Self-Inquiry: The Journey Within
At the core of our human experience, we share a universal longing—for happiness, for satisfaction, and for the resolution of our suffering. Yet, our individual and collective efforts to find these things have often been misdirected. We’ve spent our lives looking outside ourselves, into the world of objects, hoping to find something that will finally bring us the ease and fulfillment we seek.
But what if the source of what we seek has never been “out there”? What if the answers lie within, waiting to be discovered?
“Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles them.” —Jesus
“Watch your thoughts; they will become your words. Watch your words; they will become your actions. Watch your actions; they will become your habits. Watch your habits; they will become your character. Watch your character; it will become your destiny.” —Lao Tzu
“Purity or impurity depends on oneself. No one can purify another.” —Buddha
Even these great spiritual teachers, whose wisdom continues to guide humanity, understood the necessity of the journey inward. Each of them pointed to a truth that can only be found within ourselves. The practice of self-inquiry reveals this truth: that we are not separate from the happiness, satisfaction, and peace we seek—we are those very qualities, waiting to be realized.
Through self-inquiry, we uncover the essence of our true Self—the source of all we have been searching for. The journey inward is not about attaining something new; it is about remembering who we already are.