Building of Rome
A youth who was interested in spirituality was initiated into a
certain mystical tradition after spending a period of time with the
guide for that tradition and learning about the basic teachings of the
Way. Once the youngster officially had set foot on the spiritual path,
the neophyte was given a mystical chant to do which would help him
to deepen his understanding of, and commitment to, the
aforementioned spiritual teachings.
As is often the case with newcomers, the youth had been
observing the chant on a fairly regular basis. The excitement of
embarking on a great journey had not, yet, worn off, and, therefore,
the boy was very enthusiastic toward everything he was given to do.
One night, not too long after starting to practice his chant on a
regular basis, the boy had an experience unlike anything else that
had occurred to him previously in his life. The experience was so
overwhelming that he rushed to the teacher’s house and sought an
audience with his guide.
Although the hour was late, the teacher was very accommodating
to the youngster, and permitted him to enter, showing the boy to a
sofa in the living room. The rest of the teacher’s family already had
retired for the evening so the two were left undisturbed.
The youngster was spilling over with emotion, hardly able to
contain himself. The teacher was about to say something when the
boy exclaimed: “I have seen God. I have seen God.”
The teacher smiled and told the boy to take a deep breath, try to
relax, and, then, if possible, describe what had taken place. The
youth followed the instructions of his guide and when a measure of
calmness had descended on the boy, he began to give an account of
his experience.
The teacher listened carefully to the boy’s story. When the
youngster finished his tale of wonder, the teacher remarked: “You
silly boy. You haven’t seen God. All you have experienced are the
lights of blessing which sometimes occur when a person begins the
chant which you have been given.
“Yes, this is a very good sign. But, my son, what you have
experienced is a very long, long way from actually realizing or
witnessing the Presence of Divinity in any essential way.
“In the future, try not to jump to conclusions. And, while I am
always interested in whatever experiences you may have, you need
to learn a degree of restraint, and, perhaps, next time you could wait
till a more reasonable hour before you start proclaiming you have
seen God.”
The teacher rose, and as he did, so did the boy. The teacher put
his hand on the boy’s shoulder and gave it an affectionate squeeze,
and, then, led the youth to the door.
At the door, the teacher said: “Good night, my son. Do keep up
your observance of the chant you have been given and, if God wishes,
then, you may be brought to a very good spiritual condition.
The boy apologized to his teacher about having disturbed the
latter and having been so foolish as to mistake the experience for the
reality of having seeing God. The teacher assured the youngster that
it was perfectly all right and that such things do happen and not to
worry about it – just try to remember to have a bit more restraint
and composure should he be visited by another mystical experience.
Many years passed, and the boy continued to trod the spiritual
path, but because this way is a long one, with many ups and downs,
the boy, who, now, had become, a young man, was not quite as
enthusiastic about the mystical way as he had been when he first
stepped onto the path. Although the young man did try to be regular
with his chant, he often went through periods where it seemed that
mystical practices were the farthest thing from his mind and heart.
During one of these mystical dry spells, he sought permission to
speak with his teacher. Permission was granted and when he met
with his spiritual mentor, he started to talk about the difficulties
which he was encountering. As he began to describe what was going
on, he began crying.
In between sobs and sighs, the young man wistfully recalled his
enthusiasm when he first set foot on the path and how meticulous he
had been in everything. Now, it seemed most of that enthusiasm had
left him, and he found doing such practices as the chant which had
been given to him to be a real struggle – a struggle which he didn’t
always win.
When the young man had finished unburdening himself, his
teacher smiled and, said: “Well, what you are going through is
actually not all that uncommon. Many people, even some of those
who have gone on to achieve great spiritual heights, often have
encountered times very much like those that you have been
describing and in which you are currently immersed.”
The teacher continued on: “The good news is that even though
you are struggling, nonetheless, you keep coming back to your
practices, from time to time, and, consequently, you have not
abandoned them altogether. You may not feel the little you do is very
important, but, believe me, son, every small thing you do in an effort
to travel along the mystical way does not go unnoticed in the spiritual
realms.
“Moreover, there is something which you may not realize, and,
maybe, the best way for me to inform you about this is to tell you a
short story. This story is about Satan.”
The young man’s spiritual guide was quiet for a moment while
getting ready to relate the story. As he waited for the teacher to go
on, the young man noticed that already his spirits were picking up a
bit just by being in the same room with his teacher and being able to
listen to whatever the man wished to say.
The teacher began to speak again. “Satan is a very clever fellow.
He is able to learn many things through his guile and disguises.
“On one occasion, Satan came to know about the existence of a
chant which was said to guarantee Heaven to anyone who was
engaged in saying the chant at the time of his or her time of leaving
this world – that is, at the time of death. Through deception and
stealth, Satan came to learn the precise nature of the chant, and he
began to repeat this chant night and day to such an extent that even
when he slept, his whole inner being was engaged in this chant.
“Satan believed he had found a way to outmaneuver his alleged
destiny. He believed he had found a way to avoid Hell and attain
Heaven.
“Because Satan is in denial about various truths, he does not
accept the fact that at his time of demise, he will be made to forget
the chant he has acquired through deceitful means, and, therefore,
all the chanting he has been doing for so many millennia will do him
absolutely no good, and his terrible destiny will be realized after all.
He has been told all of this, but he does not believe what he has been
told.
“In fact, all of this has merely angered him, and he has vented
his pique against human kind, because it is, among other things, his
jealousy of human spiritual potential which caused him to be
rebellious in the first place. One of the ways which Satan gives
expression to his anger is to try to entice people who have stepped
onto the path to forget to do whatever chants have been given to
them by their spiritual teacher.
“I think modern psychoanalysts would say that Satan is
suffering from a mixture of denial, reaction formation, projection,
and sublimation, and, as a result, he is trying to bring about in man
what is going to happen to him. However, human beings who have
stepped onto the path have a protection which Satan does not have
for it is the spiritual link between a seeker and her or his guide which
helps the seeker to keep returning to active observance of the
mystical path.
“So, my son, understand that even though you are experiencing
spiritual difficulty at the present time, the fact you keep returning to
your chant, from time to time is a sign of the spiritual support you
have which is helping to remind you to do your chant. Satan does not
enjoy this support and, consequently, at the critical time he will
forget what he needs to be doing.”
The teacher rose, indicating the session had come to an end. He
accompanied the young man to the door and sent him off into the
night with a wish of peace and harmony for the young man’s future.
Some further years passed and many of the young man’s
spiritual difficulties gradually fell by the wayside. He often
remembered the words of his teacher and, little by little, he began to
do his assigned chant with more regularity and enthusiasm, feeling
the bond between himself and his guide grow stronger in the process.
After the young man had been faithfully observing the chant for
a number of years, he began to experience a certain sort of
disappointment. He recalled the experience he had when he first
began doing the chant – how extraordinary it was, and, yet, in all of
these years of observing the chant on a very regular basis, nothing
further had happened.
Various sorts of doubts began to grow his mind and heart. In
fact, the doubts became so pervasive that he, once again, felt the need
to go to his spiritual guide and inform him about what was going on,
and, so, he made an appointment to see his teacher.
As always, his teacher received him with gentleness and
acceptance. The young man explained his situation and summed it up
by saying: “I guess my biggest doubt about all of this is I feel that I
have been saying the chant you have given me every day for years
now, and I don’t feel like I am getting anywhere. I don’t see any
evidence that the effort has borne fruit. I haven’t had any more
experiences, and I feel like, maybe, I’m either doing something
wrong, or there is something wrong somewhere or other, and I just
don’t know what the problem is.”
The teacher shook his head and said: “Nothing is wrong.
Everything is proceeding as it should. You are doing what you are
supposed to be doing, and the chant is doing what it was intended to
do.”
Somewhat frustrated, the young man blurted out: “Then, why
aren’t I seeing any results? Why haven’t I had any more experiences
like the one which I had years ago when I first started doing the
chant?
The teacher responded by saying: “Well, first of all, the purpose
of mystical practices is not necessarily to generate extraordinary
experiences of this or that kind. Yes, sometimes, as a kindness, we are
given certain signs to help increase our faith that there is a real
efficacy in a given practice, but things don’t always happen this way.
“You might be surprised to learn that if you were to experience,
right now, all of the spiritual light and blessings which have accrued
to you over the years of your observing your chant, you would be
burnt to a cinder. Perhaps the best way to explain things to you is to
say that the benefit of your years of practice is being held in a sort of
spiritual escrow for you and that, at the appropriate time, you will be
given what is due to you.
“If you will remember what I said many years ago about Satan
and how he is observing the chant, night and day, which he believes
is going to be his ticket to heaven, but which, in truth, will come to
nought. Unlike Satan, what you are doing is being preserved, and all
you have to do is be faithful to the process.
“You are making good progress, and you should be happy that
I am happy with the way things are going for you spiritually. Just
remember what was said about the building of Rome and realize that
the human soul is much more complex and delicate than a mere
collection of material buildings.”
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