There were the physical challenges of hitchhiking across Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan as they were quite dangerous areas. I wrote about that in The Journey Home. I loved my family and they loved me, so making a choice so completely different from the life they knew was also a challenge. Not having material possessions or the security of a home and taking vows of celibacy for life were kind of natural for me, although they were also challenging. But I guess the greatest challenge for me was that I loved so many different spiritual paths.

We have a mind, but we are the consciousness within the body and mind. I'm in my body but I am the eternal soul full of knowledge and bliss, unborn and undying. And the natural quality of the soul, uncovered from the ego and all our misconceptions, is unconditional love for the all-beautiful Lord.

If we seek the essence of every situation, if we seek to connect to God within our hearts, then we will find an opportunity there, to grow internally in wisdom in every trial we face.

Tolerance means to fix our mind, to fix our words, & our actions on a higher principle.

Through the practice of devotion to God, I was coming to learn that preserving loving relations in this world required much forgiveness, tolerance, patience, gratitude, and humility. An essential virtue of humility is to accept others for what they are, despite differences. I contemplated again how the tendency to judge others is often a symptom of insecurity, immaturity, or selfishness, and I yearned to rise above it. Everyone is a child of God. God loves all of His children. If I wish to love God, I must learn to love those whom He loves.

The auspiciousness of any situation is how it brings us closer to Krishna

Some husbands think, "This is my wife," or a parent thinks "This is my child." From a spiritual perspective, this is a misconception. The higher truth is: "This wife is God's beloved daughter, entrusted in my care. And the way I serve God is by giving her respect, protection, appreciation and empowerment. This is what God wants me to give his child."