Divest yourself

Divest yourself                                                                                          

All roads lead to Rome, the saying goes.

All paths lead to God, we are similarly told –

not just the broadly tramped swaths of traditional religions

but the narrow, individual windings through the rocky wilds.

There are as many paths to God,

the Sufis say, as there are the souls of men.

The Zen Buddhists put it more succinctly –

comparisons are odious.

To look down upon another’s path means only

that you have diverted your eyes from the Goal;

let another soul into your sacred relationship

with the Divine Companion;

assumed a height which you have not attained.

Perhaps, you are looking backwards,

judging your own path –

the bruising episodes, the cowardice,

the sins and betrayals from an authority

and perspective you do not possess –

not from the helplessness and hopelessness

you profess to acknowledge.

O child of God, to reach the Goal, divest yourself

of everything you once thought you knew.