When we walk in the dark, we inevitably proceed uncertainly. We rely on small clues, such as the feeling underfoot, the sounds around us, and any faint glimmers of light–but we are forced to go slowly, and even so may suffer frightening falls and painful wounds and bruises.
On the other hand, if we have a companion who knows the territory (or who can see in the dark!), someone who can say, ‘Walk toward me, it is safe,” or who can take our arm and guide us round obstacles, then we go more easily.
Such is the situation of the spiritual seeker. We are deeply dissatisfied with our present condition, but we cannot see how to proceed. To borrow a metaphor from mythology, we are lost in the labyrinth, and what is worse, we hear echoes of the fearsome minotaur somewhere nearby.
A guide is needed. Certainly there are people who know the way; even in our age, when spirituality seems like a dimly remembered fairy tale, the wise and the compassionate are there–they have never been absent. But before such a person can help us, there is one indispensable requisite : trust.
In one part of his text on the path of discipleship, Hazrat Inayat Khan talks about the different states of trust or yaqin that a seeker may have. There is one who trusts, but only partly, who wobbles from ‘yes’ to ‘no’ and back again. That is a regrettable condition, for it is very difficult to advance. A second state is when the seeker trusts the guide, but has no confidence in himself, and that is also problematic, for the lack of confidence in oneself makes progress almost impossible. The third condition is when the seeker feels sure of himself and has unwavering trust in the guide; then the way becomes easy.
Because we live in a materialistic age, there is a tendency to think that the real ‘gold’ in the treasure chest is the spiritual practices, and as these are (supposedly) all available in books and on-line, one simply needs to unearth the right combination of techniques to solve all one’s problems and reveal the hidden mysteries. It is an unfortunate misunderstanding, because it usually produces only confusion, but can also do serious harm.
The real gold is the link of sympathy that connects seeker and guide, for that softens the heart of the student and makes it receptive to the voice of the Spirit of Guidance. Practices given with insight, wisdom and compassion are like rain after a long drought, whereas practices picked up at random by the seeker often remain ‘self-secret’, refusing to disclose their inner life because the attitude does not unlock them. At worst, though, the practices may have unexpected–and completely undesirable–consequences. It is no exaggeration to say that lives have been ruined in this way.
If we are lost in the labyrinth, therefore, rather than search for practices (the more exotic, the better!), we would be wise to search for a friend, and learn to develop trust. No doubt humans will always show faults, but the Spirit of Guidance will generously compensate the seeker who trusts sincerely.