A Journey of Inner Transformation
Along this path, which began consciously almost 13 years ago, many books have been like living gurus. From ancient scriptures like the Ashtavakra Gita to The Tibetan Book of the Dead, many have lit the way to liberation and peace. But here, I want to talk about the first three books that truly shifted my consciousness and set me on this sacred path of truth.
The Power of Now – Eckhart Tolle
I have to start with this one. I must have been 27 or 28 when this book—completely unprompted—fell into my hands. Externally, life was quite fine, but internally, there was a hopeless struggle. I was angry with the world, deeply identified with being an angry person, yet simultaneously begging life to show me a way out. And then, this book happened.
While reading The Power of Now, I experienced a revelation unlike anything before: I was not the voice in my head. For the first time, I consciously experienced the witness consciousness. And the stillness and peace it brought soaked through my being. Every moment became sacred—an insignificant walk up the stairs, washing the dishes—everything, even the bricks at a construction site, became alive with divine consciousness.
That was a period of awakening—full of hope and light—where I saw a definite way out of the darkness of human suffering. I realized that peace, unconditioned and unshakable, was not just possible but already present. Since then, I have been on the path. The person I was before reading this book and the person I became after are worlds apart. The anger that once defined me simply fell away—not because I actively tried to get rid of it, but because it lost its grip.
The first year after reading this book was like a honeymoon phase with spirituality—pure bliss. Over time, the intensity of that phase settled, but the depth of stillness and peace remained.
Memorable Quotes
Although every word in the book is sacred, a few lines have stayed with me for over a decade:
- Do not seek for the truth. Only cease to cherish your opinions. (A quote by Lao Tzu)
- This alone, if followed sincerely, is enough to last a lifetime—enough to liberate. It holds the essence of all spiritual teachings. It calls for equanimity in all situations. Notice how he says, do not cherish your opinions. The mind will have opinions—that’s its nature. But we don’t need to identify with them. The best way to practice this is to take a single day and consciously decide: Today, I will not pay heed to my opinions. See how effortlessly spaciousness expands within.
- Whatever you fight, you strengthen, and what you resist, persists.
- This can be clearly observed within ourselves.
- Whatever the present moment contains, accept it as if you had chosen it. Always work with it, not against it.
I Am That – Nisargadatta Maharaj
This was the second book that shook me to my core. It took me nine months to finish, slowly absorbing its wisdom. Nine months—isn’t that symbolic enough? Yes, it was indeed a rebirth. This is the one book that has stayed with me for twelve years, no matter where I go. If I were stranded on an island for the rest of my life, this is the book I would choose. It is enough. It is direct. It is powerful.
Nisargadatta Maharaj did not renounce the world in search of the extraordinary. He found it within the chaos of samsara—while selling cigarettes, while living in a crowded chawl in Mumbai. The Divine Power is so kind that it leaves this potential for awakening open to everyone. It is not reserved for those who retreat into caves. Maharaj affirms this beautifully: the point is not to make the dream better, but to see the dream as a dream. The moment we recognize maya for what it is, it transforms into lila—a divine play. Then, we can fully enjoy the human experience.
Imagine, for a moment, waking up in a bird’s body. Imagine it deeply. Your mind would stop completely as you experience the movement of wings, the sensation of flying, the feel of the wind. Why, then, do we forget to experience this human life with such aliveness? When we walk, do we truly feel the ground? The shift from thinking and analyzing to sensing and feeling is the essence of the spiritual journey—from the head to the heart.
Memorable Quotes
Each of these, if contemplated sincerely, has the potential to liberate:
- Watch your thoughts and watch yourself watching the thoughts. The state of freedom from all thoughts will happen suddenly, and by the bliss of it, you shall recognize it.
- The mind creates the abyss; the heart crosses it.
- The world is made of rings. The hooks are all yours. Make your hooks straight, and nothing can hold you.
- Discover all that you are not—body, feelings, thoughts, time, space—nothing, concrete or abstract, which you perceive can be you. The very act of perceiving shows that you are not what you perceive.
- Once you know with absolute certainty that nothing can trouble you but your own imagination, you come to disregard your desires and fears, concepts and ideas, and live by truth alone.
- Instead of searching for what you do not have, find out what it is that you have never lost.
Freedom from the Known – Jiddu Krishnamurti
Another gem, one that has the power to transform inner life. Krishnamurti urges us not to live a second-hand life—not to accept authority blindly. He teaches us to experience everything firsthand, without resistance, without the filter of past or future. He speaks of alertness—to be as attentive as if a snake were in the room.
This is where I first learned that the root of all problems is desire, for desire is merely the flip side of fear. Where there is desire, there will always be fear. I desire a better job; therefore, I fear not getting it. And there is only one fear that takes many forms. Krishnamurti encourages us to observe fear deeply—to watch it with total awareness.
I remember reading this book and experiencing a profound release of fear. I even experimented with something small—I had an irrational fear of cockroaches. Instead of running away, I sat and watched my fear. I didn’t try to suppress it. I simply became completely aware of it. And while I wouldn’t say I’m comfortable with these little creatures now, I am no longer afraid. Nothing I did—except for total, unfiltered awareness.
Memorable Quotes
- Attention is not the same thing as concentration. Concentration is exclusion; attention, which is total awareness, excludes nothing.
- It is only the innocent mind which knows what love is, and the innocent mind can live in the world which is not innocent.
- Most of us want to have our minds continually occupied so that we are prevented from seeing ourselves as we actually are. We are afraid to be empty. We are afraid to look at our fears.
- The primary cause of disorder is the seeking of reality promised by another.
- Truth has no path, and that is the beauty of truth—it is living.
- We dissipate energy through fear, but when we throw off every form of fear, that energy itself produces the radical inward revolution. You don’t have to do a thing about it.
- Real freedom lies not in the pursuit of pleasure, but in the pursuit of truth.
Each of these books brought about a fundamental shift in my consciousness. They are not just books—they are portals to transformation. And for that, I am eternally grateful.