I need to step away into a space where I can meet my own soul… in the silence of my thoughts. There, I slowly peel away all the labels that define me in society: the roles I play, the expectations, the identities.

When the limitations created by these roles fall away, I can meet who I am without them… my essence, my true self.

In these moments of silence, I begin to question everything I once believed was important. I lay down the weight of burdens I carried and gave so much importance to. And by releasing them, what truly matters starts to reveal itself.

In the silence I ask myself:
If I were to leave my reality today… what would I take with me?

Surrounded by powerful nature, the same answers always return: the experiences my soul has gathered throughout life, the relationships I have built, the karmic bonds I have healed, and the forgiveness I have given to myself and to others. These are the invisible threads weaving the tapestry of my life path… through the people and souls I’ve met.

One of these profound moments happened to me in a Hindu temple in Malaysia, in their sacred place, Batu Caves.

Standing beneath the immense golden statue of the god Murugan and looking up at the 272 steps leading into the cave, you realize this is not merely a physical climb. Murugan, the deity of courage and spiritual discipline, symbolizes the victory of light over inner darkness - consciousness over ignorance. The ascent becomes a metaphor for the journey from lower awareness to higher awareness. Each step feels like setting down a layer of ego. Every breath on the way up becomes a meeting with yourself.

When you enter the cave, an even deeper symbol reveals itself. In Hindu tradition, the cave represents the cosmic womb, a space of rebirth. While entering one feels the symbolic death of an old identity. The darkness, the humidity, the echoes of sound and prayer… everything draws you inward, as if nature itself embraces you and whispers: release the old version of yourself. Be birthed again!

This place becomes especially alive during the Thaipusam festival, when pilgrims in deep devotion bring their vows, fast, and transcend the limits of the ego through physical trials. To the Western mind this may seem difficult to understand. But when you look into the faces of the devoted, you feel it is not about pain. For them it is about surrender, about moving beyond identification with the body. The dissolution of the ego. A moment when a person does not only say, but truly experiences: I am not only this body; I am not only my life story.

And there, among people who at first glance seemed so different from me, I recognized something deeply familiar.

In deeper conversations, golden threads of truth begin to appear. You realize their reality and yours are not as separate as they seem. We all carry the same longing for divine love in our hearts, and we all feel the same joy when it opens and invites us into its embrace.

The outer form of the world, what Hinduism calls maya, begins to dissolve. What remains is light, and it shines the same everywhere.

Then something very simple becomes clear: the people who appear completely different from us are, in truth, very close to us.

Even if another culture at first may give a feeling of distance, the inner intimacy discovered in these encounters brings back a sense of home… a feeling of one great human family, the sense of belonging, and the joy of recognition.

Ultimate realization is that, while we live on an immensely diverse, rich, and beautiful planet, everywhere we go we can encounter the same heart beating the rhythm of humanity.