Deepak Mahtani had everything he ever dreamed of in life: money, a thriving company, class, and degrees in business from Sophia University, Tokyo, Japan, and American College, Switzerland. He followed his family tradition of serving the eastern gods and was sure that he was living life to the fullest.
Born into a Sindhi Indian family, Mahtani grew up learning Hindu scriptures, attending their services and participating in the rituals that accompany the faith. Her father was a Pakistani businessman who fled to India due to tribal persecution. She settled in Bombay with a few rupees and started a business. Not long after, she hopped on a freighter and moved 6,000 miles to Indonesia.
She gave birth to her son Deepak and two other siblings in Hong Kong, and four years later, she moved to Japan. She still practiced her Hindu religion and her father always instilled in her children’s heads that “money and success is all you need to be happy in life.”
She had no idea that hell was right around the corner until an unexpected tragedy struck and changed her life forever. His sister came to visit him in Geneva for two weeks. He was in a car accident and died instantly. It was a very traumatic experience that left him in a severe depression for six months. He lost interest in his business, began smoking, drinking excessively and being suicidal until he met a fellow Sindhi Indian in Geneva who was a Christian. This new friend tried to introduce him to the Christian God, but Mathani was adamant. His friend encouraged him not to reject the Christian God, but to focus on the man Jesus and his word. Bathani got a Bible and began to read the words of Jesus in red and gradually began to believe in the God of the Bible.
At the age of 12, Mahtani lost her mother to kidney disease. Although he was the baby of the family, he was determined to succeed at all costs. Upon graduating from school, he started an electronics distribution company that grew from zero to $4 million in four years. His wealth came with a lavish lifestyle: first-class travel, five-star hotels, nice clothes, and money to do whatever he wanted. He was fluent in English, French, Spanish, Japanese and two Indian languages. His busy schedule did not accommodate anything he had to do with God; he was brutally aggressive to get what he wanted to the point of pushing people out of the way without batting an eyelash. For Mahtani at the time, what could be sweeter than the “heaven” he was experiencing on earth?
She had no idea that hell was right around the corner until an unexpected tragedy struck and changed her life forever. His sister came to visit him in Geneva for two weeks, then was in a car accident and died instantly. The trauma of his death left him in a severe depression for six months. He lost interest in his business, began smoking, drinking excessively and being suicidal until he met a fellow Sindhi Indian in Geneva who was a Christian. This new friend tried to introduce him to the Christian God, but Mahtani was adamant. His friend encouraged him not to reject the Christian God but to focus on the man Jesus and his Word. Mahtani got a Bible and began to read the words of Jesus in red and gradually began to believe in the God of the Bible.
After unsuccessfully praying to other gods for a good night’s sleep, the God of the Bible granted his request. That was how he gave his life to Christ. Today, he shares the Gospel throughout the world, especially with Hindus and Sikhs and business people. He is active in the leadership of his local church and is married to Celia. They have two adult sons: Arun and Sanjay.
When he first converted to Christianity, his family members were disgruntled and extremely skeptical. Over time they saw the positive impact of his newfound faith. Her act of loving and accepting his family despite his differences in belief caused her older sister and his niece to convert to Christianity.
Today, Mahtani is a management training consultancy specializing in understanding culture and working with different cultures, especially those of India, Japan and China. She has mentored and trained hundreds of senior managers involved in outsourcing to Indian companies and remotely managing teams around the world. Most of her clients are FTSE100 and Fortune 500 companies, and she is listed on several boards.
In addition to his business interests, he is active in various charities both in the UK and South Asia that raise funds for health, development and education in developing countries. He was included in the International Who’s Who of Professionals (2001). He recently participated in the writing of a book called Sindhi Journeys of Faith: 20 stories of Sindhis from around the world who have come to know Christ. All 2,000 copies of the book have been distributed and another reprint is being planned.
“After 20 years of being a follower of Jesus Christ, He has answered my prayers,” says Mahtani, summarizing his Christian experience. “Today, I am more successful than ever, not because of money but because of the people I met through my faith while traveling the world.”
His message to the world is: “God is a God of love, and Jesus is his means of demonstrating it to each of his children. He desires a relationship with each of us. Don’t think of it as a religion.” but more like a love story. Also, do not believe and live the lies that the evil one and the people that he uses to discourage us have told about you.
Let us lift Deepak Mahtani up in prayer, that the Lord continue to empower him to reach others with the Good News, in Jesus name. Pray that his efforts will not be in vain and his unlimited favor will be his portion at all times, in Jesus name.