Let us go on a journey. While we both take the journey, it is a path unique to each of us and it starts by closing off the external in order to tune into the doorway within us. There is a door, a path, and it leads to the Source of all creation. It is the path or return. For we descending into matter, and our ascent back to the world of Spirit is one of reclamation of our True nature. The journey starts now, or at any time. It exists as an always open invitation from the Creator, to the seeker: Seek and You Will Find.
This journey, this pilgrimage is to the Holy Kingdom and the journey could be discovered in the writings of many traditions. Below are verses 1-2 of Al-Ma`idah from the Holy Quran:
- O you who believe! abide by all (your) obligations. All quadrupeds (of the class) of cattle (and feeding on plants) are made lawful to you (for food) other than those which are enumerated to you (as forbidden). Yet you are forbidden (to kill) game whilst in a pilgrim´s garb or in the Sacred Precincts. Verily, Allâh decrees what He intends.
- O you who believe! do not desecrate the symbols (that lead to the knowledge and realisation) of Allâh, nor any sacred month, nor the animals brought as an offering, nor those animals wearing necklaces (as a mark of sacrifice during the Hajj), nor those (Pilgrims) repairing to the Sacred House, seeking favour and grace of their Lord and (His) good pleasure. And when you are free from Pilgrimage, having taken off the Pilgrims garb and are off the Sacred Precincts you may go hunting. And do not let the enmity of a people (and your grievances) that they hindered you from the Masjid al-Harâm (- Holy Mosque at Makkah) incite you to transgression (against them). Help one another in righteousness and in warding off evil, but do not help one another to commit sin and transgression, and take Allâh as a shield. Surely, Allâh is Severe in retribution.
At a glance, these verses may be read as literal, depicting a physical pilgrimage. Spiritual books often are best understood when pointed inwardly. Instead of a trek to Masjid al-Haram (Mecca / Makkah), what if this is a teaching of an inward journey – the true pilgrimage to the Sacred Precincts of God?
In the days of Jesus, people asked Him, when and where the Kingdom of God would be made manifest. They sought a physical kingdom, a refuge from Roman rule but Jesus surprised with the response:
21 Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.
Luke 17:21
Pilgrim’s Garb
Verse 1, from Al-Ma’idah mentions the donning of a new garment for the journey – the Pilgrim’s Garb, saying “Yet you are forbidden to kill game whilst in a pilgrim’s garb…” This garment is donned to convey the focus of the seeker – the pilgrimage itself.
As a metaphor, this could relate back to the idea in Ephesians 6:11-13, “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of darkness in this age…” Further along, Paul continues with this metaphor, describing the “breastplate of righteousness.”
Two different Holy books, but sharing a central theme: The donning of a garment for the spiritual path. For one it is the pilgrim’s garb, for the other it is the breastplate of righteousness. While donning the pilgrim’s garb, the pilgrim no longer engages in hunting.
Hunting
As a metaphor, hunting is an act of worldly sustenance. It could be thought of as the mental choice to survive. We all engage in jobs or other labor (house holder duties). As our bodies have needs, the care and maintenance of the body could all fit under the headline of “hunting.”
While on the pilgrimage, one isn’t engaging in the world for survival, but the trust is in the journey. All needs are met, or so faith would need to be present to validate the path.
Verse 2, however, reads that when one is no longer on the pilgrimage (donning the garb of a pilgrim or traveling in the Sacred Precincts) that one may once again engage with the world for sustenance. How is this rectified? Do we stay on the pilgrimage or not?
Perhaps the pilgrimage is the spiritual journey, but at some point we must return to the world to work our jobs, take care of our homes, watch the children, and so on.
Transformation of the Self
While the aspect of hunting depicts a return to the world, after the pilgrimage, I think it should be discussed how the inner pilgrimage changes a person. How they are transformed through the spiritual effort. The return to the world, is not return as one once was, but as a transformed person, touched by the One.
In Buddhist philosophy there is an idea that the external world is empty of existing in any specific way. That is, one object can be many things to many different people. This idea is called Emptiness. There is a glass of liquid, and one being tastes honey, another water, and another vinegar. All are right in their experience, but only to themselves. It is their karma that influences the experience. From this perspective, it is our inner work (meditation, self-analysis, mindfulness, etc.) that is our pilgrimage. Following the path to the Holy Precincts, one’s karma is modified. Outside the spiritual practice, once again in the world, but this time with New Eyes.
In other words, the pilgrimage is the spiritual practice to find the inner Holy City… The work therein transforms us, so when we return back to human consciousness, we are in a new state of mind. A return pilgrimage gets us closer to the goal (Oneness). When we pull back to the world, we are transformed. Transformed, we cycle into the pilgrimage again and the cycle continues until we are full of Mastery. We obtain Oneness with the Creator.
In the end, it is our inner pilgrimage that transforms us. We move from the carnal mind, to the Holy Soul, that Highest Self, merging into Oneness with the All.
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