Essay: An Intense Spiritual Awakening that Changed Everything: A Seeker’s Journey from Corporate World to Spirituality by Jagjot Singh

Jagjot Singh’s personal essay is an inspiring journey of finding nirvana in this otherwise chaotic world.

It was my father’s sudden death that became the catalyst for my leap from aspiration to Advaita. Like the Buddha once said, there isn’t any nirvana without samsara.  You have to know the world to rise above it.  I knew ambition, which is how I went beyond it.

Samsara (The Illusory World) 

Being the eldest son of a prominent bureaucrat, my only dream was to make it big in the corporate industry.  I had to match my father’s stature. Armed with a degree in Computer Science and Engineering, I spent a decade and a half in the corporate world as a software developer in India’s political capital, Delhi.

I worked night and day to get noticed and earn more money. The pressure was high. Like many people in the industry, I took my physical and mental capabilities for granted.  I ignored the well of misery pooling in me despite holding down a good job with good prospects. I longed to fly but I had clipped my wings and locked myself up in a golden cage. 

I don’t blame the corporate industry for the way I shaped my life. The root of my misery was my own mind. I denied myself the pleasure of a lazy afternoon with my family. I forgot what it meant to watch a sunset. The glorious summers and romantic winters of Delhi left me untouched.