The Old Man's Talk on Love And Suffering. For my 400th Hub

The old man peered through the curtains on yet another brilliant dawn. Across the ocean, he could see his ship arriving and knew that he would soon set sail for another Shore. He rose, clad himself in robes which he had worn for some thirty four years, and began to walk slowly and purposely towards his ship.

But the people of his village knew of his intended departure … that the day had come, and rose, almost as one, to send him on his way. Suddenly aware of the crowd around him, the old man turned around and his Heart was filled with sorrowful Joy. Many came and still others were on their way. A few close devotees touched his feet and Subri, the Seeress, touched his robe while prostrating soulfully at his feet.

He had been among them for quite some time and loved them all. Only he did not know that so many would follow and as the Spirit moved him, he lifted up his hands in benedictions and prayer.

“People of Hubbertville,” he said sorrowfully. “Long have I been among you, and much have I taught. I have sought to serve, inspire, reach your Hearts while allowing you the gift of freedom, as designated by the Unseen. The same Master bids me come, and I must go. I have played with your children; addressed the aloneness in your Hearts. I have sought to motivate and inspire the inner flame to its birthright … its innate divinity … a Golden Ray of Bliss-Delight.

Now my role is over and I must leave. In a little while … another moment upon the sun and another Seeress shall touch her sweet womb, shouting: “Hallelujah! Give God the glory, for he is here again.”

With that he turned around, faced his ship, and began walking once more. Subri, the Seeress, was the first one to speak. Arms folded, she lifted up her voice and entreated:

“Talk to us of Love.”

"Have I spoken to you of anything else?" Replied the old man.

“Love is your quest for the unknowable. It is your conscious and unconscious aspiration to know your true Self. It is the longing of the ‘cry’ within, to give meaning to life; to re-discover your own glory. Love is the inner sweetness that walks with you, carrying your shadows and dancing with your joys. When you seek, you reach for the Pendulum which, when balanced, floods your core with an unspoken grandeur … birthless, deathless and immortal.”

“How can we apply this?” said another.

“You do this at all times.” Said the old man. “For as you cannot exist without the inner spark we call the Soul, so too, you cannot live without Love. When you are deep in the throes of desire with your lover, Love is there. When you seek the immaculate purity; the joy and spontaneity of your children, Love is there too. The addict bellows a cloud of smoke from his addictions, because he too, seeks Love, and the half-crazed power-driven ignorant, seeks nothing but Bliss.”

“So how can we differentiate?” Asked another.

“When the moon is out in winter, we see only a few stars, but in the beauty and radiance of our Hubbertville village, we see so many stars!! Sometimes the sun has to peak through dark clouds, but again, on a beautiful day, there is such radiance and splendour, that even the rainbow accepts defeat. In a depressed state, the beauty of the moon is meaningless, but again, when the shadows have disappeared, the same moon offers its effulgence and luminosity in full and unprecedented measure.

The star remains a star; the sun remains the sun and the moon also is unchangeable, yet the level or degree of beauty manifested, has multiplied. So too, Love underpins both the gross and refined Consciousness, only it is purer and ever-joyful, in its higher forms.”

Now Subri, the Seeress, was deeply moved, and as she had done for the last three years, loved to hear the old man speak. “Tell me more.” She begged.

“Love is the root; Love is the foundation… we feel that God is dearer to us, not because He is omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent, but because He is all Love… Love is enlargement … expansion … the feeling of one’s true Oneness with the Source and the end of all inner teachings.”

“Love radiates the life of harmony, brightens the joy-consciousness and sharpens the sword of intuition. Love is always ready to meet man’s every soulful demand. Love conquers all that is unlike God. It is indeed, supreme over all.” –Sri Chinmoy.

Then an old man said: “Speak to us of suffering.”

“Suffering is an experience that the Supreme Itself is having in and through you. You are one with Spirit and as such, whatever you feel, Spirit also feels. This great Power is inside you! The deer grows musk in its own body, and goes everywhere searching for that smell, not realising that it was always carrying the same. So too, is the God within, the Inner Pilot; The voice of Conscience, which is eternally beating, singing the song of Self-transcendence; sometimes through the voice of adversity and pain."

And with that the old man started once more, quickening his pace, as his ship was now anchored and awaiting his arrival. Subri and a few devotees followed and he was much pleased. He entered the Pier, walked along the Jetty and on to his ship, turning around once, with a face of Love and Compassion, he smiled and then he was gone.

Four hundred summers he had spent among them and as his ship disembarked and slowly started to leave, his tears of joy and sorrow, fell silently upon the wind. Only Subri remained … remembering …

“In a little while … another moment upon the sun and another Seeress shall touch her sweet womb, shouting: “Hallelujah! Give God the glory, for he is here again.”

Manatita, The Lantern Carrier. Copyrighted, 9^th November, 2016.

~ Awakening The Inner Light.

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