@thinkingoutloud I was broken up from a relationship. I felt like the whole world around me is falling apart. I led a disorganized chaotic life for some years. I hated everything and everyone. In short, I was peaceless. And to answer how I found this path, it is a self-motivated quest. Being born in a conservative family, casteism was an issue. Subsequently that casteism turned into racism. My spiritual studies opened my eyes.
@thinkingoutloud I am just a beginner, a novice. That said, I am intrigued by Kashmir Shaivism, Advaita Vedanta, and various other teachings of great gurus which I found during my research. I began with a simple google search, although I knew what to look for. Also, I plan to travel and become a disciple of a Guru.🙏🏽
@IndophileIndian I asked it to you because you have it written on your profile. This made me think that you wanted to say that you have reached the state where you have realized that you are the brahman, the ultimate/universal consciousness, as it is interpret in Advaita Philosophy. It is another way of saying I am enlightened.
@ABCDEF7 Since my late teen years, I have been fascinated by the mantra " Aham Brahmasmi ". I was a confused teen, a spiritual confusion to be specific. I had this urge to become more enlightened and wiser. But unfortunately, I couldn't focus on traversing that path. It was a turbulent time of my life. As I grew older my spiritual thoughts diminished, but I was religious outwards. During this period, I fell in love, it was a strong relationship. Being a single child, that relationship had many meanings for me. As a turn of events, I broke up. That made me a mad man, I was utterly devastated. I became isolated from everything and everyone. I even tried to end my life. However, the universe had other plans in store for me. I learned to pick myself up and started to build back my life brick by brick. And those lonely, chaotic days made me delve into the spirituality I was seeking. I am just a beginner, a student. .
@IndophileIndian As you said you are following Kashmir Shaivism and Advaita, I hope you are following Swami Sarvapriyananda. These days it's difficult to find a real spiritual guru that can give you you time personally. Which part of India you live in? You can continue in PM.
I myself also consider a beginner. You are a explorer & voyager until you reach your destination. And the journey is different for everyone, so you don't know how much journey is still there for you.