Spiritual life begins with being honest with oneself. One should not say false things merely to impress others. One must be true to one’s own heart. Do not imagine yourself to be greater than you are. You must know where you stand. Self-knowledge does not mean declaring, “I am the Supreme Brahman.” It means understanding where you stand at this moment: How do you behave? How selfish or selfless are you? How good are your attitudes? This honest assessment is the first step towards self-knowledge. Later, when the mind is purified, one may realise the inner Self. But until then, we must intimately understand the self we have built in this world because, if we do not know it, we will not be able to transform it. You cannot resolve or change something you do not truly understand. #SriMspeaks

All sadhaks, all spiritual aspirants, go through a certain phase called the dark night of the soul, where you don’t know what to do, you can’t contact your teacher, and you feel you are in a mess. The best way to deal with it is to be patient, allow it to settle down, and let that darkness take over for some time. Eventually, the mind will settle down and everything will fall back into place. The important thing is to let it be and follow the teachings, not the teacher. #SriMspeaks