Source: Religion News Service
HUNTSVILLE, ALABAMA, March 20, 2002: Siddheshvari Devi Ji could use “On the Road Again” as her theme song. Devi Ji, better known as Didi Ji, is one of the few female Hindu swamis in North America and she’s almost always on the road. She carries all of her worldly possessions in a suitcase as she travels, giving discourses on the essence of Hinduism and seeking to dispel what she says are the myths and misconceptions related to one of the world’s oldest religions. The founder of Divine Love Mission, Didi Ji’s message during a recent visit to Alabama — her first — focused on the inner happiness and peace she finds at the essence of Hinduism. Dr. Laj Utreja, president of the Hindu Cultural Center of North Alabama, estimates there are about 400 Hindu families in the Huntsville area. Didi Ji was raised in a traditional Hindu family but never understood why she believed what her parents taught her and her three siblings about their faith. “I had always respected Hinduism because it respects other faiths and doesn’t place restrictions on God,” she said. “But I had taken it for granted growing up. When my family moved to Canada (when she was 13), I found there was no real happiness in the world, and it was decreasing in intensity with age. “If there’s no happiness in the world, then where is it? It must only be through God.” Veena Kaul, an auditor for the city of Huntsville, said Didi Ji “has the love of the Lord in her. She inspires you so much. “What I see in her is one who is loving, kind and thinks about the Lord all the time. Her vibrations make me cry.” Kaul said.