The wheels of our bus were perilously close to the crumbling edge of the road as we drove up into the foothills of the Himalayas. The heavy monsoons earlier in the year had washed away sections of the road, or caused great pits to appear in the middle of it. Both of these obstacles had to be carefully negotiated to avoid tumbling into the valley below or sinking into the gaping holes.
We were part of a group of forty pilgrims driving in two buses from Ranikhet to Drongiri Mountain to spend the day climbing up to Babaji’s Cave and meditating there. The two-hour bus ride was not for the faint of heart, as our buses slowly navigated through these obstacles.
It also happened that just as we would hit a smooth patch of road, a large vehicle would often appear around a hairpin curve going in the opposite direction on the one-lane passage. This occurred repeatedly, but thankfully bus drivers in the mountains have experience with such things.
First, there would be a few moments of standoff in which the two drivers would glower at each other. Then, slowly, inch-by-inch, they would maneuver their vehicles in a space of only inches, angling, adjusting, turning, and managing to avoid the precipice on one side or a complete impasse in the middle. With the sides of the buses virtually grazing each other as they passed, each one was finally able to proceed in its own direction.
As we slowly moved up the mountain, the symbolic meaning of the dangers of such roads began to dawn on me. It was like the spiritual path—a razor’s edge in which we are always in peril of falling into a pit or off a precipice. Add to this the blocks of impeding karma, and it’s a wonder that we can move forward spiritually at all. But there are the experienced guides who can help us maneuver through our bad karma, no matter how impossible it may seem.
In Autobiography of a Yogi, Lahiri Mahasaya says:
Attune yourself to the active inner Guidance;
the Divine Voice has the answer to every dilemma in life.
Though man’s ingenuity for getting himself in trouble appears to be endless,
the Infinite Succor is no less resourceful.
The spiritual path is filled with far more numerous and dangerous pitfalls than even the mountain roads upon which we drove that day. But we did eventually make it to Babaji’s Cave and enjoyed the profound peace found at our journey’s end.
May your divine guide ever be with you.
Nayaswami Devi
14 Comments
Dearest Devi divine friend,
I so know what you mean with your very intense description of the dangerous road . . . and our difficult road of growing toward God. It’s in every moment after waking in the morning: Whether to smile or to not smile, to judge another or have patience and compassion, to seek to be wise and sink to dullness of mind, to love freely or to seek reassurance and affection from another, to have hope and courage or choose to be afraid, to hear God and Guru in my heart or to hear the familiar voice of immaturity echoing in the chamber of my memory . . . the list goes on while I travel the winding road of life! Good thing night comes, and my eyes close and “My peace comes and calls Joy, Joy, Joy; and my joy comes singing ever more GOD, GOD, GOD” ! With love and gratitude to Devi and Jyotish, Mariana
Nice
Dear Nayaswami Devi Ji,
With Divine grace i just visited Babaji’s cave and were on the same route.
Reading your thoughts on this and thinking back on the drive. How true it is and how simply you have put for us to understand it.
Thank you very much for this letter . Now that I feel cherished with the journey as well crossing obstacles to reach the truth.
Aum,
Prem
thank you for the healing information. My husband just passed a few days ago and the divine words helped me understand the meaning of life and passing.
Dear Dorothy,
I’m sorry to hear of your husband’s passing. Ask God to guide your steps now as you venture forward in new territory.
Amen to that! is the main thing I have to say. Thanks for the wakeup call, as usual, with your wonderful essays, Devi.
Love,
Bill
What a beautiful piece, Devaki! Thank you for posting this for us.
Oh, my goodness, I mean Devi. But Devaki also has beautiful, meaningful thoughts she writes for us!!
That is woderful placeI have worked in th eHimayas for collectionof herbs. There I have spotted the wonders of th enature and also the super-power miracles. I appreciate for the article you posted thanks deeply with regards Umeshdutta Sharma.
What a poignant story at such a perfect moment when I need it most. Your adventure in the mountains is like my own daily struggle with depression. I’m ever on the precipice of despair but my connection with Master keeps me from letting go and tumbling down into the pits of hell.
I’m hopeful again,
Ann Ellis
Dear Ann,
Keep clinging to the path before you, and Guruji will guide you to journey’s end.
Wow my heart was pounding what a great story I felt as if I was in the bus. …thank you for the beauty of it all
All of you have really great faith and trust on God, wish I have it.
I’ve been in India in such situations enough times to visualize it perfectly, but I never thought to make it an image for how we deal with our obstacles on the path. You and Jyotish are so good at making the teachings come to life. S