Man’s Far Journey
At the beginning, and for a long time on the [spiritual] journey, we think that it is happiness that we are seeking. But happiness cannot be courted; it comes unbidden, unexpectedly, while you are occupied with other matters; then when you try to possess and enjoy it, it slips away like a shy nymph. Eventually, we learn that the sure way to be unhappy is to strive directly for happiness.
Perhaps that is why men camouflage their objective and pretend that it is money, power, fame, or knowledge for which they are striving. But a little self-analysis would reveal to them that just beneath the surface lies the illusory conviction that some permanent brand of happiness will appear when such things have been acquired.
The search for the El Dorado [utopia] of perfect happiness is basic to mankind. Some aspect of– this quest, with the illusions, conflicts and tragedies encountered therein, forms the theme of all the human stories ever written, of all the philosophies that have striven to carve an intellectual path to the goal, and of all the religions that have tried to mark the way with sign posts.
Though all mankind is consciously or unconsciously on the journey, they are pilgrims at different levels, with different degrees of understanding and awareness. There are some and their number is growing, who dedicate their lives to the greater quest. These searchers are fully aware that money, power, fame—the ‘lights that glitter’ in the world’s pleasure houses—are not the true goals. They know what they seek, though they may call it by different names—the key to the mysteries, wisdom, self-realization, and God.
Where will they search: along the tortuous tracks of the philosophers? Amongst the fallen finger posts and half obliterated signs: of the old religions and into the jungles of their own minds? Along the ancient pathways of yoga and mysticism, or will the great god, modern science that has brought them comfort, yet threatens to devour them, point the way? Should a man, as some of the books say, keep his feet to one path, or may he follow the ‘wandering fires’ wherever they lead, learning what he can until such time as he beats out his own by-road to the goal he seeks to God?
It seems that we each must ultimately make our own individual way through the strange country. Yet, we are not alone in the great adventure. As we wander through the deserts and jungles and pleasant pastures, we meet and go a part of the way with fellow pilgrims. And we can communicate a little on matters of importance. Each, though he may not have progressed far, has found something that can be a clue, a pointer providing perhaps some help to other seekers.
They are found—these serious pilgrims—scattered throughout the world. Some travel alone, some in groups bearing different names. I myself have found pleasant company among them, learning with them a little of that long pilgrimage on which all life has, for some unknown reason, set its feet. Yet, for the most part, it is the blind leading the blind toward a far off light that is sensed rather than seen.
How inexplicably fortunate then are we—the few—who have found here in physical form, one who can say, as Christ said long ago, “I am the way.” And for those who can receive it, this statement soon becomes a self-evident truth. We see in Him—Sai Baba—those qualities that we have always associated with the idea of divinity. We see power wedded to benevolence and lit with glory. We feel a love and compassion that hitherto had been no more than a dream of the heart.
When we are in His company we are elevated to a golden world where the atmosphere vibrates with inner joy, and all mundane things are forgotten; or at least they take their true place well down the scale of values. Such is His patience, understanding, and power of assimilation that when He talks to you individually, you feel that you are the one person in the world to Him, that in His mind no one else exists but yourself. What a divine gift of heart penetration that is!
And so the way becomes clear before us. It is the bhakti marga [path of devotion], the guru marga [path of the spiritual teacher]; all we have to do is to surrender to Him, our sadguru [true guide], and He will do the rest. ‘All’, did I say, as if it were easy, this self-surrender? Alas, it is far from easy to crucify the obstinate, cunning, deceitful lower self—the proud ego built of desires and attachments. It calls for long days and nights of work and watching. Yet I believe it is undoubtedly the surest and swiftest way to the goal, for in it we have the help of the Lord’s grace, and His silent soul—to soul teaching.
We must work, worship, watch, and always remember that it is mainly through His grace that our hearts will be purified as they must be; for as Sri Aurobindo [a yogi] wrote: ‘Only the pure in heart shall walk in light’—that glorious light of the true home at the end of the far journey.
~Howard Murphet
Source: Sanathana Sarathi, March 1969
