It’s fairly common to get a smile from folks by mimicking children who, while on a road trip, frequently whine, “Are we there yet?” How many of us can relate to this in terms of making spiritual progress? We might use different words but the meaning is clear: we want to know if we’re there yet and if not, why not!
Whether it’s by meditating daily, doing yoga, reading spiritual books, chanting, doing mudras or japa (internal chanting or use of a mantra), there comes the day when we want to know why we aren’t there yet. We want to know why, if we’re so devoted to our practices, we haven’t yet arrived to the experience of enlightenment, samadhi, or whatever term our particular path uses.
If we stop and listen to ourselves, we have the answer. There’s nowhere to get to. We’re not going anywhere. The cosmic joke is that the only place is here and the only time is now. Our ultimate understanding is that there is only the ongoing Universal Presence manifesting as everything we see and are. Our job, if you want to use that word, is to come into the realization of this on a daily moment-by-moment basis. This is the ultimate goal of our practices.
We make the mistake of thinking we live in a linear fashion and that if we can only do something, anything, long enough we will arrive to this fictitious place called enlightenment. This is why most pictures of masters show them with that quirky smile; they finally “got it” and realized what a humorous path we’re all on.
Relax. Let’s do our practices regularly and conscientiously. One day we’ll realize we are already there, we only have to realize it. This is why in some circles it is called self-realization! So, the answer to the question, “Are we there yet?” is yes.
