The River

"I knew nothing, had learned nothing before I came here. Some mysterious power took possession of me and effected a thorough transformation. I knew nothing and planned nothing. When I left home in my 17th year, I was like a speck swept on by a tremendous flood. I knew not my body or the world, whether it was day or night. It was difficult even to open my eyes. The eyelids seemed to be glued down. My body became a mere skeleton. Visitors pitied my plight as they were not aware how blissful I was. It was after years that I came across the term Brahman when I happened to look into some books on Vedanta brought to me. Amused, I said to myself, 'Is this known as Brahman!?!"
Ramana Maharshi

There is a Process that one day kicks in for many of us. You can write books describing the ensuing transformation but at the end of the day you try describing the indescribable. Is my 2.0 version today really that different from the fellow I knew ten years ago? Not really! I have always had a huge heart, and in a way, despite all that mystical stuff, I haven’t changed my scientific mindset either. In some ways I am completely different, in others, exactly the same person I used to be. Yet, my reaction function has changed. I am no longer in charge, She is, and the transformation continues. Travelers of the Way can immediately spot travel companions. Yes, we come from very different directions, and we still make mistakes, but we all bow to the same Power.

If being a traveler of the Way sounds a little elitist, it is not. Anyone who starts asking spiritual questions can become part of the journey in a heart-beat. A few months ago a friend approached me and asked a few questions, saying that he merely wants to understand some of his friends better who have mystical powers. When I checked with him a few months later he described all kind of mystical experiences that had happened to him in the shortest time. It was then when I understood that everyone is a potential traveler of the Way. Initiation is merely the understanding that we are flowing with a mystical River, and that we stop putting up our self-imposed interference to the divine movement. Anyone, spiritual or not, can have that intuition.

The River is bound to merge one day with the Ocean, that’s what the transformation is all about. Do we need to loose sleep over what this transformation is all about? Hardly. We have the here and now to focus on. There may still be a little work ahead, a few layers to shed, but we are part of this divine Flow every step of the Way. Enjoy