From KPMG to a 4am treadmill in Mumbai...here's why

It’s 4am in Mumbai.

I’m on the nearest treadmill to the ashram I could find, a towel draped over the timer so I don’t have to watch time drag by. 

I’m training for my first ever marathon, still slightly surprised this is where my life has taken me.

But let me rewind…

The Beginning

At 35, I had a life that looked right on paper - a career at KPMG, recognition in the social impact space, years working between London and Sydney. Friends, dinners, weekends that filled up fast.

Life was on track. 

Then my phone rang.

My spiritual teacher, Swami Tejomayananda (Guruji), former Head of Chinmaya Mission, inspired me to leave it all behind. Move to India. Start afresh. Live a life of service.

Was I ready? Could I actually do it?

I almost said no. But something in me knew I wouldn’t be able to ignore it. So I said yes.

Five Years Later

Today, I work at Chinmaya Vishwa Vidyapeeth (CVV) as the Director of Partnerships, a role I was encouraged into by Pujya Swami Swaroopananda, another guiding presence in my life. That this chapter of mine has unfolded under his love and blessings is something I consider a real fortune.

The university sits on a beautiful 80-acre campus in Kerala. My office, though, is now a simple room at the Mumbai Chinmaya Mission ashram - quite a pivot from oat lattes on Regent Street.

Students at CVV don’t just study for jobs. They study to understand themselves.

Which sounds simple, but feels surprisingly radical in a world obsessed with titles, achievement and constantly chasing the next thing.

CVV is trying to bring the depth of Indian knowledge systems, wisdom many of us were never really taught to value, into modern education.

So you’ll find engineering alongside Sanskrit, management alongside the Bhagavad Gita, psychology alongside spirituality. Not as a rejection of modern ambition, but as a way of grounding it in something bigger than ourselves.

The hope is to shape cultured students who don’t just ask, “What job do I want?” but also, “How can I give more abundantly?”

It’s not typical. But that’s what makes it so interesting.

And you can see the difference.

And Then My Phone Rang Again…

As the university grows, so does the need. 

And Guruji motivated me to do something I’d never done before:

“Neha, why don’t you run the London Marathon this year?”

The goal? Raise a minimum of £100,000.

The first time he called all those years ago, there was a doubting voice in my head.

This time, there wasn’t.

Somewhere along the way, I realised he’d seen something in me I couldn’t yet see in myself.

So I said yes again.

The Reality

I’ve never run a marathon. I’d also never lived in an ashram before all this, so combining the two has been… interesting.

Right now, I’m waking up at 4am to train on a treadmill in a Mumbai gym (because honestly… where exactly do you run here?). Three runs a week. Track pants in Mumbai heat - ashram life.

On the other days, I’m trying to build strength - which mostly means discovering muscles I didn’t know existed.

And yes… significantly more dal for protein than I ever expected. Guruji has now personally taken responsibility for my chickpea intake.

Some days feel good. Some days really don’t.

And then the actual day begins.

But this was never really about the marathon. It’s about the students who’ll get a place because of what this raises - students who might otherwise never get the chance.

If You’ve Read This Far

I don’t usually ask for things like this, but this really matters.

Every pound goes directly to CVV:

• Scholarships for students who otherwise couldn’t be here
• Expanding the campus so more students can attend
• Supporting an education rooted in character, purpose and service

If you can donate, anything at all, it will genuinely make a difference.

And if you do share this page too, it helps more than you might think.

This only works if people step in. And something in my heart tells me you will say yes too! 

Thank you. Really. 🙏

Learn more about Chinmaya Vishwa Vidyapeeth here: cvv.ac.in/