Church of Scientology Mission of Baton Rouge—Beacon of Light and Hope on the Mississippi

I live in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and have for 25 years. I love this place and the people within it and very much consider it my home, even though I was born and raised in India.

I am the Lead Emergency Physician of Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center.

I am also a Scientologist and have been for 25 years.

July 8, 2017, was a very special day for me, my family and my friends, for this was the culmination of what now stands as a monument of freedom for Mankind—the new Church of Scientology Mission of Baton Rouge. It is a dream come true!

This is where people get to go free. It is a beacon of hope to deliver the technologies of my greatest friend—L. Ron Hubbard, the message that changed my life forever when I first encountered it 25 years ago.

I well remember back in my early teens growing up in India listening to spiritual gurus teaching that this world is but an illusion and the actual essence of life is the Brahman, the God himself who is spread amongst all living and nonliving things equally and is enjoying the way this chapter of human history, this Yuga, is playing out.

I was ready to quit and head for the Himalayas in search of the guru and study of the ancient Vedas. I remember the look in my mother’s eyes as I announced to her my intentions. She was certain that no such guru existed and even if he did he would not have all the knowledge. I too had doubts. Even if such a guru and ancient texts existed, how would I study them and know if they were true, as their language is almost dead. I did not go on that quest to the Himalayas.

Ten years later I was in America, having lost my father, married my best friend—an incredibly smart and understanding soulmate—with our first son on the way, and the potential to make a fantastic income, more in a month than my father made in a year and saved over his entire lifetime.

Rondi, who became my wife, had come to Cook County, Illinois, to champion inner city health care. I am still in awe and wonder of the kindness of her soul.

I simply could not believe what this country does for its people. With all the resources this country has to offer, I thought no one went hungry, that no sick were turned away, and that people were even given places to live. Even if not as idyllic as I thought at the time, what most dismayed me was that so many people squandered the help and remained or ended up in a horrible state.

I felt depressed and purposeless. I thought about going back to India where I could help people and make a reasonable living while pursuing my quest for knowledge.

We chose instead to move to rural Pennsylvania, a little closer to our families, where we found the potential to make a reasonable living and live in a beautiful house on the slopes of the Blue Mountains with a stream in front just beyond the deck. But two years into this truly idyllic life, I was again depressed and no closer to my unfulfilled pursuit of true and meaningful knowledge.

Then out of the blue I received a call from an organization offering courses they said could help us manage our medical practice better. We paid money we did not have and a month later I was sitting in a course room studying a book about Study Technology, written for school kids. Four hours later I was utterly blown away. I demanded to know why this material was not in the hands of every student in America—everywhere, for that matter—and better yet, why not in every teacher and curriculum writer’s hands??? I was assured I could take it to whomever I wished.

Today, this Church of Scientology Mission of Baton Rouge allows me and my family to continue our studies in our hometown, and to make this path available to others. This Mission is a place of succor and peace. It brings understanding to people about themselves, about others and about their lives and helps rekindle their dreams and live them.

My quest for knowledge had brought me here. Rondi and I spent the next year studying everything we could lay our hands on. Since then I have made an excellent living. I work really hard, help people on many fronts, and have raised four productive sons. My quest for knowledge continues. I have a path and I am firmly on it.

Today, this Church of Scientology Mission of Baton Rouge allows me and my family to continue our studies in our hometown, and to make this path available to others. This Mission is a place of succor and peace. It brings understanding to people about themselves, about others and about their lives and helps rekindle their dreams and live them.

The building of this Mission represents years of dedication by me and many others. It is an aesthetic space worthy of the technology contained within. All who wish to avail themselves of that technology of living are welcome to come in.

Here is also where individuals and groups from the community come together to meet and plan and unite in efforts to spark interest and build better neighborhoods and a better city inspired by L. Ron Hubbard’s technology.

In this place is the knowledge that has allowed me to go free as a spiritual being, fulfilling that long-ago desire that drove me to want to study the Vedas.

This Mission, our Mission of Baton Rouge, represents the ultimate team effort, achieving the goal of bringing the genius and wisdom of L. Ron Hubbard to this community.

I am more optimistic than ever that we will spearhead change for the better in our city and create desirable effects where everyone wins.

Our message is: Baton Rouge, here we are—for you!

Photos by: Scientology News / Ken Durden / Shutterstock.com