The lecture was given in English on Sunday December 17, 2023 via live video conference from Ramanasramam in Tiruvannamalai, India.
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If ‘path’ is a simile for the spiritual search, the mountaintop is its goal. If most opt for the broad bustling boulevards of the world, the path up the mountain is the journey of fulfilment.
Though at times the upward climb feels lonesome, each fresh vista offers a new perspective and changes the rules of the game. If the refined air of loftier heights is attended by fear as well as opposing forces internal and external, we also come to understand that the path was never meant to lead us from here to there—as we had previously supposed—but rather, to lead us from there to here, i.e., from a place outside of ourselves toward the place of embracing that which is inherent within. |
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The mountaintop, as it would turn out, is already within us. Coming to a deeper understanding of ourselves means that we shed our heavy burdens, namely, childhood hurts, early life trauma and subsequent disappointments all which combine to form the root and source of our resistance, non-resilience, stress, and struggle with daily living.
Tracing the footprints of the saints and sages of old begins by learning from their discoveries as well as from their mistakes. As we aspire toward the summit, our hearts grow little by little, and the path that had begun in laments and cries begins to hold promise.
In this discussion we look at the fundamentals of the spiritual search consulting with teachers from the Buddhist and Christian meditation and contemplative traditions to see what clues they have for us regarding obstacles on the path.
Tracing the footprints of the saints and sages of old begins by learning from their discoveries as well as from their mistakes. As we aspire toward the summit, our hearts grow little by little, and the path that had begun in laments and cries begins to hold promise.
In this discussion we look at the fundamentals of the spiritual search consulting with teachers from the Buddhist and Christian meditation and contemplative traditions to see what clues they have for us regarding obstacles on the path.
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