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If Kahlil Gibran’s Prophet would live today, maybe this is what he would say to the people:
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When the people gathered around, one among them stepped forward and said, “Speak to us of Spirituality.”
And he looked at them with eyes like the deep night sky, and his voice was soft as a distant echo of ancient rivers.
“Spirituality is not the search for what lies beyond; it is the unveiling of what rests quietly within. It is the gentle remembrance of your own boundless soul and the silencing of the clamor that insists you are but flesh and bone.”
“Some say, ‘Seek the divine in the heavens, for it is above,’ and others, ‘Seek it in the sacred texts, for it is written.’ Yet I tell you, seek not outward nor search in the ink of words. Look instead into the vastness of your own being, for there lies the temple of the Eternal. You are not a traveler upon a road to God, for God does not wait at a destination. God is the journey within, the road beneath your feet, and the breath that moves you forward.”
One woman asked, “How shall we walk this road? What steps are we to take?”
And he replied, “Do not look for steps, nor count the milestones. Walk with the lightness of one who holds no burden, for spirituality is a path of surrender, not a conquest. To walk the spiritual path is to unclasp the hands from what is known and to open them to what is unseen. It is to be like the river that surrenders to the ocean, knowing not where it flows but trusting in the vastness that calls it forth.”
Another spoke, saying, “But we have known suffering. We have felt lost and weary. Is spirituality a balm for our wounds?”
And he looked upon her with tenderness, saying, “Spirituality is not an escape from pain, nor a shield from sorrow. It is a light by which you see the nature of all things, even suffering. To live spiritually is to drink from the cup of existence with reverence, tasting the bitter and the sweet alike, knowing that each is a gift of the Eternal. Embrace your suffering as you would embrace joy, for in each experience there is wisdom, and in every shadow there is a spark of light waiting to be revealed.”
Then a young man spoke, saying, “If we are already divine, as you say, why do we feel so separate? Why do we feel alone in this world?”
And he answered, “You are not separate, nor are you alone. Like waves upon the sea, you rise and fall as individuals, yet you are never apart from the ocean. Your sense of separation is the veil of the self, a mist that shrouds the soul’s light. In stillness and in silence, the veil lifts, and you see the world as one vast, unbroken whole. Remember this: to be spiritual is to be awake to the truth that nothing exists outside of you, and nothing within you is apart from the Whole.”
Then he paused, looking into each face, and said, “Spirituality is the love that unites all things, seen and unseen. It is the knowing that beneath every mask, every word, every name, there lies the same radiant heart. Behold one another in this light, and you will know the boundless nature of your own soul. For in loving others as yourself, you love the divine within you.”
And he left them in silence, for in that silence, each heard the whisper of their own soul.
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