From Hinduism to Christ: A Princeton Student's Journey to Faith Ep 20

0:00 And I was a huge skeptic at the time. I had kind of heard and been taught that Christianity was used for things like the Crusades and lying about miracles, and those weren't real. And so they were just saying they were to convert people. So I was a skeptic, skeptical at least. But when I tried to get out of my seat, I could. Welcome to the Bennett Broadcast. I'm Matt Bennett. I'm Matt Bennett. Thanks for joining me as we explore what it means to seek the Lord wholeheartedly, to grow strong in faith, and to be fully devoted to God in today's world. When we do, He will pour out His Spirit and bring revival like never before.

0:45 All right, Matt Bennett here with the Bennett Broadcast, and I'm thrilled to have someone here with me, a newer friend, even though he's been involved in the Christian Union for a number of years. We only met recently, and we've got Shlok with us. How are you doing? Doing very well, Matt. How are you? Yeah, it's doing great. Now, I only met Shlok recently, maybe a couple of months ago or something like that in New York City, but he was involved in our ministry at Princeton named Christian Union Nova, and he became a Christian while I was a student, also experienced kind of a healing, partial healing while he was there, and He's involved in the Young Professionals Ministry. We started here in New York City, and I thought his story was fantastic that people would want to hear.

1:28 So I'm in Midtown on Zoom, and you're down in Little Italy. That's right. I'm there. It's great. You know, the St. Gerardo Festival is coming up, so they've blocked down the whole street from Canal to Houston. And there's just food trucks everywhere. It looks like Christmas almost. I thought it was at first. Well, my dad's half Italian, so whenever he comes to New York, he wants to be in Little Italy. It doesn't matter. He doesn't care. It's, quote, not authentic or any of this stuff. Doesn't matter to him at all. He loves it. We'd go down there. It's a great time. So I got to get down there, see your place sometime and everything. So thanks again for being part of this and sharing your story and what God did in your life, especially coming from a Hindu background and everything.

2:09 So... Um, let's first talk about your conversion experience and then talk about this healing of your shoulders. So kind of tell about how you heard about the gospel when you're a student at Princeton and, uh, how you came to faith. Yeah, I would love to. I think it starts way before I came to faith. I came to faith on October 29th, 2024. Yeah. My re my rebirth day. But, um, yeah. What actually led me to desire a close relationship with God started all the way from my upbringing. And when I was four years old, my biological father actually passed away due to cancer.

2:52 And they say lightning doesn't strike twice. But when I was seven, my biological mother passed away due to cancer. Wow. And so I kind of just had this... And I live in an extended family. I'm Indian. And so I already lived with my aunt and my uncle and my grandparents and my brother. So it wasn't like I had to be taken in. Members of the family just passed away. And this is in New Jersey, right? This is all in New Jersey, yeah. But I still felt like something was wrong and I felt this void. And I was raised a Hindu and I didn't, at the time, disagree with the practices, so to speak. Yeah. but I never really felt like I had a relationship with God.

3:33 Yeah. Like in Hinduism, you preach that you are one with God, but that never made any sense to me because like, what does that mean? Like, I don't feel like God. I don't think I am. And so there must be a God. And I wanted to know who that was, but, I just couldn't no matter what I tried. I tried different gods. I tried a guru, but like it just wasn't working for me. Because in Hinduism, you have a whole lot of gods that you can relate to or worship or whatever else. So you kind of try to focus on different ones of them. Is that right? Right. So the idea is at least you pick one and you stick with them. But whatever you call God, like it's all paths to the same God.

4:14 Yeah. Yeah. which I have conversations with my family about this. Sometimes I'm like, it's not that like Jesus, you can call him Yeshua, but it's more about that God was, came through Jesus at the certain time, was murdered by Pontius Pilate. Like all of those things are very important. So it's a specific God. It isn't like a one on the shelf. I think that's what you kind of is a, is a big switch for Hindus becoming Christians. It's like, you can't pick all of them anymore. It's Jesus Christ. That's it. Yeah, that's right. Him alone. And so you focused on like Ganesh and then you focused on Vishnu. Is that what you're doing at different times?

4:55 Yeah, pretty much. You're just, you say prayers to all of them. But like I said, it didn't really feel like I was, I was being heard when I prayed, you know? I wasn't speaking to a living person who was speaking back. It was just a ritual, honestly. That's what I felt. And you were sharing before we started that you went to Hindu school, so you were very saturated in the culture. Yeah, very saturated in the culture. I read all of the Gitas in Sanskrit as well. So kind of did the nine yards there. And I think it's because I was somewhat knowledgeable about it that I...

5:36 grew in my conviction that it felt like it wasn't right. Yeah. And so to kind of bring back to the story of why I mentioned my parents, I felt like there was this void in me and I tried to outrun it with different things like working hard. I thought if I could outwork everything else, then I would be saved. So to speak, I would feel less alone. But yeah, It never worked. So I turned to God and I was like, maybe I went back to Hinduism. It's all I knew in college. And so I started praying, but it didn't really do much for me. And one day I ran into one of my very close friends, Isaiah. And Isaiah and I went to the same high school and only around two kids in the last 20 years from my high school went to Princeton or something like this.

6:22 And we actually happened to go to the same elementary, middle and high school, but didn't really know each other until we got to Princeton. Hmm. I saw him randomly. I said, let's get a meal, just like you always say, but maybe it doesn't happen. But this time it actually did. And I knew he was a man of faith. So I started asking him. I was like, Isaiah, I feel directionless. I want to go close to God. And I've been trying, but it's not working. Did he go to the Hindu schools too? Is that how you know him? No, Isaiah was raised a Christian. Isaiah Park, he was raised a Christian. He was actually the president of NOVA his senior year as well. Christian Union NOVA. Yeah, Princeton. Yeah, so he, you went to Hindu school, but this was after like public school or something like that.

7:04 Every Saturday. Yeah. public school together uh and then you your hindu school separate afterwards i see okay so he was president of the christian union ministry there christian union nova and so you saw him and uh had uh had your meal yeah okay so we had our meal i asked him about jesus and he explained the gospel to me hmm And that might've taken around an hour or so. And I was a huge skeptic at the time. I had kind of heard and been taught that like Christianity was used for things like the Crusades and lying about miracles and those weren't real.

7:44 And so like they were just saying they were to convert people. So I was a skeptic, skeptical at least. But when I tried to get out of my seat, I couldn't. Like my legs felt like stone. And I'm laughing, but like, I was like, I was like, hey, Isaiah, you know, I know it's been a while, but I tried to leave just now and then like, I literally can't stand. And so then the conversation went out for like another hour. He said, come to church with me this Sunday. And I said, after that, like, yeah, I'll come to church. I mean, sure, why not? And from there, he invited me to the fall retreat at Christian Union Nova. And at the fall retreat, I went in again, very skeptical.

8:26 So I was like, I'm not here to be convinced of anything. I just want to see what this is all about. But on the second night of worship, I remember reading the words on the screen. It was like my first time reading them. And I don't really know how to describe the feeling. Hmm. Um, I felt like my whole life I had been swimming underwater. And the faster I swam, the deeper I went, even though I was trying to go up. And it was like the first time I could see the light. And so I just started crying. I was like, I had no idea why.

9:06 I'm like bawling tears, shaking. And like the Holy Spirit was really working on you. Yeah. I think so. I think, I mean, I know so. I was like reaching up and I felt like I just wasn't there. Like I couldn't do it. Like I was at the top of the water and I was just like, you know, I don't know if it's for me. And I get a hand like on my shoulder. And I turned around and it was Isaiah. And he was also just like weeping at the same kind of mind space that I was. And I felt like I had just been lifted out of the water. And then he took me, like we were worshiping at the time. And here I was just like absolutely demolished in the middle of the floor. And Isaiah just took me outside and sort of, that was when I gave my life to Christ.

9:46 Wow, wow, wow Incredible And so he'd already explained the gospel to you So you knew what you needed to do You needed to repent of your sins And put your faith in Christ And so you received Christ Renounced my old ways What's that? And renounced my old ways Yeah, yeah, renounced your old ways And what was your life like? How was it different immediately after? What changed in the next days and week or two weeks? I feel, I mean, it It's like you walk around and your cheeks hurt because you can't stop smiling. I don't know. It's like literally like the best day of your life. That's the only way I can really put it. It's a feeling that, like I mentioned, I'm skeptical.

10:29 And I still, when I'm reading things, I really think about them quite heavily. So I think I naturally remain skeptical. But whatever you read or hear from other people, maybe that couldn't convince people when you feel the presence of God, there's, I mean, I'm sorry, you can't convince me of anything else. And I just really felt like I was intimately in the presence of the Lord, which is awesome. It was amazing. Yeah. Yeah. Amazing. Amazing. And when you told friends and told family members, what happened? How'd that go? Um, so I, then everyone in Christian Union Nova was very happy and like very, um, kind of excited.

11:11 I was excited to get to know them more. My family was kind of like cool. Like for them, they were like, I think they were happier that I found a relationship with a God that I believed in. Yeah. Rather than be an atheist or someone that doesn't believe in any God. Yeah. So they, honestly, they weren't really opposed. Yeah. But they also weren't like, let me come join you, which is, you know, something I think about. But my friends all kind of took it well. They took it well. They were like, hey, sure. That's what you want to do now. Yeah. That's your thing. Some difficult conversations, like, because I think a lot of my beliefs shifted.

11:58 Mm-hmm. um it's a kind of belief shifted like beliefs about the spiritual realm about demons about uh sexuality about things like this so i think that that that definitely caused some tough relationships but thankfully i'm still friends with all those people we're able to work out oh that's great that's great praise god that's awesome to hear so that was in the fall of your senior year right Yeah. Yeah. So you had some good growth there the next weeks and months. And then that came, you went on the ski trip and Christian, you know, has a ski trip like four or five days every January.

12:40 So you went on that trip as well. And that's where you felt like you got some healing or partial healing from your shoulder. But then maybe it came back. We talked about. So kind of describe that experience of what happened with you there. Yeah, so this was the first time I was hearing about the gifts of the Spirit and about healings. And so Mike, who is the ministry director of Christian Union Nova, was like, hey, does anyone have anything that they need healing for or prayer for? Yeah. And I said, sure. I mean, I have a shoulder that's kind of, excuse me, messed up from tennis and weightlifting.

13:20 And it had gotten to the point where like, even like opening doors the wrong way would like kind of tweak it and it would feel like hurt more than you would think it would if it's something like opening the door. So like I knew that throwing a ball hurt in a specific way. So before the healing, I like threw a ball and I was like, okay, yeah, it hurts. It hurts. And then Mike laid his hands on me, prayed over me in Jesus's name. I didn't feel anything as he was doing it. But then I like took the ball and I threw it and it didn't hurt. Hmm. And I wasn't sure if I was like going crazy. Again, I'm trying to be skeptical, but I threw it as hard as I could after a couple of times. I was like rotating. I was really trying to like yank it out of its socket at some point.

14:02 Yeah, right. And it was like, I was like, no, it's locked in there. Yeah. So I really felt like my shoulder was healed. Wow. And I think it was healed. Yeah. Yeah. And it just felt completely better and everything, which is great. And we're talking before this recording that it was a few weeks or so, though, that it came back partially. The pain came back partially. Is that right? Was that like three or four weeks later or something? Yeah, exactly. It was around that time. Yeah, and it kind of came back partially and is still with you partially, only when you're exerting, if you're throwing or lifting weights or something like that. Is that right? Yeah, exactly.

14:42 Yeah, yeah. It's way better. Yeah, yeah, way better in part. And so we were talking a little bit before this video because, and this is the first I knew about that aspect of it, is people talk about when you get prayed for healing, people. that you need to work to kind of keep your healing. People use this terminology because what happens, a few different things can happen this way. Sometimes when you pray for a person, they get partial healing there, but you need another person. prayer, time or two, and then they get the full healing there. You think of Jesus healing the guy who had trouble with his eyes, and he could see people walking around with trees, then he prayed again, and then he could heal. So that's not uncommon.

15:23 And so next time we're together, we should pray for it again. Sometimes, too, there can be a demonic affliction on a person, which is part of why there's pain there. If you look at the book of Matthew, there's about 20 episodes of healings in the book. And by episode, sometimes the episode is, okay, one person gets healed. Another episode is, it'll say, and everybody in the village was healed. So it could be a ton of people or one person. And about half of them, it mentions deliverance happened with it. And the other half, meaning ejecting of evil spirits is part of the healing. But then other parts, there's no mention of healing.

16:04 evil spirits. Maybe they were there, but sometimes healing, that's not an issue. It's not needed for the healing to happen. I think only one incident in Matthew mentions deliverance, but there's no mention of healing that's part of it or is needed or something. So What's possible is that there's a deliverance need for you, too, that's part of that. And we'd have to do a little investigation to see if that's the case and then get it out. And at the time when you're being prayed for, there's enough presence of the power of the Holy Spirit to sort of subdue that spirit or kind of bind him and have him be restricted for a while. And then he kind of comes back out after that because he's never really removed.

16:49 get together and talk about that and see if we can deal with that some and see if we can get full healing for your shoulder, which would be fantastic. So anyway, so you came to faith and you got some healing, at least for a while, and still it's better. Praise God for that. We'll want to see if we can get full healing. And then you move to New York and you've been in New York a year. But it was kind of a struggle to get connected. And this is kind of atypical. And this is why we started a young professionals ministry in New York City. I've been wanting to do it for some years to really help people with that transition. And it's not just for people graduating from Christian Union Universities. But any university moving into New York City, we're glad to have them involved.

17:32 So we just started a few months ago and glad to be reaching out and glad to get connected with you through Quinn, who's on our team there at Princeton, telling that you are here. And because your last year was kind of a struggle for you to really connect and get involved. Is that right? My last year? Oh, after. Last year here in New York. After, yes, yes, exactly. At Princeton, it was great because of the ministry. And then coming to New York, I joined the ministry quite late and there weren't that many seniors, to be honest. I think it was sort of like a post-COVID slowdown and then it started picking back up. Yeah. And so there's none of them that are in New York.

18:12 Yeah. Yeah. So you kind of came on your own. You really didn't know many Christians. And so it's hard to form that community and people shop around and there's some good churches here. But if you don't connect for a longer period of time, whatever reason and stuff and work, it's very, very busy. It can be really hard to. Have the kind of walk with the Lord that you need So in any case I'm glad we're connected Now and glad you're coming to our Weekly Bible study and we'll get you Firmly planning a good church as well And it'll be Great to see what the Lord does to your Life as you get to know these other guys as you know the other Guys are fantastic you've already gotten to know You're the only class of 25 they're all Class of 26 folks except For you but it's good to have a little Elder leadership there with the group oh except For Brian he's been out he's He went to Bucknell and he's graduated three years ago or something like that.

19:03 So it's good to have him. But the others are class of 26. One's from Yale, a few from Cornell, a few from Dartmouth. And there's you and then Brian from Bucknell. So some good guys. And we started a women's one as well and other men's groups. So we're getting going with all of that, which will be fantastic. Now, two weeks ago, we did our first Young Professionals All Night prayer. Did you ever do that when you're at Princeton? Did you all have one of those there? I think we might have, but I've never been to an on-late prayer. Yeah. Yeah, well, we'll probably do another one in six months or so. So a bunch of us made it to 5 a.m. That's when we officially ended it. A few just stayed up a few hours later for the heck of it.

19:45 But it was great. We kind of prayed at different spots. We started at the Apple Store, prayed there an hour, and then went to St. Patrick's, prayed there an hour, Rockefeller Plaza, Times Square, all around, kind of different people leading and had a worship friend lead something, which was great. So it was a good time. These times of extraordinary prayer really boost us up and really strengthen us. We'll do that. And we'll also have some time together, too, to talk about some of the developments in your life and how you grew your last year at Princeton and see if we can make sure you get firmly established here in New York and the faith and everything. So good news. Praise God for your salvation in Him. Praise God for the partial healing.

20:25 And we'll see if we can get more healing. And as you and I spoke earlier, too, We'll talk offline, too, about any deliverance needs. And I do share this on Bennett Broadcast sometimes that Christians and non-Christians can both be afflicted by evil spirits. And it's very common when a person comes to faith in Christ that at the time they come to faith, there is some relief. There is some kind of release of some afflicting spirits. But almost always there needs to be some more relief. help in getting a person free of that bondage. In my experience, it just doesn't, person's not completely free. And so whatever religious backgrounds in their heritage, they need that specific deliverance of.

21:08 So I was telling, uh, Shlok here about another friend in New York who is Indian background. He'd been a Christian 10 years, but it was very apparent based on some things going on in his life that he wasn't free of Ganesh and, um, and, uh, Shiva and Vishnu and a bunch of others. And so we got that off and out of him. And he was absolutely blessed and changed because of that. So people, it all depends on their background. If a person has a Caucasian background, often there's Freemasonry in their background that needs to be dealt with spiritually maybe four generations back or something you don't even necessarily know. And that's there, but could be other stuff too. But then whatever part of the world that person is, is from in New York, then they have some spiritual heritage.

21:55 So if I'm ministering to somebody and they're from China and East Asia, well, often they have spirits related to ancestor worship and Confucianism, Buddhism, etc. If they are from Southeast Asia, then they also often have shamanistic spirits. If they're from the Caribbean, They have voodoo and Santeria. They're from Africa. They're West Africa. There's different specific tribal religions that have spirits associated. So wherever in the world, spiritual heritage by the grace of God can be dealt with and a person who can have a freer and easier life to walk to the Lord. That's a whole nother subject. Maybe we'll talk about that on a dinner broadcasting time.

22:36 But in any case, I just want to say thanks so much, Shlob, for being on. Really appreciate your vulnerability and sharing about, the new life you have in Christ. Anything you want to say to kind of wrap it up? All right. I have a lot of questions to ask you about what you just said, because I'm so curious, but maybe we'll save that for the next session on deliverance. Yeah. Yeah. Good idea. We'll do that. So I'll say a prayer and wrap this up. So Father, we love and praise you. Thank you for putting in Slope's heart as a boy, a desire to really know you. and to really want to connect with you. And Father, thank you that he had this friend who was able to connect with him and explain the gospel to him and that he experienced you.

23:19 And at the worship time, was able to know that you are real and the joy that you gave him, which is beautiful, the partial healing that you gave him, which is amazing. Thank you. Thank you for your sovereign guidance and teaching instruction of him. We love you, Lord. And thank you for your grace to each of us. In Jesus name. Amen. Amen. Thank you for joining me for this episode of the Bennett Broadcast. To learn more and find additional resources to help you grow in your walk with God, visit BennettBroadcast.com. To accelerate this movement of helping America return to God, visit ChristianUnion.org slash Cornerstone. Be sure to subscribe so you never miss an episode.

24:01 And I hope you'll join me again as we seek the Lord together for our lives, for our communities, and for the future of the nation.