As we begin, the spiritual path can be like talking a flight. We board the plane, taxi out to the runway, maybe sit for a bit until the flight is cleared for take off. Then the engines thunder, and we head down the runway, slowly at first, then with increasing speed until suddenly the ground recedes beneath us. We’re airborne!
And then, unexpectedly, we have to return to the terminal for maintenance. What gives?
Swami Kriyananda related a story in which the bus on he was traveling got stuck. The driver enlisted the passengers help to push the bus free. Despite the driver’s best efforts, however, the bus didn’t budge. And when he got out to check, he found that half the passengers had been pushing on the back, and the other half pushing on the front!
We find the story humorous, but what does it have to do with our short flight?
In A Festival of Light, the ceremony we perform each Sunday at Ananda, we hear the tale of the little bird’s growth into awareness, first of self, and then gradually into awareness of the greater Self that is the source of all consciousness.
Our own flights into the skies of greater consciousness are often grounded, prematurely, it seems, by having to deal with aspects of our lives and inner energies. With repeated attempts, we align our inner energies with our spiritual goals, and begin to move skyward in earnest.