He has a magnetic pull like no one I have met and I have met many magnetic people.
Apostle Ankit Sajwan has an open heart, and you connect with him, almost instantly, like an old friend. Instinctively, he gets to know you, And you know that too. He gets a sort of aerial view on you, but comes down to your level and talks to you like a friend.
I expressed my desire to write a profile, not as a believer but as a sceptical journalist. It will be an experiential piece in good faith. We had a conversation, a heartfelt one. I forgot about the article, and when I got home, late in the evening, I couldn’t sleep without penning down a draft. We were face to face, rather, heart to heart when I wrote these lines.
His words reverberated in my mind that I thought were rather radical, ‘Jesus Christ was here not to found a religion but to heal people. He was no conqueror, nor king, neither a megalomaniac, but a shepherd who suffered for people,’ he draws the distinction.
The Son of God has to be like the God–kind and compassionate. ‘The only one who conquered death, resurrected,’ he explains. Jesus was raised from the dead on the third day after his Crucifixion.
I informed him about losing my mother as a mortal being a month ago. It’s real but feels surreal. ‘Death is not bad. It’s great joy,’ he says. I couldn't agree more, for I see death as not the end but a new beginning in another dimension, and death is a great leveller, rescues all, good or bad, and gives yet another opportunity to be a reflection of God.
Faith connects the two worlds, the manifested and the unseen, states Ankit in his THE BOOK OF FAITH—RADICALLY CHANGE YOUR LIFE THROUGH SIMPLE PRINCIPLES OF FAITH, which has sold thousands of copies. And to him faith is not merely acceptance, or religious, but faith empowers us to act.
Ankit loves Jesus. This doesn’t mean he subscribes to the Christian orthodoxy. It’s true to so many religions, clerics would use religion to control believers, for they claimed to be anointed to interpret the book of faith. Their interpretation prevailed; the teachings got blurred. This changed when the Bible became public, accessible to all.
Ankit belongs to a Rajput family, was spiritually inclined from childhood and tried many practices. Finally met his love. Jesus came to his life as a mortal and made home in his being. A door opened unto him and was led to light.
Ankit says, ‘read the Bible and it will guide you. It has simple answers to all our questions.’ To him, the Bible is the ‘most scrutinised book in the world’ guides people in simple and emphatic ways, there’s no scope of confusion.
A bit about him. Ankit belongs to a Rajput family and was spiritually inclined from childhood. He tried many practices and finally met his love. A door opened unto him and was led to light. Jesus came to his life as a mortal and made home in his being.
There was a backlash in the family but there was no looking back. Now his parents are believers in the power of faith. Faith in Him was the guiding force, illuminated his path with love and compassion, and he, in the reflection of Jesus, became a healer.
Ankit found the FOLJ Church under Sons of Glory Ministries ten years ago. He doesn’t like to be called a cult leader or a 'guru', and compared with such people dead or alive. He is just a facilitator of the word of the Lord. There are no pictures of Jesus, only His words reverberate in the Faith Arena where he holds weekly service.
Every Sunday thousands of people come for service, songs in the praise of the Lord are sung in Hindi, Punjabi and English. The last one, was particularly enthralling–balle balle Jesus. The whole hall, each one of the thousands present, were in sync with each other and the light within. No misery could touch them, they were healed in body, mind and spirit. it was blissful to be a witness. ‘I have been to many music concerts across the world, some fuelled by psychedelics,’ I told Ankit, ‘but never witnessed a magic like this.’
‘So, you love Jesus but are you a Christian?’ I ask him pointedly. At least the orthodoxy won’t call him a practicing Christian, if they don’t dub him a heretic. He liked the question and replied with a metaphor. The word ‘gay’ in common parlance these days means homosexual, but, 30 years ago it meant ‘happy’. He’s Christian in the true sense of the word, a faith-filled follower of Christ who doesn’t subscribe to the model code of conduct designed by clerics.
There’s no picture of Jesus Christ for he manifests in the faith and guide actions.
Ankit hasn’t changed his name--no one is required to--though people reverently call him ‘Apostle’. He has a lovely family, wife Pastor Monica, two daughters Eliana, Amaya and a year and a half old son, Judah. Ankit introduced me to Judah after the interaction; held in his father's arms, a joyful smile lit his face and a twinkle in his eyes.
His two comrades, Pastors Samarth Shukla and Rameshwar Dhawan, help him run the ministry, in faith, spreading the message of love. The numbers are growing fast. People from all walks of life come and redeem themselves in the faith of the Lord.
To me, more than anything else, Ankit is a healer. Ankit heals by igniting faith, enlightening the dark alleys of our being by the love of Jesus. And it’s, indeed, magical.
There’s something in his being, his presence that my rational mind fails to describe. And it is hard to believe, for our intellect is structured and curtailed by our so-called logical mind. Our points of view are based either on limited information, identities we espouse, situation in life, or the confirmation bias. And logic, at times, seems so illogical. Meeting Ankit was one such occasion.
‘I reflect the light of Jesus,’ Ankit says.
‘If I were to use a cosmic parable, Jesus is the sun (not just the Son of God) and you the moon reflecting his glory on the denizens of earth shedding darkness,’ I tell Ankit. He smiles.
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