the-brahma-kumaris-australia

The Ladder & the Apple Tree

One picture of our Raja Yoga study that stays in my mind, is that of the ladder. It is such a wonderful picture depicting the downward steps of 84 births, from the Golden Age, a pure world, to the Iron Age, an impure world, and to its side is the Confluence Age in which we take a lift back up to our real home, the soul world.

But there was always something nagging in my mind, some lack of understanding resulting in a little fluctuation. Until this morning, when a metaphorical apple landed on my head.

The question that was nagging at me, was this – As with nature, we souls too, become gradually impure in this downward journey of the ladder. But this whole journey, which is like a drama, is beneficial. Every scene, every interaction with other souls, it is all beneficial, and that which is beneficial is good. So, if everything is good, what then is the real meaning of purity and impurity?

When an apple falls to the ground, it returns to its home and begins a part of nourishing and sustaining life, and so the cycle of life continues.  It’s journey from seed to apple is a long journey, just like the ladder of 84 births. But its journey back home is a very short one, a second or two.

The journey down the ladder, is a journey of growth, plenty, and flourishment. Whereas the journey back home is one of surrender, simplicity, and nourishment.

The path of purity is one back to the Seed, and the path of impurity is one of expansion. Both have their place in the cycle of life. When it is time to let go, we begin a new journey of selfless love, nourishing the ground from whence the whole tree began. It may seem like renunciation of everything we’ve accumulated, but in actual fact, it is a path of sustaining and nourishing a new generation. It is a surrender to the pure family path.

The world was pure and it is now impure. We souls were pure and now we are impure. Now it is time for all to become pure again. The pull of the Supreme Soul, our Father, is a constant force. Don’t think of it as falling, instead think of it as flying up in an instant and returning to the unlimited Ocean of purity, our Supreme Father, the one that accepts us with unconditional love.

So, just let go and fly.

Learn more about the cycle of 84 births. Register for your free Raja Yoga course today.