In most cases, the spiritual journey starts when you have experienced life and decided that apart from day-to-day existence, there must be something more . It can’t be just this – in which we are born, go through some experiences, get married or unmarried, have kids, have a business or a job, then in the end, you die.

Is this all to life or there could be something else? Now, some people say this is what life is- you’re born, you enjoy, you die and that’s the deal. But there are some who don’t accept this, think it can’t be so meaningless, there must be something more. There is pain, suffering, little bit of happiness and then it’s over? So, some people begin to think.

Look at Buddha’s case. He was born in a luxurious family. He experienced all the pleasures and happiness of living in the palace. In fact, somebody had told his parents that if he sees sick people or people who are dying, he may leave home. So, they kept him protected. One day he happened to see a sick old man and he started thinking – Is this life? Can I also get sick like this? Maybe, who knows! Then one day, he saw a dead person and looking at the dead man, he said – is this the fate of all human beings, to die?

In fact, the Yoga Vashishta is about a state where Rama himself gets into some kind of a depression, wondering what life is all about, why am I living? So, that’s where Vashishta comes in and teaches the Yoga Vashishta. In the same way, Buddha too started thinking. What is all this! Then one day, he saw a monk, he was begging for his food with a beautiful smile on his face. This made him wonder. He doesn’t have a palace, a wife nor children, he has nothing! What’s he smiling about? He seems so peaceful. For hunger he eats food somewhere and he’s quite happy. What is it that makes him happy? And what is it that here in the palace everybody seems stressed out? He started his search. In fact, they call it ‘setting forth’.

So, he walked out and he searched. First, he became a Jain Shravana. Then, he became a yogi, he tried various things. – He started questioning – Is there freedom from sorrow? He concluded that desire is the root of all sorrow, and Nirvana is freedom from sorrow for all mankind.

Come to another journey. There was a young boy in Tamil Nadu, in Madurai. He was a normal child except that he used to sleep like a log. And he had not done any sadhana (“realization”). One day, he felt that he was about to die, So, he said, so what happens when I die? He lay down like a dead body. And then it came to him that the body was dead but he was not dead- ‘I am alive’ So, he started thinking – who is the ‘Real’ me? Apart from the body that is born and what is that, that is permanent, my true identity? This young man went deeply into it, saying my body, my mind, the thought that says this is mine, cannot be ‘Me’. So, what can I be? He went deep into this understanding, into this exploration. He found that he is neither the body nor the mind. Chidananda roopa Shivoham Shivoham like Shankaracharya said. I am of the nature of bliss and consciousness, I am Shivam, I am Shivam. So, that’s another journey. So, there’s Buddha’s journey and there is Ramana Maharshi’s journey.

So, the common point is, the beginning of a spiritual journey is – dissatisfaction with the status quo. Fortunately, those who have experienced this say it’s joyful, blissful and that it’s infinite. The speed of the journey may depend on the road you take, the vehicle you use, the maturity that you have, and the treasure of experience you carry from your past. It so happens – that there are innumerable ways to reach That. One cannot say that this is the only path. Some paths suit some people and some don’t. So, before you choose the path on this journey, make sure that it is meant for you. Now sometimes, it’s difficult to figure that out. So, therefore there are teachers who can help you figure this out – is this your cup of tea or not?

That which we seek, that which we search, whatever be the journey, whichever way we are traveling – is something so intimate – we are actually searching for ourselves in our true essence, not in what we believe it is, heard it is or somebody says it is. So, all you require is a clear mind not prejudiced by all that one has gathered. If one can’t do that, well, one can still have some spiritual experiences but not reach the goal.

While there are different ways, the essential thing about listening to someone who probably has travelled the path and touched the goal – is to listen to it with a completely unprejudiced mind, with no load, with no garbage on your head. It’s veryrare. Very,Very rare.! First two and a half years I spent with Maheshwarnath Babaji, out of that one year was spent in unloading because- he said – even if I give you something, it’s not going to become a part of you because you’re so .. Because I went after reading a lot, even the university library’s Philosophy and Religion shelvesI finished by the time I met babaji.