Johanna Devadayavu

‘A little more persistence, a little more effort, and what seemed hopeless failure may turn to glorious success.’ ~ Elbert Hubbard

Desmond Tutu, a Bishop from South Africa, says accurately: ‘Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.’ Unlike Faith that is built on things not seen, Hope is built on Faith. Without Faith there is no Hope. Based on Faith in a promise grows Hope to see the fulfillment of the promise one day. Faith is built on past experience and a well established Truth, while Hope looks into the future with confidence rooted in unshakable Faith. ‘…Hope involves optimism, motivation and strategy.’ It is essential in life to keep our environment optimistic. Be it home, workplace or classroom, an optimistic ambience is a prerequisite to harmonious and fruitful progress. Hopeful optimism breathes like fresh air through rooms and living quarters. To create such an environment a certain strategy is needed: While giving feedback of any sort or while communicating, if language is carefully chosen and positive expressions used, the result is marvelous. If children are involved, a realistic and hopeful example of daily living will impress them for life. Let the children know that life consists of all sorts of events. How we face them, how we deal with them and how we grow out of them, defines those events as either good or bad. Hope and optimism possess the power to turn a bad event into a good memory. It’s good to remind oneself when passing through a difficulty that the current situation is temporary and at the end of the tunnel the sun beckons with a warm smile to hope for better times. Reminding friends or family members of former achievements once thought impossible to reach, can render fresh hope for future achievements though they might be even tougher than previous ones. 

In absence of hope there is despair, misery, hopelessness and depression. Raymond Williams, a Welsh academic and novelist, said, “To be truly radical is to make hope possible rather than despair convincing.” It doesn’t cost anyone anything to boost themselves and those around them with a little extra hope to dispel despair. In the face of steadfast hope and optimism despair and depression pack off and flee, as they can’t stand in front of Hope built on Faith, their arguments not being backed by steadfast Truth. Thus their slippery assertions will dissolve into thin air. But give doubt and despair an ear – just part of an ear – and their pessimistic arguments will pierce your heart asunder, threatening your very existence and survival. Therefore awareness is essential to discern the voices all around. Are they hopeful, edifying and elevating or are they breathing negativity resulting in death? Despair is like a dark prison cell. All around only thick gray mouldy walls. Nothing to motivate or to encourage: Nothing but despair everywhere. Unless one possesses the key called Hope, there’s no way to escape from the prison cell called Despair! Hope fits exactly into the keyhole of the heavy lock. Maybe the lock is already rusty due to a lengthy overstay at the prison cell Despair. Some oil of courage needs to be applied and the key will turn around to snap this hefty lock. Aching joints need to be flexed; a deep breath taken to clear a foggy mind. Summoning the last speck of inner determination, the prisoner of Despair needs to heave up his weighty body and take the step of Faith combined with Hope into the sunlight of another new morning of freedom from Despair and Depression. Let me quote Bernard Williams here who was an English philosopher and author who was knighted in 1999: “There was never a night or a problem that could defeat sunrise or hope.” 

There’s no need to hope for something that is already received. Why would someone have to hope for something that is already achieved? To hope without evidence of a solution needs courage and faith in the Supreme. Hope works through patience while being joyful in hoping. Anxious anticipation is not hopeful expectation. A hopeful outlook triggers positive vibrations that in the course of waiting keeps an individual on a sure track to inherit the result of steadfast Hope. In springtime a farmer tills the land and sows his seed full of hope, looking forward in good hope to receive the wages of his tireless labour in the form of a plentiful harvest in autumn. He needs to dare to throw out his seed. It’s connected with risk. Yet every year come Spring, we watch the farmers sowing their precious seed, prayerfully hoping for a blessed harvest.

The ultimate goal though of souls on the earthly plane is liberation from the cycle of birth and death. This liberation is beyond the freedom attained through Hope from the prison cell called Despair. Liberation includes a realisation of reality and transcending the limitations of the physical plane where one needs to surrender attachment to desire, even including hope. Hope associated with despair ultimately fosters resilience involving expectation and desire. However liberation from hope through acceptance for whatever is as the will of the Supreme, can lead to true bliss. 

About Johanna D.S. Chittranjan (Johanna Devadayavu)

Poet | Philanthropist | Co-Founder of Laharinagar

Johanna D.S. Chittranjan, known in literary and spiritual circles as Johanna Devadayavu, is a revered poet and humanitarian of Swiss origin who has lived in South India for over forty years. A woman of gentle strength and profound introspection, she has dedicated her life to cultivating love, peace, and spiritual awareness through poetry and compassionate action. Together with her late husband, Lawrie Devadayavu, she co-founded Laharinagar, a serene spiritual retreat nestled in the verdant landscape of South India. More than a sanctuary, Laharinagar is a living embodiment of their shared vision—where harmony with nature, meditative silence, and human connection converge. It continues to inspire seekers, poets, and pilgrims from around the world. Johanna’s poetry is a quiet revolution—her voice emerges from a soul attuned to the rhythms of the earth and the divine heartbeat of humanity. Her work is marked by simplicity, emotional depth, and luminous imagery drawn from her lived experiences. In her verses, she embodies multiple facets of human existence: the devoted wife, nurturing mother, reflective grandmother, diasporic soul, nature lover, and spiritual pilgrim.

Her published works include:

• Flight of a Turtledove – A lyrical celebration of inner peace, nature’s wisdom, and the healing essence of love.

• Hope Beyond Perplexity – Poetic reflections that offer solace and insight amid life’s confusions.

• The Call of the Turtledove for Universal Peace: Meditations on Love Divine – A contemplative volume echoing the spiritual call for harmony and compassion.

• Turtledove of Sundered Skies – A deeply personal and poetic tribute to her late husband, suffused with devotion and remembrance.

Through these works, Johanna offers readers a pathway back to what is essential—stillness, sincerity, and soul. Her pantheistic sensibilities and unwavering faith in the goodness of life flow naturally into her poetry, which serves as both sanctuary and guide for the weary and the awakened alike. A quiet force of benevolence, Johanna Devadayavu continues to inspire through her written word and her lived presence. Her journey is one of transcendence through tenderness, and in every flight of the turtledove, one hears the echo of her heart—soft, unwavering, and eternally serene.

‘Faith is the substance of things hoped for, and the evidence of things not seen.’ ~ Author unknown

If faith is the substance of things hoped for, it means the things mentioned here are not within our reach. In the physical sense, anything having substance is something real. If I have a fruit in my hand, why would I have to believe that I have a fruit in my hand? I already have it in my hand. It is real; I can smell it and taste it. I don’t need faith for something I hold in my hand. But I need faith for something I can’t see, can’t fathom, can’t describe, or explain. We need faith to attain the true, eternal things we can’t see with our physical eyes. For this, faith is the substance, says the quote. And it goes on to say: ‘…and the evidence of things not seen.’ Faith, then, is the substance as well as the evidence: ‘…the substance and the evidence of things not seen.’ Things we can see are not permanent. They are a shadow of the things not seen. They teach us about the things we don’t see. The things we don’t see are eternal. That’s where the true substance is. If there is a father who loves his children on the physical plane, there is an eternal Father in the realm we can’t perceive with our physical senses: The Father of all!

We need faith for tomorrow. Who holds our destiny? Who holds our hand to teach us to walk, step by step? Who is the breath of life we freely breathe? We need faith for our very breath, each new moment. Realizing our frailty and our vulnerability, we need faith in someone stronger than us humans. We need faith in our Father—our Creator. We need faith in His love, in His support and sustenance, in His care and protection, in His guidance and providence. How sad would a father feel if suddenly his little girl went and embraced a donkey, saying, ‘O daddy! daddy! You are my daddy!’ He would feel devastated, thinking something was wrong with his daughter. In the same way, our true Father looks forward to His children acknowledging His presence by faith and trust in Him.

Small children have faith in their parents. Once a father set his three sons on a wall. He asked each one of them to jump, promising he would catch them. The eldest one said: “O father, how can I know you will catch me? I won’t jump.” The second one said: “father, you simply say that you’ll catch me; what if you drop me?” The third one just jumped before the father was even ready to catch him. The father had to go out of his way to get hold of him. The youngest son had an innocent and strong faith in the father’s power to catch him without fail—and he jumped, giving it not even a second thought.

A father once promised his son a bicycle if he passed his examination. The son studied eagerly, looking forward to getting his bicycle. He passed the examination. Having full faith in the father’s promise, on the way home, he went straight to the bicycle shop and ordered a bicycle of his choice. Coming home, he exclaimed to the father, “father, I have passed my exams. Let’s go to the bicycle shop and bring my bicycle home!” The father replied in surprise: “What, sonny? What bicycle?” “But father, you promised me a bicycle if I passed my exams. I have passed and have ordered a bicycle! Let’s go and get it, father!” proclaimed the son enthusiastically. The father had to go to the shop with his son and get him the bicycle he had ordered in good faith in the father’s promise. The son’s faith in the father made him fulfill his promise. The son visualized his dream and acted upon it with full faith. Faith in the Heavenly Father works against human logic, against the five senses of our physical being, against all odds, and against all the evil forces of darkness that often try to bring us low into realms of doubt and despair. Therefore, we need to heed the voice of love within our hearts to keep up the good faith, that we may walk step by step on the way sketched out for us.

If, on the contrary, we open our carnal mind to doubt the Father’s power to sustain and protect us, we end up in confusion, anxiety, powerlessness, low self-esteem, and even impaired well-being. Doubt can trigger an overwhelmed mind, void of clear thought and sound judgment. Doubt can lead to constant uncertainty and nerve-racking overthinking, resulting in stress and fatigue. Doubt might paralyze our vision, rendering us blindfolded in search of a ray of light to guide us, when all we would have to do was to just remove the covering from our eyes. However, doubt, applied wisely at a healthy level, can protect people from overconfidence. Understanding the negative consequences of an excess of doubt can help individuals safely navigate between a healthy level of critical questioning and detrimental doubting. We can learn to doubt the doubt, to vibrate higher, and thus rise beyond the downward spiral of deadly doubt.

Let us, then, have faith in the veracity of the One who gave us the holy scriptures for our guide. Through infinite means, God reaches out to us, His beloved children. If we quietly listen to our heart, we can hear His assuring voice: “I am right there with you, to support and protect you! You never walk alone. I am with you always. Have faith in me. I will make it come to pass. All things happening to you are for your good; I have called you according to my purpose. Learn your lessons and emerge stronger out of every new challenge! Today you may face a storm, but tomorrow there’ll be a rainbow in the sky. Walk on through fire or ice: Walk on in faith—if need be, I will carry you through! No mountain is too tall for me to climb and cross over; no canyon too deep for me to stoop down and lift you up. I know how frail you are, how much you can bear, and I will not test you beyond your capacity. Therefore, hold on in faith and be strong!”

The entire universe, in all its splendor, is an expression of our Creator, our Father, who, though magnificent in grandeur and power, takes time to tend to our every need, even on this physical, earthly plane. Where, then, is our problem in having full faith in Him who is mindful of His entire creation? Simple faith could be described as follows: Every evening, before going to sleep, we set our alarm clock in good faith that we will wake up the next morning. What is the guarantee that we will wake up in the morning? There’s absolutely no guarantee. Yet, we go to sleep without a further thought, believing that we will hear the alarm in the morning to be getting up. That can be termed as simple faith. A bird sings its lonely morning tune in the dark pre-dawn wee hours of the day. It has faith that the sun will rise at the correct time. How does it know? It has faith. Faith stands strong and unperturbed in the face of calamity and challenge. Faith is a strong foundation and the rock on which we can ever find refuge. Unwavering faith is a Divine gift that God gives freely to those who trust in Him. Through such faith in the Divine Father, we can overcome and triumph in any situation.

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About Johanna D.S. Chittranjan (Johanna Devadayavu)

Poet | Philanthropist | Co-Founder of Laharinagar

Johanna D.S. Chittranjan, known in literary and spiritual circles as Johanna Devadayavu, is a revered poet and humanitarian of Swiss origin who has lived in South India for over forty years. A woman of gentle strength and profound introspection, she has dedicated her life to cultivating love, peace, and spiritual awareness through poetry and compassionate action. Together with her late husband, Lawrie Devadayavu, she co-founded Laharinagar, a serene spiritual retreat nestled in the verdant landscape of South India. More than a sanctuary, Laharinagar is a living embodiment of their shared vision—where harmony with nature, meditative silence, and human connection converge. It continues to inspire seekers, poets, and pilgrims from around the world. Johanna’s poetry is a quiet revolution—her voice emerges from a soul attuned to the rhythms of the earth and the divine heartbeat of humanity. Her work is marked by simplicity, emotional depth, and luminous imagery drawn from her lived experiences. In her verses, she embodies multiple facets of human existence: the devoted wife, nurturing mother, reflective grandmother, diasporic soul, nature lover, and spiritual pilgrim.

Her published works include:

• Flight of a Turtledove – A lyrical celebration of inner peace, nature’s wisdom, and the healing essence of love.

• Hope Beyond Perplexity – Poetic reflections that offer solace and insight amid life’s confusions.

• The Call of the Turtledove for Universal Peace: Meditations on Love Divine – A contemplative volume echoing the spiritual call for harmony and compassion.

• Turtledove of Sundered Skies – A deeply personal and poetic tribute to her late husband, suffused with devotion and remembrance.

Through these works, Johanna offers readers a pathway back to what is essential—stillness, sincerity, and soul. Her pantheistic sensibilities and unwavering faith in the goodness of life flow naturally into her poetry, which serves as both sanctuary and guide for the weary and the awakened alike. A quiet force of benevolence, Johanna Devadayavu continues to inspire through her written word and her lived presence. Her journey is one of transcendence through tenderness, and in every flight of the turtledove, one hears the echo of her heart—soft, unwavering, and eternally serene.