There are four things in which every man must interest himself. ‘Who am I? Wherefrom have I come? Whither am I going? How long shall I be here?’ The four Vedas give the answers to these four questions. All spiritual inquiry begins with these questions and attempts to find out the answers.

Suppose there is a letter put into the post box without the address to which it should go or the address from which it has come. It will not reach anywhere. It is a waste to have written it. So too, it is a waste to have come into this world, if it is not known wherefrom you came and whereto you go. The letter will go to the dead letter office! The jiva (individual soul) will be caught in the cycle of birth and death and can never find itself. For this, Atma vichara (enquiry about the Self) and for the successful arrival at the correct answers, sadhana (spiritual discipline) is essential. The answers must become part of your experience. Sadhana must be done in a disciplined, systematic manner, in an atmosphere of virtue. (SSS Vol.1)