It was nearly a month since the group of 7 had met at the hill and decided they would combine their efforts to reach the treasure. Since then, they had continued their search individually and had decided to share their findings and plans with the rest of the group on a regular basis.
This today, was their first roundtable..in a manner of speaking. They were not together physically. But they were meeting virtually, over the Net.
Sara dialed in the others to start the videoconference.
A few minutes later, they all came online and could see each other on their webcams.
Sara: Hi people. Good morning, evening or night, wherever you are.
Linda : Hi Sara. You look great, dear. Herc and I are holidaying in Athens.
Alex: Hi folks.. am in New York. Just got back from work.
Jamie: Hi. I am in India.
Jack: You are not going to believe this, but I am at a resort in Thailand
Ryan: I hate to say this, but I am with Jack, enduring his craziness.
Sara: Its so great to see you all. I hope you are enjoying your travels and this adventure. I am having one heck of a time here. I have been on google non-stop the past 1 month. Everyone seems to have an opinion on the ‘Truth’ and how one can realize it. This whole thing is a maze.
Alex: That is true Sara (no pun intended); and that is the main problem. We don’t know what we don’t know. We also cannot take anything or anyone for granted. Many so-called teachers out there provide incomplete advice. Sometimes, they contradict what they themselves say. What is worse, their actions don’t seem to reflect what they know. Others rely on some scripture or document and have built a whole institution out of it, claiming to be the authority on those teachings. But all they do is just borrow and use a lot of quotations from the past.
What I have realized is that many of these teachers today may be no more enlightened than we are. We may be living in that kind of age right now – an age where we can’t trust anyone to guide us as the perfect authority. It is not like the ancient days where you could just surrender yourself to the guidance of a single guru and he/she will help you all the way till you see the truth. I want to approach this scientifically. I have fixed up meetings with a few leading scientists in Berkeley. I want to know what they have found. I have understood inter-connectedness. I can sense it. But is there a scientific explanation to all this? What scientific facts have we discovered recently? What do they mean in our search for Truth? That is the path I have chosen to explore for myself.
Jamie: I too believe we must search on our own. I remember once asking the urban monk “which teacher should i follow?” he just laughed and said “follow the one that teaches both the teacher and the student“. that struck a chord with me. There can’t be a different truth for the teacher and the student; regardless of whether they are Hindu or Christian or Buddhist. That is where I got my faith to seek on my own. If the Truth is one, I should be able to find it on my own. I don’t want to follow any specific teacher. I have started with ancient philosophies. I intend to study them myself and try to understand what they originally meant. Through them, I intend to discover the knowledge of who I really am
Linda: As you know, i have been practicing meditation for over 10 years now; I have always used it to calm my mind and nerves; to find inner peace in all the turmoil of the world. I want to continue to use it and see if I can understand these energies better. There are so many mysterious forces in the cosmos and I wish to experience them directly and through them, touch the original source of peace and light. Herc and I have met a few teachers who have studied the way of energy – through ancient symbols, rituals and mystic paths. We feel drawn to their teachings. We hope that will take us towards the treasure.
Jack: Well…actually, i am trying to find a shortcut. I don’t want to go through all this seeking of knowledge and meditation or spend time with all this reading. I heard about this Zen master. He is spoken of in hushed tones by local students in Thailand. That is why I landed up here. I intend to meet the man, ask him about the treasure and get his services to reach the treasure as soon as possible. That’s it. That’s my plan. Outsource the search. Get it done by the expert. Game over.
Ryan: I am going with Jack on this trip. I have gotten tired of the planned and organized way in which I have lived my life. I have been carrying too many maps in my mind. I want to do something crazy, silly and see if it helps me break through all the maps I have been living my life by. What crazier way could there be than following Jack? So, I am tagging along with him. Who knows? Perhaps, it might hold the answer for me.
Jamie: What about you, Sara?
Sara: I am interested in the origin of the 8 chambers. where did they come from? how did they appear? how does this whole thing stay in place? when did it all start? How long have they been around? when will it all end? how will it all end? And all along, I keep getting this vision of a hooded snake repeatedly. I have no clue what it means; am just sharing it with all of you. Might mean something or it might just be rubbish – some sort of hallucination.
Herc: This is great. Each of us has unique skills. Each of us is following a different plan of attack. We are sharing what we have learnt with each other. It all feels very natural.
Jamie: Haa. Haa. It feels like we are all medieval knights seated at the roundtable, searching for the elusive treasure together.
Jack: All hail, Lady Arthur (he made a mock bow, directed at Sara. Her face turned red in embarrassment.)
Linda: People, let us not forget the insights we learned in the beginning and the middle. Each of us has been attracted to specific insights. If in doubt, let us return and revisit them, to ensure we have understood them correctly. We must continue to perfect these insights in our lives. We must take what we already know and then use it to get to the treasure.
Sara: Well said, Linda. So, good luck to all of us. I think, among us, we have covered off so many different paths. I am sure one or all of them will lead to the treasure. We will catch up again next month, same time; and share what we learnt.
(After they all waved each other good-bye, she disconnected the call and got up to make herself a hot cup of tea)
What a nice bunch of folks….and what an adventure. I am learning so much about this subject; and from all the other seekers too. This is actually fun. They should include this kind of stuff in our education. Each subject should be a treasure hunt…she then thought of a few professors in college and then shook her head…. they only know one way to teach – and that is their way.
Our society has perfected the science of teaching; but has forgotten the art of learning.
She stepped out for a walk in the cool evening breeze. I need help. The questions that i am exploring are too complicated. Which should I turn to for guidance? Science? Religion? Philiosophy? And where are the answers? Are they waiting to be discovered or are they waiting to be remembered?
She closed her eyes and gave a silent prayer, to no one in particular. “If I am a worthy seeker, please help me.”
As she got back home, she found a lady waiting outside the door of her apartment. She was in her early-30’s, looked European (possibly German) and had flowing auburn hair.
She greeted Sara and said in broken English:
“Hi..good evening. my english not very good. I am friend of urban monk. he said to help you if you ask. if you wish, i can”
(Sara was stunned) “Geez…lady, thanks. Wow. You are most welcome. Please stay with me for a while. I will be really grateful to you for whatever you can share. I am sure they will be things I need to know. ”
“Thanks for accepting. I can stay for a month”, the lady said.
“By the way, do you know where the urban monk is right now? I am not able to reach him”, Sara said.
(The lady closed her eyes).
“Somewhere near Rome”, she said, a few seconds later, opening her eyes.
“Rome? What the heck is he up to there?”, Sara was puzzled.
“Performing the first task my teacher asked of him; he is right now there to help an old friend; the person he is meeting there once used to be a student of my teacher too.” she said, with a smile.
(Wondering who that could be, Sara opened the door).
“Welcome to my humble abode. By the way, I don’t know your name.”
“My friends call me Lavender“, she said.
Yo Monk!
Nice write up as usual… with a suspense at the end keeping us followers waiting in anticipation for the next part. In a way its good coz it sets us thinking about the various questions posed by the “7” and we will make our own discoveries or “answers”…right or wrong, only time will tell.
Incidentally, iam now reading Dan Brown’s “The lost symbol”…. its pretty much down your alley and here he even discusses the importance of the 7 headed snake, the magical square (which we call sudoko) and the relationship between mysticism and mordern day science. Sure you will like the book….
cheers…..
KK
(Jeova Sanctus Unus)…Means One True God in Latin
Hi KK…thanks for that. Will surely read it. cheers
wonder if this is a cue for us – followers of this blog – who i believe are as much interested in this search as these 7 characters – to articulate and share our experiences
Hi Joy,
This blog belongs to you as much as it does to me. Feel free to share your experiences and insights on any post. I know all readers here have respect for each other’s journeys.
it shall be very interesting to know each one’s experience.