I prayed to the gods of every religion to set my spirit free. I prayed to the holy river Ganges, but she abandoned me in the middle of a turbulent sea. I went to the sacred Himalayas, but he left me alone to face the bitter winds of Mount Everest. I turned to the great pyramids of Egypt, but they told me to first solve the riddle of the Sphinx. I asked the Oracle of Delphi and she replied, “Man, know thyself and you will know the universe and the gods.”

When I attempted to know myself, I found myself at a crossroads. One sign pointed to an oft beaten outward path and the other to a less traveled inward path. My rational mind led me to pick the oft beaten outward path, but a bearded passerby persuaded me to take the less traveled inward one.

The less traveled inward path was arduous. It took me through unfriendly landscapes – scorching desert sands, insurmountable mountains and rivers infested with frightening crocodiles. I was hungry, thirsty and beaten and decided to turn back. Just then a hand from Her Holiness Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi rescued me.