I am thankful for Poojya Swamiji and Rupaka Guru for their grace, wisdom, and guidance. By following the BDC, one belief that has been reaffirmed to me is why I don't eat meat, BDC aligns with my beliefs that all life is equal and should be treated as such. Since we have been born as humans thanks to God's grace, we have been blessed with the ability and the awareness to exist without killing animals.

Rupaka Akka has been a role model and such a positive influence on my life in so many ways. Whenever I felt like I was at a crossroads in my life, Akka always gave me sound advice and the encouragement I needed to face all the obstacles in my life head on. One thing that I am constantly admire about Akka is how grounded she is -- she makes everyone that she talks to feel like an equal. There is no end to the impressive list of all of her accomplishments, but despite all of these Akka always remains humble -- these are qualities I hope to develop in myself as well. I am truly blessed to have BDC and Akka in my life, and I hope many people have the chance to experience what I have.

Although born in a Lingayat family, before coming in contact with BDC and Rupaka Akkavaru, I had no idea what it meant to be a Lingayat. Most of my extended family members are from agricultural backgrounds. We never practiced any path or religion in a structured way. In fact, I did not even know who our guru is. But if I look back now, knowingly or unknowingly, all our cultures, practices, and beliefs can be traced to Guru Basavanna and Sharanas. It is because of BDC, I am able to learn, understand, and feel proud of our heritage and background. From the last fifteen years, I feel extremely fortunate to learn the teachings of Vachanas and Sharanas from Rupaka. These teachings help me think about who I am and why I am here. It is because of these teachings, I came to know and firmly believe that Basavanna is our guru. These teachings help me to lead my day to day life effectively. Although, KoodalaSangama is ten thousand miles away, it is Rupaka who has brought Sangamesh to my palm and heart in Austin.

For me, it has been a total transformation in my outlook towards life after I engaged myself with Basava Divine Center. If you are looking for gold standard on quality of life and a start on the spiritual path with the right guidance, don't have to look beyond BDC and Basavayoga Ashrama. This is based on the path of Guru Basavanna, the Sharanas of 12th Century and Vachanas. I have learnt how Guru Basavanna is our spiritual Adi Guru and how highly blessed the life of the Sharanas was under his leadership and how there is so much to learn from Vachanas. What I have learnt and how I am influenced Poojya Swamiji and Akka Avaru have taught me the right way to worship Guru Basavanna and the Sharanas and the significance of Guru Karunya. I was blessed to get Istalinga Deekshe from Poojya Swamiji and I have learnt about one God, the power of Istalinga, the need to have Istalinga always on one's body, the right way to worship Istalinga and to build a relationship with Guru Basavanna and Istalinga. Under the guidance of Poojya Swamiji and Akka Avaru, my outlook towards from life has changed from the one with superstitions, blind beliefs and doing rituals for the sake of doing to complete faith in One God and Guru Basavanna and clarity in everything that I do. I am very relaxed and very confident in all of my acts. I have developed deep interest in learning the message from the Vachanas in my personality development. One aspect that Poojya Swamiji and Akka Avaru always emphasize is about adapting and following the message from the Vachanas in our day to day life and this has had a profound impact in each and every aspect of my life. It has made it more purposeful and meaningful. It is a continuous ongoing exercise to fine-tune the raw uncut, rough edged way of leading life to the one with a purpose of knowing oneself and improving on it for the well-being of oneself and everyone around me based on Vachanas, Sharanas and the path of Guru Basavanna. Everyone around me is not limited to humans. Every living being has its own purpose and utility in this universe and Vachanas have so many references about this to learn from.

BDC has made a significant impact on our family by guiding us towards a spiritual path. The workshops, monthly meetings, Vachana discussions has helped our family, especially our daughter build faith in Basavanna and follow the principles of Vachanas in real life. The teachings like Kayaka, significance of Vachanas etc. has molded the personality of our youth and has helped them become better citizens in society. BDC has helped spread the true meaning and message of vachanas around the globe.

My experience with BDC has completely changed my outlook towards life. It has given me the confidence and stability to live with the ups and downs of day to day happenings. The discourses of Poojya Swamiji have provided me a clear and powerful guidance in this regard and he is always available to answer all of my many questions. I have attended the course of Vachanas conducted by Poojya Rupaka Akka and in that she has guided me in understanding the Vachanas of Guru Basavanna and the Sharanas in a meaningful and purposeful way and she is continuously helping me in adapting the message from the Vachanas in my day to day life. Poojya Akka has guided me on all of questions with a lot of care and affection. Through BDC, I have learnt the art of living. I was blessed to get Istalinga Deekshe from Poojya Swamiji and have undergone the initial meditation course under the guidance of Poojya Akka. Meditation is helping me a lot. I hope to get continued margadarshna from Poojya Swamiji and Poojya Akka in improving the quality of life.

We consider ourselves very fortunate to have been part of Basava Divine Center for more than a decade now. Our kids are truly blessed to have had a Guru while growing up, a Guru they looked up to for guidance and spiritual learning. We all get to learn in depth about our religion and Basava philosophy and adopt these principles in our daily lives. At many events Poojya Allama Prabhu Swamiji was present as well and enlightened us with many religious discourses. We and the kids have created many memories with fellow BDC members during monthly meetings and annual Basava Vaibhava events. Children had the opportunity to learn about various sharanas and discuss about them during special events. BDC has filled a huge void for BDC families so far away from the motherland.

I am fortunate to have had the opportunity to learn about Guru Basavanna and worship his feet in this faraway land of the US. This is thanks to BDC and Rupaka Akka. Rupaka Akka introduced Vachanas to us and the children. Her explanation of Vachanas make a huge impact on the minds of the children. Poojyashree Allamaprabhu Swamiji and Rupaka Akka have helped me come out of total ignorance by shedding the light of knowledge. For people like me immersed in the problems of daily life, they have revealed the path of Guru Basavanna. BDC is established in the US to help those who crave for spiritual knowledge. Accordingly, BDC organizes activities to help us. For those who want to progress in their spiritual pursuit, understanding the internal flaws and correcting them is critical. To do this, we absolutely need a Guru. BDC provides us the necessary guidance to recognize and correct our flaws.