The Key (A Fairytale) — Chapter 2: Ariya (Part 4)

A few weeks passed by with no further sign of Ariya, as I continued this strange quest for a mystical key. I didn't know where I was going, or perhaps I did.

At any rate, one morning while I was wading through a flooded area after a heavy thunderstorm, I found myself sinking. The more I struggled, the deeper I sank. Conqueror started in but I commanded him to hold, while I remained motionless and tried to think. I knew that quicksand likes its victims to struggle, so I remained still, but nevertheless, I was slowly sinking, as I frantically looked for something to grab on to.

No branches were within reach in the middle of this mud hole where I found myself, so I tried a swimming motion with my arms, which proved nearly disastrous as I sank to within inches of my nose. Conqueror headed in, disobeying my orders, and began sinking as well, but got close enough so that I was able to grab his mane and hold myself up. Now we were both sinking.

Suddenly, a tree oddly uprooted itself from the side of the pit and fell directly across it, near enough for me to reach. Except for his head, Conqueror remained submerged however, and with all my strength, I held his head above the mud with one arm, while struggling to hold onto the tree with the other. We were both stuck, but at least for now, we were not sinking.

The day dragged on interminably. We were unable to move, and even with a team of horses, Conqueror was too heavy to pull out of the quicksand. As night fell, my arms were shaking from fatigue. I knew that I couldn't hold on much longer, and just as I was thinking that I would rather sink myself than let my horse slide beneath the murky mud, the entire forest abruptly lit up as if on fire . . . a blue-green fire.

Ariya merely pointed to the quicksand, and as soon as she did, Conqueror and I found ourselves standing in the middle of a vast field filled with waves of violet flowers, so brilliant that they brought tears to my eye. How could anything that beautiful exist? It was as if Ariya was giviong me a glimpse of what may lie ahead. A moment later, we were back in the forest beside the quicksand pit and our life-saving tree was standing tall beside the bank as if nothing had ever happened.

"My great king, you certainly have a knack for getting yourself into trouble, don't you? Ariya smiled. "Does this come naturally or do you have to work at it?"

She never seemed serious about my encounters, probably because, for one thing, she never worried, and for another, she probably already knew my destiny, even though I was working it out as I went.

"How did that tree happen to uproot itself," I skeptically asked.

"Trees know," she replied.

"Well I don't know," I protested. "If you are my helper being, why won't you answer all of my questions?"

"Because your questions are foolish, as you will find out for yourself someday."

"Well they don't seem foolish to me right now! Can't you at least answer one or two, since you are already here saving my life again anyway?"

"Very well my king," she smiled. "Let me begin this way; there is the unthinkable. It never had a beginning and will never end. For a better word, I will call this unthinkable the original Source consciousness of everything that ever was or ever will be, or we could call it Reality. I'm explaining things simply so that your present consciousness, which is quite limited, can understand. Is that Okay?"

"Yes," I replied.

"Now, the unimaginable love that this Source emits cannot be contained, so it flows outwards. It then accumulates various characteristics in its travels; creating both physical and immaterial existences in such quantity and variety, they are beyond description.

"One of these forms, a human being, eventually develops enough intelligence to recognize it is separated from the pure awareness of this Reality from whence it has sprung. Humans accomplish this separation by muddying up the pure awareness of Reality with worldly pursuits. When this recognition occurs, and it happens intuitively and unbeknownst to the muddied-up mind, a natural yearning for a reunion with Reality develops. This longing then develops into an effort to return, but at this point, the human has no idea where he or she is returning to or how to get there."

"Why does the Source not simply keep human awareness clear, then beings would not have to go through all this trouble to return," I asked."

"Because the Source is not a creator God."

"Then answer me this, Ariya," I said, pointing to the stars, "Why all this; why not just nothing?"

With a broad smile, Ariya then said that she was convinced that I possessed the required intelligence to find the key, because the question I asked was the primary philosophical question of intelligent beings in every sphere; "Why not just nothing?"

"Okay, you have asked a good question, the classic question; Why not nothing?' Are you ready for your answer," she playfully inquired.

"Ready!" I said. This was more like it. I was getting some real answers now!

"Okay, here is your answer my king. Since the Source is pure love and since this kind of love cannot be contained," she explained, "love has no choice but to flow outwardly. This love flows out - again, words are inadequate here, but it's the best I can do with your limited language and intelligence, no offense - the love flows out in waves of love, each having freewill just as the Source does.

These waves become heavier as they travel, eventually turning into energy before exploding into matter. This resulting matter, originally from the Source's love, has no alternative but to return to that Source someday. You see, everything cycles, and every act of love must be returned. This is a law, and this return begins for humanity when the longing in certain human beings of higher consciousness becomes overwhelming, leaving them no choice but to seek a way back to the pure consciousness of the true Reality."

What Ariya was saying explained perfectly the ache that I felt, and the quest for the key must be its promised resolution. It is difficult to explain this feeling, almost as if something had been lost, but I did not know what it was or when I lost it, as if I was in a fog. I just knew that this gnawing feeling deep inside would persist until I got it back.

Ariya continued, "The Source breathes out and his love creates all things, then the Source breathes in and all is returned. The time in human reckoning required for one breath of the Source is, however, unimaginable, so it will be eons before the Source breathes in and all is returned."

"If all is returned," I objected, "why go through this arduous effort to find the key? I'll just wait!"

"When the Source breathes in," she continued without missing a beat, "the material universe collapses back into pure energy, then returns to its Source, but this will be a long time from now, a very long time. Instead of suffering thousands upon thousands of human rebirths where you will be faced with the pain of birth, then the struggle of survival and eventually death, why not escape physical form forever in this very lifetime?

"Unfortunately, this longing to return to your loving Source, to Reality, cannot be understood by human beings of undeveloped consciousness. They feel a longing too, of course, but because they are spiritually immature, they mistakenly believe that the world can satisfy that longing, not grasping the immensity of the Source. Consequently, this is where they spend every moment of their time, playing with things of the world. Since their understanding is fundamentally flawed, they keep banging their heads against the wall of this world, acquiring uncountable things but suffering untold disappointments, hoping for fulfillment and happiness. You see; they are looking in the wrong place, trying to find gold in the barnyard and only finding horse shit."

Conqueror stomped his foot but I could not help smiling at Ariya's candor. She was fascinating. I could not believe her wealth of knowledge and her capacity to impart it.

Suddenly, I heard the unmistakable "thunk" of a crossbow, followed by that unique sound an arrow makes as it zips through leaves. Before I could react, however, I found myself in a vast desert surrounded by stars and silence. The constellations were strange. I could make out the "Southern Cross" that I had seen drawings of, sketched by mariners who ventured to the far southern reaches of the world, but I had no idea where I was.

"There are those who seek power as you did, my great king, and they will go to great lengths to secure it. You have many enemies, both from kingdoms you have conquered and from your own court, which, by the way, has now taken control of Ayatana. They fear your return and your resumption of power, so they have dispatched soldiers to kill you, secretly placing a bounty on your head. These warriors and mercenaries will be paid well for your demise, so you must be alert at all times. I will protect you when I am near, but I cannot guarantee your safety at all times, therefore, you must be always observant. I have now taken you very far from your assailants, but soon you will be back in your forest where they will persist. All of this results from your past actions, which I am powerless to change."

With an impish look she then said, "I must go now. You are in a safe area. As long as your heart aches for something with such pain that emotion overwhelms you unexpectedly for no apparent reason, and the sight of flowers with colors so deep brings you to tears; then you need not overly concern yourself with danger, but don't be foolish. The thing you ache for is always near. Look for it when you smile at a baby, and in its innocence, it smiles back, and with no words spoken you stare at each other in wonderment.

"Stay true to your quest, my king . . .until we meet again." I looked up and the Southern Cross was gone, replaced by the familiar star patterns of my old forest. I was back. ( To be continued)