When the coronavirus pandemic reached our shores and the Movement Control Order (MCO) was announced, I was paradoxically elated for I chose to look at the positive side. I decided that it was a great opportunity to take a breather from the hectic pace of life that I had become accustomed to. Rather than dwelling on the negativity and worrying unnecessarily over a virus that was restricting our way of life, I decided to make the most of the situation as best I could. The MCO gave me the opportunity to do all the things that I had always wanted to do but didn’t quite manage due to time constraints and quite frankly, some procrastination. Was I in for a surprise! With two teenagers at home and a husband still working as an essential services staff, I still had my hands full. My mum and I found ourselves in the kitchen most of the time, either cooking, cleaning or browsing through the internet for some easy recipes. It brought much joy in seeing our loved ones savouring our labour of love in preparing delicious and nutritious home cooked food.

However, when the MCO was extended I spent the time venturing into other interesting and more introspective fields that caught my focus. I dwelled into the Upanishads, dabbled a little in Kundalini Yoga, immersed myself in Deepak Chopra’s 21-day Abundance Program and even signed up for Sadhguru’s Inner Engineering course. In my ardent quest to know “Who Am I”, I found myself embarking on a journey that made me realise that much self-reflection, introspection, contemplation and meditation are required. All the great gurus and sages say the answer is within us. So, we have to make that journey inwards. As inspirational author and guided meditation guru, Michaiel Bovenes says: “When there is nowhere else to turn to, turn inwards.” Equally wise words come from Rumi, an 18h century Persian poet, who said: “Silence is the language of God. All else is poor translation.” These great gurus are saying that only when the mind attains solitude that the truth is revealed. The Buddha is an exemplary model of this. After all, the Buddha attained Nirvana (in complete silence) through introspection, contemplation and meditation.

Perhaps the answer to what we seek in search of inner peace and happiness does not necessarily come from the intellect which is confined by space and time. Perhaps it comes from ‘stillness’. It must be then true what the great sages say that silence expands the mind and liberates it. I am also told that the universe is within me. That the awesome and wondrous beauty of life emerges from within us. The DNA (Divine Nature of Awareness) is embedded in each and everyone of us and we need only to tap its infinite potential through prayer, self-reflection, introspection, contemplation and meditation. Rumi says: “We carry inside us the wonder we seek outside us. I looked in temples, churches and mosques, but I found the divine within my heart.” To summarise, in order to find who we are, each of us have to take the step inwards for therein lies the universe that we are all seeking.

Initially I found it very abstract but as I ponder deeper, I am able to see glimpses of light that shed some focus on the journey of self-realisation that I have undertaken. I have started the journey and am eager to see where it is going to take me. I would like to conclude with two profound sayings that encapsulate my thoughts.