Dear Self,
Welcome to the inaugural edition of the Self Score Newsletter!
You’ve made it this far, and we truly wish you the very best on the journey of your soul.
One age-old question has stayed with humanity for centuries:
“Who am I?”
This is also known as inquiry, the journey of seeking our true self and discovering our true nature, which is SatChitAnand: Existence, Consciousness, and Bliss.
Interestingly, this is also the very first question in our Level 3 test at Self Score.
All spiritual masters work around this very theme in their own individual and unique ways. They teach their disciples and spiritual seekers about the meaning and purpose of life.
The form, the packaging, and the way they share their wisdom may be different, but the fundamental truth and message remain the same:
Discover who I am.
Interestingly, one of my close friends, whom I’ve known since our college days, more than four decades now, and his wife asked me yesterday, on a beautiful Sunday morning, what is the best way to begin meditation or sadhana, a spiritual practice.
That question took me down memory lane. I found myself describing my own experience and how I began this journey.
My “official journey” on this path began in 2013, when I read the book Meditation & Life by Swami Chinmayananda.
I loved the book so much that I read it again immediately after finishing it the first time. And then I wanted to keep reading it infinitely. I simply did not want to stop.
I became so deeply enamored with the book because, with every reading, I found a deeper meaning to life. I would read certain sentences again and again, trying to understand their true meaning and depth.
Such is the power of inquiry.
That experience changed my life for the better, forever. It put me firmly on a path of real transformation.
Not long after that, in the summer of 2014, I came in contact with Swami Mukundananda by the immense grace of God during his 10-day spiritual discourses program in Florida.
The key takeaway, and perhaps the biggest gift for me, was understanding the importance, or rather the criticality, of sadhana.
Closely connected to that is “regularity and sincerity”.
Without these, it is difficult to progress much further on this path. They are indispensable parts of the journey.
What Swamiji helped us understand was both the need and the value of sadhana, and that understanding became permanently etched in my mind.
Actually, we owe this to ourselves.
Yet, we often forget our true nature while staying caught up in this ‘samsara chakra’ (circle of life and death) or ‘mayajaal’ (web or trap of illusions) resulting in the roller coaster rides of repeated joys and sorrows from this world for us.
Swamiji said that we should aim for two hours of spiritual practice every day.
But he also understood that, in this day and age, with all the commitments we have, two hours can feel like a lot.
So, if two hours feels impossible, start with one hour. If one hour is still too much, aim for 30 minutes and if even 30 minutes feels difficult, start with at least 10 minutes a day.
The idea is simple:
Carve out some amount of time that fits into your schedule.
I “ran away” fast to start my journey with that gem of an understanding.
So, on one fine day in July 2014, I made a commitment to myself: I would carve out 30 minutes every day for my sadhana.
I divided those 30 minutes into about 10 minutes of pranayama or breathing exercises, followed by 20 minutes of meditation.
Guess what?
Just 30 days later, I loved it so much that I increased my practice to a total of 60 minutes a day: 30 minutes of pranayama and 30 minutes of meditation.
It has now been over 12 years, and I practice it every day without fail.
For that, I have immense and immeasurable gratitude to Swami Chinmayananda and Swami Mukundananda that I can never pay back. I will remain indebted to them forever.
Additionally, I have had the great fortune to meet in person and listen to many other spiritual masters that continue to enhance my understanding and propel me further on this journey. It can happen only with a huge grace of God.
Many a time, I have salivated over the thought of spending two hours a day in spiritual practice. That hasn’t happened yet.
But there are other ways, such as naamsmaran, or remembrance of God, through which I make up for that.
Clarity about the eventual goal and the means to reach it is very important on this path.
The beautiful thing is that this clarity begins to come naturally as we practice more and more. There is no doubt about it.
As we progress, we begin to see the signposts along the way.
Now, my friend is going to try to make a commitment to himself to do the same, starting today, with just 10 minutes a day of meditation.
Perhaps that is where every journey begins.
Not with two hours. Not with perfection. Just with 10 minutes, a commitment, and the willingness to begin.
Thank you for reading this newsletter, for your support, and for gracing us with your presence.
Happy Journey!
Sincerely,
Jitendra Patel
Founder, Self Score
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