Fatema Ranpura, a Sadhanapada 2022 participant and former Vice President of a popular fantasy sports platform, opens up about her journey as a seeker from her early childhood till now.
Fatema was born in Mumbai to Bohra Muslim parents. Not having the need to make friends, she spent a large part of her childhood by herself. Things that engrossed most girls her age, such as playing with dolls, she dismissed as “kiddish.” Instead, she devoured books and wrote journals. Fatema comes from a family where everyone has a natural sense of creativity, design, and aesthetics, which found expression in different ways.
“My summer vacations went in making things – bags, clothes, upholstery – and we never bought ready-made clothes,” she reminisces. Even recently, when she came to the Isha Yoga Center for the 7-month Sadhanapada program, her mother stitched a yoga mat, a yoga mat bag, and a sling bag for her.
Throughout her high school years, Fatema always stood out, be it in academics or student leadership roles. She was perpetually curious about many things and had questions that otherwise rarely occur to children such as: What would death be like? Why are we here? What are we supposed to do with this life? Her parents were not religious, and chose not to impose beliefs and absolutes on their daughter. As a result, these fundamental questions stayed alive in her post high school, making her choose Humanities for her undergraduate studies because they had philosophy as a subject.
But philosophy, too, failed to satisfy her spiritual thirst. Nevertheless, she loved the course, and eventually decided to make a career in User Experience (UX) design, which, she says, requires a good understanding of everything that she has an innate penchant for – design, creativity, human psychology, and business analytics.
After completing postgraduation from the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, she had a flourishing career as a UX designer and landed the role of Vice President at the fantasy sports platform Dream11.
In 2014, Fatema encountered one of her close friends from college, in whom she noticed a distinct change. “This guy used to be very loud in class – it always seemed like he couldn’t contain himself. But now, his whole energy had taken on a very different form,” she shares. When Fatema inquired what had happened to him, her friend gave her an Inner Engineering brochure. That was the first time she heard about Sadhguru and Isha, but without thinking twice, she signed up for the Inner Engineering program in Mumbai to get initiated by Sadhguru.
After practicing Shambhavi Mahamudra Kriya for three months, Fatema registered for the Bhava Spandana Program (BSP), but wasn’t really ready for the process. “I was so scared. I didn’t know what was going on. I just wanted to get out of that room,” shares Fatema, laughing. Though on the surface, her BSP experience wasn’t great, she heard about an opportunity during the program that would change her life in ways she couldn’t have imagined: Ishanga 7%, a profound partnership offered by Sadhguru to experience grace in all that you do, while contributing 7% or more of your earnings towards Isha’s various projects.
Though Fatema excelled in everything she did – whether it was academics, career, or personal life – she always felt something was missing, or that she wasn’t doing enough. Thoughts like, “Is what I’m doing really helping the world?” often bothered her. Her reasoning for becoming a 7% Ishanga partner was pretty straightforward: “If I can’t do anything else, at least I can contribute to Sadhguru’s cause in some way. I know something meaningful will come out of it.” Her experience of Ishanga 7%? “I can’t describe it in words. After that, my life started moving at another pace. I couldn’t believe it how things were just happening. It’s like everything is taken care of.”
In 2015, Fatema started remotely volunteering with the E-media department of Isha Foundation. Every weekend, she would take some time out of her busy schedule to work on various Isha projects. As her involvement with Isha grew, visits to the Yoga Center in Coimbatore became more frequent. During one of her visits a few years ago, Sadhguru announced the Sadhanapada program. And since then, she was striving to get into the program, but home loans and other challenges pushed back her plans for some time.
Eventually, after receiving confirmation for Sadhanapada 2022, Fatema and her husband wanted to go all out for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for inner transformation. She resigned from her position as Vice President; her husband left his business for good; the couple gave up their home, entrusted their beloved cats with a relative, and embraced uncertainty. There’s no going back for her now, and she has no plans for the future – but that does not deter her in any way.
She is convinced that doing sadhana consciously and regularly and following the program schedule will help her find a way. And she is already making headway! In the second month of the program, she learned Shakti Chalana Kriya and got initiated into Shoonya – a package she describes as a “game-changer,” as it boosts her energy levels while enabling her to touch another dimension within. “Every morning, after finishing my sadhana, I go to Dhyanalinga, and when I come out, I’m just so happy and blissed out looking at everything; I cannot talk even if I want to,” expresses Fatema gleefully.
The longing for something more troubled Fatema for most of her life. Though she had nearly everything most people aspire to – a flourishing career, a great partner, a supportive family – deep down, she never felt happy. “Something is missing; something more needs to happen,” was the constant refrain in her mind. Through Sadhanapada, she wanted to experience that “something more.” Well, her longing was satisfied – but not in a way she would have expected.
After joining the program, she chanced upon Swami Patanga’s sharing in Isha Forest Flower, in which Sadhguru asks Swami (when Swami was disheartened about falling short of perfection in organizing Isha Yoga programs): “Can you not be happy even if nothing happens?” Sadhguru’s words hit the core of her being. “That’s when I realized everything is perfect. Nothing needs to happen,” shares Fatema as her eyes well up.
She continues her seva (volunteering) in the E-media department, and experiences the fulfillment of contributing to a joyful, conscious world on a daily basis. In addition, all the seemingly little things about being in the Isha Yoga Center never cease to move her, such as starting each meeting with an invocation, doing the smallest task with complete involvement, and accepting feedback gracefully.
When asked if she has any message for our readers and fellow Sadhanapada participants, Fatema’s response was quick and experiential: “Sadhanapada is a tremendous opportunity made available to us. You just have to stick to the schedule. In one of the monthly meetings, Swami Harsha said that it is a like train; you just hop onto it, and it will take you to your destination. So, just follow the schedule, and you will be sorted.”
