I first visited Kushalnagar monastery in 2009, when I was pursuing my MBA trying to locate my identity in a big, wide world full of aspirations, dreams, and curiosity. Like most 21-year-olds, I was a bundle of insecurities, constantly subjecting myself to harsher standards and mentally scoring every move I made.

That day, as I entered the sanctum sanctorum, something softened within me. I felt an urge to sit down and simply close my eyes. And for the first time in a long while, the frantic noise inside my mind came to a complete halt.