The Mountain: A Parable about Spiritual Seeking

The Mountain

Once a group of travellers were preparing to scale a very special mountain. We will return to them shortly because even though millions have traversed its rugged and imposing paths, the mountain stands firm as the star of this story.

The strange thing about this mountain was that for all its popularity, no one seemed to know anything concrete about it. How high is the summit? What is the best and safest way up? What is actually up there?! These questions were mulled over by humans for generations, until the most daring among them determined to find out answers for themselves. They became travellers.

Travellers came from all over the world and all walks of life with dreams of visiting this magical mountain. Even the most illustrious humans couldn’t achieve the level of fame this mountain had.

Some believed that their ailments would be cured. Others hoped for their deepest desires to be fulfilled. Occasionally a few people just loved how the mountain made them feel and wished to be closer.

Not everyone felt like travelling though. After all, it was a significant risk and commitment to pursue something that had no meaning for them and may even be impossible. And what happened if they did try and it all went wrong? They were not interested in such nonsense and many of them maintained a distance from the whole thing. Others, however, felt more conflicted.

It was whispered in some circles that reaching the mountain peak was in fact a myth. They reasoned that no one had really done it because otherwise at least a few of them would come and share their story. Even the seemingly best climbers made a decent effort, got pretty high up but then for some reason or another they had to turn around. Perhaps they made some poor choices along the way, were ill prepared or were humbled when face-to-face with such glacial majesty.

They also suspected that the ones who were never heard from again sadly perished en route or, if by some miracle they succeeded, they were so exhausted from this arduous journey that they had no energy left to make it back down. What a waste, they muttered.

The travellers heard all of this more times than they cared to remember. Yet, they kept going and with time, an increasing number of people started turning to travel. What moved them to do so, we cannot know.

The Camps

Dotted in and around the foothills, there were camps full of tour guides offering a wide range of hiking packages to reach the mountain summit. Many camps were grand, with vibrant displays showcasing the most enticing promises to drum up interest from travellers. Guides enthusiastically extolled the unique virtues of their own camp to each and every passerby, with some guides making efforts to cleverly poach potential customers away from other camps.

Not all the camps got along, mind you. They started realising that it was increasingly hard to stand out and most camps were offering very similar things. There were only so many travellers in the world, and many options for camps. How could they survive at this rate? This existential tension kept on building until cracks started forming in some of the camps, with members passionately disagreeing on how their camp should be run.

While some tour guides boldly claimed that they knew the absolute best or fastest route, others came up with the plan to keep the mountain permanently shrouded in mystery — proclaiming instead that only they were bestowed with the keys of truth and woe betide anyone who doubted or challenged them. This however, wasn’t enough for a handful of rogue guides who went too far and tried to forcefully sabotage competing camps.

Greed for power, jealousy, subterfuge and self-righteousness became insidiously rooted in many camp communities. The savvy and ruthless ones succeeded in remarkable expansion, absorbing or eliminating the more docile breeds. After a while, it appeared as if only a handful of camps ever existed!

The Sherpas

Then there were … the sherpas. The exceptions who either didn’t play the game, or played it in such a way they would have probably been laughed at for their naivety or quirks. Sherpa guides tended to work alone, but some of them did have their own camps or were helpers within other camps. They presented with a refreshing honesty and simplicity that could be viewed as beautiful by discerning eyes. By nature, they often spoke to inquisitive visitors plainly and without airs and graces. Some travellers felt slighted by a perceived rudeness and swiftly moved on to the more welcoming camps.

Sherpas didn’t care much for how many travellers joined them or how many turned away. Their great love in life was the mountain and their second great love was leading the most sincere travellers in their footsteps. For they had a secret of their own…they had seen it. The summit. They had bravely passed through the most treacherous terrain to reach the most precious and coveted snow-capped peak. They were so intimately connected that it felt like their essence was distilled, frozen and nestled into the mountain’s heart. For travellers who could sense this, it meant they had found a guide who could not only show them a genuine route to the top, but also knew the dangers and how to avoid them. Unfortunately, they appeared invisible to most visitors, and even when noticed, were often overlooked or dismissed.

All sherpa guides knew each other well and quietly operated in harmony, despite having their differences.

Their gift was a healing balm of peace to the disturbed and disoriented peoples of the mountain.

The Journey

Now, we return our attention to the group of travellers from the beginning of the story. Being total strangers to one another and possessing demonstrably diverse temperaments, it seemed unusual that these people would gather in pursuit of a shared goal. The consensus was that the mountain simply had such an alluring magnetic pull.

The travellers knew that many groups had gone before them and many more would follow. One of them had studied so much on the subject that they felt extremely confident about their chances. A couple felt excitement tinged with a nervous uncertainty about whether they had made the right decision. A few of them kept to themselves, inwardly preparing for the monumental voyage. All eight waited for their sherpa at the base with an exhilarating sense of purpose.

The sherpa arrived, greeted each one with a warm smile, conducted the mandatory safety induction and then they were off!

A little way up, two members, the ones who felt somewhat twitchy at the start, began to feel increasingly uneasy. After repeatedly asking the sherpa whether this path was definitely going to get them to the summit and how much longer it would take, they noticed a larger group of travellers making their way up from a different camp. How interesting they look, both mused. Eventually, restlessness and curiosity overtook them and one member seriously considered joining the other group. Upon persuading their companion, both departed. Now there were only six travellers left.

As they trudged on, the member who had studied much about the mountain and journey started wondering why they even needed any guidance from the sherpa. After all, there was nothing this sherpa could tell or show them that they hadn’t already learned. This individual began to criticise other members for the way they were moving, or handling their gear. The sherpa witnessed this but didn’t interfere.

Soon enough, the cleverest member completely stopped listening to the sherpa guide and began pacing ahead of the group impatiently. The group had all but faded into the distance when the sherpa urgently started shouting at the traveller to stop and wait. However, only muffled yelling was heard and subsequently ignored. Hubris blinded the traveller from seeing the deep, icy crevasse they were about to fall into. The sherpa’s warning rang like a crisp echo in the ether. Then there were five.

The remaining five members were shaken by what had just happened and expected the sherpa to end the trek right there. Instead, the sherpa kept proceeding up the mountain. They decided to follow closely. Two of them in particular were keen to impress the sherpa and went out of their way to be extra helpful in the group. The sherpa didn’t ask for any of it but appreciated their efforts with humble acknowledgement.

This was not sufficient for them. You see, in their constant dedication, a subtle feeling of specialness had crept in whereby they felt the sherpa should give them more attention and unique privileges compared to the rest of the group. They had put in so much more effort than the others, it was almost unfair to be viewed equally. When they sensed that they weren’t going to get any further with this stubborn sherpa, both became disillusioned with the mountain itself and turned away from the path.

The last three travellers were some of the most determined and courageous people you could ever meet. For the first time, the sherpa showed visible signs of being pleased with them. It was no easy feat to have made it to the last stretch. A renewed vigour and early sense of accomplishment fragranced the rarified air.

As they neared the end, two members decided that they were entirely justified in briefly pausing and looking back at how far they had come. They reasoned that it would be both motivating and well-deserved. The sherpa agreed to this, so the final member patiently waited with them. As the two gazed down, it dawned on them the magnitude of what they had achieved and they felt proud.

In their minds, the distance to the summit was so insignificantly small that they had in a sense, already reached the goal. Their attention turned to a slow moving band of travellers so far away that movement was barely perceptible. What a long way those people have to go, chuckled the pair. They were so comfortable in that moment, focusing on the activity beneath them, that they refused to continue any further.

The sherpa and the final traveller walked hand-in-hand for the rest of the journey until they reached the last few steps towards the summit. There was only one leap left to be made, but it was steep. Just then, the already uncooperative weather suddenly turned hostile, sending blizzards to lash them from all directions, permitting near zero visibility. Having endured everything so far, the final traveller was at breaking point. They looked around desperately for the reassuring form of the sherpa, having no clue how to move through this perilous situation.

The sherpa seemed to have vanished, without warning, without a trace. Overcome by sheer panic and helplessness, the traveller let out a visceral cry to the mountain and then collapsed.

No one can say how much time had passed before the traveller regained consciousness again. As they slowly arose from this unwanted slumber, everything started to shift around them. The storm had settled. Instead, a profound sense of peace permeated the traveller. They even felt an unusual warmth envelop their body. All sense of who they were and even why they were on this mountain, had disappeared.

As the lone voyager stood in silence before the last leap, a familiar hand slowly reached out through an ethereal mist and gently gripped them, pulling up their entire being gracefully. Dense clouds obediently moved aside in haste at the will of this benevolent hand. They had made it.

Quickly regaining their bearings, the traveller could make out the vaguely familiar image of the Being who had helped. This Being was beaming, emanating wave upon wave of unconditional love from every atom. As the figure walked closer and features started to emerge, the traveller stepped back in amazement. Suddenly, it became crystal clear why everything felt so familiar, as if it always was that way, and why the touch of that hand felt so intimate.

What happened after that, only the traveller knows. Some mysteries are so beautiful and pure that they don’t travel well in the faulty vehicle of language. They must be experienced for oneself.

The funny thing about humans is that they love to hear of good and wholesome things, but only so far as it keeps their worldview intact. Anything that appears too good to be true is not just rejected, but flogged.

News of this group’s adventures soon reached the base camps. Both guides and visitors endlessly speculated about what caused some travellers to quit and why other travellers had defected. A few were outraged that one person had literally fallen through the cracks. They vowed never to meet that culprit sherpa in person. Some camps used this opportunity to bolster their moral standing and warn everyone about the dangers of following such false guides. You’ll only end up in the same ditch, they said.

Now, there were chatterings about how a few travellers had gotten very far and perhaps even one of them actually reached the summit! Word spread once more that maybe the goal really was achievable for everyone. Some camps rallied to quell such gossip and claimed that there was indeed one chosen traveller who, being so devoted to their camp, had miraculously achieved this feat.

Whilst all this commotion was playing out, the sherpas watched on and waited, knowing that there would be many more to come, each with a unique journey to make.

Kiruthika Rajeswaran