One day three students of a shaman went out for a hike in the woods. They all studied with the same shaman, but each one approached the work a different way. One was a thinker – path of Thought. One was a doer – path of Action. One was a feeler – path of Devotion.
It was a beautiful day and the three friends were getting along great.
"They said it was supposed to rain today, but it isn't. I have my rain jacket, anyway. I'm glad it's light. This trail will take us almost 1000 feet up to the waterfall. On the way we should pass through a few different types of plant zones. I'm happy." said the path of Thought student.
""Race you to the top!" said the path of Action student.
"Are you kidding me? I could just stand right here in this magnificence. The way the pollen catches the light between these branches! The air! Something wonderful is going to happen today. I know it." said the path of Devotion student.
They started out on the trail. They hadn't gotten very far before there was a crashing in the underbrush just ahead of them and a great big bear stepped out onto the trail. It saw them and reared up on its hind legs, standing almost 10 feet tall.
"A bear!" said the path of Devotion student, and she knelt down on the trail in front of the bear. "I give myself up to be one with the Eternal Being!" And the bear ate her up.
"I've got a gun in my car. I'll go get it!" the path of Action student shouted and ran back towards the cars.
The path of Thought student stood looking at the bear, and at his guide book. He said "There aren't supposed to be bears in this part of the woods."
The other night a friend of mine was describing a book he was reading, called "God Is Not One", which gives overviews of the world's 8 major religions and points out the really fundamental differences between them. I started rifting on how the differences within any given religion are sometimes more profound than the differences between the religions. Like any person could be part of any religion, but the sect they choose would be according to their personality. Like if I was a Muslim, I'd probably be a Sufi. Or if I was Jewish I'd probably be Kabbalistic. If I was to define myself as Hindu it would be as a Kashmir Shaivite. My friend caught on that and asked if this sect was Philosophical, Karmic, or Bhakti. Huh? Are those the only choices? Well, according to this book all of the Hindu sects can be categorized as one of these three.
Now, I don't know if it really works to divide as multi-faceted a religion as Hinduism into only three types of sects, but it made me think of the story above. Philosophical = path of thought. Karmic = path of action (your actions determine your Karma and therefore your place in the cosmos). Bhakti = path of devotion. Bhakti is all about devotion, and open heart, and just pure Love. So maybe it's true.
But I'd be hard pressed to define Kashmir Shaivism as just one of these three. There is a very strong philosophy – (to quote Wikipedia) "Cit - consciousness - is the one reality. Matter is not separated from consciousness, but rather identical to it. There is no gap between God and the world. The world is not an illusion (as in Advaita Vedanta), rather the perception of duality is the illusion." You can spend years uncovering the hidden nuances of that philosophy. And I have learned many practices connected with Kashmir Shaivism, meditation and breath techniques as well as emotional/mental/spiritual exercises which a path of action person can put to good use in furthering their enlightenment. And many of the people I know who is most immersed in this version of Hinduism are total Bhaktis. For them it's all about Love and Openness and the Oneness of everything.
Interestingly enough, the only part covered in the Wikipedia article was the Philosophy. I guess path of thought people are more likely to choose to write about their perceptions of the world. My friend is clearly path of Thought. For one thing, he's reading a book about the philosophical differences between the religions. Obviously Steven Prothero, who wrote the book, is also path of thought, because that's what's most interesting to him to pursue.
I, alas, have a very hard time sustaining path of thought conversations about Spiritual growth any more, because for me it isn't real unless you feel it. But the way I get to feel it is through practices, like Slowing Down and meditation and movement and diving into my emotional experiences with the vision on of Self-Responsibility. And, obviously, I find it interesting enough, even compelling, to sit down and write about it.
Which are you? Do you give yourself over to one path? Do you resist one path in favor of another? Do you temper your experience with a bit of all of them? Have you ever found yourself being as focused and silly as those three students above?
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