All we want is good attitude, technology we will teach”. I consider VERITAS the reincarnation of my career.

These are some of the incidents that changed my life forever. I am sure there will be some more that I am unable to recall.

My "Rubaru" moment : Is there a similarity in the Priest’s and my experience? Have I seen God?