Vande Vandana

Vandana Khaitan, a young woman transformed by the grace of her guru, shares her dream of taking her Master’s legacy forward

- Navni Chawla 

Born into a typical Marwari business family, Vandana was different from the rest. While everyone in her circle of friends and family sought and pursued worldly pleasures, she had a different longing: she wanted to explore her inner world. Propelled by her suffering, she undertook a mighty self-transformation journey with the grace of her guru, Yogi Protoplasm (Swami Prajna Aranyaji).

Vandana Khaitan is the daughter of a prominent businessman. She invited me to her home for this interview. As I sat in her beautiful house and began talking with her, I was intrigued by her journey. On the next page are the highlights of the conversation.

Can you briefly tell us about yourself and your journey?

There was a big tragedy in my life, but if suffering takes one closer to God and intensifies one's vairagya [detachment] and bhakti [devotion], it is a blessing in disguise.

When I was 17, a 65-year-old doctor, who was a family friend, messed up my life. Maybe it was some past-life karma. He tried to molest me, and when I was rude to him I got framed by him. He told my parents that I suffered from manic depression and that I should be taken to a psychiatrist. My 12th board exam results were poor, because of which I was a little depressed, but I certainly did not suffer from manic depression. I had been a topper in school and wanted to go to the USA to study, but my dad refused to send me and was keen on getting me married after school. I rebelled and secretly applied to American Ivy League colleges. However, I did not get admission.

My poor parents fell into the doctor's trap and rushed me to a psychiatrist who put me on strong antidepressants. Only after many years did my parents find out that the doctor was a crook and had cheated them of crores of rupees in a charity hospital project and that there were cases in court against him for molesting nurses.