You might wonder what exactly is meant by self-refinement, self-transformation and self-development and how to go about it? To achieve this you will have to adopt four disciplines – sanyam, swadhyaya, sadhana, and seva. Self-restraint, Self-introspection, Self-discipline and selfless service. These are like four essential steps of the excelsior of human life, four foundational pillars of the edifice of accomplished life, four resources of divine ascent of human self.

By adopting these four foundational principles of self-transformation you can elevate your lives to glorious heights and also help the wellbeing and upliftment of the society as a whole.

Need for a comprehensive approach :
All the fours traits of personality development are interwoven. We cannot expect elevating our life without anyone of them. This can be better understood by the following analogies :

(I) For growing a crop, four things are crucial – seed (or sapling), soil, water and sunlight (or some source of vital elements).

(2) If you want to do a business, again a quadruple is a must; namely, capital, experience, demand and customer.

(3 ) Combination of four things – bricks, cement, iron and wood is essential for building even an ordinary house.

(4) Talent, resources, support and appropriate opportunity are required for recognizable success in this world. Paucity or deficiency on any of these four fronts hinders the success-race.

(5) What is most vital for our clinical health? Balanced food (includes water), labor, rest and excretion. Disturbance in any of these upsets the body-system.

So you see! Nature has ample examples of four interdependent fundamental necessities. We cannot dream of anything worthwhile along the path of soul-evolution without accomplishing the fundamental necessities of self-ascent.