Remembering Asee Darla 1949 - 2021
Over 50 years ago my dad, Sam Hartline, while on a mission trip to India, met a teenager named Asee. Dad taught and led many to the Lord in India, but there was something about this young man that caused Dad to see a diamond in the rough. One night when Dad was sleeping, he awoke to Asee copying my dad’s sermon notes to take in absolutely everything he could from the teaching he was receiving. Dad knew then Asee would be a great influence in the Kingdom of God in the nation of India.
Aseervadam Darla was born on April 23, 1949 in a small village in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Even as a young boy, he knew God had a calling on his life. He once told me of a minister who was visiting his area. Asee was fascinated and drawn to the words he was hearing. The whole day he followed this minister, and at the end of the day, he tearfully told this minister that he wanted to go with him and devote his life to ministry.
The minister convinced him to stay with his family, and that one day he would serve in ministry. Once, when he was young, he was traveling from one village to another. He got tired and went to sleep under a bridge. During the middle of the night he stirred feeling someone leaning against him. Thinking they were only wanting to get warm, he went back to sleep. When dawn arrived, he awoke and realized it was a large snake that had been sleeping by him. He quietly got up and left, but believed it was God who protected him that night because of the calling on his life.
So when he heard God’s truths as a young man, he eagerly received God’s message of salvation and devoted himself to service to God for the entirety of his life. He enrolled in the Sunset School of Preaching extension (now Sunset International Bible Institute) in the city then known as Madras (now Chennai). He graduated with perfect scores in every class (the only one to accomplish this). Through the years, his love for God’s Word led him to memorize nearly the entire New Testament and several sections of the Old.
When he first entered school, he had made a decision to be single all of his life in order to more fully devote himself to God’s work, but one of the courses he took was on marriage and the family —done God’s way. He saw the great benefit of having a family and as a team being able to work together and serve the Lord.
So on July 7, 1974, he married Prabhavathi Gorinta, and together the two of them committed themselves to be fully devoted to the work of God. They went on to have three children, all of whom are devoted to God’s work along with their families. He loved his family so much. When traveling, before he would eat, he would always call his wife to see if she was okay. He used to tell his children, “One day I will definitely leave this body, but your eternal father stays with you all the time.”
When his oldest daughter graduated from college, she was offered a job in a large company. Asee refused, telling her that the reason for her education was not to earn money, but for ministry.
He worked briefly in the city of Tirupati, but then moved to Nellore, where he lived for the rest of his life. The church grew rapidly, and Asee would travel anywhere if he thought there was a sincere seeker of truth. He once told me it was his practice to not eat anything until he had shared Christ with at least one person on any given day. He personally helped plant hundreds of churches in India, and he aided many in growing the Kingdom of God.
He became a speaker for World Radio in the year 2000. He saw this as a wonderful privilege and opportunity for how God would use him. He also began emphasizing training preachers and church leaders—he trained hundreds of preachers by traveling to different areas of the state and country and leading them through a two- to three-year curriculum.
He loved to teach God’s Word, and his students were somewhat mesmerized by his instruction. He could teach for hours without getting tired and keep the attention of all. Mani Kumar remembers a time when he taught for nearly four hours, and no one lost interest or concentration, even the children and the elderly. He would use the preachers he trained to follow up with contacts generated by his radio program throughout India.
When opportunities arose in Sri Lanka and Nepal due to natural calamities, Asee was eager to go and bring relief from One Kingdom, encouraging the churches during that difficult time to share the hope of Jesus with unbelievers.
Asee lived a very simple, frugal, and sacrificial life. He had a simple rule he shared with me. “When food is available, I eat. When sleep is available, I sleep.” For him, this spoke to numerous times when he would go without both. He dressed himself in simple outfits while other preachers decorated themselves. He at times requested that the people he taught only keep five changes of clothing and that they give the rest to the poor. He lived in an old building. There was no extravagance to his life. When he would travel from Nellore to Bangalore (a 10 hour train ride) to record programs for World Radio, he would travel coach in non-air conditioned cars through the night. He would sleep sitting up with people pressing around him.
One Kingdom would provide enough for him to take an air conditioned sleeper car, but he would save the money to use in helping poor preachers in villages. When I first went to India in 2006, he gave me a ride on his motorcycle that had been purchased for him back in the early 70’s. He knew how to pinch pennies and make the most of everything he had. One time a preacher came for his help, and he gave away money which was earmarked for his youngest daughter.
Because of the extreme poverty in India, most of the preachers there expect something from those they teach financially and materially. Asee never did. He never expected anything from those he taught. Even when they would try to give him money he would simply say, “I have enough, you take care of yourself.”
He also sought to teach the churches and leaders he worked with to be self-supporting. Early on, when he was receiving a salary and work fund from the US, he asked the supporting church to stop his salary. He told them the only way the church in Nellore would grow to be self-supporting is if the money from the US stopped. God provided, and the church stepped up.
Once when Dad was in India, he and Asee missed the last bus leaving the village they were preaching in. They spent the night in an abandoned building with beggars. Asee stayed up all night watching out for my dad. Another time, Dad was in India in a motel that cost more than what Asee had wanted to pay. Asee refused to get another room and slept on the floor. During the night Asee was up on his knees praying. He and Dad had such a close relationship, and he told my dad that one of his prayers was for them to be able to be in the same room together in heaven.
On one of his trips back from Sri Lanka, he was traveling with John Lee, who looked to Asee as a mentor, father-figure, and who eventually became one of his sons-in-law. When they arrived, there was a problem with John’s ticket. Asee tried to purchase the ticket, but the only one available was an unreserved ticket, which meant a place on the train, but no seat. He gave his seat to John Lee. John requested numerous times for Asee to sit in the seat, but Asee wouldn’t hear of it.
Once in the Indian town of Yanum, after a training session with church leaders, the brothers wanted to walk back with him to his hotel, since it was late at night. They asked them, “How will you come back alone?” Asee replied, “I am not going alone, so don’t worry about me. Angels walk with me, and we go together.” That was his trust in God.
On another occasion in Sri Lanka, he led an old woman who was dying to Christ. After her baptism, he told her that she could die in peace. The woman said, “No, I lived so many years in the world. Why can’t I live more years for Christ?” Asee nodded, so he and the church prayed for her. She lived several more years ministering for the Lord.
A number of years ago, when Asee was in the US, he was able to visit with brother Bill Smith, whose health at that time was very poor. Asee prayed over him and told him that he would live another five years. As many of you know, he did.
During the last couple of years of his life, he was ill and didn’t leave the house very much. His family devoted themselves to taking care of him. Asee left this Earth and went into the presence of God on December 25, 2021.
Because of his love for God, he impacted thousands. He left an incredible legacy to inspire a new generation of believers in India. His son Sanjay continues his work as radio speaker for One Kingdom. He also preaches in Nellore and holds training classes for preachers and church leaders. Sanjay and his family serve tirelessly in Nellore.
His oldest daughter Dara Krupa leads ministries for children, widows, women, and the homeless. Her husband and their two children all work together in these efforts. Asee’s youngest daughter Sowjanyavathi and her husband serve two churches in Nagarjuna Sagar. Their two-year-old daughter has memorized Psalm 23 and the books of the New Testament. The legacy continues!
We pay tribute to our brother and dear friend Aseervadam Darla, who allowed God to work in him mightily during his life here on this Earth. May God raise up many more, so that the nation of India can hear the story of Jesus.
Clayton Hartline is a pastor and elder at Christ Healing Community Church in Gonzales, Louisiana. He maintains a close connection with One Kingdom speakers in India, as his family shares a rich history with the people there.