Do you remember those early moments of spiritual hunger within you?
Paramhansa Yogananda beautifully writes in Autobiography of a Yogi:
“The trivial preoccupations of daily life are not enough for man; wisdom too is a native hunger.”
Even as a child, I was deeply aware of this hunger. I craved freedom and meaning. I vividly remember asking my grandfather, “What is the purpose of life? Why do we live?”
My grandfather, a man of deep spiritual practice, relished conversations about life’s higher truths. His response was simple but profoundly impactful:
“To know who we are.”
That answer stayed with me. Decades later, I’m still on that quest.
I was fortunate to have an exceptional teacher in my senior year of high school. He taught Careers—a subject meant to prepare students for life after school. But instead of focusing on career paths, his classes were more like spiritual discourses, preparing us for life itself. They nourished me in a way no other subject did.
What were the early signs of spiritual hunger for you? What have been some of the key moments or people in your life that have nourished it?
Kavita is a Spiritual Director with Ananda New Zealand and founder of Narrows Retreat, sharing the teachings of Paramhansa Yogananda.
