Today's topic will explore the topic of the Hero's Journey as it connects to the ritual process known as the Dhuni . Please refer to previous blog posts for additional info about the Dhuni.
Any effective & spiritually transformative process is characterized by a process of inner alchemy inside of the practitioner. This is true for any mystical path of Self-Realization; this is not exclusive to Yoga & Tantra, although these wisdom sciences provide the scaffolding & framework for understanding the fire ritual of the Dhuni, and also an understanding the Path. One must contemplate on these ideas. The purpose of contemplation and inquiry is to arrive at an authentic conclusion, based on one's own efforts, and not the regurgitation of externally acquired information. For wisdom to become embodied in one's experience, information must be baked in the symbolic fires of legitimate effort and "work" on the part of the aspirant. This means that the information or "teachings" are worked through as part of the larger process of actual transformation inside of the mind and heart of the person who is doing the "thing" itself. For many people, this step is largely missed, given that we are in a day and age where we have free access to a wide variety of spiritual technologies, perspectives and techniques, and what ends up happening is a lot of "spinning the wheels" but never arriving at any worthy attainment. The question is, of course -- well what is attainment and how to reach it?
The yogis speak of the siddhis, or mystical powers, as parts of the Path towards Self-Realization. They also taught that these "powers" were not at all the point, and that they could even be distractions to the final result. The "attainment" was/ is not some material gain or magical ability, but rather a direct realization of the Supreme. This remembrance of one's own true Nature and the direct experience of Divinity is not something the yogis were lording over on other people; in Tantra, it is said that an individual human contains a fragment or spark of the Divine and that only through one's own path with this can they arrive at a conclusion of what this mean. This means that the highest of all goals is achievable by whomever has the courage and willingness to discover this. These are perhaps two of the most important qualities -- courage and willingness -- as without these virtues, it can be so that those of weak-hearted motive will fall short of the attainment that they seek.
One who sits quietly in contemplation of the Path must embrace and feel the totality and possibility of It to get a clear picture of what is expected and where they might be led if they were to surrender to this. Some people come to the mystical path of spirituality out of a necessity and desire to heal from unresolved wounds and traumas from childhood, seeking communities of like-minded people where they can safely process their history and move forward towards a better future. The problem with this is that, for some, they might get stuck in this process of "healing" and therefore approaching their "work" with an incomplete perspective. This can be okay for some time, but eventually the perspective must shift and begin moving towards the higher objectives. The interesting thing about this is that even deeper healing may begin to occur as a byproduct of this, and although it is not necessarily the primary focus, the yogi starts to integrate deeper layers of they psyche into conscious awareness and thereby harnesses the "stuck" energy of the past to direct it towards their chosen focal point.
At this stage in the journey one must have a clear idea of the "point". This ties in with our idea about attainment. If one remains focused on the contents of the mind, it is very difficult to come into an accurate relationship to the ground of the mind, which is also the ground of being. Having some symbolic image that represents the "point" can help the person move through this stage of what is a profound inner journey; hence, this is why deities or icons were created, to give humans a chance to symbolize & characterize the Godhead. These images were not the Godhead Itself, and yet they served as doorways into the ground of being and the Supreme.
The paradox here is that, to the limited human mind, we are generally filled with ideas of what all of this means. The conditioning of culture brings us a variety of faulty perspectives that must be examined rigorously and released forever if they are not actually serving the highest of goals. Many ideas are an obstruction to the Path forward. Upon approaching the final frontier and limit of one's psyche, the only "idea" that can take a person over the edge is their personal idea and relationship to their Creator. If this relationship isn't adequately developed, it is likely that one arrives at the doorway to the Self and, in the ultimate confrontation with Totality, turns away. Ideas, techniques and teachings might serve us by bringing us to this point, but at this point everything must be shed and the final and truest teaching must be embraced completely. If any shred of doubt or fear remain in the psyche, the surrender is partial. This is why we practice and this is why humans of all ages and spiritual traditions have created ritual & ceremonial experiences to symbolize this journey back to the Center of all centers -- we have long intuited about this process I am describing here.
The motions of humbling one's self at the Altar through gestures of prostration and other ritual symbolic acts are all meant to help the person come into the inner sanctum with the appropriate humility. The person who understands the magnitude of the task ahead would be wise to do so. There is no place for the ego in this process, and a legitimate spiritual experience will turn the ego inside out and upside down so powerfully that the person in question realizes the futility of their limited ideas & perspectives. This is why the ritual processes exist -- to help us make this journey in a safe way and to not lose our marbles completely as we realize how simultaneously minuscule and enormous we actually are.
The interesting thing to observe is that, when one embarks on this journey, they can only begin if they are equipped with some of the teachings that point the way. Over time and with practice, the definitions might change. A clear idea of the destination can start to take shape. The "attainment" or "goal" we are after starts to become more crystallized. This seems to be made possible only in the process of actually walking and "working". This process of walking the path might have been known by the yogis as tapasya. This Sanskrit word means something like heat or friction, and it was observed that in the process of walking the path, friction would arise, which led to purification. Through the purification of one's perspective, a clear image of the Divine could emerge. Before adequate purification, the image we've created of God is distorted. The Supreme Reality doesn't change, nor has it changed in any set or setting across time; it is Supreme. However, human's attitudes towards the One have taken so many shapes and colors. We've all been on a mission to figure this out since time immemorial -- what makes today any different?
There is always more to say on this topic, alas, words fall short. They can only point the way. The real teachings are revealed on the job and in the process. If someone were to take what was suggested here in this meager post and apply it in their process, it may or may not work, but at least they have real information (wisdom) that has become embodied in the process of investigation. All of the "teachings" work this way. We learn to awaken our own innate intelligence and build a relationship to something far older than the mind. The Tantrikas worshipped this as the Shakti; Christian worshipped it as Jesus.
What does all of this have to do with the Hero's Journey?
That's the puzzle we are figuring out and the riddle that the Dhuni can help unlock. To sit, and stare at the fire, and recite the mantra, and feel the ripples of the sound current through the body for long enough for something to change in one's perspective IS the Hero's Journey. Descending into the underworld of subconscious and unconscious parts of ourselves and to reclaim the lost or "stuck" energy from that unresolved material so that it can be re-directed using one's conscious awareness IS the point. The final step of this path is to decide -- well... where am I going to direct this energy?
That's up to each person to figure out. That's the "point". Choose wisely.
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