The Pilgrim's Dilemma
An anecdote from a village in the valley of the Niger River tells the story of a pilgrim in search of a holy place, but whose path goes through a village. When he reaches the village, he asks a wise old man his way onwards; the wise man, before talking, points in a direction. The pilgrim felt some hesitation from the eyes of the wise man but rushed to thank him for his help and continued his walk. The wise old man was intrigued by the rush of the pilgrim and sent a young boy to call him back. When the pilgrim returned, the wise man calmly questioned him:
"Oh Noble traveler!... why so much haste? Why are you running away?"
"Honourable old man, silo of wisdom and knowledge, it is the fear of change and the fear of changing you. It is my will to proceed in harmony with the rhythm of transformation of things."
"Did you look at my hands, honorable pilgrim?"
"Yes, when you were showing me the path."
"Then," said the old man. "My hand showed you the path, but as for me, I didn't show you anything!"
"I see," answered the pilgrim in a sort of confusion.
The wise old man now looked into the pilgrim's eyes, hesitated, and then murmured between his teeth, "Another victim of the world..." The wise old man fell into a dream that lasted only an instant. The pilgrim could see on the face of the old man a discomfort mixed with a sort of absence or presence that can only be seen on the faces of people in trances or professionals of the World of Gods. When the wise old man decided at last to talk, he looked very serious, and then resumed:
"You will have a problem to solve on your path. I don't know if it is better to present it to you now, or simply let you advance on your own rhythm."
"I see," said the pilgrim very calmly.
"No, you don't see," reacted the old man. "I have just shown you the path; I have just determined the next step, the one that could lead you to your goal. You cannot see the problem to come."
"This is true... the roasted chicken that is not yet eaten cannot be considered dead," the pilgrim murmured between his teeth. He took his time, looked between his feet, and after a deep prayer, continued:
...My story is not simple. It is the story of a rider who is looking for his horse. Every time he sees tracks of the horseshoe in the sand, he cannot control his hope; yet he has looked everywhere, through bushes and villages."
"I know... I know," said the old man. "But did the rider search in the water...? Did he look in ant holes..? Did he look in trees...?"
The pilgrim, after a long silence, answered, "I see now... a serious rider cannot look for his horse and not find it. The person looking for his horse but who meanwhile thinks that horses don't live in water or cannot live inside ant holes or even fly, will not find the horse."
"Oh yes," continued the old man. "Because what if his horse was in the water or in an anthill? The rider would look everywhere but there, so he would never find it."
"Oh, thanks a lot, honorable old man. You have enlightened my path. Now can you tell me about the problem that you could see in the path I am going to take?"
"This is a typical dilemma that strange travelers encounter at the crossroads. Your path, at some level, will divide into two. We cannot tell you which one of the two paths you should take. Out of respect for the wills of the Gods and of our ancestors, we have chosen two types of people to replace each other every day at the crossroads. They will be there to help pilgrims and travelers. The two people are completely different, or one could say have opposite characters. One of them is an absolute liar who will lie about everything, and the other never lies. The traveling pilgrim is not allowed to ask more than one question, and the two men are never seen at the same time. Considering that one cannot know if the helper is a liar or a non-liar, it is often difficult for pilgrims on that level to continue with certainty that they have received reliable help from the men."
This news deeply saddened the pilgrim. He couldn't hold his tears. After a moment of pain the pilgrim asked, "Tell me, oh noble old man, you who appear to know so many things, are we condemned to doubt and be uncertain in this world that we would like to love or hate so deeply from our hearts? I walk and spend my strength daily in search of the true face of things... I do not know rest... why is it that the answers to the questions I pose this world are the ones keeping me away from happiness? Why is the world in such a hurry to see me die that at every step of my life they dig my tomb directly under my feet?" "All in the question that you ask, my dear pilgrim, all is there... inside the question. If we could take a look at our questions, we could perhaps realize that many are useless. Artificial questions will not lead to an answer. Go, pilgrim, search, and you will find the proper question and the logic that leads to certainty."
The relationship between emotional space and rational space is one of the most interesting factors that affect the becoming of the human being. In the whole history of humanity, there has not been a technique that could allow the individual to establish a clear border between what he thought and what he felt. The value of the emotional space is that it feeds thought and keeps the brain away from the state of inertia. We do not hesitate in identifying the heart as the source of our emotions because the rhythm of the heartbeat determines the intensity of the emotions we feel. This rhythm of the heartbeat is called the Djauib by the initiation schools of Tamert. It is the one that connects the becoming of the individual to the Universe as it transforms itself.
"It is the heart that feeds thought," the initiations say, "but that same heart can drown thought and destroy the greatest human being if he allows himself to be ridden by his heart." Emotional and rational spaces complement each other because emotional space protects us from states of inertia and spiritual apathy, thus creating for and giving rational space the opportunity to orient human transformation and influence the becoming of existence. All the great books and papyri affirm that the will comes from the heart but only after the brain has coldly analyzed the advantages and disadvantages attached to every possibility.