My Spiritual Journey

In this episode, I’d like to take a moment to introduce myself and share the story of my spiritual path. My journey began in 2004, when I first attended Vedanta classes at the Arsha Bodha Center in Somerset, New Jersey—a traditional ashram established by Swami Tadatmananda, dedicated to imparting the timeless wisdom of ancient Indian sages.

It was an extraordinary learning experience, one I never imagined I’d encounter—gaining access to such a rich variety of Indian scriptures, especially here in the United States. I feel truly fortunate for these opportunities. This strong foundation enabled me to bridge the teachings of Vedanta and scientific thought, ultimately leading to the publication of my book, Science Meets Vedanta.

It’s my sincere hope that you’ll find these reflections meaningful and enriching.

Transcript

This week, we’re stepping away from our usual exploration of the intersection between science and Vedanta. Instead, I’d like to take this opportunity to briefly introduce myself and share the story of my own spiritual journey. It’s my sincere hope that you’ll find these reflections meaningful and enriching.

To begin with, I am a graduate of the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur and hold an MBA from the Faculty of Management Studies at Delhi University. My professional path has taken me to many parts of the world including India, Nepal, Spain, Australia, and the United States. One of the defining chapters of my career was founding and serving as CEO of STAM Interactive Solutions Inc. I am proud to mention that our online training courses on security technology received the esteemed “Judges Choice Award” at the International Security Conference in Las Vegas.

Now retired, I reside with my wife in Pune, India, focusing solely on my spiritual growth. 

With this brief background, I would like to share my personal spiritual journey.

Growing up in India and living mostly in hostels, my awareness of religion or spiritual matters was limited. My first exposure to these happened while studying at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur. As part of the curriculum, we had a course on Indian philosophy. In those days, the focus was to study and get a decent grade, and I really did not retain much knowledge. However, living in India, you are always exposed to the underlying truths of Vedanta and the scriptures, albeit with little understanding. That was my status regarding the Indian scriptures.

Everything changed in 2004. For this I must thank my wife, Maya. She was a keen follower of Vedanta and persuaded me to join her studies. We were then living in Princeton Junction, New Jersey. I started attending the Vedanta class at Arsha Bodha Center in Somerset, New Jersey. Arsha Bodha Center is a traditional ashram founded by Swami Tadatmananda, to teach the wisdom of the sages of ancient India. Swami Tadatmananda, an engineer by training, is a teacher par excellence with in-depth knowledge of Vedanta and complete mastery over Sanskrit. Swami Tadatmananda is a disciple of Swami Dayananda who, in turn, was a disciple of Swami Chinmayananda—a strong lineage with a focus on teaching only Advaita Vedanta. There were no religious overtones and no hidden agenda. This was important to me. If one traces back this lineage, the starting source will be Sri Shankaracharya. Imagine a lineage which is over 1400 years old! What a great saint and inspiration Sri Shankaracharya is! What precision, what clarity, and what directness in the teachings of Sri Shankaracharya! This methodology and tradition were followed at the Arsha Bodha Center.

While attending classes at this center, I was introduced to a wide variety of texts. On Saturdays, Swamiji taught the Bhagavad Gita. A detailed explanation was given for each verse. Studying the 700 verses of the Gita took over four years, and we completed two rounds of the text. In between the two rounds, Swamiji picked other relevant spiritual teachings from different parts of the Mahabharata. On Tuesdays, I attended an advanced class on Vedanta. Every year Swamiji taught a new text. Over the years, I have had the opportunity to gain an understanding of many different Upanishads and related scriptures—the Vivekachudamani, and the Isa, Kaivalya, Mandukya, Katha, Kena, and Brihadaranyaka Upanishads, to name a few. What an amazing learning experience this was. I never thought I would have the opportunity to be exposed to such a wide array of Indian scriptures, that too in the USA. I was blessed.

During these years, my focus in life changed completely. I was always a consistent reader of both fiction and nonfiction for entertainment. All that stopped. The only thing I wanted to do was study, understand, and assimilate the teachings of Vedanta. During my walks, I would listen to Swamiji’s lectures repeatedly. I only read books which were related to the teachings of Vedanta. During this study, with Maya’s help, I learned about Sri Ramana Maharshi—a true saint and a self-realized person. Evaluating a self-realized person is not easy, but given the way he answered questions, there can be no doubt that Sri Ramana Maharshi was a self-realized soul. His teachings had a great impact on me. They helped me lay a solid foundation to assimilate the knowledge being taught in the scriptures. Doubts came and were resolved with contemplation and investigation. Slowly but surely, I have built a strong foundation for the knowledge in the scriptures.

At the Indian Institute of Technology, we had a course on quantum physics. At that time, I really did not understand the true implications of this subject. In the early days of attending classes on Vedanta, I had the opportunity to read an introductory book on quantum physics by Jim Al-Khalili. This book had a tremendous impact on me—all that weirdness in the quantum world, sometimes an object being a particle and sometimes a wave! What about entangled particles which can be light years apart but still communicate instantaneously! All this fascinated and intrigued me. I started reading many books on the subject. One of the best books is The Dancing WuLi Masters by Gary Zukav. In this book, many connections have been made between physics and Vedanta. If you look around, there are many other books which also make this connection between science and Vedanta. Most of these books are written by scientists who do not have a full understanding of Vedanta.

I have concluded that science does not understand the importance of the teachings of Vedanta. If the teachings are applied with logic, reasoning, and scientific rigor, they can add a new dimension to an understanding of this universe as we see it. This new dimension could resolve many of the stumbling blocks being faced within science.

With my understanding of Vedanta and my growing knowledge about quantum physics and other related subjects, I thought I had something to contribute.

Based on the new knowledge I had gained, sometime in 2014 I decided to give writing a try. Before this, I had never written anything except college assignments. Wow, I have found writing to be one of the most rewarding experiences! The grounding of my knowledge has become much stronger. When you are writing, you are forced to encounter unresolved questions and doubts, and you must find a solution to these to be a convincing writer. This is what happened during my writing process. Something within me provided the solutions. It was an amazing feeling when a solution popped up from within. This learning process was stronger and deeper than all the listening and reading I had done. I felt this was my knowledge now and not something external. I knew this knowledge would never leave me; it was part of me. It was assimilated within me. 

With this focus. I started writing regularly. After finishing an essay, I always felt I knew more about the subject than I had before I started writing. I had new knowledge and new insights. Based on this, I felt I could tackle new issues and subjects. This meant I had new subject matter for a new essay. When I completed that essay, new ideas, new knowledge, and new subject matter popped up. In this way, slowly but surely, I built a good collection of essays. You can find a comprehensive list of these essays at my website Vedanta and science dot com. 

You can see that I have covered a wide range of subjects. In fact, many of the subjects are unique; you will not see them anywhere else. All this has been possible with inspiration from within. I will always be indebted to this inspiration, which is nothing but SatChitAnanda, our innermost core—the source of all the possible knowledge in this universe.

Many readers of my essays encouraged me to compile them into a book, and inspired by this feedback, I began the project in October 2021. In the process, I thoroughly rewrote existing pieces, introduced entirely new material, and included over 50 illustrations to enhance the experience. The manuscript was then professionally edited to ensure it was concise, engaging, and polished. The result is my book, Science Meets Vedanta, now available worldwide through Amazon. The response from readers has been overwhelmingly positive.

I regularly enrich my website, Vedanta and science dot com, with new essays—each emerging as a new milestone along my evolving spiritual path. Writing, for me, is an instrument for delving deeper into the mysteries of Ishvara. Through this ongoing exploration, I have come to understand that Ishvara is synonymous with Awareness. Comprehend Awareness, and you approach the heart of Ishvara.

Awareness, I have discovered, is the most profound force in the universe; it is the underlying foundation from which all existence springs forth. It resides at the innermost heart of every being, and all the objects ‘out there’ is made up of Awareness. This how important Awareness is. Consider this simple question: Are you aware of your surroundings? The answer, inevitably, is yes. That very Awareness—is what we seek. This Awareness is hiding in plain sight – it is everywhere. To grasp Awareness and recognize its inherent powers is to unlock an understanding of the universe itself. The deeper our insight into Awareness becomes, the nearer we draw to Ishvara.

These days, my practice centers on meditating upon this Awareness, striving to discern its presence within all things. It is not an easy practice, yet I persist—gently, patiently seeking.

One of my central aspirations is to share the inspiration and knowledge I have gathered with the world at large. This wisdom, rooted in Vedanta, especially understanding Awareness is accessible to anyone possessed of a curious spirit and a desire to delve deeper—not only into these ancient teachings, but also into their profound implications for science today. My sole request of readers is to approach these ideas with an open mind, setting aside preconceived notions to truly engage with the material. This is especially pertinent for members of the global scientific community, who continue to grapple with some of the most enduring mysteries of their disciplines—whether in the quest for a Theory of Everything, the search for the elusive graviton, unraveling the expansion and architecture of space, or seeking the origins of time and energy itself.

The scientific world stands at a crossroads, facing numerous unresolved dilemmas. As I have illustrated throughout these essays, many of these challenges can be addressed by understanding the powers of Awareness, interpreted alongside the remarkable insights of quantum physics and Einstein’s Theory of Relativity. My hope is that these writings will ignite genuine discourse within the scientific community and perhaps inspire a much-needed shift in perspective. While this may seem an ambitious undertaking, progress always begins with someone taking the first step. Without such a transformation, the obstacles confronting science will persist—potentially without end.

This has been my journey so far. I look forward to the next phase when my readers and listeners send back their feedback and comments.

Thank you for taking the time to listen to my spiritual journey and allowing me to share my personal experiences. Next week onwards we go back to exploring the fundamental principles of Vedanta and unraveling the profound intersections between scientific inquiry and ancient wisdom. Be sure to subscribe so you won’t miss upcoming episodes. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with your family and friends. Thanks for joining us—see you again soon!